THE -MORNING OREGONIAN. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1913.
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PORTLAND, TUTWDAT. JOV. tl. 1I-
WILSON'S POLICY TOWARD TBUSTS
The people look to the Incomini
administration to dispose of two mail
Issues of the late campaign the tar
irr nni thA tnnta. Wilson has al
ready announced his purpose to ask
Congress to take up the tariff at an
extra session next Spring and there
is some talk of legislation on the trusts
also at that session. The tariff, how-
... . . . 1 .4 . a n
ever, is likely to oe uie buoji v- -longed
controversy, notwithstanding
th cancrntnA hone of the New Tork
Times that it will occupy only three
months. There are so many angles
n tha ti-iict nuestion and it is like
to provoke such prolonged debate that
we can scarcely nope ior acuuu uj
. i .uginn iiAvntMl t n trie tariff.
I U l lilt? O' - " " "
Ti-ncrt. should rather be the principal
cnKlnt of legislation at another
Eession.
Th. h.Kt w ran reasonably expect
then, is that anti-trust legislation will
be passed at the regular session uc
trinnintr in December. 1913. By that
time the courts may have disposed
-rinaiiv r,t anmn of the suits now pend
ing and their decisions will throw
euch light on the scope and llmlta
tlons of the existing law as to provi
a valuable guide to Congress in snap
Jng supplementary legislation.
- . Thft nolirv outlined by President
elect Wilson is so closely In line with
that pursued by President Tart mat
It would be consistent for him to pros
ecute to a conclusion the suits now
pending. Although he has said that
the Sherman law roared like any
cufkinir dnvc. he mat be expected to
endeavor to add leonine tones to that
roar without awaiting further legisla
tion Hi criticism ignores the facts
that TaTt Is the first President who
really attempted to emorce mo ouci
man law against all offenders alike,
thot Tft is the first to obtain prison
sentences under It and that he has
proved that law so efficacious that
since the oil and tobacco decisions no
trusts have been organized.
Aside from approving such tariff
revision as will deprive trusts of spe
cial favors. Wilson may be expected
tn demand of the courts decrees
nletelv dlsmem
ber the trusts than did the oil and
tobacco decrees, which the Demo
cratic platform unjustly condemns as
compromises. He is pledged by his
platform, his speech of acceptance and
his campaign speeches to supplement
. civil with criminal suits against trust
. officers. We are at last 10 see a sys
jematc effort to put the trust mag
nates in Jail. We shall learn whether
juries, knowing that conviction means
a prison sentence, will convict, wheth
er juries will recognize an unwritten
law as condoning the crimes of high
.finance. If so, much credit must be
criven Wilson's last two predecessors
for educating public opinion up to this
"point.
;' Wilson's anti-trust policy differs
.from Taft's mainly in his condemna
tion of the Sherman law as ineffec
tual, while Taft maintains that the oil
nd tobacco decisions have proved it
.to be effective and to need only sup
plementary laws describing and de
bouncing forbidden methods. Taft
jjias brought criminal prosecutions and
"has expressed confidence that, as the
offense becomes "better understood,
juries will convict. Wilson is of one
;mind with Taft in holding that mo--nopoly
is repugnant to our institutions
and is abnormal, and that competition
Van and must be restored without de
stroying those large corporations
whlch are the normal result of nor
;mal competitive conditions. Both men
"aim to destroy the abnormal out
growths of special privilege and of
official suplneness. Herein they dif
. fer sharply from Roosevelt, who con
founds the normal with the abnormal
; and would take all alike under the
i.wing of the Government, prosecuting
only those trusts which do not con
form to his standard of goodness.
COWARDICE OF CRIMINALS.
Conviction of the four murderers of
; Rosenthal and of the man who hired
them to commit the crime shows how
.Invincible is the law when adminis
tered by honest, capable officials. Be
' fore the assaults of District Attorney
Whitman, the whole structure of ter
rorism built up by the criminals in col
lusion with the police fell to pieces.
,The terrified guilty ones turned on
each other, and some became cringing
; servants, instead of defiant violators of
' the law. The actual murderers, when
) brought to trial, told a story, in the
' effort to exculpate themselves, which
the merciless logic of Judge Goff
. proved absurd.
In twenty minutes the jury adjudged
them guilty.
" A public official, if he be capable
and faithful, can strike terror into
criminals and can break up the most
formidable conspiracy, unless he Is a
nnn..ov1 Tha larlaca liaH. nn th
venality, incapacity and cowardice of
the law's servants. If they cannot buy
or frighten, they trust to the blunder
ing of an official; if he be upright
and capable, they seek to terrorize. If
he be upright, capable and courageous,
all good citizens rally to his support,
and the bullying criminal shows him
self a craven at heart, and each races
with his confederates to secure im
munity by turning informer.
The same skill. Integrity and cour
age which Whitman has shown Jn
bringing the murderers of Rosenthal
within the shadow of the electric chair
can break up the whole criminal or
ganization which for years has ruled
New York City under the name of
Tammany. Such a man instills cour
age and determination in all those who
Instinctively desire to see the law up
held, but have despaired because none
made the first move. All good citizens
promptly rally around such a man.
Let them only stand by him to the
finish, and he can recapture the gov
ernment of New Tork City from the
corrupt gang which breeds Beckers
and Rosenthals, and can restore it to
the people.
A WOMAN VICE-PRESIDENT.
The project of complimenting some
woman with the. electoral votes which
would have gone to the late Mr. Sher.
man has its merits. There is no
weighty reason why a woman should
not be Vice-President of the United
States, or even President. But the
present proposal is merely to cast for
some woman a number of votes which
cannot possibly elect her. Surely,
there is no danger in doing so. and it
may make some person happy for the
rest of her life. Even if a woman
were to receive votes enough to elect
her. we should-not worry over it.
It must be admitted that the Presi
dent of the United States has more ac
tual power, while it lasts, than' most
modern monarchs, but he has not
more than monarchs used to have in
the days of Queen Elizabeth of Eng
land and Catherine of Russia. His
torians do riot question that those
women made extremely capable mon
archs. Elizabeth guided Lngiana i
safely through the most serious crisis
of its career, while no Russian Czar
ever served his country more ably
than Catherine.
There is something almost grotesque
about the way many Americans shy at
the thought of entrusting political
power to women. According to some
observers, this is one among numer
ous traits in which iwe resemble the
Orientals. Women have always been
despised in Eastern lands, but Euro
neans have not hesitated to make them
queens and governors when the oppor
tunity occurred. France is almost the
onlv other Christian nation wnicn ex
cludes women from the highest polit
ical honors. Scotland, Scandinavia,
Austria, all have had queens who
reigned with glory. Our unfounded
prejudice against women's political ca
pacity is pretty certain to wear away
as the suffrage is gradually extended,
and they have a chance to demon
strate their ability.
The only danger in the premises is
that they will not demonstrate their
ability. Women are naturally so imi
tative'of men that they may slip with
out protest into the old bad ways in
politics and fail to achieve the great
things their friends expect of them.
In co-educational colleges the women
are far more likely to encourage bad
traditions than good ones. Will it be
the same in politics?
STATISTICS ON DEATH PENALTY.
Comparative statistics on homicides
are not as a rule conclusive as to the
deterrent effect of capital punishment.
The proportion of murders to the total
population is so small that one Insane
man or one degenerate by a triple or
quadruple murder may so increase the
percentage In one community as to
place it, temporarily, in an unravoraDie
light. Moreover, there is a difference
between states In the mental ana
moral character of the people. One
may be largely a rural community and
another with which It may be com
pared may have numerous large cen
ters of population where crime Is prev
alent. Elements aside from mere fig
ures must be given consideration in
comparing the homicide statistics of a
state which has abolished capital pun
ishment with those of another state
which has not.
For these reasons, Colonel C. E. S.
Wood's comparisons In his communi
cation today would need further back
ing were they even correct. But as
they are given, it must be that he has
relied on-information which The Ore-
gonian does not possess and which is
not supported by the last census re
ports. ' Colonel Wood asserts that
Maine, where the death penalty is not
imposed, has fewer homicides than
New Hampshire, Connecticut or Mas
sachusetts. The last census figures, as
published In an Eastern exchange, give
the number of homicides per 1,000,000
of population In Maine at more than
double the number in Connecticut and
nearly- double that in Massachusetts.
Rhode Island, another state where
murderers are not hanged, shows a
greater proportion of homicides than
Maine. After comparing Maine and
Massachusetts in the matter of popula
tion centers, one would naturally ex
pect to find the lesser number of mur
ders in Maine, even if both imposed
the same form of murder penalty. Tet
Maine has twenty-three homicides per
1.000,000 population to Massachusetts'
thirteen.
It may be admitted that the insane
and those who murder in passion are
not deterred, as Colonel Wood avers.
by knowledge that penalty for mur
der Is death. Nor is the forger de
terred by capital punishment. It is
not imposed on him. Neither is the
death penalty inflicted on the Insane
murderer or on him who kills in the
heat of passion and without premedi
tation. . Advocates of the death pen
alty do not assert that it is a deterrent
to second degree murder or man
slaughter or affects the insane crim
inal. At least we have never heard on
any supporters of the present lav who
do.
The strongest point we can discover
in Colonel Wood's letter is In the argu
ment that capital punishment prevents
convictions, because it gives abnormal
weight to the "reasonable doubt" or
the "alibi" in tlfe mind of the juror re
luctant to assume an indirect respon
sibility for another's death. Tet this
objection is applicable only In certain
states, of which Oregon is one. It is
remedied by giving judge or Jury dis
cretion as to whether life imprison
ment or death be imposed. That
when such discretion is given it may
be used even to prevent instead of
encourage appeals, renearings ana
final failure of Justice was llustrated
In the McNamara case. Fear of the
death penalty brought confessions
that would never have been given in
Its absence.
We are not advocating the alterna
tive death penalty as a basis for com
promise. Yet, as such, in rare in
stances, it seems a wise purpose
by relieving a widespread bias of mind
that would be altered by no form of
positive or conclusive evidence. In
the McNamara case it destroyed In the
beginning a conviction that a capitalis
tic conspiracy existed to murder lead.
era in the labor movement. It cleared
foul atmosphere and secured the
ends of justice in a way that would
have been impossible by any other
court process. At that, certain ends of
Justice and full protection of society
were still endangered, for one McNa
mara, instead of profiting by "reform
atory punishment" in "detention and
under observation," has lived to plot
more murders from his cell in San
Quentln, though unsuccessfully.
Oregon s law may well be amended
so that death for certain murders may
be discretionary with court or Jury
Retention of only the principle of cap
ital punishment' was Involved In the
recent election. On that the voters
spoke after sober and thoughtful con
sideration, with no very recent gory
deeds to inflame their minds and with
an impersonal and casual knowledge
of its immediate effect on men now
under conviction. The result disclosed
no spirit of vengeance but a calm, de
termination to protect society.
PHONETIC SPELLING.
The process of reducing the English
language to a system of phonetic
spelling proceeds apace, though not
without vigorous protest from many
sources. The purpose of the scholar
ly innovators is. not to "simplify" or
"reform" th nnnular spellings of
words. What they wish to do Is to
adopt a phonetic representation which
will correspond for scientific purposes
to the accepted pronunciation.
This would be a comparatively easy
feat If there were any accepted pro
nunciation of English, but as invest!
gatlon proceeds It becomes increas
ingly plain that there is nothing of
the sort. Even in the United States
where 'Webster's Dictionary has ruled
spoken English for these many years
pronunciation Is by no means uni
form. A Westerner can scarcely un
derstand his mother tongue as it is
sDOken in Baltimore. The natives of
Maryland have softened their speech
in imitation of the negroes until it
sounds like a foreign language to a
man from Wisconsin. They say
"bahn" for barn, "poke" for pork and
"bone" for born, with hundreds of
similar uerversions.
Every considerable city in the
country has built up a pronunciation
of its own which tends to become in
creaslngly different from the usage of
other places. The natives take odsu-
nata Dride in their singularities and
boldly proclaim that everybody else is
wrong. New England has a dialect.
Iowa has another. Georgia has
third and so it goes all over the land.
In the face of facts like these who
shall say authoritatively what pro
nunciation is correct? Uniformity is
out of the question.- Such a factor as
climate sensibly affects the vocal or
gans and helps vary the utterance of
human beings. Food also has its in
fluenee and habits of ' life are
important.
It seems therefore as if it might be
difficult to adopt a system of pho
netic spelling which will, serve as a
universal standard . even for scientific
purposes. Many scholars hope, how-
ever.'that it can be. done, and if it ever
is then no doubt-the uniform spelling
will tend to ordduce a uniform utter
ance, since we 'all unconsciously strive
to pronounce words as they are spelled
if we happen to remember the way.,
EDITIONS DE LUXE.
The arrest of James J. Farmer in
New Tork for defrauding "lady blblio.
phlles" will awaken painful associa
tions in a number of females' bosoms
out here on the Coast. His operations
are said to have extended all over the
country. How many lovers of the old
and dirty in books he has swindled will
never be known probably, but his vic
tims must have been innumerable,
since he has been carrying on his per
formances for years, and has dealt in
editions de luxe as well as in "rarities.
The people who patronize him are
those who buy books to look at ana
talk about, but who never by any
chance open a volume to read, unless
it happens to be the latest by Mane
Corelli or The Duchess. These people
buy sets of Dickens at $30,000 each, or
supposedly artistic editions of Voltaire
and Balzac at prices ranging according
to the victim's gullibility from $50,ouu
up to J100.000. The particular opera
tion for which Farmer has gotten him
self into durance vile was the sale of a
de luxe edition to a Mrs. Bird for J 47
650. which honest experts say could be
bought in the open market for $3500.
We are astonished to find it was worth
so much. Usually these swindlers
palm off a mess of old rags and ink on
their opulent gulls, which are worth
nothing except their price at the pa
per mills.
The person who buys books to read
Is comparatively safe from this species
of swindle. He cares nothing for rare
books, and detests old ones. What he
wants Is the printed page in the most
legible and convenient form. For
tooled leather covers, sumptuous mar
gins, famous misprints and the dirt
which to many persons symbolizes age
and value he has no craving. To the
real lover of literature th6 newest book
is, as a rule, the best one, siDce It Is
apt to be more legible and cheapest.
Shakespeare In an edition printed yes
terday is worth a hundred times as
much as the original folio for prac
tical purposes. The Greek texts which
come from the press currently are far
preferable to all the Elzevirs and Al
dlnes in the world, not only because
they are better gotten up, but also be
cause they are more correct, both in
text and annotation. As far as we are
concerned, age has no charms for us,
unless it brings some Improvement In
its train. The antiquity which means
merely rottenness and decay is not to
our liking. We prefer the wholesome
product of this morning. Certainly,
old friends are better than new ones,
but that is .because they have been
tried and found true. Old wine is the
best to drink because the years have
ripened its perfume and perfected its
taste. And old books are the best to
read, some of them, at any rate, but
not in old editions. Deliver us from the
grimy page, the flimsy papar, the mis
leading text of old editions. Not many
years ago there was a rage among
some of our less discerning citizens to
buy "limited editions," as they were
humorously called. The wily book
agent represented his firm as being
engaged in publishing a singularly cor
rect and luxurious edition of some es
tablished author, Dickens, say, or
Thackeray. There were to be only so
many sets printed, five hundred per
haps, and each was to be signed by a
distinguished editor and numbered so
that its value was sure to increase rap
idly with the years.
The dupe was lead by the agent's
eloquence to regard his purchase aa an
investment. Like buying diamonds,
the acquisition of these rare and pre
cious sets would make an assured In
heritance for his children and forever
insure his widow against want. Life in
surance on the deferred dividend plan
was nothing to the purchase of these
limited editions as a rapid and safe
road to wealth. When the mine had
been worked out, those-who had Al
lowed themselves to be persuaded and
had lined their shelves with the lim
ited editions of all sorts of classics
suddenly found the same books for
sale in the cheap stores at big dis
counts. That was the kind of an in
vestment they had secured. Swindlers
like Farmer have operated with bril
liant success among the opulent lovers
of that particular kind of art in Port
land. There are tales of women who
have paid $30,000 or $40,000 for sets
of some novelist which turned out to J
be worth nothing at all when they
came under the eyes of persons who
really knew what was what. The ex
pense is heaped upon these seductive
rarities by many an ingenious device.
Of course, the book covers are some
thing marvelous to behold, with their
imitation designs and false ornamenta
tion. The paper is said to have been
manufactured by some, secret process,
which never could be used in books for
the reading of the vulgar herd. Be
tween the leaves pictures of the most
select character have been stitched.
They are always printed from plates
which no other firm could possibly
procure, and signed by artists so fa
mous that Tintoretto would blush for
modesty to be compared with them.
Thus the gull is 'snared' and the
swindler rakes in the shekels, which
would probably be spent in some sil
lier way if he did not get them; so
that, upon the whole, no harm seems
to be done. Whether a woman emp
ties her pocket for a $10,000 dog or a
faked edition de luxe does not make a
great deal of difference to the world.
As long as we have people among us
who are wealthy and ignorant, while
at the same time they aspire to pose
as lovers of art, the swindler will reap
his golden harvests easily and regu
larly. The law may interfere with his
business now and then, but not seri
ously enough to harm him much. The
fool and his money are bound to part.
If the separation is not effected by one
species of humbug, it' will be by an
other. Warnings are of value only to
the intelligent, and there seems to be
something about the possession of
large sums of Inherited money which
fearfully Impairs the mental alertness
of its owners. The $47,650 which poor
Mrs. Bird paid for a bundle of rags
and Ink would have founded half a
dozen scholarships in some technical
school, which by and by might begin
to produce real artists.
Roosevelt may induce Progressive
legislators not to fuse with the old
parties, but when either of those old
parties passes laws which satisfy the
demands of the Progressive platform,
he cannot prevent the Progressive
voters from fusing by means of a sim
ple return to their old party. All the
measures of any merit which the Pro
gressives advocate are supported by
one or both of the old parties and
when they are brought up for action
the Progressive legislators must either
vote for them or be false to their prin
ciples. Every' Progressive vote cast
for such measures originating with
either of the old parties will be a con
fession that there is no excuse for a
third party. The candidacy of Roose
velt is in fact the only excuse for such
a party.
Colonel Hofer's monthly magazine
the Oregon Manufacturer, has ap
peared and shows the result of work
typical of its editor. One cannot ap
preciate the industrial programme of
the state until he reads the first num
ber. The general contents are short,
sharp and Incisive, everything epito
mized and boiled down to facts and
figures. Colonel Hofer and his sons
have opened a lead in Journalism in
Oregon that will be of great benefit
for every issue will be an immigration
investment and labor looking for a
well-paid field.
The franking system under which
Congressmen and Senators enjoy free
mailing privileges costs the taxpayers
$22,000,000 a year, and is one of the
great obstacles to the extension of the
parcels post. How much good does
It do the people? Now and then one
gets a parcel of seeds which will not
grow. Occasionally comes a grandilo
quent speech which is not read, and
ought not to be. If members of Con
gress were held to strict account for
their franks, the abuse might be cut
down to reasonable figures.
Even women living in suffrage states
still suffer certain disabilities of a po
lltlcal nature. Suppose an Oregon man
moves to New Tork with his family
His wife, though enfranchised here,
cannot vote in that benighted state.
Each state makes its own election
laws, subject to a few constitutional
restrictions, which have not - been
worth much In practice. What state
will be the last to enfranchise women ?
Is there any more alluring question to
bet upon?
Make the law what it was Intended
to be, a means of securing swift and
sure justice at reasonable cost, and the
legal profession will cease to be the
butt, of jokes, such as Judge-elect
Davis mentioned in his speech to the
Oregon Bar Association. Exclusion
from practice of the shyster and the
ignoramus by some such means as
Judge Davis suggested would be a
means to this end.
Observers lament that there is no
European statesman of towering gen
ius to take a hand in the settlement of
the Balkan troubles. At the head of
each Cabinet there is a decent medi
ocrlty. but no Bismarck; not even a
Disraeli. Perhaps it is just as well.
The absence of a compelling genius
may give the Balkan peoples a chance
to settle their troubles for themselves.
which i3 often the best way.
The Oregon manufacturer, big or
little, with payroll largo or small, is
entitled to consideration today and all
days, for the money gets into a re
volving fund from which many bene
fit. ,
Dr. Stelner has reduced the per
capita cost at the asylum down to
$13.71, which is doing very well In
these days. Not many who are sane
and at large fare so well.
A Boston youth has wedded an Aus
trian countess in London. , Trust she
will, not pan out like most Austrian
counts that invade the American mat
rimonial market.
Paul Clagstone aspires to succeed
the late Senator Heyburn, and he de
serves honors from Idaho Republicans.
Beauty is a drawback to an actress.
according to Maxine 'Elliott. Still the
pretty ones manage to struggle along.
A New York man committed suicide
after attending the theater. We've all
known that impulse.
No, Spring Rice isn't a market quo
tation; merely the new British Ambas
sador. '
Nothing but a recount of California
can settle the bets.
At least, it's time to begin jour
Christmas saving.
Did. you eat home-made mush this
morning?
Stars and Starmakers
by Leone Cass Baer.
Edward C. Bowes, of Tacoma, the
present husband of Margaret Illlngton,
Is going into the producing end oi
the theatrical business. He has taken
over Thompson Buchanan's new play,
"A Man's Way," which Is to be pro
duced in December. Ann MurdOok, who
was here In "Excuse Me," is to have
the leadllng role.
a a
Aileen May, sister to Edna, has ar
rived in San Francisco from New York.
Next Monday she joins the melodra
matic stock at the New National Thea
ter a company backed by Jack C.
Wilson, a Pacific Coast capitalist.
. .
Willard. the man who grows, and
who grew for a week at the Empress
last Summer! opens a.t the Hippo
drome in London on December Z, pre
paratory to a tour Of forty weeks in
England. Willard has never appeared
east of Chicago.
a .
Portland looms frequently as a sup
ply station for vaudeville acta, and
this week records another Instance
where an impresario has found talent
in this city. The case in point is that
of Ethel Lester, who made her debut
at the Orpheum yesterday afternoon as
a member of Marion Littlef ield's Wlor
entine Singers. Miss Lester was born
In Sydney, Australia, and has been
resident of Portland tor a year. Miss
Llttlefield declares her recruit to be a
dramatic soprano of great promise.
Miss Lester rehearsed for a part In
Traumerel" yesterday morning, and
joined the grand opera singers with
the confidence of an old hand before a
large matinee throng Just a few hours
later. The addition of Miss Lester to
Miss Littlefleld's coterie of singers
makes the vaudeville organization
more cosmopolitan than ever. ' Miss
Llttlefield is a Boston girl, born and
bred. Her leading soprano is Scotch,
the contralto is French, the baritone a
Hungarian, the second tenor from Kll
larney, and now Miss Lester, of Port
land, Joins as a representative of the
Antipodes. Miss Llttlefield, owner of
the act, appeared in Portland two
years ago with the Neapolitan Opera
Company. She is a cousin of Paymas
ter Charles A. Llttlefield, U. S. N., re
tired, and a second cousin of De Wolf
HooDer. Until three years ago Miss
Llttlefield always had the distinction
of having two relatives in Congress.
They were Charles E. Llttlefield and
Seth Milliken, both representatives to
Congress from Maine. The vaudeville
songstress has been besieged with rel
atives all along the Orpheum circuit.
In Spokane she was visited by nine and
in Seattle last week 14 relatives, all
members of the same family, called on
her and occupied seats at the Orpheum
performance last Saturday night to
hear their cousin sing. She has cousins
In Portland, too, but as yet has been
unable to locate them, the current di
rectory not containing their names, due
to their recent arrival here from the
East,
Because "Seven Sisters" is the pres
ent week offering at the Baker, this
little story seems apropos:
While touring the states -in "The
Seven Sisters" last season, Charles
Cherry had rather an amusing expert
ence in San Francisco.
"I had to secure a little girl the
last step in the ladder of 'The Seven
Sisters," " Mr. Cherry relates,, "and one
had been engaged for me there.
never saw her till the night of the per
formance. As I went to my dressing-
room I saw tne aearesi nine gin,
about 7, I should say, with golden
hair and such pretty bows of ribbon
in it She was dressed with exceed
ing daintiness and I thought what
picture she would make.
"The business of the part required
me to take the little girl and swing
her to my shoulders and make my en
trance that way. When I tried to lift
her I found she was much heavier than
I supposed, so I exerted myself some
what more and perched her on my
shoulders. This brought her legs
within close range of my vision, and
they looked auspiciously mature, so
looked ud at the child and said: THow
old are you, little girl?' 'Twenty-eight"
was her answer. 'Then get right
down, I said, and, suiting the action
to the word, put her back on the
stage."
m w w -
Mlnnette Barrett one of the Port
land girls who has made good before
the calcium, has an important role In
"The Mere Man." Augustus Thomas
wrote the nlay. a satire on the suf
fragette question. Crystal Heme, an
older sister of Julie Heme, who had
the leading role in "Bought and Paid
For," is of the company also.
Catherine Countlss is drawing to a
close her special engagement in stock
at the Colonial Theater in Salt Lake,
In turn Miss Countlss has presented
The Gamblers," "Tlra," "The Thief"
and "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage
Patch." Wiltfred Rodgers is her lead
ing man; our old friend, J. Frank
Burke, is playing character roles; Ron
ald Bradbury, Ruth Lechler and her
husband. Earl Dwire, now stage man
ager for Miss Countlss; Richard Vivian
and his talented wife, Fanchon Ever-
hart who plays character role
every one of the above a former Baker
player are in Miss Countlss' support
Rosa Roma, who comes occasionally
on the Orpheum circuit In her violin
specialty, is ingenue with the com
pany. In private life Miss Roma is
Mrs. Chester N. Button. Mr. Sutton
was a one-time manager of the Port
land Orpheum circuit and is now house
manager of the Colonial stock. Miss
Countlss returns to New York on the
first of next month, where she will
begin rehearsals for' a metropolitan
production that offers promise for a
big success'for Miss Countlss.
In the waltz operetta, "The Robb of
Panama," which comes to the Heillg on
December 1, 2, 3 and 4, is Fay Balnter,
one of the daintiest ingenues that ever
created for herself a Portland reign.
She was with the Baker stock a year
ago.
William "Billy" Dills has been en
gaged as stage director for the Ly
ceum stock, one of Oliver Morosco s
holdings in Los Angeles. Herschel
Mayall and Maude Leone will play the
leads. -
Valeska Suratt is headed Portland-
way via san F rancisco in ine rm
Waltz."
Snorers In Church.
Stray Stories.
Doctor Do you talk in your sleep?
Patient No, I talk in other people's.
Tra a clergyman.
CAPITAL PCXISH5IEXT OPPOSED
Sya-tem Fails Even aa Deterrent, Says
Colonel Wood.
PORTLAND, Nov. 10. (To the Edi
tor.) As it Is an important study in
sociology perhaps you will bear with
me If I notice the articfe in favor of
capital punishment reprinted in The
Oregonlan from the California Chris
tlan Advocate. It must not be as
sumed that It is Christian advocacy
because found in a Christian Advo
cate. The most savage plea for cap
ital punishment I have yet seen was
by the reverend editor of the Southern
Christian Advocate, or some such title,
the organ of the Methodist Church in
the South, and when Kansas had ac
cumulated four murderers under sen
tence of death Just as we have accu
mulated seven it remained for a min
ister of the gospel and preacher of
Christ crucified to use his pulpit as
the forum from which to call on the
Governor for a wholesale execution.
It cannot be forgotten how many
fine clergymen are intelligently plead
ing tor the abolition of capital punish
ment The acts of those who seek to
preserve this "last remaining feudal
ferocity as useless as it is degrading,"
as it is called by the foremost Euro
pean authority, cannot therefore be
given any authority beyond their per
sonal intelligence, knowledge and
strength of argument The church has
always had a very considerable band
which has championed every stupid
wrong in history. The high priest cru
cified Christ, the bishops preached and
wrote in defense of Charles the First.
The Lord's annolnted, the Archbishop
of Paris, proclaimed the divine right
of Kings for Louis Fourteenth, the
pulpits of the South proved by the
Bible that slavery w&s ordained of
God and they called the hanging of
John Brown a righteous act In fact,
we might as we read history say the
church, like every other Institution In
effect founded on property anB the
existing order of things, is always
wrong but progress owes no greater
debt than to the brave men in the
church who have led it upward and
generally been denounced as heretics
or persecuted for their courage.
Now this Christian Advocate article,
to my mind, la words, words, words
pure balderdash written by a man ig
norant of every fact In the history of
capital punishment. The writer says
"capital punishment is not punish
ment in the sense of vengeance." In
Tact it is precisely vengeance. Re
formatory punishment is best obtained
by holding men in detention and under
observation. The very fact that pro
duced the conviction of Becker and
the gunmen was the aroused feeling
for vengeance. The very fact which
thoughtul men feared might let loose
cold-blooded murder conspirators was
that the Jury might hate to electro
cute. Were the crime less appalling,
the desire for vengeance less aroused,
they probably would not have con
victed, because the individual man
more and more dislikes to be the per
sonal instrument who' sends a fellow
man to the gallows. That Is really
one of the great arguments against
capital punishment it prevents con
victions. It promotes long delays and
appeals and turns criminals loose
without any restraint who ought to be
shut up, perhaps for life. In short, it
is inefficient There are several books
in the library which will prove this to
anyone, The Mtotory or capital run-
lshment, "Crime and Criminals, and
many others.
Everything this writer says he
might have said in the same glitterlnK
generalities and it was far better said
by Lord Eldon when England pro
posed to abolish hanging as the pun
ishment for larceny and burglary and
highway robbery. The profession I
have the honor to serve the bench
the pulpit all united at that period
in the cry that society would be at
the mercy of the criminal if the deter
rent fear of. capital punishment was
removed. It was removed and England
was the better for It It was removed
n Maine and Maine is the better for
It. Maine has fewer homicides than
New Hampshire, Connecticut or Mas-
sachusetts. It was abolished In Rhode
Island and Rhode Island is the better
for it Wisconsin never had an exe
cutlon and has fewer homicides than
its neighbors. These facts speak louder
than all the words of our Christian
Advocate. Experience Is stronger than
any theory. Let him study the sub
ject in Europe. It . is abolished in
nearly all the countries. It exists in
Russia only for political and military
offenses. A man was lured from
France, where there was no capital
punishment into Belgium where cap
ital punishment then was in force, and
was killed there because the clrcum
stances suited the plot better. If our
Christian friend will study the subject
he will find the insane and those In
passion are not deterred. They act on
an overpowering impulse. The cold
blooded murderer is not deterred. He
lays his plans to escape or, as in the
Becker case, expects protection.
The execution only prevents cer
tainty of punishment, for it gives
abnormal weight with the jury, to the
"reasonable doubt, the "alibi, etc. In
short juries will not hang men if they
are not aroused for the moment by
indignant vengeance. Most murderers
escape.
Lastly, it certainly brutalizes so
ciety, with the exception perhaps of
some preachers who cannot be brutal
ized. If -it brutalizes society, and yet
does no good, It should be abolished
Let the Christian Advocate turn its
attention to what produces human de
generacy and crime the flooding tide
of enforced poverty. Let it seek the
reduction of those special privileges
which create monopoly on the one
hand, poverty on the other.
C. E. S. WOOD.
SEWER EXTENSION IS OPPOSED
Monta-rilln Man Charges That Resolu
tions Are Jiot Representative.
PORTLAND, Nov. 20. (To the Edi
tor.) In The Oregonlan November 16
under the heading, "Sewer System In
dorsed," an Item appeared which I de
sire to correct Here are the facts
At a meeting of the Montavilla Board
of Trade held at Harris' hall on No
vember 14, to which the public was
invited -to discuss the East Stark-street
sewer system, a resolution was pro
posed favoring the . extension of said
sewer to city limits. Seeing that the
audience was almost unanimous in op
position to such a resolution, the
chairman refused to allow any but
paid-up members to vote. Counting
noses, there were, all told. Just six men
who were accorded the privilege of
voting on the resolution. Consequently
the most of the people arose and left
the hall, only a very few remaining
with the six members. The resolution
was then put and carried, four voting
in the affirmative, one negative ana
one not voting. The resolution em
bodied instructions to be ruea in tne
office of the City Auditor.
It is a well-known fact that nine-
tenths of the property owners of
Montavilla are opposed to any ex
tension of the sewer system at this
time and are determined to resist to
the utmost such extension, the flat of
four men to the contrary notwith
standing. Cut-and-dried resolutions
passed by a few men dq not represent
the views of the people in any com
munity, and in fact can be had for
the asking or any subject calling for
money tn large amounts when the peo
ple, no matter how poor, are compelled
foot the bilt To this pernicious
practice of a few men getting together
and passing resolutions in laor of
spending large amounts of other peo
ple's money may be traced many of
the evils we complain of in our city
government The scheme is hoary
with aee and is often used as an ex
cuse for legalized public robbery by
promoters and boosters who thrive in
every city. FRANK HUGHES,
Member of Montavilla Board of Trade.
Where Dreams Come True
By Dean Collins.
At midnight in his shrouded room.
The while outside the moon wa
beaming.
An Easterner employed the hour
In riot of fantastic dreaming.
And when the glorious morning"
beam
Set little birdie's wings a-flutter.
He told his wife his wondrous dream,
While spreading waffles hot, with
butter.
"Methought I saw a wondrous place
Where cabbages gigantic burgeon,
Where 'taters' grow to beat the band,
And salmon fill the streams, and
sturgeon.
"Where grain stalks like a forest
grow.
And ho(cs like mastodons are spotted;
And pumpkins ramble o'er the wold
Dragging their pots (if they are pot
ted). "Where apples swell like great bal
loons. So brightly In the sunlight glinting.
Luscious as melons to the taste
And like the rainbow, bright in tint
ing. "Where people borrow ax and saw.
Forced to adopt such drastic meas
ures To break the mammoth squashes' rind
And scoop Into its golden treasures.
"All these I saw within my dream;
And since I woke I have been think
ing. My dear, if you will bring the pledge,
I'll sign and discontinue drinking."
She smiled, superior, at him;
"Your reasoning is hardly right there!
It Is a vision you have seen.
And not a brandy-tinted nightmare.
"Get thee a ticket; board the train;
And to' the far Pacific strand go;
The substance of your dream cornea
true
This week In Portland at the Land
Show."
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonlan of Nov. 21, 1S6-.
Report of ways and means committee
to the City Council: Warrants drawn
from July 1 to September 30. 186:',
J5842.74; estimates from October J.
1862, to July 1, 1863 improvement and
repair of streets, one-half of which is
to be paid out of the City Treasury,
$63,500; six policemen and captain fnr
seven months. $3640; Fire Department.
$11,315; gas lifrht. $1800; rent of Coun
cil Chamber, $200; Marshal's, Clerk's
and attorney's salaries and other ex
penses, $5000; last year's debt brought
forward, $2646; total, $83,943.74.
Auhurn, Nov. 7, 1862. One sign we
saw written on a "shake." nailed to a
post before a log cabin in Powder
River Valley, will speak volumes for
the progress of the age in this region:
"Oh yes! Mince pies and potatoes,
bread, cakes, butter and milk for salo
here. Whisky!" The last item, which
is the staff of life on the road, strych
nine and all, inserted in one corner.
Another premature skedaddle took
place in the City Council at Its last
session, leaving that body without a
quorum for Hie perfection of certain
important business.
There will be in the next Congress Sfi
Republicans and 82 Democrats, or six
Republican majority In the House of
Representatives. The political aspect
of the Senate it not likely to be
changed from what It Is at present
Republicans 30. Democrats and Border
State Unionists 18.
BAD AIR IN ASirSftMENT PLACES
All Theaters Should Have Plenty of
Air, Sajs Writer.
PORTLAND, Nov. 20. (To the Edi
tor.) The moving-picture show is an
institution that has assumed such
prominence that society must reckon
with it with its influence, associa
tions and "time consumption."
As to its influence it may be divided
into two categories moral, including
the Intellectual, and physical. Much
has been done to check objectionable
presentations, so much so that the
moral tone is now much better than a
few years ago, when gambling, em
bezzling and all sorts of dark ways
were regularly presented as a mat
ter , of course and deemed perfectly
proper. Just so the end was Justified.
There is yet much to be desired on this
point, for the plot of the play is too
often so wishy-washy as to be abso
lutely ludicrous. Then there is the as
sociation at the theater. For my part
I can see no harm in young girls
seeing a reel or two on their way from
school, or any other time If they are
with their friends. If the pictures are
acceptable, a normal girl needs m
guardian In a properly conducted
theater. Now, . when women have
votes, ought we not to roster self-
reliance in the growing youth? Nay.
ought we not at all times to train the
young In such a manner that they
Iea.rn early in lite to depend on their
own Judgment rather than on the com
mands of authority? If the home Is
right I believe the youth will como
through adolescence., unscorched with
but little chaperoning. But this is a
big subject.
The second part I refer to as phys
ical. It touches all those questions of
health and disease, even life and death,
fire escapes, proper light effects,
proper temperature, drafts, etc. One
thing remains, and in tnis remaining
thing wc sin more than in all other
parts. Not a word nave i seen in
print. about this aoominaDie condition,
not a word from teachers' meetings.
others' clubs and many other bodies.
who ought to know, but evidently do
not It is their business to Know, it
Is well enough to strain out the gnats.
but it is more important to remove
the camel. I refer to foul air. In only
two or three theaters in mis city ao
we find tolerable air. I have spoken
to the management of a number or
amusement places and received such
replies that I am convinced that not
one of them understands it They be
lieve that stirring up the foul air will
purify it Can you Durifv dish water
or bath water by stirring? Imagine
several hundred individuals from all
walks of life breathing and re-breath-
lng each other's emanations for about
lour hours. .
From 7 until 11 these little coops
pour out tneir audiences every nait
hour and Immediately refill the
stifling place with a fresh lot Not
only the breath from drunkards, dys
peptics, and worse, but the perspira
tion passing through unclean vest
ments, often soaked In musk, German
cologne and other nauseating scents
must we breathe while enjoying "art"
ERNEST BARTON.
True Local Time for Tnrka.
Westminster Gazette.
Through the center of the mosque of
St. Sophia runs the theoretical meridian
which gave the Turks true local time
hour 56 minutes 52 seconds fast on
Greenwich until, two years ago, the
new government fell In with the stan
dard system of time zones, and came
nto the Eastern European zone, ex
actly two hours ahead of Greenwich
time. For religious purposes, however,
12 o'clock always happened at sunset,
and noon thus wanders with the sea
sons all around the clock.
Heeding a Timely Warning.
Washington (D. C) Herald.
"No use locking the stable door after
the horse is stolen." "I should say that
was the very time to lock it. They
might come back after the automobile."