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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1910)
lO THE MORNING OREGOXIAN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 1910. FOBTLASD. OBEGOX. Entered at Portland. Oregon, Fostofflc as fecond-ciass Matter. subscription Kates Invariably In Adraan. BT MAID. Daily. Sunday included, on year $8.00 Mally, Sunday Included, six months.... i'ajjy. Sunday Included, three month. . 2-25 Jally. Sunday Included, on month .. -7 iJaily. without Sunday, one year .. -00 JUy. without Sunday, six months.... M.SS tajiy, without Sunday, three month.. 1.75 ?J1 . without Sunday, one month ? Weekly, one year 1-00 E2y' on er IZZ Sunday and weekly, on year - By Carrier). !,, f unay Included, one year 00 Ually. Sunday Included, one month ?S -?ow Remit Send Postoltlce money U7.r-. "Prs order or personal check on cml bank- Stamps, coin or currency r at the sender's risk. Give postoltlce ad ares, in fulii includme eounty and state. i " Hates 10 to 14 pages. 1 cent; 1 o Mi pages, a cents; 80 to 40 pases. S cents; Tl 60 page. cents. Foreign potae noubls rate. wi"SB",,Buslnee" Of nee The a C Beca b. - f,pecl1 Agency New York, rooms 48 f, V b,uno funding. Chicago, rooms 810- Tritum building. PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, JTNE 1, 1910. RATE ADVANCE ENJOINED. At the request of the men who sup ply a large share of the traffic from which railway earnings are produced, . the Government has enjoined the rail roads from putting into effect a pro posed higher schedule of freight rates. ' The petitioners declared that the in creases are unwarranted and unjust, and . the opinion was expressed that they were the result of a combination or agreement between the railroads in contravention of law. The railroads offer as excuse for this material ad vance in rates that the cost of con struction, equipment and operation has increased out of proportion to the earnings, and that it is no longer pos sible to attract the capital needed for Improvements and extensions. The shippers who are protesting against the advance which the injunction pre vents from becoming effective today, do not think the railroads have sup plied sufficient proof as to changed conditions to warrant the increase. It would now seem to 'be the duty of the railroads to submit in detail the rea sons for their action. Extreme difficulty will be experi enced in proving that the new rates or any rates on the American rail roads are the result of a combination between the lines. The Interstate Com merce Commission by its own rulings has practically eliminated all compe tition from the railroad business. Un der the law all railroad companies are forced to file with the Commission for the information of the public com plete schedules of rates. These rates must be placed with the Interstate Commerce Commission thirty days be fore they become effective. One rail road operating in competitive terri tory with another railroad could not publish a different schedule of rates from that filed by its competitor with out inviting immediate and costly warfare. As a result, the only sem blance of competition that is left is In service, and even in the regulation of service the Interstate Commerce Commission is assuming increased power. The movement for higher rates bears the aspect of a monopoly because it is widespread and practically unani mous; but, as the railroads are fully aware that they cannot .fix a rate which will not be liable to change on complaint, there is no reason why the movement for the advance should not be simultaneous and co-operative be tween the companies. The old method by which a rate schedule was estab lished was by fierce competition of the railroads with each other, aided at times by the competition of shippers, volume of traffic, etc. As this influence of competition in determining rates weakened, there was a steady drift to ward monopoly control. There was no need of maintaining two sets of offi cials or office employes or of operating two trains, where one would do, so long as the Interstate Commerce Com mission and not competition -was fixing the rates. It is now well understood that the railroads are no longer to be permitted to regulate their charges according to their own ideas. They can fix their rates individually or as a monopoly: but. If these rates are unreasonable or liscriminatory. they will, on complaint, be readjusted by the Commission. This, on the whole, is much better than the old shifting, unstable system, by which competition engendered all kinds of discrimination. The public, which neither ships freight nor operates railroads, but which directly and indirectly pays the expenses of both parties to all railroad controversies, is willing that the roads should have a remunerative rate, and It also desires that the shippers pay no more than is just. For that reason, there should be a thorough-investigation of the reasons for the proposed advance, and. if it is unwarranted, the restraining order should be made per manent. . . -. PORTLAND H.KKT LEADS. " The advantages of Portland's match less fresh water harbor are at last pretty well understood throughout the world. The Liverpool Corn Trade News has for years printed at the head of its list of grain cargoes afloat the flattering statement that the aver age passage of ships from the Colum bia River is 130 days, while the aver age passage from Puget Sound is 140 days. By taking the average passage of the sailing grain fleet arriving out from Portland and Puget Sound for the 1909-10 season to date, the ac curacy of these figures Is remark able. Since the beginning of the sea son, eleven sailing ships have arrived out with cargoes from Puget Sound, their passages averaging 143 days. For the same period the arrivals out from Portland have included twenty five ships with average passages jof 131 days, the ships of both fleets thus veri fying to a striking degree the estimates of the Corn Trade News. It is not alone In these average pas sages that the advantages of the fresh water harbor are shown, but London Fairplay, a paper which circulates wherever ships sail, in a recent issue printed a summary of the fastest and slowest passages made by the 1909 fleet from the Pacific Coast. In the list of ten slowest passages. Puget Sound has six ships with average pas sages of 177 2-3 days. San Francisco has two which averaged 180 days, while Portland's two slowest craft averaged 169 days. In the ten fastest passages made during the year, Port land is credited with six, in which the fastest was 109 days, and the slowest 123 days, the average being 117 days. Puget Sound had three in this class, the fastest passage being 119 days and the slowest 123 days, an average of sel in this class with a 117-day pas sage to her credit. The longest passage from the Co lumbia River to Europe was eighteen days less than the longest passage from Puget Sound, and fifteen days less than the longest passage from San Francisco. The shortest passage from the Columbia River was eight days less than the shortest passage from San Francisco, and ten days less than the shortest from Puget Sound. Most statistics offer rather dry read ing, but to the owners of ships where the time is worth at least $100 per day, as in this case, these figures pre sent some very interesting food for thought. WHERE THE "MACHINE" STANDS. The Indianapolis Star -is a friend of the direct primary; but it admits that dissatisfaction with the direct primary in Indiana is "widespread and deep." It points out grave objections to the operation of the- free-for-all primary as manifested in the state primary elections there a week ago, enumerat ing among other things the light vote, the long ballot, the low grade of can didates and the lavish use of money. These various defects, however, the Star says, might be corrected Upon further trial and by devices such as a shorter ballot, an efficacious corrupt practices act, and so forth. The small vote, of course, is the fault of the voter, not of the system, and the Star feels quite helpless to suggest a rem edy In the way of arousing public in terest and conscience. "Yet," adds the Star: Perhaps the most weighty of all the pri mary's faults is the fact that It puts a pre mium on noisy self-seeking and dis courages men of modest worth. Very desir able men will accept nomination by a con vention, who recoil from the hurly-burly and self-exploltatlon of the dlreit primary. In the state of Oregon this difficulty has been met by a so-called assembly of repre sentative citizens, whose names are selected for subsequent ratification at the primary, a plan substantially equivalent to that final ly put before the New York Legislature by Governor Hughes, but defeated by the ma chine politicians. Observe that the proposed assembly plan in New York has been defeated by the machine politicians. In In diana and everywhere else an assembly or convention is looked upon as a proper and necessary adjunct of the direct primary system. It is recog nized that a go-as-you-please primary without guidance or suggestion or ad vice invites and produces uneven re sults in the character of its- candi dates. In New York the great sponsor for the primary. Governor Hughes, wants an assembly, but he is opposed by the bosses. In Indiana there Is evidently much the same sentiment towards the assembly by friends of the primary. . The objections and antagonisms to the assembly in Oregon are not from Republicans, nor from the mass of the people. They are from the gang or faction of the Republican party that seeks to make a machine of the direct primary, or from Democrats who are opposed to any plan likely to bring about party unity and harmony of ac tion of Republicans. That is the whole story. RETURN OF CHEAP WHEAT. For ' the first time In nearly two years wheat in Chicago yesterday sold under 90 cents per bushel, the Decem ber option dropping for a brief period as low as 89 cents. The decline in Liverpool following last week's decline in this country was also very pro nounced, and in all of the world's markets there was a weaker feeling. The American farmer with his 1909 crop seems to have followed a time honored custom of holding his wheat when the price' was high ana rushing it to market when the market showed weakness. Shipments last week from the United States and Canada were the largest of the year, although with a normal crop movement they should have been among the smallest. All wheat statistics were bearish yes terday. The American visible showed a decrease of 1,898,000 bushels. World's shipments were stilt in ex cess of 10,000,000 bushels, and quanti ties on passage were 6,000.000 bushels greater than for the same week last year. All of these bearish features' combined, however, are insignificant in comparison with the shadow which the coming crop is casting on the world's markets. Two years of high prices have proved an incentive for increas ing the world's yield wherever it is possibleto do so. ' . ' The United States, with a heavy carry-over from last year, is again facing a harvest which promises to equal if it does not excel last year's. Russia and India and the Argentine are also showing good prospects, and the Ar gentine, despite the poor crop of last year, is not yet out of the ranks of the exporters for this season. We may not have extremely low prices for wheat, but it now seems highly prob able that, the day of dollar- wheat is about over for the present. BETTER ROADS. It is cheering to perceive evidence that the farmers are recovering from the hallucination that good country roads chiefly benefit automobile riders. Those self-sacrificing individuals get more or less good out of decent roads, when they find specimens, but it is the farmers who more than all other classes together profit by the abate ment of mudholes and the elimination of ruts. The expense of hauling loads to market over the bumps and precipices of the ordinary country road has been computed so often and published so widely that very few farmers can be found at present who are not informed upon the subject, and the campaign of education which has been carried on seems likely at last to produce some results. Would that it might. Would that this generation might not perish before every man. woman and child has enjoyed the sight of a really good country road. The spectacle would be more entertaining than a minstrel show and more improving than many sermons. The proposal to bond the several counties for the construction of roads need not frighten anybody, since the question whether it shall be done or not is to be left to the voters them selves. In this matter as in many oth ers strict local option is the correct principle to follow. The roads when once, constructed will be found to be a paying investment which will re turn in cold cash a great deal more than the interest on the bonds. Be sides that the rise in the value of land which will immediately follow will probably account for the principal of the bonds twice over. At least this has been the experience everywhere else. A farm on a good road may be worth ten times as much 'as one of the same area on a bad road, even If the land is no more fertile. We say "ten times as much' de liberately. There are farms in Oregon blessed with ideal soil w hich are prac tically valueless because what is raised on them can not be marketed over the wretched roads. " These matters are tinder consideration among the people today, and there Is no doubt that their studies of the subject will lead to beneficial action in good time. - I" RAISE FROM SEATTLE. Colonel Alden J. Blethen, editor of the Seattle Times, Is home from a 9000-mile journey. On his return, he Indulged in a friendly chat, a column long, with his readers. Among other things he said: Portland is having an old-fashioned boom that has so divided Itself between the construction of new buildings and the plat ting of farm lands and rushing the same upon the market, that the appearance of unhealthfulness. or Inflation, is not appar ent. Indeed. Portland Is now doing practically what Seattle had averaged to do for six years before the exposition but not as much as Seattle is doing even this year, the first following the exposition. Portland is proud of her increased bank clearings, but she doesn't tell anybody how many new banks have been created during the past three years while Seattle is suf fering in bank clearings because she has consolidated her largest banks, and thereby cut down her clearings Just in proportion to the banks that have been put into liqui dation the last being the Puget Sound National, with an average clearing of more than 1.000.000 a week. To tell the whole truth, Colonel Blethen ought to have said that those "farm lands" are within the city lim its; the largest tract, recently platted, having been surrounded by residences for more than twenty years. He might have added, also, that Portland's city limits embrace only a fraction. of the area of Seattle's boundaries. - However, it is a distinct concession to admit that Portland is doing nearly as well as Seattle, and we are corre spondingly grateful for this wide and free publicity. MORE PENSIONS. The largest sum which the United States Government has paid for pen sions to veterans-of the Civil War and their dependents in any year was $161,973,000 in 1909. This was dis bursed to 946,194 recipients. The number of names on the rolls reached its maximum .in 1902, when !t was 999,446. Since Then more than EO, 000 names have been erased by death, but there has been no corresponding decline in rlii payments. In fact, they have risen steadily until last year, when there was a decrease of some thing like $5,000,000. This ominous circumstance has evidently aroused the tin1.-, hensions oC the pensiii-hruking Congressmen art pension attorneys. They see in the future, albeit a long distance, a time when their favorite occupation will be gone, and they have accordingly put their heads together to reap one final harvest of mammoth proportions ere the rich source of bounty dries up forever. Two propos als are now before Congress for more liberal pensions. One of them places surviving volunteer officers of the Civil War on the retired list at one third pay. The other in substance ad mits all surviving veterans to a pension of $30 a month. Taken together, these two measures would raise the Government's annual pension bill to some $200,000,000. When we remember that more than three and one-half billion dollars have already been paid , to the survivors of the Civil War In the form of pensions, this new burden excites misgivings. If the pension expenditure is to go on increasing as the roll diminishes, evi dently the time is very far away when" the country can look for any relief. It seems reasonable to believe that the Increasing death rate among the vet erans must cause the pension total to diminish progressively, and so it would but for the ingenious diligence of the boomers in Congress and outside of it. They are always able to invent new expedients for taxing the public in the name of generosity to the old soldiers, and their appeals to false patriotism will probably carry their schemes through in the future as they have in the past. This becomes all the more exasperating when we remember that there is no worthy soldier of the Civil War in need of assistance who does not receive a pension already. The continued effort to multiply pensions is not wholly inspired by love for the veterans. It has two sources. One of them is found in the greed of pension agents. The other in the political ambition of a certain class of Congressmen. There are members of Congress who base their hopes of continuing In offi cial life upon what is called the "sol dier vote." Why there should be a soldier vote any more than a sailor vote or a bricklayers' vote nobody has ever explained very lucidly, and yet it is assumed by these office-seekers that there is such a thing and that it will be cast as a unit for every person who favors pension increases and against everybody who opposes them. The as sumption involved is that the veterns set their financial interest above every other consideration, and will be guided by that alone in casting their votes. The assumption does not. pay a very pretty compliment to the old soldiers. One likes to believe that they are still as unselfishly patriotic as they were in the days of the Civil War. and doubt less, if the truth were known, they are: The agonized clamor for more and more pensions does not come from the veterans themselves nearly so much as from petty politicians who try in that way to buy their votes. What the effect of the continually swelling stream of pension payments has been upon trie spirit of the Ameri can people might be a difficult question to decide. Had pensions been given only to disabled veterans who had no other means of livelihood, no doubt the consequences would have been most excellent in every way, but, as everybody knows, this has not been the case. Many persons draw pensions who do not need them. They have been bestowed even upon men of wealth in numerous instances, and the number of able-bodied individuals perfectly well able to earn a living who have shared in the Government's bounty is known to be very large. The inevita ble consequence of such reckless largess can be nothing less than the encouragement of idleness; waste and loose living. To say. that the coun try has been pauperized by onr incon siderate pension system wqujd be per haps a little too much, but who can doubt that it has played 'a part in de stroying the spirit of self-help, deaden ing initiative and instilling the poison of dependence into the souls of the. people? - - ". Next to the protective tariff, the -lavish pension system must be held re sponsible for the growing tendency of Americans to depend upon the Govern ment for everything. Xor should the lesson be overlooked which is plainly taught' by the power of the organized soldier vote to obtain pensions. Thi3 vote is not nearly so large as the.or ganized labor vote. Suppose that were directed solely to the particular pur pose of getting bounty from the Gov ernment, what would be the effect upon timorous Congressmen? Could we expect them to defy it? It is sur prising that the clamor for pensions has not been heard before this time from a number of powerful organized groups of -voters. Their forbearance is commendable, but we cannot hope that it will continue forever. It is easy to foresee the day when compliant Congressmen- will be proposing service pensions to bricklayers, blacksmiths and brakemen, just as they now do to veterans of the Civil War. . They will do it as soon as they believe they can buy votes by it. Colonel Roosevelt was extended the freedom of the City of London, and he made the most of it. Having passed out a fine' line of instruction to every assembly he addressed from the time he ceased shooting dingmauls and sliver cats on the Umbigbee, it was not to be supposed that he would fore go the pleasure of enlightening John Bull on the matters that most concern him. The Colonel is afraid that "tim idity and sentimentality" will cause more harm than violence and injustice in Egypt, and advises England to re move the "velvet scabbard" from the "sword of steel" in order that the Egyptians may understand that old Stormalbng John has not been inca pacitated by his yearsW political gout. Perhaps the Colonel's terms wee "bulled" in transmission "by cable. If they were not, the British attitude toward the Egyptians must have changed. Timid Englishmen are some times heard of, but the sentimental individuals of that country are' sup posed to be a little scarce. Mob violence, which spends its force in lynching any offender who has broken the law, is never justifiable in a civilized country. There are, how ever, at times, mitigating circum stances, when after some particularly atrocious crime the offender la caught red-handed and sent to enter eternity without the formality of a trial. Noth ing of this kind relieves the disgrace which Missouri must suffer through the act of a mob at New Madrid. For the insignificant offense of striking a wfcite man a negro was taken from the jail by a mob and hanged. No arrests followed the hanging, and the Coro ner's jury returned a verdict of "death by unknown hands." Missionaries are more sadly needed in Darkest Missouri than in Darkest Africa. Portland has had roses before for Memorial day, but never in such pro fusion and perfection as on this latest occasion. Roses, literally by the ton, were borne to the eemeteries, and in passing rose hedge, garden or trellis the observer would not know that a rose had been cut.so great is the abundance of bloom. This great ex uberance of bloom has given rise to some apprehension lest there will be a scarcity of roses for the Festival, but this fear is dispelled by the large num ber of buds that promise to be out at just the right time. - There is indication that the good roads, so long on paper, will in syste matic course be laid in some sections of the state where they have long been most needed. The good roads cam paign so vigorously conducted by Maurice O. Eldridge, Government good roads expert, and Judge Webster, of Portland, has aroused intelligent and widespread interest. ' The campaign has been one of education and' the lessons given have, been so plain that the wayfaring man,' whether farmer or automobilist, might read as he ran or drove. The youngest Gould in the limelight tires of the monotony of riches and envies the care-free barefoot boj-. Come to think of it, there is a charm in acquiring a stonebruise, wearing one gallus and missing a meal or two when the fun is at its height that the Faunt leroys dream of but never experience. The poor boy has not the worst job in the world. A deal of common sense was focal ized in a communication from Mr. Shelden yesterday on the proper use to which the Government should put special agents of the land office. Be cause it is practical and promises to be genuinely beneficial, the proposed reform will not appeal to the bureau crats at Washington. It will be interesting to see whether in the course of events the new Union of British icolonies in South Africa follows the example which the Union of British colonies In North America set a century and a half ago. Times have changed since then, but human nature, which makes history, remains about the same. Some of the hangers-around who have watched the structural iron workers at their hazardous calling in anticipation of a fatality wen grati fied at' the accident on the Oswego bridge. These men court death with a carelessness born -of familiarity, and the wonder is that so few are killed. Mr. Roosevelt's distinction between sentimentality and righteousness Is a valid one. England cannot rule Egypt by sentimentality, which is often pleas ing for the moment but always fatal in the end. The only lasting National power Is built on righteousness, which is another name for justice. A .young woman has come 5000 miles .to be the bride of a Portland man. Some com far and some come high, but all get there. The state of matrimony is a ' commonwealth that has innumerable attractions and boost ers galore. The easiest solution of the team sters strike is to pay the raise and take it out of the consumer. The end less chain will get it from the team ster. Seattle will send legions to the Rose Festival next week. She remembers Ihe multitude from Portland who vis ited the A-Y-P fair last Summer. The market price for votes in Illi nois was not so high as has been quoted in Rocky Mountain states, not ably Montana and Colorado. The City Jail is no place for street speakers who revile the veteran of the Civil-War or- slur the flag. The hos pitals yawn for such scum. No doubt Senator Root furnished the Colonel with a topic to speak on when he gets ready to discuss Ameri can affairs. Get ready to give the stranger the glad band. ASSEMBLY FRIGHTS DEMOCRATS. I Real Rnioa of Their Howl Aaralast Republican "Get To are t he-r Astoria Astorlan. The Oregon Democracy Is desperately 111 with what may be termed "assembly itis." a malady that finds- its germinal source in the natural desire of the Oregon Republicans to get together, discuss their men and policies, and restore the nor mal interests and alignment of their party here. It is an infliction ef serious sort, all right, for the sufferers, and casts its feverish influences bo as to Include the last member of the minority party of the state. Not one of them has es caped it. The inoculation is manifested by an overweening concern for the Re publican party In general and gratuitous counselling, by word of mouth and trick of print, against holding any assemblies whatever. There is no cure for it. save the assembly itself. The disease is uni versal in this state, and even such scien tists as Doctor U'Ren are stumped to qualify it. let alone cure It. After the dispatch of the first general assembly of the Republicans in July we may look, for a subsidence of the malady and the Democrat simultaneous ly: until then it must run its course and absorb "its medicine." Nor is it likely at all to recur. ' The Oregon Democrat has flourished apace, during - the long political "bad health" of the Republican party out here "Our George" and the . "Millionaire Re former" Jonathan Bourne, attended and abetted always by their devoted "machin ist" and prophet, U'Ren, have stalked the Republican preserves of Oregon re ligiously and gathered up the "spoils" that lay about unguarded until they have come to the pass of actually seeking to dominate the purposes and principles of the party-dominant by advising it, in and out of season, not to tamper with the edicts and barriers set up by their "friend, the enemy." Every man under stands the policy. And every self-respecting Republican will see to it that the great, and lesser assembly, is pulled off in good time, with healthful and heart ening results, and that the present Demo cratic distemper reaches the devoutly-de-aired end. Democratic dissolution, early In November of this blessed year. HAS ECONOMY BEEN FOHGOTTEXI Republican In Congress Playing; Into the Hand of Democrats. Christian Science Monitors From all appearances, the Republicans in Congress are bent, deliberately or un consciously, upon furnishing the Demo crats with more and better material than they have at present for carrying on the campaign of this Fall. There is scarcely a feature of the Presidential campaign which the public remembers more dis tinctly than the frequent promises of re trenchment in National expenditures made by Mr. Taft in behalf of his party. These promises were repeated by Repub lican candidates for Congress and by Re publican orators in every part of the country. There is no question "that the pledges of increased efficiency with great er economy made on the Republican side held many thousands who were wavering. Yet, from all the data now at hand it seems that not "only will the appropria tions of the present Cdngress be as great as those of any previous one, but they wUl be greater, if the present rate of increase is not checked. The total ex penses of the Government for 1909 were $627,516,246.83. It is computed that this will be increased by over $50,000,000 if the appropriation bills still pending and re ceiving favorable consideration shall be passed. In short, we are still running along at high pressure, apparently regardless of consequences. Instead of cutting down expenses we are adding to them. We are even discovering new ways of increasing them. The Democrats will not find it difficult to Interest the public on this subject in the coming campaign. Pointed Paragraphs. Chicago News. It takes a flea to make a dog toe the scratch. Nobody ever has a word of sympathy for a dogcatcher. It isn't difficult to love your neigh bor's money as your own. The singer who grates on your nerves is never a great success. A bunko man says the beauty of an easy mark Is but skin deep. Too many cooks are apt. to spoil the digestion of the policeman. A woman would rather be a man's last romance than his first love. Every man has a ready-made excuse when his yellow streak shows up. And more married men would mak fools of themselves if their wives would let them. It's easy for a man to write a long love letter to a woman If he isn't mar ried to her. What a man can't understand about his wife's relatives is why he lets them impose on him. It may seem queer, but a woman al ways has suspicions of another woman who happens to hate the same man she does. . Censorship Not eersury. Milwaukee Sentinel. Artemus Ward told a story of a spin ster who requested a local magistrate to prohibit bathing at a cove In the beach near her home. "But, ma'am," expostulated the -astonished Mayor, "that is really quite a distance from your home." "Well," said the com plainant, "I can see 'em through my opera glass." One is reminded of this artless plea by the agitation of certain persons in behalf of the bill in Congress to forbid the use of the mails to newspapers publishing accounts of boxing contests. They complain that their sensibilities are shocked by reading this particular brand of news matter. The obvious answer is. then don't read it. Newspapers necessarily reflect -the tastes and requirements of a great va riety of readers. Each reader is at lib erty to take his choice. The sober business man is hot expected to bother much with the "society column," nor Is the large contingent to whom that de partment is an abiding joy expected to revel in the market reports. Disappointing; Primaries. Boston Herald. The direct primaries in Indiana indi cated no overwhelming purpose on the part of the people to overturn the poli ticians and manage the political affairs of the state. Neither of the parties polled SO per cent of their normal vote. Tom Taggart won a clean sweep in the Democratic primaries, and Senator Bev eridge carried the day on the Repub lican side. The machines appear to have won by default, which Is the se cret of machine control in nine out of every ten cases. And He Wasn't Embarrassed. Philadelphia Inquirer. "The newspapers are working off. "old stuff" when they say that Roosevelt was the dominating feature at that luncheon where nine kings and any number of kinglets gathered around the board. Of course he was, and we ven ture to say that the position didn't embarrass him in the least. N Choice. Salt Lake Tribune. Next time President Taft makes a tour of the country, he should at least be permitted by those Congressional tight wads to make choice between the brake beam and the blind baggage. Rapid Progress. Milwaukee SentineL And the next thing we know there'll be June roses and young folks will be getting married. And it was only the other day that we were facing: the big snow . FVBLIC PRESSURE) TOO STRONG President McKinley "Was Personally Opposed to Wor With Spain. Congressional Record. Mr. Depew (N. Y.) I knew very well the position of President McKinley on that subject. I knew how utterly op posed he was to that war. I knew the efforts which he made to prevent any -declaration of war, and how he was finally forced to yield because of the pressure of public opinion. 1 know still more that there was a time when it would have been pos sible to have settled every question involved between Spain and the United States upon terms just as favorable as were received at the conclusion of that war, with all its expenditure of treasure and life. In fact, there was a period when Spain, a very proud na tion, would not submit terms unless she felt sure they would be accepted, but when she was willing to accept any terms If she could be informed beforehand that a proposition sub mitted would be accepted by the Unit ed States. Mr. Heyburn (Idaho) In the Sen ator's judgment, how would President McKinley have voted personally in the Australian ballot box 'on the question of war? Mr. Depew President McKinley per sonally would have voted against war. Mr. Heyburn--A pretty good criter ion. Mr. Depew He would have ' voted against the war, but I believe that if it had been submitted to a popular vote it would have been 99 out of 100 in favor .of war. Mr. Heyburn I hope the Senator from New York does not confuse, the popular vote with the newspaper vote. Mr. Depew No. I know what a newspaper vote is, but generally It re flects the popular will. In advocating war with Spain It expressed accurately the passionate desire of the people. Mr. Hale (Maine) Does not the Sen ator from New York believe, as I be lieve, that if the country had not been hurried and swept into war with Spain in that excitable Spring, and if the question had gone over. President Mc Kinley before the opening of the next session of -Congress would have ne gotiated Spain oft the American con tinent? Mr. Depew I have already said that I knew, of my own knowledge, that Spain, if not humiliatea by presenting terms which would be rejected, arrd If she could have found out beforehand that the United States would accept her abandonment of Cuba and Porto Rico, would have quit. Mr. Hale And war would have been saved. Mr. Hale And war would have been saved. And President McKinlc knew that, too, but the pressure behind him was so great that he could not hold the country. Mr. Hale The Senator 'from Con necticut says to me that if that had happened war would have been saved, Spain would have left the American continent by peaceful processes, and, as the Senator says, we would not have been negotiated Into taking pos session, with all their burdens, of the Philippine Islands. Mr. Depew Undoubtedly, but the President of the United States did not happen to have a strong enough per sonality Mr. Hale No: that is right. Mr. Depew To resist the popular demand. ' SPIRITED ATTACK ON INSURGENTS Republican From Insurgent Kansas Speaks His Mind. From a Speech by Representative Reeder. Under the cry of Cannonism the pro gressive Republicans have uttered what in the aggregate would make volumes of statements, utterly false, against the record and proceedings of their party. They have even in certain cases sunk so low In their personal honor as to make professional lying a financial scheme that has brought them rich re turns, not feeling any compunctions of conscience from the fact that they have turned the great Chautauqua platform that was one of the greatest agencies for disseminating knowledge among the people into a scandal factory where the characters of our public" men as well as that of the Republican party are assassinated and the minds of the body oolitic poisoned that the political fortunes of a few demagogues may be crowned with success no matter how infamously it may iiave been attained. How much longer will the people of this great Nation be prejudiced by this Cannon bugaboo wherein less than IS per cent of the Representatives of the people have been able under this un holy alliance with Democracy to thwart the will of the Nation? It is time that the average citizen. Who in the last- analysis will have the vote -that decides this matter, should wake up and bring his sober and seri ous Judgment to bear on the case. On one side he has the statements of less than 15 per cent of the Republican membership of the present Congress and a hostile, yellow, metropolitan press that are assailing the party from all quarters, the former seeking to build up a Democratic annex by dis crediting the party which they profess to believe in, and the latter seeking revenge on a Republican Congress that refused to give them free print paper. Let every Republican remember that all this talk about Cannonism and Aldrichism that is made by Democrats, demagogues, insurgent Republicans and an insurgent press Is a fake, and is only made to prejudice and mislead the people;, but. above all things, every Re publica'n should remember that Cannon isrn. and Aldrichism are Republicanism, and this tirade is being made about these isms by an aggregation of mal contents who no longer believe in the policies and principles of the Repub lican party. Ed Hone's Philosophy. Atchison Globe. A slouchy girl looks as tough a year after marriage as an automobile looks after it ris be'en used for a year. ' What has become of the old-fashioned woman whose idea of meeting any emergency was to light the firs and put the kettle on? Another thing we hate: to shake hands with a woman and have her Jerk her hand away, as though we are holding it too long. After a woman has been married a few years, she doesn't have any more respect for the men than a good cook has for a hotel dinner. When mother thinks she is being pretty strict with her children, the neighbors are saying It is a shame the way she is spoiling them. Occasionally you see a girl whose golden hair looks like taffy candy when it has been pulled by a boy whose hands needed washing. "This," a married woman says,. .with a good deal of indignation, "is positive ly the last straw." Then she goes on accumulating more as long as her hus band lives until she has quite a good sized haystack. Looking; for Trouble. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. William H. Wright, author of "The Grizzly Bear." who is also something of a faunal naturalist, says: . "If you want to find out how an ani mal lives, you must watch it live and not watch it die." If Mr. Wright is looking for trouble, he is getting warm. A Real Hero. Ohio,State Journal. Our idea of a real hero is a man who is willing to go out and empty the garbage for his wife when he knows the neighbors are where they can see him- . LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE The v an tellina- a tfitnr tuH a J iv . a ... a tun. versatlon said to have taken place not iuiiS Between representative Burleson, of Texas, and ex-Representative J. Adam Bede. of Minnesota Judge Burleson is a member of the LumuiiLicB spprvpnauons, and is. therefore. closely associated with Chairman James . A. Tawnv nf k.. committee. The Texan is exceptionally fond of Mr, Tawney, and he was asking Mr. Bede's on In Ion as to thA f f .x-f r c, dent Taft's Winona speech upon tho inuspnia jl lawiicy s re-eieetlon. Bede was somewhat in doubt, and Burleson explained. "I like Jim Tawney: he is all right He is for the reduction of the tariff In the interest of the people: he is for economy in public expenditures and ha is an honest man." "Gee!" remarked Mr. Bede. "He is almost a Democrat." Washington Times. One morning a popular young minis ter was presenting his view upon an important subject under discussion, and Insisting that he held certain things to be true, ' the commentators notwith standing. He contended "I hold this to be true even though the commenta tors. rllaafirrAA with mo .. .j - . say even though the commentators uisasree wim me. At mis point an old lady was seen to leave the church. On his way borne from the service the minister was met by this old lady bear ing a basket. She stopped and handed it to him, saying, "Dear Brother, I heerd you say the common-taters disagree with you. so I've brought you a basket of Virginia yams." National Monthly. Senator Theodore Burton, of Ohio, is a bachelor and he does not care who knows it. At the most recent of big "functions" in Washington the soctety edltor of a Washington paper deter mined to describe the gowns of all the Senators' wives present. "Mr. Senator." she asked, as she ac costed the Ohio statesman, "will you be kind enough to tell me what sort of a gown Mrs. Burton will wear?" Taking his eyeglasses from his pocket and putting them carefully on his nose, the Senator fixed the girl with a glance that nailed her to the mast and frigidly replied: "Madam, there is no Mrs. Burton, and f I have anything to say about it there never will be." Philadelphia Record. a s A. J. Drexel Blddle. at a musicals at his Philadelphia residence, praised the marriage of A. J. Drexel, Jr., and Mar jorie Gould. ' "A more fdeal marriage couldn't be Imagined," said the young millionaire author. "In wealth, position, youth, everything, they are perfectly matched. There will never be in their case any doubts or misgivings and that re minds me of Ellsha Chew. "EUsha Chew took me aside - one evening at a dance. " T have.' he said, '$6000 laid by, and I can't decide whether to buy an aero plane or to get married and take a honeymoon trip.' " "Do you love the girl? said I " 'Oh, yes, very much,' said he. " "Then," I advised, "marry, by all means, and let the aeroplane go to the deuce.' "A few months later I met Chew again. He had just returned from a honeymoon tour of California. " 'Well, Chew." said I, "aren't you glad you took my advice? A good wife is much better than an aeroplane, eh? '" "No doubt that is true." said Chew. "At the same time, if my wife happened to be an aeroplane, ten to one I'd be thinking about this time that they'd worked off a third-rate machine on me.' " Detroit Free Press. Radlo-Actlvlty of Snow. Harper's Weekly. There has recently been published in Paris a resume of the results obtained by French scientists from their study of the radio-activity of the snow that fell at Boulogne during the past Win ter. It has been known since 1904 that newly-fallen snow Is radio-active, but the subject has not before been bo fully examined. The investigators announce that snow quickly gathered after Its de scent to the earth is highly radio, active. Radio-activity disappears al most entirely after the lapse of two hours, however. Snow which has fallen on the soil appears to retain Its radio activity a little longer than that which has come to rest upon the roofs of buildings. We Have No National Anthem. PORTLAND, May 31. (To the Editor. Will you please decide a controversy? What is our National hymn? Is it "America" or "The Star Spangled Ban ner?" CHARLES JONES. The United 'States has no National anthem or hymn. The two you men tion are the most popular, but pop ularity does not nationalize either or both of them. Congress has not legis lated on this matter. In this connection it may be added that we have no National holiday, not even the Fourth of July. The several states declare holidays by statute, and occasionally by proclamation; Congress doesn't, except for the District of Co lumbia and the Territories. Saw Halley's Comet 75 Years Ago. ALBANY, Or.. May 31. (To the Ed itor.) I see that there are several aged people who, like myself, remem ber having seen Halley's comet 75 years ago. I was at that time 7 years old and I am now nearly 83. but to me the comet was different, as I saw it last Monday night, from its appear ance at Its former visit, when it was as bright as a star and its tall was long and luminous. I should like to know what astronomers think about the great change, and If comets are supposed to be bodies which are pass ing through constant changes. MRS. C. SNELLING. Clvle Pride. New York World. The town went wild over Heinz's o quittal. Telegram from Butte. Have you heard the news from Butte? Eery mining camp galoot Has gone out upon a toot ; They are ehellina- out the loot. They are opening sec and brut And they've got it up their snoot. Hear them root I Hear them hoot! No cne mute Out in Butte. Now they pull their guns and shoot; See the tenderfet all scoot. O Butte! Tou are a beaut! Not Far Wrong. Llppincott's. "Say. paw." queried little Sylvester Snodgrass, "what's a test case?" "A test case, my son." replied Snod grass, Sr.. Is a case brought in court to decide whether there's enough in it to Justify the lawyers in working up simi lar cases." What IOOO Ounces of Gold Contain. Harper's Weekly. In 1000 ounces of gold there are 900 ounces of pure gold. 10 ounces of sil ver, 90 of copper, and about three tons of joy, a Targe farm, two automobiles, six fashionable bonnets and plans for a country home. Timely Warning;. Memphis Commercial-Appeal. Better keep on being good and keep on going to church. The comet might change its mind and come back. b