TIIE 3IORXIXG OREGOXIAX. TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1911.
lO
roRTLAVD. OREtiOX.
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rOKTLUO, TVZSDAY. APRIL. S3. 1IL
XOT A POLITICAL PARTY.
There Is little ground for recognition
of the "progressive" wing of the Re
publican party as a distinct political
organization by the United States
Kenate. Just at this time. We cannot
wholly agree with Senator La Follette
that there la a division among Repub
licans "well recognized In the Senate
and throughout the country as based
on clearly defined differences on Im
portant luad-lative measures and ques
tion of great public Interest." There
Is a division among Republicans In
the Senate, founded on a basis of par
liamentary procedure, and practically
that alone.
The term "proeres-Jve" is one that
Js preferred by the supporters of La
Follette and Cummins to the older
title, "Insurgents." These Insurgents
sure agreed on but few National Issues.
Contemporary historians rind difficulty
In defining their principles. One of
the latest contributions on the sub
ject has been prepared by Albert
Bushnell Hart, professor of sci
ence of government. Harvard Univer
sity, for the 1319 American Tear Book.
Speaking of the activities of the In
surgents in 1910. Mr. Hart declares:
"The Insurgents had not a common
body of principles and had somewhat
differed among themselves in the de
bate In Congress. In general they
Considered the Payne-Aldricb tariff
unreasonably high and Insisted that It
exas not nn-Republlcan to have voted
against that tariff.' to be In favor of
modifying It. or to stand fons general
lower level of the tariff."
Events In 1911 have not aligned the
Insurgents any more definitely on Is
sues of National Importance. In the
House they divided on reciprocity and
it is forecasted that they will do like
wise In the Senate. On popular elec
tion of United States Senators they
perhaps stand together, but popular
election was also supported by most
of the regular In the House, and by I
the Democrats also. The free Hat Is !
distinctly a Democratic measure, and
whether the Insurgents will take a
united stand thereon has not yet been
foretold.
These are the real National issues
before Congress and the people today.
The majority of Bourne's "fundamen
tals of government." as enunciated In
the platform of the Progressive Re
publican League, deal In state Issues.
The league's platform Is not a charac
teristic National party platform. It
advocates direct primaries, amendment
of stata constitutions providing for di
rect legislation and the recall, corrupt
practices acts. Presidential primaries
and direct election of United States
Senator. Only two of the Ave planks
may be considered as touching ques
tion pertaining to National govern
ment and one of these not necessarily
so.
It has been noted that Theodore
Roosevelt, who count himself among
the progressives, ha not subscribed to
the declarations of the Progressive
League. Colonel Roosevelt has sub
mitted his Idea of the progressive Re
publicanism arM termed It "new na
tionalism." New nationalism enunci
ate numerous planks not found In the
Bourns "fundamental of govern
ment." Possibly some day progressiva senti
ment will crystallize Into something
more tangible and definite than revolt
against parliamentary procedure in
Congress. The party, to organize ef
fectually, must be In accord with
Burke' classic definition: "A party Is
a body of men united for promoting
by their Joint endeavors the national
Interest upon some principle on which
they are all agreed."
FARAfEJtS AVD GASOLINE.
The farmers In the vicinity of Walla
Walla axe not exceptional In the use
they are making of gasoline engines.
This comparatively recent source of
power ha been adopted throughout
the country by agriculturist who wish
to save labor and Increase profits.
With an engine of three or four horse
power, costing less than a good horse,
an Ingenious man can pump water for
Ms household and stock. Irrigate his
garden, saw all the wood he needs,
grind feed and do a hundred other
thing which 'save strength, time and
money.
Not everybody can accomplish feats
f this kind. It takes some ''gump
tion." of course, and there are farmers
who have no mechanical gift what
ever. They cannot touch a bolt with
out crushing the thread, nor come
within ten feet of a mowing machine
without breaking the sickle. Much
less could they set up or rnn a gaso
line engine. But the farmer who can
use his hands deftly and his brain a
little can remove half the hardships
cf his lot by employing this modern
Invention.
It Is said that here and there a
farmer can he found who has done
really marvelous things with a amall
gasoline engine. An arrangement has
been devised which applies the power
of the engine to a farm wagon, thus
dispensing with horses on the road.
Of course an automobile Is prefer
able, but wealthy as most 'farmer
have become there are still some of
them who do not feel quite able to
purchase automobiles yet. There are
plenty of trucks, too. by which a gang
plow can be handled, or a long string
of harrow dragged across the field.
Indeed with a modern farm truck It
Is possible to prepare a good many
acre for seeding by a single opera
tion. Instead of following the plow
today, the harrow tomorrow and
scattering the grain by hand the next
day the farmer can sit on his truck
and do It all at once. He certainly
can If he ha land enough to make
ucb a large and expensive machine
worth while.
But apparently the gasoline engine
has not been put into traction form
(or the small farmer. What he aatl
U something with about the power of
a good span' of horses, of small com
pass, and easily managed. Here la an
opportunity still open to Inventors.
omwsnc mjl hjiaman.
Millionaire Hlllman. the Seattle pro.
rooter of wildcat real estate schemes,
has completed a 20 days' Jail sentence
for attempting to Influence Jurors. He
Is still under sentence to serve two
and one-half years In the Federal Pen-
Itentlary for using the mails to de
fraud, but predict that he will never
serve a day of that sentence. 'The
time will come." says the confident Mr.
Hlllman. "when Seattle will erect a
monument to my memory. I have
done more to develop this town than
any other man."
Mr. Hlllmirn Is somewhat careless In
I his language. What he meant to say
waa triat he had done more than any
other man to "extend" the town. Mr.
Hlllman was so thoroughly Imbued
with the Seattle spirit that he placed
no limit on the growth. His Imagina
tion was so vivid that he spoiled good
farms and cut down nice trees In or
der to build Imaginary cities In which
he sold lots.
If Seattle could have expanded
enough to take in the Hlllman "devel-
i opment,'
she would have made the
landed area of New York, London and
other cities look like a garden patch
on a bonanza wheat farm.
MR. nOLrnKHT'S LATEST.
In another of those wild flights of
the imagination which have made
Congressman Humphrey's ship-subsidy
emanations both famous and ridicu
lous, the Washington Congressman. In
the current number of Pearson's Mag
azine, again "view with alarm" the
control of the world's shipping trade
by European nations. Mr. Humphrey
lugs In that venerable statement that
we are paying foreign shipowner
1:00.000.000 per year for earning our
freight to market. It has never yet
been definitely determined by what
system of estimating this $200,000,000
total was reached, but as the ship-subsidy
people have used it for years. It Is
probably as nearly right as any of the
figures they present. "Two hun
dred millions of dollars a year paid to
these foreign shipping combines for
carrying our commerce." say Mr.
Humphrey. "Is the greatest prize of all
the seas. These foreign vessel have
struggled for many years to secure It
They have spent millions for this pur
pose and are spending millions to re
tain It."
Of course. It ha not occurred to
Mr. Humphrey that these foreign ship
owners. In return for the alleged 1200.
000.000. may be moving freight which
It would cost us 1250.000.000 to move
In our own ships. It also may have
escaped his attention that the foreign
er who have bought this freight from
us and paid for it may elect to send
their own ships for It. Mr. Humphrey
becomes needlessly alarmed about the
effect hi alleged shipping trust may
have on our foreign trade. "It la ab
surd and ridiculous." say he. "to talk
about capturing foreign market as
long as these condition exist. Tariff
reform or other legislation is powerless
to help us as long a these foreign
steamship combine completely control
the carrying trade upon the seas."
The natural Inference to be drawn
from this tIe of woe la that the for
eign markets have eluded us and that
our foreign trade Is rapidly falling into
decay. Unfortunately for Mr. Hum
phrey and the touching argument
which he put up. for an American
merchant marine, the foreign trade of
the United States Is today growing
more rapidly than ever before. There
la also a growing supply of tonnage
whose owner are begging the privi
lege of carrying our ware to market
at lower rates than are enjoyed by any
other country on earth. There I not a
port of any Importance In the known
world to which there la any trouble In
securing ships to carry destined
freight at lowest living rates. On the
Pacific, where Mr. Humphrey ha al
ways found alleged evidence oftrlngs
and combines. It has been possible for
months to ship freight from Seattle
or Portland to the Oriental ports. 4000
mile away, at from $1.50 to $3 per
ton. For year the rate fixed by an
other of those awful combines for ear
ning wheat 14.000 miles around Cape
Horn to Europe ha been less than $
per ton.
There Is today, roaming the seven
seas, an enormous fleet of ships of all
nations. All these ships are looking
for business. Their tonnage space is
a marketable commodity available to
any one who cares to use It. The men
who surply the freight care not a rap
what flag the vessel Is sailing under, so
long as the rate Is low enough and the
service satisfactory. As suggested be
fore to Mr. Humphrey, however. If It
Is necessary for Americans to own
ships, by all mean permit them to buy
In the same markets to which their
competitors have access. If we do
otherwise, it will cost us so much more
than the $100,000,000 which It is al
leged we are now paying the foreign
ers that w shall be sorry we paid any
attention to the ship-subsidy seekers
and shrlekers.
OrR DEMOCRATIC A RMTOCRACT.
The social ruction at the Naval
Academy is far too significant of the
snobbery that Is being maintained
there at the public expense to be dis
missed as the tempest in a teapot.
which at first glance it seemed to be.
Here we find a number of young
men who are being educated at the
public expense, for an honorable pro
fession, few of whom have yet proved
capacity to earn their living if thrown
absolutely upon their own resources,
but who assume social superiority
over a refined, educated young worn-
an who makes her own living in an
honorable vocation In the family of
an offtcer of the Navy! ,
Of course w cannot at least we are
loath to believe that all of the cadets
at the United States Naval Academy
are cads and snobs of this type, but
certainly enough has transpired In re
rent year to show that some of these
bumptious young prigs smoke to stu
pidity, drink to excess and sometime
carouse far Into the night with fatal
results.
Are these the fellows who assume
superiority over a modest, refined and
useful young woman, simply because
she la useful In her walk In life? Are
these the men who are In training at
the public expense for the honorable
and patriotic vocation of officers in
the United States Navy?
Clearly there Is something wrong in
an educational system that breeds
snobs when It Is supposed to be pre
paring men for an honorable profes
sion. The secret of this is probably
lodged In the statement that "high
official' are likely, if pushed to con
clusions, to defend the caste principle
as manifestly existing in the Naval
Academy. In other words It 1 mani
fest that these. young snobs are the
product of a system of democratic
aristocracy, If such antipodal term
may be used, which 1 encouraged by
the officers and is directly opposed to
the independent principle that under
lie a republican form of government.
It is Intimated that we shall hear
.from the "plain people" through their
representative in Congress upon this
matter of a democratic aristocracy,
created, perpetuated and defended by
the Naval Academy. Truly it Is time
for some champion of the plain people
and their rights to demand the why
and wherefore and call for the ayes
and noes upon the question. .
CASH AND COiSTTDEN'CE.
A steadily increasing surplus of cash
and a decided shortage in confidence
seem to be the predominating features
of the financial situation in theEast,
Money continues to pour into the
vault of the big financial institutions.
The weekly bank statement, appearing
last Saturday, shows that the banks
of New York hold larger surplus re
serves, with the single exception of
1908, than have been piled up there
since 1898. In the statement there
was a heavy increase shown In nearly
every item on the list. The surplus
over and above the requirements of
the 25 per cent reserve rule was $36,
298.000; deposits, for the first time
since 1908. exceeded $1,409,543,(100.
compared with $1,204,660,000 for the
same week last year.
The loan account, which under nor
mal conditions varies trfct slightly from
the proportionate Increases and de
creases of the deposit account, ha
failed to keep pace with this Increase
of more than $200,000,000 In deposits.
for It shows an increase of but $142,
000.000 over the figures for the same
week a year ago. The showing made
by the New York state banks and trust
companies is much similar to that of
the clearing-house banks, their figure
last week Indicating a gain of $5,500,
000 In deposits and an Increase in
loans of but $2,000,000. Meanwhile
call money was In poor demand at 2
per cent, and sixty and ninety-day
loan were 2 Si to 2 34 per cent, "with
prime commercial paper being sought
at 8 and 4 per cent. These rate
show a decline of 25 per cent to
40 per cent since last Fall, when the
crop movement was on.
Viewed from almost any standpoint,
it seems quite clear that there is a
great abundance of money and that
those who have it are shownlg a de- I
elded preference for keeping it on hand
instead of Investing it or loaning it for
industrial purposes.
MORE ABOrT RACE SCICIXE.
' Some Important item of fact bear
ing on the race suicide problem have
been abstracted from the twelfth cen
sus report by Dr. J. A. Hill, a compe
tent statistician, for the Immigration
Commission. In a general way this
new Information confirms the com
mon belief that American marriages
are comparatively sterile. It is com
piled from the census returns of rural
district In .Ohio, Minnesota and
Rhode Island, with those from such
cities as Cleveland and Minneapolis.
Striking an average for the entire
population of these sections, the birth
rate Is 4.1 per family, which Is not
discouraging on it face. It Is when
we look into the particular that un
pleasant disclosures appear.
The average birth rate is brought
up to the figure of 4.1 by foreigner.
If native American families alone
were taken Into account it would be
no more than 2.7. In other word the
birth rate In native American families
has fallen 1.4, or about one-third, be
low the average for the whole country.
A Mr. Roosevelt has pointed out re
peatedly, this can lead apparently to
but one consequence: The good old
American stock by which the country
was originally settled, the War of the
Revolution fought and the Constitu
tion adopted will disappear and its
place will be taken by the children of
foreign Immigrants.
What foreign Immigrants? The
figure of the census abstract answer
this question unmistakably. While
the number of children produced in
the average native family is but 2.7,
the Canadian French immigrant fam
ily produces 5.6. The difference Is
great enough to deliver the United
States to these prolific foreigners In
course of time If they had no com
petitors. But they have competitors,
some of them even more prolific. The
Polish immigrants, for instance, have
6.2 children to the family, .while the
Russians have 5.4, but slightly fewer
than the Canadian French. .All our
foreign immigrants, according to this
abstract from the census, bring more
children Into the world per family
than Aa the native Americans. Even
those from France produce 4.3,
which exceeds the native figure by 1.6
and is a little above the average for
the country.
To facts of this kind the citizen who
takes no thought or the morrow and
who cares little for the welfare of his
country will pay no attention. He will
pass them over with a weary glance
and hasten on to the account of the
last baseball game. Baseball is all
right In Its place, but there Is a place
In thoughtful minds for questions of
public Interest als and men of this
stamp cannot help asking themselves
what sort of a population will ulti
mately exist on this side of the Atlan
tic If the native whites continue to die
out and whites of Canadian, Russian
and Italian birth take their places?
The obvious reply, but for one
startling fact, would be that which
Mr. Roosevelt offer. The so-called
Anglo-Saxon race must disappear
from the land And the more fruitful
immigrants from southern and eastern
Europe will seize the Inheritance
which It was not virile enough to keep.
The fact which stands In the way of
this conclusion Is brought Into clear
light by the census abstaact to which
we have already referred. It Is only
the first generation of foreigner
which maintains a high birth rate.' In
the second generation it begins to
decline and In the third and fourth It
sinks to the common American level.
When the) Immigrant family from
Poland or Norway reaches the United
States it is free from the disease of
sterility, but after remaining here for
a serlt of years It Is almost Invar
iably attacked and ceases to help
much In replenishing the population.
Hence there la little danger that the
foreign element will displace the per
ishing Anglo-Saxon stock. It seems
to be far more likely that both will
decline together a time passes. Per
haps then the negro race Is destined
to possess and inhabit the United
States? We used to hear many tales
about the astonishing fertility of the
negroes, but the new census dispose
of them peremptorily. The blacks are
not nearly so prolific a has been
imagined. Their birth rate is only 3.1
per family, on the average, , which Is
but .4 more than that of the native
whites, and it is said to be steadily
declining. So we need dread negro
domination no more than that of the
Polack and Italians.
If present conditions remain un
changed It is pretty certain that the
population of this country will come
to a stationary figure within a few
years. Instead of doubling itself every
twenty-five years, as our., statesmen
used to predict In the buoyant days of
our National youth, it will reach a
dead level and stay there, neither in
creasing nor decreasing. It would de
crease if foreign Immigration were to
cease, but that is not likely to happen
9
for a
long time to come. As Mr.
- """"
tx I y pujJuiHiiun meatus at si&Biiaiii. tiv
lzatlon. It is therefore of some in-
terest to inquire what the cause may
be of this disease of sterility which
blights the fertility both of the native
stock and of the foreign also a soon
... . . . " . , M . .
as it has dwelt, here for thirty or forty
years. .
J.B . vu.u
highly complex, if anybody could be
found sufficiently wise to make one,
but even tAe simplest can discern one
.l.rMv ,et f It Th. folHna- birth.
V , . ' . . . .
rate in me unucu Dimea is guiuuucut
with a tidal movement of the people
from the land to the clHes. Those who
remain in the country- are the least
adventurous of the population and the i and was quick to manifest its approba
lea ilkalv not to have larra families. t'n. There was no going out between
Those who migrate to town fall un
der Industrial conditions which in all
countries have proved to be fatal to
human fertility. Our foreign Immi
grants dwelt close to the soil In their
old home. Here they remain in the
cities and soon succumb to the same
malady of sterility which is tending to
destroy the native stock.
So it would seem that one of the
first steps to be taken in retrieving J
me Dircn rate in mis country is i
discover some method of enticing the
population back to the soil. How can
it be done?
The citizen of Prineville and other
Crook County cities are certainly Jus
tified In their demand that mall be
brought a far as possible into Cen
tral Oregon by rail. They have wait
ed more than forty years for the com
ing of the railroad, and, now that it
has been constructed far enough to cut
down the time between the outside
world and Prineville about twenty-four
hours, the old stage mall route should
certainly be abandoned. There Is
something radically wrong when a
passenger from Portland can beat a
letter Into Central Oregon fully
twenty-four hours. Shanlko ha been
the "front" on the route to the interior
for many years, but It must now give
way to some of the railroad towns on
the lines which enter by way of the
Deschutes.
Dr. Clara E. Smith, of Wellesley,
seem to be one of the few women
who have a real genius for the higher
mathematics. Her application of
Abel's theorems to Bessel's functions
Is no doubt a feat of'the first Impor
tance. Abel waa a Norwegian mathe
matician who died in 1829 when he
was 27 years old but the development
of his famous "theorem" has exercised
the highest abilities of mathematicians
ever since.
Even if it Is something of a nov
elty for a court to hold that a rail
road is bound by its contract with the
Government, the ordinary citizen will
discern at least a glimmer of Justice In
It. We all admit that the bigger a
corporation is the less It is bound by
the moral law or any other law; still,
we ail take a secret, though proba
bly wicked, delight in seeing the big
gest of them brought to book once in
a while.
Mr. Jack Johnson, colored, who
changed the white man's hope into
despair, has completed his protracted
visit in the San Francisco Jail. On his
departure for the East he announces
that he is done with the West for
ever. This Is certainly good news for
the West, but it is correspondingly
hard on the communities which will
in the future be compelled to bear all
of the affliction of the Johnson pres
ence.
The Nebraska Justice of the peace
who fined a woman for wearing a
harem skirt suay flirt and flutter In
the heyday of his power, but his time
Is brief. Unless the sign are decep
tive, Nebraska will soon have women
Justices of the peace and then his turn
will come. He will be fined for wear
ing streaks of tobacco Juice on his chin
whiskers.
We have mothers' meetings and
mothers' circles and mothers con
gresses at every turn, yet the ruthless
statisticians tell us that we are short
on mothers. Are modern women too
busy telling mothers how to perform
their duties acceptably to society to
stay at home and be mothers of the
dear, old-fashioned type?
The best thing that could happen to
the little Jail-born babe In Vancouver
would be for everybody to foVget that
he was born in Jail. It will be a sor
ry way to make a hero of the child
by keeping the place of his birth con
stantly In evidence.
Miss MacConnell, of Lincoln High
School, should be given hearty support
by the mothers of pupils in her en
deavor to suppress the wearing of Im
proper clothing. A public school Is
no place for,dlsplay of extreme fash
Ions in apparel.
Now that Burns has captured some
body, the statement Is made at Los
Angeles that the posting of the fabu
lous sum as reward waa "not offi
cial." Vapor down that way seems
very thin and very hot.
Oregon goatmen can thank the en
ergy that started the local mills for
the competition that has raised the
price of the clip to the ruling figure,
37 cents. Mohair has it all 'over
wool this Spring.
Who wouldn't be a stray dog In
Portland, now that he can go through
the new lethal chamber at the pound
and wrap the drapery of his tall about
him and pass on to pleasant dreams?
Only one candidate Is too sick to
talk, but all will have more or less to
say in a fortnight.
The reciprocity measure is In the
Senate at last, "where reciprocity In all
Job thrives.
MOVING PICTURES FOR IX S AXE.
Successful aad Beneficial Results From
Am Experiment In Kentucky,
Louisville Courier-Journal.
The superintendent of the Western
Kentucky Asylum for the Insane has
rigged up a moving picture outfit a
that institution, and the other night he
tried It on 200 of his patients. The ef
fect was altogether satisfactory. The
Inmates enjoyed the show Immensely
and expressed their pleasure in much
the same manner as do ordinarily sane
Kentucklans under similar clrcum
stances. They laughed uproariously
and they applauded vociferously. in
fact, they were just as "crazy about
the pictures" as is the average young
American who is running at large in
cities where picture shows abound.
Henceforth the picture entertainment
is to be a part of the regular pro
gramme at the Hopklnsville asylum.
- .
i . ' ms7 p?u. ls ... .u!
.marvelous films.
There are some 1300
altogether, and there is no hall at the
I institution blsr enough to accomodate
them. The superintendent will take
them in relays, and he proposes to give
shows at frequent Intervals and to
! ange tl he pictures as o ne8"
sary. No one of the 300 first nignters
ha ever 8een a lcture 8how. It was
a "select audience." The superinten
. UCUV UIU illO OCICLHIS, mill b '
! fully, for it was a test performance. He
didn't know wnether there would De an
encore, a riot or a stampede He had
. orce of husky guards ambushed on
the outside in case trouble should arise,
but there was no trouble. In the lan
guage of the rural correspondents
everything passed of harmoniously.
The audience "caught on" from the start
the acts. There were no catcalls from
the gallery. Not a spectator left his
seat until the curtain went dark to
slow music and to Interrogatories from
the ambushed guards of "Who's looney
now?"
The superintendent anticipates that
the show will have good effect in mak
ing his patients forget their real or
imaginary troubles. In consequence
he believes they will be more tractable
In future, more amenable to treatmnt
and more likely to recover their mental
balance. It is to be hoped he is right.
and so far as he has gone the theory
seems to be working out. The world
Is full of paradoxical things. It seems
easily susceptible of proof that a lot ol
otherwise sane people are daft about
moving pltcures. It is not Impossible
that the fascinating films should have
a reverse effect on persons who are not
sane.
COMPASSION FOR' SYBIL WOLFE.
Question Raised aa to Her Accounta
bility for Crime.
ELMA, Wash.. April 22. (To the Ed
Itor.) I wish, through the columns of
The Oregonian, to exprees an opinion on
a case recently tried in the Clark County
Court, this state.
The case is that of Sybil Wolfe, who
was convicted of grand larceny, and
sentenced to sn Indefinite term In the
Walla. Walla Penitentiary.
Crime has to be Investigated and crim
inals have to be punished, but it often
happens that crimes are committed by
people who cannot be called criminals in
the strictest sense of the word; such I
believe to have been true In the cage of
a-bll Wolfe.
I am a mother and my heart goes out
to a poor girl who, possibly, ha no
home or friends, and who Is in the con
dition that has been proven 6 he was In
at the time she committed the crime.
Doubtless if two or three physicians
had been called to testify in her trial,
each would have testified that there are
.1 V. . wilt Am.
IUIIIBB TV uau nuuicu ill uv humb v
arhlrh thev are not accountable.
This fact has been proven hundreds of
times. Unnstural feelings and desires
sre very common even finding expres
sion in theft and worse.
Is there not a possibility that the
crime which that desperate girl com
mitted would not look to us like a crime
If we could but know all? Might it not
be possible that the poor girl's mind
waa a little affected from the awful cir
cumstances under which she was forced
to live? Numbers of mothers, even un
der favorable circumstances, have en
tirely lost their minds at such times.
One Hillsboro mother even tried to kill
her own baby.
It is to be hoped that the complaint
made against wretched Sybil Wolfe was
not made by a woman especially one
who had ever been a mother. If it was.
It Is to be hoped that the next time
she has an occasion to accuse a girl In
such a condition, she will at least wait
until the poor thing Is well, that she
may be better able to stand such an
ordeal, and thue give the unborn child
a fair chance. MRS. LORA PIZER.
Questions for Single Taxers.
PORTLAND, April 21 (To the Editor.)
Some of the large landowners who are
selling their holdings as expeditiously as
possible favor the single tax they get
your money then are ardent supporters
of "tax on land only."
Some of the enthusiastic ones, whom
the writer has talked with, wave their
arms In windmill fashion and exclaim:
"The land belongs to no one It is free
and Is intended for the use of all man
kind."
All of the above may be true. It may
be right and proper to "relieve" you
of your hard-earned dollars and then ad
vocate tax on land only. But to be con
sistent, the land should revert to the
Indians from whom the Government
stole it in the first Instance.
The writer would like to know several
thlnss:
First If single tax is adopted, how
much land will be confiscated and revert
back to the Government or state?
Second Who will make up the "de
ficlt" In taxation on land lost through
confiscation?
Third Will not the enactment of such
a law be a boon to the long-euffering
capitalist whom our sincere and mis
guided socialist so constantly hammers?
Fourth The enactment or sucn a law
will most certainly cause land values
(the unearned Increment) to drop. There
will be no bottom to the drop. In this
event, will not the person who hae lm
proved his land be the main and only
source from wnicn revenue (taxes) can
be derived? And will not this Individ
ual wish he were dead instead of a tax
payer?
Fifth Will not rents and cost of liv
ing be advanced in price because of the
Increased tax on Improved land?
Sixth Then, after all the fuss and
trouble, what Is the reeult? Will it not
be depreciation of land values, the source
of all wealth, and a consequent Increase
in cost of living? '
Seventh Will not. the wage-earner pay
for .the experiment and the holder of
bonds and mortgages reap the most
benefit?
Eighth To sum It all up: A certain
amount of money is required to run our
Government. Then why not everybody
pay for its maintenance?
R. H. BLOSSOM.
Profitable Sideline.
Enterprise Chieftain.
L. 3. Selby, of West Grossman, was
In Friday to collect the bounty on
three lynxes and three bob cats he had
killed. The bounty is $2 per head,
but the skins sell for far more the
eats bringing from $S to $7 each, and
the lynxes $25 each. Mr. Selby had
already disposed of one lynx and one
cat ekin this Winter, besides collect
ing the bounty and selling the skins
Of seven coyotes at $6.50 each. So Mr.
Selby's trapping has brought him in
nearly $200 this Winter, besides the
fun he has had.
Mr. Selby says the lynxes travel In
families, the family that took up Its
residence near his homestead number
ing six, and he got four of them.
Timely Tales of the Day
Nobody will say that H. C. McAllister,
ex-Master Fish Warden, is not a good
fellow, but at that he does not like to
be "worked." But that is Just what
happened to him the other day. Enter
ing his office, "a well-dressed and prosperous-looking
woman Introduced her
self and explained that she was desirous
of renting a house for herself and hus
band. Mr. McAllister immediately called
an automobile and spent the next four
hours escorting his prospective customer
throughout the city in an inspection of
residences he had listed for rental.
In all, about 20 residences were visited
and the woman made a critical inspec
tion of each from basement to garret,
paying particular attention to the ar
rangement of the rooms. But it was
not until the 20th residence was being
inspected that McAllister so much as
surmised that he was being "worked."
While looking through this house, the
woman made a remark which led the
real estate dealer to conclude that her
mission was merely to sfudy out plans
for building a home of her own.
McAllister said nothing, but later,
when he discharged the .chauffeur, ob
tained a receipted bill for $16 covering
the toll on the machine for the after
noon. He called the next day at the of
fice of the woman's husband, and, after
briefly r;elp.Ti ing the circumstances, said
he expected the husband to pay the bill.
"Here's the money," sa'cl the husband
with a smile as he handed McAllister
$16, "and there is no question but that
I should pay for the automobile. The
truth of it Is my wife had no Idea of
renting any of your houses. She was
merely studying out plans for a resi
dence we expect soon to construct on
the suburban lot we bought last week."
This one is told on Postmaster Mer
rick, but in sooth he strenuously denies
the impeachment.
Merrick has a rising young hopeful
whose name is Patrick, and the other
day on the streetcar the conductor
called off a lot of names Fuch as Glisan,
Hoyt, Johnson, Lovejoy, Pettigrove, etc,
"Papa, where did they get all those
funny names? asked "Pat."
"They're named after old pioneers.
exclaimed Pater Merrick. "When some
big man dies, they name some street
after him to remember him by."
"Well, papa, you're a big man, aren't
your'
Being both Postmaster and weighing
well up in avoirdupois, father had to
sit in modest silence.
"Say, papa," went on the irrepressible
young Patrick, "have you got any streets
named alter you 7
"No, I haven't, Pat," replied C. B.
sternly," and
"well, why don t you die and get one?
was Patrick's final shot before he was
threatened with personal violence from
the head of the family.
There is a Rose City Park housewife
who doesn't know whether it is al
ways a good rule to be kind and pa
tient to the streetcar men. She had
made it a practice to do so with good
success until the other afternoon, when
she made a number of purchases down
town and was pretty well encumbered
with bundles. She rang the bell nearly
a block before reaching her street, and
the conductor, who was talking to a
passenger on the back platform, failed
to give the stop signal and carried the
passenger on to the next block.
Aa the woman got off from the car
she remarked to the conductor:
I rang the bell for the last street
back. In a surly tons he retorted:
'Well, you're strong enough to walk
one block, aren t you?
The woman was furious but made no
reply to his Impudence. The next day
she went to town and it so happened
the same conductor was on the car, and
what was the woman's utter amaze
ment when the carman epoke up as he
took her rare:
'I hope you are better natured this
morning than you were last night."
She said nothing, but called up her
nusoand s oriice when she reached
town. He in turn notified the street
car company and the conductor was
called into headquarters, given a repri
mand and ten days' layoff to think it
over.
John C. McCue tells this one on
friend of his whom he helped home by
the taxlcab route a few nights ago
after the eald friend had counted the
bubbles in so many wine bottles that
his brain, tongue and feet were af
fected.
"The old boy sure had a cargo on. In
fact he was so plumb loaded that if he
had taken Just one more drink the
underwriters would have raised the
rate on him. I got him home all right,
but when he went to search himself
for the fare he apologized several times
to the front wheel of the taxicab and
every now and then to the driver, all
the time fumbling in hie pockets.
finally he confessed to the driver
that he would have to write out a
check for the bill.
'Haven't you got the change?" asked
the norseless Jehu.
vnange, my iriena r and with a
tragic pose he pu!led both his pockets
wrong side out and exclaimed: 'Change!
Why, young man. I'm as changeless as
the eternal stars.'
"The driver wouldn't take the check.
and I knew my friend had plenty of
money, so I helped him search, and we
finally unearthed the price of the cab.
"After paying the chauffeur, my
friend embraced a young maple tree
which he saw going by just at that
moment, and, with a wobbly shake of
his finger in the approximate direction
wnere I stood, he chuckled:
Shay, J-John, thash pretty good
wnai i said aDout the everlashing stars
being broke, wasn't it?' "
LOIVDOX'S ODD FIRST THEATERS.
Early. Playhouses Were Modeled After
the Courtyard of An Inn.
New York Sun.
The second in the series of current
lectures on the development of the
English drama on which Brander
Matthews and the forces of the New
Theater are at present collaborating-
iook piace tne otner afternoon. The
scenes were taken from a play In the
repertory of the New Theater, "The
Winter's Tale." But it proved to be
one of its most distinguished successes
last season and was acted in part yes
terday for one of the few times it has
been seen this year.
Professor Matthews' task was to trace
the progress of the English drama from
the period of the morality down to the
days of Shakespeare. He sketched the
steps by which the actors, gradually be
coming professional entertainers, took to
acting In the Inns under the protection
of some noble, were later banished from
the city of London and then built their
first theaters, taking as their model the
courtyard of the inn, which was the only
kind of a playhouse ever known to them.
London s great Interest In the drama In
those early days was shown by the ex
istence of seven theaters, which meant in
relation to the population more than New
York possesses today. Only three exist
ed a century later in Paris.
Earth Is Enouch.
Edwin Markham In tha Nautilus.
We men of Garth have here the stuff
Of Paradise we have enough !
We need no other ,thing to build
Tha stairs Into the Unfulfilled
No other ivory for the doors
No tther marble for the floors
No other cedar for the beam
And dome of man's immortal dream.
Hera on the paths of everyday
Hera an tha common human way
Is all the stuff the Rods would take
To build a Heaven, to mold and mat
New Edens. Ours tha stuff sublime
To build Eternity in time!
Advertising Talks
By William C. Freeman.
I saw a remarkable advertisement In
a recent Issue of the Arkansas Gazette
(Little Rock).
It was an advertisement of the O. K.
Hooek Piano Co, beaded "I'P With
the Standard of Honeatyi Down With,
the Shield of Deception."
After an Introduction defining the
policy of the firm, the following rea
sons were printed. They are so lull of
sound common sense that they are a
guide to the beginner in advertising
and to some advertisers as well:
"We conduct no fake prlae contest
for the following reasons:
"Goods that have a value will sell
at that value.
"Shrewd buyers do not expect to
purchase at less than rightful value. -
"The house that fixes prices and ad
heres consistently to them must of ne
cessity fix conservative prices.
"Standard values insure regnia
prices. When there is no regularity of
price there is no certainty of value.
"It does not require an expert to buy
from a one-price no-commission house.
In the multi-price house it requires
skillfulness of the buyer to insure cor
rectness of price.
"If too much is asked to start with,
how are you to judge what Is really
correct? Can you depend on the man
who confessedly tried to get too much
in the beginning?
"If you know piano value well
enough to protect yourself against the
multi-price plan, why not fix the rtbt
price in the beginning?
"When a salesman asks $400 for a
piano and then takes $300 he confesses
a willingness to get $100 of your money
which does not belong to him."
Here is another phrase that is sound:
"Value represents the cost of produc
tion, plus a reasonable profit. That Is
aa It should be, and Is fair to all."
Many advertisers throughout the
United States using local newspapers
are taking a decided stand for the
one-price system.
They are not putting fictitious val
ues on their merchandise. They buy it
as reasonably as they can and add a
legitimate profit to the cost and then
sell it.
That's all there is to conducting a
good, reputable, reliable business.
(To be continued.)
Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe
(Copyrigh. 1911, by George Matthaw
Adams.)
Ever notice, when a man Is hurt who
carries an accident policy, how long he
Is hurt?
The world Is full of men who want
better Jobs, who are not willing to do
better work.
No good-ldoklng man likes to work.
Witnesses usually refer to it as "that
fool lawsuit."
Do you remember any particular say
ing of your father's? My father was
always saying, "That abominable boy,"
meaning me.
The world feels sorry for the man
in continual bad luck, but it has no re
spect for him.
Ever notice, when a dog follows a
woman, how she stamps her foot an
grily and says. "Go home, sir!" And
the dog pays no more attention than
do her husband and boys.
In seven cases out of ten, when a
woman goes into a dry goods store, she
does not want to buy; she goes in to
iook around.
In looking back over his past every
man must admit that the sun was often
bright when he made no hay.
I have remarked that a good many
people get along pretty well without
my approval.
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonian April 23, 1S61.
The property known as the Linn City
Works, or Mills, was destroyed by nre
on Tuesday night. The fire was dis
covered in the sawmill about twenty
minutes before twelve, and spread with
such rapidity that the lives of those
asleep about the mills were endan
gered. The steamers Relief and Clin
ton were lying above the Falls by the
warehouse, and the latter was totally
consumed. The Relief was towed up
out of danger and was only slightly
damaged by the flames. Her upper
works took fire but were easily extin
guished.
Thi destruction of the Linn City
warehouses has placed the trade of the
Willamette in a very ugly predicament.
There are no houses for storage, and
the machinery for sending freight over
the Falls is entirely destroyed. The
news of the destruction of property
there was scarcely reported on the
streets, before the old idea of a rail
road from Canemah to Oregon City
was revived, and excited much inter
est. At a meeting of the "Pioneer Boat
Club," at the Commercial Room, Tues
day night, the following officers were
elected: President, J. W. Vanschuyver;
secretary, B. G. Whltehouse; treasurer.
C. P. Ferry; coxwain, R. C. Hallock.
ST. LOUIS, April 6. P. M. A dis
patch from Charleston says that
Charleston has today been In a state of
excitement unequalled since the first
secession movements. A crisis Is at
hand. The appearance of a schooner
off the harbor yesterday evening, her
attempt to pass the batteries here, and
her subsequent mysterious disappear
ance all have aroused apprehensions
of the most serious character. The mili
tary leaders have been unusually act
ive all day, and members of the con
vention now in session belonging to
the several fortifications have been
ordered on their stations. A thousand
rumors are In circulation, the principal
of which indicates that Fort Sumpter
will be attacked in the course ot a
few days.
Over the Asphalt Sea.
New York Times.
Oh. sail with me o'er the asphalt sea.
The tide doth favor us;
Though the waves beat high, both snug
and dry
, la tba good ship Motor Bus.
X.lke a racer brave she takes the wave
That would her course disturb.
From her upper deck we count each wreck
A-rottlng on tha curb!
Aa down she sinks from the billows' brinks
She Quivers to tne Keel;
Thank God for the hand that's In command
And the stout heart at the wheel!
There's many a shoal to try the soul
And many a depth unplumbed:
Our course we mark by the noble bark
That to the sea succumbed!
Oh. sail with ma o'er the asphalt sea
In this gallant craft of mine;
The bravest choose the avenues.
Let cowards sail the brine. ' , i