-TIIE-IORNING OREGONIA?f;-rTHl?RSlAY, ".JANUARY 20,-4 9 1 0,
POKTLAXD, OBEGOS.
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PORTLAJTD, THURSDAY, JAN. SO, 1910.
THE TIVAIIDI.E ABOTT PRICES.
There is amusement In Congress.
The calamity of high prices Is under
debate In that body. A few years
ago It -was the calamity of low prices
that worried the minority members.
Now it la the calamity of high prices
that worries them. They have now
the same Job lot of Indignant elo
quence against high prices to draw
from for dally use that they had then
for use against low prices; and "'the
maladministration of the Republican
party" as Fitzgerald, of New York,
one of Tammany's men, expresses it
Is the cause now of the disorder, as It
was then. The same cause, it seems,
produces the most opposite effects.
Of course, all Intelligent persons
know that economic conditions are In
perpetual flux; certainly never station
ary luring long periods. "The human
element" in these movements Is the
chief cause of the fluctuations. For the
human view of things never can be
fixed or stationary; and changing atti
tudes of mind from one time to another
are the main cause of changing condi
tions in economic life. Rise and fall of
prices is produced legitimately, in
some degree, by less or greater supply,
but the main cause of rise or fall of
prices on a great scale is the move
ment of what men call the speculative
spirit, which is subject to periods of
elation and depression, and like the
valor of Bob Acres, "comes and goes."
There is equal abundance of food,
clothing and all necessaries of life
now, when ' prices are high, as some
years ago, when prices were low. The
causes of the change are very complex,
and opinions about the causes, one
way or another, are of exceedingly
small value. The fact is, the human
spirit is unfathomable. It is, however,
easier to discover why prices were
abnormally low fifteen years ago than
why they are unusually high now;
for credit was destroyed by the silver
agitation fifteen years ago, and most
business is done on credit; and since
credit and money must be Interchange
able, the stock of money was as small
as credit was low. Hence prices were
low. But now credit la fully estab
lished, on he gold standard; there is
increasing supply of gold; money Is
seeking investment and turning to new
enterprises; real estate is rising high
. In values, and there Is a general move
ment forward In an immense number
and variety of industries. Prosperity
brings high prices; yet prosperity Itself
is largely -a- product of the -forces of
human imagination.
But who would prefer an era of low
prices to an era of high priced? Would
you rather have the conditions -of -the
present time, with wheat at $1.15 to
$1.20, or those of some years ago,
when wheat sold at 30 cents a bushel,
with corresponding depression of
everything else? The consumers
then, in truth, had the advantage of
low prices, but nothing to buy with;
for neither work nor wages nor credit
' was to be had, nor sale for real estate
or anything else. The consumer, out
of luck, had to pinch and scratch to
live, quite as much as the producer,
or more. Even consumers. If they
will reflect, will hardly want such era
of low prices again.
Partisan speeches In Congress on
high prices are useless, but probably
as harmless a way of spending its time
as that body is likely to employ. If
prices- were low, declamation would
launch Its thunderbolts . as fiercely
against low prices: Perhaps as little
mischief as Congress can do ;s to
spend its days In twaddle of this de
scription. APPI.ES IN THE HOME MARKET.
The farmers of Eastern Multnomah
have begun in earnest the task of rid
ding their orchard trees of San Jose
scale and other pests that in late
years have fastened upon them and
rendered their fruit unsightly and not
up to the standard established by com
mercial orchardists, though much of it
Is of good size and fine coloring. To
this end they are spraying and prun
ing their trees and destroying those
that are hopelessly diseased. This
means that the criticism applied to
the apples and Pears that were shown
at the Grangers' Fair at Gresham last
Fall will not follow the exhibit to be
made at the same place the coming
Fail. . .
There Is no finer orchard land in the
state (which is saying that there is
none anywhere) than is found In the
foothills and valleys of Multnomah
and Clackamas Counties. All that is
necessary to produce shipping fruit
and show fruit and fruit for the local
market that will stand the most critic
cal test, is the application of . modern
methods, intelligently, industriously
and untiringly to the fruit industry.1 '
What Is wanted . in. this .market in
the way of apples is clean." shapely,
medium-sized fruit that will net the
grower $1 a box.- We want -some
show boxes, of course, enough to sup
ply men of families who are able
to pay fancy prices. But ' for the
laboring people and those of small
means an abundance of good apples
at a reasonable price Is required.
Farmers of Eastern Multnomah and
Northeastern Clackamas are giving
such attention to their orchards as
will Insure this result. There need
be no fear of overproduction as long
as there is a multitude of thrifty
working men who are able and will
ing to pay $1 or $1.50 a box for ap
ples for family consumption, yet who
cannot find a supply for this modest
demand in the home market. If that
Is not the case now, it will be a month
hence. There Is practically an apple
famine in every working man's home
beginning Crom the first to the middle
of March and continuing through the
time known to perplexed housewives
as the period "between " hay and
grass," t that is until home-grown
strawberries and gooseberries are In
the market. - Yet at this time many
of the standard varieties of "Winter
apples are at their best.
The man who grows apples for this
time of the year has.no need to. fear
the bogie of overproduction. Every
body likes apples cooked or un
cooked and every one will eat them
during the time mentioned If they can
be had in full supply at moderate
prices.
TAFT A PEACE-MAKER.
President Taft is a good peace
maker. . That is. he is keeping down;
the row between "the regulars" and
"the insurgents." . His message on
"conservation" was so drawn as not
to contain radical suggestion either
way. It was a study for compromise
between extremes. The President
soothes the insurgents by causing it to
be known that he has no Intention of
giving aid to Cannon in the contro
versy over the rules of the House.
Certainly it is not the President's busi
ness to take part in that affair.
There is no little Insurgency which
has no definite object. Some men want
to be heard, and to "kick up a fuss"
seems to them the readiest way.
Others merely wish to find a .vent for
their spleen.-. There is always a class
of men unwilling to follow in old ways,
however approved, and start opposi
tion, because their nature requires
this . sort of exercise. The rules of
the House are not likely to be greatly
changed even If the Democrats carry
the House next time, as very probably
they will. Seven times In succession,
the Republicans have elected a ma
jority of the Representatives. Such
continuous success for a single party 5s
one of the most surprising" things In
our political history. ,
There will be much indifference
among electors this year more prob
ablly among Republicans than Demo
crats; and it will be a wonder if-the
Republicans do not lose the House.
CHARTER, CHANGES NEEDED.
" ' After TKTnking ' over "the water-main
trouble In Portland, a lot of persons
who disagreed with Mayor Simon's
diagnosis are comhlg round to see that
that official was right in declaring new
laws necessary. Present laws make
new mains too costly and tardy and
delay needed street pavements. More
over, they work injustice between con
sumers and landowners.
The Oregonian believes with Mayor
Simon that the charter should be
amended and that unless changes shall
be -made -In the-charter the -public will
be highly dissatisfied with results. But
it ought not to be necessary for things
to continue as ' they are, to vindicate
the correctness of the Mayor's judg
ments , . . , J
"The next regular "election for rera
edyfhg defects in the city's laws will
be . held. this coming November. There
will be abundant time to, consider fully
the changes that will "be ' advisable.
The subject requires Inquiry. In 'other
cities, preliminary to adoption of
measures best suited to 'local needs.
The Mayor and the Council ! have
evinced a desire to submit a plan ac
ceptable to the public, and will . be
looked to for preparation of suitable
charter amendments.
CINCINNATI'S BILLBOARDS, ..
The Hon. John W. Peck, of Cinein-.
nati, in closing a discussion of the bill
board nuisance in" " "The" ' American
City," for January," says: confidently
that "there will .be a; day when the
Public will look' back upon the bill
board nuisance as a curiosity of the
past." No doubt his words are pro
phetic, but the day of their fulfillment
will be a long time coming unless peo
ple who care' for the' welfare ' of the
cities where they dwell rouse them
selves to vigorous and intelligent -activity
against -this most impudent .at
all offenses against good taste and
sound morality." It" Is of no particu
lar use to sit, on a sofa in the drawing-room
"and rail at billboards. Like
every other evil, they will hold their
own until they are brought to terms
by a power superior to the one that
profits by them. Such a power is in
telligent public opinion acting through
the law.
Mr. Peck's article is chiefly interest
ing for the discussion it contains of
the new ordinance's which Cincinnati
has enacted to regulate billboards.
There are "six of them and he concludes
after careful consideration that all but
one are certainly constitutional. The
doubtful ordinance forbids billboards
to be placed within fifteen feet of the
street line or in front of the line of
adjacent buildings. Since this regula
tlon does not obviously safeguard the
public health, safety or morals, Mr.
Peck rather suspects that the courts
may not uphold It. Mere offenses
against good taste are probably not
within the scope of the police power
of a city. De minimis non curat lex.
The Constitution properly enough sets
dollars above beauty. The City of
Cincinnati has astutely placed each
separate billboard regulation In. an or
dinance by itself, so that If any one
of the six turns out to be unconsti
tutional, the others need not be in
volved in Its doom. Of the five which
Mr. Peck believes unquestionaly safe,
the first lays down that billboards
within the fire limits must be of
metal. The reason is obvious. It is
folly to proscribe wooden buildings
and at the same. time permit long ar
rays of Inflammable billboards to stand
wherever anybody chooses to erect
them. They are more dangerous than
most wooden structures, because they
furnish retreats where hobos and ba3
boys loaf and build fires. The second
and third ordinances limit the height
of billboards to twelve feet, require
two feet of open space below them an
two feet clear between any pair, while
the fourth requires six feet between
the end of the board and the line of
the lot. The height " limit " of twelve
feet has been sustained by the New
York courts. It allows stifflcient area
to advertise any ordinary article, while
It does not entirely hide the landscape
from the wayfarer unless he stands
near the billboard, which is something
that nobody who cares for landscapes
would ever do.
One of the most irritating devices
connected with the nuisance- is a tall
and ugly figure oi some sort towering
far above the general line. Some peo
ple are always tempted to throw dyna
mite bombs at these horrors though,
of course, they never do- it. ' Their
possible recourse, if they have to pass
one of them every day. Is to commit
suicide. For the benefit of the courts,
Which care little how things look, Mr.
Peck adds the clincher that towering
J billboards "are dangerous to passers-by
In hard winds. Happily, Cincinnati
ts a windy city, so that this consider
ation will not smack too much of
Idealism. The space under the bll
boards and between them enables the
police to see what is going on in the
vacant lots which they border. It .is
obviously a necessary precaution
against immoral conduct. The-open
space at the end permits an officer to
visit at his ease the hobos who may
have congregated behind the- bill
board. Without it the Inspection
might require a ladder and more or
less delay in emergencies.
Finally, no licentious or .obscene
matter and no criminal act may be.
depicted on the billboards in Cincin
nati. In fact, nothing may be exposed
upon them until It has been submitted
to the Superintendent of Police and
licensed by him. When we add that
billboards are excluded from the Im
mediate vicinity of parks, squares and
public buildings, it becomes apparent
that Cincinnati has grappled earnest
ly with the nuisance and is in a fair
way to abate it. The Prime mover in
the good work is the Business Men's
Club, in which Mr. Peck is chairman
of the legislative committee. Evident
ly Cincinnati has evolved to the stage
where her men of affairs perceive the
economic value of decency. But after
all that the law can do has been done,
the billboards win continue as an eye
sore and a public scandal-- The only
way to be rid of them for good and all
"Is to create a sentiment that will make
them unprofitable. A day "will come
sooner or later when offensive adver
tisement of an article will injure its
sale. In that blest time there will be
no more billboards.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS..
Exports of agricultural products
from the United States during the last
ten years, according to the Bureau of
Statistics, reached the prodigious total
of $9,000,000,000 (nine thousand mil
lions, or nine billions of dolars). Cot
ton was the largest Item in the group;
breadstuffs next; meat and dairy prod
ucts, third.
Our exports of cotton steadily in
crease. In 1909 they reached the great
total of .$417, 000,000. There Is de
cline, however. In our exportation of
most kinds of foodstuffs due to in
creasing consumption at- home.- The
marked increases in agricultural : ex
ports, comparing 1909 with 1899,
were in these Items:
Increase
Exported 1S0O. over 1R09.
Cotton $417,000,000 $207,000,000
im cake ana on
cake meal ...... 2fl.0O0.00O 11.000.000
Cottonseed oil 21.0O0.000 9,000.000
Fruits and nuts . . 17.000,000 9.OO0.000
Leaf tobacco 31,000.000 3,500,000
We exported during ten years cotton
valued at $3,651,000,000. Cotton still
retains something of the dignity that
doth hedge a king.
'It Is shown that American wheat
and flour go ?hfefly to Europe," Great
Britain taking more than a third of
each, while large quantities of flour go.
to Cuba and the other " West "Indies,
Central America, Brazil, Japan and the
Philippines. For American corn Great
Britain is the' largest" purchaser, buy
ing an amount equal to that bought by
the Netherlands, Germany and Canada
combined. American meats, while
widely distributed, says the bureau,
find their largest direct , market in'
Great Britain, which country took in
1909 nine-tenths of the beef, over one
half of the tallow, 85 per cent of the
'bacon and hams, and nearly 30 per
cent of the lard, for which latter arti
cle Germany also affords a large mar
ket. Value of tobacco exported in 1909
was $31,000,000, of which Europe toek
over 80 per cent.
Of foodstuffs, our exports will stead
ily diminish with the "roll" of the years.
though our production will as
steadily and even more rapidly In
crease. Home consumption will take
up the surplus, till, within the lifetime
of many who read the reports of the
present day, we shall, have no .tooi-
stufts for export. James J. Hill pre
diets that our next generation will be
importers of wheat and flour. But
cotton will hold out, and "again double
up, as our chief agricultural product
for export.
GAMBLING AND SPECULATING.
The Farmers' Educational and Co-
operative Union, in session at Walla
"Walla, adopted a resolution iprotestin
L against "gambling in grain by milling
and elevator interests," It is regret
table that the Farmers' Union is not
more specific In its protest. If the
resolution is aimed at the milling and
elevator Interests of the Pacific North
west, it . Is hardly -warranted by the
facts. Considering the "vast sums of
money required to handle It, no other
business ever followed on the Pacific
Coast has been so productive of finan
cial ' disaster as the grain business.
This is due to the Impossibility of
eliminating the element of "chance1
which is always present, and which
must be accepted and considered by
the most conservative of grain and
milling interests.
. Yet it Is hardly fair to these In
terests, that are forced to take long
chances in order to move the crop, to
accuse them of gambling, even though
the extreme hazard may approach very
close to what is known as gambling.
The advent of the tramp steamer in
the past few years has lessened the
'"chance" which the grain dealers
were formerly obliged td take In order
to handle the .crop, but the Pacific
Northwest is still too far from the
world's markets to enable the process
of chartering a ship, buying the cargo,
floating it and selling it, to be anything
other than a highly speculative tran
saction. Almost since the inception of
the business, the. exporter , has been
obliged to ;charj;er tonnage long before
the dimensions of the crop to be
handled cbuld even ha approximate!
gauged. - -
Viewed ... from one standpoint, it
might be' said that, by chartering these
ships the exporter was gambling .that
the crop would-be-large -enough to" fill
them. As a matter " of fact," ine was
merely making an effort to provide
tonnage which, in all probability,
would be needed to prevent a conges
tion when the Wheat was ready for
market. Until we reach that stage of
Internal development when there will
be no surplus of grain for export, the
great bulk of this surplus must move in
the four or Ave months prior to Febru
ary 1. It Is during that period that the
supplies of our competitors run down
to low ebb; But with the new year
come supplies from Australia and the
Argentine and a lessening demand for
American grain. These .things force
the ' American grain merchant to
handle an immense business in a. short
space of time, and to'do this it is im
possible to eliminate a highly specula
tive element.
It is questionable, however, whether
"the grain dealer who charters a ship
and buys & cargo for delivery or sale
ninety days hence is any more of a
gambler than the farmer who declines
$1 per bushel for his wheat, because
he expects to sell it ninety, days hence
at a much higher figure. Both are
"taking a chance" that wheat will be
higher ninety days hence, and the
farmer, with danger from ' fire, . rats
and other destructive agencies, is tak
ing more of a chance than the ex
porter. PROBLEMS IN CONSERVATION.
When this country enters thoroughly
Into the conservation business, it will
not stop at keeping settlers out of
the public domain, nor at preserving
vast regions, now wilderness, against
present use, as they say, for posterity.
The country will look to more fruitful
methods of conserving energeis even
than those. It. will try. to save the 85
per cent waste of fuel that now con
sumes the coal and firewood store of
the Nation with startling rapidity. It
will seek to avail itself of the vast un
used energy, of tides and waves and
winds. The -heat- of the sun. which is
the source of most terrestrial vigor.
may be made available for men's work
through sun-engines. The subterran-.
ean fires that belch forth terrific power
in. volcanoes may . be harnessed for
similar purposes. So also with the
miniature volcanoes in geysers. Per
haps we may gather a carload of ra
dium, which, as Thomas A. Edison
tells us in the Independent, "would
have as much energy ' as all the mil
lions of tons of coal mined in the
United States in a year,-" and wouid
last, perhaps, thousands of years.
If men are using up the latent en
ergies of coal and timber at rapid rate
in these progressive times, there are
many other sources of heat and power,
some of them even more abundant.
This does not mean that men should
consume or waste the resources they
are now drawing upon to perform
their drudgery and give them comfort.
but ' it does mean that alarmists who
try to scare the Nation's lawmakers
into enacting laws that will greatly
curtail Western settlement and growth
are: looking only a short -distance
ahead. As to wastefulness of today's
methods xt combustion, Mr. Edison
says: ' '
Among: the many problems which await
solution in the future, one of the most im
portant Is to get the full value out of fuel.
The wastefulness of our present methods
of combustion is tremendous. A pound of
coai naa enough energy in It to carry itself
around the world. We are only able to
extract a small fraction of Its heat and
power; the greater part goes to waste. Our
best steam engines use about 15 per cent
of the energy of the coal they consume.
With gas engines probably 20 to 25 per
cent of the energy is utilized.
More wonderful feats have been
achieved by human Ingenuity than
that of saving fuel that wastes in
smoke, and .heat radiation. Greater
triumphs have been accomplished by
the human Intellect than invention of
methods for utilizing" energies of tides,
winds and sunshine. Yet grand possi
bilities await solution of these latter
problems of conservaton. Scientists
and inventors, rather than agitators
and statesmen, are destined to be the
world's best conservationists.
Formal announcement has -been
made of the engagement of Miss Mar.
jorie Gould to Anthony X Drexel. As
Mr. Drexel is an . American who has
never been implicated in the kind of
dirty scandals which have character
ized most of .the ..GouIoL. marriages,
George Gould, father . of the young
Jady, should be congratulated on the
young lady's choice. Mr. Drexel has
never done anything more important
than to inherit a fine old name and
-quite a few millions, but he is so far
ahead of any of the .heiressrhunting
foreigners with whom Miss Gould's
name has been connected that the
match will probably be considered a
good one.
The Christy divorce case has at last
drifted into that class of domestic dis
cords that have made the affairs of the
yellow rich of Pittsburg and New York
such salacious events. King "Booze,"
as usual, seems to have been the prin
cipal factor in bringing about the
trouble. First, Mr. Christy found it
necessary to sustain his artistic tem
perament by the frequent use of spir
ituous liquor. Later in the game Mrs.
Christy adopted the same tactics, and.
according to the testimony now being
presented, engaged the services of a
chauffeur to aid her in decreasing the
available supply of the stuff that
dreams and divorces are made of.
President 'Shonts, of the New York
Interborough ' Metropolitan Company,
is a brave man, 'for he attempted to
travel in one of his own subway cars.
while the rush hours were on. It is
pleasing to note that ' "after being
crushed, battered and squeezed and
carried two stations beyond his home
station, Mr. Shonts denounced con
ditions as outrageous, and character
ized his experience as "fierce."
Streetcar magnates should stick to
their automobiles.
Mrs. Julia Frances Corbett, widow
of Elijah Corbett, whose . passing, at
her home in this city, January 17, at
the age of 80 years and 4 months, has
been recorded, was a gentlewoman in
the truest sense of that term. During
her life of nearly half a century in this
city she was active In benevolence.
generous in sympathy, kindly In her
dally intercourse with others. Living
thus, she was beloved; passing, her
memory is revered.
Coast Fork Grange. Patrons of Hus.
bandry, has . incorporated in a grave
resolution, the belief that office-hold
ers of the state "are becoming masters
instead of servants." Clearly our good
friends have learned from the katy
dids the art of saying an undisputed
.thing In a very solemn way.
Artist Christy was too fond of his
models -and Mrs. Christy too fond of
the cup that cheers and also Inebri
ates. The artistic temperament again.
- Now a great French engineer says
the Panama Canal will be a failure.
The French, it will be remembered,
built the first Panama Canal.
Hardware retailers do not wish con
sumers to buy goods at the cheapest
places. But retailers like to buy them
there.
The lesson of ' the . Llnnton 5 -cent
fare squabble is that the carline ought
not to have been built on the county
road.
The reformer's motto: If you dpn't
know who did it, or what caused it,
blame it on Ballinger.
' '.Mf. Wemme need not look far to
And. a. high flyer for Ills, airship.
WANTS OLD WATERrMAlX PLAN.
H. B. Grflnthnm Thinks He Sen Ob
. staclea In the VV'ay of Any Other.
PORTLAND, Jan. 19. (To the Editor.)
I am firm in my belief that the old law
for laying water mains should be re
enacted, and that all mains should be
paid for out of the water fund or from
the proceeds of bonds, as outlined by T.
B.-Wilcox, in his article, "Abundant Sup
ply of Pure Water." published in the
New Year's issue of The Oregonian. 1
am very sorry that our honorable Mayor
did not let the question go before the
people and give us one more chance.
There are many arguments I could pro
duce in favor of the old system. But it
is useless, however, to say more. The
election has been called off. The situa
tion is deplorable. In your editorial of
January 17, -"-The Water Main Injustice,"
you plainly set forth the injustice of the
present law. You also propose a compro
mise plan. But when you assert that all
lot owners should pay equally as for a
six-inch main and that consumers or the
city should pay whatever excess there
may be, the meaning seems somewhat
vague. . Do you mean to apply the same
principle laid down in your admirable
editorial of December 31. 1909? "The
People's Heritage." If so, then mains
already in and paid for out of the water
fund should be seized by the proper au
thorities, be assessed as for a six-inch
main, and the money returned to the
water fund from which it was taken and
belongs. Then, the Seattle plan would tie
in order. All could begin equal, and
this muddle would be forever settled.
All needed mains could be laid, and our
hard-surface pavements extended. Water
rates could be reduced one half, and per
haps more. If the Seattle plan will do
all this for us, it should by all means
be adopted as soon as possible.
H. 'B. GRANTHAM,
. Lot owners in the older parts of the
city have amply paid for their mains
in high water rates through long period
of years. The question whether they
should be assessed for their mains now.
as preliminary to fair adjustment of the
water trouble, hardly bears on the prob
lem. As a matter of justice, suburban
speculators, distant from the heart of the
city, ought to pay the whole cost of pipe
extensions to their tracts. Only the
physical difficulties of defining benefited
districts limits the practical application
of this plan, hence the "compromise
mentioned in Mr. Grantham's letter. The
old system of charging cost of suburban
mains to water consumers was objection
able and was abolished by the electorate
The present system is unjust also and
is obstructive, besides. Both systems
have grown extremely unsatisfactory, ow
ing to distant, suburban additions to the
city, and the high cost of mains resulting
therefrom. If equity has not been done
in the past, this is no reason why it
should not be done in the future.
probable: origin of the: Eskimo
Peary Inclined to Believe the Theory
of Oriental Ancestry.
Commander Robert E. Peary In February
Hampton's Magazine.
The members of this little tribe inhabit
ing the Western coast of Greenland from
Cape York to Btah are in manyVways
quite different from the Eskimos of Dan
ish Greenland, or those of any other Arc
tic territory. There are now between 220
and 230 in the tribe. They are savages,
but they are not savage; they are with
out government, but they are not lawless
they are utterly uneducated according to
our standard, yet they exhibit a remark
able degree of Intelligence. In tempera
ment like children, with all a child s de.
light in little things, they are neverthe
less enduring as the most matured of
civilized men and women, and the best
of them are faithful unto death. Without
religion and having no Idea of God. they
will share their last meal with anyone
who is hungry, while the aged and the
helpless among them are taken care of
as a matter of course. They are healthy
and pure-blooded; they have no vices, no
intoxicants, no bad habits not even
gambling. Altogether, they are a people,
unique upon the face . of the earth. A
friend of mine calls them philosophic
anarchists of the North.
I have been studying the Eskimos for
18 years, and no more effective instrument
for Arctic work could be Imagined than
these plump, bronze-skinned, keen-eyed
and black-maned children of nature. Their
very limitations were their most valuable
endowments for the purposes of my work.
There is a theory, - first advanced by Sir
Clements- Markham, president of the
Royal Geographical Society of London,
that the Eskimos are the remnants of an
ancient Siberian tribe, the Onkilon; that
the last members of this tribe were driven
out on the Arctic Ocean by the fierce
waves of Tartar Invasion in the Middle
Ages, and that they found their way to
the New Siberian Islands, tnence east
ward over lands yet undiscovered to Grin-
nell Land and Greenland. I am inclined
to believe in the truth of this theory for
the following reasons:
Some of the Eskimos are of a distinctly
Mongolian type, and they display many
Oriental characteristics, such as mimi
cry, ingenuity, and patience in mechan
ical duplication. There is a strong re
semblance between their stone houses and
the ruins of houses found in Siberia. The
Eskimo girl brought home by Mrs. Peary,
in 1S94, was mistaken by Chinamen for
one of their own people. It has been
sutrzested that their invocation of the
spirits of their dead may be a survival
of Asiatic ancestor worship.
Don't Blame the Hen.
V- . Vn.l. lLTall
According to the president of the
Am.. rnlin.icoi.iiin'Q A BHnr I ft 1 nn
IUCI ... .ill ... . ... . " - -
there were 1.500.000.000 eggs in cold
storage in the United States on the
first of last September, where they
were held to force higher prices. In
other words, the monopolists are re
sponsible for a situation for which
many persons nave oeeu uispuseu to
tname me meea ana wwjy iieu.
Suffering; of the Poor.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
Seeing a tramp hurrying- away from
a large house, a'' fellow professional
asked him what luck be had met with
"It ain't wort' askin,' there," was the
reply. "I just 'ad a peep through the
winder. It s a poverty-stricken ouse,
mate. There was aschully two ladies
playing on one planner!
Cheerful Send-off.
Boston Transcript.
The student volunteer movemen
wants more young missionaries. Thu
early is heed paid to the letter of King
Bongoango to the American board
"The last consignment of missionaries
you sent me were old, tough and
stringy.
Who Gets the Benefit?
Indianapolis 'Star.
Abolishment of the duty on hides is
followed by higher shoes. It would
be interesting to know who gets tha
elusive benefit; but at any rate the
poor consumer can 'prove an alibi.
Seeing: Their Finish.
Boston Transcript.
Lawyer What is your occupation?
Witness I'm a piano finisher.
Lawyer Be a little more definite. Do
you polish them or move them?
Neat Job of Harvesting?.
Kansas City Times. .
This week the harvester trust is cut
ting a 20-mlHlon-dollar melon, which
you'll have to admit 1 a very neat job
oi Harvesting.
DIRECT PRIMARY IX FLORIDA,
Reasons of a Candidate for Withdraw-
lag From the Q,neat for
the Senatorshlp.
New York Sun.
Among those who advocate direct
primaries no argument is more famil--
ar nor more popular than that which
is contained in the declaration that
the system enlists for public service
men of a higher type and greater ef
ficiency than the existing machinery.
Interesting as a commentary upon this
assertion is the public statement re
cently issued by the Hon. W. A. Blount,
of Pensacola, explaining his reasons for
withdrawing from the contest for
United States Senator in Florida. From
this document we quote the following:
I believe that no man not heretofore hold
ing public office and thereby largely known
to the public has any chance of election
without an extended personal canvass of the
state, extending a far aa possible Into each
hamlet and village. I have been making
such a canvass since the first of October,
nearly three months.
At some length Mr. Blount then de
scribes the physical discomfort and
actual illness which resulted from the
exertions of his canvass. Not only, he
concludes, was it apparent that his
continuing in this campaign might im
pair his health permanently, but it was
equally evident that it might leave
him unfit to perform the duties of the
office which he sought.
lhe second reason, for his withdrawal
which Mr. Blount gave seems to us
even more valuable and pertinent to
the present discussion:
There Is another reason, less fungible hnt
to me no less real; my repugnance to the
personal solicitation of vole either Hv t
direct request of the voter or by an exhi
bition of myself to him for the sole purpose
of a tacit solicitation. I foresaw hesitancy
on my part to do this, but I thought that
a short practice would make it a thing first
endured and then embraced, but I find the
uisincunaiion growing greater day by day.
Of COUrwe 1 WOUld have Btrnrth Anontrh tn
endure this during a campaign even though
il wen raucu more, onerous, cut I do not
feel that the prize is worth thn pnnctnnt
self-humiliation and the total subversion of
my nanus oi ure ana thought. Besides, even
if I am electedd the same course, though to
a lesser extent, would have to be continued
by me to secure a re-election. While there
are other men of a dirferent mould and
different modes of thoughts to whom p-jll-tics
might be a pleasure, to me It would be
an unending pain.
Of Mr. Blount's qualifications for the
office he sought we know nothing. His
reasons ior withdrawing. however
strike us as peculiarly-unlikely to ap
peal to a La Follette. a Stubbs. or anv
other equally characteristic product of
ine direct primary. Nevertheless we
venture to suggest that there still
remains, a considerable element in the
community for which they have some
importance. If self-advertisement ho
ine nrst essential for successful states
mansnip. jvir. Blount s withdrawal was
a thing wholly desirable. If weight at
wasningron ratner than noise In Flor
Ida is desirable, however, the incident
seems less fortunate.
"TORY" AND "LIBERAL" CATHOLICS
1'nases of the Irish Cstholie o ,,...f
in. English Polities.
Catholic Sentinel, Portland.
One of the by-products of the political
fight now on in England is a little dis
agreement among the Catholics of that
country, laigush Catholics, for the most
part, seem to belong to the Conservative
party, but there is a larKe Irish Catholic
population in .England and the Irish Cath
ones have found it to their Interest to
support the Liberals.. Ordinarv nolitical
differences are accentuated in the present
contest Dy ine education question. The
Tory Catholics insist that their party
alone can be relied on to deal fairly with
ine t-amonc scnools and they accuse the
insn catholics of putting nationality be
fore religion. The Irish retort that the
settlement which their party secured from
the Liberals in 1906 was approved bv the
Catholic bishops at the time and would
have proved satisfactory if the Lords had
not thrown out the education bill.
The Catholic Herald, of Manchester.
publishes a letter from "A Disgusted
Catholic," who says it is time for the
Herald to quit calling Itself a Catholic
paper, as it is "a mere Irish Home Rule
hack," which Is continually putting its
politics before Its religion. "English
Catholics," he says, are about tired of this
sort of thing,' and have suffered enough
at the hands of the Irish emigrants in this
country who are standing in the way of
the conversion of England to the faith
and are allying themselves with Social
ists, Revolutionists and Radicals, to un
dermine the constitution, to destroy the
great safeguard of our Catholic schools
the House of Lords, and. to injure th
Conservative party, to which English
Catholics belong. .
Tory Catholics in many instances op
pose Home Rule not only on political
grounds as Unionists,- but because they
are afraid the withdrawal of the Irish
members from Westminster would leave
Catholics practically without representa
tion in the British Parliament. They rec
ognize the fact that since the time of
O'Coiinell the Irish representatives in the
Commons have been a strong arm of de
fense for English Catholic interests.
N Dancer of Veg-etarlanism. .
Puck.
The subject of economics Is an Intri
cate one. A case in point: Hitherto
we have always looked upon vegeta
rianism as lying almost wholly within
the realm of hygiene and dietetics. So
far as the rest of us are concerned, we
have considered vegetarians as harm
less. If they wished to forego the de
lights of a luscious piece of porterhouse,
why, naturally, that was their business.
We have been egregiously in error.
It has been discovered that vegetari
ans are a serious menace to the peace
and prosperity of modern- society.
This is the way: By abstaining from
meat, not only do they injure the meat
business directly, but by thus diminish
ing the incentive for killing cattle the
cost of producing hides has Increased,
and the disaster ultimately comes home
to us- all in the shape of enhanced
shoe bills.
Thus we may see how inextricably
bound up together are the stomach and
the pedal extremities, and it may be
come necessary to legislate against
vegetarianism to keep the whole world
from getting cold feet-
Motherly- Eneoaragement,
Chicago Record-Herald.
: "Mother," she said, with a little catch
In her voice, "I'm beginning to be al
most afraid the Count wants me only
because he thinks he can get a lot of
father's money with me."
"My dear child, don'J worry about
that. Your pa is enough of a business
man to get him at the lowest possible
figure, and tne title will be just as
much yours if he marries you for
money as it would be if he took you
because he worshiped the ground you
walked on."
The Confession.
Chicago Evening Post.
Why did I strike him he who was my
friend?
Why did I grapple with him there, and bend
Him back and back and back until his twist
ed pine
Gave curdling wrenches 'neath that grip of
mine?
Ah. listen, I was shoveling the snow
That blocks my sidewalk, . where the peo
ple go
Upon their several ways. My hands were
cold.
My toes were chilled, my shoes had tried to
fhold
A shovelful of snow And he came by
And stopped, ,and fixed me with his beam
lag eye
And opened on me with thi sort of-talk:
"What ere you doing ehovellng off your
walk?"
The Only One.
Kansas City Journal.
I guess that Adam, lucky wight.
"Was never harried
AJbout the be-tter men Bve -might
lUajvo married
SHIP SUBSIDY IX DISTRESS.
Bill May Encounter Heavy Weather la
Couneia.
Washington Correspondence Chicago
Tribune.
Ship subsldv loirislatlnn haR been
forced to take the hump the humps
rwjie in congress. When the s-:siion
opened its advocates smilingly an-
nouncea mat all obstacles had been
removed from its path, that the Presi
dent would insist upon legislation, and
that a comfortable maioritv was hh-
sured in both houses.
Representative Humphrey of Wash
ington emerged from the White House
one day and told all the world a
measure he had prepared had received
the approval of the President, and he
confidently predicted prompt Congres
sional action.
But these roseate dreams have been
dispelled by the cold facts of the situ
ation. The ship subsidy grab is in a
parlous state, lhe henate leaders have
announced that they will not again
piace tnemseives in the position of
passing a bill which will be rejected
oy tne House. The House leaders have '
been counting noses, and they rind the
insurgency against the measure too
strong to be trifled with.
What to. do to save this piece of
special interest legislation has liecomo
a hard nut to crack. The country may
expect its supporters to have recourse
to tricky and devious methods, and
even their observance may result in
failure.
There was a meeting of the Housa
committee on merchant marine and
fisheries this morning, but it did noth
ing. The specter of insurgency hung
over the session and palsied the hands
of those who were prepared to turn
a trick. Its potency will be realized
when the makeup of the committee is
considered.
For the express purpose of having a
prompt report made upon a subsidy
bill. Speaker Cannon, when he formed
the committee last Summer, selected
men whose constituents might be ex
pected to approve the opening up of
tne puoiic treasury for the benefit of a
few shipbuilders and financial, railroad
and other interests.
The sole n;ember of the Republican
wing of the committee who is fig-hting
the subsidy is Representative Wilson
of Chicago. He is formulating a line
of attack which promises to make him
a sharp thorne of antagonism.
At the meeting of the committee to
day ship subsidy was not mentioned.
It was such a quiet meeting as to
cause one to doubt that a nefarious
scheme was being nursed for display
at a favorable moment.
When the meeting was over it was
stated that Representative Humphrey
of Washington would be given an op
portunity to "explain" his bill to tha
committee, probably on Thursday next.
If the insurgent movement contin
ues, and there is no reason to believe
it will not, Mr. Humphrey will delay
his explanation beyond next week, lie
will postpone his defense until every
thing is auspicious.
The ship subsidy men realize they
have too much to lose by another de
feat, especially on the eve of a Con
gressional election. They would pre
fer to put off action until next ses
sion, when there will be better oppor
tunity to secure the votes of members
who have not been re-elected. In its
present torn state leaders among the
Republicans recognize it might be fatal
to add this burden to those which now
are weighing down the party.
The Humphrey bill does not increase
the subsidy for. first class vessels, but
it doubles the compensation for those
ships of 16 knots speed on their out
ward voyages to South America, the
Philippines, Japan, China and Austral
asia and gives a similar increase tc
vessels of 14 knots speed operating on
the same route.
Men who had anything to do with
theh bill evidently feared the expendi
tures under it would reach such an
enormous amount as to cause public
indignation, since there is a , proviso
that the total expenditure in any one
year shall not exceed estimated revenue
awi .jiki&u iiio.il service in mat year.
The Postmaster-General, in his lasi
annual report, estimated the revenue
derived from foreign mail to be $S,5S.r,
564. The expense of this service ag
gregated $6,080,553, leaving a profit oi
$2,505,010. Included in the expense was
$1,127,245 paid during the lust fiscal
year for carrying mail in American
steamships under the provisions of the
act of March 3, 1891.
That is to say, during the first yeai
of the operation of the bill, if it be
came a law, the Government wouid pay
out more man 3,tuu.uuu, not to new
ships, the addition of which to the mer
chant marine is dwelt upon at such
length by the subsidy advocates, but
to those now in service.
Pointed Paragraphs.
Chicago News.
Another thing the automobile lacks
Is horse sense.
How mushy a tender love letter
sounds when read in court.
The world is full of tainted money
but few mind the odor.
The under dog get a lpt of sym
pathy and that's about all.
Trouble is the most thorough teacher
In the whole school of experience.
If a man doesn't grumble at home
it may be a sign he isn't there.
Perhaps it's the popularity of popu
lar songs that renders them unpopular.
The man who ' boasts of having
money to burn will soon have ashes to
throw away.
A woman doesn't object to hearing
a man praise another woman if the
other woman is dead.
Occasionally a man gets in on the
ground floor only to discover that the
elevator isn't running.
If doctors ever go to heaven it must
be awfully embarrassing for them
when they encounter their ex-patients.
It takes a woman with nerve to carry
a $10 purse with nothing In it but a
safety pin and a dozen dry goods
samples.
Pen Points.
Judge.
A new club said to be an English
importation has been founded, in
which members are known by number.
As a matter of fact, there are many
of such clubs in the United States.
Possibly the most famous are at Sing
Sing and Joliet. .
It takes a lot of diplomacy to over
come the effects of a woman's mirror.
A cynic philosopher recently re
marked that a sash on a pretty girl
was worth two in the window.
The successful lawyer puts oft until
tomorrow what his client wants done
today.
Too many matches aremade in the
parlor with no thought of the kitchen.
"Value of Puffs.
Judge.
Any actress will tell you that a pufi
in the newspapers is worth two in the
hair. . -
Metamorphosed.
Madeline Bridges, in Puck.
She loosened down her lovely hair.
Her hair that was her own.
And bodice, girdle, flounce, and lace
To right and left were thrown.
In simplest gown of ample fold
She wrapped her beauty rare .
Each Jeweled trlnklet cast aside.
And oh, but she was fair!
Among the pillows of her lounge
She lay, to read and reet.
Fairer than ever eyes of men
Had seen her at her best!
But when her maid, with timid knock.
Brought in a card of white.
She to her mirror flow and cried:
"Oh. 1 em suc-h a frtcht!"
And then with corset, belt and stock.
And eumbH. an-1 all the game
Of puffs and prinks she strove in feaato
To make herself that eme4