lO THE MORXIXG OREGOXIAX, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 1910. PORILASD. OKEGOX. Kntered at Portland. Oregon. Postofflce aa EecODd-Clau Matter. Subscription Kate. Invariably in Advance. (BY MAIL.) Pally. Bundar Included, on year $8.00 Iaily. Sunday Included. ix months... 4.. Ially. Sunday Included, three month.. 2.2:5 lally. Sunday Included, one month.... ."5 Dally, without Sunday, cne year...-. 6.0O really, without Sunday, eix months.... 3.25 Dally, without Sunday, three months 1.75 Ijally. without Sunday, one month.. -SO Weekly, one year 1.50 Sunday, one. year 2. 5 Eutday and weekly, one year 3.50 By Carrier.) ra!ly, Sunday included, one year....- B-D Ially, Sunday Included, one month "5 How to Remit Send Postofflce money crder. 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. Poetaa-e Bates 10 to 14 pages. 1 cent; 18 to 28 paces. 2 cents; 30 to 40 pages. 3 cents: 40 to 60 pases. 4 cents. Foreign postage double rate. Kastern Business Office The S. C. Beck wlth Special Agency New York, rooms 48 50 Tribune building. Chicago, rooms 510-512 Tribune building. PORTLAND. WEDNESDAY. APRIL 13. 1910 OIB "EASY" WAYS. Our country is rapidly exporting gold, because, as the New Tork Times &ays, we prefer to make "easy" con ditions by icsuing bonds and bank notes, and parting with gold for the premium offered for it by countries not so -fond of the "easy" method. That this will create difficulties after a while, such as "we have .had hereto fore, is well enough known, but the knowledge has little deterrent force. England, says the Times, "frankly bids a premium for gold and gets it from us because we prefer to put the premium on Government bonds and bank notes. Consequently our gold circulation last month decreased $14. 000.000 and our National bank note circulation increased $16,000,000. Why should we regret this? England has to bid up for the gold she wants, and it Is coming high to her. We kno v a. trick worth two of that. We are building the Panama Canal at a cost of several hundred millions of dol lars, and until that is finished we can never run short of money. The more It costs to build the canal, the more bonds we must issue, with the inci dental advantage that we shall pro vide ourselves with the capacity of enlarging our paper currency supply in proportion to the cost of the canal. Is It not obvious that the more the canal costs the better off we shall be In money supply?" Needless to say, there Is danger In this course, since by it we inflate prices and cause speculative move ment at home, and work at the same time toward a situation in which we shall be obliged to get gold again at any price. The Times satirizes our proceeding by saying: "The larger the National debt', the larger the supply of bank notes and the greater the sup ply of cheap money. Why regret los ing gold for which others are will ing to bid a premium when we can supply the loss of it by making the Panama Canal expensive and issuing bonds accordingly?" In these sugges tions there is plenty of matter for bankers d.nd debtors and creditors and speculators to think about, if they will, surely, since the lessons of experi ence are not all Inst, in course of events, on all men. Intimation of the fact now appears in the bidding, or failure of the bidding. on the Broadway bridge bonds of Portland. These bonds will sell later: for the city of Portland, a rising and growing and en ergetic city, is behind them. But just now financial conditions are such that there Is disposition to wait a little, till lenders and investors can become well satisfied and assured that the Bbility of borrowers to pay will prove equal to their inclination to push their various projects or undertakings. Kecognition by our people of this con dition or situation, as to money loans, Investments and general financial pol icy, is a necessity to our own wel fare. Portland shouldn't now attempt to sell bonds for any purposes beyon I things immediately necessary. The Mayor is right in withholding; requests for tenders for dock bonds. We can do without public docks for a time: and It is questionable, indeed, whether the municipality should ever invadw or attempt to occupy this legitimate field of private enterprise. COAST fOlXTRV NEXT. With the Hill and Harriman Rail road systems operating under an armed truce in the I'ugrt Sound and Eastern Washington territory, with construction work proceeding at top speed In Central Oregon, and electric and steam roads contending for the business of the Willamette Valley, it is quite natural that the Pacific Coast re gions should next receive the attention of the railroad builders. The fact that Mr. O'Brien, the chief lieutenant of the Hariman forces in the Pacific Northwest, took an automobile ride from Grants Pass to Crescent City, Cal., does not necessarily mean that lirf graders and tracklayers will -be close on his heels. With the keen competition for traffic, present and prospective, it is idle to assume that so rich a field for railroad exploitation lying west of the Coast Range all the w ay from the "Columbia River to Cali fornia should be much longer neg lected. Tho Harriman people overlooked the possibilities of Central Oregon un til the Hill forces marched boldly into that neglected region, and the cost of the, conflict that followed has been enormous. Perhaps the lesson has not ben unheeded, and the neglected coast regions will receive attention that Is due them. While la is a mat ter of mild indifference to Portland and to the country served whether the railroad tracks are placed over the mountains, around them or through them. In their efforts to make that Coast traffic accessible to the world's markets, eventually a north-and-south railroad line west of the Coast Range and running from the Columbia River south will handle to the best advan tage the traffic of the Coast regions. A line following as nearly as possible the ocean beach would in many places be very expensive to build, but it would have the advantage of taking out by a gravity haul all of the traffic originating west of the Coast Range. As a passenger route a coast line would also present scenic possibilities unsurpassed anywhere In America. This coast line would, of course, be exclusive of feeders that would cross the mountains and supply facilities for the interlying country, but the timber tonnage alone is of such enormous proportions that the economic advan tages of a water-level line for 'moving It will some day insure its construc tion. With the possible exception of Coos Bay, the numerous ports "lying between the Columbia River and Eu reka are too small for the large ocean carriers which handle the over-sea lumber traffic, and for that reason the railroads will secure a haul of varying length on practically all of it. BE REASONABLE AND SETTLE IT. Certainly. Stop it. Forbid on tire East Side consent to use of streets, so that railroads can't get into, the city or over the river. Forbid it and stop it everywhere. The city is big enough. True, the streets, whose use is wanted for the tracks, are worth nothing at all as they now are, and never will be worth anything, unless the railroads get in and make all the streets round about worth something. But if we see a chance for a "hold up," though it may be against our own ultimate interest, why shouldn't we employ it? Nov, seriously, as to vacation of streets, to be used for railroad pur poses: It should be a matter of ar rangement or compromise, a matter of adjustment. For bridges to be built the city desires from the railroads certain concessions or easements. The railroads desire the like on their side. These matters should be adjusted be cause they are adjustable. Is one of the parties to hold up the other, or is the whole matter to be adjusted? What should sensible men do? Every contention of this kind can be accom modated, if only it Is approached in the right spirit and the right way. REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY. Is the rejection of representative government, or representative meth ods, necessary to maintenance of the political rights of the people? It Is so assumed by those who approve the assembly representative system. "The whole story of man," one of these tells us, "is a struggle for en larged political rights." Moreover, the representative assembly, intended for recommendation of candidates, would "abridge these rights." Xow, in fact, democracy cannot ex ist without the representative 'system. This system is its necessary means of concentration and combination. It tends to cprrection of the natural in clination of democracy to split into factions and even into units. The rep resentative system is the salvation of democracy. Four men are candidates for Gov ernor, in the name of a political party, at the same time. Five men are can didates for Senator. The vote Is di vided; the candidates who get thr plurality represent their own faction only. What absurdity to try to force the great majority into support of the candidates of the small minority! Is this the necessary method for main tenance of the political rights of the people? Well, it will not prevail. The only way to avoid this absurd and lame and impotent conclusion is through the representative assembly. Never was there any safeguard of democracy till the representative sys tem was hit upon and adopted. This contribution to political science, and to government by the people, has come through the work and progress of the English-speaking world. The proposal for representative assembly in Oregon to suggest the names of candidates is perfectly In accord with it. It is the only way to obtain rep resentation of the people and mainte nance of popular rights. A small fac tion, nominating candidates by small fractional pluralities, is based on ne gation of the general rights of the people: and it is an outrage when the petty faction tries to whip in the whole body of a party to its support. The only remedy is through repre sentative assembly. NATIONAL COST OF INDIANS. From 17S9 to 1909 the Government of the United States spent $474,163,9-7 In caring for the Indians of the coun try. Yet, according to sentimentalists, the Government has robbed and op pressed th aborigines during all these years. The truth is that while the Governments Indian policy has not at all times been wise in the prac tical sense it has always been most generous. There was no precedent for hand ling the North American Indians. A savage, slothful nomadic race, banded together in powerful tribes, simple minded, treacherous and cruel, they impeded at every step, from the At lantic to the Pacific and from the Lakes to the Gulf, the progress of civilization. Individual white men have too often dealt with them with cruelty and injustice, but the white man's government has dealt with them generously, if- at times severely. From the days of Massasoit and King Philip to those of Geronimo and Chief Joseph the Government has dealt with them generously whenever their armed opposition to the ad vance of civilization has been over come. Perhaps the millions of dol lars spent In carirg for them during the 120 years have provided little of permanent value to a vanishing race a race of do-naughts and was trels. But the money has been spent, nevertheless, according to methods that at the time seemed wisest and best; and still the Indian problem Is with us. OIUXiON APPLES. In his annual report to the State Board of Horticulture, President New ell predicts a heavy crop of fruit this season. The common observation of orchardists confirms his anticipations. On trees of all varieties the fruit buds are surprisingly numerous, and un less circumstances should be excep tionally adverse there will be an abundant crop. , But what is the advantage of an abundant crop unless it can be sold at remunerative prices? It Is safe to say that outside of a few highly or ganized districts, such as Hood River and the Medford territory, the fruit men of Oregon will not receive half w hat their crop is really worth. The reason for this great loss will be the absence of co-operative packing and marketing. Sections are known where the growers of fairly good apples re ceive 60 cents or a dollar a box for them. They are repacked by the mid dlemen and sold to the consumer for two dollars and even more. Of course, such conditions are the fault of the growers themselves. They can blame nobody else. But they are discouragingly slow to understand the causes of their difficulties and incred ibly reluctant to organize. Had the fruit men of Oregon been thoroughly united in co-operative ef fort the circumstance which caused the opponents of the Lafean bill in Washington so much embarrassment would not have happened. Relying on their faith in the integrity of Or egon orchardists, they boldly as serted that the common box of apples would be found to contain a full bushel, as it honestly ought. The boxes which they themselves packed measured out four heaping pecks; but when they went out into the market and tried those which had been sold for bushels, they fell short In every in stance. This will never do. A bushel must be a bushel for every apple grower in Oregon, or the reputation of the whole state will suffer, and the market for fruit from this section will be impaired. It will also suffer if the apples shipped East are good some years and not so good lh other years. Mr. Newell notes that last season Ore gon apples fell below their reputation. When this has happened once or twice more the reputation wlil be gone and it will take years of effort to restore it. The only preventive of calamities of this sort is thorough and complete organization. EXPENSIVE fXtoOMf. The House of 'Representatives has voted out of the navy appropriation bill the provision for continuing work on drydock No. . 4 in the New Tork yard, and the Puget Sound and Pearl Harbor docks. This action, taken pre sumably on the grounds of economy, would prove decidedly expensive if an emergency should arise requiring the services of a modern drydock. "There Is a strange contradiction in the action of the House of Representatives in providing funds for the construction of more big battleships and then de clining to provide the vitally necessary drydock accommodations which these big ships require. Drydock No. 4, which is the only dock on the Atlantic Coast that will accommodate the Arkansas and Wyo ming, has been under construction since 1905, and In that five years the requirements of the service and the limitations of . Congress have been such that an enormous investment has been in idleness for more than two years, and unless Congress recon siders Its action, will continue so In definitely. Even more serious is the neglect to provide drydock facilities at Pearl Harbor, 'which was selected by the United States Government as its main Pacific base. It Is universally admitted by war experts of two conti nents that the Pacific Ocean will be the scene of the next war, and if there Is a conflict, this country would cut a sorry figure with its main naval base undefended, and not equipped with drydock facilities. It is almost equally imperative that the drydock facilities on Puget Sound be made adequate for the class of vessels which these dry docks would be expected to handle In case of war. In the matter of econ omy Congress quite frequently pro ceeds to an alarming extent on the "penny wise and pound foolish" sys tem.. THE MAYOR ANT THE FOERTH. The Mayor's position on the ques tion of Fourth of July fireworks is exactly right. "I am absolutely op posed to the celebration of Independ ence Day by the explosion of dan gerous fireworks," he declares, and It Is to be hoped that the City Council will take the same stand. Since all fireworks are dangerous this means that the Mayor is opposed to the entire system of murderous hoodlumisni which has converted the National hol iday Into a season of terror and a reign of destruction. There ought to be no shooting on the Fourth of July except orderly volleys by the militia under the command ft their officers. No firecrackers ought to be exploded on the streets. Such instruments of misery as torpedoes, roman candles, pin wheels and all that tribe should be banished. Fireworks properly man aged by capable experts are -a pretty spectacle and need not be dangerous to life or property, but in the hands of the tough and the small boy we know too well .what they accomplish. Death, mutilation and burning build ings follow in their wake. The time has come when Portland, as well as other cities, should cease to treat the Fourth of July scandal as a jest. It is a serious matter and it should be dealt with by serious regu lations. Hoodlumisni has been per mitted to take its annual tribute of life and property under the pretense of patriotic fervor long enough. It is now proper for common sense and decency to have an inning. The small boy and the drunken rioter can love their country as vigorously as there is any occasion for if they are forbidden to throw firecrackers in the faces of peaceable citizens and wound spectators with bullets. What the better class of Americans want on the Fou.rth of July is an opportunity to commemorYe the Nation's independ ence with beautiful and truly patriotic exercises. They desire a programme which appeals somewhat to the intel ligence and does not disgust the edu cated taste. Moreover, they wish to be allowed to walk along the streets without risking their lives. The Coun cil will gratify nine out of ten of the "intelligent citizens of Portland by car rying out the Mayor's wish for a "sane and safe Fourth of July." IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONGO. The news that Leopold's successor on the throne of Belgium is to make some changes in the administration of the Congo country is encouraging. Nothing could be more frightful than the past conduct of the Belgian gov ernment In that unhappy region. Hence, if anything is altered it will necessarily be for the better, but nat urally the world will not trust too much to the promises of the new mon arch. Leopold himself made prom ises in the early days of his power, and they were brilliant ones, too. His performance will go down in history among its wildest horrors. We are now assured that a large section of the Congo country is to opened to free commerce. This is pretty well, but one cannot forget that, under the treaty which gave the land over to Belgium, the whole of it was to be open to free commerce for ever. It is also well that no forced la bor is now to be required of the natives except "for their own benefit." Bet ter still would it be to require no forced labor whatever of them. To compel them to work looks harmless as long as they receive the proceeds, but It is an insidious method. No body can tell how soon It will degen erate into peonage or downright slavery. The record -of the Belgians in the Congo has been a black one, but the blame for what has happened there belongs to the whole civilized world. It is from the nations acting in concert that Leopold received his authority to rule and ruin the Congolese, and they had the unquestioned right to Interfere at any time. Unhappily none of them cared enough for tha principles of justice and Christianity to do so, and the iniquity ran Its course until death cut it short. If the new King of Belgium really wishes to improve upon his predecessor, it will be ah easy task and all man kind will encourage him to carry it through. Statements of conservators of our resources to the contrary notwith standing, the United States is not the only country in which wealthy men buy large tracts of timber when it is cheap and sell it as the price ad vances. . A Vancouver, B. C, dispatch announces the sale by the British Co lumbia branch of the Weyerhaeusers of 76,000 acres of timber land on Van couver Island for a consideration of $4,000,000. The tract contains 5,000, 000,000 feet of timber, and was pur chased by the Weyerhaeusers at about one-fourth the figure for which it has just been sold. Of course the Weyer haeusers should have sold this land at the same price they paid for it. for the price mentioned represents some mil lions of "unearned increment." Yet the railroad company which secured the greater part of the land as a grant In payment for building the road through that wild region was well pleased to get rid of the then worth less timber at the insignificant price at which it was originally sold. Unless something happens to break the monotony of the news, Portland will soon have a reputation for "come ons" and "easy marks" that will com pare favorably with that of New York, sometimes known as "Yapville on the Hudson." Here is a part of the rec ord for the past 48 hours: A stran ger enters a bank and talks the gulli ble safe deposit man Into handing over $5000 in gold; a recently arrived Dakota farmer Invests $800 In the an cient "liquor cure" gold brick; an other new arrival hands over $80 to the artists who are working the ven erable "express package" gag, and a local youth loses $800 to a swindling bookmaker. These are the principal tricks that have been turned, but w ith so much easy money lying around, it is highly probable that the old-lock trick, the phony racing tip, and all the rest of the stock equipment of the "sure thing men" are in use. Viewed from a strictly economic standpoint, it is perhaps a matter of regret that Bandit Robinson was only wounded, instead of ""being killed by the excellent aim of Citizen Sheldon, last Saturday night at East Thirty seventh street and Broadway. As an object lesson in the" unprofitable na ture of the hold-up game, however, Elmer Robinson, living with an Irre movable scar on his face, and a pain ful recollection of what happened just prior to his coming term in the peni tentiary, may be worth more than El mer Robinson dead. In view of the fact that the hold-up man has incom parably the best of the situation, when he attempts his crime, it is not the slightest reflection on a man's bravery if he promptly obeys the highway man's request. For that reason, the public service rendered by Mr. Shel don is all the more praiseworthy and commendable. The Interstate Commerce Commis sion has ordered a material reduction in the Pullman car rates. The reduc tion also provides a differential in favor of the passenger who is obliged to occupy an upper berth. Naturally, this order, If enforced, will affect the revenues of the Pullman Company, but the public still wonders who will make up the deficit. The porters have had their salaries paid by the traveling public for so long that it would seem Impossible for the Pull man Company to effect any further saving. In this direction, although "it might be possible to insist on the port ers paying the company something for the privilege of "holding up" passen gers, with a whisk broom. If the sleeping car monopoly lives up to its reputation, it will find some- means by which the threatened decrease in earnings can be offset. It would seem that Colonel Roose velt has his scheme for pacification of Europe well mapped out. He is to have the Emperor of Germany meet him in London-and arrange matters with King Edward; and it is under stood that he has telegraphed to King Edward that just as soon as he shall have settled certain matters In Aus tria, and fixed things up at Paris, he will be off to London, where the King has been directed to reserve apart ments for him at Buckingham pal ace. The King, with his auto, is to meet him at the station. The Colonel Is reported to be rather sorry that he lingered on his hunting trip so long. Had 'he come back sooner as an apos tle of peace, he might have stopped the construction of many a Dread nought, in either hemisphere. Should the "ducking stool" be re vived? This is a question that seems to be pertinent just now. Within a week warrants have' been issued for the arrest of two women for figliting and abusive language; and still an other has been - taken Into custody upon the complaint of a neighbor for her scolding proclivities, backed by the statement of her husband that she Is beyond his controK The. old records furnish ample evidence tjjat the duck ing stool dealt effectively with cases of this kind. Representative Clark, leader of the minority in Congress, replying to Can non on Monday, said, "If his party were given the opportunity it would endeavor to realize the suggestion of Senator Aldrlch, that the expenses of the government might be curtailed $300,000,000 annually." The word "endeavor" is good. Expenses' of the government will steadily increase, no matter which party or what party may control it. Boise Valley orchardists are ship ping in oil by the dozen carloads. Smudging is becoming part of the commercial scheme as much as spray ing. Gifford Pinchot Would better have stayed at home and nursed up that Ballinger inquiry. There are' other ways for a census man to find out a woman's age, so that she might as well out with it. Comet pictures may be like circus posters which generally fail in the promised largeness. Maybe T. R. will tell Kaiser Wil helm he ought to run and be elected. The Big Stick, the world!s greatest apostle of peace, is altogether logical. Rl'GBY THE GAME FOR COLLEGES This "Writer Quote Authority; One Theoretic, One Practical. ALBANY. Or.. April 12. To the editor. President David Starr Jordan, of Leland Stanford Jr. University, is quoted as follows In the April number of .the American College: "In 1SW, at the height of the football obsession in California, the president and committee on athletics of the two universities notified the students that no form of football having mass play would be gain permitted. The stu dents then , adopted the Rugby game. It has been tested for five seasons and it Is wholly satisfactory to all con cerned. The game demands a much higher grade of skill and alertness. It is far more interesting to watch. It is interesting to the players. It Is a sport and not a battle. As with base ball, so with Rugby, each player must know the game. It. is played not In armor, but in cotton kneebreeches. and there have been in five years no In juries of any consequence. "The game is now played In the uni versities and colleges of California and. Nevada. It attracts (perhaps unfor tunately) larger numbers of spectators than the old game ever did. It is now played in most of the leading high schools of California.' It is firmly and permanently established on the Pacific Coast unless, as in the East, It is modi fied to suit the purposes of professional coaches. It seems to me that our ex perience in California should be worth something to our colleagues in the East." The writer is reminded of the com ment of an old -football captain whom he had heard spent much of his first season as a Rugby player In "roasting" Rugby. This expert player expressed lis final judgment as follows: "I'll tell you, in the old game you practice with the coach and learn your lesson, and the game is just merely reciting what you - have learned from the coach- In Rugby every man, has to be a live, independent player all of the time. There is simply no compar ison between the two games." . To overcome this man's prejudice and reverse his enthusiasm required most of a season at Rugby, but the work was thoroughly done. F. G. FRANKLIN. THEY REGX'LATE BILLBOARDS. St. Lonls Has an Ordinance That Stood the Supreme Court Test. St. Louis, Mo., has a municipal ordi nance covering billboards which reads in part as follows: Hereafter no bill board having; 25 square feet or more of surface shall be erected, altered, replaced or reconstructed! without a permit frcm the Commissioner of Public Buildings, nnd the manner of construction, location and dimensions of such billboards shall be subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Public Buildings in ' ac cordance with the provisions of this section. . , No blli board hereafter erected, altered or replaced or reconstructed shall exceed 14 feet in height above the ground and every such bill board shall have an open space of at least four feet between the lower edge and the ground, which space shall not be closed in any manner while the bill board stands; nor shall any such billboard approach nearer , than six feet to any building, nor to the side line of any lot nor nearer than two feet to any other billboard, nor shall any such bill board exceed 500 square feet in area. The validity of this ordinance has recently been sustained by the Missouri Supreme Court in an action following a permanent injunction obtained by the Gunning Advertising System in the Cir cuit Court against the Commissioner the Mayor and the Chief of Police. The following excerpts are taken from Judge Woodson's opinion: The signboards and billboards upon which those classes of advertisements are dis played, are constant menaces to the public safety and welfare of the city. They en danger the public health; they are also unartistlc and unsightly; In cases of fire they woi:ld cause their spread and consti tute barrier against their extinction and in case of hirh wind, their temporary charac ter, frail structure and tiroad surface, ren der them liable to be blown down and to fall upon and endanger those v. ho may hap pen to be In their vicinity. The amount of good contained in this class of business is so small In comparison to the great and numerous evils thereto, that It has caused me to wonder why some of the courts have seen fit to go so far as they bave in hold ing statutes and ordinances of this class valid. My individual opinion Is that this class of advertising, as now conducted, is not only subject to control and regulation by the police power of the state, but that it might be entirely suppressed by the statute and that. too. without offending either against the State or Federal Con stitution. In these observations it seems to me the rendering of the New York Court in the case of the People ex rel. Murphy, is unsound in holding the ordinance there under consideration, invalid because it was class legislation. An ordinance Is not class legislation because It embraces within its provisions all structures of the class or character existing in the said limits anil for that reason It could not be discrimina tory against the plaintiff for its property. The White llnuar Boyd. From Washington Letter to the Brook lyn Eagle. The difference in the personality of the Taft boys and the Roosevelt boys is quite as marked as is the gap between the methods of their distinguished par ents. "When the Roosevelt boys were home, everybody knew it. They made the great corridors of the White House resound from attic to basement with noisy demonstrations. The Taft children take their pleasure more moderately. Robert has gone back to college, but Charley lingers in Wash ington. He slips around the White House and through athe executive offices- in a quiet, shy" way and disturbs no one. Charley Inherits from his father a smiling, beaming countenance. His father has nothing "on him" when it comes to the Taft smile. Boverldice on Tariff. Brooklyn Eagle. We are to have laws making clothing and creature comforts cheaper, protect ing wages and manufacturers, and taking the tariff out of -the way of business. A more powerful appeal to the imagination could hardly be ad dressed. As to the laws themselves, when "they shall be written" is not stated, but prices will be fixed by act of Congress, a policeman will accom pany every workman home on pay day to' protect his wages, and the tariff well, what is to be done with that is respectively referred to radioactivity. Perhaps it is to be vaporized. Mntea Denominational Strife. Cleveland Leader. Theodore Roosevelt is not more thor oughly American in anything than he Is in his deep dislike of denominational strife and bitterness. He shuns and condemns sectarian hostility, and he is intensely In earnest in his desire to keep out of religious controversies, es pecially In everything that bears upon his position as a public character, a great force in National affairs. The Census Man. Xew York World. It was a lady spare and sour Who opened her front door. To find a youth, whose dusty suit An air of business wore. She tartly snarled. "No, not today! You peddlers make me tired. . I want no corn salve, soap nor lace." "Your age. ma'am?" He inquired. "How Insolent! If you don't leave, I'll tell you what I'll do I'll call old Tige In from the barn. He'll make a meal of you." "I've put you down as twenty-three," The stranger blandly said. "Oh. add another twelve to that!" She vainly tossed her head. "And these? Your brothers? sisters? Six? He asked, with flattery fine. "Land I "I've been married fifteen years! These and two more are mine." f She answered queries on his list. Then said in tone polite: We're eatin dinner. John's to horn. Step in and have a bite." The census man went on his way The next high stoop to 'climb. "A little honey." chortled he, "Will catch them every time." FRENCH VIEW OK MR. ROOSEVELT Estimate of HI Character, on Ml. Election to the French. Academy. A translation made by Major Alfred F. Sears, of -this city, from the Nouveau Monde.) It is known of old that the French Academy opens its doors to foreign statesmen who, by writing, action or speech, have enacted an important part in the world of affairs. Thus Theodore Roosevelt comes to be elected a mem ber of the Academy of Moral and Po litical Sciences. Previously notified, the former President of the United States had sent to the Academy all his works on sociology and history. The new academician is universally known. His celebrity excuses us from noting the evolutions of his incomparable career. It is Interesting to note that the Acad emy, which on a former occasion was congratulated on the election of Gen eral Bonaparte on -his return from Egypt, has now designated Mr. Roose velt for the respect of the elite of the Intellectuals of the Old World. Theodore Roosevelt Is at once an en ergetic man and a thinker. When he writes and when he speaks he has pre pared himself for work; then he gives forth Tils ideas. He believes firmly that "each generation contributes to the work of progress." He declares that the "school of pessimism has manifested Its inability to Judge men and contemporaneous events." Mod ern life appears to him "beautiful and exciting." He declares that "man has never had before him so vast an open field for action as the present," and, further, that "the frreatest victories are yet to be gained and the finest actions are to be realized.." He continues: "It is said that the history of a happy people has not been written. This is a low inaccuracy. Thrice happy are the people who have a glorious history, because it is worth more to accomplish great results, to obtain great triumphs, though they were interrupted by incidents of defeat or misfortune, which take rank with poor spirits, who never enjoy much nor suffer much because they Jive in a pale twilight, which Is neither victory nor defeat." , Finally, Mr. Roosevelt has resolutely declared that, "while war is a great evil. It is not the greatest of evils," and also that "peace is not the sovereign of blessings. Civilization has suffered more with the celebration of certain treaties of peace, aa for example that which permitted the hecatombs of Ar menia, than It would have suffered by a war." "For a nation, as for lndividi uals, the essential virtues are the vir tues of character"; and he has shown us ancient Greece and the Roman em pire succumbing through feebleness of character. For the North American ex President, "moral energy is more im portant than instruction." The patriotism of Theodore Roosevelt Is sane. "As National progress results from individual progress," he says, "so also there can be no progress of the citi zen save with the progress of the Na tion." He adds: "Let each one clean before his own door and the city will be clean." Cervantes could not have made Sancho Panza say a plainer truth. Publicly he has given these truths to the people of the United States: "That the country be great morally. It Is nec essary that it be strong morally. There are those who are willing that the coun try should be' too weak to avenge a wrong, and that this, debility meet it at the beginning of a difficulty, thanking the scornful piety of foreign nations. This Is villlfying the Nation. A strong Army and a strong Navy are necessary." And also: "We are a great people. We have to represent a great part; we have no choice; all that we can say is that we will act that character, for good or 111." Mr. Roosevelt has not only given coun sel and written substantial works, as for instance the "History of the American Navy In 1S13 a Struggle Against Eng land." "Lives of Thomas Benton and Governeur Morris," "Conquest of the West" and "Ideal American and His tory of New York," but he has governod also with extraordinary brilliancy dur ing six yeans a Nation of 90,000,000 souls (of 100.000,000 if we include the colonies). He has built up for the great North American republic a formidable Navy, which will probably preserve the Pacific Ocean to the white race. He has created a general staff of the Army in Washing ton, D. C. that will care for the defense of the American Continent against the yellow races. An able diplomat, he has prevented the shock of arms between his country and Japan; a shock terrible and Inevitable. against which the United States now has time for. preparation. He has equally been able to stop the war between Russia and Japan, and for that merits the Nobel prize for peace. " The new member of the Academy is not the first North American to whom the French institution has conceded a seat. Another President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, obtained this honor. He had represented his country in Paris, where his ideas produced a sensation. He was born in Virginia in 1801. Afterwards came Bumford, born in Massachusetts, elected In 1S02. Mr. Liv ingston, - born in Clermont. N. Y., elect ed In 1S33, and finally. Mr.' Newc'omb, a distinguished astronomer, born in Nova Scotia, and made director of the observa tory in Washington, IX C. As to Latin America, it has been rep resented in the French Institute by Pedrq de Aicantare, the name modestly assumed by Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, born in iRio Janeiro; then Don Carlos Calvo. the Illustrious jurist, the renovator of inter national rights, former minister of Ar gentine in Paris, and finally Jose Maria de Herdis, poet of the conquerors and without an equal In the beauty of his style as a writer. At the present time, Saxon America is represented by the Duke of Loubet, the Mecanea of archeologists, born -In New York and elected to the academy of In scriptions and belles lettres a few years ago. For the rest, a man well designed for the Academy is the Baron de Rio Branco, of Brazil, who has practised the policy of arbitration par excellence, to the ad vantage of his country, and who lives as one of the fine figures of diplomacy of the times. The talents, character and the services to the world of the Baron ' de Rio Branco are admired by all, and he now counts many partisans in the Academy. To conclude. Mr. Roosevelt is expected shortly in Paris, where he will lecture in the Sorbonne, to which there will be no lack of auditors. When he comes into the session to occupy his seat, all his colleagues will be able to repeat without adulation the celebrate phrase, "Nothing lacks In his glory; he was lacking to ours." The Or! urinal YegKnuui, Memphis Commercial Appeal. Tho origin of tho word "yegg" hag often puzzled criminal etymologists. As near as can bo discovered by criminal research of police archives and the ver bal lore of tho under-world, there was a man named John Yegg1, living1 In the Middle West, some years ago, about the time the Federal Government was ex perimenting with nitro-glycerine. Yegg was an electrician, who got along well enough as a youth, but In his later days drifted to "the bad- At this time he had already achieved some distinction as a safe-blower, and he is said to be the first cracksmen who ever used nitgo-glycerine as a means of safeblowing". He was the first to devise a means for practically using the fluid, and others who followed ' were called yeggTnen after the dis coverer of the process. And He Always Kinds 'Em. Birmingham Age-Herald. Colonel Roosevelt is looking for hor nets nests in any land he visits. LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE - "How brave!" exclaims the wife, after her husband, at the hushed hour of 3 A. M- has told her of his desperate . resistance of three highwaymen who had attempted to hold him up only a block from home. "I did not dream you were so courageous. How does it hap pen that you dared to give them battle when any uiher man would have yield ed weakly or would have run away if he had the chance?" "My dear explains the husband. "I had Just finished nerving myself to meet you and explain what kept- me out so late and when I am in that frame of mind 1 11 defy anything." Life. The bookkeeper answered the phone. Is this Wilkins market?" "Yes, ma'am." "This is Mrs. Johnson. I want you to know that the liver you sent over today was extremely unsatisfactory. It was not calf's liver at all. Calf's liver Is always tender, and there is no mistaking- " "Just a moment, madam. I will call the proprietor." "What is it?" Wilkin asked. The bookkeeper surrendered the phone. "Mrs. Johnson," she said. "Liver com plaint." St. Louis Dispatch. "When Willie's father came home to supper there was a vacant chair at the table. "Well, where's the boy?" "William is upstairs in bed." The answer came with painful precision from the sad-faced mother. "Why, wh-what's up? Xot sick, is he?" (An anxious pause.) "It srrieves me to say, Robert, that our son your son has been heard swearing- on the street! I heard him." "Swearing-? Scott! 111 teach him to swear!" And he started .upstairs in the dark. Halfway up he stumbled and came down with his chin on the top step. When the atmosphere cleared a little Willie's mother was saying- . sweetly from the hallway: "That will do, dear. You have g-iven him enough for one les son." Judge. Friend So yours was a case of love . at first slarht? Mrs. Getthere Yes. indeed: I fell desperately in love with my dear hus band the moment I set -eyes upon him. I remember It as distinctly as if it were yesterday. I was walking- with papa on the beach at Long- Beach, when suddenly papa stopped, and. pointing him out, said: "There, my dear, ts a man worth ten millions." New York Weekly. An amusing story Is being told, in social circles in London about a young American woman who was anxious to be presented at a certain European court. Of course, the high officials had to make inquiries about her social status in her own country, and pro nounced their veto. It could not be done. The daughter of a man who sold boots and shoes could not be received by his majesty at a royal court. The girl was in great distress, and promptly cabled home to her father. Next day she received the following reply: "Nonsense. Its not selling. Am sim ply giving them away. See advertise ment." The cablegram she duly presented in the proper quarter, and, although the ending did not seem quite clear to the official mind, it was held to solve the v diffiiculty. So she was presented at court as the daughter of an American gentleman who was noted as a great philanthropist. New York Herald. "What is the meaning of the word Easter?" said William J. Kelley, at the Lambs Club. No one could answer the question, and Mr. Kelley went on: "Nobody in New York reads the Bible now. Ignorance of the Bible and of biblical things is amazing. "Not long ago, at a dinner, I got into . a biblical argument. When the argu ment was over a young woman said: "I enjoyed that discussion splendidly. But, do you know, I always thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were man and wife? "Another yoims woman commented: " 'Oh, well, I suppose they ought to have been, if they were not.' " New York Telegraph. Potent Amerieno 'Siting. Cleveland Plain Eealer. -American slang deplored by the piirlsts and reversed by literary anarchists re mains the joy of the unregenerate reader, and waxes ever richer and more pic turesque. Its full value, hpwnver. ha a not been fully realized. Sporting editors and short story writers have flung weird words with wild abandon, but only to vitalize anemic English, or to entertain the reader with language puzzles. It remained for O. Henry to discover a new use for slang. And it is a serious use. In one of his stories he makes of our mose esoteric slang a National code. Two Americans want to communicate with each other In a Central American republic at a time when all telegrams are censored. They cannot use English or Spanish, for fear of detection, and have no cipher prepared. So one of them telegraphs to the other in "the great and potent code of slang." This Is what he says : "His nibs skedaddled yesterday per jack rabbit line with all tho coin in the kitty and the bundle of muslin he's spoony about. The boodle Is six figures short. Our crowd in good shape, but we need the spondulicks. You collar it. The main guy and tho dry goods are headed for the briny. You know what to do." Officials were unable to fathom this crymUc message. If you are a true Ameri can, and understand your native tongue, you should have no difficulty with it- Aa a sample of our inmost patois, it is worthy of all admiration. The Servant Problem. Washington Star. "How about that new servant?" said Mr. Crosslots. "Going to quit," replied his wife. She says we haven't the conveniences she's accustomed to p a household." . "Why, we just put in a silver-plated gas range and a marble sink." Yes. But she says she'll have to have a. grand piano instead of an upright." Pay, Pay, Payl Boston Journal. No doubt the operators will eventually agree to increase the wages of the coal miners. Then tliey will increase the price of coal. CURRENT SMALL C1LVXOE. Teacher What can we do with our use less organs? Little Eben Trade "em for phonographs, of course. Puck. "Come on swimmln. I'll show you sorre? new Btrokes." "Nope; lnt time I went dttJ showed ine some new ones. Houston Post. "A fellow accumulates a lot of Junk go ing through college. ' "Referring to the classics or pipes and pennants?" Birmiiig hame Age-Herald., "You may be surprised, after we are mar ride, to find how much things cost. he warned her. "Oh, I don't know." she sahl. smiling. "I used to clerk in a delicatessen store." Buffalo Express. Philanthropist Will you subscribe $5 la help a poor man who is troubled with lo?.i of memory? Financier No. I won't. A lost memory is as good as a fortune these days. Life. "What makes you .wear your automobile goggles to the theater?" asked the caretully dressed young man. "Those aren't automo bile goggles; they're hat-pjn-proof armor." Washington Star. "Has young Gamboge given up "Oh. no." "But he looks so prosperous and I haven't seen anything he has painted for a long time." "He has quit painting and is now a highly successful designer and froeter of wedding cakes-" Cleveland Plain Dealer.