TITE 3IORMXG OREGONIAX, WEDNESDAY, DECE3IBER 21. 1910.
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bVTLAXO. WUEU)bY. DX. II. Ml
A rODAUNTAL PROBUW.
A writer In the December Atlantic
onthly. Mr. William S. ltostiiter.
anifcsts treat disturbance of mind
Lev 'our Increasing population. He
eea In it the cauee of many. If not
a:t. our National troubles. The rising
cost of living, the power of the public
ervice corporations, the bitterness
of the struggle between capital and
labor, all mm to Mr. Rossiter to
grow out of the dire fact that we
already have too many people, from
one point of view, and are likely be
fore long to have a great many more.
He reminds ua of the pressure of
population in India and China with
the terrible economic consequences it
has entailed, and predicts that we
hall experience something of the
lame kind In this country before
many years have passed. It is not
the bare increase of our population
which disturbs Mr. lioJwiter so much
as the tendency it exhibits to mass
together lr towns. This naturally de
prives the land of lis working force,
while at the same time it multiplies
the mouths to be fed. so that the
United States presents the interesting
phenomenon of an increasing demand
for food with a relatively decreasing
Supply. Sometimes the decrease Is
not merely relative but absolute.
Thus the number of head of neat
cattle In the United States fell off
more than 6.000.000 between Jhe
jer 18 and 100. Still there are
iiimt people who wonder why beef is
o high.
No doubt Mr. Rnssiter has good
r round for his worries, but after all
when we face the facts of population
squarely they do not seem to be so ter
rifying as they might. We have today,
tt the outside, some 10 people to the
io.ua re mile of territory. This estimate
Hands when alt our desert areas are
eft out of the reckoning. Compared
ith Belgium's 600 to the square utile
his populaalon does not seem exces
,ive. It Is not very dense even in com
arisnn with Denmark's ISO or the 10
f France. Although Belgium has fully
sjep'v times as oense a popumuuu
s oih. with but a small proportion
f the units engaged In agriculture.
ci II she Is far from suffering the
ronomlc Ills which are rife In China
nd Hindostan. The standard of
-omfort In Belgium Is relatively .high,
'n Drnmark it is higher than In tfie
ulnlng regions of the United States.
o that If we give due regard to the
ji,-ti of the case we must conclude
:hat It Is not the actual density or our
population which threatens trouble.
ut ts abnormal distribution.
Mr. Rosalter reminds us that at the
Ime of the Revolution, when we had
tltogether only some J.000.000 peo
ple, about per cent of them were
living on the land. Now, when we
have more than 0. 000. 000 less than
one-third of them live and work on
'arms. The change Is startling even
en Its face, but It Is much more
startling when we examine It atten
tively. The reader has probably re
marked that the only cheap fruit and
vegetables which the city dweller ever
obtains come from a ring about ten
Yf.t'.a around the town. This Is the
UIBIAIIW I'lV II -
own produce and deliver It to city
customers. In revolutionary duys the
tewos were all small and the ring of
land ten miles wide around each one
had a large area compared with the
area of the city at Its center. Hence
the Inhabitants or the city were plen
tifully supplied with cheap fruits and
Vegetables Just as they are still In
Villages and little towns. But nof
our cities sre no longer small Soma
f them are huge, and as they have
(row a the relative area of the ring
ef land from which comes cheap food
has- decreased for every one o'f them.
Any boy In the grammar syhoo! can
sit dovca with his slate and pencil and
figure oMt how rapidly the ratio of
this accessible ring to the cltylt en
closes decreases as the city spreads
cut: It follows therefore from the
very nature of space and time that
the tendency of the price of food to
city people must be upward unless
some wsy Is devised to widen out the
ring from which farmers, can bring
er send in and deliver their own prod
uce without the intervention of mid
dlemen, if course the construction
er good roads is one way of doing
'.his. but there are others of more
profound import.
It Is plain, therefore, that the
growth of big cities entails hardships
upon their populations quite apart
from the general consequences of our
decavlng agriculture. The two prob
lem are totally different. Mr. Ros
alter presents no solutlifl for either
ene. Clearly one Important way" to
widen the area of cheap food supply
for the city is to provide cheap trans-
N portatlon from the farm to the cus
tomer. Germany saw inis long air.
and with her usual good jense Insti
tuted the parcels post by which pota
toes, eggs, poultry, fruit and so on go
directly through the mall from the
man who produces to the family
w hl-h consumes. The problem of
decadent agriculture Is not so simple,
though for ns even the parcels post
seem to present Insuperable difficul
ties. Kor a generation, while we have
seen Its necessity, we have wrung our
hands in helpless bafjlement before
It. To turn people ba.ck from . the
town to the country is far more diffi
cult than to provide cheap tranpor
tatmn from farm to city household,
heush the two hang together. It is
foolish to urge young men to take to
farm lire as long as iney "j
middleman will take it per cent1
uf the selling price of their produce.
It is perhaps still more foolish to
urge people to leave the lights, com
fortable streets, conveniences aad dl-
versions of the city for the dreary soli
tude and muddy roads of the country
Most men. and nine out of every ten
women, would far prefer to starve in
town rather than grow fat In thej
country. It Is just as well for the
Americans people to understand that
they are face to face with a. danger
ous problem and that something more
efficient than Idle catch words and
waring of the star-spangled banner
will be required to solve It.
COI RT9 1U OOSTEStrr ACTIONS.
Two editors have fallen Into con
tempt of court at Seattle. On of
them has been sent to Jail. The court
had cited them for contempt because
the Judge had been scandalously at
tacked and his motives and good faith
openly questioned for Issuing an In
junction on behalf of a street railway
company In a bitter controversy be
tween the corporation and its patrons.
The court properly felt that It had
been outraged and It applied its own
remedy in summary fashion.
The Oregonlan does not doubt that
the provocation of the Seattle court
was great, and the punishment mer
ited. But It does not fail also to ob
serve that the Judge based his action
on the Incidental and technical fact
that the editors had commented on a
case w hile it was pending, and previ
ous to a final decision, and not on the
real offense against the Judge, which
was that he had been villainously and
continuously lampooned and libeled
and that a deliberate and undisguised
effort had been made to influenco his
ultimate action.
In ,the narrow view of the Seattle
courti any comment on any case In
court, however proper. Innocent, Jus
tifiable or even necessary, makes the
writer, or the responsible head of the
publication, liable to punishment. Of
course this is all wrong and in practice
is pot observed either by courts or by
newspapers. .
But why could not this Seattle court
have considered this aggravated case
of abuse or the right of free speech on
the broad ground of the merits of the
statement or misstatements of the
editors? Why did it rely for Justifica
tion of its action on a mere technical
rule that. If enforced or attempted to
he enforced. In all cases would bring
the courts into contempt and have the
newspapers forever In trouble?
ALL IS fiOOD TIME.
The Eugene Guard is getting im
patient with what It fancies is the
delay of the Oregon Electric In ex
tending Its line from Salem up the
Willamette Valley and finds rault on
that account with Mr. Hill, the
City of Portland, the professional
"boosters" and the people of Lane
County. Mr. Hill says the great need
of the country today Is patience and
the. Eugene paper intimates that It
Is tired of that kind of "dope" and
says railroads better transportation
facilities will solve all Industrial
problems.
The people of Portland are accused
of sesfUhly obstructing the building
of more railroads because (so It is
suggested) "Portland feels that we
ean be better drained of our business
with the single road than If compet
ing lines awoke new life and com
mercial activity." ' The solution of
fered I for the people of Lane County
to build a railroad of "their own 60
miles west to tide water then "pop
ulation would follow. Industries would
come and other . railroads would
hasten to reach a field where there
was business to share."
During all the fruitful period of his
irreat career. Mr. HIU has never Justly-
earned the reproach of waiting for the
traffic to develop before going alter
It. The people of Portland want to
see this and.. other roads extended
through the Valley and any Intima
tion that they tand In the way is
silly and untrue. No place has bene
fited more than Portland anywhere
by the construction and extension of
competing roads: and Portland relies
on more complete development of the
Hill plaaj of gxldlronlng the Willam
ette Valley for the benefit of the
whole state, which spells Its own
benefit.
Meanwhile let the Eugene paper
curb Its Impatience and refrain from
counselling Lane County to rash en
terprises in paper railroad balding.
Mr. Hill will be there In good time
with a real competing railroad.
VEXU'CrS TKOl BLE. . . -
The Mexican situation Is apparently
becoming more serious than the light
and airy censored reports of the gov
ernment have admitted. General Na
varro, one of the best fighters and
most skilled strategists in the Mexi
can army, has been captured by the
rebels, and a large force of troops are
hemmed in by the same force that
captured Navarro. Kor the past
mouth there has been a strong simi
larity In the Mexican warfare to that
which was carried on by the Boers
and the British in South Africa. Gen
eral Buller excused his frequent re
treats from the Boers as part of a
plan for "luring them on." One day
prior to the receipt of the news of
Navarro's capture, his "alleged Inac
tivity", was explained in a telegram
to the Mexican Consul at Laredo as
due to his following "a strategic plan
which would draw the enemy out
Into the open for an engagement
rather than ' rnrsue ' the insurrectos
Into an impregnable stronghold."
This plan of waiting for the rebels
to come Into camp or to engage In
battle at points selected for the con
venience oT the Mexican army will
hardly be accepted by the rebels. A
signifUauit feature of the situation
was the statement la Monday's dis
patches from Mexico City that Amer
ican trainmen had refused to serve on
the Chihuahua Pacific Railroad,
which had been taken in charge by
the Mexican government. While
Americans living along the Mexican
border have never been strong ad-
nlrers of tne. Mexican oTrrimwu.,
they, have thus lr laxen no irara
that could be construed as favorable
to the rebels. But warfare is expen
sive It unsettles trade and it en
dangers lives. The United Itates h
directly Interested In both trade and
lives in the turbulent land . on our
southern border. The revolt that has
gained such headway is directed
less against Dlax, for whom the grave
Is yaw nlng. than It to against the sys
tem by which his successor - will be
chosen.
The rebels have already scored suf
ficient success to warrant the belief
that they can make It Impossible for
the Dlas dyTiasty to name a wrct
. . m-nhhlv ov-
to the present head of the wobbly gov
ernment. They have aiso ucmu,.
strated a strength far In excess of any
thing with which the Mexican govern
ment has seen flt publicly to credit
them. Unless one. or the other of
these contending forces can in the near
future make a decisive shoeing . of
strength, some of the other powers
that have .trade interests which are
suffering by the protracted squabble
may feel called on to suggest a stay
of proceedings.
THE RCROOLS AND THEIR COST.
The financial and business Interests
of School District Number One'have
come to be of enormous proportions.
The growth of the city in population
of the home-building order Is 'mir
rored in the growth of the schools.
That the Board of Education has
wrestled faithfully and understand
Ingly with this problem of growth is
shown by the table of estimates and
tm record of building and purchases
that have been submitted to public
consideration. The levy asked for the
maintenance and betterment of the
schools Is 1.7 mills higher than that
of last year. It is tor the taxpayers
to decide whether or not the Increase
asked will be allowed, and if the esti
mates of the Board are to be cut, at
what point the reduction can be made
without detriment to the public school
service.
The Oregonlan is not prepared to
pass on the expense account of the
schools in detail, but if asked offhand
to mention a point at which the ex
pense could be reduced somewhat
without loss to any educational Inter
est, It would say, drop music from the
curriculum. As taught, music is a
farce, rendered by untrained voices
without the saving grace of humor
a Joke which even the teachers do not
appreciate.
Tet The Oregonlan would also say
that the public schools are worth all
they cost, and more; and it makea no
objection, nor do the taxpayers ob
ject, to any ' expenditure for the
schools based on proper considera
tions of efficiency, comfort, growth
and utility. What the public wants
from Us schools is results in useful
education and correct training.
VJiHAPFY GOVKKS.tlEST f'l.KRKS.
There Is great consternation In
Washington over President Taft's
proposal to extend the working day
to S o'clock in the Government of
fices. At present Ihe employes are
released from toll at half past 4,
and they naturally feel that another
half hour of exhausting effort would
be unendurable. Beginning at 9,
these unfortunate wage slaves are
obliged to put in six and a half hours
of service to a thankless Government
which now plans to reward their un
remitting effort by adding another
thirty minutes to their long and
weary day.
It is impertinent to suggest at this
point that there are wage slaves w ho
go to work at 7 in the morning and
never think of getting away until 6
or at night. Indeed, they are E'ad
of the chance to do so, since it means
bread for' the children and new gowns
for the wife at home. The Govern
ment employes at Washington are
built of a finer clay than the common
person who tolls for wages. They are
the aristocracy of labor. If one may
designate as "labor" the delicate
and distinguished tasks which they
perform. ,
The severe hardship which Mr.
Taft's new rule will impose upon these
unfortunates may be estimated by
noting a few of its consequences.
Many Government employes are now
able to attend law lectures beginning
at : If they are compelled to
work till S how can they possiblr go
on with their legal studies? Think'
what a calamity it would be to the
country to lose so many new lawyers.
Others dwell In the suburbs and ride
to Washington every morning to be
gin work. The new order would make
them half an hour later In reaching
home, and the consequence would be
lawns unmown, chickens unfed and
things In general going to) the dogs.
But the worst hardship would fall of
the wretched baseball fans. If they
had to work till S o'clock they would
miss the best part of every game.
Woe unutterable would be theirs.
Naturally the Government's main
purpose In hiring them is to give them
a chance to see the baseball games,
studv law an.d so on. The work of
the departments is a minor matter. .
(int ACTIAL RESIXTS.
Nothing succeeds like success. For
the purpose of convincing the skepti
cal, results are Infinitely preferable to
expectations and promises. Various
publicity agents scattered throughout
the Pacific Northwest are learning
that the great Investing public, which
has a critical eye on this new region.
Is less Interested in promises of what
can be done than it is in what ac
tually has been done. J
" If the intending Investor Is to chooso
between a locality where he is assured
he can make a profit of 1300 per acre
from fruit and smother locality where
he Is given the name and address of a
man wlio actually -has made $500 per
acre from fruit, he will choose t,he lo-.
cality where performance, and not the
promise, is in evidence, Oregon,
Washington and Idaho can supply
such an endless number of specific
cases of alluring profits secured from
all branches of agriculture that It is
poor policy for any locality to elab
orate on generalities and omit partic
ulars of actual achievement, which, if
necessary', could be fortified with affi
davits. The Intending settler might learn of
a dozen localities In Oregon where the
opportunities for dairying were first
class, but nothing regarding these lo
calities would be of a more convincing
nature than the direct, positive state
ment that John D. Mickle, rural deliv
ery route No. 1, Forest Grove. Ore
gon had in the five months ending
January. 1910, sold 6S.30 worth of
milk from nine cows. The man seek
ing a fruit farm evould be interested In
reading that S. LJndley. of Lebanon.
Or., sold $490.76 worth of strawberries
from 1 , 4-5 acres of land and $47$
worth of melons from 1 H acres: that
W. A. Johes. of Salem, sold 7000 crates
of peaches from seven acres of land.
It Is no trouble to inform the In
tending buyer that he can produce
$1$1& worth of apples from three
acres of land, but the statement is
materially strengthened when he Is in
formed that H. B. Herr. of Freew-ater.
Or actually cleared that 8n from
three acres of Rome Beauty apples.
E. L.Bennett, of Rogue. River, sold
700 boxes of Newtown Pippins from
14 acres of orchard, and Al Trayer.
of Milton. Or., sold $900 worth of
prunes off ode acre. S. E. McBee
raised 80 tons of carrots on one acre
and sold them at $7.50 per ton.
These specific cases are culled at
random from current news Items run
ning through the daily and weekly
press of the Pacific Northwest, and all
of them can be -substantiated in a
manner that will leave no doubt what
ever In the mind of the newcomer as
to the opportunities and-ad vantages of
this country. The community that
sticks the closest to fhis kind of ad
vertising -will get results that- will be
missed by those who deal in generali
ties and overlook the numerous spe-
.clflc cases which they could present.
For the first time since the opening
of the present grain season, Russian
shipments last week were smaller
than on the corresponding week in
the previous season, although ship
ments from the Danublan ports were
about 1,000,000 . bushels larger than
for the same week last year. The
American visible supply, which was
already more than 14.000,000 bushels
greater than on the same date a year
ago, showed a further increase of
334.000 bushels yesterday, and quan
tities on passage were 6,000,000 bush
els greater than last year. Unfortu
nately for those who have been await
ing a return to last year's prices, the
decrease in Russian shipments was
more than offset by an Increase in the
Argentine, and ffom this date forward
the' big southern country will show
shipments of steadily increasing' vol
ume. Next month Australia will begin
shipping new-crop wheat and again we
reach the turn of the year iwith noth
ing approaching a world's crop short
age in sight and with prices more than
10 cents per bushel lower than last
year.
Chicago commercial organizations
and the labor unions are planning to
Join hands In a concerted movement
to drive loan sharks out of business.
This Is a movement that should f pread
throughout the land. The great dif
ficulty heretofore experienced in get
ting rid of these parasitical Shylocks
has been the Indifference pt their vic
tims, past and prospective. The se
curity which the laboring man has
to offer is not always of the best.
This fact enables the harpies of the
loan office to exact fearful toll for
the accommodation which the bor
rower might not easily secure else
where. In Portland as in every large
city, there are a number of these
sleek, oily sharks who are growing
wealthy by robbing the poor with
their exorbitant interest rates. Nu
merous attempts have been made to
curb the grasping operations of the
gentry, but none have proved success
ful. Some patriot with the interest
of the poor at heart should get a bill
through the coming session of the
Legislature. -
The Oregon Conservation Associa
tion recommends the passage of a law
appropriating $60,000 for the estab
lihm,ent of a state forestry service
which will accomplish results in pre
venting and quenching forest fires.
The project has much to commend it.
Forestry conservation and protection
as now carried on by the Government
Is somewhat farcical, and every' year
there is a heavy loss by fire. The big
tracts of timber which have been pur
chased by syndicates are well pa
trolled and guarded by skilled rang
ers, but there are thousands of. small
holdings scattered through the state
in which the danger of fire Is greater
than It is In the big tracts. Fire once
started in these unguarded tracts is
likely to run for miles and destroy
immense amounts or valuable tim
ber. ' Holders of this timber would,
of course, be the heaviest losers, but
the state as a whole Is also a loser
when so much tangible wealth. Is
wiped out of existence.
' The bollermakers' lockout in the
shipyards of North England, which
lasted three months and caused a loss
of $5,000,000, has come to an end.
Philip Snowden, Socialist member of
Parliament, places the blame for all
of the loss of money and attendant
suffering on the 'radical element In
the socialist ranks. Mr. Snowden's
diagnosis of the case will hardly be
questioned, for the shipyard lockout
in North. England In mosj. of its fea
ttres did not difrer from similar trou
bles In various parts of the world that
have brought trouble and loss on in
nocent workers who were unable to
withstand the influence of the radi
cals who Insisted on following the rule
or ruin policy.
Just thirty years ago. when Henry
Villard Invaded the railroad Held of
the Pacific Northwest Portland had
visions of a mighty city. But of the
thotisands who lived here then, who
was so optimistic as to believe that the
city would grow so large by 1911 that
the expense- of the public schools
would reach the enormous sum of
$2 000 000? That Portland would pay
In 'salaries alone $900,000? Who now
dare estimate the number of school
chilBren thirty years hence
Is it ever right to He? The teach
ers who marched the children out of
the burning schoolhouse at Boise
came verv near to deceiving the poor
little things.. It was understood by
the children to be merely a drill while
in truth it was an escape from death.
Would tt have, been better to tell the
truth and shame the devil? We
wonder.
North Yakima's reversion to can
dles for a night or two may- have
been a salutary experience. We have
so many blessings nowadays that we
do not appreciate them. only
learn what they are worth when we
lose them. May North Yakima be
Improved and humbled by .her two
nights of tallow candles.
After more than a year of partial
estrangement. South East Portland
and the West Side are again on visit
ing terms. Let us hope It w ill be a
long lime before another dismantled
bridge interrupts neighborly communi
cation. . '
Those 378 children of school age
added to District No. 1 within twelve
months account in part for the in
creased Portland tax levy for 1911
Clean the well. Probably an old hen
that died or limberneck to at the bot
tom. Quit using the water and clean
the well. "
Why not start a guessing contest
over the votes cast for Supreme
Judge?
No school tax is too high that gets
results, but the rub Is in the getting.
There is only one day left In which
to do yonr C hristmas shopping early.
The Hawthorne bridge ceased to be
a Joke yesterday.
WHAT SINGLE TAXEB9 PLAN TO DO.
Graduated Ub4 Value Tax Will Be
Pnt Va to People.
PORTLAND, Or., Dec 20. To the
Editor.) May I tell your correspond
ents that the one aim of the single tax
ers Is to destroy land monopoly, and
the one way to destroy land monopoly
is to make it expensive for any one to
own land that he is not using?
. Oregon Is now cursed by land mon
opoly, and Oregon has less people liv
ing on farms than it had 45 years ago.
Mr. James J. Hill says our cities are
"top heavy" and the "top heavy'' cities
are a direct result of land .monopoly.
The single, taxers will propose, a
graduated land tax In several counties.
These tax laws will Increase the taxes
on every person or corporation that
owns over $10,000 worth of land, and
from $10,000 to $20,000 taxes will be in
creased about one mill, and from $20,
000 to $30,000 they will be raised a little
more and so on up to $100,000 worth
of land is reached. Above that tax
will be about 6 per cent which equals
rent.'
We believe that a graduated land
tax will not hurt the small, owner who
has more dollars in improvements than
he has dollars In land, and all his Im
provements will be exempted from
taxes, so he will pay less than he does
now. -
I wish now to tell you what carried
the tax amendment. You will remem
ber that many things were said about
single tax in 1908 that were not true
and every falsehood that was told in
that campaign has been made plain to
the farmer and other voters that it was
told to bolster up land monopoly. Most
of the people since then have been
studying the question of single tax vs.
land monopoly. There has been a gen
eral dividing of those In favor of land
monopoly on one side, and the single
taxers on the other. Everybody must
take bis choice; It is either land mon
opoly or single tax: there can be no
middle ground on this question.
Under the single tax. school houses
will be built In places where land mon
opoly has torn them down.
The single tax makes land produce
food, while land monopoly makes
produce weeds: let us remember Mark
ham's lines that,
"The robber la 'Tobbed by hi riche's:
The tyrant Is dragged by hia cha nj;
The chmer is anared by bis cuniiln.
The layr Ilea dead by tb alaln.
So let us have a full, fair and truth
ful discussion of single tax vs. land
monopoly, remembering always that
Vancouver, B. G. right at our door, has
the single tax and that any untruthful
statements on either side will rebound
and strike the teller.
H. D. WAGNON.
The Oregonlan has not the slightest
doult that if the full purport of the
county (single) taa amendment had
been understood, It would have been
overwhelmingly beaten, as single tax
was beaten two years ago, and will be
beaten again two years hence. Ore
gon Is not, and will not be, a single
tax state. Never. The people are all
right, and will decide right any ques
tion put fully, clearly and fairly be
fore them. s"
It Is no wonder tha the bearing and
significance of the county (single) tax
measure wece wholly overlooked by
press and the! public alike, in the re
cent campaign. It was buried In' the
mass of other important problems to
be solved through the Initiative. The
poll-tax trick achieved a preliminary
triumph for the single tax propogand
Ists; but they will find that they will
get no farther.
It is interesting to hear now from
Mr. Wagnon, who speaks by the card,
what the single taxers are going to
do. We heard nothing from him dur
ing the campaign, which shows that
Vagnonr possesses both caution and
discretion. Now he bursts forth In his
customary song about land monopoly,
and tells us how the great landowners
are to be put out of business, while the
small home-owner is to be protected.
But there are a hundred, small owners
to one large holder, and they are not
likely to permit themselves to be of
fered as a sacrifice to the fantastic and
costly effort of the have-nots to get at
the haves. Hardly.
Where did Wagnon get his authority
for the statement that Oregon has few
er people on farms than in 1865? From
the ready resources of his limitless im
agination, doubtless. Oregon had about
70,000 people -in 1865. Now two agri
cultural counties of Oregon' (Marlon
and Jackson) have more people than
all Oregon had then. The .population
of the state is 672,000. Certainly from
one-third to one-half live In the coun-,
try. They will be heard from In numbers,-
too, when the grand Wagrton
scheme of making them and other land
owners pay all the taxes is put up to
them.
rotated Paragraphs.
Chicago News. - . ,
The loser never wastes his sympathy
on the winner.
It's not a difficult matter to be as
honest as policy is..
The world Is full of misers as the
spendthrift looks at It.
According to a spinster, the dark
ages are anywhere between 28 and 40.
A woman doesn't mind walking on
a crowded street if she has a good car
riage. About the most expensive thing a
man can do is to assoc'ate with cheap
people. 1
A man with a family can live in the
city on less than he can In the coun
try if he has to.
New Name for Chauffeurs. '
New York Tribune.
To the Editor of the Tribune: Why
call auto drivers chauffeurs? It is
not an English word. It Is hard to
pronounce, hard to spell, hard to write,
and when written or printed is not
pleasing to the eye. Besides, the
definition Of the word shows it to
be exceedingly inappropriate on a cold
Winter's day. Why not call them
"Jehus," a name associated with fast
driving for hundreds of years?
"And the driving is like the driving
of Jehu: for he drlveth furiously." '.
TRIBUNE READER.
Reflections of a Bachelor.
New York Press.
We buy pleasure and it Isn't; we
build happiness, and it Is.
Nobody could be a cynic if the world
was peopled only by children
Being in politics seems like hanging
on to a liferaft in stormy midocean.
You can tell when a woman's com
plexion is touched up a bit by how
conscious she acta that It is natural.
Mutual.
Catholic Standard and Times.
"Bridget," said Mrs. Grouchey, "I
don't like the looks of that man who
called to see you last night."
"Well, well." replied Bridget, "ain't
It funny, ma'am? He said the same
about you."
V Milwaukee's Culture.
St. Louis Times.
Milwaukee has ordered that ball
rooms In 'that city shall be equipped
with cuspidors. Milwaukee's culture is
vindicated by the fact that they were
not called spittoons.
Not Infrequently.
Wall Street Journal.
Sometimes the right side ol.the mar
ket is the outside
COMMENT ON T. R'S. SPEECH.
Treated With Silence or Mild Satire by
the Eastern Press.
Many of the Eastern dailies ignore in
their editorial columns the speech of
Colonel Roosevelt- at New Haven, not
ably the NewYork Times, Tribune,
World and Evening Post. It is so also
with the influential papers of Phila
delphia and Boston. The speech seems
to have created scarcely a ripple of dis
turbance. Some of the comments of
other papers follow:
Refused to Admit a Faet.
Chicago Inter-Ocean, Rep.
Mr. Roosevelt can go on being "rad
ical" If he wishes, but the people he
assumes to represent and to whom lies
his only possible appeal have already
entered judgment against him.'
We doubt that there was a single
man in his New Haven audience who
didn't see it even though Mr. Roose
velt refused to admit it, and talked as
if the fact did not exist.
A Fallen Champion.
New York Evening Sun, Rep.
Chastened words of a generally in
nocuous and glittering ambiguity - .'ere
uttered in New Haven yesterday by a
statesman lately conspicuous br a
South African ferocity of declamation.
There was mild hand clapping, some
lines in the papers and the orator
moved on moved on even further into
that glorious obscurity where dwell
our fallen champions and whence, it is
commonly asserted and not Infrequent
ly observed, they never come back.
Balancing- Platitudes.
New York Commercial Advertiser.
Now, having th&ught about the re
cent election for five weeks, Colonel
Roosevelt apparently goes back to his
old way of balancing platitudes. He
is for radicalism, but . xie is for
conservatism, but . The rights of
man must be paramount, but the rights
of corporations must be respected. And
so on, and on, and on. It is needless
to say that a great chill is likely to
come to the real radicals as they study
the evidence that the Colonel feels it
necessary to return to his old atti
tude of frlend-of-both-parties.
Elections Made an Impression.
Indianapolis News. Ind.
It Is evident that the emphatic utter
ance of the American people at the
polls on November 8 has made for the
present, at least, a decided and whole
some Impression on Mr. Roosevelt's
mind. It is to be hoped that this
impression will be permanent, and that
hereafter his counsels will be wiser
and less strident than they were In the
Interval between his return from Africa
and the day of election. He has been
a .great and powerful force in Ameri
can political life. He can continue to
be helpful if he will use his great pow
ers with the wisdom and dignity that
should characterize one that .has held
the most exalted political office in the
world. , .';
Democratic Opportunity Promising;.
Baltimore' Evening Sun, Dein.
Theodore Roosevelt's talk proves
that he is still the radical. It shows
that he and President Taft are as far
apart on what Is perhaps the most per
plexing Issue before the American peo
ple today. It emphasizes the Differ
ences in the ranks of the Republican
party and renders more problematical
the course of that party in the next
National campaign.
Mr. Taft said in his message that
the -time had come to stop legislating
against corporations and to try out
the laws we already have. Mr. Roose
velt on his Western trip advocated
new laws. Mr. Taft showed by his
elevation of Justice White to the Chief
Justiceship of 'the Supreme Court, as
by other acts of his, that he is in full
sympathy with the eonser-attve tradi
tions of the Supreme Bench. Mr.
Roosevelt indicated on his Western
trip a desire to uproot those tradtions,
and last night confessed that he was
of the; same opinion still. There you
'have it.
All of which, emphasizes . the fact
that the Democratic opportunity now
existing is one of unusual promise.
REVIVAL OF THE MOUSTACHE.
Youth of the Land Starting Reform In
Physiognomy.'
' Chicago Record-Herald.
If college boys really set the fash
ions, then the smooth face, which has
had Its own way for the. last fifteen or
twenty years, may as well get ready to
"go." It is only a few weeks since the
seniors out on the Midway made the
mustache compulsory for their class
and prescribed punishment for such as
would not conform. And now the sev
enty members of the senior class In a
Connecticut high school are petition
ing their principal who disapproves
of labial fuzz as "distracting' and de
moralizing" to allow the mustache to
be made a senior institution.
It seems probable that the -"business'
face" the type predominant through
America might profit by a little
softening. It. is also likely that the
opposite sex, if permitted to Indulge
In a plebiscite on the' mustache, would
favor its cultivation. - The revival o4
the mustache might indeed lead to the
revival of other hirsute adornments,
thus heightening the desperation of
the barbers, who, are already up in
arms against the- safety razor: yet If
the 'new movement presently 'gains any
great headway in our institutions of
learning it will sweep the country.
The desire for a change of physiog
nomy appears to be in the air; even the
people who draw ; the strong-jawed,
smooth-shaven, youths that advertise
clothing must be about ready, in their
secret hearts, for a change.
He Stood Corrected.
The Delineator.
A teacher In giving' a lecture to the
members of her Junior hygienic class
had cautioned them against eating any
thing hard, such as nuts, hard candy,
etc. A small boy held up his hand.
"What is it, Sammie?" she inquired.
"Say, did you ever see any of these
here candy Jawbreakers?" he asked.
Ye-es, I believe so," she hesitated,
wonderingly. .
"Well, Willie, . here," indicating an
other boy in the class, "stood sight in
front of Gregorle's store yesterday
and et Ave of them right down."
"Ate," corrected the teacher.
"Aw, was it eight? I was thlnkin' it
was only five."
Some Balnv-
Looisville Courier-Journal.
"Duke, I'm sorry." said the million
aire, "but my daughter can't . marry
you."
"Then I have loved in vain?"
' "Not wholly, Duke. . Here's $50 for
you."
Definitely Answered."
Syracuse Post-Standard.
Shall the colleges continue to play
football? Answer by Yale: Harvard
game, receipts $34,000; Pennsylvania
game, $29,000; Brown game. $5000.
Always With- Us.
Memphis Commercial Appeal.
The man who. tells how many fish he
caught in the Summer time is now tell
ing how many ducks he shot last week.
Bier Employer.
Washington Star.
It is remarkable that a mere myth
like Santa Claus should have so many
people working for hl"- '
Life's Sunny Side
A certain Dr. Collins was once read
ing a very strenuous paper on total
abstinence before a clerical club so
the story goes when the entertainer
went out to tell his wife how many she
was to provide for at supper.
"What are they doing?" she asked,
and was told the subject of the essay.
"What shall I do?" she cried. "Here
I have brandied peaches, and it is too
late to change?"
"Make no change," said her husband.
"It will be all right."
The essayist had the post of honor
at the right of the lady of the house,
and she presented him with a dish of
the peaches. After a while she said
to him, "Dr. Collins, won't you allow
me to give ou some more of these
peaches?"
"Thank you," he replied. "They are
excellent."
A little later she said: "Dr. Collins,
may I not give you another peach?"
"No, I thank you," said he apologet
ically, "but I will take a little more of
the gravy." Harper's Magazine.
Booker Washington tells a story of
an old negro theologian who explained
how -it was that- the Egyptians were
drowned in the Red Sea.
"You . see." he said, "It was the
middle ob Winter, and the children ob
Israel crossed in de mornln', when de
ice was nice .and hard. Hut de 'Gyp
tfans crossed at noon, when de sun
had melted de ice, and they was
drowned."
"That can't be true," said a young,
colored student, "for I've learnt from
my geography that ice won't freeze so
near the equator."
"Just what I expected." retorted tho
preacher. "There's always some of
these lamed young men tryin' to spllo
our theology. But I'd heV you know
that them times I'm talkln' of was be
fore there was either jographies or
'quators." Liverpool Post.
As every Southerner knows, elderly
colored people rarely know how old
they are, and almost invariably assume
an age much greater than belongs to
them. In an Atlanta family there Is
employed n old chap named Joshua
Bolton, who has been with that family
for more years than they can remem
ber. In view therefore, of his advanced
age, it was with surprise that his em
ployer received one day an application
for a few days off in order that tho old
fellow might, as he put it, "go up to
de ole State of Vlrginny" to see his
aunt.
"Your aunt must be pretty old," was
the employer's comment.
"Yassir," said Joshua: "she's pretty
ole now. I reckon she's about 'a hun
dred and ten years ole."
"One hundred and ten! But what on
earth is she doing up in Virginia?"
"I don't jest know," explained Josh
ua, "but I understand she's up dere
living wif her grandmother." Harper's
Weekly.
Toward the end of a performance of
"The Green Bushes," Miss D. Barring
ton, who played Miami, was supposed
to commit suicide by jumping into tha
river. When, however, she reached the
usual eminence of rock, she found to
her dismay that no mattress had been
placed in the river for her to jump on,
so down she came on the boards with
a hard thud. Her confusion was in
tense, but it was increased tenfold
when a voice from the gallery ssns
out in a rich brogue: "Och! be jabbers,
the 'water's frozen!" Tit-Bits.
Booker T. Washington, congratulated
by a New York reporter on the success
he has made of his life, said with a
smile:
. "I suppose I must be modest and de
clare that luck has had much to do
with my progress, or otherwise I'll be
in Senator Dash's shoes.
"Senator Dash, of Tallapoosa, prided
himself on his rise from the bottom,
for Senator Dash in his youth had
worked with the colored men in the
cotton fields.
"Boasting at a political meeting
about his rise, the-Senator singled out
Uncle Calhoun Webster among his
audience and said:
" "I see before me old Calhoun Web
ster, beside whom, in the broiling
Southern sun, I toiled day after day.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, I appeal to
Uncle Calhoun. Tell us all, uncle, was
I. or was I not a good man In the cot
ton fields?-
. " To' wuz a good man, Senatah, the '
aged negro replied, "yo' wuz a gfod
man fo' a fack; bur yo' sut'ny didn't
work much." " Washington Star. .
SENATORS nf . POPULAR VOTR
Constitutional Amendment Favored by
35 Members. ,
New York World.
K constitutional amendment for the
election of United States Senators by
direct vote of the people Is favored by
35 9?nators, who have expressed their
convictions. Of . these, 22 are Repub
licans and 13 Democrats. They are
Messrs. Bailey, Borah, Bourne, Bristow.
Beveridge, Brown. KurKett. unamoer
lain, Clapp, Crawford, Curtis. Dick,
Dixon, Gore, James, Nelson, Newlands,
Perkins, Percy, Purcell, Rayner, Smith
of Michigan, Shively. Simmons, Smith
of South Carolina, Stone. Stephenson,
Taylor, Warner, Owen, Guggenheim, Me-'
Cumber, La Follette, Nixon and Till
man. '
Opposition to sach an amendment has
been declared by 12 Senators -nine Re
publicans . and three Democrats. They
are Messrs. Brandegee, . Elkins, Frye,
Fletcher, Heyburn, Johnston, Kean,
Lodge, Dillingham and Money.
Non-committal opinions have . been
expressed by 16 Senators 11 Repub
licans and 6 Demdcrats. They are
Messrs. Bacon, Burrows, Burton, -Carter,
Crane, Cullom, Foster, Flint, Mar
tin, Paynter, Piles, Page, Scott, Smith
of Maryland, Smoot and Warren.
More than a majority of the remain
ing 29 Senators who have not indicated
their- precise attitude is believed to
favor a constitutional amendment.
Rut B3 affirmative votes are required
to make the proposed . legislation ef
fective, two-thirds being required for a
proposed amendment to tho Constitu
tion. Oregon's Big Parsnip.
New York World.
. Oregon boasts a parsnip which
weighs twenty pounds. It will take
more than kind words to butter that
parsnip. .
Another Thins; to Do Early."
Chicago Tribune.
Tn the amateur Santa Clauses:
"Do
your fire insuring early. -
The Christmas Oonse.
Woman's Home Companion.
Whcm comes the Yuletida aeason.
The Chrlatmaa goose we Bins.
All laden down with juices brown,
A toothsome offering. t
' A Christmas goose some argue
Is every trusting child.
Who Santa Claus adores because
- His socka with gifta are piled.
A Christmas gooaetheyil tell you
Well known to allots he!
Poor patient dad. whose purae .nuat ada
To every charity.
A Christmas goose not really
Is mother, anxiously
At work with zeat.. bo fearful lest
Forgotten some may be. .
The Christmas goose why, he's
The biggest, goose. 1 f?ar.
Who naught will spend upon a friend
Nor love nor sympathy will lend
On the best day of the year.
May Kelly. Portland,