TTTE MOT? XING . OREGOXIAN, MONDAY, OCTOBER 1G. 1911.
6
PORTLAND. OREGON-
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rORIXAVDL MONDAY. OCTOBER 1. 11L.
OREf-OX- CAMPAIGN FOR TAFT.
The Republicans of Oregon are
favorable to the. renomlnatlon and re
election of President TafL A full and
lair expression of sentiment among
them would. In the opinion of The Ore.
fronUin. rveal a definite and em
phatic purpose to support the Presi
dent in the coming April Presidential
preference primary and In the ensu
ing November election. Confidence
In President Taft. and a genuine and
obvious satisfaction with his person
ality, his policies and hi administra
tion, are confined to no single ele
ment or body of Republicans. He has
r.ot adopted the extreme views nor
met the radical expectations of the
so-called Insurgents; nor has he heed
ed the let-us-alone admonitions of
the reactionaries. He Is a progres
sive Republican who has been Influ
enced In the formation of his admin
istrative plans by no consideration of
Ills own personal or political fortunes,
but by an unwavering purpose-to pro
mote the common benefit. He has
elienated friends among the insur
gents and the regulars; he has made
enemies among the- factions and
trroups that have their own reasons
for supporting other men and other
measures: but he has steered an even
and straightforward course and has
wrested from unwilling mouths the
commendation that he has striven
Jioncstly itnd fearlessly and has done
well.
The appointment of a Taft cam
paign committee of prominent Oregon
cltlsens who will undertake the
work of carrying on the Taft cam
paign for the forthcoming Presiden
tial primary ! a sign of the times.
The committee Is made up of well
known citizens who are all Republi
cans without any prefixes. If they
have had differences of opinion as to
the desirability or practicability of
this or that party policy, they have
none as to the Importance and even
the necessity of bringing about the
re-election of a Republican President
and of the merits and availability of
Mr. Tft as a candidate. They are
for Taft. They believe In him. They
appreciate his great abilities, high
character and honest worth. He Is
entitled to the country's confidence,
end It should be made manifest In
Oregon next year. The hearty and
united response offered by the mem
bers of the Taft committee to the In
vitation to direct the campaign Is
gratifying evidence of the enthu
siastic interest felt In the Taft can.
rlidacy by all members of the party
whom the committee so conspicuously
represents.
The Oregon plan of direct nomina
tions provides that there shall be an
outright vote in the respective party
primaries for candidates for President
and Vice-President. The Republicans
and Democrats of the state and per
haps other parties on April 19, 1912.
will express their preference as to the
men to fill these great offices. The
open primary gives the voice of the
party free opportunity to declare
whom Its delegates shall support in
National convention. Each delegate
1 firmly bound by oath to carry out
"to the best of his Judgment and abil
ity, the wb-hes of his political party
expressed by the voters at the time
of his election." It Is Inconceivable
that any delegate should seek or wish
to violate his official pledge. It Is
not important, then, who may be
elected delegate to any convention:
for the principal question the names
ft the nominees for President and
Vice-President Is determined by the
voters themselves; and the delegate
2ms no alternative.
The prime Issue being the candi
dacy of Mr. Taft In the Republican
primary, the Taft committee will
doubtless devote Its effort to a cam
paign of education and organization
throughout Oregon in his behalf. It
is announced that committees will be
formed In the various counties. They
will serve the general cause there, in
conjunction with the central body.
The naming of the Portland group Is
but a preliminary step In the general
scheme.
The Taft campaign in Oregon has
been successfully launched. It la to
be carried forward by men who are
known to be disinterested, who have
no axes of their own to grind, who are
embarrassed by no entangling alli
ances with any political machine and
who will be zealous In performing a
public service for the sole reason that
they think it should be' performed.
MTCKKAKIMt RVNfl ITS COVRSK.
Reform for revenue only, which is
a fairly correct definition of muck
raking, has been found by the maga
zines not to pay- Some of them are
being absorbed by others: still more
are being sold to syndicates, which
are torlng them down to the point of
making them harmless, respectable
and dull mere purveyors of Inferior
literature. They completed the work
of self-discredit by organizing a trust
on the lines of those very trusts they
had been denouncing and thereby
fell foul of the very law for the
enforcement of which they had been
t lamoring.
The history of magaxine muckrak
ing Is the history of a good work car
ried to extremes. When a few of the
magazines branched out into the dis
cission of the evils of missovernment.
of boss rule, of business Influence In
politics, of trusts and tariff, the inno
vation was welcomed and these maga
zines built up surprising circulations.
Put these pioneers, while not hesitat
ing to state plain and startling truths,
were careful as to facts and reason
ably moderate In tone. Their success
encouraged imitators who atrovo to :
attract attention in the growing crowd
of muckrakera by violence and Intem
perance In language and statement and
by carelessness as to facts. They
throve mightily for a while, but the
public tired of their hlghly-splced
dishes and turned to more homely
fare.
The public began to class yellow
magazines with yellow Journals and
conceived a distaste for both. Their
circulation dwindled, they ran on
financial rockj and combined to raise
.-1 w TKo m f a n . r f salvntinn llOt
proving efficacious for the imitators,
they combined in syndicates with
other publications. No longer direct
ed by the strong personality of a
ingle, though misguided, individual,
they are now under the timid, color
less rule of a board of directors hav
ing regard only for the selling power
of the output. The quality of the
fiction and general literature they
published has deteriorated to such a
degree that, the market for their
muckraking articles having died
away, little excuse for their existence
remains except In the desire of those
who only want "something to read,"
no matter whether it be good or bad.
This la not to say that there is not
a field for magazines of the type of
those which first took up the work
of reform before It degenerated into
muckraking. A magasine canlnves
tlgate public questions with a thor
oughness which Is not possible for a
newspaper; It can secure readers for
an article the length of which would
cause It to be ignored If published In
a dally newspaper. But in order to
fill this field it must have a strong
directing personality, who will take up
a good cause because it Is right, not
solely because there is money In It;
who will not distort facts to pander to
prejudice; who will live up to a stand
ard of good literature throughout his
pages, not "feature" one or two sen
sational articles and fill in with
trashy short stories. The person who
wants "something to read" will enjoy
it all the better If it is good literature
and will cultivate a taste for more of
the same kind. The editor who as
sumes that he must publish tranh
merely because a certain number of
people will read it must remember
that a hungry man to whom dry bread
is offered would like it better if it
were spread with butter.
IDITAROD HARKS BACK.
Return to use of gold dust as money
take one back to the times when
every merchant had his scales and
weighed the uncoined gold and silver
given in payment for his wares and
tested then as to purity. Aa the
Id it a rod miners are accused of mixing
black sand and brass filings with their
gold and the merchants are accused
of spilling some of the- gold and ap
propriating it. so tricks were played
In ancient times which led merchants
to stamp pieces of gold with declara
tions of their weight and fineness.
Thus were the first coins made,
but there was such J confusion In
the size, shape and purity of privately
minted coins that the state tooji upon
itself the duty of coining money. The
scarcity of coin and paper currency
at Idltarod has taken that town back
to conditions which existed in ancient
Greece before the time of Herodotus,
but by sending to the United States
its gold in exchange for coin and cur
rency, Idltarod can quickly return to
the 20th century.
It is by such forced recurrence to
first principles that we are reminded
of the real nature of money and the
hazy ideas born of centuries of cus
tom are blown away like fog. If we
would recur to first principles In other
things, as circumstances have forced
Iditarod to do, and would adhere
closely to them, many of the complex
problems of civilization would be
come simple and we should frequently
avold wandering from the right path.
RAILROAD TERMINAL NKEDS.
The great trunk railroads of the
Kart find themselves confronted by
an expansion of their traffic beyond
the capacity of their terminal facili
ties to handle It. The New York Cen
tral, while building a 110,000.000 pas
senger terminal at New York, has
proposed the construction of a new
freight terminal to cost 15.000.000.
The Pennsylvania had not completed
Its New York terminal at a cost of
$113,000,000, Including tunnels, when
Chicago, Philadelphia and New York
began making demands for enlarged
terminals.
In fact. American cities are grow
ing too large to carry on all their
traffic by rail unless they introduce
extensive economies In the use of the
area they now occupy, by which It can
be made to handle more traffic. Pos
sibly this was one point which L. D.
Brandels had In mind when he said
he could show where the railroads
could save 1. 000. 000 a day. Mr.
Hawley may have indicated one way
out of the difficulty when, instead of
enlarging his St. Louis terminals, he
substituted a trolley system for trucks
In loading and unloading freight cars
nd thereby increased the number of
cars handled on a given mileage of
yard track in a given time.
The railroads have been the means
of Increasing their own troubles.
They have stimulated the growth of
great cities, which has vastly in
creased the volume of their traffic.
This Increased traffic has created a
demand for larger terminals, which
necessitates the purchase of great
tracts of land in or near these cities.
But the growth of the cities stimulat
ed by the railroads has Increased land
values so enormously as to tax the
financial resources of the railroads.
The railroads may find that the
only escape from this dilemma is to
encourage the development of greater
use of waterways. With our rivers
deepened and locked and connected
by canals and adequate water termi
nals constructed on their banks, the
great volume of heavy freight which
pays the railroads low rates could be
transferred to the water. Such freight
as building material. Iron and other
ore, coal and steel, could be carried
more economically by water. The rail
roads would be left free to carry only
the higher-class freight, which would
pay them a higher rate per ton per
mile. The blockade in their terminals
would be relieved by the elimination
of whole tralnloads of heavy, low-class
freight and the higher rate received
by the high-class freight remaining
would offset the constantly-growing
value of the land occupied on which
railroads must earn Interest. Such a
policy would be in line with that of
the owner of city real estate, who
tears down a two-story .building and
erects one of ten or twelve stories in
order to earn Interest on the en
hanced value of the site.
Waterways have long been regarded
as the means by which shippers may
escape the exactions of the railroads.
Tbey may vet be regarded by the rtUl-
roads as their salvation from the de
mands of a traffic which is growing
beyond both their physical and finan
cial capacity to carry.
Sl PREJIB JISTICE HARLAN.
In the death of John M. Harlan the
United States Supreme Court loses
one of its strongest figures. Even
though one may not agree with his
dissenting opinions, one must admire
the Independence and courage which
led him to dissent. What the people
desire in their highest tribunal is not
only deep legal learning, but the com
bination with it of sound common
sense, independence of thought, and
a degree of statesmanship which will
interpret the law and Constitution In
harmony 'with the spirit of the times
and with economic conditions. In the
exercise of these qualities the court
needs to be animated by a single
minded patriotism which will rise
high above bias, prejudice or personal
or political advantage. tSuch qualities
were displayed in general by Judge
Harlan.
The selection of a successor to
Judge Harlan gives President Taft
an opportunity still further to make
over the Supreme Court. His own
Judicial experience, his sympathy with
popular aspirations and his proved
soundness of opinion on current prob
lems were displayed In the selection
of Justices Lurton, Hughes, Van De
vanter and Lamar and the elevation
of Justice White to be Chief Justice.
His Judgment has been sustained by
the trend of recent decisions on im
portant cases and by their approval
by all except extremists. That he
will show equal wisdom in selecting
Judge Harlan's successor we con
fidently believe.
President Taft enjoys the unique
distinction of having the appointment
of a majority of the Supreme Court.
Of the nine Justices he has already
appointed four and the appointment
to fill the present vacancy will make
the fifth. Mr. Taft and his predeces
sor, who have been committed to
certain policies involving litigation be
fore the court of most vital Im
portance, will have filled seven of the
nine places on the bench. Mr. Taft
has also placed the seal of his ap
proval on the appointment In 1894 of
Justice White by making him the
presiding Judge. The remaining one
of the nine is Justice McKenna, ap
pointed by President McKinley in
1897.
The death of Justice Harlan re
moves the oldest membeV of the
court. Of the survivors, the oldest is
Justice Holmes, aged 70. Chief Jus
tice White and Justices McKenna,
Day and Lurton are in their 60's. Jus
tices Van Devarter and Lamar' in
their EO's, and Justice Hughes, the
youngest of all, is 49. As supreme
judges go. It Is a youthful bench.
NEW YORK'S SWOLLEN TOPVLATION.
New York State Is steadily becoming
a state of cities and towns where the
only use for the country is to fill up
the intervening spaces. Of the total
population of 9.113.614 in the year.
7,185,494 lived In cities and towns and
1,928,120 In the remainder of the
state: that Is, 78.8 lived in the cities
and only 21.2 in. the country. How
great is the drift from country to city
Is Illustrated by the, difference in per
centages of increase in 1910 over 1900.
While the Increase for the whole state
was 25.4. that for the urban terri
tory was 34.3 per cent, and that for
rural territory .e per ceni. .-sew ion
City, that enormous hive of Industry,
misery and luxury, increased 38.7
per cent, but other places of over 100,
000 gained only 22.4 per cent. The
smaller cities of 25,000 to 100.000 are
growing faster, their rate of increase
being 33.8, and those of 2500 to 25.
000 have a slight advantage, their
percentage being 24.8. Of the state's
total Increase in population less than
one per cent was contributed by rural
territory.
Of the 61 counties. 46 have in
creased their population, the smallest
increase being .4 per cent In Cattarau
gus and the largest. 88.3 per cent, in
Schenectady. Fifteen counties show a
decrease, which ranges from .1 in St.
Lawrence to 11.6 In Hamilton. Rural
population decreased in 38 counties,
urban population In only five coun
ties. How great Is the influence of New
York City on every feature of the sta
tistics fci apparent. It contains more
than half the population of the state
and almost two-thirds of the entire
urban population. The increase In the
proportion of urban population Is al
most wholly due to that city, the ratio
for the combined urban population
outside New York City being almost
stationary. New York City has in
creased In population about one and
one-half times as rapidly as the state
as a whole, and contributed almost
three-fourths of the state's entire in
crease during the last decade. Cities
having between 25.000 and 100,000
population Increased about one and
one-third times as fat as the whole
state, while those of 100,000 or over,
exclusive of New York City, Increased
a little lest rapidly than the state as
a whole.
A study of these figures will
convince the most casual reader
that there is ample room forathe back-to-the-farm
movement in New York
State and ample explanation for the
high cost of living. When four-fifths
of the people of a state move into
town and leave the other fifth to pro
duce food for them they must expect
to pay more or goi without some
things.
ANOTHER TRIST T1IROTT1 JJ1.
The decree dissolving the electric
lamp trust will have the effect of
destroying a network of trusts .tan
gled together as close as a bunch of
snakes, and will deal a deathblow to
the practice of fixing the price at
whtch an article is to be sold all the
way from manufacturer to retailer,
which has been Increasing in vogue
among the trusts. It will also stop
the practice of using a patent to serve
the ends of monopoly.
The electric lamp trust shut out
competition by compelling manufac
turers of Its supplies to refuse to sell
to any other lamp manufacturer. It
continued Its monopoly In the a!e of
certain articles long after the patent
had expired by refusing to sell a
dealer patented articles unless he
bought his entire supply or the first
mentioned articles from the trust. It
forced dealers to sell its goods at
prices dictated by it under penalty of
being driven out of the business. Its
tyranny thua reached all along the
line from the producer of raw mate
rial to the consumer of the finished
product, its object being to create a
monopoly and to . obtain . extortionate
prices for its products.
This far-reathlng combination has
v-close. parailtsl la the plumbing busi
ness of Portland, which is ruled by
three trusts bound together In a triple
alliance. The supply men contract to
sell only to members of the employ
ing plumbers' association, who in
turn agree to buy only from the sup
ply trust. On the other hand, mem
bers of the employing plumbers' as
sociation agree to employ only mem
bers of the plumbers' union and mem
bers of the plumbers' union agree to
work only for members of the em
ploying plumbers' association. By
this means the public is compelled to
pay three prices for plumbing.
If the truth were known, It has prob
ably been paying three prices for
electric lamps.
Trust magnates have been very
ready with-explanations of the high
cost of living, their favorite scapegoat
being increase in consumption out of
proportion to increase in production
of the necessaries of life. This cause
may be responsible for part of the
Increase In prices, but when Attorney
Oeneral Wickersham has completed
his present campaign against the
trusts we shall know better to what
extent high prices are due to trust
manipulation 'and to what extent they
are due to economic law. .
The movement to provide suitable
and adequate quarters for young
women In attendance upon the State
University at Eugene Is commendable.
It Is under the auspices of the Epis
copal Church, and an effort will be
made to provide at moderate cost
Ideal living arrangements for all out-of-town
women students who do not
care to assume the responsibilities of
sorority ritualism or who may not
have an opportunity to do so. A sim
ilar hall, but one totally Inadequate
to the number of young women who
attend the university, is maintained
by the state, but for years past many
young women have found It praoi
tically impossible to secure accommo
dations suited to their needs and cir
cumstances In Eugene. The state has
been remiss In this matter. It has
housed the young men who attend the
university in a suitable and adequate
dormitory, leaving the young women,
in the main, to get such boarding and
rooming accommodations as they
could find in city homes. The process
is all wrong. The action of the Epis
copal Church, as above noted, comes
In response to the request of many
mothers who hesitate to send their
daughters to the State University, be
cause they are by no means certain
of finding for them suitable and
pleasant places to live while pursuing
their studies. The building contem
plated will add greatly to the popu
larity and prosperity of the State Uni
versity as a co-educatlonal institution,
in which the interests of young
women are properly guarded.
The census report on Irrigation in
Oregon in 1909 takes the ground from
under the feet of Director Newell of
the Reclamation Service, who said
that land wa not put under cultiva
tion as fast s irrigated. The capacity
of all Irrigation plants in the state in
1910 was 830,526 acres and the area
under irrigation In 1909 was 686,129.
acres, a difference of 144,397, from
which must be deducted the new
acreage put under irrigation in 1910.
If Mr. Newell will supply the water,
farmers will be forthcoming to put It
on the land.
Yellowjacketa are more plentiful. It
Is said, than for many years past. At
least they are more persistent In their
raids upon the fruits of orchard and
vineyard. At this statement the
hoary prognosticator rises up and
with wise wagglngs of the head de
clares that this is an unfailing sign
of "a hard Winter."
A few yearn ago bonanza farming
in the Dakota seemed remarkable,
but the industry in the Inland Empire
gets into the commonplace. For that
reason the sale of part of the Drum
heller crop of bluestem wheat for
$82,500 receives passing notice.
Klamath Falls, with possibly 5000
population, has three dally papers.
Anywhere else this would be a great
strain on commercial life, but Klam
ath Falls business men believe in ad
vertising. One man won all the cash prizes on
potatoes displayed at the recent Linn
County Fair. That Is the kind of
man Oregon needs. As Puddinhead
Wilson said, "he puts all his eggs into
a basket and watches that basket."
No sooner does- the housewife fin
ish preserving fruit for the-Winter
and reduce her demand for sugar to
the minimum than the price of sugar
goes down. What's the use of cheap
sugar when you don't use much of it?
If the Chinese revolutionists carry
out their intention to make their
government, like that of the United
States, will they Include all the mod
ern Improvements woman's suffrage
and all?
It Is In harmony with the Portland
6plrit that the new Public Library is
to be built without outside aid and
largely from the increased value of
the present site, just gold.
The depravity of the Hill murderer
is almost equalled by that of the
boys who conspired to fasten the
crime on an innocent man for the
sake of the reward.
Resources of the banks of the coun
try are .reported to be a billion
dollars greater than a, year ago. but
that is little comfort to the man with
a proposition.
There always seems to be direct
connection between divorce proceed
ings and women who have pictures
taken very much decollete.
Old John R. Walsh, out of Jail. Is
renorted aa intending to go into busi
ness again. If he does, he will be a
mighty sane banker.
Baseball fans will about have laid
their rooting voices up for repairs
when football fans get theirs in work
ing order.
With 33,000 acres near Prineville
restored to entry, there will be some
thing doing in Crook County by and
by.
r ' '
To keep out bubonic plague. Seattle
orders alleys to be paved. This ac
tion is rough on rats.
The Taft campaign committee of
Oregon Is made up of men who get
results.
Iditarod appears to be
money t move ..the crop,
short of
REPLY TO MR. HENRY IS MADE
W. S. t'Ren lurjnt, Vanconver Tax Sys
tem Promotn Growth.
OREGON CITY, Or., Oct. 14. (To the
Editor.) I beg to submit an answer to
the letter by Mr. Henry on the single
tax In Vancouver In The Oregonian of
October 12.
Single-taxers claim that the exemp
tion of personal property and Improve
ments from city tax has been an im
portant factor In causing the wonder
ful growth of Vancouver. B. C, and
in forcinar Victoria last year to allow
j the same exemption. They believe that
mis exemption tenas to inauue mi,.-
ers to build on their property in Van
couver who otherwise might continue
! to hold It unimproved. Mr. Henry does
I not evoress an nnlnion on this Question.
I suppose everyone who has paid any
attention to tjie subject knows that
British Columbia tries to tax every-
j thing for state purposes. Just as Oregon
does.
As to Mr. Henry's doctor who has
$200,000 in loans: Instead of demanding
that men pay taxes In proportion to
their ability to pay. or In proportion
to the protection they receive, why not
require them to pay taxes in propor
tion to the value of the opportunity
the government furnishes them? That
is the principle on which Mr. Henry
rents his buildings. The doctor he
speaks of is well able to pay 100 times
as much rent as some of the tenants
are paying, but llr. Henry would not
think of asking him any more rent
for an office than he would ask the
poorest young doctor in town. One
man may be able to pay a thousand
times as much as another for a street
car ride, but the company demanils ex
actly the same price from each, thoiiKti
in one cace it may be the mans latt
nickel. Many a cripple needs and re
ceives from the government very much
more protection than Mr. Henry does,
but he does not pay 1-1000 part as-much
for it In the form of taxes.
The owners of the old shack fire
traps adjoining Mr. Henry's beautiful
building on Fourth street are using a
lot, the value of which is created by
all the people, and it is worth as much
as the lot he uses. Suppose Mr. Henry
is paying J5000 tax on Ills lots and
building and they are paying $3n00;
would it hurt Mr. Henry, or anyone
else. If the tax on huiidings was abol
ished and his neighboring shack own
ers were compelled to pay $5000 tax
Instead of J3000? Would that encour
age them to put up a safe and decent
building? Or, if only JS00O revenue is
needed, would it be wrong to reduce
Mr. Henry's tax to J4000 and increase
the shack owner's to the same amount?
The city is not furnishinar his $2000
doctor any opportunity that any other
city would not furnish. If Portland In
sists on taxlns his money he will either
move It away or make the borrower
pay the tax. W. S. U'REX.
MRS. . Ul'NIWAY CIIEKHS KRI lO.MJ.S
No Cause for Alarm Seen tn Anti-Suffrage
Movement In California.
PORTLAND. Oct. 11. (To the Edi
tor.) The rape of our Los Anseles
friends, the enemy, who threaten to
prepare an appeal through the initia
tive and referendum, to repeal th re
cent triumph of the equal suffrage
amendment In California, need not
cause the patriotic women of Oregon
any uneasiness. Should thnt little hand
of master-ruled "antis" succeed In get
ting their petition to a vote in 1912 tile
battle would not he one-sided as be
fore, for the women would have an
equal chance with the men. and would
surely vote them down. These "antis"
are like elephants In captivity whose
masters train them to ensnare, and if
possible, enslave their more numerous
classes of the free Junprle.
The enfranchised women of six free
states are wiser and warier now than
the women Voters were in Washington
Territory in 1S8B-87 when their poli
tical masters succeeded in driving them
into a one idea embrosrlio which cost
them their right to vote on the eve
of statehood but didn't "feaze" the
enemy they attempted to assail.
We still remember the futile at
tempts of a few out-voted women of
Oregon, who. in 100R. under the whip
of their masters of the ruling sex, en
deavored to switch the equal suffrage
movement onto a side track.
Let the large majority of the wo
men of Oregon, who are anxiously
awaiting their enfranchisement at the
November election of 1912, possess
their souls in patience. A few money
mad "antis" will ncain attempt to
overrule the votes or our patriotic
brethren In the interest of their
masters, hut they will only help us to
victory, as they did in Washington
and California. As a railroad could not
move it's wheels without friction, so
our cause could not proceed without
opposition. It requires but little ef
fort to place obstructions on a railroad
track, but there are- always reserve
forces ready to clear the way. There
are mighty unseen forces at work for
equal rights for women of which the
average obstructionist little dreams.
"It must needs be that offenses will
come but woe unto them by whom they
shall' come." So salth Holy Writ, and
so echoeth the spirit of liberty, whose
vibrations are filling the Oretron air.
ABIGAIL SCOTT DUNInAY.
Ciood Seen In Tax Anltatlon.
PORTLAND. Or.. Oct. 14. (To the
Bditor.)-HavtnK attentively read Mr.
Wilson's letter on the editorial page of
The Orettonlan. I want to hoist my sig
nal of warning to Mr. Wilson: Unless
he throws out" his anchor he surely
will slide into the sinsle-taxers' ramp.
He already concedes that money should
not be taxed, because, being improduc-
tlve in Itseir, it canton ut La.ir.... v.
only attempted to be taxed when and
wherever It is employed.
Mr Wilson favors "the working of
capital." hut he wishes to tax the
banker and the merchant. As an old
bookkeeper I. can inform Mr. Wilson
that banker and merchant have in their
ledger a tax account and do not care
a tig how much they are taxed, as long
as their patrons or customers will
"stand" for It.
All this tax agitation revolves round
the question: , Shall the producer or
consumer pay the taxes? If you put
them on the former, he naturally wants
to shift the burden onto the latter, and
vice versa. Let the fight proceed: some
good will come out cf it. It was only
a short time since the "best people"
looked upon slavery, as the "correct
thing." Public opinion has changed
and will change In spite of established
privileges. In spite of slaveholders or
land speculators. "E pure si muove"
is as true today as when pronounced
several hundred years ago.
C. BIRCHER.
Courts and Congress.
NEHALKM. Or.. Oct. 13. (To the Edi
tor.) Can you tell me which of the
Supreme Justices presides over the dis
trict Oregon is In?
How many states and parts of states
are in the district?
How many Representatives will be in
the House at the next session?
A SCHOOL GIRL
U S. Supreme Court Justices do not
preside over districts. The U. S. Circuit
Court Judges for tlie district in which
Oregon is located are William B. Gil
bert. EYskine M. Ross and William W.
Morrow. Oregon Is in the Ninth Dis
trict, with Alaska. Arizona. California,
Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Washington
and Hawaii.
The House membership In the next
session will be 391. The reapportion
ment does not become effective until the
election of 1912, after which the mem
bership will be 4SB. assuming that Ari
zona and New Mexico complete their
admission as states.
MUCH CREDIT DUE GOV. BENSON.
T. J. Randolph Denies Clatina of Gv.
West to Institutional Improvements.
ROSEBURG, Or., Oct. 13. (To the
Editor.) Studied efforts upon the part
of certain Democratic newspapers at
tempt to credit Governor West with
all the recent Improvements in ana
about the various state Institutions at
Salem. According to news reports pub
lished in these organs after the recent
visit of the Portland Progressive Busi
ness Men's League to Salem. Governor
West is resoonsihle for about all that
is good at the various institutions and
there is a constana reflection upon the
policies of h!s predecessors in office.
I had the honor of being a personal
friend of the late Governor Benson and
from personal observation, I know that
the various institutions were hrought
to their present high state of efficiency
largely through his efforts as well as
the efforts of the different superin
tendents. It was during the Benson
administration that the new receiving
ward, the central heating plant, the
laundry building, the magnificent dairy
barn and numerous other structures
were built at the Insane Asylum. It
was during the Benson regime that the
new chapel was built at the Peniten
tiary, new shops erected, old buildings
renovated, old lamps discarded and
each cell provided, with an electric
light. The Benson administration also
supervised the erection of new build
ings at the State Institution for Feeble
Minded, the new home for the School
for Deaf Mutes, the State Tuberculosis
Hospital, and the various improvements
in and around the Capitol building.
All of these improvements were made
long before Governor West and his
"Man Friday" Ohott assumed the duties
of the offices which they are now fill
ing. Governor West's apologists would
also make it appear that the policy of
self-support for state institutions orig
inated with him. As a matter of fact,
tlie Penitentiary, Asylum and other In
stitutions have for many years raised
their own grain, vegetables, fruit and
garden truck. During the Benson ad
ministration, convicts were worked at
tlie brickyard, fair grounds, asylum
and other institutions. - About the only
"reform " which Governor West has es
tablished is his "honor system" for
convicts, hut the "system" has not
been in operation long enough to have
final Judgment passed on it.
Sentimental writers have filled news
papers and magazines with articles
showing the cruelty that was practiced
at the Penitentiary before Governor
AVest's regime, but the prison record
show that there have been no flog
gings or other unusual punishments
since the advent of Governor Chamber
lain in 190.1. Throughout the entire
adminstratlon of Governors Chamber
lain and Benson the convicts were
treated humanely and were given such
liberties as. In the judgment of the
Warden, seemed proper. In fact, under
Governors Chamberlain and Benson
the Oregon State Penitentiary was
generally regarded as one of the best
conducted prisons in America, and
there is not a particle of truth In the
stories about the "awful condition he
fore West became Governor."
Such stories spring from the fertile
brains of sensational writers and
henchmen of the Governor. It Is not
my purpose to discuss Governor West's
convict policy, but merely to explode
some of the bogus claims that are con
stantly put forward by the Governor's
friends at the expense of his predeces
sor in office that capable official and
splendid man. Frank W. BenRon.
THOMAS J. RANDOLPH.
RATES AND THE PANAMA CANAL,
Biff Ditch Will .Shorn- l"p Hallrmid Ab
surdities, Relieves Writer.
PORTLAND, Oct. 13. (To the Edi
tor.) In Mr. Teal's elucidation of the
state and interstate freight-rate con
troversy, and The Oregonlan's able edi
torial substantiation of it, another ab
surdity looms up if the railroad conten
tion is sustained, "that no freight or
passenger rate can be proposed by state
or Federal legislation that Infringes on
a reasonable return on the cost of
the system, and that the courts must
protect it by prompt Injunction."
This contention is now pretty well
established, so that corporations swol
len with watered stocks, bonds and
mortgages to an extent from two to
five times their actual cost, repose un
der court protection and continue their
enforced exactions safe in the arms of
the law. The absurdity of this situa
tion becomes more apparent when It
Is known to a certainty that with the
oncoming of the Panama Canal and the
cheaper freight rate that will prevail
from ocean to ocean, the seven or eight
transcontinental roads now doing that
service will be superfluities so far as
the bulk of their present carriage Is
related. What will happen then? Will
the Federal courts enjoin carriage ot
freights at less than the railroads can
carry It without bankrupting them?
Freights that now average $25 per ton
across tlie continent will be not over
$5 unless interdicted by the courts.
Ahd when palatial steamships will
desire to sail from our harbor with
3000 or 4000 passengers from here to
New York at a rate not to exceed $30
each, will the courts under the present
construction of the law enjoin them,
as the railroads cannot carry passen
gers to the Eunie termini for less than
$100, and to permit it would deter the
railroads from making proper earn
ings? Likewise if four or five corporations,
over-capitalized as Is the custom, are
constructed and find that their lines
from here to Salem, for instance, are
not producing sufficient revenue, will
the public be ordered to give them
patronage even though they would pre
fer to travel by automobile and ship
freight by the river?
The situation Is surcharged with such
leads In one direction, court dictum
seems to tend the other way. It will
not be very long, however, before we
shall see some ground and lofty tum
bling over this matter.
C. P. CUHRCH.
Give and Take Fels-men.
PORTLAND. Oct. 12. (To the Ed
ditur) A neer as I can figger it out,
there are two kinds ov single taxers
them that wish ter give, an' them that
wish ter' get! Since ye can't recall
sum peepul like dogs and jedges, ain't
there amy law ter shut a clothes pin
on their tonsues?
JOSH SWILLINGS.
Guenm Wliof
Thirteen
Thousand
Miles,
Thirteen
Thousand
Smiles.
Anil never once said "bully"!
Four
And
Twenty
States;
Open
Were
The
Gates,
And never said "dee-lighted":
Friends,
Big,
Little
The People
Laughed,
Cheered, .
Questioned,
From street, spire and steeple.
And not one was called a "liar!"
William F. Fenton.
N. NITTS ON UNREST
By Deaa Collins.
Xesclus N'itts, whose deep mind, at it
best.
Kept Punkindorf Station for j eai
plumb impressed.
Made pause in his chewing to let hf
Jaws rest.
While a nicotine stain down his shit
front progressed;
Then spake on the general state c
unrest. ,
"By seannin' the papers with diligenc
we see
Tlia world, for a week past, has bee1
plumb uneasy;
No sooner does one thing subside fo
Than somethin' bcerins somewhere els
breakln' loose.
' And so from the East clean around t
tlie t-t
It 'pears there's a general Etate c
unrest.
"In fact, things in general ain't bee:
appealin'
To me with sech general unrestfu
eel In"
Since 'fore '6t- or since maybe 'fore tha
T can't scarcely see where we're comlr
out at.
This here Public Eye. of which oftei
I've read.
Must he fairly whirlin' around in it
head.
"There's strikes on tlie rallro.iils; th-
Turks and the Dagoes
Is startin' a riot, most everywhere the:
goes;
Down there in the South, these her-
women, they win
The vote, and then starts to repeal 1
agin:
Baseball situations, they keops us li
motion
A-watchin' the scoreboards from oceai
to ocean.
"And China's revolted, and we have go
that fuss
To drive everyone, on a run fer ai
a this,
To learn to pronounce, in an uneon
cerned way,
Sech names as Kiangsu or Foo Yat Mov
Hay
All this right on top of the pains wr
has spent.
To learn how the 'Talian and Turke:
names went.
"Alaska, that once stood as firm as
rock.
Is changln' her map ev'ry hour by th'
clock,
'Till most ev'ry morn, we must look t
observe
If she's got her coal lands still there t'
conserve.
Why 'most ev'rythlng in tlie whoh
blamed crc.itlon
Has got plumb unrestful 'cept Punkin
dorf Station."
Portland, October 11.
KUMATH LAWYERS MAKE DEM.VI
District Attorney's Office Defendei
Agalnat Published Charges.
KLAMATH FALLS, Or.. Oct. 13.-T'
the Editor.) In The Oregonian Otfto
her 11 there appears an article, date,
at Klamath Falls, under the headln;
"Kuykendall Under Quiz." which con
tains statements Intended wholly t'
of the firm of Kuykendall & Ferguson
Had tlie writer of the article desirei
to be fair and ascertain the truth, i
was an easy matter for him to havi
secured a statement of the facts a.
they exist.
He could easily have discovered tha'
the court terms for Klamath County a
established by law are in June am
December of each year." He could alsi
have ascertained that the rnurderei
who was not In jail and whom he say
was under special guard at a cost o'
$1S0 a month was all of the time unde:
the care of physicians and receiving
medical treatment for injuries indictee
upon himself In attempting to eommi
suicide, and that it was on this ac
count that he was not confined in jail
lie could also have discovered tha
many witnesses on behalf of the Stati
of Oregon have bepn suhpenaed to ap
pear before that body on December 4
and that their present whereabouts ar
unknown to the District Attorney an
that some of the members of the gran,
jury, not expecting to be called unti
that date, were not within the county
and could not be found hy the Sheriff.
He could also have ascertained tha'
Mr. Ferguson resigned from the officf
of Deputy District Attorney for . th,
reason, as stated by him, that he pre
ferred to resign rather than try th
criminal cases without an opportunit
of presenting all of the evidence on be
half of the state, and for the furtho'
reason that civil matters were demand
ing his attention at that particular
time.
He could further have ascertainer'.
that Attorney O'Neill never made an
such statement in open court or else
where as the article charges him with
making.
KUYKENDALL & FERGUSON.
Sugar antl School Law.
MEDICAL LAKE, Wash., Oct. 13.
(To the Editor.) (I) What is the cause
of sugar being so high? Some say it
the trust: others say it is the scarcity.
(2) To what age does the law compe!
children to attend school in the Stato
of Washington? C. BON JOUR.
(1) Probably both. (2) The Wash
ington law requires children who aro
between their Sth and 15th birthdays
to attend school, also those between
end 1 who are not regularly engaged
In some useful and remunerative occu
pation. ...
Napoleon Davis for Harmon.
Napoleon Davis has sent to The Ore-
i ...Un V. r. ,Tocf.,.lhnu a an nnan
letter. it ronows.
Portland, Oct. 14. Hon. D. M.
Watson: Referring to our recent con
versation, permit me to say that in my
opinion Governor Harmon Is the man
for the Democrats to nominate next
year for President. Very" respectfully,
NAPOLEON DAVIS
Half a Century Ago
Friim The Oregonian. October Irt. 1H1.
We see it stated that Colonel Dryer
was in bad health at the latest dates
from Honolulu. Letters from his fam
ily are silent on the subject, from
which we suppose his illness was not
serious.
The Washington County Fair was to
take place on yesterday and today. Our
friends there have had bad weather.
Fairs should not be held In October.
On October 7 Oregon apples were sell
ing In San Francisco at from 2 to
cents per pound; pears at from 5 to 3
cents.
M. B. Burke, of I'olk County, hns
cultivated "Syrian wheat." a small
quantity of which he . first receive.!
from the patent office. It is a heavy,
flinty wheat and yields large crops. It
docs not make good flour, but it makes
a fine meal, which very much resembles
but is superior to corn meal.
Mr. Stephenson has been progressing
finely 1n making the road going soutn
from this city. Persons who have sub
scribed for this work may be assured
that their money had been properly ex-