Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, May 08, 1908, Image 10

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Morning Oregonian., May 08, 1908, Page 10, Image 10

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Newspaper Page Text10 THE MORNING ORFGOXIAN. FRIDAY, MAT 8, 1908, SUBSCRIPTION RATES. INVARIABLY IN" ADVANCE. (By Ma.lL) Dally, Sunday Included, one year $8.00 Dally, Sunday Included, six months.... 4.25 Dally. Sunday Included, three month. . 2.25 Daily, Sunday Included, on month.... .75 Dally, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Daily, without Sunday, six months.... 3.25 Dally, without Sunday, three months. 1. 75 Daily, without Sunday, one month 50 Sunday, on year . . . 2-50 Weekly, one year (Issued Thursday)... 1.50 Sunday and weekly, one year 8.69 Bx" CARRIER. ' Dally, Sunday Included, one year 9.00 Dally. Sunday Included, one month 75 HOW TO REMIT Send postoffico money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postolllc ad dress In .full. Including county and state. POSTAGE KATES. Entered at Portland. Oregon. PostoSlce as econd-Class Matter. 10 to 14 Pases 1 cent 16 to 28 Pages cents HO to 44 Pages 3 cents 48 to 60 Pages .....4 cents Foreign postage, double rates. IMPORTANT The postal laws are strict. Newspapers on which postage Is not fully prepaid are not forwarded to destination. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The 8. C. Beckwith Special Agency New York, rooms 48-50 Tribune building. Chi cago, rooms 510-512 Tribune building. KEPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Aimer; Postofflc News Co., 178 Dearborn street; Empire News . Etand. St. Paul, Minn. N. Ste. Marie. Commer cial Station. Colorado Spring. Colo. H. R. Bell. Denver Hamilton & Kendrtck. 006-912 Seventeenth street; Pratt Book Store. 1214 Fifteenth street: H. P. Hansen. S- Bice. George Carson. Kansas city. Mo, P.lcksecker Cigar Co.. Ninth and Walnut; Yoma News Co. Minneapolis M. J. Cavanaugh, 50 Bocth Third. Cincinnati. O. Yoma New Co. Cleveland. O. James Pushaw. 80T Super ior street. Washington. D. C. Ebbltt House. Four teenth and F streets; Columbia News Co. Pittsburg, Pa. Fort Pitt News Co. Philadelphia. Pa. Ryan's Theater Ticket Office; Penn News Co.; A. P. Kemble, 8735 Lancaster avenue. New York City Hotal1ngs news stands. 1 Park Row, S8th and Broadway. 42d and Broadway and Broadway and 2tb, Tele- Shone 63T4. Single copies delivered: L. ones & Co.. Astor House; Broadway The ater News Stand; Empire News Stand, Ogden. D. L Boyle; Lowe Bros.. 114 Twenty-fifth street. Omaha. Barkalow Bros.. Union Station; Mageath Btatlonery Co.; Kemp & Arenson. les Moines, la. Mose Jacobs. Fresno, Cal. Tourist News Co. Sacramento, Cal Sacramento News Co.. 430 K. street; Amos News Co, Bait lake. Moon Book A Stationery Co.. Rosenfeld & Hansen: O. W. Jewett. P. O. corner; stelpeck Broa Long Beach. Cal B. R Amoa. Pasadena. OaL Amoa News Co. Sam Diego. B. . B. Amoa. San Jose. Emerson. W. Houston. Tex. International News Agency Dallas. Tex. Southwestern News Agent. 844 Main street; also two street wagona Fort Worth. Tex. Southwestern N. and A. Agency. Amarilla, Tex. T!mrn oris & Pope. San Francisco. Foster & Orear; Ferry News Stand; Hotel St. Francis News Stand; I.. Parent; N. Wheatley; Fall-mount .Hotel News Stand; Amos News Co.: United News Agency, 14 Va Eddy street; B. B. Amos, man ager three wagons; Worlds N. 8- 2628 A. Butter street. Oakland, Cal. W. H. Johnson, Fourteenth and Franklin streets; N. Wneatley; Oakland News Stand; B. K. Amos, manager five wagons; Welllngham. E. G. Ooldneld, Nor. Louie Follla. Eureka, Cal. Call-Chronicle Agency: Eu reka News Co. PORTLAND, FRIDAY, MAX i, 1908. ABANDONMENT OF PARTY. Party lines have been virtually oblit erated In Oregon. For years there has been a tendency In that direction; and the primary law and insistence on Statement No. 1 have about com pleted the dissolution of the Repub lican party; while the Democratic party already had become so weak that It bad virtually ceased to live as a party, and since has existed only by professing non-partisanship and being wielded s a club by Republican fac tions to beat out the brains of each Dther. From two-thirds to three-fourths of the voters of the state are registered as Republicans; but that fact signifies little or nothing. It doesn't mean that all electors so registered Intend to vote for Republican candidates. The past, for years, has proved this. Men haven't registered as Democrats, be cause it has seemed to them that it would be absurd, since there was no Democratic party. Hence they have registered as Republicans, but with no Intention of voting for Republican candidates for any of the offices over which there might be a contest. The fashion of the day now Is to recognize no party ties or obligations. It really has become almost absurd for anybody to run for office in Oregon as a Republican; especially for an im portant office. The Interpretation given generally to the primary law virtually annihilates the usages or claims of party; for It makes politics a contest or scramble between individ uals for place; which is more odious or offensive in candidates who rely on party numbers than in those who do not, but who frankly claim the benefits of the non-partisanship which the new system is pledged to enforce. Since there Is no possibility of achievement of anything through party or by party, under this system, why should any one trouble himself, even about a party name? Party has even become an Impertinence. Per haps there may be, some time, a re turn to party action and purpose In Oregon; but never under this system, which simply means disintegration, supersession and extinction of party. It will be said, of course, that this Is not to be regretted. Perhaps It isn't. But if any political philosopher shall dis cover an effective way of getting re sults other than through party organ ization and action, let him speak up. He will surely establish a title to per manent fame. The grotesque feature of the present political contest Is the effort of Repub licans, in the name of the Republican party, to elect members of the Legis lature, as Republicans, pledged to the election of a Democratic United States Senator. As the slang phrase goes, this certainly Is "the limit." Yet there is general prostration be fore the new fetich, and every wise politician Is saying, with the learned barber in George Eliot's "Romola" "Heaven forbid that I should fetter my impartiality with an opinion!" Hence there are no political opinions, or party principles, in Oregon now. The proposition to increase the pay of members of the Legislature from !3 a day to $10 ought to be voted down. No man should be sent to the Legislature for the pay there may be In the position. To the state the In creased expense would be heavy, and the quaHty of service would not be Improved. It would be worse, rather; for It would create a scramble to get Into the Legislature on the part of men to whom the pay would be an ob ject. Better leave the pay as It is. It will pay the hotel bill, and the mileage allowance will pay for the transporta- tion. Those citizens whom public spirit will not induce to go to the Leg islature would better be left at home. MODERN LAWLESSNESS. The following quotation is from a speech by Congressman William C. Loverlng, of Massachusetts: The world has moved on since the days of Hamilton, and It Is doubtful whether If he were with us today he could devise a scheme of finance that would close every door to modern cupidity. Conditions with iwhich we have to deal are totally different rrom those presented to him. Men were not then the lawbreakers that they are to day. Whether It was that they were better than they are now, or whether It was that they had not learned how to strain and break the laws, as we do. it matters not. This we do. know, that no sooner is a law made today than the best legal talent In the country is employed to find some iway to evade It, or to find a way over, through, or under it. In fact, the best-paid lawyers today are those who can do what the late Sydney Bartlett said his client' wanted him to do. He said: "You want me to show you how to do an illegal thing in a legal way." Perhaps one reason Why there Is more lawbreaklng today than formerly Is the fact that there is more contempt for the law. In Hamilton's time law was a solemn affair sanctioned not only by legislative act, but also by re ligious respect and. the reverence of the courts. Now religious respect is greatly weakened and the reverence of the courts for the statutes has almost disappeared. No judge majces any bones of vetoing or annulling a law which happens to displease his fancy. He does It, of course, on the ground of "unconstitutionality," but nobody is misled by that somewhat threadbare expedient. When the courts do not respect the laws, what must you look for from the financiers and their law yers? The statutes could not be set aside and evaded unless the courts were co-conspirators with the trusts and their attorneys. Another reason for our modern lax ity In obeying the law is the elimina tion of the personal conscience from business. Corporations have displaced the individual. When wrong is done the stockholder or officer complacently lays the blame on the corporation and thinks that his own skirts are clear. He forgets that the individual mem bers are the corporation and that the guilt cannot be shirked by Inventing a formula. We had a beautiful example of this shifty dealing with responsi bility when Banker Ross pleaded that he was Innocent of wrongdoing, how ever guilty his corporation might be In the matter of converting the school money. Fortunately the trial Judge could not be bamboozled in that in stance, but suppose there had been a man on the bench with less courage and rugged common sense than Judge Burnett possesses? Another miscar riage of justice might haye recurred just as in Innumerable cases of the kind, and respect for law would have received another blow. Those who would reform our mod ern attitude toward the law must begin by reforming the courts. EARLY SCHOOLS EV OREGON. The statement that the first school ever organized in Polk County was at Rlckreall, May 16, 1863, Is clearly a mistake. Mrs. A. S. Duniway, then Miss A. J. Scott, taught a school at Eola, then ambitiously called "Cincin nati," in the Summer of 1853, and somewhere in the records of pioneer times Is the statement that Mrs. George L. Curry taught school in Polk County at a date several years earlier than the one last noted. Oregon pio neers were not so slow in educational matters as this erroneous statement would indicate. The schoolhouse was set up early in every community, and many of the substantial citizens of the state received only such education as they got In the little log schoolhouses of Oregon Territory between 1847 and 1860. La Creole Academy was the first pretentious school organized in Polk County, but by no means the first school, and it Is the anniversary of the founding of this school that will be celebrated May 16 at Rlckreall. As is fitting, a monument has been erected on the site of this building by the school children of Polk County, and will be unveiled on the day mentioned by one of the few survivors of a class of 'sixteen with which the school opened on a far-away May In Oregon history. HOMAGE FOB THE FLEET. The enthusiastic reception given the battleship fleet at San Francisco shows quite clearly that the war spirit in the land is running fully as high as It was five months ago, when the fleet steamed out of Hampton Roads. As a feat of navigation or an endurance test for these costly steel structures there is nothing In the cruise that sug gests anything out of the ordinary. It would, in fact, have been a great sur prise had anything happened to any of the vessels during their leisurely jaunt half way round the world, attended as they were by supply and repair ships, and seldom getting out of com munication with shore. But the na tion that Is rich enough and powerful enough to build, equip and man forty- four of these immense fighting ma chines, and then, at an expense of many millions, send them on a peace ful junket, which before it ends will take them round the world, Is some thing to be proud of, whatever Indi vidual opinion may be regarding the wisdom of the feat. The outburst of patriotism and en thusiasm with which the fleet1 was greeted was a spontaneous tribute to power as exemplified In the great fighting machines which presented such a magnificent spectacle as they steamed slowly through the Golden Gate. And it was "power" to kill and destroy that evoked the enthusiasm. Every American citizen who watched the grand entry into San Francisco harbor let his gaze linger lovingly on the battleships just as his far-distant ancestors viewed with pride the latest model of warclub or stone ax. The latter Implements, if there was a good, strong arm to wield them. Insured comparative peace for the owner", and the battleship fleet, with the good, strong arm of the. Government behind it, will Insure peace for this country until some other power launches a fleet which can strike a swifter gait in the work of destruction. The Cruise of this fleet through two oceans has undoubtedly been produc tive of much good. It has shown the whole world that henceforth the United States is a power to be reck oned with in solution of international peace problems. Incidentally it has caused Great Britain to revise her naval estimates, and increase the 'an nual appropriations for new battle ships, for the fleets of the United States and Germany have placed the time-honored "two-power standard" of the mistress of the seas in jeopardy. But, while the battleship fleet will be received with unbounded enthusiasm from one end of the Pacific Coast to the other, there will be found a uni versal tinge of regret that the specta cle was all for show purposes, and that. Instead of leaving at least one half of the vessels here on the Pacific Coast, where their services will first be needed In case of war, they are all to continue on the expensive cruise until, months hence, they will get back to the starting point. This regret would be tempered somewhat if the Government should immediately begin construction of a Pacific fleet to be stationed where It would be available when needed, and where It could get into action without the necessity of traveling 15,000 miles with a wet-nurse accompaniment. So long, however, as the destinies of the Pacific are subject to the whim of the naval bureaucracy at Washington, the Pacific Coast will remain a mere spec tator of the procession which is now passing us by, en route home. As we cannot keep the ships on the Pacific Coast, where they are needed, let us hope for a homeward voyage suffi-. clently speedy to Insure their arrival before they have been superseded by later models, costing more millions. r"TO THE SCHOOL FTNDT There Is a large element of Justice in the suggestion of Superintendent Ackerman that, since the Government has permitted the Oregon & California Railroad Company to retard the devel opment of the state by withholding its grant lands from sale, It should aid in developing the state by donating those lands to the common school fund if re covered from the company. On general principles the Govern ment Is uoder no obligations to do more for public education In one state than In another. But here are pre sented unusual conditions. When the United States granted certain lands to the railroad company it expressly pro vided that the lands should be sold to actual settlers at a price not exceeding $2.50 per acre. There can be no doubt that, if the Government had enforced the provisions of the grant a number of years ago, the population of the state would be considerably' greater than It is and the public schools would be in a better situation financially. There is good reason, therefore, why this land, when recovered from the company, should be donated to the state, with the original provision of sale to actual settlers where the land is suitable for homebuildlng. e . THE REAL ISSUE. In the Louisville Courier-Journal of April 27 Mr. Henry Watterson, the editor, publishes a letter written from New York on "The Political Outlook." Those who have read the letter re flectively will probably agree in the comment that Mr. Watterson Is a good observer and a bad philosopher. He discerns conditions acutely and states them accurately, but the conclusions which ha draws from them seem to miss the point Take the following quotations as an example of his clear perception of facts: "The New Tork newspapers, abounding in conceit and ignorance, suffering from both provin cialism and landlordism, are at this time especially misleading and unfair. . . Both parties in the Empire State have dropped Into the -lowest depths of depravity," and "the New York newspapers cannot escape their responsibility for this." . What could be truer? And he proceeds to an other observation which is also true: "The old historic issues," between the Republican and Democratic parties have passed away. The old dividing lines are grown so Indistinct as to be well-nigh invisible." Thus far Mr. Watterson, writing as a looker-on, carries the reader with him; but when he remarks that "the nature, actuality and significance of the coming conflict, the crux of the situation, has not yet shown itself through the fogs and vapors," one be gins to hesitate and ponder. We re member that Mr. Roosevelt has re peatedly stated In his messages what he believes to be the "crux" of the sit uation, and prolonged reflection falls to shake the conviction that he is right. If he Is, then the significance of the coming conflict showed itself "through the fogs and vapors" lone ago. Mr. Watterson himself is not without a vision of the import of the Impending struggle which is likely to rend the old parties asunder and Initi ate a new era in American politics, though he fails to apprehend its full meaning. He is like Belshazzar, who saw the handwriting on the wall, but could not Interpret it. This Is what he beholds: "The shocking disclosures of the last three years make It quite certain that there has existed for a long time a conspiracy among a few allied kings of money, making their headquarters In and about New York, to control the operations of both par ties." From this portentous fact Mr. Wat terson deduces the lame and Impotemt conclusion that, inasmuch as the plu tocracy has always intervened at an opportune moment to thwart Demo cratic efforts towards tariff reform, it will continue to do so. Of course it will do so, but how much more will it do which the editor of the Courier- Journal falls to perceive? Here Is where the powerful forethought of a great statesman like Roosevelt exhibits its pre-eminence over the narrow logic of a partisan. The President declares In his public utterances that the plu tocracy Is systematically undermining the foundations of republican govern ment and that unless it Is subdued It will conquer the country and establish a tyranny of money. In this scheme of conquest the perpetuation of the robber tariff Is, of course, a part, but It is only a part. Tariff reform Is but one among many things which must be accomplished to save the country. Because Mr. Roosevelt wishes to do all that ought to be done, and because he uses every effort to compel Congress to assist in the work, Mr.. Watterson calls him "an Intrepid centralization ist, a bold revolutlonlzer of systems and destroyer of constitutions." These are sonorous phrases, but they are at best only partially true. Time will' show that Mr. Roosevelt Is the great conservative statesman of our day. Instead of destroying the Consti tution he has done more than anybody else to preserve it and with it our whole social system.' Mr. Watterson suggests that the two Issues of the coming conflict are emancipation from the money power in politics, and the rescue of the country from federalism. Thi3 Is a very inadequate statement. The real struggle of our generation is between plutocracy and democracy. What Mr. Roosevelt aims at is to pur sue the straight and narrow path be tween the anarchy of predatory greed and the rule of socialism. This exceed ingly difficult task Is made all the more hazardous by misunderstanding which is often unintelligent and sometimes willful. The President strives to de feat the plutocracy by subjecting cap ital to the law of the land, and in or der to do so he wishes to adapt the law to modern conditions. He strives to defeat socialism by correcting those obvious wrongs which stimulate the. socialistic propaganda and give it convincing power among the people. Because he wars upon predatory wealth the plutocracy stigmatizes the President as a socialist. Because he seeks to thwart the socialists the latter allege that he Is in secret alliance with the buccaneers of finance. Thus he Is calumniated by both factions. Fortunately, however, the common people understand him, being in this matter more intelligent than many editors and statesmen. The plain, un lettered voter well knows why It is that the President Is hated equally by the monopolistic New York Sun and the socialistic Appeal to Reason. The Miners' Magazine, the organ of the Western Federation of Miners, and Dr. Day, the uncompromising apologist for Standard Oil, use almost identical lan guage about Mr. Roosevelt. The two extremes of social revolution meet In common hatred of the man who stands for simple justice, but the peo ple will not desert him, for they un derstand that his cause is their cause. This Is the chief source of Mr. Taft's strength, and it will carry him to suc cess, unless thwarted by some blunder. Judge Thomas O'Day, candidate for re-election, has rendered excellent service on the bench. He is a sound Judge, and deserves re-election. Of John Manning, District Attorney, there is reason for similar commendation. His services to the people in the bank cases 'have been of the best possible kind. Out of the chaos of the bank failures the. creditors have been as sured of getting their money, and the prosecution for dellnauenev in dealls- with the state's school fund has been prompt and effective. Since officials are now to be elected without regard to party names. O'Day and Manninsr should be continued in office. The Senate has passed the child labor bill, prohibiting employment within the District of Columbia of anv child under 14 years of age. The measure is one that will meet the ap proval of all except the grasping em ployers who have been coining dollars out of the llfeblood of the little ones. The responsibilities of life, which are thrust on the adult, come with crush ing force all too soon, and It Is pitiful that in so many states the monotonous grind of labor begins on the children before they have any opportunity for enjoying the pleasures which should be granted every child. In some of the California counties the delegates to the Republican State Convention are chosen at primary elections; In others they are appointed by the county committees.- Wherever primaries have been held the old Re publican machine has been routed and wrecked; but the bosses stilly assert that they will be able, through the county committees' appointments, to control the state convention. Should they effect this they will start a mighty fine row in California, which probably will give the state to Bryan. Hunters who become Impatient for the open season on four-footed game might fill in some of the intervening period by taking the trail of the Rogue River coyote for whose scalp a bounty of $100 Is offered. Oregon is a land of widely divergent resources and cus toms. In Eastern Oree-nn. jackrabbits destroy the alfalfa and the coyotes destroy the Jackrabbits, it is almost a crime to kill a coyote, and in Southern Oregon a heavy sum is paid for a coyote scalp. Were anything necessary to make it more sure that Bryan will be nomi nated, the incident Is supplied by the action of the Democrats of Ohio. Bryan has the solid delegation of that state, as previously he had that of j.iunois. inaiana will follow suit. Taft, on his side, Is getting on as surely. Of 992 delegates over 400 are already instructed for him; and among unlnstructed delegations he has a large number of supporters. The single-taxers are now making the argument, for the purpose of quieting the apprehensions of the land and lot-owner, that their scheme wouldn't materially increase the taxes on land. Then It wouldn't go far in the line of the "great reform" they propose, and It is much ado about lit tle or nothing. The differences which have always existed between the sheepmen and the cattlemen of Central Oregon seem to have been productive of a feud which In some respects is as thrilling as that which makes the hill country in Ken tucky such a favorite generating spot for tragedies. "Shall the creatures of God, or the creatures of the legislature, rule this country?" You mlerht sunnom thia energetic question to have beep put by a oiaiement No. 1 orator of Oregon. Not so. It Is a shout from an Okla homa rancher against an onnrs.iv hog law. What with the Democratic party trying to escape from its record nnrl history and the Republican party try ing to Hold on too long, the voter hardly knows "where he Is at." Martin has been advised by his wife. It is said, not to talk too much. The public will probably be reminded In this connection that the suspect has not done all the talking. Every few davs soma Cahlnnt nffixioi or department clerk In Washlne-tnn la astonished to learn that there is such a river as the Columbia and that It has real water in It. Kentucky, Idaho, Texas, Connecti cut and probably California are the latest to line up for Taft It's all over but the voting perhaps. Utah ReDubllcans an "frlonrllw tn Taft," but they "want Roosevelt to run again." wnat's the matter with 1912? The fleet is at San Francisco, and n is. Richmond Pearson Hobson, fire- eater. Now bring on your war. CONDEMNS CITY COUNCIL. Objection Made to Resolution Praising" Police In Wolff Murder Case. PORTLAND, May 7. (To the Editor) It Is a pleasure to see that The Ore gonian does not Join in the hysterical outcry for the life of the poor victim of cocaine, E. H. Martin, now In the city jail, blamed for the murder of Nathan Wolff, and subjected to tortures to ex tort a confession only equaled by those of Torquemada's Inquisition. It is no more the province of the writer to decide the guilt or innocence of this man than It is that of the City Council, and It seems to me that every good citi zen of Portland should denounce the at tempt of this body to speak for him In the pre-Judicial manner evinced by its published resolutions. . The writer has had an experience in this line which taught him a lesson he would like to Im press on his fellow citizens, namely, that It Is a dangerous thing to offer a large reward for an unknown criminal and thus dangle a tempting bait before a sometimes venal detective force. A number of years ago. In a neighbor ing olty, a young man, popular, respected and without a known enemy, was shot down while returning home after his day's Work. Succeeding a number of lesser crimes, due to lax enforcement of the law on the part of the city authori ties, this crime aroused the Indignation of the people to the highest pitch. A mass meeting was called, at which a committee of fifteen was appointed, and, by Individual, city and county subscrip tions, a reward of $2,500 was offered for the arrest and conviction of the mur derer. A prominent detective agency, whose then manager was a man noted for his venality, was employed, and with in a few days arrested two tramps and by the vicious "third degree" methods usually employed and the promise of at least partial Immunity, succeeded In ex torting a confession from the weaker of the two accused. The state's evidence man received a nominal sentence of two years; the other of 20 years at hard labor. Both of them went to Walla Walla, Wash. It was the universal testimony of the warden and other employes of the penlteniary that. in their belief, neither man was guilty of this particular crime. The reasons for this conclusion are too long for reci tal In this letter, but were satisfactory to all who knew them. Both men were employed In the brickyard at the peni tentiary, and one day, opportunity serv ing, the long-time prisoner, with an ax. brained his accuser, was tried, convicted and hanged, the victim of men who, for money and to gratify the hysteria of an undlscrlmlnating public, were willing to suborn perjury to attain their ends. The writer has no opinion to express as to the guilt or Innocence of E. H. Martin. He only wishes to point out the danger of too hasty Judgment, of trusting too much to the methods of a police force anxious to purge Itself of past Inefficiency, and to rebuke the unheard of effrontery of city's legislative body presuming to speak the sentiments of its constituency In practically condemning an untried pris oner. Let the accused have a fair. Impartial trial, exempt him from torture to extract a confession, and let us see the result. W. D. TYLER. PORTLAND, May 7. (To the Editor) The declaration made that the resolu tlons passed by the City Council yester day, particularly commending the detect ive force for work done in the case of the murder of Nathan Wolff, and without personal reference to E. H. Martin as the murderer. Is too absurd for an Intelli gent mind to consider for a moment Those resolutions. In effect, condemn the man as the guilty one. They are preju dlclal. have a tendency to forestall Jus tlce, are equivalent to absolute convic tion before an Indictment and trial, are a shame to the public body passing them and a humiliation to the city, whether this man Is guilty or not guilty. Inno cence is presumed till guilt Is proved. but If any sane man can conclude any thing else than that the City Council vir tually convicts Martin of the crime, he Is differently constituted than i. J. B. KANE. TRAGEDY FOR. MORPHIXE - USER This "Dope Fiend" Says Martin Will Confess Whether Guilty or Not. PORTLAND, Or., May 6. (To the Editor.) The name signed at the close of this letter Is my name which you will not print. I am addicted to the morphine habit. I am a dope fiend, as they term It In the streets. Because of a competence and the consequent good food, I have been able to sustain the constantly Increasing doses for nearly a quarter of a century. Be cause of my financial ease I am able to go where I will I was at Lewiston for the Blossom Carnival and will be In San Francisco for the fleet. By thus moving, but a few know that I am what I am. This by the way of Intro duction to what I have to write of the police method in the case of the dope fiend Martin alleged to have murdered Wolff. Your paper says that they will deny him opium until he has confessed. It will not be long. I know that It will not be long. Were I In Martin's place I would confess to all the murders committed since the crime of Cain. I would confess before 50 hours had gone by. I would agree that my mother was a harlot. There Is nothing In heaven or hell I would not confess, no matter what the punishment, were the drug offered In reward. Will Martin confess? As well ask If the river will seek the sea. He must confess. They of the middle ages used the rack and the thumbscrew and men confessed what the tormentor willed. The rack and the thumbscrew had In them but the shadow of the agony which comes to the morphine addict when denied the drug. I know, for, years ago, my own family were my in quisitors. Will Martin confess? Morphine de stroys the will. The body Is long-suffering and with proper food that of the dope fiend will remain healthy for yeare. But the actual ego 1b weak ened and sickened Into a chaos of emotions. That In man which makes the body but a tool to work with -has lost Its force. The dope fiend Martin must confess murderer though he be or though he be not still he must confess. JOHN BRODERICK. (The Oregonlan prints this name on the assumption that It Is fictitious; but the letter is evidently written by a morphine fiend.) Defending- Mr. Roosevelt's English. New York World. ' The Times criticises as "clumsy, ugly and Illogical" the phrase "should be given power" employed by the President In his latest message. But what Is there "clumsy, ugly or Il logical" In a form of speech shown by Professor Lounsbury to have been used by Spenser. Shakespeare. Bacon, Ben Jon son, Milton, Dryden, Swift. Addison, Steele, Pope, Gray, Fielding, Richardson, Smollett, Hume, Burke, Cowper, Words worth, Carlyle, Byron, Scott, Irving, Macaulay. Dickens, Thackeray, George Eliot, Hawthorne, Matthew Arnold, Ste venson, and other masters of English lit erature, and still In entirely legitimate current use by the best writers? Is the spirit of the schoolmaster and the criti caster still abroad in the land? "Of all the attempts made in behalf of pedantry to restrict' freedom of expres sion," says the Yale professor of Eng lish, "the most vociferous It Is hard to refrain from calling It the most sense less is the one directed against the con struction In which the passive voice Is followed by an object. Certainly there Is none which involves completer ignorance of the best usage or more absolute de fiance of the authority of the great writ ers of our speech." NO MONET WAS USED CORRUPTLY Vigorous) Answer to a False Chance Against University Alumni. PORTLAND, May 5. (To the Editor.) The Inflammatory attack made upon the State University by Mr. J. H. Fletch er, of St, John, In your Issue of May 2, contains a number of statements that I cannot permit to go unchallenged. Mr. Fletcher charges the alumni of the Uni versity with subsidizing the newspapers of the State. This charge is as ridicu lous as It Is false. I challenge Mr. Fletcher, or any other man, to produce the least particle of evidence that the University alumni have made Improper use of money during the campaign for the passage of the University bill. Mr. Fletcher's chief ground of complaint lies in the fact that a newspaper published at St. John, which was at one time op posed to the University bill, has changed front and now favors the bill. The truth of the whole matter Is that the editors of this paper, along with a good many other men in the Stats, were for a time fooled by the attacks of such men as Mr. Fletcher upon the University, but, like a large majority of our citizens, they are beginning to see that this referendum movement was not begun in good faith and that defeat of the bill at the hands of the voters would give Oregon a black eye In all parts of the Union. The edit ors of the St. John paper need no defense at my bands, and nobody of consequence thinks their present views on the Uni versity appropriation bill have been moulded because of financial considera tions. Mr. Fletcher calls attention to the al leged "log rolling" In the Legislature, and alludes to the University bill as a "graft." I wish to call his attention to the visit of more than half of the legis lators to the University campus, and the almost unanimous vote by which the bill passed both houses. Mr. Fletcher raises a great hue, and cry about the "continu ous" appropriation, claiming that we shouldn't bind our children and our children's children to a proposition of this kind. He ought to know that a law can be amended or repealed, either by the Legislature or by the peo ple, at any time, should Its workings prove unsatisfactory. This great howl about the "continuous" appropriation Is sheer nonsense. Mr. Fletcher delights in alluding to the University as the "rich man's school." but he forgets that more than half of the students at Eugene are working their own way through college. I beg to as sure Mr. Fletcher and the other enemies of the University that the alumni are not today "down on their marrow bones begging and fawning upon the men whom they have fought, insulted, reviled and misrepresented." We don't expect such men as Mr. Fletcher and others of his kind to vote for the bill, but we do be lieve that It will be approved by the peo ple, for we have faith In the fairness, honesty and Intelligence of the electorate of the State of Oregon, and we know that these elements will prevail In a con test against cranks and demagogues. C. N, McARTHUR. W. J. BRYAN'S SHORTHORN BULL. I. fitter's Name Appears Once and Own er's 135 Times In one Commoner. From a. speech by Representative Roden berg, of Illinois, in the House. And now, Mr. Chairman, we are about to enter upon another Presidential cam paign. I do not know Just what the paramount Issue will be this year, as I am not In the confidence of the Demo cratic party. But I am prepared for al most any old thing. I would not be surprised to find in the Democratic platform this year a declaration to the effect that the only clean, legitimate, untainted money in the United States is that which Is derived from the lecture platform and from the publication of the .Commoner, a newspaper which. with a becoming sense of modesty, sel dom mentions the name of Its editor oftener than 100 times In any one Issue. I happen, however, to have here a copy of the Issue of the Commoner of February 28 and March 6, 190$, in the first of which Mr. Bryan's name appears by actual count 135 times, . and In the latter 108 times, and It Isn't a very large paper at that only 16 pages, with one name ever present. But so Intent Is the editor on keeping that name before the public that even the advertising columns does not escape, as Is evidenced by the follow ing notice: FOR SALE Aji excellent registered Short horn bull, ona year old; In fine condition; color, red. W. J. Bryan, Lincoln, Neb. The pedigree of this "excellent, reg istered Shorthorn bull Is not given, but in all probability be Is a lineal descend ant of the $1600 blooded heifer which we are told Mr. Bryan purchased shortly after he was overtaken by the prosperity that followed the election of bis Repub llcan opponent in 1S96. TIPPING YOUR HOST'S SERVANTS This Evil Custom Has Not Yet Invaded the Sunny Southland. Louisville Courier-Journal. The London Times pauses in the midst of world events to hurl a thun derbolt at the tipping evil, recalling the somewhat pathetic story of the poor gentleman who, when departing from a nobleman's house, gave a guinea each to the -servitors who handed him his hat and his cloak and his cane, but re fused to take his gloves upon the score that they were not worth the guinea. The Times asks: "Why should not the custom of gifts to Individual servants, unless for such casual work as that of a railway por ter, or to those who have been in close personal attendance upon the giver, be as completely abolished by common consent and usage as the practice of tipping Individual servants at a club?" Tipping In country houses, com plained of by the New York Times, which reprints the Thunderer's protest, has not invaded the South. In the East it is a manifestation of American toadyism that copies the vices rather than the virtues of European society. It will probably be a long time before the South gets so far away from its traditions that a host or hostess will allow guests to defray the expenses of tne nousenold by paying the servants, but there Is no prospect that either dis cussion or legislation will disestablish the system that is now universally In vogue at places of public entertain ment. Thunder Cause Insanity and Death. Marshall (Mich.) Dispatch to Philadelphia Record. Robert Williamson, aged 64, for a dozen years mentally deranged by the approach of thunderstorms, only to recover as soon as the atmospheric disturbances had passed, at last has lost his life because of one of them His body has been found In a drain ditch four miles from here. Friday a severe electrical storm arose. At the first rumbling sound of the thun der he disappeared from his home. As soon as he was missed a search was In stituted, more than 200 citizens taking part. Whether Williamson was struck by lightning or became exhausted and died from exposure has not been deter mined. Bits of the Standpatters Arithmetic. Philadelphia Record. According to the standpatters In Con gress the duty on printing paper adds nothing to Its cost, and the newspaper publishers are, therefore, making a great cry about nothing. By the same token the Dalzell duties of $30 a ton on tin- plate, $10 a ton on building materials of steel, and $7.84 a ton on steel rails add nothing to the prices which American consumers pay for those articles. In the standpatters' arithmetic two and two make five. Hardly. Ashland Tidings. Will Mr. Chamberlain withdraw? Well, that isn't in. the . gams hardly. Initiative and Referendum Measures For the information of voters there will be published on this page from day to day brief summaries of the Initiative and refer endum measures to bo submitted to the people at the June election, together with a short statement of the arguments for and against each. NUMBER 9. . The Equal Suffrage amendment, up on which the people of Oregon must vote at the June election, is a measure which has been before the voters of Oregon before, and which is probably the most generally understood of all the bills and amendments now await ing popular approval or disapproval. It applies to Section 2 of Article 2 of the Constitution, prescribing the qual ification of voters. The amendment does not change the section as It an ready stands except by adding the following clause, "It is expressly pro vided hereby that no one shall be de nied the right to vote on account of sex." . The proposed amendment was pre pared and the petitions therefore cir culated by the Equal Suffrage Asso ciation, and thus the amendment pre sented before the people of the State under the Initiative. The Equal Suf frage Association also filed an argu ment In behalf of the measure, show ing, among other things tne growth of public sentiment in favor of Equal Suffrage, as Indicated by the fact that in 1884 the amendment received 11,233 votes, in 1900 it received 26.265 votes, and in 1906, 36,902 votes. The leaders In the movement assert the Intention to keep on submitting the amendment until votes enough have been secured to carry It They ask that they be not compelled to repeat the struggle again. Their claim to the right to vote is based upon the proposition that It is a fundamental, Inalienable right. It Is pointed out that enfranchisement will enlarge the opportunities of those wo men who wish to vote without en croaching upon the rights or liberties of those who do not. In addition to the arguments advanced by the Asso ciation, those commonly heard In be half of the amendment are that en franchisement of women will improve public morals, that women are more intelligent than a large portion of the men who vote, and that denial of the right to vote Is taxation without rep resentation. An argument against the amend ment has been filed by an association opposed to the extension of the suf frage to women. They protest against the adoption of the amendment be cause suffrage Is a burdensome duty from which women have been relieved and which many do not desire to as sume, because the need of America Is not an Increased quantity, but an Im proved quality of vote; because women are now represented by household suffrage and endure no practical in justice which suffrage would remedy; because women should devote their energies to the more efficient per formance of their present work In stead of diverting them to new fields of activity, and because political equal ity will deprive women of special priv ileges hitherto enjoyed and impose upon them the duty of office holding, serving upon Juries, etc. NEW YORK'S SOCIAL THOUSAND. That Number Now "In Society," With Monkey-Dinner Spirit Cast Ont. New York World. Frederick Townsend Martin says that there are 1100 persons in New York so ciety today. It does none of us any harm to know this, and the rise of a social aristocracy from an arbitrary four hun dred to a number almost three times as great must be a matter, of no ordinary moment. Mr. Martin is a modest -captain of eleven hundred. He shuns alike the inter viewer and the bizarre entertainer. To get into society, according to his stand ard, one must be tactful and have one's self perfectly in hand all the time. "It you feel seedy you must not act seedy." Personality is a social quality. "The woman who wins Is the woman who has an extraordinary intuition of the right thing to do and the right people to know." But at this point along" comes Mm'. Anna Gould, who explains for herself and some compatriots that "if we favor marriages with Europeans It Is becHusa we desire to elevate our standing. We seek on the old continent the ideal quali ties which we have not had time to real ize In the United States." The fruits iC this ideal despair have been for sonio time manifest. Mme. Gould evidently gave way too soon. "Behave yourself," Mr. Martin is already saying to his army of the unem ployed. "Eliminate spectacular and ri diculous entertainments. Originality is perilous, Dut is not always ludicrous." Besides, he laments society's absurd and narrowing division into sets and cliques. With the monkey-dinner spirit cast out of New York society, the forces recruited to 1100, the ranks united under a standard of elevated joy and Frederick Townseml Martin in command, it may no longer be necessary for the suffering American gill to look to the French aristocracy this Is quoting Mme. Gould again "as the last storehouse of the refinements of which Americans are lcnorant." A FEW SQUIBS. Mr . "I can remember the day when you begged me to say the word that would make you happy for life." Mr. "I know but you said the wrong word." Life. "Are you waiting for me, dear?" she said coming dc-wnatairs at last, fixing her hat "Waiting?" exclaimed ' the Impatient man; "no, not waiting sojourning!" Yonkers Statesman. , Richard Croker Is aggrieved because a British paper says his father was a black smith. The chances are. however, that no body ever asked his father whers he Rochester Post-Express. "You must be very careful with your daughter, Mrs. Comeup. She has a rapidly growing mentality." "Oh, gracious, doctor! Will she have to have on operation to cure it?" Baltimore American. "What forced you to become crooked?" asked the magistrate of the prisoner be fore him. "Trying to make both ends your Honor." was the more or less satis factory reply. Cleveland Leader. Hewitt Figures won't lie. Jewett Th.' what I tell ths people I meet in business, but they won't believe me. Hewitt What Is your business? Jewett I'm collector for a gas company. Town and Country. Cltiman You ought to know mm.ihhi. about flora and that sort of thing. Tell ma what Is a "forget-me-not?" Subbubs Why. it's a piece of string that your wife ties around your finger when you no. In town on an errand. Philadelphia Press. "What way has re sTen or imAlrfn1 Donal'?" "Weel, it's no slch a pleasure after a', for ye ken a buddy's aln tebaccu costs ower muckle; and if ye're smokin' anither buddy's, ye hao to ram yer pipe sae tight It'll no draw." Punch. Doctor The room seems cold. Mrs. Hoo ligan. Have you kept the thermometer at seventy, as I told you? Mrs. Hooligan Shure, an' Oi hav, docther. There's th' dlvillsh thing in a toombler av warm wathnr at this clissid minnut. Judge. Mr. Brownback I done met old Cnmei Bludd on de street dis mawnin', and by de time I had spurlated wld him fl' minutes dat whits man had done called me a hlnrlc Hah no less dan twice! Mr. Wombat Twice? Uh-well, s&h, de Cunnel sho' gits slower and lower do older he grows r-uclc.