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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1910)
lO the Monmr, oregoxiax, Tuesday, February 8, 1910. PORTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oreg-on. Posrotrice ma Becond-Class Mattar. Bsbsexiptloa Bates Invariably In Advance. (BT MJLIL.) relry. Sunday Included, one year. . . . ..38.00 taily. Sunday Included six monthi. .. 4.25 Xally, Sunday Included, three montbf.. 2.25 Dally, Sunday included, one month..... -T5 Daily, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Dally, without Sunday, six months a.25 Dally, without Sunday, three months. .. 1.75 IaJly, without Sunday, one month. ... .00 'Weekly, one year........ ........... 1.50 Sunday, one J par ..... 3.50 bundar and weekly, one year. ........ a. SO (By Carrier. Dally. Funday included, on year...... O.OO Dally. EuDday Included, one month. .... .75 How to Remit Bend Fostoffloe money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postoflice ad dress In full, lncludina county and state. foitve itates iO to 14 paarea. 1 cent; 16 to 28 pases. 2 cents; 30 to 40 pages, 3 cents; 40 to 6 paces, 4 oents. Foreign posta double rate. Eastern BnsineM Office. The S. C. Beck wlth Special Agency New York, rooms 48 C0 Tribune building. Chicago, rooms 510-013 Tribune building. PORTLAND, TCEBDAY, FEB. , 1910. MANY "SAVED OBBOOS." Reviewing Professor Schafer's "His tory of the Northwest," in which the question is discussed, "Did Whitman Save Oregon?" The Independent (New York) attempts a position be tween those who give Whitman "all the credit for saving Oregon to the United States, and those who would deny to him "pretty much everything except the fact that he was murdered by the Indians." There Is a real ground here which The Oregonian has often defined; but It finds that the Independent, in attempting it, is not quite fair and Impartial, but attributes too much to Whitman. We quote a passage of some length from the Inde pendent, in order to make our exposi tion clear: The potnt is not, did whitman save Ore gon? It is, rather, was not Whitman ap prehensive of the fate of Oregon; did he not believe that American settlement was the solution; did he not brave the terrors of the Winter and the wilderness in making his Eastern Journey; did he not visit Wash ington; did he not, with voice and pen, plead for American occupation; did he not lead rack an emigrant train of 875 souls scjely to the Willamette; was he not tho most conspicuous figure In the whole epoch? Did he not hlmpeLf know what was in his mind? Are not his letters from No vember 1. 1843. to October 18, 1847. a proof of his motives and of the importance which he attached to American settlement? Maybe his claims were unwarranted and extravagant, but the fact that he made the claims Is enough lor a non-partisan Jury to determine his motives and his atti tude. If the Whitman "myth" la a curious freak of history, the anti-Whitman crusade Is a yet more curious anomaly. Here In Oregon there is no anti Whitman crusade. Whitman's pur poses and services are well understood. He was one among many pioneers, who rendered service In establishing American settlement here. But there were many before him. The effort of Jason Lee antedated that of Whitman, and the country was "saved" even be fore the great migration, of "43. More over, that migration was not due in any perceptible degree to Whitman's efforts. After the emigrants had gath ered and were on their way, he came up, and his counsel and other services were admittedly useful. The history of that migration was told by Senator James W. Nesmith In an address be fore the Pioneer Society of Oregon in 1876. Nesmith, at twenty-one, was Orderly Sergeant of the company. He has preserved a record of the male members of the body capable of bear ing arms, including all above the age of sixteen years. These names make a list of 301 persons. The whole party, men, women and children, numbered about 900. The caravan began its march from Independence, Mo., now Kansas City, May 20, 1843. It was overtaken by Dr. Whitman after it had been some time on the Journey Nesmith does not state precisely where. Captain John Gannt, an old army officer, an old mountaineer and trapper, had been engaged as guide, but hia knowl edge extended no farther than Green River. At this point is Nesmith's first mention of Whitman on the journey. He says: "Beyond Green River we had not the slightest conjecture of the condition of the country. We went forth trusting to the future, and would doubtless have encountered more diffi culties had not Dr. Whitman over taken us before we reached the ter minus of our guide's knowledge. He was familiar with the whole route and was confident the wagons could pass through the gorges and canyons of Snake River and over the Blue Moun tains, which the mountaineers in the vicinity of Fort Hall declared to be a physical impossibility." This was a real service; but at Fort Hall Whitman deemed it necessary to push on at once for Walla Walla. He had fallen In at Fort Hall with some Cayuse and Nez Perce Indians whom he knew. They were return ing from a buffalo hunt. He left with the emigrants an Indian named Stick us, who was familiar with the coun try and the trails, and Whitman as sured the parti- that this Indian could show them a way through. This was a real service, too though the most difficult part of the journey was yet to come, and the guide couldn't speak a word of Eaiglish. nor any one of the party knew a word of the Indian tongue. But of course such a party would have come through without Whitman's advice, or any guide at all. Nesmith relates how this party was gathered at Independence for the journey. He himself had intended to come the year before, and left Jeffer son County, Iowa, to Join White's party, of 184 2, but arrived too late at Independence. He remained there throughout the year, and In the Spring of 1843, as by a common Impulse, "the restless frontiers men" began to gather for the long Journey. "Without any formal promulgation," says Nesmith, "it be came fairly understood, and was so published in the few border papers then, in existence, that our emigration party would rendezvous at Independ ence to start for Oregon as soon as the grass would subsist the stock.' Few of the party, perhaps none of them, had then beard of Dr. Whit man. He had come out to Oregon in 1836. and had returned Bast in the Winter of 1842, starting from Walla Walla In October. This was the fa mous "Winter Ride." A most courag eous effort It was. There was every danger, every probability, that Dr. Whitman would perish. But he got through In safety by merest chance, and so escaped the charge of a foolish temerity. Yet It was a like temerity that kept him In his place of danger at Walla Walla. among Indians known to be deeply disaffected with the result of the murder of himself and family. This tragedy has thrown a halo about his name. It la the nour ishing soil In which the Whitman myth has grown. But for the massa cre Whitman never would have been thought "the most conspicuous figure of the whole epoch." His, name would simply stand as one of many among the pioneers. An earlier pioneer, and more in fluential In bringing missionaries and settlers to Oregon, was Jason Lee. His influence on the early movement which assured American ascendancy here was far greater than Whitman's. He came in .1834, two years before Whitman, ana went back in 1839. The Peoria party of 1839-40 . was started by him; the coming of the party by the ship Lausanne, in 1840, was a result of his work. Before the immigration of 184 3 arrived, the Americans had begun to outnumber British subjects In Oregon,- as shown by the result of the meeting at Cham poeg in May, 1843. All this was due to Jason Lee, more than to any other man. But many had part in "saving Oregon" Whitman among the rest. The movement began with Gray's dis covery; and in regular order followed the expedition of Lewis and Clark, the undertaking of Astor, the trading expeditions of Wyeth, the' missionary enterprise of Jason Lee and his asso ciates, the coming of Samuel Parker and Hall J. Kelley; then the fir3t Journey of Whitman and his asso ciates, the advent of the Peoria party, the coming of Elijah White with his considerable party In 1842, and finally the large migration of 1843, about which J. W. Nesmith, the most com petent of all witnesses who have told how it was gathered and what Its mo tives or purposes were in taking up the Journey over the vast wilderness to a destination practically unknown. They who study the early annals of Oregon give Whitman his due credit, but do not feel called on to apothe osize him. A BOCRXE CIRCULAR. In a circular issued recently and sent throughout Oregon Mr. Jonathan Bourne, of the Senate of the United States, philippizes against the proposal to hold a Republican assembly In Ore gon. Inter alia, this: There will be ro difficulty in maintaining the prestige of tne Republican party if the would-be leaders will observe the spirit of the primary law and accept the will of the people as made known at the hallot box There are many savage words in Mr. Bourne's remarks, which we shall not imitate. It will be sufficient to make this Inquiry, viz: Does Mr. Bourne suppose, does any person In all Oregon suppose, that the will of the people was expressed Jn his own nomination and election? He was nominated by a scanty plu rality, consisting of a small fragment of the Republican vote. That is, he obtained less than SO per cent of the Republican vote. The remaining 70 per cent would have preferred any body else. But It Is the vice of the plurality primary, when left without guidance by suggestion or party or ganization, to scatter the vote, disin tegrate party, and defeat all common purpose. Bourne got the votes of the sliver faction, returning from the ex cursion he had led to the Bryan camp, with Democratic and Populist strag glers picked up on the way. But since he had obtained the plurality, meager as it was, successful appeal to party loyalty gave him a majority over Gearin, the Democratic candi date. Yet his lead over Gearin was extremely small. Thousands of Re publicans refused to vote for Bourne, and other thousands who did vote for him have regretted It ever since and "never will do It again." His assumption that the exiguous plurality that he obtained in the pri mary was "the will of the people," -it the will of the Republican party, Is ridiculous. Hardly less ridiculous is the like assumption as to the vote he received in the general election. No dose so bitter ever will be swallowed again, even by party loyalty. The plurality thrown for Chamber lain In the next general election was the fruit merely of the juggle and bunco game inseparable from the method. Thousands who voted for Chamberlain did It to rebuke the sys tem and to turn It to contempt. It was not "the will of the people," as to Senator, at all; and everybody knows it. There is to be an effort nowto re establish and consolidate the Repub lican party; so that it may have some chance of winning the important po litical positions to be filled by the elec tors of the state. Mr. Bourne, of course, will act with the Democratic party, either in the open, as before, when he supported Bryan, or In hugger-mugger, as a counselor and ally. . POINTS ON" STOP SUBSIDY. In another column The Oregonian prints a communication from ' John Penton, secretary of the Merchant Marine League of the United States. Mr. Penton is publisher of the Cleve land Iron Trade Review, a publica tion dependent for support on the great steel trust and its associated In dustries. Apparently he endeavors to earn his. money by writing such sophistry and slush about a subject on which he is misinformed; or else he deliberately misrepresents. In appre ciation of the position he holds In the camp of the subsidy-grafters, the Chica go Tribune recently printed one of Mr. Penton's communications un der the heading "Letter From a Lick spittle." The Oregonian has considered the "few points" mentioned by Mr. Pen ton in connection with the action of the New York Chamber of Commerce. It appreciates the fact that the sub-' sidy-hunters have used admirable Judgment In selecting for the endorse ment of their scheme "American commercial bodies," In Wichita (Kan sas), Denver (Colorado), and other Interior cities where the ocean-carrying trade Is not understood. Nor have we overlooked the fact that the New York Chamber of Commerce Is the leading commercial body of one of the "world's greatest seaports, and that, if there was any advantage to be gained by a ship subsidy. New York would profit 'by It to a greater extent than all other American ports com bined. It is very silly and child-like in Mr. Penton to ask us to believe that, after the fierce campaign which the subsidy-seekers have waged In be half of the graft, two or three for eigners were responsible for the ac tion of the greatest commercial or ganization In the new world voting against it. If there was any genuine American sentiment favoring the subsidy, it would have been in evidence before the Chamber of Commerce voted down the graft. If Mr. Penton will recall the proceedings of the , meeting in which the- endorsement, was withheld from the subsidy bill, he will remem ber that the organization emphatically expressed itself In favor of the reha bilitation of the American merchant marine. The Oregonian is also de sirous that the Americans be given a chance on the high seas. This paper, however, can regard it as nothing but the grossest kind of imposition for a particular class of people to Insist that the United States take money out of the treasury to be used in estab lishing them in a business which 's not self-supporting. Not Portland nor any . other sea port will benefit by passage of the Humphrey bill, for these ports are all so abundantly supplied with ocean tonnage that they can ship freight 1o any part of the known world at rates so low that the carriers engaged m the business do not return dividends which would half satisfy American capital. It cost the Government over $1,000,000 more to carry 300,000 tons of coal to the Philippines, and SI, 500, 000 more to carry 1,000,000 tons of cement to Colon in American vessels under the United States flag than it would cost by contracting with for eign vessels to do the work. Using these figures on actual trans actions as a base, it Is estimated that It would cost $100,000,000 more- per year to carry all of our products to the world's markets in American ships than the same transportation now costs. Mr. Penton asks that "in the in terest of American commerce and fair play" his misleading statement be printed. It will be. The Oregonian makes the request that this comment on his communication be given the same consideration. A copy enclosed with each subsidy-seeking letter sent out by the "league" might throw some light on the subject. y WHEAT'S FUZZUNO POSITION. Thfe statistical position of rwheat in the United States offers one of the most puzzling problems that have confronted speculators and millers in many years. Government figures on the crop of 1909 credited this country with a yield of 737,000,000 bushels. These figures are admittedly too high. To make up this sum, Oregon, Wash ington and Idaho are credited with a yield of more than 66.000,000 bushels. For the purpose of comparison, how ever, they are valuable, as the same authority last year placed the out turn at 665,000,000 bushels. The 1909 yield, according to the Government figures, is thus more than 100,000.000 bushels greater than that of. the pre ceding year. There was enough wheat In the country last year to meet home demands and enable the United States and Canada to export for the season to date, a year ago 128,845,405 bushels. 1 This year the exports for the same period have been but 101,209,014 bushels. The American visible sup ply, posted yesterday, with a decrease of nearly 1,000,000 bushels, showed a total of 25,525,000 bushels, compared with 43,312,000 bushels on the corre sponding date a year ago. We thus have the remarkable situation of a crop presumably 100,000,000 bushels In excess of that of a year ago show ing a visible supply 18,000,000 bushels smaller than last year, while the ex ports for the same period have been more than 28,000,000 bushels less than a year ago. Reasons for this seem ingly remarkable discrepancy in fig ures is difficult to determine. It would seem that this additional 100,000,000 bushels which has signally failed to show, either In exports or In the American visible, must be largely held by farmers who are hoping for higher prices. Even this theory, how ever, is not borne out by the reports received by the railroad companies and elevator Interests. As the season wears on there are Increasing signs that Secretary Wilson has again blun dered, and that, instead cf a heavy surplus for export still remaining in the country, we may enter anofher season with 'bins bare, as they were a year ago when the season ended. EDMO.VD ROSTAND. To one who has followed the devel opment of the literature of symbolism in Europe there Is much of interest but little that astonishes In Edmond Rostand's new play. The apparently grotesque fantasy of making each character in "Chanticleer" a bird or beast, and allowing no human beings on the stage, is essential to the mys tical concept which he undertook to work out. Combined with this con cept, and helping to unfold It, Is one of those romantic love stories which are dear to all the symbolists. Mae terlinck seldom fails to Interweave one of them among the deeper significa tions of his plays. In Ibsen's' later dramas the love story is first perme ated with symbolism and finally lost m it, as any one will recall who has read "The Master Builder" or "John Gabriel Burkman." "Chanticleer," Rostand's singular hero, Is possessed of the very reason able belief that his morning crow makes the sun rise. Why not? Just before day dawn he Invariably crows and in unbroken obedience to his crow the sun rises. Here is a causal se quence, if there ever was one, so far as appearances go," and nothing In Chanticleer's experience when the play begins has ever happened to cast a doubt upon his conclusion. Natur ally, he thinks himself an extremely important personage, and the other members of the barnyard community think so. too. The tragedy of the piece consists in Chanticleer's disillu sionment, which is brought about by his love for the beautiful hen pheas ant. On the morning after his wed ding he oversleeps himself. The sun rises (without his crow and his belief in himself is shattered. i No intelligent mind can fall to per ceive the meaning of Rostand's sym bolism. Poor Chanticleer rejoicing In his Imaginary power and importance Is the human race clad in the glory of Its medieval illusions. The earth was the center of the universe. The sun was created to light man's daily toll, and the moon and stars to soothe his slumbers. The universe was regu lated, not by his crow-, but by his prayers, and all other created beings were his ministers and servants. The parallel between medieval man, with his foolish and ignorant conceit of himself, and Rostand's Chanticleer, strutting about in his pose of barn yard king, whose crow makes the sun rise, is marvelously apt. Chanti cleer's disillusionment came about through his romantic love for the beautiful hen pheasant. Here the symbolism becomes a little more ab struse, but still It can be Interpreted without much difficulty. The hen pheasant Is an alien to the barnyard and its self-satisfied inhabitants. She Is of a wild, shy. Illusive nature, and yet her allurement is irresistible. Chanticleer forsakes rlis humdrum, lawful' spouse and weds her. He wakens from his dream of love to find himself shorn of all his imaginary importance. Who was the wild, shy alien that intruded Jnto the complacent barnyard of the medieval world and won man from his allegiance to settled supersti tion by her charms? The answer is not very' deeply hidden. Rostand's beautiful hen pheasant is natural sci ence. She allured man away from his devotion to his lawful spouse, Madame Ignorance, and introduced him to what he expected would be' a blissful honeymoon. The awakening brought him face to face with painful realities. He found the world moving without the help of his crow, or prayers. Be reft of his foolish vanities, he entered upon a chastened and bumbled exist ence. "Chanticleer" Is the last and, ac cording to reports, the best of the re markable series of plays which Ros tand has been producing since 1894, when his "Les Romanesques" was acted. "Cyrano de Bergerac," which appeared In 1897. was a hilarious and defiant revolt from realism to roman ticism. Its success everywhere but in London was extremely brilliant. Not only -was it liked as a play, but It was admired as great literature. In Ros tand the French drama has regained something of the prestige it enjoyed In the days of Mollere. It is pre-eminent, through his genius, not merely for ingenious plot and deft technic, but for poetic art, "L'Aiglon," which followed "Cyrano," portrays the for tunes of Napoleon's feeble and un happy son, the Duke of Reichstadt. It is much admired for the wealth of imagination It displays and for the sustained energy of the verses, but the hero is too weak to be ery Interesting. Frigid temperature described by Whittier as A hard , dull bitterness of cold That checked mid-vein the circling race Of life-blood In the sharpened face. has again gripped tire New England and Middle States. New York shiv ered in a zero atmosphere made searching by a forty-mile gale from the east. Sunday, and points farther west suffered severely in a lower tem perature without the wind, but ac companied by sharp snow. We can only hope that the wrath of the storm will be spent before it reaches the summit of the Rocky Mountains com ing West. Though highly favored above other sections of the country, Oregon's Installment of Winter this season has been sufficiently tiresome and disagreeable to tax the patience and loyalty of even the oldest inhabi tant. Still, with Spring-flowering bulbs pushing their green spikes through the soft ground, the first week in February, rosebushes putting out crimson shoots and nesting birds twittering in the sheltering evergreens, we have no room to complain at the tardy appearance of Spring. The New York stock market, which has been making a brave fight for re covery for several days, again suc cumbed to the onslaughts of the bears yesterday; some of the best securi ties in the market were marked down from $2 to $3 a share. Railroads, which last week were the principal objects)j.of attack, were not alone in the "hammering" process yesterday, but industrials suffered with them. The speculative contingent was taught a severe lesson in 1907, when the hunt for "malefactors of great wealth" was on. They are now running to cover through fear of a similar outbreak this year. Meanwhile there has ' been no material reduction in the earning power of the railroads or of the in dustrials, which are displaying un easiness in the market. Good crop prospects and not too much politics it Washington will probably ease the present strain before any serious dam age results. Hans Larson, a patient at St. Vin cent's Hospital, with both of his feet missing, is well qualified to testify to the folly of drinking whisky. Hans was a hobo, and, desiring to retain his position in the ranks of the "have nots," invested his earnings in whisky and apparently sat down on the rail road track to drink it. A train owned by hated capital came along and was running so much faster than Hans could move that amputation followed. The financial condition of the unfor tunate man before the accident hap pened will hardly offer a guarantee that he will not be a public charge the remainder of his life. And still some people express surprise that their fellow-men who never drink whisky are averse to its indiscriminate dis tribution among hobos and other irre sponslbles. Washington County has suffered the loss by death of two well-known pio neer citizens within a week. Judge W. D.. Hare's passing following closely upon that of Almoran Hill. Judge Hare had been a resident of Hillsboro since 1853 and was in his prime one of the most widely known citizens of Washington County. He was twice married at Hillsboro and leaves a large family of sons and daughters. A man of probity and patriotism, his name was closely connected with the legal profession and the political events of Washington County for half a century.- His record is that of an honorable man and a useful citizen. Meanwhile, the householder who disposes of his garbage in the right way by burning it in the stove has no need of a crematory nor of any bonds" therefor. But of course there are persons who need this, also, done for them. .- Now they talk of placing a huge statue of the American Indian along side that of Liberty in New York har bor. It may be appropriate if a statue of a dead Indian. . A Harvard professor says women are growing more beautiful. In these days of beautiflers a man would be a fool to deny It. The hens are coming in to help the no-meat crusade. Strange to say, a person can be a vegetarian and still eat eggs. It seems a long way off when we are told the Jeffries-Johnson fight will not take place until hot weather. "High living" used to be a reproach, but now it Is considered the "right" of every free citizen. Spring is coming and Cupid is get ting ready the June 'brides. OREGON A HATES FOR DIVORCE Census Shows It Near Tap of World's Statistic. Mlsmated couples find Oregon one of the easiest divorce resorts in the world It has not been widely known that Ore gon stands among the first six favor ite commonwealths of the United States as a haven for marital disruption. The five states outranking Oregon are Wash ington. Montana, Colorado. Arkansas and Tt-xas. These states have the highest divorce rates in the world, exceeding even that of Japan. Now that Oregon's fame la spreading, it may be well to pry Into the statistics that reflect this com monwealth's conjugal infelicity. But first let us quote the law that makes this an easy place for casting off the yoke: Section 007. The dissolution of the mar riupe contract may be declared at the suit or the claim of the injured xarty. In either of the following causes: 1. Impotency existing at the time of marriage and continuing to the commence ment of the suit. 2. Adultery. 3. Conviction of felonv. 4. Habitual gross drunkenness contracted since marriage and continuing for one year prior to the commencement of the suit. 5. wilful desertion for the period of one year. 6. Cruel and inhuman treatment or per sonal indignities rendering life burdensome. This law does not afford an especially wide opening for escape from the bond, so that the cause of Oregon's high di vorce rate must be that of unusual will ingness of both parties to separate, on alleged grounds of "desertion." Records of the Census Bureau show desertion la the pretext or reason or 68.2 per cent of the divorces granted to the husband in Oregon and of 49. t per cent of those granted to the wife. "Cruelty" comes next, with a percentage of 19.2 of the decrees granted the husband and of 37 per cent of those in favor of the wife. Infidelity and drunkenness appear as only minor causes of divorce. It Is manifest, therefore, that the charge of desertion Is made to cover a multitude of sins and that the offending party voluntarily submits to the charge in or der either to conceal the real cause of complaint or to facilitate severing of the tie. In the State of Washington, "deser tion" need not be worked to this limit. The law in that state, after enumer ating substantially the grounds for di vorce In the Oregon statute In addition provides: And a divorce may be granted upon appli cation of either party, for any other cause deemed by the court sufficient and the court shall be satisfied that the parties can no longer live together. ' The Census statlsticu give the fol lowing average number of divorces an nually for the years 1898-1902, inclu sive, per 100,000 population: Washington ............................013 Montana .............................. . I4V7 Colorado .............................. 409 Arkansas . . . - . - J. ......... . ..S9 Texas 391 Oregon m... ........ .388 Wyoming . ..861 Indiana i. ........... 355 Idaho ................................. .847 Oklahoma . . ............. I346 Louisiana ................... ........ '27 Massachusetts ....................... .11 124 Virginia ......W.......117 Maryland -................. 1. . I114 Pennsylvania ....... ............. 04 Georgia 78 North Carolina 75 New Jersev . CO New York , 43 In Oregon In 1900 150,640 of Oregon's 413,536 people were married. This year's census will probably show the number Increased to 250.000. Marriages will have increased from 3660 to prob ably 7500 and divorces from 620 to 1800. In other words, while marriages will have more than doubled in 10 years, di vorces will have trebled. Statistics make out that twice as many women as men seek divorces. In the period from 1887 to 1906 7002 wives were granted decrees and 3146 men. The three most conspicuous causes were: . Awarded to Awarded to Husband. Wife. Desertion ............ .2,144 S.443 Cruelty 802 2,593 Infidelity 649 124 The following table 'represents the uneven Increase of marriage and dl voroeg in Oregon: . Year. Marriages. Divorces. 1908 5.233 1.02U i0 5,155 899 1904...... ..v, ....... ..4.683 785 1900 3.580 620 15 . ... 8,958 362 1890 a.8T ' 295 tSST 2,135 268 Oregon's high divorce rate 368 par 100,000 populations-has big lead over that of the entire United States, which Is 73 for each 100.000 population. Bad as the totals are In the United States, they are therefore worse in Oregon. They even exceed the ratio of Japan, 215, where divorce is more common than any place in the world. These ratios for other countries are as fol lows: Switzerland .............................32 France .. I23 Denmark ............................. .'.11 Germany ...............................15 Servia . I ... 1 13 New Zealand 12 Belgium .. ....................... .11 Hungary .."11 Australia .............. .10 Netherlands ...10 Sweden . . ... .......... .. 8 Norway ........ ........ ........... 6 Scotland ...... ..II"! 4 England and Wales ................ " . 1 1 2 Austria . x ...........I 1 Ireland (period 1808-1902) 1 Multnomah County fairly upholds its share of the state statistics. Last month 40 decrees of divorce were entered In this county and the number for the vpar will probably reach 500. The number or marriages was 197 In January one couple separated for every five united. Last year recorded 420 divorces in Mult nomah and 2728 marriages. In preced ing years the figures were: Yar. Divorces. Marriages. 1908 38 1 2.255 llKtr. ..32.3 2.153 10(Kl. ... ......... 200 1.997 1905. 285 1.809 1904.... 225 1.4B3 lflO.t. .... .............. ......... 199 1.361 1902 ... 141 1.146 Peary's Official Position. SHELTON, Wash., Feb. 6. (To the Editor.) What connection, if any, has Peary had with the United States Navy, during the past twenty-three years that he has been engaged in search of the Pole? Has he been on the pay roll? S. P. R. Robert E. Peary's official title is Commander and Civil Engineer United States Navy. Presumably he has regu larly drawn his pay. If you desire definite information. Inquire of the gentleman. His address is care Navy Department. Washington, D. C. Re fleet ions of a Bachelor. New York Press. Woman suffers, and man groans. Going Into politics is climbing a greased pole. The time a man wants to back his Judgment the hardest is when it's wrong. There are few things more exhaust ing than having to pretend to be amused by a funny man. The fascinating thing about an argu ment Is your hope that when the other fellow is right you might make some body think he is wrong. Eroaomy of Big; Headlines. Kansas City Journal. It took the observant Ed Howe to give the best reason yet advanced for big headlines that Is, the economic reason. He said that while he was in New York and on the streetcars it was not necessary for him to buy news papers, for the papers of that town use such bid headlines that he could read all the news frona the newspaper in the hands of some man who did buy one, clear at the other end of the car. MEDUM AJTD HELPER. TRAPPED Eusapia, PaUsdUo, Spiritualist. Atta Isenvsiesl "Jobs," With Her Toe a. New York. cor. Kansas City Star. Ir. Hugo Von Munsterberg, the Har vard psychological authority, bas pub lished a study of one of the seances given by Eusapia Palladino, the spiritual ist. Professor Munsterberg asserts that all her "feats" are caused by trickery and physical devices. He qualifies the charge, however, by saying that he thinks she has a "split personality" and that In her every-day proper person Is not con scious of the fact that she uses trickery in her trances. In describing a sitting at Lincoln arcade. Professor Munster berg thus writes of the Incident on which he bases his conclusions: "One week before Christmas, at the midnight hour, I sat again at Madame Palladlno's left side. A widely known scientist was on her right- We had her under strictest supervision. Her left hand grasped my hand. Her right hand was held by her right neighbor. Her left foot rested on my foot, while her right was pressing the foot of her other neighbor. "Pot an hour the regulation perform ance had gone on. We sat in the dark ened room In the highest expectancy. 'John' was begged to touch my arm and then to lift the table In the cabinet be hind Palladino. -John' really came. He touched me distinctly on my hip. and then on my arm, and at last he pulled my sleeve at the elbow. I plainly felt the thumb and fingers. It was most un canny. "And finally 'John' was to lift the table in the cabinet. We held both. her hands. We felt both her feet,, and yet the table, three feet behind her, began to scratch the floor and we expected it to be lifted. But Instead, there sud denly came a wild, gurgling scream. It was such a scream as I have never heard before In my life, not even In Sarah Bernhardt's most thrilling scenes. It was a scream as If a dagger had stabbed Eusapia right through the heart. "What had happened? Neither she nor any of the others had the slightest Idea that a man was lying flat on the floor - and had succeeded in slipping noiselessly, like a snail, below the cur tain Into the cabinet. I had told him that I expected wires stretched out from her body and he looked out for them. What a surprise when he saw that she had simply freed her foot from her shoe, and with an athletic backward move ment of the leg was reaching out and fishing with her toes for the guitar and the table In the cabinet! And then, lying on the floor, he grasped her foot ar.l caught her heel with firm hand. Sae responded with that wild scream which indicated that she knew that at last she was trapped and her glory shat tered. "Her achievement was splendid. She had lifted her unshod foot to the height of my arm when she, as 'John,' had touched me under cover of the cur She did it without changing in the least the position of her body." SILLY SUBSIDY SOPHISTRY. Merchant Marine Leaguer Objects to Oregonlu'i Comment on the Graft. CLEVELAND. Ohio, Feb. 1. (To the Editor.) In. a recent editorial The Ore gonian comments on what it describes as the action of the New York Chamber of Commerce against ship subsidies or against the American shipping bill now pending in Congress. There are a few points that we ask you to consider in this connection. One is that the New York Chamber of Commerce is the only American com mercial body before which this ques tion has oome that has not heartily en dorsed the proposed American legisla tion. Another is that the chairman of the shipping committee of the New York Chamber of Commerce is not an American merchant, but the New York representative of a European ship com pany subsidized by its government for $1,400,000 a year. Still another signifi cant fact in this connection is that the leading opponents of American ship ping legislation before the New York Chamber of Commerce were a British lawyer, the brother of the head of a British steamship company operating under colonial subsidy to the West Indies, and a European banker who has just floated in America some Japanese loans largely contingent on the suc cessful operation of Japanese subsi dized steamers. We will add that we have been in formed by Americans present at that meeting of the Chamber of Commerce that it was made up largely ' of European steamship agents and attor neys resident in New York. The Ameri can members of the Chamber are so in dignant that they are now proposing a poll of the entire membership, with a view to the reversal of the recent action. They will undoubedly suc ceed. There is not a city in the United States that would benefit more by the passage of the Humphrey Amendment to the Ocean Mail Act than Portland, if your city should become one of the terminals for the great lines to be es tablished from Puget Sound; and, strange to say, there is not a city in America where the dally press seems so bitterly opposed to anything which would have the effect of establishing great lines of American . ships 'from its own city to all the great ports on both sides of the Pacific Ocean as they are In Portland. We predict that come day there will be much sorrow in Portland. Or., be cause of this attitude and because of the newspapers, which. In their blind ness, are doing everything they can to Injure their own city. In the interest of American commerce and fair play, we ask you to print this statement as conspicuously as you printed your misleading editorial. JOHN PENTON, Secretary. What the Insurgents Would Do. Yakima Republic. If the insurgents were in control of the Lower House of Congress they would adopt the hated Uncle Joe rules. They would either do that, or else they wouldn't do business. These rules have been evolved especially to facilitate busi ness during a long course of years. Speaker Reed was called a "czar" by the minority for enforcing rules which would compel the House to do business, but when the Democrats became the ma jority, in spite of their fierce attacks on Reed and his rules, they adopted pre cisely the same rules. That Is what Champ Clark would do today If he had the majority In the House. The Re publican Insurgents come as a rule from Democratic and Populist districts, and their main purpose Is to stand in at home by harassing the Republican majority. They mean nothing else by their pranks, for whatever may be the merits of their complaints against the parliamentary methods in vogue, these or very similar methods will always be used by the party In control, and .the time never will come when the minority party will be given special consideration by the other fel lows. Control Diet to Care Disease. Boston Herald. An eminent physician says that, un less in case of malignant disease, he could cure almost all ordinary com plaints Bimply by regulating the diet, and the first thing he would do would be to cut off at least half of the quan tity. It 1b surprising what a small amount of food an adult can live on and,enjoy really good health. Wildest of Guesses. Boston Herald. In a time of crazy guesses about Mr. Roosevelt, the guess that he will be the Democratic candidate in 1912 takes the bun. AGRICULTURE ASTD MECHANIC ARTS Proposed Money Grant ta G1te Waahlnn-toa University, D. C BROWNSVILLE, Or., Feb. 5. (To the Editor.) I am informed that identical bills have been introduced and ara pending before each Houw of Congress to grant to a private institution the George Washington University, of the Dlctrict Of Columbia a sum of money equal to the annual appropriations to the several states for agriculture and mechanic arts. The bills are Senate No. 530, introduced March 25. 1909. and House bill No. 12.343. December . 1909. Is It possible that Senators and Representatives of Oregon will tolerate such a raid on the Treasury, and worse than that, the Inception of a policy of granting public funds to private and sectarian Institutions? If this prece dent Is set, -where will the work stop Who are the1 Individuals with "nerve" enough to foster or propose such scheme? . Will The Oregonian be kind enough to take up the matter editorially and convince me wherein I am wrong in opposing such a scheme or turn its bat teries the other way. The bills referred to are before the agricultural committees In the Senate and House. It sems to me that the American people cannot be too vigilant In preventing the granting of funds to private and sectarian Institutions. W INFIELD S. SMITH. Principal Brownvllle High School. Bills are pending before the agricul tural committees of the Senate and House proposing to extend the pro visions of -the Morrill act to the Dis trict of Columbia, under which the Dis trict would be placed on the same footing with the respective states and territories, and receive annual appro, prlatlons for the benefit of some insti tution giving instruction in "agricul ture and mechanic arts." This appro priation amounts to 40,000 this year, will be $45,000 next year and thereafter $50,000 annually. The pending bills contain two separ ate provisions, one giving the Dts trlct of Columbia recognition under the Morrill law; the other designating George Washington University as the Institution to receive the money, so appropriated. The objectionable fea ture Of the bill is the last clause, which has aroused considerable opposition, so much, in fact, that the fate of the bills is still in doubt. George Washington University is a privato college, formerly known as Columbian University. It was established as a Baptist institu tion and so operated for a number of years, but is today, and has been to several years, a- nonsectarlan school. It Is the only established college in the District of Columbia competent to ac cept such an appropriation from Con gress, Georgetown University being a Catholic institution, and the American University under the auspices of the? Methodist Church. A Small Heaven In Mexico. Mexican Herald. Alamos, in the State of Sonora, Mexico, with Its 5000 or 6000 Industrie ous and thrifty people, has no less than ten men, and perhaps nine, worth from $50,000 up wards, and its men and women average higher In Intelligence and education than any other city In the republic Its officials are not only men of education and refinement, but are progressive. JVo Time for Idealism. Cleveland Plain Dealer. Instead of asking "Where is pesters day and where tomorrow?" that man Flammarion might be out on the Paris streets with a pall and a brush, 400 ping up the Seine. THE FARMER. . j ; Chicago Record-Herald. tAccoTdinr to the Chicag-o packers, the farmers are responsible for high, prices, and all our other Ills and aches! Who is it robs us right and left. And has the packing lords bereft Of all their cunning and their sins. And, diabolically grins, As he, as 'twere, takes us by throat And gets a million for a shoat? The farmer! Who Is it corners all the wheat. And gives us what he lists to eat. For which we pay a thousand fold Of hard-earned, brow-perplexing gold. While he, the monster, laughs ho! ho! And ministers another blow? The farmer! And who, if we but dare complain. Draws tighter still our shortened rein, While he, within his mansion, sips Rare nectar, and his banker tips. Then laughs to read of deadly scare Of cowered bull and humbled bearT t The farmer! Who, as it suit his royal will, Dictates a law or tariff bill. And makes proud Senators to come And knuckle 'neath his polished thumb. Or says to one, "Do this, do that," And to another, "Hold my hat? " The farmer! - - wa )vTr ID SEE You. "J (WMOtJJffD.l ( S-' I ""vlNELSE -HMI J J (.ttWKEj 8rn