"irv so xr, OKIT.OXTAN. TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 1912.
$t (Ditrrnnimt
PORTf-AXI). ORrOOJ.
Bnlirtd a. Portland, oresoa, PeatoCfloa aa
Second-elasa Mattar.
Suoaorlnuea kaiaa Invariably la Alnan
BT MAIU)
Tall, Sunday Included. M yaar lift
J'.lly. Sunday Included, all month.... 411
I I y. Sunday Included, thre month.. IH
L'aily, Sunday Included, en month.... .71
I'Biiy. without Sunday, ana yaar...... ?
I'ally. without Sunday, ala month .... a. In
foally. without Sunday, thraa montha... 1.7J
I. ally, without Sunday, en Booth .ss
WmHi, on yaar
Sunday,. on yaar
Sunday aad Weekly, on yee.
BT CARRIER.)
Pally. Sunday Included, an yaar ?
lally. Sunday Included, ona month....
How te lunalt Snd Poetofflre money -dr.
ospreea order or personal check T
local hank. Stamp, com or currency are
at th sender's rule Olra postofflee aaaroee
In full. Including county and atat.
Potas Kates 10 to 14 paa. 1 cant:
lo 2 pa if esais; 0 to 4u pas. ent
i to so pafa. 4 easts. Kerala poete,
Soubla rata.
fcaatera Bosuaeea Office Vrr at Conk
lln Hmw Tors, HrunswlcB bulldlBS
esse, Stsr building-.
koropeea Office Me. I Ksal trt
fl.. London. ,
rORTLAND, TrKWOAT. JfNK .
RUUSKtKLT ANU 1MMT.
Colonel Roosevelt is bring per
suaded, apparently, that hi "war on
Hoot for chairman Is likely to fall.
The Colonel I entitled to his own tern
porary chairman If he can get such a
chairman; but ho would have to have
abaolut matery of the convention,
and to be able to convince the dele
gates that the National committee was
' Inspired by a hostile purpose In nam
ing Root and that he would not get
fair play. But he knows, and all
know, that all factions and all Inter
ests will be given a bearing and a
full opportunity for action with Mr.
Itoot as chairman.
Mr. Roosevelt's friends argue that
the National committee has no right
to designate the temporary chairman,
nnd that the convention Itself alone
has that power. It I undoubtedly
within the right and authority of the
convention to have Its own temporary
chairman; but the convention seldom
asserts It. 'only once has the .choice
of the committee been rejected. In
1884. the National committee selected
General Powell Clayton, a Southern
politician: but the convention substi
tuted John R. Lynch, a mulatto and a
Mlssisalpplan who was widely and
favorably known. The convention's
sole motive was to please the negro
vote. The change was not In the In
terest of any candidate; nor did the
controversy take that form.
The National committee has had a
large voice In the affairs of National
conventions, because the committee la
the party's machinery, and until re
cently organised service by recog
nised party leaders ha. been
thought t- be Indispensable. The
committee has arranged all the
preliminaries of all National conven
tions, even to the extent of hearing
and determining contests. If the con.
ventlon Is not pleased with any recom
mendation or decision. by the commit,
tee. It has but to reject It. But the
'work of hearing all contests would be
Interminable; and no convention has
ever been willing to undertake It
Therefore the committee has done It.
The National committee made an
exceedingly wise choice in Root. It
put Colonel Roosevelt to a great disad.
vantage, because his own following
would not likely adopt the extreme
method of upsetting precedent, humili
ating the National committee and at
once converting a great party gather.
Ing Into a mere factional convention
without ample Justification.
rr.NAIJZIMU THE SALOON.
Governor Vest's proposal that the
saloons of the state should be rr quired
to take care of the wrecks they make
has the merit of exact Justice, The
saloons should be penalized for the
minds they blight, bodies they ruin and
homes they devastate. But the diffi
culty will be to lodge the responsibility
for sparine eases In any saloon or alt
the saloons.
Where does individual accountabil
ity for the mischief wrought by liquor
end and the accountability of the sa
loon begin? We hardly think the Gov
ernor means to say that the saloons
are to blame for It all. Nor do we
think that any measure, however Just
ly Inspired and however wisely de
signed, could be made effective in
bringing the saloon alone to bar for
the . evils caused by liquor. For all
liquor drinking Is not In the saloons;
nor Is all drunkenness caused there:
nor are all vicious habits formed nor
bad companions found there. Enough
are, God knows.
rrobnbly the Governor means to tax
the saloons for support of Inebriate
asylums, or for Inebriates In the gen
eral Insane asylum. We favor taxing
the saloons all the traffic will bear
every cent, every farthing. But tax
ing the saloon more than the traftlo
will bear means fewer saloons and
more epeak-easle. deadfalls, kitchen
bars and the whole lot of secret and
Illicit hellholes. That means not less
liquor drunk, but more, or as much;
and more drunkenness, or as much.
"We taxthe saloon heavily now as
salve to conscience and as a contribu
tion to the public funds as a sort of
offset to the harm liquor does. If the
Governor can find a way to put the
whole compensatory burden on the sa
loon. In the same way that other In
dustries must care for their wounded
and maimed. The Oregonlan -will be
with him.
THK rNITF.t) STATIC TKRHl'M BRAZIL.
The Government's suit aa-alnat the
coffee trust Is unique In being the
first suit against a trust In which a
foreign government Is directly Inter?
e.ited. The valorization scheme was
adopted by the State of Sao Paulo and
sided by the Brazilian government by
the guaranty of the loan which made
Its success possible, and by the Impo
sition of a surtax on coffee exports In
excess of a certain figure. The United
States Is therefore attacking In our
rourts the government ofHrasll and
one of the states of that federation.
The controversy Is not only legal, but
political.
. That the valorisation scheme was
designed to raise the price of coffee
arbitrarily Is admitted by Its authors,
and that It has had that effect can
not be denied, though other causes
rrley have contributed to the advance
of nearly 100 per cent since 1106,
Even the financial Journals, which are
ordinarily the most etarwart defenders
of the trusts, admit this, one of them.
the Chronicle of New York, saying:
Our nwn opinion, ha hean from th start
that the valorisation plan wa economically
unsound, representing, a it dnea, an erni
trary and unnatural tnlorfereno with th
tours of Industry.
it also adds that the Government
has made out a plausible case of re
straint of trade.
But the suit must Inevitably have
serious effect on our relations not only
with Brazil but with other Latin-
American countries. The Brazilian
government Is In effect a defendant in
the suit and may regard it aa an un
friendly act calling for diplomatic
protest and perhaps for fiscal retalia
tion. Such a complication would be
particularly unfortunate at a time
when we are exerting ourselves to
expand our commerce with Latin
America and are looking to the Pan
ama Canal to aid us towards that
most desirable end.
It la by no means certain that Bra
zil cannot avoid all complications.
place all parties to the valorization
plan outside the Jurisdiction of our
courts and defeat the purpose of the
suit The valorization syndicate has
four or five tlmee as much coffee
stored In Europe as In the United
States. It could easily store Its whole
supply la Europe and sail there to
American buyer, who would be "In
nocent third parties." There would
then be no person or property In the
United States over which our courts
could take Jurisdiction.
The only course, other than forcing
dissolution of the syndicate, by which
we can restore the price of coffee to
a normal level la by stimulating com
petition with Brazilian growers. The
coffee Industry flourishes In Central
America and the product could be
much Increased In that region If. by
such treaties as those with Nicaragua
and Honduras, we could promote tran
quillity and Just government. By the
same means we might Increase the
production of Santo Domingo "and
other West India Islands. Hawaii
also Is capable of greatly Increasing
her output. In the course of a few
yeara Brazil's supremacy as the great
source of the world' coffee supply
might be destroyed, and Brazil might
be compelled either to throw her sur
plus stock on th market or to destroy
It, as ha already been proposed.
MR. WVTKI" CLEAR IT IT.
The Oregonlan haa today a letter
from George Wat kins, at Marahfleld,
explaining the Roosevelt phenomenon.
We have not the pleasure of Mr. Wat.
kins' acquaintance, but' we wish we
had He Is somebody worth knwlng.
He understands perfectly th psychol
ogy of the Roosevelt movement and
expounds powerfully the philosophy
of the Roosevelt cult. Mr. Roosevelt
gets there with both feet though
occasionally minus an ear or no, and
a trifle bunged up otherwise. ' But ha
gets there; therefore the people are
for him.
When the Colonel finds a head In
his way he crack It though he often
learns afterwards that he has bruised
op a friend. But he has no time to
ask or receive explanations. All he
know Is that he has his eye focused
on th goal, and. If there Is an ob
stacle In the way. It must be removed.
The quickest and simplest method Is
to eject It bodily. If he cannot hurdle
It. Therefore the Colonel does one
or the other, and pushes on.
We are nt disposed to question Mr.
Watklns' enthusiastic statement that
Colonel Roosevelt has don more for
the common uplift than any thousand
living men. It would be hard to show
that at the time of President Roose
velt' greatest activity for th square
deal, when the doctrine was new, any
thousand men had as much influence
for that beneficent aim as the Colo
nel, There are a few persons. Indeed,
who might be mentioned as having
done some things recently for the man
underneath, some of them perhaps a
trifle more than a thousandth as
much as Roosevelt has done; but we
will refrain. Let Mr. Watklns have
It his way. And Colonel Roosevelt
too. The Colonel usually has it any
way. We like Mr. Watklns' frank eulogy
of the Colonel. He put In graphkj
words the sentiments that ar In the
minds id hearts of many millions.
There are many people who do not
understand the Roosevelt furor and
the stubborn loyalty of so many people
to Roosevelt despite his known short
comings. ' Mr. Watklns explains It all.
WHV CF.RMANT CONTIXCE TO ARM.
Viscount lialdane's efforts to bring
sbout an Anglo-German agreement for
restriction of armaments are being
seconded by leading men of both na
tions, who are not discouraged by th
Increase of the German army and navy
authorized by the Reichstag;. Profes
sor Stein haa published a numberof
articles in favor of an agreement by
prominent unions and Germans In the
magazine "Nord und 8ud." One of
these, by ex-Premler Balfour, disavows
th belief that the bulk of the German
peopl desire to attack Britain. He ex
plains, however, that th co-existence
of Qermany's military and naval arma
ment with her policy of development
which can only be carried out through
territorial expansion, constitutes a
threat of war to those nations, which
hinder that policy. He says of
Germany:
Sh can teach Eurnpa that arraalsad mili
tary power can ha used aa affaotually In tha
lntrt of pease aa la tho of war: that
tha appetite of domination batons to an out.
worn phase of patriotism; that tha forbear
snra of clvllliatlon mut ba th joint work
of many peoples, and that tha taak la not
Usutened by tha tremendous burden of mod
r armaments. II aha la prepared to load
oa theaa Una, aha will find tha world pre
pared lo follow: but If thar ar st(ns that
har desires point to other objects, can tt
be surprising that other countries will watch
the steady growth of her powero of ersree
alon with unrilseulaad alarm and anxloual
consider arhema for mtlns what thay hare
oen srivsn to resara aa a common danger!
In substance Mr. Balfour asks Ger
many to forego her ambition for ex
pansion In exchange for the leadership
of the world in the ways of peace. Is
It probable that Germany will ex
change what ah considers th solid
advantages of territorial, and conse
quent commercial expansion, for such
sentimental advantage T
The Germans are an eminently prac.
tloal people. They have awakened to
the necessity of an outlet abroad for
their overflowing population, where
the emigrants will not be permanently
lost to Germany, at a time when they
find all the available colonies In Asia,
Africa and Australia already In th
possession of other nations. Germany
Is excluded from South America, th
only other field open for exploitation.
by the Monroe doctrine. Germany has
seen millions of her people emigrate
to the Lnlted States, hundreds of thou
sands to England and other countries.
to lose their German nationality. Her
population Is crowding the capacity of
the empire, to sustain It Could th
surplus be transplanted to German
colonies, they would continue to con
tribute to the greatness of the empire.
Then why should Germany restrict
her armaments and forego her ambl
tlonT By the threat of war she in
duced France to surrender a large sllc
of the Congo. By the same mean she
might fore Britain to give up a part
of her world-wide dominions to be
com German colonies. By the sam
means she may force the United State
to recede from the Monroe doctrine, if
the Democrats force us to sink to fifth
rank among naval powers by their
"Little American policy. If she can
force Britain to give ber another sllc
of Africa and a sphere of Influence In
Persia, and the United States to coun
tenanee th seizure of part of Brazil
by the mere spectacle of her powerful
army and navy, why should she not
arm?
Mr. .Balfour's sppeal reads much
like the cry of peace of one who has
already gathered In all the spoils. It
also resembles a cry of distress from
one who cannot keep up the pace In
armament set by Germany. There is,
therefore, every reason why Germany,
from the standpoint of self-interest
should persist In her present policy.
ROOarVELfg WONDEXFTL TIGHT.
Whether Theodore Roosevelt cap
tures the Republican nomination or
not, whether on favors his nomina
tion or not the fight he haa made to
secure it and th onward sweep of his
success will go down as one of the
most striking episodes In American
history. The campaign he haa made
proves him one of the most .wonder
ful fighters the world bas known.
The Roosevelt boom was started In
January, apparently for no other pur
pose than to kill off th La Follette
boom, which was alone feared by th
Taft men at that time. They thought
so little of It that they did not dream
of Its becoming a serious factor In
the campaign. . But It grew In spite
of them, in spite of his renunciation
of a third term. It received a tem
porary check from his .refusal to de
clare himself, but it, revived when he
announced his' willingness to respond
If th people called. Still the trend
seemed to be against It The letter
of th seven Governors did not bring
forth th expected, popular demand.
La Follette' Philadelphia speech
failed to eliminate th Senator, tha
Columbus speech fell flat on South
ern delegation after another was In
structed for Taft In March. Roosevelt
was beaten In North Dakota, Colorado,
Indiana, Kentucky, and lost hie own
State - of New Tork. He finished
with only 40 delegates.
But th more things went against
him th harder he fought Illinois
gave him his first real opportunity In
a direct primary and he seized It He
began a series of assaults on his oppo
nents In that State with a speech at
Chicago, where the whole population
seemed to have turned out to hear
him. He tore through th State, In
different to th opposition of the
leaders and the officials and captured
of th SS delegates by a plurality
of 140.000.
That was the turning point and his
victories have since been almost unln.
terruoted. New TorV and Vermont
shrank from instructing their dele
gates against him. He went through
Pennsylvania, dethroned Penrose and
added tl more delegates to bis total.
Oregon and Nebraska fell tn line for
him without hearing him. Iowa gave
hlrn a temporary check, but Missouri
compensated for it Massachusetts,
proverbially conservative, became the
hope of his opponents, but tne "eat
they could get there was a drawn bat
tle. H won th direct primaries in
Maryland and Colorado, the conven
tions In Idaho, Kansas, North Caro
lina, Minnesota and West Virginia.
Nothing seemed able to stop the on
ward sweep of his columns.
Then came Ohio. Taft himself de
clared that the result ther would be
decisive and made auperhuman exer
tions to in his own state, bat state
loyalty could not stop Roosevelt and
he has five-sixths of the delegates.
After that New Jersey was a foregone
conclusion. He carried all except one
of th eleven direct primary states,
and In that one he scored a tie.
word rnoH rnoFEasoR jawem.
.Since the death of Professor William
James, of Harvard, ther has been a
lively expectation abroad among the
psychic researcher that hia spirit
would sooner or later communicate
with some living person. He died on
August J . 1110. so that plenty of time
seems to have elapsed for htm to es
tablish relations with those left behind
If he desired to do so. That he should
wish to send some message back to
this world was highly probable, for
Professor James always took an ar
dent interest in th occult. Ills atti
tude was that of a sympathetic critic
rather than a convinced devotee, but
still be was deep In the counsels of the
paychio researchers and made with
them many an experiment which Just
barely missed proving that the dead
are alive and able to Impart knowl
edge to the living. In the estimation
of such men as Professor Hyslop, these
experiments did really demonstrate
the hypothesis of th future life, but
on all hands It haa been conceded that
a message from Professor James
would fortify the faith In a most grati
fying degree. Now the longed-for com
munication has come, though perhaps
it lacks something of that acute Intel
lectuality which was so conspicuous In
the philosopher while he walked this
sphere.
In fact there are two Items of
knowledge which he has Imparted to
illuminate our paths through this wil
derness of woe. The first Is that th
Greek letter Omega la his newly
adopted signature In the land beyond.
This comes to us through two women
whom Professor Hyslop calls Mrs.
Smead and Mrs, Chenoweth. A mod
est reluctance on the part of these
women to pone In the glare of fame
moves Professor Hyslop to . conceal
their real names, but that make very
little difference. The messages would
be almost as valuable if they had no
names at all. It seems that both Mrs.
8mead and Mrs. Chenoweth received
Impressions from Professor James
spirit which were of a somewhat ram
bling description. But at the end of
each appeared an unmistakable
Omega. This, of course, proved that
th communications were authentic,
no matter bow silly they might be, in
asmuch as the philosopher's spirit told
Mrs. Chenoweth that he waa going to
adopt the Greek letter for his trans
mundane signature. W must not
permit ourselves to' view this matter
too lightly. Granting that as Profes
sor Hyslop asserts, Mrs. Smead and
Mrs. Chenoweth knew nothing of one
another, we have one of them saying
that Professor James was about to us
Omega for his signature and the other
actually receiving a message, signed
with an Omega. The coincidence seems
at least to require explanation.
The other Information which has
been received from the other world
about Professor James relates to pink
pajamas. Once while he was still alive
a British medium, naturally a wom
an, had a vision of his form clad in all
the splendor of a pair of pink pajamas.
The wide waves of the Atlantic sep
arated the philosopher and th seeress
at that particular moment but never
theless her vision was strictly accurate.
A comparison of times revealed that
at the Identical Instant when the Brit
ish medium was rapt into a glorious
consciousness of pink pajamas Profes
sor James wss Indubitably wearing a
suit of that poetic tint. So far so good.
Now comes a deeper mystery. After
th philosopher's death a boy, the son
of a clergyman and therefore above
all suspicion of mendacity, under the
Inspiration of Professor James spirit
directed somebody to give Professor
Hyslop a set of pink pajamas for a
Christmas present If the reader holds
his breath In amazement we ahall not
be surprised. Marvels of this kind are
enough to give one the creeps.
Seriously, why is it that men of the
brightest Intelligence, like Professor
James, soon as they get rid
of their bodies, seemingly become
gibbering Imbeciles? Many reasons
are assigned for the phenomenon.
The most plausible la that the
sage is obliged to send his remarks
through a medium who Is more than
likely to- be an Ignorant simple
ton. Coming through such a channel.
It need not astonish us to And Shakes
peare's observations sounding mora
like Touchstone than Hamlet and to
hear Professor William James talking
drivel.
Still, it ought to be possible to And
a medium honest and bright enough
to report exactly what a spirit says to
her. If he talks sense and his lan
guage is not too Involved, It ought to
retain some traces of Intelligence when
It Is written down. Another explana
tion of the apparent Idiocy of the sapi
ent dead is that they are absorbed In
the search for facts by which to Iden
tify themselves. For this use broad
statements of trnth are not available.
Nothing can serve to Identify a person
but some circumstance which la pe
culiar to himself and which Is un
known to the world at large. It must
be a secret between the spirit and one
or two living persons at most. When
such a circumstance comes out tn the
speech of a medium, no matter how
trivial It may be Intrinsically, it ac
quires enormous evidential value. The
reference to pink pajamas In Professor
James' x communication through the
minister's sou, looked at In this light
ceases to be ridiculous. .Taken with
other facts of like nature. It might
conceivably lay a foundation for estab
lishing the philosopher's Identity in the
other world. Tall oaks from little
acorns grow. Future historians may
relate with proud appreciation how a
pair of pink pajamas opened up com
munications between the savants of
the living and the unknown world.
A Pacific Coast pageant at the
Panama-Pacific fair should prove fas
cinating to those who are Interested
In the story of the winning of the
West. A country which In less than
a century has become transformed
from a wilderness to the abode of
millions highly advanced In civiliza
tion must have a history crowded
vlth striking characters, and soul
stirrtng Incidents which would delight
those who avert their eyea from the
printed page but who would travel far
to see the living Image of what It re
lates. There will be panic among the
American expatriates in Europe when
they read of the severe measures
taken to collect the Inheritance tax on
the estate of Duchess Consuelo of
Manchester. What will happen to
William Waldorf Astor, "Jimmy"
Hyde and others of their classT They
have fled from the personal property
tax of th United States to become
subject to the more onerous taxes of
the Old World. Is there to be no rest
for the weary, wandering millionaire T
The country will yawn wearily ovef
the news that the beef trust Is going to
be Investigated again. No doubt after
a few years of this Investigation there
will be another Interminable trial with
th same old result. Perhaps the beef
trust Is not above the law, but It I Just
as well to sit down and calmly face
the fact that up to this time all the ap.
paratus of the law has been powerless
to feaze It.
Seven American castaways on an
Islet near Cape Horn have sent a
hurry call for help, fearing cannibals.
Yt, If rescued and brought home,
they would only be Jumping out of the
frying pan Into th fire. If we may
believe half the plaints of the chronic
kickers.
It wasn't the pampered lad who sat
with fond parent In the reserved seat
section that got the most thrills out
of the circus. Rather it wss the be
patched urchin who earned his ticket
carrying water for the elephants.
Ante-convention tranquillity has set
tied over the Democratic fold, It Is
reported. , Probably too much Inter
ested In th great Chicago circus to
experience marked emotions concern
ing their own little one-ring affair.
If the eugenlo faddists want some
thing to do, let them take up the In
fluence of th Influx of th maimed,
th blind and the halt Just now In evl.
dence on alt the streets.
Fashion has decreed that Chlrago
bathers must wear furs this season.
Doubtless there already has been a
rush to ascertain If the gnat Is a fur
bearing animal.
Rendered confident by th verdict
of acquittal, ths beef barons may ask
the House Investigators of meat
prices: "What are you going to do
about it?"
Those who are Inclined to be moved
with sympathy for Lo rimer by his
sickness should recall how suddenly
Morse recovered his health after lib
eration. Dr. Tetta Sllbermark-Retsslg would
better wait until she has seen a West
ern woman kill and dissect a chicken
before declaiming on woman's lack Of
nerve.
It speaks well for Portland's com
placency that Emma Goldman can
come her and rant and th atmos
pher remain unruffled.
If the girls supplant the striking
waiters tn New York, every striker
may be expected to vote against
woman suffrage.
' Now watch the alarmists produce a
Jap to blow up one of the German
warships and start a world-wide war.
Th Mazamaa have learned that
tl.sy must always respect a bull's
esthetic taste In colors.
The perfect harmony among Demo
crats is like unto a circle of wolves
watching a dying buffalo.
"Lady Betty" Is thrifty ss she Jour
neys along the matrimonial highway.
Less hair and broader hips Is the
newest edict. Second counter front
Twss the same old calliope, but not
the familiar tunes.
Use the torch on the caterpillar
nests.
VA.LCC or THE pvblic market
Part ( High Llvtag Test Dae to Prolta
Takes by M Id d leasee.
PORTLAND, June s. (To th Edi
tor.) It was with great Intereat that I
read Th Oregonian's editorial May tl
"Why Life Is Difficult" pertaining to
the high cost of living, and also ths
article in tha Saturday Evening Post
from which you received your inspira
tion. In the conclualon of your edi
torial you state: "What Justifies com
plaint Is the undeniable fact that svery
separate item of food -and clothing,
everything that ltf requires to snake
It tolerable, costs more money now
than it formerly did." This Is very
true. I remember of reading a few days
ago that meat prices are higher now
than any time since the Civil War.
Sine other necesaltles of life ar In
creasing In cost along with It what
will be ths result If the cost of these
articles continues to go higher? Who
dares to predict? A certain writer haa
said. In writing on this subject: "The
earth Is like a bombshell. The high
coat of living Is the fuse. The fu
has burned nearly to the shell, (tome
thing Is about to happen. Kllhrr the
LP re IU be put out and ail will be well.
or ine ore win noi DC pui out and a:i
will be belt" I cannot believe that
such will be our fat, but It does seem
that the time has arrived when some
thing should be done to rollove th con
suming mass from as many burdens as
possible.
Of course, it Is very tru that a great
deal of our high ooet of living is due
to what Mr. Hill terras "the cost of
high living." and for this, as you state,
we should not complain, sine w ar
not willing to return to th old order
of living, but ther la on cause for
theaa high prices for necessities that
stands out so conspicuously, aad which
can be easily eliminated. At least hun
dreds of cities In Germany and England
have actually proven ' that it can be
done, and also several of our owa
cities have likewise done so.
For instance, not so very long ago
the City of Des Moines. la elected a
Mayor who seemed to be conscious of
the fact that the people's Interests were
hie Interests. He at once discovered
that his people were paying 13 for 100
pounds of potatoea. whilo tha people
In -Dubuque, hla neighbor city, were
paying only tl.60 for 100 pounds. Cu
cumbers wer selling st 14 cents each
In Da Moines, while In Dubuqu th
consumers wore only paying 30 cents
for a dozen of them. Other necessities
of life were selling at the sam ratio.
Dubuqu all this time had a public
market system whereby the producer
sold direct to the consumer. It was
not long, of course, until Des Molnea
had the same system In vogue, and it
Is needless to say her people are now
buying their produce Just as cheap snd
fresh as tha people of ber neighboring
city. According to statistics reduction
was from 1 to 400 per cent Of count.
th middlemen of Des Moines banded
together ts fight the Mayor, but the
people were on the side of tbe Mayor
and his battle waa easy. He soon rele
gated the middlemen to the producing
Hoe, where many of them belong.
I read In Current Literature Maga
sine for "March that Secretary Wilson.
of the United States Department of
Agriculture, found, after a thorough
Investigation, that on the average the
farmers throughout our country ar
only getting one-third of the selling
price of their produce. Who gets the
other two-third? We are sure It Is
not the consumer. In the face of Secre
tary Wilson's report, can w criticise
our young men for leaving tn rarmT
A for our own beautiful city and
surrounding country. I sincerely hope
that our city administration will soon
got busy and not allow this to be th
last place on earth to barken to the
crying needs of its people, to-wtt. to
establtsh an Ideal publlo market
IRA W. CARL,
III Chamber of Commerce.
FEAR OF DICTATOR K J. M F KD
Rovll I.lkeaed 4 Dtas aad Mrxlraa
HUtary Recalled.
DESCHUTES. Or, June L (Te th
Editor.) Theodore Roosevelt In
recent speech, belittling the fear of a
third term for a President of the United
States, stated that Alons Taft father
of. President Taft had supported tbe
nomination of nenerai urani rnr a mirn
term and had said thst there would be
no danger to the Republic on that ac
count If the terms wer not consecu
tive; the political organization being In
the hands of another, the ex-President
having no control of It would have no
more advantage In controlling elections
to perpetuate himself In office than
would hla opponent
It is unnecessary to attempt to re
fute thle argument by reasoning, for
an exampl In point I found la recent
history.
The constitution of Mexico prohibited
a President holding consecutive terms
of office when Porflrlo Diaz waa nrst
sleeted President of that country in
17. After establishing tha prefecture
system of political organisation, tha
most perfect Imaginable and one that
must have been for years th envy of
our own political bosses, he gracefully
surrendered the form of office to bis
Colleague, Ooaaral Ooasale. who held
It for one term, after which Diaz was
again elected. Before his second tnon
consecutive) term expired the Mexican
constitution was amended and the pro
hibition removed.
The results were disastrous to self
government, elections wore controlled
by Dlas absolutely aad the evils of a
dictatorship grew onchecked until civil
war cam.
Such condition could occur In this
country. The temperaments and char
acters of Diaz and Roosevelt are not
unlike, differing only la those modifi
cations Inherent to or caused by a Latin
or an Anglo-Saxon heredity and envir
onment ROSCOB HOWARD.
Natwrailaatlaa Law.
HOLLEY. Or, Jun . (To th Edl
tor.) If a foreigner comes to our
oountry and la naturalised, do it
make hi foreign-born male children
citlsans at II? If th father goes back
to his former bom (and leaves male
children In this country) and becomes
by law subject to his former counts?
before th male children here become
of age will It affect their cltlsenshlp
here? If a person of this description
should apply to a registration officer
to register, when none of the facts
In the oa aa are known to any but the
applicant. 1 ther no corroborative
evidence required? If not are not our
citizenship and registration laws pretty
cheap? if a person makes declaration
of his Intention to become a citizen
haw long does he have to complete It?
Is there no UmltT -
J. R. SPRINGER.
Naturalisation of the father of alien
born minors makes them citlsens upon
attaining their majority. If the father
ts not a citizen of tbe United States
at the time foreign-born children be
come of age they are not citizens.
Naturalised citlsens when registering
are not required to supply evidence
that they hav not renounced al
legiance to this country. The law
rightly places as much value on the
oath of the foreign-bora citizen as
upon that of the native-born in this
regard. An alien may file 111 petition
for cltlsenshlp not less than two years
after filing his declaration and after
not less than five year continuous
residence In th United Stat. Tbe
maximum period that may eiapss Is not
IjvecUied,
WHT THEY ARE FOR ROOSEVELT
Illaaalaatlv Explaaatloa From a Coe
Bay Admirer.
MARSH FIELD. Or, June I. (To the
Editor.) Mr. Roosevelt nas done more
for th uplift of good cltlsenshlp. com
mon honety and common decency than
any thousand men alive. That he has
mad many mistakes w do not deny.
It Is human to err. There la only on
class of men who don't make mistake
they are found In th cemetery. Live
people, people who do things, all make
mistakes. Mr. Roosevelt does things,
therefore he Is sometimes In error, but
h gets there, F.1L That Is what w
kSxe. We have the best Government on
earth by all odds, but there are soma
tnlngs that seem badly to need fix
ing. W want someone) to look Into th
matter. We want somebody to do
something. When the house Is afire
we, can't wait to philosophize. We ar
obliged to get busy at once. It Is ben.
ter to make a stab at It and do the
wrong thing than do nothing. We want
leas of the "Judicial temperament"
particularly If It la typified by inao
tion and Bleeps.
We want less talk and more wool
and that la what w are rolng after. If
it takes tha last button off Oabe's
coat. We believe we know what Is the
mstter with us; anyway. It Is not worth
while for the bell bucks to back up. We
would like to have them so along for
old acquaintance-sake, but If they will
not. we are soing anyway.
We don't claim our candidate to he a
tar at pink teas, nor that be la a "bully
good feilow" la the general accepta
tion of the term; but T. K. Is the boy
that knocks tbe persimmons Things
are always doing In the vicinity of that
lad. from the rise, of th curtain to th
last encoret, II I always gnln' om.
As long as we are busy on the Job we
are safe. As long ss we are earnestly
trylag to gat thre. never mind about
the roundabout way. th mishap and
the trouble: we will surely arrive tn
due time. The danger Ilea with the
satisfied folks, the let-wll-nough-alone
folks, the folks with the "Judi
cial temperament" who believe In nev.
er doing today that which may be put
off until tomorrow. They are th peo
ple to fear, and not thoa who ar
eameatly and sincerely striving for
better things. Insurgency Is not dead
In fact It is very much alive. The
doctors wre mistaken In their dlas;
noala. Th antl-varclne didn't take:
they had the wronr dope. It would
seem the scientists didn't figure that
tho ballot of a hodcarrler occupies as
much space In the ballot box as on of
the Lord's anointed.
Let ua not worry about these polit
ical rows. They are the finest thing
that have happened lately. In our anger
we are telling thing. We are opening
wide tha stinkpot. We now know who
stole the Jam and who struck Rllly
Patterson. W see ourselves as other
see ua. In the end we won't b quite
so handsome, but we will know more.
Wrongdoing Is a fungus that speedily
withers when brought to light By all
means turn oa the calcium and let th
band play on. GEO. W ATKINS.
VILR HABITS AGAIV CKl RKD.
Wesnaa (Ilea Disaster Caused By
Habit of Kxprctoratloa.
PORTLAND. June a. (Te tbe Edl
tor.) The letter In The Oregonlan by
John Charles Wright ought to call
forth a deluge of similar ones, for
surely examples unnumbered can h
added to the few he cited, and surely
It Is time to do something to curb
such nuisances.
A few weeks sgo, on my way to a
social affair, 1 wa hurrying to trans
fer at Third and Washington when my
heel suddenly slipped and 1 found my
self sprawled on the pavement wiping
It up with a broadcloth cloak, my ona
and only afternoon gown and best
white kid gloves. After a man had
picked rn up and I had straightened
my hat and brushed off some of the
street dirt to the further detriment of
my gloves I turned to look for th
cause of my downfall and discovered
merely that some "gentleman" had
"expectorated" en the pavement
Last week a flne-looktng. well
dred man, smoking a good cigar,
boaiNlad a car on which I was riding,
and turning quickly without looking
they naver do stop te look spit out of
the door. A postman who was Just
entering received th discharge on th
front of his coat Of course the man
was horrified, spologtzed, pulled out
his band kerchief, and did his best to
atone. But Tve bn wondering ever
since what he would hav don had
his victim been a woman, and had she
received his superfluous tobacco full
In tbe face which might easily have
been the case.
I don't samoa I could count th
time. Just this Winter, that I hav
barely escaped serving as a spittoon
for som man on th street We've all
raged at Dickens for ths things ha said
of us. but If he were to corns among
us todsy. I wonder If be would find any
great reason to change his Ideas on the
"American 'habit of expectoration."
If we hav an ordinance sgalnst
spitting why Isn't It enforced?
CLARA M. FRANK.
WHO) OWURD EtGErfl TOWXSITEf
Histarlaa Assert A baa lass Manning
C'asa T Late Be Original Holder
PORTLAND. June &. (To the Edi
tor.) Th letter la Th Oregonlan
May tlth. data at Vancouver. Wash..
May It. referring to the death of K.
L Manning, and stating that his
"father. Absalom Manning, once owned
the townnlte of Eugene. Or" Is In
correct. In tha sam Utter It Is eta tod
that when K. L. Manning died he was
II years old. and that he "was born In
Sacramento, Cat. but his parents
removed to Oregon when he was a
child." This would Indicate that he
a as born In 1157, and that his parents
did not remove to Oregon until some
time after that year.
Eugene F. Skinner, a rloneer of 114.
was born In Essex County, New York,
8eptmbr 11. 1109. and was a brother
to fet John Pklnner, Assistant Poat-mastar-General
during President An
drew Johnson's Administration. H
earn to California In 1145, and Win
tered at Sutter' Fort In the Spring
of 114 be removed with hi family to
Oregon, and In June of that year lo
cated on a donation land claim upon
which a large part of the present city
of Eugene, named for him, now stands.
It wss In his log cabin that his daugh
ter Leonora, the flrat white child in
tana County, waa born on Beptombar
1. 1S4.
Mr. Absalom Manning may have
owned rroperty In or near Eugsne at
some time, possibly before leal); but
he could not have been an original
claimant because all the land upon
which the city of Kusene as It now
stands was taken up as donatloo
claims long bfor 115?.
GEOHUK H. H1ME3.
qMtm la (Srasaxaar.
REDMOND, Or.. June 1. (To th Ed
itor.) Win you kindly enlighten a
seeker after knowledge In the line of
English, why It I that "you are" and
"you were" ar th correct forma to us
In addressing a alngl pron. I under
stand that thoa ar the form used by
educated people and that make them
the correct forms, but this does not gve
the why of It E. C PARK.
The pronoun "you" was originally th
objective plural form of "ye." Th
psychological explanation of Its original
us In place of "thou." which It finally
superseded In the early part of tha Ilth
century. Is that Implied number glv
dignity to th person ad'lresssd. Nat
urally the plural form of the accom
panying verb waa also adoptej and this
us finally became a custom and there
for 'grammatical. Similar usage is
found la all modro, language,
Vacillation
By Dens Cullies.
by, Punday was not groundhog day,
nop
Was any shadow to be seen
Making a threat against the score;
And yet I saw the l'ortland team
i nut unci siooo lourin upon tne roit.
Duck for the basement den. Just like
a BLuuiiuiiug uucKing lor its nuiu.
Scarce had I giggled loud, to see
Our team e-climhlng. when It fell
And now, as I lament Its fall.
It may be climbing from its well; ,
Flopping resilient up and down.
Mocking the sainted Klnnegan,
Who stepped to intermittent fame
With "oft sgaln and on again."
I'v chortled when the Heaven
climbed.
And sung with glee, "That's going
some";
But woe the day, although they
climb,
They seem unwilling to stay "clumb"!
And so from Joy to gloom I boh.
And sprain my neck perniciously.
Watching the cellur end the ronf,
1'ncertaln wbere the Heavers be.
I've gloated when the Beitvers ro
From out the depths within the well.
And In mid-gloat, have paurrd to
groan
8eelng, th next day, how they fell.
Therefor, until they've firmly climbed
At least flv notches from th moat
Cautious In future will I he.
And spsrlng In the glosts I glost
Portland, Jun 1.
Half a Century Ago
From Th Ore(nln of Jun 4. lna.
Th election returns hsv come In,
but slowly a yet hut In every Insisnc
so far heard from tha I'nlun state ticket
has carried from 10 to 100 majority.
Enough haa been heard from to place
beyond doubt the entire success of th
whole Union state ticket, a ha alo
the election of nearly all the county
tickets, in fact. It Is doubtful whether
the sclf-styleil Democracy have carried
a single county In the state.
Andrew J. Put, convicted of th
murdT of Oeorge Umh, committed
last December In Linn County, near
Albany, Or., suffered the extreme pen
alty of the law hy hanalng at Albany
on Tuesday, May J". The. confession
of Pate, which had been published In
pamphlet form, waa circulated on th
day of his execution.
The Carrie Ladd, on her trip to th
Cascades yesterday morning, struck on
a rock at Cspe Hrn and commenced
filling so rapidly 'that sh waa Imme
diately run ashore on the Washington
aide. Her passengers had barely time
to get ashore before sh filled, and ha
now lies with ona sld under water. It
is thought aha cannot ba saved,
Bt Louts, April IS. Ther is every
reason to fear that th new Senator
from Oregon Is a traitor, after all. Th
elect committee, appointed at th In
stance of Senator Stark to Investigate
the charges aaalnst hi loyalty, con
sisting of Senators Clark, Kherman.
Wllley, Wright and Howard, mads tlielr
report last Tuesday. It embraces the
following conclusions: First That for
many months prior to November 11.
Hot, and up to that time the said
Stark waa u ardent advocate of th
cause of th rebellious states. Second
That after the formation of the consti
tution of th Confederal Slates h
openly declared hla admiration of It
and advocated th absorption of th
loyal stat of th Union Into th
Southern Corfederacy under that con
atltutlan as th only means of peace,
warmly avowing his tmpthls with
th Hmtth. Third That the Senator
from Oresron is disloyal to the Govern
ment of th United ftatas.
W notice thst a portion ef Front
street. In front of the Metropolis Hot),
Is being plsnked with heavy new plank,
thus roverlna- up one of th many un
sightly mudhctea which adorn our
streets. Keep doing so.
A larg amount of railroad Iron for
th tracks Is being shipped upon th
Rival for th Cascades and Dalles
portage,
W larn thst Mrs W. P. Forbes, M
eminent American actress. Is In the
city, snd ws would recommend th
propriety of tendering her a benefit
Th steam plledrlver I sraln sf
work on the corner of Washington snd
Front streets, driving pile Into th
bank, preparatory for th foundation
of another lerse building to be put up
by Mr. Chapman.
Dr. l.nryea renuests ns to antioiinr
that h tie upon th farm of Mr. J. R.
Stevens a cow that has heen regularly
Inoculated with th smsllpox. and that
h Is now prepared to furnish gnuln
vaccine matter to all who may call
upon him at the hospital on Front
street
Th I Angles papers of May SI
say that ths excltemont about th
Colorado gold mines waa Increasing.
Considerable quantities of gold had
beo received. Water was sold at it
rents per drink In th mines.
At "Ed" Howe Sees Lifa
Half th tlm a man want apprecia
tion; the other half h want to b let
aloii.
Coffe I rarely good away from
bom.
An expression probably ussd mor
than any other: "I hy th papsrs,"
to.
Tour private thinking Is as nar the
truth as you can get. Hs guided by
what you hav thousrht eut In private,
and riot by what soma selfish leader
has thought out for you.
Tour world Is not the world of lit
erature or oratory.
The men who succeed are, as a rula,
better than their critics, wh do sot,
Every man who speaks In puhlld,
or writes for print, puts sn unnatural
polish on the truth.
Peopl ar lately pot only mors lib
eral In rllrlon; they ar mor liberal
i .k.ie anrlal relations. If Hester
Pryne lived now. she wouldn't be com
pelled to war a scarlet letter on her
breast
Teopl ar always saying thst thef
are not Jealous, and have no reason to
he; hut th fact la, all of ua are Jeal
ous, and most of us have reason to bo,
Someone seems to have whipped the
devil; haven't you noticed thst he Is
much mor modest here lately T
Value ef Old Books.
PORTLAND, Jun 1. (To th F.dl
tor.) Will you kindly Inform m It
ther Is a premium on th bonk called
"Th Rose of riharon" or "(lam of
Raored Poetry," fourth addition. Au.
burn (Derby, Miller Co., 1M?
CONSTANT READER.
Ths values on old books ar not
standardized. Nina out of ten are of no
value. The only way to dispose of
thorn Is to offer them to a rellahU
dealer tn second-hand publications.