8 THE MORNING OREGOXIAy, TT7ESDAY, SEFTE3IBER 21, 1909.
MM W . 1 , I I A.wa. nw-r'w-n a nnf n Af Tfc IVW
Stye CDrmttatt
to KTLAXIX ORI.UOV
Entered at Portland. Oregon. Poftodlct as
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rORTLAVD. TVESDAY. SKIT. il. "1900.
WHY PARTIES EXIST.
"Since you say the tariff does not
afford a basis for division or distinction
of political parties, tell us what sub
ject, what question, at this time, does
afford such basis?" The inquiry is
addressed to The Oregonian.
No subject, no question, in any defi
nite way. Just now. The tariff cannot,
because, first, it Is "a local question,"
and second, because It Inspires no sen
timental opinion, awakens no moral
enthusiasm, associates with politics
none of the fundamental principles or
higher aspiration of human nature. It
Is true that these fundamental prin
ciples and higher aspirations are us
ually very Indefinite, Indeed practi
cally Indefinable; and parties seize hold
of one accidental circumstance after
another, as "issues" for their purpose.
But these all pass into oblivion; yet
basis of party division remains, and
there seldom is much change of men
from one party to another. We speak
now of the main divisions. Almost
always there are small minor parties,
each devoted to some particular idea
that can have no long continuance.
Minor parties multiply when the main
lines of division between the great
parties at times become obscure.
What then Is the basis of difference
between the two great parties. In
whose ranks the greater part of the
electors of the country are enrolled?
It Is fair to expect answer to such a
question. The basis of the difference
and division is not In any temporary
condition of affairs, but in the great
natural diversity of sentiment com
mon among all men. The trend of
human thought say. rather ' human
feeling constantly leads men, ac
cording to their natural temperaments
and situations, to separata themselves
In two great parties. By whatever
names these parties may be known at
different times and places, the one
is a party whose- efforts tend in the
long run towards support of-aiHfcority
In government, towards reliance on ex
perience, towards consolidation and
maintenance of central " power; ( the
other towards projects of innovation,
towards assertion of local over-general
or national Interests, towards oppo
sition to concentration ',0? authority
and power, towards unrestrained local
democracy.. .The pne finds its danger
ous extreme in absolute' monarchy
with all its attendant theories of divine
right, non-resistance, - and the like;
while the other finds its correspond
ing extreme in anarchy.
In one form or another these oppos
ing theories are always present in the
state. The good of each party Is that
it forces the other to abate somewhat
of its pretensions, or to hold a check
upon its tendencies; for somewhere in
this endless Jar there must be ap
proach to conditions of peaceable life
for a state. But In the course of their
history states obtain this approxima
tion to peaceable life only through
civil wars. Every civil war Is merely.a
clash of parties in a state. Our own
political history is the record of an
evolution from independent colonies.
Jealous of each other, to a strong cen
tral government.
Out of this condition opposing polit
ical parties In our country were sure
to arise. They sprang up immediately
after the formation of the Constitu
tion. Their preliminary struggles. In
deed, were In the constitutional con
vention, where the fundamental divis
ion of political opinion was strongly
manifest. This division though uni
versally recognized by students of our
history, may be wholly or partlallj
conceded by the temper of certain
times or by the absorbing claims of
specific yet temporary measures: but
still, it is always present, and accord
ing to the trend given to political ac
tion It is pronounced or obscure. Yet
when this or that diversion has ceased
to operate, the old ruts are resumed,
and the old division is made plain.
Such struggle will appear again.
In our country, yet under different
conditions from any presented hereto
fore. But it Is the basis of all large
divisions of parties, in free countries,
and will so continue anck remain. For
no change is to be expected in the es
sential nature of man; certainly we
have seen none in these thousands of
years, since the dawn of history, nor
does it appear probable the next ages
will.
Since now there Is no question, no
measure, even of temporary character,
sufficiently Important to absorb gen
eral attention or create a large diver
sion, our parties hold substantially at
this time to the old laws of division,
and multitudes call themselves Re
publicans or Democrats because they
"feel it in their bones," yet would be
puzzled If requested to give analysis
of the differences and of their causes.
Since the tariff is no basis for new
division of parties, even temporarily,
men keep their old political associa
tions, based on what, those who deem
themselves wise call "prejudice"; but
which nevertheless is one of the great
and useful forces that tend to the bal
ance and conservation of political and
all other society.
Parties then spring out of human
nature, directed by special conditions
in existence when institutions are in
process of formation. Then, in course
of time, the parties become historical,
yet are steadily reinforced by people
who fall in with the history and the
tendencies of one and another. Herein
is the basis of the vitality of political
parties. The one recent thing that dis
turbed our parties more than any
other was the silver question. It
caused multitudes to shift themselves
temporarily from one party to the
other; but as soon as It was settled,
most of these reverted to their old
feelings, instincts and associations.
There never will be any arrangement
of parties that Is not based on this
main difference of feeling between
conservative and radical motive and
action; between regard for authority
and experience, on the one hand, and
the desire for innovation on the other.
Tha problem in a successful state Is to
hold these forces in proper proportion
to each other. Really to state it in
short terms our national experience
has been thef history of the mutual
approach of nationality and democ
racy. These forces are gradually ceasing
to battle against each other, for au
thority is identifying itself with de
mocracy and is ruling by numbers
more than formerly, while democracy
is making progress towards acceptance
in broader terms of the national spirit.
This is good augury for the country
though the contest is not yet ended,
nor will it ever be. so long as existing
differences in human nature remain.
Names of parties may change, and
doubtless will, but the fundamental
principles of division will rerrrain the
same.
SUCT tAWIXSS PLACES VP.
Is it not true that Fred Merrill's
place, known as the Twelve-Mile
House, has been selling liquors to
minors, contrary to law? It Is said
that Harry Holland, the young chauf
feur of the tragedy of Sunday morn
ing, who had been drinking there, was
but 19 years of age. Other occupants
of the car, who were served with
drinks, also may be minors. What are
the facts, and what action is to be
taken? The proper officials certainly
will Inquire.
Truth is. the roadhouses ought not
to be allowed to sell liquors at all.
They are too remote from public ob
servation and official control. If it be
the object to help the cause of state
wide prohibition, these people are
taking a very proper course; for
tragedies like these will make more
votes for prohibition than all the ora
tors of a prohibition campaign.
Men like Fred Merrill never should
be allowed to- sell liquor out oh the
road, nor, indeed, anywhere. His
Twelve-Mile House has long had 'the
reputation of ' a drunk-resort. On
other roads about the city are places
of similar kind.
Go on, messieurs of the booze-shops,
if you want state-wide prohibition.
DEATH OF GOVERN OR JOHN SOX.'
Death, taking John A. Johnson, of
Minnesota, removes an Interesting fig
ure in the politics of . the country.
Johnson was a man of high character,
and of noticeable yet not extraordinary
talents. To the fortune of opportunity
he owed his rise in politics. The con
ditions that made him were similar to
those that made Chamberlain in Ore
gon. In each case there were quarrel
ing Republican factions. In Minne
sota Johnson's name appealed special
ly to the Scandinavian, voters, who are
said to constitute almost or quite a
majority of the Republicans of the
state. His astonishing success, against
so great a Republican majority,
brought him into prominence, almost
on a National scale.
He was an agreeable and impressive,
though not remarkable, speaker; he
administered the office of Governor in
a satisfactory manner, and was re
elected, under favor of about the same
circumstances that gave him his first
victory, but by a greatly reduced ma
jority. Some think he might have
beaten Taft for the Presidency in
1908; and there can be no doubt that
he would have had more strength, in
many states than Bryan. Since 1908
he has been , looked upon as a very
promising Democratic candidate for
the Presidency in 1912. His death is
a disappointment to his party and a
distinct loss to the country.
'OVERESTIMATING GRAIX- CROPS.
The Canadian government has is
sued an official statement of the grain
harvest of Canada for 1909. Like all
of Its predecessors, this report is high
ly optimistic. Ignoring the fact that
returns for the Spring wheat harvest
are not yet available, It Is only neces
sary to recall that Canadian crop esti
mates have always been so high as
to cause distrust regarding those now
given out; by the government. This
remarkable report, which bears the In
dorsement of the government 6X Ot
tawa, places the wheat crop at 168,
386,000 bushels, an average of 22
bushels per acre. Barley is placed at
57,000,000 bushels, with an average
yield of 31 bushels per acre, and the
yield of oats Is placed at 355,000,000
bushels, or 38 bushels per acre.
The average yield of wheat in the
United States is about 14 bushels per
acre, and it has never before been
claimed that the Canadian yield was
a full third greater than that of this
country. The excessive optimism" dis
played by the Canadians In these sta
tistics is not due to a desire actually to
deceive the public, but rather to an
excess of zeal in advertising to the
world trie wonderful progress, that is
being made in developing the grain re
sources of the country- The worst
feature of this kind of optimistic crop
booming is the. reaction. Canada has
never yet gathered a grain crop that
measured up to the early estimates,
and the final out-turn, which can al
ways be accurately determined by
shipments and home consumption re
quirements, has always served to em
phasize the worthlessness of the ex
travagant estimates made early in the
season.
This habit of overestimating a grain
crop is not confined to Canada, how
ever, for it is very seldom that the
American crop is not placed at a much
higher figure than can be reached by
the final out-turn. For this condition
the general worthlessness of the Agri
cultural Department' is largely respon
sible. Last year the crop-reporting
experts connected with Secretary Wil
son's bureau of "misinformation"
estimated the wheat crop of Oregon,
Washington and Idaho at 54,000,000
bushels, and the final out-turn dis
closed a yield of but 41.000,000 bush
els. This lack of knowledge on the
part of the Government last year en
abled Mr. Patten, who knew the Gov
ernment figures were many millions In
excess of the actual amount harvested,
to buy large quantities of wheat at the
low figures warranted by a crop of the
dimensions reported by the Govern
ment. The e'rror was so plain and so
costly last year that this year it Is
believed that the Government will be
less wild in its guesses.
This year the Pacific Northwest has
an excellent crop, and, although the
original estimate of 65.000,000 bushels
made by The Oregonlan early in the
season is generally regarded as ample,
a. number of enthusiastic boomers are
putting out estimates of 60,000,000 and
even 62,000,000 bushels of wheat.
Overestimatlon of the crop In this Pa
cific Northwest Is especially objection
able, for the reason that In times of
stiff freight rates it encourages ship
owners to hold out for higher figures
than are -warranted by actual condi
tions. Overestimatlon of the crop,
either for the purposes of booming
land, Increasing freight rates or de
pressing wheat prices, is a bad practice
and should be abandoned.
i
INVITING TARIFF REPRISAL.
That was a very good Joke we played
on France with our new tariff bill.
In which we raised te limit on laces
and some other French staples so high
that the French will be heavy losers
by the change. The worst of it is, the
French are so slow to see a joke that
they have begun casting about for
means of retaliation. In this country,
if a trust-controlled lace factory was
Obliged . to close its doors, the em
ployes could scatter out to the. mil
lions of acres of forest and plain still
awaiting the hand of labor. We never
have enough labor to pick our fruit,
harvest our grain or clear our land,
and there Is, accordingly, a demand
for labor in some or our many and
varied industries when 18 tempor
arily forced out of others. In France
it Is different. Centuries of develop
ment have steadily narrowed the field
of the workers, and when they are
thrown out of employment they ln-w
dulge in bread riots and other unpleas
ant diversions which, of course, are
not regarded with equanimity by their
neighbors.
This is why the French, who do not
make lace and other articles which
our new tariff law practically shuts out
of the American market, but who,
willingly or' unwillingly, have an In
terest in the people who do, are much
Incensed' over the treatment extended
France by the new law. Of course
our most ardent worshipers at the sa
cred Idol of protection will throw out
their chests and announce in clarion
tones that this great country of ours
Is big enough and rich enough to be
independent of all other nations on
earth, and if France does not like the
treatment she can go hang. But
France, despite the poverty of its lace
workers and lower classes, is one of
the richest countries on earth. The
per capita wealth of its people Is
greater than that of our own, and it
has in the past bought heavily in this
country, of agricultural machinery,
cotton," oil, meats, and at times corn
and wheat.
What legitimate protest can we
make if the French government retal
iates with a duty on agricultural im
plements so high that we cannot sell
to them? We make a tariff so high
that our own people no longer have
the privilege of buying French lace,
and as a result some of the French
lacemakers are thrown out of work.
It would be natural for them to strike
back at us with a tariff on farm ma
chinery that would bs prohibitive, and
thus throw some American workmen
out of employment. We cannot mo
nopolize the trade of the world by en
forcing a prohibitive tariff, but we can
accumulate a stock of commercial ene
mies who In time will become suffi
ciently numerous to leave us somewhat
Isolated. The French people have al
ways beerf very fair In their attitude
toward this country, and we may yet
have cause to regret this unnecessary
provocation that can hardly fail to in
vite reprisal.
FAIX COLONISTS COMING.
Fall colonists have begun to reach
Oregon, the first installment having
arrived in this city Sunday night. The
time is most propitious for these ar
rivals. Up to October 15, when the
rates expire, it is expected that the
traffic in this line will be heavy.
There Is room and opportunity for
as many homeseekers, especially of
the thrifty agricultural class as may
come to this state. Arriving now, and
within a month,, and spreading out
through the agricultural, horticultural
and dairy districts of the state, they
cannot fail to be impressed with the
bounty of Oregon soil and with the
abounding opportunity offered to en
gage In its cultivation.
Every effort should be made to fur
nish these homeseekers with the In
formation necessary to locate them
properly soy that they may get the
right start. While the spirit of true
neighborliness exists In our rural
communities, It is sometimes slow in
expression. This should not be. Make
the stranger welcome; refrain from
exaggeration when setting forth the
advantages of the soil, climate and
resources of Oregon. The truth, mild
ly stated, is good enough. Here as
elsewhere the farmer must work if
he would get satisfactory returns from
the soil, but here more than in many
other sections of the country he is aid
ed by generous climatic conditions, soil
responsive to cultivation and grow
ing markets for the products of his
acres and his industry.
Naturally,, it will take a little time
for our new citizens to find these
things out. Their unaccustomed, sur
roundings may lead to some disap
pointment, but this will be a thing of
but a few months and will be forgot
ten in the fullness of prosperity which
will be the sure reward of their en
deavor in coming years.
PROBLEMS IN PLYING.
A writer In the Outlook, discussing
the prospects of aviation, makes a re
mark which will read oddly to many
people. He says that it is quite possi
ble to furnish an aeroplane with a
motor which shall be at the same time
too powerful and too light. Most read
ers have thought all along that the
hardest problem for aeroplane build
ers was to construct a motor which
should hot be too heavy.' It turns out
that this is no problem at all.' In or
der to fly well the machine must pre
serve a certain ratio between resisting
surface and weigh?. When the weight
is too small the aeroplane becomes un
stable and cannot attain the best
speed. . v '
The chief difficulty, it appears. Is to
construct a machine which will not
flop about and tip over when side
winds strike It. The questions of
speed and carrying power have been
pretty satisfactorily disposed . of,
though aviators do not expect that the
aeroplane can ever become much of a
freighter. It will probably be the
runabout of the air, more useful for
speed than anything else, but why
should It not carry letters? Probably
It will. The day will come, too, when
those flimsy laces which our new and
r.Art.c tariff excludes from the coun-
try '
mac
wlll flit over the boundary in nying
achines, at whlch the customs offi-
cers
will gnash their teeth in impotent
rage,
ping
To prevent mat dangerous nop-n-hlr-h
alwavs threatens an avi-
ator
tn an aeronlane. it is Interesting
to
th
notice that they are beginning to
think of using the gyroscope. Ihis
cu
ev
rinnt instrument Is familiar to
erybody as a toy, but many persons
do
not know tnat one weigning
th
sa
thousands of pounds will perform the
me tricks as the gyroscope weigning
only
an ounce or two. - once set spin
in a. given, plane, it can -be caused
rilng '
to vary its direction only by an enor
mous force. In other woras, its sta
bility Is almost miraculous. This
property of the gyroscope has already
been utilized to control the motion of
steamers. If it can be applied to aero
planes the difficulties of aviation will
be appreciably-diminished.
The Cunard scorchers have ap
parently reached , the limit, for the
present at least, on the regular route
across the North Atlantic, but an en
terprising Nova Scotian has a project
for a steamship line from a point in
England to a port on Green Bay, New
foundland, by which It is expected to
reduce the time between Great Brit
ain and the United States more than
twenty-four hours. Connection at
Green Bay is to be made with an
eighty-five-mile railroad to the west
coast, and thence by steamer to a port
in Canada. The chief- advantage
claimed is that the route selected is
free from fog, thus admitting steam
ers to run at high speed. It will un
doubtedly be news to many (perhaps
to the owners) to learn 'that the ex
press steamers now rushing across the
Atlantic are supposed to slow down In
a fog. The average traveler somehow
gets the Impression that the captains
follow a fog rule laid down by Com
modore John Irving, formerly of the
Canadian Pacific, who Is said to have
Instructed his captains to run "full
speed ahead until you strike the kelp,'
then full speed astern." In suoh caser
the advantages of the fogless route
will be small.
The name of Dennis D. Twohy, the
railroad contractor, who died in Spo
kane Sunday, may not find a place in
the list of captains of industry, as the
world terms some of our great railroad
managers and financiers and manufac
turers. For all that.Mr. Twohy was a
captain of industry and was a very
prominent figure in a calling that, for
the past half century, has demanded
blood, brawn and genius of a high or
der. As a Far Western railroad con
tractor Mr. Twohy marshaled and
commanded armies of .men who blazed
and built the trails over which the
American people passed into new em-
pires. When the final great epic of
the Industrial West Is written, promi
nent space will be given to the achieve
ment of the Twohys, the Porters, the
Coreys and other true representatives
of outdoor energy who led their civiliz
ing forces through forests and can
yons, across rivers and plains, where
the "front" was always some distance
ahead of tlie civilization that was fol
lowing on their heels.
When the , automobile first rolled
Into public gaze a few years ago its
Juggernaut proclivities were less ram
pant than at the present time. This
caused the public to withhold from
Mother Shipton the full -credit to
whics she was entitled for her re
markable prophecy. When the old
lady peered into the future about 200
years and announced that "carriages
without horses will go," It was sup
posed that she availed herself of poetic
license in adding that clumsy rhyme:
"And accidents fill the : world with
woe." Now, however, the clearness
of the old lady's vision Is established,
for a perusal of the daily papers, en
ables but one deduction, and that is
that the horseless carriages and the ac
cidents which "fill the world with woe"
appear simultaneously In most cases.
The original statement may have been
poor poetry, but It contained plenty of
truth". ' ' -
-Lord Northcllffe's 'remarks about
the necessity England is under of keep
ing command of the sea, or power to
command it, are reasonable and patri
otic. No other nation Is in position
to be starved out quickly by an enemy
in command of the sea. Northcllffe's
remarks express the opinion and the
purpose of every Englishman. It may
be a sore trial of resources, but the
situation must be met. England feels
that she would better spend money on
warships than have such a tribute to
pay as that levied by Germany on
France.
Willamette University, "Old Willam
ette," is celebrating its jubilee. In
connection with the exercises the
names of Jason Lee, J. H. Wilbur,. A.
F. ' Waller, Thomas F. Gafch and
many others renowned In pioneer edu
cational work were heard and due
credit was given for the grand part
they played therein. The occasion
was one of pleasing reminiscence,
modest exultation and renewed prom
ise Qf usefulness.
That Is a new idea or the Joy "rider,
to obliterate a figure in the number
of the automobile. Some day an inno
cent owner of record of the apparent
number will have a huge job in squar
ing himself at home and abroad.
The rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal
Church, Dayton, O., who has invited
men to smoke during services, is sev
eral different , kinds of ass. If he is
not promptly' disciplined, something
is wrong with his bishop.
The Water Board unkindly refused
regular vacations to the' meter men,
who asked for them. Vacation seems
to be the first consideration of a city
employe.
" The Dayton, O., minister who asks
the men to bring their pipes and "the
makin's" to church beats anything
Portland ever had in that line.'
In view of a controversy that is apt
to run for several months, a great
many American homes need to be pro
vided with terrestrial globes.
( '
Discussion of the justice of water
meters In Portland promises to con
tinue until long after the North Pole
matter Is disposed of.
And there-are many drunken Joy
rides, in the dizzy night, that do not
end in wreck of the automobile.
On one point the nations of the
world are agreed, namely, that Cook
and Peary started something.
The fates have been kind in allow
ing Portland to retain Dr. Brougher
and Dr. Wilson.
Why not let the statute of limita
tions run in this Real case and have
done with it?
In addition to being killed in a Joy
ride, there is the disgrace, which many
overlook. '
Every day this week is PoKtlandJ
day at the jLivestocK snow.
Dr. Cook is again in the lead, get
ting home first. ' . ,
Gravel pits have their use.
I. lOCAl OPTION AXD miiOR. BIBLE AMI THE SDSUAl stnuuLt I xxwu niitu j.iml.l..-, "
Much Drtulclns; and Disorder Thrive in
Tillamook.
Tillamook Herald.
A number of prisoners who have been
locked up in the City Jail for drunken
ness complain that they have been
robbed, pr Tolled. "Frenchle" Arthur
Wlllett, is the last one, but as he has
only a hazy recollection as to where he
was arrested, he probably had no better
memory as to how much money he spent,
and if he spent $7.S5 in booze In one
evening, he probably also spent the
other $10.
Decent people are getting exceedingly
tired of the infernal racket, that is raised
at night on the streets, especially Satur
day nights, and there Is no Intention of
having the scenes of last year repeated.
Saturday night, ladles complained that
they could not shop, there was so many
drunks around.
The Herald is not in favor of the looal
option law as ,it works out; nor is It in
favor of seeing our beautiful city and
county disgraced by a lot of conscience
less men poisoning the community by in
discriminately selling the vilest kind of
bootleg and filling our streets with
drunken. men at night. Drunks should be
arrested in every instance by the police,
and no favorites made, and as the new
ordinance, to be passed, at the next
Council meeting, compels the Marshal
and Night Police to report every arrest
made, their names will be published
every month by the papers. This ought
to act as a deterrent, as no man cares
to see his name published to the county
as a drunken prisoner.
It often happens that this sort of dis
order appears in prohibition territory. It
Is seldom that those who want alcoholic
liquors cannot get them; and when tha
liquors' are obtained surreptitiously and
drunk in quantities, as they are sure to
be in such situations drunkenness and
disorder are often more marked than in
localities where the sale is regulated and
held under reasonable restraint by law.
It is very general experience. But this
doesn't give our prohibition brother any
troubles. . .
CITY'S PROFIT IX ' STOCK SHOW,
Success or Failure of Annual Fair
Means Much to Portland.
PORTLAND, Sept. 20. (To the Editor.)
The Portland National . Exposition is
now open to the people of this beautiful
olty; here are gathered together the finest
cattle, horses, hogs and sheep that the
world can offer. This exposition is now
an infant, needing public patronage to
nurture it into a great National show that
will bring people from all over the world
to- the City of Portland to see the great
things . the rich Willamette Valley can
produce. A few men, who saw the best
interest of this city, inaugurated this as a
National exposition. It is not en expo
sition that will detract from any other
agricultural show in the state, but will
stimulate every show on the Coast and
also create a show In every county in
the Pacific 'Northwest.
The great packing plants have moved to
Portland and will soon be ready to re
ceive cattle, sheep and hogs of the finest
types. 1 Only the choice kinds will pay.
Such shows as we now open In Portland
are the nuclei! of fine stock breeding. If
Oregon succeeds In supplying the demands
of the large packing plants now In opera
tion in Portland the value of holdings
in this city will advance fully one-third
and business will be one-third better than
now. '
Success of the Portland National show
will bring an Immense increase of wealth
to the property-owners and business men
of Portland. If this show fails to suc
ceed, all the people of Portland will be
losers. THOMAS WITHYCOMBB.
THE RUSH TO REACH FIRES.
It Is the Business of the Fire Depart
ment to Be In a Hurry.
PORTLAND, Sept. 19. (To the Editor.)
In answer to the sarcastic assertions
of "H. E." in reference to the spectacular
racing of the Fire Department, that the
speeding so greatly menaces life and
property, I will say that this writer
should wear the "thinking cap" once
more. Imagine, in your own mind, what
persons on the other hand would have to
say of the fire apparatus If they beheld
it approaching a conflagration at the
pace of a merchandise or furniture van.
At a fire the presence of the chief is
as essential as the means of pumping
water on the blaze. By the proper in
struction from official authority at a
critical moment of the fire may. make a
very marked difference In the result;
therefore, the necessary haste.
Furthermore, the streets of Portland
are not so traffic-blocked that they can
not be cleared before the passing of the
machine, which is sounding its warning
from a half mile of distance, the screech
ing of which may' be heard a mile. If
the house of "H. E." should take fire
and the department should respond at
a snail's pace, he would probably change
his Ideas, recently adopted from some old
maid from the tall timber, rora personal
knowledge I want to say .this much:
That If the. Fire Department officials
were trying to make a display when op
portunity was shown, they would be seen
a great deal more than they are. S.
Million-Dollar Housekeeping.
Everybody's Magazine.
In one hotel of 700 rooms only, the
wage bill amounts to $17,000 a week.
A big house that is, one that contains
from 1000 to 1500 rooms and the An
sonia apartment hotel, In New
York, has 2500 will pay out
$2000 a day for food; to feed its
1000 or 1500 employes will mean
from $500 to $700 to begin with. Four
teen barrels of flour, 700 dozen eggs,
25 barrels of oysters the list may
also go to indicate the waste there is.
A big hotel will burn from 50 to 100
tons of coal a day, Winter and Summer,
for almost as much is required to keep
the house cool as to keep It warm.
Items that might easily be left out of
count $70,000 a year for music and
orchestras- for examples add their as
tonishing figures. Forty thousand dol
lars goes to new dishes and $60,000 to
new linen. The whole bill for renew
als, repairs and redecoratlons will
annually amount to something between
$500,000 and $600,000.
$7500.
PORTLAND, Sept. 16. (To the Editor.)
Will you please answer through tha
columns of your paper what Is the most
one can sue a 6treet railroad company
for, where' it is proven that through its
carelessness it caused death? . It used to
be, in this state, $5000; It seems to me
that that law was revised whereby a
street railroad can be sued for $7500.
A. V. FOLSOM.
Impossible!
. Los Angeles Dally Times.
The only mishap that can possibly
happen to Mr. Taft on his Western trip
is that he may make the mistake of
thinking himself in California while he
Is still in Oregon.
Popular Sonic.
Chicago Tribune.
Billy Maloney loved Maggie Mahoney,
A squeezable, pleasable pearl ;
Mangle was sighable, quits glorlflable.
And a most eyeable girl.
Nightly she d meet him. and brightly she a
greet him.
And smile In her cute little way.
He'd aay: "Shall we go, dear, and take In
the show, dearT"
And she'd answer: "No. dear," and say;
CHORUS.
"Give me a spin In your motor, Bill!
My goodness gracious, I can't keep still!
Buzz me alone on the boulevard:
Let "er go, Willie boy, good and hard!
Throw it wide open I'll hold on tlKht
I don't care a fudge If my hair's a fright!
There's nothing that gives me such keen
delight ..
As a spin tn your motor. Bin!"-
The Deliverances of Professor Votavr,
of the University of Chicago.
The Chicago Evening Post.
One of the cumulative series of
events which -led to the recent revival
of the "press bureau" for the correct
dissemination of news at the Uulver
slty of Chicago was the wide misquota
tion of a Summer school address of
Professor Clyde W.' Votaw, In which
the speaker was made to say that "the
Bible is unfit for Sunday school."
Following the misquotation hair
trigger interviews appeared In certain
newspapers denouncing Professor Vo
taw as a foe of the Bible and a light
weight seeker after notoriety. What
ever he may say In the future will be
promptly discounted by thousands of
good people: "Votaw? Oh, he is the
man who doesn't believe in the Bible."
A large part of his constituency has
melted away beyond his reach.
It so happens the full text of his re
marks may be found In the September
issue of the Biblical World, published
by the University of Chicago Press.
-The Indignant denial by his friends,
their sweeping assertion that he "said
nothing of the sort," does him an In
justice. He did say something of the
sort, but it was very different In its
implications from the "silly season"
version.
At present. Professor Votaw says In
his address, the Sunday school is carry
ing a four-fold burden, trying to teach
ethios, religion, theology and the Bible.
This has been a heavy task, and cer
tain Biblical schaois, full of enthusiasm
for their specialty, have urged that It
might well be lightened; make ' the
Sunday school a place, they say, for the
intensive study of. the Bible. Professor
Votaw"s reply to this will strike most
people as highly sensible. , Itls not
practicable to enlist all sorts and con
ditions of children in a study which
scholars themselves find difficult.
Moreover, there are more Important
things in which boys and girls must be
drilled during adolescence; . they must
be made to understand their own
times:
The Bible does not connect directly with
modern life; 18 to 27 centuries Intervene.
Many of Its Ideas have to be adapted, many
of Its teachings have to be explained and
applied.- We of the 20th century are not
and should not be flrst century Christians
that Is, mere repeaters of primitive Christian
thought and conduct. We must make our
own Christianity lor our own age, as they
did for theirs.
Neither the Sunday school teacher
nor the Sunday school scholar has the
ability for such a task; it would tax
the resources of a college faculty to
give, and of a college student body to
receive, such instruction. Moreover, he
argues, there are portions which are
unsuitable because of their limited sig
nificance for modern times:
Whole books and'sectlons of ths Bible, as
well as paragraphs and verses, have so
little relation to preseat-day life that they
serve no purpose for the education of the
young; e. g.. the entire ceremonial and
ritual law In the Pentateuch, the genealogies
of Genesis. Chronicles and the gospels, the
apocalyptical material in Exeklel, Daniel
and the Book of Revelation.
Some are unfit:
The stories of war, slaughter. Intrigue,
deception and gross Immorality of various
kinds, which stand In Genesis, Exodus.
Joshua. Judges, the Samuels and the Kings,
are not suitable for children and adolescents.
The miracle stories which abound In certain
portions of the Old Testament and the New,
Including the miraculous conception and the
resurrection of Jesus, are a perplexity to
the conscientious modern-minded Sunday
school teacher, as to how they can be made
useful for moral and religious Instruction.
The Imprecatory psalms; the pessimism of
Ecclesiastes, the sex realism of Canticles and
of many passages In both testaments, Paul's
exaltation of celibacy and similar things
are these good material for Sunday school
education? ,
But he treads on more dangerous
ground when he says;
We' find difficulty also with another class
of Biblical Ideas: Do we wish our children
to think as the Hebrews did about the crea
tion of the world, the creation of man. the
destruction of humanity by God s wrath In
the flood, the origin of the rainbow, the be
ginning of sin, the short era of human his
tory, the hardening of Pharaoh's' heart.
God s sanction of the Hebrew extermination
of the canaanltes, etc.? Do wo wish to. per
petuate the Hebrew-Jewish and primitive
Christian Ideas of angels and demons, ot
dreams and visions, of special tendencies
(punitive or beneficent), of the gentile re
ligions, of the coming of the Messiah on
the clouds?
These difficulties have been acknowl
edged, before and no blood shed. All
of the lesson leaflets tacitly admit the
inutility of much of the Bible. It
probably occurred to but few of Pro
fessor Votaw's auditors to dissent
when he urged the unwisdom of mak
ing Bible study rather than the all
round development of the, pupils the
end and aim of Sunday school work.
It takes the tom-toms of yellow Jour
nalism to confuse good people and
make the accepted platitude of yester
day the disturbing heresy of today.
Wlae Flre-Horae Has Free Lunoh.
Montclalr (N. J.) Dispatch to New York
. Times.
In spite of Judicious exercise and re
stricted diet, Axtel, one of the three
horses that draw this town's chemical
engine, waxed round and fat.
James Banks, the driver of the horses,
finally concluded that some of the fire
men at headquarters were surrepti
tiously supplying Axtel with extras that
accounted for the animal's rotundity,
and he sat up one night to watch.
Banks was surprised at midnight to
see Axtel get down on his knees and
haunches and crawl out of his stall un
der the chain that ought to have barred
his exit. Then Axtel walked to the
feed box, raised the spring lever with
his teeth and let down nearly a peck of
oats. Next he . went to the water
trough, turned on the faucet with his
teeth, took a satisfying drink and re
turned to his stall.
Banks says the horse looked positive
ly chagrined when he went into its stall
and rebuked it for its serious breach of
discipline. -
' Now II'K la t'nhnpnlness.
Fpeclal Dispatch to Portland Journal.
SALEM, Or.. Sept. 20. Congressman
Hawley at dedicatory exercises of Willam
ette University, yesterday, created a ;
tion by saying there were only six metro
Dolitan newspapers In the United States tit
for a man to take home to his family and
let his children read them. He mentioned
the Boston Herald and the Portland Ore-
, ... iftft the imnressicn there were
none on the clean list in New York.
The Congressman from Oregon did not
mention what other four newspapers he
considers his models of newspaperdom.
Friends, however, report that the Congress
man from Oregon Is particularly pa-tlal
to the following: The Arizona Kicker (dally
and weeklyli the Grassless Valley Coyote
(monthly), the Dally Dlngyvllie Dingbat,
and the Old. Ladies' Home Journal.
Thus lean-faced eWy in her loath
some cave.
Why He Quit Wishing.
Atchison Globe.
"I wish I were dead," a man once re
marked. "That wish," said his wife,
"is the only wish you can maae inai
you are sure will some day come true."
when he c-ot to thinking of what
she said, he quit wishing it.
Sham Battle tn the Choir.
New York Sun.
The high soprano started out
With naught her rush to stem.
And while a battle cry advanced
Upon Jerusalem.
The alto met her on the road.
Engaged her In a "scrap,"
The tenor on the double quick
Came up to fill the gap.
Around the theater of war
The steady basso boomed;
Then all of them fell to at once,
Jerusalem was gloomed.
The city waa about to fall.
Her glory proud to doff,
When higher powers Intervened
And called tha fighters oJT
Candid Vrlte-rp of an Oregon Indus
try' In a Chicago Xewipsper.
William E. Curtis in Chicago Record
Herald. The apples from Hood River Valley are
worth more than oranges In the whole
sale markets of the world and sell at
about the same prices as pineapples.
About 250,000 crates are furnished from
this valley annually and most of them
are sold on the trees tefore they are
picked, nnd are shipped direct to Europe,
where the consumers are willing to pay
higher prices for apples than the people
of the United States.
There are tastes and a fashion for ap
ples as for everything else. Germans want
red apples and will pay a mark apiece
for Spitzenbergs from Hood River. The
English like a yellow apple and will pay
a shilling for a Newtown Pippin from
Hood Jtiver. Tou will hear people from
other parts of the country say that better
apples are raised in Vermont and Xew
York.
Other towns In Oregon. Washington and
Idaho insist that their fruit is Just as
good as any that is grown in Hood River
Valley, and that may be true, but never
theless the epicures of Europe are willing
to pay the top prices for applss from
Hood River and the people out here are
trying to furnish them as many as pos
sible. -
The industry, is comparatively new.
The oldest orchards were planted about
25 years ago; the apples became popular
on the market about 18 years ago: they
became famous 10 years ago: and since
the Portland Exposition everybody In the
world knows about them. It takes five
years to develop an orchard and the en
tire ' valley Is being planted with trees.
About two-thirds of the available acreage
has been taken up already.
According to an official report complied
at the State Agricultural College there
were 349.435 trees in bearing Inst year, of
which 174,648 were Newtown Pippins, 150,
616 Spitzenbergs, 9152 pears. 71S0 peaches
and 4527 cherry trees. At least S2 per cent
of these trees have been planted within
the last elx j'ears, and when they are all
bearing they will produce at least 1,000.000
boxes a year. It Is estimated that the
annual crop ten years from now will bo
2,000,000 boxes, and when you know that
these apples sell for an averase price
of $2.60 per box on the tree, you can have
eome appreciation of the value of the In
dustry. The cash value of last yenr'e
crop was something over $750,000, and that
money came Into the hands of a few men.
The profits of apple orchards have been
quite as large and In some cases even
larger. The books of the Hood River
Apple Growers' Union and other organiza
tions are open to the Inspection of those
who are ' Interested In the subject and
Leslie Butler, of the banking firm of But
ler & Co., who is the first citizen of Hood
River and well known throughout Oregon,
will vouch for their accuracy. The tales
that are told about the profits from applo
trees are so Incredible that the Commer--cial
Club, , the Apple Growers' Union and
the various fruit companies give the
names of the men in each Instance. For
example. E. H. Shepard In 1907 made a net
profit of more than $9'10 an acre from his
orchard ot 168 acres; Ludwlg Struck sold
his crop from an orchard of three neros
for $4208:' A. I. Mason sold his crop from
three and one-half acres for $2502; F. Eg
gert sold his crop from an orchard of 15
acres for $SS0O. and similar crises may be
recited indefinitely.
' There are frequent failures, but they
are the fault of the man and not of the
trees. No fool can make jnoney in apple
growing here or anywhere else, and the
size and value of the crop depends en
tirely upon the manner in which It la
planted and cultivated.
The profits of the Hood River farmers
from fruit-growing. being advertised
brought-in settlers, but the population of
the town by the census of 1890 was only a
little more than 500 and that of the val
ley about 2000. Since . then the growth
has been more rapid, and the population
of the town Is now estimated at 2500 and
that of the valley at 0000. while the wealth
has increased several thousand per'cent,
even beyond calculation. For example, in
1S90 there was onlv one bank in Hood
River, and that had only $36,000 deposits
from a large territory. Today there are
three banks in Hood River alone, with do.
posits of $792,717 on the first of September,
and two more banks at White Salmon,
acroee on the north bank of the Columbia
River, with a corresponding amount. Les
lie Butler, to whom I have already al
luded, started the first bank and IS still
In the business. His deposits have In
creased from $36,000 to $517,000 In nine
years, and he says that is a fair Illustra
tion of the general Increase of wealth in
the valley.
.
A remarkable 'fact mentioned by Mr.
Butler Is that during this nine years no
mortgage has ever been foreclosed in
Hood River Valley, and he Is confident
that the remarkable record that has been
made here In that and other respects
the growth of the population, the Increase
of wealth and the development of the ap
ple Industry-may be attributed to the
friendly co-operation of the people and
their neighborly support of each other.
The prices of land are fabuloue. There
have been sales as high as $2500 an acre,
and you could not buy a mature orchard
for less than $1000 an acre anywhere.
Only the other day Willis Van Horn
sold an 80-acre orchard to H. C. Peters,
of Cincinnati, for $64,000. This tract Is ,
covered with 3-year-old Spitzenberg and
Newton Pippin trees and will not produce
apples for at least two years, but a con
siderable portion of It Is planted to straw
berries. One of the most remarkable experiences
I have heard was enjoyed by William
Mason, a letter-carrier in Portland, who
came here about 12 years ago and bought
a 40-acre tract of land for $125 an acre.
A portion of it was planted to Newtown
Pippins, and he added to his orchard
every year until he hnd the entire acreage
in trees, except a little patch of garden.
He hired a man to take care of the place,
but used to come out from Portland in
the Summer as often as he could to l"ok
after It himself. During the last eight
or nine vears he has averaged $18,W a
year net for his crop of apples, and ha
has saved more than $S0.0O0 of this reve
nue and has It invested In securities.
... . . n t.
J A. Epplng, Washington, u. - .. " .
a professional musician who sang In the
choirs of St. Matthew's and St. Patrick s
churches and was a student of Dr. Kim
ball took me around the valley In his
own automobile. He told me about the
different orchards that we passed, and
about their owners, but nothing was so
interesting as his own experience. He left
Washington. D. C, and came west on ac
count of his health, settled in Portland,
where he taught music and sang in a
church choir, but his physician . advised
him to take up some outdoor occupation.
He came up to Hood River, took up a
homestead, borrowed $1000 'of Leslie But
ler to pay for setting out an orchard, and
tells me- that he has made more than
$60,000 clear out of it.
Charles Mooney, who was station asent
of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation
Company at Cascade Looks, at a salary
of $70 a month, loaned Ellsha Cooper, a
neighbor, $TrO0 to -go Into a mining scheme.
It failed and Cooper made over to Mooney
a tract of 40 acres In the Hood River Val
ley to settle the debt. Mooney consid
ered the money wasted, but when he got
a vacation he went up to look at the
land. He diScovered that his neighbors
were making money from apple orchards,
so he cleared up the place, set out trees
and during the last five years his net in
come from the 40 acres has averaged
$12,000 a year. Only recently he was of
fered $2500 an acre for his farm.
I might give you several columns of
similar experiences, -which show that Hood
River apple trees are more profitable than
gold mines.