I
TTTP. TTrT?VTVn- OT? FCOVT V TTT'F.STj A Y". SEPTEMBER 14, 1909.
- - t 1 I I
FORTLAXn. OREOOS.
Entered at Portland. Oman. Fostofrlcs a
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PORTLAJTD, TTESDAT. SEPT. 14, 1900.
TUB WAR OF THE EXPLORERS.
The elder Disraeli devoted one of
the books of his "Curiosities f Liter
ature" series to an account of "The
Quarrels and Calamities of Authors."
Such quarrels are often calamities; yet
it muft be owned that multitudes of
bibliophiles and literary mawormi
take a kind of delight in them. So
long as such controversies are recent
and friends of the opposing parties
survive, there will be a good deal of
rattle of armor among the contest
ants; and curiosity about great con
tests of this kind often survives long
after all contemporaries have passed
away.
The contest between Peary and
Cook will be of the nature of a lit
erary quarrel; for their writings, the
examination of their records by
scientists, and Innumerable essays on
the facts and conjectures, in every
country, will make an Immense mora
of written memorials. Able men will
gpt Into the controversy on either
side. No on can tell yet whether
Cook or Peary will have the better of
It. But It will be another veritable
"Battle of the Books."
There was ample room at the North
Pole for the visits of two men, with
out interference with each other, es
pecially since their dates place them
at the Pole more than one year apart.
But there Is to be a controversy, be
side which all recent quarrels and
calamities will pale their ineffectual
tires. Both Cook and Peary may
"make good" their claims to have
reached the Pole;s but Peary has chal
lenged the veracity of Cook. Evident
ly he does not believe that Cook
reached the Pole, and Intends to stake
his reputation on his ability to prove
It. On this point there must be dis
comfiture for one or the other.
"We take it for granted," says the
New York Evening Post, "that Peary
la convinced that his proofs are Indis
putable. As a scientific man, he must
know that so sweeping a denial will
Inaugurate the bitterest kind of con
troversy, beside which other differ
ences between explorers will seem ut
terly insignificant. Commander Peary
must have realized also that there are
many who will accuse him of Jealousy
and spite, and, therefore, discount nil
utterances; and that many others will
wish he had deferred any comment on
his rival until his return to this coun
try. But the die Is now cast." Peary
alleges that he will produce the testi
mony of Cook's Eskimos against him.
But these people have no knowledge
of a scientific kind, and their testi
mony may conclude nothing. Could
they know whether they were at the
Pole or not? But Peary says he had
the same Eskimos that had served
with Cook; and their denial of Cook's
claims would be most embarrassing to
their author.
But the observations ' and general
data furnished by the two explorers
will be sifted with utmost care and
with scientific precision by a multltuda
of examiners and critics, and on these
results the case will be made up. It
could not be expected that Peary
"ould be able to find any relics left
by Cook at or near the Pole, a year
earlier; for the movement of the Ice
field across the polar region, which
is both considerable and incessant,
would render futile any expectation of
the discovery tY later explorers of the
relics of former ones.
But It Is evident that the news
paper world will be ringing ' for
months, perhaps for years, with the
resounding clamor of the two con
testants and of their many partisans.
Brooklyn is preparing to award to
Cook, a resident of that borough, a
mighty reception, and apparently In
tends to become his champion. The
contest, however, Is not one that num
bers will decide, but competent Judg
ment, passing on the evidence to be
furnished by the two explorers.
A OAXAL DBJSASX BBCALLED.
Revival of Interest in waterway con
struction and Improvement recalls the
enthusiastic advocacy of coastwise
canal-digging, by the late United
States Senator John Tyler Morgan, of
Vlabama. Senator Morgan was up to
the last an uncompromising advocate
of the Nicaragua route. He had,
moreover, a vision, so to speak, of a
chain of inland waterways from Port
land. Me., to Galveston, Tex, which
comprehended a series of canals that
would safeguard the American domes
tic marine by cutting off the haz
ards of Cape Cod, Cape Hatteras and
sundry shallow seas and bnyous. lie
saw In the future and attempted to
make his vision clear to his col
leagues a ship canal Joining Dela
ware and Chesapeake Bay; an
other through the Great Dismal
Swamp into Albemarle Sound, thence
to Pamlico Sound, thence- to
Onslow Bay. These were, in time,
to be wipplemented by a ship canal
across Florida, and by other artificial
waterways across the Gulf coast to the
mouth of the Rio Grande, thus secur
ing what he deemed absolute safety to
domestic marine trade.
Senator Morgan's plan, to which few
would listen except to discredit It,
with due courtesy, was to build, first
of all, the Nicaraguan Canal and
from the profits of this, which he was
sure would be large, to build from
year to year ontil completed this great
inland coast waterway. , He failed to
arouse enthusiasm among his col
leagues at the time. There is yet in
deed no disposition to consider such a
project, yet it had some merits to com
mend it and these may eventually
prove of sufficient value to revive it.
Already private capital, that of
Henry M. Flagler" and his associates,
foresees profits In the operation of an
ocean railroad from the lower east
coast of Florida over almost fathom
less depths of salt water to Key West
and Cuba. Money to the extent of un
counted millions stands ready to
finance this scheme, compared with
which the construction of an inland
waterway, such as Senator Morgan
planned, appears a small undertaking.
In reviving memories of this old ca
nal scheme and outlining' that of the
proposed ocean railroad, the New
York Commercial recalls that. In the
twenty years following 1881, not less
than 1000 vessels steam and sail
were wrecked off Cape Cod or in con
tiguous waters. The loss of life due
to these wrecks was appalling and the
financial loss reached Into the hun
dreds'of millions. A canal connecting
Cape. Cod with Buzzard's Bay would
have prevented all that loss. This
citation Is certainly pertinent to the
subject of the .inland waterways Im
provement, that" was the dream of
Senator Morgan, and indicates the
possibility of a -late fulfillment of his
dream.
IN A TROUBUD SEA.
The President intends to speak on
tariff on his Journey. Mighty deep
water here, and cross-currents and
whirlpools. The President is a pro
tectionist, but all "protection" that
some obtain others must pay for.
They who can wield the main forces
of the system grow enormously rich
of" course, at the expense of others
the enrichment of the few at the
cost of the many. Such always is
the result of "protection."
But, since protection Is the policy
of the country, since protection Is
the system to which the country la
committed, it is natural that each
and every' part of the country should
demand and insist on protection for
Its own particular Interests. This
produces the combinations that is
sue in robber tariff bills. Each state
or district supposes it la taking care
of its particular' interests. But the
peculiar genius that presides over the
system brings the greatest profits to
the few who have put themselves in
position to control it and be its chief
beneficiaries.
They control the sources of supply
of materials, as well as the markets
and prices. They have the beds of
iron ore, they have the sugar planta
tions; they have the sources of wood
pujp; they even force the railroads,
on market staples, and the producer
and laborer Is forced also.
The system would be unjust and
burdensome, even without protective
tariff to support it. With protective
tariff for its buttress, it can force such
additional exactions as It thinks can
be had without immediate danger of
political revolution.
Its strength and continuance lie in
the fact that each particular district
or state believes It can get special
advantages to itself out of the shake
of the dlcebox. Doubtless It Is true,
to an extent, since the system is to
continue; but who doesn't know that
the chief advantages will enure to the
few, already enormously rich, who are
in a position to get the main usufruct?
The President, doubtless, will take
a middle course in trying to navigate
troubled waters.
STORY OF THE KEGRO.
The story of the negro, as Mf.
Booker Washington tells it, in The
Outlook, makes interesting reading.
In the first Installment, which is writ
ten in an easy, sketchy style, he gently
destroys the foundation of ignorance
which most of our common prejudices
against the colored race have reposed
upon. Perhaps Mr. Washington has
not tried to be amusing in the course
of this piece of lconoclasm, but in
one instance be has succeeded,
whether he tried or not. In touching,
by the way, upon the vexed subject
of mixed blood, he points out that
white men usually say the offspring
of miscegenation Is always degenerate.
Inferior to black and white alike.
This is all very fine and possibly true,
but In the next breath you will hear
the same white men declaring that no
negro has ever done anything worth
while unless his tilood was mixed.
Evidently the logic of this double ar
raignment halts a little. Doubtless
Mr. Washington Indulged in a quiet
smile as he analyzed it.
As a rule, in trying to inform our
selves about the negro In this country
and make up our minds about his
capacities for progress, we have not
paid enough attention to' what travel
ers tell about .his condition in those
parts of Africa where he has dwelt
out of contact with whites. Mr. Wash
ington quotes copiously from these
accounts and. if we heed them, we
shall be rescued from two errors at
least. We shall escape from the super
stitious belief that slavery Improved
the negro morally and mentally, and
we shall learn that It is untrue to
say that he has never advanced with
out help from white men.
Slavery improved the negro In some
respects, but it injured him in others.
For example, in his native Africa It
Is easy to convince oneeelf that he
had developed a good deal of inde
pendent initiative. He had faced the
problems of life as they presented
themselves in tropical Africa and had
solved many of them adequately.
This power of initiative, slavery de
stroyed. It obliterated the Impulse
of self-help and along this line pushed
the colored race a long way back to
ward childhood. Forbidden to think
or act for themselves, they naturally
lost the inclination to do so and even
the power of individual enterprise
must have atrophied. That it has
measurably revived in the short time
since slavery ceased. Is a marvel to
any thoughtful mind. It ought not
to surprise us that the negroes re
semble children mentally. What
ought to surprise us is that so many
of them display manly intelligence
after three centuries of systematic
mental dwarfing.
Unless African travelers are all in
error, about the facts of the case, It
is a mistake to believe that the ne
groes have never made any progress
toward civilization from their native
impulse. The truth seems to be that
thev have made a great deal. Every
body knows that the negro of pure
stock has a fine physique. If we could
get rid of our blinding prejudice we
Bhould agree with Walt Whitman that
he is a handsome man. Mr. Wash
ington cites plenty of facts' to show
that the negro's intelligence is by no
means despicable. In the Interior of
Africa he has developed a consider
able agriculture, one which supplies
him with food at any rate. Among
the tribes who have not been harried,
enslaved and murdered there Is an
admirable network of exchange car
ried on in market places which have
existed for many generations. Nor
are they Incapable of settled govern
ment. Mr. Washington cites the in
stance of the chieftain, Mohammed
Askia. a negro of pure blood who
founded a great empire In 1492. The
Fulahs and Hausas, tribes of the Ni
ger now under British rule, were par
ticularly gifted as inventors of laws
and settled institutions.
Evidently what we commonly take
for knowledge of the negro in his ab
original state Is altogether too much
the product -of pur own fancy and
prejudice. We boldly declare that he
never has done anything when the evi
dence proves that he has done quite as
much as anj- other primitive race be
fore it felt the stimulus of contact
with outsiders. There seems to be no
doubt at all that the negro in the
African forests Is fully up to the mark
of our own barbarous ancestors In the
European forests. What he will ac
complish and how far he will advance
when white men cease to murder and
torture him remains to be seen.
the "ri.uRAi.rrv evil.
The evil- of plurality rule consti
tutes the main evil of the direct pri
mary, when the direct primary Is. hot
guided by some kind of representa
tive action. The absurd results which
have been realized In Oregon, under
this method, have a highly deterrent
effect In other states. It Is not the
primary itself, but the self-suggestion
of numerous candidates and nomina
tion by a small plurality of oe or a
bunch, who is not a representative
man, that constitutes the objection.
Hence the necessity of .councils, as
semblies or conventions to suggest
candidates for' the primary. Only so
can there be' any maintenance of
principles or distinctive purposes,
through representative party action.
A citizen of Indianapolis, Adolph
Schmuck not a politician, but a dis
interested citizen has written sev
eral articles for various newspapers
on the evil of plurality rule, through
ungulded primaries drawing his ob
servations from recent experiences in
his own city. His latest Is an elabo
rate article in the Indianapolis News
a, paper that has warmly supported
the direct primary, and still .favors it,
but confesses its disappointment with
the practical working of the law' un
der the system that invites candidates
to nominate themselves. It finds
that representative men do not ob
tain presentation for office in this way.
The personal scramble excludes the
fittest, and the plurality system com
pletes the farce. We of Oregon have
found all this. In ample measure.
The general situation in Indianap
oils, on, which Mr. Schmuck founds
his statement and reasoning, does not
differ from the situation here, or in
other places where a mass of candi
dates offer themselves and a plurality
candidate comes forth as the nominee
of his party. It is seldom in such a
case that the man who Is successful
will represent the majority tendency
of his party; arid men who would be
fittest for the positions to be filled
will not come forth, under the con
ditions. It Is becoming an old story
n Oregon.
Then comes party revolt, and the
real sentiment of the people finds no
expression In the succeeding election.
It is said to be certain that the can
didates for the Mayoralty In Indian
apolis do not represent their parties
at all, nor the people either, though
one of them will be elected; and then
the "professional" element and "boss"
Influence will be stronger than before.
The primary must remain under
strict regulation and direction of law;
but the attempt to make party nom
inations under it, without some guide
to representative party action, always
will be a blunder. Yet our primary
law leaves a way open to rational pro
ceedings In the direction of party rep
resentation; and this way will be fol
lowed in Oregon hereafter.
"UNTO DtJST SHALT THOU RETURN."
All that wealth and human Ingenu
ity could do to turn aside the decree
"Unto dust shalt thou return" was in
terposed in "behalf of the body of E. H.
Hirrimnn. A steel casket, strongly
constructed, received all that was
mortal of the railroad king. This was
hermetically sealed and lowered Into
a brick-lined vault hewn from the
solid rock- of the hillside and Impris
oned therein with cement. thus
fenced against, the processes of decay
will be stayed and hampered ana Hin
dered, but not defeated.
Snr-vi riisnosal of a body may soothe
grief temporarily - or flatter human
vanity, but it can serve no ultimate
purpose in the economy of Nature or
in the sharing of events. i.ven me
body of the great Pharaoh was at
lonrfti rnthlesslv dragged rrom its
centuries-old hiding place and, ghastly
and repulsive in lta time-blackened
cerements, was Installed in a niche
where it might meet the Irreverent
gaze of the curious.
Cnmnllance. with the demand that
Nature makes for its own is much
more gracefully and not the less sure
ly met by the simple process of cre
mation which, overreaching all the
revolting. Intervening steps of decay.
loavoa of the human body in a iew
6hort hours but a small heap of clean.
gray cinders.
A SCHOOL COURSE IN ETHICS.
a frttnl of 12.000 Dubllc schools were
opened In Kansas yesterday. This Is
a verv commonplace announcement.
since an equal or greater number of
,.kii.- ar-hnola were opened In other
states on the same day, the grand ag
gregate forming a stupendous numoer.
But in Kansas it is different. In
Kansas most things are different from
ihinn nf similar character In other
states not Including Oklahoma. For
example, the State Superintendent of
Public Instruction, collaborating with
the State Board or .Education, nas
formulated a new order whereby eth
ics will be taught in the public schools.
This subject does not appear In the
regular course of study; that would
m.iia it commonplace. It Is at
tached thereto by a sweeping order
of the State Superintendent ot bcnoois.
It implies the curtailment of many
tihortipa of which Kansan and' other
fathers still boast as belonging to the
estate of boyhood. Before It rails tne
delight of beating the other fellow at
"keeps." It means that the young
"jayhawker," after playing his game,
having duly observed the old-fash-ruin
nt "knuckle-down." and
other tame regulations supposed to in
duce fair play, may pocKet nis mar
bles and walk demurely away without
a galling sense of loss or an undue
sense of exultation. It means that the
exuberance of boyish spirits, induced
k the first, or any subsequent, snow
fall must not find expression in pelt
ing passers-by with snowDaiis. Again,
the hoy who, forgetful or defiant of
the new order of things, puts pepper
or sulphur on the schoolhouse stove,
or scatters snuff about, or ties tin cans
to the tails of dogs, or pulls the girls'
hair, or unties their apron strings,
will be dealt with must be solemnly
dealt with by the Kansan school
teacher. How dealt with, and by what
means? Moral suasion, of course,
since in Kansas as elsewhere the birch
In schools has fallen into disrepute. It
Is. moreover, hardly probable that
fathers who have made themselves
heroes in the eyes of the Kansan
schoolboys, by a recital of their suc
cess In the game of "keeps." by stories
of luscious watermelons abstracted by
night from a neighbor's garden with
the wrathful owner in full chase and
perhaps a bulldog in full cry, or of a
mysterious epidemic of sneezing that
followed the Innocent scattering of
snuff on the schoolroom' floor, will
join very heartily in the effort to make
these and similar misdemeanors ap
pear heinous in the eyes" of their sons.
It Is manifestly up to the Kansan
teachers, sharply supervised by the
State Superintendent, to make this
course In ethics interesting to the
schoolboys of the Sunflower State. In
full realization of the difficulties that
lie In the pathway of this endeavor,
and of the sleepless vigilance that this
course In ethics will entail updn the
members of an already fad-ridden
profession, The Oregonlan beg3 to ex
tend sympathy and proffer moral sup
port in the premises.
I Preliminary steps for establish
ment of the Reed Institute, made pos
sible by the generous bequest of
Simeon G. and Amanda Reed, will
shortly be taken. In a measure of
this kind it is the part of wisdom to
make haste slowly. It Is, In fact,
necessary to proceed with a delibera
tion and prudence, to the end that the
intent of the donors may be faithfully
carried ouV Litigation having ceased,
the bequest which makes the Reed
Institute an assured fact is now at
the disposal of the board of managers
that has been delegated to handle it
and the weighty questions covering
the scope and purpose of the institute
are being carefully considered. No
community can afford' to have a mis
take made in a matter that trenches
so closely upon its welfare as this. It
may be added, with confidence, that
no mistake will be made in this case.
If Southern Oregon papers that
publish sneers about "the recent dis
covery of Southern Oregon by the Ore
gonlan" had either memory or knowl
edge, they would know that The Ore
gonlan, many and many a year,
has published more matter descrip
tive of Southern Oregon and its ad
vantages than all other publications
whatsoever. Through the whole of Its
own long history and that of the state.
The Oregonlan has been doing this
continuously. Climate, soli, productive
capacity, mines, fruits and the scenic
wonders of Crater Lake all were
first made known to the world
through The Oregonlan; and the work
has been kept up from the first for
The Oregonlan always has been the
newspaper of all Oregon, and of the
Oregon Country, now constituting
many states. It has been the work
of more than fifty years.
The public schools of this city and
the wide area known as District No.
1 nTwrnon VMtprdRV with a full corDS
o'f teachers and a large first-day at
tendance. Later, when the children
gather In from the hop yards and
orchards and from Summer out
ings at seaside resort and mountain
camps, the largest enrollment in the
history of the Portland public schools
will no doubt be reached. The growth
of a city Is measured by the growth
of its homes and homes without cmi
dren are still happily the exception tp
the good old-fashioned rule.
Transfer of Henry B. Miller from
.v, r-,ro r, f rnncni.r;pn(irjii at Yoko
hama to that of Consul at Belfast will
no dou'bt prove acceptable to mm ana
m fftmHv Thflv have been in the
Orient since 1900, Mr. Miller having
serve tt as uonsui ai tnung xvuig ouu
NTt.t rhmflnff nrtnr to his nnnnintment
at Yokohama. , A thoroughly practi
cal man, he has servea me country
well in the important stations to
which he has been assigned.
A young Indiana church organist,
detained in Los 'Angeles for eloping
with a wealthy young woman, says he
Is wiling to go back and believes he
can arrange to be forgiven by the de
serted wife. There is no doubt of it,
as she is said to be an invalid and has
three young children, and women are
proverbially "easy." If she were
strong and husky,-with a square jaw
and muscle to match, his repentance
would not 'be evident.
It has been found necessary on the
part of the state to transfer a murder
case in the Superior Court at Tacoma
because the Judge is opposed to capital
punishment. When men who "adorn"
the bench are allowed to interpret jus
tice to suit their whims, it Is little
wonder the proletariat has a howl
coming. '
A Heidelberg professor announces
that he has discovered HaUey's comet
which has been lost these seventy
years. In the present era of Incredu
lity, how does he propose to lay his
proofs before an International scien
tific board of Investigation ?
Postmaster-General Hitchcock pro
poses to find out whether Uncle Sam
Is paying the railroads too much or
too little for carrying the mails. Did
vou ever hear of a railroad hauling
stuff for any one too cheap?
With the opening of schools yester
day there Is a cry for more room from
all parts of the state. t The director
of the census would read the Oregon
news with profit.
How the world does howl with Joy
when a clergyman falls from grace,
and how the worrd should be ashamed
of Itself! To err Is human, and some
times divine.
When Anna Held In the news dis
patches offers $10,000 to be landed at
New York In an airship, it proves
originality and effectiveness in- her
press agent.
Says our Jonathan: "If I can be
h rblef fuelnman In entertainment
of the President at my City of Port
land, I care not who discovers the
Pole."
Some people are saying Peary .took
the Cook house in the Arctic. His
friends think he has taken the bakery,
too. -
Meteorological traditions have been
broken. The State Fair opened with
out rain.
Mrs. Pearv isn't sitting ud nights to
make Christmas presents for Mrs.
Cook.
Mr. Beals, having returned, is giv
ing us his prettiest.
WHAT TO WEAR WHEV TAFT COM 15!
A Chance for the Ever? -Hay American
to Ft ra pi re for His Country.
Baltimore Sun.
The eminent citizens who wimiiie
the reception committee In Ix.ulninna
have resolved that during l,r-ll"iit
Taft's visit to the state they will ti"t
appear In long-tailed cout itii'l sUI
hats. They have decided thnt comfort
is more than style and the body thud
raiment; and they do not propoan Iff
swelter along in hot clothes Junt for
the sake of making a show. Weighing
a few stone under 300 pounds. Mr. Taft
is somewhat of a swelterer himself, and
he must appreciate the feeling, of tno
stout committeemen who have to wad
dle around as his bodyguard.
But is this showing proper respect
for the President of the United States?
For generations whenever an American
has wished to put on his dignity in the
daytime he has arrayed himself In a
long-tailed black coat that covers him
like a blanket and makes him look like
a clothier's dummy. He has topped his
costume with the high silk hat, which
is the unfailing mark of prominence
and importance. True, when Princess
Eulalie came from Spain to grace the
World's Fair at Chicago certain emi
nent citizens of that enterprising town
appeared at the municipal breakfast in
swallow-tailed evening clothes, but
their fate has been ever since a warn
ing to other receptionists not to appear
In anything save the regular recog
nized uniform.
The Louisiana men may be brave in
resolving to face the country iri com
mon everyday clothes, but it is bravery
that verges on sheer recklessness.- For
several days they will be right in the
limelight and the public gaze will rest
upon them. They will be so close to
the President that they will look al
most prominent. Do they dare allow
the eyes of the populace to rest on
them when they are In ordinary attire?
Their very appearance will at once
arouse the suspicion that they are not
the men for the place. How can the
people look up to them if they have
no high hats? How can they be dis
tinguished from the mere folks who
are not committeemen? Everyone will
suspect that they are committeeing un
der false pretenses.
No matter what the Louisianans may
do, we hope the 2927 committeemen at
the other points on the Presidents
tour will realize what the occasion de
mands and measure up to their full
duty. It may be trying to wear a
long-tailed coat blanketed around you,
and struggle along under a high hat
that looks like a stovepipe and fits
like a crackerbox, but there are times
when personal feelings must be put
aside. It Is a poor committeeman who
will not be willing to perspire for his
country. (
THIRSTY HARD HIT BY TARIFF.
More Evidence of What the Cooramer
Kinds In the Payne BUI.
Kansas City Star.
Another example of what Mr. Ultimate
K. Consumer drew In that fascinating
prize package which those funny Sena
tors In Washington wrapped up this
Summer and labeled the Payne bill has
been brought to his attention in the last
few days. Cute little placards have ap
peared In most of the bars In the city
within a day or two conveying to him
this Interesting intelligence:
? All Imported Beers, 15 Cents. :
Now, as everybody knows who knows
anything about it, that means that those
tall, tapering glasses containing Pilsener
and other German brews which one for
merly purchased to give' the crowd the
impression that he had traveled exten
sively abroad, have been rudely snatched
out of reach of the great common people
and handed over to the jaded palates of
the pampered rich.
The reason for this blow leveled at the
great American thirst is, of course, the
increased duties on the beverage levied
under the new law. Of course. . propor
tionate Increases have been made on
champagne, brandies and other Imported
wines and liquors, but these do not bear
so heavily on the every-day straphanger,
who only goes to a banquet once a year
and doesn't care what the "whoopee"
stuff costs so long as he gets a pocketful
of corks as souvenirs.
Plain bucket beer is still quoted steady
at 5 cents the glass, but In these days,
when the cost of all the necessities of life
Is going skyrocketing, there's no telling.
Ten cents may be the price before long.
Muzzle for Crowing Booster.
Washington, D. C, Dispatch.
The recent municipal edict, which
may spell the banishment of the sleep
destroying rooster within Washing
ton's limits, has aroused the inventive
genius of a man who has devised a
rooster muzzle. His Idea is to kill the
crow, but save the rooster. This ad
vocate of a noiseless chanticleer be
lieves that If the authorities will sanc
tion the use of the device, which con
sists of a simple collar of leather with
a small cotton pad fastened around the
rooster's neck sufficiently tight to
throttle the vocal organ, both the com
munity and the rooster can live in
peace and quiet.
United States May Need the Pole.
Hartford (Conn.) Times.
William H. Seward annexed Alaska
to the United States in 1S67, and now
Dr. Cook has annexed the North Pole,
If discovery carries with it the right
of possession. It is easy enough to say
we do not want to own the Pole, but
a good many people said the same
thing about Alaska at first. There
mav be great advantages some day in
having title to the 300,000 square miles
of "territory cut out from the terres
trial unknown," as the explorer strik
ingly says. For one thing, . there is
probably a lot of coal up. there, and
coal land is good property wherever
you find it on the surface of the earth.
Muzsle the Dogs.
Chicago Record-Herald.
The American Veterinary Association
declares that the number of deaths
from . hydrophobia in this country
varies from 100 to 300 a year, despite
all that the Pasreur Institutes can do.
In contrast with our record there is the
record of Great Britain In which there
has been no case of hydrophobia since
1899; of Holland, where there has been
none since 1879, and of Berlin, where
there has been none since 1883. Muz
zling and quarantine of imported dogs
serve to eradicate the disease.
Suggestion to Dr. Cook.
Chicago Tribune.
Dr. Cook should explain more com
pletely why he had to spend a year in
the wilderness after having, as he says,,
reached the Pole. The first and the
last thought of a man who had thus
gained a title to enduring fame would
be to hasten back to civilization and
claim his laurel wreath. He would
brave many dangers to escape being
Immured for a year in the desolation
of Ellesmere Land.
No Wages or Jail Life for Drunks.
Reading, Pa., Dispatch.
Mayor Arthur, of McKeesport, Pa.,
has decided that men convicted of in
toxication must sign a paper permit
ting their wives to draw their wages
for at least one year. In the case of
an unmarried man his next of kin, man
or woman, is to draw his wages. The
alternative is a term of six months in
the workhouse.
Licensed Chauffeur 13 Years Old.
Bangor, Me., Dispatch.
Arthur H. Terry, Jr.. 13 years old, is
said to be the youngest licensed chauf
feur in Maine. The boy drives a 10
horsepower automobile for his father.
NKW USF2 FOR TUB INITIATIVE.
Kntploy It to Cheek the Tendency To-
' ward I'srless Public Officers.
I'OKTLANI), Sept. 13. (To the Editor.)
An i-dltorlHl In The Oregonlan Friday on
"Nothing Ijolng'" was a center shot at
1 1 in hiillKf-yi). ' The county has no more
tifi fur five Circuit Judges than it ha
fur n-vf.n Comity Clerks, nor than the
iy hn for nn additional crew of health
iirrlmrs. You are not the only citizen
who la supremely disgusted with the ten-1-ii:y
toward officialism run to seed
tnl then some.
lint thle: Circuit Judge business is the
limit. Officialism in this direction has
gone daft In Oregon. Haker County, for
ItiKiurjcf, has now a Circuit Judge all to
IIH lf. Union and Wallowa have one. The
UiKt legislature, controlled by the "choice
of the pupl," "trrteners" and "State
ment One" devotees, foisted another on
Multnomah against a decided popular pro
Ut and another on a Southern Oregon
district where the presiding Judge him
self voiced his opposition to the scheme.
But Chamberluln demanded It as a re
ward for. his sacrifice in accepting the
senatorshlp at the hands of servile "Re
publicans," and it was done. Had to be
done! Sure!
Why not get the people In action with
the Initiative In support of a measure
to abolish at least two of the Judgeships
In Multnomah County, consolidate several
outside districts and thereby lessen the
number of superfluous Judges by three or
four and weed out a regiment of useless
burdens to the people?
It is not likely that the world Is gov
erned too much, but there is no doubt
that there is a growing and fattening ex
cess of men on official payrolls who pre
tend to be governing something or some
body. It is likely that the people will be
fore long wipe out the initiative and
other modern excresences on our hitherto
representative system, of government, but
while It is yet with them they should
give through its agency a final swat to
this unchecked drift toward more offi
cers, and still more.
A few doses like that would tend to
Indicate that the people have some sane
conception of what the Initiative privilege
may be made to do and the process would
go far toward creating a sentiment In
favor of Its retention.
Why not use it in that way? .
YOUNG FOGY.
HUMOR, OF POLES AND POLLS.
Heaatny Murphy Gives Flippant Ideas
on Kot Discoveries.
PORTLAND, Sept: 13. (To the Editor.)
People are keeping their brains, or
what's left of them, stewed up over the
discovery of the North Pole. Why should
we interfere with the business of the ex
perts, or the disciples of Ananias?
That's a queer place, anyway, to nail
the Stars and Stripes. I'll bet $2 that
the American eagle will keep away from
the North Pole, although it might be a
good place for decaying things like State
ment No. 1. Saddest of all, it has got the
poets on a sublime spree. . One of them
sings of the purple cold eternal, and the
doom of all things vernal, where the wind
is death In motion, flying o'er a frozen
ocean and then pictures the flag, bloom
ing with the beauty of a cause that can
not die, smiling at the outer worlds
against a frozen sky.
I wonder if that poet is any kin to Jona
than Bourne? Jonathan is the only man
I know of who can picture bloom and
besuty in a commonwealth of frozen
faces. Brethren, you should study your
own poles or polls your understandings
have been frozen up long enough. Two
hot bricks ought to thaw them out. If
Oregon studied the poles or polls of Its
National representatives. It would apolo
gize to the North Pole and suspend Judg
ment as to the South Pole. It would send
greetings to the Eskimos as having the
one government free from hot air, and
the one country where you can't make a
statesman otft of a flunky. Brethren,
study the poles when President Taft
comes here, and the poles will make you
free. JAMBS HENNES3Y MURPHY. .
Getting In Touch With the Soil.
L. H. Robbins, In Newark (N. J.) News.
A $75,000 automobile rolled through
the $60,000 bronze gates and up the
$35,000 winding avenue to the $20,000
marble steps.
Descending from the machine, the
billionaire paused a moment to view
the smiling $500,000 landscape.
Across the $90,000 lawn a -$125,000
silver lake lay speellng in the shades
of early evening, and beyond It rose a
lordly $80,000 hill, whose crest, cloaked
with forest at an exn,ense of $200,000,
glowed in the last golden rays of the
setting sun.
The billionaire sunk luxuriously Into
"a $2000 Ivory porch chair and restod his
feet on the rosewood railing of the
$160. 000 veranda..
"It is pleasant," he observed, "to get
back to nature once in a while. After
the cares and worries of the business
day, I certainly love to run out to this
quiet little $60,000,000 country club of
ours and taste a bit of simple life. It
is good to keep In touch with the soil,
for what Is man but dust after all?"
Feeling restored, he passed In through
the $400,000 doorway to his $1500 din
ner. Scouts for Swarming Bees.
Scientific American.
Swarms of bees are sometimes com
pelled to take refuge In remarkable
shelters. A peculiar and Instructive
instance was observed by the writer in
the Spring of 1908. The swarm flew
over a large vineyard which contained
a few buildings. One of these buildings
was constructed of hollow concrete
blocks. The swarm flew directly
toward a small hole in one of the blocks
and disappeared in the interior. No
doubt the swarm had rested on a tree
or shrub on the preceding day and had
sent out scouts to seek a home.
The scouts found the little hole
leading into the great cavity of the
concrete block and reported their dis
covery to their comrades. This case
furnishes indisputable proof that
swarming bees really send out scouts,
as they are believed to do, for the little
hole could not have been discovered
in the rapid and lofty flight of the
swarm.
The Charm of Youthful Eves.
Washington (D. C.) Herald.
"Up to the age of 16 Dick had re
tained the proper scorn of things fem
inine." said Fred S. CoTer, of Chicago,
at the Riggs, telling the following lit
tle yarn. ''Then he went to a dancing
school and was smitten by the charms
of several youthful Eves. Accordingly,
jjick approached his father and re
quired theater ticket- for two.
"Father complied and merely asked
as he turned over the seats, 'Which girl
Is it?'
" 'I'm going to take Mabel,' Dick re
sponded. "Then she's the one you like best?
father continued.
Dick turned a superior and pitying
eye upon his parent. 'Oh. no. I don't
like her best. You don't understand
the situation, father. It isn't the girl
I care about. It's the experience I
want.' " .
Inherently Improbable.
Chicago Tribune.
Baldwin What's the matter with you,
Rambo? -
Rambo Been cel'bratln th' dlsh
cov'ry of th' Pole, ole fel'r.
Baldwin Think you can make me be
lieve you accumulated a jag like that
on dogmeat and train oil?
Three Chances.
Princeton Tiger.
"Baltimore has three saloons to one
policeman." '
"That gives you three guesses as to
where the policeman is."
"Mr. Dooley" on the
North Pole
BY F. P. DUNNE.
"D'ye think," asked Mr. Hennessy,
"that both these lad1 has discovered the
North Pole?"
"Faith, I don't know." said Mr. Dooley.
"Ayether they have discovered it or
they've Invlnted It. It don't make much
dlff'rence which. I afn't ah Artie explor.
er. Ail the polar observations I have lver
took has been took at a pint about a Toot
an' a half fr'm a base-burnin' stove on
a Winter's night. But I've had me thee
rles an' I'm glad to see thlm verified.
Wan lv thlm was that th' North Pole was
In a northerly direction. Another was
that If iver discovered a careful obsarver
wud find ice In th" neighborhood. Both
contributions to science has been estab
lished. Th'-scientific wurruld is no longer
In doubt. Th' North Pole Is sartalnly in
th' north. It Is not so far north to go to
as I thought, but It is farther to come
away fr'm. Ye go up In th' afthernoon
on th" publick sledge that meets th' two
thirty at Uppenavlk an' ye come back In
fr'm two to five years. As f'r th' ice, it
was not nictesry to bring back specimens.
Both explorers agree that they noted dis
tinct thraces iv this precyous min'ral ln
dlcatln' that there are valyable deposits
near by. Why, thin, ask me what good .
does Artie exploration do whin these here
two gobs iv knowledge have been added
to th' wurruld's store lv information. We
now know all there is to be known about
the North Pole.
"Who do I think gets th' honor iv bein'
there first? Faith, I'm not goin' to de
cide. As Dock Cook says th' honor is
great enough f'r both an' there's little
enough lv It, as It is. If th' Dock wasn't
th' first there he was th first to say he
was. an' I ain't sure that it don't take
more courage to be th' first to say that
ye wint there thin it does to be th' first
to go there. I believe thlm both, I don't
see anny reason f'r not bellevln' thlm.
It's aisler to believe thlm thin not. I ex
tlnd me hand to both lv thlm. I say: 'I
congratylate ye with all me heart. No,
no; don't show me anny proofs. If ye've
got to prove it, it ain't 60. But if ye'd
come to me years ago I wud've told ye
all about It an' yet might've been at
wurruk all this time at some useful occy
pation.' "How did they get up there? says ye.
Th' doctor took what Is known as th
gum dhrop route. 'I discovered.' says
he, 'years ago that th' way to win me
way to th' North Pole was be means lv
a Judicyous distribution lv gum dhrops.
This here delicious but sticky edyble Is
priced beyond annything In thlm grim
Northern climes as an ornymint.
" 'At two-thirty we put th' electhrlc
lights lv Upper Navik behind us an'
were started on 'our journey. Th' days
flew with Incredible speed. Our suffer
ing were intense. At 3 o'clock we stopped
to kill a musk ox. At three-thlry we see
on our right a vast island iv thirty-six
thousand, five hundherd miles in extinct
which Wallo Wallo said was a game
preserve. We did not go near It. A
lack iv public spirit on th' part lv th'
Polar taxpayers has left th" Ice here
in an exthremely bad condition. It Is
full iv ruts. Why will not these people
lam that their business will suffer If
they do not keep up th' highways? 1
" 'At four o'clock we had a dog f'r tea.
This rejooced our speed to sixty miles
an hour. But at five o'clock me heart
stopped beating, f'r Wallo Wallo cried:
"Here we ar-re." We were at last at
th' gool lv our ambitions. I will de
scribe me sinsatlons. Me first slnsa
tion was: "They won't believe It." Mo
slcond an' last sinsatlon was: "Thank
hlven 'tis an' American an' It ain't
Peary that has won this glory f'r th"
old flag.' I lmmedately made scientific
obsar-atlons. I first ast th' askymo chief
If he was sure he wrs right. He said
he knew th1 dlrthrict as we'.l as I knew
Fulton street, Brooklyn. F'r th' pur
pose iv further sati-sfyin' th' skeptical I
obsarved that th' pole was surrounded
ant covered be Ice. How wud I dp scribe
It? I wud say that It looked like a
skating rink although not po densely
popylated.
"Well, sir, the lnthrepld explorer had
hardly been back In Copenhagen long
enough to have his hair cut an' take
dinner with the king, whin I opened
up the pa-aper an' see that Penry had
discovered th' North Pole too. Strhange
he didn't see Dr. Cook. He must've
been on th' other side Iv the Pole nt
th' same time. 'Twud've been very
effectln' If these two men had met on
th' top lv th' earth. Thin there wud
den't be anny question iv which wns
th' first. Th' one that got home at all
wud he th' boy. How they wud've em
braced each other an' rasseled over th'
frozen sea. But It didn't happen. Th'
North Pole must have a bigger top
thin I thought If these two old com
rades nlver run Into each other at nil
an' both Iv them there at th' same time.
But they didn't see each other an' -didn't
come acrost a thrace iv each other. Th'
most Important scientific observation Iv
ayether lv thlm Is that he didn't see th'
other. 'How do I establish my claim
to findln' th' North Pole?" says Peary.
'Because Cook wasn't there.' 'How do
I know I was at th' Pole?' says Cook.
'Because I took careful observation an'
found that Peary wasn't there,' says he.
It's a fine thing to see th" the sclentitlc
spirit that these two heroes show, an'
to know there ain't anny more jealousy
among thlm thin ye'd be liable to find
among actors. 'I honor Peary." says th'
magnanimous Cook, i 'Some day I hope
he will devote his patience an' his en
ergy to th' gr-reat cause iv Arctic Ex
ploration." 'Doctor Cook," says Peary,
is a splendid man an' I'm glad to know
that he's goin" to splnd his life fr'm
now on In the orchid huntin' Brazil,"
he says.
"Thank th' Lord, lv'e nlver discovered
th' North Pole an' so me repytatlon
f'r truth an' veracity will go on bein'
good among sthrongers. Yet I don't
know that I wudden t be- easier in me
mind knowin' ivrybody thought I was
a liar than If I thought Ivrybody else
was a liar."
"Who will th' North Pole belong to?'
asked Mr. Hennessy.
"It's ondecided," said Mr. Dooley.
"Some think England, some says th'
United States and some says Denmark.
There'll probably be a fight over It but
I think Denmark will get it."
"Why." asked Mr. Hennessy.
"It will go to th' loser." said Mr.
Dooley.
(Copyright 1909 by H. H. McClure & Co.)
POLITICAL SHOUT COMMENT.
Bryan had. a spirited runaway acci
dent by motorcar in Springfield, Mo.
He hasn't been able to strike so fast a
pace since he ran away with a National
convention. Boston Herald.
The public Invariably tires of a
player like Colonel Bryan, who cannot
get a hit in several 'times at bat. He
might make a good umpire, but he will
never be a good ball player. St. Louis
Globe-Democrat.
Western peoplo look forward eagerly
to the day when Mr. Cannon will be
given a minority membership on the
House committee on Potomac River
front and ventilation and acoustics
that Is If he remains in Congress.
Kansas City Star.
In popular governments political
stagnation is certain to follow the dis
appearance of an alert oppposltlon.
Some, of the ills of Democracy are due
to the fact that in various respects it
has ceased to oppose Republicanism,
and has sought to assist it. Others are
traceable to the platform habit, which
has led It into many strange and con
tradictory declarations. In main, how
ever, the spirit of faction has grown
because In the search by would-he
leaders for a novelty the real principles
of the party, always applicable, have
been neglected. New York World.
V