10
TTTE MOKNTXfr OKFOONTA". SATUKDAY, 3rAY 20, 1911.
rOKTLA"D. OREGON.
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TUX JCORTH BANK AND rORTLAXIX
Seattle U very much distressed over
The poor earnings mads by the North
tack road. The TI.nus tu made fre
quent mention of the unfortunate mls
Like of Mr. Hill ta building- down the
C olumbia Instead of continuing to lift
tragic over the lofty Cascade Moun-
tains. In l:s fcsue of Tuesday the
T:mti prints a long communication
from D. 1. Cilman. an expert who
trtmi to have escaped the attention
of such amateur railroad builders as
James J. IluU the late K. II. Harrlman
and a few others who were credited
with having sum knowledge of the
business.
Mr. G:lmaa terms the North Bank
mad a "white elephant." and says that
the proper method for relieving the
congestion on the mountain roads was
to "double track the Northern pacific
from Portland to the S-imd and from
the Sound to Piwco." This expert au
thority on railroading also makes the
somewhat surprising s:atement that
"Portland could have been better
served over this double-tracked route
than by the North lank, as probably
three-quarters of the passengers would
have preferred It because of the moun
tain trip or for a stop-over on the
Pound, and to the road the Portland
freight and passengers mixed In wlta
the regular tratlie would have meant
l ut a trifle more for the cost of oper
ation." The preference which the people of
Portland and of the Inland tmplre
snow for an eleven-hour trip between
Portland and Spokane and one by
mixed train by way of I'ug't Sound
may be unaccountable to Fu'i't Sound
people, but It Is In evidence. Mr. Gil
man, like many other uninformed Se
attle people, has confused the steady
legitimate growth of Portland with
one of those unhealthy growths which
follow an Alaskan mining strike and
rlxsle out with a world's fair. These
are sometimes termed "booms." and
the term la erroneously applied to
Portland by Mr. Oilman, who sneor
lr.g'.y asks: "And what about the
boom? It cannot be such a mighty
affair or Portland would be able to
tlve the North Pank a living support."
11 will prooaoiy 09 new 10 Mr. vin-
man. as well as to many others of bis
kind, to learn that the North Bank
road was not built for the purpose of
booming Portland or of serving Port
land alone. But the building of the
road brought one of those tides In the
affairs of men and also of ct's which
lead "on to fortune." Portland was
prompt to take It at Its flood. The con
struction of this road admitted Port
land Into an even greater scope of ter
ritory than was then available from
the Harrlman system, which followed
the south bank of the Columbia Into
Portland. The great Inland Umpire's
traffic, which for twenty years had
been Irfted over the lofty Cascade
Mountains at an enormous expense to
the railroads, which, of course, passed
the burden on to the producers and
consumers, has doubled, trebled and
Quadrupled since r.til communication
was first established by way of Pucel
Pound. Even under this heavy handi
cap which nature had placed In the
way of this trartlc. It was In ISO grow
ing so much more rapidly than ever
before that It bet-rune necessary for
the Interested roads either to double
track the old route of fearful grades
or In lieu thereof build down the Co
lumbia Illver.
As a single encine on the IT.irrtman
line down the Columbia rouid haul
more loaded cars to Portland than
couid be hauled over the Cascade
Mountains with ten engines, and as
the Harrlman stern ji even then
penetra"lr.g a portion of the b. st ter
ritory ea.t of the Cascade Mountains,
the n-f.-!ty cf handling t:e tratllc on
even tern:s with its chief competitor
naturally ai -pealed to the controlling
Interests of the Hill system, and the
North Bark road cam into existence.
Kxpert railroad men were quick to see
the enormous ii:ig that would be ef-X-cted
la h.indili-. freight bv the
saattr-levet route, compared with the
expensive mountain haul, and It re
quired only a mild knowledge of cco
remtc principles to i-nablo any one to
foresee that a large amount of traffic
that for twenty years had been follow
ing the mountain roaJs to market on
Puget Sound would row follow the line
of la.t resistance down the Columbia
l:ivr ti Porttan.!.
What h as haf p ned since the North
rank road began operations has been
told day after t!ay, and month after
month. In business statistics, such as
bank clearing, real estate transfers.
baUdirg permits. P'VtotMce rc. Ipts
and other direct, t.irg'.lile. unquestion
able evidence cf growth. This
growth h.is taken place strnui'aneously
with a decline In the business of the
Pirget Sound cities. To be specltlo. let
us lake wheat, a commo.i ty thai sup
pilas more trsitlc fcr the railroads than
any other product cf the Inland Krn-
j .re. lor t:-.e ten montns ena:rg
April SO. Un. the year before the
North Bank road was completed, there
sras shipped from the Pug. t Sound
ports a total of 1J.1T.00I busheis of
wheat, while the shipments from Port
land for the same period were 12.44.
U busheis. ;overnment statistics
Teceired n this city yesterday show
total shipments for the ten months
ending April 30. this year, to have
been 7.1 23.1 bushels from Portland
and l.ili.SSl bushels from Puget
fciound.
To summarize: Before the North
lar.k roal was butit Portland was
handling t per cent and Puget Sound
i: per cent of the foreign wheat trade.
hlie this year Portland's percentage
la tt per cent and Pugut Sound' ii
tt-r rent.
J,tr. l'- ''l pacers bt cause ths J
North Bank road Is earning but J.27S
per cent on Its cost, but he apparently
overlooks the fact that the line la cot
yet fully completed and that none of
Its numerous feeders have yet "hooked
up" with this great trunk line through
the Columbia gorge. One of these
feeders Is pushing rapidly toward the
coast regions. Between this city and
Tillamook It will tap the greatest body
of standing timber in the known world
Another portion of the system la ex
tending- Its branches through the Wil
lamette Valley' and foothills, opening
up much new country and vast
stretches of forests of fine timber. In
Central Oregon the target of the feed
ers Is now openings up the largest un
developed farming rtpion In the United
States and will Incidentally tap an
other big timber belt.
In comparison with the traffic that
the North Bank will be caned on to
handle for these feeders, that hauled
over the Cascade Mountains In the
palmiest days of the Hill lines will
show small and Insignificant. It Is
from these new fields that the North
Bank will earn Its dividends of the
future, and It Is with the develomcnt
of this virgin territory that Portland
will show a growth In the future that
will far exceed anyhlng In the past or
present.
THE 1TBUC BI'IKIT.
The wholesale manner In which the
Simon petitions have been signed re
veals the public temper. The people
are arouje1- Tnry rtar to turn over
, tn clty -.jvernm.nt to Mr. Rush-
city govern?
light and his alilvs. partners, guides,
mentors and satellites, known and un
known. They know Simon. There Is
nothing uncertain, vague, mysterious1.
unknown or unknowable about him.
He stands for Portland: Rushlight
stands for undesirable and dangeroifs
Interests that would control Portland.
That Is the difference. It Is vital.
But Simon Is not elected yet. Far
from It. Let no one make that mis
take, or underestimate the formidable
nature of the associated elements op
posed to him. He will be elected If
the people who are now so much con
cerned do not lose Interest, but work
as they have been working till election
day.
This la no case of letting somebody
el?e do 1U It Is up to the citizens of
Portland. It Is an Individual matter.
There Is a duty for each citizen to per
form. He may not have approved of
Simon wholly. But now he must de
cide whether he wants Simon or Rush
light. That Is the bauc, and the only
tssue.
LUTING If A Li, TO I'liEX.
The Oregonlan will own that It
has read Woodrottf Wilson's speech at
the Commercial Club with a distinct
sense of regret and disappointment.
The Governor will pardon us, we
hope. If we remark that he talked like
a college professor, wedded to theories
nd devoted to abstractions, and not
at all like a constructive statesman I
such as a Governor or a possible Pres- lstlc, gtlve-everybody-and-everything-Ident
should be. It Is but little better hell, never-tell-the-truth newspaper,
than pettifogging for the Governor to shouting for the triumph of the Re
respond to a bona fide Invitation for publican nominee! Yet the last of all
him to outline his policy, or any pol- 1
icy, or course, or method, by which
we may have and keep representative
government through the Initiative and
referendum, with a declaration In ef
fect that as between a Legislature at
Salem and a legislature in IT Ren's
hat. his preference would be for
ITRen's hat. The Oregonlan's- would
not be. Oregon has reached the point
where It realizes that It cannot and
must not leave it all to ITRen.
We shall never have restoration
of the representative government for
which the Governor speaks so elo
quently by devolving the legislation of
a great commonwealth upon one man
through the ITRenic method. It Is a
reversion to the dark ages, when one
man was the state, and the people his
abject minions. The autocrat then
dearly loved his subjects as the dem
agogue today continually invokes the
name of the people. But the people
finally got rid of the one and they
are beginning to understand and cor
rectly appraise the other.
The people of Oregon have heard
over and over of the corruptions and
wickednesses of legislatures under the
old method. Many misdemeanors are
cited to show that the legislatures
were not faithful to tho people
and that representative government
through them was a sorrowful fail
ure. It Is not necessurj" to dispute
these extravagant statements of fact
or radical deductions of opinion to
ask what Is to be done now to cor
rect such disgraceful conditions and
whether the remedy now bring ap
plied Is wholly wise or efficacious.
The question to be solved now la not
the legislative and governmental
methods of ten, twenty and fifty
years ngo; It Is the government of to
day thit concerns us and all of us.
The Initiative and referendum has
been here for nearly a decade and it
Is here to stay: representative govern
ment Is here to stay, we hope. What
are we going to do to adjust these two
systems, and get out of them a work
able and satisfactory scheme of gov
ernment? It Is no problem for the
doctrinaire or theorist or faddist or
stump speaker: but it Is a situation
that demands the gravest and rro
foundcot thought and action of con
structive statesmanship.
The people of Oregon are long past
the era when they were pleased mere
ly to hear complimentary' lectures
on the Oregon system: they want to
know how to let go of the Initiative
bear's tail, retaining the desirable
features of the initiative and express
ing and materializing their will
through tV.e representative system.
Ur. Wilson's progress from a vigor
ous denunciation of venal and stupid
legislatures and an eloquent apos
trophe to the Oregon system to his
grotesque refuge In CT.en's hat Is not
altogether edifying. Wlil the Demo
crats of Oregon be quite pleased in
1913 to make the rllerim's Journey
to the L"Ren hat-piece In Oregon City
in order to dislodge their candidate
for President? How doe ITRcn's hat
suit them for a shrine
tUIlBtTH I BLNG.
The huge sums which are paid for
old books, relics and lings nowadays
prove that a great many people have
more money than they can dispose of
wlselv. After reading the other day I
of liO.COO paid for an old BIb'.e we
now learn that an English collector
has paid 117.000 for a ring. To be
sure the rlrg was perhaps the most
interesting relic of that sort in the I
world. It was the one which Queen
F.'.lzabcth gave the Earl of Essex with
the command to send It to her If he
ever fouud himself in desdiy peril,
The peril came In due course, for
Essex was a wildly ambitious man I
slvon to turbuleaco, but when he
patched the signet to the queen It mis
carried and he went to the scaffold.
Essex was one of the numerous men
with whom Elizabeth pretended to
fall fugltively In love. She was a con
scienceless flirt, winning hearts and
breaking them without remorse, but
some of her discarded suitors were
faithful for many years, pursuing In
cessantly a forlorn hope. When Essex
returned from Ireland at the head of
a considerable military force he
thought he could frighten the queen
into marrying him by stirring up
phantom rebellion, but Elizabeth was
not easily frightened. The unfortu
nate Earl was defeated and executed
The man selected to prosecute him
was Francis Bacon, whom Essex had
loaded with favors In former years,
Had Bacon been a man of honor he
would have declined the duty, though
his hope of promotion depended on
his accepting It. For from declining,
he carried on the prosecution with re
lentless malignity, and, of course, with
Incomparable ability. The expected
promotion did not follow, however.
Some say that Elizabeth resented as
a woman what she had commanded
him as a queen to do. At any rate
Bacon never got ahead In public life
untl the Imbecile James I came to
the throne. Then by a course of
shameless flattery and compliance he
managed to rise to the chancellorship.
It Is suspected that Elizabeth really
loved Essex, though nobody knows the
truth about It. She made unblushing
merchandise of her desirability as a
match. Half the ellgibles of Europe
were on her string at one time or an
other. To some of them she proposed.
Others fell In love with her, but she
never Intended to marry anybody. Her
value In the marriage market was a
treasure w hich she was too shrewd to
sacrifice. Whenever she fell Into seri
ous difficulty, which was every year
or two. she broke the combination of
her foes by proposing to marry one
of them. The trick seldom foiled to
work.
FARCE OR JOKXi OR ROTH?
Rushlight as the Republloon nomi
nee for Mayor Is very like a Joke
Rushlight us Mayor would be some
thing more or something less than
Joke. It Is funny to see the frantic
efforts of 'forces and politicians that
never vote the Republican ticket, de
test Republican principles and hate
the Republican party, rallying to the
Rushlight standard because he Is the
Republican nominee.
A Republican primary that nomi
nates a Rushlight In the way Rush
light was nominated Is a farce. He
was not nominated by Republicans.
He was nominated mainly by voters
who are not Republicans, never were
Republicans and never will be Re
publicans. They did not go Into the
primary because they were Republi
cans or desired Kopuoncan success,
now or hereafter. They went there to
get their man and they got him.
Now we see the Rushlight cohorts
led by a red-nag. socialistic, anarch
things this paper and Us sympathizers
want Is Republican success. What
will they do for the Republican party
after they get Rushlight In office?
CITY rLAN'NtN'O.
The phrase "city planning la new
In the United States and stands for
an Idea which with us Is novel. Else
where It Is familiar. It la very old
n-fact. In antiquity every city was
planned more or less completely oe-
fore It was built. It may be said In
deed that there was a common plan
which almost every city followed,
whether consciously or not. Athens,
for example, had Its civic center on
the Acropolis, where the public build
ings were grouped with the theater at
one side, as anyone may see for him
self by looking at the model In the
Portland Art Museum. Around the
Acropolis was built the city. Rome
followed a similar plan, the civic cen
ter being the Forum whence the
streets radiated with some resem
blance to the spokes of a wheel.
America has exhibited a certain
sluggishness In grasping the impor
tance of making plans for Its cities.
We have built them In a helter skel
ter sort of a way much as If man
should nail together the lumber for
his house with his eyes shut and try
to live In the structure, iie wouia
not be very comfortable and might
not be safe. Our cities have not
proved entirely safe, either to life or
character.
The "city planning convention"
which has been holding sessions In
Philadelphia Indicates the beginning
of a better sentiment. The notion that
a city can rationally be left to grow
up In Its own wild way as the classic
Topsy did Is fading out and we ,,are
coming to believe that since we must
dwell in cities, most of us. It Is Just
as well to see to It that we have the
means of living comfortably and
happily.
The reform began, no doubt, wun
the Columbian Exposition In Chicago,
where we obtained our first National
concepts of such things as groups of
Dubllc buildings, the value of space to
show off noble structures, courts of
honor, non-rectangular streets and so
on. The intrinsic value ana economy
of civic beauty made an Impression at
Chicago which has never been lost.
On the contrary. It has deepened
steadily ever since.
The later exposition at Portland,
Seattle and elsewhere have widened
its Influence, until everywhere In
America people are truly aspiring to
retrieve the sordid estate 01 tneir
cities. "We are coming to look upon
the municipality as a common home
and to demand for It some of the re
finement, comfort and culture of the
civilized household. Washington City
was one of the first to abandon tha
old fancy of rectangular streets and
apply tha Idea of circles with radiat
ing avenues which gave easy acceas to
11 quarters and afforded long, en
chanting vistas for the delight of vls
ttors. Portland will have them some
tlmo and then the green hills sur
rounding the city and the pinnacle of
Mount Hood will sot be shut out of
sight.
The focal point in a weii-piannea
city, according to Frederick C. Howe,
Professor Zuebtln and other authorl-
ties. Is the "civic center." Just as it
was in Athens, Babylon and Rome,
Here the great public buildings are
arranged In a harraeoloua group, each
being architecturally congruent with
the others and all being easily accessl
ble to the public. From the civic cen-
ter streets radiate to all points of the
compass, not at tight angles with one
another and not necessarily In straight
unra. There Is a charm in curvature
and there is also often an advantage.
dls-JLaji old. aad beautiful building need
not be destroyed to make way for an
avenue. The avenue may wind round
It, making room near the building for
a space of greenery with shrubs and
flowers and seats for the weary
visitor.
The checker board plan for a city
Is neither economical nor does It save
time and space. It takes longer to
go round a block than to pass through
It diagonally. Still, as a rule, the
square arrangement must be followed.
especially In the business sections.
The divergent avenues are rather for
the residence quarters, though they
ought by good rights to cut through
the business blocks also here and
there.
Coincident with the civic center and
the radiating avenues goes the "Ring--
strasse," as It Is called in Vienna
which has one of the most beautiful
In the world. It Is a wide driveway
surrounding the entire city. In Port
land it would wind about the bases
of the foothills, over summit here and
there, crossing the river in the south,
sweeping out beyond Mount Tabor and
recrosslng the river in the neighbor
hood of St. Johns.
Again, when Portland, has actually
attained to a plan the river front will
offer an appearance very different
from Its present melancholy and neg
lected state. There will be parks on
the banks In place of rubbish heaps.
Flowers will blossom where the sad
oyster can now sleeps In gloom. Con
crete quays will line the shores and
the bridges will be ornamental as well
as useful. It Is quite as cheap to build
a handsome bridge as an ugly one and
the former structure will usually out
last the latter because, architecturally,
beauty la strength.
To plan a city requires intelligent
forethought. To bring one back to a
plan after It has grown helter skelter
requires some money, though the In
creased values of property created by
the Improvements commonly pay for
them if the business Is managed sen
sibly. Chicago, probably the ugliest
city in the world fifteen years ago. Is
rapidly becoming one of the most at
tractive through systematic remodel
ing after a plan worked out by Daniel
II. Burnham. The process Is expen
sive, but the people of Chicago appear
to find that It pays. No doubt other
cities. Including Portland, will come
to the same conclusion In course of
time.
TACOMA'S Ul'RbEB CASE.
One of the most pitiful and at the
same time the most revolting trials
for murder that has evre taken place
In the Pacific Northwest has been in
progress through the week at Tacoma,
where a man Is charged with having
murdered a woman by beating her
with an oar until she could no longer
resist and then holding her under
water until she drowned.
This fight was evidently between a
brute and a termagant. The pitiful
feature of It Is the fact that it was
witnessed from Its beginning to its
fatal ending for the woman by three
children of tender years, a son of the
woman, aged 5, and two sons of the
man, 5 and 7 years old. The story
told by these infants on the witness
stand canceled whatever sympathy
may have been felt toward the princi
pals In this battle and transferred It
with added volume to the terror-
stricken little boys. The woman's
death may or may not have been
caused, as charged, by drowning due
to the man's ability to hold her under
the water. If guilty as charged, it
may be hoped that he will receive the
full penalty of the law. But, however
this may be, sympathy and protection
are due the little boys who were the
horror-stricken witnesses of the bru
tal tragedy.
It will take a full measure of kindly
home influences and Judicious care,
together with the attrition of time, to
blot this frightful scene from the
memories of these children. It may
be hoped that these agencies will
work out their mission in this case,
both for the sake of the state and the
little boys who have manifestly, in
their earliest environment, gotten a
lamentnbly poor start on the road to
good citizenship.
Governor Wilson gave Mr. tTRen a
real send-off. With him ITRen and
the Oregon system are synonymous.
We guess tTRen was entitled to the
recognition the Governor of New Jer
sey gave him. But we are not sure
that the Governor helped his Presi
dential boom along much by placing
his cause In charge of a man who.
whatever else he has been politically.
has never been a Democrat. All this
happens, too. Just when there had be
gun to be a genuine Democratic resur
rection' In Oregon. After his long
plumber the Democratic Rip Van Win
kle returns to find his Katrina married
to ITRen. Of course we speak figur
atively. Awful, ain't It?
The Indictment of Cox, Chief of Po
lice, we hear, will Injure Simon. Per
haps. But an Indictment may or may
not mean something. Good men have
been indicted In Portland George H.
Williams, for example. He was Mayor.
They Indicted him for failure to en
force the laws. Tet he was, and de
served to be, Oregon's most honored
citizen. George H. Thomas, row
Democratic candidate for Mayor, was
foreman of the grand Jury that
brought in the Williams indictment.
Notwithstanding all we have en
dured In the way of unseasonable
rains and loud complainings thereat in
the past two weeks, the weather man
bobs up serenely with the declaration
that we are still 7.47 inches short on
precipitation since September.
Watch the big green Oregon straw
berry get red now In the sunshine.
The rains have kept them growing up
to the usual size of few to the full
box.
Vale la planning a 125,000 high
school building. As the Democratic
majority In Malheur County dimin
ishes new achoolhouses dot the hori
zon. It now looks like the March storm,
which missed its reckoning and did
not get here on time, has at last spent
ItseU and given place to May weather.
Something doing in Portland all the
time. Here on the eve of the great
Rose Festival Is a baby show with
mora than 700 entries.
Aviator Brooklns has been flying too
high to suit his spouse, so she gets her
decree.
Judge Morrow says a fill is not a
bridge. Same difference in poker and
lwxut.
RECIPROCITY A3TD TUB FARMER
Optaloa Expressed Tbat Aarreememt
Would II ilia Wheat Farmers.
PORTLAND, May 17. (To the Edi
tor.) On the matter of reciDroclty with
Canada the West seems Indifferent,
whereas the people In the Middle West
and the East are aware that the meas
ure urged by our beloved President
Taft Is undoubtedly going to work
a hardship on the agricultural classes
of the United States and in fact a hard-
ship on the whole Nation. The Orego-
nian and nearly every other Journal
asks what difference it can make In
the price of wheat when both Canada
and the United States ship to the same
world markets, vis. Great Britain, and
the price of wheat In America Is fixed
in the Liverpool market. Well do we
know this to be the fact but this ought
not to be the case.
After the Civil War the Federal Gov
ernment committed one of the great
est crimes in the history of the world
against a part of its own people. If
when the war was ended the Govern
ment had ordered every American mer
chant ship gathered at one of its most
poweriU! arsenals ana given mo cre.s
lima l Sl aauu.o uu lucu luu.ou , wflat goclaIlsm ls Mr. DebS
every ship and sunk it. it would have , wm teU ng u ,g Qne th, JIr Yrarren
been a much more humane act than to . , h another idea, "the gentleman
allow the owners of those ships to , f Wisconsin" win have another
struggle against the world s freight ; , Foreign Socialists will claim one
market when everything appertaining prer0Katlve nd destiny, and those of
to the ships themselves was highly pro- ountry something different,
tecled. The owners were either forced u. Ka ,Jin ,v,i ,.,,,.
Into bankruptcy or to transfer their , 1 ve been reading their literature
ships to a forelVn flag and become an fr Bm """ as yet am unable
alien to his country to et an ,dea ot wnat u ls they think
Just on a par 'with this has the they really are. The same way with
American farmer been placed when he 'nK' as,ked n8 of th?lr
forced to buy in the highest protected promirient advocates to reduce to writ
market in the world and sell his prod- in 'dea f the leading principles
uct In a free-trade market and have.;
three-fourths of the produce he sells
In his own country governed by tnat
tree-trade price he gets abroad. What
ls the consequence? Ten millions of
farm acres, an area as large as half
the State of Ohio, are abandoned and
more than 10,000,000 acres of other
farms can be bought for less than the
Improvement cost. One hour's ride
from the City of New York, one of the
wealthiest cities In the world I may
safely say the wealthiest for its popu
lation of any city in the world just
one hour's ride from that wealthy city
beautiful farms can be bought for less
than the Improvements cost. The peo
ple are crowding to the fertile lands of
the Middle West and the West, that
contain their virgin 'fertility yet, and
prices of lands in these sections have
advanced two and three fold in the past
three years. But under our prevailing
conditions these land will be steadily
depleted the same as the abandoned
farms of the East.
Conservation does not mean to let
things lie idle and unoccupied. True
conservation of soil fertility is the
proper use of the land. The United
States was getting" to the point where
she soon would not ship any wheat to a
foreign market and the farmer could be
protected by the tariff, since it is un
constitutional to protect him with an
export bounty. But throwing all of
the great Northwest Canada with her
millions of acres of rich virgin wheat
lands in direct competition with tlie
wornout lands of the United States
spells ruin in capital letters to the
American farmer. The proper way for
the United States of America to con
serve her soil fertility is to pass a law
compelling her farmers not to put their
lands Into wheat oftener than once in
four years and then put a tariff of 60
cents per bushel on all wheat Imported
into tnis country. Canada, Russia and
the Argentine then could have the
world's market, the United States in
cluded. The farmers of the United
States would then be forced Into mixed
husbandry and in ten years those aban
doned 10,000.000 acres would be worth
1100 per acre and all the land of the
United States would be increased at
least J100 per acre, an amount of
wealth equal to about $20. 000.000. 000.
instead of going on the down grade as
It now Is. Our rural districts would be
come Immensely wealthy and be owned
by a highly cultured people. In ten
years of protection Germany has be
come immensely wealthy. She has a
tariff or import duty of 65 marks a ton
on wheat or $12 a ton: we should have
$15 per ton tariff to be equal to Ger
many. THOMAS WITYCOMBE.
Motor Vehicle Law.
PORTLAND, May 18. (To the Edi
tor.) What are the tax requirements
of the new state automobile law?
What is the City of Portland require
ments? Must an auto owner have both
city and state license? Can a man tem
porarily operate another's auto under
owner's licenses?
Does a man's wife have to have li
cense for her husband's machine?
W. C. HEARTY.
The registration fees specified In the
new state vehicle law are as follows:
Motorcycles and electric vehicles for
pleasure, $3 each. Steam or gasoline
cars for whatever use up to 26 horse
power, $3; In excess of 26 horsepower
and inclusive of 36 horsepower, $5; In
excess of 36 horsepower and inclusive
40 horsepower, 17.50; In excess of 40
horsepower, $10. Electric service ve
hicles, 15.
As The Oregonlan understands the
act, only chauffeurs operating motor
vehicles for hire or as employes of the
owner of motor vehicles for hire are
required to be licensed. The fee Is 12
per annum. A man may operate an
other's pleasure auto for his personal
use for a period not to exceed 30 days
under the real owner's registration. A
man's wife may operate his car without
license if It is properly registered.
The state law becomes effective
August 1, but registration may be had
June L It supersedes all city ordi
nances and therefore only the state
fees must be paid.
The E-M-F Northwest Co. has Issued
a pamphlet containing the full text of
the act.
Lesarve Favors Local Bill.
PORTLAND, May 12. (To the Ed
itor.) At the regular meeting of the
Rose City Park Improvement League,
held last Wednesday evening, and at
which meeting I was present, a num
ber of matters of public interest were
discussed and several resolutions re
lating thereto were adopted. The Ore
gonian of last Thursday referred to
some of these measures, to-wlt: the
widening of the Sandy boulevard, tne
auditorium and others, but failed td
mention the most Important measures
which were discussed and adopted
unanimously. I refer to the two or,
rather, three measures which the citi
zens of Portland will be called upon to
decide at the June election next, viz.
the local public utility commission and
the licensing under the gross earnings
measure of persons or corporatlonssen
gaged in furnishing gas and electricity
for light and power. Our league fa.
vors the local public utility measure,
and is opposed to the bill known as
the Malarkey bill. We know that The
Oregonlan takes a position Just oppo
site to this, but we believe that The
Oregonlan ls a great newspaper, and ls
willing to let both sides of every public
question receive publicity, and one or
the other stand or fall on its merits.
If you will publish this you will con
fer a favor on the league and many
readers of your paper.
JOHN LELAND HENDERSON.
Chairman of Board of Trustees.
A Husband Like a Clear.
Boston Transcript.
Urt. Green From the first I allowed
my husband to go out two nights a
week, and now I'm sorry for It.
Mrs. Wise Yes. A husband, my dear,
ls like a cigar. No matter how good a
Jcigar is, it spoils It to let it go out.
SINGLE TAX IS LIKE SOCIALISM.
Advocates Do Not Agree as to the Exact
Alms of Either, Says Writer.
CORVALLIS, Or.. May 9. (To the
Editor.) An article in The Oregonlan
on "The Fallacies of Single or Land
Tax" is well worth reading.
A war in foreign lands, a great earth
quake or a famine draws attention to
the country affected, and tne reading
public learns much of the geography
of the country never before understood.
j So, also, with "Free Silver" or other
nice Issue. An election with such an
i issue teaches many persons many
j thinirs they have never cared enough
about to read up on the subject,
ju manner of late readers of
Tne Oreeonlan and of other great lead
ers In t'.ie thought of the Nation have
been presented with an increasing
amount of information pro and con
concerning the single tax.
One man will define the single tax
to be one thing, whereas another, as
well Informed, will assert its leading
principles to be quite another thins. In
I some respects it resembles Socialism
In its attitude towards public questions,
j Jn tna( nQ one nas as yet befin aD,e to
ot the single tax. The treatise which
I received was good reading but vague.
Without then any definite statement
of principle, any specific object in view,
how can any one undertake to either
espouse their cause or much less cavil
at it? Any attempt at criticism ls out
of the question, for without a definite
statement to challenge how can their
poslion be criticised?
Every one well knows that the own
er of an unimproved tract of land In
the heart of Portland has received an
Immense profit, without any effort
i whatsoever on his part to create this
value. Today's paper records the suc
cessive profits accruing to prior own
ers of the new Woodard, Clarke & Co.
location. An immense profit, caused by
community growth and business con
centration at that point.
Single taxers propose, as nearly as
I can gather, to create a condition
whereby such increasing values will
be in some form or other returned to
the community which created such val
ues. Likewise unimproved country lands
enhancing In value by reason of com
munity growth are designed by the
sinsle tax folk to return to the com
munity, and not the landlord, all or
some portion of the increase in value
caused by community growth or other
contributing causes, not the result of
the owner's investment or activitios.
People who subscribe to the old say
ing, that one shall "live by the sweat
of thy face," a saying handed down
from very respectable sources if
the Scriptures amount to anything, can
find an element of substantial Justice
in the single tax proposition : Insofar
as It proposes to return In some form
to the community which created un
earned values those values which the
owner did not assist In creating.
I am not intending to go on record
as favoring the single tax, much less
any Socialistic doctrine which has thus
far come out in the open; it will be high
time to form opinions on these mo
mentous subjects when their doctrine
is reduced to a positive statement. But
In the meantime let no enthusiasts,
rushing blindly In "where angels fear
to tread," overlook the election re
turns in Wisconsin, California and oth
er states where these much despised
Socialists and other extremists are
scoring victories at the polls right
along.
If we of the United States are real
sovereigns, as some pretend to think
they are. then the election returns are,
like money, the "thing what talks."
J. H. WILSON.
Valne of Old Coins.
PORTLAND, May 17. (To the edi
tor.) Please Inform me where I can
find out the value of old coins
AN AMATEUR COLLECTOR.
Write to Scott Stamp & Coin Co.
New York City, for price list
Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe
(Copyright. 1911, by Georga Matthew
Adamfl. )
If people don't love you, it doesn't
seem to matter much. A certain man
I know ls generally disliked, but he
seems to get alone about as well as
the rest of us.
If you have a few dollars left over
c-Biuruay nigni, alter paying your
legitimate bills, why throw them
awav? Are you not entitled to pay for
your own work? Why be a fool, and
use your money in a manner which
will do you the- most harm, and the
sharks the most good?
When a man asks $100 for a horse,
he expects to get about J.60.
There are said to be 2000 beliefs as
foolish as that water will run up hill.
How many foolish .beliefs have you?
Look yourself over; a foolish belief !
costs you money.
You can pick up a boy's school book,
and find instantly where he ls studying.
Every page he has passed over is full
of marks and dirt.
When a popular society gives an
amateur entertainment, there ls one
thing sure: you must take part, or buy
a ticket.
W'hy are more people familiar with
Ananias than with any other character
in history? Why should a liar be so
noted?
Express agents say they never de
liver a collect package without the
receiver saying the charges should have
been paid at the other end.
I often think the most horrible thins
in the world is the decision by re
latives that, owing to the hot weather,
it will be necessary to have the fu
neral early.
Half a Century Ago
From Tha Oresonlaa, May 20, 1801.
The laying of the cornerstone of the
house of worship in the course of erec
tion for the First Baptaist Church of
this city on the corner of Fourth and
Alder streets will take place this after
noon at 4:30 o'clock.
The organization of the militia Is go
ing on rapidly on Puget Sound. At
Port Madison a company called the
Union Guards has been formed. About
70 have been enrolled at that place.
On the day of the Union demonstra
tion in San Francisco, the 11th of May,
16,252 American flags were flying. Over
SO, 000 Union badges were sold on that
day and the day before.
Two hundred thousand men may not
be enough to crush the tories in arms
in the South. If so, we trust that the
President will call into the field half a
million of men. The people will that it
shall be so. The people want this re
bellion crushed out crushed out speed
ilycrushed out for all time.
Advertising Talks
By William C. Freeman.
There are a great many safety razors
on the market some of whch have
been sold for years. Most of them have
been advertised in one way or another.
Those that have been advertised
seemed to have succeeded the usual
thing that happens when Intelligent
advertising ls done.
It is not quite three years ago that
the auto strop razor made Its appear
ance. At that time, a great many peo
ple were inclined to the opinion that
there wasn't room on the market for
another safety razor.
But the Auto Strop people thought
differently, arid proceeded to prove
they were right. They realized, how
ever, that the only way to make their
-razor known was to advertise It.
They immediately started a news
paper campaign.
The advertising told their story in a
simple, straightforward manner, and
made a favorable impression from the
start.
The advertisements w-ere not large
small single column copy being run
after the first few introductory an
nouncements, but they ran regularly.
The result of the advertising is that
the Auto Strop razor ' Is now In every
drug, hardware and department store la
the country, and oh April 20, this year,
they advert'sed to the stockholders
that a dividend of 21 per cent had beea
declared.
This ls an unusually quick return on
an advertising; Investment. It is also
another concrete Illustration that bis
apace ls not necessary to aa advertis
ing? sueceaa.
(To be continued.)
Mystery of a Bnnch of Moss.
Puck.
A fox was once seen to take a bunch
of moss In his mouth and swim out
into the river, where, after sinking
himself to the very point of his nose
in the water, he let go of the moss and
came ashore.
"No doubt," remarked a well-read by
stander, "you did that to rid yourself
of fleas, which were driven by the wa
ter to seek refuge In the moss."
The fox glanced furtively and slink
ingly about and around.
"Hist!" he whispered, with a sly
wink. "I did It to make some people
think that was what I did It for!"
Moral: There is no greater mystery
than motive, take it up one side and
down the other.
SPfiCIAL FEATURES
OF
TOMORROW'S
OREGONIAN
Sherlock Holmes will conclude
his deductions and investigation
in that new, absorbing tale, "The
Adventure of the Devil's Foot,
from the masterly pen of Sir A.
Conan Doyle. The same breath
less interest of the first install
ment attaches itself to the con
clusion. You mustn't miss the
ending of this great Holmes ad
venture tale. Another Sherlock
Holmes adventure, by the way,
will open the Sunday following.
Some more of those graphic
Civil War Pictures will be pre
sented in a page of exceptional
interest on the death scenes of
famous Generals. These are some
of the best of that gTeat official
collection recently unearthed from
musty vaults.
In addition to the Sherlock
Holmes tles, there's another
strong fiction feature a short
adventure story, "The Green
Gamp," complete in Sunday's is
sue. By way of special articles an
especially big and attractive ar
ray is offered. There's an illus
trated half page that wil inter
est you particularly on the op
erations of the American, Dr.
Owen, who is digging in the River
Wye to unearth proof that Bacon
killed Shakespeare, as well as
proof that Bacon is the real au
thor of work attributed to Shake
speare and others. Press dis
patches have told of the intense
interest Dr. Owen has aroused,
but this is the first detailed and
illustrated account.
Women play an important part
in the big business affairs of
Portland. An .illustrated balf
page tells of the achievements of
women in Portland's big depart
ment stores.
That yellow peril has been com
ing in for lots of attention in the
past few years. Now Price Col
lier dissects it thoroughly and
savs the whole thing is a "bug
bear. That hanging is barbarous is
the contention of Dr. Spitka, em
inent brain specialist, who has
gone thoroughly into the subject.
He gives some valid reasons why
more effective methods of execu
tion should be adopted, showing
the extreme inhumanity of the
present system in use by many
states where capital punishment
' is meted out.
Europe is getting wrought up
over the fact that rich Americans
are appropriating all the great
art treasures. In half a page the
acquisitions of these American
"raiders" are recounted and the
list includes many of the world's
greatest masterpieces.
Men around thirty are plentiful
in Congress. Half a page is con
sumed by John Elfreth Watkins
in telling of the new "babies of
Congress."
Col. Crowe, Wallace Irwin's
latent comedian, touches up the
aviation outlook: Widow Wise,
Sambo and Mr. Twee Deedle have
new adventures. Two children's
pages, a page on fashions and
an immense array of timely mat
ter. Last, but not least all the
world 's news, right up to the
minute.