TTTF, MOKMXG OREGOXIAX, . FRIDAY. MARCH 29, 1012.
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tmiM Odk-o No. 3 Rfsoat atrool. 8.
I'ORTMND. KKIOAV. AKCH t.
Bm,( IMHCtMlT OF TAIT.
A sample t the misrepresentation
which Is being circulated by the
anti-Tart propaganda I series of
pretended count In an Indictment of
Tuft. They contain within themselves
vlderce of the weakness of the insur
ant caw.
The first count rends:
Flo ion hlo Almlnlotrllon with an al-J-mnrm
with Cannon and Aldrtch.
Cannon and Aldrlch were the elect
ed leader of hi party In Senate and
House, and It was Taft's duty to look
to them for adoption of the measures
he recommended. Rooeevelt did pre
cisely the same thins when he m
President, though he occasionally
quarreled with theso leaders. Just as
Taft has done, when they were unwill
ing to carry out hi recommenda
tion: Thi Is the'second count:
food hli patron power to re-eleot Can
roa a Syaar. with Tammany' aid.
That charge Is unqualifiedly false.
.Taft stood aloof from the Speakership
fight, hoi. Unit that Interference would
have been an Invasion of the consti
tutional rights of the House.
The third count reads:
Htino.1 lh A Wtrli h-Parno tariff bi'.l ro
' wotnc ho tarl'r upward and commondod tl
, a h boat tariff ovot.
The Payne-Aldrrrh bill does not re
vise the tariff upward, but make
many reduction, the most important
and moot extensive of which are due
to his Influence. He procured the In
sertion of provision for the Tariff
.Hoard a the mean of bringing about
scientific revision of the tariff and of
'taking the whole subject out of poll
tic. In view of the reduction It
makea and of this provision, the
j IMne-.!drlch law Is certainly the
J lr.t had ever, which Is probably what
, Mr. Taft meant. Writing In The Out
.look. September 17. I 10. folonel
" r.rxi-evelt In effe t commended the
" .me law at the best t.irlff ever. He
' o) id:
" t think Iho prooont tariff llavno lw Is
' l--ttor than Iho at t iilncloy law anl ro.
m .i.roM honor than tho ono boforo Iho
it tMKinlov tao . but It has cortainly
'fo.iod lo alo Konoral aanafarllun
Then t ome this charce:
t'rovonlod fho adoption of an In mm o lak
tin and auholitutod tho corporation fas
Me prevented the adoption of an In
come tax bill, because It would surely
: have been declared unconstitutional.
! but he procured the submission to the
states of a constitutional amendment
maklrc such a tax constitutional. In
the meantime he Induced Congress to
o as far as the constitution now per
mits, by Imposing a corporation tnx.
which yielded a revenue of $30,000,000
last year.
j The fifth count is:
Kathor-d tho railroad a t of ahl. h
l pasoo.l as draftrU would hut dotrood
railroad rsu:ation.
. The railroad bill of 110. If passed
, drafted, would have lesalUed pool
' In; of traffic, which had been repeat-
erlly recommended by Itooevelt;
would have forbidden purchase by
cne railroad of stock in another;
1 would have provided for physical val
uation of railroads, which Is most vis.
erously advocated by Senator La Fol
, I"tte; anil would have removed the
! defect In the commodities clause of
the act of 190. which rendered that
clause practically a dead letter. The
bill as drafted would have strength
ened Instead of tlestrojtnn railroad
regulation. The elimination of the
provision mentioned weakened It e
rlntiMy. New provision Inserted by
Congress strengthened It In some par
ticular, and Taft approved the bill a
passed.
A the sixth count the Roosevelt
men say Taft
Fafhorod the rommorre court to aunpond
nd nuMlfr dortalona of the Interstate t'nm
lrrro i 'omnt ipottin.
Thi statement Implies that, but for
the creation of the Commerce Court,
no court would have power to suspend
and nullify decisions of the Commerce
Commission. The fact Is that uch
, power has always been vested In the
, federal courts and cannot be taken
.away without amending the Constltu-
lion. The law simply transferred thl
Jurisdiction from the other lower Fed
eral courts to the Commerce Court,
with the effect of expediting decisions
and of developing it bench of Judge
who would be specialists on railroad
litifratlon. The law provide for ap-
; peal direct from the Commerce Court
to the Supreme Court, thus 'further
expediting- decisions. The court was
created not "to suspend and nullify."
but to review decisions, and it ha af
firmed many such decisions.
Count No. 7 reads:
Votood all tariff Mlta paaaod at the. extra
aoaoion. looorma dutioa. ' calnncx Intolll.
nt notion impoaatbia until tho Tariff com
mission reporter.
That statement Is true a far a it
coes. but it Is only half the truth. The
other half is that Taft had laid down
a tariff policy, which provides for re
duction where the facts, a ascer
tained by the Tariff Board. Justify It.
and that the vetoed bill conflicted
with that policy and were full of
blunders. That Taft Is sincerely In
.ivor of tariff reduction Is proved by
his message recommending sweeping
reductions In the wool and cotton du
ties In accordance with the Tariff
Hoard's report.
Colonel Roosevelt himself contro
erted thi charge also before It was
made by declaring in a speech deliv
ered at Sioux Kails. la., September 3.
1910: "I am glad that the country
seems to have awakened to the idea
that tarilT commission offers the only
solution of the problem which I both
rational and Insures the absence of
Jobbery'-
Count No. 8 makes this charge:
Nosotlatod In aecrot a pact "and forood It
through I'onaroaa. for 1'anadian roctproelt.
wt-hont a Ihouchc of asking th Tariff Com
mission. How else was a treaty ever negotiat
ed than in secret? Would the Roose
velt men have treaties negotiated In
mas meeting? Taft forced the reci
procity bill through Congress because
nubile opinion was overwhelmingly in
'its favor and the Iemocrat therefore
dared not vote against It. He did not
consult the Tariff Board on It provi
sion, because such action was unnec
essary, the fact relating to the duties
toeing already known. He made one
exception and obtained a report from
the Tariff Board on the pulp and pa
per Industry. On thl report the du
ties provided In the bill were based.
It was good policy to negotiate such a
treaty at a time when the Canadian
government waa willing, rather than
to risk a change of government In
Canada by delaying negotiation until
the Tariff Board reported on all Its
provisions.
Colonel Roosevelt, whose managers
now attack President Taft reciproc
ity policy, spoke on thl question, too,
at the LJncoln day dinner of the Re
publican Club of New Tork. on Febru
ary 13. 1911. He said:
It should alwava ho a cardinal point In
our foroian policy to establish tho closest
and most friendly tolatlons ot equal respect
and advantage with our sraat neighbor on
tho north. And 1 hall the reciprocity ar
rangement because It represents an effort
to bring about a closer, a more Intimate,
a more frlendls relationship of mutual ad
vantage on equal terms between Canada
and the foiled States.
The ninth and last count reads:
Advocated Oovernment-bullt and owned
lines between this country and Panama: then
changed his mind and abandoned tho policy,
giving the railioads their Ilrsl great vic
tory. The subject of steamship line to
connect with the Panama Railroad
was Inquired Into on behalf of the
Cfovernment by Senator Brlslow during-
the Roosevelt administration, and
he recommended a c.overnment steam
ship line on the Pacific, one having
been already established on tho Atlan
tic. President Roosevelt never recom
mended action by Congress on that re
port. Taft has never recommended
the establishment of a Government
steamship line on the Pacific, but he
recommended another measure which
would a effectually attain the same
end. for In his message of December,
1910. he said:
I cannot clos- this reference to the canal
without suggesting as a wise amendment
to the Interstate commerce law a provision
prohibiting Interstate commerce railroads
from owning or controlling ships engaged In
the trade through tho Tanama Canal.
That recommendation, if carried
out, would effect the purpose of a
Government steamship line, for It
would Insure real competition with
railroads. The House committee ha
recommended such a law in Its report
on the canal.
The Roosevelt men sjiv these act
of Taft "are diametrically opposed
to what Rotisevelt denominated 'my
policies and show clearly that Taft
has deserted and betrayed Roosevelt
not Roosevelt Taft. On the contrary,
Taft' actions, truly stated and Inter
preted, prove tht he ha adhered to
the Roosevelt policies. In Ms treat
ment of the trust he ha succeeded
better than Roosevelt himself In car
rying out those policies, but the In
dictment I eloquently silent on that
subject. He cannot have been false to
Roosevelt' tariff policy, for Roose
velt had none. If thl be the strongest
Indictment the Roosevelt men ran
make against Taft. they have a mlser-
t! weak case.
tait n "AiirTv.
A current political article describe
a reactionary a one who has stopped
ami cannot start: and a radical as one
who has started and cannot stop. Per
haps it would be as well to aay that a
radical I one who ha tarted some
thing he cannot slop. Perhnp also
It would be well to describe the Ideal
citizen a a "conservative with a move
on." Woodrow Wilson so spoke of
himself to a group of hi admiring
friends. President Taft Is another
conservative going ahead at a sane and
safe gait. President Roosevelt Jn
190 pictured Mr. Taft In these mem
orable words:
In Mr Tan we havs a clean man. who
combine a'l theso dualities to a degree
which no other man In our public life since
th Civil War haa surpassed. ... To per.
mit the direction of our public affairs to
fall alternate) Into the handa of revolu
tiooanos and reactionaries, of estreme rad
icals of unrest and of bigoted conservatives
who recognise no wrong to remedy, would
merely mean that the Nation had embarked
on a ' feverish course of violent oscillation
which would be fraught with great tem
porary trouble and would produce no ade
quate good In ths end.
The statesman who was neither rev
olutionary nor reactionary wa then
Colonel" Roosevelt" Ideal. But listen
further to this deserved and heartfelt
Rtvosevelt tribute:
He would be aa emphatically a President
of the plain people as Lincoln, vet not Lin
coln himself would be freer from the lcast
taint of demagogy, the least tendency to
arouse, to appeal to class hatred of any
kind.
If President Taft four years ago was
all that Colonel Roosevelt said he was,
he I the sanie Just, fearless, upright,
kindly and honest man today He ha
not changed. But Colonel Roosevelt
has changed, vastly changed. Both
the country and Colonel Roosevelt are
loser through the change.
lICT-TOR. AMI KIM.H.
Colonel Roosevelt' comparison of
present-day King to a Vice-President
for life, with the leadership of the
Four Hundred thrown In. 1 true to
life, but It would not fit a man who
climbed to a dictatorship by successive
elections to the Presidency. Such a
man would more closely resemble the
founder of a royal dynasty. He would
have attained kingship by his own gen
ius and force of character. Such men
exercised all the power of kingship,
and so would a dictator. Only their
weak descendants, who gained the
royal title without the struggle which
prove their fitness or ability to rule,
have sunk to the level of Vice-Presidents
and leader of the Four Hun
dred. The people would have a much to
fear from the weak descendants of a
strong man who fought hi way to the
dictatorship. In case he made hi
power hereditary, a from the first of
the line. History shows that royal
families degenerate, leaving the exer
cise of power to ministers who commit
act of tyranny in their name when
their power la absolate. Should the
first dictator not found a hereditary
line of rulers, the country would gink
to the condition of Mexico, one strong
man after another seizing the reins by
physical force.
No man w ho has watched the career
and studied the character of Roosevelt
can Imagine him content to be so com
paratively Innocuous a personage as a
Vice-President or a leader of the Four
Hundred.
James Buoy died a few days ago at
his home in Husum, Wash., at the age
of $2 year, during sixty-two of which
he had been sightless. His life I
noted a an example of possible at
tainment in Industrial ways under the
serious handicap of blindness. With
this misfortune he was stricken in
early manhood, jet he secured a home,
stead In the regular way and made
many Improvement upon It. and pre
ferred sawing wood to Idleness up to
a few year ago. when failing strength
compelled him to desist. His life was
an example In patience, cheerfulness
and usefulness. In the words of Helen
Hunt Jackson, "Though blind, he never
felt accursed." but walked humbly and
patiently his shadowed way to the end.
OATHS AM CHICKENS.
No doubt the chicken which are to
be laln In court next month to fortify
the veracity of Chlnewe witnesses will
bo given to the poor after they have
served this more acred purpose. If
there I any way to make w ltnesscs tell
the truth, we favor it use. no matter
though It Involves the slaughter of
geese a well aa chicken. Experience
seems to prove, however, that there Is
no such way. Many human beings
will say on the witness stand what
they think will benefit the cause they
favor and harm the one they oppose,
and the law is powerless to prevent
them from doing o.
The truth-compelling power of an
oath Is largely imaginary. Its princi
pal effect la to give greater Impressive
ness to, the falsehoods which are ut
tered tinder It sanction. A "wrong
story" told on a shoe box In the village
store is apt to be Judged for what
It 1 worth by the attentive neighbors.
The same story told in court under the
awful shadow of an oath g-alns a cer
tain credence which It docs not intrln
utoniiv Hoiorve. Taken for all In all.
the Judicial oath Is perhaps the most
...iit-j. inc-ontlve to norlurv we have in
oil cue court machinprr.
a .eoo no rl of the effort of a C
cer-
os r. ' - - -
i.in oioc. or ioo.-v.ru 1 to make oppos
ing witnesses seem to be perjurers.
Ever' witness Is sure to be called
a liar hair a do7.cn times
fore he gets through with
laaiimnnv and lnce he has to bear
be
his
the
.. i n .,..- . . onlov the bene
tit?
Thus he reasons, and who shall say
.Kr v.i inoii' lo not sound? If law
yers would learn to treat witnesses
with decent courtesy, they would help
the cause of truth more than by the
slaughter or many nens.
A STKP IN TIIK IUiHT lllRrX'TlON.
The bill proposing amendment to
the homestead law by reducing tne
time of residence in order to secure
title from five years to three passed
the House of Representatives Wednes
day. Senator Borah, of Idaho, who is
an earnest champion of the measure,
feels confident that at no distant day
we will have a three-year homestead
law.
Only those who are conversant with
the facts Incident to securing a home
stead by living" upon and cultivating
160 acre of land for a period of five
consecutive years, can properly ap
praise the value of thl reduction of
time In the Interest of the settler, i ne
homesteader who. without resources.
file upon an area of wild land In re
sponse to the desperate longing to se
cure a home for himself and family
represent courage that Is little short
of sublime and purpose that I dis
tinctly creative and consequently of
alow development. '
The successive step of this laudable
desire to own a honip and land sutll
clent to support It are represented first
by a little clearing In which a cabin or
shack I erected to serve the tlrst need
of the family: next, by a clearing about
the home that will serve the purpose
of a garden and dooryard; a few
chickens and chicken coops, a plow.
a borrowed horse, exchanging work
for a day now and then with a neigh
bor, shift and makeshift In every way
to secure the first season seed; inter
mittent work with ax and mattock
and the firebrand to clear a space for
meadow, oat Held-or orchard; the most
pinching economy In the matter of
clothing, groceries, shoes and scnooi-
bonks for the children these are
phase and Incidents of the first years
of the settler's endeavor on the home
stead. SatLsfied with his honest Intent at
homebullding. the Government should
make terms with the homesteader that
would make possible the acceptance
of It gift of land without wearing out
himself and his wife and causing the
growing children to hate farm work
and hie early to the city. The amend
ment pending la a step In the right di
rection. PFKN'ICIOl'S ..AW-ttlVIXi.
Perhaps omo worthy and needed
reforms are proposed In the latest ef
fort of Mr. I" Ren and a few associ
ates to enact a new constitution, but
If any obviously good changes are In
corporated In the "cabinet amend
ment" they are hopelessly Interwoven
with new and untried schemes for
whlch the writings of theorists the
world over have apparently been
combed. Without questioning the
good Intentions of men vho walk with
their heads In the cloud of theory and
experiment, the latest ITRen produc
tion may be fittingly termed a perni
cious use by individuals of a reserve
power granted the people.
The Initiative was not adopted In
Oregon with the remotest Idea by tlje
people that It ever would be used as a
means of proposing overthrows of es
tablished forms of government.
Among advocate of direct legislation
whose opinions have weight with a no
ticeable proportion of'the public there
la hardly one In the Nation who pro
poses or Indorse the Initiative as more
than a supplement of or check upon
the Legislature, to be used at the In
frequent times when the lawmaking
body neglects or refuses to respond to
the will of the people. Moreover, the
voter of Oregon have plainly ex
pressed opposition to complicated and
revolutionary measures. They possess
an antipathy to amendments or bills
that cannot be rea'dlly understood.
They are firmly wedded. If results of
the 1910 election are a gauge of sen
timent, to the doctrine that It Is wisest
when in doubt, to vote "no.
But the CRen ' committee ' would
override the Intent of the people. It
would cast back In the face of the vot
ers their refusal to countenance Initia
tive abuses. It would go contrary to
sane and progressive statesmanship. It
would inflict an unnecessary and prof
itless burden of study and expense
upon the public.
Some of the changes proposed by
the committee were presented In ltlO
In a long and complicated amendment.
Chief among these was "proportional
representation." In that proposed
amendment "proportional representa
tion" was not provided In the exact
form now to be submitted, but In some
of the essential It was the same. The
amendment was defeated by more
than 7000 votes. Several factors en
tered Into the negative voting of the
electors. One was opposition to ex
perimenting with untried policies of
government. Another was recognition
of a plain attempt at Initiative log
rolling in preparation of the measure.
Another was objection to presentation
of other than simple and easily under
stood Issues. Still another was the
Inability of the ordinary voter to give
the measure the study necessary to
train a clear understanding of Its pro
vision. In addition many foresaw un
desirable results from its enactment.
In drafting a new constitution Mr.
C'Ren and his committee have not
sought to overcome the objections
voiced to their other amendment.
Good and doubtful feature are com-
' blned and thereby "Initiative logroll
, Ing" Is again attempted- The new
measure Is much more intricate tnan
Its predecessor. It Is to a greater ex
tent revolutionary. It Is far more
visionary. A query may reasona
bly be propounded to the fram
ers as to whether they think
it i a better plan than the one they
presented In 1910, or believe It a
scheme not so good. As herein stated,
"proportional representation" pro
posed now Is not the. same "propor
tional representation" advocated In
the last election. If we had adopt
ed the 1910 plan, would it be neces
sary to amend it now? If not, why
not resubmit the 1910 scheme? The
public has given that plan more or less
study, and can votetupon it with bet
ter knowledge. If the new scheme is
better than the 1910 plan, is It the last
word In "proportional representation"
or Is "proportional representation" an
untried experiment about which its
advocates are themselves in doubt?
This new constitution it is that in
fact, although it is termed an amend
ment Is submitted for discussion as
the product of the executive commit
tee of the People's Power League. In
view of recent disclosures It may also
be pertinently asked whether all the
members of the committee who give It
Indorsement understand its provisions.
The Presidential primary bill adopted
In 1910 came from the same source.
A year later one of the committee de
clined to construe the act on the
ground that he had never studied the
measure and did not fully understand
It. Is this true of the "cabinet amend
ment"? Has the committee turned
the work over to Mr. ITRen? Or Is
Mr. ITRen presenting his schemes un
der a masquerade?
But, regardless of its authorship, the
proposal to wreck established forms
of state and county government, re
build them with untested material and
decorate them with visionary ginger
bread, deserves, in the light of what
the voter have said about similar at
tempts at governmental reconstruc
tion, to be termed pernicious activity.
To ask the voters to pass upon a meas
ure that could not be adequately out
lined or summarized in one and one
half columns of The Oregonlan is pre
suming on good nature. To present it
at a (Ime when the people's thought is
largely centered on a Presidential 'elec
tion and the filling of county and state
offices Is preposterous. To ask careful
consideration of such a problem when
forty or more legislative tasks for the
reople are already In prospect Is ridic
ulous. The postofflce committee of the
House ha recommended experimental
establishment of the parcels post on
rural delivery routes only for two
years, parcels to be carried only from
one point to another on the same
route. In the meantime. Inquiry is to
be made Into all the problems Involved
In establishment of a general parcels
post. The committee estimates that
the experiment, can be made at slight
additional expense, as the equipment is
already in service and will need change
on only 15 per cent of the routes. It
would seem that with the experience
of nearly every nation, from Japan to
Argentina, to guide us, such extreme
caution is unnecessary.
A church Is an odd place for men to
fight In. but the Oakland pair of ene
mies who chose one for that purpose
might have cited many precedents. In
olden times a favorite way of disposing
of obnoxious Kings was to stab them
while they were saying their prayers
In church. The sacred edifice has been
put to many other strange uses, such
as stabling horses. The monastery
where Leonardo's "Last Supper" was
painted on the wall was made a stable
hv French ravalrv In 1499 and a hole
cut through the picture for a door.
There can be no such thing as the
"settlement" of an I. W. W. strike.
The order frankly proclaims Its pur
pose to call strike after strike until it
has absorbed the entire profit of every
industry".
With bright prospects for peace in
Great Britain, we will have mining
troubles on this side in plenty, but
warm weather Is coming and the suf
fering will be light.
If Mayor Rolph would drench the
I. W. W. with the hose, the shudders
with which they threaten tho whole
world would be felt by themselves.
Whv not rfin schoolchildren through
a vacuum cleaner each day as they en
ter? The rising generation must be
protected from the germ at any cost.
The Fort Stevena girls may be able
oot alone- without mere man at a
dance, but It is very convenient to have
a man come home on payday.
Men who fail to register have no
right to feel disgruntled when the vote
Is counted. There are jet ten days
for dilatory people.
Th. animal that rides in the Hu
mane Society's automobile ambulance
will have distinction above his fellows.
Chronic drunks must have the for
lorn feeling when they gaze on the dis
mantled City Jail.
t-.o of a Senatorial frank I not vio
lation of the corrupt practices act. It
is simple thrift.
Community of interest may explain
the Senate's unwillingness to unseat
Stephenson.
Veil no- Hiehhorn was foolish to com
mit suicide, but too sensible to commit
murder.
Tuiimnnv shows everything came
easy to the right men on Spokane's
payroll.
Tacoma mav now find an excuse to
have the alleged census padding re
stored.
The pannier skirt is an Invention to
demoralize the bulbous woman.
Having kalsomined Stephenson, no
less waa due Lo rimer.
RATES DECLARED EXTORTIONATE
Writer Compare New Schedule tcVlth
I'rlcea Set by Mt. Hood Co.
PORTLAND, March 28. (To the Ed
tor.) Mr. Gaston has put forth a
very strong showing against the P. R-,
L. & P. Co. In Its pretensions of public
benefit and prayer for consideration
as voiced by Mr. Clark. The truth Is,
that it would be difficult searching the
world over for a more unblushing out
rage against a people than this last
attempt at extortion, promulgated in
a guise as if we were being handed
out a benefaction rather than attempt
at highway robbery. This may seem
a pretty stout statement and we will
proceed to verify It.
The Mt. Hood Railway. Light &
Power Company offered power to me
for constant use ' at 58 per horse
per annum for 10-horse power. After
July 1. 1912, the power Installation of
moderate-size plants, say up to 30
or 40-horse power per new schedule
of the P- R., L. & P. Co. is the first
4 per cent at 7 cents per K. W. hour
of possible maximum; next 4 per cent
at 5 cents per K. W. hour and excess
over 8 per cent at 2 cents per K. W.
hour. By reducing K. W. to horse
power on this schedule, assuming that
12-horse power was contracted. It fol
lows (in round numbers) that one-half-horse
power (four per cent) at
7 cents, means $304; the next. half
horse power (4 per cent) at 5 cents.
Is $201; the balance of 11-horse power
at 2 cents. $1441: total, 1946.
This therefore averages $162 per
horse power under the new schedule.
The rate means the use of 12-horse
power for one year of 24 -hours per
day, as against the rate of $58 per
horse power per annum offered- by the
Mt. Hood line. -
The enormity of this exaction is put
in greater contrast to measure it by
the average cost set for power in the
City of Ottawa, Canada, where the
average rate from a dozen competitive
powers In that city is $10.40 per horse
per annum constant use, a difference
of over 1S00 per cent. Portland Is al
most as favorably situated and with
as abundant power at command as Ot
tawa. The latter city brings over one
half its power a distance of SO miles,
while Portland brings about half 40
miles. Think of the puerility, the
slavlshness, the Imbecility of nearly
250.000 people here who submit to such
infamy.
To move harmoniously with this ex
tortion, we read of an increase of the
mortgage bonds of the company that ex
ploits us to $75,000,000. This, with their
capital stock, must far exceed $100,000,
000 in stocks and bonds. It Is admitted
that some $10,000,000 of these bonds
are issued without present necessity,
probably to be left to soak for a few
years until the people have forgotten,
and then saddled on their backs as part
of legitimate capitalization.
This company, which, by the recent
accusation of the Government, is part
and parcel of the waterpower combine
which Is Interlocked and correlated
with the big businsjss syndicate, of
which Morgan is the head, seems lost
to every sense of prudence In institut
ing a rate over three times higher
than for which power by steam in
wood or coal can be manufactured, and
over eight times higher than powesi
can be make by the producer gas
method.
It advertised in The Oregonian less
than a year ago that it had 170,000
horsepower of water Installation un
der way; if this could be let out under
the lowest rate named by them under
the new schedule. 5 mills per K. W.
hour, it would produce a rental of
over $5,500,000.
However, In order to put the matter
In concrete shape, will say that I will
bring 6000 horsepower of water to the
city limits In 18 months from the time
the contract is signed, for city bonds to
the amount of $600,000, 80 per cent
payable as the work progresses, the
city to guarantee their sale at par.
By this means it will he seen that the
rental cost of one horsepower deliv
ered at as above would be $3 per year
lit the bonds bear 5 per cent), besides
the upkeep and city Installation, which
would be no more. This offer includes
the waterpower and when 6000 horse
power is absorbed will give as much
more for $50,000 less.
I am merely stating this to acquaint
the general reader of what can be
done under economical management
without padding for the grafters and
politicians, and would gladly make
good if the opportunity was offered me.
CHARLES P. CHURCH.
Al'DITOR NOT AUDITOR IN FACT.
Accounting of City Book Should Re
I-eft to Independent Expert.
PORTLAND. March 26 (To the Edi
tor.) in the matter of the Incorporat
ing into the proposed commission char
ter the civil service as at present ad
ministered and safeguarded, I notice
that there seems to be some confusion
as to the system or plan of audit of the
accounts of the city. The difference of
opinion appears to center around the
office now commonly known as City
Auditor.
As I'understand the duties of the so
called office of City Auditor, this of
ficer Is in no sense an auditor, in the
full meaning of the. word, but Is an
administrative official who is at the
head of this feature of the city's busi
ness and bears a fixed responsibility as
to the proper maintenance of all origi
nal entries pertaining to the correct
accounting of the business of the mu
nicipality. Under a commission form of govern
ment, the office should be appointive.
This is the opinion of the best munici
pal experts who have investigated the
matter.
The matter of a continuous audit of
the accounts ox the city lias no relation
to the office of City Auditor but
should be In the hands of the commis
sioners who would retain competent
practicing public accountants of the
City of Portland for the purpose of
making a thorough independent yearly
audit with the resultant complete fi
nancial report, covering the full opera
tions of the business of the city, to the
commissioners at the end of the fiscal
year.
This selection of independent auditors
could be made (as has already been
suggested) by the commissioners from
a list of accountants certified by the
Clearing-house association or in the
event of the Legislature enacting a
certified public accountants law at the
next session, the appointment could be
made from th public records of regis
tered accountants on file in the office
of the Secretary of State in Salem.
This matter should have the closest
attention of taxpayers. The proper
maintenance of the accounts of the city,
county and state Is a very important
matter, and too little attention has
been paid to the same in the past,
In any event the matter should be
taken out of the hands of the politi
cians. JOHX Y! RICHARDSON.
Scotchmen and the Gallows.
COOKS, Wash., March 25. (To the
Editor.) To settle a mild question, will
you please help me out, depending on
your memory only? Wa ever a Scotch
man hanged in the United States? I
say no. P. J. CAHILL,
The Oregonian, "depending on mem
ory alone," agrees with Mr. CahllL.
rent Brought to a Powder.
Kansas City Times.
According to a new Swedish method
of using peat for fuel, tfie dried peat
is first brought to a fine powder and
Is then blown Into the furnace by an
air fan.
MAN'S PERSONAL. IDEAS PREVAll
Conception of Christ Varies With the
Individual Aaaie of View.
PORTLAND, March 28. (To the
Editor.) Mr. Wood's views of Christ
may be likened to Theodore Tarker's
"Views of Religion" inasmuch as they
are personal ideas, although contain
ing much instructive truth, and are
well worth reading. Unfortunately a
radical pen rarely fails to lack homo
geneity and balance, therefore in Mr.
Wood's article in Sunday's Oregronian
one may expect a few decrials and
eulogies planted about in a little Eden
of sarcasm and wit.
"Do you know who Christ was?" a
fellow-worker once said to me, "Well,
he was Just like one of those Socialist
fellows, that's what he was. He
'cussed' the rich and told them to
divide with the poor: he reviled tho
priests and called them hypocrites: he
cleaned out a den of thieves posing as
business men, in the temple. That's
the Socialist of today." And here, I
believe, is the keynote of the whole
matter. One glances at a thing or
situation and one's ideas of the sub
ject is immediately affected by his
peculiar angle of observation. From
William Archer and his cabal of parlor
Socialists down to the humblest apostle
of the soap-box in Portland, the idea
persists that Christ was a prototype
of the ideal non-individualistic man in
whom the race stream of Initiative
effort had branched into the truer
channel of community life. And. in
deed, many of his words and practices
bear out the belief. "Sell all thou hast,
give to the poor; the last shall be first;
beware of the scribes; take no thoupht
for tomorrow; provide neither scrip nor
purse: consider the lilies, they toil
not. neither do they spin," and a hun
dred others are good Socialist gospel,
but which the world singrularly has
failed to adopt. And why? Even a
philosopohical anarchist like Mr. Wood,
whose Christ seems to be an obscure
foreshadow with an Aramaic cast, of
the fanciful lawless ideal of today,
would scarcely quote the above scrip
ture as an authoritative gospel of
conduct.
As Taine called Milton's Jehovah a
drill sergeant so we may regard Christ
in whatever attitude constitutes our
dominant mental activity; Milton with
Cromwell's iron ' face and shot-and-powder
before him could scarcely help
adjusting his theogony to the prevalent
situation. Similarly to the Christian
Scientist and Emmanuelite Christ is a
magical healer and adjuster of a defec
tive metabolism; to a Baptist, the chief
inceptor of regenerative immersion in
water; to James Martineau, the apostle
of human brotherhood; to Thomas
Paine, a free thinking Jew far too
good, radical and plain spoken to let
live; to Huxley, a half mythical per
sonage possessed with delusions con
cerning demons, angels and other su
pernatural phenomena.
In fact, he is whatever one wishes
to make of him. To the vast majority
of Christians he is a God and only the
Theists and Unitarians regard him in
the larger sense of the Great Brother
of Men. He Is also that chimerical
beckoning Ideal that urges one on to
a better life, that restores equilibrium
in the whirling nebulae of the moral
world. Thus a man bearing a heavy
burden of guilt is delivered, like
Bunyan or Fox, or one who seeks
spiritual expression in deeds of mercy
is upheld as St. Francis or St. Vin
cent De Paul.
Why not formulate a real philosophy
as to the nature of the spiritual world?
An hour or two of pragmatic thought
every week would set one right in a
great many ideas of other and we
hope better, conditions. Those we face
from day to day are intolerable. It
Is a small satisfaction to have fine
linen while another has rags, it is true,
but- we may have worked for our linen.
Only an egotist believes any scheme
of his is a divine solution for human
ills. "In 12 months," said Confucius,
"I could make a happy kingdom, but
no prince will accept my principles."
He died sorrowing over the thought.
As a political philosophy Socialism
may be an excellent thing, but a
religion It is assuredly not. With Wil
liam James 1 believe Christ was the
first Christian mystic and by his
methods anyone conscious of sin may
he delivered and by conversion enter
into a peculiar mystical communion
with the divine, churches do not exist
for a vague purpose. Their communi
cants are struggling for higher lives.
This, Christ evidently reveals to them.
Onlv a few find it. C. A. OLSON.
628 Northrup Street.
A baenee From Homesteads.
BEND. Or., March 24. (To the Edi
tor.) Has a single man who has a
320-acre homestead any right to go
out and work four or five months of
the Summer without a permit from the
Land Office?
Also, could any one contest the
homestead in his absence, said home
stead well improved?
A SUBSCRIBER.
A man has a right to go out and
work for four or five months, provided
he makes the homestead his home. He
may go without a permit, but It is
much better to secure one from the
Land Office, then there can be no
question as to his intent. If the offi
cials at the Land Office say a permit
is not necessary, then he can show,
when he goes to prove up, that he ap
plied for the permit, and can show he
maintained his residence on the home
stead. No one can jump his claim until he
has been gone six months. Consider
able trouble has arisen over these ab
sences, persons residing on the land
only once in six months, really having
their residences elsewhere. A strict
construction is placed upon the law
now, so that It is necessary to com
ply with it to the letter.
New Special Features
OF
The Sunday Oregonian
The Way of the Matchmaker An exposition by Laura Jean Libbey
of the wiles of matrons who act as agents for Cupid. A full page,
superbly illustrated.
Americans of the Future They will beeome a super-race, says
noted scholar, who presents a half page of remarkable interest.
Man to Conquer the Amazon A page, illustrated with photos, on
the wonderful Amazon Valley,-which is big enough to accommodate
the population of the whole world.
Playing the Game From the Bench Tenth of Christy Mathewson's
stories of the big leaguers.
April Fooling Nature A page on the capers Government men play
on shrubs, plants and animals.
Fables in Slang George Ade writes for Sunday's Oregonian three
new fables with the usual Ade dash and fun. The pictures are by
Albert Levering.
Two Complete Short Stories; illustrated.
The Jump-Ups They make the acquaintance of a "nobleman.'
New Adventures by all the comic supplement favorites.
MANY OTHER FEATURES.
Order Today of Your News Dealer.
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregoninn of March 29. 862.
Kelly, a Democrat of Clackamas
County, has ordered his name taken
from the names attached to the call
for a secession convention. He sup
posed that, when he signed the call,
it was for a Democratic Union conven
tion. He can't go the secesli.
The Surveyor-General of Washington
Territory has decided In favor of the
Catholic mission claim to a large part
of the plat of Vancouver City. This de
cision will be subject to revision by the
Commissioner of the General Land Of
fice and after that the case may go
into the courts.
Amos E. Rogers, of Jackson County,
has been appointed sub-Indian Agent
for Oregon, and we learn his bonds are
approved.
The Church ville Gazette imputed the
defeat of Zcllicoffer's army to the
drunkenness of General Chittenden, and
strongly intimates that "treason,
treachery and cowardice" were connect
ed with it.
The Memphis Avalanche says that.
Crittenden is charged with having sold
the army at Somerset for $17,000.
Many fires have occurred in Washins
ton lately, which the papers there say
are known to be the work of incen
diaries. Marklett's passenger train left Yreka
for the Salmon River mines on the
1 Uh, 12th and 13th. There were about
60 persons in this expedition. The road
expedition, consisting of 40 men, went
out previously.
Mr. Henry Vanness. a gentleman who
has had the misfortune of losing one
of his limbs, has on exhibition in this
city a fine collection of stereoscopic
views, many of them taken from life.
Anions them is a view of the battle
ground of Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, etc..
and a life picture of Beauregard and
his staff, and one of Jefferson Davis,
resident of the Southern Confederacy,
in whose hands is a large telescope,
with which he seems to be uneasily
watching the movements of some of our
boys.
A grand entertainment is offered to
night at the Willamette. Mrs. Forbes
and Mr. Beatty each appear in two
characters. The beautiful nautical
drama of "Black-eyed Susan" will be
gin the performance, with Mrs. Forbes
in her great character of William, Miss
Lawrence as the lovely Susan and Mr.
Beatty as Gnatbrain. "Don Caesar de
Basam," a romantic and musical drama
In three acts, will conclude the per
formance with Mr. Beatty as Don
Caesar and Mrs. Forbes as Maritana.
Miss Lawrence will sing several of her
best songs and with them "Ridin' in a
Railway Keer."
The Board of Common Council, at
their meeting last night, passed an
ordinance granting to William S. Ladd
and associates the exclusive right to
lay water pipes through the streets of
Portland for the term of 30 years.
As "Ed" Howe Sees Life
A man can accomplish nothing, ex
cept to get hungry, without effort.
We no longer plow with a crooked
stick, but politics Is the same old
crooked stick it always was. Reform
is as slow now as was plowing in the
days of the crooked stick plow.
About the most uninteresting thing
is a bum social event.
Believing foolish lies is almost as bad
as telling them.
In a fist fight the aggressor is always
the larger man of the two; the little
man fights In the hope that the crowd
will pull the big man oft before he can
do much damage.
From ancient times riot and reform
have alternated, the rioting always
lasting longer than the reform.
The farmers were meant when the
term "workingman" was originally
used: they are the real thing when it
comes to working long Hours at low
pay. Yet they have never struck but
twice; the Populist year, and the
Granger year, and the town men soon
settled both walkouts.
A good thing Is not better than it
really is. and to say that it is, is a
brown lie.
The office of chief ruler was once
offered to the highest bidder. The man
who bid in the royal palaco, and the
right to occupy it, proposed to raise
the purchase price by taxation. One
dissatisfied farmer asked the new king:
By what argument do you Justify this
action?" The new king pointed to tho
armv. and replied: "My argument is
20,000 swords." The argument pre
vailed: soldiers were the politicians in
those days.
"I have tried all things," old people
say, "nd all is of little value."
A Woman's Hair Brush.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
"A woman can't drive a nail
straight."
"Not with a hammer, possibly. But
you give her a hair brush and she can
drive a nail as well as anybody."
Fat Boy aa Pioneer
Houston (Tex.) Post.
"And does this fat little boy belong
in your crowd?"
"No'm: we just use him to try the ice
with before we go skatin'."
f