Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, September 02, 1908, Image 8

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Morning Oregonian., September 02, 1908, Page 8, Image 8

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Newspaper Page TextTHE MORNING OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, I&0S. 8 PORTLAND. OKEGO. Entered at Portland. Oregon, Fostofflos a Second-Class Matter. butwcrlpttoa Bim Invariably la Advanc. (Br Mail.) Dally. Sunday Included, on rear ? ?2 Daily. Sunday Included, six month.... Laliy. Sunday Included, three month. IJj Lialiy. Sunday Included, one mnntn. ... .J Daily without Sunday, one year JOO Dally, without Sunday. lx moutha " Daiiy. without Sunday, inn month.. l.Ti Daily, without Bunuay. on month..... . Weekly, one year. Cunday. one year -o Sunday and Weekly, on year M (Br Carrier.) Dally. Sunday Included, on year SO Dally. Sunday Included. OB month.... .13 How to Remit Send poetofflee money order, expreae order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender risk- Olvo poatofflce d drese In full. Including county and stat. Poataco Kate 10 to 14 pages. 1 cent; IS to 28 page. 3 cent: SO to 44 page. 1 cent: 46 to 60 page. cant. Foreign yoat tr double ratea Kaatern Bualne Office The S. C Beck with Special Agency New-York, room 60 Tribune building. Chicago, room filO-612 Tribune building. POBTLAM), VEXEHIAT. SEPT. t. 1IW8. THOSE STOLEN PRINCIPLES. Has Roosevelt stolen Bryan's prin ciples? Has the Republican party stolen them? Is Taft In possession of the goods? Twice hitherto Bryan has been tha Democratic candidate for the Presi dency. First time free coinage of sil ver was "the paramount Issue." Sec ...! tlri.e "tn- burning; Issue" was Im perialism. Now, a common miscel lany of objection and criticism of the course and policy of the Republican party during the last fifty years. There is petty objection, at every point. The fiscal policy Is attacked. The tariff isn't right, but there Is no probability, from experience, that Mr. Bryan's party would make It better. Banks here and there have failed; and now the Government is to guaranty all deposits. "Protection" Is unequal; but we know from the experience of a few years ago that Democratic leg islation would make It more unequal still. The trusts haven't been con trolled; for this is a most difficult thing to do, because the trusts contln ually play one party against the other, and are as strongly Intrenched in one as in the other. Besides, the trusts, which are but combinations In Indus try and commerce, have the right to exist. The only question is that of reasonable regulation. Bryan contin ually talks as if the right of capital to associate or combine was to be de nied. It is "too childish-foolish for this world." But whatever principles Mr. Roose velt may have "stolen" from Mr. Bryan, and whatever portion of these principles Mr. Taft may have fallen heir to. It is certain that among these is not Included the mighty issue of Oliver, which demanded free coinage at a fraudulent ratio, or the burning lsue of anti-Imperialism, which re quired us to turn tail from our posi tion in the Islands, into which we were carried by the Spanish War. These were the "great principles" on which Mr. Bryan made his former dashes for the Presidency. They were defined by him as the "paramount" and "burn ing" Issues. Has Mr. Roosevelt stolen them? And have the goods been passed over to Mr. Taft? Having abandoned the paramount and burning Issues of his former cam paigns, Mr. Bryan now distributes his efforts. One issue Is the tariff; an other Is the trusts; a third Is Injunc tion; a fourth is guaranty of bank de posits. On none of these declarations Is his party united. It couldn't do anything with either of them. first, because of opposition in Its own ranks; second, because it would be the object of the Republican party, after the manner of all parties In opposition, to thwart Its adversaries whenever it could. Mr. Bryan is simply knocking about in various directions, in the hope of picking up votes enough to obtain election. It was silver at one time; It was opposition to retention of the Pacific and Atlantic islands at an other; anon it was a demand for gov ernment ownership of railroads. This whole assortment now has been sent to the scrap heap; and the candidate has raked up a job lot of stuff that may stand for anything or nothing. But the old "principles" have all been abandoned. It is the tariff now. But let us go back a little. "If they ask us why It is that we say more on the money question than we say on the tariff question," said Mr. Bryan in the Chicago convention speech that made him famous In 1896. "I reply that If protection has slain Its thousands, the gold standard has slain Its ten thou sands." Tet the destroying gold standard remains, and the prophet now is silent. Is this because the "principle" has been "stolen" by Roosevelt and handed over to Taft? It Is a good guess that the goods have not been stolen. The new question, now presented as a summary of all the others. Is put by the inquiry. "Shall the people rule?" But that question Is belated, for the people do rule, and have been ruling all the time. The issue received prac tical demonstration in Mr. Bryan's defeats, on ground of his own choos ing. But if his former stock of prin ciples and of paramount Issues was good then It is good today; and since he was not a good authority then It is a fair inference that he is not a good authority now. Certainly no body has gone to the Junk heap of his old "principles" and "stolen" them. A MP IXTO EXACT SCIENCE. It appears from the news reports that a large number of pastors and other men of venerable significance in the world have lately discovered that the true happiness of their souls de pends upon forsaking their wives and fleeing with other women. The latest divine to make this disturbing discov ery was the Rev. William C. Cum mings, an Iowa man and a luminary of the Episcopalian denomination. We learn with sympathetic shudders that he stooped to toll at the washtub rather than forego the spiritual conso lations of her companionship. It is a more severe muscular strain upon a man to wash clothes than to preach sermons, especially Episcopalian ser mons, and the devotion of Mr. Cum mings to his affinity is all the more admired on that account. An affec tion that Is not appalled by soapsuds and soiled duds of miscellaneous own ership must be true indeed. The number of pastors and others who forsake their families and seek consolation In the arms of their affini ties seems to Increase so rapidly as the Summer wanes that one Involun tarily wonders if the season of the year has not something to do with It. Is there a subtle psychological rela tion between roasting ears and marital infidelity? Green corn is Just now in Its prime in Iowa, where Mr. Cum mlngs resided during his pastorate. Perhaps this succulent dish contains some noxious essence which perverts loyalty and inclines the heart to des perate wickedness. This supposition becomes extremely probable when one bites into an ear of corn at a restau rant. What la the esoteric chord that binds ripe squashes to errant passion? Would anybody Imagine that the sa vory numpkln yellowing on the Au tumnal hillside had hidden within its golden rind the quintessence of dis cord and the distillate of broken vows? All this is hard to believe, and yet it seems to be true. If marital Infi delity Increases as pumpkins ripen, we naturally conclude that one of the two processes causes the other. Since for saklne one's wife does not cause pumpkins to ripen, we are driven to conclude that ripening pumpkins cause men to forsake ' their wives. Wonderful is logic. THE BIRTH RATE. The excess of female over male births in Portland for the last eight months Is probably but a passing phe nomenon. It Ts somewhat curious that the birth rate of males should have fallen off at the same time that their death rate had advanced, but this, af ter all, may be only a coincidence. Much stranger ones have happened. Next year the proportion may be re versed. More males will be born and more females die, perhaps. These things depend upon laws which no mind has ever yet fathomed. Savants have spent years Investigating the causes which determine the sex of liv ing beings, but thus far they have learned little. Old women have rules which they say are infallible, but there Is nothing in them. The persistence of these rules and others of the same sort In tHe face of common sense Is the most Interesting thing about them. The human mind seems to cling des perately to false knowledge of all va rieties. For example, the quacks who sell infallible secret remedies for or chard pests still do a thriving business out in the back country. One can buy a syrup to Inject into an apple tree which will render it forever Immune to aphis and codlin moths. Many farmers plant their crops by the signs of the moon instead of the earthly seasons. In the long run the females of the human family outnumber the males in most communities. This Is true of Massachusetts today and will be true of every state in the Union bnfore many years have passed, but it is not a fact which need cause men to fear the loss of their power. Massachu setts is not in perceptible danger of domination by Its women. The ex cess of females over men in old com munities forms an unanswerable argu ment against those doctrinaires who contend that no woman should main tain herself, but that each should de pend upon a husband. To bring this about some men would have to sup port two wives. Hence those who op pose women In Industry are uncon scious advocates of polygamy. While nothing definite Is known about the causes which determine the sex of animals, still there are some curious facts on record. After a long war, for example, more boys than girls will be born: while in time of continued peace the rule will be re versed. This looks as If Nature strove to maintain some sort of equality in the numbers of male and female: but when we begin to talk about what Na ture strives to do we are .on dangerous ground. "ALASKA WHEAT" CAXARD. The confidence of farmers In the Idaho experiment station suffered a severe shock when It was discovered that the much-discussed "Alaska" wheat is not of the high quality In dicated by the report of L. S. Jones, chemist at the Idaho station, who tested a sample. The disclosure that the experiment station authorities had been either careless or mercenary did not Injure the reputation of the sta tion more, however, than has the ef fort of the station to escape respon sibility for its part In misleading farm ers who might be induced to pay fancy prices for seed of the new varretv. Instead of admitting that they had been duped or had been careless, the Idaho experiment station officials en deavor to create the Impression that the report of the chemist did no: read as It was reported in the press, but the explanations are plainly Insuffi cient for the purpose. Two bulletins have just been Issued by the station, one by Director H. T. French, and the other by Chemist L. S. Jones. In his bulletin Mr. French says the chemist stated that, "judging from the chemical and physical condi tion of this sample, it would rank with the best grade of bluestem for flour-making purposes," and then Mr. French proceeds to say that "this statement might be misleading unless taken in connection with explanations of the analysis made to Mr. Adams at that time, which were to the effect that the milling qualities of any wheat could be definitely settled only from results of a milling test." But the let ter from Mr. Jones to Mr. Adams, as printed In the press dispatches, does not make this limitation clear. Mr. Jones said that he should like to make a milling test, but the letter does not say that the milling qualities could be determined only In that way. The letter to Mr. Adams says that the sample of "Alaska" wheat is the equal if not the superior of our bluestem for flour-making purposes. A' mere ex pression of a wish to make a mill test would not be understood as question ing the quality of the grain for manu facturing purposes, after the strong commendation already expressed. If Mr. Jones wished to convey the Idea that a milling test was the only one that would definitely show the quality, he should have said so plainly In his letter. Mr. French also says In his bulletin that the yields were made up from small areas, which fact was given by Mr. Adams, the producer, but not contained In the letter of the chemist who made the test and re ported. The bulletin which has been issued by Mr. Jones discloses several dis crepancies. The bulletin says that the chemical analysis was made In the Summer of 1907. while his letter to Mr, Adams, as published In the press, ts dated May 4, 19081 This discrep ancy In dates may be typographical. but if not it would be worth while to know why an analysis made In 190T was not reported upon until 1908. Mr. Jones says that "the owner was ad vised not to rely exclusively upon such (chemical) tests, but to bring In a quantity sufficient for milling and then perfectly reliable Information could be given him." But, like Di rector French, the chemist puts the matter much stronger than he did In the letter signed by him and used by Mr. Adams to advertise his wheat. These differences between Mr. Jones' original report and his present bulle tin are not merely trivial matters. Both the newspapers and the agri cultural publications took Mr. Jones' report as practically conclusive as to the quality of the wheat for flour making purposes, ss he then expressed It. If there Is any difference between flour-making- purposes and milling purposes, the ordinary citizen Is not aware of the distinction. One of the purposes of the cheml cal department of an experiment sta tion is to guard farmers against fraud and misrepresentation with regard to seeds, fertilizers, spray mixtures, etc If this duty is to be performed effec tively, care must be taken not- only In making tests, but In making reports thereon. The most careful and accu rate chemical test might easily be mis leading If the report of It should be so loosely written as to permit two widely varying interpretations. A re port . of this character having been sent out by the Idaho station and having been made the means of mis leading newspapers and farm papers as well as wheatgrowers, the station authorities should be manly enough to acknowledge their error Instead of trying to make poor explanations. If Improper use has been made of the report Issued .by the Idaho chemist. those persons who have so used It should be exposed and prosecuted if possible. THE TILLAMOOK RAILROAD. Definite announcement Is made of the Immediate resumption of work on the railroad to Tillamook. This an nouncement, following so closely the visit of Mr. Kruttschnltt to the long. neglected territory, will be received with less skepticism than some of Its many predecessors. The importance of this road to the country which It will open up, and to Portland, can hardly be appreciated by those who have not yet visited the great coast region of undeveloped wealth. From a traffic standpoint, aside from the immense amount of available timber, the trade of the Tillamook region Is perhaps at this time less attractive for the railroads than that of other local ltles where the output Is in bulkier form. The grains and grasses which grow In such rank profusion in the rich bottom lands of the coast regions are all for home consumption, and reach the outsidde markets in the form of cheese and butter. This is a condensation of raw ma terial that Is highly profitable to the farmer who pays the freight, but Is less attractive to the railroads, which prefer the revenue produced by bulk' ler freight. These conditions, how ever, are susceptible to some change which will be brought about by the advent of the railroad. The marvel ous soil of the entire Tillamook and Nehalem region produces wonderful crops of all kinds of vegetables and garden truck, and in most places Is well adapted to fruitgrowing. The railroad affording an outlet to market for these diversified products, will Im mediately Increase their production. and it will be but a short time after the completion of the line before the coast country can demonstrate that its resources are not limited to butter and cheese. Well-informed residents of Tilla mook and Nehalem have for years been paying from J 100 to J 150 per acre for rough land which costs an additional J 100 per acre to clear. These seem like fancy prices in a re gion so nearly inaccessible as the coast country, but the returns from this land and the universal prosperity in spite of the handicap of miserable transportation facilities prove conclu sively that the land Is worHi "-the money. Without desiring in any way to contribute to an undue inflation of values, it cart safely be predicted that the completion of the Tillamook line will double the value of nearly all the lands made accessible by the road. But the traffic that has drawn the atten tion of railroad-builders to the coast country Is the magnificent stand of timber throughout the entire region traversed. It may be four or five, and perhaps ten, years before this timber can be marketed to advantage In competition with that which lies nearer the con suming, markets, but Is ts overwhelm ingly the largest asset of any trans portation line which crosses the Coast Range, and its presence alone makes possible the construction of a railroad. The building of this line adds to the trade territory of Portland one of the richest regions in the Stnte of Oregon, and on account of its geographical lo cation it Is tributary to no other port than Portland. All concerned will sincerely hope that there will .be no further .delays in carrying out the plans for Its construction. BOUND FINANCIAL CONDITIONS. The steadily maintained strength of the stock market. In the face of an approaching National election, and of drastic reductions by railroads in op erating and' other expenses. Is a sur prising testimonial to the underlying strength of our financial and commer cial situation.- It shows conclusively that the country Is not lacking In money for the financing of sound busi ness ventures, and the protection of good, legitimate properties represent ed on the security lists of the stock exchange. It Is still early to deter mine the extent of the benefits, which, together with the Irrecoverable losses, are traceable to the panic of last Fall, buc it Is a certainty that the account was by no means one-sided. When the vast Gould system recent ly -became Involved in trouble, the in ability of George Gould to secure the comparatively Insignificant sum of $8,000,000 with which to save the sys tem from Its opponents was at first regarded as an ominous sign, portend ing a growing scarcity of money. De tails of the transaction, however, re vealed that the failure of Mr. Gould to secure the money needed was less due to a scarcity of money than to a scarcity of confidence in his ability successfully to manage the big prop erty through the era of retrenchment that is now on. The glaring fact that Mr. Gould, during ten years of the greatest prosperity ever experienced by the American railroads, had failed to keep his properties free from em barrassment was ample evidence that a change In management was a neces sity before it was safe to Invest any more money in the Gould properties, The Gould system under Gould management was a bad Investment, but the same system under the guid ance or direction of Harrlman was a safe proposition In which o Invest the money needed for its rehabilitation This same close scrutiny of all classes of securities and apparent discrimina tion against some that were really first class has resulted In bringing many shaky enterprises under man agement that can strengthen and im prove them. The financial storm of last year carried down some fine tim ber, but it Improved that which re mained standing, and lessened the lia bility of an immediate recurrence of the trouble. The present strength of the stock market Is due to the general belief of Investors in the Intrinsic value of ths securities offered. With the water squeezed out and the administration of the properties represented In the hands of men who can get the best re sults from them, there is no apparent reason for any weakness in the stock market not even the possibility of such a surprise as would be occasioned by the election of Mr. Bryan. It is rumored that Wu Ting Fang will be recalled to China on the charge of having fallen a victim to the par rot's habit of talking too much. If there is anything in the story, it would seem that quantity Instead of quality of talk was what Impressed the Chi nese nation, for Mr. Wu has for years held the American record for erupting a greater number of words with a smaller amount of information than any other public character in the United States. If the Chinese govern ment has discovered that Wu ever told the newspapers anything of con sequence, they have certainly beat the reporters to It. As a distributer of state secrets, Wu makes an Egyptian mummy seem loud and noisy. At the same time that the American, people are studying the problem of conserving the natural resources of the country, it might be well to ex pend some energy trying to devise ways and means by which other prop erty Interests might be saved from de struction. To let a forest be destroyed by fire Is wasteful but not more so than to let those same forests burn after they have been sawed into lum ber and built Into houses. Men of science should be able to discover a practical fireprooflng process or invent successful fire-extlngulshlrrg appll ances within the means of ordinary property-owners.- The saloons at Atlantic City were closed last Sunday and the liquor dealers assert that their losses as a consequence amounted to 1150,000 Assuming that their business is one- third proflCthis would mean a loss of sales to the amount of $450,000. But If they lost sales to this amount, surely the same amount must have been saved by the persons who would have paid It Into the saloons If they had not been closed. Are not the liquor deal ers proving too much when they tell of the Immense losses they sustain by the closing of their places one day in the weak? In Vermont there has been a dull campaign and the vote Is reduced. Both parties show losses In the totals and the Republican plurality Is re duced, but not greatly. It is about 28,000. In 1904 Roosevelt had a plu rallty of 30,689; in 1900 McKlnley had a plurality of 29,719. Four years ago the Republican plurality on Governor was 31,649; two years ago, 16,613. The vote of yesterday in Vermont has no special significance. The Eastern States will all vote for Taft. The real contest of this year lies In the belt of states from Ohio to Nebraska. Pending the completion of the North Bank road into the city, the Hill line is handling only a limited amount of grain, but the shipping sta tistics show quite clearly that Its in fluence on the grain trade of the Pa cific Northwest Is already being exten sively felt. The amount of chartered grain tonnage now In port at Portland is nearly twice as great as the ton nage at the Puget Sound ports, and the amount listed to arrive is more than double that which is listed for the Puget Sound ports. Mr. Taft said this, at Hot Springs, on the project of governmental insur ance of bank deposits; and as often as Bryan speaks for that fallacious 'pol icy Taft's words will bear repetition. viz: The fundamental objection to th pro posed plan to guarantee deposit in bank I that it put a premium on reckles bank ing and I veen an Inducement to reckloss banking- All that Is necessary to "say on the subject Is said here in fewest words. Prohibition Candidate Chafln says that If he shall be elected President he will proceed at once to clean out the gambling dens and disreputable houses patronized almost exclusively by members of Congress. Neither the proprietors of the resorts nor the members of Congress are losing any sleep over impending danger. Though the Swiss receive an im mense revenue from the manufacture of absinthe, which they sell to the French, the people have recently voted to stop the manufacture of the liquor in that country. As In the case of a hopgrowlng state voting "dry," the matter of revenue does not seem to be a controlling consideration. Speaker Joseph G. Cannon Is the latest member of Congress to join the list of Collier's "undesirables." Being a tall man, perhaps Uncle Joe will think It unnecessary for him to hunt the tall timber. If anybody wishes to interview Har rlman, how's the chance, before the magnate returns to Wall street behind three or four, chilly doors. Since mysterious murders are be coming so common it behooves every man to be prepared at all times to prove an alibi. Debs says workingmen are fools. His small following shows him mis taken about the vast -majority of them. The fellows who didn't take vaca tions now have their money ahead. CHAMBERLAIN, NON-PARTISAN. But Look for Peculiar Brand of Oregon Politics. Labelled "Democracy." KLAMATH FALLS, Or., Aug. 31. (To the Editor.) People have learned what Governor Chamberlain means when he asserts to be non-partisan In politics. His non-partlsanshlp is simply this: "Republicans, cut out politics and polit ical parties when you vote for me; when I apppolnt any one to office, non-paru sanshtp always means a Democrat." would be more than delighted If some one well informed would show when and where Mr. Chamberlain has appointed to office any Republican In this state, where the office was of any consequence. This Judicial district Is overwhelm ingly Republican. It has always selected a Republican for Judge. We have far more Republican lawyers In Klamath and Lake Counties than Democratic law yers. Our Republican lawyers here stand high In their profession and have been In these counties long enough to be "acclimated." These Republicans are Just as capable of holding the office of Circuit Judge as are any Democrats here, and are more entitled to hold the office than any Democrats, because the people here have said time and again they pre ferrred Republicans. Long residence would seem. too. to give them a prefer ence for this position. But Governor Chamberlain has given out the Information and has shown his "great non-partlsanshlp" by saying that he will appoint to the office of District Judge In Klamath and Lake Counties one George Noland, a Democrat and a fresh arrival from Astoria. It appears to us that the principal reason for this appointment Is the fact that Mr. Noland Is a Democrat. It Is the same old style of non-partisanship on the part of tne Governor as It was when ha appointed John Gearin a United States Senator, a man who wrote The Oregonlan, saying that that paper "Might call him any thing, but for God's sake do not call me a non-partisan." What a splendid ex ample the Governor is setting us as a non-partisan in politics. HIRAM F. MURDOCH. IN DANGER OF A "SLUMP." How the West Was Dtnarnoerd by a Traveling; Correspondent, Correspondence New York Sun. The riot of radicalism, the prejudice of sectionalism these are constant factors in the Western situation full of possibility for sudden change and stampede. A re actionary "break" by Mr. Taft, a "stand- pat" tone In the Republican National campaign, a glorification of the East and instantly the grumbling and the mur muring and the growling of the radical In Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kan sas might be transformed into a perfect avalanche of active hostility. At the present moment there Is no one In the Middle West whose point of view Is even approximately impartial who sees anything to forecast a Bryan shirt to the radical situation. But every one concedes its possibility, concedes that this will re main loose dynamite, to be handled with extreme care, to be an element of danger to the end. In Dreciselv the same wav the heat and passion of liquor campaigns In Ohio and Indiana are elements of danger; less acute, but nevertheless obvious - danger, may develop into tidal waves In one di rection or the other and each side confi dently forecasts the tidal wave's direc tion aa favorable to it. Here, as In the Middle West, the August outlook is rea sonably satisfactory to the Republican National fortunes, but the Republican anxiety is none the less real, not over what Is in July and August, but over what may be in September and October. In both regions there Is a distinct ele ment of hope for the Democrats, and this is an invaluable asset after all the for lorn and hopeless years have gone. The possibility, the very Impressive pos sibility, of a Democratic Congress as a result of all the local aisturDances al ready noted deserves emphasis. There Is hardly a state that the Sun's correspond ent has visited which did not show evi dence of Democratic Congress gains; the factional flght among Republicans seems to assure this. There Is a manliest pos sibility of the election of Democratic Governors In Indiana, Ohio and Kansas. There Is also to be noted the not too remote possibility of Democratic Sena tors In Ohio and Indiana. These details of themselves are signifi cant; show that the situation Is sufficient ly tense to demand infinite care and sus tained effort. That west of the Alle ghanles there U to be a real National campaign is sn Inevitable conclusion to bo drawn from the briefest study of lo cal conditions. Yet It Is to be a National campaign in the main fought out locally, contested on Issues that must of necessity be legarded as trivial and petty. In the West the Republican National ticket seems to lack utterly the appeal of personality so far as Its candidates are concerned, and In the Central States the Democratic ticket Is so much dead weight to be carried. If et all, by the lo cal candidates from the lack of neces sity. In the end It seems certain mat no forecast of results will entirely convince until there Is sufficient evidence to dem onstrate the partisan direction that the riot of liquid and economic morals and immorals will take. In August the plain advantage Is with the Republicans every where, save perhaps in Indiana, and even thera Bryan's weakness is all impressive. To go further than this on the present evidence Is perhaps unwarranted ana rn any event hardly profitable. Meets Wild Beast Oat Walking. HOOD RIVER. Or.. Aug. 31. (To the Editor.) While on a sight-seeing stroll yesterday I think I saw the wild animal that was reported In last Friday's Ore gonlan to be terrifying tne larmers oi Prinevllle. While I was sitting on the top of a fence the animal I refer to came within 26 feet of me. It was of a tawny or grayish reddish-brown color and look ed like a cross between an African Hon and a mastiff, but larger than any mastiff I have seen. The creature had a bushy tip to its tall and a mane like a Hon. but not aulte so heavy. I did not see any blood about his mouth and when I 1umDed down he ran over the trestle in the direction of Portland In pursuit of two men. As I did not hear any terri fying; yell I do not think the animal did any damage. Have discovered some wonderful petrifications here human and animal skulls, fruits, nuts, teeth, etc. CHARLES A. B. HALL. Speeches First, and Food Afterward. Chicago Tribune. The Japanese manage their dinners In much better fashion than do the Occidentals. They have the speeches first and the food afterward. Occasion for Regret Lawyer Was your friend an acces sory before the fact? Witness Sure, sor, but most sorry he wor after the fact, sor. Baltimore American. The Land of Approximate Time. Helen Hyde. "Jingle from Japan." Here's to the Land of Approximate Time. Where nerves are a factor unknown; Where acting as balm are manners calm, And seeds of sweet patience are sown. Where 'tl very ill-bred to go straight to the point. Where one bargains at leisure all day Where with method unique "at once" means a week. In the cool, easy Japanese way. Where every clock run as It happens to please. And they never agree on their strikes; Where even the sun often Join in the fun. And rises whenever h likes. Then here's to ths Land of Approximate Time, The Land of Leisurely Bow: Where the overcharged West may learn how i to rest Tne Lacd ot Inconsequent Now, A CALL FOR FLAT SALARIES Says State Of fleers Should Decline to Receive Illegal Compensation. ASTORIA, Or., Aug. 31. (To the Editor.) No long ago there was con slderable discussion In the newspapers resrardlna: the salaries of state officers. Months ago, suit was instituted by the state on the relation of a citizen ot Polk County against an ex-state of ficial to recover from him a large amount of money that he had received as fees in excess of his compensation as fixed by the Constitution, and I be lieve that this case was decided by the Marion County Circuit Court against the ex-officlal. Another citizen of the state published a statement that he in tended to begin an action against the present Governor to recover all moneys that that official had received from the btate in excess of his con stitutional salary. The public mind seems to be dissat isfied with the present condition of the law and practice in regard to the salaries of state officials. Like the tariff, this Is not a new question. It has been before the public at Intervals for the past thirty years, but our Su preme Court has never, I believe, been called on to render an opinion on this Vexed Question. Article XIII of our State Constitu tion is in the following words: "The Governor shall receive an annual sal ary of $1500. The Secretary of State shall receive an annual salary ot jijuu. The Treasurer of the state shall re ceive an annual salary of $800. The Judsres of the Supreme Court shall re ceive an annual salary of $2000. They shall receive no fees or perquisites whatever for the performance of any duties connected with their respective offices; and the compensation of of ficers, if not fixed by this Constitution, shall be provided by law." I believe that there is no other clause of the Constitution that makes any provision for the compensation of any officers named in said article. The Constitution provides for the election of a state printer, but It does not fix his compensation. It also provides for electing County Sheriffs, Clerks, Treasurers, Assessors, Prosecuting At torneys and other officers, but It does not attempt to "fix" the compensation of any of these officers.. In fact, the Constitution does not attempt to fix or state the amount of salary or com pensation of any officer excepting those named in Article XIII and mem bers of the Legislature. And I call special attention to that fact, as it is very Important in determining whether It Is competent for the Legislature or the people, without an amendment to the Constitution, to provide for the payment to either of the officers named in said article of a sum in ex cess of the amount stated therein. It will be noticed in limine that this ar ticle confers on the Legislature the power to provide by law lor the com pensation of officers whose compensa tion is not "fixed" by the Constitution, and It will hardly be contended by any one, that, if the compensation of any officer is "fixed" by the Constitution, it can be either Increased or diminished by an act of the Legislature, or by a law enacted by the people. The maxim, expresslo unlus est excluslo alterius, applies here. The Legislature can pro vide by law for the compensation of officers only in those cases where the Constitution has failed to "fix" such compensation. The Constitution provides that mem bers of the Legislature shall receive $3 per day and mileage. The only of ficers whose compensation can be said to be "fixed" by the Constitution, then, are the Governor, the Secretary! State Treasurer, Judges of the Supreme Court and members of the Legislature, because the Constitution does not say how much any other officer shall re ceive. It Is plainly Implied by the language of the last sentence of Arti cle XIII. supra, that the salaries of some officers are "fixed" by the Con stitution, and, the question arises, what officers salaries or compensations are so "fixed"? Inasmuch as Article XIII provides how much the Governor, the Secretary, the State Treasurer and the Judges of the Supreme Court shall receive, and another part of the Constitution pro vides how much members of the Leg islature shall have, and there Is no provision as to what any other officer shall receive it seems to be inevitable that the salaries and compensations of those "officers are "fixed" by the Con stitution within the meaning of Arti cle XIII, and cannot be either In creased nor diminished without an amendment to the Constitution. The word "fixed," as used in Article XIII, means "determined, settled." It was evidently the intention of the framers of the Constitution and of those who adopted it, that he salaries provided by Arlcle XIII were so "fixed" by that Instrument, that they could not be either increased nor diminished, with out an amendment of the Constitution. In order that there should be no rea son for doubting that this was their Intention, they added, after stating what each officer should receive: They Ehall receive no fees or per quisites whatever for the performance of any duties connected with their re spective offices." The clause Just quoted applies to each of the officers named in said Article XIII. I am not unaware that certain law yers have expressed the opinion that the salaries fixed by Article XIII could be constitutionally Increased, but It Beems to me that all such opinions are unsound. It took .a long time to prevail on the Legislature to Increase the salaries of the Supreme Judges, and then it was done by an attempted evasion. An attempt to Increase the salaries of those officers was made when the late Hon. John W. Waldo was Chief Justice, and members of the Legislature called on him and asked him whether they had the Constitu tional power to do so. and he told them, with emphasis, that they could not constitutionally do so. That killed the attempt until Strahan and Thayer were on the bench. The various acts attempting to in crease the salaries of the officers named in said Article XH, In my judg ment, are clearly unconstitutional and void. Our state officials should de cline to accept any money In excess of the amount authorized bv the Con stitution, and, if they would do that. an attempt to Increase their salaries by amendment to the Constitution to a reasonable amount would be approved by a vote of the people. But as long as they accept more than twice the amount fixed by the Constitution, It will be difficult to obtain an amend ment of the Constitution on that sub ject. An amendment for the benefit of the Supreme Court was badly defeated last June. The people have a rlgh to re fuse to amend the Constitution for the benefit of officials when It seems certain that the officials concerned have failed to obey the provisions of tne constitution now in force. The salaries of the state officers should be more than the amounts fixed by the Constitution, but the increase should be made by amending that instrument. and not by violating Its provisions. But ..the Legislature has been pre vailed on to pass acts increasing the salaries of the officers in violation, as I contend, of the Constitution. State officials should obey what seems to be the clear meaning of the Constitution and refuse to receive more than the constitutional salaries until the amounts are Increased by constitu tional amendment to a reasonable sum. But as long as the Constitution is vio lated by those whose duty it. is to sup port and defend it, the peope will be a little slow in amending it. W AL-R. EXPERTS DENY . WHEAT FABLE Idaho Experiment Men Say They Are Not Responsible for It. So many Inquiries about the "Alaska wheat" fable have come to the Idaho Experiment Station since the Station Chemist, J. S. Jones, announced re cently: "Judging from the chemical and physical condition of the sample (Alaska wheat), it would rank with the best grade of bluestem for flour making purposes," that the station director, H. T. French, and the station chemist, Mr. Jones, each has Issued a printed letter declaring that the al leged merit of the wheat has not yet been proved. The letters, each dated Moscow, Idaho, one Aug. 13, the other Aug. 15, are as follows: The Experiment Station Is being over whelmed with communications regarding ths so-called "Alaska wheat," claimed to have been originated by Mr. Adams, of Jullaetta. and advertised under the firm name of Adams Hobe Seed Grain Company, Jullaetta, Idaho. The statement has been published that th Idaho Experiment Station Is in some way connected with the development of this wheat, as shown by the following clipping, which has. been extensively copied: "The United States paid eighty million of money tor Alaska, and yet the great gold payment Alaska has returned sinks Into Insig nificance when compared with Farmer Adams' ' Alaska wheat, which In the secret and far away fields of Idaho he has gradually brought , to perfection until he has given to the world a wheat that will grow under average con ditions 200 bushels to the acre. "This is a large assertion and hardly be- -lievable were it not for the faot that It is backed up by surveys of land and output -of threshers, and the yield and quality backed . up by the Idaho Experimental Station at Mos- ' cow, Idaho, and being followed up by other , station, all eager to make a test to see If . they can beat the yield of the originator." 1 wish to state that this Is not true ; except to the extent that th station -chemist. J. S. Jones, analysed a sample ot wheat brought to this station by Mr. Adam in 1807, and said to be of this variety, and : which proved to be a very good wheat Insofar , as Indicated by a chemical analysis. The chemist stated that, "Judging from the chem- ' leal and physical condition of this sample. It would rank with the best grade of blue stem for flour-making purposes." Thus state- ' ment might be misleading unless taken In con nection with explanation of th analyst mads Mr. Adams at that time, which wei-e to the ' effect that the milling qualities of any wheat could be definitely settled only from result : of a milling teat. The yields a stated by ; Mr. Adams are mad up from small areas ' which must be considered in computing re suits. w would respectfully refer all comtnunica tlon to the company handling this wheat, for any attempt on our part to anawer th indl- ! vldual communication would require ad dlttonal force, which we are not In a position to furnish. (Signed) H. T. FRENCH, Director. Replying to your letter of inquiry eoncsrn- ; lr - a variety of wheat raised by Mr. A. A of Jullaetta, Idaho, reports current. In - newspapers regarding enormous yields I salu .j be possible from "Alaska wheat" are I absurd. It is trus. I believe, that this wheat is capable ot yielding much higher than other well-known varieties of wheat. If given a proper chanoe. But apparently figure upon which these reports are based were given by Mr. Adams from result obtained on very mall areas. The Experiment Station doe not vouch for their correctness, and has not had anything to do with the production of this wheat, Its quality 1 muoh in doubt, although during the Summer of 1907 a chemical an alyst ot what was said to be the same va riety of wheat was made In the chemical laboratory of the Experiment Station, and from figures so obtained, as well as from the physical characteristics of the samples, the wheat was pronounced good, the compo sition of the sample analyzed bing quite sim ilar to that of our best milling wheats. Tha owner m-ao advised, however, not to rely ex clusively upon such tests, but to bring in a quantity sufficient for milling, and then per fectly reliable Information could be given him. This milling test, thus far, he has failed to have made, and therefore, the quality of the wheat in question should be considered as doubtful, until the chemical analysis is supplemented by milling and baking tests. (Signed) J. S. JONEi. Station Chemist. MR. BRYAN ON THE TARIFF. Reformers Find It Difficult to Have Much Confldrnre In Him. New York Evening Post. The Democratic party Is. we grant, the party that has traditionally stood for tariff reform: Mr. Cleveland made his second successful campaign with the tariff as practically the sole issue. But pressing as tariff reform has been, ac cording to Mr. Bryan s own conffsslon. he and his party have been tndifferent to it In the last three elections. The tariff should have been revised in 1898, in 1900. or in 1904. Eight yeara ago. as well as four years ago, the Iniquities were quite as monstrous as Mr. Bryan now sees them to be. But the Demo crats, first under the leadership of Mr. Bryan and then under the leadership of Judge Parker, were extremely slack in this matter. They were interested In other things, and as tariff reforms they were almost as lukewarm as the Repub licans. Indeed, the tariff reformers were bitterly disappointed with the conduct of Mr. Bryan and Judge Parker, and felt that tariff reform has been betrayed In the house of Its friends. It Is for this reason that Mr. Bryan's fine professions as a tariff reformer leave us cold, and that his charges of Insincerity and Incon sistency urged against the Republicans and Mr. Taft fall to move us. We will go hs far as anybody In denouncing Re publican Indifference, cowardice and cor ruption on the tariff. But we are not yet ready to accept as our saviour Mr. Bryan, who is the very image of Incon sistency, who has never cared about tariff reform, and who has never used his enormous influence with the Democratic party to make that a dominant issue. Italian Art Treasure for 94. Kansas City Star. In the picture crowded drawing-room of an old-fashioned houoe at Astoria, Long Island, N. Y., hangs a portrait which bears every superficial evidence of being very old, and Its owner be lieves It may prove to be one of the most valuable paintings In existence, It Is a picture of La Fornarlna, the Florentine beauty of the 16th century, whom Sebastian del Plombo Is known to have painted at least twice, and Raphael, the contemporary of Plombo, Is said to have loved. The owner of the picture Is Louis Schildknecht, a retired Astoria merchant and art col lector. He paid $4 for it In a second hand art store six years ago and has since been corresponding with the authorities of the palace of the Ufflzl in Florence and the old museum of Berlin concerning Its authenticity. He Is convinced that It Is one of the sev eral paintings of La Fornarlna which Del Plombo la known to have made. The Village Airsmfclb. Arthur Chapman in th Denver Republican. Over the spreading chestnut tre The village alrsmlth floats: He patches, for a princely fee. Disabled aero-boats. I Long years ago his granddad nailed The shoes on horses' feet; But, when the equine foot gam falls) Th son fixed auto fleet. And when the auto erase rav way, And airships ruled the roost. The grandson, foxy in his day, ' Just gave the shop a boost. He floated It far o'er th town Where granddad went to church, And now the Income he drags down Leaves granddad's In the lurch. So, high above the chestnut tree. The busy forge now flares; The smith ah. who so gay as he. Or who with fower cares? These airship cogs and shafts and such Vost muckle. muckle gold. For each fad finds the fixer' touch Alore shameless than f old. .