lO
THE MORNING OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1910.
Brvitim
PORTLAND. OREGOV.
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PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, FKR. 23, 1810.
THREE HUNDRED MILLIONS A YEAR
Doubtless Senator Aldrich could
tell, as he says he could tell, how the
Government of the United States
could be "run" for $300,000,000 a
year less than It now costs. ,But he
will not be permitted to make the ex
periment. He could tell also how
taxation could be reduced by a simi
lar amount, but he doesn't want it re
duced. His method of. taxation Is
wasteful, and It provokes much of
the unnecessary and excessive ex
pense. But the people, or most of
them, look upon the Government as
an engine of waste (and profit or
possible profit, to themselves), and
don't want Us expenditures reduced.
And since they don't want the ex
penditures reduced, they don't want
the revenues, by which the expendi
tures must be supported, cut down.
In every direction our Government
is a wastrel. Its profligacy appears
in all conceivable ways, and in ways
that only the most ingenious imagi
nation, striving for profit at the gen
eral cost, could invent. Government
has gone far, inconceivably far, be
yond its true function.
Its true function, and its only just
Junction, Is preservation of the peace,
protection of personal rights and the
just rights of property, and enforce
ment of justice be.tween the conflict
ing claims of members of the com
monwealth. But we have departed
far from this conception. Govern
ment, or use of the powers of govern
ment, is now conceived as a means
or method which one person or class
may use to obtain advantage over
others. This is not unusual in his
tory though new to us. In all past
times men have seized their oppor
tunity to "smell their particular from
the general weal." But an open con
tinent and the law of migration have
limited it hitherto, in our case. Yet
the wave now is arrested; now it
turns backward. Personal initiative
is giving way to a desire of the indi
vidual to live in one way or another
at the general expense, or cost of the
whole. It is the early stage of a
state jsocialism. How far it is to go
no one can tell. But Just now it
makes our own government the most
expensive and profligate government
on the face of the earth. ,
In every direction the General
Government now is extending its op
erations. The states generally are not
far behind. The general assumption
Is that individuals now can do noth
ing for themselves. "The law" must
be invoked for everything. Legions
and multitudes of officials are the
consequence. Ingenuity is racked to
Invent now ways to enlarge the func
tions of government; and with every
new board or bureau or commission,
A multitude of new officials is creat
ed. Most of them are of no service
Hvhatever. The public health becomes
an object of solicitude, as if human
beings never were to die; and multi
tudes of officials are employed to
tabulate inevitable conditions, and to
keep a record which' it seems to be
supposed will arrest the general fu
neral march. Then wages and prices
and all the details of living must be
investigated, and the quality of food,
and the quantity of each and every
kind of fiber in clothing, must be in
spected, and the supply and kinds and
cost of fuel, and investigation of the
changing temperature of the seasons
and reports thereon. An enormous
officialdom is supported and millions
are Bpent thereon. - Everything, more
over, that government does- costs two
or three prices. Man and women are
employed in excessive numbers,
whose nominal works is but a few
hours a day, and it is not work at
all: and, besides. It is employed most
ly in theoretical and unnecessary ef
fort. The assumption is that the in
dividual can do nothing for himself,
but the ' Government must be his
guardian. Following this is the as
sumption, and logical conclusion, that
' the best thing that the young- man
or woman can do is to enter a service
where there Is little to do, and twice
as much pay as can be., had in ordi
nary occupations; and now this is
followed by a proposition for old-age
pensions for all who work themselves
into this way of easy, overpaid and
irresponsible life.
Then the general business of the
Government is carried on without
judgment or foresight. Incredible
sums are wasted by ignorant and ten
tative effort, by change of plans, and
by failure of Bupply of funds at criti
cal times. But since democracy de
mands all this waste, it must pay for
it. Undoubtedly the Government of the
United .States could be "run" at a
saving of $300,000,000 a year, with
out loss of any real efficiency.. Gov
ernment of states and municipalities
could be conducted with saving of
greater sums; but It Isn't what the
people want. They desire all this fu
tility and extravagance, and then they
retain the right to raise a roar to
heaven about the expepse of it, blam
ing everybody who, however reluc
tant, is enforced to carry 'out .their
will. No; the three hundred millions
a year will not be saved.
A young man, single, with no one
dependent on him, committed suicide
In Portland Monday. Four years ago,
when the young man was 31 years of
age, his father died, leaving him
93500 in cash and several tracts of
real estate. This was all dissipated,
and, when the end of his available
resources was reached, life seemed so
cheerless that the despondent man
drank carbolic acid and passed on to
a.- land where inherited wealth causes
no trouble. The moral that can be
drawn from this tragedy Is as old as
history. Throughout the -world can
be found today thousands of young
men whose lives have been wrecked
by starting life's voyage with too
heavy a cargo of this world's goods
and an insufficient mental balance to
admit of skilled-navigation past ever
present dangers and temptations. Not
all of the world's poor "boys make suc
cesses of their lives, but so many of
those who are given a good financial
start make failures of themselves
that poverty does not seem much- of a
handicap to men who possess the
right fiber.
MORE PIBLICITY FOR OBEGOX.
The importance of the announce
ment by. President Hill of the Great
Northern, in The Oregonian yester
day, cannot be overestimated. The
plan suggested by Mr. Hill for adver
tising the resources of the state pre
sents so many . features of unmistak
able merit that i cannot fail to prove
a great success. A first-class exhibit
of some of Oregon's great staples,
such as lumber, fruit and grain,
would not fail to attract attention
and excite curiosity anywhere east of
the Rocky Mountains. The stories
printed about the wonderful yields,
and the extravagant prices paid for
our fruit, and about the Immenslty
of our lumber interests, even when
related with strict adherence to the
truth, are almost unbelievable. When
the interest awakened by these stories
can be enhanced by exhibits showing
tbe actual products, there is every
reason to expect an immediate re
sponse in a flood of homeseekers
thronging into this rich region.
In the older settled portions of the
state reached by the Southern Pa
cific and the O. Jl. & N., the railroads
have done much publicity work.
These lines, with thehir experimental
farms, demonstration trains, and gen
eral policy of switching the farmers
from wheat-growing to more profit
able crops, have Hjrformed great
service in increasing the wealth of
the state. They have also spent large
sums of money in advertising Oregon.
The Hill lines have an even more
powerful Incentive for attracting im
migration in this direction. In the
invasion of Central Oregon they are
opening what is almost a virgin field
for the homeseeker. In that vast re
gion stretching away from the Co
lumbia River to the California state
line are not only millions of acres of
fine land that can be- purchased at
low prices, but there Is also a large
area of vacant Government land still
open for settlement by homesteaders.
On this land the flocks and herds
of stockmen have roamed at will
since the first settlers entered the
country, and little or no attempt
has been made at more profitable
branches of agriculture which have
made the Willamette Valley and
some portions 'of Eastern Oregon fa
mous for the immense profits re
turned by fruit-growing and diversi
fied farming. At no previous time in
the history of the country has there
been so much interest awakened in
rural life as at present when the high
prices, at which everything produced
on the farm Is selling, are forcing peo
ple out of the cities. In the East, and
even in the middle West, it is no
longer possible to secure good land
at low prices, and through all that
region is an enormous population
that Is gradually being crowded out.
' The West needs those people, and
in Oregon there is plenty of room for
thousands, even millions, before the
state will reach its maximum of pro
duction. Mr. Hill's plan for showing
these people what actually can be
done in Oregon can hardly fail to
prove effective. In the work he will
have the cordial support of all Ore
gonians. With both the Hill and the
Harriman. systems actively rustling
up new settlers for the state, we are
certain of a phenomenal increase in
a very desirable class of population
within the next year or two.
1VHERE IS THE WHEAT?
Elsewhere The Oregonian prints a
communication from Andrew S.
Mosely, a prominent San Francisco
grain merchant. As the subject is
one which is almost certain to attract
much interest early next month, when
Secretary Wilson attempts to justify
his overestimated crop figures, it is
worth while considering a few facts
having a direct bearing on the sub
ject. Mr, Mosely admits that it is
probable that the size of the Pacific
Coast crop has been "exaggerated a
bit." In the case of Oregon, Wash
ington and Idaho this "bit" amounts
to more than 30 per cent, the crop
of the three states being at least 16,
000,000 bushels smaller than the fig
ures credited to the three states by
the Government. .
A superficial glance at Mr. Mosely's
comparative figures on primary re
ceipts would indicate that this rec
ord movement of wheat was merely a
reflection of a record crop. Compar
isons are valueless, however, unless
the varying conditions of the years in
which they are made are also consid
ered. Primary receipts for the sea
son to date are larger than those of a
year ago; bUT when the relative size
of the two crop's Is considered, they
are proportionately not in keeping
with the crop of 1909, from which
they are coming. The crop of 1908
caught fce first of the dollar wheat
prices, and, despite the small size of
.the crop,, "the available surplus was
rushed to market early. So free was
this movement that in the six montha
ending December 31, 1908, there were
received at the principal primary
markets 166,875,000 oushels of
wheat. This from a crop which the
Government placed at 664,602,000
bushels.
This season, for the six months end
ing December 31, receipts at the same
primary markets were 171,306,000
bushels. In other words, the market
ing has not been free enough for a
crop 72,587,000 bushels greater than
Its predecessor, to show an increase
of more than 4,431,000 bushels In pri
mary receipts for the first six months
of the season. As an "example of the
relative early movements of the short
crop of 1908, and the much greater
crop of 1909, it Is interesting to note
that the primary' receipts in Septem
ber, 1908. were 2,500,000 bushels
greater than in September, 1909. It
is also Interesting to note that the
1905 crop, which supplied the former
record for large primary receipts to
date, followed one of the smallest
crops of recent years, just as the large
,1909 crop followed the ) abnormally
small crop of 1908.
Exhaustion of supplies from the
short crop would quite naturally be
followed by replenishment as soon as
a good crop appeared. It would
however, require a wide stretch of the
imagination to believe that the millers
of the country were hoarding 100,
000,000 bushels of wheat for fear of a
shortage In May and June, especially
when both May and June options are
selling at 10 to 20 cents per bushel
under the cash quotations.
Accepting the Government figures
of 737,189,000 bushels for the 1909
crop, we have an increase of 72,587,
000 bushels over its predecessor. Ex
ports from the crop are 27,955,000
bushels less than for the same period'
for the crop of 1908, these figures in
dicating that, if the Government fig
ures were accurate, there would be
more than 100,000,000 bushels more
wheat In the country today than there
was a year ago. Yet primary receipts
are but little more than 10,000,000
bushels in excess or tnose or a year
ago, and the American visible sup
ply is 14,000,000 bushels less than it
was a year ago. We shall await with
considerable interest Secretary Wil-
sdh's March report, which wilil tell us
what became of the 737,000,000
bushel crop Including 66,622,000
bushels which he alleges were grown
in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
THE STORM.
Of course, the most loyal citizen
of Portland will not assert that the
22d of February this year was an
ideal rose-planting day. But the un
expected will happen occasionally,
even in the matter of Oregon climate
in February. It is safe to predict that
there will be as many roses in Port
land by the first week in June as the
promoters of the Rose Festival know
what to do with. It may said, fur
thermore, that this Is not the only
remarkable February in the history
of Oregon. February, 1869, for ex
ample, was as balmy as May; roads
were dusty, early Spring flowers and
peach trees were In bloom, birds were
nesting and the plowman was afield
In all the upland sections of the Wil
lamette Valley. That was a good
crop year, of course, not differing
from, ordinary years in this respect.
Just as, without doubt, abundant
crops will succeed the present "un
usual" February.
These extremes are climatic inci
dents merely, that arouse some com
ment in passing, but do not affect
In any sense the agricultural prosper
ity of the state. And when this Is
said it is understood to cover the gen
eral prosperity of the state, since ag
riculture and its contingent industries,
that have their root in the soil, form
the basis of all , prosperity. Let us,
then, cheerfully shovel coal into the
house furnace yet a little longer,
knowing that all things work to
gether for the ultimate good of loyal,
industrious Oregonians.
PATRIOTS AND TORIES.
Whether the majority of the colon
ists in the time of the Revolutionary
War iidhered to the cause of the
King or the patriots is a question
upon which the lack of precise infor
mation gives us liberty to speculate
rather freely. Tt is not safe to draw
conclusions from the relative strength
of the parties after Cornwallis surrendered.-
Their condition was prob
ably very different two or three years
earlier. Undoubtedly there was a
large body of people who did not
really care much whether the crown
or the colonists triumphed, and they
naturally passed from one side to the
other as fortune directed. In the
dark days of 1778 they were loyalists.
After Cornwallis surrendered they
were, we may suppose, ardent pa
triots, i Hence the number of Tories
who left the country when peace was
concluded, or who were disciplined
in one way and another by the vari
ous state governments, gives no clew
to the real strength of loyalist senti
ment during the war.
This sentiment must have been irrf
portant even in Boston, which was
certainly the most rebellious of the
larger towns in the colonies. When
Howe evacuated the place in 1776
some 1100 Tories went with him.
During the . British occupation they
had. not been especially considerate
of the Nfeellngs of the patriots, and
after h,is departure they believed
their lives would be unsafe. Eleven
hundred persons formed a notable
proportion of Boston's population at
that time, while in New York and
Philadelphia the Tories were certain
ty much more numerous.
It is only in the New England colo
nies and Virginia that we can say
with assurance that the patriots out
numbered the loyalists. In New1 York
State the parties may have been
pretty evenly balanced. No doubt the
patriots heavily predominated in the
Mohawk region and along the Hud
son, but all around New York City
and on Long Island almost every man
was a Tory. This was also true of
Northern New Jersey. The British
felt so confident ' of the loyalty of
these regions that they commissioned
Oliver De Lancey and Cortlandt Skin
ner to enlist twenty battalions among
the farmers. Of course no such num
ber of troops was raised, but they
seem to have had little difficulty in
recruiting, and harassed the scattered
patriots unmercifully.
The Quaker sentiment in Pennsyl
vania was with the revolutionaries,
but it was not very effective. Prob
ably a "majority of the rest of the
people was loyal to King Goerge, and
this was certainly the case in the sea
board regions of Georgia and the Car
ollnas. The British overran ail that
territory without meeting any sub
stantial resistance. It was only when
the mountaineers sprang to arms
under Marlon and Sumpter that their
troubles began. . The mountain men of
the Carolinas were incomparably -the
superiors of their descendants In mar
tial vigor. Whether the decadence
of that once noble stock has been
caused by the hookworm or some
thing else. It Is lamentable to con
template. The battle of King's Moun
tain, which broke the British prestige
and opened the way for Greene's .con
summate strategy, was won by the
mountain men.. None, of the proper
tied and pedigreed planters of the
lowlands shared In its glory. Upon
the whole, attentive examination of
facts hardly permits one to believe
that the revolutionary patriots,
throughout- the colonies, outnum
bered the loyalists. How did it hap
pen, then, that they managed to con
trol the legislatures and carry on the
war?
They managed to do it because
they had command of an agency
which in all the course of human
history has never failed to sway ma
jorities and decide events. The loyal
ists possesssed the property, the good
breeding and the education of the
country, as well as a majority of the
people. This probably must be con
ceded. But the patriots were led by
a little band of men whose intelli-
L gence both as individuals - and as a
group is one of the marvels of his
tory. In the American Revolution,
as in all other great crises of human
affairs, intelligence prevailed over
numbers. Franklin, Washington, the
Adamses, with their compeers, con
trolled the colonies during the Revo
lution because they had better brains
than the Tories. Fortunately their
ideals were high and their motives
pure, but if they had been sordidly
ambitious their Intelligence., would
still have enabled them to control
events and gain their ends. That has
always been the rule In history. In
every contest, sooner or later, intelli
gence wins. The brute force of the
majority does not count. The master
mind, intent upon Its purpose, cannot
be withstood. Numbers, property, in
stitutions all bend to Its will. The
only hope for the human race lies in
the fact that the all-powerful Intelli
gence, as It evolves, becomes con
stantly more moral, benevolent and
pervasive. .
The poor old steamer Geo. , W.
Elder has been rammed again, this
time in the harbor of San Pedro. As
usual, the luckless vessel had several
of her ribs broken and some o'f her
plates sprung. For more than a third
of a century this plucky old craft has
been engaged in the Pacific Coast
trade, hef ocean beat extending from
Alaska to San Diego. Her sister ship,
the City of Chester, went down in
San Francisco harbor many years
ago, and the Elder has suffered from
the mischances of navigation, many
times, but, refusing the scrap heap.
she has always, after being -duly
docked and patched again, put to sea.
Though disabled in San Pedro Har
bor by this latest mishap, we may
confidently expect to see her -again
in the harbor of Portland, seeking 0r
serving. She Is an- old tub one that
it is easy to sink, but one that has
thus, far refused to yield to disaster.
Long a familiar craft in our harbor,
the citizens of t older .Portland will
hear with regret of the old ship's
final capitulation, when at last it
comes, to the forces of "wear and
tear."
Tho San. Francisco Labor Council
has adopted a resolution that none of
the members will be permitted to
work in a house where Asiatics are
employed. The . resolution was the
outcome of an attempt to boycott
saloons where Orientals were em
ployed, the council taking the ground
that It was not fair to single ,out
saloons while other business houses
were permitted to employ Asiatics.
The point would seem to be well
taken, for according to all reports,
the saloon "business," under the Mc
Carthy administration, promises to be
one of the leading Industries of the
new San Francisco, and it is always
more difficult to maintain a boycott
against the necessaries of life, and
those who handle them, than against
the luxuries. If the moral wave con
tinues to "slosh about" in ,the Bay
City, we may soon hear of a boycott
against the employment of Asiatics
as prizefighters.
For three consecutive montha Port
land has held second place among
the- wheat-exporting ports of the
United States, New York alone mak
ing a better showing than the Ore
gon port. This is not the first sea
son in which Portland has stood near
the head of the list as a wheat ex
porter, and our prestige in that di
rection is almost certain to increase
instead of decrease. The increasing
consumption and decreasing yield of
wheat east of the Rocky Mountains
will most certainly cause a further
decline in the shipments from the
Atlantic ports. Portland, on the other
hand, has not yet reached the maxi
mum of her greatness as a wheat
port, for the coming of the North
Bank road has made tributary to this
port an immense extent of new terri
tory, and the opening of Central Ore
gon will still further increase the
area that is tributary to this port.
Dr. Cook is, it is said, going to re
turn to the United States. For what?
It is pretty certain that no ovation
or banquet, or invitation to lecture
upon the North Pole as he found it,
await the pseudo-discoverer's return
to his native land. All that is of the
past.
The Union-avenue and the Twenty-eighth-street
bridges are scandalous
ly defective. It doesn't pay to boast
overmuch." Mayor Lane boasted
there would be no scandals like that
of Tanner Creek sewer arising from
his administration.
What has become of the patriotism
of the land? In the old -days Colonel
Summers always led a parade of the
First Regiment of the Oregon Na
tional Guard on Washington's birth
day. Pussy willows are prostrate and
lilac buds are astonished, yet this is
seasonal weather. The voice of the
turtle, if he. can be heard at all, Is
chiding the groundhog.
The proprietor of a dance hall won
the hearts of the City Council license
committee with his tears. In a good
cause that man's tears should accom
plish wonders.
Now that all the Winter tourists
have arrived, Los Angeles hotels have
raised prices from 25 to 35 per cent.
The pleasure of: being a lounger Is
costly."
If the comet is making all this
weather on earth, evidences are that
the comet is having no easy time,
either.
Defeat of Nelson will .raise the
chance of "the nigger." A cham
pionship has its limits.
For predicting the cold snap, the
weather man deserves kinder treat
ment hereafter.
Sledding makes the George Wash
ington holiday immortal with school
boys and girls.
'America is Importing eggs from
Europe. That is a ready excuse for
some of them.
George. Washington is great be
cause he never planted roses on his
birthday.
This storm may delay the Spring
time, but cannot put off Easter Sun
day.
Let the children' remember the
birds with a handful of crumbs.
A BETIHX FROM ST. HELENA. -
And William Jennln'a, of Nebraska Is
tbe Alan.
Washington Post.
In 1906 there was a return, not from
Elba, but from St. Helena. The Hon.
William Jennings Bryan appeared in
Madison Square Garden and shifted the
Issues, to the disgust of his own party
and to the delight of the Republican
party, and with disastrous result to the
Democracy, that had set him up as an
idol ten years before. It is true that
Mr. Bryan explained that he didn't
mean it, but that is the excuse with
which God's patience has been a thou
sand times abused by the fellow who
fires the unloaded gun. Of course he
didn't mean to do murder: neither did
Bryan mean to compass Democratic de
feat.
Mr. Bryan was again banished to St.
Helena in 1908. But he has again es
caped, and appears to be reaching for
the unloaded gun. This time his fad is
county unit." The design seems to be
to kidnap the South, as in 1908, and
sail into a fourth nomination on the
temperance or prohibition wave of that
section. It would keep the "matchless
and. the peerless before the Chautau
qua another four years, and the
jingling of the guineas would help the
hurt that defeat brings.
The other fads have served their
uses.. In 1896 it was 16 to 1. In 1900 it
was anti-imperialism after Bryan him
self had jammed through the Senate
the acquisition of the Philippines. In
1904 he was in the Democratic Na
tional convention for mischief only, and
that year he went on the stump for
mischief only, as was apparent to any
one not blind to the situation. In 1908
he bullied the party into nominating
him with another basket of chips and
whetstones for platform, such as guar
antee of bank deposits and that even
greater folly of forbidding any concern
from the manufacture of more than a
certain quantity of any given com
modity of common use, which, aside
from adding thousands of new officials
to the pay roll, would have thrown
business into chaos.
If, ten years ago, the Democratic
party had given Mr. Bryan a pension
of $100,000 a year to retire from poll-
tics, it would have made millions by
the transaction.
SCHOOL LUNCHES. ONE CENT BACH
Served to Boston Half-Fed Children
Who Would Resent Charity.
Boston Post.
A heaping portion of Indian pudding
with milk and two crackers was the
menu for the 1-cent lunch served at the
Winthrop School, and as long as the
service- proves as successful as it has
in the past the lunches wil be contin
ued at 10:30 each morning, so that none
of the little children who come to
school with appetites half satisfied need
go home famished.
The "high cost of living which has
shaved down the breakfasts at home al
most to a minimum operates to send
some children to school with insuffi
cient nourishment to do justice to
themselves in their work.
At the" Winthrop School it was de
cided that any plan that seemed to in
clude charity would prove a failure, as
children are the quickest persons to
form class barriers and look down on
their playmates who may not be able
to have enough food at home.
Miss Emmeline p. Torey, teacher of
domestic science, believes that she has
solved the problem in the 1-cent lunches
served each mqrnlng. If the cost of
preparation and service were added it
would be impossible to make the meal
otherwise than charitable, so Miss Tor
rey has a class of 18 girls, ranging In
age from 10 to 13, prepare the dishes
and serve them. - Thus the cent that
the children pay covers the entire cost.
The cup of pudding and crackers, to
gether with the milk, which was served
to each hungry pupil had enough nu
triment in it to equal nearly three
large Alices of bread, with butter. The
quality, Miss Torey said, was well
suited for the needs of the children.
All the teachers in the school say that
the tentative working of the plan thus
far has been to provide much more
wide-awake children after the lunch
hour and to do away with the eager
nes to have school dismissed.
Prematurely Crowned.
Washington Star.
Mayor Gaynor's friends describe him
as another Tilden. The likeness at a dis
tance is not striking. Mr. Tilden, for
years before he accepted office, was rec
ognized as one of the strongest political
intellects of the time. He was at once a
leading lawyer and a leading writer. He
helped to make officials, and then to
guide them. He was a sort of advlser-ln-hlef
to the Democratic party of New
York, and a man of weight with the
party elsewhere. In office Mr. Tilden
worked important reforms, even in the
face of some opposition in his own party.
Here is where the comparison offered
by the Gaynor boomers comes in. Mayor
Gaynor in office is working reforms, and
in opposition to the rank and file who
elected him. Although the bencfciary
of Tammany's activity, he is not playing
Tammany's game, and this boom for
President is an expression of appreciation
of his refusal to do so. But his task
at most is but small In comparison with
Mr. Tilden's, and he has only begun it.
Tot crown him at this time as another
Tilden is at least premature.
IVegro Common Sense.
Philadelphia Ledger.
The best friend of the negro race 1s
not the man who prates abstractedly
about prejudices and social equality,
but the man who presents a construc
tive plan for the industrial and social
evolution of the racethat through toil
and tribulation is coming "up from
slavery," and in spite of lapses and dis
couraging setbacks is steadily achiev
ing higher standards of morality,
economy and intelligence. Booker
Washington at Tuskegee Institute is
not satisfied merely to inculcate the
theory of "virtuous energizing"; he
has his thousands of students learn to
do something practical, something that
has a market value because it Is useful
to the world at large.
Ballltveer-Plnohot Continuous Show.
Washington D. C.) Herald.
The crowd of people attending the
Ballinger-Pinchot Investigation reminds
one of the crowd that attends a trial
in court. The same faces are seen there
every day; old men, young men, old and
young ladles but the same. They re
main throughout the hearings, and some
of them are so interested in what is go
ing on that they sleep through the
meeting. Once In a while some one
tires and leaves, but his or her seat is
taken at once, and the continuous
vaudeville Is exemplified accurately
with the same actors doing star parts.
,' HuBjhea tut an Aaaet.
Springfield Republican.
In the staggering crisis that has sud
denly come upon the Republican party
of New York State because of the legis
lative bribery inquiry at Albany, It Is
Inevitable that the party leaders should
again be turning to Governor Hughes
with the appeal that he sacrifice once
more his personal interests and accept
another nomination. When a party is in
danger of losing Its moral character, a
leader whose moral character has no
blemish becomes a priceless asset.
Enriches the Vernacular.
New York World.
"Uglifier" is a useful word for which
thanks are due to Harvard's ex-president.
It will apply to many things that disfig
ure cities besides billboards. It aptly
designates civic monstrosities by com
parison with which billboards are a neg
ligible disfigurement.
NOT VENTILATION, BIT HOMICIDE
Methods of Some Kreah Air Cranks Are
Primitive and Punitive.
Communication in New York Times.
For some curious reason we rarely fee
the dominance of stringent Winter weath
er without finding soon In some daily pa
per the idea of some singular crank ex
ploited to the effect that by letting the
windows and doors open In a schoolroom,
or in- a railway or trolley car, you can
prevent almost every disease and Improve
the health of those who are to be thereby
scourged by an Arctic air bath. .
The writer of this abeured advice is
probably endowed with the constitution
of a Vermont steer, whose resting place
Is a snowbank on the north Bide of a
Green Mountain haystack, which one
would need to have to escape serious in
jury from this door and window treat
ment. At any rate, he is a type of per
son who does not know that to open doors
and windows in cold weather upon people
who are sitting down, bringing drafts
upon their heads and necks, will some day
be thought as primitive (and punitive,
too), as was the Indian's method of
building an open fire in the middle of his
tepee, with no chimney connection, but
only a hole ten feet over it for the escape
of Its smoke and gases.
The "ventilation" thus advocated is not
ventilation; it is constructive homicide.
Yet we see It recklessly resorted to
with pneumonia, bronchitis, and oilier ali
ments as the result, shown over and over
again. On our trains any passenger may
open a window and compel people who
are ill or feeble and who are well, also
to take a sharp, damp and deadly draft
for an indefinite time, or to the end of
a long Journey, which is an inexcusable
tyranny and offense. For that old proverb-maker
was overwhelmingly right
when he wrote:
If a draft blow through a hole.
The Lord have mercy on your soul.
RAILROAD FATALITIES FEWER.
Only Half the Deaths In 1809 That Were
Recorded for 1007.
W. E. Curtis In Chicago Record-Herald.
There- has been a remarkable decrease
In the number of fatalities upon the
railways of the United States during the
last few years, which Is probably due
to the adoption of Improved rolling stock
and devices for the protection of pas
sengers. During the year 1907 there- were
6000 persons killed and 76,256 people In
jured In railway accidents, of whom 647
of the killed and 13,597 of the injured
were passengers; while during the last
year the total number killed was 2791, a
reduction of nearly one-half, and the
number of people Injured was 63.920. a
reduction of nearly 20 per cent. The
number of passengers killed in 1909 was
335 and the number injured 12,116.
The following table will show a com
parison of the number of passengers and
employes killed and injured during the
last three years:
KILLED.
PosarK'rs. Emploves. Total.
lflOT 47 4.353 5.0O0
JrtOS 41 3.3X8 3.74
1909 S3S 2.45(5 2,701
INJURED.
IflfrT 13..W7 f.S.fiSO 7.2?0
190s 12.C.4.- ao,:t44 t;s,os!
1900 12,1 lu 51.804 U3.VB0
In 1907 there were 410 passengers killed
and 8070 injured In train accidents, as
against only 131 killed and 5S65 Injured in
train accidents in 1909.
The number of employes killed in train
accidents in 1907 was 1011. as against only
620 in 1909. and the number of employes
Injured in train accidents in 1907 was
8924, as against 4S77 In 1909.
Four railways in the country claim
that not one passenger was killed while
traveling upon their trains during the
last year.
Mlgnon Nevada, Prima Donna at 20.
New York Morning" Telegraph.
Probably the youngest prima donna
in the world has Just made a brilliant
success in Florence as Rosina in "II
Barbiere of Sivlglla." She is Mlgnon
Nevada, a girl of 20, with glorious blond
hair, expressive blue eyes and a su
perb figure, who made her debut In
Milan a year ago, under the guidance
of her gifted mother, whom all Ameri
can music lovers remember and love
as Emma Nevada. This highly talented
daughter of a mother who was always
an artist to her dainty finger tips, has
more than one accomplishment. She
composes charmingly; she Is a thorough
linguist, and is the author of a four
act historical play, called "Fair Rosa
mund." which Is to see the light of the
calcium in Milan if all goes well, and
later in America.
Peary and the Pole Again.
PORTLAND, Feb. 22. (To the Ed
itor.) Would you please inform m by
what authority has it been decided that
Peary reached the North Pole?
A SUBSCRIBER.
A colored man. Mat Hansen, saw him
do it. Besides, Peary said so, and Peary
has had a first-rate reputation for
veracity. Moreover, his records and
data contained Intrinsic evidence that
completely satisfied the National Geo
graphic Society and various scientific
men. However, if this contributor has
any evidence that Peary did not reach
the' Pole, we should be glad to print it.
Welcome-Room In Senate Building.
Washington (D. C.) Herald.
Over in the Senate office bdildlng there
is one room where everybody feels wel
come. It is the room of Senator Dixon,
of Montana. On the. door is a large
placard with the words, "Mr. Joseph M.
Dixon Walk in." This Is in striking con
trast to the many doors placarded "Pri
vate." The Senator is the recipient of
congratulations from his colleagues, mem
bers of tbe House, and visitors. One day
recently Representative Jacob Van
Vechten Olcott came bolting into the
presence of Senator Dixon. "Hello, Ol
cott, what will you have?" "Nothing."
said the New Yorker. "I saw that sign
and it made me feel so welcome that I
just came in to say howdy."
Don't Overlook Him.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
Lest we forget, a quiet, unostenta
tious, self-effacing, publicity-shunning
shrinkingly modest, unknown, unpho
tographed, unsmiling, noise - hating,
reticent, secretive lion hunter contem
plates approaching these shores clan
destinely and surreptitiously slipping
unnoticed through the crowd at the
pier, to seek the solace of solitude and
indulge in pious patriotic meditation.
King Edward'a "Double" Pusses On.
London Tit-Bits.
The "double" of King Edward. of
England, is .dead. He was Richard
Hunter, an extensive land-owner, and
bore so exact a resemblance to His Maj
esty that on the Continent it was im
possible to persuade people ho was not
King Edward. His supposed incognito
would be respected, but he himself would
not be believed.
India Census for March, 1011.
Washington, D. C, Dispatch.
Sir H. H. Risley, secretary of the In
dian Home Department. England. Intro
duced 'in the Council a bill for the hold
ing of a census in March. 1911. He said
that 300,000.000 people in India were count
ed between 7 o'clock and midnight when
the last census was held, and the results
were published 15 days later.
Seattle Doffs) Its lint.
Seattle Times.
The bank clearings of Portland for
the week ending Thursday night were
the largest in the history of that city.
While all other cities on the 'Pacific
Slope made excellent gains, Portland
leads the procession by a decided "lead."
LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE
One afternoon not long ago. in the
vicinity of Druid Hill Park, in Balti-
more, there might have been seen a
young man industriously pushing up
and down a baby carriage, intently
reading a book the while. "Henry!
Henry!" called a young woman from
the second story of the window oppo
site. Henry heard not. but continued to
push the baby cartage and to read his
book. In about an hour the cries for
"Henry!" were repeated. "Well, what
do you want?" he demanded, rather im
patiently. ' "Nothing, dear." was the
irritating response, "except to inform
you that you've been wheeling Har
riett's doll all the afternoon. I think
it's time for the baby to have a turn
now." Kansas City Star.
Father Doolev had lust tier! tv,. imnt
He looked expectant. The bride looked
sheepish, and Pat . shifting rmm
foot to another, looked guiltjj.
At last he began.
1 don't like to be mane. Father,
but I changed me clothes In a hurry,
and left me wages In me other pants."
Then he added In a whisper: "Take
me down in the cellar. I'm a plumber,
and I'll show ye how to fix the gas
meter so 't won't register more than 40
per cent."
Father Dooley declined the offer, but
enjoys telling of it. Cleveland Leader.
The train stopped at the littlo Cieor
gia town and the tourist sauntered out
to the observation platform.
"Rather likely pickaninny you have
there, uncle." remarked the traveler,
good-humoredly. ".Named George
Washington?"
"No. sah." laughed the colored man on
the baggage track. "Dat chile's name
am Petro."
"Potro? Why that's a queer-sounding
name for a pickaninny."
"Might seem a little oueeh to you,
sah, but Massa Rockyfeller was down
heah some time ago en gib me a quatah
for totln' his grip. I named de
pickaninny in his honah. sah."
"But Rockefeller's first name is John."
"Yeas, sah. but yo' see dls chile's full
name am Petroleum, en we calls him
Petro for short." San Francisco Chron
icle. s
Mother could not attend church one
Sunday. "But what a shame that little
Mabel should have to lose the day's
lesson, and she such a bright child,"
she sadly reflected. Accordingly Mabel
was sent alone. When she returned, in
reply to her mother's interrogation as
to the subject of the text, she replied:
"Oh, yes, mother, I know; it was,
Don't Be Scared; You'll Get the Quilt.' "
Questioning failed to throw any light
on, the matter. Some days later the
mother met the pastor, who, in answer
to her request for the subject of his
last sermon, replied: "It was. madam,
'Fear Not; Ye Shall Have the Com
forter.' " Buffalo Commercial.
The late Chief Justice Chase was
noted for his gallantry. While on a
visit to the South, shortly after the
war, he was introduced to a very beauti
ful woman who prided herself upon
her devotion to the "lost cause.". Anx
ious that the Chief Justice should know
her sentiments, she remarked, as she
gave him her hand, "Mr. Chase, you
see before you a rebel who hag not been
reconstructed."
"Madam," he replied, with a profound
bow. "reconstruction in your case would
be blasphemous."
Congressman Longworth, discussing at
a dinner at Cincinnati the project for
the Governmental ownership of suitable
buildings for American Embassies
abroad, said:
"For an Ambassador to be poor and
poorly housed is no disgrace. It is, how
ever. Inconvenient. It makes one feel aa
Lowell felt after his return to Cam
bridge from his very successful Am
bassadorship to London.
"One day Lowell met in Boston an
English peer who had been a great
friend of his abroad, and he invited the
peer out to Cambridge to dinner. About
this he had some misgivings, for he
lived very simply, keeping only one ser
vant. He even went so far as to say,
as the horsecar Jangled Cambridge
ward :
" 'You know, Lord Blank, we are very
simple people, Mrs. Lowell and I."
" 'Oh,' said the Earl, T love simplic
ity.' "This remark fortified and comforted
Lowell. It kept up his fortitude even
when Mrs. Lowell informed him, when
he got home, that there was nothing for
dinner but creamed fish. But his spirits
must have sunk a little when at the
table he essayed to help the simplicity
loving peer to the only dish, and th
latter said, politely:
" 'If Mrs. Lowell will pardon me, I
think I will omit the fish coifrse.' "
Louisville Times.
PAUL MOHTOX SETS AN EXAMPLE.
Won't Drinlc Wine, Which Is) Oood)
Trust Morality Would Be Better.
New York World.
The Equitable agents in New Orleans
did without wine at their dinner at
the request. It is said, of President
Paul Morton, and the fact is creditable
to the moral sense of all concerned.
Such an example of abstinence had a pe
culiar appropriateness at the beginning
of Lent and may be expected to exer
cise a wholsome Influence.
Yet the president of a life-insurance
company advocating temperance at a
private dinner may be likened to a
university professor teaching elemen
tary algebra to sub-freshmen. The
country has no lack of instructors in
the evils of drink? On the other hand
It has only too few professors of finan
cial morality in high places and of the
ethics of trust administration, the prin
ciples of which the head of a great
fiduciary society is especially .qualified
to fill.
Whether Insurance agents or other
persons should drink wine at dinner
may be left to their consciences or to the
mentors whose concern such things are.
Tuition In trust morality, for which
there still exists a demand, would be
more In keeping with a life-insurance
president's special attainments.
Mark Twain Blamed for Plogarlanlsm.
Boston Herald.
Denmark claims Mark Twain's "Tom
Sawyer." A Danish schoolmaster, Val
detnar Thoresen, asserts that the plot
of "Tom Sawyer, Detective." was lifted
bodily from Blicher's tale "The Vicar of
Weilby." Steen Steenersen Blicher was a
Danish novelist who was born in I7S2
and died in 1848. He spent a great
part of his life as a country parson in
Jutland. By nature he was as much a
hunter as a poet, and neglected ins
clerical duties to tramp the moor in
search of game. An old painting shows
Blicher in a favorite attitude, gun in
hand,- on the moor, three gypsies at his
feet. When he came to a lonely farm
for the night, he gathered the tradi
tions and the stories of the ghosts of
the place Into a short story. His col
lected novella may be regarded as a
saga of Jutish life. The story of "The
Vicar of Weilby" is based on tradition
and old documents. Mark Twain re
plies that he doesn't read Danish and
never read the book referred to or a
translation thereof.
Activity Among Democrat.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Among the sure signs of coming
Democratic victory is the fact that no
less than four men besides Bryan have
been named as candidates of the party
for tho JPraaidency.