tiie aroRxixo oregoxiax, Tuesday. October 25, ioio.
in
(liljr-(!)rjeircmtntt
Cntml at Portland. Ora. Poatof Sea aa
kiwmiiUM Kewe invariably in AaYanoe.
(BT MAIL).
rartr. SmMlar laetoaa. aaa 2"SJ
I'allr. Sunday lcl. I
rly. Snadar lacud. taraa ' -fT
lailr. Suiwlar Included, om moot -!f
laiir. without Sunday, one yaer..
Iiir. without urt.r. ai ootna..... ' ?
tally, wllinl Suadar. taraa moats... . a-'
I aily wltnout Saalay. one month
Waakly. en yaar , ,
-tadar. aaa yaar . " M
Sanaa tal waakty. oaa yaa
CBT CARKIER).
Pafly. f)oaay tnc!ul1. one yaar.....
lll. tuBsaf clud,. eaa Toonta. .
Haw ta Remit Sand poatofara me nay
a-.r. aipraaa ord-t- ar P"',a.cL-
yaar local bank. Stampa. cola ar
La at iba aandar". rt.n. Oira P''n,c
addraas la full. Including- county and
Itxtaca Katee 1 to 14 paxaa. 1
ta II aaa. 1 canta: to i po
Arabia rata. .
lauwi Baalaaaa ornVr " vVi.
Ira i Tora. Brananwk build. .
rOBTLAXD. TTHD.4T. OCT. .
THE GREAT BAIOAW.
Tbn aay that thare Is a Bourse-Chain bac-)..-
alaaaca. Who aaya U Doae any fn
tr O rvalue. rials aay itr Doaa
Uaurne aay lit rora tha puollclty oracl
at tha Baurae-Chambarlain machine.
Hardly. Tha friends of Chamber
lain are ashamed of It. and attempt
to deny It. The friends of Bourne
such aa he has pursue the Inscru
table policy of gophering, pussy
footing1 nd gum-hoelng that la Al
ways insisted on by their chief, and
ay nothing. Chamberlain htmseir
makes for himself a belated denlAl of
th great Alliance. And offers Another
denial for West. We may expect thAt
feeble Chamberlain echo now to repeAt
It with such poor vigor And emphasis
aa he posse.
"The story that there Is a deal or
partnership between Bourne and
ChamberLaln." say the Chamberlain
partisans, "comes from assembly
sources." Nonsense. The public Is
not so easily to be fooled And hum
bugged. It comes from the public's
own observation of the course of
events, from the obvious fusion of the
Bourne and ChAmberUln forces, from
tha evident mutuality of understanding-
And Arrangement between them,
from the harmonious co-operation of
th Bourne and Chamberlain workers
and their confessed Identity of inter
ests. And from the friendly public And
private Attitude of the two leaders
toward each other. It comes from th
thousand little events and occurrences
thst hAve transpired in the course of
the campaign, and before. It comes
from their common stand upon com
mon ground. It comes from every
where. It Is in the very air. Every
body sees It, hears It, feels It.
knows It.
-When ws see a lot of framed tim
bers, different portion of which we
know have been gotten out at differ
ent times and places by different
workmen." said Abraham Lincoln,
"and when we "see these timbers
Joined together, and see they exactly
make tha frame of a hews or A mill.
All the tenons And mortises exaxtly
fitting. And All the lengths snd pro
portion of the different pieces ex
actly Adapted to their respective
places In such A CAse wa feel it next
to impossible not to believe thst the
workmen All understood one Another
from th beginning."
There Is more to be said: A
large element la the DemocrAtlc par
ty, wearied with the one-man domi
nation of Chamberlain, and disgusted
with the unmistakable bargain with
Bourne, has revolted. It is convinced
that he has trafficked away for his
own personal advantage the Demo
cratic party and It opportunity And
duty to do something for DemocrAtlc
candidate. It could not have as
sumed this belligerent Attitude with
out In'ubltAble proof that the man
they had twice elected Governor And
had one elected United States Sen
ator had betrayed them. It has had
heretofore from him no satisfactory
definition of his attitude or statement
of his purposes and It Is indignant
that It should not have had from him
respectful treatment and proper con
sideration. Now this sAm growing
faction of the Democratic party ob
servesas th entire public observe
that Mr. Chamberlain, After a con
temptuous refusal to say Anything to
Anybody, except perhaps his secret
counselors, has been seized with a
udden panic and wants. If he can.
to explain, defend, and deny. He is
too lata. Kin bad Chamberlain dis
covers that Old - Man - of - the - tiea
.Bourne, having safely assumed A
tanadsoa position a-at raddle of hi
aeck. will not fret down.
Meanwhile, the great co-operative
campaign of the Boume-Chambcr-lain-West
machine will go on 'as best
It may. for it muat. But there is
going to be a lot of difficulty About
lectins West. And more difficulty
About carrying through the deal of
re-electing; Bourne.
WATXRrJtmTrR CONSERVATION.
"Everlasting- power." "white coal."
ata names conferred on Western
cream by Eastern enthusiasts, who
think the National Government
should hold and keep away from
Western, people control of this re
source. But while th power 1a aver
lasting, use. of ail of It may not be.
Just so soon aa energy of fuel shall
be conserved In large degree, by
scop plus; present waste of" combustion
heat, water powers will become less
valuable by comparison. The more
fuel shall be conserved, the mora
water powers will drop from use.
Instead of returning but 10 or 15
per cent of the energy of coal, the
team boiler and engine may some
day give back Si or 50 per cent. This
I one of the greatest problems of
conservation. Solution of it will bring
lance store of comort to the people.
There are many sides of conserva
tion. Recently Fred F. Henshaw,
hydrogTApher for th Geological Sur
vey, reported the straama in Oregon
And Wsshlnrton as containing be
tween f. 000. 000 and 7.000.000 possible
horsepower. These states could not
be developed to A point, said he. where
they would need all of this energy In
1000 years. This emlmate of total
horsepower does not count the possi
bilities of storage.
No need. then, of hysterics over
water-power conservation. In the first
place, th power flowing in Oregon
And WAshlnjrton streams Is too vast
for figure. In the second place, it Is
reasonable to expect that human In
genuity will make improvements In
combustion of fact, such as will make
tttllisatloa of considerable of this
water power unprofitable. Then again,
the known deposit of coal In this
country, even At present rate of
wasteful consumption, will afford sup
ply for thousands of years. And
Again. And more Important for present
,..H.ritinn ha stales of Oregon
And Washington, which Mr. Henshaw
ays contain one-third me ioii waier
tuimr nf tha I'nlted States, own and
control all unappropriated waters un
der tnelr constitutions '"
and can assert control of appropriated
water or regulate them through au
thority of taxation and of service reg
ulation. nirnn and WaslhnCtOD. Cn COD-
serv their everlasting; power." More
over, the laws say that in power
ix.in tn mnAni. They value It
highly, as every person will promptly
And who trie to assert -
TH BF.AL ISSIB.
Senator Chamberlain defends his
"non-fartIsan" Allance with Bourn.
In behalf of "West, by Asserting tho
'raal lxsue" Is "convention Ism dis
guised under the name of Assembly-
l.m " TT tHua aeoka to eXCUSO hlm-
..ie with hla DemocrAtlc party for
supporting on man West for Gov
ernorout Of hi pArty numeroua
candidates; and to excuse himself with
his Republican allies for opposing th
regnlar cholc of their direct pri
maries.
Wnr 4irren does this sound from
the Chamberlain urging for Demo
cratic state assembly in iwe. ir.
Chamberlain then wished to be named
again for Governor, and he wrote a
letter to A. D. Stillman, chairman of
the Democratic Central Committee of
UmatillA County, saying:
"1 do feel, however, that It would be
proper to call an assembly of Demo
crats, both In the several counties
in ik. atAta tfi adoot a declara-
tlon of principles and to suggest to
th voters capable ana irusiwonny
men to be nomlnirted At the direct
primAry."
In pursuance of this advice of Sen
ator Chamberlain then Governor
Chamberlain seeking renomlnation
Democrats held a a tat assembly In
Portland, adopted a platform Ana
"atiB-B-eated" candidates for nomination
Chamberlain heading the list.
But things Are different with the
new ChAmberlaJn. Now he Is playing
Another dodge of Bonrpartlsanship.
But how fit is he to denounce an as
sembly candidate for offlc after him
self being an assembly candidate and
having solicited recommendation of
assembly?
Republican voters of Oregon have
nominated a narty ticket by the di
rect primary method. They acted In
dependently or assembly recommen
riarinn Kavr Senator Chamberlain
and his non-partisan cohorts are try
ing to throw dust into tn ayes oi re
publican voters and to cloud the real
Issue.
The real Issue is whether Repub
licans of Oregon wish a Republican
Governor. Little or no fight la waging
against other Republican candidates.
Mr. B overman la fit for th office In
ability, experience, vigor and charac
aw win RmiihiirnTiii iiiDDort their
candidate or the candidate of the
rival party?
OmCIALS BEntrrTNDIXO OFFICIALS.
Now And then An official Is quoted
In support of municipal "jocks. But
an o racial 1 usually not A disinterested
person. Ho Is Inoculated with the
craving for Dion political jobs. He
draws 'his living out of th public
treasury. P) little or no taxes, en
gages In no productive labor and his
vocation Is that of making- and hold
ing jobs though he may put forth
great deal of energy and industry la
boring In hi vocation. A Falstaff
says, " Tls so sin for a man to labor
In his vocation."
A high official, whom busy bodies in
Portland cite la defense of their pub
lic dock cheme of debt, taxes and
political Jobs. Is Herbert Knox Smith.
Federal Commissioner of CorporA
Uons. Mr. Ben it b would Ilk to have
government go into th wharfage
business, and ssys that private Inter
est at gobbling- up water frontage.
It would be interesting to know how
Any monopoly oould get And. keep con
trol of PortlAnd' wAter frontAge
along t0 mile of liver bank between
this cty and the mouth of the Colum
bia. However, the game is to drag gov
ernment local and NAtlonAl Into as
many functions as possible, and to
make a complete as official can gov
ernmental surveillance over private
Initiative and enterprise.
-Mind yon, rates At Portland's prl
VAte wharves are not too high: there
never ha been complaint on that
score. Neither are they Inadequate
for the city's commerce. Besides,
mora .and better ones would be built
but for the threat of th city becom
ing a cheap competitor.
It Is strange that this project ahould
be seriously considered in this city.
Yet taxpayers ar In danger of receiv
ing this costly business on their un
willing shoulders, and a perpetual
mortgage on their property.
A NATIONAL INCORPORATION LAW.
It is pretty well understood thAt
Mr. Taft will present for consideration
to the next Congress A bill enabling
corporations to form under the 'Na
tional Authority. Other provisions will
ensure Adequate publicity of their pro
ceedings. And, no, doubt, there will
be strict regulation of stock Issues.
It is reported thAt Mr. Wlckershain
already ha such a bill in prepATAtion.
And after th President returns from
his Intended visit to the Panama Ca
nal it will be submitted to him for re
vision And approval. Naturally the
content of th new bill will depend
more or less upon the decision of the
Supreme Court In the Standard Oil
and Tobacco Trust cases, which can
not be heard before the first week in
January and at not likely to be dls
(fosed of before Spring. It may hap
pen, therefore, that the President's
bill will not go before Congress during
the Winter, but will lie over to A
special session. The principal ob
jection to a National Incorporation
act have been voiced by Mr. Bryan
a well as by anybody else. la his
opinion, such A measure Is essentially
bad. because, for one thing. It takes
corporations out of the control of th
state and place them under central
ised authority.
The bugaboo of centralisation here
st area at us In All Its horror. Those
parson who sr born with An Innate
fear of a strong government, or A gov
ernment which realty governs, will
unite with air. Bryan in, decrying the
proposed measure. Those who believe
that th Interstate corporations ought
to be controlled by A power Adequate
to th purpose will find his objection
rather childish. In dealing with those
corporations which do business upon
a National scale we are confronted
with A condition which Insistently de
mands attention. It Is Impossible for
th various stat to enact uniform
laws for their control. WhAt comfort
there Is in such a condition of things
even for A man Ilk Mr. Bryan, who
dines and sup on atate rights, it is dif
ficult to see. But apart from the in
evitable corruption which Inevitably
ensue from nearly half a hundred in
dependent Legislatures tinkering at
the same dangerous problem without
concert of Ideas or uniform purpose,
the welfare of business itself demands
central control of th great Industrial
undertaking. The Intricate complexity
of state laws embarrasses enterprise
at every turn. Only the most thor
oughly prepared lawyers can tell
whether A given Act, In Itself innocent,
doe not infract some atate law, while
naturally the expenses of superin
tendence and management at greatly
increased by the legislative hurtybuciy.
Th leaders of the business world
have begun to see the advantage of
National regulation. The wonder 1
that they ever thought of opposing It.
Of course, such regulation can be ef
f ex-tally carried out only under A
National incorporation act. So long
as the Government merely trie to
enforce th medley of state legislation
little can be accomplished.
THE SALOON.
The Oregonlan prints today a com
prehensive and critical review of the
prohibition problem and saloon ques
tion from the pen of Mr. George
Thacher, an Investigator. It is a
striking- And luminous study of th
whole situation In Oregon. The Ore
gonlan will not say that it Indorses
All Mr. Thacher ha to say, or Is
entirely convinced that hi conclu
sions ar correct. In th main they
undoubtedly ere. But it la much im
pressed by the evident car and earn
estness with which he has devoted
himself to the task of finding- out and
stating tho truth. The article will
repay perusal by all who at Inter
ested in the subject and all In Ore
gon are just now much Interested.
It is obvious to Mr. Thacher that a
better system of saloon control and
regulation should and must be de
vised. With that opinion every dis
interested person will agree. Most of
the capital made for the mistaken
cause of state prohibition is by the
lawless And disorderly saloon Itself
and by the persistent support and
encouragement of such establlsh
llshments by city councils, by the
police and by other public officers.
Th Oregonlan has heretofore said
that th suloon. as It exists today, is
Indefensible. It ha no hesitation in
repeating that statement. But it Is
not prepared to go to the blundering
extreme of substituting something
worse. It is ready to support any
rational and practicable measure
looking to th strict regulation and
control of the saloon, and absolute
enforcement of the laws. The time
ha gone by when the public is willing
that the saloon shall have so potent
a voice in politics And Affairs, and
the time is at hand when a decent
public opinion will Insist that tha law
abiding forces of the community, and
they alone, shall prescribe the condi
tions under which the saloon may be
operated. With that sentiment and
with that purpose The Oregonlan Is
In full accord.
But the first step towsrd real re
form of the saloon must be the de
feat of state-wide prohibition; the
next Is the adoption of a sane, rea
sonable and efficient scheme of sa
loon regulation and discipline. It
can be adopted And it can be enforced
if the people of Portland and of other
Oregon communities Insist that it be
done; And that the vast majority of
the public Is opposed to the present
day saloon Is not to be doubted.
MLBTSINQ THTJ COCRTS.
The litigation over the Broadway
brldg has furnished an astounding
object lesson of th inadequacy of our
system of jurisprudence to protect the
rights of th people. Begun on tech
nical grounds, wit h a figurehead as
litigant, carried 'on solely for purposes
of obstructing the will of the people,
at .the behest of an unnamed but
easily guessed Interest, this suit has
shown, and unhappily still is show
ing how the judicial machinery of
the district and state can be held up,
practically without recourse, by a per
sistent lawyer who has made tech
nicality a study until he is able to us
it to obstruct indefinitely And At
enormous cost the movement of Jus
tice through th courts.
If this cas doe not furnish An
object lesson In needed judicial re
form to the men who will be chosen
next month to represent the people of
Oregon In th Legislature In January
It will indeed be strange. It certainly
should not be Impossible to reform
judicial methods which can be so
clearly worked to thwart the will of
the people and the intent of the
courts as have those that have been
employed In this case. A Legislative
session cannot be purposeless while
so gross a subversion of the people's
power through Judicial Jugglery re
mains possible. "The people," w
say, with proud pose And som Infla
tion of the chest, "the people rule."
Do they. Indeed?
SU FFRAGE FOR NECBOE3.
A correspondent of The, Oregon ian
who conceals hi identity under th
mystic cryptogram of "Tendls Trots"
writes to tell us that we "are alljoff"
on the negTo question. Naturally no
body will ever dre&m of Inverting the
letters of this mysterious name and
thus finding out who tha writer really
Is." Mr. Yrots wants the right, to vote
limited to the Caucasian race. To
support his views he Inquire whether
we wish the Indians. Hindus and
FIJI Islanders to vote, as well a the
"niggers." Some Indians do vote,
with excellent results. Senator Owen,
for example, and the civilized tribes
In New York and Wisconsin. Nobody
not utterly steeped in barbarism would
wish to disfranchise these model clti
xens. As for the case of the Fljls, and
so forth.' we will tak It up when It
arises. The negroes are with us, not
by their own choice, and we must
either elevate them or let them abide
here aa a servile class. The latter
course would permanently tend to de
grade white labor. In competition be
tween free and servile labor the for
mer always suffers. That la why we
endure a protective tariff. It Is the
reason for our exclusion laws. But
the negToes cannot be excluded. They
are here to stay, and the only way to
avoid servile competition with them Is
to elevate their condition. Nothing
effects this so rapidly as the ballot.
If Mr. Yrots knew anything of his
tory he would understand how silly It
Is to say that "the white race will
live In perfect accord together" if tha
blacks are shut out. The principal
wars of the world have been fought
between white. On St. Bartholo
mew's day whites massacred whites,
and that event Is typical.
As we expected- when we opened his
letter, Mr. Yrots hurls at us the terri
ble question whether we want our
daughters to marry "niggers." No,
w do not. Neither do we want them
to marry ignorant and brutalized
white men. In fact, we cannot see
precisely what the matrimonial pros
pects of our fair daughters, lovely
creatures, but a trifle occupied Just
now with their Fall bonnets, have to
do with the subject, under discus
sion. A negro might vote a thousand
time without marrying A white wo
man, or,. Indeed, marrying anybody.
There are a great many people whose
right to vote we eagerly and Joyously
concede, but whom, nevertheless, we
should not prefer as sons-in-law. We
do not feel under obligations to make
every legal voter a member of the
family circle. There are Caucasians
office-holders, high in place and power,
whom we love more at a distance
than at close quarters.
Some letter-writers Inspire us with
a simitar feeling. Mr. Yrots. with his
crude barbarism And conceited ignor
ance, 1 one of them. His letter ap
pears in another column of today's
paper.
Washington Is a great state, but
Ilk other' great states it doe not
look well -to the ways of its house
hold, economically speaking. Witness
the fin orchard area on the river
slope below th state school for de
fective youth near Vancouver. This
tract waa some years ago, at consid
erable expense, subdued and set to
orchard, mainly, as seen from the
river road, Apple trees. Uncultivated,
unfarmed, uncared for, these trees
stand In the sod, barren of fruit,
while possibly the state buys Its fruit
supply for the institution' of which
thi fine tract is a part, from sur
rounding farms. Whether this Is
true or not this state orchard is an
example of official unthrift and is
more or less a menace, as all neg
lected fruit trees are, to private or
chards. Bute officials at Olympla, as
elsewhere, have probably all they can
attend to In looking After their sal
aries and future "prospects." Why
should they trouble themselves about
th small economies that in private
Ufa denote thrift and make for ability
to pay taxes?
The most wonderful girl in the
world lives in Massachusetts. The
"story" says she Is 19, weighs 189
pounds "and carries no superfluous
flesh," and it must be true, for further
on It is stated "she stands 6 feet 8
Jnches In her stockings," under which
clrcumstancA the adipose tissue would
necessarily be visible If she had it.
Recently she ran 100 yards la 11 hi
seconds, "wearing skirts," and swam
100 feet in 13 seconds without the
apparel, of course. One is led to won
der what her sprinting record would
be should she change costumes. She
has thrown a baseball 262 feet
Inches And skated a half mile in 40
seconds, but th time is not given for
the grestest endeavor Can she button
her waist up the back, and how
quickly? '
Is the city powerless to compel
those to whom contracts for the im
provement of streets have been let
to begin their work promptly and
finish It on time? Or is it simply
negligent? In either cas there Is a
remedy. This remedy we Are assured
is with the people. If so, what Are
the people about that the paving of
many important streets, the contracts
for which were let months ago, has
not yet even been commenced? Is it
not about time for the municipal
"big stick" to be unlimbered and put
In commission?
From Mr. Rockefeller's Bible class
come th suggestion to the young
man to divide his Income into five
parts for shelter, food, raiment,
emergency (which does not Include
recreation), and investment. This Is
very good advice to the man who
earns 1100 a month or more, but the
man who get one-half or less, as
many worthy youths do. will go to
bed hungry toward payday. Per
haps there are none of that kind in
the oil man's Bible class, however.
The non-existence of the "white
slave traffic" has been demonstrated
so many times that the arrest of A
pAir of Portland tough for carrying
It on looks a little Incongruous. Can
It be possible that there is some hid
den flaw In the logic of the demon
stration and that the business of buy
ing and selling girls really flourishes
In the United States in spite of Mr.
Rockefeller's assurance to the con
trary? "Every Invalid In this churcTi." de
clared a noted preacher from a pulpit
In this city last Sunday, "is a chal
lenge to prayer and a call to the
exercise of faith In the Importunate
pleading of the promises' of God."
What, then, of this assurance from a
source unchallenged by Christians:
"For your Heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of these things be
fore ye ask Him."
Oregon hops went up 2 cents yes
terday, a sale being made at IS cents.
This price gives the grower a fair
profit. Holding for more is taking a
chance that may pay the holder, but
may not. Twenty cents may be the
limit this season, but anything over 15
cents contains enough "velvet" to Jus
tify a quick sale.
It is merely an accident that Seattle
has hitherto had the bulk of the
Alaska trade. Nothing In her geo
graphical situation makes her monop
oly Inevitable. Portland will ob
tain A reasonable ahare when she gets
ready to take It. but the getting ready
may require resolution and energy at
this late day.
October has smiled upon apple
grower of the Pacific Northwest.
They have generally responded by
harvesting one of the finest apple
crops In the history of this section.
There la still A week left in which to
finish the Job. Then, ho, for the
potato field!
The Sheriff of London Is a big man
who takes no chances. Dr. Crlppen
was sentenced to be hanged Novem
ber .15. but the Sheriff advanced the
day to November t. Where are the
lawyers who thrive on technicality?
The masterful inactivity of the Ore
gon Senatorial delegation has- again
shut out the. Malheur projects from
sharing In the blar Irrigation fund.
For a while, since the victory, let
him be called Billy Penn and do not
blame him for his hilarity.
How Shall the Voters Cast Their Ballots on Prohibition on Nov. 8?
'
. Tll..h,r Make a Peycholosfleal An Sociological Study ot the Llqnor Queatioo And Telia Why He Will
v Alnat Prohibition Saloon. Thrive Th rough Deaire of Men tor Society and Recreation Should the City
Supply PubUe Amusement Place, for It. Cltlsen. Whoee Only Hoat. Are the Liquor Meat
rkORTLAND, Oct 24. To the Editor.)
There's an old jingle which tells
of
National peculiarities and preferences
In the matter of drinking. It describes
how the French drink wine, the Germans
bear And th English prefer malt liquors,
while the Scotch take whisky to bring
on dizziness, but the American has no
choice at all. He drinks the whole damn
business. That Is not to say that Ameri
cans are a combination of nationalities,
but that they are a Nation with a pecu
liar characteristic They are very fond
of securing effectiveness, of getting the
best and all there is In the way of va
riety and pungency.
That National desire for effectiveness
Is also responsible In the matter of drink
ing for the sweeping proposal to pro
hibit "the whole damn business." With
that virtuous object In view the very
word "temperance" has come in common
use In the United States to mean prohi
bition or total abstinence. To be sure,
the dictionary does not hint at any such
meaning; but that's a mere detail when
it stands In the way of the National pas
sion for effectiveness.
' Six years ago in Oregon the voters
adopted a local option law which per
mitted whole counties or single election
precincts to decide by vote whether sa
loons should be allowed or not. Two
years ago the question was voted on
pretty generally by counties throughout
the state. Twenty-one counties voted no
license, though Grant and Jackson lost
the benefit of that decision because In
Grant County the Sheriff did not post
election notices, and in Jackson because
Medford's charter was out of reach of
a state law. The present situation is
this: The greater portion of the state
under the local option law prohibits sa
loons, and I am informed by the anti
saloon league, with headquarters in the
Couch building, that several additional
counties1 would go no-llcense today. Lin
coln County, tor instance, voted license
by a majority of three votes. The man
ager of the anti-saloon league assured
me that he received letters after election
from 11 conscious-stricken men who did
not vote. In that number of unpatriotio
Oregonlans who did not value their own
votes enourn to use them were four min
isters, but they were sorry afterwards.
Probably those ministers will vote this
year if they did not forget to register.
List ef the Wet Comntiea.
It is really interesting to know what
sections of Oregon today license saloon
Here is the list:
Marion County, in which is located the
City of Salem, where our legislators meet
every two years or oftener.
Clatsop County, of which the seaport
City of Astoria Is the county seat.
Coos County, with its seaport towns.
Washington County, which is reckoned
a hard problem by the anti-saloon
forces because a large majority of the
people from their European Inheritance
and religious training do not take kindly
to the prohibition Idea.
Clackamas County, with its prosperous
county seat, Oregon City.
Baker County, with Baker City as A
center of mining Interests.
Multnomah County, which, for prac
tical purposes, is the City of Portland.
Llncoln County, with its seaport towns
and Summer resort colonies.
Columbia County, with all of Its towns
on the river (which forms the east and
north boundaries of the county), possess
ing all the difficult problems of river
towns on a great highway like the Co-
'"wasco County, with The Dalles and
Other river town.
Harney County.
Lake County.
However, under the present local op
tion law. even in these counties, any
precinct may shut out saloons, as the
following list shows: Baker -has 3 dry
precincts: Clackamas. 16; Clatsop. 3 in
Astoria and 1 outside: Columbia, 8:
Coos 1$: Harney. 3: Lake. I; Lincoln.
8; Marlon 14 (2 tied): Wasco. 10; -Washington.
7; and Multnomah, 12 in Port
land and 6 outside.
What Do These Fact. Signify?
One thing we must all admit: The
counties In Oregon that license sa
loons are those that have cities whero
men congregate who Vopose to have
saloons. The local conditions compel
It. The figures were furnished me bv
the Anti-Saloon League and are with
out doubt trustworthy. The especially
interesting thing about them is tho
way they are used to appeal to tha
three classes of citizens who make up
the state. The Anti-Saloon League and
Its follewers feel tremendously encour
aged by the showing, and they are con.
vlnced that by a long pull, a strong
pull And A pull all together, prohibi
tion can be carried by the state by aid
of the large majorities against saloons
that soma of the counties with no cltie
of large size ran pile up. For Instance,
good, old Yamhill gave a majority of
$72 votes against saloons two year
ago, and as a reward of merit Is called
the banner county, while rook Count
gave a majority of K votes and Curry
County 412. These three counties, with
out a municipal problem like Astoria's
to bother them, can pile up soma 200J
votes In favor of enforcing prohibition
In Astoria, Baker City, Salem. Oregon
City, The Dalles and Portland. Tho
prohibitionists consider that good poll
tics Of course, snd they are so consti
tuted mentally that they are tempted
to feel that they are the only vlrtunua
persons in the state on this particular
question. "Thrice is he armed who has
his quarrel Just." The prohibitionist
has long passed the point where the
practical questions of how 2000 votes In
Yamhill. Crook snd Curry are going
to enforce prohibition in Astoria can
even be considered. He doesn't want
to think about it. and probably he can't.
He is like the enthusiastic followers
of that old hero, Andrew Jackson, who
stampeded the Nation SO years ago
To any questions about his ignorance,
his prejudice, his .violence, his ' prac
tical adaptation of means to ends the
answer was literally. "Hurrah for
Jackson!"
For the prohibitionist the undoubted
and unquestioned evils of excesslvo
drinking as evidenced In the vice, the
crime, the poverty and squalor of Its
victims, and the never-ending proces
sion "unto the third and fourth gen
eration" of the children of drunkards,
a procession of neurotics. Imbeciles,
epileptics, paralytics and degenerates,
precludes all desire even to think of
the problem In a scientific way. "Abol
ish ft! Destroy It, root and branchl
That's the only way to deal with It.
Hurrah for prohibition!"
Liquor Iatei rt. and Moderate Drinker.
The class of citizens who want," or
who tolerate, saloons for business or
social reasons cannot be dismissed with
a contemptuous word. They form the
majority in many communities, em
ploy millions of capital In their busi
ness, pay taxes and have as great a
stake In government as the prohibi
tionists. This Nation is a democracy
and Oregon fondly claims that It is
the most democratic state in the Union.
The liquor Interests and their follow
ers are entitled to a fair deal, for they
are an Integral part of the state. To
be sure, they labor under one great
disadvantage In a popular campaign.
Their Interest is a selfish one. while
the, prohibitionist is an altruist. That
mak ea It necessary that the liquor In
terests should play fair if they have
the most remote hope of getting Jus
tice. Very often they ar too short
sighted to see that. They have bee?
shortsighted In Oregon, and so have
put a weapon Into the hands of the
prohibitionists that is being used to
create an emotional wi a, c rriei
many persons off their feet. To Il
lustrate: The liquor interests not only
tolerate but uphold generally saloon
keepers who sell liquor to drunkards
and minors; who tolerate and undoubt
edly often encourage young women and
girls to visit their saloons and make
them places for meeting men. That Is
not true in every individual case, but
It Is true so often that very few per
sons discriminate, and certainly no
prohibitionist does. To them saloon.
are the gateway to death and the ante
room to hell and the liquor interests
are In great measure responsible for
that mental attitude.
American saloons shock the esthetio as
well as the moral sense and their de
fenders arouse disgust. The bartender
wears a white apron like a butcher and
serves drinks to the line of men stand
ing at the bar in quite as professional
fashion as the butcher serves cuts of
raw meat to his oustomers. If one could
Imagine a steady procession of men go
ing into a butaher-ehop and taking small
cuts of raw meat and, after sprinkling
salt and pepper on them, swallowing
them practically without mastication,
with a grimace to their companions to
convey the wish of good health, and then
repeating the performance without even
the pretence of an appetite because some
fool wanted to show that he was hos
pitable and so "treat" the crowd, It
would illustrate fairly how men have
reduced the habit of drinking to a ridicu
lous and harmful play. In the saloon It
Is done with great gravity in the face
of a staring mirror, and also with great
rapidity and effectiveness. To this dis
gusting and often shameful end have
the pleasant arts of hospitality descend
ed because Americans want to do things
gorgeously and effectively and quickly.
It is unconsciously admitted to to a
sight shocking to public decency by all
parties concerned, and so screens and
painted windows and doors hide the
spectacla from all passersby, while the
mirrors make all the participants ac
complices. That's the esthetic side, not
to mention the fact that pouring whisky
and beer Into a man the way a grocer
pours vinegar Into a Jug may make a
drunkard of him both quickly and effec
tively. There's another feature about saloons,
a sideline of dissipation, and that is
prostitution. The business is apt to be
overdone where it is done at all, and
profits must come from some source.
Prostitutes are the best of customers
and they draw a good trade. Then,
their male friends like to add to their
ranks and so Inveigle foolish girls and
women Into rooms adjoining the saloon.
Of course, that's not the rule, but it is
so common that only regular customers
know when a saloon encourages prosti
tution and when it does not. Prohibi
tionists avow that the two things go
together and can't be separated, and It
is really not strange that they think so.
Every few months some fashionable sa
loon in Portland gets some free adver
tising through permitting the presence
of women. Do such saloons lose their
licenses? Not at all. The City. Council
would not be so unjust to the liquor
interests. The last affair did call forth
discussion, and one Councilman. Mr.
Cellars, made an eloquent plea to abol
ish this particular saloon, which has
long had a reputation sufficient to damn
Its owner to everlasting notoriety, but
a substantial majority of the Council re
fused to take away the license.
That's the sort of thing that makes
prohibitionists the sizzling, denuncia
tory, white-hot kind that will stop at
nothing to attain their end. They feel
Justified In fighting the devil with fire
and in arousing the emotions of their
more quiet neighbors to the pitch of
exasperation. Is It strange?
Then, there are the political and busi
ness defenders of saloons. Perhaps they
make more prohibitionists than anyone
else. They say saloons are good for
business, and that if newcomers are to
be encouraged to stay we must offer the
hospitalities for which Hinky Dink
Kenna In Chicago is the master of cere
monies. We don't want to get the repu
tation of being cranks and freaks, cer
tainly not. Of course, foolish girls get
Into trouble, but they must be on their
guard, etc., etc. That. In effect. Is the
substance of an argument I heard made
in the Council chamber of the City of
Portland in May of 1909, In favor of li
censing saloons at the Oaks. It proved
effective and the Council granted the li
cense. The Councilman who made the
effective argument in a smiling, patroniz
ing way represented the Fourth Ward.
He said last Fail in a public meeting
that a Councilman's duty was to- his
ward Just as a Catholic priest's was to
the Catholic church or a Unitarian min
ister's was to the Unitarian church. That
is his point Of view, and he Is not only
a practical man but a representative
man. For more than a year he has been
president of the City Council. And yet
good, sensible people wonder why the in
sanity of prohibition gets possession of
so manv citizens and makes them not
only willing but anxious to pass laws
thai cannot be enforced and
age lawbreaking. secret drinking and
ulter disrespect for law. not to menUon
the wilful conversion of manufacturing
nlanU into so much Junk throwing mll
So of dollars into the pit. There Is no
doubt that the frenzy is largely due to
just such practical men and their eleva
tion to business.
Third rinaa of Cfttrens In Doabt.
The members of the third class,
which is larger than Is generally real
ised are something in doubt about the
whole question, and to them all sorts
of appeals are being made. They real
ize that prohibition can only be effec
tive when there is such a strong moral
sentiment in the community in favor ot
it that it is publicly d.sgraceful to op
pose it. They have heard persons talk
who nave lived In prohibition state.
Tnd sometimes they haye had Personal
experiences in such states. They real
ize that persons honestly differ; that
what a man wants to believe he is in
dustrious in finding facts to "PPort.
They sometimes doubt the wisdom of
men who loathe saloons as much as
They question the practical man's Judg
ment about licensing saloons it . popular
nlaces of amusement like The Oaks.
They understand the man to whom it
fs a matter of pride that in the State
of Maine there has been no open i
Sfon with the flaring sign And painted
windows for two generations. They
can see. too. that another man from
Maine has grounds for deplor ng he
existence of "kitchen saloons, blind
nlis and the open disregard of law
and the moral effect of these things on
young people to whom it must be the
natural order because they have never
krown anything else. They pay some
attention when a man like Professor
Muenstreberg says in a carefully con
sidered discussion that In a license
state like Massachusetts there Is one
retail liquor dealer to 55 population;
In a orohlbition state like Kansas, one
for S 66, and that with prohibition there
la the certainty that strong drinks,
instead of malt liquors, will be smug
gled in and consumed with their
stronger alcoholic power on nerve cells
of the brain; that solitary drinking is
encouraged, which of all forms is the
most ruinous. Every man who has
had acquaintances who were solitary
drinkers knows that to be true.
Professor Muensterberg says: "If I
look back over the last years In which
I often studied the effects of sug
gestion and hypnotism on habitual
drinkers, I do not hesitate to say that
it was In most cases an easy thing to
cure the social drinker of the large
cities, but very hard to break the lone
ly drinker of the temperance town."
To people who weigh both sides there
1b no mystery in the fact that members
of a family that has had a drunkard
eagerly grasp at the promise of pro
hibition, for it is about the only thing
that has ever been offered that prom
ised a revolution of conditions. They
also understand that so far as a scien
tific Investigation has gone alcohol Is
demonstrated to be a poison with cum
ulative effects; and that while there
may be such an amount of drinking as
spells moderation and gives pleasure
without harm, the precise amount is
extremely difficult to determine. They
know that it is folly to talk of alcohol
being a stimulus to the faculties, phys
ical or mental; that it simply inhibits
mind and body in the channels in which
they ordinarily act and permits greater
ease of motor impulse, the feeling of
strength and joy and the forgetting of
sorrow and pain. In other words, they
know that drinking is like social pleas
ures generally a struggle towards
companionship and happiness, which Is
dimly felt to be one of the main ob
jects of existence. So they hesitate
about prohibition, which is an attempt
to force upon others a rule of life. That
forcing process has never succeeded In
the world's history, so why should It
be regarded hopefully now In communi
ties where a majority is against it and
where the arbitrary vote of outsiders
must be depended upon?
To come home to Oregon, they re
member that from The Dalles to As
toria there is only the width of the
Columbia River between unlimited sup
plies of liquor and many thousands of
consumers. The voters of Yamhill,
Crook and Curry are not going to pa
trol the Columbia River night and day
and search every boat and wagon that
may come from the State of Washington,
after they have virtually done their
duty In voting prohibition for the cities
on the river.
To the voters of this large and
thoughtful class there Is one danger
and dread. Personal convictions aside,
they shrink from opposing what is
loudly claimed to be the moral senti
ment of the state. They can't bear
to be called "rummies" by the virtu
ous prohibitionists and so often they
will vote for prohibition, knowing that
it is not possible to be enforced. They
believe in local option, but do not know
how to resist the specious arguments in
favor of prohibition. The whole result
will unquestionably depend upon the
moral courage of these voters. What
will they do?
Th Queation of Home Rule.
In connection with such a compli
cated subject as prohibition it Is a re
lief to consider the amendment to the
state constitution offered by the Great
er Oregon Home Rule Association. The
name sounds well and the association
has an imposing list of names men
who stand at the front of Portland's
business life, but it can be said frank
ly and without fear of contradiotlon
that the amendment is misleading and
mischievous. The cities of Oregon have
had the most complete measure of home
rule since 1906. The words of the
amendment giving it are: "The Legis
lative Assembly shall not enact, amend
or repeal any charter or act of incor
poration for any municipality, city or
town." The power is given unreserved
ly to the voters, subject to the consti
tution and criminal laws of the state.
The proposed amendment adds these
words: "and the exclusive power to
license, regulate, control, or to sup
press or prohibit," etc. The question
naturally arises whether that exclusive
power thus specifically mentioned does
not place municipal control above the
constitution and criminal laws on the
liquor question. If it does, that grant
of exclusive power would be distinctly
unwholesome. There is also a possi
ble conflict between that exclusive
power to license and control and tha
provision in tha last clause making mu
nicipalities subject to the provisions of
the state local option law.. I am in
formed that in case of conflicting pro
visions in the constitution the specific
words control so that the local option
law would seem to be binding, but the
grant of exclusive power certainly
promises a fight in the courts as to tha
exact meaning of the amendment which
seems totally unnecessary, in view of
the right of home rule which all cities
possess at the present time. Perhaps
the amendment was meant only to pre
vent prohibition being forced on cities
by a state law. If so, that amounts to
legislation by amending the constitu
tion. In this day of the world and in
Oregon of all states that Is not desired.
The amendment reminds the voters of
the so-called Reddy bill of two years
ago, giving municipalities "home rule.
That was defeated by about 13.000
votes. The cities have home rule and
local option now. What more can be
given to them?
Scene. In Portland'. North End.
The north end of Portland offers a
good field for the study of prohibition.
The effort for years has been to regu
late and suppress, and the field is still
a virgin one no, not a virgin one.
There's a trait in human nature which
rebels desperately at being compelled
to do or to refrain from doing a par
ticular thing, unless it is the "sense of
the community." Where opinion is
equally divided, compulsion is out of
the question. I spent an evening re
cently in the public resorts between
Fifth street and Burnslde bridge. I
saw some 600 men drinking and seek
ing forgetfulness from the daily grind,
and six women in one resort helping
along that seeking for temporary
pleasure. There are fewer women in
open resorts than two years ago, but
the resorts themselves are much more
disorderly and there are more drunken
men It is impossible, of course, to put
oneself entirely in the other man s
place, but some things were very evi
dent. The desire for social relaxation
is the most evident reason for the pres
ence of this constantly changing crowd
of drinking men. The talk, the hand
shaking, the horseplay, the attention
all the music received, demonstrate that
fact beyond a doubt. In a variety the
ater the same social feature was rec
ognized by the actors in their asides to
the audience and In their laughter and
drinking in boxes between their turns.
The moving pictures, the music boxes
and the singing especially the singing
were evidently the sources of the
greatest pleasure. The resorts belonged
to the visitors. They danced, tried
feats of strength, applauded the musi
cians and occasionally a visitor sang
to .the moving audience.
One man especially attracted me. H
was physically maimed, but he could
slnsr and he did sing with power and
feeling. Some of his audience were
critical, some sentimental, but all were
interested; but the man himself was
happy There was no question about
that. 'He was getting exquisite pleas
ure in entertaining for five minutes his
fellows, many of whom he had never
seen before. After the song, singer
and audience adjourned to the conveni
ent bar, where a compact line of men
were evidently under the impression
that they had a consuming flame at the
pit of the stomach, which the were
trying to extinguish with Weinhard't
best.
Men In Search of Recreation.
These public receptions were going
on all over the city. Who can say how
many thousands of men attended them
and who attend them every evening
to laugh, chat, play cards, see the
moving crowd and listen to music?
The spirit of life and happiness moved
them all. It was genuine recreation.
That's one vital fact at the bottom of
(Concluded oa Pase 12-)