THE 3rORXTXa OREGOXIAX, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1909.
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fORTLASU, XCESDAV, FEB. 16, 1909.
THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN.
The statement that President Roose
velt has serious concern about the
danger of a rupture with Japan con
tains no exaggeration. These appre
hensions have been entertained by
him more than two years. He has
ppoken to many persons about them.
It is known that the apprehensions
ere shared by Secretary Root, and by
others who are in position to know
what the real facts are. While this con
cern was not the cause of the visit of
the battleship fleet to the Pacific and
Its voyage round the world. It was the
consideration that first suggested It.
We needed a trial of our ability to
move our ships from one ocean to the
other, and we needed the experience
that the movement would Bupply to
the officers and men.
Japan could lniiict enormous loss
upon us, with little danger to herself
and little expenditure of money. She
could 6eize the Philippines at once
and Hawaii within a month; she could
force the surrender of our Pacific
ports and levy enormous tribute upon
our cities, before the United States
could collect any force sufficient for
our relief; under cover of her fleet
che could land troops, collect supplies
from the country and erect fortifica
tions from which it would require
Immense effort to dislodge her. . We
should not be able to do anything at
oil till we had destroyed her war fleet;
nor would It be safe to strip the At
lantic Coast of defense, for a single
Japanese battleship might accom
plish ruin there. Of course Japan
would be taking chances; but no one
who watched the course of Japan
with Russia ought to doubt that
Japanese have the courage and spirit
to take them. When Japan began the
war with Russia the whole world was
astonished at her supposed temerity.
But how Japan fought that war is
the lesson of modern times in the
history of war.
It is said, with truth, that Japan
lacks money; but Japan can make
more war with one dollar than any
European nation can with three, or
the United States can with five. With
our vast superiority of resources we
should wear Japan out, but we should
suffer terrible humiliations first and
enormous loss of property. Our
Navy would make a great fight, when
It could get on the scene, but the
whole Nation would tremble for the
consequence; and not within one year
could we collect and get Into fit con
dition for actual war a military force
that would stand successfully against
twro Japanese army corps. It Is be
cause all these things are known that
the Administration at Washington
during more than two years has felt
concern about our relations with
Japan. Moreover, Japan knows our
situation Just as well as we know It
ourselves, and she has better estimate
of it than the mass of our own people
have, who think the bigness of a coun
try the measure olj its strength against
a smaller, but a well-prepared and
active adversary.
But surely, we are told, Japan will
not risk war for such trifling causes.
Forget not that causes which may
seem trifling to us may not appear so
to Japan. Our country is incapable of
putting Itself In her place, so as to
judge her motive and cause of action,
liut are you afraid of Japan? Is asked
with a sneer. Such question betrays
the shallowness from whici It ema
nates. Japan could inflict, .immense
Injury upon us. within sixty days; and
It would tax all the resources of the
United States during a long period to
expel her, and we should have to de
stroy her fleet to do it, with chance
of losing our own. Perhaps we never
should recover the Philippines the
loss of which might not be great, but
the humiliation would be heavy. Presi
dent Roosevelt is not a man to be
afraid of danger. But the whole
country knows how anxious he has
been and still Is to keep our country
on friendly, terms with Japan. Hi3
recent messages to the Governor and
Legislature of California have been
extraordinary- That effort never would
have been made without reason. For
Theodore Roosevelt Is neither a
coward nor a fool.
THE NEW CABINET.
In selecting the eight Cabinet mem
bers whom he has already fixed upon
Mr. Taft cannot be said to have .Ig
nored geography. They are scattered
from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific
without neglect of the intervening
stretches of landscape. Still, geogra
phy does not seem to have been the
predominating guide for the coming
President's choice. Massachusetts, for
example, gets two members, while
Pennsylvania gets but one. Nor does
New Tork, with all her millions of
people and billions of wealth, get
more than one thus far. What the
future may reveal we shall see when
the future- comes, for there Is one
clear vacancy still and one semi-vacancy.
The semi-vacancy seems to
have been promised to an Illinois
man. It Is the Secretaryship of the
Treasury, and If Mr. Reynolds does not
get It, "some other Illinois man" will.
It seems to be admitted that almost
any Illinois man would make a good
Secretary of the Treasury, perhaps be
cause their state has no gold mines.
Three members of the new Cabinet
are to hall from the Mississippi Val
ley. The old and reliable James Wil
son will remain Secretary of Agricul
ture and Incidentally support Mr.
Wiley in his valorous campaign
against the poison trust. Charles
Nagel. of Missouri, Is to be Secretary
of Commerce and Labor, and Mr.
I Reynolds, mentioned above, or some
body else from the blooming prairies
I of Illinois, will manage the Treasury.
The promotion of Mr. Meyer to be
Secretary of the Navy Is a pleasant
circumstance of course, but one re
grets somewhat that he has not been
left In the postofflce, where he has
done such good work. Very likely
the naval portfolio carries more dig
nity, but It is not half so useful to the
people of the country as the postofflce
Is. or might be. As everybody expect
ed, Mr. Ballinger, of Washington, will
represent the Pacific Coast in Mr.
Taft's Cabinet. He becomes Secretary
of the Interior.
rONSTlTCTIONAL CONTENTION.
The House some time ago passed
a bill to submit to the people a propo
sition for a constitutional convention
to be voted on at the next election.
This vote could not be taken till No
vember, 1910. Should there be an
affirmative vote, the convention might
bo held the following year, and the
new constitution submitted to .the
electors. In November, 1912. This
would afford all the time necessary for
examination and discussion.
Though the House passed the bill
some two weeks ago by a very large
vote, we do not observe that the Sen
ate has yet acted upon it. The press
of business in that body is great, but
It would seem that this bill might be
made a special order for some even
lng. If there Is no other time, and
acted upon. The Oregonlan believes
that the electors, of the state would
call, by a great majority, for a const!
tutlonal convention. There will be
no cost whatever In submitting It to
them and taking the vote upon It.
THESE GREAT "EMERiiENCTES.'
In the Legislature of Illinois there
Is a "more Judges" bill. Twelve more
are called for In Chicago eight for
the Circuit Court and four for the Su
preme Court. "The congested state of
the court dockets" Is given for the
reason there, as here.
But the Chicago Record-Herald
says the bill Is "a cool, pernicious Il
lustration of how not to do it." That
Journal declares that the authors of
the bill "Ignore the clearest demon
stratlons of the urgent need of very
different remedies for the Intolerable
evils of the law's delay and the law's
wastes and burdens, the just indigna
tion of progressive men in and out of
the legal profession at the bourbon
obstinacy of the average lawyer In
sticking to antiquated and senseless
forms of procedure and practice.'.'
This reads quite as If It had been writ
ten for Oregon, with perfect knowl
edge of the situation here. Abuses of
this description, in all our states, are
"as like," as Fluellen said, "as my
fingers Is to my fingers."
But we must make another quota
tion It fits so exactly: "The more
Judges remedy has failed In the past
and would fall In the future. It en
courages sloth. Indifference, resistance
to genuine reform. Our dockets are
always congested and always will be
under existing forms. Perhaps a hun
dred Judges would manage to keep
them up to date, but the taxpayers
have some rights which the fossils
and the spoilsmen should be forced
to consider."
DEFTIXO DISASTER.
The world hears almost with a
shudder that Messina, the Italian city
lately destroyed by earthquake, will
be rebuilt. Perhaps there is no se
curity against earthquake anywhere
upon the face of the earth, but cer
tainly there Is none In that portion of
Italy, which has for ages been the
sport and prey of seismic power. The
science of engineering, however, rears
its head proudly above the ruins of
the shattered city, as It did over those
of San Francisco, and speaks confi
dently of rebuilding on the desolated
.site of Messina In a way that will defy
disaster from earthquake.
Even without this assurance the
city would probably be rebuilt, since
both the nation and the survivors of
the devastating shock. are loyal to an
extent that does not contemplate the
possibility of existence without "fair
Messina." The power of association
is strong; that of pride in 'country or
locality Is invincible. Backed by these
forces, which combine under the name
of loyalty, San Francisco is slowly
throwing off "the ashen sackcloth of
her woe" and striving to lay her foun
dations so securely that the throes of
Nature will not again be able to bring
forth disaster. "On different lines,"
It Is said that the City of Messina will
also be rebuilt. Only time and the
stress of events can tell whether these
'different lines" will be proof against
destruction of the city when its foun
dations are again shaken.
DRY LAND FARMING.
A Pendleton dispatch in yesterday's
Oregonlan said that 10,000 acres of
land within a radius of ten miles of
Pilot Rock, hitherto considered un
productive, have been placed In culti
vation within the past eighteen
months. . This land is not situated
along the creek bottoms, where tho
greatest amount of moisture is found,
nor Is It where it can be irrigated.
It Is simply a dry-fanning proposition,
and success has already attended the
efforts of the men who have taken up
this dry-land . farming by scientific
methods. At no previous period In
the agricultural development of the
Pacific Northwest has there been so
much Interest shown m "'better farm
ing," usually termed scientific farm
ing. A few years ago the average farmer
regarded with mild disdain the college
farmers, who were Just beginning to
spread the gospel of modern agricul
ture. Now the college farmer is wel
comed, and his views command atten
tion and his methods are religiously
followed. The change has already
Worked wonders in the limited field
where it has been made, but the pos
sibilities, especially in the Immense
semi-arid regions of the Pacific North
west, are almost unlimited. Dry
farming experts can be found In near
ly all of the rromlnent agricultural
colleges of the country, and hundreds
of them are actively engaged In mak
ing practical and profitable demon
strations of their theories on dividend
earning farms of their own. Among
these experts Professor H. W. Camp
bell, of Lincoln, Neb., has been promi
nently before the public. He has re
cently Issued a "Soil Culture Manual"
which covers the entire subject in a
most elaborate and comprehensive
manner.
While all of the experiments and in
vestigations conducted by Professor
Campbell and extending over a period
of more than twelve years have been
carried on in the semi-arid belt, the
Fame principles can be applied with
great advantage to. any locality. In
the language of Professor Campbell,
"there is . hardly a section of ,the
United States that can be said to be
free from the danger of crop failure
by reason of the irregular distribution
of rainfall. The season of drouth, or
weeks of dryness, perhaps sandwiched
between other weeks of excessive rain
fall. Is common to all regions. In
showing how to overcome the danger
which is ever nrcsent In the semi-arid
region, we h:.vo also shown how to
avoid the danger that comes occasion- J
ally in any country-'
The success of the dry-land farmers
In the Pilot Rock semi-arid region
means much more than the bringing
into productive stage many thousand
miles of hitherto neglected semi-arid
lrnd. The practical demonstration of
v hat can be accomplished by modern
scientific methods of handling -this
soil simply shows that even greater
returns can be secured by applying
the same methods to lands where
moisture Is more plentiful. ,
ESTPIOVERS AND WAGE-feAKNERS.
Dr. C. W. Eliot, of Harvard, made
some sensible remnrKs upon the rela
tions between employers and wage
earners In Chicago on February 10, in
an address before the Religious Edu
cation Association. One may assume
that he took the enlightened treat
ment of workmen to be a subject with
which religious teachers might prop
erly deal, since It Is difficult to under
stand how a man can be truly devout
whose methods with his employes
tend to "break up their homes, de
velop nomadic habits tn them and dis
courage loyalty." The "power of In
stant dismissal" was one of the unde
sirable rights of the employer which
Dr. Eliot spoke upon. No rational
person believes that an employer
should not have the power to dismiss
an Inefficient employe; but if the
wage-earner Is not Inefficient, how far
may his employer ethically claim the
right to deprive him of his livelihood?
This Is what tho power of dismissal
amounts to, because the difficulty an
employe experiences In finding a new
Job after he has been discharged be
comes more serious every day and
may some day become Insuperable.
From one point of view, therefore,
the power of discharging employes
comes little short of the power of life
and death over them. The family of
a man who is out of work almost of
necessity falls Into misery. The chil
dren must leave school. The wife Is
compelled to undergo fearful hard
ships. If all this does not happen lm-
7,dle"' '"V """"
it is a rare thing that wages are high
enough to enable a family man to lay
by much against a rainy day. The
structural builder In Portland who
gets M for an eight-hour day's work
Is out of employment so much that he
scarcely receives more than J800 a
year. If he has a family he cannot'
save a great deal out of this. In
trades which are not paid so liberally
the chance for saving is naturally less.
It follows that discharge to a wage
earner means hardship. To a man
who lives upon a regular salary it
means worse than hardship. Wage-
earners are more or less inured to
roughing it, but salaried men inevita
bly grow accustomed to .some of the
delicacies of life and when they lose
their employment they suffer more
severely than day laborers do.
It appears, therefore, that the
power of dismissal Is fraught with
serious responsiblllts". No employer
has tho right td exercise it hastily or
for Insufficient reasons, any more than
an absolute .monarch could rightfully
put one of his .subjects to death with
out adequate cause. He had the
powe"r to do It, certainly; but the
power did not carry the right
Shakespeare had some such thought
as this In mind when he drew the
famous distinction between having a
giant's power and using it like a giant.
Dr. Eliot showed how the insecurity
of employment shatters the stability
of the home. A man whose Income,
even though it may be small, is secure
will settle himself permanently and
gather a family around him. He will
build a house In course of time. He
will sit under his own vine and fig tree
If he possibly can. But when his em
ployment Is but a thing dependent
upon some other man's whim or pas
sion, if he gives hostages to fortune he
runs a terrible risk and Is only too
likely to have reason to repent of his
temerity.
When his Job Is lost he must break
up his home and take to the road. If
he has to do this too often, it is lucky
ndeed If he does not acquire a taste
for roaming and degenerate into a
tramp. Idleness has its own seduc
tions which not every workingman
has the stamina to resist, especially
when they are .forced upon him
against his will. This is what Dr.
Eliot means by saying that insecurity
of employment "encourages nomadic
habits In the employe." How much
of the hobo evil might be solved if the
power of "instant dismissal" were ex
ercised with more charity and dis
crimination by employers it Is Impos
sible to guess; but social workers are
unanimous In the opinion that many
men who are now hopeless tramps
have been made so by repeated loss
of their Jobs. Of course, when a man
has been blacklisted, he Is virtually
condemned to become a hobo. The
people of this country would not tol
erate In any court the power to Inflict
such utter misery upon a criminal;
but It Is permitted to combinations
of employers without hesitation. In
deed, it may be Impossible to deprive
them of it. The only remedy is to
appeal, as Dr. Eliot has done, to their
higher Judgment and awaken their
ethical sense.
Permanence of employment is out
of the question unless the loyalty of
the wage-earner can be Insured. To
attain this end Dr. Eliot Insisted upon
tho duty of employers to arrange sys
tematic rising scales of wages or sal
aries. The rise need not be rapid, but
It should by all means be certain. The
employe ought to be sure of It If he
meets the prescribed conditions and
he ought to feel secure that he will
not be deprived of It by discharge for
petty reasons. Neither should the
prospect of advancing In the busi
ness be closed to him. All these
propositions of Dr. Eliot's are evident
enough. If they could be put In prac
tice everywhere we should have gone
far toward a solution of the difficul
ties between capital and labor. But
putting them in practice is easier said
than done. Who will begin?
There 13 nothing equivocal or doubt
ing in the attitude of President Taft
regarding the Panama Canal. His
emphatic statements In his Mississippi
speeches will also serve to correct
any ante-electlon Impression that he
was not an aggressive man. His
language regarding tho canal obstruc-
tlonlsts was less vehement than that j
of President Roosevelt, but it was a
case where "the velvet scabbard held
a sword of steel." With the assur
ance from Mr. Taft and his competent
force of engineers that the canal will
be successfully and speedily completed
on present plans, the majority of the
American people will be satisfied to
await results with a confidence which
In the past has at times been disturbed
by reports put in circulation by lnter-
I ests opposed to any kind of a canal.
"Dutch Pete" Stroff, tralnrobber,
ex-convict and thoroughly bad man,
has followed his pals, Burke and
Hayes, Into the Penitentiary a-t Salem
to serve out a twelve-year sentence
for complicity in the O. R. & N. train
robbery about two months ago. The
neatness and dispatch with which this
gang of tralnrobbers was rounded up
and sent "over tho road" will hardly
fall to have a deterrent effect oh oth
ers who might be inclined to follow
the unprofitable profession adopted by
these men. Not the least of the sat
isfactory features of the clever cap
ture and conviction of "Dutch Pete"
was the heavy expense saved the
county by his pleading guilty instead
of making a fight for liberty. Sheriff
Stevens is a graduate of. a law school,
which may account for the admirable
manner In which he must have pre
sented the case to "Dutch Pete" in
order to Induce that celebrated crook
to "walk the plank" without further
parley.
Wheat, oats and corn, the "big
three" In the cereal world, soared up
to new records for the season again
yesterday. The May option In the
premier cereal touched $1.14 In the
Chicago market, and May corn sold
up to 65 cents, with oats 53 cents.
Here Is a scale of prices which ought
to be productive of an unusually large
acreage of Spring grain. ' It Is per
haps a little hard on the soil to crop
It every yar, but, with grain selling
at such alluring figures, there will be
a strong temptation to put in a full
acreage this Spring and give the land
a rest some future season when the
prospects for high prices are not so
good as they are now. The foreign
market stood the, strain of heavy re
ceipts and a 10,000,000-bushcl increase
In quantities on passage without dis
playing any weakness of consequence
Portugal is likely to have an Eng
lish Princess for a Queen. Young
Manuel is in the matrimonial market.
seeking. His eyes have fallen upon
Princess Beatrice, one of the numer-
ous grand-daughters of the late Queen
,,,, Q mia,n nf f hn pn
of Spain. The damsel Is fair to look
upon the youth Is not unhansome.
Uncle Edward is willing. The little
matter of a change from the religion
of the Church of England to the
Catholic faith Is easy. Princess Ena
of Battenberg found no troublo In so
doing when the crown of Spain was
the glittering bait offered; Princess
Beatrice of Edinburgh will doubtless
come to terms with her conscience
quite as readily In order to become
Queen of Portugal.
Jacoba Irene, a Jersey cow owned In
Illinois, has Just finished a tworyear
test In which she gave over a ton of
butter. She Is truly called the "cham
pion long-distance dairy cow of the
world." Yet In the matter of feed it
will be found that she ate little more
In that time than the scrub cow that
does not yield a ton of butter In all her
long life.
Exaggeration of property values In
city and state, whether done by owner,
agent, boomer or booster, will be car
ried into the assessment rolls, and
lead to official extravagance, to multi
plication and increase of all sorts of
expenditure and "free" things, and
Inevitably to excessive taxation.
The Legislature could see no rea
son to interfere with Judge Webster's
private law practice and voted down
a bill aimed at him. That's right.
Every public officer who keeps regular
hours from, say, a quarter of eleven
to eleven o'clock e.ery other Tuesday
should not be molested.
Sifted and bolted to an essence, leg
islation is selfishness. Zealots want a
state religion, fanatics want every
thing dry, brewers want unlimited li
cense, corporations want all they can
get, and labor wants . the rest. The
people takewhat Is given them.
"Judge Webster," said an eulogist
at Salem, "has been Instrumental In
reducing taxes In Multnomah County."
That ought to cheer up everybody on
his weary way to the courthouse to
pay twenty mills on an excessively
high valuation.
Because a Deputy District Attor
ney omitted the last figure of the year
In an Indictment against a Portland
saloonkeeper, the defense pleaded the
statute of limitations and won. There
is no greater absurdity than a legal
technicality.
Of course It Is a fine thing to be
able to brag to an Interested world
about our high property valuations.
But when we are required to pay
double ?or It in taxes, that's different.
Just as soon as the Legislature
adjourns the people will take their
turn. It Is a great thing to be always
enjoying a continuous legislative
vaudeville.
Pessimists are even predicting a
rainy Spring and Summer. If that's
the case we'd Just as soon live In
California, where it rains all the time.
If broomcorn continues to advance,
brooms will go higher than In the day
of Mother Hubbard, when the witches
used them for aeroplanes.
A steamship line to carry a hundred
thousand Oregonlans to the Seattle
affair this Summer might do wonders
In opening the gateway.
Mayor Lane denies that he said that
half the saloons should be closed. All
he said was that half of them should
not be allowed to run.
What a lot of Intimate personal
friends Abraham Lincoln had, all still
alive and talking. Well, he deserved
them.
"Young Turkey is all-triumphant."
Well, this is the time of year to get
redheaded.
Mr. Harriman 'says he Is resting.
But Mr. Harriman Is in the 'possum
country. '
Pussy willow weather in Oregon
and the Middle West Is below zero.
LAST STEP. TOWARD PATERNALISM
Were Oregon to Declare Ruinously tot
State Ownership of Railroads.
PORTLAND, Feb. 15. -(To the Edi
tor.) Thousands of thoughtful people
will share with The Oregonlan the ex
pression of the hope that the people of
Oregon will not take this last step
toward Populism and Socialism which
declares for the state ownership and
operation of railroads. Candor com
pels the admission that it is a hope
without a well-founded justification.
Nothing has been proposed along this
line during the past six years which
has not been enthusiastically adopted
by the people with a longing look
toward Oregon City for "More."
And each time Mr. Chamberlain
comes out of the whirl with another
office attached to his belt and a fat
batch of appointments arranged by Re-
, publicans who affect astonishment ac
the man's "popularity.
Representative government is de
throned in Oregon. The Constitution
of the United Stales requires of Con
gress that it chall guarantee to each
state a republican form of government,
but Oregon has thrown such form to the
winds, and direct legislation which goes
so far as to change the organic law by
the same process as the salary of a con
stable is raised, and a hobo In the north
end of Portland who has not been in the
state long enough to name half its coun
ties, and who doesn't pretend to ever read
a newspaper, has as much power to vote
taxes and change constitutions as the
pioneer student and heaviest taxpayer.
The man who has the right to vote on
the initiation of a state law exercises the
function af a regularly elected member
of the Legislature; and yet there are
tens of thousands of men in the state
whom everybody will admit are not in
any sense fitted for a seat In the legis
lative branch of the Government. Repre
sentative government Is based upon and
Justified by the universal admission that
the rank and file of the people are not
only not fitted for this work, but are
not expected to be so fitted. And It is no
reproach to the common people to say as
much.
But in Oregon what we lack of having
gone the limit in the direction of de
struction of representative and sano gov
ernment is likely to be reached if the
Legislature submits a constitutional
amendment providing the way for the
building of railroads by the state. And,
so far as may be predicted by past
events, this Is likely to occur this very
week. If Governor Chamberlain even
hints that It would be a. good thing It
will be done. There may be a few Re
publicans who would feebly resist it, but
the vast majority of them will fail in
line If asked to do so. Mr. Chamberlain
has now been made Governor twice and
United States Senator, with the appoint
ment' of two Supreme Justices Just now
placed In his hands. W. N. Gatens has
been made a Circuit Judge and the Gov
ernor's stenographer elevated to the posi
tion of chief executive of the state.
It is more than likely that the Legis
lature will submit the proposed consti
tutional amendment. Why not? Let Mr.
U'Ren or Mr. Chamberlain say so. and
the thing is done. We have the Initiative
and the referendum, the recall, propor
tional representation In embryo. State
ment No. 1, with its- emasculating proc
esses and results. Why not finish the
gulp and go into the railroad business?
Let us finish the Job. Practically $500,000
for normal schools Instead of half t.ie
expense for one and a better institution,
another Insane asylum, roads costing an
other J50O.OO0 at a single "clatter," more
offices and officers and constantly in
creased salaries and a general raid on
the taxpayers. With this should go an
unconditional surrender to the going craze
and let the state take charge of all busi
ness, public and private, assume all obli
gations and responsibilities, while the
dance goes merrily on!
As statedr there are thousands of
thoughtful people who share with The
. , , , . ,
if T "1 . p ,p' w,u
3n',:,,'rr,UPr:ar.C.r:
have been following the governmental
fantasies of a lot of schemers during tho
past few years one has little upon w,.tch
to found the expectation of a returning
ray of sanity.
If the State Senate would Indefinitely
postpone every bill and resolution now
before It for consideration and adjourn
without any further legislation of any
kind, except the passage of the ordinary
appropriation bills. It would be a blessing
10 every man, woman ana child In Ore
gon. Certainly there is nothing more It
can do for Mr. Chamberlain. Then whv
work on? PIONEER REPUBLICAN.
ROSES INJURED BY FROST.
Examine the Bushes and Cut Away the
Daiunecd Wood.
PORTLAND. Feb. 15. (To the Editor.)
The past Winter with its spell of almost
zero weather was hard on many varieties
of roses. Immediately after the cold
snap, when many thought that no dam
age had been done, the real conditions
had not developed.
Day by day it becomes more apparent
that many gardens have suffered severely
In fact there is probably more damage
than has occurred for more than SO years.
localities ana gardens sheltered from
the east wind were fortunate . and
escaped better than the more exposed
positions, but nearly everywhere In and
about the city there has been loss. Prob
ably not many roses have been killed out
right, because the protection of snow
prevented, but exposed shoots of the
more tender kinds are black and will
require severe cutting down to the un
injured wood. Even some varieties like
Mme. Gabriel Luizet, Frau Karl Druschkl
and others, usually considered perfectly
hardy In this section, have not escaped.
To ascertain whether plants have been
hurt cut the shoots near the top and
follow down to sound wood. Wherever
the pith of the shoot, so cut, Ioks yellow
or brown, that shoot Is doomed. When
new growth begins it will be easy to see
where the damage ends.
Then the plants Injured should be
pruned to a good plump eye or bud that
points outward.
Most of the Hybrid perpetual varieties.
and climbing roses such as Dorothy
Perkins and others of that class passed
through the storm uninjured. It Is the
Noisette Tea and some of the Hybrid
Teas that have suffered and while It Is
discouraging to see fine bushes cut
down, many of them will soon make vig
orous new growth and yield good flowers
if treated as above suggested.
WILLIAM 3. SIBSON,
Would Be Real Reform.
Cleveland Plaindealer.
Out in Oregon the state Senate has
limited the length of hatpins to ten
Inches. It would have been much more
Interesting If they had endeavored to
restrict the length of the millinery
bills.
XEWSPAPER WAITS.
He "What i your favorite game?" Bhe
Quail on toast. And yours?" He
"Eagles on $20 gold pieces." Chicago Dally
News.
"Why do you do that?" "To sava trou
ble." "What's the use of saving trouble?
You can always borrow as much as you
like." Louisville Courier-Journal.
Friend "How's business going- those
flays?" Promoter "Flourishing. We've just
added' two more 'stories to the rubber
stamp of our 3S-story building." Puck.
Tommy "Paw. when you aay 'It was
done by Congress.' is 'by Congress' swear
ing?" Mr. Tucker "Not necessarily, my
bov; but It often causes a lot of swearing."
Chicago Tribune.
Mrs. Jawhack "I suppose you consider
your Judgment far superior to mine. Mr.
Jawback "No. my dear. Wo proved the
contrary when we chose to marry each
other." Cleveland Leader.
"I've never played cards In my life," de
clared Mrs. Flurry, seating herself at the
card-table to fill out at the hostess's re
quest. "But never mind; I always learn
things, quickly." 'Please cut the cards,
Mrs. Flurry?" All right. Please hand me
a knife." Judge.
LOTS OF HOME MONEY' TO DO IT
IMch Landowners of Southeastern Ore
gon Should Build Railroad.
DALLAS, Or., Feb. 13. (To the Editor.)
As there Is such a loud clamor for a
railroad across Southeastern Oregon,
through Malheur. Harney. Lake and
Klamath counties, commencing at Ontario
on the east line of the state, connecting
with Natron, Just above Eugene, which
would be the most direct railroad line
from Chicago to the Pacific Coast on this
continent, I want to call attention to the
fact that there Is plenty of capital em
braced In the counties mentioned to
build that roadbed I? the property-holders
actually want such railroad.
I will venture tho opinion if' tho big
stockmen and the landowners will go to
E. H. Harriman and say: "Ioeate your
roadbed. St your grade stakes there.
, ye wm make your roadbed ready for tho
ties and rails," Mr. Harriman would
take them up at the drop of the hat. No.
they prefer to sit out there in the desert
1,V miles from railroad accommodation
and drive 20,0o0 to 3O.0W bef cattle and
an equal number of horses, mules and
shoep, haul wool to. the roari, and haul
all foodstuffs they can't raise clothing,
farming implements and materials for
fences and other building purposes. They,
I say, prefer to do all this than to go
down in their own pockets and donate
one cent to Mr. Harriman to help them,
or. to keep that region of valuahlo coun
try out cf lis present condition. "God
helps those who help themselves" is
Just as true today as when first uttered.
A few years ago some farmers in Yam
hill and Polk counties put their brains
and money together and donated liberally
to establish railroad connection from Air
lie to Portland. Now see the results
The increased value of real estate and
the savings, in freight have compensated
this country a thousandfold. We never
eat around like toadstools on a log and
whined like sick kittens because a Ben
Holladay or Jim Fisk didn't come to our
help. We went to Joe Gaston and in
vited him to come to us. Wo asked
what he wanted of us. He told us, and
ws struck out. Inside of 20 days the
contract was sealed, and before the ex
plratlon of tlx months the road was
built.
Tho counties I have mentioned are bet
ter able by millions of dollars to give
aid to a railroad enterprise than wo
were. Now, all this may eppear defiant
but if any man out in any of the above-
mentioned counties contradicts my asser
tion I'll "put him In a hole" before ho
Is through." J. A. B. EJIBREE.
MAXIM OII.V-SILKNCER IV ACTION
Device Slows Down Escaping Gases;
Noise Like Popping of Corks,
New York Dispatch.
A merra". party opening: many bottles of
champagne was what Hiram Percy Max
im's demonstration of his new gun silen
cer sounded like at the Potter building
In Park Row.
Now and again, however, there came a
report Feveral degrees louder than the
puffy pops, and the audience understood
Maxim was Just showing the difference
between the old and the new way.
But for the most part It was Just that
little puff -popping, and Maxim said most
of the noise came from the Impact of the
bulWts against the sand In the target.
It was the first public demonstration
which the Inventor has given of the silent
gun which, with smokeless powder, leaves
the marksman Inaudible as well as Invis
ible. He held it In the offices of his at
torneys, and In the next room a type
writer kept pounding keys just In line
with the course of th bullets. But Max
im's target did not let any of them pass.
The guns which he used ranged all the
way from the little .22 repeating rifle to
the new .30 Army weapons, and took In
the high-power Mausers and Mannlicheis.
The silencer is a little black tube
which screws on at the muzzle of the
, .u.i uiiu ,iuo tiwiAi, inii-i; 1.1,0 uitllimiCH Vfc
1 the barrel. The size and weight vary ac-
rdlB to the caliber and power of the
arm. For a .22 caliber rifle the tube Is
about four Inches long and less than an
Inch and a half in diameter. For a .30
rifle the silencer Is two inches longer,
but has the same diameter. The weight
is from six to nine ounces.
First Maxim snapped his little repeat
ing rifle at the target without the tube
on the end. The noise wasn't pleasant to
hear. Then he put on a silencer. The
listener heard the hammer come hard
against the cartridge, he saw a little
puff and that was all. Maxim tried the
short and long rifle cartridges, and the
noise was not appreciably different.
Then he worked up to high power guns.
He let a .30 rille go without the little
black tube on the end, and after that
everybody held his ears when time came
for a shot without the silencer. With It
In place, the noise was just the same as
a champagne bottle popping.
Finally he picked up a United States
Army rifle, which he described as the
best In the world. The bullet has an
Initial velocity of about 2700 feet a sec
ond, and when one hears It started on
Its course under normal conditions the
Impact upon the eardrum Is severe. Yot
with that little black tube In place the
sound is scarcely audible.
The theory upon which the silencer
works Maxim described as being Identi
cal with that of the negative turbines.
The gunpowder gases, as soon as they en
ter the silencer from the barrel of the
gun, meet the spiral chambers In the in
terior of the tube and are set to whirling.
The tendency of whirling bodies Is to fiy
out from the center, and Inasmuch as the
only means of exit from the silencer Is
near the center the gases are unable to
escape until they have slowed down.
Lincoln, and Washington.
Brooklyn Citizen.
Lincoln Is even more widely appre
ciated than Washington. The appeal
of Washington has always been rather
to the Intellectual than to the domes
tic affections, whereas Lincoln comes
home to the genial and tender side.
It is not that Washington is without
Influence on the hearts of his country
men, or Lincoln without a claim to
high consideration as a purely Intel
lectual force. The point is that the
chief element In the one case Is an
austere devotion to duty and in the
other an unaffected kindliness which
gives to duty the glow of love.
Exempt Pioneers From Taxation.
WESTON, Or., Feb. 14. (To the Edi
tor.) As others are having their
growl, I don't say that the Oregon
Legislature Is doing too much for the
young and rising generation; but Is it
not doing It at the expense and neglect
of the old pioneers who have borno the
heat and burden of the day? Can't the
Legislature exempt the old pioneers
from taxation or give them a small
pension or help them to fight the
orchard pests? As I wintered near The
Oregonlan office In 1852, I will sign
myself. PIONEER.
The Puissance of Nevada.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
There are a few thousand or nearly a
few thousand people in Nevada (or were
when the last census was taken), and ac
cording to some of their representatives
in their Legislature they are about to
declare war on Japan. Of course, when
they declare war they expect Uncle Sam
to do the fighting nd there Is a dire
possibility that If Uncle Sam declines
the Job those valiant few thousand or
nearly few thousand will turn in and
lick both Uncle Sam and Japan.
Clock Stops When Its Owner Dies.
Trenton (N. J.) Dispatch.
John Judge, of Jersey City, died as the
result of a fall on an icy pavement, and
his friends In his business office noted
that the clock stopped exactly at the
minute at which the man expired.
Life's SunnySide
Waiter C.
Macon, Mo.,
Gooiison, an attorney of
attended Circuit Court at
Oskaioosa, Ia., one day this week, and
noticed sonin interesting features which
differed from the Missouri practice.
"On the day of opening the court the
Judge lines up tho petit jury and asks
If there are any members who want
I to be excused." said Mr. Goodson. "The
day I was there every man with one
accord began to excuse himself. One
said he had just purchased a farm and
that he had to start his hands fixing
It up. Another said lie was a candy
salesman and that his house would fire
him if he didn't keep on the road. A
groat big woodsman said he was tin
able to read and write well and that
he wasn't certain he knew enough to
be a juror.
"Fully half of the men summoned
had one reason or another why It would
he absolutely out of the question for
them to serve. Later the Judge Inves
tigated the excuses and found some
of them good anil others not so good.
Where the excuse was flimsy he made
the man stay on.'
"One of the lawyers up there told me
this story. A lineup of jurymen ap
peared before a certain Judge just the -same
as on the day I was there and
every man explained that It would
mean disaster to him to serve at that
term of court nil but a little fellow
at the tail end of the line. Tills man
was a hunter and he had lived In a
cabin on the creek all his life. .
"'Have you an excuse to offer?"
asked the surprised Judge.
" 'No sir.'
" 'Haven't you got a sick mother-in-law
needing your attention?'
" 'No sir, I afn't married.'
" 'What ahout your crop?
"'Don't raise anything.'
"'Xo fence to fix up?'
" 'Haven't got a fence on the place.'
"'You think you can spare the time
to serve on a jury two weeks?'
" 'Sure.'
"The Judge sat a whllo and medi
tated. Reaching over he whispered to
the clerk, who shook his head In per
plexity. Then the Judge's curiosity
got the best of him.
" 'You're the only man whose got
the time to serve your country as a
juryman,' he said. 'Would you fhlnd
telling nie how it happens?
"'Sure not.' said the llttlo man
promptly, 'heard you was going to try
Jake Billings this term. Ho shot a
dog o' mine oncet.' " New York Sun.
"What become of your dog? I
haven't seen him for a long time."
"You notice what a cold I've got."
"Yes, but what's that ?"
"Well, a lot of people told me things
to do for my cold, and I was wise
enough to try 'cm on him first." Cleve
land Leader.
"Why," said the millionaire, "do you
want to rise?"
"So that I can do as I like," I an
swered. The millionaire smiled and shook his
head.
"Ah, my boy," ho said, "It In only
when we do as we don't like that wo
succeed." New York Times.
"I understand that your friend has
taken preliminary steps toward di
vorce." "Why, he was married only this
morning."
"Yes, that was what I had In mind."
Philadelphia Ledger.
He had appealed to the doctor for
aid.
"Do you stammer all the time?"
asked tho man of science.
"N-n-n-n-no," he sputtered, "I only
t-st-st-st-st-st-ammer when I t-t-t-t-talk."
Circle Magazine.
"That Is a pretty picture of yours,
that orchard scene," said the nearsight
ed lady; "but why didn't you sign It?"
"I did," replied the artist; "don't you
see? Down here."
"Oh, Is that your name? I thought
that was a part of the fence!" Yonk
ers Statesman.
Reflections of a Bachelor.
New York Press.
When a man puts a high value on club
life It's a sign he has a home.
The worst thing about being a good
example Is how you wish it was some
other fellow.
Good as women . are, they don't bring
the human average up very high because
men are so far down.
About tho only use of the average ex
cuse a man offers Is to get him mad be
cause nobody will accept It.
A girl looks at a man In a streetcar
to see If there Is cause for her to grow
Indignant over his looking at her.
When a Possum Gets a Big Head.
Atlanta Constitution.
Watch out how you come an' whar you
gwine! I has never seen a possum git de
big head, w'en he felt his fatness, but
some hongry hunter come 'long wld a dog
an' a gun, an' 'fo' dat possum knowed
dat day wuz breakln' de hunter bad him
in do bag, gwine home wld him ter
br'akfas"!
Slot-Macblne to Sell Xewspaners.
Chicago Dispatch.
A slot machino that will supply news
papers is to be given a trial in Chicago.
It is said tlint negotiations are under
way for Installing the machine on street
cars and on elevated railway stations.
One of the features of the device, it Is
Faid, is that it will return the proper
change automatically.
A Good Dlngnosls.
Christian Register.
Medical Student What did you op
erate on that man for?
Eminent Surgeon Two hundred dol
lars. Medical Student I mean what did
he have?
Eminent Surgeon Two hundred dol
lars. Chautauqua Takes Care of Mr. Folk.
Kansas City (Mo.) Dispatch.
Ex-Governor Folk, of Missouri, Is to
have Chautauqua bookings this year
which will net him $17,5u0.
When Clinrneter Is Formed.
Irish Homestead.
The first four years of a boy's life at
school matter a thousand times more to
his character than the four years he may
spend at a university.
KEY KB A CENT.
A tipster walked the streets one day.
When soon there met his gaze
A stone cathedral, stately, grand.
That cost a "bunch" to raise
The tloster smiled and curled his lip,
"Tls'nioney foolish ppent;
No cash of mine Is in the thing f
But he didn't have a cent.
A prohi wandered up the strand
And xiaseil a swell cafe.
With glass nnd lights with hues so bright
Thcv elided all t lie way
"I'm mighty glad." the Prohl said,
"That I as n'V.T bent
On spending money on such sin '
But ho didn't have a cent.
A hegger seeking alms one- night.
Met with a millionaire.
Who sought to wend his homeward way
Behind a coach nnrt pair
The beggcr said. "Hold, nfve me cash."
The answer. "This is Lent;
I've been to he:ir T Sunday preach,"
And he didn't hue a cent.
A state of all the sisterhood.
And rich in mines and pralns.
And all that goes to create wealth.
And give her people gains
With all her blessings, advertised.
Is now with sorrow rent;
Her Legislature "busted" her
And she hasn't got a cent!
Lew Slus, Hllliboro, Or.