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HOW iOfcS Tilt BATTLE.
A the contest between Tart and
Rooevoit for the Republican nomina
tion progr.---. Roosevelt Ja gaining
on Taft. but he Is Mill far behind, or
the 60 debates so far elected. 38 1
are either instructed or pledged for
Taft. or arc so decidedly favorable to
him that they may safely be counted
for him on the flnt ballot. Of the
rest. 501 are for Roosevelt. 36 for La
Vollftte. for t'ummina and 1 are
unlnftrurted with no known prefer
ence or .seriously contested. Taft has
a majority of 124 among- the 5 dele
gate elected and lacks only IZ3 of a
majority of the entire convention.
Since the Pennsylvania primaries
Roosevelt's gains In Nebraska and
Oregon have been offset by Taft a
gains in Connecticut. Iwljmare New
Hampshire. Iowa and Rhode Island.
The battle is now In Missouri, where a
content as fierce as that in Michigan
Is under way. Next week it will be
in Massachusetts, and a week Inter in
Maryland, in both of which states tho
party will decide directly between Taft
nnd Roosevelt. We shall then have
an expression of Kastern opinion un
hampered by such local Issues as lrl
mcrlsm and boysism. which clouded
..he isaue In Illnols and Pennsylvania.
So much stre has been laid on
Taffs dependence on She Southern
delegate that It Is as well to analyse
the figures. Of the defecates from tho
North, the territories and the Hands
bo far elected. 110 are for Taft. 16 for
Roosevelt. 3 for La Kollette. 8 for
Cummins and t contested and not
credited to any candidate. Thus there
are two more antl-Taft than Taft
delegates, and If Taft should win the
Michigan contest he would have a ma
jority In the North alone tip to date.
Of the Southern delegates so far elect
ed. 1T7 are for Taft. 33-for Roosevelt
and 10 contested, with some how of
reason. Of the. delegate yet to be
elected. !S are from the north. In
cluding Porto Rico, and 160 from the
South. Should Taft make an even
break with all his rivals in the elec
tion of the remaining Northern dele
gate, he would need only nineteen
more Southern delegates to assure him
a majority. It Is admitted that he can
count on many more than nineteen
additional delegates from the South,
but unless he should have a clear ma
jority In normal Republican or doubt
ful states, he might be so weakened in
the eyes of the delegates as to cause
some of them to break away from him.
Only a sweeping victory for Roose
velt In the remaining Northern states
can prevent Taft from securing a ma
jority of the delegates. The result of
the direct primaries held to this date
suggests that the Colonel may win
such a victor'- Knt Taft. though slow
to anger, has put on his fighting
clothes at last and his speech at
SprtngfleUi Implies that hereafter he
will deliver blow for blow In the polit
ical duel with his former friend. He
may warm up the fighting- blood of his
supporters to such a point that Massa
chusetts and Maryland may turn the
tide In his favor.
BtTKJCTIN; IMMIGRATION.
One of the most difficult problems
our National lawmakers have to solve
s that regarding Immigration. It Is
.1 question that has vexed us for many
years and will undoubtedly vex us for
many more. In the earlier days of the
republic most of our Immigration
.-am from Ireland and Germany, and
never havs we experienced anything
out good from the Immigrants from
those countries. Much of the very
ct blood of our country Is made up
.if mixtures from one or both of them.
Vhil the Irish and Germans were
1 locking to our shores in hordes, there
were also many Scotch. Scandinavians,
French and the better clan of Ital
ians, and as a rule these all made good
citlcens, some of them taking rank as
leaders In various walks of life.
It was not until after the Civil War.
about 1T0. that Southern Europe be
gan to dump the undesirables on our
hores. At first the stream was small,
the price of a steamship ticket being
prohibitive to the very poor from
thoce far-away lands; but as the pas
age rates were lowered and the great
steamship lines began to scour the
countries for those who could raise
money enough to buy tickets to our
shores, the Incoming steerage quarters
were filled with these undesirables.
' At first we paid no attention to the
Influx, but later Congress took up the
work of regulation, first excluding
contract laborers, later shutting out
those with criminal records and the
ni.-'eased. following with a property or
money requirement, each Immigrant
being compelled to produce a certain
um of money as a requisite of land
ing. But the incoming tld has
ttumped a myriad of Illiterate refuse
upon our shores, and they have later
ylven us so much trouble that Con
cress Is again trying to solve the vexed
question of regulation.
In the yenr 1Q7 this Influx reached
the high-water mark, amounting to a
million and a half, and a large per
centage of these were people with
whom we could have got along much
better without. Indeed. In spite of all
that Is said against the Chinese, we
might better have had the heathens
from the Far East than those we got
from the offscourings of Kurope. The
Chinese do not mtx with our political
nnd Industrial affairs farther than to
work for the lowest of low wages.
Since the close of the Spanish War
(he great seamshlps have landed at
New Tork. Boston and Philadelphia.
I!ie most of them at New Tork. over
!.0o0.000 Immigrants, about 50 per
cent of whom could read and write.
Many have come from Ireland. Ger
manv, Scotland and France, and from
those countries the Illiteracy was al
most nil nearly all were In a measure
educated, the illiterate ranging from a
mere fraction of 1 per cent to less
than 4 per cent. Those from the Scan,
dinavian countries were also Intelli
gent to a degree, only four out of
each 1000 being unable to read and
write. But of the undesirable classes
perhaps over DO per cent were illiter
ate. There is a measure now pending be
fore Congress to Impose a literacy tet
upon all Immigrants over 14 years of
age. Such a law would undoubtedly
keep out a good deal of the "iscum."
Yet there Is no denying the fact that
much of our troubles arising with the
foreigners comes from the educated
agitators, and not from the uneducat
ed followers. An educational test only
touches one phase of the situation.-
There ! only one real remedy and
that 1 a character test, but It Is one
that Is dilllcult to apply. Character
and reputation are. in a "way, similar
terms, but we might allow persons
with good reputations to land only to
find them the most difficult to assim
ilate or control. Even If certilliates
of character and reputation were ex
acted, we would find It hard to en
force such a law-. So. upon the whole.
It is a veed question and one to
bother our lawmakers for some time
to come.
TflK MIRI'KI "'IT H.
The hesitancy of the South to press
the claims of Mr. Underwood for tho
Democratic nomination. lmply be
cause It fears that hailing from the
South may make him ineligible, has
stirred the Ire both of Harper's Week
ly and the Atlanta Constitution. The
former paper says that Southern resi
dence is mentioned as an obstacle
"frequenlly In the Sotith, rarely In
the North, never practically In the
AVest." It pronounces the sectional
bogy "dead as a doornail." The Con
stitution attributes the paucity of
Southern candidates and the feeble
ness of support they receive in the
South to "the shrinking attitude of
our own people." It affirms that the
North invites the Routh "into full fel
lowship In the Nation's counsels." that
sectional acrimony was extinguished
by the Spanish war and that, when
the South holds It not discreet or ex
pedient for a Southern man to offer
himself for the Presidency, "we insult
ourselves, we debase our manhood, we
surrender the rights the North is eo
willing to concede us."
But the nearest approach to run
ning a Southern man for President Is
the candidacy of Clark, who halls
from the border State of Missouri,
which Is wobbling In its political alle
giance between the two parties, and
of Wilson, whose Southern birth and
Northern residence enable him to
straddle Mason and Dixon's line. The
most ardent support of the New Jer
sey Governor comes from the South,
while Underwood's boom flaps half
Inflated. Clark's successes In the
Northern primaries show absence of
sectional prejudice against him. Then
why do not the, trust-baiting Henry
of Texas, the versatile Bailey of the
same state, or the fire-eating Tillman
of South Carolina hoist their stand
ards and give us a taste of Southern
oratory and statesmanship? The lists
are open and the herald calls.
IIjOATIMS AM mxkjng.
Since the loss of the Titanic two or
three readers of The Oregouian have
written to inquire how far an object
will sink in the ocean. One maintains
that a ship, or other wooden object,
will go to the bottom no matter how
deep the water may be. Others hold
that It will only sink to a certain
depth and there remain. One asks
whether or not a cannon ball dropped
Jnto the sea will ever reach the
bottom. I
The principle upon which the an
swers to all questions of this kind de
pend was discovered by Archimedes,
the greatest man of science In the an
cient world. In seeking to ascertain
the proportions of gold and silver in
Hiero's famous crown Archimedes dis
covered that a bfdy plunged Into wa
ter will be uplifted by the weight of
a mass of fluid equal to its own vol
ume. This buoyant force -will be the
same no matter how far down the
body sinks. It Is the difference be
tween the upward and the downward
pressures of the water on the lower
and upper surfaces of the submerged
body. We take it for granted that the
reader remembers the rule that the
pressure of water at any point Is ex
erted equally In all directions.
Evidently, therefore, a submerged
body will continue to sink as long as
its own weight exceeds the weight of
the water it displaces and by this rule
everything that sinks at all will sooner
or later go to the bottom. If a body
weighs less than Its own volume of
water It will float and not sink. If It
weighs exactly as much as Its own
volume of water It will stay wher
ever It Is placed below the surface.
We must remember, however, that
water at great depths exerts a power
ful force of compression which tends
to Increase the density of wood, and
perhaps metal also, and therefore fa
cilitates Its sinking.
Water Is virtually Incompressible so
that a cubic inch of It weighs but lit
tle more at the bottom of the ocean
Than anywhere else. Roughly speak
ing a cannon ball will sink as rapidly
at the depth of a mile as at the sur
face of the water. If there Is any
change It will sink faster because It
becomes slightly denser at great
depths. An object which will not float
at the surface of the ocean will not
float anywhere In its depths, hut will
continue to sink until it reaches the
bottom.
AN HEROIC MODI'S.
A pathetic picture that has been
drawn by and stamped upon the Im
agination In connection with the Ti
tanic disaster Is that to which refer
ence was made by a corresponJent
whose letter was published upon this
page, Wednesday. It Is that of Mr.
and Mrs. Isadore Strauss, of New
Tork, a couple well along In years,
who perished together as the fated
ship went down.
Mrs. Strauss had an opportunity to
be taken Into a lifeboat, but. finding
that her husband could not go with
her. resolved to remain and share his
fate. The husband, as unselfish as the
wife, urged her to go but she refused
to leave his side and the faithful com
panions of many years years that
had extended from early manhood
and womanhood through middle life
and on to old age stood upon the reel
ing deck of the groaning ship, their
arms about each other, until the ves
sel disappeared beneath the Icy waters.
Heroism, fealty, the oneness of two
lives cemented by the love, the hopes
and the vicissitudes of the years,
tands out in this picture with a ten
derness of touch that Is at once subtle
and sublime.
"Entreat me not to lcavo thee,"
came in the supplicating tones of a
tenderness and purposo that have
come down to us through the age,
as this aged woman, like Kuth of ohi,
clung to her husband asking only the
shelter of hiti arms against the piti
less elements. A more graceful, ten
der and heroic exodus from life than
this has never been chronicled.
TIIK KKNKWAJL, Ok" AN .OI.I FLtiA
The complaint of property owners
In the vhinity of the zoo attachment
of the City Park that the animals
there kept are a nuisance to the peo
ple thereabouts is without doubt well
placed. The counts in the indictment
gainst the creatures arc that of disa
greeable, unhealthful and at times an
almost unbearable odor, and of the
nnUe that they make from time to
time. Whether these amount to cause
of action for damages lodged by the
complainants the courts, having been
called upon, will decide. It is not
necessary, however, to go to the
courts, bryond the open court of com
mon sense, to decide that this city Is
not legitimately In the too business.
That Is to say, the city h:is no proper
place for the confinement and care of
animals of the wilds, and the places
where they are kept are unsuitable
both from the standpoint of humanity
as applied to the treatment of captive
creatures and from that of the loca
tion of their quarters.
lYotest has been frequently made,
notably during the municipal adminis
tration of Mayor Lnne. against the
cruelty indicted upon these creatures
by confinement in quarters wholly un
uited to their needs. The mountain
Hon, restlessly pacing the length of a
cage that afforded barely sufficient
room in which to turn; the cinnamon
bear sweltering under the heats of
Summer: the eik making weary pre-
tense of browsing on the hillside de
void of a spear of greensward; the
birds conlined In unbirdly cages all
have excited the pity of the pitiful and
the Idle curiosity of the curious with
out conveying a single lesson beyond,
fhat which these helpless creatures Il
lustrate, of man's stupidity and cru
elty. A well-ordered, well-equipped, well
conducted zoo is one thing; the keep
ing of animals In captivity without
proper equipment for their comfort is
quite another. Not a single lesson in
natural history Is to be learned from
looking at these animals through their
prison bars,, unless perhaps in viewing
their weary, discontented lot, the.mind
"in tune with the Infinite." recognizes
in these signs of unrest the subtle kin
ship of the world to which they be
long to the life of the world that holds
them In thrall. Since we have no
suitable place to keep these creatures,
we have no right to hold them In cap
tivity. If. like Colonel Roosevelt, we'
feel called upon to seek them out In
their mountain retreats and kill them
for sport, that is one thing. Man's su
premacy In the animal kingdom may
be thus established without the inflic
tion of cruelty, long drawn out, upon
his subject creatures. To keep thiVi
alive In a state of abject wretchedness,
for what pleasure can be derived from
gaping at thfm. is another story, and
one that has beon told for years with
many sad Illustrations by the zoo In
our City Park.
If upon the basis of bad and un
wholesome odors and unseemly "hight
voices the present complainants suc
ceed in securing a decree abolishing
this adjunct of the City Park, they
will, considering the limitations un
der which these creatures' are kept,
secure greater relief than that for
which they pray.
AS ANTI-Sl'VKRAOETTE.
The Oregonian has received a long
tetter from a woman of Eugene In
which a number of points are made
against equal suffrage. It is not prac
ticable to discuss all of them, but per
haps a few may bo profitably quoted
and commented upon. No doubt this
woman expresses the sentiments of a
large number of her sisters. The re
mark has often been made that the
chief obstacle to woman suffrage Is
the objections of the women them
elves, and this letter confirms that
view of the subject. On the other
hand. It must be confessed that the
force of these objections, if they have
any, lies in something else besides
their truth or logic. The urgency with
which empty arguments are put for
ward to hinder the cause of suffrage
reminds one how greatly many human
beings are Influeneed by imposing
forms of words quite Irrespective of
any meaning they may bear. For ex
ample, our Eugene correspondent
says, among many other remarks of
great simplicity, that she "does needle
work, but does not try to compel her
husband to do It." The Implication,
of course. Is that since men do not
rtltch hems women ought not to vote.
Reasoning- of this sort illustrates the
contempt which antl-suffragists feel
for the most obvious facts. The best"
sewing in the world Is done by men,
not by women. When a fashionable
p'nme wants' really artistic gown
made she goes to a man dressmaker
to obtain it. In view of this fact
what becomes of our correspondent's
argument? ,
Here is a sentence from the letter
which we are discussing: "Do Chris
tian mothers want to take up men's
failures and be blinded by voting for
a politician they would be ashamed
to see their daughters In company
with?" In our opinion there are a
great many Christian mothers who are
exceedingly willing to take up men's
failures In politics and economics and
transform them Into successes. Is It
not better for women to do this than
to allow the failures to go on forever
unredeemed? If women have the
ability to accomplish something which
Is beyond the ability of men. Is not
that a plnln indication of their duty?
If the Iird has given them the abllity
and denied it to men, is there any pos
sible doubt of his desire In the mat
ter? If women have the capacity to
"take up men's failures" In any direc
tion and bring about order and har
mony where men have created chaos,
are we not bound to believe that this
particular work Is within their nat
ural sphere? Did nature form woman
to do the work she can do or the work
she cannot do? When man has per
sistently failed to, do any piece of
work well, what better proof do we
want that it Is outside his sphere and
within the sphere of woman?
As to voting for disreputable poli
ticians, we cannot see that It is any
more shameful for women to do so
than for men. The hope Is that
women will enter the political field
with clearer perceptions of right and
wrong than men have and refuae to
vote for somex politicians whom men
tolerate without any particular dis
gust. A woman need not necessarily
be "blinded" when she goes to cast
her vote. Why should anybody be
blinded on thatpccasion? If "none of
the candidates Is decent enough to
permit her to vote tor them she l.as
always the privilege of staying at
home on election day. But in states
like Oregon, where there are direct
primaries, if undesirable candidates
are nominated after equal suffrage
has been granted it will be as much
the women's fault as the men's. If It
does not smirch a woman's self-respect
to vote against improper candi
dates at a church or lodge or club,
why should it be so extremely defiling
to vote against them at the polls on
election day? It Is time for weak sen
timentality to be put aside in thinking
of this subject and a little common
sense admitted into our counsels.
Our correspondent goes on to state
that "woman cannot clean up poli
tics." Perhaps not. But It is unde
niable that each particular woman
can keep her special portion of poll
tics clean and that will be something
of a help. "Woman" cannot keep all
the houses In the world clean", but
every Individual woman can keep
her own home clean If she tries:
The suffrage Is to be granted
to women In their Individual capac
ity, not to the world corporation
called "woman." Nobody expects
"woman" to do anything whatever,
hut women have accomplished a great
deal for the betterment of humanity
first and last, and we may reasonably
expect thorn to do a gTeat deal more
If they have the opportunity. The
task of cleaning up politics is one of
such magnitude that it will require
the united efforts of both sexes. It
has been pretty thoroughly proved
that men cannot do it alone. We sup
pose our goxrespondent is right In say
ing that women cannot do it alone,
either. But what will happen if both
sexes unite their strength and skill?
Neither the man alone nor the woman
alone ever expects to build , up and
maintain a perfect home, but by
working In harmony the two together
accomplish the task now and then. The
world is our common home. To make
it what it ought to be we must draw
upon all the available resources of
both eexes.
Wo have only space to touch upon
one more of our correspondent's ob
jections to equal suffrage. She Is
ifrald that if women receive the right
to vote some one' of the sex will run
for President sooner or later. "How
many women's hats will be In the ring
in 1916?" she asks with a shudder.
To this the proper reply will occur at
once to every person who has read any
history. If a woman can be Queen
of England, or Russia, or Austria, why
not President of the United States?
Nobody ever dreamed that it was "un
womanly" for Victoria to open Par
liament, command the British army
and navy and act as the head of the
established church. The various
Queens of Russia 1 have been at least
as able as the Czars, and Austria never
had a monarch of greater ability than
Maria Theresa. Before the question
of equal suffrage can obtain a fair
hearing from some women It is neces
sary to sweep their, minds clear of a
huge accumulation of sentimental rub
bish and false Information. Perhaps
the only way to do It Is to listen pa
tiently to their unreasonable objec
tions 'and answer them with fact and
logic. The best argument In the world
for equal suffrage Is the primitive
feminine Intelligence which has been
created by political serfdom.
Those Britons who protest against
an American inquiry into the Titanic
disaster were properly reminded by
Mr. O'Brien in the House of Commons
that many American citizens lost their
lives In the wreck. No doubt a great
majority of the passengers were
Americans or .Immigrants to the
United States. We certainly have a
right to Inquire whether British law
sufficiently protects American lives on
British ships coming to American
ports. If we find that It does not,
we have a right to impose regulations
of our own, the observance of which
Is a condition of allowing vessels to
enter American ports.
Before we had postal savings .banks
It was predicted that If they were es
tablished they would curtail foreign
money orders. This has come true.
Young as the banks are, foVeign
money orders fell off some J2.000.000
last year through their Influence. It
Is turning out that the postal banks
confer many, benefits upon the com
munity without a solitary evil effect
that anybody can designate. The
same thing will be true of the parcels
post if we ever get It. The harm it
will do is a bugbear of the imagina
tion, the benefit Is real and substantial.
Justin McCarthy, like Moses, died
within sight of the promised land,
though not allowed to enter. The
home rule bill now before the British
Parliament was partly the fruits of his
long life of devotion to the cause of
Ireland. His writings had extended
the circle of his friends far beyond
the shores of Ireland and by their
reasonableness and moderation had
done much to overcome English preju
dice against Irish home rule.
If our torpedo-boats use real tor
pedoes In practice, naval maneuvers
will become as costly as war. We can
not afford to sacrifice such a vessel
as the Maryland, which cost nearly
36,000,000, on what Mark Twain called
"a darned experiment."
Why should an Asiatic be allowed
to contribute to vice under guise of
ostensibly respectable business? As he
Is a foreigner, all should not yell the
nswer at once.
The traditional bugaboo of a Presi
dential year does not deter Portland
people "from putting money In the
bank, from which it radiates In
industry.
British Columbia courts do not
"fool" with Industrial Workers. They
give heavy sentences with a prompti
tude worthy of emulation this side of
the line.
The most dangerous of the five es
caping lunatics has been captured,
and that means comfort to women on
lonely farms.
With approach of the first of May
Industrial unrest In Spokane Is a
natural Incident in the course of
events. -
The good work of the vice commis
sion Is again apparent In suppression
of "noodle Joints."
Wouldn't It seem humorous if the-1
Colts outclassed the Beavers?
Ha! The short, ugly word has the
swish of the boomerang.
DIAGONAL STREET PLAJf VXWISE
Writer Criticises Important Feature of
the Bennett Flan.
PORTLAND. April 21. (To the Edi
tor.) Recently our Library Board was
censured by the Greater Portland As
sociation because It would not accept as
delflc the Bennett plans. Though we
may appreciate the plans as indicating
an awakening of civic pride to the
need of docks, parks, drives, etc, still
are not the plans rather showy sketches
along civic lines than always practical
suggestion?
They locate the Federal building near
the. Courthouse; practical men located
it near the terminal grounds. They
locate the Auditorium at Nineteenth
and Washington; practical men have
decided that the cost of a site there
would be a needless waste of money.
Further, instead of widening some of
our present surfeit of streets, where
need be, for business or drives, they
propose additional diagonal streets,
which would be a useless waste of
money. Already over one-quarter of
Portland's area is street space. -We
have 200-foot blocks, with 60, 70 and
SO-foot streets. Surely we do not need
additional streets. But we do need
some of our present streets widened.
Further, solitary diagonal streets
here and there across our present right
anglo streets in all busy centers, as the
city grows large, will cause a conges
tion of traffic at every point a diago
nal street crosses other streets. Keep
traffic traveling at right angles and it
haa rnnny routes to select from to reach
any given point, and all streets will be
in service and business spread. Cut
proposed diagonal streets and each
diagonal street will accrue to Itself a
prestige none of the other streets en
joy, thus doing an injury to surround
ing street frontage, while Injured prop
erty pays for the diagonal street. The
larger the city grows the greater will
be the congestion on a solitary diago
nal street, and movement becomes a
walking pace, not a rapid short cut, and
worst of all, It blocks and congests
every street It crosses, endangering
life.
Moreover, Portland's problem is the
congested east and west traffic. Bar
ring the widening of Burnstde and
Madison, what relief do these plans
suggest? None at all. In fact, they
tend. to Increase the east and west traf
fic congestion by planning to bring
the traffic of the great future terminal
grounds, south (at a cost of over $7,000,
000) on the park blocks, west of what
is and always will be the most con
gested streets of Portland, and then
force that traffic to fight through Port
land's narrowest and busiest streets to
reach the East Side. Is that a practical
solution? Surely not.
The widest (80-foot) streets are those
running north and south. Why not
plan to divert traffic as much as possi
ble into Portland's widest streets, In
stead of Into Its narrowest ones? Sure
ly" that would be wisdom. This the
Bennett plan falls to do.
To my mind the great traffic plaza
of Portland ought to run east and west
Just south of the Joint terminal
grounds, then all the wide, fine 80-foot
streets of Portland, with their north
ends widened, where need be, would
drain and teed this traffic plaza, and,
best of all, the east and southeast
through terminal traffic could be car
ried directly across the river and south
on Grand avenue, or In the reverse di
rection, and thus not needlessly con
gest Portland's narrowest streets, but
bring Portland's widest streets, like
Grand avenue, 70-foot Second street,
80-foot Third street. Fourth, Fifth,
Sixth. Seventh. Tenth to Fourteenth
streets, to the front. Shaping, not up
setting, as the Bennett plans largely
do, present advantages and existing
conditions.
Space forbids details, but surely our
Library Board is wise in not accepting
the plans as deific, but as but steps to
more practical ones. While all thanks
are due the securers of plans, still, are
they always practical?
Yours, working for a practical,
greater and more beautiful Portland,
J. WALTER SEABEKG.
485 East Forty-seventh street North.
Movlnc of Zoo Opposed.
PORTLAND, April M.-(To the Ed
itor.) I read the article in The Ore
gonian today about moving the city
park animals, and I consider It unfair
and unpopular to move the Zoo to an
Isolated spot. It also appears to me
there Is too much commercialism con
nected with this . movement. Why
should a few property owners or a
corporation that owns lots around the
park dictate as to having these ani
mals moved, and why move them when
the attractions in our City Park are so
limited? '
Any one visiting the park on any
afternoon, particularly on a Sunday,
will find hundreds of children assem
bled around the various cages and hav
ing all kinds of pleasure by feeding
and looking at the animals. In my
travels I have found in many European
cities that the Zoo or Zoological Gar
dens, ac they are called, are In the
heart of the city. New York has the
wonderful and world-renowned Cen
tral Park in which the animals are less
than 200 feet from Fifth avenue, one
of th 'finest and greatest thorough
fares In the world, lined with fine resi
dences and palaces. You may at any
time pass between Sixty-second and
Sixty-fifth streets, on Fifth, avenue
and hear the lions roar. In this park
there are more than ten times the
amount of animals there are in our
park. No one seems to object to them,
as they are the amusement for the
middle class and poorer people, and
they should not be removed to an Iso
lated spot.
I am sure there is no law that can
move the Zoo, unless It was by vote of
the people, and I would say. If It came
to a final Issue, that 99 per cent would
vote against the removal of the ani
mals. A CITIZEN.
HOW DEEP WILL OBJECT SINK ?
Correspondents DIacuas Effect of Great
Deptb on Bodies In Sea.
VANCOUVER. Wash., April 24. (To
the Editor.) A student of one of our
State Cnlverslties asserts that a large
ship will not sink to the bottom of
the sea. where the water Is two or
more miles In depth. I say the ship
will sink to the bottom of the sea.
A short discussion of this subject
will Interest many of your readers.
J. A. S.
Cannon Ball In Water.
FOREST GROVE. Or., April 24.
(To the Editor.) Is there any place
In the ocean where the water Is of so
great depth that a cannon ball dropped
therein would never reach the bottom,
because of the density of the water?
If this is true, please give scientific
explanation for it., E. S. SPARKS.
PORTLAND, April 24. (To the Edi
tor.) Will you kindly say how low
down the Titanic lies In the water?
My understanding of the law of hydrau
lics Is, that she would not lie more
than one mile deep, and in water not
affected by the storms and currents?
The press is quoted as saying "that
the boat and bodies lie two miles deep."
C. H. TIGGOTT.
The foregoing questions are answered
In another column on this page.
Anto Traveling Guides.
WHITE SALMON, Wash., April 23.
(To the Editor.) Could you give me
Information where I might be able to
obtain an auto traveling guidt?
NORMAN E. WRAY.
Any automobile accessory house can
supply traveling guides. Several ad
vertise in The Sunday Oregonian. ,
Cannot Charge to Higher Power Man's
Carelessness of Nature's Forces.
PORTLAND, April 24. (To the Edi
tor.) The editorial last Sunday regard
ing the unjustifiable arraignment of
God for the Titanic disaster was most
timely.
What is "an act of God?" Viewed
under the cold, white light of the lamp
of the law, a definition has been sought
fnr ranlnrlu fnrt Of leSS IngenUOUS
I attempts have been made to define it.
but never satisfactorily. Jtsryam says.
Yet a few days, and thee
The all-beholrtlng aim shall see no more
In all hl courae; nor yel in the cold ground
Where thy pale form is laid with many
teara. .
Nor in the embrace of ocean, shall exist
Thy image.
It is this blotting out of human ex
istence that leads man to seek some
thing supernatural as its Inevitable
cause. The definitions seem to differ
rather in expression than "substance.
Ordinarily an act of God Is considered
to be some accident produced by forces
of Nature over which man has no con
trol. But here comes in a distinctly
marked boundary line. Knowing about
these fqrees, can man avoid their prob
able effects?
It was long ago settled by the law
that where a person makes an express
contract to do a certain thing, acts of
God not being In reserve, he cannot ex
cuse himself on that ground., but must
perform or respond in damages if he
fails. . In any event, if the negligence
of the carrier contributes, together
with an act of God, to produce a disas
ter, it cannot be excused because the
so-called act of God was the immediate
cause.
Hence, how much better to omit these
arraignments of Providence. It now de
velops that the Titanic had no search
lights nor its lookout any glasses.
These failures In duty, and probably
others, surely eliminate the act of God
and charge the disaster to man's neg
ligence. The. office of prayer must certainly
be for divine comfoit to all those who
are sorely afflicted in heart because of
these things, or that the wisdom of man
may be Increased so he may prevent
them. It Is not to turn aside divine
wrath nor for God to intervene and ar
rest the laws of Nature. If a man falls
from a high eminence and Divine Prov
idence should arrest the power of grav
ity to save him, it would' cause greater
disaster by its effect on other persona
and objects.
There is indeed no calamity which
man might not escape by the use of
some precaution. Instead, he gambles
daily with Nature and takes his chances
with her, or else he is knowingly neg
ligent, or negligent in a manner lie
could have ascertained on inquiry
would be so.
The laws of Nature are inexorable.
If the people build near Vesuvius they
know It may overwhelm them. Man
knows the perils of the sea. If he lose
his life it is because he gambles on the
chance.
The Creator does not interfere in the
least with Nature, but reigns supreme
in the mind and soul alone. The psalm
ist wrote only too well these words:
When I consider the heavens, the work of
thy ttngera, the moon and the stars, which
thou haat ordained:
What la man. that thou art mindful of
him? And the son of man, that thou
visltest him?
ROBERT C. WRIGHT.
REPUTATION OF WEST t'PHBLD
Senator Borah's Experience With a
Woman Who Had Mining: Stock.
Exchange.
Senator Borah asserts that his State
of Idaho is so good that even the peo
ple who get cheated within its smiling
domain make money by the transac
tion. On his way home from Washing
ton, D. C, after adjournment of Con
gress, he was Introduced on the train
to an Eastern woman who immediate
ly began to tell a long, sad story about
the robberilko practices of Western
people In -general, and Idaho men in
particular.
"My husband was a traveling man,"
she explaTned. In lachrymose voice,
"and one night in Boise City some of
your people gave him too much to
drink, so much, in fact, that he didn't
know what he was doing. The next
morning he waked up and discovered
that he had bought J1400 worth of
mining stock at 4 cents a share.
Think of that, the greatest outrage I
ever heard of. I have never even
looked up the mine in which the stock
was sold, but the experience has
taught me that Western promoters
are merely burglars. My poor, dear
husband was robbed as surely as if
those men had held him up at the
point of a gun."
Mr. Borah asked the name of the
mine, and she told him. Without say
ing a word, he picked up a newspaper
ar.d pointed to the stock quotations.
Right there the Niobe-llke woman got
the shock of her life. The stock was
shown to be worth $140,000 that day.
E Is Right.
PORTLAND, April 25. (To the Edi
tor.) In an argument regarding the
pressure of water at a certain depth,
W contends there is a depth where the
pressure on top of an object, and with
no pressure on the sides, a cube of
lead or iron of any size will flatten
out like a wafer. E says the pressure
on all sides of the cube win be the
same regardless of the depth.
E. W. HOFFMAN.
305 Stark street.
A Spider's Hosb-n-Be Trick.
Judge.
Dorothy (after watching a. spider
capture a fly In Its web) Oh, mamma,
come quick! A spider is putting a fly
to sleep in Its hammock!
Electrical Power In the Alps.
London Tit Bits.
Engineers declare that the waterfalls
of the' Alps are capable of generating
enough electrical power to run all the
railroads of Switzerland.
New Special
The Sunday
Roadbuilding, Least Known of Sciences-Samuel Hill, noted
on this bi? topic, jrives his ideas on a work that is of grea
portance in Northwest.
Stopping Child Marriages This is a stirring: account from a Bom
bay correspondent of the plucky work of an American girl in India.
Illustrated with splendid photographs.
Portland's Nearby Trout Streams An illustrated half page on the
haunts of speckled beauties close to the heart of the city.
Science Probes Love Laura Jean Libbey writes of the efforts to
dissect and analyze the tender emotion.
Looking After the Children Uncle Sam at last establishes a
bureau that will seek to wipe out the scourges of our social evils
among the little ones.
Gentle Heroes They are the leper-tenders who rule the islands of
horrors. An article of the deepest interest, profusely illustrated.
Two Complete Short Stories. . ,
The Jump-ups Jim goes into the shoe business with dire results.
Sambo loses his commissary, Mr. Boss meets with a mortar bath.
Hairbreadth Harry becomes King, Mrs. Timekiller wins another vote
and Slim Jim is received at Grassville.
New cut-out clothes and a donkey puzzle in colors for the children.
MANY OTHER PEATURES
Order Today Prom Yonr Newsdealer.
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonian of April 26. 1862.
Fortress Monroe. April 11. Parties
who have arrived from the Army report
no special change in affairs. Contin
ued skirmishing was going on. The
rebel position extends across the penin
sula from Yorktown to Warwick, near
James River. The latest figures give
the rebels 55,000, which are dally being
increased from Richmond. Information
received through deserters, scouts and
contrabands shows the enemy has near
ly 500 guns.
New York, April 10. A letter from
Beaufort, April 1, says the place was
occupied Thursday night by a detach
ment of Packer's brigade. They land
ed without opposition and without even
finding a guard stationed to challenge
their approach.
Washington, April 8. In the House
the Pacific Railroad bill was consid
ered. It contemplates two branches,
uniting with a main trunk, which is to
be located within 3000 miles west of
the Missouri River.
Washington, ' April 8. Tho Senate
bill abolishing slavery in the District
of Columbia passed the House today by
a vote of 9S to 39.
New York, April 11. The Asia has
arrived from Liverpool with dates to
the 29th, Queenstown to the 30th. Sir
F. Smith has given notice in the House
of Commons that he would call atten
tion to the engagement between the
Monitor and Merrimac and ask whether,
in consequence of the results, the gov
ernment had not better suspend the
construction of plated ships until the
question of ironclad gunboats was con
sidered. Liverpool. March 30. Rebel schooner
C. S. Evans was passed on the 4th of
March, en route to Bombay. There was
an unknown American ship alongside.
The Union flag was lowered when the
ships parted company.
The students in the Portland Acad
emy held a meeting yesterday to make
arrangements to celebrate the first of
May by an excursion and other gay
festivities. They those Miss Leonora
Blossom as May Queen and Samuel
Moreland as King for the occasion.
Mr. Leonard Jewett and John F.
Wilmot were chosen as delegates to
represent Sauvie's Island at the County
convention to be held today at the
Courthouse in this city.
As ."Ed" Howe Sees Life
When muskets take the place of ora
tory, revolution becomes serious.
For every promise, there comes a set
tlement day.
After we get what is coming to us
from the railroads, let us go after
what we should have had from them in
the past. That would be more prog
ress. Employers say that when they get a
really good man. they are not only
compelled to pay him big wages, but
are forced to go to the trouble of
looking him up.
So many men are worthless that it
is surprising that at least one does not
realize his worthlessness; hut such a
thing never happened on the face of
the earth.
After a girl has been encaged four
or five years, there Is something about
her that reminds you of a married
woman: s'he may not have her eyes
entirely open, but she is beginning to
see.
A man's estimate of his prospects or
his popularity is as unreliable as a
candidate's estimate of his majority a
week before election.
Honestly, now, did you ever know a
big-hearted man to give away any
thing except smiles?
Big talk goes with being a Repub
lican: but I am a Republican, and get
nothing out of it except the pleasure of
abusing Democrats, and the excitement
of occasionally changing masters.
IeeberKs for Safety.
PORTLAND. April 25. (To the Edi
tor.) In discussion of the Titanic dis
aster it has never been suggested that
the survivors might have found rescue
on the iceberg on which the ship had
struck. Is it not probable that there
would have been sufficient level space
to have placed a large number of those
on board where they might have await
ed assistance? Is it not still within
the realm of possibility that many bod
ies may be found if the iceberg is
reached before it passes to warmer
seas? c- N-
Dr. Monteasorl'a Book.
HOQUIAM, Wash., April 22 To the
Editor.) Please advise me where I
can buy Dr. Monttssori's book, com
mented on in an editorial April 21, 1912.
Also if the book is written in English.
I was much interested in the editorial
and as I have a boy whom I believe
this idea is the proper treatment for. I
would greatly appreciate your assist
ance in helping me get the book.
WILLIAM E. CAMPBELLL.
Dr Montessorl's book has been trans
lated into English and is for sale at the
book stores.
lltanle Builders.
GRESHAM. Or., Apt 11 23. (To the
Editor.) Will you kindly ir.rorm a
schoolboy where the Titanic was con
structed and by what ingenuity Eng
lish or American? CLYDE RUEGG
The Titanic was built by Harland &
Wolff, Belfast. Ireland.
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