TIIE MORNING OREGONIAN. TUESDAY, SEPTE3IBER 5, 1911. .8 PORTLAND, OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oregon. Postofflcs aa E?ond-Clas Matter. Subscription Rates Invariably In Advance. (BT MAIL.) Dally. Sunday Included, one year Dally, Sunday Included, three montha. . . 2 25 Ially. Sunday Included, one montn.... ' - I'ally. without Eunday, one year Dally, without Sunday, six montha..... -Z5 Dally, without Sunday, three montha... 1.15 Dally, without Sunday, one month Weekly, one year so Sunday and Weekly, one year ' I CBT CARRIER.) Dally. Sunday Included, one year .oo iat:y. bunaay lncjuaea, one monin, How to Remit eend poitomc money order, express order or personal check on axe at the sender's run. oive posiomce address In full. Including county ana state. Postage Rates 10 to 14 pages, t cent; Is to 29 paces. 2 cents; 30 to 40 pages. 8 cents; 40 to 60 pages, 4 cents. Foreign postage double rate. Eastern Business Office Yrrrn A Conk lln New York. Brunswick building. Chi cago, 6teger building. PORTLAND, TUESDAY, 6EFTEMBEB 6. J THE BLESSED RAIN. Ever since last March the earth , has been thirsting for rain. There was a snack in June, but not nearly ! enough. July gave a meager shower ;or two, and In August there was a 'misty downfall for a little while, and ;that was the end of It. All Summer ' long the fields have been- swept by 'drying winds. The roads have been ,' ground into dust ever deeper and finer until at last it was a woeful experi ence to drive to the postoffice for the mail. One traveled like the Israelites accompanied by a pillar of cloud, but ours enveloped us. Instead of kindly going before to show the way, it com passed the traveler round about to hide it, and when he got home and took his belated bath there was a noble deposit of fertile soil at the bottom of the tub. How things man sged to live and grow during the long drouth is a mystery, but they did it. The abundant showers which are now falling bring to light marvels of per severance in every field and garden Where did those big yellow squashes come from on the misty hillside T During the dry spell they kept themselves hidden under the leaves shunning! the sun and wind as much as they could, but now in the wealth of gracious drops, they come it in broad daylight, with all their golden corpulence. The apples which were inclined to shrink up Inside their skins all through August now seem suddenly to swell and magnify them selves. If they do not drink in the rain and grow as one looks at them then appearances are deceptive. As for the prunes, tfiey have thriven In spite of the brazen sky and robber winds. and now when the rain descends upon them there are so many that the .branches break from the trees. The t good husbandman has not really cared J much whether it rained or not so far ' as his orchards were concerned. He ' has kept the soil 6tlrred with the har- row bringing up stores of moisture from the depths of the earth, and his ,' trees have prospered just as well as . If the skies had been more generous. J ; Upon the whole, the water under : the earth Is more to be depended upon ; than that above It. He who has pro- vided his fields with a soil mulch frets very little over what happens In the clouds. By digging down two or j three Inches with his toe he finds the i soil perennially damp and knows : that the roots of -his trees are not t thirsty. But woe to the farmer who ' neglects his soil mulch in a dry spell ' like the one we have Just passed a through. The sun and wind strike udown ever deeper and bake the earth even to the end of the taproot of the hardy oak. It Is wonderful what a difference a thin layer of dry dust jaa the surface will make in what jfoes on below. But grateful as the apple and prune trees are for the September showers they are not half so Joyous , as the weeds. The pigweed is the . wisest herb of the field. Its seeds do not sprout until August. They , -linger dormant in the ground until , the husbandman In his pride thinks he has killed every pest that grows. Then in a day when he thinks not, behold a billion pigweeds spring up over night. All through August the , dew nourishes them. They cling closely to the surface of the ground So escape the hot winds and keep themselves as Inconspicuous as possi ble to avoid the farmer's notice. Peo ple who want to talk about "brute and unintelligent nature" may do so, but their folly is amazing. Nothing can exceed the astuteness of the pig weed except that of the pig himself. Day after day under the blazing sun It lies In wait, biding its time. Then comes the rain, and in a night it rears Its head and towers aloft. Why do not the seeds of the pigweed sprout In Spring like other plants? Who taught them to wait until August when the husbandman is too tired with his Summer's toll to plow them jinder or pull them up? . Apple trees that have been well tilled during the drouth begin to show tender green shoots at the end of their large boughs since the rain ;"came. They will keep on growing un , til the hard frosts of November nip 1-them If the aphis do not suck too much of their sap. This little pest which has sorely beset the orchardist "all Summer becomes his friend in the late Fall, checking the formation of wood which is not ready for Winter. There ought to be an aphis for the walnut tree on this very account. That tree is as cautious as one could aesire in Spring. It holds back its foliage until long after everything else Is in full panoply. But in the Fall it teems never to think of getting ready "for frost and snow. It keeps on form ing tender wood until it Is caught and ometimes fatally pinched by the fall ing mercury. All living creatures rejoice in the Tain. . It washes the air. It lays the "dust. It revives the verdure of the woods. It brings forth a new harvest of roses and greens the brown pas tures for the hungry cattle. Dairy men predict' a profitable Fall because Ihe rain has come soon enough to make grass grow a month or two be fore the hard frosts kill it for the Winter. No matter If they do lose a few tons of late wild hay, the fresh pasture will pay for it ten times over. Life begins anew with the Fall rains. Everybody draws a sigh of relief, bids cood-by to heat, dust and languor, "nd girds up his loins for the work of another year. .-. Dry weather is all very well In va cation time, but when one has' to go 'l4 work he wants rain. In particular 5be. wants the Oregon kind of rain, which falls bewitchlngly in slow, gra .cious drops that kiss the earth as they bring down their blessings upon It. When the rains come we are all good natured. The September showers wash away our crankiness and tan trums. Nobody could be cantanker ous as the drops play their soft music on the roof. It stills the heart's com plaining. It hushes the vcloe of care and the heart that heeds its teaching, as all hearts do for a while at least. wears the grace of angels. AMBASSADOR HILL. AND POTASH. Any criticism which the potash importers may make of Ambassador Hill will be of no effect when set I against the emphatic expressions of conjiaence wnicn come irom x-resi 73 ' dent Tart and the tokens oi esteem I he has received from Emperor Will' i . Tk lattaw hoa ronr thin atoned for the wrong he did by objecting to Mr. HIirs appointment, for he has gone out of his way to do honor to the Ambassador. That the Eroper or"s attentions were not prompted by any lack of fidelity to American In terests on Mr. Hill's part is attested by Mr. Taft's words. It remains, then, to discover the Intriguers and their motive. That they have some connection with the notash controversy Mr. Hill makes plain. That controversy grew out of an Increase in the German tax on pot ash, the production of which in the empire Is in the hands of a syndicate Before the tax was Imposed the syn dicate had made contracts for the sale of potash to American firms at prices which would have involved a loss after the tax was imposed, uney refused to carry out the contracts on the terms arranged, and the Amerl cans called In the aid of the State De nartment to adiust the affair. It was placed In the hands .of 'Mr. Hill, who has been negotiating for a year or more. The importers have expressed dissatisfaction with his course, for they have shown a disposition to in sist on the letter of their contracts. They have even sent pamphlets to the newspapers of the United States set ting forth their version of the con' troversy. Mr. Hill's action may now have the effect of causing a thorough ventila tion of the whole subject, which he evidently courts'. HELPING CXKAN THE CITY. Dr. HInson's sermon has aroused the ire of some of the friend of Mayor Rushlight. We are told that the public expects the pulpit to be fair. The pulpit did not ask for Si mon's recall, therefore it should not hint at Rushlight's recall. Simon's administration was Just as bad as, or worse than Rushlight's, it Is asserted, The pulpit then kept silent. It should do so now. The recall should be gov erned by precedent. If one man is derelict in official duties and Is not re called, his successors are forever af terward to be Immune from publio wrath if derelict In the same way. The theory is not new. Most of us first heard It when we were in the primary grades of the public school. Willie Jones pleaded Immunity from nunishment because Johnny Smith had done the same thing and escaped. It is a companion of the plea that two wrongs make a right. Tet we do not understand that Dr. Hlnson is proposing the immediate application of the recall. He has spoken In behalf of good citizenship and has offered its best aid In clean ing ud the city. He has demanded that the Mayor make some show of earnestness In his professed effort to subjugate vice. He Is willing and anxious to work with the Mayor to this end. He suggests the recall only as a final resort If it be found that the Mayor is making an empty show from tome ulterior motive. , The pulpit has good cause to ques tion the sincerity of Mayor Rush light. He waJ heralded as the choice of the North End in the primary elec tion and. he got the solid North End vote. He was again heralded as the choice of the North End when he ran against Simon who as Mayor, we are now told, did nothing to" clean up the city. Again Rushlight got the solid North End vote. Odd. wasn't it, that the man who had tolerajted vice for two years was turned down for the silent Mr. Rushlight. Tet the pulpit. as represented by Dr. Hlnson, pro poses to be fair. It offers to aid Mayor Rushlight to make good. It will give him the benefit of the doubt and assist him to overthrow any prejudice that may have arisen from the manner of his election. Nothing could be fairer. It Is not strange that the two months of the new administration have brought forth speculation and inquiries from press, pulpit and pub lic. What mean these terrific shake ups In the police department, the rat tle of which- cannot be heard across the street? What stunning blow to vice is to follow the raid of a Chinese den and the fining of a few Orientals $7.50 apiece? What portentous event is to attend the open order against macquereaux other than the shaving of Parisian mustachioa and the en joyment of fishing trips by certain Frenchmen while the clouds hang low? Doea some political or other move call for a big bluster, or are these the opening guns of a real bat tle against prostitution, gambling and graft? The minister, we take It, thinks he knows what the answers ought to be, and no doubt a large part of the public agrees with him. If the Mayor Is sincere, there Is no cause for his supporters to- resent the re marks of Dr. Hlnson. FINDING THINGS. Mr. J. Clifford Austen may thank his stars that he found his wife's ring in the Willamette after fishing for it only two hours. If he had not been enviably lucky he might have fished two years and been no better off than when he began. Still there were cir cumstances in his favor. A ring, es pecially a diamond set In gold, is likely to fall vertically through the water, while an object formed like a dlso will waver and wander about, going anywhere but to the place which seems natural for It A twenty-dollar gold piece Is liable to slide sideways like a leaf falling from a tree, and if the water is deep it may travel in this manner a long distance. Of course much depends on the way it strikes the surface, Everybpdy has tried the experiment of throwing a flat stone aslant through water. The sinuosities It describes and the winding path it fol lows are extremely Interesting. A double eagle may.be made to skip along the surface of a pond, if a per son has one which he wishes to use in that manner, but a ring cannot. It will sink in spite of your deftest manipulation. A flat object falling Into the water from a height is harder to find than one which slips In from a point near the surface, because the former strikes more violently and is, there fore, diverted by stronger reactionary forces. Violent Impact excites oppo sition, a fact which contains a use ful lesson for reformers, though they will not heed it. Very likely dry sand is the most confusing substance to drop an object int6. A bolt or nut falling Into sand on a slope will wan der to the ends of the earth, seem ingly, before it stops. Worse still the sand hastens down in a stream to cover and hide it so that finding be comes next to impossible. The best way to proceed is to move your fin ger very gently down the slope, tak ing the greatest precaution not to set the sand running, and If you are exceptionally fortunate you may find what you are looking for. But a needle in a haystack can be found much more readily than one in a heap of dry sand. LABOR DAT. The hosts of labor made merry yes terday in spite -of the rain. While programmes could not be carried out as planned, the change from work to play, from strenuousness to re laxation, from routine to diversity was greatly enjoyed. Briefly stated the time of men and women of labor belonged to themselves and they used or abused their freedom as they saw fit. To some perhaps the day was not a profitable one, but whether so or not. It was of their own ordering. And whether good or bad the under' lying principle upon which a grand, universal holiday for labor rests is the same, establishing as it has and does the right of labor to a holiday distinctly its own, which the business interests of the community must re& ognize, and to which, as far as is pos sible, they must conform. Some men and many women were compelled to work, of course. Other wise the hosts of labor would not have been able to get to their pleasure grounds, or be fed, even in their homes; children would have been neglected and the domestic machin ery would have stood still; railroad trains would have stopped and the business of many tomorrows would have been dela)-ed. But Labor day served Its purpose if It gave thousands of hands but cease from toll and freedom to work the Individual will wisely or other wise for a single working day in the year. JOKERS IN TUB PUBLICITY LAW. When Congress undertakes to pro' vide a remedy for its own shortcom ings it shines brightest. It undertook to put a stop to the spending of lavish sums upon the election of its mem bers by the dark, designing interests, when the Democrats, fresh from the people, with laurels of victory on their brows and a new access of virtue in their hearts, took control . of the House. As a preventive of the evil mentioned, the Democrats adopted simple publicity of the widest kind They were not afraid to tell where they got their campaign cash or what they did with it. The machinery of the House was in good condition, so the bill went through without objec tion. But the Senate," having reason to re member the Lorimer $100,000 "slush fund," and Stephenson's scattering of $107,000 all over Wisconsin, thought the bill did not go far enough. At the instance of Reed of Missouri, a new, direct-primary Senator, who knows how much money a man is -tempted to spend under ."progressive" meth' ods, a limit for candidates for Repre sentatives of 16000 and for Senators of f 10,000 was inserted. This amend ment was adopted, with the aid of the Republicans, regulars Included, and the country was impressed with the great wave of reform which had wept over Congress and with the sur prising fact that the Senate outshone the House in its reform tendencies. But at this point the evil one went silently and secretly to work. While the bill provides that the statements of contributions and expenditures of House candidates should be public records and open to inspection, an amendment was slipped In providing that a candidate for the Senate should simply file his statement with the sec. retary of the Senate, who carefully guards the secrecy of all documents which he is not specifically author ized to make public. Hence the Sen ators would be compelled to tell their campaign secrets only to each other. That kind of secrecy Is not very effec tive, but It renders obtaining the in formation a somewhat roundabout process, like that of learning pro ceedings of executive sessions. That was the first Joker and may be comparatively harmless, but at a later stage of the proceedings, prob ably in conference, another Joker was slipped in, more far-reaching and of large dimensions. After the provision fixing the amount which a candidate for either House or Senate might spend was inserted, a proviso was added exempting from its restrictions all a candidate's expenses except for employment at speakers and assist ants, newspaper advertisements and entertainment of voters or legislators. He may spend any amount of money he pleases on state fees levied on can didates, personal expenses for travel and subsistence, stationery, postage, writing, printing and distributing let ters, circulars and posters, telegraph and telephone service. As well pass a law effective throughout the United States and then insert a proviso ex cepting all the states and territories except Rhode Island. Democratic House leaders and Re publican Senate leaders must have had their hand in the manufacture of this gold brick, for the bill went through conference, where they had the final shaping of it Senators Kenyon and Kern, who drew the orig inal Senate amendment making the law really effective, were too busy digging for truth about Lorimer to watch proceedings closely, and their amendment was changed beyond rec ognition. Just who converted the law into a practical Joke is not known, but no matter which party was primarily responsible, the other consented to it and was therefore equally guilty. The stoning of Reyes In Mexico sup ports the plea of Dlas in favor of his despotism, that the people were not capable of self-government The first essential of successful democratic rule is a willingness to let all parties make their plea to the voters unhindered. The second is a ballot free from brib ery or intimidation. The third is a prompt acceptance of the result by the defeated party. By their conduct in Mexico City on Stmday the Mexi cans showed themselves lacking in the first essential and gave rise to suspi- . cion that they lack the other two. Madero will have to hold a tighter ( rem if he expects to ride the revolu tion to orderly liberty instead of to anarchy or a new despotism. What! Canadian wheat grading low? Of twenty-four cars of new wheat that reached Winnipeg from Southern Manitoba a few days ago only four graded No. 1, the rest being No. 4 or poorer. This means that rust and smut and frost broke in upon the dreams of Canadian wheat- growers, as they have done now and then upon those of farmers of pre sumably less-favored localities. It also means that, taken by and large, one section of the great Pacific Northwest does not differ greatly from another in the grade of wheat produced. Boundary lines do not figure to any great extent in this matter. Governor Hay, of Washington shows a sense of Justice, as well as of the fitness of things in his proposal to add a Just proportion of women who are electors in his state, to the committees which will be appointed to welcome President Taft at various points in his Journey through Wash' lngton next month. Since the women of that state will, or may vote for President Taft or his rival, as, the case may be, at the Presidential elec tion in November, 1912, there Is no reason why representatives of this voting class should be excluded from any public political function or occa sion in the state. The sudden and unexplained end ing of a young life of promise was recorded in the death of J. Lloyd Magness. Regarded from the stand point of usefulness this death rep resents waste; from the standpoint of family affliction It represents a loss that, cannot be computed, and from the sudden blight of high hopes and fair promise In the individual it mocks at the philosophy of existence. Such a loss is more than a personal one and may well bo deplored by an entire community. The sickening slaughter of miners In the cage of a Butte mine furnishes the key to many a mine disaster. Miners are so familiar with all kinds of danger powder explosions, gas explosions, falling rock, breaking ca bles that they become as indiffer ent as a veteran soldier is to artil lery fire. These Butte miners broke a rule made for their own safety. even after they had been personally warned, and were chopped to mince meat, purely through their own reck lessness. A man who marries his nurse is pretty certain to get a good wife. He has enjoyed the best of opportunities to test her temper and endurance, and knows a great deal more about her than the ordinary bachelor ever learns of his Intended bride. On the other hand, a woman who can put up with a man when he is sick ought to find him a perfect angel when he is well. On these grounds we predict a blissful future for Mr. Keefe and Miss Stone, of Los Angeles. The large increase in the number of corporation shares owned by small Investors is coincident with a heavy falling off in Wall-street trading. There are not nearly so many "lambs" as formerly, and a great many more hard-headed Investors. People are learning to buy securities for an income Instead of rushing into "get-rich-quick" schemes. America has known for a-long time how to make money. We are now learning how to save it A few years ago it was said that there was nothing in prunegrowlng In Oregon. Now we are told that more than forty cars of green i. e., un drled prunes will be shipped from Salem to Sacramento by the Salem Fruit Union this year under a guar antee of $460 a car, with all the net balance that the prunes will bring a pick-up of something like $20,000 to prunegrowers who have learned how to handle the crop. The disturbances made by aero planes In the vicinity of London and Paris have caused so -many protests that a demand for a noiseless airship will soon arise. Ia there any wonder that the Spanish eagle attacked Ved- rlne when it heard the hideous whirring of his motor and propeller? What a contrast between the silent movements of the king of birds and the ceaseless racket of man's imita tion! Upton Sinclair's theory of "free marriage" seems to lose some of Its brilliant fascination In practice. He is perfectly willing that other men's wives should leave them for any pass ing fancy, but when his own voyages to other harems he is angry. The shoe which pinches another man's foot is far easier to stand than one that pinches your own. Representative Stanley ridicules E. H. Gary's plan for Government con trol of trusts, and says the only dif ference between Gary and Victor Ber. ger is that Gary doesn't know he Is Socialist. There is another airrer- ence Gary wants Government con trol of trusts on the trusts' terms. The Oregon onion crop was never better. It represents intelligent, painstaking Industry as applied to a soil that responds generously to the care of the husbandman. With a long Winter in sight, the coal bin to be filled, sugar going up and other commodities on the teeter board, arbitration Is the better course. One of the common puzzles of city life is how a man can appear on the streets early Monday morning in an intoxicated condition. This richest country on earth will keep Imitative nations poor by build ing 40,000-ton battleships to handle 16-inch guns. Could those who mourned the wreck of the old wooden Tallapoosa see the new battleships, Florida and Utah, they would be comforted. The men obliged to work yesterday really enjoyed the discomfiture of their friends who rested. Mrs. Gotch thinks the champion is all right, and Is proud of him. At last the motorcycle maniacs are to receive police attention. This Is clearing weather for State Fair week. Gleanings of the Day Efforts are to be made by the Audu bon Societies to save from destruction the flocks of wild doves which will fly from the North Atlantic to the Southern - States this Fall. Almost every agricultural society is backing them, for doves are heralded as the greatest destroyers of weed seeds in existence. Millions of doves are killed by Southern Hunters every year -and the Audubon are after the hunters. That each wild dove can destroy more weeds in a day than the most vigorous farmhand equipped with a hoe, has been demonstrated to farmers in vari ous sections by investigations of the Government Biological Survey. In the stomachs of three doves, 23,100 seeds of hawkweed, foxtail, wood-sorrel, pas palum and other damaging growths were discovered. They had been plucked from the fields as one dinner by each feathered weeder. Every day in the year the doves take 64 per cent of their food in weed seeds from farm land. Much of the $500,000,000 that the farmers of America pay each year for labor might be saved by the nat ural increase of the dove weed-killers, it is argued. Tet in peanut and wheat fields of the South as many as 4000 of the birds are known to have been butchered at a single shooting. Some times they are lured by illegal baiting. In Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma a fight is being made by the farmers to have them protected, while the people of California have defeated an attempt to abolish the closed season on shooting them. It is very amusing to see the way in- which some New York papers are frowning down upon the Presidential candidacy of Woodrow Wilson, of New Jersey, says the Boston Transcript They are niacin? him in the same category of disappointed hopes as Mr. Bryan for the reason that he is espous ing some of the progressive principles for which they say Mr. Bryan ha stood. Yet as a matter of fact Gov ernor Wilson in coming out in favor of the initiative, referendum, recall and some of the other reforms that are in practical and successful operation in Western States is not following Mr. Bryan at all. Mr. Bryan has never been active in urging these things. In fact Mr. Boyan's agi tation for reforms has always been in the direction of some tremen dous cyclonic and National reform that Is as unworkable as it Is fantastic such as free silver or imperialism. Governor Wilson is urging reforms that are practical, have worked, and he is conservative enough to go on record as opposed to the recall of Judges. If the New York papers wish to defeat Mr. Wilson in his candidacy for the Presidency they will have to find some other weapon to use, be cause it is Just his advocacy of these progressive policies that are advancing his cause throughout the United States. No man can run successfully for Presi dent on the platform that is built -by the New York press. The pekin-Kaigan Railway runs from the capital of the Empire to the chief city on the caravan route to Rus ala, says the Railway Age-Gazette. It is now 130 miles long and is being ex tended. It was built from the surplus earnings of the government-owned Im perial railways of North China, and from the first reconolssance to the driving of the last spike no foreigner had anything to do with its construc tion. Today its operation is entirely in the hands of the Chinese. That it was built in spite of natural obstacles to construction which foreign experts declared were absolutely prohibitive to any Chinese engineer and possibly even to themselves, is a personal triumph of no mean magnitude for the chief engineer, Jeme-Tien-Yu. That it was built at a cost almost witsout parallel for similar construction at a lower figure per mile even than some of tle foreign-built roads on the level floor of the Yangtse Valley is a striking object lesson for Europe and America, and will be a powerful weapon for the Chinese in their con tention for fairer terms in borrowing foreign money. The road is now op erating at a profit, so the directors of the Imperial Railways of North China have succeeded not only in providing their government with a line that Is strategically valuable, but with one that earns a return on the money in vested. From first to last from what ever viewpoint it is regarded, the Pekin-Kalgan line is a great triumph for the Chinese. The name of Jerae-Tien-Yu stands out above all others in the record of the Pekin-Kalgan Rail way, and his achievements in connection with that enterprise alone are suffi cient to have won him the undisputed title of China's leading engineer. He was one of a number of Chinese stu dents who were sent to America about 1880 to receive university educations. Jeme-Tlen-Yu was the only one who undertook a oourse in engineering. The islands of Naos, Flamenco, Cule- bra and Perlco, In the Pacific Ocean near the western end of the Panama Canal, have been acquired by the United States Government for the purpose of using the Islands, by a series of con necting embankments, to form a great breakwater for the Paclflo end of the "big ditch." The embankment from the mainland to Naos, begun three years ago. Is nearly ready. But for the em bankments. It Is asserted, the canal outlet would be menaced "with great danger in case of storms, due to the heavy currents off shore.' Canal engi neers assert that these currents would have had the further drawback of fill ing in the canal mouth with the sedi ment they carry In large quantities. Culebra already Is in use as a quar antine station. It Is expected that the Islands will serve an additional purpose, as the site for forts to protect the L canal, but nothing has been given out upon this point The destruction of the embankment by a hostile force, while it would prove a serious blow, could not wall be accomplished hurriedly, and it would take several years, or long enough to rebuild It for the canal mouth to fill up. A new era has begun In the naviga tion of the Missouri River. Beacon lights have been placed by the Govern ment at difficult points in the channel. These beacons are merely large lamps set on high poles and the Government employs farmers In the neighborhood to take ear of the lights and keep them filled with olL I. O VEX! ROVE RULING DENOUNCED I Washington Writer Condemns Law- Twisting; for Benefit of Criminals. SOUTH BEND. Wash., Sept 3. (To the Editor!) Should we throw the ten tablets with the commandments to the winds, lead a life of unblushing shame, degenerate the white race and lower our standard of morals beneath that which led the Roman Empire to de struction? Which is best: vice or virtue? The latter beyond a doubt In all civilized nations adultery Is a crime it has been so since "the mem ory of man runneth not to the con trary." Mr. Hume wants some fitting enquiries made in this case regarding the Tazwell court decision and the writer -of this commends it to the bands of the grand Jury. The Oregon law on this point is absurd. The case involved- a clear violation of the seventh commandment, but a clsconcelved lawyer assured the Judge that the Oregon law on adultery was tied up, so the poor, deluded Judge conceded the point and did not punish the offenders. In this way he created a new code of morals. He should have punished them because public prudence teaches us so, and because the welfare of the people is the supreme law. Speaking In a general way of Judges, they should not be misguided in their understanding by twisters of law, but should, establish for themselves ex amples of the best principles and live up to the best precepts that are in them, maintain virtue and what is right. This should also apply to law yers. Virtue is a necessity in every suc cessful life; to acquire It our morals must be pure and receive the support of the law. Society should not suffer the Infliction of a lot of flagitious criminals, or a diseased class of de praved animals turned loose on us by weakness in wording the law. There Is a large number of unscrupulous lawyers who try to beat laws by intrigue with the tainted and espouse lawlessness by acquitting them. That class of lawyers violate every known moral law and would murder their dearest friend for a penny. A parallel case to that of the Tazwell court oc curred In Cincinnati some 25 years ago. A riot followed with death in its frightful wake. From 20 to 30 lawyers and 6cores ot raise women were driven out of that city by the shotgun route. N. K L AIRINGS FOR AGED AND INFIRM Part on Home Inmate Asks Antolsta to Show Generosity. PATTON HOME, Sept. 4. (To the Editor.) Some weeks ago a gentleman came to the home for the purpose ot consulting the authorities with refer. enoe to the making of a bequest to the home. In the absence of anyone else, one of the Inmates seated on the porch entered Into conversation with him and In behalf of the many excel lent women and men, too In the In stitutlon who, by reason of bodny in ftrmities are utterly unable to get about unaided, suggested- that It would be a very Christian act if some of these citizens who possess automobiles or carriages would, once in a while, offer their less fortunate brothers and sis ters a free ride and a breath of God's fresh, air. That's a good idea," answered the well-groomed stranger. "My auto is at present undergoing repairs and as soon as it comes home I will put your suggestion Into .effect" From the fact that the automobile has not yet shown up here I infer that It is still at the "doctor's"! Now are- there not In this city many good people who, having automobiles and carriages, need only this sugges tion to cause them to turn them loose In this direction? And will they please, phone Woodlawn 1700, naming tne nour or tneir arrival and the num ber of persons they can accommodate. so there need be no delay? A scholarly gentleman at my elbow reminds me that the automobile deal ers of Portland have given the children of some of our orphan homes an outing and that possibly tjey might deal as generously by the Inmates of the Pat- ton Home. AN OLD ONE. Work and Holidays. BAKER. Or., Sept 2. (To the Edi tor.) A. a merchant doing a general dry goods and furnishing business in this state, says that there is a law that compels him to close his place of business on a legal holiday L e. Labor day, etc B, an employe, says that A can keeD his store open 24 hours every day in the week. Sundays Included, providing tnat tne law relating to the ten-hour day for women Is In no way defied, and women are not worked more than six days in any one week. SUBSCRIBER. The statute Imposes no penalties for working on legal holidays, such as Labor day. The keeping open on Sun day for the purpose of labor or traffic of any store, shop, grocery, bowling alley, billiard room, tipping house or barber shop Is prohibited by law, but this provision does not apply to thea ters, drugstores, doctor shops, under takers, livery stables, butchers or bakers. Tme American Way. Pittsburg Post "Father, the Duke has proposed and we want to be married Immediately I" 'All right. Here's a check for your million. Tell the Duke to step In and I'll give him a dolar to get the license." J. B. PUZZ1E.VAKER. Oh, rarer than exotio flowers From India, or Orinoco, The weird ideas that bloom forth In J. B., Jr.'s, subtle coco Strange blooms of varied thought anent Togas and plans for President. "Though from the camp Republican," Saith he, "lam. Indeed, no quitter. Tue thought of Its upholding Taft Is, to my tender palate, bitter." But will those scruples have a place Within his local toga chase? How will the same constituents Construe the statement he has made, or How can they figure out to cross At once the zenith and the nadir. And how be made to see each man A typical Republican? Sooth, he hath sprung some paradox. If both should land upon the ticket, To cause the simple voting man To scratch a bit his hirsute thicket When in the booth he comes to note Both asking the same party's vote. Methlnks 'twill take some maglo charm To reconcile these paradoxes. If he would exorcise away His Jonah from the voting boxes, And make the voters see aright The semblance 'twixt blaok and white. Soon then he must, I have no doubt. Begin' the voting people cramming With abracadabral argument And hyper-fancy algazamlng, To show how he can whaok the fort Of Taft yet claim the same support Oh. stranger than the hlppogriff, Or other things or ancient fable. Is that new combination beast That seeks the Grand Old Party's stable Is it plain mule, or elephant? Name It yourself I By Jove, I can't! Dean Collins. Portland, September 4, 1911. Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe Copyright, lull, by Georga Matthew Adams. Nothing makes a man feel more un comfortable than to be unjust to a friend. You can make up a quarrel, but It will always show where It was patched. Do a creditable thing and nobody cares much; but if there Is a "Joke" on you. everybody will be interested at once. . It is about as much trouble to get a girl ready to go away to school as It is to get her ready to be married- Every favorite should remember that a rival la liable to appear at any time. Is there a tradition that a barn must be painted red? Ever sea a barn paint ed any other color? Nothing makes me so mad as for a man I believe to be badly mistaken, to say to me: "O, well, it's too bad you are ignorant, and cannot recognize the truth but I can't help it." There are a number of disagreeable things to step in. But did you ever have experience with chewing gum? I also hate to step on a cat Occasionally a man finds his wife looking in a certain queer way, and when he asks: "What is the matter?" she bursts into tears, and replies: "Nothing." Feel ashamed of all your misdeeds; not only of those the people have found out. Brad's Bit o' Verse (Copyright. 1911. bl W. D. Meng.) We live in an age of hurry, ot bustle and toll and sweat; but what Is the use to worry, and why should we fuss and fret? For never since primal ages emerged from their fields of ice has the world in its upward stages been filled with so much ad vice. You see it in all the papers, you hear It upon the street, you get It with curious capers from every friend you meet; the trend of the latest fash Ions, the nobbiest thing? to wear, the size of the baby's rations, the cut of old Rover's hair, the right way to raise a gardon, the food that is bost to eat, and (begging your humble par don) how to caro for your hands and feet- Oh, we live In an age of lec tures, where they force us to hear and learn; they hand us first aid conjec tures no matter which way we turn; they sit In the sweet seclusion, afar from the madding crowd, and drive the world to confusion by the noise of their warnings loud. So why should we fret and worry, and why should we feel so blue, when everyone's in a flurry from tolling us what to del But I womler how people flourished, and were able to exist before they were fed and nourished on ' a dally free guide grist. Half a Century Ago (From Tha Oregonian, September B. 1861.) Messrs. E. D. Buchanan and M. Ped dler, of this city, returned night be fore last from the Oro Fino gold mines by water In a small boat constructed by them at Starr & Co.'s sawmill, re cently erected in the Nez I'erce coun try. The distance from Oro Fino to this city, is some 480 miles and they occupied about two weeks in making the trip, Including portages. A campmeetlng will be held t Father Kelly's camp grounds, com mencing tomorrow afternoon and con tinuing over Sunday. The steamer Cortes sailed yesterday evening at 5 o'clock with $20,000 worth of dust. For a Cat Ranch In Umatilla. Major Lee Moorhouse, the well known photographer of Indian life at Pendleton, is endeavoring to start a cat ranch and in a recent issue of the Live Wire prints the following pros pectus: "I have not given up tho hope or in teresting you in something worth while and make you the following proposition: That we start and operate a cat ranch in or near the city. "We will have 1.000,000 cats to Btart with, you to procure them; each will average 13 kittens a year. The skins run from 10 cents each for the white ones to 75 cents for the pure blaok. This will give us 12,000,000 skins a vear to bpII at an avernge of 30 cents apiece, making our revenue about $10. 000 a day gross. A man can skin SO cats a day for 13. It will take 100 en to operate the ranch, and the net profit will thus be $8800 a day. "We will foed the cats on rats, and will start a rat ranch next door. Rats multiply four times as fast as cats, if we start with 1,000,000 rats we will have, therefore, four rats a day for each cat which is plenty. We will feed the rats on the carcasses of the cats from which the skins have been taken. giving each rat a fourth of a cat "It will thus oe seen mat tne ousi- ness will be self-acting and automatic all the way through. The cats will eat the rats and tho rats will eat the cats." Old Nicknames of Newspapers. London Daily Chronicle. Nicknames for newspapers have gone out of favor. While the Times was formerly "Granny" and afterward the "Thunderer," the Morning Post used to be known as "Jeames," that generic name for flunkeys being attaohed tu it In allusion to Its specialization on society news. When the Morning Herald and Standard had the same pro prietor and to a large extent the earns staff, and used to appeal to each other as Independent authorities, they were familiarly known as "Mrs. Har ris" and "Mrs. Gamp." . The Morning Advertiser, as the organ of the trade, has at various times been dubbed the "Barrel Organ," the "Tap Tub" and the "Gin and Gospel Gazette." The "Pink 'Un" scarcely counts as a nick name, being officially adopted as an alternative title for the Sporting Times. City Ownership In Charter. PORTLAND, Sept. 4. (To the Ed itor.) The Oregonlan reports that the committee on municipal ownership of the East Side charter commute recom mends that the city have power to construct and operate water-works, eleotrlc lights, gas and power plants. By specifying these. It may be in ferred that the committee would ex clude other important public utilities, such as telephones and street railways. The charter beln& fundamental should. In my humble opinion, contain a pre vision broad .enough to permit the city to own and operate any and all public utilities that the -people In their wis dom may decree desirable. L. J. DAVIS. Vacation Complaint. Louisville Courier-Journal. "Had a queer complaint today." said the landlord. "What about T' "A guest said tho meals were ill right but the -sunsets weren't up to I expectations." I