10
rOBTX-ArD. ORET.OX.
r.tr4 at Portland. Oregon, Poatefaae W
Matter.
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RTLAM, SATTHDAT. JAX. Si. 131 1.
I r R.xAjfu or row rj rx miovr.
Captain Mahan speaks with author
about th naval affalra of tha
rld. but It is not conceded by every
dy that ho understands land armies
;it ao thoroughly as he does ships.
his article for the London Dally
ail. which the Boston Evening
ansrrtpt has reprinted for the
-nertcan public, his estimate of the
lative strength and importance of
- Kuropean military forces appears
mearhat lacking- in that sound judg-
ant which one always expects when
rilacusses navies. Mnee the article
is written to rouse the British publto
a sense of Its needs in the matter
buCding warships. Captain Marian
ay have arranged his facts a little
suit t's Immediate purpose. At
iy rate his estimate of tha European
llltary forces leaves a good deal to
- desired In accuracy. He assumes
the basis of his reasoning that the
rlple Alliance of Germany, Austria
I id Italy Is a permanent grouping of
. powers of Central Europe. Russia
lid France are to act In harmony In
future, as they have for the last
en years, while England is to stand
f listed, ready to take a hand in af-
'lra wherever aha sees her Interest.
Under this arrangement nf the
wers the German army makes the
rlple Alliance predominant on the
nd. Captain Mahan believes that
usxla was so much weakened by the
hipanese war that she doea not count
r much at present, while he Inclines
depreciate toe French army also.
1 ustrla, he thinks, is so closely united
Xorth Germany by race and inter-
t that she will not think of breaking
'f the present alliance. Of Italy he
iys nothing specific, but the assumpt
ion Is that the kingdom will hold
tat to the triple arrangement. 8tlll
lie key to the European situation is
the hands of England because of
r predominant naval power. Ger-
tany really depends upon her ne wly
reated seagoing commerce for sub-
stence in time of war. England can
ottle up this commerce pretty effee-
lally. A victorious fleet stationed at
tie Skagerack channel, whose narrow
aters separate Denmark from Scan
ir.avia. would close the Baltic, An
ther at Gibraltar would make the
ledlterranean impracticable even if
ie Triple Alliance had ports at
'rleste and elsewhere on the Adriatic,
hlch, as everybody knows, Austria
seeking. Perhaps a few more ves-
-La would be needed to guard the
anal the Germans have inconvenlent-
r dug across the neck of Denmark.
ut the theory Is very attractive In
I plte of some little difficulties. It
omes to this.- that England could
Carve Germany out. But in order to
take sure of doing it she must hurry
p with new Dreadnoughts, since, un
'appily, the Kaiser has mastered the
ecrct of building them with porten
ous speed.
To many students of international
ffiilra this reasoning will appear fan-
I istic for several reasons. Ru5sla.
or one thing, is not nearly so regligl
le as Captain Mahan seems to think.
: t Is doubtful whether her essential
Ulltary strength was impaired at all
y the Japanese ar. In the rar
:ast her situation has been fairly well
otrleved. as America knows to her
- ommerclal cost. In Persia. Russia
eeps up a friendly rivalry with Eng-
and which may at any time change
to something sharper. Captain Mi
' ;an'a opinion that the Triple Alliance
. the only power which can operate
ffactlvely la Pernla looks extremely
hibious. Russia Is on the ground
rtth battalions whose number nobody
eally knows much about, while her
nrtrfti--"S. scattered through Central
jla. give her a tremendous advan-
ge In any contest. Of course the
nllttary power of France Is prob-
rmatic Her reorganized army has
: tot known a genuine trial of strength
md efflclenry since 1170. but no wise
baerver will depreciate It. The
Trench are at heart a more military
.wnple than the Germane. For cen
urlrs their armies have been the best
lghters In Europe, and it Is unsafe
a believe that their Inborn faculty
ias permanently declined. It Is ten
ifclo to hold that France and Russia
n combination would outmatch the
Triple Alliance even If that entente
were likely to continue unimpaired.
:DtaJn Mahan probably errs In his
l-pir.lon that the compact situation of
.he German nations and Italy In the
neart of Europe gives them an ad-
Iv an tare not to be overcome. The po
sition of Russia on one flank with
Frence on the other would be highly
l-alrable in many contingencies.
Frederick the Great found It pretty
nearly fatal even with his supreme
-nl!t:ary genius to help him out. A
'"ontral European alliance far more
.-.impact than the present triple en
tente was easily penetrated and
utx-ared In fragments by Gustavus
Adolphus entering from the north.
Rut there Is little likelihood that the
Triple Alliance will endure mucn
longer. Now, as in the sixteentn cen
tury, tie Northern powers are more
if a mrnai-o than a help to Italy, tier
interest cla-hea seriously wun Aus
tria's on the eeatern shore of the
Adriatic. Germany can obtain a port
on the south only at the expense of
ItaJr and by the euojugatlon of two
or three millions of determined Ital
ians who have become denizens of the
eastern shore. As these conditions
develop it is extremely likely that
Italy will forsake, the Triple Alliance
and resume her more natural connec
tion with France ana x-nguina.
I the German powers sno ' """w
t onouered and exploited in due
time. To England she Is an ally whose
r,rt and fleet can be uterui wnne
there Is no temptation to plunder.
Upon the whole it seems to be pretty
certain that Captain Mahan's argu
ment for building British Dread
noughts will need some revision be
fore long. The Dreadnoughts are de
sirable, we dare say, but some other
reasoning will have to be Invented to
convince the taxpayers of it.
M. HAMJET, CONSERVATIONIST.
True conservation has won a victory
in Harney County. Mr. WiUlum Han
ley will not be prosecuted by alien
theorists of false conservation for his
progressive endeavors there.
Mr. Hanley undertook to dig a ditch
that would make a large area of land
productive. He needed fuel for his
machinery. He cut from a neighbor
ing mouptatn top scrub junipers,
worthless for any other use. These
"trees" were not timber: they served
no good purpose where they grew.
Stein's Mountain, their habitat, was
not even beautified by thtm and
scarcely shaded.
Along came sleuth "agents" of the
Government. They caught" Mr. Han
ley In the act of "stealing timber"
from the public domain. It did not
matter to these agents that Mr. Han
Icy was performing valuable service
for uplift of Harney County far more
valuable than all the Plnchots and the
Garfield put together. They had him
Indicted. They threatened him with
floe and even prison.
Xow, after a year's interval, the in
dictment Is dismissed. Harney County
has been deprived of this development
project. Why? In order that over
buy factotums of conservation bu
reaus might make a showing to their
non-resident superiors 3000 miles
away. This is one sample of official
tyranny, out of many. Is it any won
der that people of the West are de
manding home-rule conservation and
elimination of alien bureaucrats?
THK DEMOCRATIC PROBLEM.
If President Taft were more of a
politician and less of a great execu
tive, he might not be so obviously dis
turbed over the probable failure of
his legislative programme at the pres
ent short session of Congress. The
winning campaign is almost invari
ably conducted on a platform of
promise and not of achievement. The
country is much more easily interest
ed and aroused by the denunciatory
philippics that "view with alarm" and
always observes with undisturbed
complacency the glowing resolutions
that "point with pride."
The Taft Administration was at- Its
lowest ebb in popular favor last year
following the adjournment of Con
gress with its remarkable record of
party pledges redeemed. The public
Is never so much Interested In the
things an Administration has done as
the things It la going to do.
President Taft may get through at
the short session pi pet project of a
tariff commission, and that is about
all. except the appropriation bills
and probably the Panama Canal
legislation.
Tha President appears, in urging
his nonpartisan investigation and de
termination of tariff problems, to be
inspired by an altruistic purpose to
make it easy for all concerned. The
Republicans know from unhappy ex
perience that any tariff bill is ruin
ous to the dominant party; and the
Democrats ought to know It. Per
haps they do. though Joe Bailey, and
Champ Clark, and Colonel Harvey
and all the other tariff cooks are
very busy concocting the legislative
broth for the next Congress.
The shrewder Democrats, however,
have Joined with the Republicans In
getting behind the tariff board proj
ect. They would gladly shift the bur
den. The Republicans are Just now
for any solution of the tariff discus
sion that will relieve them of some
of the blame for the disastrous Payne
Aldrich act. Some of them would like
to see the Democratic party wreck
itself in fruitless wrangling over- the
subject, but for the lnvltable disturb
ance to business.
After Congress adjourns, it will be
President Taft'a turn to pursue a pol
icy of legislative rest, negation and
silence. He will be left free to carry
out his great plans of administrative
reform and departmental economy.
He need not worry about the future.
It will do him no good. It will soon
be the Democracy's turn to walk' the
floor.
A COISTT DIVISION RILL.
Oregon now has no definitely pre
scribed method by which new coun
ties may be created. Able lawyers
construe a provision of the constitu
tion to mean that the Legislature shall
not create new counties, and while it
might be held by the courts that a
means of setting up a new county
government has been granted to the
people of the territory affected, the
law is too Indefinite to be relied upon.
"Considering Oregon's rapid growth
in population, clearly it will be expe
dient In the near future to divide some
counties now large in area and grow
ing In population If the time is' not
already at hand.
The Eggleaton bill submitted in the
House at Salem is designed to provide
a fair method for such division. The
procedure in general as given therein
is similar to that prescribed In the
Initiative bill defeated In the recent
election, but some features of the de
feated bill have been made much less
objectionable.
In the Initiative measure, for exam
ple. 30 per cent of the voters of a
proposed new county could start a di
vision movement by signing a petition.
In the Eggleston bill SO per cent la
required. In the initiative measure
a majority of those voting In the pro
posed new county was sufficient to
approve the division. In the Eggleston
bill 75 per cent must vote in the
affirmative.
The initiative bin. also, was made
appllcalbe to the Incorporation of new
cities, town's and other municipal di
visions. The Eggleston bill applies
only to formation of new counties.
These are practically the sole vari
ances from the defeated measure. The
plan of referring the petition for for
mation of a new county to a disinter
ested commission Is retained, as Is
also the method of dividing county
property In the event the new county
Is created.
An objection might be made to the
bill because of omission of minimum
limitations on area and population to
be Included in new counties. The con
stitution now forbids the creation of a
new county of less than 400 square
miles in area r having fewer than
1200 Inhabitants. Unless this limitation
can be and is raised by general stat
ute, the Eggleston bill would per
mit approximately 180 voters residing
In a district twenty miles square to
form a new county, figuring on one
voter to every five inuhabltants and
taking 71 per cent of the voters. Such
a proposition, however, would have to
go before a disinterested commission
with plenary power to reject it, so the
omission Is not really a serious one.
It ought to be conceded, we think,
that If 75 per cent of the voters In a
populous area of properly deflned pro
portions wish to form a pew county
they should be permitted to do so. By
properly defined we mean ono whose
segregation would not work a hard
ship on the parent ounty or on the
taxpayers or commercial conditions of
the new county.
The proposed bill ought to produce
such results, and it prescribes perhups
as feasible a method for county di
vision as could bo devised aside from
a constitutional amendment restoring
to the Legislature the power to cre
ate nw counties.
A WRECK WITH rORTCNATB OUTCOME.
The wreck of the steamship Cot
tage City near Cape Mudge, on the
"inside passage" to Alaska is another
of those "fortunate disasters" which
-a fiillv as numerous as the kind that
leave in their wake lifelong misery
and suffering for the friends and rela
tives of the missing passengers. The
Cottage City was old and tender. She
was built of wood more than twenty
five years ago, and. after outliving
her usefulness on the Atlantic, wns
sent around to the Paclllo to end her
days. -
Better seamanship or better weather
enabled the Cottaga City to get safely
past Cape Hatteras, where the wooden
steamship Kentucky was shaken to
pieces while en route to the Pacific
last year, and for nearly a dozen
years she has been tempting fate on
the Alaska route. There is. of course,
a strong probability that a stanch steel
vessel driven on the rocks as the Cot
tage City was driven on them might
have met the same fate, but it is
hardly probable that any modern-built
vessel properly provided with 'collision
bulkheads would have become a hope
less wreck In so short a time as
elapsed between the striking of the
vessel and her abandonment.
This wreck was "fortunate" in more
than one way. Not only -vere all of
the paasenRers and crew safely landed,
but there has been removed from the
list of Pacific Coast craft another an
cient vessel that might at any time
have ended her career In a storm or
on a rockbound coast where the pas
sengers could not have reached shore.
Periodically the Pacific Coasters are
thrilled with horror and Indignation
when some ancient craft goes to the
bottom with a number of passengers.
but the good resolutions maae n ,m
Coroner's inquest or the official inquiry
are soon forgotten and the tender tubs
of a bygone age still churn their way
over various routes between Panama
and Alaska.
Let us hope that the elimination of
the rest of thue marine relics will be
accomplished "with no greater loss of
life "than that attending the Cottage
City when she "laid her bones with
Davy Jones'
SHORT WEIGHT.
"Net weight" Is to be revived In the
Oregon Legislature. It means that
food packages shall be truly labeled
as to quality and weight of content.
That would make sale of short-weight
packages unlawful. Manufacturers
and Jobbers would be forbidden to
"shave" 16 ounces and call it a pound.
Four years ago an attempt was
made for such a law in the Oregon
Legislature. Wholesalers and Jobbers
resisted, .on the ground tnai oulsiuo
goods would be free from euch re
quirements and would drive home
products out of the market.
There ought to be a way to protect
buyers from short-weight fraud. Dis
honest goods, it would Beem, ought
not to compete successfully, for favor
of the buyer, with honest goods, when
the latter are full value in obedience
to law.
The Capitol wlll be swarmed with
lobbyists bent on convincing the leg
islature that Oregon manufacturers
and Jobbers must sell dishonest pack
ages, in order to compete with wicked
rivals in other states beyond the reach
of Oregon law.
rROrOBKD CiLWOKS TS SCHOOL MAN
AGEMENT. The Civic Council of this city has
caused to be prepared and presented
a bill providing for radical changes in
the management of the affairs of
School District No. 1, both in an edu
cational and financial sense. These
proposed changes do not appear to be
entirely in the Interest of civic virtue
and clvlo duty. While the Intent of
the bill may be good. It Is likely to be
mischievous In operation. Clearly
nothing can be gained by casting re
flections upon the honesty and com
petency of the reputable citizens -who
comprise the present Board of Edu
cation, and who have without excep
tion given much valuable time and
much earnest, unselfish effort to the
work of the schools.
The cost, of our public schools is
necessarily large. If it has outrun
prudence, the taxpayers of the district
and not the Board of Directors are
to blame. Witness the pressure that
has been brought to bear upon the
Board for the construction of the Lin
coln High School building, almost
doubling the cost of that structure.
Witness the indorsement of the de
liberate and careful readjustment of
the teachers' salary scale.
ThAi tha. avatm whereby tha Board
of Education is chosen and endowed
with authority is the "village system"
is freely acknowledged; that Portland
has outgrown the village era and is
entitled to a revision of Its school
management to meet the requirements
of Its gTOWth Is also conceded. But
the spirit in which this subject has
been approached by members of the
Civic CouncH Is not one of fairness
and impersonality. It is, rather, of
revolutionary purpose.
While some of the changes proposed
by the bill might be beneficial, as
cited by Judge Northup in an opin
ion given upon the subject, a majority
a thom wmiM hn detrimental. It is
certainly not wise to - endow newly
created school officials with auto
cratic powers and high sounding titles
as this bill proposes. The absoluto
will that scorns to give a reason for
Its dictates has no place in education
al affairs. The Interests Involved are
too complicated, and depend too much
upon conditions and circumstances to
be subjected to the rule of absolutism.
One of the strongest points that has
been made In the Interest of Justice
and efficiency In criticism of school
management in. the past Is that it
works in the Interest of favoritism and
consequently of incompetency In the
selection of teachers, architects, con
structors and purveyors of school sup
piles. If this criticism has at times
been well based under the present
system it would certainly be given
additional scope under the tnanage-
ment of the schools as proposed by
the pending bill, since the bill would
virtually lodge all power over the
schools to the minutest details in the
hands of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction and the Commissioner of
School BuHdlngs.
Washington advices indicate that
the nefarious ship subsidy bill has met
the fate of its predecessors. This is
' encouraging for an American mer
J chant marine. After the men who are
I so persistently seeking a subsidy are
I made, by repeated drubbings, to un
derstand that the American people
will not stand for a subsidy bill, they
will be willing to undertake the mat
ter of providing a merchant marine by
the same successful methods uaed in
other countries. It will be slow work
building up a merchant marine In this
country so long as the opportunity for
capital Is so much better on land. As
a beginning, however, we might repeal
our present absurd navigation laws
and permit American citizens to bqy
ships as cheap as foreigners can buy
them. With this for a beginning, we
would in due season reach the point
where our shipbuilding trusts would
build a ship for an American at as low
a rate nronortionatel v as thev are now
I charging for battleships for foreigners.
Death has levied heavy toll in the
ranks of the blrdmen, but the im
provements in their machines con-,
tinue, .There Is good reason for be
lieving 'that eventually aerial' naviga
tion will become as safe as other
means of traveling. A French aviator
has succeeded in making a flight with
six passengers accompanying , him.
Thursday at San Diego Glenn Hi Cur
tisa demonstrated that It was possible
to alight In the water and rise there
from in an aeroplane, thus making
the machine of great value to the
navy. Flying Is a new art, but rapid
progress has been made, and as the
novelty of witnessing the exhibitions
of the men who are now running the
game wears off, more attention will be
given the practical side of the busi
ness. The aeroplane is destined to be
come something more than a vehlole
for amusement, and from this time
forward improvements will be in the
direction of utility.
"The time has come," declares State
Superintendent of Education Alder
man, "when we must expend some
thing besides money in schools." Ref
erence is here made chiefly to the
rural schools. Otherwise many faith
ful teachers in our city schools would,
if asked for an expression of opinion,
say as with one voice, "that time has
lung been here. We have given our
time, our strength, our earnest, con
scientious endeavor to the schools for
lo these many years. There are few
of us, indeed, whose efforts are not
blossoming in intelligent, capable
womanhood In myriads of homes and
In earnest, competent manhood in the
broad field of citizenship." This, It
may be added. Is practically all that
a multitude of faithful teachers have
to show for fifteen, twenty or thirty
years of strenuous endeavor in their
vocation. Naturally and properly they
are Jealous of this possession.
The announcement of the death of
Jacob Stltzel at his home in Colvllle
Wash., will recall to relatively few of
our citizens the time when his
name was influential in the poll
tics of Multnomah County. That was
in the later days of the Civil War. It
is recalled that he was Sheriff of
Multnomah County when President
Lincoln was assassinated, and prior to
this lived on a homestead In- Clacka
mas County a few miles from Needy,
where the log cabin in which he set
tled when first married, was a lowly
landmark of pioneer strivings for
many years. That time la as remote
from this as is any likeness in tho pic
tured face of Jacob Stltzel that print
ed In conjunction with the notice of
his passing to that reproduced by
memory of the young man who was
known in the early annals of Mult
nomah and Clackamas Counties.
- Dr. E. N. Hutchinson, of the Bu
reau of Animal Industry, has made a
remarkable discovery. . It is that of
a dairy barn, the cleanest and best
kept of any he ever Inspected, and a
dairy herd, well kept and free from
tuberculosis, while the ensilage being
used was the finest he had ever seen.
Strange to say, this perfection in dairy
.ninmnt xi'fla found in connection
with a Government institution
namely, the Indian Industrial School
at Chemawa. He found the herd of
Inferior breed, however, and will rec
ommend that it be replaced by better
stock. Let us hope that this recom
mendation will be favorably consid
ered, since clearly these Indian farm
ers and dairymen are entitled to the
encouragement that a better initial
equipment will offer.
The signal "S. O. S." la reducing
hazard of the sea so often of late that
apparatus for sending it is now an es
sential equipment of ocean-going ves
sels. The steamer Cottage City flashed
the word of its sinking last Thursday
off Cape Mudge, B. C, and told of the
lifeboat refuge for safety of passen
gers and crew. The steamer Queen,
with fire in the hold, seat ashore word
of Its danger and was shortly rescued
by a flre-flghting force from San Fran
cisco. These examples of rescue are
quite frequent nowadays In fact. It
tiin- to be a rarity when a pas
senger ship doe not speak the shore
or a neighboring vessel when In dis
tress or danger.
The Weyerhaeuser Company pays
nearly J100.000 taxes in one Washing
ton county. It pays early and gets
the discount. That is one way a rich
concern gets richer. "Poor Richard"
said the dollars took care of them
selves. Just keep an eye on the pennies.
Impecunious Dick probably adapted
the sajing from a remark of a pre
historic Greek. Its truth is mighty
In all centuries and countries.
The Vancouver squad of vagrant
woodcutters pile up cordwood at the
rate of less than half a cord a day per
man. This fully Justifies the official
complaint that "they Just keep mov
ing." Perhaps their motives might be
accelerated by paying them a little
something. Possibly they would cut
so much more wood that the city
would gain by it.
Monument people holding conven
tion here say the high cost of living
has not affected their business. Like
the undertakers, the tombstone man
Is a Joker. It is the high cost of dying
that bothers hts patrons.
If the Legislature thinks there ought
to be more holidays, why not Mc
Loughlln Day?
single; tax advocates reflies.
Qneatloas Aakad by ti. B. Tucltar Takea
T.'p by Mr. Illraaa,
PORTLAND, Jan. 26.-(To the Edit
or). May I reply in Tha Oregonlan to
some of the questions Mr. Q. B. Tucker
has put UP to ma in the issue Of Jan
uarv 16.
He asks: Does Mr. Himes mean that
vacant land adjoining land on which
stands a skyscraper should be taxed
i about the same amount as the owner
I of tbe skyscraper pays? That the
owner of land beside a mill, factory or
j wharf, should pay as much as the own
I ers of these? The owner of these va-
: cant sites are holders ef natural oppor-
; tunlties of relative values' to the sites
I whose owners by legitimate and honest
enterprise improved their land and are
performing useful service to society,
and thereby are creating double value
in those vacant sites held out of use
by their owners for speculation, who
now collect those values, created by
their more Industrious neighbors, in
hlfther prices when sale is made. Why
should we fine men for performing use
ful service and tax them higher the
more they add to their improvements
or employ more labor. If owners would
use their land instead of holding it
for speculation they would be more use
. ful citizens and could well afford to
. pay the natural tax upon the natural
opportunities they absorb to tne exciu
sion of useful industry.
Mr. Tucker asks further: Would an
employe fry to save enough to pay for
a couple of lots on which to build a
home, pay the same as his employer
who has a fine home, near by pays for
the same number of lots under pis im-
, nrovements? . When a Question of free-
I dom and Justice la to be settled the
1 employer and employed should etana
I equal before the bar of social Justice,
They should each have tha same right
I In the natural creation.- Mr. Tucker no
' doubt intends to picture in this ques
tion a wealthy employer having a nne
home In a select district of the city and
a very noor emolove. whom he no doubt
: has Induced to buy of him a couple of
fine lots In the same district, on wnicn,
some time In the future, he hopes to
build a home, when the mortgage on
the lot is paid. This picture is true
to life in only a few cases. Such trans
actions are based more on speculation
than on expectations of building a home
in such a district by men of this class;
as poor men, as a rule, do not act so
foolishly. The vacant lots may or may
not offer the same inducements for a
home site, but they have a relative
value to the site improved. Therefore
they should pay taxes according to that
value.
Again, Mr. Tucker asks: Would we
try to force the building of improve,
ments to make land pay regardless of
the financial condition of owners or
whether the Improvements could be
made to pay In competition with prop
erty already built? The single tax
would not force men to do anything.
It is a step toward freedom of oppor
tunity and would encourage building
of all kinds of business and Improve
ments because it paid to do so. The de
mands of a really free people are prac
tically unlimited ,and well directed In
dustry would always pay. There are
practically no Idlers under such condi
tions as has been proven. .Opportuni
ties are opened In all lines of useful
endeavor and those who have Jived un
der conditions of forced idleness, or
worse, either unchecked profligacy or
abject poverty, as the result of former
social conditions, are Inspired with a
desire to become useful citizens. The
result Is, real progress, healthy activ
ity, greater demand for the better
things and comforts of life. Capital Is
freely Invested in the useful industries,
repression ceases to be the order and a
natural order ensues full of hops and
encouragement to the weakest, as well
as to the strong.
Again, he asks: Would we force heavy
toll from owners of franchises before'
1 the use of such franchises could be
! made to pay In competition with prop
erties already bullt7 Not at all. The
value of a franchise is a land value and
Is measured by the social demand or
inducement for its use. Those who
use it can afford to pay toll according
to its use value, which may be very
little at first, but Increase as demand
increases. Those who obtain a franch
ise and hold it without using may be
come a menace to social progress there
by, and could be forced to use It or let
others do .so by taxing the franchise
at its full value. This, of course, would
discourage monopoly for speculative
purposes only.
Again: Would capitalists loan money
on improvements and enterprises thus
situated? Capital would not In my esti
mation wish to loan money for the pur
pose of helping anyone to monopolise
natural opportunities; neither would
any wish to borrow for this purpose,
or invest what they might have for
such purposes, and this Is one of the
very best results for such a system,
for capital would be left free to Invest
in useful Industrial enterprises for
which there would be a very attractive
demand. , '
Again: Who owns these worthless
lands that should not be taxed because
they are In private hands? Speculators?
There are many thousand acres of land
In private hands In Oregon too poor to
yield a fair return for labor expended,
or too remote from population at pres
ent to be put to profitable use, only a
small portion of this Is being worked
because the city offers better wages.
Much of this land Is held by foreign
land speculators who have paid but
very little for the title, and are hold
ing It for large returns when industry
shall have opened up Its opportunities.
I could furnish a long list of foreign
land owners who hold many mlllons
acres of land in our country to the detri
ment of our people, but time and space
will not permit. These men may find It
more profitable to use their money for
development than to hold it idle under
the single tax.
Again he quotes: The agricultural
class will have nothing to fear, under
the single tax the farmer will be re
lieved, etc. He says, if the values are
not high in the. country, how about
land selling from one hundred to one
thousand dollars an acre? Land im
proved by clearing the stumps, building
houses, barns and fences, planting fine
orchards of prunes, apples, berries, etc.,
and brought to a high state of develop
ment by the Industry of the farmer Is
bringing high prices because of these
facts, and unimproved land near by
held by speculators is sharing in these
benefits, while the owner may live In
New York or London and does nothing
towards this development, but holds on
for his price while the working farmer
pays the taxes now levied mostly on
his Improvements. Under the single tax
all these Improvements will be exempt,
only wild land values will be consid
ered. We will then have the Idle acres
improved, Oregon will then attract
workers and capital instead of Idlers
and speculators: We are now develop
ing thugs and Joy-riders, we will then
develop useful citizens.
I deny that nearly every one Is busy
and contented, and even Mr. Tucker
must know that he was in error when
he made this statement.
ALAN SON M. HIMES.
Rights of Creditors.
PORTLAND, Jan. 27. (To the Edi
tor.) Can the creditors of a man who
has failed in business put a lien on or
attach property that is In his wife's
name and whioh also has a mortgage
against it? , A READER.
unless the indebtedness of the
man was Incurred for family necessi
ties.
Enough to Give 'Era Sere Eyes.
Omaha Bee.
Those Democrats up In Maine are not
through rubbing their eyes yet Sixty
three years Is a long time to stand on
the outside looking in. .
TREATMENT OF HV8AXB PATIENTS,
Elimlaatlon ef Madhouse Semblance at
Hospital Commended.
SALEM, Or., Jan 26.(To the Edi
tor.) So much criticism and eensure of
Dr. Steiner's management of the state
insane asylum is being published it
would seem but fair and somewhat in
cumbent upon some one in touch with
the real condition of affairs to explain
some of the ideals and necessities of an
institution of this character. It will be
admitted by all that buildings for the
insane shquld be fireproof; that they
should be constructed wih a view of
permanency, economy of upkeep, and
adaptability to the carrying out of
modern lines of treatment of the in
sane. Now, what is essential in the
proper care and treatment of the In
sane? Briefly stated, the situation Is
this: Every large state asylum has
within its walls the accumulation .of
years, a host of more or less demented
persons for whom custodial care, the
creature comforts, employment and
amusement is the best that can be pro
vided or accomplished.
In addition to this class of patients
there are the recent patients, the acute
Insane there were 1068 new patients
received in the asylum during the past
two years; these require special treat
ment, 95 to 40 per .cent can be cured
If properly managed, and, If one will
consider for a moment the conditions
under which most insane persons are
adjudged Insane and enter the asylum,
he cannot but realize the infinite ad
vantage of a modern receiving hospi
tal like the one built by Dr. Steiner
that has been the subject of so much of
the eensure that he has received.
Take, for lnstanoe, the ordinary case
of insanity the father or mother, the
brother or sister, the son or daughter
of some family of this state filled
with morbid suspicions, complaint and
commitment carried through largely
without the insane person's knowledge,
the patient is, from his or her view-,
point, spirited away from her home and
deprived of liberty. Now, under these
unfavorable conditions the institu
tional treatment begins. Nothing can
be of more importance than a favor
able first impression. If an Individual
finds himself In a well-equipped hos
pital, where every semblance of a Jail
or madhouse Is eliminated he will be
helped to realize that he is sick and
In need of treatment and have his mor.
bid suspicions allayed by kindly at
tention. Is Dr. Steiner to be con
demned for attempting to build such a
hospital, or, is he not rather- to be
commended for having the courage of
his conviotlons in attempting to live
up to his Ideals in the care of these un
fortunate individuals?
L. F. GRIFFITH.
NEUTRALITY OF THE SCEZ CANAL.
No Analogy Between the Situation
There and at Panama.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
The statement of reasons - why the
Panama Canal should be neutralised
and not fortified, which has Just been
promulgated under the signatures of
Richard Olney. Henry Wade Rogers
and other more or less distinguished
persons, contains the assertion that
"though the Sues Canal was built with
English money England agreed to lis
neutralization."
This Is an astonishing misrepresen
tation of the facts. So far from its
being true that the' Sues Canal was
built with English money. It was built
in spite of the most strenuous English
opposition. In London the great finan
ciers were so firmly convinced of the
Impracticability of the project that they
contemptuously refused to have any
thing m An with It. whila the British
government of that day pursued a pol-
loy 01 passive out irouuicauwa ouonuo
tlon. Palmerston was premier at the
time when De Lesseps was struggling
to launch his great undertaking, and
he took no pains to conceal his disbe
lief in the possibility of Its success.
It is to France that the credit for the
construction of the canal belongs. Do
Lesseps managed to interest the Em
press Eugenie, with whom he was a
personal favorite, in his plans and she
oonsented to bring them to the atten
tion of the Emperor. She did so, with
tha result that the engineer obtained
the political support of the French
government, and the neoessary conces
sion from Said Pasha, the Khedive of
Egypt, was obtained. When the oanal
company was organized, by far the
larger part of its stock was subscribed
for by French investors, and it was not
until years after, not until 1875, when
Disraeli, acting on the advice of Fred
erick Greenwood, the well-known jour
nalist, who died not long ago, bought
for some $20,000,000 the big block of
stock which bad been allotted to Khe
dive Ismail Pasha that England ao
quired any Interest in tha Sues water
way. It Is believed that even now tne
French holdings are substantially pre
dominant. There is no analogy whatever be
tween the Suez situation and the situ
ation presented at Panama, and the cir.
cumstance that the Suez Canal was
neutralized constitutes no reason at all
why a like policy should be pursued In
the 'latter ease. It Is obvious that as
regards Suez there was really nothing
else to be done.. As the canal there
traverses territory which Is under the
suzerainty of the Sultan of Turkey, It
would logioally be subject to Turkish
..-1 hut that, of course, was Quite
out of the question. That it should be
administered Dy nigypi was even muio
impracticable, and neither France nor
lnrrlnnil AnilM t)A PXDeCtfid tO SgrCO
that he other should be supreme in Its
management. Kjn iuu hww m.
n a - p.i lias u-hnliv within the
Jurisdiction of the United States, and
was DUHt exclusively win '
monev. so that the Suez precedent has
no application.
CbanKina; Ena-Uah Nnraery.
Boston Globe.
Those American girls who become
the wives of British nobility are be
ginning to have an influence en Brit
ish customs. The first of these lnter
.tlAn,l tnn.rHn.frea occurred about 80
.ran r O im fin A since that time the
exodus has continued, and shows no
sign of stopping. It la notea ny Keen
British observers that the children born
4n .ti.., intrna Hnna.1 unions are reared
differently from the children of ordi
nary English nobles.
The American-born wives find that
tt.iiuv. nhfiriren n r brouirht ud al
most exclusively In a stern nursery
regime- The parents went tneir way
and communication between them and
. Ahiiiipan n un nf tha narowest Kino.
Tho American wives have flatly de
clined to bring up their children in
that way. They have reiusea to jei.
nurses supplant them in the affection
-, . .hUiiTAn Thev are hreakiner
down the nursery barrier and in short
are bringing up the children as a part
of the home circle, and in the way
most parents in this country think they
should be brought up. The change has
been noticed by other British parents,
who do not like It, but their children
are demanding to be made more a part
of the home.
Inventive Women.
New York Sun.
Miss Sophie Heilbrun has Invented a
machine which will' open 400 letters a
minute. She Is at the head or a small
order concern, and realizing the time It
required to open letters, she set about
to find something tnai wouia nasten
the process. Her Invention is the re.
suit.
Ernesta di Lulsl is another feminine
inventor. She is only 15, and she has
Just invented a turntable which, fixed
to a vehicle, will enaoie it to reverse
at once -
SCRAPS AND JINGLES
BY I.EONH CASS BAITR,
Cash is comfort In the concrete.
t
We do not speak as wo pass by.
Our once warm love remains untold
Alack! Tears drip frnm our four eyes.
We both have taught a thund ring cold.
m
An athletic yount; gent
TJ Egvpt once went,
The land of the corn, not in cans. sir.
To Cairo he walked
And back again stalked. i
Was he a Calropedist answer?
.
To err Is woman, to forgive feminine.
May Tohe says her family'can trace
an uninterrupted descent for a period
of six centuries. What ah awful come
down.
aaa
("Not even bread and butter, ror tho ap
parently harmless breakfast foods are frc
from the death-dealing microbe." reads an
editorial In a scientitlc publication.)
Mvrtylla. eating breakfant food,
These warning lines In horror viewed.
And woi assisted by the niald
Continued munching straw trapped.
Nature pays, with apology
To old Bacteriology.
Spite of threatening bactelli.
We must all eat. wllly-nllly.
Where, oh, where, shall we find foison
If ail breakfast foods are poison?
Once 'twas told to swains and misses
Death lurked in their loving kisses.
But that did not guard a nation
From sweet joys of osculation.
Science now tells the younu- !""
(Whom Eddie Bok vents his cursa on)
Grandmas, grandpas, hablea aven.
In their porridge find death s leaven.
Can't quite see h. this is made out.
Science? like tha stork, is p layed out.
fcnlte its warnings, or its blurring.
We will still eat mattress stuffing.
There was a young lady named Why,
Who handed out riddles so fly.
"What's tamer." asked she.
'Than a verv tame flea?'
X sea-tamer." was the reply.
Being virtuous solely for the sake of
virtue with no hope of reward, is to
be good for nothing.
a
Someone writes to know an
tual way of exterminating dry rot and
nreventing Its reappearance in a
church." Why doesn't the inquirer try
somebody else's sermons, or have no
sermons at all?
The first legBon in bookkeeping is
never to lend one.
Miss Calamity Btepandfetchit, the
clever and talented home-grown author
of Kllama. has Just completed her new
book, "The Domestic Lyre a compan
ion to her former publications, t ath
er, Dear Father," and "The Family
Story-Teller." . .
Rest is unperceived activity,
aaa
The only real rejected addresses sr..
apparently, those that go to the dead
letter office. ...
It has Just come to light that the
Romans had a telephone system, and
thaTlydia was an operator on;
board. Witness Horace. Ode Xin.
Quern tu, Lydia Telephi."
ing properly translated, reads, "Whom
you, Lydia of the telephone." can prob
ably tell me all about, or whatever the
rest of the line may be. Or mayhap.
-Whom you. Lydia of the h"B
board hav. cut me off from, and 1 ve
been waiting," etc., etc
aaa
Whatever his virtues may be, the av
erage phrenologist Is a bumptious per-
- ...
The Missing Link: Few things srs
late' ...
Definition Of a Joint offense: Wh
the cook-lady brings In an overdone leg
of lamb. ...
Haopy Wife writes to say she would be
ever so much obliged if some one wouie
furbish iTer the remainder of th. coup
let, of which she encloses tivo Hnes.
ft11?.". ttmpTl. to mak. him s.w.
a
Echoes of the Yuletide: For exchange
-Sixteen assorted ties, four hand-painted
calendars, one pair of Uv.nder satin,
shirred suspenders, eight boxes of
Rotto cigars and a burnt wood motto.
Wll Exchange for anything. Write what
you have. .
A journalist may oft write mm
Be neither silly, sad nor shoppy,
He may run to comicality,
Prlnle? anh.7-eade7l?opV."
'I love these here cradle songs," said
a fashionable Mrs. Malaprop "i V
sing my children a good-night alibi.
And she also observed, apropos of tha
recent spell of weather, that she ex
pected "equally obnoxious gales.
v ...
Motto for the proposed Portland Dresa
Reform League: "All hobbles abandon,
ye who enter here."
. a a
It lay in a book shop for sale.
But io one seemed keen to brttT.
"Real Jokes." I read on the pla-rd
"One dollar reduced to a quarter.
But the joke was lost upon roe.
Its humor uncommonly flat.
Could the child of my brain then ba
So fallen in v'u thtT
-What oonatitntes Good Dressing:!
Boston Herald.
We are often told that women dress
for men's approval, but that is no
longer a general truth. How many men
like the hobble skirt? But how many
women bought and made and ; loved
. . , , T..ot mr what then, do
nOOOlB eK.lI I fce, , , .
women dress? Not one In 10 could give
you a logical answer.
Women spend a great deal of time on
their clothes, but the trouble Is that
they spend more time than they do in
: -nr n .hmiM trv to ex
press their individuality In their clothes
rather than to exprooo wi
.... -ii ...mi.ai 4hA storv of tha
husband who went shopping with his
wife. As tney sioppau uciu.o "72
j ho rnshiv recommended
s certain silk. "Why. nobody is wear
ing that, retorted nis who ouuiih.u.j.
..r- ..v.o ..ihaiiari. hut a. little later
again plucked up courage aDd timidly
suggested anotner laDriu.
looked at mm as omy tui.tu""
woman can look at a man. "Why.
everybody's wearing that," she replied.
A little less attention to what every
body is wearing, and a little more real
study of our own good and bad points
would do wonders for the most of us.
In this as in all things women need to
think for themselves.
When Sons; Saved Jewels.
London TU-Blts.
Mr. Kube has a remarkable celiac,
tion of autograph letters from notabls
people, and among them is one from
Mme. Pattl which relates to a visit paid
by burglars to Craig-y-Nos. it con
tains the following: "I suppose the
wretches heard that I had Jewels and
diamonds and Imagined that I left
them about loose in the house, always
hanging up a few diamond necklaces
In the hall with my hat and coat!
However, it was an inspiration on my
part, going upstairs in the corridor I
began singing, which made them be
lieve I was going into the room they
were in, and consequently frightened
tbem away. I knew my voice had done
a great deal for me, but never ex
pected it would save our bouse from
being robbed."