8 TJTE 3IORXING OREGONIAX. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1908. PORTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Portland, Oregon, Post office as Second-Class Hatter. eubecrrptton Hairs rlacly tm Advanoa (Br MaUl Dally, Sunday Included, on year 52 Dally. Sunday Included, six montha . 4 20 Dally. Sunday Included, three months. 2.25 Dally, Sunday Included, ona moota.... Dally without Bunday, ana year 6 00 Dally, without Suaday. six months..... 9-23 Dally, without Sunday, three months. 1. 1 Dally, without Sunday, ona month. .... .o Weekly, ona year. 1-50 Bunday, ona year.... 2-30 Bunday and Weekly, ona year......... (Br CarrUr.) Daily. Sunday Included, ona year. . 00 Dally, Sunday Included, ona month. .. . .74 How to Remit Bend postofflca ' money order, axpreaa order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at tna senders risk, uiva postoroce aa- areas in run. including county ana state. Posing Bates 10 to 14 pages. 1 cent: to 2a paarea. 2 cents: SO to 44 Dales. cents; 40 to 00 pages. 4 cents. Foreign post- ace oouoia ratea Eastern Business Office The 8. C. Berk wltli Special Agency New York, rooms 48' E0 Tribune building. Chicago, rooms 610-011 Ario-jjie ouuaing. PORTLAND. TIKSDAV. SEPT. 22, lOOS. 80,921 28,788. From the registration of the elect ors of the state It might appear that Oregon s vote was assured to Taft The registration, as It stands on th rolls at the present time for the entire state Is 80,921 Republican and 28,788 Democratic. Republican majority, 62.133. Now this registration is fraudulent. It Is fraud, open, palpable; gross as a mountain. It simply means that thousands upon, thousands of Demo crats In Oregon registered last Spring, falsely, as Republicans, for the pur pose of participation as Republican in the primary, and nominating the Republican candidates with no inten lion, however, of voting for them in the election. It was the leading card in the play for Chamberlain, and was invited by a faction of Republicans in every part of the state, for promotion of their own objects. Of course It dis gusted others, and It was repudiated by them. As a result of the Juggle Cake was nominated for Senator, and Chamberlain got a plurality in the election. A further remit Is that Legislature nominally Republican by five or six to one. Is actually Demo cratic and. expected to elect a Demo cratic Senator. now many thousands of men in Oregon have lied, and sworn to the lie, to make the registration of the state read 80.921 Republican. 28,788 Democratic? A great many thousands, undoubtedly, or Hon. Milt Miller and his compatriots would not now be en tnusiastic in their expectations of carrying the state for Bryan. We think, however, Taft has chance of carrying the state, but it is certain he will not have a plurality of 52,133 votes. Perjuries recently have been too common to permit any judicious observer to make reasonable calculations. But the main point here is the fact that the primary law with Its sacred "statement," the methods of Its oper ation and the results thereof, far from securing an expression of the will of the people, or establishing the choice of party in making nominations, goes diametrically against those principles. objects and results. In operation, whatever It may have been in intent. It Is a scheme of political thimble rigging, lying, deceit, perjury, fraud, Jugglery and miscellaneous dishonesty claiming the sanction of law, and made loathsome by the pretensions set up for It In the name of reform. "Reform!" Heaven stops the nose at It and the moon a' Inks! The bawdy wind that kisses all It meets Is hushed within the hollow mine of earth And win not hear It! TRADE AND T1IK MXRCHANT MARINE. A San Francisco dispatch announces that the keynote of the coming Trans Mississippi Congress will be "trans- Pacific trade" and "an American mer chant marine." These are live topics. and it is well that they are to be dis cussed here on the shores of the Pa cific, where actual conditions at close range can be studied much easier than theories at long range. The "mer chant marine" not necessarily under the American flag bears a close rela tionship to the trans-Pacific trade. For nearly two years the bulk of this trade has been handled by tramp steamers at rates so low that some of the owners of the vessels have been brought to the verge of bankruptcy. They have handled our exports In the most economically constructed and economically operated vessels afloat, but the stress of competition has been so great, and the supply of tonnage so far In excess of the demand, that It has been simply Impossible for them to return a profit. All of which Is perhaps unfortu nate for the owners, but of course In creases the profits of the men who produce and handle the cargoes. It Is thus quite accurately demonstrated that cheap transportation is benefi cial to the trans-Pacific trade, and if this transportation is to be supplied by an American merchant marine, we must have no handicap of original cost over the ocean carriers with which our chips must compete. . In other words, wa must abandon our present absurd and unbusinesslike policy of forcing the American shipowner to do busi ness with a $500,000 American-built ship in competition with a foreigner who can secure an equally well-built vessel of equal capacity for $250,000. .The Pacific Coast ports at this time are pretty well cluttered up with American schooners and barkentlnes which are unable to enter the foreign trade except in a small way because foreign-built vessels, constructed at much lower cost, can handle "trans Pacific trade," or any other ocean trade, at lower rates than can be met by the American craft, except at a loss. If the men in charge of thla Trans-Mississippi Congress wish to know why the American merchant marine languishes, they should invite Mr. Robert Dollar, of San Francisco, to give some of his personal experi ences as an owner of both American and foreign ships. Expert testimony, such as Mr. Dol lar is In a position to give, might. If properly digested by the delegates, re sult in an appeal to Congress for leg islation that would result in a mer chant marine. Not a subsidy-fed, pampered, weak, nerveless, hothouse affair, but an active, independent mer chant marine, that could float on its own bottom and could on its merits compete with the ships of other na tions which are now carrying: the bulk i of the trans-Pacific trade because they carry It cheaper than we can carry It in our own ships. The sub Ject is an Interesting one. and San Francisco Is an interesting; point a which to study it, and, if the dele ;ates get a good understanding; of It, there will be no further demands for a ship subsidy from the Trans-Mis sisslppi Congress. GREAT VESSELS AND A GREAT RIVER. The steamships Falls of Kith and Cambrian King and the British bark Andorlnha crossed out of the Colum bia yesterday carrying 616,576 bushels of wheat. They were preceded a few days ago by the steamships Braemont and Queen Amelia with 402,206 bush els. The draft of.the big trio sailing yesterday ranged from 23 feet Inches to 24 feet 8 - Inches, and all were taken through from Portland to the sea without the slightest de tention. As an Illustration of the remark able improvement in the river channel it Is interesting to note that the five vessels mentioned, with cargoes of 1,018.782 bushels of wheat, carried greater tonnage than the combined September and October, 1888, fleet of fourteen vessels. The total amount of the fourteen cargoes of twenty years ago was 1,014,543 bushels, and it was necessary to lighter some of this wheat to Astoria, even the diminutive vessels of that period being unable to load to their capacity at Portland. Evidence of this nature shows quite clearly what has been accomplished In the past, and what may be expected in the future. DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASING. The first ray of sunshine in the for elgn trade situation for several months Is noticeable In the August statement of the Bureau of Statistics, comprising exports of breadstuffs, meat and dairy products, food animals, cotton and mineral oil. These figures show a to ta nearly $9,000,000 In excess of the July exports of the same commodities, and are nearly $3,000,000 greater than the amount exported in August, 1907. The showing Is all the more favorable when it is noted that the value of the July exports was much smaller than for the same month In the preceding four years. Wheat and cotton were the two great staples responsible for making August the first month to show an increase this year. In the cereal alone exports rose from 5,861,- 066 bushels, valued at $5,268,980, in August, 1907, to 11,815,605 bushels, valued at $11,964,691 last month. The amount of cotton shipped last month was nearly three times as large as for August, 1907, but, on account of the lower prices, the gain in total value was not so great proportionately. The August Increase, while quite en couraging, was Insufficient to make up much of the .deficit that was caused by the heavy slump In foreign trade earlier In the year, and the total ex ports for the commodities mentioned for the first eight months of the year are but $522,455,600, compared with $555,064,861 for the first eight months of 1907, although they compare favor ably with the exports for the same period in years prior to 1907. Exports of breadstuffs for the eight months were the largest on record, reaching a total of $113,561,150, which was more than $2,000,000 in excess of the pre vious record of 1906. In this feature of the export trade Portland and the Puget Sound cities make a very flattering showing, the value of the breadstuffs exported from the two North Pacific ports exceeding $20,660,000, or considerably more than one-sixth of all that was shipped from the United States. In wheat alone these two ports also make a remark able showing, being credited with 15,- 756,344 bushels out of a total of 54, 082,751 bushels from all American ports. -In meat and dairy products, cattle, hogs and sheep and mineral oils, there was a decrease of several millions. While an Increase In the ex ports of manufactured products is very much desired at this time, it Is hardly probable that it will be In evi dence until fears as to the outcome of the November election have been al- , layed. Our cereal crops and the cot ton crop are so large, however, and the foreign demand is so heavy, that it is reasonable to expect that the up ward move indicated in the August domestic exports will be maintained. There is a big crop at high prices, and it is moving quite rapidly. The Inde pendence of the American farmer was never more apparent than in this year of large crops and high prices follow ing a severe financial upheaval in the country. "BACK TO THE SOIL." A most hopeful sign of the times is the eagerness of farmers .to learn more of their vocation. Time was when plowing and sowing and gather ing into barns met all the requjre- ments of knowledge In farming. The lucky year" was looked for hopefully to balance the short crops of unlucky ears, and severe economy In living, cheap raiment, lack of all Indulgences In the way of amusement or entertain ment, were the only known methods whereby money could be saved to pay the taxes and keep up the interest on the mortgage. All of this Is happily changed. Agri culture has grown to the dignity of vocation that, properly pursued. gives certain results year after year in his blessed land of assured climatic favors. The how, why and wherefore f agricultural methods that produce with unerring certainty the results desired are eagerly and Intelligently sought. It is thus that representatives of the State Agricultural College found attentive audiences at the State Fair when dairying, the control of in sect pests, tree grafting, apple pack ing, the good and bad points In Judg ing stock and kindred topics were pre sented. This was a new feature of the State Fair and one that awakened great interest. Its popularity was as sured from the first, and it will no doubt commend itself to the managers of the State Fairs of the future. It extends the instruction which young men and women receive at the State Agricultural College to farmers who have long outlived their school days and in whose boyhood farming was simply an Inherited vocation. The earnest attention given to the topics treated, by men and women grown middle-aged and even old on the farm, plainly attest the need of the instruc- on given and the open minds with hlch it Is received. . Truly there is much to learn that as not written in me requirements of early farming In Oregon. The pests ntroduced by commerce have come to nest and prey upon the products of , our fields and orchards; the virgin soli, long cropped to a single product which would bear slow transportation to far markets, has been exhausted of Its fertility and become stingy in its yield; civilization has made more ex acting demands upon the quality of products year after year. To counter act these drawbacks and conditions the science of agriculture has arisen and, fostered by the Government, Na tional and state, has become a sure help In time of need. "Back to the soli" is the slogan of this science, and It Is meeting response, far and wide. A BIT OF SAGE ADVICE. The Oregonlan tries to act as nearly as may be like a perfect gentleman when It Is approached upon delicate subjects by a real lady. For that rea son the following Inquiry from "E. J." is not relegated to an obscurely un worthy corner of the paper but is shoved Into as brilliant an illumina tion as possible. "The writer," begins the virtuously inquisitive "E. J.," "is a married woman and while out in the evening with a party of lady friends and their husbands was invited to en ter one of the prominent grills of the city to partake of liquid refreshments. Was it wrong to accept the Invitation under the circumstances?" A good deal depends upon the num ber of husbands each lady friend had along. If she had no more than three or four we can see nothing prima facie wrong about the adventure; but if any member of the gay party had as many as six husbands with her it seems to us -decidedly risque lo "E. J.," to have gone into a grill in such company. It is impossible to give a definite answer to deep and Im portant questions of this sort withou knowing all the particulars of the af fair. For example, how can we say whether it was wicked or not to enter the grill for liquid refreshments when nothing is told us about the refresh ments themselves? If these ladles and their multitudinous husbands par took of whisky one must know the brand, the age of the beverage and whether it was polluted with water or not before the moral quality of their conduct becomes determinable. If champagne was chosen for the liquid refreshment one can declare offhand that if it was made of vinegar, lime and sugar then it was not only wicked to drink it but Bcar.dalous even to be seen where it was kept. If it was the true vintage of the sunny plains of France, we must have further Infor mation before venturing an opinion. In conclusion we are disposed to add, merely as a counsel of perfection that when a real lady goes Into saloon to take a drink she usually brings at least one of her own hus bands along. No matter If she Is chaperoned by several of the husbands of her lady friends she does not feel socially secure without some nearer and dearer protector. CHOLERA I RUSSIA. If new proof were needed of the in capacity of the Russian autocracy to govern it would be furnished In super abundance by the epidemic of cholera which rages from the Caspian Sea to St. Petersburg. Cholera is a disease which originates in filth and thrives upon superstition and ignorance. The civilized world long since outgrew the panic terror which it once inspired whenever it appeared. Rational quar antine, decent habits of life and soap plentifully used deprive cholera of most of its power to slay, but in Rus sia the officials are too busy grafting to set up a quarantine. The disease entered the country last Summer from the region of the Caspian, where the people are too holy to wash them selves or their food and where cholera Is therefore endemic. While the Russian officials were diligently robbing and' torturing the populace the pestilence worked Its way unhindered up the Volga, a great artery of commerce, to the heart of the Empire. Everything was pre pared to make it welcome. The wretched peasants are so ill-fed that their power of resistance is slight. The grain that should nourish' them is ex ported to pay the gambling debts of their rulers. There Is probably not a peasant's house lh any Russian Mir village from the Caspian to St. Peters burg as clean as an American cow barn. Their food is not only insuffi dent but It is filthy. St. Petersburg comes nearer than any other city of the empire to being civilized, but even there we read that th habits of the people are Incredibly foul and the markets reeking with putrid offal. The so-called hospitals of Russia, con trolled by ignorant priests, are simply breeding beds of cholera. In one of them, for example, 300 patients were served by three bath tubs. Such being the facts there is no mystery whatever about the spread of cholera in Russia and Its virulence. Every circumstance Invites a pesti lence and the pestilence has accepted the Invitation. If it were not cholera It would be something else. Instead of honestly facing the facts, however, and fighting the pestilence with good food and cleanliness, the Russian priests have begun to gibber and chatter about it. God has sent it to punish the people for their sins, they say, and they are trying to stay the pestilence by prayer. One can imagine the silly creatures parading up and down the streets with their holy Im ages borne aloft and muttering In cantations as they go. But prayer never yet stayed one epidemic and a good mop Is worth a million elkons when it comes to fighting the cholera. These forforn priests cut a hideous figure but they are dangerous also, for they keep the populace ignorant of -what really ought to be done and induce the afflicted to trust to means which cannot possibly help. Hence the disease will probably take its own course In Russia and it becomes doubly difficult for her civilized neigh bors to quarantine against It. The in habitants are utterly Ignorant of the danger to themselves and to others from their habits and for this igno rance they may thank their priests. Russia menaces the world now both as a hotbed of revolution and as a breeding ground of pestilence. Each condition is directly attributable to her wretched government. The Rus sian people are as Intelligent and capable as any In the world and they would take an honorable place among the nations If they only had decent rules. As they have not, they must submit to military torture, to starva tion and pestilence while the rest of mankind looks upon their country as a plague spot both moral and physical. Still, however we may deplore the tvranny and superstition which deliver the Russian people wholesale to the pestilence, we need not be particularly alarmed for ourselves. Population which are cleanly and well fed are 1 no great danger from the cholera, but it is well to remember that the more sanitary we make our surroundings the safer we are. Quarantine alone is but a poor defender when there are filth and decay to play the traitor within the walls. There is valid objection to the pur chase of a house built for a private residence for public purposes. In this view the purchase of the C. E. Smith homestead In South Portland for the purpose of transforming it into county hospital is unwise. Sultabl sites for a hospital building are not wanting and there is little doubt but one could be secured and a building sufficiently commodious to meet all de mands for some years to come constructed thereon at a cost but little, if any, in excess of that which will be required to purchase and transform this private dwelling into hospital. Any one who has had expe rlence In remodeling an old house will coincide with this view. Multnomah County needs a new hospital, but It should have a building for that pur pose constructed from the ground up in accordance -with modern plans for such institutions. Patchwork In car pentry, plumbing, lighting, heating, drainage, etc., is both expensive and unsatisfactory. Nevada has the unenviable dlstinc tion of being the only state In the Union in which open gambling Is tol erated. With a view to ridding the state of such disastrous notoriety, special election will be held next month for the purpose of attempting to legislate the evil out of existence. A news dispatch from Reno says that the stringency of the laws In other parts of the country has resulted In driving to Nevada nearly every proml nent gambler in the country. Thl might be a good time to apply the Jack-rabblt-drlve plan to the gam biers. Having them all In a corral in Nevada offers a good opportunity for getting rid of them. It might not be good policy to knock them in the head, but as an alternative for that plan they might be herded together and forced to live off each other. The world Is too busy Just now to be both ered with parasites, and they should be removed, and the removal will be simplified by getting them all in bunch. a A modest touring car with a party of six pleasure-seekers, while proceed Ing at a leisurely pace in Watsonville, Cal., Sunday, collided with a telegraph pole, wrecking the machine and injur Ing all of the occupants. On the same day a Los Angeles auto-maniac drove his machine 100 miles in three hours and thirty-five minutes over the "most dangerous course in the country" and escaped uninjured. The expression fool for luck" Is not uncommon, and It seems to be based on some tangible evidence. With Spring wheat yielding forty bushels per acre In Washington County, it would appear that some of the "Valley wheat" fields were not yet doomed to extinction. Even at forty bushels per acre and the price close to $1 per bushel, the wheat crop Is hardly as good a wealth producer as fruit and dairy products, but in some respects it is easier to produce, and if the yield reported and present prices were assured, there would be a big output of wheat from the Willamette Valley for an indefinite period. A tavern is being built on the Zig zag River, near the toll gate on the Mount Hood wagon road. It would have been a welcome sight to the Immigrants of the ox-team era who crossed and recrossed the Zigzag in the late October days a half a century and more ago, as they struggled on toward the "settlements." Like most other things In this life, a tavern at that place comes after the real need for it Is past. "Print the names! print the names! shouted the Democrats scofflngly when there was complaint that hundreds of Democrats had registered as Repub licans for the dishonest - purpose of directing the action of the Republi can primaries. The names have been printed for Portland. There is the record. Who can dispute it? The registry lists are now open again, and you will not see the new registrations favor the Republicans as three or four or five to one. The lists will be more nearly even. Further need Is none of that fraudulent pro ceeding and perjury to support. The game, for this year, has been played. Six games in a row is a good enough record for any ball team. The Beavers frequently play like a ball team. T3ut how often do the rooters and bugs make a noise like boosting for the home team? The Pemocratic ideal of a real Democrat In Oregon is of a self sacrificing citizen who is willing to go to the extent of perjury in order to make trouble at a Republican pri mary. Everybody on the Republican side appears to be anxious to nave u known that Chairman Hitchcock is running this campaign. Then some body is running it? There is loud Democratic complaint of course because Taft didn't "repudi ate" Foraker. What would you call what happened to Foraker after the upset? Those 500 Democrats will all make neat little explanations as to why they did it; and no two of them will be alike. But it matters little. They did it. The President is running a pretty efficient publicity campaign himself under the Oyster Bay date line. But it bears the White House stamp. Wilbur Wright made another world's ae'roplane record yesterday. It will be observed that nobody went with him. Congressman J. Adam Bede might get even by descending on Danville and running in Uncle Joe Cannon s district. Mr. Bryan spent a whole day Sun day with David B. Hill and Alton Parker. All escaped alive. AS "ISTDEPEIVDENT" LOOK AT IT Comments an Last Week's Electioa la the State of Maine. Best commentaries we have seen on last week's election in Maine are pre sented by the New York World and New York Times. Here is what the World said: Mr. Taft would have better cause for gratification over the result If the Bepub can National organization had not mada special efforts to help matters by keeping National Issues like the tariff to the front during the campaign. The situation was known to be shaky weeks ago because of the strong popular interest In the resubmis sion of prohibition as urged by the Dfmo crats. At the same time the enthusiasm of political seers like Mr. Bryan who are searching for signs of Democratic victory In November should be tempered by the cir cumstance that the Maine Democrats sedu lously avoided the discussion of National Questions and stuck with all their might to the resubmission Issue, which "a large Republican element waa known to favor. Some Prohibitionists even had advocated re submission, because they were convinced that the people would again vote for pro ' hlbltlon and ao settle the matter for a gen eration. So far as the Republicans tried to make of the Maine election a preliminary test on National Issues they failed, and by thel failure the Maine Democratis profited In carrying out their campaign policy. Th most significant thing In the election that In a Republican stronghold where or gent appeals were made to the partisanship of the majority a large body of Republican should have been wltlinr to desert their party and vote Independently In a purely state matter, without regard to the effect on the Presidential election. Following is the article by the Times, reprinted entire: It waa polite and polltlo for Mr. Bryan to congratulate the Democratic chairman In Maine on the result of the state election, and natural that he should be "gratified a the returns." On the other hand. It was but prudent for Mr. Taft to remark that he had predicted the result and that.lt had no National significance. On the one hand and the other, these are but the ways of candl dates, the most dignified of whom always try to make things look aa bright as pos sible. The real significance of the Maine elec tion, we should say. Is not very great as bearing on the National election, but what It has Is not favorable to Mr. Taft. The Issue of prohibition was practically local, and the Democrats had a candidate very popular -wl:h the farmers, so that the de elded change In the voting was In tho country districts. How far It was due to the ntl-prohlbitlon sentiment, and how far to the clannlshness of the farmers. It Is not easy to say. The fact remains that Bundry thousands of rural voters, who have hith erto stood fast by the Republican party, voted the Democratic ticket. That may not show that they will vote for Bryan In No vember, but It shows that they are not so enthusiastic over Taft In Maine that they feel compelled to deny themselves the luxury of voting against the party on local Issues. If Ilka conditions prevail In other states the Republicans would do well to at tend to them aa promptly and efficiently as possible. Looking over the whole field, and noting such signs of public feeling as there are at this point In the campaign. It Is reasonable to say that there Is no evidence of a strong popular sweep toward Taft, while there Is evidence that Bryan Is stronger than he has been In his two preceding campaigns. In other words, as things now look. Mr. Taft is safe because he has a very wide margi: to depend on. and Mr. Bryan's prospects are not substantially encouraging because he haa so large a margin to overcome. As for the local Issues, we think that most sensible men will not be sorry that the uncompro mising prohibition policy has received l setback In the state where It has been the most firmly Intrenched. Ultimately the spirit that administered this setback is likely to be directed toward the general policy of uni versal Government interference and regula tion in matters which the Government Is peculiarly unfitted to manage. empire: state bosses op- today Aa They Appear at the Saratoga Con vention. From Dispatch to the New York Even ing Post. A vast majority of the 1009 delegates to this convention are veterans of many political fray. Probably three fourths of them have attended as many as a half-dozen state conventions. All the old leaders are here men who ran the oolltlcal machine In New York State before this year's "first voters" were born. Every man who has aspired to leadership in the Empire State in the last quarter of a century is here, with the exception of Thomas C Piatt. There are Senator Depew and ex-Senator Frank Hiscock and his on. Justice Hiscock, ex-Governor Odell and ex-Governor Black, Colonel Dunn, George W. Aldridge, General Stewart L Woodford, Seth Low, Wil liam R. Wilcox, Francis Hendricks, Lou Payn and J. Sloat Fassett Yet not among them all Is there a man who measures up to the leaders of the past as a master of the political game. Odell might essay such a role if he would, some say, but it is clear that he does not see just what advantage would accrue to him by organizing a band of bosses, every one of whom would turn upon him at the first op portunity. So Odell is quiescent. 'If Tom Piatt were In the saddle we wouldn't present such a sad spectacle," growled one "leader" who had an active hand in dethroning that one-time boss. Of course, Tim Woodruff is the last man any one would look to for the sort of leadership that is demanded. Certainly Woodruff presents the most ludicrous picture of them all. Fassett nd Payne and Hendricks and Barnes have the courage of their convictions, at least so far as talk is concerned. Dunn and Aldridge and "Ben" Wilcox are willing to be counted for Hughes, realizing as they do there Is no other course open to them. But woodruft its uneasily on the fence; it hurts him, and he squirms and makes faces. but that is all. When he does get off the fence, as he must sooner or later, the chances are that it will not be of is own volition. He will be pushed r he will fall. Thus, with no candidate to oppose the Governor in sight, kicking and screaming like so many naughty schoolboys, the "patroons" are being ragged slowly but surely to the In evitable. Wanta Insurance Asratnst Airships. Winsted Dispatch to New York World. Jacob Weiner, a farmer of Nepaug, came here to buy fire Insurance. He insisted on there being a flying-ma- hlne clause In the policy, saying he had read how Orville Wright had per fected his aeroplane, and he thought there was aa much danger of a flying machine striking and wrecking his building as lightning if aeronautics keep pace with the development of auto mobiles. The farmer wanted a five-year policy. but when informed by Justice James Smith, the Insurance agent, that he was head of the Insurance companies. hlch have not yet begun to insure against loss by flying machines, he said dejectedly: Insure my buildings for one year nly. Perhaps the companies will be p to date by the time my policy ex pires" Silver Spoon In Shark's Interior. Hartford (Conn.) Dispatch. In the body of a shark caught by flsh- rmen on a line neir new London, Conn., was found a heavy silver soup spoon four inches long on which was engraved "Pequot House." J BIG EXGIXES ARE VIEWED Railroadmen Witness Test or Giant Locomotives. j Herrlman superintendents of motive power, who are in session in this city, returned Sunday night from Lester, Wash., where they went to see the North ern Pacific's Mailett compound locomo tives In action on the steep grades of the Cascade Range. William Evans, of Port land, representing the Baldwin Locomo tive Works, accompanied them. The party left Portland in a special train Friday night. Breakfast was taken at Tacoma Saturday morning, and a trol ley ride was given the party about the city by Manager Dlmlck, of the Tacoma Railway & Power Company, who also. took the superintendents for a ride ou to American Lake. Luncheon was given the railroaders by A. A. Hilton at the Union Club. The special train was taken to Lester after luncheon, where the visitors were received by Messrs. Moir and Crosby, of the Northern Pacific and were taken over the mountains on a large Mailett compound engine. The work of these big roadsters was watched with interest by the motive power superintendents. Two of the big fellows, weighing 316.000 pounds on the drivers, were found to do as much work and consume less fuel as three of the old type formerly in use on the steep mountain grades. Helper en gines have been done away with on the grades out of Lester. On the track run nlng up the mountain side for 14 mites, where there Is a grade of 2.2 per cent, two Mailett compounds and a Mikado locomotive-hooked onto a trainload of 1800 tons and carried it up the grade at I rate of ten miles an hour. Upon the return to Tacoma, the su perlntendents went on to Seattle and were given a trolley ride about, the city dv superintendent Kempster, of the Beat tie traction lines. The return trip from Seattle to Portland was made In record time, leaving Seattle at 11 o'clock Sunday forenoon and reaching Portland at o'clock that afternoon. The run from Goble to Portland was made In 45 mln utes. bixty-seven miles an hour was made with ease on the trip down from the Sound. Even better time would have been made but for a half-hour's delay at Kalama. The train was made up of five private cars, brought here by the super intendents, and a baggage coach. Those making the trip were: First Section Mr. Crosby, general mas ter mechanic Northern Pacific; Mr. Bruce, master mechanic. Northern Pacif ic, Tacoma; Mr. Fuller, superintendent of motive power, Union Pacific and wife, Omaha; Mr. Dalley, chief draftsman, Union Pacific, and wife, Omaha; Mr. N.;uffer, superintendent of motive power, Illinois Central, and wife, Chicago; Mr. Ryan, superintendent of motive power, Texas & Northern, and wife, Houston; Mr. Cade. M. C. B., Texas & Northern, Houston; Mr. Davlsson, su perintendent of motive power, San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake, and wife, Los Angeles; Mr. Dunn, superintendent of motive power, Oregon Short Line, and wife, Salt Lake; Mr. Fields, superintend ent O. R. & N., Portland; Mr. Younger, master mechanic. Southern Pacific, Port land. Second Section Mr. Moir, superintend ent of motive power. Northern Pacific, St. Paul; Mr. Small, general superintendent of motive power. Southern Pacific San Francisco; Mr. Stillman, mechanical en gineer. Southern Pacific. San Francisco Mr. Heltzleman, superintendent of mo tive power. Southern Pacific Sacramento; Mr. Sheedy, superintendent of motive power. Southern Pacific, Los Angeles; Mr. Fltzpatrick, road foreman. Northern Pacific Tacoma; Mr. Gilman, M. C. B. Northern Pacific, Tacoma.; Mr. Graham, superintendent of motive power, O. R. & N., Portland. HARRIMAX OFFICES ENLARGED Ticket and Freight Business in Single Headquarters. Marked improvements are being made In the ticket offices of the Harrlman lines at Third and Washington streets. The partition at the rear of the room is be ing taken out. and the barbershop in the rear will be occupied by the railroad of fice. A new counter 40 feet long, said to be the longest in any ticket office on the Coast, Is being Installed. A feature of the changes now being made Is the combination of freight and passenger offices in one. Not only will C. W. Stinger, city ticket agent for the allied lines, still maintain his headquar ters In the same office, but H. E. Louns bury, general agent of the freight depart ment, will also occupy the room, having his desk in the rear. To give room for both divisions of traf fic, another office on the ground floor of the Falling building, now occupied by the Northwestern, will be Included In the main ticket office, making a very large room. The freight office to be moved to Third and Washington is now carrying on Its business at 102 Third street. When It moves to the new location, the North western office will remove to the room at 102 Third. It will be several weeks before all these changes can be brought about, but there Is a force of carpenters at work remodel. Ing the Interior of the office to be changed. Additional clerks will be re quired when the quarters are enlarged In accordance with present plans. The In creasing business handled by Mr. Sting er's office made It imperative to have more room. Freight Service to Salem. Freight service was inaugurated on the main line of the Oregon Electric yesterday between Portland and Salem. Dally freight trains will run In each direction hereafter, and will handle any quantity of freight, either carloads or less than carloads. Freight service has not been provided heretofore, on ac count of the purchase of a large num ber of freight cars in the East and the delay In their arrival. They have come and are being put in service. The com pany's new freight depot at Water and Jefferson streets was opened yesterday and will hereafter receive and dispatch freight. G. W. Talbot to Go East. G. W. Talbot, general manager of the Oregon Electric Railway, will leave the city next Monday for a month's visit in the East. He will attend the annual convention of the general managers of the American Street and Interurban Railways, which meets at Atlantic City, October 12-16, and will also hold con ferences with the Moffatt & White in terests in New York, who control the Oregon Electric. Prospective Improve ments and the building of feeder lines next season will be talked over by Mr. Talbot while in New York. Traffic Agents Visitors. Ernest Carley, manager of the North western department of the Cunard Steam ship line, with offices at Minneapolis. F. Cook, passenger agent for the Colorado & Southern Railway, at Trinidad, Cal., D. B. F. Buckingham, purchasing agent for the St. Paul road, at Seattle, and C. W. Mount, general agent at Lewiston for the O. R. &. N., were outside trans portation officials who spent yesterday In Portland on business for their respective lines. Railroad President Coming. B. L Winchell. president of the Rock Island system, is due to arrive in Port land today. Mr. Wlnchell's headquar ters are In Chicago, and he Is on a trip of Inspection of the Pacific Coast coun try. He spent yesterday In Seattle and la on his way south. I VEHICLE TAX HELD VALID Judge Gantennein Cites Illinois De cision as Precedent.- Constitutionality of the vehicle tax was upheld by the State Circuit Court yesterday, and the City Council's right to pass an ordinance establishing that assessment was affirmed. A. A. Kad derly and J. C. Mann, who resisted pay ment will either have to appeal to the Supreme Court or stand trial on a charge of operating delivery vehicles without the required-licenses. The case was decided by Judge Gan tenbeln, who based his decisions on fldlngs of the Illinois Supreme Court in similar litigation. The matter was presented In court in the form of a de murrer by the city to an application from Kadderly and Mann for a writ of habeas corpus. They applied for this writ following their arrest for viola tions of the vehicle tax ordinance. It was contended by them that they already were paying personal property tax on the vehicles as well as an occu pation tax. and that to make an ad ditional levy on their vehicles would be triple taxation and contrary to the Constitution. Judge Gantenbein said that the City Council received Its authority to pass such an ordinance from the Legisla ture and that the action of the Legis lature In granting such right was clearly In harmony With the Constitu tion. He sustained the City's demur rer and thereby brought the litigation to an end, unless appeal is taken, which is not thought likely. HOTEL-OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE Acceptance of Valuable for Safe keeping Slakes Him Liable. When a hotel-clerk accepts a pock etbook for safe-keeping the hotel company is responsible for the con tents, according to a decision made by Circuit Judge Cleland yesterday. The case at Issue was that of Mary E. Clay against the Merchants hotel. The wo man is a palmist doing business across the street from the hotel. She was In the habit of leaving her purse there nights. Recently she left her purse, containing 192, with E. T. Hess, the night clerk. Hess threw the money into a drawer while he attended to a bus-load of new arrivals and later placed It In the safe. When the owner called for her money next day there was but $4.60 left. The hotel management resisted payment ef the difference and the matter was taken into court. Employing Firm Wins Snlt. Henrietta Magone's suit to collect money her son would have earned had he not been disabled, failed In the Cir cuit Court yesterday. She asked that the Portland Manufacturing Company be compelled to pay her $2000 because her lft-year-old son lost his left hand while ' working for the company two years ago and thereby the boy's earning capacity was cut down. The suit waa decided by a Jury which was Instructed in favor of the defendant firm by Judge Morrow. Seeks Divorce and Her Child. Mary E. Scott asked the Circuit Court yesterday for a divorce from Alvah Scott. They were married No vember 12, 1S09, at Lancaster, Neb., and Scott disappeared in June, 1907, while they were In Portland. She asks the custody of their 4-year-old son, declaring that Scott Is not a fit person to have charge of him. Three Prisoners Are Arraigned. Three arraignments were held In the Circuit Court yesterday. Charles Healy, charged with forgery, pleaded not guilty. Llllle Morris, charged with assaulting Glen Terry, a boy, pleaded not guilty and a similar plea was made by P. H. Triggs. charged with beating Vernon Knight. OREGOX SCHEDULE OF BELL California Congressman Will Not Speak Here This Campaign. Congressman Theodore A. Bell, of California, will not speak In Portland this campaign, although he will make three addresses in the state this week. Last night he addressed the Democrats at Medford, tonight he will speak at Eugene and at Salem Wednesday night. The following night he will be at Seattle. But for the fact that Senator Gore, the blind orator of Oklahoma, Is scheduled to speak: here Friday night under the auspices of the Democratic State Central Committee, arrange ments probably would have been made by which the chairman of the Denver convention would deliver an address in Portland. Forest Grove Plans Taft CInb. W. A. Williams, of Forest Grove, called at Republican headquarters yesterday and reported that a Taft Club would be organized in that city tonight, under the auspices of the Republican State Central Committee. The Bourne people quietly organized such a club in Forest Grove a few weeks ago, but when the responsibil ity for Its organisation was discovered the club was dissolved and Its delegates to the state convention of Taft clubs were withdrawn. The club to be formed to night will be organized by many of the members of the original club but It will be affiliated with th3 Republican State organization, according to Mr. Williams. John Temple Graves to Speak. Paullnus McDonald. Who is in charge. of the Independence party headquar-V ters In this city, has completed a.r-J rangements for the meeting to be held! under the auspices of this political organization at the Knights of Pythias Hall next Saturday night. At that' time John Temple Graves, Independ-. ence nominee for Vice-President, will deliver an address. If the hall should prove insufficiently large to accommo date the audience, Mr. iraves win speak from a carriage In the street. Sunnyside to Have Rally. Republicans at Sunnyside have ar ranged for a big rally Thursday night The principal speaker will be Mayor George F. Rodgers, of Salem, who has notified the State Central committee that he will take the stump for two or three weeks in the Interest oi lan. There will be several local speakers at the Sunnyside meeting. Democrats Will Hold Meeting. A loint meeting of Precincts 42 and 43, Sellwood. has been arranged by the Democrats to be held next Monday night In Union Hall, Thirteenth and Tenino streets. A list of the speaners for this meeting has not been selected byCounty Chairman Thomas. ' Football Players to Meet. A special meeting of the general body of association football players will be held under the auspices of the Portland Association Football Club tonight. In the office of District Attorney Camer on. The report of the committee of . seven, appointed to make recommenda tions covering all the present season's football problems, will be received, and any persons Interested in the game are invited, whether members of last year's clubs or not