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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1912)
THE MOUSING OKEGOMAX, SATURDAY. A PR II I913- 10 rmH a rortland. OnM. Poeton-lB acond-:aM fattr. iA kacriiiiua Iuih-lBrlbl tn Advaae (BY MAIL.) raCr. "undar tacIodI. n yaar I r. unlar Include!. SIB moBltlB ... Z 1'Bi.y. fgs.Ur lnr'uu'l. tbraa months.. -? Iai Sunl.r Ioc:ol.t. ona moata....- I'll r, without lunda. ana year "J 1 11 r. without tunilay. l months..... I-al'y. without uudr. th months.. -' 1 a I y. wtthout sunr. ana 1 " - Vvk)y. ana yaar tuaviay, oaa year ........... aia and Wak!y. oaa yBsx..... . 1 . M (BT CARRI R- rally. Sunday laetudxl. ona yaar...... . X.ai:. kuotlay Intiud.U. ona month Maw aa rott 5aaa PoatofTIeo ""TT; r. ii(ru orti.r ar parsons! chrr"-'"l total bank. stamp, coin or currency. at th. Mndar-a ruk. Ola poatofflca nod aa la til l, including coo&ty and atata. r-.la. Hataa 10 ta 1 P'- 1 ',, ta 24 p.. a ccnta; 0 ta p.o. J- o to do pacta. cants. Fora.sa noataa, daabia rata. Eaatava Baalaraa MTr a Varra C"."ll lln .Saw Torn. Hrunawlc kalldlB. taco. ntaar buildlos- 1 pa OJIca No. Raa atraaU B. loodon. PORTLAND. HATIRDAY. APRIL . BOO.SOELT RKHTE HIMSELF. Roosevelt was not always aa full of confidence tn the wisdom of th people as his speeches at the present time seem to Imply. In his book "Machine Politics" he said: Oownraantal power should ba tratd tn tha handa of vary few mm wm would ba an conaplcuoua that no rltlwn could h.ip know Ins til aoout thatn and the flec tion ahould not coma too frequently. Nor has he always had so high an opinion as ho new expresses of the in tegrity of the average citizen, for In his book. "American Ideals." he wrote: In our cttlre mlrovernmnt la due not to wladela of the rich, but to tha low atamt srd of honeatr nd morality mor our rttlxena arnarally. The Roosevelt who now natters the people by telling them they are all wise and are competent to decide ab struse points of law by popular' vote Is much changed from the Roosevelt who wrote those words. He now tells the people that there Is a conspiracy between politics and big business. This Is the opinion he expressed In "Amer ican Ideals" of the man who ex presses such a view: The worst foa of the poor man la tha labor l-alr. whether philanthropist, or politician, who tries to tearh him that be Is tha vic tim of conspiracy or Injustice. Roosevelt's voluminous writings and endless speeches ar his greatest em barrassment. He rarely opens his mouth without denouncing some of his former opinions. To reply to his pres ent utterances It Is only -necessary to quote his own words. THE DEMOCRAT IN A HOLE. By his recommendation that practi cally all subordinate officers of all -lepartments. also postmasters of all .-Uscs. be placed In the classified civil ervlce President Taft has put the Democrats in a hole. If the Demo crats refuse to adopt his recommend ations, they reject an opportunity to -ave over $10,000,000 a year and thus iirove false to their economy pledge. IT they adopt it they deprive them selves of almost all the patronage which their confidence of victory next November causes them to expect. This Is only another example of Taffs lack of political sense of tha kind which distinguishes the old-style politician, who regards offices as plums to be distributed among his friends: appropriations as fertilizer for the raising of a plentiful crop of otes; a platform as something to get In on. not to stand on. - He proposes to deprive Congressmen of patronage; to abolish such perquisites as useless navy yards and army posts: to grant only such river and harbor appropria tions as are recommended by the Army engineers and as will prosecute jndertaklngs continuously to comple tion: to make, tariff revision a matter of mathematical calculation Instead of a legislative deal, thus taking' It out cf politics. He enforces the anti-trust law so effectively that the trusts themselves beg for supervision in or der to escape extinction, reducing the anti-trust orations to the position of a voice crying In the wilderness." The President resembles the young lawyer w ho settled In a day a lawsuit on which his father had supported his family for years. He Is depriving the LX-mocrats of their stock In trade, and. If they would allow him. would leave them nothing to protest against. With no tariff Isvue. no trust issue, no econ omy Issue, they would be at a loss for something to arouse popular Indigna tion and to secure votes for them selves. With no patronage and no "pork." there would be no Induce ments for "the boys" to get out the vote. There would be "nothing In It" for practical politicians and Congress might become filled with cranks and Idealists who fondly Imagine, like Taft. that the Government exists to do the business of the Nation and that platform promises are made to be kept. THE REPt BMr IX THIBET. With a republic proclaimed in Thibet we shall have to admit that the world moves. That forlorn and pod-forsaken corner of the world Is about the last place where -nybody would expect modern ideas to make themselves effective, but that Is pre cisely what has happened. A republic has been proclaimed, the officials have cut off their queues and some of them have donned high bats and frock coats. It never rains but It pours. Trust a Chinaman to go to the end of the road after he once makes up his mind to start. It is the Chinese in Thibet, not the natives, who have set up the republic. The old-timers who belong to the country seem to be opposing the Inno tatlon. They want the precious old IKiUl Lama 'to continue his reign with everything Just as It has been for a thousand year or more. The Idea of progress appals them. Thibet has iM-cn a religious monarchy ever since the civilized world has known any thing about it. The Grand Lama, an Immortal who Is reincarnated once In etnut so often, reigns with absolute authority under the tutelage of a band pi priests, and the peasant works for the outfit and starves. It Is only in very recent times that the world has known much about Thibet and our knowledge is still rnther meager. In 104 a British ex pedition under Captain Younghusband penetrated to the sacred city of I.has-a and since then the country has been more or less accessible to travelers. It should not be forgotten, however, that some had been there before. Sven Hedin. for instance, vls-Ire-d Thibet on his famous Journey of 1SS4 and Hue was there In 1M. but none of these earlier travelers found out a great deal about the country. The Thibetans are kept in intellectual servitude by their religion, which Is a degenerate form of Buddhixm. It U formalism reduced to a complete and inflexible system. Even their prayers are made by machinery". A thousand or more are pasted on a paddle wheel which is caused to revolve In a brook. Every time the wheel turns round the prayers are supposed to be offered up. No doubt the Chinese minority will have a hard time maintaining their new republic In Thibet, but they may not fail. Whether they succeed or not. the attempt shows that they are ready to assume the Intellectual leadership of Asia. rnMMOX POIXT AXD SINGLE TAX. The people of Portland and Its vi cinity have for many years taxed themselves heavily to raise money to keep the Willamette and Columbia Rivers open to the sea. Their motive, their expectation and their plan were and are to bring commerce up the rivers to Portland and not merely to move It down the rivers to a terminal at As toria. If the open river means that Portland has made this past Invest ment for the benefit of Astoria, and not for Its own benefit, it Is time the citizens and taxpayers within the Port of Portland were Informed what they have been paying for In all these years. The Portland Journal has under taken to surrender to Astoria the transportation advantages that have accrued to Portland through years of effort and enterprise and also through opportunity and proper advantage. The Journal has embarked on a ruin ous project. But it Is quite in accord with its other dangerous undertaking of leveling all values In Oregon to the basis of unimproved land by imposing the single tax. The single tax Is eco nomic insanity; the Astoria common point scheme is commercial folly. If that paper had been seized with a mad desire to cripple Portland on the one hand and bankrupt Oregon on the other, it could not well have chosen two more effective instruments than the common point agitation and the single tax. The Oregonian has a thousand times, and more, protested that the railroads had no right to create an artificial barrier against Portland by making the same rates for the costly haul over the Cascade Mountains to Puget Sound terminals as to Portland. The Port of Portland is entitled to the natural advantage the down-river haul gives. But what an appalling blunder for Portland to insist that Portland s remedy as against Puget Sound Is first to abandon everything In favor of a port 100 miles down the river. To what good? What then? What next? Portland wishes Astoria well. It will help Astoria. It desires that As toria realize Its proper destiny. But has Astoria the right to demand that It grow at the expense of Portland? WIIY RCMP CONVENTIONS? The rump convention is one of the campaign devices now frequently adopted by the antl-Taft men. In this, as In other respects, they are revers ing the Roosevelt policies of Tour years. When the charge was made that Roosevelt was using Federal of ficeholders to promote Taffs candi dacy. William Dudley Foulke sent a protest to him and received a reply, dated February . n which Roosevelt said: At present various efforts ara being made to (at up Bolting delesatlona from tha South ern eitatea. and tha m inra at which theoe an-called delesatea ara choecn are uiutlly announce) aa non-off Ice-hoWera" " conven tion. Aa a rule, thla meana, only so far aa It meana an thine, that they are held under tha Rad. of persons who wteh to be put In office, but whoeo character and capacity are inch that thev have not been regarded as nt to ba appointed under thla administration. In these esses, ba It remembered, that tha failure to secure office la not tha result of tha political action of the men In quea-tlon- Ob tha contrary, their political ac tion ta dua to their failure to secure office. In 1908 political action by delegates to rump conventions was "due to their failure to secure office." To what is it due in 1912? HATER V". RAIL TRAFFIC. The Ingrained contempt which al most all railroad men have for water transportation appears in every line of a communication written by W. M. Acworth. a noted English railroad offi cial, to the Railway Age-Gazette. In support of his opinion that the railway will always beat the steamer, he says: The steamboat must always ba hampered by th difficulty of through connection. It can only go to certain llcee. while th rallwav can go everywhere. Further. It can not earn a dividend aa a railway doea by balancing against Its amall profit or no profit for soma parta of II ytem It much larger proflta on other parta; for It la open at all time to competition 'or th really profitable traffic by anyone Iwho can set together a few thousand dolHr to buy a boat And. again, once a railway la built, tha public can rely on Ita being permanent ly operated. U la pretty sure to pay some thing more than wosklng eapenae. And any earning on capital 1 better than none, steamer with no capital Invested In filed plant will alway bo taken off lea profit able route and transferred to more profit able onea Further, the ateamboat buslnesa Is ao liable to cut-throat competition at any moment that It la a dangerous Inveatment for amall men: while, on the other hand. It need o much local and detailed attention that It I hardly fit for great capitalist com panies Of course. In all thl I am re ferring only to Internal WBterwaa. The difficulty experienced by steam boats In getting through connections and the Irregularity of their service are due to the short-sighted policy of the railroads. Would they but work hand In hand w-lth the steamers, each serving as the complement of the other, instead of regarding steamers aa their natural enemy, to be extermi nated as man exterminates rattle snakes, they would make money by exchanging traffic with steamers. Al lowing such commodities as coal, steel, ore. brick, stone, cement, cotton and grain to be carried by water as soon as such commodities reach a navigable river, they would build up a lucrative traffic to and from steamboat landings, Such Interchange would require pro vision for quick, cheap transfer of freight at river landings, such as Ger many has. This policy would give the steamers through connections, would end rate wars by putting them on friendly relations with railroads, would leave railroads free to carry the lucra tlve. hlgh-clasa freight, would estab lish regularity in steamer service, would relieve railroads of the annual freight blockades .and would obviate the necessity of enlarging terminals at an enormous cost to meet the needs of expanding traffic, ir the cost or tnese terminals were apportioned to the traffic on a tonnage basis, the railroads might learn that, after this cost is de ducted from the rate paid on low-class freight, they are losing Instead of making money on such freight. ere the Government to enter upon a sys tematic policy of reviving water trans portation by fixing minimum rate for rail lines operated in competition with water lines, the results might soun convlnca tha railroads that in warring on water lines they have been fighting their best friend. Transportation of commodities nat urally divides into three classes. One class, because of the smallness of the consignment, its high value and the quick dispatch required, must travel by express train. At the other extreme are -commodities which because of their great bulk and weight in propor tion to value, can pay for only the cheapest transportation, which Is by water. Such commodities are usually staples, quick delivery' f which Is not essential. Between these two exr tremes are commodities of compara tively high value In proportion to bulk and weight, which can well pay for the more costly and rapid rail transit, and some of which are so perishable as to require prompt delivery. Time may be required to convince railroad men that. In destroying water traffic, they are injuring themselves, but in time they will be convinced. THE GOVERNORS IX DISTRESS. The seven Governors whose Invita tion to become a candidate was ac cepted by Roosevelt as the voice of the people are, one by one, being rejected by the people of their Feveral states as exponents' of public opinion. They are proving not to be the chosen mouthpieces the Colonel supposed. This is how the Chicago Inter Ocean disposes of them: Bass flndii himself helpless In, hla own state. Glaascock la facing certain defoat In his. Ocborne haa been practically deposed from pafy leadership. Hadley'a deposition Is proceeding. Alririch Is t) ml I nil It impos sible to hold Nebraska against Taft and U Kollette. Carey ha little hope of carrying hla own atate and la hedging on hla per sonal support, hluhbs Is having lots of trouble. Dixon, the Colonel's campaign man ager. Is In like trouble, for the elec tion of Taft delegates in Montana is predicted by ex-Governor Toole, who, being a Democrat, has no bias, and whose political successes give his opinion on Montana politics much weight. Defeat of Roosevelt means defeat of Dixon for re-election to the Senate and his rejection as party leader. The path of the Roosevelt stampede promises to be strewn with the wrecks of political hopes. The stampede which the Governors anticipated has been a success only In swelling the Taft forces to overwhelming strength Instead of evoking an irresistible popular demand for four years more of Roosevelt. THE BATTLE OF HHII-OH. Toward the close of the year 1861 General Albert Sydney Johnston, the Confederate commander in the West, had established a line of defensive posts from Columbus on the Missis sippi River to Cumberland Gap in the Allegheny Mountains. It Included Forts Henry and Donelson on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers with Bowling Green and Mill Spring farther to the east. The first breach In this line of defenses was made by General Thomas, who defeated the rebel forces at Mill Spring on January 19. 1862. Grant's magnificent vic tories at Forts Henry and Donelson followed closely, and when Spring opened It became necessary for the Southerners to seek a defensive posi tion farther from Northern territory. Even Nashville had become untenable since Foole's gunboats could now as cend the Cumberland River and the costly suspension bridge at that point might be destroyed at any time. It waa resolved, therefore, to concentrate the Confederate troops at Corinth, a town In the northeastern corner of Mississippi not far from Pittsburg Landing, on the Tennessee River, and make this place the basis for resisting the Union advance. Corinth was well adapted for this purpose by Its situation. It was the crossing point of two railroads, one of which connected Memphis with the Carolines, while the other ran down through Mississippi, so that men and supplies might easily be procured from any part of the Confederacy. After his misfortunes in Kentucky General Johnston was violently attacked throughout the South and Jefferson Davis -was urged to remove him from command. But the President of the Confederacy still believed in his abil ity and yielded to the clamor only so far as to send Beauregard to the West to assist Johnston. Grant also had his troubles after the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson. Halleck, who commanded the department of the West, was plainly Jealous of his bril liant subordinate and sent surprisingly hostile accounts of him to McClellan, who advised his arrest. At first Hal leck refused to allow Grant to Jead the advance southward and superseded him by General C. F. Smith, but the misunderstanding was finally arranged and Grant was restored to authority. It was during the progress of this mis erable little conspiracy that Lincoln made his famous answer to some busybodles who told him that Grant drank too much whisky for the good of the cause. "I wish you would tell me what brand he uses." said the hu morous President, "so that I can send some of it to the other generals." On another occasion, after Shlloh, he stopped the tongues of some gossips by telling them that he could not spare Grant. "He fights." said Lincoln sig nificantly, no doubt with the hesitat ing and dillydallying McClellan in mind. Grant chose Pittsburg Landing for his base and began to gather his troops there. The position was en closed on three sides by deep runlets called, beginning on the south. Lick Creek. Owl Creek and Snake Creek. The last stream formed a pocket bend ing to the north, from which Grant's men could not have escaped If they had been driven Into It.- The open side of the position faced Corinth, where Johnston lay with his army. Grant ought to have thrown up ln trenchments along this unprotected front, but he neglected to do It, al though Rhodes says that Halleck had so ordered him. His conduct during the days Immediately preceding April 6 savors of carelessness and that over- confidence which, according to the belief of the ancient Greeks, excites the envy of the Gods and portends disaster. His army waa loosely ex tended from the Tennessee on the left to Owl Creek on the right, facing Cor lrh and Shlloh Church. At Shlloh Church, on Grant's extreme right, Sherman lay with his division, while Prentiss and Stuart held the left on the river bank. Buell's command was daily expected from the North, and by Sunday. April 6. his vanguard un der Nelson had begun to e.rrlve at Sa vannah, nine miles down the river on the side opposite Pittsburg Landing. In spite of many assertions to the con trary, we are convinced that Orant's army was not prepared for an attack and that when Johnston's army ad vanced from Corinth and opened fire early on Sunday morning the Union forces were taiten almost completely I bv surprise. Grant had slept the night I before at Savannah. He arrived some what tardily on the field and during the dreadful havoc of the day at Shl loh his presence counted for scarcely anything in the battle. Johnston's plan was to force his men between Grant and the river and crumple up his divisions into the pocket formed by Snake Creek where they would be obliged to surrender or starve. Accordingly his advance first struck Prentiss on the left. This he roic commander defended himself with determined bravery, but McClernand'a line soon gave way on his right and he was compelled to move back-ward toward Pittsburg Landing. This ma neuver was repeated time and again until Prentiss and William Wallace were penned up In a position from which farther retreat was Impossible. Here their men. raw Western volun teers undisciplined to warfare, fought with unimaginable b.avery until they were completely surrounded and Wal lace had received a mortal wound. Prentiss then surrendered with 2200 men. It was In the course of the fight ing at this point that Albert Sydney Johnston was wounded. A bullet sev ered an artery In his leg. The wound need not have been mortal, but he re fused the aid of his private surgeon. telling him to devote himself to the common soldiers, and continued giv ing orders until he collapsed from loss of blood and perished. Sherman's division on Grant s right stood its ground until it was literally shot into fragments. Not a company was left with men enough to hold Its organization, but the wrecked com mand mingled with McClernand'a troops at their left and still fought on. It Is Impossible to overstate the reso lute bravery of the men on both sides during the needless slaughter of .this terrible battle. It raged all day. Grant's forces gradually retiring toward the fatal pocket in the bend of Snake Creek, but nightfall saved them from irretrievable disaster. With dark ness the firing ceased. Grants' troops lay down to sleep in the mud and rain. Johnston's occupied the tents from which they had driven their foes. Be fore morning dawned General Lew Wallace had arrived with 7000 fresh troops and a large number of Buell's men had been ferried across the Ten nessee. Thus reinforced. Grant re sumed the battle on Monday morning and succeeded In forcing Beauregard back on Corinth, but there was no pur suit. The Confederates were repulsed, but their army remained intact and they held its defensive position. On Monday night things stood about as they did before the battle of Shlloh was fought. Although the year 1911 was one of the worst In the history- of the steel trust, its net earnings decreasing $36, 749,289, it was still able to pay ita reg ular dividends, to set aside J18.229.060 for depreciation and ordinary replace ment, $7,750,965 for sinking fund, and to carry over $4,665,495 to the surplus account. The aggregate tonnage of finished products decreased 11.8 per cent, but a substantial buying move ment began In November. The sales would have been much less but for an Increase of 41.4 per cent over 1910 In exports, domestic trade having dimin ished 18.6 per cent- This biggest trust Is evidently well able to compete with the pauper labor of Europe in other countries, though it still pretends to need protection In the United States. In his criticism of the Mann-Elklns railroad bill of 1910 as Introduced in Congress. Roosevelt omitted to men' tion that one of the principal provi sions eliminated at the instance of the Insurgents authorized rate agree ments among railroads and that he. while President, repeatedly recom mended this very provision. Either the Colonel's memory is falling or he has great facility In forgetting facts inconvenient for him to remember. Roosevelt's appeal at Parkersburg for a fair expression of the popular will must be Interpreted In the light of his acts in New York, Indiana and some of the Southern states. Tha only interpretation thus permitted is that no expression of the popular will is fair unless it favors him. President Taft is entitled to all en couragement in his efforts to still the Japanese war scare, but, like Banquo's ghost. It will not down; at least not so long as Hobson can wield hla tongue and hla typewriter. If Governor West could have his way, the art of hanging would be come as completely lost in Oregon as It is in Utah, though there Is plenty of suitable material on which this state can practice. Smith of Josephine, candidate of Democrats for Congress in the First District, should press the State Bar Association for examination of the charges, and not wait for the Bar committee's pleasure. Efficient management of the poul try plant at the Asylum shows a profit thus far In the year, which Is remark able In a state institution. People who think today Is as good as tomorrow or any other day can in dulge in Imported strawberries at 40 cents a box. Some extraordinary promotion in horticultural and vegetable lines may be expected, now that Luther Bur bank has disposed of his results. If the blue-eky law should be adopt ed in Oregon, it should be extended to cover such operations as those of the George G. Clows Company. The disturbance In the neighbor hood of Lincoln High School was not caused by a riot, but by the students' socks. Women should have a natural apti tude for work as wireless operators, for they have always had a system of wireless telegraphy all their own. Ex-La Follette men are kept busy explaining their switch to Roosevelt and their mistake in Imagining the Senator was a "dead one." The robber discovered that, whether Mrs. Howell's eye be dim or not, her natural force is not abated. The primary campaign lacks the "ginger" It would have under equal suffrage. Much depends on Mr. Beals for the best brand of weather tomorrow. The Whalley woman lasted longer than the customary affinity. .. . At the Cafeteria By Addlaoa Bennett. It was the dull hour in the cafeteria. The cashier was powdering her nose, meanwhile gazing proudly into the lit tle two-blt-slze mirror in her vanity box. The- cash register had not given forth a musical note for nearly a quar ter of an hour, nor were the prospects good for more than a dime for the next quarter, that to come from & rather tattered gent (that word is used with its East Side significance), who was devouring a plate of "woodcock," some times yclept beans. Entered, nearly on schedule time, the stout, the roly-poly, the rotund citizen, who passed through the barriers and wended his way down the line with his tray and feeding Implements In his hand. He selected a piaiej -sort of breakfast food that he had read about during the morning. It 1ike1 like flaked glue perhaps it was. Then he took a small bottle of milk, got his fifteen-cent check and sat down at the accustomed table. The wiry little man was not far be hind, and he took a dish of everything In the vegetable line, but no soup, for he had learned since the day before that all of the soups made In that particular cafeteria had suet as one of the component Pa't and be would none of thorn. His check was 40 cents, and cheap at the price. Aside from that he would be under no obligations to tip the waiter, there being nothing nearer to such a server than an off-bearer of dishes, called an omnibus. At the restaurant where he ate before he discovered the cafeteria the blond young miss who waited on him expected at least 10 cents a week In the way of honorariums, but she lived mostly on expectations so far as the vegetarian was concerned. The dyspeptic was a few minutes be hind time in bis arrival, but he was assisted down the line by the impetu ous one, who carried one of the trays for him. He said he was not very hungry, had put In a bad night, some thing the matter with his liver he thought, and his check was only $1.40. a a a When thev all had fairly gotten under way the dyspeptic ceased plying his knife, fork and spoon long enough to remark that he had just received a highly important personal and private letter from Jonathan Bourne; that the Senator Intimated that the people of Oregon would commit a grave error, not to say crime. If they defeated him for the nomination to succeed himself as Senator, and that such a defeat would give the Oregon system of repre sentative government a body blow, per haps a knockout. "Well." said the fat man, "I. too, nave received a personal and private letter from the Senator, and he inti mates the same thing to me, and calls upon me as one of the progressive and Influential citizens of Oregon to do what I can to uphold the cause of the Oregon system by voting for him, the aforesaid Senator. I feel quite proud to think Jonathan has singled me out thus to appeal personally to me; and I think I will adopt the Senator's suggestions and plunk mv ballot for J. Bourne. Jr.. for United States Senator, both at the primaries and at the election In No vember." "You fellers talk to me like a couple of no-account pikers," quoth the vege tarian. "Now, I have received a letter from the Senator which is marked on the southwest corner of the envelope, due southwest from his frank, which is on the northeast corner, and under it my name, my full cognomen, name, and befront the name is the word "Honor able." Do you understand, you two want-to-bes? "Honorable." And in the southwest 'corner aforementioned the words, writ with Ink and by his own hand. 'Personal, Private and . Highly Important.' Here it is.' Look at it, gaze upon it, fix your eyes upon it, but do not glaum it, for I wish to lay It away among my archives that poster ity may see that I am an honorable, called such by a United States Senator." Then the fat man dove down into his hip pocket and dug up his letter, and the vegetarian reached Into his inner vest pocket, right over where his heart would be If it was on the east side of his anatomy in place of the west side, and brought forth his letter: and all three were spread on th table and each was "Personal, Private and High ly Important," and each superscription began with "Honorable," and each bore the frank of Jonathan Bourne, Jr. And then they compared the letters them selves, all three were Identical, word for word, even to the crossing of the t's and the dotting of the I s. see "Well." said the fat man. "there is one question I would like to ask. and that is this: Why are they franked with the Senator's name, as our friend of the beans and brambles so feelingly remarked with reference to his own cognomen If franked, as afortime men tioned, why the two-cent stamp on each one?" It was debated and finally decided that the stamp showed that the Senator did not wish to beat tne liovernmem out of even as trifling a sum as that, and the frank was an advertisement worth more than the cost of the stamp, and caused the Senator no effort, as it was not written by him. "Well." said the fat man. "I suppose every voter in the state has received one of these "Personal. Private and Highly Important' epistles, and I'm be dodbadgered if I like it. I have never been very keen to support him anyhow. I am free to admit this letter sort of tickled my vanity, but it Is only one of many thousand, and I'll be bem foozled if I'll stand for It." Then the vegetarian and the dyspep tic came out and said they were for Ben Selling, had been ever since Ben announced himself, only wavering slightly when they read the Senator's letter. But now they would Join in with their fat friend and boost for Selling. "Now, Selling." remarked the fat man. "has all of his Interests here: he has made every dollar of his large for tune by his own efforts and In an hon orable way. He never had an unclean dollar In his pocket In his life; at least that Is what Is said by his sup porters, and even his oponents can find no flaw In his character or his ability. The worst (and yet the best) they say Is that he is merely a seller of cloth lng. But lie sells his goods 'on the square.' He is never accused of mis representation. hy Isn t an honor able clothing merchant in the same class as an honorable banker, lawyer, Dhvslcian or anything else? And. be sides. Selling's heart and purse always respond to the cries of the unrortu rtaf . "If Jonathan is so derned anxious for a seat in the Senate let him remain In Rhode Island, where his real home and the property he fell heir to are: where he would have Aldrich to lean on, as he did throughout the tariff fight. There Is where Jonathan belongs In Rhode Island. The golluf links around there are mighty fine. And it is dollars to doughnuts that after we defeat Jona than in June he will remain there: that he will never come to Oregon again; that he will say, and try to prove, that the Oregon system is a fraud, a delu sion and a snare." a Then they all agreed, as they wended their way towards the blond cashier, who was busy polishing her nails with a new-fangled buffer she had recently purchased at the 10-cent store they all agreed that about the worst thing that any man can say against the Oregon wystem is that it has given us Jonathan Bourne. Jr.. as one of our representa tives in the United States Senate. AS STATE PRESS SEES POLITIS Roosevelt Poor laer. Med ford Sun. For the first time in his political life Theodore Roosevelt is tasting real de feat the defeat of being too presump tuous. He now knows that the seven Governors ill-advised him, and that his inordinate ambitions dislodged his bet ter sense. And he is a poor loser. Cry ing trickery and fraud is the wail of the loser at every game; a world-old way to whine for sympathy, and few expected the great Teddy to stoop so low. T. R. Popularity Overestimated. Eugene Register. Colonel Roosevelt Is in a strange po sition. He is campaigning on a slogan of "Let the people rule," yet in every case where the people have spoken, he has been loud In his condemnation of the results. The truth is that by "let ting the people rule," the Colonel means "let the people elect Roosevelt." This Is his conception of rule by the people. And as the states continue to elect delegates for Taft, the Colonel's Ire mounts. It Is but natural that he should be wrathful. He had miscalcu lated his personal popularity. He thought that he could break his solemn third-term pledge to the people, and yet sweep the country. He is being un deceived, and it hurts. Hat Badly Battered. Dallas Observer. Unless rescued before much more times passes, that headgear which the Sage of Sagamore cast into the Presi dential ring a few short weeks ago will become so badly dilapidated that its owner won't be able to recognize it. The fact is dawning on the American people that President Taft is to be the choice of the Republican party as their standard-bearer again this campaign. The onslaughts of a certain gentleman, with pompadour locks and a vigorous personality, failed to Jar the country, and wean the voters from a desire to reward ability and honor faithfulness to public trust; and now it appears that even the celebrated gentleman who tamed the bucking broncho of the Western plains, and slaughtered the rambunctious denizens of African Jungles, the while attendant cameras clicked,' and political buncombe was manufactured by the yard, is going up against a veritable Waterloo and that he will be buried so deeply under an avalanche of votes at the Chicago con vention that somebody will have to In form him that he's been in the race. Bourne Not Republican. Grants Pass Observer. Of course, Jonathan Bourne never was a Republican only in name. He has bolted the Democrats, the Populists and every political movement he has been associated with, and he bolted the Re publican party two years ago. Now he comes back and asks Republicans to re elect him. It Is astonishing audacity. But the people have him measured. In Josephine County the people are familiar with the record of Jonathan Bourne, and he has few supporters here. The Republicans appreciate Ben Selling, as a business man of high rep utation, and they know that as a poli tician he is absolutely reliable, as his record in the Legislature shows. He Is largely interested in Oregon, and any thing that Is good for Oregon is good for him. If elected United States Sena tor, and the indications are strong that he will be, he can be depended upon to earnestly look after the interests of this state at Washington, and they badly need looking after in the Senate after six years of neglect by Senator Bourne. The Observer believes that the real contest is between Ben Selling. Repub lican, and Dr. Harry Lane, Democrat. The next United States Senator elected by the people of Oregon is almost cer tain to be one of those two. with the odds decidedly in favor of Selling. Interests Are In New England. Pendleton Live Wire. ti 1. .. , , ..'.nn.lni. tha nnsilinn IH'I tl a, man Vj -'D ...w , of United States Senator from Oregon who never visits the state ne is buij nn.. tn r.nrsisnt- who onerates large mills and has extensive interests in New England, who poses as a progres sive in articles written by a skillful secretary and wno votes wun England instead of Oregon because his enormous income is derived from the Atlantic instead of the Pacific Coast, ui- In nreenn nhount to $2.44. So long as Bourne is maintained by Oregon at Washington, tnis state win remain a Joke In tne eyes oi tne na tion. He must be defeated. More Work Slot More Road Laws. HUBBARD. Or.. April 5. (To the Ed itor.) In The Oregonian April 3. under the heading "Road Legislation. Deemed in Danger." I see that J. H. Albert ...-.ki.. fip tho result of his Det measures." I too shiver on account of this proposed road legislation, uui. m another form. I hope that the tax- e riwtrnn will have the Dower at the November election to bury all - .i n that proposed, r o aa mea-suica ov w ...... they will never be resurrected. If those fellows who are so anxious to raise our taxes, and get the state and counties bonded, would do like the writer did yesterday, take the team, plow, scraper and hired man and put a part of a public highway in good condition, the road problem would solve itself, but no; they want to sit in well equipped offices or go on junket ing trips all over the state, at the taxpayers' expense. If they keep that up until Gabriel blows his trumpet, our roads will be in the same condi tion they are at present. What we need is not more laws, but more work, and the money we now raise Judiciously expended. .Yours for better roads as fast as we can build and pay for them. J. 8. YODER. New Special Features for The Sunday Oregonian A Royal Victim of Beauty Cures No less a person than the Ger man Emcress set out to combat age with beauty cures and now her hTahh ?sPgone The inside tory is given by a writer who is in close t0l?eeTwe about the strange people of c(l., mountains where civilization is at a low ebb. SBCraSh.f of Laura Jean Libbey's interestmg arti cles,Thich she takes up the world's most famous romances m "TheGame That Cost a Pennant-Eleventh in the notable baseball series preyed for The Oregonian by Christy Mathewson, the Giants' Bt Eiterhid the Butterfly-An attractive article is presented by Rene Bache on the story of the beautiful butterfly symbol. reta in Slang-George Ade's fable for the coming Sunday deals with "a family that jumped out of Class B into the King Row," and it toads to the moral: "Some achieve greatness and others have "iS? Complete Short Stories-" Just Like That," a tale of two partners, a love affair and a tragedy, and "The Magic Billiard Ball," a story of love and magic. The Jumpups Mr. Jumpup reverts to type. More adventures by Sambo, Hairbreadth Harry, Slim Jim, Mrs. Time Killer, and Mr. Boss. Easter "cut-out" clothes for little Anna Belle. MANY OTHER FEATURES Order Today From Your Newsdealer. The Book of Book By Dean Collins. Ah, once I yearned for a five foot shelf Of books like Knot advocated; Ah, once I wished for the "pigskin" list Of literature, by Teddy created; Ah. once I wished for a set of tomes Comprising the world's best stories and "pomes"; But now such wishes are driven to rout Since the Oregon primary book is out. Why should I yearn for stacks of books. Volume on volume, of bulk and weight. When the wisdom of man is given to me In the Oregon book, in capsule state; And a man may easily fold and place This gem of gems In a trifling space Along with his keys and his store of pelf, And say, "Pooh pooh for the five-foot shelf!" Shakespeare for me shall have no charm. The psalms and the Iliad lure no more. And Plutarch must seek a roosting place On the dusty shelf of some second hand store; For where can the "Lives" that ha vpr f ? Touch the tales of the candidates Whose thrilling stories my eyes engage In the Oregon booklet so much per page? I weep, perusing Lafferty's tale. And sigh, "The path of the pure is hard!" And fully decide his story more sad And romantic than that of Abelard: I read of Bourne, and I murmur, "Oh, Even Demosthenes never wrote so!" And sob. as a tear slides down my beak, "Blessed, certainly, are the meek! I read and I read, till the lights of day. Deep in the Western skies expire. And then I take from my shelf and chuck Baron Munchausen Into the fire. Since the Oregon primary book is out. All other liter'y gems I scout. And say as I smile and pat myself. "Pooh pooh!" and, "Bah, for tho five foot shelf!" Portland, April 6. Half a Century Ago There are times when a man should sit down, and be quiet; no one should scatter sunshine, humor and informa tion all the time. There are thousands of people wait ing to be encouraged In foolishness, idleness and unfairness. Millions of people know better than they do. If you will agree to keep the people off my back. I'll tell you what the trouble Is in this country. You will reach your grave soon enough. If you travel as slowly as pos sible. Why run? -There is always a flurry in a house when a husband takes unexpected com pany home. Women take more readily to kin; a bride Is calling her husband's parents "mother" and "father" before she gets her wedding clothes off. A man who is very energetic down town, may. be mighty shiftless around home Sundays and evenings. Men have as many little mean ways as women; and. in big meanness, there are thirty times more men in the peni tentiary than women. However well you "know people." something is always coming up that shocks you. National Anthem. WRAXGELL, Alaska. March 30. (To the Kditor.) In describing the burial of the battleship Maine, you say "the bandsmen on the quarterdeck played the National anthem." Will you please state for me what it was that they played. I never feel quite certain what is meant when 1 see that statement. It is unsatisfactory not to know. E. L. W.. "The Star-Spangled Banner" is recog nized in the Navy as the National anthem. Flax In Oregon. GALICE, Or., April 2. (To the Edi tor.) Observed your recent editorial comment on the flax industry in Ore gon. Can you tell If this plant will thrive on red shot soil in Southern Oregon? Please give name and address of one who is in a position to furnish necessary Information on the subject, and oblige SUBSCRIBER. Adress James Wlthycombe. Oregon Agricultural College, Corvallis. v A Friendly Tip From Father. Houston Post. "Does her father like you?" "Very fond of me." "Tell you so." "No. but when I asked him for h.s consent to our marriage he gave it. but at the same time he warned me that she had been taking cooking lessons." Municipal Real Estate. Baltimore American. L The City of New York owns 934 nieces of real estate.