to
THE MORMXG OREGOXIAX, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1910.
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J"ORTLAND. SATURDAY, FEB. 19, 1910.
THE INCIDENT AT ROME.
Protestant, , Catholic and Jewish
publications give much attention to
tthe Fairbanks Incident at Rome. It Is
el delicate subject for a newspaper,
i'et It yields a feature of news of
"which a public Journal may take no
tice. Protestant publications, espe
cially those of the Methodist denomi
nation, charge the Vatican with lack
wf religious tolerance; Catholic Jour
Hals retort that the Methodists in
Home are trying to steal Catholic
ichildren from the church. Jewish
Journals assert that both Catholics and
Protestants not only have been Intol
erant toward the Jews, but have car
ried their efforts at proselytizing to
most pernicious lengths of activity,
land even of oppression. It is not a
function of The Oregonian to intrude
upon such a discussion. It will con
tent itself merely with reprinting a
few extracts from Journals engaging
in it. This is from the Jewish Trib
une (Portland):
Why are the methods of conversion prac
ticed by the Methodists upon the Catho
lics outrageous and the same methods prac
ticed upon Jews by the Catholics Justified?
Do not such Immoral activities In the
name of any religion prove the weakness
of that same religion? It is always the
case of whose ox is gored. If the Meth
odist gores the Catholic It u wrong, but
when the Catholio gores the Jew, It Is
right. Is It not time to stop the conver
sion business? Is It not time to leave
people to choose tholr God and select their
religion by themselves? Judaism, being a
religion of deed and not creed, acts and
not beliefs, does not run after proselytes;
it Is perfectly satisfied that no religion In
the world can or may shatter Its strong
foundation of reason. Not so Christianity;
belief Is its quintessence, creed the basis
of Its faith. It cannot stand before criti
cism based upon reason. It cannot afford
to have people calling It to account; hence
flourishing of the conversion business, hence
all kinds of means, fair and unfair, to
ensnare children, hence the large suras
paid for the conversion of the Jewish ras
cals, who are ever ready to sell their birth
right for a. mess of pottage.
The Catholic Sentinel (Portland)
takes its turn at the Protestants who
are putting forth "efforts to bring
light to Romanists," thus:
The Protestant sect seems unable to get
, hold of the idea that bad Catholics do not
make good Protestants. Men who have
been Instructed In the Catholic religion
sometimes fall away from the faith, lut
It Is rarely that they become Protestants.
Why should they? They know that as
Catholics they already possessed whatever
of Christian teaching the sects nave re
tained. .Moreover, they see Protestantism
everywhere in disruption and decay. Of
course those old-fashioned Protestants who
still believe that Catholics are not per
mitted to read the Bible have some Justi
fication for their efforts to bring tho light
to Romanists. These people are to be
excused on the ground of ignorance. But
sny Protestant with a sense of humor must
see the absurdity of Protestantism any
longer posing as the champion of Holy
Bcrlsture.
To the Catholic Standard and Times
(Philadelphia), which advocates re
ligious teaching (Christianity) in the
public schools, asserts that "the Jews
are the great obstacle to it," and con
cludes with the declaration that these
people "cannot much longer be per
mitted to dictate to the Christian pop
ulation in the way they have been do
ing," the Jewish Tribune makes this
rejoinder:
It is a world-renowned fact that the
Catholic Church stamps every other re
ligion as heresy, and allots its followers
to more than a warm place in the future
world, and that ad infinitum. Any teach
ing of Christianity which Is not in accord
with the teachings of that church Is anti
Christian, according to the beliefs of that
church. The Catholics maintain their pa
rochial schools for the mere purpose that
their youth be not contaminated with the
heretical teachings of Christianity by other
Christian denominations. It Is also known
that, no matter how Christianity may be
taught In the public schools, so long ' as
It will not follow the lines of their church
they will not allow their children to at
tend these schools and certainly will keep
them in their parochial schools. Now,'
wherefore this advocacy of forcing Chris
tianity Into the public schools?
Dr. Emll G. Hirsch, the well-known
Jewish publicist, puts in these re
marks through the Reform Advocate
(Chicago):
Where the old Roman Ghetto used to be,
right at the gate opening upon Its laby
rinth of dingy streets, there stands a church
Into which, up to 184u. Jews were driven
to hear mass every Sunday under penalty
of being expelled from the Eternal City
If they refused to attend the servlcos. tho
object of this compulsory participation In
the church rites being to cast ridicule on
. the Jewish practices and to convert the
Jews to the faith of the dominant church.
Over the portals of the edifice are Inscribed,
In Hebrew and Latin, lines from Jeremiah,
calling down upon the heid of sinful Is
rael the curse of heaven. Both the choice
of the Inscription and the uses to which
the building was put suggest that for per
nicious proselytizing the Methodists in Roma
have good Catholic precedent.
However, at this very day the Meth
odists of Chicago, according to Dr.
Hirsch, are shewing an offensive ac
tivity in trying to convert Jews. So
it seems one effort may be alleged
as an offset to another. However, Dr.
Hirsch strikes a higher note. The
Jew, he says, who passes through the
old Ghetto district of Rome now
almost entirely reconstructed will
find the old -church (above de
scribed) still standing. But
His eye will be attracted at once by a
most impressive structure directly oppo
site. And he will break forth Into the
old benediction praising him who changeth
the times. The' new and much more stately
ediflce Is the new synagogue, monumentlng
the new spirit of young and united Italy.
The Juxtaposition of the synagogue and
the church may -well make us forget all
about this wrangle of the rival proselytizers,
the modernised battle between frogs and
mice, and whisper Galileo's faith "E pur si
muove." the woVld moves after all.
The spirit in which this is written
and the sentiment thus expressed are
the very motives that should actuate
all the parties, and he fully accepted
by all of -them. Fortunately, the ten
dency is not toward religious indiffer
ence, but toward liberality and' toleration.
THE REAL REASONS WHY.
The argument against the appro
priation for the Crater Lake road
(pronounced unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court) that the- road would
not be used by citizens from distant
parts of the state, who, nevertheless
would be required to pay taxes for its
construction and maintenance, was
not the potential argument. With
some, Indeed, it may be conclusive;
but it is worth little heed; for, as Jus
tice King said in his dissenting opin
ion, the like argument could be in
voked against almost every improve
ment requiring expenditure of public
funds.
Of very different nature -was the
real argument the argument of real
weight. Of course it was the consti
tutional inhibition that decided the
case; but the cause of this inhibition,
the motive that gave rise to it and
placed it In the constitution, was to
be sought, as the real ground. That
was found in the obvious purpose of
the makers of the constitution to pre
vent embarkation by the state in any
general scheme of internal improve
ment which, as experience had amply
proved, might be expected to lead to
embarrassment and disaster.
If one part of the state should be
granted a favor of this kind it was
deemed certain that other parts would
demand a like thing or its equivalent.
The objects were to prevent log
rolling schemes in legislation, general
corruption and state bankruptcy.
Perhaps these were not desirable
objects. But the makers of the con
stitution thought they were; and so
we have "the constitution as it Is."
IDAHO MINING STRIKE.
If the story of the great gold strike
at Elk City, Idaho, had come out of
the frozen and inaccessible north, it
would probably have attracted world
wide attention; a rush would set In
from all quarters of the globe. Idaho,
however, is in the civilized belt. While
there will undoubtedly be a rush, es
pecially if the early reports of the
strike are confirmed, the comparative
nearness of the mines will relieve the
situation of some of that enchantment
that distance lends to the view. Yet
there is much that may reasonably be
expected from that Central Idaho
mining district. The region is not a
new one. Portions of it have been
worked over lay prospectors for more
than forty years.
In the early '60s the Salmon River
mines were notable contributors to
the gold supply of the Pacific North
west; the rush of miners and their
supplies to that country was one of.
the principal sources of revenue for
the Oregon Steam Navigation Com
pany. That It was not an idle rush
is shown by some of the steamer
manifests of that period. The O. S.
N. steamer New World on a single
trip in 1864 'brought to Portland 2000
pounds of gold. Consignments of
more than 1000 pounds were quite
frequent. Practically all of the gold
that has come out of that portion of
Idaho in which this latest strike Is re
ported was placer gold. "Veteran min
ers who prospected in that region
have never abandoned the belief that
rich quartz mines would some day be
discovered.
It. is, of course, too early to deter
mine the extent of the strike, or even
its richness, as early reports which
trickle out from new mining camps
always show a tendency toward exag
geration. If the new field should
prove a promising one, it is difficult
to overestimate the effect it would
have on Portland, which is situated at
the foot of a downhill haul from the
mines. Nothing on earth will attract
a railroad so quickly as the rich
traffic of a productive mining camp.
With the number of railroad projects
headed for the immediate locality of
the new mines, it Is almost a certainty
that transportation facilities will not
be far behind the first authentic evi
dence of the richness of the field.
EXPERT MEDICAL, TESTIMONY.
To carry out the reforms which the
New York State Bar Association
wishes to effect In relation to the tes
timony of medical experts in lawsuits,
a bill has been introduced . into both
houses of the Legislature at Albany.
Inasmuch as the bill was drawn un
der the supervision of four powerful
medical societies, besides the Bar As
sociation, it probably provides a rem
edy for most of the evils which have
grown Out of the unregulated employ
ment of medical experts in court, and
ought to become a law. It does not
touch the subject of other "expert"
testimony, such as that of handwrit
ing adepts in will contests, chemists
in pure-food cases, and so on. But
these, are. minor matters compared
with the crying abuse of medical evi
dence in criminal trials, and may well
wait until that has been attended to.
This bill was thrown into form by
Judge Clearwater, who, as chairman
of five committees acting conjointly,
represented a formidable mass of edu
cated opinion. It provides for the ap
pointment of a number of official
medical experts, who must testify
whenever they are called upon either
by the trial Judge or by one of the
parties to any suit. The appoint
ments are to toe made by the appel
late judges, and may be revoked at
any time without stating the reason
why. The trial judge fixes their fee
for testifying in each case, and it Is
paid by the county where the suit
takes place. The value of this pro
vision is striking. It goes to the root
of the inequality between rich and
poor in court and places all suitors
on a. level so far as expert medical
testimony is concerned. Or, more ac
curately perhaps, it tries to do so.
Since the bill permits the employ
ment of unofficial experts, money will
still have an advantage, but it will be
greatly diminished. In this partic
ular very likely reform could not go
much farther. The law could scarce
ly forbid a party to summon any wit
nesses whom he is willing to pay.
Venal experts will always be confront
ed by impartial witnesses who are
capable of correcting their perversions
of truth, and that is the best we can
hope for.
The bill leaves a good deal to the
judges' discretion in respect to the
number of experts. It may vary from
ten in judicial districts where there is
not much litigation to 120 where suits
are numerous. Naturally, only a part
of them, no matter whether their
number be 10 or 120, can testify in
any particular case, and one can
easily imagine how evils could grow
out of this condition. Should there
happen to be an expert appointed who
cared more for fees than for the
truth, the lawyer would see to it that
he was always called upon, and to win
favor he would steer hisrtestlmony to
suit the side which had summoned
him. Thus venality might, become as
rampant under the new regulations
as it is now.
The only way to prevent it, -in the
last analysis, is to elect appellate
judges who will make no bad appoint
ments. Here, as elsewhere,' the prob
lem of good government resolves it
self finally to the problem of induc
ing the electors to vote for competent
candidates. The power of the judges
to remove an expert without any pa'
rade or publicity will, of course, be an
effectual check to venal tendencies.
One cannot evade the difficulty, how
ever, that Judges who had not the
strength of character to refuse to ap
point a corrupt expert could hardly
be depended on to remove him. Crit
ics who maintain that much of the
trouble with our oriminal jurispru
dence lies in the feebleness of judges
are not without plausibility, though it
is conceded that their views are par
tial. An encouraging feature of the
movement to reform the evils of med
ical expert testimony is its disposition
to spread. If anybody thinks it is
limited to New York, he commits a
serious error. It began there and
will perhaps become effective as a
law in Albany sooner than elsewhere,
but it has developed already in
twenty different states. This shows,
for one thing, the eager desire of the
American people to move forward as
soon as competent leadership appears.
Tt R.1RO shnwfi that nrt mlcr-hlof Vi
ever well intrenched, can hope "to live
wnen me intelligence or tne people
has resolutely attacked it.
inXPRECHrS NOTABLE WORK.
The fiftieth anniversary of. Profes
sor Hermann V. Hilprecht, of Penn
sylvania University, has been signal
ized by the publication of a memorial
volume. It is Issued by a committee
which seems to represent the entire
learned world and has been published
simultaneously in Leipzig, Paris, Lon
don and Chicago. In view of Profes
sor Hilprecht's field of labor, the vol
ume naturally contains many facsim
iles of the clay tablets whereon the
ancient Assyrians kept their accounts
and wrote their books and letters.
These tablets are indestructible un
less some accident shatters them.
They exist in countless numbers bur
led in the clay of Mesopotamian ruins,
and Professor Hilprecht has done as
much, perhaps, as any other man to
bring them to light and interpret
them.
The writing on the Assyrian tablets,
as the public well knows, is in cunei
form, or arrow-shaped, characters.
The labor of deciphering them in the
first instance was incalculable. It
was not accomplished, in fact, until
Champollion had learned from the
Rosetta stone the secret of the Egyp
tian hieroglyphics. His methods were
helpful to Assyriologlsts, but the
cuneiform writings were more difficult
to decipher than the hieroglyphics
and there was less of a key to start
with.
The triumphant solution of the
problem will always rank among the
glories of the human intelligence.
The most serious difficultes were over
come before Professor Hilprecht be
gan his researches, but he has done
invaluable work as an explorer and
translator.
FAB-FETCHED COMPETITION.
Testimony thus far introduced in
the celebrated railroad merger case
does not seem to be exceptionally
damaging to the railroads. One of
the supposed strong points of the
prosecution was the closing of the
Portland gateway, by which the Union
Pacific was expected to reach San
Francisco. The prosecution has taken
the position that the Union Pacific,
having no rail connection to San
Francisco, should be expected to haul
freight from Omaha to Portland and
at this point transfer it to steamer
and carry it to San Francisco in com
petition with the Southern Pacific,
which had a through rail route. With
a longer haul, an additional transfer
and attendant loss of time, it is not at
all clear how the Union Pacific could
prove very much of a. competitor for
San Francisco business by way of the
Portland gateway.
As a local proposition, the steam
ship line between Portland and San
Francisco undoubtedly offered some
competition, but there is so much dif
ference between steamship service
and rail service that the comparative
advantages of the two classes are dif
ficult to arrive at. This difference in
service is always recognized ' alike by
competitive and non-competitive
lines; wide differentials are made and
recognized by both systems. The
shipping public naturally desires
healthy, legitimate competition, but it
is questionable whether it desires one
railroad to. provoke the hostility and
reprisals of another road by hauling
freight several hundred miles out of
the way in order to reach, a point to
which It has no actual connecting rail
line.
As stated by Traffic Manager Mun-
roe, of the Union Pacific, the South
ern Pacific was in a position to de
flect much traffic which it could -turn
over to the Union Pacific, and, as the'
Union Pacific water line from Port
land offered a very poor instrument
for retaliation, there was naturally a
desire to keep on good terms with the
Southern Pacific. It would appear
from the testimony that this mutual
understanding was', fully as effective
before the merger was formed as it
was afterwards, and for that reason
competition through the Portland
gateway could not have been affected.
The farther this suit progresses the
more apparent it becomes that the
Government might have undertaken
with infinitely better prospect for suc
cess the task of dissolving a railroad
merger at some point much nearer
home. The Union Pacific and the
Southern Pacific under one manage
ment would hardly be expected to be
come violent competitors for traffic,
but their routes for the greater part
of their mileage are too far apart to
admit of much competition even were
they under separate ownership. The
Government should have made a test
case of some Eastern merged roads,
like the New York Central and Its al
lied lines which parallel each other
within whistling distance -for hun
dreds of miles through a richer traffic-producing
country than the Har
riman territory ever will become.
Limitations of the present methods
of civilizing the red man were graph
ically set forth in a news item appear
ing in The Oregonian yesterday under
a Lyle (Wash.) dateline. Announc
ing preparations for the annual ghost
dance of the Klickitats. the item fur
ther stated: "Chief Spedis spent five
years at the Government Indian
school, but, on completion of his
course, saw no opening among the
white men for his activities, and so
returned to the primitive ways of his
people. He now lives the simple and
uneventful life of the average siwash,
giving no exterior signs of his su
perior education." It was a knowl
edge of the hopelessness and even
cruelty of attempting to change the
social conditions of the Eskimo that
caused Explorer Peary to decline to
Introduce either the white man's re
ligion or his civilization among the
simple children of Nature in the far
north. Similar consideration for the
American Indian might have saved a
world of trouble for those who were
less philosophical and sensible than
Chief Spedis.
What Is known as the Administra
tion railroad bill in amending the in
terstate commerce act establishes the
general principle that no stock shall
bo Issued by railroads except at par,
and no bonds except at the reasonable
market value. The object of this Is,
of course, to 'eradicate the evils of
watered stock and to enable the pub
lic to determine how much a road is
expected to earn on its actual value.
It will be difficult, however, to sell
stock at par, and it will be still more
difficult to maintain it at that figure.
Practically all of the capital originally
invested in American railroads was in
vested at a stock valuation considera
bly below par, and many a Western
railroad project which afterwards
proved a big dividend-payer would
never have been floated had the pro
moters been prohibited from selling
the stock far below par value. It is
not the intention of the proposed law
to hamper railroad building, but un
less stock can he marketed railroads
cannot be built.
The National Review, one of the
Unionist organs of England, says that
Lloyd-George is "a fervid Celt, ani
mated by a passionate hatred of Eng
land and of all things English"; that
Churchill is "simply a Tammany Hall
politician, without, however, a Tam
many man's patriotism"; that Har
court "belongs to that pitiful type of
demagogue who slangs peers in public
and fawns upon them in private."
Harcourt, moreover, "is animated by
an Inherited bias against his own
country, which found yesterday ex
pression in pro-Boerism and today in
equally pronounced pro-Germanism."
Of a Manchester member of the Com
mons, recently re-elected, doubt is ex
pressed whether "any constituency,
except one within the Manchester
miasma, would tolerate such a traitor
to his country." And yet the English
press lectures America on decorous
journalism!
The Southern point of Illinois meets
the borders of Kentucky and Mis
souri the Ohio and Mississippi di
viding the three states. It is a good
people, but of little culture and civic
development, and contains a. rowdy
and turbulent class. Cairo, the most
important town of the region, is a
"tough" place, and the class who
make it tough "hate niggers." Nat
urally, there is a class of niggers that
are no better and have no more self
restraint than the whites. These nig
gers commit outrages, or are sus
pected of it, and the whites then turn
out to lynch them. Here is the ex
planation of the bloody events on
several occasions at Cairo. It was
the mob that got peppered this time.
Again the cattle on the great ranges
of the Rocky Mountain States are
suffering and dying from cold and
hunger. Having weathered at least
three heavy falls of snow, accompa
nied by zero weather, these wretched
beasts are in poor plight to withstand
this latest onset of Winter. The very
suggestion of unsheltered cattle on the
range in this region in midwinter is
an arraignment of stockmen upon the
double charge of inhumanity and
wastefulness. Economists and hu
manitarians have long dreamed of
conditions that will make provision
for wintering all the livestock that is
left over from the Fall shipment to
market, but as yet the dream is un
realized. If It Is true, as alleged by sundry
citizens of South Portland, that the
Fulton Park schoolhouse is inade
quate to the needs of that portion of
the district, that It is not supplied
either with drinking water or lava
tories and that a portion of it Is mere
ly a shed built over vegetable grounds,
it is plain that the relief asked for
is due. The needs of the district
are constantly recurring and insist
ent and those represented in this in
stance call for relief at as early a date
as is possible, since cleanliness, health
and comfort are Involved in the de
mand. This statement comes from Wash
ington among recent telegrams:
Senator Chamberlain has declined "the
appointment tendered him as a member
of the Senate committee authorized to In
vestigate the cost of living and food prod
ucts. Senator Money. Democratic leader
in the Senate, is having trouble to get any
Democrats to serve on the committee.
These brethren have no interest in
discovery of the causes of high prices.
Enough for them that prices are high.
Nor do they want them lowered now.
'Twould spoil their hopes of a "para
mount campaign issue."
A young woman of Seattle, wife of
a carpenter, drank carbolic acid last
Sunday and died because her husband
had cruelly beaten her. Mistaken
woman! Why did she not, if partial
to that mode of settling her domestic
woes, watch her chance and adminis
ter the potion to her bellicose spouse?
Murder is more Justifiable than sui
cide under such circumstances,
though, of course, eithen- is to be de
plored. When taxpayers visit the tax collec
tor and gaze upon the foundations
of the magnificent new Courthouse,
let them remember that nothing is too
good for the lawyers.
"Fireproof schoolhouses" is the lat
est idea In Portland. Meanwhile all
of us live in wooden houses and think
them good and safe enough. j
We should think the friends of
Peary would prefer to have Dr. Cook
made a Rear-Admlral.
A breakfast-food trust having been
formed, a rise in the price of sawdust
may now be expected.
Never fear about Spring. Easter
and the hats will surely come.
HOW MANY WORIv FOR WAGES t
Valuable Data to Be Sought la Coming
CensuM.
PORTLAND, Feb. 18. (To the Edi
tor.) Will you please give me some
approximate estimate of the number of
working men employed at wage or salary
service in the United States, exclusive
of women and children. We hear so
much street hawking these days that
we think the general public would be
Interested as well as the enquirer.
LEON H. DU GAS.
No one knows; nor can The Oregon
ian suggest a source for an intelligent
estimate. But the Census Bureau is
going to spend a lot of money to find
out this year, beginning April 15. Prob
ably two years hence the figures will
be compiled and published.
Among new inquiries to be pro
pounded by every enumerator to every
citizen in the land is this: "Are you
an employer, an employe or working
on your own account?" This informa
tion has never been sought before.
Here are a few satistics from the
census of 1900: a
Total number of persons In gainful
occupations, 29,285,922.
Farm hands.- 4,459,346 ; total in agri
cultural pursuits, 10,438,219.
Professional service, including 446,
000 teachers and college professors,
1,264,737.
Domestic and personal service, in
cluding 2.619.4S6 laborers and 1,565,440
servants and waiters, 5.691,746.
Trade and transportation, 4,778,283.
Manufacturing and mechanical pur
suits 7,112.987.
These figures include employers, em
ployes and persons working on their
own account, men, women and children.'
In the census soon to be taken, the
sexes will probably not be separated
In the tabulation, st far as the gainful
occupations are concerned.
A REAL, COURT WITHOUT LAW YERS
Xradea Tribunal In Berlin Where Jadge
and Clerk Dispense Justice.
Professor W. H. Carruth. of the I'nlverslty
of Kansas. In the Kansas olty Times.
On account of the exorbitant prices
charged by the lawyers and the slowness
of justice in the regular courts, the mer
chants and laborers of Berlin demanded
of the National Government a court for
the settlement of all differences arising
between the employed and the employer.
Accordingly, in 1S90 the trades court was
organized and in 1S95 the merchants' court
was opened. The features of the courts
are their promptness and fairness. Every
case is decided In less than three weeks.
The average number of cases disposed of
in a day in the two courts is twenty.
No lawyers are allowed in this court
and the only officers are the judge and
clerk, who obtain their positions after
passing a severe competitive examination.
The Judge asks the litigants concise ques
tions and usually tries to affect a com
promise. In case the suit is compromised
no costs are assessed. The costs, when
assessed, are graded, a judgment of $5
costing the loser 25 cents, a Judgment of
$10 costing 35 cents, and so on up the
scale. '
No criminal cases are tried in the
trades and merchants" courts. Only such
cases as disputes between employes and
employers over wages paid or treatment
accorded the employed by the employer
are heard. Lawyers are admitted into
the criminal courts.
Of the cases brought before the trades
and merchants' court, 90 per cent are
brought by the laboring class' while only
5 per cent are brought by the employers.
The employers win a majority of their
cases because they are seldom brought
without good grounds. Besides his Judi
cial duties the judge also serves as an
adviser to the National Government in
labor legislation.
A Letter, With n Reply.
PORTLAND, Or., Feb. 17 (To the Edi
tor.) Will the editor of The Oregonian
please tell the writer of this letter why
The Oregonian readily publishes letters
sent her by some folks and ignores let
ters which Is sent her by other folks? An
answer to this will be greatly appreciated
by the writer and his friends. H. W.
The Oregonian prints "letters which is
sent her" when it deems them of suffi
cient interest, or intelligence, or moment
to print; it rejects them when they are
silly, or worthless, or of no current value,
or offensive, or tedious, or because the
writers are nuisances. We leave this
correspondent to struggle with the ques
tion as to the class to which he belongs.
To aid him, we will suggest that he
doesn't come In the first.
At Last, a Poet From Missouri.
Chicago Tribune.
MARCEIJNB. Mo. (.Editor of the Trlb?
une.) The Tribune said that Missouri
had no poets and that Kansas had one
and one-fourth poets to every square
mile. The following was written not to
refute the editorial, but rather to uphold
the honor of the Missouri poets :
The mule of Missouri, the festive, gay.
Can make a trip of forty miles a day;
And when the West reflects the setting
sun -And
all the labors of the day are done.
He rolls about and tumbles o'er and o'er.
Then rises up as fresh as e'er before,
And neighs and brays as If to let you
Know
He's ready then to make another go.
Missouri Poet.
Where Else Would You Find Them?
' Delineator for March.
A Washington man while visiting a
friend's place in Virginia became much
interested In his experiments in fruit
culture. One day the visitor was mak
ing the rounds of the place, being in
charge of the friend's young daughter
of 10, who acted as a guide. This tree
seems to be loaded with apples," ob
served the Washlngtonian, Indicating
a particularly fine specimen. "Yes, sir,"
assented the child,, father says this is
a good year for apples." "I am glad to
hear that," said the visitor. "Are all
your trees as full of .apples as thl3
one?" "No, sir," explained the girl,
"only the apple trees."
A Correspondent Worth While.
. LEBANON. Or.. Feb. 16. (To the
Editor.) I have 18 White Leghorn hens
from which I sold $6 worth of eggs in
January, and we used nearly one
dozen per week. If this Is published I
may write again.
MRS. HELEN PHELPS.
Write again, by all means. We would
rather hear from you and your hens'
doings, regularly, than ' from all the
poets and poetesses in Oregon.
Nothing on Jack.
Denver Republican.
It is said that James J. Jeffries is a
direct descendant of "Hanging" Jeffries,
the famous English judge. But maybe
Jack Johnson Is a descendant of the Ah
koond of Swat.
Would Be More Profitable.
New" York Telegraph.
Still talking about an expedition to the
South Pole. For goodness' sake start and
find sout If there are any animals or fish
the cold-storage people don't control.
Tariff and the Drama.
Kansas City Star.
Investigating the high cost of living
with no reference to the tariff would be
like "Hamlet" with Eddie Foy left out.
LEADER5HIP TO THE NORTH POLE
Why Peary Did Not Allow Bartlett to
Accompany Him.
New York Sun.
We have never thought it was obliga
tory upon Commander Peary to make
the able and courageous lieutenant.
Captain Robert A. Bartlett, his com
panion instead of Matthew Henson
upon the final dash to the North Pole.
There seems to be some feeling in the
matter upon the part of admirers of
Captain Bartlett, and both in this
country and in England there is still
criticism of Commander Peary for not
allowing a British subject to share the
satisfaction of reaching the goal. This
point of view found expression in a let
ter to the Sun on February 8, in which
the writer said that Commander Peary
scarcely disguised the fact that ,his
"motive was to exclude the brave
Canadian from the consummation be
cause he w-as a British subject."
The leader of the successful expedi
tion does not lack defenders, and,, one
of them, W. B. Feakins, asks the Sun
"to give equal publicity to the signed
statement of Captain Robert A. Bart
lett In regard to the report that he
'begged Commander Peary to take him
to the Pole" and was refused." The
"signed statement was obtained by Mr.
Charles J. Nichols, a lawyer of Port
land, Me., on January 15, 1910. and for
warded to London for publication in
the English newsDaners..
The "statement" of Captain Bartlett
is extremely creditable to him as a man
and proves a loyalty to his chief that
cannot be too highly praised. The ex
pedition, says Captain Bartlett, was
American in inception, Americans pro
vided the funds for It. most of the
members were Americans, ami the
leader was an American upon whose
resourcefulness the triumph of the ex
pedition depended. Then Captain Bart
lett says:
Trom his (Peary's) years of experience In
Arctic work he -worked out a definite plan,
and it Is my Judgment that had this plan
been changed the Pole would not have been
reached. The four supporting parties were
necessary, and It was distinctly understood
at the outset that each one of the leaders
of these supporting parties should turn back
at a certain point. Each party, consisting
of one white man and four Eskimos, did the
work for which it was best rltted on the
sledge Journey. For all to go on was Impos
sible for several reasons, such as the addi
tional loss of dogs, consumption of food, and
possible exhaustion of the individual mem
bers. Captain Bartlett says that he was
much pleased when Commander Peary
selected him for "the fourth or last
supporting party," that he never had
"any idea" that he was going to the
Pole, and that he would be glad "of an
opportunity to do again for him (Com
mander Peary) just what I have done."
Captain Bartlett does not touch in his
"statement" upon the report that he
begged Commander Peary to take him
to the North Pole. There seems to be
no doubt that he did make the request,
for Commander Peary said In the de
tailed account of his success sent from
Battle Harbor on September 8, 1909:
The next march -was also a long one. It
was Bartlett's last hit. He let himself out
over a series of large old floes steadily In
creasing In diameter and covered -with hard
snow. .During the last few miles I walked
beside him or In advance. He was very sol
emn and anxious to go further, but the pro
gramme was for him to go back from here
In command of the fourth supporting par
ty, and there were no supplies for an In
crease In the main party.
The next morning Bartlett, "to make
sure of reaching the 88th parallel"
obviously a point of pride with him
pushed on five or six miles to the
north. When Bartlett turned back
from the camp Commander Pearly "felt
for a moment pangs of regret as he
disappeared In the distance," not, how
ever, because his request to go on to
the Pole had been denied, but because
the Commander knew that he would
miss the man who had been a great
help to him and who had borne "the
brunt of the pioneering"; that is to
say, the breaking of a way for the ad
vance. "My work," Peary said, "was
still ahead." The Commander gave
three reasons for assigning Captain
Bartlett to the post of honor as leader
of the fourth and last supporting
party; first, he had handled the Roose
velt with marked skill; second, he had
cheerfully stood between his chief and
"many trifling annoyances on the ex
pedition," and third:
It seemed to me appropriate, in view of
the magnificent British record of Arctic
work, covering three centuries. that it
should be a British subject who could boast
that, next to an American, he had been
nearest to the Pole.
The fact seems to be established by
Commander Peary's own testimony that
the captain of the Roosevelt solicited
the glory of marching with his chief
to the Pole in addition to the honor of
commanding the last supporting party.
It was human and worthy of a brave
man. But the duty of a lieutenant is
to obey, as it is the prerogative of a
leader to plan and command. Captain
Bartlett has since realized that his re
quest could not have been granted
without a new disposition of the re
sources of the expedition that might
have resulted in failure. Those who
now criticise Commander Peary for
carrying out his plans in his own way
can cite only -his third reason for giv
ing Captain Bartlett the leadership of
the last supporting party to Justify
themselves, but the very frankness of
the avowal should disarm criticism, for
It appears to be an afterthought to a
carefully elaborated system to attain
the Pole by disposing 'of the comple
ment of the expedition according to
the strength, skill and usefulness of
each and every one of its members. -
Hotel to Have Cave Air.
Louisville Times.
Samuel Fleming, proprietor of Fleming's
Cave, a popular resort, announces his
Intention to have a hotel built at the
entrance of the cavern. The rooms of
the building are to be ventilated with
cave air, which is germless. He proposes
to connect the hotel with the cave by
shafts, and every apartment is to be sup
plied with Sues.
By means of electric fans the delight
ful air of the cavern will be circulated
continuously throughout the building. A
similar system is now in operation In
Page County, Virginia, where the resi
dence of T. C. Northcutt is ventilated
with the air of Luray Cave.
Some Progress.
Dr. Gladden's Recollections.
One finds, in a survey of the political
progress of the last 25 years, much that
is reassuring. The political morality
of the present decade, as compared with
that of the Cleveland and Harrison ad
ministrations. Is clearly of a higher
grade. This judgment applies to the
executive departments: anything more
immoral than the general attitude of
the National Legislature as displayed
in the tariff debate of 1909, it would be
difficult to imagine.
To the Wooda.
Yonkers Statesman.
Mrs. Crimsonbeak It is said that the
five great original forests of the United
States' covered 850.000,000 acres and
contained 52.000,000,000 feet of lumber.
Mr. Crimsonbeak In those days, you
see, there was some place for a man to
go when his wife cleaned house.
Kitchen Cabinet.
Council Bluffs Nonpareil.
Why wouldn't it be a good Idea for the
Administration to create a kitchen cabi
netto investigate the cost of living?
Rather Steer Than Pull.
Washington (t. C.) Herald.
When the river men appear
And would a-boating go.
They're always very glad to steer
But seldom care to row.
And when we seek the business realm
We find It very full
Of folks -who -want to take, the helm.
But never -care to. pull. r
Life's Sunny Side
George W. Martin, secretary of the
Kansas State Historical Society, tells a
story about an early day Kansas Jus
tice of the Peace, who will be nameless
here:
"This J. P.," said Mr. Martin, "would
marry a couple one day as Justice of
the Peace and divorce them the nexl
as notary public."
One time, as the story ran. a mar
surrendered himself to this J. P.
"An' phwat's the matter?" asked th
Judge.
"I killed a man out here on the prai
rie in a fight." was the reply. "I want
to give myself up."
"You did kill him, sor?" asked th
J. P.
"Yes. sir." was the reply. ,
"Who saw you?" asked the JT P.
"Nobody."
"An" nobody saw you kill 'ini?"
"No, sir. Just we two were there."
"An you're shure nobody saw you?"
reiterated the J. P.
"Of course I'm sure," was the reply.
"Thin you're discharged," said the
J. P., bringing his fist down on i the
table. "You're discharged. You cant
criminate yourself. Fifty dollars,
please!" Kansas City Journal.
Sandy McPherson. an aged Scot, of
Glasgow, always drank his whisky up
the very instant it was poured out for
him.
"Why do you drink your liquor in
that quick, greedy way?" said a
stranger to Sandy.
"I once had one knocked over," the
old man explained. Exchange.
"I lunched with Winston Churchill in
London," said a journalist, "during his
remarkable campaign. This brilliant
young Cabinet Minister, with his Ameri
can blood through his mother and his
ducal blood through his father, praised
American journalists.
"He gave me an example of our per
severance. Not less than 47 American
correspondents had called on him at the
Board of Trade offices for an Interview
one week on the American tariff, and as
none of them had sufficiently good cre
dentials he refused to see them.
"Finally a correspondent came with a
letter from Mr. Lloyd-George, and him
Mr. Churchill saw gladly.
" 'Do you know,' he said to the young
man, 'that I have refused to see 47 of
your compatriots on this very subject?'
" T ought to know it,' the correspond
ent answered, 'for I'm the whole 47." "
Philadelphia Bulletin.
"Good evening, Johnnie; Where's your
mother?"
"She's gone off to a "Votes for Wom
en' meeting." -
"W'here's your father?"
"Oh, he's taking lessons in a night
cooking school."
"Where's your sister?"
"She's off on a long cross-country
run with a snowshoe club."
"Where's your brother?"
"Oh, he's off with the 'Sons of Rest'
bowling team."
"Who's looking out for you?"
"Oh. I'm all right. I'm taking a
course in a correspondence school on
'How to Entertain One's Self Though
Alone in a Big City.' " Baltimore News.
A well-dressed man entered an
Orange-street car the other day, ac
cording to a story that is going the
rounds of tho streetcar men, and hand
ed the conductor a $10 bill. The con
ductor was unable to change it and he
let the man ride free. The next day
the man presented the same bill, and
again the conductor was unable to
change it. for the man had evidently
found a time when he would be sure to
catch the conductor without much
change.
"I'll fix you," thought the conductor,
and he obtained $10 worth of nickels
and was ready for the man when next
day he flashed the bill. The man took
the matter good naturedly and soon left
the car, his pockets fairly bulging with
nickels.
The conductor was more than pleased
with his "coup" until next day, when
he learned that the bill was worthless.
Newark Star.
TWO CAISES FOR HIGH PRICES.
First, the Swill Barrel and Then th
Coftt of Caovernment.
From Circular of J. S. -Bache & Co.,
Bankers.
Another factor in raising prices by
lessening enormously the supply to
meet the demand, is the American
habit of waste.
In this country, the art of culinary
economy is more universally unknown
and more grossly neglected than in any
civilized country In the world. The
amount of good supplies ruined by bad
cooking, or extravagantly thrown away
in service, is something fabulous. The
swill barrels of America are filled daily
with discarded waste of enough good
material to decently feed all the rest
of the world every twenty-four hours.
If all the supplies thrown away or
spoiled by unfit and thriftless treat
ment were saved, we would find the
price-level of commodities rapidly
falling.
Another item of daily expense is the
cost of government, beginning at
Washington and extending to every
city, town and hamlet throughout the
states. This cost lias steadily risen for
the last twenty years and has grown
to huge figures. A pampered class,
the political rulers, big and little, are
dally adding to the expense of living,
through high salaries, wasteful con
tracts, and' graft generally, thus help
ing to sap the incomes of millions of
toilers. These rulers are the drones
who Infest the hives, steal the honey,
and monopolize the pleasures at the ex
pense of the millions of sober workers
who slave from morning to night with
out adequate compensation or share
of the Joy of living.
Menace of Cold Storage.
Norfolk Virginian Pilot.
Cold storage ought to make eatables
cheaper by preserving for use perish
able articles of food which would other
wise be wasted. But nowadays human
greed perverts the very agencies of
economy into instruments of extortion.
Refrigeration of meat and eggs, if not
unduly protracted, should enlarge the
supply available for consumption, but
when practiced with a view to corner
the market and create an artificial rela
tion between supply and demand, the
system not only takes unjust toll from
the pockets of the people but menaces
their health as well. There is room
here for regulation which shall prevent
the growth of monopolies caused by
restraint of trade; and such regulation
will be to the interest of those who are
willing to conduct the business of cold
storage on legitimate lines.
Lovers Marry to Meet One Year Hence.
Lynn, Mass., Dispatch.
City Clerk Packard, of Brockton, Mass..
married Joseph Swartsberg and Miss
Lena Muskovitz in his office, and no
sooner was the ceremony over than the
newlyweds kissed and solemnly promised
each other to meet one year hence,
when they would be remarried by a
rabbi. After the parting kiss the bride
started for the railway station to re
turn to New York, while Swartsberg
went home.
I'ncle Sam's School Population.
Washington. D. C, Dispatch.
It is estimated that the census of 1910
will show that the United States has a
school population of at least 14.000,000.
The school army 10 years ago was 13.
367,147. Of that number 4,266,302 were be
tween the ages of 5 and 9, and 6,453,39
ranged from: 9 to 14.