THE .MORNING OREGONIAN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1911. 13 Wit fcjrtmtmt POBTLAND. OI.EGON. Entered at Portland. Oregon. Poatofflea aa Eecond-Clasa Matter. . subscription Batea Invariably In Advance. (BI MAIL.) Dally. Sunday Included, one year ?"S? Dally, Sunday Included, six months ;- Dally. Sunday Included, threa month.. . Dally. Sunday Included, one month.... ? Dally, without Sunday, one year Dally, without Sunday, alx month! Bfo Daily, without Sunday, three montha... l-? lally. without Sunday, ana month -JY Weekly, one year J-WJ Sunday, one year f-zz Sunday and Weekly, ona year -ow CBT CARRIER.) Dally. Sunday Included, ona year ri:v. Sunday Included, one month 10 Hw - RMniuiitmi Postofflea money Xler. express order or peraonal check on . .ad. aw titrtncv yoSr lOCmi OS.X1M-. O LM.111 a,wilf wa ' : .w- .i.v ntvA noatofTic g,Oarcs lu lull, inuuauii Foataa-e Batea 10 to 14 page. 1 cent; 10 to 28 pages. 2 centa; 80 to 40 pages. S cent; 40 to 60 pages, 4 centa. Foreign postage double rate. Eastern Business OBI cm Verre Conk Iln New York. Brunswick building. Chi cago, Sieger building. European Office No. t Regent street, S. W. London. PORTLAND. THTBSDAT. SEPT. 14, Ml'- A SPCBIOC8 "OREGON YIAS." We are not greatly concerned over the outcome of the election to be held In California on October 10 for the purpose of giving the people of Cali fornia an opportunity to adopt or re ject the Initiative, referendum and re zall. In the language of an eminent philosopher whose name is not so well perpetuated as his remark, we are content to say, "It's none of our funeral." Yet when California news papers cite the commendation of the Oregon system by such noted men as Governor West, Secretary of State Ol cott and Mayor Rushlight and several others as reason for supporting the California plan, we must protest. Parenthetically we will state that, while these able advocates of the Ore gon plan may rejoice In having a spokesman so consistently and heart ily a champion of their views and policies as The Oregonian.' it should be known that what is herein said is offered entirely without their solicita tion or knowledge. Tf mistake not. the aforemen tioned officials believe In preserving the original Oregon plan just as it came from the Inspired pen of the gifted law-giver, law-interpreter and apostle of Oregon City. The Oregon plan Is perfect and should be let alone. So inconceivable is It that persons who so unqualifiedly dlsaprove any change in the Oregon plan would sup port any deviation In other states from this same Oregon plan that The Ore gonian ventures to protest against the implication given in the San Francisco Bulletin that Oregon advocates of popular government commend to the voters of California the nondescript conglomeration of direct legislation and recall measures submitted by the Legislature of that state. . Whatever may be said about the Oregon constitutional provision pro viding for the Initiative and referen dum. It must be admitted that it is ;oncise and plainly worded. The pro visions have been put forth intelligibly In about 500 words. Not so in Cali fornia. There the able statesmen who Srafted the measure required 2500 words to insure to the people the Rhip-tiand of Big Business, corrupt legislators and designing politicians. There are quite a few things In the California plan that Oregon does not have". There is a form of imperative mandate, under the terms of which ( per cent of the voters may propose a. law for approval or rejection by the Legislature. It requires a greater number of names in proportlpn to the number of voters in the state to Insti tute an initiative measure to be voted on by the people. It excludes acts levying taxes or appropriating money Tor current state expenses from the operation of the referendum. It pro vides for a sort of people's constitu tion by withholding from the Legis lature the right to amend or repeal laws adopted through the initiative. If some of these California provi lions came direct to the people of Oregon from their own fountain head of popular government it is possible that even the sternest defenders of the Oregon system would not object to their adoption, not otherwise. But It is hardly likely that, even if so in spired, an effort to deprive the Legis lature of the right to amend an initia tive law would be approved by the people. The experience with the Co lumbia River fishing laws a few. years ago showed forcibly the dangers of such restriction. Had it then been in operation in Oregon a special elec tion would have been necessary to permit salmon fishing on the Colum bia River. Who can tell what would have happened in a special election? Would a comprehensive law protect ing the fisheries industry have been adopted with the fishermen warring among themselves? Could the pres ent satisfactory regulations uniform with those of Washington have been adopted with such a tangle to un ravel? Aside from specific illustra tions Is there not enough doubt and annoyance raised over the technical validity of statutes without creating a secondary constitution to which legis lative enactments must conform? ' In the recall, too, California has widely departed from the Oregon plan. The petition percentages differ; the official against whom the recall is Invoked must virtually gain a major ity of votes to keep his seat, although a plurality may have elected, him in the first place: in the even he resigns the state is put to the expense of. elect ing a successor. The Bulletin observes that Governor West, Secretary Olcott and Mayor Rushlight commend not only by word, but In writing, the initiative, referen dum and recall. "The worth of the Initiative and referendum are gener ally admitted." it says. "Oregon has tried the unrestricted recall and it also meets with the approval of Oregon-citizens. An Imaginary line across the land makes no difference in hu man characteristics. What Is good for Oregon is good for California." We fear that the Bulletin has fallen into the error of a noted character of fiction who got Into a peck of trouble by arguing that "pigs is pigs." DR. COOK NEEDS MORE MOXET. More proofs from Dr. Cook. This time they are to be "the" proofs that he discovered the North Pole. He will present them at the International Congress of Geographical Societies to be held at Rome -at the end of this month. He allows it to be Inferred that they are the proofs which he left behind at Etah, which Peary refused to allow on board the steamer Roose velt. They were to have been brought back the year after Cook's return, but they were not and have been "on ice" ever since. The Eskimos who accom panied him on his journey of discov ery were to have been brought south to verify his statements, but they were not. But in spite of his having been utterly discredited, both as to his polar discovery and his ascent of Mount McKlnley. Dr. Cook continues to offer proofs and to pursue the more or less honest dollar out of the fraud ulent connection of his name with the North Pole. His nerve fails him not and he Is now preparing for publica tion a book entitled "My Attainment of the Pole." The one quality besides mendacity in -which he never faUs is calm effrontery. He displayed this quality in the early "90s, when he or ganized a co-operative expedition to the Arctic, any money left over to be applied to an antarctic expedition. The doctor agreed to charter a stout Newfoundland whaler, provision her for a year' and pay the sailors. As a matter of fact, it is alleged that he picked up the aged iron tramp Mi randa, bought supplies that would scarcely have sufficed the narrowest limits of the trip, and, before the voy age was fairly under way, had a mu tinous crew on his hands. Then Dr. Cook assembled the "co-operators' and asked for money to pay the sea men's wages. They stormed, but he was calm, and he got the money. Many men have made money by Imposture, but Dr. Cook is the first to have made money not oniy oy posture, but by the exposure of It, again by his confession of it ahd then by the attempt to rehabilitate it. His equal never lived. At least it is to be hoped not. POETRY IX THE SCATHES OF JUSTICE. The Brooklyn Eagle, an influential newspaper with a wide horizon, has heard the latest from Oregon. "We hope," says the Eagle, "that the rea sons Governor West had for commu tation of the death sentence of Jesse P. Webb are not those ascribed to him in the news reports of the case." The Eagle gives the story of the murder and of the theatrical reprieve of the murderer, and adds: The Governor la' reported aa aaytng that he waa moved to commute the man'a sentence by readme: two poema. setting forth the tragedy of the gallows. If that Is the best reason he can advance, the commutation must stand as a lasting stain upon his record mm mn administrator of th law. While cap ital punishment Is held by society to be a necessary penalty upon murders ana a wholesome deterrent to those who may be inclined to become murderers, state execu tives are not supposed to interfere with Its Infliction merely from motives of sheer sen timentalists. With all due respect to Mr. Stanton, the poet who seems to have moved Governor West to this extraordinary action, w submit that rhymes ought not to be al lowed to outweigh the demands of justice and the findings of the courts, both of which the people of Oregon presumably Indorse. Perhaps Governor West may have been mis represented. That is possible. But there remains no excuse for the prison warden who ftermltted the grotesque celebration that fol owed the receipt ot the Governor's message. The Brooklyn paper's apprehen sions that it may not have been cor rectly Informed as to the facts of the Webb case are entirely groundless. The reporters gave a faithful chroni cle of the extraordinary scene at the prison and of the Governor's reasons for commuting the sentence. If the Eagle had been fortunate enough to have a representative on the ground in the prison chapel, he might have been able to share with the overjoyed con victs in the gifts of the strands of the unused hangman's rope. MAVY A IJTTIJ5. Tall oaks from little acorns grow, many a little makes a' mickle, and every little added to what you already have makes a little bit more. Such reflections as these must be running deliciously through the brain of the "Popcorn King" as he contemplates the deed to the tract of land he has bought with the proceeds of his im maculate business. We are constrained to look upon him as a social benefac tor inasmuch as he has refuted the dismal fallacy that "you can't get rich by saving up a little at a time." A nickel is not a very big coin, but it is by saving nickels that the popcorn monarch has acquired his fortune. The streetcar company also flourishes on the same small deer. . He that despises the day of small things, let him gaze on these two examples and learn a lesson. We do not imagine that the mag nate of the shattered kernel has grown rich by saving and nothing else. Be fore one can save he must of course have something to do It with, and In providing the wherewithal there is room i for the highest genius. It is rumored that our emperor of the toothsome illusion is ,a sort of trust. His chariots are as numerous as Phar raoh's and his steeds are as the sands of the sea for multitude. But he did not have all these glorious things in the beginning. They are the outward symbols of his inward wisdom. We should not be surprised to learn that, magnificent as his fortunes now are, they originated most humbly. Per haps a single popper and one solitary ear of corn were his outfit on the great day when he began his career of edifying prosperity. There is a story, too, that he under stands the difficult art of placating the guardians of law and order so that the rigors of the city ordinances are not visited upon him too severely.' This may have helped along the grand conclusion, but it still remains that the Popcorn King has made himself rich by earning and saving nickels, while some who have earned as many dollars have nothing to show for it but bitter recollections. CANADA'S RECIPROCITY CAMPAIGN. Persons who bewail the virulence of party spirit which becomes evident during elections in the United States can find comfort In Canada these days. The reciprocity fight grows more furious as election day draws nearer and the utter depravity of the leaders of each party is asserted with more scorching adjectives by those of the other party . No word in favor of reciprocity can find admission to the columns of an organ of the "antls," nor is the reciprocity press any more tolerant of antl - arguments. The counterpart of the old story about British gold being used to influence American elections is found in the offer by the Morning Star of a $25,000 reward for information as to the "enormous campaign fund" sent from the United States to influence the Canadian election. The only Americans who would be sufficiently interested selfishly to contribute campaign funds to influ ence the vote on reciprocity are those which fought the measure in Congress and would do the same in Canada. Chief among these is the paper trust, which views with alarm the invasion of the American market by modern Canadian mills to compete with its antiquated machinery. The interests which will gain by reciprocity are too general and the benefits win be too widely diffused to make practicable the raising of a fund to influence the Canadians. The American people are trusting to the common sense of the Canadians to see the advantage of closer commercial intercourse. The nature of the arguments ad vanced by the two Canadian parties suffices to show the weakness of the case against reciprocity. The Liber als, led by Laurier, point to the broad er market and bette prices offered to the farmers by the United States and to the advantage of procuring cheaper Implements and commodities of certain kinds. The best the Con servatives can do is to appeal to the old jingo, ultra-loyal sentiments of the people and arouse their fears of the weakening of the tie which binds Can ada to the British Empire and of the dark designs of the Yankees to ab sorb their country. They strive to convince the people that, by increas ing the volume of trade between the two countries, they will be weaned away from their loved laws and cus toms and acquire all the bad habits of the Yankees. The Canadian is likely to have too much sense to be scared by such a bogey into rejecting the solid benefits of reciprocity. The west and the maritime provinces are pronounced safe for reciprocity and a landslide for the bill Is predicted In Ontario. The chief flghtingground Is in Brit ish Columbia and Quebec, the latter province having many of the protect ed industries and being the field of operations of Bourassa, who tries to stir up the French against Laurier. The Conservatives seem to be making a losing fight. PREFERENTIAL VOTING INCLUDED. Cambridge is a Massachusetts city of 104,839 inhabitants (see U. S. cen sus report for 1910) and is the seat of Harvard University. Cambridge is a synomym for culture, education and rnnwrviiism. It does nothing hastily: it does everything rationally. You might tninK mat uamunage wuuiu look with dismay on the new national ism thA inltiativA and referendum,, the recall and all the fads, frills, fan cies and furbelows of politics ana o-nvmmpnt that have sDrung up and flourish like a green bay tree in the uncouth West; but you would be "mis taken. Being tne nome or a great HTiivAT-Rltv And a. center of learning. and having an eye upon the active world of affairs, Cambridge knows a thing or two. Cambridge has shown it lately by adopting the commission form of government short ballot, centralized authority, preferential voting and alL The state Legislature hna nnnrnved the new charter and Cambridge will pass on it through the referendum. Th p.hrter nrocoses to substitute f. tho Mnvnr and 34 members of the City Council, five Supervisors, the Su pervisor of administration, wno wm correspond to .the Mayor and doubt less wear the title, to receive a salary of $5000, and the others $4000 each. Each Supervisor Is to be In charge of a group of departments. There! are to be no concealed records. Publicity becomes a requirement of this funda mental law. Under the system of pref erential voting, the elector marks his first and second choices, and as many more as he wishes, but only one vote will be counted for any one man. If a oonriiriatA receives a majority of first choice votes he is elected. If not, the first and second are added together and the man then highest triTia nmvided he has a majority; and if necessary the process can be ex tended to include the tnira cnoice io Thus, as the Charter Associa tion asserts, "there will always be a majority behind the winner. une recall and a referendum of any meas ure to the people are provided for. The commission system and prefer ential voting are harmonious parts of the new municipal government scheme. Cambridge is frightened neither by the one nor the other. Two elections are unnecessary and even absurd, so long as party is to be elim inated. If there Is to be no party or partisanship in an election, why a primary? ' DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION. Although both Germany and the United States maintain systems of universal education, they do so for totally different reasons, according to Abraham Flexner, the Carnegie Fund expert critic of educational methods, who discusses the subject in the Sep tember Atlantic. The population of Germany Is arrayed in definite strata, which it is the purpose of the govern ment to keep as they are. Hence the efforts of the schools are directed to fit youth for their station in life, not to enable them to rise to a higher station. Social readjustment is not desired. There is no wish to make it easy to reassign the Individual after the Lord has once revealed his Intent by causing him to be born in a cer tain class. Germans do occasionally rise from one stratum to another, but such cases are exceptional. The rule is that where a man is born, there he shall pass his life. The studies and methods of the schools are designed to accomplish this purpose, and were the process carried to its logical end it would produce a system of caste. In the United States education has a completely different design. In stead of trying to fit human beings for the stations in which they were born, and make them contented with tk.i. in it- alma to breDare them for something better. Indeed, it aspires to prepare every person 10 aiuuu auu enjoy the best there is. The German theory is that some men are born to be hewers of wood and drawers of water, while others are born to take the benefits of their hewing and draw ing. The American theory holds that no man is predestined to servitude by his birth, but that all have equal rights to ascend the heights if they have the capacity. While Germany explicitly seeks to make reassignment of the individual difficult. America seeks to make it easy. These con trasting social theories, Mr. Flexner believes, have made universal educa tion here something far different from what it is in Germany. Our system, which tries to give the individual power without cramping his nature, he calls democratic. The German system, which Is frankly and even narrowly vocational, he calls aristo- CrThese definitions run contrary to popular notions. We are used to hearing that Latin, Greek, literature and mathematics are aristocratic, while the bread and butter studies, manual training, domestic art and so on, are democratic. Of course the latter are democratic in the sense that they fit a person to earn a living, which is the common lot of the poor, but they are undemocratic in the sense that they clip the wings of the mind and work toward the Imposition of caste. When the time comes that all the children of the poor are edu cated exclusively in bread and butter studies and those of the rich in lan guages and literature we shall see the American people segregated into two classes with an impassable barrier be tween them. A system of education which leads to such a result as this is at bottom aristocratic, whatever ap pearance it may bear on the surface. We have heard in recent years a vig orous and insistent call for more vo cational studies in the common schools. Much has been made of the patent fact that most of the gradu ates from the eighth grade and the high school are no better fitted to earn a living than they were when they entered. The uselessness of grammar, literature and algebra has been harped upon to weariness. We agree with Mr. Flexner that this sort of thing can go too far. That is, it can go too far if we wish the United States to remain under popular gov ernment. When society is stratified and the members of each social stratum know nothing more than the facts which they need for their station in life, popular government is out of the question. In order to rule a coun try the common people must know something more than the trades by which they earn their bread. They must have learned the lessons of his tory. They need the humanizing in fluences of literature. They need the practical wisdom which grows up with habits of scientific thought. In Germany, where the autocratic state is depended upon to do everything, the people can get along very well as long as they know how to hew and plow. Here, where the people are expected to do a great deal for themselves and where they aspire to take everything into their own hands, we cannot safe ly make mere machines of them. So there is a very manifest danger to free institutions in pushing the'culture studies out of the common schools to make room for the vocations. There ought to be room for both, and we have no doubt there Is. Some read justment of conditions will enable the languages, the sciences and the "trades to dwell side by side in the school room without clashing. But if that should turn out to be impossible, then a. choice must be made between the studies which form the human being and those which form the mere la borer. In our opinion the,re ought not to be any hesitation over this choice. A man with his mind properly devel oped can learn a trade at almost any time of life, but once make a mechan ical drudge of him by extinguishing the divine fire and how shall it be rekindled? Before aviators can Justly assume the title of - "birdmen," they must learn to alight safely as well as to fly. Fowler's mishap at Alta shows that he has not yet learned this vital half of his lesson. In fact, aviators In general have met with as many accidents In alighting as in flying. A bird can safely descend anywhere, but an aeroplane with its huge wings, its heavy engine and Its great speed must have ample room to travel on or near the ground at gradually reduced velocity until it comes to a stop, and it must have a clear, level space for the purpose. The bird will always have the advantage over the aviator that his wings are a part of himself and are much smaller than the avi ator's planes. This advantage consists chiefly in the fact that the bird's wings spontaneously answer the dic tates of his will, as do a man's limbs, while the aeroplane requires the transmission of a distinct order from the brain to the hands for every movement. Though the problem of flying has been solved, many Impor tant details remain to be worked out and that skill which comes with con stant practice remains to be acquired. The Democrats have their struggle between the "safe and sane," and the radicals as the Republicans have theirs between the regulars and in surgents, and the safe and sane have Just "won a victory in Maryand by the nomination of Arthur Pue Gorman for Governor. He is allied with Sen ator John Walter Smith, an "Aldrich Democrat." His victory is taken to forecast a safe and sane delegation in the Senate and a Harmon delegation in the National convention. Harmon is regarded as the choice of the con servative wing of the party and Is called the tool of the interests by his opponents, while Wilson is called the progressive by the radicals and the advocate of Populist vagaries by the conservatives. The" endeavor ,to persuade Amer icans to learn more about their own country by travel ought to be encour aged. ' The best way to do this is by providing objects in the various cities which are worth making a Journey to see. Many tourists do not care much for mere scenery. They prefer "human interest." Noble parks, mu seums, groups of magnificent public buildings all help to turn the tide of travel. Cheap fares and good hotels also play apart ' The "dry" majority in Maine is so small that the prohibition victory has little moral force. Enforcement of the law will be more lax than ever and another vote upon the question may be expected before long. Ethic ally speaking, what right have half the people of Maine plus 400 to regu late the habits of the other half? Mademoiselle Gaby Deslys will con fer great blessing on the women of America by teaching them to undress gracefully. Yet if the. truth were known, it Is likely she sits on the floor in the old-fashioned way to discard her hosiery. Another ten-story hotel is talked of for this city. Portland will need all the first-class hotel room it can ob tain by next Summer. The men in chaps are politely re quested not to ."play hawss" with vis itors from the big cif.7 at the Round up. . Requiring citizenship before em ployment on municipal .work is not a bad idea. A burglar alarm in the City Hall will not stop raids on the treasury. The Governors should take some thing to settle their differences. Strange as . it may appear, the weather seems to be fair. Hill, Harrlman and Harmony will use the track to Bend. Perhaps Hobson did it with his little kisser. Gleanings of the Day A long-felt want, we are informed by a French paper, has at last been supplied by the stenographers of Spain. Hitherto stenographers have had no particular patron saint of their very own, and they wanted one badly. The only difficulty. In making a selection was that the art of stenography,, at any rate stenography as now under stood, was, to put it mildly, in its in fancy when saintly people lived. A ransacking of ecclesiastical archives, however, revealed the important fact that a certain St. Genest once suffered martydom for refusing to transcribe an Imperial decree. That was suffic ient What better qualification for the vacant post of stenographer's patron saint hope to have than that he re fused to "stenog"? St Genest. was therefore selected, .and we hope that he will adorn the position. There Is to be a fight for control of the New. York State Democratic Com mittee at a meeting late this month. It will probably be between George M. Palmer, of Schoharie County, and Sam uel J. Tilden, of Columbia County, though there are several other candi dates, and Murphy's control over the state will depend on the result Mr. Palmer is a member of the state com mittee and has helped frame the party Issues for years. He was the Dem ocratic leader of the Assembly for nine terms and was a close friend of the late David B. H11L Mr. Palmer knows up-state conditions throughout and it is believed has ihe respect 'of Tam many Hall, which he opposed with Hill in years past There is a "straight tip" going the rounds that Murphy has agreed to give him the support of the Tammany strength In the state com mitted. If this la so. Palmer will un doubtedly be the new state chairman for the Assembly and of the important campaign for President next year. A correspondent writing to the New York Sun gves reasons for believing that France can safely take an even chance with Germany in war without the aid of Great Britain and Russia. Comparing their navies and only tak ing into consideration battleships not older than 15 years, he says France has a superiority of 35,000 tons and by far the most powerful guns. France also has six dreadnoughts (equal to the Delaware) to Germany's four, and the same difference exists as to other classes of ships. While Germany has 4,500,000 fighting men to France's 3, 500,000, the difference is only theoreti cal, for no field in Europe can shelter 1,000,000 men and In practice only 1, 000,000 to 1,500,000 men would enter the field on each side. Aa to armament French field guns can fire 24 shots a minutes to German 16 and their range is six miles to the German five. The most striking difference in field guns he finds Is In the pneumatic brake, which brings the French gun auto matically in the same position after each shot while the Germans are obliged to fix hooks In the ground to hold the gun. The correspondent also says that In 1870 It took 600,000 Ger mans, drilled by a successful war four years before, seven months to beat 350, 000 Frenchmen with no ammunition, no bread, no generals and only a few old guns which were charged by the muzzle,, while the Germans had already quick-firing guns; when one thinks that a traitor, Bazaine, surrendered 173,000 men to tho Germans, Enormous loans by French banks to support German Industry are also said to have In spired the Kaiser with dread of war. The Louvre managers will have to put the real things away in a burglar proof vault and .let the publlo look at lithograph copies. Just as rich women find it safer to wear paste diamonds at the opera as a sort of "certificate of deposit" to attest the ownership of the real in a safe place. Had this been done Mona Lisa's smile would not have come off, says the Brooklyn Eagle. "Boss" Cox will be the issue in the Cincinnati municipal election this Fall. The Democrats have nominated for Mayor Henry J. Hunt, the district at torney who tried to have Cox punished for perjury In denying that he shared the stealings of his creatures. He was thwarted by technical decisions of Judges who owed their election to Cox, The fact prompts the Springfild Re publican to remark: "If they had the judicial recall in Ohio, it might have been tried in Cincinnati through the initiative of some very good citizens. Mr. Hunt's election, however, would be equivalent to a rebuke of the friends Cox has had on the bench." The recent series of atrocious murders In Oregon and Washington has stirred the Grays Harbor Washingtonian to recommend drastic measures. It states that the country people are panic stricken, that women dare not go out into Isolated settlements to make a home with their husbands, that sales of farm property are curbed and that the growth of the country will be retarded by the crimes. It continues: Our opinion is that both defensive and of fensive tactics must be employed. We must not only put Into the field the best detectives obtainable, but also secure a means of pro tection to thousands of homes by providing them with all the bloodhounds they may have use for. It Is the duty of both states to call a special session of their respective Legislatures for the purpose of appropriat ing one-quarter of a million dollara each to warda a common fund to be used In detect ing and preventing the crlmea that now altogether too often shock the community while the criminals escape detection. For a starter-we want a breeding station for blood hounds until 60.000 of these anlmalB will be scattered all over the Northwest. In the meantime every home In the country should own from five to ten ferocious dogs to pro tect the Inmates against stealthy assassins, the maintenance of the dogs to be at atate expense. ' Five citizens of Devonshire, England, and a veterinary surgeon are ready to verify the tradition that if a cow has been bitten by a snake and her milk be allowed to stand, the form of a snake will be seen in the milk. The cow in this case was found one evening to be suffering from an enorm ous swelling of the udder, and the con clusion was at once drawn that it had been bitten, probably by a viper. The cow was milked and the milk was about to be flung away when the; servant Interposed, and. speaking from previous experience, said: "Let it stand, because If the cow has been bit ten by a snake it will show up In the milk." The milk was accordingly set aside, and three hours afterward the form a snake was distinctly seen in the cream which had collected on the surface. There was an exact model of the rep tile; the head, with the V mark, the eyes and the tongue projecting from the mouth perfect throughout to the tail. Moreover, by the aid of a mag nifying glass the scales of the skin could be distinctly seen. Sonnets of the Second Day (Found on the flyleaf of a spelling book.) Monday ma scrubbed me till my face just hurt You know how women are. She made me howl, , When she went after what she said was dirt And roughed my ears up with an old stiff towel; And' soap got in my eyes and made them burn, But ma Just scrubbed away, and let me yell, Cause she must give kid brother Bob his turn. And get us on our way, 'fore the "first bell." School always starts like that In Summer you Can sneak away and dodge her easily. But somehow when vacation time Is through And school begins, she Just won't let you be. If I catch cold and get the earache, say. Maybe she'll give up scrubbing me that way. I never could see any use of school Beginning in September thataway. When the hot season's by, and It is cool. Just right for boys to run outside and play. But ma, she thinks she wants me. when I'm big. To have an education, so I can Be a great preacher or some such big wig About the country, when I am a man. But I've made up my mind to be a Bcout And have a rifle and a coonskin hat Hunt Injuns down, and put 'em all to rout And I don't need no achoolln' to do that And I think to myself, "Ma, Bome day you'll Be sorry that I wasted time in school." What is the use of marchin Into school. And singin' 'bout "My country, tlssuf thee," And writin' on the lines the teachers rule In copy books, "A, a, B, bT" Crockett he never learned to write, and Boone, (I know about 'em both), they never went To school when they were boys, or learned that tune. And they were bigger men than president Ma, she don't understand, nor pa. he don't 'Bout things I want to do when I'm a man; But sometime, when I'm bigger, then I won't Study another single book again. But Just go out where bears and In juns live. In spite of all the schoolin' they can give. DEAN COLINS. Portland, Sept 13. MOTION PICTURES OF BEATTIB Pessimism Over Their Suppression Ex pressed by Correspondent. PORTLAND, Sept. 11. (To the Edi tor.) Permit me. a life-long reader of The Oregonian to Indulge In a few re marks upon a subject which needs some attention In this city. I note that a movement has been started In this city to put a stop' to the moving-pictures of the Beattie murder trial if an attempt is made to show them in the moving picture houses in this city. Surely such a movement, however, good it is, must fail. Judging by what the children of this city have been in vited to all the moving-picture houses of this city in the past. I have no doubt but that the city officials of this city from the Mayor to .the police men will be perfectly willing to do all in their power to have those pictures put on display for 'the education of children in the line of notorious mur der trials. I am Judging what is likely to be in the uture by what has been in the past. Less than three months ago. In a the ater owned and controlled by a Coun cilman of this city, there waa on dis play, the moving pictures of a prize fight one of the most brutal ever held on this coast Despite that the atten tion of Mayor Rushlight and Chief of Police Slover was called to this with the request that It be stopped, no at tempt was made to stop it by these officials. No doubt the Mayor could not well act, as the theater where these pictures were on display, is owned by a city Councilman and one of Mayor Rushlight's chief suporters. Protests against showing the pictures of this prize fight were made by a couple uf woman's clubs, a number of ministers and hundreds of the better element of people. Children of every age viewed the - moving pictures of that brutal encoun ter, saw the moving pictures of the crowd -yell and applaud while one fighter battered the other, and gazed on the beautiful spectacle of one man with his face, bloody and bruised, gasp ing for breath when knocked out by his opponent Surely, when a city official will allow children at his own theater, to view such pictures, and such pictures will be upheld by Mayor Rushlight and Chief of Police Slover, have we any reason to believe that the moving pictures of the Beattie murder trial will be stopped? Not on the least L. V. GAVIN. Author of Passion Lyrics. HUNTINGTON, Or., Sept 10. (To the Editor.) Kindly Inform me the name of the Western woman who is author of the book of poems entitled, "Passion Lyrics," excerpts from which were giv en recently in The Oregonian. in the Book Review Department. FRANCES POINTZ. "Passion Lyrics" is the name of a book of Western poems. The authoTr is Maurlne Hathaway, and book Is pub lished by the George W. Parker Art Co. Minneapolis. Minn. A New Cenans) for Japan. Consular Report The Japanese are going to take their next census according to European methods. For this purpose a Japanese professor from the University of Tokio is now in Rome with a view of study ing the taking of the Italian census. He has already been in Berlin and Vi enna with a Blmilar object The Jap anese census is to be taken on more exact lines than has ever been at tempted on previous occasions. La Follerte'a Place tn History. New York Sun. Senator La Follette says he would rather have his own little place in his tory than to have the place that some Presidents have had. Could the most conservative mind speak more mod estly? Yet In that almost bashful utter ance there Is no lack of that mighty faith in himself which has cheered him on through his great career and well Into Its honorable decline. Half Dollar of 1881. VANCOUVER. Wash., Sept. 12. (To "the Editor.) Is a coin (50c piece), minted In the year 1831 of any special value? Von Bergen's " Rare Coin Encyclo pedia" says that the coin referred to, uncirculated, has a value of 55 cents. Conntry Town Sayings by Ed Howe (Copyright. 1911, by George Matthew Adams, Don't accept any doctrine which keepi you in a constant state of humiliation because you neglect it When a man diets, he eats oatmea. In addition to everything else he usual ly eats. ' In many of the punishments pro vided for bad conduct there is neithet Judge, Jury nor courthouse. No Jury" considers the lies you tell, but liars re punished. , Ask your children how many timei you tell your old stories; ask them how tenderly you love your prejudices. Well, that's the way it is with other oeople. A man who climbs mole hills with great difficulty, and believes he is climbing mountains, wastes energy heeded in a better way. Besides, peo ple laugh at him; and that hurts. This is the Beason when a woman doesn't want to see callers; she wants to see paper hangers. How the world runs off and leaves a nan who does not care for baseball! A man who has been ailing three days says he has eaten nothing during that time except a little beef tea and toast I should like to know. Just for fun, what he really ate during the three days he was grunting. Nearly every time there Is a big lot of money in sight a case is manufac tured to go after it Half a Century Ago (.Prom The Oregonian. September 14, 1861.) The street in front of the Pioneer Hotel was quite lively yesterday in consequence of the quartermaster's agents being about purchasing horses for the United States military service. The Carrie Ladd brought down $110,000 in gold dust last night 336, 000 by express, the rest In the hands of passengers. Accessions to Jeff Davis' army from Oregon John K. Lamerlck (Governor Curry's Brigadier-General) is now a commissary in Jeff Davis' army. Adol phus Hanna, late Marshal of the State, it is said, has gone in the same direc tion. J. B. Sykea, late Indian agent, has seceded for the same point Never a word has been uttered by Governor Curry against these movements of his political friends. We shall not be sur prised any morning to hear that he has gone to Join his old companions with a Major-General's Commission in his pocket The military road between Monti cello and Olympia ia now entirely completed and wagons are enabled to perform the entire distance without any interruption. SAM SIMPSON'S OREGON POEM. Veraea on Launching of Warship Should be Sent Navy Secretary. PORTLAND, Sept 11. (To the Edi tor.) The communication forwarded by citizens on Friday last to the Secre tary of the Navy with respect to hav ing the battleship Oregon lead th Naval procession through the Panama Canal when same is complete, should be effective; but lest the Secretary should forget, how would it do for the Commercial Club to follow with a handsomely written copy of Sam Simp son's poem. "Launching of the Ore gon"? Oh. swift and strong and terrible. Go forth to guard our cherished shore, Till all thy fated days are full. And War's hoarse call is heard no more. If the grand old veteran is taken from seclusion of the Bremerton Navy Yard and permitted to appear at the Canal as requested, the event will doubtless be the fullness of time re ferred to by the poet and may mark the beginning of naval decay through out the world. I believe our commer cial bodies should have the poem litho graphed for" general circulation in con nection with the Canal opening. W. P. KEADT. Tho Case of Jonea. PORTLAND, Sept 11. (To the Edi tor.) Why are the mlninster and mem bers of the Taylor-Street M. E. Church going to excommunicate JonesT What good can it do? What harm can his name on the books as a member do? It seems if he ever needed tho help of the people and their prayers, he needs them now, where he has exiled himself to atone in part, mayhap, for his transgression. Is this following out , what they preach "Judge not that ' ye be not Judged." Christ said let he who is without sin, cast the first stone. We cannot tell .under what physical or mental stress he suffered that he finally committed this misdeed, but the fact that he did fall from grace mlgfit spare him from the small, mean stigma that the church people are desirous of imposing on him. According to this, the church isn't the place for sinners but for the pure. Christ did not teaoh along these lines either. What are the feelings of the wif and children when they see their brothers and sisters of God's church turn on their erring one and give him a last kick? Jones' offense admits of small ex tenuation, even so, we look for a little more charity from Christians. A SUBSCRIBER. The Galahad of Oresjron. New York Sun. We greet with a dazzled but happy awe the Polestar of Reform arising once more at Washington. The Hon. Jonathan Bourne, Jr., of Oregon and the National Progressive Republican League, recommends the Hon. Robert Marlon La Follette to "big business" as "Intelligently conservative," a Hon in roar, a prime Spring lamb In disposi tion. The Hon. Jonathan Bourne, Jr., is himself a conservative of old date. Tn 1896 he spouted for Bryan and free silver; In 1908 for "a second . elective term" for another conservative Colo nel: in 1911 his voice is uplifted for Badger Bob, the sheep in wolf's cloth ing. There can be no more doubt of the genuineness of Mr. La Follette's con servatism than there is of the purity and sincerity, of the Hon. Jonathan Bourne's political career. Homestead Commutations. MADRAS, Or.. Sept. 10. (To. the Edi tor.) I understand from an article In The Oregonian that under a "recent ruling" a settler cannot commute on land If such was his Intention when ha took up claim. When was this ruling made, and what is its object? W. F. & This decision" was rendered In a North Dakota case in the General Land Office, the ground for the decision be ing that the entry for a home was net made In good faith. It was shown that the entryman did not intend, when he first took up the land, to make his home upon it but Intended to move away 14 months after the date of his filing. . "Doc" Cook Rises Again. Chicago Tribune. m...u Mm ftnlv thinsr that rises XrUlU 3 X.VV v..w a ,,, again when crushed to earth. Vt ltness the success or uoc wj as . qua lecturer