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rORTlAND, onr.coN.
f.r-t si rortl.nd. Oregon. Postofflee a
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,BT MAIUI
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I. y. wttnnut Huadjr. oo month
W'y. on. y.r i jy,
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(BY CAKHIER.)
Tmi't. Susdav m-itidd. yr. . t
Hair, suBdar lncluu4. OM '
Haw to Hrll S.nJ Postofflcs m'T
1XI O.ntt. coin or '""'"JjdrtS
t th. KiidVi rik. f.ivo p.iefTi- address
la lu:;. including cuni '
r-Mo Kalea 10 to 14 p. J ""'j,,1
i poM. cents. oroia puM.
rfTiiblo. rat.
bi.. "r-j:" c?v,:
Iln -w r. Urunswus bul.dmg- -
cffo. Mr building.
twp Offm No. 3 R-gnt troU -
W i. u 1 'n.
rORTLOn. JtOMHV, MARCH M. !
Ttrrs work ttR rRcx.RE-.
"Progressive l a procrestvr doM."1
Mid President Taft In his Concord
speech an.i by that standard should
rtui proKTclvcncs be Judged. A
man's progrelvenej Is to be Judged,
not by the frequency and th energy
with whifh he utter the word "pro
gresMve." but by hl acts mhen In of-tW-e
anj by the policy he announces
will be Ms guide If he Is continued In
office.
Mr. Taft found the revenue not equal
to the expense of the (,;oeromer:t
when he became President. Legisla
tion he has recommended and ap
proved and administrative reforma he
has made have changed a deficit Into
a surplus, while no stinting such pub
lic work an the Panama Canal, river
and harbor Improvement. public
buildings and reclamation.
.' When he took office, hut first Men
was tit call upon Congre to revl.-e
the tariff. The allied protected Inter
rru prevented such a revision a he
-ecommended and the people, desired,
out he extorted valuable concession
ind made the bill the beginning of
real revision by securing the creation (
of the Tariff Roard. He told ongrees
how it could break the hitherto Invin
cible phalanx of the protected Inter
ests by revising one schedule at a time
In accordance with the reports of the
board. That Important feature of his
rwIlcy wax eagerly snapped up by hi
' Democratic and Insurgent opponents,
but they have abandoned the Tariff
Hoard, of which they were most ardent
.hamplona. Taft recommends to the
people a common-sense, consistent pol
icy of tariff revision, every feature of
which I progressive.
Taft for the first time ha put life
Into the anti-trust law. The most Im
Jportant suits begun by his predecessor
'have been carried to a triumphant con
clusion, many trusts have been broken
up. either by court decision or by vol
untary action when suit was begun or
threatened, and proceedings have been
begun against the remaining trusts. So
successful ha h been In this policy
that the trusts, which formerly treated
the law with contempt, now beg to be
ubjected to Federal supervision. If
(hey may only be allowed to live. The
President has made a good beginning
Ht supervision In connection with the
.orporatlon tax. which he caused to
be Imposed, and he proposes provision
for federal Incorporation and supervi
sion of all Interstate corporations,
which will prevent as well as prose
cute monopoly. Though his policy In
t: Is regard Is essentially progressive. It
's opposed by leading men In the great.
t trusts in the name of progress.
f ft makes progress, while these men
trlve for reaction and call It progress.
The progressive men of the country
demand an Income tax. Taft ha se
cured the submission to the states for
ratification of a Constitutional amend,
nent authorizing such a tax and it
lacks the approval of only six more
state to secure Its adoption.
Progress demanded postal ravings
banks and parcels post. He has se
cured the one and ha put It In suc
cessful operation, and is now urging
CongTess) to pa the other measure.
He ha also put the Postoftlce Depart
ment on a paying basis for the first
time In thirty years.
The progressive thought of the Na
tion favors settlement of International
disputes by arbitration. Taft nego
tiated arbitration treaties with Great
Britain and France, but they were
emasculated by a majority of the Sen
ate composed almost entirely of reac
tionary Democrats. The only hope of
permanent adoption of a peace policy
Is the re-election of Taft. backed by a
Senate which will ratify such treaties
1n thrlr original form.
Taft ha continued the policy of
forest preservation and has secured
passage of a law allowing the with
drawal of coal, oil and phosphate land
f om entry. He ha withdrawn such
land and has recommended that it be
leased on such term a will secure
an in-ome to the Government, retain
title in "the Nation and prevent mo
nopoly. He has recommended the same
policy for Alaska, together with the
development of a Government coal
mine to supply the Navy and construc
tion of a Government railroad. Delay
in carrying out this policy Is due not
to Taft but to Congres.. which has not
passed the neceary legislation. Taft
wuld make greater progress) if Con
gress would allow him.
Construction of the Panama Canal
has been pushed with such vigor un
der Taft that this great work will be
completed a year and a half before the
time set for its opening.
One of the greatest though least
spectacular achievements of Taft is the
Introduction of economy and efficiency
Into the public service. He proposes
to extend this work so a to save great
sums, but Is blocked by a Congress
which talks progress but does not prac
tice it. He proposes to take the whole
postal service out of the hands of
spoilsmen by placing It under civil
service rules, but CongTesa blocks this
progressive step.
Taft has been called upon to All a
majority of the place on the Supreme
Bench. How wise have been hi ap
pointments la reflected In the recent
decisions of the court on the trusts,
railroads, and employers' liability,
which are in harmony with the spirit
)T the age.
One of the most important though
least showy of the reforms advocated
by Taft has been the Improvement of
court procedure, to render It cheaper.
Impler and more expeditious. But
Congress doea not act. although the
uprenie Court I revising the court
rules with this end In view, and at
Ins instigation.
Iel any progressive Republican pass
In mental review the work he thinks
should be done by a Republican Presi
dent, and he will find that Taft ha
either done It or Is trying to do It and
that the chief obstacles In his way are
those men who call themselves pro
gressives. V t V DlrMMLTrrs IN THB WAY.
If the minimum wage should be
adopted with a view to paying work
men enough for a bare subsistence, on
what principle should it be based?
What I enough for a man of family
would be more than enough for a
bachelor. Then will the British gov
ernment find It necessary to adopt a
sliding scale of minimum, ranging
upward as the number of persons to
be supported by the minimum wage
Increases, without regard to the value
of a man s services? That would ne
cessitate Inquiry Into the circumstances
of each miner. It would tempt em
ployers to discriminate In favor of
bachelors and against men with large
families. It would be contrary to that
fundamental principle of labor union
ism that ail men In a certain occupa
tion must be paid the same minimum
age.
Then how Is the minimum wage to
be enforced? If a mineowner cannot
pay It and sell coal at a profit Is he
to be compelled to operate at a loss
or will the government take the mine
off his hand and operate It as a seml
charltable Institution? If miners re
fuse to work at the minimum wage,
are soldiers to drive them Into the
mines?
The enforcement of a statutory min
imum wage Is fraught with many dif
ficulties, of which those suggested are
but a few.
STATE KMICLATIO XWSAKY.
Absorption of the Mount Hood Com
pany by the Portland Railway. Light
c Power Company effectively demon
strates the futility of hope that electric
service will any time soon In this city
be regulated by force of competition.
The great corporation that now con
trols tie electric power, lighting and
car service In Portland and owns or
provides current for every interurban
system terminating in Portland will
undoubtedly maintain Its monopoly for
years to come.
This fact need not be particularly
alarming, yet It may be unless the pub
lic awakens. Regulation by the state
of cost and quality of service la the
proper and only safeguard that can
now be applied agnlnst the abuses that
uncontrolled monopoly Invariably leads
to. In November the people will voto
on a public service commission act.
This act would now be In force had
not Senator Dan Kellaher. for an Idle
or useless purpose, invoked the refer
endum on the law.
If this pending law is not effective
In every particular if the commission
is not given adequate power It can
and should be amended by the Legis
lature. It I good groundwork for ef
fective regulation. If nothing more, but
almost certainly It la an adequate law
as it stands. The necessity for its
adoption has now been augmented
Immeasurably. There wopld seem to
be no honest question of Its desirability.
The shortcomings of attempted mu
nicipal regulation of public utilities,
moreover. Is demonstrated by the mer
ger. The City Council sought to check
by ordinance this or a similar consoli
dation. In granting the Mount Hood
Company a franchise the Council in
serted an Inhibition against the sale
thereof to any competing corporation.
The restriction is wholly Ignored. In
nallty It was a useless provision. The
Portland Railway. Light & Power
Company doubtless can get along with,
out the Mount Hood franchise, and still
utilize the Mount Hood equipment.
Within the city It has its own trarks
over which cars from the new line
may travel. Outside of Portland, the
City Council cannot regulate or pre.
vent or Inhibit. The City Council la
practically a powerful as the city
utilities commission that Mr. Kellaher
wanted. It was for such flimsy control
as this that he proposed to sacrifice
state regulation. For the ungratiiied
hope of obtaining it he has forced the
sacrifice of two years of efficient
regulation.
JIKIOSITY NOT A DlsEAsE.
Because Idle men will stop to listen
to a sensational street speaker Is no
more Indication that society Is afflicted
with an economic disease than is the
fact that the street medicine faker can
draw a crowd an Indication that the
city Is overrun by Invalids. Mr. Erick
son. who ha a letter In The Orego
nlan today recommending that the
brainy men of the community aeek a
remedy for the malady Indicated by
the gatherings around Incendiary
street orators, has not used his powers
of observation keenly.
If Mr. Erickson's advice is good in
the one case, our men of brains could
keep very busy. They would find much
work curing the spiritual ills of the
throng attracted by the ranting Mor
mon proselyters. They would detect a
deep study In the men attracted by the
individual who racks the nerves with
strings of slelghbeJIs. or the Italian
who shatters the atmosphere with his
loudly discordant hand organ. They
would have a long search, too. for the
Cwuse. if It be other than curiosity, that
impels men to flock around the inker
who professes to cure disease with a
gila monster.
Mr. Erlckson can observe, or recent
ly eould have noted, all these phenom
ena. He could have seen about a
many gaping at a medicine swindler
or a blind musical couple as he noted
around the L W. W. ranter. At one
time he could have noted a street evan.
gtllst who drew a bigger crowd than
anybody simply by donning convict's
garb. If such congregating of the curi
ous, the idle, the gullible, the stupid
indicates widespread disease, the com
munity is permeated with perilous eco.
noroi.', spiritual, physical and mental
maladies all. We are on our deathbed
with no hope here or hereafter. Our
brainy" men may drop everything
else and get to work on the problem,
but its solution la hopeless.
As a matter of fact, the only thing
Indicated by a crowd around an incen
diary speaker la that the listeners are,
for the most part, men who are idly
attracted by anything that promises a
temporary entertainment or diversion.
The few others are organization men
there for the sole purpose of applaud
ing. They are the claque. It Is not
Russian methods" to suppress these
disturbances. Such gatherings In
cluding those attracted by other street
fakers are nuisances. The public
does not want them. Free speech
guaranties do not protect them. Their
suppression would cause no more than
a ripple among Portland citizens, and
that would come not from those- who
have felt the Infliction but from a few
visionaries and political mpathlzers
THE MORXIXG
who do not go out themselves to listen
to the ranting. In Spokane. Aberdeen,
San Diego and every other place where
the I. W. W. has been denied what it
terms "free speech" It has had to im
port the floating riffraff of the entire
country to get up a noticeable demon
stration. Every enlightened commun
ity, so far as Its own citizens are con
cerned, rejoices, as a whole, when the
street mouthers are evicted.
LKT SIlJ-.NtB FAIJ..
Among the many marks of growth
and progress that have been noted In
Portland of late none Is more con
spicuous than that which witnesses
the wrecking of the old City Jail. For
tunately. It Is Impossible to write a
detailed history of this noisome pile
of brick and mortar, iron gratings and
reeking timber that has stood so long
a combined disgrace and protection to
the city.
There Is a quaint belief tenderly
cherished when an old homestead, a
school house or a church Is Its objec
tive point that an old building Is
a storehouse of all that has transpired
within Its walls, a silent phonograph
as it were, the records of which,
though indelibly stamped upon the
vellum of time, are expressiveless. ex
cept, perhaps, when licked by tongues
of fire or made resonant by the blows
of the wrecker's maul.
In accordance with this belief kind
ling fancy with ear attuned to sym
pathy, may hear between the blows,
or rising above the din that attends
the deniolishment of the old building
at Oak and Second streets, pleading
voices asking leniency for.the erring;
maniacal voice shouting In Bacchan
alian frenzy: the volcea of the ob
durate and unrepentant curdling the
air with blasphemy, and away back In
a past decade the voice of the Prose
cuting Attorney arraigning the prayer
ful women of the temperance crusade
as disturbers of the public peace; the
defense offered by their attorney
that prayer, even In public places, was
not and could not be a disturbing ele
ment and the decision of the presid
ing Judge whereby the zealous cru
saders were dismissed with a repri
mand so gentle that It sounded like a
benediction and prudent suggestion
that they refrain from praying and
singing on sidewalks in front of sa
loons. All of these memory voices, and
many more rise, and fall, quaver and
are silenced amid the blow rained by
the wreckers upon the old City Jail.
There being no one gifted with the
voice of Interpretation of these sounds,
they rise and fall upon the balmy air
of Spring, unrecognized and unrecog
nizable and relapse Into silence. It Is
well for this silence to remain un
broken; for these sounds to remain un.
Interpreted and for all to pass together
Into the dim Bnd shadowy realm or
forgetfulnesa from which fancy, even
it its wildest flights, la barred.
DMIHIVF. CONTKSTM AT HAND.
The main pitched battle between
the Taft and Roosevelt forces for con
trol of the Chicago convention will be
fought next Tuesday. New York will
elect eighty-six district delegates to
the National convention on that day,
and will at the same time elect dele
gates to the state convention, which
is to name four delegates at large. . On
the saYne day Indiana will hold a
state convention to elect four delegates
at large. That state will have held
six district conventions before thestate
convention meets, leaving seven to be
held at later dates.
These two states are the best battle
ground for the rivals, for they have
been Republican territory for twenty
years, and. combined, have J 20 votes
in the National convention. Their de
cision will show the trend of Republl
ilon w-Ul s
n opinion
can opinion on the Atlantic Coast and
In the Middle West. Therefore, both
Roosevelt and Taft are rushing their
forces of men and funds Into those
states. If Taft should sweep them, he
will have such a nucleus of strength
and the moral effect of his victory on
other states will bo so great that
Roosevelt's hope of victory will have
vanished and Taft will have assured
himself ot a majority of the Northern
delegate.
The first brush has already come In
Indiana. In the election of delegates
to the Seventh District convention,
which Includes Indianapolis Taft se
cured 128. Roosevelt 6. the farmers
being as strongly for Taft as the cities.
Taft has also carried the first district.
His success In these two districts has
emboldened his managers to Increase
their claims from fifteen to twenty
eight ont of the thirty delegates from
Indiana,
In New York State the Roosevelt
managers are said not to hope for
more than one-third of the delegation
and the Taft managers concede them
not more than ten out of the ninety.
Roosevelt centers his fight on the
Borough of Manhattan, where he con
tests all of the thirteen districts. He
makes a contest In only one Brooklyn
district.
Of the delegates so far reported 139
are for Taft. thirteen for Roosevelt,
two for Cummins and ten for La Fol
lette. State conventions are to be held
in Arkansas on March 28, Colorado
March 27. Mississippi March 28. Ar
kansas and Mississippi are considered
safe for Taft and hi managers seem
confident of Colorado. Of the Taft
delegates elected to date, those from
safe Republican states are: Michigan
4, Iowa 6. Indiana 4. Twelve have
been elected from doubtful states,
namely, four from Missouri and eight
from New Mexico. The New York and
Indiana conventions will be followed
in close succession by conventions In
other Republican states.
Roosevelt's managers plan contests
by wholesale in the South as well as
In some of the Northern districts, the
Seventh Indiana among them. If
their contests have no more merit than
In the last-named district, where the
vote was three to one for Taft In the
City of Indianapolis, they will have
little standing before the National
committee.
An attempt will be made this Spring
to revive interest in the flax industry
in Oregon in behalf of the American
Linseed Oil Company and the West
ern Linen mills, of Duluth. This com
pany already has a plant In this city
for the manufacture of Unseed oil.
Last year more than 150,000 bushels of
flaxseed were Imported to meet the
demands of this factory a manifest
loss to farmers of Oregon whose lands
are suitable for growing flax. With
capital already engaged to meet he
supply, there Is not the slightest rislc
to farmers who engage understand
ing in flax culture. Much effort has
been enlisted In behalf of flax raising
In Oregon In past years. It ha been
shown conclusively that Tax growing
would pay. provided conditions were
OREGONIAN, MONDAY,
right. As a feature of diversified ag-
, . i,. i . in In
ricuiture ii win pay n es""
telligently. It may be hoped that an
impetus will be given to thla Industry
by the fact that there is a market for
flax products at our very doors, and
that, connected with It. is an agent
who Is willing to give all the assist
ance and assurance, explanatory and
financial, that Is required to put flax
growing in the Willamette Valley on a
paying basis.
Representative Hawiey Is confident
of the truth of his statement that
homesteaders are kept in the dark as
to the contents of adverse reports
ma.de by special agents of the land
office and that these reports are used
by the Government in the trial of con
tests. He also reiterates that decisions
are written by law clerks and perfunc
torily signed by their chiefs. Chief of
Field Division Sharp may be doing his
utmost to give the settler a square deal
In Oregon, but the seat of the trouble
is In the land office in Washington and
the remedy for the evils to which Mr.
Hawiey call attention must be applied
there. The settler has a moral right
to see all the documentary evidence
which is to be used against him and
to know what witnesses will testify
against him. If the law does not give
him this right, it should. The law
gives It to a man accused of murder;
a man seeking to earn a home for
himself by developing the land de
serves no less.
George Parry was paroled from
the state penitentiary of Utah in 1910
after serving nine of a twenty years'
sentence for criminal assault upon a
little girl: he was returned to that institution-
last week upon conviction of
a similar crime, his victim in this in
stance being a child of eleven years,
for a term of sixty-one years. As he
is now thirty-eight year old thla is
practically a life sentence. It may be
hoped that he will be neither pardoned
nor paroled. The penitentiary, under
close surveillance and at hard work is
the only place which a brute of this
kind can occupy with safety to so
ciety, until legislators awaken to a
sense of the fitness of things and enact
a law the application of which will
render such creatures harmless and
still leave them able to perform menial
service for their betters.
If the anthracite coal miners should
succeed In exacting the advance In
wage they demand, the operators es
timate that the labor cost of coal
would be increased about 40 cents a
ton for all sizes. As the competition
of bituminous coal would make im
possible an Increase in the price of
steam coal, the whole advance would
fall on domestic sizes and would
amount to about 67 cents, a ton. Add
a further advance due to the working
of the sliding scale and a still fur
ther advance of 10 or 15 cents added
by the retail dealer and the price
would be Increased about tl a ton. As
usual, the consumer would pay in the
end.
One element in the general advance
in prices is a marked Increase in ocean
freight rates. This has been an aver
age of 29.05 per cent between New
York and London and has extended to
all other routes. The increase amounts
to 3.29 per cent of our imports in 1911
and raises the average freight rates on
Imports to about 4.25 per cent of their
gross value. The cause is a sharp de
mand for space.
It is but a few years since it was
unsafe for an American to land in
Venezuela. Now our Secretary of
State Is received with enthusiasm at
Caracas. This may instigate Castro to
start a revolution, but he has been
ominously quiet of late.
In declaring he cannot support Har
mon as delegate if instructed, Mr.
Bryan Is drifting toward Insurgency, a
hitherto undeveloped Bryanic quality.
But Mr. Bryan, like all good Demo
crats, will reconsider on the show
down. The manhunt in the Allegheny
Mountains of Virginia Is soon to be
followed by a hunt for a madman in
the Olympic Mountains of Wrashington.
The Allen and Tornow are widely sep
arated, but of the same breed.
"Man's; place is also In the home,"
says the vice-president of the Mothers'
Congress at Kansas City. Right she
Is. He is needed there on payday at
all events. All other times he may
be tolerated.
There is significance In the news
stattment that the Aberdeen mill
strike Is broken and "all the employes
will be Americans." That puts up the
bars against the I. W. W.
Attention of those who said the
Southern Pacific line to Coos Bay was
another paper road is respectfully
called to the fact that grading keglDS
this week.
Bryan's attitude towards Harmon
implies that, if the Democrats should
nominate the Ohio Governor, he would
treat Harmon as he treated Parker in
1904.
. Local politicians who are confus
ing popular rule with mob rule are
very apt to have a rude awakening one
day.
There should be little need of extra
guards at the Benton County Jail to
protect the Humphry. Though they
plead not guilty, their end is in sight.
In but a few weeks the street gath
erings will consist of American citi
zens, actual and in embryo, for the
scores will be on the bulletin boards.
The latest project to reclaim 100.000
acres In Southwestern Idaho will, when
completed, add more than that number
to the population.
General industrial stagnation, with a
heavy touch of starvation, will settle
the British strike. Nothing else will
likely do It.
Temptation is strong to cast the line
thee beautiful Spring days, though the
lawful date Is quite a bit ahead.
The male pheasant seems to know
his rights and Is correspondingly
"sassy" this Spring.
We have now progressed from the
matchmaking mother to the match
making daughter. '
By electric line to Albany in May
and Eugene in September is going
some.
The pike swallows the minnow.
MAKCIT 25, 1912.
PRISO UNHEALTHY FOR BANKERS
Writer Marvels Over War Confinement
Affeets Certain Class.
HOOD RIVER, Or.. March 22. (To
the Editor.) I see in the news from
Salem that W. Cooner Morris, former
banker, now a guest of the State of .
A ..... . j i- in Tt.
Oregon in tne renuenuarj, n
article states that he is exceedingly
yellow and haggard and for several
days has been in the prison hospital.
The news further states he is suffer
ing from acute indigestion and other
disorders.
Well. Salem Penitentiary must be
exceedingly unhealthy for convicted
hankers, like her Bister institution in
Atlanta, Ga., which was so unhealthy-
for boarders of this kind that the pres
ident had to pardon one out of this un
healthy place.
Well, it certainly makes interesting
reading for the average citizen to dis
cover how these state boarding institu
tions are so fatal to the welfare of
this class of criminals. I think that
the state should have a special health
report published by those in authority
at Salem. I presume the State of Ore
gon, in all probability, has 1000 men
whose health is Just as poor as this
man's, but it Is only this "precious
one" we have the privilege of reading
so much about. Punish with a spirit
of Justice to all and special privileges
to none. Let it be said there Is one
place in Oregon where all in common
fare alike.
I would naturally think W. C. Mor
ris had able attorneys for his defense
and was tried by an Impartial Jury.
Now. In behalf of humanity, let us not
creat special privileges among prisoners
who have been caught In a common
dragnet of the criminal law. These are
a few thoughts of a common former
citizen and taxpayer. .
ROY D. SMITH.
Water Mains and Paving-.
PORTLAND, March 23. (To the Edi
tor.) In a communication appearing
in The Oregonlan March 22, the state
ment Is made that the City Water Board
and the Council are making arrange
ments to have all water mains laid by
the paving companies hereafter and
have the cost of the same assessed
against the property served. Will The
Oregonian please explain Just what the
arrangement means? Does it mean that
hereafter no water mains can be ob
tained in any district unless accom
panied by paving?
I am a small property-owner, just
south of Hawthorne avenue, and in
common with other residents of the
same district have been hoping for city
water mains of a size sufficient to
give us fire protection, as well as
water for sprinkling lawns, but if the
city administration Is going to make
paving a condition precedent to obtain
ing water, we shall have to wait al
together too long a time for water,
as our lots are not of sufficient value
to stand a paving assessment.
It seems Impossible to me that the
city administration can contemplate
putting the small property-owners so
completely at the mercy of the paving
companies, and that if this Is really
the intention, it Is high time the property-owners
bestirred themselves and
made some protest.
PROPERTY-OWNER.
"Froperty-owner". has nothing to
fear. No such plan is or has been con
templated. The only proposition made
was that paving companies were will
ing to lay certain mains ahead of pave
ments, where the revenue to be derived
would not equal 6 per cent on the cost
of Installation, as the charter does not
permit the city to lay mains under
such circumstances, but the proposal
was not accepted.
Why Keep Them From Suicide f
PORTLAND, March 22. (To the Edi
tor.) Why in the name of common
sense should any one object to the
self-destruction of th creature Humph
ry s, who has committed brutal mur
ders at Intervals for many years, and
Is no more to be considered as a human
being than a rattlesnake or a mad dog?
Why shouldn't he be allowed to save
the state the expense and th public
the details of a useless trial? Is there
anv doubt that he is not fit to live?
if both he and his brother desire to
kill themselves off without further
useless ceremony and expense, there is
no earthly reason why they should not
do so.
The idiocy of wasting further time
and money in keeping alive such a de
generate ought to be apparent to the
meanest intelligence. If any sane and
sensible reason can be adduced as to
why any restraint should be placed on
the desire of each of these creatures to
rid the world of his noxious presence
1 should like to hear It.
JAMES FELTON BROUGHTON.
Elections In Indiana.
PORTLAND, March 23. (To the Edi
tor.) A says that In the general elec
tion of 1910 the voters of the State of
Indiana expressed on the ballot directly
wno was their choice for United States
Senator: B says they did not. Which
is right? D- K-
Indiana voters do not express di
rectly their choice for United States
Senator. In 1910 Beveridge was nom
inated for Senator by the Republican
state convention and Kern by the
Democratic convention. That is, each
party pledged its legislative candidates
to vote for a certain man for Senator.
The voters expressed their choice by
voting for candidates for the Legisla
ture. As the Legislature went Demo
cratic, Kern was elected.
Books on Prune C'ultare,
VANCOUVER, Wash., March 21. (To
the Editor:) Please tell me If there is
a book published dealing with prune
culture In the West, and. If so, where
it can be bought. A READER.
Inquiry reveals no one book dealing
particularly with prune culture in the
West. The subject is discussed In "The
Evolution of our Native Fruits," S2. and
"The Principles of Fruit Growing."
11.50. by Professor L. H. Bailey, of Cor
nell University, and considered to be
the leading authority on pomology in
this country. The books are published
by the Macmillan Co., New York, and
are on sale In bookstores In this city,
Flshlnjc In the Clackamas.
OREGON CITY, Or., March 21.
(To the Editor.) When Kipling visited
Portland and vicinity, about 20 years
ago. he wrote a poem about the Clack
amas River. Where can this poem be
found?
MRS. WM. HAMMOND.
No poem of description named has
been found. In Kipling's prose book,
"In Sea to Sea," there Is a chapter de
voted to "Fishing in the Clackamas,"
and this chapter is also found In Kip
ling's "American Notes."
. Warrenlte la Road-Bnlldinsr.
WINBERRY, Or., March 23. (To the
Editor.) What Is warrenlte and how
la It used In road-building, and what
does it cost for enough to make a
square yard of road? Is the recall un
constitutional in Oregon?
A SUBSCRIBER.
Warrenlte Is a new brand of paving,
never used in Portland as yet. The
City Engineer has never prepared any
specifications for it, and no one knows
what It costs per square yard.
The recall Is constitutional. It is a
part of the constitution.
ORATORS NOT ALL FOREIGNERS.
Danish Pastor Advocate More Trade
Instructors In Schools.
PORTLAND, March 20. (To the Edi
tor.) The columns of the newspapers
are these days filled with articles concerning-
the street orators, and many
- ,1.. n -- knlUv. that t h . major
ity of the dissatisfied are foreigners.
I hardly believe so. but am sure that
they are "home-made pies." How can
the wretched creatures become other
wise? At home they have no author
ity: but they can do as they please: it
Is not. "Let George do it," but let the
mon .nH th. old woman do it.
Then the poor young ones are sent to
school and high school till they are
, - to rtf ao-p without beinij
able to do a day's work with their
hands. They have an education, but
they don't know how to use it, and
there is no demand for their extra
ordinary smartness. The only thins
they are fit for is street orations and
free lunches.
Let every boy learn a trade, let
everv girl learn how to keep house.
Let them study National economy, and
let them study how big business is
run: let them study how capital is
made. There is no doubt but these
deranged brethren of ours have the
quality, only it is not developed. But
it stands to the homes and it stands
to our common and high-school train
ers that the boy and the plrl be taught
right. Why don't the pood citizens of
Portland assemble in our school audi
toriums and discuss the matter instead
of answering these spoiled pies hack
in their same language. Let us fro
down to the root of the evil; of course,
it is easier to let it take care of it
self, and then become indignant and
scold. Teach the young the right way
and they will follow It when crown
up. We don't need any recall of our
Mayor; Portland never had a better
one. J. SCOTT. Danish Pastor.
SOCIALIST DETECTS GRAVE ILLS
Mr. Erlekson Seems to Think Curiosity
Is Symptom of Keonomlc Disease.
PORTLAND. March 23. (To the Edi
tor.) Regarding the resolution and
comment of the realty men. the threat
ened recall of Mayor RushliRht, the I.
W W.'s and sympathizers, and the un
toward activities at the recent Baiion
Powell meeting, let us say that there
has been expressed what we believe to
be an approved sentiment of the Social
ists' position regarding that mnetine.
which meeting, however, was and is
quite different from a street meetinc
or open assembly. It is to be regretted
that conditions are such that should
cause men and women to listen to,
seemingly, uncivil street speakins.
If we may Judge from the larce as
semblies that congregate on those oc
casions, there Is. as always, an evident
cause for the effect. The egotism ac
companying the statement that it is
only men with "brains" realty men,
like those of the late orchard land
swindlers that have any privileges in
the Citv of Portland, mipht be ques
tioned, even In a recall, by the re-election
of Mayor RushliRht. though it re
quired more than a silent vote of the
Socialist party to effeut it.
If the city be overrun with listeners
to such talk as displeases our critics
let them remove the cause instead of
Mayor Rushlight, and society will find
its equilibrium. The effect of any dis
ease, social or physical, may possibly
terminate in death to the patient. To
change physicians and administer a
radical treatment without removing the
cause of the malady may make the pa
tient worse rather than better.
It would not be wise to establish
Russian methods in this Republic. It
would be better for those brainy men
who choose that form of government to
migrate and allow free America to ad
just its affairs by methods prescribed
by the Constitution. A. ERICKfeO.N.
New Oarhnee System.
PORTLAND. March 24. (To the Edi
tor ) Would you kindly publish the
time and date when we housewives are
going to have the benefit of the free
garbage collection, which was voted on
at our last election? There are many
others anxiously awaiting the free gar
bage collection. MRS. J. G. N.
K garbage collection bond issue of
175 000 was authorized in the last elec
tion but when sold the proceeds will
be utilized in the purchase of equip
ment. The members of the City Board
of Health are at work on the details
of the collection system, and when they
finish their work the Council will sell
the bonds. The plan likely to be
adopted will impose only enough charge
on householders to defray expenses of
the system. Free collection is not con
templated. Pension System Pamphlet.
SUMPTER, Or., March 22. (To the
Editor ) Please tell me where I can
get a copy of General Charles Francis
Adams' pamphlet entitled, "The Civil
War Pension Lack ostem'
The paper appeared in three success
ive numbers of the World s Work
that for December, 1911, and those for
January and February. 191-'. Copies
of the magazine can probably be ob
tained from the publishers, Garden City,
N The reprint in pamphlet form
may possibly be obtained by address
ing Mr. Adams at 84 State street, Bos
ton. Taste, Thirst and Price.
Cincinnati Enquirer.
"But this is not Old Roaring Rye,"
said the customer, as he set the empty
glass on the bar. "This is an imita
tion, and 1 can tell the difference."
"That's all right," said- the barkeep,
as he rang up the 1 cents. "This kind
gives you just as classy a jag as the
original."
A Hint From His Love.
'ew York Satire.
Fred (who is about to take a Euro
pean trip to his intended) And the
moment I reach Berlin, love, I'll write
0Cl'ara Oh,' don't bother. Fred, dear.
I will wait till you reach Paris. I al
ready have picture postals from Berlin.
RESIGNED.
A Song of the Great Laken.
Berton Braley In the Popular Magazine.
I have had my spell of sailin1 where the salt
seas roll,
I have worked at shinin" brasanork an" at
papain' coal.
But I never have a hanker fer a deep-sea
An' theh 'akes has got it faded you can
take my tip:
I touched at lots o' harbors on the seven
seas," ...
At French an' Turkish places an at Jap
anese. ,
I was robbed in every city where I chance
KowWrm' tickled with Chicago an' with
Buffalo.
The deep-sea sailor Bets it an' ho sets it
frood.
They treat him like his muscles an' his
nerves was wood.
His grub Is something awful an' his pay is
worse
I beat it from the ocean an- I won t reverse:
I couldn't leave the water fer I want to
hear
Th throbbin' of the engines comin' strong
an' clear.
The amashln' of the combers as they strike
the bow,
go I'm deckin' on a freighter of the Great
Lakes now.
You can talk about "romances" on the ocean
wide.
But they ain't fer guys like I am, you kin
bet your hide.
We only know the voyage la too hard an
long.
An' Justice hard to get to when they treat
you wrong;
It's me fer sailln' waters where the big
waves foam.
But where It ain't so distant from your
home, sweet home.
I've had my deep-sea sailin' an' I told you
bow
So I'm derkln on a freighter of the Great
Lakes now:
Pleasures of Hope
By Dean Collins.
A minor poet wrote reams of dupe.
Which he entitled the "Pleasures . of
Hope,"
Wherein lie narrated various tales
Of shipwrecked sailormcn watrhina for
sails;
And soldiers in battle, with hopeful eye.
Watching for bullets to pass them hy:
And sentenced prisoners buoyed by
hope,
That they might avoid the ax or rope.
He named them all, with minute detail.
In sev'ral pages of minor wail.
Till the reader would sigh a sorrowful
sigh.
Brushing large teardrops from his rye,
! And say as he drew a doleful face:
i "Truly this world is a sad, sad place."
And the moral of all this tearful dopn
Was: "There's a bunch of pleasure in
hope."
I wandered over the countryside.
And all of t iie dappled hilli'oarcls eyed.
I'ounting steadily, one by one.
The names of the men who rlosirr in
run.
Sheriffs and auditors, many were l'"r;
Coroners smiled with a friendly air.
Judges and Congressmen, side hy sM '.
With clerks, were adorning the hi!'
boards wide.
Wooing the primaries' fickle fate.-
Hundreds and hundreds of candidate.-.
"Ah me!" I sighed, "though they
bravely strive.
What per cent of them will arrive?
But, still, if the poets rightly sing
Of the pleasure of hope on a mere
shoestring
In the candidates' race, where each of
these strives.
They must he having the time of thru
lives."
Portland. March 21.
Half a Century Ago
The citizens of Oregon- can properly
understand why their landoffice busi
ness is not transacted hy perusing th
communication of Surveyor-General
Pingra and the letter accompanying i'.
The landoffice in Southern Oregon
must be in very great confusion, an.i.
what is more, the officers, hy their
own labors, cannot put it in order. W
suppose the same farts exist in regard
to the office at Oregon City.
Owing to the late orders reducing th'
number of companies in the Oregon
cavalry from ten to si, tho number
of captains appointed had to he re
duced also. Captain D. Thompson, of
Clackamas County, generously resigned
for the purpose of giving some of the
others an opportunity.
A new hook is announced, written hy
Henry Ward Beecher, with the title of
"Eyes and Ears."
Dalles, Or.. March 22. The terrible
severity of the Winter is here mad
manifest hy the great number of dead
cattle lying around, which one may
count hv the dozens in some places
without "moving out of his tracks, and.
in a conversation with the Catholic,
priest of the mission, lie told me of
men who had met with disastrous
losses: one In particular, who had lost
over 2000 sheep.
Washington. March 1 1. The special
dispatch to the New Vork papers state
that t'oionel Averell. with a large force
uf cavalry, entered Manassas last nigl't.
The intelligence gathered from the
neighborhood tends to show that the
whole rebel army has retreated south
ward, but it is not credited. It is re
ported that they liave destroyed rail
road bridges along the Kappah.mno.li,
It is evident that their army Is com
pletely demoralized and that it is ut
terly unfit for service. The people in.
the vicinitv state that prior to tho
evacuation, "there were 100.000 troops at
Manassas.
Chicago. March 5. Tho special dis
patches to the New York papers stale,
that the Senate naval committee today
agreed to report a bill appropriating
$15,000,000 for ironclad vessels.
The theater has met with decided
success thus far, considering the state,
of the weather. A large audience was
in attendance again last night- "Lon
don Assurance" will be put on the
stage tonight. Mrs. Forbes appearing
as the dashing Lady Gay Spanker, and
Mr. Beatty as Dazzle.
The steamer Julia had over 2'0 pas
sengers and about 40 mules yesterday,
all bound for the mines.
The steamer Independence, with a
large number of passengers and pack
animals, started for the Cascades yes
terday morning.
The Oregonians, a company ot ladies
and gentlemen, gave a vocal entertain
ment to a delighted audience last night
at the Methodist Episcopal Church.
As "Ed" Howe Sees Life
I'm fooled a good deal oftener than
there is any excuse for; but you needn t
laugh; so aro you.
What we got is not satisfactory ; it's
only the best we can do.
Many people, when they say "thank
you" sav it in a way which indicates
that they really want to say, "What,
next?"
A good time gives you the bust
head, sometimes, and at best is liable
to render you discontented: but a good
reputation works for you at night.
When you do a man a favor, don't let
him see you are not. enjoying it, even
if you feel that way.
Plenty of peophTwill sive you the
devil, but you needn't keep him.
When a doctors7ys he thinks you
have something disagreeable, but can
not fully decide without further in
vestigation, it usually develops that
you have it all right.
Many people idly hope when they
should get busy, and throw up breast
works. Those who have dined with the
President, been ahroad. or killed a bear,
talk too much about it.
Going back to a place you've run
away from, is very humiliating.
When the Lawer Steps In.
PORTLAND, March 24. (To the Edi
tor) With many other, no doubt. I
am perplexed. The Humphry brothers,
from press reports, were making a
clean breast of their crimes, most atro
cious and sickening, till counsel a
lawyers-was employed to advise them.
Then all changed suddenly! Their jaws
were closed like a steel trap, and when
arraigned pleaded "not guilty." 1 know
little about court technicalities, but it
is such things that bring our courts
and the legal profession in the main,
honorable into general contempt. How
long must decent people and law-abiding
citizens stand such mockeries?
C. E. CLINK.
Aristocracy In Seats.
Puck.
First Old Park Lounger 1 wonder
what's become of the old fellow who
always used to occupy this bench?
Second Ditto (acidly) He died yes
terday, and what's more, he left this
bench to me'