TIIE MORNING OREGONIAN, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1900.
pokti-an;, ubegox.
Entered at Portland, Oregon, Poitofflc a
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PORTLAND, TI EfD.VT, FEB. t. 190-
1SVEKTEBUATES IN rOIJTICS.
vtr.ijiv rh House, bv a close vote
passed to third reading tho Brooke
bill making It a misdemeanor for a
candidate for office to take a pre
oios-Hnn rierir Threw of the mem
bers.. who had been entrapped by
Statement One voted tor it. mere
were fifteen absentees. The bill may
-n u za nr mnv not.
It is directed apalnst the foolish
pledge that has elected a Senator in
opposition to the dominant political
sentiment of Oregon. It la. Indeed, a
ore subject. It chafes like an ulcer
'or carbuncle under the saddle or col
, Jar of & poor, overworked animal.
While, however. The Oregonian makes
yio objection to passage of the bill, it
can see no need of it. For it rests
with the candidate whether he Is to
make pledges, or not. His right way
Is to say to everybody, "Go to."
It Is puerile, too, to suppose that
the Senate, on the protest of members
that were "forced" by their pledges to
vote for Chamberlain, will refuse to
seat him. Why did they take the
pledges? How were they forced? In
the first place they needn't have taken
the pledges; lastly they might have
asserted their right to repudiate them
If they would, on the ground that the
pledges were a mistake, were con-
trary to public policy and to the sys
tem of election of Senators established
by the Constitution of the United
States. True Independence, having
realized the mistake, would have done
this. But it is simple bosh to deny
the responsibility and to try to unload
the weakness of the members of the
Legislature on the Senate of the United
States. Men should be men. A large
number of members of the Legislature
realized that they had made a mistake,
had gone wrong: and they acknowl
edged it by their plaint or protest,
when they came to vote. But they
hadn't the courage to right themselves.
There is a remedy, however, in future
courage. Men needn't take pledges
that put them In such a hole; and In
fact, there is no need of a statute to
stiffen the backbone that every man
ought to stiffen for himself. Inverte
brates nowhere have high place In the
organic world; and for invertebrate
existence there Is no use whatever in
politics, or In other work of the human
race.
THE IXA SHARKS.
The world can endure long hatpins
a great deal better than It can tricky
loan sharks. Hence Assemblyman
Farrell did marvelous wisely when he
diverted his cerebration from the for
mer subject to the latter. May his
proposed law wither the shark Into
airy nothingness and waft him away
utterly, for he Is altogether unlovely.
One of his favorite pastimes is to be
guile the young and lightsome city
employe who wiBhes to spend more
money than he earns. The loan shark
charmeth wondrous sweetly, so sweetly
that the employe in .the. simplicity of
bis tender soul thinks he is getting
money for nothing. The fifty or sixty
per cent a year which he promises to
pay seems like some far-away shadow
of evil m-hlch can never actually draw
near and smite him. But it does draw
near, and It smites diresomely. The
final effect of the contract with the
loan shark is that the employe be
comes his boud slave. The more he
pays the more he owes. Strive as he
may, his debt never grows less, and
If he ever threatens to rebel the shark
subdues him with a menace of pub
licity. It is the same way with all sorts of
people living on salaries. The shark
takes advantage of their necessity or
their folly to entangle them, and once
In his power It seems as If they never
could escape. The contract which
holds them Is usually illegal and might
be defeated In court, but they are
afraid to take advantage of the law
for fear of exposure to their employers.
Some firms have rules that employes
who get into debt will be discharged.
Financial difficulty of any sort lowers
a man In his employer's esteem. In
vestigation has shown as a matter of
fact that salaried persons who have
borrowed of sharks will submit to all
degrees of outrage rather than permit
their trouble to become known. Mr.
Farrell's bill contains two sections,
each of which appears to be desirable.
The first makes assignments of salary 1
Illegal unless the employer Indorses
them. This applies to all sums under
J200. Since the original sum bor
rowed of a loan shark Is seldom large.
It seems as If this provision might put
an end to goodly fraction of his
business by depriving him of his se
curity. We must remember, however, that
his principal security la not the formal
assignment of salary but the dread of
exposure which haunts his victim.
Very likely many of these assignments
are illegal as things stand, and Mr.
Farrell's bill would not make them
any more so. What Is needed is
rather a change in the attitude of the
employer such that the employe will
not be afraid to take the benefit of his
legal remedy against the usurer. The
mischief is one of those psychological
affairs which legislation is almost
powerless to- deal with. Still Mr. Far
rell's bill looks In the right direction,
and If it will help In the least degree it
ought to pass. His second section pro
vides that assignments of salary made
by married men shall not be legal un
less the wife concurs. This also ap- j
pears more effective on Its face than
It Is likely to prove In practice. If a
man is afraid to test a contract In
court It makes little difference whether
It la legal or not.
It Is a great pity that some medium
cannot be devised which should ere- .
at a mutual understanding between
employes who have been swindled by
loan sharks and employers who could,
release them from slavery by a single
iword. To a great many young men
one lesson of this kind Is enough to
last a lifetime. If they could once get
clear of the shark's power they would
stay clear. Here is an opportunity for
the exercise of beneficial charity and
the creation of good feeling between
employe and employer which itls dis
couraging to see neglected. Although
It Is said that laws like Mr. Farrell's
have clipped the- business of the loan
shark in Massachusetts and other
states, still we shall not expect It to
remedy the mischief entirely. On the
other hand, it can hardly help doing
some good, and for that reason it
ought to be given a fair trial.
MORE ABOUT "PLEDGES."
Inclination of the House to pass a
statute against "pledges" is nothing.
"The pledge" has no being or standing
at all, unless men are weak enough
to take K, and then too little strong to
correct their weakness or mistake.
"The pledge" has no standing in law.
It has standing only In weak human
nature. Men wishing to be elected
have been willing to take any pledge,
even to abandonment of all the prin
ciples of their lives. Will they con
tinue to do so? Men of Judgment will
not. But doubtless th?re are others.
Yet what's the use of a law to de
clare pledges illegal and Immoral?
Candidates for office can make that a
law unto themselves and for them
selves; as men wishing to abate the
evils of intemperance can make a pro
hibition law for themselves. None of
these things needs statutory law. They
are like religion itself, which needs no
enforcement except through reason
and conscience of the Individual.
In fine, or to conclude, don't make
fools of yourselves with "pledges."
Don't take pledges which may re
quire you to violate your own convic
tions and the whole principles of your
lives. Hesrdes, it is contrary to the en
tire spirit and purpose of the repre
sentative system for a candidate for
public position to pledge himself to
some of the people a small fraction
for certain purposes, and to ignore the
Just demands of all the rest, especially
the great ' dy of his own party. The
remedy is not in statutory law. but in
personal eense of responsibility and In
Individual character.
OPPORTUNISTS.
Now of course "George" will be a
protectionist. Because Oregon has a
great many productive activities, and
products of these activities, that call
for protection. As an opportunist
'George" will be equal to the occasion.
Not again, never again, for years.
will you hear from the organs and ora
tors of the great Democratic party or
Oregon an argument In opposition to
the saving principle of protection.
Oregon has lumber and wool and
prunes and hops and ores. Our George
will be forced to stand up for protec
tion of all these. The argument for
free trade, or freer trade, therefore,-
will fall, as heretofore, on The Orego
nian, with somewhat greater odds
against it, but still It will not give up.
This Journal, beyond its primary
duty of supplying the news, has for
its leading function the exposure of
humbugs like those of Socialism, the
silver craze, Coxey army claims, Irre
deemable paper currency, attempts to
fix the rate for use of money (usury
laws), relief of labor by employment
of Idle men by city or state, sale of
municipal or state bonds as a method
of public prosperity and everything
of the kind.
But opportunists In politics, men
who are looking for temporary advan
tage for themselves, don't think for '
a moment of underlying principles.
They are anxious merely to be elected.
But, you see the new Democratic
Senator from Colorado, 1s an oppor
tunist of another kind. He is no be
liever in the paternal system. As a
representative of Dave Moffett and
most of the leading corporations of
Colorado, ha has "views" that wouldn't
suit this play In Oregon. His motto
Is, Get all you can, and the devil take
the hindmost. In his speech acknowl
edging "the honor of an election," he
attacked the policy of conserving the
natural resources of the country, and
of Government's aid and protection to
interests of any description. He de
manded for everybody a free hand In
exploitation of natural resources, and
declared that "we should not make
mollycoddles of our descendants by
smoothing out of their pathway the
rough places and removing all diffi
culties and storing up unearned treas
ures for their spendthrift enjoyment
and dissipation."
Here is another kind of opportunist;
one who is no believer In protection
or In paternalism. Let them take who
have the power, and let them keep
who can. But Isn't this the policy
also of tariff for protection? Extremes
meet, in many a way in this world.
TIPS.
The person who bestows a tip
usually comforts himself for the shame
and grief of submitting to the holdup
with the beautiful thought that his
money has gone to a poor man who
would starve without It. "The porters
and waiters are so poorly paid that
one's conscience really compels one to
give them something." So one sub
mits and sheila out. The truth of the
matter seems to be that conscience is
sadly misled in this little piece of
beneficence. The waiter, porter, or what
not, gets the tip but he does not keep
It. His possession Is but a transitory
phenomenon. The coin very soon
slides out of his hand into the pocket
of yie hotelkeeper, Pullman Car Com
pany or owner of the restaurant. The
kindly Intent of the person who be
stows the tip results merely in adding
to the Income of some Individual who
already has more of this world's goods
than he deserves.
The London News gives an aocount
of an unpleasantness between the
Carlton Hotel and one of its employes
which throws a brilliant light on tho
tip as it works out in practice. The
employe seems to have been one of
those amazing characters who take
hats In hotel corridors and remember
to whom the hats belong. Naturally
an admiring public gave him many
tips partly in gratitude for getting
back its hat, partly in admiration of
his astonishing genius. It was sup
posed that the employe put the tips
into his pocket and ultimately bought
shoes for his children with them; but
it has been shown In court that his
employer, the Carlton Hotel, forced
him to disgorge them and their final
resting place was the maw of the
greedy corporation. The waiter re
ceived no benefit from the tips. They
enriched a hotel company which from
all accounts was quite as rich as it
ought to have been without them. The
sweet visions of little children re
joicing in new shoes which thrilled
the soul of the tip-giver have changed
Into visions of a fat magnate engulf
ing green turtle soup.
Doubtless there Is a regular ar
rangement by which the Pullman Com
pany extorts from every porter and
conductor a percentage . of the tips
he gets. If there Is nut yet there soon
will be. The Pullman Company is not
likely to neglect any opportunity for
profit after It becomes perceptible. At
the big restaurants where tips are fre
quent and important the proprietors
often compel the waiters to pay for
their positions. The management not
only gets its service free through the
mistaken generosity of a stupid pub
lic, but actually makes money out of
it. It is no longer a question of eking
out the insufficient wages of a hire
ling; it is a question of increasing the
profit of a rich corporation. If wait
ers are only I-alf paid there is some
reason, though not a very strong one,
for giving them enough In tips to en
able them to keep out the wolf; but
when tips amount to so much that they
not only pay the full wages of the
waiter but make a considerable reve
nue for the hotel besides, they are no
longer rational. They are absurd or
icious.
, WHEAT MARKET SOARING.
Wheat sold in Walla Walla last
Saturday at $1 per bushel, the highest
price reached in twenty years. Making
the usual allowance for warehouse
charges and freight; this would be
equivalent to about $1.12 per bushel
at tidewater. That figure has not yet
been officially reported In Portland
this season, but choice bluestem has
already sold above $1.10 per bushel
In Portland. The most striking feature
of this remarkably strong market is
that the prices reached are far above
the Liverpool parity, and it is essen
tially a home demand that warrants
such unusual figures. The extent to
which domestic requirements are tak
ing up the remaining supply of wheat
in the PaoJftc Northwest is shown In
the California shipments. During the
month of January there were shipped
from Portland to California ports more
than 400,000 bushels of wheat, while
nearly 170,000 bushels were shipped
to the same ports from Seattle and
Tacoma.
For the seven months ending Sun
day, the total shipments from Port
land to California ports (flour in
cluded) were 2,704,455 bushels, while
the Puget Sound domestic shipment's
for the same period were 1,805,562
bushels. Here we have a total for
seven months of more than 4,500,000
bushels going out of Oregon and
Washington ports to a domestic mar
ket, which ten years ago was one of
the big foreign exporting wheat mar
kets of the country. With more than
six months to elapse before there will
be new wheat In this territory, stocks
have been cleaned out to such an ex
tent that there Is no more wheat avail
able for export, and the only effect an
advance In the foreign market would
have locally, would be to force the
California buyers to pay higher prices
for the stocks which they must have.
This strong local situation Is of
course largely due to the short crop
and heavy early movement, but the
course of the Chicago market, 'taken
In connection with the statistical po
sition of the cereal, certainly tends to
belief that the domestic demand east
of the Rocky Mountains may also be a
powerful factor In keeping prices up
to the dizzy heights to which they have
soared within the past two months.
The American visible supply, posted
yesterday, showed a decrease of 1,989,-
000 bushels, and with a total of 44,
886,000 bushels, it Is barely sufficient
to supply the home demand for six
weeks. The invisible supply can never
be accurately gauged, but the latest
Government report showed unusually
small stocks In farmers' hands.
These "bullish" statistics quite
naturally account . for the great
strength of the American markets as
compared with the foreign markets.
So long as Australia and the Argentine
are willing to market their wheat at
the prices foreigners seem willing to
pay, there will be some hesitancy on
the part of the foreigners about paying
American prices; but, until there is a
radical change In the domestic situ
ation, there will be no cheap wheat in
the United States, especially on the
Pacific Coast.
FEDERAL FISHERY CONTROL..
The agreement reached by the Joint
committee of the Oregon and Wash
ington legislatures 1s a long step In
the direction of Federal control of our
fisheries. At the Seattle meeting (in
the language of Senator Bingham)
"One thing of great importance was
decided upon. That is that legislation
will hereafter be enacted In behalf of
the fish Instead of the fishermen." As
any legislation which tends to protect
the fish is naturally In the Interest
of ths great army of consumers who
are already regarding with apprehen
sion the shortening supply, the work
of the committee will meet with un
qualified approval of the people. The
only possible exception to this approval
will be on the part of that element
among the fishermen who have no
objection to "killing the goose that
lays the golden eggs."
To this class, any legislation which
in any manner affects their rights to
catch every fish that enters the river
will be distasteful and will meet with
opposition. It is this desire to fish
in season and out of season, and with
all kinds of destructive gear, that has
forced the two states to get together
for mutual protection, and to ask the
Federal Government to sanction their
agreement. Nothing could be plainer
than the necessity for Identical laws
on both sides of the Columbia River.
With an agreement that such laws will
be Impartially enforced by the re
spective state officers, it will be a diffi
cult matter for the conflicting fishing
interests to evade them. A Seattle dis
patch, announcing the terms of the
"treaty" agreed to by the Oregon and
Washington committees, says that the
only objection to the plan,' if there is
any objection, is expected to come
from the gillnetters.
These fishermen have in the past
strenuously opposed all fish legisla-.
tlon that was not favorable to their
own method of talcing the fish, and
they may continue on the same lines.
At the same trme, if the gillnetters
are not anxious to bring about actual
Federal control of their business, it
might be well for them heartily to sup
port the proposed treaty. The Gov
ernment is already pretty heavily en
gaged in the fishery business. It is
operating hatcheries In various parts
of the country, and is continually en
gaged in work for perpetuation of the
Industry. To a degree the effect of
some of this work is nullified, if con
flicting state laws and lax regulations
permit fishing to be carried on without
regard to future consequences.
It thus becomes quite natural and
appropriate for the Government to
assume control, provided the inter
ested states are unable to agree be
tween themselves as to the best meth
ods of protecting the industry. If the
fishermen are dissatisfied with Joint
control by the two states, it Is highly
probable that they will be obliged to
submit to Federal control, and the
industry will hardly suffer1 by the
change.
The New York lemon importers who
are endeavoring to secure a suspen
sion of the duty on the sour fruit from
Italy say that the recent earthquake
will force 250,000 laborers to leave
Sicily and Calabria for the United
States. "As the death loss Is said to
approximate 150,000, it is apparent
that there will be quite a shortage of
labor for repairing the havoc wrought
by the earthquake. The great horde
of aliens that may be driven to this
country can all be assimilated here If
they will abandon their favorite prac
tlce of huddling together in the cities
and instead scatter out into the coun
try. The fear of repetition of the
earthquake may prevent many of
them from going back with their for
tunes, which they will accumulate
here, and this will prove an economic
gain for this countrj'p as there is an
unlimited amount of work along their
particular line of agriculture and
fruitgrowing.
Secretary Straus still Insists that
the Japanese are leaving in much
greater numbers than they are arriv
ing in the country, and substantiates
his assertions with official figures.
Perhaps there is something wrong
with the count on the yellow men that
slip into the country. " The small boy
who was engaged to count the pigs
as they passed into the pen, in an
nounclng his Inability to keep the
count accurate said that one of the
pigs ran around so fast that he could
not count him. It Is possible that a
number of these yellow men who mys
teriously appear In the Pacific Coast
cities and towns are similar to the
small boy's pig, and slip into the
country so fast that they cannot be
counted.
The plan of printing advance sheets
of the Oregon Supreme Court deel
slons seems to bo a good one. The
type would need to be set but once
and the work of the court reporter
would not be increased. The only
additional expense would be that of
printing a few hundred copies on
cheap paper, and presumably the cost
of this would be paid by attorneys
who subscribe for the Supreme Court
reports. As it is now, Oregon attor
neys who want prompt information"
as to Supreme Court decisions must
get their reports from Eastern law
publications.
There will be an unusually large
number of vacancies In the ranks of
the pioneers at the annual roll call
next Spring. Advancing years and a
rigorous Winter have combined to
make the death list much greater than
for many seasons. The latest of these
pioneers to leave forever the com
monwealth they helped to build were
Salmon W. Crowder, a pioneer of
1.853, who died at Albany Sunday; Mrs.
Susan S. Griffith, of 1852, who died
at Salem Sunday, and F. M. Sharer,
who came here in 1852, and died at
Wilsonvllle last Wednesday.
There are few if any committees in
Congress in which the people of Port
land and Oregon have a greater inter
est than rivers and harbors. For that
reason it may be sincerely hoped that
the successor of Mr. Burton as chair
man of that committee will be a man
who has a personal knowledge of the
Important projects under way in this
territory. The United States Senate
gained two very useful members in
Senator Burton and Senator Jones, but
the Senate's gain was a "distinct loss
to the river and harbor committee of
the House.
The Oregon Timberman has Just
Issued its annual number, covering in
exhaustive detail the lumber and tim
ber business of the Pacific Northwest.
The publication is handsomely got up
and contains a vast amount of inter
esting and valuable statistical matter
on the great industry which it rep
resents. Well, if Stephenson, of Wisconsin,
did get his nomination in the holy pri
mary by excessive expenditure of
money, didn't Bourne, of Oregon, get
his nomination in the same way? How
do yo-. expect to get purity In politics
under the reform system, If you don't
buy It?
If Mr. Harriman reads the Oregon
newspapers and it is said he does
he sees some things occasionally that
should mightily Interest him. Every
body out here knows Just what Mr.
Harriman ought to do.
. "Let the Oregon Legislature try to
regulate the height of the heels of
women's shoes If it dares," Jeers the
Chicago Tribune. It dares. Repre
sentative Farrell Is about to Introduce
a ten-Inch heel bill.
If the Legislature repeals all the
laws the people enact and the people
repeal all that the Legislature enacts,
we may hope to escape the perennial
pest of useless legislation. Let, the
good work prosper.
If Blnger Hermann cannot get his
trial put off in order to take a pleasure
trip to Europe It looks as If the Ju
diciary were beginning to lose its re
spect for the better class.
Mr. Taft Is pleased to learn that a
kick canal will do after all. The
canal-builders who write for the New
York papers will continue to disagree
with him, however.
rnv-erk 1a n rt Hlfs-MHrinrl that "Roose
velt will accept the princely offer to
Join a Wild West show. He Isn't ac
customed to sharing honors with other
performers.
If the Legislature falls us, let the
Initiative be Invoked to put at least
three tinea on hotel table forks. Every
one cannot eat peas and "sich" with a
knife. '
Just as If the Republican party
could be more "ruined" by any meas
ure or any action, than it Is ruined
already!
If there is a groundhog in Oregon he
can earn fame today by forecastle g an
early Spring.
LOOKIVO TO NOVEMBER, 1010.
Snagu Ahead In the Way of Hofrr"
v Candidacy for the Governorship.
SALEM, Or., Jan. 29. (To the Edi
tor.) In looking over the Capitol Jour
nal of this city, January 21, I find
the following words: "Speaker McAr
thur and President Bowerman both
voted for the regular nominee for
United States Senator in June and In
the Legislature. These two sterling
young Republicans have not engaged
In destructive mad-house, bull-ln-the
cbina-shop politics." Furthermore,
our friend Hofer says: "The type of
Republicans who are appearing-, and
around whom the Republican party
will grow strong and healthy as a po
lltical organism are such men as Mo
Arthur and Bowerman, Rusk, Slnnott,
McCue, Eaton, Patton, and others. It
Is In this new leadership that the te
publicans have hope."
Now I take no exceptions to any of
these assertions; but how in the name
of common sense can our friena io
fer, of the Journal, square himself with
McArthur and Bowerman? For in the
Journal of January 8 the following
words appear: "The machine wants
McArthur and Jay Bowerman at the
head of the two houses, because they
are young, weak, feeble and non-re
sistant to the grafts or tne macmne.
Furthermore, he says, "McArthur and
Bowerman are the machine candidates
and no honest, decent representative
of the people in the general Assembly
should be found backing the machine
nrnffrn m m A. "
Now when our friend Hofer has
proclaimed himself as a candidate for
Governor of Oregon and comes across
the many friends of McArthur ana jay
Bowerman, he will explain this attack
on them as one of his "Brain Storms,
similar to the one he had when, before
the Rivers and Harbors committee, he
told Chairman Burton that if Congress
did not want to help buy the locks we
would buy them ourselves ana u
Now, we up here in Marion County
felt very badly over Hofer's Indis
cretion; as we had been grooming him
for two years to run for Governor next
election, but If we can i eipmm ""
with McArthur and Bowerman, our
cake is dough. Then we will switch
off on to Tom Kay. Then we know we
will have the Governor from old Marl
on The Democrats have already of
fered to bet Tom will be the next Re
publican nominee for Governor, for
about 15.000 Democrats will register
as Republicans and nominate Tom, and
then turn around and beat him with
another. I have been told that this
Is the programme, but we up here in
Marlon are calculating a good deal on
"Our George" helping Tom, as Tom has
always helped him.
A. M. LA FOLLETT.
MORE WORDS TO BB SIMPLIFIED
The Silent e" and "a" to Goj the SnfHx
"Ice" to Become "la."
New York Times.
nnfi srw,iiinir Board has an
nounced further additions to the list of
j i,,w .irrvnimed. and In the new
list are published rules for words of varl-
ous ending. Tne rirex list,
th famous aw v ui uo
r.w- h Kct irhtrh came out on Jan-
uarv SO 1908, Included warns wii.ii
ellent e omitiea in cei i."" -
. .tIk. deflnlt. activ
Dies. Ho il i""""'' , ,
etc., and with preterit forma In ed changed
to t. as in dropt. aripi, cruv, wia. .
rmtt. vi n. rH-un mit vesteraay. in
eludes general rules covering four classes
of words:
First-Omit the "a" in words havmg ea
pronounced as short e, as In hed, sted,
helth, relm, etc; omit the "e" In words
having ea pronounced as a
as harken, hart, harth. . .
Second-Omit the "e" in preterits and
participles- ending in ed, but pronounced
"d" with the "e sneni,
. 3 mncaltL This Sim-
uurna, ruiiiu,
pllflcatlon la parallel to that already
adopted in torma uo yi"vw
i ... A Ho
Third In words ending In the unstressed
suffix "Ice," pronounced "Is," the c Is
changed to a and the e Is omitted, as In
cornls, crevls, lams, nous,
, .'. t wi. Tiltmr in tve or rve,
r uurin 1 1 1 "
with, the e client, the "e" uhould be omit
ted, as in delv, twelv, eoiv, rwuiv, t
These -simplified spellings are set forth
ku 1ft trifm. containing
i. oe.o.rn n pnt number of well-
H-ULIIOI 1 llfn
known writers, from enaKespeare "'
dor. Samuel Adams Is cited for spellings
like "armd," "burnd," lniormu.
"The board announces," says the clr-
, wi,,i txen lists of simplified
,,.' .t-.. Tn-hilRht have been al-
most unanimously approved by the sup
porters of the causa, ah -
of all the simplified rpelllngs thus far
recommended is promitsi.
Location of the IVorth Star.
Tvxit-inTtr.T.ri Wash.. Jan. 80. (To the
. rt TiH c. maintain that the
North ' Star Is that which Is in a line
about due west from handle of Great
Bear. In a chart published in im we-
, i . -rani- flirn. It seems to be
my recollection it was placed at the end
of Ursa Minor, ana an arrow piu
Ursa Major indicated same.
. mi Wish which Of us,
Will yj V i , , T
or whether any of us. is correct? A. J.
-o- o hnrllv tansled. Draw a line
through the two stars In the "side- of
dipper opposite the handle, urns
will always pass through Tne isortn nmr.
MAX WtXl-ER'S HEUTS.
Max Muller, one cold Winter day.
Reviled his fowls, that did not lay.
Blasted pullets and "cussed" the cocks.
Anathematized nis numerous
And vowed he'd sell them all for soup.
For lack of business In the cnop.
He'd fed them oats and fed them wheat,
Chopped-up barley and scraps of meat.
Condition powder and oyster shell
All the diet they liked so well.
He'd use trap nests and all of that
They just lay rouna ana put on iai.
TX7Vi11a mtrern went UD to fifty cents.
His pocketbook was full of dents.
The fowls took note of what he said
And held a meeting in the shed
A - A Kw f)ia rlfthlnJl RAlff.
tJJ " '
Black Minorca and Game birds tough.
ry.Am. TannA Rnlft And Plvmouth Rocks
And fat old Shanghais wearing socks.
A Rose-Comb Leghorn took the floor
And said Max Muller made her sore.
He must not think they tried to shirk.
To shell out eggs they had to work.
The feed was plenty, and was good.
He treatea mem as nen men suuuiu.
But one Important Item lacked
They needed corn tnax naa rjeen cracitea
And thrown into some chaff to scratoh
Till then of eggs he'd get no batch.
r U 1 Jit 11D vn" v "s .........
They pay their way by scratching ground.
Max stopped to listen and got wise.
Scratched his head and rubbed his eyes;
Revised the poultry bill of fare.
His troubles thence were light as air.
Of all the frauds on poultrymen
There's nothing beats the lazy hen.
W. 4. C
OFFICIAL SALARIES.
But Appeal to a "Statement One" Lejt
fnlutnre Is Uele.
From the Astorian.
No official In the land Is underpaid
when he voluntarily assumes an office,
either by election or appointment, know
ing the compensation that goes with it
for the term be accepts It for. . And
there should be no concessions made after
he has acquired It. Such a system would
soon put the salary scale In an Intermin
able mess. Some merr" would want it
raised constantly; others (a few rare
souls) might want it lowered, in justice
to their economic theories; and there are
those who might want to serve the people
unhampered by any sort of salary, but
these folks are mostly dead.
Hhere are certain offices in the land
that are underpaid, when the weight
ejid hazard and scope of the duties are
honestly estimated (along with the dig
nity), and these should be provided for,
but always with a vlew to the succession ;
the Incumbent has no right to ask any
thing. He took the p'.acs knowing what
it was worth, and self-respect should
keep him silent.
Raise all salaries that are not ade
quate, and fix a salary for every public
function and trust, but do it with regard
to the next man in office, and let the In
cumbent go after the place- attain if hi
wants the benefit of the lncroa.se. The
advantage of such a rule would be to
make the Incumbent so zealously atten
tive to the office. Its duties and patrons
as to insure the subsequent election or
appointment.
HOW SITE WROTE "UNCLES TOM."
Inspiration of Great Slavery Story
Came to Mm. Stone in Church.
New York Times, January 27.
How "Uncle Tom's Cabin" came to be
written by Harriet Beecher Stowe was
told by her son, the Rev. Dr. Charles Ed
ward Stowe, to the boys of St. Joseph's
Mission at Great Jones and Lafayette
streets, last night.
"My TtKrther's brother, Charles Beeoh
er," said Dr. Stowe, "worked as a clerk
in New Orleans. One day a man in the
store made the very remark attributed to
Simon Legree in the book: 'I don't bother
about sick niggers. I work them into the
crop and buy new niggers with It'
"One day, while at communion in
church, my mother saw vividly .the wholo
scene of Uncle Tom's death before her
mind's eye. Sho burst into tears, went
home, and wrote that part of the book
first. When she read it to her children,
one'of them cried: 'Oh. mamma, slavery
Is the most dreadful thing in the world!"
"A few days later she wrote to Gamaliel
Bailey, the publisher telling him her
plan of tlje story, and he agreed to pub
lish it as soon as -written."
It came out In weekly installments in
the National Era, published at Washing
ton, D. C. The paper lonff since disap
peared. The story ran from June, 1S51,
to April, 1S52. in which latter year it ap
peared In book form in Boston. It gave
the country an electric shock. Nothing
like It ever was known In America First
copies of the book reached Oregon early
In 1S53. Even here the sensation It cre
ated was profound. People tliat year and
the next talked of nothing else. Yet as a
story or novel It has small literary merlL
The public conscience on the slavery
question was such that the book was like
flame to tinder.
Burlen Her Pet Dos Amid Rosea.
Peoria, 111., Dispatch to the New York
Press.
After the body of her pet bulldog had
lain In state in her home two days, Mrs.
William H. Benton, widow of a wealthy
restaurant proprietor of this city, burled
the animal with solemn funeral rites.
The body was placed In a cestly coffin,
lined with satin, and was borne to the
grave by four pallbearers.
The coffin was covered with a blanket
of roses, and when the grave was filled
In It was surmounted with a pile of
flowers. Mrs. Benton endeavored to ob
tain musicians to play a dirge, but her
request met with refusal. Every local
bandmaster drew the line at furnishing
music for a dog's funeral.
Finds Nuccet In Goose's Craw.
Bally Alaskan.
Mrs. Ulmer killed the goose that was
preparing to lay the golden egg. ; She
didn't know It, however, until the well
disposed fowl was dead and done for. In
Its dissection at the Callerman establish
ment a nugget was found in Its craw.
This goose was raised by Bill Matthews
and had been roaming about the beach in
search Of provender. Mrs. TJlmer is to
have a pin made of the nugget.
Singing a Different Tune Now.
Baltimore News.
George Bernard Shaw's sister, Mrs. Lu
cinda Frances Butterfield. has been grant
ed a divorce from her husband, Charles
Robert Butterfield, on statutory grounds,
In London. At the time of her marriage.
In 1SS7, Mrs. Butterfield was a professional
soprano vocalist, known as Miss Con
stance Barclay, and her husband, a tenor.
singing under the name of Cecil Burt.
By Mistake, Tear Up Real Money.
Washington (D C.) Post.
At- a recent rehearsal In New York
Miss Mena Blake tore up a roll of real
money which the stage director had mis
takenly handed to her for stage money.
The reheaj-sal was called off- and some
time was spent pasting togethor the
fragments of greenbacks.
"Hands Up," and Only One Hand.
Pittsburg Dispatch.
When a brakeman on a Pennsylvania
Railroad passenger train near Altoona,
Pa., ordered a tramp stealing a ride to
throw uphis hands he noticed that only
one hand was raised, and was about to
shoot when he found the man had but
one arm.
Pantry Shelves Rule Paper'a Sice.
Kansas City, Mo., Dispatch.
In reply to a subscriber who com
plained of the unwieldy size of the Law
rence (Kansas) Journal's pages, the ed
itor said the paper was 52 years old,
and. as most of the pantry shelves were
made to fit It, no change could be con
sidered. Elderly Unklased Man, a Wonder.
Minneapolis, Minn., Dispatch.
T-.,..l a Trr It I n a nf VAlnmnrn f1nn
aged 79 years, says he never has been'
kissed, never swore an oath, never took
a chew of tobacco and never smoked a
pipe or cigar.
Breeds Duck Without Breastbone.
Hartford (Conn.) Dispatch.
C. A. Wlntzer, of Brooklawn, Conn.,
says he has succeeded in breeding a
species of duck that is without a breast
bone and hence is easy to carve.
An Epicurean Rhapsody.
Kw York Frees1.
There' Bothlng- In the wide, wide -world
That' Quite eo weet a Jam.
To eharpen Jaded appetite
There' nothing that' so plquaat qnlte
As thin-sliced potted nam.
If forth ehould go a etern decree
Tkt hranri ud pheese alone
"Was for our human diet f.t.
I d dally sup on iiuu tiu-oiL,
Nor lone to pick a bone.
Tne steam la In my nostrils1 yet -
r9 all th, rmna I've frtnrfd
Oxtail and creamy Dean puree.
More oft than patties, pudding, punch,
Has pie my palate cheered;.
All festive Joys epitomized
In kingly pie might be comprised,
By twenty kinds endeared.
"And what the moral of your sons.
O Bplcuref yon say.
would not rive a grain of salt
Tot him with temper so at fault
He thankless- dine each day.
The Easiest Way'
BY ARTHUR A. GREENE.
NEW YORK, or at least that portion
of the Metropolis that is Interested
In the ephemeral things of "the
Great White Way," Is In the throes of a
new sensation, to-wlt, tho presentation
of Eugene Walter's new play, "The Eas
iest Way." The same Is being nightly
produced at the Stuyvesant Theater, and
has met with the universal approval of
the critics; at least. In so far as their
opinions have reached the Coast. The
most representative writers agree that It
Is a great play, admirably acted by Miss
Frances Starr, an lngenuo actress who
was aforetime a member of tho Alcazar
Stock Company at San Francisco, and
who sprang into National fame in "The
Rose of the Rancho." under the David
Belasco management. Of course, there
ara others concerned five others but
they do not much concern, except that
they sustain Miss Starr.
Much Is said In the reviews concern
ing the production the gray-maned David
has given the piece, and he Is given the
lion's share of credit, as usual, ignoring
the fact that the genius of Eugene Wal
ters made the play, This Is to be ex
pected from a decadent public and press
as New York best represents It.
Only a few years ago Mr. Walters was
a Seattle newspaper man of no definite
attainments and smaller prospects. Ha
was tolerated In the Pugvit Sound city by
many and by others was debarred from
the ordinary consideration given those
who write about vain people that seek
nowspaper notoriety, meaning all others
who are not engaged In the business of
writing for newspapers. Suddenly he
disappeared, and was heard of no more
until he suddenly sprang Into prominence
as tho author of "Paid in Full," a force
ful drama of contemporaneous life, which
properly enjoyed a great vogue from one
end of the country to the other. Then
the snobs began to speak of Eugene Wal
ters In terms of friendly Intimacy, and
those who had touched his garments In
the days of his obscurity exalted them
selves greatly. Following "Paid In Full"
Walters wrote ft piece called "The Wolf,"
which missed fire, but now he returns
with his latest effort, "The Easiest Way,"
and sets the country by the ears.
The play concerns a weak young woman
who has been unhappily married and
In extremity seeks the stage as a means
of livelihood. Her abilities are -mediocre,
but through the tangible influence of a
broker who .has been attracted to her
pretty face sho becomes something of a
figure in theatrical affairs, and stars with
some degree of success. Naturally, she
accepts the patronage of the rich man,
with all that such a deal In woman-flesh
means, and prospers exceedingly.
Then comes into her life the love of a
decent man, who is fool enough to be
lieve in her despite her pitifully com
placent past, a poor man with a meager
income. She believes that his love is"
something high and fine, which It is, but
most properly declines to marry him be
cause he cannot produce tne compensa
tions her paramour brings.
Then she does the naturally maudlin
and immoral thing, and divides to leave
her p'atron and shift for herself until
the man who wants to marry hor Is able
to buy her the foolish fripperies which
lazy and immoral women demand. She
finds this far from beer and skittles, and
ultimately, as Is to be expected, rejects
her honorable suitor and returns to the
man who pays her price. In the end
both men desert her, as is also proper,
and she goes her natural way; the -way
of the woman who walks the streets and
hawks her smiles, the most ancient pro
fession of womankind.
The dialogue, situations and slage set
tings of the play are unusually Important
If advices be true, the acting no less .so,
but after all this Is said, what doth It
profit? Mr. Walters la undeniably a
genius, a man who caught himself on
the last round of tho ladder and saved
his talents for something worthy, let us
hope something worthier than this muck
smeared story of worthless people.
Mr. Belaseo has undoubtedly given the
play everything that money and pur
chased brains could devise, and little
MLss Starr and her associates In the cast
have acted their best; but what of it?
The public taste makes anything pros
perous that splatters mud on clean things.
It seems to desire more than all else
tho naked sex problem flaunted continu
ally in Its face.
Women who draw their sacred skMs
aside to escape contact with the cour
tesans on the street and the good women
who would not help an erring girl to
find the straight road, for all the devotion .
they j; '.y the Magdalene, will attend the
theater and gloat in lascivious delight
over this nasty discussion of dirty linen.
The theater Is no place for such things.
Playgoers do not enter a theater with
an idea that they are to see a moral
pointed. They demand a tale adorned,
but no morais, please. The average In
telligence of people who patronize the
aters may be high enough that Is matter
for discussion but it Is fully determined
In the minds of the experienced and dis
cerning that they do not want their
morals handed to them from over the
footlights:
Mr. VV alters has probably written an
absorbingly interesting story, which If
printed in the language of the scurrilous
sheets which pander to the debased -would
be passed over with scorn and a
hurry up call for disinfectants and smell
ing salts would go forth. Yet, dress this
sort of corruption In the Belasco garb
and produce it in an ornate theater, and
the most virtuous will Join the attending
to do honor to the genius whloh makes
filth adorned the one thing most to be
desired to Induce our sons and daugh
ters and our gentle womenfolk to at
tend the theater.
Something Is very rotten In the the
atrical state of Denmark, but that's no
concern of yours nor mine so long as
the greatest successes are the ones which
smell to high heaven and should, but do
not, bring the blush of shame to the
face of such innocence as the twentieth
century vouchsafes this latest generation
of theater patrons.
Asks Letter-Cnrrler to Change Boots.
Baltimore News.
When a rural letter-carrier operating
near Sumner, Mo., found a pair of boot9
hanging over the mail box with the note
"These are too small," he did not take
them to town and exchange, them, as
expected, but merely added "I can't
help It."
Womnn'a Hoir "Rat" Hides "M.
Detroit (Mich.) Dispatch.
When a woman, pleading at Port
Huron. Mich., that she had bought a
railroad ticket and lost it and had no
more money, was arrested and searched
J53 was found concealed In the "rat" In. .
her hair.
The Eternal Feminine.
Illustrated Bit.
C
It's either thla or else it's that,
He lays the law down plump a,nd fiat,
There's nothing of the diplomat, -
It's pretty sure, about nlm. '
He hardly credits you with sense,,1
To differ shows you're very dense, ',
He think It quite a great offense'
If you should seem to doubt him.
No ort of reason will he deign
To give, that he may make It plain.
He cannot help your lack of brain.
So don't you get him nettled.
His declaration short and gruff
You may Imagine Is a bluff,
But still he says it. That's enough;
The matter should be 11
I've done all that a woman can
Since first our married life began
To soothe and please tho lordly man.
And bow to his dominion.
I would not wish to be unkind.
But oh! Td love to take and bind
And gag him, and then free my mln
By riving my opinion.