Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, June 17, 1908, Image 8

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Morning Oregonian., June 17, 1908, Page 8, Image 8

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Newspaper Page Texts THE MORNING OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE IT, 1903. SUBSCRIPTION BATES. INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. (By Mall.) Daily. Sunday Includod, one year f .00 Dally. Sunday Included, six months 4.25 Dally. Sunday Included, three months. 2.2; Dally, Sunday Included, one month.... -i5 Dally, without Sunday, one year 6 00 Daily, without Sunday, six months - Dally, without Sunday, three months.. l.t Daily, without Sunday, one month -60 Sunday, one year 2.50 Sunday and weekly, one year.. 3-D BY CARRIER. Dally. Sunday Included, one year.. Tjailv. Knnrinv Included, one month 8.00 .75 HOW TO REMIT Send postofflce money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency lire at the sender's risk. (live postofflce aa drees In full. Including county and state. POSTAGE BATES. Entered at Portland. Oregon, Postofflce as Second-Class Matter. 10 to 14 Pages . c"5. 16 to 28 Pages 5 80 to 44 Pages 3 c .! 46 to 00 Pages cent Foreign postage double rates. IMPORTANT The postal laws are strict. Newspapers on which postage Is not luny prepaid are not forwarded to destination. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The 8. C. Beckwith Special Agency New York, rooms 48-50 Tribune buliding. Ll cago, rooms 510-512 Tribune building. KEPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex: Postofflce News CO.. 178 Dearborn street; Empire News Stand. St. Paul, Minn. N. Ste. Marie. Commer cial Station. Colorado Springs. Colo. H. H. Bell. Denver Hamilton & Kendrick. 906-913 Seventeenth street; Pratt Book Store. 1214 Fifteenth street; H. P. Hansen. S. Rice. George Carson. Kansas City, Ho. RIcksecker Cigar Co.. Ninth and Walnut; Ycma News Co. Minneapolis M. J. Cavanaugh. BO South Third. Cincinnati, O. Yoma News Co. Cleveland, O. James Pushaw, S07 Super ior street. Washington, D. C Ebbitt House. Four teenth and F streets; Columbia News Co. Pittsbnnr, Pa. Fort Pitt News Co. Philadelphia. Pa. Ryan's Theater Ticket Office: Penn News Co.; A. P. Kemble. 3.35 Lancaster avenue. New York City Hotaling's News Stands. 1 Park Row. 38th and Broadway. 42d and Broadway and Broadway and 28th. Tele phone 0374. Single copies delivered; L. Jones & Co.. Astor House; Broadway Theater-News Stand: Empire News Stand. Ogden D. L. Boyle: Lowe Bros., 11 Twenty-fifth street. Omaha Barkalow Bros.. Union Station; Megeath Stationery Co.; Kemp & Arenson. Des Moines, la. Mose Jacobs. Fresno. Cal. Tourist News Co. Sacramento, Cal. Sacramento News Co., 430 K street; Amos News Co. Salt Lake Moon Book. & Stationery Co., Rosenfeld & Hansen: G. W. Jewett. P. O. corner; Stelpeck Bros. I.'onr Beach. Cal. J5. E. Amos. Pasadena. Cal. Amos News Co. an Diego B. E. Amos. San Jose W. Emerson. Houston, Tex. International News Agency Dallas, Tex. Southwestern News Agent. 844 Main tsreet: also two street wagons. Fort Worth, Tex. Southwestern N. and A. Agency. Amarilla, Tex. Tlmn-ons Pope. San Francisco Foster si Orear; Ferry News Stand; Hotel St. Francis News Stand; L. Parent; N. Wheatley; Fairmount Hotel News Stand: Amos News Co.: United News Agency, H'i Eddy street; B. E. Amos, man ager three wagons; World's N. S.. 2023 A. Sutter street. Oakland, Cal. W. H. Jorr.son. Fourteenth and Franklin streets; N. Wheatley; Oakland wagons: Wellingham, E. G. l.oldfleld, Nev. Louie Follln. Eureka, Cal. Call-Chronicle Agency; Eu reka News Co. BOSSES GOOD AND BAD. Is the reign of the boss over? Is he dead and gone to his reward? Many estimable people seem to think bo, but perhaps .they are mistaken. There are Indications to be discerned here and there that most of the bosses whose funerals we celebrated a year or two ago with solemn rejoic ings are not half so dead as we hoped. The revered Cox of Cincin nati for example, whose remains were consigned to a verdant tomb not long ago, has experienced a wonder ful resurrection and nobody in Ohio is half so zealous for Mr. Taft as this once defunct boss. They are a hardy race. One half suspects, after study ing them for a while, that they are like cats with nine lives at least, and possibly fifty-nine. Take Boss Sullivan, of Illinois, for another instance. Do we not all re member how Mr. Bryan slew him with the sword of his tongue and then danced a war dance upon his tomb? But today there is not a Democrat In the. United States more alive than the slain Mr. Sullivan is, and none moredevoted to Mr. Bryan. The truth is that mankind has never yet been able to do much either for good or bad without a boss, and there Is no likelihood that we can dispense with them for many generations to come. Perhaps when we all grow Into Supermen we shall be able to boss ourselves, but hardly before then. If men are to work together for a common end, they must work under a leader. We seem to have been madein that way, and it is dif ficult to conceive how we could have been made otherwise. Men have revolted today not against bosses, but against bad bosses. They are just as ready to follow and obey, a good one as they ever were. In fact, the only reason why men obey any boss is because they think he is better and wiser than the com mon herd. Leaders are never fol lowed for their bad qualities. It is their better side which gains them leadership, but, having once acquired It, they turn traitor sometimes. Then they lose their power. Mr. Roose velt has not lost his power because the qualities by which he gained leadership are the ones "which: he practices always and everywhere. He has never disappointed those who de pended upon him. He has never be trayed a. cause. What he promised to do he has done whenever he could, and when he could not he has made such a fight that everybody knew he was in earnest and that failure was not his fault. Because he has been loyal to his Ideals the people have been loyal to him, and we now behold the pleasant spectacle of the people's champion bossing the Republican convention as if the delegates were a band of schoolboys "and he their beloved teacher. Some of them do not love him, but most of them obey him; and they obey because they are afraid to rebel. Mr. Roosevelt's career and his present undisputed supremacy in his party refute the ancient slander that the people are fickle In their af fections and always ready to forsake their friends. They forsake nobody who does not first forsake them, un less they are deceived. Unfortu nately it has always been rather easy to deceive the people, but it Is becom ing less easy. As intelligence irf creases and the newspapers spread the truth about men and events, the leader who works for the public wel fare holds a position which Is more and more secure. Conventions al ways work under boss rule, but sel dom under the rule of a boss as wise and unselfish as Mr. Roosevelt. Oregon has discarded its bad bosses and has not thus far found any good ones -to replace them. Hence we are "following the leader ship of men of rather small caliber at present, but of course the misfortune is temporary. After a little time new bosses will arise . with as much ca pacity for leadership as the old ones had, and without their vices. Then events in this state will settle down into their normal course again. REPUBLICAN PROBLEMS. The problems which the Republi can platform-makers have to solve at the National convention are excep tionally delicate and perplexing. When the voters are in a docile mood and willing to be led by the nose the ideal platform is one which says nothing and puts it in pompous phrases. But it unluckily happens just now that the voters are not in a docile mood. There are certain things In the way of legislation which they are determined to have by hook or crook. A platform that takes both sides of every question will not satisfy them. Pompous phrases will not lull them to sleep. They are. wide awake and they are likely to keep awake until after election day. Hence- the unhappy platform-makers feel obliged to take a definite stand, on several bitterly debated issues, with the certainty that whatever their de cision may be it will lose votes. The only consolation is that if they choose their positions astutely they may win more votes than they lose. The plat form will not be reactionary for two' or three excellent reasons. The best of them is that Mr. Roose velt will not permit it. Whatever in cipient signs of rebellion the conven tion may display now' and then, it is none the less entirely under his con trol and cannot" avoid obeying his wishes. More ' completely than any of its recent predecessors the Repub lican convention now in session rep resents the people of the country. The people have staked their faith on Roosevelt and therefore the delegates cannot repudiate either his personal ity or his opinions. Since, he Is a progressive and not a reactionary, it follows that the convention will look forward and not backward and the platform will declare unequivocably for the Roosevelt ideas. Another reason why It will do so is that the American people are in a frame of mind which demands progressive leg islation. , They are tired of hearing our defective laws relating to corpo rations, to common carriers, to labor, lauded as if they were the perfection of human wisdom, when in reality many of them are decades behind the rest of the world and essentially bar barous. Of course there are reactionaries in the convention and roundabout It. Mr. Cannon is there and he is not alone by any means; but he and his set will not dictate the platform. If they were permitted to do so, they would make sure of the millionaire vote. Wall street would be with them to a man. But the rest of the country would quietly pass over to Mr. Bryan. There will be a struggle over some of the mqre enlightened planks, like the one relating to in junctions and the exemption of labor organizations from the Sherman law, but the outcome of the struggle is not doubtful. They will go in as Mr. Roosevelt wishes. Certainly the in junction plank ought not to frighten anybody, no matter how conservative he may be. It asks merely that the courts shall cease to Issue injunctions "without consideration." Is It . not .better for the courts to do all their acts with "consideration" rather than without it? Thost who profit by hasty writs naturally wish the evil to continue and grow greater, but no body else does. The ostensible objection to except ing labor unions from the Sherman law Is that It would be unconstitu tional. At present the Sherman law presses heavily upon the unions and does not trouble the trusts, at which it was aimed, in the slightest degree. Is this well? Moreover, farmers' unions and co-operative societies are Just as Illegal under it as the labor unions are. Is It well to try to sup press co-operation among the farm ers? Will the party which favors such suppression be likely to retain power very long? If It Is unconstitu tional for farmers and laboring men to unite for their own betterment, If such organizations cannot be permit ted without also permitting criminal trusts, would it not be a good idea to amend the Constitution a little? BIG RAILROAD FIGURES. A writer in a recent number of Harper's Weekly, speaking of the de velopment of American railroads, says that there are 27.78 miles of railway track in the United States for every 10,000 inhabitants, as against 6.2 miles in Germany, 6.5 In the United Kingdom and 7.4 In France. If this statement is correct, the rail road development of the United States is more than 600 per cent in advance of that of Europe. But this is not all. The number of passengers carried per mile in 1907 was 28,405, 000, an increase of 131.7 per cent over the number carried ten years ago; in the same period the number of employes increased 103 per cent and their earning capacity 133 per cent. Instituting further comparison, it is found that 'railway employes in the United States receive about four times the daily wage that is paid for the same class of work on railways In England. The summary further shows that the wages of the 1,675,000 employes of the 350 railroad compa nies for the year ending June, 1907, exceeded the enormous sum of 81, 075,000,000. These figures are stupendous in deed. They show not only that Americans are a restless people, shifting constantly from place to place over the land, but that supply, backed by stupendous energy and capital, has come forward to meet demand. A good traveler, one who pays well, is the native-born American, albeit he reserves the right to demur at the charges imposed and in recent years has besought the Legislatures of many states to reduce them. He is a generous shipper also, but properly exacting In the matter of prompt and safe delivery of his wares. It is not difficult to understand, in connection with these facts and figures, the enor mous, and. In a sense, the appalling power of railroad corporations, under the management of which hundreds of thousands of passengers are con stantly on the move, and millions of tons of freight are transported. Well, Indeed, may the question pertaining to this management and transporta tion be placed at the head of the great economic problems of today. EW RAILROADS PROBABLE. From Southeastern Oregon come numerous reports of renewed activity on the part of Mr. Harriman s engl neers and right-of-way men in that isolated region. From beyond the Coast Range there are also reports coming of the presence of Hill em ployes, who are running lines and checking up former surveys. In Cen tral Oregon both the Hill and the Harriman systems have engineering forces. Oregonlans have noted all of these "signs" quite frequently in the past, so often, in fact, tUat they do not easily subscribe to the theory that smoke always indicates the pres ence of fire. But, despite the repeat ed disappointments of the past, there is a strong probability that Oregon is about to enter on a new era of railroad develbpment. Paradoxical as It may seem, the "hard times' which were,, blamed for the cessation of work on some Oregon projects may be indirectly the means of bringing about this expected era of railroad building. For many months prior to the financial -upheaval last Fall nearly every railroad in the . country was overrun with business. In Oregon, officials who were supposed to be 'drawing salaries for soliciting traffic for their roads were actually work' ing overtime in thejr efforts to pre vent traffic coming to them in a vol ume that fairly swamped their facili ties for -handling it. There was car shortage and engine shortage, and even track shortage, for so many trains were moving that the available passing tracks were Insufficient in number and . length to admit of the economical and expeditious handling of trains. Under such conditions prevalent the entire-length of the Hill and Harriman systems, It was quite clear that any additions to., the traffic by the opening up of new territory would only add further complications to a situation which, temporarily at least, was beyond the control of the railroad men. But with the turn of the tide, the necessity for the development of new fields for traffic has become most pro nounced. The fixed charges on the enormous investment in main lines and equipment remain practically the same as when tracks and equipment were working ' up to the maximum capacity. There is em immense sal ary list from head officials down to track walkers. In which there can be no change of consequence, whether the road Is working to capacity or has Insufficient traffic to keep half of its equipment busy. The local traffic which can be developed along the proposed railroad lines in Southern and Central Oregon and in the Coast region will be heavy as the country develops, but the great source of profit to the big transcontinental sys tems, which are supposed to be be hind the projects, will come from the long haul on the products that these feeders will bring out to the main ines. An increased business for the transcontinental roads Is needed more at the present time than ever before and is the strongest Incentive for the building of these feeders. Mr. Harriman's recent bond sale has equipped him with money enough to carry out his long-promised plans in Central Oregon and as Mr. Hill has never had difficulty in building his roads in either good times or bad times, he will probably build into the Tillamook country in the near future. No other state in the Union has so much to offer In tne way of new traffic as will be found in Oregon. Its wonderfuliresources cannot much longer bS neglected. THE POLAR SEARCH. The experience of Walter Wellman, in his alleged attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon, has had a ten dency to lessen the interest in that long-sought polar attraction. The Wellman fiasco was so clearly intend ed for advertising purposes that the exposure of the fake had a most un favorable effect on the efforts of Lieu tenant Peary, who is again getting ready for another sortie in the far north. But Peary will not make any attempt to use balloons, automobiles or any other spectacular equipment. In a general way his method is not unlike that of Sir John Franklin and all of the other searchers for the pole. After funds needed for the ex peditions are available, Lieutenant Peary will sail from New Tork early in July, and If his plans are success ful he will be home again within fif teen months. The route chosen will be the same as that traversed on the previous voyage of the Roosevelt, and the departure from the vessel by sledge will be made at a point, not far from where the "dash for the pole" was made on the former voy age of the .Roosevelt. Peary's crew and officers include nearly' all of the men who were with him on his last previous voyage, and their experience and knowledge of the conditions encountered are ex pected to enable them to select an easier route than that which was fol lowed after leaving the Roosevelt last voyage. The benefits resultant from a discovery of the North Pole are questionable. Science may profit by the discovery, and there will be, of course, sentimental pride over the achievement. For this reason Peary will start on his long voyage with the best wishes of the American people for success in the undertaking, for it would be in keeping with American progress in other lines if the Stars and Stripes should be the first ban ner planted at the goal which for centuries has been sought by the ex plorers of all nations. Peary is undoubtedly the best qual ified 'man for the work now living, for he has the advantage of years of experience in the field and has al ready approached nearer to the pole than any living man. Explorers were more than 300 years searching for the Northwest passage before Captain Amundsen at last sailed through that mysterious waterway. With his success still fresh In our minds, it might not be unreasonable to expect that Peary will at last force his way through the hitherto impenetrable barriers and solve the mystery. The North west passage was a disappointment so far as its being of any value as a highway was concerned, and the North Pole, when discovered, un doubtedly will fail to come up to ex pectations. For all that, Peary will fare forth with .the best wishes of the American people and they will not care how great his earnings from the lecture platform may be after he returns successful. The question of turning Lone Fir Cemetery into a public .park has been agitated at various times in the past ten or fifteen years, only to receive its quietus through the strenuous ob jection of many citizens who have family lots and graves in the tract. The matter once more has been brought up.vthls time with a definite purpose looking to its speedy settle ment. It is " doubtful, however, whether the consent of a majority of the lot-owners can be secured. The plan, if carried out, would put a stop to interments in the tract, an obstacle that is held to be insuperable by many wh,o own lots upon which in terments have been made and which are held sacred to family burials. However, the matter is to be taken up and canvassed systematically with a view to Its permanent settlement, since it will be a vexed question as long as the( plot remains, as now, practically uncared for' and open to further Interments. A cemetery sur rounded by homes Is open to serious objections upon the score of com munity health. Upon this basis prob ably . the strongest argument for turning the place Into ai park and stopping Its further use as a cemetery will be made. Mr. E. T. Bethel, a. British subject, who has been running a newspaper in Corea,, has been arrested on a charge of sedition preferred by T. Mimura, the Japanese resident Gov ernor of Seoul. If Japan is desirous of securing an accurate line on the limitations of its Jurisdiction In Corea, it might extend to Mr. Bethel the same treatment that has been given Coreans who were charged with sedition. Thrs treatment in nearly all cases was sudden death, the victims, if the case was not very clear, being allowed to commit hara kiri. An attempt to Inflict this kind of punishment on a British subject would be the signal for the assem bling In the Far East of a war fleet that would put an end to Japanese control of Corea as well as a great many other outlying precincts. Edward Hugh Martin, charged with the murder of Nathan Wolff, will spend the Summer in the Mult nomah County Jail. His trial, which was to' have taken place July 2, has been postponed until October 7. The murder of which this man is accused was a most diabolical one. So far as disclosed by any evidence upon which he is held, It was without provoca tion. The case is one that demanded speedy trial and by this time should have been disposed of. The evidence in the case is purely circumstantial and is not likely to be increased or diminished by delay. However, in simple accord with the dilatory methods that have become a part of our judicial system, it has been al lowed to drag along. June, the closing month in Port land's shipping season, Is usually quiet, but the waterfront this year fails to show anything resembling dullness. In addition to a big fleet of coasters coming and going, there is now in the harbor a big fleet of for eign vessels loading wheat, flour, lumber and other products for Eu rope, Australia, South America, China and Japan. This fleet is daily increasing in size, and before there is much "of a slackening the advance guard of another big grain fleet will be coming along. In no other branch of industry is Portland's wonderful growth more in evidence than In the harbor. If the present plans of the Govern ment are carried out, this season promises to be a busy one in the up per air. Three dirigible balloons have been ordered for the signal corps of the Army. An aeroplane has also been added to the equipment and experiments with the machines will begin at an early day. Direc tions to govern persons experiment ing with aeronautics have been sent out ' from the Weather Bureau. These are designed for the use of aero clubs throughout the country. The desire to fly without wings is an insistent one. Its recognition by the Government attests the fact that aerial navigation is passing the ex perimental stage. The process of elevating the stage still goes on. Mr. W. D. Haywood, who was so closely connected with Harry Orchard In the Western Fed eration assassinations, is now acting In a play written for him In New Tork and depicting scenes in connec tion with the Orchard trial. The play Is . quite a "thriller," but it might draw larger crowds if Harry Orchard and Steve Adams could be secured for support. The Oregon Legislature has been "run" by bosses In Portland through telegraph and telephone wires, but the people tolerate the system no longer. The National convention is run by a big boss In Washington, yet the people are willing. It depends altogether on who the boss Is. Only three or four years ago the Portland charter was so sacred a body of law that men who, wanted it Improved were accounted despoilers and defllers. Tet now the charter Is declared by progressive citizens ob structive to the city's growth. Times change; also men. Of course if Roosevelt should be renominated by any chance, the con vention ought to name Senator Bourne for Vice-President, in order to cope with the possibilities of Dem ocrats naming Chamberlain for that office. The intervention of cool and cloudy weather has reduced the probability of serious vexation and loss from the Summer flood, in the Columbia River, to the minimum. Men who do not want the Vice- Presidency they say so feel It thrust upon them. They must be mistaken, since there Is only one such office. And just to think there are a lot of persons in Oregon who would like to abolish political conventions! The defeated Oregon candidates could find solace in the disappear ance of their election pictures. . MODERN HERO OF THE CHCRCH. Bishop Brent Declines Rich .Home Offer to Remain In the Philippines. Providence (R. I.) Journal. Bishop. Brent, one ' of the strongest men In the Episcopal Church, declines the offer of the bishopric of Washington, D. C, in succession to the late Right Reverend Henry T.- Satterlee. Instead, he retains his difficult post in the Phil ippines, which, it goes without saying. Is in a worldly sense one of far inferior attractiveness. At Washington, D. C, there is an eccles iastical opportunity large and agreeable enough to suit anyone. A beautiful cathedral Is to be erected there and a certain prestige attaches to the diocese by reason of its location at the admlnis trative center of the country. Bishop Brent, no doubt, would have enjoyed Irv ing in Washington. D. C, and working there, superintending the growth of the. cathedral, coming into contact with the official life of the capital and mingling with the clergy of near-by dioceses. But he puts all thought of this behind him and determines to labor oh, 11,000 miles from home, in a trying climate, with few congenial social factors to lighten his busy life. It is unfortunate for the Washington, D. C, diocese that ,lt has not been able to persuade Bishop Brent to leave his Oriental work, but it is equally fortunate for the Philippines that he has decided to stay where he Is; and It is fortunate for us all that we have had this .conspicuous example of self-sacrifice at a time when so much emphasis is laid on selfishness and greed. As a matter of fact, there is as much self-denial now as there ever was; human nature has not deteriorated) in the last 100 or 1000 years. But it Is so often sneerlngly said that a minister is "pretty sure to hear a Divine call to another parish if the salary is big enough," that Bishop Brent s refusal to be tempted away to Washington, D. G, Is peculiarly wjelcome. It will give' many a man or woman a forcible argument with which to meet the scoffing allegation that the clergy Is mercenary. For that mat ter, the clergy warts a decent living. and is richly entitled to it. DOWSING ABSOLUTISM IS RVSSIA. "Landlords' " Damn Shows Unexpected Spirit In the People's Can&e. Pittsburg Dispatch. The vote in the Duma rejecting the Russian ministry's four-battleship pro gram verifies a prediction of the Dis patch at the time of its beginning. Though this body was created by the manipulation of the suffrage qualifica tion for the express purpose of produc ing a conservative body it was pointed out that Its very possession of the rep resentative character would necessitate Its making a stand for the rights of a representative body. This prediction Is verified and a new contest 'between constitutionalism and absolutism is precipitated on the naval question the same question, by the way, that opened the struggle In Eng land which cost Charles I. his kingdom and his head. When the ministry brought in its proposals for large naval construction the Duma proposed inter pellations on the administration of na val affairs. Without the ventilation and reform of these new naval construction very plainly means more waste of pub lic funds in corruption. The Minister of Marine indignantly denied the right of the Duma to criticise his depart-' ment. The Duma responds by voting down the appropriation. The minis try is therefore again confronted with a refractory body representing the people. This is the "landlord's Duma." It is not likely to give a hearing to land distribution measures. But it Is bound to stand on the more immediate re forms of public expenditure and the irrepressible issue of the rights of the representative body. So tha conflict is renewed, this time with the property holding class leading the opposition to autocracy. What new measures of suppression may be resorted to is im possible to foretell; but the struggle Is certain to go on till either absolutism wipes out all approach to representa tion or constitutional government Is firmly established. Patience In Curry County. Wedderburn Radium. There is no chance to give election returns at this time, for the reason that none of the election clerks made copies of results before sealing the ballots and tally sheets. Nothing au thentic will be obtainable Nuntil after the official count. Rumor says Mr. Tyler will be the next Sheriff. Judge Bailey wins by a great majority, just as this paper predicted he would. Mr. Toleman will be the Assessor, and It is hoped he will inject a little justice into some of the very glaring inequalities of Curry County assessments. There will come a time, though possibly in the far distant future, when the peo ple will awake to the necessity of making the foreign property-holders pay at least a pdrtlon of the county tax, and maybe they will open their eyes to the fact that it would be per fectly honest and not far from justice to make them pay an equal proportion. Mr. Toleman should give careful atten tion to the properties of the Brookings Lumber Company in this county, com paring the quality of its timber and its accessibility with other timber of the county. There is a chance for Mr. Toleman to use a great amount of Judgment and do a deal of nosing around. Mrs. Blenker, of the Drum Corps. Washington (D. ) Herald. Mrs. Elise Blenker, who died at Mount Vernon, N. Y., a few days ago, at the ago of 84, was a rather remarkable woman, who, a generation ago, was a conspicuous member of German society in New York. Her husband was Colonel Louis Blenker, who gained some fame In the Baden revolution of 1848 before he emigrated to this country. He had been a lieutenant of King Otto's army, then studied medicine in Munich, and, thinking himself unfitted for a career as a physician, became a wine mer chant in his native town of Worms. When the revolution broke out, Blenk er was one of the first to Join the ranks of the revolutionists, and his young wife, the daughter of a clergy man, enlisted In the drum corps. She was present when her husbarid captured Ludwlgshafen and besieged Worms, and when the causo was lost she fled with him to Switzerland. When the revolu tionists were expelled from that coun try tne Blenkers came to the United States, and bought a farm in Rockland CountyBlenker organized the Eighth Regiment. New York State Volunteers, in 1861, the officers and men being nearly all members of the New York Turnvereln. Colonel Blenker died some years ago at the Rockland farm. Editor Geer's Version. Pendle'tbn Tribune. "Mr. Chamberlain's phenomenal suc cess is attributable to but one thing he Is a most energetic, enthusiastic, accomplished and ubiquitous hand shaker, and, above all things else, the great American public must have its hand shaken. This Chamberlain long since found out and has worked the discovery, as well as the Republican party of Ore gon, to an artistic finish. Have We Heard This Before Sumpter American. Now perhaps the warring Republican factions, or more properly speaking, the men who claim to be Republicans and believe In the principles of the Republican party, will bury their per sonal grievances and help to re-organize the Republican party so that It can have a united front. PARTY CONVENTION WANING Or Is , That Only Appearance, From Lack of Pollticnl Issues f Indianapolis News. A Washington dispatch to the Chica go Tribune concerns Itself with the In teresting speculation or prophecy that National Conventions are passing in their importance because of a distinct change that has come over our politi cal system. The convention in this view is less the body whose nomina tions are really made and more a body for registering the nominations that have already been made. This, it says Is done in the districts, as a review of the last decade or two will show. The change has been wrought, it avers, by the increase of newspapers and the de velopment of transportation systems and other means of communication which have made it easy to- register the will of the people before the gath ering of their representatives In con vention. The platform alone, it is con tended, holds interest , and the choice for the second place on the ticket. The Electoral College is cited as a parallel case. It degenerated from a dellber atlve body, which should actually choose the President, into a mere reg istering machine, as the means of com munication improved. There is no doubt as to the fact concerning the Electoral College, and It may be that the prophecy as to National Conven tions Is justified. But we doubt very much if the cause assigned has much to do with it. That the country may know at once what Presidential Electors have been chosen, instead of waiting six weeks, is surely not an Influence In changing the character of the Electoral College. Nothing at all In quickness or slow ness as to popular knowledge of 'the result could deprive the electoral body of tha powers that the Constitution In tended It should have. The thing that aid this was democracy the exten sion of the power of the people. We see the same influence at work today in taking from Legislatures without waiting for a Constitutional amend ment the power to choose Senators. The people will have their will carried out here; that is, they are insisting on exercising a power which Is delected to Legislatures; In this robbing Them Just as the Electoral College was robbed. It may be that the same In fluence is making itself felt in party afralrs: that Is, as the Tribune article says, that definiteness is insisted on in the district conventions, leaving the delegates no power to exercise their wisdom after they get to the conven tion, but only authority to go there as the instructed messengers of their dis tricts and to register their instruc tions. But increased means of transporta tion and communication have nothing to do with this. The initiative and referendum, which is a larger sign of the same thing, is growing in our poll tics. It has grown to fruition in Switzerland, where there Is not and can not be increased means of transporta tion for a large part of the country. The Tribune exposition has confounded a political and material development, making: one depend on the other, when it should appear from the illustrations cited that they have no more to do with each other than had Tenterden Church steeple with the Goodwin sands. The commission of inquiry as to the cause of the formation of the Goodwin sands was told by an old crone that Tenter den Church steeple caused them. Be fore it was bui!t there were no sands. After it had been erected the sands began to form. As little forcible It seems to us Is the further contention of the Tribune article that because with the advent of Bryan 12 years ago there has been a practical end to both party conventions of bitter rights over the nomination, therefore political conventions will no longer be the scene of such contests. It cites McKinley's foregone nominations, Roosevelt's, Bryan's, Parker's. All that was purely an outgrowth of political and party conditions. It is to be seen, of course, that modern means of com munication enable contests to be car ried on In advance, and results to be discounted more easily and quickly than when communication was slow, but It seems to stretch the inference too far to argue that these have been the cause of unanimity of choice be forehand. That comes from personal ity and from political conditions. Let a moral Issue rise like slavery and unanimity will be conspicuous by Its absence. It is plainly the growing power of the people, the constant reach for popu lar control as seen in the change at work in the choice of United States Senator and In the initiative and referendum that is resulting In more direct control of National Conventions If this is a permanent thing, which may be doubted. Certainly the pre arranged choice which has marked con ventions of recent years is an incident, rather than a characteristic. Attacked by Rats, Terrier Saves Rim. Hoboken (N. J.) Dispatch. Had it not been for the timely aid ren dered by an Irish terrier, Alfred Junge, son of Water Commissioner Junge. of Hoboken. would probably have been killed by rats. Young Junge has a stable that is Infested by rats and it has been his custom to set traps for them, and in that manner has caught many. As soon as he entered the building yes terday he heard a rushing sound and dimly say in the dark scores of rats. They were scampering In all directions. Presently he felt them at his feet, and as fast as he kicked them others took their places. They ran up his legs, through his clothing, and some got at his face, notwithstanding his efforts to drive them away. He had become so exhaust ed he could scarcely stand, when an Trish terrier that belonged to a neighbor darted in the open doorway and attacked the animals. In two minutes the terrier drove every one of them from the stable and Junge hobbled home and attended to his Injuries. Gives $2,000,000 for Poor Mexican. Washington (D. C.) Herald. The announcement that Senor Pedro Alvaredo, the Mexican millionaire land owner, has given $2,000,000 for the purpose of aiding poor Mexicans re calls the fact that he started life as a day laborer on a ranch. Born of humble parents, Senor Alvaredo in his younger days worked as a peon, or common day laborer, on a ranch, but his honesty and Industry earned steady advancement, and he soon became his own master and one of the wealthiest men In the councry. But he never for got his class, and always set himself to alleviate the none too happy lot of the peon. Nepotism Law Hits Governor. Guthrie (Okla.) Dispatch. The law absolutely prohibiting the em ployment In any public office of relatives within the third degree by affinity or con sanguinity is now In effect In Oklahoma. Governor Haskell, who signed the bill, was the officeholder caught under the law's provision. He immediately switched Reull Haskell, his private stenographer, who is his nephew, to the Supreme Court Clerk's office. Miss Lucy Haskell, the Governor's daughter, was elected a mem ber of the faculty of the State Normal School at Alva, but It la claimed that tha anti-nepotism law does not cover her case. Gallery Seats Are Better. Eugene Guard. After all, Jonathan didn't care much about being a delegate to the National Convention. The Family Has Moved. Seattle Times. WANTED The address of the Re publican party in Oregon. CHANGE STATE REPRESENTATION Explaining Measure to Come Before National Republican Convention. Philadelphia Press. The dispatches from Chicago indicate that the suggestion for a change in the, basis of representation in Republican National conventions is meeting with a great deal of favor among the party lead ers there. Some who have been opposed to it heretofore are now heartily support ing it. In view of the fact that the proposition will be presented to the National con vention it is worth while considering what it means. A plan' that would give each state four dolegates-at-large. re gardless of its vote, and 'an additional delegate for each 10.000 Republican votes or majority fraction thereof, would result In the following representation by states, comparison being made with the present number of delegates: State. State. o fc t A 6'Nevada ...... 6 5 New H 8 9 2.1 New Jersey .. 24 20 l'lXew York .... 1 lo 1. VN. Carolina . . 24 12 0 North Dakota. 8 0 VOhio 46 64 ;Oklahoroa .... 14 ' 9 Oregon 8 10 87Pennsylvanla . 68 8S 41 Rhode Island. 8 8 S3S. Carolina ... 18 4 2. "'South Dakota. S 11 23 Tennessee . 24 15 5 Texas 36 9 lOiTTtah 6 10 lWermrait 8 8 3dlvirginia 24 O'Washlngton ,. 30 14 26 West Va. ..... 34 17 4 Wisconsin .... 26 S3 30!Wjomins .... 6 6 1R Totals 966 950 Alabama .... 22 Arkansas .... IS California .... 20 Colorado .... 10 Connecticut ..14 Delaware 6 Florida 10 Georgia 26 Idaho ....... 6 Illinois B4 Indlcna 30 Iowa ........ 26 Kansas ...... 20 Kentucky .... 26 IjOulslana. . ... IS Maine ...... 32 Maryland .... 16 Mass. Jt2 Michigan .... 2 Minnesota ... 22 Mississippi ... 20 Missouri 86 Montana .... 6 Nebraska .... 16 Territorial delegates are not Included In this list, but no doubt provision would be made for them In any new plan. The vote used as a basis is that cast for President four years ago. except In tha case of Oklahoma, which was not then a state; Its vote for Congressman that year has been taken, but the vote of the state is much larger now, and the num ber of delegates would be more than the table shows. The inequality of the present repre sentation is undeniable. When 11 states that together cast less than 400,000 Re publican votes have more delegates in a National convention than the three larg est states combined, with more than 2.300.000 Republican votes, there does not seem to be any further ground for argu ment. The figures themselves are con clusive. Pennsylvania alone casts over twice as many Republican vote3 as all the 11 Southern States together, but it has only 68 delegates, while they have 240. The surprising thing is that this in equality has not been effectively dealC with long before now. Novelist Uses Real Love Letters. Julius Chambers. In Brooklyn (N. T.) Eagle. One successful woman novelist boast ed to mo at an afternoon reception of the Authors, that she worked up most of her passionate love scenes from a past collection of old love letters that she had secured from girl friends and had saved from her own boisterous girlhood days. I felt much like asking the names of her friends who had 3ur rendered the precious letters in the In terest of pure and undefined "litra toor." One naturally felt a bit nervous, because some old flame might have made merchandise of an overheated affection. When a man is attacked with a de sire to write letters of flame, he should consult a physician or go on a long journey. Girl Knocks Out Rocker of Boat. North American. Because W. Harris Willington, of Rox borough, persisted in rocking a boat In deep water on the Schuylkill River, Miss Bessie Rostum, a companion, picked Up an oar and knocked him overboard. "A man is a fool for rocking a boat containing a woman," she said before making the swing that landed Willington In the stream. Of course, Willington supposed she was Joking, and kept up the "sport." As he struggled in the river Miss Ros tum pulled at the oars, and rowed tbo other member of the party, Miss Mary Garston, on to Manayunk. Willington swam ashore, but he was so exhausted that George Whitehead had to help him out of the water. He's the Father of 2T Children. Chicago Tribune. James Allen Monroe, well-known among livestock commission men at the stockyards as a shipper of cattle to Eastern markets, and better known on the South Side as the father of 7 children, was the recipient yesterday of enthusiastic congratulations when his many friends learned of another addition to his already ample family. A lively baby girl, named Virginia, is the latest acquisition, and, although she was born three weeks ago, Mr. Monroe's business associates did not learn the news until yesterday. Previ ous congratulations showered on the family had been so strenuous that Mr. Monroe decided to keep the news of this last addition quiet. Danger of Arousing Other Elijabs. St. Paul Dispatch. One A. M. -ummings, who was tem porary cnalrman of the Michigan Democratic convention, has no low opinion of the goodness and greatness of W. J. Bryan. In his keynote spoerii Cummlngs was guilty of the follow ing: "His voice and pen have Influenced for good the thought and convictions of more men that did ever any other man in liko period save only the Man of Galilee." If he doesn t look out, Bryan will arouse the jealousy of the followers ol Dowle, Schweinfurth and all the other Second Elijahs. Doomed to Wear a Life Mustache. Balnbrldge Correspondence of Lancas ter (Pa.) Inquirer. Abram Sohaeffer, who resides near Ellzabethtown, made a vow in 1S56 that if James Buchanan should be elected President he'd never part with his mustache. Mr. Schaeffer was at that time in Baltimore. As Buchanan was elected, the West Donegal man hasn't had a bare upper lip in at least 63 years. , There are Only a Few. Indianapolis Star. Out there in Oregon, where a Repub lican Legislature is now expected to elect a Democratic United States Senator, w hope there are no Democratic election re formers arguing that one party should b prevented from monkeying with the af fairs of the other. Weakest and Strongest. Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Which Is the weakest thing of. all Mine heart can ponderT The sun. a little cloud can call With darkness youder? The cloud, a little wind can move Where'er It listeth? The wind, a little leaf above. Though sere, reslsteth? What time that yellow leaf was green My days v.-ere gladder; But now, whatever Spring may mean I must grow sadde-. Ah. me! a leaf with sighs can wring My lips asunder I Then is mine heart the weakrst thing Itself can ponder. Yet, heart, when sun and cloud are plne And drop' together. And at a blast which Is not wind. The forests wither. Thou, from the darkening deathly cursa. To glory breakest The strongest of the universe Guarding the weakest!