TITE MORNING OREGONIAN. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23. -1011.
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J I PORTLAND. 8ATYKDAT. DEC. . lt-
WHERE OREGON' SEEDS Htlf.
The difficulties of the Important
j! West Umatilla project now bid fair to
J . be ended through the powerful Inter-
t cession of President lart ana otcrt
, tary of the Interior Fisher. An engl
j; neering board Is to be appointed for
' ' purposes of Investigating the needs
: and merits of the West Umatilla plan
and of the counter schemes of lnter
' ' ested landowners and speculators.
, ; Doubtless the board will ret at the
bottom of the agitation against West
J I'matll'.a and recommend a feasible
' and satisfactory plan of development.
It will not escape the general notice
that the President and Secretary have
' responded In this mutter to pree.-ure
; mainly exerted by others than the Ore
' run delegation In Congress. We would
! not withhold due credit to any member
of the delegation for efTort made In be
i t half of Went Umatilla, but we have
! seen no notice anywhere of more than
"perfunctory activity on the part of
i any of Oregon's Senators or Repre-
" aen tat Ives except Indeed Senator
' v nam rwrmi u. " j . - - .........
j! belong. In another district ar,
hardly be expected to bestir 1
- . ,1 - . t .in..
Chamberlain. Representative Hawley
nd can
liimavlf
about Wnt Umatilla.
!! The course of (Jovernment reclama-
jj tlon has been singularly unfortunate
lor irrgon. inv anmr ii"t j
briefly summarized as' follows:
(1) The United States Government
!
undertakes TMt projects for reclama-
; tlon and irrigation of arid lands
I through funds raised from sale of pub-
i lie land.
! (II The original reclamation act re.
inquire that at least 51 per cent of
j the moneys realised through land snles
jj from each state shall be reinvested In
I? reclamation projects within that state.
!; 1) The reclamation fund runs low
'I and in ISO It is proposed to issue
j! t2O.00O.O4O bonds to complete existing
i project.
I) Congress authorises the 110.
J 000.000 loan and at the same time re
'i peals the prorlslon that requires reln
l; vestment In any state, but leaves to
J the Reclamation Service to favor what
1 1 projects it pleases anywhere.
(6) The Oregon Senators thus per
' mlt. without a word of proteet. the
'.Inauguration of a reclamation policy
disastrous to Oregon, which has con
, trlbuted $10,000,000 or thereabouts to
J the reclamation fund and has received
i In return the expenditure of about
( . a l.uvu.uuv.
j ((1 The board of Army engineers
! appointed to apportion the I2J.000.000
loan passes up Oregon with small con
sideration, but gives large appropria
tions to states with vigilant and Influ
ential Senators.
(7) The campaign for neglected
West Umatilla Is taken up by Portland
I ' and other Oregon commercial bodies.
I , ( President Taft and Secretary
t Fijiher respond to Oregon's represent
i ' ations by semi-official notice that. they
will find funds for West Umatilla If
1 their special board of engineers ap
J ', proves the project.
It would really appear to be worth
Oregon's while to have Senators la
; Congress who are able and willing to
I I do something for Oregon. The neglect
! of Oregon's Senators has cost Oregon
; ' millions.
: lUUt.UTf.R DAT FOR ALASKA KAR.
The history of California promise
' i to repeat Itself in Alaxka. Given over
' ' to the great cattle ranches of the
Spaniards before Its annexation to the
' ! United States. California first drew
1 ' hosts of Americans by the discovery
! of gold. The miners, who had followed
J every conceivable occupation until
t . they Joined in the stampede, soon saw
1 that the land was good for every form
' of agriculture and horticulture and
! that It abounded In timber. Seeing
' that fortunes were to be made as
- ' quickly, and far more surely, in grow
' . Ing produce to supply the miners than
; . In actual mining, many took to farm-
I lug and made California the state of
many resources me see today.
Gold has In like manner drawn
' thousands of men to Alaska, only to
! '. discover that Its possibilities In agrl
; ' culture and stock raising are as great
u In mining and that its fish are so
abundant as to crowd each other out
f the streams. The shortness of the
Summer Is compensated by the
length of the Summer days, which
makes the aggregate of sunshine In
the year probably as great as In more
J Southern climes. Enough has been
done In the way of experiment to
- prove the fertility of the soil and that
-fruit, vegetables and hay mature
"there. The grassy valleys of Western
"Alaska can feed great herds of cattle.
' Alaska Is capable of supporting In
'comfort a denser population than
Sweden. Norway. Lapland and Fin
tland. which are In the same latitude.
2nd In addition to agriculture and
cattle-growing, which flourish In those
" countries, has many resources which
" they do not possess.
We but need a railroad to the In
terior, which will tap not only the
Matanuska coal field, but the agricul
tural regton of the Copper and Tanana
River basins, and the settlement of
lAlasl a by a permanent agrlcultura'
." population will egtn. Construction
, cf such a railroad by the Government
Is provided for by a bill Introduced
ln the House by Representative Sul
xer. As he la a Democratic leader and
i as his measure Is In line with the pol
icy of the Taft Administration, there
f ts good hope of Its passage. Tl
" of a brighter day for Alaska
The dawn
can be
seen.
It will not be long before our liter
ary lights will be as numerous as act
ors In the galaxy of the divorce court.
Upton Sinclair. R. H. Davis. Booth
Tarklngton. who'll be next? Success
Is as fatal to the lovea of genius as to
those of our steel magnates. When a
man writes a best seller he must get a
new wife to correspond with his
greater glory. Goldsmith said he had
never found real happiness except
among the poor. Hat anybody found
real virtue among the rich and great?
TO HANG J'OT TO HAXG
Governor Went has decided that
after all. he will not abolish capital
punishment. He win Invoke the ini
tiative and let the people do It. Mean
while tho tender and. sympathetic
Governor, through reprieves and stays
of execution, will permit our murder
ers to accumulate In prison whenever
It Is possible to get them In prison
until after the people at the election
in November, 1912, shall have deter
mined what to do with them.
This is all most perplexing. We
have Just had thrown at our devoted
heads the constitution and the laws
showing that the Governor has full
power to hang "em or not to hang "em.
Just as he pleases; and when he electa
not to hang 'em. It Is no concern of
the constitution, or the laws, or the
Legislature, or the people. The Gov
ernor, It seemed, was a sort of com
bined Legislature, Supreme Court and
Chief Executive. Sitting as a legisla
ture, he made the laws: sitting as a
j coxit, he Interpreted them; a
M fc chief executive, he enfor
nd sitting
nforced them
or. rather, he refused to enforce
them on certain momentous occasions.
Well, let It all go to the people. If
the people as a legislature say not to
hang 'em. we hope that the Governor
will not again change his august mind
and Insist on hanging 'em.
A MVSTERV.
De Morgan or some other genius
might build a novel around the ad
venture which befel S. Chandler Rog
ers in Seattle the other nlffht. The
circumstance was as strange as any
thing in "It Never Can Happen Again."
Rogers, it seems. Is one of those singu
lar men who have lost their Identity.
For a year or two his past haa been
blank to him. and of course the peo
ple whom he knevr before the break in
hu ilfe are now strangers to him. One
night when he was at the theater a
woman suddenly emerged from the
abyss of oblivion which takes the place
to Rogers which memory nils for nor
mal men and handed him a gold
watch. She sld he had been kind to
her In the old days and she wanted to
show him that she was gTateful.
Nothing could be prettier, nothing
more touching. Who was the woman?
She would not tell him her name.
What were their relations before his
oil self disappeared and tha new one
came? She did not disclose the secret.
It Is all mysterious and infinitely fasci
nating. Perhaps some old love story
Is here half told waiting for a genius to
give It life and power.
Some day Rogers, looking carelessly
through forgotten letters, will find a
withered rose leaf with the ghost of
Its rragranre lingering still as wan as
Its faded tint and the memory he has
lost will come back to him. Then he
will know who the woman was and
whv she gave him the watch so mys
teriously. Where Is his old self while
this Intruder masquerades In his form?
Where did the Intruder come from?
Whence did he obtain the authority to
dispossess the original personality
which inhabited Rogers' body and
take it for his own?
The problems of double and multiple
personality are Just beginning to en
gage the attention of scientific Inves
tigators. They have explained some
of the mysteries, but not many. Port
land has a man of science who has
done as much as anybody, perhaps, to
unveil these fascinating secrets, but we
have no doubt that, with true philo
sophic modesty, he would admit that
there Is still a great deal more to learn.
WFAKNESS Or POClAl, INSURANCE.
The broadening of Great Britain's
scheme of social insurance by the
adoption of a bill providing for com
putsory insurance against sickness and
unemployment has come at a time
when students are discussing n In
dictment of Germany's compre
hensive plan by the retired head of
the imperial German Insurance office.
Great Britain, under the terms of the
new enactment, will have a system as
nearly complete as that of Germany,
whose plan so far has led In general
scope and thoroughness. There are
many details in social Insurance plans
that may differ, and England has not
adopted the exact German plan. Tet
the faults found In Germany are faults
that Great Britain cannot hope to
avoid except after a long period of
trial of the plan. Moreover, they are
faults that have glaringly appeared in
our own military pension scheme. We
have never been able to avoid them.
Perhaps we have not tried very hard.
Dr. Ferdinand Friedensburg. -who
has published the brochure referred to.
does not condemn the policy of social
Insurance. He Indicts Its abuses. Its
fraud and the psychological effects an
lmperfected svstem has upon the mass
of workers. Those who seek to evade '
th navment of compulsory Insurance 1
premiums are legion, w hlle every
ache me that fertile mind can evolve to I
get the benents or tne system is useu
often used successfully by those not
entitled to them.
Some attempts to obtain invalid pen
sions in Germany are even laughable.
Dr. Friedensburg tells of a farmer who
Insisted he was engaged in an agri
cultural pursuit when Injured going to
church to pray for rain. In another
case a mother when undressing her
child infected a finger. She asserted a
right to an invalid pension on the
ground that as the child cared for the
geese the undressing was an agricul
tural pursuit. Persons who had reached
the age of TO at the time the old-age
Insurance law became effective could
obtain a pension only upon showing
that they had been engaged within
three years previous In one of the oc
cupations mentioned In the enactment.
This led to a surprising number of
aged mothers-in-law developing Into
nurseglrls.
"Pension lies unblushlngly Involve
even family life." declares Dr. Fried
ensburg. "Attempts are made, ever
and again, to transform the wife Into
the employe of her husband, and the
husband Into the employe of his wife,
as circumstances may demand; broth
ers and sisters become servants: and
even children not yet four years old are
alleged to be regularly employed in ag
ricultural pursuits. In his old age the
man who has retired from active life
again becomes a plowboy."
Great Britain has had a form of vol
untary worklngmen's insurance to
which employers alone, or both em
ployers and employes, contribute, de
pending on the character of the In
surance organisation. It haa also had
a state-aided form of sickness insur-
ance voluntary with workmen In all
Industries, and also an old-age pen
sion fund provided by general taxa
tion, for the benefit of all needy per
sons over "0 years of age. The new
bill provides for compulsory Insurance
against sickness and unemployment
among those engaged In any trade,
profession or business earning wages
under 1800 a year, except soldiers, sail
ors, teachers and municipal employes,
who are otherwise provided for. The
benefits will be medical relief and at
small sum for maintenance during Ill
ness, a life pension If permanently in
firm, and also an allowance in case of
unemployment except when the Idle
ness is a result of strike. The unem
ployment feature, however, applies
only to the building and engineering
trades. Workmen, employers and the
state all contribute. As the scheme
applies to 13.000.000 workers. It can
be safely expected that-Bnme thou
sands will seek to evade the responsi
bilities Imposed and that other thou
sands will seek benefits to which they
are not entitled. That the plan will
make even a large proportion of the
workers happier or less restless Is to
be doubted. Dr. Friedensburg says
the German system haa not.
Pension "reforms" In Germany have
usually taken the form of letting down
the bars to greater assistance by the
state to the Indolent and improvident.
Pension "reforms" In America have
not been designed to suppress frauds.
Rather they have been drawn with the
Idea of wiping out frauds by removing
the legal restrictions that make pen
sion grabs fraudulent. The underly
ing motive there, as here, has usually
been political supremacy. Political
considerations no doubt had more to
do with the passage of the Sherwood
bill than did a feeling that duty had
been but partly performed toward the
old soldier. But with all our generos
ity for the war veteran and desire to
cultivate voting strength, we happily
do not seem to be drifting yet toward
social Insurance, except in so far as
laws for compensation of workingmen
Injured in the line of their employment
may be considered a part of the gen
eral scheme. We even had to await
the arrival of the Congressional Rec
ord to learn that Representative Ber
ger had proposed without success an
amendment changing the Sherwood
bill to a pension bill proviJIng benefits
for every cltlxen of the United States
over 60 years of age who has an In
come of not more than 19 per week.
MYTHS AX I) MTTHMAKERS.
A good piece of historical work was
done by Mr. D. W. Craig, of Salem. In
the letter which he wrote to The Ore
gonian the other day about one of the
many Webster myths. The story which
Mr. Craig criticised relates to Daniel
Webster's graduation day at Dart
mouth. We are asked to believe that
the young man, who graduated second
in his class, had aspired to be valedic
torian. Inasmuch as the faculty
awarded the honor to the student who
had higher marks. Daniel In a fit of
j petulance tore up his diploma on the
college campus ana exciaimeu to some
of his fellows, "My Industry may make
me a great man, but this miserable
parchment cannot."
The story is so good that It ought
to be true. No college diploma ever
yet made anybody great or small, and
if Daniel had actually said what is
reported he would have hit the nail
squarely on the head. But Mr. Craig
proves clearly enough that he did not
say It. As long ago as 1850 he saw
at Jacksonville. 111., the man who won
the valedictory from Webster and
asked him what the truth was as to
the scene on the campus. The man,
whose name was Collins and who was
then Janitor In a little college at
Crawfordsvllle. declared that It was
all a myth. It was "a lie made up of
whole cloth," he told Mr. Craig.
It la seldom that any of the numer
ous myths which becloud the truth of
history can be disposed of so easily
and completely. Frequently, though
we may feel that they are Incredible,
It Is virtually Impossible to prove it.
The dying beds of distinguished men
afford precious opportunities for the
mythopocle faculties of the bystand
ers. Usually their Imaginations make
the luminary expire with some edify
ing remark on his lips. "I die con
tent." exclaimed Wolfe at Quebec
when they told him the French were
fleeing and Montcalm no more. This
Is the popular version of his end, but
It Is almost certain that he expired
without a word. "Jefferson survives."
whispered Adams as he felt the waters
of the dark river wetting his feet. At
any rate w are told that he said so,
but the chanoea are many to one that
he died In silence, as the great major
ity of people do. The myth was made
to fit the fact that Jefferson died the
same day. Sir Thomas More, Henry
VIII's most lamented victim, made a
witticism as he placed his neck on the
block, but his faculties had not been
Impaired either by a bullet wound or
by wasting disease.
Men who came to their deaths In
full vigor or mind ana Doay nave aone
wonderful things In their last agonlea
and some of them have said things
worthy of eternal remembrance. When
Cranmer was Dumuig
he held the
rlcht hand which had signed his ab
horred recantation In the flames until
It was charred to cinders. John Huss
smiled from the fire that was consum
ing him when he saw a poor woman
bringing a fagot to pile at the stake.
She expected credit for the deed on
high. He said "Sancta slmplicltas" so
clearly that the mob .heard It. Lati
mer preached to the people from the
flames until the fire sealed his lips.
That is the story at any rate, and
knowing the spirit of the man, it is
perfectly credible.
It has been an engaging pastime of
theologians to manufacture lurid dy
ing scenes of the most painful descrip
tion for those who did not agree with
their favorite tenets.' According to
these Imaginative persons, the last
moments of "infidels" have been par
ticularly distressing. We are told, for
example, that Thomas Paine when
his end appeared repented with meas
ureless remorse of his attacks on the
creeds of his day and vainly sought
reconciliation with the powers above
whom he had offtended. The fact, as
we know from the best possible testi
mony, is that Paine died quite placidly
and expressed no fear whatever con
cerning his reception In the next world.
Many frightful tales have been pub
lished about the last moments of Vol
taire. He Is said to have been smit
ten with remorse for his deeds, and to
have renounced the opinions he had
taught for sixty years. Inasmuch as
Voltaire's deeds were mainly of the
sort which the prophet Mlcah describes
as the very essence of true religion, it
is difficult to believe that he repented
of them at the moment when he was
about to appear before the Judge
"Judgment
acording
truth."
Mankind Is fond of inventing fables
which predict the careers of Its great
exemplars and Illustrate their traits of
character. When a notable man could
aptly have said or done a certain thing
the world ia pretty certain to create a
myth crediting him with It. Perhaps
It is our love of harmonious roundness
which moves us thus to fill out careers
with the circumstances which they
have lacked" In reality. The Webster
myth which Mr. Craig punctured In
The Oregonian was not very well made
because it lacked verisimilitude. The
great Daniel was not at any time of his
life a petulant person. Even In his
younger days there was something of
the "Olympian" about him. The quo
tations which Lodge gives from the
orations he made soon after graduat
ing are almost as orotund and gran
diloquept as the Dartmouth College
speech before the Supreme Court.
Webster revised that great effort be
fore he sent It to the press and craftily
uot out the parts which were designed
to play on John Marshall's political
prejudices, but he left the touching
allusion to the college where he had
graduated. "It Is small," he exclaimed,
"but there are those who love it."
Webster had good reason to love
Dartmouth, for it had opened the doors
of opportunity to his genius. Do the
mammoth Institutions of our day open
those doors any wider? Is It not still
as true as it was In Webster's time
that the deepest educational values
come from association with noble char
acters and the study of the great books
of the world and Is It not also true that
these advantages can be obtained
better at a small college than at a
large one? We cannot estimate pic
tures by the square yard nor statues
by the ton. Is (t any safer to Judge of
a college by the sire of ita endowment
and the number of Its professors ana
students?
Much good should be accomplished
for Irrigators by the organization of
tha Federated Water-Users Associa.
tlon. It should bring such influence
to bear on the Reclamation Bureau
that, when a project is adopted,
much closer approximation to its cost
can be made than has been the case
with anv estimates hitherto made. At
present a settler on a tract about to be
reclaimed is in the position of a man
who buys a house subject to a mort
gage the amount of which Is indefinite
and contingent on the action of a man
over whom he has no control. A set
tler may be given to understand that
the reclamation charge on his land will
be 30 an acre, but when the work Is
finished the charge may have in
creased to $60 or 175 an acre. Add to
this the heartbreaking delays In put
ting water on the land and we have an
explanation of the failure of settlers to
stampede to reclaimed land, of which
the Reclamation Bureau complains.
Announcement that as soon as Tllla.
mook harbor is Improved a 11.000.000
sawmill will be built there should
cause the Army engineers to revise
their process of reasoning about har
bor Improvements. Instead or con
demning a project because there Is no
commerce actually using a harbor ana
which cannot be used for lack of lm
provement, let them consider whether
there are resources In the tributary
rec-inn to nroduco commerce. If the
resources are there, the project should
be approved, for they can safely trust
American enterprise to develop those
resources and produce commerce.
The European powers will be con
tent to let China enjoy the substance
of a republic provided she retains the
outward trappings of monarchy. I n
overturning of sovereigns might be
come contagious and is to be checked
In the Interest of certain distinguished
families whose members have been
taught that It Is beneath a prince's
dignity to earn his living.
Printing of Government records on
paper made of so perishable a mate
rial as clay would be a calamity, but
most of the speeches In Congress
which are never spoken and are print
ed in the Congressional Record under
the "leave to print" custom might a
well be written In sand. They are of
such stuff as day dreams are made of.
Let the New England old maids
card-Index themselves and exchange
Indexes with the Kansas bachelors ant
the pathway between New England
Bnd Kansas may soon become strewn
with orange blossoms and Cupid's
darts. Let us apply the rules of scien
tific management to matchmaking as
well as to railroading.
The Vancouver Dally Columbian of
December 19 was what Its publisher,
Mr. E. E. Beard, was pleased to term
a "holiday number." and If excess of
Christmas advertising means anything,
the paper was up to the term, although
the literary and news features were
not neglected on account of crowded
space.
The Pendleton Live Wire, always
newsy and readable, anticipated
Christmas last Tuesday by appearing
In an illuminated cover with an over
flow of holiday advertising. The Live
Wire Is sometimes shocking, but al
ways reliable.
That Idaho won first prize on pota
toes at the St. Paul land show Is not
remarkable, for Nature Is so bountiful
in that state that many a lazy grower
never cultivates his crop and has
plenty. .
The packers say their trust Is a good
trust Then why have they evaded the
opportunity to exploit its goodness
which the Government has been forc
ing upon them for the last eight
years?
Hetty Green Is providing against
want when she becomes really old by
executing a ninety-nine-year lease at
large rental on a lot In Chicago.
S. Chandler Rogers, the man of twe
individualities, is given to understand
that his other self had a winning way
with women and children.
The President's turkey will be a
forty-pounder. Majr he get the long
end of the wishbone.'
The McNamaras have another of
fense for atonement the grief of their
mother.
Shutpr was caught in the bear trap,
after all.
The saddest disillusion of childhood
is the empty stocking Christmas morn.
One day left shop early.
whose
MURDERERS
Writer Thinks Iaaanlty ptea
Over-
worked ia This Country.
PORTLAND, Nov. 23. (To the Ed
itor.) A writer in The Oregonian De
cember 21 asks the questions: Should
society seek to punish the Individual
who commits a crime because of a de
based and perverted human passion?
Would it be right to hang a degenerate?
By this I Infer that any person trans
gressing the law. doing an act of vio
lence or taking whattloes not belong to
him is a degenerate, and for that rea
son should be punished very lightly or
not at all for his crimes?
I wonder if this sympathist really
thinks that It Is Impossible for the
thug to prevent himself while
walking along some dark alley pulling
a gun. thrusting It In some man's face
and demanding his money. They don't
do those things on a well-lighted street
They don't commit crimes like the Hols,
man and Hills murders, they have first
weighed carefully their chances of es
cape without detection. After all this
shrewd work on their part some would
have us believe there Is something
amiss with their gray matter and we
should be lenient with them.
It Is conceded that an Insane person
or an Imbecile is not responsible for
his acts, but did you ever try to recall
a heinous crime that was commited by
one of these? We know that the crim
inal element has greatly overworked
the insanity dodge. It does not follow
that because the world is growing more
enlightened that crime will cease. There
could no doubt be a great reduction
made in the homicides In the United
States by hanging the perpetrators,
which the orlmes Justify, Instead of
giving them a term in the penitentiary,
which is only an incentive for others to
do crime. With lectures, theaters, base
ball and musicals it makes those Insti
tutions about as fine resorts as we have
in the state.
txo eertatnlv need to make use of tne
rope in a few cases that have come to
our notice. If the Governor of this
state Is too weak sentimentally to al
low It to be done, he should be made to
step down and out in the Interest of
those that are compelled to live In iso
lated places without protection.
- R. A. WESTFIELD.
The Christmas Spirit.
PORTLAND, Dec. 22. (To the Ed
itor.) This is a time of the year when
each vies with each other In efforts to
show our friendship, return favors, can
cel obligations, help the needy and in a
word, act extraordinarily. Many of us
there are who would help with all of
our might and means, but we feel han
dicapped by lack of funds, time, oppor
tunity and what not. Many of us there
are who can and are willing to be gen
erous during this time of general good
feeling. Gifts are exchanged In abun
dance, but It is difficult to live for gain"
during the entire year but a day. and
on th.it day to live for good.
A Christmas gift need not be a ma
terial object or bear a dollar sign. It
should be an indication of good will,
come as It may. Tender your seat In a
oar, carry a parcel, speak a kind word
where policy does not require It. put
your shoulder to any mired wheel, not
on the 25th day of December, but on
each" day of the year and you have the
real Christmas spirit. It will become
a habit.
The grouch, the crank or the selfish
who exercise their special intuitions all
the year's days but one. delude them
selves by gift making. Worlds would
not repav In a day for the tears and
sorrow they pive throughout the year,
as a result of their selfishness.
Since there are people who need aid
of every sort since a life buoy for many
can be formed from words of encour
...mant. lnce politeness and conslder-
. th. eheanAKt liommodi-
ties of life since presents that bring
lastina- lov to the Santas as well as the
' " J . . 1. n
child can all be ciassinea turner i
heading of unselfishness, why cannot
each be a real Santa Claus for the year
Instead of for the flay.' our n-nis
how surprising figures In your happi
ness column instead of costing so many
dollars and o many cents. And If peo
ple would put the same energy w
helping with words and deeds as they
do in giving snowy maierm. Viu....
vou and I. for two, would not know our.
selves. E. B. BIEKENBEUEL.
On Tat Certificates.
HOQUAIM. Wash., Dec 21. (To the
Editor.) First How long must a man
. t.i on a certificate of delin
quency berore ne na .
State of Oregon?
Second How soon can he give
..mn u Acc If hi chooses to sell?
Thr(j Must he record the certificate
of delinquency to hold tne properu i
First He may bring a foreclosure
suit after three years, this being sim
ilar to a mortgage foreclosure. The
state law on this point providing lor
the giving of a Sheriff's deed, has not
yet been tested In the Oregon Supreme
Court. The law giving title after 10
years' open and notorious possession of
a piece of property would defend it
against all comers.
Second He may, if ne cnooses to ao
so, give a warranty uceu t
after he acquires his title.
Third The Sheriffs deed must be
recorded.
Portland Roll Call.
PORTLAND. Dec 22. (To the Edi
tor.) During a recent visit to the City
of Boston I attended a civic luncheon.
T hrd for the first time what was
called the Portland Roll Call,- at which
each one present rose and gave his
name and business.
Being curious to know now mis very
unique and practical custom came to
be called Portland, I made inquiry, but
all I could learn that the Innovation
was started In Portland by some official
In a local lodge to make the members
better acquainted.
Could you publish tne name or me
person who started this, and the lodge
in which It was originated?
C. B. Merrick, Postmaster of Port
land, Is credited with having originated
the "Portland Roll Coll" In the Port
land Ad. Club about two years ago.
Descent of Property.
RHERrDAN. Dec 21. (To the Edi
tor.) A woman inherits land from her
father. She dies and her husband holds
a life lease on said land. They had one
girl and now married who bad one
child and she died. Does tne hus
band hold a life lease on said land or
does it go to the-child?
A SLBSL'BlBliK.
If Mary Jones dies, and John Jones,
her husband, takes his courtesy in her
estate, he takes It for his life. John
Jones' granddaughter would , take the
property after he died if she were the
only heir.
Ohio Society.
PORTLAND. Dec. 22. (To the Edi
tor.) Will you please state whether
there Is an Ohio Society here, com
posed of former residents of that state?
BERT C. THOMAS.
The Ohio Society of Oregon, Dr. By
ron E. Miller, president has offices in
the Dekum building. .
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonian of Dec. 23. 1861.
Olympla. W. T.. Dec 18. This af
ternoon the Council was organized by
the following elections: A. R. Burbank.
president: Thomas M. Reed, chief clerk;
Peterfleld Tunpln. assistant clerk;
David P. Wallace, sergeant-at-arms;
Jacob Smith, doorkeeper.
Olympla, Dec 19. At 11 o'clock
Governor Turney delivered his annual
message to the two houses In Joint
convention.
Governor Turner has appointed Mr.
Murphy, of the Standard, printer until
the Legislature elects a printer. It Is
rumored that Lodge, late of the Pio
neer, muzzled by the Republican cen
tral committee last Summer, will con
tost. Poo. of the Overland Press, Is
actively canvassing for the office with
some prospect of success. Damon, of
the Northwest, has Just left here.
The mall to Colvllle has been dis
continued. It was an essential insti
tution for the post at Coiville and the
settlements In that vicinity. Major
Lugenbeel did not receive his letters
and papers for months; did not know
the reason until informed by the post
master at Walla Walla that the mall
route had been discontinued.
Mr. J. C. Strong arrived here on Sat
urday last for a trip through Cali
fornia and Oreeon. where, he has been
on business connected with the con
struction of the telegraph line from
this city to Yreka. Mr. S. informs us
that he was successful in obtaining?
all the shares along- the route he
wished for. He says he has already
contracted for the erection of the poles
the whole- distance and expects to com
plete the work during the coming Sum
mer. He wishes our citizens to sub
scribe about B0 shares more, the bal
ance not yet taken, which will give
them some control in the business
transactions of -the company.
We notice that W. P. Abrams &
Company's sawmill is now running day
and niftht to supply the great demand
for lumber.
Yesterday morning- we found mother
earth dressed in snowy raiments for
the first time this, season.
If the present population east of the
Cascades requires all the means of
transportation of the Columbia River
Navigation Company, It is very evident
that when that population Is quadru
pled, vastly increased means for trans
portation will be required. The com
pany, anticipating the wants of the
community, are about to add two
steamboats to their line above The
Dalles, of large capacity, and calcu
lated for the business of the upper
waters. Work is now progressing on
one of them and both of them will be
completed by the first of April.
TOLLING OF WATER FOWL WRONG.
-Writer Believes Blrdn Should Not Be
l:ntlcrd With Scattered Grain.
CORVALLLS. Or., Dec. 21. (To the
Editor.) Many laws have been passed
for the protection of wild fowl, but
there Is one custom practiced by many
In this state that seems to have been
overlooked, that is doing more than
anything else to hurry the extinction of
the duck.
This is the custom of scattering grain
in ponds to toll the ducks where they
can easily be slaughtered. This is on
a par with the quail net. the salt' lick
for deer and other unsportsmanlike
devices that are properly prohibited by
'"i am a lover of dog and gun, but I
believe in giving the game a chance
for their lives. No true sportsman
wnuiri scatter trrain for a covey of
quail and thet. as they gather together
1 to feed.
shoot into ineir miusw
stead he flushes the covey, lets them
I scatter, and then over the point picks
I . . . i i .1 A . , ! . Kin nUIll a shot
out his bird and pits his skill as a shot
against the bird's skill as a Iiyer.
Let the ducks feed where they will
and when the open season comes go
after them in the manly way, but don't
toll them to the point of your gun with
the promise of food.
To those who are In favor of a law
prohibiting the baiting of ducks I
would respectfully suggest you express
your sentiments in a letter to the
proper parties and also urge that
Spring shooting of wild fowl be pro
hibited. F. J. CARTAN.
Vasrrancr Deflned,
PORTLAND. Dec. 21. (To the Edi
tor.) First If a man or woman buys
clothes from an outfitting company on
an Installment plan and the man Is
later arrested on a vagrancy charge
and found guilty, but allowed to go on
suspended sentence providing he leaves
the town, would he be subject to prose
cution by the outfitting company If he
should leave the state entirely; or if
he remained In the state and was will
ing to continue with his payments,
could he be prosecuted by the outfitting
company, the articles purchased being
clothing? Second When is a man a
vagrant? Is a man a vagrant when he
is living in his house, the rent being
paid In advance and he has provisions
and money also that -he has saved up
for years at only a small amount each
year? CONSTANT READER.
First He could be prosecuted by the
o'-tfittine company if he left the county
without having paid for the clothing J
and without the company's written
consent The state law Is explicit on
this subject
Second A vagrant Is "every Idle or
dissolute person without visible means
of living or a lawful occupation, who
has an ability to work and does not
seek or refuses employment or labor."
Coyotes Destroy Game Birds,
ASHLAND. Or., Dec. 21. (To the
Editor.) Our game laws would be im
proved if the bounty on coyotes was
35, so as to Induce hunters te- try to
kill them off. They do more to rob
the nest of the game birds than any
other animal. They catch 'the young
fowls, also the young deer, also many
of the wounded deer. The wildcat
catches many quail on their roosts in
Winter, as I have tracked them in the
snow and found where one wildcat had
caught as many as three in one roost-
imr place. I have Deen in tne wooas
and hunted and trapped for 30 years
and have a good chance to know. I
think at least one-nail tne eggs ana
young fowls are destroyed ty tne
coyote, alone. If one-half of the li
cense money were put into counties It
would enable the payment of larger
bounties. W. E. BUTLER.
No.
PORTLAND, Dec 22. (To the Ed
itor.) A meets B and marries her. A
neglects B till she leaves him, after liv
ing with him five years. B meets C,
who wants to many her. As she has
no divorce she goes to talk it over with
A. C accompanies her. A refuses to
grant a divorce, but offers to go to the
Justice's office and give B to C, which
he does, signing' himself as one of the
witnesses. Are they married, and are
their children legitimate?
" CONSTANT READER.
Ns.
PORTLAND. Dec. 21. (To the Edi
tor.) A man married in Oregon, there
are no children of this marriage. The
wife bought property in her name only.
Can his children by a former marriage
eet the stepmothers property? J
A READER.
I
N. NITTS ON HOLIDAYS
By Deaa Collins.
Nescius Nltts, he whose sapient ways
i In Punklndorf Station, became quite
the craze.
! Sprayed forth at an earwig and ended
! Its days
I A dark amber vapor of nicotine haze.
j Remarking,
"How opportune comes
holidays!"
i Some phophets has said that the mil
i lenium
. Is headed this way and is sartin to
come,
i But jeadin' the papers. In which Is in
i eluded
1 Much rumors of wars, they must shore
be deluded
i I thinks, ter I seldom has seen things
appear
More plumb unmillenium-like than this
year.
"Events on events keeps a-pilin' and
pilin,'
And war clouds all o'er the horizon Is
bilin';
The pore Dove of Peace ain't got no
place. It 'pears.
To light ner she won't have most like,
fer some years;
And nation at nation, it seems, has
jest hurled
A kick, to pass on "til It circles the
world.
"Why, right here at home we has
plnted out flat
To Russia,, the station where she gits
off at;
And Russia is plannin' extensive dl-
, versions
Along them there borders possessed
by the Persians;
And, Jest like the pore, always with
us, there lurks
The scrap carried on by 'Tallans and
Turks.
"And Chlny Is bllin' with her revolu
tion, And scramblln' after her own consti
tution; While on the outskirts of the struggle
and roar.
The Powers is waitin' to stick in their
oar.
Which action, I 'pines, would have
power unbounded
To moke the confusion confounded
confounded.
"Likewise, In the south over Europe
obtrudes"
Them clouds o'er the Balkans, that gets
out and broods
'Bout twice every year, Jest as reg'lar
as clocks. . ,
Mars shore la a-shakin' his ominous
locks
A heap 'round of late, and In various
ways ;
Therefore I says, 'Opportune comes
holidays."
"When all of the nation with all of
their might
Is Jest cacklin "round on the edge of a
fight.
And prices on dreadnoughts has taken;
a boost.
And the Dove flutters vainly, av-seeldnf
a roost
Most opportune oomes this reminder
right then.
Of 'Peace upon earth,' and of 'Goodwill
to men'."
Portland, December 22.
Country Town Sayings by Ed Howej
IT'S a pity that a man's stomach Is not
stronger than his appetite.
When you pick up a certain type of
newspaper. It makes you think of an
old woman who Is scolding about some
thing every time you go into her house.
A man may eat hotel gravy without
particularly bad results; but home-made
gravy i good, and therefore dangerous.
I was very ambitious when young,
but all I try to do now Is to get
through the day.
Every man who rents a house asks
for so many repairs that he finally
moves, Just because he is mad, and not
because he can do better.
Nothing makes country people so mad
as for city people to visit their town,
and feel sorry for them.
A boy Is as tired of hearing, "Say
thank you," as a parrot Is of hearing:
"Polly, want a cracker?"
The New Yorker needn't feel so
proud; the average New York man Is a
mighty small part of the town.
When a farmer comes to town with
a load of corn, he usually has a lot of
rabbits on top, which he will sell for
his boys.
Christmas Features
of
The Sunday Oregonian
Santa's First Stop Full page,
in color, of the new Santa Claus
and his first stop in Portland.
The Shrub of Thorns An ac
count of the wonderful Glaston
bury thorn, which made the agon
izing crown that Jesus wore. It
blooms unseasonably in America
this year.
Christmas Under Fire C. B.
Lewis tells of a trying day in the
great Civil War on Christmas
day.
A Beggar Maid A gripping
Christmas story by Lily A. Long.
' Quaint Christmas Customs A
glimpse into the cheery practices
of Yuletide in olden times and
today.
Nineteen-Eleven A page on
the year just closing a year to
be wondered at.
"They're Sure to Get Me"
So says Burns, -fatalist and de
tective in McXamara case, in a
remarkable interview, which is
given a full half page.
An Argentine Cinch Another
crisp short story of the business
world.
Fables in Slang George Ade
writes two fables for Christmas,
both of them in his richest vein.
The Jockey Who Slept A cork
ing short tale about a newspaper
reporter and his "feature story."
Dorothy Deere, Slim Jim, Hair
breadth Harry, Mrs. Time-Killer
and Mr. Boss get into fresh dif
ficulty. Anna Belle's cut-out
clothes and a puzzle will give the
little ones a joyous hour.
Many Other Features