Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, October 01, 1909, Page 10, Image 10

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    PORTLAND. ORK(iOy.
EntrJ at Portland. Oregon. PotoBlc
Cecood-ClaM Matter.
SubacrioUaa Rates Invsrlsbbr in Adrsnco.
(By Mali.)
DallT. FundaT Included, on year
Csiiy. Sunday Included, six months......
Daily. Sunday Included. three monlln... ;
Dai. y. Sunday Included, on month "
Dally, without Sunday. on year 2 i?
Daily, without Sunday, six month -
Dally, without Sunday, three months
Dally, without Sunday, one month J
Weekly, one year
Sunday, one year... r ?z
But day and weekly, one year
(Br Carrier.)
Dally. Sunday Included, one year J
Dally. Sunday Included, one month
How to Remit Send jKwtoltlce money
erder. express order . or personal check oo
your local bank Stamps, coin or currency
are at the sender's risk. Give portofflce ad
dress In full. Including countf and state
Pottage Rut en 10 to 14 pa gee. 1 cent; IS
to 2S piges. 2 centi; SO to 0 pages. 3 centa;
to 60 ;. 4 rente. Foreign pottage
CrviMe rates
Eastern Business Office The S. C. Beck
wlih Special Acericy New York, rooms 4
fl Tribune building. Chicago, rooms 510-612
Tribune bulldlnc.
PORTLAND, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1. 1909.
COMING TO OREGON.
Persons who desire to see the soli
tudes of Oregon occupied by a happy
and thriving: population will be en
couraged by the news that the Fall
Immigration promises to be heavy.
The efforts to advertise the state,
which the railroads and push clubs
have made, are evidently yielding: re
sults. The dense Ignorance of East
erners concerning Oregon has been
enlightened somewhat and the dwell-',
ers in the benighted regions along the
Atlantic and the Mississippi are be
ginning to flock to the land of prom
ise. They are welcome. The more
the merrier. Oregon needs them
and they need Oregon-. To many of
these men it will be nothing short of
a revelation to find how mild our cli
mate is, how benignant and refresh
ing the rains are, how fertile the soil.
The delightfulness of Oregon will be
Incredible to them until they actually
settle here. Then they ' will wonder
why they did not come long ago.
Strange as it may appear, it is
nevertheless highly probable that the
East knows less about Oregon today
than It did sixty-five years ago. In
those lively old times the country was
agog with curiosity about the Pacific
Coast. The Methodists and Congre
gationalists were preaching the Ore
gon mission to thrilling . audiences.
Whitman and Jason Lee were lectur
ing about the wonders of the Colum
bia and the Willamette. Congress
wri debating the Oregon question and
war with England over the boundary
was not unlikely. The whole country
was full of Interest in this far-off, ro
mantic territory. But when gold was
discovered the Interest shifted to
California" and has lodged there ever
el nee.
It Is only very recently that any
thing like a systematic effort has been
made to revive the ancient, legitimate
bent of the Middle Westerner to push
on to Oregon. The beauties and al
lurements of the state were almost
forgotten. Its desirability for the
home-maker had faded from recollec
tion. The flood of pamphlets, which
is now inundating the East, will un
doubtedly create something like the
same enthusiasm as that which
burned from Missouri to Massachu
setts when the migration of 1843 set
out across the plains. To make men
keenly eager to come Xo Oregon it is
only necessary to tell them the sober
truth. No exaggeration is required.
One need not draw on his Imagination
et all. The plain, unvarnished state
ment that a farmer can dear
between $500 and $1000 a year
from one acre of apples or pears
is enough to set everybody's ears
tingling in the East. In a region
where, by strenuous toil late and
early, year in and year out, a man can
no more than eke a bare subsistence
from a quarter section of land, of
course, a profit of $500 from a. single
acre looks portentous. The N".'
England farmer, stumbling about
among the stones on his barren hill
si "es, can scarcely believe It possible.
But it Is possible. Nay, it is com
monplace. It is achieved so frequent
ly in Oregon that our farmers are no
more surprised by a profit of $500
an acre from fruit than the Kansas
man is to make $10 an acre from
corn. The big returns go to the man
wh does his own work and applies
Industry and brains to it. Even in
Oregon it takes intelligent e;Jrt to
make money, but given the effort and
the intelligence, there is no state in
the Union where the reward is more
abundant.
ADVERSE TRADE BALANCE.
The "balance of trade," as shown in
our exports and imports, is still run
ning against this country. Govern
ment statistics for the month of Au
gust are even more unfavorable than
those for "July. In nearly every year
la the past there has been a sufficient
early movement of domestic exports,
such as wheat, corn, cotton, flour and
other agricultural products, to .offset
the normal movement of imports. This
year, in spite of the big crops In this
country, the movement is much
lighter than that of a year ago, when
the crops were small. Wheat ship
ments, which in the past has been our
greatest staple for swelling our foreign
bank account early In the season, or
the season to date are but 22,119,531
bushels, compared with 37,100,510
bushels for the same period a year
ago. As practically all of this
wheat has been cleared at $1 per
bushel, it will be seen that this sin
gle item alone is responsible for a
shrinkage of $15,000,000 in the value
of domestic exports for the opening
months of the season.
This shrinkage is all the more re
markable when It Is considered that
the 1909 wheat crop Is generally ad
mitted to be fully 75,000,000 bushels
larger than the crop of 190S, and that
prices are at a mark that enables very
liberal returns to the producers. While
it is unquestionably true that there is
a steadily increasing tendency to con
sume more of our domestic products
at home and thus leave a diminishing
amount for export, it Is not improb
able that the great prosperity of our
farming classes ia also one of the rea
sons for the light movement. We need
not look beyond the horizon of the
Pacific Northwest to observe this tend
ency to hold back the crop for higher
prices later In the season, nor to un
derstand the easy financial situation
that makes such a proceeding possible.
The most conservative estimates made
by men familiar with the matter place
the amount of wheat available for ex
port in Oreson, Washington and Idaho
at fully 10.000.000 bushels in excess of
the amount available a year ago.
In the face of this condition, re
ceipts at tidewater to date are several
hundred carloads less than at a cor
responding period last year, tonnage
engagements are lighter, and there Is
' less disposition on the part of both
buyers and sellers to do business. Time
alone can tell whether this waiting
policy will be financially advantageous
to the agricultural community, but
until the crop movement gets under
way In volume in keeping with its
possibilities some difficulty will be en
countered in meeting our foreign ob
ligations with the exports of manu
factures or other commodities not
strictly agricultural. The belief that
the scanty stocks of wheat with which
Europe entered on the new season
would force the foreigners to pay
fancy prices for the American sur
plus has been somewhat disturbed by
the enormous quantities of new-crop
wheat that Russia is dumping on the
foreign market.
Shipments from the United States
for the week ending last Saturday
were about 1.200,000 bushels less than
they were for the corresponding week
in the preceding year. All of this de
crease, and some millions more, was
offset, however, by an increase of more
than 4.200,000 bushels in the Russian
shipments. Until Russia gets over its
feverish haste to dump its wheat sur
plus on the Old World's markets,
Europe will have no occasion for bid
ding up on American wheat, and, in
consequence, we shall be much slower
than usual in wiping out the unpleas
ant balance of trade against us.
A SAMPLE OF INTOLERANCE.
The slogan, "Keep Catholic teach
ers out of the public schools," is an
old and a far cry- The teaching of
religion, of the Bible, or of any in
terpretation of it, is barred from the
schools, and it is difficult to see
what opportunity school teachers of
any faith have, or can make, to im
press children ..with their views upon
religious matters. In point of fact, as
everyone knows, such an attempt on
the part of a teacher Is quickly fol
lowed by his or her dismissal. If a
teacher is a good mathematician and
has a gift for imparting knowledge
upon the abstract science of mathe
matics, what difference can it possibly
make whether he or she goes to mass
in the early morning or prayer
meeting Thursday evening, or takes
spiritual consolation from priest, pas
tor or rectar, or finds it In simple
self-communion, or not at all?
The basis of this plaint, as recently
voiced at a meeting of reformers in
this city, is that, in many of the
crowded sections of large cities no
tably Chicago and New York "Prot
estant churches are moving out and
Catholic churches are mpvlng in." If
there is any blame attached to this
fact, so ruefully brought forward as
"alarming," it must rest upon the
sect that :. "moving out" not the
one that is "moving in."
Persecution of leaders and teach
ers, under such circumstances, is an
old device, which it was supposed the
world had outgrown. It is a confes
sion of intolerance and weakness and
voices an apprehension of danger that
any large and influential body of re
ligionists should be slow to admit.
A DAY'S WORK FOB A DAY'S PAY.
If protest is heard against cutting
out the Saturday half-holiday at the
City Hall, it will not come from the
taxpayers of Portland. In asking the
Council to repeal an ordinance which
allows employes every Saturday aft
ernoon off. Mayor Simon Is trying to
redeem his promise to give the city
a business administration on busi
ness Ines. He approves a half-holiday
during July and August, but not
during the ten other months.
It is one of the evils of municipal
management in the United States
that employes in public offices do not
render, fon the same pay, nearly as
much service as private employers ex
pect and receive. There is entirely
too much "watching the clock." Port
land is no exception. In no depart
ment at th City Hall is the work to
strenuous that six full days of it is
a hardship on the person who per
forms it. Few office managers for
business houses would be satisfied
with such results as are considered
satisfactory by public officers.
Is there any reason why the clerks
at the City Hall should not 'do for like
pay as much work as men in private
employ, or why they should have
more privileges? Are we "ever
goin to get away entirely from
the ' old, low idea that a public
office is a private snap? Here in
Portland we can make the effort.
The present administration is not be
holden to any machine; no political
services are to be rewarded. Let the
City Hall employes give quid pro quo.
Does anyone fear. In case the half
holiday is abolished, that there will
be wholesale resignations or a walk
out? "Chair-warmers" and "clock
watchers." who are held in their Jobs
by civil service rules, would not oblige
taxpayers to that extent.
CHANNEL TO THE SEA.
Every time a ship, large or small,
gets out of the channel between Port
land and Astoria, some of the enemies
of the Columbia River chortle with
glee, and indulge In wild dreaming of
the time, which they hope will come,
when there will be no shipping In the
river above Flavel, Fort Stevens, or
some other point near the ocean. The
fact that it is not at all uncommon
for big ocean liners whose per diem
expenses run into the thousands, to
get out of the channel and be de
layed for days in New York harbor,
as well as in all other seaports of
consequence, does not lessen the hope
of some of these little "knockers" that
some day their prayers will be an
swered, and ships will not ascend the
river.
But accidents and errors of judg
ment will be found the world over.'
There is always tpom in a 26-foot
channel for a vessel of 26-foot draft,
but if the ship g.ets out of the channel
and attempts to proceed in 20 feet of
water, there can be but one result,
whether the experiment is tried on
the Columbia River, or In New York
harbor. The sons of men have built
seaports and channels In strange
places throughout the world, not be
cause the places were strange, but
because they seemed to present ad
vantages for the work planned. Port
land has expended something like
$2,000,000 in deepening the channel
to the sea, and in improving harbor
facilities, and the returns In Increased
population, wealth and decreased
freight rates has made the sum seem
so comparatively insignificant, that
there is no portion of the taxes levied
against the people that is paid with
a better grace than that for river
Improvement.
Portland is carrying on this work
because its citizens intend to retain at
Portland the prestige already gained
throughout the world. It Is building
channel to the sea for the same rea
son that Glasgow blasted a channel
for miles through solid rock. Glas
gow did not care to move down to the
sea, and in lieu of the change the sea
was brought to Glasgow. Antwerp,
Hamburg, Manchester, London, Phila
delphia, New Orleans and scores of
other prominent ports throughout the
world are engaging in river and har
bor world for the same reasons that
prompt Portland to improve her water
facilities.
We cannot expect that vessels will
remain afloat after they leave the
channel and wander out on the flats
along the river, but we- can and will
continue to deepen the channel to a
depth that will enable any craft that
can enter the river to reach Portland
without delay and without lighterage.
COOKERY AND DIVORCE.
The world is agreed that the Amer
ican housewife is a poor cook. She
will take a pan of dour, a dab of lard
and a spoonful of baking powder and
evolve from these harmless ingredi
ents a lethal substance, called biscuit,
which would have slain Goliath better
than David's pebble from the brook
did. She will slap "a Juicy steak into
her spider and take it out half an
hour later transformed Into a shingle
of lignum vltae. She will put a
handsome potato into the pot and
change it into clammy putty by the
fearsome process which she thinks is
cooking. The result of this bad- art la
a terrible loss of efficiency.
Our working power comes from the
food we eat. It is transferred to our
muscles by the digestive process. Of
necessity, when food is so wretchedly
cooked that it cannot be digested, the
person who eats it obtains less energy
than he needs. Hence he becomes an
inefficient workman. - His earning
power is impaired. The wolf crawls
through the door of his home, love
flies out at the window, and the family
is broken up. There is no way to
compute precisely the number of di
vorces and home wrecks caused by
bad cookery, but it must be very large.
ih the partnership, between the
workman and bis wife the map must
earn the living and the woman must
keep the house. She must nurse the
children and cook the food. If she
does not, who will? The laboring
man seldom earns wages enough io
pay a cook and keep a wife besides.
The woman who marries him neces
sarily undertakes to prepare his food,
and usually she prepares it disgrace
fully. She does not carry put her
share of the marriage contract In this
particular. Her failure must not be
attributed to bad intentions, of course,
but . to Ignorance or an education
which is worse. than Ignorance. Just
as we have been educating men away
from th . land for a century, to their
great harm, so we have been educat
ing women away from the domestic
arts. The tonsequence is a progressive
destruction of the family. W,pmen
may reply to this thai they were not
born to be mere cooks, but that is
fol de ril. Somebody must cook the
workingman's food or he cannot eat.
If he cannot prevail upon his wife to
do it, he is practically forced to de
sert his home.
Cookery is as noble as any other
calling when It is done well. When it
is done badly, it Is thinly disguised
murder. Shall we ever recover from
the mania of thinking that we can
make human beings ' happy by stuf
fing their brains with intellectual
hash? The sensible course is to teach
their hands to do something useful.
When the typical American woman
takes more pride in a well-cooked
steak than she does in a peach-basket
hat, topped off with a dead fowl, then
is the day of our National salvation
at hand.
THE WAY TO STOP HAZING.
The faculty of the Oregon State
Agricultural College is of the opinion
that the way to stop hazing in that
institution is to stop it. In pursuance
of this belief, the announcement has
been made that hazing will not be
tolerated in any form at the O. A. C.
this year. The students have been ad
vised that any Infraction of this order,
or of the order forbidding the use of
liquor and tobacco on the campus or
about the college buildings, will be
punished by immediate expulsion from
the school.
This is plain language and cannot
be misunderstood. The rules formu
lated are in the interest of courtesy,
good breeding and good scholarship.
The State Agricultural College is in
a position to maintain the stand that
it has taken. It is not crawling and
begging for students. They are com
ing to it in large numbers, for their
own convenience and benefit. The
way is being made easy for them by
the state. If they wish to accept and
profit by the educational privileges
extended by a generous Common
wealth, they can do so, provided they
behave themselves. - If they do not,
well and good. Those of them if
there are any who think it a hard
ship to conduct themselves in an or
derly manner, with due regard to the
rights and feelings of all members of
the student body, will not be tem
porized with, in order to keep the
classes full. They will not only be
permitted to go home -they will be
sent home.
The stand thus taken by President
Kerr is Just and unequivocal. It
should, and doubtless will, stop haz
ing in the State School at Corvallis.
The Oregonian would be glad to note
a like stand on the part of the presi
dent and the regents of the Univer
sity of Oregon, whose experience with
hazing in some past years has been
anything but complimentary to the
institution.
COOK'S DISAPPOINTMENT.
Every circumstance - of Dr. Cook's
return from the Pole points to the
conclusion that he did not believe
Peary would ever reach it. He knew
how difficult the transit was over the
last few miles. He was aware that If
he himself had not been favored with
unusual conditions he could not have
made the discovery. It was highly im
probable that the same combination
of good weather and . passable ice
would occur again for years. Trebly
incredible was it that Peary, following
within a" short time, would find the
way equally open. Dr. Cook there
fore naturally expected that Peary
would fail. He looked forward to the
enjoyment of the fame and profit of
his achievement without a rival.
' This being so, the way things have
turned out must be a grievous disap
pointment to him. It happened
strangely that Peary found conditions
near the Pole even more favorable
than they were for Cook. He com
pleted the trip to the long-desired goal
and returned full of spite and bitter
ness to mar the triumph of his prede
cessor. Instead of serenely enjoying
the reward of his courage and ability.
Dr. Cook is dragged Into an ugly con
troversy and forced to defend himself
from the most unkindly accusations.
If he were disposed to look upon the
dark side of life, he might well ask
whether- the game were worth the
candle. What does It profit a man to
discover the North . Pole and be del
uged with vile calumnies for doing It?
"I have seen all the works that are
done under the sun, and be-hold, all is
vanity and vexation of spirit."
Lieutenant-General Adna R. Chaf
fee, U. S. A., retired, takes a gloomy
view or is it the soldier's view?- of
maintaining an effective military
force in this country by means of
voluntary enlistment. In his view the
only military hope of the nation lies
in conscription not quite universal,
as in Germany but comprehensive
enough so that at the end of ten
years and thereafter the United States
would have a reserve army of 500,
000 trained men ready to answer ef
fectively a call to arms. It would
be interesting to see the effect of
military conscription in times of
peace, on certain labor unions, whose
members detest power of soldiery to
suppress strike riots; also on a vast
number of other citizens who despise
the gold braid, the assumption of superiority-
and the uncondescending
habits 'pf superior officers from gen
erals down to captains. Every army
post is full of thJs snobbery. It does
more to impair the Army force than
anything else.
- There may be some Army rule or
regulation that was transgressed when
General -Frederick D. Grant appeared
In a temperance parade in Chicago
last Saturday in the full uniform of
his rank, but this is not probable,
since the General ought by .this time
to be well seasoned in matters of this
kind. All this aside, his tastein ap
pearing "in Arrtiy uniform in a civic
parade was certainly questionable. It
looked very much as if he wanted to
be the "whole show" and wore his
uniform with that purpose in view.
His success upon this point probably
led to the protest or criticism. It was
a breach of courtesy similar to that of
the vainglorious wedding guest who
attempts to outdress and outshine the
bride. Briefly stated, this was not
General Grant's parade until he took
pains to make it all . his own. Hence
these tears. -
There is a large field ready for ex
ploitation by the United Railways, if
the right men get hold, or have taken
hold of it. The country along the
line of its logical route has been prac
tically, during all the years, without
transportation facilities. It abounds
in wealth-producing resources, as yet
untouched. VOut and on through the
rich Tualatin Valley and the heavy
timber lands of Tillamook and on to
the coast." The route thus designated
is certainly an alluring one.
General von Heeringen, the new
Prussian Minister - of ,War, declares
that the army is suffering trom-finan-clal
troubles like the general popula
tion, and that is the only cause which
prevents "the multiplication of the
airship fleet." As the Zeppelin air
ships are all stuffed with "hot air,"
which in some of the royal quarters in
Germany is quite plentiful.the money
must be needed for gasoline for run
ning the motors.
A double track on the Mount Scott
division of the Portland Railway,
Light & Power Company is a crying
need. In the interests of safety, more
expeditious service and comfort, the
residents along the line should be
selfish enough to aid the company
toward the improvement. A double
track will enhance the value of all
property bordering the road.
Ten "newly-weds" crowded forward
to shake liands with the President
at North Yakima, Perhaps they for
got that Roosevelt was no longer
President and came forwari seeking
encouragement in the task they had
entered upon "for the sake of the
race."
What's the worry about Cook's in
struments? Would they show any
more wear and tear after they had
been carried- up to 90 and back than
they did up to 84:34, or any interme
diate decree and minute? Surely they
were not self-registering.
One of the big concerns hit hard
by the panic two years ago was the
Westingfiouse Company. This week it
declared the customary dividend the
first since its "setback." Another
proof is here offered that business
is now normal.
tvio tranii 1urv seems to have dis
covered the fifth wheel of the police
department the detective iorce ana
its uselessness, but the grand jury
overlooks the unique "fattening" pro
cess in it.
tvio Wrlirht brothers are doing
things at New York; still, it may be
questioned whether a. nunarea yeans
from now their name will be w: : as
large as Fulton's.
In Judge McCredie the State of
Washington will have one Represen
tative at the National capital inter
ested in the improvement of tne Co
lumbia River. .
We don't believe the North Pole
wn.iiH bp an ideal asylum for the
Ananias Club None of the members
would take the trouble to go there.
When the Valley growers learn to
handle each apple as if it were an egg,
as do the Hood River fellows, they,
too, will get a fancy price.
Here it is the first of October, and
despite predictions to the contrary,
the world Is still doing business at
the old stand.
Inspired by one of tne owner's nom
ination for Congress, the Portland
team should not stop now short of the
pennant.
True, it cost one, more life, but the
automobile manufacturers got a big
free reading notice out of the latest
contest.
Mayor Simon has' the right idea of
half holidays for city employes. That
is an imported "notion, anyway. .
WHv nnr have in reserve for emer
gency use red, white and blue um
brellas for the living flag?
inii nnw John Bull Is Erointr after
the South Pole. Monkey see, mon
key do.
that Snokane lobbers have
hold of the hot end of the poker...
LIQUOR SHOPS IX THY" LAXE.
And the I anal Demand for Enforcement
of Inoperative Law.
Cottage Gtove Leader.
The complaint is heard on the streets
regarding the tendency to open violation
of the local option law in .this city and
the apparent total indifference to such
offenses on the part of the City Marshal
and the head of this municipality; The
Leader is not advised as to the location
of any blind pigs or other places where
liquor is unlawfully dispensed In this
city, but if such information Is supplied
and verified, we will, gladly devote space
to its exposure. There are three Govern
ment revenue licenses held in this city at
the present time, so there is a chance
for someone to get in the toils of the
Federal' Court if violations are as stated,
which seem probable from the fact that
two or three drunks were in evidence
late last week and a dray load of empty
beer kegs was shipped out from this
place Monday. The people voted dry
by a big majority in this precinct at the
two last general elections and their de
mands should be respected arid the law
upheld and enforced. If a law is meritor
ious enough to be kept on the statutes
of the .state, it is deserving of respect
and should be enforced) and if men
elected to office, pledged by oath to up
hold the law, are found recreant to the
trust reposed in them, the people have,
fortunately, recourse under our recall
law to :rebuke such unworthy officials,
by removing them from office, and re
placing them with men who will serve
the public faithfully and well, and earn
their salary.
TAFTS WAR SECRETARY SCORED
His Public "Fealty" to Confederate
Cuuae Used u Text for Rebuke,
Chicago Inter Ocean.
The Secretary of War for the United
States Government saw fit on Wednes
day to boast before a Southern audience
that, in his home, he always kept "con
spicuously displayed" the portraits of
Jfferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson and
Robert E. Lee, "and with them the Con
federate colors."
What Jacob Dickinson does as the
head of the house in his own home is a
matter of no public importance,
But when, as Secretary of War, he
sets forth publicly his private conduct
for general edification, he makes-that
conduct a proper subject of comment.
Therefore we are moved to say that
for a high officer of the United States
Government, a member of the Fresi
dent's Cabinet, to display as the emblem
of his American faith the flag of the
American citizens who sought to sub
vert that Government, to display with
the flag the portraits of the American
citizens who took a most conspicuous
part In the effort to subvert that Gov
ernment, and then to proclaim this con
duct from his present seat in that Gov
ernment, is as bad taste as we can well
imagine.
This is said without heat. It is said
in lull consciousness of the private vir
tues of the three Southern gentlemen
whom the Secretary of War has select
ed for his honiate.
The point is simply this: These are
not the men and theirs is not the flag
for a high officer of the United States
Government to pay his public homage
to, and that is what the head of th
War Department of the United States
has done.
As long as some things are eternally
right in this world, and others are
eternally wrong; as long as this North
American Union is a government
worthy of our love and deserves to be
continued on the face of the earth; as
long as an oath of allegiance is more
than a scrap of paper and our love of
country is more than a mere fiction, it
is at least unfit, grossly unfit, for a
member of the United States Govern
ment to proclaim even his personal and
private fealty to the cause which
sought to abolish this Nation,
All things, are not as they seem to
all. A man can think he is right and
be wrong. Millions can do the same.
But the everlasting verities abide just
the same,
Jacob Dickinson, of Chicago, is free
to accept or deny this, as' he pleases.
But the United States Secretary of War
is not. He has no alternative. He must
accept it, and act on It, or be con
demned.
ORIGIN OF THE WORD "OREGOJI"
Correspondent Thinks It Comes From
French 'OuracaD," a Tempest.
WOODMERE, Or., Sept. 30. (To the
Editor.) Having seen many versions of
the origin and meaning of the name
Oregon, I will give what I believe to
be the most plausible and correct solu
tion of the question.
I obtained it from the late M. G.
Foisy, an educated Frenchman, an old
pioneer, long a resident of French
Prairie, Marion Co., Or. He said - the
name was derived from the Trench
word "Ouragan," which he defined sb
blustery. I lately consulted a French
lexicon which gives it "tempest hur
ricane storm." -
I presume there never was an Ameri
can exploring expedition among the
Indians in which Frenchmen did not
have a part, and how natural it would
be for one in Carver's explorations,
when he reached the Oregon country, to
meet with a snow or sand storm, shrug
his shoulders and exclaim "Ouragan,"
tempest or hurricane. And how easy
when it was Anglicised to call it "Ore
gon." Prof. Chapman, in his little work on
Oregon, says there is no known Indian
word similar to it. As I have shown,
there is a French word very similar,
and having an appropriate meaning.
Mr. Folsy, niy informant, was a print
er. It was he who printed the little
books in the Nez Perce language, some
of which, and also the press upon which
they were printed, can be seen in the
rooms of the historical society in the
city hall. JOEL H. JOHNSON, r
Mother Goose In Chicago.
Chicago Journal.
Jack and Jill went up the hill
And in the moonlight tarried.
Jack can't remember what he said,
But he thinks he must' have lost his
head!
For he didn't Intend, in the least, to
propose.
And how It happened, the good Lord
knows.
But now poor Jack is married.
Mistress Mary, quite contrary.
How do your tresses grow?
With a rat in front and a switch
behind.
And a dozen curls of the ready-made
kind.
And' ten little puffs In a row. '.
The Flathunters' May
Sow York Mall.
We don't gat any too much light;
It's. pretty noisy, too, at that;
The folks next door stay up all night;
there's but one closet in the flat.
The rent we pay is far from low.
Our flat Is small and in the rear;
But we have looked around and so
We think we'll stay another year.
Our dining-room Is pretty dark:
Our kitchen's hot and very small;
The "view" we get of Central Park
We really do not get at all.
The ceiling cracks and crumbles down
Upon me as I'm working here.
But after combing all the town
We think we'll stay another year.
We are not "handy" to the sub;
,Our hall-boy service Is a Joke;
Our Janitor's a foreign dub
Wbo never does a thing but smoke.
The landlord says he will not cut
A cent from rent already dear;
And so we sought for better but
We think we'll stay another year. . j
MR. TAFTS "INSURGENT" SPEECH.
Newspapers of the Country by No Means
. Harmonious in Discussing It.
That the President showed the differ
ence between Taftism and Rooseveltism;
that he" is a first-class fighting man, and
that he is not; that he is an insurgent;
that he gave the most lucid explanation
of. the Payne tariff bill since that meas
ure became a law; that he has been
fooled by Senator Aldrlch; that he failed
to sound the temper of the West, and
that he did, are some of the stray
thoughts gleaned from a reading of differ
ent newspapers discussing Impressions
arising from President Taft's speech de
livered at Winona. Minn., when he read
out from the ranks of the Republican
party seven Senators and 20 Congress
men who became "insurgents" by voting
against the tariff bill.
That the Taft 6Peech will hearten and
encourage sincere and loyal Republicans
from coast to coast; that it is the best
and most lucid exposition of the Payne
tariff bill made since that measure be
come a law. and that the President ap
plauds regularity and rebukes the in
surgent element which has been attempt
ing to spread the gospel of rule by mi
nority, is the opinion of the Pittsburg
Gazette-Times (Rep.). The Washington,
D. C Herald (Ind.) Is cautious, and coun
sels that the country may become more
reconciled since hearing from the Presi
dent, but that we would better wait and
see. The Boston Herald (Ind.) thinks
that the President has disappointed ' an
army of consumers which has had faith,
in his positive interest in revision down
ward directed against exorbitant profits,
and which heretofore has credited him
with being an unwilling accepter of the
Aldrich-Payne bill only as the best meas
ure obtainable under the circumstances.
It is difficult to see, complains the Chi
cago News (Ind.) why the President
should be content to put aside for four
years all efforts to secure proper reduc
tions in tariff schedules which are known
to work injustice to consumers, notably
the wool schedule. The Kansas City Star
(Ind.) lines up with the insurgents, and
eays that even if the new law were "the
best tariff measure ever passed" its
merits, whatever they may be, would be
due almost wholly to the men whomsthe
President now criticises for the course
they pursued. The people are just as
much under the thumb of the sugar trust
today as they were a year ago, insists
the Boston Journal (Ind.). and, it adds:
"That sugar wrong will not down, Mr.
President."
The New York Evening Poet (Ind.) Is
pessimistic and cays that the speech was
not a successful one and that the task
of making the Payne law a really re-"
markable achievement, fulfilling the
party's platform pledges and entitling the
party to unstinted praise, is beyond any
body's power. As a harmonlzer Mr. Taft
failed, is the way in which the New York
World (Dem.) views It, and it goes on:
"Perharvs he did not realize how seriously
the West had taken his campaign pledges
in favor of an honest and downward re
vision, or that many Republicans there
are still capable of regarding the tariff
as a moral as well as a political issue."
There is reason to believe that the Middle
West Is not more radical on this subject
than the rest of the country, Is the sig
nificant utterance of the Philadelphia
Times (Ind.)
An ultra-Democratic view is taken by
the Now York Times, which eays:
President Taft has decided to abandon
the cause of tariff reform and reduction.
He deliberately selects to ally himself with
the East, with the protected interests, with
the great and powerful class of capitalists
which has been so influential In shaping the
policy and legislation of the party, the men
who have caused it to be called the rich
man's party, the mn against whom the
charge has been made that they are a com
bination of "privilege and pelf." He served
notice upon the so-called insurgents of the
great Republican states of the Central West
that they can expect no aid, no sympathy
from him.
"Mr. Taft has been fooled by Senator
Aldrich," is the judgment of the Duluth,
Minn., News-Tribune (Rep.) The Ind
ianapolis News (Ind.) does not .believe
that the people of the West will accept
the President's views, and that, on the
contrary, they will regret that he holds
them. The Kansas City Star (Ind.) thinks
that the President does not comprehend
the popular view of the tariff question;
that he was elected as a progressive, but
is now a disappointment. The Kansas
City Journal (Rep.) lauds Mr. Taft for
his dose of party discipline:
President Tafts support of the new law
and his arguments In Justification of his
action In signing it, together with his sum
mary of the actual results of revision, have
placed several Western Senators and Repre
sentatives In an unpleasant predicament.
Certainly the "Insurgents" are left high and
dry, exposed and discredited by the word of
the head and leader of the Republican
party and the President of the United
States. And their constituents who do a
little thinking for themselves cannot but
see that he President Is right.
A complaint of inconsistencey is made
by the Chicago Tribune (Ind. Rep.)
against Mr. Taft, and It thinks itself
more Republican than he. That the
speech will increase rather than smother
the demand for honest, ra'dical downward
revision of the tariff, is the opinion of
the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Ind. Rep.),
published in the heart of the insurgents'
country, and the Press goes on to say:
Mr. Taft is a strict party man under all
circumstances. When his party will not
follow his lead and will not do what he
wants It to do, he accepts. his party's action,
surrendering, temporarily at least, his con
victions on party plans, policies and action.
Mr. Roosevelt demanded that his party be
right or break with him. Mr. Taft demands
that his party be right, but right or wrong
he remains with his party. . . This is th-a
Republicanism, the partisanship of 18S0 and
the days prior to that when many men
boasted that they "would rather vote for a
yellow dog on the Republican ticket than to
vote for the best Democrat living.
A Belated Newspaper.
PORTLAND, Sept. 30. (To the Edi
tor.) The resurrection of "Uncle Billy"
Brown, of Dallas, when alive, by the
Portland Journal for the purpose of
exhibiting the unusual efficiency of its
"special" news service, seeing that "Un
cle Billy" passed to his reward last May,
was only equaled by the enterprise shown
in the same issue by the publication of
the marriage of a Rogue River pioneer
78 years of age to a 16-year-old white
girl, his former three wives having been
squaws. This item appeared in The Ore
gonian so long ago that the enterpris
ing searcher for happiness may have by
this time secured a divorce and made
another successful Invasion of an adja
cent reservation. These be strenuous
times, not only in Cupid's realm, but In
the newspaper field, as well. A. B. C.
Let Taft Exercises Be Prompt.
PORTLAND, Sept. 30. (To the Edl
tor.) Regarding the public address to 1
be given by President Taft in the Armory
on Saturday evening, it will be well for
the committee in charge to recall that
when Secretary Taft was here two years
ago the vast audience of some thousands
of people was compelled to wait for a full
half hour after the appointed time until
the speaker arrived from his attendance
on some private function. There was
much Impatience and unpleasant conv
ment In the waiting multitude, especially
during the last 15 minutes. When 5000
people lose half an hour each it Is equal
to one man losing 2500 hours, or 100 days
or nearly -three and a half months.
And time is money. CITIZEN.
British Necessary in India.
London Spectator.
We bold our dominant position in India
because we supply exactly those forces,
those influences and those instruments
which are required by India so tnat she
mav survive in the political sense and
take her place as a well-ordered com
munity. Just as Voltaire said that if
there were not a lelty he would have
had to invent one, so one could under
stand a philosophic Hindoo declaring
that If the British had not existed they
would have had to be invented-
COOK WISE, IN ARCTIC, AT HOME
Self-possessed Always Now Let Peary
Show Forth.
Springfield Republican.
It is no exaggeration to say. as the
case is made up today, that Dr. Cook
has steadily strengthened his position
In the Polar controversy since he re
turned to America. He has made no
slips. His attitude toward his rival
and accuser, Mr. Peary, has been mas
terly. On every public appearance he
has gained friends and believers in his
Integrity. Said the New York Tribune
in its report of bis two-hour quiz by
the newspaper representatives at the
Waldorf-Astoria: "There were many
skeptics In the room when Dr. Cook
entered; there were few when he had
done." And of the Arctic Club's dinner
in the explorer's honor, the report of
the New York Evening Post says: "Nat
urally, the gathering was thoroughly
friendly to start with. And it is also
fair to say that faith and confidence in
the guest of honor was stronger, If any
thing, at the end of the evening than
it had been before. An Impartial ob
server would have seen in Cook a man
of simple manners, unassuming, courte
ous, and altogether self-possessed."
Editorially, the Post concedes that "it
has been Dr. Cook's good fortune to Im
press the majority of the people who
have met him as a man of essential sin
cerity." These developments only In
crease the burden which the impostor
theory must carry. It might easily turn
out from a critical examination of Dr.
Cook's observations that he did not
really reach the Pole, notwithstanding
that he honestly thought he did. But
the theory of deliberate fraud which
Mr. Peary has fathered, in order the
more surely to establish his own claim
to having been the first to reach the
farthest north, needs much positive and
convincing evidence to sustain It. The
evidence in Mr. Peary's possession bear
ing upon Dr. Cook's bona fides ought
not to be kept loug from the public.
It is a phase of the controversy that
may be regarded as distinct from its
scientific aspects, and the serious na
ture of charges against a man's honor
and integrity require that he be given
an opportunity to answer them as soon
as possible. It is to he hoped that Gen
eral Hubbard, the New York lawyer,
who has become Mr. Peary's adviser,
will appreciate the need of substantiat
ing Mr. Peary's accusation:! at an early
day.
Demerits of Corporation Tax.
New York Commercial.
As frequently insisted on by this
newspaper, calling black white does not
make it so nor does calling the federal
corporation tax an "excise tax" or a
license for the privilege of doing busi
ness make it anything different from
what it really is. President Lawson
Purdy of the municipal department of
assessments and taxes In this town,
took the pretense out of that misnomer
at Louisville yesterday, when he told
the -members of the international tax
association In annual conference there
that this form of government tax levy
as provided in the present tariff law la
("merely "a disguised Income tax," un
workable, unjust and an invasion of tne
Federal Constitution. This tax, he went
on, "encroaches upon the powers of the
state; it is not productive of revenue; it
is needlessly inquisitorial; the publicity
required is rasli and dangerous in the
extreme. Its name Is a subterfuge; it
is an income tax and not an excise law.
It has the vices of the income taxes
without the merits of an income-tax
law scientifically framed."
None of the Federal Courts before
which the validity of this law will be
come an Issue ere long Is likely to be
deceived by the shallow artiilce'of call
ing an unlawful Income tax a lawful
and constitutional "excise tax." And
it is not wholly unthinkable that some
of the law-making sponsors for the
thing may be found at the coming ses
sion of Congress moving for the repeal
of this section of the new law before
the courts shall have a chance to ex
pose the utter fallacy of their former
contentions.
NEWSPAPER WAIFS.
"Do ynu ever abuse that mule of yours?"
asked the kind-hearted woman, "lan sakes.
miss." answered Mr. Erastus Plnkley, "I
should say not. Dat mule had had me on
de defensive foh de las' six years." Wash
ington Star.
"Has the son you sent away to college
got his degree yet?" "I should say so.
Why. he wrote last week that the faculty
had called him In and given him the third
degree. That boy's ambitious." Philadel
phia Ledger.
Fond mother (to eye specialist) Doctor,
one of Ralph's eyfcs is ever so Tnui'h
stronger than the other. How do you
account for that? Specialist Knothole in
the baseball fence last Summer, madam.
Circle Magazine.
Primus That mm came to this city
-44) years ago, purchased a basket and com
menced gathering rags. How much do you
suppose he is worth today? Seconilus Give
it up'. Primus Nothing: and he owes for
the basket. Judge's Library.
Wife Here's another invitation to dine
at the Flatleya'. What a bore those oc
casions are. Hub Ves; even their dinner
knives are dull. Boston Transcript.
"No," drawled the Mayor of the frontier
settlement, -'the boys had some money tied
up in that thar bankrupt telephone company,
an' they Just didn't like the way the re
ceiver was handling the business" "Didn't,
eh?" commented the tourist. "Well, what
did they do about it?" "Oh. they just
hung up the receiver." Chicago News.
IN THE MAGAZINE
SECTION OF THE
SUNDAY
OREGONIAN
HOMESEEKING IN
CENTRAL OREGON
Men taking advantage of Uncle
Sam's offer of 320 acres of land
for nothing. .
MAKING THE OREGON
COAST ACCESSIBLE
Railroads and wagon roads will
open up the wild and beautiful
country about Neab. - Kah - Xie
Mountain.
A DAY ON THE
M'KENZIE STAGE
The sights one sees and the peo
ple one meets along this charming
river.
TOGO INTERVIEWS
"ROBERT ESKIMO PEARY
The Japanese schoolboy takes an
entirely new twist on the big topic
before the public.
RADIUM AT
$9,000,000 A POUND
Colorado millionaire establishes
a fund to encourage search in the
United States for the most val
uable ore in existence.
ORDER EARLY FROM YOUR
NEWSDEALER