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POBTLD. TUESDAY. ACCCST IS.
WOMEN'S COLLEGES.
' The professor of Latin in Swcom
College contributes to thVartlc?e
number of the Independent an article
n the education of women which
Ight f rom 1U general tenor have been
is doubly accounted for. a
Richer of a subject whose only excuse
.orcein, taught is that it has alwaj.
heen taught she would naturally cling
tc many reactionary notions as her
head could accommodate, and .as aeon
section of a man whose Latin gram
rn ar has been the bane of two genera-
of youth she would P'obably W
.o crowd in a few more. At any wte,
Mrs Harkness writes on education , as
? ft. "nought of the last century had
run off her back without leavln5. a
Iquare inch of dampness. To begin
with, she bewail, the tendency to make
school and college practical. To my
mind." she insists, "the easential stud
ies are mathematics and language
vork because they train to clear rea
Toning and the power of lucid expres-
'"r'his fatuous sentence
Very well the kind of matter which fills
Jut MM. Harkness' article Had she
eared to investigate the facts of life a
little, she would have discovered
without much trouble that mathe
matics is the school and college study
which tends more than any other to
destroy the faculty of practical reason
ing, while as a rule the more mathe
matics a person knows the less able
he is to express himself in lucid lan
guage. Inevitably he thinks in equa
tions and his thoughts fall into alge
braic symbols. The reasoning of
mathematics, beautiful as it Is. bears
hut slight relation to the conditi.ns
of life, and any man who should try to
regulate his conduct by its rules would
come to grief very promptly. As for
language work and its tendency to
'train to clear reasoning and lucid ex
pression," it is notorious that literature
produced according to the rules of pro
fessors of rhetoric is stilted and empty.
Whatever else classical colleges may
do. they certainly fall to teach stu
dents to write English. If they taught
them to write Latin, it might be some
compensation, but the truth is that
there are few college graduates who
can even read the language of Vergil,
Jet alone composing in it.
- Professor Harkness-nas wij i
notion in her head that manual train
ing, the trades, domestic science and
other practical studies are introduced
Into the schools in order to hasten the
exit of pupils into life. She regrets
that parents and children are made to
believe that "the best thing a school
can give Is something that will make
it advantageous to get. out of school."
This Is Just about the twist a professor
of Latin might be expected to give a
proposition unconnected with her
-hobby. The lamentable fact Is that
sooner or later boys and girls must
leave school. They cannot pass their
lives in recitation rooms and college
halls, delightful as those retreats are,
and the important question is whether
or not they have acquired anything
which will enable them to earn an
honest living after they emerge. The
purpose is not at all to hasten their
getting away from school, but to "make
them self-supporting individuals when
they are thrown upon their own efforts.
All candid observers of current life
know that the old-fashioned curricu
lum does not attract boys who are ap
proaching manhood. Its Idle repeti
tions and empty forms appear silly to
them. What they need is study inti
mately related to real things and visi
bly branching out into the activities of
life. If the school does not give it
they will seek it elsewhere. They can
not be forced to spend their educa
tional years pretending to learn Latin
and mathematics, which is what Mrs.
Harkness and those who think with
her seem to wish.
Mrs. Harkness objects to domestic
science, the study of motherhood, and
so on. in college, on the same grounds
as to the practical studies in the com
mon schools. In her opinion women
give too much attention to these mat
to alroarlv. "The Doorest mothers I
have ever seen," she says, "are those
in whom the domestic qualities are the
most developed." This Is an aston
ishing statement. Surely Mrs. Hark
ness means by "domestic qualities"
something very different from the
common significance of those words.
Perhaps to her mind a "domestic"
woman is a slatternly. Ignorant creat
ure who never reads anything but
sensational novels, never thinks and
never learns anything new. To be
"domestic" In Mrs. Harkness" sense a
wnnin must stav forever by the
kitchen stove rocking the cradle with
her foot while with one hand she piles
the churn dasher and with the other
. holds one of Laura Jane Llbbys mas
terpieces before her eyes. This Is not
our idea of domesticity. Motherhood
is a science fully as dignified as gram-
mar nrM tn learn it reaulres as much
study as to overcome the mysteries of
algebra. The proper management oi
a household is incompatible with ig
norance and slatternliness. The great
mistake which has been made In ar
ranging the studies of women's col
leges comes from assuming that the
two sexes have the same duties in the
world and ought therefore to pursue
the same branches of study. Their
duties are In part the same and to that
extent their education should be sim
ilar, but women have some duties pe
culiar to themselves and a college
course which leaves them Ignorant of
those fundamental obligations is gro
tesquely Ill-contrived.
Orozco, finding he will not be al
lowed to settle In the United States,
decides to continue the war In Mexi
co. His desire to reside in this coun
try was probably inspired by a pur
pose to plot a new revolution. Sena
tor Fall, therefore, has done Madero
a service in blocking peace negotia
tions, which would only have produced
a truce. Madero would better chase
this catamount until he kills the ani
mal instead of storing up trouble for
the future by making terms which
are sure to be broken.
NOT WHOLLY BAD.
So much criticism has been leveled
at the Payne-Aldrich tariff by The
Oregonlan as well as others that it
Is as well to state some of its good
results, on the principle of giving the
devil his due. That tariff has been
condemned on the ground that it not
merely failed to reduce but actually
raised duties. Yet we find on exam
ining reports of the Department of
rnmmor-o onfl Labor that under its
operation the volume of imports free
w T ft fl l n
of duty increased: irom "
the fiscal year 1910. the first year the
new tariff was in effect, to $887,670.-
830 in 1912. This was an increase
AS S3 nor rent of the total im-
. ct a? i.iit The dutiable
imports decreased in the same period
. . . nrwro.A4
from 1801,636,034 to ,111,05V"
Tiir Via alsn been a decrease in du
ties collected from J333,683,445 to
J311.257.348.
That our foreign trade has thived
under this tariff is evident from the
facts that exports have Increased from
11.744.984,720 to J2. 204,322.400 and
fViot , hnbnfo nf trade in our favor
has increased from $188,037,290 to
$550,967,445. Our foreign trade has
been stimulated at the expense of a
decrease in customs revenue of $22,-
426.097. which has been more tnan
made up by the corporation tax re
ceipts.
The Payne-Aldrich law has all the
defects which are inevitable in a law
prepared according to the system of
log-rolling among the protected Inter
ests, but under It free imports have
increased, exports have also Increased
and the resultant loss in revenue has
been offset by a tax wnicn ians large
ly on the beneficiaries of protection.
Affoi- nil Pi-esMonr Tnft was Droba-
bly right in saying that the Payne
Aldrich law was the best doubtless
meaning the least bad tariff ever
passed up to that time, for all pre
vious tariffs had been drawn under
the same, pernicious log-rolling sys
rm iwhlrh Tnf has been foremost in
condemning. He was first to propose
that the new policy of revision by
cphAilnlAs ha Kiihjtrltiitnd for the old
plan, and to him was due the establish
ment of the Tariff Boara as a guicie to
fniifrpfls in rnrrvinET nut that rjOlicV.
That schedule revision Is progressive Is
attested oy its aaopuou ay me vemw
crats and by its advocacy by the Bull
Moose party. Botn or tnese parties
mud hn nrner.wlv. for thpv them
selves say so. For the same reason
the Tariff Board must be progressive,
both the parties which boast of that
virtue having indorsed, the general
policy of which it is the result.
HTKT jrR. WALSH.
In our Judgment W. H. Walsh is a
lucky man. Some people may prefer
to say that his escape from death the
other night was miraculous or provi
dential, but "lucky" Includes all the
meaning commonly assigned to those
vague terms and a good deal more.
While performing his duties as night
watchman Mr. Walsh was fired at re
peatedly, one bullet striking his hat
and another a watch he had in his
pocket. Some explosive powder lay
near by, but though the shots were
flying everywhere about, they did not
disturb it- ,
What Is this but luck? Another
man In the same circumstances might
have been shot full of holes with a
watch in every pocket. After he had
been slain the dynamite would have
gone off and scattered his fragments
all over the township. Such is the
different ways fortune has of dealing
with different men. Some she favors
without rhyme or reason, some she
pursues with malignant assiduity.
Usually she does not choose a watch
to protect her favorites from bullets,
though of course a watch will do when
nothing better is at hand. But it is
the Bible given him by his mother
when he set out for the wars which
wards off the bullet from the young
soldier's heart, and when it is not a
Bible it Is his sweetheart's picture in
a silver frame.
If we had our choice we should pre
fer to be saved from death by a Bible
rather than a watch, and a sweet
heart's picture would be better than
either. Not that we love Bibles less,
but it is natural to love a nice girl
more. Next time Mr. Walsh goes
about his perilous duties we sincerely
hope he will put a small but thick Bi
ble In his breast pocket if there is no
young lady whose photograph he
thinks enough of to have it framed in
silver.
Of course it fs gratifying to be saved
by a watch. It is gratifying to - be
saved by anything. No doubt a piece
of flintstone In one's pocket Would turn
a bullet If fortune so willed, but there
would not be much romance In such
a rescue. It Is only once in an age or
two that a man can expect to escape
death by the skin of his teeth, and
when he does it is certainly excusable
for him to want the circumstances to
be as satisfactory in every way as
possible.
QUESTIONS OF RIGHT OB WRONG.
If The Oregonlan understands the
contention of Miss Mary E. Hill as
given in her letter printed today, there
Is no 'ground for argument between
us on the case of the "two stolen del
egates" from California. The Ore
gonlan cheerfully admits that if the
two Taft delegates did not have a
plurality either in Congressional dis
trict or state-at-large they had no
moral right to seats in the National
convention. We also admit that "had
the delegates been actually elected the
National convention, as Judge of the
credentials of its own membership,
had a perfect right to go according
to custom and seat those delegates."
Miss Hill has raised an Issue as to
facts in contending that the delegates
were not elected In any sense. Yet
we have the testimony of some very
Intelligent, high-minded, honorable
men who were in the convention
Nicholas Murray Butler, for example
who declare that there was little If
any dispute as to the facts. It was
a question of law a question as to
whether the authority of the conven
tion or that of a state should prevail
in determining whether delegates
should be elected at large or by dis
tricts. There Is no parallel such as our
correspondent suggests between the
manner In which the Progressives
propose to capture Republican party
machinery in some states and the
methods employed in forming "Lin
coln's party." The Republican party
has met In convention and has nomi
THE MORNING OREGONIAN. TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1912.
nated candidates. It is the party in
executive power. It has a definite
existence in every state. It has not dis
integrated to the extent the Whig
party had broken either In 1852 or
1856. In 1852 the Whigs carried only
four states. The "Lincoln party" was
not then in existence. Only 71 Whigs
were chosen that year out of 234 Rep
resentatives in Congress and 22 of
these were Southerners, most of whom
were soon openly Democrats.
In 1854 we find Lincoln support
ing Lyman Trumbull, the candidate
for United States Senate of the anti
Nebraska party. The first National
Republican convention was not held
until 1856 and tn that year the rem
nants of the Whig party endorsed the
candidates of the American party. In
1860 the old Whig element In the
border stales nominated candidates
under the title, Constitutional Union
party. In fact the Whig party had
only a nominal existence In 1852 and
what feeble life it had as a National
organization expired without leaving
machinery such as that which the
Roosevelt party would now appropri
ate from the Republicans. Moreover,
we are not so hide-bound to the Re
publican party that we would con
cede that robbery of electoral votes in
Its formative period excused, condoned
or mitigated the political policy pro
posed by the Bull Moose adherents in
some of the states.
Our correspondent asks if Taft pos
sesses anything worth stealing in
Kansas. Perhaps the theft may be a
small one If theft Is perpetrated. But
so was the theft of two delegates In
California If theft was there. " What
Is the measure of political burglary?
Why should a measly crime vitiate the
acts of a convention and an Incon
sequential steal becondoned in a gen
eral election? The emphasis In "Thou
shalt not steal" must be on the
"thou" when the Bull Moose utters It
ROOSEVELT AND LA FOLLETTE A
CONTRAST.
Colonel Roosevelt enjoys so high
a reputation as a sturdy, uncom
promising champion of public rights
that it will be interesting to study the
basis of that reputation in the light
of what that other sturdy champion,
Senator La Follette, learned by actual
experience with him. The two men
came together and began to work to
gether early, in La Follette's career as
a Senator, "when the latter was "In
Coventry." Aldrlch was the boss and
Roosevelt was President. La Follette
tells the story of this period In his
autobiography in the American Maga
zine, which was written long before
Roosevelt again became a candidate
for President and which is therefore
free from any suspicion of bias aris
ing from political rivalry.
In the session of Congress begin
ning In December, 19,05, a bill passed
the House for the leasing of coal land
In the then Indian Territory. The
Senate committee proposed an amend
ment for the outright sale of the land.
La Follette opposed the sale, but was
voted down at every turn. That fight,
says he, "was the beginning of the
battle for conservation of coal lands
belonging to the people." In his next
talk with Roosevelt, the latter said he
had struck "a mighty good lead." La
Follette Replied that he Intended "to
work out a bill providing that the
Government shall take over that coal
and save it from being exploited by
monopoly control," and said he
thought this would be a good thing
applied to all the coal fields, of the
Government. Roosevelt pronounced
it a "bully good thing."-.
At their next interview La Follette
suggested "the withdrawal from sale
and entry of all coal, asphalt and oil
lands by Executive order," contending
that the President had the necessary
authority. Roosevelt doubted this and
got an opinion from Moody, then Attorney-General,
which left the matter
still in doubt. La Follette then Intro
duced a Joint resolution clothing the
President with authority, but could
get no action. Roosevelt promised to
resolve the doubt In the people's favor
and soon after Congress adjourned
the withdrawal order was Issued.
When La Follette returned to Wash
ington in December, 1906, Roosevelt
said to him: "I have got it in the
message." La Follette was given the
assistance of one of 'the best men in
the Department of Justice in perfect
ing a bill for the leasing of coal land.
He went over the bill with Roosevelt,
who declared it admirable and author
ized him to announce that it was an
Administration measure. Within three
days Roosevelt told the Senator he
had "conferred with friends" about
the bill, had found -It would be "im
possible to get support for any such
measure," and that in order to "get
something through" It would be neces
sary to agree upon a less comprehen
sive plan. He suggested that Senator
Nelson's hill would be acceptable. La
Follette replied that Nelson's bill
"would be not only not worth while,
but would. If enacted, serve only to
bring Government control into actual
disrepute and. end, as do all com
promises with principle, in defeating
the very object In view." He offered
to support any bill, "provided It em
bodied the principles essential to make
this new legislation really effective."
Roosevelt replied that if those who
were supporting the new policy were
not willing to agree upon "something
which could be passed." he would wash
his hands of the whole matter and
would cancel his withdrawal of the
lands and open them again to sale and
entry. La Follette then makes this
comment:
I state the facta here Just aa they trans
plred. became they illustrate the difference
In methods which ometlmes rendered It Im
possible for President Roosevelt and myself
to co-operate on Important les-lslatton. He
acted upon the maxim that half a loaf la
better than no bread. I believe that half a
loaf Is fatal whenever It Is accepted at the
sacrifice of the basic principle sought to be
attained. Half a loaf, as a rule, dulls the
appetite, and destroys the keenness of Inter
est In attaining the full loaf. A half-way
measure never fairly tests the principle and
may utterly discredit it. It is certain to
weaken and dissipate public Interest. Com
promise Is almost always necessary tn legis
lation, but It calls for the most thorough
mastery of the principles Involved In order
to fix the limit beyond which not one hair's
breadth can be yielded.
Roosevelt Is the keenest and ablest living
Interpreter of what I would call the su
perficial publlo sentiment of a given time,
and he Is spontaneous In his response to It;
but he does not distinguish between that
which Is a mere surface indication of a
sentiment, and the building up by a long
process of education of a public opinion
which is as deep-rooted as life. Rad Roose
velt, for example, when he came to con
slder rallrosd rate regulation, estimated cor
rectly the value of the public opinion, that
had been created upon that subject through
a space of nine years, he would have known
to a certainty that It lay In his power to se
cure legislation which should effectually con
trol the great transportation companies of
the country. But either through a desire
to get Immediate results or through a mis
understanding of the really profound depth
of that public sentiment, he chose to get
what little he could then rather than to
take a temporary defeat and go on fighting
at the succeeding session of Congress for
legislation that would be fundamentally
sound.
I knew Instinctively what had taken place
Immediately after the introduction of my
bill. Representatives of the railroads and
of the corporations both Inside and outside
of Congress had probably swarmed to the
white House, denounced the bill, denounced
.me, and told the President that the plan X
had offered was socialistic, snd that the
committee would not toierato -
La Follette had followed out the
theory above outlined by him in his
career in Wisconsin. Determined to
secure a genuine direct primary law
and effective control of railroads, he
was beaten In the three successive
campaigns for Governor in 1894, 1896
and 1898. When finally elected In
1900 he did not control the Senate,
that body mangled his direct primary
bill and he vetoed it. These are the
reasons he gives in his autobiography:
In legislation, no bread Is often better
than half a loaf. I believe It Is usually bet
ter to be beaten and come right back at
the next session and make a fight for a
thoroughgoing law than to have written on
the books a weak and Indefinite statute. . .
All through our earlier contests we could
have iobtalned some mild or harmless com
promises and concessions. But I was clear
that we should not stand for anything that
did not strike at the root of the whole boss
system. . . . My attitude In this case,
and in several other similar matters, has
given me the reputation of being radical and
extreme. And If this be .radicalism, then
indeed I am a radical, but I call it com
mon sense. It is simply the clear compre-
. i n.i..lnl. lnvnlv,H ana the
nension 01 wo .
clear conception of the utter destruction
of that principle ll oniy a pan oi ' "w
plied. I have always believed that anything
that was worth fighting, for involved a prin
ciple, and I Insist on going far enough to
establish the principle and to give It a fair
trial. I believe In going forward a step at
a time, but It must be a full step. . . .
Difficulties leading to social explosions are
caused not by too lengthy or hasty strides
of progress (for men In mass are essentially
conservative), but by holding back and pre
venting the people from taking the next fun
step forward when they are ready for It.
Roosevelt believes in "getting some
thing done," in "making a showing";
La Follette believes in accepting no
compromise short of the full adop
tion of a principle, in fighting on
until he can make "a full step for
ward." La Follette believes in fight
ing within the Republican party until
he has won it over to his measures,
and his success in Wisconsin indicates
his policy; Roosevelt believes In wreck
ing the party unless it will submit to
his control at the first demand. Which
Is the true progressive? Which Is the
unflinching contender for a principle
and which the quitter? Which is the
valiant soldier of the common good?
Editor Hearst is seeking a place to
rest his political feet, which have
wandered from party to party until
they are blistered. Having tied up
with Tammany and Clark, he felt so
confident of at last finding repose in
the bosom of the Democracy that he
registered as a Democrat, but now
discovers that he guessed wrong again.
His praise of Taft and his censure of
the Democratic convention for not giv
ing the President credit for good work
done suggests that he may seek refuge
in the Republican fold. By so doing
he would, to the extent of the votes
he can swing, strike a blow at his two
best-hated ' enemies, Roosevelt and
Bryan. He is an Ishmaellte, for his
hand is against every man and every
man's hand is against him. The al
liances he makes are purely tempor
ary, for the party he supports today
may be stabbed with his knife tomor
row. If the Republican party secures
his support this year it will feel no
gratitude nor obligation to make re
ward. It Is all very well for that quartet
of boy murderers to whine out "The
booze did it." But booze harms no
body wcio lets it alone. A barkeeper
who sells liquor to minors deserves all
the punishment the law allots, but the
minors who buy the stuff are not inno
cent. Boys who frequent saloons know
perfectly well what road they are
traveling, and when they come to their
destination they should not blame "the
booze." There Is nobody to blame but
themselves.
Love la a strange passion. Mrs.
Flechtl protests that she still loves the
husband whom she stabbed the other
night. Married couples who make each
other miserable with bickering Jeal
ousy say they do It because they are
in love. A modern philosopher tells
it that ttiB hest nlace to study the
phenomena of love Is the police court.
A passion wnicn mannesis uacn n
these ways can hardly be the same as
that which "suffereth long and Is
kind." .
La Follette Is late In discovery of
tampering with his mall. Senatorial
courtesy is the comprehensive term of
allowing a Senator to name his home
postmaster to guard against the offense
the Wisconsin statesman has un
earthed Eugene will undoubtedly hold the
skyscraper honors of the Valley when
the addition is made to its big hctel.
A seven-story building outside of Port
land will be a landmark of progress.
If the bogus RIngling did succeed
In separating Louis J. Wilde from
$50,000, many in Portland will not
mourn Wilde's loss, but will recall
that life has Its compensations.
Oregon crop reports Indicate every
thing will be cheap ?or the consumer,
while the producer has the comfort of
extraordinary yields to offset low
prices.
Polk County wants little of the Bull
Moose. The animals that make It
famous for dairy, wool and mohair
Interests are good enough for old
Polk.
In arranging to keep the boy on the
farm, do not overlook the fact that a
few years at the Oregon Agricultural
College will bind him to the Job.
The world Is the better for the seven
short circuits at Sing Sing yesterday,
but the influx of immigrants must have
"rattled" the infernal regions.
There is a feature of an aviation
meet that arouses hilarity absence of
the signs "Free List Suspended" and
"Standing Room Only."
A few citizens of the State of Wash
ington are not running" for office this
year Just enough to necessitate use
of polling places.
Let us hope that the White Salmon
bridegrooms are in every respect as
represented In the advertisement.
Naturally thrifty, Wilson is dis
tressed by the size of the necessary
campaign fund. , v
This woman who killed her white
slaver husband beat the law while
breaking It.
Local detectives who discovered the
murderers of Baker deserve credit for
their good worlc-
The $3,000,000 wool clip of Oregon
could be trebled If each farmer had a
small flock.
We have enough excitement for this
year without the addition of Bulgarian
atrocities. -
All Harney Valley need do to acquire
a railroad Is to develop that gusher.
REMISSION OF TOI,i.S IS DEFENDED
The Oregonlan' Canal Policy Call
Forth Critlclam From en lorR.
NEW YORK, Aug. 5. (To the Ed
itor.) My attention has been called to
the editorial lit-The Oregonlan", July 30,
entitled "Retaliation May Result," in
njhi.h vnn rticnusa thft Bublect of ex
empting American vessels from the
payment of tolls in passing mrousu
the Panama Canal, and charging that
certain advocates of that policy have
been identified with the "ship subsidy"
agitation. Your charge, specifically,
that the shipping interests (and by
that,) I assume that you mean Ameii
can shipping interests) "and the inter
ests behind them" (whatever that may
mean), having failed to secure direct
subsidies, are now endeavoring to se
..a thom hv indirection, throusrh ex
emption from tolls in the passage of
the Panama -uanai. uonacious a x .iu
of your long-continued opposition to
any form of protection for American
shipping, and the zeal with which you
attack every suggestion the adoption
of which might be helpful to American
shipping, I perceive the naturalness of
your belief.
You have so clear a grasp of the
great utility of the Panama Canal, in
the way of "the lowest freight rates
and the lowest coat of living possible,"
that It Is strange to me that you are
not willing to credit those identified
with American shipping who advocate
a" remission of the tolls as having that
very object In view, to wit: "The low
est freight rates," and, thereby, of
course, a lower cOBt of living. The
most discussed toll is that of $1 per net
tonnage of the ships passing through
the canal. In most cases that would
amount to about 50 cents a ton on the
cargo. You should know that such a
sum would not enable American ships
profitably to compete with foreign
ships; the 50 cents a cargo ton would
be quite insufficient to equalize the
conditions of higher cost of building
and higher cost of operating American
as compared with foreign ships. The
difference was fairly measured In the
n,A.4.inn in th TTiflrnhftnt marine com
mission bill of a few years ago of $5 a
net ton per annum on me vessel.
As an advocate of the remission of
tolls to American vessels , using the
Panama Canal, I take this position:
1. The chief purpose of advocating
such remission, as to our coast-to-coast
trade, is to stimulate the Interchange
of products between the two coasts,
holding, as I do, that every reduction
in the cost of transportation Increases
the volume of products that may be In
terchanged. Thus, on this coast, and
in the near interior, the people would
be able to purchase and consume larger
quantities of the prolific products of
the Pacific Coast, thus Increasing the
markets here for such products, and
stimulating further production, to ac
complish which a larger population
would be attracted to the Pacific Coast.
r r,ViAi haTiri. th nroducta of our
coast, and of nearby sections, reaching
the Pacific coast ana its nearny ora
tions more cheaply than now through
.rAnt1nn in transportation effect
ed, would increase the consumption of
such products among your people, anu
thus a large section of our common
country and countless millions of our
people, would be greatly benefited 4
employment and In ability to consume
more of the products of the country.
2. I do not think that you can fairly
contend that either Great Britain, a
party to the Hay-Pauncefote treaty, or
any other nation, save alone the United
States, would be debarred, in equity, in
honor, in comity, or what not, from re
imbursing her or their ships for what
ever tolls they may be required to pay
In passing through the Panama Canal.
No obligation lies upon any such na
tion not to do that, hence their right
to do It honorably. It is to me incon
ceivable, that. In such circumstances,
any one can fairly contend that the
United States, which has built the
canal, which will govern and operate it,
may be denied the right to do as to Its
ships what any other nations may
honorably and Justly do for their ships,
in the remission or repayment of the
tolls charged for the use of the
Panama Canal. Because the United
States has agreed to equality of treat
ment and of tolls, as applied to the
ships of all nations. In the Hay
Pauncefote treaty, that does not debar
the United States, in my opinion, from
exercising honorably the right that is
possessed by every other nation, to wit:
to reimburse Its ships for the tolls they
may pay in passing through the Pana
ma Canal. This would be a wholly
domestic matter. There may be any
number of excellent reasons why dif
ferent nations would find It to their
advantage, as a nation, to reimburse
their ships for the tolls they might pay
In passing through the Panama Canal.
There may be many excellent reasons
why this Nation would wish to do so.
To say that the United States may not
do, honorably, in the premises, what
any other nation would be permitted
honorably to do, would, to my mind, be
preposterous, and so much so as to be
Intolerable to a sovereign people.
S. The incidental benefits that would
be conferred upon American ships,
American shipbuilders, American ship
masters and officers, and upon Ameri
cans seeking a seafaring career, in the
greater demand for American ships, as
a result of the omission of tolls from
our ships in passing through the canal,
and, more Important than all, the crea
tion of a fleet of deep-sea ships, and
of trained and experienced officers and
men who would form a very greatly
needed resource of defense to the Na
tion a resource so sadly needed at
present, and the lack of which per
petuates our weakness upon the seas.
I very frankly ask you, therefore, if
you. will kindly afford space for this
letter In your valued newspaper, and
if you will, with equal candor, say
whether you do contend that, although
every other nation but the United
States may honorably reimburse 1 Its
ships for the tolls they pay in passing
through the 'Panama Canal, the terms
of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty debar the
United States, as a wholly domestic
matter, from doing likewise?
ALEXANDER R. SMITH.
Possibly the United States may hon
orably reimburse the tolls paid by
American ships without violating the
terms of the -Hay-Pauncefote treaty,
but Great Britain denies our right.
The Oregonian's contention is that ex
emption from, or remission of, tolls
would be simply a subsidy in disguise;
that it would be totally inadequate to
put American ships on an equality with
foreign ships and that, therefore, It Is
not worth while to engage in a dip'o
matlc controversy with Great Britain
on the subject. Our present restrictive
laws have proved utterly powerless to
build up an American merchant ma
rine; the people have shown their fixed
opposition to subsidies as a means of
accomplishing that end, and, therefore,
we advocate an entire change of policy.
While Mr. Smith professes a great de
sire to secure cheap transportation for
the people, he proposes to tax them for
the artificial building up of the ship
building and ship-owning industry. We
recommend that our. ship owners be al
lowed to buy ships in the world's mar
kets and sail them under American
register, confident that by reduction of
our prohibitive tariff we can ultimatoly
revive the shipbuilding Industry with
out the artificial stimulus of subsidies.
This policy would benefit the whole
people, instead of a limited class, by
giving them the cheapest possible
transportation. It would provide oc
cupation on the sea for many thousand
Americans and create a merchant ma
rine and naval auxiliary far more effi
ciently than the subsidy policy. As the
canal Is being made for the purpose of
cheapening our coast-to-coast trans
portation, and as American ships are
given a monopoly of this traffic, we
have approved remission of tolls to
such ships. The British objection to
such remission appears to us untenable,
and the entire benefit will go to the
consumer through lower freight rates.
SCIENTIFIC SIOXEY THE REMEDY
Medford Writer Insist Single Tax Sot
Core-All tor Evils.
MEDFORD, Or., Aug. 10. (To the Ed
itor.) Replying to articles by Mr. Gull
ford and Mr. Buse: Mr. Guilford thinks
the unequal distribution of wealth Is
caused by manipulation of speculators,
and his remedy is to take land rent by
single tax, believing this would give all
an equal opportunity in the enjoyment
of the bounty of Nature.
It would certainly remedy one of the
greatest evils of political government,
but not the greatest by any manner of
means. The speculator In control of
money supply wields a power that
fluctuates at will all values, including
land rent, and until that power is de
stroyed, there can be no stability in the
value of anything. My scientific money
article gives the details of that invin
cible power and the remedy that will
destroy It.
Mr. Buse presents Carl Marx" unten
able theory that labor creates value,
and that a day's labor should be the
standard of value. A correct definition
of wealth and value Is all that Is neces
sary to prove the absurdity of the the
ory. Wealth must have value or it
ceases to be wealth like the air, and
all other thlners when they become su
perabundant. Value fluctuates with
changes in supply and demana: ana no
difference how much labor may be ex
erted, there would be no value created
without there was a demand for the
things labor produced. Human necessi
ties and desires alone create value.
Scientific money will place money In
reach of every person who has wealth
to exchange beyond the possibility of
any combination or manipulation plac
ing It out of circulation, which is the
only thing necessary to make credit as
constant as gravity. The desire for
wealth Is Innate In all normal adults.
All wealth is produced by labor, and
with credit undisturbed, there would be
an unlimited demand for labor (the sup
ply of labor being limited definitely) to
produce wealth to satisfy Insatiable hu
man necessities and desires. The use
and satisfaction that wealth Is capable
of supplying exclude any possibility
that the demand for labor would cease,
except by the artificial Interference of
disturbed credit. The unlimited demand
for labor to produce wealth would be
compelled to reward the limited supply
of labor a Just share of the wealth it
produced.
Labor would be stimulated under per
petual prosperity. It would release all
laborers from the strain and menace of
idleness and poverty and make employ
ment certain, with Just and satisfactory
compensation, which' would stimulate
Industry and produce such superabun
dance of wealth that sustenance would
be In reach of all with less exertion
than oxygen, and poverty would be as
preposterous and ridiculous as naked
ness.
All normal individual life is endowed
with ability to distinguish between
good and evil, and an Infallible Mentor
directs the will of the undegenerate,
without any necessity of submission to
human authority, beliefs, or creeds; and
when sustenance becomes superabun
dant It will have no more concern to
human action than oxygen, and man
would no more violate the dictates of
conscience and destroy his own self
respect than he would mutilate the
body.
Government would have no other
function but service; for there would be
no necessity to exercise the power of
might to compel anyone to do right
when there was no disposition to do
wrong. E. L. M'CLURE.
ISSTJB IS QUESTION OF FACTS
Miss Hill Insists Two California Dele
ft a tea N'ot Elected.
PORTLAND, Aug. 12. (To the Ed
itor.); In writing on the case of the
California delegates you repeatedly ob
scure for some reason the real point at
issue the election or non-election of
the delegates. If the election au
thorities declared no one was elected,
then no one was elected, or so it would
seem, no matter how certain the con
trary might "appear" to others. The
Secretary of State did make two con
flicting statements, but the second and
later one, which I quoted, agreed with
that of the registrar of elections.
Had the delegates been actually
elected, the National Convention, as
judge of the credentials of its own
membership, had a perfect right to go
according to custom and seat those dele
gates, but to do so In the face of
affidavits declaring they were not
elected was asserting authority over a
state that no reasoning person should
be willing to concede to any political
organization.
Whatever else was done, this fraud,
and this alone, was sufficient to vitiate
the entire action of the convention.
And to support your defense of its
action you quote the "supremacy of
the Union over the states." When the
National Convention nullified Califor
nia's election result. It asserted the
supremacy of the Republican party
over the state constitution of Califor
nia. No one wishes to deny the
supremacy of the Union over the states,
a doctrine believed, by the way, long
before the Republican party came into
existence, and first put Into practice
by a Democratic President. But some
of us have not yet reached the point
where party Is as much or more to us
than the Union.
The Constitution recognizes neither
political party nor caucus. The Con
stitution will have to be amended be
fore party disloyalty can be construed
as disloyalty to the Union.
And with regard to the progressives
stealing Republican state political ma
chinery, is It not a fact that the old
Whig machinery was taken over In
some states by Lincoln's party In much
the same manner as the plan pro
posed by the progressives? And, as in
Kansas, for Instance, does Taft possess
anything there worth stealing by the
progressives? And. for the electors,
since that matter has been taken up
by the Supreme Court for settlement,
perhaps It would be as well to defer
accusation and Judgment until the
heavy thinkers have spoken.
MARY E. HILL.
FORECAST FOR WINTER WANTED
Cathlamet Resident Anxious aa to How
to Stock the Larder.
CATHLAMET, Wash.. Aug. 10. (To
the Editor.) It Is a little early for
Harry Montgomery, Deputy United
States Collector, to tell us what kind
of a Winter we are going to have. We
all here in Cathlamet (his former
home) are very anxious to know, as
potatoes are only two bits a sack and
the end of the fishing season Is only
two weeks away. Can't he be induced
to impart this much-desired informa
tion thus early, so we can get busy and
know how many salmon bellies to salt
to keep us from starvation?
How well I remember the first year
he was elected County Clerk, how ex
cited we denizens of Wahkiakum
County got when he penetrated the
forest and watched the squirrels gather
hazel nuts and told the exact con
dition we could expect the coming Win
ter. When The Oregpnlan published
the news, his father, J. B. Montgomery,
and Judge Raleigh Stott dispatched
Samuel Stott to Cathlamet to Warren's
cannery to salt salmon bellies and tips,
and the famous reception given by the
400! Salt salmon and potatoes con
stituted the refreshments that famous
Winter.
I have been a reader of The Orego
nlan since Benny Lappens sold them on
the Ash-street dock. "OLD ABE."
Haate In Leaving Sunday School.
Lipplncott's.
As the Sunday school teacher entered
her classroom she saw leaving in great
haste a little girl and her still smaller
brother.
"Why, Mary, you aren't going away?"
she exclaimed in surprise.
"Pleathe, Mlth Anne, we've got to
go. was tne aistressea reply, "jim-
my'th thwallpwed his collection."
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonlan of August 18, 1S61
t-u t.v.mdnt rtt ne.rsons srulltv of
crimes, by Imprisonment in our peni-
tentiary, nas not -
hoped for by our people. Tho peniten
tiary system in Oregon has proved a
failure. The physical features of our
state compel us to be at great expense
in constructing good roads. We
instance one case, between Portland
and Tualatin Plains. At all times the
road between these places is a bad
one on which to transport produce from
the interior and goods from Portland,
and in portions of the season impass
able. We have one resource. It is to
avail ourselves of the labor of the
prisoners In making the road.
Washington. Aug. 7. The Army of
the Potomac has again assumed the
offensive. Troops left camp night be
fore last and arrived at Malvern Hill
at 4 A. M. yesterday, where they en
countered two regiments of infantry
with batteries behind earthworks.
Firing opened and lasted two hours
when the rebels ingloriously lied
towards Richmond.
Harrlsburg. Pa.. Aug. 6. The editor
and publishers of the Patriot and Union
were arrested tonight by order of the
War Department on a charge of is
suing treasonable posters, calculated to
retard and embarrass recruiting. We
saw yesterday a quantity, near $5000.
of beautiful, bright and clean gold dust
recently brought from Powder River.
This dust will undoubtedly assay at
least $17 per ounce.
Attention, volunters! $100 bounty;
12 able-bodied men wanted for the First
Washington Territory Infantry, United
States Volunteers, for the term of three
years unless sooner discharged.
OWNERS OF DOGS ARE TO BLAME.
Well-Trained Animal Are Not Nuis
ances In City, Says Writer.
PORTLAND. Aug. 12. (To the Edi
tor.) In the Oregonlan August 9 one
who signed his name, "E. S." had an
article entitled "Dogs Out of Place in
the City." While some of his state
ments may be correct, he Is wrong in
the majority of them.
The first statement in which he Is
wrong Is that dogs upset garbage canf.
Dogs that are well fed do not go near
garbage cans as a rule. If a dog does
so It Is the owner's fault, and not the
dog's. The next statement in which
he errs is about the dog "outraging
decency at every grocery store." Well,
at every grocery store at which I have
been (and I have been at quite a few),
if a dog came Into the store he was im
mediately put out. regardless of who
the owner was. There, again, it Is the
selfish owner's fault, and not the dog s.
Surely Innocent dog-lovers should
not be deprived of the pleasure of hav
ing a well-trained dog through the
selfishness of dog-owners who do not
train their dogs In the Interest of
themselves or others. If a dog Is weil
trained, as all true dog-lovers train
their dogs, the dog "heels" where he
is liable to be a nuisance, or sits out
on the sidewalk while his master is In
a store or visiting a friend.
E. S. speaks of children being terror
ized on their own grounds. Ai yet, I
have never seen or heard of children
being afraid of dogs; Instead, the chil
dren want to catch and pet. them, uz
course, some people are an abomina
tion with a dog. Take, for Instance the
woman with a dog on the streetcar;
she allows the dog to rub against peo
ple's clothes, and makes a nuisance of
nlm in general. With a man, though,
the conductor usually has the clog
taken on the front platform, where It
Is out of the way.
License laws are mentioned as a rem
edy The laws now are strict enough,
but they are not enforced. It Is my
opinion that people who abuse the pri
vilege by not training their dogs, prop
erly or allowing them to annoy other
people should not be allowed to have
them. Surely, as long as people keep
the dogs in their places they should
be allowed to have them in the city.
Now, about the muzzling of dogs. It
Is cruel, but the people are so nervous
the dogs should be muzzled to allay any
fear even If there Is no such disease
as rabies In human beings, as some
people say. The muzzle should be
plenty large enough, or the poor dog
cannot pant, and then would certainly
go mad. .
Visitors or newcomers would be
tempted to stay away from Portland if
they got the idea Into their heads that
the dogs in Portland are so much ad
dicted to rabies that they have to be in
mu2zle from J'SPEKERSO.
MUTINY AND POLITICAL SYSTEM
Connection Seen Between O. N. G. Trou
ble and Governmental rjiprnrarm..
LA GRANDE, Or., Aug. 10. (To the
Editor.) Your editorial entitled "Pop
io Onvrnment for the Army" is most
decidedly a good bit of common-sense.
a a on ev-resfular. I tninK 1 am m -
... . j... nv.fi lalr of wil-
pOSltlOn to JUUKC. .,
lingness to conform to a command
i . - a 4 Ha fI fr n t. Trl
srlven by one wno u '
Elve it is, to say the least, a most dis
gusting happening. On the very same
.. nn tn acorn by an
Da. KB we a. o - - .
Oriental who was reared under the
hand of discipline. -.i.
Don't the advocates ui
, ...nm.r,f rcnenlze In this ln-
cine
cldent a first fruit of their nostrums,
their unlimited license? Moreover, the
insidious leaven of ease that accom
panies too many luxuries Is working.
It begins by robbing people of their
clear vision; next comes the torpid
mind, loss of ambition, iiaJ.
muscles and. lastly the human Jelly-
fis", T.r. ir, his last rjaraeraph
has made a most keen. . and, to my
mind, a most true observation, save
for his last statement, ,,,
have too much possibility, nobody at-.u.i-
mhitinn Under our pres-
ent system of electing of fleers to run
the government, wiu ",,h
" . . i, hi notitlon with
sana in mm i " - ".,.- nf
the Secretary of State, regardless of
his fitness or .lacK oi i"' -
S ace has a chance of getting boosted
piace, na fellow a-ets Into
office and begins compounding Ms
elixir he finds that some of the In-
srredlents w 11 not. mi. ,...-!--
oroul ii I some three
verv same lenuw
feet from the ground on top of a gar
bage wngon. . . .
We are rignt on m
.. irrv,,,,, a fellow loses out In
an election down there It's an excuse
to start a revolution, a. .
7 . - v, thwarted hODes of
the disappointed elect. Everybody gets
excited because hi. pet Mil did not get
on the statute books. . Some take
poison, some go to Europe, some wage
war. some exnausi memmi." - .
. , Anil whlrly-gig
do.x. ""'".'"-r::- r ,,,. ca.siu..
aL vs. Caesar. Mark Anthony et al.
Game called at lzo. "
on Caesar and Anthony. At the Ameri
can continental exniomun
Admission price, blood and misery.
Who says there is something new
under the sun? .
JUli-N A, nAiAwu''.
Pauae In Courtship.
London Opinion.
t mnth.r nd be that wild if
she was to see you a kisslA -toe.
"But l am i a aiai j-
"Oh I thought you was Just goln
to begin!"
Phone on Inatalment Plan.
Philadelphia Record.
Mrs. Hubbubs The telephone la an
absolute necessity nowadays. Mrs.
Subbubs Yes, I don't see how we ever
a-ot along at ell before the people next
door put in theirs.