f
TOE MORXTN'G OREGOXTAX. MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1910.
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OBTLAXDi MOXD.1I, OCT. IS. 1918.
e DR. MOKBISOX AND THE BIBLE.
J Definition Is usually needed when
cne avers that the Bible la not "the
irord of God." The assertion la fre
quently bo separated from contextual
Remarks and, by Itself, sounds bo Ir
reverent to a large number of Chris
tian persons, that the Individual who
ays it generally takes pains, out of
respect for the feelings of his audl-
tors, to show his reverence for biblical
.writings as a spiritual expression, as
ai composite literary masterpiece and
as a historical record of very high
value.
;. This high estimate of the Bible Is
Jeld in eminent degree by the Rev.
II r. A. A. Morrison, of this city, who
at Saturday's session of the Episco-
ralian house of deputies in Cincinnati
rotested against bringing up the
foregoing subject for discussion and
was quoted in the dispatches as say
ing: 'The Bible Is not the word of
God and should be taken by no man
to mean that."
Yet the Bible, as a spiritual and a
religious expression of man. Is a most
tvorthy and remarkable record. It Is
a collection of the noblest of human
sentiments ani feelings. It voices
tnen'j strivings for the higher and the
j.ldden life as a literary production
never did before and never has done
a: nee. Out of it has come the world's
grandest religious opinions and moral
hies. And on rational interpretation
of it are based truths of right conduct
and faith in God and futurity. Its
revelations are those which stand for
the lasting interpretation of the divine
spirit in man; for the permanent sub
stance of that spirit, not its transitory
forms. By this divine sptrit the scrip
tural writings were inspired. Nor
does it add to their value to contend
that they "came directly from God,"
dictated and inspired by him. pre
served from error and. therefore. In
fallible. They are a faithful history
In the main of God's relations with
man. and are Inspired In the senao
of the divine nature of their authors.
They are to be studied lust like any
other history, by application of tests
of literary and historical criticism.
They are records whose dates, author
ship and accuracy are to be studied
Just like other records.
. It la easy to see that it was not
ck of reverence for the Bible, but
the highest respect and admiration for
IV'that caused Dr. Morrison to speak
as he did at Cincinnati. Such inter
pretation gives the Bible its greatest
value and Its most lasting place. The
Christian world has been coming to
this view rapidly of late years. It Is
the view of vast numbers of men and
women who carry no word of blas
phemy in their hearts or on their
tongues, and are striving honestly for
the higher light and the nobler ex
pression of a growing religious con
sciousness. NORTH COAST IXEDERS.
A network of feeders north and
south through the Inland Empire is
the latest announced project of the
mysterious North Coast Railroad, ac
cording to a Spokane dispatch in The
Oregonlan yesterday. The most prom
inent of these north and south lines
mentioned Is one from Davenport, In
the Big Bend country, to a point due
south to Walla Walla. This north
and south feeder of the main line of
the North Coast would tap the best
wheat regions of the Big Bend, the
Palouse and the Walla Walla coun
try, and could drain out by a water
level grade an Immense traffic that
must now be hauled out over very
heavy grades. A north and south line
through the State of Washington has
been frequently discussed by both the
Hill and the Harrtman systems and
each of these roads has made numer
ous preliminary surveys.
.If the report that the North Coast
is contemplating an Invasion of these
special preserves of the east and west
roads In Central Washington should
prove true. It will offer pretty strong
evidence that this mysterious line la
coming Into Portland. It would be
an economic ahsurdity to haul traffic
out of the Big Bend over a water
level line down to the Columbia River.
and then lift It back, up In the air
about a mile, in order to get It over
the mountains to Puget Sound. If
the North Coast is not owned by some
of the great transcontinental lines
already operating In the Northwest.
neither the Hill nor the Harrtman
rs'em. with magnificent water-level
routes down the Columbia River, will
permit this stranger In the field to
get away with so much good traffic
a could be dragged out of Central
Washington by a north and south line.
That the line will be built either by
the North Coast or by some of the
ather roads in the field Is a certainty;
but It may alao be regarded os a cer
a'nty that, wben this feeder is com
pleted and ready for business, it wi:l
turn the trafflo over to some line
which will continue the haul to
tidewater over a water-level route ln-
taad of lifting It, over the Cascade
Mountains.
Portland hu been shut out of the
Big Bend country for so long that It
la dlfTlcuit to realize the magnitude
if the business that has developed in
hat region business that a north
and sooth feeder to any of the roads
would make tributary to this city. It
: further Intimated la the Spokane
dispatch that the road may be ex
tended north from Davenport Into the
rich Columbia Valley as far as Kettle
r a'ls. If one-half of the railroad de
Yrlopment projects now under consid
eration for Eastern Washington are
carried out, the Puget Sound cities
will be obliged to hasten work on that
forty-mile tannel under the Cascades.
Even with that the natural route
down the Columbia River will secure
most of the traffic of the Inland
Empire.
KOORX FOB, THE POM BARREL.
Here is the stuff used as argument
by a Medford "Independent" paper
kgainst re-election of Representative
nawiey in me r irst fiau-iti.
Mr. Hawler had a chance to distinguish
nimseix. to make a muohw
bring hla district Into the limelight 1
supporting and upholding thosa prlnclpl
upon which our Goyernment la baaed. I:
Polndezter. who refuaed to bow In anholp
homage to. the will or tne system.
ter eeenred no pork barrel prlzea for hla dls
.!.. b Li, ,,it,nt eourse hu been re
warded he hie constituents by hla BOfflln
tlon by an overwhelming majority to
United atatea Senate, aa a reward by
people tor hla eerrlcee to the people.
ttv
the
This is a most painful Blight for
our own Senator Bourne, nua
tnaita National fame for himself
leaving everything to Aldrlch and the
interests and doing very little in im
pork barrel line for his constituents
TM A V.a nnt roa1 no nddreSS in CoTl
gress that "upheld and supported
Ihnn nrlnolnlea tin which our (jOVtm
mant haend " and eot a million cir
culation, and then vote for every Item
in the "iniquitous Aldrlch tariff" that
the "system" wanted 7 ii a Re
minded scorn for the material Inter
ests of his constituents Is a requisite
of latter-day statesmanship. Bourne
tha hilt
But Hawley won't do, according to the
Medford Idea, since he tooK tne most
nnxiirai mT of retting: nraotlcal re
sults, among them a postofflce building
for Medford. The Crater Lake road,
too, enlisted his hearty and effective
Interest; and every other material Con
cern of Southern Oregon commanded
his Instant, Intelligent and energetic
support. But what of that! tie sup
nortori fannon! Horrors! He should
have Ignored the loud demands of
Medford for a nostoffice. ana lor
Crater Lake appropriation, and Joined
the "kickers ana got noinms.
Rut uhn will annnose that if h
had con a lnmreent and had sacrificed
that Medford postofflce, and every
other thing Medford wanted, he would
or could have pleased that spiteiui
and petty Medford paper?
INDEMNITY FOB INJURED WORKERS.
It Is coming to be accepted doc
trine that employes who suffer per
sonal Injury In hazardous occupations
should receive indemnity In the meas
ure of their loss of working time or
efficiency. Such Injuries make a place
In the social body where relief to the
victim and his family Is needed and
where considerations of humanity d
mand that it should -be applied.
In theory and in Justice, the whole
social body should bear the expense
of the relief; In operation, the expense
Is placed directly upon employers. The
latter are expected to shift it to Dusi
ness expense." that is. to the "ulti
mate consumer" and thus to society
at large.
This modern theory of employers'
liability Is now applied by legislation
In a number of states. Labor union
Interests seek to enact It In Oregon.
In a very radical bill, which they offer
for enactment under the Initiative, at
next month's election.
An opposition bill, emanating from
an association of employers of Port
land, propose creation of a com
mission which shall draft a substitute
measure, based on the "principle that
all employes covered by the provisions
thereof shall be entitled to, and shall
be assured of, fair, equitable and rea
sonable Indemnity for all injuries
causing temporary, permanent, partial
or total disability, and that such in
demnity be extended to persons legally
dependent upon such employes In the
event of death resulting from such in
juries." Labor union interests strenuously
oppose this commission plan. They
Insist upon enactment of their bill as
It stands. A letter from them urging
their contention written by J. F. C as
sidy, secretary of the State Federation
of Labor, Is printed today in another
column.
This Is a subject needing nice ad
justment between the contending par
ties, for the sake of Justice , to each
and on account of concerns of the
general . public. But the labor bill is
an extreme and radical one. It was
prepared by one side to the dispute.
In the drafting of the bill, employers
had no word. There was no adjust
ment or compromise of interests. As
result, men who employ workers In
so-called hazardous occupations In
construction and In machinery opera
tion are alarmed. They are told by
liability Insurance companies that the
labor union bill, if enacted, will make
Insurance rates so high as to be pro
hibitive in many cases: they aver that
the bill will add greatly to expense of
doing business, and will turn but small
part of the indemnities to victims and
their families, because of the greedy
grasp of lawyers, through large re
taining fees.
The labor union bill makes owners
of land liable with contractors and
subcontractors In erection of build
ings. It denies employers the defense
of contributory negligence of em
ployes. It exposes farmers to liabil
ity for Injuries received by a worker
In a new building or In farming ma
chinery. The whole bill Is drawn
without regard for Interests of em
ployers and for the purpose of carry
ing out extreme labor ideas.
Here, obviously. Is a subject of leg
islation that belongs to the general
public and to the conflicting Interests
altogether. Instead of to any one class.
There should be employers' liability
legislation in this state, but not of the
kind proposed by the present Initiative
bill.
BOMT rrBUO IrOCst .PACTS.
The efforts being made to Impose
on the Portland taxpayers a public
dock system for which there is no
real demand disclose either dense Ig
norance, or wilful misrepresentation
of facts in connection with the subject.
We find, for example, in the publicity
matter of the dock promoters the re
markable statement that "San Fran
cisco Is the only port on the Pacific
Coast today where a 10.000-ton steam
er could land without permission
from a transcontinental, railroad."
This reflection on Portland's dock fa
cilities Is too severe to go unnoticed.
At all of the largest Independent
docks In Portland, notably Montgom
ery No. X, Oceanlo and Pacific Coast
Elevator, 10.000-ton steamers can
land, load and discharge. Independent
of railroad permission or Interference.
Furthermore, the 10.000-ton steam
er can lie at any dock in Portland
for twenty-four hours at a cost not
to exceed $10. while In San Francisco
the dally toll at the publlo docks
would be m excess of 136. The unin
formed reader, for whom much mis
information is now being offered by
the promoters for a public dock, could
hardly fail to get the impression that
there is a crying need for such lnstl
tutlona. The heavy Fall shipping sea
son Is now fairly well under way and
the fleet now in port, loading and dis
charging, offers a very good example
of the extent to which the public
docks would be used if they were in
existence. The grain fleet loading in
Portland Saturday included seven ves
sels of 15,222 tons. There were also
ten vessels loading miscellaneous
cargo and lumber for foreign and
coastwise points. Of this fleet the
seven grain ships and six of the ves
sels loading lumber and miscellaneous
cargo, a total of thirteen vessels of
32,235 tons net register, secured their
cargo from private docks owned and
controlled by people who bought and
sold the cargo, and who could not,
and would not, make use of a public
dock If it were available.
The other four vessels, which
might under favorable circumstances
use a public dock, were the American
Hawaiian liner Falcon at Albers dock
the barge Amy Turner at Supple's
East Side dock, and the diminutive
steamers Eureka and Newport, dis
charging at Martin's dock, which is
under leass to the owners of the
steamers. To summarize: Thirty-two
thousand, two hundred and thirty-five
tons of the total In port would not
use the public docks If they were
here, and there Is no certainty that the
remaining 2317 tons would find It
advantageous to patronize a public
dock. It is of further interest that
but two of the thirteen vessels loading
at private docks were loading at docks
over which transcontinental railroads
had any Jurisdiction.
Portland already has miles of ind
pendent docks. As fast as the de
mands of commerce Increase, more
docks will be built. No public dock
can ever successfully compete with
these private docks, for the simple
reason that it is impossible to conduct
any public Industrial enterprise as
economically as It could be handled
by private interests, unhampered by
political influence.
1 THE BARGAIN.
No one questions the amiable quali
ties of Senator Chamberlain. Every
one knows how through many years
he has capitalized a genial and attrac
tive personality into a political asset
of great value and apparent perma
nence. George is a good fellow
now. as he always was Everybody
likes him; no likes everybody. His
popularity has been the strongest
factor in making him twice Governor
of Oregon., and once a United States
Senator for Oregon. No other person
here has had his remarkable political
success. No other Democrat anywhere
has been rewarded as he has been.
through the compliant good nature
and unfailing giod feeling of the pub
lic (mostly Republican) towards him.
All this time he has been a Democrat,
playing the Democratic game. He has
played with Republicans all his life.
Rut Mr. Chamberlain has over
played his hand. All was well so
long as he sought only his own pre
ferment and let circumstances, con
ditions and opportunities care for
others as they would. From being
boss of the Democratic party he was
In a fatal moment of admiring con
templation of his own greatness seized
with an irresistible deeire to be a co-
boss of the Republican party. He
talked it over with Jonathan Bourne,
Jr. Bourne was more than receptive.
He always Is to proffers of support
and sympathy from any Democratic
quarter. He would pay in kind for
value received. He recognized the
great desirability and necessity of
being the other boss. .The deal was
that they should make common capi
tal of the old-time Chamberlain ex
ploitation of the Democratic party,
and Bourne should turn In everything
he owned of the Republican party to
the community pot. What Chamber
lain wanted he should have as a divi
dend from the common political
earnings and what Bourne wanted he
should be apportioned in the same
way. What Bourne wanted was to be
Senator again. What Chamberlain
wanted was likewise re-election as
Senator.
A great advantage of this lovely
arrangement ..was that Chamberlain
would be able to shut out any possible
rival In the Democratic party and
likewise there could be no other ace
but Bourne In the Republican deck.
In some of its aspects this admirable
plan would appear to be the
summit of selfishness or exclusiveness.
But what of that? The Democratic
party is used to it with Chamberlain
at the reins. A party that knew no
better than to elect Bourne Senator,
of course, deserved Just that style of
treatment.
The blunder Mr. Chamberlain has
made has been In trlng with the
good will and Indulgent attitude of
many Republicans toward him. His
open alliance with Mr. Bourne has
been an offense against propriety and
decency. It Is more. It is a conspir
acy against the welfare of a political
party, and for the heneiit or a ais
creditable political partnership having
for Its aim and end the continued
dominance In public affairs or two
perspiring and aspiring politicians. It
Is a step In the definitely-conceived
plan of placing the Bourne & Cham
berlain machine in secure control of
both parties. It Is the most shameful
political bargain made in recent years
in Oregon.
The Bourne ft ChamDeriain prop
agandists are furious that the deal has
been exposed and shout sbout every
where that Bourne & Chamberlain
c nartners) ara not the issue. But they
are. The eleotion of West as Gov
ernor Is an essential . step in the
Bourne ft Chamberlain game. West
In himself as a factor Is negligible, or
almost so. But West as Governor Is
a vital link In the Bourne A Chamber
lain enterprise. Defeat of West means
the breakdown of the Bourne &
Chamberlain machine and the defeat
of Bourne. Nothing could be more
desirable from the standpoint of the
publlo Interest and the public self
respect than that.
"HIXTRACE.'.'
Miss H. R. Goodwin in conference
with college girls In connection with
the triennial convention of the Prot
estant Episcopal Church now In ses
sion In Cincinnati intimated that mar
riage offers some hindrances to the
ready entrance it girls Into the mis
sion field, thus furnishing another
example of saying an Indisputable
thing In a very solemn way.
It is plain to an practical, oio-rasn-
loned folk that marriage Is a hin
drance to any special mission for the
wife, outside of the obligations that It
brings. The woman who has what
may be termed an Itch for a career.
Including personal devotion to the
mission idea, should not contract
marriage. It is the exceptional case
wherein marriage is not a hindrance.
at least until the child-bearing pe
riod la past, to any career outside of
the home. The comfort and happl-
ness of many a home has been laid
upon the altar of "Borrioboola-Gha";
upon some "talent" for music or art;
upon the yearning to become a "re
former" that was held in abeyance
when marriage was offered, only to re
turn with redoubled force when the
baby came, and again came, with re
peated demands upon the home and
strength of the mother.
Truly, Indeed, "hindrances" beset
the path of the woman who longs for a
"career." who conceives that she has
a "mission" to fulfill outside of what
marriage brings her, but who never
theless, marries. There Is but one way
to escape these hindrances. The good
sisters, of the Catholic Church recog
nize and walk in this way.
Young Mr. Fuller, the telegraph
operator who shot and killed a North
ern Pacific conductor at Ridgefield
Wash., a few months ago, has been
acquitted on the ground of self-defense.
The evidence seemed to show
that his victim was of a bullying na
ture, and that the young man actually
believed that his life was in danger.
Now that It Is all over and he Is
again breathing the air of freedom,
young Mr. Fuller will probably regard
the matter somewhat differently. If
he is the clean, well-mannered young
chap which his neighbors testified he
Is, he no doubt feels the keenest regret
over what has happened. If the re
volver had not been so handy, both
Fuller and the victim would be alive
and, perhaps, friends.
It is said that potatoes will be po
tatoes this Winter and that they will
be out of sight, so to speak, at seed
ing time. This will include all the
earlier varieties aa the drought caught
the vines and stopped their growth
early in the season. Late potatoes
were helped somewhat by the rain
however, and if frost holds off for a
few weeks the crop will make a rea
sonably good showing. Farmers who
store enough potatoes for seed and re
fuse to consider, as far as this re
serve Is concerned, either the demand
for the home table or the market will
be wise. Otherwise necessity's sharp
pinch will cause them to pay dearly
for seed at planting time.
To win that $30,000 prize offered
by Hearst for an ocean-tc ocean aerial
flight is like taking candy from chil
dren. It involves less than 120 miles'
travel a day. By taking a southerly
route, say the line traversed by the
Southern Pacific from' Los Angeles to
El Paso, an aviator avoids flying over
the Rockies at a height of more than
a mile. The only problem involved is
making a motor that will endure the
test of driving an aeroplane a distance
of 3500 miles in thirty days. At that.
ample allowance Is made for repairs.
East Side corners are still increas
ing In demand for business purposes.
If there were only enough Frank
Klemans to throw obstacles In the
way of the East Slders reaching the
west side of the river. It would not
take long to shift the West Side busi
ness district over to the East Side.
East Portland should pass a vote of
thanks to their best friend and ally.
Mr. Kiernan, the bridge obstructionist.
Both the President and the Secre
tary of War recognize the necessity
of having a military force large
enough to man our Coast defenses.
We of the Pacific will be glad if the
Secretary of the Navy can. get Mr.
Taft's attention long enough to sug
gest a fleet of battleships where they
are most likely to be needed.
One of the reasons why prohibition
fails lies in the fact that a normal
American Is never a spy nor an In
former. To search a neighbor's house
or to divulge information as to his
use of liquor is repugnant to the
American spirit. Even the most ar
dent prohibitionist balks at serving as
d etectl ve.
Southern Oregon apple orchards are
still selling at from 3800 to $1000 per
acre. The prices paid would seem
more remarkable if the news was not
always accompanied by stories report
ing the sale of carloads and trainloads
of fruit at prices which make the land
seem cheap at the figures named.
With the large body of central
committeemen united to elect the en
tire Republican ticket from Jay Bow
erman, for Governor, down to Andy
Weinberger, for Constable, the puerile
promulgations from a professed pro
prietor of the party should be futile.
The information Is given in all seri
ousness that a woman who fell down
an 80-foot bluff in the Lake Michigan
country Friday night died of exposure.
Being clad In night dress and kimono.
the surmise is likely correct.
A close scrutiny of the figures on
milk trust profits In this city does not
reveal the presence of any water In
the stock. As to water In the milk
that Is another story.
"For his courage and Independ
ence," remarks the Pendleton East
Oregonlan, "Senator Bourne Is to be
admired." And supported by the
Democratic press?
Roosevelt Is right when he says the
man who controls 3000 miles of rail
road Is neighbor to all of us. At any
rate, that's the way Oregon feels
toward him.
Evidently the South has forgotten
or forgiven T. R.'s Inviting Booker
Washington to the White House to
dinner soon after he became Presi
dent.
As with land commerce ana deep-
sea shipping, so with baseball. Port
land occupies a commanding position
right in the middle of things.
Marion County has started the song
of Republican harmony. It looks as
If the whole state will be coming In
strong on the chorus.
If every wife In distress by a hus
band's gambling habit were to bring
suit to recover, there would be much
Individual reform.
La Follette' rejects Roosevelt aa an
ally. This is the old story of the bull
pen and poultry yard.
The tremendous attendance at Cor-
vallls is a healthy' sign tar tha aiaie's
best activities.
INITIATIVE AND REFERLNDDM MEASURES WHICH ARE BEFORE THE PEOPLE
RecUatrlcttns; Amendment That Each State Sraator and Representative Will Represent but One Dlatrtct, Should
rmMt aBd piaa, is Sveeeea in other Staxea Proportleaal Resreaentatlom Amendment of Peoplew Power League la
Confualon Confounded, and Should Be Defeated.
Article No. 3.
For amendment of sections a and 1. arti
cle IV. of the Conatltutlon of thla atate. to
provide a separate dlatrlct for the election
of each State Senator and. each State Rep
reaentatlve. 0) Tea.
30T No.
The foregoing is the title of a consti
tutional amendment proposed by the leg
islative assembly and presented to the
people for their approval or rejection
at the polls in Nevember.
This proposed amendment provides for
a re-apportionment of members of the
Legislature following each federal cen
sus. In its text it retains the section
of the Constitution originally adopted
with simply the difference that re-apportionment
Is to be based on the enu
meration of persons who are citizens or
eligible to become citizens, while the
original section provides for basing the
apportionment on white population. It
may not be known to all, but the Ore
gon Constitution still retains a section
withholding the right of suffrage to
negroes and mulattoes, a section now
Ignored for the reason that It is re
pugnant to the Constitution of the
United States.
To the original section on appor
tionment it is proposed to add the fol
lowing: "After the state has been divided Into
Senatorial and Representative districts,
either by counties or combinations of
counties, or portions of counties, then
such districts shall be subdivided in
such manner that each Senator and
Representative will represent but one
district as the case may be. No dis
trict shall be created which snail be
composed of portions of two or more
counties, but districts may be created
which are composed of one or more en
tire counties and a portion of another
county.'
e e e a-
Under the operations of this amend
ment each voter would cast a ballot for
but one Representative and one Senator,
whereas in some counties each voter
i- n Antuu tn vote for several.
In Multnomah County, for example, a
number of Representative aisincia uuu
a number of Senatorial districts would
have the privilege of voting for one
Representative and one Senatorial can
didate. The plan of apportionment is one
quite generally in operation throughout
the other- states of the Union. If
r.dopted in Oregon it would eliminate
In future the frequent complaints made
by the country districts that the towns
or cities to which they are contiguous,
appropriate all the legislative positions
for the city residents. A county sit
uated like Clackamas, which now
elects one Representative Jointly with
Multnomah, could not be districted with
so large a county as Multnomah, for
both would be entitled to full repre
sentation and portions of two counties
could not be combined in one district.
The apportionment plan proposed In
thla amendment is not strikingly dif
ferent from that Imposed by the orig
inal constitution, yet the Peoples' Pow
er League has presented an argument
against Ita adoption. practically
admitting that it is similar to
the present system. "In 1908," says
the Peoples Power League, "the voters
of Oregon by a majority of 14,740
votes, approved a constitutional amend
ment for proportional representation,
so aa to abolish the system by which
in 1906 the 64,000 Republican voters of
the state elected 69 of the 60 Repre
sentatives In the Legislature, while the
40,000 opposition votes Democrats, So
cialists and Prohlbltlonista were able
to eleot one Representative."
a e - e
The quotation reveals the situation
clearly. The district plan of appor
tionment would defeat the scheme of
the minority parties to gain spoils of
office. This they propose to do through
the proportional representation scheme,
even though by that means several of
the counties of the Btate are totally
deprived of representation in the Leg
islative Assembly.
In the last Legislative Assembly
seven of the representatives were
Democrats. In another argument in
the state pamphlet the People's Power
League estimates that if the propor
tional representation plan had been in
force the Democrats would have had
16 members Instead of seven. Sixteen
Democrats In the lower house would
have had no more power to put Demo
cratic policies into force than had the
seven members, for 16 Is IB short of a
majority of the House. Nine Demo
crats unable to gain office under exist
ing election laws would have had the
opportunity to draw $120 each from the
state treasury. No policy of govern
ment is put in Issue, no change for the
welfare of the public is assured, no
alluring reforms that would eave the
taxpayers' money or cure existing
moral vices, are contemplated by the
proportional representation scheme. It
Is demanded by its supporters solely
for the ealaried offices it will give to
the Democrats, Socialists and Prohibi
tionists. The proportional representation plan
(860, yes; 861. no) permits each voter
to vote for but one Representative and
one Senator, who are to be nominated
j mlthnrfa and from eXlSt-
unuer y 1 1 J' . u,-...
lng districts. An elector in Multno
mah County, nowaver, iiioj vuio -
i -.- tn env other cart of the
state, or an elector In Harney or Wal
lowa County may vote ioi
nominated tn Coos County.
To determine who has been elected
the votes cast for all candidates are
added and the result Is divided by 60
i D..,.n(,HvpiL and bv SO
tn choosing Benators. The result Is
called the quota. Thereafter the total
vote cast for candidates of each party
Is divided by the quota, and the
quotient indicates tne numuur ua. mem
bers of House or Senate elected by
sucn party, n " " "
found to have elected 36 of the 60 Rep
resentatives, tbe 36 candidates who
v ...ir.A the hla-hest number of
votes are the ones elected.
In the event tne quota uor nui
i i.in the vote mat for
Uiviun vvifj "
each party, and there Is not a suffl-
. . .... . T J , 111
elent numoer oi reu n ..
al- v.- .ir nf TToiiae or Senate.
the membership that is short is allet
ed to the parties having the highest re
mainder in regular order. The re
mainders being what Is left after a
quota has been divided into a party
vote an even number of times. If the
-. - - 1 onD end ona TWrlv Tkolln a
total of 3800 votes, this is the compu-
XBUU) IlllV . t,.w .- f " . . -
a remainder of 200. The party has
thereiore aiecieu vv iiicmun . l ib
has the highest remainder of all par
ties, and the legislative membership Is
ahort one. the party has elected three
members.
The results that would be attained
under proportional representation, are
either Intentionally misrepresented or
the promoters of the plan have drafted
a law without reexomng its conse
quences. If the reopie s rower league
amendment Is adopted," continues the
argument against the legislative dis
tricting plan, "and a majority of the
voters favor Statement No. 1 at the
election in 1912, a majority of the
members of the Legislature will be
for Statement No. 1: but If a majority
of the voters favor the old auction
block method of electing United States
Senatora, then the majority of the Leg
islature will be for the auction block
method. The proportional representa
tion plan of the People's Power League
will be absolutely fair In operation and
results to every political party, to
every Independent and to all voters."
The Oregonlan takes issue wtu every
statement in the paragrapn quoteo.
The will of the majority of the voters
Is not certain or even likely to be car
ried out by the operations of the pro
portional representation plan, and
neither is the scheme fair in its results
to parties or to voters.
The- Orea-onian has heretofore given
the figures on the total vote cast in
1908. and shown how. If the number
of votes In each district had been di
vided among candidates in a normal
manner, Marlon County would have
had but one representative in the Leg
islature in place of the five to which it
is entitled: Douglas, Polk, yammu,
Washington, Clackamas and Clatsop
would not have elected a single repre
sentative. while Lane. Coos, . Curry,
Josephine, Jackson and several other
counties would have had double their
Just representation.
a a a
The proportional plan provides that
a voter may cast a ballot for but one
Representative and that he may vote
for any candidate In any portion oi tne
state vet it cannot be asserted with
any degree of fairness that a consid
erable number of voters in any county
are likely to cast votes for candidates
In other counties under normal condi
tions. The Oregonlan has heretofore dl
cussed the possible results of propor
tional election of members of the Leg
islature on the basis of a fairly equal
distribution of votes. It now purposes
to point out what might occur under
an unequal distribution of votes among
candidates.
Take the issue of Statement No. 1,
and assume that In Multnomah County
supporters of that feature of the pri
mary law have a fair working major
lty. or could poll a vote of 9000 against
7000 by the opposition. It is not only
possible but probable that In the selec
tlon of candidates in the primaries, -one
or more an ti -Statement No. 1 candi
date would be named by reason of
personal popularity or because of a
splitting of the Statement une vote
among several.
see
Multnomah County voters now vote
on 13 house members. Suppose Jonn
Smith Is the only anti-Statement candi
date nominated by the Republicans In
Multnomah County. The result would
be simply i.his: All voters In the county
who opposed Statement One would vote
for John Smith and each or tne sup
porters of Statement One would vote
for some one of the other II canaiaates.
Smith would have 7000 votes and be
elected with flying colors, while the
0000 votes representing the majority
sentiment would be divided among 12
candidates, giving an average of- 750
to each. With the strength or tne k
publican party remaining as it now ex
ists throughout the state, no Represen
tative who received short of 800 votes
would likely be elected. Some of the
more nonular of the Statement one can
dldates In Multnomah County might
null through, but most of them would
find themselves defeated by candidates
In other portion of the state. In this
instance, Multnomah would, be short Its
proper representation In the Legisla
ture and there would be no assurance
that the candidates who took Multno
mah's risrhtful places In the Legisla.
ture would be Statement One or anti-
Statement One men. This illustration
also shows why If a majority of the
voters in ths state are In favor of State
ment One, the majority In the Legisla
ture need not neoessarily be bo. The
majority might waste Its strength on
few extraordinarily popular candidates.
in which event, if the minority faction
distributed Its strength evenly, the mi
nority faction would elect the greater
number of candidates. Here is a hypo
thetical case:
e a a
The Republican party polls 60,000
votes, which entitles it nnder the pro
portional plan say to 36 Representa
tives. Of these 60,000 voters, 40,000 ap
prove of Statement One and 20,000 do
not. Sixty candidates for Representa
tive are nominated, and under such eon
ditlons it may be assumed that 40 of
them are pledged and 20 are not. Sup
pose 15,000 of the Statement One voters
divide their Ftrength among five popu
lar candidates. This leaves but 25,000
to be divided among 35 other Statement
One candidates, and if the vote were
spread evenly, each would have about
714 votes. Now, If the anti-Statement
One voters divided their strength equal
ly among the 20 unpledged candidates,
each of the latter would receive 1000
and all would be elected. In all, there
would be 20 unpledged Republican Rep
resentatives and -16 pledged Representa'
tives elected, although Statement One
had the support and approval of the
majority of the -voters of the state.
This exact situation probably never
would happen, but certainly it would be
approached to the extent that the will
of the people would be thwarted con
tlnually.
In addition to all this, there is the
danger that as the result of ambiguity
and lndeflnlteness In the wording of
the proportional amendment, which Is
proposed as a substitute for the dis
tricting plan of electing members of
the Legislature, complications Would
arise that would turn gray the hair of
the Secretary of State, who must can
vass the returns, and bring on numer
ous contests. A few Independent can
didates scattered through the state
could create chaos in the returns. The
vote cast in 1908 for Representatives in
Congress may be taken as a basis. This
vote totaled 110,252. If it represented
the total vote cast for all candidates In
the state for Representative In the
Legislature, the "quota," or figure used
to determine how many members each
party would be entitled to elect under
the proportional plan, would be 1837.
a a a
For the purpose of determining the
effect -of the results of Independent
candidates entering the field, the fol
lowing figures may be taken arbitrar
ily as representing the vote that might
nave Deen cast oy each party, under
the proportional plan for Representa
tives In the Legislature in 1908:
Republicans, 66,282; Democrats, 27,
660; Prohibitionists, 5674; Socialists,
7404; Independents, 3332. The figures
represent very nearly the proportionate
strength Of the four political parties.
Dividing each party vote by the
"quota," the following result Is ob
tained:
Reps. Remain
Party Elee'd ders.
Republicans S" ISO
Iemocrate .15 105
Prohlbltloniata 8 65
Social lets ....4 ta
Total ...68
The proposed proportional represent
ation law provides that "any independ
ent candidate who receives for him
self a quota of votes, or a number
greater than tbe highest remainder of
any party, shall be thereby elected."
According to this clause, every inde
pendent candidate who receives more
than 160 votes would be elected. With
2332 votes- cast for say 17 independ
ent candidates, each receiving from 151
to 200- votes, there would be 17 In
dependents, 86 Republicans, IS Demo
crats, three Prohibitionists and four
Socialists elected, or 75 in all. But in
another part of the measure, it is pro
vided that the number of house mem
bers shall never exceed 60. Question;
Who is elected?
If there were only three candidates
among whom to divide the 3332 inde
pendent votes, the conflict would still
remain.
e e e
In one part of the section (Section 4)
framers of the act plainly indicate that
it is not Intended to treat Independ
ents as belonging to a separate party.
One plan for determining what number
of "party" candidates are elected is set
out, and a different plan for determin
ing how many Independents are elected,
is given. The section provides express
ly that an Independent candidate re
ceiving a number of votes greater than
the highest remainder of any "party"
shall be elected. But in the next sen
tence it provides that "seats that can
not be allotted to any party or inde
pendent candidate for full quotas, shall
be given to the several political par
ties and independent candidates having
the highest remainders."
The section is totally indefinite as to
whether it is the intention to compute
Independent remainders on the vote cast
for an Individual candidate, or upon the
vote cast for all independent candi
dates. Referring to the set of figures last
given. It may be assumed that Smith Is
an Independent Statement One candi
date brought out because his county
has nominated all anti-Statement One
candidates - on the Republican ticket.
Jones Is also an Independent candidate,
but is anti-Statement One, and is run
ning in a county where the opposing
faction has controlled tbe nominations.
Smith, for Illustration, gets 3171 of the
Independent vote, and Jones receives
160. Smith has a full quota and a re
mainder of 1335. The Republicans have
the highest "party" remainder, but it Is
only 160. Therefore, another Independ
ent Is elected and It must be Jones.
Thus, 1335 voters voting for a State
ment One candidate have elected an
anti-Statement One candidate. The
same result occurs if the votes of both
Smith and Jones are combined to de
termine the remainder.
Here is another Illustration based on
the theory that it Is Intended to add
the votes of all Independent candidates
In order to determine remainders. By
this computation the total of 3332
votes' entitles the Independents to the
election of two candidates. Smith and
Jones are both Independent candidates,
are opposed to Statement One, receive
a total of 932 and run about evenly.
Ten other Independent candidates, who
are for Statement One, receive a total
of 2400 "otes, but each has a less num
ber thai either Smith or Jor.es. Thus
Smith and Jones are elected by the aid
of 2400 voters who disapprove of their
views on the Senatorial question.
Statement One Independents poll more
than two-thirds of the Independent
vote, yet elect two anti-Statement One
Representatives, and no Representative
possessing their own views.
e e a
And this is the plan that the Peo
ples' Power League proposes shall be
adopted, Instead of the redlstrfctlng
amendment proposed by the legislative
asaembly, and proposes It with the
grave assurance that It "will be abso
lutely fair in operation and results
to every political party, to every Inde
pendent and to all voters."
The redisricting amendment provides
that the state shall be so districted
that "each Senator- and Representative
will represent but one district." The
proportional representation amendment
permits a bunching, of Senators and
Representatives In districts, and the
two therefore conflict. The voters
have the opportunity presented of vot
ing twice to kill the visionary end
impracticable proportional representa
tion scheme by voting "yes" on No. 806,
the separate district amendment, and
voting "no" on 361, the Peoples' Power
amendment.
IGNORING THE PRIMARY; LAW.
Scheme of the Bourne - Chambegiala
Combine for Independents.
Eugene Register.
Bournelsm Is already showing Its
utter disregard of the primary law
which It professes by its preachments
to hold so sacred and Inviolate, by
urging anti-assembly candidates for the
House and Senate who were defeated
under peoples' rule and direct pri
maries, to come out as independents,
and some of these, who seem to have
as little respect for people's rule and
the direct primary as has Bourne and
his Chamberlain combine, are respond
ing nobly to the Bourne-Chamberlain
call by submitting petitions to the peo
ple for another try. Perhaps, if these
same aspirants for office who failed to
accept the peoples' verdict at the -polls
during the primaries are reminded for
a second time by the people whose rule
ought to be the laws If the aspirants
are told for a second time by the people
at the polls in the November election
that others are preferred. If they still
refuse to accept the verdict perhaps a
special election can be called for a
third trial with similar results.
There has never been 'such a frantic
effort by a political combination to
gain control of the state as Is shown
at the present time by the Bourne
Chamberlain machine, but we are of
the opinion the people, who have, for
tunately, control of the legislative
ticket, will think twice before it sub
mits to such a regime. Particularly
will they be careful about furthering;
the programme of a Democratic Gov
ernor in furtherance of this combine.
Enemies of the Primary Law. .
Grants Pass Observer.
The false registration abuse of the
primary law is familiar to everyone.
Now a new abuse has been introduced,
and is being increasingly exercised. It
consists In ignoring the primary eleo
tion, and then becoming candidates at
the general eleotion as "independents."
There are two cases of this kind in
Josephine County for the coming eleo
tion. These kind of candidates are
usually great believers In the primary
law for others, but do not appear to
have much respect for it when it con
cerns themselves. A candidate who
appeals to the voters at the primary
and receives the nomination of the
voters, is surely more deserving of th
further support of the voters than a
candidate who avoids the primary elec
tion, changes the name of his politics.
and nominates himself for the general
election. If this sort of thing lg en
couraged it will kill the primary law,
for not many candidates will be will
ing to sustain the cost and worry of
two elections if they caB succeed Just
as well by ignoring one of them, the
primary.
Lining Up for the Ticket.
The Dalles Optimist.
It is not the province of the Optimist
to dictate a course for any one else to
follow, but we believe It the duty 6f
every man who calls himself a Repub
lican to put his shoulder to the wheel
and do all In his power for our ticket.
It may not suit you. perhaps suits you
no better than It does us, but what
differences we have we will lay aside
until another primary rolls around.
Then we will have our little scraps
again and perhaps win. But win or
lose the Optimist will be found after
the nominations are made supporting
the entire Republican ticket, and we
beseech our fellow Republicans to do
likewise.
M