Morning Oregonian., May 12, 1908, Page 8, Image 8

8
,TIIE -?rNINO OREGONIAN. TUESDAY, MAT 12, 1908.
SUBSCRIPTION BATES.
INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. " '
(By Mall.)
Pally, Sunday Included, one year. . .IS.OO
l'slly, fnnday Included, six months.... 4 25
lially. Sunday Included, three months., it 2S
Lally, Sunday Included, one month 73
laily, without Sunday, one year 6.00
lsily. without Sunday, six months.... 3.25
Ially, without Sunday, three montha.. 1.7j
Dally, without Sunday, one month -60
Sunday, one year 2..V)
Weekly, one year (Issued Thursday)..-. J-Bj
Sunday and weekly, one year 8-50
BY CARRIER.
llally. Sunday Included, one year 0 00
Dally, Sunday Included, one month 75
HOW TO REMIT Send postofflce money
order, express order or personal check on
your local .bank. Stamp, coin or currency
are at the sender's risk. Give postofflce ad
dress In full. including county and state.
rOSTAGE RATES.
Entered at Portland. Oregon, Postofflce
Second-Class Matter.
10 to 14 pages ..".1 cent
1 to 2S Pages 2 cents
80 to 44 Pagea 3 cents
4 to 80 Pages cents
Foreign pontage, double rates.
IMPORTANT The postal laws are' strict.
Newspapers on which pontage Is not fully
prepaid are not forwarded to destination.
EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE.
Tho 6. C. Beckwlth Special Agency New
York, rooms 48-M Tribune building. Chi
cago, rooms 810-62 Tribune building.
KEPT ON SALE.
Chicago Auditorium Annex; Poatofflce
News Co., 178 Dearborn street; Empire News
Stand.
St. Paul, Minn. N. Bte. Marie. Commer
cial Station
Colorado Springs. Colo. H. H. Bell.
Dearer Hamilton Kendrlck. 906-B11
Seventeenth street: Pratt Book Store, 1214
Fifteenth street: H. P. Hansen. 8. Rice.
George Carson.
Kansae City. Mo. Rlckaecker Cigar Co..
Ninth and Walnut: Yoma News Co.
Minneapolis M. J. cavanaugh, 50 South
Third.
Cincinnati. O. Yoma News Co.
Cleveland. O. James Pushaw. 30T Super
ior street
Washington, r. C. Ebbltt House. Four
teenth and F streets: Columbia News Co.
Pittsburg. Pa. Fort Pitt Newt Co.
Philadelphia. Pa. Ryan's Theater Ticket
Office. Penn News Co.; A. P. Kemble, 3735
Lancaster avenue.
New York CHy Hotallng's news stands. 1
Park Row. 38th and Broadway. 42d and
Broadway and Broadway and 20th. Tele
phone 6374. Single copies delivered; L
Jones & Co., Astor House; Broadway The-
ater New Stand; Empire Newa Stand.
Ogdra. D. I,. Boyle; Lowe Bros -11
Twfrnty-fltth street.
Omaha. Barkalow Bros., Union Station;
Mageath Stationery Co.; Kemp & Arenson.
Ies Moines, la. Mose Jacobs.
Fresno, Cal. Tourist News Co.
Sacramento, Cal Sacramento News Co..
4Tto K. street; Amos Newa Co.
Salt Lake. Moon Book A Stationery Co..
Rosenfeld & Hansen: G. W. Jewett. P. O.
corner; Stelpeck Bros. .-
Lone Beach. Cal. B. E. .Amos.
Pasadena. Cal. Amos News Co.-
San Diego. B. E. Amos.
San Jose. Emerson. -W.
Houston, Tex. International News Agency-
Dallas, Tex. Southwestern News Agent.
844 Main street; also two street wagons.
Fort Worth, Tex. Southwestern N. and
A. Agency.
Amarllla.- Tex -Tlmmons & Pope.
ban Francisco. Foster & Orear; Ferry
News Stand; Hotel St. Francis News Stand:
1..; Parent; N. Wheatley; Falrmount Hotel
News Stand; Amos News Co.: United; News
Agency. -14Vs Eddy street: B. E. Amos, man
ager three wagons; worlds a... -ozo a.
butter street.
Oakland. Cal.V-W. H. Johnson, Fourteenth
and Franklin-streets; N. Wheatley;-Oakland
-News Stand; B- E. Amos, manager five
wagons; Welllngham. E. O. ...
.Mtlelri. Nev. Louie Fallln.
Eureka. Cal. Call-Chronicle Agency: Eu
reka Newa Co.
PORTLAND, TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1808.-
AN INSTANCE IN OCR CONSTITU
TIONAL SYSTEM.
It is not probable that Congress will
pass or even attempt to pass an act to
control;the movements of-the Army
and Navy. The august members of
Congress, especially of the Senate, like
It not that the President sent the fleet
to the Pacific without consulting them.
But the Constitution, In direct terms,
makes the President ' supremo over
the Army' and Navy;' and Roosevelt
is not the-man to shirk any responsi
bility or to renounce any authority
placed in his hands.
The origin-of . this authority of the
President to command the military
and naval forces of the country, like
every other feature of our National
system, Is a curious inquiry. Indi
rectly it came from our English an
cestors; but the King of England has
practically lost what the President of
America Btill possesses. The King
now is subject to his ministry, which
In turn is subject to the House of
Commons. The. President of the
United States Is under no such restric
tions or limitations. It means that the.
English Constitution has undergone
changes which ours has not.
. Ve took up our constitutional sys
tem. In the colonial stage and fixed It
oy written constitution wnere it is.
The English have made changes In
their constitutional system since then.
Theirs is in a fluid state. We have
fastened burs in fhe glacial Ice of a
written constitutional system.
The President of the United States
may station the Army or move the
Navy as he pleases. He Is not obliged
to consult even his so-called Ministry.
But King Edward does nothing. The
Admiralty controls the British .Navy,
the Ministry controls the Admiralty,
and the House of Commons creates
the Ministry. . That' is, the British gov
ernment Is a committee of . the House
;f Commons.
Compared with the English system,
our own presents a remarkable In
stance of arrested development. We
are back in the times of the colonial
charters and of the English system as
If existed before our Revolution. Our
Constitution is a petrified product of
our pre-revolutionary times.
By our Constitution the President
was made Commander-in-Chief, be
cause that was the outcome of the
system prevailing in the colonies at
the time of the Revolution, when the
Governors of the colonies, repre
senting, the King, each of them
controlled the military forces. - The
Governor was recognized as the King's
high commissioner, who was to be
General-in-Chief of the forces of the
colony. This goes far back -beyond
the Revolution. It was common to
all the colonies, and from, the system
and practice of the times,; when the
National Constitution was formed, It
was Incorporated into the Government
of the United States, and the. power
to command the military' and naval
forces was conferred upon 'the Presi
dent. The review possesses historical In
terest. It shows is Just where We are,
on this matter of present concern, by
showing us how we reached this con
dition. It shows also the want of
flexibility in our constitutional system.
Ex-President Cleveland Is being
nursed back to health by his devoted
wife,, slowly because of his age, but if
is believed surely. While in the
ctourse of nature the days of his years
will be relatively few, the public will
rejoice with his family and friends In
what promises to be. a new lease of
life. As long as physical discomfort
and constantly baffled energy do not
offset-the enjoyment that a reasoning
mind 'derives from life. Its continuance
fs a- boon . for Which all may well be
grateful. Otherwise, most people, es
pecially those with a long life behind
them, will agree with Mrs. Sigourney,
a gentle poetess of New England,
once familiar to the schoolboys and
schoolgirls of the land when, contem
plating the sufferings and- anxiety of
chronic invalidism, she exclaimed:
Oh. small Is the pleasure existence can give.
When the fear we shall die only proves that
we live.
HOUSE AND LAND.
"But we are not opposed to prop
erty in land, nor to private ownership
of land." say the single taxers. Oh,
no! You are not opposed to private
property in land! All you wish to do
is to burden land with taxes so that
It can no longer be of use or profit
to the owner, and so that the owner
no longer can hold it, but will be
compelled to sacrifice the land and
everything he has struggled for, to
secure his independence.
Oh, no! You don't Intend to take
the man's house. You wish merely to
take the ' land it stands on! But if
you pull all the value from under the
house, what will the house that you
propose to exempt from taxation be
worth to. the owner?
You will confiscate the value of the
land,-but will leave the house. But
"You take my house when you do
take the prop that does sustain my
house." And "you take my life
when you do take the means whereby
I live."
A high dignitary of the church be
came a high military officer. In his
military life he was excessively pro
fane. One day a brother remonstrated
with him for his profanity. "But," said
he, "I swear as the General, not as
the Bishop." "So?" was the rejoinder.
"Then when God sends the General
to hell for his sins, where will the
Bishop be?" Where will your house
be when the land Is cut from under it?
A HARMLESS FANCY.
Every week Colliers' Weekly prints
on its cover an ebullition of pictorial
soul disturbance which is supposed to
represent the altitudes of "art." Some
times these immortal productions are
highly moral, but sometimes they
seem to be otherwise. Not long ago
one was exhibited to a thrilling world
which caught the critical notice of the
great and good Anthony Comstock and
drew' from his immaculate pen a word
of caution to Colliers'.
The picture was of a species which
must be seen to be appreciated. In all
its lovely suggestiveness. It portrayed a
soldier somewhat the worse for grog
riding on an elephant. In his com
pany, and doubtless discoursing on
soul culture as they rode along, was
a damsel. We- prefer not to say too
explicitly just what kind of a damsel
it was. It seems more discreet to let
the reader imagine for himself just
the sort of maiden who would trust
herself to the unchaperoned com
panionship of a soldier under the in
fluence of strong drink. The expres
sion of her virgin countenance was
anything but chaste and the position
of her limbs was such as to indicate
that endearments from the drunken
military person would not be very
vigorously repulsed.
In fact, the endearments were
plainly under way as the edifying
couple progressed toward Mandalay,
which was the goal of their pilgrimage
according to the legend of the picture.
The elephant driver, the mahout, un
derstood very well what was going on
if. we-may" judge from his expression,
for he was looking over his. shoulder
at the pair with a lecherous leer.
It would not be worth while to refer
to this dubious 'episode were it not
for the naivete of Colliers7 reply to the
pious Arifhori-y's animadversions. Col
liers' calls this exceedingly question
able picture a "harmless fancy." We
wonder what .kind of a fancy would
not be harmless In the opinion of that
great organ of reformation, and purity.
Short of an actual photograph taken
In a den of vice It Is hard to conceive
o? anything worse than this cover pic
ture. -
A STRONG INDICTMENT.
The National conference of Chari
ties and Corrections, now in session in
Richmond, Va,, has. given for6Ible ut
terance to the evils that follow In the
train of factory work for, children.
The lbcredible part of this wide ar
raignment of child labor is that any
human being, possessed of even the
ordinary Instincts of humanity, has
to be remonstrated with against its
evils. Yet so cruel is gijeed, whether
corporate or parental, and so in
sentient is that morbid blight known
as parental irresponsibility that, pre
sentment and argument failing, the
law-making powers of American civil
ization are urged on every hand to
throw every safeguard, supported by
penalty, that is possible, around the
children in factory districts, to the end
that childhood may be exempt from a
strain of toll that only the full-grown
human being can support without
bodily and mental Injury.
"The evil of driving children at the
wheel under steam pressure when
their frail bodies and limbs are unable
to stand the terrible punishment and
strain" Is an evil so conspicuous In Its
tendency toward race murder, that the
evil of race suicide so sharply arraigned
In high places becomes 'a blessing by
comparison. One of the most telling
counts in the Indictment of humanity
upon this point, in all of Its bitter and
persistent presentment before the open
court of public opinion, was made In
St. Paul's Church, Richmond, last
Sunday evening in connection with
the work of the organization above
named, by Miss J. M. Gordon, wherein
she said: "In New Orleans the negro
and the Jew are not to be found In
factories jand department stores, that
work fallitig to little white-faced,
shrunken-chested, curved-back chil
dren of Christians."
Here," Indeed, is Christianity under
double Indictment first, In that it dis
criminates in response to the demands
of race prejudice against able-bodied.
Intelligent workers, and again in that,
in so doing, it dwarfs the bodies and
dulls the minds of the children of a
preferred class. For this discrimina
tion, adult white laborers, backed by
their prejudices and upheld by their
unions, are themselves to blame. It
is a oqnblnation of greed and preju
dice that must be met and overcome in
the factories of the South, and only
less In those of the North, because
Conditions- are different. Children
In factory districts are entitled to the
rights of childhood, to growth untram
meled by severe, constant.arid exhaust
ing labor, to protection in immature
years and to education and training
for the later battle of life. Laws look
ing to these ends are necessary and
their provisions should be drastic.
Compulsion is a good and necessary
thing where moral suasion finds the
moral Instinct dull and irresponsive.
Workers for reform of the abuses of
child labor, lay and legislative,
should, and generally do, meet the
sympathy, Indorsement and aid of the
intelligent masses. When, however,
compulsion seeks to throw the safe
guards of humanity and of far-reaching
physical and economic conditions
around child life in the homes of un
thrift or of sodden ignorance, and en
counters there the low instincts of
petty avarice, it has a work to do
which law unaided cannot compass.
But it Is dnly when corporate greed,
in collusion with Individual greed and
race prejudice, gives preference to
child labor over that of strong-limbed
adults that law meets Its most subtle
and baffling opposition, and forces
brow-beaten Christianity into shame
faced silence before its accusers.
CRYING FOR QUARTER.
The grin which spread over the
Japanese countenance a few weeks
ago when China was bluffed and bul
lied into releasing the filibustering
Japanese steamer Tatsu Maru, has
suffered a change. It began to vanish
shortly after announcement of the
boycott which the Chinese had placed
on all Japanese goods, and it has since
been replaced with a look of deep dis
may, varied at times with anger and
resentment over the alleged effrontery
of the Chinese in daring to oppose the
bully of the Far East- The boycott
has got well past the point where it
could be regarded as a joke, and Japan
Is . showing a disposition to cry for
quarter. Ever since the men of Nip
pon defeated the Chinese, more than a
dozen years ago, they have taken no
pains to conceal their feelings of dis
dain for what they regard as the
weaker race.
This feeling has been heightened by
the success of the bulldozing Japanese
policy in Corea, and by the Chinese
protests against Japanese aggression
in Alanchuria, and China is now in a
good position to "feed fat" some "of
these ancient grudges which she has
against Japan. The boycott comes at
an exceptionally unfavorable time for
Japan, engulfed as that country is in
an avalanche of debt and with unusual
necessity for finding every market pos
sible for the output of her factories
and fields. There are many features
of the boycott that are highly objec
tionable to the people of. civilized
countries, and for that reason it Is un
doubtedly more effective in a seml-civ-llized
country, like China, than it
would be in any country which had
reached a higher grade of civilization.
The United States is in a position to
know something about -the ability of
the Chinese to conduct a boycott, for
this country lost many millions in
trade with the .Flowery Kingdom
through the boycott placed against us
in certain provinces in China. '
The boycott against this country
was instituted without provocation.
and for that reason did not become
general throughout the empire; but it
caused a heavy loss for the United
States. In the case of Japan there
was abundant provocation, and the de
sire to get even is universal through
out the empire. Japan is protesting,
and has already learned, to her regret,
that the Tatsu Maru outrage was a
very expensive piece of bullying; but
it is not at all clear how she can have
the boycott called off. Eventually rep
aration- for the original insult may be
necessary. . It will be humiliating to
the Japanese, but the country has
played fast and loose with the rights
of all other rountries in Manchuria,
and the punishment she is now receiv
ing through the boycott will excite no
sympathy from the rest of the world.
A GREAT CONVENTION.
The conference of Governors which
meets at the White House tomorrow
with the President of the United
United in the chair will be a memor
able event. It marks the beginning
of an entirely new policy in the man
agement of our natural resources.
Hitherto it has been the practice of
this country to allow the first comer
or the best fighter, or the most cun
ning manipulator of the law, to "hog"
the whole of whatever the Almighty
has provided for the American people.
The universal rule In disposing of our
coal, our forests, our public lands has
been graft, prodigality, waste, short
sightedness. With a recklessness which
will look like insanity to our children
we have hurried in every possible way
to get rid of the treasures which ought
to have been an eternal inheritance for
the generations of Americans. Con
sider how the coal beds have been
wasted, for example. Scientists esti
mate that of the coal lying In the
earth not one-half is mined. The re
mainder is passed by and so buried
beneath debris that it is forever lost,
while of the available energy in the
fraction that comes to the surface of
the earth only about 10 per cent is
utilized. The rest is lost in cumbrous
furnaces, where no effort is made to
save, or it goes up in smoke.
If we turn to the forests of the
country the prospect is no more comforting.-
It Is possible so to harvest
the timber In a forest tha there shall
be an annual crop. The rubbish is
cleared away, fires are prevented, new
growth steadily replaces what is re
moved. The forest becomes a per
petual possession, though the individ
ual trees Ohange as the years pass.
But the custom in harvesting our
forests has been, not to preserve them
for future generations as well as the
present, but to leave wreck and ruin
behind, so that we lose not only the
forests but also the soil of the farms,
the navigable waters of the rivers, and
the sources of irrigation reservoirs.
All this loss we submit to in order
that a few multi-millionaires may
gather dowries for their daughters
that will attract the favorable atten
tion of broken-down European nobles.
The natural resources which the
Almighty gave to the people of the
United States are largely going to re
store the depleted fortunes of the
European nobility. As a permanent
endowment this country gets little or
nothing from many of them. Is not
the prospect a delightful one to con
template? No sensible and disinterested person
wishes to see this process of maniacal
prodigality continue. Everybody who
has an atom of patriotism in his soul
wishes to see it stopped. What then
shall we say of those who bewail what
has already been done? There is a
group of Senators at Washington who
lose no opportunity to , attack the
President for the wise measures he
has taken to preserve the relics of our
forests. There are newspapers which
talk tearfully of the "Rooseveltizlng,"
or "Pinchotizing" "of the forests and
National ranges. Would to heaven
they had been Rooseveltized long ago
before so much of them had been re
duced to barren deserts. The United
States would have been the better for
It and future generations would have
rejoiced. One of the principal projects
which the convention of Governors
will take up will be the creation of a
great Appalachian National forest to
run from the White Mountains in lTew
Hampshire to Georgia and take' in the
relics of the hardwood forests which
were once the pride and glory of the
Eastern seaboard. Every respectable
newspaper in the East favors this
project. The Governors of the prin
cipal .states affected have united in a
petitfon to Congress to establish the
reserve. Cities like Pittsburgh, which
have been swept repeatedly by floods
that grow more and more disastrous
as the forests disappear, have joined
In the plea; the whole intelligent pop
ulation of the original thirteen states
of the Union voice the demand. Thus
far, however. Congress has taken no
action. It has been deaf to the voice
of the country, although every year
the states of Carolina and - Georgia
suffer enough damage, from floods to
equal the entire cost of the reserve.
Congress remains inactive because Mr.
Cannon can see no use for this great
work of National salvation and at
present Congress consists of Mr.
Cannon with some occasional assist
ance from Mr. Aldrich.
Mr. Cannon says he is an optimist
about this matter. The country has
managed to get along very well with
out an Appalachian reserve and Jie
thinks it always can manage. He is
like a man who receives from his
father a ' great estate well provided
with woodland, mines and fertile soil.
He fells the forests and gambles away
the proceeds. . He exhausts the mines
and spends the money for drink. He
crops the fields until they will raise
nothing more. Then one clay he is
reproached for his conduct. "What
will your son do with this wrecked
and ruined estate when you are
gone?" The man, agenuine Mr.
Cannon, replies nonchalantly, "Oh, I
am an optimist. I have managed to
get along very well without taking any
care of the estate and I guess my son
can dr the same." That is the kind
of an optimist Mr. Cannon is. A man
who cares nothing for those who are
to follow him provided he himself has
enough to eat, drink and waste. Nor
must we heed the walls of those dis
ingenuous partisans who cry that the
country already has enough reserves.
It has not nearly enough. The single
Canadian state of British 'Columbia
has more reserved forest' than the
whole United States, and It fs a sig
nificant fact that British Columbia is
the goal to which our American farm
ers are flocking by tens of thousands
to better their condition. It is the
duty of every citizen of the United
States' to study the quVstlon of the
preservation of the relics, of our nat
ural resources and hold up the hands
of the progressive members of this
great, epoch-making convention.
There was something of pathos In
the farewell of Admiral Evans to his
fleet. A brave man's adieu to his life
work as he stands upon its farther
verge, disabled by the conditions that
time and hardship have early imposed
upon his physical frame, is in the very
nature of things sad. Yet with the
record of long years of faithful service
behind him, as in this Instance, round
ing out in the plaudits of the Nation
that from boyhood he has served, the
feeling of satisfaction and of gratified
ambition has a power to soothe the
sadness of farewell and insure happi
ness to the years of life that remain.
With health restored and In this genial
afterglow of service may brave "Bob"
Evans live yet many years in serenity
and contentment. -
There has been an unfortunate
omission. Should Governor Chamber
lain be elected to the Senate the Secre
tary of State, under the hateful old
system established by the fathers, will
become Acting Governor. By Initia
tive amendment this could have been
obviated, and the office of Governor
passed on to URerr, or to some other
devoted advocate of Statement No.
and the rights . of the people. We
must not let another election go by
without fixing .' this, by initiative
amendment. To cut this old Constitu
tion to pieces by initiative statutes
is now the highest privilege of citi
zenship. -
Eugene Palmer, who, with all his
feeble might, is opposing the appro
priation for the- maintenance and bet
terment of the University of Oregon,
says that tuition should be required
of students in the University. That
question is not at issue at this time
and Its statement Is wholly irrelevant.
"Just think," cries the Rev. Charles
True Wilson, "how many Merry
Widow hats might be bought with
money now spent for drink!" Ah .In
deed. How many Merry Widow hats,
by the way, has the good brother
bought with money he didn't spend in
saloons?
Voters generally will not study the
initiative and referendum propositions.
But if they should study them, and
thereupon should eliminate the purely
selfish ones, and the merely crazy or
cranky ones, they would find but an
infinitesimal remainder in the list.
"They say" California Republicans
will instruct for Roosevelt. The -name
of this state is right up at the head
of the list on roll call. Suppose Cali
fornia should plump her 20 votes for
Roosevelt at the outset, would It
stampede the convention?
It must be a matter of interest to
admirers of Statement No. 1 that Mr.
Cake has "weakened" on It. He re
fuses to urge the defeat of Republican
candidates for the Legislature, who
decline ft pledge to it.
Senator Rayner now arises to ask
the President a few pertinent ques
tions. The Senator appears to be
laboring under a delusion of some
kind that the President will be un
willing to answer.
Mr. Chamberlain as a Roosevelt
Democrat will, of course, support
Roosevelt for President it he shall be
nominated. . Ask him.
Arson has been found to be a crime
in Crook County. The world moves.
The Portland baseball team does
flrstyate when nobody's looking-
TAX SCHEME FOR THE RICH
If Ameadmrnt Cnrrlea, Poor Will B
Made to Sutter.
PORTLAND, Or., May 11. Tb the
Editor.) The proposed constitutional
amendment exempting much property
from taxation may mean a critical era
for Oregon. So sweeping a change In
our method of taxation means a cessa
tion of present business conditions and
the taking of a new start on the favorite
lines of socialism. Its advocates prom
ise a great change in business affairs.
Yes. it means a genuine upheaval in
all public and private affairs. Shakes
peare represents Hamlet as hesitating
to fly .from the ille "he knew well to
others which he knew not. Mark
Hanna is famous for saying, "Let well
enough alone." Sagacious workmen
hesitate to do anything that might
bankrupt their employer, for fear of
losing their employment. Mechanics
know how much easier it is to tear
down a good structure than to clear
away the debris and rebuild; especially
is the latter avoided when there is no
pay for rebuilding.
Every one of the foregoing sugges
tions, and many others, will be realized
if we make a mistake in causing a rad
ical change In our system of taxation.
It is not claimed our taxes will be
less: in fact, with our need of better
highways, more bridges, more and bet
ter public buildings, it would, seem
that we need new fields of taxation,
rather than cut off the eupply we now
have.
If we Interfere with our present
growth, to avoid giving the wages of
a week or a month in payment of
taxes. It may be months, possibly
years; before the new experiment can
supply employment.
It Is not a new statute that is offered
us, one that a Legislature can amend,
but a change in our constitution that
cannot be speedily amended.
The seeming Inducement effered us Is
to expmpt many of us from taxation,
and reducing' the tax of others by add
ing it to the land tax.
Our teachers who profe.s to be heirs
to the Henry George tax theory, say
they will not tax land, only land values;
but in explaining its effect on unoccu
pied land, they say "There will be no
temptation to anyone to hold land, ex
pecting a future increase In value, when
that Increase; is certain to be eaten up
in taxes." -In plain words, they do not
expect to buy lands but confiscate them
with high taxes.
The gift they offer in exempting homes)
from taxation Is a strange gift, because
the exemptions must all be made up
by adding to the land values on which
the home stands, and the sale of the
land carries the home with it.
The cottage standing by the palace
will be assessed just the pa me as the
palace, and the simple furniture of the
hut will add just as much to the land
assessment under the cottage as will the
gorgeous furniture of the palace affect
the ground on which It stands.
. e
When the Values" above the ground are
canceled, the as3essor has no dividing
line between the slums and Nob' Hill.
Not only is tills true of city and town,
but the poorly fenced farm, with a
shanty, must be assessed the same as
Palo Alto. If the proposed exemptions
work as is claimed they will the fine
homes and factories are chiefly In
the city the exemptions will add to.
the burden of the farmer. The houses
and stock on the average farm consti
tute a small part of the assessment and
should the exemptions be made the in
creased land value will be higher than
present assessments of the whole.
Exempting -stock on the large range
is partial and unfair and needs only be
mentioned to be condemned.
We are told that vacant city property
does not pay enough tax. Carry out
our single tax; confiscate the vacant
lots to the state, and then they do not
pay a cent, the Increase falls where you
say it is now too heavy. You say "build
them up." This country Is to last for
centuries and. if built up suddenly the
law of supply and demand would be so
outraged that the empty structures must
bring disaster and ruin to all.
The proposed exemptions favor 1 the
rich, ' not the masses, and indications
point to the avaricious rich supplying
the means to Socialists -to push this
measure, not with the idea of perma
nence, but to bring a crisis' In which
only the rich could gather in a harvest.
It is too well understood that to suspend
business and precipitate a panic, can
only be taken advantage of by the man
with spare cash in a stocking (banks
close doors), for the masses to deliber
ately Join a reckless experiment.
Using common prudence, is not this a
poor, time for Oregon to follow theorists.
No country in the world has made
such development during the present
generation as the United States. No
state has better prospects than Ore
gon, no city a finer outlook than Port
land. It is a splendid time for men who
do not want land In Oregon to sell and
try New Zealand or Manitoba. It
surely Is a poor time for men who have
or want r?al estate in Oregon to plan
its confiscation by taxation.
T. J. FORDING.
Says Mute Wife Talks Too Much.
Chicago Inter Ocean.
Chester Godman, a mute, contested his
wife's suit for separate maintenance be
cause she, also a mute, talked too much.
But the wife won.
Mrs. Godman charged her husband with
being something of a Lothario and -no be
ginner in the practice of cruelty. God
man said in return that he was constantly
being nagged by bis wife and his life
made miserable.
','How did she nag you?" asked Judge
Barnes in the Superior Court, before
whom the suit .was tried.
"She scolded all the time. It was incom
patibility," signed Godman on his fingers.
"Did you talk back?"
"For a while I couldn't; I hurt my
hand."
"If you'd shut your eyes you couldn't
have heard," the attorney remarked.
"Did these naggings come at night,"
asked the court.
"No; they were not curtain lectures,"
said Godman's attorney. "Godman can't
hear in the dark."
Chicago Men on Oath,
Washington, D. C, Dispatch.
Whether Chicago men can be believed
when testifying under oath, or whether,
as a rule, Chicago men are so truthful
that It is unnecessary to put them under
oath, was a question discussed In a very
amusing manner at the hearing of the
select committee appointed to Inquire
into the practices of the so-called paper
trust.
Medlll McCormick. of the Chicago
Tribune had beentestifying. When he
had finished, Chairman Mann's -attention
was directed to the fact that Mr. McCor
mick had not been sworn.
"Oh, that makes no difference; he
comes from Chicago," said Chairman
Mann, who represents a Chicago district.
"Do you mean," rejoined Representa
tive Stafford, of the committee, with a
smile, "that It would do no good to
swear a Chicago man?"
' There was, a loud guffaw, in which
Messrs. Mann and McCormick joined.
Kills Horse With Blow of His Fist.
Indianapolis News.
With one powerful blow, with his
bare fist, Harry Hill, an Indianapolis
bartender, knocked down and instantly
killed a full-grown horse, owned by
August Blue. The feat wa executed
on a prominent street-corner to settle
a wager of 10. Mr. Blue suffers the
additional loss of his horse, valued at
150.
Hill, who formerly worked In a packing-house,
has posted a $500 forfeit
that he can kill 12 steers In 12 minutes
with his fiet.
MR. BRYAX'S CHANCES AT DENVER
Xew York Herald's Table Showa He
Will Be Nominated.
The New York Herald last Monday
printed the following table showing the
strength of Mr. Bryan at that time.
The Herald thinks Mr. Bryan will un
questionably be nominated at Denver:
Total delegates In National Democratic
Convention. 1008. Necessary to nominate
under two-thirds rule, 672.
Delegates Already Instructed (or Bryan
Indiana '. 30
Illinois .14
Iowa 20
Kansas ................... 20
Nebraska . .... 16
North Dakota 8
Ohio (part) 2
Oklahoma 14
South Dakota 8
Wisconsin 2rt
Philippines ... , . ; . , 0
Total 210
Delecntes fo Be Klrcted Probably for
Bryan.
Alabama ." 23
Arkansas IS
California 20
Colorado lO
Georgia 2
Idaho H
Kentucky 2
Michigan 2X
Mississippi -. 2l
Mlssosri 3it
Montana t
Nevada B
North Carolina 24.
Ohio (part) 44
Oregon 8
South Carolina IK
Tennessee .................. 24
Texas - .)'.'
Utah 6
Vermont ........... 8
Virginia 24
Washington 10
West Virginia 14
Wyoming - 0
Arisona
District of Columbia B
Hawaii "
New Mexico 6
Total 4H
Grand total 676
Delegates Elected but lulnstructed.
Connecticut 14
New Jersey 24
New York - 7S
Maine (part) 2
Rhode Island 8
Texas 4
Total ISO
Delegates Yet to Be Elected Probably
Aaralnat Bryan.
Minnesota 22
New HaTnpshire R
Pennsylvania 6S
Total 88
Delegates Instructed (or Gray.
Delaware 6
Total '. 6
States Yet to Elect Doubtful or Uncom
mitted. Florida ID
loulslana IS
Maine tpart) 10
Maryland 10
Massachusetts 32
Puerto Rico 6
Alaska ' 6
Total OS
Probably for Bryan. 92. delegates.
For Johnson.
HE FIGHTS ONI,Y RAILROADS.
Most I'nlque Lawyer In the t'nltrd
- . States and His Methods.
Minneapolis Journal.
Out in Broken Bow, Neb., lives the most
unique lawyer in the United States Jesse
Gandy by nartie. Gandy only takes one
class of litigation a claim against a rail
road, preferably the Burlington Railroad.
Twenty years ago Gandy was a wealthy
farmer and rancher.
Gandy owned a large section of the
country in Western Nebraska. The Bur
lington Railroad wanted a right of way
through the land. Gandy donated the
land on condition that he should have a
hass over the division as long as he lived.
The railroad furnished the pass for sev
eral years. Then came a change of man
agement and Gandy's pass was cut off.
Gandy took his case to several lawyers,
but found that each of them was re
tained by the railroad and none would
take his case.
"I'll study law and fight my own case,"
said Gandy. In time he wag admitted to
the bar. His first announcement read:
"I will take all righteous rases against a
railroad and 1 will guarantee to win. If
I lose your case, I will pay the costs. If
I win your case, you pay me a part of
the costs."
For 16 years Gandy has been busy fight
ing the railroads, and especially the Bur
lington. He won't take a case unless he
is convinced the plaintiff has a good
chance of winning, and he pays all the
costs, just as his advertisement reads.
Usually he refuses to accept any fee for
his services. He Is Independently wealthy
and simply fights because he loves it and
also to "get even", with a railroad for
"dirt" done him.
Gandy also bears the reputation of be
ing the only man who ever rode a wild
buffalo bull. This he did on a wager,
staying on the animal's back for five
minutes; but he was in bed a week from
the shock.
Governor Johnson, Ball Player.
Washington, D. C Dispatch.
Representative Hammond, of Minne
sota, has a vivid Imagination and is con
sequently a good story teller. Sitting in
the Democratic cloak room, surrounded
only by tobacco smoke and Representa
tive Burleson. Mr. Hammond told about
the boyhood days of Governor Johnson.
"When Johnson was supporting his
mother and the other children of the
family." he said, "he found enough time
to learn the game of baseball from A to
Z. He was a bird on the bases and he
never was afflicted with a glass arm.
"Like every other American youth, his
greatest ambition was to be first base
man for a professional team. He was
offered a place on a team In one of the
big leagues, and the salary was tempt
ing." "And what did he do?" asked Repre
sentative Burleson, of Texas.
"He sighed and turned down the offer,"
said Hammond. "If he hadn't turned it
down, he might now be president of the
National . Baseball League, instead of
Governor of Minnesota and the next.
President of the United States."
Dog Knows Master's Shoes.
Atlantic City (N. J.) Dispatch.
Because he discovered a stranger
wearing a pair of his master's shoes,
"Jack," the watchdog In the pharmacy
of Dr. G. M. Hayes Deemer, on the
Boardwalk, pounced on James M. Rob
inson, wearer of the shoes, and held
him until the arrival of a policeman.
Robinson believed, with good reason,
that the dog might start to chew him
at any moment, and his screams caused
much excitement. Deemer had pre
sented the shoes to Robinson, who came
here from Philadelphia and was mak
ing a poor living by doing -odd Jobs.
Proudly wearing the slightly worn
foot covering, Robinson passed the
store, when the dog's delicate nose
scented his master's shoes. Robinson
Insisted on returning the shoes to their
owner rather than take another chance
of being taken for a thief by the dog
detective.
Drunken Bear Is Locked Tip.
Shamokin (Pa.) Dispatch.
The police of Shamokin, aided by the
State Constabulary, locked up a perform
ing bear on the charge of drunkenness
and kept him in a cell at the Police Sta
tion. Afterward, when he was sober, he
and his master were released and ordered
out of town.
.The bear and his master visited sev
eral saloons when they arrived here, and
the bear made a greater hit drinking beer
than he did with his dances. The specta
tors at each place encouraged him until
at night he was drunk and in bad temper.
Chief of Police -William Gibaum was
mauled when he tried to suppress the
bear, and called the State Contabulary
to his aid. The combined forces man
aged to get bruin to the Station House
and locked him up.
PROBABLY you have heard of Rev.
Charles W. Gordon, D. D., better
' known by his nom-de-plume of
Ralph - Connor, of Winnipeg. Man., the
author of "Black Rock," "The Sky Pi
lot," and other novels which" have
achieved wide popularity among home
readers? In an interview granted the
other day he describes, with a vitriolic
pen, the present tendency of American
and British literature, and his outlook is
gloomy.
"In many of Swinburne's poems, be
neath the words which flow so marvel
ously. one detects grisly. horrible
things," says Dr. Gordon. "He touches
gracefully upon things which if ex
pressed in ordinary language, would dis
gust and shock people. I consider Mrs.
Kleanor Glyn's novel) "Three Weeks.' a
literary rattlesnake. Books which leave
evil impressions wreak more spiritual
harm than vipers. In Anthony Hopes
'Double Harness' his idea of marriage is
loose, and he is like a man dancing a
tight rope over a precipice. 1 find a
bad streak in both Hall Caine and Mario
Corelll. and the philosophy of Corell! is
pretty shaky. Take the popular novel.
'Sir Richard Calmady.' written by Mrs.
St. Leger Harrison, it is ghastly. In
Kngland today Wordsworth is not popu
lar, and the people prefer the drawing
room poets. I regard the United States
as a field where can grow up a healthy,
virile, strong, wholesome literature."
It will be noticed that Dr. Gordon is
silent about Sir Uilbert Parker. Mrs. De
land. Mrs. Humphrey Ward. . Conan
Doyle, Henry James, Robnrt W. Cham
bers. William Dean Howells but why
go on? One soriously wonders if Dr.
Gordon ever dared to smoke a cigarette.
, ...
A writer in Deperhc d'Orient recalls
the story of one of the most entertaining,
and for a while successful literary fakes
ever undertaken. Prosper Merimee had
when a student often dreamed of a Jour
ney along the east coast of the Adriatic
Sea; he had read much of the habits
and traditions of the Dtilmatinns. Un
fortunately, money was lacking with
which to realize the dream. The daring
spirit which never deserted him, in this
dilemma suggested a solution which he
proposed to a young man Ampere, who
was to be his trtivellng companion that
they should write an account of their
travels first, and then go upon them on
the proceeds. Ampere lucked the heart
for such an enterprise; so Merimee him
self composed a volume of Illyrlan poetry,
which he affirmed he had collected in
Dalmatia. . Croatia. Bosnia and Herze
govina In none of which countries had
he ever set foot. He called the volume
"La Guzla." after the one-strlng"d violin
of the Balkan lands, and adorned it with
a portrait of himself rlgegd up In Dal
matian costume, with a false mustache,
and sitting cross-legged with the instru
ment on his knee. This was supposed
to be a picture of the famotiR ballad
singer Maglanovitch. So good was the
local color that the book was translated
Into Polish, and was praised by the Rus
sian poet. Pushkin, for Its fidelity to the
Blav spirit. The sale, however, was so
small that Merimee was not able to visit
the country his travels through which he
had so well described until much later In
life.
...
Elizabeth Stuart rhelps Is just now
reminiscent of an interesting period in
her literary career, the days when "The
Gates Ajar" was a new book. That was
30 years ago. If "The Gates Ajar" were
to appear today hs a new publication, she
asserts, the- book would scarcely excite
remark, so much has book sentiment
changed.
Eleanor Stuart's new novel of Italy is
entitled "The Postscript." and Is the
story of the adopted child of Esther do
Frobo, the young American widow of an
Italian nobleman, and of the scheming
of the Count di Foresti, the father of tho
child, to gain the affection of Esther.
The beauty, warmth and sensitiveness of
the author's style find full scope.
...
London, England, has a new literary
organization, a Poets' Club, which has
been founded to provide an opportunity
for poets and lovers of poetry to tho
number of 50 to meet together and lis
ten to the' reading of original verse by
selected members of the club, and to
listen to the reading of papers on some
subject connected with poetry. Thes.i
papers will be about defunct poets or
else about some question of poetic tech
nique. One of the main purposes of the
Poets' Club is to discover "several new
poets."
...
In an autobiographical book just pub
lished by Rev. A. J. Church, the author
states that he had In his lifetime re
viewed 40,000 books.
...
It turns out that the raciest and most
suggestive part of Charles Marriott's new
novel. "The Kiss of Helen." is inscribed
on its title page. Otherwise, it's a quiet
story.
Sir Oliver Lodge, scientist and author
of "The Substance of Faith," which tho
Harpers publish 'on this side of the wa
ter, presents tho rather impressive aspect
of a spiritualist who is at the same time
a sportsman. Sir Oliver Is a constant
golfer, a member of the Sutton Coldfif id
and Fellxstoe Golf Clubs, and. in fact,
has played the game for 30 years. At St.
Andrews. Scotland, where he learned the
game under Professor Talt, the latter
said to him one day, "You don't play golf
with your muscles; you play with your
morals." "But. I hope," said Sir Oliver,
in telling the story, "no one will consider
my morals as bad as my golf."
...
During the next week a volume of
short stories by Mrs. Margaret Deland
will be published by the Harpers. The
new novel by Amelia Rives is to be en
titled "The Golden Rose." It deals with
the experience of a woman who, having
been once unhappily married, has decided
that ideal love should have no physical
fulfillment. It is the attitude . toward
this belief of the man with whom sho
afterward falls In love that brings about
the novel's climax. A new Juvenile storj
by E. Nesblt will shortly be published.
Lafcadio Hearn's "Chita, a Memory of
Last Island." and Professor Haetkol's
"Riddle of the Uhlverse," have gone into
new editions.
...
Professor George A. Barton's "Eccle
3lastes." a new volume In the Interna
tional Critical Commentary, and a new
volume in the "Original Narratives of
Earl American- History," containing
Governor John Winthrop's Journal, tlie
"History of New England." lfi::o-16i;'.
will be Issued within a week. A "History
of the Ancient Egyptians." by James
Henry Breasted, the author of the lar?ro
"History of Egypt." published two years
ago, will also appear shortly.
Christian Reid's latest story. "Tho
Princess Nadine," is to be dramatized by
Victor Mapes and will sooner or later
be produced by Dpvid Belasco. Chris
tian Reid is Mrs.- F. F. Tiernan, of North
Carolina, and tho author of a lumber
of popular novels.
...
According to the Bookman's list of best
sellers for the past month "The Black
Bag" is the favorite, with "The Ancient
Law"' holding second place. "The Shut
tle" third in the race, followed by "Tho
Weavers." "The Lady of the Decora
tion" still holding her own in a most
remarkable way. and Mr. De Morgan's
"Somehow Good" bringing up the rear.
In New York uptown "Somehow Good"
stands at the head of the line, and Bos
ton makes "The Ancient Law" first in
popularity.