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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1911)
10 oitEr.nMA.y. tiii:k?sia . titJii 1. iii, - I. . . . i . k). i fte (Ore ryammt rOBTLAXO. oucox. Baferae at rrrn. Oraa-oa. s-oatafflee S- ci3o3 -v'ljiea V ft t ar. ftuMaipuoa tt lavartaaUr ta Advaaoa, BT MALL) !". Panar nv-laded. ana ye" L.i;y. n4r trli1d. ! naantaa .... 4M t:lr. tarda? Inrtu.!4. three ro--.the. .. z XJajr. Sanaar tclad!. eaa mnta.. .... ' Ii.y. vr.houl ular. ana yar. .. ...... Ctl y. ltlMl ubJt. rt aaoaiha. ..... Z-ZJ vlt aut S'.a 1 ar. threa aaoalba.... Xixi.jr. wiiaeat SuaOajr. ana saoaia..... watr. ee ya. ....... -Jr eWaeas. ana Jaar J uaotvr ee !. aae fear.. ........ . ibt CAitmrro tKiTy. gta'a taelaae!. aae year. :y Ivaitf lacladao. aae moaia..... - Haw ta VI n" Sao 4 poatafflee mSeT rsee. espreae err or paraooal eba- yar tacai tank. Stan-, eola ar carTB- ara at aa nsdfr't ruL oura po.:orf r. eJ4rea la fait. Mcla4.o county eaS Slate. relae Halas I a 14 aee-e. t cant: 14 la la paeea 2 aaata; SO la eo taaea. I casta; ao ta au aasae. 4 aaata. J"ora pa' aVoaia rata. Kaateru W 1 1 Offliaa Terra A Cnr.k Y a 3mm lara. 1 ruaeau. aa..dlaS- Col ease, staffer aaliaa. rOKTLaVXIk, TaTMDAT, JOB 1. MIL CTL TAftYAX-B CBAXD ISOLATIOX. Til Democratic platform or l0l eneertngly welcomed "the belated promise of tariff riforn now affected by the Republican party la tardy rec ognition of the righteousness of the Democratic poaltloo on this question. In explanation of this righteous posi tion Air. llrju'i platform went on to demand that "Articles entering; Into competition with trust controlled prod ucts" ihould be placed on the free list, -while "pulp, print paper, lumber, timber and lot." vera also to be free If the Democrats could have their rtrhteous way. Just how sincere many members of Mr. Bryan's party were la "affecting these, demands. If one may borrow their own significant word for a mo ment, was disclosed by their conduct when It cam to voting on the Aldrlch btIL Free lumber. Iocs and pulp be came an Impracticable Ideal to these able patriots under pressure from their various constituencies and they voted with Aldrtch and his band for prohibitory duties as persistently as if they had been stand pat Republicans tnstead of Democrats filled with the spirit of righteousness. But the last election gave the Dem ocrats full control of the House of Kepresentatlves and they are now able to demonstrate without let or hin drance the full measure of their leal for aa extended free list. The wool tariff, which Mr. Taft has pronounced "indefensible." has come up for con sideration In the course of their rara bllngs through the maiy wilderness of the protective schedules, and they are showing; the smiling country precisely how staunch their devotion to "right eousnesa' Is when self-interest con flicts with it. The vociferous cries for free wool which resounded through the halls of the National Capitol when the special session began have sunk to an Inaudible whisper. Hushed Is that mighty volume of reformatory uproar. Instead of It. we hear an Insidious plea for mere revenue. We must re tain the tariff on wool, says Speaker Clark, because we must hare money to keep the Government running. Mr. Underwood says the same. The haughty form of the free trade Con gressman Is fallen and his flashing eye Is dim. Righteousness bows Its proud head before expediency. Compromise defiles the sacred precincts of the Democratic temple. What has your thoroughgoing free trader to do with such base matters as revenue? He stands fr righteousness as set forth la the Denver platform. He stands for devotion to duty ss Indicated by the multiple-sacrificed Mr. Bryan. To mere revenue he cries "AvaunL" It seems as If Mr. Clark and his coadjutor In evil. Mr. Underwood, had led astray somewhat more than the traditional third of heaven's suns. If It Is permissible to speuk of a Ietno rratlo Congressman as a son of heaven. The likelihood Is that a rousing ma jority of that once luminous band has followed these Satanic leaders perdi tion ward. Free wool Is no longer the battle cry of the Democratic House. Tf they venture to reduce the duties per cent. It Is all that ran be looked for. If their present backsliding ten dencies continue, the chances are that they will not lower the wool tuxes at all. This Is a slump Indeed from the unapproachable crandeur of the Den ver position, but In the thick darkness there Is ray of hope. Mr. Hryan boldly continues to wave the banner of free wool. Though all the rest of the Democratic party forsake It he v.1'1 aland firm. Unshaken, unreduced, un terrlned. he holds the fort und de fies the bleating foe. Time was. at the berjlnnlnar of the special session, when it looked as If endurtcgly harmonious vibrations had been set up between Mr. Pryaa and the rest of the Democratic party. The lion and the lamb had lain down toe-ether with the lamb Inside, or at least proceeding Inward. Mr. Clark pro claimed his admiring fealty to the are at Nebraskan. Mr. Underwood de lighted to follo-a his sapient counsels. Almost every Democratic newspaper west of the Atlantic States began to take Its opinions from the Commoner. But now these) happy days are past and gone. The lute Is rift- The cord ta frayed. Discord reigns where Messed peace held sway, but yester day. The Democratic party is rrnt In twain and nobody but the rashest of prophets cherishes much hope that the Heeding fragments can ever be patched together again. On one side .stands the "benighted mass of the party, some eight or ten millions of unrighteous voters with their Infernally guided Congressmen. On the other, we behold the figure of Mr. Bryan etandlnr on the peaks of Denver la lone sublimity. History af fords few spectacles so uplifting. The frivolons may talk of Luther defying the assembled eccleaulastlcal powers at the Diet of Worms. How Insignificant was his heroism compared with the aavrifU'lal baauty ef Mr. Bryan defy ing Champ Clark and the hosts whom he has seduced Into the desert of untichteousnesa. But it is fsr from our purpose to pity Mr. Bryan. Thouch lonely, we have not the slightest fear that he Is lonesome. He has the consolation of the beet company la the world, that of his own unblemished Individuality and his uncompromising devotion t the Denver platform. Lost In ecstatic contemplation of that inspired utter ance how Is it possible that he should repine though all the world forsaks hlmT The big stick and the big gun still rpeaj powerfully to our famous ex ir'rvsidsst. In his Memorial day speech he expressed the opinion that "a pow erful Navy is no provocative for war, but la a provocative for peace." That depends on who owns the powerful navy. Our British and Teutonic friends are running A mad race towards national bankruptcy by spend ing enormous sums for battleships, and yet there Is nothing In the perform ance that la provoking peace to an alarming extent- There could, of course, be no assurance of peace so long as one country had a greater fighting strength than another, and the world cannot much longer main tain the naval pace at which Its great est powers are now moving. Disarm ament may not easily be accomplished, but some of the debt-ridden countries of the world are nearlng the -point where they will be forced to accept ar bitration or bankruptcy. There win be no other course open. BM BOD AND NORTH BAXt The lack of knowledge of the science of railroading displayed by James J. Hill, the late E. M. Harrlraan and A few others who had humbugged the people into believing that they knew something about the business was dis cussed at length In the Seattle Times a tew days ago by one D. H. Oilman. The particular grievance shown by Mr Gllmaa was the North Bank road, and It was the fear that there would never be any trAfllc for that road to handle that called forth the views or Air. Gtlman, 'The Oregonian at the time suggested that the road was not built exclusively for the traffic that was then in sight, "but that new fields were con tinually opening up to provide trsmc for the big water-level line. In the list of these fields mentioned The Ore gonian did not include one which Is of fully as great importance as any that were mentioned The Seattle Town Crier. In Its Issue of last Saturday, has an Interesting ar ticle on this field, which lies In the Big Bend of the Columbia River and Is known as North Central Washington. As the Seattle paper explains: "By North Central Washington Is meant all the land comprised within Grant, Douglas, Chelan and Okanogan coun ties. It contains 11.000 square, miles, of which 6.000,000 acres Are suited to agricultural purposes. Although scarcely a fifth of the land is under cultivation, it is already producing an enormous tonnage such a prise as any transportation company would be glad to annex." Continuing, the Se attle paper explains that A road through this empire would enable Ca nadian stheat to reach tidewater at Portland by down-grade haul, "which means cheap freight." Portland com merclol bodies are credited' with pro moting the plans for this north-and-south route thorugh Washington for the reason that "to annex the vast vol urae of business originating In Grant, Douglas. Cbclaa and Okanogan coun ties would be an Important victory tot Portland Jobbers. The water grade along the entire Columbia la so easy that It makes A very Inviting field for any company Ambitious to branch out to Invade." The prediction made by the Seattle paper is that the Haniman forces will Invade this rich field, which at present is served only by the Great Northern Railroad, which hauls Its products over the Cascade Mountains to Puget Sound. It U. of course, quite obvious that If the liartiman lines should tap the country with a north-and-south line and downhill haul, the Hill Inter ests would lose no time In hooking up with their North Bank line. Thus the Big Bend, like all other Important grain regions In the three states, would be linked to Portland by two water level rail grade railroad systems. Mr. Oilman, of Seattle, will not be obliged to wait very long to understand why the North Bank road was built. A I NIVEKHITT AT TaEOFORO. It was a happy thought of the Med fnrd people to obtain the location of the projected Harrlman university In their vicinity if possible. They have a climate which few places in the world can rival. Just enough Win ter to make Spring welcome and enough Summer to produce the rich est fruits of the earth in unfailing abundance. The roads are naturally excelllent ahd can be kept In repair at small expense. This would make the surrounding country accessible from the academic halls and material ly add to tile attractiveness of the site. Professors often have A great deal of leisure which they like t spend out or doors In agreeable diversions. Where do these exist in more variety than In the country around Medford? The request to Mrs. Harrlman Is like an Invitation to build the new Institu tion of learning In the Garden of Kden. She will be ill-advised Indeed It she does not accept It. The objec tion that Medford does not He In the heart of A densely populated territory has no great weight. The Koa-ue River Valley will be populated sometime as densely as any part of the world. Nowhere can re sources be found for supporting more Inhabitants In greater comfort. It takes a university of the first rank many years to attain its full working power, and by that time students would not be lacking from Oregon and California. Moreover, It must be re membered that the climate and scenlo beauty or the Rogue River country would Attract students from All parts of the world. It would repeat the his tory of Stanford on a larger scale, for the varying seasons at Medford. with their perennial charm, would surpass the delights of Palo Alto, where for many months there Is monotonous sun shine. With Crater Lake not far away and the wide expanse of the lake re gion easily accessible, we should ex pect Medford to develop rapidly Into a social and educational metropolis, a resort for sportsmen And travelers as well as a Mecca for the learned. It Is to be hoped that Mrs. Harrl man will not lay this invitation aside without adequate consideration. IS TUX COCXCn. TRiWTWOKTHT ? What Is commonly known as the competitive paving amendment to the citv charter, which will he voted on next Monday, la antagonistic In Its provisions to the central Idea of the commission form of government. The commission government of cities not only makes the short ballot possible, but centralises authority And respon sibility. Portland does not now have the commission form of government, but one of the chief virtues of Its present charter And one which In pur pose would be preserved by A com mission charter. Is the ftxlng- and con centrating of responsibility In the let ting of street-Improvement contracts. Contracts for street Improvements are now awarded by the city Execu tive Board. This Board is appointed by the Msyor and the Mayor Is re sponsible for ita deeds er mlsdeedA The Executive Board, la fact, awards city contracts of all kinds. The com petitive paving amendment seeks to take this power from the Executive Board in street-paring matters Alone and place It In the hands of the City Council. The Council now merely has A part In Instituting Improvement pro ceedings. The Improvement petitions signed by the property-owners to be benefited specify the kind of paving material desired; bids are called on that kind of pavement by the Council, and the Executive Board awards the contracts. The power of the Mayor and Execu tive Board to regulate paving prices has been illustrated by Mayor Simon. In the early part of the present admin istration city street paving was costing Portland $2-40 per square yard. Mayor Simon announced that the city would not pay more than J1.S5 and that, if the paving cost did not come down to that figure, no work would be done. And he sat tight on the lid until the price did come down to $1.85 The competitive paving amendment does not require the Council to let street-Improvement contracts to the lowest bidder, but to the "lowest re sponsible bidder." This word "re sponsible" would give the City Council discretionary powers that could read' lly be turned to graft. The City Exec utlve Board has the same discretion as to awarding contracts to responsi ble bidders. So the question Involved Is this: Shall the right of the property-owners to select the charac ter of pavement to be laid and the right of the Executive Board to award the contracts be taken away and both be vested wholly in aa openly distrust ed body? A IH.TT AXD A RESPONSIBILITY". The duties and responsibilities to devolve on the Incoming city adminis tration call for ability of the first or der and character of approved worth. It Is important that Portland have a City Council of Intelligence, earnest ness and Integrity; It is vital that there be a Mayor of courage. Independence and real capacity for great under takings. No one would think of plac ing at the head of a large corporation or A great business An executive offi cer without experience, ideas, and attested capacity. It would be stupid; It would be disastrous; It would be In credibly foolish. No cltlxen should think of calling to the head of a large city A Mayor who is known to be unfit for great enterprises er unequal to large tasks. It Is a duty for every citizen to use his best wisdom end his Impar tial Judgment In choosing efficient and trustworthy public officers. Just as It Is the certain duty of stockholders In A corporation to select capable And honest men to direct Its affairs. How can any citizen excuse himself to his conscience for seeking to elect A Mayor or a Councilman because of personal prejudice or of private Inter est? How can any citizen In these days defend himself from the Just re proach of offensive partisanship If he shall Insist on supporting a candidate for any merely local office for any reason of mere party or of mere poli tics? If there Is no obvious choice between candidates. It Is natural for any elector to prefer the nominees of his own party; but If there is a distinct and acknowledged superiority of one candidate over another, the voter ought not to hesitate between pure politics and plain duty. The Mayor of Portland will have Important work In the next two years. It la A critical and Interesting period In the city's history. Shall we go for ward? Or shall we go backward?" It Is not too much to say that a weak or vacillating: or partial administration of the municipal government will do great harm to the city and every dweller therein. Nor is It too much to say that firm, wise. Judicious and capable direction of public affairs will be beneficial alike to capital and labor, employer and employe, rich and poor, high and low. It Is the common concern that we make no mistakes: it will be the common mis fortune If they are made. The Mayor of Portland faces heavy burdens In his coming term of office. He will shape many grave policies. He will oversee large material enter prises. He will adjust many serious controversies between various Inter ests wherein the city will be Involved. He will be a large factor in sustaining the city's credit. He will direct the expenditure of great sums of money. He will be A large employer of labor. He will adjust many delicate problems. He will Install and promote many new projects. He will do much to make or to mar the plans for a greater and A better Portland. The Mayor ought to be the wisest and best man to be had. Here are Just A few of the things to be done under the direction of the new Mayor, if the public shall act fa vorably on the several projects now before the electorate for action: Construction of 11,400,000 South Portland bridge. Building A $600,000 Auditorium. Installing and operating $1,000,000 paving plant. Making operative pension funds of firemen, police and streetclcaners. Building $200,000 City Jail. Extending park and boulevard system. Preparing for a commission form of government. Besides these great matters, there must be carried forward the following: Broadway bridge. Completion of Bull Run water sys tem. J'ew garbage collection system. Sewers, pavements, new streets, etc.. etc ' Besldee these, there Is the compli cated machinery of general govern ment to keep in order, and many questions to decide, and definite pub lic plans and policies to formulate and carry out. If the plain citizen, having the wel fare of the city at heart and his own interest to consider and promote, will sit down calmly and discuss with him self what decision he shall make as between Mr. Simon and Mr. Rushlight, It seems to The Oregonian to be in evitable that he cannot hesitate, but will call on Mr. Simon again to be i Mayor. It is no time for experiments It Is no time for politics; It Is no time for passion or trifling. It is A time for a serious and candid determination of the Judicious thing to do. The Ju dicious thing is certainly the right thing. U1AKNINO TO SWIM. From the beginning to the end of ' the vacation season the news columns Of the daily press will oontaln fre quent reports of drownings in lakes and rivers to which semi-amphlblous boys take literally "like ducks to water." Already several such Items have appeared, a most distressing In stance being that of a young man at the Portland waterfront last Tues day. The cause of the fatality in this instance, as in a majority of cases where drowning is the result of a sud den fall Into water, was that the young man did not know how to swim. Boys not Infrequently reach man hood wholly deficient in the simple art of taking care of themselves In water. This is due in most cases to the fear of parents usually of moth ers that keeps the boy from learning to ewlm with his fellows. It is true that the old "swimming hole" has had its victims, but fatalities In the case of boys who were learning to swim have been few as compared with the deaths by drowning of men to whom the delights of the old swimming hole were forbidden I ft boyhood. Much concern is shown In many cities on this subject, so much. In fact, that the swimming tank, presided over by an expert swimmer, is likely to be come A feature of the new public play ground. This means that not only boys, but girls, will be given oppor tunity to learn to swim and will be encouraged In every way to Improve It. Children learn to swim very readily, much more readily indeed than do adults. ' It is even contended that young children. If thrown In the water without fear would instinctively swim Just as do young puppies and other animals. Be this as it may, children overcome the fear of the water much easier than grown people, with the result that the main source of danger Is thereby eliminated. It does not re quire much training to overcome the fear which paralyzes the senses and renders aid to a panic-stricken person in the water both dangerous and dif ficult even when attempted by a good swimmer. Since the ability to take care of one's self is of paramount im portance, and the means of doing this in the water can readily be acquired, it Is little short of criminal careless ness, in these days of ample oppor tunity to acquire the pleasant and protective art of swimming, to allow any boy or girl to grow up in ignor ance of it- Perhaps if some of the ardent ad vocates of the "no-seat-no-ride" meas ure would obtain a little Information on the practical workings of the pro posed law, they would hesitate before urging Its adoption. There are a num ber of Portland citizens who have vis ited London, where travel on the penny bus lines is regulated by ordinance similar to that with which Portland is threatened. Even the excellent 'bus service of London Is Inadequate to han dle the crowds mornings and even Inns, and Intending passengers are obliged either to wait, walk or employ A cab. Unfortunately for Portland, there are no cabs available at London prices, and the unfortunates In the 6 o'clock rush will be obliged either to pay taxlcab fares or reach home from half an hour to two hours late. The "no-seat-no-rldo" measure. If it be comes effective, will cause more trou ble for Its promoters than they have ever thought possible. Mr. Rushlight is reported to have told the Republican City Central Com mittee that he favors- a commission form of government Immediately. That must have, greatly comforted the discouraged souls of the central com mittee. It is well known that they are for the commission government, or any government, which will tend to put the politician out of business. Oh. yes. But why did Rushlight leave it to them to make promises for him? Can he make none for himself? He can, of course, and does: but not pub licly. Private deals and secret com pacts are more In his line. If he makes a public pledge, the public may some day call him to account. But if he makes a back-room agreement with anybody, nobody elso knows about it perhaps. A week ago it was gravely predicted that Portland roses would not be In bloom in time for the Rose Festival. Now, on every hand It is said that the flush and beauty of the first bloom will be faded before that time. All of which was and is uninspired prophecy. There will be roses in Portland the seiond week In June, millions of them home grown, and the finest outside of the storied gardens of Persia. It is a pity that the hundreds of young children who must work during the Summer vacation cannot be taken to the country for employment. Light farm work would benefit them, while too often they are injured by the oc cupations of the city. We have here another case, perhaps, where the at tainable falls far short of the desirable. RushliRht's newspaper organ the penny paper, - which has set out to wreck the Republican party Is chiefly owned by A non-resident millionaire living at- San Diego, CaL t It is cer tainly an Ingenious way to wreck the party electing its so-called candidate. Mr. Hill has done great things In the railway line, but the Issue of $600, 000,000 in bonds will give him his sec ond wind for things greater. Anybody who does not believe the State Penitentiary Is conducted ac cording to Hoyle Is privileged to break in and learn. Have you read up on the many propositions? Do not postpone the Job until too late to vote intelligently. Multnomah County cooks its unde sirable Immigration. Potato bugs from Texas will take notice. With everybody in favor of govern ment by commission we are bound to have it. With bananas selling by the pound. eggs will be nexu The newer Mexico is in line for the direct primary. ' Every day Is the warmest ever, now: WHY COMMISSION GOVERNMENT SUCCEEDS Saart Ballot Makes People's War at Polls Easy Interest la Annei la f'ou dnet ef Departments Responalbllity Is Concentrated Where Abuses May Be Detected aa4 CorTeeted. Tha- following; Is tha third of a aerlea of thrra articles on the prosreaa of the move ment for better government of American cltiea. written by Richard S. t-hilds. and fur nished tha Short Ballot Organization, Wood row wiUon. president. ABTICLE IIL NO mere form of government will automatically produce good gov ernment. But forms can be de vised that will automatically give pop ular government. The people's will can be baffled or facilitated by the form of government. The people's work at the polls can be made obscure, complex and difficult, or it can be made clear, sim ple And easy. Under the commission plan, with Its short ballot, the people's work is very clear, very simple, very easy. And that Is all the secret there Is to the success of the plan. In theory citizenship is the business of every citizen. But in our old style city governments effective citizenship is one of the learned professions. To vote intelligently a citizen must "go into politics." That means work, and the average man can't afford to do much unpaid work. So politics be comes dominated by a few men, and the people at large helplessly leave the bulk of the ticket to the party poli ticians to do as they please with. In our old-fashioned city governments we have committed two serious errors. First We have scattered the powers of government among so many petty offloials that it Is quite impossible for the people to 'watch and control them all. Second We have subdivided the pow er In such small fragments tha". no single part Is really worth watching. A member of the City Council, for in stanoe, under the old form of govern ment, has so little power that It Is really not worth while for the people of the town to become agitated over the question of who shall get the Job. The typical old style city govern ment of this country consists of a Mayor, with fairly large power a string of minor administrative officTVs also chosen by popular vote, and a Council which sometimes consists of two legis lative bodies. The feature of this plan Is the distribution of power, based on our ancient fear of Kings., We have al ways had a superstitious dread of giv ing to any elected official power enough to do anything for us without getting the consent of several others. We have overlooked the fact that to make the former official obey our wishes we find 'also to exert simultaneous compulsion over the latter, whose consent he need ed, and that popular control became thus anything but the simple matter it ought to be. The politicians can al ways get their own way if they make the Council large enough. A Council of IS men might occasionally feel per sonally the pressure of public opinion, but triple the size of the Council, and the Individual members become so in signiticant and publicly so subdivided that each member is safely "lost In the shuffle." Those who promoted the idea of hav ing a host of elective officials in the government have always taken It for granted that there was something dem ocratic about this procedure. Demo cracy, however, does not consist in electing everybody, but In controlling everybody. The Mayor's office boy. for Instance may be appointed by the May or, or-elected by popular vote. He is a publio servant, but there is nothing democratic in electing him when he can Just as well be appointed. The vital thing Is that he shall be controlled by the people, and If he will be under bet ter control through appointment than through election, it is more democratic to appoint him. a a a The commission plan of government is based on no false Idea that the peo ple want to elect everybody. It gives the power to five men, who thereby become consplcouously responsible be fore all the people of the city. Each one of them Is Important enough to make It worth while for the citizens to inquire concerning his record and char acter. Each candidate for the office can attract a crowd to hearhim speak, whereas an old-time Councilman would have been utterly unable to get a hear ing before the people. There are not so many of these officials but what every citizen can find out about all of them and vote Intelligently on election day. There are not so many as to cause a citizen to depend upon tickets put together for him by political spe cialists. Each citizen can and does make up his own ticket and the func tion of the professlsonal ticket-making macnines is uititj ci.. If the commission were composed of ten" men Instead of five the list of names would be longer than the aver age ciUzen would be likely to remem ber for himself and we should see a natural groupln of candidates and their election by groups instead of singly. Some "good government asso ciation" or some party machine.- even on a ncnpartlsan ballot, would be sure to advertise tickets for the guidance of the voters, and In accepting these tickets the people would be sharing their power with the ticket-makers. The commission plan succeeds there fore because It puts the power where the people can see It, The vital fea- BRIDGES AND FIRE PROTECTION Taxpayer Contrasts Needs of Southeast Side and Suburbs la General, PORTLAND, May 28. (To the Edi tor.) The writer of this article Is a moderately heavy taxpayer In the City of Portland, and Is willing to do his share toward the upbuilding of the city, but in common with many others he dislikes to see his money expended for the maintenance of needless enter prises. In the writer's opinion the most con spicuously needless enterprise that Is to be saddled on the shoulders of -an already tax-burdened city Is the pro posed South Portland bridge. There must be something in this western at mosphere that causes people to bend their energies toward an altogether ex travagant anticipation of the future, and this new bridge, which carries an expenditure of nearly a million and a half dollars, seems the very epitome of reckless folly. The City of Boston has 500.000 people, and over across the Charles River is the City of Cambridge, which with its outlying suburbs has nearly 200,000 more. To carry the traf fic between Boston and Cambridge (which Is far heavier than anything in Portland) there are Just three bridges, all of which are longer than the Portland bridges, with only slightly greater ca pacity, and with no steam ferries to help tbem out. These bridges serve very well, and inssmuch as the munici palities or Boston and Cambridge are very wealthy It Is to be presumed that if more bridges were needed they would be promptly provided. And the City of Portland with 225, 000 people has at present four steel bridges, is building a fifth, and is pro posing to construct a sixth. The writer has saver yet seen the Hawthorne bridge crowded to anything like its capacity and he has traveled over it nearly every day since, its completion and yet it is proposed to construct a new bridge that will not bring the Southeast side one minute closer to the West Side business section. The situa tion would be laughable if it didn't have its serious side. Where Is the money to come from to pay for this tlnue to borrow money fsr useless en-4 ture is not the method of organization, but the method of popular control. It Is the ballot on election day which Is unique. It is so short that every citi zen knows what he is doing and is not reiving on a party label or on the guidance of a politician. The "average man." "the man In the street," or the "plain people," whatever you choose to call them, are in complete control of the government. The short ballot has left no work for the politician to do; the people arrange the whole mat ter directly with the candidates with out the politician's help. The politician is a specialist in cit izenship, and in the commission gov erned cities citizenship is so simple that there is nothing to be a specialist in x The most marked phenomenon of commission government has been the increased interest of the people in their city government. All eyes have been focused on the city hall month after month with Interruption. The acts of the commission are the topic of conversation for the street ear and the business men's luncheon. Criticism is plentiful, and better yet knowledge of the facts is widespread. The people of the city oversee the government. The force of public opinion has been repeatedly illustrated In the commis sion governed cities. Few men, good or bad, would have the strength to re sist popular demand when It is so in tensively concentrated upon them. Each commissioner knows his responsibility for what is done, and knows that every body else In town knows it too. Poli ticians of the average sort have been elected to office many times in com mission governed cities, but their con spicuous responsibility has brought about a remarkable responsiveness to the opinion of the people. The initiative, referendum and re call are considered Important features of the plan by many people, but Gal nnn anil Houston made a success of the commission plan before any of these features were tnougm ot ana their charters to this day do not pro for them. Furthermore, these cities do not feel the need of these devices and there Is no demand for their Introduction. a a . A few suggestions for the improve ment of the plan have been made rath er persistently, based, not upon any disaster that has happened in the past, but rather on the fear that there might be trouble in the future. It has been noted, for example, that the city clerk in Des Moines, who passes upon the correctness of petitions for the recall of commissioners, is himself a creature of the commission and that In this work he ought to be independent. It is also pointed out that there is no in dependent auditing of the city's ac counts. The commission audits its own books. In both cases it has been sug gested that these offices be filled by popular vote. In the language of those who proDOse these changes, "have them Independently elected by the people and responsible to the people." This familiar argument Involves an error, the avoidance of which constitutes the great value "of the commission, plan. It is easy enough to create a new of fice and make It elective by popular vote, but It is not so easy to "have" such an officer "responsible to the peo ple." He will not be responsible to the people If he is elected in obscurity with no limelight directed on his office. To be sure, he may be legally responsible and the responsibility in law may be very clearly established, but the people cannot and will not hold him to ac count unless he stands out conspicuous ly before them. An ott'.f r whose func tions are purely executive and not of great importance cannot possibly be conspicuous. If the City Clerk or City Auditor were made elective In Des Moines it would be a little office, over shadowed by the rest of the ticket, down at the bottom of the ballot. There would be very little publicity regard ing the candidates, very little of the purifying limelight which is responsible for the present good political sanita tion In the higher offices, and any group of schemers might put through a successful conspiracy to capture the Job. The desirability of an independent audit and an Independent Judgment on recall petitions is nevertheless obvi ous. It should, however, be secured in some other way than by attempting to make the people choose the officers. The same effect can be obtained by having the state assume these duties. Let an appointee of the Governor be charged with the duty of auditing the books of all the cities in the state, with the right to prescribe a uniform method of keeping them. There is no difficulty In letting some state officer, such as he Secretary of State, pass upon the genuiness and validity of re call petitions. The remoteness of sucn an officer from the disputants makes It reasonably certain that his position will be fair. If all false "improvements" can be avoided the future of the commission plan will continue to be full of suc cess, and its fundamental principle, when once understood, will be ex tended to states and counties. Already a National association, called the Short Ballot Organization, with Woodrow Wilson at its head, is in the field. We are on the eve of vast and whole some changes! terprises, and still have enough to carry on projects that are absolutely necessary for the city's welfare? At the present time large areas of Portland's suburbs are absolutely with out fire protection in fact it is to be doubted whether there are any country towns that would be so entirely help less in the face of a big conflagration as many of Portland's suburbs. This fire protection must come sooner or later, or Portland will pay for It with a holo caust that will be worth many times the cost of a new bridge, and this same fire protection means the expenditure of money that must come out of the pockets of the home owners of Port land. But if Portland continues the in sane policy of spending her money for enterprises that are not needed the cost of legitimate projects rendered absolutely necessary by the actual growth of the city will cause the taxes In this town' to mount to 'a height that will be fearful to contemplate, and will cause Portland to sag into the "down-and-out" class along with Seat tle and other boom towns. TAXPAYER.. Status of Mere Pedestrian. Cleveland Plain Dealer. Here was a case where It seemed as if everything was settled. The insur ance company's doctor had reported that the man seemed to be all right, and the man himself had certified that he was not engaged in any dangerous occupation. "I lead a sedentary life," he told them. "1 work in an office and we have no danger or excitement." "How about sports?" the examiner asked.' "Do you football? Baseball? Do you box? Do you belong to an ath letic club?" "No none of that stuff. I guess I'm a safe risk." "Do you scorch?" "What do you mean' "Do you drive -your car faster than the speed limit?" "I have no car." "What? How do you get about?" "I walk." "Risk refused. A scorcher is a dan gerous risk, but a pedestrian has no chance at all. Buy a car, old chap. Sorry good night!" Advertising Talks By William C FTeemasv, Dally newspapers are paying more at tention to asvertlsins now than they ever did. The fact that it Is aveceaaary to do so does not In the least detract from the motive. Time was when advertising revenue bought the luxuries for newspapers such as buildings, new presses, new typesetting machines, etc Before the advent of the penny paper the profit on circulation represented the chief earn ings of newspapers. Now the revenue from, circulation barely covers the cost of white paper. Advertising; revenue of newspapers nowadays must supply the funds for all of the necessities as well as all of the luxuries. Therefore the development of this revenue is most Important. Some newsparir that are not sold at a penny make a profit on both circula tion and advertising, of course but no newspaper in the country is making any more profit than it is entitled to. As a rule, newspapers give more than they receive- that Is, they give the ad vertiser the cheapest publicity on earth, give It to him at a narrower mar sin of profit than auy other business in the world is operated on. I wonder if advertisers ever stop to think of that! The wider publicity that newspapers are giving today to all advertisers the fact that every nook and corner of the country Is reached by the dally newspaper the fact that every Intelli gent man, woman and enlld .reads m newspaper makes them the most vain,, able advertising media. They are on the Job all of the time i' supplying news keeping the people in formed, and the advertisements stand ont aa prominently as the news. And there's where the Improvement In, and the value of, advertising; cornea in. Advertising is news and newspa pers recognize It. And they are con stantly making strenuous effort to make it valuable aevrs to readers and advertisers. This subject will be continued to-, morrow. (To be continued.) Conntry Town Sayings by Ed Howe The young men are lately showing a fondness for heiresses; the old Idea of marrying a poor girl for love, and get ting a lot of kin thrown in, is playing out. After a successful entertainment, watch the "committee" fish for compli ments. A hard-working man looks disdain fully at the man who has to take exer cise. At this season, in every country town, there is street fighting between agents of rival threshing machines. If you grant a man a favor, do It cheerfully; you might as well refuse as to grumble. A doctor never "gives up" A patient until he Is pretty sure. In some churches, when the members are tired of a pastor, they don't tell him so, but "talk" about him. The sure way to discourage rowdy Ism: Jump on it hard. When a man really needs a whipping, nothing does him more good than to get it. Sixteen-year-old girls are all alike in two particulars: they are all good look ing, and never have a cent- Half a Century Ago From The Oregonian, June 1, 1861. The hail storm has done some damage to the fruit belt, but we are glad to learn that the storm was not extensive. We already hear from the country that the whole neighborhood will be present at the great celebration In Portland. It will be a grand union meeting. At the Council meeting last night Mr. King offered a resolution authorizing the owners of the Portland ferry to change their landing to the foot of Salmon street. It was adopted. The Oregon Democrat says that we are In favor of raising an overwhelms ing force and crushing out the seces sion. Exactly so. We tried the policy of peace and find the brigands march ing to capture Washington- and break; up the Government. We are now fos conquering a peace by the strong arm of power. We are for carrying the war forced upon the country into the dens of the secessionists; and true Americans will say Amen. Arguments from Nebraska. PORTLAND, May 31. (To the Edi tor.) From your editorial of May SI. I quote, "The Oregonian has no know ledge of the commission In the cities of Nebraska and, we opine, neither has Mr. Riesland." As this di rectly questions my voracity, I cannot help but again aBk you" to give space to the evidence upon which the state ment of my communication is based. Herewith I hand you a copy of Tha Evening World-Herald of Omaha, in which you will find on page 6, column 2, the editorial whose truth you must question, if my statement is doubted. I ask you to kindly print the same. I feel that The Oregonian wishes to at tain the same end that I have in view, and that only in the means our opin ions differ materially. BEN RIESLAND. The editorial from the Omaha news paper of March I does not add to the Information of The Oregonian or Mr. Riesland as to the effectiveness of local commissions in Nebraska. It is mere ly an argument against state regulation of public utilities. A large part of the World-Herald's article was copied ver batim and used as his own by Mr. Ries land in the offfcial pamphlet sent by the City Auditor to Portland voters. As voters who desire to read It may find the most of the Nebraska paper's edi torial on page 98 of the pamphlet The Oregonian sees no occasion further to Illuminate the Portland situation with the luster of the World-Herald's opin ion. The Oregonian has not intended to question Mr. Riesland's "voracity." It herewith admits that he Is a voracious plagiarist. Plan Works Both Ways. Life. "Tes," said the man In the tram, "my wife used to get awfully nervous every time she heard a noise downstairs at, night, but I assured her that it couldn't i be burglars because they are careful! not to make any noise." ! "And that calmed her. did it?" re-1 marked the interested man in the next seat. "I should say not." replied the first; rfder. "Now she gets nervous everyji time she doesn't hear any noise," 4