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TOBIXAXD. 1IUPAY. OfTOBRR 11. I til.
ATM ASD COMWONE.
Mr. Teal ha given in a statement
printed In another column an easily
understood explanation of the Issues
Involved In the rata cases pending In
the Supreme Court of the United
Ftates. It was the existence of these
Issues that so alarmed the House of
Oovernors that a committee of Gov
ernors was appointed to do something
Jor other, not specified, to Induce the
Supreme Court to decide against the
railroad. If there U any dancer of
The Supreme Court so deciding;, we
ran readily see that the cases are of
tremendous Importance. But that the
Supreme Court will uphold so prepos
terous a contention as that a local rate
cannot be disturbed by a state com
gnission because the railroads have
Used the figures of that rate In a pro
ves of addition to determine -what
hall be the through Interstate rate Is
slmoit , Inconceivable. This even
though one Federal Court out of fix
has so held.
The railroads, for example, contend
that, where the terminal rate and the
;1oca back" are added to make the
Tate to an Intermediate point, reduc
tion of the local rates would affect the
Interstate rates and therefore go be
yond state lights. Tet we have not
Sieard It urged that for the Interstate
"Commerce Commission to reduce this
Through rate would affect the local
rate.
When the Spokane rate case was
Hied, the railroads had fixed the rate
lo Spokane from Eastern points by
kidding to the terminal or Puget Sound
rate the local rnte from Puget Sound
.i Spokane. For example. If the
freight charge on a shipment of
freight from Chicago to Puget Sound
was $100 and the charge for hauling
a similar consignment from Puget
Hound to Spokane was I -'5. the rate
from Chicago to Spokane would be
the sum of the two. or $115. The
Interstate Commerce Commission has
held against the reasonableness of the
Spokane rates. It has established
xnnes and Instructed the railroads to
l.-wue tariffs to Intermediate points
graduated In accordance with the
cones In which the frulght originates.
Krom one snne the railroads are
rrohiblted from charging to Spokane
.r other Intermediate points a rate
Mghrr than that to Puget Sound. We
rmumr. had the Washington Rail
way Commission reduced the local
rite between Puget Sound and Spo
kane, and the Interstate Commerce
Commission never Interfered with the
frmlnul-plus-hack-haul rate. the
railroads would now- be contending
that the State of Washington had ln
frfered with interstate rate. If this
j sound reasoning, why should it not
vnrk both ways? Why does not a re
duction of the through rate automat
ically cause a reducton of the local
r-ite? Inasmuch as the Interstate
Commerce Commission has ordered
the back-haul rate eliminated wholly
in some Instances, why does that not
mean that the railroads shall make no
cV.arge whatever for hauling local
Jrelght from Puget Sound to interme
diate state points? If the tail can wag
the dog. surely the dog can wag the
tall. All of which leads to the conclu
sion that If state rate regulating la
unconstitutional. Interstate rate regu
lating is also. In one the state trans
rrejses on the Federal power. In the
other the Government transgresses on
t-te rtghts. The argument must be
applied both ways and is technical to
the point of absurdity. ,
When a state authority attack a
local rate. It is not attacking anything
that I necessarily part of a through
rate. We Imagine that the practice
'f tying the terminal and local rates
together was first adopted as an easy
means of arriving at the through In
terstate rate and was Invented In
the dajs when the railroads fixed the
rates at what the traffic would bear.
JUit In several specific cases the Inter.
t:ate Commerce Commission has held
that the results attained by the prac
tice are unreasonable rales. If It la
rommon sense to hold that the state
snnot regulate local rates that have
reen added Into Interstate rates. It is
rommon sense to say that the rail
roads may declare an Intermediary
rate to be the terminal rate plus the
local tax levy. anJ that thereby the
snate or county would lose control of
the tax levy because to change It
.would Interfere with Interstate com
merce! - The only conflict between state and
deral authority that might be rea
sonably considered such, and now oc
rurrlng to us, would exist In the event
the state so reduced local rates that
the railroads were compelled to In
crease Interstate rates or go Into bank
ruptcy. Even In that event It would
eem a reasonable court construction
to hold that the railroads remedy
atas not In Increasing Interstate rates,
tout In maktng a showing that the lo
cal rates were confiscatory and there
for unlawful. At all events. It
seems to us that while the Issue raised
! Important. Its foundation Is so
flimsy that it will be readlTv overcome.
Commenting on President Taft's
yronouncement at Waterloo against
the trusts, the American tanker says:
T' frmtifc stw.I KTon strrnisly f Ih.t
rruit.r bran4 of ndktluia ixitrt vttlt
tn mam. of Mr. llr)in. ..a on. nifhl al
Tn.t upp that l?i. wortSa apoa.n at
Vai.-loo maaal'J. "l from th. on-upant
rf m W hit. II u at U aahiDCt.a. but
f.-.iw th. great Commoner.
The Banker overlooks one great
j.olnt of difference. Mr. Fryan pro
posed to exterminate the trusts and
put their officers In Jail before the law
xiad been Interpreted, and when It was
therefore open t question whether
the acta for which he would have put
gnen In Jail were criminal. Mr. Taft
secured a Judicial Interpretation of the
law br the highest court of the land
and then gave notice that they must
obey It. The one man spoke without
knowledge, the other did not speak
until he knew and then he spoke with
authority and directness. It was the
best thing he could do for the trust
tnen themselves.
THE HOLT WAR.
The story that the Arabs of the Af
rican interior will declare a "holy
war" against Italy must be heavily
discounted. The Interior tribes are
not extraordinarily friendly to Tur
key, which has done nothing but rob
them during the whole duration of its
power In Tripoli. To be sure, they
have the same religion as the Turks,
while the Italians are supposed to be
Christians. This Is a bond of union,
but It Is not so efficient now as It was
formerly.
There was a time when it was pos
sible to unite all the Mohammedan
of the world in a crusade against a
Christian aggressor, but that was long
ago. when the followers of the prophet
had a strong central power to gather
around. Today they have no such or.
ganlzlng nucleus. Turkey Is too weak
to command the respect of the scat
tered tribes and the ather Moslem
countries are all under Christian Influ
ence. Should a "holy war" break out.
the Italians would not be left to fight
It out alone, since" England. Germany,
and France would be vitally concerned
In It.
The fighting power of the Central
African tribes was effectively used
against England some years ago. but
under eondltions far different from
those which surround Tripoli. Khar
toum, near which the decisive battles
were fought, lies not very remote
from the dwellings of the Mohamme
dan Soudanese. Moreover, trie tribes
were at that time under the exciting
Influence of ah extraordinary per
sonality, the Mahdl. who was at once
a powerful preacher and a great mili
tary genius. Xo such man can be
found today among the Interior tribes.
The situation at Tripoli cannot be
compared for an Instant with that of
Khartoum. It lies on the Mediter
ranean coast and Is separated by the
entire width of the desert from the
Soudanese, who are the only really
military Mohammedans In Africa. The
tribes of the desert are. of course,
good fighters, but they lack organlxa
tlon and leadership. It has always
been Impossible for. them .'to .withstand
regular troops. No 'doubt rellRlou
seal might supply the place of disci
pline in part, but not. without some
commanding" personality to arouse it,
and no such personality exists today,
either in Turkey or any other Moslem
country.
PREMDEXTIAL, VISITS.
For the fifth time In Its history
Portland has been .called upon to
welcome a President of the United
States., and for the fifth time the
welcome tendered has been that of
loyal, enthusiastic cltlxens. The late
visit of President Taft was. Indeed,
his second. to this city, making in all
six occasions npon w hich we have
been called upon to greet a Presi
dent. Relatively few of our present
cltlxens remember the visit of Gen
eral Grant or that . of President
Hayes; .that of President Harrison Is
perhaps more distinctly remembered:
the enthusiasm that was created by
the vbdt of President Roosevelt
could not be dampened by the
heaviest downpour of April skies In
balmy. alubrlous. beautiful Oregon.
President Taft was fortunate in that
pleasant skies smiled Joyously upon
hint upon each occasion of hi visit
to the Pacific Northwest..
Patriotism is not gauged by num
bers nor I true hospitality measured
by the development and affluence of
the community. The very best that
the city afforded was rendered to
Grant and Hayes; to Harrison and
Roosevelt and Taft. each In his time
and according to the full measure of
the conception of the honor confer
red by the presence of the Chief
Magistrate of the Nation. The
pageant upon each of thee occas
ion fitly represented the apprecia
tion of our people of this honor not
In the spirit of hero-worship, bu in
the spirit of loyalty to the Nation and
honor to It head. The demonstra
tion on each of these occasions was
one worthy of our cltlxen. Upon
each the President was met with
open handed hospitality and sent on
his way rejoicing In all he saw and
heard, and with a definite estimate
of our state, city and cltlxens that
could not have been acquired at
second hand.
rKKMIKVr TAiT AS AX O RAT OK.
Any man who heard or read Pres
ident Taft's .pcech. delivered at the
Armory Wednesday night, must have
noted one quality which the Presi
dent possesses in an exceptional de
greecommon sense. With a few
plain words and homely Illustra
tions he sweeps away a mass of
rhetorical rubbish, figments of the
brain and stuff, that dreams are made
of. He ets a problem of supposed
Intricacy before people"s minds In such
naked simplicity that all can under
stand It. Yet he does this with such
kindliness, such absence of passion
and Invective that he leaves no
wounds among hi opponents and
win many of them to hi way of
thinking. He. could not do this if he
were not essentially honest nor if he
lacked that goodness of heart which
makes a, man careful not to wound
those with whom he differs.
Tet the President In stating a
proposition combines with the power
of simplicity a strength of clear analy.
sis which come from hi training as
a lawyer and a Judge. He strip the
trust question of all the sophistries of
tha law-dodging lawyer. financiers
and promoter, and reduce It to a
plain question of obedience to or de
fiance of the law of open competition
o.- monopoly. He brnshe aside a
unworthy of notice the whole mass
of Imaginary evils to follow upon dis
solution of the trusts and tells the
monopolists that thl must and shall
be done. He tell us that tariff re
vision must hereafter be based on
facts, not guesswork. His reasons for
vetoing the popgun tariff Bills are so
Instantly convincing that they draw
loud aprlause from rrte audience. He
expose to deserved ridicule the en
thusiasm of the ultra-conservatlon-Ists
of the East, who have wasted
their resources, and convince the
reason of both the East and West by
elucidating the principle for which
the West stand, of use combined with
conservation, of public benefit com
bined with private profit.
In no more effective way could the
absurdity of the objection to the
arbitration treaties be exposed than
by his depletion of the absurdities of
dueling. Against the Senate" stick
THE MORNING OREGONIAX, FRIDAY, wrrOBKK 13, 1911.
ing for Us prerogative he set the
main purpose of our Constitution
to preserve and promote the National
good. Against the alarm lest the
treaties should open the way to Asia
tic immigration he set the plain
principle of International law that
every nation Is supreme within Its
own borders. Against the glories of
war he sets its misery and waste. He
magnanimously credits his opponent,
Mr. Bryan, with one of the best fea
ture of the treaties. He offers the
Nation as an alternative for military
splendor the glory of leading the
nations of the world In the paths of
peace.
Mr. Taft la not a great orator in
the sense that he can stir the minds
of an audience Into a froth of fury
over a real or" Imagined wrong, but
he Is a great orator in the sense that
he can make his plea to an audience
In such a manner a to convince its
reason and win over an opponent.
He is an even greater orator than he
who appeals to passion, for reason
remain convinced long after passion
has cooled.
SEX HYGIENE IX THE Ft BUC SCHOOLS.
It will be necessary to proceed with
extreme care and with knowledge of
the subject on the part of teachers
that Is based upon careful study. If
sex hygiene Is to be introduced into
the public schools. If this subject Is
presented in a way that will strength
en the moral fiber of the young, im
press upon them the sacredness of the
sex function and teach them that their
bodies are temples which are either
pure or Impure as they themselves
shall decree, it is manifest that teach
ers must, receive special preparation
in order that they may so present it.
- The subject Is a grave one and one
in which Instruction is sorely needed.
Its presentment and elucidation more
properly belong to parents than to
teachers. But since there Is no prac
tical way In which the former in the
mass may be made to see and do their
duty, the work mus devolve upon
teachers.
There are matter of detail that
must be carefully considered and de
cided upon before a course in sex
hygiene is added to our public school
curriculum. In . the interval, while
physicians and physiologists are In
consultation with the School Board on
this Important matter, it will be well
for parents to give attention to their
duty in rendering "first aid." so to
speak, to their boys and girl upon
matters of such vital importance to
their physical and moral welfare.
Mothers owe this duty to their daugh
ters, fathers to their sons, and a coun
cil of two upon thl question In every
intelligent home where there are grow
ing sons and daughter cannot be
called too quickly, since. In the view as
expressed by some of our more promi
nent physician and state health offi
cers, definite Instruction of the young
in this city upon matters vital to their
health and morals Is already long
overdue.
SHERLOCK HOLMES.
It is said that Dr. Joseph Bell, an
emlne.it Scotch surgeon who died the
other day, was the man who inspired
Conan Doyle with the ideas which
finally led to the creation of the char
acter of Sherlock Holmes. Dr. Bell
wa a groat believer in the evidence of
circumstances, as of course a good
physician must- be. It la by means
of circumstances that he diagnose
his cases. A alight symptom here,
another there, put them together
and you make out a case of
diphtheria, typhoid fever, or what not.
But It seems that Dr. Bell pushed the
method farther than most doctors
ever dream of doing. By merely
glancing at a new patient when she
came into hi office, he could tell what
her ailment wa and where It was lo
cated In her body.
There was nothing miraculous in
this power. It arose simply from
acute observation combined with a
fine capability to reason logically from
effect to cause. Conan Doyle was a
student of Dr. Bell's, but the chance
are thnt if his preceptor had applied
his ratloclnative power to nothing but
medicine. Sherlock Holmes would
never have grown out of 1 1, The
truth is that Dr. Bell was a born de
tective a well as a great surgeon.
He loved to apply his principles to lit
tle episode of common life and bring
startling facta to light seemingly by
miracle. All that Conan Doyle had
to do wa to extend the system a lit
tle, create a character In whom it
would appear plausible, and the world
was possessed of Sherlock Holmes.
Potent a Dr. Bell' Influence may
have been on hi gifted pupil, we can
harly believe that Doyle owes hi pe
culiar story-telling method to no other
sources. The preternaturally acute
detective is no new character in lit
erature, and it stands to reason that
Doyle has been something of a reader
In the course of his life. The likeli
hood is that he, in common with most
other framers of detective stories,
owe a heavy debt to Poe, who used
the method with supreme skill before
anybody else In the English language.
Poe called the process "analytical."
His plan was to start from some
shocking event and gradually follow
back a train of minute circumstances
until he had demonstrated the cause
of it beyond all doubt. In one sense
of the word thl is perhaps analysis,
but the proper word for It is "syn
thesis," which means building up the
truth from separate element. The
most brilliant application the system
has ever received was in Euclid'
"Geometry,"- which reaches results by
building fact on fact. Just as Sher
lock Holmes attained to hi conclu
sions. When a person seta out to
prove the Pythagorean theorem, he
put fact and fact together time and
again In a connected train until finally
he gets his result..
The original master of the Sherlock
Holme method in modern literature
wa Voltaire.-from whom all subse
quent writers, have copied and whose
work ha never been Improved upon.
If the reader will turn to the classic
tale of "Zadig" he will find the pro
cesses of Sherlock Holmes employed
with classic skill. Zadig was ques
tioned by the King's servants about a
runaway horse. He replied by describ
ing the animal with minute accuracy.
"It is the horse which .run best. He
Is five feet high, has mall hoofs, his
tall is three teet and a half long, the
bosses on hi bit are of gold twenty
three karats fine, and his shoes are
silver of eleven - pennyweights." Of
course the servants Jumped to the
conclusion that Zadig must have seen
the horse and perhaps stolen him,
whereas In reality he never had set
eve on the beast. All this Intimate
knowledge he had gained by using his
eyes upon the marks the runaway had
made at various points In the roal.
As all readers of Fennlmore Cooper
know, the Indiana were famous pro
fessionals In the Sherlock Holmes
philosophy, and drew their conclusions
Just as Zadig did.
The question naturally comes up
why more use is not made of the Sher
lock Holmes brand of ability, seeing
that such surprising feats can be done
with it. In other words, why are we
all so suspicious, of circumstantial
evidence? There the circumstances
lie like the various points In a geomet
rical demonstration. Why do we not
put them together ana arnve dem
onstrative truth la human affairs.
Just a we do in proving the Pytha
gorean theorem? The answer Is easy.
If every officer of the law were a
Sherlock Holmes or a Zadig, we
should always follow Euclidian meth
ods to reach the truth, but. inasmuch
as most men are poor, fallible creat
ures whose mind cannot work sym
pathetically with any approach to-accuracy,
we put precious little depend
ence on circumstantial evidence. The
evidence Is not. to blame. It is the
men who have to construct the truth
from it whom we distrust, and very
wisely do we distrust Kiem. Circum
stances do not tell their own story,
nor are they naturally filled with
logic. The story must be deduced by
human brains and the logic must be
supplied by human faculties, so that
circumstantial evidence is subject not
only to all the fallibilities of direct
evidence, but to dozens more.
There is a man in the penitentiary
today who was accused of holding up
a person on the street. It Is alleged
by his friends that he himself was
held up, and that the robber, on hear
ing a slight alarm, stuck a revolver
Into the victim's pocket and ran away.
On the circumstantial evidence of the
revolver he was convicted and sen
tenced. We do upt know how true
this story Is. but the fact that it is in
circulation illustrate the popular at
titude toward circumstantial evidence.
Sound sense concurs that this attitude
is thoroughly Justified.
One good result of the Italian an
nexation of Tripoli will be the clos
ing of another slave market. There
Is good reason to believe the charge
that Turkey, In violation of treaty, has
allowed Tripoli to be the outlet of the
Central African slave trade. The clos
ing of this outlet and the occupation
of Morocco by France will reduce the
African slave dealers to smuggling,
for all the other African ports are oc
cupied or controlled by civilized pow
er which are leagued against slavery.
The Government scores again in its
war on trust by securing an order
for the dissolution of the electric
trust. The claims ' of the trust to
beneficent results are" falsified by the
exposure of its device for upholding
the price of lamps. Perversion of the
patent laws to the purposes of mo
nopoly also receives a blow. The de
cision will cause regret only where
like punishment for like offenses is
feared.
It 1 a genuine comfort to know that
the principal salesman of the fraudu
lent "wireless" stock is safe in Jail.
He alone sold Jl. 300, 000 of the stuff.
At a thousand dollars a man this Im
plies that he swindled 1300 simpletons
out of their cash. As soon as he gets
out of Jail he can go to the same men
and swindle them again. The victims
of the get-rlch-qulck schemer never
learn anything from experience.
Had some passenger in that Van
couver car where the bees made so
much trouble thought to throw a
shawl over the broken hive, nobody
would have been stung. It Is a rare
person who can think of the right
thing to do In an emergency, and his
usefulness is beyond all estimate. The
world values him so highly that he is
usually made a King or a policeman.
Unlike other aviators, who have
made fortunes by their flights,
Rodger will continue .his cross
country flight for the fun of the thing
and not for Hearst's 150.000. It is
refreshing to encounter such an ex
ample of love of sport for sport's sake
in these day of professionalism, even
when the sport Involves such Immi
nent risk to the sportsman's neck.
If It is not impertinent, we can sug
gest to Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman a name
for their girl baby which will fitly
commemorate the fact that it was
weighed for the, first time on the ice-
mans scales. Alice wouia pruuauu
not be quite true to fact. Bernlce
seem to Involve a contradiction in
terms. But what objection Is there
to Eunice?
The story or the United Wireless
Telegraph Company shows how much
real value an Investor in wildcat stock
gets for hi money. Of $4,000,000 re
ceived, only $900,000 went to the
company, the rest being divided
among the promoters. What the in
vestors really did was to donate for
tunes to the astute men who are now
wearing stripes.
Governor Forbes, of the Philippines,
shars honors with the Mayor of In
dianapolis as a breaker of corners in
food products. "While the latter flood
ed his local market with cheap pota
toes, the former went Into the rice
business against the Philippine com
bination and bothwon the fight.
It I less than a year since Fran
cisco Madero wa In Jail by order of
Diax. Now Madero is elected Presi
dent of Mexico and Diaz is a refugee
In Spain. How long will It be before
Madero's time come to go to Spain?
Marital Infelicity, pursues the pre
ent-day story writer. George Ran
dolph Chester, who writes so enter
tainingly of scientific and artistic
bunk, ha Just been divorced for tri
angular trouble.
There is Joy among women who
have shapely waist; for fashion will
allow their display. There is sorrow
among women who have none, for
fashion will require revelation of the
fact.
Many men cause amusement by
pretending to be sober, but a man
paid a fine in Municipal Court yester
day for trying to work it the other
way. He was a bad actor.
Senator Jeff Davis, the pride of the
hill billies, having three sons and four
daughters, entered the second lap
yesterday. The honeymoon will be
spent on the ('oast.
Councilman Baker will confer great
favor on womankind by making his
ordinance cover smoky stoves.
A move for future consideration will
be to stop smoking In elevators.
Stars and Star-Makers
Br I'.o Cm Baer.
Richard Carle, who adds to his ap
pellation a capitalized -Himself in the
same manner as does only one other
actor, Paul Gilmore and heaven only
knows why they do it unless It is to
fn.tm assurance In the breasts of their
rabble that they are still on the job-
Richard Carle will begin perpetrating
his -Jumping Jupiter" musical mess
i ennir,n ot th. AiiHitnrfum Theater
Friday evening. He leaves there
Saturday evening-for a Jump into Mon
tana and on across the Continent back,
ta New York.
...
Sam Bernard, who Is te come to
Portland next week. Is playing In Seat
tle now. His present vehicle Is "He
Came from Milwaukee," sent out by
the 6huberts.
. . .
It. isn't often that one actress goes
out of her way to say a kind word for
another. . Occasionally men who have
climbed high on the histrionic ladder
will generously throw a crumb in the
direction of a fellow worker, but for
some unexplalnable reason the actress
and particularly the successful act
ress has little or nothing kind to say
of her sister of the calcium.
Hence a note from Florence Roberts
that sty many mighty nice things
about Gertrude Hoffman comes as a
dcligntful .novelty. "Miss Hoffman,"
writes her admirer, "has undoubtedly
accomplished more in ten years than
any of the other California girls and
their name has been legion who have
taken up artistic careers. She is a
tremendous worker, and is wonder
fully ambitious and talented. I hope
Portland is good to her." Miss Roberts
naturally doesn't say one word about
the time, years ago, when Gertrude
Hoffman, then an ambitious amateur,
received her first words of encourage
ment and the prediction of the big fu
ture awaiting her, when unknown and
unheralded she sought an audience
with Miss Roberts, who was starring
with her husband, the late Louis Mor
rison. By the way. Miss Roberfs'
company is this week playing In Walla
Walla, Wash., In "Jim the Penman."
Miss Hoffman, who Is a sister of Mrs.
Marcus A. Delaliunt, of Po-.-tland, will
give the first of her series of Russian
ballet at the Helllg this evening.'
...
"Amateur night" has been started at
the Aloha Theater in Eugene, devoted
heretofore to "polite vaudeville," as the
billing reads. Starting Friday even
ing evidently not taking into con
sideration that it is Friday and the
13th at that the Aloha will Inaugurate
what will in the future be known as
"Amateur night at the Aloha." Says
the announcement:
"The Aloha Theater has gained the
reputation of being the classiest and
most up-to-date vaudeville house In
Oregon outside of Portland, and the
amateur night are to be added to the
long list of novel attractions always
appearing there.
"Three amateurs will be put on each
Friday night In addition to the reg
ular bill running, and anybody is ell
glble to appear. Applications for ama
teurs must be presented to the man
ager and they will be allowed to ap
pear In the order In which they come
to the limit of three each Friday night.
The winners of the amateurs is to be
Judged by the audiences; that is, the
amateur receiving The most applause
will be the winner, and so on.
"Each Friday night the winner, or
the one receiving the most applause.
will receive five dollars, and the sec
ond one will receive two dollars and
fifty cents.
-Aspirants of the footlights will
have an excellent opportunity to dls
play their various qualities, and should
get their applications in at once to be
assured of an early appearance."
No telling how many autobiographies
of future great lights of the mimic
world will begin, "I made my first ap
pearance on an amateur night In Eu
gene, Oregon," etc Tomorrow night
also ushers "The Flirting Princess," a
musical comedy. Into Eugene. This
production Is headed Portland way,
playing here next week at the Helllg.
"The House Next Door" (last week at
the Baker Theater) played Eugene last
Tuesday evening, en route south.
...
"Baby Mine" is playing In Seattle.
...
"Bright Eyes," the musical comedy
sent out by Joseph M. Galtes with Cecil
Leon and Florence Holbrook in the title
role. Is playing Seattle this week.
1 ....
Belasco and Mayer of San Francisco
have a road company in "The Girl of
the Golden West" now touring Cali
fornia. This week it is playing In Sac
ramento. ...
That old standby "In Old Kentucky"
coming to the Baker Theater Sunday
afternoon to open a week's engage
ment, is this week-end playing Vic
toria, B. C.
...
One week from last evening Max
Dill coms to the Helllg Theater. Max
has for his offering "TheR!ch Mr. Hog
genhelmer." Tonight he is playing at
Chlco, CaU tomorrow evening" at Red
Bluff: then his tour takes in Ashland,
Medford, Eugene and Salem before he
hits' us.
Miss Nobody of Starland," the mu
sical comedy we saw awhile back at
the Helllg, played last night in Doug
las, Ariz. Today It Jumps Into El
Paso, and then follows a tour all over
Texas, into Louisiana, Mississippi and
down to New Orleans on November 5.
...
Rose Melville Is headed in this direc
tion farewelllng a la Sarah Bernhardt
once more. The week of November
4 Miss "Sis Hopkins" play Denver,
then she cuts across lots to get to
us around holiday time.
...
"The Country. Boy," Edgar Selwyn's
big play of New Tork life, arrives here
November 9, coming from California,
where Just now It is making one-night
stands. Tonight it plays Visalia. to
morrow night Bakersfleld, then Ven
tura, Oxnard, Los Angeles, where it
will stay the week of the 16-2L "The
Country Boy" appeared In San Fran
cisco the week of October 2-8-...
"The Spring Maid," which will , be
with us on October 29 for a week's
housing at the Helllg. opens in Oak
land Monday for a week' engagement,
then Jumps to Seattle for the week be
ginning October 23, comes down here
for a week and plays a return' en
gagement at Seattle for a -eek be
ginning November S. (
MR- WILSON WAXTS KEASOX. 1
Cervalll Maw Xot Slngle-Taxer t'w
! He I Coavlaeed.
CORVALLIS, .Or Oct. 10. (To the
Editor.) I notice that .The Orego-
nian says that the Fels agency - for
propagating the single-tax doctrine in
Oregon has $25,000 per- year for such
work, and that this fund finds its way
to the writers on the single tax, tnus
and so.
In Benton Conuty. where I have as- .
slsted in making the assessment for
some time, it makes very little dif
ference to the rank and file of tax
payers whether or not we have the
single tax. But there are a number
of large property owners to whom it
does make all the difference in the
world. There is no doubt but what a
single-tax law will make the large
landowner pay a heavier tax. What
ever value the community has created
is to be taxed according to its value,
and that will undoubtedly catch my
large landowning friends.
I wish to register here my attitude
on this question. At the present time
I do not favor the single tax. I would
vote against it today. I expect to vote
against it next year unless some good
reason is shown why I should vote for
It. It is up to the single taxers to ad
vance those reasons. I will admit
that I read and re-read an article a
year or so ago on this subject by Mr.
Fels. and it seemed to me then to con
tain the germ of a great economic
truth, but "mature reflection on the
subject discards his reasoning. I have
not been affected by reason of num
bering among my personal friends a
number of the large landowners in
Benton and other counties of Oregon.
That has nothing to do with it. Up
to this time the single-tax idea has
not advanced sufficient reason for me
to vote for the single tax.
I do believe, however, that the idea
Is growing among th- people. Several
persons whom I would 2atu:"auy sup
pose to be conservative and to hold a
different view, have admitted to me
that, if they were voting now, they
would vote in favor of the single tax.
It does not appear to be a partisan
question. Naturally a Republican, as
I claim to be, would attribute a freak
idea like this single tax to Democrats
and expect to find its advocates of
that political complexion, but it is not
so. There seem to be as many Re
publican as Democratic advocates of
this single tax.
Persons who would like' to pile up
the taxes on the large landowner until
he'would be glad to part with his land
to avoid excessive taxes, nevertheless,
balk at the idea of personal property
escaping taxation. Why. they ask,
should the tax be taken off of a mer
chant's goods, off of a bank's stock, off
of a man's herd of cattle, off of any
personalty in fact? I will confess that
I cannot see any reason why the tax
should be so taken off this class of
personal property.
The tax on money, notes and ac
counts, which is more or less of a dead
letter anyway, might properly be taken
off of the class of personalty. Anything
which tends to obstruct the free use of
money or of credit is a hindrance, and
any tax on money, notes or accounts
does obstruct Its free use. In arrang
ing the taxes for Benton County for
1910. the tax on money, notes ana
accounts was intentionally emitted.
The same for 1911. I suppose it will
be the same in 1912. Out of about
$3,000,000 of record loaned on mort
tratres in Benton County in 1909, but
$79,000 was found by the Assessor. Out
of over $1,000,000 on deposit in the
banks of the county, only $26,000 was
found by him. What's the matter?
The Assessor was dlllg-nt. He did
ask the questions on his blank about
money, notes ai.d accounts. But that
was what he found. To assess either
money or notes under such circum
stances looked more or less ridiculous,
and the Assessor very properly omit
ted this class of personal property
thereafter. Other counties have line
wise omitted money, notes and ac
counts. Benton is not alone in taking
cognizance of the dead-letter features
of that Dart of the tax law.
It would be proper for the. Legisla
ture, or -for an initiative measure be
fore the people, to repeal tne money
note and account feature of the pres-
ert tax law. but in other respects we
are fairly well off.
There is ona aspect of this single tax
which seems to invite close attention.
It mle-ht even be Dossible to incorpor
ate some feature of It in the law with
out doing violence to the main tax law
we now have. It is this: In the Wil
lamette Valley, and possibly elsewhere
in Oregon, there is some movement to
invite newcomers into the country.
Literature is Bpread abroad inviting
settlers. Boards of trade and commer
cial clubs vie with one another as to
which can make the most remarkable
claims for their particular section of
the country. Generally the tacts at
large are suppressed. Put the best
font forward. lenore the disadvan-
show un the advantages. It is
liira trvltic to a mine from speci
mens, not from the general average of
Its contents. Specimens eaten sucnero,
hut minincr men know the difference.
A man of my acquaintance, my nearest
neighbor, in fact, was excited by the
roseate claims concerning this country
n! fumn here from Ohio. Within a
week or so he will return to Ohio, and
it is certain that he will not bear tes
timony to all that is printed of this
country. And he' will be Hunt. The
disadvantages should be shown as well
as the advantages. During a portion
of the year in Corvallis. you can
scarcely get a hand for any kind of
labor for love or moneij When the
rush Is over, there are months on
months when there are idle men. It Is
useless to say men can always get
work and will work. It is not true,
as many men here during the inter
will testify. .
Now. the extravagant claims made
for the country do bring large numbers
of settlers. On the last two grists I
think this county got less than a dozen.
Now why? Why are not more new
comers settling here? WelL one reason
Is that, when they get here, this land
they were expecting to buy at $20 and
$30 an acre is held by the owner at
$50, $75 and $100 an -acre, just accord
ing to its location and the character of
Its soil. As a man said to me last week
when the Hill road was trying to ne
gotiate with him for right of way in a
county east of the Willamette River,
-I want $200 an acrefor my six acres
they take, and a sidetrack." But I said:
"Th land is not worth it, has never
been worth it. will not be worth any
thing like that amount when the road
Is built." "Well. I want It. and I am
going to hold for $200."
Four or five years ago a party was
glad to offer his 1000-acre farm for $40
an acre. Now he wants $50 an acre
for the bare ground. It actually pro
duces about 2 per cent on that valua
tion. ,
The fact is that the large land-owners
fall Into line with the small land
owners when It comes to valuing their
tracts of land. But when It comes to
assessing tliem they want a different
construction placed on their acres.
They are then in a different class. Ihe
land Is not worth it, they claim, when
the assessor proposes $30 valuation, yet
they unblushingly hold to $50 an acre
when it comes to a sale, or to higher
values. " , . ,,,
Now, undoubtedly, the single tax will
catch all such. The land cannot get
away. The law will be precise, and
will- be enforced, and the large land
owning person will be compelled to
part with his acres, or pay a tax which
will soon takethe land itself. It looks
to me like confiscation, and any law
which, in effect, confiscates property
values seems to me to be a bad law.
That is why I expect to vote against It.
Will some one please give a reason
why I should vote for n?
County Town Sayings by Ed Howe
The men who are bound for the front
do not wait for New Year to make a
start.
- .-
It may be all right in poetry to rave
over a Grecian nose, but in every-day
life the nose to admire is the nose that
is kept out of other people"s business.
I have many important ideas, but
when I attempt to tell them, some man
jumps in and tells of unimportant no
tions that have occurred to him. Peo
ple are so impolite about interrupting.
By the time a girl learns that the
men don't mean the nice things they
say to her, they quit saying them.
When a farmer gets gout it is from
over-indulgence in cove oyster soup,
and from drinking too much coffee.
Every boy is ambitious to catch a
fish so big that it will put htm Into the
creek.
PrArv mjtn claims to consider both
sides of a question, but no man dares.
Every man has a notion that his
"principles" are better than those of
other people.
After a girl passes twenty-six or
twenty-seven, she might as well marry;
she will fade, anyway.
Walk toward a big mirror, and ten to
one you will remark that you have a
more awkward walk than you im
agined. A Souvenir of Slave Days.
Westchester N. Y.) County Magazine.
Between the years 1830-61 there
hung In the St. Charles Hotel. Wash
ington. D. C. a sign bearing these
words:
"The proprietor of the hotel has
roomy underground cells for confining
slaves for safekeeping, and patrons are
are notified that their negroes will be
well cared for, and in case of an escape
the full value of the negro as set by
the owner will be paid by the pro
prietor." The hotel stood on Pennsylvania ave
nue and was for years the headquarters
of the prominent slaveholders of the
South, likewise it was the home of" the
leading statesmen of those days.
There were 11 of these cells, each
built to hold 25 full grown men. Here
these men were detained until the
owner or owners were ready to depart
with their human property to their own
plantations or to the slave markets of
the. South.
Another Bis Squaf.h.
FOREST GROVE, Or., Oct. 10. (To
the Editor.) In the Oregonian of Octo
ber 9, I wrote an account of a Hubbard
squash grown by Thomas Gallagher,
of Gold Hill. I have one here that came
up as a seedling in the hard ground
that I drove over all Spring. The
ground has not been cultivated for sev
eral years, and this squash weighs 84
pounds, and it has been off the vines
over two weeks. As I had occasion to
move a building and it was in the way,
I tore up the vine and rolled it to one
Bide. It is not near ripe. I believe if
I had left it it would have weighed 100
pounds. H. J. WRIGHT.
Advice From Rome.
PORTLAND, Oct. 10. (To the Edi-
. T.i ih. TTnitoH RtfltPfl PVer Bflk
l " 1 7 . " " - "
advice of the Pope of Rome?
T. W. ANDREWS.
The Government had official corre
spondence with the Pope in the settle
ment of the Philippine question, which
involved church property and derange
ment of church and state. Suggestions
from the Vatican were probably re
ceived and considered.
Lumbering at Bend.
pil.I.S CITY. Or.. Oct. 10. (To the
Editor.) Kindly pubjish the name of
the lumber company located at Bend,
0r. A SUBSCRIBER.
The larger of the two lumber mills
at Bend Is owned by the Bend Com
pany. .
Carnegie Hero Fund.
OREGON CITY, Or., Oct. 11. (To
the Editor.) Will you please give ad
dress and name of person in charge of
Carnegie hero fund? . SUBSCRIBER.
F. W. Wilmot, secretary Carnegie
Hero Fund Commission, Pittsburg, Pa,
ALOXE WITH NATURE.
Instead of some fine palace where
I'd have the gods that are and were.
The mighty ones, give me
A cave in some rough mountain side,
A few sticks kindled there:
And strength whereby I might provide
Rough garb and lenten fare.
There might I hear the gush divine.
The fern-clad mountain rill.
Its first glad cascade sparkling fine
My earthen pitcher fill:
There might I see the morn herself.
Blue spaces and me between,.
In crimson clad, in some dark shelf.
Delighted, laugh and lean. I
The day. too, then might I behold
Striding across the sky.
His league-long sandals, burnished
gold.
Glittering gloriously;
Lone might I watch the grand sunsets.
And miles and miles away
.The reds, the golds and violets
Slow fading into gray.
The moontoo, might I often mark
From steep to steep up-climb.
Shedding on' startled cloud and dark,
Glory and calm sublime; -
Hear, might I too as ne'er before,
When starlight scarcely shines.
The lost winds murmuring evermore
Among the mountain pines.
And oh, how splendid 'twould be when
Gone wild in its career
Some tempest raged safe in my den
Wide-eyed, to sit and hear:
Or. ere I turned me round to sleep,
Safe to my cave mouth go.
And .watch some mighty rain etorro
weep
The valley far below.
Alone with nature: on, twouia oe
Joy to this heart of mine,
A sister in the birch to see,
A brother in the pine:
To live with them and learn their
speech
And watch the mountain sod
In Spring, flower-spangled, try to
reach
Up to the throne of God.
ROY WESLEY ASBURT.
Ocean Park, Wash.
"Will O' Wisp.
Dainty little day dreams.
Whither have you flown?
.Have the fairies stolen you
For their very own?
Life to me is drear now.
Since you went away; ' .
Once it was so cheery
All the livelong day.
Rosy dream of future.
Fame and love and Joy,
Are you dead? No, never!
Are you only coy?
Hiding like the sunbeams, T
Just to make me Bad?
Come back to my lonely ,'
Heart and make me glad.
Jo Hartman.