8 ' ' TTE MORNING ORgdOXIAS. SATURDAY, DECE3IBEK 12, 19Q3.
FORTLAXD, OREGON.
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stacoml-Cteaa Matter.
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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!'" .