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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1912)
r 10 TTTT! MOTlMXr, OREGOSIAN. FRIDAY. MXX 3, 1UV4. El)t (Dmrtrnmn rOETtAND. ORMiOX. CIRCVLATIOX ITATCHKM. Darin ths month of April. 1J1I. th averse circulation ot ine urejonun vac Atmtr dar C'lmlatloa Anr Dally Clrwlatl 53.505 The abovo circulation waa distributed as follows: Dally. .day. 44-OST .75. 7-871 2.68U 3.291 Or con Washington. . . All other states 6327 Totals 53.505 County of Multnomah. I Mat of OrrRnn. I This Is to certify that th actual clr rulatlon of The Oregonlan for th month of April was as hT 1 forth. F.. P. Il PWO.T. Circulation Manager. Subscribed and sworn to before me mis rirst day or .vay. iu. W. E. HARTMI'S, (seal) Notary labile PORTLAND. miDAV. MAY 1914. COXVEXTION!! AD PRIMARIES. The Presidential preference primary has come to stav. That is a plain In ference from the rapidity with which one state after another has adopted It. It Is a great step In advance, for It ensure that a Presidential nominee will be the real choice of a majority of his party. For thU reaaon It should a ecu re him the hearty support of all who preferred another candidate. The American Government In founded on the principle of majority rule, not only In the choice of It official, but In the management of parties. It Is as much the duty of every loyal citizen to acquiesce In the decisions of the majority of his party as It Is to yield ready obedience to the authority of public officials. Adoption of the direct primary hns iriven rtee to the prediction that the National conventions of this year will be the last. History does not warrant this prediction. In 1824 neither Jack son nor Adams had a majority of the Presidential electors, although Jackson had a large majority of the popular vote. The election was thrown Into the House, which elected Adams. A demand then arose for nominations by some other means than a caucus of the two parties In the House, by which candidates were chosen In the early years of the Republic. During- the succeeding four years the franchise waa broadened by removal of proper ty and other limitations. The popular vote, which In 1814 was only 32. 000, Jumped In 1831 to 1.156.000. and Jack son was elected. In 1S33 the conven tlon waa Invented and both parties made their nominations by this means, the Democrats naming Jackson, the Whigs Clay, and Jackson was elected The convention was adopted ai means of preventing the nomination of a minority candidate, it is still nec essary for the same reason. Were the candidates for President nominated directly by popular vote. It Is possible that no man In one party would have a majority. The party would then be called upon to decide whether the man having a plurality should be nominal ed, whether a second ballot should be taken eliminating all except the two highest men. or whether the nomlna tlon should be made by a majority In convention. Objections to the two for mer alternatives are obvious, therefore the third would be adopted. A convention of delegates pledged to support the men for whom the vot era of their respective states had ex pressed preference, so long as there was possibility of his nomination. would be a very different Institution from the old-style convention. The latter has been composed of delegates elected by conventions of other dele fates, who were elected at primaries. which the boss and his henchmen often controlled and which, as some thing disorderly, disreputable and often "fixed." the mass of voters stu diously avoided. A National convention composed of delegates elected and pledged to carry out the will of the people would com mand the respect of the wholo party, and Its nominees would command loyal support. A convention would In any case be necessary to draw up a party platform, which Is too Important a work to be left to any less represen tative body. Conventions will be as necessary in 1 J 16 and succeeding years of Presiden tial elections as they were In 1831. In order to prevent a repetition of the story of 18I. ident shall be counted as a vote for his list of candidates for delegate. The direct primary and the Presi dential preference primary are sound in theory and are In harmony with the demand that the people' will be made effective without being filtered through a series of channels which may be used to thwart It. But the laws by which the new political meth ods are put In, effect need revision in the light of experience. HOMKR DAVENPORT. Homer Davenport was a great hu morist and a great moralist. He im parted through pictures striking ob servations on men and measures and sound lessons on life and manners. Probably there have been more skill ful artists with the pencil; prohably other cartoonists exrelled him In com pleteness of design and In beauty, del icacy and finish of drawing: but none could drive home the naked truth more powerfully or enforce upon the atten tion of the inattentive mind more brutally some salient fact of current history or politic or ethics. Daven port's genius was native; he studied under no great masters. He learned from nature, from the trees, fields, birds, animals, men. He had a wealth of unique information and a quaint and amusing talent for story-telling. He loved life and light and fun; but he was easily Impressed by the sorrows and griefs of others and deeply sym pathetic with them. He gave what he had freely, and was loyal always to his old friends and his old' home. Big. strong, sturdy, the death of Homer Davenport In the prime of life and the maturity of power ar.d experi ence, is a vast surprise: yet no man knoweth the time when the summons shall come. He was a product of Ore gon and Oregon was proud of him. Green be his memory. gives It all away, leaving his relatives to stand good for his funeral expenses, proves himself a zealot In philan thropy, while he who Is worth 16.000, 000 and. dying, leaves It strictly to his posterity, only stipulating that the ex penses of his last illness and burial shall come out of it, is a zealot at the shrine of selfishness. The happy medium Is found In the man who, having amply provided for his family, makes the Institutions of society carried on for the benefit of humanity his residuary legatee. THE MACHINE-OMAMIING TEAR. This is the year of political machine smashing. The first use the voters make of the direct primary is to bury their quondam leaders under an aval anche of ballots to destroy the or ganisation. They give no thought to the fact that a party cannot exist with out organisation and that a new or ganisation must be created to take the place of that which they have de stroyed. The leaders are mainly responsible for this machine-smashing mania, for they have given too much cause to dub them bosses. A boss who is really a boss may be defined as a party lead, er who uses his power for selfish ends and to perpetuate his leadership. but It has become customary to brand aa a boss any party leader to whom one is opposed. This Is on the prin ciple of "rive a dog a bad name, then hang htm." Wholesale and Indiscrim inate denunciation of party leaders as bosses, party organisations as ma chines, has caused those who honestly endeavor to express party sentiment in action to be, confounded with thoe who have grown utterly out of touch with or Insolently defiant of party sentiment. The old orgnnlr-afion Is destroyed, bnt we are offered nothing In its place except in such Instances as that of Penrose, who was defeated by the equally malodorous Fllnn. But the confused results of recent primaries should convince any reason able man that party organization Is necessary. The present go-as-you-please system results in such anoma lies as the nomination of a man sup ported by only one-third or even one fifth of the voters of his party, as In Oregon: or In the election of National delegates pledged to one candidate, while the voters express preference for another, as in Massachusetts. The first anomaly ran be done away with by provision for a second-choice vote: the second by a provision in the Prece dential primary law that only as many names of candidates for delegates pledged to each Presidential candi date snail appear on the ballot as there are delegates to be elected, and that a vote for a certain list of candi dates for delegates shall be taken as a declaration of preference for their candidate for President, or that prefer ence for a certain candidate for Fres- tlRPT CHOICE OK NO CHOICKT Among the nine candidates for the Republican nomination for Sheriff of Multnomah County there were several who were excellent men for the place. The public was distracted and con fused, and votes were pretty evenly di vided among the many. If the voters had been able to agree substantially on one man as their united second choice, the consensus of opinion would have been that that man was the right man for Sheriff. First choice In such a contest Is controlled largely by per sonal preference or prejudice or Inter est; second choice by Impartial con sideration of a candidate's merits. Sec ond choice is often better than first choice, undoubted!)-. Our friend Judge George does not think well of first choice, under the present system, for many candidacies. The Judge makes a good point in his picture of the utter helplessness of the voter before that formidable array of ineligible on the ballot for Represent ative In the Legislature. But the rem edy Is not abolition of first choice or second choice or any choice. It Is to be found in smaller legislative dis tricts, so that one State Senator and one or two Representatives are chosen from each. That would greatly sim plify the voter's problem, and would besides insure closer local represen tation. Few states elect their legislators so blindly as Oregon. Yet we wonder why we get such Inefficient material for our Legislatures. Why wonder, when we know the reason and can easily applv the remedy? ROOM AT THE TOP. From the financial point of view, the learned professions do not pay very w-elL Professor Wigmore, of the Northwestern University law school, told his students the other day that there is only one lawyer In twenty who makes more than 13000 a year. The Incomes of the other nineteen twentleths range from $3000 down ward. An estimate which is perhaps a trifle hasty puts the average income of lawyers at about J 700 a year. Doc tors certainly do not make any. more upon the average, and ministers make less. There is reason to believe that the average ministerial salary In the United States Is about 3500 a year. The Sage Foundation experts tell us that a man cannot support a fam ily decently upon less than a thou sand dollars. How ministers manage to make both ends meet is therefore a good deal of a mystery- Donation parties help out more or less, but such a resource must be precarious. In view of these conditions. It does not appear difficult to answer the question why young men are not very eager to choose the ministry for their life work. But the small pay cannot be the only reason law and medicine do not pay a great deal more on the average and yet they do not lack practitioners. There must be some other cause for the dislike which the modern youth seems to feel for the clerical profes sion. No doubt the big rewards In both law and medicine are very big, but only a few can hope to get them. The old maxim that "there is always room at the top" has been modified by the experience of more recent years. An up-to-date philosopher has made It read. "There Is room for but one at the top." If this is not strictly true, it Is nearer the truth than the other version. The man who reaches the highest point in his profession usually pushes somebody else down, though not always. Ibsen Illustrated this terrible truth In "The Master Builder." The fear of "the rising gen eratlon" haunted his hero and finally drove him to the rash act whic caused his death. There Is not room in the world for two generations to be active at th same time. As one advances the othe must retire. The tendency In our day Is for the young to thrust the old aside with somewhat ruthless haste. They have forgotten how to wait for their inheritance until it is due. and wholesome plays nobody could conscientiously ask for any further relaxation. To be sure, there is the trouble of deciding what is good and what is bad, but this is a task which Providence does not allow us to escape In any department of life. It con fronts one In business at least as for midably as In amusements. We may pretend to shirk It, but we cannot really do so. The good and the bad lie before us wherever we turn, and we must choose between them. It is the business of the church so to cdu cate the conscience that we can make this choice with prompt certitude. A person of correct ethical feeling does not need to sit long at a play to learn what Its trend is whether for good or bad. One might say much the same thing about dancing. It is Innocent or guilty according to circumstances. It is a mere pose to assume that all church members who dance and play cards do so with troubled consciences. In the greatest number of cases there is not the slightest reason why their consciences should be uneasy, since they are doing no wrong. The original Puritanical attitude was one of hatred to all amusements. Of this perverse feeling toward the brighter side of life the Methodist Church inherited perhaps more than its rightful share. There was former ly a little too much insistence upon the "vale of tears" aspect of the world, and not enough recognition of its sun shine. To the modern mind it seems regrettable that mental energy should be expended In preventing conduct which harms nobody, when there Is so much going on which reeks with un deniable evil. Suppose the Methodist Church should forget about dancing for a few years and turn Its attention to the subject of white slavery. Would there be any real loss of moral in fluence? The question of card-playing looks a little diaphanous beside that of child labor. The truth seems to be that the old rule in the discipline stands more for tradition than for reality. The genuine Issues of mod ern life will Inevitably push it into the background whether it Is ever for mally repealed or not. WHV THIS VOTER IS COXFl'SED. VEXTtDESOME, SOT PROGRESSIVE , Judge George Does Not Think: Well of I Term Misapplied to Those Who Rnih , second Choice. PORTLAND. May 2. (To the Editor.) The Oregonlan on Wednesday showed up how each of the nine primary can didates for Sheriff got only a small fraction of the Republicans. Democrats and Socialists registered for the pri mary election. So with the seven aspirants for Circuit Judge and about so so among the applicants for Repre sentative In Congress. You, however, add: "What more con clusive argument for a second choice provision for the primary law?" Thosa who found It only Hobson's choice for first choice will hardly be able to see how a privilege of second choice from the same bunch could Improve the present primary. Take the House leg islative ticket. Among the 26 volun teers many voters found it difficult to vote for one-half they were entitled to choose as first choice, let alone sec ond choice. Many voters thus found themselves practically from one-half to three-fourths disfranchised. How would it do to work it the other way? Instead of enlarging the agony of first choice cut. out a lot of first choice. Instead of trying to force us to make a second choice, where It is difficult to make choice at all, why not cut first choice of House members down from 12 say to only one. Cut oft eleven-twelfths of this troublesome task and only allow the sovereign voter to vote for one, as with delegates to a National convention or nominees for Presidential electors. Seriously, Isn't it about time the peo ple ceased depending on the system of choosing officials solely from among so many purely volunteers and tried to do a little independent selecting lor themselves? What business management would depend on employment of managers and officials solely from voluntary ap plicants Instead of doing a little whole some looking around itseir tor nrst class material? However, come to think, it would never do at all to select any one recommended by any assembly. M. C. GEORGE. SI.VKI.VG OF PACIFIC IS RETOLD Relates WOILD ROOSEVELT BOLT? Roosevelt's furious attacks on Presi dent Taft during the pre-conventlon campaign have given rise to the ques tion in the minds of many persons whether he will abide by the decision of the convention in case he shall not be the nominee. The question was directly asked htm In Massachusetts by the Taft League. It was not an swered by him. but Thomas W. Law son volunteered an answer. Lawson said the question could be answered only by Roosevelt, adding: No man answers questions for Roosevelt or Influence him In Ms answers. 1 bat s why w want him. Lawson answers on his own ac count: If Rooeve!t should b tonsue-tlsd. and If It were, ths good fortune of hla friends to be allowed to answer, this Is what tbey ould say: "The Republican convention will bs In ths handa of two kinds of delegates, on kind appointed by the bosses, the other chosen br the people at their primaries. It ths majority of ths people delesalea. those sent to the convention by the people, do not want th opportunity of voting- for Roosevelt In November, well and good. If they do they will get It. It It take every drop of blood every friend of Hooveit to gat it xor of tbem." That means. If It means anything, hat the Roosevelt men will deny the right to a voice In the convention of any delegates who have not been elect ed at -a. Presidential preference pri mary and that. If the majority of all he delegates shall nominate Taft. hile the majority of the delegates elected at Presidential primaries vote for Roosevelt, the Roosevelt men will bolt. But will Roosevelt himself bolt? He has not' answered that question. and Lawson refuses to answer it for him. The Taft League asked the follow ing question in the same advertisement: If you ars suecaastul In this campaign will you be a candidat for a fourth term 7 In thl anewer la "so." will It nave, in a me meaning a your statement on Novem ber 4. ISO: "Under no circumstsncea will I again b a candidal" T Neither Roosevelt nor any of hla backers has vouchsafed an answer. The question and the lack of an an swer may have played a large part In deciding the majority of Massachu setts voters to prefer Taft A HAPPT MEDft M. The gift business seems to have been rather overdone by Dr. D. K. Pearsons, recently deceased at the age of 91. since, according to a late report, he had scarcely enough funds to his credit when he died to cover the expenses of a very modest funeral and a simple burial. This is In sharp contrast to the manner In which most rich men dinpose of their resources, and of the pomp and display Indulged at their funerals. It would seem that a happy medium might be possible In matters of this kind. It Is not incumbent upon any man so to Impoverish himself In philanthropic giving as to leave upon his posterity, or. as In this case, upon his nearest of Vln. the necessity of providing him rith attendance In hla final illness and burying him when he dies. Nor Is it seemly for the rich man to order costly caparisons of woe for his own funeral and a monument to tell to the world that he once lived, neglecting In the meantime to provide for the necessi ties of some who had claims of blood upon him. The act of one is no more in excess of reasonable personal obli gation than Is that of the other. The man who accumulates 36.000,000 and RELAXING THE DISCIPLINE. The general conference of the Meth odlst Episcopal Church, which meets In Minneapolis this year, has under taken to deal with two vitally lmpor tant topics. The first is the relation of the church to the problem of pov erty, the second relates to "worldly amusements." Shall the old rigor of the discipline regarding card-playing, the theater, and so on, be relaxed ? The conference has received a com mittee report on poverty and the labor question which will no doubt stir up lively debate. The report takes ad vanced ground. It favors the abate ment of child labor, radical reduction of working hours, equitable profit- sharing, old age pensions and com pensation for industrial accidents. It Is not to be supposed that the confer ence will go all lengths with its com mittee, but the report shows which way the wind blows in this great Prot. estant denomination. More and more the social doctrines of the Savior are penetrating his churches, and it is rea sonable to expect that before a great while they will lead to decisive action The proposal to relax the discipline in regard to worldly amusements has long been under debate. In its origin the Methodist Church took a radical stand upon this subject. The disci pline condemned card-playing, danc ing, theater-going, gay attire, light conduct of every sort. The members were urged to keep themselves In a "prayerful state of mind" at all times and make no concessions to the world, the flesh and the devil. This rule was comparatively easy to follow In the early days of the church, because most of Wesley's followers were very hum ble people. Welsh and Cornish min ers, middle class Englishmen in pro vincial towns, pioneers In the United States were not much tempted to at tend theaters or wear silks and dia monds. Dancing, of course, was a dlf ferent matter. People can dance wrier ever there is a fiddler with his fiddle and. in spite of the discipline. Metho dist boys and girls have done their full share of it. But now conditions have altered in the church. Among its membership are many people of wealth and social aspiration. They feel it a hardship not to be permitted to conduct themselves like others in their social circles as long as they do no actual wrong. With this change in the economic standing of its membership has arisen an insistent demand for the repeal or amendment of the old rule of the dis cipline. Naturally there is a conserva tive party which objects to change. This party argues that the repeal of the rule would be a step downward from the Ideals of the church. Even if members cannot live up to the stand ards, still there ought to be no con cessions In "theory. Something ought to be retained to estimate the extent of our failures by. Disinterested outsiders will naturally ask why not comprom ise? Take, for example, the rule for bidding theaters to church members. There are plays which are unquestion ably depraving and there are others which nobody can witness without moral elevation. Some plays are pro foundly instructive for adults, while they are not at all proper for the young. It ought to be possible to dis criminate between the good and the bad. There is a moral lesson In "Ib sen's Ghosts." which church member need as badly as other people. On the other hand. "The Girl From Rector's" or "The Merry Widow" Is not a fit entertainment either for saints or sin ners: Mature men and women will find their consciences searched to the very depths by such a play as "Mrs. Warren' Profession." but It would be rash to permit a young girl to wit ness it. It would seem as if the church might be able to draw a line between the desirable and the evil In the the ater. If the rule were so modified as to permit members to enjoy artistic The Vancouver, B. C, boy who shot himself rather than go to school was not necessarily a maniac. At his age, 14 years, a boy Is usually more or less of a puzzle to his friends. He requires careful study and expert han, dllng to get the best results. This boy's father tried to drive him to school. Argument would have been better. A vacation in the woods might have settled the difficulty amicably. Two or three months' rough work in a machine shop may have been what the boy needed. We cannot but believe that his suicide w-as brought about by somebody's lack of common sense. The quiet reception of the speeches in the home rule debates in Parlia ment Indicates that the British mind has become., reconciled to Justice for Ireland. The old terror of Irish .dis loyalty has passed away because there Is no cause for it. Irishmen will be loyal to the government which treats them fairly. When they are wronged they will be turbulent. England has learned this lesson by the sad experi ence of centuries and now she seem ready to act upon it. Recent estimates place the amount of improved land In the United States at about a quarter of Its whole area. This give almost 500,000,000 acres in crops. If the average profit were $100 per acre, as it might be. the farmers would have $50,000,000,000 every year to spend for automobiles and dia monds. As a matter of fact, they have four or five billions, perhaps a tenth of what nature Is ready to give. The difference depends on education. Survivor of Wreck of 1S75 Incidents of Disaster. PORT STANLEY. Ontario, April 27. (To the Editor.) Through the kindness of Mr. W. F. Forbes, of your city, I received a copy of The Oregonlan in which there Is an article on the loss of the steamer Pacific off Cape Flattery on the night of November 4, 1875. It states that there were only two sur vivors, Nelly Henly and H. F. Jelly, who died since. I am very glad to hear that Mr. Henly is alive and well and as you will see by this letter. I am still alive and well. 1 knew her list of passengers reg istered some 238 and 70 of a crew and about DO Chinese, making a total of 398, but there were a lot on her that never registered, I being one of them. The late Mr. Francis, who was then United States Consul in Victoria, B. C. nd afterwards United States Consul at St. Thomas, Ontario, told me that they had undoubted evidence that there were 611 lives lost on the vessel. Mr. D. W. Higgins, ex-Speaker of the British Columbia Legislature, has written a book on early days in Brit ish Columbia entitled. "The Mystic Spring, and Other Stories." Included is the story of the wreck, which he calls. 'Into the Jaws of Death, In which he says that over 600 went down on her. Her captain's name was J. D. Howell, not Farrell. as you have It. Mr. Henly was adrift for 84 hours and was picked up by the United States revenue cutter Oliver Woolcot. I was picked up some 38 hours after the wreck by the ship Messenger, of Boston, Captain I. F. Gilkey. Of him and Dr. Miner, of Port Townsend, I shall al ways have the fondest remembrance for tne kindness shown to me. Had I been one of their own they could not have done more for me. It was merely by chance that I was saved, as it was all over In about 20 minutex after tne collision. H. F. JELLY. With a steamer of the American- Hawaiian line sailing from Portland every eleven days to connect with other steamers running from the east ern terminus of the Tehuantepec rail road. Portland will have ample cheap transportation facilities for her pres- And oft the sailor's heart was chilled THE WRECK OF THE TITAXIC. From the desolate Polar sea. Like a specter cold and gray. An Iceberg drifted south Down the ocean s broad highway. Into Deep Water. MEDFORD, Or., May 1. (To the Edi tor.) Everyone declares he has pro gresstveness. Therefore, it must be something to be desired. But what is it? To the sage it is a thing of integ rity, honor and virtue. To the knave it is an alluring method of obtaining something for nothing, a sort of get-rlch-qulck scheme. Today it ig in everybody's minds, on everybody's tongue, like certain songs that have required legislative action to suppress them. Webster defines "progress," to make Improvement, and "progressive" as an advancing or improving. Therefore, a method can be determined whether it is progressive or not only by results. If it brings Improvement it was pro gressive, if it lands you wrong It was reactionary. Today we are in an unusual state of social, moral, financial and political flux. Everybody seems to have the "bug" or the "germ" or the "microbe" or whatever It is, and the evidences of the "rash" or "disability" or "hydro phobia" are seen on every hand. But out of it all let us hope that the wis dom of the sage may outweigh the folly of the knave and so escape the deadfalls of the past. History is an open book and deduc tions may be tuly made. Self-preservation is still the ruling law of nature and always will be. Therefore, selfish ness will always be manifested because pain and pleasure, which are the direct ing principles of life, are direct in their application to self. The purview of government is to check abnormal selfishness and his tory's page Is 6o befouled with the rec ord of experience that he who runs should be able to read. It has been said that progress is nature's law. Strictly speaking this is not true. Na ture's law Is motion, and progress is but a corollary, an incident. If you please, dependent entirely upon the ad vantages which may be taken of given condition. Motion may be in the direction of progress, but it is Jutt as liable to be In the line of retrogression as it Is to be in the line of progression. All ac tlon which has a special object must be directed long the line of logic, which takes cognizance of past experi ence. Human nature Is always the same because It is the outgrowth of the law of pain and pleasure, which are direct In their effect; therefore history repeats Itself, and from this experience we take our cue. If a man unable to swim, wishing to cross an unknown stream, were to wade boldly in only to find himself swept away by an irrestible current, could he be said to be as truly pro gressive as the man who first measures the water and, finding it rather swift and deep, puts on a life-preserver? His experience may cause him to learn to swim and it may not. The second man is more secure. One Is a radical progressive, the other Is a conservative progressive. The one follows the red flag, the tin whis tle and the rattle-pan. The other fol lows the Stars and Stripes, the fife and drum. The one advocates the abolition of the Legislature, tile Supreme Court, the National Congress and the United States Supreme Court, allowing the people direct control, which is an ir resistible current that will sweep them all away. The other puts on the life preserver by selecting the best talent obtainable to represent them in the matter of control, whose duty it is to safeguard the public Interest by the enactment of Such laws as will meet the requirements. If the laws are weak it does not fol low that the life-preserver should be abolished, but that the laws should be strengthened, as their weakness ap pears. If the elective franchise Is not properly adjusted; if public highways are not sufficiently, equitably and economically constructed; if the public education, morals and health are not receiving proper support, if taxation is an unequal burden, then the man who makes improvement in these things is. according to Webster, a "Progressive." Does it not appear as a more safe and sane method than to begin by abol ishing the state Legislature and follow ing such a course to its legitimate con clusion, which is to ultimately turn over the three departments of gov ernment, namely, the legislative, the executive and the Judicial, to the direct control of the people, which is the simon pure Socialism? C. E. WHISLER. Half a Century Ago From Th Oregonlan of May 3. 1862. A dispatch from Salt Lake, dated April 22. has the following Intelligence: "The Indians east of here have been committing depredations upon the mail company for the last two months until at the present time they have entire con trol of the route. They have stolen nearly all the stock from the route, killed several of the employes and have burned one station. They threaten the entire destruction of the overland mail and telegraph. The mail com pany have discontinued the running of the mail for the present and will' not attempt to run the route until troops are placed along it to protect them. There Is a report that eisht men were killed by the Indians yesterday. There is also a report that a fight is now going on east of Fort Bridger between the employes and the Indians. Washington. April 22. Richmond pa pers of yesterday contain telegraphio reports of the landing of our forces at Elizabeth City. N. C. and of the en gagement at that point. They admit that their forces retreated to Dismal Swamp Canal with a loss of 38 killed and wounded. Washington. April 22. The special committee in the case of Stark, of Ore- . gon. predicate their report on evidence, presented before the judiciary com mittee of the Senate. Washington, April 23. The War de partment has received a dispatch from General Banks. His advance is near Harrisonberg. Jackson has abandoned the Valley of Virginia permanently and Is now en route to Gordonsville by way of the mountains. The last rebel Cabinet, the new Cabi net of President Davis. has been formed. For Secretary of State. .1. 1". Benjamin, of Louisiana: Secretary of War, George W. Randolph, of Virginia; Secretary of the Navy, S. K. Mallory, of Florida; Secretary of the Treasury, C. G. Memminger, of South Carlolina: Attorney-General, Thomas Watts; Postmaster-General, William Reagan, of Texas. In consequence of the impossibility of transporting the large quantities of freight now at the Cascades, over the portage, wo learn that the steamers hera will not receive any more freight forthe upper country until next week, at which time the railroad is expected to be completed. Scarcely a day passes that we do not see a number of horsemen mounted on small specimens of cayuse horses, charging through the streets at a John Gilnin rate, to the consternation and danger of women and children. One frolicsome Individual was piled into mo middle of the street by the playful an tics of his "milkwhite steed." After he had risen to his feet, he remembered that -Wchfoot horses behaved more singular than he had ever before rid." He was a Caliiornian. The new whart at the foot of Alder street Is nearly completed. As "Ed" Howe Sees Life ent needs. The new line will give our friends In the interior ocular demon stration that water competition with the railroads for transcontinental traffic Is a fact, not a theory. The Ohio constitutional convention has rejected the recall after all the efforts made to procure its adoption. As a substitute, it has adopted a pro posal authorizing the Legislature to enact a law providing for an impeach ment commission with power to re move any offending official. A blow Is thus struck at the "new charter of democracy" in the very city where It was formulated. In the "good old days" of boss rule. delegates were willing to be delivered to whomsoever the boss willed, but in hese bad, new days of Insurgency hey refuse to be delivered, even at the behest of the Imperious Colonel. There Is no better evidence of need of drastic remedy for prevention of crime than the presence of father and son in the Indiana Penitentiary, the elder for life and the younger under death sentence. We shall soon see whether Governor West's heart will bleed more for the Humphrys brothers than for the worn an whom they murdered on. her lonely ranch. The dilemma of a majority for Pres idential preference revives the old trouble over unit rule that began the undoing of Roscoe Conkllng. A few Japs fishing at Magdalena Bay ill be no cause for alarm whpn the Pacific fleet numbers sixteen battle- hips. From the Lewiston district come re ports of excellent fruit prospects and that region always produces the goods. What will the Seattle policemen do when a drnnk and disorderly shows fight? Stick him with a hatpin? Just to be in line with general Ore gon prosperity, the state treasury has a few millions surplus on hand. New Tork has grown stale since General Dix issued his famous order to compel respect for the flag. Now It is Bill Flinn who rules Pennsylvania, the state famous for its "Bills," good and bad. In this 'squabble of the creamery men the man who owns the cows gets the worst, as usual. Governor West has changed his prison tactics in discharging from the top. And hushed the sailor's song. When he felt the breath of that Angel of Death As It silently moved along. When night came down on the waters. And through clouds of misty lace. The stars shone bright as beacon light From windows in endless space. A wonderful floating city. Like a fairy tale corns true; A marvel of might In radiance white, Sailed out from the distance blue. Thousands there were within it. Earth's greatest and children small: Secure In the thought that this triumph had wrought , Safety whate'er might befall. With Jest and laughter ringing. Wtth feast and dance and song, . And the lilting music swinging. Gaily they sailed along. None saw in the silvery shadows A pilot with kingly face. Point out through a mystic channel The sea beyond Time and Place. They felt the shock but a moment And, ere mind could plan relief. The ice caught the ship in its deadly grip And crumpled It like a leaf. Ever the swinging music Pealed out with a joyous thrill. Though hushed were the laughing voices And the dancing feet grew still. Then quietly each hero His help and cheer did give. When the last small boat was sent afloat He stayed that another might live. And the ship, while the band soft play ing Throbbed. "Nearer, My God. to Thee," Like a heaving monster shuddering, Plunged headlong in the sea. There rose from the starlit waters Such cries no tongue can tell. Of the anguished men and women Calling their last farewell. Till, like the arms of a mother. Soft waves around them closed. And hushed their weary moaning To a calm and deep repose. Oh. weep for the dreary waiting Of the mourners who are iert; Not for the ones who so lightly Death of its terror bereft. Facing the unknown for others What and wnerever it oe, Swaying out with the music Into God's beautiful sea. Yes. over all he ruleth And watching all he stands. While grief and ill are molded still To good within his hands. And above the world-wide wailing The message rings again "Man's brotherhood to man And love for his fellowmen." SARAH HINDS WILDER. 190S East Stark street. ARGl'MEMT Tl'RXEU ON OPPONENTS If Suffrage Question Has Supplanted Bridge, It's Good Thing. PORTLAND. May 2. (To the Editor.) We hear through Miss Martin, of the antis, that women have taken up suf frage as a fad instead of bridge play ing. It has been hinted in an editorial in The Oregonlan today that Miss Martin has not yet marshaled her facts, al though she has plunged into the fray. Whether or not she accidentally stum bled on a fact we will not stop to in quire, but will pass on to say that if this great good has already been ac complished by the suffrage agitation. It has not been in vain. Preachers have declaimed, priests have denounced, homes have been wrecked, children neglected, husbands driven to desperation and disgust, leg islation contemplated to put an end to it, but through it all women, lovely women, went on calmly playing bridge. If suffrage has even partially served to rid the land of this soul-destroying plague It has worked a miracle and de serves the support of every earnest per son. But it would take a brain of strange caliber ever to confound a suf fragist with a bridge-player. MRS. A. E. CLARK. Men will not make the great effort necessary to quit tne lonaccu urnm. but how cheerfully they make the great effort necessary to learn it! I have been looking for an excuse to buy a $900 touring car, but I notice that the best the manufacturer will say is that it is as good as the best for that money. Praise, however exaggerated, is al ways nearer the truth than abuse. At a party, when a woman is present who can really sing, before the guests get her to the piano they are worn out with coaxing. Many of the great heroes with whom we shame ourselves not only did not perform the great deeds we attribute to them, but they never existed. There are some very good fellows among cow ards. I have noticed that every lecturer comes well recommended, and that some one says he has' "a message" all should hear. but don't overshoot the is constantly peppering Aim high, enemy, who you. You should get no message from your brain or heart that Is not somewhere near the truth. You occasionally hear a burst of in dignation greater than the facts war rant. An ideal means something that you are likely to be disappointed in. Music and Copyright. PORTLAND, April 27. (To the Edi tor.) 1 have the time and words for an original song, but as I know nothing of music Itself, how should I proceed in order to have the words and music copyrighted before they are published, having the music written by someone else? HARRY W. SMITH. Verses may be copyrighted but a tune cannot be copyrighted before it is put In written form. A publisher would not have the right to publish copy righted verses In music form without the consent of the holder of the copy right. There are several instructors in instrumental music in Portland compe tent to set an air to music. If one ob tains the services of a reputable har monizer there Is no danger that the air will be stolen. New Special Features of The Sunday Oregonian John McCntcheon's Pirate Tales The famous cartoonist and story teller has prepared a new and striking series. The first, "Dif ferent Kinds of Pirates," will appear Sunday. Illustrated by a num ber of typical McCuteheon drawings. Jests by our Grandfathers. A half page of the jokes that wer-3 in vogue half a century and more ago. Social Leaders Who Could Work. An illustrated page on noted women who could take up remunerative vocations should fate so decree. Our Amateur Gardeners. A whole page on how the school chil dren are converting Portland's back yards into productive gardens. Great Love Letters. Another of Laura Jean Libbey's interesting articles, elaborately illustrated. No More Public Life for Us. This is what 14 Congressmen say. They have had enough and they tell why. Two Complete Short Stories. "'Westward, Ho," a rural comedv, and "Sister Martin's Circus Prayer." A homely tale with a touch of pathos. The Jamp-ups. They go to sea, with dire results. Sambo, ties up a giant, Mr. Boss gets a wetting, Hairbreadth Harry, Slim Jim and Mrs. Timekiller have fresh exploits. MANY OTHER FEATURES. Order Today From Your Newsdealer.