10
TIIR- 3IORXIXG OREGOXIAX. SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1910.
PORTMXD, OREGON.
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JOKILASD, SATIBDAY, JUNE 11. 1910-
THE POSTAL BASKS BIXJ
The postal savings banks bill. In the
form which the House of Representa
tives has preferred, contains nothing
which need frighten the bankers or
any other class of intelligent men. The
limitation of deposits to $100 a month
and $500 in all insures that only peo
ple of very moderate means will pat
ronize the new banks in ordinary
times. In panicky seasons others will
resort to them, and will even devise
tricks of one sort and another to com
pel the Government to take charge of
their money; but this is not to be de
plored. Such persons always draw
their money out of the commercial
Ibanks at the first sign of peril and as
a rule they hide it away. By all
means, therefore, let them put it Into
the postal banks and it will thus find
its way back into circulation where
during incipient panics it is much
needed.
It is an excellent feature of the bill
which permits depositors in the postal
banks to buy Government bonds of
email denominations. This is evident
ly intended to encourage thrift a the
came time that it prevents the accu
mulation of too, much cash in the
ihands of the officials. "When a de
positor has reached the $500 limit, as
we understand the provision, he can
buy a bond and begin all over again.
The bond will be a better invest
ment than the deposit, since it draws
Interest at the rate of one-quarter of
one per cent higher, and the bill has
arranged for the issue of denomina
tions as low as $20. This is admir
able. Anything which encourages sys
tematic thrift among the poor is
worthy of praise. Anything which
tends to make the National debt a
medium for popular investment is
also to be upheld. Even if this should
lead to the retirement of bonds of
large denominations and the ultimate
conversion of a considerable fraction
of the National debt into a popular
loan everybody ought to rejoice. The
lact that the National bankers would
thus be helped to get rid of their un
profitable holdings in Federal securi
ties need not worry us. Their good
fortune would not harm anybody.
Sensible people do not wish to abate
the prosperity of the National banks,
but they do very much desire to see
savings institutions provided for the
great public.
There is also a good deal to be said
in favor of the provision which per
mits the Federal . Treasury to invest
30 per cent of the savings deposits in
Government bonds whenever it seems
advisable. Of course a dishonest Sec
retary of the Treasury might avail
himself of this permission to further
the schemes of Wall Street speculators,
tout we must go on the supposition
that our high officials will not be dis
honest. A country which tries to
euard at every point against all possi
ble misdeeds of its servantssawlll end
toy taking from them all power to act
for the public good. A servant to be
useful -must be trusted. The proper
course is to take care that he is worthy
of confidence before putting him into
office. The authority to invest 30 per
cent of the deposits in bonds will
Bometime or other prove of the high
est utility In protecting the credit of
the Government and that was prob
nbly the real reason for inserting it.
Those who perceive "jokers" every
where will of course Interpret it as a
nefarious concession to Wall Street,
Ibut they are not always correct in
their suspicions. Kven th mot
Pimistic of us must give Congress
credit for a little intelligent patriotism
The wail that the bill wrongs the
commercial hanks by requiring them
to give security for the mo-nev which
Js transferred to them from the postal
deposits is not worth much attention.
The first requisite for a depositary of
savings is security. Everything else
Is subordinate to this. It ought to be
unequlvocably certain that a person
iwho puts money into the postofflce
can get it out again, and to this end
cither the Government must make
Rood all losses accruing from failures
of the banks of transfer or else the
Ibanks themselves must make it good
There is no escape from this alterna
tive. We do not apprehend that many
will contend that the Government
ought to make good the defections of
-the banks. Hence it f ollowsjiretty con
clusively that they ought to give secur
ity for the money they receive from
the postofflce. since this sum will
amount to 65 per cent of all the de
posits they have not much reason to
complain. As a matter of fact most
intelligent bankers see the postal
banks in a very different light from
that which illuminated .them a few
months ago.
,TKSMITT10N IKStRIBKO.
The,New York World has at last
published a full description of Dr. F
W. Lange's process of transmuting
base metals into silver. That is, the
description Is "fuU" in the sense that
It gives all the unimportant details of
the trick and omits the crucial secret
If there is one. The reader will recall"
that it was while he was watching tr
Lance's wonderful operations that the
Infirm Charles C. Dickinson lost his
life. Certain noxious vapors were
emitted which he inhaled. One gath
ers from the new account that Dr.
Lange places eight -ounces of silver iri
a crucible with about eight ounces of
fcaser substances. When he has fired
the mixture well a pound of silver
comes out. The.re seems at first glance
to be no doubt, or not much, that the
product is real silver, but there is a
good deal of mystery about the "base"
substances which he i uts into the
crucible. What are they? The re
porter describes them as grayish pow
ders and so on, but there Is nothing to
show that they are not salts of silver
r hich sufficient heat would reduce to
the metal.
Until much clearer descriptions of
the process are available, the ordinary
person of scientific habits of thought
will insist that, if Dr. Lange gets a
pound of silver out of his crucible, he
must first have put a pound of ilver
into it. But there is some suspicion,
however slight, that he does not get a
pound of silver. It may possibly be
something else. If the substance were
really silver, the excellent doctor could
begin with eight ounces, transmute it
into sixteen, that sixteen Into thirty
two, and so on until he had converted
the greater part of the earth into sil
ver. But he cannot do anything of
the kind. His manufactured silver
cannot be used as the basis of the
transmutation. He has to begin each
time with silver from the mines. '
Does not this fact settle the ques
tion whether he has discovered trans
mutation or not? If his product were
silver it would have the properties of
silver, whereas it lacks the most won
derful of all, that of being able to dou
ble its weight by transmuting base
metals. AVe all love the marvelous,
but prudence warns us to wait a little
before believing that the great secret
of alchemy has yet been discovered.
STRICTLY PROFESSIONAL.
Associated Press dispatches from St.
Louis say that "the house of delegates
of the American Medical Association
today began an Investigation into a
report that last night a woman danced
with a little raiment before members
of the section of surgery." The ne
cessity for an "investigation" of a
matter of this kind is not fully ex
plained in the news dispatches, and
the great American public will wait
with bated breath for further partic
ulars. How would It be possible for
these assembled medicos to examine
the workings of the muscles in action,
if the aforesaid muscles were covered
with more- than "a little raiment" ? It
would, of course, have been a grievous
offense for any other than a medical
man, even In the interest of science, to
view this interesting scientific specta
cle, but we all know that the good doc
tor, like the father confessor, must be
trusted with secrets which cannot
properly become the property of ordi
nary mortals. ,
In the interest of the profession,
however, it would seem that the op
portunities for study of this kind
should not be limited to any particular
set of members. Yet the news Item
regarding the St. Louis dance leads
one to believe that this anatomical
close-range study of the human form
divino was confined to a select few
"members of the section of surgery."
If such is the case, and if it be proven
that this valuable and interesting sci
entific exhibition waa held without be
ing "tipped off" to the rest of the vis
iting doctors, the matter becomes a
serious breach of etiquette.
We trust that the investigation will
be so thorough and complete that the
next time the surgery sectiop makes
any close-range professional observa
tions of a scantily-attired female, due
opportunity will be j given the mem
bers of the house of delegates to Im
prove their knowledge of the subject,
in the interest of which the observa
tion 4s made.
ON DANGEROUS GROUND.
"After we were taught this lesson,
we let the enemy alone and went back
to our position a little wiser," says a
Seattle boy who is fighting with the
Nicaraguan insurgents. Perhaps it
would have been better for the United
States if a number of these wander
ing American boys had "let the enemy'
alone" instead of jumping into a fam
ily row in which they were not con
cerned and where their presence could
hardly fail to cause trouble. Already
much resentment has been stirred up
over the execution of the Americans
Groce and Cannon, and now there is
more anxiety lest the Nicaraguan gov
ernment execute Pittman, the Ameri
can who aided the revolutionists in
their attempt .to blow up the govern
ment troops with mmes.
It was conclusively proven by the
letters of the doomed men themselves
that Groce and Cannon had earned the
fate that overtook them. Thus far it
has not been proven that Pittman has
not courted a similar fate. The United
States can hardly afford to take up the
quarrels and adventures of every sol
dier of fortune who sees fit to mix up
in a Latin-American revolution. If a
policy of this kind should be followed
very far, we would soon have more
trouble on hand than could be settled
with ease. Had the United States
early in the present trouble deter
mined to attend to its own business
and disclaim responsibility for the
wandering adventurers who have but
little respect for law and order, either
at home or abroad, it is highly proba
ble that there would have been an end
to the conflict many months ago.
There seems to be a sufficient num
ber of Americans engaged with the
revolutionists to encourage" the ene
mies of the Nicaraguan government
in the belief that this country is will
ing to favor the cause of the revolu
tionists. Naturally, with the prospect
even of the moral support- of the
United States, the revolutionists
would hang on longer and fight harder
than they would if such assistance
were to be firmly denied them.
CONSERVATION CENTRALIZATION.
Some persons decry r executive en
croachment and centralization of'gov.
ernmental power, yet applaud so
called conservation, wherein the exep
utive seizes large and illegal powers
and the National Government invades
state government as to control of
lands and streams. One of the es
teemed individuals, that are thus
queerly inconsistent, - is the Boise
(Idaho) Statesman. The broad land Is
full of such individuals, many of them
Democrats, who roar loudly as. their
forbears have done more than a cen
tury, against centralization, yet who
boost conservation centralization. No
policy ever undertaken ty the general
Government carries so many oppor
tunities for subjection and elimination
of the authority of the people's state
governments.
On one day the Boise Statesman
praised the President's illegal policy
of great land withdrawals: on the rrext
day it lamented the danrTous en
croachment of the executive power
upon the legislative. Congress has or
dained in what manner the public
domain shall be administered; one of
the most important details is that of
homestead settlement. But in defi
ance of the laws of Congress the exec
utive issues mandates whic". take
precedence over them: and now the
executive asks Congress for a validat
ing enactment. The executive also
seeks sanction for its invasion of state
authority over water powers. So fren
zied is the public mind in the East
that Congress will comply with the
wish of the executive.
But here is a scheme of executive
encroachment upon Congress and
state government that . would make
Jeffersonian statesmen turn over in
their graves, could they see and hear.
It violates the most sanctified doc
trine of the. Democratic party, yet
scions of that party applaud. It
causes the Nation to depart from its
most revered landmarks, yet patriots
approve.
Reasonable conservation is justified,
even to a high degree of "executive
encroachment." But the inevitable
has happened; the encroachment has
reached absurd and irrational degree.
People of the East do not under
stand conservation. They betray their
lack of understanding in many ways,
one of which is their ignorance bf ex
ecutive encroachment in conservation.
THE PRIMARIES IX IOWA.
Republican primaries in Iowa were
hard-fought in four Congressional dis
tricts, but they show no upheaval in
the Republican party over regular
and insurgent controversies. Yet the
rivalries bode ill for Republican suc
cess at the1 polls in the election; these
primary feuds have a habit of Invad
ing subsequent elections with hateful
vengeance arid of turning "get-even"
votes to candidates of the opposing
party. That is the kind of upheaval
that may be looked for in Iowa. It
has been enacted in Oregon many
times.
Despite strenuous efforts of Senator
Cummins and other insurgent leaders
to defeat them, two regular Congress
men were renominated, C. A. Kennedy,
First District, and ' Walter I. Smith,
Ninth District. These men won by
substantial majorities. ' Another center
of conflict was the Eighth District,
where Towner, regular, also was vic
torious. In one other hardrfought dis
trict, Hull, regular, was defeated by
Prouty, insurgent. In the remaining
seven of Iowa's eleven Congressional
Districts there was little or no con
test against insurgents. Six of the
winning seven are already members
of Congress.
' It thus appears that out of Iowa's
eleven Republican nominees, eight are
insurgents and three are regulars. Six
of the insurgent eight were renomi
nated, one was unopposed by regulars
and one defeated the regular candi
date. On the other hand, each of the
three regulars defeated the insurgents
by big leads. In a state whose Repub
lican party is vaunted as almost unan
imously insurgent, facts do not appear
to justify insurgent claims. But if in
surgents mean that this bitter strife
will give Iowa seats in Congress to
Democrats, that is another matter and
quite possible. At present Iowa has
only one Democratic Representative.
Moreover, Governor Carroll, regular,
is renominated for that office over
Garst, the insurgent-Cummins can
didate. There can be no real satisfaction for
either Republican faction in Iowa.
Neither has achieved big victory over
the other, bat regulars have beaten
insurgents in the recent primaries
oftener than insurgents have beaten
regulars. It is more important to
study the effect of this conflict in the
coming election. It means gains and
probably victories for Democrats. That
is why Democrats applaud the strife
and egg on the insurgent politicians.
Meanwhile, all the arguments used by
insurgents are arguments for Demo
cratic success. I
REAL. ESTATE VALUES.
Portland' is not the only city 'that
has profited by the building of the
North Bank line, for Vancouver,
Wash., , in real estate values and gen
eral activity is now showing the
greatest prosperity it has ever known.
The old Hudson's Bay people who
hung around rather close to the fort
to avoid possible trouble with the In
dians in their wildest dreams could
hardly have Imagined that a 50x100-
foot lot, located almost on the ground
where the old fort and stockade stood
would ever sell for $10,000. This fig
ure, however, was paid for a single lot
on Seventh street in the Clark County
metropolis this week. The increase in
values in Vancouver is in no way dis
proportionate with that which is tak
ing place In Portland and in nearly
every city and town .tributary to this
city.
Many people, becoming unduly pes
simistic at this- rapid growth, are in
clined to express misgivings regarding
its permanency and stability, but as yet
there Is no evidence of excessive prices
for real estate in Vancouver, Portland
or any of the other prosperous cities
In the Columbia basin. Portland's real
estate values have- mounted upw'ards
because of the steady stream of people
who have been pouring into this city
for the past five years. These people
all find employment or engage in busi
ness here, and as they increase in
numbers there is a corresponding in
crease in the demand for property on
which they can do business, or for use
for residence purposes. Ten years
ago the Vancouver lot which sold this
week would have been regarded as
high priced at less than half the figure
it now commands.
The price then, as now, however,
was regulated by supply and demand
and that is the only true system for
determining -values. So long as the
demands of business warrant the pay
ment of such prices no unhealthy
"boom" signs will appear. The build
ing of th North Bank road from Pu-
get Sound to. the Columbia River has
shifted a big trade from the east of
the mountain region, and both Port
land and the surrounding cities and
towns will in the near future show
still greater growth than is now re
flected in real estate values, bank
clearings, etc.
AN EXCEPTIONAL TIO.
The enraged hog which turned upon
Mr. Norwood at Harrisburg and bit
him severely could not have been men
tallv verv much like the rest of the
drove he -was taking to market. Ac
cording to John Burroughs, it is not
correct to speak of one animal being
mentally like or unlike another, since
in his opinion they have no minds
and never think. Mr. Burroughs and,
following him, Mr. Roosevelt also,
have reverted to something very much
like the old Cartesian theory that ani
mals were mere automata which were
incapable of thought and insensible
to pain and pleasure. Professor James
adopted a similar view from Henri
Bfrgson. It is in fact becoming
pretty popular, and if it should ever
prevail it would put a stop to the work
of the societies for preventing cruelty
to animals. If they cannot feel pain
and pleasure of course it makes no
difference how badly they are treated
any more than though they were
stocks and stones.
Occasionally, however, something
happens, like Mr. Norwood's adven
ture, to discredit this theory which is
so comfortable to men who wish to
beat their horses and starve their cat
tle. If the brutes were incapable of
thought and feeling they would all
act precisely alike in a given emer
gency. One stick of wood does exact
ly what another does in identical cir
cumstances, and it must be admitted
that the same is true of animals as a
rule. But it is not always true. All
of Air. Norwood's pigs but one went
quietly along the road which led to
market and the slaughter-house. One
rebelled. There may have been
twenty in the drove. This would make
the proportion of rebels among pigs
something like one in a score. Is it
any larger among men? Do we not
find that fully nineteen human beings
out of twenty wilUfollow the example
which is set for them and submit to
whatever happens?
Henri Bergson 'holJs' that there is
no essential difference between in
stinct and intelligence, both having a
common substratum and being capable
of .passing into each other. In that
case we really ought to expect to meet
with a pig now and then which had
developed a mind even if all his fel
lows were mere automata.
Of all the -fools, when it comes to
matrimony, the American men and
women of hereditary wealth easily
take the lead. Here, now, is Alfred
tj. vanaerDiit, unmindful of the ex
perience of sundry of his millionaire
contemporaries, dangling after an
actress and bestowing upon her with
out stint, in rare flowers and- jewels,
the wealth that is his share- of the
fortune founded by old Cornelius
Vanderbilt and his thrifty wife in the
ferry and boarding-house business.
While it is not probable that the ad
vice of some of the sons of Jay Gould
would be worth a farthing upon any
other subject, they surely are compe
tent to' give some points worth while
on this subject. However, men of
this type are f not scrupulous when it
comes to shifting matrimonial bonds,
nor are certain actresses supersensi
tive In such matters. Since children
are seldom born of such marriages,
they are not so very mischievous after
all. They are not taken seriously
enough, either by the public or the
participants to constitute a mockery to
the sacred institution upon which
homes and families are founded.
Complaint is heard from Astoria
over the failure of the railroads to
make a special carnival rate from
that point i to Portland. The" people
of Portland who provided the big
show have had very good support from
Astoria, and other down-river towns,
and would regret very much if the
failure of the roads to quote special
rates had caused others to refrain
from visiting the carnival. -On the
rate question, however, it would seem
that the railroad contention is well
founded. The maximum passenger
rate to Astoria is but 2 cents per mile,
and special five-trip tickets good for
an entire year reduce this rate to 1
cents per mile. From Portland to
Seaside and return the five-trip tickets
are obtainable at 1 cents per mile.
The cheapest railroad travel in the
Pacific Northwest is over the 120-mile
stretch between this city and the
beach.
Latest reports from the Iditarod
country say that the news reaching the
outside world regarding the richness
of the district has been very much
over-colored. Some golJ has been
found on five small creeks, but the
total amount thus far reported does
not reach $100,000 in value. This lat
est report is in keeping with the aver
age Alaskan mining story which drifts
out each Spring, in time to fill the
steamers with' passengers and freight
for the new Eldorado. There are un
doubtedly some excellent mining dis
tricts still unprospected in Alaska, and
the country may again surprise the
world with some of the discoveries.
The experience of many years, how
ever, will cause the initiated to take
these early Alaskan stories with the
customary grain of salt.
The British steamship Knight of the
Garter will steam out of Portland Har
bor this morning with the largest
cargo of lumber ever floated. The big
freighter has aboard 5,000,000 feet of
the great staple that has made Oregon
famous. No other port on earth ever
dispatched a cargo that came within
900,000 feet of equaling that which
has just been loaded in this city. While
the cargo of the Knight of the Garter
is the largest ever shipped from any
port, this city also has the record for
a greater number of big lumher car
goes than have been shipped from any
port. The record cargo is bound for
China, and it would have required five
of the average-size lumber droghers of
twenty years ago to transport it.
The death of Charlotte Odell Al
derman, at her home near Dayton,
Or., a few days ago, records the pass
ing of a woman honored in all wom
anly ways throughout her day and
generation. A pioneer of 1853, a res
ident for more than half fa centurof
Yamhill County, a kind neighbor,
given to hospitality, a. helpful wife, a
devoted mother this is her eulogy.
One local market received this week
from Petaluma. Cal., 200 dozen Spring
chickens. At that, the supply did not
equal the demand. And yet you will
hear folk saying there is danger of
overproduction in the poultry yards of
Oregon.
Nearly every Democratic Congress
man voted against the postal savings
bank bill. Can the oldest subscriber
remember when the" party was ever
right on any financial proposition?
Congressman Harrison, of New York,
seems to be the sort of a man who
delights publicly to rub the spot that
received the Impact of a heavy boet.
Japanese and British intriguers for
a Nicaraguan canal . will run up
against a sign reading In vigorous
American, "Hands off!"
As Festival week is for all people,
yesterday's weather was in the interest
of the ice man. . .
Dr. Roller could not take t:.e kinks
out of the Polish wrestler. His name
is Zybszsko.
Roosevelt slipped out of London, but
the seismograph will record his ar
rival. The judge is lost who hesitates in a
Rose Festival award.
EVILS OF HALF BAKED LAWS
L 'Ren's Factory Grinds Out More and
More Initiative- 11 nnibuK.
Dallas Observer.
One of the most objectionable features
of the direct legislation system in Oregon
is that it cumbers the statute books with
IHy-considered. half-baked laws. Under
the workings of this system, the people
have no power to alter or amend a law,
and it must be accepted just as it ema
nates from the Oregon City factory, or
else be rejected in its entirety. A pro
posed law may contain much that is good
and desirable, but connected with it may
be found a few features which are unde
sirable, if not wholly viciousi Under the
initiative system, the people must either
swallow the bad with the good, or reject
the whole dose.
Visitors are not admitted to the URen
law factory. No one save the dozen or
so members of the Progressive Power
League knows what is being done there.
These self-appointed guardians of the
state meet in secret and prepare such
laws and constitutional amendments as
suit their peculiar'whims or fancies, and
the first knowledge the voter has of their
doings is when a bewildering number of
still more bewildering raws are sprung
upon him at the polls. No time is given
for intelligent consideration or investiga
tion. No voter not even the most astute
lawyer could wade through such a con
fusing mass and formulate any intelligent
opinion on it in the few days intervening
between the time he received sample
copies of the proposed laws from the
Secretary of State's office and the day of
election. No one is called into counsel in
the framing of these laws; no one is
asked for suggestions or advice. U'Ren
and his little band of collaborators and
fellow-conspirators want no suggestions
or advice from the people. They want
nothing to interfere with their revolutionary-New
Zealand-Swiss fads. U'Ren's
method of getting his visionary theories
enacted into laws reminds one of an old
game we played in childhood days: "Open
your mouth and shut your eyes, and I'll
give you something to make you wise."
, And right in this connection, attention
might be called to one of the tricks of
the U'Ren trade the preparation of
catchy titles for measures submitted to
the people. The attractive title is always
the sugar coating on the U'Ren pill. Take,
for instance, the so-called "Corrupt Prac
tices" act. With all due respect to the
intelligence of the Oregon voter, the Ob
server feels safe in saying that not one
man in a hundred was familiar with the
provisions of this bill when he voted for
it. The voter saw something about an
"act to prevent corrupt practices in elec
tions." That was enough for' him. He
wanted elections to be .as free from cor
ruption. His possible, and here was an op
portunity to aid in the cause of better
and cleaner government. Without troub
ling himself to find out what might be
contained in the body of the bill, he
merely read the catchy and high-sounding
title, voted "yes," and went home
with the consciousness of a duty well
performed little dreaming that he cast
his ballot for a miserable, dirty graft on
every future candidate for office, and on
the treasury of Oregon as well.
Great is humbuggery in general, and
greater still that peculiar form of hum
buggery known in Oregon as U'Renism!
GOVERNMENT TELEGRAPH LOSSES.
Great Britain Draws on Taxpayers to
Meet Heavy Deficit.
New York. Tribune.
The fact that about two years hence
the British postofflce is to take over
and nationalize the entire telephone
system of the United Kingdom makes
both pertinent and profitable a review
of the results which have been at
tained in 40 years of a government
monopoly of the telegraph system.
When the British telegraphs were na
tionalized, in 1870, it was confidently
estimated that the service would not
only be self-supporting, but would rap
idly provide a sinking fund for the
repayment of the capital required for
the purchase of the private companies,
and it was upon the strength of such
assurances that Parliament was per
suaded to undertake the experiment.
The 40 years of government owner
ship and operation show, however, a
total deficit of nearly $87,500,000. for
interest, for capital expenditures, and
for excess cost of operation over re
ceipts. ' In other words, more than
$2,000,000 a year has been taken from
the pockets of the taxpayers to pay for
the luxury of a state-owned and oper
ated telegraph system. At present the
deficit Is more than $4,200,000 a year.
Interest on the investment Is paid out
of the consolidated fund, but even thus
the postofflce is unable to make the
telegraphs pay expenses.
The reason for this unsatisfactory
showing Is chiefly the unprogressive
and extravagant method of conducting
business under government control.
There have been vast improvements in
telegraphic machinery in recent years,
simplifying and cheapening the work
of transmitting messages, yet today
it costs the government considerably
more to send a message than it did
25 years ago. Of course, it may be
argued that it was not necessary for
the government thus to increase ex
penses out of all proportion to the
increase of business, and that th gov
ernment ought to avail itself of every
improvement that is invented. But
there is a difference between what
ought to be and what is.
At the present time the government
owns and operates some telephone sys
tems and a private corporation others.
The gross revenue per cent on the pri
vate lines is 19.9 and on the public only
14.4. The percentage of expenses to reve
nue is only f57.5 on the former, while It
is nothing less than 74.6 on the latter.
The percentage of net revenue on. capital
is 8.4 in the former case and only 3.6 in
the latter. With this example, it is not
surprising that many Englishmen are
wondering if the complete state absorp
tion of the telephones year after year
will not prove to be the assumption of
another burden by the weary Titan.
Reflections of a Bachelor.
New York Press.
What we call temperament in our
friends we call cussedness in other peo.
Pie.
Happiness is a spiritual gift from
heaven; pleasure is an earthly com
modity you buy.
A man who can keep on making love
to his wife can starve her to death
and she'll never realize it.
There are thousands of ways in the
world to make money unless you hap
pen to try one of them.
What a woman can't understand
about a bank is why It's so much
fussier about her owing it than a
millinery shop is.
Certain Democrats Not to Be Trusted.
Dallas, Tex.. News.
Senator Lorimer must be coming rap
idly to the conclusion that no Repub
lican Senator can trust a Democrat
even after he is brought and paid for.
Pulpit Impossibility.
Dallas. Tex., News.
It is practically impossible for any
preacher to 'deliver a sermon that
pleases the kind of man whose wife
brought him to church.
The Consumer's Need.
Washington Post.
No ultimate consumer needs a calori
meter to ascertain the value of edibles.
The cash register will do.
ASSEMBLY AN AID TO PRIMARY
A Needed Auxiliary for Naming 0,aall
tied and Worthy Citizens."
Grants Pass Observer.
The tendency of the primary law as
it has been operated in Oregon is to
destroy political parties. But it is am
ply certain that that was not contem
plated by the compilers of that law.
The opening sentences of the preamble
to the act are as follows: ,
Under our form of (rovernment . political
parties are useful and necessary at the pres
ent time. It Is necessary for the public
welfare and safety that every practical guar
anty shall be provided by law to assure the
people generally as well as the members
of the several parties that, political parties
shall be fairly, freely and honestly con
ducted, in appearance as well as in fact.
It is clear, then, that the primary
law provides for party government.
All the provisions of the law bear this
out. In regard to the manner of nam
ing candidates under the act. the pre
amble continues:
The method of naming candidates for
elective public office by political parties and
voluntary political organizations is the best
plan yet found for placing before the people
the names of quallned and worthy citizens
from whom the electors may chose the of
ficers of our Government.
Thus the primary law was designed
to uphold representative government
and to provide for the selection by po
litical parties, or private gatherings,
of "qualified and worthy citizens"
whose names should be submitted to
the voters for them to choose the offi
cers of government. Now that is ex
actly what the Republican party la
seeking to do by holding assemblies in
county and state. There are two ob
jects in these assemblies: One Is to
maintain the Republican party; the
other is to name desirable persons for
the voters to choose from. Clearly this
is In direct line with the Intention of
the primary law.
Most Republicans of average intelli
gence will agree that the holding of a
state assembly for the selection of
good men from whom the voters can
choose the state officers is altogether
desirable. In the past the voters have
elected inferior men to office, in one
case a rascal to high place, because
they had no acquaintance with the
candidates they were voting for, and
nothing to guide them to a right de
cision between candidates. The Re
publican state assembly alms to sup
ply this guide by recommending the
best available men for state offices.
The voters do the rest.
In regard to county assemblies, their
purpose is to select delegates to at
tend the state assembly. These dele
gates will be representative of their
respective counties in the selection of
desirable men to be recommended to
the voters for nomination and election
as state officers. It is not a part of
the business of county assemblies to
recommend persons for county offices.
It is assumed that the voters are suf
ficiently familiar with local candidates
to have a perfect understanding of
their merits. Nevertheless, if a ma
jority of a county assembly should be
in favor of recommending county offi
cials, they could do so, though it is not
likely that action will be taken in many
instances.
Advantage of Concrete Work.
T. A. Wiley in Cassier's Magazine.'
Within the past few years the neces
sity of concrete for underground and
submarine projects has been demon
strated beyond question. It is believed
by experts of National reputation that
the achievement, f Jr such It was, of
tunneling the Hudson River would not
have 'been successful without the use
of this material, as no construction of
stone, brick or metal would have served
the purpose, owing to the formation of
the bottom of the river and other con
ditions. The same is true of the East
River tunnels connecting New York
and Brooklyn, but in other parts of the
United States we also find works of
interest which are interesting illustra
tions of what the engineer has done
with this material, as, for example, the
tunnel which brings water into the city
of Chicago for domestic, purposes from
Lake Michigan. This conduit of steel
and concrete rests upon a soft sand
bottom, and is carried out to such a
point in the lake thati continual sup
ply of clear water is Insured. In the
West another project of interest Is the
connection of Canada and the United
States by the tunnel under the Detroit
River, in wljich concrete was absolutely
necessary.
Dreams of ' Genius.
London Chronicle.
An Interesting book might be writ
ten on the subject of the dreams of
genius. Stevenson maintained that
much of his work was only partially
original. His collaborators were the
"Brownies," who ran riot through his
brain during the hours of sleep. He
Instances the case of "Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde." "I had long been trying to
write a story on this subject," he
writes, "to find a body, a vehicle, for
that strong sense of jnan's double be
ing which must at times come in upon
and overwhelm the mind of every
thinking creature. . . . For two
days I went about racking 'my brains
for a plot of any sort; and on the sec
ond night I dreamed the scene at the
window, and a scene afterward split in
two, in which Hyde, pursued for some
crime, took the powder and underwent
the change in the presence of his pur
suers. All the rest was made awake,
and consciously, although 1 think I can
trace In much of it the manner of my
Brownies."
Deserved the Verdict.
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The Attorney for the Defense Have
you any proof that the defendant wanted
to marry you?
The Plaintiff He asked me.
The Attorney Asked you what?
The Plaintiff Asked me if I could make
an old-fashioned shortcake. I told him
I could, an' he said if he ever married
again he would marry a woman who
could make an old-fashioned shortcake.
The Attorney What else?
The Plaintiff He came to my house
and ate strawberry shortcake 25 times,
an' when I told him the supply of good
berries was gone he said th' last short
cake I gave him wasn't as old-fashioned
as it ought to be, an' I didn't see him
again until I started this case.
The Judge No further testimony is
necessary. The court awards the plaintiff
the full amount claimed.
Mr. Taft on Lawyers,
Kansas City Times.
- Mr. Taft is a lawyer. When he takes
his pen in hand to assail the adminis
tration of law in America, he writes
us one having authority.
So, then, gentlemen of the legal pro
fession can hardly evade the Presi
dent's censures with that pitying re
gard for ignorance with which they
are wont to squelch the aspersions of
laymen. Judge Taft knows as much
about "Coke Upon Littleton" as the next
one. Being thus thoroughly informed
about, things as they were in the six
teenth and seventeenth centuries, he
must be accepted by the lawyers as a
competent critic.
And Mr. Taft says that the way the
lawyers have balled up Justice Is a
cautidn!
Makes l'p In Speed.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
Someone says a dollar will go half
as far as It once did. Perhaps, but what
it lacks In staying qualities it makes up
in speed.
Most of 'Em as Press Agents.
Chicago Journal.
The army of unemployed has apparently
ceased to exist, having gone to work in
Jim Jeffries' training camp.
LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE
Senator Theodore E. Burton, of Ohio,
who is a bachelor and has never been
ensnared by the wiles of women, tells a
story of a young lady and a Judge of
his acquaintance. The former was a
witness In the latter's court. The prose
cuting attorney had repeatedly put to
her questions which she persistently
evaded under the plea that she did nnt
comprehend his meaning. Whereupon his
nt.uur unuertooK xo bring out the proper
responses. Leaning over he said in a
kindly and fatherly manner: "Young
woman, why Is it that you insist on re
fusing to understand the questions of
counsel? You are a person of charm,
grace, beauty and more than average
Intelligence, and "
"Thank you. your honor," interrupted
the young woman, "if it were not for
the fact. Judge, that I am under oath
I would return the compliment." Na
tional Monthly.
"Well." asked St. Peter, "what fcsve
you ever done that makes you think you
ought to be admitted here?"
"Let me see." the applicant replied,
trying to think. "Now that you ask me.
I really don't recall anything tfcat gives
me much of a claim to admittance here,
and that's a fact. I can say. however,
that I've never been a wicked man. I
never deliberately did any one on earth
a great wrong."
"That is merely negative goodness.
We have a separate heaven for people
whose sole claim Is that they never did
anything wrong. They go in with the
ones who were defective mentally the
weaklings. Didn't you ever feed an
orphan or comfort a widow?"
rvo. I am compelled to tar that T
never did. You see. I never came in per
sonal contact with orphans who were
nungry or widows who needed comfort
ing." "Never caused a brutal driver to
cease abusing a poor old horse?"
-o. I saw a man try that once and
what happened to him made me decide
never to mix In."
"Weir, didn't you . er assist any poor,
struggling -young man who was
worthy?"
"No, really. I never did. Oh. by the
way, once when I was goin home at
night in an 'L' car a man who sat in
the seat in front of me had on his
shoulder a long brown hair. Without
saying anything to him about it I
picked the hair from his coat. I thought
by his looks he was a married man,
and "
"Come on in. To the right for your
harp and crown 1" Chicago Record
Herald. .
The inspector was examining Stan
dard I. and all the class had been spe
cially told beforehand by their master:
"Don't answer unless you are almost
certain your answer is correct."
History was the subject. '
"Now. tell me," said the inspector,
"who was the mother of our great Scot
tish hero. Robert Bruce?"
He pointed to the top boy, then round
the class. There was no answer. Then
at the last the heart of the teacher of
that class leaped with joy. The boy
who was standing at the very foot had
held up his hand.
"Well, my boy," said the inspector,
encouragingly, "who was she?"
"Please, sir, Mrs. Bruce." Dundee
Advertiser.
Father S was remarkable for his
ready wit On one occasion, while trav
eling on a steamboat, a well-known
sharper, who wished to get into the
priest's good graces, said:
"Father, I should like very much to
hear one of your sermons."
"Well," said the clergyman, "you
could have heard me last Sunday if you
had been where you should have been."
"Where was that, pray?"
"In the county Jail." answered the
bluff priest as he walked away. Tit
Bits. An Improving Nation.
Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph.
One' need not be a churchman in
order to realize that the census figures
showing a greater proportionate in
crease in church membership than in
population Is a wholesome sign. Even
the rabid freethinker cannot contest
the Bfmple fact that the man who allies
himself with a religious body and en
deavors to conform to its rules finds
himself thus constrained to observe the
requirements of good citizenship. To
be a good Christian, one must be a
good citizen. This is an axiomatic
truth and not to be debated. Therefore,
be the point of view what it may, the
rapid growth of the churches is to be
regarded with satisfaction. Herein we
have irrefragable evidence of an ad
vancing tendency toward good order
and right living and this means that
the republic as a whole grows better
with the advancing years.
Preparing- for Auto Road.
Kelso Kelsonian.
It is possible that the trip of the Seattle
auto enthusiasts to the Rose Festival at
Portland this week will result In a move
ment for a better road along the main
north and south highway through the
state. In fact, such a movement has al
ready commenced, and the auto clubs are
preparing to aid in the fight for the con
struction of the projected state road. As
far as Cowlitz County Is concerned, this
Is all right. We need the state road, and
we would like to see it built immediately.
It would mean a great deal in the build
ing up of this section of the country,
which has so long been held back by poor
roads.
REVIEW OF ROSE
FESTIVAL WEEK
Additional to all the world's
news and the various features
which appeal to its quarter of a
million readers,
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN -
tomorrow will have several pages
of text and illustration relating: to
the June Rose Festival which
closes tonight.
There will be nearly a page
each of pictures of
DECORATED
AUTOMOBILES
SPIRIT OF
THE GOLDEN WEST
roses in the show at the Armory,
together with prizewinners in the
parades and other distinctive fea
tures of the festival. Just the
thing to
SEND TO
DISTANT FRIENDS
While the edition is very large,
it will be the part of wisdom to
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