THE .MORNING OREGONIAN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1911.
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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