THE MORMXG OREGOXIAN, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1910.
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rORTLAXD. TUEeOAV. DMJ. . 11.
thb ctr nmtcu COURT.
Perhaps there never was a time
b,o Use people of the United States
felt so much Interest Id the Supreme
Court as they do now. One reason
for this to. of course, the great
change In the lint of Judges which has
happened In Mr. Toft's Administra
tion. A Chlaf Justice with four col
leagues nlr appointed seems almost
to revolutionize the Imperial tribunal.
Bat. apart from this, the people pay
more attention to the Supreme Court
than they once did because recent
occurrences have brought bvfore them
In an emphatic way Its overwhelming
Importance. In our scheme of govern
ment. The academic notion that the
Supreme Court exists merely for the
trial of lawsuits which huppen to In
volve constitutional questions has
been pretty well forgotten and the
public understands that our highest
triounai exercises great legislative
. functions. By Interpreting the con
stitution It 'really modifies and even
makes fundamental law for the coun
try. It has caused the constitution to
become something very different
from a dead legal doeument whose
text might act as an Iron feijer upon
the limbs of the Republic. In some
sense at least, under the handling of
the Supreme Court, our fundamental
law has become pragmatic, or plastic,
and la capable, of adapting Itself
without formal amendment to the
needs of a growing people.
Besides its legislative function the
court enjoys an Important executive
power, that of the veto. In the eye
of some students Its Implied and In
ferential veto power, not mentioned
by the constitution. Is much more Im
portant than that of the President.
Ills veto, for Instance, may be over
ridden by a two-thirds vote of Con
gress, but when the Supreme Court
sas "no" to a law ll Is Irremediably
told. Naturally the possesoion of
these remarkable powers has virtually
compelled our Judges of lust appeal
to become a great deal more than
mere lawyers of the technical sort.
They are. as one newspaper remarks.
economists and philosophers. If they
are not they certainly ought to be.
Since their theories of men and af
fairs Inevitably enter Into their rea
sonings and modify their opinions It
Is much better that they should study
society seriously rather than abide In
blind prejudice. Most men would
feel safer to know that the Supreme
'"ourt Justices were thinking with
Kant and Lombroso and perusing the
results of the Sage fund Investigations
than to learn that thry had shut
themselves up In their chambers with
no company but a mass of precedents
gathered from the past.
There Is still another reason why
the Supreme Court Is Just now an ob
ject of particular attention and that
. Is the far-reaching importance, of the
rases which It must soon decide. In
telligent citizens all over the country
are speculating about the leanings of
the new Judges. Are they Inclined to
favor the tobacco trust or do they
abhor It and Its ways? What Is
their general opinion of the trusts T
Do they believe In competition
of the old-fashioned sort or have
thry adopted the new Ideas of
Industrial and financial concentration
which find here and there a bold ad
vocate? As good citizens we are
bound to assume that the Judges of
the Supreme Court are free from all
T!as either for or against concentra
tion In trade and Industry, and no
doubt they are in the bad sense, but
we cannot suppose that they have)
never studied the subject which of all
ethers occupies the mind of the mod
ern world and If they have thought
bout It fruitfully there are nascent
opinions In their brains which will
work out In their decisions. Some one
may reply that even if they have
theoretical preferences that can make
no difference with their decisions If
they are honest men. since their duty
Is simply to say what the law Is and
nothing more.
This assumes that "the law" Is a
neat little tablet exactly four square
with accurately beveled edges which
can be sllrped Into and out of a
druwer set It msy be needed. All a
judge has to do as he renders his de
rision is to take the law out of Its
Jeweled casket, examine It a moment
and then speak. Hardly anything
could be more flatly contrary to the
reality. As a matter of fact "tne law"
Is something extremely elusive as
loon as we get beyond the arid fluid
of form and precedent. It Is an en
titv which is continually changing.
Like Zeno's river It Is forever pausing
away and forever be frig renewed so
(hat the Judges of tomorrow will find
In It developments which we do not
ream.
Whether they know It or not tha
previous studies and familiar associa
tions of the Supreme Court Judges
will exercise profound Influence upon
'.heir view of the trust cases. Would
It not be curious If some book which
one of these great men read of a Win
ter night before the fire long aro
arhen he was an ambitious youth with
in unknown future before htm should
sow determine his thought upon this
subject and thus modify the history
f the United States for a generation
to come? The Judres are I'kety to he
Ivlded In opinion concerning the
monopolies and the application of the
anti-trust law. as they have been con
tern In g ether matters, and It may
sery well happen that one man will
anally determine their decision by his
rets. And of the Influences, the nat
eral human Influence, which will
make that vote, what a story might
be told If anybody, even tha Judge
himself, only knew Itl
TOtrnt vrHiLK?
Rev. Percy Stlckney Grant, of New
York, who may or may not be) a
preacher "worth while." has been In
vestigating newspapers to And out 1'
they are worth while. Ho furnishes
a little list of Hems that have ap
peared In the New York papers for
three months, segregating them as fol
lows: Demoralizing, 128S; unwhole
some, 1614; trivial. 2100; worth while,
3900. or it per cent.
How much of the product of any
man's mind or spirit or effort or ac
tivity Is worth while? Thirty-nine per
cent? How many sermons of preach
ers are worth while? How many les
sons of public teachers are worth
while? How many sayings of politi
cians or doings of statesmen are worth
while? How many days' work does
any one do In any line of endeavor
that Is worth while?
The newspaper Is a very human In
stitution, a compendium of the needs.
the desires, the ambitions, the intelli
gence and the moralities of the aver
age man and woman. It has many
critics, who usually read nothing else.
Does any one fancy that a paper ed
ited by a preacher or by any other
who excluded from- Its columns tne
dally happenings of its own people,
holding up dully a mirror of their
common life and the movement and
activity of all things In. around and
among them, would be worth while?
"FTWX" AND "MEAC" TAXI IT.
"Piecemeal revision" talk of pro
tected Interests and their members of
Con Kress shows that each Is looking
sharply after his own "piece" and his
own - "meal." That may have been
the meaning of the speech of Senator
Lafe, Touner last week, successor of
Dolllver. from Iowa. The new Sena
tor said one of his constituents had
Implored hlra to "go down there and
nut un a fight for the consumer." To
which the Iowa statesman replied:
"I will not: those boys there are do.
Ing that; I am going to fight for tha
rtroducer."
That la Just what every protected
Interest has been striving to do these
many years, and what the standpatters
are working for still "protection" of
their own products. Wool producers
of Oregon. Washington and Idaho are
fighting on their side, but their goods
are the ones first singled out lor piece
meal revision. The reason for which,
... . . V.
of course. Is that mere is not enougn
protection to go round, never has been
and never can be; wherefore, tno ones
are to be lopped Off w hich are least
able to fight back. However, Senator
Heyburn. of Idaho, has threatened fill
buster, and other Western Senators
from wool states doubtless will lend
aid. Nothing has been heard from
Senator Bourne on this subject: per
haps he Is waiting for Aldrlch to show
him tha way this tlmo as before.
Without lower duty on wool, manu
facturers have been obtaining wool at
cheaDcr prices during the last two
years, but have not cheapened the
Brtce of finished goods. Free trade In
petroleum has not cheapened prices of
Standard Oil goods to consumers, but
has reduced prlcea of raw oil to pro
ducers. Free trade In hides has not
cheapened prices of shoe manufactur
ers. So that Senator Young. In "going
down there" to fight for the producer.
Is going On the same mission that
sends there every other tariff-bounty
seeker. Therefore, tariff revision la
not a "nonpartisan" nor a "n on-political"
question. Each seeker must
make the most of politics to have his
Interest at home "protected."
But If the Government were In tha
tariff business, simply for the purpose
of raising revenue from articles of
most common consumption and from
luxuries of the well-to-do, there would
be no cause for Senator Young's mis
sion. Tea. coffee, sugar, tobacco,
liquor, would yield the great bulk of
the Government' revenue, and tha
people would ba supporting the Gov
ernment mora nearly In the measure
of their ability to pay taxes. The rich
would bo paying, also, for fine clothes,
perfume, carriages and automobiles.
It Is to be hoped that Senator
Young's example will hasten tha
awakening of the American people.
Ota rAX-A.'WKIUCAX TRADE.
The Hartford Courant. which fliea
from Its masthead the Interesting pen
nant "The oldest newspaper In Amer
ica," and consequently should know
better, urges a ship subsidy as a
means If Increasing our trade with
South and Central America. "It Is a
fact," says the Courant. "that down
there they need the very things that
we produce in overabundance: they
could use our iron. coal, coke, .struc
tural steel, and on. but the dimcul-
tics of communication and the heavy
discriminations against us stand in the
war. GermaJry. for example, has sev
eral hundred merchant ships in that
trade, while we have less than twenty,
and tha German subsidy enables ships
of that nationality to carry cheaper
than our vessels can. All thla counts."
The fallacy that we cannot Duy ana
sell goods to 'n'r countries unless wo
own the ships which carry the goods
has been exposed so often that It
seems strange that a newspaper of the
standing of the Hartford Courant
should fall Into the error of giving It
serious consideration. It has repeatedly
been shown by Investigations conuuet
ed by the British Board of Trade that
American shippers have been granted
lower freight rates to Central and
South America than were enjoyed by
their British competitors. Neither Ger
many nor Great Britain pay subsidies
to the ships which carry the great
bulk of the traffic In and out of South
and Central American ports.
There are no less than a dozen South
American steamship lines plying regu
larly out of the port of New York and
In the month of December twenty-five
sailings will ba made from that port
for South America. In the thirty days
ending December II no less than
twenty-two steamships sailed from the
South American ports fr New York.
There are also lines out of Boston,
Philadelphia and other Atlantic porta
and two. or three Unes on the Pacific
Coast. This abundance of tonnage en
ables the American shipper to reach
any marke in South and Central
America that cat be reached by any
of our trade competitors.
The carrying trade Is ore line of
business and buying and selling goods
is another. It is a matter of Indif
ference to the German shipowner
whether Oermans. British or Ameri
cans supply the cargo, so long as he
collects the freight. As a matter of
fact, tha shipowners through their
1 agents are all the time combing the
' earth In search of cargoes. This conn-
try does less business with South and
Central America than is handled by
some of the European countries, but
the reason for this lies in our Inability
to use the wheat, corn and cattle the
great staples that find a market In Eu
rope but are not needed In the United
States. We have the tonnage supply
of the world to draw on and-there la
keen carrier competition for every ton
of freight that we can sell or buy in
the pan-American markets.
VET SAFE A.VD BANK.
The Chicago Public, organ of all
the Idlosyncracies, eccentricities and
idiocies of legislative revelation and
revolution that run counter' to the
valuable lessons of experience, is
for tha single tax. of course. 'There
for the Publlo rejoices greatly over
the dilemma in which Oregon finds
Itself through the unexpected and un
earned first victory, or skirmish, here
of the single taxcrs.
"For twenty years, says the Pub
lic "the New York Legislature has
fought off thla eminently democratic
and sound fiscal reform: but the peo
ple of Oregon adopt It almost as soon
as powers of legislation are reserved
to them through the initiative." The
Public refers to county option In tax
ation, which makes the single tax
possible.
The people of Oregon are more ra
tional and sensible than the Chicago
publication would htfe its readers
think. They rejected the single tax
two years ago, by a two-to-one vote.
They are not for single tax. They
will never adopt single tax. nor will
any county adopt It, In the opinion of
The Oregonlan.
This amendment was adopted by a
thoroughly dishonest trick. The sin
gle taxers put up an anti-poll tax
amendment to ambush and trap the
voters, and they succeeded. In abol
iHhlng the poll-tax the voters Inadver
tently adopted the county tax. wnicn
Is the Initial step to single tax.
Now the single taxers are out from
their ambuscade. They are obliged
to drop all disguise, subterfuge and
subterranean scheming. Now that
the call to arms has been sounded let
them see how the farmer, the laborer,
the artisan, the suburbanite, the homo
builder, the money-saver, the frugal,
the Industrious, the thrifty and will-Ing-to-work
are all mustered togeth
er In a united army to wipe out the
menace of the single tax. Oregon is
yet safe and sane.
AXOTHB U9sXX.
Vancouver seems to have hard luck
with Its banks. Is there something in
the atmosphere of the Washington
town which makes sound financiering
difficult? It Is not very many years
since one of Its -banks expired with
sensational phenomena, and now the
Commercial goes under.
The calamities come too near to
gether. The legitimate vicissitudes of
banking are not so violent as all this.
No doubt the State Examiner has done
his full duty, but It would have been
comforting If be had discovered the
transgressions of the Commercial
management before they had endan
gered the bank. Was there no sign of
Indiscretion when he looked things
over last October? Has all this mis
chief been wrought within three
months? It would also be highly en
tertaining to learn what the directors
of the Commercial Bank have been
about while their funds were being
dissipated In loans that are unavail
able. Did these excellent persons
know that their liabilities were run
ning up toward $400,000 while they
hod only 114.000 on nana to mm
them with? How often aia tney meei
to look over the bank's securities ana
count Its cash?
Is there a single one of tno com
mercial's directors who actually knows
anything about Its . securities t is
there one of them who has ever actu
ally handled the cash purporting to
bo In Its vaults? Perhaps there may
be ona or two who knew what was go
ing on. Certainly tne otners aia noi
know, or If they did what shall we say
of their fitness to take care of other
men's money? What shall we say of
their fitness In any case? By posing
directors of the bank they prom
IT ra'ttenonTo"'. 'affairs How 1
honest attention to Its atiairs. mow,
well thev kept the promise the condl
tlon of the bank shows only too plain
ly. Fortunately the securities seem to
be sufficient to make all claims good
in the long run, so that we suppose
depositors and others will lose notn-
na- if they wait long enougn, out it
would have been a great deal better
not to make them wait.
rROnlXX WITH NO BOlTIOX.
At the time the initiative and refer
endum section of the Oregon constitu
tion was adopted it seemed safe to fix
the number of petitioners required to
Initiate or refer a measure at a per
centage of the whole vote cast for
Justice of the Supreme Court. At
that time three Justices constituted
h Riinreme Court and to the or
dinary comprehension the constitution
forbade an increase. One Justice was
eleoted each year and It was a simple
arithmetical problem to determine the
number of names necessary to vali
date a petition.
But in reference to the number of
Justices, the constitution did not
mean what It said or at least did not
mean what we thought It meant and
Oregon now has five Justices. Four
were elected last month and aa each
elector voted for four candidates out
of a total of eleven aspirants there
Is no definite way to determine how
many voters voted for Justice of the
Supreme Court. And aa we understand
the Attorney General's opinion on the
situation, neither will there be a legal
method for determining how many
names shall be required on an Initia
tive or referendum petition until after
the next election when there will
again be bot one Justice to elect, un
.he membership of the court Is
further increased., By a peculiar
anomalv. a simple statute nas maue
a constltuUonal provision wholly in
definite. M '
Attorney-General Crawford suggests
one method of computing the per
centage required on such petitions
which he think may meet the ap
proval of the Supreme Court. Judge
O'Day presents another method which
to hlra seems reasonable. Of course
neither can guarantee that hi method
is the correct one. Apparently before
the question Is settled It will be nes
eitsary for the Supreme Court to man
ufacture a little law. But when both
methods are worked down to the final
result In an attempt to determine how
many names will be required to place
aa initiative) measure on the ballot
T at the next election, there is a varU
1 ance of about J000. -
The only prospect of solution of the j
problem before the next election is
provided In the referendum. Refer
endum petitions must be filed not
more than 90 days after the close of
the Legislative session, and a test may
be made following an attempt to re
fer some act of the next Legislature
to the people. While the percentage
of the whole vote required to Initiate
a measure Is different from the per-
centage required to refer an act
of the Legislature the basis of com
putation Is the same. A decision on
the referendum would be a valid
guide for the circulators of Initiative
petitions. If a test does not come
through the referendum It will be
hoove the single taxers and others
now planning Initiative measures for
1912 to secure Just aa many signatures
as possible and trust to luck that they
have obtained a number great enough.
Mrs. Russell Sage Is proving a royal
almoner of the bounty left by her
husband, a bounty accumulated by
the hard method of the stoical finan
cier, and In strict accordance with
the parsimony that knew no relaxa
tion. The man of millions bullded
well when he made his childless wife
his sole legatee. Doors of under
standing of human needs, human des
erts, human sympathies that were
closed to him have opened to her and
walking helpfully the diverse paths
to which they have led, Mrs. Sage
has made herself beloved of thou
sands by timely ministrations to sim
ple human needs. Her Christmas
gift of $a each to tha laborers In Cen
tral Park will enable the families of
these workers to enjoy the pleasures
of a gpod dinner on the day devoted
In theory to good cheer throughout
Christendom, but which is too often
a mockery In the homes of even the
most faithful toilers of the great city,
Certainly no niggard ever had a more
gracious almoner than Mrs. sage has
proved.
The underwriters ara being very
hard .hit this year by the numerous
disasters which have overtaken the
Puget Sound,' British Columbia and
Alaska fleet, and hardly a week passes
without some addition to the list. The
sinking of tha Kitsap and the wreck of
the Olympla a few days ago were fol
lowed yesterday by the stranding at the
entrance of Vancouver harbor of the
Grand Trunk Pacific's new liner
Prince George. Nearly all the seri
ous disasters which have been so nu
merous this year have been largely
due to the presence of fog. It, of
course, does not follow that .because
there Is a fog a shipmaster must keep
bowling .along at full speed until he
meets disaster, but we are living in a
pretty fast age and the careful master
who falls to get his boat in on time
while a more daring master Is keeping
up to schedule will soon find himself
without a Job. etlll, the rights of the
traveling public should be considered,
and reckless running In a fog is al
ways attended by danger.
The Alaska-Yukon-Paclflo Exposi
tion, after many delays due to .liti
gation, has declared a dividend and
the stockholders will receive $30,000.
While this Is a conalderably smaller
sum than was returned to the stock
holders In the Lewis and Clark Fair at
Portland. It can hardly fall to prove
highly gratifying to the people of Se
attle. Aside from the cash dividend
which was returned to the stockhold
ers, the buildings and improvements
that were turned over to the Univer
sity of Washington may be included
In the direct assets of the fair. These
have a permanent value, and will be a
lasting monument to the success of
the exposition. As Portland profited
greatly by the Seattle Fair, the per
fect success of the enterprise will be
fully appreciated In this city. Both
the A-Y-P and the Lewis and Clark
Expositions were out of the ordinary
In more than one feature, and perhaps
the most pleasing of these features
was that neither had a deficit
The story of the "discovery" of the
principles of Christian STTence by Mrs.
Eddy was gone over again Sunday by
one of her faithful disciples to some
hundreds of her worshipful follow-
Si. told" .Tnu'a, Ty by one
.,,,. j , ,, iifth.
and another delegated by the "Moth'
er Church" for that purpose. It con
sist largely of assertions that are not
new, of the power of mind over mat
ter, and of laudations that have be
come familiar by "repetition ham
mered In the ear" of a truly remark
able woman who but now paid the
universal debt to mortality:
Just a Oregon was beginning to
learn the- process of clearing logged
over land by char-pitting, along
comes another inventive genius who
profitably extracts turpentine from fir
stumps. Well. If stumps can be con
verted into oash, so much the better.
We need more cleared farming land
for the newcomers that the railroads
and commercial organizations are
bringing to the Paclflo Northwest.
While all baseball fans have known
for years that a pitcher can't stay up
late with the boys and then locate
home plate next day. It was not pub
licly revealed until yiesterday that the
umpire's vision la similarly affected by
similar cause. Therefore the new
edict from the National League throne
that hereafter an umpires get on the
water wagon and stay there.
It seems that Joe Teal mixed poetry
and fiction with fact when he spoke of
rate-zones. He will have some diffi
culty jn confirming his statement,
"God, In creating Portland, made It
adjacent to the Pacific Ocean." What
about Pettygrove, Lovejoy. Chapman
and the 200,000 people who followed
them since 1945? God made the
country: man made the town.
Dropping a mile slowly In an aero
plane whose engine failed Is a new
achievement in aviation which, though
accidental, may help to solve the
problem of eliminating danger from
aerial navigation.
Revelations of $7,000,000 a year
profit by the bucket shop trust in col
lusion with telegraph concern is fur
ther proof of the old aphorism that a
sucker Is born every minute.
Considering the political bosses who
nominated him. It was certain that
Governor Dlx would present a strong
contrast to bis dlftiugufshed prede
cessor. "Today, sure, without fail, the Haw
thorne bridge la promised to the pub
lic One more, hoorayl
I LIVESTOCK AND WI
j HI.her wholesale-a
WESTERN MARKET
Higher .Wholesale and Lower II tall
Print Prevail la Kaatt
CHEHALIS. Wash., Dec. 15. (To the
Editor.) I note with interest the
energy in certain quarters in urging
land owners to raise more cattle
throughout the Pacific Northwest.
While the horticulturists are urging
every one with proper land to raise
more red apples, the latter are con
sistent and hustle to beat the band to
market the fast-increasing crop of ap
ples raised, causing the apples to be
shipped out by carload and tralnload.
But they who are pushing the growers
to raise more cattle are inviting by
every means in their power California,
Idaho, Montana and Wyoming cattle
men and Eastern hog shippers to send
their stock to Portland markets to
hold the local prices down, and the
Western packers and wholesale meat
killers are doing all they can to fill
every meat market in the country with
their meats to exclude the home grow
er and force him to sell at half the
cost of producing good cattle. The
very best Portland prices the middle
of November were $4.50 to $5 for steers
weighing over a ton apiece, choicest
steers $5.55. cows $3.75 to $4.50, best
heifers $4.75, best bulls and stags $3.26
to 14. calves $4 to $7.50.
The Breeders' Gazette, of Chicago, of
November $3. 1910 (the world's best
livestock authority), says:
8took Denudation of the West: After tha
deluge, whatT Tha delusa has occurred,
bince last July out of the Weat has coiue
trooping a vast, formidable procession, bo
vine and ovine. There' has been heavier
cattle rune, but never such a rush of aheep
regardless of sex, age or condition. . pre
ponderance of mediocrity and Inferiority
of cattle, outlaws and cut-throats were
routed out of every nook and corner of tha
range. Cows and their calves were shipped
and slaughtered as though the' cattle In
dustry was to be extinguished. Bulls pur
chased to carry out a weM-planned Improve
ment campaign were caught In the drag
net and hurried to the sausage mill. As a
clean-up It has -been practically complete.
Of course, some cattle have been left, but
tho rattle population west of the Missouri
River region Is reduced to comparatively
small proportions. with sheep, also, rail
way carriers were constantly behind orders,
hundreds of cars to move the stock. Re
membrance of a hard Winter, a dry Sum
mer, dear feed and deaf bankers left the
stockman no alternative. It has been a
season of atock denudation In the West from
Texas to Montana. Ornery- bologna bulla
bring S to 44.20; tat bulls. $3.5; beefy
milch cows are very scarce and selling at
$SS a head and thin atock steers are sell
ing to the farmers by the thousands at
good prices In Chicago.
On December l. 1910, at the Chicago
auction sale, for cash, one 10-months-old
grade steer sold for $660, one car
load of 15 yearlings sold for $144.56 per
head; the whole 77 carloads at the
auction sale averaged $7.77 per 100
pounds, live weight. I have before me
the Dally News, of Beloit, Wis., of No
vember 16, 1910. published 98 miles
from Chicago. Prices there on live cat
tle are good to choice steers $7.60 to ii,
common grass steers $5 to $6.50, calves,
heifers and cows $4 to $7.
In thesame issue several butchers
give retail prices at which they deliver
meat to consumers: No. 1 porterhouse
steak, 12c; No. 1 sirloin steak, 12c; No.
1 rib roast, 9c; choice pot roast, 8c; No.
I round steak, 10c; plate boiling beef,
6c; neck boiling beef, 5c; fresh ham
burger steak, 8c; No. 1 veal chops, 11c;
No. 1 veal roast, 10c; beef tenderloin,
11c; fresh pork shoulder, 11c; No. 1
pork loin chops, 13c; minced bam, 11c;
No. 1 smoked ham, 15c; No. 1 California
smoked ham. 11c; best bacon, 18c; pure
kettle-rendered lard, 13c.
Here at Chelialls I have to pay 25 to
35 per cent more for meat, and this
year had to go to a neighboring town
to get 4 cents for as fine and fat a
young cow as ever need be killed. Our
butchers are now offering $ cents for
cows and 4 to 4hi cents for fat steers,
and nearly half the meat used here Is
shipped In from distant points. Mr. W.
O. Minor's cattle sord In Chicago for
three or four times the prices they
would have brought here.
Our census repots our population
nearly doubled, work has been abund
ant at big wages. Not over two-thirds
the cattle in the Pacific Northwest
that there were a few years ago re
main, and a very large proportion of
those are dairy cows that are getting
old. Very few heifers are being raised
to replace them, because It costs twice
as much to raise an average cow as she
will bring. A six-weeks choice veal
will bring a third as much as a cow.
and no steersare being raised. A first
class dairy cow that can be bought for
$40 to $45 will earn as much In four
to six months as a 3-year-old steer will
bring.
A burned child dreads the fire, and
the Northwestern stockgrower wants
to be reasonably certain of a continued
paying market before he again re
sumes beef-making. Yours truly,
I K. COGSWELL.
Newspapers and Teachers.
Kansas City Journal.
Alert Intelligence is the better part
of competency and alertness, and in
telllgence cannot be disassociated from
up-to-dateness. The dally newspaper Is
the most up-to-date educational me
dium of instruction in many branches
of knowledge which cannot be secured
from the textbooks. The world is mov
ing all the time and teachers must move
with it. In order to keep within sight
of the head of the line of progress they
must keep in touch with the news
papers.
Intellectual 'dry rot has always
been the menace of teachers as a class
id the only "tones" which are ever
called "musty" are those which embalm
the events, the thoughts and the life
of long-dead days. The "living pres
ent' Is the day of the newspaper, and
while the past must not be slighted,
much less' discarded, the present is al
ways on the floor, loudly calling for
recognition which cannot be refused by
any teacher worthy of the name.
Hard oa the Barber.
Philadelphia Record.
"There s a humorous side even to the
life of a hospital barber," said a well
known tonsorlal expert, and to illus
trate he described an attempt he had
made not long before to shave a man
who had 6c Vitus' dance. "It was
really not so difficult." he went on,
"after I succeeded in catching - his
curve, and I did not cut him at all. I
merely hioked my own thumb a num
ber of times. You. see, there is a cer
tain regularity In nervous action, and,
closely studying" it, you can sort of
glide along on the crest of the wave.
I found it rather Interesting after I
bad thoroughly mastered his peculiar
ities, but I had to keep my eyes open
all the time. Odd phases of human
nature often come under the barber's
eye. bu I don't know that I've seen
anything stranger than this case, un
less it was properly to cut the hair of
a youngster who wouldn't sit still."
Hawthorne Not Madiaoa Bridge.
BULX. RUN, Or., Dec. 17. (To the
Editor.) I notice that The Oregonlan
has referred repeatedly to the recon
structed Madison street bridge as the
Hawthorne bridge. I would like to
know why this is? To old settlers who
have used this bridge for years it
doesn't seem right. As well call old
Hood Mountain by some other name.
SWAN SWANSON.
The City Council, not The Oregonlan,
named the bridge. The name "Haw
thorne Avenue Bridge" Is that officially
used by the City Council In transac
tions affecting the structure.
Bibles In Public Library.
PORTLAND. Dec. 16. (To the Ed
itor.) If Santa Claus would kindly
donate a half-dozen good up-to-date
Bibles to the city library, some stu
dent would feel vary grateful to him.
A STUDENT. '
BRIGHAM YOTJIVG AS STATESMAN
Wills Whom Should Re Be Classed,
Asks Correspondent.
, ILWACO. Wash., Dec. 17. (To the
Editor.) Colonel Roosevelt, In an ad
dress delivere December 14. in Cam
bridge, Mass., eald: "Last Spring, when
In Europe, 1 was struck by the fact that
every statesman I met deemed two acts
of the American people during the last
decade pre-eminently worth notice,
these two being the voyage of the bat
tleship fleet around the world, and the
businesslike efficiency with which we
are doing the work of the Panama
CanaL"
The Oregonlan, Friday last, in one of
Its editorials, made the following state
ment: "The genius with which he
(Brlgham Young) organized the Mormon
community after reaching Utah ranks
him with the great statesmen of the
world."
The "statesmen" referred to In both
of these quotations are pre-eminently
worthy of notice. Can you tell me why
this naval Junket around the world was
a greater achievement than the voyage
a Kreuiur acmevemeui wan tne royAgo i way SUcn a subject as Tne NlggerT
of a glllnet boat over the Columbia bar? I What does it really mean? By its use
The world-cruise of the men-of-war j what Is meant to be taught? Respect
cost the paltry sum of $20,000,000, and J able people desire respectable entertain
there are captains in Portland harbor ment, especially when they have gone
today who are competent to take 32 to a place that has such a good reputa
battleshlps twice around the world, and 1 tlon as the Heilig. I wish to he under
then be satisfied with the usual pay for I stood as being sincere, and having no
their services. However, the squadron
made a fine spectacle, and the Incep
tion of the canal was an American un
dertaking. Perhaps the European
statesman knew that both of these
events belonged to aa eventful epoch
in United States history. Is it not true
that the man who first conceived the
practicability and necessity of a canal
across the Isthmus should rank higher
than the fellows who draw salaries for
digging the ditch Itself? The men who
maneuvered the fleet and the men en
gaged In constructing the canal have
done what thousands of other Ameri
cans could do equally well. It Is ful
some to praise men just because they
happen to be in the limelight.
Do you really . thinS that Brlgham
Young should be classified with Bis
marck, Lincoln and Gladstone? Wouldn't
It sound better to put him In a group
with John A. Dowie, Joseph Q. Cannon
and Mary Ellen Lease? Wasn't Prig
ham a ladies' man? Is a man a mar
velous organizer because he lives roy
ally on a tax extracted from unfortu
nate serfs? Then, why not place the
Mormon leader's name with those of
Andrew and John D. ? Have the. Mor
mons accomplished anything creditable
in Utah that has not been duplicated
in other states by Methodists or Bap
tists? Respectfully, ANGUS JACK.
Mr. Jack's philosophical observations
range through many a flowery field In
the foregoing letter. We cannot follow
him everywhere, delightful as the Jour
ney would be. but we will say a little
more about Brlgham Toung. We should
not class him "with Bismarck, Lincoln
and Gladstone," nor, to tell the plain
truth, should we think of naming these
three distinguished men together. Glad
stone's merits were very different from
IMsmarck's, and neither of them was at
all like Lincoln, either in character or
Intellect. In organizing the Mormon
community Brlgham Young performed
a feat which all historians recognize as
extraordinary. It is inept to class him
with Dowie, and so forth, because his
work endured
It has proved to be one
of the most vital and persistent pieces
of statesmanship ever executed. Far
from dying out. Mormonism is today a
power to be reckoned with, and it is
growing all the time. Moreover, we
must not overlook the remarkable so
cial Institutions, apart from religion
and politics, which Brlpham applied to
his new community. In studying such
man, Mr. Jack should forget his
prejudices and look at th facts.
THE WHITE BISHOP OF BOSTON"
Doctor New Believes Snowy Clothes
I Promote Longevity.
Ethel Lloyd Patterson in the New York
Evening Vorld.
The White Bishop of Boston is 79
years old. He looks about 45. He says
he Is Z6, the better to put the thought
of youth upon himself. Tou will under
stand this Is a necessary quibbling with
facts, because he is going to live to be
a thousand. ' Incidentally, .he always
wears white flannels, which has to do
with his longevity In a manner pres
ently to be explained.
But how stupid! I have not as yet
told you the White Bishop's real name.
Or do you know it? It seems incredible
that such a person as John Fair New,
the founder of Newtianlty, should have
been In New York for two days and all
the city not hear of him.
"Why do you dress entirely in white?"
I queried.
"Because white is the sign of life and
purity,' answered the bishop. "Black
is the sign of sin and death. To wear
white helps me to believe in my body's
immortality. Black would oppress me."
"The men of our street-cleaning de
partment wear white- we call them
'white wings.' " I explained. "Are they
liable to live longer than the rest of
us?"
"If they wear their white with the
conscious thought of life," said the
bishop earnestly, "they will. If every
one in New York could be prevailed
upon to wear nothing but white for one
entire week the longevity of the com
munity would be increased hundreds of
years."
But, my word, think of the laundry
bill! We would never survive that, at
any rate.
."Christmas," Siot "Xmmu.- ...
PORTLAND, Dec. 13. (To the Editor.)
Iconoclasm of abbreviation is a product
of the spirit of commercialism. "Multum
in parvo" is good enough motto for the
man who pays by the line for his adver
tising, for at times he can save a dollar
or two by saying "1st and Morr." or "3d
and Wash." It looks raw and rank, to be
sure, but explains itself. This cannot
be said of the practice every holiday sea
son of the use of that abomination
"Xmas" for Christmas. How It origi
nated I do not know. I saw it used first
perhaps 40 yeans ago, by an Episcopal
clergyman, a devout and naturally sin
cere man. He said it was a practice he
had fallen Into In, writing "copy." How
ever, he used the sign of the cross, not
"X," and that way it stood for some
thing. For lack of the character typo
graphically, the mark has degenerated,
into the capital letter, which lacks eu
phony by changing the indefinite article
and savors of the branding iron. In a
difytay advertisement It looks cheap. One
may be forgiven the offense of lese
majeste in abbreviating tho name of the
Father Of fcUS country or mat m any oi
his successors, but in the use of "Christ
mas," in reverence of the Savior, if for
no other reason, spell It out.
W. J. CUDDY.
' . One Feels Fine.
BULL RUN, Or., Dec. 15. (To the
Editor.) Kindly tell the correct use of
language In the following sentence:
I asked "A": How are you feeling?
"Very fine," he answered. I said it
wasn't correct, that he ought to say.
"very finely." He Bays I am wrong and
I say I am right. Who is right?
- A READER.
After verbs of sensation use the ad
jective, not the adverb. One feels fine,
not finely; food tastes good, not well,
etc. . -
On tbe Rear.
PORTLAND. Dec. 16. (To the Editor.)
Please siate in Tbe Oregonian. as soon
as possible, whether the propeller of the
Wright Brothers' aeroplane Is on the
front or rear of the machine.
I DONTNONOTfcUN.
PLAY THAT UPBUILDS PREJTDICE.
Paalor of African M, K. Chnrck Finds
Unsavory Plot In "The Rigger.''
PORTLAND, Dec 19. (To the Editor.)
I feel Impelled to state here that such
a play as the one presented by W. L.
Brady last week at the Hellig. entitled.
"The Nigger," should not be allowed to
pass uncriticised, especially by the race
that was the object of its malignant at
tack. While it must be conceded that
the negro was the object of ridicule, the
presentation, taken altogether, casts a
most unsavory reflection upon the An-.
glo-Saxon race ltl a moral sense.
As I sat in the balcony awaiting tha
time for the play to begin, the great
auditorium and its whole scenery seemed
to present a vast panorama of interroga
tion points. And when the whole thing
had finished, it seemed the "Interroga
tion" had left an irritation not alone
with me. It was perceptible among
those of the opposite race, especially the
true-blooded ones. Well, that helped me
quite a bit; you bet it did.
aim or intention of casting any slur at
the management of Portland's pride in
the way of a playhouse. Yet I must be
frank enough to say that this play Is
too low in character and class to be tol
erated by decent people anywhere.
Now I propose to give reasons for the
above expressions: First, the title itself
is derisive, depreciating and grossly in
sulting to people of finer sensibilities. To
cultivated people the plot in the main
Is unentertaining and vulgar. I now
make especial reference to the "nigger"
who was supposed to have committed the
un-nameable crime, by having made an
attack upon a very young girl, and was
shown crawling out of the dismal
swamps, flat on his stomach, chased by
bloodhounds.
Second, it is distasteful in the extreme
for characters to come before the public
on the stage and tell of illicit associa
tion between elavemasters and their un
fortunate slave women. Those are un
favorable and unsavory reminiscences
which the colored folk have already for
given the white man and are willing to
forget.
As for the man who feloniously attacks
a woman we condemn him; and yet we
pity him. whether his skin is white or
black. We pity him because he is too
miserable a wretch to be classed a man,
however one may regard him as human.
Such a being has eunk to the level of
the lowest animal; and yet there Is a
better remedy for him than lynching, '
Moral and religious education is capable
of uplifting the most degraded and vilest
specimens of humanity. Ignorance has
been and is the thing which keeps the
black race behind.
Immorality in itself Is a crime against
the perpetrator, as well as against the
person wronged. And tho action of such
perpetration is a setback to the people
with whom the perpetrator is Immedi
ately identified. Such a perpetrator is
an "immoral parasite' Industry, thrift,
education and religious and moral train
ing are the exigencies that will lift my
race to a level of respectability and es
teem by the best people of the land. The
play that was presented at the Hellig,
entitled. "Tha Nizeer." has not helped
or encouraea h ibi u.e
Anrt what is prejudice? The true defini
tion of prejudice is ignorance. Then
why keep up the old. stale' racket about
some illiterate or hair-educated demon
of the black race breaking his fool .neck
over some "hair-brained" white woman,
or of some low "white-washed" villain
of the white race being the "father" of
an uncultured, mulatto woman's child?
For the moral good, for a more pacific
relationship between the two races, and
f especially for better encouragement to
the black race, 1 pray mat. me uouuri
disposed American people set their stamp
of disapproval and intolerance against
such plays. Pacifically yours.
W. W. MATTHEWS.
Pastor First African M. E. Zion Churoh.
tVIl.HEI.M AS HOST TO TOUBtSTS
Women Had the Merriest Half Hoar of
Their Lives, They Declared.
New York World.
Berlin Passing through one of the
big game preserves near Emperor
William's shooting box at Hubertus
Stock the other day a party of strang
ers stopped to buy milk or beer at the
forester's little cottage. The forester's
wife came out to them and said she
would 'be happy to give them anything
she had but she couldn't invite them
Inside.
"We have company," she explained.
It was drizzling and the two ladies
In the party, both of them foreigners,
felt some disgust at not being able to
take their refreshment under cover.
Suddenly from the open window of a
parlor a head was put out and a voice
exclaimed:
"Ladies Jn the wet! That won't do.
They must come in. There's plenty of
room here.'!
When the visitors turned to see who
had spoken the head had disappeared.
Somewhat flustered, the forester's wife
led them into the parlor but aa they
opened the door all started back and
the Emperor, for it was he, rising
from a wooden stool at the round table,
pushed back some chairs, saying:
' "Come, ladies: won't you do me the
honor to share my luncheon? The pea
soup, I assure you. Is excellent, and
this good housewife here has prepared
a dish of venison to which L at least,
propose to do Justice."
The ladies sat down and. as they
afterward said, passed the merriest
half hour In their lives. The Emperor
joked all the time and finally when his
automobile arrived Invited the ladles
to accompany him to the edge of the
forest. . '
ANOTHER CAUTION TO MOTORISTS
Suspected Danger In the Gaseous Pro
duct of Motor Combustion,
Springfield Union.
BIr James de War, a noted English
chemist, recently sounded a warning of
a new automobile peril. He said that
the product of motor combustion was
carbonic oxid, a deadly gas, and that
every cough of the big automobiles
poured a quantity of this deadly gas
into the atmosphere. The poisoned
vapors, being heavier than air, have a
tendency to accumulate, he said, and
consequently are especially dangerous
to persons of short stature and chil
dren. In apparent confirmation of this
theorv conies 'the report of the death
Sunday of a Worcester man, Edwin M.
Hadley, who was suffocated by gas
while -"toning up" his automobile In
his garage. The Worcester Telegram,
in Its report of the circumstances at
tending Mr. Hadey's death, says: "He
went from the house to the garage
about 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon to
tone up the engine of his automobile.
While thus engaged an explosion oc
curred, and there was such a volume
of gas fumes resultant that he was
suffocated. There was evidence of an
explosion of the automobile engine, the
radiator and engine being hot and the
garage being filled wtlh smoke and gas
vapors, when the body was discovered."
This accident, however, does not prove
that the danger is as great as Bir
James has represented it to be. An
explosion of a gasoline engine, filling a
small garage with smoke and gas,, may
eiily cause suffocation, whereas the
exhaust from an automobile in the open
air might be, and probably is, practical
ly harmless. With eo many automo
biles in dally use it Beems to us that
the menace of the carbonic oxid. If It
rrallv exists, would have Msn du
ered long ago.
,4