10 THE MORXING OREGOMAX, SATURDAY, APRIL, 2, 11U. PORTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oregon. Postoffice as Second-Class Matter. Subscription Rates Invariably In Advance. fBT MAIL.) Daily. Sunday included, one year 8-?9 rally. Sunday Included, six months... 4 -So Dally. Bunday Included, three months.. 2.J5 Pally. Sunday included, one month.... - 5 Dally, without Sunday, ens year BOO .Dally, without Sunday. slx months.... 3.J Daily, without Sunday, three months l.5 Daily, without Sunday, one month -yV Weekly, one year .Suhday, ona year 2 50 Guiday and weekly, one year f (By Carrier.) 'rally. Sunday included, one year fl22 Xaily, Sunday Included, one month..., .'3 How to Remit Send Postoffice money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postoffice ad dress in full, including county and state. Postazo Kates lO to 14 pases. 1 cent; 1 to 28 pages 2 cents; 80 to 40 pages. 3 cents; 40 to 60 .pages, 4 cents. Foreign postage double rate. Eastern Business Office The S. C P.eck with Special Agenc New York, rooms 4S 50 Tribune building. Chicago, rooms 510-512 Tribune building. PORTLAND, SATURDAY. APRIL 2, , 1910. ' EXTRA VAOAXt'E AND UGH PRICES. We are burning the candle at both ends. We are Indifferent or slack in the work of production; but, as to extravagance of consumption, there is no limit. From this condition prices are high and going higher. What else could be expected? We are to come down to a lower plane of living in this country shock ing as it may be to say it. It will en force itself. Extravagant living on the one hand, and disinclination to work in the steady Industries of pro duction, on the other, will "fetch'.' us. What does it mean that consumption Increases at a more rapid rate (by comparison) than production? High prices certainly. What else? This country of ours is using its credit and discounting its future, to excess. It has gone mad. Natural consequence is that every class and line and industry are trying to get advantage over others. Higher wages, of course, with higher prices of com modities; and vice versa. And extrav agance of living on all sides, more and more. On either side and all sides the effort but adds fuel to the flame. What, then. Is the remedy? One rem edy only. Cut off luxury, cut out ex travagance, work harder, and live on less. It is an economic reform that surely will enforce itself, anyhow, whether Jiked or not. They who work industriously, who take care of their resources and keep out of debt, will have no reason to fear the catas trophe. But only these. What are our people doing? Push ing into every sort of extravagance, and paying little attention to produc tive industry. Even high prices of the products of labor do not tempt them except as to the few, who posr sess forecast. Foreign exchange is running heavily against us. Exports in 1907 fell nearly $400,000,000 short of meeting our requirements. No less than six hundred million dollars was needed last year to pay our balance due to foreign nations. "Money spent by tourists abroad." says the New York World, "the dowries of Ameri can wives of noblemen, remittances home by immigrants, the interest and dividends on our foreign-owned se curities, must all be paid in an excess of exports over imports. When the purchase of foreign silks and wines and automobiles and furs and Jewels grows rapidly, exports must also grow or we fall behind. A princely hus band in Paris costs so many million pounds of mesff pork. A dog-collar f pearls Imported calls for a cargo of cotton in return." And yet "we have grave varnings from economists that the food with which heretofore our lavish bills were met will soon be needed at home: that cotton, our great exchange crop, is menaced by corneYs which provoke foreign spinners to seek colonial cotton fields. But neither people nor governments take heed." What does all this mean but that we shall be'eompelled to work harder, Ht least. with more circumspection and Judgment, and'drop to a less extrava gant scale of living? The wise are Ihose who will husband their resources against that evil day. Since so few take any kind of in terest in private economy, what is to he expected in public business? What is wanted, in governmental affairs, is to be had, without thought of cost. Sell bonds. Never mind pay day. This mode of extravagance also is one of the sources of the high cost of living. It is part of the general extravagance, and ministers to it. Some time there will be a check of all this; then, a col lapse. Let nobody mistake it. But, except through necessity, it is not probable there will be any return to rational principles. In life and ac tion. The wise, therefore, will look for the approach of the necessity, and be prepared for it. The double sin of too much Indolence and too much ex travagance will take its toll with a vengeance, when the time comes. . THE BKiGK.ST CITY. The Emperor William's ambition to make his capital a city of ten millions of inhabitants is perfectly natural but not necessarily wise. There Is an at tractiveness in big things which is sometimes out of proportion to their utility. The largest horses are desir able for one who has heavy trucks to draw, but for the carriage and the saddle they must give way to the lighter animal. The huge living crea tures of the earlier geological ages were not able to hold their own in the struggle for existence. They have iirrn Luiuufiifii in i f n r n o nnmmntn of the earth to animals built on a scale much smaller. Man himself is not a very big animal, but he has shown himself to be .wonderfully effi cient. Perhaps it will turn out in the long run that the best city is the one where life is most efficient, and that may not be the largest one by any means. The cities of Greece, where upon the whole human beings were more intelligent and happy than they have ever been since, were not very large. Athens had not many more people than Portland, but it managed to accomplish things which the world has not been willing to forget. How many people must we have here be fore we shall begin to erect Parthe nons? Thoughtful statesmen do not labor ' " ' , i. 1'irarui lu JUCietLSe the size of cities. Their ambTtinn is rather to attract people to the coun try. One reason f5r the rising cost of living is the desertion of the rural districts, and the neglect of rural in dustries by which food is produced for the world. The concentration- of man kind in cities must lead to the devel opment of new difficulties in govern ment and new hardships for the ma jority. The larger the t6wn the harder .to keep it clean and wholesome, the greater the chance for waste in taxa tion, the more overwhelming the power of organized vice. Perhaps long Before the Kaiser "has gathered his ten million Inhabitants at Berlin he will see cause to revise his ambition and begin to disperse them. . PATRIOT FEAK INFOUMlED. If political assemblies are planned by bosses In Oregon only to ride over the people, what grander vindication could there be of the direct priniary law than the opportunity that law af fords the people to revolt and cast down the would-be mighty? Democrats and sore Republicans should not grieve 'over the possibility of boss-ridden conventions, but rather rejoce in their alleged expectations, because then the righteous will surely be exalted and the reprobate cast into outer darkness, i Any unpopular nomination of a con vention or any boss-engineered ticket will go down before the wrathful hosts in the primaries. And It is right that this should be. The law was enacted for this very purpose. No convention scheme can override It. The drum beat call of popular revolt will sound afar. Machine politicians are the ones to fear bad conventions. Democrats and their sore Republican allies are the ones to fear good conventions. But good conventions will name fit and popular nominees, so that the anxiety of the latter bunch of patriots will not be the people's. The point of which is that conven tions or assemblies cannot undo the primaries, but the primaries can up set the conventions. CORPORATION TAX RETURNS. It is believed by many that the Re publican party will lose many votes throughout the country because of the corporation tax. The Financial Chron icle (New York) prints this statement: We onlne that if the truth were known this corporation tax provision would bo found fo have been more potent in compass ing the defeat of the Republican candidate than any other sirgle cause. The Four teenth Massachusetts Congressional Dis trict Is a great beehive an Industrial re gion 'where, necessarily, the private corpor ation flourishes. The shareholders in these numerous corporations have special reasons for feeling dissatisfied with the policy of the dominant party. Not only has the Federal Government undertaken to levy a tax on their incomes, but to compel a disclosure of many details of their affairs by acquir ing an annual report v.-hich will be spread upon the public records tunless the law shall be charged) and be open to Inspection by all. The New York Times presents this further comment: If the orlnlon of The Chronicle is cor rect, and there is an inherent probability that the corporation tax would be about as unpopular in that region of Innumerable mills and factories as anywhere in the country, then the Republicans may as well give up all hope of retaining their majority In the next Houw. The corporation tax is not merely unpopular, it is hated universally, despised, and abhorred as a dishonest measure, and as a dangerous one. Among business men there is no difference of opinion as to the Iniquitous nature, of a statute that compels private corporations to give up their financial statements to be posted as public records. It would be natural that the accumulated resentment of the country against the corporation tax should be visited upon the party responsible for its enactment. But the obnoxious feature of the law which threatens every one of the four hundred thousand private cor porations with having its business made known to every curious inquirer and every competitor will be removed if an amendment that has been adopted by the Senate should be added to the law. It was first proposed to require the returns to be kept from observation except on direct order from the President; but this has been amended further, to provide that, in stead of an executive order, a resolu tion of the Senate or House shall be required for the disclosure. But we are not aware that this Senate amend ment has yet been adopted by the House. A SAFE AND SANK FOURTH. The National movement for a safe and sane celebration of the Fourth of July is becoming so powerful that we ought to see some effects from It this year. The abolishment of noise, row dyism and slaughter on the great holi day of the republic can only be accom plished by an awakened public opin ion. The mere enactment of laws will not do much good unless they are backed by a common agreement that thej- ought to be rigorously enforced. Thus far statutes against the Fourth of "July horror have rested as dead let ters on the books in most cases, but there are indications that a better state of things is approaching. Mrs. Isac L. Rice has collected in the MaVch Forum a large number of letters from the Governors of states. Chiefs of Po lice and other persons of light and leading who express themselves with out reservation against the continu ance of the Fourth of July nuisances. Clearly the country has Just about reached the point where it will put up no longer with the insane turbulence which makes our National holiday an occasion of distress to everybody but a few hoodlums and careless boys. The tendency seems to be to de mand the restriction of the use of fire works to persons who can prove to the authorities that they understand how to use them without danger to others. The firecracker in the fingers of the small boy is a peril to himself and to all who happen to come near him. He flings it about regardless of eyes, cloth ing or inflammable material, and looks upon whatever injury it maycause as part of the celebration. Big firecrack ers and little ones are almost equally dangerous in this respect. Any fire cracker is capable of rrlaking a wound which may be infected with the germs of tetanus. Of course the giant fire crackers sometimes inflict mortal in Jury on those who are amusing them selves by exploding them, but most of the Fourth of July- mortality arises from tetanus which often infects com paratively slight wounds. Mrs. Rice quotes an ordinance introduced last Winter by a New York Alderman which covers the ground of Fourth of July dangers better than anything else that has yet appeared. This ordinance makes it unlawful to set off any fireworks, torpedoes or noisy contrivances whatever without a permit from the Police Commissioner. The license can only be issued for one day and to persons above the age of 21 years, who must pay a license fee of $5 and prove that they are familiar with "the nature and operation of fire works." Best of all. the licensee must give a bond for $5000, with sufficient sureties, to make good any loss that may result from his operations. Such an ordinance in every city wi the United States would make short work with the gory celebrations which have become a National disgrace and clear the way for something more civilized. There is no reason In the world why the National holiday should not be made a time of Innocent enjoyment and Intellectual profit if we can once get rid of the absurd nuisances which have taken possession of It. PORTLAND'S GREATEST YEAR, Building permits, bank clearings, postoffice receipts and real estate transfers for the month of March all show that the record-breaking pace with which 1910 was ushered in is still being maintained and even im proved on. The increase noted in all of these Infallible trade barometers is so evenly distributed through the different items that it shows quite plainly that such record-breaking figures have been reached without un natural forcing. Over-speculation or artificial booming not infrequently re sults in great expansion in real estate sales, without corresponding increase in other branches of business. No one, however, buys postage stamps for speculation, and there is .very little home building for such purposes. In both building permits and postoffice receipts, Portland has shown tre mendous growth since last year. Nat urally this prosperity, in evidence on every hand, is reflected in record breaking bank clearings, there being a gain of $10,000,000 over March, 1909. There might be eome cause for mis giving lest this remarkable stride be lessened were it not- for the fact that the same satisfactory influences are working on an even greater scale throughout the state and through all the country tributary to this city. Real estate transfers of more than $4,000,000 present imposing propor tions, especially as they break all ex isting records for th'e month; but dur ing the month two timber transactions were completed on the lower Colum bia in which the consideration was more than $5,000,000. Smaller sales of timber land, farm land and orch ards for the month in the aggregate brought into the country many times the amount represented by the Port land real estate figures. It is of course on these outside sales and the steadly increasing stream of money that pours in from the farms, orch ards, dairies and lumber mills in the vast region tributary to 'Portland that this city is dependent for its prosper ity. So long as there are no signs of slackening beyond the city limits there will be no pause in Portland. KB 1' IT FROM ROSEBUSHES. The story that a Berkeley man has made a rosebush produce edible fruit is not necessarily incredible. Most of our fruit trees belong to the rose fam ily, the Rosaceae. The . rosebush, itself bears a sort of berry which Isnot un kindly in savor and might be eaten if one were seriously hungry. By care ful selection, no doubt the rind could be thickened and the seeds diminished until we should have a new fruit and possibly a delicious one. The food re sources of the world have not yet been fully exploited by any means. As the pressure of population be comes harder and ingenuity , is driven to its task by necessity we may expect a great nviny new roots and berries to be improved and added to our .com mon diet. Naturally we shall antici pate more from the rose than from other families because it has already done so much for us. Experiments with plant families which have yield ed good results in the past ought to be more profitable than those which Luther Burbank has undertaken with the cactus, for example, which seems to be a forbidding species. It is armed at all points against human in tervention, and yet patience may do wonders with it. It would be a rash man who should attempt to say what could or could not be done in the way of evolving new edible fruits and grains. Nor is it wise to lay down the law about the sources from which new food sup plies may be expected. Nature is full of surprises and science is constantly gaining new power over her hidden treasures. For some time to come, however, the most profitable labors of American scientists must lie in the direction of making the plants we already cultivate more productive. As long as we obtain only twelve bushels of wheat to the acre we should strive not so much to invent new food plants as to learn how to cultivate those we have possessed for ages. CANADIAN TARIFF AGREEMENT. The United States appears to have made a very good bargain with Can ada in the new tariff agreement. We. have apparently granted the minimum of favors to our northern neighbor, and in exchange therefor have re ceived the maximum of concessions from the Canadians. According to Washington dispatches announcing the terms of the agreement, all ar ticles under the omnibus clause in the Canadian tariff will now pay but 17 H Per cent ad valorem instead of 20 per cent as heretofore, and there have been liberal reductions on a number of other articles of which Canada is a liberal importer from this country. In stating that the new tariff is satisfactory, it is, of cburse. meant that it seems satisfactory to the slight ly thinning ranks of the ultra-protectionists. It is still open to question whether or not the great army of consumers would not derive greater benefits by the complete removal of the tariff bar rier between the two countries. The fact that the somewhat protracted struggle over this tariff bill at times approached the' danger mark where negotiations might cease and a trade war begm, makes It all the more grati fying to learn that the Canadians are willing to meet the demands of our protectionists at a point much nearer than half way. For the calendar year 1909, our exports to Canada showed a valuation of $188,000,600. and in the same period we imported from Canada to the extent of $88,500,000. ' Canada and the United States are so close to gether that the cost of transportation is very light and there is every reason why there should be the freest pos sible interchange of both raw and manufactured products between the two countries. Eventually a better understanding of the evils of over-protection by means of high tariffs will result in a tariff reform that will settle for ajl time these trade-hampering restric tions such as have recently menaced the relations between this country and Canada. American emigratioivto Can ada will also help to bulng about the welcome change, and some day we will be permitted to trade with our blood brethren along the northern boundary with no greater restrictions than are now placed in the way of trading be tween states and sections in this country. ' "Every now and then it is an nounced with much satisfaction," says the Saturday Evening Post, "that a large issue of American railroad or other bonds has been sold abroad. This gives us the use of that much foreign capital, at a low rate of in terest, and is held to be a fine thing for the country. But when we get the use of a far greater amount of foreign capital, invested In ocean transportation, at a low rate at in terest, that trade being but moder ately profitable it is held to be a bad "thing for the country." Com menting on this paradoxical situation, the Post questions the advisability of diverting our capital to the compara tively . unprofitable field of ocean transportation at a time when so eminent an authority as James J. Hill states that our railroads alone need about $1,000,000,000 a year of fresh capital for proper maintenance and extension of their lines. To be con sistent our ship subsidy patriots should now make an effort to place the same embargo on the foreign capital we use in our business that they now place on shipping. If foreigners are carrying our freight too cheap, they must also be loaning us money too cheap. It is reported that the matter of grain futures has been eliminated from the Scott anti-option bill, the House sub-committee deciding that there was no sentiment in the West against the grain futures as was the case with the cotton exchanges. An attempt will be made to pass an amended, bill dealing only with the cotton futures. Buying or selling for "future" delivery or acceptance would seem to be much the same whether cotton or wheat is involved. The only apparent difference is in the much greater supply of the one than the other. There is a possibility that the greater opposition shown the cotton futures than developed regarding wheat was due to abuses which were not permitted in the grain pits and which have been in evidence in the cotton exchanges. Legislating against ttne form of future trading and ignor ing another might come under the head of class legislation. Was Hamlet insane? No end of dispute on this question. But, if Ham let wasn't insane he was inane. He argued every incident and every sit uation to the extreme of irresolution and inaction. Power of reason the highest, sublest wit, was Hamlet's; yet he did nothing at all, and the filial catastrophe was brought about by a series of incidents and course of events which he didn't in the least prepare or direct. No, Hamlet wasn't insane. But he was inane; because, with all his powers of reason and wit he only argued himself out of the power of action. At every point he halted and hesitated, debated with himself and did nothing. Hamlet is described in the phrase of the same master by the saying, "The flighty purpose never is o'ertook unless the deed go with it." In the State of Maryland total dis franchisement of - the negro is pro posed. The Democrats of the legis lature have decided in formal caucus to enact a law to prevent all negroes from registering and voting in the state. This will bring an issue squarely against the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which says: "The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on 'account of race, color or previous condition of servitude." A state is free to impose educational qualifications, or any other qualifications not based on race, or color, or previous condition of servi tude. But this is tjhe first time direct nullification has been attempted. More than 3000 tobacco workers are on strike at Louisville, Ky. If this industrial disturbance should spread throughout the land we would soon have an opportunity to under stand what real hardship a strike could cause. With no cigarettes or navy plug on which to draw for in spiration, a host of the industrial non workers of the world would be unable to carry on the work of solving our economic problems. Spokane has another convert to the cause of "terminal rates." Henry O'Hara, a wandering sailor, was charged $8.25 for a shave, shampoo and a few extras in a Spokane barber shop. The Spokane rate was so much higher than the terminal rates that Henry had paid where his ship, the Maryland, had anchored that he pro tested to the Mayor and secured a re fund of $3.50. The Guggenhelms and the Pinchots and the Cunninghams an'd the Gar fields all are working for the same result the locking up of the resources of this Western country from settlers and homeseekers. District Attorney Cameron appears to have satisfied everybody by that justly celebrated speech before the Moore Jury. Nobody else thought it necessary to say anything. Now if T. R. shall "butt into" the budget veto fight in Britain the' Old World will i learn something "more about America's Big Stick Boss. Since a. New Jersey justice has ruled that "damn" is not' profanity, it will fail to raise a laugh in light comedy. Mrs. Cudahy thinks of going on the stage, but really the person who would draw largest houses is Jere Lillis. It fs surer that the comet has a tall than that many alleged jokes about it have any sense to them. Tacoma has more than a million city money in the local banks. Tacoma may be quite a place yet. It was just a joke of the weather man to forecast "fair", weather for yesterday. So far In Africa and Europe the politicians generally approve T. R.'s methods. The real fool is not necessarily the person who "bit" at the April fool joke. Strangers in the city who keep out of the dancehalls avoid much trouble. pSOUTTH POLE SURE TO BE WON Sharkleton Says Stamina, Food and Equlsmnt Will Deride, -New York Times. Sir Ernest Shackleton, who went within 111 miles of the South Pole and has' c6me to the United States to de liver a series of lectures. Is very de cided on four joints: He believes Peary reached the North Pole; refuses to dis cuss Dr. Cook; will not take command of any expedition to the South Pole until Captain Scott "has made his at tempt to reach the goal and is confi dent the latter will get there if his expedition is proper'y equipped. "The success of an expedition to the South Pole," said Sir Ernest Shackle- ton, "depends on the stamina of the ' men, their equipment, and, most im portant of all, the food. If we had had 60 pounds more solid food we should have reached our goal, as the condi tions for traveling were good, and the 111 miles that separated us from it were over practically flat Ice. As far as we could see wifh the Zeiss glasses there was "no obstruction ahead. Our range was only four or five miles on the horizon, but a barrier of ice of any considerable height would have been visible between our position and the South Pole. There might have been a rise of 100 feet or so. but nothing that could not have been surmounted." "What do you mean by solid food?" he was asked. "By that," replied the - explorer. "I mean cheese, pemmlcan and plasmon biscuits. Those do not contain moisture. The pemmlcan we carried was different from the American kind, as it was com posed of 60 per cent of lard and the best parts of beef. It is called Bovery pemmlcan and comes from Copenhagen, where they understand the preparation of foods for expeditions into the frossen regions of the earth. "From November 14, 1908, to Feb- Lruary 23, 1909, our party was always nungry. except on Christmas day, when we divided a four-ounce plum pudding into four parts' and licked the spoons. We had another luxury that day in a tin of frozen sardines, which contained 17 fish. After taking four each we tossed our knives on the ice for the odd one. We started to take a tin of Jam with us, but as it weighed two pounds we left it 121 miles from hase, which was 750 miles from the pole. Our breakfast consisted of pony steaks. "To reduce our weight as much as possible, we cut 20 inches from the legs of our trousers, which may seem strange, but every ounce tells on a trip like that. At first we had 32 ounces for a man a day, which gradually got smaller until our rations were reduced to 16 ounces a man when we reached the top of the plateau, but after a few days I saw that it was not sufficient to keep up our strength and it was in creased to 20 ounces." Sir Ernest went on to explain that their clothing was made of Jaeger wool with boots made of reindeer skin pre pared in a peculiar -way - by the Lap landers, who soak the hide in brine and then chew it to make it soft and wolf skin gloves. "I realize that I have lost caste with thousands of small boys because t was not picturesquely garbed in furs," said the explorer with a smile, but we had to study weight and the garments were windproof and equally as warm as furs." In answer to a question as to the difference in the difficulties encoun tered in expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, the explorer said tjat the base of supplies was much nearer to the Noith Pole than to the south, there was more animal and plant life and the-cllmate was not so windy nor so cold as it was going south. On the other hand the disadvantages' of going to the North Pole were that the traveling was much rougher over great hummocks of ice and it was im possible to make any . depot or pitch a tent on the Ice, as it would float away. . "On our expedition," Sir Ernest went on to say, "we lost all signs of animal or plant life five miles after leaving the coast line. We were entirely cut off from the world, and if our ship had been wrecked we should have never got back, as no vessels penetrate those seas. "The wind was a drawback, as it blew with great force in our faces, carrying the fine ice drift with it. For three days we had a wind of from 50 to TO miles velocity an hour and in gusts it attained a speed of 130 miles. All we could do was to lay covered up in our sleeping bags until the gale had mod erated. To have exposed ourselves- to the wind would have meant certain death. "The prevailing wind was south and southeast The distance we traveled on foot as the crow flies was only 639 miles. but with back marches and relays we really covered 1755 miles. Sometimes we marched six miles to make three for ward and even more to avoid bad places, as It was hard work hauling our equipment. The Manchurian ponies were of great service to us, as we used them until they were worn out and then shot the animals and dined on the steaks. The rest of the meat was frozen and carried on. The mean tem perature taken at the base of supplies was below zero. Summer and Winter, but "with a wind blowing it was much colder. We had the sun night and day, as- it was mid-Summer in the Antarctic, but there was no warmth in its rays. Our party was very fortunate in having 14 days continuous fine weather, which was purely luck. Weather conditions enter largely into the success of an expedition to the South Pole. I intend to make another trip to the south, probably in 1911. on a larger scale, but it will be entirely for scientific pur poses and not to get to the pole." The explorer explained that the ice in the south was land ice and - that it had been shown that there was- a con tinent of some 4,000,000 miles of land there. H ousjefeeeplniE Experiment Station. A housekeeping experiment station is the unique institution conducted by Mr. Charles Barnard and his wife in Darien, Conn. Every labor-saving device for household use put upon the market is tested In their home, for, Mr. Barnard argues, the small home rather than the large laboratory is the practical test of all such devices, from a pineapple clip to a washing machine. A close record of time and cost is kept, and the results of the experiments are set forth in bul letins and in lectures which Mr. Barnard give? at domestic science colleges all over the country. Denatured alchol, he believes, will make cooking lessons pos sible In country schools where the absence of gas has prohibited individual cooking stoves. The Barnard family din ner is cooked in the same dishes in which it is to be served, for the experiment station has made a study of saving dish washing. Mrs. Barnard was condemned by her neighbors as a neglectful house keeper until it was discovered that she left her supper in the fireless cooker while she spent the afternoon in calling, and returned to take the meal out, ready for serving. Protection for Automobiles. Brooklyn Eagle. The Joyrider will not be a permanent feature of automobiling risk. The in ventor will find a way to lock some vital part of the machine in the safety deposit vault of the garage office subject to the owner's call only. An automobile ought to be as safe from trespass as a private mug in a barber shop. Too Bdit Raldag In Coin. Houston Post. The title of Jim Jeffries' second chap ter is, "I Made a Good Start," and he begins by stating, "I was born in Ohio." Now, will he kindly tell us why it is he has not become President? LEGISLATURE NOT TO BLAME. Thin AnnlDz Measure Vn Passed I Drier the Initiative. Eugene Register. Attorney-General Crawford says that un der the act of the last fool Legislature a newspaper cannot publish matter favoraol to a candidate or measure, without it Is marked as an advertisement, containing the name and address of tse person responsible for it. Great Statute ' ol Liberty! Ail-any Democrat. . Either the Democrat or Mr. Crawford is mistaken about th above law being the work of the last rfool Legislature." The corrupt practices act, under which the above named restrictions of the press come, was initiated at instiga tion of the politically anointed U'Ren and supported in tha last election by such papers as the Democrat, with the result that the peoplf voted It into a law. Of coarse, with 'this information at hand, it would ntjt be the proper thing for the Democrat to charge that it was the "fool people" instead of the "fool Legislature" khat did it. Bet ter let it go by just linbasting U'Ren. He don't mind it. Hefcrtovs that any kind of fool law he 3eks to initiate will find plenty of Omgon papers to support It, no matter mow hard they may kick at It when itl becomes a law and its full force and effects is known. U'Ren now has a latr up for con sideration at the next Section making the Governor the supreane dictator of the state, with appointing1 powers be yond that enjoyed by tie ruling mon archs of the Old World. (This law, be cause U'Ren framed it, lll find plenty of supporters in spite oi the fact that such a law is in direct opposition to the rule of the people s ardently ad vocated in other ITRenlc (measures, un der which we aregovernd. PRO PERT! AND HIG PRICE S. Government Regulation Cannot Change Natural Tendencies. PORTLAND, April 1. (To the Edi tor.) In the talk againstlhigh prices, people seem to lose sight! of the fact that advancing prices are prosperity and that we can't have, prosperity without steady or Improving prices. v nen a man s wages ard going up, when a business' profits ard increasing, when the farm yields morl and more In dollars and cents that lJprosperity. But It would not be prosiirity- if to- nignt an prices. Including wages, were simply to be doublit: such a change would do no more titan main tain the relativity of one price to each and- all other prices. j Here is the vital point in phis whole price matter. Some price advance more rapidly than others; (wages of trade unionists, for example, or the price of wheat as brought (about by foreign demand; what is the result? Simply that those who work for the wages and those who raise Theat are ahead in the price race. A4 long as they continue ahead, they ar prosper ous. But, at length, the hifh prices which they are receiving are diffused and the prices of the articles which these same classes require to live on reach the same scale or, possibly, go beyond the wage and the wheat prices. When that condition ' arrives, those who have been prosperous are unwill ing to accept the prices fixed by the natural ratio of that which they have to sell with the commodities they re quire. ( To doctor economic conditions or to interfere with trade by means f dras tic government regulation will not change natural tendencies but will set up new and more baffling conditions. E. E. WELBT. Kant and West. Tacoma Tribune. j While New England is taking the lead in attempting to fasten upen the West the horde of Pinchot conserva tionists to harass and keep off set tlers from our public lands, thelstate of Massachusetts is proposing to ipend $100,000 to get settlers on herl own unused lands, of which there are! said to be 150,000 acres of undeveloped tillable land and 1,000,000 acres Depas ture land, which could be made homes for the people of the crowded cities and towns. The "abandoned farm" Is pne of the features of New England, yet those same New Englanders are sittingTup nights to devise ways and means! of obstructing and delaying the settle ment of the vacant lands of the West, unless the New England bondholder has a mortgage on everything or , a New England "corporation can con trol it. First Autonitille Railroad Leslie's. ' I 1 Texas used to claim the distinction of having the first automobile railroad. Flv cars used to make regular trips on a three-hour schedule over the 45 miles between Lubbock and Plainview, tha county seats of Lubbock and Hale count ties. The line had a private right of way fenced off as for a railway and Its road bed was worked by section hands to this extent It was kept scooped free of sand. The drivers (this in the sense in which the EngliBh use the word) were cowboys in blue overalls and large felt hats. They were required to make the 45 miles In three hours because the line carried United States mail and was under con tract to keep a schedule.. Often the cars would clip an hour off that for good measure. i ne round trip fare for 90 miles was $10. . A Record Inconsistent. Newberg Graphic. A prominent Portland preacher who was a warm supporter of a noted can didate for office in the last election, whom he knew to be one of the worst boozefighters in Oregon politics, is said to be arranging to come to Newberg at an early date to talk temperance to our people. The Graphic entertains very grave doubts as to the brother's orthodoxy on the question of state wide prohibition, and he will pardon us for suggesting for his text the well known passage, "Physician, heal thy self." Editor Don't Kid Anton. Newberg Graphic. The editor of the Graphic spent a day in McMinnville last week and found Mr. Martin, of the Telephone-Register, and Mr. -Hammerly, of the News Reporter, grinding away in their respec tive dens and not sporting automobiles as we had anticipated, after reading of the many investments made in machines lately by the bon-tons of the county seat. The season is not far spent; how ever, and there is plenty of time for the fever to get in its work on those who have been exposed. Tattooed for Identification. Popular Mechanics.' A novel means of identification has been adopted by one of the "large insti tutions for deaf mute children of New York. The children sometimes wander away or become lost while traveling, and, as many of them cannot read and write, it is often -a difficult thing to return them to the institution. By tattooing the name and address on the skin it Is an easy matter for the deaf mutea to be identified. The tattooing is done in ink that not Indelible, but which 'will stand for a year or two. Compensation. 0 Harper's Weekly. "I felt so sorry when I heard your house was burned down, Mrs. Jones. said Mrs. Hawkins. "It was too bad," said Mrs. Jones, "but it had its bright side. John and I were both afraid to discharge our cook, but now that- the house is gone, of course we don't have to." . LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE . A young man who travels in the West for a local manufacturing firm, whs tell ing his friends of his trip. "Iast Sunday I was in a little town that boasted one small hotel,' he said, "and I asked the landlord where I could go to church." "Well, he said. "I suess you want to know the different denominations. .You can take your choice of what we got. We got a Reformed Presbyterian, an' we got a United Presbyterian, an we grt another Presbyterian that ain't neither reformed or united." Philadelphia Tel egraph. Senator Murphy Foster, at a dinner In Washington, said of a certain retrac tion: "It was a retraction without value. It recalls the Nola Chueky scandal. Deacon Washington, in the heat of a revival, shouted from the pulpit of the Nola Chucky chapel: 'I see befo me ten chicken thieves, includin' that thar Calhoun Clay. "Calhoun Clay at once rose and left the church. He was very angry. He brought a powerful influence to bear, and th deacon promised to apologize. "So, at the following meet, the old man said: 4 " I desires to retract mah last night's remark, namely I Fee befo' me ten chicken thieves Includin Calhoun Clay. What I should have said, dear breth ren and s is tern, was I see befo' me nine chicken thieves, not includin Cal houn Clay.' St. L.oui3 Globe-Democrat. She was a charming debuf ante, and he was a somewhat serious chap. Con versation was rather fitful, so he de cided to guide it into literary chan nels. "Are you fond of literature?" ho asked. "Passionately,", she replied. "I love books dearly." "Then you must admire Sir Walter Scott," he exclaimed with sudden ani mation. "Is not his 'Lady of the Lake" exquisite in Its flowing grace, and po etic imagery? Is it not " "It is perfectly lovely,' she assented, clasping her hands in ecstasy. 4:I sup pose I have" read it a dozen times." "And Scott's 'Marmlon,' " he continued, with its rugged simplicity and marvel ous description." "I-t is perfectly grand," she mur mured. "And Scott's 'Peveril of the Peak. and his noble Bride of Lamraermoor' where in the Knglish language will you find anything more heroic? You like them, I am sure?" "I just dote upon them," she replied. And Scott's Emulsion?" he contin ued hastily, for a faint suspicion was beginning to dawn upon him. "I think," she interrupted rashly, "that it's the best thing he ever wrote." At Salsomaggiore there was a laund ress who had always enjoyed the pat ronage of the Duke of the Abruzzi when ever he came there to take the cure on his return from one of his expediUons. The Duke, of course, knew nothing about this matter, which was attended to by his chauffeur-valet. Now, for some rea son, of which I am ignorant, the servant had taken a notion to change laun dresses; hence great humiliation on the part of the good little woman who, naturally, prized her celebrated patron. What was she to do? She wanted .to get an explanation of the matter, at any rate, so one day she placed herself on the road where the Duke was to pass. When he came up. she said to him: "Your Highness Is no longer satisfied with your former laundress? " "Who said so?" "Why, your Highness no longer sends me his linen, and I am very unhappy about it." "My poor child," exclaimed the Prince, "I knew nothing about it! Come with me, and we will settle the matter out of hand." No sooner said than done. The Duke ordered his chauffeur to send his linen to his usual laundress In the future, and when she narrated the Incident to me (for I was one of her patrons), she added enthusiastically: "And he isn't a bit proud. Is our Duke, for he is the first man who ever lifted his hat to me." McClures. An English and an Irishman were having an argument on the subject of Shakespeare. "I defy you," said the former, "to find a single Irish charac ter in the whole of his works." "Well. I can give you two. at all events." re plied the Irishman "Miss O'Phelia and Corry O'Lanus." He- forgot Hamlet's Intimate friend, who stood beside him while he was contemplating his uncle in devotion, and observed, "Now could I do it, Pat, while he is praying." Springfield Republican. An Overnight. Harper's. A good story is told about a certain, ! regiment of militia which was in camp for the first time last Summer. On the first night, when they "turned in." they were instructed how to lie down and roll themselves in their blankets and gener ally make themselves comfortable. An officer having seen his company ."tucked in" was reminded by a civilian that he had forgotten something. "What's that?" was the query. "You haven't kissed them good night." The silence was oppressive. Chance for a Triumphant Test. Cleveland Plain Dealer. A professor announces that he has finally found the germ of fatigue. If he can successfully prove the merit of his discovery on the person of the farmer's hired man, we are prepared to hand him the Nobel prize and all the other honors that are coming to him. Too Ei pensive. Judge. "This cigar tastes like it was made of cabbage," growls the customer. "Huh!" replies the clerk. "If you knew the wholesale price of cabbage this year, you wouldn't insinuate that it could be put into a 5-ccnt cigar." Hitchcock Need Not Apply. Washington Star. Postmaster-General TTitchcock need never look for any literary encourage ment from the magazines should he ever decide to forsake a political career. The Miracle. She's but a little colleen gay. Scarce thicker than me thumb. But oh, the word she spoke the day! Tis blind I am. and dumb. Her email mouth had a pleatim twisx As though 'twas wishful to be kissed; I thought it gave the true word whist. And hope lept in tha heart of me. But when I tried it oh. the blow ' The Hte hand laid on me cheek! Twaa but a feather's weight, I know. But sure, it left me faint and weak. And oh, the look that changed her eyesl Twas like the change of Er!n'e skies Prom shine to storm the black surprise And sorrow buret the heart o me. She stood there lashin me bold ways So weak the gentle tongue of her. Compared with some I've got 'twas praise- Then somethin, sudden, seemed to 6tir Wrthin me breast. The truth it lept Straight out, belike-as if't had slept; Then right into me arms she erept. Sure, joy's near crazed the heart of me Charles T. Rogers, In, Harper's Weekly!