Morning Oregonian., December 24, 1908, Page 10, Image 10

TITE MORXnrO OREGONIAN, TIITJRSDAY, DECEMBER 21. 1908.
10
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FOBTXAND, IKITISDAY, DEC. ' 190-
HOW W1LI. ROOSEVELT AN'oWKKr
There is much curiosity to see how
President Roosevelt will deal -with the
request of the House of Representa
tives for specific information as to his
charge that members of Congress had
voted in favor of restricting Federal
detectives to work for which they are
appointed, lest the detectives should
expose members of Congress them
selves as guilty of criminal practices.
Though not in the terms of the
passage in his message, this statement
is the substance and meaning of It. It
is clear that the President must pre
sent matter in support of his accusa
tion, or apologize for it.
Doubtless he might be able to fur
nish a vast body of probable, though
undecisive, proof in support of his
extraordinary statement. Kor it is
believed to be true that where indi
viduals have been engaged in loot of
the public resources, members of
Congress have, in many cases, used
their Influence In behalf of their en
terprising constituents attempting
these operations. It does not follow,
of course, that all members of Con
gress have known that the practices,
or the attempts, were" unlawful or
criminal. That there have been such
cases, however, is certain. But the
disposition of the Senator or Repre
sentative to serve an influential constit
uent who might have some kind of
oh to be worked through, would ac-
.- nf f,.r n.uch of this effort, without
in ('. : nunt of the member himself
;- know ie-tj.3 of any criminal tran-n,-!!di,
Secret service agents, how
- itr. fallowing clues, on finding that
members of Congress had recom
mended and assisted in fraudulent op
erations, would be apt to conclude
that the members themselves had
guilty knowledge, and their superiors
in office would lay up such stock of
facts and conjectures as might be
available for future use of the various
departments. It is undoubted that a
large stock of information of this
description would be available for the
use of the President, if he should
want it, and a report by htm on the
various Jobs recommended by members
of Congress and discovered to be
fraudulent or improper, would wake
echoes at Washington and in all parts
of the country. Of course there would
be a rush of explanations from all
quarters, with protestations of inno
cency and lack of knowledge, but the
President, nevertheless, could stir a
tempest and make it mighty uncom
fortable for a lot of members, If he
chose.
What course he will take, question
is; for he is in position to discover to
the country a mighty lot of sensational
matter, should he wish to do so, dis
closing the attitude of members of
Senate and House towards an infinite
lot of Jobs, more or less shady in
character, which, of course, members
of Congress are unwilling should be
revealed. For, even if they didn't
know they were assisting in shady
transactions and were, only anxious to
favor constituents, they would prefer
silence and oblivion to publicity and
necessity of explanation. No question
he has the "stuff," and the "medi
cine." Will he use it, or will he slur
the matter with a statement which
Congress that wants no searching in
vestigation may be willing to accept
and call it explanation and apology?
It is not to be regarded as probable,
or possible, that Theodore Roosevelt
made a statement so extraordinary,
without means to support it; and that
members of Congress have constantly
aided constituents who were pushing
"Jobs of various kinds, for promotion
and enhancement of their own for
tunes at the expense of the common
weal, is certain whether the Con
gressman had knowledge of the na
ture of the graft, or not. But revela
tion of this whole business. In so far
as the secret service has discovered
It, would be received gladly by the
country. It would "wake up the
snakes," And no mistake. The ques
tion, then, is of surpassing interest
How will Roosevelt respond? He is
nothing if not a fighter, and hitherto
anybody and everybody who wanted
a fight could get it out of him. This j
one may oe more serious than any
jet. But will he quail?
CHERRY ALFALFA BARBERRY.
The cherry was not known in Eu
rope in the early time. It was brought
Into Italy from Persia, Ferrero tells
us, by Crassus, about 55 B. C. In
America it was a native tree, but the
fruit generally was of poor quality.
Oregon has the wild cherry In abund
ance, and in the Umatilla country the
fruit was the best ever known In the
wild state. It was eagerly eaten by the
early immigrants. Excellent results
have often been obtained in Oregon
' by grafting Improved varieties upon
native stock. The fact that the
"choke cherry" of Umatilla was the
best wild cherry ever known Is worth
mention as confirmation of the claim
of the Oregon country to the produc
tion of the best varieties of the culti
vated tree and its fruit.
Alfalfa, the fodder plant, was
brought into America from Europe,
and Europe got it from Arabia, or
Babylonia. We get the word from the
Arabic, as we get from the same
source such words as algebra, alcohol,
alchemy, and many more. The Span
lards brought the seed to the New
World. A monograph issued by the
Department of Agriculture Informs us
that alfalfa got into Italy In the first
century of our era. "It may briefly be
described." says this same document,
"as being a deep-rooted long-lived
herbaceous fcrage plant, belonging to
the botanical family legtiminnsae, or
pod-bearing plants. It resembles
clover, and its chief peculiarity Is a
tap root often extending fifteen feet or
more Into the soil. That is why It
nourishes in the seml-arld regions of
the West; it sinks its root down where
moisture may be found." Tet it will not
flourish well where the underlying
strata are impervious or very hard.
The so-called Oregon grape, which
is not of the grape family at all, but is
a barberry, flourishes in particular lo
calities in a wild state, but Is very in
tolerant of cultivation. But when its
shoots or roots are grafted with their
kindred of foreign countries a new
stock is obtained which may be culti
vated with highest possible effects. The
French do this to perfection. The Ore
gon plant, engrafted with that of
France, comes out in new character.
The world is now only at the begin
ning of these variations of plant life
though the subject is a very old one.
Means of communication between the
various regions of the earth now afford
facilities for Improvement of plant
life not possible in former times, and
it is a general rule that the stock of
one country can be greatly improved
by admixture with that of another.
THE OREGON BANKS.
The summary of State Bank Exam
Iner Steel's report on the condition of
Oregon banks at the close of busi
ness November 27 makes an interest
ing showing. The prosperity of the
state is reflected in deposits of nearly
J74.O0O.O0O and total resources of
J 107,000,000. The division of depos
its between the state banks and the
National banks Is close, the 132 state
hanks being credited with $39,674,
348.82 and the sixty-five National
banks having to their credit deposits
of $34,270,890.89. The statement of
fers some Interesting comparisons
with that for the Portland banks
taken separately. It shows that of the
total of deposits held in all Oregon
banks, $47,241,627.41 is held by the
banking Institutions of Portland.
The banks of this city are also cred
ited with resources amounting to $56,-
235,993.98, an amount slightly in ex
cess of one-half of those of the re
mainder of the banks throughout the
state. In loans and discounts, the di
vision between Portland and the re
mainder of the state is remarkably
close, the Portland banks reporting
this item at $25,640,842.44, while the
remaining banks show a total of $25,-
751,417.28. The total population of
the state at this time Is difficult to es
timate, but it is generally believed that
it has reached a figure where the bank
deposits will show an average of more
than $100 per capita. This figure
would, of course, be greatly swollen If
the deposits Included all of the invest
ments held by the loan and trust or
ganizations, not to mention the hoards
which have not yet been taken out of
the stockings and teapots into which
they were frightened by the panic of
last year.
The panic Interrupted a large flow
of Eastern money which was then
coming into the state for Investment,
and this movement has as yet hardly
been resumed. Conditions are steadily
improving, however, and the very flat
tering bank statement just published
will undoubtedly be much Improved on
by its successor a year hence.
HOW THE COIXEGES GROW.
Some trustworthy statistics of uni
versity attendance lately published in
the New York Evening Post indicate
that the center of educational popula
tion Is moving westward. The largest
university is still on the Atlantic Coast,
but it is Columbia now, and not Har
vard. Tale has gone down to twelfth
In the list, several of the state univer
sities being ahead of her. The latter
schools are the only ones which seem
to have grown much. Minnesota and
Wisconsin each gained 400 students
last year, while Princeton barely held
her own, Tale gained but 31 and Har
vard's enrollment actually declined.
In the race for precedence the state
universities are not likely to lose
ground as the years pass. With the
power of taxation to support them and
an invincible loyalty to them in the
hearts of the-people, it would be rash
to try to predict where they will stop.
Moreover, they have the advantage of
looking to the future while the older
colleges have their eyes fixed on the
past. The spirit of the state univer
sity Is democratic, scientific, evolution
ary. The ancient endowed Institution
clings to classical tradition and schol
astic authority. - The on2 typifies
youth, with its boundless courage, the
other age, with Its timid caution, and
America seems to like youth better
than age.
8l;AL PROTECTION FARCE.
Professor David Starr Jordan, in a
communication to The Oregonian,
takes exception to comment made by
this paper on the manner In which the
United States has been buncoed out of
the sealing business and the large
herds which formerly thronged Pribi-
loff Islands now driven to other parts
of the ocean. Scientists might discover
a technical distinction in the different
herds in the North Pacific, but the Vic
toria sealers who have followed these
herds from island to island and profit
ed by the protection which the Gov
ernment has given the San Francisco
fur monopoly have failed to note the
difference. They only know that dis
appearance or diminishing of the herds
in one part of the ocean is followed
by an increase In some other locality.
The Oregonian cannot agree with Dr.
Jordan that the branding of the seal
Is not "inhuman" and cruel, and we
cannot believe that the seal so branded
will hasten back for more of the same
treatment.
There is no occasion for Dr. Jordan
to rush to the defense of the "San
Francisco monopoly," which to a
greater degree than any other influ
ence is responsible for the driving of
the American sealers to the protection
of the British flag. This monopoly is
undoubtedly, as Dr. Jordan asserts, "a
reputable business house." and "the
holding of such a lease offered by the
United States to the highest bidder is
perfectly open and honorable." Ad
mitting all this to be true, it does not
alter the fact that, by spending mil
lions in the past twenty-five years to
protect this monopoly, the Govern
ment has driven the sealing industry
out of the hands of Americans into
those of the British and Japanese seal
ers. No stronger admission of the fact
that this policy is wrong is needed
than the actual payment by the Gov
ernment to Canadian sealers of dam
ages to the amount of $425,000 and in
terest for unlawful seizures of vessels
which were interfering with the profits
of the monopoly.
One of the most disgraceful acts In
connection with this miserable sealing
policy has been the refusal of the Gov
ernment to pay the claims of the
American sealers seized at the same
time and under the same conditions as
those which prevailed when the Cana
dian sealers were seized. As an ex
ample of discrimination against Amer
ican citizens, protection of a monopoly,
injustice and Inhumanity, the Ameri
can Government's sealing policy stands
In a class by Itself. Viewed from al
most any standpoint, the United States
will be a distinct gainer when the ex
pensive farce is ended by the clubbing
of the last seal and abolishment of
the pleasant Summer cruises of the
revenue cutters. .
EYES YE BSCS REASON. .
In seeking to discover who robbed
the O. R & N. train the other night
the authorities have come upon more
evidence than they know what to do
with. The investigation Is suffering
from the rare complaint known as
an embarrassment of riches. Incar
cerated in the City Jail there are two
ne'er-do-wells named Johnson and
Benson whom the train employes posi
tively Identify as the robbers. At the
same time Sheriff Stevens holds in
durance vile at the County Jail an
other precious pair. Burke and Hayes
by name, one of iwhom confesses to the
robbery with all the plausible circum
stances of truth. The dilemma is a
strange one. Of course behind It lies
a little struggle between the city and
county authorities to obtain the re
ward for apprehending the robbers,
but this could not of itself create the
clash of evidence. '.To show how gen
uine this clash Is let us fix our minds
for a moment or two on Engineer
Donlon. He was detained in his cab
for an hour and a quarter by one of
the robbers whose features and gar
ments he had ample time and oppor
tunity to observe.
Before seeing the prisoners at the
jail, Donloh described the clothes the
robbers wore on Thursday night, and
we are given to understand that John
son's and Benson's garments corres
ponded to his description. This is
very powerful evidence. It becomes
still more convincing when we notice
that it goes into minute particulars,
even down to a crack across the toe
of one of the prisoners shoes. So
much for Engineer Donlon's memory
of faces and clothing. We come now
to his memory of conversation. On
last Tuesday night he was confronted
with Burke at the County Jail. Burke
had confessed to the robbery and evi
dence was needed to corroborate his
confession. Hence he was set face to
face with Donlon who had already
declared Johnson and Benson fn the
City Jail to be the robbers. At first
the engineer's memory declined to con
tradict Itself. He failed to recognize
Burke, but the latter presently
brought to bear upon him a process of
proof to which even the most obstinate
Intelligence must yield.
It was the process by which believ
ers in spiritism attempt to identify
the personality of departed souls,
namely the recital of circumstances
which could by no possibility be
known to anybody but Burke and
Donlon. Burke claims to have been
the robber who guarded Donlon in
the cab so that for a long time they
two were alone together and what
they there said to each other must
be confined to their own knowledge.
If now Burke could recite to Donlon
sentences which Donlon admitted that
they interchanged during that time,
how could Its evidential power be re
jected? It would not merely raise a
presumption that Burke was the
man who guarded Donlon in the cab,
It would demonstrate that he was. The
proof of the Pythagorean Theorem in
geometry would be no more convinc
ing. If the alleged spirit of a dead
man comes back from the evergreen
shore and tells Philip of circumstances
which were known to the departed
and Philip, and to nobody else in
earth or heaven, then Philip, if he is a
rational man, necessarily believes that
the alleged spirit is what he claims to
be, unless indeed he escapes by way
of telepathy.
Now, that is the feat which Burke
accomplished. He recalled to Don
lon a conversation they had In the
cab which Donlon had momentarily
forgotten, a circumstance which ex
cludes the hypothesis of telepathy.
How could Burke possibly know of
this conversation unless he was actual
ly in the cab as he claimed to be?
Evidently there was no other way for
him to know and therefore Donlon
threw overboard the testimony of his
eyes, to which he had trusted in Identi
fying the prisoners In the City Jail, and
surrendered to his reason. He ad
mitted that Burke was the man who
kept guard over him. Other mem
bers of the train crew were convinced
by the same process. Fireman Bon,
for example, could not recognize
Burke at first, though he must have
had a good view of him on the night
of the robbery; but Burke applied the
same wrench to his memory that he
had used upon Donlon. "Don't you
remember that I asked you for a
match at such and such a moment?"
Tes, Bon remembered and the trick
was done. He had to admit that
Burke was the man he claimed to be.
Indeed who could have avoided the
admission under such extreme press
ure of logic?
Whether Donlon and Bon will not
discover reasons later on for again
revising their recollections of the rob
bers, we can not of course pretend to
say. Our point now Is that they
ought not to be held up to obloquy and
derision for trusting to their reason
rather than to their senses. Their
eyes tell them that the men In the
City Jail are the robbers. Their rea
son tells them that Burke and Hayes
in the County Jail are the men. In
discrediting the former and relying
upon the latter they follow the pro
cess which has elevated the human
race from barbarism to civilization.
Much as we boast of the credibility
of our senses we 'rarely trust them
when they conflict with reason even
slightly. In this case the conflict is
as -complete as it Is between our eyes
and our brains In regard to the motion
of the sun. The eyes say it goes
round the earth. The brain says It
does not. We decide the dispute by
believing the brain Just as Donlon
does in his dilemma.
IS CHEAP LUMBER POSSIBLE?
Edward Hines, president of the Vir
ginia & Rainy Lake Lumber Company,
which a Chicago dispatch pronounces
"the largest combine in the world of
its kind," is predicting cheap lumber.
which, he asserts, will be obtained
through cheapening the. cost of manu
facture by other methods than "at the
expense of the country by reckless or
wasteful lumbering, methods." Mr.
Hines gives a number of details of the
new plans on which' his firm will
bring about this remarkably pleasing
condition. Among other improvements
in methods, he says ."we will utilize all
the timber on the ground we cut over.
We will not simply pick out the choice
trees, leaving dead wood and brush to
feed forest fires. We will clear the
land so that, instead of being a worth
less wilderness after it is cut over. It
will be available for farming pur
poses." While the consuming public has be
come somewhat skeptical about any
'largest combine in the world making
any radical reduction In the cost of
any commodity it may have for sale, it
will await results of this new method ,
of lumbering with interest, and proba.
bly with no great degree of confidence
in its success. The "base" for cheap
lumber is cheap stumpage. It is only
where stumpage Is very high priced
that there will be any economic ad
vantage in utilizing "all the timber on
the ground we cut over." Whenever
stumpage advances to a point where
there is a profit in this kind of econ
omy, the price of lumber will advance
in keeping. Mr. Hines' proposed sys
tem for clearing the land as he pro
ceeds is also a plan that has Its draw
backs. The professional logger.
whether he handles an axe and saw or
is a hooktender or swamper, is some
what out of his element in preparing
land for cultivation as a part of his
work of logging.
The men who clear land in the tim
bered portion of this country can be
secured at wages fully 50 per cent
less than those paid professional log
gers. It is accordingly obvious that
cheaper lumDer cannot De sec urea oy
figuring In on its cost the labor of
high-priced men who are part of the
time engaged in low-priced work. If
these loggers are not employed in
clearing the land as they remove the
timber, others must be secured. In
either case the cost of the clearing
will have no direct '-bearing on tHe
price of lumber.
Removal of the duty on lumber may
temporarily make the Canadian
product cheaper than that which is
obtainable from American mills, but
the rapid depletion of our forest
wealth on both sides of the Canadian
line and the enormous increase in con
sumption of lumber preclude any pos
sibility of lumber ever again selling to
the consumer at prices much, if any
lower than those now prevailing. The
end of the stumpage supply is in sight
It is plainly visible to all timbermen
and lumbermen. For that reason
there will not be any serious cutting
of prices of a commodity whose sup
ply is so near exhausted, with no
means for replenishing it.
The Providence which watches over
fools and not Infrequently extends its
Jurisdiction to the ranks of criminals
was "on the Job" yesterday, and as a
result another fool with the ready re
volver is in Jail with only a minor
charge against blm, instead of being a
murderer. The offense of ordering a
man to move on and resenting an In
suit by thrashing the offender Is' not
one that justifies murder. Had Mr.
Seeber succeeded in his intentions, he
would have had difficulty in pleading
the "unwritten law" or even "demen
tia Americana" for his actions. The
incident, coming at this time, when
murders and attempted murders have
been unusually numerous, offersfurther
evidence of the necessity of a law pro
hibiting the indiscriminate carrying of
firearms by irresponsible idiots who
are unable to control their tempers.
Wall street has a report that An
drew Carnegie is associated with Mr.
Schwab In the Bethlehem Steel Com
pany. This seems hardly probable, in
view of the recently expressed views of
the Laird of Sklbo on the possibility
of making radical reductions in the
price of steel without any immediate
danger of driving the manufacturing
concerns Into bankruptcy. There is,
of course, the possibility that Andrew
has signally failed by the library pro
cess In getting rid of his money as rap
idly as it accumulates. The new
method would, of course, be less spec
tacula.r than the library system of dis
tributing the mammoth fortune that
has been wrung from American con
sumers, but the plan is not without its
merits, and if Andrew will practice as
he preaches, his return to the trade
will be welcomed.
It is pretty late in the season to be
again advising Christmas shoppers to
begin early in their search for pres
ents. As there is an entire day in
which to finish the performance. It
might not be out of place, however, to
urge on those who have not yet made
their selections, that, iwhile it is too
late to begin early in the season, there
is still time to begin early In the day.
This will make the strain of the final
crush easier on the buying public and
also on the tired, overworked clerks
who attend, or endeavor to attend, to
their wants.
A Philadelphia dispatch says that
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Dela
ware are burled in a blanket of snow
from six inches to a foot in depth. The
dispatch concludes with the comfort
ing news that "an old-fashioned white
Christmas Is assured." Out here in
Oregon we are enjoying one of those
mild Winter rains which brings the
bloom of youth to the aged cheek and
also assures us of an "old-fashioned
Christmas" whose charms will not be
marred by that ghostly cold whiteness
that a snow storm spreads over the
earth,
It is a mystery why Senator Piatt, of
New Tork, should think anybody
wishes to read his memoirs. He never
did anything worth hearing or did
anything worth recording. Now that
he is all dead but his vanity, he
takes up the Incredibly useless task of
writing his memoirs. The book may
Inadvertently tell something interest
ing about other men. If it does it
will have one redeeming feature. It
is not likely to have more than one.
When it comes to trust-busting, At
torney-General Hadley, of Missouri,
takes the cake. His reSord of three
busted" in one day beats anything In
that line eve? done before, and the
wonder of his feat becomes greater
when we remember that they were all
Standard Oil "subsidiary corpora
tions." Given a prosecutor and a
court who are in earnest and the trusts
prove as vulnerable as other criminals.
Every time a Jury sets free, or fails
to hang, a murderer, it furnishes an
excuse for other murderers. Does any
one think that, if every murderer were
promptly punished, there would be so
many homicides by half as there are
in the United States?
It's a little tough to be accused of
trainrobbery and then to have to make
a long argument showing that you are
the robber. But we are a mighty
skeptical people. We don't like the
Idea of Jailing such romantic heroes as
trainrobbers.
Hon. Sam Gompers' great desire to
make a martyr of himself Is In a fair
way to be realized. But twelve
months In jail may seem longer In re
ality than in anticipation.
What has become of that great
scheme of all smokers to boycott the
streetcars by walking? Why don't
they do it? They can thus solve the
whole problem.
How would an Injunction do, Mr.
Gompers, to restrain the court from
xarrylng that Jail sentence into effect?
LOAN PORTLAND LIBERTY BELL.
Philadelphia Newspaper arronarly Ur
ges Sending; of the Patriotic Symbol.
North American.
The' North American would be the
last' to advocate a yielding to every
request for the Liberty Bell to be sent
hither and' yon as a sort of sideshow
attraction for. unimportant local cele
brations. But there has come a plea
for its presence from across the con
tinent which we think should be heed
ed. Since the time when Seward was
called "the fool of a century" for pay
ing a few millions to Russia for Alas
ka, then deemed a barren, iey worth
less wilderness, there has grown a
wonder city beside a harbor in which
all the navies of the earth might lie
in snug anchorage. And through the
splendidly typical American City of
Seattle there passes every year the
golden harvest of Alaska, a thousand
fold greater annually than the cost
to America for all that territory.
And all the while, southward of Se
attle, Portland has been growing in
size and stability worthy the name
Eastern tourists give to it "the Phila
delphia of the West." Near the Co
lumbia River, whose pure flood makes
the Mississippi ugly and the Hudson
petty and unimpressive, with snow
capped mountains In sight of the city's
streets, with every home the center
of a garden, bowered with every va
riety of bloom, Portland is as proud
of its beauty as it Is of Its commercial
strength and conservatism, and, above
all, of Its, Americanism.
Those two cities are to celebrate
their arrival at full stature among Amer
ican cities. Next Summer they invite
Americans who know only the East
and Europe to look upon our West.
And, therefore, we think that this plea
which comes to Philadelphia deserves
the most respectful and friendly con
sideration: To Hia Honor, the Mayor, the Select Coun
cil and the Common Council, Philadelphia,
Pa. Gentlemen: The Portland Rose Festi
val and the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition
of Seattle are extremely anxious to have
the dear old Liberty Bell brought to the Pa
cific Coast in June, 1909. Thia sacred me.
mortal, whose thrilling- tones Inspired our
forefathers, has never visited the great gold
en R'M. We feel that it would prove a
valuable- educator to the rising generations
and inspire them with the patriotism that
proves a sheet anchor to the windward and
& bulwark to our civil and religious liberty.
If you, honorable gentlemen, will pass an
ordinance making tt possible for us to se
cure the presence of the Liberty Bell, we
will send a guard of safety to meet the bell
and its guard of 'honor at the state line and
watch over it carefully until it has passed
out of our Mate confines.
Already the Mayors of hundreds of cities
and towns along the possible routes the bell
might travel have volunteered to give the
venerable and worshipful relic a welcome
worthy of its importance. Tena of thousands
of echool children would greet the bell and
smother it with flowers a they sang patriotic
aonga in commemoration.
In the event of a visit by the Liberty Bell,
we assure you that progress through the land
will be the march of a conquering hero
triumphant in a great and noble cause. "With
the sincere hope that you may grant our re
quest, we have the honor to subscribe our
self, yours very sincerely.
THE! PORTLAND ROBE FESTIVAL.
We can conceive of no more inspir
ing lesson In patriotism than would
be provided by that jealously guarded
journey of the bell from the Delaware
to Puget Sound and the Columbia.
It is wise and proper to keep that
National relic from becoming a cheap
ened, ever-traveling trinket. It should
never leave its shrine save upon rare
occasions of real National significance.
But that Journey across the conti
nent is one of those occasions. Past
the prairies where no white man had
faced the Indians when its last peal
sounded; past the splendid fertile states
that once were "the great American
desert;" over the RockleB, then un
known, and over the Sierras, which
only the Spanish adventurers had seen,
let the bell travel, guarded In honor,
to the lands for which our fathers
once were ready to fight the strongest
power on earth over a disputed de
gree of latitude.
Let those new generations of strong
Americans see for once the sacred thing
which to them Is but a name. Among
tens of thousands a reverence will be
inspired and a sentiment inculcated
more deep than we of the East can
conceive, grown careless as we have
through acquaintance through genera
tions with the concrete reminders of
the Nation's birth.
The fostering of that spirit Is a need
of the Nationnow. Purely sentimental
as the results would be, the whole
country would find ultimate profit In
the sending of the Liberty Bell to
those Pacific cities.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS TO EUROPE.
Millions In Small Sums Sent by Money
Orders from New York
New Tork Special December 18.
tinmo at.iT. wnrran srave out today
the following figures ior me outgoing
money-order mails for December 2 to
December 12, inclusive:
Number. Amounts.
Dec. 2. Campania 14.461 327.2.M)
Dec 3. La Lorraine 9.671, 209.333
Dec. 5. New Tork n.S0:t 7:.5.T0
Dec. 8 Kaiser Wllhelm.. R5.035 808,218
Dec. 9. Majestic 18.03S 325.898
Dec. lO. L Touralne IS, R26 2WS.7.7
Dec. 12. St. Louis 67.309 841. S5
Total ....216.853 3,513.94D
tv.. fltnira thnw an Increase of 39.-
jiic n "
ena i n.nir.nrH.r IrftnflflrtlAnH AVer
l .T "J J.!, UIWIIVJ-.v,
the period from December 3 to Decem
ber 12, Inclusive, in 190T, and an in
crease in money transmitted of 1103,-
BE.S.67. Tne aaiiy average increase is
330S orders.
Added to these figures Is the con-.ir-mant
nf fnrpls-n mnnflv orders
carried abroad by the Lusltanla on
December 16, numbering 115,022 orders,
and amounting to 11,526,799.94, making
a grand) total to aate oi ta.sia oruers
and S5. 040,629.21.
The total amounts of money for each
fAimtrv renreaentad bv monev orders
are given in the following list:
Great Britain 8SR,4uS
li.lv 7SS.303
Sweden 340,304
Austria 823.023
Germany 299.312
vo ato
Hungary
-. i. i an 17.1
Oreece ITM...- - 108.116
JTMCfl "
Election ef Senator.
PORTLAND, Or., Dec. 23. (To the
Editor.) The election of a United
States Senator by the people is con
trary to the Constitution of the United
States.
The election of members of the Leg
islature to follow blindly the choice
of the people expressed at an election
Is an election of United States Senator
by the people a subversion of the
Constitution of the United States and
treason, just as secession was.
The member of the Legislature who
votes for United States Senator by rea
son of the direction of the people or
his promise to them to follow that
direction violates the oath he takes to
support the Constitution of the United
States and is a perjurer.
ELLIS Q. HUGHES.
The Difference.
From the Washington Post.
Charles M. Schwab wants the duty
kept on steel and Andrew Carnegie
wants it taken off. Tou see. - Mr.
Schwab is in the steel business and
Mr. Carnegie is out of it.
! WHERE IS THE AUDUBON SOCIETY t
No Protest Heard Aaralnst Prevailing;
Modes In Millinery.
PORTLAND, Dec. 22. (To the Editor.)
In a promenade about the city streets
at this season of the year, a merely su
perficial observer could not fail to note
that, out of every 50 women he might
chance to meet, 49 were wearing on their
heads some part of a slaughtered bird's
anatomy.
In view of this fact, I have waited for
some time to see a protest from the
Audubon Society, but have concluded,
from the absence of any public criticism
of prevailing modes in millinery, that the
society has simply closed up its doors in
despair and gone completely out of ex
istence. Although I am not a mamber of the
Audubon Society and have a very care
less interest In birds, beyond listening to
an occasional song or admiring a pretty
plumage, if I were the owner of one of
those hats which appear to be composed
of an entire bird, minus its song and
soul, I would be ashamed to look that
bird in the eye, glass though the eye
might be, as I took it from its paper
cage to adorn my murderous brow.
But what is one to do? Fashion de
crees it and most women would as soon
give up their religious creed as to breathe
defiance at fashion's mandates.
If one accosts the majestic personage
invariably found where millinery is sold
and in awestruck tones beseeches the
consideration of blrdless hat trimming,
with what merciless indifference or pity
ing commiseration is one met by that
august individual.
Women have been repeatedly told of
the cruelties practiced in the slaughter
ing of many of these beautiful birds, and
yet It seems to me that the game-hogs'
brutish sensibilities are nothing com
pared to the sublime indifference dis
played by some sweet-faced, motherly
looking little woman who shamelessly
wears the plumage torn from live, suffer
ing birds, or mother-birds killed and tak
en from their young when mother care
is absolutely necessary to the preserva
tion of their helpless lives.
The only plumage I have cared to wear
Is the ostrich feather, and I may yet
become convinced that this practice is
incompatible with my convictions. Hav
ing witnessed many times the plucking
of ostriches in Southern California, I have
been unable to see that there was any
special cruelty attached, though I have
no doubt the sensation experienced by the
ostrich might be much like we would
feel in having a deep-rooted molar drawn.
But after the ostrich is plucked and the
bag taken from its head, it looks as lively
and aggressive as ever, and one watches
the plucking with much the same feeling
that Is aroused by the sight of one of the
big birds voluntarily drawing a good
sized orange in tortuous curves down its
lanky neck.
Therefore, let us return to the gay bou
quets worn last Winter in lieu of hats,
huge in size and glaring in color as they
often were, but affording a decent em
ployment to hundreds of workers, rather
than condone the wholesale slaughter of
the innocents, furnishing occupation to
ruthless men who ought really to be pun
ished for their many crimes committed
against "birddom" in Fashion's name.
V. T.
ROOSEVELT WILL RESPOND
And He Will Be Namln of Xames,
Too.
Reports from Washington fully Indi
cate that President Roosevelt Is not
"lying down" before the challenge of
the House of Representatives. On the
contrary, he has accepted It. A Wash
ington special of December 20 gives
the following statement:
Today the President started the compila
tion of a mass of evidence which he will
submit to Congress in support of his state
ment that changes in the secret service law
were made because certain Congressmen
feared investigation by the Government de
tectives. At the White House but one statement
was made aside from the announcement
that h was preparing the message. It
came from a Cabinet member who re
marked, smilingly, "He laughs best who
laughs last." - This was taken to Indicate
that the President does not consider that ha
will have the worst of It when the incident
finally is closed.
It is said that the President will produce
affidavits to the effect that certain con
gressmen said exactly what he contended
they thought, and he will give their names.
He will further show by affidavits that
some of them needed Investigation, and he
will give their names, too.
In preparing his answer to the Perkins
resolution he will have such an amount of
ln-formatlon that he will not have the mes
sage .ready before January 3. U the Senate
passes a similar resolution he will take up
their case in a similar manner. The Presi
dent seemed confident today that he would
be able to prove to the satisfaction of the
general public that he had not overstated
the situation in his now famous message.
FOR A GRADUATED IXCOME TAX
Would Be Just and Equitable and
Would Help to Solve a Problem.
VANCOUVER, Wash., Dec. 21. (To
the Editor.) Tour recent editorial con
cerning a possible deficit in the Fed
eral Treasury, It seems to me, states
the case well. I especially approve your
statement that if the tariff, after prop
er revision, shall fall to provide suf
ficient revenue for the Government
.Tnnae then recourse should be had
to the Federal Income tax.
Benjamin Harrison, a snort, time oe
. , j ,i , u in - BnMch at Chicago.
made the statement that the question
of taxation was the greatest question
before the American people, a ucw.
he was right, for the reason that this
question Involves the solution of so
many other vital questions now before
us. For instance, it very properly In
cludes the equitable distribution of
wealth, which in logical sequence in
cludes matters of social purity and
public hygiene.
It seems to me, after much thought
and study of the matter, that a gradu
ated income tax. while not being a
panacea by any means, would be just
and equitable, and would help very
largely in solving some of our most
difficult problems. In this connection,
may I ask why should not The Ore
gonian and other leading newspapers
take up this question and give it a
thorough discussion? It seems to me
to be of vital interest.
EDGAR M. SWAN
A Present for Little Boy Blue.
Our Neighbor, he calls me his Little Boy
Blue
Whenever he goes by our yard:
And he says, "good morning, or "how uo
you do T"
But sometimes he winks awful hard.
I guess he don't know what my name really
Is,
Or else he forgot. If he knew;
And my! Tou would think I am really part
He ca"is"me his Little Boy Blue!
Our Neighbor, he told me that Little Boy
Oncstood all his toys in a row.
And Bald: "Now don't go till I come back
for you"
But that was a long time ago.
And one time, at Christmas, when I had a
He brought me a sled, all brand-new
And smiled when he said It was partly for
me
And partly for Little Boy Blue.
Our Neighbor, he's not going to have any
tree.
So he says the best he ran do
Is try to get something to partly give me
And partly give Little Boy Blue.
Because. If he's here, it would make him
so glad.
And he said he knew It was true
That ever and ever so many folks had
A boy Just like Little Boy Blue.
Our Neighbor, he calls me his Little Boy
AndBsald he would like to help trim
Our tree when it came he would feel that
he knew
It was partlv for me and for him.
Ha said he would fix it with lights and wax
flowers.
With popcorn and berries you see.
He'd like to corns over and help to trim
ours
He's not going to bars any tree!
J. W. FOLET.
DR. JORDAN OX SEAL HUNTING.
Defends the Monopoly, and Saya
Inhumanity la Practiced.
STANFORD UNIVERSITY, Cal., Dee.
19. (To the Editor.) A note In The
Oregonian for December 16 concerning
the fur seal herd of the Antarctic con
tains more incorrect statements than
I have ever seen in this excellent pa
per before.
The fur seal has never been driven
from rookery to rookery, from one
breeding ground to another, and can
not be so driven.
The Antarctic rookeries belong to a
distinct genus. Arctocephalus, as dif
ferent from the genus Callorhlnus of
the Bering Sea rookeries as sheep is
from goat. These rookeries were once
populous but their destruction, now
quite general, was brought about by
Indiscriminate slaughter, the same sort
that has reduced the herds of Bering
Sea from 2.000.000 animals in 1872 to
perhaps 200.000 in 1908.
In Bering Sea the seals of the Pribl.
lof Islands are of a different species
from those of the Corrimandcr Islands)
belonging to Russia; and these in turn,
are diferent from the herd on Robbeni
Island, which now belongs to Japanl
The three herds are distinct and they?
do not commingle.
The statements regarding the harJ.
assing of the herd by (revenue cutter
and the like are a fabrication pure)
and simple, and the few female pups
branded some years ago as an experi
ment have disturbed the herd no more
than the taking of an occasional egg
from the hen roost would discourage
a yard full of hens.
The Sitn Francisco monopoly referred
to In this note Is a reputable business 1
house which, as the highest bidder in (
the open market secured the right to I
take the skins of the surplus young '
males on the Pribllof Islands at a lease 1
price of $10 per skin, undertaking at(
the same time to support the natives
living on the islands and carrying out'
the operations of the seal industry!
The holding of such a lease, offered by
the United States to the highest bid4
der. Is perfectly open and honorable
As to tile "inhumnnltSAs" said to
practiced by the lessees on the Island?.'
they do not exist. Tfi- ennfefnoe of
fur seal experts in 183.. . nmi-osed o'
representatives of Great Britain.- C a:i-l
da and the United States, reported that.1
the "methods of driving and killing!
practiced on the islands . . ..call!
for no criticism or objection. . . j
and are conducted skilfully and without
inhumanity." It may be added thaft
thpv have been in force for over ft cen'
tury without affecting the return of
the breeding seals.
DAVID S. JORDAN,
Once Commissioner in Charge for Ful.
Seal Investigation.
DR. PANTON REJOIXS.
v
Dlsputea Dr. Joseph! on a Quesiinr.
of Fact. (
PORTLAND, Or., Dec. 23. (To thW
Editor.) Dr. Josephi In his vltupfwi
tive dissertation of last Sunday, trie -i
to distract attention from the ra )
points at issue, by claiming that I hM.rt
made a violent personal attack uh.-i
him. which is not the case, as can bW
seen by anybody who will take
trouble to review my letter publlwt.ej
by you December 13, which was r.
plain statement of facts ar.-ompanie
bv proofs. The Dean evades thes
points and says, endeavoring to ex-
plain his failure to have replied Ion
since to a paper which I read before,
our State Medical Society last Jul.
in which I denounced the bad work
which had been done by our local med
ical schools:
"I was not present when the paper
was read or discussed, and have never
deemed It of sufficient importance to
read since its publication.
The fact is, however, that he
there, and attracted the special int.-u-
n, .rvfiotv's members a". sfi'- '
in the main aisle direct. y befo:- 'iie
president s chair, lie nsieneu m
tentively to what I had to say. I no-
j i.i' nortiniarlv. and have other
witnesses whose testimony cannot be
impeached who will aver inai me, -
Dr. Josephi seated facing me and tak
ing in every word of my paper. Does
not this Indicate his general accuracy.
Is It credible that if he had not heard
my paper, he would not have made
haste to read it, as it concerned him
and his school most vitally? .
The facts which I have regretfully
i,Mr.iitahli. It was not
Sltlivu a i iint... -
my wish or Intention to enter into a
newspaper discussion ui m
and my first letter was In reply to one
of Dr. Josephi s published in your col-
1 IA nnnt.lllllIlT .t:itS-
umns Lieceniuc r i -
ments derogatory to me.
A. C. PAMON.
In Ihe Independent, Tool
Bryan's Commoner.
In a story relating to the new Secre
tary of the Treasury, the Indepcndent
(New York) prints this tale:
"During the Kaiser's visit to Eng;
land, an enthusiastic German was di
lating to an Kngllsh prelate on the.
extraordinary qualities of his Emperor.
He frequently Interrupted himself with
the sigh of admiration:
"'Ah. but tne Kaiser is great!
"At last the wearied prelate replied:
" 'But God is greater!"
"'So he is,' said the German. 'But
you must remember, the Kaiser is
young yet!' "
Can it be that the memo: y of the
editor of the Independent is failing.'
How could he have permitted such a
hoarv- old chestnut as this to be palmed
off upon ills exact and exacting publi
cation? Dors iie not know that this
story was familiar to every printing
office "devil" more than 30 years ago?
Then the story was given In describing
a dialogue between two South Carolina
negroes who were discussing the mer
its of Robert Smalls, a member of Con
gress. It is a gooil story, however, and per
haps grows better with the years.
This la the Simple Business.
Eugene Register.
If we are to have a Democratic United
States 9inator, why all this fuss among
the Republican Legislators as to whom
shall be greatest In the kingdom of
Democratic politics. Why not let the
Democrats organize both houses, put
their leaders in the seats of the mighty
and proclaim to the world that through
the folly of Oregon Republicanism the
state has been turned over to Democracy
with the understanding that, politically,
they can conduct it as wisely and suc
cessfully as have the Republicans and
forthwith proclaim Chamberlain as Senator-elect
and hand out whatever of po
litical plums they have for distribution.
Until Oregon Republicanism gets wise. It
might be Just as well for It to "go way
back and sit down."
British Old-Age Pensions.
From the London Outlook.
Ireland has always contributed more
than Its due share to the humors as
well as the worries of Parliamentary
proceedings; but It eclipsed itself on
Monday night when Mr. Lloyd-George
a .tui.mcnt an to the claims so
far made for old-age pensions in dif
ferent parts of tne Kingaom.
England only 367,197 persons out of
Ann At 1 iraayn I f A ha.Vft
claimed pentions, in Wales 23,SbS out of
69,000, and in Scotland 68.7S5 out of 134,000,
it appears that in Ireland no fewer than
193.138 persons have put in claims, sl
t,nh there are onlv 184.0O0 persons
known to be living over 70 years of age.
About Husband-Hunting.
Atchison Globe.
a wr,miii ; A man Hoean't
111 v n i ' ' .
amount to much, at beet. In settinar
one, gex ino uci uo vBOium.
t