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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 1909)
,- .8 - THE MORNING OREGOXIAX, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1909. . . . . , . PORTLAND. OEECO.V. Enterrf at' Portland. Oron. PoatolTlce a Secood-Ciaaa Matter- -Subscription Rtc Inrarlablr In Advance. T.r Mall.) rai:y. Sund Included. n year IS.OO Dally. Sunday Included. llx ra-mths. . . . 4 2.1 Dally. Sunday Inrlu'l'd thrae monthi. .. a.2.1 Daiiy. Sunday Included, ono month TS Dally, without Sunday, one year BOO Dally, without Sunday, six months 8.2." Datty. without Sunday three months. ... 1-" Daily, without Sunday, one month fi Wtekly. on year 3..o Sunday, one year 2. SO Sunday a-nd weeltiv. one year. ...,.. . 8.30 (By Carrier.) Dally. Sunday Included, one year 9-00 Daily. Sunday Included, one month 75 How' to Remit Send poetofTlce mosey order, express order or persona! check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency ar at the sender's risk. Give postnfrire ad drees In full. Including county and state Poetaa-e Rate, 10 to 14 pases. 1 cent; IS to 2S paa-es. 2 cents: SO to 40 pases. 3 cents; 4d to 6o pases. 4 cents. Foreign postage doubl rate. Eastern Baalneae OfTIre The S. C Becl:- wth Special Agency New icrk. rooms th S Tribune hulMinic. Chicago, rooms 610-512 Tribuna building. POBTXAXJJ. TIITRSDAT, OCT. 14. 1909. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. Persons who think liberty of - the press and freedom of speech are worth preserving; will find much to please them In the remarks with which Federal Judge Anderson dis- . missed the Government's libel suit e gainst the proprietors of the Indian apolis News. They were Indicted be cause certain Individuals were accused In their paper of making: a corrupt profit of $28, 000,000 when the French possessions along the Panama Canal route were purchased. It appears that the News went so far as to call these alleged gleaners of unearned riches "thieves and swindlers," which they certainly were if they did what they were charged with doing. But Judge Anderson holds that the newspapers committed no criminal libel even if it was mistaken about the facts, provided the mistake was made in good faith. The Judge believes that it Is a news paper's duty to print the news without waiting in every case to fortify It by legal evidence. More than that the newspaper has the right to "draw In ferences" from the news and It cannot te punished for doing so unless the Inferences are unwarranted. In the Panama transaction Judge Anderson Ends much that is obscure and ques tionable. "To my mind," he says, "there was just ground for suspicion," end he refuses, therefore, to punish the proprietors of the Indianapolis News for expressing similar suspicions, no matter how pointedly it was done. He indicates very clearly that he dis likes to see the Government of the United States attack the liberty of the press by reviving prosecutions under the barbarous libel law which, accord ing to an English Judge, Is "a mass of confusion and injustice." Still more was Judge Anderson displeased by the Government's attempt to "drag the defendants from their homes in In dianapolis to 'Washington for trial." The prosecution contended that the criminal libel was committed In every Jurisdiction where copies of the paper were distributed, but the court did not uphold them. The purport of the de cision was that a. newspaper can be tried for libel nowhere except in the Jurisdiction Where It Is published. Manifestly the only purposes the Government could have had In haling the proprietors of the News to Wash ington for trial were, first, to cause them all possible trouble and expense, and, second, to put them at the mercy of a hostile Jury. "In a political libel suit," said the Supreme Court of Kan sas in a recent decision, "if a non polltlcal Jury Is secured the newspaper usually gets a verdict," if the matter was published in good faith. There seems to have been no allegation that the News printed the charges against the Canal clique in bad faith. By holding the trial at Washington the Government apparently hoped to avoid securing a "non-political Jury," and from a servile panel obtain a verdict which might be used In future to stifle criticism. The law of libel has ever been one of the most potent weapons which corrupt power has employed against its accusers. Only with the utmost reluctance and after long re sistance was the principle accepted that the defendant might clear himself by showing that he had published the truth. "The greater the truth the greater the libel" iwas the way 'the old decisions put It. To permit the truth to be offered In evidence would have Impaired the efficiency of the libel law "as a weapon and shield of caste and arbitrary power," to quote the Su preme Court of Kansas again. Of course the "liberty of the press" which is guaranteed by the Federal Constitution means nothing until the words have been construed by the courts, and In this case, as in devious others, there are two trains of de cisions which sharply collide. One set of Judges hold that the press Is free to publish nothing but the truth and not even that unless it Is "without malice." The other set maintain that a paper may criticise all public char acters and their acts with perfect free dom, and If in doing so it commits errors of fact, still it cannot be pun ished for libel as long as Its motives were good. Sir Frederick Pollock, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, a Brit ish Judge, states the view In these words, substantially: "I think It quite right that all bona fide and honest re marks upon the persons and conduct of ministers (he means cabinet minis ters), judges and all persons who are responsible to the public at large may be made In perfect freedom." The trend of enlightened opinion is mark ' edly In this direction and the reason for It Is obvious. Liberty of speech and of the press will now and. then work serious injury to individuals, but the value of free thought and unhampered criticism is so great that it outweighs all the harm they may do. It is bet ter that a few should suffer without remedy than that the sources of pub lic Information should be polluted or blocked. On this ground it must .be conceded that Mr. Gompers Is fighting for the gener.i! t;ood in maintaining his light to puV!;h the news of a boy cott. However Indefensible the boy cott Itself may be, the news that one has been declared is something which the public has a right to know. Mr. Gompers was enjoined from publish ing such an Item, and, for defying the injunction, he has been sentenced to prison. Looked at without prejudice, his act is Just as commendable ss any other assertion of individual liberty against unwarrantable Invasion. The press cannot assert Its freedom with respect to any particular varieties of news and submit to censorship in oth ers. If the principle of the censor- ! ship becomes well established In one province, what Is to hinder It from spreading to others as class interest partisan zeal may direct? IX TH COOT! TIMK COMING. It may really be feared that the railroads will not soon be able to sat lsfy all the wishes of the Jobbers of the Coast cities, who expect the roads to meet the sea rates, and then to carry at lower and decreasing rates from the seaboard to the interior. It would seem to be a position for the railroads somewhat analogous to that trying situation located by the fabulist between the devil and the deep sea. For we all desire to "pinch" the ! railroads a much as we can. Are they not corporations? And why should we not Insist on bringing all I corporations railroad corporations especially to a proper sense or their duty to the public? Every city, more over, wants better rates than Its neighbors, and feels that it ought to get them. . Paynent of railroad rates is as an noying as payment of taxes. Nobody ever was r even will be glad to pay either; and In the good time coming. both are to disappear and. "the Gov ernment." out. of Its abundance of mysterious resources, is to relieve us of all cares and costs and charges. THE COST FOLLOWS TUB MODE. It is strange people cannot see the uselessness of making complaint about the increased cost of living. It does cost more to live as most people try to live now than It cost in former times, when all life was on a most careful and most economical basis People now want and. will have If they can get them things which were luxuries but a few .years ago. Then they complain about the Increased cost of living. There Is change, certainly; it Is, in fact, a transformation. Expenses for merly unknown have been added to the outlay of the individual and the family. The simple way of life that gave contentment once will suffice no longer. For the plain apparel, the plain furniture and food, the simple social customs of the former time, have been superseded by the march of "prosperity." Times of prosperity are always times of high prices. To three things, mainly, the higher cost of living in these times is due. One Is Increasing luxury and extrava gance, alike in public and private life. Another Is the diffusion of town clvlli tation, attainment of touch with which has become the supreme object. A third is the Increasing inefficiency of labor, especially in the country, where the farmer, from whose efforts the supply of food must come, cannot ob tain steady and reliable assistance at wages he can afford to pay. This fact restricts the food supply and holds up the prices. A further abuse results from combi nations for control of markets. It is an abuse clearly seen and easily de nounced. But nobody can suggest how It is to bo abated or reduced. Cold- storage stuffs, canned and bottled goods, are not economical foods; but people will have them. Neat packages and attractive labels tempt the buy ers. Return to primitive conditions of dress, food, household and social life, is neither possible nor desirable. But plain apparel, simple food, the rustic furniture and equipage, houses that once sufficed but now would be regard ed as cheerless abodes, can be had now at no greater cost than formerly, but even less. But the style or mode of living has been changed, and put on a higher basis. Naturally, it costs more, and will cost more yet. MR. CRANE'S RECALL. The recall of Minister Crane and the incidents leading up to It are ex ceedingly unfortunate. There is much In the Far Eastern situation to create the belief that serious complications are among the possibilities of the fu ture. There is nothing, however, that would seem to warrant the rather free use that Mr. Crane made of his tongue before starting to his foreign post. The aggressive nature of Japan is so thoroughly understood throughout the world that no one believes that the men of Nippon will pause in their conquest of Manchuria until they are warned by some of the powers. Yet the situation has not attained a degree of gravity where a duly credited rep resentative of the United States is Justified in announcing in public and. through the newspapers that we are going to do this, or that, or something else, to bring about changes In the Far East. Whether Mr. Crane was misquoted or not, he has admitted enough to end his usefulness as a diplomat, es pecially in such a country as the Orient. He has given offense to Japan, and at the same time can hardly have failed to Impress that country with the belief that we are unduly alarmed over the situation. Japan will go as far as she is permitted to go in the process of "Japanning" Manchuria, but she will display extreme hesitancy about in curring the displeasure of the United States. This hesitancy is not due to any sentimental reason, but Is explain able by the figures on trade between the two countries. According to the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Commerce and Labor, the exports from Japan to the United States last year were valued at 122,000,000 yen, which was 32.2 per cent, nearly one third, of the total exports of the em pire to all countries. The imports from the United States last year amounted to 78,000,000 yen. The present contention in the Far East Is exclusively over the integrity of China, which is .also one of the. heaviest purchasers of Japanese ex ports. It naturally follows that any unwarranted act of Japan which might offend the United States would be al most certain to alienate China, cer tain districts of which have already begun boycotting Japan. The Nippon Empire, already staggering under the weight of a war debt of colossal pro portions, would be rather slow to act when it would be obliged to consider that any attack on the integrity of China would mean a severing of trade relations with the two countries, which above all others Japan is now in. need of as dumping grounds for her manu factures, with which she is striving to rebuild her sadly Impaired finances. Mr. Crane is a man of pronounced ability. Had he refrained from talk ing until he reached the Far East and become thoroughly in touch, with the situation, he might have proved a valuable man for the post. Political affairs in both China and Japan are undergoing such rapid changes and new issues arising are fraught with such great possibilities, that there is unusual merit in that rough admoni tion to "keep the mouth shut and ears and eyes open." Had Mr. Crane fol lowed this rule, he would not today be In the humiliating position in which he has been placed by his own Indiscretion.- He would also have, saved the Government much embarrassment and explanation that must necessarily follow before, the present tempest in a teapot subsides. ASTROLOGY. A "constant reader" of The Orego nlan In Tillamook writes to inquire if "there Is any reputable modern school of astrology or any astrologer who can outline character, temperament, suc cess, and so forth, based upon signs of birth and planetary conditions?" There is no reputable school of as trology in the world, and there is no such thing as an honest astrologer. Everything and everybody going by that name must be stamped as hum bugs. Astrology is one of the many modern survivals of witchcraft. In the dark ages it flourished among a thousnnd other forms of superstition and deception was then a natural con sequence of all pervading ignorance. But In these days of common schools and newspapers, astrology looks sadly out of place. To put any faith In astrology Is evl dence of a lack of Intelligence. There are no signs surrounding a child's birth by which anybody can predict Its future, unless poverty, drunkenness and disease be classed as signs. The planets are not concerned with the affairs of human beings. They move regularly in their orbits, careless whether we live or die, and if by some catastrophe we should all perish the heavenly bodies would continue to pass through their configuration pre cisely as they do now. The only way for a human being to determine his future Is to make a stern resolve and then carry It out in spite of fate. Some have done this and they shine like the stars forever and ever. More could do it If they only thought so. But whenever a man begins to putter with ghosts and planets, there Is no hope for him. He becomes an admirable subject for Dr. Osier's celebrated treatment with chloroform. COOK AXI PEARY AGAIN. It Is not likely that much weight will attach to the testimony of the Es kimos who are said to have gone with Cook to the Pole. Charity requires us to suppose that they know what they are talking about w-hen they tell one tale today and its opposite tomorrow, but it does not require us to veer with them. Possibly they might be induced in consideration of a tallow candle to aver that John Smith went to the Pole before Cook. In making up our minds upon the merits of the controversy we may set the Eskimos aside. Cook's veracity, In the absence of reliable witnesses, will ultimately be established or impeached by the scien tific observations he can produce. If he reached the Pole he naturally must have recorded what he saw as well as the Incidents of the trip. From these data men of learning will in due time deduce their conclusions and the question of Cook's truthfulness must remain In abeyance until that is done. Precisely the same thing must be said of Peary. His witnesses are not an atom more respectable than Cook's, and if he ever proves that he reached the Pole he must do It by exhibiting the observations he made. Even then the demonstration will not be conclu sive, since appropriate observations could be invented easily enough. Of course the presumption is that neither explorer would invent them, but still he might, and if one would, why not another? ALASKAN HOME BULE. Mr. Bryan disagrees with President Taft on the question of Alaskan gov ernment. For Mr. Bryan to disagree with Mr. Taft is, of course, quite nat ural so natural that It is within the range of possibilities that, had the President declared for home rule In Alaska, Mr. Bryan would have taken the other end of the argument. Mr. Bryan insists that "Alaska has a right to make her own mistakes. If she makes mistakes, she will suffer from them and then correct them." This principle of permitting Alaska to work out her own destiny unrestrained by any governmental Influence Is not dis similar to that which would insist that a toddling child be given free rein to do as it pleased, and In after years at great cost atone for the easily avoid at ; mistakes it has made. Alaska is . America a most remote frontier. It is peopled with a virile, adventurous race in which good and bad are indiscriminately mixed. There has been much Improvement in social conditions since Kipling wrote that never a law of God or man got north of fifty three." Even under home rule it would be possible for Alaska eventu ally to whip her affairs Into shape. But a world of trouble would be saved If her affairs were taken in hand by the National Government and molded Into proper state without the necessity of making mistakes which Mr. Bryan insists Alaska has the right to make. There Is a certain element in Alaska which, like a young, headstrong infant. has abundant confidence in its ability to manage its affairs without assist ance from the Government. Yet it Is the duty of government to enter an ob jection to Alaska's endeavoring to walk before she has mastered the creeping process. With increasing development, better transportation facilities and more of the comforts of civilization there will appear in Alaska a vastly different en vironment from that wlJch at the pres ent time tends to give too much free dom to the exuberant, adventurous spirits that are blazing the trails for those wLo will help' the pioneers bring or'"3r out of chaos. The numerous po litical scandals that have tarnished the name of Alaska have not served to Im press the country with our northern possession's ability to manage her own affairs, and it Is hardly probable that Mr. Bryan's expressed desire that the people be permitted to make their own mistakes will be gratified. There is trouble enough in the world already without Increasing the possibilities by placing edged , tools in the handB of Alaska before she has demonstrated her ability to use them without inflict ing damage on herself. It is positively distressing the way facts regarding seal life interfere with the theories' of Dr. Jordan and other scientific experts who are largely responsible for driving the American sealing business under the protection of the British flag. The latest evi dence to convict these eminent scient ists of their Ignorance regarding seal life is found in the capture on. thai Falkland Islands, In the South Pacific, of a seal that had been branded on the Prlbilof Islands in Bering Setr. This shows quite clearly that the effect of the Inhuman practice of branding the dumb and helpless fur-bearers was to drive them away from their haunts In the north, and scatter them to the Japan coast, to the Antarctic and other remote localities. Pelagic seal ing assisted In depleting the herds, but the branding iron of the Govern ment, wielded In the interest of the San Francisco fur monopolj-, was re sponsible for most of the decrease In the number of seals. "The world would not believe me if I said it was sentiment that made me refuse the offer," said the late E. H. Harriman when asked why he had de clined to sell the magnificent Man churia and Mongolia, the finest Ameri can ships afloat, to the Japanese. "That's a fine old flag," said he, "and like to see It on my own ships, even If it is an expensive whim." There was more of this sentiment in Mr. Harrlman's' nature than he was gen erally given credit for, and all true Americans will note with pleasure that his daughters have inherited it. In stead of chasing oft to Europe and purchasing some disreputable dead beat who happened to belong to de cayed royalty, genuine American citi zens are good enough for them. One of the girls-is already , happily mar ried to a clean, respectable young American, who has not been tainted by his millions, and another is about to marry another real nobleman of the same race. Chicago, New York and a few other Eastern cities observed "Colum bus day Tuesday, by closing the banks and stock markets. It has been over 400 years since Columbus laid the foundation for this celebration In his honor, and for a time it seemed un certain whether he, or. Amerigo Ves pucci, would win first honors for dis covery of America. If the North Pple country should attract immigration and become famous 400 years hence, there may be a similar celebration up there. By that time, the public will undoubtedly have weighed the evi dence of Peary and the negro, as com pared with that of Cook and the Eskimos, and will be sufficiently In formed to award the prize to the proper claimant. The experience of Columbus and Cook should serve as a warning to the gentlemen who are now planning to capture the South Pole. Central Oregon has sent an exhibit of farm products to the Dry Farming Congress at Billings, Mont. This is farther away from home than any of the Central Oregon products have been sent, and the exhibit will hardly fail to attract attention. It should not be inferred that this exhibit at a Dry Farming Congress necessarily means that dry farming, as It Is understood In less-favored sections, Is a specialty in Central Oregon. It Is a fact well known to all who have visited the new empire beyond the railroads that there Is an annual rainfall so much In excess of that in the Eastern States, where dry farming has become a science, that heavy crops are produced without any special effort at conservation of the moisture being made. ' The statement telegraphed from Marshfield that a man named Joel Bond had been killed in Curry County by James Curry, son of the man for whom the county was named, needs correction in this, that no descendant of George L. Curry lives, or ever lived, in Curry County. For Information of those not acquainted with Oregon's early history it may be well to say that George L. Curry was connected during many years with the early gov ernment of Oregon. He was Clerk of the Territorial Council in 1850, and was a member of the House from Clackamas in 1851. He was Secretary of the Territory from 1853 to 1855; then Governor till 1859. Curry County was created by the Territorial Legis lature in 1855. When Byron wrote of Gibbon as one "sapping a solemn creed with solemn sneer," he couldn't have been equal, with all his powers, to the con jecture that it ever could be quoted. "sapping a solemn creed with solemn success. Yet that was an achieve ment of the editorial columns of The Oregonian yesterday after all hands, from the typewriter, through the com positor, through the proofreader, and then through the pressman, had got done with the . business. The- Ore gonlan isn't vain, but it thinks this ex ample about the very' Jieight of achievement In this line: ' - The:HiIl and Harriman interests are stllj . "wrangling over the matter of joint operation of the new road be tween Rlparla and Grangevllle, Idaho, anl meanwhile there is a very unsatis factory trapsportatlon service between Portland and points In the Idaho pan handle. It would be a source of grati fication, to shippers from one end of the line to' the other if the two com panies would come to a definite dis agreement so that one line or the other would get "busy with a road down the south bank . of the -Snake River be tween Lewiston' and RIparia. " ' Explorer Cook rises to inquire why Explorer Peary did . not . bring those two ' pliable Eskimo witnesses to America, where they could be ex amined by impartial scientific bodies. Why, indeed? Also -why- did it not occur to Explorer Cook to .do the same? But would those Eskimos know a pole if they saw it? So far as anyone here is concerned there appears to be no Imperative reason why either Detroit or Pitts burg should win the world's baseball championship. DeWoIf 'Hopper may now retire his recitation "Casey at the Bat." and subr stitute a paraphrase concluding: Ther was no Joy in Pittsburg; Mighty Wagner had struck out. Mr. Crane "gave away" Secretary Knox' little game in the Orient.. But Mr. Knox is a versatile man and ought to be able to think up another. Novelist Barrle Is at last rid of his latest wife and Is ready to try an other. It is getting to be a. habit with Sentimental Jlmmle. Oregon's two Senators promise to work for large appropriations for rivers and harbors. We thought they would. It is Just a little difficult to see what ex-Minlster Crane is going to do about U. ENGINEERS Only Their Reports Count in Ap propriations. It Is up to Portland to snuggle up close to the Board of Uidted States Engineers if It would secure appropriations for harbor and river improvements. In a "heart-to-heart" meeting yesterday be tween Senators Bourne and Chamberlain, the trustees of the Portland Chamber of Commerce and two representatives of the commercial body at Salem, the two members of Oregon's Senatorial delega tion said with gusto that the United States Engineers were the technical authority and supreme with Congress when appropriations were considered. The meeting brought forth one con solation for Portland in the announce ment that the United States Engineers consider the channel from Portland to the sea to be the most important project of the state. The Oelllo canal is- next in importance with them, improvement of Coos Bay harbor occupying third place and the Oregon City locks not finding place at all in their category. This scale was given by Senator Bourne as authoritative. He further reported that General Marshall, Major Cava naugh and Captain Bagraw of the United States Engineers had expressed them selves in favor of a 40-foot depth for the mouth of the Columbia and a 20 foot channel from Portland to the ocean. Thoy considered these depths practicable, sail Mr. Bourne, but differed with him as to the arr.ount of money and the time the improvement would consume. Mr. Bourne's personal opinion Is that an appropriation of 315,000,000 will be re quired and that dredges will be engaged for 10 years in completing the. work. President Swlgert, of the Port of Portland, in turn, differed with Mr. Bourne. Ho said first but three years would be required to complete the channel, and, after discussion five years was set down as ample for the Improve ment. Tho appropriation required was not discussed. Aside from the necessity of currying favor of the United States Engineers to obtain appropriations for rivers and har bors, probably the most important re sult of the meeting with the solons yes terday was the announcement made by Senator Bourne that Oregon's delegation favored the issuance of bonds by the United States for projected improve ments rather than Improving step by step as revenues permitted. "Will you stand for appropriations within the revenue?" asked J. N. Teal, "or are you in favor of bonds Issued by the United States for the various im provements?" "Bonds." answered Mr. Bourne tritely. The Celilo Canal was reported as 20 per cent completed and Mr. Bourne Intimated that it had been decided to award Celilo $1,000,000 a year until the 3,700.000 needed had been expended. Coos Bay's needs were dis cussed, and Salem, represented by Colonel Hofer, complained of the lock tolls it wao obliged to pay" on about 200.000 tons of freight a year. All the separate discussions of the assembly were, toward the end of the meeting, rolled into one. 'This shaped itself In the form of advice by the Sen ators to the Portland Chamber of Com merce and similar bodies throughout the state cautioning them to keep in touch constantly with the Oregon dele gation at Washington. It was decided that the local Chamber of Commerco shall act as agent for all the bodies of the state and take upon itself the re sponsibility of providing the delegation with facts and figures on all Oregon subjects that are likely 'to become points of debate at the National Capital. ELOPING YOUTH . RETURNS Deserted by Sonlmate, Lad Goes Home With Mother. BELLINGHAM, Wash., Oct. 13. (Special.) Kidnaped from his home In Victoria, B. C, by a woman older than himself by several sars, whose hold over him was due partly to his own Infatuation and partly to her hypnotic influence, Leo Morrison, a guileless boy of 20 years, was deserted and left penniless In this city by his eelf-con-stitutei soulmate and was In dire straits when found today by his mother and sister. The woman had tired of him, quarreled with him and left him here while she went on to Seattle. Mrs. and Miss Morrison arrived here yesterday in search of the prodigal son and brother. After c long search they finally found the boy hungry, repentant and possessed of a strong distrust of womankind. He was still loyal to the woman with whom he had eloped, however, and refused to divulge her name. Upon his promise to refrain hereafter from even so mucn as calling a woman "dearie" he was given forgiveness and railroad fare and went home with his relatives. Mrs. Morrison insists that her son is a worthy lad, led astray by an ad venturess. She says that the woman had a strange Influence for evil over him that she is unable to explain ex cept by the supposition that she had some occult power over his mind. WIFE JOINS BLOOMER TEAM Spokane Husband Insists This Is Ground for Divorce. SEATTLE, Wash., Oct. 13. (Special.) Novel grounds for a divorce were set forth In a complaint of John Rothwell against Elaine Rothwell, his wife, in Su perior Court today. 'The said Elaine Rothwell did abandon the bed and board of John Rothwell and desert him by joining a female bloomer baseball team last February." '3 the Injured husband, and in his belief the cause is sufficient grounds for an abso lute, .alimonyless decree. The Sheriff's office returned "not found" as its report of a search for the defendant. The couple were married in Seattle Feb ruary 1. 1908. and lived together one year and nine days. SAWMILL RESUMES AT BEND Demand for Lumber In Growing Town Sets Men to Work. BEND, 'Or., Oct. 13. (Special.) The lumber mill of the Pilot Butte Develop ment Company resumed activities after being idle for nearly a year, since Its former lessees, the Central Oregon De velopment Company shut it down. The mill Is situated on the Des chutes directly at Bend, with many nDTWinv PITT Dr f let 13. fSna- ln easy hauling distances. It has a capacity of 30,000 feet dally, and will continue in operation from now on, to meet the ever-Increasing demand for lumber made by the large number of buildings being erected to accommo date the growth of the town. METERS PLEADS NOT GUILTY Defendant's Counsel Expected to Ask for Postponement. SALEM, Or., Oct IS. (Special.) George Meyers was brought into Cir cuit Court today and, by one of his attorneys, pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder in the first degree for the killing of Policeman Tom Eckhart Date of the trial has not yet been fixed, but it is understood the defense will try to secure a continuance until the January term. UP to tr. s. FRATENITY SETS HIGH MARK Freshmen Must Prove Scholarship Before Initiated. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON. Eugene, Or., Oct. 13. (Special.) The Sigma Kn fraternity at the University of Oregon has Just taken a progressive step toward mak ing good scholarship a necessary qualifi cation, by passing a rule that none of their freshmen pledges will.be Initiated into the fraternity until they have satis factorily passed college examinations giv ing them nine full credits at the end of their first semester's work each year. Thi6 rule will result in postponing ini tiations until February. It will do away with promiscuous "rushing" of young fel lows Just out of high school Into the fra ternity before much is known of their capabilities, and will be a great Incentive to good scholarship among the freshmen pledges. Splendid results in raising stand ards of scholarship have followed the ap plication of similar rules In Eastern colr leges and at the University of Washing ton, where it is In general use by all the fraternities, but it has never been tried before at the University of Oregon. Pres ident Campbell and members of the fac ulty are greatly pleased at the voluntary action of the Sigma Nus in adopting it The Sigma Nu fraternity is the oldest at the university, having been organized In December, 1900. The local college chap ter is a member of the Sigma Nu National fraternity, which has 62 chapters and about 16,000 college and alumni members in the United States. The rule goes into effect at once. There are seven other National and local men's fraternities and five girls' sororities at the University, and following the example set by the Sigma Nus it is expected that most of them will adopt a similar rule by another year. RECORDS NOT RECOGNIZED Hood River County Clerk Refuses to Certify to Report. SALEM. Or., Oct. 13. (Special.) Attorney-General A. M. Crawford has rendered an opinion as to the meaning and Intent of the law creating Hood River County. Section 10 of this law provides that the work of transcribing the records of Was co County affecting the real estate situ ated in Hood River County shall be let to the lowest bidder by the County Judge and that when the work shall have been completed the County Clerk of Hood River County shall examine and certify to the correctness of the same. The County Clerk having refused to certify to the records the county was left with no official data for the trans fer of the property. The Attorney-General holds that the County Clerk must examine the records and certify to the same and that if he persists in refusing an action for mandamus will lie against him. It is held that the records of Hood River County have no legal status until they have been examined and certified to as prescribed by law. LABOR'S DEMAND STARTLES Bellingham Unions Insist on Voice in City Government. BELLINGHAM, Wash.. Oct. 13. (Special.) The cool demand that the labor unions be allowed to Influence the policy of the city administration; that the Mayor consult with tliem on matters of Importance connected with the city government and that they be permitted to name their own men for two of the appointive offices, was made today by the organized labor leaders to all four of the candidates for Mayor. The coming city election. It is ex pected, will be closely contested, and the candidates are all making strong bids for the labor vote. It is not be lieved, however, that any of them will agree to hand the reigns of government over to the unions. RECORD FISH RUN EXPECTED Mammoth Catches Are Made This Pall on Grays Harbor. ABERDEEN, Wash., Oct 13. (Spe cial.) That all records for the fishing Industry on Grays Harbor will be broken In black salmon Is indicated by the mammoth catches of the past few weeks. This applies both to quality and quantity of the fish. Most of the catch has already been con tracted by the New York and Chicago firms. Dog and silver salmon are now com mencing with indications of a big run to continue until the season closes November 25 to reopen December 25 for steelhead salmon, the highest priced of all the salmon species. Local fisheries are jubilant over the outlook. GOES FOR RABBIT, KILLS SELF Hunter Drags Gun' From Wagon and Bullet Enters Breast. PENDLETON, Or., Oct 13. (Spe cial.) While, trying to shoot a Jack rabbit, John Holben, of Lewiston, Idaho, became the victim of his own carelossness, and is dead. The accident happened three miles west of Echo, Just before noon today, and details are lacking. It is reported, however, that he seized the gun by the muzzle and pulled It toward him in taking it from a wagon. The weapon was discharged and the bullet pierced the left breast, na was rusnea to the office of a physician in Echo, but died almost as soon as he reached there. In company with three brothers, the youth was en route from Lewiston to California with wagon and team. BUTTER GOOD ONLY FOR SOAP Fifty Barrels of Dairy Product Are Confiscated. ABERDEEN. Wash., Oct. 13. (Spe cial.) Fifty barrels of renovated but ter, valued at $1000. have been seized by Ernest Kelley, State Dairy Inspec tor, at the warehouses of the Chehalis Produce Company, in Aberdeen. The butter was offered for sale, but found to be in such bad condition that It was reported to Kelley, who imme diately came to the harbor for the pur pose of making the seizure. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Snyder will make an application to the Su perior Court today to sell the confis cated article to some soap factory, as it must be sold for. use other than food. Albany Prepares for Shrinera. ALBANY, Or., Oct. 13. (Special.) Albany Masons are making big prepar ations for the pilgrimage of Al Kader Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Portland, to this city on November 13. A score of commitees are now at work on the plans for the pilgrimage, which will probably be the greatest event In Masonic circles In the history of Albany. A big class has already been secured for Initiation Into Al Kader Temple on that occasion and ad ditions to it are being made steadily. While most of the men who will com pose the caravan to cross the burning sands will be from Albany, there will also be a number from Salem, Eugene, Lebanon, Brownsville, Corvallls, Har risburg, Halsey and other cities who will Join the class- Life's Sunny Side "So William Watson, the British poet has married an Irish girl! Watson, to be Bure, has a government pension of $10 a week. Still" The speaker, a leading member of the Franklin Inn, of Philadelphia, shook his 1 head ominously. J "In the present depression of the poetry I market, poets shouldn't marry," he said. I "But Watson has always been proud, un reasonably proud, and self-continent. "Watson walked into t lie sanctum of an English magazine editor one day, laid a long ode on the desk and faid: " 'Here's that 32-stanza odo I offered you three years ago.' " "But I refused It three years ago." said the editor, turning the pages of the manu script disdainfully. " 'Yes,' Watson agreed, 'that Is true.' " 'Then; if I refused it, why do you bring it back to me now?' " 'You have had throe years' experience since then,' said Watson, 'and I thought you might have learned by this time to tell literature from trash.' "Washington Post. e A Phlladelphian was praising the lata Calvin Wells. "Had you known Mr. Wells," he eairt, "you'd have easily un derstood his success as a manufacturer and as a journalist. A better, quicker judge of men never existed. "I remember once, at a dinner In Pitts burg during the Boer war, a British vis itor praised the valor of the British troops. Inasmuch as the Boers were hav ing everything their own way at that time, this made us all em lie. "Well, the Briton began to pralee one of General Buller's retreats. " 'Bullcr,' he said, 'was splendid. He re tired without losing a man, or a flag, or a gun.' " 'Yes.' said Mr. Weils, 'or a minute.' " Philadelphia Record. When Charles Dudley Warner was the editor of the Hartford ""onn.) l'n8 back in the '60s, arousing the patrinllsm of the state by his vigorous appeals, one ot the typesetters came in from the composing-room and, planting himself before tho editor, said: "Well, Mr. Warner, I've decided to en list In the Army." With minglod sensations of pride and re sponsibility, Mr. Warner replied encour agingly that he was glad to aee the man felt the call of duty. "Oh. it Isn't that," said the truthful compositor, "but I'd rather he shot than to try to set any more of your copy." Rochester Herald. A day or two ago I gave a story about the "late Lord Tweedmouth, who once re ceived half a crown as a "tip" from an American lady whom he had shown over the Houses of Parliament. "Curiously enough." writes ono of your readers. "I have Just happened on the following In Hawthorne's ur Old Home," which oc curs in the chaptpr deBcrlhlng bis visit to Shakespeare's birthplace: " 'In fact, nobody need fear to hold out half a crown to any person with whom he has occasion to speak a word In Eng land." "Possibly the American lady who tipped Lord Tweedmouth may have read the above sentence and taken it seriously." London News. Every visitor at the new Capitol at Harrisburg, Pa., who gets as far as the registration room is expected to write his name In a big book, together with his birthplace and present residence. Not long ago, when a crowd of excursionists visit ed the grounds and buildings, a stout girl started to register. She paused, pen poised In air, and called out to an elderly lady, comfortably seated In & big chair, "Mom. vers vas I borned at?" "Vat you vant to know dat for?" "Dls man vants to put It in der big book." "Ach!" answered the mother, "you know veil enough In der old stone house." Troy Times. A man who had been three times mar ried and as often loft a widower was re ported to be thinking a fourth time of entering into the blessed and comfortable estate of holy matrimony. A friend ventured to ask whether there was any truth in the rumor and received this sagacious reply: "Na, na; what wi' ma!rr in' them, and what wi buryln' them. It's ower expen sive," Answers. A Missourlan informed a traveler who had inquired about corn that "each stalls had nine eans on it and was 15 feet high." "That's nothing compared to our corn," replied the other quickly. "Up in Illinois, where I came from, we always had nine ears to each stalk, and a peek of shelled corn hanging to each tassel, but we never could raise any field beans with it." "Why?" asked the Missourlan. "Because," nodded the other, "the corn grew so fast that it pulled the beans up. Circle Magazine. Girls Trained to nun Lunchrooms, Now York Press. Simmons Collego, Boston, boasts It Is the only place In tho world where women can be trained to plan and to manage lunchrooms. The demand for such train ing has more than trebled In the las two years. The college has a steady In crease in girls studying the lunchroom, course, and graduates are going Into almost every Btate. Every detail of lunchroom organization and management is taught. There is Instruction in cook ing and in service. The girls are taught how to buy, how to figure protlt nnd loas and how to handle a walling staff. Amerlcnn Pianos. .. . Dayton News. While this country does not claim any leadership In music or art the people, over here have been too busy conquering a wilderness to devote as much time to such tilings as the people of the old world have had It will not surprise a. great many people who undorstnnd man ufacturing to be informed that the Amer ican piano leads all others. The Kind of Lnw Toft Rexpects. Washington Star. Mr. Taft's respect' for the law is of course understood to apply to the law B9 conscientiously and clearly Inter preted. It is well known that the law sometimes affords aluable advantag-s to unscrupulous dealers in technicalities. In the Good Time Conilna. Providence Journal. In the large sense, reforms do not move backward, and the epoch of special privi lege and class legislation will some day he superseded by an era of fair dealing for everybody. In a word, the Ultimate Consumer will come into his own. i Entirely L'aed to It. Philadelphia North American. Wilbur Wright sailed around tha Statue of Liberty in his aeroplane. Lib erty never noticed it The trusts have' been circumventing her so often that she Is entirely used to It A " Seab " Explorer. Pittsburg Gazette-Times. Henry Hudson didn't make a cent out of his discovery of the river. If hei were alive today he would never be ad-, j mlttod to the Explorer's Union. The Devil Wagon. Life. That wenlt'hv vounc broker hn crlvnr. his motor to a well-known actress.." Va Ha savn his father tflnchl hint' to bitch his wagon to a star' ' r