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PORTLAND, OREGON.
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PORTLAND. WFDNESDAT, JUNE 16, 1900.
PAST AND PRESENT
The progress of Oregon' has' leen'
low, but it hag been sure. . We all
could wish it had been faster. But
It Is becoming- quicker now. There
was a long night. None understands
or knows it so well as those who have
witnessed it from the early time.
Latterly the State of "Washington, part
of early Oregon, ht.s made more rapid
progress than the primitive mother.
Yet what is progress? Definition of
the word must yield to the successive
changes of advancing time.
The remarkable sea basin of West
ern Washington, the great estuary of
Puget Sound, was of slight Importance
in the early time. . Agriculture, cattle,
grazing, were all in all. The valleys
of Western Oregon from the Columbia
River to the Siskiyou Mountain fur
nished these opportunities. The poor
grazing and the poor agricultural pos
sibilities of the Puget Sound country
left that region, in the days of the
pioneers, far behind. All the lands,
or nearly all, in the Puget Sound basin
that possessed fertility were covered
with heavy growths of timber. The
labor and expense of bringing these
lands Into cultivation w. -j and is im
mense. The valleys of Western Ore
gon, south of the Columbia River, be
tween the Cascade and Coast ranges
of mountains, had large areas of open
plains. In them the settlement nat--uraUy
"began.:..-....; .
-But after a. while it was long years
. . ... - ... " 1 ..v-e J
the Idea of transcontinental rall
- roads got into "action. " Fifst. Tor Cali
fornia; and San Francisco was the
center of everything for the Pacific
Coast. Later, for the Oregon country;
and connection in the north from
the east with the open ocean,
fcy the easiest way for shipping,
carried the thoughts of men to
Puget Sound. The transcontinental
railroads on Northern 1 routes, sought
that connection with the open ocean.
Conditions of pioneer life were super
seded by the new movement; and the
Bf eater energy, that formerly had been
exerted upon the Una of pioneer effort
whose basis was agriculture and cat
tle shifted gradually to the North;
where commerce was the leading idea.
Railroads were rushed across the
country, on northern lines. Our con
nection in Oregon and at Portland
with California was earlier, but it left
us in subordinate position. It was
at a later time that we got the Oregon
Short Line and the direct connection
with Eastern cities and states.
The phenomenon has simply been
the transformation from one basis of
life to another from the agricultural
life, which was simplicity, to the more
highly specialized and developed life
the product of human evolution, which
has no stopping place. . It must "be
admitted that Oregon, founded on old
conditions and established on- old
ideals, has been behind hitherto in
this movement. It was a necessary
consequence of the conditions. Nat
urally, therefore, it has been hard to
move the people of Western Oregon
They were established on the primitive
.or pioneer basis. But long ago the
primitive people of Western Washing
ton were overrun, submerged, drowned
'ncomln ood. Frank Henry's
Old Pioneer" remains a literary
monument over the grave of the early
settler there.
Two things have pushed the State
of Washington ahead of the State of
Oregon. First, the rush of the rail
roads to reach Puget Sound. Second
the transformation from pioneer and
agricultural conditions to commercial
conditions, the more rapid submergence
of the early settler In Washington than
in Oregon and the outburst of Alaska.
The Inundation In Washington thus
far therefore, has been more, rapid
and complete. Yet doubtless we still
have people in Oregon who regret even
''7- fhange here. But the mdve-
-hav ,r ,nexorable- Our push clubs
hae its Impulse; the rose fair is a
manifestation of it; the eagerness of
increasing numbers of our people to
get into the current instead of drift-
-Vg about in the eddy, attests it. Ore
gon too. therefore, presses forward
lit, mrk f ner hlsh calling, for
NoV th things which are behind!
Nat forgetting them, either, for that
not necessary. But the new and
oncoming generations must set their
" La,?nVWard !he corning. The old ex!
tatence was idyllic, indeed, and mav
be remembered as Ideal; but no state
. or stage of life, especially in a new
country, is fixed and permanent n
ought it to be. Yet the old principle,
w.tnndl?7y and f Prudence never
tth safety can be abandoned
Ovtgon-now Is feeling the "rush of
I" . de, ? of life. Tnre has Len
Progress always, indeed, but the cur
rent at times has been checked? even
at t roes there has seemed to be al
most a refluent movement. Prudence
sometimes outdoes itself on one s ide
"heamtbntl0n "en rleap, lelf on
the other. But It Is apparent that
Oregon i, maklnjf srte? pr"
iress Jn, these ten years than fn
4any other two decades of her his
nory. The significance of this fact is
.ul,. Still, there Ja on fact.- Till Oro
KSt wK. '""-oacr development
that Washington has. our state will
Tot be abre to attain to a degree of
.similar or comparative progress The
mrerjer. jet the census of next year
inha,"0 m,UCH mre than 60 000
A. pioneer woman of the "palouse
Ul ar 68 Was recen"y married
. flld,.to. m"-n 38. The in-
centive of this marriage from the
man s standpoint is not far to seek.
The elderly bride is wealthy. Not so
with a singular marriage in Hillsboro
recently in which the bride was 80
years old and with small property
holdings and the bridegroom a fairly
well-to-do man of 37. The -""wny" In
stinctively asked in connection with
'such a marriage must forever" remain
unanswered, since, no object, either
from the viewpoint of companionship
of wealth, nor yet from the natural de
sire for offspring that leads to mar
riage, can possibly be accomplished In
such a case. Hence it must be dis
missed as an unaccountable freak of
human folly which is measurably ex
plained in the saying "There Is no fool
like an old fool,'" to which may be
added, "unless it. is a relatively young
fool." . .. . ....
THE REGISTRATION AND THE VOTING.
It . is not true, as so often asserted,
that the vote of Portland in the recent
election was "20.0QO short." The total
registration, including the recent reg
istration, was 33,041. Most of this
registration had been carried more
than a year many have moved away;
some are dead." The total vote cast
June 7 was 17,935, or 15,106 below
the number registered. But the vote
actually cast in every election is much
below the registered vote.
Thus, last November, In the Presi
dential election, the total vote of the
city for highest elector (all tickets)
was 25,646, nearly 7000 less than the
registration. The county in 1908 reg
istered 38,473 votes, yet the whole
vote of the county was but 29,157. And
a Presidential election always brings
out the fullest vote. -
The very fullest vote that could have
been expected June 7 (this year) could
not have exceeded that of last Novem
ber 25,646. The vote actually cast
June 7. was 7771 below this figure,
which- is a large number, but it isn't
20,000. It is probable that no greater
proportion of the total vote of Port
land ever came out for a city election
than that cast a week ago last Mon
day. THB CASE AGAINST MARK TWAIN.
When Mark Twain's book, "Is
Shakespeare Dead?" first came out
The Oregonian made some comment
upon it. We noticed the prominence
he had given to the legal argument
which to many minds tells strongly
against the Shakespearean authorship
of the plays and poems, and stated
that in our opinion he had relied'upoa
it too much. We did not at that time
think it worth while to mention that
Mark -Twain had supported his vi?-v
-by copying a long-extract -from George
G. Greenwood's book, "The Shake
speare Problem Restated," but this
fact has since become Interesting, be
cause it has raised a question of the
humorist's iiterary manners, if not of
his honesty.
To begin at the beginning of the
affair. Mark Twain says on page 4 of
his "Is Shakespeare Dead?" that "a
friend has sent .me a new book from
England 'The Shakespeare Problem
Restated' well restated and closely
reasoned, and my fifty years' interest
in that matter asleep for the last
three years is excited once more."
Burning with newly awakened zeal, he
went back among the "stacks of un
published manuscript which consti
tute" his autobiography and selected
for publication what he had long ago
Written on the Baconian controversy.
To fortify It he copied nine pages of
Greenwood's book and formed his
eighth chapter from them. It is no
wonder that Mark Twain should have
desired to use the borrowed passage
because It confirms by admirable argu
ments and citations the opinions
which he had formed independently
Evidently he worked at his little vol
ume of 150 pages with extreme ardor,
as one does in periods of fanatical
zeal, and when it was finished he has
tened to his publishers with the manu
script and urged them to get it before
the public as soon as they possibly
could. He was eager to strike a tell
ing blow upon the Iron which Green
wood had heated. The publishers.
Harper & Bros., wrote to John Lane,
who is Greenwood's London publisher
and asked for permission to use the
nine-page extract, mentioning as an
inducement that Mark Twain's work
would be "largely devoted to advertis
ing George Greenwood's book." The
desired permission was received by the
Harpers and they proceeded to publish
Is Shakespeare Dead?" getting it out,
as they allege, "more hurriedly than
any other volume we have ever pub
lished. When the book appeared it trans
pired that Georee Or(.t.nnj .
mentioned by name in it. nor was there
any reference to his publisher. The
omission excited the pugnacity of the
British author and the no less British
firm, and between them they have de
termined to Drevpnt Ha ,
Twain's book in England. This they
uuuer tneir domestic copy
right law. John Una ho. ;i
. , " v iii-
ten the Harpers a letter, in which by
slight indirection, he calls Mark Twain
literary Durglar, accuses him of
filching Mr. Greenwood'., r...
adds that no consideration should have
"Z, w uwea to stand in the way of
his acknowledging his indebtedness."
All this smacks a. cri-oat
of British pugnacity than of British
fairness. Mark Twain is not a literary
burglar, for he requested and received
permission to use the. extract in ques
tion. Neither can it be said that a
man filches a thins- whi), v.
freely allows him to take. As for his
iiiueoreaness to Greenwood, he did
acknowledge it in at ict i
tinct places In his book. The first
k-.c is on page 4 of "Is Shakespeare
Dead?" as we have 1nflioH i
- uwuj.
The second begins at the bottom of
page 77 and reads: "Chapter XIII of
..uaiestare irooiem Restated'
bears the headine 'Shiiin.onJ.
Lawyer and comprises some fifty
pages of expert testimony, with com
ments thereon, and I will copy the
first nine as being sufficient all by
themselves, as it seems to me. to set
tle the question which I have con
ceived to be the master . key to the
Shakespeare-Bacon controversy." The
third acknowledgment appears at the
bottom of page 79. where it is defi
nitely stated that Chapter VIII is
copied from "The Shakespeare Prob
lem Restated." Evidently here is no
question of plagiarism or literary
filching. The worst that can be said
against Mark Twain Is that in his ex
treme eagerness to finish his little
brochure he gave abundant credit to
Greenwood, but did not give it in the
proper way. His mind was full of the
book, but not of the man who wrote it.
- ,M.ark .TWaiD had been far le3
punctilious in acknowledging his debt
xor the passage borrowed he could
THE MOItXIXG
have justified his conduct by precedent
of the highest kind and unlimltorl
quantity. It is common enough to cite
passages from books without naming
the author, and certainly with no. men
tion of the publisher. Suppose in
quoting Shakespeare one were bound
to give a complete list of all the firms
which publish his plays. Suppose one
felt obliged to give in full -the- pub
lisher's name and address every time
there was occasion to quote the famous
stanza frem "Seven Seas," - "When
'Omer smote his bloomin" lyre. He'd
'eard men sing by land and sea; And
what he thought he might require, He
went and took, the same as me." The
task of literary allusion would become
too wearisome for anybody tounder
take unless he possessed endless leisi
ure. Most authors who amount to
much have been reviled for alleged
plagiarism. Shakespeare was a' Jay
who had decked himself ' in stolen
plume, if Greene is to be believed.
Milton swlDed "Parartiso T.nt e
a Dutch poet. Longfellow filched "Hia
watha" from the Finnish. Kalevala.
In short, if we are to take the word
of certain croakers all literature is a.
mass of thefts. Mark Twain comes
through the ordeal with plumage not
much bedraggled. One surmises that
if Greenwood and his-publisher . had
not seen a neat parcel - of advertising
for themselves in their farcical expose,
they would have held their peace!
Mark Twain has -stolen nothing from
them and- has probably greatly en
hanced their- profits by quoting from
their book.
THE BRANDENBURG FABRICATION.
The Broughtbn Brandenburg article
of last year, attributed to Grover
Cleveland, had a sort Of verisimilitude,
but it was a fabrication., It purported
to be an expression of the judgment
of Mr. Cleveland on Mr. Bryan. - That
it contained, In some part or degree
the ideas of Mr. Cleveland, cannot be
doubted. Not improbably conversa
tions with Mr. Cleveland supplied -part
of the statement. Still, as it purport
ed to have been written .by Mr. Cleve
land himself, it was a. forgery. . Yet
undoubtedly it contained some part of
Cleveland's opinion of Bryan.- The
facts, apparent enough,' can hardly be
made clearer by the trial of Branden
burg in New York.
Grover Cleveland called himself a
Democrat. But he was not a Demo
crat of the Bryan order, nor even of
the Jefferson order. Party was but a
name with him. His politics were
those of Washington, Hamilton, Web
ster and Lincoln. He stood for a cen
tral government, a government of au
thority; and he detested the half
socialist ideas of Bryanism. - .
But the Brandenburg article was a
forgery. It was quite in Cleveland's
style, and possibly it may have embod
ied notes written by Cleveland's own
hand. The stamp of some of the
ideas is, indeed, unmistakable. Yet
the article presented as a product of
Mr. Cleveland's pen was not his. He
never would have put it forth in this
form. But, as presented by Branden
burg it was a clever piece of work.
The trial of Brandenburg is for lar
cenylarceny of notes perhaps writ
ten by Mr. Cleveland, which Branden
burg had no right to appropriate. But
thematter is of no great importance
some Seattle' opinions.
The Seattle Times devotes a couple
of columns of its valuable editorial
space to an elaborate dissertation on
the respective merits of Portland and
Setfttle as reflected in real estate trans
fers, building permits and bank clear
tll" 6 .Tlmes courteously states
that the article is not written "with
any desire to belittle or speak slight
ingly of Portland." and in proof there
of submits the statement that "Port
land leads Seattle only in real estate
nT -T""16 nIy one of the three
proposit ons where a lot of 'monkey
business' can be performed." Of
fHU?le the Times' havin long ago bur
led the hatchet which it used to carry
infer that there had been any "mon
key business" here, and it merely uses
the term in that manner as an airy
fairy meaningless figure of speech
of tVS-n acc,ount of tne ferociousness
of the Times in presenting some care
fully selected figures with quaint ex
planatory notes, similar to the one
frUomed,'nHhatt,The refrains
n m. 'Inuan that "monkey busi
ness could be performed in the mat
ttnZ bank -lea-"ings. Had the Ttaes
failed to substitute the rapier for the
customary, bludgeon with which it
hammers home its arguments. The
?t, ian ml&ht have ben con!
strained to call attention to a certain
bank clearing operation in a North
western city famous for the size of its
nnenanSrS ?hich one chec 'or 200 !
000 passed through the clearing-house
wayntoTh " SnalIy "s
7?ZJ, , the Waste paDer basket. In
explaining why the real estate trans
fers of Portland for the first five
OOOOo'in116 5'ear W6re "-e'thln
th; Ti'm0 eXC.6SS f thOSe of Sea"le,
the Times convinces itself "that the
arrdnoa,CtS d DOt "tablish a stand
ara or measure when rpPQ
an industrial standpoint' c'o'ur"
ously calling our attention to whit
Stayte tranf dla- f the rea
tfnues- "Th,?.CaSe'.the Tlmes cn
1 ! true that it may
lo ', TT -:iuai value of the
property "had greater value" than the
humble dirt on which Portland k
built and merely submit as aTsLle
key to the mystery surrounding the
figures that the Seattle buyers would
rX," S" SeaU,e P-P-tywis
worth. While those of Portland .
when Seattle propertv "hJV me
valnp" thT, i'roperty had greater
vaiue than buyers would admit t,j
SgTernTs. "hove'r t V
for construction, repaid fto
necessary be fa.r.r'accuraie.""11
The Oregonian editorial selected by tne
land for the first twenty-five "avs or
the month of May was nisi Z
nJl'at this Percentage of -difference
has been practically the same for ma!
ears offers- further proof that the
QREGOyiAX;
Times was correct In stating that
building permit values must b "faiT-w
accurate." We are pleased to note the
friendly spirit displayed by the Times
in calling attention to these matters,
so that the Times will not "speak
slightingly of Portland." and trust that
this feeling will not soon subside.
The anti-tipplng law, now being en
forced in Spokane, promises to drive
most of the first-class waiters out of
the city, unless the employers advanco
wages to make up for losses In tips.
The public, which more or less grudg
ingly has been paying the waiters' sal
aries in the shape of Ops, will hardly
feel any regret over the change in the
system. There is no good reason why
the proprietor of a restaurant should
not pay his help reasonable wages.
The tipring habit is not only degrad
ing to the man who receives the tip,
but it' is unjust to the man who gives
It. It is a cu;om that drifted across
the water from the ancient aristocra
cies, where all waiters or servants were
treated as lackeys or menials devoid of
Independence. The American waiter
should not be lowered to the level of
the foreign flunkey by being forced
to ask alms or tips from the men he
is paid for serving. An anti-tip law
Tigidly enforced would materially Im
prove the character of the service in
hotels and restaurants providing the
employers paid the waiters proper
.(wages.
French newsDaocrs havn nnenarl nn
attack on the proposed plan for listing
American steel stocks on the Paris
course. Tney charge that Introduction
of these securities is purely for spec
ulative purposes, and Intimate that
legal steDs
them from being listed. Inasmuch as
me steei trust is in no great need of
money for dM-plnnmpnt wb-
Increasing the size of its plants, no
5eai narasnip will be experienced in
this country if the Stocks fl hapra
from the Bourse. They might turn out
an ngnt as an investment, but there
has been so much "fhimhio.ri
with stocks in Wall street that there is
a possiDinty of similar work when the
game gets under way on the Bourse.
This country Is in need of French
money for investment in legitimate en
terprises, and we might stand a better
chance for erettimr It if nut .,t ,
more attractive line than steel stocks.
Mayor C. Gardiner Johnson, of Van
couver, B. C. is to Visit Portland tr. Ir.
vestigate the methods of handling
wheat at this port In order that he
may Know how properly to equip his
new wain rtrtrlf ot r ' .. t
.. ... liiq vauauitlU port.
The Portland grain docks' have recent
ly Deen "investigated", by a number of
high officials of the Canadian Pacific
Railroad and bv
grain dealers. As the method for
cleaning, grading and - loading grain
In this city has .reached a higher stage
of perfection than at any other port on
the Pacific Coast, it is but natural that
the grain docks of thu it .i ...
tract attention from persons who wish
to begin operations elsewhere with the
very Dest f aciHties obtainable.
Mrs. O. H. P. Belmont, who ought
to know. onlnes tnnt mnct
over 18 years of age hate the men.
x ms laci contrasted with the well
known truth that all men over 18 years
of age love the women , raises an in
teresting auestiiin. .' A
sically the more lovable sex, or are men
endowed with a more ample power ot
loving, so that their affections twine
round almost anything that happens
along? It were to be wished that Mrs.
Belmont would push her inquiries far
enough to find the answer.
Aldrich and Payne, standing for
high tariff, assume that the consumer
is a myth. So . he is. If you attempt
to distinguish the consumer from the
non-consumer. Some may produce
nothing as the Idle rich. .But they
are the greatest of consumers: They are
wastrels. Is -anybody worrying to
make goods cheap for them?
All the Democratic Senators except
Chamberlain of Oregon seem to have
voted for Philippine independence.
You see. Chamberlain thinks Oregon
wouldn't like to give up the Phil
ippines. It is an embarrassment to a
Democratic Senator to meet the senti
ment of a Republican state.
Senator Borah's opinions may not be
very valuable, but they are his own un
mistakably. The fine old spirit of
American independence seems to re
vive in the utterances of the Senator
from Idaho. The more men there are
like him in Congress the better it will
be for the country.
Mrs. Gould's attorney, denies that
Mrs. Gould was drunk, but, if she was
drunk, her husband should have
stayed with her. Possibly; but Mrs.
Gould appeared to prefer to get drunk
with some one else's husband.
If the duty on diamonds increases
the price to the purchaser 100 per cent,
what must be the effect of the cotton
duty on the . price of calico dresses?
Does the same cause produce the same
effect In both cases, or not?
The , heaviest sluggers in either of
McCredie's teams will have to do a lot
better 'at the bat "before they are eligi
ble, to-.a personal Introduction to the
patron' of the National-game now oc
cupying the White. House.
It is said, that the states of the great
Middle West "will revolt against the
Aldrich tariff. Possibly. But will the
states of the .great; South, where Aid
rich is. getting his necessary votes,
revolt against it?
One memb of an African party has
been fatally wounded by a lion. That
would appear to dispose of the slan
der that shooting African Hons is about
as exciting as shooting grandmothers.
Will some of our Puget Sound
friends who have long cherished the
delusion that there is really no water
worth mentioning in the Columbia
River come over and look at it now?
It would -be Interesting to publish a
complete list of the "experienced"
river men who a month ago predicted
the highest flood ever known in Port
land. Sir Thomas Lipton won't challenge
again for the America cup under pres
ent rules. He doesn't need the ad
vertising. '
All those in favor of a safe and sane
Fourth will nl
o"..-7 .- Mine
refusing to buy dangerous explosives.
MORE REMARKS OUT "SHO-FER."
Mr. Werner la Fnrtker Eallghtcscd la
Pronunciation.
PORTLAND. June 15. (To the Editor.)
If I were inclined to be sarcastic the
tone of this letter would be different,
but I am too genuinely an admirer of The
Oregonian to do more than call atten
tion t'o its mistakes in the mildest manner.
The 1909 edition of Webster's Dictionary
does not give the w6rd "chauffeur," the
one about which your correspondent was
Inquiring. It does give "chauffer," pro
nounced eho-fer (accent on first syllable),
a word with a distinctly different mean
ing. Reference to the latest edition of the
Century - Dictionary will show "chauf
feur" pronounced sho-fer (accent on last
sy liable), which hardly rhymes with go
jfher. -
By the way. does The Oregonian sin
cerely believe common usage to be au
thority? If so. does it justify expressions
such as "I seen It," "he done It?"
CHARLES M. WEH.NER.
The 130S edition of ' Webster's una
bridged dictionary (Supplement ' page 39)
gives "chauffeur (sho-fer) fr., literally a
stoker; one who manages the running
of an automobile." That Is the word
(not "chauffer") under discussion.' Mr.
Werner, whom The Oregonian assures of
its esteem, would better look at his
brand new Webster's unabridged again.
Now, as to accent: It is true that the
accent in chauffeur -is placed on the last
syllable: but that is the French of it.
so far as the French have an accent.'
Accepted usage (not common usage
which may be a different thing) has
made the English of it sho-fer, for no
real American can give the peculiar
French pronunciation to the terminative
feur," and he will not try.. Therefore
plain sho-fer, which rhymes with go
pher, goes.
The Oregonian might suggest further
to its friend, Mr. Werner, that usage
neither .accepted nor . common, justifies'
I seen if or "I done it." Very few
people are -so grossly ungrammatical.
..I !feverybody should say "I seen it"
or I done it." after awhile it would be
grammar. Any philologist will tell you
iSJiit e SDOken language, not the
written, that is correct speech. The dic-
The "dTcflontry:6 man' .DOt man fr
DOIVT MAKE MARRIAGE COST MORE
Why Kot Tx Old Maid and Bachelor,
to Support Children T
tt,rE?T GRVE.. Dr., June 15. (To
ltor) 1 thought the state of
Oreg-on was the fool state to pass fool
the itw8' bTUt Washl"Ston has taken
c.a5e- I am thankful I have been
cTld LrnaDd ralSed a famlly ,n the good
old time when and where fad and fake
laws were not so numerous, i always
was convinced that it was the duty of
every man to get married and establish
a home for comfort and protection; but
. ?Can,aas we had had such a law
as Washington has. being a poor
homesteader, it was then a hard
ship to even pay $2 for a
Tntnw,.nd . 5. , t0 the Poacher.
The whole principle of tariff, licenses
atatCaae.aI1 wron- The married
state should be encouraged by help in
stead of hindrance. When a young
couple start to get a home and' marry,
IS "J?8!"9 In a large majority of cases
limited and the state should help,
or at least should not pass laws to al
low designing men to rob them. I
question whether such a law as Wash
h.as 18 rlgrnt- But 1 am satis
fy.. . 8 , ?U wron8T to compel the
candidates ' to a marriage contract to
pay such expenses. If the state is to
benefit, it should pay. I do not be
lieve in placing so many laws on the
statute books to oppress unnecessarily.'
We have the ten commandments and
Constitution of the United States for
our guide sufficient In our land of
Supposed freedom. But if we are bound
to have fool laws, I think we should
pass one giving a bounty of say from
... to 100 to a11 young persons who
will marry and settle down in one
place long enough to buy a home aad
raise a family and talc old maids aid
bachelors to pay these bounties and a
yearly revenue to help educate the
children of those who will obey the
law to increase and subdue the earth.
R-W. TP.AVER.
AS OTHERS SEE VS.
Remarks On the Recent Election In
N Portland and Its Significance.
Los Angeles Times.
Oregon seems to be rapidly recover
ing her senses. She went wild some
years ago after a bunch of false politi
cal gods as bizarre as anything to be
found in a camp of voodoo worshipers
in the heart of Africa. The Webfoot
people then resented any suggestion
from abroad that their new gods were
made of very common mud and only
half baked.
But experience opens the dullest
eyes, and the Oregonians are not of that
class. The metropolis of the state
naturally is the first to return to sane
political Ideas, and her people have re
turned with a rush. . . . How en
tirely converted to sane Ideas the peo
ple have become is shown by the vote
cast on Monday In the municipal elec
tion. Simon had four opponents and
he gets not merely a plurality of the
vote, but a net majority over all com
petitors of almost 200. Furthermore,
the straight Republican ticket carried
.every office voted for from the top of
the ticket to the bottom, by at least
decisive pluralities in every case. What
a shining examnla fnr T.n,
There were 35 charter amendments
of the initiative type to be voted for
at this election, and among these was
the Gothenburg plan of running sa
loons; also the Des Moines plan of city
government. Two out of every three
of the proposed amendments were de
feated, and among them all these new
fangled freak notions whose features
are as strange to Americans as would
be those of a spinning dervish from the
center of Asia.
We fondly hope and sincerely believe
that the turn of the tide has come in
America and that it will be "to the tall
timber" with these fads from now on.
The American people are too intelligent
and too deeply Imbued with the Ameri
can spirit to be long deceived by de
vices of this kind.
Tag; Day for Public Baths.
PORTLAND. June 14. (To the Editor.)
Will you please? grant me space in your
columns for the following, which I verily
believe will appeal to many and perhaps
be Instrumental in our boys being saved
(or at least a large per cent of them),
from watsry graces. If you will I will
be very grateful to you.
Why is it not possible to raise funds
for a public bath? There Is always a
way provided to maintain the Baby
Home, a very worthy Institution; also
for rescue homes and all such which are
very - needful. Any one contributing to
their maintenance and support is to be
commended for doing so, as no worthier
causes are to be found.
About one year ago a day was set aside
as tag day where tags were sold to any
one who wished to buy, for the small
sum of 10 cents each, whereby a goodly
sum was raised for the Baby Home.
If It is not possible to ' get a public
bath any other way. why cannot we have
a tag day to raise funds for this worthy
institution, whereby the Uvea of scores of
boys may be saved each year. I feel
sure should such a day be given that as
much or perhaps more could be raised aa
there was for the babies. I for one am
willing to give my time and assistance to
help get it If others will come to the
front and assist me:
MRS. A. LARKY.
i Z ' : r 1
WHE" OREGON LIVED SIMPLE LIFE
Tber Waa No Complaint Then About
the Hlsrh Coat of Living;.
PORTLAND. June 14. (To the Edi
tor.) There are many good and plain
reasons why thinking people should or
may differ about most of the current
problems which are under discussion,
but the causes which underlie the in
creased cost of living are not difficult
to find. In a word, it costs more to
live now than it did 40 years ago be
cause more is got out of life than then
and fully In proportion to the in
creased cost of it. When a man gets
and enjoys twice as much as he did a
generation ago. he should not lift his
hands in savage protest that it is cost
iriS . wlce as much to live now as
Ifr il ,LTwo nd two merely make
attained through the same mathemati
cal process in the days of our fathers.
As Johnny couldn't eat his cake and
St6 ; When the experiment was
nrst made in the remote past, no more
Can his sucrpssnrc . i .
i j " . uno nunareo.
cents worth of luxuries and necessi
ties of life for every dollar of income
and lay by a comfortable bank account
besides The law of cause and effect
fa.1f0 8 abrogated not even by the
Initiative and referendum. It Is a sit
uation where only the recall can do
the work.
.l.7,herS are tlme when people "have
thinBS" t.JI they lnslst "Pn having
them. If they lived like they did 40
years ago even like our parents did
.early days the cost of living
would be much less than then, consid
ering the improved methods of produc
.la evry line' 1 latter myself,
whether others do or not. that I am
quite a young man yet, still I can re
member when sperm candles were lux
uries, only used when "company" came
tLff end the evenln- At all other
times tallow candles were universally
rlrne,f made at home by the "women
IZ? -u1" those day. f any family
should have used sperm candles, which
came in small boxes containing 12 doz
en, it would have been talked about
by the entire neighborhood as reckless
ly and scandalously extravagant.
Now, however, even the kerosene
Kam.psLare eneraHy cast into the rub
bish heap When, you want to rent a
.J?,e "n,e8s you can, upon entering
l y.door ln turn a switch or press
a button and immediately secure an
illumination equal to 20 or SO candle
power, you at once pronounce It out-of-date
and undesirable. And there
must be hot and cold water in prac
tically every room, up and down stairs,
ad merely by turning a faucet,
ana a hotwater tank must be Installed
which will supply large quantities of
water for washing and bathing pur
poses. In the days when it didn't cost
so much to live, the bath was taken
in tne kitchen or on the back porch
in the wash tub, with water heated in
tlih n-e"ler"a Process. by the way.
which did not occur more than once
a week-. And that was a saving
It costs more to live now than then
Tor the reason that four times two is
twice aa many as two times two. It
always was and. go far as can be cal
culated now, it always will be.
enJn-tHSeida.ys' reo-uir'nK as it did an
entire day to travel from Salem to Port
land, for Instance, and another to re
turn, the trip would necessarily re
quire three, days, if time were taken
to transact any business. Now the
same thing can be done in 12 hours.
And It cost less to come to Portland
60 years ago than now for the reason
that the trip was seldom taken. In
, areate, no doubt, the people
of Salem spend 25 times as much per
CawL aeach year vl3lting Portland now
witlv the fare at $3 for the round trip
as they did when it was io. Ic is
almost as little a matter of surprise
to meet a man from Salem. Eugene.
Albany or of any Eastern Oregon towns
on the streets of Portland as it is to
meet a Portland man. Naturally " it
costs more to travel when fares are
low, when you travel, then when fares
are much higher. If you stay at home.
But this is only one phase of it. We
have moved forward at the same rate
along all other lines. Telephones, free
rural mail delivery, free bridges, bug
gies, automobiles and a thousand and
one other comforts of life which "the
rathers never conceived of even in
their wildest dreams are ours every day
in the year. That they cost money
goes without saying, and money which
would be saved but for the indulgence.
And the clothes we buy were once
made by the family. Even the cloth
Uself was made by the women folks.
Not a dollar was paid out for this pur
pose. Now the whole of it represents
cash. And the family 60 years ago
which sent Its washing to a laundry
by that act placed itself strictly within
the pale of unquestioned aristocracy.
Now, nearly everybody's washing finds
its way to a laundry each week. Even
the farmers' wives have "caught on" to
this modern method of saving the mus
cles of the back and arms and literally
tons of dirty linen are shipped in to
the towns and elites of this state every
week from the farms a system which
would provoke an indignation meeting
in that part of spirit land set apart for
our grandmothers if communication
with them as to the comings and goings
of their posterity were possible.
In these days farmers' sons wear
starched collars and cuffs and ride in
the best buggies many of them sport
ing automobiles whereas their an
cestors were content with the woolen
shirt and jeans trousers while even the
buggy was a luxury. When a young
man wants to shave now he Bteps into
a barber shop and sleeps in a cushioned
chair while he hires a man to do that
which ln other days was accomplished
by his own hands before a looking
glass on the back porch with his "gal
luses" thrown off his shoulders that
he might have full sway with razor
and brush.
In every direction, on every side, you
may see why the cost of living has
been increased. We get three times,
indeed, a dozen times as much out of
life as our forefathers did in a way.
At least we think we do. And what
we get that they didn't, necessarily
costs money. There's nothing strange
about it excepting that some people
should think It strange.
Does it cost more to live than form
erly? Sure; but then we live more.
Even when 15 cents a bushel. It always
did cost more to buy C) pounds of po
tatoes than 50, odd as it may seem.
And It probably always will.
A return to the simple life would
no doubt be accomplished by a notice
able decrease in the cost of living of
course, this will never happen, but it
Is worth considering in the discussion.
' T. T. GEER.
Business Jnst "Now at the Flood.
Pittsburg (Pa.) Dispatch.
What has happened In the nail and
wire business during the past few
weeks is little short of marvelous Six
weeks ago that industry was languish
ing, with Its warehouses stocked to the
utmost. Today it is working trying to
keep up with its orders. The surplus is
all gone, the sales having been beyond
all precedent.
The warehouses of the American
Steel & Wire Company have a capacity
equal to three months' output of the
mills. All this and more has been
sold ln less than half of that time.
There are orders ahead. And there Is
three months' work assured, to restock
the warehouses, even If not another
order came during that time.
These are the facts. It requires no
prophetic vision to foresee mills of all
kinds striving their utmost to meet
orders next Fall. The oncoming wave
will be higher than the last. There are
greater opportunities ln the future
than any that have been realized
There will be greater industry and
under better conditions.
SHIP BY THE TEHl'ANTEPEC ROUTE
Portland Merchants t riced Onre More
to Beard the Railroad Lion.
tlR1-LKSi'D- June 15. (To the Edl
i,..;;L.'ra". much gratified to read
men , 'toria' concerning salmon ship
ment from here via the Tehuantepeo
l l0,Nw York, a part of the cargo
to be returned westward as far as Chl
Some two weeks ago. you per-
vo," t 'etter from me to apr-ear m
our columns endeavoring to impress
our merchants that, the manly course
to pursue rathr than to parley with
IVJi Ka.d managements about better
treight rates overland, was to charter
at least two tramp steamers of 10.000
1 ac'ty each, one to run from
New . York to Tehuantepec, the other
to connect at Salinas Cruz for Portland.
ine railroad is managed by the Mexi
can government and no connivance is
11 t, f. there' whereby the cinch is
applied to foster monopoly as is the
American habit. No one well informed
will deny that the steamers can be had
ror J3.50 per ton for their respective
trips. hat the railroad charges for
its 190 miles of transportation across
the isthmus I have been unable to as
certain, but it cannot be in excess of
Jo per ton (more likely half that ln
gold), so that It Is reasonably certain
cargoes can be taken from Portland to
New York or any other Atlantic port
ror 12 per ton, or vice versa. I estab
lished by reference to the freight sched
ules of the railroads operating over
VH. ' that the average Is not less than
fiO per ton for all classes of freight
and that the clear saving to make use
or this facility would be not less than
18 per ton.
I wrote that letter hoping to elicit
some response for it from mercantile
sources showing why It is impracticable
Inasmuch as our merchants show no
signs of using it But the merchants
are like the ministers. I notice that
when occasionally you administer a re
sounding thump against its thick hide
of its orthodox covering, all the big
guns of the church militant duck their
heads, and let the storm blow ovet.
When some poor little advocate pipe
a feeble response, you proceed to eat
him up, and he wonders why he has
to bear the brunt of battle and get
ridicule for his well-meant efforts. Con
sequently with more temerity not one
merchant, big or little, gave any refu
tation of my conclusions. Your edi
torial is on the same line. It proves
that someone is bold enough in a sal
mon shipment to beard the railroad be
hemoth, and I come to the question once
more: Why do not our merchants
put Portland where it belongs, as a
foremost independent free port, backed
by our waterways, north, south and
east, an advantage which no other Pa
cific Coast city enjoys? Even the mer
chants of Lewlston evince more manli
ness, as your editorial tells us, as they
are making money by using the river
boats from Portland.
It seems evident that the merchants
of Portland are too inert or cowardly
to rise to the opportunity that is pre
sented them. Your editorial proves
It. So long as the freight overland
Is an average of $30 per ion to all
shippers, they are indifferent .to get It
for $12 per ton, as the customer lias
to pay the freight anyhow. Portland's
advantage does not concern them. If
there was a possibility of obtaining
concerted action by them, it would en
hance our pretensions of commercial
supremacy here a hundred fold. Isn't
It time for Tom Richardson, If he la
the vaunted bell-wether of the mer
cantile flock, to commence beating his
tom-tom and not to let his enthusiasm
effervesce in a cloud of tobacco smoke
and the rattle of billiard balls on the
sixth story of the Commercial Club
building?
CHAS. P. CHURCH.
WHERE LOWLY POTATO IS KING
Farmers of One Connty in Maine Ex.
- pect. to Clear $24,000,000.
Piesque Isle, Me., Special to New York
Press.
The potato Is king in Aroostook
County. Fully $12,000,000 has been
cleared by the farmers ln that one
county on the potato crop of 1908, the
total shipments to market having been
15,000.000 bushels. This year every
piece of land that will grow a potato
has been planted, and the estimate for
the 1909 crop is SG, 000,000. If prices
hold good it Is thought the Aroostook
farmers will clear not less than $24,
000,000 after keeping all the potatoes
they need for home use. The price
of potato land has advanced 30 to 50
per cent, and the market is strong,
even at such prices.
The banks in the county simply are
gorged with potato money. Autoplows
and disk harrows are being purchased
by the farmers and fertilizer is being
purchased by the carload lot. - Train
after train, loaded down with supplies
for the potato-growers, is moving up
the line into Aroostook County. The
prosperity Is not without its draw
back, however, because the price of
farm labor has advanced to Civil War
rates, and the county is being overrun
with automobile and piano agents.
They are pleading with the farmers'
wives and daughters to insist that with
fortunes made It is necessary to have
music in the home and autos ln the
roads.
TRUE, ICTHYOLOCICAL STORY.
Dehorned Catfish and Sterilized Carpi
ln Eastern Oregon.
PORTLAND, June 15. (To the Ed
itor.) It has been a long time since
the days of Dan Dequllle, of the Vir
ginia City Territorial Enterprise, and
his discovery and description of the
eyeless fish 2000 feet under ground in
the Comstock mines at Virginia City,
Nev. Yet the writer of this had equally
as wonderful an experience with fish
of the cat and carp variety that in
habit the Hot Lakes of Eastern Oregon,
near La Grande. The fish have become
accustomed to the temperature from
long residence In the lake, the mud of
which is used by bathers for various
complaints.
To keep the fish from stirring up the
mud and making it too thin . they
sterilize the carp from a recipe ob
tained from Astoria, Or., which renders
them less active. They also dehorn
the catfish. These are driven into a
framework enclosure something like
the frame they use to put shoes on
oxen. Then the gate Is shut and an at
tendant takes a hammer and knocks
the horns orf. Thus, while the fish
are one of the curious attractions of
the Hot Lakes, they are prevented from
stirring up the mud and making it too
thin. DR. KEY CHURCHMAN.
Currants Grow on a Wlllo-rr Tree.
London Letter to Chicago Inter Ocean.
A horticultural curiosity is to be seen
in the garden of Gloucester Lodge,
Portsmouth road, Thames Ditton. Sur
rey, the residence of James Packham,
a member of the Surbiton council. A
gooseberry bush, a currant bush and
an elderberry tree are growing high
up on a willow tree, to which they have
by some means become grafted. All
are flourishing and fruit is forming on
the gooseberry and currant bushes.
. Lov-r In Chnrch Invited to Marry.
Richmond, Vs.. Dispatch.
Annoyed by the lovernaking of a young
couple during the service at Cape
Charles, Va., Rev. Asbury Burke, after
delivering his sermon, invited the court
ing couple into his parsonage to finish
the courting. The invitation caused much
blushing, but was not accepted.
Oh, Well! a Pan's a Pun.
Chicago Evening Post.
Portland showered the Chicago boomers
with roses, thereby dispelling any impres
sion that it doesn't care a scent for us.