TIIE .MORNING OREGOMAX. W EDNESDAY, DECE3IBER 27, 1911.
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lORTtJ..XD. 1VCI1N lDAY. IKC. 47. -
ct'EsslNO.
Any analysis of the Presidential alt-
nation from the pen of a writer In
Collier's Weekly may or may not be
Taluable: but it J.i Interesting to "
that that violent insurgent voice In
wilderneiia of Doiitlcal woes gives it all
up. so far as La Kollette is concerned
Long ago It drnlded that Taft could
not be re-eiectea: out mat: is ur- ,
prising, since other enemies of the;
President, who greatly fear his
election, have unu.-d n the opinion j
that his cause is hopeless. But it is ,
Interesting ali-o to note that an im
passe haa been reached in the Insur- .
gent struggle between the two insur
gent wings over a candidate La Fol- !
lotte who is clamorously chasing the I
Presidency, and another possible can- J
dldate Honsevc-lt whom the Presi
dency threatens to chase. "From all
of which." says Oracle Sullivan. "It is
fairlv clear that bv the ISth of June
(date of the National Hi-publican Con
"rention ) the pressure on itoosevelt to
accept the nomination is going to be
pretty powerful." It is pressure ex
erted almost wholly by forces that
have not the nomination to give.
The Bepubllcan party desires to
win. It wants a candidate who can
win. If Taft cannot ln. who can?
If Roosevelt should be nominated by
the Republicans, over the protest of
the Taft element, could he win?
If Roosevelt should be nominated
with the con--ent of the Taft element,
could he win ?
Possibly somebody will attempt to
answer these questions, even the sa
pient Sullivan. Rosevelt is popuUr
throughout the country, but we doubt
if seven out of ten voters are for him.
We could name several persona who
are not for him and would not be.
But the Kooeevelt popularity is a
mighty asset for the Republican party.
nevertheless. If it is the Republican
party's to use. Roosevelt Is preferred
by the Insurgents to La Kollette. he Is
preferred by the progressives to La
Kollette. and he is preferred by the
regulars to Lh Kollette. If Taft should
be beaten for the nomination, all
hands texfrpt the diminishing I -a Fol
lette group i would prefer that it be
by Roosevelt.
Hut Taft Is not going to be beaten
by ievelt without Taft's consent
H- much Is obvious, or ought to be.
Being obvious to all Republicans, and
the choice being Mwn Taft and La
Kollette. they take Taft. We think
most Republicans would even now
prefer Taft to Roosevelt as President,
though poiblv not as a candidate.
Tlir HARVKT CAK.
The ease against Nathan Harvey a p.
pears to have been worked up mainly
by a private detective w ho had per
suaded the authorities of Clackamas
County that there was a great deal
more agnlnst the suspected man than
appeared on the surface. Perhaps
there was. But If there was It did not
transpire at the preliminary examina
tion. That examination, from the
prosecution's standpoint, was a sorry
affulr. The testimony ugainst Harvey
had little relevancy, for It was Incom
plete, trivial and wholly unconvincing.
The case against Harvey, so far as
the public knows, rests upon three
main points. They are (1) that he
vu on his way home from the city
to Ardenwald and w:is In the vicinity
of the Hill house about the time of
the murd'r; 2 ) that he afterwards
engaged lawyers for a large sum to
defend him in case he should be ar
rested: and (3) he was a natural ob
ject of suspicion, since he has a doubt
ful personal rceord. But Harvey also
lived near Ardenwald. and he had a
right to go to his home. He had a
right to engage lawyers when he heard
that he was likely to be arrested,
though it is not easy to explain why
he should have been so easily persuad
ed into an agreement to pay so extra
ordinary a sum (10.000) except on
the theory that he was badly fright
ened. The neighbors appear to be di
vided as to whether H.irvcy u or Is
a good citizen or not a good cltlxen.
But Ls the fact that a man's reputa
tion is doubtful, or th.it he la obviously
ttlarmed about the prospect of his ar
rest, and that he was somewhere
round at the time when a murder Is
supposed to have occurred. Justify his
apprehension and Incarceration?
These circumstances, it may be admit
ted, warrant suspicion and Investiga
tion: but directly against them are
counter circumstances that H.irvey
had lived quietly near the scene of the
dreadful Hill affair for many years.
and that the crime may or may not f
have occurred about the time he was
known to be going from the station at
Ardenwald In the direction of the Hill
house. The only proof Is the noise of
the di :.. and the finding of a cWk In
the Hill home, stopped at 12:52 on
Jure . The doim were plainly dis
turbed by some unusual event, and the
murder probably occurred at that
hour: and Harvey was In the vicinity.
But these things are far from conclu-
stve prool against ntm. They fall snort I
of demonstrating any doctrine of ex-
jlustve opportunity
Sheriff Mass and his private detec
tive have been too precipitate. They
sprung their trap too soon, and they
caught nothing. We w-ould not any
that the result of the Investigation has
been to vindicate Harvey completely,
but we are wi'.Ur.g to say that the case
Afalnst him. or anybody, as a putative
murderer, has been sadly bungled.
No doubt Eddie Young will do less
harm as a minister than as a prize
lghter. but the real question Is. "How
much good will he do?" Is his mind
so well stored with knowledge and re
flection that he can expect to interest
Intelligent congregations? He Intends
to enter a theological school to provide
(whatever mental furnishing he may
- bt U hU decision judicious?
what can he learn about life and Its
problem at the seminary? The Sav-
lor neVer attended a theological
school. Doubtless some modern
preacnerj couia nave puzzieu mm
; fine points of d'Xrtrine. but he could
' beat them savlr.s; souls.
Dl EU AND ARBITRATION.
In the course of his speech advocat
g the arbitration treaties Colonel
mark that he had seen the practice
of duelling pass out of fashion within
his own lifetime. He was led bythls
change to inquire whether the prac
tice of the duel between nations might
not slim he abandoned with advantage
1 to all concerned. It was not until
. . w r-M.-ti u n. ,na,
toward the cloy of the C1W1 vt ar mat
1 "h American "gentleman" felt quite
safe In declining to fight duel. Of
ine men vi nu "cic 1 1 ' " 1 " . .
Southern bravoea In connection wun
tho assault on Sumner, some accepted
and some deelined. but it was the lat
ter who felt that public sentiment was
somewhat against them. The practice
of duelling was deeply Ingrained in
I human nature and did not wasn out
readily. Only when the common sense
, waj ridlouIou9 dld ,t
, become unfaJ!hionable. Men are more
! afrald of belng. la.ughei Bt than they
punishment in this life or the
. ..
A for CoIon,., Watterson-s be
1 hat duen beteen .NMtiona will
belief
go
tf)e wfly of the gmy cust0m between
lndlv,Jual, we breathe a pious hope
,h,t he muy be right. But we cannot
remembering that arbitration
.,. ,,. nrt t,n
treaties are very, very old and have
never been particularly effectual
when peoples really wanted to fight.
There was a treaty of arbitration, fox
example, of the widest scope between
Athens and Sparta before the outbreak
of the great Peloponnesiaji war. It
was suppo-sed to be so deftly drawn
that no case could arise which it
I . ..1.1 . n.,a.a. T).t mhan 1n 1. 111 si tm
t . . . ' , .. ..
had Increased to the point where both
cities wanted war the treaty was found
to be full of loopholes and war they
had.
The principal benefit of arbitration
treaties for a long time to come will
consist In creating sentiment for peace
While they will not prevent war ft
two nntlons feel belligerent, they will
materially help to keep that feeling
from growing warm. The treatlea will
make wars less frequent by chastening
popular wrath and giving time for
deliberation. Of course they will also
be Immensely educative.
OKI-HAM ASYLIMS.
"it ts open to argument whether or
not John Wright Hunt's bequest of
11.000.000 to found a "great orphan
asvlum" in Los Ar.geles ls wise or
not. Many will believe that the
money could have been better ap.
plied by placing orphans In homes.
Big institutions are not the natural
environment of children, and the poor
little things more often pine than
thrive within their solemn walls.
Kven when they get along all right
physically their minds are likely to
grow warped. A child reared In an
institution misses certain elements of
humanity which are among the best
there are. The tendency of -well-advised
testators of late years has not
been to duplicate the mammoth foun
dations of old.-r days. Charity re
ceives more liberal donations than
ever, but they are used for new and
no doubt for more effective purposes.
Mrs. Sage might have applied her mil
lions to building big schools and asy
lums had she been a mere common
place benefactress who was satisfied to
give without taking thought. But. In
asmuch as she Is Intelligent as well
as generous, she put It to vastly better
use. The Sage Foundation does more
pood than all the orphan asylums in
the world, though we would not de
cry those useful Institutions.
As the world grows wiser it likes
less and less the notion of herding
children in droves for education, feed
ing or any other purpose. In order to
thrive tho child must have a certain
umount of room all to Itself. It needs
isolation, light and air. Above all it
demands the exclusive attention of
some older person. Science al6ne can
not, rear an Infant properly, be It
never so scientific and conscientious.
The growing human being needs cod
dling and babying with plenty of. space
for all Its exercises. A century from
now one may safely prophesy there
will be no big schoolhouses. Children,
if they are not taught at home, will
be taught by good old maids In little
cottages rose-embowered and flooded
with sunshine. In each cottage there
will be not more than six children and
there will be a good many more tools
than books.
THIS CA.-E OF RETKIVFR DEVLIN.
Whether the attack made by Jay
Bowerman on Receiver Devlin, of the
Oregon Trust Sc Savings Bank, be jus
tified or not, the fact that an opening
for it existed emphasizes an error In
the proceedings to wind up that Ill
fated institution which should never
be repeated. That is the appointment
as receiver of a man "selected by the
men who had wrecked the bank. ThU
blunder was followed by another when
this man was allowed to act In the
duai capacity of receiver of the ruined
bank and cashier of the bank to which
its assets were sold.
The obvious fact that men have so
mismanaged a bank as to ruin it
should of itself disqualify them to se
lect the receiver or have any voice In
liquidation of the bank by the court
The State Bank Kxamlner should take
ch:rge as soon as the failure occurs.
A temporary receiver nominated by
him or selected by the court should be
appointed. From the moment of its
failure the bank's ass'ts become the
property of Its creditors, in whose In
terest they should be administered.
The depositors having a first lien, the
temporary receiver should call them
together for the purpose of electing a
Permanent receiver and the court
should not be allowed to have- any
interest In transactions relating to the
bank except as receiver.
While there may be no reason to
suspect "Mr. Devlin of any wrongful
act, the fact that he was chosen for
receiver by the wreckers naturaHy
gave rise to suspicion that he would
act In their Interest, which was in di
rect conflict with the Interest of the
depositors. His action In discovering
and furnishing to the district attorney
the evidence off which the wreckers
were prosecuted clears him of suspi
cion of collusion with them, but his
acceptance of the office on their rec
ommendation laid him open to such
suspicion at the outset. If the attacks
to which he has been subjected were
unjust, they are due to the ambiguous
position In which he placed himself by
becoming the nominee of the wrreckera
and afterwards by becoming the ex
ecutive officer of the new bank with
which he. as receiver, must transact
business.
M.IDKRO FIRMLY IN THE SADDLE.
Surrender of General Reyea Is note
worthy, both aa removing from the po
litical arena one of Mexico's strongest
figures and as demonstrating that the
republic is not about to make indulg
ence in revolutions a habit, like its
neighbors farther south. This event
disposes of Madero's most serious op
ponent and leaves him free to stamp
out the last remnants of disorder in
the south.
There can be no doubt that the fail
ure of Reyes attempt to renew civil
war waa largely due to the vigorous
measures taken by the United States
to enforce neutrality on the Texas bor
der. But those measures could not
have snuffed out the movement so
eaally had Reyes enjoyed any consider
able support. So many Mexicans re
side on this side of the border that, if
Reyes had had much following, it
would have been represented north of
the Rio Grande and would have been
able to smuggle armed men and muni
tions across the boundary in spite of
all that the United State Government
could have done to prevent. The
boundary was well guarded during the
closing months of Madero's revolution,
but the patrol was powerless to stop
entirely the smuggling of arms and
munitions to the rebel army.
The inference is plain that Reyes
failed for lack of popular support, that
the mass of the people are behind
Madero. and that he ls firmly seated
In the saddle. He has made many
promises of reform and of abandon
ment of the despotic methods of Diaz.
Americans will watch closely. Interest
ed to se 'whether he will, forget his
promises as readily as . have
other Spanish-American revolutionary
chiefs.
NEW YORK'S MALIGN INFLfENCK.
It Is a sad reflection on the greatest
city In the United States that one of
the National parties should fear to
hold Its convention there lest the at
mosphere of the city should be
thought to have had a malign Influ
ence on the' convention's action. What
Is there about New York that should
cause it to be hoodooed as a conven
tion city for the Democrats?
Rightly or wrongly. New York has
come to be regarded as the center of
crooked politics and crooked business.
Domination by Tammany has given it
a bad name, not only among opponents
of Democracy, but among Democrats
from every other state. Candidates
for President from other states are
divided between desire for Tammany
votes afnl fear that the bare fact of
having those votes will inspire the be
lief that they have sold out the peo
ple in order to win them, and that
they will. In consequence, lose In oth
er states more than they gainTn New
York. Democrats themselves know
that Tammany rules with cynical In
difference to all considerations except
the aggrandizement of Tammany's
leaders. They know that the country
knows this and that any suspicion of
truckling to Tammany Is apt to be
avenged on the whole party.
Side by side and In alliance with the
crooked politics of Tammany ls the
crooked business of New York. The
sole aim of this ' business ls to get
something for nothing by deceiving
the people Into the belief that the
nothing ls something. Its outward
manifestation Is the capitalization of
everything up to the blue sky and the
sale of miscalled securities to repre
sent that capitalization. Its results
are seen in the huge, crooked corpora
tions spawned In Wall street, and In
the periodical collapse of such cor
porations through their Inherent rot
tenness. Such were the New York
Street Railway Company and the to
bacco trust, organized by Ryan, the
steamship trust and the Ice trust or
ganized by Morse. Out of this busi
ness has grown that of speculation In
their so-called securities. Organizers
of such corporations use Tammany's
political power to secure friendly and
prevent adverse legislation and execu
tive action.
Democracy needs the votes con
trolled by the alliance of Tammany
and Wali street, but it dreads even
suspicion of the taint coming from its
influence. Hence It fears to hold its
convention where this alliance rules.
OOl'L FORCE.
Man's mythopoelc faculty has a dis
couraging habit of clothing abstract
nouns with flesh and blood and then
falling prostrate to adore its handi
work. This ls what has happened to
the word "evolution" of late years.
Evolution Is the name of a process. It
does nothing of itself. It merely sums
up what a great many different fac
tors combine to do. Apart from those
factors, evolution has no existence Just
as without dishes there could bo no
dishwashing. And yet we have been
reading an article in the New York
Sun. an article making pompous pre
tensions to exact science, which re
peatedly speaks of evolution as if it
were a living being who laid far
reaching plans and carried them out
with resolute purpose.
Read this, for example: "Evolution
constructed the human machine in
such wise that It runs without the
special providence of Its constructor.
It ls run by law, not by the rule of
thumb." Notice that Evolution fig
ures here as an Intelligent "construc
tor" working out a design. In other
words, to the writer In the Sun It ex
actly replaces the Biblical Creator
working as he does and for the same
ends. All that this man has to do to
get back to the scientific position of
Moses Is to write "Jehovah" Instead of
"Evolution." His mental attitude re
quires no change. In writing his arti
cle for. the Sun his purpose was to at
tack a new theory which has been
proposed by Professor MacDonald be
fore the British Association. The the
ory Is extremely fascinating. It un
dertakes to explain why the human
embryo develops according to a fixed
type.
Why do we always find eyes In the
front of the head and ears at the
sides?. What causes the human eye
to develop always into the same or
gan? Why does it not, sometimes take
the form of a bee's eye or become a
proboscis? To some readers these
questions may appear superficial at
first glance, but they really go to the
very bottom of things. They have
perplexed philosophers in all ages and
have called out answers of all degrees
of Ingenuity. Aristotle tanght that
matter In growing into a human being
or any other animal simply filled out
a "form" or matrix which was already
in existence. Cut off a lizard's tall
and It will grow a new one just like
the old. Why? Because the pattern
was not cut off with the tail and all
the lizard had to do was to fill it out
as a cook mould's meringues. This
notion ls delightful but unscientific.
It cannot be tested. Nobody can ever
tell by experiment whether Aristotle's
"fonns" exist or not. but the writer in
j the Sun. though he Is an arrogant evo
1 lutlonist, has full faith In them under
i another name. He calls the lmagl
I nary patterns "heredity" Just as he
sails Moses' Jehovah "Evolution."
I Professor MacDonald gets farther
away, from superstition.
He reminds us that the eye was de
veloped under the evolutionary Influ
ence of light. By some fortuity a
spot sensitive to light appeared on the
skin. It proved useful In the struggle
for existence and was therefore re
tained and perfected by the abstract
process called natural selection. Fi
nally It was shaped Into an eye. Very
well. We admit all that. But now
comes the enigma. The human em
bryo lives In rayless darkness from
germ to birth and yet Its eyes go
through the whole process of develop
ment, repeating the story of evolution.
And this ts done without light. A
process which light began, carried on
and completed, a process which ls in
very particular a product of light, is
duplicated step by step in the embryo
with every ray of light excluded? Do
you see the point? The cause is ex
cluded, but the effect groes on just the
same. Our evolutionist in the Sun
shines triumphant here. There Is no
difficulty for, him. He bridges every
gulf with a polysyllable and trips over
It with a smile of Joy. He explains the
embryo's eye by telling us that the
great god Evolution hits made it "po
tential In the germ" and that it Is
actually produced by that other awe-
Inspiring abstract noun. Heredity. Of
course this means precisely nothing.
To say that the eye Is "potential
the embryo" ls like saying that the
universe "was predestinated from all
eternity." It is only a way to conceal
Ignorance. Professor MacDonald sup
poses that there Is "soul" roundabout
us, even as there is light and sound.
Perhaps it is a species of ethereal
wave motion. It acts on matter much
the same as,.light does, only a great
deal more rapidly. As light evolved
the human eye In a million years, so
"soul" evolves the embryo's eye in
nine months. In fact, this soul force
ls the active agent in heredity. We
Imagine that it must be generalized
energy In Professor MacDonald's con
ceptlon. Better yet. It must be energy
under the control of design. To deny
that there is design apparent in evo
lutlon is, of course, insane; but it may
not be conscious and Intelligent. More
likely It Is that impulsive virtuosity
which1 Henry Bergson compares, to an
artist sweeping out a perfect circle
with a single motion.
Colonel Watterson expresses appre
hension lest Colonel Roosevelt may
make himself perpetual President if
he ls chosen for a third tern. The
natural rivalry between Colonels bold
and beautiful partly accounts .for this
injurious suspicion. The rest of it
may be explained, we fancy, on the
ground that the favorite Roosevelt
beverage ls iced buttermilk, while
Colonel Watterson prefers the "rale
crather." Men who drink the same
tipple seldom suspect each other of
sinister designs.
The late Arthur F. Griffith, like
many another mathematical prodigy,
never did much to advance his favor
ite science. He was a wonderful cal
culator, but not an especially power
ful thinker. Calculation is so purely
mechanical that it can be done by ma
chines better than by brains, but the
principles of mathematics require pro
found reflection. It will be interesting
to watch the career of young SIdis and
see whether he Is a mere "wizard cal
culator" or a mathematician like
Gauss and Newton.
That labor unions have taken to
heart the lesson ' of the McNamara
case is shown by the denunciation of
Haywood for advocating "direct ac
tion." If the unions follow up their
denunciation by expelling all such
men from membership and by bring
ing to Justice all who have resorted to
"direct action," they will regain the
friendship of many who have been
alienated by the dynamiting and slug
ging of recent years.
Dr. Mary Walker, who has been
wearing men's clothing for half a cen
tury, is out with a tirade against the
collar button, which she says ls the
source of many ills. Somehow, when
ever a man looks at a picture of Dr.
Mary, he laughs.
The Marcola man who took carbolic
acid and died because he found his
wife with another man took the easy,
law-abiding way out of his difficulty.
Most men. however, would take liquor
and wade In.
Men in general can agree with Dr.
Mary Walker as to the Injurious effect
of the collar button, but the Injury is
done, not by the wearing of it, but by
the hunt for it when It rolls under the
bureau.
The happiest poor man In the
United States is Dr. D. K. Pearsons,
who has given away a fortune, retain
ing only enough to keep him in mod
erate comfort for the rest of his days.
Jt seems superfluous to raise the
question whether evidence in a Pitts
burg millionaire's divorce suit ls fit
reading for the people. All precedent
leads to the conclusion that it ls not.
Haywood Is reported as advocating
"direct action" to secure to labor its
rights. Haywood would better let
John McNamara revise his speeches
before releasing them.
The woman who has resisted temp
tation to spend and saved money for
the annual sales ls the envy of her
neighbors and the pride of the man
she "owns."
The meanest man has been found.
He gave the preacher a- worthless
check In payment for marrying him
and took good money in change.
Billy Sunday and Eddie Young
should convert a football player and
a wrestler in order to complete a quar
tet of athletic evangelists.
There will no more be pictures of
"me and Taft," and political publicity
bureaus must work up a better bunco
proposition.
Analysis shows Klamath Falls water
to be pure, but nothing ls said of other
beverages.
Colonel Watterson'a Christmas
punch disagreed with him.
1 8 RN TIMIC NT AND CRIMINAL LAWS
bekalla R-n-tor Advises "hnlrMiu1
off Trenpassera Against Society.
CHKHALIS, Wash.. Dec. 1. (To the
Editor.) The Oregonlan has a ve-ry
happy faculty of dismissing any attack
on the subject of capital punishmont
that does not happen to coincide with
Its views by calling It sentlmentalism
and therefore not to be considered.
The definition I would Infer from
its answers to various correspondents
on this subject, between sentlmentalism
and practicallsm (If I may be pardoned
for coining a word) is Just the ques
tion whether Shylock shall have his
pound of flesh or not. Legally we must
admit that he is entitled to it, but is
there not something in man that craves
a better and softer judgment than le
gality? And must it be crushed be
cause in his judgment it is sentimental
and not practical? Why will a weeping
wife and clinging children lead a Judge
to discharge a thief who has been con
victed of his crime? And why will a
community condone the Judge's action
knowing that he has gone in the face
of the law that demands the punish
ment of the culprit and that a thief at
liberty Is a menace to their society?
Because of the presence of this higher
principle.
I submit that, despite the act of a
criminal, the tendency of the human
heart is to forgive rather than retaliate.
At this season of the year which wit
nesses of one who came to brlni? peaco
on earth, is It wrong to lay aside the
mailed glove and let those who have
even sinned against us personally feel
the warmth of a hand held out to bless
Instead of being raised to strike?
In conclusion I would like to ask a
question. What will The Oregonlan do
with a passage like the following;,
which fell from the lips of this same
Prince of Peace: "If ye from your
hearts forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your heavenly father for
give you your trespasses.
All this may be construed as sentl
mentalism. but when applied to our
methods of dealing with our fellow men
and our organized force for the so
called protection of society, is it not
worth thinking about at this season of
the year? DEXHAM H. QUl.N.x.
Rector Church of the Epiphany.
We are afraid tho good rector has not
read The Oregonlan carefully, nor been
a very constant attendant at criminal
trials. The Oregonlan has said very
plainly that Its reason for advocating
capital punishment ls not because it
believes vengeance should be inflict.
ed on the murderer. Nor are Judges
In a habit of turning loose thieves be
cause of weepins wives or clinging chil
dren. Occasionally, when a family
would suffer want by the Incarceration
of the husband and father, the latter ls
put under suspended sentence or
on probation or parole. There are
several terms for the same thing. The
Judge does not do this in the face of
the law. Oregon and many other states
give the Judge this discretionary pow
er. The law that permits the Judge to
parole convicted culprits is a wise one.
So ls the law that permits the Govern
or to commute death sentences or par
don or parole convicts. If a Judge
should say "I shall parole every thief
brought before me," he would be mak
ing an announcement very like that
of a Governor who declares he will
commute all death sentences. If men
were as omnipotent as- the Heavenly
Father in reading the soul of the sin
ner, there would likely be no contro
versy over paroles, pardons or' commu
tations. It ls our understanding that
even though we may forgive the tres
passers against us. the Heavenly Fath
er requires repentance for our own
trespasses before we can gain his for
giveness. We do not Interpret Rector
Qulnn's scriptural quotation to mean
that if we seek to protect ourselves
against further trespasses by the un
repentant that fact will bar us from
the heavenly gates. Prisons and gal
lows are erected to protect society, not
to promote vengeance.
STOCK AXp ALFALFA PAY BIG.
Writer Believes Klickitat County Can
Learn From Kansas Expert.
GOLDEN'DALE. Wash.. Dec. 26. (To
the Editor.) It ls generally conceded
by those who know that Mr. Coburn
has done more toward promoting pros
perity In Western Kansas than any
other one man in that state; and this
has been done largely through his
teaching the value of alfalfa, how to
grow, harvest and feed it.
In Middle -and Western Kansas they
grow dry land alfalfa, and can get
about the same yields per acre as are
obtained in Klickitat County, Wash
ington. One lesson Mr. Coburn gave the
Kansas farmer was that one acre of
well-established alfalfa would pasture
10 shotes during the Summer, and make
a growth of 50 pounds each. At the
present price of pork. 500 pounds' gain
would give $33.75 per acre for this pas
ture land. With the addition of rolled
wheat, barley or shorts, the pig's
growth can be brought up to 200 pounds
in nine or 10 months.
Mr. Coburn advises the farmer to
fence off the alfalfa in small lots of
five or ten acres each, and change the
pigs from one lot to another about
every two weeks. In order to let the
alfalfa plants make a good growth.
This Insures good pasture, and also for
the reason that alfalfa does better
when not cropped top close all the sea
son.
All the other care necessary for
alfalfa Is a thorough cultivation of the
pasture each Fall, when there is mois
ture enough, with a sprlngtooth or
disc harrow to open up the surface soil
so It will readily take moisture during
the Winter and Spring, men anotner
cultivation In the Spring to leave a
mulch to conserve moisture will not
only insure a fine, heavy growth of
alfalfa, but will make the pasture clean
of weeds.
When a farmer can get $30 an acre
our of his pasture lands each year, and
feed most of his wheat at home, get
ting nearly $1 a bushel for It in pork,
how long do you suppose Klickitat
farmers will be offering their lands for
$30 and $60 an acre? Someone is go
ing to awaken to these facts, and It
won't be very long either.
My only object in this letter Is that
a few good farmers, who know an
opportunity when it ie presented, may
see what Klickitat County has to offer
to the general farmer, and especially
the one who can raise alfalfa, hogs and
wheat, and a few cows If he so desires.
JAMES A. DORM AN.
Telephone la Made More Audible-
New York Sun.
A simple way of making telephone
conversations more audible has been
Invented by Herr Peterson, a bank
manager of Nykjoblng. Denmark. On
the principle that sound Is more read
ily transmitted through rarifled air he
has constructed an apparatus to warm
the transmitter, whereby the air in It
becomes thinner and the sound ls In
tensified. Professor Hannover, of the
Danish government telephone testing
station, who has made extensive exper
iments with Peterson's apparatus, says
in his report that the Increase of sound
obtained ls remarkable Telephone con
versations between Copenhagen and
Nykjoblng, a distance of some "5 miles,
could be clearly followed some distance
away from the instrument. The Inven
tor has applied for patents in differ
ent countries.
! RLI'E OUTLOOK FOR LA FOLLETTE.
, Bnt This Insurgent Writer Also Pr
j dicta Disaster for Tart. .
i Mark Sullivan In Collier's Weekly.
i If a primary election were held
throughout the Nation today, only two
names, Taft and La Follette, would go
on the Republican ballots. Of these.
La Follette would carry about 10 states
I and 200 delegates: Taft w-ould carry
! about 36 states and over $00 delegates.
(With equal certainty Taft would be
defeated at the election, following by
any one the Democrats now seem likely
to name.) That is the situation today.
The truth is. more than half the Re
publicans don't want either La Fol
lette or Taft. There are but two Re
publicans who can give the Democrats
a fight: one ls Hughes, the other Roose-
I velt and neither ls willing to take
. the nomination. Very few Republicans,
very few indeed, really want Taft; the
insurgents obviously don't want him
some of them want La Follette and
j more of them want Roosevelt; the Fed
eral machines In the South don't want
Taft they must pick a winner, they
lose their Jobs if they don't: the power
ful party officials, National committee
men, and state chairmen, don't want
Taft they are the party managers,
they are responsible for failure or suc
cess, and they want a winner; every
Republican who ts himself going to run
for office next year, from Senators,
Governors and Congressmen down to
tax collectors, hopes Taft won't, be
nominated, for If the candidate for
President loses, so ls the rest of the
ticket likely to lose; the great party
leaders, like Senator Murray Crane, of
Massachusetts, for example, don't want
Taft, for Crane's return to the Senate
depends upon Massachusetts going Re
publican so he, too, wants a winner.
And yet, as things stands today, the
wheels will turn and slowly grind out
Taft. From all of which it is fairly
clear that by the 18th of June the pres
sure on Roosevelt to accept the nom
ination ls going to be pretty powerful.
Any person who listened to the Con
gressmen, National committeemen and
politicians of every degree who gath
ered at Washington the first of the
month, fresh from direct touch with
the people In every part of this Nation,
got a clear Impression that seven out
of ten voters in every community. Re
publican and Democratic alike, are
Roosevelt men.
From Ohio west, four-fifths of the
Democratic rank and file are for Wil
son. There are some isolated districts
which are for Folk, a smaller number
for Clark or Harmon, but taking the
Middle and Western States as states
they are overwhelmingly in favor of
Wilson. Of course, to so sweeping a
statement there are some exceptions.
Illinois, dominated by its single large
city, and without Presidential pri
maries, will probably send a Harmon
delegation to the convention. So will
Colorado. In the South, Wilson has
almost as big a lead as In the West.
In New England and the East, Wilson
has fully half the Democratic rank and
file. If there were Nation-wide Presi
dential primaries, Wilson would have
a walkover.
a
In the East, La Follette's candidacy
has made little headway. Of course
there are spots In New England, and
even In New York and Pennsylvania,
where La Follette Republicans are nu
merous and ardent, but no observer
can point to a state east of Ohio where
as yet La Follette supporters are suf
ficiently concentrated or organized to
Insure him a single delegate- This
ls a pity, but It is a fact. La Follette
ls suffering the usual fate of pioneers:
they rarely gather the fruits of their
toll. The shock of new Ideas, the dis
trust that attaches to one who preaches
against old dogmas and usages, .re
mains long after the Idea itself has
become an accepted commonplace.
This curious fact exists: there are com
munities where Woodrow Wilson oom
mands five-sixths of the Democratio
vote, but La Follette does not com
mand one-third of the Republican vote.
That is to say, the personal following
of the pioneer ls smaller than the num
ber who have embraced his ideas. Wil
son Is one of those who are reaping
the crop where La Follette has sowed
the seed. (And Wilson was writing
books and delivering college lectures
opposed to all that La Follette stands
for during the very years when the
Wisconsin man was staking his polit
ical existence upon their advocacy.)
There are many other beneficiaries of
La Follette's lifelong work, both Dem
ocratic and Republican,' Presidential
candidates. Governors, Senators and
public men of lesser degree. Undoubt
edly La Follette ls perfectly content
that all this should be so. The future
historian of the present epoch will
name La Follette as Its most daring
exponent and powerful leader of new
political thought. If, being this, he
should fail to be President, that will
be the rule of American history, not
its exception.
BIG FLOOD CANNOT OCCUR AGAIN
Writer Believes Deepened Channel in
River Is Sure Safeguard,
PORTLAND, Dec. 26. (To the Ed
itor.) There ls one happy fact that ap
parently has been overlooked that
means more to Portland than any other
thing. That ls that never again can
Portland, even if nature acts as It did
in 1894, have the flood that Portland
had In June of that year.
Why? Because in 1894, at low water
in river only ships drawing 18 feet of
water or less could pass down the
river. Today, by the removing of eand
bars (dams) in the river by dredging,
ships drawing 27 feet pass up and
down. It Is to be remembered that the
flood of 1894 was caused by water
that could not drain down the Colum
bia River backing up on to Portland.
Today, with the Increased drainage of
about nine feet in the Columbia River
by the removing of sand bars at differ
ent parts of the river a greater volume
of water can sweep on to the sea.
And the water, that In 1894 backed
up on Portland ' from the Columbia
River, today. tnanKs to tne dredging
done by the people of Portland,
could not, by the law of gravity, back
up again to the same height. Stop
and think what an extra depth of nine
feet means in carrying away in volume
of water, and ihie is not all. Soon a
30-foot channel, and deeper, to the sea
will be a fact, and every foot that the
Columbia River is deepened means just
that much less water that can back
up on Portland. So, thanks to the
energy of the people of Portland who
taxed themselves, that larger ships
might berth here, they have not alone
secured the ships, but also removed
the possibility of Portland's greatest
calamity ever occurring again.
J. WALTER SEABERG.
Curfew Ordinance.
PORTLAND, Dec. 24. (To the Ed
itor.) Please inform me If there ls a
law in exietence prohibiting minors
from being on the streets after certain
hours. SUBSCRIBER.
A penalty of $10 is provided by cur
few ordinance for any parent who per
mits a child under the age of la to go
upon any street, alley or public place
after 8 P. M. from September 1 to Feb
ruary 28, or after 9 P. M. between
March 1 and August 31, unless accom
panied by one or both parents or under
their direction for a necessary purpose.
Dnat and Tuberculosis.
Philadelphia Record.
Out of every thousand of those w-hose
occupation calls for constant work in
dusty quarters, five die of consumption,
according to German official figures;
whereas among those who are not ex
posed to the action of dust only two
out of 1000 die of the disease named.
Half a Century Ago
From the Oregonian of Dec 27, 1861.
Between 1 and 2 o'clock on Sunday
morning as a sentinel was pacing his
lonely round outside the walls of Fort
Lafayette, he heard the shutter of a
casement unfastening and upon cau
tious examination discovered that
casement No. 5 had been opened. Soon
after a rope was thrown out. various
articles lowered in succession, fol-
I lowed by a man. The rope was Just
I long enough to enable the prisoner to
I reach the ground. As he touched the
j ground the sentinel presented his
! bayonet and bade him surrender. The
man proved to be James Lowber, the
I Rebel bearer of dispatches, who was
recently followed by detectives from
the house of his brother-in-law, Mr.
Alexander Shulse, at Peeksvllle, to
Crestline. Ohio, where they arrested
him. Lowber begged hard to be per
mitted to climb the rope again Into his
apartment and attempted to bribe his
captor by the offer of his gold watch
and $47.50 in gold coin, which he had
tied up in a bladder. If he . would al
low him to do so. -Of course his pro
posal was not accepted.
In a public document Governor
Plckins of South Carolina represents
that there were 10,000 Rebel troops In
that state at the date of the late In
vasion. We have now from 20,000 to
25,000 at Beaufort.
The Oregon Regiment The com
pany at Salem were mustered into
service last Monday? A full company
has been mustered into serxice at
Jacksonville and it ls believed three
more companies will be raised south
of the mountains.
The Yreka Journal says that mines
paying $5 to $10 a day there are de
serted and that the miners are so
struck with the Salmon River gold fe
ver that 100-ounce diggings would not
hold them.
General Shields has accepted the of
fice of brigadier-general and will at
once proceed from San Francisco to
Washington for active service.
Olympia, W. T., Dec 20. -In tht
House of Representatives, several bills
granting ferry charters were Intro
duced and referred to appropriate
committee. Also a bill for the organi
zation of the university built during
the past year at Seattle, under the
auspices of and attributable to the in
domitable perseverance and untiring
energy of Rev. Daniel Bagley, . presi
dent of the Board of University Com
missioners. An Invitation was ex
tended by the president of the board.
Also an act to create and organize
Nez Perce County; also an act to cre
ate the County of El Dorado.
Olympia, Dec 22. In the House
bill to divorce Mr. Thorndike, a mem
ber of the House, was passed in three
minutes. Capital country, Washington
Territory, for men who wish to get rid
of their wives. ,
In the Council Colonel Hubbs in
troduced resolution that Legislative
Assembly be requested to visit Seattle
during the holidays and be present at
the dedication of the University, the
dedicatory address to be delivered by
A. B. Mercer, Esq,, now principal of
the school.
In the Council a bill was Introduced
by Mr. Moore of Walla, Walla and
Shoshone, defining the boundaries of
Shoshone County, and also a series of.
resolutions pledging the people of
Washington Territory to the National
Government In Its efforts to put down
the damnable rebellion.
A letter from St. Louis of Novembei
23 says: "General McClellan's army
at and near Washington, continues to
increase rapidly, notwithstanding the
heavy drain of troops for Coast expe
ditions, and so formidable ls our Army
of the Potomac and so menacing its
attitude that the Rebel generals In
eastern Virginia dare not permit the
withdrawal of a single regiment,
either for the defense of the Cotton
States or to reinforce their lines in
Kentucky. Large numbers of Troops
have been passing through Washing
ton last week. Our troops are not
Idle in Washington and vicinity.
The London Morning Post (Govern
ment organ) of November 7 says: "The
latest news from New York mentions
that the Confederate Commissioners
Uaaaa CI I H ,.11 nnH MflKOnl- Wllfl R Tt
en route for Europe, are authorized t
negotiate matters or great commercial
advantage with England and France.
We add also a rumor, which must nec
essarily be received with much re
serve, that they are authorized to
place the Southern confederacy, ior a
limited period, under the protection of
both powers.
Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe
-Cn. .av.rl months vou will find
the people slow to cheer, unless they
have particularly good reason. Cheer
ing without sufficient provocation has
lately had a blow.
In a lawsuit when both sides begin
manufacturing testimony, both sldei
are alarmed,
-Craw -nan V, -, a lnnff list Of thi n STI
that should be done that can't be dona
Man- m man who is screaming foi
help might help himself.
Tn vnn nnnrenlate that one feature
of morlern reform, now so popular, is
that you should do twice aa much
works as you have Deen aoingT
Aithniie-h much attention is paid to
the average Commercial Congress, it
paii- hs no more authority than s
negro lodge in Mississippi..
If you know a man you can't get
along with, sever diplomatic relations
and quit talking to him.
When a thing goes wrong, and you
call in an expert he says: "It ls eas
ily fixed." But ever notice what a
time he has fixing it?
A school teacher always has a great
deal to say concerning the age at
which "character" is formed.
Certain things cannot be done, and
when a. man demands these things Im
pudently and persistently, he ls worse
than the man who refuses to attempt
impossibilities.
Allfrhtjng From Streetcars.
New York Tribune.
A couple of women, well-seated on a
crowded streetcar, were loudly engaged
in a conversation regarding women suf
frage, to the delight of their fellow
passengers. The two were- somewhat
startled when the car passed the corner
at which they wished to alight They
bustled through the standing crowd,
continuing their conversation mean
while. "Well," remarked a man to the
conductor, "there's nothing backward
about women nowadays." "Watch 'em
get off," said the official. They got
off backward!
Father's Safe Location.
Lippincott's Magazine.
He If I should kiss you what would
happen?
She I should call father.
He Then I won't do It
She But father's in Europe.