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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 1910)
6 THE MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1910. rORTUND. OREGON. Err1 at Portland. Oregon. Poatofftca MHucritKloa lo AdrmncoL (HI HAIL). Tally. F.jndir Included, ona year ! I, t'ei.y. Fnday included, six months.... lllv. Sunday Included, three months.. - f Psilv. Sunday Included, on month...- illy. without Sunday, on. year J without Sunday. il month 3 rJ Tilly, wlr-iout Sjndav. three months... 1 5 Jf'SllV. Vtlhnnt Kxnriav on TnilDlil... W lclT. oe, ,,ar . J. M uncay. on ye.ir fiuadair and weekly, on year. Hy CarrUr). rtar'y. a-jnlay Included, cne year - ? iJallv. Sunday, lnrlude.1. ona month How ts Rrmlt Send Pea'nITife money rder. hitm order or personal eriee "a your local bank, stamp, co'n or rurrn-y ar at the senders r't-k. Olva Fostofrira adtreu In full, including eminty and state. FoMaco Rate 19 f 14 psgee. I rent: 1 t 2" pizea. 2 cents: iO to pgea. 3 cenli; o tn oo pages. 4 canta. Foreign postage double rata. Eaetn Rulnr OffVe Verree O-nk-!n .V V"rk. H-irjn ! k MMHInj. L'!.l co. .:..- t.uiM:r. fORTLANP. MOMMY. MPT. S. 191. THE M r.UI. fOX.RfS. Sven Western Mates are sending to t National Conservation Congress, which Is to assemble at St. Paul to day, delegations of Influential and trustworthy cl:uns ho will endeavor to place before that great body the "IVes'ern. or states', view of the correct method of caring for and, developing the natural resources within the states. There has for many months been heard throughout the l.inj a mighty outcry for the conservation of our fr est, mines and public lands. The no. tlon has been most assiduously Im pressed on the public mind that land- grabbers, timber thieves, coal barons and water-power pillagers, all compris ing a giant monopoly, or sroup of mo nopolies, have entered into an unlawful onspiracy to despoil the Government of its remaining possessions and ex ploit them for their own benefit. Great areas of land reaching the stupen dous total of 1 n.ooo.nuo acres have therefore been withdrawn from public settlement or private development, and the machinations of the bold, bad men who would take from the people something they never before knew they owned have been successfully foiled. If the story ended here, there would he no Jarring note in the universal shouts of praise showered on the hero of the National drama. Mr. Piliehot; but the sequel has had. and Is having, consequence so costly and even dis astrous to the people most concerned In development of the plot that some thing is now to be said at St. Paul on their behalf. The National Conservation t'ongresa is organised to promote the Roosevelt J'inchot idea of conservation. Just what thin theory is may easil be de termined by observation of Its practi cal application in Oregon, Washing ton. Idaho and Alaska. In the states vast areas of forest and other lands have been withdrawn from settlement and sequestered in forest reserves; in Alaska great coal measures awaiting development hav remained un touched, though the need of coal there for maritime and manufacturing pur poses Is everywhere recognized and nowhere denied. The Koosevclt-Pln-rhot idea is. broadly, that the natural resources belong to the people ami should be held away from monopoly snd for the public benefit under Fed eral control, or developed, when devel oped at all, so as to bring revenue to the National Treasury. The conten tion of the states agrees with the Fed eral plan so far as the propriety and utility of National conservation go, and in the effort to prevent waste and defeat seizure and exploitation by mo nopoly. But the states contend that the Government is u mere trustee of the lands for the benefit of the states, and that it is the highest duty of the Government and state together to make them available for settlement and cultivation. It Is further the con- I victfon of the states that the Koose-velt-Plnehet policy perpetrates a wrong on the states when it exploits these lands, forests, mines or water powers for the benefit of Eastern peo ple. Just as w rong might be inflicted by turning them over to greedy monopo lies or eyndicatcs. These resources are the people's, to he sure. But what people? The people of the states wherein are to be found the forests, lands. 'mines and water powers. On what theory of right or Justice are the people of the Western States to be deprived of the same advantages and benefits in the utilization and development of their natural resources that the people of the Eastern States have already en Joyed ? It "would appear that a reasonable and patriotic attitude for the people of the East to take would be that the common welfare may best be pro moted by a policy of conservation that will most satisfactorily promote the settlement, development and improve ment of the Western States through the cultivation and utilization of ttv natural resources within their borders, under such conditions as will prevent their falling into the hands of specu lators, adventurers and grabbers. Tho policy of the Government has not here tofore been primarily to gain revenue from its resources. Profit to the Na tional Treasury has been an Inci dental feature. Why should it now apparently be the prime purpose of conservation ? THE Bl'KKAU OF MINES. The miner is. of all workers, the most dependent for life on the guard ianship and care of others. If there Is a moment's rccklesnes.s on the part of a co-worker an explosion follows that Involves hundreds in death. If from pny cause the supply of air through, perhaps, miles of galleries and workings, by the continuous working of engines, the upward draft of air through shafts, the due closing and opening of underground doors Is obstructed, the miners" lives are in Jeopardy. When disaster comes It often Lj so overwhelming and In stantaneous that no survivor Is left to tell the tale. The only bright spot fa generally the heroism with which other workers rush to the rescue, holding their own lives as naught. In a recent case In an English colli ery tho Inspectors and engineers, hav '.ug exhausted vainly every device known to them and Imperilled their own lives to no good purpose, most reluctantly ordered the shaft ealed and further descent Into the workings stopped. At once they had a riot on their hands. The miners round the pit's mouth, clamoring and beseeching to be allowed to go down yet once more, turned .wildly on their officers in - rage. The study of im proved appliance for better protec tion of miners' lives is eager, and this in ail countries where mining is in progress. The I'nited States has fal len behind In this race for want of a central authority to test, approve, and organize methods for protection of the miner and appliances for rescpe 1 In face of disaster. This Is now in a fair way to be remedied by the Bureau of Mines at Washington, re cently provided, and, still better, by the appointment by President Taft of Dr. Holmes as its head. The new Director, being endorsed both by mine operators and by the Miners Asso ciation, will have a free hand In carrying on this most necessary work. If to him and his department shall be due the prevention of but one of the awful disasters which have been so frequent In past years, all cost of the new Bureau w ill be most 'amply justified. PROOF OF FAL6E REGI-TR ATIOV The normal Republican vote in Multnomah County is two Republicans to one Democrat, or nearly that. In the Presidential election of 1!S Taft received In Multnomah 17.R19 votes and Bryan !T0 votes. There is no reason to believe that the popularity of the Republican party in the Nation within two years hps so greatly In creased, or of the Democratic party so greatly diminished, that the pro portions have been much nltered. No one will say. probably, that if the elec tion were to be held In November of this year. Taft would receive more than In 1908 nnd Bryan less. Yet look ct tho registration for Multnomah County. Up to Saturday night 1'9.T73 voters had registered, L'L'.STI as Republicans. -439 as Demo crats and miscellaneous. These are substantially the number of votes cast for President In Multnomah In 190. yet the showing is for 5000 Re publicans more than Taft's vote, and for 5300 fewer Democrats than Bryan's vote. Here is fraud gross, palpable and Indisputable. Already f.00n Democrats have registered a-s Republicans in Multnomah alone. They are going to vote at the Republican primary.. To a man they are against assembly and for Statement One. They have no lawful business at a Republican pri mary. Yet they purpose to go there and run it. It Is easy to see where Statement One and anti-assembly get great part of their support. MR. AMITON'S Tl RS SFKXT. The retirement of Mr. John L. Wil son from tne Senatorial contest in Washington is creditable alike to his political sagacity and to his sense of public duty. There were three or four candidates from Seattle, two of them conspicuous, the others perhaps negligible. There was one candidate from Taeoma and one from Spokane In this situation the Eastern Washing ton candidate, nn ultra-insurgent, was certain to win the primary nomination for Senator. It would be no calamity to the Re publican party, perhaps, or to the state or Nation, if a. Republican progres f-ivo should win the Scnatorship in Washington, or anywhere. But Poln dexter is not a Republican, lie is a. Democrat masquerading as a Repub lican, nnd his highest purpose Is ap parently to destroy the Republican, party. Witness his record in Congress, where he not only refused to act with the Republican majority, but in an im portnnt, crisis he turned his back on his fellow-insurgents or progressives, n tlielr effort to agree on a common basis of action with the Republican or ganization. So Poindexter deserves nothing but defeat from the Republi can party. But he is not yet assured of defeat. Judge Burke is a formidable candidate against him. no doubt; but why does Ashton. of Tacoma. remain in the race, without the slightest chance on earth of success? - RATE PROBLEM AGAIN. If. as reported In Washington ad vices, the Hill and Harriman lines are contemplating a further Increase in lumber rates, we may expect an other protracted struggle and disturb ance of business while the Interstate Commerce Commission is threshing out the grievances of the respective parties. A local lumber manufacturer la quoted as saying that "Southern lumber has practically shut us out of Nebraska and even Colorado." It is intimated that any additional advance will be prohibitive. It Is inconceivable that the railroads would name a rate that would prohibit business ex cept for the reason that carry ing the traffic at lower rates would mean loss. This local situation Is a fair example of the uncertainty and growing warfare between the railroads and the people. That it is having a detrimental effect on gen eral business is unquestionably true. The railroads of tho country employ a million men. and probably twice that number are indirectly dependent on the railroads for their livelihood. In addition there are considerably more than 1.000.000 stockholders In thevarl, ous railroad properties of the country. The impending conflict between the railroads and the shippers has alarmed capital to such an extent that the comparatively few new Issues of rail road securities in 1910 bear more than & per cent interest compared with an average of 3.SS per cent on all railroad debts in 190S. Higher rates for capital and higher wages for em ployes, together with an endless array of expensive regulations growing out of the new railroad laws enacted by the last Congress, have brought about a situation that may well cause appre hension on the part of both shippers and railroads. , This situation is discussed in the September World's Work under the caption "The Railroads' Fight for Life." This writer is of the opinion that "no man who studies the rate situation can believe that there will ever be anything like a perfect rate schedule In this country under the present system of making rates." Continuing, this writer says: Between the mm of rilaatiafled or am Mt!"u shipper and the dissatisfied and frlrhtcned railroad the Government inter vene, (ma mnv only wlah It Joy of the) tiok. That It will a.itufy either the one or the other if impossible. That varlnua per son will iratn much in their own com munities In the tj-oees of "adjutmct.l" may b tak-n for ran ted. It is an unfortunate situation, and the difficulties attendant on the "ad justment" are monumental. This i exceptionally true In the West, where natural conditions are so radically dif ferent from those of the East. Cost of construction and density of traffic In the West vary with almost every mile of road and the task of making an equitable adjustment will tax the abilities of the Interstate Commerce Commission. That the Commission has not been Influenced by the reports of unfair methods on the part of the railroads is made clear in a statement by Commissioner Prouty at Chicago, Saturday, in which he said: "There Is absolutely no suspicion In my mind, or as far as I know In the minds of any of the Commissioners, that the ac counts of the railroads have been padded or Juggled In any way." Until this great problem is settled in such a manner that both railroads and shippers will know exactly what they can expect, there will be more or less uneasiness, which can hardly fail lo penetrate other lines of indus try besides the railroad business. PORTLAND'S DVTY. The programme of the Portland Livestock and Fair Exposition Is the most elaborate and interesting that has been offered in any similar event ever held "west of the Mississippi River. The racing card, with the largest purses ever hung up in the West, has drawn to this city crack harness horses from all over the United States. The J10.000 purse offered for trotters has been equalled only on. a few oc casions on the grand circuit, where the attendance was drawn from near by cities having a greater population than the entire Pacific Northwest. The display of livestock, as shown by the entries, in number and value ex ceeds that of any other similar event ever presented to the people of this region. These are facts which aside from any other consideration entitle the exposition to the greatest possible attendance and the cordial support of every one in any way Interested In fine stock and high-class racing. But there Is another and greater reason why this wonderful show should be given better support than has ever been accorded any other race meeting or livestock show held In the Pacific Northwest. Portland and the entire territory tributary to this coun try are on the threshold of an era of the greatest development the Pacific Northwest has ever known. One of the greatest of all the Industries that has made this country prosperous Is the livestock business. The special advantages of climate and feed in the surrounding territory have drawn to this city the largest packing plant In the West. Its capacity is limited only by the available supplies of live stock, and an exhibition like that which opens In this city today, attracting as It has stockmen from all parts of the United States, cannot fail to have an appreciable effect in Increasing tho number of stock producers In this region. The increasing use of the automo bile has apparently had no effect on the horse business, for never before has the average price either of draught horses and mules or harness horses ranged as high as at the pres ent time. In no other manner is it possible to awaken the same degree of inter est, and promote the breeding of high grade horses as through these exhi bitions. Kliminaticg the fact that the large and varied programme and the wonderful stock exhibition which have been provided are alone worth much more than the moderate admission foe charged. It still remains the duty of Portland people to give this exhibition such generous support that the perma nency of the fair and exposition will be established. As the only livestock center In ail the. West that hangs up $5000 and 110,000 purses for harness horses, this city will receive a vast amount of advertising throughout the United States, and next year the entries from cast of the mountains will be greatly increased. As a financial proposition the stockholders of the exposition could realize enormous dividends by tearing up the magnificent track and grounds and selling the property. That they have not done so and have given the public one more chance to make this great event a permanent attraction entitles them to the most cordial sup port of every individual in any way Interested in the growth of the city and country from which the city draws Its life blood. "MPKMAI. INTERESTS' IN POLITICS. The people's guardians are very In sistent that special interest shall be banished from politics. Which is sound doctrine if special Interest is corrupt or dishonest interest. "Special Inter ests are not entitled to representation 1n any public office," said Mr. Gar field last Monday, echoing a speech of Colonel Roosevelt's. "We must drive tho special interests out of politics." remarked tne Colonel. Corrupt Interest certainly must be driven out of politics. But property interest will not be driven out of poli tics. For property Is the basis of gov ernment; without property, govern ment could not be. This means that property will Insist on influencing and guiding governmental policy, and. In last conflict, on controlling it. This Is not to say that sinister influence and intrigue of rich men will be tolerated; they will certainly be cast out. But special interest In this country is the name of many groups of legiti mate business, industry and wealth. None of the orators thus far has dif ferentiated "bad Interest" from "sDe- lal interest." In truth each and all the orators are loose in their definition and description of special Interest. They name no special Interest that should be excluded from politics. All citizens know there are designing, groups of wealth that must be exclud ed. But "special interest" obvlouslv preads beyond those groups. The term is used In no exact sense. Its noisy spea-kers go so far as to say that wealth must be governed to suit the needs of the public, irrespective of Its own necessities, and they declaim against persons who oppose this doc trine as "special Interest." The great railroads of the United States will continue to have something to say about politics: and it Is right that they should. In open and honest way. They represent one of the greatest aggregations of wealth in the Nation and it is right that they should be represented in legislation and in administration. So also with many great Interests of industry and busi ness. Any other arrangement would ex pose the property of this country to raids of those whose chief design is spoliation of property equalization they call It through power of taxa tion. This menace compels "special Interests" to engage In politics and to seek representation In public office. Colonel Roosevelt preaches much sound doctrine. His speeches appeal. In the main, to the sober sense of the country. But his loose epithet of "special Interest" gives his followers no tail-hold of the subject. He Is pan dering to the extreme socialistic de mand, for raids on property and busi ness. Property Interest or special in terest In the good sense will not be , driven out of politics or office -while this Government lasts. "Democrats have a fine opportunity to elect the next President if they have the next Congress, which now seems probable, and provided the nex Congress puts through satisfactory measures." said Mr. Bryan at Kansas City Saturday. There seems to be fair degree of certainty about Mr. Bryan's statement if we eliminate thaf "If and "provided." Coming from the perpetual Presidential candl date, . however, there are boundless possibilities for that proverbial sli between the cup and the lip. It migh even be said with a smattering of possibility that the Democrats could elect the next President "if" they could convince Mr. Bryan that he was no longer In the running, and "pro vided" they could show more ability and sincerity in putting through "sat isfactory measures" than was dls played by the Democrats, who in the last session of Congress lined up on the tariff with that awful Joe Cannon and his wicked partner, Aldrich, on every commodity in which their con stitucnts were interested. The Idaho State Bank of Hailey Idaho, closed its doors with, liabilities of $300,000, and assets of unknown value. Hailey, Idaho, Is located In one of the most prosperous portions of the great Northwest. With the farms and ranches turning off large quantites of products that found a ready market at high figures the possibility of bank failure might have been re garded as very remote. Unfortunately for Hailey and tho depositors in its bank, the greatest prosperity ever known and an abundance of money will not prevent bank failures if the officials of the institution shovel the funds of the bank out to borrowers who offer nothing but wildcat security on which nothing can be realized when the money is actually needed Well-managed banks will continue to survive in hard times, and poorly- managed banks will continue to fail In good times. Success or failure in this line, as in most others, depends largely on the management. Tho actual financial loss by the forest fires in Washington is much less than was expected when the fires were raging. According to a state ment of Chief Warden Simons, of the Washington Forest Fire Association approximately 100.000 acres of timber and cut-over land In Western Wash ington were burned over. Of this amount but 20,000 acres were stand ing timber, and it is estimated that at least 75 per cent of this can be saved if it is logged within a reasonable period. This estimate, if it is correct, would cut the actual loss of good tim ber clown to about 5000 acres. Of the cut-over lands, it is difficult to esti mate the extent of the damage. If they were left for the purpose of growing another crop of timber, there would, of course, be considerable loss If, however, they were to be con verted Into agricultural lands, the burning over will do no harm, and in some tracts will prove beneficial, as It will make the work of clearing much easier. The- Oregonian has today from Grants Pass a statement from Rev. Mr. McLean to the effect that the county prohibition law there is a suc cess, and that recent declarations of the Observer, a local newspaper, that the law is not observed are not true. Whatever the merits of the contro versy, it may De taken ror granted, doubtless, that the Grants Pass pro hibitionists believe that tho present law Is efficacious, and that the only complaint that may justly be made is against the officers selected or ap pointed to enforce it. If Josephine County is satisfied. Multnomah ought to be. Yet will these good brethren likewise agree that a law which Is good enough for Josephine is also good enough for Multnomah? Or must there be one prohibition law for Josephine and another for Multno mah? After throwing overboard 500 tons of general cargo, the steamship Wat son, which ran aground on a reef off Waddah Island, near the entrance to the Straits of Fuca. has been floated and has reached Seattle under her own steam. When a steamer gets out of tho channel during a fog in the Colum bia River she merely sticks in the mud and floats off uninjured on the next tide, without the necessity of jet tisoning any of her cargo. The ex perience of-the Watson is interesting at this time, as it has followed a number of minor mishaps in tho Columbia River, in which there was no loss of property and very little delay. In view of the numerous costly mishaps on Puget Sound within the past few weeks, the Seattle dwellers In glass houses will probably be more careful about heaving stones at Portland. There is a couple in New York who have not spoken to each other for six years, except on the husband's payday, when the wife makes a few remarks. Now she seeks relief in the divorce court, and he objects to being dis turbed. Junction City, which is in the pump kin belt, will hold a show on Septem ber 16. with '$60 for the biggest speci men of the golden pie fruit No "punkin-head" can compete for that prize. A Chicago professor says Venus is inhabited and Mars is not. If Venus Is like her pictures, there was proba bly a great exodus from the other planet. If memory is right. It was Dr. Park hurst who said hell is full of politi cians, but the good doctor had not considered the Pacific Northwest this Fall. A local physician having been in dicted for a crime against a misguided young woman, perhaps he will be pun ished, and perhaps no. Echo's Echoes thinks people do not laugh enough. The Echoes might try a new circulation manager. Hope springs eternal in the Bryan breast. Mr. Bryan could find rain bows In the dark if he sought them. The ban on Miss Elkins Is off. Let the banns be published. Hats off to the flag today when the column passes. Colonel Blethen, big Injun, has one more sea If APPEALS TO CLASS PKEJVDICE Low Estate Into Which Antl-AMCmbly Campaign Haa Fallen. ALBANY, Or.. Sept. 3. (To the Edi tor.) Apparently the campaign by mail, by the office-seeker who desires to nominate himself to a lucrative po sition, is on; judging by the letters being received by "prominent citizens" who form the Oregon electorate at the approaching primary election. A cursory glance at one of these let ters shows but one feeble point in the argument, and that is that an opposing candidate for the Supreme Judgeship is a "corporation lawyer." which argu ment is pimply and solely a dishonest and dishonorable appeal to a prejudice supposed to exist in the public mind against corporations. It is of course well known that some acts of corpora tions, and some methods employed by attorneys working for such organiza tions, have given grounds for the ex istence of this prejudice. But to as sume that all corporations use dishon est methods and employ dishonest law yers is only an outrageous attempt to create a false and untenable belief, speciously put forward in a contempti ble endeavor to procure personal favor and injure the prospects of another in dividual. The practice of law is an honorable profession, and has been engaged in by many of the best, purest and most illus trious citizens of the world. When man engages in law practice, his ob ject, of course, is to secure and Hon estly serve clients. Individuals, rirms, companies and corporations, and even governments, employ lawyers; and it should make no difference, in a public estimate, of the standing of a lawyer whether he works for an individual or a corporation. Honest, faithful, capa ble and consistent service for a client should be the measure by which he is estimated In the public mind. Take, for instance, the well-known citizen who is employed as an attorney by the Southern Pacific Railroad Com nany. and whose efficient, just and hon orable work is generally Known ana admired, and gives him a standing among the first citizens oi urcgon This is the just standard to gauge his worth. ' An effort to create a prejudice against him, because he is a railroad attorney, should never be tolerated Neither should the cry of "corporation lawyer", be tolerated against any per son. It should ratner act as a ooom erang against the individual making the accusation. It smacks too much of the same disreputable action taken at Salem a few days ago to becloud tne candidacy of individuals, because that candidacy was backed up by the rec ommendation of 1200 of Oregon s best citizens, instructed so to do by the rank and file of the Republican party of the state. Bv their methods they shall be Known and that method Is neither good, wise nor reputable. S. S. TRAIN. WHY THEY' SMITE THE OLD GUARD Give Is the Offices, and We'll Reform Everything, Say the Reformers. Weston Leader. One is pained to reflect that the growth of new principles is perhaps not the only concern of Oregon reform ers. One would suppose that the exam ple and precept of the illustrious U'Rcn. the incomparable political blacksmith and lawgiver, would Inspire them with lofty and united zeal; that they would advance as one man upon the old guard" and smite the assembly tribes men hip and thigh; that they would rip he brassy entrails out of the Republi can machine and waicn us mainspring quiver; that they would shout anti-assembly, direct primary, initiative and referendum, recall, corrupt practices and Glory Hallelujah, and, girding up their loins with a woolen string, dash nobly upon the foe! Ah, 'tis but a dream! Instead, looking upon the goal for which these patriots strive we be hold offices. They smell the pelf, the plunder and spoils, and Illustrate just about as much principle as a coyote cut ting for breakfast. They want to beat the assembly nominees, to be sure, but very man wants to beat 'em himself nd land a job in the process. There are more reform candidates for differ ent Oregon offices than fleas at an In jun potlatch. And each spreads out his platform like a plece of tanglefoot fly paper, for the sole purpose of catching voters. Instead of hanging Jay Bower- man to a sour apple tree, the struggling reformers" will only succeed in kick ing the Republican nomination within his crafty reach. The direct primary will never be an unqualified success un- il Oregon Is rich enough to give every man a job who considers it a direct In- Itatlon for him to run for office. Miss Edna Day, Ph. LI., Kansas. Everybody's Magazine. At the University of Missouri the first crop of graduates In home eco- omlcs was gathered this last Spring. They were seven. And as most of them ook likewise a degree In education, it may be assumed tnat tney will go forth to spread the gospel. Their pre ceptress. Miss Edna L. Day, who next ear will head tne Just-organized De partment of Home Economics in the nlverslty of Kansas, is a novel type f new woman in that she has earned the degree of doctor of philosophy in "Woman's Sphere. ' She took graduate work in the Department of Home Ad ministration in the University of Chi cago and achieved her doctorate with an Investigation into "The Effect of Cooking on the Digestibility of Starch." What she found out was subi sequently printed as a bulletin by the United States Department of Agricul ture. May Blame It On BalllnKer. Washington Herald. Resnonsibility for the forest fires in Oregon has not yet been fixed on Mr. Balllnger. but there Is no certainty that It will not be after some fashion or other. Harvey W. Scott. There was no bed of roses for his path. He faced a tight as bitter as men know; He solved each problem with the simple truth. And won his battles with heroic blow. For three score years he labored without rest. For three score years- he strove and toiled right on. Whet splendid courage must have given zest To tasks' In the long darkness till the dawn ! For tasks were constant, unexpected. new: They challenged him with weapons every hour; Conflict, contumely, ingratitude he knew And every battle seemed to bring him power. Till triumph perched perennial on his shield His state imperial, his Nation trong, His wilderness a factory and field The miracle he helped his God perform. Such lives are worth the living but are rare. Achievement is their monument and crown. He bound his work together with much care; The walls he bullded never will come down, i LeRoy Armstrong.. GRANTS PASS SOBER, HE SAYS Statement That Local Option Law la an Entire Success. GRANTS PASS. Or., Sept. 3. In The Oregonian Friday you reproduced an editorial from the Grants Pass Observer under the caption of "The Story of One 'Dry' Town," and editorially you say, "It is the frank and uncolored testi mony of a Grants Pass paper." That would cause anyone who knows the Observer to smile, inasmuch as it has always been recognized as the organ of the booze interests and has persis tently and atrociously misrepresented facts in the Interests of the liquor trade. Inquiries are already coming to me as to the statements made in that ar ticle, and I ask your courtesy in order that the other side may have as wide a circulation as has been given to the opponents of prohibition. First, as to the question of fact. Every resident of Grants Pass knows that there is hardly a tithe of the liquor sold now that there was before prohi bition went into effect. That prohi bition has been "a complete failure" will hold true only of a few offices where booze is still the inspiration and colors all the sky when they take the outward look. A drunken man on the street is a rarity, and as for minors getting liquor that Is all in the imag ination of the Observer editor. If it is not, then if the prosecuting attor ney will do his duty this man who professes to have such a knowledge of the fact will have an opportunity to tell the next grand Jury what he knows and there will be something doing in this section. One gain that has been made is in the direction of greater sobr'ety on the part of the laboring men and a conse quent Increase In happiness and pros perity of the homes. It is the almost universal testimony of the business men that trade is better and that col lections are easier than before prohi bition went into effect. It may be that there are business men in our town who favor the open saloon and yet are not drinking men, but all that I know who favor the old order are men who drink, men who for their own and for their business' sake should welcome a stringent law to protect them from themselves. The statement Is made that liquor is sold freely in Grants Pass. One of the editorial staff of the Observer is now Police Judge, and he should sure ly know whether there are such fla grant violations of the law or not. If he knows it and does nothing I would not be wrong In placing him among the class known as morally criminal, for the spirit of his oath of office re quires that he shall keep a vigilant watch upon all violators of the law To say that he Is to know nothing until the complaints are made is jug gling with words. Judge Ben Llnd say did not keep his eyes closed until told to open them. He sought out and brought to Justice the violators of th iaw. In the case of our present Police Judge, it is presumed that he was ap pointed by our present Mayor solely because of his opposition to the tem perance laws. No other reason for nls appointment has been discovered. To sum up the whole matetr: I do not hesitate to say that the prohibition of the liquor traffic in Josephine Coun ty, even with all the machinery of the aw, so far as city and county are con cerned, in the hands of the enemy, has been a splendid success. We do not have much for the Marshal or Sheriff to do, nor do we have long criminal calendars at court time, nor is the County Jail as popular a boarding house as under the old regime. It now rarely has an inhabitant. It is to be hoped that the Observer man will have his facts all ready for the grand jury at the next term of court, for we will either know whether boys are getting liquor or the organ of the interests is lying. ROBERT M'LEAN. TALKING WHILE FORESTS Bl'ILV Needed More Practical Conservation and Less Politics. New York World. The ravages of the forest fires In the Pacific Northwest reveal a radical weak ness in a policy of conservation which leaves the forests a prey to one of their worst enemies while the embattled ad vocates of conservation do little but talk. Firo prevention, as Forester Graves says, is a tirst need ot successful for estry. Yet in Oregon. Washington, Idaho and Montana the spectacle is afforded of thousands of acres of forest land de vastated in spite of the efforts of an in adequate force of rangers to cope with the flames and with the safety of other vast areas left dependent on the chance of a timely rainfall. What will It avail to have withdrawn 19.000,000 acres of forest land from the public lands only to expose it to a risk such as in a single Oregon reserve has caused the loss of millions of feet of timber? The result Is the same, whether the spoliation Is done by nature or the lumberman. Certainly a sufficient amount of elo quence has been expended on the ques tion of forest preservation and of Gov ernment policies to that end. What Is needed, in the light of the destruction wrought by the Western fires, is the ap plication of preventive measures to se cure the forests from this menace a little less politics and a little more prac tical conservation. Tough on the Hosts. Kansas City Star. Enthusiastic Chicago citizens. In hoping to be of aid to the visiting Knights Templars, decorated themselves with badges reading. "Ask Me; I Live Here." They left their badges at home the second day, because a majority of the men who stopped them did so sim ply to ask, "Why?" A Morning Thought. Birmingham Age-Herald. "Gee! I hate to get up!" O. Henry's Last Poem. (O. Henry did not otten express him self in verse. The following is one of two poems found In a notebook after his death Hard ye may be in the tumult. Red to your battle hilts. Blow give for blow in the foray, Cunningly ride in the tilts: But when the roaring is ended. Tenderly, unbeguiled. Turn to a woman a woman's Heart, and a child's to a child. Test of the man, If his worth be In accord with the ultimate plan. That he be not, to his marring. Always and utterly man; That he bring out of the tumult. Fitter and undefiled. To woman the heart of a woman. To children the heart of a child. Good when the bugles are ranting It is to be iron and fire; Good to be oak in the foray, Ice to a guilty desire. But when the battle is over (Marvel and wonder the while) Give to a woman a woman's Heart, and a child's to a child. Do You Believe This? Kansas city Star. It Is the final innln? of the game. The home team Is behind and two are out. TJpoa each base there stands a sturdy frame: All that Is needed Is a healthy clout. Beside the plate the batter boldly stands. He crouches; there is murder in his eye. His war club lingers Idly In his hands As o'er the plate a strike goes sailing by. "Two strike!" the umpire yells: likewise "Strike three!" s two more wend their way across the pan. The batter turns with goodly courtesy. And to the umpire says: "Good work, eld man," EDISON'S REAL TALKING-PICTURES. Wizard Shows Phonograph and Photo graph Records Taken at Same Time. New York World. "I take very great pleasure, gentle men, in asking you to watch positively the last appearance of the stage door Johnny. He simply can't fall in love, you know, with a girl one one-hun dred-thousandth of an Inch thick. With these remarks Thomas A. Edi son began the first demonstration that has been given to any one but his own experts of his kinetophone. otherwise his talking pictures. A dozen newspaper men composed the audience that saw, and heard, the performance at the West Orange laboratories. The picture that was thrown on the screen explained itself, literally. The figure of a man stepped" forward, bowed and then began to talk the lips moving in perfect, unmistakable unison with the words that couldn't have come from them, and yet couldn't have come from any place else, it seemed. The man dropped a croquet bail, its impact sounded instantly from tho floor. He pounded the table with a little hammer, and there wasn't the fraction of a second between the sight and sound of the blow. He dropped a plate, and as the pieces flew the crack resounded. Finally an automobile horn was sounded and the demonstra tion was at an end. The phonograph from which the sound of the voice and that of the "business" came was behind the screen. The machine from which the pictures were projected was at the other end of the room, yet the synchronism was flawless. Wires attached to the pro jecting mechanism controlled the two, and their unity was as perfect as that with which the record of the one and the film of the other had been made. "I'm going to put Metropolitan grand opera into the hamlets of Illinois in a couple of years." Mr. Edison said after ward. "I'm going to take John Drew into parts of Iowa he never heard of. Finally I'm going to take Colonel Roosevelt to the cabins of the prairies with his campaign speeches. We've got It now." Two years have been spent in per fecting these talking pictures. The old devices of having actors talk behind the screens or of taking phonograph records after the pictures have been made have been done away with en tirely. The records for eye and ear are made at the same time. The great obstacle that Mr. Edison had to overcome was in getting a. phonograph that could "hear" far enough. At the beginning of the exper iments the actor had to talk directly into the horn, which made the right kind of pictures impossible to get. Bit by bit, however, a machine was perfected which could "hear" so weil that the actor could move at his pleas ure within a radius of 20 feet. That is the machine that is being used now. A complete drama has already been, "made" in these pictures but only for experimental purposes. It will not ba shown; nothing will be shown until tho talking pictures can carry a Broadway production out with them. "This Isn't for nickelodeons," Mr. Edi son explained. "This is a big, a seri ous thing, and I'm not going to put IS out until I can put It out the way I want to. It's important enough, I think, to deserve to be put out in just that way." The demonstration lacked verisfmlli.. tude in but one instance. The sound of the breaking plate was somewhat "wooden," but every other sound was as true to life as could be. It was uncannily so, as a matter of fact. VIC ISSITl DF.S fF BUTTERMILK. Backward Strtdea Taken by Twen tieth Century Science. Chicago Evening Post. Nothing so demonstrates the ranlr! strides of modern science as butter. milk. Buttermilk used to be made in a. churn, which was worked on the back porch of a farmhouse by a fat hired girl who was expected to be married as soon as she could save $200 from her wages of $6 per month. In those benighted days buttermilk was a thick, white fluid, velvetv to the taste, and plentifully intermingled with little chunks of butter. It was obtained by dinning a lone- handled dipper into the churn in the cool shade of the milkhouse, and when drunk under these circumstances the world was perfect, there was not a cloud in the sky and the little bird.t sang gleefully all the day. Buttermilk nowadays ts made bv catching a quart of skim milk in a bottle, which is brought by a man wearing a union button, and who never saw a cow except on a condensed-milk: billboard. A pill is then administered to the skim milk. The pill is purchased at the drug store. Water is added to the milk. We almost said "once more." After 48 hours the result Is called buttermilk and is drunk by folks who smack their lips over It and tell what Dr. Metchnlkoff said about longevity. Modern buttermilk is as blue as a re jected lover and as thin as Dr. Cook's: explanations. If the fat hired girl had Bet a. churnful of such stuff in the milkhouse the hired man who was waiting for her to save up the money would have re signed his position as conductor of the sulky plow and would have gone as a missionary to the South Seas. I a Strategic Charlie. Harper's Bazaar. Maude I hear that Charlie deliberately; picked a quarrel with his fiancee. Claude Yes, he said he simply bad to. Wanted to stop buying flowers for s while, so he could pay his tailor. Public Sentiment. Washington Herald. "Do you pay much attention to publla sentiment?" "No: I always look the other way when I see a young couple holding hands in the park." a l They Do Come Back. New York Mail. 1. Life insurance agents. 2. Grand opera singers. 3. John Drew. 4. Bosses, from vacations. More SIgna of Prosperity. Pittsburg Gazette Times. Latest sign of returning prosperity: more cases of appendicitis at Newport this season than ever before. CURRENT NEWSPAPER JESTS. "He could show you some things about manners." "Bah! I believe he's a crook!" "Anyhow, he doesn't eat with his knife!" "He would It It was against the law." Houston Post. Cholly had put on his necktie and was looking over bis supply of hosiery. "I won der, now," he said, turning pale, "whether the socks have to match the tie or whether the tie has to match the socks." Chicago Tritune. "Have you ever been to Europe?" "No. I'm seeing my own country first." "What parts of your own country have you seen?" "Well. I'vo been as far west as Bast Oranga and as far east as Coscob." Chicago Record-Herald. Said be It is reported that an Ohio f:enius Has invented an apparatus for plerc ng the ears without pain. Paid He "That's good. T hope Congress will enact a law compelling every amateur vocalist to use It." Chicago Daily News. 'Where's your automooue J" "Traded it off," replied Mr. Chugglns. "What for?" One of these street pianos. When I stand tn front of it and turn the crank for 15 or 20 minutes. I'll at least have the satis faction of hearing a tune." Judge. "I wonder why so many people insist oix keeping dngs that are no good?" "Well, replied the proprietor of the village botel. "I always keep a few dogs because Ifm a. comfort to see 'em take their meals regular without kickin'. even If they don't pay any board." Washington Star. t