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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 30, 1910)
10 THE MORXIXG- OREGOXIAN. SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 1910. PORTLAND, OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oreson. Postofflcs ma Ceoond-Claea Matter.- Subscrlptlon Kate Inv&rtmblx in Advance. (BY MAIL.) Dally, Bunds? Included, one year. . ..-48.00 Paliy, Sunday lcoluded, mix months... 4.2S Ualiy. Bundajr Included, three months.. 225 Dally. Sunday Included, one month.... .75 Dally, without Sunday, one year..... 8-0O Daily, without Sunday, six month.... 8-23 Dally, without Sunday, three month 1.75 Daily, without Sunday, one month .60 Weekly, one year 150 Cunday, one year........ 2.50 Sucdajr and weekly, one Tear........ -60 By Carrier.) . Dally. Sunday included, one year..... -00 Daily. Sunday Included, one month. ... -" How to Kemlt Send Poatofflce money rder, ex Drees order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postofflce ad dress In full. Including connty and state. Fostace Rates 10 to 14 pases, 1 cent; 16 to 28 pases. 2 cents; 80 to 40 paxes. 8 cents: 40 to 60 paces. 4 cents. Foreign postas double rata Eastern Business Office The S- C. Beek wlth Special A nancy New York, rooms 48 60 Tribune bull dine- Chicago, rooms 610-512 Tribune building. PORTLAND, 8ATT"KJ).VV, APRIL 80, 1910. A GOOD OITOHTIOV. Most persons who have thought In telligently upon the subject are of the opinion that popular government goes on better when the party In power Is but little stronger than the party In opposition. The fear of losing control check its extravagance, chastens its disposition to pick the pockets of the public and Inspires it with a diligent patriotism. On the other hand a weak or negligent opposition is a direct In centive to the dominant party to lapse into corruption and often into tyr anny. There was sound sense there fore in what President Taft said not long ago in Philadelphia about a "good opposition party." He opined that It was just what the Republicans needed to make them govern the country well and he added that an oc casional defeat would help to nourish their virtue and strenghten their wis dom. Unless the signs are deceptive this blessing Is about to be vouchsafed them. The party which has for many years controlled the country is ex tremely likely to be defeated at the Kail election and remanded to take Its turn at the humble, but very use ful, work of opposition. Wa shall sea whether it will make a better job of !t than the Democrats have. It could hardly make a worse job. Ever since the Civil "War the Demo crats have presented a sad spectacle of failure when they had power and a sadder one when they had it not. When they obtained control of the Government, they hastened as If pos sessed with madness to do everything they could to get rid of it. When they were reduced to the low estate of an opposition party they seemed deter mined to prove that their Incompe tence was not merely temporary and acicdental, hut inherent In their na ture. Of late years their Inefficiency as critics and exhorters haj been especially notable both in Congress and at the state capitals. Some seem to think the fault lies in their numer ical weakness and this is no doubt partly true. When a party has few members. It can do little but talk. Still, if it Is vigilant, forceful and hon tst, even, talk has great value in a popu lar Government. It is highly regulative and exercises serious restraining Influence over the party In power. The Democrats in Congress have always been ready enough to talk, hut they have not said a great deal for the last ten years. Their speeches have been neither forceful nor honest. The fact Is that the party of Jefferson seems not only to have lost Its initiative and Its energy, but even its integrity has disappeared. Much worse than its lack of members has been its lack of principle. If it shows as little sincere purpose when It gets possession of power, as it has shown in opposition, the Republican party will not be out of office very long. Perhaps the In terlude will, as President Taft says, do his party good. It will give the lead ers time to think over their sins and leisure to study the true needs of the country, a subject which they have rather foeen inclined to forget of late years. The Democrats may gain seats in the Senate as well as full control cf the House. What will they do with their power? The Southern contin gent of the party is more reactionary than the Aldrich machine. Its ignor ance is impregnable to modern Ideas. It is saturated with the preju dices of the last century. Besides Its ignorance and self-satisfaction its conceit is boundless. It still thinks in terms of Jefferson's formulas and does not dream that changes have taken place in the world eiince that luminous hero passed away. Inas much as the Southern wing of the party will hold the balance r power, what hope Is there that any profrres slve legislation can be enacted by the Democrats? The chances are that the congressional record will be filled for a session or two with dismal speeches on the subject of states' rights. Thera will be thousands of pages of denun ciation of the fifteenth amendment. Tons of documents will be printed in praise of Southern chivalry and then the farce will close. The sound and fury of it all will signify nothing. If we must have party changes next FaTl, it is a pity that some change could not be made which would accomplish results. MIL. KOCKEFKIXJER'8 CHARTER, Little regret will be felt over the report that Mr. Rockefeller may abandon, his project to incorporate his fortune under a National charter. The objections and difficulties In the way are said to have discouraged him so much that he will perhaps turn to some of the states for a charter or it may be that he will drop the scheme altogether. Upon the whore the latter conclu sion is the better. He has so much money that it- would be a menace to the country in the form of a perpetu ity no matter how excellent the in tention might be in creating It. The power of an accumulation so huge would be found to outweigh the au thority of the law and it might turn out in the end to have become the real government of the country. At any rate this is what Congressmen have feared and their misgivings have been widely echoed toy the press. The best thing that can happen to the Rockefeller fortune and others of sim ilar magnitude is to be distributed as soon as circumstances permit among a large number of heirs and benefici aries of all sorts, the more the better. It will then diislpate Itself and flow back gradually into the normal chan nels of production. Sums of money which are devoted to charity are, of course, withdrawn from what is ordinarily called pro ductive industry. No doubt they cause Inestimable benefits to the country, but still they do not directly assist in the processes of industry which we all live by. Were Mr. Rockefeller's charter to be granted his wealth would become in a very real sense a perpet ual mortgage upon the productive power of the United States, and the mortgage would be a heavy one. The annual income which It might draw would be obtained not from any wealth which it had produced, but from what other wealth engaged In active industrial processes had pro duced. Thus In reality the funds for his charitable work would be drawn from the labors of other men year after year forever. This is true of all wealth which has been withdrawn from industry, but usually the sums are so small that we may safely neg lect their depleting influence. The Rockefeller fortune on the con trary Is not small. Its magnitude ren ders it a considerable factor In the Industrial processes of the country, and it cannot be permanently with drawn without doing appreciable harm. THE MEETTXO OF BUST NEIGHBORS. Energies of these progressive days have various signs. One of them is the "get together" spirit which has just taken a party of Portland busi ness men as visitors to their neighbors in .Klamath and places intervening. An open river assembly has Just been held in Oregon City and but shortly before that there, was a similar meet ing in Albany. A little while back another open river convention was held at Pasco and on that occasion a party of Portland business men visited Important places in the upper Colum bia River region. Now attention shifts to the presence in Portland of chiefs of the Hill rail road system, who are driving rail ex tensions into interior Oregon, and whose activities have stirred their rivals of the Harrlman lines to watch the so-called invasion. This work-in-unison spirit is both the outgrowth of the new conditions in Oregon and also the creator of them, Wherever , the Portland men on their travels saw It manifested, there they viewed busy scenes and vigorous optimism. The State of Ore gon and, indeed, the whole Pacific Northwest, are linked together In this common neighborllness. It means the "long pull all together," the upbuild ing of resources and trade and the development of new opportunities. These are busy days for citizens who do things and keep in touch with what their fellow-workers are doing. MAYOR GAV'NOB AND MB. HEARST. Perhaps some members of the As sociated Press were a little surprised at the interpretation Mayor Gaynor put on the invitation they gave him to speak his mind freely. Freedom Is an excellent thing, but on some oc casions there may be too much of it. Very likely the Mayor of New York believed that the enormity of the of fense Mr. Hearst had committed against public morals as well as against the Mayor personally justified the assault he made upon the indis creet editor. At any rate the assault was made and it was a terrible one. T be held up before the nation as guilty of forgery and willful defama tion of character cannot be a pleasant experience even for a man well hard ened to abuse. We may suppose that Mr. Hearst is well hardened. There Is nothing to show that he is much troubled with a conscience or that the pain he may inflict on others by what he publishes in his papers weighs very heavily with him. Possibly he is so accustomed to being berated that even Judge Gaynor's attack left him un scathed: but we can hardly believe it. Aside from possible unpleasant con sequences of a personal nature it is best for a newspaper to tell the truth about its enemies. If it says anything at all about them. Falsehoods are pretty sure to toe found out in the long run, no matter how Ingeniously they are fabricated, and the conse quence is a loss of credit and influ ence to the paper that prints them. This is especially the case with false hoods plainly malicious, as Mr. Hearst's seems to have been. A newspaper is not under any obli gations to publish Its opponent's side in a controversy, though many do, but there is something inexpressibly shocking in committing what amounts to forgery and the defacement of doc uments in order to discredit an ad versary. Naturally, as soon as the truth is known, it Is the paper which gets the discredit and not Its opponent. Upon the whole it is good policy for a newspaper to observe the rules of decency in its controversies even if It cannot go so far as to be courte ous. The reproach made against Mr. Hearst is that he is neither decent nor courteous. If there Is anything he would stickle at to win an advan tage over an adversary, the public has yet to be told what it Is. CONSERVATION OF CAPITA I. . "We are living in an age of world wide financial delirium," says Mr. James J. Hill, in the concluding num ber of an admirable series of articles on the economic situation. This last contribution appears In the current number of the World's Work and Is specially devoted to the "Conservation of Capital." Mr. Hill .finds that "In the schedules of proposed cbnserva tion activity, the waste of National power through excessive expenditure and over-burdening of credit has ap parently been overlooked." As viewed by this eminent authority on econom ics, this world-wide financial delirium and prodigal wastefulness have been encouraged by the same Influences which produce extravagance on the part of individuals. There has been such an enormous increase In wealth throughout the world and the supply of capital has become so great that It seems Inexhaustible. This has Induced an extravagance which has even been mildly encour aged by the ease with which enorm ous amounts of capital are shifted from one part of the world to an other speedily to alleviate temporary troubles. This interesting process of keeping our capital moving will con tinue until the Inevitable limit is reached. Some idea of the rate at which we are approaching that limit can be gained by a study of a few of the complete statistical tables -which accompany Mr. Hill's article. He shows that the per capita wealth of the United States rose from $307.69 in 1850 to $870.30 in 1880, and $1. 318.11 in 1909. That the Government as well as the individual has been in creasing expenditures more rapidly than it has been accumulating wealth is shown by an increase In the cost of government to each individual from $1.78 in 1880 to $3.84 In 1909. In other words, the per capita wealth since 1880 has increased but approximately 60 per cent, while the government expense has more than doubled. The increasing distance be tween the percentage of gain In earn ings and expenditures is shown to be approximately the1 same in state, county and city affairs throughout the land. Were the United Stated alone in this attack of "financial de lirium" the situation might appear less grave, for In an emergency we could then turn to our more thrifty neighbors. But the old world coun tries have also been, extending them selves In the way of National debts. Germany and her dependencies hav ing piled up a debt of over $4,000, 000,000, while the National debts of all. European countries reach the enormous total of $29,552,800,000, with Increases rather than decreases continually being noted. As a remedy for this unsatisfactory condition, Mr. Hill suggests: "Individual and pub lic economy; a Just distinction be tween a high standard of comfort on one side and vulgar ostentation or criminal waste on the other; a check on income wasting, debt creation, and credit inflation." THE TWO BEATERS. The arrival af Portland of the mag nificent new Harrlman liner Beaver is an event of Importance. It has been so long since thl3 city has been fa vored with a strictly first-class modern steamship service that the coming of a vessel which is said to represent the "last word" in marine architecture and equipment is an occasion for con gratulation. The new Beaver Is the second vessel of that name to make the long trip down the Atlantic and up the Pacific to the Far Northwest. Between the coming of thi3 new Bea ver and the old, practically all of the growth and development of that vast empire west of the Rocky Mountains has taken place. It will be 76 years next month since the old Beaver first churned the waters of the Columbia with her paddlewheels. She carried on this maiden trip from the Hudson's Bay post at Vancouver among other excursionists the Rev. Samuel Parker. In his reminiscences the pioneer says that during the trip around Menzies (Sauvies) Island, the party indulged In "a train ' of perspective reflections upon the probable changes that would take place In these remote regions in a very few years." There were fajseeing men of broad views among those hardy pioneers who first braved the perils. and privations of this Western wilderness, but it is doubtful if the most optimistic indi vidual in their ranks could picture the development that has followed the advent of the pioneer Beaver. No steamer had ever awakened echoes at the Golden aGte when the Beaver first threaded her way through the shoals and narrow channels of the old Columbia River; and Puget Sound was still a "silent sea" except for the plash of the waves against the prows of diminutive sail craft of the early traders. When the new Beaver steamed swiftly up the broad and deep channels of the Columbia with her 4000-ton cargo, many of those "changes" forecasted by the Rev. Mr. Parker were In evidence. The new Beaver will find at the docks in this city, loading or discharg ing, a larger fleet of vessels than en tered or. departed from all North Pa cific ports combined in the five years following the arrival of the old Bea ver. As it Is now not unusual for more vessels to enter the Columbia in a single day than came into the river in an entire year In the decade follow ing the Beaver's arrival, the new Beaver will not seem so conspicuous by comparison as the original steamer bearing that name. But not even the attraction and comfort afforded by the finest railroad train In the United States, can wean the traveling pub lic away from the ocean route between Portland and San Francisco. With safety and comfort assured by such steamers as the Beaver and her sister ship the Bear," there will undoubtedly be a heavy travel by water. All of the railroads that could be constructed between this city and Cali fornia ports would not prevent a steady growth " and expansion of the ocean-carrying trade. It is no longer necessary for the people of Portland to own steamships in order to pro vide these facilities, as was the case when Messrs. Coffin, Lownsdale oi Chapman, "owners of Portland town site", were obliged to purchase the old steamship Gold Hunter to protect their townsite against the competition of Milwaukie, which Lot Whitcomb In sisted on making the terminus of his steamboat line to Astoria. It is es sential, however, that substantial sup port be given vessels of the Beaver and Bear type in order that the stand ard they set will be maintained by all lines entering the port. The days of the old ramshackle tubs that disgrace the route and endanrer the lives of people who travel it are about over, and the Beaver and the Bear should be given a welcome In keeping with their merits. A WllSONIAN FALLACY. "We cannot afford to buy food from foreign countries," said Secretary of Agriculture Wilson in a speech before the New Tork Produce Exchange. In the opinion of Secretary Wilson, "we must see to it that our Western farms produce enough not only for home consumption, but also to sell abroad and squares up the balance of trade.!' Like the accommodating pedagogue who was willing to teach that the world was round or flat in order to hold his job. Secretary Wilson fits his theory to the stand-pat policy of the various administrations which have failed to replace him with an active head for one of the most Important departments of the Government. Per haps - there are other methods for squaring up that balance of trade than by exporting foodstuffs that must necessarily come in competition with those of countries where both land and labor are much cheaper than in this country. We certainly can afford to buy food from foreign countries if it is obtain able at lower rates than are found profitable for producing it in this country. To the ability of this coun try to "buy food from foreign coun tries" and the attendant general pros perity here is due the presence of much of that unfavorable balance of trade. The lowest estimate made on the. amount of money spent in Europe last year by American tourists and other travelers .was approximately $260,000,000. It is probable that an even greater sum was charged against our account in "Europe for interest on foreign money which our prosperous condition enabled us to borrow abroad for use in. railroad construction and other industrial enterprises. When we get so poor that we are unable to "buy food from foreign countries" there will be an immediate curtail ment of a large portion of this expen diture, and the balance of trade will disappear automatically. That we have already learned that there are other articles than food stuffs to be exported from this coun try is shown in the latest foreign trade statement of the bureau of sta tistics. For the nine months ending March 31 our exports of boots and shoes were $1,800,000 greater than for the corresponding period In the pre ceding year. Steel rail exports showed an increase of $3,300,000; electrical Instruments $1,400,000; sewing ma chines $1,000,000; automobiles $2. 800,000; metal working machinery $1,700,000; typewriters $1,100,000; and, throughout the list of articles manufactured In this country, gains were general. In the list of imports which contributed to this balance of trade, which Secretary Wilson seems to think indicates poverty on our part, the heaviest Increases were in dia monds, art works and champagne. For the nine months the value of diamonds Imported was nearly $16, 000,000 greater than for the corre sponding period in the preceding fiscal year. In art works the increase was exactly $16,000,000. and in champagne the increase was $2,000,000. These three items account for a considerable portion of the unfavorable baiance of trade, and we could materially reduce the amount, if it were necessary to do so, in order to square the trade ac count. Improved farming methods and soil conservation will greatly in crease the yield of farm products in this country, but our manufacturing industries are increasing their output much more rapidly than are the farms. Instead of our being unable to "buy food from foreign countries," there will soon be a decided advantage In the transaction. Ex-President Zelaya, of Nicaragua, has Just made public a farewell let ter written by the American, Leonard Groce, to his mother. After stating that this is "the last word you will ever receive from your wayward son," Groce continues: "This is my fate the results of war and disobe dience to a loving mother." The con demned man in his letter freely ad mits Joining the revolution. If this letter is' authentic, as it seems to be, the American Government will be con fronted with a difficult task if It at tempts to collect anything from Nic aragua In the way of damages (or the execution of Groce. Whatever objec tion we might have to Zelaya and his brutal, tyrannical "methods. It would appear' that, so long as he was the recognized head of the Nicaraguan government, he was clearly within his rights in taking the usual methods for putting down revolutions. The fate of Groce and Cannon may deter other Americans from "butting in" on fam ily rows In which they are not directly concerned. That airy fairy fiction that a "fu ture" contract to buy or sell cotton, wheat or any other commodity Is all a gamble, and does not mean the handling of any actual wheat or cot ton, is again dispelled by the merci less squeezing which Patten, Scales and other shrewd operators are giv ing the "short" sellers who over-estimated the size of the crop and sold large quantities of the staple which they did not possess. The active shorts were so certain of their estimates on the available supply that they per mitted several thousand bales to be shipped to Europe which were actu ally needed in this country for mak ing deliveries. As a result of this at tempt to manipulate the market for lower prices they are now obliged to bring back some of this cotton to de liver on the May contracts. There is always a certain amount of gambling In future contracts, but the man who buys or sells on one must always be prepared to accept or deliver the ac tual commodity it calls for. The Oregonian prints today a state ment from a member of the Metho dist Church at Ashland, about his personal- experiences with Evan gelist Oliver; and he offers be sides an estimate of the work and worth of the man. It is not flatter ing; It is unquestionably true. The Oregonian runs thv. risk, it knows, of appearing thus to make entirely too much of a very cheap individual, and naturally many people will wonder why he should be given so great prominence. The reason Is that this man, supported by many good people, is making a systematic "clean-up" in various towns of Oregon, and The Oregonian thinks It has a duty to warn the public about him, his char acter and his methods. That is all there is to the mctter. It is of no consequence whatever what Oliver or any other blackguard says about The Oregonian. Orr, the escaped convict, taken back to Walla Walla, admitted he is the man wanted. It will be recalled he bore all the Identification marks, but his strenuous denial led many to believe he was not the man wanted. His few years of upright life in this city are now of little avail. The won der in the case Is that he remained in this region with the ever-recurring dread of recapture. Perhaps he hoped to escape the vigilant eye in a large city, and, with a bluff, brazen his way back to respectability. It Is these lapses of Judgment that make a crimi nal career of little profit. Putting aside the question of truth of his assertions,' Mr. Gaynor showed lack of gentle courtesy in his attack on Mr. Hearst, who was, nominally at least, one of his hosts. Oyster Bay need have little worry about its greatest citizen missing the enumerator. It is a safe wager that he is In the Seattle count. This change In temperature may put California berries on the street cheap today and let all enjoy short cake tomorrow. This is raisin day in California and raisin' day on Puget Sound. Same here, too. Artist Leavitt Is as bad as Borii in the matter of a second marriage. A good place to take the census would be at the baseball game. What will be the second city in Ore gon tonight? THE FREEDOM OF LONDON CITY How It Will Be Bestowed on Mr. Roosevelt, and What It Means. Pearson's Weekly. The honorable freedom of the city, which is to ' be conferred on ex-President Roosevelt shortly, is the highest gift that the City of London has in its power to bestow. It was recently be stowed on Miss. Florence Nightingale, the Only woman who has ever re ceived it. The wall of the anteroom of the Council Chamber is lined with the busts of those whom the city has honored In this way. In conferring the honorary freedoms the ancient forms are still preserved. Six citizens will vouch for Mr. Roose velt's worthiness In the following terms; "That Theodore Roosevelt Is a man of good name and fame; that he does not desire the freedom of the city whereby to defraud the King or this city of any of their rights, customs or advan tages: but that he will pay his scot and bear his lot; and so they all say." These six citizens are called "the compurga tors." The City Chamberlain addresses the distinguished visitor, enlarging on the deeds that make him worthy, of the honor that is being bestowed. Mr. Roosevelt will then reply. The City Chamberlain then offers him the right hand of fellowship, and presents him with a gold box. herald icetlly decorated, containing an Illum inated copy of the vote of the Common Council .by which it -was resolved that he should be presented with the free dom. In the case of a soldier a sword Is sometimes given instead of a box. The box usually costs a hundred guineas. If Mr. Roosevelt were British he would then have to sign the following declaration: "I do solemnly decide that I will be good and true to our Sovereign Lord the Kirfg; that I will be obedient to the Mayor of this city; that I will maintain the franchises and customs thereof, and will keep this city harmless in that which in me is; that I will also keep the King's peace in my own person; tnat I wllT know no conspiracies made against the King's peace, but I will warn the Mayor thereof, or hinder it to my power; and that all these points and articles I win well and truly keep, according to the laws and customs of this city, to my power." But not being a subject of the King, he will, of course, not be asked to sign this declaration. So Jealously, indeed, does the city prize its rights of present ing the freedom, that though it has several times been presented to dis tinguished foreigners the gift in such cases is only nominal. Garibaldi, the great Italian soldier, and De Lesseps, who made the Suez Canal, have both been voted the free dom. But in each case, strange as it may seem, they did not get it. The document received in such cases Is only a copy of the vote of the .Common Council, not an actual resolution con ferring the freedom. And in the Cham berlain's books it is not recorded that they did receive the freedom. So that Mr. Roosevelt will be only nominally a freeman. No record of the reception of the freedom will be found In the Chamberlain's books. WHAT HAVE INSURGENTS IIONET Hglme la Still Cannon's) and They Neglect to Dethrone Him. Chicago Inter Ocean. The Omaha-World Herald and Mr. Bryan's Commoner have come gradually to realize the fact that the new com mittee on- rules In the House of Repre sentatives at Washington does' not dif fer in any important respect from the old one. In- other words, our Nebraska con temporaries understand at last that the insurrection in the House of Represent atives accomplished absolutely nothing for the insurgents' cau&'e. Thus, the Commoner adopts into Its own editorial page of April 22 this statement from the World-Herald: What Is the difference -between the new committee, for which the entire Republican membership ia responsible, and the old com mittee, for which the Speaker was directly responsible? There Is no difference' but thin: the new committee 1b twice as large as the old one. There Is absolutely no difference in Its qual ity. It Is as strongly tandpat; as etrongly pro-Cannon. No clearer statement of the case could be made. It is exactly what this newspaper has been explaining to its readers since the insurrection simmered off. After showing that they had enough votes to depose Speaker Cannon, by unit ing with the Democrats the insurgents shrank from the Issue. They refused to meet the situation which they had called forth, although most of them were pledged to their constituents to do their utmost to separate Mr. Cannon from the Speakership. They plainly and publicly skedaddled away from their pledges the moment they came squarely up to the proposi tion of redeeming them. It is an amazing situation and , one that the insurgents of the country would do well to consider. Here are their representatives In Congress with the power to depose Mr. Cannon and dare not do it. They are daily defied by him to do their worst, and they re fuse to accept his challenge. Would they but nerve themselves for the affray; would they but stand by their principles; would they but keep their pledges and promises, we -should have Champ Clark for Speaker within seven days and a clear issue on which to go to the country In the Congres sional elections. What a pity that these things cannot be! Advice to Mr. Bryan. New York World. Mr. Bryan told the Chicago News paper Club the other day that "if the newspapers of this country did their duty to the public there is not a wrong that could last one year In the United States." In their clumsy, imperfect way a great many newspapers are trying to do their duty to the public, and if Mr. Bryan Is so minded he can be of very great assistance to them. He should not forget that if he himself had al ways done his duty there might be fewer public wrongs to remedy. If Mr. Bryan will now sink his per sonal ambition, stop exploiting dead issues, avoid socialistic policies, help unite and harmonize the Democratic party, use all his efforts to assist in nominating the strongest and most available Democratic candidate for President In 1912, there will be fewer abuses of government to complain about four years hence. There is no better agency in fighting public wrong than a strong, aggressive po litical party that will battle intelli gently and uncompromisingly for pub lic right. . A Set of Senators' Autographs, (5. Washington, D. C, Dispatch. The pages In the United States Sen ate make quite a bit of pocket money by selling autographs of the Senators. A complete set can be bought from a page for $5. A few years ago one was worth $10. The youngsters tell the Senators they want the autographs for themselves, but the game seems to be winked at good-naturedly by the so lons. Root and Aldrich are the hard est to capture. A Bank Note With a History. London Echo. At' the Bank of England, London, priv ileged visitors are sometimes shown the oldest known bank note for 1555, with the date "13th Xber, 1099." The memoranda written across the note shows that pay ment was made by three Instalments. FROM WHO NOW KNOWS OLIVER Estimate of Evangelist by aa Ashland Church Member. ASHLAND. Or., April 27. (To the Edi tor.) I am a, member of Rev. Mr. Van Fos sen's church Methodist Episcopal here In Ashland, and while he has endured with Christ-like humility and patience the tirades of calumny and abuse heaped upon him by Evangelist Oliver during the meetings Just closed here, I feel that just a word more is in place at this time. The Oliver meetings were not an unqualified success here. He turned out to be a bigot, demagogue and scandal-monger, and left behind him more strife and dis sension In the religious life of this com munity than he left converts. He reviled and maligned men who were In all re spects his betters and who have spent more years In the real service of Jesus Christ in their respective churches than Oliver has spent months in his bigoted self-worship and sophistry, and there have been no "free will offerings" of several hundreds of dollars per month taken up for these men, either. I thought at the start Oliver was right, and was at pains to tell him so, but I was finally forced, through the gutter quality of his talk and methods, to the conclusion that he is a decided misfit in religious work, as far. at least, as practical Christianity is concerned. As regards the financial aspect of the situa tion, here and also at Eugene, he was a sure-fire winner, and no mistake. He is, however, far better fitted (judging by his command of billingsgate, and the low quality of his mental makeup, evidenced by his continual flow of Invective against everything and everyone, as the whim seizes him), he is. I say. far better fitted for, and adapted to, work on the docks among the longshoremen where, praise be, he would not have the protection of the pulpit and cloth in his tirades against decent. Christian men. and perhaps event ually, if the longshoremen would tolerate him at all, he would get "trimmed up and down and maybe get so he could at least talk like a Christian man and gen tleman. In the course of one of his harangues here, referring to having heard some one Intended doing him harm, he said: "Any low-down, degenerate, whisky bum who tries that game on me will find I know the game better than he does; I can hit a gnat's heel at 50 yards if I have to, and they had better not fool with me." And this, and much more of the same high quality and elevating influence, from a man whom the ministers of Ashland Innocently thought they had hired to con duct a campaign In the interests of Chris tianity and decency. Well, after listening to the man's self praise and his wealth of invective, one Is forced to believe that (orally, at least) he does "know the game better than they do," and, knowing so well, must have had practical experience (orally). else why so proficient? He said two of our ministers here were "not fit to carry slop to my hogs." Both these men are real ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ men of high character and acknowledged and known good in and to this community, and they have, more over, not the incentive of fat and fanati cal "free-will offerings every 30 days. with guaranteed railroad fare and living expenses Between wnues. let iney, 10 quote this eminent divine (?) are not fit to "carry slop to his hogs." I believe at bottom this Oliver is a selfish, heartless, mercenary bigot. Other communities wherein this man is trying to arrange for a "raid," should take warning by what Ashland got, or rather did not get, and should watch carefully his methods and results In Medford. JOEL R. BENTON. Bad Eggs Destroyed. New York World. Three shipments of 160.000 powdered and frozen eggs, weighing in all 4700 pounds, brought to New York from Chicago, were cast into the North River after seizures by Inspector Herman Llnd, of the Fed eral Food Bureau, assisted by United States Marshal Henkel. The authorities decided that the eggs were not fit for human food. The eggs included 1100 pounds shipped by the Columbia Desiccated Egg Com pany, 2600 pounds from R. Ssnithson, 1000 pounds from the Monarch Desiccated Egg Company, all the shippers being Chicago concerns. The decayed eggs, after being either frozen or desiccated, are rendered free from bad odors. The frozen eggs are put through a refrigerating process, after the removal of the shells, and are made Into hard blocks in much the same way as ice cream bricks are made. When the blocks are thawed the odor indicates whether or not the eggs were fresh when frozen. Both frozen and desiccated eggs, the au thorities say. are sold largely to bakers, confectioners, hotels and restaurants. If the eggs were fresh when they were con gealed or evaporated, the product Is said to be wholesome and can be shipped at much less expense than the eggs In the shells. Roosevelt's New Epithet. Chicago Post. On Saturday Mr. Roosevelt gave us an eighth deadly sin in Paris, appropriate enough and the name of it is "tepidity." "There is little use." he said, "for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of the great and generous emotion of the men who ride the storm." And again: "If a man can view his own country and all other countries upon the same level of tepid indifference, it is wise to distrust him." Over against the strenuous life we must set the tepid life. One more harm less word has been plucked out of the dictionary by the Colonel and put to work preaching the gospel of the Man of Ac tion for all it is worth. Popular Fiction. Chicago Tribune. "I Just Adore Grand Opera." "I Don't Care for the Nickel; It's the Principle of the Thing." "Yes, Mabel: I'd Love You Just the Same if You Were as Poor as a Church Mouse." "No, Sor, the Young Leddy Isn't at Home." "I Haven't the Money With Me Now, But I'll Pay You Next Week, Sure. "He's Not Five Years Old Yet, Con ductor." "I Dont Want It for Myself, You Know: I'm Buying It for a Friend." "I Detest Liquor. But the Doctor Ad vises Me to Use It." Precept and Example. Chicago Tribune. "Colonel, that was an admirable speech you made at the club the other evening on the obligations of citizen ship. I've been intending to tell you so ever since I heard It. We need more of that kind of talk nowadays. But what are you looking so gloomy about this morning. Colonel? No bad news, I hope." "Dash It all, yesl I've been drawn on a Jury!" Nice Mental Attitude. Life. In married life, when Jealous fear's In trude And doubts N disturb the maglo of love's spell. The woman thinks she Is not under stood; The man's afraid he's understood too welll Where He Has the Courts Beaten. Washington Star. The baseball umpire is a delight to many people, owing to the manner in which he decides a controversy without occupying months in hearing evidence. Equality. Life. Doetor (politely) Good morning, Mr. Schmidt. Janitor Howdy, doc? LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE "Professor Frear, of the Pennsyl vania State College," said Herman B. Winter, pf Philadelphia, who is at the Arlington, "not so very long ago dis cussed In Harrisburg the 83 kinds of breakfast food that he recently tested for the Government. "'Most of them were very good," said Professor Frear. 'The taste test in most cases was pleasure rather than work. To make work out of It would be to act like a, little boy I knew in Bellefonte. " 'This little boy's mother went the other day to a reception, leaving the baby in Jimmy's care. With an injured look Jimmy said on her return: "Mam ma, I wish you wouldn't make me mind the baby again. He was so bad that I had to eat two mince pies and halt the fruit cake to amuse him." " Washington Herald. ' An Irishman visited a tuberculosis ex hibit, where lungs in both healthy and diseased conditions were displayed pre served in glass- Jars. After carefully studying one marked "Cured tuberculosis lung," he turned to the physician and said:. "Perhaps it's because Oi'm Irish, but If ye cured th' patient how th" dlvll could ye have his lung In a bottle?" Llppincott's. Rivers had been detained by a business meeting at the club and the hour was late when he reached home. "So It's you, is it!" exclaimed Mrs. Rivers, who was wide awake. "You've got some plausible excuse, too, of course. You were de tained downtown by some necessary. In dispensable, Important, unavoidable un escapable, urgent, essential and abso lutely compulsory and Inexorable busi ness! Of all the flimsy, transparent, diaphanous " "For heaven's sake. Lena," Interrupted Rivers, whipping out his note book, "wait a minute and let me Jot down those synonyms! I don't know where you got them, but I can use every one of them! ... Now go ahead again, dear, but please talk a little slower." Chicago Tribune. The great baritone, Slgnor Foil,' when singing in grand opera In his native city, Cork, had to sing one of his songs from a stage balcony. The arrangements were not very perfect, and the manager, fear ing the carpenter had not mads the bal cony strong enough to sustain the weight of the big man, told off two assistants to hold tt up from beneath. The lengthy slgnor was only half through his song when one man said to the other: "Be jabers. Molke, this Oltallan is molghty heavy!" "Let's dhrop him. Pat; he's only an Oltallan, afther all!" Voice from the singer above: 'Wlll ye, ye dlvils, will ye?" "Tare-an'-'ouns! Pat, but he's an Olr Ishman; hould him up for the lolfe of yez!" Strand Magazine. Trains were always slow and far he tween, on the branch road. Nobody knew this better than the people at the Junc tionexcept perhaps those on the branch Itself. It was an old story to them, and the Jokes about the situation were many and good. One day the newsdealer at the Junction station came home to lunch, grinning broadly to himself. "What's the Joker' asked, his wife. "You look pretty well pleased with your self." "Oh, nothing particular, he replied, "excepting an Odd fellow from the end of the line said a funny thing. "He'd missed his train, and there wasn't another for two hours. He came to the counter to buy some reading matter. He asked for a Joke book, and 1 said I didn't keep them. Then he pawed over the stock, and Anally said: 'Well. I guess I'll take a time table instead." Youtli's Companion. a "Any article removed from the win dow," was the notice prominently dis played at an outfitter's shop. Attracted by it, a supercilious person entered the shop and asked to be allowed to inspect a particularly vivid tie In the front row. The salesman having disarranged the window and brought out the destred ob ject, the supercilious person remarked: "Rather loud, isn't It?" "Well, somewhat striking," agreed the shopman. "I thought so," replied the visitor, as he turned to leave the shop. "It offends my taste. You needn't put it back. Good day!" Dundee Advertiser. i Professor Smokes Cigar 85 Minutes. Ithaca, N. Y., Dispatch. As a result of a wager made at the Town and Gown Club, a contest was held to see who could smoke a cigar longest without letting it go out. Some twenty-five Cornell professors and professional men took part in the contest, it was said. All were provided with the same sized cigars, and at the stroke of a bell they were lighted. The men then lounged about at their ease, endeavoring to keep their cigars light ed and yet smoke as little as possible. At the end of fifty minutes most of the cigars were either out or their smokers had retired from the contest. But Professor Theodore Monroe, Pro fessor C. L. Durham, Dean Frank Ir vine and Dr. H. I. Andrews were still puffing away. At the end of seventy minutes Pro fessor Irvine retired from the contest, and at eighty minutes Professor Dur ham very suddenly disappeared. Pro fessor Monroe, with a smile on his face and by the aid of a toothpick, smoked his cigar eighty-five minutes, and was declared the winner. He was awarded the prize of a metal stein. Lyunder John's Mistake. Atchison Globe. So many of the quilts and blankets) at the home of Lysander John Appleton are spread out on the lawn these cold nights to protect the flowers from frost that when Lysander John Apple ton came home from his club at a late hour last night he grew confused and didn't know which one was his bed. Should he crawl under that familiar blue-bordered blanket spread over the geraniums, or was that his bed cov ered with a white spread over in- the pansy corner? He finally compromised by crawling In bed with the daisies under a nine-patch quilt, and there la where they found him this morning. A Day With the KIuk of Belgium. Baltimore American. Since his accession, the King of the Belgians rises at 5 and is quickly at work. At 7:30 he breakfasts with the Queen. At 8 the little princes come to wish their parents good morning and to play with them. For the King work commences again at 9 and continues until 11, when he rides with the Queen or motors with her, unless, indeed, the Queen is kept at home by some of her work for the poor. After luncheen the whole day Is given up to work within doors and out of doors. At 8 the King dines. Promoting Economy. Washington Star. 'Tirf afraid I won't be able to pav your bill for some time, doctor," said the grateful patient. M m," replied the physician, who Is a natural diplomat, "there are two points I forgot to mention In my ad vice. You'd better quit smoking and cut out a meat diet." Met Occasionally. Atchison Globe. Occasionally you meet a. man -n-v, diMikes to attract attention. But sucht men are extremely rare.