PORTLAND, ORECIOX,
RaonST"? ' p,or"'"n1. Oregon. Postofflco as
becond-L lass Matter.
Subscription Rates Invariably In Adruoe.
(Br Mali )
....... .. .,,..ui ouii.niy. inrn months..
y,."thout ''""'ay. one month
V eckly, one year
Bunday, oim year ............
Eunday and weekly, one "year! '. '. '. '.
(By Carrier.)
".'!'' J?"n1y Included, one vear 0 00
Lally. Sunday Included, one month 76
orJVr . Knlt Send postofTlce money
vo?,r i 5"?s" ,orar "f personal check on
ir f?1 ,,an Slmi. coin or currency
S,.",'11: fender's risk, (live postofllre ad-
t. fu.l'- deluding county and state.
t ' 10 to H pages, l cent; 18
4rt ,pi!,M' 2 oen,: 3" to 44 panes. 3 cents;
Souh?. rat.a,e,, C"tS- Forei'a POtage
wlfh"rm """J"" Office. The S. C. Berk
Rn JlV clai M'ncy New York, rooms 48.
TrluUKu.V.,ia'nS- t-hlcago. rooms 610-512
iriDune building.
PORTLAND. T1ESKAV, Jm 13, 1909.
SIMON' NEWCOMB.
Early last Sunday morning Simon
Newcomb who, for more than half a
century, has been one of the foremost
astronomers of the world, departed
this life at the goodly ape of 74
year, lie was horn In Novta Scotia,
In 1835, hut his family belonged te
old New England stock. His father
was one of those eccentric men who
amuse the neighborhoods where they
live by putting excellent theories Into
practice. Most of us admire the
theories, but shun applying them. Be
in convinced that a man ought to
marry at the age of 25 years, the elder
Newcomb, when he reached that time
of life, set out in search of a wif?. In
his mind was a distinct catalogue of
the qualities his partner for life must
possess. She must be Intelligent, be
cause a stupid woman cannot properly
bring up her children. She must be
of a temperament opposite to his own,
because thus In the offspring all de
sirable qualities would be united.
Above everything, she must be economical-
With this idea in his Imagi
nation, the young man traveled on foot
through the country, seeking diligent
ly, hut finding no one upon whom he
could conscientiously bestow his heart.
One lovely damsel charmed his eye,
for example, but when, upon closer
inspection, he caught her giving the
scrapings of her bread pan to the
horse, he naturally looked elsewhere.
Finally, after many wanderings, he
discovered the image of his dreams,
singing hymns and playing the inelo
Ueon In a village church. One glance at
her countenance sealed his fate. He
wooed and won her, and in the Sum
mer nights of their courtship, he di
verted her girlish fancy by pointing
out the boundaries of the constella
tions and telling her the names of the
stars. No wonder their son became a
great astronomer. A more brilliant
Instance of direct heredity was- never
known. Fair Science smiled not on
Simon's humble birth. His parents
were not rich. Books were scarce
During the two years his family lived
nt New London, Connecticut, Simon
devoured an old work on astronomy
with an avidity which only those Chil
dren know who have been starved for
mental food. Later he got hold of a
copy of Fowler's Phrenology, that
grave humbug which has profoundly
Influenced thousands of young men at
the critical periods of their lives.
Simon learned from Its fascinating
pages that Jt Is beneath the dignity of
manhood to permit the blood to rush
to the organs of "combatlvencss" and
"destructlveness" and, by diligent
practice, became complete master of
his temper. He sys In his Remin
iscences that he passed through life
without making a single personal
enemy. This means that he made none
after his fifteenth year. At that date
one night, when his soul was uplifted
In devotion at a prayer meeting, an
ungodly youth in the next pew pinched
his neck. Simon promptly drew his
jacknlfe and stabbed the offender, who
became his sworn foe and promised
him a thrashing at the first conven
ient moment after they had left the
house of prayer. To protect himself,
the nascent astronomer went about for
a long time armed with a pitchfork.
Such were the storms of a youth
which developed Into a manhood se
rene and placid. Newcomb felt his
mathematical powers early In life.
When he was 22 years old, without
any particular instruction, he was able
to make the calculations for the Nauti
cal Almanac, of which a copy had
fallen into his hands. The office of the
Nautical Almanac was at that time,
1858, in Cambridge, under the wing of
Harvard University. It was supposed
that Washington could not furnish the
talent necessary to compute its .tables.
Newcomb obtained a position on the
force of the Almanac office and found
the employment so leisurely that It
left him time to attend the Lawrence
Scientific school, where Charles W.
Eliot was his tutor in mathematics.
The bright and shining scientific light
in Harvard at that time was Professor
Pelrce, but his instructions to students
were given mainly by the method of
absent treatments. Newcomb was not
drawn deeply enough into the Harvard
current to .become a typical college
man. His observations upon Its cur-'
rtculum and professors have, there
fore, the accuracy of close acquaint
ance and at the same time the aloof
ness of an outsider. His judgment of
the educational machine may be
summed up in a single sentence quoted
from his "Reminiscences": " "If my
Impressions of It are correct, our edu
cational planing mill cuts down all
the knots of genius and reduces the
best of the men who go through it to
much the same standard." If this is
true It is fortunate that Simon New
comb did not go through the mill.
Newcomb's scientific work was done
at Washington and Baltimore. In the
former city he was for a long time
professor in the Naval Observatory and
afterwards director of the Nautical
Almanac. In Baltimore he succeeded
the celebrated Sylvester as professor
of mathematics and. astronomy at
Johns Hopkins University. Newcomb's
first scientific work which won renown
was a. laborious computation to show
where the orbits of asteroids must
have been thousands of years ago.
His purpose was to bring to test the
old theory that those small heavenly
bodies were fragments of a large
planet which had exploded in the dim
past. If that was true, their orbits
must have passed through a common
point originally. Newcomb traced the
orbits back through the heavens for
many centuries and found no common
point. Hence the mythical planet
never had exploded and another
nl !y. Sunday Included, on. Trr ta no
t " !y' S'""!'iy Included, six months 4 23
i " ,,n'V'- 'n'-luded. three month....
l , ' m t,"" Hi.nday orip year on)
; l,ltiimil SuniUy, j,i months 8 25
charming theory was laid to rest Per.
haps his most important work was
done upon the motion of the . moon,
which has always been more or less
of a puzzle to astronomers. The dif
ficulties of computation are enormous.
Almost infinite patience is required to
obtain valuable results. But Newcomb
had the patience and he had also that
species of genijis which consists in
taking pains. His work on the moon
is now standard all over the world.
Outside of pure scientific research
Newcomb also took an active hand in
many practical affairs. For example,
he was constantly consulted by the
founder of the Lick Observatory in
regard to plans for the buildings' and
equipment. His scientific reputation
was world-wide. Learned societies
from Boston to Poland elected him to
membership and most of the great
universities gave him their degrees.
His character was simple, childlike
and genuine. His ability was of the
highest rank and his scientific work
of fundamental importance.
GETTING INTO THE UMEUGHT.
Down at Bandon, whichjs in Coos
County, is a newspaper editor who has
wearied of his deserved obscurity, and
he is, therefore, seeking notice from
The Oregonian. To bring about that
great end he assumes the role of
eulogist for Secretary of Agriculture
AVilson and, commenting on certain
criticisms of Farmer Wilson by The
Oregonian, declares he "knows more
about agriculture than any man in
the United States, and knows more
in a minute' than a thousand editors
of The Oregonian ever heard or read
about." The most exacting critic of
The Oregonian will admit that Mr.
Wilson is thus placed on a rather high
plane. It would seem, then, that
we ought to have a Department
of Agriculture that under such com
petent direction will come measurably
near fulfilling all requirements; and
it would seem also that such a prodigy
could not be ignorant of the labors
and operations of his subordinates,
nor of the thoroughness and quality of
their service. How, then, will Mr.
Wilson explain, or any one ex
plain for him, the criminal uses
to which the Wilson cotton re
ports were put by a clique of
speculators in and out of the depart
ment? Or the grossly inaccurate and
untruthful character of his wheat sta
tistics through which, last March, an
other coterie of Wall street gamblers
sought to make a great fortune, but
didn't? Why has there been no ex
planation of the extraordinary blunder
of that March report?
Thea. Oregonian has not sought to
discredit the general work or worth
of the Agricultural Department. It
has, however, repeatedly criticised its
crop-reporting service, which is be
neath contempt. It holds Secretary
Wilson responsible for reprehensible
carelessness or Ignorance or gullibility
In this important work. The public
should understand how grossly it has
been and Is being deceived by the so
called "crop experts" of the depart
ment. Whether they are venal, igno
rant or merely lazy, or all. The Ore
gonian does not know, but these re
ports are in any case unreliable, unbe
lievable and false.
TILE WAY IT WORKS.
Ever since his great work on "The
History of the Warfare Between Sci
ence and Theology" was published Dr.
Andrew White's motives and accuracy
have been persistently attacked by
bigots of one variety and another. All
sorts of charges have been made
against him without a vestige of proof.
The slights and slurs which Father
O'Hara inserts in the letter printed in
today's paper are mild compared with
some we have read which had been
invented for the same purpose. Any
person who ventures to tell the cold
truth about the conduct of theologians
toward men of science must expect
this sort of reward from the ecclesi
astics. The first step is to persecute
the scientist. Often they have put him
to death. The next is to claim the
credit of his discoveries for theology.
The third is to declare that the
churches have always taught them.
These progressive advance's are
beautifully shown in the attitude of
the theologians toward Vesalius. It is
true enough that the pagan Popes who
lived in the time of the Renaissance
were friendly to science as they were
to art- But what happened to Italian
science very soon after the Council
of Trent had done its work and the
anti-reformation began? It would be
interesting to see Father O'Hara's in
genuity applied to prove that the theo
logians were then friendly to science,
but we have not the least doubt that
he is equal to the task. In his pres
ent letter it is a comfort to notice
that he quotes from an author who is
willing to do justice to Vesalius.
MONEY FOB CROP MOVING.
It is but lfttle more than 18 months
since this country received a financial
shock which beggared thousands.. The
commercial catyclasm was termed a
"rich man's panic," not because It
was the rich men alone who suffered,
but because It was the hysterical over
speculation of the rich that precipi
tated the trouble. The period of liquid
ation which followed the breaking of
the storm was of brief duration, but it
was drastic in the extreme, and will
not soon be forgotten by the principal
sufferers. Wall street stock gamblers,
who for more than a year had been
using cheap call money In their specu
lations, brought on the panic by forc
ing stocks up far above their intrinsic
value as interest-earning collateral.
There was plenty of money In the
country for all legitimate purposes and
there was also enough for a fairly
heavy volume of stock speculation.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, some
of the principal players In the Wall
street game were caught with marked
cards, and the outcry that resulted
greatly alarmed capital- Not only was
there a sudden end to the supply of
cheap call money for speculative pur
poses, but there was also a sudden dis
appearance of funds for any purpose.
The country was badly frightened,
and in the stampede that set in, good,
bad and Indifferent enterprises were
trampled to dust with strict impar
tiality. There are now In evidence In
the East signs of an existing condition
of financial affairs In some respects not
unlike those which preceded the 1907
panic. Fortunately the hard-earned
lesson of two years ago will not be so
soon forgotten.
The disquieting feature of the situa
tion has been the enormous loan ex
pansion, which last month exceeded by
J133.000.000 the total for June, 1908,
and was nearly $238,000,000 greater
than for the same mont,h in 1907,
when the panic was in process of form
ing. These figures were shown by the
Clearing-House banks of Njew York,
and similar conditions w-erjf reported
by the various loan and Jrust com-
THE MORNING
panles operating independent of the
Clearing-House banks. Fortunately
for New York, as well as the rest of
the country, the near approach of
crop-moving time seems to have been
the signal for an application of the
brakes, and the bank statement printed
in Sunday's Oregonian. for the first
time in many months, showed a heavy
decrease in the loan item. There was
also a gain of nearly $7,000,000 in the
surplus reserve.
This contraction of loans, the mak
ing of which has been encouraged by
low rates for call money, may have
a tendency to check stock speculation,
and by so doing bring prices down
from the dizzy heights to which they
have been forced by manipulation.
Some inconvenience may result for the
men who are sailing too close to the
wind with other people's money, but
even if all of the necessary contrac
tion cannot be made before crop-mov,
ing demands become heavy, the trouble
will all fall on the shoulders of the
men who are responsible for it.
The country has already begun get
ting money together for crop-moving
purposes in the West and South, and it
will not be caught, as It was two years
ago, with all of the money in the New
York banks. A country will never be
prosperous so long as its banks are
stuffed with idle money, but there is
an even greater danger when the sur
plus money is used in stock manipula
tion as it is being used at the present
time. Further loan contraction In
New York and an increased demand
for money for crop-moving purposes.
In the West and South, will be a heal
thy sign.
AVOIDABLE DISASTER.
Grays Harbor is comparatively new
In the business of handling vessels of
such heavy tonnage as the Norwegian
steamship Eir, which met with a "se
vere mishap on the bar'1 Sunday; bfit
there is nothing in the disaster, or the
causes for it, that reflects at all seri
ously on the port. Quite naturally,
had this accident happened at the Co
lumbia entrance, there . would have
been the usual tirade of misrepresenta
tion on the part of some, not all, of the
Puget Sound papers; but too much
Grays Harbor trade .drifts north to
Tacoma and Seattle to make It a safe
proceeding for the newspapers to make
as much out of the matter as they
would if it were a Columbia River af
fair. The Eir lost a portion of her
deck load and was badly damaged be
cause she was out of the channel.
There is not a port in the known
world where a similar accident would
not happen If a vessel should get out
of the channel. The unfortunate fea
ture of these disasters in new ports lies
in the willingness of shipowners to
place the blame on the alleged dis
abilities of the port, without taking the
trouble thoroughly to investigate.
Portland was obliged to -combat injus
tice of this nature for many years be
fore the quick and safe dispatch of
the largest lumber and flour cargoes
ever floated afforded such conclusive
evidence of the merits of the port that
the point of safety is no longer raised
by shipowners, but now in insurance
and freight rates the Columbia River
is on even terms with any other port in
the North Pacific.
In. the present condition of the
ocean freight market, if the insurance
people were not too captious, some
shipowners would hardly regard the
loss of a few ships as an irreparable
disaster, and the Grays Harbor acci
dent will hardly cause the trouble
which might arise if. freights were
high and shipping property in good
demand.
A PHASE OF OCR INDUSTRIAL GROWTH
One of the phases of the Industrial
growth of Oregon In recent years is
the revival of interest in and experi
ment with the resources of the older
sections of the state. In years long
past, when a few tons of produce of
any kind would glut our home mar
ket, in its line, and there was absolutely
no wider market to which appeal could
be made for any perishable product, a
limited surface of some of our richest
lands was merely scratched and the
returns that followed literally
swamped the farmers In their own
abundance. The home market was
the only market and teaming over
roads of the most primitive construc
tion was the only way to reach it. Ap
ples, peaches, pears and plums from
the first orchards planted In Oregon
that succeeded the Hudson's Bay
and missionary era. In which seed
lings from parent stocks in Canada
and the Middle West flourished, liter
ally covered the ground under the
trees in the Autumns of those years
and were left there to rot. Some of the
best of this fruit If the superlative
can be used to describe Oregon fruit
of the time In which, unvexed by pests
of any kind, all the fruit that grew
was perfect was stored in the rudely
improvised cellars; some of it was
dried by old-fashioned processes;
considerable quantities were consumed
in season upon the table and? by an
apple-eating generation of children;
but the great bulk of the wealth of
these early orchards literally "went to
waste." Later some attempt was
made to dispose - of the surplus by
turning hogs and other stock in the
orchards, the experiment not infre
quently costing the farmer a cow or calf
from his herd from choking upon an
apple that proved to be an exact fit
in the animal's throat and would
neither up nor down. But the fruit
decayed by the ton, the farmers grew
careless of their unprofitable orchards,
the trees became gnarly and mossy,
the pests came In and the rest fol
lowed. These were the conditions that pre
vailed when railroads opened Oregon
to the markets of a wider world. Of
course, there were practically no mar
ketable apples. In fact, the Idea of
the commercial orchard had not yet
been conceived. But there' were
enough old orchards, In a state of
dilapidation and decay, to form the
basis of many a wail over the "shift
lessness of Oregon farmers," and to
prove a veritable menace to the re
newal of the fruit industry or rather
to its establishment upon a commer
cial basis.
Very naturally, this renewal was
slow. Discouragement and failure
had done their work. The small or
chard could not be made to pay be
cause the , local market was still
quickly supplied. In the meantime,
however, fruit growing, and especially
apple-growing, assumed a commercial
standing and began to be established
upon a scientific basis. The newer lo
calities at first responded to the call
for sound, clean fruit that isould bear
shipment to wider markets; later
the older sections began to. awaken
from the lethargy of disappointment
and take a new start on the horti
cultural road. The splendid work or
M. O. Lownsdale, in Yamhill County,
Is in conspicuous evidence of .progress,
OREGOXIAX, TUESDAY,
along this line, while farmers in Lane
and Linn and Polk and Marion Coun
ties have attested the fact of their
awakening to the possibilities of fruit
growing in the fine exhibits that they
have made in recent years of their or
chard products. :
The latest awakening Is in a corner
of Umatilla County where old orchards
planted half a century ago and for
many years neglected, have been
brought back to a state of usefulness,
while large areas of old-new land have
been set to apple trees that are flour
ishing and full of promise of abund
ance from five to seven years hence.
"There is no place on earth," say the
formerly discouraged, but now confi
dent husbandmen of the long-settled,
but in this r4gard newly-discovered
Milton-Kreewater valley in Umatilla
County, "so especially adapted to the
culture of certain varieties of apples
notably those of high color, as 13 this
region." These oid orchards, long
disregarded practically abandoned
have furnished through the renewed
cure that has been given them a basis
t-r this confidence; considerable areas
have been planted to young treea;
large accessions to the population are
noted, ami in common with other dis
tricts in various localities of the sate,
long settled, hut unknown beyou-l
their immediate skyline, the district
designated is forging ahead and com
ing into notice carrying the evidence
of its awakening to waiting markets.
This is a phase of . our industrial
growth that is moot gratifying. Justi
fying as It does the estimate of the
early explorers of the Oregon Country
that here. Indeed, was a land of bound
less promise awaiting development. .
There will be no need of calling a
plebiscite In Oregon on the income
tax. Just pass the proposed amend
ment up to the Legislature, which will
ratify it by unanimous vote. The
amendment could, indee, be submitted
to a convention in each state, if Con
gress should propc.se 'that method; but
we think It is to He sent to each state
to be acted vipon by its Legislature.
In Congress Fhere would be no doubt
that it would receive. If submitted to
the electors, nearly a unanimous vote;
but that would not be a constitutional
method of ratification. No opposition
to the amendment will appear in the
Legislature of Oregon. Nor would
there be any considerable opposition
in Oregon to an amendment taking
the election of Senators from the Leg
islature and giving it to the body of
the electors of the state. It is doubt
ful, however, whether such amend
ment would be accepted by three
fourths of the states. Not a few of
the older states probably would reject
It.
Bids were opened In .Seattle yester
day for construction of the Lolo Pass
cut-off for the Northern Pacific. Twohy
Brothers, the railroad contractors, are
rushing men and teams into the Des
chutes country for work on the Cen
tral Oregon road. A thousand men
are working on the Harriman road to
Tillamook, and the United Railway has
a big force on its line, which Is headed
in the same direction. The Chicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul is connecting
with the O. R. & N. at Plummer,
Idaho, to secure entrance into Port
land. The Oregon Short Line is run
ning a survey from the Blackfoot
country down Snake River to Lewiston,
Idaho, -and the Northern Pacific and
Harriman lines are making prepara
tions for double-tracking the line be
tween Portland and Puget Sound. Aiv
tlvity in railroad building in the Pa
cific Northwest has been somewhat
delayed, but seems to be making a
good start. Best of all, Portland seems
to be the objective point for all of
these lines' which are seeking water
level grades.
July wheat climbed back across the
$1.20 per bushel, mark yesterday.
"Time will tell who is right," remarked
Secretary Wilson when Mr. Patten
questioned his figures on the amount
of wheat available in the country last
March. Time seems to have "told,"
for the American visible yesterday was
down to 8,427,000 bushels, the lowest
on record for a corresponding week
except during the Lelter deal In 1898.
As Secretary Wilson could find only
about 15,000,000 bushels in farmers'
hands July 1, and the daily consump
tion Is more than 1,250.000 bushels, it
is easy to understand the remarkable
strength In the market. Secretary Wil
son's most gracious and reasonable
act In connection with his terrible
blunder has been the acknowledgment
by his July 1 'figures that his state
ment of March 1 was utterly worthless
and misleading. With this evidence
of repentance, we may hope for some
thing better in future.
China seems to be making progress
In the same line of civilization that
England was following 400 or 500
years ago. One of the Viceroys, in
obedience to orders from headquarters,
has recently detached the head from
the shoulders of a youthful pretender
to the throne, and, in order to discour
age repetition of the pretender's of
fense, a few thousand of the young
man's followers were also killed.
Jefferson, In a message to Congress
In 1802 wrote: "If we can prevent
the Government from wasting the
labors of the people, under the pre
tence of taking care of them, they
must become happy." But since we
can't accomplish the first part of this
statement we are not likely to realize
the last part of It.
There will not be much, doubt about
the ratification of the income tax
amendment. The citizens . who have
incomes' that will be subject to the
tax are few, very few, in number,
compared with the whole body of the
voters.
John Madson, the man caught at
San Jose who married ten women and
had fourteen more in contemplation,
will serve a seven-year sentence. Times
have changed since Jacob served four
teen years for two.
People are fainting from heat at
Chicago and rains continue in Missouri
and Kansas. This is Just for a re
minder that here we are neither faint
ing from heat or any other cause, nor
famishing for rain.
The spirit of progress is rampant in
Malheur County. The town of Bro
gan, three months old, has made appli
cation for a National bank, and so has
Westfall, erstwhile known as Bully
Creek.
Polygamist Johnson denies that he is
the infamous Polygamist Madson, and
declares that he is married to only
three women. Of course no one ought
to blame him for marrying Just three.
JTJI.Y 13, 1909.
CAR HITS GRAVEL, TURNS OVER
Several Lives anil Four Machines
Xarrowly Escape Disaster.
SEATTLE. Wash.. July 12. (Special.)
As the result of striking an unfin
ished road freshly strewn with loose
gravel, several lives and four automo
biles narrowly escaped disaster three
and a half miles out of Kent tonight.
Two Winton cars, the property of Al
bert Hansen, Jeweler, and P. J. McHugh,
contractor; a Packard racing car, driv
en by Ai Wilkey, and a Mitchell tour
ing car were involved in the mlxufi. '
A four-cylinder Winton, driven by
McHugh, accompanied by his wife and
children, struck the soft gravel and
turned a complete somersault, scatter
ing its occupants In all directions. The
unfortunates suffered no serious in
juries. At the time of the accident a
Packard racing machine attempted to
pass the upset machine, and landed the
machine ten feet off the road.
The driver of the Mitchell steered
past the Hansen machine successfully,
but became confused when he spied the'
car In tow. With a sudden lurch the
Mitchell skidded off the road and down
the bank of the Duwamish River.
Striking a rise in the rolling bank,
driver and car narrowly missed cer
tain death and destruction. The ma
chine caught in the soft mud and held
fast. More frightened than hurt, five
passengers alighted from the car and
ascended the bank.
THINNING OUT STATE GUARD
Spokane Companies May Disband
Because of Poor Attendance..
SPOKANE, Wash., July 12. (Spe
cial.) Handicapped by an adverse re
port at the last inspection, Spokane
companies H and I, of the Washington
National Guard, are facing being mus
tered out of service. A special Inspec
tion has been set for Thursday,, August
5, when an Investigation will be made
by Captain John Klnzie, retired. The
inspection will . be heavy marching
order, and the men will be given a sec
ond chance to make good.
Poor attendance of members is one
cause for criticism by the state officers.
Company I, under Captain J. Benjamin
Hays, is stated to have a membership
of 49. Captain Benson Wright is in
command of Company H.
Adjutant-General George B. Lamping
has received instructions from the War
Department at Washington gradually
to muster out all infantry companies
in the state west of the mountains and
to enlist in their stead coast artillery
reserve corps.
COURT MUST PROTECT .FOOLS
Judges Reverse Decision In Nonsuit
Against tanil Company.
OLYMPIA, Wash.. July 12. (Spe
cial.) The Supreme Court, in a de
cision rendered today, announced that
its jurisdiction includes the protection
of fools from the consequences of their
own folly, at least the court says. In de
ciding the case of James T. Wooddy and
wife against the Benton Water Com
pany: "No rogue should enjoy his Ill
gotten plunder for the simple reason
that his victim is by chance a fool."
Wooddy traded a Whitman County
farm -to the Benton company for 60
acres of land. He brought this suit
for damages, claiming he had been de
frauded, as the deed gave him less than
53 acres, and half of that was too high
to be Irrigated from the canal. The
defense was that he had personally in
spected the land before he closed the
deal, and that the old rule of let the
purchaser beware applied. The lower
court granted a nonsuit. The Supreme
court, after announcing the ruling
above quoted, reverses this decision
and orders, a new trial.
3IAYOR OFFERS TO SELL GAS
Salem Executive Startle9 Gas Plant
Blanager AVitli Proposition. ,
SALEM. Or., July 12. (Special.)
Mayor Rodgers caused a mild sensation
at the Council meeting tonight, when he
offered to take over the gas plant of
the Portland Railway, Light & Power
Company and pay the company 50 cents
per 1000 feet on all the gas manufacture"
and take his profits out of the rate
of $1.60. per 1000 which the Council pro
poses to establish.
For more than a year the Council has
been considering a reduction in the price
of gas from $2 to $1.50 and tonight Man
ager R. K. Page, of the company, in a
talk to the Council said that gas could
not be manufactured and distributed in
Salem at $1.50 without loss to the com
pany. Mayor Rodgers then proposed to take
the plant over, sell gas at $1.50 and pay
the company 50 cents per 1000 feet royalty
on all the gas -sold.
RAILROAD GRADING RUSHED
Union Pacific Busy Building Line
Into Grays Harbor Country.
ELMA, Wash., July 12. (Special.)
Rapid progress Is being made with
construction of the Grays Harbor
branch of the Union Pacific, more than
a thousand men -eing employed.
The heaviest work along the line is
Just west of Elma, where the Chehalis
River crowds high rocky bluffs. In
places several hundred feet high and
perpendicular. A road bed skirting the
river has been blasted and the grade
nearly established. Within the next
three or four months the road will be
practically completed and ready yr
operation.
The eastern end of the road is not
difficult to build, passing through a
comparatively level country.
OREGON MAN WILL PRESIDE
President Campbell to Attend Edu
cational Congress in Seattle.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, Eugene.
July 12. (Special.) President P. L. Camp
bell will preside at the meeting of the
American Educational Congress, Thurs
day. July 15, to be held at Seattle, in con
nection with the A. Y. P. Exposition.
Prominent educators from all parts of the
United States will- be in attendance. A
number of noted speakers who have been
at the meeting of the National Education,
al Association at Denver will address the
meeting.
President Campbell will leave tomorrow
night for Seattle.
NEW ROUND IN WILL CONTEST
Attorneys In Warner Case to Hear
Testimony at Walla Walla.
PENDLETON. Or., July 12. (Spe
cial.) This week will see the end of
another round of the fight for the pos
session of the James W. Young estate.
There was no session of the court to
day, but the attorneys and court re
porter will go to Walla Walla tomor
row to take testimony.
The rebuttal testimony for Mrs. War
ner will be closed Wednesday and the
contesting heirs will close with their
surbuttal Thursday. After that will
come the arguments of the attorneys
and the decision of the court, which
may not be rendered for several weeks.
Almost Certainly
Short Life Predicted
Springfield (Mass.) Republican.
It is certainly true that no such policy
na thu ra.al n ... n . I.... r n w..-t
' - 1 . ... . ti . l u a (i 1 1 u 1 1 . l oil uunigtT.a
corporation incomes, exclusive of individ
ual I ... i . 1, 1 : , , ,
.... ...... ... uan rve-i ( 't i i i:uiiMut;rt;u uy ,
the American people, and we have been
under the impression that no such policy
had ever before been seriously proposed
until the Taft Administration lately pre
sented it to Congress. Senator Cummins,
of Iowa, however, in his long and some
what discursive but nevertheless very ef
fective, speech on the subject last week
called attention to the fact that the war
revenue measure reported to the Senate
by the finance committee in 1S9S con
tained a provision for the taxation of the
gross receipts of all corporations in the
United States at the rate of one-fourth of
1 per cent. Essentially the only difference
between that and the present proposal is
that the one would tax the gross earnings
and the other the net Income of all cor
porations working for profit.
The matter no sooner came up for con
sideration than it fell under severe assault,
chiefly on account of the gross inequali
ties and injustices of such a tax. Mr. Al
lison, of Iowa, led off in the attack, and
Mr. Cummins thus states what followed:
Every Republican member of the finance
committee followed him In denunciation of
the proposed law. I wish the powerful
Senator from Rhode Island would launch the
J"10 thunderbolts against this proposed law
that he did against that one. I wish the
iwnior Senator from Massachusetts. Instead
or offering a dummy amendment for the
purpose of preventing anv further amend
ment to the proposition of the committee,
would exercise his great Intellect in analyz
ing the Iniquitous proposition as ho did
them." I wish the Senators from Maine
would speak now as they spoke then. There
is not a single Republican member of the
feenate her now. as I remember, but who
was opposed to the proposition in 1898 to
lay a tax upon the gross receipts of all the
corporations of the country: and yet the
only difference between that proposition and
this is that we substitute now net Income
for gross receipts.
The scheme at that time had only to be
considered a moment to be dropped, and
in its place was substituted an excise tax
on the gross receipts of certain businesses
such as sugar refining, applicable alike to
all engaged therein, whether corporations
partnerships or individuals. It Is upon a
Supreme Court decision sustaining the
validity of that excise tax that President
Taft and his advisers chiefly rely for the
legal acceptability of this proposed tax on
the net income of corporations alone, ex
clusive of partnerships and Individuals en
gaged in similar lines of business. But
the two taxes are radically different as
may readily be seen- and if the one is
constitutional. It by no means follows that
the other is.
This question of constitutionality Is still
to come into consideration. It has already
been subjected to searching examination
by Senator Borah, of Idaho, whose speech
Is not yet available, and his conclusion
agrees with that of Senator Cummins that
the tax as a constitutional proposition is
not worth the paper it is written on. It
Is essentially a tax upon a mere right to
do business, which has been created by
the states, and it is a well-settled princi
ple in Federal jurisprudence that the Fed
eral Government can no more tax or in
terfere with the valid instrumentalities of
state government than the states can tax
or interfere with the valid Instrumentali
ties of the Federal Government. But more
of this at another time.
LUMBER CUT IS DECREASING
Secretary of Manufactures' Associa
tion Makes Report.
SEATTLE, Wash., July 12 The an
nual meeting of the National Lumber
Manufacturers' Association was begun
today In the Hoo-Hoo house, the ses
sions being executive. New Orleans is
expected to get the next convention,
being the only candidate, and the pres
ent officers, headed by R. A- Long, of
Kansas City, will probably be re
elected. The report of Secretary George K.
Smith showed a highly unsatisfactory
outlook for the lumbermen. He, said:
"Figures for lumber produced in
1908, as compared with 1907, show a
decrease of 17 per cent, and undoubt
edly a similar percentage of decrease
or a larger one will be shown for 1909.
The supply has exceeded the demand
during the past 18 months, and neither
the volume of business nor the price
has been satisfactory."
R. S. Kellogg, of the Government for
est service, read a paper In which he
said that the consumption of the for
ests was becoming a serious danger,
and told the delegates that the time
has come for a practical application of
forest conservation, because the lum
bermen have for years destroyed, but
not produced.
One hundred lumbermen have char
tered a Northern Pacific train to take
them to Tacoma to attend the funeral
of Congressman Cushman. The lum
bermen wish to show their apprecia
tion of Mr. Cushman's efforts to con
tinue the duty on lumber.
CRIES FOR HELP, DROPS DEAD
Spokane Pioneer Dies Suddenly or
Heart Failure.
SPOKANE. Wash., July 12. With a
choking cry for help, Jacob Onstine,
father of Attorney Burton J. Onstine,
fell over backward in his son's office
at noon today, and expired of heart
failure.
His son is on the Coast and was im
mediately notified. Jacob Onstine was
apparently In good health when he en
tered Roch & Onstine's office In the
Ziegler block. While in conversation
with some friends he suddenly threw up
his hands with the cry for "help," and
fell" to the floor.
He was a pioneer of Spokane. He
resided here for over 20 years. Funeral
arrangements will be made when word
is received from his son at Seattle. Mr.
Onstine was nearly 70 years of age:
Pharmacists to Meet.
Delegates to .the annual convention
of the Oregon State Pharmaceutical
Association, which meets today in Sea
side. Or, will leave this morning for
that place in a special car attached to
the regular train of the Astoria & Co
lumbia River Railroad. Sessions will
be held daily, beginning this afternoon
and concluding Friday. At the opening
session -M. E. Everett, of North Bend,
Or., president of the association, will
deliver his annual address, and reports
will be rendered by the various offi
cers covering the work of the organi
zationurlng the past year. Arrange
ments'have been made for a series of
entertainments to be held at intervals
during the stay at Seaside. These will
consist of athletic events, races, a tug-of-war
and other contests.
Eugene Leonard's Body Found.
WASCO, Or., July 12. (Special.)
The body of Eugene Leonard, who was
drowned In the Deschutes River July
3, was found -today 12 miles below
where he was drowned. The body will
be taken to-Dayton, Wash., for burial.
Grain Companies Consolidate.
a - -
COLFAX, Wash.. July 12. (Spe
cial.) The Whitman County grain
firms of Dullng & Bishop and A. P.
Johnson & Co. have been consolidated
With the Northern Grain & Warehouse
Co., of Portland
Unconstitutional
for the Corporation Tax.
Meanwhile the inequities of the pro
posed tax are so glaring that, whether
constitutional or not, it is not likely to
endure a great while if it ever succeeds
in iretfino- rr . . . . , . , .
- uuu i iit-i i. .ur. iumiiiins view
of the matter on this point is thus stated:
It Is quite well to sav that the la,w will
te repeal,., within two" years; I think it will
it Jf,?eV''a hKt"re two years. I think
xt J repealed just as soon as the
.uemwra of Conirrcss have an opportunity
S ' ,'h,j'; n""r"-s- and are then called
again Into official duty.
Senator ('hn.. - .
. .umnwuia, nas also
expressed an opinion about how long the
" it it is ever enacted:
, Senytor from Rhode Island is a
prophet He said that this provision would
J"!?"' Vle ntxt b tne arous-
"Irh frl 1 f Indignation that will
reach rrom one oeenn to tli.. other Who-
dre,eHS,bh"h,ln1 a," ,hls m'ht nave perhaps
unon coJatV,m:,klnK " s,t-" ,lke an attack
upon corporations, it would be an inviting
and a picturesque propositln to tfie Amert
P?e cmj Wh? theVmerlcaTe"-
Pie come to learn that this li sininlv n
shifting of a tax in most case. upoS tht
consumer, when they come to learn that
millions of do lars ran be Invested in a cor
poration which win not pav ono dollar of
tax when they come to learn that his Is
fveJ?,""0".10 KO anA "large a
system which we have battled against thesa
seven years, there is no danger of , his ot
The :J'Rre,,S ,'akinB th seconk 8,ep
T, , car. P-nle will attend to that
h 1 if r "n b"hal' t" not tell me that
the President approves any such detail a.
the one found in this amendment. "
This is considerate of the President but
if he does not approve the plan Which
stands as an amendment to the tariff bill
who does?
Roston Post.
If it is to assure the payment by cor
porate wealth of its full proportion of the
demands of public revenue, it fails at this
essential point, because it does not reach
the wealthy bondholder while taxing the
moderate investor in stock. It lets oft the
fat holders of the basic securities, and
puts It all on the smaller stockholders.
John Shepard. at the meeting of the Bos
ton Chamber of Commerce last week, de
clared squarely that the effect of such a
law would be to cause our commercial
corporations, for their own protection, to
terminate their corporate existence and
reorganize as partnerships.
At the same meeting, the resolutions
adopted on presentation by John S
Lawrence denounced the Taft folly as
Inequitable. "A corporation." the rep
resentative commercial organization of
ttoston declared, "would be put at a dis
advantage in competition with unincor
porated concerns, and further, the tax
must of necessity be borne by many
small stockholders, while those who
could better afford it and who were
In partnership or complete ownership
of properties would not be taxed."
Even the hide-bound New York Tri
bune declares the Taft folly, the cor
poration tax, to be "inequitable even
In Its modified form, drastic in com
pelling statements of financial condi
tion from corporations not affected with
publio interest, not engaged in inter
state commerce and not enjoying a
tariff protection furnished by the Fed
eral Government."
The chorus of condemnation rises
from all quarters. If President Taft Is
wise he will lift his heavy hand and
allow this disreputable monument of
folly to be tossed out at some of the
later stages of proceeding.
FATHER O'lURA OX ANATOMY:
Hurries to Defeam of the Theologians
In Their Attitude on Dissection.
BOSTON, Mass.. July 4. (To the Editor)-
Happening Into the Boston Pub
lic Library this afternoon. I took un
The Oregonian of last Tuesday (the
latest issue which has reached here)
and was astonished to find an editorial
purporting to (read nve a lesson In
veracity. The actual writer of the
communication on dissection has doubt
less directed your - attention to the
blunder of Andrew D. White concern
ing the condemnation of dissection bv
Boniface VIII. What I wish to call
your attention to is the Insinuation in
your statement that I would not honor
the testimony of Andrew D. White be
cause "he is not one of my order"
whatever that may meln. Andrew D.
White s "History of the W'arfare Be
tween Science and Theology" is to the
student of mediaeval records a huge
joke though the consequences of the
work with uncritical readers Is seri
ous enough; the spread of falsehood
Is always a serious thing. White can t
construe a page of a Latin document
to save his life. He Is like a school
boy stumbling through Cicero. "Cum
aestu febrique." With the heat of an
engineer! Great Is the scholarship of
Andrew D. White! His comical blun
der concerning the papal condemnation
of surgery is enough to fix his place
among serious scholars.
The fact of course is that the Pope3
have always been the patrons of medi
cal and surgical science. Those sci
ences languished in Italy when the
Popes were absent from Rome and re
vived on their return.
The latest and most scholarly history
of surgery and medicine on the shelves
of the Boston Public Library Is a
volume containing an address on the
"Historical Relation of Medicine and
Surgery." by T. Clifford Allbutt, M. A.,
regius professor of physics in the Uni
versity of Cambridge. On page 62 I
read: "The return of the Popes to
Rome renewed the shriveling body of
medicine, and with the help of anatomy,
Italian surgery rose again. . . . Ves
alius was a young man when he
taught at Padua, yet, young or ven
erable, where but in Italy would he
have won, I will not say renown, but
even sufferance?"
Poor Andrew D. White! He is a
sorry model of veracity.
FATHER O'HARA.
CAGWIX SUCCEEDS LORTON
Kelso Man Made Member of Board
of Control at Olynipia.
OLYMPIA. Wash., July 12. (Special.)
Governor Hay today announced the ap
pointment of A. E. Cagwin, of Kelso, as
member of the Board of Control for the
term ending June 11, 1911, to succeed
Eugene Lorton. of Walla Walla, re
signed. Mr. Cagwin has been a hold
over member of the Tax Commission,
his term there having expired June 8
last.
County Assessor Thomas R. Parrish,
of King County, was today appointed to
the vacancy on the Tax Commission for
the term ending June 8. 1313. Both those
appointments take effect July 13.
Unknown Disease Kills Hogs.
COLFAX. Wash., July J 2. (Spe
cial.) A strange hog disease has killed
200 porkers out of a herd of 230 be
longing to Elsworth Bishop. The di
sease has attacked only the young hogs
aged from two to six months as the
disease progresses the head, especially
the throat and jaws, becomes swollen
and ulcerated. Paralysis of the hind
parts follows and death results in a
few days. It is believed to be a form
of hog cholera.
Drunken Men Shoot Up Home.
COLFAX. Wash., July 12. John Don
egan, aged 25, and II. D. Rusell. aged
46. while intoxicated, Sunday, shot up
the home of Frank Dowling, for whom
they were harvesting, and kept Mr. and
Mrs. Dowling in terror until Sheriff
Carter reached their home, 12 miles
SOUth Of ColfflY. nnnprnn trt...- .l.tM.
to have squandered 2'W estate money in
uib last year, naving .5 when arrested.