THE 3IORMXG OKEGOXIAX. THURSDAY. SEPTE3IBER 5, 1912.
1U
Ht? (Dmwttan
PORTLAND, OREGON.
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PORTLAND, THURSDAY, SEPT. S, 191S.
VERM OXT AND CALIFORNIA.
The result in Vermont contains no
surprises. The Republican party has
lost a. third of Its numbers to the Pro
gressives, the Progressives have failed
In their first deliberate attempt since
the National convention to overthrow
the regulars, and the Democrats have
made significant and notable gains.
If the Republicans expected to dem
onstrate in Vermont that the Progres
sive movement In the East was Incon
sequential, they have failed; if the
Progressives thought the forces which
through habit, belief, association and
Interest have stood together for half a
century would be dispersed at the
mere sight of the Big Stick and the
sound of the Big Voice, they were mis
taken; If the Democrats thought the
Internal war within the ranks of their
ancient enemy would give them a real
victory, they are in a measure disap
pointed. There is in truth some encour.
agement for all In the Vermont t lec
tion, but it is mostly for the Demo
crats. They have heavily Increased a
vote which In previous years has been
almost negligible. It is impossible to
misinterpret the meaning of that fact.
The Democrats in Vermont, as else
where, are Inspired by the hope and
reasonable expectation of victory for
the first time in sixteen years. They
go to the polls, where heretofore they
have remained away. They have many
accessions through the division and
disorganization of the Republicans.
They have become in Vermont a real
political entity.
But the obvious lesson from Ver
mont Is that the Republican party
there Is divided into two factions, or
two parties, of unequal strength; but
Btill It is divided, and the house di
vided against itself cannot stand. The
regulars have nearly twice the num
bers of the Roosevelt bolters, and
they have won the Governorship and
the state ticket. It must be assumed
that the influences of revolt and dis
integration that have been present in
Vermont are at work in substantially
the same measure throughout New
England. If the Republican party
loses in Maine, Massachusetts, Con
necticut and Rhode Island 33 per cent
of Its voting strength, it is easy to
foresee the consequences. The normal
republican majority In the other New
England states Is less, proportion
ately, than In Vermont and the nor
mal Democratic vote is greater. What
will happen in November if the or
dinary Republican vote shall be di
vided between Roosevelt and Taft
and the ordinary Democratic vote
ehall be held for Wilson? Clearly
Colonel Roosevelt can carry no New
England state. It would appear to
be Inevitable that Governor Wilson
will carry Massachusetts and possibly
Maine and Connecticut. Yet, of course,
the situation may change before No
vember, but it is well enough to un
derstand conditions "as they exist to
day. Colonel Roosevelt carried California
by 77.000 plurality over President
Taft last Spring in the Republican
primary, and he has repeated the per
formance, though In minor candi
dacies the Taft people have done well
The Presidential electors to be nom
inated by the Republicans or by a
majority of citizens voting In the Re
. publican primary will be Instructed
for Colonel Roosevelt. The great
Johnson-Heney conspiracy to dis
franchise the Taft minority in Cali
fornia will thus have been indorsed by
the electorate, which has as little care
for the decencies and proprieties in
politics as their impulsive and head
strong leaders have shown. It is not
easy to account for the coarse obtnse
ness and brutal disregard for the plain
rules of common fair play that have
Inspired the Roosevelt majority in
California except on the ground that
California is all-sufficient. As the
California delegation at Chicago
sought to lay down the law for the
majority at the National convention,
so California now repudiates the au
thority of the National body to pre
scribe any line of duty or c induct
which a sovereign state shall follow.
Thus the tail seeks to wag the dog.
But the Johnson-Heney oligarchy
seems to have over-reached itself
strangely in denying the Taft Repub
licans the right to vote for the reg
ular Republican candidate for Pres
ident and in confiscating the machin
ery of the Republican party to accom
plish that purpose. If we are to as
sume that the Roosevelt majority out
numbers the Taft minority two to
one. it ought not to be forgotten that
the minority will yet vote in November
unless Johnson and Heney shall find
a way to disfranchise a Republican
entirely on the adequate ground that
he would vote the Republican ticket.
If the Taft forces are to have no rep
resentative on the electoral ticket, they
will scarcely vote for the Roosevelt
electors. They will not vote at all or
they may be driven to vote for Wilson.
The Republican plurality in Cali
fornia is indeed large, but whether It
is great enough for Johnson, Heney
and the rest to overcome this self
imposed handicap in November may
be doubted.
Let us not minimize the importance
and numerical power of the Roosevelt
movement. Let us understand that in
the East it has assumed the dimen
sions of a formidable minority; in
California and other Western states it
Is undoubtedly a majority. By and
large, throughout the Nation it would
appear that the Roosevelt strength
and the Taft strength are nearly equal.
Colonel Roosevelt will get little or
nothing from the Democrats. Ver
mont proves it. How, then, can he
pretend to have the slightest chance
of election?
HOPE FOB SPINSTERS.
American old maids should cheer
up and not abandon hope. There is
good news for spinsters on this side
of the Atlantic. It is embodied In sex
statistics lately gathered in England
statistics which show that, while there
are hundreds of thousands of super
fluous women in England and Wales,
there really exists a shortage in the
United States.
For every 1000 men in East Sussex,
for example, there are 1256 girls. In
London there are 1152 women - for
every 1000 meij. The total surplus in
the ranks of the gentler sex is 1,179,-27-6
in England and Wales. This
means that women equivalent in num
ber to many times the population of
Portland must die old maids in the
two countries named or else lie in wait
for widowers.
In Norway and France the lot of
the old maid is little better. There
are only 1000 husbands for every 1069
maids to scramble for, while in France
there is a surplus of thirty-three
women to every 1000 men. It is when
the statistics cross the Atlantic that
the matrimonial horizon brightens. In
the United States there are a full 1000
men from which 943 maidens may
take their pick. Canada is a still bet
ter field of operation from the spin
ster's point of view. There the seeker
after a husband can afford to be really
fastidious, since every 886 women
have 1000 men to make their choice
from. Ceylon and New Zealand are
also pleasant,, fields for the spinster's
contemplation, the sex proportion be
ing about the same as that noted in
Canada.
In view of these enlightening fig
ures American old maids will readily
discern that the American continent
offers them an unequaled field of ex
ploration. It is our disheartened
bachelors and anxious widowers who
may well turn for fresh hope to the
greener matrimonial fields of England,
Wales, France and Norway.
ELECTRICITY OX THE FARM.
Installation of electrical machinery
to do an important share of the chores
on a farm near Walla Walla was
enough of an innovation to form the
basis of a news dispatch briefly de
scribing the enterprise. Yet the use
of electricity in. farming operations is
neither an innovation nor an experi
ment. Gradually, use of electricity in
many ways has been adopted by farm
ers in many parts of the country until
the modern farm has many such de
vices for reducing the scope of man
ual labor.
Electricity now milks the cows,
churns the milk, supplies light and
heat for the farm buildings, and even
shears the sheep. Where it has re
placed manual labor on the farm it
has added In every Instance to the
quality as well as the volume of the
work. For instance, one electrical
shearer is found to be the equivalent
In performance of six shearing ex
perts. Electrical milking devices are
more cleanly, more rapid and pre
ferable in other ways. The advantages
In communication and transportation
growing out of electricity have served
to revolutionize farm life in a large
measure.
These sidelights on the use of elec
tricity are all the more remarkable
when it Is recalled that not many
years have elapsed since electricity
was the plaything of the laboratory
worker. It was put to work in the
big industrial centers with a -blaring
of publicity trumpets, but its invasion
of the farm has been quiet and not
spectacular. There are already many
farmers in the Northwest who merely
turn on a switch in order to churn
the milk, who employ an electric cur
rent as chore boy to milk the cows.
Eventually, in the course of Industrial
evolution, the advanced farmer may
be enabled to operate his farm by
use of a succession of buttons, levers
and throttles. Electricity, steam and
gasoline will be his hired hands.
- RELYING ON IGNORANCE.
Mr. J. W. Cullen's letter, published
today, would have been more Interest
ing had he explained by what course
of reasoning he reached the conclusion
that the single and graduated tax
measure would not increase the taxes
of any "moderate landowner." Unless
the graduated taxes in Josephine
County, where Mr. Cullen resides,
would offset the exemption of personal
property and Improvements, some
moderate landowners" would pay
more taxes to a mathematical cer
tainty. Neither Mr. Coulter, Dr. Eg
gleston nor Mr. Cullen can say what
the graduated taxes or the exemp
tions would aggregate. Dr. Eggleston
pretends to give the figures as to other
counties, but they are assumptions, in
spired estimates and without founda
tion in fact. The single tax amend
ment is similar to a proposal to buy a
stock of goods 'on an estimate made
by looking at the outside of the build
ing which holds them. Values for
calculating the workings of the
amendment cannot be obtained from
the tax rolls or any other source. Rep
resentation by Dr. Eggleston that they
can Is as base a deception as any that
Mr. Shields has perpetrated. If he has
perpetrated any at all.
The Oregonian is not informed as to
the merits of Mr. Coulter's discussion
of single tax in Southern Oregon, and
it is not certain what pamphlet writ
ten by Dr. Eggleston Mr. Cullen has
been reading. If the latter, however,
is anything like the Multnomah Coun
ty edition of the Fels agent's work,
the conclusion must be reached that
Mr. Cullen is not Informed as to pres
ent methods of valuing property for
taxation purposes.
Calculations of tax revenues -presented
by Dr. Eggleston must have
been prepared with the idea upper
most in his mind -that the average
voter is ignorant as to this important
phase of revenue and taxation meth
ods. He boldly submits lists purport
ing to show what certain large land
owners would pay in graduated taxes
If the Fels measure were adopted,
when in fact he nor anybody else can
even approximate the true figures.
In the Multnomah County edition 232
faked calculations are given. They
purport to show what each of 232 in
dividuals would pay In graduated
taxes. The calculatiops are based on
the existing tax rolls. The existing
tax rolls do not give raw land values
on city lots. Much of the property
listed by him bears improvements "in
and under the land." No graduated
tax would be paid on these improve
ments, yet they are all figured in to
make the desired showing of big tax
payments from wealthy men. The re
sults are excessive, and are calculated
to appeal to all who are biased against
wealth and with the additional object
of falsely indicating a saving in taxes
to the smaller landowner.
That anybody should rely on state
ments made In behalf of the measure
by W. G. Eggleston Is surprising, in
view of the Nation-wide notoriety and
condemnation given the single-tax
fraud on the voters perpetrated by
Eggleston and his associates two years
ago.
The pamphlets now flooding Oregon
are the latest manifestation in the
campaign of deceit and Insidious mis
representation that had Its inception
in the Fels polltax swindle of 1910.
The record of this campaign is amaz
ing In the boldness of its reliance on
belief in the gullibility of the people
of Oregon.
The single and. graduated tax meas
ure was first presehted with an ob
vious attempt to conceal the single-tax
feature in the body of the act and
bury it In indefinite wording. It was
reviewed at length early .in the cam
paign by its chief newspaper supporter
and all reference to the single-tax
phase was suppressed.
One of Its paid supporters, Alfred D.
Cridge, has declared over his written
signature that single tax is not pro
posed in Oregon, yet W. S. ITRen de
clares the single and graduated tax
amendment to be an honest, ftatfooted
single-tax measure.
It is supported by figures prepared
by Its paid friends that they know are
Inaccurate, unreliable, and wholly
guesswork.
It is presented with appeals to class
hatred.
Its supporting literature purports to
show what certain wealthy men and
corporations would pay In graduated
taxes, but omits estimates as to their
exemptions, thus failing to. show
whether their taxes would be greater
or less in the aggregate.
In its behalf industrial and commer
cial conditions In Vancouver and
other localities have been cited, when
In none of those places is there a tax
system in force that approaches it in
similarity.
It is backed by assumptions, the
ories and the purses of men who have
no property in Oregon and of whom
few ever saw the state.
Its paid supporters have little or no
taxable property In Oregon, and one,
Eggleston; was sent here from the
East as a hired press agent. If It be
said of Mr. Shields that he also is
from another state and works for pay,
it may also be said that his salary
comes from our own citizens, and not
from an Eastern organization or a
Philadelphia millionaire.
The Oregonian believes that the
Oregon electorate is intelligent enough
to solve its own problems, and that, the
Oregon voters are not so ignorant as
the Fels propagandists assume.
AN EXCELLENT BOOK.
Most of our schools, public and pri
vate, teach something of civil govern
ment, or civics. It is supposed to
cover the various sections of the Fed
eral and state constitutions and de
scribe the workings of the Government
we live under, but usually it is pure
theory. It deals with things as they
would be were the Constitution an ab
stract conception applied to automa
tons. Of the actual processes by
which elections are managed, laws
passed, court decisions obtained and
the citizen helped or hindered In his
daily life by the operations of the Gov
ernment pupils learn next to nothing
at school. The ordinary individual
understands but dimly the machinery
of the state and Nation. To him it is
a vague ' mystery. Sometimes he
dreads it because he realizes that its
power is tremendous. Sometimes he
expects impossible benefits from it be
cause he does not understand its limi
tations. It is only recently that there
has been any book on the market
which supplied really useful informa
tion about the Government In accu
rate and readable form.
Now such a book has appeared, and
It is an admirable work. Its style is
so fresh and entertaining that no
reader will be wearied. The state
ments which it contains are as exact
as care can make them. The chapter
on the Supreme Court has been certi
fied to by the clerk of that tribunal.
Mr. Taft has spoken for the accuracy
of the paragraphs about the White
House and the life that is lived there.
Every Important description, in fact,
has been supervised by some great ex
,rf In that particular department.
The book deals with actual workings
Instead of theories. It follows a mil
from the day it is introduced In Con-
trfaaa in Ita final i e-nfttll re Or Veto tM
the President. It tells how elections
are managed, not how some dreamer
thought they ought to be managed a
nnt.irv on h a. hn.lf aa-o. The reader
learns how the Department of State
protects him in his travels, now tne
Supreme Court reaches its decisions,
how the Army and Navy are organized
and utilized. The name of the book is
'.'The American Government." The
author is Frederick J. Haskln, of
Washington. The more widely It is
read the more intelligently the Amer
ican people will understand the Insti
tutions under which they live.
On another page today will be
found an announcement of a special
arrangement for distributing this book
among The Oregonian's subscribers.
THE SILENCE OF CORTELYOU.
ThA world hears from Loeb and it
hears from Odell; it, hears from
Roosevelt and It hears from- Penrose;
it hears from Hearst and it hears from
irrhhuiH' tint not a. word from Cor
telyou about the Standard Oil contri
bution in 1904. Some persons may
remember that Cortelyou was chair
man of the National Republican com
mittee in 1904, and, because of his
eminent services In that capacity he
was rewarded with a Cabinet position
by President Roosevelt.
Tr -armiM seem from this circum
stance that Colonel Roosevelt was In
clined to play the game then in the
good old-fashioned way by giving the
jobs to the men who worked for them;
but that is another .story. The interest
in Cortelyou. who now has some kind
of a corporation - position In New
York, is that he Is the one man who
ought to know all the facts about that
Standard Oil gift. He knows, or
ought" to know, what Roosevelt knew,
for he is the one to whom Roosevelt
sent those justly celebrated telegrams
a week before the election and after
the money had been spent directing
that the 3100,000 be returned forth
with. Mr. Cortelyou knew, or ought to
have known, just what Treasurer
Bliss was doing. He saw Penrose fre
quently, for the Pennsylvania Senator
was a member of tire National com
mittee. He was in frequent consulta
tion with the President, who naturally
was concerned about the course of
the campaign.
Why Is Cortelyou silent? Just a
few weeks ago he was a wltnws be
fore the Senate committee, and he was
asked whether he knew of an con
tributions from Chauncey M. Depew.
J. P. Morgan, George W. Perkins, H.
H. Rogers, J. D. Archbold and others.
He replied:
I did not. I do not recall. I heard after
the election that H. H. Rogera had con
tributed to the campaign, but I do not know
what amount.
Yet Cortelyou is the man who told
the confiding Roosevelt that no
Standard Oil money, had beau re
ceived, or would be received, for
Treasurer Bliss told him so. Evident
ly Cortelyou left everything to Bliss.
But Bliss is dead.
Cortelyou knows nothing. He does
not say anything and probably will
not. How can he? Yet the man who
did not know what was going on in
the campaign of 1904, though at the
head of the National committee, got
a place in Roosevelt's Cabinet. Prob
ably that was the reason.
A PROFITABLE INDUSTRY.
( The production of alfalfa seed is a
neglected Industry in Oregon. There
are no available statistics ' to show
just how much we produce, but surely
not one pound where the yield ought
to be at least twenty pounds, for
there are no lands in the United States
better adapted to the production of
high-grade alfalfa seed than thous
ands of acres of our dry farming soils
east of the Cascades. We do not mean
by thisMhat the industry cannot be
profitably pursued in the Willamette
Valley and other sections west of
Mount Hood. But the conditions east
of the mountains are practically ideal
for quality and yield.
This is one of the few agricultural
industries that are almost independent
ot transportation lines, the price per
pound being high enough to permit
hauling by team for long distances
without cutting deeply into the prof
Its. Wheat even at a dollar a bushel
will not stand a fifty-mile haul with
profit to the grower; alfalfa seed is
aollir wrt-tVi In p-mesa nf twentv
cents a pound, hence a cost of one
dollar a hundred would not cut aeep
into the proceeds. This year the most
ri.o.nn'a sef ni-ndlict Is hpiniT
picked up at around twenty-three
cents a pound, and it can safely be
said that the market price never gets
below fifteen cents.
Ac a fair- vielrl ner acre Is rather
above than below 400 pounds, and
as the seed is taken from the second
crop, the first or Spring cutting being
used for forage, proaucing praciicany
enough profit to pay for harvesting
tina cnnnd or seed -crop, it can be
seen that 380 per acre is not an ex
cessive expectation, inaeea tne iew
growers in Malheur and Harney Coun
ties say that their crop this year will
pay them more than that amount net
per acre, and this on lands that can
be bought for $60 to. $100 per acre.
llaitit lnnrln Inst AS good. bilt not
in a good state of cultivation, can be
bought as low as $20 per acre.
We are now speaking of what are
called dry-farming lands, and it is
the product of such lands that brings
the highest price. There are hundreds
of thousands of acres of deeded land
now covered with sagebrush in the
counties mentioned that could in two
years be producing as large profits as
those mentioned.
In mentioning the two counties
named It is not meant to exclude any
of the other sections of Eastern Ore
gon. Wallowa, Baker, Grant, Union
Wheeler, Wasco and perhaps the
others have lands just as well adapted
as Malheur and Harney.
We are glad to note that a deter
mined and rather wide-spread move
ment is to be inaugurated in Harney
County next season toward seeding a
good area of land to this wonderful
forage plant for the express purpose
of seed production. The efforts al
ready made in the Harney Valley and
on the foothill lands adjacent, as well
as in the other valleys of that section,
show that the conditions there are
rnr b fair vleld of the choicest
seed, and we expect to see this become
one of the leading ana most, prguiaum
agricultural industries of that section.
The pretty girls in "The Pirates of
ternn." chorus wore slippers of all
shapes and divers hues. The heels
also varied much in size ana snape.
It was noticed by an observant mem
ber of the audience that the prettiest
girls wore slippers with low heels,
while those who began to show un
mistakable effects of time had heels
three or four inches high, the more
unmistakable the effects the " higher
the heels. There is some subtle law
of Nature involved in this coincidence,
but we are not quite certain what it
can be.
There is nothing incredible in the
rinr ' that n hlind woman was re
stored to sight at the famous shrine
of St. Anne of Beaupre, in uanaaa,
few days ago. Thousands of cures
f.Pa hun pnnqummflted at this fa
mous shrine. All faiths are about
equally well provided with marvels oi
,1.1. Trillin must he accepted if
human testimony is worth anything.
Their cause may oe a matter oi ui
pute, but not the fact of their occur
rence. .
If Portland really lacks interest in
the. Pacific Highway, some organized
offnr-t chnuld be made to stir up a bet
ter state of mind. There may be
nothing in the threat to move tne roao
to some route east of the mountains,
oo-nin thurs mav. Climatic condi
tions are more . favorable to good
roads In that region tnan nere. xi
indifference is added to the incubus of
, Winter rains, we cannot expect
others to come to our aid.
That Benton has for the fifth time
won. first prize on county exhibit at
the State Fair does not mean that that
county possesses better soil, and cli
mate or better conditions, for other
sections of Oregon are equal. But the
D.mnn iuuitiIa know how to gather
and arrange their display and always
work in unity for the common guou.
Thev heliefe Benton to be the best
and act in accordance.
,v-Kr,flv familiar with the locality
knows that the saloons are two, If
not three, too many at the Oregon
Electric depot. It is grasping greed
thio notnrn that brines a question
able business into greater disrepute
and alienates support ot- imerai peo
ple. .
Bull Run water Is a powerful annex
ation agent. Lents wants to Join the
city, and the fire at Milwaukie will
cause many to look across the county
line with hopeful longing.
Th i (t-venr-old boy touring the
country and making expenses by pick
ing pockets shows wnat tne Americau
youth can do when started wrong.
Papa Johnson has -been defeated
again in Sacramento County. Son
Hiram will follow the paternal ex
ample early in November.
The women who won prizes on jel
lies, jams and preserves at the State
Fair deserved all the honors they re
ceived, '-i..
WEST'S POLICIES ARE ATTACKED
Oregon's GoTeraor . In New Deal for
Power, la Charged.
PORTLAND, Sept. J. (To the Edi
tor.) During the last two months I.
with the other newspaper readers, have
had municipal scandal for breakfast
every morning until I would prefer
something more palatable for my
morning repast. I havebeen regaled
on the : sins of Huntington; on the
debauchery and poker playing at Red.
mond; on how a Mayor elected by the
residents, of that little city had bee'n
accused of playing the American game
of chance, etc
I have, with wonder, read of the
sins of our own commercial metropolis
and of the modern fighter of wind
mills who has advanced, as he would
have us believe, in the interest of civic
righteousness upon the citadels of sin,
sweeping all before him. But as this
great wind storm passes, and we can
view the work Governor Wcsi has ac
complished, as I think over the past
two months and of the stale stuff he
has caused to be published of our own
and other cities, 1 cannot help think
ing that he has worked wonderous
harm to Oregon without any compen
sating advantage.
I met numerous visitors in Portland
during the Elks' Carnival visitors who
came expecting to find 'Portland in
habited by the vicious and lewd. It
will be remembered that the week be
fore the carnival. Governor West
donned his military trappings, called
out his tried and trusty generals, and"
made war on a board fence at Milwau
kie, which was supposed to hide moral
leprosy; caused alleged law breakers
to sign a written contract to obey the
law. and declared martial law to exist
in Multnomah County, and as a con
comitant condition he had to declare a
condition of lawlessness.
These matters were faithfully - re
ported in Eastern newspapers, and our
neighbors In the East justly came to
the very natural conclusion that Ore
gon had but one modern Joseph and
that his modern name was West. Our
state was slandered, many women
were, by inference, classed as ques
tionable, and our visitors looked on ui
as of bad character. Following this
onslaught on Oregon's reputation, our
Chief Executive next got- the state
into ill repute abroad by attacking in
the newspapers and with all possible
publicity the two little Eastern Ore
gon towns. Finally, Portland was in
vaded. It has seemed to me for some time,
that Governor West must have some
purpose In view. I am coming to the
conclusion that he has been willing to
do this great damage to the whole
state, to trample the laws under foot
and violate his own oath of office for
the purpose of perfecting his political
machine. I think Mr. West is too good
a politician to expect to reap a benefit
two years hence from his present ruth
less acts, and therefore am wondering
if he has favored the Mayor" and cer
tain other Portland officers, in the hope
or under the agreement that certain
support will be rendered to some candi
date yet to announce himself for some
important office at the coming elec
tion? Considering that all of the al
leged immoral conditions in , Portland
should be charged to the Mayor and his
underlings, and that Mr. West has at
tacked the city officials in Huntington
and Redmond, I shall watch with in
terest the coming campaign and If pos
sible learn what the Mayor is to do
for this Immunity bath.
One thing is certain: the commercial
bodies have spent immense sums of
money trying to attract to Oregon good
citizens from the East, and these two
months of braying through the press
by Mr. West has done more harm to
the development of Oregon than can
be undone with many dollars care
fully spent in telling the East of our
resources. Has Governor West in one
single instance. Improved conditions?
Has he closed the roadhouses? Shall
he drive the immoral from Portland?
If he' does, where are they to go? Are
any of his acts of a lasting nature?
If he had really desired to benefit
Oregon, would he not have first gath
ered his evidence in a quiet and seemly
way, and in like way have presented
same to the proper officials and re
quested action? Has he done this?
Has he presented to any officer, spe
cific evidence of anything or done any
thing except to try to besmear a few
men whom he couldn't handle or whip
into-his political menagerie?
GEORGE H. LAW.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DEPLORED.
Correspondent Says It Has No Place In
Modern Civilisation.
PORTLAND, Sept. 3. (To the Editor)
Please let me explain why I think we
ought to abolish capital punishment. At
the various stages of human develop
ment various methods are necessary to
restrain the criminal instinct. The
matter which Is the most efficient for
such purpose at one stage becomes a
drawback, and hindrance at another
stage. Capital punishment has now, in
most of the civilized countries, outlived
Its usefulness, and tends more to pro
tect and breed criminality than to pre
vent and cure It. It makes the con
victim of a murderer much more expen
sive than necessary and also more un
certain because it disqualifies a great
many citizens from Jury duty. This is
especially the case when the murderer
Is a rich ana influential person. I have
noticed that the percentage of sub
penaed Jurors who do not believe in
capital punishment is generally large
In such cases, and this percentage will
increase as "time goes on. The cam
paign against capital punishment is a
religion which already has got its foot
hold and will continue to grow.
Therefore, it seems to me it is now
high time we adjust our criminal law
so it will be more efficient. A life sen
tence to hard labor or solitary confine
ment Is a much greater punishment to
the murderer. But It Is more In accord
with our present stage of consciousness,
and therefore a better remedy at this
time. PAUL C. PAULSON.
Effect of Single Tax.
PORTLAND, Sept. 3. To the Edi
tor.) I am considering the advisa
bility of buying an unimproved lot in
Ladd's Addition, price $2500. I am to
pay down $250, balance in monthly
payments, with interest. Before buy
ing I would ltk to know how single
tu.--'! if it should carry at Fall elec
tion, would affect taxes on it. Would
they be increased or lowered? If I
buy. it is with the Idea of making a
home there as soon as I can pay for it.
CITIZEN.
Inasmuch as single tax would mean
the surrender of the public revenues
now derived' by taxing improvements
and personal property and the increas
ing of taxes on land to make up that
i ...... toy tar hnrdftn On an UD
waa, n -
improved lot than is now Imposed
would be mevitaoie. jno one can j
Just what the' increase would be under
any assumption as to needed revenues.
No assessments have ever been made
on a single tax basis, and no assess
ments have ever been made, from
which, by any mode 'of calculation,
prospective assessed valuations under
single tax can be definitely estimated.
Consuls In Mexico.
niWQ Cr Kt 5 (Trt the Ed
itor?) Kindly let me know whether
there is an Americm uonsuiate at
Hermoslllo, Sonora, Mexico? If so,
please give Consul's address. If not. Is
there an American Consulate in any
other town in the state of Sonora?
SUBSCRIBER.
American Consuls are located at
Acapulco, Chihuahua, Ciudad Porflrio
Diaz, Ensenada, Durango, Matamoras.
Mazatlan, Mexico, Monterey, Nueve,
Laredo, Progreso, Tampieo and Vera
Crux.
FIRST EDUCATE THE INDIVIDUAL
Check Graft by Teaching Cttlaenshlp
In Schoola, Is Ararwed.
' REDMOND, Or., Sept 1. (To the
Editor.) I am glad to note that The
Oregonian recognizes the fact that a
large part of the evils from which
society is suffering today is due to our
standard of morality.
The Senator who takes a bribe from
"Big Business," the steamship owner
who fails to provide enough lifeboats,
the policeman who takes money from
the redlight woman, the grocer who
gives short weight, and the milkman
who waters his goods, are all grafters
of the same kind: they differ only in
degree. There is graft of the city of
5.000,000 people and In the town of
500 people. It is in the Senate of the
United States. We cannot have honest
government unless we have honest of
ficials, and why should we expect to
have honest officials if the body poli
tic, from which they are chosen, is
dishonest?
In medicine this is the age of pre
vention rather than of cure and it
should be so in the affairs of society.
The improvement of our standard of
morality lies- In the education of the
individual. That part of the character
of a man which is not hereditary is
largely acquired between the ages of
7 and 14 years, or while the child is In
the grammar school. Furthermore, it
is in the public schools only that the
state comes In contact with and ex
ercises any influence upon the chil
dren. Let us. therefore, direct our atten
tion to public schools. The churches
are losing ground and in any case
reach only a small part of the people.
To depend upon them for moral educa
tion is futile.
The improvement of our schools is
simply a question of money. Teachers
should be provided for every 20 pupils
Instead of one for 40 or 50, as is. often
the case at present. Teachers' salar
ies should be large enough to com
mand the best material.
Americans have been accustomed to
view our educational system with
pride and to brag about the amount
of money spent upon it and not to
question its efficiency. The time
has come to make a much closer
investigation into what it is really. do
ing and to awaken to a much greater
realization of its importance, respon
sibilities and opportunities.
JAS. BAKER.
JOSEPHINE! MAN IS CONVERTED
Correspondent Criticises Mr. Shields
and Approves Single Tax.
MERLIN, Or., Aug. SO. (To the Ed
itor.) I am a Republican since i860
T a a .nh.i.Hhiir n Hnri N Mffl-
stant reader of your paper, and would
liKe to Deneve mat ju pui pwo
give publicity to fair and truthful
statements of the issues to come be
fore the voters in the November elec
tion. I noticed recently under the head
ing "Single-Taxers Slipping" statements
purporting to having been made by
Charles H. Shields, secretary of the
Equal Taxation League, which are so
grossly misleading and foreign to the
truth that, in the interest of truth
and fair dealing, I am constrained to
protest.
I was present on the occasion of Mr.
Shields' discussion with F. E. Coulter,
alluded to by him, up to- which time I
was strongly biased by reading "Mr.
Shields' Single-Tax Exposed," against
the single-tax movement, but after
hearing the plain, straightforward
statement of Mr. Coulter and reading
the text of the proposed amendment as
set forth in the pamphlet published by
W. G Eggrleston, set over against the
confusing and misleading statements
set forth in the yellow-backed pam
phlet published by Mr. Shields and, aft
er listening as patiently as I could to
his bewildering evasions of the real
issues involved, I was convinced that
the "graduated single-tax and' exemp
tion amendment" is directly in the in
terest of every voter, without any ex
ception, who is not the owner of fran
chise, right of way, water power or
land values in excess of the assessed
valuation of $10,000, and all of the pre
tense of Mr. Shields, or any other per
son, that it will Increase the taxes of
any moderate land owner or farmer is
a wilfully misleading statement. If
Mr. Shields, or anyone of like views,
has a particle of confidence in his false
statements that the circulation of the
literature favoring the afocesald
amendment will have a tendency to
defeat the measure. I hereby challenge
him to send me 500 copies of each of
said publications, and I will guarantee
their faithful distribution among the
voters before election and risk the re
sults. J. W. CULLEN-
Fencing An Acre ot Land.
PORTLAND, Aug. 29. (To the Edi
tor.)I am a subscriber to your valu
able paper and would -like information
on following subjects:
1 Suppose a man buys an acre of land
and fences it, and later another party
purchases the adjoining acre, can the
first buyer compel the second to pay
for his share of cost of fence between
them'' No.
2 Can a woman under the Oregon
law make her will and in it ignore her
husband, with whom she has not lived
for several years, she owning Property
(money or real estate) in her own right
and name? No. , ,
3 When a person reaches the age or.
say 50 years, is it right to say he or
she has reached his or her 50th birth
day or 51st birthday? I claim the lat
ter is right. Fiftieth birthday is right.
Birthdays note merely the
les of birth. INQLIREK.
Dower Bights.
PORTLAND. Sept. 3. (To the Edi
tor ) What is a widow's right in the
estate of her husband? 2. Can the
other heirs force her to accept a dow
er' 3. Can she take a portion of the
property in lieu of a dower if the other
heirs oppose such choice? A. T. H.
1. One-half from the estate during
life.
2 and 8. Either widow or tne otner
heirs may apply to probate court for
an order fixing the value of her life
Interest and awarding her a portion of
the property in lieu thereof. The or
der is Issued if it is shown that such
course is for the best administration of
the estate. '
Willing Of Property.
ROSEBURG, Or.. Aug. 29. (To the
Editor.) Will you please answer the
following questions:
Can a husband who has children,
lawfully will his property to his wife,
not giving their children anything:
Yes.
Can a husband and wife make a Joint
will, that in the case of the death of
either party will leave the use of the
property of both, to the survivor dur
ing his or her life. Questionable
B . ' SUBSCRIBER.
No.
PORTLAND, Aug. 31. (To the Ed
itor.) Would you kindly answer the
following question In your paper: "Did
Mr Rushlight, since he has taken of
fice, leave the city to Investigate or
find points on commission govern
ment?" T. W. ANDREWS
1008 East Eighth St. North.
Propertr Right of Women.
ALBANY. Or., Sept. 2. (To the Edi
tor.) Kindly atate what the present
tatna of married women is as to prop
erty rights in this state. A. C. B.
Women, and men have the same prop
erty rights in Oregon.
Yea.
PORTLAND, Sept. 3. (To the Edi
tor.) Can a foreign-born Chinese or
Japanese legally own property in the
United States, and have title vested in
his own name t W. S. L.
The One" Point
By Dean Col lima.
"Whence came It?"' Thus taith Theo
dore the Great;
"Whence came that campaign cash?
Alas I hate
My ignorance before the world to.
blow
But I confess, I really did not know;
I paid no 'tention to such things you
see;
Maybe the trusts put something over
me.
"Maybe the cash so far as I can tell,
Like dripping manna out of heaven fell
(Fragrant with perfunie of the Stand
ard Oil), '
An unsought boon to ease our cam
paign toil;
I know not whence it came nor where,
it went.
Else I had never given my consent.
"Nay, ask me not; 'Whence came it?"
Oh be sure
I was so wrapped in meditations pure.
The Int'rests, with maliciousness un
kind. Taking advantage of my absent mind.
Probably slipped up. with sly villainy
And dumped some tainted money onto
me."
L'ENVOI.
Oh Theodore, although the world may
question,
I am inclined to follow thy suggestion.
I'll ask no more, but, without any
doubt.
Accept the explanation you hand out
For Io, in this broad universe below,
I've found one thing you don't profess
to know.
TEDDY HOT AFTER THE VOTES.
He Playa to All Parties for Support,
Saja Writer.
PENDLETON, Or., Sept. 2. (To the
Editor.) There Is a mistaken idea that
Roosevelt is very popular personally,
which I think is easily explained. He
has played to all parties, he has de
manded Immediate reduction of the
tariff to catch one so-called progres
sive element, he demands protection to
catch the regular Republican. He has
adopted nearly all of Bryan's silly Ideas
and will get many Democratlo votes
thereby.. He downed the Southern ne
gro to please the Southern Democrat
He has played to the Socialists and
in an interview published in the New
York Call, a Socialist paper, he In
dorses Socialism and goea ao far as to
promise to put Debs and Haywood In
his Cabinet If elected.
That interview was published the
first day of May last, and he may deny
that interview, but it was a great help
to him in the primaries which were to
follow soon. Who fails to see Roose
velt's cunning in the interview? It
would be easy for him to deny that In
terview; at the same time it got hlra
thousands of votes at the primaries
which he will not get at the November
election.
In our own state, by the assistance
of the primaries law Democrats and
Socialists gave him a plurality which
will disappear at the November elec
tion. Roosevelt's real weakness was shown
in the elections of 1910. He canvassed
the state of New York and he made
more noise than a rock crusher. Two
hundred thousand Republicans stayed
at home in that state and the Democrats
won. In the United States 2.000,000
Republicans did not vote and his dom
inating egotism was the cause.
Champ Clark could see the point in
giving advice to his party. He told
them Democrats did not win, although
Republicans lost.
If the Republican party abandons Re
publican principles, what can we do?
Stay at home? Look over the election
returns for 1910. The Democrats have
no larger vote than in 1908, but the
Republicans' vote was 2,000.000 less.
Can we win without that vote? It was
not apathy that caused them to stay
at home, for I believe they are the best
informed men in the country.
S. P. HUTCHINSON.
River and Sea Level.
FORT STEVENS, Or, Sept- 2. (To
the Editor.)
1. How many feet above sea level
is the Willamette river at its normal
stage in Portland?
2. Are there any corporations or
firms in Portland who furnish lunches
free of charge to their employes? If
soi please give their names.
T READER.
1. The zero mark on the Govern
ment gauge on the Morrison Street
bridge is one foot above sea level The
river September 4 was 6.6 feet above
zero or 6.6 feet above sea level
2. Several companies furnish lunches
to employes at reduced rates averaging
about 10 cents a meal We know of
none supplying lunches free of charge.
Dancing Floor on Springs.
PORTLAND, Sept. S. (To the Edi
tor.) In reply to an inquiry relative
to special floors for dancing in Port
land, I note that you advised a corre
spondent that there were no floors In
stalled In any dancehalls in Portland
supported on springs or chains. As
lessee of Murlark Hall In this city.
Twenty-third and Washington Btreeta,
I wish to correct this statement, in
view of the fact that the maple floor
in Murlark Hall is built upon twenty
six heavy railroad springs, . and the
dancohall proper ia constructed sep
arate and apart from the main build
ing. This is the only floor of its kind
west of Chicago. F. W. PRASP.
Sweet Pea Society.
PORTLAND, Sept. 3. (To the Ed
itor.) Kindly state where I can find
out all about the Oregon Sweet Pea
Society of America, and oblige,
ONE OF THE MANY.
At the recent distribution of prizes
by the Sweet Pea Society, O. M. Plum
mer, 461 East Fifteenth Street, N
Portland, was elected president.
No.
HOLBROOK, Or., Aug. SO. (To the
Editor.) To settle a dispute, will you
kindly tell me through the columns of
your paper the answer to the following
question:
If a man finds a bee tree on another
man's property has he the right to cut
It without the consent of the owner?
A SUBSCRIBER.
Widow's Dower.
HARRIMAN, Or., Sept- 1. (To the
Editor.) In Oregon does the wife re
ceive one-half or one-third of the hus
band's property, both real and per
sonal? A READER.
Ti, nm thn narannnl nrnnrtv the
widow is entitled to one year's "keep."
she also receives une-imn bi
come from the estate during life.
Six Months.
HARRISBURG, Or., Sept. 2. (To the
Editor.) Will you kindly inform me
through the columna of your paper
how long after getting a divorce a
person has to wait before getting mar
ried again in Oregon. A READER.
Straw Hat Cleansera.
rnttviT.T.m rr KpDt. 3. (To the
Editor.) Please publish receipt for
cleaning straw hats. READER.
Preparations, with Tecelpts for use.
may be obtained at druggists.
Yes. '
MARQUAM, Or., Aug. 19. (To the
Editor.) If a man dies leaving a wife
and no children, does the wife get all
of her husband's property?