THE 3I0ItXI"G OREGOXIAX, TUESDAY, XOTESrBER 8. 1910.
I-OKTLAXD. OREGO!.
roterod at Portland. Oregon, pootofflco as
fennd-c:fi Matter.
CatwerUoA Jtateo Inearlabtr " Advance.
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Anri; the ivmmTr
If the two iinfndmenu to the Con
stitution proposed by the People's
Power League, and parln by titles
last in the lift on the official ballot
re approved. Oregon will have taXen
n unusual and undoubtedly unwise
step In formulation of laws.
Here are two measure designed to
replace, wholly, two complete article
cf the Constitution, or more than half
the amendable portion of the present
organic law of the State, and to Incor
porate In the two new articles Ion and
complicated self-executing sections.
Legislation by popular vote Is a
cumbersome method, and has Its place
n'v as a form of protection against
linfaiihfulness by the Legislature In
tarrying out the will of the people.
N.. true friend of the Initiative and
rferndum will Keck to carry It
firth er.
Fah of the f-ur Teoples Tower
League measures Is typical In one way
or another of a arrowing abuse of the
lultlatlve.
The two proposed laws, one extend
ing the direct primary law to Presi
dential electors and the other provid
ing: for an official gazette, bear the
s-i::r.g finger prints of desiring" pol-I'l'-lans.
The two constitutional
amendment Involve a lame variety of
-ptng and radical changes in the
constitution. Proportional represen
tation is but an Item in one of them
for the "amendment'" embraces twenty
other Important changes In the con
Mttution and staha here and stabs
there most promiscuously by Implica
tion among general laws and consti
tutional provisions not directly re
pealed. Taken together the four
present two Important questions to the
people of Oregon not found specifical
ly stated therein:
Is the Initiative to be devoted t
promiscuous legislation nd the shear
Ins; of the powers of the Legislature
until It Is little more than a body em
powered to elect United States Sena
tors and canvass the Presidential vote
In the state, or Is It to be reserved
for emergencies arising- from indif
ference or corruption in the Legisla
tive Assembly?
Are political intrigue and special
Interests to manipulate the Initiative a
they have manipulated Legislatures?
The Oregon electorate must vote
"yes" or "no" on these two questions.
Jt should grasp the opportunity pre
sented to express Itself In such a way
that not soon again will a disposition
be shown to present measures too
complicated for ready understanding
or even simply worded measures for
which there is no genuine public de
mand. Visionary, complex, personal and
class measures should be swept aside.
Certainly more than one of these
terme apply to the four measure sub
mitted by Bourne and CRen and their
Immediate followers.
now rmM are btu.t.
Moderate taxes attract manufactur
ing enterprises to a city. Every ad
ditional burden that is laid on. a com
munity In the way of high taxes for
unnecessary purposes will be a con
tributing factor In driving factories
and other Industrial enterprises to
more economically managed commu
nities. In the present demand of In
terested persona for public docks,
which would enormously Increase
taxes, no attempt Is made to show
where -any Increased business is com
ing from, or where Portland Is to de
rive any benefit from the expenditure
cf the many millions necessary to es
tablish even a small system of public
docks. The New Orleans Picayune
published In a city which has public
docks galore. In Its issue of October
SI. has some very Interesting com
ment on what builds great cities. "It
Is curious notion of the American
people. says the Picayune "and one
that they persist in holding, in the
face of light and knowledge, that
commerce, the exchange and handling
cf merchantable products. Is what
builds up great cities. "
The Picayune cites the fact that
Galveston, where 'The railroads and
private companies own the waterfront
and move their trains wherever It may
please them." has far passed New Or
leans In the shipping of cotton and
grain to foreign countries, although
Galveston has but little more than
one-tenth the population of New Or
lean a In other words. New Orleans,
with Its costly publio docks Is being
outstripped In the shipping business
y a city of one-tenth the size which
has private docks. The experience of
the two cities, the Picayune thinks,
"ought to prove that railroads and
ships do not necessarily of themselves
make a great city, but that It Is nec
essary for the people to do something
else besides sit down and wait for the
railroads to make them rich."
Hd the Firayune been !ls.-usslng
the situation In Portland Instead of
Xm Orleans, it could not have ex
pressed the lx-l situation any more
t-Iearly or truthfully than where It
mis' "What e need Is extensive
manufacture and a vast distributing
trade i mnke business for the rail
roads, and then they will cater to our
traffic. If they should fail, then we
must put steamboats on the rivers and
become Independent." The Idiotic ar
gument that the railroads with their
enormous Investments in and around
Portland will kill the trade of the city
unless we have publio docks meets
with no more favor In New Orleans
than In Portland.
"If our merchants." says the Pic
ayune, "were slipping Instead of
- thousands, tens of thousands, and hun
dreds ef thousands of carloads of
roods a month to various places in
Sha Interior, would not tha railroads J
be glad to handle it. and would they
not have plenty of cars to carry the
trade?"
This reference to the part that
manufacturing establishments play in
the building of a great city Is of
special Interest to Portland, where all
of our manufacturing Industries are
located, where public docks would be
of no use to them whatever. The 12.
600.000. which the public dock and
debt promoters wish to Invest in pub
lic docks, would. If used for the pur
pose, add a foot or two to the river
channel's depth all the way from
Portland to the sea. That extra foot
would attract more shipping than all
of the public docks that could be
built.
Since the subject was first broached,
the dock and debt promoters have
printed columns and pages of theories,
sophistries and gauzy generalities, but
as yet not one straightforward state
ment of fact showing where a public
dock could attract an additional ton
of business In or out of the port has
been presented. No more dangerous
tax-eating scheme was ever before the
people of Portland. Unless it Is voted
down. It will cost the city millions
without producing the slightest benefit
to any one except a few purveyors
of dock sites.
irKT AM) THE LIVESTOCK BILL
It is clear now that the State Legis
lature, at its session, of 1909, waa per
suaded to defeat the flftecn-milee-peril
our livestock shipment bill through
the representations and Importunities
of Oswald . West, Jtailroad Commis
sioner. Mr. West's activity against the
measure, and his open and deliberate
championship of the cause of the
railroads as against the shippers, were
subject of surprised comment then.
Now It Is more perfectly understood
that he was more anxious for personal
prestige and notoriety than he waa to
protect the shipper, and he waa ex
tremely Jealous of any Interference
with or dtrectlon to the commission
In any matter affecting the public In
terest, the railroad lntrrest or any
other Interest. We do not assume
that he had a motive more reprehen
alble. It was reprehensible enough.
A roost Inexcusable feature of this
little episode Is that the Bourn e-Chamberlaln-Wes
organs and agents
have sought to show that Mr. Bower
man, in voting against this measure,
had a purpose to aid the railroads. It
Is not true. It is known by Mr. West
and by these hirellngonewspapers and
procured orators not to be true.
Mr. Bowerman thought the bill
should pass. But on the repre
sentations of Railroad Commissioner
West that the commission had ample
power to discipline the railroads and
regulate the livestock service, he was
persuaded by West) to let the rail
road commission have Ita way. That
la the authentic history of this In
teresting transaction.
Tct West and his outfit would now
have It appear that Bowerman Is to
blame. The public, of course, knows
better. Judge A. S. Bennett, who
tried to get the Legislature to enact
the bill. In the Interest of shippers,
also knows better. Read the Bennett
letter.
TWO ACTTTX. Mint.
Besides Mr. Bowerman, Mr. Haw
ley for Congress has had to meet dur
ing the campaign the varied and num
erous misstatements and falsehoods of
the Bourne-Chamberlain press bu
reau. Neither Bourne nor Chamber
lain likes Hawley. He cannot be
used. He won't "stand In." He Is
perfectly straightforward and matter-of-fact.
.He works hard. He gets
things done. He Is entirely above the
little scheming and Intrigues and
pretensions that belong to the arts of
the politician. Ho doesn't try to
fool anybody. He doesn't know how
and couldn't.
No wonder Hawley Is out of favor
with the Bourne-Chamberlain combi
nation. They even try to take from
him the credit for work that is plain
ly and certainly his own. There is
that Oregon City locks matter for ex
ample. Hawley was hard at work
for the locks appropriation long be
fore anybody else. Chamberlain was
diligent enough later, but it Is doubt
ful If Bourne even knew what the
thing was all about.
It will be a most serious mistake
for the voters to substitute a new
man for Hawley. They will not do it.
He is growing in Influence at Wash
ington, and stands well with both
"regulars" and "insurgents." Because
he has done his work, and done it
thoroughly, through the dominant
house organization, the Bourne-Chamberlain
outfit and their claquers are
trying to beat him by shouting "Can
non." What stuff and guff!
Lafferty Is a new man. but an ac
tive and energetic one. who promises
well. He has made a fine campaign.
He has the material in him to make
good. He should be, and will be,
elected.
PEC14NING CBAIX PRICES.
A bumper crop of corn and oats has
brought the output of our three prin
cipal grain staples up to the largest
total on record. Unfortunately for
the ease of the financial situation,
there has been such a heavy decline
in prices that the total value of these
three staples has been cut down about
1375.000.000. or a matter of some
thing more than 14 per capita, for the
population of the United States.
Wheat, which closed In Chicago yes
terday at 89 H cents, closed a year
ago on the same date at 11.01H. Corn
closed yesterday IS cents lower than
a ear ago, and oats nearly eight
cents lower. Some of this heavy de
crease In price of the three prominent
wealth producers of the country has
been offset by a large yiejd and high
prices for cotton, to that, taking the
value of agricultural products as a
whole, the decrease In price has not
yet carried the total down below that
of last year.
There are. of course, two view
points from which to regard this
heavy decline In agricultural products.
Cheap corn means cheap hogs and
hog products, and cheap wheat means
cheap flour. Since the present era
of high prices began about two years
ago. the consumers of these products
have been obliged to pay an uncom
fortably large proportion of their
earnings for these and similar neces
sities of life. Home consumption has
been gaining so rapidly on production
In the case of many of our principal
agricultural products that the econo
mic advantage of high prices is much
smaller proportionately than It form
erly was. That there still remains
In the country a large surplus of
wheat that will not be needed for
home consumption, seems cerxajn.
it l. Tott.r x regret that tha Amer- 1
lean farmers have permitted the Rus
sians to unload on the best market,
and leave the Americans to take the
lower prices which are now in ef
fect. This unfortunate feature is particu
larly noticeable in the Pacific North
west, where numerous cases are re
ported 'of sales at from 40 cents to
50 cents less than could have been
secured a year ago, and at from 10
cents to 15 cents less than were ob
tainable when ths year's crop waa
ready for market. Conservative esti
mates place the Value of the grain
carried over from the 1909 crop In
the Pacific Northwest at more than
to. 000.000. This sum, circulating in
a sparsely settled country like Oregon.
Washington and Idaho, has an ap
preciable effect on all branches of in
dustry. If the costly lesson which the
farmers are now learning Is heeded,
there will soon be less idle capital
tied up in wheat than there was at
the close of last season.
WHERE "AVTI-ASSKMBI.Y" NOW STANDS
Who are the people and what are
the interests that are persistently urg
ing upon the .voters the falsehood
that "Assemblylsm" is an Issue in the
present campaign?
You hear it from Senator Chamber
lain. You hear it from Senator
Bourne, Oregon's only Hessian. You
hear It from the associates, benefic
iaries. Instruments and tools of the
Bourne & Chamberlain partnership.
You hear It from the publicity organs
of the Bournocratic coalition. You
hear it from Chamberlain, because he
Is interested in Democratic success, so
far as It spells his own success. You
hear it from Bourne because he la
first and always for Bourne and no
body else, and he cannot control the
Republican party or its organization.
There is no other reason. Everybody
knows there Is no other. These are
the sources from which pour forth
the denunciation of "Assemblylsm" In
a frantic and unjustified effort to
keep alive issues settled by the pri
mary. The public will not have failed to
observe that all these gentlemen have
an axe to grind. It will also not have
overlooked the fact that they are lined
up. In one way or another,, behind
some candidate opposed to the Repub
lican ticket- Usually they are the
Democratic nominees, but they are
ashamed to acknowledge it.
But what of the direct primary?
What becomes of the primary as the
arbitration board and Judgment seat
of differences within a party? Has tbe
primary a function? Or are its find
ings to be ignored and attacked by ev
ery one who, though he may have, par
ticipated In the primary, may not be
satisfied or pleased with Its decisions?
On the other hand, observe the at
titude of the Republican leaders who
called themselves "anti-Assembly" bo
fore the primary. They entered the
primary In good faith. They appealed
to the primary for final action be
tween .candidates and factions.' They
accept the result and support the "pri
mary by supporting its candidates.
Who are entitled to the respect and
confidence of the voters the Republi
can "anti-Assembly" leaders, who
without an important exception (not
counting Bourne) are for the Repub
lican primary ticket? Or the "non
partisan" officeholders, office-seekers,
political fortune-hunters, and their
newspaper boosters, (all Democrats),
who participated in the Republican
primary only to meddle, confuse and
ruin, and who want to beat all the
Republican nominees, "Assembly" and
"anti-Assembly," (except where there
are no opposing Democratic candi
dates) in their own interest and for
their own benefit?
ri-EASrN'O THE VALLEY TOWN'S.'1
The Oregon Electric Railway de
sires a franchise over certain streets
of Portland (Salmon 'and Tenth), so
that it may establish proper connec
tion with the United Railways and
with the terminal station of the Hill
Railway system at Flanders street. It
Is desired also by the Oregon Electric
that passengers from- the towns of
Willamette Valley may be landed at
points nearer the center of the city
than the present station at the foot
of Jefferson street. The company
does not intende to do a streetcar
business nor a freight business along
the projected railway. Its sole pur
pose is to give better and quicker
service to its valley and Portland pat
rons. It would appear to be In the interest
of Portland that every reasonable fa
cility be granted the Oregon Electric
for Improving and expediting its service
with out-of-town places. Yet it seems
that certain property owners along
Salmon and Tenth streets Insist that
It shall be stipulated In the proposed
franchise that all electric trains shall
atop at each street crossing. It is an
entirely Impracticable condition. Port
land blocks are short. Two minutes
must be devoted to each stop. If this
condition shall be imposed the time of
getting a train, out of Portland will be
increased fully forty minutes. The
Railway Company says that the fran
chise in these circumstances will be
utterly useless. Doubtless it would
be.
The plans of the Oregon Electric and
the United Railways are to extend to
Engen and Tillamook with lateral
lines to various points. Obviously,
with the Increase of traffic, there
must be Improved facilities within the
City of Portland. It seems to The
Oregonian that the City Council ought
to grant this franchise without un
necessary delay and' without the re
quirement that all trains shall stop at
every street crossing. They must stop,
as It Is, at every street railway cross
ing, so that between Jefferson and
Flanders streets there will be twelve
necessary stops. Certainly these .are
enough.
Valley, towns have petitioned the
Portland City Council to grant this
franchise, and it is due them that
full consideration be given to their
petition and their expectation. They
want passengers to get in and out of
Portland readily and speedily. Port
land should help them.
K-FRESIDEXTS IX ACTIO.
The more or less vague suggestions
einotino- thaut that Mr. Roosevelt may
aspire to another term in the White
House have revived Interest in the po
iiioi ofiv1tt nf other ex-Presidents.
Has any one of them ever set a pre
cedent ror tne voiddqi vig-urvu m
..(..iniilT mobile camoalimlng? Have
any of his predecessors fixed a longing
gaze upon tne .rremaenuaj cnair suier
twice enjoying its stately hospitality?
a- .i-u in tha current number of
the Outlook abeds some light upon
these questions, mey are aiwajs n
. i -a with such a man as
mww.B
fioosevelt f'""t tha jubllo xa an&J
portending heaven knows what they
may become important almost any
time.
A number of our ex-Presidents, like
Pierce and Buchanan, rapidly became
nonentities after leaving the White
House, but most of them have found
useful employment which kept them
fairly distinct In public recollection.
Harrison the second became a distin
guished lecturer on international law.
for example. Perhaps Mr. Hayes was
the only one who chose an associa
tion so humble as chicken-raising, but
even that is honest. Whatever may
be said against these exalted and
somewhat embarrassing dignitaries. It
must be confessed that all of them
have been respectable and mosf of
them exemplary In their conduct.
Cheap land and cheap transporta
tion to the world's markets have made
the Argentine a most formidable com
petitor of the American wheatgrower.
These advantages are still further
to be Increased by the use of the com
bined harvester, a Pai-iflc Coast in
vention which has revolutionized har
vesting methods in the Pacific North
west. The first of these "combines,"
which are so plentiful throughout Ore
gon and Washington, is now on Its
way to Buenos Ayres. It will prove
so far superior to anything now at
work In the Southern Hemisphere that
the cost of producing a bushel of
wheat in the Argentine will be mater
tally reduced. Russia is at the present
time the controlling factor In the
world's market, but tho farming and
harvesting methods are so crude in
that country that the Introduction of
labor-saving machinery is very slow.
If the land of the Czar should fol
low the lead of the Argentine and
Introduce the Pacific. Coast combined
harvester, the cheapest grown wheat
on earth would be found along the
Black Sea and the Baltic.
General Estrada has ''signed on" for
a two-years' cruise as president of
the turbulent Republic of Nicaragua.
United States Commissioner Dawson,
who represented this country In the
proceedings, has promised to use his
best efforts to obtain a large loan for
the country. This loan Is to be guar
anteed by 50 per cent of the customs
duties, and will be used for funding
the Internal and foreign debt, build
ing railroads and establishing a gold
standard. If Nicaragua 'will remain on
her good behavior for two years, and
carry out the plans for which this loan
is desired, it might be a good plan
for the United States to help her our.
As the proprietor of the Monroe Doc
trine, Uncle Sam has always had the
diplomatic responsibility for the con
duct of the Central American repub
lics, but has never yet got much
money out of the Job. - Perhaps, with
a large' financial investment to pro
tect, we might take a stronger hand
in the management of the country, to
the advantage of the governed, as well
as the governors.
Bight lives lost and S500.006 worth
of property destroyed are the result of
somebody's blunder on the Great
Northern Railroad, near Spokane. Two
heavy trains, running at full speed,
met on a curve with frightful results.
Head-on collisions have been taking
place since railroads first began run
ning: the cause of these tragedies of
the rail is in every case a blunder
on tho part of some operative. Either
the dispatcher falls to give the proper
orders or the engineer misinterprets
them. The installation of the block
signal on most roads has cut down the
number of these horrors, but even the
block signal has Its limitations when
warnings are disregarded. Every en
gineer and every train dispatcher
knows that two trains cannot pass
each other on a single track, but with
a blind faith In "orders." every year
sees a large number of engineers rush
ing to certain death In head-on col
lisions. After all. It can matter but little
if the opponents to the Broadway
bridge carry their fight to the Su
preme Court of the United States. The
case would have to await its turn, and
the bridge would practically be com
pleted by the time the final decision
could be 'rendered. However, with no
further chance to obtain a restrain
ing order, and with the very remote
possibility for success in the higher
court, based upon the sweeping de
cisions of the local courts. It Is still
doubtful that those opposed to the
bridge will go to the expense and
trouble of seeking aid in the highest
court of the land.
Changing election day from early
In June to early in November brings
a measure of discomfort to the man
marking bis ballot in the secrecy of
the Australian system. Under ordi
nary conditions the voter casts a
shadow in the booth and finds diffi
culty in marking properly his choice.
If tomorrow be cloudy, the difficulty
will be Increased. Multnomah County
will need enough lamps to stock a
general store, but they will be re
quired for exercise of citizenship,
otherwise many voters will make but
few marks. Let there be light, and
plenty of it.
Examiner Wright's discovery that
the books of the Seaside bank "are in
very bad shape" comes too late to be
of much use. If the bank examiner
had peered a little more inquisitively
at Its books and securities some weeks
ago a tragedy might have been pre
vented and Irreparable losses fore
stalled. The prime usefulness of a
bank examiner, like that of a Chinese
physician. Is prophylactic rather than
curative. In fact, it is often difficult
to cure a patient who is dead.
Mr. Roosevelt has contributed at
least one .prominent literary gem to
the campaign. It is a trope, or, to be
more specific, a figure of speech. He
is going "to knock the enemy over
the ropes" this time. Two years ago
he was going to lick the foul monster
to a frazzle and he did. Is it more
difficult to knock him over the ropes,
or less? A few hours will tell.
Mr. Taft's Thanksgiving proclama
tion is as optimistio as a Republican
platform. .
Election officials get three dollars
today and a chance at pneumonia
thrown in.
The men who are not running for
something had a good sleep last night.
Keep your mouth shut today, for it
Is a corrupt practice to open it.
This is Res't day for the liars.
Jlost of the Agony, is over..
REMARKS OJT PARTY PERFTDT.
Mordant Comment on tbe Democratic
Spirit in Oregon.
PORTLAND. Nov. . (To the Editor.)
The boys bother me considerably by
asking me "What Is a non-partisan?"
and as I am a church member I can't
tell them and the mail regulations won't
let me tell them through the postofflce.
Won't you help us out, and tell them
through The Oregonlan?
Then. I am asked "Why Is Oregon Re
publican?" Well, in the first place, Ore
gon is not Republican. Since the sov
ereigns of Oregon have made laws by
their direct votes more true Democratic
laws have been placed in its statute
I The reason Oregon appears to be Re-
puonran is oecause mere is no organizeu
Democratic party in this state.
' When I made my first trip from the
dear Southland to Oregon I heard of
"Williams Democrats." and then
"Mitchell Democrats." and next "Simon
Democrats." and at last no Democrats
at "all men, or excuses for men, placed
on the so-called Democratic ticket who
ran for office as "non-partisans." and
this reminds m of an oid nejrro down
South named George. His master sent
him with a bag over to Al Tarver's to
get six young pigs. On his way back
George went into a cross-roads saloon,
laid down the bag of pigs and took a
drink. While drinking some mischievous
boys took out the pigs and put In some
pups. When George got home he told
his master what nice pigs Tarver bad
sent, but when the bag was opened there
were the pups. George was sent back.
He couldn't pass that cross-roads house.
The pups were taken out and the pigs
pnt into the bag. When he told Tarver
about the pups In the bag he was told
he was an old fool. He said, "reckon
so, but dem is pupa in 'at bag," but
when taken out they were pigs. The
old negro was dumbfounded. Back he
goes to master; same stop; same pups;
his master gave him a cussing. Old
George said: "Ah cain't he'p it. Marsah.
dey was pigs at Tarver's, but dey is
pups beah, sure; mebby, Marsah, It's
case at Tarver's dey is pigs case he's
'Publican, an' you's a Demmycrat, so
heah dey's yellah dogs."
Well, now. we straight Democrats
want a candidate to be either a pig or
a pup; we don't want him to be a pig
at one end of the line and a pup at the
other, for that seems to make a non
partisan. All things to all men that he
may sell all.
Os, it is said, gave forth this soliloquy
lately:
"Am I or am I not; am I the shadow
of Bourne or am I a shadow of that
man who, like the Irishman's flea, isn't
there when you put your finger down?
Is this my coin or If. it the coin of the
golf player? Thafs the . question. The
com is bright and gives strength to send
to oblivion outrageous fortune and lets
one take baths in lavender water and
live amid sweet scented roses, and 'a
rose to the living Is more than sumptu
ous wreaths to the dead,' and when my
toes are turned to the daisies a cabbage
may sprout at my head, but while living
I know a good thing and cautious
thought tolls me this bright coin is mine.
When Governor I'll be true .to you. I
know my friends. I believe in bearing
ye one another's burden's, so 111 bear
some of yours. In luxury I'll live and
when dead I'll be forgotten like the
leaves that fall from the Autumn trees.
Opportunity knocks at my door but
once: I'll take it while I can; it Is my
fate-" , t
Party perfidy, by men trusted by Demo
crate voters, has made .Oregon Repub
lican, and so It will continue until the
Democratic party put none but Demo
crats on guard.
The chairmanship of the state com
mittee must be filled by a true blue
"yellow dog" Democrat from the country
district, and he must not be a lawyer,
and then will come the "tug of war
between straight Republicans and
straight Democrats. .
What has the Democratic party gained
by the honors conferred on "gum shoe'
George: simply party perfidy, party dis
integration, an unholy alliance with the
golf player, which alliance stinks In
the nostrils of all self-respecting men.
When the carpenter's son from Galilee
was on earth he openly scourged the
men who had usurped the temple for
their " own personal selfish ends and
drove them out of the temple. It Is the
duty of every true Democrat to drive
out of the temple these nondescript
demagogues who have used only for their
personal benefit the temple erected by
our fathers: a temple held toegther for
over 100 years by that "mystio tie of
memory" that purely selfish men cannot
comprehend. '
The unholy alliance has Issued the
order that true Democrats must remain
In the rear, and blush for shame of the
cowardice of their so-called leaders.
Once a General under Grant had been
ordered by a Buperlor officer to remain
In the rear, but when tbe firing became
terrlflo on the front line he ignored the
order and went to the successful relief
of the Army. On being brought up i for
court-martial General Grant said: Fir
ing on the front lines countermands an
orders." Our poor old party has been
dynamited in the middle, shot in the
rear and annihilated in the front all by
the men we trusted. It Is time now we
Ixnored orders and commenced to save
our party by turning out the scamps
who assume to control it. and the best
start is to turn down West and vote for
BOW"iOUTHERNDEMOCRAT.
In the Gloaming.
Chicago Tribune.
The shades of evening were falling.
The dim electric lights feebly strove
to pierce the gloom that overshadowed
the east platform of the elevated loop
station at Wabash and Madison.
There was no crowd a most unusual
happening and the young man and
young woman who were In the darkest
spot, close together and busily con
versing, had the platform almost to
themselves.
Impulsively she leaned nearer.
With a swift motion she put her
arms around his neck and
At this precise moment the man on
the west platform, directly opposite,
who had been idly watching the pair,
turned his head and looked the other
way It was none of his business.
The purpose of this story is to assure
those two young persons that the man
saw nothing except what is here truth
fully set forth.
Sermonette.
Henry Edward Warner.
There is no place in penal institutions
for a man who loves flowers, children
and dogs. If I were to prescribe for a
man whose inner self was slipping, I
would put a rosebud in his lapel and
send him walking in the park with the
children: there I would have him stop
on the lake front and feed peanuts to
the squirrels In some snug corner
where the birds, unafraid and Joyful,
could eing him back to himself. This
sort of treatment would throw wardens
and keepers out of work, but it would
largely help humanity.
Lancer contract Than rraal.
Chicago Tribune.
"Well, sonny, how much?" asked the
man with the shortened leg and rein
forced 'footgear, when the Job of pol
ishing had been completed.
"pweiity cents, mister," said the boot
black. "Five cents fur shlnln" de shoe
an' fifteen far palntin' de airship."
The Rush Footballer.
Catholic Standard.
There once was a full back who hunted
For trouble, and got all he wanted.
For he started to fool
With a Government mule
His tombstone reads simply; "Out.
punted."
Measures Referred to City Voters
- Portland Citizens Asked to Authorize $2,500,000 Bonds for Public Docks,
and to Amend the Charter So As to Pay for Water Mains Out of the
Water Pund Suggestions Made As to How to Vote.
Herewith The Oregonlan presents a
digest of four measures referred to the
voters of the City of Portland by the
Council. These measures are Important
and should not be overlooked by the
voters. On two of the measures the
opinion of The Oregonian is expressed
that the electors should vote no. These
are the public docks amendment and
the water mains amendment.
The following is a summary of the
measures with their numbers on the
ballot:
An act providing" for tho Improvomont of
the wator and harbtfr front; for tho ac
quirement and operation of public docks;
the creation of tho Department of Public
Docks to remilato and control public docks
and other waterfront structures; authoriz
ing the issuance of t2.5O0.OOO in bonds, and
to levy such taxea as may be necessary for
current expenses and carrying on such work.
Sliull Secnon US. of the Charter of the
City of Portland, Or., as amended, ba
amended?
1U0. Tea.
101. No.
This amendment would give voters
no voice in selection of the five mem
bers of the proposed Dock Commission.
The commissioners would be chosen
by the Mayor, and would be vested
with both legislative and executive
powers. The Commission would have
practically unlimited powers over city
property along the waterfront, in
cluding the right to lease and sell, as
well as to purchase, land and docks
and pass ordinances o regulate such
property.
In addition to having exclusive dis
posal of revenue from dock property,
the Commission would have the righ
to ask the Council for a tax levy for
its use, amounting to as much as one
tenth of a mill. In case the Council
should fall to provide such a tax levy,
the Commission would be given the
right to go over the head of the Coun
cil, and. by certifying to the County
Clerk the amount of the proposed levy,
to have It collected. Adoption of the
amendment would create a Commission
that would Include among Its various
other powers, many of those now vest
ed In the Port of Portland, thus doubl
ing present expenses of public adminis
tration. This $3,500,000 bond issue would be
the forerunner of other big bond is
sues, because this first sum would but
start the city In the docks business.
The city debt is already large and
these bond Issues would add heavily to
taxes. Even without debt for docks
the burdens of bond Interest will
weigh heavily on property owners.
Other things than docks are much more
needed by the city.'
Publio docks would greatly lengthen
the list of the city's officials and em-
DO WE NEED MORE COUNTIES t
Comparison With Other States That
Does Not Fit the Cose. .
PORTLAND, Nov. SWTo the Editor.)
It is contended that tbe creation of
new counties la of no concern to voters
unless they reside in one of the counties
whose territory contributes to the pro
posed new county. This seems to me a
narrow view.
Tbe proposition to create a new county
is likely to be a fairer one to all con
cerned if the case is submitted to all
the voters of the state as an Impartial
Jury, only interested in the state's wel
fare, than if it Is made a local .matter
and the new county offices and court
house site are trafficked In with the
usual corruption, . strife and bitterness
that ensue.
Smaller counties mean the creation of
new civic centers more equable taxa
tion, new and better roads and bridges,
increased immigration into the rural
districts on which the growth of the
cities depends. .
Oregon, with 96,000 square miles, has
34 counties.
Kansas, with 83,000 square miles, has
106 counties.
Illinois, with 56,000 square miles, has
102 counties.
Ohio, with 41,000 square miles, has 88
counties.
Missouri, with 69,000 square miles, has
115 counties.
Georgia, with 69,000 square miles, has
137 counties.
The rapid development of Oregon and
Portland requires smaller, and conse
quently more, counties.
Portland, Or. F. S. MYERS.
The average population per county In
all the states mentioned by the corre
spondent is, with the possible exception
of Kansas, larger than In Oregon. He
takes no account of the mountainous,
uninhabitable sections of many Oregon
counties. For tbe purpose of a Just
comparison with the states mentioned,
he should have considered Oregon's area
abettt 48.000 square miles.
W. D. Howell's Fixwt Long Story.
Interview with William Dean Howells.
When I was a boy I worked on my
father's paper. Among other things, I
set type. Those were days of great
struggle for all of us. The paper was
not profitable, and ours was a large
family. My tastes and ambitions were
all literary and I wanted to write a
story. Instead of writing it and then
setting it up In type, I composed it at
the case and put it in type as I in
vented it. We printed a chapter of It
weekly in the paper, and so it was pub
lished as fast as I got it up. I tried
to get three or four chapters ready In
advance, but I could not do it. All I
could possibly accomplish was to have
one installment ready every time the
paper went to press. This went on for
a long while, and that story became a
burden to me. It stretched out longer
and longer, but I could see no way to
end it- Every week I resolved that
that story should be finished in the
next week's paper; every week it re
fused to be finished. Finally I became
positively panic-stricken and ended it
somehow or other. The experience dis
couraged me to some extent. I made
up my mind that I could not invent.
Reflections of a Bachelor.
New York Press.
The only sure way to get out of trou
ble is not to get in.
It isn't safe for a woman to be with
some men, even at the other end of the
telephone. . .
When girls are good. It's because they
want to be; when men are good, be
cause they have to be.
It's as easy to guess about the stook
market as to reason out what It will
do, and much cheaper because you won't
risk so much that way.
A trusting woman can believe her
husband spent the evening in the office
working, even though she finds in his
pocket a theater ticket, showing where
he was.
Poke Bonnets of Gold Laee,
New York American.
The girls at a fashionable wedding
Tuesday had on poke bonnets of gold
lace, made with full, baggy crowns of
black velvet and trimmed with wreaths
of tiny pink and blue flowers and their
leaves. Each carried a bunch of white
chrysanthemums, tied with gold satin
ribbon. ' -
Poataxe Progress.
St. Paul Dispatch.
letter postage was reduced from 3 to
2 cents in 1883. That was 27 years
ago. so that it Is nearly time for Postmaster-General
Hitchcock's promised 1
cent rate. It has been almost B0 years
since the distance limitation was abol
ished, and less than 70 since adhesive
stamps came into use.
plover. The docks unquestionably
would fall far short of supporting
themselves out of their own revenues.
Depreciation would be costly. The city
would have to take over all, or nearly
all, the wharfage business in order to
treat all citizenB and interests alike.
Wharfage facilities now are adequate
for the city's needs and charges are
reasonable.
Vote 101 NO.
An amendment to Section 27, of tho
Charter of the City of Portland. Or., as
amended, . authorizing the Council, from
time to time, to issue bonds, the amount of
such Issues to be determined by the Coun
cil: the proceeds thereof to be used for
carrying on tho water system: providing
that ouch bonds, and the cost of ail water
mains herenfter laid shall he paid out of
the water fund, and providing a refund for
mains heretofore paid for by property
owners. Shall Section 221. of tho Charter of tho
Citv of Portland, as amended, be amended?
102. Tea.
103. No.
. The effect of this amendment to the
charter would be to make the water
users, as distinguished from the bene
fited property owner, pay for the laying
of water mains. It would also vest In
the Council the unusual right to sell
water bonds at will, without first ob
taining authority for each issue from
the voters.
This amendment would make impos
sible the lowering of water rates. It
would saddle the cost of improving su
burban land with water upon water
consumers. It gives unfair advantage
and free mains to land speculators
Vote 103 NO.
Charter amendment providing that tho
salary of-tho &ity Attorney shall bo rlxod
by tho Council.
Shall Section S40 of the Charter of tho
Citv ot Portland, Or., bo amended?
106. Tea.
107. No. .
If the foregoing amendment is
adopted, the salary of the city Attor
ney will be under the control of the
Council, as those of his deputies. At
present his salary, fixed by the char
ter, is $200 a month.
KO Recommendation.
An act providing that tha salary of tho
City Engineer shall be fixed by the Council.
Shall Section 803 of the Charter ot tho
City of Portland bo amended T
104. Tea.
105. No.
The salary of the City Engineer Is
fixed at present by the charter at $20
a month. The passage of the forego
ing amendment would permit the Coun
cil to regulate the salary of the City
Engineer, as it does those of his dep
uties. NO Recommendation.
"WILL DRIVE MONEY AWAY.
How Prohibition Will Enrich Washing
ton at Oregon's Expense.
Polk County Observer.
The Observer cannot for the life of it
see what Oregon would gain in a finan
cial way by voting "dry." Granting for
the sake of argument that every dollar
spent for liquor Is a dollar wasted, the
fact remains that while Oregon is wet,
that dollar remains in Oregon. The very
day Oregon becomes dry, the mail-order
liquor houses would simply transfer
their base of operations from Portland
to Vancouver, Wash., or to some other
point Just across the Columbia River.
Here they would be as close to their
Oregon customers as they are at pres
ent, and here they could ply their busi
ness without fear of molestation. For
it must be remembered that the laws of
the Federal Government do not permit
any interference with interstate ship
ments. If you will read the law by which
it Is proposed to make Oregon dry. you
will see that It says ' "no person shall
offer to any carrier for shipment or de
livery any Intoxicating liquor from &
place to a place both within the State
of Oregon." The law does not attempt
to forbid shipments from one state to
another, for any such provision would
be in direct violation of the Interstate
Commerce law.
Should Oregon vote dry next Tuesday,
every thinking man in the state knows
exactly what would happen. The liquor
business would simply be transferred
across the line into Washington and
would continue to flourish. Then, every
dollar sent out by Oregon residents for
liquor Would be lost to this state. The
Washington brewer and mail-order house
would reap the whole benefit, and Wash
ington would grow at Oregon's expense.
And we all know the people of Wash
ington well enough to know that this
would not hurt their feelings in the
least.
Talk about benefiting the Oregon labor
ing man by voting Oregon dry! We
ask. in the name of common business
sense, what possible benefit the laboring
man in Oregon would ever receive from
a dollar sent out of the state never to
return? What chance would he ever
have to get any part of It after it was
sent away to another state? Do not
think for a moment that the Oregon
laboring man does not see the point to
this argument We have on the desk
before us a circular from organized la
bor, received in today's mall, appealing
to the voters of Oregon to save the state
from this very condition. The circular
Is signed not only by the local labor
unions of Astoria, Baker City, The
Dalles, Salem and Portland, but by the
executive board of the Oregon State Fed
eration of Labor Itself.
Future Railroad Crossties.
Christian Science Monitor.
The idea that something may be sub
stituted for the wooden cross tie in
the future has not been wholly aban
oned, but the great railroad systems
of the country, evidently, are proceed
ing on the esumption that their main
dependence for a supply ot this useful
article will continue to be in
rather than In the furnace. Steel ties
have been used successfully under cer
tain conditions, and It is among the
probabilities that they will be used ex
tensively as time goes on, but wooden
ties are for many reasons more de
sirable, and the great problem is not
merely how to keep up the present sup
tlv rapidly becoming inadequate both
as regards quality and quantity, but
how to provide against its exhaustion
at an early day.
Too Verbose.
Smart Set.
"Hare." said the editor, "you use too
many words. You say: 'He was poor
but honest.' You have only to say that
he was honest.
"Again you say," 'He was without
money and without friends." Simply
say that he was without money.
Light That Failed.
Cassell's.
"Uncle, will wou please pick the wick
0VertaiuryndlBut why such a strange
"2Ucosri heard dad say we phould get
a fortune when you snuff it."
Why He Lost His Job.
Chicago News.
"Are these lace handkerchiefs all lin
e r asked the particular lady at th
ba.oima'am"rreplled the ultra honest
clerk.'" the open portions are not lin
en." ,
Graded.
Baltimore Evening Sun.
"Hello, is this the grocer? Send me
five gallons of gasoline immediately?"
"Yes, mum. Will yau have aero-.
. . nhHo mntnr-cvele. torch-
piane, u ",,J " ------
light procession or cookin, mumr
1
0