TITi: MORNING OKEGOXIAN, SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 1911.
10
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wajutovrxEss.
Is Southwestern Washington a part
of WaahnlgtonT Geographically, the
fact la undeniable; but politically and
commercially It appears to be bavins
soma difficulty In convincing- the sov
ereign powers of the state that It Is
anything more than a territorial vas
sal or dependency to be exploited at
will by the suzerains and overlords of
Puget Sound. The defeat of the Pa
cific highway bill br the dominant In
fluences In the Legislature, mainly for
the reason that It proposed among
other things to build a great thorough
fare In the direction of Portland, has
excited not a little Indignation In the
counties most concerned. They ap
pear to think that It is Just as benefi
cial to Southwestern Washing-ton to
have an ou'Jet through wen-built
thoroughfares as It is to Portland to
have an Inlet Into another state.
The time when one state can build a
barrier against the trade of another at
Its stats line belongs to the feudal in.
The Urn when a city may hold the
trade of any territory to Itself by pre
venting Its natural and necessary de
velopment, and imposing on It a policy
of stagnation and starvation, belongs
to the same period.
A north -andsouth highway through
Western Washington would have for
Its northern termini the cities of Pus-el
Sound and for its southern termi
nus the Columbia River, near Port
land. Such a road, with Its radiants,
would be of unquestionable value to
Southwestern Washington. Why should
It have been denied on any ground,
and especially on the ground that It
gives) the people of the southwest an
equal opportunity for commerce with
Portland and the Puget Sound cltlesT
m. rauuxs tounox.
Mr. George W. Perkins Is no doubt
a portent after a fashion, but not a
dangerous one. Like a star he has
fled frvm his sphere. Mr. J. P. Mor
gan's firm knows him no longer. But
he has not fled varv wlldlv nor Is his
new orbit likely to lead him on to de
structive collisions with other plane
tary bodies. While yet in the vigor
of his years Mr. Perkins has aban
doned the active pursuit of dollars to
devote himself to the study of social
questions. Its has dollars enough to
istisfy any reasonable craving and the
vocation of seeking them Is not likely
to grow unfashionable. It coulJ
stand the loss of a dozen Mr. Per
kinses and still remain quits suffi
ciently thronged.
On the other band, the study of
social subjects is like the road to
heaven. The path Is narrow and few
there be that find it. That Is to say.
there be but few of Mr. Perkins ex
perience and sanity. Of course) It Is
traveled by plenty of cranks. So far
are we from deploring Mr. Perkins
new plan of life that we should like
to see other men of wealth and com
manding Intelligence Imitate him. In
the field of social study the harvest
Is plenteous In the United States and
the competent laborers are all too few.
In his speech at the Southern Com
mercial Congress Mr. Perkins mors
than hinted that Americans have be
come "mind-bound. " The expression
Is the mental correlative of hide
bound. A hide-bound animal Is not
on to be desired- A mind-bound
people must be similarly deficient in
charms.
If Americans are mind-bound it Is
because they have directed their at
. tentloa so closely to money-making
that they have grown timid at the
eight or sound of Ideas. It Is assumed
that an Idea is necessarily hostile to
business. Mr. Perkins does not think
so. lis believes that business must
begin to call In Ideas to Its rescue or
It will fall a victim to socialism or
some other ravenous monster. It
might not he a bad plan for our men
of commercial prowess to listen to
what bo has to say.
Hitherto Americans who have suc
ceeded In practical affairs have taken
far too little part In the conduct of
the Government. Perhaps It would
be more accurate to say that they
have taken too little part openly and
candidly. Eubterraneously some of
them have been much too busy with
Governmental affairs for the common
welfare. One of our greatest social
cesvls Is the participation of successful
men In the open field of politics. We
need not fear that they would all be
dully conservative. Many men of
great prestige in finance are de
cljed'y radical. They rend, ponder
and draw conclusions. But. sad to say,
they keep their conclusions to them
selves. A few millionaires coming out
frankly as radicals would make radi
calism respectable In the United
States. Men would then begin to boast
as proudly of being radicals as they
now do of being conservatives. Both
sorts of thinkers are wanted, as every
person of decent Intelligence admits.
A country where everybody was con
servative would be about the most
stagnant place under heaven, while If
everybody was radical it would be too
exciting for ordinary nerves. The two
types are needed for mutual check and
stimulation.
Mr. Perkins Intends to preach the
evangel cf co-operation for the rent
of his days, be they m.iny or few. To
h'.s mind co-operation Is the key to the
problem of the big corporation which
moves toward monopoly. lb not be
so foolish as to try to disrupt these
monsters, he says. They are the out
growth of evolutionary forces. Our
age tends toward concentration. Mod- t
era means cf communication have
made all men Bear neighbors. For
merly they had to govern through
representatives because they had no ,
way of acting la concert. ow they
J can all know In the afternoon what
J everybody waa thinking la the morn-
Ins- and there Is nothing to hinder col
lectlve action. So the prestige of the
representative wanes and direct gov
ernment grows in lavor. jjireci gov
ernment means the elimination of po
litical machinery. It tends toward
rnnrntratlnn Af mftnrt
Mr. Perkins beholds with approval
the same tendency acting In business.
The evacuation of useless men and de
vices proceeds apace. The Independent
business unit Is compelled to merge
Itself in wholes which dally grow
vaster. The homogeneous assemblage
of our old commercial life has become
heterogeneous. Regrouping Is under
wsgr. The parts are integrating into
larger and larger aggregates. Mr.
Perkins does not borrow these ex
pressions' of Herbert Spencer's. Per
haps he never heard of them. Inas
much as he Is a devout churchman.
But he does borrow the Ideas. It Is
useless to kick against this process.
It Is founded In the nature of things
and nothing can stop It. All we can
do Is to direct the energy of the mam
moth combinations for the common
weal. That task has thus far, Mr.
Perkins thinks, been neglected. The
law has tried to destroy the trusts,
but hss not tried to control them. The
consequence Is a great movement
toward government ownership. He
adopts ths view that the corporations
are essentially publlo agencies and
holds, therefore, that their activities
must be known to the public and
completely regulated by law.
One consequence of this perfectly
sound opinion seems to have escaped
Mr. Perkins attention. If the cor
porations are public agencies. It fol
lows pretty clearly that their officers
are publlo officers. When the voters
once get this fact Into their heads,
how long will It be before they will
want to elect these public officers?
Ths prospect might give Mr. Perkins
pause were he led to consider It.
Every office which the voters have
really wanted to make elective has
bowed to their will soont.-r or later.
There Is absolutely no way of resisting
them. We perceive, tnererore, tnu
Mr. Perkins' solution of the trust
problem, attractive as It undoubtedly
Is. nevertheless involves some unpleas
ant possibilities.
INDECENT ART.
Dubious reflections upon the educa
tion of the clergy arise as one reads
of their attitude toward art In Boston.
Naturally expect the Boston clergy
to be about the most cultured In the
country. If ministers appreciate the
beautiful anywhere surely they will
do It In Boston. And yet a thunderous
clamor has burst forth among these
luminaries over the nude statues In
the Museum of Flnt) Arts.
The Museum has asked for a hum
ble little appropriation of $1000 and
the ministers are up In arms against
It because some of the busts and other
figures do not wear clothes. These
works are "Immodest. Indecent, abom
inable." say the Boston clergy. Is not
this an Interesting frame of mind?
When the early Christians got control
of old Rome one of ths first things
they did was to pull down the statues
In public places. Every work of
beauty which they could get their
hands on they destroyed or buried so
that centuries afterward the exhuma
tion of antique relics became a profit
able Industry In the city.
When the Lutheran reformers, "who
had become Anabaptists by thst time,
got control of things In Holland they
proceeded to wreck the churches. The
pictures on the walls, the decorations
of the altnrs, the Imago on tombs,
were ruined- Today the traveler sees
In the huge churches at Rotterdam.
Haarlam. wherever he goes In Hol
land, nothing but vast bare walls, cold,
cheerless and forlorn. The beauty
which they destroyed, the Anabaptists
believed to be offensive to the
Almighty.
Puritanism with Its hatred of the
beautiful finally lost Its hold on Latin
Christianity and In Italy the love of
art ultimately resumed Its ancient
sway, but In northern lands conditions
seem to be much the sama now as In
Luther's century. The gsy. the Joy
ous, the natural, the beautiful is sin
ful. To please the higher powers we
must make ourselves as hideous and
lugubrious as possible. Bishop Mal
lalleu. of Boston, must know perfectly
well that ths nude Is not necessarily
Indecent. It U possible to make a
draped status far more licentious In
Its suggestion than any lack of cloth
ing can be. Not long ago there was
a clnd picture of Jeffries, the prize
fighter, shown In some Portlsnd shop
windows, which outdid In lewd Intent
all the statues In the Boston Museum
of the Pine Arts, and no clergyman,
so far as we ever learned, had a iword
to say about It.
THE KATX-DEC1SIOX FRHTOHXT.
The stock market, which suffered a
bad attack of hysterics when the re
cent decision In the railroad rate case
was announced, has fully recovered its
former buoyancy and there seems to
a fairly good demand for the new
Issues of securities put out by some of
the roads. The failure of the Inter
state Commerce Commission to permit
an advance in rates has undoubtedly
forced the railroads to retrench In
manv ways which might have been
overlooked had the public been will
ing to pay the bill. This phase of the
matter has developed a new feature In
ths problem which Just at present Is
. i nmA imBninMui for organized
cnuaiiis "" -
lsbor. The railroads for many years
were working up such a full and com
plete line of public hostility that even
organized, labor would throw up Its hat
and yell with glee whenever a blow
was landed on the railroads or other
Industries representing a large aggre
gation of capital.
Mr. Thomas L. Lewis, president of
the United Mineworkers of America,
sees In the decision of the Commission
the establishment of a dangerous pre
cedent which will ultimately lead to
-a commission empowered to prevent
the worklngmen of the country from
demanding Increased pay." Even In
this the great American public, which
pays alike the dividends of the cor
porations and the wages of the em
ployes, will fail to see anything par
ticularly unfair. Labor was demand
ing higher wages from the railroads
and the railroads were trying to "pass
the buck" to the shippers who raid the
freight, and who in turn would pass
It on to the consumer. Between this
tightening strain of the colls of organ
ized labor and organized capital the
unorganised public seemed to be in for
a squeeze that -would have been far
from pleasant.
The steel trust, which for yesrs has
robbed the peorl snd the railroads,
may now be obliged to reduce the
price and assist In the readjustment
made necessary by the failure of the
Interstate Commerce Commission to
permit an increase In rates. Eventu
al, tive people who foot ths bills will
see but little difference between a
labor trust and a capital trust. Artifi
cial conditions created through the
close workings of these two great fac
tors tn the economic system must of
necessity now be replaced by natural
conditions. The precedent established
by the Interstate Commerce Commis
sion may not be, as termed by Mr.
Lewis, a "dangerous" one. but It Is a
precedent which may force the Com
mission to recognize and regulate the
elements that ar of vital necessity In
the fixing of a reasonable freight rate.
J, P PROPRIA TX AJ-POINTM EXT S T
Governor West has appointed two
new Pilot Commissioners. The Pilot
Commission as It now stands is made
up of James Monks, a Portland boiler
maker; John Kopp. a retired brewer
of Astoria, and Frank J. Taylor, an
Astoria lawyer, all estimable men and
mostly good Democrats. The duties of
the Pilot Commissioners are to ex
amine applicants for licenses, and.
when the applicants show by exam
ination that they are qualified for the
work and there is need of their serv
ices, the Commission Is to grant li
censes to them. These pilots, river
and bar. handled more than 1.000.000
tons of shipping last year. It is there
fore Important that none but men well
qualified for the work should be given
licenses. Mr. Monks, being a boiler
maker, and steamships having boilers,
and pilots being engaged In 'guiding
steamships Into port. It Is easy to un
derstand the line of reasoning which
makes this gentleman eligible to the
position. Nor can the appointment of
Mr. Kopp be regarded as wholly Inap
propriate, as that gentleman -was for
years engaged In the manufacture of
cargo for "schooners" which were
piloted over many a "bar."
Mr. Taylor, the third Commissioner,
is a holdover from the Chamberlain
administration, and has for many
years been a member of the bar on
which pilots are net engaged. Gov
ernor West having displayed such re
markable skill In selecting men adapt
ed for the place on the Pilot Commis
sion, would undoubtedly find in Cap
tains Flavel. Spencer. Veysey. Crowe.
Hoben. Shaver or any of a dozen other
prominent maritime experts admirable
qualifications for a place on an Insur
ance, land or sgrtcultural commission.
PROTECTING TUE rVWAfiV.
George H. Monroe, of New York,
who stands near the head of his class
of promoters of get-rich-quick
schemes, was convicted last Thursday
and sentenced to three years in ths
Federal Penitentiary at Atlanta. As
Mr. Monroe and his fellow crooks are
said to have secured something like
1500.000 from victims In various parts
of the country, the punishment would
hardly seem to fit the crime. There Is
something hopeful, however. In the
fact that even one of these metropoli
tan highwaymen has been convicted of
using the malls In connection with
fraudulent stock operations. The
methods used by ths Monroes to separ
ate the credulous public from its
money possessed no new features.
When one kind of fake stock failed to
Interest the victim, another was tried.
t. ... ...ikln tn f the. monev. The
testimony Introduced at the trial dis
closed a wide circle ot victims wp
mads investments ranging all ths way
from a few dollars to thousands.
The persuasive literature of the
Monroes seemed to strike a responsive
chord In all classes of people, for
among those buncoed who appeared
at the trial were a Tennessee preacher,
an Arizona widow, an Illinois capltal
.. mn Connecticut Yankees.
These had all bought stock in a wire
less telegraphy company ana nu
. - , V. Ht- mnnev without re-
W4LCU ...IM J
celvlng snythlng but promises In re
turn. Ths lamo-uke iuodiisiuu
. -. . i t.i,ln. onv action until
venieu iuei fc " a
Postmaster-General Hitchcock began a
campaign against ins nroti
.v.- .i-iu, hnnra artists. The num
ber of victims and the ease with which
they parted with their money in tms
eaaa riamnnttrntM the futility of trying
to InoTuce people to make use of ordi
nary common sense ana protect mtm-
i - n-Kio hninv Imnracticable or
perhaps impossible. It becomes In a
measure the duty or me uovernmcui
to protect them from their own folly.
Perhaps the worst feature of this
kind of swindling lies In the fact that
. .f v. . victims tnt noor neoDle
unfamiliar with the tricks by which
highwaymen or the Monroe type gei
their money. The accumulation of a
few dollars by people of this class Is a
i n . . 1 1 ir .'niff nroceKS. T hp V graSD
;iuiuuv ' " ' t
at the alluring offers of the swindlers
with an eagerness that Is almost plti
...i t-w .--r. u a iffrht sentence for
a criminal of the Monroe type, but the
apparent ease witn wnicn tne govern
ment sent this unaesiraDie ciiticu
. .v.. will have a tendency
uini i'"
to check the operations of other crooks
who are engaged in tne same um oi
business.
JTOT THUS OREGOJl SYSTKM.
m., initiative, and referendum In
Washington, If approved by the people
at the next general election, will un-
oubtful differ in its pracucaj word
ings from the Oregon system.
Throo factors will probably comoine
In Washington to hold down the num
ber of measures suomittea at suoso
........ -irinna. is the higher ner-
centage of ths total vote required on
Initiative and referenaum petitions;
another Is equal suffrage, which will
...v..- inoraau the number of names
necessary on a petition, and the third
is the failure of the proposed amend
ment to permit the application of the
initiative to constitutional amend
ments.
i A.ann tne number of names
necessary on an Initiative petition must
equal or exceed 8 per cent oi tne toiai
itn cast for Supreme juage in ine
ay aisctinn. In Washington
i'l - -
the number must equal or exceed 10
per cent of the total vote cast tor uov-
emor. If the wasnington percentage
d basis were applied m Oregon, iiu-
.t-i. notitiona next Tear would re
quire approximately 4000 more names
than under the existing Oregon plan.
The difference would be made up by
the higher percentage ana tne greater
imber of votes cast ior uornor.
But in Washington it Is estimated
that If women vote generally in tne
next election there will be close to
400,000 votes cast in the state. Ten
per cent of this number Is 40.000. In
Oregon approximately 8000 Voters, or
one-fifth the number required in
Washington, may Initiate a measure.
tt v. n i t romombered that Initia
tive measures do not spring spontane
ously from the reople. but must be
fostered and financed by Individuals or
ih. nhstarlM in the wsv of Inl.
(L I " " K . "
listing laws In the neighboring stats
become apparent, reuuon solicitors
are usually paid ror eacn name rrora o
to 10 cents. At the larger figure some
one would have to contribute S4000 in
Washington for the purpose of submlt
tlg a measure to the people, while $800
would do tt In Oregon. The strictly lo
cal measure will thus have hard sled
ding, even in the petition period.
Attempts to legislate through the
adoption of self-enacting amendments
to the constitution will also be barred.
It will not be possible to foist on the
people by deception any undeslred
measure, like the Oregon single-tax
Joker, for example, which the Legis
lature cannot correct by repeal or
amendment.
The Washington Legislature has
presented to ths voters an Initiative
and referendum amendment consider
ably more conservative than the plan
In use In Oregon. But a difference in
the communities of the two states
exists. There is a greater number of
large cities in Washington than in
Oregon, for one thing. It even would
be possible, were cities and country
opposed on some Important measure,
for four of the largest cities to con
trol the election. So, if adopted, the
plan will supply interesting testimony
as to the virtues of modified systems
and of tha application of the main
principle in differently constituted
communities.
A general strike order has been is
sued to the drivers and helpers of the
New York express companies and 10,
000 coalminers have been ordered out
In the Tuscarawa and Pittsburg dis
tricts In West Virginia and Pennsyl
vania. At a number of other points In
the United States smaller strikes are
in progress. These Industrial disturb
ances indicate that the wave of pros
perity on which the country has been
riding for the past three years has not
yet subsided. It is only In times of
great prosperity that strikes are fre
quent or serious in this country.
Whenever there is a surplus of labor
and positions are difficult to secure, la
bor, both organized and unorganized,
sticks pretty close to Its task and takes
no chances on lost time by strikes.
These conditions sometimes react,
however, and If the strikers are nu
merous enough and stay out long
enough, their Idleness and loss of
wages will have an effect on the gen
eral trade situation. .
Twenty fire chiefs from various
cities of ths United States visited New
York this week for the purpose of
witnessing the tests of the first in the
great city's new $11,000 automobile
fire engines. These engines are gasoline-driven,
but pump by steam, as do
horse-drawn vehicles. They weigh
16,000 pounds each and are expected
to show a speed of from thirty to forty
miles an hour. Just what benefit
cities less opulent than the great me
tropolis can expect to gain by sending
their Are chiefs to witness the grand
spurt made by this first automobile
engine In New York Is not apparent.
It Is like calling the owner of a farm
wagon drawn by plowhorses, the best
means of traction that he can afford,
to witness a speed contest between
high-power automobiles. AH he can
do Is to look on in wonder which may
or may not be mingled with envy.
The discovery of the germ of Infan
tile paralysis is reported by the State
Health Department of Pennsylvania.
That la to say, certain micro-organisms,
hitherto unknown, have been
discovered in the blood of children
suffering from this disease and In that
of monkeys that have been Inoculated
with It, A number of tests have been
made In different laboratories with
similar results, giving rise to ths hope
that the germ responsible for this dire
and dread disease has been discovered.
Further experiments will be awaited
with Interest and anxiety.
Chicago weather people can assail
the groundhog, but faith in the wood
chuck will remain unshaken . among
people who know him. Since the day
the King appointed the Jackass official
forecaster there have been many In
the service.
Wives of bankers are suspicious
characters in the New York Custom
House. One was compelled to remove
her clothing yesterday in the search
for smuggled diamonds. Being poor
is one advantage in traveling.
with but Htrle more than one
fourth of the dirt dug on the big canal,
there ought to be opportunity for tide
land Investment down that way.
Ordinary family" Jars pale when one
considers the Pennsylvanlan who, re
married, must pay his former wife
I1S.000 alimony annually.
A school of tanning Is to be estab
lished in Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
Pratt Institute Is not a normal training
school, however.
Eight more killed In what is called
a "hot" engagement in Mexico yes
terday. That Is almost as bad as a
sunstroke.
Nude in art seems to shock Bishop
Mallalleu. The worthy gentleman
evidently does not take the fashion pa
pers, The Oregon man who paid $1000 for
a Guernsey sow at Oconomowoc knew
how to place his money for invest
ment. China accedes to all of Russia's de
mands and some high officials must
commit suicide for falling to "save the
face,"
Publication of the fact that Le Gal
lienne makes $3000 a year writing
poetry will stimulate the Spring crop.
Now they talk of an iron famine in
thirty years, but that will be in the
next generation, so why worry?
Probability of a big strike of miners
must mean a large unsold stock. It Is
easy work to start a strike.
Every city man or suburbanite who
owns an apple tree should hear Pro
fessor Lewis tonight,
Irrigation up the Valley is progress
ing. Salem is to have a new brewery.
Among the colonists yesterday were
eight cars of Nebraska hogs.
- - - - '- - -
Keep your eye on Pasco" and see
her lay cement walks.
Nobody will censure the Colonel for
saying "dam" today.
The Oregon hen will lay off if eggs
got much cheaper.
Russia seems to be holding a few
maneuvers, too.
It waa a great day for the orphans.
FEAR OF THE PORTLAJTD BTJGB1BOO
Real Motive Behind Defeat of Pacific
Ills b. way Flam.
Aberdeen World.
Senator Metcalf, of Ptsrce. thinks
there Is room tor honest difference of
opinion on the merits of the two road
plans as presented by the House and
the Senate of the last Legislature, but
he ts of the opinion that the .plan
evolved under the "brilliant" leadership
of NlcitoU of King had Its advantages
over that evolved through the careful
study ' of McXeeley of Pierce. In the
House, Every highway In the state,
says Metcalf.-would have converged at
Seattle and Tacoma . under the Senate
plan. "And what will particularly in
terest Tacoma . . . the south road
runs from Tacoma up our mountain
road to Elbe." be added.
Well, who cares? Why should we
be asked to build a mountain road for
Tacomaf
The Paclfio highway plan, so-called,
girdles the state. It provides a north
and south connection from Vancouver,
B. C to the state line on the south. It
was not designed to carry people' and
trade to Portland, but was designed to
be a part ot a great Coast highway
from Canada to the Mexican line. It
was not a "Portland funnel plan," as
the Senator from Pierce designates It,
but a broad, comprehensive scheme
worthy of serious consideration and all
support. It did not. for one thing,
plaoe Southwestern Washington on a
branch line, or make wis section of
the state subsidiary either to the Sound
I or to Portland. It left us free to go
where we please. And that. In the end.
Is what we will do. We cannot be
driven, you know, either to Tacoma or
Seattle or Portland. This section of
the state, like the rest of the state, askeu
for and expected to get a state hlghw.y
plan, not a Tacoma or Seattle boulevard.
The statesmanship God save the
mark! of Metcalf can be gauged by
his eetlmr.te of Nichols of King as
"sincere, conscientious and reasonable,"
and by his declaration that the elimina
tion of a road along the north bank
of the Columbia River la "vital" since
only so can trade and travel be taken
away from Portland.
Any man who knows Nichols knows
that the description given of him as
"impossible- as a legislator" Is exact.
He is a man of small ability and a
busy tongue. He has been noted dur
ing his term In the Senate simply by
his capacity to play the fool on any
and all occasions. The Senate that
would follow his leadership deserves
the lowest kind of rating.
If trade and travel can not be di
verted from Portland except by fall-
. ure to build roads where roads are
' needed, then this state is Indeed in a
bad way. For we shall never be able
to build a fence around Portland, and
never able to patrol the border lest
a citizen of Washington should go
across the line and buy goods in Port
land. Metcalf says that the construc
tion of a north-and-south highway
would have formed a "vast funnel
through which the trade and wealth
of the state would flow." To make the
picture truthful, 6eattle and Taooma
must feel themselves on slippery
ground as competitors of Portland.
If Seattle and Tacoma want the trade
of this state, they can get it by being
loyal to all the state. They can get
it by furnishing the best goods at the
most reasonable prices. They cannot
get It Dy trying to drive the state Into
their stores and warehouses, nor can
ther aet it. by saying that this and
j that section of the state shall not be
I developed. Trade follows sentiment, as
well as the line of least resistance;
' but It never follows ill-will.
ROAD BILL'S DEFEAT RESENTED
Southwest Washington ot Satisfied
With Explanation.
CHEHALIS. Wash, March 14. (To
the Editor.) The explanation of State
Senator Ralph Metcalf, of Pierce
County, of the defeat of highway legis
lation at the recent session of the
Washington Legislature, which ap
peared In a Tacoma dally of March 3,
does not explain In this section of the
state. Neither does It satisfy In Pa
cific and Chehalis Counties, according
to reports' that have been received from
those sections. The Paclfio Coast
highway project was especially the one
thing desired In Southwest Washing
ton and Its defeat Is keenly resented.
The argument that such a highway
would divert trade to Portland is re
garded as the sheerest nonsense. Think
of the farmers of this section of the
state hitching up old Dobbin and driv
ing to Portland with their eggs and
buying their calico and making other
purchases. It is preposterous.
The Pacific highway project, coupled
with the plans for the other roads In
cluded In the general road budget,
would have bisected Western Wash
ington, the most populous portion of
the state, and would have permitted
connection with the Willapa and
Grays Harbor cities of Raymond, South
Bend. Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Montesano
and others. Such a road would have
made it possible for citizens of Wash
ington to reach North Beach, In Pa
cific County, and the various popular
beaches In Chehalis County, the most
popular on the North Pacific Coast.
- Instead of diverting business to Ore
gon, the construction of the north and
south Pacific Coast highway would
have resulted In thousands of Oregon
people coming by automobile up
through Washington, thence across via
Raymond and South Bend to North
Beach, one of our beaches best
known to Oregon people. It would
have brought many non-residents of
the state up this way.
But aside from the local benefit the
action of those responsible for defeat
of the good roads legislation and the
Paclfio Coast highway is regarded as
a narrow, selfish position. Here was
a great project that would have
united the three most populous states
In the Pacific Coast section. The pro
posed route traverses the most popu
lous portion of each. A north and south
highway will be the carrying out of a
broad-minded plan to unite three
states, and the majority of the citizens
ot each will benefit very much when
it wins, as it will In the end.
D. W. B.
As American Painter's Work.
New York Herald.
There is an admirable exhibition of
the works of Carl 'Melchers, an
American painter of largely foreign sub
jects, now on view In the Montrose Gal
leries. Detroit was the birthplace of Mr. Mel
chers and Holland has been his kind
stepmother. His .first canvas which at
tracted the attention of the world of
art was "The Communion," a gigantic
composition containing 15 life-size fig
ures, which now occupies an entire panel
in the room in which it is displayed.
The work Is highly realistic and the
artist Is In accord with the aspirations
and the Ideals of the simple Dutch
peasants, whom be represents with al
most photographic fidelity as they are
gathered at the table In a little village
church In Holland. On this work Mr.
Melchers received the grand gold medal
from the Paris Salon 22 years ago. The
work was exhibited at the world's fair in
Chicago in 1SS. It has recently been
purchased from the artist by General
Rush C Hawkins, who will present It
to Corns Univartlt'.
PROPER CARS) FOR THH BABIES.
Humble Home Better Than Poor Insti
tution, Says Nurse.
PORTLAND, March 16. (To the Edl
tor. It Is no disgrace to be a "grand
mother," nor Is it a disgrace to be a
"graduate nurse." However, being a
nurse interested In sick babies for
many years is most likely to put the
role of grandmother out of the question.
No woman who has loved babies well
enough to give the best years of her
life to the care of other people's chil
dren has laid aside her possible crown
of motherhood and grandmotherhood
without a sigh, even though in so do
ing she become the foster mother to
many babies.
The Oregonlan says truthfully that
"milk Is not all. care is not all," and
that good parentage Is most necessary
to healthy babyhood. - To that the
nurses of the world will say amen. If
The Oregonlan and the Baby's Home
management will engage In a crusade
for better parentage every nurse In
the Held of action and every grand
mother out of it. ought to be with them
heart and soul.
The mothers and the fathers of the
world surely need to be taught 'intelli
gence, responsibility and Industry."
When this "triune force" exists in
them, there will be a model baby home
In every family, and few orphans will
need public shelter. Meantime "love of
humanity and the race" should prompt
every Interested woman to work by
every means available for better con
ditions in the Portland Baby Home.
Of course some babies must die. No
doubt, those employed at the home do
their best. A matron cannot give per
sonal care to the babies. Her task is
t as great as her powers of endurance if
she keep the bouse warm, ana tne
clothes washed, and the milk supplied
out of the money allowed her for that
purpose.
It Is not necessary for the Home to
have all graduate nurses, but it is
necessary for them to have one at the
head of the Institution and an assist
ant well tralnid In the care of children.
Then bring- in the young assistants
and teach them to care for children
properly.
A publio shelter must have a large
proportion of tainted babyhood. It is
not a crime but rather a mercy when
these little suffering waifs are severed
from fleshly bonds and allowed to go
on soul clean. The crime comes In
allowing Ignorance or overwork to
make it possible that the heretofore
healthy babes be smitten with contami
nation and disease. Such contamina
tion and death, or Invalidism which is
worse, resulting from it, lie at the
door of the management that makes
such things possible.
What Is the reason that when babies
are really 111, and a doctor who Is a
specialist with children, wishes record
sheets kept for certain cases he is re
fused them point blank? Why cannot
the Board afford them? Because they
say "It Is not necessary." Is it any
wonder, that the doctor says. "Then
neither is It necessary that 1 waste my
time with these babies if I cannot
work Intelligently." The Baby Home
can afford to have the necessary things
with which to care for the babies or It
cannot afford to exist. Facts are stub
born things and cannot be explained
away. These babies would be far better
off if cared for in the homes of the most
humble people, than if cared for at
wholesale, having a mortality to corre
spond. Just now they may be getting on
some way, but wait until the warm
weather comes and see or hear If you
can. of the little ones that lose out In
the struggle for life.
It Is not a question of theories, it Is
a question of results. A competent
nurse would be an . expense, and a
legitimate expense. If saving babies
Is the object of the home rt will pay to
have the best nurse available to man
age the sick and ailing babies. It will
also pay to give her record sheets, and
absorbent cotton, and new nipples and
other necessities with which to do her
work well. I am glad to see that the
truth strikes home. So let the milk
question take a back seat, and let life
and the source of life and the main
tenance of Ufo be considered at their
true value. Let not "the best that can
be done under the circumstances" hin
der the circumstances being so changed
that the best can be done for the babies.
The doctors and the nurses and the
public know that there are many
nurses well fitted for the care of these
little ones who would be glad to un
dertake the task if they could be al
lowed, with the dootors" help, to do their
best. The public will be and Is more
Interested In saving the babies than In
bulding a fine Institution. A NURSE.
Indian Frnlt-Cnekoo's Strategy
Harper's Weekly.
The Indian fruit cuckoo, which, like
all members of the cuckoo family, lays
Its eggs in the nests of other birds
and thus avoids the trouble of hatching
them, is said to exhibit a -great deal of
strategy in dealing with crows. Its nat
ural enemy.
Whereas the hen, an Inconspicuoua
speckled gray bird, conceals herself In
the foliage, the cock, remarkable for
his brilliant black plumage and crim
son eyes, places himself on a perch near
a crow's neat and sets up a great
racket. The crows Immediately rush
out to attack him, and he takes to
flight with them in pursuit. The hen
meanwhile slips Into the nest and de
posits an egg. Sometimes the crows
return before the egg Is laid and then
the Intruder gets a trouncing.
Down Comes a Dog Statue.
New York Herald.
The Borough Council of Battersea,
England, has decreed that the famous
"brown dog" statue be destroyed.
The "brown dog" statue was erected
several years ago In Battersea Park to
commemorate the sufferings of a little
dog used for months in vivisection ex
periments in a Londan hospital.
It was the cause of scores of demon
strations on the part of medical stu
dents, and finally was removed by
order of the Borough Council. The
donor of the statue, however, recently
brought suit to compel the Council to
restore It.
More About the Mormons.
SPRINGFIELD, Or., March 14. (To
the Editor.) I was surprised to find
In The Oregonlan the two editorials
which I inclose and would suggest that
the author of them read the article on
Mormonism by Alfred Henry Lewis in
the March and April number of the
Cosmopolitan and inform himself on a
subject of which he seems vastly ig
norant. CORA C. McBEE.
If the writer of any article In the
discussion of any subject were to be
so sadly deficient in good sense as to
accept the views or opinions of Alfred
Henry Lewis, he would speedily find
himself wandering far afield.
A "Tip In Current Polities."
Detroit Free Press.
"Pa, what is a statesman?"
"A statesman, my boy, is a politician
elected to office who, when he finds
that he can't please both sides to an
important issue, refuses to vote."
The Winter Fire,
ilary Howitt.
A lire's a good, companionable friend,
A comfortable friend, who meats your face
With welcome glad, and makes the poorest
As pleasant as a I Are too eoldt
He warms you. Weary T He refreshes you.
Are you in darkness? He gives lisht to yon.
In a strange land? He ears a face that is
Familiar from your childhood. Are you
poor?
What matters it to him? H knows no
difference
Between an emperor and tne poorest beg
gar! .
Where is the friend that bears tfia asms of
man
Will do as much for yon?
COLONISTS AND TUB GLAD HAND
What Chamber of Commerce Is Dolus;
Is Told by Secretary.
PORTLAND. March 17. (To the Ed
ltor.)T-In The Oregonlan today Is an
editorial based upon Mr. McMurray's
statement that the "glad hand" should
be extended to colonists.
The editorial also states that there
should be a competent Information
bureau for the newcomer who has not
yet made up his mind as to location.
I would like to answer briefly these
two statements.
First The Chamber of Commerce
placed two men at the depot, with
cards, directing colonists to the Infor
mation bureau of the Chamber of
Commerce. The move was entirely un
successful for the reason that the aver
age man. after riding two or three
days on a train, with his family in
one hand and baggage In the other,
does not wteh to stop at the depot
gate and discuss locations, or even
where to go to discuss locations. The
first thing he wishes to do is to go to a
hotel, clean up and then walk out and
get. a little fresh air. I would say that
the only way to cover this phaee of
the matter would be by the railroad
people placing a man on board the
train who would hand to every colonist
a card telling him where to go in the
city to get correct Information, and as
a railroad official has made the com
ment, I make this suggestion to him
as the only way to remedy the situa
tion if a remedy is necessary. I have
heard of no" complaints from colonists.
The question of meeting people at a
depot by committees In a city would
probably meet with the same reception
as did the representatives of the
Chamber of Commerce, and I would
say Is Impracticable except In small
towns.
Now, to the other question as to In
formation, the Chamber of Commerce
maintains, and has maintained, a bu
reau of Information where there are
four people thoroughly informed on the
state in every particular, where there
is literature on every section of the
state, where there are complete publi
cations on the question of public lands,
where there Is an exhibit of products
from every part of the State of Ore
gon and part of the State of Wash
ington tributary to Portland, and no
man need come to Portland and go to
Tillamook to grow wheat, or to Cen
tral Oregon for dairying purposea
The directions for reaching this
bureau are printed on a large card and
put up in every hotel and railroad of
fice and department store in the city,
and there la a large brass sign In the
Union Depot directing the colonists to
this bureau. A large amount of money
Is epent for this purpose, and, as above
stated, competent men are on band at
all times to give information. Also
routes, rates, time tables and other
details, as mentioned in your editorial,
are absolutely at the finger tips of a
branch of the Chamber.
Further, a large number of the col
onists come here every day during the
season, and, with the exception of the
placing of a man on board of the train
before they arrive In the city to give
them explicit directions where to come,
nothing le left undone in this line by
Portland.
This bureau of information and ex
hibit is maintained at a large expense
by our public-spirited citizens. Criti
cism of this branch of the work of our
commercial organizations ts unwar
ranted,, and statements that people are
Invited to Oregon and not looked after
are Incorrect. This organization alone
spent 17000 last year In establishing
an exhibit and Information bureau, and
le as well equipped In this line as any
city on the Pacific Coast only except
ing Los Angeles. E. C GILTNER.
Secretary Chamber of Commerce.
Half a Century Ago
From The Oreeonlan March 18. 1891.
Yesterday was St Patrick's day and a
general display of bunting marked the
event. This evening the Hibernian
Benevolent Society's ball comes off. It
ought to be remembered that this festive
occasion takes place but once In ii
zronthet
Olympia, March . 13. Captain DeLacy.
G. C. Blankenshlp and William Pack
wood left yesterday to explore the route
through the Nisqually pasa south of Mt.
Rainier, to the east side of the moun
tains. It is proposed to open the road
should the route prove practicable. -
The bald elevation at the southern ex
tremity of town is the only place where
a Fortlander can get a lookout upon
the surrounding country. Although the
adjacent mountain ranges present acerea
of rugged sublimity that far exceil '.he
much-vaunted beauties of the towering
A1P9 and almost approach the Andes in
height, yet, unless we undergo the
fatigue of clambering up Mount Robhi
ton, we are debarred the privilege of
seeing all this by our lofty-forest trees.
On Friday evening last the members
of the Regatta Club held their first
rjeeting and organized. Twelve gentle
men have Joined the eoclety.
Messrs. R. Plttock & Co. have manu
factured two and one-half tons of navy
bread, which will be sent to Honolulu by
the Mary Ellen. With flour as cheap as
ll is likely to be here, and wood so
abundant, we should be able to mono
polize the custom of the whaling fleet.
The Oregon wool clip for I860 is esti
mated by Mr. Pratt, agent of the Wil
lamette Woolen Manufacturing Company,
at 202,688 pounds.
a l
Flavor of Wisconsin Politics.
Milwaukee Free Press.
Former Governor Hoard Is credited
With the following comment on Wis
consin politics by Dr. Harry A. Favill.
of Chicago, in a recent talk before the
Milwaukee Country Medical Society.
Some time ago Mr. Hoard was ad
vised to take the mud baths. When he
was immersed In the slimy ooze Mr.
Hoard leaned back and breathed a sigh
of content.
"Ah," he said, "now I feel at home."
"To must have been here befoah,'
boss," said the old negro attendant,
"No, I have never been here before."
"Then yo must have taken the baths
in Europe?" was the next question.
"No, I have never taken the baths in
Europe."
"Then how Is It that yo feel at home
in these yere mud maths?"
"I spent a few years In Wisconsin
politics."
Advising Her Daddy.
Harper's Bazar.
"Mary!"
Father's voice rolled down the stairs
and into the dim and silent parlor.
"Yes, papa, dear."
"Ask that young man if he has the
time."
A moment of silence.
"Yes, George has his watch with
him."
"Then ask him what is the time.
"He says it is 11:48, papa"
"Then ask him if he doesn't think
it about bedtime."
Another moment of silence.
"He says, papa," the silvery voice
announced. Impersonally, "he says that
he rarely goes to bed before 1, but It
seems to him -that It Is a matter of
personal preference merely, and that
If he were In your place he would go
now if he felt sleepy!"
Babstltntion.
Chlcaco Tribune.
Old Mother Hubbard
She went to the cupboard.
Xs always had been her habit.
"I can't afford beef."
She murmured with grief:
fio she mads her poor doc a welsh rabbit.