lO THE MORNISG OEEGOJilAjf. SATURDAY, MAY 21, 1910. PORTLAND, OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oregon, Postoffies as Eecond-Class Matter. subscription Bate Invariably In Advance. (BY MAIL). Dally. Sunday included, .one year. . . .. ?-S2 . Dally, Sunday Included, nx months.... Dally, Sunday Included three monthe. . 8.-S Dally, Sunday Included, one month -J" Dally, without Sunday, one year .... J-o Dally, without Sunday, six month.... 3-; Dally, without Sunday, three month.. Daily, without Sunday, one month Weekly, one year J- Sunday, one year j-jJJ Sunday and weekly, on year a-60 (By Carrier). Daily, Sunday Included, one year...... 2 Dally, Sunday Included, one month.... - How to Remit Send Poatoffice money order, express order or personal check on vcur local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postoffice ad dress In full. Including county and state. Postage Kates 10 to 14 pages, 1 cent; 10 to 28 pages, 2 cents; 80 to 40 pages, 3 cents; 40 to 60 pages. 4 cents. Foreign postage double rate. Kasteru Business Office The S. C Beck wlth Special Agency Kew York, rooms 48 60 Tribune building. Chicago, rooms 610 613 Tribune building. PORTLAND, SATCRUAT, MAY U 1910. RAILROAD RATE ADVANCE. "With such a. wealth of data as has been gathered by railroads and ship pers' alike, there should not be much ' difficulty In determining the extent to -which the threatened advance in rail road rates is Justified. Freight ship pers, representing a tonnage valued at more than $1,000,000,000, met in Chicago Tuesday to formulate a plan for preventing the advance. At this meeting it was decided to offer the railroads arbitration through the In terstate Commerce Commission upon the question whether or not they are entitled to increase their revenues. If the position taken by the railroads is warranted by the changed economic conditions, it would seem to be an easy matter for them to prove that such Js the case, and that the increase In rates is made necessary 'by In creased, expenditures. No one questions the necessity for greater revenues If the railroads are obliged to pay higher prices for labor, fuel, equipment and all other factors in maintenance and operation. The point on which the present contest centers, however, is that the railroads are already earning enough more than a reasonable return on the in vestment to enable them to stand this increased cost of maintenance and operation, Instead of passing it on the public in the shape of higher rates. Nearly all of the roads affected by the proposed advance are old lines, per manently established, and on a basis where the Items of fixed charges, cost of maintenance and operation and other charges are unaffected by in fluences (which are felt by lines in a new country where traffic has not been developed and the various lines have not been "hooked up" into a compact and economically handled property. For this reason, arbitration, con ducted in a spirit of fairness, ought to result In an agreement satisfactory to both parties. A railroad is entitled to remunerative earnings on the in vestment, and also to some re'turns for the original risk assumed in build ing a line into a country where oper ation was necessarily conduced at a loss for a few years following its con struction. Mr. Hill's $50,000,000 North Bank line can hardly be ex pected to pay anything like reasonable profit on the investment until a num ber of years hence, when the develop ment of adjacent territory enables it to be worked up to somewhere near Its traffic-handling capacity. It seems perfectly fair, however, that Mr. Hill should be permitted to recoup the losses of the early light-traffic years by dividend-earning rates from the business that will follow later. This element in the problem is less pro nounced In the older settled regions of the East than it is In the Middle West, and it is accordingly much easier to determine on the Eastern roads what constitute fair and rea sonable rates. SOME KKRTNO JTJDGES. It appears that some of the judges of the courts tin Western New York have been guilty of an unpardonable offense against the proprieties of their office. To quote from a resolution of the Erie County Bar Association, they have Ignored well-settled principles of law In order "to render decisions Which conform morp closely to their Dwn sense" of right and justice. We So not wonder that the lawyers should Bxpress burning Indignation at such culpable, conduct on the part of the Judges. What place have right and justice In the courtroom? The court room Is a place for lawyers to earn their fees In, and since they can earn more fees when right and justice are lost sight of and everything is made to depend upon "well-settled princi ples of the law" naturally they prefer the latter practice. What are these well-settled prlncl pies of the law which are so dear to the hearts of the legal fraternity? It Is not difficult to enumerate some of them, though of course no human be ing could presume to know them all Since to every possible question there are at least two directly opposite legal answers, both of which are equally correct and supported . by principles equally well established, it follows that the number of these principles Is discouragingly large. .ine mom important or them un doubtedly runs somewhat in this way: "No lawsuit should ver be permitted to end as long as by hook or crook It can be kept running." No other principle finds such wide application In the legal practice of our time as this one, and none is so deeply revered by the profession. It is not surpris ing that judge who presumes to ig nore It should bi rebuked ty his brethren of the bar, for such an Inno vation not only impairs the force of tradition, but it tends to curtail reve nues, which is of vastly more conse quence. Another principle almost as fundamental as the first is this, "No law should ever be stated In language which anybody can understand." If the language were clear and simple, opportunities for endless suits would be thriftlessly lost. The more obscure it is the more occasion for precedents, authorities, conflicting interpretations and all that paraphernalia of cloud land which contributes so comfortably to the employment and material ad vantage of the legal profession. It is to be hoped that the erring judges of Eastern New York will presently mend their ways and devote their en ergies, as they ought, to advancing the interests of the lawyers instead of foolishly spending them on ' the wel fare of suitors. Litigants are mere lay figures introduced to keep the machinery of the court moving.- Be- ing Inanimate automatons, It is hardly worth while to think much about their imaginary happiness. THE MAYOR'S PRUDENCE. The duty of the Mayor and the Council Is to protect the city against schemes and projects that will add ex cessively to municipal debt and taxa tion and fasten upon taxpayers the perpetual maintenance of unnecessary public works. The possibilities of abuse and extravagance of public en terprises are so vast that it is the sworn obligation of officials to keep the public out of them wherever pos sible. , This is what Mayor Simon has sought to do by vetoing an ordinance thaiwouId start the city in the busi ness of city docks and sell $500,000 bonds therefor. This expenditure of money would be but the beginning of an enormous outlay by the city. Citizens of Portland expect their servants in office to look to these mat ters; to use discretion and. caution and to act according to their honest understanding of the "city's needs. That is what officials are elected for. As pointed out by Mayor- Simon, electors have not decreed that the city shall enter the docks business. They have simply given the Mayor and the Council fewer to do this if it shall seem a proper thing to do. It Is per tinent here to note the "part of the Mayor's message dealing with this as pect cf the subject: In conclusion ' I beg to call attention to the language employed in section 118 of the charter adopted by the people in 1907, authorizing the Council to issue and dis pose of bonds for dock purposes. As I con sider this section of the charter it Is noth- ng more than a grant of power to be ex ercised or not as the Judgment of the Council may determined Power Is lodged in the Council to Issue bonds and from the proceeds of the sale thereof to acquire docks, but it is not incumbent upon the city to engage in such enterprise nor Is there any limitation as to the time within which such authority should be exercised. It Is, like many other provisions of the charter, a grant of power to be exercised as and when, if at all, whenever It shall be deemed necessary. There Is nothing in this charter provision which makes it imper ative upon the City of Portland to secure municipal docks. This Is sound doctrine. In a big undertaking like this, fraught as It is with probabilities of extravagance and debt, it Is fortunate that the city has a Mayor of conservative prudence. ASSEMBLY GAINING FAVOR. The political assembly habit is gaining the recognition of so many classes of patriotic citizens that oppo sition to the coming Republican as sembly would si-em to be vaiiishin:? like the . much-vaunted tail of the comet.- Last week the Granges held a political assembly in Oregon City and this week the lawyers held one in Portland. The so-called People's Power League of TJ Ren's holds con ferences occasionally over matters of proposed legislation. So do the latjor unions and the State Federation of Labor. ' The doctors have their meet ings to consider matters pertaining 10 the people's laws, likewise the mer chants and the employers. So that assembly, after all, Is avi orthodox method of "getting together" and preparing political programme. The Republican assembly, unlike any of these other gatherings, will admit all classes of citizens to its de liberations, and therefore should be more popular than any of them. The assembly Is not the bugbear it has been painted. It 13 a rational means of deliberation and concert Democrats are bound to concede this fact, from their own experience with assembly before the general state elec tion in 1906. Most of their subsequent "great works" were developed In that assembly. DOES RIGHT ALWAYS TRIUMPH? The great campaign of surmise1, sus picion, innuendo, insinuation, deduc tlon, . denunciation and treachery against the Taft Administration ap proaches its climax in the conclusion of the Balllnger-Pinchot investiga tion. It was begun in a vengeful pur pose to "get even" with Taft because he had dared to prefer Ballinger to Garfield, and Jt has been carried on with-incredible malignity m Its deter mination to exalt Pinchot at the ex pense of the reputation of the man who dared to stand in the way of his fantastic and unlawful schemes of conservation. Throughout this investigation there has not appeared one direct and clear fact or circumstance tothe discredit of Ballinger worthy of consideration In a court of Justice. It is true that accidental and unrelated events have been ingeniously grouped and inter preted so as to show that he had some connection with the Cunningham claimants, but even that relation ap pears to have been proper , and justi fiable. Behind this incident there is the assumption-and it is absolutely an assumption that the Cunningham group were criminals. Were the? The experience of Ballinger proves that no man of conscience. Independ ent Judgment and previous blameless record can set himself successfully against the wretched intrigues and machinations of the self-constituted and self-righteous "guardians of the public welfare." CHANGE FORT SAKE OF CHANGE. Some of the New York papers, es pecially the World, are pleading that their state needs a change of parties. The Republicans have been too long in power, they argue, .and it is time the Democrats had a chance to con trol. Just how things would be improved by the change is not specified. The World disclaims any belief that "the Democratic party Is more honest than the Republican party, or that Democrats are more responsible than Republicans in of fice. We insist merely that the Re publican party has been too long in power in New York and that the state .needs a change." If the Democrats are no more hon est and no more responsible than the Republicans, what possible benefit can be expected, from the change? No particular betterment ' or condi tions can arise from transferring power, unless the men who receive It are an improvement on those " who lose it. Change in itself is not desir able. . Indeed It .involves some de cided disadvantages. These are negligible if the expected gains are clearly specified and reasonably cer tain; otherwise .they are of sufficient weight to determine a prudent- man against making any change. The fact is the Republican party in New York, under the leadership of Mr. Hughes, is rapidly transforming itself into a party of enlightenment and progress. It has sloughed off a number of the vile bosses who had brought It to the verge of ruin and is ready to sjough oft more of them. It has declared for measures which are well up with the best political thought of the time, and stands ready to follow wherever men like Hughes see fit to lead. On the other hand, what can be said of the Democrats? Have they shown any sign in New York or else where of forsaking their .sordid bosses? Have they produced - a Hughes or anybody comparable with him In ability. and integrity? If they have, who is he? And if they have not, what ground is there for asking reasonable voters to take the control of the state government out from under the Influence of Hughes and his followers and give it to the Dem ocrats? Such an act Would be gratuitous folly. VAIN TARIFF REFORM. Protective tariff is to be further "improved'" by a Commission which Is to investigate "cost of production at" home and abroad," and for which Congress is asked to appropriate $250,000. The intelligence gathered by the Commission is to be the bea con light for further legislation. Thus Republicans hope to mollify dis content against the present tariff law with promise of betterment by and by. Democrats and insurgents see a plan to ward off their assaults from j the tariff next election. Standpatters see an opening for further tariff tin kering. So that the tariff board project receives rather rough treat ment all round. What is- cost of production abroad? What is -It at home? Dispute can -be endless on these points. A tariff board can "investigate" until the crack of doom and still the quarrel over "protection" will continue. '-: Cost of production at home is an extremely variable quantity. So is It- abroad. And when protective tariff enters into the study, opinion and strife are endless. Cost of labor and materials and transportation and business vary greatly from year to year and spoils of protection make them shift the more. There would be none of this pother if the Government would let industries take care of themselves accordir g to natural laws and would content itself In tariff duties with the raising of revenue to pay for its proper functions. However, the opponents of the tariff-board scheme are actuated by their own selfish motives. They are all supporters of protective tariff spoils. Democrats and insurgents alike. This protective tariff business can be settled neither one way nor an other. Tariff will not be reformed until the protective-spoils part of it shall be eliminated. But that is the kind of reform that none of the pa triot groups In Congress desires. In surgents and Democrats decry stand patters, but the mote Is matched by the beam in their own eye. ROYAL MOURNERS. Queen "Victoria was one of the most persistent and sincere - mourners In history; Emperor William has been one of the most spectacular. From the time: of the death of the Prince Consort in 1861 up to that of her own demise in 1901, a period of full forty years, the Queen eschewed all social functions,', all state ceremonials as far as possible, and, black-robed and with solemn countenance, went In and out among her people a sorrowful figure, a woman unreconciled to a common vicissitude of life that made her a widow. Kneeling in all the world of pomp and woe at the bier of his grandfather, Emperor William I; following on foot as chief mourner the caisson that, bore the body of his father, ' Emperor Frederick, to the tomb of the Hohenzollerns; -walking torch in hand behind the coffined body of his mother, the Empress Frederick, in the torchlight procession that he had arranged with weird ef fect, as It wound in and out along the-, route by which the imperial sepulcher was reached; again walking, bare headed, -behind the gun carriage, shoulder to shoulder with her sons, upon which the fbody of Queen Vic toria was borne to its final abode; and yet again kneeling in prayer with the King of England beside the body of the late King Edward, rising in tears and solemnly clasping hands across the bier with the bereaved mon arch, and finally joining once more the mourners of England's royal house in solemn tread to the tomb of its Kings, the still comparatively young Emperor of Germany has gone through funeral scenes and functions that entitle him to distinction as chief mourner of Europe. A man of tremendous pride in the power and dignity that belong to his position and to himself personally, the Emperor bares his head reverently In the presence of the only power . he holds greater than . his own and ac knowledges in Death . a common leveler. - A THIRD - TERM? The assumption made in many quar ters that Mr. Roosevelt designs to run for the Presidency again is pure ly gratuitous. It la fostered partly by a certain set of men who-, ardently hope that he will run and by another set who hope quite as ardently that he will not. The first clique believe that as President-.Mr. Roosevelt-would promote them to place and power. The other clique believe that if he should run he would be defeated and thus eliminated for good and all from American politics. In -neither of these groups does Mr. Roosevelt seem to recognize his true well-wishers. At any rate he has not shown particular warmth toward them. He taever has been a man yet who allowed other people to make up his mind for him, and it is not to be supposed that he will begin to do so now at a time when he has the opportunity to do the cul minating work of his life. To be President again could not increase the honor which Mr. Roosevelt enjoys, nor could it make him much more truly influential in public affairs than 'he is. Roosevelt's position in the civilized world Is uniqSe. Without official sta tion he is everywhere received as the equal of monarchs, and at home his opinion on public affairs is awaited with unconcealed anxiety by millions of his countrymen. By virtue of his personality he has become a power which must be reckoned with. The people have passed him on from the place of a politician to that of a prophet and almost without dissent are ready to listen to his counsels as if they were inspired. , What has such a man to gain by entering, the field of politics again and subjecting himself to the distractions of partisan discord? He has nothing to gain, but a great deal to lose. What are called the Roosevelt policies have become so dear to the people that they are sure to be enacted into' law In the long run. No individual or party can oppose them without court ing destruction. Mr.- Roosevelt him self can advance those policies more In private station than ."he could as President, because their adoption de pends now'-upon the force of public opinion, a force which his simple word can direct almost as he wills. POSTAL SERVICE AND COST. The postal service, more than any other Governmental activity, belongs to and reaches all classes of people. There is no hamlet in all of the Na tional domain so obscure . that it is not reached by this service, while at the dooryard gates of thousands of rural' homes, its-, messengers stop, make delivery of mail, and pass on. The great centers of trade are served by it every business hour of the day: steamships.bear its message to and fro across the waters of the world, and railway trains carry .Its mighty bulk back and forth across the con tinent. ' . This service is enormously expen sive, yet any attempt to curtail its .cost, at the expense of its efficiency, would, in its very inception, be fore doomed' to failure. There are enor mous leaks in its expense account, we are told, and doubtless this is true. But these leaks do not extend to the point of immediate contact with the people. They make gaping wounds in the appropriation through which ooze subsidies on land and water, subsidiesthat in the aggregate make transportation companies on land and sea rich and powerful. But, after all, the people are served as a whole and individually by the postal department as they are served by no other branch of the Govern ment. It is thus that when the post- office appropriation bill, carrying an aggregate of $241,000,000, was report ed to the United States Senate a few days ago. it was passed Dractically without discussion, after1 only, forty minutes had been given to its consid eration. Taotai Jeme Tlen-Yow, a graduate of the Sheffield Scientific Sctiool of the class of 1881, is the first Chinese en gineer to build without foreign assist ance a railroad In China. The road Just completed is between Pekin and Kalgan. He was one of a group of thirty young men sent by the Chinese government, to this country in 1872, to study engineering. He has been ex ceedingly active In his profession dur ing the nearly thirty years that have passed since his return to China and has demonstrated by his work the wisdom of educating Chinese along modern lines. His portrait, printed in a lata number of the Yale Alumni Weekly, ' shows a man of intellectual power and dignity of character. Yale is proud of him and China should be, and perhaps will be, should she ever awaken from her ages-old lethargy atod learn to center her pride upon living rather than upon dead men. Among the tender tributes paid to the -memory of King Edward were the little bouquets of daisies and butter cups picked from fields "sweet with all the flowers of May" by village children. In their rural beauty and simplicity they were seen all along the funeral route. The purple pall. the mitre and scepter, the magnifi cent equipage of monarchs and all the pomp of royal woe, spoke of the King and his proud position; the dain ty bunches of field flowers that peeped in and out among th-? costly wreaths that lined the streets of mourning Windsor were mute testimonials of the love and reverence of children for their King. Roses,, roses everywhere white, pink, red, yellow and of every shade and tint are blooming throughout the city. The first specimens are not as perfect as many of the later blooms will be, yet many of them are per fection itself in form, size, color and fragrance. Some anxiety is felt lest the first exuberance of bloom will be past before the date set for the Rose Show. Judging from the abundance of buds In various stages of develop ment, however, there will be roses in riotous profusion for a month. After that, as all Portland knows, there will be roses for every occasion all Sum mer and Fall and well on to Christ mas. It will take 70,000 pounds of paper for the political pamphlets required to be sent out under the corrupt prac tices act. Such is the statement that comes from the office of the State Printer. The cost to the people of this one strained, undemocratic and freak legislative act can be partially esti mated from this statement. But only partially, since it is but the bulk and suggestive cost of the blank paper required." The cost of printing, post age, clerk hire. and other items of dis tribution are yet to follow and for what? Let misguided voters answer . if they can. Two local policemen' found asleep In a basement by their sergeant dem onstrates the . inefficiency of the method of appointment. Passing an examination that does not embrace a regard for -honor and esprit de corps is not a qualification. - William J. Bryan has dropped out of the prohibition fight In Nebraska. He is going- to tour Scotland for his healthy leaving the Democratic party of -the state to fight the liquor issue to a finish, without his inspiring pres ence. Colored folk will please take note that a Black Minorca In Clackamas County has Just laid a whopping big egg, which Is a feat that cannot be approached by a White Leghorn. According to the Boston Herald, only two women of Boston have come forward with the statement of hav ing really and truly seen Halleys comet in 1835. A Pinchot theorizer said "conserva tion" and it was printed "conversa tion." But there wasn't so much dif ference, after all. Mr. Taft admits that Mrs. Taft "the real President." Mr. Taft gallant as well as good-natured. State Printer Duni way says he Is too busy to find time to make a cam paign. That is ideal politics. Judge Hughes ought to be Chief Justice with all those distinguishing whiskers. Yesterday there was an occasion when Mr. Roosevelt could not say a word. , SOME REMARKS ON KERBYISM. Mr. Halllnger Got Bitten Flint. Pittsburg, Pa., Dispatch. Mr. Ballinger "killed another snake" by firing . Stenographer Kerby. But he got bitten first. Mr. Kerby ' Lacks Two Requirements. Boston Transcript (Rep.). Mr. Kerby evidently lacked two of the requirements of a stenographer, loyalty and an accurate memory. Still the Pres ident seems not to have handled the epi sode in the most effective way. President' Action Free From Blame. Pittsburg Pa.. Gazette-Times (Rep.). The White House statement of Sunday night is so frank as to leave the Presi dent's action free from blame. Can as much be said of the Pinchot crowd, which has led so many underlings like the " "patriot" Kerby into the mazes of treachery? 1 - " Mr. Taft Preferred to Mr. Pinchot, Baltimore American (Rep.). Were Mr. Pinchot wfcse he would call off his friends. President Taft cannot be harmed by attacks from Government clerks. The American people, regardless of political affiliations, will reject with disgust any attempt to reflect upon the sincerity and straightforward intentions of President Taft. He has been in public life for 25 years, and the American peo ple know htm. Malign Industry of Retired Employes. Brooklyn, N. Y., Eagle (Ind. Dem.). Mr. Taft is frank and honestly indig nant today, in admitting that he availed himself of the knowledge, suggestion and composition of Mr. Ballinger and in part of his formulation of views. He insists he recast some of the formulation and rejected other parts of It. He assumes full responsibility for all he finally is sued and signed. The defensive necessity of making his avowal Is more notable than the avowal itself is surprising. The necessity arises from the malign indus try of certain persons and interests that were retired from service and Influence when - Mr. Taft's Administration suc ceeded that of Mr. Roosevelt. Their resentment has become acute, and their sense of . the harm done to the Na tion by the loss of their service has be come exaggerated. Mr. Kerby's Bad Code of Ethics. Boston Herald (Ind.). Had Mr. Kerby contented himself with a statement of facts to the extent of his knowledge, he might have been within his call of duty in making such facts pub lic But when he added to these meager and non-conclusive facts, his inferences. suspicions and assumptions, he put in practice a code of ethics which, although unfortunately characteristic of the Glavis- Pinchot case and of its appeal to public opinion, and in the hands of skillful law yers sometimes winning verdicts by prej udice, where proof is lacking, is not con sistent with the law of evidence and the principles of justice. The desperate at tempt to magnify the immaterial into the material, to convict the Administration on circumstantial evidence and the infer ences to be drawn from it, is a confes sion of failure of the case in chief. . Attack on President Is Absurd. Chicago Record-Herald (Ind. Rep.) Attorney-General Wickersham says that "what Mr. Lawler prepared was what might be termed a suggested form of letter which the President could adopt if he saw fit a practice of everyday occurrence in the execu tive departments of the Government." The practice is not confined to the single case of Government officials, but is common In many administrative systems with executive, heads and subordinates. It was by no means un known to the predecessors of Presi dent Taft, and his successors will find it a great convenience. In summing up we should say that this attack on the President was trivial and absurd. But Kerby, the faithful stenographer who told on the Secretary and" on the Pres ident, will gain a little - temporary notoriety. OREGON SHOULD INVITE THIS MAN Professor Boegglld, Danish Dairying Authority, Coming to America. 111111111. .L ,111. -l U 1 11 CI. 1 Professor Bernhard Boegglld, of the Royal Danish Agricultural College of Copenhagen, one of the greatest dairy experts in the world, will visit Min neapolis this month and will make ad dresses not only in the Twin Cities,, but at other points. He is brought to this country by the Danish-American Association. He li the father of co-operative dairying in Denmark, and is today considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, liv ing authority on dairying in Europe. Professor Boegglld is credited with having increased the value of Danish exports by millions of dollars. He was largely responsible for turning the at tention of Danish farmers from bread- stuffs to dairying, through a remark able practical system of co-operation. until there are now more than 1000 co operative creameries in Denmark. The Danish - American Association announces that Professor Boeggild's tour has been arranged for patriotic purposes. He will spend three months In the United States, delivering lec tures and studying American condi tions. Pointed Paragraphs. Chicago News. Kindness makes us more true friends than money. It s generally easy to be good when you are getting pay for it. Blessed are the innocent, for they have a lot to learn. The key to success doesn't look any thing like a night key. A man with a black eye Is up against the dark side of life. The woman with the shortest foot may possess the longest tongue. Once in a great while a man s self- respect keeps him from enjoying life. The worst thing about wisdom is that it can only be had on the installment plan. As time rolls on, the still small voice of conscience is apt to become stiller and smaller. There is a tradition to the effect that once upon a time a woman In a crowded car got up and offered her seat to man with a baby in his arms. Still the Constructive Party. Cleveland Leader. - If this Administration programme or this part of the work the Presi dent has hoped that Congress would i finish during the present session can be gotten out of the way before final adjournment, the Republican party will be able to go before the country once more as the great constructive force in National affairs. It can again ask the support of the people of the United States with a strong appeal to- the prac tical common sense of the masses who realize, in the final test, that nothing is of much value in public business which cannot be brought to tangible results. Poet Laureate's Puasllns; Style. Washington Star. Alfred Austin's style is not suffi ciently direct to enable the reader to determine at all times whether some of his expressions are typographical errors or intentional. A-crtlng a Stampede. Baltimore News. The Indianapolis News is issuing daily bulletins on Halley s comet. This Is an unworthy effort to divert atten tion from the Roosevelt stampede. DEMONSTRATION FARMS FAVORED One In Each County, In Conjunction With High School Work. OORVALLIS, Or.. May 19. (To the Editor.) Perhaps the greatest sociolo gical and industrial problem confronting this Nation today Is that of strengthen ing our rural population. The present universal tendency to urban life, is threatening the very stability of our country. This is a question not only vital to our own state, but to the Nation at large. In times of general prosperity, such as we are now enjoying, this paucity of rural population is of little moment, but when times begin to tighten, then the pinch of hunger and distress will be felt In our over-congested cities. This possible condition should be averted. The problem, then, is not only to ex pand the ratio of our rural population, but to utilize more perfectly the soil as well. This can only be solved through systems 'of education. Despite the ef forts of the various states and Nation o educate the farmer, only a small pro- portion is directly influenced. Some means snouid be provided whereby a larger proportion of our people may be brought to realize the possibilities of the farm. People need not be especially alarmed at the present high cost of living, but should be keenly solicitous of the future prosperity and happiness of our people. The hope of the Nation rests with the farmer who owns his farm, or the man who owns his own home. Hence, everv effort should be 'made not only to popu late the country, but to train our people so as to maxe it possible for them to own their farms. The tenant sytem of farming is not to the best interests of our country. We should aim to stem the tide from the country to the city. To do this, the country boy's Interest in country life must be stinrulited and his ability to succeed strengthened. There have been a number of methods devised to this end, but these have all more or less fallen short of their purpose. It would seem that to reach this end, the work of education must include our public schools. This work should be made both attractive and practical. Our state. In a measure, is committed to the country high school. If, in connection with these high schools, a demonstration farm could be maintained, this would afford an excellent means of stimulating an interest in farm life and would also prove to be a lively factor in the pro motion of better general methods of hus bandry. Such a farm could be main tained co-operatively by the .state and county. It would not only be a means of great educational value to the high school student, but would also be of in tense practical Interest to the general farmer. Such a farm would demonstrate to the farmer, the possibilities of crop production in that locality, would be come the center of agricultural educa tlon and investigation for the county, and If properly conducted, would be an Important source of inspiration to the boy and a valuable agency in dissem inating a knowledge of the correct prin ciples of agriculture among farmers. These farms should - be brought under the immediate supervision of the Gov emment Experiment Station of the state, so that the work can be co-ordinated and economically administered Such farms should be established upon a permanent basis and . when once es tablished, should only be discontinued by an act of the Legislature. It is true a movement of this charac ter will require some money, but noth Ing In comparison with the Increased value of the products of the farm and the development of an active sentiment in behalf of rural pursuits. The financial hope of the state is in agriculture. Thus, if Oregon is to be come great, it must first instill into the hearts of our people a love for the farm. We must reach out for our boys and anchor them to the farm by show Ing them its possibilities. -The modern country home is the citadel of purity and the representative of strength. When learning is made the handmaid of toil on the farm, the future of our state and Nation is assured. JAMES WITHYCOMBE. KIPLING'S IDEAL OF THE PIONEER Marking of the Oregon Trail Recalls a Vigorous Poem. PORTLAND, May 20. (To the Editor.) An editorial in The Oregonian on "Mark ing the Oregon Trail conveys a new thought to me in the magnitude of the migration over the Oregon trail, although I am a pioneer myself and deeply in terested in the subject. I wish you would publish the subjoined lines by Kipling, which I have never seen in print but once, and which so strongly state Ine motives and spirit of the pioneer. . LOYAL B. STEARNS. THR FORELOPER. The rull shall whistle in his wake, the blind wave break in fire; He ahall fulfill God's utmost will, unknowing his desire. And he shall tee old planets pass and alien atara arise. And give the Rale his reckless sail in shadow of new skies.' Strcng iuat of gear ahall drive him out and r-unger- arm nis nana To wring his food from a desert nude, his foothold from tne sana-. His neighbors' smoke shall vex his eyea. their voices break nis rest: He shall go forth till South Is North, sullen and dispossessed; He shall desire loneues. and his desire shall bring Hard on his heels a thousand wheels, a peo ple and a King. He ahall come back on his own track and by his scarce cool camp . There shall he meet the roaring street, the derrick and the stamp. For he must blaze a nation's ways, with Hatnhet And with brand. Till on hia last-won wilderness an empire's bulwarks stand. No Hydrophobia In Portlund. PORTLAND, May 19. (To the Editor.) Will you state whether a dog. has ever been known to have the rabies or hy drophobia in Portland, or, in fact, on the Coast. I have uvea in or near mis city a number of years, and have never heard of a case. A friend declared tnat there had been a case within the last year or two of a dog with hydrophobia biting several dogs and people, and de clared it was exploited in The Oregon ian, which I think a mistake. W. H. PHELPS. You seem to. be right. Heads of the news departments or tnis paper nave no recollection of such disease among dogs nor of such alleged publication. The poundmaster . was questioned: he recalls no case of rabies. About three months ago, a case thought to be hydrophobia developed in Los Angeles. It created so great a scare that the authorities of several counties in Southern California ordered all dogs running at large to be muzzled. Still, well informed residents declared that the disease was not hydrophobia, and that there never had been a genuine case west of the Rocky Mountains. Tasks for George. Richard Llnthlcum, in New York World. Who'll put a atop to angry words Between the Commons and tht- Lords And make them sheath their verbal swords? Let ueorge ao it. Who'll nark to Egypt's bitter plea And peace in f naroan s land decree By larger grants of liberty? i.et teorge ao it. Who'll put an end to threat and boast And lift the war cloud from his coast And bid the German Kaiser "pros't?" Let George do it. Who'll make his name forever stand Among the great by helping hand To gain home rule for Ireland? Let teorge ao it. No task is here that he should rue it. The path is plain if he pursue it; ' The Question now Is., Will George do It? Maybe he will. LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE Roy Bone," a brother of- United States District Attorney Harry Bone, several years ago was a reporter on the Wichita Beacon. In going to a fire one of the members of the Fire Department was thrown from a hose cart and killed. Bone wrote a head with this as the first deck: , "Gone to His Last Fire." The piece got " into the paper and Bone was promptly "fired." Kansas City .Journal. ' At the international Sunday school con vention at Louisville, fn answer to the rollcall of states, the reports , were ver bally given by the various state chairmen. When the Lone Star State was called, a brawny specimen of Southern manhood stepped out into the aisle and with ex ceeding pride said: - "We represent the great State of Tex- s. The first white woman born in Texas is still living she now has a population of over 3.000.000." -' There -was a pause of bewilderment for a moment and then a voice from the gal lery ran out clear and distinct: "Send that woman out to Wyoming we need her." Everybody's. , Assistant Secretary Adee,. of the De partment- of State, who has now gone to Europe on his annual tour awheel, came -- down to the ground floor of the Stae De partment building at. the close of business one afternoon hot long ago and was get ting out his bicycle preparatory to start ing home. He saw one of the officials of the department sitting in the hall. 'Why- don't you go home?" asked Mr. Adee. The official exrilained that he had a lame foot and was walling for a taxica'b. Ah, I see, said Mr. Adee. "You've got locomotor ataxicabibus." Washington Times. - A Chicago traveling man, a guest at the Hollenden a day or two ago, was telling Clerk McCarthy a story illiastrative of how accustomed to long separations a travel ing man and his wife may become. , This man s work takes him from coast to coast, and not infrequently he Is gone from home for five and six months at a stretch. The last time he went away, accord ing to the man's story, lie was obliged to leave home right in the midst of a meal, in order to make the train he wanted to. "You ought to wait another day and have your ' suit pressed," remarked his wife. "1 hate to have you go looking so ill-groomed." "I'll have it done within a day or two or at the first chalice," promised the hus band. "Wish I could stay, though, for a piece of that apple pie you were making. Save me a piece, won't you?" he added with a grin. Well, she went to the train with him and bade him a fond good-bye. Just five months and ten days later he returned. His wife was again at the train, duti fully. "I see you kept your promise and had your suit pressed," were her first words as she threw her arms around his neck. "Yes," he said, "but, by the way. did you save me that piece of apple pie?" Cleveland Plain Dealer. It is narrated that Cunnel Breckenridge, meeting Majah Buffo' d on the streets of Lexington one day, asked: "hat is the meaning, suh, of the conco'se befo' the Co'thouse?" To which the Majah replied:- "General Buckneh, suh, is making a speech. General Buckneh, suh, Is a bo'n oratah." "What do you mean by a bo'n oratah?" "If yo' or I, suh, were asked how much two and two make we would reply, Toh.' When this is asked a bo'n oratah he re plies: 'When in the co'se of human events it becomes necessary to take an lntegeh of the second denomination and add it, suh, to an lntegeh of the same denomlna. tion, the result, suh, and 1 have the sci ence of mathematics to back me in my Judgment, the result, suh, and I say it without feah of successful contradiction, suh, the result Is fo'.' That's a bo'n ora tah." The Lyceumite. Sentence Sermons. Henry F. Cope in Chicago Tribune. You do not manifest faith by deny ing facts. The measure of every gift is the all we have. Making earth brighter makes heaven surer. Praying Is a wasteful act when it stops at wishing. No man has a great mission who slights little ministries. You cannot live for people without living with them. Trouble never weakens you save when you flee from it. Turn your face to the sun and you will never fear the shadows. People who live in a bread and but ter world are always hungry. You cannot make live saints by de nouncing the ways of dead sinners. There is no naturalization for heaven without good citizenship here. When a man tries to hide his sins he usually succeeds in planting them. The Modern Daughter. Cleveland Plain-Dealer. "What time did you get to bed last night, Matilda?" inquired the young woman's father. "Parent." replied the haughty girl, "if you will address me by my right name I will endeavor to answer your somewhat abrupt query. I do not answer to Matilda because my name Is Mathllde." "Very well, Mateeld, go ahead with your answer." "I do not know what time I retired," the fair girl responded. "Mr. Robin son Jones offered to remain here until the appearance of the comet." "Good gracious," cried the excitable parent, "It must have been half past three!" "For that," said the girl with calm lnunf erence, "you must blame the comet." And she swept haughtily from the room. The Boy Obeyed. Circle Magazine. A mother , who had invited company to dinner said to her young son. "Fred die, don't say anything about Mr. M.'s nose at dinner table tonight." Just as the dessert was brought In Freddie remarked, in clear, distinct tones: "Ma, what did you tell me not to say anything about Mr. M.'s nose for?- He hasn't got any." As to the Grange Resolutions. Dallas Observer. The Observer opines that the Oregon Grangers are about like the rest of us poor, weak mortals who sometimes meet in state associations and' conventions. We get together and pass all sorts of high sounding resolutions and declarations of principles, and then each man goes home and does about as he darned pleases. Opera by Wireless. Popular Mechanics. The aria from "Carmen," -sung by Mme. Mariette Mazarin, the famous prima donna, recently passed through the myriad Jangling noises of the New York streets, and was gathered in all Its original sweetness by the receivers of wireless telephones located several miles away. Every-Day Latin. Success Magazine. "The first class In Latin will please come to order," announced the teacher. "Tommy, will yon please construe the w'ord 'restaurant'?" "Res, things; taurus, a bull," re sponded Tommy; "bully things."