Morning Oregonian., May 25, 1911, Page 12, Image 12

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THE tmzm CttAXCR.
The citizen who neglected to regis
ter bow has an opportunity to correct
tha oversight. Tho registration books
will be opened at tha office of tho
County Clerk for three days. begin
ning today. The voter who la not reg
istered will hare much trouble at tha
polls June t, for ba will not then be
able to cast his Tota without present
ing an affidavit alined by six freehold,
era that ha Is eligible). The difficulty
f going through the prescribed form
1j discouraging to the unregistered
voter, and usually keeps him fruni
the polls.
There can sow ba no excuse fr
failure to qualify for election day. The
Issues to be decided June t are of mo
ment to every citizen. He should cot
leave everythlnc to the other fellow.
The undesirable citizen, the man who
majtea something out of politics, and
the fellow who works the came while
others sleep, always register. They
wlU be at the polls June 6. They
never stay away.
If the people of Portland turn out
on election day. Mr. Simon will be re
elected. A full Tote means his suc
cess: a light vote hie defeat. There
fore, every man who believes he has
an Interest In the election of a capa
ble and trustworthy Mayor and every
one has ought to register. If cot al
ready rectsiered, and to see that bis
I neighbor Is red-vtered.
THK OOTKT A.YO TUB 1KII11
It la pretty well agreed by the new.
rapers of the country that while the
Standard Oil decision of the Supreme
'ourt has settled some questions about
I the trusts It has not settled all of them
iy any mean. The future la still big
-ith difficult problems. We may take
:t for granted that the doom of trusts
:ike the Standard Oil Company has
.Kn sealed by the decision. That
Ihuee combination gained power and
fortune by methods which no moralist
ould approve. Unfair competition,
-he robbery of the helpless, rebating
vnd spying upon the trade of rivals.
) i era some of the base expedients of
lahlch It made use. Restraint of trade
ffected in this way and monopolies
jjilt up by tricks of this kind the
supreme Court has definitely con
demned. To borrow Its cautious epl-
het. they are "unreasonable. When
-here Is evidence to show that any
ther trust has done the deeds which
are bean brought home to the Stand
rd Oil Company, or anything like
hem. are may rest assured that It
via meet the same fate at the bar of
rinal Justice. But what of the com-
inaaons which are not guilty of
heee deads?
The Supreme Court r'alnly 1nt1-
l-i at as that there Is a "restraint of
I rado and a sperles of monopoly
which are "reasonable." Trusts which
mi under this category are not for
i Idden by the Sherman anti-trust act
-cording to the Standard Oil decl-
hon. The difference between good
nd bad trusts Is as wide as the gulf
hlch will yawn between the sheep
nd goats on the Day of Judgment.
he bad trusts must dissolve. The
-od ones may continue their busJ-
flas In quiet. They may follow the
.ethods which have served their pur-
oee in the past and continue to cre-
-e larger and larger monopolies for,
early, a business device which Is rea.
'Babie when It succeeds on a small
ale does not become unreasonable
rely because It succeeds on a l.trire
a'.e. There Is nothing In the dccl-
in of the Supreme Court to prevent
.e business of the country from fall
g Into a few competent hands pro
led only that thry refrain from
lr.g any of the prohibited Standard
:1 methods of plunder and outrage.
Therefore, to borrow the wor.ls of
contemporary, the trust problem la
most as wide open as It ever was.
he questions whether competition Is
-eferable to monopoly, how much
onopoly we shall tolerate if we tol-
ste any. how the trusts shall be Urn-
d and controlled If we finally make
our minds that limitation and con
st are necessary, still remain to be
tved. To men of constructive brains
e anti-trust act has always appeared
taily Infirm because It meraiy for-
L.de certain things. It mads no ef-
rt to provide a remedy for the evils
combination, but with rude and
.rbarous blows sought to mingle
oJ and evil together In one tndis-
tmlnate heap of wreckage. That the
rge combinations of capital which
.it been farmed In the last forty
i ars are In many cases tyrannical no
formed person would think of dia
ling. They . have promoted the
l-ocg by the ruin of the weak. They
ve practiced bribery to gala their
da They have walked rgurh-shod
ler the law of the land. All this
ist be confessed by their warmest
ends, but there ts another side to
I story.
The trusts have applied to wmntr-
I d affairs an Intelligence which Is a
l jd'.t to the human race. They have
vwn as that the most complicated
airs of business can be reduced to
jryro metrical system, organized with
inomy and simplicity, and freed
m waste. The Implication follows
at the same rule can be applied to
-.er domains. We have eun to
I vly them, la fact, to politics. The
nmtsaioa plan of city government
nothing more than the extension to
.nlclp-UlUee of methods which the
sts have tested la great commer-
I enterprises. Concentration of ef-
doubt favor efficiency In cities as they
hsve In trade.
In the long run the cheapest way
of doing a thir.g. If It Is at the same
time the most efficient. Is sure to pre
vail. It Is therefore difficult to un
derstand upon what grounds anybody
expects to see the trusts destroyed.
The law can ban them In one form,
but because of their everlasting effi
ciency they are sure to reappear in
another. The Supreme Court recog
nizes this truth and bows to It. It
says In so many "words that the Sher
man anti-trust art. for all its sweep
ing language, does not apply to rea
sonable trusts.
But, who shall determine which
trusts are reasonable? Is It the propor
duty of the courts or of Congress?
Men who enter Into a reasonable trust
do a perfectly lawful act. Those who
combine to form an unreasonable one
commit a crime- The power which
draws" the line between the reasonable
and the unreasonable therefore de
fines a crime, and this has always
been supposed to be the business of
the legislature, not of the courts. The
Standard Oil decision awards It to the
courts however, though Congress may
take It away from them by passing a
new statute on the subject.
But when we have finally learned
what combinations are reasonable the
question remains as to the liberty we
shall allow them. Is It wise to permit
the best trust in the country to mo
nopolize any business completely? If
a little monopoly saves a little money,
would not a total monopoly save a
great deal more?- Perhaps the ulti
mate problem In relation to the trusts
pertains to the proper distribution of
these savings. If they could be di
vided equitably between the trusts and
Its customers who would be entitled
to complain?
No doubt as we grow In wisdom we
shall gradually cease our efforts o
break up the combinations which
might. If they were Intelligently di
rected, greatly promote the common
welfare.. We shall try Instead to reg
ulate them In such a way that their
benefits may be diffused throughout
the "'community Instead of being
massed In a few hands. It ts as fool
ish to seek to destroy the new ma
chinery of commerce as It was for the
old-fashlohed handworker to flrht the
Introduction of steam. Intelligence
often turns to good purposes what
fanatical rase seeks to wreck.
THE WT.Vrtr WOCXD LIKE TO KNOW.
The Salem Capital Journal shows
Intrinsic evidence that Editor llofer ts
back on the Job. He is not among
the somewhat numerous class of Ore
gon editors who never will be missed.
The Colonel has recently been busy
with his personal affairs looking
after a chain of Hofer banks and con
serving his other Investments made
from the surplus of his paper and
naturally he has had little time to
guard the welfare of the people. Now
he Is at It amln and the whole public
will be grateful.
This time Editor Hofer rises to In
quire about the Oregon City locks.
He tells the story of the great cam
paign. In which the Capital Journal
took an honorable and efficient part,
to get the Legislature to appropriate
1300.000 to help buy the locks and
make them free forever. "Plnheaded
Oregon ' City politicians cried graft
and fought the bills' at every step, but
they went through." says the Caplts'
Journal. Then, "under whip and spur
of the press of the state a bill wss put
through Congress appropriating 1300.
000 to al.1 the state in building or
acquiring free locks and canal at Ore
gon City." There the project to make
the river free appears to be stuck.
The money Is ready, the people are
ready, traffic ts ready, but there are
deep Inactivity and silence everywhere
else. The Capital Journal wants to
know what is the matter and directs
Its questions toward the Government
engineers and the delegation In
Congress.
There Is now a totnl of JSOO.OOO
available and it has been available for
many months to buy the Willamette
canal and locks. But no apparent
headway Is being made. Has the dele
gation at Washington forgotten the
overburdened shippers along the Wil
lamette River? Docs the corporation
owning the canal and locks refuse to
sell? -If It does, why not condemn?
Or why not build new locks and canal?
The Capita Journal appears to be
renewing Its agitation over this Im
portant matter mainly In order to Jar
slow-moving officialdom and to un
wind red tape. If possible. We concur.
TOM is cows."
The celebrated loslc of the shop
keeper who declared that "a pint's a
pound, the world around," finds Its
counterpart In some of the Interesting
comparisons on prices which have
been brought forth by the debate on
the tarift In the Striata a few days
aco cow were under dlscuaslon, and
"Gumshoe' BlU" Stone, of Missouri,
quoting from the Tariff Board report,
showed that the price of dairy cows
ranged from $33 to $3 per head In
the Eastern and New England States,
Increasing in the West to 144.60 in
Montana. The Eastern Canada prices
were about the same as those In the
eaatern part of the United States.
Summarizing, the report says: "The
highest Canadla) price quoted la Hi
at Ontario, as against J44.&0 In Mon
tana, the highest American price."
This schedule of prices would, of
course, make It very difficult to build
up a suitable argument showing that
the American cow was In danger of an
Invasion of Canadian bossies, but. at a
critical moment. Senator Ueyburn
stepped Into the breach and declared
that an Idaho dairy cow that was
worth keeping was worth ITS and up
ward. This statement naturally
strengthened the case, for It ts easy to
understand that with Canada flooding
Idaho with til cows, the home-bred
ITS animal would soon be on the bar
gain counter. But Senator Martine. of
New Jersey, who apparently believes
that "cows Is cows." stated that It was
a rarity to find a milch eow in the dairy
rfiatri.-ra of New Tork and New Jersey
that would command over 150. al
though there were , instances wnere
1100 to UtO had been paid, and that
he had neighbors who had paid as
high as t::oo.
The prolonged debate brought to
light the fa. that It Is possible to do
almost anything with fig-ures If they
are Judlicously used la a tariff discus
sion. It also showed the ease with
which tacts can be used to prove al
most anything desired. By selecting
a ITS Idaho cow and a I4S Canadian
cow to represent the threatened and
the threatening In tBe reciprocity bill,
the comparison becomes as fair as a
Pennsylvania horse trade. Similar
...jiiiAni m m i M ba doubt be found
throughout the list of agricultural sta
thorugh reciprocity. "Pigs Ms pigs."
but a 110 hog in the United States
will not be affected by the competition
of the 110 Canadian hog, even If the
reciprocity bill does become a law.
THE TARIFF OX PRINT. PAPER.
The full report of the Tariff Board
on pulp and news print paper quite
effectually punctures the arguments
that have been advanced by the Amer
ican paper trust for the retention of
the enormous duty ,on print paper.
The contention of the paper trust, like
that of all of our highly protected
trusts, has always been that the duty
of $3.75 per ton on news paper was
necessary to offset the higher cost of
labor In this country. The report
shows an output of approximately
1.200,000 tons of news paper In 190.
It also shows that the average cost of
labor In all the Canadian mills was
but t cents per ton less than In the
American mills. The consumers of
print paper In the United States were
thus forced to pay over $4,000,000 ad
ditional because of an apparent differ
ence of $96,000 In the cost of labor.
It was also found zy the board that
the United States mills have an ad
vantage over the Canadian mills of
$1.40 per ton of paper in coal, finish
ing materials, administration expense
and miscellaneous operating expense.
The Canadians have one decided ad
vantage over the Americans, and that
Is the newer machinery they are using.
The Tariff Board found that while
American machinery was used in both
this country and Canada, the Canadian
machines had an average age of seven
years, while the machines used in this
country averaged 12.7 years. This
difference in age la sufficient to give
the Canadians a much more modern
and higher grade of machinery, the
use of which was reflected in an aver
age of 31 tons per twenty-four hours
In Canada and 2 7.8 tons on the ma
chines in the American mills.
It Is on this showing that the lowest
cost mill In each country should be
made the standard. To do otherwise
would be placing a premium on some
of the ancient machinery used In this
country. But the board failed to make
comparisons of this nature and merely
submitted figures.. The most pro
nounced advanlnge of the Canadian
m?: la that of wood and the Canadian
government w'.ll undoubtedly make a
strong effort to retain that advantage
by depriving the American mills of
supplies of the raw material. By this
It hopes to force the American paper
business to follow a great many other
American industries to Canada.
jitkjxt rucnox or senators.
The resolution for an amendment
to the Federal Constitution to provide
for popular election of Senators was
reported favorably to the Senate from
the committee on the Judiciary, but
the report was not unanimous. A
minority which Included Senator Nel
son submitted an amendment differ
ing essentially from the one which
had been received from the House of
representatives, while Sjenator Root
and two of his associates signified that
they were opposed to the entire plan
of popular election. It la apparent,
therefore, that there Is a marked di
versity of opinion In the Senate upon
this Important subject. The minority
report of the Judiciary commWtee
finds no fault with the project of
popular election Itself, but it is op
posed to giving the state legislatures
control over the times, places and
manner of holding the elections. This
power now belongs to Congress by the
terms of the National Constitution and
the amendment submitted by the mi
nority of tho Judiciary committee
would not change It.
The resolution reported by the ma
jority of the committee contains four
now provisions: 1. Direct election by
the pcopje. 2. Electors for Senators
shall have the same qualifications as
for the most numerous branch of the
state legislature. 3. The times, places
and manner of electing Senators shall
be prescribed by the state legislatures.
4. The Governor of the state must
Issue writs of election to fill vacan
cies. All these changes are In the
direction of popular control over the
Senate. None of them meets with
much open opposition except the
third. It was a clause similar to this
which defeated the resolution for di
rect election In the last Congress. Its
effect may not be o unfortunate
again, but no-doubt the objections to
It are serious and in many candid
minds It will not be easy to overcome
them. t
The minority of the Judiciary com
mittee has formulated these objections
under eight heads, and they touch
upon a matter so vitany inieresuiig
ti the public that the intelligent
reader will probably be graterui lor a
brief summary of them with a little
comment here and there as we pro
ceed. But to begin with, we ought to
observe that the proposed amendment
ni.i meralv "the times, places and
manner of holding elections for Sen
ators" under the control or me siaio
legislatures. The qualifications of
electors, which are vastly more Im
portant, are fixed In another clause.
Hence It should be borne In mind that
the controversy relates merely to the
external machinery of the elections,
time, place and manner. There Is no
question as to who shall or shall not
vote. It Is also well to remember that
the Constitution provides In another
place that the Senate as well as the
House shall be the Judge of the "elec
tions, qualifications and returns of Its
own members," so that If any state
should make regulations which were
deemed Improper tts members could
be excluded until they were altered.
In the light of these perfectly Indis
putable facts. It appears to us that
the minority of the committee lays
far too much stress uion thlsaclause.
Its Importance In no way Justifies the
controversy which It has excited. We
do not believe that the practical au
thority of the National Government
over the election of Senators would be
Impaired an atom by the change.
The minority's first argument is
that It Is unnecessary to give the state
legislatures control over the times,
places and manner of electing Sena
tors. This Is probably true. Still If
the people of a state found reason to
choose their Senators on some date
different from the general election, to
prevent corruption for Instance, they
ought to have that right. It makes
little difference to the general Gov
ernment how. when or where this
duty Is performed, while to the voters
of the various states It may make all
the difference In the world. In gen
eral It Is well to permit as much
local self-government as possible.
The minority argues, secondly, that
the proposed change would "be fun
damental and vital in our system of
government."
This 1 io far from me trutn tnaij
It smacks of the absurd. The change
Is nothing but a matter of the baldest
formality and does not touch anything
that Is vital. If It really deprived
Congress of any valuable power, of
course the case would be different,
but It does nothing of the kind. The
minority's third objection argues
soundly against depriving Congress of
"control over the election of its mem
bers," but the amendment makes no
such deprivation. That control is se
cured in another part of the Cotistl
tutlon, as we have pointed Cut. The
resolution pertains only to time, place
and manner, not to anything essential
to control. For example. It would
leave the Senate Just as free as It now
Is to seat or unseat a Lorimer or a
Stephenson.
Tl5e minority contends fourthly that
the amendment would prevent the
Senate from obtaining evidence of
corruption In Judging the election of a
member. This of course Is a mere
fancy. The power to summon wit
nesses and the like would remain ex
actly as It is. The desire to expose
corruption la much more likely to fall
the Senate than the authority. It Is
said, sixthly, that the change would
deprive Congress of the. power to en
force the fourteenth and fifteenth
amendments. Seeing how vigorously
Congress has exercised this power. Its
loss would be terrible Indeed. One
would be reminded of what befell the
man who burled his talent In the
ground. But nothing of the sort
would happen. The qualifications of
electors are fixed elsewhere and It
Is provided In section 2 of amendment
XIV that If any state denies the right
to vote to citizens who ought to have
it the basis of Its representation shall
be diminished In the same ratio. Since
Congress lacks the moral courage to
enforce this provision It cannot com
plain If some of Its ornamental pow
ers sholud be clipped away.
The minority argues seventhly that
the considerations which we have ad
vanced here are Invalid. Of course
they were all put forth In Congress
long ago and the minority "are unable
to agree" with them. Still they may
be sound for all that. Finally It Is
said that the clause In question ought
to be submitted by itself and be con
sidered on Its own merits. No doubt
this Is so. Every real friend of direct
election will concur in the opinion
that It should be severed from every
other issue and be permitted to go to
the people without entanglements.
May wheat in Chicago yesterday
crawled up within a fraction of the
dollar mark. All of the new-crop
months were contrary and receded
from the price of the day before. The
J!gh figure reached by May was not
on account of the Dlngley tariff. Cana
dian reciprocity or any scarcity of
wheat. It was simply due to the fact
that a great number of speculators
had sold May wheat at such low
prices that now, as the end of the
month approaches, they are unable to
fill their contracts at the prices at
which they sold. They are simply ac
cepting one of the options of that old
rhyme which asserts that "he who
sells what Isn't his'n must buy it back
or go to prison." The "spread," as
the difference In the price of options
Is termed. Is about 12 cents per bushel
between May and July. As the car
rying charges for the two months are
only about three cents, the remainder
is the figure which the speculators are
paying because they were poor at
guessing.
"Over 100 prominent business men
of the city whose names were pub
lished as signing the Simon petitions
protested to The Oregonian newspaper
by telephone and letter, but The Ore
gonian suppressed the communica
tions," declares the organ of filth and
falsehood that Is carrying the Rush
light standard in the local campaign.
There was one protest from Mr.
John Bain, who had not signed the
petitions. ft might have- been ex
pected that In the entire 6000 signa
tures a name here and there would
be wrong. But so far only one has
been heard from. One per cent fact
to 99 per cent Invention Is near
enough, however, for the little Rush
light rushlight to sputter about. The
guff and stuff and bluff that It hands
out dally perhaps suits the so-called
Republican nominee. Rushlight has a
fine champion indeed. But what else
could he do? No other newspaper
would support him.
A strange mixture of nationalities
In marriage was that of a Japanese of
28 and a Finnish woman of 31 at
Vancouver, Wash, a few days ago. It
Is said that Finnksh women of this
bride's class do not expect much of
their husbands financially or In kind
and considerate treatment. So per
haps the plump and motherly-looking
Mrs. Insgakl may not be disappointed
In her matrimonial venture. As to the
little brown husband, the matrimonial
prognosis Is not quite so clear. How
ever, he Is sold to carry at present an
air of well-dressed contentment and
serene satisfaction, which Is all that
can be expected of a brldegroem un
der the most toward circumstances.
The men who founded the Re
formed German Church were heretics
In their day and now this denomina
tion takes Its turn at persecuting here
tics. The supposition that the found
ers of the various denominations dis
covered all truth and made furthfr
Investigation superfluous, or criminal,
can hardly be maintained In the twen
tieth century.
Of course knowledge of grammar is
necessary, but how many men a dec
ade or two out of school can now dia
gram a sentence or do any of the ex
amples that seemed so easy when they
were schoolboys? ,
This May snow storm is timely for
the Rose Festival. . Thrifty merry
makers will save a portion of the
drifts to freeze Ice cream with and
thus chea the Ice man.
Anybody with an oversupply of
sympathy can expend It on the poor
little brown man who marries a white
"wldder."
The advice to autolsts to "keep the
brakes in working order" Is a good
suggestion also to the politicians.
Why not make election day a holi
day on account of the Rose Festival
and give ail a chance to vote?
Snow on the high spots on May 24 Is
ree-m ark-able.
Diss says: "MananaJ" . ..
' EXTENSIONS WOI LD BE (STOPPED
I Ne-Seat-No-Ride Ordlaaaee Would
" Harm I -a boring Man.
t PORTLAND. May 24. (To the "Edl
I tor.) There Is a feature connected with
j the operation of the proposed "no-seat-nn-rlda"
ordinance of tha Cltv of Port-
, land which appears to have escaped
notice, but which Is calculated to do
: more to retard the growth of Portland
than can be estimated, because it will
! preclude the extension of streetcar lines
to outlying districts.
In the future the Portland streetcar
vstem and its ooeration will Jba un-
i der the supervision and control of
i either the Malarkey public utilities law
or the proposed new city public utilities
law, or both. Under this supervision
extension of streetcar service may be
brought 'about, but this will be entirely
dependent upon the financial showing
of the streetcar company.
In the celebrated Smythe vs. Ames
case, from Nebraska, the United States
Supreme Court decided that railroad
corporations are entitled to receive a
fair net return on their Investment.
In order to get at this "fair net re
turn" valuation figures must be ob
tained. It must be shown what the
cost of the company property was, what
its present value is, the cost of main
tenance, cost of operation and up-keep,
depreciation, net revenues, etc. The net
revenue! then form the basis on which
the public utilities commission can
make legal and binding orders cover
ing rates and fares, service, extensions
and the like, always conditioned, how
ever, on allowing the company a fair
net return or dividend on its Invest
ment. The "no-seat-no-rlde" ordinance will
very materially reduce the revenues of
the street railway company. The re
sult will be that the company will not
be able to extend Its lines.
In any city the degree of health and
prosperity and happiness Is largely
measured by the extent to which mem
bers of the working classes own their
own homes. They must go to the out
lying districts to do this. This is the
very class that must, of necessity, have
streetcar transportation. But it Is ad
mitted that the Investment necessary
to extend streetcar lines out Into new
and sparsely populated districts is not
a paying one. TrafTIc in the thickly
settled districts must bear its share of
the expense of developing the city by
the extension of streetcar lines in new
directions.
Supposing it Is desired by the publio
utilities commission to order streetcar
lines extended to some new district
within the city limits. The company
demurs on the ground that It cannot
afford to make the Investment neces
sary to this extension. The commission
must .then prove, by court proceedings
if necessary, that this expenditure on
the part of the company would still
leave a fair net return to the company.
Unless this can be done the extension
cannot pe forced. .
. Here, then. Is where the workingman
will be the victim of the "no-seat-no-rlde"
ordinance. This is as certain as
'ate, and is the reason for the abandon
ment of "no-seat-no-ride" legislation
in practically every locality where any
thing of thia Kfhd has been agitated or
attempted.
On this proposed ordinance the ques
tion before the citizens of Portland is
whether they desire to retard and pre
vent the extension and growth of the
city. The working classes must have
streetcar service. If they cannot have
It in the outlying districts, then they
must crowd Into tenement districts.
Such a prospect Is nothing less than
appalling.
The "no-seat-no-rlde" ordinance will
not hurt .the street railway company in
the long rui. Under the supervision
and control of a public utilities commis
sion, such corporations will eventually
be put on a basis which will allow the
stockholders a fair return on their in
vestment. That much is guaranteed
them by the courts. If these revenues
are-to be reduced by such freak legis
lation as "no-seat-no-rlde," then there
is no way to compel the streetcar com
pany to do its proper share toward the
extension and development of the city.
J. W. LYSONS.
Mr. Bain Explains.
PORTLAND, May 23. (To the Edi
tor.) I regret troubling you to make
another correction, but feel sure that,
in the interest of truth, you will gladly
publish this letter.
In The Oregonian Tuesday you say,
"Mr. Bain has recently presumably
after years of hesitation and deliberat
tion taken out his first citizenship
papers." The facts are these: On July
23, 1888, about sixteen months after
coming to Portland. I took out my first
papers: and received my final papers on
November 20, 19t. During the Inter
val I performed to the best of my abil
ity my duties as a cltlren as these were
presorted to me. I plead guilty to
thoughtlessness as the reason for delay
In taking out my final papers, and this
neglect I hastened to correct upon re
ceiving a mild rebuke from the court
because of my Inability to do grand
Jury service.
It Is true that I reside a few yards
outside the city limits, but for the past
twenty-three years, almost without ex
ception. I have owned property and
paid taxes within the city. For this
reason, if for no other, I am sure no
ona The Oregonian least of all would
refuse to accord me the privilege of
being Interested In the administration
of the city's business. I have sought
no voire in the direction of its affairs, I
nor control of its government, save
in as far as I have earnestly desired
and wrought for Its highest Interests,
regardless of party politics or favors.
This, I believe, is the duty of every
citizen, and the motive Involved shall
govern my actions In the future as It
has done In the past. JOHN BAIN.
Oregoa Divorce Law.
PRAIRIE CITT, Or., May 18. (To
the Editor.) 1.. A woman left her
husband and went to another part of
state and applied for divorce. It was
granted. As nothing else was asked
for. the husband did not put In any
complaint. The property was a home- I
stead which was not patented for about
two years after the separation. In less
than a year, after the divorce was
granted she was married again. After
several years has passed can she sue
and get any of the property, moat of
the Improvements being done since she
left?
2. Can a" man's team, milch cows
and such property be taken from a
single man who owns and lives on a
farm for debt?
READER AND SUBSCRIBER.
1. No. '
2. Tea. There Is no property ex
emption for a man who has himself
only to support.
Failure to Record Deed.
HTLLSBORO. Or.. May 20. (To "the
Editor.) A man bought real estate for
$16,000 with his own money. Deeds were
made to hti wife. She deeded it to him
later on and such deed has never been
recorded. Later he was temporarily
sent to the insane hospital. When he
was there, the wife and trrown son
bought out a business for $2000 giving
their notes and a mortgage on the said
real estate, both signing notes and
mortgage. Is that mortgage a valid
one? What can the husband do about
It? What position legally does It put
the wife and son In? What are hus
band's normal rights In the real estate?
A L. LEWIS.
The fact that the deed was not
recorded does not Interfere with its
validity, and In the circumstances set
forth the mother and eon had no legal
right to mortgage the property belong
ing to the Insane pattant. If he wants
to do anything about it he should con
sult an attorney, -
MATTER AND THINGS EXISTENT. J
life One of Waya "Matter Acta, Is ;
View of WrlteT.
SrLVERTOK. Or., May Z3. (To tha Ed
itor.) Tha editorial on the -Orisin of
Life." which appearea in ini dbduv .'ht
xonian. Interested ma very much, but nearly
everybody Ktmi to miss one fundamental
thought in connection with this Uie ques
tion. Let everythlns which axlsta ba known by
f v. - wm4 -m,rtn" and let matter, as far
ea we can conceive tha idea, be thousht of i
aa aternal. then Ufa reduces Itself to simply j
one of the ways In which matter acta it
acta In many ways. It actions are called
energy, forca. electricity, power, gravity,
life, thought, mind, etc The two general
wave It has or acting are called repulsive
force and attractive force. Why matter acta
In these ways, nobody knows, but one thing
Is certain, life la not a thing. It is only one
of tha waya matter act.
Herbert Epencer says that life Is an in
ner adjustment to external - Invironment.
This shows that our-Idea i perfectly aclen
tilio and that the old Idea of biogenesis with
Its orthodox, theological denomlnatlonallsm
must ro and that abtorenesls will be uni
versally accepted and furnish a sound basis I
on which the religion of tha future win oa
bullded the religion of truth, righteous
ness and love. This new religion will unite
all good people In the great march to the
happly land of universal brotherhood.
Our Ignorant ancestors thought that
things which moTe were animated by splrita,
and life, mind and thought naturally cam
to stand for entitles, and the wily priests,
taking advantage of this condition, built up
many theories to their own and to their
church's enrichment and glory. Many even
now think that mind can effect cures at a
distance, that thought travels and that life
can exist separate from the body. Science
(classified truth) will in time correct all
these falsa notions, tear away the old de
caying structure of theology, unite all on
the solid foundation of evolution and save
the world from its dissension and the re
sulting hypocrisy, crime and misery.
The Oregonian is doing a good work when
It discusses such live questions. Thinking
people want such discussion and with 11
will coma the ushering in of a happier day
for alL J. S. HOSMER.
While we are grateful for Mr. Hos
mer's appreciative remarks, we cannot
concede that life "is only one of the
ways in which matter acts." Nor can
we quite agree to let "everything which
exists be known by the word "matter."
Purpose, will, memory and love exist
and they are not matter, though matter
may be a form exhibited by thought.
The real question is, "which term shall
be all-inclusive, mind or matter?" The
answer, as Professor James showed In
his "Pragmatism," depends on a man's
temperament.
POLISHED PAVEMENTS OPPOSED
Asphalt Declared to Be Too Smootk for
Safe Traffic.
PORTLAND. May 13. (To the Ed
itor.) Any man who will witness the
struggles of a fallen horse on a wet
asphalt pavement certainly cannot fail
to revolt against the laying of this
pavement on the streets of Portland.
And when we remember the number
of wet days in the year, it must appear
to any receptive mind that this kind
of street "improvement" is the height
of insane folly. Why should city streets
be "improved" with a pavement on
which horses can walk only with great
difficulty, and on which horses are
daily falling and unable to rise? Is
the street Improvement known as as
phalt pavement the result of civic
pride, or official graft, or just lack of
plain common sense? It certainly Is
lack of "horse" sense.
Every week In the year I witness,
from my office window on Sixth street,
the painful struggles of some horse or
mule that has fallen on the slick pave
ment and is trying to get up.
Today's case was a mule a magnifi
cent specimen of the surest-footed ani
mal In man's service hitched with two
others to a load of gravel. While walk
ing at an ordinary gait its feet spread
outward and it fell sprawling on tne
polished asphalt. The driver, twith
infinite ' patience, tried to render as
sistance in its prolonged struggle to
rise. Its harness was detached, and it
was given all possible freedom, but
each time It struggled up only to go
down again further " away from the
wagon, until it lay prostrate In the
street, 20 feet away from Its original
fall. At last gunnysacks were brought,
and when these were placed under Its
feet the weary animal was able to get
a foothold upright on the pavement
Why In the name of human experi
ence and enlightenment do we put this
kind of "improvement" on Portland
streets? We are putting it on grades
where firm footing is absolutely neces
sary for horses, both In pulling a load
up hill or holding the loaded wagon
In check coming down hill. Is It not
time to borrow some "horse" sense to
be used In Improving Portland streets?
C MHYSXEL.
Socialism and Single Tax.
MEDFORD, May 22. (To the Edi
tor.) Permit me to Inform Mr. J. H.
Wilson that the correct definition of
the term "single tax" reads as follows:
1. The total abolition of all taxes
and tariffs, no matter of what nature.
2. The collection, by society, of all
ground rent. Irrespective of improve
ments. What shall be done with this
vast sum of money, after defraying the
expenses of a simplified government, no
one can foretell. The late Henry George
once suggested that all communities
could be supplied with free water, free
gas and so forth, and maybe a certain
sum of money to persons after reach
ing a certain age.
The late Tom L. Johnson maintained
thatgthe people could have free street
cars In the cities just the same as they
have free elevators in buildings now.
Mr. Wilson will please bear In mind
that the "single tax" is not a tax on
land, but on land values. This is all
that society creates as a whole. When
It takes more than this, it violates the
rights of individuals; when it takes
less than this, it fails to do its full
duty.
I am going to ask Mr. Wilson to re
frain from mixing socialism and single
tax, as it creates endless confusion. The
first attempts to correct evil through
destroying competition and substituting
unlimited monopoly; the second seeks
to destroy monopoly by abolishing
privileges and establishing free compe
tition in all that man does, provided he
infringes not on the equal rights of all
other men to do the same.
D. F. EDWARDS.
Rights of Foreign-Bora Women.
AMERICAN FALLS. Idaho, May 19.
(To the Editor.) Is a foreign-born wo
man, married to an American, entitled
to a vote from the fact of being a
resident of the United States 20 years
or would the law compel her to have
her papers?
Would she be subject to road poll
tax from the fact of being married to
an American citizen?
H. W. ROBINSON.
A foreign-born woman upon mar
riage to an American citizen becomes
an American citizen also. She would
be entitled to the voting privileges
granted other women and be required
to pay the taxes imposed on other
women citizens In the state In which
she resides.
City Funds aw Decoration Day.
PORTLAND, May 23. (To the Edi
tor.) In the "City News in Brief" in
The Oregonian mentioning an applica
tion to the City Council for an appro
priation of $100 for use of the Spanish
American War Veterans occurs the
words, "the Council appropriated $250
for decorating the graves of G. A. R.
veterans." This may convey a wrong
Impression. The Council's appropria
tion is always applied to payment of
expenses attendant upon parades and
public services on both sides of the
river, and not a dime for decorating
grave, a duty cheerfully performed by
the comrades and their auxiliaries of
the Woman's Relief Corps.
G. E. CATJKTN.
Advertising Talks
By William C Freeman.
Two hundred and one men Interested
in the automobile Industry recently as
sembled in New Yorw City to do honor
to John C. Wetmore, who haa been af
fectionately called "The Dean of the
Automobile Profession."
Getting together to show their appre
ciation of the work done by Mr. Wet
more through newspaper publicity for
the automobile industry was not all
that was back of that gathering.
The fact is that these men, although
competitors in business, have gotten
together on other occasions for the pur
pose of better developing their indus
try. There is not another line of business
that I know where the element of the
square deal has got to enter into a
transaction as in the sale of an automo
bile. The advertising put out by these gen- "
tlemen has been, in the main, very
straightforward. Each manufacturer,
of course, tries to sell his own product
tries to convince as large a part of
the public as possible that his product
Is as good as any.
But there is no ""knocking" of com
petitors. And all of them. In order to
accomplish a sale, must convince the
Individual purchaser of the lasting
qualities of the machine.
The automobile manufacturers of the
country, after wandering around in
various publicity fields, with more or
less measure of success, have finally
concluded that the dally newspaper an
awera their purpose better than any
other form of publicity.
So the greater volume of their busi
ness .a g9en to the daily newspapers,
and It was because of the work done In
this field by Mr. Wetmore that they
presented him with a handsome testi
monial of their appreciation.
We all know how the automobile in
dustry has developed in the last decade,
and the sentiment of the meeting the
other night waa that the surface had
juat been scratched.
The development of the truck auto
mobile is now being considered by a
great many manufacturers, and the re
sult will be as It has been in the case
of the pleasure car a tremendous vol
ume of business through sane, truthful
and convincing newspaper publicity.
(To Be Continued.
Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe
(Copyrigh. 1911, by George Matthew
Adams.)
No person is interesting enough to
make a call lasting over an hour.
Everywhere you go you hear tales about
people who stay too long. -
Tou hear a great deal about the com
fort a man gets in looking over his
books. It is the average experience that
whenever a man looks over his books
he finds one missing, and gets mad be
cause he can't remember who borrowed
it.
About the only complimentary thing
your friends say abodt you is, '-Well, I
don't know that he is any worse than
the rest of them," or "1 don't believe
he is as bad as he is painted."
Did it ever occur to you that it takes
the very highest order pf taient to hold
an eay Job? Usually the less talent,
the harder the job.
When the streets are slippery and a
great many people fall on the sidewalk,
I notice that everyone falls as hard as
possible. People do that in everything;
they fall as hard as possible.
There are shotguns that scatter to
such an exjtent that they accomplish
nothing: they bring down no game. The
remedy is to have the gun choke-bored.
Genius is concentration of effort; meth
od and order in work. Many a genius
falls of recognition because he scatters;
because he needs choke-boring.
That which is known as "advanced
thought," is, . hu seven cases out of 10,
nonsense.
When a man falls in love, has he a
right to change? Women say he hasn't,
and most of the men have been bluffed
into saying the same thing.
When a man past 40 hears the word
"middle aged," he shie3 like a country
horse when it sees an automobile.
The instinct some people have to pun
ish each other is the savage instinot.
Savages had a custom- of burning their
enemies at the stake. Sometimes they
murdered them by inches. Civilized sav
ages have the same instinct, but are
compelled to resort to different meth
ods: to retailing invwueu
Half a Century Ago
(From The Oregonian May 25, 1861.
The wheat and grass crops are com
ing on well, but we are having too
much rain and cold weather for the
season.
Southern Oregon Is pouring her min
ers through our city on their way to
the Nez Perces mines. Forty pack
mules with their owners from that
quarter passed our office yesterday.
The citizens of Washington County
have had a refreshing time in raising
a flag at Hillsboro. Some very fine
speeches were made. Secesslonism
seems to have gone into a state of es
sence there.
New Tork papers 20th April state
that insurance on specie from San
Francisco to New Tork is 10 per cent;
and outward bound ships pay 1 per
cent added to the old rate, without
adding war risk. This rate of insur
ance, of course, rendered shipments to
California exceedingly dull. It is rea
sonable to suppose that there will be a
general advance on Eastern goods.
Property Rights of Englishmen. .
PORTLAND. May 17. (To the Edi
tor.) 1. If an Englishman, who has
not taken out his naturalization papers,
buys land, can he or his relatives own
that land indefinitely, or will it revert
back to the original owner at his (the
Englishman's) death?
2. Is there any difference between a
square yard and a yard souare?
SUBSCRIBER.
1. An unnaturalized Englishman in
this state has all the property rights
of a citizen.
2. There is no difference between a
square yard and a yard square in area.
There is a difference in the two terms,
however, when more than a unit is in
volved. For example, a piece of cloth
two yards square would contain four
square yards.
Forest Area of the Philippines.
Kansas City Star.
The virgin forest area of the Philip
pine Islands, covering 25.000.000 acres,
nnii AAA orA nnn hnnrd feet nf
COnUUQ vv.uvw,vw.""
lumber, while the 200,000,000 acres of
the forest reserves of the United States
contain 00,000,000,000 feet of timber.
I t and aiefinlte responsibility will so
ple that are aaio to oe in uanger