i
S - . TITE MORXISG OKEGOXIAX, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1903.
POKTXAND. OREGON.
Entered at Portland. Oregon. Postofflca "
Eecond-Claas Matter.
Bubacriatloa Rate Invariably In Advance.
(Br Mali.)
Dally. Sunday Included, one year $100
Dally. Sunday Included, six months 4 2
Pally. Sunday Included, three monthl... 2 K5
ral.y. Sunday Included, on, mnth - .75
Itktiy. without Sunday, on year 0
Ually. without Sunday, six montha 8 23
Dally, wtthout Sunday. three months.... 1.7
Ially. without Sunday. OQ month...... 00
Weekly, on yaar... 1
Sunday, one year... J 50
Sunday and weekly, on year. .. -50
(By Carrier.)
Dally. Cunriay Included, one year 0-00
Dally. Sunday Included, on month 75
Mow to Reanit Send poetofTlce money
order. express order or personal check on
eur local bank. Stamps, coin or currency
are at the sender's risk. Glv postoftlce Ad
dreas In full. Including county and stato.
Toatac Km tew 10 to 14- pagea. 1 rent: 18
to 28 paves. 2 cents; 30 to o pace. S cents;
9 to do pages. 4 centa Foreign poataga
double rates
Eastern Rnelnesa Of! Ice1 Tha 8. C. Beck
wl'h Special Aeency New York, rooms 4
r Tribune building. Chicago, rooms aiO-olJ
Tribune building
PORTLAND. TTEKDAY, SKPT . 190.
A RIVAL' OF ROBFBT Ft LTON.
t It is passing Into a proverb that
, contests orer discoveries and inven
tions are inevitable. All hare their
rivals. Cook has his Peary and Peary
' lias his Cook. Columbus had his
' Amerigo, who gets the name of a hem
; isphere on his monument. Hudson
' had his Verrazano, whose name now
: pops up with a claim that antedates
' Hudson's by eighty-five years. And
Verrazano frets a monument at the
' Battery. In New Tork. Now a move
ment in opposition to Fulton's claim
as the inventor of the steamboat is
started, to honor the name of James
Rumsey, of Virginia, a Revolutionary
soldier, millwright and boatman, who.
It is asserted, employed steam to pro
pel a boat on the Potomac River, De
cember 3-11, 1787 antedating Fulton
by twenty years.
The story Is an Interesting one.
Rumsey was a native of Maryland, but
went to Berkeley County, Virginia,
row West Virginia, in 1772. People of
that state are now putting forward
the claim for him; and, It Is proposed
to ask Congress to provide a statue of
Rumsey in the Hall of Fame at the
National Capitol. Senator Scott, of
West Virginia, is named as one of those
who will push the effort. The whole
delegation in Congress from West Vir
ginia, of course, will help. It is likely,
therefore, that the question whether
Rumsey or Fulton has the prior claim
will become the subject of an interest
ing controversy in Congress. In a pe
tition prepared by the West Virginia
supporters of Rumsey it Is said: "The
great success and practically useful
; character of Rumsey's steamboat was
established by sworn testimony of
many notable witnesses, such men as
General Horatio Gates, conqueror of
. Burgoyne. and many others, as well as
by the multitude, of astonished and de
lighted spectators."
Rumsey's supporters say that full
proofs of his work and Its results ex
ist, 'both in the archives of Virginia
and In the national archives at Wash
ington. If so, it will devolve on them
to bring the proofs to light. In sup
port of Ruhisey, a document has been
Issued from Berkeley Springs, W. Va.,
In which It Is asserted that It was due
to the representations of Robert R.
Livingston, Chancellor of New York,
, business partner of Fulton, that the
Idea was Industriously propagated that
Fulton was the inventor of the first
steamboat.
. It would not be at all surprising, if
the claim made for Rumsey should
be proved.' But it would not detract
from Fulton's merit. No great dis
covery In mechanics, or in the use of
natural forces. Is made all at once.
Often the first tentative efforts are
abandoned by experimenters, to be
taken up later by others, and carried
forward by further steps towards final
success. But the antecedent elTorts.
though actual success may be denied,
are always necessary. Not a single
great invention ever sprang in com
pleteness from a single mind, as Min
erva was fabled to have sprung full
armed from the head of Jove. Steam
. had been successfully used, for power,
'tv long time before Fulton conceive''
the idea of his steamboat. That others
may have anticipated him in the. ex
periment is most probable, but Fulton
has gained the narrffe and the fame,
because his experiment was mere suc
cessful than preceding ones, and was
Burported and proclaimed moreover in
a time of greater industrial and com
mercial activity, by influential men,
(who were able to give it wide public
ity. Besides, at an earlier time, the
significance of the invention, could not
have been so well understood and less
attention naturally would be paid to it.
CHANGES IN UARREMAN SYSTEM.
Wall street is said to be very much
concerned over the disposition that is
to be made of the Harrlman securi
ties, and over the possible changes that
may be made in the manner of han
dling them in the future. It Is pretty
generally understood that Judge Lov
ett has inherited all of the power that
It was possible for Mr. Harrlman to
turn over to any living man. One
thing, however, could not be handed
down to Judge Lovett, and that was
the phenomenal genius and brain
power of the departed magnate. From
New Tork comes the story that there
Is to be a return to the old order which"
xisted prior to the assumptlojrUy Mr.
Harrlman of direct control of all of the
great properties in his charge.
Before Mr. Harrlman became presi
dent of the Union Pacific, the Southern
Pacific, the Oregon Short Line, the O.
R. & N. and numerous other- lines
which were afterwards destined to lose
their identity under the general classi
fication as portions of the Harrlman
system, each of these roads was man
aged by a president and a board of di
rectors, separate and distinct from
that which looked after the destinies
of the adjoining link in the system.
This plan certainly presented advan
tages over that which succeeded it,
and, regardless of the. remarkable
eijowlng that was made in the earn
ings and the Improvements, in the
physical condition of the roads, the old
policy was preferred by the people' who
paid the bills to its successor.. In con
nection with the reversion to the .old
' plan, it is reported that the presidency
of the Union Pacific "Will fall to A. L.
Mohler, whose administration of the
road as first lieutenant for Mr. Harrl
man has proved so highly successful.
It Is also reported that E. E. Calvin
will become president of the Southern
Pacific, and logicaly and tnatnrally J.
P. O'Brien will be president of the O.
R. N. Co.
Public confidence and good will of
the people who supply the traffic li an
asset of steadily increasing value to
the rallrnads. Mr. Harriman in his
New York office, or Mr. Stubbs and Mr.
XriucJiniu mors than 2000 miles
away In Chicago, may have desired to
win and hold this good will, but In
the case of all the Western roads they
were too far away from the originating
point of the traffic to be in direct sym
pathy. and touch with the local situa
tion on the several roads which made
up the great system. Reproached for
the miserably Inadequate steamship
service between Portland and San
Francisco, and admitting that it ought
to be better, the late Mr. Harriman
once testily said: ''With all of the load
that I am carryinr. you can't expect
me to be perfectly familiar with the
details of this one small branch of the
business."
Mr. Harrlman's argument was sound,
but It was his own fault that he had
arrogated to himself such absolute
control of all rail and steamship lines
In the system, that local managers
were forced to shoulder the blame for
the shortcomings and at the same
time were powerless to remedy them.
Oregon and the remainder of the ter
ritory served by the O. R. & N. would
like a return of the'old regime, when
differences between the railroad and Its
patrons could be adjusted at a point
nearer home than Chicago or New
York.
TO TEST CORPORATION TAX LAW.
"Direct taxes shaiU. be apportioned
among the several states which may be
Included in this Union, according to
their respective numbers." Thus, the
Constitution of the United States. Is
npt the corporation tax of 2 per cent
a direct tax? If not, what description
of tax Is Jt? Certainly it is not ap
portioned among the states on the
basis of their population and numbers.
The corporations, moreover, exist
under state law. They are instruments
or agencies authorized by the. states
for convenience of their citizens in do
ing business. They are artificial en
titles, created by the states for their
own purposes. The General Govern
ment can have no proper right to tax
them. Most, not all-the states Ore
gon among the number are atready
taxing them taxing not only their
property, but taxing them for their ex
istence as corporations.
President Taft makes special de
fense of the Government tax on cor
porations. His main plea is that the
Government needs the money. He does
not deny that It discriminates against
corporations as such, or that it favors
partnerships and Individual proprie
tors, who are exempt. He thinks It Is
constitutional. Others think not. That
point Is to be tested. (
Ex-Senator Foraker, counsel for the
Cincinnati Traction Company, is pre
paring. In the name of that company,
a test case. Foraker is an able lawyer
and a good fighter. He will present the
case against the tax for all it la worth.
There is in it that also which may
stir Mr. Foraker to peculiar activity
and effort. For, as the Brooklyn
Eagle says: "President Taft, who. in
a sense, may be said to have driven
Mr. Foraker out of public life, tempor
arily, at least, was the one force that
put this tax on corporation profits on
the Federal statute books. The Presi
dent frankly acknowledged a strong
purpose outside revenue-raising, viz.:
to subject all the artificial persons cre
ated by state law to United States
espionage "and supervision."
The right to do this will be ques
tioned, since the corporations exist by
virtue of state law. Again, it is a form
of direct taxation that would appear
to be more surely inhibited by the
Constitution of the United States than
even an Income tax, which was pro
nounced unconstitutional, and( to, au
thorize which an amendment to the
Constitution is now pending. Foraker
has the spur of motive to make it a
lively contest.
IGNORANCE OF MOTHERS.
Wa ViAnr munri now and again of
the , deplorable ignorance of young
mothers o-enerallv. In the care, and es
pecially In the feeding, of Infants:
That there Is good ground for- the
accusation that to this Ignorance,
much more even than to that scourge
of Infancy and childhood Impure
milk large proportion of the sick
ness and death of babies and young
children Is due, there Is no reason to
doubt. For the young mother, how
f 'mftv be said that she is Ken
dall willing and even anxious to
learn. She does not know, howl to
bathe and dress a baby. Why should
she? She has never been taught, and
this Is her first pitiful attempt.-. Very
likely she spent the rew years or ner,
perhaps all too brief, period of maid
anhnnH behind the stocking or notion
or underwear or ribbon counter of a
department store.- Or, perhaps, she
spent this period at a typewriter,
rattling oft business letters, "which she
had previously taken rrom dictation
in shorthand. Or. mayhap, she passed
it in a aewins- morn or in the back
room of a fashionable millinery store,
learning to make arid trim hats: or at
any other one of half a hundred voca
finn to which the young woman of
today devotes .her time, her strength
and her energies;
Why should she be expected to
learn,- In the course of such activities.
how to sterilize mim mr ms
food? To fashion its tiny garments
in nr-crrrrlanre with the laws of hy
giene? To feed It proper food at proper
intervals and to aress ana wrap us
Httia, hnriv wurmlv. vet lightly? There
are some things, it is true, that any
young mother, of common sense, or
baby sense, for that matter, might be
expected to know, as, for example, not
to wheel the bab in its go-cart, with
the sun shining broadly into Its little
blinking eyes a sight that is almost
as common on the streets as is that
of the baby in the go-cart. And as for
food, any mother with a modicum of
common sense, not to mention ma
ternal Intuition, might well be ex
pected 1 to know better than to
give her yearling child raw corn, or
a piece of fat meat, or a rubber
nipple upon which to work the Hps
constantly. But beyond the relatively
few things that any young woman of
common sense ought to know, because
she Is a naturally endowed human
being. It Is unreasonable to expect one
of these. Just because she has become
a mother, to know how to care for an
Infant, with due regard "to Its com
fort and health.
What then? The quick response is:
'""She should be taught how to do this."
Very true. ' But who Is to come in at
this stage of the game and teach
her? Her mother has "old-fashioned
Ideas about babies"; clearly, she must
not Interfere. Her husband Is as .ig
norant as herself lh 'matters pertain
ing to the health and comfort of the
babe 60 wisdom .caryiot be gained
from that source. The children next
door are subject to colds and have
weak eyes and digestive disturbances.
Clearly their mother is not a safe ad
viser. The family physlcan too often
knows as little about babies as the
mother herself, so 'having reached the
st are of responsible but Ignorant
motherhood what is there left for
her to do but to experiment upon the
babe? And what wonder that It does
not thrive under the treatment?
The logical remedy for this state of
'affairs is, of course, to give young
women, while yet in their girlhood,
elementary Instruction In the proper
care of infants and young children.
And, since it has become the fashion
or the fad to saddle all Instruction of
every sort upon the publio schools,
.why not cut out Instruction in music,
which Is little more than a guttural
or squeaky utterance of disagreeable
sounds; or the labored conjugation, of
Latin verbs or drill In higher mathe
matics, and substitute a brief and
simple course in hygiene, with direct
reference to the care of infants and
young children? Impractical? Then
what's the use of growling and com
plaining and growing sarcastic on
this theme? Affer all is said and the
truth of what is said Is granted, what
of It? Who has a remedy to propose?
Don't all speak at once. .
''the Ant oka borealis.
Among the few natural phenomena
which may still be properly called
mysterious Is the aurora borealis, or
the northern lights, as it Is popularly
designated. Science has- reduced, un
der law and order, almost anything
that we see or hear, ut this spectacle
of the Arctic heavens remains to be ex
plained. The ancients looked upon It
with superstitious awe, as they did. In
fact, upon everything that happened,
while our still less enlightened prede
cessors of the Middle Ages, of course,
thought an auroral display was a man
ifestation of the wrath of the creator.
If' the creator had been as busy' as
those wretched people thought he was
in displaying signs of his wrath, it is
difficult to see how he could have
found time to attend tb the ordinary
routine of the universe. To their
minds his temper must have been
something frightful. One queer thing
about the aurora Is the fact that for a
century or two before the voyages . of
the modern polar explorers began It
was not nearly so commonly observed
as It is now. At least there is little
mention of it among the records of
scientific men. One might imagine, if
he iwere fanciful enough, that nature
had arranged the auroral displays
which are now such a magnificent
spectacle In the northern heavens to
compensate travelers in part for her
shortcomings In other particulars
round about the Pole.
All Arctic explorers, make a great
deal of the northern lights. They are
visible in the extreme north with a
frequency and trilllancy which are
seldom rivaled in lower latitudes, still
even In the temperate zone they some
times present a marvelous display.
Examples are recorded where the
aurora has covered the whole expanse
of the sky with rosy light which shift
ed about In the most amazing manner.
Sometimes great waves of fire appear
to chase one another across the sky.
Sometimes what looks like .a
lake of radiant mist .heaves and trem
bles as If it were disturbed by pent-up
winds. Whenj one of these splendid'
auroras is seen in our latitudes we
ought to be thankful to Providence for
providing such a glorious spectacle
free of charge, but as a matter of fact
there are always multitudes of people
iwhom it frightens nearly to ; death.
Their first thought Is that the end of
the world Is at hand, and Instead of
rejoicing they begin to call on the
rocks to cover them. Superstition
makes ari abject creature of poor man,
but it is a comfort to reflect that he
Is rapidly outgrowing It.
There Is nothing In the aurora to be
scared at, even when It is most bril
liant. The old theory that It Is com
posed of meteoric dust which has been
Ignited by striking the earth's atmos
phere was plausible for a time, but sa
vants no longer put much faith in it.
They are disposed to explain the au
rora as some sort of electrical phenom
enon. As soon as the action of an
electrical discharge in a vacuum tube
had been studied, scientists felt that
they were on the track of the secret of
the nortnern lights. These, displays al
most alwayB occur in the upper regions
of the atmosphere when it Is exceed
ingly rare, perhaps hot denser than at
is' In a Crookes tube. Moreover, the
light moves about much In the same
mysterious manner as does the. Illumi
nation in the tubes, now In a proces
sion of strata, now. In waves, now in
long shooting streamers. In fact, it Is
pretty certain to the modern mind that
the aurora is some sort of emanation
which will ultimately take Its place
among the varied types of radiant
matter. It is probably composed of
the same material as the tail of a
comet, and it would surprise few men
of science to find that the phenomenon
is simply a display of electrons. Mean
while, It makes the Arctic night Just as
beautiful as It would if we knew all
about it. If it is composed of elec
trons Its connection with the earth's
magnetic-pole, which is a well-known
fact, would be the most natural thing
in the world. Quite likely the earth
sends off emanations lnto space from
Its north magnetic pole Just , as a
Crookes tube sends them from the
cathode. "
AWAKF.NIX3 PAST ECHOES.
The story of the record-breaking
voyage of the sailing ship Howard D.
Troop from Yokohama reads likea
tale of the long-departed past. For
nearly sixty years sailing vessels have
covered that route, and among the
thousands of vessels that have made
the. voyage were large numbers of
those wonderful clippers which, long
before the age ot steam, made" phe
nomenal speed on every sea. In view
of these past performances, the rec
ord run of the Troop, one of the few
survivors of 'a rapidly vanishing type
of vessel, is all the more, remarkable.
Twenty days from Yokohama to the
Columbia River Is good time for the
average tramp steamer, and there are
not half a dozen tramp steamers afloat
on the Pacific today that oould cover
as many miles in a single twenty-four
hou- as were sailed by the, Howard
D. Troop yn .ome of her "best days'
dui.ng the voyage Just completed.
Vow that tne riow-moving, brcid
btamed, snub-nosed tramp steamer :s
gradually nut surely e'bowlng the sail
ing ship oft the ocean, the Important
position which the sailing ship once
held in the world's commerce Is not sor
readily appreciated. The American
clippers which raced round the world
fifty years ago were not only the fast
est sailing vessels ever 'built, but even
in ' this twentieth-century age of
steam many steamships can travel but
little faster than some of the old-time
sailing craft. The famous Dread
nought made " the run. from Sandy
Hook to Queenstown in 9 days and ,17
hours, at a time when the ten-day
steamer was the fastest on the route,
and at a still earlier period the Flying
Cloud established a record of 43314
miles for a twenty-four-hour run.
Very few of the tramp steamers of
the present day can show better pas
sages than the thirteen-day trip of the
Red Jacket from New York to-Liverpool,
or the seventy-five-day voyage of
the Trade Wind from San Francisco to
New York, or the long-distance runs
of the Flying Dutchman, the Young
America, the Comet or a number of
others. -
The old-time clippers that made
these , world's records have all van
ished, and for the broader-beamed,
heavier-sparred " successors of the
Howard D. Troop type the, end is al
ready -written. An occasional burst of
speed- like that shown by th.e-TYoop as
she raced across the Pacific is only a
"swan song." and 'fire and tempest and
the ravages of time are sweeping these
"whitewinged argosies of trade", out
of existence, with no new keels going
down to replace them. As a factor in
the carrying trade of the world the
sailing ship will soon be extinct, but
the record run of he Troop is inter
esting, as it serves to keep alive the
memories of the former aristocrat of
the sea, the AmeVlcan clipper.
COLOR LINE IN MARSHFIELD.
The color line' is being sharply
drawn in Marshfield, this time between
negroes and Chinese, on the school
qusetlon. There Is one lone Chinese
pupil in the town, a meek'-mannered.
inoffensive little lad, and the negro
mothers there are In revolt at the
prospect of having to send their chil
dren, of whom there are several In
town, to the separate school provided
for colored children and to which the
Chinese boy is sent. Negroes can only
make themselves ridiculous and in
tensify the feeling against them by
scoffing at and ostracizing other col
ored folk.
The Marshfield School Board; how
ever, strained a point in at
tempting -to set up a school for. a sep
arate handful of colored children. The
first step in promoting race troubles
in a community, where the race ques
tion Is not an issue, is in recognizing
racial disparity. The few colored
children in Marshfield probably play
on the streets and associate elsewhere
in childish ways and sports with the
white children. Why draw the color
line In the public schools? Why not
let sleeping prejudices, like sleeping
dogs, lie? Why strain at a gnat and
swallow a camel?
Canadian railroad contractors are
facing a labor famine, which promises
to prevent the construction of a large
amount of new road in the western
n-..Hnr-Aa An effort is being made to
secure permission from the govern
ment to bring Vn several mouadua '
nese to aid in the work. The scarcity
of white labor Is such-that farmers are
paying as high as 14 per day for com
mon labor, which, of course, makes It
impossible for the railroad company
to secure the forces needed. Natu
rally, there will be a vigorous protest
against admitting the Chinese, but the
economic advantage"' to the country,
and even the interests of white labor,
is manifest. In the Pacific Northwest
Chinese labor built many a mile of
railroad and cleared many an acre of
land In a territory that, had It been
the Inadequate
supply of white labor, would have re
mained undeveloped ana uupiuuuT.
for many years.
. Dr. Brougher uses a trotting race
a . Inof nrOAaT flit A. text for a
mat no iciji. - -
sermon on life's struggle Most men
. . li a lma wVten
or middle age can rcu - -
any minister of the gospel who would
stoop to so sinful an act as going to
, .ni tia-c-A been rerard-
a norse rate,
ed by his congregation and his govern
ing body as on the straight road to a
bad place. In many communities his
" . , , j...t him to the
HOCK wouia nvc -
. . . . t.t nnlH hn.vn rjre-
last sneep. i
vented his expulsion. Today, no pror
... . i i irc-iiv the world
test - Will DO item u. ' - . -
moves.
Walla Walla County, as was kind,
dignified and proper, celebrated Its day
Aiaota.Viikon-Paclflc Exposi
tion by unveiling a statue of Marcus
Whitman pioneer missionary and
martyr of the early years. It would
have been meet and generous had the
scheme included the figure tender,
.mi heroic of Narclssa
Whitman, who shared with her hus
band not mly the laDors, tne pnva-
.i nnrl the anxieties of the
Li U 1 1-3, t " " -
mission In the wilderness, but its mar-
tyrdjMn as well. -
The Yamhill bridegroom who was
t v. tv.. ittm nf a charivari patty
IU W fcxiv - - -
had his gun handy and killed one of
them. The dead man leaves a- wmu
and ten children. It Is little comfort
t.n.A n-hw autrer -from the results
of this kind of foolishness to know it
was all meant in run. renmj .i
there were more killings of the kind,
the charivari Idea of Jesting would
cease. .
riivlrle these honors.
Discovery could not have been made
without the Eskimo; ine nu
powerless without the dogs; ' both
j .v.la lonrlArahlo WOUld; have
failed except for the optician. Dr.
Cook gives full credit to tne uilci
colored goggles. ,
tlnn of Alaska and with
it material and social advancement
along all lines Is now assured. A sec
tion that supports a four-club baseball
league can no longer be regarded as
cizlHzatlon's frontier. ' i x
Grandest of all blessings, to turn the
rdadhouses dry will be Winter's cold
..-in This will take the pleasure
out of riotous "Joy riding" for part of
the yar, at least, tiurry tne ram. ,
The President applies to the Ballln-
Tir,ffent onus hhle: "A soit answer
turneth away wrath."' So far so good.
but the soft answer is neuner uauui
ger's nor Plnchot's. ' r'
'iro.cr. TOolllnirpr and Plnchot coufd
now Issue manifestoes assuring each
other of their distinguisnea consiaera
tlon. That's the "soft answer" now
needed.
Having called for estimates op next
, i -j . xTovrtf filmnn will soon
yearn uuuisct,, ....... - ---
have the opportunity to make good on
the promise to Keep im
While loss of Jlfe is generally to be
deplored, there Is small public regret
when Joy riders confine fatalities to
their own set.
nmra mRtters are under considera
tion this week at the Portland con
vention of undertakers.
Only four more days until Taft ar
rives. - Walt for the big show! .
AGITATION FOR A CEXTBAt BANK.
The Question Discussed for and Against
by Different Newspapers.
President Taft's recent speech. In which
he asked, the American people to prepare
themselves for a report from the Ald
rich Currency Commission In favor of a
central United States bank. Is discussed
as a leading public .issue, and tha predic
tion is already made that the question
will occupy an important place lh the
next National political campaign. Sena
tor Aldrich Is viewed with suspicion by
some observers and with praise by oth
ers. VThere can ba no doubt," says the Chi
cago Inter Ocean, "that It would be
desirable, when panic conditions, rise,
to have the currency under some strong
central control, capable of safely and
promptly expanding the supply. The
trouble with efforts to establish such a
central banking system, with currency
control, in this country lies in the well
founded aversion that the- American peo
ple have to centralization of power, and
to the confusion in the public mind be
tween note-issuing and other functions of
a bank." -
"Does Mr. Taft know of any method by
which a central bank of Issue couldliie
kept free from Wall street Influences or
from political manipulation?" 'asks the
New York World. "When the' United
States Treasury cannot be kept free from
such Influences, what hope is there in a
central bank of IssuB with power to con
tract or expand the currency at will?
If the currency system can be reformed
only by substituting a greater evil for a
lesser evil, it had better be left unre
generated." "Methods of improving the banking and
currency system of the country should
be worked out and championed by men
in whom the people at large have a rea
sonable degree of confidence," hints the
Chicago News.
The Philadelphia Press Is against the
experiment, and says: "Commercial and
financial power has a tendency toward
concentration, which it has been sup
posed the people ought to guard against,
and yet this central bank would involve
the centralization of . commercial and
financial power by law."
' "More than 40 years' familiarity with
the National banknotes has made the
country look upon them as more than
fulfilling all ifs requirements," is the
opinion of the Boston Transcript. "They
have come to be regarded by the average
American of thefinaneial stand-pat type
as almost sacred, as beyond the possibil
ity of Improvement. To the holders of
tbls belief, reformers must appeal, and
they cannot work more effectively than
by demonstrating thatthe modernization
of our currency system is to establish
conditions exactly the reverse ' of those
which inspire so many Americans with
the fear that they will be called upon to
assume the risks that were in the old
state bank bills."
e e e
"Under all the circumstances, it looks
as if the central bank of issue had stormy
days ahead, and as if the country were
confronted with the prospect of a battle
in Congress over the revision of the mone
tary system compared to which the con
troversy over the emergency currency
measure will be Insignificant," says the
Baltimore News.
"The details are not j-et worked out,"
states the Philadelphia Inquirer, "but if
such a bank can be established without
disturbing existing, banks, without ulti
mately affecting the price of Government
2 per cent bonds,, it is an end devoutly to
be desired. We are harassed by ancient
banking laws which in times of trouble
make a bad situation worse."
"Bankers in the large cities seem as a
rule to be drifting Into a favorable-attitude,"
says the Springfield (Mass,) Re
publican. VThe country bankers occupy
generally a hostile position in fear of un
due encroachment upon their independ
ence and their powers' of local accommo
dation. The country must not be hurried
Into the adoptleaj of any scheme. But It
Is also not to forget that, fundamental
reform has become urgently necessary."
The Washington (D. C.) Post thinks
"there can be no suspicion that President
Taft will favor other than the best sys
tem which those who have expert knowl
edge can devise and which 'may be for
mulated by the legislators who are
charged with Its enactment."
The Issue is conducive to the formation
of an opposition party, hints the Wash
ington (D. C.) Herald. "The lines are
drawn," says the Brooklyn (N. Y.) Eagle,
"and the captains are in command. Soon
we shall see the enemies of a central
bank unllmber ithelr guns. The fight is
on. The advantages are with the Ad
ministration. And it Is a matter for con
gratulation that it Is sft" "The people
are a unit with the President in his idea
of such a bank," says the Cincinnati
Enquirer, "if he can have It securely
bound by his two indispensable require
ments free from Wal street influences
and that It shall not be manipulated for
political purposes."
e e
. "Opposition to the proposed reform
would naturally be looked for among the
bankers, unless the recommendation of
the Monetary Commission should con
tain some compensating advantage for
the individual National banks," thinks
the New York Tribune.
"Withdrawal of Government deposits,
loss of note-issuing power, centralization
of reserves, depreciation of Federal bond
values, all have been mentioned as dis
turbances of the existing situation,
which, if necessary, must be accomplished
by careful readjustment and full recog
nition of existing rights," says the Bos
ton Herald. "These are indications that
the conservative financial interests of the
country are looking carefully before they
approve an important leap." - .
. "Senator Aldrich, the head of ' the
finance committee in his chamber, - is
chairman of the commission, and he fa
vors a central bank," says the St. Louis
Globe-Democrat. "A bill will be reported
by the commission, it is . believed, some
time during the session which begins in
December. It will be introduced in both
chambers simultaneously. All the Influ
ence which can be exerted by these com
mittees to secure its enactment will be
employed"
The Indianapolis Star is antl-Aldrich:
"When Mr. Aldrich says that a' central
bank. If one. is to "be established, should
serve the public welfare and not- the
JJurposes of Wall street, he does nothing
to .clarify or Improve the situation, but
does much to obscure it with uncertainty
and suspicion. . . . But the Star has.
always favored the principle of a central
bank."
A Lesson in Geography.
SHERWOOD. Or., Sept. 25. (To the
Editor.) Dr. Cook and Commander
Peary are demanding too much in re
taining their North Pole records until
private experts correct every blunder
and before the public sees the records.
Thesepapers are not worth one cent as
a test, after two or lhree days at most
from the time the explorers touched at
civilization.
I notice that The Oregonian Is in the
habit of saying that every way a man
looks at the North Pole is south. This
is not so. To the contrary, one cannot
Bee south because his feet are In the
way. His head Is north and his feet
south, and the horizon In every direc
tion" is at right angles to south.
URIAL GROAT. ,
Looking; for Rooaevelt.
Des Molnea Ia.) Register and Leader.
It Is idle, even In the face of the Presi
dent's coming Journey to cover up . the
fact that there la a growing disposition
to look to Roosevelt's return as the
Signal for a lireak .to progressive leader
ship, a restoration at Washington of
aggressiv and courageous "come on"
policies. Tho country-took the President
as a RooBevelt man. If there Is a grow
ing couvlotion that, hs la not of the
Rocfevelt metal it Is only natural that,
as the real Roosevelt is barely 60 and
fuD of flsftt, tfiere should bs a looking
to fii blwn-in-the-botOfi arUuia.
TUB RUSH TO. THIS FARM.
Here Are Good Satire and Pleasantry
' and Some Sense.
New York Evening Sun.
One of the many versatile farmers at
Washington, W. J. . Splllman by name,
and "Agriculturist In Charge of .Office
of Farm Management, Bureau of Plant
Industry, Department of Agriculture,"
by title, seized his pen not long ago and
made the following pleasing discovery:
At no previous period In the history of
America nave city people evinced ao much
lnteneat in farming as at the present time.
Large numbers of city tollers are looking
longingly to the country aa. an avenue of
escape from the uccertalntlea of olty em
ployment. Tliis picture of . tired men, women and
children, worn out in the treadmill of
the typewriter and, other city abomlna-'
tlons, casting eyes of envy upon the
happy farmer and sighing for his bliss
ful lot,, so worked upon the sensitive
nature of Expert Splllman that he at
once set to work to write a sort of,
"First Aid to the City Farmer." The
results we find la tire Yearbook of the
Department of Agriculture for 1908, re
cently Issued. In the' first paragraph he
remarks:
At the present time thens is practically
no literature that will give these people
(1. e., the city tollers), unacquainted with,
even the rudiments of farming, a general
view of the possibilitlea of farm life.
Of course, there are those delightful
periodicals of the farm which every com
muter who has so much as one hencoop
or a row of string beans reads faithful
ly. But this branch of agricultural liter
ature is too discursive and casual to fill
tlie niche whose emptiness Mr. Spill
man" perceives. Such lore as "Now Is
the time to set the hens," "Look out for
potato bugs" next month," and "Common
table' salt mixed with bootblacklng is an
excellent compound to cure your horse
of ringbone," Is -the principal subject
matter of the farmers' journals, and. of
course, the thing for which tho Washington-expert
Is aiming Is a far loftier
flight of imagination and intellectual en
deavor. An enticing birdseye view of the
farm, scientific yet alluring, is his con
ception. From what we are able to judge. Mr.
Splllman has well succeeded In his effort.
"Types of Farming in the United States"
is the title of his essay, and therein
you may read of every species of agri
culture from the "dominant crop system"
of Aroostook County, Maine,' to the os
trich industry of California. The bank
clerk or the telephone girl Is enabled to
make a ready choice and no New Yorker
longing for a farm need now lack infor
mation as to the range of possibilities
open before him.
There is only one obstacle that we see
in the way of this great movement. Wo
make' no question of the longing' which
Mr. Splllman has perceived In the tired
city eyes. We ourselves have often seen
Just that expression and indeed heard
earnest words of desire uttered. . But, to
state the trouble briefly, we have never
known any of these aching hearts to land
anywhere near a farm. They long and
long for the smell of. tilled earth, the
epudge, spudge of the milk in the pail,
and-the cheery call of the whippoorwlll.
. Their hearts thirst for such things. But
they stick close to Broadway. "There's
nothing in this city life," they - say. "A
man .makes a few dollars, but what good
does It do him? We've-only one lifo to live
arid I'm for a farm soon. Why, I was
reading only the other day about a man
out in Oregon," etc. We have been ob
serving these would-be farmers for years,
be It understood, and we never knew
any that ever came nearer the great,
wild bosom of nature than East Orange
or Mount Vernon.
It is an unfortunate situation, we aq
rait. There Is no question but that, many
thousands of our city dwellers would be.
many times better off in the country; we
sincerely hope that Mr. Spillman's ef
fusion will start the procession farm
Ward. But it has not started yat, so far
as our observation goes; and as an In
dication of the future we distrust com
pletely the longing of the city heart, for
the furrow. The one consolation of the
Washington expert must be the con
sciousness that he has created a master
piece of agricultural literature, the pro
duction of which is, after all, the end and
aim of our Washington farmers.
CAMPAIGNING IN VIRGINIA.
The Smoothness With Which the Ma
chine Is Worked In That State. ,
Newport News Letter to the Washing
ton Star.
Political contests in-the Old Dominion
are carried on in a very conrtly way,
which is refreshing as well as amazing
to the outsider. Oat in the rude, and
unpolished West and in the hustling
North you call your political opponent
a "bottle-browed scoundrel," and
branch out from that; tell him his party
is the party of imbeciles, - thieves and
rapscallions intent upon wrecking the
country and hand him a few hot ones
of like tenor.
In Virginia It is different. You say:
"Sir, I am constrained to remark that
your character lacks that elevated
strain whlLh should mark the leader of
a free people" and ''Your party's
course, sir, in this community has not
been characterized by true devotion to
the best interests of the people," or
something on that order. Go to calling
your opponent a thief or a thug down
here and the meeting would break up In
a row, with somebody a candidate for
a hospitaL
I am told that even when sequester
ing a ballot box in a negro precinct a
certain degree of formality Is observed.
They don't do as Tammany does, hit
you over the head with a blackjack and
tell you o "get to h 1 out of here," but
say, "By your leave, sir," or more likely,
with a smile of pained surprise, remark:
"Surely you are mistaken, there is no
such ballot box here." Ah, well, these
little amenities add to the pleasure of
politics.
The campaign for Governor and state
officers is proceeding in a very dignified
way. Thus far it is not marked by as
much asperity as characterized the
Democratc primaries for the selection
of candidates. The Republicans are not
calling the Democratic, candidates
names; they merely quote what was
said about him by Democrats before
the primaries. The Democrats cannot
attack the Republican candidate per
sonally, for his record, while brief,- is
clean. Anyhow they think it sufficient
to hint at the affiliation of his party
with the Republican party of Mahone's
days, and the adherence to it today of a
certain element which votes the Repub
lican ticket.
In Virginia the dominant party con
trols every branch of the public service.
Bipartisan boards, even of elections and
education are unknown. The Republi
cans do not get a look-in at election
times, to any practical purpose. i ne
entire school system is absolutely under
the control of the politicians, and their
power was exerted in such a way in the
last appointment of school supervisors
as to elicit a. roar of protest from even
their own side. '
The way the game Is framed Op the
political machine In power finds a valu
able, auxiliary In the educational branch
of the state service. That power ex
tends down the line, even to the ap
pointment of teachers. Under the state
constitution of 1902 the State Board of
Education consists of eight members,
threeof whom the Governor, the Attorney-General
and the Superintendent
of Public Instruction are elected by
the people; three professors from state
Institutions of higher education are
elected by the Senate; and two division
Superintendents, one from a county and
one from a city, are chosen by the re
m aindar of the board.
Life's Sunny Side
"Did the Major ever get that office he
was running for?" ,
'Don't want it. You see, the Major Is
a born orator, and if hs should get the
office he'd have to quit speechlfyin'.
Only thing that saves him is to keep
a-runnin'." Atlanta Constitution.
Knicker When do you expect confirma
tion of the discovery of the Pole?"
Bocker When Mr. S. Claus comes to
town. New York Sun.
. .
Farmer Ever milk a cow?
Boarder No, sir, but I'd like to try.
Farmer Think you can make 'er giv
down?
Boarder I guess so. I've served two
years as a personal-property assessor.
Chicago Tribune.
Foxy Papa Have you vanishing Ink?
Tradesman Yes. Going to make sure
of no breach of promise suits?
Foxy Papa Oh, no; going to give my
daughter a check for loflOO as a wedding
present. Tit-Bits.
Reporter Senator, to what do you chief
ly attribute your successful career?
Eminent Statesman Entirely to hered
ity, young man. I deserve no credit for
it whatever. My father had ambition
and my moUier had talent, and I hap
pened to inherit both those qualifications.
Exchange. '
Plutocrat (engaging new chauffeur)
And have you any references from your
last employer?
Applicant for the Job No; but I can
get some In about a month.
Plutocrat Why the delay?
Applicant He's in the hospital. Cas-,
sells' London Journal.
v
Him You're the only girl I ever loved!
Her That's interesting, but Immaterial.
What I want to know is, am I the only
girl you're ever going to love? Chicago
Leader. v
-In the air one minute "Another fool
inventor."-
In the air three minutes "Hasn't he
killed himself yet?"
In the air five minutes "AU tha fools
ain't dead yet."
In the air 80 minutes "Mr. Ayrlder,
the well-known aviator."
In the air one hour "Our distinguished
fellow-countryman."
In the air one hour and a quarter "The
wizard of the air."
In the air one hour and a half "Tha
Legion of Honor could have been be
stowed on no worthier man." Life,
e
Zeke Weatherby Josh, while I was up
In town I saw the churn drummer that
ran awa3- with yeour old woman. He's
not a bad fellow. Josh. He's Just full of
sympathy.
Josh Henpeck (grimly) He ought to ba
full of it, by heck. He's got mine. Chi
cago News.
Kind Old Lady (talking to a tramps
Have you ever made an effort to get
work 7
Tramp Yes, ma'am. Last month I got
work for two members of my family, but
neither of them would take it. Human
Life.
"You're a bum driver," says one chauf
feur. "Say," says the other, "what I know
about automobiles would fill a library."
"Yes, and what you don't know about
'em would fill a morgue." Cleveland
Leader.
; HAHHIMAN'S METHOD,
But Who Would Have Dnrrd This nod
Succeeded but Harrlman f
B. J. Hendrlck In McClure's Magazine.
The history of the Harrlman loads Is
simply that of a small group of men
who, without spending much money of
their own, have concentrated In their
own hands one-third the railway mile
age of the United States. Once getting
possession of the Union Pacific evi
dently without going deeply down into
their own pockets they have simply
issued new securities and with the
money derived from this sale have pur
chased large stock interests in other
roads. In 1898 Harrlman began the
management of the Union Pacific, and
in 1899 he Issued its preferred and com
mon stock to the amount of $32,000,000,
purchasing with the money thus ob
tained the Oregon Railroad & Naviga
tion Company and the Oregon Short
Line, which extended his system to the
Pacific Coast. In 1901 the great ex
pansion of the Harriman system really
began, when the Union Pacific and tha
Oregon Short Line raised $145,000, 000
by the sale of bonds. The directors
placed the large sum at Harrlman's dis
posal to expend for the benefit of the
road. Briefly stated, Harrlman used
the money lnxbuylng a controlling in
terest in two imperial railroad sys
temsthe Southern Pacific and the
Northern Paulfio. Many factors con
tributed to the success of Jhls. probably
the most colossal performance in the
history of American railway finance.
Harriman unquestionably used, not his .
own money, but the credit of the Union
Pacific in extending his railroad power. ,
Had ha not first rebuilt and remade tha
Union Pacific, however, rescued it from
insolvency and transformed it Into a
richly paying system. It would manl- .
festly not have had the credit with
which tie accomplished the task.
SHORT POLITICAL COMMENT.
. Mr. Bryan speaks of tire two wings ,
of tha Republican party. Thafs as !
many as the angels have. Springfield
Union. t
That New York plan to "reunite all
Democrats" will give new life to that
exciting question: "What is a Demo
crat?" Detroit News.
. Judging by the number of Important
recommendations President Taft says ;
he will make to Congress next Winter,
that body will have no chance to "loaf
on the job." Philadelphia Press.
It Is our belief that the worthlessness
of Legislatures is a direct result of the
muck raker campaigns which have
been carried on by some magazines
and some newspapers. Charleston
News and Courier.
President Taft switched from conserv
ation' to the corporation tax at Den
ver. In casting about for subjects the
President will never find one that will
prove more Interesting than the tariff
as viewed by its friends Louisville
Courier-Journal.
If our state takes down one bottle
from tho patent medicine shelf, the de
mand for others will quickly be heai'd.
While we are yet writhing in tha
throes of direct primary gastralgla, a
shout will arise for a dose of referen
dum pills or perchance a recall tablet.
And so it will go. New York Evening
Sun.
Tj'Be-n'a Eos Plan.
Tillamook Headlight.
The TTRen style of political bosslsm is
advocating a constitutional amendment
to take the election of Sheriffs, District
Attorneys and etate officers out of the
people's hands and give the Governor the ;
power to appoint them. Those who so j
blindly followed the U'Ren fallacies will ,
readily see that this would create such :
a monster political machine that It would i
eclipse all other boss rule ever attompted j
In Oregon. Surely H la about time for I
the Republicans, who went daft over the ,
U'Ren fallacies, to regain their senses j
and adhere strictly to representative gov-
ernmen. ;