T1TE 3IOKXIXG OREC.OXIAX, FRIDAY, JULY 7, 1011.
10
Enteral at Portland. Oregon, roetofflce as
Sa-ond-Cleaa Matter.
aupecrlptlon Rates iBTartafcly ,B u4
tBT MAID
Dally. Suaday included, ene year . r
Pally. Sunday lnclurtd. ei monthe..... "
tally. Sunday tneiudad. threa montbs...
Ier. Sunday included, oae bob --J?
tejly. without Sunday, om yr "-
t!ly. without Sunday. six monlba --'
Pally, without Sunday, thro mnlhe....
tiai:y. without Sunday, one moib, -J?
lr. ona yaar ?
Sunday, eae yaar.... iL,
uaday aad Weekly, ana year ....see
tBT CARRIER.)
Dally, "uaday la clod ad. ana yaar. ...... 0O
Dally, feuaday Included, ana snoath.....
How to Remit Sand Poatortlee money
emir, espreae order or pexaonal enecs on
your local bank, 8 tarn pa. coin or currency
ara at tfca Bandar riea. poatollice
addreee la fail. Including county aad state.
foetase atalaa lO to 14 pasea. 1 east; 1
to 1 pea. t rests: 0 to aO pases. S casta:
o to a pasea, cants. Foreign postage
do'ibla rata.
Eastern Baataaaa 0Vaa Vai-ra Cans
in .Saw Torn. UrunawlcX building- Chl
ao. Sceeer building.
l"ORrLAD. THTIVPAT. 4TtT
nxio or TBesTjf prices.
Whan the bead of tha greatest trust
expresses his desire for Federal con
trol and even for Federal price-fixing,
much progress has been mad toward
trust regulation; but Mr. Gary must
forgive us for asking for further par
tlrularn. What shall ha. tha starting
point of regulation? What shall be
the baata of prices? These are the
point of most Interest to the humble
and despised consumer who ultimately
rays the bill.
When Federal control actually be
gan, the question would arise: Is the
capitalization already exlatlng to be
allowed to stand as tha Tajue of the
trust's property or Is It to be scaled
down to actual value minus water?
Ara the prices to be based on watered
capitalisation or on real value? This
point la important, for the report of
Herbert Knox Smith. Commissioner of
Corporations, says that the steel tru.t.
though capitalised at 81. 482. 000. 000.
has tangible property worth only
4.000.000. and has paid average
profit of 12 per cent on the money
Invested, though much of this Is In
undeveloped and unworked property.
Tha consumer, who Is always gener
ous, would probably be willing to pay
7 per cent on the actual investment,
that being the rata paid on preferred
stock, but he would balk at 12 per
cent on that basis, much more at IS
per cent on the watered capital, which
Is a large proportion of 1800,000.000.
But the trust la expected to defend
its valuation on the ground that Its
property baa a "merger value." That
brings tip the question of how trusts
arrive at their capitalization. First,
of course, there Is the value of the
tangible property they acquire, which
probably bears the same relation to
capitalized value as Mr. Smith's 16S2.
000.000 bears to the steel trust's II.
482.000.000. To this may be added
something for the good will of the In
dividual plants. Then comes the
"merger value." This Includes the
power of the trust, because It Is a trust,
to fix and maintain prices higher than
would prevail In open competition. It
Is a power derived solely from the
privilege of incorporation given by the
government of state or nation. If Its
exercise be allowed for the benefit of
the trust alone, tha Government Is In
effect licensing the trust to practice ex
tortion on Its citizens, which is repug
nant to the republican form of govern
ment. Ail profit derived from this
power should be lopped off except such
part as will compensate the captains of
Industry for organizing and managing
such giant corporations.
Next comes the economy in opera
tion due to the combination of many
plants under one ow nership. This is
the great argument used In defense of
trusts, yet It, too. Is due to the privi
lege of incorporation granted by gov
ernment, state or nation. This privi
lege being derived from the commu
nity. Its fruits namely, the savings
should at least be shared with the
community.
Last comes the protective tariff. The
steel trust has been paying ? per cent
on preferred and could have paid 5
per cent on common stock. Its securi
ties would normally sell at or above
par on a 7 per cent basis. After mak
ing liberal allowance for the capital
ized value of Its monopoly power and
of lis economies, a vast proportion of
Its capital must represent something
besides these values and Its tangible
property. It cannot be successfully
disputed that much of this capital Is
simply the protective tariff capitalized.
When the Tariff Board has ascertained
the comparative cost of producing steel
In the United States and abroad, the
tariff either should be reduced accord
ingly or Its capitalized value should
be Ignored In the Government price
fixing which Mr. Gary suggests.
When these things are done, the
water will be pretty well squeezed out
of the price of steel. The trust might
be left free to maintain the par value
of Its stock on the watered basis, for
the reduction In the price of lis prod
ucts would squeeze the water out of
the stock's market value automatical
ly. But It is highly probable that Mr.
Gary and other trust magnates will
auk the Government to give them a
clean bill of health as to past opera
tions In stock-watering. If the Gov
ernment were to consent. It would im
pose on the consumer for all time ex
orbitant prices for all trust products.
A plaintive plea would go up on behalf
of the widows and orphans who have
bought trust stock, but the general
consumers have a few widows and or
phans of their own who are entitled to
some consideration.
WHERE SYMPATHY 19 DIE.
It is difficult for people who have
lived a number of years In the Paci
fic Northwest, and especially on the
Oregon and Washington coasts, to ap
preciate the discomfort and exhaus
tion that result from the Intense heat
under which the East and Middle West
are at present sweltering. With tem
peratures ranging from 100 to 110 de
grees, and a humidity that causes the
sensation of having taken a coat of
varnish previous to putting on the few
clothes that were assumed for de
cency's sake, the people of the
crowded districts of New Tork. Chl
csgo. Philadelphia. St. Louis. Kansas
City, and other cities of the East and
Middle West suffered a torrid discom
fort, comparable only to the conditions
that fables erstwhile feigned or fear
conceived as awaiting sinners in
Hades. Some of these people.
Indeed, driven out of their wits, sought
relief In drowning, or other forms of
self-destruction.- and yet others died
from the utter exhaustion that de
prived them of all power to withstand
the misery that the heat Induced.
These statements are practically
meaningless to those who have never
experienced the conditions that result
from the combination of extreme heat
and humidity. They appal the Imag
ination, rather than appeal to the un
derstanding. A temperature that is
not perceptibly lowered when night
draws her curtains between the swel
tering earth and the scorching rays of
the sun is a condition that those who
are able to draw the coverlet close un
der the chin and enjoy refreshing sleep
throughout every night of July and
August but dimly comprehend. Like
facts of abundant harvests, or figures
tf an abounding prosperity .that deal
in enormous bulks and values, these
extreme conditions of heat simply
stagger the Imagination and confuse
rather than aid the understanding.
This much, however, we of Port
land, the Willamette Valley and. in
deed, of the entire Pacific Northwest
know. We have not as yet this season
suffered the slightest discomfort from
heat, and with July and August still
to come do not dread any discomfort
from that source which cannot, by
Intelligent care of our bodies and
home, be reduced to the minimum.
We know, moreover, that cool
nights will follow our hottest days,
making refreshing sleep a guaranteed
blessing. Furthermore, to the extent
that we can understand the untoward
atmospheric conditions that hap
less denizens of the East and Middle
West find so unbearable, we sympa
thize with them most heartily and sug
gest to them that there are atlll un
occupied lands and waiting opportuni
ties for settlers In the Pacific North
west. A ITX.4X WORD ABOCT THB MAINE.
It is now full time to cease to "re
member the Maine" in the vengeful
sense that culminated In our late war
with Spain. General W. II. .Blxby.
Chief of Engineers. United States
Army, who has had personal super
vision of rating the battleship from
the muck and slime of Havana har
bor, state that the wreclt of the ves
sel was caused by the explosion of her
three magazines. In other words, the
explosion, as disclosed by the explora
tion of the wreck, could not have re
sulted from a force from without.
But for the intervention of the years
which has dulled the memory' of the
feeling aroused by the sinking of this
battleship in Havana harbor we. as a
Nation, might read the report of Gen
eral Bixby with shamefacedness. It
may be said, however, that the United
Statue Government took no part In the
contention that the Maine was de
stroyed by emissaries of the Spanish
government, and, though this pica was
made the basis, or rather the provo
cation, of war with Srain. President
McKinley approached the conflict
with reluctance and was literally
driven into It by popular clamor.
A review of the clrcumstanoes of the
dilemma In which he found himself In
the early months of 1888 discloses a
condition scarcely less tragical than
was his violent death. A man of
peace: ralnfully conscious of his great
responsibility; harried by crafty, self
seeking politicians to whom he was In
debted for the support that made him
President, and not a man of strong
will. President McKinley struggled In
a maelstrom of contending elements
that, metaphorically, swept hlra off
his feet and made the long-sought In
cumbency of the Presidential office
anything but the fulfillment of his
hopes.
As time goes on and the shallowness
of the pretense upon which war was
declared against Spain Is exposed,
sympathy for President McKinley in
the dilemma with which he was un
able to cope increases and his tragic
death becomes more tragical In con
templation than It was even when the
smoke of the assassin's pistol cleared
away, revealing the fact that he had
received a fatal wound.
In view of all this and of the many
blunders of the war, it is well to
change the slogan "Remember the
Maine," with which a thoughtless host
enlisted for wsr. into the adjuration
"Forget the Maine." or to remember
the gallant battleship because of the
brave lives that went down with her.
The case is one that It Is well to re
member only to forget.
A FAMILIAR CRT.
The Associated Boards of Trade of
Eastern British Columbia are again
agitating the opening of the Columbia
River to navigation as far as Revel
stoke and possibly to Lake Winder
mere, In East Kootenay, near the
source of that mighty stream. Storied
regions these until within 'recent
years unexplored and of still unguessed
possibilities. During all the years
and they were many wherein "an
open river" was the watchword of de
velopment of our own Inland Empire,
"an open river" meant to us the com
pletion of the Government canal and
locks at the Cascades and perhaps
tramways for freighting around the
rapids at various ppints as far as Lew
tston. Idaho. This cry answered, it
has been taken up by those who would
exploit the resources of the vast region
farther and farther away on and on
to the sources of the mighty Columbia.
The cry la a legitimate one and
should be answered will no doubt be
answered not longer than two decades
hence, and the dreams of empire will
be further realized by an open river
from Its sources to the sea.
Upon the question that navigation
along this watercourse would regulate
and reduce railroad freights from the
Pacific Coast to the interior anft great
ly increase tourist travel by water,
there Is no chance for argument. The
waterway Is the settler's guarantee for
freight rates by rail that will" enable
him to realize a fair division of profits
for his labor In producing crops. And
as long- as the dust of travel can be
shaken off. or avoided by commodious
means of water transportation in Sum
mer, the second point In this conten
tion will be conceded without demur.
Joint legislation by the United
States and CanaCa must precede the
accomplishment of an open river from
the sources of the Columbia to the sea,
but this should not, under the circum
stances, be a formidable task.
IS THKBE GRAFT IX RAILWAY MAIL
PAVT
The Bureau of Railway News and
Statistics has been provoked to reply
to a statement credited to Postmaster
General Hitchcock that there is 114,
000.000 graft annually in railway mail
pay. The bureau, which Is a news
organization of railroads, produces
many statistics to prove that, while
the railroads have been forced by the
Government to Improve their service
in speed, punctuality, number of
trains, size of cars and better termi
nal, facilities, their pay has been ar
bitrarily reduced. It says that postal
revenue Increased 16 8 per cent from
1S0 to 110, while railway mall pay
Increased only 111 per cent. As the
mileage increased 98 per cent, this
Increase In pay little more than com
pensated for It. irrespective of the in
crease in weight, .which for second
class matter was J70 per cent. It is
denied that there Is even plausibility
In the charge of graft.
But the real point at issue is what
the service costs and what It Is worth.
The railroads ought to be paid for
carrying the mall a fair profit and no
more. To show that their pay has
been reduced does not prove that It
Is not still too high. The railroads
have not made out their case unless
they prove that it has been reduced
too much or Just as much as It should
be. To prove this requires a showing
of the actual cost of the service.
' That there has been graft In rail
way mail pay in the past there Is good
ground to believe, for there have been
times when railroad Influence was
strong in Congress and committees
allowed exorbitant payment for rail
way mall carrying. Railroad in
fluence in Congress and the Postoffice
Department has sensibly diminished of
late years and has caused large de
creases in railway mall pay. but It la
not yet dead. Until the cost of the
service Is openly shown and the pay
raent approximates the cost with a
fair profit added, there will be ground
for belief that the effect of, if not the
influence Itself. Is still alive.
WHEN. A TRIPT 13 NOT A TRIST.
The trust has been defined as a
combination In restraint of trade that
you harpen not to be In on. The good
trust has by someone else been said
to bo your own trust: the bad trust
the other fellow's. Take the maga
zines. They have taken, or assumed
to take, the leadership In th great
work of muckraking the trusts. There
was a magazine for every monopoly, a
week-to-week or month-to-month cru
sade on every kind and species of
wrongdoing, industrial, political or
moral. Beginning with Standard Oil
and winding up with the Mormons,
the grest magazine war on the trust,
and every other Imaginable evil, has
been valiantly waged for years.
But now the Government Is muck
raking the muckraker. The maga
slnes many of our most Justly famous
trust busters are described as a "com
bination In restraint of trade." Per
haps President Taft, through his Attorney-General,
has gone after the
magazines merely because he was
tired of having the magazines go after
him. But the magazines are at last
to have a chance to explain things. No
doubt they can explain to their own
entire satisfaction why a combination
in restraint of trade among the ex
press companies, for example. Is quite
a different color of horse from a com
bination in restraint of trade among;
the magazines.
The way the magazines have re
strained the magazine trade if they
have restrained It Is in forming a
periodical publishing house as a sell
ing or distributing agency, requiring
ail newa agents throughout the coun
try to buy the magazines of the pub
lishing house, fixing a certain sales
price or prices and adhering to them,
and disciplining by fine such members
of the publishing house as violate the
rules.
Doubtless the magazines will be
able to show why the wicked trusts,
which fixed prices and fined recal
citrant members of their "gentlemen's
greeement," should go to Jail, and
the magazines should lawfully agree
not to compete by cutting rates or pay
ing exorbitant commissions or selling
to Independent news agents.
HICIDH OX TUB INCREASE.
From year to year suicide increases
In the United States until now it has
reached a ratio of 20 for each 100.000
people In 100 principal cities, as
shown by statistics collected by the
New York Spectator. Taken by five
year periods, beginning with 1891. the
figures evidence a steady Increase. In
1881-5 the ratio was 14. S per 100,000:
in 1896 to 100 It was 16.2; in 1901-5
it was 18.6: in 1906-10 It was 20.
Taking individual cities, San Fran
cisco shows the highest ratio in the
ten years from 1900 to 1909. namely,
62 per 100,000. but In 1910 showed a
decrease of 9.8. Los Angeles, Oak
land and Seattle stand high on the list
and increased their ratio In 1910.
Porttand stood below the average of
19 for the ten-year period, her ratio
being 18.8, but last year the ratio rose
to 26.6, there being S3 suicides in this
city In that year. The largest Increase
in 1910 was Concord, N. H., namely,
28.4 over the previous ten years. Large
increases also are found in Bridge
port, Conn.: Atlantic Citv. N. J.; Do
trpit. Mich.: Elizabeth, N. J.; Spring
field. Mass.; New-burg. N. Y.; Charles
ton. 6. C and large decreases In San
Diego, Pueblo, Colo.; Haverhill, Mass.:
Newport, R. I., and Gloucester, Mass.
New York and Chicago both show a
n.rV.i riecreaae. the former from
slightly above to slightly below the
general average, tne latter remaining
still above that average. Philadelphia,
the third largest city, shows a marked
increase.
From the fact that in general the
highest ratio exists In the greatest cen
ters of population end in the cities of
the Far "West where the adventurous
congregate, the conclusion Is Justified
that discontent at inability to realize
high hopes and failure In business are
among the main causes of suicide. The
smaller -cities, where men have no op
portunity to rise high and fall low,
have a low suicide ratio usually, while
the Western cities have a generally
high rate. The larger cities "draw
the more discontented and ambitious
from the smaller cltlea and the coun
try, and their ability and energy are
unequal to tne reatlzatlon of their am
bition. Not having the energy to
make a second attempt, demoralized
by the vices of the city or unwilling to
deprive themselves of luxuries their
means cannot buy, some of these peo
ple take the short cut to "end it all."
Some rise high In business only to fall,
and, regarding their failure as final,
they prefer death to poverty. Suicide
Is becoming very frequent among
bankers and brokers who are discov
ered after a long career of dissipation
and fraud and resort to suicide as the
only escape from the penitentiary.
The close relation between business
failures and suicide Is evident from a
table of comparative figures given by
the Spectator. To these cause may
be added Incurable disease and Insan
ity, and a growing proportion of love
affairs.
But it is no longer possible to class
the great majority of suicides as in
sane, though coroner's Juries almost
invariably pronounce them to. Many
suicides are committed after such
calm preparation that it Is Impossible
to doubt the perpetrator's sanity.
They act like one who. having calmly
and deliberately decided that life la
not worth living, acts upon the deci
sion. Love of luxury and dread of
poverty are the two main causes. A
man cannot live up to the standard,
of the class with which he wishes to
associate or refuses to come down to a
lower standard when his means di
minish, and he settles the matter with
a bullet. A woman's social ambition
Is blighted and she broods and magni
fies her wrongs until death seems
preferable to enduring them.
But the ratio of female suicides Is
much lower than that of males, being
only 7.6 per 100.00 in the five years
ending 1908, as against 24.2 for males.
Now that the. drift of population
has set back from the cities to the
country It Is possible that the propor
tion of suicides may decrease, but the
effect of this drift will be combined
with so many other elements that It
will be hard to discern. Outdoor Ufa
and physical exercise tend to preserve
the mental balance, If not' combined
with too much 'solitude.
Suicide formerly was regarded as a
crime and the body of a man who took
his own life, if held to have been sane,
was burled at the crossroads with a
signpost driven through it. It was de
nied burial In consecrated ground and
the beginning of a milder era was
marked by verdicts of temporary In
sanity in order to deprive the clergy of
an excuse not to hold religious services
over the body. Persons who attempt
suicide are now rarely punished, and In
some states the courts have openly
asserted a man's legal rieht to take
his own life, leaving him to settle the
moral question with his conscience.
Other 'states view the attempt at sui
cide as an attempt to shirk one's obli
gation to the state or to care for one's
family, bu such laws are not really
enforced. The community is content
to regard the suicide with pity or con
tempt, aa the circumstances dictate.
The Charter Commission will find
that the boat, highest-salaried service
-for the city Is the cheapest, but that it
Is useless to go In advance of public
opinion In raising salaries. The beat
the Commission can do is to place the
salaries aa near the value of the serv
ice required as the voters will approve,
and. trust to lime to educate public
opinion up to the point of paying full
value. If an attempt la made now to
secure an Indorsement of a salary roll
allowing full value, it Is apt to cause
the rejection of the whole charter on
the ground of economy. The Com
mission's work would then go for
naught, the present Inadequate salaries
would continue, together with the
present cumbrous municipal machin
ery. Eastern Multnomah has probably
the best mountain roads In the Pa
cific Northwest. This is largely, due
to intelligent grading and natural
drainage. These roads are now large
ly used by automobiles, but for years
the thrifty ranchers of that pictur
esque and productive section of the
county have kept them In good condi
tion for travel. Material for road
building, of the best quality and in
exhaustible in quantity; abounds in
that district, and the users of high
ways are fortunate in having a road
supervisor who knows how to apply it.
Canadians are knocking at the ob
structions which prevent the Columbia
from being an open waterway from
Revelsfoke, B. C, to the sea. Uncle
Sam Is making a long step In deepen
ing the lower channel and building the
Celllo CanaL If Canada will go to
work on her section of the river, the
forces of the two nations will meet at
the boundary. But It is a long and
costly work, and the only way to get It
done Is to keep everlastingly at It.
Too many favorite sons may epoll
Missouri's first chance of having a
candidate for President on the ticket
of either of the leading parties. Hav
ing risen to the dignity of a doubtful
state, Missouri should not throw away
her opportunities, but should choose
between Clark and Folk. With such
formidable rivals to them as Wilson
and Harmon, she needs her united
strength to win the prize.
The virtuous purpose of the world's
steel kings to observe the golden rule
may be proclaimed by having that
rule printed on the steel trust's stock
certificates and bonds. Above might
be inscribed the cross (not the double
cross), with the motto: "In hoo eigno
vlnces." As a beginning in observ
ance of the golden rule, the trust
might squeeze out the water.
The declaration of the Pope in favor
of international arbitration will
strengthen the movement begun by
President Taft. The Popes have been
the peacemakers of the world except
during the religious wars.
Salem celebrates the ripening of the
fruit of the cherry tree; Japan cele
brates the blooming. For tho, rest of
the week King Bing will reign at the
state capital and sport and merriment
will be the rule.
The money left Edward R. Thomas
by his father has brought him a
broken leg and broken fortunes and
his wife a broken heart. If he had
been born poor, he might have been
of some use.
With a crop of six million bushels in
eight, Umatilla County keeps to her
record of producing nearly 1 per cent
of the wheat grown in the United
States. .
Dr. Brougher would not willingly aid
a man to become a bigamist, but the
doctor is In the business of tying knots
at so much per tie.
Woman's ambition alms at a seat in
the Washington Legislature and will
add interest to the primary' campaign
at Spokane.
Oil men intimate the price will be
raised upon removal of tanks. In new
location the price can never be as high
as of late.
Let the world be thankful that at
least one good man can say a word of
praise for anybody in the Lorimer
scandal.
The Eskimo wife turns up her nose
at the charms of Missouri and returns
to the Arctic and a diet of seal blub
ber. ,
Dublin is divided on the address to
the King, and naturally Dublin could
not be Dublin and be of one opinion.
Mrs. Rees testified that See never
kissed her unless there was occasion
forIt. Nobody does otherwise.
John W. Gates is reported better.
The fact Is. Mr. Gates would be will
ing to bet that he is better.
Gleanings of the Day
Amherst College has engaged Gilbert
Murray, Regius professor of Greek at
Oxford, to come to America next sea
son and lead in the movement which
Amherst wishes to undertake for the
re-establishing of Greek in American
college. Professor Hurray Is best
known for his translations of Euri
pides, says the Springfield Republican.
In other respects he is eminent, but
in none more so than In having stood,
at a time when scorn was being heaped
upon Greek for being a "dead" lan
guage, as an example of the vital worth
which Greek and the Greeks have for
the modern world.
The study of Greek has its place,
but that place Is below, not above, the
modern, living languages. It Is essen
tial to a complete knowledge of the
sources of the English language, but
In an age when the first requisite In
education Is to enable a man to earn
a living, less than a complete knowl
edge of that subject will suffice.'
Among languages German. Spanish.
Italian and French coma before Greek
and the mechanical sciences are pre
ferable. The study of Greek was In
troduced in Weetern Europe as a
literary aocompllshmant and spread as
a means of theological study and con
troversy. It became regarded as neces
sary to the complete education of an
English gentleman, "who considered,
work ungentlemanly, and its study was
Included In the curriculum of Amer
ican universities in imitation of ths
English. Its relegation to the back
ground was the result of an Irresistible
demand from men who found it worth
less as an asset In the struggle for a
livelihood. For those who have the
money, leisure and tasta the study of
Graek Is a pleasure, but He usefulness
is restricted to a comparatively small
class.
The bodies of six men who lost their
lives In climbing Mont Blanc 41 years
ago this Summer, are likely to be
given up by the natural movement of
a great glacier on the sida of the
mountain.
"Waterways as Creators of Pros
perity," by S. A. Thompson, Is an able
argument for river and harbor Im
provements published by the National
Rivera and Harbors Congress. It be
gins by comparison of tha enormous
"transportation tax" paid the railroads
with the taxes collected by tha Fed
eral Government and by the states,
cities and counties to show the import
ance of reducing transportation coBt.
It then compares the cost of transpor
tation by road, rail and river, and tells
what water transportation has done
for New York, Manchester, Frankfort
and the cities of Holland and Belgium.
It tells how waterways create prosper
ity by forcing reduction of railroad
rates, and cites the movement for wa
terway improvement in Great Britain
as 6ne worthy of imitation by the
United States. It gives the meat of
the transportation problem in small
compass.
X conference la being held between
delegates from Venesuela, Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia for the os
tensible purpose of forming a federa
tion under the title "Gran Colombia,"
but really, it is believed, to form a kind
of alliance, offensive and defensive,
against the real or Imagined interfer
ence of the United States, the Bhadow
of whose political dominance has Ions'
been feared. ,
While it is possible to admit that a
combination of some sort is not only
probable, but desirable. It U' believed,
says the Boston Transcript, that tha
character of the people and their In
nate disloyalty to one another, com
bined with their inordinate vanity and
Incurable pursuit of self-interest will
prevent any workable basis of action,
at least In so far as a oommon or cen
tral government Is concerned.
Percy F. Martin, an English wTiter,
who shows decided hostility to Amer
ican Influence in Central American
countries, says of this conference:
It will be reeosnirad that any combination
of theaa dlfrarent paoplea would praaant a
forroldabla oppoiltlon to any intarfarenco or
aggraaalva action which could ba Inatltutea
by tha Unitad 8tatc or by any other
enemy; and tha fact that the Isthmus of
Panama which must not b confused with
tha atata of that name now under North
Amerlran dominance could bo summarily
cut off by moans of a combination be
tween the other states, means that tha canal
could be rendered of negative value to its
American owners. It will be borne In mind
that had the varloua Latin-American states
combined to resist North Ajnerlcan aggrea
alon, Panama today would remain a part of
Colombia and tha Isthmian Canal would
never have baan constructed, aa It Is being
constructed today, without the consent of
Colombia whose permission not alone has
never been asked, but whose emphatic ob
jections have been Ignored in connection
with tha undertaking.
The truth Is that Mr. Taft i rapidly
achieving prestige as one of the great
Presidents of this country, saVs the
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. His
frankness with the people, his 'high,
sense of 'honor, his unflinching moral
courage in defense of views and meas
ures he believes to be in the interest
of the National welfare, his calmness
and good nature in the stress of criti
cal emergencies, and his dear. Incisive
and forceful way of stating his views
have won the confidence of the Amer
ican people.
In short, he is Justifying In a re
markable way the belief in him which
led to his great victory at the polls
In 1908 a belief which was shaken
somewhat during the early part of his
Administration, while. In his quiet,
careful way, he was finding himself In
the Presidency. There le no longer
anything hesitating or even tentative
In his policies. He has adjusted him
self to his great office and to the Na
tion, and Is advancing with a strength
and confidence rarely equaled by any
of his predecessors. This is the more
notable in view of the confusion pre
vailing to some degree in both of the
two great political parties.
t A Question In Ethics.
Kansas City Journal.
Joe Rands, of -Atchison, tells this
story: "A colored man was charged
with stealing 19.70. His lawyer, after
a long fight, succeeded In securing his
acquittal. 'After the acquittal the law
yer told the darkey that he ought to
have some pay for his hard work.
Have you got any money at all?' In
quired the lawyer. ve still got that
$9.70,' said the negro. -
Maximum Honrs of Work la Austria.
London Tit-Bits.
In Austria the legal maximum is 11
hours a day. but is exceeded, under
v... irra number of work
people, particularly in the textile
trade, in me mines me h1
hours are 8 to 9 and In factories 9 to
19 and 10 to 11.
MR. CRIDGB STATES REAL ISStJB.
Assertion Made That True Single Tax
la Xot Propoaed for Oresjon In 1912.
PORTLAND, July 8. (To the Edi
tor.) Not attempting to debate the
question of the single tax, but only to
"inform the chair," I would call at
tention to the fact that no single taxer
has ever claimed that 'British Colum
bia, Alberta, New Zealand, Vancouver,
etc., or any other state, province, coun
try or city was on a single-tax basis.
Some are nearer to raking; the full ren
tal value of land for public purposes
than others. Some levy more taxes on
improvements, personal property, im
ports, exports, occupations, commerce,
etc., than others. Nona of them as
yat levies all public taxes upon land
values entirely, exempting improve
ments and all products of thrift and
Industry by individuals.
Mexico levies no taxes on land values,
the entire burden of taxation being
levied on commerce. Industry and
thrift. New South Wales collects near
ly all of its local city, town and shire
taxes from land values exclusively, but
still has a multiplicity of other taxes
for state and federal purposes.
To the extent the principles of the
Single Tax have been applied, ths ad
vocates of an exclusive land value tax
claim that it Justifies the contentions
of Its advocates. The steps toward it
made by nine British Columbian cities
are greater than anything done by Ore
gon, which is on the road to the Single
Tax as compared with Mexico. Some
of the states of this country have aban
doned nearly all forms of personal
property tax. Others stick and hang
to the general property tax, regard
less of the absolutely impossible task
of taxing the most valuable forms of
personal riroperty. not 5 per cent of
which can be listed when In the shape
of bonds, monay, notes or shares.
There Is no attempt to be made to
establish the single tax In Oregon In
1912. What will b'e done Is to endeavor
to go aa far as experience In other civ
ilized communities has demonstrated to
be practical, effective and conserva
tive. It would be Impossible for the
people of Oregon to establish the abso
lute singla tax. Federal taxes would
still remain, anyway. They are the
heaviest of any single item of all our
many taxes.
In Great Britain a tax of about two
mills on the dollar imposed on some of
the lands was bitterly fought by the
Lords and aristocrats on the ground
that it was single tax. When wa con
sider that unimproved and unused land
bringing In no revenue to the owners
was not taxed at all in Great Britain,
the contention made by The Oregonian
some months ago that we have now In
Oregon a heavier tax than that on
land values was correct. The point that
alarmed the landowners of Great Brit
ain was not the amount of the tax.
but the peculiar provision that It
should be levied exclusive of Improve
ments. A man does not have to be a single
taxer to vote for local revenues to be
levied upon land values. The four to
one vote cast for the land value tax In
Victoria, B. C, a few weeks ago was
not cast by single taxers.
The ideal of most single taxers is
that society take the full annual rental
value of all land, and that no other
tax ba levied. That some would stop
at S3',i and others at 99 per cent is not
a matter to consider at present when
we don't take more than 20 per cent in
Oregon; and but about 30 per cent in
British Columbian land value tax
cities.
No school of thought absolutely
agrees on secondary propositions but
a great many people In Oregon are
ready to take more of the- community
produced land values for community
purposes. That Is the question before
the House. ALFRED D. C RIDGE.
Judging from the text of the tenta
tive "single tax" measures offered by
the local Fels organization and hereto
fore published, The Oregonian agrees
with Mr. Cridge that the campaign In
preparation does not contemplate the
establishment of the real single tax as
It was advocated by Henry George.
Nevertheless, W. G. Eggleston has issued
a pamphlet "published to explain single
tax measures to be 'placed on the bal
lot at the general election in 1912."
When The Oregonian discussed tha con
crete proposition presented In this pam
phlet. Dr. Eggleston replied by pro
posing to do something else. In other
words, he suggested taking the full an
nual community made value of land In
taxes a question not "before the house."
He also misconstrued statements in The
Oregonian apparently, for the purpose
of enjoying an argument Therefore
this letter was not published. Lack of
straightforwardness, . to which Mr.
Cridge's communication of today is a
pleasant exception In most part, seems
to pervade Oregon single tax propa
ganda. When one points out that the tax
plan proposed for Oregon will not stop
land speculation nor decrease the tax bur
den now Imposed on improved property
owners, and tells why. It Is the habit of
its advocates to rise up with discussion
of some other form of single tax. In
view of Mr. Cridge's clear statement
of the "question before the house," It
may not be too much to hope that the
single taxers will hereafter argue the
real Issue and not something else.
How to Get "Die ChrlBtnamythe."
EUGENE. Or.. July 6. (To the Edi
tor.) I was much interested in your
editorial of July .2. the History of Hell.
Please tell me where I may obtain a
copy of Professor Drew's book. "Die
Chrlstusmythe." H. H. H.
Professor Arthur Drew's book. Die
Chrlstusmythe, has not yet been trans
lated Into English. It can be obtained
from any bookseller who handles for
eign publications. The European price
is $1.80, postage paid, for two volumes.
It is a highly valuable book which
should be accessible in tha public libra
ries. No doubt any library committee
would be willing to purchase it if pro
perly requested.
J .over's Lane Busy Place.
Judge's Library.
"Where is that spot you call the
lovers' laneT " diffidently asks the
young man while the young woman
waits on the hotel piazza
a-, ilnirn rnnflpr '' renlleft the
clerk. "Just keep going until you see
the porter from the barbershop.
Lovers' lane is so crowded now that
we have him stationed there to give
the guests checks, so that each may
have his turn."
Lesson In Home Economy.
Chicago News.
Ker-Smlth Here's 12.50; you'd better
take a cab to the depot.
Mrs. Ker-Smlth You know, John. I
never ride In anything but a taxi.
xror-Rmith Oh. in that case, stay
where you are. I'll have the depot
moved up here; It will be less expen
sive.
Seventy Years With One Firm.
Manchester Guardian,
c rr vui rm wltti one - firm was
the record of an .aged clothworker
who has Just died at Trowbridge,
Wilts. England. He began work when
he was years old.
Case of Before and After.
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
v 1 1 v id i kufc - - w
woman to be called "Miss" and makes
l Single woman uma m caucu
'Mr2" What do the girls want?
Advertising Talks
By William C Freeman.
A gentleman by the name of Brock
Pemberton. sent in to me some time
ago a clipping from the Graduate
Magazine of the. University of Kan-i
sas. It read as follows:
"A course In advertising is being
given at the university and 14 students
are being taught the principles of ad
writing and the methods used in con
ducting successful advertising cam
paigns. This is one of the first, if
not the first, advertising course to ba
offered by a state university. One of
the features of the course is a series
of lectures by men who have made
reputations as experts in the adver
tising field. An Invitation has been
extended to business Arms to send
their advertising men to hear these
addresses."
Mr. Pemberton sent in the above to
me with tha comment that he thought
the clipping might be of interest to
readers of these Advertising Talks.
That which was once an inconvenient
method of making known a merchant's
desire to sell goods has become a
practical and great method a real
business factor, requiring the greatest
skill in presenting to the public the
reasons why It should buy the mer
chandise offered requiring men of ex
traordinary ability to plan advertising
campaign:! requiring the aid of the
business artist and the business liter
ary men.
That is what advertising has become
through the efforts of men who recog
nized in it the greatest business power
in the world, and therefore universities
and manufacturers and business men
are recognising the Importance of the
advertising fraternity generally.
Advertising is a profession, all right
enough that requires constant study
and the kind of brains that creata new
things all of the time.
To be continued.)
Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe
(Copyriirht, 1811. by George Matthew Adams)
Building contractors should get over
the habit of taking their time. If It
ever becomes necessary to have an ark
In a hurry, we will all drown.
A man Is not truly unselfish unless
he would rather have his wife and chil
dren get his life insurance than enjoy
it himself.
The women have great admiration for
a man who says he never saved a cent
until he got married.
The average man isn't very proud
whan his wife Is operated on, but he
will say, in talking to his friends: "I
suppose Doc Smith, who did the work,
is one of the greatest surgeons in the
world."
If it were not for the fact that most
people ask too much, there wouldn't ba
much use for courts.
You can get up a quarrel, but will
you ba any better off after you have
quarreled so fiercely that peace will bs
agreeable?
So many lazy people masquerade as
the poor.
No man pays as cheerfully as he or
ders. When a man tells a woman he loves
her. It is with the secret hope that soma
other woman will never hear of it.
A man is always on the verga of In
sulting a lady. A man began swearing
In a saloon. "Look here," said the bar
keeper, "you will have to rut out thst
profanity. Suppose a lady should corns
In."
Awakener of All Faculties.
Success Magazine.
Tha practice of publio speaking.- ths
effort to marshal all one's forces in
logical and forceful manner, to bring
to a focus all the power one possesHes,
is a great awakener of all the faculties.
The sense of power that comes from
holding the attention, stirring the emo
tions, or convincing the reason of an
audience, gives self-confidence, assur
ance, self-reliance, arouses ambition
and tends to make one more effective in
every way. One's judgment, education,
manhood, character, all the things that
go to make a man what he is, are be
ing unrolled like a panorama In his
effort to express himself. Every men
tal faculty is quickened, every power
of thought and expression stirred and
spurred. The speaker summons all his
reserves of experimence, of knowledge,
of natural or acquired ability, and
masses all his forces in the endeavor to
express himself with power and to cap
ture the approval and applause of his
audience.
Prophet Not on the Job.
Philadelphia (D. C.) Ledger.
Dr. Harvey Wiley, head of the Bu
reau of Chemistry ot Washington, who
has won much militant fame -In 'the
purefood embrogllos. is an ardent and
old-school Republican. Also he is a
bosom friend of Willis Moore, chief of
Weather Bureau. Last November they
sat side by . side in the Cosmos Club
listening to the election returns that
told of a Democratic landslide. The
news at first ran bad for the Doctor,
then it changed and ran worse. But
through it all he sat perfectly Impas
sive and imperturbable.
At length there came in with the mid
night a peculiarly disheartening dis
patch from a one-time powerful Repub
lican stronghold.
As the worthy Doctor rose in disgust
he turned to his companion, the chief
of the Weather Bureau, and wlthertngly
said: "Willis, I wish you had predicted
this!"
As to Birds and Men.
London Chronicle.
There is scarcely an end to the birds
that have given their names to human
simplicity rook (originally), pigeon,
gull, daw. Jay, cuckoo, goose, owl,
woodcock (from Its supposed habit of
walking into snares with its eyes open)
and so on. But mankind has paid back
some of the debt by naming some birds
after stupid human beings. "Booby"
Is a leading case, and possibly "loon."
"Dotterel" is derived from "dote" (tha
verb) and "dodo" Is the Portuguese
doudo, a simpleton, which is thought
to be connected with our "dolt" and the
provincial English "dold."
Checkers Among; Dangerous Sports.
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Checkers is now classed with danger
ous pastimes. Playing the game has
been declared unlawful In a Georgia
town. ' When graybeards clutch each
other's throats and maul each other's
wrinkled brows over the next move,
and fields are barren for want of care,
and cattle in their stalls gasp for
water. It was high time to cut short
the insidious sport.
Story in Saxony Same as Elsewhere.
London Chronicle.
The conditions of existence in
Saxony have changed so much in tha
last few years that, whereas the hus
band's earnings used to suffice for the
needs of his family, how they do not,
and the wife and children must help
earn the daily bread.