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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 1909)
uttto nrrkT-vT-vn nurnnvTiV TTTTTTIKTI . V. -TATVTTATIT 7. JANUARY 1909. 8 . " ' ' PORTLAND, OKEGOX. Enttnd at Portland. Ortioa. PostofCo u scond-Clasa Matter. Subatriptioa Kate InTarlably In Advance. (Br Mall.) rs!ly. Sunday Included, ona year. Iut.v. Surwy Included. s.x month.... Lilly. CuniUy Included, tiiree montns.. I;U-. unay Included, ona month. ... D.ilv. without Sunday, oiv " I-'a.iy. witi.out fcuuuay, s.x mon:nl..... In .y. without t-unduy. three months.. Puiv. without Sunday, one montn.... Wryitiy, one year. ......... Funduy. one yar. .. Sunday and Weekly. m year. ......... (By Carrier.) -t, ne Tear...... II 00 4 :s .s.;S .To (.00 l.Hi l.TS .40 1 t 3i0 1.60 . Dally! Sunday Included, one month... r ... KrM.lt Q,nit noatofflce I moneSr ... r(!er or Deraooal check on y .ur local bank, stamp, coin or currency a.-.- at tee sender's risk. Olve postofncs, ad 1.tss In full. Including county and stats. Pousse Kate 10 to 14 p-s. 1 cent: 1 to :-i pn.es. I cents; 30 to 44 paa-t-e. 3 cent. 41 o ii paxca. 4 cats. Foreuja postas ctoubia rate. Kaetrrn Uaalnrea OfHre The S. C. Beck w:t.i special Agency New York, roomi 4i .j Tr.bune bulldinj. CUicaso. rooma elu-oll lribu:e building. FORTLANO. THIRSDAT JA. 1909- A 1AL-E A J -ARM. Senator Tillman, of South Caro lina, at a meeting of the School Teachers" Association of his state a f.-w days since, delivered an address of very peculiar kind, which is at tracting more attention than Is usu ally bestowed on this Senator's al ways erratic utterances. His purpose, he declared, was to warn the people of his state (the whit people) usainst the agitation for compulsory educa tion, asserting that should such a law be passed It would mean the educa tion of the nepro. which would in tne end mean a blow to white su premacy. Senator Tillman gave caution to the Democrats oi mo South ajrain.st the scheme, which, he saJ-1. President-elect Taft and h!s associate were hatching up to break the solid South. He said. further. that 1 1 was the purpose of the Presiilent-elect to make such disposition of the Federal oifires throughout the South as would build up a white Kepublican party, seduce Democrats from their alle giance, and eliminate fear of negro control; which also was a scheme of danfjer to white supremacy, against which those who could see the ne cessity of "keeping the nesro In his place" should always be on their guard. This reflects the spirit of "the old South"; but how far. to what extent, does that spirit still prevail? It la certain that a change Is In progress. The tone of the press shows It; the great Increase of the Republican vote, nearly all of which was cast by white men, proves it. The negro. In every state where the race Is very numerous, has been almost wholly disfranchised; and the disfranchise ment Is based on conditions and reg ulations not likely to be shaken for a long time. If ever. Negro domina tion, therefore. Is no longer a bugbear or terror. Education of the negro masses to any considerable extent be yond the simplest rudiments Is very distant. But -what Is Senator Till man's assumption? This, namely, that the negro, whom he has always pronounced, and still pronounces, mentally Incapable, yet may be advanced by education In In tellect and power till he will be able to compete with the white race for position, and even for supremacy. In the active life, and even In the gov ernment of the country. But If the negro is capable of all that Senator Tillman assumes, can he be held down forever. In the posi tion to which the Senator assigns him? Ought he to be? It la not believed, it is not feared, by the whites now, even In the states where there are most negroes, that there Is any danger of the loss of hlte supremacy. The experience of 4 0 years has 6hown the greater North that the South must be left to manage this great matter for it self; and now the white people of the South are beginning to show a manifest and growing belief that they may divide on natural questions, and ven on local issues, without fear of "negro domination." Truth Is that little attention Is paid now in the South to such utterances as those of Senator Tillman. He Is of the dis appearing few who cannot adjust themselves to necessary changes of political Ideas. The reception that Mr. Taft receives in the South, and the growing sympathy of the people with the Ideas he represents, are best cf all answers to politicians like Sen ator Tillman, who still grind the old tune. Once It was a real danger. Now It Is a false alarm. BENE Kit IAL ISE OF WATER. The Oregon Supreme Court's de rision. In which it was held that the deral desert land act of 1877 lim its riparian rights to the use of water for domestic purposes in all cases of lands thereafter disposed of Is appar ently a ruling of vast Importance to the Industrial Interests of this state. The doctrine of riparian rights, as handed down to us from the com mon law of England, was unsuited to conditions In the arid or even semi arid regions of America. Its decla ration that every owner of riparian land has a right to have the stream flow forever in Its channel, undimin ished in quantity and unimpaired in quality, was an impediment to enter prise and an encouragement to spec ulative holding of power sites. The courts long ago modified this doc trine by establishing co-eristent with It the doctrine of prior appropriation, which recognized the right and title cf one who diverted water from a' stream and put It to a beneficial use. But the two principles have been In Irreconcilable conflict. It has long been felt by thoee who have studied the subject that the doctrine of ripa rian rights should not apply In an arid region, but It seemed that Judi cial precedent had firmly established it. It seemed also that the courts could not materially change the sit uation without reversing their own rulings, and this they could hardly be expected to do. But in the hearing of the case Involving water rights on Silver Creek, in Lake County, attention was called to on act of Congress passed In IS 77. expressly reserving for ap propriation for Irrigation, mining or manufacturing purposes, waters on land thereafter granted. This act practically abolished the old doctrine if riparian rights, and the act has been held effective by our Supreme Court. The decision, as reported, does not Interfere with rights acquired prior to 1S77 under tho old riparian doc trine. Neither does it Interfere with rights acquired since by appropria- tlon. It secures to every riparian landowner such. & quantity of water 1 as he may need for domestlo pur poses. But tn asserting the effective ness of the act of 1877 the opinion of the court denies the right of any man to acquire riparian land and then to assert the privilege of having the water of the stream flow past his door unused. Under this decision a settler may appropriate unused water wherever he finds it without fear that some idle riparian owner will later appear . and Insist that the stream be permitted to flow In Its channel undiminished In quantity, though he has put It to no beneficial use. Beneficial use la now the first essential of a right to (water from the streams of this state. One of the great uncertainties of our water law has been removed, and enterprise nas thereby been encouraged. PRUDENCE AND PRODIGALITY. It is possible, indeed probable, that Multnomah County will begin meas ures for the erection of a new Court house. But it is the clear and firm opin ion of The Oregonian that such struc ture is not necessary at this time. The business of the county can be transacted in the present Courthouse well enough for years yet. Besides, erection of a new and larger Court house Is only the beginning of vastly increased general expense. Demand accompanies it for additional Judges two or four and for the whole para phernalia of enlarged offices Jani tors, elevators, bailiffs, deputies and clerks without end. There is no need of more Judges. The present Judges are fully employed only a short portion of the year, and more departments will only clog and delay business. The great evil now at the Courthouse is that business is suf fered to drag along and Is not suffi ciently expedited. But if. In pursuance of a prodigal ity that no one would allow in his own private business, a new Court house Is to be undertaken while yet the old one should and would serve well enough, then the courtrooms and offices ought not to be planned for prodigality, but for close economy. Largo courtrooms are unnecessary. In ordinary cases at bar few will attend the trial, and not much room is wanted. InNcrimlnal and scandal cases there ought not to be room for many to attend. The Oregonian simply wishes to warn this community that it Is In danger of burdening Itself with obli gations that will hinder its growth and prosperity, oppress Its business. Injure Its real estate market and check building operations. Nor Is It merely the current taxes that may oppress. There Is demand for sale of bonds amounting to millions upon millions, which when voted and sold will be a mortgage upon every foot of real estate, and upon all the in dustrial activities of the city. The Interest and the additional official expenses will be constant charges more burdensome than ordinary tax levies, because there will be no possi bility of cutting them down. It es pecially concerns every person who owns real estate In the city, for upon real estate the burden will mainly fall. And It concerns also persons who. though not owning real estate, do business and pay rents, for rents must go up with the Increasing taxes on real estate. The Oregonian is no croaker. It Is an energetic worker and a constant (perhaps too constant) boomer; but still It is devoted to a reasonable prudence, the necessity of which will vindicate itself, if not Im mediately, In the near hereafter. MARRYING CHEJAME2C. Mr. C. 31. Da Castro prayed to have his letter printed in today's Orego nian. Behold his prayer is granted. The letter appears this morning. Would that all human wishes equally innocent might be as easily and epeedily fulfilled. Mr. Da Castro's earnest purpose In composing his epistle was to combat the views of The Oregonian upon the propriety of American girls marrying Chinamen. In an editorial which seems to have excited deplorable passions In his mind we took the position that mat rimonial adventures of this sort are in the main foolhardy, since the girl who undertakes to live with a China man in his native land, or even in America, must submit to degrading customs. To support this opinion we adduced a long train of admitted facts, which may be summed up In the statement that marriages between American girls and Oriental men have almost invariably been miserable. Some of the wretched victims have escaped and brought back a tale of woe which ought to warn every woman in the country not to imitate their folly. Others have perished In obscure distress. Our contributor quotes the edito rial in question somewhat awry to begin with. It does not state that "the majority of Chinese husbands beat and abuse their wives." The truth about it is that the wife of a Chinaman Is virtually a slave to his mother, who does the beating, and, according to all accounts, makes a pretty effectual Job of it. The reply that Americans also beat their wives is aside from the Issue. Here a woman is under the protection of the law, and has only to appeal to the courts to obtain her release from a husband who mistreats her. In China she has no such recourse. Unless by rare good fortune she es capes from the country her doom is simply hopeless. It is literally true that a marriage between a refined American girl and an ordinary day laborer of her own race gives more reason to look for happiness than one with an Oriental of high rank and great wealth. To a Chinese woman things would naturally look different. She might be happy under customs and in an environment which would make an American woman utterly wretched. It makes matters no better to say that the Orientals are more artistic than we are. Their art does not keep them from being incredibly cruel ac cording to our standards nor does It raise their women to the condition of human beings. It is entirely con sistent with a great deal of excellent art to make degraded, sensual imple ments of women and Imbruted slaves of men. As to our native sins in the matter of art, they are undoubtedly as the sands of the sea for multitude. Our theater curtains are something to shudder at, our bridges are weird, some of our dwellings are uncouth; but for all that we manage to treat our women jvlth 'decent respect, and are continually bettering their condi tion. This puts us a point or two ahead of the Orientals, with all their exquisite pictures and inimitable pot tery. One fancies that a sensible white woman who knew the facts Involved would prefer even our thea ter curtains, with all their horror, to a Chinese mother-in-law. Thus far we seem to have little difficulty In - disposing of Mr. Da Uuu, but when It comes to telling him iwhy we do not keep our mission aries at home we deem it proper to maintain a discreet reticence. TUBS SCH WILL BE IN TAURUS AGAIN. No one can tell anything about con tinuance or termination of this state of weather. It may end soon, or may last six weeks. During the last sixty years there have been five or six Win ters when enow and low temperature, Hke the condition of the present time, lasted from four to six weeks to gether. But so unusual la it that peo ple are apt to forget. In the Winter of 1867-68 Portland was completely shut up, from the first week in Janu ary till about February 20. There was no telegraph, no railroad; the rivers were frozen, and on Couch Lake, where the Union depot now stands, everybody skated night and day, for many weeks. Some went as far down as Guild's Lake; others up to the flats above town. Others again skated on the river, but kept near the banks; for the ice was very uncertain. People wondered whether it ever would rain. It finally did. But nobody was unhappy about the situation. Rain, snow, Ice, frost it was all one. Severest of all Winters was that of 1861-62. Snow began to fail between Christmas and New Tear's. . It con tinued at Intervals, became very deep, and did not disappear till about the first week in March. Temperature fell at times nearly to zero. The rivers, during a period of about eight weeks, were completely obstructed by ice. In 1875, from January 10 to February 10, about the same condition existed; as it has occurred once since, say about 1885 we are not quite sure about year, or date. Therefore, friends and brethren, dt not be discouraged. This is the rose city, and you are in the banana belt if you think you are. And, in the time of the working bee, the sun will ride In Taurus again. He will not fail. FEED THE BIRDS. This message came to The Orego nian over the telephone yesterday from a warm-hearted housewife who Uvea on Portland Heights: "Won't you please ask everybody to put out food for birds as long as the snow storm lasts? This morning I hap pened to recall what I was taught when a child back in Iowa; so I scat tered some breadcrumbs on ray front porch after breakfast. And what & reward! Half a dozen robins and a veritable little colony of sparrows have had a generous feast. They hadn't suffered from cold, but I know they were hungry-" Snow is so rare in Portland that perhaps many women may not re member the lessons of compassion they learned from their mothers; therefore. The Oregonian Joins In urg ing universal compliance with this request. But let the children, before they start to school, do the loving service to the feathered songsters. They ought to share in the reward. Put the crumbs under some shel ter, not out in clear open, where fresh snow will be likely to hide the food. Have no fear that the birds won't find it. Instinct that we of higher intelligence don't have will lead at least one blMl to it; then de pend on him to spread the news. Birds made use of wireless communi cation centuries before man found it out. Simply as a nature study utilize breadcrumbs today and watch the re sult. THOSJS LOVELY, BONGS. A modest little paragraph in Mr. Bryan's Commoner wonders whether it would not be a serenely beautiful thing to run across an old-fashioned church choir in some secluded nook. What a delight, exclaims the Com moner, to pick up an antique hymnal and Join in singing "Old Hundred" or "Come, Thou Fount of Every Bless ing," Instead of listening to a fash ionable quartet who render music that neither they nor anybody else can un derstand. Then in a pensive mood the Commoner talks about the "soul- Inepiring songs of other days." We know all about those eoul-in- splrlng songs. The preacher called upon Brother Snodgrass to pitch the hymn. He obeyed with hideous alac rity, beginning six notes higher than he could keep up to. When he was about half through the first line, Sis ter Hockenberry Joined In the per formance, always managing to miss Brother Snodgrass key by about a tone and a quarter. In exquisite Wag nerian accord the twain pursued the flowery paths of song, each taking a different rate of speed until they had reached the third line, when the rest of the saintly throng began to drop in here and there Just as they liked. Wasn't it perfectly soul-satisfying? It became particularly refreshing in the middle of the last line, where Brother Snodgrass' voice always broke on a high note and he had to drop down six full tones. The harmony then became unspeakably angelic. No sensible person regrets the hlt- or-miss, helter-skelter squalling of other days which passed for sacred singing. It was an offense to the ear and a torment to the soul. We ought all to be thankful that It has meas urably vanished, and we ought to pray that it may never come back again. If the Lord really likes that sort of thing, there is nothing to hinder his training the seraphim to do it where earthly'ears will not be racked by the performance. The truth Is that there Is a great deal more worship In good music than there Is in the cacophony which the Commoner lauds, as well as a great deal more enjoyment. The craving for the outrageous screeches which once passed for melody Is noth ing but a species of laziness. The Commoner hones for them because it is too indolent to cultivate a taste for something better. TIEE FARMER'S PROSPERITY;. Seven cereal crops in 1908 added more than tl. 000,000 per day to the profits of the American farmers, as compared with their returns from the same crops in 1907. The total value of these seven cereals corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat and flax seed was 2, 722. 620, 000, and In these figures can be found an explanation of much of the marvelous recuperation of the country from the panic of 1907. The 1907 crop of these cereals was a very good one, well up to the aver- ago .In some features, and slightly above it in others. Prices were also above the average of the preceding years. This highly satisfactory con dition enabled the farmers to enter the year 19C8 In excellent financial condition, and when a bountiful har vest and high prices enabled them to sell their cereal crops for $366,568,- 000 more than was received for the same commodities in 1907, nothing short of abounding prosperity could be expected in the farming districts. The high prices at which these crops were marketed quite naturally were fold. In fart by the American consumers, but there was also an enormous surplus for shipment to European countries, thus enabling us to wipe out an unpleasant balance of trade which otherwise we should have been obliged to settle in gold. It Is still too early in the new year to make any very accurate predictions on the crop prospects for 1908. There have been many conflicting reports over the condition of Winter-sown grain, but on the whole it seems to have entered the Winter in pretty fair condition and with a good acreage. World wide statistics are all against cheap wheat, and with the September option already in demand at 95 cents In Chi cago, it seems reasonably certain that the net returns per bushel will not iau short of those received in 1908, while the acreage will be much larger. In the Pacific Northwest the grain crop of 1908 was much below the av erage, but it followed on the heels of a record-breaking crop which had sola at high prices. Even the 1908 crop sold for figures far above the ten-year average, so that the farmers are nearly all well equipped financially. The extra million dollars per day added to the profits of the American cereal growers In 1908 have considerable bearing on the industrial situation In the Pacific Northwest. The great bulk of this corn, wheat, barley, etc., was grown in a region that In the past has afforded an excellent market for Pacific Coast lumber. The disquieting financial situation at the close of 1907 and during the early months of 1908 brought this business to a standstill, and It has only recently shown pronounced signs of improve ment. With a good crop marketed at high prices, the Middle Western farm ers are now in position again to enter the market for lumber for new barns, fences and houses, and the Pacific Northwest will profit by their pros perity. The peace pact between the Taqui Indians and the Mexican government Is of great' importance, not only to the two parties directly involved in the treaty, but to the United States as well. The natural resources of the State of Sonora, in which nearly all of the Taqui outrages have been commit ted, are marvelously rich, and at vari ous times in the past twenty years a large amount of American capital has been sunk in efforts to make some progress In development, which the murderous attacks of the Taquis al ways rendered futile. The crimes com mitted by the Taquis have in many cases equaled In fiendishness those of the Apaches, but in the original trou ble which provoked this long series of outlawry and murder not all of the blame could be placed on the Taquis. For' that reason, good behavior from this time forward may in slight de gree atone for the iniquities of the past. Refusal of President Roosevelt to permit any Inquiry Into the absorption by the steel trust of the Tennessee Coal & Iron Company can hardly fail to be disappointing to friends of the President. In absorbing this last re maining vestige of competition in the steel trade the United States Steel Company was enabled to perfect its trust to such an extent that' It Is now Invincible in the trade, and railroads must not only pay any price the trust may establish, but must also accept such rails as the trust sees fit to man ufacture. The Tennessee Coal & Iron Company was always causing the steel trust trouble. The last large order booked before the combine was effect ed was from the Harriman system, Mr. Harriman giving his reason for changing, from the trust that he ex pected to secure a better grade of rails than the trust had been supplying. T.ie deal by which the absorption was made was engineered by J. Pierpont Morgan. The safety of the British residents and the British flag in India is ma terially Improved, now that the Mo hammedans and Hindus have resumed their time-honored conflict with each other. A Calcutta cable reports serious trouble at Titaghur, where the Hindus attacked a mosque because the Mohammedans had sacrificed cows that are sacred in the Hindu faith. The conflict was so serious that It became necessary for the Brit ish to fire on both parties in order to restore order Both the Hindus and the Mohammedans despise the Brit ish with a consuming hatred, but their contempt and hatred for each other are so much greater that by working one faction against the other the safety of the British is reasonably as sured. The Eugene Guard gives out this, for protection and remedy against the cold blizzard: Just at this season, when fuel Is an ex pensive luxury, tho following recipe from the family doctor, showing how to get warm at a very sll&ht expense aa to trouble and no expenditure of cash at all. ought to help: "A simple way to Ket warm after exposure to cold la to take a long; breath, with the mouth firmly shut. Re peat this several times, until you begin, to feel the beat returning." Tou can do this little trick Just as easily and Just as effectively as you can lift yourself over a picket fence by your bootstraps, or by the seat of your trousers. It is all the same as mind cure. Don't you bother about underwear, overcoat or beef steaks. Republicans of Oregon feel sorely their "choice" for United States Sena tor. They can appreciate the feelings of the fight fans, who are distressed by the world's new choice for fist champion. Mr. Harriman is now going to build a railroad down to Mexico. Is it pos sible that there is some lingering Idea In Mr. Harrlman's mind that Mexico Is on the way to Central Oregon? Ton bet the old settler knows how to make his predictions! No use to talk to him. He seen It in '52, in "61, In '67 and In '89. The old set tler can tell you. The steamer Teal suffered a broken hogchain from a eeventy-flve-mlle-an-hour gale. It must have been a worse gale than that. Now wouldn't It be too bad If Mis tab. Johnsing, colored pugilist, should retire without relinquishing the fistic title to a white man? What has become of that New Tear's resolution never again to complain about the weather? Cheer up. There has been worse weather in Oregon. The old settlers say so. There Is a bright side to the snow storm. It Isn't an earthquake. Rain never brought such a shiver as this, ' R&la will do hereafter, VIT1UOLIC ATTACK OX AMERICANS Chinese Held Up as Ethical Models Wnom Too Should Copy. PORTLAND, Or., Jan. 5. (To the Ed itor.) The press of the Western States, with the exception of one or two San Francisco weeklies, has never been famed for its broad-mindedness or any other humane qualities; but I believe that for narrowness of judg ment, generalization of badly digested ideas and laughable chauvinism your editorial in this morning's Issue, en titled "Marrying a Chinaman" holds the record. I do not suppose you took the trouble to investigate If there is any truth in the vividly grewsome story of the "beautiful, delicately reared French .woman,, and the vile Manchu Bluebeard Sing Ling; indeed I believe that you reprinted the original report word for word from the San Francisco Sunday Examiner, minus the pink head lines and fantastic illustration. But your editorial comments on the ad ventures of Madame Deneux In the ce lestial realm cannot Justly be laid at the door of that wonderful Hearst pub lication. I have spent long years among the Chinese of China, the Strait Settle ments, the Malay States and Burmah; I have numerous friends among Chi nese of all classes, of whom several are the husbands of white women; and I beg to state that your amusing remark that the majority of Chinese husbands beat and abuse their wives, is an exaggeration of the worst sort. There are on record Just as many cases of wife-beating in this free country and anywhere else for that matter, and many an American woman would have been happier if she had marled a Man chu genWeman or a Cantonese coolie instead of some Pittsburg steel mag nate, or some popular actor. I suppose the gifted writer of your editorial has never seen China and has gathered his astounding knowledge of the Mongolian character from occasional night visits to chop suey restaurants. He speaks about the Chinaman abroad, "away from the hideous environment and abominable customs of his native land." I never knew that Chinese environ ments are hideous; Indeed I always sup posed, wrongly of course, that the, na tives of the Far East had a certain ar tistic instinct which makes the Chinese or Japanese milieu most attractive to the eye of the esthetic foreigner. But after reading your editorial I came to the conclusion that heretofore I must have labored under an illusion, and that, to receive a thorough artistic edu cation, the benighted foreigner must visit your beautiful Western towns, must feast his eyes on your unpara lelled monumental bridges, your pa latial residences, exquisite theater cur tains and your final acme of perfection: the rose fair. But as to the "abomi nable customs" perhaps the American customs are every bit as hateful to the foreigner as theirs are to us. Tour vices divorce, prostitution, drunken ness, dishonesty are possibly an abomi nation to the clean-living, ciean-.u.i.u- . .rrt tl-ilnlr SO? ed, honest Asiatic, don't you think so? Tou Americans are forever engaged in comparisons, and "cracking up your own land at the expense of other countries- at least such has been my im pression after spending long years abroad and after this present let us hope short visit to the land of my fathers. , . Why don't you keep your missionar ies at home and why, if you have the energy and the brain to attempt the work of regeneration and reform abroad, don't you apply that energy at home where It Is so much .needed? Finally, let me recommend to the writer of yoiir editorial to study the words of Herbert Spencer: Though Perhaps i f f those who think, Is con scious that his judgment is being warped by prejudice, yet even In him the warp is not adequately iflowrfto Doubtless in every field of Inquiry emotion Is a perturbing intruder; most ly there is some pre-conception and some 'amour propre' that resists dls- PCaROLl'm'IOUGALL du CASTRO. BIRTHS OUTXITMBEB. DEATHS 2 TO 1 New York City Visited 128,C3 Times by the Stork Lust icar. Mew Tork World. -A etork, rampant, ought to be on the coat cf arms of tnis mumauj, Dr. Thomas Darlington. i .uuw t, oifn. Durinc the laet more eipyiupi - ten years our birth rate has been stead- lly Increasing, woerau ------ large cities a gradual decrease is being shown. And the death rate for the year now closing is the lowest in the history of the city." There were 1TS.8G3 births up to noon yes terday. This was at the rate of one every . i,o Aiv In and day out, the whole year through. In other words, New Torkers gained in the last year, by births alone, more population than is contained . . r in a.-.., cncA in tnls In coiumous, ui m state. . . , , The birth rate In New Tork is regarded as all the more remarkable, on account Ition for exist- in me iicun-uuuu- ence here, which, in theory, the political economists say, ought really to keep down the births and noosr up me uuimo. um. the rule doesn't work that way In New , Tn Paris, where i ora iu dwo iiw... . the pursuit of pleasure Is the chief end of existence, the birth rate Is less than half rhat it Is in this city. Tho tntal number of deaths during the year has been 73.071 about one every seven minutes. This shows that nearly every stroke of the Grim Reaper is fol lowed by the appearance of two storks. t-. h k,m nioa th Hnalth "DeDartment UCAtU tl.u. J. .--, - folks eay, a losing game with New iork. Science Is finding, nere at lease, many m-.i- i nrhih tn null the edea of his scythe and render Its strokes less sweep ing. The present death rafe Is the lowest in the history of the city, notwithstanding the panic, wun its siienuani ui TnfiTitnl and nhvsical break downs. A number of causes are ascribed for the low death rate, cmei among mem v. , , nam ivstcTTi nf tenement con- LTClllft " j etruction, by which sanitary homes are assured to tne very pooni cieiuriua w the city's population. New Tork has been for the last ten years tn process of trans formation into the "show town" of the country, and the general effect of this has been, the authorities point out. cleaner streets and public places, more . . . . i id better parus ana a. uener muue ui living. In no other city In America are there so many breathing places, or sucn a multitude of uplifting agencies hospitals, church guilds, school playgrounds and gymnasiums, and facilities for healthful recreation at all seasons of the year. All of these agencies. It Is pointed out, are Joined in the one tendency to make New York stronger, healthier and happier. The supervision over factories and over child labor in both stores and workshops Is also named as one of tho factors con tributing to public contentment, and there fore to a high birth rate and to a low death rate. Collie TJosr Dtrs Grlrvlng- for Baby. Chester (Pa.) Dispatch to tho Phila delphia Record. A handsome black collie, belonging to Robert Boyle, a Sixth Ward mer chant, has died of grief. Several weeks ago Mr. Boyle's 14-months-old son Robert was taken 111. At first the collie simply played about the child. Its evident purpose being to amuse the little one. Finally the child became worse, and from the time the dog heard Its little master groan with pain It refused food and drink. The collie would lie for hours beside the child's bed, and when put out of the room would crouch at the door and whine piteously. The dog became a mere Bkeleton and starved itself to death through grief. Although still ill, the child is out of danger. . , UXCOSCBIWED ENGLISH SERVANTS No Ambition to Riiie Above Their Sta tion, Vet Demand Good Wages. Scribner's Magazine. The monotonous and solemn "yes, sir," "thank you, sir," of the servants may lead you to suppose that at any rate this class of English man and woman is servile, is lacking In the national trait of confidence, is perhaps amenable to suggestions of a change. On the contrary, this class less even than others. The manner and speech are merely mechanical. The unblushing I demands, either frankly open or awkward- ly surreptitious, for tips are part of the day's work. They are servants, tney Know it, they have no objection to your know ing it, and most of them have little am bition to be anything else. They are not in that position in the meantime, but per manently; they are not serving while waiting for something else; service is their career. 1 The American may "sling hash" at Coney Island or In a Western frontier town, until he can escape to become some thing else, but as a vocation he does not recognize it. At first, therefore, these people are puzzling; we shall see later that they are a factor in the civilization we are about to explore. They have their pride, their rules of precedence, their code; they are fixed. Immovable, uncon cerned about other careers, undisturbed by hazy ambitions, arid Insistent upon their privileges, as are all other English men. They will not overstep the boun- i dary lines of your personal position, and they Jealously guard the boundaries of their own. When we come to know them better we find that although they are of all the la boring classes completely unorganized. without unions or soeletles, they are the one class who have kept up and Increased the standard of waces. As a class they have made no claims, they have not ap- Dealed to the public, or to the politician. but they have, none the less. Increased their demands and obtained their de mands. This is rather a curious com mentary upon organized labor. The serv ant class numbers eomething like 1 In 40 of the total population. My only explana tion Is that, as they are the class coming most closely in contact with the ruling class, they have absorbed and used the methods of that class. EXPERT TURNS LIGHT OJf GHOSTS, Belief in Spirits Traced to Four Causes, Says Professor Leuba. Ealtimore Special to New York Herald. That there are no such things as ghosts or spirits and that fear Is at the bottom of some religions was the declaration of Professor James H. Leuba, the psycholo gist of Brvn Mawr College, before the American Association for the Advance ment of Science. He said: "All living savages known to us believe in ghosts, in spirits and perhaps also in particular beings elevated to the dignity of Rods. Whence these meas oi unseen personal beings? They may be traced to independent sources. "First States of temporary loss of con sciousness, trances, swoons, sleep, etc.. eeem in themselves to suggest to Ignorant observers the existence of doubles, 1. of belnge dwelling within the body, ani mating it and able to absent themselves from it for a time or permanently. "Second Apparitions in sleep, In the hallucinations of fever, or Insanity, or otherwise, of persons still living or dead seem also sufficient to lead to a belief in ghosts and In survival after death. Echoes and reflections In water and in poiisnea surfaces may have played a subsidiary role in establishing or confirming the be lief in ghosts and in spirits. "Third The third Independent source of belief in unseen personal agents Is the spontaneous personification of striking natural phenomena storms, tornadoes. thunder, sudden Spring vegetation. "What we mean to assert here is merely that the systematized belief can have arisen out of tho impulsive and occasional personification of all striking and fright ening spectacles. "Fourth Many persons have observed, with surprise, the apparition In very young children of the problem of crea tion. A child notices a curiously shaped stone and asks who made it. He is told that it was formed in the stream by tho water. Then suddenly he throws out. In quick succession, such questions as who made the stream, the mountain, who the earth 7" The "Typhoid" Fly. Dr. I O. Howard, secretary of the American Association for the Advance ment of Science, wants the common housefly called the "typhoid fly." In addressing the association recently he said: "The name typhoid fly is proposed as a substitute for the name "housefly' now In general use. People have alto gether too long considered the house fly as a harmless creature, or at the most simply a nuisance. Scientific researches have shown that it is a most dangerous -creature, from the standpoint of disease. "The term 'typhoid fly' Is open to some objection, as -conveying the er roneous Idea that this fly is solely re sponsible for the spread of typhoid, but, considering that It is an Important element in the spread of typhoid, it seems advisable to give it a name which conveys in itself the Idea of serious disease. "The importance of the typhoid fly as a carrier of the disease in army camps, as shown In the Spanish and Boer wars and in the camps of great armies of laborers engaged in gigantic enterprises like the digging of the Panama Canal, is obvious. It Is not claimed that under city conditions the housefly becomes a prime factor in the transfer of the disease, hut 1t must ob viously take a much higher relative rank among typhoid conveyers than it has hitherto assumed. Little Frivolity Under Rooacvelt. New York Presa Solemn persons, who sadly believe this Nation seeds saving, and that tne only way to save it Is to wall contin ually, assert that one great good Presi dent Roosevelt did to Washington so ciety was to "repress its tendency to frivolity, a tendency which publicists aver is a menace to the moral and ma terial growth of the Nation." One of these gloomy beings, who believes that light laughter Is the sister of sin, said the other day: "You need not have a long memory to recall there were fan cy parties, even 'baby' parties, in which the United States Senators went around with bibs under their chins and nurs ing bottles In their hands, and maids and matrons in cap and aprons shared in the nonsense.' Worse! There were Valentine parties, in which statesmen dressed as girls and wore lovely gowns, while the women were garbed as fa mous men of hi tory or Action. Such things have not been popular since Mrs. Roosevelt appeared In Washing ton." Ornngre Crop . Beats Gold Output. Cleveland Leader. Last year California produced gold worth $16,853,500. It was 18 per cent of the gold mined In the United States, Alaska Included. Only three countries In the world, outside of America, beat that one American state. The Califor nia gold yield was equal to about $10 for every man, woman and child in the state. This year California has shipped eastward oranges valued at $24,375,000. The golden fruit of the groves was worth nearly 50 per cent more than the metallic gold of its mines, prob ably fully that proportion above the gold yield, taking account of the oranges consumed in the state. STAND BY "PLEDGE" OR PAIITTT If the Former, Here's a Form for State ment One IHcmbera. PORTLAND, Or., Jan. 6. (To the Ed itor.) As the day approaches for the convening of the State Legislature pub lic Interest seems to Intensify upon the matter of tho election of a United States Senator. Will so-called State ment No. 1 Republicans stand by the pledges made before nomination and send a Democrat to the United States Senate, or will they Ignore those promises and stand by the party which elected them, and which they are sup posed to represent? It Is true many Republicans who do not Indorse or be lieve In the statement voted for the nomination and election of the State ment candidates, but it was not be cause the candidate favored the same, but rather because of a personal liking ( moment supposing the present contin gency could, oy any possinuuy ui i. If there be any Statement No. 1 Re publicans In the Legislature who now regret having taken that pledge, I do not know, but it Is safe to say that such is the case. It is more than probable, however, that they will feel like standing by their ante-election promise as bitter as the pill may be. That Is a matter for the mto setle with their own consciences, and their ac tions will determine whether their fealty to party Is of greater moral im port to them than their pre-election promises. Let them decide as they may, it is a case of "you'll bo damned if you do and you'll be damned If you don't." They are clearly "between the devil and the deep sea," and In avoid ing Scylla are sure to be wrecked upon Charybdis, (unless the recent earthquake have destroyed and sub merged those dangerous points). If any of the members from Marlon or Multnomah counties should feel like explaining their votes when their names are called It may be dons sub stantially as follows: "Mb. President: I am a Republican and believe most sincerely In the prin ciples and policies of that party. I believe the Republican State of Ore gon should bo represented in the Sen ate of the United States by a Republi can Senator, as do my constituents, as was evidenced by the Republican vote polled by said constituencies at the June and November eleotlons. I believe it is my sacred duty truthfully and faithfully to represent my consti tuents upon this floor and upon this occasion; but, Mr. President, during a temporary fit of mental aberration and believing it necessary to secure a nomination. I took Statement No. 1, hook and line, bob and sinker, never for a moment supposing that I entered a trap set for me by the enemy, and never thinking the present contingen cy could bv any possibility arise, and realizing, Mr. President, that In com plvlng with the terms of said state ment I am representing other consti tuencies than my own, and that I am driving a nail In the coffin . of my party, the party to which I owe all of political preferment. I may have re ceived and enjoyed; but, having taken said pledge and having more regard for my ante-election pledge than I have for the life and the preservation of my party and for that which I verily believe to be for the best in terest of the state and country at largo or for tho wishes of my consti tuents. I cast my vote for George E. Chamberlain, Democrat, to represent the Republican Slate of Oregon In the United States Senate, nnd may God have, mercy upon W.o-H'j' BECAUSE HE ALWAYS "MADE GOOD- Thl I the Ueaxon W. C. Brown la Now the Hcud of the New York Central. Rochester (N. T.) Democrat and Chron icle. The rise of W. C. Brown to the presi dency of the New York Central Railroad Company will afford another example in the business world of America of the op portunitles open to men who began life at the foot of the ladder. It is announced that Mr. Ttrown was born in Herkimer County. New ork in 1SD3, and that his first position on a ra -road was that of a woodcorder on a M 1 waukee Ai St. Paul engine in IS' 9. In 1870 he became a railroad telegraph op erator; In 1S72 dispatcher of the Iowa di vision of the Illinois-Central: in IS., divi sion superintendent of the Chicago, B m T.ntcr. bv successive potion,, he Cached the office of vice- president and genera. - K.. x5..-ntnT, On nev. Then he CI1ICUKU, XUWi.o"'" - - . T a In. was chosen general manager of the LrfiKo Shore & Michigan boutnern. a..u " n.h l will become president of the great New Tork Central system. These successive toil's i" . ,it Tt Is evident that Mr. Brown has been steadily making good. That is the only way men secure repeal, u u ..-oat v.iiKinpfi.1 corporations. vancea in - . There may be isolated cases of favoritism through the possession or wiiat is n politics a " a pun. mn i" J the rule. On the contrary, tney aie ex ceedingly rare. Of course, comparatively m i. hicrhnt rnlinil.s of the lan- iew reu.ni mo n.,..-. ... der- but there are many desirable lower rounds which are attainable through merit and fidelity. There Is not a particle or count tnai una rulo is going to hold good in the future, and young men who are beginning their msinops careers snonm snape men i:..u..- .-inriv The keen, searching eyes nf the biff-brained men nt the hcud of the preat corporations and business houses are always on the watch f'jr the rinlit men for promotion. They take account f character, of habits, or m.iiisiry nun fidelity. They demand results, and they choose for advancement the men who can bo trusted nnd who bring things to paes. Hetty's Perspicacity. Los Aneelea Times. TTottv Green says she would rather have her daughter married to a good newspa- per man tnan to uny uunu ..... has probably ooservea unit ii.-wojavci men never spend very much money. A True Judgrmeut. New York Tribune. t-, tnnirin in Or.iron is not the result of the direct plan of nomination but of on nt torn ot there to have a direct popu lar election of Senators, despite the Con stitution. A few sqcins. The first time he went out In his new into he ran across a few friend, ami Did they leave families?" Daltanor American. re-no vntir fnther college bred?" "Yea. but we never mention It. The eollegs li went to had a rotten football team- Chi cago Record-lleratd. Titt-Mtel rnddla (who has been plenti fully besprinkled with mother earth liy novj,.o) It's no" customary to put the tee In the caddie at gowf, mister! Philadel phia Inquirer. "Patience." said TTncle Eben, "la rood In Its place. Put dar ain't no ensh compensa tion foh do man dat waits foh a thaw In- stld o' hustlln" out wit a snowsnovei. "Washington Star. "Jane, there was ft whole pie In the pan try. What became of It?" "My young man called on me las' niffht, ma'am." "And did he eat all that pie?" "Ho was forced to, ma'am. There was m very little variety to choose from. ma'am." Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I was only acting the part of peare maker." explained the pnsoiier. "But you knocked ths man senseless with a stick." the magistrate pointed out. "Sure I did, was the answer. "There was no other way to 'ave peace with '1m around." Philadel phia Inquirer. O'Rourke Sure, phat's th' matther wld me. it it? It's owin' to a arelmint at t .r raffle laslit nolght, whin me number nine wor called, an Casey, who lilld n:i:nter bi. towld me Ol wor hoidln' me rarii upsolde down. Flnnlcan An' wor It a six you hlld? O'Rourke Ehure. It wor; but Casey had ID sthand me on me head betoor Ol cud see It Uiot wn: Juug.