10 TTTF! MORN7XO OTJEGOXTAN". TITUESDAT, MAT 18, 1011. rOKTLAXD. our COX. E-r.i-r-i at Porr 'a nd. Or.c JO. Poatorflca as T;1 -a-,s Vait.r. e-uacrlBUoa Iulm Invariably la Ad BT IUIU tfr. Striday raeln-Jad. en yr- 1 ei:r ladav larla-l-d. a' a nntra 2 e::r. I indav In?lu"a4, tirae rrrtht. J-a:lv. Bungay tnelu'laii. ana fronts.... X-.1.T. mf Bout fuUr. r y-ar J a: T. without B:B'!ir. 1 nonl. ... Z '!r. without S.a iar. t . rw 0BU..l X a:. v. arltftaut3-.ii.lay.oae sr.aat.. ... Vae:y. aaa yaar. .............. juI.t. ar.e year.... fc'l'.'t ai weekly, ann Jr. ........ .1" 4 '. " . 1 :j U1 . (BT CARRIES! r.rcr. 9ir-tT t.t9i. Tt ...... i" i.a:.v. Sunjar lcc:uilS. oe mor.t!) . .73 How la bull 5&4 a?ef1c froe.y rdsr. t ord.r or pr-nal eh"- aa yu.r local liok. steir.pe. eoin or rurr.n at im mwSwr'm r'.lt. r;ir prte-.orr' a44rtaa La full. Lselud.as count? sad a:a fMCar K at 10 to tt ri 1 cant: 14 te 24 caco. 2 at: 10 ta ntfH, a catlte eo to Ta, 4 ceata. fdreiaa poatasa mfl rate, J matmeaa OfTtue Tt a Con, l'a ee tara. rtrunaatca. bui.ams. CM easo. :sr bolMias. rOB.TXaTT, TBtBSDit, M.IT II. 101 1. PLAT WORDS ANT TRC. It may b Instructive now to recall the words of Governor Wcodrow Wilson at Kansas City on'the initia tive, and referendum: If we fait that we ha4 gentlne r.pr v-ntauva government tn our tafe L-eisia- ture ao oat would propose th Initiative er '"rinaua in America. Th most are-nt and surraeer':! advocates of In Initlanvi and r.f.randura retard thrra as a al l'.s means of obtain. nf i(nmni rrprenenta t:v action oa trie part of tegielatfve bolla Tier do sot sn.an t art anv-hlna atd. 3 11 maaa te raator and Int.ueaca rather. We shail hope that the Governor will repeat. In Oregon, theseo plain words, or their substance. It may do rood, for the Initiative and referen dum In Oregon Is twins; employed for motives or purposes entirely foreign to Its true function. Tho Legislature Is being set aside. It has been de graded and humiliated. Nothing It does Is final. It has largely lost Its representative character. It has ceased to be directly responsible to the people. It evades, shifts. dL.sem Mes. sldeMeps. It has gone down In rubllo estimation, and It should have risen, if the Initiative and referendum were used as it was Intended It should be. Posslbly'Governor Wilson will stig rest to us how through the Initiative and referendum representative gov emment In Oregon may be restored, and properly supported and perma nently conserved. WOODROYT IlILSON. Governor Woodrow A lison Is a fine peclmen of that type of men who come to the front la time of unsettled opinions and changing conditions. In many respects he reminds one of Thomas Jefferson, who was Intellectu ally a son of the French Revolution. lie has Jefferson's wide outlook and more than his scholarship. He has the same marvelous understanding of op portunity and readiness to seize upon it. the same contempt for mere tradi tional Ideas and established formula No Democrat since the third Presi dent has brought to his party abilities so splendid or confronted its future with hopes so mighty. Educated for the law and knowing more of that Intricate science than moat of lta practitioners, Woodrow Wilson is not a lawyer, nor has he the narrow pro fessional view of public questions. At Johns Hopkins University. . then the most brilliant seat of higher studies In the country, he read and specialized In political science and his doctor's thesis upon "The State" won him renown in learned circles, but It never was the scholarly analysis of theoretical schemes of government that most at tracted him. He hungered for real ity. Ills mind was enamored of the practical. Woodrow Wilson brings to politics n acquaintance with all that man has tried to do In the past. He knows the successes an1 the failures of the hu man race. He has rend the record of the glorious revolutions that have ended in tyranny, of the experiments beginning In enthusiasm that have trailed out In sordid disaster, of fruit less victories and martyrs dead In aln, and In spite of it all bis most salient trait Is belief In the future. Nothing daunts his Invincible courage. Nothing dims his faith In the people. The little statesman studying the his tory cf a decade trembles to think hat will happen If "tho mob" takes rontrol of the government. Woodrow Wilson, with all the p.t before him. Interpreting with sure sense of justice the record of all the a;es, speaks un reservedly for democracy. In the rule nf the people, he tells us. and In noth ing else we shall seo the aaiv-itten of the world. It belittles Woodrow Wilson to speak of him as a "scholar In poli tics." His scholarship, masterly as It Is, stands among his less characteris tic traits. With the scholar's interest la the past and his reverence for the rhott cf hat has been Mr. Wilson combines a greater Interest In what la, His sense of rreaer.t reality Is keen. He has the statesman's grasp cf current facts and the philosopher's understanding of what they mean. We associate the mere scholar with books la some quiet retreat. The Governor of New Jersey has proved that his proper place Is la the turmoil of living affairs. His short experience la New Jersey politics has already demonstrated his amazing practical skill. He reads the motives of men. appeals deftly to thMr deeper fee'.lnss and leads them to do his will. Since he became a candidate for Governor there la not a single practical failure In his score. He has marked up one success after another, and. better still, ail his successes have ben triumphs tor honesty and gooj government. Nobody thicks of Woo.lrow WI'.on as an orator. He Is an effective pub lic speaker, but he has no transcend ent outbursts. Fuch men as Calhoun and Ianiel Weheter. If they could re turn to listen to him. would be puzzled to exp'.sin his power over au licnees. Th'-a shows how the world has charged. People do not care much la cur dy for storms of verbiage. They wxr. t the speaker's honest thought and not his rhetoric." Gov ernor Wilson has the supreme forensic gifts of directness, simplicity and sin cerity. He has the ability to say pre csely what he means and he alvavs means precisely what he says. The New Jersey bosses found this out to their sorrow after they had made the colossal blunder1 cf allow. him to get Ir.to office. They took his pre election promises for the simple bab ble of the ordinary scholar In politics. They discovered too late that his word was adamant. He takes the public lr.to his confidence without stint. The 6T of his office stands always open. ?aar are no limits to his candor when he Is speaking. If he tr President he might have a state secret now and then, but he would have none that he could safely reveal. lilt theory is that the t ivtrnmeot belongs to the people and x that they should know exactly what It Is doing all the time, lie believes that they should take as much part In Its actual business as possible. Naturally these qualities fit Wood row WlUon for popularity. He wins the hearts of all who hear him and usually convinces their mind. Those 44 I who escape the snare of his logic are apt to be caught finally by his origi nality. Nobody else looks at things quite as he docs. When the lawyers had persuaded all the rest of us that corporations w -re living creatures fully as real as human beings and far more Important. Governor Wilson broke Into the magic circle with the doctrine that they are f.gmonte of the Imagination. They do nothing and are nothing apart from the men who compose them. It is Idle to think of punl.ihlng a corporation. Ton might aa well think of punishing a conjunc tive adverb. The men who fill Its offices commit the sine which are charged to the corporation, and it Is they who should bear the punishment. Thus Mr. Wilson reasons on this most vital of public questions and with the same originality and pungent sense cf fact he reasons upon even-thing. lie Is a man who la In tune with his age. Intellectually alert, with the stars for pilots, he addresses himself bravely to sail the seas of democracy, fearless of wreck, confident of reaching happier shores than -roan has ever .trod. The Country loves a courageous captain. There re no honors which It will deny him if he proves that his skill Is equal to his boldness. TUT, AVEBCB C1TTZ.F"S DILEMMA. The people of Portland have been stirred lately as they have not been for years. They do not want Rush light fJV Mayor. They fear him. with good reason. They foresee a demor alizing era of practical politics with a city in the hands of unsafe and un sound leaders of differing Ideas and varying ambitions, and they purpose to avoid it. The proposed nomination of Mr. S! mon Is acceptable to the average cltl ten. who Is the taxpaymg citizen ana carries the conscience of the city In his bosom. But Simon cannot he elected If the average cl'.lz'n stays at home, as he did tA the primary. Nor can he be elected without preliminary work. Th men who never sleep on a political Job are for Rushlight he thrifty and active follqavs who are In the game for what It Is worth. They are busy now and will get busier aa the days roll on. They have some thing at stake. The average citizen has the destiny of Portland In his hands. The alter native to the defeat of Simon is Rush light. That is the situation In Its most obvious form. The average cltl sen la up against It and when he is up against it he usually fights his way out. . This is the time to fight. A CCII FROM IOTVA. The Oregonlan has received from Mason City. Ia.. a pamphlet on the parcels post which Is a gem both In size and substance. It purports to have Wen written by S. R. Mills and no doubt the pen was his. but the voice, alas, sounds like the voice of Esau, or of the express trust, to be explicit. 'They do not furnish a single line of evidence to prove that the express companies oppose the parcels post. declares Mr. Mills. Why should "they" take the trouble when the companies themselves furnish all that Is needed? Under a parcels post goods would be carried for about one tenth of the price charged by the mo nopoly. Is It necessary to say more? The unconscious humor of the little pamphlet Is exquisite. Would we could quote It all. Unhappily, there Is room for only a specimen or two. Take this for example: "Eleven pounds of salt costing 11 cents at the country store would cost 2S cents post atte to deliver." Sad Indeed. Ilut how muoh does It cost now? A trip to the store, which means a day's work for man and team, worth some what more than 15 cents, we fancy And if there were a parcels post tho farmer could drive to town for the salt If he wished. Here is another: "They do not tell us about tho active railroad lobby In Washington working for the parcels rost." They do not tell about this lobby because It does not exist. Our friend Mills has not yet "got on to the fact." apparently, that the express companies enjoy a close Identity of in terest with the railroad companies. It In so close, according to the Interstate Commerce Commission, that they are composed cf the same individuals. Our agitated friend also shudders to think that the parcels post would "add millions of dollars to the railroad com panics' revenues." The horror of this awful thought Is mitigated by remcm berlng that It would take many more millions away from the express com panics. Somebody must be paid for carrying parcels. Is It not better to pay the railroad companies a reason able fee than to be swindled outrage ously by the express trust? Bl NOOLNO TBS AOR1CXXTTR1.ST. Tho controversy over the Canadian reciprocity measure Is bringing before the publlo some very ridiculous testi mony, or rather nonsense which at tempts to pass for testimony. We note, for example, in yesterday's dis patches that F. C Lasater. president of the Cattle-Raisers' Asosciatlon of Texas. In his testimony before the Sen. ate finance committee, stated that the free admission of Canadian cattle would destroy the cattle-raising Indus try In this country. As the only pos sible manner by which the cattle busi ness of this country could be affected would be through lower prices. Mr. Lasater must have sought to convey the Impression that cattle were i -a por tn Canada than In the United States. The absurdity of this conten tion Is shown in the statistics for the five years ending June 30, 1910. Dur ing that period this country sold to Canada ll.57S.179 worth of cattle, while for the same perlosl Canada sold to the United States but II, 293,796 worth. It would he Interesting to know why the Canadians bought so many cattie from us If, as Intimated by Mr. Lasa ter. prices are higher in this country than in Canada. A much more strik ing showing Is made in the statistics covering other agricultural products afTected hy the same conditions that affect the.trade In cattle. In the five qears mentioned this country sold to Canada I14.172.47S worth of horses, while for the same period the Canadi ans sold to us but IJTS49.211 worth of horses. In meat and dairy products the Canadians bought from us to the extent of 117.011. 01 7. while they were selling us l04. 191 worth. Their pur chases of breadstuffs from us for the five years were 13l.536.i5S, and in re turn we bought from them to the ex tent of S6.fi79.SS4. A summary of the total volume of all trade with Canada for the five years shows the value of our exports to be $8S.417.2?S, while our Imports from Canada were valued at IJ9J. 913.673. lvir.g a balance In our favor of 492. 501,603. It would be difficult to conceive any line of reasoning that would lead one to believe that a re moval of the present restrictions would in any way affect prices so long as trade is so one-sided in our favor, even under the handicap of the tariff taxes which now hamper us. Any country which buys more from us than we sell to It ought to be encouraged In every possible manner. Mr. Lasater's alarm Is III founded. It Is In some ways not dissimilar to the cheap gallery plays which tho Democratic majority In the Hcjjse Is maklng on the same subject, knowing full well that Its bluffs will not be called. MAYOR gIMO'8 PROMISE. The public has the eminent author ity of Harry Lane.'ex-Mayor, for the statement that the Mayor of Portland is a helpless creature. He has no real Independent power. He is balked by the Council and burdened with boards. He can do nothing without consulting and deferring to one interest or In fluence or power or another; and the result is that he gets nowhere and meanwhile he has Infinite trouble on his -way. Dr. Lane therefore con fesses that he fell far short of doing the things he desired and strove to do when Mayor. The testimony of the ex-Mayor in behalf of himself will apply equally to Mayor Simon, or any Mayor under the present charter. Mayor Simon has been hampered by the same annoying and Insurmountable obstacles Imposed by the charter polky of circumlocu tion, negation and stagnation. Mayor Simon Is at one with ex-Mayor Lane In thinking that something ought to be done to give the city a simpler and more practicable form of government. He has therefore publicly committed himself to the commission plan. Mayor Simon has done more by giving an earnest of his good faith and his definite Intentions in signing the bill for . a new charter commission for the City ofPortland. Its duty will be to formulate a new municipal organic law, with a com mission as its cardinal principle. Mayor Simon will name the commis sion within a very few days, and will doubtless urge that the board get to work at the earliest possible time and carry It through to completion with due expedition. The new charter will be submitted to the people at a special election, and, if they shall approve, we shall have an entirely new form of government for Portland. At the same time there will be elected the proposed commissioners, who will re place the present Major, Council and Executive Board. if there is no interruption In this programme, through unseemly litiga tion of the Dunlway-Klernan variety. or through failure or refusal of the Incoming Mayor to urge all reasonable diligence- there ought to be a new government for Portland by January I, 1912. There -win then be an en tlrely new deal. It might be defeat ed. of course, by a hostile Mayor or by an unfriendly Council through re fusal to . provide the necessary ma chinery to carry out the new pro gramme., or through evasion, procra tlnatlon, dillydallying, or bad faith. Much depends on the Mayor and the Council. Mayor Simon has proposed, official ly approved, and again indorses the commission government. Being defl nitely pledged to this procedure, and being convinced that It Is wise for Portland to embark on the commis sion project. Mayor Simon will put It through without regard to Its conse ouences ' on his incumbency or tne Mayoralty. Mayor Simon has ao prom ised. His promises, never lightly made, are not lightly broken, or broken at all. He keeps faith. TP1MFTTXJ FATE. It would be odd if It should turn out that the Supreme Court unwit tingly sowed dragon's teeth when it amended tho Sherman act by insert ing the word "unreasonable." As Congress passed the act It forbade all combinations in restraint of Interstate commerce. The court restricted it to 'unreasonable" combinations and conspiracies for fear lest the rigorous Intent of Congress might play hob with business. Many good lawyers have held here tofore that It Is the business of courts to apply the law and not to amend it but the habit Is one that seems to fascinate our Judges. They cannot forbear to Improve the statutes which they are called upon to construe. They are like compositors who will not follow copy but Insist on correct ing an author's style. Justice Harlan in his dissenting opinion upon the Standard OH case declares that this propensity for Judicial legislation is the most alarming tendency or our day." When powerful malefactors. he Intimates, cannot procure such legislation as they wish from Congress they Induce the courts to give it to them by the ingenious process of Interpretation." Of course the real menace from this bad habit Is to the courts themselves. If they Insist upon making laws they must expect to take the consequence of their temerarlousness. Lawmaking Is political business, subject to the vicissitudes of politics. No man or body of men has ever yet succeeded in legislating for a country . without sooner or later being held responsible for the laws enacted. It Is the com mon belief that the courts have as sumed legislative functions which lies at the bottom of the popular demand for the recall of Judges. If they con fined their labors to deciding lawsuits nobody would think of dragging them Into the political maelstrom. But since they enter It of their own accord they can scarcely hope to escape its lnconveneinces. It is agreed by most men of sound sense that it would be a great misfortune were the Judges subjected to anything that would mar their Independence. When they In sist, therefore, upon amending stat utes they are certainly tempting fate. ' t Camas, Wash., has put th question of responsibility squarely up to the parents of minors in that town. The town council has passed an ordinance prohibiting minors from entering poolrooms or purchasing tobacco or cigarette without a written order , from their parents such order being good for one occasion only. This law throws the responsibility where It belongs. This Is well. Now, since co operation between the moving powers !n the enforcement of this ordinance Is necessary to secure the purpose sought, let parents interested require purveyors of the interdicted article, each and all. keep a book in which to enter Individual signatures V the end that the signature attached to the "order" presented by the minor may correspond with that on file. Other wise this wholesome ordinance will very likely fall In Its purpose. Portland exporters are chartering grain ships for new-season loading and are already paying higher rates than were fixed by the International Sailing Ship Owners' Association, which went to pieces last Winter. In all the half dozen years of its existence the Asso ciation succeeded but once or twice in getting rates above :7s Cd per ton, but now, with the owners In a go-as-you- please scramble for business, rates are Improving. This will be very dls- i tresalng news for Congressman Hum- phrey, who for years held up the de crepit, wobbly, mismanaged associa tion as a terrible example of the man ner In which foreign shipowners fixed the prices our people should pay for carrying their freight to market. The old law of supply and demand has worked havoc with many pretty the ories, and In asserting Itself in ocean freights out of Portland it Incident ally exposes another fallacy of the ship subsidy forces. The ocean Is a free highway, and the cheapest carrier on that highway will get the business, regardless of temporary expedients to prevent a free working of the old law. The spectacle of the United States cruiser Buffalo, 1000 miles away from a coaling station and with empty hunkers and no chance to move until a relief ship arrives, ought to call the attention of the Government to the fact that the embargo on Alaska coal is an expensive proposition for ,the Government as well, as for private clti xens. Within a few miles of where the Buffalo is lying practically help less are millions of tons of very high grade steam coal which Is being "con served" for future generations. It is expected that the Government will send a relief vessel from the Puget Sound Navy-yard. The expense of such a trip would be enormous, but the Government is rich, and besides we should not grudge such outlays at this time so long as we have the com forting thought that some of our'de- scendants, a few centuries hence," will have the use of the coal of which we are now deprived. The "sportsmen" about North. Yak lma are terribly grieved to learn that the orchardmen catch an occasional trout In the Irrigation ditches. ' By divine decree all fish as well as all game birds belong to the city sports men. To enforce this right they will seek to compel the Yakima, farmers to screen their ditches. If that ex pedient falls of course the ditches must be abandoned. Let the sports man enforce his privileges though the heavens fall. Chicago within a month has had a blizzard In which people were frozen to death and heat which has killed at least two persons and driven mad an unstated number of dogs. Now while our late Spring weather Is "Just a lit tle" cool and damp fbr an early strawberry crop and somewhat un comfortable withaL do we by compar ison have anything of which to com plain on the score of the weather? Government loans offered directly to small Investors are always popular. Tho new loan of $50,000,000 will prob ably be largely oversubscribed even at the moderate rate of 3 per cent. Everybody likes to own a government Dona, ine rrencn pudiic qcdk, wnicn is very large, is nearly all held at home and much of it by peasants and small tradesmen. This is one cause of the financial stability of France. Or the fourteen graduates of the Hood River High School ten will en ter college next year. This Is encour aging from one point of view, but not from all. It seems to indicate that the high school is a preparatory for the colleges rather than a means of wide popular education. There are too few graduates and there ought to be a larger proportion of them going Into the common trades. Now we are going to see whether a candidate for Mayor Rushlight supported by every undesirable ele ment, la preferred by the people to a candidate Simon conceded to have been a good Mayor and known to be no mans man but, his own. ihat is the situation In a nutshell. Complaint is heard in every quarter of our cold, damp, backward Spring. The truth Is that the Spring season came In wrong foot first this year. We had our May weather in March. Another Illustration of the force of the saying, "We cannot eat our cake and have it too." That simple child of nature. Pugilist Johnson, refused to pay for a bust be cause it had no hair on it and did not look like him. . He was right and the sculptor should have been mulcted rather than the fighter. Were there so stove polish and old hair mattresses about? With Henry L. Stimson at the head of the War Department, the Presi dent's official household la now in complete accord with his political principles and administrative policy. This Is as It should be. Possibly it will be well to remember also that there Is a Council to elect n June, too. With a standpat Coun cil and Rushlight for Mayor, there will be great doings at the City HalL This new bond Issue of 150,000,000 at I per cent in smalt denominations should be popular enough to pull money from hiding-places. One of the wonders of latter-day life s a Negro National Democratic Con vention now in session at Indianapolis. The captain of the Buffalo must lack nerve or he would commandeer the coal he needs at Cordova. Weather conditions presage all the rain will have run off before Rose Festival week. Rushlight and redllght. Gay days n store for the gay boys and gay girls. Mr. Simon has the prestige of being a good winner. HISTORY AXD HEAD OP CROMWELL Co a temporary Atitaorffy Quated aa to Disposition of Body. PORTLAND. May 16. (To the Edi tor.) Referring to the editorial In this morning's Oregonian entitled, Crom well's Head, and the discussion that ha taken place in the English and AmerW can newspapers concerning the genu ineness of the skull that is claimed by some to be that of CromwellI wish to add my mite to the controversy by re questing you to print tne roiiomns-r- cerpt which I take from the third volume of a History or l-.ninna m my possession entitled. "The History of England from the Earliest Accounts of I Time to the Death of the- Late Queen Anne" printed In London. 1.22. for hu Bell and others: Oliver's funeral "One of the main Acts of the new Government was, to order the Funeral of the late Protec tor; and the Council having resolved that it should be very magnificent, the care of It .was referred to a committee, who sending for Mr. Kinnersly, Master of the Wardrobe, desired him to find out some Precedent by which they might govern themselves In this Affair. His Body, at least In appearance, was laid In Somerset House. The Apart ment wa hung with Black, the Daylight-was excluded, and no other but that of the Wax -tapers fo be 'seen. This scene continued till the first of November, when he was removed into the great Hall of the said House and represented in Efflgie, standing on- a Bed of Crimson Velvet, covered with a Gown of llko colored Velvet, a Scepter In his Hand, and a crown on his Head. That part of the Hall wherein the Bed stood, was railed in and the Rails and Ground within them covered with Crimson Velvet. Four or five hundred Candles, set in flat shining Candlesticks were so placed round near the Roof of the Hall, that the light they gave seemed like the Rays of the Sun; By all of which he was represented to be now In a State of Glory. This Folly and Profusion so far provoked the People that they threw Dirt In the Night on his Escutcheon that was placed over the great Gate of Somerset-Houee. We pass by the rest of the Pageantry, the great Numbers of Persons, that attend ed on the Funeral, the procession to Westminster, the vast Expence in Mourning, the State and Magnificence of the Monument Erected for him, with many other things. "But after all, there remains a. Ques tion, Where his Body was really burled: It was In appearance in Westminster Abbey; but much more likely in Nase-by-Fleld; and possibly in neither Place, but as others report. It was carried be low Bridge and thrown Into the Thames. "Mr. Barkstead. son to Sarkstead. one of the King's Judges, gives this account of the matter: That the said Barkstead bis Father being Lieutenant of the Tower of London, and a great Confident of the Ueurper, did among other such Confidents, In the time of the Usurper's Sickness desire to know where he wou'd be bury'd: To which he answered, "Where he had obtained the greatest Vic tory and Glory, and as nigh the Spot aa could be guessed, where the Heat of the Action was': viz. In the Field at Naseby, Com. Northampton. Which ac cordingly was thus performed: At Mid night (soon after hie Death) being first embalmed and wrapt In a leaden Coffin, the body was In a Hearse con vey'd to the said Field, the said Mr. Barkstead by Order of his Father at tending close to the Hearse: and beinar come to the Field, they found, about the nuust of It, a Grave dug about nine Foot deep, with the green Sod care fully laid on one side, and the Mould on the other; In which the Coffin being pui, ine urave was instantly filled up, and Care taken that the surplus Mould should be removed: Soon after, the uk csre was taken. that the FleldJ should be entirely ploughed up, and ii was sown tnree or Tour years suc cessively with Corn," The book from which thla r( taken was printed sixty-four years after the death of Cromwell and the statement Is that of a contemnorarv It surely renders doubtful the genuine ness of the skull that ie claimed to be Cromwell's. JAMES GLEASON. STATE LAW GOVERNS PETITIONS Arsrnment Given That lanera Mil at Be Registered Voters. PORTLAND. May 17. (To the Edi tor.) Regardless of what we may think of any particular measure anil Its merits, there eras to be a general question now before the courts as to whether It takes 16 per cent of the registered voters or IB per cent of the legal voters to make the petition to amend the city charter a valid petition. it seems fiardiy credible to the writer. notwithstanding any dicta of the Su preme Court In former cases, that the court can hold flatly that a man must be a registered voter to sign either an Initiative or referendum petition. ine reason Is this. Many years ae-o Oregon passed a registration act pro hibiting voters from exercisinic fran chise if not registered as provided by law. This was properly declared un constitutional. The present constitutional amend ment as to Initiative and referendum has been declared eelf-executlng until legislation shall be provided. It says legal voters shall be required to pro pose an act or refer an act. Portland has not adopted any special legislation. so the state law must undoubtedly apply. Sec. S4 83 of L. o. L. requires petitions to be signed by "qualified electors" on any measure- they are legally entitled to vote upon. This section appears to be declaratorv of the law as It really Is, and In a con stitutional manner. Afterwards, when the present registration law was passed, it provided that all who did not regis ter must prove tnemseives to be quali fied electors by the testimony of six freeholders, etc The object was not to prevent, but to make It extremely diffi cult for unregistered voters to cast their ballots, and thus compel them to register. According to my view, the present trouble Is not in the Interpre tation of who Is a legal voter, but In the failure to amend the law so that It shall require proof of qualifications to vote to accompany a petition for ini tiative or referendum, when the voter Is not registered. By requiring testi mony of six freeholders, the analogy as to law ana pracista wiia tne registra tion acts is complete. ROBERT C. WRIGHT. I a. . Prune Retailer at Fnnlt. SALEM, Or, May IS. (To the Edi tor.) Concerning The Oregonian's Washington News Bureau dispatch giving the life history of a box of Oregon prunes, permit me to say that no article of food, cured fruit or cured meat keeps perfect indefinitely unless protected by an air-tight and Im pervious package, safe from the at tacks of insects pursuing their ordi nary and natural vocation. The effects of August weather, and the earlier heat of Spring, in Washington upon most probably perfectly - packed high-class prunes might easily be due to the re tailer's lack of judgment in keeping a delicate and delicious article too long outside of cold storage. The event of August' 9, 1909, must have happened upon prunes packed in the Fall of 1908 or even of 1907. As Oregon prunes are now packed, a box ought to keep Its contents perfectly a year or more In reasonably cool latitudes, unless badly broken. In transit. To expect more is unreasonable. Let the Eastern retailer sell at a fatr profit and get our prunes promptly into consumption. He will Increase his business and ours and benefit doubly many customers. HENRY A. TOWNS END. WAR AD PHYSICAL MAXHOOD. Natloaal Conflicts Takes Off the Fit and ot the Unfit. BAT CENTER, Wash., May 13. (To the Editor.) The Oregonian's editorial entitled "What Survives," calls atten tion to the fallacy of confounding the "strongest" with the "fittest" in the biologic sense. In the soclologlc use of the two terms, the fallacy Is even worse. But an even worse one has been committed constantly by thous ands who should know better, not per- . haps omlttinff aome the Company K ba of our friends at Company K banquet. They con stantly assume that war carries off the less "fit" and therefore less "desiraoie Dart of the earth's population. ' This assumption is wholly wrong. It Is not too much to say that its falsity is ap parent to anyone who will taKa trouble to think. . '''' Under modern conditions it Is pnly the best young men, physically, who are permitted to enlist for war, unless in extreme need. Where military ser vice Is compulsory, the men of poor physique are excused. War removes ' not the weaklings, but the robust por tion of a nation s manhood." The one million young men who, a half century ago, lnid down their lives on Southern battlefields and In camp, were not the dregs of America's youth, They were the very flower of our Na- tlonal manhood. The sacrifice was per haps unavoidable; but to glorify the necessity of that sacrifice Is to betray moral obliquity or else Intellectual con fusion. The inheritance of what might have been the fatherhood of that mil lion best young men of our land Is lost to our race forever. When the Spanish war broke out. only a minor portion of applicants were received for enrollment, tne major por tion being rejected for some physical or moral unsoundness. If I recall aright, the ratio was about one in four. The graves around Santiago, at Chlcka- mausa Camp and in the Philippine jun gles cover the mortal remains of part of that one-fourth vho were "fit," but hone of the three-fourths who were "unfit." Historians have frequently remarked to us that we are descended, for the most part, not from the flower of the manhood of the middle ages, but from those who were not deemed worthy to bear arms. Those who were deemed worthy for the honorable occupation of warfare were mostly .killed off before leaving the Inheritance of their blood to the race. These remarks mention nothing new. The facts involved have been told in print and from the platform so often that it seems silly to mention them again, The only apology Is our con stant need of reminder. To argue that war tends to the phys ical Improvement of toe race Is crim inal sophistry. It was more or less true In the days when every man car ried a war club, and the best man got the fruit from the tree that was the cause of the fight, while the poorer fighter got a broken head or starva tion. Conditions have changed. Our wits ought to keep up with the changed conditions. L. u. BUSH. PUPILS' ART WORK COMMENDED Mr. Ladd Warmly Praises Exhibition by Public School Students. PORTLAND. May 16. (To the Edi tor.) Some of us have had tits privi lege of watching Portland grow from a pioneer town to a modern city, with afl a city's responsibilities in social, educational and artistic matters. To one who looks toward education In art to help us preserve the beauty of our natural surroundings and make our buildings, streets, parks and manu factures of the right kind, the recent exhibition of the work of the pupils of the public schools, in the art depart ment, was of e-reat interest and I feel that it should not pass from memory without a word of commendation for good work done. This work is of a quality to compare'with that done In Eastern centers and is a revelation to anyone not familiar with the develop ment of the more practical side of elementary artistic training. The children's work. In free use of color and In the expression of what they can see in form and motion. In the little scenes of children at play. the hunter, the jack-o'lantern, and the various simple aspects of nature, is delightful. While the cultivation of perception, precision - and good taste provided in the work of the older stu dents In the development of design, the drawing from nature, the .book-bind ing, etc, will certainly have a strong Influence In making our - -ture citizens demand and execute good work in all of their daily surroundings. For the mass of students the aim is Just such cultivation of the under standing and appreciation as will make them better workmen and citizens, but at the same time, those having the gift for artistic work or the desire to enter the finer industrial vocations, are ready to carry their studies further. This, also, can be done without the young student leaving his home, for the art school of the fortland Art Asso ciation provides right here at home a thorough and inspiring course of work, carrying on the beginnings of the public schools and affording oppor tunities for the development of artis tic talents. The work of these agencies for train ing and culture should be Inspected at tho Museum of Art. i wisn to call tne attention of all who are Interested in this branch of our city's educational work to these exhibitions of students' work. W. M. LADD. Bad Road to Vancouver. PORTLAND. Mry 15. (To the Edi tor.) The taxpayers of the city and county are continually bled with high taxes and then nothing is done for the road's leading out of or into the city. The road to Vancouver along Vancouver boulevard from Killings- worth to the beginning to the bridge is a disgrace to any city tho size of Port land, and is almost impassable for any kind of traffic It Is impossible for a heavy loaded wagon to go along this road, as it will mire down' to the hubs. and automobiles also have a very hard time getting through. It would seem that at least one road ought to be kept up, as this is the only one- leading to Vancouver. Fix up the roads and don't put down so much hard-surface pave ment which is very nara on norses. A TAXPAYER. Motto Over a Healh Pavilion. London Standard. Over the fountain Augusta Victoria at Hamburg Is to be built a pavilion after the style of a Roman templ This has been designed by the German Emperor, who has also composed the following inscription, for the fountain: "Nymph, dispense the healing waters to the sick; may God restore them. cured and rejoicing, to their families." Berlin's Life In Three Streets. National Magazine. The life of Berlin is concentrated in three streetjj the Friedrich Strasse, Llepsiger Strasse and Unter den Linden. Beyond these great thoroughfares. ablaze with lights and an immense con course of people, all Is darkness, and merry Berlin may be said to begin and end within the limits of these three famous thoroughfares. German Enclnes Kill Birds. London Telegraph. A German locomotive engineer says that the trains are doing much to de stroy the birds. He has picked up num bers of various kinds from an engine which runs about dawn, when the birds first seek food, and he estimates that this one engine kills some hundreds every month. Advertising Talks By William C. Freeman. Ask the average man what steam ship lines operate between New York and Europe, and he will Invariably name the principal advertised lines, and in the majority of cases, the one which advertises the most will be named first. , . The same Is true of the things we eat, and wear, and use the advertlaed product ia appennott in our minds. When we want to buy, we ask for ad vertlaed brands, sometimes without realizing that we are doing so. Some merchants state, as a reason for not advertising, that they never read advertisements themselves and they don't believe other people do. , But, if you question the man who makes this statement, you will find, nine times out of ten, that he Is wear ing an E. & W. or Arrow collar, a Stetson hat, Douglas shoe and other advertised articles of wearing appareL Yet he is probably sincere in his "belief that he does not read advertlse- I ments. How, then, did he come to buy these articles? Simply because the advertis ing; had Impressed itself on hla mind, and, unconsciously, Influenced hia pur chases, i Advertising has become such a vital and necessary part of our daily lives that the majority .of us do not realize the influence it exerts upon us. That is why up-to-date merchants and manufacturers are advertising regularly , and persistently, and it is because of their advertising that they are reaping a golden harvest. Advertise, . Messrs. Merchant and Manufacturers, If yon want to do busi ness in these days I (To be continued.) Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe (Copyright, 1911, George Matthew Adama) Never talk so much of the place from which you came that your ac quaintances will despise it. I know man who violently hates that splen did state, Pennsylvania, because he has heard so much about It from his wife. Whenever the average woman gets ready to go anywhere, except to church, the excitement gives her a headache. A woman who has a nice house, as a miser worships his worships it gold. It is a great deal more satisfactory and respectable to bury a husband than to get a divorce from one. Forgiveness may be divine, but there is a state of affairs much more heaven ly: to be able to get along without needing it. You hear a great deal about the popularity of widows, but they do not seem to be any more popular than other married women, after they marry again. A country girl's idea of a real reck less time is to go down to the rail-'? road track, and wave her handkerchief. at1 the passengers as the train goes by. Success doesn't amount to so much, if a lot of age goes with it. Both are called "Doc" but you can always tell a dentist from a doctor. After a woman has chased a man about so long, she must catch him and marry him, or be talked about the rest of her life. - Half a Century Ago Prom The Oregonian. May 18. 1S51. The work on the trail from Van couver to Simcoe was commenced last week. When completed it must be of great benefit to Vancouver. A large number of miners came over from Victoria on the steamer Pacific last night, having left in disgust. Their destination is San Francisco unless the favorable report from the mines turns them Nez-Perces-ward. Victoria, May 14. The schooner Laurel 6tarted out a week since on an Indian trading trip to the Puget Sound Islands. Some Indians they encountered. however, took possession of the vessel, appropriated the goods aboard to their own use, and stripped her of her sails. The men in charge were consequently compelled to return to this port and are heavy losers through the rascality of their red-skinned customers. THE CITY'S CRISIS HERE AND NOW Responsibilities That Mnst Be Dis charged Properly by the Public. PORTLAND, Or., May 17. (To the Editor.) I cannot refrain from writ ins: to The Oregonian to express my earnest commendation of the editorial published today entitled lr. Simon for Mayor." I thank you for the tlmely and strong position thus taken in a matter which it seems to me must be regarded by every intelligent citizen of Portland as involving issues of the most momentous import for the city. As you so truly say. Thera la here and now a crisis in the affairs of Portland that cans for the open expression and active perrormance oi a bb rioun civic duty. That duty demands sub ordination of mere personal preferences or prejudices and the reconciliation of ail minor differences. It means the absolute elimina tion of all past political alliances or biiiha tlons. and the utter wiping out of all party lines. It requires a devotea consciousness nf ,h' lunar destiny of the city and a lively appreciation of tha troublesome nature of its many problems, it muei nu uvuiu .mi . realization and practical demonstration In. nnit-i) endeavor to elect as head of the dty government a safe, responsible and ex perienced man. ouw - - - No words were ever uttered either through the columns of a newspaper or from a public platform more truly In dicative of . the serious emergency which I believe confronts the citizens of Portland today. In my judgment tnere can never be a time in the history of the city when every instinct of loyalty to Its substantial interests should more orofoundly stir the hearts of its citizens . .; .. , Tint, or an earncbi, neuiuu, mu uu.u effort to maintain Its prestige ana good name. CHARLES F. BEEBE. COUNCIL CREST. By Van Wyck Holmead. Yon lordly height where erst in savage state The rude Willamette called his coun cil high, And, haply. In the vagrant breeze s sigh Dim omen conjured of his nation s fate . The tinsel toys of trade now desecrate. And steal the vision, from tne eager eve Of mistv valleys rolling endlessly And peaks empurpled In the twilight late. O lovely city, thou whose charm and srrace Have won the homage of an alien heart, What tawdry setting for a priceless gem! Portland, for shame! in vulgar pawn to place. Amid the teeming, money-changing mart. The very croWn, thy queenly dia dem! '