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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 25, 1911)
8. rOKTLAYD. ORXOOX. Er.tere at rrTlsaU." Cnpi. Foetornce a .-eet-ies Matter. oeecxtpuea Kelae Inverts 6 '.7 ta A 3 re ace. IBT Xt!L) rT. Sen tnclvdeo. yw t.T. "-jedes Included. S-s stomas.... --J i...r. S-isoer tan ir.em&a. Xe-:v. laniftr taciudeo, or snoata... -T 11: r. artisout (.icder. ana er. ...... J-";' !-.:?. witheut Ijidvy. meetfta.... I." ta M&oit Suatiay. tare sotitaa.. ItT. ariiMui Suadejr. eaa aiocm. . ... -J Weeetv. M ............ 1 S-alar. ana fr... aA4 ee!7. em yar. . . . X.5a lit IBT CARRJEA. reJTv. Sunday tnc:ude-1. or. e rear. e & :. Sueder lrr.uie-i. o&a mama..... Hw to steeell etad Foa-.orflc masar el., aapraaa order or paraooaj cae-rfc aa y local aaaa a'.arpa. c n or iTr":c' ere at t&a jenelere r-.. Owa peeieftiee adtreea la rVi. uclud.Sf- eouaty aad feetas lUtaa iO ta ; saea. 1 caa- l ta J a-aaa. casta; lo ta o esses. casta; ao ta v eases. 4 seats, roreisa aaaiaaa C0-iv.!a rata. Eaeceew giiaiiii rvmree Ver-e M Ce"- - prauikt. kulUla. Cat- eese. St-e-. t'itT.!.r-a f rtRTio. iiininu. miriii is. isiu KOOeEt EXT O ESCTJTtON'AI. MIX. Mr. Roosevelt l ot the first Amfr Irsn cltlsen to remark upon the iupr Ul.'r value of the master-mind. He told the Berkeley student, as no doubt they nave often been told before br their professors, that material civili sation is br Us nature evanescent. The luxury of Tyre an$ the naval suprem acy of Carthage have disappeared without leaner more than a trace tipon the history of the world, while the exceptional men of Greece and Rome stiil count a factors In civili sation because they were master minds. When the Carnegie Institution at Wash I rift on began Its work the first president. Dr. l. C. Otlman. declared that Its principal purpose would be to nek out the exceptional man" and help him develop his power. No doubt this aim has been followed more or less faithfully ever since, but for some reason the master-mind which Mr. Roosevelt longs for has not Triad lis appearance In the I'nlted rotate. During the last half century there have been tremendous Intellec tual movements In Europe and Amer ica has reflected them with a certain docility, but we have not Initiated any of our own. To mention only an Instance or two, Nietzsche's philosophy, which ta o seductive to younc minds. Is now taiixht under thin disguises In all our colleges, but we have brought no Nietzsche to light. After deriding Ibsen s epoch-making drama, we now go dutifully to see it played without the faintest expectation of seeing an Ibsen arise among our host of play- lights. When Madame Curie dis covered radium the scientific world of Europe forthwith prepared Its lr.stru nenu of Investigation to push deeper Into the secrets of radiant matter, but the first American comment was a tatement by a Harvard professor that the whole thing was humbug. The period of half a century which has brought forward so many Euro peans In all the departments ot Intel lectual life has produced a great num. ber of respectable mediocrities la America, but not one genius of the first rank. Mr. Rooeevelt may well remark upon the circumstance and ask what the reason Is. Certainly It cannot be because of native mental Inferiority. Americans come of the same stock as Europeans. The Immi grants to this country hve been for the most part people of humble con dition, but ther were of the same b.ood and the same rank In life as the families from which Darwin came. The intellectual notabilities of Europe re not usually either rich men or aristocrats. They are born In modest homes and rise to eminence through adversity. There Is a common notion that genius is suppressed In the Old World and opportunity denied to the poor, but facts do not approve It. It proportionally more common for a "joor boy to achieve real Intellectual imlnence In Europe than It Is here, ihnugh they do not so frequently be some millionaires. Here, no doubt. Is the key to the problem of our dearth of exceptional Intellectual lights. The mental energy which In the Old World goes to the production of poems, plays and scien tific discoveries Is directed In the Cnlted Statee to the accumulation of wealth. Getting rich has been held up to onr youth as the one worthy object of ambition. It Is all very well to be a poet, we tell our young people. If you can afford It. but what shall It profit a man to win Immortal fame If he hasn't enough to eat and must wear shabby clothes? The European aaswers that It profit a great deal, but In this country we are of another opinion. Mental power Is not marked off Into fUed divisions. It la a protean entity which admits of transforma tions Into many forma While the genius of a Shelley Is no doubt some thing unique, a special creation, still as a rule a person of exceptional abil ity may become eminent In any one of many different fields. Most of ours have chosen the field of money-making, so that few have been left for the drama, scientific discovery and phi losophy. A man who can do what Rockefeller did In the domain of finance could hve become a rival of Descartes, perhaps, had his mind been turned to metaphysics when he was a boy. What we must do tn order to produce the exceptional master-minds for whom Mr. Roosevelt prays la to set the lure of glory before our youth Instead of the lure of dollars. Some way must be found to make them fall In lore with the olive wreath and the lofty ode. The light that never was on land or sea would shine here If we gave It a crack to glimmer through. The trouble is that we bar the win dows with geld. In our opinion Mr. Roosevelt is wise to make his plea to the college boys and girls. It Is of no more use to try to convert a grown man to the evangel of art and fame than It la to aeek to save a sot forty years old. It cannot be done. But take a youth In his pur ple glory when the clouds he has brought from God are still trailing and heaven still shines about him and there is no limit to what ou can do. Call to his soul from the heights and he will answer. Set the Ideal before htm and he wilt give his life to fol low It. The collegv have yielded too facllely to the tyranny of the practical. They have scouted the prophet crying In the wilderness and Inclined their ears all loo readily to the money changers' In viting charm. When our colleges re turn to locusts and wild honey our boys will grow up Into Miltons and Darwlna. Until that happens we must be content with John Jay Hammond I and Rockefeller. They are excellent of their kind. It Is with the kind it I self that Mr. Roosevelt finds fault. WHAT la THE it EX? MOTM If we understand correctly the logic of Mr. Timothy Brownhlll's argument, advanced In bis frank letter yesterday. It Is that the way to build tip a great combined agricultural college and state university is to wreck the present institutions and rear the new edifice on the ruins. The plan Involves a gnat deal of rSk. not to say disaster, to the educational structure of Oregon. The Oregonlan has urged, and now favors, a rational and comprehensive plan for combining the institutions at Eugene and Corvalll. But it la not willing to adopt the violent Brownhill method. If the energies of Mr. Brownhill and his exasperated col leagues In old Yamhill were to be di - iiiftni tha formulation of a rational scheme for tUe future union , of the two si-noow. to ia raomiura the referendum through the Legisla ture. It would find hearty support from The Oregonlan. But It dors not approve the referendum for any leg islative measure for any reason of local dissatisfaction, or spite, re venge, or Jealousy. The referendum to the whole people should be Invoked only to decide great Issues or to settle finally any subject of profound and widespread agitation. Will Mr. Brownhill and his coad tmnn who ear In one sentence that I IV... avm.M an aWBV With the Old ! schools In order to unite them and i make a better ana gTeaier loiumuw., ! and In another sentence that too I much money is spent In Oregon for ' higher education and not enough for ! .. u-hnnli do anvthing for in. i . ... ...'-. . a combined State University and Ag ricultural College after they ahall have succeeded In defeating the 'proposed appropriation? What Is their next ir.ove In that direction ? tY IrVEJXF AIASR.. The new Secretary of the Interior Is said to have tn mind a plan for leas ing the Alaska coal lands on such terms that the Government will re ceive a good revenue from them, and capital at the same time find attractive Investments In opening the mines. De tails of thla reported policy have not yet been announced, but Washington advices state that It la entirely satis factory to Attorney-General Wlcker sharo. who not only ha an Intimate knowledge of Alaska and it needs, but Is also very well acquainted with Mr. Fisher.. the new Secretary- It would aem from this that Mr. Fisher Is well qualified to administer the affairs of that much misrepresented and misun derstood land In a manner satisfactory to all intereat concerned. So little is known about Alaska and Its wonderful resource that the the ories of the rinchots and others who have been responsible for its slow growth and lack of development have received consideration to which they were not entitled. It was the puono sentiment which grew out of this lack of knowledge that waa responsible for the hampering persecution of ex-Secretary Ballinger and prevented the ac complishment of result In Alaska. What Alaska need I a man who can understand the possibilities 'of the country and ha sufficient atamlna to carry through a policy that will bring best results for the Isolated and neg lected land of riches. There la no greater economic absurdity In connec tion with Government administration than the present system of carrylna" coal 10.000 mile to Alaska and dis charging It for consumption within a few mile of the location of what promise to be the greatest coal mines on earth. " , The campaign of vilification that I was waged against Mr. waninger was not without some good results, for It brought to the attention of the world the great resources of the country. With the knowledge thu gained there will be less disposition to criticise even e h naor official ahould carry out some of the best feature of the policy of hi much-abusea preoecessor. n Mr. Fisher will only open up the Alas kan resource and restore to the public domain some of the lands now wrong fully held In foreet reserve he will Im mediately become a very popular offi cial. THE SHOBT BA1XOT. v. i- n. .i a that in hi Western addresses Colonel Roosevelt Is Indore- i Ing with emphasl the nort oauoi as an implement of progreaslvenes and , people rule. The short ballot, wnicn Implies the centralisation of author ity and the power to appoint minor ortlcera in a few Important ones. Is ad vocated a a means of enabling the . t ,hAnw imonf candidates with better knowledge a to their ru nes. .. ..am .ifinnt everclse a wise .w.i.. ' ..... -w- a.k to vote on a ciiuilb n t - i multitude of names," saia tn toionei i t.i. T Annies 'soeech. "If you 1 are given a ticket with thirty or forty I name on It to vote, now many oi ultra will you know anything about?" We are not Informed as to the In spiration for the Colonel Illustration of a ticket carrying thirty or forty name. Perhaps that Is the numerical status of the ticket he 1 accustomed to voting. Here in Fortland the ballot In the last gen eral election carried about I JO names. In addition to the title of thirty-two law and constitutional amendment. Some of the most patent criticism of the Oregon system are based on the length of the ballot that I It product. Recently the Political Science Quar terlv. which Is published under the auspice of the Academy of Political Science, contained a comprehensive drscussion-of "People" Rule In Oregon, 110." This academy Is affiliated with Columbia University. The author of the article. George H. Haynes, of Worceeter. Mass.. tlnds In the charac ter of the Oregon ballot a note of warning concerning "permanence of the good and progress toward the bet ter." It may be well to say here that Mr. Haynes In no sense criticise the prin ciple the Oregon system seek to make applicable to legislation and good gov ernment. But he declare that the No vember ballot was a "preposterous thing." and that "experience will cer tainly prove that the "short- ballot' movement and the "peoples rule" movement must go together." It Is Interesting to note. also, that there may be read In Mr. Haynes" arti cle testimony of the absence of the safeguards which Colonel Roosevelt declares should be thrown around the Initiative and referendum. Colonel Roosevelt has asserted that the Initi ative should be accompanied by some adequate provision for the expert drafting of proposed measures and for their adequate presentation to the vot ers. One might think that Mr. Hayne TIIE MOKSTSO OREGOXIAX. SATURDAY. and Colonel Roosevelt - Jiad been in conference. Mr. Hayne says: The experience of thla election, further more, has proved the naea of attention both to tha parcMolocr ana to the ethlra of tttle wntlnc. One meaiura, said to have bean of reaulna marlt. la relieved to have bean dar.atad bacmnea Ha title included a doubt rai.mc elauar. which had baan auccaatull evld4 In -tha tnt af tha law Itaelt. An othar measure of dubioua mrlt waa passed. probaMr bacauea tha title, while allnt aa to tha main Intent of tha law. made a a-ie-caasful appaal to an exafseratMl popular prejudice asalnat a defunct poll tax. Direct laslslatloa la not tha apontaneoue reflater Inc of tha Individual vter"e matured Jud' ment aa to tha beat method of dealing with a alraa problem; tha votera almplr nay Tea" or -no" or aay nothing to epeclflo propoeale originated, framed and phraaed and anr e:.p in tha procedure la o( con aequanee for them by aomeone alee. By whom? For whatt Theaa may at tlmaa prove dlaquletln questions. For example, not ona of tha three tax measures upon tha November ballot was drawn In auch lan-a-uaae aa to make Its Intent clear and un mistakable; nor waa thla lack supplied by any enllghtenlna ars-ument In tba campaign book, tha ona axcumant there submitted. In joint advocacy of the three, bain In tone and la lor'c little calculated to aerre as the baste for forming a candid Judgment. Direct legla:atlon will presently ba giving to Oreg-n a poor travesty of "people a rule. unless to tha framing of lawa and to tha phrasing of thair Utlea there la brought a keener intelligence and a mora sensitive conscience tnao were responsible for tha law Intended to secure tha piecemeal Introduc tion of tha single-tax and for the ""women's taxpaylng suffrage amendment.' It Is probable that If the "short bal lot" Idea were applied to direct legis lation In Oreeron the danger found In trick titles. Imperfectly drawn meas ures and Inadequately presented laws, such as Mr. Hayne mentions, would be greatly minimized. If there were fewer measure for consideration the voter would have a larger opportunity for ascertaining their merit and for discovering hidden meanings. In It application to candidate the short ballot movement has a large degree of merit if not carried to extreme, but The Oregonlan Is not prepared to in dorse a system of state government similar to government by commission of cities. To go to this extreme would Invite the return of machine rule In skate politics. Always will there be men In each community who can con trol votes. Their organization under expectation of political preferment would undoubtedly follow a lodgment of the appointing power In a very few officers. Tet the reasons for an adap tation of the short ballot Idea to both branches of the Oregon voter's prerog ative are becoming Imperative. Colo nel Roosevelt should tlnd a receptive audience If be discusses the subject In Oregon. trAatteng. According to the account In the Tacoma Dally Tribune the antl-treat-lr.g ordinance carried every ward In the city except one. In orae wards, the Fifth and Sixth, for instance, the vote in favor of It was two to one, while the total majority It received was heavy. Thl shows that the Tacomans are strongly In favor of good moral, but It also shows that they do not know how to attain their ambition. When two men enter a saloon where ther Is nobody else but the barkeeper and treat each other," how 1 the law going to get hold of them? They may re peat their crime a dozen times a day every day in the year without letting slip the slightest legal evidence of It One may believe thaj; the anti-treat-Ing ordinance will deprive some hyper consclentious people of the pleasure of paving each other' fare on the street cars, but It will not do a great fleal more. We wish It could stop the prac tice of half a score of men lining up at the bar and buying the beer In turn for the whole crowd, but we fear It will noL To enforce a law there must be proof of It violation, and we doubt whether treater or treatee will ever testify to the truth when It come to the pinch. r-UTTLVQ DOWN TKB BRAKFA. Seattle ha reached the point In Its history where It doe not disdain to talk of retrenchmenuln municipal ex penses. Every spendthrift city, a well a every Individual wastrel, aooner or later reache that point. The trouble In municipal extravagance 1 In putting on the "brake. Habit Is strong and none Is stronger than that of spending unearned Incre ment, whether from taxes or Inheri tance. Such a habit. Intrenched In growth and pampered by Indulgence, blinds Its victim to financial prudence. It Is like other evils, in that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In the case of Seattle all suggestion of prudence a applied to the forced growth of the city was apurned a fit only for "conservative old Portland" and other cities whose growth was slow though strong and sure. Having now. however, reached the point at which general retrenchment la found to be necessary, plans looking to that end are being seriously considered Seattle, having found herself, will In due season make good and become the thrifty city of commerce and of homes of which conservative people dreamed In the days prior to the epi demic that came down from the Klon dike a decade and more ago and gen erated what is known aa the "Seattle spirit." WHr-KX IS THE WHEAT The wheat crop of the United State for 1910 was (0.000,009 bushels larger than Its predecessor. The exports from that crop, flour Included, for the season to date have reached a total of 17.000.000 bushels, compared with 112.000.000 bushel for the same period in the preceding season. The American visible urply 1 but 10.000,. 000 bushel larger than for the same date last year, and the Government re port shows stocks In farmers" hands but (.000.000 buchels larger than a year ago. The question that Is now puzzling buyers and sellers Is what ha become of the wheat. The crop waa (0.000.000 bushel larger, but the visi ble stocks and the stocks in farmers' hands are but 18.000,000 bushels greater than a year ago. and the ex ports have actually declined 35.000.000 bushels. No similar situation has ever before confronted the wheat trade, and the uncertainty la reflected In a mar ket la which variation of 1 cent per day are regarded more seriously than a 3-cent change would be under usual conditions. As a result of this remarkable disap pearance of about 60.000.000 bushels of wheat, market quotations in Chi cago yesterday, for the first time on record, closed with May, July and September option selling within one-eighth of a cent of each other. On the same data last year the May option sold at a pre mium of 64 cents over July and the latter option sold at 1 cents premium over September. The May option a year ago was 25 cents per bushel higher than the closing price yester day. Tha present prices would Indi cate that the trade. Is not yet willing to believe that the wheat consumption of the country had increased so rapidly as the figure on crop, stock on hand and shipment Indicate. There is ap parent, instead, a disposition to be lieve that the "invisible" stock are of sufficient magnitude to have a decided Influence on the old-crop options at a time when contradictory crop reports are holding new-crop prices well above a parity with the prices which would prevail If there were assurance of another crop as large a that which? was harvested last year. Meanwhile the American market are several cents per bushel above a parity with any of the foreign mar kets, on which we must ultimately de pend for a market for the surplus, and the Argentine, Russia and Australia are shipping . the cereal in record breaking volume. Unless we have un expectedly reached the point where our home consumption ha caught up with production, wheat prices must gravitate to a lower level. The remarkable feat of the French aviator Breguet In carrying, eleven passengers a distance of two miles in hi monoplane reveal wonderful prog, res In flying machine construction. "The weight of the twelve people was 1316 pounds, and the combined weight J of machine and occupants waa 2802 pounds. It I not yet ten years since Inventor were struggling in vain to perfect a heavler-thao-air machine that would lift one lone operator from the earth for a few moments at a time. The remarkable flight of Bre guet is of vastly greater Importance than all of the high-flying and spec tacular stunt that have been per formed by all of the numerous aviator that followed the Wrlghtsv the original btrdmen. The most serious deficiency now apparent In the aeroplane Is a device which will prevent too sudden a descent in case of accident. Like the air brake on' the train, and the collision bulkhead on the steamer, this will come along in time, but Death will continue to levy heavy toll on the calling until some such device is pro vided. The Supreme Court at Olympla, Wash., ha handed down a decision which will compel the Seattle-Renton Sc. Southern Railway and the Seattle Electric Company to give transfers from one line to the other on a 6-cent fare. It was the refusal of the com pany to grant a B-cent fare Into the city that bronght about the demand for municipal ownership of the Renton line. The Seattle voters, possibly in cluding a few of the taxpayers, voted favorably on' the proposition, and If the bonds can be sold, Seattle will in time be In possession of a line which will secure one-half of every 5-cent fare on which a transfer Is given. The next thing necessary In order to make the line popular (not necessarily prof itable) will be for the voters, not In cluding the taxpayers, to declare for a 1-cent fare or ten tickets for a nickel. There should be no limit placed on the advantages conferred by municipal ownership. Has Benjamin Ide 'Wheeler, of the University of California, revised his opinion upon the matter of college education for young women? Erst while he was accredited with being one of its strongest opponents, espe cially of co-education in colleges. Now comes the report that he approves of marriages that result from the asso ciation of young men and. women in colleges, and proclaims such marriages as almost universally happy. Of course It la one of the prerogatives of Intelligence to change it attitude on Important questions. It Is only the donkey or the balky horse that per sists in an attitude once taken, regard, less alike of persuasion and conse quences. Hence President W'hej ler 4s well within hi rights if he has changed his opinion upon co-education to accord with the fact that have come to his knowledge. The death at Vancouver -Thursday morning of two children, presumably by poisoning. Is a lamentable example of the lack of home and care that is summed up In the term "parental ir responsibility." Great Nature nods with ' pitiable and disastrous results when the totally unfit become parents. The very fact that these young boys were allowed to gorge their stomachs upon Chinese noodle Is a sufficient In dictment against parental responsibil ity. From first to last, the case Is de plorable as showing the all too com mon though possibly an extremes re sult of unfit parentage. The abolishment of free rides on the streetcars may conceivably redound to the comfort to the humbler public. It is conceivable that enough will be saved to the company by the Innova tion to enable It to provide every pas senger with a seat. Even If the ideal is not fully realized, some approach to it may be made. Tacoma" antl-treatlng law will fall of enforcement, not because It Is bad, but because It runs counter to an In grained National habit. Treating Is usually silly and often immoral, but men who do not conform to the cus tom are called mean. Against such a practice mere law la powerless; Happily the city ordinance provides for ample Justice upon saloonmen who furnish liquor to young girls. Their licenses may be canceled. There Is no Imaginable reason for remitting this penalty In case like that of Ruby Dent. One stern example is worth tons of indignant talk. By voting $100,000 bonds for a high school, Thursday, Pendleton put the city in the front row and under the limelight. That institution will be of greater benefit than the defunct normal a lew mues away. Professor Lake, now In Washington, says the Willamette Valley pear is the finest In the world. Every Oregonlan who Iras "put his beak" Into a Juicy Bartlett will agree with him. , Now It Is the Asylum that is over crowded. A all mankind and most women are more or lees crazy, th dis charge of many to lessen the strain wlUhave little effect The local dairyman arrested yester day for the fourth offense in diluting milk probably has hydrocephalus. Technically the Oregon is rated as a second-class battleship, but. not when in action. The great demand for nursery stock this Spring has no'reference to baby mining. " This Is weather to order to prevent colonist beco miner, homesick. MARCH 25, 1911. Half a Century Ago From the Oregonlan, March 25. 1861 PORTLAND. March 24. (Editor Oregonlan.) Happening; In a Chinese shop a few days ago the principal oc cupant said in his Imperfect English, that be had been writing a letter home; and showed me his letter, a long sheet of Chinese characters. I told him I should UJce to have him translate it. whioh he -said he would do If I would write It down. I did so and here you have some of the impres sions of a' Chinese man of our coun try." habits of our people, etc This description may interest you as It did me. A. BOSTON. Chin Hong: When left China land said would write you what should see. Long sail San Francisco. Too many China man there. Come here four days. Country her new found wild moat trees. Some little places trees cut down; burnt most. Portland on river; much wild; people Just come; streets wide, bad. stumps, holes, houses gome burnt clay, scene wood, walls paper like China. Barbarian shops good deal; trade well, beat China man. .One China shop good teas not enough what China man love to eat. China man wash heregood price much more than China; get money, keep money for China land. No trouble our religion. China man worship he please. See women. Curious. Not China wo man. China woman smile good, show ankles, shoes turn up. No so American woman. Dress spread round. Much like balloon. Dress cover all down feet. Can't see. Suppose feet very great. No good like China woman. Live here for love money. Bad rains now no rains some time. No you come here. China man too much. But if come dig gold up mountains twenty days say much there, think It- Print paper say so. Suppose he know more I do. No more. Tou write. AH NINO. WOODSTOCK PLANS ARE DEFENDED Resldeat Assert SO Per Cent of Free holders Want Improvements. WOODSTOCK. March 22. (To' the Edi tor.) In today's Issue, under the head ing of "Woodstock In protest." there ap pears an article by my much-respected friend R. M. Brereton, again informing the public about the "kick"' anent im provements. Mr. Brereton lays great stress on the difficulty of the poor peo ple, and the prospects of their being ruined by costly improvements. I do not think we have many, if any, poor people. " That some people have mortgages on their properties, there Is no doubt, but without mortgage some people would nave no property at all. Whether this Is wise or not. is not the question Just here but the issue is, shall we have improvements commensurate with our position as a member of this great city family or not? Mr. Brereton makes various objections to the plans of the City Engineer, none of which are well taken, to my way of thinking. He suggests a four-foot side walk, which is not only too narrow but would be found totally Inadequate 10 years hence. He also suggests an undu lating grading system, which would not only be tiresome to the pedestrian, but would never do for our modern mode of rapid transit, for it cannot be doubted, that other tracks will be laid along other streeta Nor could the drainage be made perfect under his method of treating the ground, to say nothing of the storm that would arise from owners whose lots lay below the grade of Mr. Brereton's undulations. Again. Mr. Brereton seems to think, that the desire for Improvements comes from real estate speculators. This Is not true; It comes from 80 per cent of Woodstock freeholders at least It did. when the cVemand was made, -last year. The truth Is. the present rumpus s stirred up by four men, who are the real realty speculator. One of them owns eight 50-foot lots; another six lots; two own four lots apiece, and even Mr. Brereton owns half a block. Are these men poor? Are they In danger of losing anything? Is It not rather that they wish to reap the unearned increment, without expending a cent? There are about 80 per cent absolute freeholders In this district. The largest holder of lots (49 In number) s willing to Im prove. The only obstacle to the Im provement comes from a few who have befuddled others with a talk of graft and unnecessary expense. GEORGE POPE. Good Word for City Hen. PORTLAND, March 23. (To ' the Editor.) "Esthetic Citizen." in The Oregonlan of March 23, enters protect against raising poultry on Portland lots, looking upon the crowing rooster as an abomination. He seems to have overlooked the hen. the egg and the young chick. " Let none disparage the cultivation of the beautiful, but remember there is something paramount to the esthetic It Is utility. Many people have most of their time and energy taken up with the latter as a matter of necessity. In the management of a home on a city lot the rich do not need to consider the question of utility, simply the esthetic, but not so with the poor man seeking to pay for his home and expensive street improvements. Some of the most noteworthy doings among the young of our city last year were in poultry raising. Not a few youngsters made enough to buy their books and clothes. Poultry raising on the back lot for the young Is practical education and serves a good purpose in more than the mere profit. The es thetic Is very largely founded upon utility. The boy in the care of his chickens, whether consciously r not. Is studying natural science and may find both beauty and wonder in the plumage of his crower. The egg, the beautiful egg. Is enough to arouse the philosophical element of his mind and when the Incubated egg bursts its shell and the cblck is out. where Is the child that would look further for something of beauty to love? There are pleasant reminiscences In memories of the old farm where we awoke in the Spring morning to the music of a dozen crowing roosters, the gobbling turkey and the squawking of the guinea. The encouragement given by the T. M. C. A. to the youth to 'try poultry raising has resulted well. Let it go on. Let old Plymouth crow in the backyard, anywhere, if by It the boy Is trained and fed. UNCLE DEXNI3. " The Crossed Fingers. ' Puck. ya swore that her kiaa was tha first ba had had; But his fingers ween crossed! . He'd kised but his mother, when he was a lad Tea, his fingers wera crossed! He vowed that not only he'd never had a Of Quivering Hps. but that no other walBt Had ever been clasped by his arm. Then In haste , His two fingers ha crossed I Tha sparkler be gave her he'd purchased that day. But his fingers wera crossed! NO previous maiden had worn It nay. nay! Bub his fingers were crossed! And never, so long as life should endure, Would eye. cheek. Up of another maid lure Ha knew It, past every doubt he was sure But his fingers wera crossed 1 6he listened to all ot tha ruff he had said While his fingers ware erosaed! She laid on his bosom her wise little head "While his fingers wera crossed! She answered so low that the famed "little olrd" Who peddles sweet secrets could scarcely have beard Jlm she breathed, "Oh. my love, I believe But her fingers wars crossed 1 every wordl" TIMID SPARROW IN REAL LIFE. j Mrs. Ulrica Likened to Heroine In One of Ade'a Fables. " PORTLAND, March 22. (To the Edi tor.) One of George Ade's fables In slang, entitled "The Apprehensive Spar row." portrays the type of woman to t-i-i. Li xt t -1 -I -Vi whn has re- WUItU UCIWUBO -'-' J - ... cently achieved unpleasant notoriety as the accuser of Booker Washington. "Once there was a Proper little Fe male who Fluttered and wa Interested in Movements. She was born the Year that Fremont ran ' against Buchanan. n -i - a ..nttifpr with Coal I Black Eyes and a Suspicious Manner would come ana sit rigni oeswo a Car. evidently for some Purpose, and she would close her Hps tightly and re solve to do a Steve Brodie out of the window, if she saw his Hand slipping over toward Hers. Fortunately, the man kept hts Eyes on the Sporting Page and made no move. 'If she happened to be In the Waiting Room at the Station and a coarse but ...... r-i n i m Avent nr loml one equally Terrifying happened to come I . . v. -u. -nnM feel across iim riuum a nc.i - -her little Heart stand still, and she would say. This Is where I get It. After he had gone past on his way to the t 1 T- Vt .Ki.lrl nnl linTD Cam- J phor on her Handkerchief and declare ! to Goodness that never again would she ..... n... .a t-tvoi nit, she. had some Older Person with her. I "More than once when she was at Home, with only a few other Persons around the House, she saw a Large Man come up tne Front eieps, ana bb be Frozen with Terror and could see herself being lifted Into a closed, car riage by the Brutal Confederates. She would slip a Pair of Scissors under her Apron and creep to the Front Door prepared to Resist with all her Girlish Strength, and the Man would have to talk to her through the Door and ask where she wanted the Coal delivered. "Now and then a Caller would find her Reviving herself with a Cup of Tea. The Caller would say. 'Madge, Child, you are as Pale r.s a Ghost.' "Madge would reply, 'Oh, I have Just had such a Turn! I was out watering the Nasturtiums when a Man In a Crash Suit came along the Street and looked right at me. The Gate was open, and there was nothing to prevent him from coming right in and Getting me.' "The Appalled Visitor would want to know what became of hlra. and Madge would explain that he turned at the Next Corner and she had been as Weak as a Cat ever since. "On her Shopping Expeditions she no ticed Dozens of Men apparently Trailing right along after her, and she knew that her only Salvation was to look straight ahead and indicate by her Bearing that she was no Flirt. By so doing she eluded many a one who wanted to Catch Step with her and be gin a Conversation. "The Collected Stories of her success, ful but Hair-Breadth Escapes from Men of the World who seemed to Forget that all Women are not Alike would have filled a Volume bigger than the Family Medicine Book. Happily, no one ever went Quite So Far. She invariably escaped. "Moral: Don't worry." ' Having made fools of themselves, in self-Justification the Ulriches embel lish the-incident to make out a case against the negro, even if In so doing they should ruin the reputation of an innocent man. His bending over to read doorplates is exaggerated Into peeping through a keyhole, and the charge Is made that Mr. Washington said, "Hel lo, sweetheart," and that he was the aggressor in the attack, charges that no one but his enemies will believe. f Booker Washington does not go about th a solemn mien. He has an affable, smiling countenance. If he bowed and smiled and made inquiry of the woman as to whether the man he was looking for lived in that building she would put a sinister construction on his questions, since she Is the sort of person she is and was looking for trouble, and think he was making advances to her. The tendency of the accuser to em bellish the circumstances In order to i.. .... . ..vA ns.nM t nni saw Il lustrated In a case that happened in a I nuMif, llhrarv In a lam Eastern city. A writer went to the library to read some back numbers of papers published in New York and San Francisco. The attendant rummaged under the counter where the papers had been deposited after they had been taken off the racks and found 4he desired copies. As the 80 days that the newspapers of the various large cities are kept at that library before being thrown out had already elapsed, she asked that certain of the papers that she wanted be given to her. The Institution was notorious for its red tape. The attendant told her she would have to see the superin tendent. The building occupies an en tire block, and to the woman who had tramped about all day the superintend ent's office on the fourth floor seemed a mile away. He would doubtless say take them, she thought; and, as she did not have time to copy extracts, she made several clippings. One of the library attendants saw her and marched her up to the superintendent's office, k. her with mutllatlna: I library property with a great big pin. : The culprit, who, by the way. was at the head of the work being done to ! secure a state library commission in : ..... .ff.reH tn niiv the 2 cents' lllUl (J 10 1 vii-- 1 j - - worth of damage, if the librarian felt aggrieved. The Tuskeegee educator s enemies have seized upon the Ulrlch incident to use it against him to the utmost, ex ultantly cackling, "I told you so." Re port savs that in Greenville, Alabama, a popular subscription has been started to help Ulrlch contest the suit. Evi dently the foolklller has been neglect ing; his business In that locality. HELEN SAYR GRAY. Bowers Hotel. Vlcar'of Bray's Changeable Creed. Rlmmer, "Rambles Round Eton." The celebrated village of Bray has I .1 Immnrtalltv thrOllBTh Its aCCOm- I m-dating vicar,- who gracefully sur renders his creea m ettuu oulvwuiu. monarch. The song which has ren dered him famous Is an anachronism, for the real vicar lived during the reigns of Henry VIII. Edward VL M: 'y and Elizabeth, while the popular vicar is supposed to have published his creed during the reign of George L and It is pretty certain that It Is a production of one of the members of the Kit-Cat Club Satirists and historians have shown again and again the laxity and the servility of the parochial clergy; and a chaplain hardly ranked above a head gamekeeper, nor was he permit ted, except under certain conditions, to dine with his patron. If the chaplain was of a congenial turn and sufficient ly instructed to amuse his employer, he would have the family living, or some other family living, when a vacancy occurred, and then, of course, he was the humble servant to the house. Opening of Colvllle Reservation. PORTLAND, March 24. (To the Ed itorsWhen will the Colvllle Indian Reservation be opened? What are -the chances for a soldier that served three years of getting a good piece of land? SOLDIER. The reservations are opened to white settlers by special acts of Congress after the allotment of lands to the In dlans ba been completed. The allot ment on the Colvllle Reservation is now going on. A soldier having served three years would be given credit" for three years upon the time he would otherwise have to live on the land before proving up. As the law allows six months .from the time entry is made until actual residence , begins, the soldier who served three years would be obliged to live on bis claim 18 months. He could not make an entry without re siding on tha land,. Timely Tales of the Day I. W. Hope, of Vale, while spending a" few days recently in Portland, told this story on County Judge Cleeton: "It was during the Legislative session of 1905," said Mr. Hope, "while the con test was on for the election of United States Senator. Mr. Cleeton. as- a mem ber of the Legislature, was supporting one candidate for Senator, and I was on the opposite side. With us was a sick man, whom we had been trying to bring to the Statehouse to get his vote, in order to defeat Dolph. "At last it was found that the sick man was able to be taken in a stretcher from his home, and sent by train to Sa lem, but we had to do something to keep the vote from being entirely polled before the sick man reached the State house. It was finally agreed, In order to play for time, that each of us should get up and spend as much time aa pos sible in explaining his vote. "Thus the calling of the roll went very slowly, and the opposition seemed to be getting restless. At last lr. Cleeton rose to condemn such dilatory tactics. He was highly Incensed at the slow way the vote was being taken, and he spent about 20 minutes In an elo quent speech condemning us. We sat back and let him talk as long as he wanted to. "Just after Mr. Cleeton had resumed his seat with the attitude of one who believes he has done a creditable task, the sick man was brought into the room on a stretcher, and his vote was polled against Cleeton's candidate. "I shall never forget the surprised look on Mr. Cleeton's face as he realized how much he had aided his opponents In his 20-mlnutes' speech against us." The hobble skirt Is not an altogether unalloyed pleasure, although It may be ultra-fashlonable. At least so one stunning young affector of this raging mode discovered to her unutterable embarrassment the other evening. She was a comely young thing, fair of fea ture and trim of figure and she was 3 I. what li modistes WOUld call an "extreme" hobble, that is. she . - . . .-( . V. n . . , could step only aooui a i """"' danger of tripping. She stood at the corner of Fifth and Washington waiting for a St. Johns car and there was a goodly crowd engaged in the same pastime. Along came an inquisitive little ter- rler and playfully made as if to leap up on this dainty navy-blue gown of the aforesaid "hobble" design. The sweet young damsel was miffed; she was almost peeved, and she, in her , . i i.j i. trn with her SDaeni-unnucu -- o- comely little tan boot Just about as hard as she could. Presto! She had kicked too hard .. ..inna h.,oif fn the binding folds of the tight-fitting gown. She tried to regain her oaiance, bhu ui.i It worse; she lurched and sat down, very very heavily on the cold and cruel pavement. Her handbag flew one way and her peach-basket hat tilted rak lshly over one ear, and the crowd tit tered. . . Milady arose all flustered and pattered saucily down to Stark street and the dog, entirely unscathed, trot ted on his carefree way. "You wouldn't think that there Is a mighty big profit in the check-cashing business that certain cafe proprietors and saloon-keepers do every week In Portland." remarked a prominent bank er, yesterday, "but there is." "I have in mind the case of one of our customers who operates a flrst class cafe, and with it there is the strong inducement of a tempting free lunch. Every week he cashes checks on one single big concern In the city A- ohnnt cflnn nnd includes wnicn vs" ,J - ' ; 20 or more individual checks. The other day I asked him now ne coum ba bothered with that sort of a thing right along. , ..... " "Botnereur ne reiuieu, money In it. Just about 10 per cent of that money goes into our till during the course of the week.' . "He explained to me." continued the banker, "that on payday the crowd will come drifting in. turn over their checks and some of them will spend anywhere from 2 to 3 before the company of 'good fellows' breaks up. He also told me that the same crowd made his cafe their rendezvous during the balance of the week for either the midday or the 4 o'clock lunch; and that there would usually be several 'treats' passed along the line on such occasions. Then-on Saturday afternoon or evening there is the flask, or bottles of beer, for home consumption over the 'dry' Sunday. "If we could only get 10 per cent dis count on checks In our business," sighed the banker In conclusion, "I think we would be able to declare larger divi-. dends. MANY FEATURES IN TOMORROW'S OREGON I AN An Intimate Study of the Pan ama Canal is presented by John F. Stevens, former chief engi neer. His article deals with tha vital question of the commer cial changes that will be effected through completion of the great waterway. ' ' The Indiscretion of L e 1 1 y Shaw," fourth story in E. Phil lips Ojppenheim 's new adventure series. Taal Volcano's Recent Ram page, showing very first pictures of terrible eruption that wrecked Taal Island. American-Born Women who will participate in the coronation of King George and there is quite- a colony of them. Happiest Hours of Some of Our Great Men. In every case the most unexpected versions are given. Women Who Stare on the Street Are Flirts, says a street masher in his confession. Goo-Goo Eyes, fluffy hair and pouty lips not part of real Amer ican beauty, says noted artist in selecting new model. Colorado's Penal Drones are put to work building good roads. Mr. Twee Deedle, Sambo and the Widow Wise have some new adventures. Homer Davenport's "Country Boy" installment deals with a skating rink and other Silverton happenings. On the same page "Cap" Anson spins more base ball yarns. Then there will be all the news of the world right up to the minute.