8 THE MORNING OREGOXIAX, SATtJRDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1909. ,
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PORTLAND, SATURDAY, RFPT 4, 1909.
LIMITS OF PROHIBITION.
"State-wide prohibition" will be at
tempted in Oregon, by Initiative peti
tion. The vote will be talsen next
year. The Oregonian thinks it will
not carry. It Is an unreasonable and
extreme proposition. Local option as
sures all the prohibition that is re
quired. It offers opportunity even for
more than is practicable; as the im
possibility of preventing use of liquors
in "dry" counties abundantly proves.
While the liquor business must al
ways be held under close .restriction,
end while opportunity must be given
to rural and village populations to
forbid the sale, if they desire, prohibi
tion should not be adopted as a state
policy unless the state wishes to be
or become a rural and commonplace
community, like Maine, Alabama, or
Kansas. But even in those states the
eaie and use of liquors cannot be pre
vented. It is a farce and sham.
Let localities that wish to prohibit
eale and use do so, or make the at
tempt. But they never will enforce It.
But state-wide prohibition is another
thing. Still less can It be enforced;
and, moreover, if attempted. It puts
the state in the foolish class. The
reputation of a prohibition state Is not
a reputation for Judgment and sanity,
but for fads and chimeras.
Here is Portland, an important city.
It is becoming: a large city. Other
principal cities and towns of the state
are growing at rapid rate. Now, while
tale of liquors is not a condition on
w hich the life of a city depends, yet
sale of liquors, as of all other things,
is an actual necessity in every im
portant city. Think of the absurdity
of cutting off the sale of any com
modity, in an Important city!
Sale and use of liquors is an im
portant adjunct of social life, and of
commercial or business life as well.
You will not find a first-rate or high
class hotel in any "dry'" tow; nor
any of the higher activities of push
and energy. This la not to say that
liquor 'does everything or anything.
It Joes signify that no active town ;s a
prohibition town. Active towns don't
vote prohibition. They don't live on
liquor, but liquor is one of the ad
juncts of active and varied life, every
where. What Is called state-wide prohibi
tion will be brought before the people
of Oregon for a vote. We think it
will be rejected, because it will not be
doomed reasonable or desirable. Regu
lation and restriction of sale of 1 iquors
is reasonable. Prohibition is not. Be
sides, It never can be enforced in any
active or bustling city. Think of the
insanity of attempting It in New York
or Boston, In Philadelphia or Pitts
burg, in Cincinnati or Cleveland, in
San Francisco or Denver, in Seattle or
Portland not to speak of the thou
sand smaller towns!
RAILROAD EARNINGS INCREASING.
The return of prosperity Is quite
prominently disclosed In the ' current
number of the "Railway Earnings"
supplement of the New York Finan
cial Chronicle. The June figures cover
about 200.000 miles of the principal
railroad systems of the country and
show an Increase in gross earnings of
J24.708.80S over the gross earnings
for June, 1908. Some of the gilding is
taken off this showing -when it is
stated that the June earnings in 1908
were $26,987,858 less than for June,
1907. By these comparisons to are,
given a forcible reminder of the dras
tic punishment which high finance
brought down on the country in the
closing weeks of 1907. From the gross
earnings standpoint it is apparent
that we are not yet back to our nor
mal business. The silver lining of the
cloud, however, appears in the net
earnings figures. The policy of re
trenchment which was enforced with
such vigor all over the United States
certainly produced wonderful results,
for it transformed a loss of $4,557,091
in net earnings in June, 1908. to a
gain in net earnings In June, 1909, of
$14,184,380.
This Is a greater Increase in net
earnings than Is shown in any three of
the best years which preceded It. Be
fore regarding these enormous net
earnings too seriously, due considera
tion must be made of the) methods
w hich produced them. On every road
and In every department, to meet the
demands of the stockholders and pre
vent the use of red Ink on the ledgers,
the expense accounts have been cut
heavily. Quite naturally there is a
limit to this extreme retrenchment.
Roadbed and equipment must be kept
in fairly good shape, and the system
organized for the expeditious move
ment of traffic. That limit has appar
ently been reached, and from this time
forward it will be necessary to make
heavy Inroads on these net earnings
in order to keep the roads and equip
ment In condition for handling the
rapidly swelling tide of traffic.
Evidence is appearing that some of
the cost of this retrenchment policy is
about to be passed on to the public In
the shape of a car shortage. It was
Just about two years ago that James
Hill made his famous speech in which
he said that the country was then In
actual need of $5,000,000,000 worth of
new railroads and equipment, and
that, unless we got them. Industrial
chaos was a strong possibility. Rail
roads are now building thousands of
miles of new track, and are placing
heavy orders for equipment. To de
liver the needed supplies will, how
ever, require several months, and
meanwhile the victims of the system,
which is responsible for the largest
r.et earnings In proportion to the gross
that have ever been shown by Amer
ican railroads may as well prepare for
the coming car shortage. With more
business than "we had at a correspond
ing period In 1907, we are in no bet
ter condition to handle the traffic.
There Is every reason for believing
that the year will go out with the
railroads more effectually congested
with freight than at any previous time
In their history.
THE RETVRN OF REASON.
Mr. Adolph Schmuck, of Indianapo
lis, has written a letter to the New
York Evening Post on the conse
quences of a free-for-all direct pri
mary, as developed In his city. Mr.
Schmuck Is not - politician, but an ob
servant private citizen, who has no
personal objects In relation to politics.
His conclusion Is that some form of
representative action is necessary for
guidance of the people In large masses.
"Without some representative wheel
in the system," it Is asked, "how shall
many candidates be reduced to a few,
so that the Issues may be defined and a
popular vote be anything more than a
lottery?" Mr. Schmuck proceeds to
say that "the defect works evil In two
ways. It either causes good candidates
to keep out of the field altogether, or
it endangers the chance of the election
of any of them when they do enter the
field." Which Is familiar, Indeed, In
the history of the direct primary in
Oregon. Here is the detail of the sit
uation In Indianapolis:
The first trouble arose In regard to the
Mayoralty candidate. Each party had a
candidate who waa regarded a being
backed by ring Influence. It was even hint
ed that those men bad bipartisan support
and that there was an understanding be
tween their backer.. In each case the sup
posed ring candidate waa opposed by a man
of medtocra ability, but regarded a being
at least honest In Intention. The election
was gratifying In that the ring candidate
were overwhelmingly defeated, but It waa
far from satisfactory In the quality of the
candidates actually choen. Now, It la no
mere theory to say that better candidates
were shut out by the direct primary law.
In the case of each party & third man. of
far greater ability than the nominee, con
sidered entering the race. Each vra willing
to enter the race on condition that the two
opposing candidates withdraw a seemingly
arrogant demand, but really the only practi
cal condition.
This writer proposes what seems to
us an unavailing remedy. He proposes
that the candidates. In case none of
them should receive a majority on the
trial vote, should maet and cast their
votes for each other, In proportion to
the number each received In the elec
tion, and thus gradually eliminate the
superfluous or unnecessary candidates.
But this would be a dangerous method,
and it would be denounced as "ring
government" at once.
To representative government. In
some form or fashion, for direction of
the primary, it Is necessary to revert.
Plurality rule, which the direct pri
mary, operating without guide or com
pass, produces or attempts,' is the ne
gation "and destruction of all rational
or sane political effort. Plurality rule,
the rule of meager plurality, will not
be submitted to. It Is not representa
tive; It is regarded as a farce, and the
primary, therefore, must be1 directed
in some proper way by representative
action. '
The direct primary, we believe, will
stand. But representation of party
principles and purposes, and of effec
tive government through party organ
ization. Is indispensable under our sys
tem. We shall not be content with
government by a Czar on the one hand,
nor by an unorganized and irresponsi
ble mob on the other. We are learning
many things; or rather we are learn
ing over again many old things and
making them new again. Representa
tives of parties and of people should be
selected to -guide and direct the choice
of candidates not absolutely, for the
right of rther and independent action
through the primary will remain; but
to make selection" of candidates that
will represent the policy and purposes
of the parties, and to recommend them
for nomination and election. It. de
volves on the Republican party of Ore
gon, representing the dominant politi
cal element and sentiment of the stata,
to do this, to take this course; and, as
we read in one of the great masters
historical dramas, to "help to set a
head on headless Rome."
PRO AND CON FOR DR. COOK.
If Dr. Cook really reached the North
Pole on April 21, 1908, his scientific
observations will furnish pretty con
vincing proof of It. Besides that,, they
will enable astronomical experts to
check his route day by day. He says
among other things, for example, that
on April 6 he determined by-the sun
that he was In' latitude 86 degrees 36
minutes, and longitude 94 degrees 2
minutes. He has undoubtedly, if he
cares for his reputation, preserved the
calculations by which he reached this
and every similar result. Scientific
men will go over them all with minute
diligence, and if he has made any blun
ders or departed from the truth in any
particular, detection Is almost certain.
Almost, but not quite. It Is con
ceivable that he sat down In some
comfortable nook during the long Arc
tic night and laid out an imaginary
route to the Pole, with suitable halt
ing places. For each halt he could
devise false observations of the sun, if
he liked, and It would not require
much mathematical knowledge to
make them fit exactly to the place and
time. It might all be faked so skill
fully as to deceive everybody on earth.
We must remember, though, that trav
elers in Arctic regions do not confine
themselves to astronomical observa
tions. They Investigate the magnetic
needle, they, keep records of the tem
perature. They give detailed descrip
tions of their halting places. So much
has to be noted and recorded that a
man trying to compose a fictitious ac
count would be almost certain to make
some awkward slip which would be
tray him. Still he might not. He
might possibly compose an entire set
of scientific data which would look as
if they were genuine, though they were
all made at his comfortable fireside in
an Eskimo hut.
Thus the world might be deceived
for a time, but in the end the decep
tion would transpire. Other explorers
would be sure to try to follow the
Imaginary route to the Pole which Dr.
Cook had charted, and his undoing
would speedily ensue. They would find
that the halting-places he had so mi
nutely described did not exist at all.
The- observations they would make
would Jar with his at every point. In
evitable exposure awaits tha traveler
who varies from the truth in any par
ticular. How, then, can a man hope
to Impose upon the world with a fabu
lous account of an entire Journey?.
Still Dr. Cook may have gone near
to the Pole without quite reaching it.
He may honestly have thought he was
at the exact spot when he was not
there; or he may have decided to claim
the credit dishonestly. The temptation
to do the latter must have been very
strong If he fonnd himself only a few
miles from the goal with no possibility
of going farther, but he would hardly
have been likely to yield to it. Grant
ing that he had no moral scruples, he
would have been deterred by the dread
of going down through all future hls
torv as a shameless liar. Even If he
could not reach the Pole, it will be
reached sometime, and the falsity of
his description exposed. Nor Is it like
lv that he made any mistake about his
locality when he thought he was at the
Pole. At noon on April 21. 190S, the
sun was In a certain position in the
sky. -which Dr. Cook could ascertain
accurately with simple Instruments.
This would infallibly tell where he was.
unless, as we have said, he cooked up
a fictitious observation of the sun to
agree with a false diary of his trip.
Probably the sun would be the only
heavenly body he could observe, since
it is in sight at the Pole continuously
from March 20 to September 22, and
the stars are therefore invisible.
. After all, then, our ultimate reli
ance for some years at least must be
upon Dr. Cook's integrity. In course
of time his statements can all be
checked and either verified or discred
ited, but it may take a decade or more.
If he is a man who would descend to
give a false report of his Journey and
clain a glory which he does not de
serve, there Is no insuperable difficulty
in the way of his doing it and going
unexposed for years. Much more dif
ficult frauds have been perpetrated
with prolonged success, the Imitation
of ancient manuscripts, for example.
One may even go so far as to lament
that Dr. Cook had no companion with
him whose Independent account might
verify his own. But when all Is said,
the fact remains that until some good
reason is given for doubting his word,
he is entitled to belief. The mere fact
that the feat was difficult does - not
prove that he failed to achieve it. The
same argument would prove that Lap
lace did not write his "Celestial Me
chanics." A NEW HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
Notice comes to The Oregonian of
the project of a new History of the.
City of Portland. It is to be under
taken on a conception and scale that
should do honor-to the city; and we
believe it will. Every history that Is
written Is what the author makes it.
The materials are at command of
every one; but successful use of them
depends on the writer, on his Judgment
and comprehension, on his skill In the
arrangement and correlation and dis
tribution of his materials, on his con
ception of the soul of his subject and
undertaking, and on rigjjt direction of
the spirit of his work. The new his
tory of Portland is to be written by
Joseph Gaston.
The promoter of the undertaking is
the S. J. Clarke Publishing Company,
of Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis.
Work of this kind has been done by
thls company for many cities. The
company has published elaborate his
tories of Cleveland, Chicago, Philadel
phia, Columbus, Syracuse and other
cities of the L'nited States. The His
tory of Portland will open with the be
ginnings, and the development will be
carried down to the present time. It
will be a. work In two volumes.
Older residents of Oregon need no
Introduction to the chief writer and
editor of the forthcoming work.- He
has been an active man among the
most active in the historical develop
ment of the state. He is a student of
the history of Oregon and of the
Northwest; he has lived in Portland
forty years, and every phase of the
growth of the city has passed under
his personal observation He Is an
observant man, possesses strong indi
vidual characteristics, and Is a forcible
writer. What constitutes the history
of Portland, and what should go into
the narrative, few know so well as he.
A Journalist in his earlier life, a work
ing newspaper man. Identified with
active affairs through his calling and
through organization and construction
of the railroads of the state in the days
of the beginnings, and at all times
an 'interested observer of the progress
of the city and state, he will know how
to plan and to direct this work. It
will be an earnest and sober effort,
controlled by seriousness and yet In
formed with enthusiasm; and use will
be made of ample materials, unused
nr-a frinr-e there now is a larsrer
scope for a written history of Portland,
and opportunity for use or tne ma
terials from a newer and wider point
of view. We shall expect an original
work, not a compilation.
It gratifies The Oregonian to be able
to announce that such a work Is to be
undertaken. Much old material re
mains which may be used In connec
tion with the new, and it should be
used now, or it will be lost; and the
new or newer materials should now be
correlated, or collated with the old, In
permanent form, so that the propor
tions may be preserved. The Orego
nian bespeaks for Mr. Gaston and his
assistants the co-operation of the peo
ple of Portland, many of whom will
afford the aid of their personal knowl
edge to the completeness of ,such a
vrk. '
NEED OF MILK INTELLIGENCE.
So much buncombe, bosh and spite
of rival officials have . entered the
clean-milk spasm in Portland that
there is need of ordinary common
sense in dealing with the dirty-dairy
and diseased-cow questions.
The problem Is one of clean milk
rather than of pure milk. Nature af
fords the pure product; unclean meth
ods In dairy, transportation and
household make the trouble. Milk
is Nature's infant food, and when Na
ture has the smallest chance she af
fords it clear of evil germs, even if
the cow is more or less diseased. Milk
diseased in the udder is not frequent
and its sale is rare. Veterinarians and
phvsicians will not say that a' tuber
cular cow gives tubercular milk or
that bovine tuberculosis produces the
human disease of the same name.
They freely aver, however, that tuber
cular microbes enter milk from sur
rounding filth and from unclean hands
and vessels. It is possible to guard
milk from disease by observance of
sanitary rules. That Is the practical
method. Eradication of bovine tuber
culosis, by wholesale sacrifice of the
animals affected, is not feasible; It is
impossible to prove the disease in
cows in all cases with certainty, and
the "test" Is opposed on the ground
that it Itself spreads tuberculosis.
It Is not pleasant to drink milk of
sick cows, and It accords with reason
to say that such milk .should be
shunned. The crux of the matter Is
that practically all of the dangerous
content of unclean milk comes from
the outside of the cow, and from barn,
manure, vessels, hands, haul to con
sumers which in Summer may be
very deleterious to milk and unsani
tary treatment of milk in households.
Laws and officials can help but little.
The State- of Oregon and the City of
Portland support an army of office
holders to guard these conditions; they
have little success. The practical cor
rective Is that of educational clean
liness. This can be gained only by
painstaking effort of its advocates and
long training of producers and con
sumers until both the latter shall learn
that dirt In milk should be a relic of
barbarism. They may think they have
learned this already, but too few of
them know what cleanliness or filthl
ness is which is another way of say
ing they do not care.
Milk Is rendered dangerous to
health jr unwholesome by persons
who do not know the virtue of clean
liness. The people of Oregon could
not support officials enough to force
unwilling or ignorant dairymen to ob
serve sanitary rules. The sdurces of
filth are more numerous and prolific
for milk probably than, for any other
food. An official may compel a tem
porary ciean-up or a spasmodic cau
tion. Yet when he goes away the dairy
man Is free to pursue his favorite
ways. Recurrent scares In this matter
contribute little to milk intelligence.
Rational efforts "will be directed to
teaching and training dairymen in the
ethics of clean milk, both for the sake
of the public health and aleo for that
of their own profit. Clean milk ought
to command a higher price; without
this reward a neat dairyman has little
encouragement and too often has had
to quit business. Several years ago
Dr. Woods Hutchinson promoted a
"certified milk" project; it failed, and
some of his fellow-physicians, who
now are howling about diseased milk
(and advertising themselves fully)
fought and drove him out of town. So
much for medical "ethics."
Portland's milk supply never was
safer than now. There is still wide
room for Improvement. Better condi
tions will be realized as dairymen
gradually learn. They will be taught
by Intelligent discrimination of con
sumers, demanding that filth be elim
inated. Filth belongs to ignorance.
Men and women in the milk business
will not be driven to clean hands,
clean pails, clean udders, by sporadic
reforms, by officials or "crusades," but
by persistent spread of milk intelli
gence. (
Dr. Mack, milk inspector for the
city, is reported as saying: "Tilt your
milk bottle. If there is an accumula
tion of sediment, beware of the milk."
Good advice. But this sediment comes
.from uncleanllness In milking. It Is
very common. There Is hardly a farm
house in the country where close In
spection would not disclose a "cloud"
in the bottom of the vessel. The mod
ern way Is to have officials to inspect
every vessel, and relieve the consumer
of tha trouble or duty of looking after
the purity of the milk. First of all
conditions of clean milk is clean milk
ing. If the consumer, the housewife, is
indifferent to! the quality of milk and
its cleanliness, there will be thin milk,
surely, with "sediment" at the bottom.
They who buy their milk should be
constantly on their guard; yet they
who consume the milk of their own
cows get no purer milk than others.
Among other things, the Park Com
mission yesterday ordered a survey for
a parkway from the Forestry building
through Balch Creek canyon to Ma
cleay Park. This Is preliminary to
proceedings for condemning a right of
way. An easy entrance to this park
from the north Is much to be desired.
As proposed, this route presents the
minimum of climbing. It. will be
used alike by citizens- and visitors.
Macleay Park is such a show place a3
no other city on the continent can
boast. Through Balch Creek canyon
it may be reached by a walk of little
more than half a mile from the street
car. The sum which any Jury may
reasonably be expected to award for
right of way Is small considering the
benefits. The time to secure a con
venient entrance is now, not when it
is too late.
On his return from a trans-Atlantic
visit, William Allen White said: "As
between Europe and Emporia, I'm
strong for Emporia." Supporting this
declaration he gave this reason: "
Can you Imagine a elf-repectlng Kansas
farmer going around grabbing for his hat
all the time to a man who ha no other
distinction except that he happened to have
on a white hirt? No? Neither can I.
That' one of the things that makes a man
proud of America the fact that there Is no
peasant cLaaa here.
' And the brilliant writer might have
added that the number of Americans
who think inferiors should uncover in
their presence is negligible.
Just think of the doubters that Dr.
Cook must quiet, and the laudatory
speeches he must reply to, and the big
dinners he must eat, and the inter
views he must submit to at every new
city and the pertinent and impertinent
.questions he must answer wherever he
goes, and the number of times he must
sit for photographs. Then save your
syrjipathy. This being a world hero Is
no 'boy's job.
Suppose we make it a misdemeanor
or criminal offense to run an automo
bile in . a city faster than an or
dinary walk, say three miles an hour,
or on country tjoads faster than an or
dinary horse-trot, say siJ miles an
hour. There -will be some chance of
safety then. These autoists, moreover,
have no more need of hurry than oth
ers. .
, The Oregonian expects every cur of
yellow Journalism, and every yellow
cur of journalism, to be barking and
snarling and snapping continually at
its heels. Time was when It would
turn and shake one of them now and
then; but it has quit. They think' it
too much honor.
The young Aberdeen woman who
secured an absolute divorce from the
son of a Michigan millionaire, with
$70,000 for actual and tentative dam
ages, after two years of more or less
conjugal bliss, may be said to have
"married well."
The closing of" the career of Brad
bury, the aged California millionaire,
who began a year's sentence In San
Quentin Thursday for perjury, calls
attention to a lesson to be found in
the Decalogue. It applies to rich and
poor alike. '
More United States- Government
land at the North Pole. Let's have
a grand land lottery to stimulate set
tlement. The lottery players couldn't
possibly get a colder deal than they
suffered at the recent drawing.
A Hoosler died Thursday' and le
thirty-eight children, who had four
mothers..- Getting Into the news col
umns Is easy for some people.
There Is good news to the hungry In
the announcement of 3000 more cen
sus jobs to be given out.
Now they have named a hat for Ex
plorer Cook. Many books-were long
ago named for him.
We shall in time need a State Por
cine Commissioner, if hog troubles
continue. 1
REGULATING IDIOTIC HUNTERS.
Proposition to" Prosecute Thou Who
Mistake Animals for Men.
PORTLAND, Sept. 3. (To the Edi
tor.) The slaughter of men, mistaken
for deer by Idiotic hunters, has become
such a common occurrence that I ven
ture to submit the following:
That there be kept at the licensing
office fair specimens of a man, a deer
and a bear, and that no license be is
sued to any applicant until he' has
proved satisfactorily that he can dis
tinguish the difference between them.
That, having demonstrated his abil
ity in that particular, a, license be
granted him, with the distinct proviso
(printed on the license) that should he
kill, a denizen of the city in mistake
for one of the Jungle, he will be prose
cuted by the state on a charge of wil
ful homicide.
Nothing but the grossest careless
ness, the 'crassest ignorance, or malice
prepense could ever cause such a dis
aster. Many people love the woods
and pass their brief holidays in them
in preference to the over-crowded
seaside resorts; not from a purely ani
mal delight In slaying God's beautiful
and innocent creatures, but because it
rests them to get near for awhile to
nature's heart, after 12 months of the
strenuous life of the city, and it is
neither right nor fair that they should
be exposed to injury from the bullets
of fool hunters, half of whom do not
know one, end of the gun from the
other and. coujd not hit a deer if they
saw one, ' but think it look3 big to
carry a gun, without some effort at
least being made by the state to pro
tect them. I have Just returned from
two weeks spent in the woods and do
not hesitate to say that I met dur
ing the time at least 20 so-called
"hunters," artistically arrayed in leg
gings and cowboy hats, and some .of
them carrying both rifles ana" revol
vers. 'Only one of them all had any
thing to show and that was a squirrel,
though several told me that they were
"loaded for. bear." OLD HUNTER.
ALWAYS A FAILURE AND A FARCE
Therefore Washington Should Avoid
the Scheme of Direct Legislation.
Chehalls Bee-Nugget.
The voters at large are not enough In
terested in taking care of the ordinary
small and petty legislation to make the
Initiative and referendum a success. How
many times, In city elections, and other
local questions vitally affecting the pub
lic In general, is it almost impossible to
get out even half of the voters? We
have had experiences of t s kind right
here, and found that but few of the
voters will cast their ballots either way.
If these measures should be adopted, it
would open the way for a lot of petty
and insignificant laws, that even put to
shame our legislators.
In Oregop recently the people were
called upon to vote on a bunch of laws
at one shot, that would take a.nian a
week or two to even read through, let
alone form an intelligent opinion about
them. The average voter is too busy,
and somewhat unwilling, to spend the
time studying these questions as he
should. The better way Is to cltoose,
under the direct primary, ' the best class
of law-makers obtainable, and let them
represent us in making the laws.
The Bee-Nugget believes that the initi
ative and referendum movement is a fail
ure and a farce, and we do not believe)
the people of Washington will give it a
foothold here. The people themselves
would become sick of It after a trial.
Witticisms by Babes and SnckllnKS.
, Delineator for September.
A 8-year-old waif In a deaconesses'
home offered up this prayer: "Oh, God,
bless all In this home (mentioning each
by name), and all the sailors in the sea,
that the ships won't run over them, nd
all the poor boys and girls that they may
get bread and candy, and bless Alfred
Warren Randall" (himself) a hesitation,
then added, "the one what's got the
nightgown on."
Winfred. years old, was tying paper
boots upon the kitten's paws when his
aunt remonstrated with him for teasing
the kitten, saying, "I thought you be
longed to the Band of Mercy?" "Yes.
auntie, I do." said Winfred, "but," he
added apologetically, "my badge is on
my other coat."
Howard was 20 months older than the
baby. He had somehow come to realize
that Elwood. who was creeping, was
more likely to be in .mischief when quiet.
One day he called to his mother with a
great deal of anxiety In his little voice,
"Mamma, I hear Elwood keeping still."
A school teacher In one of the lower
grades once asked her room, "What is
wind?" After a thoughtful pause a small
hand was raised. "'Well, Robert, what
is your answer?" she asked. "Why-er,
wind Is air when It gets In a hurry," an
swered Robert
Edwin, aged 3, who unwisely fondled
his small cat overmuch, appeared before
his mother one day. his little face guiltily
pained and a scratch upon his hand.
"What has happened?" she asked. "I
bent the kitty a little," he said briefly.
James, aged 6, after having had his first
ride on a scenic railway, described his
feelings thus: "It made me feel just
like I was all gone but my soul, and that
was almost tickled to death."
About Christmas time a little girl was
told that she was naughty, and Santa
Claus might not bring her a present.
"Well," said she, "you need not say It
so near the chimney."
Rough and l.eady Philosophy.
Chicago News.
Even a woman who is ill likes to dress
well.
Not every wife can transform a house
Into a home. . .
One way to get ahead is to patronize a
cabbage dealer.
A physician heals others for the pur
pose of "heeling" himself.
Every man Is a soloist when it' comes
to singing his own praises.
All men are born free, and equal and
remain so until they marry.,
People who think they are the whole
thing are entitled to another think.
It's easy to figure how you can save
money, but saving it is another matter.
Beware of the man who never gets
angry: there's a screw loose somewhere.
A thick skull enables a man to keep a
lot of useful knowledge out of his head.
In order to pose as a successful fisher
man one must possess a good imagina
tion. When some men parade around -they
Imagine they attract as much attention
as a circus.
It's almost impossible for a man to keep
In the straight and narrow path if he is
driving a mule.
Of course, speculating or dealing in fu
tures sounds more refined than gambling,
but a man will lose just as much.
Some men are not very enthusiastic
about going to heaven. They know they
will be allowed to smoke In the other
place. '
How to Kill Flies.
WOODSTOCK. Or., Sept. 3. (To the
Editor.) Please aid in the campaign
against the house fly by giving this
receipt for a fly-killer space in your
columns. Here Is the receipt sug
gested by Dr. Alex Hill in the Journal
of the American Medical Association:
But two teaspoonsful of formaldehyde
into a soup dish full of water and set
It where files can get at it.. It is
cleanly, effective and cheap. An
eight-ounce bottle can be purchased In
Portland for 15 cents. This Is enough
to prepare 32 plates. The bottles are
marked "Poison," foul H. C. Wood, who
is a high authority, says: "The im
mediate violent Irritation produced by
formaldehyde Is so great as to forbid
either accidental or purposive poison
ing by It, and we know of no case In
which It has caused In the human be
ing symptoms other than those of local
irritation." A. T. BLACHLY, M. D.
DAVENPORT PICTURES HARRIMAN.
Oregon Cartoonist Thinks ig Railroad
' King Looks Better.
Homer Davenport In New York Mall.
On the Sunday evening previous to the
sailing for Europe of E. H. Harrlman I
came In from Goshen on the same train
that he took from Arden, and crossing
the Twenty-third street ferry I sat ten
feet from him in a good light. With him
were Mrs. Harriman and ' one of their
daughters. He looked very, sick. His
eyes were heavy and his brain was la
boring with- something that produced a
frown.
All the way up the river he didn't
speak, but stared at the floor! except for
an instant when he' lifted his eyes to a
baby that was fretting in its mother s
lap.
Once Mrs. Harriman spoke to her hus
band and once the daughter spoke, but
whether they demanded an answer I
don't know. I only know that his ex
pression was that of a man who didn't
hear.
His step aS he walked off the boat at
Twenty-third street was heavy and he
looked peevish as a sick, tired man al
ways bas a right to look.
Yesterday afternoon I waited with a
mass of newspaper writers, photograph
"efs "and artists for four hours on a pier
just above the Erie station on the Jersey
side. I haven't seen for years such a
reunion of old-time star reporters. The
"big-story" men were all there. Wall
street reporters,, "rewrite" men and some
who had been on the desk for years. '
Some had interrupted their vacations,
a long way off. but that they were there
was enough. It meant something bigger
than usual was coming up the river.
Going over la the new tube. I had
chatted with a big Wall street man. He
told me how at. last the whole business
world had awakened and realized how
great was Harriman. He said Harriman
was by all odds the greatest brain Wall
street had ever known; that he was not
simply a railroad owner, but a railroad
builder and operator, and that ne stood
In a class by himself.
He said: "Look at the whole country
at this moment anxiously awaiting to
hear of Harriman's health, as a mother
would listen for the word of doctors re
garding her only child!
- "This anxiety is not shown for mere
manipulators. The great concern over
Mr. Harriman's health has to do with
the future of railroad building, which
means the building up of undeveloped
country in the West. Should Mr. Harri
man's health be permanently Impaired,
the West will be years longer in develop
ing than if he were permitted to carry
out his great plans."
So now I could well understand why all
the "big-story" writers had been gath
ered, why the private tugs of this, that
and-the other big dailies were plying up
and down the river.
Hour after hour passed, and rumor
after rumor came, some as to the steamer
being disabled, others that Mr. Harriman
was too ill to leave the boat.
All the reports kept us from drowsi
ness till finally the big Kaiser Wilhelm II
came Jnto view past the Statue of Lib
erty. Small tugs clustered around her like
messenger boys to the aid of a big po
liceman. Quickly Bhe docked and soon
there came from the upper river Btraight
from her pier a Southern Pacific tug with
flags afloat. The captain of the tug was
as dignified as though he handled the
bell rope of a big ocean liner.
But his dignity only held our attention
for a moment. The special train with
Mr. Harriman's private car Arden had
been backed down, so that it waa scant
20 feet from where he would step ashore.
What a condition he had to face in
cameras!
The tug was soon made fast. Mrs.
Harriman was In view, as were her three
daughters. The big writers of the dailies
were craning their necks like small chil
dren who were seeing their first great
sight. This caused me again to realize
the importance of Harriman.
Then came a little stir aft on the upper
deck of the tug. and" a pale, frail, little
man, plainly dressed and wearing a Pan
ama hat low on his head, came in sight.
He stepped to the side rail amid a death
like silence. As he stopped and smiled,
clicks from cameras , came in profusion,
like those of the hammers of rifles. I
saw the eyes of the "big-story" men
glistening wet. The cold press of New
York gave way. The hardened reporters
burst into mighty applause, the heartiest,
most spontaneous I have heard In years.
-
Railroad officials beamed wltn wet
eyes upon this frail man. who stood af
fectionately smiling at the rail of the
tug. He didn't seem like a business man;
he seemed greater than Napoleon; he
seemed like some great general or ad
miral returning from battle.
As the clicking of the cameras went on.
be drew his wife affectionately toward
his side and leaned over to the other
side, so that his three daughters and a
boy who had health to burn might show
with him in the pictures. I believe he
said: "How are you, boys?" but I am not
certain. He spoke In a way that made
us feel as though we were all his boys,
and he looked such a good, kind father
that we all beat our hands again in
spontaneous applause.
By this time the gangplank was up
and this feeble little 'man led the way
down it to the rear of his car.
Mr. Harriman's step was fine and
springy, but he Is a real American, and
that might' have caused it. His eyes
were brighter than when he went away,
and he wast a little whiter. He was
thinner, too. . "Ten pounds off a little
man like me. boys." he said, "Is bound
to make a difference."
His' answers to the impertinent business
questions fired at him by the reporters
were In his characteristic snappy man
ner. He blocked their leads if they were
below the belt. He told of his plans
for expansion in the far West.
He reclined on a lounge while the men
skilled in drawing secrets from other men
plied him with questions. Some of his
advisers suggested that the air was not
very good in the car and that he per
haps ha'd better cut the interview, but
to this he objected with a wave' of one
of his white hands. You could see that
he liked the American method of inter
viewing. After seeing Mr. Harriman the last
thing before he sailed and the first on his
return. I should say that he is thinner,
but better; that he has lost weight and
is weak from the effects of It, but that
his eyes are clearer. At Arden, with the
stimulus of the races this week on his
track at Goshen, he ought to improve, and
added flesh will catch up with the bright
er eyes.
Blue Mold In New York Hop Fields.
Springfield (Mass.) Republican. .
Central New York hopgrowers. with
Quotations soaring three times as high as
the prices of last year, are threatened
with a blighted crop Just when the pros
pects were most encouraging. Blue mold
has been discovered in several acres of
hops In the town of Marshall, and it Is
the first that has ever been seen in the
hopgrowlng section. It is one of the
most serious forms of blight that hoprals-'
ers have to fear, and it has been the
cause of the ruination of vast hop tracts
in England and Germany this year.
Luxurious Traveling In China.
All the luxuries of railroading have been
Introduced Into China. The trains are fit
ted with upholstered leathered compart
ments, electric -lights and elegant lavato
ries. A push-button for food or refresh
ments brings immediate answer, and the
usual good service of competent Chinese
boys. 'Every five minutes the hot-towel
coolie offers you this means of refreshing
the hands and face, the towels being per
fumed with eau de cologne and steaming
hot.
Its Effect on Healthy Ileasts the Same
as Pure Water.
PORTLAND. Sept. 3. (To the Edi
tor.) In today's Oregonian Lora C. Lit
tle Was an article stating that Injecting
cows with tuberculin as a test for tuber
culosis gives the cow so Injected the dis
ease. If such a result has happened, the
veterinary and medical world would cer
tainly be made acquainted with the fact.
Doctor Koch, of Germany, would have
acquainted us with It.
As I understand it, the tuberculin Is
the toxlne of the bacilli of tuberculosis,
or to take the authority of John R. Moh
ler, A. M., V. M. D., chief of the Patho
logical Division of the United States Bu
reau of Animal Industry. "Tuberculin is
the sterlized and filtered glyceria extract
of cultures of tubercle bacilli. It con
tains the cooked products of the growth
of these bacilli, but not the bacilli them
selves. Consequently, when this sub
stance is injected under the skin of an
animal it is absolutely unable to produce
the disease, cause abortion or otherwise
injure the animal. In case the injected
animal is normal there is no more effect
upon the system than would be expected
from the Injection of sterile water. How
ever, if the animal Is tubercular, a de
cided rise of temperature will follow the
use of tuberculin."
There Is nothing in Lora C. Little's ar
ticle to show that J. Pierpont Morgan's
cattle were affected by the tuberculin,
that might merely have been surmised.
Why should we seek to destroy the pub
lic confidence in the only reliable diag
nosis for consumption; an awfully con
tagious disease among cattle themselves?
But your correspondent does not believe
bovine tuberculosis Is transmitted to hu
mans and from statistics taken of loca
tions, I believe bovine tuberculosis will
render the human Immune from con
sumption. It wouldshe a great thing ac
complished In the Interest of mankind if
some condemned criminal would give his
body for experiment on the promise of
commutation of capital punishment as a
recompense. I have seen it reported that
where bovine tuberculosis Is highest the
human is lowest and vice versa.
THOMAS WITHYCOMBE.
FOR BETTER LOOKING BANK BILLS.
Advanced Ideas of the New Secretary
of the Treasury.
Dublin, N. H.. Letter to Chicago Inter
Ocean.
With a gigantic scheme for the reform
ation of the currency, especially the pa
per currency, of the entire world. Frank
lin MacVeagh. Secretary of the Treasury,
is busy at his beautiful New England
Summer home studying the details of his
plan. .
When he returns to Washington In the
Fall he intends to make a great effort to
have the representative financiers and the
statesmen of the civilized countries of
the globe meet and discuss for the first
time a plan for the uniform size, color
and denomination of the currency.
"Money goes everywhere." said Secre
tary MacVeagh, as he sat at work In his
palace in the hills near here. "A nation
is known first by Its currency. I want
America to follow the model of the
French and give her best work to her
paper money, that the world may know
that we have artists, that we know art.
that we appreciate It and that we value
It.
"All this Is simply one phase of the
plan of a complete overhauling of our
money system, which I am trying to have
adopted. Regarding the change in the
size of paper money, (here are many ad
vantages. In the first place. It means a
saving for the United States Treasury.
Economy is the watchword at Washing
ton, and I am determined to see that
there is no waste in the department with
which I have been intrusted.
"I do not mean niggardliness or stingi
ness; I mean useless extravagance and
waste. If large bills were a necessity, we
should have them of necessity. As they
are not a necessity and as smaller bills
are a positive advantage. I think the
country should consider their adoption.
"In my new scheme I recommend new
designs. That is. the designs at present
on our bills are, of course, too large and
unwieldy for the more graceful small
bills.
"That means new designs. For this
the country cannot do better than employ
her greatest artists.
"Then I want the portraits to be uni
form; every note of a certain denomina
tion shall have a certain portrait on It.
no matter whether the note is National or
bank currency.
"Thus when the portrait of Cleveland,
a beautiful Innovation of Mr. Cortelyou,
is seen, every one will instantly know
that the note Is a $10 one, nothing else.
This will save constant confusion.
"A certain color should also Indicate
the denomination of a note. Thus green
might always Indicate to a ' person un
able to read that the note is a $1 note;
red a $2. blue a $5, and so on, whatever
the color might be." . .
Well, Yes.
Aberdeen (Wash.) World.
Portland to not alone. (In .the matter of
entertaining the President. Much the
same conditions exist In Chicago. And
the hue and cry against "private individ
uals" Is entirely Justified. The President
will travel as President, not as Mr. Taft.
He will make the trip at the country's
expense. He will properly be the guest
of the people, therefore, and not of any
Individual.
Still, we don't know; Mr. Bourne is a
product of the non-partisan system and
as such represents "all the people." Why
Isn't he the fit person to do all of Port
land's public entertaining? If Oregon
will play the fool and send ambitious
fools to Washington, it must expect to
be fooled. Mr. Taft may pass by both
the state and Its chief city until they
regain sense.
They Understood Each Other.
Washington Star.
"So yob believe In telepathy?"
"Yes," answered Mr. Meekton. "Though
Henrietta Is miles away, I can tell ex
actly -what Bhe is thinking about 'this
minute."
"And does she know your answer?"
"She does. She Is wishing I would hurry
along that hundred she wrote for, and
she knows I'm worrying about where the
cash is coming from."
The Difference.
SAN FRANCISCO. Aug. 30. (To the
Editor.) In The Oregonian of August 29
the total bank clearings of Seattle foi
the week are given as $11,785,720. Should
this not be $12,311,000, as It was giver
out by Bradstreets?
SUBSCRIBER.
The Oregonlan's figures were for th
week ending Saturday, Bradstreets" for
the week ending Thursday.
The Good Times Are Coming.
Frank L. Ptanton In Atlanta Constltutlon.
O the good time are comln', no matter
what they say;
You kin hear 'em hummln. hummin. for a
hundred miles away;
They're sailln' through the Summer, an'
a-flghtin' through the freeze;
A-rldin' down the river an' a blowln' In
the breeze!
Comln'
. A-hummln"
Like a regiment a-drummin';
Lane has got a-turnin',
Buttermilk's a-churnin',
So keep your lamps a-burnln'
Tiir the good times come!
O the good times are comln'; you kin set
'em on the run.
A-tw!nklln' In the dewdrop an' a-hlnln"
in the sun!
A-dumpin' over the daisies, an" babblln" in
the brook.
An' lookin' at fellow like his sweetheart
used to look!
Comln'
A-humm!n'
Like a regiment a-drummln';
Lane has got a-turnin'.
Buttermilk's a-churnln'.
So keep your lamps a-burnln'
Till the good times coma!