ttth morxixq orecoxtax. tittjiisdat, march 30, 1911. 8 fORIXAXD. OUOOt tnrH at Irtlaa4. Gracoa. Foatotnee aa M.-a4-c fa::er. . ea-r.puoa kataa ItwUMi ta Aavasea. ,BT VAIl- r;?r. Sra-far I" ki yaar V? ta::. Sisjar ln.-iU.l. a.x month-... tti.r. 9aciev ln.-!oOed. i.-iraa snniha.. &a.:y. Iisdtr lac:ud4. M tloBta.... TaJ'T. irr.out fe'jndtr. ana year. ...... lai r. without t.BKr. aia mourns. . ... s T a. v wttfiaui h r . k . ihrM aaotiiaa... -' 1 I -a. . ;r without Sun,laj. aaaj WVI. eaa ar. .............. f-je!ar. ara Jeer. ........... frj.aas aaa w aaa year......... 4 BT CtlHUI fallr. fiaday Included, aaa year...... la;'r Suedar oca munth,.... U ta Basalt Sen 4 pstofflca ar 1 r. nraoa order or paraoaal chaw Wal tank Stain ra. eo:a ar currnrT e.-a at the mdtri ta. Oia poalofrica aiiraaa ta full. ucMlit county and) ' fwalaara aa .4 la 14 t- I "C'j. ' ta It s-aaa. t casta; t r- 'ot" 43 ta aa aaaaa. can La. Faraisa poetavse a a -j ' rata. Eaaaarm. tuiam Offlna Verra at Cwn r .V- - Ira. Sralitkk. buU.UaS. Cal- t i - e . ft . r 1 - a roTLA.I. THl KrU.tr. MARCH M. ltL LA Vt ICRS AND UIVM. It la not th big men of the legal profusion who oppaM the reform of Judicial procedure. It ' la tha little enea who think they aee destitution before them if the dilatory plea, tech tie H ties, evasions of justice and petty word worship of the court should ever be abolished. Such personages a President Tail. Attorney-General Wlckersham. Judge Amldon of tha Federal Court and Senator Root are unanimously of the opinion that re medial chances are needed. Mr. E. B. Ilaney thinks they are not. lie told the Multnomah Bar Association that he thought the criticisms commonly made on the methods of man) lawyers and some courts were "unjustified and unfair." Mr. H.iney believes th.U If we abandon the (Juratory of local forms and aerJt mere Justice, a chanice which, he says. "Is hysterically de manded by the press.- there Is dancer that '"the country will go to ruin." This Is frightful to contemplate but there are considerations of one sort and another which may tend to soften our apprehensions. One of those who have been most "hysterical" In ursine the correction of our faulty procedure Is Mr. Tart. He has dectar.'d openly that In Its present condition "It Is a dl?race to civilization." Since the President is not a man who expresses hlnuelf wildly or Is apt to approve of anything; which forebodes National ruin, perhaps Ms Judgment on the subject may at l-ast partially counter balance Mr. Hancy's. There Is additional comfort to be found in the fact that England has adopted pretty nearly ail the reforms which the hysterical press of the United States is clamoring for. They are applied dally in the trial of law suits In that country with results whe-h are highly satisfactory. No na tional ruin has reared Its horrid head since they were Introduced. No doubt ruin has descended upon a few law yers of mediocre ability who formerly made a Urine by pillaging long-suffering suitors, but the subjects of King George seem to endure the calamity with equanimity. In England If John owes Henry a a-ui ll is augment mr rieiiry iu gu Into court and say so. The pleading need not specify how. where or when the debt was Incurred. The mere statement of the fact that It Is owlng constitutes a cause of action and gives the court jurisdiction. In criminal cases It is sufficient If the accused ap pears before the Judge. Jurisdiction Is then complete. No matter haw be rets there, no matter If his name is spelled wrongly In the Indictment, no matter If a dozen commas are left out. no matter what Informalities may have been committed, the prisoner la there for trial and the only business to which the Judge will usually pay at. tention Is the question of his guilt or Innocence. What sensible man can find fault with this? If the accused Is Innocent he ought to be trttd at once and dis charged with a verdict which sustains his good character. If be is guilty he cannot complain If he Is convicted speedily. In this country very often the all-Important question Is not whether the prisoner Is guilty, but whether every minute formality of in dictment; arrest and arraignment has been accurately performed. Our pro cedure has degenerated Into a sort of Confucianism where mlcrosoplral ritualistic ceremonial bos superseded the quest of justice. There la nothing In the world which much of our court procedure resent' bies so closely as It does Chinese etl que:te. The verbosities and ceremo nial prostrations of our lawyers are al most precisely like the polite perform voces of two mandarins when they meet. Some authorities have com pared tbem to the matrimonial dances of certain f wls at pairing time. It Is said by scholarly observers that the solemn gyrations of the great auks at that critical season remind them fore. Ibly of the proceedings In an Ameri can lawsuit. la spite of a few voices which depre cate all betterment, lawyers as a class are convinced of the necessity for the reform of Judicial procedure. They know very well that a man who gets into court Is likely never to get out again, or If he does escape it Is as a brand from the burning with nothing left but his skin and bones and even those well singed. For that reason every respectable lawyer hesitates to advise a client to begin an action. Endure anything short of ruin." they say. "rather than go to law." Now the purpose of courts Is to ren der Justice to common men. How far from that purpose they must have strayed when the best lawyers tell us Justice Is not to be found there! It will require more than Mr. Haney's word to combat this universal Impres sion. The people are so convinced of the bad condition of legal procedure that they have takfn the matter of re form Into their own hands. Since they must act without adequate knowledge, of course, they cannot be expected to act very wisely, but If the lawyers do cot like what the people do there is an excellent way for them to obtain something better. They have only to take hold of the plow handles and drive the furrow themselves. Unless they consent they msy feel perfectly certain that, whether for good or evil, the people will do it for them. It Is preposterous to expect that present conditions w!!I be endured forever. Forty-two original entries of land In The Dalles district were made at The Dalies Monday and Tuesday, many of the entrymen being Ausuians and Russians who have Just arrived for the purpose of securing a home. While j It ta no longer possible to secure as valuable claims as could be picked up twenty years ago. there Is still some very good land open for settlement. Most of It Is so much better than the claims that are available in the Gov ernment land lotteries that the new settlers-will not have much trouble in toon getting It into shape where It will produce something more than a living. If this Nation could divert all of the Austrian and Russian Immigrants to the country Instead of having them In tensify the struggle for existence In the congested labor centers In the Eastern cities, everybody In the city and country alike would be a gainer by the move.' faroox co.s r:s.e. : The predicament In which Messrs. Farsoa ez Co.. bond brokers of Chi cago, And themselves as a result of their little i:S.000 flyer In a Portland bond Investment Invites a few reflec tions and observations. Farson A Co. made a bid for 1500.000 Broadway bridge bonds at 3.8 cents. They de posited a certified check for $23,000 as a guarantee of good faith. They stipulated, however, that the legality of the bonds must be approved by their attorneys. 80 far all was welL The bond bro kers or the attorneys, or both, dilly dallied along for some weeks, and then came a more or less diplomatic sug gestion from Farson & Co. that Tor a 12000 fee a favorable opinion on the bonds by that high-minded and un mercenary firm of attorneys would doubtless be forthcoming, and the SSOO.OOO transaction in bonds be duly closed. The city wanted very much to sell those bonds, but Mayor Simon was un willing to enter Into a negotiation with Farson Co. or their thrifty lawyers, or anybody, that suggested collusion or savored of blackmail. In course of several further weeks of considera tion and procrastination, the Fatson attorneys reported adversely on the bonds, giving the shallow ground that their validity was doubtful, since it was proposed to sell them below par! Such an opinion. Ii view of the past history of Portland bonds and of bonds every'n'r. not wrthr of respect or serious discussion. It speaks for Itself: the motive biTvInd It Is perfectly clear. But the query naturally arises as to what would have been the opinion of the Farson attorneys if the 12000 bad been forthcoming? If Farson Co. bad got the S200O and the lawyers had still reported adversely, would they have been obtaining money under false pretenses? If they had got the $2000. did they Intend to turn It over to the lawyers for a tervect opinion? If the opinion Is sound without $2000. how could tt have been Im proved or made more correct with $20.00? What Is any lawyers opinion worth that may be influenced, or en tirely changed, by the size of his fee? Do Farson Co. employ lawyers to give them any kind of an opinion to suit any emergency? Do Farson & Co. think they have given Portland a square deal? Or did they Intend to give a square deal only on condition that they got that $200? Is that honorable dealing? Or do they know or care anything about ethics or honor or honesty, except on a $2000 fee basis? ' TVJtrXO OF INCOMES SOT NEAR. Uncertainty as to the final ratifica tion by three-fourths of the states of the Income tax amendment to the Federal Constltutlo 1 seems certain to be prolonged for several years. The amendment will not become effective until the Legislatures of thirty-five states have ratified It and only 17 have so far given their approval. Eleven states have rejected the amendment, but this does not neces sarily mean that every one of the eight states that have not yet acted must ratify the amendment In order to make It effective. Congress In 16 adopted the rule that a ratification of a constitutional amendment cannot be rescinded by a state, and that a state having once rejected it may take it up subsequently and ratify It. An amendment la always pending until carried. It Is probable that some of the states which have acted adversely may yet approve the amendment, but there seems to be no possibility that approval by the necessary thirty-five states will be attained this year. The Legislature of three states that have heretofore rejected the amend ment do not meet again until 1913. These states are Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia. The Legislatures of three other states. Arkansas, Utah and West Virginia. rejected the amendment this year and their ses sions have expired by constitutional limitation. The Legislatures of three statoa that have failed to act. Dela ware. Tennessee and Wyoming, are over and will not convene again until 11$. In two other states. New Hamp shire and New Jersey, there Is no in stitutional limit on the length of the legislative session, but both states re jected the amendment this year and could not be expected to rescind the action before the convening of an other Legislature, even If the 111 ses sions were prolonged. Her are eleven states that are out of the running on the question for this year. Probably the Legislatures In several of the eight remaining states which have heretofore rejected the amendment or failed to act have adjourned. Press reports have not followed the sessions in some of the Eastern states closely. Tet it would require favorable action by every one of the eight outstanding to ratify the amendment at this time. In Connecticut and Pennsylvania. where no action has been taken, and In Massachusetts. New York and Rhode Island, where previous sessions rejected the amendment, there Is no constitutional limitation on the length of the legislative sessions and the Leg islatures In each of the states named convened early In January. No action has been tsken In Florida, where the Legislature convenes April 4. nor in Minnesota, where the present session expires by constitutional limitation on April I. The twenty-seven states that nave ratified the amendment are: Cali fornia. Nevada, Montana, Washing ton. Oregon, Idaho, Texas. Mississippi, Alabama. Georgia, South Carolina. North .Carolina, Kentucky. North Dakota, Ohio, Iowa. South Da kota, Illinois. Nebraska, Kansas, In diana, Maryland. Missouri, Oklahoma, Wisconsin. Michigan and Colorado. It Is a notable phase of the situation that there Is little heard In argument In the state where the amendment Is still rending along the line of oppo sition expressed by Governor Hughes In his special message to the 1S10 New York Legislature. The article It la proposed to Insert in the constitu tion reads: Artlcla t Tha Coo-reae ahall hara power t tar and collet taee on liKomfi from arhatarar aource darlv-4. without apportion ment among tha eavaral states and without regard to any cecaua or an amaratlon. Governor, now Justice. Hughes, ob jected to the phrase 'from whutever source derived." He contended that the states would be surrendering to Congress the right to tax state bonds. The principal argument against the amendment In states numbering many wealthy men among their citliens now Is that such states would be taxed out of proportion to their population. It Is also argued that the taxing of In comes Is properly a state function and that if the Government were permit ted to tax Incomes the states would be barred therefrom by the inhibition against double taxation. The Oregonian has frequently dis cussed the fallacy of the population argument and It sees no virtue In the double taxation theory. If both state and Federal Governments' attempted to Impose Income taxes, each tax would be for a different purpose. In our states we now levy separate taxes on the same property for state and local purposes and it is not consid ered double taxation. The merit of the amendment, on the whole. Is such that the necessary three-fourths of the states will prob ably in time ratify It. But wealth will be-safe from the Income tax for some years to come. In any event, for even after the amendment Is ratified Con gress must adopt a schedule, enforcing provisions and otherwise enable the carrying out of the purpose or we amendment. MR. CARNEGIE'S RESPONSIBIXrTT. Developments In the defunct Carne- arle Trust Company do not place mrr .n via hi a llarht the eminent dls- burser of libraries, whose name was the magnet that attra-ted the savings of the small depositors. The respon sibility of the so-called "Carnegie Trust Company," as revealed by the disclosures since the failure, was de cidedly limited. The name "varnegie w. V . nplnrlrtil ft? Without Which the concern would hare had but little better opportunity for doing Dusiness than that or any smau Dana 01 on vA.. pMoiinvi WhAn the InstltU tion closed its doors. Mr. Carnegie was quick to inform the puouc tnai ne hm no financial connection witn it, ana u n v. . nrAi.in t t ni j, t-1 ham not show ntrlf-n In aasfaf It to a DOsltlon where It can honorably liquidate Its indebtedness. a ri ... t xfe ririarlii from the be ginning permitted the trust company to make use or nls name, no whs u one time induced to loan the Institu tion $2,000,000, which was repaid, Again In 1910 he advanced $2,100,000, Km Kaln. mora -rAftV than the deDOS" Itora, he seems to have been very well secured. In aanuion 10 ino nura u ., K,nw vfmnt-ai he received as Re curlty stock of the Van Norden Trust Company on which $1,300,000 was re alized. He also bought oacg ior i. a A A AAA .f.nl Kin H a m'hlcH he had DU in at $2,100,000, and as further pro tection against his possible loss of $500,000. ne was given biuck jji fhl, Irnn rnmmnT. There can be no question about the moral obligation assumed oy tne iron master when he permitted the com pany to use his name. Having thu . ..rrt.- thta rMDonHlbllltv for a con sideratlon, he cannot, with credit to himself, evade the payment of the losses sustained by the people who were attracted oy tne magic 01 m name. MOTTJrfi TUB TXITAIUAN CHTRCH. Portland people who love their city will read with pensive reflections the news that the Unitarian "Church of Our Father" Is to be sold. Of course, the reasons are apparent. The prop erty where the meeting-house stands ha become of great value while the attendants of the church services dwell far from It In other parts of the city. Times have changed since the old building sttod in the heart of the resi dence Quarter. Commerce has inaa ed and conquered one street after an other until now its surges break on the very walls of the building. It Is time to go. Religion must strike its tents before the advancing troops of Mammon and flee to safer quarters. From every standpoint of prudence the contemplated move is a wise one. The sum which will be received for the property will buy ground ror 1 better building elsewhere and probate' !v almost pay for erecting It, while on the score of convenience the gain will be Inestimable. Still it 1 not pleasant to see the churches abandon one after another their old citadels. The modest pres ence of the Unitarian meeting house In the noisy haunts of trade has been of positive spiritual worth to tne city. It has stood for the ideal In the tur moil of the sordidly material. It has stood for the brotherhood of man be tween contending hosts who some times forgot that man was anything but a tool to be hammered home or an enemv to be hated. Oftentimes the melancholy old building has seem ed to repeat softly Wordsworth plaintive moan over "what man has made of man;" but again It has re gained Its cheerfulness, ror lr human brotherhood Is frequently obscured God's fatherhood abides forever. The old meeting house stands "like a good deed in a naughty world." ra diating peace and love. Would It might stand where It Is until Its message has been heard by all men and obeyed. Would It might then stand as an Im perishable memorial of the power of divine love to conquer passion and heal the wounds of the world. COMFORT FOR THE SOCTHWEST. The Puget Sound newspapers have hastened to assure the people of Southwestern Washington that the at titude of the Senators from Pierce and King Counties, which resulted In the defeat of the Pacific highway bill, did not reflect the sentiment of the busi ness men of Seattle and Tacoma. Still, w have failed to observe any loud and urgent demand that there be granted the special session the desire for which was expressed by the South western Washington Development As sociation. The Southwest merely gets the assurance that the' "unfaithful leg islators are receiving the censure and facing the criticisms that are their due," and that "the men who blocked the road may prepare for the day of retribution." This from the Seattle Times, and there is more In the Times and Ta coma Ledger about "combinations" and opposing road plans. But per haps the most cheerful view of the situation Trom the Puget. Sound standpoint Is found In the declaration toy the Ledger that the - "Portland newspapers ar busily engaged in an effort to stir up prejudice against the Puget Sound cities." The Ledger ar ticle seems to have been written with the Idea of comforting both the Southwest and Tacoma. As to the at titude of the Portland newspapers, the statement may pass In Tacoma, alone, but promise of retributive Justice for the legislators and protestations of friendliness must be cold comfort for the Southwest at a time when it is asking material aid. We distinctly recall, too, that the principal argument advanced against the highway bill In the Senate was that It would aid Portland business In terests. Because Portland might re ceive a reflected advantage from the general growth of the Southwest and the Improvement of its means of transportation, the Southwest was to be denied better highways. The Sen ators professed at least to be voicing: the sentiment of the business Interests of the Puget Sound cities. Perhaps they were mistaken. We hope, for the benefit of Southwestern Washington, that they were. Yet it is but natural that declaration of such a policy should stir up prejudice In the South west against the Puget Sound cities. The Portland newspapers did not set the Ore. They have simply reported the conflagration. Just now. If we read the signs right. what the Southwest wants is deeds, not words. This opinion must be de rived from the words of the Aberdeen World, a newspaper which probably represents the largest single constitu ency of any newspaper in Southwest ern Washington: Tha action of tha govarnlng committees of tha gouthweetern Washington Aaaocia tlon in condwmntns tha methods by which tha Paclflo hlKhwar plan waa daleatad In tha lata Legislature and calling on tha bualnaas Intereata of Tacoma and Seattle to ret behind the project or ba considered aa anjrthlna; but friends to tha fouthweat. waa tha most advanced action tha association haa aa yet taken in declaring tha Independ ence of tha Southwest. It waa not as ad vanced around aa tha majority of tha dela satea to tha association dealred to occupy, but tt was much mora advanced than any thing that haa ona before, and It waa tha beat that could be done at thla time, it means that In tha end tha Southwest will determine to Ita own complete aatlsfactlon that It can expact no aid aither from Seat tla or Tacoma, and that It must go Ita own war alona. or ally Itself with Portland. There, la no other alternative. . .' . Tha future attitude of the Southwest ta now up to tha citlea of tha Sound. Thar can bs friendly or not. If they do not care enough for our trada and our frlendahlp to aid ua In tha matter of thla Paclflo highway, they will serve all anda beat by frankly stating their attitude. Portland's contention is and always will be that natural trade channels cannot be blocked by artificial means. Portland does not hope to gain all the business of Southwestern Washington that may be transacted outside the limits of that section. It has had and will continue to get Its share. It at tempted in the past to do its propor tionate part In aiding the growth of that territory. It will undoubtedly continue to do so. Ita chief effort will be to maintain friendliness toward Itself and not to promote prejudice against commercial rivals. With the near approach of another wheat crop the world's markets are again, showing decided weakness. In Chicago yesterday May wheat sold at the lowest point reached in three years, the close being 27 cents per bushel under the close on the same date last year. World's shipments last week were 4.000,000 bushels greater than in the same week of 1910, and quantities on passage were 7,000,000 bushels greater. From all countries where the premier cereal Is grown come reports of good crop prospects. Even at present prices the business Is so attractive that It is not Improbable that the "world's record wheat crop of 1910 will be surpassed by that of the present year. In the Pacific Northwest, where such a large proportion of the crop is shipped out of the country. . cheap wheat Is not wanted, but so long as our growers must compete with those of every other wheat country on earth they must be prepared to accept the com ing low prices with as good grace as possible and hope for a return of last year's high figures. On rare occasions. Government of ficials display real business intelli gence In their , methods of. handling" business matters. We note, for in stance, that Secretary MacVeagh is reported to be contemplating the dis continuance of revenue collection dis tricts where revenues do not pay ex penses. Included in the 10 districts where no revenue is collected is Ya quina Bay, and at Coos Bay last year's collections were $1, with the expense of collection placed at $267. No legit imate protest can be made over the abolishment of collection offices that; do not collect. Savings of this kind are on a pretty small scale, but per haps, after the Government stops a few of the leaks at the spigot it may make a move on the bunghole where there are opportunities to save mil lions. If any private concern followed Government methods In the adminis tration of its business. It would re quire unlimited capital to keep It out of bankruptcy. Thai romlnr of Professof TV. S. Thornber, of the Washington State Agricultural College, to Portland to lecture before the Y. M. C. A. Apple Culture Club is an event of more than ordinary Interest to horticulturists. Professor Thornber is a recognized aurhnrtlv in tha Northwest, and Is the author. of several valuable bulletins which have been widely distributed. The Hoyt-street restaurant which Kaan -nhhari four times lately will begin to lose confidence In the pro tecting power of the police pretty soon, we fear. For the sake of retaining its hold on a wavering public faith .& vndriiiana of our lives and nroD- erty might do worse than to camp out near that restaurant ana watcn hat goes on there. , Th lnrllenltiea to the young women at Pullman bv young men students passed the bounds -f ordinary hazing nd the perpetrators deserve more than a reprimand. A few of the girls" brothers might with Justice be called in to administer proper punishment to the hoodlums. Sr. axcustomed were Kansans In Brown County to the Itch they did not recognize smallpox until fifty cases de veloped. The average jayhawker can come up to the scratcn every time. The trade has- Its eye fearful on Congress, but wool continues to grow on tha Oregon sheep without a tremor of apprehension Another French aviator committed Involuntary suicide Tuesday by drop ping 2000 feet. The letter-carriers will at last have Sunday off. They deserve It, TOASTl OREGON HEXS AND OWXERS More to Be Preferred. Says Writer, Tssa Over-Refloed Bathetic Folka. PORTLAND, March 2S. (To the Edi tor.) The "City Bred" man and the pain fully "Esthetic Citizen" whose nostrils are offended by the odors arising from chicken yards in the city, whose eyes are shocked by the sight of chickens within the city boundaries, and whose ears are violated by the crowing of roosters in the early morning, have not only missed their calling, evidently, but should be translated bodily, though gent ly, to some serener sphere where noises are not and unpleasant odors do not break in and administer knockout droDS to these who have been over-cultured and whose nerves are set on a hair trigger. The man who does not enjoy the sight of a chicken, hen, rooster or the little feathered baby, is necessarily the victim of a half-fnatured education both along utility lines and in the realm of real beauty. Such an unfortunate, one might safely assume, is a devotee to some dog, almost any kind of a dog a kind of ani mal, with all its traits of affection, which, take the race as a whole, has never yet contributed a cent toward the upkeep of the human family where its destructive qualities have readied the dollar mark. The habits of a dog are extremely fllthy. One can't eat a dog at least one never wants to and as against the expense of keeping him, he eats his head off at least once every day. Why not rule horses out of the city? Don't they belong on the farm? Then there are livery stables in all parts of the city where the odors arising are really "fierce!" Isn't Mr. "Esthetic Citi zen" outraged frequently as he passes one of these?. Isn't the horse an abomi nation to - be catalogued with the un pleasant features of a refined life that offend the truly "City Bred?" There's the automobile, whose honk, heard at all hours, day and night, car ries with it the essential reminders of immediate death. Should it be permitted to continue its career of annoyance among people who have chosen to. reside In a city? Frankly, I would much rather hear the optimistic croaj of a Plymouth Rock at 4 o'clock in thu morning, know ing that I have the privilege of taking a new "holt" on the bedcovers for an hour or two yet, than the yelp of a speeder's horn at the noonday hour when all my faculties are at "attention" and only man is vile. Besides, there are no odors arising from city poultry yards. As a rule, they are well kept, and the fertilizers are useful for vegetables and roses this in the interest of health and success. An other view is that since Oregon imports thousands of dozens of both eggrs and chickens every year, for its own con sumption, and since farmers will not supply this demand, it has become an economlo necessity that people living In cities should contrlbnte to the problem of reducing the cost of living. They are making a great success of It, and both "City Bred" and "Esthetic Citizen" if they ever deign to participate In the pleblan performance of devouring an egg. and it should really be a fresh one may thank their stars for that dis tinction that some thrifty city housewife has been dabbling in the chicken busi ness In her backyard. . Neither Is it true that a vacant lot will yield more profit In berries or "gar den truck than If devoted to the pro duction of poultry. The difference In favor of the latter la not to be men tioned on the same day. This leads to the fact that some people are very mucn opposed to the raising of gardens within city limits. The Rose City Park Improvement League is offering a list of 40 prizes for the best exhibitions of roses, sweet peas, lawns and gardens for the coming Sum mer, and several people were found who were hostile to offering premiums for any kind of garden, taking the esthetic ground that gardens belong to the coun try! But the prizes are to be given, nevertheless. The fact is that If all the vacant .lots within the boundaries of Portland, un occupied acreage and all, were put into vegetables and cultivated in an Inten sive manner, the product would be suffi cient to supply its entire population of over 200.000 people for six months out of 12. The same may be said of any other city west of Chicago, with the excellent soil and climate with which Portland Is blessed. It is well enough to be esthetic within reasonable bounds, but just the same a thrifty hill of potatoes makes a splendid background for a Caroline Testout, while the call of a Leghorn hen to her little brood when the early worm has been caught off-guard. Is choice music in high C as compared with the screeching "klyi" of the average dog or the nerve wrecking splutter of the barbarous mo torcycle as it speeds through the crowded streets, while its bobbing rider Is con sumed by an Irrepressible determination to reach his destination within a minute and a half, no matter how far away it may be. So, here's to the hen, uncomplaining, unpretentious, industrious and profitable, whose product each year In the United States exceeds in value the wheat output of all Its farms, and to the city house wife who takes care of her. Long may she wave both of them! AN EX-FARMER. Employers and Employes. CORVALLIS, Or.. March 26. (To the Editor.) Can you please answer a few questions for me through the col umns of The Oregonian and oblige? 1. Can an employer deduct damages for breakages of tools. Implements, etc., from his workmen without such notification at time of employment? I. A hires a man (B) to work for a certain wage for a given number of hours per day. Contract says: B must give A 14 days' notice before quitting. Now B has given notice to A and then neglects his work and cuts hours, as he Is sulky. Can A therefore deduct from B's wages at end of time specified on account of neglect? EMPLOYER. re th amnlnva is ensraged In work where it is customary for the employer to furnish tools and wantonly or by extreme carelessness breaks them the employer could probably legally wlth v.u .v.. vaina, of tha tools from the employe's wages. The right of the employer to deduct from the wages of employes for loss of time is usually ..ni... Tha ennrention of the em ployer and that of the employe often differ, however, as to wnai couiuiuita efficient services. A legal action , ...n.Far wnCPS Withheld on the ground of poor workmanship would be of doubtful outcome. f 1I.OOO Fare to Europe. New York Cor. Philadelphia Ledger. Otto H. Kahn, upon leaving for Europe today on the Cunard liner Mauretania. said he was leaving the financial situa tion in this country very satisfactory and that for the present, at least, there was no cause for worry. With Mr. Kahn were his wife and four children. It was said by the steamship company that the booking of smites on the liner for Mr. Kahn was the largest single res ervation ever made for one family. The expenses for the trip are SU.OM, while there is $2000 in addition for a large num ber of servants, who will leave on the Caronla. These servants are to go to the London house, while on the Maure tania were a valet for Mr. Kahn, his wife' maid and a special stewardess, a maid for Mies Maude, a governess with Miss Margaret and a nurse for the two bovs. ' Their itinerary Includes, first of all. a week in London, another In Berlin, then a trip through Italy, with some time In Paris, terminating in England for the coronation. Mr. Kahn said they would return August L STRUCTURAL FIREPROOF ROOFIXG Meataw ef Eaeape Ontalde and Inside of . Bulldlnga Instated On. PORTLAND, March 28. (To the Edi tor.) The question of reducing the re quirements of the new building ordi nances relating to the construction of apartment-houses and buildings of simi lar character, is soon to be acted upon by the Board of Appeal for this city. With the details of the recent disaster in New York City before us, he would be a heartless mercenary who would dare to suggest modifications permitting the use of less costly construction, if the more costly form were a reasonably effective safeguard against such an oc currence. Although it does not appear from the newspaper accounts, the building ordi nances of New York City require such buildings as that in which the fire oc curred to be of fireproof construction, practically equal to many of the so called fireproof skyscrapers of Portland. This will appear from the fact that the building suffered only slight structural damage by the fire. With this fact in mind, it must be evident that fireproof construction, per se, is not an effective cafeguard of the lives of the occupants, unless substantially all the contents and trim are of Incombustible material, which is a desideratum at present prac tlcsllv unattilnahle In a building for w ) shave. So, George Cartwrlght, his t. 1 .1 tha services Of F. H. Cofall, 1995 East One Hundred and Fifth street, who also shaves John D. Rockefeller. Mr. Johnson's Jesting mood was still on He Is nearly bald, but he asked the barber if it wasn't time for a hair- UMemhers of the family were with Mr. Johnson during- the morning and afternoon. Little Miss Margaret Eve lyn Marlanl, his granddaughter, was brought up in the afternoon by her nurSe- . , . T mnti see daddy, she chirpped. as she went Into the Whitehall. "Daddy" is her pet name for her grand 1 father. She was disappointed for a .v.iiA hapansa tha natlent was resting. When he awoke Bhe was held up to the bedside and Mr. Johnson smiled at her. She went away happy. IT IS NOW THE WALKIXO STICK Two New York Women Startle the City With Canes. New York World. Having recovered from the advent of the harem skirt are you all ready for another shock? Well, now that every body's right hand Is raised, go back to your seats and listen: Two young women dressed in black velvet stepped from a drug store In Broadway, between Fortieth and Forty-first streets, recently, carrying black canes with crooked handles in a most mannish mafiner. It was really thrill ing to see them thump the sidewalk with the tips every few feet. Men laughed when they beheld the young women; then, getting Interested, the men followed. The pursuers had become a horde before the women, at Thirty-fourth street, slipped away into a department store. The Truthful Typewriter. Polk County Itemizer. In writing a letter by hand you may be able to throw marks around pro miscuously and delude yourself and, maybe, the other fellow that you really are punctuating correctly, but the typewriter shows up plainly Just how much you really do know about it. It seems strange, but It is true, that these fundamental principles of lan-n-.tio-A BAAm to he taufrht leBS in this day than ever before. Not one in a thousand of the so-called stenogra phers and typewriters can write a let ter for you without the most glaring errors In some of these lines, punctu ation especially, something that every scholar out ot tne nign scnoot snouiu have at their finger ends. Yet they can hardly be blamed, as some of the worst letters we get In that respect come from their instructors. Value of Old Coins. TROUTDALE, Or, March 27. (To the Editor.) Will you please answer the following question in The Ore gonian: Is a United States 1-cent piece, dated 1833. of any value, and where could I sell it? A SUBSCRIBER. Old or rare coins are worth above their face value only what collectors are willing to pay for them. One of the largest dealers In rare coins is the Scott Stamp & Coin Company, of New York City. . March. Washington, D. C. Star. A little bit o' amilln' An' a little bit o' storm; A song that Is beguilm' To a nvood that's bright an warm. Disappointment's frettln' An' a ellmpsa of hopeful sky Tou wonder what you're gettln As tha days so drifUn' by. We map out a prediction Of what ought to heava In sight, "With confident conviction Tiat the calculation's right. But each day brings soma reversal That gives well made plans tha Blip If a mirhty good rehearsal yor next April's statesmanship. i 9 S a f a is ie n i 3 s a y a I r 1 3 v p 1 t f f 3 n :i aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaae-n,a Timely Tales of the Day "Yes," said George L. Baker, city Coun c'lraan and theatrical magnate, "actors are sensitive; all of them. The only artists more sensitive than they, I think, are musical artists. . If the theatrical manager's pathway is thorny and it Is lie can at least take heart in the thongtit that the impresario's is more thorny, because the musical artists with whom he deals are all what he learns to call 'temperamental.' One of the most common fanifestations of temperament Is sensitiveness, which is not always un derstood." Then Mr. Baker told a story. It con cerned a long-haired musician, who ap proached a policeman and, pointing to a small boy, said excitedly: "Do some thing to that boy. I don't care what it Is, if it is only something terrible." "What's the matter?" asked the police man. "The wretched boy asked me the time," said the musician. "I told him a quarter to three: and he said, 'At S o'clock get your hair cut.' " "That's all right," was the unmoved Constable's reply, "you've still got eight minutes." "P. S. I'll be home on the seventh," was the windup of a. letter J. C. Morri son, superintendent of the commissary department of the O.-W. R. & N., re ceived from Mrs. MorriBon, now in Cali fornia, about two weeks ago. "I've so many places to go and so many things to do that I am positively afraid X won't be able to get home by the seventh," was a sentence in the letter that came a couple of days later. "Another week down here and then a few days back in dear old Frisco and then home again by April 7." This came in the next following letter. By that time Morrison began to worry. "What in time is this about the 'sev enth'?" he wondered. He didn't dare write and ask and yst he cudgeled his brain about it day and night. He asked his friends what was going to happen on the seventh of next month but he got no satisfaction, when along came another letter. "I shall have a big surprise for you when I come home, and I can hardly keep it until the seventh." Well, that did put Morrison clear off his balance and so in an outburst- of con fidence he took E. E. Lytle, who is a friend of the family, off to one side and unbosomed himself thoroughly. "I'll get it good if I don't find out what all this business about the 'seventh' means," he said. "Say, old man," suggested Lytle, "may be it's your birthday and she is fixing up a" "Well. Til be everlastingly ding busted," Interrupted the worried com missary chief with a sigh of relief, "If it isn't our wedding anniversary and our silver wedding at that. Say, Lytle, don't say anything about this or I never can square myself at home." Lytle promised. "Before I began selling sewing ma chines," said Norman A Silverthorn, "I traveled for a time with a lightning-rod man. It was in the time when lightning rods were Just coming into use. Not everybody knew about them, and the salesman had a good deal of talking to do to convince the skeptical that they were of any value. "We put up for dinner one day with a farmer who proved a hopeless case, as a customer, though he was hospitable enough, and his wife was a cook In a thousand. We had eaten and were com plimenting the housewife on the dinner she had set for us when she remarked: " 'Neither my husband nor I is one bit afraid of the lightning, Mr. er What-is-your-name, but I don't mind telling you that both of us are mighty timid, sometimes, about the thunder. The way It does thunder hereabouts is something awful.' , "My traveling companion had been selling goods of one kind and another long enough to have his wits about him, and he replied. Instantly: " 'Why not let us fit you up with a fine set of thunder rods, then, so you won't be afraid any longer? " 'Can you do it?' said she. " "Surely,' said he. . "The woman talked with ber husband about It and we got the Job. We put In lightning rods, of course, and he charged a nice little profit for the Job. "We dropped in on our way back over the route, some weeks later and found them both well satisfied. " 'I used to sit and tremble when it thundered," said the farmer's wife to me, 'but since we got those thunder rods up I can stand right here In the door and watch the storm, and I'm not the least afraid of It." " With the present influx of home seekers into Oregon, every town, is ad vancing its several claims to distinc tion, but Albany, aside from possessing attractions of the usual character, la offering an inducement to new-comers that perhaps will appeal with especial force to even Portland citizens, for it is the only town in the state with an all-night electric streetcar -service. For the past 20 years Albany's ' Owl service has been a feature of the town, and a convenience generally. Until two years ago its single line of rails extending from the Southern Paclflo depot Into the business district was traveled throughout the 24 hours of every day by a diminutive car hauled by two horses, but .now electricity has . relegated the faithful nags to fertile fields. E. P. Moo is general manager, motor man and conductor of the line, which is owned by the A Welch Interests. He says the road's daily receipts through out the year average about tl2, which is sufficient to pay the operating ex penses. " Half a Century Ago Prom Tha Oregonian March SO. 1881. The mail between Portland and Sacra mento will be carried in seven days after Monday night. There have been seven arrivals of sea going vessels to the Columbia River and ?. ,r 1- hn nit week. Three were from Victoria, three from San Francisco and one from the sanawicn isianua. on vessels cleared from the mouth of the v., .. ri.,a- thraa for Sun Francisco. uuiuiiiui. ivivc, - - wo for Victoria and one for Honolulu. Five of the arrivals were sieamera uu two sailing vessels James A. McDougal received 56 out of m votes In the California Joint conven tion on the 21st of March. There was a gVeat number of blanks voted. The Pres ident declared him elected United States Senator and the Governor gave him bis certificate. There is a great row about it. The amount of treasure and drafts, ex clusive of those of the Military and In dian Departments, sent to San Francisco and New York from Portland for the months of February and March, Is as fol lows: Treasure shipped and drafts drawn on New York. $41,629; treasure shipped and drafts drown on San Fran cisco, l"O,0S3. The Inflamed state of the public mind In the South has given rise to many per sonal recontres and duels. A duel was fought In Georgia a few weeks ago in which Edwin Hart, editor of the Talla hassee Sentinel, and a gentleman named Ooleman, were both killed. His Limit. Harpers Bazar. Joshua had made the sun stand still. "Fine, but we bet you can't make Willie Jones do It," we cried. Herewith he acknowledged his limitations.