THE MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 1911.
)t (Drflrtnttan
PORTLAND. ORECOX.
" Kitrd tt Portland, Oregon, Foatofflc
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rORTLAND. MONDAY. JAXCARY. t. 1H
THX OREGON LBUISLATTKE.
. No question or problem or Issue of
Drst Importance confront the State
Legislature, which opens Ita biennial
f salon at Salem today. It should be
a peaceful forty days. There Is no
Senator to elect. There axe no per
sonal or factional controversies In
mhlca the welfare of the State Is In
volved. There are no differences
worth mentioning; between the pollti
caj parties. There are, to be sure, a
Democratic Governor ant! a Repub
lican Legislature-, but we have dlstln
gulshed Democratic authority for the
statement that the political balance
b4ween the executive and legislative
branches of the Government may best
be preserved, and the general good
bst promoted. The State, it would
appear, agrees entirely with this lm
partial and disinterested advice of
ex-Governor Chamberlain. for It
has consistently pursued the practice
of selecting a Democratic Governor
and a Republican Legislature for
three successive quadrennial elections.
The present Legislature has only a
handful of Democrats and a very
great preponderance of Republicans.
It la no doubt fortunate for the Re
publican party that there is to be no
election of Senator.
The Supreme Court of Oregon has
recently officially given out the as
surance that the Legislature retains
unimpaired Its delegated constitution
al powers, and that the Initiative and
referendum Is not a departure from
representative government. The Leg'
lslature. then, ought to be able to go
ahead In the complete confidence that
it historic authority has not been
trammeled or Us avlde powers res
tricted. Tet It is to be assumed. In view of
the obvious facts, that the Supreme
Court had merely decided to make
the best of an unavoidable situation,
on the consoling theory that It is well
for the doctor to tell his patient that
tie Is Just as well as he ever was. That
the people through the initiative have
withdrawn from the Legislature Its
exclusive law-making function Is of
course true: and that they have Im
paired ita dignity, lowered Its station
and limited Its freedom of action must
be patent to all. This was. Indeed, the
undisguised and openly avowed pur
pose of the Initiative and referendum.
i ml thar ran therefore be no dinar-
( pointment of Juki dissatisfaction with
results In these Important particulars.
That the Legislatures of other day
have needed both a spur and a curb
Is not to be denied a spur to ennct
glslation needed and demanded by a
I recognized public Interest and a curb
!o prevent legislation against the gen
eral weirare. But mat tne peopio
themselves have gone to the other ex
treme in undertaking and occasionally
In enacting radical, extreme, ambl
fuous. conflicting and even minatory
Inflation Is also equally clear. The
mlafak hn .risen entlrelv In reaard-
)lr,g the Initiative as a substitute for
the Legislature, to be employed by
tny and all for any and all reasons,
rxcuses or pretexts, and not as an Ir
resistible weapon to be used only in
rases of emergency or extreme ur
gency. The Initiative should be used
In no case except on appeal from the
Legislature, and It is to the last de
gree hasardous and unwise, as Oregon
Is finding out. to enact In this way
miscellaneous and complicated laws,
rr to permit the initiative to be em
r t-yed for the exploitation of the fads,
fancies and follies of any group of
rtleea and discontented citizens. We
t!o not have representative govern
ment In Oregon, as was contemplated
by our revered forefathers. It Is ab-
ard to say or assume that we have.
There Is a satisfactory prospect now
tnat the election of United States
tonatora will by constitutional amend
ment be taken from the Legislatures
and actually placed with the people
method alway advocated by The
Oregon lan. An occasion of bitter and
protracted struggles In Legislatures,
tnd a source of corruption, log-rolling,
procrastination and chronic complica
tion wilt thus be removed, and the
reed or demand for the substitution of
turn devices as Statement No. I will be
bviated and the demoralizing factional
and personal conflicts and disputes
riving over their adoption ended.
ped the day. then, when the popular
lection of United States Senators
under the sanction of Federal law
h!l come.
1 There Is much for the Legislature
o do of real value to the state. It
ought not to be diverted from Its
duties by any unnecessary controver
ts with the Governor over political
srpolntments. or by any emergency
(t hemes to deprive him of his legitl
nats snd usual prerogatives. Nor does
the State expect the Governor to play
politics with the Legislature to build
up an executive machine for the bene
fit of himself and his allies. The pub
lic will not Justify the Legislature on
the one hand or the Governor on the
ether for engaging in needless conflicts
In peanut politics. .
OREOO-B GREATEST INDtTRT.
Portland sawmills last year rut
709.000.000 feet of lumber. The out
put of Oregon mills for the year was
1.7S0.0OO.O0O feet, valued at $55,000.
000. These figures, despite the Im
mensity of their proportions, only
mildly reflect the part that. the lum
ber Industry now plays In the general J
i"roperlty of the city and state, we
nn partly understand the importance
f this comparatively new Industry
when we note that the wheat business
in its best dsy never In a single year
nntrfbuted 113.000.000 to the wealth
f the state. Kven had it done so the
cooomlo advantages of a $:s. 009.000
heat crop do not compare with those
of a lumber output of the same value.
Lumber, from the time the tree are
felled in the forest until the finished
product Is placed aboard car or ship,
pays a heavy tribute to labor.
The .manufactured product to a
greater extent than that of any other
commodity produced In this state rep
resents labor, and the money that Is
paid for labor in logging camps, saw
mills, lumber yards and s the docks,
circulates more rapidly than that
which Is represented In the labor cost
of wheat production or the labor cost
In any other of our great wealth-producing;
Industries. The opening of
new mills and Incrense In the facili
ties of those already In operation
added 1.000,000 feet to the dally pro
duction of the Columbia River district
last year. S'ew plants which will
begin manufacturing this year will
undoubtedly enable the 1911 Increase
to exceed that of the year Just closed,
Oregon was somewhat slow In de
veloping her timber resources, but
within the past few years has been
coming to the front "with a rush. The
amount of standing timber In the
state Is so great that It will be possible
to break records for many years with.
out approaching a point where the
supply is In danger of exhaustion.
BOO VC. ROWERS AS SCAPEGOATS,
It Is rlaln that the new-fangled
tariff "revision" la the same old scram
ble for privilege at the other fellow'.
cost. Here, now. Is demand for low-
dutv or free-trade wool, and revision
nfra In this demand.
Tet wool-growing Is one of the most
deserving of our agricultural inaus
t.l..- nAvfenn. ffrtA moat riAservinar. I
la wldesnread: it represents enormous
invMimrnt nf labor and capital: it
supplies large number of citizens with
employment; it Is an industry that
contribute greatly to the Nation's in
dependence, and wool pronts unaer mo
present tariff law are out moaeraie.
Tt thla blar industry is sin r icq out
for revision. Our uplift statesmen In
the East make their constituent oe
iiav that wool Is too high-priced and
that the tariff law Is to blame. The
new Democratic chief of Massachu
setts, Foss, and the Democratic acci
dent In New Tork, tiavens, represent
ing the new "sentiment,- are leaning
the attack. Many Interests that are
rarnrarf hv hl-h tariff and wish to
divert attention from their own spoils
Join the hue and cry against wool
Meanwhile, wool la very much cheaper
than turn voan aa-o. even without
lower tariff; yet woolen good are no
cheaper.
Thia alna-llna-.out practice baa been
resorted to each time tariff has been
revised" these thirty year past, wool
has been the frequent victim. Pro
duction of this staple article I a most
worthy industry. But that side of the
matter get little consideration, ine
.i.r lu.ii in the strife for Protective
tariff privilege seems to be survival
of the craftiest. The poucy oi pro
tection" 1 upposed to prevail: how-nt-nttu-tion
la to be taken away
or reduced to a minimum on thl vast
Investment of American brains, capi
tal and labor, while other kind of
business are not to be molested. Were
the protective policy abandoned, wool-
men could not expect TO rrcn.a
k,..iv Rnt nrotectlon Is retained, or
supposed to be. and woolmen are to
be denied Ita benefits.
rh viinri Woola-rowera Conven
tion, held In Portland last week, raised
nrotest against wool revision m tne
following resolutions
aratam o prutacilon. and unaqulvocally in-
tinraa tna appnraii"n i
.mbofllM In the praaent arranafrn.n 1 of
8.hiula .- aa app!l.abla to the wool
. i . v pw lima AM
dutloa. ana r " nt - - - - - ' . .
rartura ha bn mada from tha prlnrlpla
tharala coniainro. "
f.nn tha Induairy of woolrowln. Tha
erowars of wool nd and dwra protective
3ut!a. equally wlia tna manufacturers ol
WBoth elaaaea fl the emrrpatltlon of the
rhaap labor ol forwlan countrlaa. ana oo.o
are dapnlent upon tha tariff for thalr proa
porttr. and. Inclwd, for thalr xltmc.
We recoanlae that In the wool and woolan
datlee. th. Weal, tha Ea.t. tha North and
tha South are united mora cloealy than in
any other portion of th. tarlM
call nron oa' Senator, and Repreentatlea
In oonaroee to praaent a united front asalnat
tereisn invaaion of our inaraeta and raalat
m t Hst n i moat an 1 1 av" h vi
.!.." . The .rotectioo thai shields
thla National Induelrr.
While protection fhall remain tne
policy of thla Government, wool Is one
of the very first proaucis mat .nuum
be "protected." Yet It Is clear that
. hla- onslaught will be made on the
schedule of this product- CongTess
will be full of bickerings. It has been
said that revision I to be conducted
in -lantinc" lines and that pon
tic Is to be abandoned In- adjusting
h. n.ar tariff. It Is a vain promise.
politics will figure to the utmost. Sel
fishness will effect all It can. because
the cornerstone of protective tariff ta
that human quality.
Wool Is down in price wunoui iow
iv Then iwhv not try revision ior
cheaper salt, sugar, tobacco, iron, coal.
tin plate, steel, glassware, doming.
liquors, leather goods ana agncunur
Implements'?
Is wool to be made the scapegoat
f tariff discontent?
TV HEX A DOCTOW. CHARGES TOO MITCH.
A kind friend has ent The Orego-
nian a clipping from a Palo Alto paper
which gives an account of a physician
who charged I7J2 for setting a
broken hlo for a woman 13 years old.
The paUent died a few days after the
operation and then tne anair came
Into the surrogate's court where the
extortionate physician was bitterly
Pbraided for his avarice by tne
Judge.
. The friend who sends the clipping
wishes to know our opinion of this
physician, whom she calls a skunk.
We should probably call him a skunk,
or a viper, or a vampire, or some such
beast, but after all that is not the
point. She goes on to ask what we
think would happen If there were a
mHr-al trust" established which had
full control of medical affairs all' over
the country. The Intent ll to cast
odium u$on the bill now before Con
gress to establish a National health
bureau. The Palo Alto surgeon ex
cused his overcharge by saying that
alt fees were fixed by the State Medi
cal Association. Suppose there were
a National association with . similar
powers, would not the consequence
be still more terrible?
We can only reply that there Is a
National medical association and that
so far as we know It has never lent its
aid to extortion. Very often it is
worth $781 to set a broken hip. We
uspect that It was worth almost that
urn In the case under consideration.
The fracture was evidently dangerous
because death ensued In spite of the
doctor. His responsibility was great
and. as the event shows, he had to
expect a flood of vituperation after It
waa all over with the patient. Perhaps
the Falo Alto judge might have meted
out more exact Justice had he held his
tongue. Doctors as a rule do a large
amount of .work for which they re
ceive no pay. Unless they are to
starve to death they must make ends
meet by charging liberal fees from
the well-to-do. The question I by
no means simple.
THE (WINTRY FAIR IXMJ-KOI.K
The country fair hold In many
Oregon counties are fine things, no
doubt. They exhibit resources and
stimulate citizens to Industry in agri
culture and In animal husbandry. They
are a sign of the new activity of our
state.
But these fairs are becoming pre
text for raids upon the State Treas
ury: for trades in legislation at Salem;
for the very logrolling that the old
constitution sought to prevent by or
daining that all state institutions for
which public funds should be appro
priated should be located at the
capital.
A member of the Legislature who
fails to win an appropriation for a
local road or a normal school or a
salmon hatchery or a state building
of some sort is frequently appeased
by a grant of money for an agricul
tural fair. These supplies of money
have been growing in number in re
cent years. Clackamas and Mult
nomah and Linn counties are thus fa
vored; likewise Baker. Malheur, Crook,
Grant Sherman, Gilliam, Wheeler.
And there are others.
This log-roll has grown to resemble
that of the normal schools, which for
many years has set the state by the
ears, harried the Legislature ana
drawn wastefully from pockets of tax
payers. "Self-help" should be the reliance
of these many fairs. The Legislature
will need to draw the public purse
strings, because demands are growing.
A limit will have to be defined in this
business. The appropriations, though
small In each case, are opening wedges
for "more." The Oregonlan realizes
that these remarks will make protest
In some rural districts, but it deems
the subject one that deserves thus to
be handled in rational manner and In
moderate spirit.
t
PA2CAMA CAXAL DISCKIMTNATIOJt.
Senator Flint, of California, as chair
man of the Senate committee on inter
oceanic canals, has secured adop
tion of his amendment to the Mann
Dill. iQ9 mwi impuruuil itruiuAU
this amendment provides that Ameri
can vessels engaged in the coastwise
trade shall be permitted to make free
use of the canal. The canal Is an arti
ficial highway, built at an enormous
expense, to be operated under neces
sarily heavy fixed charges. The ex
pense and fixed, charges must all be
paid by the people who directly and
indirectly supply the traffic that will
be handled by the vessels making use
of the canal. Any concessions made
In favor of a few wealthy shipowner
must be made up by higher tolls or
an Increased deficit In the operating
expenses. Viewed strictly from a busi
ness standpoint. It Is unfair to the
people who pay the bill that the ship
owners profits should thus be in
creased at the expense of the people.
There Is another and. In some re
spects, still more Important reason
why no such, discrimination as that
contained In the tnnt amendment
should be attempted. Article S of the
Hay-Pauncefote canal treaty, after re
citing that 'The United States adopts.
a basis of the neutralization of such
ship canal, the following rules, sub
stantially as- embodied In the conven
tion of Constantinople," continues:
(1) Th. canal shall t free and open to
the veaaeia of commerce and of war. of all
n.Mnm obMrrlnr theee rulea. on terma of
entire equality, ao that there ehall be no
discrimination acainsi any aucn ukviuq, t
Ita rltlaena or aubjecta. in rmpect of the
conditions or charges of trmfflo or other
wlaa. It requires a" decidedly biased In
terpretation of the foregoing im
portant clause In the treaty to
maintain that this Country has any
right to discriminate against one class
of shipowners by favoring of another
class. Great Britain, with an over
whelming financial, political and mili
tary interest In the Suez Canal, has
never presumed to make the slightest
discrimination in tolls on that high
way, and It waa the rules of the Sues
Canal that were adopted In the treaty
aa the basis of the Panama Canal
rules. i
As to the Flint amendment regard
ing vessels owned directly or Indi
rectly by railroad companies, there are
so many ways by which Its provisions
may be avoided that If any American
ship are exempt from canal dues it
Is highly probable that those which
are working under railroad control
would be Included. A railroad might
be barred from vessel ownership but
a railroad stockholder could not he
deprived of the right to own and oper
ate ships.
TRAGEDIES OF THE AIR.
A French engineer estimates that
there are now about five hundred
aviators -In the "world. A combination
of the flights of all aggregates about
125.000. Th number of the "high
flyer" among the blrdmen has been
seriously decimated by the tragical
occurrences of the past few weeks
beginning with the death of Ralph
Johnstone at Denver November, 17.
and extending to that of Moisoant at
New Orleans and that of Hoxsey at
Los Angeles on the last day of the
year. Kach of these men was accom
plished in the art of aviation as far
as such accomplishment has progress
ed, and both were perfectly fearless In
aerial navigation. Tet a slight disar
rangement of his machine when in
midair precipitated Johnstone head
long to the ground while Molssant and
Hoxsey each met his death by being
hurled to earth through some caprice
of the aeroplane of which he consid
ered himself absolute master.
How like mockery of human intel
ligence, hopes and expectations now
reads the advice to amateur aviators.
John B. Molssant recently published:
"Don't try to learn to be a pilot and a
mechanic at the same time," said this
apostle af aviation.' "That la where
many flyer come to grief." Neither
this advice nor the large, experience
of the daring aerial navigator In the
upper currents of the air availed him
when a treacherous cross current vic
iously engaged his aeroplane In mor
tal combat amd sent It hurling down
ward t rough the troubled air.
"If my motor works well as It has
been working, and I can stand the
temperature of so high an altitude I
will come down with a record of
12.000 feet or more," were the parting
words of Hoxsey as his machine rose
from the ground. In a few minutes
his lifeless body lay at the feet of
those to whom this promise had been
given hurled downward frorr a
height of throe hundred feet.'
All three of these mea bad dared
death In many 'sensational flights.
Each thought he knew his machine
"as a horseman knows his horse,
Tet the .treacherous devices that gave
them wings. In the twinkling of an
eye, as it were violated the confidence
Imposed in them, turned "cranky
and plunged them to speedy, but let
us hope, painless death.
These and similar tragedies of the
air are sad chapters or Incidents in
the brief record of aviation. They
are among the foregone conclusions
of aerial navigation. They have not.
and will not act as a deterrent to
those who are possessed of the pur
pose to ride upon the wings of the
morning. Scanning thoughtfully the
account of Molssant's fatal flight and
fall, a few minutes before he arose
and fell to his own death Hoxsey said:
"He must have become weary from
too much driving," Indicating by these
words that he himself; being fresh
and unweary, was in no danger of
sharing his brother bird man s fate.
Daring almost madness is in this
desire toj'fly as a bird." This Is an
adjunct necessary to the development
of aerial navigation. Personal fear
has no part or lot In It. "Within four
teen years I confidently expect to see
machines flying to Europe In fourteen
hours," said John B. Molssant, after
his successful circumnavigation of the
Statue of Liberty, a month ago. The
victor's meed as thus outlined was not
for him. But who shall say, that the
feat he prophesied will not be accom
pllshed?
Senator Borah, of Idaho, Is a repre
sentative of whom Idaho may well feel
proud. While Oregon may feel wroth
over his success In getting away with
about $9,000,000 of Oregon's reclama
tion fund while our own Senators
were asleep or circulating political
buncombe, we cannot but admire the
fearless. Independent manner In which
he stands up for the West. Senator
Borah is not seeking to Impress the
East with any crazy political theories,
but he is telling some pointed truths
about the land which so many others
have lied about and which finds no
defenders In the Oregon Senatorial
delegation. The Plnchot-Roosevelt
Conservation Congress at St. Paul last
Fall Senator Borah characterizes as
a "cruel and brutal farce." In a
speech before the Brooklyn Institute
of Fine Arts and Sciences he attempt
ed to disabuse the minds of his audi
ence of the Idea that "the people of
the West should be either In the peni
tentiary or In the asylums." What
the West needs In Congress Is more
Borahs and fewer Bournes and Cham,
berlatns. '
The failure of the Carnegie Trust
Company's Bank In New Tork with
heavy "liabilities and Insufficient as
sets, suggests that there should be
some statute which would prevent the
use of strong names toy weak lnstitu
tions. The fact that Andrew Carnegie,
who Is about the only Carnegie with
whom the world is at all familiar, was
not connected with the bank, and
had repudiated the use of his name.
was not generally known. It was gen
erally known, however, that Mr. Car
negie could liquidate a dozen banks
like the Carnegie Trust and still have
enough money for a few new libraries.
This, of course, attracted deposits and
gave the Institution a prestige to which
It waa not entitled.. Fortunately for
the general financial situation, the
shaking out of weak concerns like the
Carnegie Trust comes at a time when
the effect on responsible Institutions
will toe Inconsequential.
In 1910 were Issued 3009 permit
for East Side residences, and but 132
nermlta for West Side residences.
These figures are sufficiently impos
ing to give the Frank Klernans and
other obstructionists an Idea why im
proved facilities for crossing the river
n itMirT. The East Side also
made heavy gains over the West Side
in business building permits, rer
hnrui fhe most significant feature of
the more than S000 residence permits
was the average value of $2176. These
figures disclose a high grade of build
ings and account for the preference
that Is being shown the East Side as a
residential center. Portland never
was very favorable to "shacks," but
the 1910 records show a class of resi
dences that are extremely creditable
to the city
Mene Wallace, the Eskimo boy
whom Peary brought to New Tork
many years ago, has reached Etah to
resume his old life among the blubber
hunters of the Far North. He is so
unmindful of the efforts of Peary that
he writes he docs not believe either
Peary or Cook reached the (North
Pole. Mene lived in this country long
enough to learn the commercial ad
vantages of any kind of sensation,
so he may be paving the way for a
return to this country for a lecturing
tour. If he would bring down the
men who found the pole with Peary,
and those who did not find the pole
with Cook, he might make a hit on
the vaudeville circuit, which took so
kindly to Matt Hensen when he told
the story of the North Pole discovery.
Wise physicians say that no man
ever broke down from overwork mere
ly. Lack of change and variety In life
Is more deadly than toil. We may be
lieve, therefore, that If Astrorromer
Larkin. of the Mount Lowe Observa
tory, had varied his ocupatlons more
his usefulness would have been pro
longed. Man Is a machine made for
work, but not for work oi tne same
kind year after year in unbroken rou
tine. In pardoning a Wallowa man who
had killed two claim Jumpers. Acting
Governor Bowerinan did not offend
the sensibilities. In Western opinion
that offense Is but one degree worse
than stealing a horse.
The State Board shows Its good
faith In taking away the license of a
physician within Its Jurisdiction. This
is once when the doctors are ahead
of the lawyers.
The poor little chap who was run
down and killed by an automobile died
In the line of duty. Just as much as the
engineer In a wreck or the officer in
battle.
Even If Oregon's Senators are
asleep at the switch, no other state
can purloin the new postofflce site
that was promised Portland several
months ago.
Merely to fix the figures in the
public mind, be it stated Multnomah
County, this year will pay 38 per cent
of the entire state tax.
Mr. Hill may be the corkscrew to
open California as well aa Oregon,
WHAT'S DOING IX OREGON.
Foaall I. Model To m.
Mitchell Sentinel. -We
spent several days last week In
Fossil, the county seat' town, and we
never while there saw a boy with a
pipe or cigarette in his mouth or one
in a pastime or on the streets late at
night, yet the schools had adjourned
for -the holidays. Fossil is, indeed, a
model school town, and a town that the
people of Wheeler County should be
proud of.
Mnnaanlta la Bloom.
Rogue River Courier.
John McCallister brought to the
Courier office this morning a branch
of manzanlta which was in full bloom,
several months ahead of time. Mr.
McCallister has lived In this section
for 35 years or more and has never
before seen the shrub in bloom at this
time-of the year. In the yards about
the city there can be seen many roses
and carnations in bloom at this time,
but it la quite unusual for wild shrubs
to flower out of season.
Wild Flowers' Abloom In Fields.
Hermlston Herald.
We have all heard of the flowers
that bloom In the Spring, May flowers
and all sorts of flowers, but it is not
everywhere that wild posies can be
picked on the 28th of December and
out-of-doors at that. Such Is the case
here, however.
Wednesday J. M. Griffin brought a
dozen or so little yellow blossoms to
the Herald office and said north of
town they were thick. Whether fruit
or flowers out of season there is not
much taste or fragrance. Not so in
this case, however, a there 1 a dis
tinct odor.
Taieve Routed With Shovel.
Joseph Herald. -Friday
night Grandpa and Grandma
Endlcott "mixed it" with a brace of
chicken thieves In a most vigorous
manner. The thugs were in the act
of looting' their hen house when the
old people appeared on 'the scene.
Uncle Bill armed to the teeth with a
garden spade. The way this old war
veteran backed off and tore Into those
thieves was worth coming miles to
see. When the hair, teeth, hats, coats
and shovel settled and the smoke of
tha battle cleared away it was found
that both of the thieves had escaped
but they will carry the marks of that
shovel on their heads or many a day.
In the mix-up one of the tkugs lost
his hat, and fearing arrest he left town
that night a good riddance of bad
rubbish.
A Good Loser.
Union Scout.
Let's be good losers and not get mad
at the friends who did all for ua they
could In our last fight.
The Soout will never criticise Jay
Bowerman for his decision In locating
the asylum, as he may have done his
best and his Judgment may be better
than ours.
If you haven't heard a man swear, with
his right hand raised to heaven that be
fore he would knowingly do a wrong
that that hand should cleave to the root
of his mouth till he bit It off, then sell
to the highest cash bidder; you haven't
been where we have been and you may
be the better for it.
It is time to congratulate the' lucky
city across the mountains upon Its se
curing the Eastern Oregon insane asy
lum. In our present mood we prefer to
leave the matter to some of our able
citizens who realize that an asylum Is
a detriment to a town. They will be in
a better mood for it.
An Insane asylum Is not a desirable In
stitution to be annexed to a town except
as a place of confinement for.undesir.
able subjects.
"GO AWAY TO L&lRJf THE NEWS"
Portland Man Tell. Flak Story to
Waahlmrton city Reporter.
Washington Herald.
, In Portland, Or., the familiar catfish
figures as a naray pioneer ana a vaiuea
adjunct to the street cleaning depart
ment, according to James P. Anderson,
of Portland, who 1 at the Raleigh.
"Thl 1 because the terra cotta sew.
er and drains, especially those In the
lower part of the city, frequently be
come choked.
"If tha sewer Is not broken," con
tinued Mr. Anderson, "It can be cleaned
by passing a rope through it. to be
pulled backward and forward until the
obstruction Is loosened and removed.
The street officials have a great deal
of such work to attend to, and the
worry connected with getting the rope
through for a long time had them at
their wits' ends. At last, however, they
discovered a quick, sure and easy
method.
"The . workman goes to the river.
catches a catfish, ties a string to its
tail and drops It down a manhole into
the sewer. It at once starts for the
river and forces its way through any
obstruction not as solid as brick, drag
ging the . string after It. Then the
workman goes as far ddwn the sewer
as he deems necessary and picks up
the string, which he uses to draw a
wire through the pipes, and with this
a rope is pulled through and the sewer
is soon cleared." .
Billboard. In the Berkshire. -. .
- Providence Journal. -One
of the most picturesque regions
of New England, the Berkshlres. is
comparatively free from offensive bill
board advertising, and this Is due in
great measure to the Massachusetts
law prohibiting the defacing of nat
ural scenery. This law, of courso. Is
offensive to some proprietors of hotels
and garages, and a movement for its
repeal waa recently begun. At a hear
ing before the Massachusetts highway
commission such action was opposed
by representative men. . Since only the
selfish interests of a few are interfered
with by the present law. the state has
no legitimate reason for Interference.
The hotels and garages can do busi
ness without billboards at all turns of
the roads. So far as 'that goes this
outrageous defacement of the scenery
might do more to injure tneir business
than to help it. No retreat should be
sounded in this fight against an In
tolerable nuisance.
Shlllally.
London Chronicle.
The shillelagh, which showed at Louth
that It has not entirely lost its old Im
portance as a factor In deciding elections.
s no raw limb of a tree. It is almost
as much a work of art as a well-balanced
cricket bat The old shillelaghs
loving owners as is a rifle in the wilds.
Cuba from the sturdiest of young black
thorns, and showing as little taper as an
ebony ruler. It was weighted with lead
or iron at the end nearest the grip, so
that Its center of gravity was about four
fifths of the way from the hitting end.
When properly seasoned Ly being kept
In the neighborhood of the farm oven
for a few months, it became a thin.? of
supple steel. And the proper pronuncia
tion of the name of this fearsome weapon
Is the melodious one of "shill-aily," with
the accent on the "ail."
A Missouri Patriarch.
Tuscumbia Autogram.
W. H. Scott, of Taverp, Maries County,
Missouri, celebrated his 93d birthday a
few days ago and claims a record of en
durance not excelled by any one of his
age. During last Spring and Summer he
cut the timber and split 00 rails, making
As many as 50 of them in , a single day.
He Is the father of 14 children. 44 grand
children. 63 great-grandchildren and four
great-tTeat-grandchlldreO
PRESIDENT TAFT MAKING GOOD
Political Barometer Sao r. Admimlatra
ttou Is Grow Ine Vpoa Country.
Louis Ludlow, In Indianapolis Star.
Congress has been In session two weeks.
During that fortnight President Taft has
done more to win public esteem for his
Administration than during all of the
previous period of his service as the Chief
Magistrate. The fairnees and the catho
licity of spirit he has manifested in deal
ing with many diverse and important sit
uations have met with quite general ap
probation at the seat of Government, and
thousands of persona who formerly men
tioned him only to criticise, are now
agreeing with the general verdict that
"President Taft is making good."
The impress of the President's judicial
mind Is becoming more and more stamped
upon his Administration. He Is an old
fashioned President. He Is an economical
President. He is a constitutional Presi
dent. He sees things from every angle,
and, with calm. and sober poise, works
out conclusions that are sound and In
conformity with the best public policy.
He never goes off on a tangent. He is
making the White House a place where
peace abides and where every Individual
and every Interest has a day In court.
Washington is the Nation's political
barometer, and the readings of the ba
rometter indicate that the Taft Admin
istration is growing upon the country as
a wise and Just Administration. That it
seems good to get back to this Jefferson
Ian simplicity and restfuiness is the
opinion of the people, as reflected here.
Nothing that a President 'of the United
States has said in recent years has made
a greater hit than the hope which he
expressed in his recent message that
the country might now have a rest from
agitation.
It can be said truthfully that now, for
the first time, Mr. Taft has a free field
and a fair show to carry out his own ideas
as President, end he Is launching out
along lines which prove that he has a
broad, patriotic view of the duties of
the Chief Magistracy. Heretofore the
shadow of Theodore Roosevelt and the
big stick has been over the White House.
The recent cataclysmal election removed
that shadow, clarified the political at.
mosphere, drove the feverlshness out of
the body politic, and left Mr. Taft free
to carry out his own ideas of administra
tive government.
The success he is making has disillu
sioned the Democratic leaders' of Con
gress who had picked him out as a sort
of political pudding to be devoured In the
campaign of 1312. Now these same lead
ers are beginning to see that he has
mapped out an administration and a
policy of dealing with public questions
that will Impress the country with such
favor as to making him a hard man to
beat in the next Presidential election.
GROWTH OF ENGLISH WORDS.
Latest Statistics Show There Are Over
400,000 lo Modern Dictionary.
New Tork Evening Post.
Those who habitually can not find
words to express their feelings will be
chagrined to learn from latest statistics
that there are over 400,000 at their dis
posal, exclusive of foreign languages.
While the returns of the census during
the last months have been causing
various excitements, it has escaped gen
eral notice that the little 'denizens of
the dictionary ha-rfi been multiplying,
too. P. W. Long, of Cambridge, has
collected figures that tell a startling
tale.
The first English dictionary In any
real sense was not published until 1604.
It contains three thousand "hard usual
English words . . . gathered for the
benefit and help of ladies, gentlewomen,
or any other unskilful persons." Then
came, to stop only at significant works,
the Bailey dictionary, which was as
popular in the eighteenth century as was
Webster's in the nineteenth; and a
little later that by Dr. Johnson, which
In Todd's famous edition in 1S18 had
only 68,000 words. Webster, In 1S28,
printed 70,000; Worcester, in 1846, 83.000.
Webster's International, Issued th's
year, has more than 400,000, and what
will be the 'total of the Oxford diction
ary when completed one can only gid
dily Infer from the recent statements by
Sir James Murray that he has five mil
lion illustrative quotations stored in an
Iron room in his garden. .
Like the great influx into the cities
from the country, the new words that
have rushed into the dictionary start an
impulsive cheer, but in a thoughtful
mind also the lagging doubt that they
may have deserted a more desirable
abode. Back three centuries Shakespeare
carried about in his head five times as
many words as the dictionary then con
tained: today it has a hundred wordSj
for every one which a good writer will
use. Clearly, there's a moral here, even
though not quite so obvious as it has
been made to Beem. The great gains
in the number of words recorded, within
the last fifty years have, of course,
come from a minute raking over of all
accessible English documents, and from
special branches of human labor, par
ticularly the sciences In which ohanging
conditions have made necessary hosts
of new terms.
Robbing Law of Its Terror.
Birmingham News.
' The folly of permitting criminal
cases to lag aa they do in America
has been demonstrated in a rather
striking fashion in Pittsburg, where
60 of the so-called "graft cases" have
fallen through because of the death
of two witnesses.
When the crimes which shocked all
Bl...k... nr'Ara first AVnOfiPf! thfiSA W'it-
neBses' were alive and their testimony
was of such a Character mat convic
tion in a great majority of instances
innvlmhlH Dalavs followed.
however, after the manner of such
cases, and now the chances or tne
guilty being punished are practically
nil.
The death of the last of these wit
nesses, which was attributed to pneu
nni. van attendAri bv circumstances
m TA IrnilM A. SUSDlcion Of fOUl
play, and this phase of the subject is
being lnvestigatea. norevnr, mo re
tiav na hpArincr ii no n the case
of the three-score men who have es
caped or upon the fate of as many
more wno are yei to do mtii.
"Lone Tree on Oregon Trail."
Omaha World-Herald.
. . i 1 1 -. s, UfarrlnV Pnuntv.
x ii mo uj -
M i 'uia thnra atnod nn the north
bank of the Platte River south of what
is now Central City a giani conunwuim
. TV.I. lr.a waa nlOBA to the Old
Oregon trail, and for miles up and down
the river there was not another tree to
be found. Under Its spreading branches
i lMlna halted tnP reSt to eSCHPO
the heat of the day under its beneficent
shade. It came to De mown to mo
travelers of the plain as the Lone Tree.
Finally its branches withered and its
. ,. .. .nt tha nld tree fell down.
and the spot where it stood was almost
forgotten. A short time ago a move was
set on foot by the old settlers to set up
some suitable mark on the spot where the
Lone Tree' stood, and the matter has
been taken before the county board of
supervisors. A marDie snaii win uo act
up On the shaft will be the simple
words, "Here stood the old Lone Tree
on the Oregon trail."
Women Voter Help Women.
Indianapolis News.
Mrs. Helen M. Wlscson, who has been
elected State Superintendent of Public
Instruction in Colorado, Is said to owe
her election to the nonpartisan vote of
the women. Though the Democrats
swept the state Mrs. Wlxson, who was
nominated by the Republicans, re
ceived a largo majority, women with
out regard for party lines voting for
her. ...-
Life's Sunny Side
A young woman rushed up to a young
man on Superior avenue the other day
and shook hands with him cordially. M
have a confession to make to you," ehe
gurgled. "You won't believe it, but I
always thought you drank."
The young man fingered for a clove
and tried not to blush.
"And now," she pursued, "I find that
you are actually a temperance worker.
Now I see you are trying to be modest
, and deny it, but you can never fool me
i again. I overheard my brother saying,
i in his slangy way, that you were a
j great boozeflghter! Oh, he was in earn
i est. Why, he said that you had pun-
lshed more of the stuff than any other
1 ten men In Cleveland. I'm proud to
1 know you; will you ever pardon me for
misjudging you?"
She was gone before he got through
choking. Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- a a a
Senator Depew. at a dinner in Washing-
I ton, recounted a number of senatorial
DU11S.
"It was a Southern Senator," he said,
"who once met an interruption with the
etern and lofty retake:
" The gentleman, like a mousing owl.
Is always putting in his ear where it
Isn't wanted.'
"I think it was a Senator from Chicago
who once declared: ' -
" The Iron heel of etern necessity
darkens every hearthstone.' .
"And TH never forget a Texas orator's
pathetlo cry:
" W1U you stamp out the last flicker
ing embers of a life that is fast ebbing
awayr "Pittsburg Gazette-Times,
a ' a a
Edwin Markham, the famous author of
"The Man With the Hoe," is a bitter
opponent of child labor. Discussing the
effort that he is making toward the re
form of child-labor laws, Mr. Markham
said recently:
"I would abolish, too, the contemptibly
unjust system of fines. What right has
an employer to line a hand an hour's pay
for five, minutes' lateness? What right
has he, because the hand has damaged
some goods 2 cents' worth, to fine him
a dime?"
Mr. Markham, after a moment's pause,
smiled.
"I wish to goodness," he said, "that
every victim of the despicable fine sys
tem had the same story to tell as an
actor I heard of yesterday.
"This actor worked under a manager
who was a great finer. For a bad make
up, for lateness; for noise in the wings, I
for a hundred things the players were
bilked from a quarter to $3. The worst
of all the fines was one of 10 cents for
failure to return 'properties.'; for this
was a duty that every one continually
forgot.
"In a financial drama one night the
supply of stage money ran out and the
manager loaned an actor $8 or $3 in real
bills to use In the next scene.
"The manager said sternly to the actor
the following Saturday:
" 'By the way. Booth, you haven't re
turned that $9 I gave you in act three
Monday night.'.
" "Never mind,' said the actor. 'Just
fine mo a dime.' "Philadelphia Ledger.
a e e
H. C. Thayer, "Pop" Thayer, of Penn
sylvania football fame, was talking at
the Rittenhouso Club In Philadelphia
about the new football rules.
"They proved less fitted to tactics and
generalship than the old rules," he said.
"They made the play so open that any
attempt at strategy was like well, like
the Swiss waiter.
"Once, on a walking tour in the Berness
Oberland, I reproached the waiter at a
little ifin for bringing me the wrong wine.
" 'Here, you've brought me Chateau
Mouton Rothschild.' I said, 'when I or
dered Pontet Canot.'
"The waiter retired and through the
glass partition I saw him take his napkin
and quietly wipe the still wet label oft
the bottle. Then he called: -
" 'Hans, another label. Pontet Canet,
quick!' "Philadelphia Record.
a a a
"Big Bill" Edwards, New York's popu
lar and efficient street commissioner, said
on a day of sleet and snow:
"This Is the kind of weather that made
Tommy Green late for school.
" 'Tommy,' said his teacher, you're
nearly 20 minutes late. Why ts It?"
" 'It's the walkln', ma'am,' said Tommy
Green. 'The walkin' is that bad down
where I live that for every step forward
on the way to school this mornln' I took
two steps backward."
The teacher smiled scornfully.
" "At that rate. Tommy," she said, 'you'd
never have reached the school at all.'
V 'No more I . would, ma'am, said
Tommy Green, 'so I turned round to go
home again, and in a little while here
I was at the schoolhouse.' "New York
Press.
NEW SET OF WISE SAWS NEEDED
Old-Fashioned Ones Do Not Kit Into
Modern Situations.
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Tii know all the copybook, McGuf-
fev'a reader line of talk about taking
the advice of one's elders?" began the
sad-eyed, undersized little man on the
Euclid car. "Sure you do. Isow lot
me tell you something. See that big
apartment-house over there on the right.'
And that little business block right next
to lt
"Well, there weren't any apartment
houses or business blocks on it when I
first clapped eyes on it? It was a howl
ing wlldernes, in fact, and you could
almot chase rabbits up here. That was
about 18 years ago. I had a hunch then
end I was only 18 years old at that time
that this land would some day Jump in
value by leaps and bounds. When I was
20 years old I came into a bunch of
tlo.000. I went to my guardian, an old
man, pretty prominent in esxate man
agement and wisdom at that time, and I
told him I wanted to soak the whole
$15,000 in this block of ground I pointed
out to you. The block was then on the
market for exactly tlo.OOO. The old gen
tleman pooh-poohed me.
" "Go away, boy," he eaid to me, with
a. natronizing smile. 'You don't know
what you want. It's my duty to save
you from wild notions such as this one
. vrtne hpnd. Thev'll be
you vo 6ui j " --
shootins rabbits and squirrels out there
on that point 50 years from now. G'way.'
"I argued it with him, and he sat
down on me. Then he went and invested
my 836.000 at S per cent.
Three years ago the man who bought
that same block of ground for J18.000 sold
It for about $200,000 cash, and he's now
cruising over in the Mediterranean or
some place or other,, while I'm taking
my wife out for nickel car rides and
wondering where my $15,000 went. 1
"There's got to be a new set of wise
paws invented for 20th century consump
tion. tThe McGuffey's reader kind are
moth eaten."
, i
Gladstone and the Heoklrr.
Westminster Gazette.
Mr. Gladstone was altogether intol
erant of the heckler. During his last
Midlothian campaign he was ques
tioned by Sir, then Mr., John Usher
of Norton, who had once been Glad
stone's chairman of committee, on the
subject o'f the Irish proposals. To one
or two Inquiries a curt reply was -given.
"Am I to understant" Mr. Usher was
beginning. "Understand!" The 'old
statesman leaped to his feet. "I am
responsible for the understanding that
the Almighty has put in this skull of
mine," tapping his forehead. "I am
not responsible," pointing his finger
at the questioner, "for the understand
ing that he has put in that skull of
yours." The effect of this rebuke was
overwhelming. Mr. Usher sank speech'
less into his seat.
A