Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, December 12, 1908, Image 8

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

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Newspaper Page Text8 ' ' TTE MORNING ORgdOXIAS. SATURDAY, DECE3IBEK 12, 19Q3. FORTLAXD, OREGON. Knterad at PrtUa4. Orason. Foawmoa stacoml-Cteaa Matter. .. ibaorlptton Bae InTmrWbly 1" Aarraaw. (Br Mll ) '.al!y. Sunday Included, om year...... Bally. Sunday Incluaaa. Paliy, Sunday Included, threa montna. . J 'al : y, sunaar ibciuupu. rml'.T. without Sunday, ona year...... I "ally, wltnouc mh. ,wi l ti.mv .nhnut Sunday, tare '" Pally, without Sunday, ona monto.. Weekly, ona yaar Sunday, ona year Euaday and Weekly, ona yaar pally. Sunday Included, ona yaar...... rallv. Sunday Included, ooa moots.... , m nn noatofflca money "" ' - , , -,Pk roar, expreaa orr r - your local bank, btampa. coin or rnTnacy are at tha sender's run. uiva 'iZtZ arena m zuil. lsciuuidi . - i n . a ii 1 canti 1 to 80 paaaa. a 'cent. Foreign postal doubla ratea. , rh. n ft Rack with Special Agency New Tfork. roomi 4S to Tribune building. Chicago, room olu-aia Tribune ouiioing. PORTLAJTO. SATVRDAY. DEC. 1. 1B0- A PYRRHIC VICTORT. Of course It la well tha Ruef has at io-t hn nvk-ted. Tha event is aus picious and tha widespread rejoicing over It Is reasonable. " help recalling: that It has taken 106 days to bring; In the verdict of guilty against this notorious criminal after he had virtually admitted bis guilt. In the course of tha trial there ha been tortnous delay. AU the arts of the blackleg- and the rough, not ex cepting attempted murder, have been practiced to intimidate Jurymen, per plex the court and pervert Justice. The good citizen will, upon reflection, find that his Joy over Ruefs long-delayed conviction is greatly tempered by grief that It could not have been se cured months ago. The base devices which the defense has employed in the Ruef trial, and which our system of criminal Jurisprudence permitted It to employ, are a reproach to the Intel ligence and a blot upon the integrity of the American people. Of the 10 days which have elapsed since this confessed criminal was brought to bar, more than half were consumed in choosing a Jury- Then rami) endless wrangUnga over a change of venue. Lawyer Ach and his col leagues Insisted that the San Francisco judge was unfair to their unspeakable client and that the local Jury could not try him Impartially. Then ensued Interminable word battles over "what testimony should be admitted. Finally the attempt to murder horrified tha world, but this attempt shocked de cent men a good deal less than did the shameless effort of Ruef s lawyers to turn it to the advantage of their client Following the abortive effort to kill Mr. Heney came another motion for a change of venue, with the accompany ing worthless and Impertinent argu ments! But all that is now happily past. The ' scandalous proceedings have become a part of history which future generations will peruse with .burning blushes for the time we live In and the Ruef case now goes a step upward on Its sinuous way. Of course the verdict Is not final. It decides nothing. It is but a step In the proceedings, and not a very im portant step, either. Mr. Ach confi dently states that he knows the ver diet will be reversed, and. while of course there is some bravado in his assertion, he does not speak wholly without warrant. He knows better then almost any other man the ways of the higher courts of California. He Is conversant with the minute techni calities which so often prevail over 'justice In those courts, and he knows the forces which determine their de cisions. When he says, therefore, that he knows the Ruef verdict will be re versed, we must give him credit for peaking, somewhat indiscreetly, from deep and adequate sources of infor mation. To an outsider, who has nothing to judge the future by except what has happened in the past. It ap years extremely likely that the Ruef verdict will be reversed and this fa mous character again set free and ab solved from punishment for his con fessed crimes. So far as one caa discern, the Cali fornia Superior Courts, like those of many other states, are vastly more concerned with the mint, anise and cummin of legal technicalities than they are with weighty matters of Jus tice. They care more for a punctua . tion point than for the publio welfare, and value a rule of scholastic logic In finitely higher than the safety of hu man life. Mr. Charles J. Bonaparte adverted to this subject ton November 18 at Pittsburg in a notable speech which the Outlook has published. He tells of a certain thief in New Tork who was arrested, tried and convicted all in one day, and then makes the extremely perti nent Inquiry why something sim ilar cannot be done with all thieves and with all murderers? "If this was done in one case," says the Attorney General of the United States, "why cannot something like It be done, in any case? Why need theer be a fore taste of eternity between, arrest and Indictment, another between Indict ment and trial, yet another between trial and actual punishment?" His reply is that these delays exist because bench and bar tolerate all kinds of "dilatory, frivolous and often ridicu lous proceedings on the part of un scrupulous counsnl. intended to cheat Justice of 'her plain due." Proceedings of' the kind which Mr. Bonaparte condemns so vigorously and so Justly have been carried to the ex treme of possible tolerance in the Ruef case. His trial will go down into his tory as probably the worst example of delayed and thwarted justice which this age of simpering and senseless criminal jurisprudence can exhibit. A generation or two from now school boys will read the accounts of Ruef, his debased crimes and his astounding trials, and will be taught to wonder why such things could be In an age and country which pretended to be civilized In saying that our criminal proceedings must be reformed, Mr. Bonaparte speaks the mind of every thoughtful citizen of the United States. We have had far too much of scholastic technicalities, rules of logic and metaphysical discriminations be tween admissible and inadmissible evi dence. What we want now Is a little plain, sensible Justice, and certainly a way will be found to obtain it. An occasional gleam of light flashes out from Darkest Russia warning the world that hope is not yet dead and that justice gets an occasional glance from behind her blinders. The latest case of this nature Is mentioned in a cable from Kaftan, Russia, announcing the sentence to six years' Imprison ment at labor, of the local Commis sioner of Police on a charge of syste tnaUcaiiy lu-treatiag the prisoners in , his oar. If the usual Russian methods are considered, there Is of course a possibility that this official may also be the victim of the Jobbery that is so plentiful among "Russian officials themselves. Even If this be the" case and the prisoners are the beneficiaries of a falling out among thieves" or rascals, it will help somewhat and as sist us in believing that some day Rus sia will reform all along the line In stead of In Isolated spots. PATIJiO FOR WATER IX PORTLAND. Water rates in Portland will be cut one-half. If the Council shall enact the recommendation of. the Water Com mittee. Consumers 'will not then pay for main extensions; this cost will be assessed agamst benefited landowners. This is Just and right. But another part of the scheme shouM not be en grafted on the policy of the city. That Is the plan to saddle on taxpayers, in stead of on water consumers, the debt and interest for the new 13,000.000 pipe from Bull Run. The amended city charter prescribes this method; it was enacted at the polls last June by a narrow majority. Had K been fully understood by all voters it probably would have been defeated. The charter amendment declares that the "said bonds and Interest are to be paid from taxes to be assessed, levied and collected upon all real and personal property in the City of Port land, not exempt from taxation." The cost of water supply should devolve properly on consumers. That Is the universal rule throughout the United States. A public utility ought to be self-sustaining. That Is the rule Port land has followed up to tha present time. But now the charges are to be Imposed on property-owners. Slngle taxers successfully Injected this notion Into the amendment last year. Em boldened by their success, they tried to Impose single tax on the whole state last June and were defeated by a ma jority of 28.805 votes. It is right that the cost of distribut ing pipes should be paid for by the benefited property. In the suburbs of Portland land has been enhanced many hundreds of thousands of dol lars in value by extensions, as for ex ample by the laying of the big tube from Mount Tabor to the northern part of the East Side. That tube was paid for by water consumers, and real estate speculators doubled and trebled their land prices. The new pipe from Bull Run will benefit all water consumers, however. and they ought to pay for It. Before the new policy shall be settled on the city by the sale of bonds, the amend ment should be changed. This could be accomplished a least before much of the new debt shall be created. The charter revision committee ought not to waste all Its time on empty com plexities while a simple matter like this lies watting. - Here It is almost time to sell the first installment of bonds and the committee has not even reached the subject. There are too many words and notions in that com mittee for the city's good. THE Iff MAX 8TRR WHO IS NOT A FATHER. The octogenarian of Columbus, Georgia, to whose wife triplets were born a few days ago the trio round ing out the number of two dozen chil dren of whom he was the father no doubt in his senile glee considers him self a benefactor of his race and Na tion. It does not take a very lively Imagination to depict the outfit of which this man Is the family head. Irresponsibility and unthrift, charac teristic of the poor white trash of the black belt of the South, have more than likely left their stamp upon the faces of these children, born old. The story of the lives of their several mothers would add a chapter of misery and pathos to the folk-tales of the South, which are all the chronicles left of the one-time existence of myriads of benighted and suffering human beings of this class-r-lf we ex cept the tallow-faced, shock-headed, slim-bodied, narrow-chested children who swarm In and out of factories at the sound of the gong their condition in life attesting the utter failure of their parents to make life worth liv ing for their descendants. Sketch, poem and story have each borne their part In the chronicles of this class of men and women in the South. Her more favored sons and daughters have furnished these stories and poems from the wealth of their own Intellectual develop ment and the abundance of their observation. These authors - have drawn with sympathetic Insight the characters peculiar to their own sec tions or states, and these tales make up the annals of a distinctive class, al most a distinctive raoe of people densely ignorant, enormously prolific and wholly Irresponsible. Mr. Page and Mrs. Stuart have written the short and simple annals of these people in Virginia and Alabama; Miss Murbee, In Tennessee, "Octave Thanet" In the Southwest. James Lane Allen la Kentucky and Joel Chandler Harris and Richard Malcolm John stone in Georgia. Humor and pathos have been interwoven In these tales. Investing them with a quaint Interest and specific value, all their own But after all, and necessarily, the chronicles of the lives of these peo ple are unwritten. The dead level of their existence was broken only by the most commonplace occurrences the birth and death of children; mar riages instigated solely by the sex Instinct: fierce hatred born of narrow ness and Isolation; ease-loving days unbroken by toll and unvexed by the thought of the morrow; physical suf fering unalienated by sanitation or medical science and premature decay of such faculties as they possessed, becaruse of the stagnation of their un eventful, starved existence. Without knowing, it is still safe to assume that this old Georgian, who at eighty-two years of age is showing his toothless gums In a senile grin be cause be has Just become the father of triplets, is an ignorant old "crack er," whose chief boast in life is that he belongs to the superior race. Bank ing upon this superiority he has all his life refused to work. Judging from the statement that he Is the father of twenty-five children, he has probably buried three or four wives. and as he sits smoking upon his cabin porch and watches his children of all ages and both sexes file, with languid step, in and out of the factory, he doubtless congratulates himself that he was able to marry enough women to bring him this army of workers. That they are weaklings does not mat ter; that they are ignorant of what Is learned in schools, even lnoluding the alphabet, gives him no concern. Content and happy in that he is the sire of a numerous progeny, he takes no thought of his duty as a father. In the higher state of civilization to which, with characteristic optimism social reformers look hopefully, re fusing to be disheartened by the ex amples of parental . Irresponsibility that abound on every hand, such a man as this or a man with such a record as this, will not be able to hold up his head In the community. Alas, for the burdens that will have to be carried by thrift, before the dream of these social reformers comes true - and Irresponsible parentage is added to the catalogue of crimes thereby in time immeasurably short ening it. A SYSTEMATIC FXA. It can (hardly be disputed that the most important subject now before the American public is the husbandry of our great natural resources. President Roosevelt made no mistake in empha sizing this matter, both in his mes sage to Congress and In his address before the Conservation meeting on December 8 in Washington. Natural resources properly Include everything that Nature has provided for the wel fare of man. not only mines, forests and soil, but also navigable streams. . Both the President and Mr. Taft argued for the organization of a sys tematic scheme of conservation which should co-ordinate the work In all parts of the country and make every dollar expended tell for permanent re sults. Of course this Is merely apply ing common sense to the problem, but ita a plKPwhere. common sense is more needed than anything else. Hitherto the money spent upon so called Improvements has largely been wasted because It was spent without a plan. It is a comfort to know that Mr. Roosevelt's successor will advo cate rational forethought and sys tematic effort in dealing with this fun damental problem. THE LATEST DAIRY STORY. It Is evident from Incidents cited and stories related by dairy inspect ors, before the Oregon Dairy Associ ation now in session at Salem, that some of the men who handle the dairy product from cow to creamery 'Will not observe the simple rules of cleanliness without compulsion by law. The pub lic had heard before of cream liter ally rotting In cans in the hot sun on railroad platforms en route to cream eries, its condition being made mani fest by the bulging covers of the cans and, upon closer Inspection, by rancid odors that put to shame the rank smell that hung around the old wooden churn of "country butter" notoriety. It had heard before of malodorous milkmen sitting under reeking cows in the rain while drip pings from their hands and sleeves mingled with the rivulets that streamed down the sides of the cows and fell with the milk into the pail. But it remained for a woman who is Deputy Inspector of palries for Coos County to add the cap to this climax of disgusting truths by telling the story of a dairyman who, not having a washing cloth at hand, pulled off one of his socks and used it to cleanse (?) the separator and make it ready for the next drawing of milk. Mrs. Yoakum, who added this Inci dent from her own experience to the history of dairying in Oregon, Is right. The only way to "educate" those dairymen, to whom cleanliness is a virtue unknown, Is to enact and en force stringent laws whereby dairy products would be protected from careless and unclean handling from the cow to the market. Compulsory education is a good thing, when need ed, as it evidently 1s In this connection. THE lION PACIFIC RETORT. Small wonder that Mr. Harriman's annual report on Union Pacific created a furore of buying of Harriman stocks. There are some features of the report that certainly warrant the application of the term "wizard" to the con troller of Union Pacific destinies. Quite naturally in that remarkable showing made by the Union Pacific report, it is necessary that duo credit be given the very able lieutenants who assist Mr. Harriman in the operation of his great properties. But even in this it must be remembered that the ability to pick men of such rare tal ents that they can transform an in crease of $1,596,357 In operating ex pensea for the first half of the year into a decrease of 13,452,584 for the last half, is exceedingly rare. The fact that such an enormous saving could be effected In the oper ating expense of the road, is due to the excellent physical condition In which the property was placed before the recent financial trouble came. It Is, of course, hardly probable that this kind of a showing can be continued Indefinitely." A bear can "hole up" and sleep through the Winter, exist ing on the fat that he has accumulated during the Summer, but it would be Impossible for him to get very far in the Spring without a fresh supply of sustenance. In this remarkable re trenchment shown In the Union Pacific report and to a certain extent in other railroad reports, there is much to indi cate that some of the saving has been made at the expense of necessary re pairs and maintenance work. It is fortunate that the roads were In con dition to stand this temporary impair ment in order that the financial show ing might be maintained, but with a return of prosperity and heavier de mands being made on the equipment and roadbed, there must be a renewal of the work that was curtailed for the purpose of keeping down expenses. Perhaps the most remarkable fea ture of the Union Pacific report is the reduction in gross revenues for the fiscal year of but .0035 per cent from those of the preceding year. There is, as usual with the Harriman report, a good fat surplus for dividends and now that the reconstruction of the main lines of the Harriman roads has been practically completed and the traffic is increasing, the railroad wiz ard will "get on" much better with the people throughout the territory served by his lines, if he will spend more of that money In the construction of the necessary branch lines. An excellent start Is being made in this state. If the plans now under consideration are carried out, there will be a material change in the railroad sentiment of the people of Oregon. TWO PORTLAND BALL TEAMS. The Oregonlan suggested last Sum mer' that Portland ought to have its baseball team in the Northwest League. Now we are to have a team In the Northwest League, where Port land belongs, and are to have another in the Pacific Coast League, where the baseball management evidently thinks Portland belongs. The sport ing public may think that the experi ment of a team in both leagues is satisfactory and show its approving attitude by profitable attendance. We hope so; indeed, we think It will, if the respective teams play ball suited to the company they are in. It is true of course that there is a better class of baseball in the Coast League than In the minor organization: and it is true also that the public will demand good ball from both teams. But one team might easily be In faster com- 1 ! . I . ' pany than the other, and at the same time make a relatively poorer snow ing, with the result that the public Interest, support and sympathy would go to the Inferior team. If, for ex ample, there should be- a close contest In the Northwest League, and there should be a walkaway In the other league. It might and probably would happen that the Portland baseball "fans" would do a major part of their "rooting" for the nine that was mak ing a real struggle in the name of Portland. What Portland wants, then, is good teams and close contests, and con tinuous baseball will be a success. But it will probably fall if either element shall be lacking. Portland is unques tionably the --best baseball town In the Northwest, perhaps the best on the Coast. The McCredies are entitled to loyal support from the public, for they are enterprising and capable, and are certainly trying to give the public what it wants. "Any man who Is a bear on the fu ture, of this country will go broke," said J. P. Morgan, Jr., in Chicago Wednesday, and on Thursday the young man paid J100 per hour for a special train to carry him back to New York. The future as well as the present quite naturally has a very roseate appearance to any man who can pay $100 per hour for special trains, but for all that, there is more than a modicum of truth In the senti ment expressed. It applies with ex ceptional force to the Pacific North west, where there Is more latent wealth awaiting the coming of capi tal and labor than can be found In any similar area on earth. We may have jccasional reverses due to- mis takes and to a temptation to go too fast, but the youngest babes in arm? today will never be old enough to see the Pacific Northwest suffering from permanent hard times. The steamships Uganda, which has Just completed a grain cargo at Port land, and the Straithnairn, now load ing here, were both chartered aU 24 shillings to carry wheat to the United Kingdom.. This is 3s 6d lower than the minimum rate fixed by the Inter national Sailingshlp Owners' Associ ation for sailing ships and the two steamers will, carry as much cargo as could be taken out by four sailers. Meanwhile at every port on the Pa cific there is idle tonnage belonging to "union" owners who for the past five years have been endeavoring to hold up shippers for higher rates than are warranted by the law of supply and demand. The remarkably low rates paid these steamers show how we are suffering for lack of a merchant ma rine. Among the Christmas toys adver tised for boys we note "a bucksaw and hardwood sawbuck." This is nearly as astounding as ws.3 the ad vertisement awhile ago for a place for a good, strong boy who was anxious to learn blacksmithlng. Let us hope that the lad who wanted to be a black smith got a chance at the bellows and forge, and that the enterprising firm thatlmported strong and durable buck saws and sawbucks for Christmas pres ents for boys will sell out Its consign ment rapidly and be forced to place a duplicate hurry-up order to meet the demand for this useful toy. The man who can Induce a boy to saw wood and think it play deserves finan cial success and popular appreciation. The Polk County Poultry Raisers' Association will hold Its second annual poultry show at Dallas next week. At least four hundred fine fowls will be on exhibition during the three days of the show. Fine plumage, elegant carriage and weight above the aver age will be points of interest In this exhibit. But what the general public would most like to know Is whether the Polk County poultry raisers have succeeded In developing a breed of hens that can be depended upon to supply the market with eggs through out the year. It Is noteworthy, but not strange, that since all the aspirants for Port land Postmaster have been disappoint ed, except one, it seems unnecessary, to at least one or two members of the Legislature, to effect a Statement One organization of the lawmaking body. Before their disappointment, that seemed quite essential. Perhaps they were right and circumstances have altered the case. The general public, as yet. has had little to say about protection of salmon of the Columbia River and Puget Sound. The Washington Commission, a subcommittee of which met in Port land yesterday, is run by fish men, the same old way. With all due respect to the Washington Commission, It may be said that the Ashmen have been wholly unable to handle the salmon legislation question. Chairman Mack wants it clearly un derstood that there is no trouble be tween him and Bryan. They are brothers in sorrow. Mack did a fine line of predicting for Bryan, before the election; but that's about all he did. In California the W. C. T. U. wants a book of advice to go with each mar riage license. That may do very well, but the time many couples need ad vice most Is before they get married. The House chamber, in the Salem Capitol, Is threatened with collapse of the heavy State Library above. That would be a terrible finish of State ment 1, wouldn't it? The livestock auctioneer always a "Colonel" and the greatest Joker in the crowd is in danger. A corre spondence school Is teaching the pro fession by mall. There is no non-partisan rendezvous In Washington. That may be the rea son Our George has had to associate with the Democrats back there. If President Castro wants a really artistic operation performed on his valuable person, he should continue his Journey to Holland. Now that Roosevelt will go out of office in three months, some of those cowed members of Congress find their courage rising. The pay-as-you-enter cars are all right; but the pay-when-they-are-on-time cars are really needed to hit a popular chord. If you buy those presents early, you can plan so as to spread your money out further. Each day brings the young folks nearer Christmas. It is another notch for Heney. STERILIZE THE CRIMINAL. IXSAXE Dr. Owena-Adalr Renews Her Call to Oregon Legislature for Reform. 'WARREN TON, Or.. Dec. 10. (To the Editor.) Two years ago I. called upon the Legislature of Oregon to enact a law to prevent a further propagation of crim inal ldots and insane through steriliza tion. A few years ago the community would have been shocked by the mere mention of such a process, but we are rapidly growing broader and wiser. Even the common people are being educated up to a reasoning standpoint through our public schools, one of the strong arms of our Nation, which is reaching out and taking in all that Is in reach that will benefit the young. The rapid increase of insanity and the vicious elements is simply appalling; the penitentiaries, ln Hane asylums, reform schools and homes for all kinds of defectives have not only become a burden to our commonwealth, but a menace as well, and if allowed to proceed, where will it end? This is a pitiful calamity, one which every thinking man and woman who understands, and for which a remedy, mast be found. I realize that this is a deli cate subject to handle and for that reason it has not heretofore been brought be fore the public, but it must be handled and handled without gloves, from a scien tific point, which is only common sense extended. I have no fears but It will stand upon Its own merits; only let in the light of reason and the clouds of prejudice and lgnoranca will disappear. This remedy will bring untold blessings to the unfortunates themselves, both In health and disposition. The only loss to them would be the power of reproducing their kind, which should not be allowed. We all know the effect of sterilization on the lower animals: they soon cease to be vicious and become quite pliable-and .affectionate. You may object to this com parison but comparative anatomy teacnes us the truth of this assertion. It is well known that the law of transmission is a radical law, ' both in animal and human life. It is true that it may skip one or even two generations, but in time it will gather force and assert its power, for good or evil. So well Is the law understood that the majority of murders committed are defended upon the plea of hereditary in sanity. If we had a law requiring steril ization of every criminal who made insan ity a plea for defense, the insanity dodge would not be so frequent. Look at our own recent tragedy. A vicious and vin dictive man deliberately walks into an office and shoots down a good. Christian man in the bloom of his usefulness, bring ing sorrow to his young wife and baby. Had that murderer been well-born, he never could have committed such a foul deed. And now, like Chester Thompson, that boy fiend of Seattle, he may be freed and allowed -to go forth to transmit his vicious blood to unborn children, which will multiply and Increase with the growth of the child until something happens to bring the fler demon to the surface, and then the explosion takes place and tne fearful shock is felt. No amount of training or education can completely eradicate such hereditary traits. Therefore, I say that every child has a right to be well born and no vicious person should be allowed to propagate his kind by contaminating the blood of the helpless unborn child. And now let us put a atop to the further building of penitentiaries. Insane asylums, reform schools and homes for defectives. These are the sins that the Bible tells us are visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation. Shall we permit these sins to be transmitted? And now I call upon you, our Legislators, you men of intelligence, refinement and edu cation, you whom the public have elected to enaot good, wholesome laws for the preservation and protection of our state, I beg that you take this home to your own hearts and then cast your vote for your homes and the homes of your neigh bors. Then Oregon will give you thanks and the unborn, in time, will rise and call you blessed. Set the example and other states will follow. DR. OYvHXS-ADAIR. Jaundiced View at Philadelphia. New York World. Hammersteln's new opera-house is the civic pride of the moment. There are 181 doctors' signs in six blocks of Chestnut street. A row of black men washing a row of white marble doorsteps gives a fine effect in chiaroscuro. Thtre are not nearly so many sky scrapers as In Buffalo: except in a few buildings the elevators run only when you ring for them. The sidewalks are brick, as New York's were a hundred years ago, TJierc are still some open sewers in the middle of the streets. On washdays they run full and visibly soapy. The Schuylkill water Is always mud dy. Fart of the city now has a filter ing system. The rest buys spring water. There are almost no lager beer sa loons. There are no French and Italian restaurants. There are only a few hotels. The many boathouses in Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill are built solidly of stone. Most of the dwellings are of red brick and nearly all Bmall. Dr. Weir Mitchell In his new novel calls Phila delphia "The Red City." A fair house in a fair quarter rents for $2S a month. Negro children attend all the public schools and the white people send theirs to private schools when they can raise the money. A New Yorker can find more things different In Philadelphia than In Chi cago or Denver. The men average taller than in New York; there is less Immigration of the small races. Family and descent are taken seri ously. Money will not buy social po sition not at once. Mary Jo's Slsrn for leal. Philadelphia Record. Small Mary Josephine Dittrick saw for the first time -a piece of white crepe on the front doorbell of a house, and, ask ing her mother what It wa-s. was told: "That's a sign for the dead." Mrs. Ditt rick was away from her home for a while today. Returning, she saw on her own doorbell a cluster of crepe. "My baby! What have you done?"" cried Mrs. Dittrick. "I put out a sign for the dead," said the inocent one. "I thought if I put out o uioTi somebody's that dead would see it and come to see us." With flowers from a parlor vase, a strip of linen, and a string, "Mary Jo" had fashioned her "sign." Woman Attends Over BOOO Funerals. Baltimore News. Sophie Christman. who has Just died in Reading. Pa., aged 75 years, attended more than 5000 funerals. Her delight was to chat with friends after she had returned from the funeral and describe the corpse, the floral tributes, etc. Conscience Awaken, After Years. Indianapolis Dispatch. After his conscience had been sticking him 40 years with no results, a Kansas citizen sent to the Clerk of Laporte County, Ind.. a check for $11.90, the interest on $3.50 for money wrongfully received for seven fox scalps. New Law Lop Off ISO Snloona. Boston Dispatch. Under the provisions of the new liquor law in Providence, R. I., which limits saloons to one for every 500 of popu lation, 150 saloons have just been closed. Carnegie Hero Medal for Oregon. Washington (D. C.) Herald. An Oregon widower recently gave a banquet to 76 widows and this is leap year, too! Doubtless, he was trying to qualify for a Carnegie hero medal. MIL JEROME AS A LEGAL PUZZLE New York's District Attorney of 10O8 Different From Pleader of 1001. Springfield (Mass.) Republican, Ind. Mr. Jerome again becomes an enigma. The country is puzzled much as it was when he shook the dice for the drinks with some companions in a saloon, dur ing a recent celebrated trial. It hopes that a satisfactory explanation will be forthcoming so that Mr. Jerome's career may not be permanently clouded by mis understanding. ' The occasion was the dinner compli mentary to Richard Croker in New York. The guests Included 13 judges, the ma jority of whom are now on the bench of . the Supreme Court, and the District Attorney. It appears that they were personal friends all .around, and the judges for the most part owed their judicial positions to the former boss, in whose honor they had gathered. But Mr. Jerome had not been reputed to be a personal or political friend of Mr. Croker. He had gained his reputation in public life as the most savage and merciless assailant that Mr. Croker bad ever faced. In 1901 Mr. Jerome was telling his audi ences: "This is a campaign against Richard Croker and Thomas C. Piatt, two men who have done more to de bauch the great public life of America than any other two men who have ever lived." The majority or the people finally accepted Mr. Jerome's 1901 view, and Mr. Croker left New York as dis credited morally as any Tammany poli tician since the days of Aaron Burr. If one man more than another had suc ceeded In branding Mr. Croker with an ineffaceable stigma it was William Trav ers Jerome. When Mr. Jerome's turn to speak came the other evening he astounded more people than can ever be counted by pay ing a tribute to the honored guest of the evening, of which the part most staggering was this: "My entrance into public life was due to Mr. Croker, and he has always had my entire confidence and respect. He Is one of the few men in politics who had convictions and the courage to stand by them." ' The question is being asked, which Jerome should be believed the Jerome of 1901 or the Jerome of 190S? Were both Jeromes sincere in what they said? If so, what curious psychological com posite have we In a civic reformer who now declares that he "always" enter tained "respect" for, and felt "entire confidence" in, a notorious public char acter whom he had formerly denounced as one of the two most evil influences this country had ever harbored in its public life? The most charitable view, perhaps, that one can take of this performance is that a man should not be held to account too rigidly for postprandial ut terances. CHIEF K-UXCTIOJT OF CHRISTMAS. Its Beautiful Opportunity of Making Children Happy. Margaret E. Sangster in Woman's Home Companion. Henry Drummond wrote of love as the greatest thing in the world. Saint Paul In a golden chapter, said that love thinketh no evil, vaunteth not it self. Is not puffed up, suffereth long and Is kind. The little town of Beth lehem witnessed the incarnation of love divine when Mary cradled in her arms the babe of Heaven. The chief use of Christmas is that it lifts us out of the region of low desires and mean motives to a higher level of serenity and unselfishness. It Is the culmination of each swiftly passing year, and It fitly occurs when the year is near its close. If it did nothing beyond awakening us to the privilege of making others happy it would be to vis as an angel singing in our ears the melodies of heaven. Does it not give us a chance to make children happy, to sympathize .with young people who have the road before them, and with old people who have earned the right to sit still and rest with folded hands after their long activity? Give what we may to the little ones at Christmas, its beautiful opportunity for us Is to surround them with wholesome and natural pleasures, that all their days shall be happy and Christmas be only the shining clasp of each blithe year. No one can rob any human life of the precious gift of a happy childhood. Its afterglow will fall on the maturer lite wiui a bene diction. Whnlclinne Market la Cornered. Boston Herald. A million dollars' worth of whalebone practically all the whalebone in the world, will In a few weeks be storen in the warehouses of William Lewis & Son, in Rodman street. New Bedford, Mass. This fortune in whalebone is con trolled by one man. Edgar R. Lewis, and if the whalebone manufacturers of th world want any of It they will have to come up to the captain's office and set tie, for on top of the fact that for a year over 150,000 pounds of the bone has been on hand In this city, with hardly a transaction, comes the an nouncement to tha whalebone manufac turers that practically all the whaling merchants have agreed not to send their steamers to the Arctic Ocean next year. This will allow the present large stock of whalebone to be worked off and the whaling grounds will get a rest. It would not be surprising to see whalebone merchants offering as higli as $6 or $7 a pound for the stock now on hand in the storehouses. CoMler to Write Munlral Comedy. New York Herald. Theatrical circles will be surprised by the announcement that the next big American musical comedy to be produced by Charles Frohman will be writen by Mr. William Collier, now ap pearing at the Garlck In his own farce "The Patriot." By cable Mr. Frohman has accepted the Ecenarlo of a musical comedy outlined by the comedian. The latter will write the book and lyrics and the music will be composed by Mr. William T. Francis. This will be Mr. Collier's first dip into musical comedy. It is said his first play of this sort will be thorough ly American, and all of Its scenes and action will have to do with New York right now. The action will take place aithln two days, and the two leading characters will portray a man and woman well known to New York thea tergoers as habitual first nighters. l.rce Advertisement In Boaton. Boston Globe. ' What are considered the finest apples ever grown in this or any other coun try, last week, passed through Boston on their way to the table of King Ed ward. They are known as Winter banana apples and are two and one-half times the size of an ordinary apple to which one is accustomed. These apples are grown at the Beulah land orchards, Hood River, Oregon, by Oscar Vander bllt an expert orchardist, and they are considered the nignesL ae i:i the cultivation of this fruit. Their color is perfect, the rosy blush blending with the green in the most luscious manner imaginable. In flavor and tex ture they are as good as they look. Tobacco, Legacy for Son-ln-Law. Kansas City (Mo.) Dispatch. August Zerbst, a wealthy pioneer of Northern Missouri, who recently ended his life, and previously gave away his fortune to friends so It could not be legally recovered, inserted a clause In bis will bequeathing to his son-in-law, August Pabst, "the sum of 25 cents with which to buy chewing tobacco." LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE Kicker Has his poem gone into the language, Bocker No, but nearly all the lan guage has gone into his poem. New York Sun. A repertoire company was walking Into Paducah, where they were billed to play "Romeo and Juliet." The lead ing man approached the manager, who strode moodily ahead on the ties. "Boss." he said. "I've got to have 15 cents." "Fifteen cents?" growled the man 'ager. "You're always yelling for money. What do you want 15 cents for?" "What do I want 15 cents for?" re peated the leading mitn bitterly. "I want it for a shave, that's what I want it for. I can't play Romeo with five days' back beard on my face." "Oh, well." said the manager, "you won't get no 15 cents. We ll change the bill to 'Othello.' " Saturday Even ing Post. Another tiling for you to do now is to dig out those gifts received last Christmas which yon are going to un load on somebody else this yeir. In dianapolis News. "Can we duct?" asked the 'tenor. "Can we sing the song before us Can we do as they rechoir?" And the answer was. "Of Corn." Kansas City Star. "I suppose your play starts with a housemaid dusting t lie furniture and' soliloquizing about the family affairs?" "No, we've cut all that out. Instetnl we have a vacuum cleaner with phono graphic attachment." Louisville C't-u-rier-Journal. a Mother (reading- telegram Tlei.ry telegraphs that the football match is over, and he came out of it with thr--r broken ribs. Father teagerlyl And who won? Mother He doesn't say. Father Impatiently ) -Confoun 1 ii all! That boy never thinks of amljci-' but himself: Now T must naif, until I get the morning paper Tit-bits. "Miss Chatters always speaks of hiiu RS a 'good conversationally.' " "Well?" "Well, he can't talk at all. He mere ly sits and listens " "Quite so! A talkative woman's idea of ' a good conversationalist is a man who is willing to absorb talk." Catho lic Standard and Times. Hubby My dear, if I cannot leave the office In time for dinner tonight I will send you a note by a messenger. Wife You need not go to that, ex pense, George, for I have already found the note in your coat pocket. London Opinion. Parson Coleman Whad.'Sislah Cook! All dem fine cloe's 'nd only fi' cents fob de Lawd in de plate las' Sunday? Sistah Cook Yas. parson! . An' lemme tell yo dat de Lawd am mighty lucky t' git mah 11' cents, seeln" ez how Ah has t" pay a dollah down an' a dollah a week fob dese same togs. Puck. The Missionary And what course do you Intend to take wlih nie? The Savage Chief Oh. the ordinary one; you'll follow the llsh. Sketch. A Scotch lawyer had to address the Caledonian equivalent of our Supreme Court. His "pleudlng" occupied an en tire day. After seven hours of almost continuous oratory he went home to supper and was asked to conduct fam ily worship. As he was exhausted his devotions were brief. "I am ashamed of ye," said the old mother. "To think yo could talk for seven boors up at the court and dis miss your Maker In seven minutes." "Ay, verra true," was the reply, "but ye maun mind that the Lord Isna sae dull in the uptak as the judge bodies." The Bellman. Showing the trend of prohibition in the South, a story is told of a South ern Congressman who recently went into a barber shop in a small Tennes see town to get a haircut. The barber, after the usual flow of conversation, completed the job and turning to hi.i customer asked: "Tennessee or Georgia.?" Somewhat mystified by the singular question, but. determined not to show his ignorance, the Congressman re plied : "Georgia." The barber then proceeded to brnsli his hair "dry." The Bohemian. A school teacher in the Kalian quar ter of an American city told her chil dren the story of the fox and tlio grapes.. Tony was especially delighted with the story, and eagerly sought his chum. Tloe, who was In another class. By good luck, the teacher overheard Tony's version. In his excited, broken English he toM the fable much as it is written, until he came to the end. This was his ren dering of tho climax: "De olda fox be say. Da grape no good, anyhow: alia sour! I guess I go geta de banan'." Youth's Companion. Control of thp Automobile. Boston Transcript. Professor George T. Ladu. of .Yale, lit discussing automobile regulations, de clares that "No odds should be given to an automobile as against a horse simply because the former can go the faster," and he compares the machine with teams of spirited horses driven through the streets at the same speed. In this he overlooks the difference in bringing the two conveyances to a standstill. Vanderbllt offered his fa mous prize for a better brake on the steam roads In order that his trains might run faster, realizing that on tho time which Is required to stop a train Its permissible speed depends. The regulation of automobiles should b-. pursued vigorously and Intelligently, but not in regard of the better con trol at any given speed which their operators have over tbem by compari son with that of the man who Is driv ing spirited horses. Illinois Farmer's Big Pumpkin. Chicago Dispatch. Robert Merton has grown in Meridian township, Illinois, a pumpkin which weighs 124 pounds. Ballade of the Jarring Note. ChlcaKO Nawa. When Summer cloud o'ersjjrcad the ky And hed their hoarded eiort-s of rain. Tla then I hear the warning cry Thut'B uttered by my Mary June. When after work my door I gala. Anticipating welcome sweet, I hear it In 8. voice of pain: "Now. William Henry, wipe your faet! Of courae I'm willing to comply. It' muddv coming throuKli the lana. Which Is the route I travel by. Much clay my Boot Boirs iu But I have reason to complain, For I myself am rather neat, And fw It goes BRalrit the 'n,r .,,,, "Now. William Henry, wipe your featr Why should she down the Ftsircsse fly And act as If she were insane? A husband's temper that will try. And then there's nothing she can gain. The threshold I would not profane With miry tracks, I'm too discreet, But still she always raises rain "Now, William Henry, wipe your feat!" L'BNVOI. "My dear, I wi!h you would refrain From saying that." I cry with heat. "I'm weary of that elren strain, . jvovt, William Henry, wipe your feet!'" .