Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, November 20, 1911, Page 6, Image 6

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    ttte aronxnro okegoxia, Monday. yoTroronR 20, 1911.
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h)ETUT), MOXDAT. HOT. 10. 111.
i mtciai. Aorvrs axtj wnoni.
. Mora power to Governor Hawieyi
H la thoroughly arou.-ted over the
surprising Robnett episode- and ho
purpose to ripota to the President
tha abounding Infamy of the common
practice of "special" Government
prosecutors and "special" Government
XriiU who purchase testimony with
pardons or Immunity. Tha Western
country Is a lira with "special" agents
ct out from Washington. They seek
to make food by heaping- d!rt on
Stalwart and useful citizens like
William Hanley. In Oregon, or Sen
ator Borah. In Idaho.
There never was a mora frivolous
rharr brought against any man than
the Indictment of Mr. Hanley for h!
purchase of wcil-nlgh worthies Juni
per trees cut from the wilds of Slolr.s
Mountain. No grosser outrage on any
citizen anywhere was err perpetrated
In tho name of Justice than tho arrest
and trial of Senator Borah for his
connection with certain so-called Um
ber land frauds. The utterly ground
r anj miserably InJefenslble char
acter of tho accusations was demon
strated when Mr. Ilorah submitted tho
case to tho Jury without introducing
any testimony except his own. with
out cross-examining- a single witness
ft tho prosecution, without raising a
single technical point, and without a
syllable of argument. The verdict, be
lrg unanimous, was a most complete
vindication of a high-minded man
hounded by tho law through a gang of
"special- agents and "special" prose
rutors who sought to) make a reputa
tion by Involving In scandal the name
cf a citizen of character and Influence.
It may be Justifiable for a prosecu
tion :n a given case to giro Immunity
to an accomplice In a crime when
testimony may bo had In no other way
snd )j?t!c would otherwise be wholly
defeated. But It Is not Justifiable In
the fnitel S'ates Government to em
ploy sp army of "special" agents and
prosecutors who adopt a uniform pol
icy of bargaining for testimony with
self-con feased criminals, with tho fixed
purpose of dragitfng to Jail men In tho
background, whoso conviction would
be really worth while from the stand
point of the prosecution. These
sgenls, having entangled some fellow
In the net of their Investigations. Im
mediately set about to brenk him down
In order to find who; bsldrs himself,
Irsplred him to commit the crime.
Where a scoundrel, finding himself
fare to face with the law, learns that
he wi:! be leniently dealt with if he
tells such a story as the "special-
agents want htm to tell, he la quite
likely to turn state1 evidence.
What Is such suggested evidence
worth? How easily may the acci
dental association of any man with
such a fellow be converted Into de
liberate conspiracy through him to
break the law. How readily may anv
man unfortunate enough to be known
by any malefactor find that he is
railed upon to explain acta and words
that had no criminal intent except in
the Ingenious interpretations of a too
realous prosecutor. What cltlxen. un.
der such methods, la free from the
trnglc experiences that gave William
Hanley and Senator Borah a hundred
sleepless nlrhts and called upon them,
unexpectedly and without warrant, not
rr.ly to defend their reputations but
to avert the Imminence of prison?
It Is hlch time that the President
of the United States directed his De
partment of Justice to seek' the ad
ministration of law and the prosecu
tion of accused persona by more
worthy methods and through more di
rect practices.
THI OOHIXO SIKfiS AGE,
The message which President Taft
is now preparing and which he will
submit to Congress In December will
no doubt be directed mainly to two
topic the tariff and the trusts. A
topic almost equaling these in Im
portance will be the Federal super
vision of the lsue of securities by In
terstate railroads and amendment of
the land laws which will recon
cile the development of the
country's natural resources) with a
reasonable conservation policy, espe
cially In Alaska. Of secondary Im
portance, but probably the subject of
much controversy, will be the report
of the commission on second-class
mall matter and the report of the
board on economy and efficiency in
the Government service.
The President has been assured that
the report of the Tariff Board on the
wool schedule will be presented in
time for him to base recommendations
for revision upon It. He expects It to
recommend downward revision and to
be unanimous. The board may re
port on the cotton schedule at the
same time and this report la also ex
pected to be unanimous for downward
revision. In case the latter report is
delayed. It may be made the subject
of a special message.
Federal Incorporation will b the
chief feature of the President's recom.
mendatlona on the subjoct of the
trusts. He is convinced that such a
measure would at least give them a
certificate of character to begin with,
though they would still be liable to
prosecution, should they violate the
Sherman law. He favors supplemental
legislation, cot amendment of that
law, making clearer the distinction be.
tween lawful agreements, reasonably
restraining trade, and those which are
pernicious In their effect, and particu
larly denouncing the various devices
for monopolizing trade.
The report on supervision of rail
road securities ta understood to be In
favor of that measure and may be ex
pected to have the President's Indorse.
. xnent. Ills opinions on AJaaka have
already been clearly voiced by Secre
tary Fisher.
Aa the coming session will immedi
ately precede the National conventions,
there will be much Jockeying for polit
ical position by both parties and all
factions. The President will have the
advantage of putting forward a con
structive programme, based on ascer
tained facta as to Its every feature, and
of urging measures Indorsed in advance
as to principle by his opponents, both
I- hi. nn;n n.1 In Che ODDOSlte DSXty.
' He can put them in the hole, for. If
by haggling over details, they defeat
j any one of these measures, they will
nut themselves In the - position of
fighting that which they have cham
pioned and will be kept busy explain
ing. Senator La Follette In particular
has made a hobby of Federal supervi
sion of railroad securities and will
have difficulty in remaining consistent
on that subject without sacrificing
hla Insurgency.
ADVICK THAT IS VAIXXLJ5f9.
The Oregonlan. perhaps, cannot
chide Mr. H. W. 6tone for not hav
lng familiarized himself with the
Presidential preference bill adopted
by the voters last Fall, and remain
consistent, for we have repeatedly as
serted that the measures and Issues
then presented were so numerous and
so complex that very few voters could
spare the time necessary to give them
proper consideration.
Mr. Stone'a statement in The Ore
gonlan yesterday, that Not having
studied the measure carefully, I have
co definite opinion concerning it," not
only confirms the truth of the asser
tion, but also establishes the convic
tion that some, perhaps many, of the
members of the People's Power
League are lending the Influence of
their names to measures devised by
Mr. ITRen and a few associates with
out having been fully advised of the
import of the laws or amendments
proposed.
The Presidential preference law was
presented to the voters last Fall with
the official and emphatic Indorsement
of the People's Power League. Mr.Btone
is a member of the executive commit
tee of the league. His name is attached
to the affirmative argument in the of
ficial pamphlet. Tet Mr. Etone now
frankly admits that he has not studied
the messure carefully enough to form
a definite opinion concerning It.
Once again we say that Mr. Stone
is not seriously to be blamed for not
having fully performed the stupendous
task heaped upon him through the In
itiative In 1910. But It Is very patent
that Mr. Stone and the other mem
bers of the Peoplo'a Power League
who have not time to engage In the
busy activities cf Mr. ITRen should
retire from the organization. What
does the advice of Mr. Stone amount
to If he does not understand the pro
visions of the measure on which he
is advising?
BKOMIIMOMH Et POLITIC.
Mr. Richard S. Child, who has a
letter in The Oregonlan today, is the
author of the book entitled "Short Bal
lot Principles." The work contains this
statement: "The government should
be a democracy, but the party should
be an autocracy." In "Short Ballot
Principles" Mr. Chllds outlines- a plan
for leadership of parties which he
seems to believe would be practical
and successful In It workings. This
plan so closely resembles the assembly
idea tried out in Oregon that The Ore
gonlan recently expressed the convic
tion that It would not succeed. Nor
are we now convinced to the contrary
by Mr. Chllds' letter.
If Mr. Child would turn to the first
chapter of his little book and read
over what he himself says In regard
to the potency of catch phrase he
might be able to discover what really
defeated the assembly ticket in this
state and learn why "autocracy of
parties" would be knocked down out
of hand If It again showed Itself In
Oregon.
Here are some extract from the
chapter of Mr. Child' work dealing
with catch phrase:
Pleaa that a rafaronaum on a technical
mbjeet Is llttla baiter than laar'.ns tha de
cision to chance and tha qoai-T. -non't too
trust tha paoptaT Is supposed to ratlra ron
la eonfualon.
That In our political reasoning we ahoold
be tha alavaa of thcaa sllb "bramtdloma"
la prabably because tha aubleot la the com
mon property of tha millions.
Tha power of thcaa catch phraaea to away
men's mlnda, ragardiaaa of reasoning. Is a
fascinating thing ta aaa.
. . . Parhapa It will help If I take tha
liberty of warning you aralnet tha graateat
eatcn-phrmae of all. namaly. "tha peopla."
pronounced "pee-pul?" Or. worea yat. "tha
plain peopla." who, I beUera. have eartala
aupernatural vtrtuaa not poeaeaaed by "tha
peopla."
It la "leae.majeate" to allaaa that there
era any Umitatiuna to taa paople In either
morale or learning.
If Mr. Chllds had been in Oregon
during the campaign of 1110 he would
have heard a great deal about the
virtues of "the people" and their abil
ity to select their own candidates with
out the advice of any leaders, and
more of "machine rule" and "return to
bo as ism." These were effective slo
gan against assembly candidate. The
last expression Carried away many.
Just as It seems to have carried away
this Short Ballot officer, who with
sarcasm derides the Influence of the
catch-phrase upon mothers. The peo
ple became convinced that the direct
primary was assailed. They resented
the self-imposed leadership of the as
aerablylte and they defeated the as
sembly ticket. This Is related herein
riot In a spirit of repining, but solely
to show how Mr. Chllds theory was
here upset by a condition which he
recognize as existing.
In the suggestion that had the "Peo
ples' Power League" offlcera presented
the recommendations the-result might
have been different is the strong Inti
mation that "what Is wicked on your
part Is perfectly Justified on ours." But
undoubtedly an assembly under any
other guidance than that of the old
leaders would have failed Just as mis
erably If the group on the outside had
realized the potency of the query.
"Don't you trust the people?" and
had used it In the campaign.
The voters of Oregon certainly re
sent the Imputation that any man or
group 'of men can lead them by the
nraso in selecting officers or passing
on laws. Tou may term this a "catch
phrase" or "bromldlom," but it de
picts, nevertheless, an actual condition.
So long as this condition exists, any
assembly schema, even if called
"short ballot principles." or leadership
of parties, and no matter how pure
the motive of Its promoters. It will fail.
President Taft's critic at the two I
political extreme are, to use words j
credited to him, "In danger of electing '
him President of the United States."
The big corporation don't like hi
Federal Incorporation scheme because i
It does) not give them Immunity from
prosecution under tne aherm an u
and the Bryan Democrats don't like
law
It
because it rlvea the Government
too
much nnwer. As the reasonable peo
ple of both parties believe the trusts
should not be given immunity and
that the Government should be given
more power over them, they are like
ly to vote for him and prove the truth
of his remark.
MOV EXTENT OF rOPTtATION.
While the center of population ha
moved westward 557 miles since the
first census was taken, the difference
between Its farthest northward ana J
farthest southward movement is on
twenty-one mile. It has hugged the
39th parallel of latitude pretty closely.
and In 1910 wa only mnes souw
of the point where It started la 1890
Its greatest westward' movement wai
eia-htv-one miles between 1850 anc
I860, its least fourteen miles between
is.n and 1900. In the decade en
Irig In 1910 It moved westward thirty-
nlnat miles.
The center of area of the United
Brutes la In northern Kansas, ten mil
Minh of Rmlth Penter. the county seat
j of Smith County. That would be the
I . - f nnnnlatlon If th.M DOnUlatlOn
.ni. 1itt-1 hnto1 It is 657
I miles west and fifty-one miles north of
tha nraianl renter or population.
While the movement of the center of
population westward" baa been due to
tha settlement of the West, lia move
ment north and south has closely cor-
FMcondar! with tha aCQUlsltlOn Of DW
terrltorv. Thus the annexation of
Louisiana caused a alight southward
movement between 1800 ana ibiu
rather mora than offsetting the In
rreASS of DODU lation In the north.
In the next decade the settlement of
MlsslsslrtDl. Alabama and Eastern
r.nriri antln Dulled It a little south
ward. Its most decided southward
mnnmint was between 1820 and 1880,
Ann ta tha annexation of Florida and
the great extension of settlement In
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi ana
Arkansas. From 18S0 to 1840 rapid
settlement In the prairie states and in
Southern Michigan and Wisconsin
turned the tide northward, but In the
next decade the annexation of Texas
brought a change to the southward.
In 1860 another alight northward
movement was recorded, and In 1870
a moat decided movement In the same
direction of 1S.3 mile was shown, due
to the ravages of the Civil W ar ana an
imperfect enumeration of the negroes,
in 1880 tha census showed a decided
movement southward In consequence
of the partial recovery or tne ooutn
and the better enumeration of the ne
groes. In 1890 foreign Immigration
and rapid settlement of the West al
most exactly offset the southward
movement of tho preceding decade.
In 1900 the settlement of Oklahoma,
Indian Territory and Texas Is shown to
have more than counterbalanced the
Increase in northern population to the
extent of a southward movement of
about three miles.
During the last decade the Increase
in population of New York. Pennsyl
vania and other Northern states almost
exactly balanced the Increase In Texas,
Oklahoma and Southern Callfornla.
The westward movement was largely
due to the great Increase In population
of the Paclfio States, which was given
the greater weight In changing the
center by their greater distance from
It. Thus the combined population of
San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and
Sacramento 908.016 had as great In
fluence on the center of population as
that of Philadelphia, Boston and Bal
timore combined 3.778.078.
BCTEBOSIOX OF CORPORATIONS.
The movement for the regulation of
Interstate Industrial corporations ha
at last reached the constructive stage.
The head of uch corporations now
realize that there 1 no escape from
submission to the anti-trust law.
The officials entrusted with enforce
ment of that law and those who resist
It repeal or material amendment rec
ognize that It needs to he aupplement
ed with another law defining what a
corporation must and may do within
the law and providing an adminis
trative body to carry out that law.
Secretary Nagel truly says that the
present law Is purely negative. It for
bids certain things without positively
stating what la permitted, and imposes
on the courts the duty of informing
corporations what they may legally
do a duty which the court are Ill
adapted to perform. The present law,
being purely corrective, locks the
stable door after the horse is stolen.
We need a preventive law an admin,
lstratlve body to which the organizers
of a corporation can go for a charter
or license to do business, which can
keep corporations under it supervi
sion and stop tendencies to monopoly
at their Inception and can discover
violation and report them to the Attorney-General
for prosecution.
Such a 'commission la provided In
the skeleton of a bill presented to the
sub-committee on plan for the Fed
eral Incorporation of trusts of the Na
tional Clvlo Federation by Samuel Un
termeyer, chairman of the sub-committee.
This is based on these prin
ciple: That the people favor rigid
enforcement of the Sherman law; that
future mergers of competitors shall
only be allowed by permission of a
Federal commission, which also con
trols dissolution of existing trusts held
by the court to be Illegal; that the
present law requires enforced free
competition, even to the point of the
ruin and extermination of the weaker
competition; that enforced ruinous
competition Is not an economic ben
efit or necessity, but is impracticable
and Inconsistent; that the alternative
la to permit a Just and reasonable lim
itation of competition subject to super
vision and control, or to suffer secret
violations of law that are practically
Impossible of detection and with no
opportunity of protection to the public
Mr. Untermeyer recommends a Fed
eral charter or license for" all corpora
tions doing interstate business which
have gross asset or authorized capital
of $1,000,000 or over. He prefers a Fed
eral charter as ending the abuses
which have grown up under state cor
poration laws. If a Federal license
Is adopted, he would require amend
ment of state charters to procure uni
formity to the extent of preventing:
(1) Tba continuance of the "holding oom
parr." ( 2 Tba laeue of watered stock.
(g) Impropar immunity of atockboldara
and dlractora from liability.
(4) Statutta of llmliaUoca la favor of
eorporate wronsdoera that bar causes of
action bafore tha vlctlma eaa poaalbly know
that thay hava ona. and
&) All tha numaroua other tricks and
Jokers which corporate cupidity and cla
honcrty hava engrafted upon the itate cor- 1
pormtlon laws.
He would create an Industrial, Com
mission of seven member to grant
charters or licenses to corporations not
doing business In violation of the Sher.
man law, after thorough investiga
tion; to exercise ail the powers of the
present Bureau of Corporations; to
make investigation on Its own Initia
tive; to recommend prosecution by the
Attorney-General of violations of the
law. which should be made a felony;
to separate and disintegrate corpora
tions held by the courts to exist In
violation of the law, with all power
Incidental thereto; to sanction trade
agreements for not over two years
after Investigation has satisfied the
commission:
(a) That tha output is not to ba reatrlet
t beyond the uaual ani legitimate demands
for tba commodity:
(b That the maximum prlca charscable
by tha pelltlonera under tha larmi of tha
agreement doae not allow an undue profit:
and
(c) That as a result of competition be
tween tha petitioners and with others (II
there are othara) who do not care to Join
In tha petition, tha Industry on tha whole
baa been unprofitable for at leaat ona yaar
next preceding tha presentation of tha peti
tion due to over-production and ruinous
competition.
It Is recommended that the commis
sion have power to annul or modify
such agreements at any time and
prosecute the offenders if the parties
thereto pursue unfair business meth
od toward competitors. Such agree
ments would be enforceable in court.
Orders of the commission would be
subject to appeal to the Commerce
Court. In favor of this plan, Mr. Un
termeyer says:
Tha allowance of trade agreements of
thla character will do away with the plaus
ible pretexts that are being urged In favor
of tba organisation of trusts and oonaollda
tlona that they are tha only means of
preventing bualnaaa deetructlon. Their al
lowance would at tba aame tlma obviate tha
evlla of such permanent organizations with
their accompanying stock inllaUona, oppres
sion of competitors, closing of factories and
Ilka practices, and would render It easy
to secure convictions of parsons guilty of
entering Into secret understandings and
"gentlemen's agreements" to levy tribute
spon the peopla by taking from them tha
existing excuse that they are pursuing tha
only course for self-preaarvatlon that Is
open to them.
Under theae licensed trade agreements
each party would retain tha management and
control of hla own property and the extent
of bis profit would be measured by the
eoonomlea bs Is able to put Into effect.
In short, the plan 1 to keep alive
competition, but to stop it at the point
where It would become destructive or
ruinous; to preserve the existence of
separate business corporations but to
allow them to combine without merg
ing; to keep a tight rein on such com
binations that they may be promptly
dissolved when they become a public
Injury.
An effective means of gaining the
same end would be to prohibit the
holding of the stock of one corpora
tion by another. This would compel
one corporation absorbing another to
do so by buying Its property outright
and would prevent the disguise of a
merger in the continued existence of
a separate corporation. Inter-corporate
stock ownership may be fairly
defined as: "Monopoly "made easy."
The depreciation to 92 of 2 per
cent Government bonds, which are
available for the Investment of postal
savings bank deposits, has created a
demand that they be made legal se
curity for National bank circulation,
which Is expected to raise their value
to par. The only alternative seems
to be an lncreaso in the rate of inter
est to 3 per cent, at which rate they
would be worth par without the circu
lation privilege. This matter Is of
more direct Interest to the general
public because the depreciation of the
2H per cent bonds Is Injurious to ths
Dostal savings bank system.'
If the shipbuilders who have been
clamoring for years for a ship subsidy
and opposing ever effort to secure the
admission of forelgn-bullt ships to
American registry have really com
bined to build no ships for an Inde
pendent Panama steamship line, they
have adopted a course which has irre
parably Injured their own cause. They
will find public Indignation stirred up
against them to such a pitch that not
only will their long-deferred hopes of
a subsidy be destroyed, but the passage
of a free ship bill will be brought
within the range of practical politics.
The Hood River Indian, who forced
his tribal -wife of several years' stand
ing to remarry like white people to
offset and otherwise prevent any af
finity trouble, is departing from the
ways of his fathers. Effete civiliza
tion has grasped him with Its Insidi
ous suckers and the tomahawk is
dulled with rust.
' "Pure Food" Wiley's campaign
against absinthe will receive the
hearty support of every person who
knows the ravage made In France by
thla seductive but destructive liquor.
It wreck a man, not only physically
and mentally, but morally, as Is de
picted In Marie Corelll's novel,
"Wormwood."
The Chinese pirates who risked their
lives to steal some cheap tin alloy
which they Imagined to be silver, can
get sympathy from the tenderfoot who
eagerly grasps glittering sulphite of
Iron, imagining It. to be gold. Hence
tha name: "Tenderfoot's Gold."
If development of Oregon Is now
up to tha land owners, they must de
velop and elaborate a new set of
prices, somewhere between what they
are asking and the assessment figure.
No court can Inflict punishment on
the Oregon City girl who killed her
husband byi accidental discharge of a
gun, eleven days after the wedding.
Naturally, her mental anguish Is so
great that anything legal would not ba
felt.
By the time Nat Ooodwln has paid
Edna Goodrich that $65,000, he will
have learned caution as to pre-nuptlal
agreements provided ha Is not again
blinded by a passing Infatuation.
The City Council should not stop at
requiring that a pound loaf of bread
weigh a pound. It should also Insure
that the bread ba made of tha right
Ingredient.
Housewives should refuse to buy po
tatoes "by the sack" and Insist upon
measure by weight. The sleekest
creature on earth Is the "vegetable"
man.
Whether it be intuition or plain
hunch, woman Is all right. One In
Seattle, defendant In a case, refused
to allow any oi ner sex on tne jury.
Instruction In how to live 95 years
will not be complete unless It teaches
how to make each of those years use
ful and happy.
The pound loaf will weigh out If the
bread be "heavy."
The paroled prisoner flnda It easy
to come back.
Gleanings of the Day
Sarah Josepha Hale, editress of Godey's
Lady's Book during and after the Civil
War. has the distinction of having sug
gested two National holidays which
have been definitely established. At
her suggestion President Lincoln pro
claimed the last Thursday In November,
1864. to be a day of National thanks
givings for Union victories, and since
that date it has been a National holi
day every year. At Mrs. Hale's sug
gestion Memorial day was - first ob
served In 1866, and has also received
general observance. The Idea of a day
set apart for publlo thanksgiving
dates back to Roman times, when the
Consuls set apart days for public re
joicing over great victories. Even
King George III found cause for
thanksgiving at the close of the Revo
lutionary War. When asked what this
cause was,, when he had lost the Ameri
can colonies, he replied: "Let us be
thankful that things axe no worse."
Colonel Hofer, Jealous of his title of
rainmaker, seeks to rob Gipsy Smith
of his credit of stopping the storm at
Portland with his prayers by calling It
a coincidence. He goes further by re
flecting on the morals of Portland,
which, of course, need Improving, and
which the Gipsy Is doing his best to
improve. He, however, claim the
greater glory by saying:
But It Is quite another thing to secure the
rain when there la a long period of drouth
and crops are suffering.
That Is all the alem man olatms to hare
done broken tha drouth and made the state
go wet In time of need.
He did not do the praying hlmeeif, but
acted aa a promoter of a publio prayer meet
ing that brought tha rain.
It Is a little tough to bring a man all the
way from London at a lio.OOO salary to
take away the glory of a cltlsea of Oregon,
but we will have to stand for It.
Glpay Smith oan hava the title of rain
maker, or even Colonel, If he will do ever
so llttla to Improve the morale of Portland.
The experience of the housekeepers'
club of Brooklyn women, which was
described In The Oregonlan a few days
ago, goes to show that the reduction
In the cost of living can be effected
by women themselves. All they need
do Is to combine In large enough num
bers to buy at wholesale for cash,
have the goods delivered at the head
quarters of the club and carry them
home themselves. By adopting this
plan the Brooklyn women saved all the
way from 25 to 75 per cent of the re
tall price. They also secured full
weight and the best quality, which they
often do not secure at retail stores.
How they cut the cost of staples fnay
be seen from the following table:
Retail Market
Grocers Club
Price. Price.
Lettuce, a head 1 .10 $ .02Vi
Kadlshee, a bunch.. .05 and ( .06 .01
Squashes 16 .04 H
Celery, a bunch..,. .10 .05
Best butter 40 .29
llt ecga, dm 40 and f .42 .24
Potatoes, a bushel.. 2.4i 1.25
Applet, a bushel... 1.25 .50
Tumatoes, a Quart. . .10 .02
Cauliflower, each.... .10 to f .16 .03 hi
As the New York Sun points out. It
requires consistent and regular busi
ness methods on the part of six or a
dozen women In a community accessible
to good wholesale markets to make
suoh a club a success. On Friday
evening each member calls on the
woman who does the buying and hands
over her cash and the list of things
she wishes bought. The next morning,
when the busiest time Is over, the
buyer goes to market and picks up bar
gains. The goods are delivered at her
house early In the afternoon, and each
housekeeper calls and takes home her
own supplies. She receives any bal
ance remaining of her advance or pays
any deficiency then and there. This
method requires cash, forethought and
willingness to be one's own delivery
boy. It also requires willingness of
each In turn to buy for the whole club.
Buying cannot be done at the last
moment by telephone, nor will the
neighborhood grocer be Inclined to
make prompt delivery of articles sud
denly needed In an emergency when
the customer buys the bulk of her sup
plies elsewhere. But when a woman
flnde that a dollar will go twice as far
if she buys through a market club, she
will probably be ready to put up with'
these drawbacks.
The British Tories now have an
American-born leader In Andrew Bonar
Law, a native of New Brunswick, who
succeeds Balfour. A furious factional
fight between the protectionists head
ed by Austen Chamberlain and the
true-blue Tories headed by Walter
Hume Long ended In Law's selection
as a compromise. Law has long lived
In England, where he has proved a
hustling campaigner, a ready debater
and a good mixer with the masses. He
has never served in the Cabinet and
has only been in Parliament about ten
years. He Is by no means the first
native of this continent to reach high
office In England. Lord Lyndhurst,
son of John Singleton Copley, was born
In Boston and served as Lord Chan
cellor In three Conservative Cabinets.
The two Bartletts, who recently
played leading parts In the Tory ranks
and one of whom married the aged and
enormously wealthy and phllanthroplo
Baroness Bourdett-Coutts, were both
born in the United States. Edward
Blake, a Canadian, who had a distin
guished career In his native country,
has been In Parliament as an Irish
Nationalist for 16 years, but lacks the
pugnacity requisite to success In that
party. Joel Herbert Leaverns, a native
of Boston and a Harvard graduate, is
also a member of Parliament, A Cana
dian who has pushed himself to the
front In the Liberal party le Joseph
Martin, who had a brief but stormy
career In British Columbia. ' He was a
party all by himself In the Provincial
Legislature, and, when the Lieutenant
Governor quarreled with the leaders of
both regular parties and the Cabinet
resigned, Martin was appointed Pre
mier. He had a hot skirmish to form
a Cabinet, and, for several weeks was
the whole Cabinet. He was Hopelessly
beaten In the election and. after a brief
career as a lawyer at Winnipeg, moved
to England, where he la again a stormy
petrel.
James B". McCreaxy, the Democratlo
Governor-elect of Kentucky, Is dubbed
the "prince of political comebacks"
by the Chicago Inter-Ocean. He will
return to the Governor's chair after
the lapse of a third of a century and
his election Is a repudiation of the
Osier theory by Kentucky, for he Is 73
years old. This Is his second political
"comeback," for after serving 12 years
In the House, he was retired in 1897
only to be returned to Congress In 1903
as a Senator. He Is almost the sole
survivor of a group of brilliant Ken
tucky politicians which filled the stage
when he was first elected Governor, In
cluding J. Proctor Knott, John G. Car
lisle and J. C. S. Blackburn.
MR, CHILD8 DEFENDS HIS PLAJf
Assembly All Right If Enarlaeered by
' Certain Group Is Araramextt.
NEW YORK. Nov. 11. (To the Ed
itor.) In an editorial November 1 The
Oregonlan associates the Short Ballot
Organization .with my suggestion for
"leadership parties." I ask your atten
tion to the preface of my book, in
which I am careful to state that any
short-ballot advocate Is free to differ
with me on that and many other mat
ters In the book without In any way
Impairing his orthodoxy. My "leader
ship party" idea has little, or nothing,
to do with the short ballot, for the
book Includes many things which lie
outside the short-ballot principle.
Now for the argument you make re
garding the Oregon assembly: Of
course that assembly was undoubtedly
an attempt to upset the direct primary
method and was properly rebuked for
that reason when the people declined
to follow that leadership. It reveals
Just what strength and weakness that
set of self-constituted leaders of the
people had when they are excluded
from the opportunity to make use of
complicated machinery. Suppose a
more popular group, such, for instance,
as the "People's Power League" offi
cers., had issued recommendations to
the voters In the party primary. Tou
might have found the people willing
and glad to have such frank leadership.
Carry the whole thing a step further
by making the primaries non-partisan,
just as they are In commission - gov
erned cities, and you would soon have
thes leadership parties, based on my
lines, in full effect. The Lincoln
Roosevelt League In the Republican
primaries In California constituted
leadership party. Pit such a party
against your assembly In Oregon with
either a party primary ballot or a
non-partisan final election ballot as a
battleground, and you will have a very
simple, fair and practical system of
politics.
To prevent the development of abuses
It would .doubtless become advisable to
create conditions that would permit the
development of new and strong parties
of the same kind. To get such condi
tions you would need the short bal
lot and the "wleldy district," with the
open and free competition for publlo
office which they would bring to you,
RICHARD S. CHILDS.
ART APPRECIATION IN PORTlA?TD
Xo Other Western City Has as Great
Dlscrtxalaatlcni, Says Sculptor.
PORTLAND, Nov. 17. (To the Edi
tor.) On turning to the always Inter
esting editorial page of The Oregonlan,
this morning, my eye was caught by
these words, "How many Portlanders
throng the Art Museum on free days?
Not half a dozen." Doubtless this was
not intended to be taken literally, but
examiner this, mav I not be permitted,
through my official connection with
the Art Association, to make a state
ment both for the sake of those who
mlsrht consider the "half dozen" too
literally and in behalf of what the
actual figures represent?
During the past year, the highest at
tendance during the free hours on any
day was 320, the average attendance
for free afternoons being well over 60.
The total attendance for the year was
more than 19,000. Not overwhelming
numbers, certainly, but respectable
considering the classic nature of the
Art Association's collections and the
fact that Its acquisitions In the way
of the more widely appealing objects
such as modern paintings and sculpture
are ret small.
Whether or not the Athenians spent
their time gazing on the Parthenon and
listening to the plays of Sophocles, tes
tlmonv to the wide diffusion of artls
tlo knowledge, feeling and skill. In the
City of Pericles, Is mutely borne by tne
excavation of Innumerable small ob
jects figurines, vases. Jars and the
grave monuments of unknown Greeks
of wonderful artistic quality.
The statement of a visiting sculptor,
A. Phimlster Proctor, that In no other
Western city Is there the artistic ap
preciation and discrimination that he
finds in Portland, proclaims an intel
lectual attraction which. Instead of be
ing minimized, might well be placed by
those attached to Portland, with her
attractions of climate and scenery.
Those things deserve consideration
which. In a city, make on the economlo
side for more effective building and
manufactures and on the moral for
simple and rational pleasures.
A, B. CROCKER, Curator.
ODPST SMITH IN THIS OREGONIAJT
Committee Expresses Appreciation of
Reports of Mretlnjf a.
PORTLAND, Nov. 18. (To the Ed
itor.) On behalf of the Gipsy Smith
committee, and also because prompted
by my own inclination, I am writing a
wprd expressive of our great appreci
ation of the manner in which you have
reported the work of the evangelist In
his special mission In the City of Port
land. Tou have been most generous in
the space afforded us. And In your
successful effort to secure a consecu
tive report of the great work going on
undtr the auspices of Gipsy Smith, the
friends who are far away, and those
who are unable to attend the meet
ings, can easily, from your published
reports, obtain a good and adequate
understanding of the work being
wrought in our midst.
And for the sake of the good the
published account of these meetings
may do outside Portland or Indeed
outside Oregon I would earnestly urge
that all those Interested in the meet
ings procure a complete copy of your
report of the services and .send It far
and wide, so that It may become a
source of Information and a means of
grace to those reading It.
With hearty appreciation of your
kindness for the spaoe so generously
afforded us, and for your good will
and co-operation In the work, I am,
on behalf of the committee,
W. B. HINSON.
White Temple, Portland.
Potatoes Bound to Go Up.
SPRINGWATER, Or, Nov. 17. To
the Editor.) With a Government re
port of 60,000,000 bushels -of potatoes
less than last year and tubers selling
at $2.60 and $3.25 last Spring. I see
no reason why the tuber will not reach
the enormous price of $5 per hundred
by next May. So why should the
farmer turn one-half his crop or the
whole crop over to the dealer at the
present price, thereby giving the
dealer a chance to monopolize this short
crop and fix the price far In excess
of what the farmer should get for
them? With Colorado, an "exporter,"
Importing tubers at $2 per hundred, and
Texas and Mexico, exporters. Importing
now, and California with a short crop,
which has always produced more than
half the total output of the Paclfio
Coast, and potatoes selling at $2.40 in
Chicago, It wouldn't eurprlse me to see
the tubers go to $T before next May.
I have a few to sell, but I will hold till
next Spring. J. - a-
a Cause of the War.
BEAVERTON, Or.. Nov. 16. (To the
Editor.) (1) What caused the war be
tween Italy and Turkey?
(2) Who are the Representatives and
how many of eaoh to both houses of
Oregon? MIS3 VALUE STITT.
(1) Italy laid claim to Tripoli and
declared war on Turkey because of
alleged commercial unfairness and mis
treatment of Italian subjects in Tripoli.
Turks look upon the war as an at
tempt at land grabbing by Italy..
(2) There are 90 members of the
Oregon Legislature. The Oregonlan
cannot again give space to a list of
them.
Nitts on Exclusiveness
By Dean Collins.
Nesclus Nitts, he whose wisdom Im
mense Made Punklndorf marvel with wonder
intense,
Perched on the top rail of a stable
worm fence,
Filled the dust of the road with his'
nicotine dents.
And spake of "them exclusive candi
date gents."
"It ' 'pears the Great Commoner Jest
can't abide
A one of the prospects lined up fer his
side.
Ner Harmon ner Wilson appears to him
good
Fer Dlmmycrat leaders, ner yet Under
wood; Which 'minds me of how Mr. Bill Ben-
nir.g Ryan
In Punklndorf always fer office was
tryln'.
"Back there in the 'SOs, fer 'bout seven
year.
We had two main parties In Punkln
dorf here;
The People's and Citizens', which last
was klckln'
Each Spring- at the polls, and recelvln'
a llckin'.
Well, Bill lost three times, in consecu
tive order.
As Citizens' man up fer City Recorder.
I
"About the fourth year they start In
and objects;
Bill ain't Jest the man to win out, we
suspects.'
And so they selects one Heracleus
Hlckett
To run fer tho place, on the Cltlsens
ticket.
When Bill Bennlng Ryan seen how
these things be,
He rlz up In wrath and he sez thus,
sezee:
" i don't approve Hickett to run fex
the place.
And therewith he punches Heracleus'
face.
And then these here Citizens picks out
one Brown,
Which same was the-next best of pros
pects In town;
But BUI, when he hear It, Jest goes fer
a gun.
And Brown moves to Baconhurst,
plumb on the run.
"The Citizens, seeln' him rampage and
rave.
They meets In a caucus In solemn con-
And says, 'The best thing's to confer
this great honor
Of candidacy upon Town Marshal
Conner.'
Next day they seen Conner a-doln' hi
best
To run In Bill, who was reels-tin art-ee.
"When Conner seen Bill was so sot "wtn
the thing
He says. 'I can't run fer Recorder thla
Spring!"
Then Bill lets up Conner, and calls Lrr.
Main
To patch up his wrist, which has suf
fered a sprain.
1 disapproves any one leadln', says he
The citizens Into defeat 'oeptln' me.
Portland. November 19.
Cctratry Town Sayings by Ed Hows
A man had three disagreeable rel
atives visiting him and complained to
me about it. I advised him to tell
them that their visit was not conven
ient. He thought a while and replied:
"Do you know that Is mighty hard to
dot"
The greatest amount of good Is per
formed by heighbors every day. " the
little help afforded every day could be
known, and represented In a bulk sum,
it would amount to millions.
Every man knows there Is dishonesty
in business; he has been robbed too
often not to know it.
If a reform Is adopted. It develops
within a year or two that there is
something the matter with it.
The meanest things done In this
world are done by rivals In business,
and they are more numerous than any
other class of mean things.
Many other good things are aa un
popular aa a good day's work.
It Is said that in Adams County,
Ohio, 85 per cent of the voters havo
been guilty of buying or selling votes.
In violation of law. If a railroad
should kill a cow for an Adams County
man, would he ask more than It was
worth, and would a Jury give it to him?
Some writers have a style so dis
agreeable that following them tires you
aa much as following a plow in stumpy
ground.
I dont care particularly for Judges or
oourts; still, when a man does wrong,
he cannot be safely trusted to try him
self. A new reform Is like a new patent
medicine most of "us are willing to
pay a dollar for a bottle, take a few
doses without relief, and then let It
stand around in the way.
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonlan. Nov. 0, 1861.
The last two Eastern dispatohea
were received by mail from San Fran
cisco. They furnish dates to tho 11th
of November. Our Southern expedi
tion had captured two rebel forts at
Port Royal. & C; also had taken Beau
fort, Port Royal Island. Beaufort was
partially burnt while being captured
The rebels were leaving the Potomac
as rapidly as possible for the South.
A report was current at James River
that Charleston was attacked on the
o.v. rhi, la not Improbable. Rebel
regiments had been sent south from
James River In great haste. Our
hH trained a splendid victory at
, if Home miles below Cairo.
The last accounts from Price left him
fortifying himself near the Arkansas
ht, The election in Maryland 13
overwhelming for the Union. There
was a manifest elongation of secession
countenances 111 x-u j
t, mnd 1urv concluded their la
bors for the term yesterday and were
discharged. Speaking of the peniten
tiary they say: "We censure the prao
tice of allowing tho convicts to run at
large and as being placed as guard
over others. It is unjust to the com
munity and calculated to make cul
prits regard the punishment as merely
nominal, and is contrary to the sen
tonc of the court. T e hope It will not
be allowed hereafter."
Benjamin Stark, United States Sen
ator appointed by Governor Whiteaker,
sailed on the steamer last night.
In India, where the cholera in Its
most malignant form first emerged
and spread throughout the world. It
has again made Its appearance and is
terribly destructive to human life. It
is probable that it may a second time
pass over Europe and this country.
General Hunter, the successor of
Fremont in Missouri, commanded the
division which did the most fighting
at Bull Run and was severely wounded
in that battle. He is called a gallant
and accomplished soldier.