THE JlOKSLMi OKiSliOJMAJN, FK1UAY, JAAUAKY 34. 1913.
10
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I'OKTI-t Nil, FRIDAY, JANCABT M. 181S.
LET SWITZERLAND BE THE Jl'IXJE.
The position of the United States
on the exemption of coastwise vessels
from canal tolls is well stated in a
letter from Colonel Roosevelt to Rev.
Lyman Abbott, editor of the Outlook.
He maintains our right to free bona
fide coastwise traffic from tolls, but
he also maintains that we cannot hon
orably refuse to submit the question
to arbitration by The Hague tribunal,
however difficult it may be to get an
unbiased tribunal.
Colonel Roosevelt contends that, as
no foreign ships can engage in our
coastwise traffic, there is no discrim
ination against them in exemption of
our own coastwise vessels. He be
lieves the only damage would be done
to the Canadian Pacific Railway and
he might have added that that com
pany can only suffer damage through
decrease of Its power to abuse the
bonding privilege. He offers this most
forcible argument in defense of our
position:
I do not think that It site well on the
representatives of any foreign nation to
make any plea In reference to what we do
with our own coastwise traffic; because we
are benefiting the whole world by our action
nt Panama, and are doing this where every
dollar of expense is paid by ourselves. In
all history I do not believe you can find
another Instance where as great and ex
pensive a work as the Panama Canal, un
dertaken not by a private corporation, hut
by a nation, has ever been as generously
put at the service of all the nations of man
kind. Roosevelt admits the difficulty of
getting an unbiased tribunal, saying
that "Switzerland is almost the only
community which has not some com
mercial Interest in the Panama Canal,"
but he holds that we are under a
"moral obligation to arbitrate the
question if Great Britain so insists."
He continues:
It is to be presumed that we made the
promise with our eyes open and were aware
that it might not be wholly pleasant to
keep It. I waa certainly alive to this fact.
But the very fact that the promise may not
be easy to keep Is the reason why we make
It with the aolemnity attending a treaty. A
promise to arbitrate is worthless unless we
mean to keep it on the precise occasions
when It Is unpleasant for us to do so. More
. over, this arbitration must be. if Great Britain
so desires, at the Permanent Court at The
Hague, unless we are prepared to violate
our solemn arbitration treaty.
Certainly if Great Britain insists on
arbitration, we must consent. If
Great Britain insists on arbitration by
The Hague tribunal, we must also con
sent. If we made a bud bargain In
signing the arbitration treaty, we can
take our medicine. We are not re
pudiatlonists, treaty-breakers. Our In
terest in the sanctity of treat- obliga
tions in general, which would be up
held by our consent to arbitration, Is
Immeasurably greater than our In
terest In the maintenance of our posi
tion in the canal controversy alone.
We would better carry that dispute to
The Hague with practical certainty of
an adverse decision than brand our
selves as a Nation without honor.
But while accepting the principle of
arbitration, we might fairly point out
to Great Britain that, when the arbi
tration treaty was signed, it was not
contemplated that a controversy might
arise wherein every power represented
at The Hague, except one, had inter
ests Identical with those of one of the
parties concerned. We might propose
that, for this reason, the tribunal be
composed solely of Swiss judges, since
Switzerland, having no maritime in
terests, could impart no bias to her
representatives. The British protest
has been couched In such friendly
terms that this proposal could not fail
to be well received. Great Britain
could not reject it without, exposing
herself to the charge that she Insisted
on having her case tried by a court
known to be open to bias and that she
feared to submit that case to a court
which was rigidly impartial.
Switzerland Is eminently qualified in
every respect to supply the tribunal.
It was the first republic in Europe
and it was the scene of the Alabama
arbitration. It has long been the
chosen meeting ground for peace and
arbitration conventions. It is the
neutral ground among nations.
Commenting on Roosevelt's letter,
the Outlook proposes, that we shall
avoid the necessity of arbitration by
repealing the exemption clause of the
canal law. To do so would be to ad
mit that we had consciously or care
lessly violated a treaty: It would be
to abandon without contest a possibly
valuable right, which we have asserted.
We are not prepared to make so hu
miliating a confession, nor to abandon
any rights we believe to be ours. The
canal law was passed in the belief that
we had the right to enact every pro
vision contained in it. We owe it to
ourselves to uphold the good faith of
our actions: to maintain that, if we
misconstrued our rights, we did so
honestly. By agreeing to arbitrate, we
should defend our honor, even if we
lose.
COMPLETE THE CKLILO CAXAL.
Completion of the Celilo canal will
make the Columbia River navigable
for 400 miles from its mouth, the
Snake River for 200 miles from its
mouth. It will extend the open rivers
to Priest Rapids and Pittsburg Land
ing. It will multiply manifold the
area having the benefit of water
transportation at the very time when
the Hamburg-American line, the larg
est steamship company In the world,
begins reaching out for traffic In this
region by establishing a line to Port
land. That company's experience on
the Elbe has made it acquainted with
the immense advantage and economy
of river steamboat and barge lines as
feeders to ocean lines, and it may be
expected to use to the fullest extent
the great waterways of the Pacific
Northwest In gathering freight from
the Interior to load Its steamships.
The memorial sent to Congress by
the commercial and development bod
ies of the Interior proves that that sec
tion is fully awake to the advantages
of water transportation. They have
united their energies with those of the
lower river country In pressing for
ward a work for the common good.
The Celilo canal completed, they will
move next for removal of other ob
structions until the Columbia be
comes an open waterway to the point
where It touches the Canadian Pacific
Railway.
COVKKNMEXT WITH A VETO CLUB.
The attention of Governor West is
called to the constitution of the State
of Oregon, article V, section 15, defin
ing the veto power. If, says the con
stitution in substance, a measure
passed by the Legislative Assembly
shall be approved by the Governor, he
shall sign: but if not, he shall return
it with his objections to the house
where it shall have originated.
Two years ago Governor West ve
toed fifty-eight measures, after the
session had adjourned. It was notori
ous that a part of the vetoes were in
spired by pique or anger toward the
authors of the bills, or by a definite
and unconcealed effort at revenge.
The Governor now threatens other
vetoes if his legislative programme
shall not go through. He proposes
that the members shall line up, or
take the consequences.
When the Governor sends in his ve
toes, let us hope that he will abide by
the constitutional requirement that the
bills shall be returned "with his ob
jections." When his real objections
shall be entered in the record. It will
be seen how far constitutional gov
ernment at Salem has been superseded
with government by passion and
prejudice, and how far' a sacred con
stitutional prerogative -has been per
verted into a vicious executive club.
RECOGNIZING THE FACTS.
"Oregon now has, through the Ore
gon system or will have after March
4, 1913 two Democratic United States
Senators and a Democratic Governor,"
remarked The Oregonian the other
day. The Oregonian Is astonished to
find that its simple statement of fact
is disputed, for a Democratic news
paper of Portland declares solemnly
that it was "not the Oregon system
that caused the election of these
Democrats."
It was through the Oregon . system.
and through no other agency, that the
Republican Legislature of 1909 elected
a Democratic United States Senator
and the Republican Legislature of 1913
elects another United States Senator.
Except for the Oregon system It is
unquestionable that those Republican
Legislatures would have chosen Re
publican Senators. Except for the
Oregon system, the next Senate, which
will be controlled by the Democrats
by a bare majority of one or two,
would be controlled by the Repub
licans. That old Legislatures were corrupt
and boss-ridden, and the old system
venal and wrong, and a change was
desirable and Inevitable may be true
enough. But it is idle and useless to
minimize the consequences of the
change. The Republican party may
have deserved to lose all It has lost.
In any event it has lost, heavily,
through the political changes of recent
years in Oregon and the political revo
lution everywhere.
How will it get back again? Can It
come back?
EASTERN POCK FT BOO KT NOW PRO
TESTS. Light on the Government's forest
policy Is breaking in the East. One
heretofore staunch defender of Pin-
chotism, the Saturday Evening Post,
has discovered that the Government
refuses to sell ripe timber in the re
serves at a lower price than that fixed
by the large private timber owners or
the so-called timber monopolies. Hav
ing reserved one-fifth of the standing
timber to prevent private monopoly,
the Government, says the Post, has
"adopted a policy that in fact amply
protects monopoly at every point." It
also remarks:
Another effect of this policy Is that the
Government's rljie timber is not cut. but
stands and decays. The "fair profit on his
Investment, but no more." which the Gov
ernment offers to the timber operator, does
not attract him. as Is shown by the fact that
It is selling only one-tenth of the timber It
should sell to keep the forests In a healthy
condition.
While some intelligent observers
may read the approximate condition in
the West from the report of the Sec
retary of the Interior, it Is probable
that the East will not possess a true
sense of reservation under the guise
of conservation until the policy still
more roundly smites its pocketbook.
When lumber cost to the Eastern con
sumer becomes unbearable perhaps we
shall have an official inquiry which
will show the extent to which overripe
timber is rotting in the reserves.
But this one wasteful policy of the
Government so openly disclosed ought
to be of sufficient weight, without a
personal application of its hardship, to
cause a reconstruction of that senti
ment in the East so ably expressed by
Colliers when it declared that our
Western natural resources were en
tirely surrounded by thieves. It ought
also to give some weight to the other
complaints voiced In the West con
cerning land-locking and retarding of
development.
HOME RTLE FOB OREGON.
No notable percentage of the people
voted to adopt the Initiative with any
idea that it was to be the vehicle for
attempts to make Oregon an experi
mental field for new schemes in gov
ernment conceived or advocated by
theorists scantily scattered through
out the United States and Canada.
Yet In the last two elections it has
been so used.
Men who have no personal interest
whatever in the financial standing of
the commonwealth, or In the prosper
ity of the people, or in the general wel
fare of the community, poured money
into Oregon in an endeavor to obtain
a practical test of the soundness of or
fallacy of their own reasoning.
They perhaps had confidence In the
outcome should their views be adopted.
and wished us no ill will, but they had
no more than a theory a theory that
had never been demonstrated, that
Involved one of the vital functions of
orderly and prosperous government,
and that as a theory had received the
condemnation of the great majority of
political economists of the day.
Interference with or attempted guid
ance of legislation in Oregon by per
sons not residents or taxpayers in Ore
gon produces political turmoil, involves
expense to the state, encroaches on
the interest of the electorate In home
bred issues, and when heavily financed,
as it has been in the past, calls for a
defense fund that is a drain upon pri
vate resources. It is antagonistic to
home rule and generally wrong In
principle.
Senator Thompson has Introduced in
the Senate a measure aimed to defeat
this cardinal abuse of the direct legis
lation. In brief, he proposes that it
shall be unlawful for any person, firm,
association or corporation within the
state to accept pay from sources out
side of Oregon for services performed
to aid the adoption or defeat of any
measure submitted to the people. The
bill is for a law that would affect only
the busybodies.
The direct legislation machinery of
Oregon is so readily workable that no
proportion of Oregon's electorate is
deprived of opportunity to present its
views or desires at the polls on its own
behalf. The electorate itself is com
petent to judge what is' good for Ore
gon without the advice or paid propa
ganda of citizens of other states or.
countries. The bill is to prevent undue
harassment of the voters and the state
becoming a hotbed of agitation. It
ought to pass.
ARSON AS AN INDUSTRY.
Discovery of a well-defined and
well-developed arson industry in New
York and Chicago will not occasion
much surprise. It is merely crime In
another Insidious intrenchment and
we are getting used to stumbling upon
the reptile In strange stripes and un
expected places. The arson business is
the complement in lawlessness of the
gunmen. It Is the stepbrother of or
ganized police graft and a first cousin
of dynamiting. It is crime modern
ized, crime Imbedded in modern condi
tions, crime driven under the surface
and breaking forth again in new
places.
The morally oblique sons of greed
must devise new fields of operations.
While they must have no conscience,
no regard for law or for fellow human
beings, they must have resourcefulness
in order to flourish, and as they are
driven from one field of crooked en
deavor they take refuge in another.
Burglary and thuggery and common
murder do not appeal to the peculiar
sensibilities of all our criminals. For
one thing, the beaten paths of crime
are both dangerous and unprofitable.
Burning down buildings for a price
is a most reprehensible crime. Human
life is thrown into great Jeopardy.
Women and children may be burned
to death. But of this phase of the in
dustry the perverted creatures who en
gage in the work take no account.
The risk to themselves Is all that con
cerns them. In the case of arson it
appears the risk was not very great,
for the industry flourished very nicely
until the competitors for "trade" dis
agreed over the spoils.
Now, it will be noticed that these
new crime ideas breed In the larger
centers of population. Thence came
white slavery and the whole category
of modernized crime. Eventually these
pernicious industries are driven to the
smaller cities. Inasmuch as the fire
bug industry is being run out of New
York and Chicago, we might do well
to see that headquarters aren't opened
here.
CHINA UPROOTING OPIUM POPPY. .
There has been much talk of aban
donment by China of suppression of
the opium traffic since the revolution
broke out. On the contrary, the work
of suppression has been pursued more
vigorously than ever since the republic'
was established. Persons interested in
the traffic have endeavored to induce
the British government to revoke the
opium agreement on the ground that
China did not enforce it. The London
Times said, "The fields of China are
aflame with poppy today," at a time
when one season's crop had already
been harvested and the next season's
crop had not been sown.
The Central China Post has been at
pains to ascertain the truth and has
published letters from twelve prov
inces. All show that, while there was
a temporary cessation of enforcement
of the law in some provinces during
the revolution, measures for suppres
sion have been more rigorously en
forced as the country became quieted.
Troops have been sent out to see that
no opium is allowed to grow, magis
trates tour the country on the same
mission, crops are rooted up before
the harvest, the death penalty has
been proclaimed in five provinces and
enforced in four and large quantities
of opium have been burned. Only In
remote districts, where the new gov
ernment has not yet fully established
its authority, does cultivation continue
and there it is gradually being re
stricted. When China Is exerting herself so
strenuously to deliver herself from
thp opium curse no other nation should
dare to force ' it upon her again by
withholding co-operation. Were Eng
land or any other nation to withdraw
from the agreement it would well de
serve the name "foreign devil" among
the Chinese.
PARCEL POST ZONES CONDEMNED.
The parcel post is hardly in good
working order when agitation for
change begins. The Postal Progress
League condemns the zone system and
the subdivision of the zones into
squares thirty-five by twenty-seven
miles as having been "concocted by
express and railway interests" and as
having "practically confined within
distances of 600 miles of their respec
tive localities the business of the peo
ple on the borders." It demands the
substitution of the flat-rate system,
"now the common law of the postal
world, and the common custom of the
American railway world."
The zone system was copied from
Germany and Austria and was adopted
because of the much greater distances
over which parcels are carried in this
country than in England, where the
parcel post was first introduced. The
cost of collecting and delivering par
cels In railroad parlance, the termi
nal charges Is the same whether they
are to be carried fifty or 3000 miles,
but obviously the cost of transporta
tion increases with distance. In the
case of letters, which are all of ap
proximately the same weTght, this in
crease does not enhance the total cost.
Including terminal charges, sufficient
ly to prohibit a flat rate, but in the
case of heavy, bulky parcels, the en
hanced cost of carriage is consider
able. This is one reason for adoption
of the zone system.
Another reason is that a flat rate
would enable mall-order houses to in
vade the field of the country mer
chants. The zone system meets the
objections of the latter, who were the
most strenuous opponents of the par
cel post, for it practically imposes a
protective tariff in favor of the local
merchant and preserves to him the
home market.
But the parcel post law is most
elastic in its provisions, for it vesta
In the Postmaster-General power to
revise rates, zones, weight limits. The
present rules are and were intended
to be purely experimental. From his
observations of the practical working
of the system, the Postmaster-General
will be able to revise these rules to
meet all objections. He is more likely
to reduce than to raise the rates, to
raise than to lower the weight limit,
to broaden than to narrow the zones.
If experience should show him that a
flat rate Is practicable, he will not
hesitate to abolish the zones, or. If that
should be heyond his power, to ask
Congress to do so.
The Postal Progress League should
give the Postmaster-General time to
work out his problem before indulg
ing in such criticism. Had Congress
been legislating for express and rail
way interests, it would not have given
him so wide Tfliscretion. Should the
result of the ' first year's operation
prove that he should revise the sys
tem and should he fail to do so, it will
be time to criticise. In the meantime
give the man a chance.
, A cat show is an Innocent diversion
for people who can think of no better
way to dispose of their time and
money. Compared with the noisy and
obtrusive dog, the cat is an agreeable
animal. Sometimes she Is useful, which
must be more rarely said of the dog,
who has acquired a great part of his
reputation on false pretenses. As a
kitchen ornament the cat is inconspic
uously harmonious with her surround
ings. She chimes In engagingly with
pots, pans and dish clouts. In the par
lor she seems less happily placed. No
doubt her true habitat is the barn,
where she thins out the rats better
than a trap. WTe pay a willing tribute
to the cat's merits, but feel no burning
desire to hug her or to see her caged
up at a show. Still, we extend our
charity to those who differ with us on
these points. We forgive them and
will try to remember to pray for them.
One result of the Balkan war is a
proposal of the monks of Mount
Athos to organize a republic with their
patriarch as president. Mount Athos,
which Is 6350 feet high, is the tip of
the easternmost of the three fingers
Into which the peninsula of Chalcldice,
southeast of Salonica, divides, and was
cut off from the mainland by Xerxes
with a ship canal one and one-half
mi lea lnne- In order to avoidtaking his
ships around the cape. The ambassa
dors of the powers are said to iavor
the proposal, which aims to make a
duplicate of the tiny republic of An
dorra in the Pyrenees. Andorra has
an area of 175 square miles and about
6000 people. Mount Athos has about
the same number of monks.
Margaret Hubbard announces in the
New York Journal that red hair will
be fashionable this year. Fiddlesticks.
It has always been fashionable. Sappho
had red hair. Lucretia Borgia's locks
glowed like a crimson sunset. Queen
Elizabeth's were more gorgeous stills
What real heroine in fiction or out of
it ever had hair that was not red? This
is one of woman's glories which fash
Ion has no power to dim. The fickle
goddess may issue as many edicts as
she likes for the ensanguined crown of
beauty or against it, and nothing will
happen. The world gave Its verdict in
favor pf red hair a million years ago
and made the judgment perpetual.
D. O. Lively Is stirring up Oregon
livestock men to induce the Legisla
ture to make provision for adequate
representation of their industry at the
San Francisco fair. The important
place held by livestock among the in
dustries of the state and the position
Portland has attained as the cattle
market and packing center of the state
impress upon us the wisdom of a good
exhibit. A part of whatever sum Is
appropriated for the Oregon exhibit in
general should be specifically set apart
for the livestock department, that we
may hold our own with other states,
some of which will give special
premiums.
How good a thing the Government
was giving away by leasing the seal
fisheries of the Pribilof Islands is
shown by the results of the Govern
ment's operations in 1910 and 1911.
The catch of 1910 was sold for 3403,
946, but under the leasing system
rnii iim-A hrnueht onlv 3131,007.
The catch of 1911 brought 1385,862,
but would have realized oniy
under lease. In addition, sales of blue
and white fox skins brought rn 315,096.
Woman suffrage in England has di
vided parties so completely that all of
them have agreed to let their members
go as they please. While Grey Is its
champion, his chief, Asquith, is Its
bitter opponent. Like division exists
among the Tories and Nationalists. A
Populist convention was not a circum
stance to the scenes which the eternal
feminine will provoke in the House of
Commons., '
What is believed to be the .last lot
tery drawing authorized by the Italian
government has been held at Rome,
and thus Italy falls in line with those
enlightened governments which refuse
to swell their revenue by pandering to
the gambling passion among the peo
ple. The winning ticket, worth $100,
000, has been lost, and one theory is
that it was on board the Titanic.
That mention of efficiency and merit
rather than partisan politics as Wil
son's guide in making appointments
may send cold shivers down the spines
of some of the hopeful, but when they
recall that similar statements have
been made by former Incoming Presi
dents, only to be forgotten a few weeks
later, their confidence trill return.
If Thompson's bill were to become
law, prohibiting campaign contribu
tions from outside the state, many
people would have to work for a living.
Orange, Conn., offers a dollar a head
to all babies born within the town. A
dollar Is little Inducement, but might
be welcomed as a sort of salvage.
John Bowman, who falsely accused
himself of train robbery, evidently mis
took his sweetheart's taste In boldness.
Election of Senator, once the stellar
legislative event, is now about as ex
citing as approving the payroll.
' Los Angeles women are agitating
lower car steps. Wider skirts would
accomplish the same end.
Turkish diplomacy having failed,
Turkish sprinting capacity may get
another turn.
In the Darrow case it is prospective
jurors who are on trial more than the
defendant.
Adrianople is given up and by and
by all left of Turkey will be the giblets.
Why doesn't someone put through a
bill to amend this weather?
It is a cruel, ruthless war they are
waging on Os.
Borah would recall Fisher. He'd
better hurry. .
ROAD SITUATION IS ANALYZED
Mr. Albert Kinds Election FUrnrea
Guide to Plain Programme.
SALEM, Or.. Jan. 20. (To the Edi
tor.) During the last two years there
have been no roads built in this state
under the provisions of the constitu
tional amendment adopted by the peo
ple In 1910 authorizing counties to
create indebtedness for the purpose of
building permanent roads. No such
roads have been built; first, because
after the Legislature at its last ses
sion had passed an adequate law en
abling the counties to avail themselves
of the provisions of this amendment,
the Governor, yielding to blandish
ments of disgruntled lobbyists, after
the adjournment of the Legislature,
vetoed this bill.
I refer to House bill 224, providing
the method by which voters of any
county in this state may provide for
the issuing of bonds or county war
rants by that county for the construc
tion of permanent public roads in that
county.
There was much contention -over the
provisions of this bill, principally re
lating to the preliminary proceedings
authorizing the issue of the county
bonds. One party contending that the
people should locate the roads to be
improved, the other that the people
should simply vote upon the issuance
of the bonds, leaving the County Court
to designate the road or roads to be
built. After amendment and re-amendment,
the former Grange method pre
vailed and the bill was passed finally
as amended, the vote standing on its
final passage as given above, and I
believe should become a law, notwith
standing the veto of the Governor.
Should defects be found in the law,
there is ample time during the 40 days'
session of the Legislature to make any
required amendments.
As the result of discord and division
on the part of the Grangers (the old
guard) and the tin soldiers, all the
county and state bonding bills, high
way commission and state-aid bills
presented by Initiative were defeated
at the polls. But the people have
spoken in no uncertain voice upon
these questions. Nearly every voter in
the state has voted for one of the three
county bonding bills only through ig
norance or carelessness have any voted
for more than one of these competing
measures. Yet the official returns
show that of 144,133 votes the total
cast on all questions.
The grange bill received 49,699
The so-called harmony bill 43,447
The Jackson County hill 38,568
Making a total of 1S1T14
votes in favor of the issuance of coun
ty bonds for permanent roads. Fur
ther, the greatest number of votes cast
for and against county bonding was
on the so-called Grange bills, viz.: 125,
289. So that, assuming that only 6000
voters were ignorant or careless In
registering their votes on this ques
tion, it carried unanimously in the
state.
On the question of a highway com
missioner or commission, the vote
stood on the Grange bill: "Yes." 23.872:
the Harmony bill, "Yes," 30,897; total,
54,769, out of a vote on the question of
107,718, showing a majority in their
favor of 1720.
This vote is not a fair voice of the
people, because in order to vote in
favor of the so-called harmony bill it
was necessary to vote in the same bill
for a monstrosity approving the reduc
tion of the state Issues of bonds to
31,000,000 and for a sinking fund for
the redemption of serial bonds. These
acts were resented by the state-wide
committee and by the intelligent voter.
As in the case of the county bond
ing bill, the last Legislature passed
House Bill 368, creating a State High
way Board.
This bill, ' like the former, was a
compromise measure passed on the
last day of the session and was like
wise vetoed by the Governor.
This bill is also still pending and.
like the former, should be promptly
passed over the Governor's veto. The
bill of the people in the matter of state
aid as voiced in the last election should
not be misunderstood or disregarded.
The adoption of the constitutional
amendment authorizing the state to
issue bonds for the building of per
manent roads can only mean that the
people are In favor of state aid. Re
jection of the so-called state aid bill
of the harmony committee can be
traced to the complicated and imprac
ticable provisions of that bill," more
especially that provision which - ap
propriated one-third of the proceeds
of the bonds for the exclusive use of
state roads. The last Legislature, al
though not authorized then to issue
bonds to furnish funds to aid the
counties in building roads, passed a
state aid bill entitled:
providing for the payment by this state,
to each county In the state, of a definite
sum of money for the years 1911 and 1!)12
to assist such county in the construction
of permanent public roads in that county,
prescribing the conditions upon which such
money shall be paid to such counties and
the manner In which It Bhall be expended
and making- an appropriation for carrying
out the purposes of this act.
This bill was also a compromise
measure and, like the other two passed
on the last day of the Legislature and
vetoed by the Governor after adjourn
ment. Now, although this bill provides the
expenditure of only 3160,000 per year
and for the years 1911 and 1912, pay
aable out of the current revenue, yet
it should be passed over the Gov
ernor's veto because it fixes the de
tails of the apportionment of state
funds which can be made applicable
to any amount and for any time by
amendment as to dates and amounts
appropriated, after it becomes a law,
and if the Legislature enacts a law
putting Into effect the state bonding
amendment the appropriations for aid
to counties can be made payable out
of the proceeds of sales of the bonds.
The people have spoken unmis
takably in favor of county and state
bonding, including state aid,: and a
highway commission or commissioner,
and must look to the Legislature to
pass the laws necessary to accomplish
the end.
To recapitulate The Legislature
should authorize the issue and sale of
a definite amount of state bonds annu
ally, and create a highway fund to re
ceive the proceeds together with the
net proceeds of auto licenses; this in
addition to the three bills pending
on the Governor's veto or if they be
defeated, then three new bills covering
the same ground. J. H. ALBERT.
"Webfoot Route" Not Good Name.
ROSEBURG, Jan. 22. (To the Edi
tor.) The people of the tlmpqua Val
ley expect the Portland, Eugene and
Eastern Railway to be extended
through the Umpqua Valley. In 1910
we had 99 cloudy days and in 1911 we
had 97 cloudy days in which .01 of an
inch or more rain fell, which Is not
enough rain to develop "webfeet" by
any means. Whether or not It has any
significance more inquiries were re
ceived by the Roseburg Commercial
Club from California last year than
from any other one state, and practi
cally every visitor from that state
seemed surprised that it- was not con
tinually raining here. Most of them
said: "They told us in California that
it rained all the while in Oregon."
The name "Webfoot" is suggestive
of excess rain. "The Webfoot Route"
will furnish another handle for the
California hammer without doubt. It
will create a false impression of the
climatic conditions of Western Ore
gon,, and in the opinion of your humble
correspondent is not a proper nor a
comprehensive title for the new system
to adopt. Our drawbacks are, indeed,
few, much to the regret of competing
communities, but it will not pay us to
capitalize one of them (If such it can
be considered) for the benefit of our
California friends. Here In the Cmpqua
Valley we haven't webfeet, and no
webs will grow on the new railroad.
G. P. SCHLOSSER.
Publicity manager Roseburg Commer
cial Club,
PLEADINGS AND COURT PROCEDURE
Prevention of Litigation More Im
portant Than Technical Reforms.
PORTLAND, Jan. 23. (To the Edi
tor.) Would it not be well to devote
more time and thought to laws which
will prevent and discourage litigation?
We all know that there is too much
litigation and much of it not only use
less but an absolute injury to all
parties concerned. In business, engi
neering, medicine and other lines the
aim Is to prevent loss of time, money,
energy and sickness. Why should the
law be an exception? Is not the pre
vention .of litigation, rather than -the
manner in which it should be carried
on, the most important consideration?
Litigation, like sickness, sh'ould be
prevented. This can be done In various
ways. One, by shortening the time
within which actions must be brought
and appeals taken. As an illustration:
In this state one may wait six years
before commencing an action upon a
contract or liability, express or implied.
In the State of California it is two,
and in Washington three years, unless
founded upon a written Instrument. In
this state an appeal to the Supreme
Court may be taken in six months; In
Washington It must be taken In three.
The enactment of an employes' com
pensation law will prevent many cases
being brought and do away with a
great deal of the work of our courts.
There are now too many groundless,
speculative cases In court. The law
should prevent and discourage these
cases In every way possible. 'This can
be done by making it unprofitable both
to the lawyer and to his client to bring
such cases. This would give the courts
more, and very likely plenty of time
properly to hear and determine the
honest disputes and controversies which
arise and which apparently could not
be adjusted out of court.
More time and money should be spent
in preventing than in punishing crime.
This would do away with a large
amount of the work of the courts now
taken up with criminal cases. A large
majority of what are called and
punished as crimes could be prevented
by proper attention to the removal of
the cause. All -men, women and chil
dren should be furnished with the
means of securing the necessaries of
life. If able to work they should not
only be given work to do but com
pelled to do it. If they are sick, too
old, too young, or for any other reason
unable to work they should be properly
taken care of until they can. thus re
moving not only the cause for begging
but one of the causes for the commis
sion of crime. Those who are defec
tive, weakmlnded or temporarily In
sane should be treated with considera
tion and pity instead of with publicity
and punishment.
Those who are engaged in business
or who own property, real or personal,
are required by law to make state
ments under oath to the Assessor re
specting their business and property.
Corporations are required to make full
annual reports to the Government; rail
roads are required to make detailed an
nual reports to the state. Why should
those who have no business, occupation
or apparent means of support not be
required to make statements showing
clearly what they are doing? If they
are earning an honest living they will
not be injured by making it known;
and if they are not. It is best for them
and the community In w'uich they live
to have it known. In order that the
authorities may take such timely action
in each individual case as will likely
prevent the commission of crime and
thus reduce the number of criminal
cases on the docket. By proper treat
ment of those who are ripe for crime,
before and not after Its commission,
their energies could be directed in
channels which would result in profit
and honor to themselves and the com
munity in which they live.
Our present system of court pro
cedure may be and perhaps is defec
tive in some particulars, but on the
whole I think it compares -favprably
with that of any other state or coun
try. The difficulty is not, it seems to
me, due to our system of pleading and
practice so much as to other causes,
some of. which I have pointed out
above. ARTHUR C. EMMONS.
SCHOOL SUPERVISION IS NEEDED
Educator Gives Reasona for Retaining;
Present Rural Syntem.
BROWNSVILLE, Or.. Jan. 22. (To
the Editor.) One man who under
stands farming, milling, railroading
or the managing of a store, can
supervise a group of unexperienced
persons and succeed to a great extent.
The foreman oversees his farms or
mills and by suggestion and organiza
tion gets results otherwise impossible;
the floorwalker shows the clerks where
articles may be found, how to keep
them In order, how to meet the
customer and quotes prices, etc.. while
the section boss works a bunch of
unexperienced foreigners and thereby
keeps our great railroads smooth and
solid.
The rural school supervisors of Ore
gon have over 800 new teachers every
year, three-fourths of whom are total
ly unexperienced and have no train
ing above the eighth grade. Is it not
true then that the rural schools most
need supervision? What the expert
does for the farm, mill, railroad or
store can also be done for the school.
You may say, "Don't employ the un
trained and inexperienced." That
would be good, but first remember
that the Oregon code requires each dis
trict to maintain at least six months
of school and further makes attend
ance compulsory. What, then, will you
do with the shortage of qualified
teachers?
Let us not rashly criticise the office
that is the making of our rural schools.
Even poor supervision is better than
none. Any meeting where teachers
discuss ideas, plans, programme,
methods, apparatus, is for the good.
You may say, "Let the County Su
perintendent supervise these schools."
That is good as far as it goes, but let
us reason together: For example, take
Lane County, which contains 184 dis
tricts, 350 teachers and 6000 boys and
girls. These districts are scattered
over a vast territory from the summit
of the Cascades to the Pacific, Ocean,
and from the summit of the Calla-
pooyias to within- about 15 miles of
Corvallis. The school year consists of
180 days, saying nothing of holidays
and six-month terms. Assuming that
it is possible for the County Superin
tendent to visit each school once in a
year, what could he do? Pray tell me
what would be the result on the farm.
mill, on the section or in the store If
Mr. Supervisor made but one visit a
year? Teachers are but human beings,
hence that which gets results in one
case will reap the same for the other.
When the Sheriff, County Clerk, As
sessor or business man finds his work
beyond his power, deputies are ap
pointed and the work carried on, but
our poor County Superintendent must
drag along bewildered and head that
thing, education, which is supposed to
lead and qualify "the citizens for lead
ership, but in reality is behind in
method and system. If you say the
supervisors have done no good, just
visit a few schools in different super
visory districts and take notes, then
compare to previous conditions. We
are aware that our schools are yet
lacking in many respects, but are
pleading for a fair trial of the present
deputy supervisory system, or a sug
gestion that will improve our rural
schools. P. E. BAKER,
School Superintendent.
The Real Joy in a Party.
Exchange.
"The girls are getting up another
party. '
"Well, inviting people to one's house
is a delightfl pleasure."
"True; but the keenest enjoyment
seems to come through leaving people
out,"
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonian of January 14, 1843.
Chattanooga, Tenn Jan. 11. The
Fankees have advanced their lines
seven miles this side of Murfreesboro.
They have been guilty of the most out
rageous enormities, stealing private
property, robbing peaceable citizens
and running off negroes. 1
Washington, Jan. 12. The full offi
cial report of the capture of Holly
Springs, Miss., shows the ruffalnlsm
and barbarity of Van Dorn and his
soldiers. An attempt was made by
them to destroy the general hospital,
containing over 500 sick. A lot of
ordnance stores were piled in front of
the hospital and fired before there was
time to remove the sick. The walls
were riddled with flying balls .nd
shells. Twenty sick soldiers were
struck by missiles. A hundred and
fifty sick were forced to rise from their
beds and fall Into line to be marched
off by the rebels, who threatened to
shoot the - medical officers for ex
postulating. Cairo. Jan. 12. A Vlcksburg paper
says that Banks and Farragut are
coming up the river in large force;
also that the rebels received large re
inforcements and that their numbers
now inside the fortifications are
100.000.
Cape Race, Jan. 10. The'jura, from
Liverpool on January 1 has arrived.
At a meeting of the working men of
Manchester held December 31. resolu
tions supporting the Federal cause
were adopted and an address to Presi
dent Lincoln was agreed upon. The
resolutions expressed high satisfaction
at the emancipation proclamation.
If some of our subscribers who are
owing us will remit in 3 and 1-cent
postage stamps, we will be much
obliged to them.
John Durrah, .of Wasco County, has
been appointed a captain in the Ore
gon Cavalry Volunteers by Governor
Glbbs and will open a recruiting oftiov
in The Dalles.
The Mountaineer says that ship
carpenters employed at Celilo recently
struck and refused to take greenbacks
at par.
Suppression of Soap-Box Oratory.
PORTLAND, Jan. -21, (To the Edi
tor.) rThe suggestion of the G. A.
R. to suppress street speaking is a
good one. This thought must have
suggested Itself to many persons who
have from time to time heard the trea
sonable and vilely blasphemous utter
ances of certain uninformed and mis
guided "persons who do not understand
the sublime function wnlch religion
plays in life, both that of the individual
and of society.
I have heard God Almighty referred
to In terms positively appalling and In
a manner agonizing to a believer In the
divine gospels of Jesus ChriBt.
These speakers are undermining our
civilization and our whole morality,
for it is a well-known fact that morals
are a product of civilization, and it is
our present civilization that these
speakers attack?
In assailing Christianity as they do.
it must also be recognized that they
are seeking to destroy our civilization,
for the morals of America and Europe
are the product of a civilization based
on Christianity. Every scholar knows
that civilization has always been based
on religion of some sort, but I have
heard speakers on our streets denounc
ing all religion. I ask, do not such con
vict themselves of being enemies of
mankind, and ought not Government
and society have the right to protect
itself? , ,
Let all who believe In liberty with
order, truth and righteousness, unite
in demanding that our public officials
put down treasonable and blasphemous
speech-making.
WILLIAM CRONISE.
Captain Jack Crawford.
WENATCHEE, Wash., Jan. 22. (To
the Editor.) I should be pleased if you
could tell me where I can find Captain
Jack Crawford's poem. "The Indian
Scout."
In Captain JackCrawford's book of
poems, "The Poet Scout," the poem,
"The Indian Scout," does not appear.
"The Dying Scout" Is given, the first
verse being:
Comrades, raise me, I am dying.
Hark the story I wilt tell.
Break It gently to my mother. ;
You were near me when I fell.
Tell her how I fought with Custer,
How I rode to tell the news:
Now I'm dying, comrades, dying.
Tell me, did we whip the Bloux?
The book mentioned was published
by the Burr Printing Company, 18
Jacob street. New York, and can be
consulted at the Portland Publlo Li
brary WHEN
MAN
IS
PERFECT
That is the subject of one of
a number of absorbing special
features that will appear in The
Sunday Oregonian. It is a
glimpse into the days of 1000
years hence, when the human
family has evolved apace. The
picture is drawn by prominent
scientists.
25,000 Crooks That is quite
a lot of them for one small dis
trict, but Jack Rose reveals how
they live and thrive in crime in
one section of -wicked old New
York. This is the most absorb
ing yet in the Rose series.
Why Do So Many Babies Die?
The question is one the United
States Government has set out
to answer. An important page
study of the subject of infants
and infant mortality.
Mrs. Sage's Bird Haven An
illustrated account of the great
hunting district a charitable
and tender-hearted old lady has
wrested from the grasp of the
hunters and converted into ren
dezvous for game birds.
Bulgaria's Chance Although
the fact is not generally known, f
that chance was provided by an
American newspaper reporter.
An illustrated page.
Billy Hanford The arduous
exploit of a first-class fighting
man of the United States Navy.
Gibson Pictures A Bother
page of the pictures that made
Gibson famous as a pen and ink
illustrator.
Three Pages for Women, Four
Pages of new color comics and
many other features.
Order Today From Your
Newsdealer.
D