Morning Oregonian., December 21, 1908, Page 8, Image 8

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PORTLAND. MONDAY, DEC, tl.
IF l-REE LIMBER. THEN FRKE COAL.
To resist the massive interests or
he Eiist tha-t demand free lumber.
Oregon will have in the House two
Representatives and in the Senate a
Democrat (perhaps) and a goir
player As Republicans In Congress
have resolved to take tariff revision
entirelv In their own hands, it is not
vlear how Democratic influence will
help Oregon lumbermen. The lumber
men who have Just returned from
their quest In Washington found no
nonpartisans In Congress, so that that
tvpe of statesman -will probably be
unable to render aid in this very im
portant matter.
The force that are working for Iree
lumber are very formidable. News
papers all over the United States are
demanding free paper pulp, as a
means of relief from the paper trust.
From this it is but a short step to a
demand for free lumber. Powerful
Eastern States, having no lumber of
their own to protect, and being heavy
consumers of timber products, see no
need of retaining the duty. Loudest
vt all the voices for free trade is that
calling for admission of foreign lum
ber In order to check the rapid de
pletion of forests. The Government
evidently is supporting the free-lumber
movement for this reason. Gif
ford Pinchot, Chief Forester, is Its
spokesman in this respect. Eastern
States, beholding the fast-depleting
supply of standing timber, and incited
by pictures and tales of forest waste
in the West and the South, have no
sympathy with lumbermen. It may
not be too much to say that in that
part of the United State is a senti
ment which would hold the forests of
the South and the West as permanent
reserveis, could the Government gain
control of them.
Politics evidently wtll play consider
able part In this contest in Congress.
At the hearing conducted by the
House, ways and means committee in
Washington last Saturday, Chairman
Payne not only made known that he
favors abolition of the duty, but also
told Democratic lumber manufactur
ers of the South that If they want the
benefit .of Republican policies they
should sustain the Republican party
in politics. This was repetition of
the advice quietly handed out to Ore-'
gon lumbermen some time before.
Abolition of duty will work hard
ship on many mlllmen and dealers of
the Pacific Northwest, by temporarily
curtailing their market. It will un
settle the trade and adversely affect
the industry. A Oregon lumbermen
advised the House committee. It "will
increase the timber waste, by com
pelling the larger use of the best part
of the trees, in order to meet Can
adian competition, and the larger
sacrifice of Inferior timber. Aside
from this, the timber wealth, how
ever, will not be impaired nor ultr
mately the lumber industry. Big for
tunes have been made out of timber
speculation and lumber cutting in
Oregon and Washington, and the pos
sessors of those gains will not find
their Interests considered. The "little
fellows" engaged in milling and
trading will have to make the most
of the situation, provided the duty
shall be removed. Lumbermen should
see to it that coal shall be put on the
free list so as to diminish depletion
of the Nation's fast-disappearing coal
supply. If American homes could buy
coal at foreign prteefc. they would
consume less timber for fuel and
Pennsylvania's resource would last the
Nation longer. For the same reason,
the tariff should be taken off petro
leum and petroleum products. Con
gress should have no favorites in
tariff revision.
DOST BUCK VOIR NEIGHBOR'S DUO.
A SaJem man who was a successful
candidate for a seat in the City Coun
cil has filed an expense statement, as
required by the corrupt practices act,
and therein disclosed political poli
cies which may well be commended
to the consideration of all who hope
to succeed in politics. This candi
date spent very little money, but in
his effort to state honestly all the In
fluences he brought to bear in secur
ing his election, he says that he did
not kick his neighbor's dog Thus is
set forth, in figurative language, the
secret of the success of many a can
didate for office. He who would be
a good vote-getter must not kick his
neighbor's dog. Patting the dog on
the head will probably help some and
remarking the Intelligent look in the
dog's countenance will help even
more; but under no circumstances
must the dog be kicked. Let him
snap at your heels if he will that is
just his way of playing. Never mind
his ferocious bark he doesn't mean
anything by it. If he beats a path
across your lawn, acknowledge frank
ly that you want a path there anyway.
If he rolls in the flower bed, reflect
that perhaps the flowers needed that
sort of cultivation. When he chases
your chickens, condemn yourself in
your neighbor's hearing for keeping
thickens In town. But don't kick the
dog. That is the unpardonable sin
which no man ever forgave. The
owner of the kicked dog will remem
ber the act to the last day of hTs life.
If he ever finds the name of his enemy
on a ballot, he will vote for the oppos
ing candidate, and do. It with the
greater pleasure if the opponent be a
"yellow dog." No party ties were
ever strong enough to Induce one man
to vote for another who had kicked
his dog. Political treachery, factional
differences or questionable political
principles may be overlooked and for
given, but the kick which a candidate
has sometime given a dog makes an
enemy who cannot be placated by any
apology or amends.
But this is not saying that dogs
should not be kicked. Advice to a
man who wants to be elected to office
is not always in accordance with per
sonal duty. Some dogs ought to be
kicked, though In many cases it is
the owner who Is more deserving of
the chastisement. It follows that
somebody ought to do the kicking.
But the man who performs this public
duty ought to realize that when he
does so he forfeits his privilege of
running for office with hope of uc-
,; cess. There is a widespread need for
i dog-kickers and some of them are
i really needed In office, though few.
if any, ever get there. Every com
munity has a few dog-kickers who
have earned public gratitude, even if
they never receive a public expression
of popular commendation. Their re
ward, however, is not In the line of
public service. If wise, they will be
satisfied with the compensating sense
of dutv well performed and will save
themselves the mortification of defeat
In a race for office.
CIVIL SERVICE "CLOCK-WAT IIEKS."
No member of the Portland Char
ter Commission would admit the city's
c ivil service method of hiring employes
into his private business. But the
Commission has adopted that method
for the public's business, practi
cally without change. None of
them. In his private affairs, would al
low employes discharged by one de
partment to appeal to another depart
ment and by it to be reinstated. Yet
that system is to be perpetuated In the
administration of taxpayers' affairs.
There Is lax discipline in such a sys
tem. There is also low efficiency of
employes and a surfeit of them, per
forming work that a smaller number
could do.
"Clock-watchers" are what Con
troller Metz. of New York, calls the
civil service employes of that city.
The City Hall of Portland is full of
clock-watchers. In a private firm
they would be discharged for "unfit
ness" or because their services were
"unsatisfactory" or "no longer re
quired." But such causes are not suf
ficient in the City Hall. When the
Executive Board dismissed a number
of detectives for those causes, the
Civil Service Board reinstated the
men and the city had to pay un
earned salaries amounting to several
thousand dollars.
The appeal of discharged city em
ployes to the Civil Service Commission
for investigation and reinstatement
should be restricted to religious and
political causes. A private employer
does not specify his reasons for dis
pensing with a negligent or unfit or
unsafe employe nor have to prove
"good faith." No more should the
city. If for no other reason than that
it is an Impractical way of dispens
ing with unsatisfactory servants.
MAYOR LANE'S ELECTRIC SCHEME.
Mayor Lane's annual budget rec
ommends a tax levy sufficient to raise
1190.000 for establishment of a dis
tributing wire system for electric
street lights. By this method the city
would buy light current in bulk, so
to speak, instead of paying the elec
tric monopoly so much per lamp. The
Mayor's idea is that the city, in pay
ing for each lamp, receives less cur
rent delivery than it pays for.
But what assurance has the Mayor
that the city would pay less for elec
tricity, after It should have provided
its own distributing system? Has not
the electric company complete con
trol of all the sources of electric
energy? After paying out 1200,000 or
more for wires and transforming ma
chinery the cost of lights would prob
ably be no less than before. Main
tenance would undoubtedly cost the
city more than the electric company,
on account of the low efficiency of
public employes and the impossibility,
under civil service rules, of employ
ing the fittest men. There would be
no competition between electric com
panies for the city's benefit. There Is
only one company now and none
other In view will have enough light
energy to supply the street lights. An
other plant on Clackamas River is
talked of. but it is yet to be financed
and built. When the present plant
on. that river was established it at
once combined "with the old company
and Is now owned by It.
Here Is a scheme which would cost
far more than the Mayor's estimate,
for purchase of land for substations,
erection of buildings, installation of
transforming machinery, erection of
wires, buying of lamps and under
ground conduits. The public would
find itself called upon to put up addi
tional sums continuously. There
would be heavy interest on debt and
big depreciation. The cost to the
city would be more in the end than
a contract with the company. This
scheme could have no terrors for the
company; less even than a municipal
generating plant. The city , has
enough to do with existing problems.
It needs Its cash and credit for other
things.
CALLING A HALT.
Liquidation in the New York stock
market was pretty heavy throughout
last week, and. despite a slight rally
on Saturday, the net losses for the
week ran up around five points in
some of the prominent 'Industrials,
while the losses In railroad securities
averaged around three points. This
reaction was due to the strength of
the money market, and it Is a decline
that will not be deplored by the legit
imate business interests, which for
several weeks have been endeavoring
to check this runaway speculative
market. With call money advancing
and stocks declining, there will soon
be a shaking out of the Wall-street
thlmble-rlggers whose manipulation
hampers the legitimate functions of
the New York Stock Exchange and
disarranges and unsettles values
throughout the list.
The panic of last year was largely
brought about by the hysterical spec
ulation of these plungers, who for the
past six weeks have been engaged in
a frantic endeavor to force stock
prices up far above a figure warranted
by legitimate conditions. Fortunately
for business throughout the country,
the methods of this speculative crowd
are pretty well understood, and it will
be impossible at this time for them to
start such a stampede of distrust as
that which frightened money Into hid
ing a year ago. There is an abun
dance of money In the country, and, in
spite of the heavy advance in rates on
call money, legitimate borrowers can
secure time loans at very moderate
rates and in any amount desired. The
decline in stocks may have the effect
of stopping the unloading process in
which the foreigners have been en
gaged almost continuously since elec
tion. Had It not been for this feature
of the situation, the legitimate busi
ness interests of the. country could
have viewed with equanimity the ma
nipulation which has screwed values
up much higher than they should
have been permitted to go.
But with 'foreigners sending back
railroad and industrial securities in
enormous amounts to pay for the ex
ports which we had been sending out
in record quantities, we were deprived
of a large amount of cheap foreign
money which can still be used to ad
vantage in this country. Now that
the surplus reserve of the clearing
house banks of New York has been
practically wiped out of existence, the
financial interests that for the past six
weeks have fed the speculators with
cheap call money may change their
tactics and force rates up to a figure
where there will be a sudden halt in
stock gambling. If this course is not
taken, it is only a question of time
until there will be apparent a scarcity
of monev for legitimate purposes.
Having" called a halt in this orgy of
stock speculation, it Is now the duty
of the New York moneyed interests to
Insist that it does not get under way
again.
EDITOR BENNETT'S CKOCCH.
It is not pleasant to discover Edi
tor Bennett, by Instinct and profession
an optimist, in the role of the pessi
mist. Mr. Bennett read a paper be
fore the Oregon-Idaho Development
Convention at Vale last week, that
may fitly be .described as one grand
long growl at the communities in
which the papers of Oregon are pub
lished. Criticism, kicks, complaints,
whines and grunts are the portion of
the country editor, who never does
and never can print a paper to satisfy
the community In which he lives. So
says Editor Bennett.
Tut. tut. Brother Bennett. The
county papers of Oregon get always
all the support they deserve. Take the
Bennett papers, for example. They
are bright, readable and newsy; and
therefore they are flourishing. If
they were not worth reading, they
would not prosper and should not.
It's the man behind the hand press
or the county cylinder that makes
the paper. That's all there is to it.
Let him do his part and the com
munity will do the rest.
It follows, then, that if there is any
thing the matter with the county
papers of Oregon there Is something
wrong with the editors. If the editor
sits back in his easy chair, and ex
pects his subscribers to bring him
the news, and the business men his
ads, and the public generally to donate
him food to eat, clothes to wear, and
wood to burn, a mighfy poor paper
will come out of that shop. But if
the editor hustles for news, subscrib
ers and business, he will get them all,
and he will succeed, provided he
doesn't try to run an agate newspaper
in a long primer town.
Drop your grouch. Brother Optimist.
Or change your name.
lVOOTN AND THE GRANOE.
Election of officers in the Multno
mah County Grange has been in order
this week. After the pleasant custom
of these farmers' lodges, the elections
were followed by feasting, speaking,
entertainment and mild hilarity. The
social function of the Grange has ever
been one of its strongest features and
is one that Is commendable and gen
erally enjoyable, while the banquets
well. It is only necessary to say of
them that farmers' wives are good
cooks, and that they do not spare
their butter and cream and eggs and
fowls and fruit and preserves and
pickles upon these occasions.
He was probably a crusty old bache
lor who declared that it was owing to
this fact that women were admitted
to the Grange in the first place a
suggestion which if true would cer
tainly reflect less discredit upon the
women who joined the order .than
upon the men who took them in for
"thei - stomachs' sake" There Is no
record, however, of a desire at any
time to exclude women from the
Grange or to minimize the value of
their work and influence in "the
Grange. Thry have done their full
part, from baking and roasting for the
banquets to filling with honor the po
sition of lecturer under the auspices
of the State Grange; and from pre
paring programmes to be rendered at
public entertainments to competing
successfully for. honors in drills in its
unwritten work. Further than this
their presence and endeavor have
been appreciated in the order as both
inspiring and helpful.
WASHINGTON CAPITAL IN OREGON.
Oregon and Its wonderful opportuni
ties for investment and development
have always appealed 'strongest to
moneyed men from beyond the state
line. This is not due to the presence
of features in which "distance lends
enchantment to the view," but instead
to the fact that these opportunities
are here in such abundance that they
have become somewhat commonplace
for Oregon capitalists, who have dwelt
in their midst for so long that great
difficulty is experienced in recogniz
ing them. A Pendleton dispatch In
yesterday's Oregonlan announces an
other reclamation project for Umatilla
County in which a syndicate of Spo
kane capitalists will reclaim a large
body of fine land along the Umatilla
River. Actual experience in the cul
tivation of this land has demonstrated
its remarkable productiveness, and
the Spokane men are accordingly tak
ing no chances on ultimately receiv
ing good returns on their investments.
There are, of course, plenty of op
portunities in the State of Washing
ton, and they will by no means be ex
hausted in either state for many years
to come. But the ultra-conservatism
of the Oregonlans has retarded the
development of this state to an extent
that there now exist in Oregon much
better opportunities for investment
than can be found in any other state
in the Union. The investor, naturally
desirous of getting as much as possi
ble for his money, is accordingly turn
ing to Oregon. The new Umatilla
irrigation project Is only one of many
similar enterprises in this state that
have been financed, by Washington
capital, and in many other lines of
investment the men of the Evergreen
State are securing substantial repre
sentation. Some of the richest mines
in Southern Oregon are owned ex
clusively by Washington capitalists."
The Great Southern Railroad, which
has already opened up much new ter
ritory In Central Oregon, and has un
doubtedly hastened the building of
other lines, is all owned by Seattle
and Everett capitalists, and a large
share of the stock of the United Rail
ways Company, which is now rushing
work on a suburban electric line sys
tem out of Portland, is in the hands
of Washington capitalists.
One of the largest hotels in the city
is operated by Seattle and Bellingham
Bay men, and another large hotel
was started by Spokane capital. The
advantages of cheap timber and ad
mirable logging propositions have also
appealed to the Washington men, and
within the past year' they have made
heavy investment in this industry In
various parts of the state. Portland
city real estate, which is far the best
investment that can be found in any
other city on the Pacific Coast, has
not escaped the attention of the
shrewd Washingtonians. and within
the past two years Seattle capitalists
alone have invested nearly $1,000,000
in Portland property. Viewed from
a broad economic standpoint, Port
land and Oregon would much prefer
to have these profitable Investments
picked up by capitalists from beyond
the Rockies. Any money that comes
Into Washington or is lodged in
Washington to a certain extent will
benefit the neighboring state, and both
of these states contain such a wealth
of gilt-edge opportunities for invest
ment that we should like to see more
outside capital taking advantage of
them.
However, so long as the keen finan
ciers of our neighboring state recog
nize the fact that they can get more
in Oregon for their money In any line
of investment they choose than they
can get In any other state in the
Union, no attempt will be made, either
by injunction or otherwise, to prevent
them from getting in on these good
things which are lying all around us
in such great profusion.
The Navy Department is considering
the desirability of building a fleet of
battleships of greater size than any
that have yet been constructed. These
proposed monsters will be of 25,000
tons displacement, will carry twelve
12-inch guns, and steam about 20
knots. The cost is not given out, but
it probably will be nearly as great as
that of running the City of Portland
after we approve all of the wild bond
issues that some of our people desire.
It would be very nice to have a fleet
of these big ships to fire salutes for
our ambitious Presidents, and they
might be userul in war. It should be
remembered, however, that we should
only be setting the pace for some of
the other nations that make more of
a business of war than we have been
in the habit of doing, and by the
time the trial trips of the big ships
were had, some of these other powers
would have construction well under
way on some larger, faster and
heavier-armed craft. The principal
drawback to the acquirement of a
modern navy Is to get ships launched
before they are out of date and before
it becomes necessary to relegate them
to the junk pile, and build others.
Dr. Henry Waldo Coe may succeed
in getting his name in the papers by
reason of his charge that Democratic
officials are hampering the work on
the Panama Canal, but he will never
command a very wide circle of be
lievers of such, a foolish charge. The
Panama Canal has never been a party
Issue. It has from the beginning re
ceived hearty support from Democrats
and Republicans alike. Quite natur
ally the South, which is Democracy's
stronghold, will reap greater benefits
from the canal than will fall to any
other part of the country. It may
have been this selfish reason that
caused the project to receive such
hearty support from the Democrats,
for it will build some great ports along
the southern coast line. But, whatever
the motive for Democratic support. It
has been freely given the project, and
any report that the work is being
delayed by Democrats will be received
everywhere with something more than
the customary grain of salt.
The financial turmoil that pre
vailed a year ago makes it impossible
to. sectire accurate comparisons be
tween conditions then and now. Br
comparison with conditions two years
ago, however, it is possible to deter
mine the extent to which we have re
covered from the panic. Portland's
bank clearings for the week ending
last Saturday were $2,608,045 greater
than for the corresponding week in
1907, and they were also $696,305
greater than for the corresponding
week in 1906. The Seattle clearings
for the week ending last Saturday
were $2,248,639 greater than for the
same week In 1907, but she fell short
of those for the corresponding week
in 1906 by $532,854. When it is re
membered that two years ago this
month both Seattle and Portland were
floating on the top wave of the great
est prosperity we had ever known,
Portland's heavy gain seems all the
more striking.
The Standard Oil Company is pre
paring to erect two business blocks in
the most exclusive residence district of
London, the site being surrounded by
the homes of royalty and those who
have purchased its favors. As tho
British, along with the rest of the for
eigners, seem to like the American
dollar much better than anything else
that we produce in this, land of the
free, there should be no objection to
such a typical example of American
"dollardom" as Standard Oil.
The market for cascara bark has
been in such bad shape that the prin
cipal h'olders and dealers in the staple
have found it necessary to form a
trust for the purpose of advancing
prices. At first glance it seems some
what paradoxical to think of a cas
cara bark market so "congested" that
stocks would not move without the ar
tificial aid of a trust.
When President Roosevelt succeeds
in killing wild animals in Africa he
will have the skins sent to the Na
tional Museum for exhibition. If the
museum could secure the hides of a
number of politicians who have been
put to eternal sleep by the President,
they would make an interesting ad
dition to the collection.
Uncle Bill Brown, who fed a big
dinner to the widows of Polk County
at Dallas last Thanksgiving day, has
bought 600 pounds of candy, and will
give each child under 15 a package
Christmas. Uncle Bill Browns grow
only in Oregon.
Speaker Cannon and Chairman
Payne are going to do a lot of tariff
revising on articles produced in the
states of their colleagues. Take lum
ber, for example. .
Proposed tax levy of 18 mills isn't
much, of course, not over fifty per
cent greater than it should be. Tax
payers would growl if they didn't
have any tax levy, we suppose, or
anything to tax.
The news that Governor-elect Cos
grove is recovering rapidly makes
mighty interesting reading In Olympia
official circles. Don't you hear the
loud huzzahs?
Now they are going to have a bat
tleship with 26,000 tons displacement.
And they used to think the Great
Eastern a large vessel.
Congress is getting a lot of free ad
vertising out of that secret service
paragraph of the President's message.
Winter, sunshine brings freezing
weather. Give us the warm rain.
RUNNING A COUNTRY NEWSPAPER
Pessimistic Views by the Cheerful
Head of Two Successful Journals.
From a paper read by Editor Bennett,
of the Dalles Optimist, before the Oregon-Idaho
Development Convention.
I am only small fry in the newspaper
field. The 45 years I have spent in and
around newspaper and printing offices
have been wasted, thrown away, dissi
pated, lost, for I know absolutely noth
ing about a weekly paper, and a blamed
sight less about a daily paper. I do not
ask you to take my word for this. All
you have to do to find that I am teillng
the truth is to go to the places where I
am running papers and . ask the people
of those places. They will tell you that
The Irrigator and The Optimist are no
good, and their editor less. I take great
pride in those papers. They have a wida
reputation. I give them the best there
is in me. but the people of the towns
where they are run will tell you (with
the exception of a few choice souls who
are too good for this world and will soon
be In heaven), the people as a rule will
tell you that my occupation ought to be
that of digging post holes or shoveling
smoke.
Of course I go to other points, other
towns and cities, and the people wine me
and dine me and get me full of palousers
and say I am "it" in very large type;
but my neighbors know me for the fraud
that I am.
And In thus stating my position I have
given the meat and kernel of my argu
ment, and that Is that the people of al
most even community in Oregon keep
pretty busy cussing the local paper and
its editor, and wondering how a man can
stoop to publish such a measly sheet.
The average community seems to think
that the local paper Is a parasite, some
thing to be endured but not encouraged.
They will point across the state line, to
the next county, to the neighboring city,
to any old paper in any old place. an;l
tell you what a good paper it Is and
how fortunate the community is to have
such a sheet; but they will at the same
time take great pains to tell you that the
paper In their own town Is plumb cultus.
and the editor a man who does not know
the first principles of the newspaper
business. .
What would you do without your news
paper? How long would it be, if your
present paper should close down, until
you would be flirting with some other
newspaper man to come to your town,
and what promises you, would hold out,
but how you would fall down after he
got out his first issue. I know all about
you. I have seen the thing worked to a
frazzle in Oregon, and know - that the
newspaper man is, as a rule, the last
paid, the poorest paid and the most
grudgingly paid of all.
For Sb lei One Valuable Con-.
In a recent issue of the Alta Search
light, a paper published in a small town
up In Canada, appeared the following
advertisement:
"Owing to ill health. I will sell at my
residence In township 19, range 18. ac
cording to the government survey, one
raspberry plush cow 8 years old. She is
a good milker and not afraid of motor
cars or anything else. She has undaunted
courage and gives milk frequently, y To
a man who does not fear death in any
form, she would be a great boon. She
is very much attached to her home at
present by means of a logchaln, but she
will be sold to any one who will use
her right. She Is one-fourth short horn
and three-fourths hyena. I will also
throw in a double-barrelled shotgun, as
it goes with her. In May she generally
goes away for a week or two and returns
with a tall red calf with wobbly legs."
Owners Hitch t a o Kxravnted Earth.
PORTLAND. Dec. 18. (To the Editor.)
Will you Inform me what rights a prop
erty owner has in the dirt excavated in
the" street In front of his property when
that street is being graded.
I am told that a decision was ren
dered some months ago by Judge O'Day
upon this subject and would like this
information, as it would settle a much
disputed question and inform many prop
erty owners now in ignorance ot this
decision as to their rights. L. G. C.
This matter is still In litigation. Brief
ly, Judge O'Day in the case of Sharkey
against the City of Portland granted a
preliminary Injunction against the city
restrained it from using earth excavated
for a street improvement. The case will
come up for trial probably next month.
Judge O'Day held that the city could use
the excavated earth only in case it was
needed for fills on the same improve
ment. Sharkey claimed it for use in filling his
own lot, and preliminarily the court de
cided in his favor.
The city will fight the decision on the
ground that it will be almost Impossible
to secure bids on street work under such
rulings. Contractors could not know what
to do with excavated earth until each
separate owner of abutting property was
consulted as to his wishes concerning
its disposal.
Qualifications tor School Elector.
PORTLAND. Dec. 17, (To the Editor.)
Please answer the following: (1) Does a
Derson who lives on Government land not
proved up on, who pays taxes on improve
ment and stock, have a right to vote at
school election? (2) Could he lawfully
hold the office of school director? (:t)
Could he lawfully hold the office of clerk
if he could give good bond, or would he
have to own real estate first? (4) Is a
person who prohibits another from vot
ing liable for damages?
One, two and three: Yes. provided he
pays taxes on $100 worth of personal
property. In Oregon, any man or woman
who pays taxes on real or personal prop
erty assessed at $100 or more may vote
at school elections and is qualified to
serve as director or clerk.
Four, consult lawyer.
Concerning Divorce Proceedings.
PORTLAND, Dec. 17. (To the Editor.
May I burden you to answer these
questions:
First Must one live a certain period
of time in Oregon before applying for
divorce?
Yes. One year.
Second Can same be obtained upon
statutory grounds, if offense was com
mitted some years since, and in another
state?
Yes.
Third Con one obtain a divorce in this
state on the apparent grounds of In
compatibility? No.
Fourth Under what conditions may ali
money be asked?
Where defendant Is a non-resident, ali
money cannot be had in Oregon.
Citizenship of Allen Minors.
GASTON. Or.. Dec. 18. (To the Editor.)
Do children born in a foreign country
and coming to the United States with
their parents, and the said parents be
come citizens of the United States before
the children are oi age, become citizens
or would they have to take out citizen
ship papers before they became citizens?
H. C. H.
Naturalization of their parents confers
citizenship on such children. They need
not take out citizenship papers.
Wages May Be Attached.
PORTLAND, Dec. 16. To the Editors
Is there a law In this state making it
possible to attach a man's wages for
debt? C. R.
Ye
Oregon as Viewed by
He Is Captivated by Our Apples. Comprehend Our t lliiinte. Thinks AVe Are
Backward In Education and Is Confident of a Great MMerlnl Future.
(Correspondence of the Boston Transcript
from Albert Bushne'.l Hart. Professor of
History. Harvard University.)
OREGON is nearly 30 years older
than California, and prides itself
on Its conservatism. The reason
for this early development was the fer
tility of the Willamette Valley, a wide
plain, much of which was not wooded
and all of which was easily reached
from the Pacific. Until a few
years ago, this valley and its commer
cial capital. Portland, were the wholo
of Oregon. The wide region to the east
of the Cascade range hardly counted,
for It includes a large part of the great
lava beds which reach north into Wash
ington; and it Is still the part of the
continental United States least provided
with railroads.
Oregon depends for its wealth upon
fisheries, lumber and wheat, and it has
also become a fruit producer of world
wide reputation. The forests are more
valuable than those ot Washington, be
cause more extensive and they are. so
far. less cut over. Lane County, in Ore
gon (a county about the size of Con
necticut) claims to have 50.nno.00fl.000
feet of standing timber. For the Lewis
and Clark Exposition at Portland three
years ago. they built a sort of temple
of tree trunks, every one of which was
five feet in diameter at the base, four
at the capital, and 54 feet high; it is
the sort of structure that the Greeks
tried to repeat in enduring stone: and
it is certainly one of the most striking
and effective buildings in the world.
The Pacific slope of the Coast range
and the Interior slopes both of those
mountains and of the 'Cascades, are
heavily timbered with trees of such
size and perfection that there is no ri
val for them away from the Pacific
Coast of trie United States and British
Columbia. So far, the state had been
no more prudent in its lumber cut than
its sisters; but now there is an awaken
ing to the need of skilful cutting, and
the preservation of such an asset, and
the Federal Government is aiding by
forest reservations.
The mineral wealth of Oregon has
only been scratched so far; but there
are a few productive gold mines in the
Cascades and some coal near the ocean.
The salmon industry is nowhere so
lively as upon the Columbia, where a
single one of the scores ot fish wheels
has been known to catch four tons of
fish in a night. The two states divid
ed by the river are at odds as to the
conservation of the salmon, and Ore
gon has Just prohibited fish wheels.
Oregon has always been an agricultural
state and In going through it one sees
curious structures with the wooden
ventilators, which are used for the
storage of hops. This culture is di
minishing, and some of the brewers
have threatened to boycott the hops
grown in dry counties, as a rebuke to
the double-dealing of those who will
not consume the liquid for which tliey
furnish the raw materials.
Apples That Sell nt ;tO Cents Each.
Eastern Oregon grows plenty of
wheat, but the grain most before peo
ple's eyes is the apple. Hood Hiver
apples are said to be sold in Paris at
30 cents each, to go upon the tables
of millionaires, diplomats and popular
actresses. Fruit lands down in the can
yon of Snake River are really worth
$r00 or $600 an acre, and people talk
of $1000 or even $2000 an acre. The
idea seems to be that if you can sell
10.000 bushels of apples at a fancy
price, you could dispose of 10. Olio. 000
bushels at the same price. Washington
and Montana are already competitors
in the fruit business, and it is likely
that the fruitgrowers in the end will
find that there is only a limited mar
ket for the highest priced fruit. Yet
nobody can deny that Oregon apples
have a beautiful rosy texture, nor that
the complexion of the girls is very sim
ilar. This is not the result of eating
the apples. It would appear that the
high quality both of the fruit and of
the young ladies' complexions is due
to the moist climate.
Yarns lit re Humidity.
Just how moist the climate is no
body living in either Oregon or Wash
ington will take the responsibility of
saying. A Summer like that ot 1II0S,
in which there were not half a dozen
rainy days during two months, is not
a safe basis for an appraisal of Coast
Summers, and still less of Coast Win
ters. When the late President Harri
son addressed a crowd in the open air
here some years ago. he was shocked
that school children were allowed to
stay out doors and sing to him while
it was raining: the Oregonians were
simply not aware that it was raining.
A comparison of partial revelations by
different people leads to the suspicion
that during the Winter it rains in Ore-
0 JF.ST ABOVT THIS .MEASIHK.
Dr. Owens-Adnlr Again Defends Her
Plan of Sterilisation.
WARREXTOX, Or.. Dec. 17. (Tn tho
Editor.) I beg spate to reply to R. W.
Traver who took me to task and sag.dy
,1,-ia n lKth amendment to the consti
tution, which shall prohibit the manufac
ture and sale of both tobacco and whisky.
Personally I should approve of such a
law. as I abhor whisky and detest to
bacco. I have used my feeble efforts
against both all my life, but the curse
is still with us. As there are about 9;
per cent of all men who use tobacco in
some form, and a large per cent who use
alcoholic stimulants, and women are not
allowed to vote, I don't just see where
tbe "Kill amendment" is coming in.
Don't trv to sidetrack me on that old
threadbare theory, but you go right along
and get your "16th amendment" and I 11
say amen If I'm living.
A long time ago, about a quarter of
a centurv. I was an active member of
the third' House at Salem, and that honor
able body gave us a good law, not "a
fool law." requiring all the public schools
to teach the effects of alcohol, tobacco,
opium and other narcotics on the human
svstem. This was a great step in tbe
right direction and yet only a drop in
the bucket. To make an assertion is easy
but to prove it is not so easy. That the
best blood without proper care and train
ing will degenerate, while the so-called
"scrubs" with such care will excel, re
quires proof through scientific research.
I don't believe that alcohol and tobacco
produce insanity. Thousands and tens
of thousands of bright intelligent men
have used both through their long lives
and never showed the least symptoms of
insaniiv. But had there been a trace of
insanity in their blood, then those mar
cotics would have lighted the torch and
the explosion would have been felt.
You seem to think Finch's crime was
due to drink and Chester Thompson s to
cigarettes, yet Thompson, Thaw and
thousands of others have escaped the
hangman's rope through the plea of
hereditary insanity. I am not taking ex
ception to the Juries' decision, but to all
such unfortunates I hold that sterilization
should be the remedy. And I believe
that the profession would bear me out
in this, for every informed physician
knows the intimate relation between the
brain and the organs of reproduction.
And bv- the aid of this remedy the un
controllable irritation of the nervous sys
tem in manv cases would be relieved and
the brain would assert its normal func
tions. ...
I am conscious of the fact that tuere
are many who smile and even sneer at
this measure. Only h week ago a relative
said to me: ' "A woman of your stand
ing should not bo mixed up In such a
a Harvard Professor
gon nearly every day: but that it is
a sort of dry fain quietly drizzling
down, so that people accept it as they
would a hot wave. You are told that
the rainfall of the two states, is less
than that of tbe Atlantic. Coast, but it
is undoubtedly spread over more days.
On the other hand, the Summer cli
mate in a good year is almost perfect,
with little extremely hot weather west
of the Cascades, though it boils and
broils and sizzles out on the lava beds;
the air. notwithstanding the lfearncss
of tile sea. is not oppressive. Even ill
Summer, however, and particularly in
late Summer, there is thick muggy
weather: and people Vavo been known
to stay a month in Seattle and declare
that there was no such thing as a
Mount Kainier. though when the
weather is clear it seems the only
thing that you care to look at. People
live an outdoor life in the city and
country, while camping and picnick
ing ami Summer outings are brought
within the range of tho e.act sciences.
The Coast in Summer is much like
Florida in Winter, balmy and bright.
I.oug llaeknurd . ill Kdlirntlott.
Oregon, as the oldest of the three
Coast sisters, has a character to main
tain, anil passes for conservative in
these whistling latitudes. Till about
SO years ago the old farmers In the
Willamette Valley made up a majority
of the voters and had things their own
way. The result has been that Oregon
till recently has remained backward in
education and intellectual appliances.
The state has a good normal school,
agricultural college and university, all
within a few miles ot each other, but
till l'.hi? the Legislature thought it was
liberal in voting $18,000 a year for tho
university, which cares for the higher
education or 700.000 people, (iradually
the graduates of the university have
spread through the state, and two years
ago one of them got Into the Legisla
ture and ninde a campaign for an in
crease of the university's appropriation
to $1''.".000 a year. The Legislature
voted it: the Coventor vetoed it. and
it was passed over his veto; where
upon some mossbacks invoked the re
ferendum, and at the last election sub
mitted to the voters the Important
question whether the university should
bo kept at the old fooling, or adopt a
new standard. The result was fortu
nate for the university, for its sous
rallied to its defense, the voters of the
city of Portland were strongly in its
favor, and overcame the conservative
backwoods: "and the university has a
continuing appropriation of $12."i.uoo.
which could only be disturbed by
another referendum. The whole state
lias been educated by this discussion
of higher education.
Professor Hart tells of the initiative
and referendum. Statement No. 1 ami
the perplexing, unexpected position of
the Legislature, and continues:
In this controversy, ss in everything
else in the slate. The (iregouian. of
Portland has taken a lively part. The
Orcgonian is a public Institution like
the Hood ltiver apples or the referen
dum; it is far and away the best news
paper on the Coast. edited in the
staunch manner of the old New York
Tribune, the Springfield Republican or
the Boston Transcript. Considering
what the San Francisco papers are (or
rather are not), ami the weakness of
most of the papers in Washington, the
continued success of The oregnnhin is
striking: in general, it is on t lie side
of progress. otherwlte. the state Is
as yet intellectually little moved, ex
cept by its institutions of learning. Tin;
Oregon people are just coining to re
alize that they ran afford to give tlicir
children a good education, and the ex
cellent university and agricultural col
lege are Just at the beginning of a
career of influence in the stale.
There is something slirrinu; in tho
awakening of a state so full ot po
tentialities. Though much of Kasiern
Oregon is desert, entirely ,ut of tlm
reach of irrigation, some millions of
acres can be touched by the magic
springs and the ramifying gorges of
the upper Snake lliver. Nobody reully
knows what are 1 hi- mineral resources
of the Cascade liange; and Western
Oregon is lapahle of supporting a popu
lation many times Its present fiOO.OOO.
Like Washington, the state outside of
its one large city has a characteristic
American population, and has attract
ed many Eastern men of high training.
In Mount Hood, the slate possesses a
snow peak little Inferior in size or ac
cessibility to the Washington giants.
Oregon is a strong, hardy and progres
sive state, which Is certain t hold a
larger place in the councils of the Na
tion than it has yet attained. It s ono
ex-Cabinet officer. A I torney-tleneia 1
Williams, of (Incut's time, is still a
force in Portland and in the state. It
remains lo be seen whether tbe popu
lar primary will bring to the front men
of like abilities.
subject." Twenty-live years ago such a
rebuke would have, brought a deluge of
tears and rendered me nervous and sick,
but not so now, for I am following cue
what I believe will he a great blessing
to suffering humanity. 1 say will, be
cause 1 believe it will come. My con
victions have been olH:.ined through hard
tri lls and long research. Two years ago
while talking with Representatives F.ir
rell. Clutpin. Heals and Newell, the four
young men who were brave enough tj
champion this bill, I said to the Secretary
of t'tate who was standing by: "You ap
prove of this measure, do you not, Mr.
Dunbar?"
"Yes I do. Any one who lias lived
among these, institutions as I have for
the last few years c-iuld not do oilier. "
And now. my friend, 1 would adviso
you to study up along these lines. Per
haps a good place to apply your theory
of proper rare anil training would he at
tho boys' and girls' aid societies and tho
reform schools, po into those charitable
homes for the demented, the helpless and
the vicious, where great minds have
been and are devoting their lives fur tho
betterment of those classes. And still
they increase Instead of diminishing. (Jo
there and apply yourself and perhaps you
may lind a remedy better than sierillza
tioil. DR. OWKXS-ADAIH.
Llken.s lr. Stephen IMse 1 nto Amos.
Boston Herald.
Discerning New Yorkers realized long
before his recent rebuke to Tammany
judges for dining with Richard Ctoker
that the pulpit of New York had gained
a man of power when the Re v. S. S.
Wise, of Portland, Or., settled in the
metropolis and established his independ
ent congregation. Hostonians ot Theo
dore Parker's day will see in the etite-r-prise
and in the man much that will rc
ca'l the time when Parker was the least
hedged about with conservative bonds of
any of the Boston clergy, and when from
Music Hall went forth prophetic utter
ances that disturbed the serenity of ec
clesiastical and political "stand-palters."
This young Jewish successor of Amos is
not only bold and candid, hut unusually
eloquent.
Where Wouinn Falls as Invenlor.
Washington Post.
More than 60oo patents have been issued
to American women, and yet none of
them has perfected a device for getting
off a streetcar backward or for making
bargain-hunting a non-hazardous pursuit.
Still H Few I.ubKlers l,rft.
Baltimore American Star.
The New England lobster may lie dis
appearing, as usual, but the Yankees
manafje to find one or two to run on their
Democratic tickets every year.
(