10 -
Tirn !ronNTN-o okegoxtan, "wedt:sdat. February 28, 1913.
fOBTXAXD. OBEOO.
nera4 at Portland. OmojL Poatofflaa
ana-iHa Hiliar.
ataarlpuoa Hataa Invariably A"1
fBT V1II.I
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(BT CARBJIB.)
PafTv. Pntif tnrlnlod. otia Tear......
rally. Bandar Included, ana month. ....
Maw tat Itawtlt Hnd Poatofflen maaey
tf -r. asaraaa order or peraonal check on your
fecal LtBK. stamps, coin or riui' i
I I the aandafa na. Give poatoflica
fuX tn-ludtn co an t y ul atala,
rwun Maim. la to la caaaa. t aeat: 1
to H aa.aa. 2 eaata: ta - paaaa. contat
ao to no pacaa. a eauta. rorla poataaa.
Aanbia rata.
n N.w Tart tirnnawlcM bulldlBC. Cbl-
caro. aiecer butldln.
Kaiapiaa Ukl .Na. Recant auaa.
W Laadoa.
PORTLAND. WEraXKSDAT. mi. U. 1U. I JtOMlXATTJTO RmfB ONE ELSE.
Colonel Roosevelt says that ho will
hiva na unkind words for the Taft Ad-
KH1 r liai."i ,i v... .v.. v. til . V- .
following hi hat ha proJcted mm- ...... T-ia?, r
w a-v iib. i i v iiviurr v i aiw i voiuum ,
rlor. Theso are but different chapters
of the- same tory. that of the retreat
of the red man before th white from
the Atlantic to the Pacific and from
the Northern Lake to the Southern
Gulf.
The atory la not without path on.
Shadowed here by injustice, there
made lurid by the torch; again written
In blood. Its general trend la ever and
ever the name, It voice 1 already
that of echoes, far away, and another
century of a scarcely moving show will
complete the tale. The scepter of ab
original power and the sword of con
quest will rust together, and the long
battle of civilization on the American
continent will be gvon.
There la a story In It that never will
be fully told. In the nature of things
this ta Impossible. Tet here and there
all along the years an Incident, or a
chapter of this story, quaint and wild
and far away, will break through the
mists of time, a tift In which Is made
by the mention of the death ef some
actor In the far-away drama, the an
nouncement of which recalls the for
gotten fact of his existence.
self Into the ring. One may with near
safety expect the Republican Presiden
tial nominee to be either Taft or
Ronimelt, but there must remain the
palbiUty that one or more other can
Otdatea v.111 find themselves In posses
sion of the balance of power. La Fol
lette will go to Chicago with at least
tae Wisconsin delegation supporting
htm. Cummins. It Is hardly to be
doubted, wi'.l have a solid delegation
from Iowa. The two together, perhaps
one alone, win muster a force that the
two stronger candidates may have to
deal with.
It Is therefore perhaps not
wholly Idle to speculate on the
outrome of a deadlock In the
convention. If leadership of the
Ttoowvelt movement remains In
It. present quarters, the prospect of a
getting together of tho Taft and Roose
velt del. cations is not bright. One or
the other must have sufficient strength
of his own to win. It would seem that
neither could eitpect aid from La Fol
lette. The turbulent Wlaconaln Sena
tor has rone out to b-at Taft. lie was
g;vrn encouragement Implied, per
hap, but conitrued as encouragement
by Ronsevrlt to seek the nomination
La Folletto has supreme eon.idence In
hjnwlf. With his old supporters fall
lr. frm him he will not give up. Llt
t.'e likelihood 1 there that he villi later
aid the man who has edged him out of
t.le race. As for La Kollctte himself.
It Is not conceivable that Republican
traders would turn to him as the one
ho could heal party differences and
bring about Republican success. But
v. hat of Cummins?
In the remote contingency of a dead
lock th Ipwa Senator's now dim po
tentiality as a candidate of the party
xn'cht be expected to grow brilliantly
and his ultimate choice would not be
wholly out of the question. Cummins.
It Is said, was graduated from the post
ef attorney for a big railway system
Into Insurgent politics of his own voli
tion. This happened when the "Iowa
Ura" on the tariff question was young,
i:ut whether he was educated up to
progressive Ideas after he left the rail
road's employ or discovered their value
while In corporate employ Is a matter
of small moment. At any rate, he got
'he Iowa worklngmen solidly behind
htm by advocating changes In the rail,
road laws for their benefit. lie was i
long time on the road to the Senate.
spending seven years as Governor of
the state, between the time when he
'. rt became a Senatorial possibility
i.r.i the day of his election
Thre is nothing in Senator Cum
mins Iowa rerrd that would need dls
urb party leaders and much that
.-oiiIJ commend him to the voters. He
made and unmade numerous laws af
tectlng corporations, always with an
re to Justice toward the people. While
lie has criticised and bombarded the
rtandpat wing In Congress, his attitude
lias been more argumentative than In-'oU-rant.
He has not made so many
t-nd such bitter enemies as La Kol-
: -tie has. and has acquired a greater
i umber of warm friends. An accusa
tion that he would smn-'h the
i arty If he could not lead It would not
: against him as It would aga'.n-t La
''olleite. He has perhaps been as ml-
f-roscoplc In searching for Taft's ml
tskes and as blind to good lit his Ad
:nlm.traUon as other Insurgents have.
but has not been so loud about it.
In other words, Cummins is soroe-
vhat of the type of Borah of Idaho.
Ho I a steadfast progressive, but has
not ben ofT'nslvely factional. IlecouIJ
hardly be Imngtnrd .is leading a party
split, for he has confined his tactics to
an attempt to win his party to his way
of thinking. He has not hammered
or bultld. or threatened, or sought to
tear down. He ha, withal, main
tained the confidence of rtie progres
sives, who would undoubtedly follow
Ihttn In solid jtrencth. Cummins, how
ever, could probably not gt the regu
lar strength unless the nomination
rame a the compromise of a deud
kv'k. That I to say. a coalition of the
Roosevelt. I -a Follette and Cummins
delegates on the Iowa Insurgent and
against Taft would not produce a
united party. Rut If his nomination
came as a general compromise without
humiliation to any element In the con
vention. Cummins could probably go
farther than any dark horse yet men
tioned In cementing dlfTerence In the
party at Iare.
to whether or
has made good.
Rut the entire basis of the Roosevelt
candidacy is the assumption by Colonel
Roosevelt, and the declaration by his
friends, that Mr. Taft has not made
good. Else why Roosevelt for Presl
dent in 1912, third term or no third
term, Taft or no Taft T
We are a little troubled about the
Republican platform for It 12 if
Roosevelt shall be nominated. It will
be a grand document, saying a great
many things, but meaning about the
following:
RaaoWea. That wa point with pride to
and view wtth aattafartlon tha many gran
htvmnta of tha Anmtnlatratlon of
KepubHcan Praaldwnt. Hoaornbla Wlllti
Howard Taft: tharafora ba It
K-aotTd. That wa nomlnata for that ex
alted ofsca aome one ;aa In tha perenn of
our biuvei ex-rreeider.t. Monorab.a Theo
dore Kooeeveit.
Running" a Republican campaign on
a platform of rejection and repudiation
of a Republican President will not ba
an easy Job.
a
the riu-xiiKvnAi, ntEmcxcx LAW.
The Presidential primary act Is the
law of Oregon. It Is a part of the
Oregon system, which. In its funda
mental structure, has been upheld by
the Supreme Court of the United
States. The Oregon Ian will not Join
In any undertaking to upset the Presi
dential primary law; nor does It ap
prove the attitude of certain members
of the Republh-an state centra com
mittee who refuse to be reconciled to
the new order of thing. They may as
well take their medicine. They will
take It In time, willy-nilly,
The Oregonlnn has heretofore said
that there ought to be no objection
on anyone's part to an Immediate ap
peal to the State Supreme Court for
an authoritative and final Interpret
tlon of certain features of the law. It
will be recalled that the original an
nouncement by members of the cen
tral committee of their purpose to go
to the Supreme Court was accompan
ied by a specific disclaimer of any
plan or desire to attack the primary
law Itself or to Interfere :n any way
with a full, fair and complete expres
sion by the members of the several
parties of their respective choices for
President. Is It possible that the com.
mlttee has receded from that correct
nd laudable position?
It Is well enough to know whether
the unusual limitation placed upon
the Individual voter In the act per
mitting him to vote for one candidate
for National delegate and one candi
date for Presidential elector is valid.
There Is grave doubt about It and it
ought to be cleared up. How many
members of any political party will
defend It? It is not at all the sole
concern of the Republican central
committee. It affects the right and
opportunities of every voter In Ore
gon.
For that reason the appeal to
the State Supreme Court ought to be
Joined by the managing committees
of every party in Oregon. If the
other parties decline to Join, the Re
publican committee should drop the
agitation. It Is a serious matter for
any Republican voter to be partly dis
franchised If he Is disfranchised
by the law; but it Is not so serious
as the prejudice and suspicion that
are aroused by constant attacks on the
primary laws.
lines; the demand of charity and
philanthropy upon her are also
greater. For these and other reasons
that will readily suggest themselves
to thoughtful minds, the teachers'
rainy-day fund grows slowly, if at all,
while every year after twenty-five
years of steady strain and endeavor
subtracts substantially from her use
fulness and shadows her enforced re
tirement. For these reasons a retirement fund
for superannuated teachers Is a wise
provision. Such a fund Is in the
nature of a trust fund and should be
carefully . safeguarded. The rules
governing its handling and Investment
should be plain and rigid, without
the possibility of exactions in the way
of Increased dues or possible assess
ments. The Interest charges for de
ferred payments, etc., should be mod
erate and equitable and no- specula
tion In the funds should be permitted.
In brief, the simplest rules of finance
should govern it, and its equities
should be unimpeachable. Honestly
administered, absolutely without fa
voritism and with a fine sense of
Justice that holds comradeship with
philanthropy, the fund which this or
ganization pledges should, and doubt
less will, be a blessing to many in
life's late afternoon, whose long years
cf labor would otherwise be followed
by other years devoid of ease and
comfort.
This is the material side of the
question. On the ethical side we find
that the man or woman who has
taught thirty years In the public
schools is entitled to a recognition for
the services rendered that a moderate
pension from the school fund suggests.
A MXXICAX RETXRJE.
Of course the annexation of Mexico
to the United States Is nothing more
than a dream. Many persons call It
a bad dream, and perhaps they are
right- Still It is sometimes interest
ing to consider a proposition which
Is a mere vagary of the mind. Even
If Mexico never can become incor
porated with this country, it Is per
missible to speculate upon what the
consequences would be If such a thing
ware to happen. What should we do
if It never rained again or If all the
politicians should die suddenly? Topics
like these present a certain attractive
ness to the intelligent mind. We like
to dwell upon them In moments of
reverie. In the same way we may In
nocently divert ourselves with the
question how Mexico would fare as a
part of the Union. It Is also Just as
well to ask how we might fare as bed
fellow with Mexico.
The difficulties In the way are no
doubt Insurmountably great. We do
not speak the same language. . Our
hereditary laws and customs are dif
ferent. Mexican national pride Is
very substantial thing. It could not
tolerate the loss of Independence
without severe pangs.
Still national pride does harm as
often as good. Peoples have sometimes
allowed It to direct them to their se
rious Injury. Perhaps pride Is as likely
to mislead a nation as a man. Ity join
ing the Union the Mexicans would se
cure free trade with us. which would
be an Inestimable advantage to them
and to us. The imaginary line which
separates the two countries is a very
appreciable barrier to international
commerce, while, of course. Industrial
Interchange of all sorts goes on less
freely than It would after the union.
Americans would acquire the right to
help make laws for Mexico, but on
the other hand the Mexicans would
help make laws for ns. Their country
would carve up Into several magnifi
cent states, each of which would bo
represented in Congress and have an
equal voice with the others. We might
sometime have Mexicans on the Su
preme bench, k'r even a President of
that nationality. The possible results
of the union would be numerous and
far-reaching, but we see no reason to
be afraid of them. Mexico would gain
a great deal, but we could hardly lose
much.
must be obeyed by fraternal order as
well as by the stars. Originally It was
supposed that life insurance, both
cheap and safe, could be procured by
the simple device of an assessment
upon the survivors as often as a mem
ber died. The contribution from each
one would be small and deaths would
be so infrequent that nobody would
be burdened. This was the theory and
It looked extremely attractive. As
, long as the average membership was
composed of young and vigorous men
It worked well. Deaths occurred but
seldom and assessments came only at
long intervals. But time wrought dis
astrous changes.
Inevitably the average age of the
membership Increased and with this
Increase of years came a growing
death rate and more frequent assess
ments. The old belief that' enough
new members could be brought Into
the order to counterbalance the Inroads
of age proved to be fallacious. It
could not be done. The consequence
was that the burden upon the surviv
ing members became too, heavy to be
sustained. In the end few new mem
bers could be obtained and the vari
ous orders were threatened with fail
ure. Some of them did fall, to the
dire loss of their members, who. In
many instances were past the age
when they could obtain other Insur
ance. The orders which survived were
obliged to modify the assessment plan.
Often a regular monthly payment was
substituted for It. In any case a load
ing was provided for to, counterbalance
the increasing old-age death rate and
the payments began to be computed
according to the mortality tables. At
first the fraternal orders supposed
that they could safely ignore these
tables, but sad experience taught them
better.
But there were still difficulties rh
the way. Even after it had been de
cided by many fraternal orders to
compute Insurance rates by correct
mathematical rules It was almost Im
possible to persuade the members to
raise the payments to the safe and
proper limit. The cheapening effect
of the fraternal principle was exag
gerated. It required a new danger of
bankruptcy to overcome this reluc
tance. Some orders never did over
come It and their end needs no com
ment. Tho Modern Woodmen have
fortunately taken the bull by the
horns before it was too late and set
tled the question once for all in the
only possible way. A rise of almost
BO per cent In the rates will appear
severe to many members, but when
they contrast It with the total ruin of
the order, which has been avoided,
they win find no good reason for
complaint. Naturally the new dispen
sation favors the older members in
many ways. This, of course, must be
done at the expense of the younger
members. Besides the loading of the
rates which would compensate for
their own old age. they are required
to submit to something more for the
benefit of their comrades who have
borne the burden and heat of the day.
It Is believed by the leaders of the
order that the fraternal principle Is
strong enough to stand this strain. No
doubt they are right. Even with this
slight disadvantage, fraternal Insur
ance Is still so cheap and, under the
new rules, so safe that It has every
prospect of competing successfully
with the old line companies.
ROOSHVELT PLAX KOT FAVORED
Writer Believes Recall of Deelaloss
Strikes at Fundamental Principle.
LEBANON. Or, Feb. it. (To tha
Editor.) The" statement of Colonel
Roosevelt In his address to the Ohio
constitutional convention last week on
the recall Is the most remarkable, It
seems to me, which that versatile gen
tleman has uttered In recent years. I
am not an advocate of, nor a believer
In the recall In any event. The offi
cers In that state and, in fact. In all
the states are chosen for compara
tively short terms. In this state no
officer Is elected for a term longer
than six years and these are limited to
the Judges of the Supreme Court and
Circuit Court. All other officers, state,
county and municipal, are chosen for
one, two or four years. I believe the
people can and do and will choose of
ficers whom it is safe to permit to
remain In office for a single term, and
then. If they have not proven capable,
efficient or worthy, to eliminate them
at the ballot box is far safer and surer
than any recall, and would be much
more economical than any recall sys
tem. The people will use more care
and Judgment In the selection of of
ficers if they know they are to remain
in office for a fixed term than If the
officers elected can be turned out at
will by a vote. So I would take Issue
with the Colonel on the recall in gen
eral and In particular on the recall of
court decisions.
The theory of Mr. itoosevelt to have
a recall 0.1 judicial decisions instead
of the Judges themselves I deem go
ing the limit and is the most danger
ous of all, as It affects the funda
mental principles of government. The
recall of a Judge now and then might
not be of great concern, but the recall
of a judicial decision at once strikes
at the very foundation of safe and sta
ble government and the security of life
and property. - The decisions of the
courts of the land are , the bulwark
upon which the business of the country
and the rights of the people have rest
ed for more than a century. It seems
to me to offer a system by which
these may be questioned and set aside
by anybody and everybody is little less
dangerous than anarchy. I am ready
to admit that now and then Judges of
the higher as well as of the lower
courts render erroneous decisions,
which may and sometimes do great
Injustice) to a few Individuals, but such
may be expected until human judgment
and action Is perfect and man can do
no wrong.
A few cases of error and wro-g
which occur now and. then are not to
be compared with the ivils which might
and could come from a system which
attacks practices and systems which
have endured among all people of all
nations since human rights and civil
courfs and governments have been es- 1
tablished among peoples of the earth, j
Such an utterance and system, com
ing from a Fels. U'Ren or even a Hen
ry George, might go as a passing com
ment, but. coming from Roosevelt,
gives It a different significance and
makes it the more dangerous. Such a
svstem. would give to the discontented
and malcontent the power to overthrow
the mature and studied Judgment of
the highest and ablest courts of the
land, whether right or wrong, and at
one fell sweep would endanger the
fundamental security of life and prop
erty. N. M. NEWPORT.
Half a. Century Ago
GOOD AUTHORITIES CLAIMED.
The Oregonlan has received a letter
from Mr. John Jones a suspicious but
prudent citizen whose real name Is to
us unknown suggesting that one of
the reasons why The Oregonlan sup
ports President Taft Is the "enormous
mall subsidy from the Government re
ceived by The Oregonlan." This mall
subsidy matter Interests us extremely.
In view of the fact that The Oregonlan
sends a large part perhaps tho great
est part of Its papers to its out-of-town
subscribers by express. Will Mr.
Jones let us hear from him again, with
more definite details? He appears to
know something about the mall service
that has escaped the attention of all
others, Tho Oregonlan Included.
. ixrinrvr ix ax oia story.
Fur many years Feo, the Insane
chief of the Unvttllla Indians, has been
confined In the Federal asylum far
Indians at Canton. South Pakota. He
t spoken of as aged, though but
seventy-five year old an nr at
which, according to popular tradition,
an Indian brave who wa born and
who lived until past m'JJIe life, out
of door, should be still vigorous and
m-.in-ely past hi prime. However this
may be, Umatilla Pro Is harmless and
In response to the r'"a of Ms daugh
ter, who live upon the Umatilla res
rratlon, he has been allowed to re
turn to his native heath to spend his
remaining years.
The name of Chief Peo and hi
achievement in early life belong to the
traditions of a vanishing rare. Hi
story. If written, would doubtless be
one of courage and adventure, hair
breadth escapes and blood-curdling
horrors. It has perhaps been told In
dup'l.Mte a thousand time between
the time of Massnsolt. King Philip
and Tev'iinis,-h. ard that f Sitting Hull,
the Sioux; Mnsrs. the Ncx Perec; Ge
yonlmo. the Af ache; Spokane Gary
and pe-pu-mox-mox, the Taklma war-j
the TrAcirms k.aixt pat fund.
The teacher of Multnomah County
have carried out a long-cherished plan
that of organizing for a retirement
fund for those of their profession who
shall have taught school for thirty
consecutive years, ten of which shall
have been In the Multnomah County
district. Ry the terms of agreement
which 350 teachers have signed and
hlch have been authorized by the
state Legislature, the funds for ear
ning out the provisions for this an
nuity shall be provided by a monthly
tax compulsory upon the members, to
gether with 1 per cent of the county
school fund a assessed yearly. A
fund of 150.000 will be raised before
any annuities are due or payable. The
maximum annuity will be SS00 a year.
to be paid from the date of the an
nuitant's retirement.
The scheme has long been cherished
by the older teachers of Multnomah
County. Quite a number of these will
be eligible to pension under this
agreement as soon as the volume of
the Tund will permit. Naturally the
younger teachers are not so devoted
to the idea as are the older ones, yet
quite a number of these have Joined
the ranks from a sense of loyalty to
or from a fee'.ing of philanthropic in
terest la- their seniors In the profes
sion.
The provision made by the organ
ization will, as time goea on, relieve
the teachers' dreams of the stalking
ghost of old-age penury, which often
haunts them. It will Insure comfort
to the year of enforced retirement
that follow the active year of teach
ing, which cover a third of a century.
and permit the faithful teacher to rest
serenely upon his or her hard-earned
laurels.
Figure that have been carefully
compiled show that It is a practical
Impossibility for the average teacher
upon the average wages or salary of
the short school year to live and ac
cumulate a competency during effec
tive working year. The woman
teacher Is perhaps eight times out of
ten the bread-winner for others. The
cost of her living, even If she has only
to provide for herself. Is greater than
that cf womea worker 1a manjr other 1
KRA TERN AX, INSURANCE.
The new Insurance rates which the
Modern Woodmen of the World
adopted at their Chicago meeting will
no doubt place this fraternal order on
sound financial basis. According to
the actuaries, the rates which have
been supplanted were only about 63
per cent as large as they should hive
been. It follow that the new pay
ments are, upon the whole, almost
double the old ones. Concessions of
many desirable sorts are made to older
members. Various Insurance plans
are placed at their disposal and some
of them are even permitted to charge
a third . part of their monthly pay
ments ngalnst their final settlement
with the order. But the fact remains
that necessity has forced an increase
of almost SO per cent In the rates. A
threatened deficit of $270,000,000 In
the treasury of the order has brought
home the obligation to act to the most
conservative and reluctant members.
That something of this kind must be
done sooner or later has long been
foreseen. As early as 195 W. A.
Northcott. of Springfield, Illinois, who
was then head consul of the order.
tried to secure an Increase of the rates,
but shortsighted members thwarted
hi efforts. It was not at that time as
well understood as it Is now that fra
temal. or assessment. Insurance does
not differ essentially in its mathemat
les from old line Insurance and that it
must be g4ded by the same princi
pies. It was supposed by many that
the Influx of new members would for
ever free the orders from the neces
sity of "loading" rates to provide for
the growing proportion of death as
the average age of the membership
increased. This, of course, was a fal
lacy, but It has taken years to con
vince the fraternal orders of Its In
validity and some of them are not yet
convinced. Fraternal Insurance may
well be cheaper than the old line be
cause It can avoid certain expenses.
Agent need -not be employed with
their heavy bills for service. The ma
chinery of administration can be sim
plified and economized In many ways.
Moreover It Is well known that old
line Insurance loads the rates more
than is really necessary In order to
build up an imposing surplus. These
and diver other useless expenses fra
ternal insurance can dispense wtth
and thu cheapen the rates.
But there Is a limit below which the
cost of insurance cannot fail with
safety to the policyholder. To Insure
a person with a certain expectation
of life cost a certain sum of money.
What the cost Is has been accurately
ascertained by the experience of many
generations of actuaries. This basic
cost Is the same for fraternnl as for
old line Insurance. Any order which
tries to go below it in figuring out
monthly payments Is predestined to
bankruptcy. The law of ma thematic
The preacher-Mayoi of Hoqulam,
Wash., has aroused great indignation
among the citizens of that city because
he officiated at the marriage of two
denizens of the under-world. While
this man and woman are not Ideal
candidates for holy matrimony, the
morals of each seem to be on par wtth
those of the other and It Is supposed to
be the duty of the state and the clergy
to encourage marriage as against law
less cohabitation. Hence It is dlflicult
to see what all this row Is about.
Is an old man Justified In killing his
young wife and her companion when
they attend a theater after he has for
bidden her to go? That fs the prob
lem at Tacoma as culmination of fam
ily trouble between a man of 64 and
wife of 23. The husband pleaded
guilty of murder, but court and the
publics were disposed to be a little easy
on him. The age of th other man
was 38, and in that fact lies the moral
of an unmoral affair.
Aatt-Vacrlnatlonlnts Defend Statements
of Callfornlans.
PORTLAND. Feb. 27. (To the Ed
ltor.) W have not seen the circular of
the California Anti-Vaccination League,
which Is the subject of your editorial
this morning, and it may contain mat
ter quite Incredible: but if the worst is
contained in the statements you quote,
then, it seems to us. It is more reliable
and susceptible of verification than are
the counter-statements which you of
fer. For examplo. Dr. Barney. Whether
he is correctly quoted or not by the
circular, he is nevertheless a Brooklyn
doctor who tlyee or four years ago
made some strong statements relative
to vaccination which were widely pub
lished at the time In the press of the
Enst and Middle West.
Then there is Lieutenant - Colonel
Henry Lippincott, deputy surg:eon-gen-eral
and chief surgeon of the Eighth
Army Corps in the Philippines. He
was gentiine enough and Important
enough to figure to the extent of 20
pages of report in the report of Surgeon-General
Sternberg for 1S99, which
is contained in our library. We do not
possess the report for 1900, which con
tains the figures to which you object,
but in a pamphlet addressed as an
"open letter" to Dr. J. A. Egan, secre
tary of the Illinois State Board of
Health, the author, Alexander r. Scott,
a Chicago lawyer, gives a table of
smallpox statistics, which he states he
obtained from the War Department, and
the following Item occurs:
"Philippines, 1900, 246 cases, 11J
deaths from smallpox." '
Here Is a statement In a pamphlet
which has had a wide circulation, and
which has never been questioned not
even by the health official to whom It
was addressed. It can be verified with
out much trouble by any one doubting
Its authenticity.
On the other hand, will you kindly
Inform us where you find authority for
your, -statement that "in the good old
days before vaccination was discovered,
it was common enough for entire com
panies of troops to perish of smallpox"?
HEALTH DEFENSE LEAGUE.
From Tha Oregonlan of Fabruary 28, 1S62.
Immediately on the receipt olf the
new of the belligerent attitude of
England in relation to the Trent dif
ficulty, the United States steam frigate
Lancaster, then lying in the harbor of
Panama, double-shotted her guns to be
prepared for an emergency. On be
coming aware of this fact, the British
war steamer Tartar, which was lying
off the harbor at Taboa, Just within
reach of the Lancaster's guns, the lat
ter vessel being out of her range,
double-shotted her guns also and draw
up within fighting distance of the
Lancaster. Fortunately the next in
telligence brought assurance of a
peaceful nature and the hostilities were
indefinitely postponed.
The Sacramento Union of the 12th
inst. says that their overland telegraph
dispatch In the issue of that date was
transmitted from Chicago at 10:45 A
M. and received in that city at 9:05
A. M. on same day. making a gain of
one hour 40 minutes on time. This Is
said to be the quickest time yet made
in telegraphing from the East.
We noticed some miners yesterday
bringing in a fine large buck, which
they had killed In the adjacent moun
tains. These California miners seem
to have a correct idea of killing time
while waiting for the river to break
up. They fish, hunt, dance, boat it on
the river and have all manner of ways
to enjoy themselves.
G. W. Vaughn has commenced suit
against the City of Portland for dam
ages In the sum of $17,000, which he
alleges he sustained by the removal
of a frame building from his wharf
in the year 1859 by the then city au
thorities. Sheriff Starr served the
papers on Mayor Brech yesterday.
Potatoes are selling in this city at
$4 per bushel. Much dearer than ap
ples. The plledrlver Is now constantly busy
driving piles along the city's front.
The Chinese journals are filled with
accounts of the capture of Nlngpo by
the Talping rebels, whose advances the
allies were said to be on the point of
uniting to put down.
From Japan we learn that some dif
ficulty had occurred in regard to the
opening of Yedo to foreign trade. Sev
eral additional ports were soon to be
opened. s
Mr. Chnrch Extends Sympathy.
PORTLAND, Feb. 27. (To the Ed
itor.) In the recent past you have con
tributed so much to soothe the troubled
spirit of Democracy on account of a
diversity of candidates for the Presi
dency on our side, taking us tenderly
by the hand and Inclining us to sit de
murely at the feet of Governor Harmon
as our very best, who would shield us
from the malign influence of Bryan,
Wilson and Champ Clark. It would be
sadly amiss in the present juncture on
your side of the fence, in the Intrusion
of Teddy the Terrible on the scene.
If no one rose to condole with you. If
you will permit It, I am sure I am
voicing the desire of 19 out of 20
Democrats that there should be a re
spectful complimentary return of woe
strain.
That Roosevelt should at this untime
ly hour Intrude himself on the peaceful
outlook In which our President was
moving In placid calm to an Insured
renomlnatlon must provoke the elect to
rise on their haunches and cuss in
tedious iteration the mischance that
some of the African Hons strangled and
swallowed In his forays had not swal
lowed him.
But little can be said to mitigate a
grief that must pervade an ardent fol
lower of the G. O. P. at this unfortunate
intrusion.
Had not Gipsy Smith wrought a
change in cussing propensities, I would
write in some towering anathemas
commensurate with the occasion, but,
as it Is, knowing that nothing can
avail, I can only unite In sentiment
with the German at the battle of
Gettysburg, who, as the balls came
thick and fast, threw down his gun
and started to run, exclaiming: "D n
Christopher Columbus: he discovered
America!" C. P. CHURCH.
Fashions in Cars
By Dean Collins.
BT PEAS COLLINS.
All satiate with mushrooms, fried,
And rarebit I might not digest,
I hied me to my humble cot
And sank to an uneasy rest..
In anguished dreams I 'writhed and
beat
The air, and flnily with my feet
Upon the pillow. Bnored I on
And dreamt that many years had gone.
In future years methought I stood
Upon a curbstone, gazing far
Adown the busy, teeming, street
And waited vainly for a car.
An aged man paused by ray side.
"When comes the car, good sir?" I
cried.
Full dolefully he shook, his head;
"We don't have cars no more," he said.
"How so? And why?" I queried then.
"No cars? Forsooth it is a shame."
He pulled his grizzled beard and
sighed;
"The women's fashions are to blame.
For years the railways kept In chase
Adapting cars to fashion's pace.
'TIs 30 years agone," said he.
"Since they went into bankruptcy." '
"First, ev'ry car step was let down
Until It wellnlgh scraped the dirt.
In deference to fashion's laws
Which made the narrow hobble skirt.
Next Spring tall hats were all tha rage.
And carpenters must they engage
To model all the cars once more.
With a high roof and slender door.
"Hats widened out next year. The oars
Were changed again. The doors were
flared
Wide at the top, so any maid
Could enter freely. If she cared.
Lo. to what malice fashion stoops
Next season, maids were wearing hoops.
All cars were hurried to .the shop
Because their doors flared at the top.
"Thus change on change came in full
fast;
Fashion each year essayed some feat
That, In a stroke, made all the cars
Of the past season obsolete.
Thirty years back, the company
Was driven into bankruptcy,"
Full dolefully he shook his head;
"We don't have ears no more," he said.
Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe
Probably you know a man who does
petty things "just for meanness." Let
rr.e make a prediction about him: ha will
gradually become bolder, and land in
Jail.
y man going through bankruptcy Is
another case of a man trying to come
back.
What
mothe
would a home be
lace curtains?
Prominent religionists of California
have undertaken to bombard . high
heaven In the hope of opening some of
it closed window so that rain can
come through. Since they have deter
mined to keep the bombardment up
until rain falls,' they will doubtless in
due thne claim that their prayers have
"availed much." n the meantime the
heavens of California are as brass and
coffers at 'our gentle, humid Oregon
climate are properly rebuked.
A misguided Roosevelt shouter, said
to be a foreigner, in a Pennsylvania
steel mill was carved by his country
men, said to be Taft partisans. If this
be the way the defl attacks the Import
ed talent, the natives will need special
guidance.
The order to the Sneed Jury to pray
for wisdom in reaching a verdict IS
asking divine guidance at the wrong
end of the affair. Sneed needs the
prayers.
Eastern brewer are again raising
the price of beer. Increasing the hard
ship where the water is bad.
The Octopus President.
SALEM. Or.. Feb. 27. (To the Edi
tor.) After the death of the whale
President, there came a bitter cam
paign for the Presidency between the
Octopus and the Crawfish. The Craw
fish lost because he was a mere fresh
water fish, and because the Octopus
could hand out Juicy bribes eight ways
at once.
After the Inauguration all seemed to
go very smoothly until suddenly the
Secretary of State was seen to wither
up and become lifeless as a statue In
his chair. Then the same happened to
the Secretary of the Treasury, and
then all the rest of the Cabinet, and
It was discovered that the Octopus had
his tentacles on all of them and had
bl 1- them to death.
bearing that the same thing might
happen to them, all the member of
Congress rushed In a body to the Ex
ecutive Mansion and, forcing entrance,
cut the Octopus in pieces, when, be
hold! before their very eyes each piece
became a full-grown Octopus! And
each Congress fish was seized by an
Octopus and his life-blood taken from
him!
But after that It wasn't so bad. When
the supply of politicians ran out all
the new Octopl simply died of starva
tion. If It wasn't for trust-owned politic
ians and favorable legislation many of
our trusts would simply die of starva
tion. Z. M. CHASE.
A Wonderful Kgff Record.
CORBETT, Or., Feb. 26. (To the Ed
itor.) That it is not the special breed
of hens, but the special care they do re
ceive, what makes them lay. This
truth seems to be proven beyond the
least doubt by Mrs. C. Manthey, of
Corbett, Or. Mrs. Manthey does not
trap-nest her hens and cannot say for
that reason what each hen does in
the matter of laying eggs, 'but sh
knows what all her hens are doing in
this matter, as she writes carefully the
number of eggs in a book which she
gets from her flock. each day. She has
her chickens penned up the whole year
round on a small place, about 50 by 50
feet, and takes care of them herself.
Her flock of 22 hens consists of so-
called mongrel chickens of mixed blood
and all kinds of colors, and from these
22 hens of unknown breeds and some
even of unknown age, as a dozen are
still among them which she originally
bought a few years ago when she
came from Dakota, she harvested the
last year 4576 eggs, or In the average
Just 208 per mongrel hen, which seems
to indicate "that she has surely more
than one 250-epg hen among her mon
grel stock." Surely, a very interest
ing show of good care for chickens.
L. FERDINAND FLOSS.
without a
A million good Jobs will be given
out next month. Are you In the way
of promotion, or is the boss thinking
that maybe he can get along without
you?
There is enough that is known to be
true to occupy the attention of anyone.
Why fool with any theory you can't
demonstrate? Why be a Mystic? Why
not be a Carnegie?
Why Is Sir Isaac Newton a great man
because he discovered that If you throw
a stone in the air, it will fall to the
earth? Didn't people know that be
fore? When a man says: "I know a secret
I can't tell," he knows a mean story he
Is dying to spread.
Where one man hasn't enough to eat.
a thousand have dyspepsia from eating
too much.
A compliment la usually
because it isn't the truth.
pleasant.
TAXATION AXD REPRESENTATION.
Verse, a Commercial Line.
Judge.
"For years and years I have wrote
poetry," remarked the affluent-looking
stranger. "I wrote It until I was
forced by cold and hunger to take up
a commercial line."
"What was that?"
"Writing verses."
How la It at Yonr Hornet
Boston Transcript.
Heck Does your wife get angry
he is Interrupted while talking?
Peck How should I know?
If
Writer Would Limit Right to Rata er
Revenue and Appropriation Bills.
PORTLAND, Feb. 27. (To the Edi
tor). In reading the report of Judge
Carey's speech on single tax, made a
few days ago, I note that he suggested
that taxpayers should make the laws
relating to taxation. Our American
forefathers fought for the principle,
"no taxation without representation."
It seems to the writer that a good slo
gan for these days would be "no repre
sentation without taxation" in tax mat
ters. Why would it not be a good plan to
use our Oregon system and let the
voters of our good state vote on a con
stitutional amendment limiting the
right to vote on any initiative or ref
erendum proposal relating to raising
revenue by taxation or to spending the
revenue so raised to such persons as are
actual taxpayers and on the tax rolls
as such? If such a proposition were
written into our laws the question of
single tax would probably not be one
which we need fear as confiscatory, for
the reason that the people who have to
pay the taxes could not pile up such
unreasonable or unnecessary taxes as
would result in taking away land from
private ownership and vest it in tho
state, which seems to be the ultimate
goal of our present active single tax
advocates a result that every person
who owns real property, be it he with
the farm In the country, the suburban
homeowner or the man who owns val
uable city property of any kind must
consider with at least some degree of
apprehension. J. H. MIDDLETON.
Information on Australia,
PORTLAND, Feb. 26. (To the Edi
tor.) There appears an Inquiry for
Information concerning Australian
lands, products, etc.
If Constant Reader will send me
his address I will send him full in
formation concerning the opportuni
ties of Australia. I have literature
sent me by the West Australian gov
ernment and have their authority to
distribute and give information con
cerning their lands.
GEO. IAN MAXWELL.
171 Thirteenth street.
The Chinese republic is making a
brave start with a chip on Its shoulder
at Batavia.
. The Colonel has begun defending al
ready a bad omen for a Republican
candidate.
He 1 a highly moral policeman who
arrest a woman for trying to flirt with
bim.
Snperheater Makes Engine Power.
Philadelphia Record.
The Pennsylvania Railroad seems to
be getting Important - results from a
new device called the superheater,
which turns wet Into dry steam and
Increases the power of the engine. It
has made it possible on steep grades to
do away with the helper engine.
A fee. of $7500 for securing $22,600
in an escheated estate is easy moiey.
Ron-in-Law Nick 1' for the other
man. This 1 nareucai, out xoxy
The Purchasing Ponnd'a Fall.
London Tit Bits.
Statistics ' of the Increased cost of
living In England show that while one
pound sterling would have purchased
80 pounds weight of family groceries
in 1898, its purchasing power was re
duced to 7 Hi pound la 1810.
1
Don't say that advertising in the
daily papers won't benefit your busi
ness until you have tried it.
Many a mrchant has tried advertising for a three
months test just to see if it would do him any good, and
has been so pleased with the results that he has made ad
vertising an integral part of his selling plan.
That is the way advertisers are made. And mer
chants who once advertise for a sufficient time never stop
advertising. No retail business can grow to large propor
tions in this day and age without the assistance of news
paper publicity. The Oregonian is the most influential
newspaper in the Pacific Northwest Therefore it follows
that your advertising in its columns will receive more atten
tion than in any other paper. The greater the weight the
newspaper carries with its subscribers the greater the value
of your advertisement in that medium.
0
t