THE 3IORXIXG OREGOXIAX, WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 11, 1909.
POKTLAND. ORLtiON.
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rOBTLAXD. WEDNESDAY, AlU. 11. 1909.
ALLOTMENT OF THE LAXDS.
It is ten to one that most of those
who draw prizes In the Government's
land lottery, at the several places
where the land is to be allotted, will
sell out their land presently for what
they can get. Few of them will iwork
the land. For it's hard work, at times.
and steady Industry the year round.
Doubtless the lucky ones think they
will work the land themselves, and
live In rural felicity and abundance the
. rest of their lives. They will be cured
of this delusion. In a little time. Farm
life Is not one round of pleasure. It
requires attention more hours every
day, to smaller details, than any other
life In the world. And then at Inter
vals It requires most strenuous labor.
If you are looking for a life of leis
ure, stay away from the farm.
From the beginning life on the farm
if it Is to be successful or half suc-
. cessful has exacted ceaseless industry
as its price. The most labored and
finished literary production that ever
t fell from the hand of man is the
"Oeorgicon" of Vergil. It could have
been written only by one who had been
In closest touch with rural and agri
cultural life, and could unite habits
of observation and experience with ex
traordinary powers of poetic descrip
tion. His precepU for the agricultur
ist, in the Valley of the Po, in his
own time: his observations on details
of husbandry, production of crops, care
or flocks and herds and bees and soils.
; management of sheep and horses and
kine, and the infinite attention and pa
tience' and industry necessary to suc
cess In the w rk make a picture as
true today as It was two thousand
years ago. Variations of time and
place make little difference; for the
detail, if one Is to be successful on the
farm, is much the same now ;s then.
"The father himself we omit the
original and translate as we can
"has decreed that the ways of culti
vation (of tho soil shall be hard."
It has not been different, to this day.
Some helps, Indeed, are supplied by
modern knowledge. But we don't
know our soils better than they did In
Vergil's time: nor have we more
minute Instruction of experience In the
treatment of thorn, or in the manage
ment of crops or production of fruits,
or care of sheep and lambs and pro
vision of forage for Winter, or irriga
tion of fields during the growing sea
eon of Summer. All this is recalled
merely for the purpose of showing that
rural and agricultural life, in its es
sential conditions. Is and ever must be
essentially the same.
Hence it is a sure guess that few of
these people, who are rushing from the
towns and cities of all parts of the
United States, to participate In these
land lotteries, will keep and work their
lands if they get them. Most of the
successful ones will sell their lands,
soon or later; some even before they
make trial of life on the farm, others
as soon after as they can. Yet all
would believe, doubtless, that they
would have been highly successful as
farmers, had they never made the ex
periment. So It was said of the ruler
of an empire, who set out on his ca
reer with the approval of a whole peo
ple, yet fell from power In half a year.
The farmer may have a very inde
pendent life, but he must accept it as
it is, make the most and best of it,
and assure himself that it requires,
the whole year round, the most careful
and patient attention to every detail.
Innumerable things, from which no
direct profit can be obtained or ex
pected, yet which In long run may
contribute something, however little,
to the general result, must have his
thought from day to day, and every
day. So with the duties that fall on
the women of the family. But we
suppose the townspeople who are
rushing out to get these lands intend
to sell out. The method of disposition
adopted by the United States is open,
it seems to us, to many objections. But
perhaps a better one could not be de
vised. In' the long run the lands will
fall into the hands of people who will
work them, and make for themselves
and for future generations happy
homes.
Jil'PTlAL FLKillT FROM THE DOCTORS.
Bridal couples of the State of Wash
ington may lice to Oregon. Idaho and
British Columbia, from examination
fees of the "medical trust." Thus
the doctors, reaching beyond the cradle
and the coffin to the generation not
yet started, find themselves "up
against" untaxed marriage in neigh
boring lands.
The Washington Legislature was
foolish to enact the medical examina
tion law. However fine In theory the
law may be. it is bound to fall of Its
purpose, without similar legislation in
other states. The very couples that
the law was framed to reach evade It,
while those who submit to it are put
to. needless expense and annoyance.
The state gets little or no good from
the law, and the benefits accrue to a
small element' of the population, the
doctors. The Oregon Legislature was
Importuned at its latest session to en
act this law, but the brutality of the
measure was too plain and It was lost.
A more reasonable plan would be
appointment of a lot of inspectors,
paid by the slate, to perform the func
tion now belonging to the whole medi
cal fraternity. That would make a
lot. of fat office. These officers could
examine married couples free at In
tervals, and in this way protect
progeny from disease as well as by ex
amination before marriage. They
could extend their valuable duties to
horses, cattle and swine, and soon put
their state wholly on the blue-ribbon
iit They might go so far as to in
quire into the compatibility of eligi
bles for marriage and occasionally
knock on the door of the home to see
how marital affairs were getting along.
As soon as an unpromising infant ap
peared they in their tender . mercy
could make away with it and set the
mother and father sooner to bringing
forth a better, ... ' "
It is obvious that the present law of
the State of Washington is inadequate.
The state needs a more effective way
to put its hand Into tne private affairs
of its citizens.
A SHADOW.
Fresh test of survival of the spirit
of old questions in our politics, of
which the crisis was the Civil War.
will be presented at the next session
of Congress. Virginia will offer for
Statuary Hall, In the National Capitol,
figures in marble of Washington and
Lee. Mississippi will follow with her
selections, one of which will be Jef
ferson Davis. Will the statues of Lee
and Davis be received In the National
Capitol? Will there be protest? Will
the protest reawaken sectional anger,
animosity and recrimination?
It could be wished this might not
occui ; for the effect on the country
will net be happy. Virginia has many
names that might take the place of
that of Lee. It would be better to
place beside .the statue of Washington
the statue of Patrick Henry or John
Marshall. A statue of Thomas Jif
ferson already stands in the rotunda
of the Cnpitol. Lee is yet too modern.
Local and sectional feeling is not yet
exhausted, as it will be in future
years. Lee certainly will be a dimin
ishing figure. The same must be said
of Jefferson Davis. They were men of
their time, in the local circumstances
in which they lived. But they had a
narrow horizon. They were not Na
tional men. In no sense do they belong
to the American Pantheon, or to the
National Valhalla. It Is fit, of course,
.that Virginia and Mississippi should
contain their statues and build their
monuments. But the National Capitol
Is not the proper place for either. To
place them among the makers of
the Nation is not to assert the truth
of history, nor to present exemplars
of the patriotism that has made the
Nation what it is. They were local,
not National statesmen. The allegiance
of each was not to the United States,
but to his state. And each fought for
perpetuation of the blackest blot on
democratic civilization or any other.
The old controversy on this subject
ought to be allowed to sleep. Admit
that Lee and Davis were animated by
an unselfish patriotism what was the
quality of that patriotism? But let
us not anticipate the discussion. Time
enough for the country to consider an
unhappy theme when such theme is
thrust upon it.
It should be said that this so-called
National Valhalla Is but a poor Pan
theon. It contains, and will contain,
but a few who ought to be there. Illi
nois' has filled up its niches with Gen
eral Shields and Frances E. Willard.
Abraham Lincoln is not there. Ordi
nary politicians, like William Allen, of
Ohio, and Goebel, of Kentucky, occupy
other places. It .wouldn't be a bad
idea, probably, to send the whole group
back to the states from wnicn tney
came.
A REGRETTABLE CONDITION.
Still The Oreeonian holds the opin
ion Dint nnlv one road will enter Mid
dle Oregon through the peschutes Can
yon, because one is suttlclent Dy mat
route and two will be very difficult to
Kitllt lftrorivpr. the two will be in
each other's way in operation, and the
traffic will not demand two roads.
Hence The Oregonlan expects to see
tho ott-i'o discontinued, after awhile.
and accommodation, reached between
the contestants, in one way or another.
Tt Li unfortunate that a long series
nf facts onrt events, following one upon
another, steadily confirms the general
opinion in Oregon that the Harriman
system Is not so earnest to build rail-
fnndfl ftnvwhere in the state as to ob
struct other builders and other roads.
in the state and elsewhere, l nat was
the effort on the North Bank Road; It
was the purpose in making essay to
reach Puget Sound, and It Is the effort
in the Grays Harbor project. It 1b on
everybody's mind and tongue, that
nothing would be doing by the Harri
man people in the Deschutes Canyon
now but for the efforts of the rival
road there.
It is ree-rettable to witness a policy
which, year after year, confirms the
opinion of the people of Oregon that
th. two rmrts of the Harriman pur
pose, as to this state, is, first, to deny
nr r,'ntnnno construction On ItS OWn
account, and second, to keep others out
or vex them elsewhere, it is a situ
ation that makes it hard even to de
mand Justice for the Harriman system,
before the bar of public opinion in this
state.
STIMULANT FOR WHEAT GAMBLING.
The Government crop report, which
appeared Monday, like all of Its prede
cessors of recent years, caused a fine
spurt of business for the wheat specu
lators. All of the gamblers; from the
big fellows who buy and sell' in million-bushel
lots down to the "pikers"
who buv a thimbleful at a "bucket
shop," on a one-cent margin, welcome
these monthly "first aids to the wheat
gambler." The three-cent break In
prices, caused by Monday s report, sent
many a lamD Dieatmg inio imauuai
oblivion. 7,f these reports were at all
reliable they might be of some value
to farmers and to the trade; but, as
has frequently been demonstrated, they
are monstrously inaccurate, mis in
accuracy enables shrewd business men
like Patten, Armour and others of
their class, iwho secure accurate in
formation, to profit hugely at the ex
pense of those who place confidence
In the trade-disturbing, wortniess re
ports of Secretary Wilson.
The local situation in tne i-acmc
Northwest offers an excellent exam
ple of the utter lack of confidence in
the Government reports. Here we
have a territory which with a normal
yield supplies more than one-fifth of
all the available surplus of wheat ex
ported from the United States. In this
big territory there Is not a single grain
dealer of any standing or importance,
not a transportation company, not a
shipping agency, nor a. grainbag
house, that pays the slightest at
tention to the Government crop re
ports for Oregon, Washington and
Idaho. All of these great Interests
that are depended on to handle the
big crop of this territory are forced
to rely on private reports for any ac
curate Information regarding the
crops. In the Government report ap
pearing Monday the Winter wheat
crop of Washington, which Is two
thirds of the 'total crop of the state,
is Indicated at 1. 951. 000 bushels, a
figure at least 10,000,000 bushels below
the most conservative estimates of the
men who will be called on to provide
chips and cars for moving the wheat.
The inaccuracy of these reports
having been repeatedly proven, there
remains but one branch of usefulness
for them, and that Is to supply fuel for
the speculative flame. On this point
the New York Sun prints the follow
ing: As far as we can ree. Secretary Wilson
objects to speculation, or. as he calls It.
gambling." In that event, why dues he
periodically issue solemn announcements
about the condition of the crops of cotton,
wheat, etc.. the only function of the Gov
ernment being that of stimulating the very
evil he Is so fond of decrvlng? It seems to
us. however, that he launches his male
dictions only upon those who Ignore the
department figures, and by succeeding prove
their gross Inaccuracy.
It would be a mighty good thing If the
Department of Agriculture were to go out
of the business altogether, and leave to the
exchanges, boards of trade and private
persons generally the enterprise of collect
ing data on the growing crops. We can see
no reason why Mr. Wilson should make an
absurd termagant of himself, scoldlne every
body who doesn't accept his figures blindly,
and denouncing evefy one who prollta by
repudiating them.
This should satisfy Secretary Wil
son's Bandon friend (the only apolo
gist Wilson has in the Pacific North
west) that The Oregonlan Is not alone
In its demand for reform in our Gov
ernment crop reporting service.
RECLAMATION BY IRRIGATION.
The National Irrigation Congress,
now in session at Spokane, is enthusi
astic in advocacy of the interests rep
resented by Its name. It sees in Irri
gation and through the reclamation of
arid lands and the added profit to be
derived from the irrigation of semi
arid lands the great and Indeed the
paramount duty of the Government at
this time.
After making due allowance for the
enthusiasm of the specialist in any line
of endeavor, the public will be con
strained to regard this view with a
large measure of approbation. Irri
gation in the Interest of agriculture Is
one of the oldest expedients, employed
in the effort to make "two blades of
grass grow where but one grew be
fore"; to make semi-arid plains pay
full tribute In golden grain to the
needs of an increasing population, and
to cause the desert literally to blossom
as the rose. It was long ago discov
ered that it was not an increase of
precipitation In the form of rain and
snow that was necessary to accomplish
this object, but the conservation and
distribution" of this moisture at the
time and place needed, that was re
quired. Agriculture has no record old
enough to outdate this knowledge, and
In no recent record of the cultivation
of the soil looking to its increased
productiveness has irrigation been ig
nored. There are, Inaeed, few agri
cultural areas In any country the pro
ductiveness of which could not be In
creased and the beauty of which could
not be greatly enhanced by the intelli
gent, systematic conservation and dis
tribution of water that otherwise runs
to waste' from the lavish precipitation
of certain seasons of the year.
It has, It Is trite, been the boast dur
ing all of the period In which the soil
of considerable portions of the Wil
lamette Valley has been under cultiva
tion that here the rainfall was ade
quate to all purposes, while the truth
is that water needed to flourish the
products of orchard, meadow, field and
garden has run to waste in Spring
freshets, and In consequence the soil of
the entire valley is dry as dust during
many weeks immediately preceding
the annual harvest. Everyone knows
how parched and dry tho ground of
this section Is in August, and usually
also In July; how brown and parched
are the pastures; how pinched and dis
couraged the gardens appear; and how
dull and dusty the foliage of the or
chards. It is but recently, however,
that the conservation and proper dis
tribution of the generous, but not too
generous, rainfall of this section has
been suggested and as yet the sug
gestion has not to any extent worth
mentioning been acted upon.
But, coming back to the National
Irrigation Congress, The Oregonlan
may say that it is in hearty accord
with the great underlying principle
which it advocates that of conserving
the. annual precipitation in rain and
snow and its distribution where' and
when It is needed for the purposes of
agriculture. ThU principle cannot be
worked out in disjointed, haphazard
schemes; it must follow general plans
and approved methods of construction
through competent engineering. The
day of "go-as-you-please" Is over when
it comes to any question that affects
large bodies of people. With the irri
gation question It may be said that it
never existed, since the problems that
It involved could and can only be
worked out to logical results through
the exercise cf skill and the expendi
ture of large sums of money.
It is pointed out by F. H. Newell,
Director of the United States Recla
mation Service, that the large invest
ment that has been made by private
corporations in irrigation systems has '
been stimulated by the work done by
the Government. The Government
has been criticised because its work is
slow. The answer is that all work of
permanent nature, the construction of
which involves engineering skill and
responsible directi6n, is slow, and per
haps especially so when restricted in
its movement by rock-ribbed regula
tions In regard to hours of labor, qual
ity of material, etc. When completed,
however, such work stands the test of
time and service. The people west of
the Mississippi generally are in sym
pathy with the work of reclamation by
irrigation. They feel , the need and
have seen the results of irrigation, and
are loud and even extravagant in their
demand for more specific aid In Its
promotion. In this demand the South
and the Southwest join. Much will be
heard upon this subject within the next
few days, since irrigation experts
Federal and corporate armed for the
fray, have met to talk the matter over
and tell each other facts as they see
them. The public looks on with in
terest that is fed, by the hope that the
cause of reclamation by irrigation will
be greatly promoted by the work of
the congress.
Sentiment or civic pride has for long
waged unsupported war upon the bill
board nuisance, pbtrusive, intrusive,
unsightly, these billboards have offend
ed the sensibilities of our citizens and
defaced the landscape, claiming right
of way at every available point in and
about the city. All of this time there
has been, presumably, no relief from
this nuisance except such tmporary
rellef as could be secured by turning
the eyes from a greater to a lesser
advertising monstrosity, made gaudy
by the liberal use of highly-colored
paint and the vivid imagination of
the billboard artist. . Now, however, It
has teen discovered that since 1902
the City Council, under authority of
the city charter, could have abolished
these billboards and thus come to the
succor of a defaced landscape and a
disgusted public, had it chosen to do
so. or had knowledge or its power In
J the premises. Clamor for the enact
ment of state law or city ordinance
could generally be stilled by a search
of the state or municipal statutes ana
the application of the knowledge
gained thereby to the case in hand, by
those whose duty it is to enforce the
law. This Is only another illustration
of the fact that it is not more law
that we need, but the enforcement of
such laws as we have.
Lord Broughton's "Recollections of
a' Long Life," just published in Eng
land, is a book which the review writ
ers say has many striking qualities.
Lord Broughton was an intimate friend
of Byron, knew Sheridan, Grattan,
Canning and all the celebrities of his
time. His two heroes were Byron and
Napoleon, in different fields, "great
'mari of destiny." Wnen he saw Na
poleon he was deeply affected: "I pos
itively found my eyes moistened at the
sight of the world's wonder." He was
cut to the heart at the abdication of
Bonaparte, and -his diary is full of sad
tales about the last days of the great
soldier. As a Radical member of West
minster in the Commons he played a
leading part in the early struggles for
paliamentary reform. That Lord
Broughton may be better recognized
by the general reader It may be as
well to say that he was Byron's famil
iar friend, John Cam Hobhouse.
The enterprising citizens of Coos Bay
do not propose to lose any of the ad
vantage already gained in the way of
harbor Improvement, and the Port
Commission at Marshfield has guar
anteed $50,000 for the maintenance of
the Government dredge Oregon, which
is now at work in the harbor. There
has been a marked improvement in
the channel over Coos Bay bar since
work was begun, and the results
achieved have been of a nature that
fully warrants continuation of the ef
forts of the people. Railroad connec
tion may be postponed for a short
time, but no region having as good an
entrance from the sea and so many
varied resources back of it can fail to
prosper and in time railroads will en
ter the Coos Bay country because they
can no longer afford to remain away
from it. '
A mass meeting of New York an
archists has been called for tonight at
which Emma Goldman, Alex Berkman,
the assassin who attempted to mur
der Henry C. Frick, and Harry Kelly,
the agitator, will speak. The occasion
is celebration of the uprising in Spain,
and from the list of speakers it should
be sufficiently Inflammatory to please
the most rabid foreigner who ever left
the old country for the country's good
and sought refuge in this asylum of
the free. It will always be a matter
of great regret to respectable Ameri
cans that such' Incendiaries as "The
Goldman" and her associates cannot
be deported to the countries from
which they came. In this country
they contribute absolutely nothing but
trouble, and are of the meanest class
of parasites, living solely by the work
of others. '
There Is every sort of human delin
quency. Now there is a story of a
father who, unwilling to be disturbed
In his slumbers, caused his young
babe to be placed at night in the attic,
where in a week or two, after much
wailing, the little one starved and died.
This Individual seems to have sup
posed that he had done his whole duty
when he had caused the child to come
into the world. It is an extreme case;
but there's a multitude more, who,
careless themselves and pursuing their
foolish and worthless ways, think the
world owes them and their progeny
a living. Even newspapers are pub
iiahori for delectation, benefit and ex
cuse of this class of population; who
always are exhorted In elections to
vote for "the rights of the people."
Ttia Hnrriman force are to with
draw 600 laborers from the Deschutes
Canyon as a result of the successrui
efforts of the Porter Bros, in blocking
fonotriictlon of the Harriman road
through the canyon. Now if the Por
ter Bros, or their bacKers win imme
diately employ these 609 men and
nian them mi construction worn on
the opposition line, the public will be
more fully convinced than ever that
some one intends to build a railroad
into Central Oregon.
a -:if!ent of the city, driving out
i .. 1 noa Pity Park on the Sandy
road, on Sunday, observed a number of
persons shooting half-grown Chinese
pheasants, out there. They had shot
, nnmhrc This is a legal offense.
and despicable, besides. The lust to
kill is among the most aimcuii oi me
desires of degenerate or unregenerate
nature, to brine under control.
Deputies of the Game Warden could
lend some help; but tney can i ue
everywhere. .
Of course th people of Cleveland
i mi nrpfor to Day five-cent fares
.v, tviov mie-ht have three-cent fares,
on their streetcars. But they don't be
lieve three-cent fares will pay ex
penses; in other words, they don't be
lieve the service can be afforded for
three cents. That's the reason why
they have turned that faker, Tom
Johnson, down.
Heat and humidity did their deadly
work upon poorly-nourished, miserably-born
infants in New York last
Monday. Forty little bodies, twenty
from the Foundling Asylum in the
morgue at Bellevue dock, bore mute
testimony to the inhospitable condi
tions of their lot in life and their
rescue therefrom by death.
The cash required for a trip from
the Middle West to Spokane and re
turn would make the first payment on
a good 40-acre farm in the Willamette
Valley, whose products, if Industriously
cultivated, would wipe out the balance.
As a meeting place ror the National
Irrigation Congress in 191, The Ore
gonlan nominates the -terminus of the
Deschutes railroad, or railroads, in
Crook County. Oregon.
Sir Thomas Lipton's press agen
needs "jacking up." Not a word have
wl had lately, by cable or mail, con
cerning a new challenge for the cup.
Just to think Harriman could have
entered Eastern Oregon without trou
ble f he had started before the time
was over-ripe.
Has anyone noticed the East Side
push clubs clamoring for location of
the new City Jail on that side of the
river? -
- Grandest winning in the land lot
tery is the picture publication of the
successful ones' in" the newspapers.'
VISITOR'S VIEW OF BILLBOARDS.
Portland tarn Well Afford to Dispense
With Revenue From Them.
PORTLAND, Aug. 10. (To the Editor.)
As a stranger. I would not "butt into"
the discussion in your .ocal columns of
.the billboard nuisance except for the fact
that one gentleman (whose name I do
not now recall), as quoted, states that
billboards are useful and necessary in
masking offensive rubbish heaps which
might otherwise give the city a bad name.
Inferentially, I assume he fears this dis
repute from visitors, strangers and pos
sible settlers, and that Is my only excuse
for these lines.
As I read the gentleman's argument, I
think he is wrong both in premise and
conclusion.
Indeed, his deduction is really one
of the strongest arguments against
the billboard nuisance and are so
considered in many cities which are and
have been wrestling with this problem.
The plea Is suggestive of that of the per
son overdosed with perfume; namely, the
necessity for one strong odor to overcome
another mal-odor, instead of striking at
the root of the evil by applying personal
cleanliness. .
If the police and health authorities will
see to it that no deposits of filth and
rubbish are made In vacant places, there
will be no need of using another nuisance
to cover it up. Nor will the billboards
become an invitation to the public to
make privies of places which ought to be
provided by the city with sanitary public
toilets. It should be borne in mind that
what Is an offense to the eye, or other
senses, is oftlmes quite as Important a
matter for regulation as an offense to the
nose. When a thing becomes an offense,
both to eye and nose, and becomes in ad
dition a harbinger ,of unhealthf ul condi
tions, it is unquestionably a nuisance that
ought to be abated.
The statement that the billboard is an
advertising necessity is, to my mind, not
well founded. As a means of general
advertising. It is useful but not essential.
There are other means equally efficacious.
It Is not good as a special advertising
medium except in isolated cases and
classes of commodities. I have made
quite a close study of advertising and
am interested in good advertising, but I
believe that the billboard is greatly over
rated. Moreover, by Its general prohibi
tion, all merchants and users will be on
equal footing so far as the billboards are
concerned. To limit spaces or localities
will simply tend to increase the value of
the space, placing It only within the reach
of the merchant with the longest purse.
As a revenue project, the city can better
provide for its budget in less offensive
ways.
I hope no offense will be taken to these
somewhat critical remarks. As a
stranger, Portland has impressed me most
favorably, particularly because of its ap
parent cleanliness in public and open
places. I hope this illusion (if such it be)
may not be dispelled by any retrogressive
action upon the part of the city authori
ties, for it will otherwise give me pleasure
to speak and write well of "The City of
Roses." You may make a paltry hundred
or two, and your advertising merchants
may make a few dollars, by the licensing
of billboards, but your city will lose
thousands and hundreds of thousands in
prestige. Esthetlclsm is growing rapidly
in this country and the city which hopes
to upbuild and add to its residential
value by Inducing a population of wealth.
Intelligence and refinement must look
sharp to the necessities of civic sanita
tion, refinement and beautiflcation.
GEORGE- H. STIPP, of California.
SOUTH PORTLAND PARKS.
Appeal That South Portland Be Not
Overlooked.
PORTLAND, Aug. 10. (To the Ed
itor.) You say in The Oregonlan to
day tha it is your "firm opinion that
the city should purchase land for two
more small parks, both on the East
Side."
You have never yet advocated the
purchase of land In South Portland for
parks. One of our enterprising land
owners hss offered to give the city land
a mile long and 60 feet broad for the
extension of the boulevard system.
Give it! Not sell it to the city for 33000
or more per acre! And still our claims
for a park are entirely Ignored. We
have one pitiful litle plot called a
park, and that, by the way, was given
to the city. This section of Portland
has hundreds of beautiful building
spots commanding an extent of moun
tain and river view found nowhere else
In Oregon, and yet we are Ignored in
the plans of beautifying our city as
completely as If we did not exist. The
property-owners of South Portland will
be duly called upon to pay taxes on the
bonds Issued to buy these numerous
parks in the other districts. Should
we not in justice share the benefits,
and will not The Oregonlan, so fair
and impartial to all as a rule, voice our
claims for UB? SOUTH PORTLAND.
How could it have been overlooked
by the writer of this letter that The
Oreiforilan has warmly approved the
acceptance and improvement of Ter
williger Boulevard for a width of one
hundred feet (not sixty)? This would
make a most beautiful Improvement for
South Portland. Besides, there should
be a small park in some suitable situa
tion, below this boulevard. But what
suitable situation is offered?
ALFALFA IN MALHEUR COCA'TY.
Dr. "Withycombe Repeats the Story of
Its Successful Cultivation
CORVALLIS. Or., Aug. 9. (To the Edi
torsPermit me to say in reply to the
comment In the Baker City Herald, which
you published in, today's Oregonlan, I
wish to assure Brother Kenneday that I
said just exactly what I meant regarding
the alfalfa at Vale. In making what
may seem an extravagant statement there
was no thought of flattery, but simply
expression of an honest conclusion after
a careful examination.
It may be of interest to your readers,
as well perhaps to the editor of the Ba
ker City Herald, if some facts are given
relating to the financial returns from al
falfa production in portions of Malheur
County. The farmers In the Malheur,
Owyhee and Bully Creek Valleys for the
past few years have given considerable
attention to the production of alfalfa
seed. The industry, It can be 6aid, has
been phenomenally successful. For ex
ample, the first crop is cut for hay, yield
ing from two to three tons per acre, and
the second crop is harvested for seed,
which yields from ISO to as high as $85'
worth of seed per acre. Thus the two
crops yield an annual revenue of about
$100 per acre. If there is another section of
Oregon that can duplicate this I have not
yet had the good fortune of finding it.
It is to be sincerely hoped that more
of this valuable alfalfa and fruit land
will be brought under the ditch at an
early date. JAMES WITHYCOMBE.
The New Tariff.
Chicago Tribune.
The ffew law has manifest defects. It
would have had more but for the force
ful Interposition of the President. Be
cause of its shortcomings It did not re
ceive a solid Republican vote. But one
of the Senators who would not vote for
tt was compelled to admit that It was
'Superior to any bill framed for revenue
purposes, and, as far as the schedules
go, better than the Dlngley law." That
does not state the case fully. The Din
gley law was the high water mark of
ultra protectionism. This year's legisla
tion is significant in that It indicates
that the tide has turned. The long bat
tle between protection and free trade
has ended In favor of protection. The
contest of the future will be between
moderate and ultra protection. , t
THE MIRACLES OF' ST. ANN.
But Approval of the Miracle Muat
First Be Had From Rome.
New Orleans Times-Democrat. .
The novena preparatory to the feast of
St. Ann, which is now going on in St;
Ann's Church In this city, is part of a
great celebration which is taking place in
many Catholic churches throughout the
world at this time. Veneration of the
reltcs?oft. Ann is, part of the devotions
of the tnine days' celebration. In the
city of New York the newspapers are
prlntfng an account of two miracles sup
posed to have been performed through the
intercession of this saint for two of her
den-out clients praying at her shrine. In
one case, it is said that sight was re
stored to a woman who had been blind
many years, and that a lame man who
entered the church on crutches walked
out freely without their aid. The priests
in New York will investigate the reported
miracles carefully before expressing an
opinion. ' No strange happening, how
ever, is ever regarded as a miracle in
the Catholic Church until tbe church has
passed upon it formally, catholic peo
ple are allowed to think as they please
about it, but the declaration that a mir
acle has been worked must come from
Rome.
Father Bogaerts, pastor of ' 9t. Ann's
Church, who has a shrine to St. Ann in
the church which bears her name, and
the only shrine to that saint In the city,
has also a notable relic of the ealnt,
which Is exposed for veneration during
days of the novena. Father Bogaerts
said that he did not claim any miracles
as having taken place before this shrine,
but he did know that many, many pray
ers were answered. Every evening when
the devotions are held prayer is offered
for special blessings desired, and Father
Bogaerts said the faith of the people
in the goodness and power of. St. Ann
is strong.
Father Bogaerts says that the relic
which the church possesses Is a piece
of the bone of St. Ann. It was given
to the Rev. Father Le France, the first
pastor of the church, by Bishop Portier,
the first Bishop of Mobile, in 1851, duly
authenticated by him.
Father Bogaerts says that the body of
St. Ann was brought from Palestine to
Constantinople in A. D. 701 and placed
In the. church, which was built over it
by Emperor Justinian. Through the" cru
saders the relics were brought to. West
ern Europe, where they were deeply ven
erated in the churches which were so
fortunate as to get them. The Church of
St. Ann in Rome possesses the left hand
of St. Ann. The cathedral at Bologna has
part of her head. In the cathedral a
novena Is held in her honor once every
year, and every Tuesday there are spe
cial devotions. Part of the body of St.
Ann is in the church In Apt in South
east France, and other parts In churches
In the Rhine provinces. The church in
Duren has part of her head. In Cologne
three churches have three different rel
ics. The right hand of St. Ann is ven
erated in St. Ann's Church in Vienna,
where It is exposed every year on the
day of the feastr and many miracles are
reported from that shrine. In many
churches Father Bogaerts says there are
wax facsimiles of recognized relics.
ROCKEFELLER, JIL, NOT UNWORTHY
He Has None of the Vices of American
Millionaires Sons.
Washington Herald.
Cut to the quick, evidently, and thor
oughly outraged at continued newspaper
nagging of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.,
that young man's former pastor, Dr.
Dowllng. of Brooklyn, has entered a
spirited defense of his ertswtille associate
and declares that the young man in the
case is entirely worthy of any citizen's
unqualified Teepect, good will and friend
ship. And when one comes to think of it, it
is a singular phase of American journal
ism that this man should have been so
constantly and continuously the target
for unkind comment, sneering allusion
and sarcastic reference. His Sunday
school endeavors, for one thing, have been
ridiculed unmercifully; he has been
scoffed at as a smug hypocrite and
laughed at as a "fake'' enthusiast. And
yet he seems to have obtained and held
fast the high regard of one of Brook
lyn's most scholarly and consecrated
clergymen; a gentleman no longer jointly
Interested with him in church work, to
be sure, but one who must have had fair
and ample opportunity to study young
Mr. Rockefeller exhaustively, neverthe
less. Mr. Rockefeller apppears to seek a
rather quiet and unostentatious sort of
life. He figures in no midnight automo
bile smashups; he does not frequent the
Great White Way in New York. His
name has never been connected with an
Evelyn Thaw; he does not hang around
the stage doors. He owns, nor patronizes
no racetracks: he figures in no question
able court proceedings. He does not give
vulgar and disgusting dinners to disrep
utable friends, and he is not known to
be the "angel" behind any aspiring
"star" in musical comedy circles. In
short, Mr. Rocekeller apppears to be an
eminently clean and upright young man
neither startlingly brilliant nor asininely
dull; neither Immaculately white nor no
ticeably spotted.
Why, indeed, should such a young man
be the persistent butt of a lot of cheap
gibes and doubtful humor?
Appendicitis From Sharpening; Knives.
Westminster Gazette.
Sir William Bull writes to the papers
to suggest that appendicitis arises from
our habit of sharpening knives. "The
head of every family invariably sharpens
his carving knife as he stands before
the joint. This means a shower of mi
croscopic steel shavings on the meat."
Appendicitis has increased enormously of
late years. Perhaps our grandfathers
always used blunt knives or dissected the
joint In ways of which polite society has
kept no record.
Clam-Dredger No Longer.
Davenport, la, Dispatch.
"Unlucky Jim," a clam dredger, who
bore that name because he had a wife
and nine children and had never made a
good "find," has discovered a $3000 pearl
in a clam he opened near Lansing. W.
L. Gardner, of. Leclaire, and I. E. An
thony, of "Comanche, bought the pearl
for $3000 cash. This is a large price paid
for a fresh-water pearl. The pearl weighs
60 grains. Is flesh-colored, of fine luster
and without a speck and an almost per
fect sphere. Experts believe the purchas
ers will realize at least $5000 for the gem
In New York.
The Mombasa Massacre.
London Observer.
(Ex-President Roosevelt, who is at pres
ent shooting big game- in South Africa, ac
companied by a cinematograph operator, has
recently added two fine giraffes a hia bag.)
O, Theodore, in days of yore
Your courage I admired!
What fame you won with rod and gun.
What laurels you acquired!
The grizzly bear, within hia lair,
You bravely would pureue.
And goodness knows what buffaloea
And other things you slew.
Ere yet, by cinematograph,
I saw you slaughter a giraffe!
That kindly beast (alas, decease?!)
Is harmless aa a cat;
It seems a shame you shouldn't aim
At higher game than that!
Go forth and track the eavage yak,
3o eeek the tiger's gore.
Pursue the gnu, the kangaroo.
The lion and the boar!
Go rob the bison of her calf.
But, oh! don't murder the giraffe!
For if. in short, your views of sport
Such massacres allow.
You'd better tay at home and alay
The cart horse and the cow;
Or men will doubt those tales about
Your sportsmanship and grit.
Who read with gloom upon your tomb
In blood-red letters writ:
"Here Liee a fearful epitaph
The Man Who -urderedi a- Giraffei'
MIGHTY HARD PHILOSOPHY. (
How Much Truth In the Statements, '
. Let Each Header Judge. '
A text is set by the Washington Post
for a discetirse on men and women and
on their relations towards each other and
towards the. world they live In. which
is treated by several writers in a way
that does little credit either to men or
women. The Post Itself says:
The devotion of the average man to the
newspapers; his narrow-mtr.ded local political
point of view; his Inability to improve his
wife's mind un any subject outside of do
mestic economy; his ignorance of theology
and philosophy; his contempt of the esthet
ics, have become a matter ot careful
thought on the part of the women that own
him, but who are forced, when the creature
Is dragged Into cultivated society, to be
ashamed ot him.
The only remedy for this would be to.
encourage the male sex that la. those ot,
the sex capable of it to go in for the high-
er education. Hut, then, t he question arise.
Would this process not divert men's nuntta
from th- business of earning a living? . .
.The Louisville Courier-Journal treats
fhe subject ih this way, with more se
verity perhaps towards women than to
wards men, viz.:
The American husband is known all over
the world for the liberality with which he
provides for' his family. He goes to his
hole-ln-the-wall In a city canyon early in
the morning and grubs for money until the
dew la upon the grass out In the country of
which he knows little, and the lights upon
the asphalt in the city of which he knows
everything. He pours his earnings into his
helpmeet's lap now and again, hurrying
back absent-mindedly to the scene of his
grubbing. His wife takes the lapful to a
banker, if it Is large enough, transforms it
Into a letter of credit and goes to Europe.
In six cases out of seven the grubher hasn't
time to follow. When she 1r at home, the
American wife is prominent in the -Culture
Club of Keokuk." or the Now Thought Club
of New York, as the case may he The hus
band Is hard at It in Keokuk or New York,
because the family stat-of-mlnd Illustrates
the contention of an English litterateur that
everyone ' is hard up; some persons for a
shilling and ome for a million pound!.
There are usually larger motor cars limn
the one the provider has provided, and there
are always newer ones. And there are pri
vate cars and steam yachts, palaces in the
city and villas by the sea. These all of
theseare In turn necessities to the Ameri
can family.
It would perhaps be unjusa to aay that
Americans want the necessities more ar
dently than Europeans. A lropean noble
man would marry the Witch of Hndor-wlth
110.000.000. The European woman marries
an Income, without worrying about the de
fects of the man to whom It attaches. If
she gets the chance. But the American is
more willing than others to work from
early morning until late evening to acquire
the necessities the ever-lncreaslngly-costly
necessities'. He Is, therefore, too much oc
cupied with the chase tor cash to Improve
his mind' otherwise than to w het the keen
edge of his appetite for strenuous endeavor
by figuring upon the coup of tomorrow while
appearing as a background to the picture of
his wife's magnificence In an opera box.
There can be little learning without a
little leisure. And there must be a deal
of lavish providing. What is the provider to
do about It? What if they please are the
provlded-for going to do about It?
Foresit Areas In the South. 1
From Science.
The South, with 27 per cent, of the total
area of the United States, contains
about 42 per cent of the total forest area
of the country- The forest area by
states is as follows: Alabama. 20.000.000
acres; Arkansas, 34,200,000; Florida, 20.
000,000; Georgia, 22,300,000; Kentucky. 10.
000,000; Lousiana, 16.500,000; Maryland,
2.200,000' Mississippi, 17,500.000; North Car
olina, 19,600,000: South Carolina. 12.000.000;
Tennessee, 15.000.090; Texas, ao.000.o00: Vir
ginia, 14,000.000. and West Virginia, 9.HX1.
000. The South, it will be seen, has still
much of the virgin forest of the coun
try. This foreJst must be used, of course.
In order to meet the steadily expanding
wants of this section. It must be used in
such a manner, however, that the very
most may be made from its annual cut,
while at the same time this cut Is being
replaced by a new growth. In this way
its timber will remain a source of per
petual wealth. The importance of forest
conservation to southern Interests Is
clearly understood by the people of the
South. The future of the South Is more
nearly bound up in the plan of forest
preservation, protection of the water
power streams and woodworking Indus
tries, than is anything now before the
people of this part of the country. Not
only Is the protection of the watershed,
which will some day furnish the power
to run all manufacturing establish
ments in the entire South, an important
matter to the South, but the industries
depending upon the forest products will
also ba benefited by the protection
thrown about the remaining timbered
area.
German View of Our MIHIonarles.
Berlin Tageblatt.
They all came to New York, Chicago or
Philadelphia with one shirt and with 1
cent in the pocket of tho only other gar
ment. All served as bootblacks, errand
boys or even in more humble positions,
and in the second week had saved enough
to buy a waistcoat. After one month they
appeared before their respective employ
ers clad in new clothes and told them
with imposing self-confidence that the
organization of their business was de
fective and required reorganization. A
year later the boy has become a partner,
In two years he has outstripped the for
mer boss in wealth, and a year later he
has grown smart enough to kill off the
benefactor of other days. All American
millionaires arise at 3 in the morning,
eat and drink almost nothing, cease their
work at midnight and allow only those to
live whom they think are good enough
to invite. . . . Every dollar king founds
a university, an opera, a museum or a
picture gallery. Life becomes a burden
to them when there are no more com
petitors in their branch worthy of de
struction. Then they He down and die of
ennui.
Boot SInkluff a Engineer Sleeps.
Philadelphia Record.
While the engineer lay asleep in a cabin
of the Delaware, a passenger and freight
steamboat which plies between Trenton,
N. J., and Philadelphia, a night watch
man oft the pier where the boat was
docked noticed early today that the little
steamer was slowly sinking. Arousing
the engineer, both men worked to save
the craft from going down, but the leak
which caused the boat to settle could nut
rbe found and the craft was almost en
tirely submerged.
King Kdwurd'c Attractive Job.
Washington Herald.
The more we think-of it the more
thoroughly we become convinced that
Edward VII has the most attractive
king Job in Europe.
THESE ARE TRIFLKH.
"How was It he came to grief?" "By be
ing a joy rider." Baltimore American.
Helping each other: "Let me see didn't
you tell me to remind you to get something
when we gjt to town?" "I believe I did."
"What was It?" Judge.
He Knew Mrs.: "Oh. Jack! Dolly told
me the most exciting secret, and made
me swear never to tell a living soul!" Mr
Well, hurry up with it. I'm late to the office
now. Cleveland Leader.
"Do you thinkUhat man la suffering from
'exaggerated ego'?" "A man never suffers
from exaggerated ego," answered the emi
nent alienist. "He always appears to enjoy
it." Washington Star.
"I see that Jane Bleeker always takes
Charlie Bralnard with her when she drives
her new motor car. I thought she favored
Clarence Green." "Yes. but poor Clarance
Isn't any -good at pumping up tires."
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
"Say. ma." queried little Ida Innltt,
"why do women always cry at a wedding?"
"The married ones cry, my dear, because
they know how it is themselves, and the un
married ones because they don't," replied
Mrs. Innltt. Chicago Daily News.
He fo you remember the night I pro
posed to you? She Yes, dear. He We snt
for an hour, and you never opened your
mouth. She Yes, I remember, dear. He
Ah, that was the happiest hour of my life.
Philadelphia Inquirer.