6
THE 3IORXIXG OREGOXIAN, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1910.
PORTLAND. OREGON.
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PORTLAND, MONDAY, FEB. 14, 1010,
TAFT8 NEW YORK SPEECH.,
President Taft, when In serious busi
ness. Is plain and persuasive, yet Is
firm in address. He has excellent
tact. Neither his manner nor his
words produce antagonisms. The
spirit of his speech is always concilia
tory! yet he leaves no doubt as to his
meaning. In his address on Satur
day night at New York, he touched all
leading topics with which the admin
istration has to deal. The candor and
poise of the speech are noticeable
throughout.
The party which elected him In
1908 made pledges and promises in
Its platform, which he considers par
tially fulfilled, yet concedes that much
yet remains to be done. He defends
the tariff legislation again, as he de
fended it in his speech at Winona,
Minn., last September. He states
what is undoubtedly true, that the re
vision was downward as to articles
of general consumption, but upward
on luxuries, and cites the figures to
prove it. The one exertion, on
articles of general consumption, was
woolens, which were not affected at
all. The President's statement, on
the tariff, should be read throughout.
He says with some emphasis, that
the amount of misrepresentation to
which the new tariff bill as a down
ward revision measure has been sub
jected has never been exceeded; but
after a survey of the results of the
new legislation and its effects on the
finances he deliberately repeats the
remark that the present customs law
Is the best' customs law that ever
has been enacted. The argument
which the President offers in support
of his position shows the entire sin
cerity of his belief how much so
ever others may contend for an op
posite opinion.
There is insistence by the President
on enactment of a law for a postal
savings bank. This Is a promise of
the Republican platform, and a bill is
now before Congress for such a law.
In the Senate amendments have been
Inserted which the President fears will
defeat the bill. They relate to the man
agement of the money deposited that
Is, to its safe and proper investment. It
is proposed to deposit the money re
ceived at the postofflces in state and
national banks. In the localities where
the money is received for deposit.
Against inclusion of state banks the
President argues earnestly; and he is
right for the Government would have
no supervision over state banks, yet
would be responsible for money de
posited therein. Here would be the
basis of a general financial collapse.
It would be most injudicious for the
Government to create the risk and to
assume it.
The railroad bill before Congress,
passage of which, ts urged by the Pres
ident, embodies, he declares, the
pledges of the Republican platform as
to regulation, and even goes beyond
them. He commends the bill to de
fine more clearly the practice of in
junction, so as to stop the abuse of
the issuance of injunction without
notice; also declares his belief that
the promise of admission to statehood
of Arizona and New Mexico will be
carried out. As to conservation of
national resources, he urges reclassifi
cation of lands according to their
greatest utility, and their disposal in
such way as to prevent their monop
oly. This is a generality, which no
one yet has suggested a way to define
and make available for use.
The anti-trust law is being enforced,
vand will be enforced persistently, so
as to "tear apart the congeries of sub
ordinate corporations which, united
toy holding companies, make up the
trust in each case." The principal of
fenders against the law are now be
fore the courts, on appeal. The coun
try Is assured that there will be no
relaxation of effort to enforce this
law. Of course the Executive cannot
accelerate the movements of the
courts. That the law should be en
forced in the way best calculated to
prevent destruction of public confi
dence In business." is conceded, but
that "it must be enforced goes with
out saying."
The President's remarks op the
present state of parties, and on some
of the features of a "hysteria" that
manifests itself here and there, and
of "a condition of hypocrisy" that ap
pears elsewhere, are very suitable to
the present time.
CJTNECESSARY SHIP SUBSIDY.
The United States Government, by
Its official acts, continues to throw
broadsides into the ship-subsidy the
ory that our foreign trade is suffering
from a lack of shipping facilities.
The Government is still in the market
for coal carriers, and last week char
tered two British steamships to carry
coal from any designated port on the
Atlantic to Manila, and two others to
load at the same ports for Yokohama,
the rate for each of these voyages be
ing J2.73 per ton. The distance is
about 14,000 miles, and the rate paid
Is about 2 cents per ton less than the
ruling freight rates between Portland
and San Pedro. Cal., a distance of
about 1000 miles. The rate Is also
about one-fourth the amount charged
for the lowest class or freight carried
by the American-Hawaiian steamers
from New York to Pacific Coast ports.
It should not be assumed that these
charters are being made as "horrible
examples" of the effects of foreign
competition. They are mad-e in the
regular order of business, for no other
reason than that there is a tonnage
supply in excess of the demand. If our
shiBpera were permitted to follow the
precedent established by the Govern
ment, the Pacific Coast could today b
landing Eastern freight in Portland
San Francisco or Puget Sound ports
for $3 to J4 per ton, a rate which no
railroad on earth could meet and
which would prove of Inestimable
value to the consumers and producers
of both coasts. It would widen the
market for .Pacific Coast products by
permitting-them to be laid down In
the East at a cost that would hardly
fail to increase consumption.
These are the rates which are paid
to make up a portion of that $200.
000,009 per year which subsidy-hunters
assert Is lost to this country be
cause paid to foreigners for freight.
Some more of this sum is paid the
trans-Atlantic lines that are now car
rying grain from New York to Liver
pool and London and" other European
ports for 3 cents per bushel. With
tonnage in unlimited quantities avail
able at these rates, Americans will be
excused for their unwillingness to pay
a subsidy to a few shipowners whose
only legitimate plea for support Is that
the alleged $200,000,000 now paid for
eigners is not enough of a tax to be
levied against 'American producers
and consumers.
DISAPPEARANCE OF THE RANCH.
The sale of the 26,000-acre Central
Oregon ranch of the Baldwin Sheep &
Land Company, reported In yester
day's Oregonian, is a real estate trans
action which means much for Port
land as well as for Central Oregon. It
portends an economic change, not
only in the handling of this vast prop
erty, but also of .all other large
ranches, which include areas of land
out of all proportion to the popula
tion they support or the wealth they
produce. The greatly enhanced pros
perity that has followed the reduction
in the size, of farms is everywhere in
evidence, even in as new a country as
the Pacific Northwest. In the Wil
lamette Valley, the Walla Walla
country, at Lewlston, in Southern Ore
gon and in a dozen other localities
tributary to Portland, it has been re
peatedly demonstrated, beyond the
necessity of argument, that a small
farm, properly cultivated, will yield
vastly greater returns per acre than
a large farm which never can be so
worked up to the maximum of its pro
duction. While the big ranch of the Baldwin
Sheep & Land Company became fa
mous as the largest sheep ranch in
the world, even the 26,000 acres of
land actually owned by the company
supported only a small part of the
flocks that in the past have borne the
Baldwin brand. . There was an im
mense area of range on which these
flocks grazed for years before the set
tlers began coming Into the country
to build homes and transform ranches
into farms. Curtailment of this out
side grazing privilege has hastened
the sale of the big property, and will
enable hundreds of people to make
homes and become producers instead
of consumers of the agricultural
wealth of the country. Large ranches
of the Baldwin type are even more
detrimental to the best interests of the
country than the big wheat farms that
are retarding the growth and devel
opment of many localities in Eastern
Oregon and Washington.
The Baldwin ranch Includes several
thousand acres of wonderfully rich
bottom land on which immense crops
can be produced. It is also admirably
located for irrigating purposes, there
being plenty of water on the property
for all requirements, and . it could
easily support, when worked to the
limit of production, a population of
several thousand people. Up to the
present time, sheep ranches, like big
wheat farms, are worked mostly by
transient labor. The sheepshearer and
the harvest hand drift north in the
Spring and Summer, and, having no
permanent home, are not highly use
ful members of society. They are
paid, of course, good wages for the
short time in which they are em
ployed, but society gains but little
from their efforts. They are not
homebuilders, and it is on the latter
that the permanent prosperity of the
country must depend. .
This movement toward the breaking
up of the big farms has been under
way for a long time, and it is gaining
in force as the struggle for existence
in the cities becomes more serious. In
Central Oregon it has been delayed
longer than in other districts, for the
reason that transportation facilities
which are essential to the small
farmer were missing. Now that these
facilities are about to be supplied, we
shall see speedy disappearance of
large ranches, which at their best are
more picturesque than profitable.
THE PLAINT OF DR. BODE.
The garishness of American taste in
art is noted by Dr. Bode, the famous
director of the Prussian art galleries,
in the statement that American art
connoisseurs have enough money but
only a limited amount of taste.
"Predatory American millionaires," is
the title Dr. Bode gives to men of
money who ransack the art galleries
of the Old World and buy pictures at
fabulous prices, whose "values are
measured by the yardstick." He finds
consolation, however, in the fact that
many real gems of art by the old mas
ters are passed by as not large enough
or showy enough to tempt the Amer
ican fancy.
No doubt this criticism Is rather
fairly placed. Nor is it surprising.
Americans of the "get-rich-quick"
type cannot be expected to have the
advantages of a cultivated taste in art
that is the outgrowth of several gen
erations of culture. Having more
money than they know what to do
with, Americans of this class feel that
they must buy something expensive;
they become patrons of the art gal
leries of the Old World In obedience
to this instinct without regard to real
values, and are naturally not guided
by a finely developed instinct of the
beautiful.
William Dean Howells, in his story,
"The Rise of Silas Lapham." makes
plain the predicament of a family con
sisting of a father of hard business
sense, a mother who had always been
a helpmeet to her husband and two
daughters, pretty, vivacious, but with
out culture, who had come into sud
den possession of wealth by the dis
covery and development of a paint
mine on their farm. The picture rep
resenting the plight of these peop-le.
rich and anxious to play the role com
patible with riches, but bewildered
with the consciousness of not know
ing how, has been one true to life in
many a puzzled, striving, anxious, dis
appointed American household in the
get-rich-quick era of American busi
ness enterprise and development.
Conditions thus ordered have in
many instances excited pity or amuse
ment or derision, according to the
temper of the observer. Derision has
predominated when the fortunate un
fortunates of suddenly-acquired riches
have gone to Europe that they might
make display of the unlimited pur
chasing ability of their family ducats.
They have visited art galleries and
paid princely prices for garish pic
tures, possibly wretched copies of the
old masters; they have ordered Paris
Ian gowns without knowing how to
put them on or having any suitable
place, despite all their weatlh. to wear
them. They have been snubbed and
deceived and made game of, dimly
conscious of being out of place but un
able to understand why. Simply
stated, they have racked the breeding
that does not come with sudden
wealth, but is the heritage of genera
tions .of culture. Superior in the In
stincts of kindness and good inten
tions to their critics, they have been,
it may be, woefully lacking in "all
that is prized as debonair, the power
and will to charm, the art to please."
AN OLD-NEW EMPIRE.
The great, fertile and in many ways
enchanting region known as Central
Oregon, though sparsely populated,
has been until recently a sealed book,
so far as its manifold resources and
great possibilities for development are
concerned. As was the entire Oregon
country a century ago, the great up
land spaces, from out of whose white
silence the Deschutes has for ages
rushed with noisy clamor of waters;
where placid lakes have lain in un
troubled grandeur; where the wide
sage plains have slept in endless mo
notony holding inviolate, the secret of
their fertility and the wonderful
bunchgrass flourished largely for the
benefit of the wild life of the soli
tudes have been as little more than
a traveler's tale.
Hardy pioneers have occupied por
tions of this vast realm for nearly
half a century. But their homes have
merely dotted the wastes and their
flocks and herds, wandering over the
range, have taken in food the only toll
that occupation has imposed upon
these great areas. Beyond such means
as were supplied by the freight wagons
that zig-zagged over the mountain
roads, the stage coach and the immi
grants' teams that preceded and fol
lowed them, this region has. been
without facilities for transportation
either of passengers or of freight until
now. .
Some forty-five years ago, one Mil
ton Brown, a pioneer who had settled
with his family on a donation land
claim a few-'miles above Oregon City,
made up a party of young men to
explore the Klamath region. He had
heard of Goose Lake and that was the
objective point of the expedition.
Profoundly impressed with the beauty,
the resources and the possibilities of
thiSj wonderful region, Mr. Brown re
turned after some months with a
glowing account of the country and a
vivid description of 'the wide areas
that invited occupation. Pondering
the matter of its isolation, thoughtful
men were unmoved by the reports
brought by this veracious witness of
the storied region and the next spring
this pioneer, first of Western, and aft
erward of Southeastern Oregon, re
turned without recruits, except his
own family, to what was known as
the Goose Lake Country, where he
and his wife died some years ago.
There were a few settlers in the
Klamath country at that time and for
many years thereafter the population
was sparse and indeed though half a
century has Intervened it is sparse
still in comparison to the number that
it could support In plenty and even in
affluence. How, indeed, could it be
otherwise when ingress and egress to
and from this inland empire were only
possible through hardships that tried
the courage of even the most advent
urous men, and told sadly upon the
strength of the strongest and most
loyal woman ? -
Once there, men with families were
anchored securely. They could not
get out without sacrifice of all that
they had toiled to win and so they
lived on and on in solitude waiting
and hoping for the coming of the
railroad, many of them dying with
the hope unrealized. For it is but now
that the attention of railroad builders
has been turned with insistence that
forebodes realization to the 'building of
railroads into this region. Men who
dreamed this dream the enterprising
first settlers of the Klamath basin
would have to awaken from the deep
sleep of a third of a century to note
its fulfillment. But with the hosts
that are now or will soon be headed
that way. Central Oregon is not a
dream. . It appeals to settlers as a
reality, the possibilities of which,
under the Impetus given by the com
ing of the railroad, are boundless.
The wonder of this development is
that it has been so long delayed.
Even now it scarcely has a beginning,
though rival railway companies are
fighting almost fiercely for vantage
ground at the entrance of the vast do
main, and the government with tardy
awakening, has Instituted irrigation
projects that, when completed, will
bring abounding agricultural prosper
ity to a wide section. A veritable
wonderland the region known as the
Deschutes Valley is claiming atten
tion that has long .been deferred. The
Klamath region is older in develop
ment than the Central Oregon region,
though not older in settlement. But
little, relatively speaking, that is
worthy to be called progress has been
made toward developing the re
sources of either. In each a meager
population has maintained an isolated
existence for many years, growing
slowly in spite of Its heavy handicap.
Almost the last of the lands of the
great interior west of the Rocky
mountains to be penetrated by the
railroads Its resources in mines, and
forests. In agriculture and in dairying,
are practically unguessed.
That its development along these
lines will verify the most sanguine
expectations is certain. An empire in
population, in wealth, in industry and
in the manifold activities that spring
from human occupation and endeavor,
will follow the railroads into Central
Oregon. Occupation and development
could not precede the railroad; it is
certain that they will follow not
tardily and with halting steps but
with leaps and bounds.
Great ocean disasters, like the loss
of the Columbia, the Valencia, and a
few other steamers, that have swept
out of existence our neighbors and
friends, have repeatedly horrified the
people of Portland and of other Pacific
Coast cities. With these tragedies,
however, as with the shock of dyna
mite explosion, the effect is greatest
nearest the scene. The loss of the
French liner General Chanzy in the
Mediterranean was fully as great a
disaster as any that have ever been
reported on the Pacific Coast, but
were it not for' .the. fact that a Port
land boy perished with the vessel.
only passing interest in the tragedy
would have been felt at this distance
from the scene. And yet that wave of
sorrow which in France broke in its
full force over the friends and rela
tives in the immediate vicinity of the
homes of the 186 victims who perished,
swept round the world and carried
grief Into a home in far-off Portland.
These ocean tragedies always leave a
lasting sorrow, but It is only when
they are in the local horizon that we
feel the full force of them:
The "Alaska-wheat" fake, which
has been pretty thoroughly exposed
in the West, is now attracting atten
tion in the East. Commenting on the
result of some experiments made by
a New Jersey farmer with this cereal
"gold brick,' the Boston Transcript
remarks: "If the wheat of Alaska
can reclothe our old but still respon
sive acres with harvests of the golden
grain, it will be an obligation of no
mean magnitude to be added to what
we already owe her for past and po
tential yields of gold and copper, lum
ber and coal." Unfortunately for the
responsive acres, which are awaiting
the coming of Alaska wheat, that fa
mous cereal has been repeatedly ex
posed as a fraud Its latest previous
appearance in the limelight was in
Idaho, and the Saturday Evening Post,
by giving it a page of praise, brought
it to the attention of scientists and ag
ricultural experts, with the result that
the Government issued a fraud order
which prohibited the Idaho promoters
circulating any literature regarding It.
Mr. Cake's address, , on retiring
from the chairmanship of the State
Republican Committee, was excellent
In spirit and matter. It was a clear
and disinterested appeal for party
unity, under the primary law, with
assembly to harmonize and guide the
course of the party, through fair and
just representative action. Mr. Cake's
suggestions as "to constitution of the
assembly were very fully carried out
by the committee. The Republican
party can be united on this basis, and
Its work carried to success, or not
at till. If this cannot win. the case
is hopeless. "A mere scramble for
office," said Mr. Cake, "with as many
platforms as there are candidates"
and this is what the go-as-you-please
primary brings forth "is the condi
tion to which politics of the state
have degenerated." Use of the repre
sentative system, in a broad and lib
eral way, is the only remedy.
From this time the fury of Demo
cratic politicians and newspapers will
beat incessantly against the Repub
lican movement for organization and
convention. The sole purpose of the
Democratic managers in Oregon is to
contribute what they can to the con
tinuance of the Republican divisions
that have been so profitable to the
Democratic party, under the nourish
ment of the go-as-you-please primary
law. i The same is their sole hope
for the future. Republicans now in
tend to control their own primary
nominations, free from Democratic
Intrusion. The assembly opens the
way and the " opposition, of course,
will yell and yell having nothing
else to do.
T. P.' O'Connor's cable letters to
the Chicago Tribune, published by
arrangement in The Oregonian on
Sundays, coincident In time with their
appearance In the Tribune, throw
clearest possible light on many phases
of British politics. The Irish Nation
alists, holding the balance of power,
detest many features of the budget,
yet they will vote to pass the bill If
they can get home rule, that is, a
local legislature. They will, however,
insist 'on getting the home rule bill
through first. This the Lords will re
ject, and then probably dissolution of
Parliament again and another elec
tion. Since storage of non-perishable
commodities, such as coffee, wheat
and sugar, cannot make and sustain
high prices for a length of time, how
can storage of such perishable things
as fresh meats, eggs, butter, vege
tables and fruits? The new ways of
preserving perishable things for a time
can't make dear in price the things
that would have perished without
preservation, or like things. The
theory is absurd. But blame must be
placed somewhere, and few like to at
tribute it to prodigality. Improvidence
and indolence.
Mr. Bryan now intends to make op
position to the liquor trade the "para
mount tssue." He is fruitful in parai
mount Issues, and finds a new one
after each and every successive de
feat. He takes his stand now for
county option; may declare for state
prohibition later. Possibly his party
may take prohibition as the basis of
its next platform. It has tried as
singular experiments heretofore.
President Taft says that the tariff
has been revised downward, and can
not be a cause of recent advances in
prices. He associates the rise of prices
in large degree with increase of gold,
yet says that combinations in restraint
of trade in some cases may be an ad
ditional cause.
Taft doesn't shout and exclaim as
Roosevelt did, but talks in the very
simplest and plainest way, directly to
the points he wishes to make. For
right policies he stands up as stiffly
as Roosevelt, but uses no epithets and
few superlatives.
Special agents, inspectors and in
formers are bluffing settlers out of
our country by thousands. The set
tlers are going to Canada, where they
get better and fairer treatment. . It
is the curse of false conservation.
As the conductor of the new-style
cars is mostly .ornamental, why not
utilize him to operate with his feet a
drop step, after the manner of the
fender?
However, since Mr. Hermann never
said anything harsh to anybody, he
may speak softly when he says adieu
to Mr. Heney.
The Hermann jury probably viewed
the disagreeable weather yesterday
and decided it was more comfortable
indoors.
Somehow they work up mighty big
rows in the Navy over little things a
girl's picture, for example.
Band wagon or water wagon Is alT
the same to Mr. Bryan. Just now it
Is the latter.
Who is It making light of the
groundhog?
REAL REASONS FOR HIGH PRICES.
A View of the Situation Wen Worth
Reading.
Pilot Rock Record.
Various have been the reasons as
signed for the prevailing high prices of
foodstuffs. The city press is disposed
to account for the high price of meat
and other necessities to the constantly
Increasing wage scale of organized la
bor, and the labor organs, always "biff
ing" some ignis fatuus, blame the
trusts, which they liken to the vampire
bat, and In ringing editorials on the
abuses of plutocracy tell their readers
of the millions the meat trust is steal
ing dally from the farmers and con
sumers. As a remedy these labor or
gans plead for more Intelligence and
unity among the people.
Henry George, however, foresaw dan
ger ahead for the country when all the
people attained a high degree of intelli
gence. He saw in the graduate of an
endowed college a man who might not
be content to make an honest living on
a small apple tract, which would re
quire his own labor and attention to pro
vide comfortably for himself and fam
ily. The old pioneers who settled the
country were not, as a rule, men who
as the term Is now understood, intelli
gent, as they had no time to be given
up to acquirement of knowledge on
such abstruse subjects as trusts, labor
organizations, or the power of the bal
lot in the hands of beggars, or to shed
tears over the fact that God made the
land for the people. The more edu
cated, the more intelligent the people,
the more dreamers apparently we have
in the country, No man is accounted
Intelligent today who is not able to
make a living without manual labor.
Parents who are anxious to see their
sons go through college and come out
equipped for a professional life have
much to do with discouraging farm
life and adding to the woes of con
gested centers and the high prices that
are puzzling the minds of the profes
sional class.
The fact is the prices of farm prod
ucts, high as they are, are not high
enough. Country people have no fault
to find with the prevailing high prices.
If the meat trust is to blame for the
high prices at which cattle, sheep and
hogs are now selling it Is to be praised,
not condemned. A mutton chop may
seem high for those who spend their
time in Joy rides and racing about the
cities in automobiles and to that other
class who spend their time eddressing
socialistic and anarchistic meetings in
the parks aid backrooms of 5-cent beer
joints, but to the Pilot Rock sheepman
who receives $7 per head for his mar
ketable lambs, he is perfectly willing
the excoriated meat trust should be al
lowed something for skinning the lamb.
There Is still vacant land in the Pilot
Rock country for those who want to
eat meat, but cannot do so on account
of the high price, but to the majority
of them death through starvation in the
city is preferable to life in the country
on a farm. While some of the joy riders
and blatant socialistic orators are busy
ing themselves with a solution of high
prices a few girls have come into the
Pilot Rock country and filed upon land
with a view of being able to make a
living for themselves. The boys are
looking about for some easier way- of
making a living.
It is not only farm life, but life out
side the city, that is becoming more and
more uninviting to the average citi
zen. Professional men and others come
into the small towns and remain only
long enough to make a small stake,
when they pull up and go to the city,
buy an automobile and-join the busv
throng of joy riders. The farmers sell
out and move into the city. All classes
are bending every energy to make a
stake preparatory to life in the city.
The only solut ton of the problem or
hlh prices la more work and leu Idle
ness. The meat trust can be fought to
a standstill by more people producing
what they consume. Tradesmen who
are standing on the street corners wait
ing for a job at union wages must learn
that in the ownership of a few acres of
God's earth and the monopolists by no
means have got it all yet and a little
work will solve the prohlem of high
prices. They will soon learn to look
upon the trust as a benefactor who
buys his surplus stuff and puts it in
cold storage as a delectable food for
those who despise country life. The
cold storage man is the best friend the
farmer has.
Ed Howe's Philosophy.
Atchison Globe.
An old man, like an old horse, will
stand whipping.
There Is no one In the world in as good
a position to make trouble as a frie.xi.
Repentance would look better if it
didn't so often take the form" of an
effort to dodge the consequences.
Men agree pretty well on one point:
They don't like the idea of some other
man spending their life insurance.
There will probably never be any mon
uments unveiled in memory of the man
who invented the alarm clock.
We try to be reasonably patriotic, but
have been unable to worry much about
that extending crack in the Liberty bell.
Whiskey can't keep a secret. You can
always pick out a drinking man, even
though he takes no more than one "nip"
a day.
As a general rule, a man may believe
In his wife's love as long as she doesn't
remind him of the better men she
might have married. '
The women are easily satisfied ' with
the looks of a poor man's bride, but
when a rich man marries, they look at
her as if she were labeled "linen," and
they were trying to find some signs of
cotton.
The greatest wonder on earth, next to
the false hair the women are wearing,
is that any man who is engaged to
marry can give satisfaction to his g'-rl
and his employer, in devotion to both,
at the same time.
When Beef Was Cheap, In 1531.
' New York Sun.
Perhaps at this time when the Beef
Trust is spueezing the "bouillon" out
of the common people, not a few of your
readers might consider the meat prices
of bygone centuries of interest. At a
certain feast in 1531, given at a pal
ace at Holborn. England, at which King
Henry VIII, his wife and many of the
Lords and nobles attended, the food
provided and price paid for same, in
ventoried as follows:
t. s. d.
24 large oxen, each .............. l 6 8
1 large ox .....1 4 o
100 sheep, each 0 2 10
51 calves, each 0 4 S
34 hogs, each . ...O 3 8
91 sucking pigs, each 0 0 0
9 dozen capons, per dozen O 1 8
19 dozen Kentish capons, each...O 1 . 0
19 common capons, each 0 0
7 dozen grouse, each .O 0 8
34 common cocks, each o 0 3
37 dozen pigeons, per dozen O .O 10
340 larks, per dozen 0 0 5
Comparing above with a recent, press
report of a member of President Taft's
Cabinet, in which the Cabinet member
said: "Workingmen live better and
cheaper today than did Queen Elizabeth
and her household." it would seem that
"there is a Senegambian lurking in the
woodpile" somewhere.
Where Will It Stop?
Catholic Standard and Times.
"Our fleet of torpedo destroyers
seems to have stirred up our friend the
enemy." remarked the naval chief of
one great power.
"Yes," replied his assistant, "it is
said they will build a fleet of torpedo
destroyer destroyers now."
"Let 'em'. We'll build a fleet oftor
pedo destroyer destroyer destroyers." .
Too Big- a Job fo Mr. Morgan.
Washington Post.
If J. P. Morgan can merge the pas
sengers into the seats on the New York
subway trains he will bo entitled to a
lasting hurrah.
BEST WAT TO DISPOSE OF GARBAGE
Suarsjestlont Private Corporation's Out-of-Town
Incinerator.
PORTLAND. Feb. 13. (To the Edi
tor.) I have heard a great deal of
comment on an editorial- appearing in
The Oregonian a few days ago concern
ing the disposal of garbage, and in
variably the comments agreed with
The Oregonian's views. The opinion
seems to be pravalent that the best
manner in which to dispose of this
vexatious question would be- to let a
contract to some individual firm or cor
poration for collecting the garbage and
disposing -of it in the Arm's .own way.
so long as it was done In a sanitary
manner.
It will only be a question of a very
short time before the crematory in its
present location will be such a nuis
ance that there will be strong pressure
brought to bear to move it to some
other locality. As the north end of the
town builds up. which it is doing rap-'
idly, the influence will become greater,
and if moved will entail another heavy
cost on the taxpayers, of which I,
myself, am one, as I pay taxes to the
tune of about $2100 per year, and do
not relish the idea of having same in
creased. Again, it will be absolutely
necessary, as the city grows, to have
at least one crematory on the East
Side, and probably another In South
Portland, and every time the matteris
mentioned there will be the same
storm of protest ' when it comes to
locating it, as nobody wants ' it near
them.
If some one or firm would agree to
gather the garbage and dispose of it
in a satisfactory manner to the city
without cost to the city, it would seem
that would be the best way out of our
difficulty. This can -be done as it is
done in other cities, either by cars or
barges, and the refuse collected at
some central point convenient to trans
porting same to the incinerator. It will
cost the householders o more than
it does now, it will cost the city abso
lutely nothing, and if a good and suf
ficient bond is given by an individual
or corporation to execute such a con
tract in a manner satisfactory to the
city, this would end this long-drawn-out
wrangle.
There are one or two questions I
should like to ask: Would the Mayor or
any member of the City Council be
satisfied, or would they desire a ere
matory built next to their own homes
or adjoining property they may own;
or, would anyone else, either the mem
bers of the Board of Health, executive
officers, desire a crematory built next
to their adjoining property? Would
any Councilman vote to establish a
crematory in his own ward? Would
not the citizens of the First Waj-d,
where the present crematory is now in
operation, vote it out of that district,
if possible?
This matter has been before the citiT
zens of Portland for at least four years
to my certain knowledge, ann two com
mittees have been appointed to select
a site, which took up about two years
of that time. Cannot something be
done to settle this question once for
all? It would "seem that there have
been discussions enough, committees
enough appointed, money enough spent
as I understand one of our Council-
men made an extended trip through
out the East to look into this matter.
and his suggestions have been turned
down. Let's get busy and do some
thing. - J. M. C.
RENAMING CITY STREETS.
Sng-R-estlonx ' Make East and West
Thorous-hfarea Avenues.
PORTLAND, Feb. 13. (To the Edi
tor). -I approve heartily of the sug
gestion of City Engineer Morris in
the matter of renaming of the streets
of Portland and renumbering the
houses, with the following amendment:
Let the names of the streets remain
as at 'present, but add to the streets
running east and west, "avenue." If
Burnslde street should be selected as
the dividing line, Morrison street would
be Ninth avenue. Morrison street
would be thus designated on the offi
cial plats of the city and in all legal
documents, thus avoiding any legal
complications and also protecting any
sentiment to preserve honored names.
In common parlance, written or spoken,
the name would be omitted. To locate
the Postoffice, it would be sufficient
to say southwest corner of Ninth ave
nue and Fifth street, S. W.
By this method, all that any one
would need to know in order to locate
a given locality would be to know
the points of the compass and the in
itial point, without being forced to go
for a street directory (which is not
often convenient).
W. H. ODELL.
A Chance for Arnold.
Springfield (Mass. Republican.
The quaint imbecility of Statuary
hall has been forced upon the atten
tion of Senator Bulkeley, of Connecti
cut, by reason of. the complaint of a
Grand Army post in Meriden. The
question seems to have been raised
whether the State of Connecticut could
not place in Statuary Hall .an effigy
of that celebrated Connecticut' soldier,
Benedict Arnold. Mr. Bulkeley is con
strained to admit that . Connecticut
could. There is no law to prevent it,
while the law creating Statuary Hall
permits it. Congress could not have
much to say if Connecticut insisted
upon presenting a statue of her ta'ent
ed and distinguished, if execrable. Revo
lutionary soldier to the chamber of'
bronze and marble oddities in the Na
tional Capitol. Says the Connecticut
Senator:
I should question very much the pro
priety of Connecticut selecting as one of its
prominent citizens even Of Revolutionary
fame one like Benedict Arnold for a position
in this hall of fame, and I feel certain that
the old state would never for a. moment
think of " doing such a thing: but we are not
responsible for what other states might feel
like doing, and under the law I am not
certain that Congress at present has much
to say about it.
Philippines' Best Fruit.
Bookkeeper.
Philippine mangoes, to the mind of
many Americans and foreigners the
sweetest fruit grown anywhere, would
alone make many millionaires in this
country if the fruit could be success
fully, shipped, or, better still, grown here,
as -the Hawaiian papaya is now being
made to grow in the Philippines. , Span
iards spent thousands of dollars ' trying
to get samples of the Philippine mango
to their late Queen, but without avail.
There is absolutely nothing to equal this
fruit in the Western Hemisphere. Manr
goes in New York bring $1.25 a dozen,
with the demand never fully supplied.
One tree of enormous size is said to
have produced 5000 mangoes in one
season. The fruit in shape and general
appearance resembles a huge pear flat
tened to a thickness of about one and
a half inches. The skin is green and
the meat pumpkin colored. The flavor
can be compared to no fruit in this
country; to appreciate its dellciousness
one must eat a mango off the ice.
When Juror Smock Goes Home.
Sherwood Corr. Hillsboro Independent.
It is suspected that J. C. Smock,
who has been absent from home some
five weeks as a member of the Btnger
Hermann Jury will be pretty well in
formed on many legal points on his
return. Being a Justice of the Peace
it may be like bread cast upon the
waters to be gathered many days hence
and utilized in adjudioations before his
own court. i
, Did He Get It T
Everybody's.
A Bailor had just shown a lady over
the ship. In thanking him she said:
"I am sorry to see by the rules that
tips are forbidden on your ship."
"Lor bless you. ma'am." replied the
sailor, "so were apples in the Garden
of Eden."
STATE IS TRIE CONSERVATOR.
Federal Assumption Illeaalt Forestry
'Bureau I'aurps Confcrem Place.
' n'.CnJ?enSeic, from n address recently de
i llvered at Spokane. Wash., bv rrotresor
George . handler on -State vs. National
i Conservation. and issued by the Western
i Conservation league.
i The only claim the General Govern
ment has ever made to the waters of
the country is in the interest of navl
i gation and commerce. All other rights
have always been conceded to the
I states, and properly so. Whenever a
navigable stream forms a partial
boundary of any state, the authority of
. the state extends to the middle of the
, mam cnannei or such stream. The
nimn amendment to the Constitution of
the United States says: "The enumera
tion in the Constitution of certain
rights shall not be construed to deny
or disparage others retained by the
people." And the tenth amendment
asserts: "The powers not delegated to
the United States nor prohibited by it
to the states are reserved to the states
respectively or to the people."
The proposed plan of National con
servation of the natural resources of
the country is an assumption of au
thority by the Federal Government that
Is without precedent, and. if carried out
as proposed, it will result in dissatis
faction and distrust. The development
of natural resources is properly a state
right and should continue to be lef
under state supervision. The proper
control of such resources can be had
only by local authority, and the bene
fits resulting from the development of
these resources should inure to the
state in the future as in the past.
Whatever helps to upbutld a single
state directly Is a help to upbuilding
the Nation indirectly.
What about the practical workings of .
conservation by National authority?
All officers engaged In that work get
'their instruction from the bureau at
Washington, D. C. Instead of being
broad-minded, intelligent men, who
understand the work they are expected
to do, they are too often small-caliber
politicians who think they are serving
their country by playing the part of
spies or detectives to ferret out some
technical violation of the homestead or
timberland laws on the part of actual
settlers. Weyerhauser and his kind
may obtain millions of acres of the
most valuable timber lands the country
affords by all the questionable means
known to the lumber barons and
nothing is done about it. but the poor
settler back on the mountains or out
on the prairie away from the comforts
of civilization is always in danger of
losing his claim on account of the
"pernicious activity" of some forester
who sees a chance to straighten him
self with his bureau by having the
claims of settlers forfeited. Nearly all
the abuses that have been practiced
upon homesteaders and other claimants
of small portions of the public do
main, in recent years, would have been
prevented if a hearing could have been
had by bringing the accused and the
accuser "face to face" in a trial, before
local officers. As it is, the settler
whose claim is contested; or withdrawn
for "conservation" purposes, hasn't one
chance in a thousand for a "square
deal."
It is true that there have been frauds
perpetrated upon the Government, .here
and there, by dishonest persons who
have sought to violate the homestead
and pre-emption laws for their own
benefit, but, admitting that some have
been successful, the fraud .in all such
cases combined is as nothing compared
with the gigantic frauds of the cor
poration "land grabbers" that in days
past have, with the apparent aid of
those In authority, robbed the Govern
ment, or rather the people, of vast
tracts of the public domain. These
lands have been the mostsvaluable ones
of the public domain and perpetrators
of the gigantic frauds are, as a rule,
given an "immunity bath" or allowed to
go entirely unpunished.
I do not mean to excuse the indi-.
vidual who violates the homestead or
pre-emption laws of the land, but I can
see how he might feel about it, if he
were at all familiar with the "credit
mobilier" frauds and the others of like
character that have followed in its .
train. The policy seems to be to pun
ish the individual, but to "conserve" the
corporation.
The policy of "conservation" by Na
tional bureau authority is wrong in
principle. Congress Is still the law
making branch of the Government, but
under the present plan rules made by
the Forestry Bureau are given all the
force of acts of Congress. This practice
is absolutely wrong in theory and. if
persisted in, will lead to endless con
fusion of authority in days to come. I
have shown that the policy of the Gen
eral Government has always granted to
the states the right to control their
natural resources individually. It could
not have been done in any other way,
in view of the compact between the
states and the Nation. Aside from the
general benefits resulting to the Gov
ernment from the growth and develop
ment of the new states, the National
treasury has been fully reimbursed
from the receipts deri-;d from the sale
of public lands. This has been accom
plished from the lands actually sold.
Congress has been very liberal in its
grants of land to the states for educa
tional, charitable and public purposes,
and prodigal in its gifts to some of the
transcontinental railroads. It has al
ways, until very recently, recognized
the right of any citizen, 21 years of
age or over, the head of a family, to
acquire title to 160 acres or more of the
land of the public domain, by comply
ing with the laws relating to entry of
the same. That policy should be con
tinued, and the public domain should
all be open for settlement in the future
as in the past. If the theory of Na
tional conservation is to save the
natural resources of the nubile domain
for a period of 20, or 50 years, or even
longer, to enhance their value on ac
count of the development of surround
ing areas by individuals, the theory Is .
absolutely wrong. Cheap Government
land has been the means of settling
practically over the entire country, and
nothing should be done to prevent the
people who desire to settle on the pub
lic domain in future from having the
right to do so.
The right of the states to control
the natural resources within their own
borders is an inherent right and any
encroachment upon that right should
be resisted by the states now inter
ested. No farther resistance will be
.v.an a piflim Rt n ti bv the
y l ..... . ' -
executive authority of each state that
our natural resources oi tne puunu u.
main are the property of the people
. . , . l ha I Ifnpml flnvem-
neia in n uol .- .,
ment for the benefit of the public. The
Western conservation ieasuc onum
. . i 1. .....- rn.nnf,rnti(lll of all
enlist i"'- ....... j --,
agencies to further the work of state
conservation, wnicn is me r'"
conservation of our natural resources.
proof of Wisdom.
Chicago News.
"I wonder why Minerva was called
the 'goddess of wisdom?' " queried the
pretty widow.
"I don't know," growled the savage
bachelor, "unless it was because she
never married.
And realizing there was no hope for .
her in that direction, the p. w. got busy
with a susceptible widower.
.' "o Small Hardship.
Indianapolis News. -Isn't,
Rabbi Wise, of New York,
mistaken about the ease with which
conspicuous millionaires and million
airesses obtain divorce? It is no smalt
hardship for the millionaire person to
spend the required time in Reno.