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FORT LAND. ITtfl) AT. JAN. M. !
n lIRE TUB DETTXT9 UE.
But. though Statement One here
after be Ignored by candidates, as It
may properly be fy It Is not law at
all the primary law of Oregon will
never. In Its present form give results
satisfactory to the people or to the
electorate. Its confusing and unsatis
factory consequences may be over
looked as to minor offices; but as to
leading offices, which call for repre
sentative men, and which fix. deter
mine and direct the political policy of
the country. It Is, and always will be,
a failure. It brings men to the front
who do not represent the Ideas and
purposes of the people, and It defeats
legitimate effort to shape party and
political policy.
It calls out as candidates a swarm
of persons for each office, few of
whom would be thought of for respon
sible or representative positions under
any system which permitted examin
ation of the merits of candidates. We
have said it calls out a swarm of
such: but the correct expression would
be that it enables such to nominate
" themselves. This, a multitude who
never would be considered representa-
tlve citizens, and therefore could not
' obtain nominations in any convention
or deliberative body, hasten to do;
they nominate themselves. But men of
genuine self-respect and best ability to
serve the public and honor the state.
keep out of the contest; some one. out
cf many, self-nominated, gets a small
plurality; all his competitors are angry
end most others are disgusted. The
outcome Is either the election of men
whom the majority doesn't want. or.
party defeat and loss, of the purposes
I and objects of legitimate party organi
sation and effort. As to local and in
ferior offices, this may not matter
much; but as to the higher offices,
which are invested with political sig
nificance. It is an Important matter.
Ko method of defeating the actual
will and purposes of the people,
equally effective, ever was employed
before.
Exception from this nominating
system of the principal offices those
that really belong to politics and
through which the general policy of
the country Is directed would remove
the chief part of this evil. Men might
scramble then for the county offices,
and It might not matter much which
ones of the various groups of the
" opposing parties were nominated or
elected. Representative conventions,
directed by each party for itself,
should decide the others. It is the
only possible method of approximation
to the political will of the people.
Otherwise the operation becomes a
mere trick game. Neither of the
Senators neither Bourne nor Cham
berlain has actually come from the
people, or is a representative of the
political entity known as the State of
Oregon. To pretend anything of the
kind Is merest Impudence. Each was
elected by a system of political
manipulation and thimble-rigging far
In advance of all the Intrigues and
deceptive or double-cross tricks ever
" known in this state or In any other.
Tet such results are put forth as tri
umphs of the popular will! Plainness
and honesty have won great victories!
t-o in King Lear:
This kind of knaves X know, who In their
plainness
Harbor itiora craft and mora corrupter
ends
Than twenty silly dtirkinr ohserrants
TV ho stretch their duties nicely.
One has only to read the sorrowful
speeches of some thirty members of
the Legislature who had been trapped
by the bunco game.
Under this primary system the In
trusion of one party Into the affairs of
the other, such as we all saw last
Spring In Oregon, when Democrats,
registering as Republicans, nominated
the Republican candidate for the
. United States Senate, and Republican
candidates for the Legislature who
would "take the pledge." then In the
general election shifted their votes to
' the Democratic candidate for the Sen
ate, and, neglecting to nominate can
didates of their own for the Legisla-
ture. threw their votes In for such
Republican candidates as would pledge
1 themselves to vote In the Legislature
to confirm the bogus result which
they called "the people's choice,"
, this Intrusion, we say, of one party Into
the affairs of the other, creates a sys-
, tern of politics more immoral than
' anything ever known In our history
Its foundations are perjury. Intrigue,
- deception, lying and corruption, all of
; the worst description. Its results
- answer to Its antecedents. If a method
'. were sought to defeat the actual will
' cr Intent of the people, here Is the
. consummate flower and fruit of it.
The cry of the betrayed members of
the Legislature, who elected Chamber
lain, but who first repudiated the
whole bunco fame and fplt on it, de
clared he was not their choice nor
the choice of their party, a great ma
' Jority of the people of Oregon and
' then trapped as they were and under
compulsion of "the game" voted for
. him. it will ring In the ears of Ore-
gon for a while! And this. In politics,
; Is offered as the highest possible
' achievement, the one superior triumph
: of political morality!
But If. In the changes of the prl
' mary law, the nomination of higher
- officials, who represent and direct the
policy of the country. Is not to be
excepted, the law should be changed
so that no party nomination for such
offices should have place on the of
ficial ballot unless the candidate had
received fifty per cent or more of the
' vote of his party. This, ruling shy
sters out, would bring some approach
. to representative nominations. Farty
conventions then could supply the
- missing namws. But the Senators of
h, United Stales ought not to be
voted for at all In the general elec
tion. It should be enough to vote for
them in the general primary. Then
the Legislature should elect the des
ignated candidate of the party whose
majority might prevail in that body.
These 'are but general observations.
When the time becomes favorable
they, or others more or less resembling
them may be brought forward for
consideration. For we deem it abso
lutely certain that the primary law
of Oregon will not be continued per
manently. In its present form. Expe
rience amply proves that there is no
possibility of obtaining an expression
of the actual will of the people par
ticularly on matters of high political
moment under It.
THE OmnAL SYSTKM.
Short hours and easy bosses cause
New York City to throw away J20,
000.000 a year on its payroll, accord
ing to a statement which has been
made up for the board of estimate by
Henry Bruere, director, and Dr. Fred
erick A. Cleveland, technical director
of the bureau of municipal research.
On an equal scale, in proportion to
population and wealth, the same thing
is going on In Portland, Or. And the
appetite Is Insatiable. The horse
leech of old had two daughters, crying
"Give, give!" But the modern horse
leech has many more.
They are at Salem, clamoring for
Increase of the number of offices in
every part of the state, and for larger
salaries for the present officials. And
yet no person employed In public of
fioe does one-half day's work any day
In the week: and for that one half day
many or most get twice the amount
of pay they could obtain In any pri
vate employment.
The oppression of the public by Its
official system Is extremo. It Is com
puted that 80 per cent of all the taxes
we pay goes to fatten the payrolls,
leaving only 20 per cent or loss, for
materials and betterments. No official
expects to do anything, nor his first
deputy. The little Indispensable work
that must be done, the lower depu
ties and clerks and "subs," all enor
mously overpaid, for short hours, at
tend to; and the main activity of the
chiefs Is expended upon elections and
in lobbying the Legislature, or In be
sieging the Common Council for more
pay.
A RCCKETT.UILE TENDENCY.
It Is doubtful whether President
Roosevelt has ever stopped to reflect
upon the tendency of the measures
which he has taken from time to time
against the press of the country. Ills
worst foes do not accuse him of per
mitting the pale cast of thought to
sickly o'er his impulses. Indeed there
is a common opinion that he is dis
posed to act first and think afterward.
If this Is true It Is lucky that his im
pulses are so generally right. It
would be hard to specifly more than
two or three of his official acta which
could have been improved by the most
prolonged reflection. Perhaps in him
the eternal feminine, which Goethe
says exists in all of us, takes the form
of an intuition that replaces reason.
But in his operations against the free
dom of the press Mr. Roosevelt's intu
ition, or impulse, or whatever It may
be, seems not to have guided him quite
so reliably as it has in his operations
against predatory wealth. He has
possibly yielded to the temptation
which almost inevitably besets men
In power to look upon disrespect to
themselves as treason to the govern
ment. This tendency Is by no means con
fined to statesmen and rulers, but we
need not trace it farther Just now. Of
course the.re Is some basis of reason
underlying it- Grass disrespect to the
men who compose a government les
sens Its efficiency and might conceiv
ably seduce the people into rebellion.
Because of this basis of reason the
Germans have tolerated the Kaiser's
numeroussuits for lese majeste against
his subjects. Actions against indi
viduals for libeling the government
were a favorite means of suppressing
free speech In England up to the close
of the eighteenth century. Perhaps
the most famous of them was the
persecution of John Wilkes, who died
In 1797. When the peace of Huberts
burg was concluded in 1763, through
which Frederick the Great was left in
the lurch by his English allies, Wilkes
attacked what he called the treachery
of the government with great viru
lence in his paper, the North Briton.
His malignancy probably exceeded
anything the New York Sun has exT
hibited against Mr. Roosevelt, though
that Is doubtful.
Wilkes was arrested for libeling the
government, but being at the time a
Member of Parliament he pleaded his
privilege and was released. The
Court party, however. Induced Parlia
ment to expel him and then he was
found guilty of the libel at the King's
Bench. Wilkes was tn Paris at the
time, for his health, and since he did
not appear to be sentenced he was
declared an outlaw and lived abroad
until 1768, when ho returned and was
re-elected, to Parliament for the
borough of Middlesex. The Court
party again had him expelled, but he
was re-elected, and this was repeated
twice more, when the House of Com
mons closed the affair by seating his
opponent, who had received only one
fourth as many votes as Wilkes. This
persecution made Us victim exceed
ingly popular. He received large con
tributions of money, was elected
Alderman, Lord Mayor of London and
finally. In 1774, was returned to Par
liament again. This time he took his
seat In triumph. We cite his famous
case here to illustrate the point that
a government which seeks to defend
itself by libel suits does not as a rule
accomplish Its purpose. It makes no
friends and excites implacable enmi
ties. The persecution of Wilkes, far
from limiting the freedom of the press
In England, won for . the papers the
privilege of printing the parliamentary
debates, which they had never enjoyed
before. Moreover It made a popular
hero of a mediocre Individual whose
virtue was as slender as his ability.
The United States Government is
not, on the face of it, prosecuting the
New York World and the Indianapolis
News for libel, but It comes to that.
Mr. Roosevelt has Instigated the suit
and without his persistent urgency it
would not have been pressed. The
ostensible charge Is that Charles Taft
and Mr. Robinson were libeled, but In
reality the offense was committed
against Mr. Roosevelt's Administra
tion, and It Is to punish that offense
that the action has been brought.
Upon this point we conceive that fair
minded men will not disagree. In
many respects the proceeding is un
fortunate. For one thing It may be
suggested that the United States
Government is not so Instable that It
is liable to be overthrown by what any
two or two dozen newspapers may say
THE MORNING
about it. Agarh. If Charles Taft has
been libeled, as he probably has been,
the law provides him a remedy and
he possesses money enough to seek it
without troubling the Administration
to take up his cause. But aside from
such considerations the public looks
with well grounded suspicion upon
anything whatever that can be inter
preted as an attack upon the free
dom of the press. All Imaginable ill
consequences from excessive license
are as nothing compared with the evils
of a press which has been harried into
subservience and a Government which
has freed itself from the restraint of
criticism. This is the outcome to
which Mr. Roosevelt's libel suits tend
though he may not know it or wish it.
It might interest him to recall -the
punishment which the country In
flicted on the old Federalist party for
passing the Alien and Sedition acts.
Adams' provocation was greater than
the World gave Mr. Roosevelt, but the
people wrecked the party which
sought to muzzle the press.
THE EARTH'S INHABITANTS.
Latest available summary of the
population of Asia gives a total of
816,147.685; of Europe, 407,433.696;
of Africa, 147,239.102; of North
America, 119.128.388; of South Amer
ica, 44,436.208; of Oceania, 61,115,278.
Total of the globe, 1.685,600.257. It
is supposed to be an Increase of about
200.000,000 In fifty years.
Latest estimates of population of
principal cities ore these: London,
7.217,941: New York, 4,113,043;
Paris, 2,763.893; Chicago, 2,166,055;
Berlin. 2.040.148; Vienna, 1.999.912;
Tokyo, 1.818,655; Philadelphia, 1,441.
735. t
The population assigned to London
stretches Into suburbs at great dis
tances from the center of the city
a radius of fifteen to twenty miles
from Charing Cross. Within the
limits of Now York the distances are
much less; and In New Jersey, cities
adjoining to New. York have -nearly
1,000,000 Inhabitants. Within fifty
years New York undoubtedly will be
the center of the largest population
within a diameter of fifty miles of
any city in the world.
MOISTURE M.EAX9 MONEY.
The Chinook wind which swept over
the country a few days ago was not
one of those 111 winds that blows
nobody good. To be sure. It brought
with It a sousing rain, which has
caused heavy floods In many locali
ties east of the mountains, and the
railroads have been hard hit by the
surplus water that wandered out of
Its proper channels. Trains have been
delayed, and both passengers and
freight schedules have been tempor
arily put out of commjsslon. But
while the Chinook and the warm rain
which accompanied it have been
spreading havoc along the river and
railroad .It has been making amends
for all damage of that nature by pro
viding moisture for a large grain crop.
In a few exposed points the ground
was frozen pretty hard before the
snow fell and with the rapid thaw
much of tlie moisture was swept away
into the rivers.
Over a large portion of the Inland
Empire, however, removal of the snow
covering was prolonged, sufficiently to
permit much of the moisture to soak
into the soil, and wherever fall plow
ing was done the ground was In excel
lent condition for holding and absorb
ing this moisture. As a result, the
Winter wheat will be In condition to
withstand almost any kind of weather
In the Spring, and the ground will
also be in excellent condition for a
crop of Spring wheat. The railroads
are the heaviest losers by this big snow
storm and the Chinook and rain that
followed it, but the railroads will also
be large gainers by the improved crop
conditions which resulted from the
storm. The Pacific Northwest In 1907
harvested a crop of 68,000.000 bushels
of wheat. Last year, owing ,to unfa
vorable climatic conditions, the output
fell short of that figure by more than
16.000.000 bushels.
This year, with the large acreage
and the very favorable conditions cre
ated by the weather, we should reach
if not exceed the record of 1907. If
the present fine outlook does not
change, the railroads will later in the
season be called on to handle a grain
traffic at least one-third greater than
last year's, and the earnings there
from will make the cost of repairing
storm damage seem Insignificant. The
difference in the value of last year's
wheat crop and that of the preceding
year was more than $15,000,000, and
the crop-whlch is now being so well
watered by the floods will, under fa
vorable circumstances until harvest,
show "a corresponding Increase In
value over last year. Much flood
damage can be repaired with $15,000,
000 and still leave available for gen
eral circulation a large sum of money.
GOLD GOING ABROAD.
The "back flow" of gold brought
Into this country. at great expense
about a year ago has set In; every
steamer leaving New York is taking
out large consignments. Some finan
ciers predict that the movement may
reach a total of $50,000,000 before It Is
checked by an easing of the strained
financial situation abroad. Usually gold
exports are regarded with some mis
givings; but, despite the large engage
ments that have been made, there has
been no perceptible hardening' In the
Eastern money markets. Call money
hovers around 1 and 2 per cent, with
sixty-day loans 214 and 2 per cent
and six months' loans 3Vi to 3 per
cent. There Is nothing In these quo
tations, which are based on actual
tranactions this week, that would in
dicate any danger of a shortage of
gold In this country.
It Is a very unusual situation which
admits of the export of such a large
amount of gold without an unfavor
able effect being noticeable In this
country. At the present time It has
hppti made Dosslble by the steady flow
of
funds from Interior points to
New
York, the banking metrop-
o
lis of the country. In view
of
the
the drastic treatment which
New York bankers gave the In
terior banks during the panic a year
ago. It may seem somewhat surprising
that they should have so soon regained
the
e confidence of their victims. The
exr
nlnnatlnrt undoubtedlv lies in the
rer
markable prosperity In the agricul
tural districts, where crops were good
d prices high. Borrowers are still
somewhat timid about resuming ac-
tlv
l-o nneratlons. Country banks hav-
in
ig but little use for money that Is
not
t earning something, have been
sh
ipplng It to New York. The volume
o
this movement has thus far been
FU
fficlent to more than offset any drain
that has been made by the European
de
mand and the reserves' have been
Pll
ling up at a rapid rate.
For the week ending last Saturday
OREGOXIAX, FRIDAY.
nil nrevlnus records of the New
York
fiouT-fne--hnii.se were broken with
Increase In deposits of $46,109,4
400.
Total deposits in tne cieariug-i
banks and those of the banks
trust r-nmnanies not reporting tht
-house
and
through
tho i-iosrinr.hmise reached the eno
mons sum of $2,552,408,700. There
has neen some loan expansion in
the
nar fw weeks, hut it has not been
in
keeping with the increase In deposits,
and last Saturday the surplus
reserve
w S25.588.175. It has worked
back
up to this figure from $10,000,000
T-,onrr.ri.r 19 and it. Is necessary
to
go back to 1897 to find a correspond
ing week that shows such a large Re
serve. That large stocks of idle money do
not necessarily Imply prosperous
times, but on the contrary are evi
dence of dullness and stagnation. Is
shown by comparison with former
vnars. Tn January. 1907, during the
most prosperous times ' this coun.tr
has ever known, this reserve leu aw
vay
tn nhnnt ts. 000. 000. and in 1906, w
vhich
was also a very prosperous year, It w
n n w n In $500,000 in January. The
vas
There
haa been soma addition to the go
id
Knnnlv of the country since the pan
1c
of a year ago, but nothing in com
parison to the Increase In the amount
of money now In sight. With the
Eastern market flooded with cheap
money and financiers regarding with
equanimity prospective shipments of
$50,000,000 in gold to Europe, It be
comes more apparent than ever that
our fright of a year ago was as need
less as It was harmful. We had to
pay high rates to- bring the gold in
from Europe, and we are now obliged
to pay for Its return, for the admirable
banking system of England, through
the flexibility of the money system,
enables that country to draw in gold
from the four corners of the earth at
little or no expense except to the ship
per. "
The Oregonian Is In receipt of a
communication from the Idaho wool
growers taking exception to comment
made on their plans for storing wool.
We are assured that It la not a com
bination or trust to force prices, that
"there Is no such Intention on the
part of the growers whatsoever," and
that the movement "is simply a co
operative plan on the part of the
Western woolgrowers to get their
product within reach of the consumer
and sell It on Us merits in the open
market."- This is indeed a most
praiseworthy plan, and- should suc
ceed. Any project that can improve
the conditions and better the circum
stances of both buyer and seller by
the same transaction will be wel
comed. The plan should be tried by
the wheat men so that they could se
cure higher prices and at the same
time cheapen the cost for the con
sumer. Russia's recent borrowing of $280,
000,000 has the appearance of a mam
moth financial transaction, and the
fact that such a vast sum was being
collected had considerable effect on
exchange rates for a short time. Now
that the loan has been completed, It
develops that It did not require very
much more real money to swing the
deal than Is needed for a moderate
game of high finance. . Forty millions
in commissions and discounts were
lopped off the principal at the begin
ning. From the remaining $240,000,
000 It was necessary to deduct $150,
000,000 for obligations due In May.
Theoretically. Russia would still have
the tidy sum of $90,000,000 to the
good, but as there Is a deficit of $76,
000,000 in this year's budget, the Rus
sian government will really get but
$14,000,000 out of a loan of $280,000,
000. This is strange financiering, but
many strange things happen in Russla.
Those psychic resoarchers who
hope to draw aside the veil which
conceals the Infinite from the finite,
who desire to establish communica
tion between the Here and the Here
after and who believe that when this
has been accomplished, dwellers upon
this earth will gain the knowledge
possessed by the inhabitants of the
realm of spirits, may well .ask them
selves the intensely practical though
somewhat slangy question, "What's
the u?"
Heaven firo all creatures hides tne book of
fate.
All but the pass prescribed, their present
state;
spirits know;
Else who could suffer belnj; here belowT
The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed today.
Had he thy reason would he skip and play?
Pleased to the last he crops the flow'ry food
And licks the hand Just raised to shed his
bloody
Sumpter resents the stories going
the rounds that the townslte is to be
plowed up. In the boom days many
acres of additions were platted and
are unsold. Much of this land will be
put to good use. Sumpter is a min
ing town and its prosperity comes
from below the surface. It Is not go
ing out of existence for a long time.
Some day men who own good prop
erty there will undertake the devel
opment they owe the Industry. Then
Sumpter will be a large-sized dot on
the map.
Since Wallowa County was "discov
ered" by the building of a line of rail
road, that hitherto backward region is
coming to the front by leaps and
bounds. Wallowa Is a county In Ore
gon where they grow 300-pound year
ling pigs cn pail and pasture, and one
of its new Industries is shipping live
pork by the carload1. Wallowa resem
bles the backward youth who made
good when he got ready.
Observe that some .twenty-five of
the Republicans who voted for Cham
berlain actually repudiated him In
their speeches. How can he and his
party regard this as a compliment?
The very men whose votes elected him
repudiated him.
Ex-Judge Gordon, charged with
embezzling $9200 from the Great
Northern Railroad, says "he has com
mitted no crime." No doubt. Merely
an indiscretion.
Listening to the sighing of the gen
tle South wind at forty miles a sigh,
the resident of Oregon deliberately
forgets the recent spelj of weather.
The moon changed last night and- a
bit of the blue sky appeared before
dark. Bet on the moon and put not
your trust in prophets.
About the only time a lot of Port
land people remember that we have a
river Is when it roars along 18 feet
or more above low water.
Jonathan says that he and his new
colleague are "rqually from the peo
ple." So are Sin and borrow,
JANUARY 22, 1903.
PRIMARY LAW IN MINNESOTA
Summary of the Objections Afrnlnst It
from Experience In That State.
The St. Paul Plonecr-Press says the
Republican Legislature of Minnesota will
repeal the primary law of the state. Re
sults of experience of the last six years
In Minnesota are thus presented:
The people have discovered the dif
ference between the theoretical view
of th direct primary, which fascinated
them as it did the Pioneer Press six
years ago, and its results as seen un
der the operation of the law. These
results are In brief:
1. The candidates nominate them
selves, and the Idea that they are
picked out by the people proves to be
a pure delusion.
2. The contest In the primary de
velops more personal animosities,
breaks more friendships, and leads to
more lasting bitternesses between men
of the same party than ever existed be
tween men of opposing parties say
Republicans and Democrats. As a
breeder of family quarrels the primary
takes first place among the inventions
of demagogy.
3. Democrats vote at Republican and
Republicans at Democratic primaries,
in order to foist upon the party men
who can be easily defeated. A re
markable Illustration of this Is seen
In the last primary in Oregon.
4. So many candidates nominate
themselves for various offices that the
minority men, whom a large majority
of the voters would repudiate, fre
quently carry off the honors of the
primary
6., The primary gives the man with
the longest purse an advantage over
every competitor. It reduces the con
test to one of personal advertising and
money-spending.
6. Into such a contest self-respecting
men those possessing the best
qualifications for office will not en
ter. This leaves the field clear for self
seekers and incapables. It Is interest
ing to observe how many such, whom
an intelligent nominating convention
would neer dream of naming, have
foisted themselves upon the people as
candidates.
7. As applied to selection of Judges,
It encourages every plausible attorney
to look for the honors of the bench.
The "bar at large." which before the
advent of the direct primary Justly ex
ercised a great non-partisan Influence
In directing the choice of able, scholar
ly Jurists, is by the primary robbed of
that influence; and Judiciar candidates
are compelled to "wade in the mire of
politics" and beg for a nomination.
8. The practical Impossibility that
the average voter should have any per
sonal acquaintance with candidates for
any but local offices robs the boasted
"choice by the people" at the primary
of any substantial merits.
9. The maintenance of party organ
izations is a necessity if the Democratic
idea of government by the majority is
to be preserved. The primary destroys
pary organizations.
Inured as our people to "representa
tive government," they would, after
six years of experimentation with the
primary, far rather commit to a body
of selected delegates the work of choos
ing fit men for most positions than
attempt the Job themselves. They do
not like to "go It blind" In the dis
charge of any political duty. They
want to act Intelligently or not at all.
Let the choice of delegates to pomina
ting conventions be hedged round with
the same barriers against fraud as are
erected around the nominating primary,
and they will rejoice in a return to
a principle far more in harmony with
the historical ideas of our Republic.
The primary law will have served one
good purpose, in pointing the way to
such a guarded plan for electing dele
gates to conventions.
Intelligent Democrats lave no more
use for the primary law as it . now
stands than have Intelligent Repub
licans. This will probably be revealed
in the debate when the matter comes
up in the Legislature.
The Oresronlan In the Eat.
Altoona (Pa.) Mirror.
The President . of the Mirror Com
pany, Mr. Harry Slep, Is in receipt of
a recent issue of "The Morning Ore
gonian." published at Portland, Or.,
that Indicates that in the way of news
paper enterprise, the effete Kast has
nothing on the blooming West.
The New Year day number of- The
Oregonian printed on January 1, 1909,
contains 62 pages, and there is no
seclon of it that will not compare fa
vorably with any Issue ever gotten
out by any of the metropolitan papers
of the Eastern cities. The telegraphic
columns cover every current event in
the world, and all the other depart
ments of the first section are the equal
of any paper in the country. The pro
fusely and artistically illustrated maga
zine sections would be a credit to any
newspaper plant. The advantages and
trade developments of the golden West
and particularly of the City -of Port
land, are set forth in a way that ought
to make the city very proud of its
advocate, and Judging from the num
ber of full-page advertisements, the
business people give the sheet their
hearty co-operation. Truly The Ore
gonian Is a great paper.
Lack of Henpect for Consrrea.
Baltimore News.
Of course, a rebuke such as that Con
gress gave the President is a very
serious thing, and ought to be taken
seriously. Yet It is impossible to
make the country do so. Exactly why
this is trfle it is hard to say. I?ut it
Is certain that the public has not the
respect for Congress it ought to have.
And we Incline fo think that one rea
son for this is that the standard of
Congressional timber from the great
cities is so low that the metropolitan
press cannot get greatly wrought up
over anything a President does to or
says about Congress. This ought not
to be true, wo know. We should feel
keenly when the House of Representa
tives is reflected upon in an unjust
way. That we do not Is due, we think,
largely to the fact that we ourselves
do not show respect for Congress by
sending to it the class of men we
ought to send. At least, this Is as
good an explanation as has yet been
offered' for public indifference to Pres
idential abuse of the lower .House.
Lincoln's) Greatness.
Memphis News-Scimitar.
From ignorance to the highest pow
er, from the tallow dip to the fierce
light that beats upon thrones, from
humility to grandeur, his walk was
always that of a modest strugglor who
was sincere in every thought and am
bition and who loved well "every man.
and bird and beast." He reached the'
heights by virtue of his grasp of pub
lic issues and the plain solution he
found for them. It was genius and it
was heart. He had the genius to cope
with the greatest problem the Anglo
Saxon race has ever faced, and he had
a heart that solved it to the satisfac
tion of all the ages. So great and so
simple, he will live forever in song
and story, and though at the head of
all the armies of his country, he will
he loved most for his gentleness and
his desire for peace.
Only Two Left
New York Herald.
A London writer has come to the
front with a mass of documentary evi
dence to prove that Robin Hood was
a real personage. Thank goodness!
The lnconoclast has wiped out every
body else. This leaves us two the
Outlay of Sherwood Forest and Ana-plaa.
EiTEXD V. S. PRESIDENTIAL TERM
It Should Be One of Six Years and
"Never A8aln.' Saya J. D. Lee.
PORTLAND, Jan. 21. (To the Ed
itor.) From several quarters comes
the clamor for change. The pessimist
believes that in the political, financial,
social and moral realms there exists
so much that is bad, changes must cer
tainly be made, and the optimist sees
so many attractive improvements pos
sible that he, too, becomes a cham
pion for change.
The conservative is Inclined to make
haste slowly, for reaction from radi
calism not infrequently becomes a
retrograde force that sweeps away
whatever real progress has been made
and leaves conditions less favorable for
truo reform. Every well-wisher of the
country desires Its advancement, but
realizes that true progress must be
intelligent, effective and enduring.
The campaigns and elections of 1908
are over. We can now take notes and
glean lessons that may be helpful in
the future and inaugurate movements
for our ultimate benefit.
Allow me to particularly emphasize
the importance of lengthening the offi
cial term of the President of the United
States, say to six years, and of placing
an Inhibition upon any incumbent's
second candidacy. The reasons are
many, but a few will suffice. The
lengthening of the Presidential term
will diminish the number of National
campaigns "with their vast expenditure
of energy and money and the Increase
of party rancor. Intrigue. Ill-will and
contention among the people. Every
Presidential year Is characterized by
lethargy in business or something
worse. All lines of business are more
or less affected Injuriously by the pos
sibility of a change of policy. Their
recurrence would be diminished.
Again, the natural ambition of any
officeholder, during his first term at
least, is to succeed himself. This makes
him timid and self-seeking. His politi
cal fences must be constantly looked
after, and he is brought under obliga
tions to interests which he should be in
position to deal with fearlessly. Thus
the efficiency of his second term is
liable to be weakened. But the in
cumbent who knows at the beginning
that he has only one term to serve can
be a free lance. It will be his ambi
tion to make it a success. If he has
large plans and broad policies, six
years will enable him to inaugurate
and successfully prosecute them. The
dogs of would-be successors would not
be snapping at his heels. That he
would encounter opposition from
schools of political thought different
from his own must be expected, but
such opposition would be sentimental.
If by any means an unworthy man
should get that high office, impeach
ment would be the remedy. Some
minor objections can be raised, but
from every Important viewpoint It
seems to me that the consideration and
arguments are greatly In favor of the
change.
Incidentally I will allude to a sug
gestion that has been made that the
Inauguration day be changed from
March 4 to a later date that would
almost insure good weather. Such
change is desirable. The date. March
4 was decided upon because It so
rarely came on Sunday. President
Hayes was inaugurated March 5, 1877,
without embarrassment or bad results.
Both changes could be made at the
same time. All of our people are cer
tainly Interested In extending the
length of the Presidential official term.
J. D. LEE.
CALLS IT A NEFARIOUS SCHEME!
One ' California Voice Agmlnat San
Francisco's Water Grab.
BERKELEY, Cal.. Jan. 17. (To the
Editor. I have read your two edi
torials on the nefarious water scheme
of San Francisco, and wish I could
shake hands with you across the moun
tains. You have exact knowledge of
the situation and know how to drive
it home with a trenchant pen. I have
Just returned from Washington, where
I went at Mr. Muir's request, and did
my best to block the destructive
scheme. But three days ago five addi
tional representatives of the city went
on to Washington to try, by sheer force
of numbers, to railroad the bill through
Congress. I wish you could go per
sonally as the representative of the
mountaineering clubs in the North and
protest before the committee. In any
case, I hope you will see to It that all
the members of Congress get marked
copies of your paper. We are sending
out several thousand pamphlets to- ed
itors and are hoping for an Immediate
response.
Incidentally, I went to Boston and
spoke on the scheme before an Immense
audience at the Institute of Technology.
The meeting was held under the aus
pices of the Appalachian Mountain Club,
whose members, by unanimous vote,
after the address, deputed one of Bos
ton's ablest lawyers, Mr. E. A. Whit
man, to represent them in Washing
ton. I find that one'only needs to let
the light of day get at this scheme and
people are aroused Immediately. The
most disheartening feature of the sit
uation is the attitude of Secretary
Garfield. I had a short conference with
him and am simply amazed at his point
of view and the lack of seriousness
with which he regards this assault
upon the perpetuity of the Nation's
playgrounds. As you know, in the text
of the grant, he expressly repudiates
the obligation to ascertain whether
such a sacrifice Is Justified or not.
Drastic protests will have to be made
If we are to save the park.
WILLIAM FREDERIC BADE.
Dr. Mitchell's New Hymn
Philadelphia Ledger.
"Ave, Pennsylvania!" a new univer
sity hymn, by Dr. S. Weir Mitchell,
was sung for the first time last night
at the annual Franklin birthday din
ner of the Franklin Inn Club. The
music of the song was composed by
Professor Hugh Archibald Clarke, of
the university, and the whole is dedi
cated to the provost, Charles C. Harri
son. The words of the hymn which j
have not hitherto been publicly printed,
are as follows:
Ave maternal -
Loving and wise.
The lleht of the ages
Is bright In thy eyes.
Ave trtumphanst
Proud heiress of him
Whose fame writ In lightnlng-
Shall time never dim.
Mater aanatal
Mother adored
Of men who were noble
By pen and by sword.
The earth and the ocean
Have taken thy sons
Where fluttered the star flag;
And thundered the suns.
Though peaceful thy mission
And gentle thy hand
If ever the war cloud
Shall darken the land.
Or living or dying.
Thy trust we shall greet,
With harvests of honor
To lay at thy feet. ,
Laurels unfading
Forever are thine.
But fresh are the roses
We lovingly twine.
Mater dltecta!
I.o from above '
Heaven smiles down on thea;
Take thou our love.
Roonevelt and the Blue Pencil.
New York Evening Post.
The President accepts the suggestion
of the editor of the Outlook, that, when
he wrote "the chief argument," he
should have written "a chief argu
ment." This is beautiful-docility under
the blue pencil, and promises that fu
ture editorial relations will be pleasant.
LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE
Governor Stuart, at a dinner in Phila
delphia during the opening of the opera
season, said of a noted Philadelphia sci
entist: "He la the most exact man I ever met.
He believes in nothing but proven facts.
Continually he pins you down.
"One day I said to him:
" 'Canibaiism what an abomination!
To eat of human flesh! Crrrr!'
"The old scientist frowned.
" 'Pardon me. but have you ever eaton
of human flesh?' ho said, severely.
" 'No,' said I.
" 'Well, then," he demanded, "why do
you speak of things that you know noth
ing at all about?' "Philadelphia Record.
The Teacher Children, we make heroee
of ourselves by doing our duty. Perry's
duty was to- whip the British, and he
did it. The Light Brigade's duty was
to attack the Russians without question,
and they did it. All great heroes won
their victories by doing their duty. Chil
dren, we have our duties. What ehould
we do for the weak, the suffering, tho
oppressed? '
Chorus of Pupils Sail in an' lick 'em.
Cleveland Leader.
see
An Englishman fond of boasting of his
ancestry took a coin from his pocket
and, pointing to the head engraved on It,
eaid:
"My great-great-grandfather was made
a lord by the king whose picture you see
on this shilling."
"What a coincidence P said his Yankee
companion, who at once produced another
coin. "My great-great-grandfather was
made an angel by the Indian whose pic
ture you see on this cent." Plck-Me-Vp.
see
"I notice a man who had a cold In his
head has committed suicide."
"Poor fellow! Now what fool friend
could have advised him to try that rem
edy?" Philadelphia Ledger.
"Why Is Rosalie weeping so?"
"She and Bessie and I were playing at
keeping house. Rosalie was the wife and
I was the husband."
"I hope you were not cross to her.
Husbands and wives should never quar
rel, you know."
"Oh, we didn't fight. Besslle was our
maid, and she quit without giving us
notice." Chicago Record-Herald. .
MAINE WEARY OF PROHIBITION
"Dry" Policy Propoaed for Rnrnl Dl
. trict and "Wet" In Larger CHIen.
New York Press Service Company.
After four years of fruitless efTorts
to enforce state-wide Prohibition
through the agency of a special police
force under the direction of the Gov
ernor, the State of Maine is now going
to repeal the law under which this at
tempt was made, and will return to its
earlier methods of treating the per
ennial liquor issues, declares Major
Holman F. Day. the well-known Maine
author, in an article which will appear
In the February number of Appleton's
Magazine. This means that in rural
districts and small towns where the
sentiment is Btrongly against liquor
selling. Prohibition will be strictly en
forced, and in the larger cities of the
state the law will be openly disre
garded. To sum up the big difficulty in
Maine," says Major Day, "there isn't
real moral resolution behind the en
forcement law, either in people or ex
ecutives. In those communities where
there is a sentiment against rum-selling,
no one tries to sell rum. In the
City of Auburn, even in the most wide
open times of Sheriff-made law, no one
has opened a liquor shop, though 1t
might naturally be supposed that with
15,000 population there would be a call
for liquor. There was. There still is.
But right across the river from Auburn
is the larger City of Lewiston. with
saloons in the open times and dives in
the tight times, and clubrooms all the
time. The thirsty citizens of Auburn
merely walk across the bridge.
"On the other hand, under the town
agency system, the little town of Ran
dolph pays half its annual town bills
by profits from the liquor agency. The
town is near the National Soldiers'
Home at Togus. The Lewiston agency
In a city of less than 30,000 population
did over $10,000 worth of business In a
year. The failure of the attempt at
etate-wlde enforcement is indicated by
the fact that in Lewiston, the second
largest city in Maine, from figures fur
nished by the Mayor, I find that arrests
for intoxication during the past four
years have steadily increased from
something like 600 annually to over
1000 for the past 12 months. Yet Lew
iston Is the only city in Maine where
a large force of enforcement deputies
has been on the Job day and night, all
the time.
"The spasms of enforcement and the
iniquities of 'let-ups' have never both
ered the country towns, which have
long been dry and probably always
will be. And these country towns cast
two-thirds of tire vote of Maine and
constitute themselves the mentors of
the morals of the wicked cities. Maine
is between the horns of a dilemma, for
the sentiment in favor of a Prohibition
law Is stronger than ever, and appar
ently the only course ahead of her is
to lapse into the old system by which
Sheriffs and politicians sold indulgen
ces for the violation of the law."
IN THE MAGAZINE
SECTION OF THE
Sunday
Oregonian
THE HEAET OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Notable article by Wayne "Whip
ple, author of "The Story Life
of Lincoln," detailing numerous
incidents and anecdotes showing
that Lincoln's gTeatness lay in
his tender-heartedness. This trait
gave him a place among the
world's immortals.
PUBLIC SERVANTS THAT
WON'T BE DISCHARGED
Prominent officials at Wash
ington that Taft must retain be
cause their services cannot bee dis
pensed with.
WON HER PEOPLE'S
LOVE AT LAST
The Queen of Italy was an
alien; the populace was cold.
Now, since her heroic work in
Sicily, the people adore her.
HOW AUTOMOBILES
ATTRACT FRIENDS
The Hotel Clerk makes some re
marks that may take the conceit
out of popular owners of cars.
ORDER EARLY FROM YOUR
NEWSDEALER .