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PORTLAND, SATTRDAY. AUGUST 14. 1909.
Z.YXAVS BOOK OX THE COLOfBIA
RIVER.
Of the several volumes of the
"American Waterways Series," (Put
nam & Sons. New York), the one of
special Interest to readers in the Pa
cific Northwest Is the book on The Co
lumbia River, by Professor William I.
Lyman, of Whitman College, Walla
Walla. The plan of the book gives the
author scope for a large sketch of the
topography of the country traversed by
the Columbia River and its tributaries,
an account of the history, the myths,
the scenery and the commerce of the
region, and a fusion of the whole body
of the materials into a highly interest
ing essay and narrative. It is the first
real attempt to write an extended ac
count and description of the Columbia
River, on a sufficiently ample plan. We
do not forget Mrs. Victor's book, en
titled, "The River of the West," pub
lished some thirty years ago; but that
entertaining book was not so much an
attempt at description of the river and
the land and an account of the historic
origins, as a romance of the life of the
principal hero and typical pioneer
trapper, Joseph L. Meek. Professor
Lyman's book, while adhering closely
to the actual history, is a most pic
turesque account of the general fea
tures of a river and of the land which
"t traverses a river and land wholly
tr.llke any other in the United States.
The author writes on his subject
a'ith the enthusiasm of a native son.
He has visited every part of the Co
lumbia Basin, has the observation of
true lover of nature, and possesses
rood descriptive powers. Animated
by "the spirit of the land of the Ore
gon River," saturated with it from his
Infancy, educated In constant touch
with it, son of pioneer parents whose
lives were spent in sawing the seed
w hich now Is bringing the harvest to
the states formed from The Oregon
Country, this writer might be expect
ed to produce a rare book. He has
done so. Among his merits is his
power of compression, without sac
rifice of picturesque description. The
detail, though great. Is Informed
throughout by an enthusiastic yet
never tedious sentiment; and the book
supplies an historic outline, which il
lustrates how much may be gathered
Into no great space by one who makes
himself master of such a subject be
fore he begins to write upon it. The
historic matter Is, however, only In
cidental to the general purpose an
account of The River and of The
Land.
One of the most intricate river
systems in the world is that of the
Columbia and its tributaries. All the
streams Issue from high mountains,
most of them from glacial areas. The
trend of mountain ranges in confusion,
with valleys and outlets at opposites
with each other, sends the streams to
wards every point of the compass;
large streams, too, whose variant
courses puzzled the early explorers,
and even today the stranger to the
topography can scarcely conceive how
these rivers, so at opposites. can find
a common channel and outlet to the
sea. In the midst are valleys of great
extent and indescribable beauty and
fertility; for the greater part of the
descent of these streams is in their
upper courses, and the general water
shed, a thousand miles from the sea,
has a mild and equable climate. Tet
Klacial peaks, but little more than one
hundred miles from the sea, also send
their streams to the Columbia. These
features render the river and the land
unique among the rivers and drain
ape basins of America. Now for the
first time they find description in a
form that unites the history with the
descriptive- matter about the country
Jn a continuous narrative.' Photog
raphy has furnished the illustrations,
and the art of engraving at the high
est has done the rest; so that we have
a book whose pictures are those of
nature, not of imperfect human fancy,
misguided by want of proportion, or
by wish to make Nature more striking
than It Is. Here the art Itself Is
nature.
t .. I. AA1rn&A tn triM mem
ory of the author's parents. It is a
filial tribute, touching to those who
have known the family. Another son,
Horace Lyman, now deceased, some
years ago. produced, with painstaking
labor, guided by literary and histori
cal judgment, a history of Oregon, in
four volumes. This work is on a
plan that supplies the large details on
which the historical part of the present
book by William D. Lyman ia founded
and framed. But the books of the
two brothers are different In purpose
and scope, and different in style and
treatment. The memory of the father
and mother pioneers, missionaries,
educators, hopeful workers amid the
humble and narrow conditions of the
early days In Oregon Is honored In
the "work of their song.
IXTEREfiTIXa RELICS.
An Oregon lad. living at Currinsvllle,
In this state, has had a bequest from
his grandfather, late of Los Angeles,
of a slats and a copy of Kirk nan's
English Grammar, relics of his school
boy days, bought In 1S40. If the lad
make as good use of the article that
have come down to him from his
grandfather's schoolboy days, as the
lads of that period -were wont to do,
he willaknow more about at least two
of the subjects taught in the common
.schools of today than do many who
graduate from our high schools.
These old relics are mute witnesses
of a time when pupils had to study a
lesson until it was learned before they
passed on to the next a process that
f;xed the rules of Klrkhan's. Gram
mar and Smith's Arithmetic In the
vouthful mind, with a pertinacity that
has outUved th years. Not many
branches were taught in the old school
days, but the boy who went to school
long enough to pass through McGuf
fey's series of readers. Kirkhan's
Grammar, Smith's Arithmetic, Mitch
ell's Geography and Webster's Spelling-book,
in accordance with the sys
tem then in vogue, was not likely to
fall In life from lack of a practical
education.
Old things have passed away and
with them the old textbooks that were
well thumbed by the generation that
they served. A return to the crude
schoolhouses, their meager equipment
and their birch-rod rule is not desired,
but the fact remains that these meth
ods turned out men and women who
could read understandlngly, write leg
ibly and "cipher" intelligently and
whose Intimate acquaintance with
Webster's Spelling-book made the
weekly spelling-match an exciting con
test often lasting several hours before
the last speller "went down" before a
rapid fusillade of words.
Trophies of past triumphs, mute
mementoes of past endeavors in the
educational field, are these and simi
lar relics of the school days of a past
generation, and worthy to be pre
served as memorials of a hard-fought
battle in the advance guard of a con
tention which opened the way for the
establishment of the common schools
of America. The sturdy lad.
With mlttened hands and cap drawn down
To guard the neck and ears from snow,
his slate, arithmetic and grammar un
der his arm, breaking the way through
the drifts for the sister who followed
with her geography and spelling-book,
formed a moving-picture on many a
Winter landscape in the time of the
old school textbooks.
PROBLEMS OF I-I VK AXD MIND.
One who doesn't understand Shake
speare simply, doesn't push himself
or herself into Shakespeare world;
which Is the widest intellectual and
moral and spiritual world yet revealed
to the sons and daughters of men. This
is the test: If one can't understand
Shakespeare, it is because he is too
narrow; hasn't range enough.
On the religious side the old Hebrew
prophets have the like expression; and
since religion and morals have close
relation and each must support the
other, the Hebrew Scriptures are the
highest expression of the religious
emotions and moral -aspirations of
mankind. Their "sacredness," over
other writings, is another question.
President Eliot, whose five feet of
books, contains not one which the
world could spare, didn't include In
his list Shakespeare and the Bible. He
doubts whether either can be read
understandlngly without high culture.
All the more necessary, then, for high
culture. For, on the two sides of life
on one side for highest expression of
the religious instinct in man and the
poetic expression necessary for It;
on the other, for deepest observations
on the widest range of human life, and
on the moral forces that rise up con
tinually to control and direct it and to
avenge its lapses and mistakes for
one side or part of this you go to the
old Bible: for another you go to Wil
liam Shakespeare. There are others,
besides Shakespeare. But there is
one who Is supreme. Others, indeed
are mighty, when his face Is hid.
A letter to The Oregonian asks why
so much criticism is passed on Presi
dent Eliot for omission of Shakespeare
from his five feet of hooks. His omis
sion of the Bible, this inquirer says,
was natural enough, since it is not on
the basis as other books. But It is
on the same basis as other books, and
must be judged by the same tests
and on the same principles it is a
body of literature, subject to the same
principles of interpretation that apply
to any other. This now Is all but
universally admitted. After a while
none will question it. To string out
quotations and comments, to show
that Shakespeare is not only greatest
of observers and thinkers, but great
est of moral writers, would be easiest
'of undertakings. He had wider range
of observation and experience than
the Hebrew writers, and his observa
tion and thought had modern in
stances for their support. Hence his
peculiar power. He Is merely a
prodigy. There are no miracles; and
prodigies appear only in the intel
lectual and moral world. There is
nothing that much astonishes the
world in the appearance of a new po
tato or cherry. But no one expects
another Isaiah or Shakespeare, or
Moliere or Milton. Men may appear
again whose powers will astonish the
world, but they will not be like those
who have preceded us. It is, of
course. Impossible, to set limits to
human powers. But no one can see
how there ever can be another great
poet like Homer or Shakespeare or
Tasso or Milton, or another great con
queror like Napoleon. . But there Is
more probability of a Napoleon than
of a Shakespeare.
OIH MERCHANT MARINE.
The latest fesue of Lloyds' Register
Is at hand. Like all of its predeces
sors, It contains the most complete de
tails and statistics of the world's ship
ping that can be compiled. Lloyds'
Register is accepted uthorIty on all
shipping matters by all people and all
countries where ships float. It will
undoubtedly come as an awakening
shock to the American people, who
have listened blindly to the statements
of the ship subsidy seekers, to learn
from such an unimpeachable source as
Lloyds' Register that the United
States has a merchant marine tonnage
greater than any other nation except
Great Britain, and that in sailing ves
sels, this country has a greater ton
nage than Great Britain.
Ia steam tonnage we crowd Ger
many pretty closely, with 3.682.332
tons, compared with 3.8S9.046 tons
for Germany. The steam tonnage of
Great Britain is 17,702.714 gross, or
nearly half of all the tonnage in the
world. 'The mistress of the seas"
has so far abandoned sail for steam
that the British flag floats over but
1.123,728 tons of sail shipping, while
there are enrolled under the Stars and
Stripes 1.291.480 tons of sailing ships.
In number and average tonnage, our
fleet of steamers on the Great Lakes
compares favorably with any other
country's. We hear much from the
ship subsidy seekers In praise of the
subsidized fleets of Japan, Norway
and France and in apologetic strain
for our own fleet; but our lake steam
fleet of 1.873 steamers of 2,044.653
tons register is greater than the en
tire fleet of any of the countries men
tioned. Nearly all of this lake fleet finds re
munerative employment on our In
land seas on longer routes than the
average traversed ty the coasting
fleets of Northern Europe or on the
Mediterranean, but not infrequently
some of these vessels steam through
the canals and out on the world's
oceans, where they give a good account
of themselves In competition with the
vessels of other nations. This coastwise
trade, on which such a large propor
tion of our vessels is er.gaged, extends
In some cases clear around Cape Horn
to the North Pacific, and the 14,000
mile voyage of our American coast
ing steamers make the North Atlantic
routes, where most of the world's ton
nage is found, look like short ferry
routes.
That enormous fleet, which sweeps
along the shores of the gTeat lakes
carries traffic between many states,
any one of which is greater In size
and development than most of the
principalities and powers of the old
world. . Instead of bemoaning the al
leged decadence of our American mer
chant marine, our people should be
pointing with pride to the remarkable
fact that this, one of the newest nt
the world's great powers, has the sec
ond largest merchant marine on earth,
and that our coastwise and internal
commerce is of so much greater pro
portions than that which is known as
foreign commerce between the Eu
ropean nations, that It is an everlast
ing source of wonder to the foreigners
who secure their Impressions or the
size of our merchant marine by read
ing the buncombe of tne ship subsidy
seekers, many of whom are so igno
rant that the facts which Lloyds'
Register presents are new and start
ling when brought to their attention.
HOW IT MAT BE DETERMINED.
The Deschutes (Harriman) company
has made Its survey for eighty-two
miles up the Deschutes River-on the
east bank, except for a distance of six
miles, where it crosses to the west side.
The Oregon Trunk (Porter Brothers)
survey occupies alternately each side
of the rivet but In the main is on the
west side (fifty-two out of eighty-two
miles). The principal points of con
flict are between mile posts 20 and 38,
and mile posts 70 and 82. In the state
ment by Mr. Cotton, counsel for the
Harriman system, published yesterday,
appeared the following:
If the Deschutes Company should resur
vey its line tor the six miles above men
tioned (on the west bank), all of Its line
would be on the east side of the river, and
if the Oregon Trunk would remain on the
west side of the river, on which it ctarled.
and on which it has surveyed fifty-two miles
of road, out of a total distance of eighty
two, there will be no conflict between the
lines, and each company could construct a
road without any fuss and feathers. As a
practical Question, it would seem that no
good reason exists why this should not be
done.
We will not undertake to say
whether it is practicable to follow Mr.
Cotton's suggestion. The reply of the
Oregon Trunk may be, and probably
will be, that It is not possible without
great expense, or at all, to build for the
entire distance up the west bank of the
Deschutes, leaving the more feasible
east bank to the Harriman people.
But how shall we know? We cannot
know, perhaps. If we are to listen to
the contentions of opposing attorneys;
but we might know if the Interior
Department of the United States, or
some other Government authority,
would concern itself in this most Im
portant controversy through the fact
that the railroad surveys pass largely
over Government land. And if the
matter could be thus determined, why
could not one course or survey be
mapped out for one road, and another
for the other? Or, if there should be
at some point, or points, a necessary
conflict, why could not this, too, be
adjusted by joint surveys or double
survey? If this shall de done, we shall
soon have a test of the good faith of
one or both constestants for the Des
chutes. We shall then have one or two
railroads up the Deschutes, or none.
Besides, it may be added that under
the statute neither railroad has the
right to exclude the other from a de
file; and It may be added further that
in the whole distance of eighty-two
miles, or thereabouts, constituting the
Deschutes Canyon, the parties admit
that there are only two or three points
where the roads must lie closely side
by side. Construction of a Joint road
bed (not a Joint rack) at these places
Is the necessary solution.
THE DIFKERKNCE.
Perhaps If the Portland grain
handlers were a little more familiar
with conditions on Puget Sound as
compared with Portland, there would
be greater hesitancy about attempting
to drive shipping away from this port
by maintenance of a differential
against Portland. An officer of the
union is quoted as saying that "the
class of men obtained on Puget Sound
for SO cents per hour are inexperi
enced and unreliable." If this be
true, Portland Is very much in need
of "Inexperienced and unreliable men,"
for it has been several years since this
port has been able to make as good a
showing for fast and economical han
dling of grain as has been made by
those "inexperienced and unreliable"
grainhandlers on Puget Sound docks.
As a matter of fact, the Puget
Sound grainhandlers are a very good
class of laborers, many of them own
ing their own homes and being in
comfortable circumstances. Employ
ing men strictly on their merits, and
not by virtue of a union card, enables
the Puget Sound dock managers to
select their men much more carefully
than would be the case if they were
obliged to take any man who came
along. Irrespective of his merits as a
worker.
CLIMATIC EXTREMES.
The annual parade of the G. A. R.,
at Salt Lake City, at noon last Wednes
day, was a most lnposlng spectacle.
Bronzed and gray the veterans, 5000
strong, marching four abreast held
right of way over everything except the
scorching rays of the sun. These
glared mercilessly down upon the line
of march and sent many an old soldier
to the emergency hospital in an am
bulance automobile. The test of en
durance was probably almost as severe
as any one of the veteran soldiers had
endured In his youth when on the
march or the battlefield; but the men
showed the stuff of which they were
made and only broke ranks when over
come by exhaustion. Children de
ploying as a living flag tender little
school girls, who had long drilled for
the occasion suffered uncomplaining
ly In the performance of their part,
though many were borne, limp and
pallid, from the scene In ambulances,
or were returned almost lifeless to the
arms of their parents.
But for the excessive heat there
would have been no disturbing in
fluence In connection with this forty
third annual encampment of the G.
A. R. Despite the heat the spectacle
was inspiring though shadowed by
dread.
This is the second patriotic display
within the year that has been attended
by atmospheric extremes that for the
time being put patriotism in eclipse
and made the easement of physical dis
comfort the paramount consideration.
The elaborate preparations for the in
augural of President Taft were so set
upon by the forces of the bleak North
land that thev were rendered practical-
' ly useless. Snow and sleet accompanied
by a zero temperature, and driven be
fore a bitter northeast wind, rendered
Washington the most uncomfortable,
inhospitable spot in the United States
on March 4. while, according to all ac
counts a scorching sun, aided by a hot
wind from the desert made Salt Lake
City the most uncomfortable spot In
the country on August 11.
Such extremes are exceedingly try
ing. To guard against a recurrence of
j the first it will be necessary to move
the date of the inaugural of the Presi
dent to a date a couple of months later.
To guard against a recurrence of the
latter will be much easier. It is only
necessary to select as the place of the
annual meeting of the G. A. R. some
city on the Pacific Coast, preferably
Portland where extremes of heat and
cold are practically unknown. It might
also be well to move the date of this
meeting backward two months, when,
if daring enough to select a city where
climatic extremes prevail, the worst
may be forestalled by an earlier date
of meeting.
The proposal to incinerate the bod
ies of the pauper dead is worthy of
consideration. Cremation is a clean,
quick and final method of disposing
of human remains, and in the case of
persons who die of contagious diseases
it is the only safe and sanitary
method. By comparison with burial
in the potter's field it must appeal
strongly to the sensibilities of every
one who would protect the bodies even
of the unknown, unclaimed dead from
the Indignity of hurried and careless
disposal. The finality of such disposal
of the human body is a strong plea in
favor of cremation. The menace that
hovers over a number of graves In
Lone Fir Cemetery that lie In the path
of street development is but a repeti
tion of what has happened In every
large city in the land. Bodies long
since buried, those who placed them
there gone, what is their dust to the
man who turns the furrow or opens
the street over or through the place of
their sepulture? This being true of
many who were given tender burial
in years past, it Is doubly true of the
body of the pauper "whom nobody
owns."
The Umbria and the Etrurla, still
the fastest single-screw steamships
afloat, are to go on the auction block.
They cost 31,500,000 each about
twenty years ago, and when they
scorched across the Atlantic several
hours faster than the first six-day boat
they created fully as much excitement
as was occasioned by the appearance
of the present-day record-breakers,
the Lusitanla and Mauretania. The
twin-screw and the triple-expansion
engine soon displaced the Umbria and
the Etrurla in the ranks of the record
breakers, and for more than fifteen
years they have been second-class
boats. They are not only much slower
than the modern flyers, but they are
also more expensive to operate, and a
few years hence will either reach the
scrap pile or be shunted to some ob
scure route where speed and elegance
are not so necessary as they are on
the North Atlantic.
Those of us who have come to look
upon Western Canada as the great
grain-producing section of the North
American Continent must revise our
opinion or else remain at variance
with the report of John Inglis, the ex
pert statistician. In this we find that
the wheat acreage of this year in
North Dakota is nearly 1,000,000 acres
in excess of the combined acreage of
the three Northwestern provinces of
Canada. In milling qualities and food
producing properties, North Dakota
wheat is, as everybody knows, unsur
passed. Why look enviously and
anxiously across the border when the
grain area and output are under con
sideration? . The one thing that, above all others,
Is a test of human fortitude, and that
most frequently causes self-appointed
exchange of Ills known to possibilities
unknown, is continued, hopeless ill
ness. The public, to whom she was
known as "Miss Santa Claus," will be
sad to learn that Miss Elizabeth Phil
lips, of Philadelphia, found life thus
encumbered too heavy to bear and
passed out by the act of suicide last
w.dncarinv. This is her simple eu
logy: "By reason of her work among
poor children at Christmas time jvusa
Phillips enjoyed an almost National
niitatlnn " To this It may well be
added: "She will be missed by chil
dren."
Perhaps It Is Just as well to allow all
game birds and animals to be slaugh
tered at once. Then those who kill,
out of season, from .the mere lust of
killing, will be compelled to give up
v. n Dnnvt " Q rt m n nf them then might
l in. . - -
be led Into useful employment. But
it's doubtful. Most or tnem are nat
ural loafers, and will always be a pest
to society.
Gilford Plnchot does not want all
the power sites In the land gobbled by
v, in,.ts Neither does anybody else.
But Mr. Plnchot neglects to say what
a poor man can do with a power site
other than sell It to some one or cun
cern rich enough to develop its energy.
vnor tht x.ravs have been found
.r..ir in reviving a victim of lauda
num. It is but a step farther to their
use In administering tne tnira ae
gree." Local detectives might enlist
them in the searcn ior tne mjsioi ioua
"big red touring car."
Irrigation, some tell us, is a "poor
man's proposition." In many a place
where the hoe and the cultivator are
Just as good, or even better, irrigation
Is a lazy man's proposition.
a i nt th r.ersons accounted lucky
In the Idaho land drawings could
find better and cheaper land in the
Willamette Valley.
.We don't need to worry about that
4 n I l. I n ehnptflcra miieh loncpr!
ju-ihi:u lain
the new season begins in less than
three weeks.
By this time young Thaw should be
making up his mind that It didn't pay,
after all, to kill Stanford White.-
One of Harry Thaw's svmptoms of
insanity was distrust of his lawyers.
Then how about the rest of us?
The Government doesn't prosecute
the newspapers that advertise its land
lottery.
" The whole Sutton family la rather
combatly
lEl'PEirS'S TRY FOR NORTH POLE
Other Scientists Agree With Htm That
the Idea la Not tptoptan.
Chicago Record-Herald.
Count Zeppelin's projected expedition.
In which he hopes to crown his life
work as a developer of the art of air
navigation by reaching and returning
trom the North Pole in a new dirigible
I lin II, is planned to be undertaken
I next Summer. The count and the
I scientific expert who will accompany
Ihim, Professor von Hergesell, a cele
brated Strasbourg aerologist, modestly
disclaim the express intent of trying
to find the pole. They say their expe
dition will be for the purpose of "in
vestigating the unknown regions of the
Arctic" and of making a series of
scientific observations in the Polar
regions. The German public, however,
understands that if the preliminary
trips of Zeppelin from his base of
operations are successful, the search
for the pole will be undertaken.
This base will be Cross Bay, on the
Island of Spitzbergen. The airship is
to sail to that northern point, cross
ing Germany and Norway, with proba
bly several intermediate landings for
the purpose of gathering scientific
data. Cross Bay has been chosen part
ly because of familiarity with it by
Professor von Hergesell, who made
soundings and observations about the
bay when cn a voyage with Prince Al
bert of Monaco in 1907 in the prince's
luxurious and scientifically equipped
yacht, Princess Alice.
.
After thoroughly testing the ability
of the Zeppelin airship to weather
Arctic conditions, the dash for the
pole will be made. It is said several
polar explorers have expressed confi
dence In the success of the Zeppelin
expedition, and Emperor William is
supporting the project enthusiastically.
Prince Albert of Monaco will con
tribute to the expedition a complete
set of scientific instruments for mak
ing measurements and observations,
many of which have been designed by
himself. This multi-millionaire ruler
of the tiny principality famed as the
seat of Monte Carlo, the great gam
bling resort, is one of the most lib
eral and accomplished patrons of
science in the world. Lieutenant
Shackleton, the English explorer who
nearly reached the South Pole; Sven
Hedin, the famous Swedish traveler;
Professor von Drygalski, the Munich
Polar explorer, and Major von Parse
val, constructor of ' Germany's "non
rigid" military airships, have expressed
the opinion that the Zeppelin expedi
tion will succeed. The last named au
thority says a nonrlgld airship of the
type he has built could reach the Pole
in 48 hours from a well-selected base.
"I would press farther north than
Cross Bay as a starting place," says
Major von Parseval, as quoted by a
Berlin correspondent of the New York
Times, "and fill my airship upon one
of the mighty ice fields at about the
82d degree of latitude, wnlch woulQ
leave a distance of only 560 miles to
the pole." From Spitzbergen to the
Pole is about 800 miles, but this dis
tance is easily within the radius of the
utility of a Zeppelin airship, for the
Zeppelin II accomplished a considera
bly greater task in its famous voyage
across Germany May 30 and 31 last,
traveling 850 miles in anout 37 hours.
The reaching of the pole will depend
wholly upon the strength of the wind,
according to Professor von Drygalski,
but Major von Parseval is optimistic
about this and other physical difficul
ties to be encountered.
e
"I have been brought to realize,"
says Major von Parseval, "that the
weather conditions in Summer in Arctic
latitudes are actually more favorable
to the aeronaut than those of Central
Europe. Not only Is an Immense ad
vantage gained In the fact that our
alternating day" and night changes
theie into one continuous day, but the
very circumstance tht the polar
regions, land and sea alike. He for mile
after mile under one connected cover
ing of ice is In itself in the aeronaut's
favor, since it brings about a uniform
ity in the general conditions which in
our part of the world is utterly un
known. "It Is easily conceivable that under
such conditions there must be long
windless periods periods, of absolutely
atmospheric stillness in the course of
the Polar Summer, and that the Polar
winds, when they do put in an appear
ance, are inevitably of the mildest
character, as Nansen found them to be
during his long voyage in the Fram.
In the face of such considerations as
these I am obliged to admit that the
Idea of reaching the pole by airship
can hardly be branded Uptopian."
e
Discussing the difficulties confront
ing an aerial dash to the pole, real and
Illusive, another well-known German
aeronaut scatters the popular mistaken
belief that the Polar temperature is
one of the prime hardships to be faced.
He points out that the low temperature
is in reality quite an insignificant
factor, since in July and August, the
two hot months, and the period in
which the Zeppelin expedition Is
planned to take place, the thermometer
is never more than sllgutly below zero,
sometimes even a trifle above It.
It is possible that .eppelin may not
have the chance to be the first finder
of the North Pole, for two explorers
who have been engaged more than a
year on the task are yet to be heard
from, and a third is preparing for a
trip northward from Spitzbergen. Dr.
F. A. Cook left New York in the Sum
mer of 1907 and Wintered at Etah, on
the coast of Greenland. March 3, 1908,
he started from Annatok, with Eski
mos and dogs, to travel across Grin
nell and Grant lands to the Arctic
Ocean, where his journey over the sea
would begin. Except for a letter dated
two weeks after his start he has not
been heard from since. Commander R.
E. Peary started from New York a year
ago on the steamer Roosevelt, with the
hope of arriving at the Pole by a sled
journey from some base on Grant
Land. He started north from Etah
August 17 last. Walter Wellman Is at
Spitzbergen, preparing to make another
attempt, this Summer if possible, to
reach the pole by means of his
dirigible balloon America. One or
more of these three may be reported
to have reached the Pole long before
Count Zeppelin starts north next Sum
mer. Played Joke on Prohibitionist.
Detroit Free Press.
Over at Newaygo, where it is so dry
that the boys habitually "spit cotton,"
there seem to be some mighty dry pro
hibitionists, according to a story that
comes from the desert.
A Newaygo citizen recently received a
letter from a Kentucky whisky house, re
questing him to send them the names of
a dozen or more persons who would like
to get some fine whisky shipped to them
at a very low price. The letter wound
up by saying:
"We will give you a commission on all
the orders sent In by parties whose
names you send us."
The Newaygo man belonged to a prac
tical Joke class, and filled In the names
of some Dt his prohibition friends on the
blank spaces left for that purpose.
He had forgotten all about his supposed
practical Joke when Monday he' received
another letter from the same house. He
supposed It was a request for more names
and was Just about to throw the com
munication in the waste basket when it
occurred to him to send the name of
another old friend to the whisky house.
He accordingly tore open the envelope,
and came near collapsing when he found
a check for 14.80, representing his com
mission on the sale of whisky to the par
ties whose names he had sent in about
three weeks before.
APPROVAL FOR THE ASSEMBLY METHOD
Discussed With Candor and Force by the Newspapers of Oregon How Some
Serious Defects of the Primary loiw May Be .Met.
Oregon Observer (Grants Pass).
The direct primary nominating law
is being widely discussed just now. It
has proved a signal failure wherever It
has been put In operation, the latest
experience being In Indiana. In Ore
gon the experiment has not Improved
with experience, but has grown worse
in the dishonesty and trickery that the
provisions of the law Invite. The. elec
tions of lest year were disgracefully
dishonest, even for the political game,
which Is none too scrupulous. There Is
no use going over that again. The
particulars of how a Republican state
elected a Democratic United States Sen
ator ore known to every voter in Ore
gon. But the boldness and success of
the crooked game awakened serious Re
publicans to the political Iniquity ti.ey
were tip against, and there was a feel
ing around for remedy. The city of
Portland, in Its civic elections, had also
suffered seriously from similar abuses
of the primary law, and there some
months ago the proposal to hold a con
vention of Republican citizens to recom
mend candidates for the primary elec
tions was adopted and acted upon and
worked out satisfactorily. This result
let IlRbt Into the growing political
darkness, and there mi In all sections
of the stnte a resolve to repeat that
process when the state -elections are
held next year.
The idea now seems to be to hold to
the primary law, and endeavor to cor
rect its failings by county convention,
which It appears to be now the proper
thing to speak of as "assemblies." These
assemblies, to be composed of reputable
citizens, will endeavor to select desir
able candidates for nomination at the
primary election, and it will rest with
the voters to approve them or not as
they may judge best. There is no pur
pose to take any direct power from
the people. Heretofore at primary
elections, the voters have had no guide
in choosing nominees, and it is be
lieved that the assembly method will
be an important aid. .
The election of Jonathan Bourne, Jr.,
as United States Senator from Oregon
was not so much a blunder as it was a
misunderstanding. Mr. Bourne kept
himself close to Portland and cam
paigned by printed circulars. Not half
the people knew anything about him,
and he was elected by the votes of men
who did not know he was unfit for the
office. The assembly will help to stive
better Information. Again, the people
by a large vote elected State Treasurer
Steel, of whom they knew nothing at
that time, he, too, electioneered by
printed circulars. But with the col
lapse of the rotten trust bank In Port
land the facts were exposed that Steel
was a mere creature of the bank, and
had not only procured legislation for
it, but had unlawfully deposited the
state school money with the tumbling
Institution. Steel should have been
prosecuted criminally and ousted from
office, but neither o these things hap
pened. He is State Treasurer yet. The
peoole do not want to make a mistake
like that next year, and they need the
assembly to vouch for the characters of
persons who offer for norainatton. Thus
far the assembly can be of service to
the voters, but It cannot prevent false
reirlstratlon, and that la the rock that
will eventually wreck the primary lair
and call for Its repeal.
The Observer accepts the assembly
proposition, believes it will do much for
better government, but does not believe
that it will be entirely successful, or
that it will make the primary law ac
ceptable to men who believe In gov
ernment by party, and all thinking
must believe in party as opposed to
chaos.
THE GEORGIA EDITORS.
More Fun Down There Than Even in
Oregon These Days.
Philadelphia Record.
We trust that the hostilities between
Clark Howell, of the Atlanta Constitution,
and Dick Gray, of the Atlanta Journal,
will go no further than pens and ink.
If they extend to shootlng-lrons and
smokeless powder comedy will be turned
into tragedy; and we prefer comedy. If
one of these accomplished editors should
be shot and the other one put in the
penitentiary we should lose the diversion
which both of them are now affording the
country; and there is not enough fun in
the world, anyway.
Mr. Gray says that Mr. Howell has
been "caught red-handed as a fakir." Of
course, this is a mixed metaphor; but
mixed metaphors are as appropriate to
this season as mixed drinks, and are ar
safer. Murderers get red hands, but
fakirs do not get anything worse than
dirt on their hands. We trust that both
of these editors will continue to be caught
black-handed from the injudicious use of
their ink-stands, but that neither will ever
get red hands. Mr. Gray also says that
Mr. Howell has been "ripped and riven
to his sawdust heart, the stuffed rag baby
of Georgia journalism."
This Is fine; we do not wish any care
less use of weapons to interfere with such,
a flow of language. Mr. Howell retorts
that Mr. Gray has been so often openly
branded in the Constitution as a "fishpion
ger" a perfectly legitimate calling, by
the way a "guttersnipe," a "brute and
bully," a "thug Insensible to gentility or
refinement," and a "hopeless ass," that
further characterization "would exhaust
the vocabulary of contempt and disgust."
Not at all; the vocabulary Is Inexhausti
ble, and ite use Is most diverting. Mr.
Howell says there is no use of "further
cornering a polecat," but there Is a lot of
use In his saying it, and we hope Mr.
Gray will not shoot him till he has said
some more things.
There is a proposition in Atlanta to
create a Court of Honor "to adjust the
difficulty in an amicable way." We don't
want any one shot, but we cannot con
ceive what a Court of Honor could possi
bly have to do with this controversy.
Albers' New Mill and Broadway Bridge.
PORTLAND. Aug. 12. To the Editor.)
In The Oregonian Thursday an an
nouncement by the Albers Bros, that
they are forthwith to construct a six-story
brick flouring mill Just north of the Ains
worth dock is attracting the attention of
the people who voted for the Broadway
bridge.
This bridge will pass directly through
this mill if built, and it is strange that
the firm should construct such a mill In
the face of an early condemnation suit,
The Albers Bros, certainly know that the
bridge passes over the center of this
dock and that the bridge cannot pass
over a six-story building after reaching
the west bank of the river. Whose duty
Is it to call the attention of the brothers
to this matter? Will the city have to
pay the extra amount for the removal of
this obstruction as soon as it is finished?
Perhaps the Mayor and Council could call
the attention of Uie builders to the neces
sity of foreseeing the bridge and the fu
tility of erecting such an expensive struc
ture as an obstruction.
M. J. MAC MAHON.
The . Reasonable Idea.
Chicago Record-Herald.
"Don't imagine," he said after she had
refused him, "that I am going away to
blow my brains out or drink myself to
death."
"No," she replied. "I have no Idea that
you will do anything of that kind. You
are going away to do some wonderful
thing which will bring you wealth and
fame and make me regret all the rest of
my life that I didn't believe you when
you Intimated that you were one of the
greatest little men that bad ever come
over the asphalt.''
The Dalles Optimist.
It does "oeat all how the Democrats
are fighting against the conference plan
of nominations. And yet there is
nothing In the direct primary law
against conferences or even conven
tions. Indeed, It was the Intention of the
franier of the law. Is In harmony with
the spirit of the law, that nominations '
or suga-rstions should be made by the
different parties, such suggestions to be
afterwards passed upon by the people
at the primary elections. We do not
believe the most ardent advocates of
the law ever understood that the races
for nominations should be a go-as-you-please
affair.
But after the law was passed the
Democrats and "independents" and "re
formers" saw how the law could be
manipulated to cause the dominant
party to divide their ballots between a
multitude of candidates, while the
minority party would concentrate their
ballots on one or two of their best men.
In thet way they foresaw that wt
would probably nominate our weakesi
man, while they would have their best
As we have often said before, we have
thus far allowed the minority leaders
to outwit us, and as a result we have
in the United States Senate two men
who ould not have been elected had
the Republicans acted with any sense.
It is all very well to say that Bourne
and Chamberlain were the choice of the
people, but those who say it, as well
as everybody else with a grain of sense,
know such a statement is false. In
a fair and honest election by the voters
of the state neither one of them would
ever have had a look-in for the position
they now hold.
The only thing for us to do as a
party is to let this hue and cry of
the Democratic press go unheeded, and
go ahead and call a conference or con
vention next Summer and agree upon
candidates for Congress and the Sen
ate and for state officers and members
of the Legislature. There will be strong
opposition to this, but if we will analyse
this opposition we will find It coming
almost entirely from the minority party
organs. Any Republicans who dispute
the right to nominate need not be seri
ously considered, for they are the ones
who have given us Bourne and Cham
berlain, and are at the least but traitors
to our party.
And another thfnsr we must do, and
that is alt down ou Statement No. 1.
Never must we again tie our hands as
we did last Pall and witness the spec
tacle of Republicans bound hand and
foot- Let it be understood that any
man who signs that statement must be
slaug-htrrcd at the polls. Then by elect
ing beyond, a peradventure our candi
date for Senator in November, he can
be elected by a solid Republican ma
jority in January.
It is said that the Republicans of the
state are almost universally in favor of
the direct primaries law and Statement
No. 1. There never was a greater cal
umny uttered. It Is untrue from a to
lzzard. Such a report is a man of
straw, put up and maintained by the
Democrats and their cohorts, and we
should no longer let the bugaboo scare
us.
There are but two courses open to
us; take the plan as outlined by the
best Republicans and make our nomina
tions, or turn the state, bag and bng
srasre, over to the minority.
DEMOCKATS HELPED OUT.
The Crowd Chamberlain Acted With OS
the Tariff.
Memphis Commercial Appeal, Dem.
Our Democrats in the tariff business,
except Gore and half a dozen others,
have gone along and permitted the
Republicans to have tilings Just as they
wished. They took little part in form
ing the bill, and when the Insurgent
Republicans revolted the Democrats
rather sneered at their course and gave
silent aid to the standpatters and the
regulars.
Charleston News and Courier, Dem.
Unfortunately ft.' the Democratic
party and the country, the Democrats
In the Senate- and the House followed
opportunity instead of principle in deal
ing with the question; a little bit of
protection for local Interests here and
there, something for sugar and rice in
Louisiana, a nubbin for the lumber in
dustry In North Carolina and Alabama,
a hand-out for the camphor orchards In
Florida, or something of the sort, and
whatever sop offered that seemed to
be of temporary advantage to "my con
stituents." Louisville Courier-Journal, Dem.
The country Is indebted but little
more to the Democrats in the present
Congress than to the Republicans for
relief from the burdens of a tariff for
subsidy, the truth being that the bill
as it went to conference was a product
of Democrats as well as Republicans,
and that several of its worst features
could not have been incorporated in It
except for the votes of Democrats, es
pecially of Democrats in the Senate.
And a still further and humillatlngly
significant truth being that the chorus
of opposition to the bill that is now
going up from the Democrats in Con
gress Is based upon the complaint, not
that it is a highly protected measure,
but that it makes an unfair division
of the protection swag!
Aa Old-Fashloned Christian Minister.
New York Tribune.
William R. Huntington was a Christian
minister. Everything else in his life was
made subservient to the fulfilment of that
supreme calling. He sought no new de
vices. He did not pose, or strain after
sensational effects. Notoriety was not the
breath of his nostrils. He was content to
keep his church a church. He did not
deem it necessary to introduce into it
"smoking services" or moving picture
shows or what has not unjustly been
called "ecclesiastical vaudeville." For
"drawing power" he depended upon noth
ing more than preaching the gospel and
administering the sacraments of the
church according to his orthodox creed.
But there was no complaint of empty
pews in his church or of failure to keep
men interested In religion. There was no
decline of that church In spiritual au
thority or In vital Influence for righteous
ness during his ministry of a quarter of a
century. No Just and intelligent person
will for a moment dispute the fact that
It has been a good thing for New York
to have Grace Church in it with Dr.
Huntington as its rector, or that It would
be for the good of tne city to have such
churches and such ministers multiplied.
Graves of the Wicked.
Washington (D. C.) Herald.
Where is the man who has not wan
dered now and then through the grave
yards of the world and wondered where ,
the wicked folks are burled? If one be
lieves all the tombstones say one In
evitably inclines to think there never
were many, if any. very, very wicked
folks on earth.
Both "Out of Politics."
Brooklyn Ea?le.
Tom Johnson in Cleveland and William
Randolph Hearst in New York seem to be
out of politics for the same reason. Only
Johnson has lost his money, and Hearst
Is saving his. The effect is identical.