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rOatlXAXDw TUnKDAY. OCT. S. 111.
HAJUfOX. BRTAX AXO WALL rTKHT.
Lieutenant-Governor Nichols, of
Ohio. Is a brave man. who haa under
taken a tough Job. II U endeavoring
to give the people of the Paclflo
Northwest a true picture of Judion
Harmon. Governor of Ohio and can
didate for the Presidency of the United
States. The Democrats of this coun
try see Harmon through Bryin'i eyes
aad the Republicans view hlra
through Wall street's ees. Mr.
Nichols would have them regard him
with the friendly vision of Ohio. Ohio
has a fairly accurate notion of the
kind of material that makes a fit
Presidential candidate, as the record
shows, but the unsophisticated Har
mon emissary will learn that the
Northwest Democracy long ago gave
over the office of selecting Its Pres
idential candidate to Nebraska, and
has not yet trot over the habit.
The Oregon Democrats will do pret
ty nearly what Mr. Bryan tells them
to do. Bryan has fastened the stigma
of Wall street on Harmon. It will
be Interesting to hear from Mr. Nich
ols how he would take It off. Not that
It Is deserved, for It Is not. or that
Harmon haa solicited the favor of
Wall street, for he has not. But the
opinion has been carefully stimulated
from some quarter that Wall street Is
preparing to get behind Mr. Harmon.
We know aome things from Lleu-tenant-Oovernor
Nichols about Mr.
Harmon, and we repeat them because
It Is fair that the general Judgment of
Ohio's latest favorite son should not be
formed either la Interested and preju
diced Nebraska or by prejudiced and
Interested Wall street. Lieutenant
Oovernor Nichols tells us that Gover
nor Harmon procured the enactment
In Ohio of an Income tax law; direct
election of United 8tates Senators
modeled on the Oregon plan; a work
men's compensation act; a nine-hour
day for women; an increase In rail
road assessment from 1150.000.000 to
t300.000.000. and a great variety of
other things for the common benefit.
In Ohio they will tell you that Gov
ernor Harmon Is progressive. Inde
pendent, wise and capable. No cor
poration and no man owns him. In
Nebraska they do not like Harmon
because he belongs to a numerous
class of Democrats, never enthusiastic
about M-to-1 and never stamped with
the Bryan O. K. Wall street Is In
clined to regard him with approval,
we fancy because Colonel Roosevelt
looks upon him with vehement and
outspoken disapproval. Lieutenant
Oovernor Nichols says nothing about
It; but we suspect that If he explained
It at all he would say that the schism
between Colonel Roosevelt and Mr.
Harmon dates from the time when
Mr. Harmon, as special attorney of the
United States Department of Justice.
Investigating the Santa Fe rebate
cases, strongly recommended the put
ting tn Jail of Paul Morton, former
vice-president of the Santa Fe and
then a Cabinet officer of the Rooje
relt government. President Roose
velt g t pretty choleric about this sur
print eg. unexpected and undesired In
vasion of hts own official family, and
refused. Special Attorney Harmon
then withdrew from the Government
service. As we have Intimated. It is
possible Just bare!y possible that
the Walt street fondness for Mr. Har
mon Is based on the Kosevelt anttpa
for him. manifested last year when
the ex-PraaUdent Journeyed ail the
way to Ohio and opposed on the plat
form his re-election. It may appear
a trir.e ungracious to recall It, but
Harmon was re-elected by over 100.-
00 votes.
The twegon Democracy will greet
Lieutenant-Governor Nichols politely,
and pass him along cheerfully. What
does the Oregon Democracy want with
a candidate who might be elected
through Ms ability to get votes where
any Presidential candidate must have
votes to win In New York and New
England T
winr rARxivo AvrvucK is low.
There are two sides to Secretary
Wilson's picture of the prosperity of
the agricultural Industry in the
United States. On tells In grand
totals of the billions represented by
the farmers lands, buildings, stock
and crops. The other shows that '"the
average net Income of the better class
of farmers In the United States is not
more than Hi a month 1100 a year
. after the farmer has paid his help,
the cost of raising aad marketing his
crops and the Interest on the capital
Invested la his farm, or land rent. If
he la a renter. " There is her a dis
crepancy as wtde as a barn door
which needs explanation. While the
price of everything the farmer pro
duces ta going op from year to year,
the average fanner of the better class
only clears tit a month no more
thaa be could earn as a laborer.
The explanation seems to 11 in that
word "averaga." That word lumps
the laay. Ignorant, blundering, un
progressive farmer, who puts in the
same) crop year after year on til his
soli ta exhausted, who keeps scrub
stock, who leaves hts implements out
tn the rain, who keeps do accounts
It lumps such a man with the edu
cated, scientific, progressive farmer
who atadlaa his soil, diversifies) his
crops, breeds np his stock, nses ma
chinery wherever economy requires,
studies the markets and gets the high,
est price they afford for his products
and keepe account of every dollar re
ceived and paid as would any other
business man. The type of man first
mentioned Is no more a farmer,
properly speaking, thaa a nil re
blacksmith who was a good all
aroand mechanlo and built a rough
and ready automobile would be an
automobile manufacturer. The two
types of farmers should no more be
Included In one general average than
should the blacksmith be counted as
a manufacturer In statistics of the
automobile industry. Farmers who
farm as science dictates and keep a
record of their business are making
money; farmers of the other class
ought to be working for them, for
they are committing a crime against
the land by their attempt at farm
leg it.
Even when a man farms well, he
often blunders through keeping ac
counts. One man In New York State
told Government agents he was mak
ing $1600 a year profit and was as
tounded when they convinced htm be
was only clearing Ma year. He could
not tell from what source his profit
came. He might be sinking In one
place profits made la another, but he
did not know It.
Amid all the cry for small farms,
there la danger that division of farms
may be overdone. Diversified fanning
in most cases requires the breeding of
stock and that business cannot be
profitably conducted with other
branches of farming on 10 acres.
There Is a tendency on the one hand
for farms to be subdivided and on
the other for cattle-raising to be con
ducted on the farm Instead of the
range. Thus the back-to-the-farm
movement Is Indirectly helping to
raise the price of meat. It would be
better If the small farms of the
"mosaback" farmers above described
could be bought np and consolidated
by a scientific farmer with brains and
capital. Better and more economical
farming would reeult and the moss
back" would get as good a living In
wages as he would working for him
self at tii a month.
rtH Or ONE AND FLESH Or ANOTHER.
Mr. Fels may not be able to carry
out his philanthropic plan of doubling
Oregon's land tax by the simple expe
dient of enforcing the single tax; but
he Is surely In earnest. To prove It,
he gives $25,000 per annum to a mis
sionary fund. We will not call It
'boodle." for boodle Is a harsh word
and Is properly taboo In these purified
days under the Oregon system. In the
old days the unthinking and the un
discriminating would have called It
boodle and rejoiced over Its timely ap
pearance and Judicious distribution.
But now we know better. It Is not
boodle. It Is good money from a
good man spent for a good purpose.
So we think some of us. Others do
not.
But while there may be doubts about
the Fels 115.000 per annum fund
doing good, there Is no question that
it makes a lot of people feed good
very good, indeed. All money, taint
ed or untainted. In the pockets of the
deserving Jingles alike.
But why should a lobbyist before the
Legislature at Salem be required by
law to disclose his employment on
pains of imprisonment, and a lobby
ist paid lobbyist before the people
be Jmmune from the same requirement
of law? Why should not the people
know all about the Fels fund. Its dis
tribution and Its beneficiaries?
Why should not the people know
whether It Is true that Mr. ITRen gets
15500 per year. Dr. Eggleston 11200
per year. Mr. Crldge 1600 per year,
Mr. Hlmes tiOO per year, and others
various amounts to promote single tax
legislation before the people?
Why should there be a corrupt
practices act requiring publicity for
candidates and no corrupt practices
act requiring publicity for initiative
lobbyists and boosters? Why?
WHY BfM.VBfs WAITS.
Why Is it that for a year or more
before a Presidential election business
tn the United States slackens up and
everybody begins to await the result
of the election and does nothing
which Is not Immediately necessary?
It is not so in other countries. Elec
tions there naturally distract atten
tion from business to some extent, but
business transactions do not depend
on the result of the election as they
do with ul Why can we not adjust
affairs In such a manner that the vic
tory of one party or the other at the
polls will not affect the regular course
of the Nstlon's Industries?
-The answer is that the political Is
sues on which National elections are
fought Involve fundamental business
questions. In one of his recent
speeches President Taft named four
such Issues with which his Adminis
tration has dealt or has yet to deal
and some, at least, of which will still
be before the country at the next elec
tion. These are railroad regulation,
ahlch relates to the price to be paid
for transportation; trusts, which in
volve the question whether business
Is to be done under the competitive
or monopoly system; the tariff, which
affects the price to be paid for almost
every product of the country; bank
ing and currency, which affects' the
whole financial system of the Nation.
Thus the whole business organization
of the country Is In the melting pot.
Mr. Taft has made a good begin
ning at the settlement of these ques
tions, but If he is to complete the
work he will need another terra with
a Congress working In harmony with
him. He has placed Federal control
of railroads on a firm basis and has
only to secure the passage of a law
limiting stock and bond Issues In
order to complete a code covering all
essential points. The only cause for
uncertainty Is the manner In which
the Interstate Commerce CommUu-lon
will exercise its enlarged powers and
the Commerce Court will Interpret the
law. The railroads should be able to
forecast the action of the commission
with enough accuracy to avoid serious
derangement of their affairs by any
decision It may make. The Supreme
Court decisions on trusts and the
President's announcement thst he In
tends to enforce the law In the light
of those decisions Is adequate notice
to the trusts that they must dissolve.
Wall street might as well cease Its
lamentations, consider that question
settled and conform to the law. There
may be some disturbance during the
process of re-organlxatlon. but It will
be principally among those gentle
men who deal tn what Lawson calls
"made dollars."
There remain the tariff and money
questions to settle. The President
has put tariff legislation on the right
track by M policy of getting the
facts through the Tariff Board and
applying that knowledge In schedule
revision. He will give Congress an
opportunity to deal Intelligently with
wool and cotton at the next session.
If Congress would dispose of those
two schedules. It would give other In
dustries an Idea of what they might
expect in the way of tariff revision.
Let It then make the Tariff Bosrd
permanent and give it more funds;
then several schedules might be dis
posed of under the new plan at each
session. Once drive the fact into the
heads of manufacturers that the tariff
was actually being revised according to
a fixed policy, which" had come to
stay, and there would be no more un
certainty except such as they made
themselves by trying to change the
Dollcr.
A currency system which will main
tain a reasonablv even supply of
money the country over, without al
tentative periods of feast and famine,
will be reported by the National
Monetary Commission in December.
Its main principles are sound, though
It will no doubt cause much contro
versy. If these principles are adopted
the money question should be settled
and a chronic source of business dis
turbance removed.
The settlement of these four ques
tionsor even a beginning at the set
tlement of the last two which gives a
fair Indication of the general lines on
which the settlement will be made will
remove any excuse for tying up bus!
ness the year before a Presidential
election. Lengthening of the term to
six or eight years, with a veto on sec
ond terms, has been proposed and
would have the merit f allowing a
President time to work out a line of
policy and show Its results, but It
would be only a palliative. The only
cure for a disease is to remove the
cause. In this case the cause Is the
keeping in a fusltlve state laws vitally
affecting business. There Is a general
movement to take business out of poll
tic. The way to do so In National
affairs Is to settle and settle on sound
principles those political questions
which affect business.
OKADCATM AS TEACHERS,
Of the sixty-eight young men and
women who took their degrees at
Eugene last Spring it is reported that
thirty are now doing educational work
of one sort or another. Some are
tArh1nr. some sure aunerlntendents of
' schools, some are county supervisors.
By running through the published list
of these thirty names It will be found
that about twenty-five of them belong
to women. This fact Indicates that
the grade of women teachers In the
Oregon schools Is being raised by the
help of the State University. It Is
performing the work of a normal
school in this respect and probably
doing It better than an ordinary nor
mal school could.
Still It must not be forgotten that
these university graduates do not ac
cept the humbler educational positions.
They go to the towns, not to the coun
try. The rural schools must take their
teachers from any available source
and often they are not the best. No
matter how industriously the univer
sity may turn out graduates, a nor
mal school Is still needed for the coun
try teachers, upon whom the great
majority of the children must depend
for their education, such as It Is.
It Is an Interesting fact that almost
half of last year's graduates from the
State University have chosen educa
tion for their career. The total num
ber was sixty-eight, the number who
are concerned with the public schools
In some capacity is thirty. The rea
son for this Is a matter of pure specu
latlon. It cannot be because teaching
pays hotter than other professions
Law, medicine, theology all bring
more honor and fully as much remu
neratlon, but the university graduates
seem to prefer the modest, but highly
useful, work of the teacher.
No doubt there Is something in the
instruction they receive which Inclines
them to labor for human values rath
er than for fame and wealth. Unfor
tunately there are no statistics which
tell whether or not It Is the ablest
graduates) from the university who en
ter the educational field, nor Is there
any way to find out how long' they
pursue their noble but unremunera
tlve calling.
Lincoln's CREEi.
A clergyman residing In Washing
ton City, the Reverend John Wesley
Hill, has taken the trouble to prepare
and circulate a pamphlet to prove that
Abraham Lincoln was an orthodox
Christian. This appears to us to be a
work of supererogation. Inasmuch as
Lincoln did Justly, loved mercy and
walked humbly with hts God, he was a
truly religious man according to the
standards or the Bible, and that 1s
enough to satisfy any reasonable per
son. Rut it does not satisfy Mr. Hill. He
sets about proving that Lincoln accept
ed the formal theology of the churches.
We are told In this pamphlet that Lin
coln "recognized the presence and of
fice of the Holy Spirit In the world,"
that he had "confidence In the Bible
as the Word of God," that he "revered
the Sabbath and enforced respect for
it In the army," and so on. Some of
the historical incidents upon which
Mr. Hill bases his theory strike one as
being extremely Interesting products
of the mythopoetic faculty.
For example he gives an account of
a sudden illumination which came to
Lincoln at a campmeetlng when It was
Impressed upon him. no doubt miracu
lously, that he was destined to take
"an important part In the struggle
against slavery" Before that time,
we are given to understand, he had no
Intimation that there was a great work
ahead of him. Like Paul of Tarsus,
he received insight all at once and by
a supernatural process. Then there Is
an account of a statement which Lin
coln Is said to have made to a Mr.
Bateman. secretary of education for
Illinois, Just before the election of
1880. This statement contains some
singular passages, from which we se
lect one. "I know I am right because
I know that liberty is right, for Christ
teaches it and Christ Is God. Doug
las doesn't care whether slavery Is vot
ed up or down, but God cares and
humanity carea and I care."
Not a word of this sounds at all like
Lincoln, and the last clause, in which
he is supposed to put himself on a
level with the deity Is startling. We
know from many authentic sources
that Lincoln was ostensibly not so
much concerned in 1860 to put slavery
down, as he was to maintain the
Union. It Is interesting, therefore, to
glean this bit of his genuine inner sen
timent from Mr. Bateman. who en
joyed the distinction of being the only
person in the world to whom It was
confided.
In another place Mr. Hill recounts
a conversation between President Lin
coln and General Sickles which re
minds one of a devout washerwoman
talking with a district visitor in a
tract. General Sickles arfked Lincoln
why he was not alarmed Just before
the battle of Gettysburg. This was his
reply. "Now, General, since you have
asked me. I guess I will have to tell
you. I went Into my room, locked the
door, got down upon my knees and
said. 'O Lord God. I have done abso
lutely everything I can and now you
must help.' And God told me that he
would give me Gettysburg and I be-
lleved him." It is difficult to Imagine
Lincoln fallen Into a condition of
mind such as this would signify. Still
Dr. Hill Is not a man whoso previous'
career necessarily inspires distrust.
To be sure he has been chaplain for
the Pennsylvania Senate and is "wide
ly known as a civic and political
speaker," but It does not Inevitably
follow that he cannot tell the truth.
Turning away from these dubious
materials, we may take It for granted
without any particular proof that Lin
coln believed In God and. In a general
way chose the "larger hope" for
mankind. Like almost every man of
surpassing greatness, he was a prag
rnatlst in his conception of the gov
ernment of the world. A theory which
worked well in practice he took for
true. The belief In God has upon the
whole acted as a sustaining force In
history. It has comforted the warrior
for righteousness and upheld the mar-
tyr at the stake. Without It who
could endure to live nobly and who
would dare to die for a forlorn cause?
Lincoln was a Christian in the sense
that good men are Christians. Little
as he cared for the formal theology
which seems so attractive to men like
Mr. Hill, he clung with all steadfast
ness to the vital precepts of the man
of Galilee, which have been the rule
by which men of light have guided
their Uvea In every age. There la. In
fact, a religion ' which belongs to no
age and comes from no particular
country. At the bottom of It ilea that
trust In the moral sanity of. the unl-
verse which keeps us from despair.
Its creed Is Justice between man and
man. Its inspiration is tne nope mai
the world can be made a goodly dwell
ing place by human effort and Its com
fort Is the faith that there is a power,
greater than man, which makes for
righteousness.
That Lincoln accepted this religion
there is not a particle of doubt. That
he would have welcomed the theology
which Mr. Hill ascribes to him is In
credible. Lincoln belonged to the old
est church In the world, the one In
which Socrates and Cato were succes
sors to the prophet Mlcah. Boethelua
and Chaucer Joined it some centuries
and cnaucer joined it some cemunra
later and they were followed by Rab-
elals, Montaigne and Benjamin Frank-
lln. It Is a church which relies on
deeds more than words and cares more
for human welfare than for abstract
n,.im Wi vnnr that T.lnpnln in
one of its worthiest members and we
do not believe that his fame would bo
enhanced If it could be proved that
he belonged to any other.
The shipment of Clark County
prunes to Europe Is nothing mora
than the return of an old favor.
France has been shipping prunes to
the United States for many years.
They come packed in neat little boxes,
stuffed with walnut meats and In
divers other delectable forms. The
presumption 1s that Clark County
prunes do not admit of such refined
treatment. If they do, why is it not
applied to them? In crude products
there is comparatively little profit.
Wealth comes from labor Ingeniously
applied.
Senator Stephenson probably fan
cied that he could do the country
$107,000 worth of good in the Senate,
His mistake was a natural one, but Its
consequences have been unfortunate.
What the Senate needs Is not so much
big bank accounts as big brains. The
supposition that a man who could
make money was necessarily qualified
to make laws has not justified Itself
in practice and Mr. Stephenson has
contributed as much as anybody to
discredit It.
It does not speak very well for lo
cal missionary zeal that prisoners In
the Jail who want to read the Bible
have to steal a copy: There ought to
be at least a New Testament In every
oelL If the cells accommodate several
prisoners there ought to be several'
Bibles, one for each man. In our
opinion there Is no taste which a man
in Jail can more profitably gratify
than one for reading the Scriptures.
Secretary Fisher's defense of his
coal land policy against the attack of
Representative Mondell Is convincing
and Is all the more welcome because
Mondell has been the most persistent
enemy of National land law reform.
He has done as much Injury to the
development of the West at one ex
treme of opinion as Plnchot has done
at the other.
Drugs and liquors are said to have
been the cause of suicide In Seattle
of an Aberdeen doctor. Drugs and
liquors are twin roots of much trouble.
Similarly so are the common pins,
which a bright schoolboy once said
saved the lives of many people by not
being swallowed.
President Taft probably made more
friends by frankly expressing his dis
agreement with the resolutions of the
Public Land Convention at Denver
than he would have made by truck
ling to his audience. Above all. the
American people like a man who
speaks out openly
McCabe and Dunlap get a taste of
the condign punishment they had pre
pared for Wiley and the detection of
Impure food will now be unhampered.
The equivalent of Napoleon's "whiff
of grapeshot" played havoc with the
Portuguese monarchists at Oporto and
strengthened the young republic.
By becoming secretary of the Rail
road Commission Corey promises not
to run against Olcott. The game has
Its consolations.
Where was Southern chivalry when
a Virginia Sheriff held a woman pris
oner before him as a shield against a
fusillade ?
Strikebreakers in Louisville refuse
to work when fed fried chicken, and
it Is not stated they are colored men,
either. -
The "monarchists" In Mexico are
planning revolt, and the real thing in
Portugal is ready to battle for Manuel.
Three millions will be needed to run
thls-clty, with the usual trimmings and
chasers.
Battling Nelson would withdraw,
only he never knows when he Is
"licked."
The comet Is not the only thing In
this universe whose head Is mostly
gas.
The man who would "beat up"
hired girl shows temerity.
the
Senator Stephenson was "easy.'
Gleanings of the Day
The oft-repeated advloe to young
men to get back to the farm has In
spired Judge John E. Humphries, the
perennial candidate In the State of
Washington to ask:. "Whose farm shall
they taker' He -says that an Eastern
farmhand earning 110 to J20 a month
and board for six months of the year
In the East cannot hope to acquire a
homestead which will cost 12000. The
Centralis News. Examiner 'aptly re
plies that 10 or SO acres thoroughly
cultivated will give greater returns
than ISO acres partly cultivated, and
that hundreds of chances exist for them
' In Southwestern Washington. It calls
attention to the logged-on! lands, which
can be bought at low cost. In small
i tracts and on easy payments. A man
trained to farming can make a farm
I out of such land and need not take any
other man's farm. The requisites are
j soma skill, a great deal of Industry
and perseverance and a little cash.
It is estimated that about 290,000
Americans went abroad this year and
spent about $200,000,000 besides what
, they spent for Jewelry, clothing and
other articles. An American resident
In Paris estimates that fully $100,000,
000 a year Is spent by Americans in
that city alone for Jewelry and gowns.
The total of these two sums Is shown
. BT tne Qreater Baltimore committee,
J now lrranging for the ."See America
, Flrst.. convention, which Is to be held
. th t . Novembar. to exceed
the cost of running the municipal gov
ernments of the 16 largest cities In
the United States. The purpose of the
convention Is to Induce Americans to
recognize the superior beauties of their
own country by seeing it first and
when they do go abroad, to proclaim
Its attractions In such a way that this
country will soon be filled with a flood
of foreign tourists.
A New York farmer who imagined
that he was clearing $1500 a year and
. - -
the living expenses of himself and his
family, and bought an automobile on
i the strength of it. had his comfortable
' Illusion cruelly dispelled by agents of
j the Farm Management Burfeau of the
I DeDartment of Agriculture. A bulletin
of the department says:
It developed that his farm represented an
Investment of 115.000. When the agents be
gan to figure up the debts and credits the
farmer'! eyes began to open. He nad not
taken into account the Interest of his $15
000 capital In making his f l&OO net profits.
He hadn't figured on the profit and loss
column a score of little things that should
hRve been taken account of. By the time the
arents finished they convinced the farmer
that his net profits each year, after deduct
ing all expenses and only 5 per cent Interest
on the capital Invested, amounted to Just
18 per rear. .
Ha had taken half of what he supposed
were his net profits for a year and bought
the automobile. Instead, he was buying It
out of his, legitimate Interest on his farm
Investment, out of money that would have
come to him without hard work, planning
or worrying by merely putting his farm
Into good securities.
Dr. Cole of Alzey, It Is said, owns but
three acres of land, and he devotes the
most of It to bee raising and sells
from $1,600 to $2,000 worth of honey
a year, says the Henderson, Ky.,
Gleaner. He found that the wild cu
cumber was a great honey producer.
He noticed the bees about the blos
soms and found that their honey In
creased and was of a superior quality.
This wild cucumber Is very prominent
in river bottom land and comes up
after the corn Is laid by. It has al
ways been considered by the farmers
as a pesky weed that had no virtues
but to torment the human flesh with
a burr that will get In clothes and
work clear in to the bone.
It is now evident to 'many that the
honey from bees on river bottom farms
is of better quality than that raised on
hill land. Dr. Cole believes he has
found the reason for this and that It
lies in the fact that the wild cucumber
Is a great honey producer.
The honor of being most devoted to
alcohollo drinks Is passed from the
South to New York City by the Louis
ville Courier-Journal, which ruthlessly
smashes popular visions of Southern
conviviality and hospitality In this
style:
According to a prominent minister in
New York there is one saloon for each
sixty votes In the metropolis. The figures
will surprise the South. In fiction the
Southerner is always redolent of mint Julep
and his nose la a whisky-blossom indicating
of his constant Indulgence In alcoholic bev
erages. His home is a glorified barroom.
The art of mixing his favorite tipple is as
prominent among the accomplishments of
the women of his establishment as playing
the piano or making beaten biscuit, waf
fles or sally lunn. The Southerner of fact
is temperate. As often as not there are
cobwebs over the tnouth of hla decanter,
although they are supposed to be found
only over the cork of his wine bottles. The
mint that growa In the spring branch Is
often drawn upon chiefly to make an appe
tising sauce for roast lamb. -Eating and
drinking tntemperately are vices more wide
ly distributed In New York thaa in Ken
tucky, or elsewhere In the South. There is
small choice between the two kinds of per
nicious Indulgence from a moral point. of
view when they are not combined, and as
a rule they are combined. If It Is true
that there are as many saloons In New
York as tba minister says there are, his
field of endeavor is a good one In which to
find material for temperance lectures, if a
fruitless one on which to labor In that
cause. 6uch conditions, from the point of
view of the people of temperate Kentucky,
are depressing, even appalling. New York
seems afloat in drink and destined to sink
In Iniquity.
Dr. Wiley says dead horses sent to
Germany return in the form of im
ported frankfurters. All Kentuckians
love horseflesh, but it is a sentiment
and not an appetite. Pass the home
made sausage, please, remarks the
Louisville Courier-Journal.
Chang Chlen and other wealthy Chin
amen are organizing a company to
take people from the overpopulated
famine districts of China and colonize
them In Manchuria. They will be em
ployed as laborers In growing wheat,
corn, cotton and beans, and a beginning
at raising cattle to be Imported from
the United States and Australia will
be made. .
A' large American retail clothing
store has been opened In Berlin, and
consular reports Indicate that there
may be good openings In other Ger
man cities.
American firms who seek German
trade waste much of the money they
spend on advertising by Indulging in
exaggeration, in the opinion of William
C Teichmann, United States Consul at
Stettin. As regards surgical supplies
in particular, he says: "It would find
a readier hearing If couched in lan
guage which would Impress the pro
fessional man." The German doctor is
not impressed by strings of superla
tives, but by plain facts. Many Amer
ican firms also waste money when
they print catalogue and price lists for
the German market In English. If
they cannot spend a little more money
on having these things translated Into
German, they might as well save It all.
Stars and Star-Makers
By Leone Cass Barr.
Maro Klaw, the New York theatrical
manager, was expected to arrive in
Portland last evening from Seattle,
where he was in attendance at the
opening of the Klaw & Erlanger
Theater, the Metropolitan, last Monday
evening. Mr. Klaw is accompanied by
his son Alonso. and while their visit
has had for its primary object the
opening of the new theater, the two are
going to stop off In Portland. San Fran
cisco, Los Angeles and spend some
time In the Grand Canyon in order
that young Klaw, who Is an artist by
profession, may view the country. Fol
lowing his Coast trip Mr. Klaw will
return to New York and remain there
for a number of months, while Mr.
Erlanger goes to London to put on "The
Pink Lady" with Frank Daniels In the
leading comedy role. y
The day before Mr. Klaw left New
York he calfed upon Charles Frohman,
who is still suffering from a rheumatic
attack that has stuck with him for al
most a year. "I wish I could take that
Coast trip with you," Mr. Frohman said
t wistfully to Mr. Klaw. "I made the
acquaintance of that part of the world
more than 30 years ago in the capacity
of a young advance man. I spent 45
weeks traveling about the Coast, and
I've always had a big hankering to get
back there again."
Speaking of his new Seattle theater
Mr. Klaw said:
I have looked over the new Metro
politan and am delighted with it. Its
cost will run from $250,000 to $300,000.
We hold It on a forty-seven-year lease
at thle time. The theater is built of
solid concrete, and Is, of course, abso
lutely unburnable. I am told that its
Insurance rato Is the lowest on any
building in Seattle.
George J. Mackenzie will be the per
manent manager of the Metropolitan.
We hope to Be able to Keep tne nuuse
open all next Summer with . traveling
attractions, and after this first sea
son 1 feel sure that there will not be
a single dark nigrht at the Metropolitan
during any month of the year.
The first production that Klaw &
Erlanger, In conjunction with C. B.
Jefferson, ever sent to Seattle was "The
Soudan," in the Fall of 1893. That was a
big production for those days and, by
the way. it was this very play that gave
rise "to the lasting friendship between
our firm and Al Hayman. That was the
time of the silver panic, and many New
York managers were canceling the
Coast tours of their companies. Al
Hayman, then conducting the Baldwin
In San Francisco, appealed to ue not to
desert him and we wired back that we
would keep "The Soudan" going so long
as we had a dollar left. By giving him
our shows then we tided him over a
disastrous season, and the friendship
thus formed led to our formation, three
years later, of the theatrical syndicate,
together with Nixon st Zimmerman and
Mr. Frohman.
Calvin Heilig of the Heilig Theater
went to Seattle to attend the opening
of the Metropolitan. '
e
The Cort, the new San Francisco
theater Is this week housing "Alias
Jimmy Valentine." with H. B. Warner
In the titular role.
Paul Armstrong wrote the play.
Which Is an adaptation of O. Henry's
story "A Retrieved Reformation." The
engagement begun last Sunday evening
and continues for a fortnight then the
company comes to Portland. The Cort,
which Is Just ' off Market street on
Ellis, backs right up against the rear
of the Orpheum Theater, on O'Farrell
street. It has only been open a few
weeks "Baby Mine" doing the house
warming act in a two-weeks' engage
ment prior to opening here. Records
of the box office show that "Baby Mine"
brought In over $33,000 while it played
San Francisco, which makes more ma
terial for the press agent's stories.
"Miss Nobody from Starland," the
musical comedy In which we heard
Olive Vail, a former Tlvoli chorus girl.
In her present role as a leading wo
man, went directly from Portland to
the Cort. where It played one week.
Following the "Alias Jimmy Valentine"
engagement at the Cort. Gertrude Hoff
man and her "Season of Russian Bal
lets" will dance several million miles in
a two week stay.
By the way, it is during the present
week that the members of the "Alias
Jimmy 14th of February" company are
going to produce their remarkable play
for the convicts at the San Quentin
prison. All of the prisoners, with the
exception of eight very bad boys, are
to be permitted to witness the play,
which will be an al fresco affair,
e e
In the construction of the new Alca
zar stock theater In San Francisco
the contractors are well up to their
time limits and the play house is ex
pected to be ready for occupancy- early
in December.
e
That obstetrical farce "Baby Mine"
served to introduce the new asbestos
drop curtain of the Grand Theater in
Salem to theatergoers. The event was
recorded along with the dramatic criti
cism of the play thusly:
All the members of the company con
tributed to the evening's fun in euch a
way as to wring from the audience
continuous laughter.
The new asbestos drop curtain was
used for the first time last night. On
it is a beautiful scene entitled "On the
Santiam," in which the rushing stream
is seen with Its rocky ehore backed by
timht, nnH with the mountains in the
I rear. It is a beautiful piece of work
and a splendid addition to tne lurnisn
ings of the Grand.
e
At the Columbia Theater In San
Francisco this week "The Country Boy"
Is playing. Edgar Selwyn, the author
of he comedy, Is known up and down
the Coast as a former reporter on
various publications. His claim to at
tention, other than his success as a
playwright is that he Is the husband of
Margaret Mayo, who also draws
royalties way up into seven figures for
plays she has written.
see
Nance O'Neil is appearing In her
latest play, "The Lily In which David
Belasco sent her out last season as an
almost not quite star. She is pre
senting the play now In stock at the
Alcazar Theater In San Francisco,
owned and managed by Belasco and
Mayer. The notes on all of Miss
O'Neill's billing reads, "By special ar
rangement with David Belasco," so Its
not probable that the play will be
given out for general stock, but enly
as an accommodation from Brother
Dave to Brother Fred.
The time is ripe for some far-seeing
person to nab Nellie Lane, the "comely"
Siletz Indian woman, who Is "living
happily" with her 14th husband. Nellie
Is eligible for vaudeville, if not for
the legitimate.
"Bright Eyes." the musical comedy
by Joseph M. Gaites, is headed Port
land way, via Spokane and Seattle.
Tomorrow and Saturday it plays Spo
kane. Florence Holbrook and Cecil
Lean, a regular Mike Donlin-Mabel Hite
arrangement, are In the principal roles.
Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe
I have about concluded that the only
thins; to do with a fool Is to keep out
of his way as much as possible.
The oftener you say "No," the better
you'll get along. .
It may he true that a little girl plays
a piano well, considering her age, and
the number of lessons she has taken;
but her playing is not music The great
effects In everything are produced by
patient practice; by the masters; by
the professionals.
I see it predicted that within a com
paratively short time poetry will disap
pear. I am glad of it. Poetry is the
language of those who wish for things
they cannot accomplish. Poetry la
written about things that do not exist,
and a thing that does not exist is not
important.
As soon as a fight fairly starts, both
sides begin to think of a settlement.
If a perfectly honest man should find
old Rockefeller's pocket-book in the
road, how much would he take before
sending it back?
If you think Walt Whitman was a
great man, I wish you would some time
take a day off, and make'lt clear to me.
If you want to get a big day's work
out of a man, hire a loafer. But he'll
only work one day.
Whisky Is a fool, and the fact Is late
ly being generally admitted, by the
adoption of prohibitory laws. Why
should not other foolish notions be ad
mitted? Whisky drinking is not the
only fool notion from which weak men
should be saved by their neighbors who
are stronger.
It is as easy to be unfair as it is im
portant that you should not be.
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonian Oct. 8. 1861.
The steamer Julia brought down $25,
000 in gold dust, through Tracy & Co.,
besides a quantity In the hands of pas
sengers. We learn by this arrival that
the four Indians who were arrested
some time since for the murder of Mr.
Briggs and son, near Barlow's Gate,
were tried and convicted for the of
fense In the Wasco County Circuit
Court, and Judge Walte sentenced them
to be hung on the 8th day of Novem
ber next.
The ferryboat, under the manage
ment of the Robert Ladd, has been do
ing brisk business during the days of
the State Fair. We noticed that the
proprietors, with commendable liber
ality, only charged half price for fer
riage f those who visited the fall!
grounds.
The illness of ex-Preeldent Buchanan
Is said to have been caused by sheer
exhaustion. He dally receives letters
by the bushel, full of bitter denuncia-i
tion.
A Money Grab of Consress.
Ohio State Journal.
A Congressman Is paid 20 cents a
mile out of the public treasury every
time he makes a trip to or from Wash
ington, D. CX, to attend to his business,
and yet the trip costs him only 3 cents
a mile. Why Is this shameful grab at
the Treasury made? It Is simply fol
lowing an old custom that started many
years ago, when it might have cost 20
cents a mile to go to and from Wash
ington. There was reason for It then,
but there Is no reason for it now, and
so there is 17 cents a mile that Is in
the nature of graft. Of course, there
is a law for It, but that doesn't make
the grab moral. One can graft by law
as well as by grand larceny. This Is
one of the cases. Why a Congressman ,
who gets $7500 a year would want to
charge the people 20 cents for what he
pays 3 cents la not the real question,
but why the people should let him. If
It Is not dishonest, it la unjust. All
such things weaken the Integrity of,
the public service.
Brother Parsons' Exoneration.
Portland, Oct 4. (To the Editor.)!
It Is with great pleasure that I note
the complete exoneration of the Rev.
John Parsons, of Fairbanks, Alaska,
from numerous ungrounded charges.
The person who could conjure up some
thing against one who was held In
such high esteem by all classes was
malicious Indeed.
No one occupying his position could
do more for those In dire distress. Hla
hand was out to all, regardless of oc
cupation or morals. It was Brother
Parsons who turned his church into a
free reading room day and night that
the young people might have some
place to go aside from the ever tempt
ing saloon and dance hall. His weekly
church sociables during the long, cold
winter of 1905 and 1906, with the ther
mometer steady at 74 degrees below
zero, will not soon be forgotten by the
"Sourdoughs."
I am, with his congregation, "solidly
for him." C. C G.
Dr. Wlthycombe Asks Light On Glnsemje
OREGON EXPERIMENT STATION,
Corvallis, Oct. 3. (To the Editor.)
At fairly regular intervals articles ap
pear in the papers relating to the enor.
mous profits made in growing ginseng.
All of the fabulous returns, however,
seem to be for seeds and plants to es
tablish new gardens.
Ginseng has been gTOwn In this state
for about 10 years. Won't some Ore
gon grower kindly give ns a positive
statement of facts and figures as to the
financial returns-from the production
of roots from a given area, which were
sold for actual consumption and not
for planting n'ew gardens?
The writer is frank to confess that
he has regarded the growing of ginseng
as being considerable of a humbug,
somewhat similar to Alaska and
Miracle wheat.
JAMES WITHY CO MB El
Auto Driving Never "Concise."
CARSON, Wash., Oct. 3. '(To the
Editor.) Is It permissible to use the
word "concise" In speaking of driving
an automobile; that is. in speaking of
the drivers' method or manner of run
ning the machine? Will you please
etate whether or not It would be con
sidered good English? Would It come
directly within the meaning of the
word or would It be used with an Im
plied sense?. SUBSCRIBER.
The word "concise" Is used In quali
fying style of writing or speaking. We
can Imagine no implied meaning that
would make "concise" good English in
describing a chauffeur's manner of
driving a car.
Blaster Tart's Tight Trousers.
Knoxvllle Sentinel.
When President Taft was 7 years old
his mother bought him a pair of short
duck trousers. The first time they
were washed they shrank badly. The
boy was fat, but his mother wedged
him Into the trousers against his pro
test. He went out to play, but in a few
minutes returned.
"Mamma," he said, "I can't wear
these pants; they are too tight Why,
mamma, they are tighter than my
skin."
"Oh, no; they're not, Billy." replied
his mother. "Nothing could be tighter
than your skin."
"Well, all the same, these pants are,
I can sit down In my skin, but I can't
In these pants."
i