6
THE MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1910.
rORTUND. OREGON.
Err1 at Portland. Oregon. Poatofftca
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(HI HAIL).
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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therefore been withdrawn from public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have been withdrawn from settlement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