1o
TnE HORXIXG OREGOMAX, FRIDAY. APRIL, 1, , 1910.
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PORTLAND, FRIDAY, APRIL, 1. 1B10.
THE PROTEST OF THE WIST.
A writer in the Inland Herald (Spo
kane) says "the East believes that the
West ought to be reforested. Why
not reforest the East instead?" Be
cause and only because reform is for
your neighbor, not for yourself. Be
cause and only because the purpose
of reform is to correct the habits of
others, not your own.
The same writer continues (we em
ploy paraphrase and condensation):
"We want money, mills, factories,
farmers and other good citizens. But
a great hue and cry is raised about
the Nation losing its wealth of mil
lions, through use of them by enter
prising men, who turn them to ac
count. How about this? Miners went
to Alaska and extracted millions and
millions of gold, under most difficult
and adverse circumstances. The gold
had fallen to them by right of their
own enterprise and discovery. They
carried It off to Seattle and spent it
In revelry and dissipation. But what
then? What was it good for, when
"conserved," as it had been for mil
lions of years?"
"The earth is the Lord's, and the
fullness thereof." Tes indeed; but
this is idealistic. Why don't these
people of the East who call us thieves
come out here and open our mines
and develop them, work in our for
ests and cut lumber, clear our lands
for the plow where necessary, or
lead the waters for irrigation where
that is necessary, and do something
with these natural resources and turn
them to account, instead of sitting
back in their Indolence and insolence,
and denouncing as thieves those who
are willing to take the chances and
do the work, in expectancy of reward?
These paragraphs from the source
from which we have been drawing
liave a sound as refreshing as that of
falling waters in a desert, viz.:
Pinchot and Glavis are the harpies of
Western despoliation, reinforced by the rad
ical. antl-Oovernment press of tho East.
Occasionally a Western paper Joins the
family of "We" and barks its mightiest;
but it has been truly said, "There is a
Judas In every household."
Judge Ballinger Is one of our good cit
izens; as a member of the bar he Is clean,
honest, upright and able; as a neighbor we
love him.
Traitors they are to the West who
turn against such a man. Traitors
they are to the great National policy
which has fostered development and
made the country from the Atlantic
to the Pacific what it Is. What an
absurdity it is, when- the Government
spends millions of dollars, in irriga
tion improvement, sending out mil
lions of circulars through Irrigation
bureaus Inviting settlers to the West,
and at the same time withdrawing all
the available lands from settlement,
under pretense of .holding them for
posterity !
It seems that if the American peo
ple are not playing the fool on one
subject, they must be playing the fool
on some other. "Conservation" is
now the fad with many. Just as illim
itable greenbacks and free silver were
with other many, aforetime, and as
initiative or "direct legislation" and
opposition to representative govern
ernment have recently been or still
are. "In a democratic country," says
a' forcible writer, "or in any other, for
that matter, no writ of Injunction can
be sued against the willingness of the
people to make fools of themselves."
Just now there is no very great mat
ter, but a multitude of small ones,
that will serve this purpose. Yet the
folly of locking up the natural re
sources of the country and calling it
conservation very deeply affects the
welfare of the West. It is a fad of the
Kast, that should proceed to reforest
ation of its own territory, and to
measures that will restore the savag
ery and wlldness of nature at home,
if that's what is wanted. It is not
wanted here. Nor there, either ex
cept by mere theorizers, who don't
know the least practical fact that per
tains to the matter they talk about.
liRKAT WORD. IS 'il"
Emblazoned across the top of its
Pditorial columns in large type and
set in double-column measure, un
der the heading. "What Terminal
Kates Would Mean to thf Property
Owner," the Spokane Spokesman-Review
quotes The Oregonian as saying
that "The Spokesman-Review is un
questionably right in saying that Spo
kane would be the largest city on the
I'aclfic Coast if it had enjoyed termi
nal rates." The Spokesman-Review
has a better opinion of this statement
than It has expressed regarding others
made by The Oregonian, for it says:
"This statement from a paper in a
Co;ut city may be accepted as a fact."
The Spokane paper then proceeds
to enlarge on what might follow the
trrar.ting of terminal rates. It as
sures its readers that property would
advance from 400 to fiOO per cent in
value and that the population would
be 300.000. instead of 130,000. All
of -which is pleasing and encouraging,
hut that "if," which The Oregonian
used in its statement is one of
the mightiest words in the English
language. , ,
The Oregonian has no desire to
qualify its quoted statement as re
printed in the Spokesman-Review. If
It affords pleasure to our inland con
temporary, we will widen the field for
speculation as to what the population
and the price of real estate would be,
by savins that if Spokane, with Its
matchless water power, were located
on the site of Portland, at the head
of navigation, there would be no Port
land here. Or, if Spokane had as close
connections with Europe as are en
Joyed by New York and Philadelphia,
It might be larger than either of those
cities. To bring the comparisons
nearer home, and closer to actual con
ditions: If Spokane could load the
world's ocean freight-carriers at the
foot of the falls, instead of at Port
land or Seattle, it would be a water
terminal and entitled to terminal rates
which, as previously stated, would
make it "the largest city on the Pa
cific Coast."
That little word "if" has been an
Impassable barrier in front, and a
burning lasting regret behind, the
greatest events in the world's history.
It affords such an endless, unlimited;
field for speculation, that "If" , the
Spokesman-Review can secure any
comfort in the use The Oregonian has
made of it, we also are pleased.
A PROBLEM OF STATESMANSHIP.
Best way perhaps to stop the rise
of prices and to reduce the cost of
living would be general abandonment
of Industry. Let everybody quit work.
Two hundred thousand coal miners in
Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Missouri,
West Virginia and other states are
now to quit,' The number is consider
able, but riot enough. If all other
workers in all other lines should q'ujt,
everything would be simplified. Prices
will surely fall when the mass of the
people have nothing to buy with.
There are many who believe that old
Joe Cannon is the man to be blamed
for the high cost of living, and that
if he were ejected from the Speaker
ship the three-hooped pot would have
ten hoops, and three half-loaves would
be sold for a penny. Life then would
be worth living.
Old Joe Cannon, everybody agrees,
ought to have suspended economic
laws. The old man is a malignant
wretch, who takes delight in the dis
tress of the people. In years of light
rainfall in Kansas they blame Old Joe,
and the Populist vote Increases. Sim
ilarly the good people way down East,
about Shawmut and Cohasset, dissat
isfied with prices of meat and bread,
elect to Congress the man who they
suppose will rebuke Old Joe for his
oppression of the people. That pro
duction of wheat doesn't keep up with
the demand for bread is not a perti
nent fact at all; nor Is the further fact
that while our population has in.
creased 12.000,000 in the past ten
years, the number of animals supply
ing meat has decreased 6,000,000 in
the same time. These are not rele
vant facts.
Yet someone says that the pro
ducers of meat and bread are not dis
satisfied with the prices only the
consumers. Uncle Joe, If a statesman,
ought to be able to assure the con
sumers low prices and the producers
high prices. Then we should have
universal happiness, as nearly as pos
sible in this sinful and unregenerate
state. Meantime perhaps the best
thing for all of us to do is to strike
and stop work, hold meetings and
pass resolutions.
M V K A KJ'I.l.V.
The death of Myra Kelly deprives
the United States of one of the most
original of its younger story writers.
Among the Jewish children of New
York and their parents she was as
much at home as Mary WHkins among
the New England spinsters. Her tales
were fresh and wholesome and she
had at her command a sober, humor
ous style which seemed precisely
adapted to her material. What she
could have done in the lafrger fields
of literature we shall never know.
Her untimely death, like that of
Frank Norris, takes her from the
world before her genius had reached
its full bloom. She Igoes to her rest
with her work undone.
As a woman writer she was notable
for the rigorous purity of her taste
and literary morals. The attraction
to risky themes which so many of her
sex have felt, passed her by unharmed.
She seems to have escaped entirely
the pernicious influence of Nietzsche
filtered through Kipling which has
made a number of women novelists
little more than idolators of brute
strength and apologists of vicious stu
pidity. Myra Kelly wrote with the
pen of love. Her world was a kindly
and gentle one and her characters had
no need to borrow from the brute to
make them Interesting.
VICTIM OF RED TAPE.
As an example of the silliness of
the red-tape methods of the Govern
ment and the enormous and unneces
sary expense attendant on the simplest
transacti6n In which the Government
Is a party, the Swanton case, just con
cluded in this city, is Interesting. Mr.
Swanton was postmaster at Nome,
Alaska, for five years. For the
greater part of that time labor was so
scarce that a saloon-swamper or
beach roustabout could, earn greater
wages in one day than the Govern
ment would pay a postoffice clerk in
a week. So long as his office re
mained in the third class, Mr. Swan
ton, by working overtime himself and
paying a minimum of $5 per day for
clerk hire, succeeded In keeping the
office in running order. Increasing
business raised the office to second
class, and then the good old red tape,
which slacked away sufficiently to
sanction the payment of $5 per day in
a third-class office, tightened up with
a snap and fixed $1000 per year as
the maximum for a clerk's salary.
There were no JlOOO-per-year clerks
in Nome, so for a brief period the cit
izens of Nome came to the rescue of
poverty-stricken Uncle Sam and made
up the deficiency. Then Mr. Swanton
received permission to put the office
back into the third class, and thus re
gained the right to pay Nome wages
for Nome help. This arrangement
lasted three months. Before the
Government could cancel it, Mr. Swan
ton. acting on authority, had dis
bursed $2250 more for help than was
permissible under the red-tape rules
governing second-class offices. Mr.
Swanton has been sued for this
amount and has lost the suit.
This mistaken attempt to substitute
business methods for red tape .was
made about five years ago. Since "that
time a large sum of money has been
spent by special agents and inspectors
who have been looking up the case.
Neither the prosecution nor the de
fense believes it right that Mr. Swan
ton should suffer this loss. - Even if
the Judgment secured against him is
affirmed, It is entirely probable that
Congress would promptly recompense
him. In the present trial a law. clerk
was sent all the way from Washington
to testify to facts which are already
known and acknowledged, and this
expense, together with that already
incurred, will amount to two or three
times as much as the entire claim-
Senator Aldrich says he could save
$300,4)00,000 per year If he were per
mitted to run the Government busi
ness on the system necessarily used
in the conduct of private business.
Taking the Swanton case as an ex
ample, one can readily believe that
there would be a large surplus over
and above the $300,000,000 unless
more common sense and less red tape
are used in other departments than
appear to have found lodgment in the
Postoffice Department.
UNREASONABLE.
Hawaiian merchants are reported
to be considering the advisability of
boycotting San Francisco because
that port is opposing suspension of the
coastwise navigation laws. This is
most unkind and unfeeling on the part
of the Hawaiians. If they have re
ligiously read the San Francisco
Chronicle and Call, they will under
stand that this opposition to an abun
dant supply .of cheap tonnage for
handling business between the islands
and the United States is altogether In
the Interest of the old flag and an
appropriation for ship subsidies.
With suspension of the coastwise
navigation laws between Hawaii and
the United States and between New
York and Pacific Coast ports, there
would be such an immediate increase
in the supply of shipping available that
rates would decline and unprecedent
ed prosperity would result. Under
such conditions the imposition, of a
ship subsidy would be an impossibil
ity. The Hawaiians are certainly un
reasonable. VALUABLE OBJECT LESSON.
It is not possible to overestimate
the value to farmers along the route
covered by the demonstration train
that returned to Portland Wednesday
evening. The train, thoroughly
equipped for the demonstrations un
dertaken and accompanied by mem
bers of the faculty of the Oregon Ag
ricultural College, covered a trackage
of 1300 miles, on the O. R. & N. lines;
at its twenty-nine stopping places In
Eastern Oregori and Washington It
was visited by approximately 14,000
people.
This statement has a meaning far
beyond the words m which it is ex
pressed. It means an awakened in
terest in a -multitude of intelligent
people upon matters of which it vital
ly concerns them to know. It means
further, through explanations and in
struction furnished by men of experi
ence, a- quickened desire in these men
to make the most of their vocation
and the opportunities that it offers.
Time was when it was only the ex
ceptional farmer who made more than
a livjrg on his farm and kept it clear
of debt. In all too many cases this
is still true, and in many cases the
mortgage, with its steadily accruing
interest, still takes toll of the farmer's
endeavor and of his family's necessi
ties. The campaign of agricultural
education now in progress will with
out doubt reduce these cares to the
minimum in due time by confining
them to farmers who are too old and
set in their ways to take kindly to any
methods that have not the approval
of time and long-established, custom.
WAS HAMLET INSANE?
The question of Hamlet's insanity
has always puzzled Shakespearian stu
dents, but perhaps they have made it
more perplexing than there was any
need of by their neglect of certain
well-known facts of life. Mr. Mantell,
In acting the character of Hamlet,
makes him sometimes sane, sometimes
insane, and there can be little doubt
that this is the correct interpretation
of Shakespeare's concept. It is also
true-to life. Few insane persons are
unbalanced on all subjects. Most of
them can think soundly in all but one
or two directions. Nor are they In
sane at all times as a rule. The men
tal aberration comes and goes, being
now much in evidence, now unnotice
able. In most cases it is incorrect to
say that an insane person has lost his
wits. He has lost some of them. They
escape from his control now and then,
but in the main his wits are still in
his possession.
The story of the man who visited
an insane asylum and was struck with
the sound sense of one of the inmates
is typical. This person, who had been
confined for years with no hope of
recovery, discoursed with great ju
diciousness upon art. He held ad
mirably correct opinions on political
economy. The visitor could not help
praising his remarks on the order of
the solar system. But as they were
parting the inmate pointed to another
poor creature who sat near by and
said, "That man is crazy. He thinks
he is Christ. But since I am God I
certainly ought to know my own son,
and I never saw that man until a
month ago."
On every subject but religion the
man was perfectly sane, and on that
subject his aberration was intermit
tent. Hamlet's case was very similar.
When the thought of his murdered
father was absent from his mind no
man could think more clearly. No
man's opinions were more correct.
Take, for example, his Instructions to
the player, "Speak the speech, I pray
thee, trippingly on, the tongue." In
this famous scene Mr. Mantell makes
Hamlet a quiet, deliberative man of
the world who understands his pur
pose and knows how to attain it.
There is no violence, no entanglement
of ideas. All goes smoothly. The rules
laid down are such as commend them
selves to our highest judgment, while
the - language is exquisite beyond
parallel.
With this beautiful moment of as
sured mental harmony contrast the
scene at Ophelia's grave where Hamlet-
quarrels with Laertes. Here he
completely loses control of himself,
and rants and roars like any maniac.
In fact, he is for the time a maniac,
and again Mr. Mantell brings, out the
Shakespearian concept with extreme
accuracy. His Hamlet in this scene is
a different person from the wise and
philosophic instructor of the player,
so different that they have nothing in
common but features and clothing. It
is a fine touch in Mr. Mantell's acting
to exaggerate a little the violence of
the insane paspages. Uncontrolled
violence is characteristic of mental
disease. The inhibitory powers suffer
as a rule more than the Intelligence
when the brain is affected, and Mr.
Mantell is perhaps the first of our
greater Shakespearian actors to bring
this point out clearly. In Hamlet's
moments of madness he outrageously
violates his own precept to "use all
gently" and "in the very torrent, tem
pest and whirlwind of passion" to
"acquire a temperance that may give
it smoothness."
In the scene with Laertes at
Ophelia's grave Hamlet's conduct and
language are anything but smooth.
His speech becomes fairly incoherent
and his gestures are extravagant to
tAe last degree. This is plainly one of
the moments of Hamlet's Insanity and
the reader may inquire what connec
tion it has with his father's murder.
We said a moment since that Hamlet
was always sane except when this
idea came into his mind; but here it
seems he is thinking of his love for
Ophelia and not of his father at all.
This is only apparently true, not
really. What upset him at the grave
was not his lost love, but the associa
tion of Laertes with Polonius, wnom
he had slain thinking the old states
man was tho King. This brought
back the fatal problem with a rush,
and with it the destruction of his self
mastery. Nothing could be better
done than Mr. Mantell's transition
from the calm conversation with Ho
ratio to the Incoherent challenge of
Laertes. It is precisely like a sudden
access of insane frenzy. A similar
transition occurs in the scene where
Hamlet bids Ophelia get her to a
nunnery and again, even more con
spicuously, when the players are act
ing "The Mousetrap," where he hopes
"to catch the conscience of the King,"
and actually does catch it.
The trap has been planned with
perfect Ingenuity. Nothing Is lack
ing, and, if intelligence were any in
dication of sanity, we should have to
pronounce the man who contrived this
scene as sane as a human being could
be. But toward the end of it Hamlet
betrays his real mental condition by
losing his self-control again. He falls
into a frenzy, displays violence beyond
all occasion, and partially thwarts his
own purpose by his unreasonable con
duct. Here again Mr. Mantell brings
out Shakespeare's intent with con
summate art. He acts the part of
Hamlet throughout with an intelli
gent veracity which shows that he
must have read deeply in the litera
ture of insanity. The key to his tri
umph Is his grasp of the truth that a
man may be insane on one subject
and perfectly sane on all others,
while even his partial insanity may
not be alwaj's In evidence. It may,
show Itself only in moments of excite
ment or under the influence of vivid
association.
Food in fancy packages, instead of
in bulk, is a 'contributing factor in the
much-discussed high - cost - of - living
problem. Mr. Palmer, the Massachu
setts Commissioner of Weights and
Measures, has been investigating the
question, and he finds, among other
things, that sliced bacon, for which
there is a large sale in jars at 60 cents
per pound, can be purchased in bulk
at 25 to 30 cents; rolled-oats in pack
ages are 7 cents per pound, and in
bulk cents; cornmeal in pack
ages, 5 cents. In bulk 2 "4 cents.
Mr. Palmer found that rice partly
cooked and sold- in packages found
plenty of buyers at 314 cents a
pound, while uncooked rice sold in
bulk was obtainable at 8 cents per
pound. Purveyors of these staples
fully appreciate the value of the fancy
packages; but their use is undoubted
ly costing the consumers a great
many millions which might be saved
without causing any suffering or self
denial. Attorney-General Wickersham has
decided that all foreign steamship
companies operating in the United
States are subject to a 1 per cent tax
on their net Incomes. As practically
all of the products of the United States
are carried in foreign ships, the
amount of this tax will, of course, be
added to the cost of the service. The
foreigner, quick to take advantage of
every opportunity for extracting an
additional farthing from the shippers,
may not make serious objection to the
levying of this tax. He will simply
use it as a pretext for advancing rates
2 per cent or more to cover the added
expense; and the Americans will pay
the bill. The levying of this tax will
also offer an excellent excuse for for
eign countries to retaliate by levying a
special tax on our shipping, and per
haps on other products.
The act of legislation, of which
complaint is made by the Eugene
Guard and other newspapers the act
that forbids, among other things,
newspapers to publish matter favor
able to the claims of any candidate,
etc. is not a product of the repre
sentative legislative system. It is one
of the acts of "the people's legislation"
under the initiative system. The
Guard made a mistake in saying It
was "enacted by the Legislature."
That great. Infallible business bar
ometer, the postoffice, tells the tale
of growth or of stagnation In every
city, hamlet and country-side in the
land. Portland's story of a year's
growth is .told in an increase of twenty
per cent or thereabouts In revenue.
The office is running short-handed
and it is estimated that at least twenty-five
additional men will bo neces
sary properly to handle the business
during the current year.
Back East a revolt is spreading in
favor of grand opera in English, on
the plea that It is impossible to make
out -what singers say when they use
German and Italian words. Too often
a long-suffering public can't under
stand what singers say in English.
So what's the use?
Those big Eastern Oregon land
grants have been transferred and sold
before, and the owners, each time,
have sat down to wait for the country
to catch up with the new values.
Democrats are angry because Re
publicans are going to hold an as
sembly. Yet why shouldn't they be
angry? Are not Republicans in dan.
ger of acting in concert?
There is a Jury composed of the
whole thinking public that passes on
a man who receives the people's
money as a banker and scatters it as a
get-rich-quick speculator.
Only one-fifth the people of Port
land attended church on new-hat Sun
day. Maybe the other four-fifths were
kept away by the high cost of living.
A banker Is a person Intrusted with
the honest keeping of the money of
depositors and amenable to a high
code of morals and statutes.
Now they know in Egypt why Colo
nel Roosevelt Is a big man in Amer
ica. And they will soon find wit in
Italy and Germany.
Fortunately or unfortunately, this
weather allows no excuse for any fine
lady to go without a new bonnet.
The weather couldn't be any better
even for a circus and colored lemon
ade.
WHAT ARE THE POLICIES OF TAFTI
Wherein Do They Differ From Roose
velt's t What About a Breast f
New York Times.
Can anybody tell, either offhand or after
deliberation, in what way Mr. Tart's poli
cies differ from Mr. Roosevelt's policies?
President Roosevelt belabored the corpo
rations. Is not President Taft doing that.
too? The activities of the Department of
Justice in prosecuting suits under the
anti-trust act are as persistent and zeal
ous as they were during Mr. Roosevelt's
term, and they are quite as disturbing to
the business of the country. Mr. Roose
velt desired to bring the corporations un
der stricter Federal control. That has been
Mr. Taf t's policy. He and his Attorney-
General devised a National Incorporation
bill, the ultimate expression of central
ized control. The bill is dead, or dying,
but responsibility for that rests with Con
gress. Mr. Taft advocated, caused to be
drafted and was largely Influential in
having passed a corporation tax law, for
which the avowed object Is the giving of
more power to the Federal arm. In re
spect to the corporations, in respect to
getting the business of the country under
political control, Mr. Taft has in no wiso
fallen behind Mr. Roosevelt. Mr. Taft is
pledged to the policy of conservation. He
is no less earnest, and we have no rea
son to suppose that he is any less sincere
that Mr. Roosevelt in his advocacy and
support of that policy. Beyond that. Mr.
Taf stands by the regular wing of his
party. He stood by Speaker Cannon, he
went to Senator Aldrlch's home city the
other night to make a speech in which he
again spoke In defense, even in praise, of
the Aldrich tariff? What is the trouble
with the Taft policies? Do they hot em
body the letter and the spirit of the
Roosevelt policies?
Yet, if one were to credit current re
ports, and fresh ones appear every day, it
would be difficult to resist the conclusion
that the friends of Mr. Roosevelt are
about to break openly with the Taft Ad
ministration. From Ohio comes the story
that James R. Garfield, who was Mr.
Roosevelt's Secretary of the Interior, has
declared In the most unqualified manner'
that he will not run for Governor In Ohio
"on the platform framed by the present
Administration." He is to make a. speech
next week, it appears, and dispatches
from Columbus say that he will explain
that, inasmuch as he would run upon no
platform save his own, and that he will
not be permitted to make his own plat
form, therefore he must decline to run at
all. Then there is this puzzling affair of
Gifford Plnchot's hastening away to meet
the returning ex-President. We have said
that we are quite unable to believe that
he goes upon any summons from Mr.
Roosevelt. The circumstances forbid it,
save only on the theory that Mr. Roose
velt himself is about to break openly with
the Taft Administration. Persons who
are ready to believe that would believe
anything in politics.
COMMON SENSES CONSERVATION.
That la What Country Needs Rather
Than Erratic Plnchotlsm.
New York Post.
People find It comparatively easy to
arrive at a formula of agreement; trouble-
comes with its concrete application.
Mr. Pinchot, we believe, would find little
to complain of ' in Secretary Balllnger's
conception of a proper Government con
servation policy:
To preserve these great stories of natural
resonrces our laws should be so framed
and our administration so conducted that
the prosperity of our people may continue;
that development may go hand In hand
with our natural energy, but that inordi
nate greed of private individuals or cor
porations and the tendency to monopolize
and control these resources against the
Interest of the public In general should be
restrained and regulated under reasonable
and practical methods.
But- when it came to deciding what
were reasonable and practical methods.
Pinchot would fall foul of Ballinger, and
when it came to the question of who
should determine what were practical
and reasonable methods, Pinchot would
say to Ballinger. "Decidedly thou art
not the man." There is an element of
common sense on Ballinger's side. The
spirit with which the country has flung
ltseir into conservation is almost one
of panic fear. The militant magazines
are already preaching Government own
ership. State Socialism, and what not.
We cannot believe that at one bound
this land of unlimited resources and
equal opportunities has become a laud
all a-tremble for its future. But
Ballinger's common sense does not nul
lify a distrust in . his motives, whereas
Pinchot's occasional departures from
common sense are palliated by the un
doubted disinterestedness of his motives.
He has rendered the country a great
service by calling its attention to a
problem of the highest importance. The
country's duty to itself now Is to go at
the problem in a spirit of determination
and common sense.
Mrs. John A. Logan In Poor Health.
Washington (D. C.) Star.
Mrs. John A. Logan, widow of General
Logan, who has been at Hot Springs,
Ark., for the last two months, is ex
pected back in this city. She has been
very ill, and while her condition still
remains serious, her desire to return home
was so great that the journey was under
taken. She is traveling in the private
car of a friend and Is accompanied by
her daughter, Mrs. Tucker, who has been
with her. at Hot Springs, and several
nurses.
Simple Life for Cheap Living;.
Omaha Bee.
With all our efforts to bring down
the cost of living only a few have
quietly and effectually solved the prob
lem. Their method has been to resume
"the simple life" by confining them
selves within the limits of their in
comes, as in the days of old, buy with
scrupulous care, practice economy and
avoid waste. People who cut their gar
ment according to their cloth appar
ently succeed now as formerly, and
live well within average means.
Uncle Joe's Consoling; Thought.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
At any rate. Uncle Joe may console
himself with the fact that the Insur
gents have downed him only once
while he has made enough grease spots
of the insurgents to settle the dust on
the road from Danville to Paradise.
Unwise Policy.
Christian Science Monitor.
The unwisdom of employing bank
cashiers with automobile tastes at
streetcar salaries is still being occa
sionally emphasized in the business
circles of the country.
T. R. Back to His Own.
Rochester Herald.
Mr. Taft might as well make up his
mind to be satisfied with the second
page as soon as the Colonel gets things
to going real good.
Somebodyll Be Hit.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
A number of persons who are re
gretting that Mr. Roosevelt will not
talk politics will probably duck for
cover when he does.
Fairbanks' Peculiarity.
Washlngton Star.
Charles W. Fairbanks is attracting
much attention as an ln,djana man who
can travel In distant countries without
writing a book about it.
IS LAND FOR MEN OR TREES f
This Is a Western Matter, Yet Con
trolled by Eastern Faddists.
Los Angeles Times.
That part of the American Continent
where the Pilgrim Fathers landed from
the little ship Mayflower In 1620 was
and is "a stern and rockbound coast."
but these Pilgrims, those who followed
them and their descendants, have made
a broad and brilliant record upon the
pages of history. It has been the boast
of New Englanders that where the
rocks came too near the surface to
permit a blade of grass to grow they
had "planted a suhoolhouse and raised
men." The men raised in New England
have been more to America in states
manship, in material progress, in liter
ature and In morals than any mere
material product of any part of the
United States. It was these men raised
on the stormy, rocky coasts of New
England who sought, subdued and de
veloped the West and produced all the
wealth from the new country.
In reference to this matter, one might
very well stop today and ask the ques
tion: "Is it right that nearly zu per
cent of the State" of California is now
withheld and controlled In an unde
veloped condition in the forest re
serves?" It might be added: "Does not
the Government bureaucracy stagnate
natural development over areas of Im
mense potential development : r ur
thermore, is it not well to consider
whether the Government policy of
wholesale land classification is accom
panied with no dangers to the West?
It will no doubt stagger some ot our
readers quite to comprehend that one
fifth of all the State of California is
included In the Government forest re
serves. But that is so. The Forestry
Service is our authority for the state
ment that up to January, 1907, there
had been withdrawn from the public
domain within the State of California
for forestry purposes a total of 19,03o.
810 acres, and at that date there were
several reserves proposed which have
since been permanently located. This
area Is equal, to 29,473 square miles, and
a glance at statistical tables shows us
that this area is greater than the en
tire areas' of Massachusetts, Vermont,
Connecticut and New Jersey combined.
The entire forest reserves of all the
United States aggregated over 60,000,
000 acres as early as October. 1902, an
equivalent to 93,000 square miles.
Now, this is a Western subject, deal
ing with a Western matter particularly
interesting to the West. Hon. Gifford
Pinchot is exceedingly fond of the
hackneyed phrase, "a square deal." It
would be well for all persons Interested
in the West, In the people of the West
and in the development of the wealth
of .the West, to ask If the residents of
Western states are getting "a square
deal" when vast areas equal to em
pires, larger than many Eastern states,
have been withdrawn from entry with
out examination, as Is vouched for by
a former forestry chief- Mr. Pinchot,
when he was on the stand the other
day and confessed he had no definite
evidence to lay before the Congres
sional committee, laid much emphasis
upon what he called "unavoidable In
ferences." Is It not more than an un
avoidable inference that the stretching
of authority so far beyond all reason
conferred by a rider attached to a bill
for another purpose as to alienate from
all use these vast areas of land, much
of which might be of use for agricul
ture, much for mining development,
both of which by exact statute are pre
ferred before forest reservation?
Liquor Consumption.
Eastern Argus. Portland, Maine.
Statistics that shed some light upon
the claims of prohibitionists as to t-.e
effect of the "prohibition wave on
liquor consumption are to be found in
the American Prohibition Year-Book
for 1910. They show that In 1840 the
annual per capita consumption of dls
tilled liquors was 2.52 gallons. Thirty
years later the figures stood at 2.07
gallons, and in 1909 It was 1.37 gallons.
These figures apparently sustain- the
prohibitionist contention. But that is
only part of the story. There are the
'malt liquors to be taken into account.
The consumption of malt liquors in
1840 was 1.36 gallons per head; In-1880
It had risen to 8.26 gallons; In 1909 It
was 19.7 gallons. Here is an enormous
increase in beer consumption; yet the
decline in the consumption of distilled
liquors indicates that the trend has
been in the direction of temperance.
But your fanatic prohibitionist who
puts mild malt liquors in the same
category with the "wet, damnation ' of
distilled spirits, cannot nnd any en
couragement in the exhibit. If he Le
consistent he must argue that this
increase in malt liquor consumption in
the past 70 years from, 1.36 gallons
per capita to 19.7 gallons Indicates
that, from the prohibitionist's stand
point, the American people are going
to the demnition Do w-wows.
Long Hat-Pin Ordinance.
Chicago Record-Herald.
The long hat-pin ordinance is not
directed against a style of dress, but
against a public nuisance It has been
shown that painful wounds and even
lws of sight have resulted from the
maintenance of this nuisance. The style
mignt te harmless ir each of its de
votees could be consigned to a 10-acre
lot and duly surrounded by a barbed
wire fence, but when they throng the
streetcars of a great city it Is danger
ous, it is to be noped that women wil
have the good sense to realize that
the ordinance, with its $30 fine, is not
a piece of freak legislation- that there
were excellent reasons why an effort
should have been made to abolish the
nuisance, and that It is their duty to
put tne jongr nat-pin out of business.
Democracy Speechless.
Baltimore Sun.
Astonishment Is too mild a word to
express the surprise of the country at
tne spectacle ot a democratic gather
Ing In which speeches were dispensed
with. The Democrats have subsisted
so long on a diet of oratory and dlsao
pointment that when the minorltv
members of Congress come down to
business, hold a caucus that gets to
work at once, elects its members of the
new rules committee and adjourns, the
event Is as gratifying as it is unex
pected. There seems to ' be practical
leadership at last, which will be able to
accomplish results if the Democrats
should carry the House of Representa
tives this Fall.
Royal Italians on Roller Skates.
Rome Cor. New York Herald.
At the Italian court the roller-skating
craze has reached a climax, iivery morn
ing young people assemble in the "Sala
del Corazzierl and practice a quadrille
which is to be performed before the Queen
Mother. The young Queen personally di
rects the rehearsals, assisted by Mar
chese Calabrinl and Marchese Giorgio
Guglieimi, and two of the figures were
designed by her.
The Queen is a proficient skater, but
she will not take part in the quadrille.
The King, who is a beginner, practices
in his leisure moments. Another royal
beginner is Princess Vera of Montenegro,
the Queen's sister.
When to Use the Retort Courteous.
Atlanta Constitution.
The retort courteous is when you
refuse to employ the shorter and uglier
word against a man three sizes larger
than yourself.
Expert Sympathy.
Washington Star.
J. Ogden Armour says he is sorry
for the people because or the high
price of meat. This is what may be
called expert sympathy. ;
LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE
Discussing the fact that kings never
visit America. Frederick Townsend
Martin, the author of "The Passing of
the Idle Rich," said at a luncheon in
New York:
"It is not because we wouldn't treat
them respectfully that reigning mon-
archs never visit us. I am sure, if a
reigning monarch came to our shores .
we would treat them with the greatest
respect.
"But we are ignorant of the intricate
etiquette, the forms and ceremonies.
whereby such respect is expressed. It
Is this Ignorance which keeps the
reigning monarchs away.
It would be bad for him and baa
for us, you know, if our respect took
some uncouth form if it called to mind
the new office boy who, observing that
a disaster had befallen his master's ap- "
parel, slipped Into the man's hands a
note saying:
Honored sir, yer pants Is ripped.
A big, able-bodied man of about mid
dle age shuffled into the poor law
guardian s office and curtly bade the
clerk good morning.
Wot d yer mean," he began, by
knockin' orf poor Widder Snagg's
parish pay? She's a 'onest, 'ard-workin
woman whose nose is in the washtub
all day. an' It's a wicked shame to rob ,
er of 'er lorful rights."
The clerk took down a big ledger and
silently consulted it.
"Mrs. Snagg has married again, he
said, "and the guardians have decided
that she is no longer entitled to outdoor
relief, and In any event, my man.", he
added sharply, "I should like to know
if the matter is any concern of yours?"
Concern of mine!" the man respond
ed, "well, I should rather think so.
guv'nor. If you stops the old lady s
pay, you stops my dally ounce o' shag
an' quart o beer too! I m er noo
"usband!" London Answers.
.
Addison Mizner, the well-known New
York first-nighter, told, at a studio
supper, a good story about a prominent
business man.
"A chandelier fell in the night at his
house." explained Mr. Mizner, "and in
the morning at breakfast he said to his
wife with a laugh:
" 'What did you think, my love, when
you heard the chandelier fall In the
dead silence of the night?'
" 'I thought, darling." his wife
answered, 'that you had been detained
on business again, and were getting
upstairs as quietly as you could.' " .
New York Sun.
Frederick C. Beyer, a well - knowi
Cleveland editor, told, at a recent press
banquet, a newspaper story.
"A Medina editor died," he said, "and
was, of course, directed to ascend to
the abode of the Just. But during the
ascent the editor's journalistic curiosity
asserted itself, and he said:
" 'Is It permitted for one to have a
look at er the other place?"
" 'Certainly,' was the gracious reply,
and accordingly a descent to the other
place -was made. Here the editor found
much to interest him. He scurried
about, and was soon lost to view.
"His angelic escort got worried at
fast, and began a systematic search for
his charge. He found him at last
seated before a furnace, fanning himself
and gazing at the people In the fire.
On the door of the furnace was a plate
saying: 'Delinquent Subscribers.'
" 'Come,' said the angel to the editor,
'we must be going.'
" You go on,' the editor answered,
without lifting his eyes. 'I'm not com
ing. This is heaven enough for me." "
The honorable member from the
'Steenth district, who had Just taken
his seat, suddenly sprang to his feet
again.
"Mr. Chairman." he exclaimed, in
ringing tones, "I rise to a question of
personal privilege!"
"The chair recognizes the gentleman."
"I have a right to demand, sir,"
roared the honorable member, "the
name of the billy-be-dad-binged galoot
that stuck a bent pin in my chair!"
Chicago Tribune.
Francis Wilson, the comedian, said at
a dinner in New York, apropos of the
law that forbade the performance of his
play. "The Bachelor's Baby":
"The law against child labor Is an ex
cellent one: but It Is an abuse of this
law to forbid children, properly pro
tected, to appear on the stage.
"The best of things are open to
abuse, you know. Even prayer meet
ings!" Mr. Wilson smiled.
"Wllllnm Spargus," he resumed, "rose
in prayer meeting one night, and said
he desired to tell the dear friends
present of the great change of heart
that had come over him, so that he now
forgave, fully and freely. Deacon Jones
for the horse he had sold him.
"Deacon Jones was too shocked at
first to reply. He soon recovered him
self, however, and he rose in his pew
and said:
"'I am indeed glad, dear Christian
friends, to have gained Brother William
Spargus' forgiveness, but all the same
he ain't paid me for the hoss yet.'
Another Food Boycott In High Life.
Pittsburg Times-Gazette.
When an olive-colored touring car as
big as a coal gondola drew up in front of
a stall at the market house there was
some lively stepping by the marketeers.
The man at the wheel wore a huge bear
skin coat that must have set him back
$300; the female occupant was attired in
a. sealskin that was the exact duplicate
of a thousand-dollar bill, while every
bark of the big machine proclaimed that
it took $7000 to pry It loose from its
makers. The woman approached the stall.
"How much are strawberries?" she in
quired. "Seventy-five a basket," replied the
market man.
"Seventy-five cents!" gasped the wom
an. "Well! It's simply outrageous the
way food products stay up."
And an instant later the sealskin, the
bearskin and the olive-colored car had
flounced around the corner In a vanish
ing cloud of gasoline vapor, and another
food boycott - was on.
Real Son of American Revolution.
Gloversville. N. Y.. Cor. of N. Y. World.
Hugh Hiram Woodworth. said to be the
only real Son of the Revolution now liv
ing in this state, is Just 100 years old.
He carries his advanced age well, and
expressed great pleasure on receiving the
congratulatlonslof his friends. Mr. Wood
worth's father, William Woodworth. was
a sergeant in Captain Wells' company of
the Sixteenth New York Regiment, which
was engaged in several battles, notably
Bennington. He was present at Bur
goyne's surrender at Saratoga In 1777.
Mr. Woodworth is a member of the Em
pire State Society, Sons of the America
Revolution.
APRIL FOOL.
Of courses 'twas not in Oregon
That this mishap occurred.
Because in her three climates
Such things aren't seen nor feafd.
Perhaps It was in Missouri.
Or in Indiana state
That this callmity befell.
Just where I'll not relate.
But. sure, on March the 31st
A silly cherry tree.
Ambitious to bo first In bloom.
Blew white as white could be.
An' its ten thousand blossoms waved
Oelighted 'neath the sun.
An' that tree thought itself was "IT."
Because the only one.
But upon April's first new morn
Ice glazed surrounding pools
An' "Jack Frost" bit those cherry blooms.
Poor filly "April foola."
OLD MAN- OUT OF A JOB.
Portland, Or., April 1, 1910.