8
TOE MORXIXO OREOOXIAX. THUnSDAT, APRIL 27, 1911.
Ca:r4 at Portlaad. Oragoo, Poatotflca aa
-ot4ii Vattar
ttubacripuoa iiaiaa lavaxlablr In Advance.
(BI MAIL)
ain4ir fartuta4. an rar M ee
Bunch
Xll. S-indar tacludaxL. aia
&at.a. Sunday Ia-lua4. thrsa muattl.
li:y. ttuatlay tnclutiaU. oaa rnonlik.. . .
l-wi:?. without S.ta.lay. ont Mar
rial r. S.d i. i oi"nin
V::r. wl'hout tan lay. t.lraa monibl. .
I -a;; v. ltouc Sunday, oaa monlb
XV aa.'. ona vaar
un1T. ona yaar...
assoajr ax. a !. en year
(BI CAf.RIERI
rvilly. MnfltT tnrladad. M yaar....... 9-
lair ioniltr laclui-i. oca month.....
Mow to Kemii sasd poatoffica monay
. .TJ
.
. T1
. .
. 1.30
. :
ported was of 11.000.000 lei valuation
than for the lima period In the pre
vious teuon. The details of our Im
ports thus show that there Is a dis
tinct advantage In heavy Importations
of some articles and also an advan
tage In lessening Importations of others.
THE NEW CANADIAN 4.
The coronation programme in Lon
don, which ma to have included a
highly spectacular representation of
the defeat, through strategy, of the
invading American force In 1812 by a
handful of Canadians, will be changed
by- the elimination of this suggestive
0 J number. The reason given for the
1 ' abandonment of this feature, accord
ing to a London cable. I a fear that
clean, healthy meat, clean hides, clean
dairy products and increased growth
in the cattle Industry at large.
The state government will, no doubt,
rise to meet any emergency that Is
llkelv to affect this Industry and so
will deceptive wording of amendment
texts win more than once when orig
inating in the same, source.
The State Board .of Forestry, in
dealing with the forest fire problem.
forestall the threatened quarantine by seems to have adopted Hie old rule
the Federal Government. ! that "an ounce of prevention is better
Spring Is advancing slowly upon the ; than a pound or cure." in pursuance
great ranges as compared with It ad- of that policy they have decided to
vane In the Willamette Valley and enact very stringent rules which aim
Southern Oregon. The cattle on the to prevent fire rather than provide
southeastern ranges are weak from Jr fl ghtlng " after it h started,
the condition imposed by an un- , Preliminaries have been arranged for
3, T.'n ciVs r "Si.;; tho Pear.t might wound the sus
r at tao andr a r:. iiir poatorftro 1 ceptlbtllties of American visitors to
Wlraaa la rull. la
Pasta Ral
to X cat, i tacts, J
n to . ca
aoubja rata.
ir a r:. iiir poatorftro I ceptlbtllties of American visitors
u r-T-.' r-.tTi.lh .tion and might endanger
i to km. a ant: : me ponciiuion pi mv jirujiwwu aihiw
a:a. Fo.-ia posts. American arbitration treaty." In view
ftstara Rnolaaaa Offlrfo
Ita Na- York. Pruntalcf.
Verr Con-but:d:nc-
CM-
roru.D. mi RsD.tr. apbil xt. mil
NtARINO DOCEK U.M.
It U a common opinion, based on
long experience, that It Is easy to bor
row but hard to pay. Seattle has Just
been warned that it is also hard to
borrow and Portland needa to take
warning by Seattle's experience.
Portland is gaining In population
and wealth so rapidly that there Is
naturally a continual demand for pub
lic improvements to keep pace with
the city's growth. Many of these are
tsaenttal if progress is to continue and
re of such a nature that they cannot , the
of a good many other event that oc
curred In the wars of lSli and 1778.
It seems strange that our neighbors,
who are now so distressingly fond of
American gold, should have had any
intention of making such an exhibi
tion. It Is somewhat difficult for the av
erage Englishman, who 'dearly love
a lord." to understand that Canada,
by reason of its close proximity to the
United States and because of the close
social and business relations of the
people of the two nations, has grown
away from some of the ancient man
ners and customs of those who still
fawn at the feet of royalty. The aver
age Canadian, and especially the West
ern Canadian, has more respect for
man who ha risen from the
be paid for out of current revenue: in ' ranks and reached wealth and Tame
fact, g jod business Judgment requires by his own exertions than he has for
that the necessary funds be provided the sprigs of decaying royalty who
by long-time loans. Other proposed ' are sent from England to govern
usually long and severe Winter and are
not only susceptible to the disease
which is reported to exist to a consid
erable extent among them, but are too
weak to be subjected to the effective
treatment of the dipping tank. With
in another month, however, these con
ditions will Improve and by the observ
ance of due diligence all danger of
quarantine will be avoided.
It is reported that the cattle mange
has entered Oregon from Northern
California. This is a feature that also
calls for rigid investigation and action.
Oregon must not beur the brunt of
laxity In other states.
DOWIE'8 DEBTS.
There are thousands of people in
the world who will read with pleasure
that the debts of the late Alexander
Fish and Game Commissioners, by
which It is hoped to have two deputy
fish and game warden in each county
act with the fire wardens. The
board is also engaged in a campaign
of education in which literature is be
ing sent all over the state warning
people of the necessity for precaution
against starting dangerous forest fires.
The property loss by forest fires an
nually runs into millions, and most of
it Is the result of carelessness. The
infliction of drastic punishment on a
few of the careless hunters or camp
era early la the season will have a
wholesome effect, and with an ade
quate number of. wardens It will not
bo difficult to round up the offenders.
I Dr. Lane's idea of larger- blocks and
I fewer streets in the suburbs la one
Dowle have been paid in full. In spite that suburban dwellers ought to ap
of appearances, he was solvent when prove. Had the residence district been
he died, and the financial trouble
which embittered his latter years were
caused by the meddlesomeness- of ,
others and not by his own failings. I
Dowle's fame as a prophet waned as I
he approached the grave, but it did
not disappear by any means. Many of !
Improvements can fairly be clawed a
luxuries, with which we can dispense
until the Decenaries are provided.
An Eastern firm of bond-buyers has
recently Informed the city of Seattle
that 1: will not bid on a proposed new
Issue of bonds by that city, both be
cause the bonded debt of the city has
already reached seven per cent of the
assessed valuation and because It Is
proposed to expend the proceeds of
the bond sale In a municipal street
railway. This firm CTrrtIJcT seven
per cent the limit of safety beyond
which a city cannot go In mortgaging
Itself.
Study, of the financial status of
Portland show that this city Is ap
proaching the safe limit a.' to ratio
of debt to uscMcd value. The valu
ation In 1911 is In round numbers
S302.00O.OO0: the bonded debt of all
kinds already Issued or authorized is
Sll.J2i.500. To this it Is proposed to
add under proposition to be voted on
at the coming city election. $J. SIS. 000.
This would make, if all the proposi
tions were carried, a total of 120.
430.500. The seven per cent limit of
safety would be 121.140.000. Hence
Canada and whose birth alone pre
vents their being thrown into the dis
card.
This growing spirit of independence
Is largely the result of a heavy immi
gration of Americans to Canada. Too
much Plnchotlsm has cost this coun
try several hundred thousand of the
best kind of citizens, who. in taking
advantage of the more liberal land
laws and other attractions which Can
ada holds out to them, very seldom so
far forget the spirit of 177 a to show
any Inclination for a monarchical
form of government.
This determination of the Ameri
cana who have invaded Canada to re
main Independent and refuse to kow
tow to royalty has made a great Im
pression on the progressive Canadians.
It has been a potent Influence in pro
ducing the sentiment favorable to
reciprocity. These musty traditions
and remnant of resentment which
are responsible for the preparation of
the pageant proposed for the corona
tion exercises will find favor . only
with a narrow-minded element which
till prefers watery royalty to red-
blooded democracy. Fortunately for
laid out upon the basis thus rec
ommended for it suburbs, with
serving alleys where needed for the
accommodation of purveyors of house
hold supplies, an enormous sum of
money that has been spent upon the
Improvement of streets would have
hi followers trusted him to the last- been saved to property owners, wlth
and many still believe that he pos- out In the least detracting from their
Bested supernatural gifts. It must be 1 convenience. The plan would have
admitted candidly that their faith 1 . enhanced the beauty and cleanliness
not entirely unreasonable. Let any or- of these, sections. But residents want
dlnary human being attempt to do ed the streets and still want them. So
what Dowle did and he will quickly the street must be made and paid for
learn that he lacks some essential and paving companies In collusion
quality. I will continue to wax fat of purse and
The difference between such men as j arrogant In their demands. Simply
Dowie and the common run of human- stated, the streets cost money, but we
Ity is not one merely of degree. Ho I have got to have them,
had a faculty of which the rest of
us are destitute. We do not under-I Thftre decided difference of
lake to say that thi 'acuity was I- ,, , rd to the value of the
higher or lower than the ordinary . . . . - .mortwnt tha
nklllt,. tnanMnt Kilt 4 tL'fla t"J a w e
RUilillC ', IliUlinillU, a- ka W at,
talnly different. In its highest de
gree It has appeared very rarely.
Mohammed had it and so did Buddha,
not to mention such moderns as
Abdul Baha. Very likely none of
them had this mysterious gift in such
superabundance a Confucius.
But It Is manifested in an inferior
degree by many men who do not
dream of founding new religions.
Dowle had so much of the faculty that
he was' able to attract thousands
around him and build a new city. But
the authorization of all the proposed ! both Canadian and Americans, this
Federal grant still held by the South
ern Pacific in Oregon. According to
one estimate, that of Attorney Fenton,
for the railroad company, the major
portion of this land is not suitable for
homes. On the other hand, the at
torney for the Government contends
that much of the land is arable.
Neither opinion in this case can be
said to be unbiased, but there is some
logic In the contention that since the
even-numbered sections of land which
have been entered and occupied under
a l. V. a ah AaAn4 In -rwr A oaA oil rv r"t rt rt
llngford" posses. It to an extent by no j that th; odd.numbered sections, which
are In controversy, would not be sim
ilarly useful If settlers were allowed to
new bond Issues would bring us very
rlose to the margin. There are also
s-veral proposition to levy special
taxea for particular purpose, which
would increase the annual collections
and constitute an added burden,
though not Increasing the bonded
debt.
Under these circumstances the
voters would do well to consider care
fully whether each one of the pro
posed new bond Issues Is necessary be
fore casting his vote for It. He should
also consider whether the city will get
an adequate return on the money In
vested and whether the Investment
will not melt away before the bend
mature. The city was recently railed
upon to redeem some bonds when It
had absolutely nothing to show for
the money: the bonds continued to
exist and drew Interest after the
things for which It was Incurred had
been annihilated.
A bond issue Is a mortgage which
all of u must help to pay. A man
should be as cautious about mortgag
ing hi city as he would be about
mortgaging hi home.
element la rapidly vanishing and will
aoon become a negative force In keep
ing alive the embers of resentment
which long since ceased blazing.
! OCR DF.CLiNING EXTORTS.
! The political economists ho - pro-
fee to see in a big balance of trade In
' our favor evldfr.ee of prosperity will
J note In the March figures on Imports
very satisfactory showing. Not only
do the figures for the month show a
heavy decrease from the Imports for
the corresponding month of last year.
but the totals for the nine month
. ending with March are far enough be.
those of the previous season to
- please the most exacting believer in
. the theory that In order to be prosper-
ous we must sell to foreign countries
much more than we buy from them.
These imports shrunk from 1163.000,-
- 000 In March. 110. to S139.100.000 in
March. 111.
As our exports for March' and for
the season to date were much larger
.than for the ' preceding season, that
"balance of trade," a we term the
. difference in the amount that we buy
; and sell. Is steadily increasing. There
' still, however, remains a difference of
. opinion as to whether he.vvy Imports
are as-detrimental to onr prosperity as
. some of our people profess to believe.
W buy many article abroad because
there la a saving effected thereby.. The
money thus saved Is available for
other purposes at home. The imports
which are of the greatest economic
' value to this country are those articles
used In manufacture. In hides and
' skin Imported there was a decrease
. of more than SJ.000.000 In March. For
- the nine months the decrease ha been
i more than S38.00O.0OO.
In unmanufactured fibers there has
- &aan a decrease of S3.000.000. In
crude India, rubber the decrease for
- March was more than 310.000,000.
Part of the decrease In the figures on
rubber was due to much lower price
than prevailed a year ago. but In
nearly all other commodities the lower
. figure are accounted for almost en
tirely by the falling off in the demand.
In these Items, all of the possible
benefits accruing from the big balance
of trade In our favor are neutralized
because these lessening Imports of
articles which are used In our factories
in th production of other article
mean a corresponding reduction in the
demand for American labor and an
attendant diminishing in the purchas
ing power of our own people. The
preliminary report of the Department
of Commerce and Labor, from which
these figures are taken, shows heavy
decreases in two items which do not
portend any serious effect on th gen
eral trade situation.
Th Importations of diamonds
dropped from S33, 100.000 for the first
-IF I SHOULD DEE TONIGHT."
Nobody can be more peaceable than
a dead man. and therefore, from one
point of view, it waa singularly appro
priate that Governor Dlx should have
appointed the late General W. I. Bu
chanan, of Buffalo, a delegate to the
Third National Peace Conference,
Still the delegate to that lreulc gath
ering are supposed to make speeches
and vote upon resolution so that
dead man would fall in some of hi
duties unless be had control of a suit
able lady to act a his medium of
communication with hi fellow
apostles.
General Buchanan.. It appears, had
been resting In the grave for some two
years when Governor Dlx conferred
this posthumous distinction upon him
and the fact that he was not wholly
forgotten after so long an Interval
shows that reputation Is not th bub
ble which Horry Plercy called It. The
bursting does not take place Instan
taneously. Oblivion hungers for all
of u and for everything we love, but
sometimes It omnivorous appetite i
fot gratified for a few months or
years. Homer has lasted pretty well as
men and things go in this transient
world. The King who built the Sphinx
has lasted better still. In fact, he is
but coming Into his long-delayed and
well-deserved reputation.
We like to think that when we de
part thi life we shall not only be re
membered forever and a day, but that
we shall leave a rather big hole In
human affairs. The world will do it
level best to get along without us, but
there will be a difference. . Things
will wobble a little for many a long
day when we have gone to our long
home. Thus we like to fancy and no
doubt the comfort we obtain from
such reflection 1 proper enough. It
doe nobody any harm.
t But It Is all a delusion. Nobody is
' really needed in the world. The most
; evident fact of human life Is the
; superfluity of talent. The world Is
j so full of brain that no man's count
for a great deal. The more efficient
an eminent business genius Is the less
he will be missed when he is gone, for
it is part of his efficiency to organize
his business so thoroughly that it will
run Just as well without him.
General Buchanan la happy to have
been remembered for two long years,
but since the Governor did not know
he wa dead, he could not have left
much of a vacancy.
mnnna nitff ir h A It La rnis racuitv
which enables them to beguile their
fellows. The same Inexplicable arts
which drew the wandering and mar
tial Arab tribes around the standard
of Mohammed make the canny farmer
victim to the wiles of the gold brick
seller. A person with Dowle' faculty
can bend other men to nis win in
spite of themselves. He can convince
them In the face of the plainest facts
and lead them to do what they know
will be ruinous.
It is the secret of the power of the
"born orator." Even when he talk
nonsense he holds an audience better
than the most rational speaker who
lack the peculiar gift. Thi does not
prove that the audience are fools, but
it does prove that they are human.
occupy them.
A CATTLE JIAIIAT1E.
A quarantine against Oregon cattle
will. It Is Intimated, be declared by the
Federal Government unless rigid In
spection Is enforced against the cattle
of the Klamath and Lake County
ranges, reported to be infected with
mange. According to official reports
that have been sent to the Chief of
the Bureau of Animal Industry at
Washington there are between 13,000
and 14.000 cattle thus affected In Lake
County alone.
This is a condition which admits of
no lax method of treatment and none
win be tolerated by the Government.
It behooves our state authorities,
therefore, to act promptly, insistently
and Intelligently In this matter, lest
the stock Industry of the entire, state
suffer from a vexatious and costly
quarantine. It is well to remember In
this connection that we as a state are
putting our best foot forward Just now
In the Interest of an increased agricul
tural and pastoral population. Col
onist from near and far have come
thither aeeklnc to better their condl-
nir.e months of the season a year ago j tlon through environment and oppor-
to S25.200.000 for the same period this . tunlty. Almost without exception they
season. There was also a decrease or
more than S3. 000. 000 In the Importa
tions of champagne. Lace decreased
about SL000.O0O, and art work lm-
have been pleased with what they have
found here In climate, soli and varied
industrial opportunity. Of course, our
people a a whole ara interested in
MORE TAX. DECEPTION.
The last Legislative Assembly In Or
egon voted to submit to the people at
the next general election a constitu
tional amendment designed to repeal
the local option tax amendment which
the Fels single tax organization foisted
upon the people through deception In
1910. This repealing amendment pre
sents- an Issue that should be met
squarely and honestly by the single
tax association. Yet. aa The Orego-
nian understands the situation, only a
minority faction of the association in
Oregon desire to present its ' views
openly and above board, or feels that
honest defeat is better than dishonest
victory. Another faction, which un
doubtedly has gauged public senti
ment accurately and foresees adoption
of the Legislature's amendment, pre
fers an underhanded method. Hence
the split in the single tax organization.
Somo days ago an attempt was
started to build up sentiment for a
S3000 exemption on personal property
and improvements. The plan aa now
revealed 1 to use the S3000 exemp
tion clause aa a vote-catcher in the
manner that the poll tax Inhibition
was employed In the single tax amend
ment In the last election. The new
amendment is to be worded so that
if it obtain a preponderance of votes
even over the Legislature's amend
ment the exemption amendment will
prevail and nullify the other. In
brief, Mr. Fels employes foresee the
Inevitable approval of an amendment
voiding their former successes and
plan by trickery to subvert the will
of the people.
The Insurrection caused in the rank
of the single-taxera by such unscru
pulous methods apparently has not re
sulted In abandonment of the plan.
Elsewhere today The Oregonlan print
a communication, dated at ilc.Mlnn
vlile and bearing the signature of S.
W. Babcock. Another communica
tion, dated at Portland and signed by
Alfred D. Crldge, Is also published.
The two were unquestionably written
on the same typewriter in Portland.
"Mr. Babcock" ask if a sort of step
rate exemption on Improvements of
twenty-five per cent each year for four
year might not be applied In Ore
gon. It would not. If presented so
the people know what they are voting
on.
Thi correspondent has made an un
happy choice In locating his letter-
writing in McMinnville. Yamhill
County wa one of the first settled
portion of Oregon and is a typical
farming community. Its decision In
matters of taxation may therefore be
taken as good indications of what the
farmers want. Yamhill County has
spoken four time on radical changes
In the tax system. In 190S Yamhill
voted against single tax to the tune
of 2343 to 769. In 1910 it gave sub
stantial majorities against each of the
two Grange amendments, either of
htch. If adopted, would have per
mitted personal property exemptions.
In 1910 it also voted against the
single-tax local option measure.
In view of actual election returns
It 1s futile for Portland agitators to
assert that the farmer of Yamhill
County want a radical change In tax
methods. Such misrepresentation will
not help the cause of single tax nor
According to Washington advice,
there has been an enormous accumu
lation of cash in the reserve and cen
tral reserve cltiea. Money Is more
plentiful In these reserve cities and in
the banking institutions in New York
than it has been for many years. Much
of this accumulation of cash la due to
hesitancy on the part of the public
about Investing until the financial at
mosphere has been clarified by the Su
preme Court decisions in the -trust
cases. Another reason is the prepara
tion for crop-moving that is always
begun- about this time of the year. As
a surplus of money In the bank Is sel
dom profitable to Its owners, we may
expect a loosening of this supply as
soon as the unfavorable Influences are
removed.
Mrs. Carrie Kersh, sobbing and pro
testing her Innocence of complicity In
the murder of William Johnson, ha
entered the penitentiary to begin a
term of fifteen years' Incarceration.
Since, from the evidence adduced, she
Is guilty of the crime charged, there Is
little call for sympathy for this wo
man, especially since she is now pro
vided, at the expense of the taxpayers
of the state, with a home for the next
fifteen year far superior In comfort
and leisure to that of the ordinary
honest woman of the working class.
Moreover, since society needs all the
protection it can or Is likely to get
from women of her kind, there would
seem to be no call for weeping at the
plight In which Mr. Kersh finds her
self.
'
Tha almost weekly coal mine dis
aster I reported this time from West
Virginia. The only new feature of this
latest Incident in a great Industry is
that the entombed miners are almost
without exception Americans. Nat
urally it may be supposed, the distress
incident to abject poverty in the. fam
ilies of the unfortunate men is less
than in the case of improvident for
eigners who live constantly up to the
small wage of the underground toil
era, and who are left by the death of
the earner without bread for the morrow.
The City Attorney of Medford has
advised electricity consumers they
need not pay rent for the meters and
offers to conduct a test case. It is out
of all reason that a man be compelled
to pay such charge. The butcher and
grocer can as conveniently collect for
use of the scales.
Forty thousand settlers, mostly
Scots, is the record of immigration
Into Western Canada through Halifax
this yars It is too bad they did not
get the right steer.
Only two per cent of the co-eds at
Chicago University plan to marry, the
others scorn the Idea. But man pro
poses and .the fates settle the question.
SINGLE TAX IS SMALL DOSES
Mr. Crldare Say Plan Is tfo Feed It to
Oregon Gradually.
PORTLAND. April 25. To the Edi
tor.) In The Oregonlan of today R.
H. Blossom asks eight questions about
the single tax. all of which, as he
says, are embodied in the eighth, "A
certain amount of money is required
to run our Government. Then why not
everybody pay for its maintenance?"
Everybody does, only maay pay more
than their share, and a fewyfay almost
nil, shifting their burdens upon those
who earn their bread by the sweat of
their face. .
Everybody uses land, however, and
in proportion to the value of the land
they use they pay the taxes levied on
It. Labor (of hand and brain) pro
duces all wealth and pays all taxes. It
also pays all tbo vast sums received
by land owners and franchise owners
and holders for getting out of the way
of labor and allowing it access to the
earth. This tax levied by private par
ties and corporations upon labor for
the use of the earth Is many Xtimes
more than that levied for and by our
local, state and general governments.
The governments rive something in
return, but the land speculator, land
lord and landowner do nothing what
ever but get out of the way and let
other people work for them. The hold
ing out of use nine-tenths of the land
creates an artificial scarcity and value
for the remainder, which is exacted In
one form or another, at one time or
another, from the user whether he is a
tenant or an owner. The worker goes
to market with the burden of land
values paid to idlers on one shoulder
and the burden of Government on the
other. The land value paid to private
parties could Just as well be paid to
the Government, leaving labor that
much more of his products.
A tax on land values cannot be
shifted, for the landowner collects all
he can now. If land values and spe
cial privileges in franchises are taxed
more and products of labor less the re
sult is more land thrown upon the
market and a reduction of price or
rent, so that the tax cannot be shifted
to the worker.
These facts have been demonstrated
in actual practice, so that they are
out of the realm of theory in Van
couver and several other cities in
British Columbia, New Zealand and Au
stralia. Germany and other places,
where the DrinciDle is cartly applied.
There is no proposal to apply the 1
full single tax all at once or at any
time in the future by date or number
in Oregon. The result of such measures
as are proposed would be gradual and
no doubt for several years would cause
some increase in land values by reason
of the rush of population and capital
to take advantage of the natural op
portunities of Oregon; but such in
crease would be less than would other
wise be the case because governments
wouW take more of it than they do
now, leaving less margin for the specu
lator apd more for the producer.
It. H. Blossom can obtain in several
of the book stores full information on
the subject, and if he wishes a con
ference and the demonstration of eight
or 80 answers to his questions can
secure it by setting a date and making
his whereabouts known.
. ALFRED D. CRIDGE.
Timely Tales of the Day
Marriage Propoaal By Signal Code.
London Tit-Blta.
It was an unconventional manner in
which Lord Kelvin "popped the ques
tion," and in the doing so won his wife.
The question of simplifying the method
of signaling at sea was then occupying
his attention. His plan eeemed simple
to him, but to ordinary folk it wad
rather puzzling. He was staying with
day the.. .8ub3e;t J K f ,h d'"?U l," i want to see pim."
I will be glad to do it. I know him
Gregory Heights has a commuter
who always believes in looking out for
himself and he takes particular delight
in venting his spleen on the streetcar
men operating on his line. After h
had made numerous reports about the
alleged misconduct and lack of cour
tesy on the part of the boys and had
complained that he had been forced to
wait anywhere from 15 to 50 minutes
ror his car, the streetcar company be
gan to investigate, and with more
fruitful results than was expected. One
day he dropped into the main offices
with the statement that he had waited
45" minutes for a car the night before.
"Yes," said General .Superindendent
Franklin. "I know It too you 45 min
utes to get your car last night. I have
a report on it from the Inspectors right
here. It says that you reached the cor
ner of Fifth and Washington at 6:05.
men alter waiting three minutes you
weni over across to a saloon and you
met a man you knew and you drank
two bourbon highballs and staid there
seven minutes.
"Then you went out to the corner and
the car had gone. Three minutes later
Tom went back to the same saloon and
you had three more highballs you
bought one yourself, the other fellow
bought one and the house bought the
inira: Tnai took you 11 minutes,
"You came out again and another car
had gone. That time you waited five
minutes and at 6:34 you went into an
other saloon on the other corner and
you drank one highball and one straight
wnlsky and when you came out again
the third car was half way to Fourth
on Washington street and you had to
run like a whitehead to catch it. Here's
the report, look it over for yourself.'
Not a complaint has originated from
that source since then and that waa
fully three weeks ago.
That even a Councilman likes to be
gallant was aptly illustrated at a re
cent session of the street committee,
when a pretty young woman entered
the room and engaged Councilman
Baker in conversation. She asked him
some questions concerning a subject in
which she was interested and he
loaned her a nice, new pencil to make
some notes. Mr. Baker was not a mem
ber of the committee and sat at one
side. She sat at the table around which
the members of the committee were
gathered and when her notes were com
pleted arose and went over to Mr. Baker.
She left the pencil on the table.
Councilman Menefee, a handsome and
impressive man. thought he saw an op
portunity to do a gentlemanly act. He
arose, picked up the pencil, took it to
the young woman and said, "Here, ma
dame. Is your pencil," in his most win
some raaner.
"I thank you, sir," she said. "Just
hand It to Mr. Baker it's his."
Whereat, there was a general laugh,
in which Councilman Menefee and the
'Oung woman joined.
Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, when
making the trip from Sacramento, Cal.,
to Portland expressed great Interest in
the hunting possibilities of Oregon as
he was riding on the Shasta Limited.
When President Campbell of the State
University greeted him and made
known his connection with the state's
interests he asked:
"Do you know a man by the name of
Finley?"
"Flnley? Finley? Seenis to me that
I have heard of him," was the educa
tor's reply.
"He is a bird man," said the Colonel.
"Oh, you mean John Finley, president
of the State Audubon Society?"
"Yes, he's the man. Now I must see
him when I get to Portland and I wish
at the dinner table, but the only per
son that eeemed able to grasp it was
his host's daughter, a woman he great
ly admired.
"I quite understand. Sir William,"
she said.
"Are you sure?" he questioned, half
doubtfully. "If I sent you a signal
from my yachl. do you think you could
read It, and answer me?"
"I believe I should succeed in mak
ing It out," was the reply.
The signal was sent, and she did suc
ceed in making it out, and transmitting
the reply. The question was: "Will
you marry me?" and the answer was:
"Yes."
Advertising Talks
By William C. Freeman.
Somebody said, once upon a time
"It la enay for a man to resist temp
tation who has never encountered It."
Applied to advertlsicg, this means
that we must not be too critical of the
merchants who have yielded to the
temptation of exacfceratlon in their
printed announcements.
They fell into the habit because
everybody around them seemed to prac
tice It, so they were tempted to try to
get business in this manner and they
yielded.
One of the hardest things in the
world to do is to break away from hab
it, particularly if that habit is not re
garded as harmful.
That Is why it is going to be hard
to persuade many merchants to change
their habit of conducting special sales,
mentioning unusual values, and doing
other things in their advertising an
nouncements that custom has tolerated
for so long.
Ask any merchant who makes a prac
tice of advertising comparative prices
and reduction sales, and 99 times out
of 100 he will answer
"The people expect this sort of thing
they do not respond to advertising
unless it offers unusual Inducements."
Ask him again why he persists In
doing this kind of advertising when en
lightened public opinion is against It
and then he will answer:
"I cannot afford to confine my adver
tising to a mere statement of fact-
the people expect bargains, whether
they get them or not."
One by one, however, merchants are
changing their advertising methods,
and the wisdom of avoiding the temp
tation of custom is impressing itself
on their minds, because they find they
get better returns from plain, homely,
matter of fact advertising.
They find also that this kind of ad
vertising builds a greater confidence In
their store and in their merchandise.
The new advertiser the beginner
finds It easy to resist temptation in this
matter, because he has never encoun
tered it so he atarta right and reaches
success by the quicker route. He sees
before he starts the uselessnes of ex
aggeration and nilstatement.
Connlry Town Sayings by Ed Howe
Steps Toward Single Tax.
M'MIN'NVILLE, Or.. April 21. (To
the Editor.) I do not wish to occupy
your valuable space in consideration
of matters that may not be estimated
to be of importance, but desire to call
your attention to the fact that the Leg
islature of Saskatchewan has passed a
law quite recently allowing cities and
towns to take taxes from improvements
in a sort of step-rate method, exempt
ing 25 per cent each year for four
years. Might not something of this
sort be applied in Oregon? Farmers
from that section of the continent tell
me that owing to such exemption very
largely being allowed agriculturists a
tax on a farmer there of 37 would be
Increased to ten times that in Yamhill
County with about the same amount of
possessions. Of course we have' need
for more road expenditures than they
have, but the farmers of this part of
the country seem to think some, change
must be had in our tax methods.
S. W. "BABCOCK.
California's petroleum product this
year amounts to over 332,000,000, but
wait until the Malheur drillers make a
strike to see the Oregon yield equal it.
To an ordinary observer it looks
as If . state f rimer uuuiway is not
part of the state machinery, hence he
must move out of the Capitol.
Enforcing the curfew law is proper,
if the parents co-operate. Not all the
burden should rest on the police.
Let the timbrel be "whanged! At
torney Dunlway ha found another ob
ject of objection.
Sending the landlord of a disorderly
house to Jail for a month is one good
way.
Oiling the streets has begun and
Summer is at hand.
Calling the "Colonels Bluff."
.Housekeeper.
During the Spanish-American War,
soon after Andy Burt was made Colonel
of the Twenty-fifth colored regiment,
he informed his men, then at Chlcka
mauga, that they must play ball half
an hour every day in order to get
hardened up. "And while we are play
ing," he said, "remember that I am
not Colonel Burt, but simply Andy
Burt." During the first game the Colo
nel lined out what was a sure homo
run. "Run, Andy, run, you tallow-faced,
knock-kneed galoot." yelled a black
soldier at the coaching line. The Colo
nel stopped at first base, , got another
player to take his place, put on his
uniform and announced: "I am Colonel
Burt until further orders."
Kamea of Ministers Abroad.
FOREST GROVE, April 25. (To the
Editor.) What are the names of the
ministers from the United States Us
the following foreign governments:
England, France, Germany, Italy, Rus
sia, China, Japan, Mexico?
CARL O. PETERSON
Great Britain, Whitelaw Reld;
France, Robert Bacon: Germany, DaviJ
J. Hill (recently resigned); Italy, Jonn
G. A. Lelshman; Russia. William W.
Rockhlll; China, William J. Calhoun:
Japan, Thomas J. O'Brien; Mexico,
Henry L. Wilson.
Spokane ex-Policeman Arrested.
SEATTLE, Wash., April 25. Dan Ka
len, a former policeman of Spokane,
indicted by a grand Jury in that city
for violation of the wnite siave law,
was arrested In Port Townsend today
and will be taken tonight to Spokane
for trial.
Bohemian Cattle Halt Flowing.
London Tit-Bits.
Owing to a scourge of the foot-and-mouth
disease among the cattle in all
parts of Bohemia, many of the farmers
were not able to finish their Fall plow
ing, as these animals are used largely
in place of horses.
The Stone Age In 1911. ,
London . Telegraph.
The native of New Guiana have been
found living as if to the stone age.
well," was Mr. Campbell's reply.
"I have taken a great interest in hi
articles upon the pheasant. You know
I am deeply interested In this bird an
would like to hear more about it- I do
hope that they will be protected an
that they will grow In numbers. You
could have no better game bird in your
forest than the wild pheasant.
From Malheur County comes the fol
lowing story, said to be true in detail
Jones and Smith were hunting duck
on the Malheur River one day when
Jones suddenly stopped and said:
"Smith, I'll bet you a dollar that we
are on the other side of the river.
"You're crazy," was Smith's answer,
though after awhile he was induced to
make the proposed bet. When the bet
had been agreed upon, Jones pointed
to the opposite side of the river from
where they were standing and said:
Isn t that one side of the river, ove
there V
"Yes," Smith acknowledged.
"Then this must be the other, and we
are on the other side, insisted Jones.
Smith acknowledged that he had los
the bet. and he paid his dollar. He saw
Brown coming toward them.
"Just keep mum, and see me win that
dollar back from Brown, he said In
low voice to jones as Brown ap
proached.
"Hello, Brown, I want to bet a dollar
with you that we are on the other sid
of the river."
Brown ridiculed the suggestion, bu
finally put up a dollar in Jones' hands
and waited to have it proved to him
that he was bn the other side of the
river.
"Well." said Smith, eagerly, though
somewhat nervously, "this Is one side
of the river, ain't it?"
"Yes," Brown said.
"And that Is the other," he said
pointing to the opposite bank of the
river.
"Yes, that's the other side, all right,1
Brown replied, "and as we are not over
there, I suppose you'll agree that I've
won the bet.
It took Smith Just a moment to real
ize that he bad made a mistake In mak
ing his statement, but he paid the
money without protest.
Hoga and More Hoga.
F. Hopklnson Smith in Scrlbner's Maga
zine.
The Judge would stroll over to court
an hour or more late, only to find an
equally careless and contented group
blocking up the door "po" white
trash" most of them, each one with a
grievance. Whenever St. George ac
companied him, and be often did, his
honor would spend even lees time on
the benchcutting short both ends of
the session, his guest laughing himself
sore over the Judge s decisions.
"And he stole yo" ehoat " and never
paid for him?" Temple heard him say
one day in a hog case, where two farm
ers who had been waiting hours for
Tom's coming, were plaintiff and de
fendant. "How did you know it was
yo' ehoat did you mark him?"
"No, suh."
"Tie a tag around his neck?"
"Nd, suh."
"Well, you just keep yo' hogs Inside
yo' lot. Too many loose hogs runnln'
"round. Case is dismissed, and co't is
adjourned for the day,'1 which, while
very poor law was good common sense,
stray hogs on the public highway hav
ing become a nuisance.
The Modern Child Protest.
Pele Mele. '
Mother "When you come home from
school bring a pound of sugar with you."
Child "Sorry, mother, but our union
forbids us to carry anything else but
our school satchels.
Harvard Graduate and Grocery Clerk.
Boston Dispatch.
Heir to a million dollars, and a Har
vard graduate, Harold Clarke Durrell
has gone to work as a grocery clerk at
39 a week, to learn the business in
which his father made his fortune.
"Her death," they say, when a wo
man dies, "was a tragedy. unit is
true of every death. .
a a a
When a man has been away two or
three weeks, and received all the pa
pers during his absence, he finds on
his return that there is a lot of news
that he must hear out behind the barn.
a -
A certain father admits that he has
had four daughters get married, and
that not one son-in-law asked his permission.
a a a
The women are always telling of a
man In their family so lazy he sits by
the stove and lets the fire go out.
a a a
"Getting married," the women say,
means so much to a girl." Intimat
ing in a side-sweeping sort of way that
it doesn't mean more to a man than
getting shaved.
a
.We have noticed that new things are
constantly discovered that threaten to
revolutionize the world, but they
never do.
a a a
A critic does not hesitate to tell an
untruth to make a good point,
a a
Nearly every man is dogged by a
fierce appetite of some kind.
a a a
Occasionally you meet a man who is
very near an anarchist; but I never
knew a man to go all the way.
a a
Every big man has a lot of little
things left over from his little days,
a a a
A man can't marry every woman he
falls In love with.
a a a
There are people in the world who
never work, and who Just sort of ab
sorb a living.
a a a
You meet people, and think they are
lovely; then they begin to develop their
meanness, and you find it is the same
old story.
a a
At what ase should parents cease
taking care of their children?
a a a
It makes no difference how great a
.country town man is at home, he is
mightr insignificant when inquiring
whether to take a blue or a green car
when in a strange city.
a a a
A rat is so worthless; it's a wonder
it doesn't che.w tobacco and drink
whisky.
a a a
Of course, you are very popular, but
occasionally there is an unappreclative,
person who doesn't like you.
a a a'
Let a pouting child alone, and it will
come back to the table. (And. by the
way, a man is only a grownup baby.)
a a a
Every hour in this big wide world
some man Is married who never sam
outright to the girl beside him, "Will
you marry me?"
Advice to bird dogs: When a bulldog
has a bone, let him keep It.
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonlan, April 27, 1861.
A letter from Tucson of April 2, to
the San Francisco Bulletin, says that
the Drooosed withdrawal of the Over
land Mail has caused a complete stag
nation in business. None seem to
think of remaining in the country
longer than to settle up affairs. The
present year opened auspiciously here,
but a panic has seized all our citizens.
It is said to be in contemplation to re
move the trooos from tnis country, ii
this shall be done Arizona will relapse
into nothingness.
The beds of iron at Oswego have
lately attracted considerable attention.
The "Dossibility of supplying ourselves
with Iron of native production should
at once excite a lively interest. In
the course of the next week a party
of gentlemen, interested in the develop
ment oi our resources, win visit tne
iron deposits and make a recognizance
of the adjacent country, with a view
to ascertain the practicability of work
ing them.
Married In Portland, on the 18th
inst.. by Rev. Mr. Cornelius, Mr. John
M. Murphy, editor Washington Stand
ard, Olympia, to Miss Eliza Jane Mc
Guire, of Portland.
' Color Line in Gervals.
Gervals Star.
McKinley Mitchell has painted his
warehouses a cream color, similar to
that of the depot a decided improvement.
Dry Air Aa An Insulator.
Pittsburg Gazette-Times.
So perfect an insulator is dry air,
that it takes ten thousand volts of elec
tricity to leap a gap of an inch.