lO
THE MORNING OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 1910.
FOBTtASU, OUEGO.N.
J Kntered at Portland. Oregon. Postofflce as
Second-Class Ma-ttar.
- Subscription Kates Invariably in Advance.
(BY MAIL.)
3ally. Sunday Included, one year..-.
Eally. Sunday Included, six months. .
raily. Sunday Included, three month.
Dally, Sunday Included, one month...
Daily, without Sunday, one year....
Daily, without- Stmri&v six months...
a.
3
Dally, without Sunday, three month
Daily, without Sunday, one month.
weekly, one year
Sunday, one year.
Sunday and weekly, one year
s 1.
By Carrier.)
Dally, Sunday Included, one year.
Daily. Sunday Included, one month
9.00
.75
How to Kemit Send Postofflce money
order, express order or personal check on
your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency
re at the sender's risk. Give postofflce ad
dress in full. Including county and state.
Postage Kate 10 to 14 pases. 1 cent; 16
to 2S pitges. li cents: 30 to 40 pages. 3 cents;
40 to 60 pases. 4 cents. Foreign postage
double rate.
Kastern Business Office The S. C. Bcck
wlth Special Agency New York, rooms 48
B0 Tribune building. Chicago, rooms 510-ol2
Tribune bullding.
roim.AM),
FRIDAY. MARCH 2. 1910.
rXEFFECTUAL AlXETXESS.
Of course, now, the Republican
.- party is to be reunited. The insur-
Rents and the regulars are to be all
one. Having- forced reorganization of
1 the committee on rules, the Insur-
2 gents are satisfied. The regulars, with
J a view to their own future interests,
J will accept the situation, will accept
J It with docility and sweet teachable-
ness. and all hands will go on together
J again.
Observe how sweetly the insur
. gents enter the regular caucus and
subscribe to the selections made for
the new committee on rules. It was
w merely a strife for ascendancy in di
! rection of the policy and purposes of
the party. It was and is awfully
i sweet. Boiled down and simmered
1- and cooled off, it is awfully sweet.
The Brooklyn Eagle, a journal with
J very strong inclinations towards the
Democratic party, puts in this remark:
, The wicked Republicans are always divided
Into those who are bad and Into those who
J. are worse, but both have a tendency to run
4r together, as the Ohio and Mississippi do at
Cairo, or as the Missouri and Mississippi do
at St. Charles, or at least a little above
m St. Louis. At each point the waters of one
river are more muddy than those. . of the
other, but after the conjunction the conflu
s ent waters go "unvexed to .the sea." So
Republicans do not "Insurge" as a rule be
yond their power to '"conflue," as the ghost
of John Covode or of John A. Lopan may be
plausibly charged with having said.
This is the view of a veteran ob-
server of politics, who uses terms and
jj illustrations not familiar to the pres-
ent generation, or almost obsolete.
But it is not within the prospect of
J reasonable things that the Republican
party can "get together," so as to
si elect the majority of the next Con-
gress. The South still will be practi
cally solid, on "the nigger." In a
multitude of Northern districts the
natural course of human nature, dis-
tilling discontent, will combine all
J sorts of opinions and factions against
the party that is, or seems to be, in
J; ascendant. Nearly all the districts
known as close districts in former
elections, therefore, will be lost to
the Republicans, and will send up
w Democrats. If the insurgent Republi
sh cans are satisfied the regulars will
not be, and vice versa; and in either
case votes will be lost to the party
candidates for Congress. The more
caterwauling the more cats, is an old
proverb. It is true, doubtless, as to
cats, but not as to men, in party
'association.
fc. v-t After all the kisses and the rnake-
', up, and billing' and cooing, between
the insurgents and regulars, there will
!!5be a certain irresolvable- quantity of
J',;Sour dough between them.' They will
'f mot help each other cordially in the
,-next elections; and a great many dis
';tricts, now represented by Republi
,'..'t:ans, will go to the Democrats. This
imakes it almost certain that the next
House will have a Democratic major
t'.ity. Miracles are not expected in
'politics.
LABOR PAYS THE BILL.
" The executive committee of the
Philadelphia Textile Workers' Union
' has instructed the 35,000 textile tvork-
ers who joined the sympathetic strike
ifthree weeks ago to return to work.
iThe journeymen bricklayers, mimber-
Ing about 2200 men, have also re
turned to workj after three weeks'
i idleness. The striking streetcar men
are still holding1 out. but without
much prospect of success,
v The return to their employment of
these sympathetic strikers -was not
unexpected. Modern strikes are not
settled by sympathy o,r sentiment, but
purely by an adjustment of economic
conditions: If these conditions justify
higher wages, capital, always timid
and anxious to avoid conflict which
'.might impair it. Is quick to grant the
(.concessions asked not because it has
"eny philanthropic desire to grant
them, but because strikes are expen
sive and disagreeable, regardless of
their outcome.
i But labor also comes under the Jur
isdiction of the same economic law
yhich forces capital either to grant
.the demands or to refuse them and
fight the strike. Every strike,
iWhether successful or otherwise, in
volves a loss which falls directly on
the parties involved. Capital feels
ithis loss, first, and in the beginning
'apparently foots the bills, but In the
readjustment that follows capital
usually manages to "pass the buck"
And escape permanent and complete
-Joss of the money which is always
Spent either in avoiding or carrying
jon strikes. Labor, however, has no
uch opportunity. The sympathetic
strikers who remained idle for three
eeks not only lost the money which
they might have earned in that period,
put they were also obliged to spend
their savings with absolutely no
chance to recoup.
In the case of capital. If the exac-r
ions of labor or the stress of compe
tion become too severe, it can be
Shifted into other and less strenuous
fields of investment, but labor is less
fortunate. It seems unable to lay down
Its tools and seek new fields when the
remuneration or the system under
which it is working is unsatisfactory-,
t accordingly inaugurates a strike
and in the end must pay the greater
iortion of the expense involved. Cap
ital will not pay this expense, or at
ithe most but a small portion of it, for,
Jong before a prospective strike
reaches the ultimatum stage, capital
-Vias reasoned it all out on economic
'Jlnea and the relative cost-of peace or
cvar is ascertainable to a nicety. Of
."course, capital not infrequently is
faurt and no one at all Interested in
the field escapes entirely, but It is
on labor . that the consequences fall
most heavily.
For that reason, labor leaders
should exercise good judgment in in
voking strikes only as a last resort
and after a thoroueh study of the
economic conditions which will govern
the settlement of the trouble.
FORESTS OR FOOD? .
A noteworthy letter, printed else
where in this paper, from a distin
guished . citizen of Oregon, Mr. John
Mlnto poins out that millions of citi
zens of this Nation have been turned
from occupations of food production
to those of food-consumption, in cities
and elsewhere, by so-called conserva
tion, which locks up from them the
food-producing land of the West. The
public land which from earliest time
has been open to seekers of the soil
now is closed. It may be more than
mere coincidence that this system of
conservation and high cost of food
have come at the same time.
This sealing up of the public do
main against settlement is a new
thing in the history of America. The
westward flowing tide of citizenship
that always heretofore has expended
energies that were pent up m the
East in the direction of the Pacific
now finds its freedom harassed by a
host of conservation officials.
The land-poor and the landless now
are denied the customary acquisition
of cheap land from the- Government.
They are compelled to buy at high
prices from speculators, and this the
vast number of them are unable to do.
So with more mouths to feed and rel
atively fewer hands to produce, the
Nation is confronted with diminished
food supply and high cost of living.
Cattlemen and sheepmen whose herds
and flocks used to range over the
West are restricted and confined by
conservation officers and compelled to
reduce their holdings and in many
cases to go out of business. Here In
Oregon we know full well that this
has been the effect of conservation
as practiced on herds of cattle and
flocks of sheep. Likewise prices of
chickens and hogs have risen to high
figures as the number of farming
families has failed to keep pace with
the growth of population. '
One-third the area of these Vestern
States is now locked up in forest re
serves and vast tracts of other land
are closed through withdrawals and
by official rulings. Only Inferior
land, nearly all of it arid and bleak, is
open to entry and little is fit for. set
tlement. Here, then, is a new condi
tion in the affairs of the country. It
has important bearing on the food
supply of the country and on conges
tion of population.
Forests are not a food rop. They
do not feed the multitude. Mean
while, the multitude clamors for the
meat and the grain that the forest
land would produce. Timber is need
ed, of course, but how much more
needed is food?
tOlBT IUX ISIOX OX FUTURES.
The question of the legitimacy of
dealing in futures- is always most
fiercely discussed when speculation or
natural conditions force to. high-price
levels some commodity largely handled
by future purchase or sale. For in
stance, we find the, Manchester, Eng
land, spinners plaoing the blame for
high-priced cotton on the system of
dealing in futures, while the Southern
planters are equally positive that
prices would be much higher if fu
ture trading were prohibited by law.
With such a disagreement among
doctors, the confusion and uncertainty
of the layman are somewhat relieved
by a decision of the New York Su
preme Court, which has held that the
operations of the New York Cotton
Exchange in future contracts are not
gambling. -
The-decisirvn was rendered in a case
where a Georgia banker and cotton
raiser was sued by a brokerage house
for money due it on transactions in
cotton. The Georgia man put up the
plea that the transactions were
gambling, and that offsetting one con
tract against another in settling bal
ances under the rules of the cotton
exchange precluded any recovery by
legal action. Th court held that off
setting contracts in settling balances
by a clearing-house process, in the
Cotton Exchange, was no more
gambling than the similar .process of
exchanging checks and settling bal
ances between banks.. It was held that
the delivery or. acceptance of the ac
tual .cotton was no more necessary
than for banks to cart the actual cash
back and forth for the payment of
one another's checks. - - -
The future contract, whether it
calls for the purchase or sale of wheat,
cotton, corn or any 'Other commodity,
has a legitimate place in commerce.
It is as indispensable as the bank
check; Had the contention of the
Georgia "welcher" been thought to
have. merit, a broker purchasing a lot
of cotton from one man and selling a
similar lot to another would have
found it necessary to accept and de
liver the actual cotton, instead of the
contract, which of course was valid,
and he could force delivery and ac
ceptance whenever it was necessary or
desirable that the actual cotton be
handled. Most of the opposition to
future trading arises from an Imper
fect knowledge of the subject.
NEW COUNTIES.
The discontent of the people of Ore
gon with the present division of the
state into counties is manifested in
many ways. In some cases there is a
movement to unite parts of adjoining
counties. Elsewhere the people wish
to cut up a large county into smaller
areas. Upon the "merits of the partic
ular situations, whether in Clackamas,
Lane or any other locality, we have no
wish to pronounce, but the general
statement will be admitted by all that
many of thocounties in Oregon are too
large. The purpose of dividing -the
state into counties and the counties
into, precincts is that every citizen may
be within moderate distance of the
seat of local government. To compel
him to travel a long, distance over bad
roads In order to pay his taxes, serve
on juries, and so forth, is to inflict a
hardship, and as soon as circumstances
permit there ought to be a tendency
to remedy it. It is also undeniable
that sections of a county too remote
from the seat of government are apt
to be overlooked in providing for
roads and other improvements. These
naturally gravitate toward the center
of population and wealth, and outlying
districts, where oftentimes they are
badly needed, obtain little attention.
It is often thought best for the
thickly settled parts of a county to
hold on to all the territory possible,
since it pays taxes' and may occasion
little expense; but this purely selfish
view disregards the welfare of the peo
ple who inhabit the neglected dis
tricts. It is only fair to give them the
privilege of spending the taxes they
pay upon their own roads and bridges,
and if they wish to incur the outlay
for a Courthouse, with Its accompany
ing luxuries, why should they not do
it? Close scrutiny might sometimes
show a gain to the thickly populated
portion of an old county in parting
with outlying sections. To. make any
appreciable improvements in such re
gions usually far exceeds the revenue
which is obtained from them, while
the pressure of public opinion, com
bined with the exigencies of politics,
usually forces the authorities to. build
new roads and bridges in the end, no
matter how reluctant they may be.
IX HONOR OF GEORGE II. Wl I.I JAMS.
To no other man of Oregon has it
been the fortune to receive such honor
and homage as George H. Williams
receives, in his advancing years, at
the hands of the people of Oregon.
It is not merely that he is a great
man. It is the kindliness of his na
ture that draws everyone towards
him. His abilities of the first order,
recognized in Oregon more than 50
years, have won him fame. His per
sonal character has drawn all who
have had the fortune to know him
unto him. '
A banquet is to be held in his honor
at the Hotel Portland on Saturday
(tomorrow) evening. It is not to be
an exclusive affair. The occasion will
be the celebration by the friends of
Judge Williams of his eighty-seventh
birthday; and they who wish the op
portunity to render this tribute may
embrace it by addressing Charles E.
Lock wood, secretary, 225 Fliedner
building.
Any further word The Oregonian
could utter would be superfluous. The
name and fame of Judge Williams is
today the proudest living heritage of
the State of Oregon.
HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS.
It is encouraging to notice that a
number of ' conspicuous members of
the Teachers' Association at Pendle
ton have taken a stand against com
petitive athletics in high schools. It
should be understood that these gen
tlemen do not oppose rational athlet
ics. Proper sports, upon the school
playground or in the park meet with
their full approval. What they do
not like is the Junketing of high school
teams about the state with all the de
moralization and neglect of studies
which that practice necessarily entails.
The point was well made by one
speaker that in order to win games it
is essential that there should be a
"first team" in the high school, which
is made a sort of fetish and worshiped
by all the students and their instruc
tors. Upon this team everything is
lavished. Money is freely contributed
for its outfit. The members may ig
nore their studies with impunity. They
fall into idle and often vicious habits,
and in the end their physical condi
tion suffers. It is a well-known fact
that bodily health is not Improved by
competitive athletics. Indeed it is of
ten impaired by strenuous training
and excessive exertion.
But these are minor considerations
compared with the real evil of com
petitive athletics. Its worst harm
lies, not in the injury it does to the
members of the team, but in its reflex
influence upon the rest of the pupils
of the school. In consequence of their
worshipful admiration of . the team,
the other boys- lose all interest in fresh
air and .wholesome exercise for them
selves. They take these indispensable
requisites for good health by proxy.
Instead of playing ball himself in the
good old fashion, the schoolboy sits
on the bleachers and shouts while the
team plays. This is good for his
lungs, no doubt, but it does not ap
preciably develop'his arms and legs.
The only kind of athletics which is
worth a fig in school, or In college
either for that matter, consists of
sports which everybody can take part
in and enjoy: Difficult games which,
demand long practice and professional
expertness have no place on the
schoolground and it Is an inexcusable
injury to a schoolboy to permit him to
divert his time and Interest from his
studies to competitive athletics, espe
cially when they require long trips
away from home.
USES OF AJDVERSITT.
The Republican politicians who
cluster around the hallowed shrines
of Washington display an enviable
philosophy in the face of impending
defeat. Nothing can phase their stoic
serenity. Nothing can convince them
that all Is not for the best in the best
of worlds. If the next Congress must
be Democratic; very well. Adversity
like the abhorred toad doth carry a
precious Jewel in Its head. If there
are no Republicans in the next Con
gress there will be no insurgents,
which to all properly constituted
minds will be a cause for deep thank
fulness. Moreover, the Democrats
will be sure to adopt the Cannon rules
and will thus demonstrate how hol
low and hypocritical has been their
opposition to that sacred code in the
present session.
This faculty of drawing good from
evil is certainly a fine thing. Would
that everybody possessed it In the
same degree as the Washington poli
ticians. But there is a still better
thing., if one may venture to say so,
and ,that is the prevention of the evil.
To bring.weet out of bitter is a truly
admirable miracle, but it is still more
admirable to forestall the bitter, so
that the miracle may not be needed.
The next Congress will probably be
Democratic if . signs amount to any
thing, but there is no reason in the
nature of things why it should not be
Republican. There are Just as many
Republican voters In the country now
as there were on the day when Mr.
Taft was elected President. It may
be asserted confidently that not one
iru a million has altered his political
faith. There have Deen no conver
sions to the Democratic party. If
the next Congress is Democratic it
will be made so by Republican votes,
and tfie reason for it must be sought
before a remedy can be found. It
would seem more statesmanlike to
search for this reason and from it
derive a preventive of the anticipated
misfortune rather than -sit calmly
down and Invent philosophical balms
for future wounds. Helpless inactiv
ity In the face of Imminent danger is
not a characteristic of vigorous men
or healthy parties. It is indicative of
decay and death rather than long life.
Meek submission to calamity Is one of
the surest signs of decrepitude.
But if the next Congress is to be
Democratic, the actual reason will He
in the fact that great numbers of our
people tire of one thing and want an
other.' The surest constant irr the
human spirit is fickleness. But per
haps it Isn't worth while to dwell on
this paradox. " ' '
Construction methods used in the
erfection of the Spalding building at
Third and Washington streets con
tinue to excite much favorable com
ment. The Oregonian has referred
previously to this matter, calling at
tention to the well-kept streets at that
busy corner while construction was
proceeding rapidly from day to day
and every day. By some magic seem
ingly unknown to Portland contrac
tors in general, the material for this
gigantic building has been absorbed by
the structure and hauled inside with
out delay or inconvenience to citizens.
The management under which this
building has. arisen without the cus
tomary clutter, of streets of which a
too-familiar illustration is seen in an
other block, in the same neighborhood
is certainly commendable.
According to the theory of Profes
sor Knox, "the child is the only text
book a teacher needs." Why have a
teacher for the all-sufficient child?
For does not this sapient professor
tell us farther that "individuals as
they develop their bodies build their
own thoughts into them?" Clearly it
is unwarrantable interference with
this self-body-building and thought
building to attempt to teach children.
Let great Nature have her Way and
save all expense of schools, all sys
tems of restraint and direction. Turn
the children over to their own devices.
Don't worry them about details. The
world is theirs; let them enter upon
their estate untrammeled by the judg
ment, the experience and the direc
tion of their elders.
Miss Fanny Crosby, the blind singer,
yesterday completed ninety year3 of
gentle, blameless life. She has writ
ten several thousand hymns, some of
which are to be found In the hymnals
of every orthodox denomination. "I
have never regretted my loss of sight,"
said this gentle nonagenarian, "for it
has quickened my other faculties and
been really a great blessing to me."
The simple human creature, unknow
ing what she has missed because of
"wisdom at one entrance quite shut
out," stands a pathetic figure on the
farther verge of a century of life
happy in that it takes so little to make
her happy.
"The greatest question of today agi
tating the minds of the people of this
country is the high cost of living,
brought about on account of the fact
that too few people are feeding too
many." So says the Inland Herald
(Spokane)., Very well, then; let those
of us who are dissatisfied with this
condition get out into the country, till
the soil, milk the cow and feed the
pig, as aforetime. What right have
we who refuse this work to congre
gate in the towns and roar about the
high cost of living?. Or to. look to
politics or parties for remedy? So
easy is it, however, to be absurd!
The Milwaukee road says it can't
be forced to give "terminal rates" to
Spokane that Ms. the same rates to
Spokane as to Coast terminals. It
couldn't do it If it would. It
can stay out of Spokane, but can't
consent to an Impossible condition.
Spokane is a fine interior town; but
when it sets up to be "the whole
thing," the diathesis then is that of a
megalocephalous condition.
Some ' think the 'Democratic party,
in Congress, has made a mistake in
deliverance of the House from the
charge of being under "personal con
trol" and under "rule of the trusts."
That would have been good campaign
thunder, which could have been used
with advantage in coming elections.
Some say it was short-sightedness to
cut this campaign capital off.
Perhaps, since the . Democratic
party has surrendered every principle
and abandoned every Issue upon which
it has contended since the days of Its
founder, Jefferson, it might do little
or no harm If in power again. But
there are many, probably a majority,
who have no confidence in it.
Statistics show the average cost of
the four-year course at one of the big
Eastern universities is $3675. The
biographies of most "big:' men, how
ever, show they graduated from the
little schools, facetiously called "jerk
water," on a small fraction of that
sum.
It would hardly be wise to bank on
the supposition that Roosevelt, on his
homecoming, will declare against the
Taft Administration and spread his
sails to obtain the Democratic nomi
nation for the Presidency.
Democrats universally think "insur
gency" in the Republican party very
fine. Therefore their opinion of Re
publicans who didn't "insurge" may
not be so patriotic and disinterested.
Packing- their own sins on Cannon
as the scapegoat, and sending him off
to carry them into ' the wilderness,
will the Republican " party be able
thereby to "purify" itself?
"Sports" would better not pay out
their money for fight tickets until they
see whether MIstah Johnson will sur
vive the Joy-wagons, the jails and the
bubble water. -
Neighbors at a fire in an up-state
New York farmhouse the other night
used maple sap as an extinguisher.
The "flames licked it up greedily," no
doubt.
If you are to support your wants
you will have trouble about high
prices. , If you support only your
needs, prices will be lower.
Perhaps "system" started and
wrecked the bunco Moore-Morris
bank. It must have been something
pretty bad.
Portland Is to be the end of the run
for Great Northern trains, too. Seat
tle can have Portland's old sema
phores. No other man will care to punish
Jere Lints as Jack Cudahy did, so Jere
has some cause for satisfaction.
Gifford Pinchot thinks he has a big
brother the other side of the water
who will "lick" Taft.
' Bad weather did not save downtrod
den husbands any Easter hat: money
this year. "
WHAT UPSET IX CONGRESS MEANS
Significance of the Recent Entente In
the Home.
Aberdeen (Wash.) World.
The present Congress cannot be under
estimated from the standpoint of party.
It is strictly a partisan affair. It has
little significance otherwise. It does not
mean a permanent change in systems or
methods not in the end, at least. It does
not mean freer speech or better repre
sentation. It does not mean that the
Speaker of the House, whoever he may
be, will be compelled to recognize any
and every member who happens to get
to his feet. It does not mean debate
without limit. It does not mean that
power will be transferred from the
Speaker back to the members. It means
none of these things ultimately. ' It can
not mean them without ensuing chaos.
They will be tried for a time, perhaps,
but they will be abandoned when the
new leaders there will always be lead
ers find concentration of power neces
sary. In the ultimate of things this re
volt is a temporary curiosity.
But it is a good deal more than that
as respects the immediate, future of the
Republican party. A wide breach has
been opened. It will not be presently
healed not during the session. It will
not be healed until after appeal has been
made to the country. Then and then
only shall we know what the Republican
party is to be. It is all very well for
Mr. Taft to praise the tariff act. and
both inferentially and directly read "in
surgents" out of the party; but Mr. Taft
is not the party. Nor Is Cannon, nor
yet Aldrich, nor the "regulars," nor
the "insurgents." The question will be
up to the people, and whatever brand the
people stamp, that, we take it. Is Re
publicanism. For the moment we own
ourselves in doubt.
The situation gives Democracy its finest
chance since the elevation of Grover
Cleveland to the Presidency. The min
ority in Congress is the majority today,
if. that is. Cannon and his supporters
pursue the Speaker's proposed policy of
turning legislation over to the "insur
gents." That policy is both logical and
natural. You can't expect a man, humil
iated as Cannon has been, to aid his
enemies in "making records" or estab
lishing a basis for an appeal to the
voters for vindication. Nor can you ex
pect Democrats to join "insurgents" in
passing administration measures. And
there you are. If the regulars follow the
Speaker in his present attitude we shall
have no further legislation this session.
And every man In the House can claim
exemption fnom blame. Each Is playing
his own little game to the devil with the
country.
So the Republican party is going to be
embarrassed, the Administratibn is gasp
ing and the people are left to wonder
and wait. It may not be such a bad
thing after all, but it surely looks as
though we are to have a new deal.
What will it be? All virtue, political
or governmental, does not rest with the
old organization. Nor does it rest with
the "insurgents." There is something
to be said for both. The people's prob
lem will not be easy.
BREEZY REVIEW.
What the Sun Has to Say A bo (it the
Ruction at Washington.
New York Sun, March 20.
Outside of the few men who honestly
believe that a change in the House rule3
Is the condition precedent of salvation,
what does that farce at Washington
amount to? Mr. Cannon is an old savage
in some respects and as ugly in his Early
Assyrian way as the devil, but he is not
a hypocrite or a "quitter." And what is
being overthrown is not Cannon, It is
Tom Reed, the finest mind in the Repub
lican party of his time, it is a tradition,
Republican and Democratic, it is what
has been for years a necessity for carry
ing on the business of the House and the
country.
The substitution by a. two-party com
bination of new rules for the old rules
would indicate merely the political im
potence and insubordination that are
among the" fruits of Rooseveltism, but the
House is entitled to what rules it chooses,
and the matter is rather curious as a sign
and an omen than of any real vital ac
count. Observe, howeven, that the opposition
to Mr. Cannon rests largely on false pre
tences and exsufflicate surmise. A Mum
bo Jumbo, a Man of Sin, a Scapegoat is
set up and called "Cannonism." Cannon
is the reactionary, the reprobate, the in
carnate horned fiend. Yet all the sage
legislation which was enacted in the days
of Mr. Taft's predecessor was enacted
while the hornerl head was In the Speak
er's chair. ' But personality has entirely
taken the place of principles. Hero wor
ship, devil baiting; a rumpus, a riot, a
rush; the calling of names, a yellow fever
outside the House, In it men struggling
and shrieking about nothing, and proving
by their victory, if they win, that their
talk about the "czar" was sawdust.
While the country watches that tem
pestuous teapot In the Capitol, please no
tice that Mr. Taft is doing his work well
and without megaphones. If the country
seems a little careless and neglectful the
reason is not a reflection on Mr. Taft.
Human nature loves a fight; and the
United States. after seven years of con
tinual rodomontade and swatting Is un
able to return to a respectable life. A
man who has had, say. a quart and a half
of applejack for seven years Is not going
to swear off If he can help it.
The Reckless Magazines.
Chicago Tribune.
The worst enemies of decency in gov
ernment in the end will be found to be
the person whose recklessness plays fast
and loose with facts, whose imagination
supplies details not produced by inquiry,
and who, when called on to substantiate
what they charge, do not have the infor
mation. It was but a little while ago that
men connected with a prominent periodi
cal were forced on the witness stand to
admit the hopeless generality of the ma
terial on which they had made specific
accusations. They knew "by common re
port." The Tribune's advice to the maga
zines remains good: "Have the facts."
The people have believed that a maga
zine article was prepared with conscien
tious care and strict adherence to the
truth. Too many of the "exposures" seem
to carry the result of inquiry made be
tween the arrival of one train and the de
parture of another.
"Large Bodies" for Rourne'a Scheme.
Silver Lake Leader.
The Bend Bulletin has taken a shot at
all newspapers who have expressed them
selves "ferninst" Senator Bourne's 320
acre non-residence homestead bill. It
goes on to state that the "Portland
Chamber of Commerce and other lage
bodies started the ball rolling." Perhaps
they did. We don't care who gave It the
start. The "large bodies" will keep the
ball rolling until after title to the land
is obtained and there is where the whole
trouble rests. It goes on to state that
the "captious critics should inform them
selves of the facts before following blind
ly the jaundiced leadership of the Port
land Oregonian." Wonder what's the mat
ter with the Bulletin? It's columns for
the past few months haveeen filled with
railroad stories taken largely from the
"jaundiced daily." "Consistency, thou art
a jewel" is an old saying that is often
fitting to one's own self.
Pinchot Sutmtded.
Walla Walla Union.
Pinchot seems to have subsided with
the collapse of his allegations against
Ballinger. The bold assertions of what
he intended to do to the Secretary of
the Interior when he was called to the
witness stand ,lacked woefully of fulfill
ment when he was forced to state facts.
It was mighty few facts after all, as
the public had long expected.
HIGH PRICES FROM PIXCHOTISM.
Mr. Minto Sayn Conservation Locka Up
Land From Food Production.
SALEM, Or.. March 24. (To the Editor.)
Words fitly spoken are In The Morning
Oregonian under the caption, "A Force
to Be Reckoned With." The one good
influence resulting from the Injury done
to stock range interests by the forest
policy of the past 12 years is that it
has pushed settlement into the logged
off, brush-covered and partially or light
ly timbered lands where the freedom of
citizenship cannot be interfered with by
National forest changes or rules. Dis
tricts like Eastern Multnomah and Clack
amas, Western Washington, Southern
Columbia and Clatsop, and Eastern and
Northern Tillamook Counties contain
ample room for a year's newcomers of
the land-hungry and home-builder's class,
to whom the patrons of husbandry would
be of desirable and valuable assistance.
The number of flourishing granges In
the first two emphasizes what I 'mean;
but south of those counties four times
the amount of area Is waiting for oc
cupiers, west of the western boundary
of the Cascade forest reserve, which of
fers thousands of homes, without touch
ing the real timber tracts, on which the
timber Is the chief value.
The writer was among the earliest
farmers of Oregon to join the grange,
but thinks there is more need of its ex
tension than ever before, as the freedom
as well as the interests of the land
owning, home-bullding class Is being in
jured by the meddlesome Roosevelt-Pin-chot
policy. It has obstructed. In every
way it can, the real land-hungry poor
from getting lawfully onto the public
domain in the freedom of personal in
itiative In obtaining support for them
selves and their families from the soil
in the least possible time, while selling
small releasements of land by lottery
to those able to buy and hold for spec
ulation. It has developed a host of in
vestors who buy large tracts which they
hold for subdivision and sale at much
higher prices and exacting terms. It is a
wild guess to name the number, in a
population of 90.000,000, who desire land
and could occupy but could not buy it.
President Lincoln knew that when he
signed the homestead law. General
Grant knew the shortage of money
among the brave men who surrendered
at Appomattox when he told the South
ern cavalry to keep their side arms and
their horses, as they would need the
latter when they got home.
The employes of the Department of Ag
riculture learned fast within one year
after Lee's surrender how greatly the
people of the South needed garden seed
and Instruction about planting it. It
was among these Government seed em
ployes, out of a spirit akin to that which
guided the pens of Lincoln and Grant,
that the Idea of patrons of husbandry
was born; and It was because the people
of the frontier adjoining the public do
main were blessed with a more intelli
gent degree of self-direction than were
those of the South, that the grange
spread furthest In the West.
The segregation of the public domain
from the land-poor and land-desiring
people is the chief cause of the rise in
the price of meat; and the great amount
of subdivision of large tracts into small
ones on which meat-making animals can
not be kept and fed, has probably forced
from two to four million families into
the food-consuming class during the past
year, which, with the Lincoln freedom
of the public domain, would now be sup
porting and selling a surplus.
. .
I suppose it is impossible to get the
measure of injury done the American
colonies by King George's maladminis
tration prior to the scene described in
Emerson's "Concord Hymn": we need it
for comparison when we come to count
the cost of the reservation of our public
lands from the would-be producing set
tler; but it is not impossible yet to form
an estimate of the cost to the Nation
of the one-man rule, without law, and
with more than Presidential power, that
Mr. Pinchot's name represents, and the
writer, with 65 years' experience as a
home-builder and home-maintainer in
Oregon, sincerely hopes that nothing will
be done by this Congress to pass any
ex-post-facto law supporting what has
been done unlawfully. His position as a
subordinate in the Department of Agri
culture ought not to make him immune
from the forfeiture of his private fortune
for his misuse of public money by
hounding his employes on the records his
superiors are making and for which they
give guarantees of responsibility. Noth
ing In my life in Oregon has surprised
me so much as the way the people have
submitted to this. As a granger, I fa
vor a renewal of a policy that encour
ages families to seek and find homes on
the land. More than half the land now
under reserve in Oregon is not worth so
much for its timber crop as it is for other
purposes pasturage crops of rye, oats,
barley and buckwheat.
There is much said- now about the rise
In the price of living; there have been
probably from eight to ten millions of
our population influenced to town and
city life and to logging, mining and
other non-food-producing occupations by
the so-called "conservation policy" since
the reservation and conservation system
began. Is it any wonder that fat pork,
the most completely labor-made meat, is
high? JOHN MINTO.
Dog Adopts a Kabbit.
Baltimore American.
G. Y. Evans, a prosperous farmer of
WUIIamsport. Ky has a little house
dog which recently became the proud
mother of two beautiful little puppies.
She was provided with a nice, cozy box
in a corner of the kitchen. She would
make frequent excursions to the fields in
search of food, catching and devouring
many young rabbits.-
Everything proceeded satisfactorily,
with the little family, until the time
had nearly arrived for the puppies to
open their eyes on the strange world
into which they had so recently been
born, when suddenly one of them sick
ened and died.
The mother grieved and moped for a
day or two, finally sallied forth to the
field, as supposed, for food, and sure
enough, she shortly returned and
scratched at the closed door for ad
mission, bearing in her mouth a young
rabbit, which she carefully deposited in
the box with the living puppy.
It was so young that its eyes were
closed also and never yet had opened
on the light of day.
The family supposed it would be eaten
in an hour, so left them to themselves.
What was their astonishment, therefore,
to find them all three later in the day.
not only all of them alive, but the
little blind puppy and little blind rab
bit were snugly nursing side by side, and
have continued to do so ever since.
Correcting Conservation Hynterla.
Yakima Republic.
Judge Ballinger says the Government
will try to find the fair and sensible .
mean between the methods of handling
the public domain urged by the faddists
and hysterical theorists of the East who
know nothing about conditions in the
West, and the methods demanded by
those who want to steal it. That is
what the Judge is trying to do for the
Government now. Those who know him
believe that" he is going about it hon
estly, and sensible people will approve
every honest effort made in that direc
tion by any public official.
Roosevelt for Taft.
LesUe's Weekly.
Ex-President Roosevelt Is not a candi
date for any public place. His only ambi
tion is to become a useful private citizen.
Furthermore, he is for the renomination
of President Taft in 1912. This is the
statement made by John A. Stewart, pres
ident of the League of Republican Clubs
of New York, who says he has the au
thority of the ex-President for it.
LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE
They were talking about the curious
old Congressional custom of holding
orations over the distinguished dead.
Nobody knows when it began, but al
most everybody is agreed that it should
be stopped.
"I recollect the most remarkable ex
perience! ever had making a spoeoh,"
said Senator Dolliver. "A statue was
to be dedicated to the first President of
the United States. Know his name?
No, not George Washington. He wasn't
the first President of the Vnttert States.
The first man who ever held that title
was named Hanson first President of
the First Congress of the Confedera
tion. His title was President of tlio
United States.
"I delved around in the books and
worked up some of what I thought
were mighty interesting histoHoal datn.
On the appointed day I marched into
the Senate chamber and there were 11
pages and three Senators there. Two
of the Senators, like myself, were to
make speeches.
"The two other Senators made their
speeches. Beingmy seniors they cam
ahead of me. Each when he was fin
ished promptly walked out.
"When I came on my audience con
sisted of Senator Hoar, the pases, the
presiding officer and a fair gallery. I
got up and commenced very much dis
couraged. "Senator Hoar was deeply interested.
He followed me closely. Presently he
moved up closer to me and began tak
ing notes." He proved as good an audi
ence as a full Senate and I turned my
seii loose to entertain him.
"He became so interested that he
would occasionally drop remarks such
as 'Remarkable, really. Where did you
get that?' and the like. I thought I
was making a great hit with the veter
an, and was immensely pleaded.
"When I finished I thanked htm for
his attention and Interest, and lie re
plied: ""Not at all. Senator. I was much In
terested because I have to make a his
toric speech myself shortly, and I want
ed to get notes on those researches of
yours.' " Philadelphia Times.
Dr. Aked, during a run-in with an
agnostic the other day, scored a neat
fall for the orthodox.
It happened on a railway train.
The doctor's dialectic adversary was
a drummer who had purchased a paper
backed edition of some lectures deliv
ered by the late Colonel Ingersoll.
"And creation isn't such a much, any
way," went on the drummer like a
Springtime flood. "Nothing in the uni
verse is made well."
"For instance."
"Er ourselves. We have eyelids to
protect the eye, but our ears have no
lids. Now, if it had been a good job
we could rest our sense of hearing by
closing a lid over it once in a while,
couldn't we?"
It was the doctor's turn to enthuse.
"Great!" he exclaimed. "You have
actually uttered a new idea at least,
one that I have never heard of before.
I will concede you a point against the
human ear. I would give thanks to the
Maker if he had made mine with lids.
Believe me. sir, if it were so I should
close thein now." New York Telegraph.
At the 15th annual dinner -of the
class of '95 of the University of Penn
sylvania, held at the Union League,
and during the festivities much com
ment was made on the fart that the
members of the class were fathers of
children to the fine sgprrecate of 111,
63 of whom were boys and OS girls.
This pleasing Information was also
printed in the class pnper. which gave
an alphabetical list of the children, to
gether with the dates of their birth.
Speaking of the gladsome galaxy of
youngsters, one of the members re
marked that it "rather put the kibosh
on the yelp about race suicide."
"It certainly does," said William. II.
Evans, of this city. "There is every
evidence that the class of '95 is closely
following the Rooseveltian advise."
"That's right." responded D. King
Irwin, of East Orance. X. J. "My fam
ily was increased by two last Auprust,
and if it continues to i-row at that rate
I shall have to keep on following in
Teddy"s footsteps."
"What do you mean?" wonrleringly
inquired Evans.
"I mean," was the smiling rejoinder
of Irwin, "that I will have to go to
Africa, where I can shoot game blpr
enough to supply them nil with fodder."
Philadelphia Telegraph.
There Now! Take Tlint!
E. Hofer, in Salem Journal.
Little, hungry. snapping-turUe-brained
editors, like Billy Clarke, of Gcfvals. and
Addison Bennett, of Irrlgon, both stamp
llckers on commission, can't sleep nights
out of pure solicitude lest the Republican
party be raped and outraged by such a
man as Colonel Hofer being made Gov
ernor. Dream of the Wandering felt.
BY ELI.A KXI'JMT.
The writing or the follow lnu was msRi'fl
ed by seeing a notice of the Rale at am lion
of the old Hall of Tara. neat of the early
Irian kinKg nd chiefs, which was built l.e
fore the time of Christ.)
"The harp that once through Tara's halis
Its oul of music shed.
Now hangs as mute on Tara's w-alls
As If that oul were fled "
Thomas Moors.
Hush. hark, did ye hear It? That harp fo
lone silent
On Tara's lone wall Is reaoundlnn' aeain ;
Its last chord la breaking In hope's ii Inn
moment.
And sad are it echoes o'er moorland
and fen.
It shrieks and it hlases, it writhes and
laments.
For the hall of her chieftains U )( to
her liold.
Betrayed by false sons and by strangers de
nuded. Fair Krin, loved Erin, dear Brln of old.
The echoinK notes of that harp etrlng are
calling
The scattered and lost ones to rally onoa
It callsto the eastward and calls to the
westward :
It echoos to northward by Lough Xcagh s
shore.
To southward where Shannon her green
banks is fretting.
And out through the dingle across the
deep pea.
Like a spirit aroused from the thralldom
of error.
It cries to the powers. "Let my country
go free."
The moon slowly climbs o'er the hills of
Killarney.
And throws on dark Tara her silvery veil.
Sure, out from her casements dim liphts I
see streaming.
And through the broad doorway grr!
companies trail.
What! what! They are harping the old
Celtic measures
Hiat rang through her halls in the days
of her pride.
Plumed chiefs and fair ladles wtih hard
handed tollers.
Lift up their glad songs for the inflowing
tide
Of hopes that -were faded and long since
forgotten.
Revived in the dream of the wandering
felt.
Aggrieved by his wrongs and his country's
sad story.
Fair Erin, green Isle where his forefath
ers dwelt.
The old castle stands In the dawn of the
morrow.
Its summit Just touched by the sun's early
ray. When a ship In the offing far out from the
harbor
With the stan-spangled banner steams
freely away.
Ah! the mornings-breeze kisses that emblem
of freedom":
I w-oitld that it streamed o'er my country
and me.
Th time has been long; but our shackles
are rusting
Erin, dear homeland, we too shall b fiea,