10
THE MORNING OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 1910.
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rOKTL4Ml, FRIDAY, MARCH 4. 1910.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.
March 8-4. 1910.
Through wood and hill and Held and vale
and ocean
A Quickening life from the earth's heart
hath burst
As It has ever done with change and motion.
From that great morning of the world,
, when first
God dawned on chaos. . .
Shelley's Adonals.
It is easy to reduce this great
poetry to common terms. So let us
say, "Spring has came."
The axis of the earth is inclined at
an angle of about 23.5 degrees to the
plane of Its orbit; that is, to a
plane passing through the center of
the sun that, contains the orbit of
the earth. Earth's seasons depend
on this fixed and invariable mechan
ical arrangement. The movement of
the earth around the sun, with the
inclination of the earth's axis con
stantly in one position or direction
towards the ecliptic or plane of the
earth's orbit produces the changes
of seasons. The earth moves around
the sun, exposing in different lati
tudes in either hemisphere now more,
now less, of its surface to the direct
rays of the sun. The result is change
of seasons. In our winter the rays
of the sun are as a. consequence less
direct; they fall aslant; tlu sun, seen
from our position, is low, and its rays
have'less direct power. Yet the earth
is nearer the sun in our winter than
In our summer. The mechanical ar
rangement, so simple, yet so potent,
controls all life on the earth; conse
quently all our little politics. As the
earth swings round Its orbit, at this
time of year, in the northern hemi
sphere. Spring approaches. The earth
the part on which we live exposes
more of its surface to the direct rays
of the sun, and the wave of verdure
expands towards our pole. The axis
of the earth Is set at an angle of
about 23.5 degrees to the plane of its
revolution round the sun.
This is but the primer of astron
)my. But there are more young per
, sons than old in the world; the young
must be taught, and all people must
learn, or should learn. The schools,
for instruction of our youth, must
repeat the same lessons from one
generation to another, and the news
paper should bear its share, too. .
These winds, that prevail so much
in our Northwest Pacific States from
November to March often till April
have an explanation as simple. The
eun, in our winter time, warms the
southern hemisphere and the great
Southern Pacific Sea. Open your
window or door and the hot air,
causing a vacuum, allows the cold
air to rush in, while the hot air rushes
out, till the equilibrium is restored.
It is the same as to the seasons on
a great scale. That is, it presents a
simple, mechanical condition, that
gives us our warm southern winds in
winter, loaded with moisture, and
our northern winds in summer, with
their dryness. As the winds pass over
us, from the great Southern Pacific
Sea, the trend or direction of our
mountain ranges, and their eleva
tions, chiefly control the precipitation
first, on the Coast and the range of
hills that we call the Coast Moun
tains. Then the higher Cascade
Range receives the greater precipita
tion, in the form chiefly of snow.
The interlying valleys of Western Or
egon and Western Washington get
their rainy season from the same
cause. Rain falls in our valleys and
snow on the mountains. On the
higher (Cascade) range the snow
often falls to a depth of twenty feet;
and avalanches that bury the rail
roads follow. Rare these are, indeed;
but they are likely to occur any year.
The way opened by the Columbia
River through this great mountain
range is the only safe and easy pass
age between the Coast and the in
terior. One winter after another
steadily establishes this fact; and
traffic, all the year round,, avoiding
high grades and lifts, confirms it.
Great precipitation is the conse
quence, on high altitudes, swept up
by the moist winds from the Pacific
Ocean. The valleys lying between
the mountain ranges, share It. Re
mainder of the moisture not wrung
out near the coast and first mountain
ranges is carried on to the Blue
Mountains, but chiefly to the great
Rocky Mountain range, to which there
Is open access for the winds, through
the Upper Columbia River and its
tributaries from the sea. Here, in
the snows that fall all winter, are the
great sources of the Columbia River's
floods in May and June, after the wa
ters of all the lower tributaries of
the great river have run out.
All our young people should be
taught the physical conditions of the
country they live in, the general
causes that make our climate what it
Is: the effect of air .currents and of
ocean currents, and their main
causes; the consequences of the po
sition and elevation of our mountain
chains and their effect on tempera
ture and precipitation. The study will
carry our young people into astro
nomical and meteorological science,
into inquiry about the facts of physi
cal geography; and in the long run
will do more to acquaint them with
things it will be profitable to know
than all theoretical' or belles lettres
studies could ever do. Tet these last
are by no means to be neglected.
The first 1910 "Cruise of the Krop
Killers" has apparently ended and the
wheat market, which went up like a
rocket before the damaging reports
that poured in from Kansas and other
local headquarters of the annual crop
scare, came down like the proverbial
"stick." With a nice white blanket
of snow resting over the greater part
of the wheat belt of the Middle West
and keeping the gay young blades of
wheat in good order; with receipts at
the primary markets running ahead of
a year ago, and with Russia, the Ar
gentine, Australia and the rest of the
wheat countries dumping their stocks
on the markets of the world, the prob
lem of sustaining a crop-damage re
port was a very serious one. Later in
the season, when the chlnchbug gets
the frost out of its joints, and the
greenbug begins to nibble, it may be
possible, to infuse a little more life
Into the market; but March is too
early and the first 1910 crop scare
has fallen flat.
MORE FACILITIES NEEDED.
In another column. The Oregonian
prints ' some Interesting views set
forth by President Howard Elliott, of
the Northern ' Pacific, in an address
toefore Harvard students. One point
of special interest is made by Mr.
Elliott where he says,' "in spite of
the great work done, there are not
enough transportation facilities both
In passenger and freight traffic to
supply the demand." This is one of
the unsolved problems of railroading
in which Portland and the Pacific
Northwest have a special interest.
We need go back but little more than
two years to recall a period in which
it was all but impossible to secure fa
cilities with which to move our lum
ber east or grain and other products
to the coast. Every available piece of
rolling stock owned by the roads was
pressed into service and every side
track on the transcontinental roads
was cluttered with freight trains the
congestion of which made anything
but slow movement impossible.'
Since that time the roads have
made some additions to their rolling
stock and have also added a few miles
of passing tracks. These Improve
ments have not, however, been in
keeping with the increasing traffic of
the country which they serve. . Al
though we have not yet entirely re
covered from the panic of 1907, we
are nearing a point where lack of
railroad facilities will be as severely
felt as it was three years' ago. This
is the condition that confronts us at
a time when more new traffic-pro-during
territory is being opened up
in the Pacific Northwest than at any
previous period in its history. Addi
tional passing tracks and addi
tional equipment -can be used to great
advantage now. Six months or a
year hence, with the enormous
amount of new business offering,
these added facilities will be an ur
gent necessity, and business will suf
fer through lack of them as it did
In 1907. -
PINCHOT AND THE TRUTH.
President Taft has one recollection
of a conversation between himself and
Gifford Pinchot; Secretary Wilson
gives one version of a discussion be
tween himself and the late Forester as
to the Dolliver letter, and Pinchot
gives another; Secretary Ballinger
makes one statement as to the entire
controversy, and Pinchot makes an
other. Is it possible that Pinchot is
right all the time and that the Presi
dent, the Secretary of Agriculture and
the Secretary of the Interior are all
wrong? It is not possible; it is incon
ceivable that it should be. It would
be inconceivable without direct and
conclusive evidence that Pinchot
equivocates' and falsifies. ' Here is the
evidence:
Last Saturday, before Pinchot took
an oath to tell the truth and nothing
but : the truth, he read a statement
setting forth his indictment of Mr.
Ballinger. He fiercely assailed Bal
linger for restoring water power sites
to entry, for being an enemy of con
servation, and for submitting a state
ment to the President covering the
Cunningham cases, "shown by un
disputed documentary evidence to be
absolutely false in three essential par
ticulars." Now read this from the
Associated. Press account of the pro
ceedings Tuesday before the Congres
sional committee:
Mr. Pinchot made the announcement at
the morning session that he based his charge
against Secretary Ballinger that he had
made false statements to the President not
upon a letter from Mr. Ballinger himself,
but upon a letter written by J. T. Ronald,
of Seattle, former law partner of Mr. Bal
linger. to Dr. Lyman Abbott. He admitted
that the three statements In the Konald
letter, which he asserted to be false, had
previously been covered by a letter written
by Mr. Ballinger himself to the President,
In which Ballinger had made what the wit
ness admitted was a true statement of the
facts. Mr. Pinchot said he did not attempt
to reconcile these two facts.
Pinchot could not reconcile these
two facts with his own previous tes
timony, for his statement was essen
tially false; yet it was and is the basis
of his attack on Mr. Ballinger and
of the concerted movement to dis
credit him with the Administration
and the country.
PACIFIC FLEET A NECESSITY.
Senator Perkins, chairman of the
naval affairs committee, has agreed
to support the Administration plans
for two battleships, three destroyers,
two colliers, a repair ship and four
or five submarines. Secretary Meyer
has promised to give the matter of
stationing a large battleship fleet on
the Pacific due consideration. There
is a possibility that the important po
sition of Senator Perkins at the head
of the naval committee may result in
some protection . being afforded this
coast. It is a strikingly noticeable
fact that nearly every plea put
forth for a greater navy and. for more
supply ships and colliers is invariably
accompanied by the statement or the
hint that our peace is threatened by
a foe from beyond the Pacific.
Attack from a European power, or
at any other ' point except the "de
fenseless Pacific coast," is never
even alluded to in these requests
for a larger navy, and for more ships
to keep it supplied - with coal. etc.
Despite this widespread solicitude for
the welfare of the Pacific coast, in
the language of a Washington- dis
patch In The Oregonian yesterday,
"Not a single battleship is to be seen
from Point Barrow to Panama." It
is stated that the new submarines
will all be stationed on ' the Pacific
coast, and, as this new equipment is
expected to be a very powerful factor
in coming warfare, their presence will
be of great importance.
What is actually needed, however,
is a fleet of battleships stationed on
the Pacific coast all the time. For
more than ten years the "signs , of
the times" .have been pointing to the
Pacific as the scene of the world's
greatest conflicts of the future. That
this ocean will see the climax of the
next great war is freely predicted by
the world's greatest students of po
litical situations that lead up to war.
The Atlantic coast is well fortified
throughout its length. . With the
country at peace and almost certain
to continue so, with all near-by na
tions, the Atlantic no longer needs
the protection even of the battle
ships now stationed there. Senator
Perking is fully justified by existing
conditions in demanding that nine out
of ten battleships be stationed on the
Pacific Coast.
A GROUP OF DICTATORS.
What is assembly, any way, that
some oppose? Is it the group of a
dozen or fifteen persons, who have as
sembled and put forth their pamphlet
against assembly of their political op
ponents in Oregon ? .
This group, says the Hood River
News, "without the advice, suggestion
or direction of any party, organiza
tion or representative body, so far as
known, would seek to dictate the poll
tics of the state. The proposed 1100
or 1200 delegates to the assembly of
the state must not be assumed to have
the right or intelligence that this self
appointed council of a dozen has."
Here is a group of . self-appointed
dictators, wishing to govern or direct,
or prevail, as an oligarchy. First thing
they do is to hold an assembly, and
next thing in the programme is to de
nounce assembly and party organiza
tion. AID FOR A WORTHY CAUSE.
No doubt the public already begins
to takei an interest in the project of
the Woman's Club to raise money for
the free bed which it maintains at
the open-air sanitarium- No charity
could be m'ore disinterested. None
deserves more hearty assistance. It
often happens that all a sufferer from
tuberculosis needs for a complete cure
is rest with plenty of air and good
food. But if he is a poor man, if he
must toil for his daily bread, these
are precisely file things which he can
not obtain by his own efforts. Char
ity must supply them or he perishes
and his family falls into want. Or
the victim may be the mother of a
family. It makes no difference; un
less rest, open air and nourishing food
can be obtained, there is no hope of
a cure. - If these requisites are forth
coming then in most cases recovery
Is certain. , "
' Contrary to the old superstition on
the subject, tuberculosis is a curable
disease. In most cases, unless it has
gone too far, it is easily curable. One
of the direst consequences of poverty
is that it puts the means which .are
essential for recovery from tubercu
losis beyond the unaided reach of the
majority of those who suffer from it.
- The entertainment which the Wom
an's Club has planned for March 14
seems to be of rather a high order.
The music is expected to be excellent
and some such play as the "Chimes
of Normandy" will be acted by com
petent persons. Later on the other
parts of the Drosrramme will be rrnti-
lished in the proper place. Those
who attend at the Bungalow on the
night of March 14 will probably see
a better show than they often do and
have the satisfaction at the same
tfme of knowing that the money they
have paid for it goes to a commend
able charity.
MR. ROCKEFELLER.
When the time comes for impartial
historians to study the phenomena of
the end of the last century and the
beginning of this one, not the least
interesting and instructive problem
which they will have to solve will be
the strange career of John D. Rocke
feller. What social conditions made
him possible? What combination of
individual qualities was it. which so
precisely fitted him to take advantage
of an economic situation which has
never before occurred in the history
of the world and can never recur?
The superficial ma- sneer at him, the
adherents of ethical formulas may re
vile him as a malefactor, shortsighted
students of society may look upon
him as an enemy of the human race,
but to the philosophical observer who
tries to see a little below the surface
of affairs Mr. Rockefeller is a suit
able subject neither for sneers, for
revllement nor for enmity. Among
the strangest creatures ever born of
time, almost a portent, perhaps, he
sums up and symbolizes a generation,
and in his career the aspirations and
Ideals of millions of his fellowmen
have become concrete. Just as the
devil worship of Central Africa in due
time produced the headhunting can
nibal, so the worship of success which
was our National creed for a quarter
of a century or more produced Mr.
Rockefeller.
Our cult of success was no novel
thing in the world. It was a very old
thing masquerading under a new
name. It is summed up in the" an
cient maxim . that when a man is
working in the highest of causes the
sacred end he has in view justifies any
means whatever by which he attains
it. In the heat and stress of his man
hood Mr. Rockefeller was working in
a cause which his fellow-countrymen
had agreed to call the highest. It was
the cause of financial success.
Throughout those years when he was
defying the law, overriding the rights
of his competitors, ruthlessly pushing
forward unscrupulous schemes, he
wa,s just as much performing a conse
crated ceremony as does any robed
priest when he chants a ritual at the
altar. Mr. Rockefeller was laboring
ad majorem gloriam Dei and the God
whom he exalted by his deeds was
Mammon. He was no more faithful
in his devotion to this deity than all
the rest of us, or most of us, but he
brought to the service a concentrated
energy, a mastery of economic oppor
tunities, a relentless purpose and a
genius for combination which easily
made him predominant and naturally
won for him the' richest rewards the
divinity whom he worshiped could be
stow. The life of this remarkable man
falls into three distinct periods. First
we have the epoch of struggle when
life presented its seamy sife to him
and pennies counted heavily in his
store of wealth. He was humble,, dili
gent and thrifty. All the wholesome
copybook maxims were exemplified in
his conduct and the rules of every-day
piety were the guides of his conduct.
He never sinned. He never idled. He
never wasted a cent. Then came the
more interesting but not less edifying
period of financial success, which to
Mr. Rockefeller meant warfare with
his fellow-men on a magnificent scale
and on a world-wide field. His strong
right arm reached from ocean to
ocean. His forces fought and won on
battlefields in both hemispheres. There
never was such a financial general as
Mr. Rockefeller. His strategy was
consummate, his success unbroken,
and if he had cared to become the
owner of the earth there was nothing
to hinder him. Whatever he desired
In the way of money and the power It
brings was his to take. From this
stormy interval Mr. Rockefeller
passed gently on to that period of
calm reflection . and philosophical
study of human affairs which seems
likely to last for many years to come.
He has become, as it were,, beatified.
The rough warrior is the gentlest of
mankind. The ruthless invader of
other men's possessions has blossomed
into a venerable poet who dreams
away the Summer afternoon on a golf
ing green. The fighter who set suc
cess above everything else finds solace
for, his' reverend age in lecturing
young men on the vanity of riches and
the futility of earthly struggles. The
avaricious grasper who seemed eager
to possess himself of all the money in
the world has made it his last ambi
tion to devote his enormous wealth to
"furthering the progress of the human
race."
Was ever such a story heard be
fore? Never except in the lives of
sohie other American . millionaires.
Mr. Carnegie's biography is not es
sentially different, and there are
many more of the same kind. Study
ing the careers of these men, one
would be moved to say that the genius
of America inspires two contradictory
tendencies in their souls. One domi
nates their years of physical strength.
The other comes out when age begins
to tell upon them. The first is a
ruthless materialism. The other is
an exalted idealism. And as it is the
idealism which reigns and triumphs in
their riper years, so we may believe
that our country is destined in its ma
turity to pass beyond the dull worship
of success and live for nobler things.
When the crude energy. of youth has
been lowered, perhaps as a Nation we
shall think as much of the things of
the spirit as Mr. Rockefeller does in
his beneficent age. He Is doing what
Jesus enjoined upon the man who
wished to inherit eternal life. "Sell
all thou hast and give it to the poor."
It is announced that Mr. Rockefeller
intends to give away substantially all
his fortune and for the noblest of pur
poses. What finer restitution could
he. make? The victims of his early
struggles are dead or forgotten. To
find them is out of the question. So
in atonement for the wrongs done
years ago to nameless sufferers, and
very likely with alms before his imag
ination even higher than atonement,,
he bestows his possessions upon the
human race. We envy the historian
who in a hundred years or so shall sit
down to estimate the worth of Mr.
Rockefeller's benefactions and Judge
of his career in the long extent of
time.
The fearful disasters culminating
within a few days in avalanches that
have burled two towns and one pas
senger train, makes one appreciate
the sentiment of the sailor who con
gratulated himself during the raging
of a fierce gale that he was not
among the unhappy, folks on shore,
who, as he conceived, "must be"
quaking in their beds for fear the
roof would fall in." Still, one month
with another for the past four
months, neither sea nor land has any
cause, to boast over the other in free
dom from disaster in which human
life has gone out. - The catalogue of
calamity, beginning with the fire in
the Cherry mine in November and
ending with the avalanche in which
March was ushered in, is an unusual
ly, gruesome one, heavily charged
with horror, suffering and death. It
is also one in which the financial loss
will run well up into the millions.
Flood and fire, wind and wave, singly
and in combination, have taken heavy
toil in human life, human habitations,
human enterprises. A shuddering
world can only hope that so heavy
an assessment will not soon again be
levied. v
.Another of those periodical revolu
tions in Nicaragua has about ceased
to revolve. According to advices
from Blueftelds the . insurgent cam
paign in the west has practically end
ed and about the only traces of trou
ble still remaining are a guerrilla
warfare which ts being maintained in
the hope that the United States will
intervene before the Nicaraguan au
thorities succeed in restoring order.
In this- hope the insurgents are likely
to be disappointed, for the United
States has throughout the trouble
shown a disposition to keep its hands
off. Had the tyrannical Zelaya re
mained in power and persisted in his
objectionable policies, it is not im
probable that American sympathy for
the insurgents would have reached a
point where this Government might
have taken a. hand in the trouble.
President Madrlz, however, seems to
be inclined to do what is right, and he
will undoubtedly be given an oppor
tunity. A new Indictment has been found
against F. Augustus Helnze for alleged
violation of the National banking
laws. Reasoning from the experi
ence thus far encountered, the return
of an indictment against Heinze
should not trouble the redoubtable
antagonist of Standard Oil to any
great extent. This is the Govern
ment's fourth attempt to get Heinze
behind the bars, and it will probably
end as the previous attempts have
ended with Heinze still at large.
Chicago is debating a change of
the name State street to "Roosevelt."
The question at issue is whether that
name would be appropriate for the
stylish, race-suicide avenue of the
city.
This is the season . when Spring
sproutings are trying to reduce the
high cost of living. With proper as
sistance they could solve the problem.
There is one certain, decent and
dignified- way in which to get rid of
the tip nuisance. That Is to live at
home and board at the sSrae place.
A lot of organs and persons talk as
if the grandest object of conservation
is to make Pinchot the Democratic
nominee for President.
Among the terrible consequences of
war's end. in Nicaragua will be the
loss suffered by generals an-J colonels
of their titles.
It Is comforting tohe stockholders
that these Northwestern roads de
clared dividends before the season of
high water.
Now is the time for Mr. Knox to cut
loose from diplomacy. The Nicara
guan rebels are howling for help.
The groundhog may stay indoors
six weeks in Missouri, but not in
Oregon.
4UESTIOXS.OP THE NEXT CENSUS.
These Are tbe Things Yon Will Be
Expected to Answer. ,
Thirty questions will be asked by Fed
eral census enumerators of every person
in the United States. The enumeration
this year will bagin April 15 and end
April 30.
Correct answers to these questions are
compulsory sunder the law. Refusal to
onswer may be punished by fine or im
prisonment, or both.
For the first ' time since the Govern
ment undertook the taking of the census
in 1790, the department engages to get
trustworthy information on three indi
vidual points, namely: How many em
ployers of .labor there are in the United
States, how many employes, and how
many persons working on their own ac
count. .It will also learn how many per
sons were out of employment on the 15th
of April, 1910, and the number of per
sons who were out of employment dur
ing the year 1909, and how many weeks
the enforced idleness lasted.
Additional to "counting noses" and the
age, sex and color of every person, the
department will inquire:
Whether single, married, widowed or
divorced, also number of times married
or divorced, and number of years of pres
ent marriage.
In case of married women, how many
children and how many are now living.
Birthplace of every person and of the
father and the mother of said person.
Where not native-born, the year of im
migration to the United States, and
whether naturalized or alien; whether
able to speak English; or, if not, the lan
guage spoken.
The trade or profession of or the par
ticular kind of work done by every per
son, as salesman, laborer, etc.
General nature of the Industry, business
or establishment in which every person
woras, as ary goods store, farm, sawmill,
etc.
Whether an employer, an employe, or
wonting on his own account.
On the foregoing new questionsenumera-
tors are especially instructed that any
one who receives a salary or wage Is an
employe. For example: The President
of the Union Pacific Railway and a track
nana are both employes. The president
of the North Pacific Mills Is an employer.
The head of a family where domestic
servants are engaged is not an employer,
though the servants are employes. Law.
yers, doctors and others who receive fees
are working on their own account, while
those who render professional services
on a salary, such as civil engineers, pro-
lessors, actors and ministers, ore em
ployes. A newsboy works on his own
account, while a newspaper carrier is an
employe. A person conducting a hotel or
restaurant Is an employer.
If a person has two occupations, only
the more important one should be given,
that Is, the one from which he receives
the more money, or the one to which he
devotes the more time.
The new question as to how many
workers were out of employment during
1909 is intended to gain information as to
the extent to which men wanted work
and could not find it; it ts not applicable
to tramps.
Each person will be asked whether he Is
able to read and write, and for each child
it will be asked whether it attended
school any time since September 1. 1909.
Each householder will be asked whether
the home is rented or owned, and if
owned, whether mortgaged or not. Every
man will be asked whether he Is a sur
vivor of the Union or Confederate Army
or Navy. Every person will be asked
whether he is blind in both eyes and
whether deaf or dumb.
At best the time of a census enumerator
Is very ehort. Therefore prompt answers
to the questions here stated will expe
dite the work. They should be given
cheerfully and w4thout delay.
NO INTERFERENCE WITH MILITIA
Artillery Lieutenant, Regular Array,
Says "Hands Off to Labor Unions.
FORT STEVEK9 -- i. .
the Editor.) I see by The Oregonian of
February 28. that the labor unions of the
State of Washington are preventing their
members from enlisting in militia com
panies. What will they be doing next,
pray?
I wonder -how many of the labor union
leaders realize how great a necessity a
good and well-trained militia, especially
one devoted to coast artillery work. Is to
this Pacific Coast? Apparently ihey be
lieve that we have already enough of the
military. If so. little do they understand
In what a defenseless condition the Pa
cific Coast Is. Let these leaders read the
"Valor of Ignorance" (peculiarly adapt
ed to their intellects) by General Homer
Lea. Let them ponder over the words of
our senior general officer, Major-General
Leonard Wood, who is dally trying to
educate Congress and the powers that be
up to a proper appreciation of our coast
defense .needs. Then, maybe, an inkling
of the lack of defense may be driven into
certain heads.
There are not enough regular soldiers
on the Pacific Coast to fully man one
half the batteries already built on it. In
time of war, we need enough men to man
them fully twice over. The militia is
where these additional men must be ob
tained from, as Congress will not in
crease the Regular Army. What is to
happen, then, if available men are pre
vented by labor unions from enlisting in
militia companies, and receiving the
training necessary to fit them for their
duties in time of war? Labor unions are
excellent organizations when they stick
to their own field of work, but when they
begin to interfere with the development
of our militia, they strike at the very
safety and personal welfare of the citi
zens of the Pacific Coast. Most emphat
ically let every honest-minded citizen
say, "Hands Off."
W. JACOBS,
First Lieutenant, Coast Artillery Corps.
Flowers Under Ultra-Violet Light.
Pittsburg Gazette.
"I have found that. In general, most
white garden flowers are black, or
nearly so, in ultra-violet light," writes
Professor Robert Williams Wood in the
Century. "Next Summer I am going to
raise some white flowers under glass,
which will screen them from the ultra
violet rays during their development,
and see if this makes any difference,
for it has recently been found that the
color of flowers is related to the color
of the light which fails upon them."
Compressed Flour In Brtclc Form.
Indianapolis News.
A new method of preserving flour
has recently been adopted with suc
cess in England. It is done by means
of compression. With hydraulic appar
atus the flour is squeezed into the
forms of bricks -and the pressure de
stroys all forms of larval life, thus pre
serving the flour from the ravages of
Insects, while it is equally secure from
mold. Three hundred pounds of com
pressed flour occupy the same space
as 100 pounds in the ordinary state.
Chemical Profits In City Garbage.
SALEM. Or., (March 2. (To the Editor.)
The March issue of Munsey's" Magazine
(page 779) says: "The City of Antwerp,
according to Professor Austen, once paid
$5000 a year to get rid of its refuse. It
now sells that same refuse for $200,000."
Would it not be good policy. In the Port
land officials, to investigate this state
ment, coming, as it does, from a reliable
source, before contracting for that $100,000
garbage plant, and the Inevitable cost of
maintaining it? R. M. PHILLIPS.
New Powder Beats Uerxlan Waves.
Baltimore News.
The Paris Eclair announces that an
absolutely stable smokeless powder has
been discovered and is now at the ser
vice of the French Army and Navy.
Chemical agents, heat, excessive cold,
humidity, light and Herzlan waves
have no effect upon this powder.
OHIO A LITTLE STATE; OREGON BIG
President Elliott, of the Northern Pa
cific, Makes Some Comparisons.
President Howard Elliott, o' the North
ern Pacinc. In a lecture before the Harvard
students on "The Northwest and the Rail
roads." said. In part:
There are , more chances today In
the railroad business than there were
60 years ago. New England has 66,465
square miles and 6,455,000 people. The
population in New England is 130 to
the square mile. The six great states
of the Northwest' have 550.250 square
miles, nine times that of New Eng
land. The population Is 5.335,000, or
ten to the square mile.
You can put Ohio Inside the middle
of Oregon, and it won t be touched by
a railroad. You can put Ohio and Penn
sylvania inside Oregon and still have
10,000 square miles of territory left.
Oregon is waiting the magnetic touch of
transportation. Montana can take in
all New England and New York. It
has fine barley, oats, irrigated valleys
producing fruits. Idaho Is hardly
touched by a railroad. It has wonder
ful wheat lands; the finest lead mines
in the world. North Dakota also pan
take in all of New England, as can
Washington, which has also untold op
portunities for development. Minnesota
hasi timber enough to last for 25 years
and the best wheat lands in the world.
What is needed for the development
of the Northwest? One thing is ade
quate moisture. There must be 'better
use of the moisture by greater develop
ment of irrigation, more thorough
farming methods to feed the people
of the United States for the next "50
years, more acres must be put under
the plough, and there must be greater
production per acre. There is needed
a better conception of the relation of
capital and labor, a wiser conception
of legislation, rational, sober and care
ful laws. Hereafter there . must be a
more careful expenditure by the indi
vidual, by the state and by the Nation.
Wasteful expenditure must be cut out.
We shall have to get along with less
quantity, as the older nations do. The
Northwest needs greater transporta
tion. Above all, it needs hard work,
carried on by trained minds.
The major portiohs of the railroads
throughout that part of the country
are good, governed by .efficient men.
The officers are trying to make them
better, to give more adequate service,
but they are deluged by excessive
legislation of the foolish kind. This leg
islation serves as a heavy drag. There
are 5,009,000 words on the statute books
relating to Interstate commerce alone.
Let us look at the amount of rail
roads in the country. New York has
17 miles, Ohio 22, Massachustts 26, per
100 square miles. In New England
there are 830 people to a mile of rail
road, while In Minnesota there are 236,
in North Dakota 118. in Montana 91,
in Idaho 152, in Washington 237.
France has spent $126,000 per mile to
aid its transportation system; Germany,
$107,000 per mile; Austria-Hungary,
$190,000 per ml'e; the United States,
$69,000 per mile. Passenger rates in
Europe are lower than they are in
this country, though it must be admit
ted that the first-class rates are higher,
and the service not so good. In Eng
land the rate is about 50 per cent more.
American railroads have done an
enormous amount of work and It has
been only since the Civil War that
practically the present American rail
road system has been produced. There
are 1,500.000 employes, 1.000.000 owners
of stocks and bonds; in all. 12.000.000
people are interested directly or indi
rectly in the transportation business.
This gives some idea of the magnitude
of the railroad work.
Mistakes have been made as they
have been made in other walks of life,
and in spite of the great work done
there are not enough transportation
facilities, both in passenger .nd freight
traffic, to supply the demand. There
should be a wider margin in time of
stress so that all branches of the busi
ness could go on without interruption.
To get the best out of the railroads
you must use as much traffic over the
lines as they will bear.
AN EARXY SPRING FORECASTED.
Suggestion Comes From the Fact That
Easter Is Early, March 27.
Exchange.
A rather interesting train of thought is
suggested by the fact that Easter will
come unusually early this year (March
27), which, to the minds of some people,
predicts an early Spring.
The earliest date upon which Easter
may fall is March 22, but in a period of
over 200 years the conditions brought it
upon that day but once, ,in 1818. The
dates have been calculated from 17S6 to
2013, both inclusive, being 13 cycles of the
moon. Only four times in that extended
period has Easter come as early as March
23. It may come as late as April 25, as It
did in 18S6, but it will not again strike
that late date until 1943. In 1791 it oc
curred upon April 24, .but it will be the
year of grace 2011 before it is again as
late. The next early Easter will be 1913,
when it will fall upon March 23.
Whether the prompt waxing of the
moon after the sun has crossed the ver
nal equinox has any bearing upon Spring
weather is problematical, but there are
those who believe weather conditions are
more or less dependent upon lunar phases
and shape their season's predictions ac
cordingly. And they may be equally re
liable with the groundhog's shadow and
the breastbone of the goose.
The day for Easter is the result of an
astronomical calculation. It falls upon
the first Sunday following the first full
moon after-the vernal equinox. The sun
crosses the Spring equinoctial line on
March 21. If that day should be a Satur
day and the moon reach the full that
night, the next day, March 22, would be
Easter. This concurrence of events, as
stated, has been recorded but once in a
calculated period covering beyond 200
years.
Increasing Drunkenness la Maine.
Lowell Courier-Citizen.
Maine for a long time has had state
wide prohibition, but many of her peo
ple get intoxicated and arrested there
for Just the same. Arrests for drunk
enness are in fact increasing much
faster than the population. In thirteen
years ending in 1908 they Increased 45
per cent, while from 1900 to 1908 the
growth of population was only 14 per
cent. Arrests for intoxication are not
an infallible criterion of the significant.
For example, when records show that
in twenty-five cities and towns in
Maine there were 6600 such arrests In
1906 and 9627 in 1908 it is clear that
the down-easters are drinking more
rum of a worse character or that the
police are more vigilant in taking
them to the lockup, or both. At any
rate the figures are not creditable to
prohibition or the way it is enforced
In the state. They certainly would not
be so bad under a decent license sys
tem. Radium Changes Primrose Color.
Philadelphia Dispatch.
Plants may be made to order, accord
ing to Professor C Stuart Gager, who
for two years' has been experimenting
with radium at the University of Mis
souri. An entirely new species of prim
rose has been originated by the use of
the radium, and it has held true to
the new form through three genera
tions of sthe plant. The color of the
flower was changed and the leaves
changed from broad to narrow.
Would Be More Popular.
Washington Times.
If the ladies' tailors will make-it the
fashion for a woman to wear dresses
she can put on without the help of her
husband, the cook and a monkeywrench.
they will be popular with the fellows
who pay the bills.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME AMERICA
It Came From Tribe of South American
Indians, Says Major Sears' Date.
PORTLAND, March 2. (To the Edi
tor.) I deeply appreciate The Oregon
tan's courtesy in sending me the slip
from the New York World. Prescott-
name was misprinted, and I have cor
rected it on the accompanying slip,
which contains the facts regarding the
paper. The subject is one on which I
have spent years of labor, delving in
the four languages, Spanish, Portu
guese, Italian and French, as well as
English, containing anything of value
as authority.
ALFRED F. SEARS.
The clipping from the World Is:
To the Editor of The World: In The
World appears, under the heading-, "Ask;
Monument In Bay to Xamer of Our Coun
try," an account of the naming of America
by Mathias Rlngmann. It is alleged th&t
Ringmann coined the word in 1507.
In an account of the first transatlantio
voyage of Albericus Vespucius. by Major
Alfred F. ars, the following note is found:
"The na.me of the navigator who sailed on
this voyage as cosmoarapher has come down
to us as Amerlcus Vespucius. and has been
credited as having- suggested the name of
America to the great western continent.
There Is evidence, however, that the name
has a more Just and natural origin as ap
plied to the continent. The learned his
torian Rlcardo Palma. director of the Na
tional Library of Lima. Peru, has clearly
shown the error of the tradition which gives
the name of Vespucius to the discoveries
of the age: a fact that will appear In the
story of Oolumbus' last voyage. The navi
gator's original name was Alberlco Vespuci."
In an account of the fourth and last voy
age of Oolumbus. the following appears:
"This gold had been brought out of the
mountains of the region now known as the
Chontales by savages, who dem-ended the
River Indio. which rises In those hills, to
the little settlement they called America, at
the river's mouth, upon the coast. The
name on this account sounded all over Eu
rope after the return of Columbus from
the voyage and so became a synonym of the
continent 'as a tlerra deseada. because of Its
wonderful wealth in the precious metal.
In the year following this return of Colum
bus (1505) the name of America first ap
peared on maps as the designation of the
lands discovered in the -western ocean."
The writer's own understanding Is that the
name was pronounced, like other Spanish
names, with an accent on the penultimate,
and that written records were found by
Rlcardo Palma that established the fact of
the existence of the settlement referred to
and Us name.
If the name America had Its origin In
Nicaragua. not in Costa Rica. Central
America, and if the name .appeared upon
Spanish charts published in 3 505 and those
who have made a special Btudy of early
American history tell us such is the fact
It is difficult to understand why we should
honor the memory of a man who first used
the name two years after it had become well
known In Spain and other parts of Europe.
Before erecting a monument to the mem
ory of Mathias Rlngmann would it not be
advisable to consider all the evidence that
can be fot nd which bears upon the subject?
The writer believes that a tribe of Central
American Indians is entitled to the monu
ment, if anvone.
SYDNEY PRESCOTT.
New York. Feb. 21.
Note by Major Sears:
Captain Prescott and I are collabor
ators on a historical atlas of which
Captain Prescott is the cartographer,
and of which the manuscript is now in
Boston seeking a publisher. The object
of the work is to illustrate the evolu
tion of American coast line by maps
and text in chronologic order of the
voyages making, the discoveries, until
finally appears the complete outline of
the Western Continents-. The story of
each voyage is told on the same paga
as the map of the voyage, making thus
a perfect system of mnemonics for the
student. Captain Prescott is a grand
nephew of the great historian Prescott.
If you look on the map of Nicaragua
you will find the old Indian name at
the extreme south of the coast line.
The Nicaragua canal route began at a
point Just south of this little fishing
port on the San Juan Bay.
Australia Tries a Church Smoker.
London Chronicle.
A "smokers" pavilion" attached to a
church is somewhat of a novelty In the
British dominions. A recent visitor to
Kalgoorite, the famous Western Aus
tralia gold fields, made and proclaimed
this discovery. It seems that in the
early years of the gold field there were
many diggers dwelling in tents who
never burdened themselves with Sunday
clothes, and consequently never both
ered about going to church. Anxious
to attract this class, the minister of the
Congregational Church fitted up an
open air inclosure in which the men
could listen to the services in free and
easy fashion without being embar
rassed with the formalities of indoor
worship. A large archway was opened
up in the side of the church facing
the inclosure, and the pulpit was so
placed that the preacher could be
heard by both congregations. The
idea was successful, and the "smokers'
pavilion," (the occupants of the open
air inclosure exercised the privilege
of smoking during the sermon) became
a popular Sunday resort.
Jewish A n-rlcultur 1st In Georgia.
Washington, D. C. Cor.
Rabbi A. L. Levy, pastor of a large
congregation in Chicago has purchased
35,000 acres of farm land in Pierce
County, Ga., to be used In the Jewish
agricultural movement. The 'plan is to
gather Jews who are dissatisfied with
conditions in the larger cities and to
furnish a wholesome agricultural life
for them.
IN THE MAGAZINE
SECTION OF THE
SUNDAY
OREGONIAN
PROPER POSITION OF
LIMBS DURING SLEEP
Popular thesis on one phase of
the public health, together with
side remarks on distorted modern
ideas, by May Kelly.
OLD-TIME STEAMERS
IN OREGON WATERS
"Willamette River boats that
have romantic hictory connected
with early days.
UNCLE SAM'S ARMY
OF DESERT DESERTERS
Picturesque fighting force in
the great reclamation service who
are living the frontier life.
DETECTIVE CONNOR
AND THE GOLDEN RULE
Story of another sort in which
crime does not figure, except as
incidental to a manly act.
TOGO HELPS CONGRESS
ABUSE THE TRUSTS
The Japanese schoolboy breaks
into Cannon's preserves and re
ceives the kickout.
ORDER EARLY FROM YOUR
NEWSDEALER