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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 4, 1913)
8 THE SIORXIXG OREGONIAX, TUES1 aT 3IARCH 4, 1913. PORTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Portland, Oregon. postofflce a - second-clasa matter. ' subscription Kates Invariably In Advance: BT MAIL) Dally, Sunday Included, om year . ?'2? 'Dally. Sunday Included, all months ... Dally, Sunday included, three months.. Z.i , Daily. Sunday Included, one month .... ' , Dally, without Sunday, one year J-w , Daily, without Sunday, six montna . 3 " ; Dally, without Sunday, three montna .. Daily, without Sunday, one month .... -w ' Weekly, one year I rS Sunday, one year J-Jr i Sunday and Weekly, one year. (BT CARRIER) ' Dally, Sunday Included, one year .O0 Dai'y. Sunday Included, one month. o How to Remit Bend postofflce money or der, expreaa order or personal check on your local bank. Ktampa. coin or currency are at the aender-a risk. Give poatofflee addreaa in full. Including county and atate. Poetace Rates Ten to 14 pages. 1 cent, 18 to SS pagea, 2 centa; SO to 40 pagea. a I rente: 40 to 0 page. 4 cents. foreign . poatage, double rate. , Eastern Business OBTces Verree sc conlc lin. New York. Brunawlck building. -ttl-cago. Stezer building. Kan Francisco Office R. J. Bldwell Co., 742 Market street. European Office No. 3 Regent atreet s. W., London. : PORTLAND, TUESDAY MARCH 4, 1913. POPULAR- VERDICT ON TAFT. No man ever retired from the Presi dency with more political opponents and more personal friends than Wil liam H. Taft. It has been well said that he is "the worst licked, best liked and least sore" of all our Presidents. He has taken his defeat so gracefully, bo good-naturedly, that the people are half inclined to regret that they had to administer it to him. Though few regret his retirement, he retires with the good wishes of more people than any other man who has held the of fice of President. The secret of Mr. Taffs failure is his amazing ineptitude as a politi cian, comb'ned with those faults which he confessed in his farewell ppeech to the Washington newspaper men a disposition to take his ease and to procrastinate. Success would not have been easy for a skillful poli tician of more than ordinary energy, succeeding a man of such abnormal activity, ability at sensing public sen timent and arousing and holding to his support public opinion, as was Theodore Roosevelt. To a man of Mr. Taft's make-up it was Impossible. The people had become accustomed to Mr. Roosevelt's constant series of sensations. The placid calm with which Mr. Taft went about his work fell upon them like a wet blanket. Mr. Taffs initial mistake was In choosing the type of men he picked for Cabinet officers. Had the Gov ernment been a great corporation, needing only skilled administrators responsible to their chief alone, his selections would have been admirable, but a President or a Cabinet officer has done only half his work when he hag oonducted the administration or his department well. He must con vince the people of the fact and must get them behind him in such force that Congress will work hand In hand with him. He must also know how to handle Congress, that It may be dis posed to look favorably on his recom mendations. In these respects Mr. Taft and his Cabinet officers fell short. The greatest political failure was made by the man who scored the greatest success as an executive of ficer Attorney-General Wickersham. He has shown splendid energy and ability and has achieved unprecedent ed success in prosecuting the trusts and get-rlch-quick men. But he blundered in attemtping to read out of the Republican party the pro gressives who may goon be practically all there is of that party: also In send ing his railroad bill to Congress with the notice that not a line, not a word must be changed. At the outset Mr. Taft allowed him self to be deluded into the belief that the country was weary of excitement and wanted conservative calm. The only persons having any such desire were the men who told him so, and precious few of them remain in pub lic life. Under this delusion Mr. Taft, after .raising hopes of downward tariff revision, sent a message to the extra session of 1909 which should have been a clarion call to action, but which read like the call of a corpora tion president to the board of directors to come to order. Mr. Taft did not realize that he would have a fight to face in his own party to carry out its tariff revision pledge, and that he must fight for every reduction that was to be made. He let the stand patters make the bill to suit them selves; he refused aid to the progres sives who were striving for Ihe policy to which he was pledged; at the fin ish he secured merely a few conces sions which the standpatters had doubtless agreed upon beforehand to make In order that he might save his face. He followed this blunder by the equally grievous one of publicly indorsing Senator Aldrich, the most unpopular statesman in the United States at that time, and thus of tak ing upon his own shoulders the whole burden of the Aldrich unpopularity. Mr. Taft failed to see that Colonel Roosevelt had lighted a fire which could not be quenched; that the pro gressives In his own party were fan ning the fast spreading flames. He allowed Mr. Wickersham to attempt reading progressives out of the party and he allowed his private secretary to publish a direct admission that he had deprived them of patronage. When the mischief was done and the progressives were hopelessly alienated, he attempted to conciliate them. Thus, when he did the right thing, he did It it the wrong time. In the Ballinger affair he did the right thing in the wrong way. Had he ordered a full, public Inquiry into Glavis' charges, public opinion would have been disposed to suspend judg ment and to consider the evidence with an open mind. Glavis would then have been discredited at the be ginning, as he has been in the end; Glfford Plnchot would have had no excuse to write that offensive letter and his dismissal would have been ap. proved, not condemned, by the peo ple. But Mr. Taft ordered Glavis' dismissal after a hasty, exparte ex amination of the evidence by himself alone, and the people, suspecting that there was something to hide, refused to be convinced by the most convinc ing evidence in Mr. Balllnger's favor. Failure of the Canadian reciprocity scheme was a misfortune, rather than a blunder, for Mr. Taft made a splen did fight for it and showed what he could do if aroused in a cause into which he put his heart. When so astute a politician as Sir Wilfrid Laurler was deceived as to the trend of Cananian opinion. Mr. Taft cannot be greatly blamed for misjudging it. But he erred egregiously and unin tentionally helped defeat of reci procity in Canada by his "parting of the ways" speech and by his predic tion that reciprocity would make Canada, an adjunct of "the . United States. When Colonel Roosevelt threw his hat in the ring and made the direct primary his battle-cry in the p re convention campaign, Mr. Taft blun dered again by not offering to submit his own and his rival's claims to the voters. He gave Mr. Roosevelt good cause to say that he feared such a test of strength and furnished the only real basis for the cry of fraud at the Chicago convention. His sole source of gratification In the outcome was that he at least encompassed the . de feat of Colonel Roosevelt and saved the country from what he seems to have" considered a worse fate than a Democratic- administration. Mr. Taft's position In public esti mation is unique. His most deter mined political foes have been won at least to silence, and hosts -of others who opposed him are ready to dub him that good, honest, well-meaning, lik able but blundering :Taft. His ene mies are almost all political and he has perhaps more, personal friends among his political opponents than any other man In public life. FBANKLTN K. LANE. If It . shall prove to be true that Franklin K. Lane has been selected for the Secretaryship of the Interior, the whofe country should be satis fled. Mr. Lane lives in California, but there ought to be-no Eastern preju dice against him on that account. If he has taken .any part in the great controversy over conservation. The Oregonian cannot recall what It was, and-it does not know where he stands. But it knows that the character of Mr. Lane Is high, and that his public record is admirable. . ' He has been corporation counsel of San Francisco, and Democratic candidate for Governor; and since 1905 he has been a member of the Inter state Commerce Commission. He has in that capacity rendered service to the public that has given him a Nation-wide reputation for courage and aggressiveness and for his intelli gent grasp of the intricate railroad and public service problems. He Is neither a corporation-baiter nor a corporation-hater; and he never at titudinizes. But he has nevertheless made the railroads respect and obey the law. Mr. Lane, though a lawyer, made an excursion Into the newspaper busi ness at Tacoma about twenty years ago. He is well remembered in Washington as an outspoken and lik able man, and as a student of people and events. Undoubtedly the people of the West will have no reason to fear that his many years of official Jife have caused him to be inocu lated with the Pinchot microbe; so he will not be Impervious to the true light on conservation. ANOTHER NEW STATE f The Oregonian ventures to impart to its readers the startling intelligence that a movement has been launched to create a nice new state out of the pan handle of Idaho, Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon. It may be re membered that a similar threatened secession by a part of Southern Ore gon, a year or two ago, rocked the commonwealth on its foundations; but it was somehow averted without the loss of life or blood or treasure. We gather from the La Grande Observer that the rebels there are made of sterner stuff than the newspaper se cessionists of the Rogue River Val ley, and that they are not likely to abandon their mighty purpose through any ordinary discouragement. Dis union is no boys play. The reasons for the separation are numerous enough, but they appear to be based chiefly on the complacent Idea that "Eastern Oregon is so dif ferent from the Willamette Valley that there is little in common," and that "Eastern Oregon is not a part of the state of Oregon except for tax paying purposes and patronizing the Portland wholesale houses"; and that state funds are not expended in the eastern part of the state "owing to the combined influence of Portland, Willamette Valley and Southern Ore gon." We seem to remember that the Legislature of 1911 appropriated sev eral hundred thousand dollars for a branch asylum at Pendleton, and sev eral hundred thousand more at the current session for extensions and for maintenance; and we seem to remem ber also that the Legislature as signed $450,000 to the benefit of the Columbia Southern irrigation project, which at last accounts was Jn East ern Oregon. But w-e have difficulty in recalling just what any Legislature has done for Portland in the way of appropriations, except the minor sums given to several charitable associa tions and the generous amount to the Lewis and Clark Fair. If neglect by the Legislature to subsidize any city or county by bestowing upon it a lib eral portion of the state's pork barrel Is adequate ground for secession, Port land has a first-rate case against the state of Oregon. But an added reason for the new state is given by an unnamed citizen, and we are bound to say it' excites our interest: We are essentially a different breed of people. . We live In a bracing, riaorous cllmatt wnteh develops sturdy manhood and womanhood: it develops the kind of people who do not quit, while in the lower coun try the mild, water-soaked climate pro duces a quality of men who believe In be ing cared for. "I am - very much in favor of a new state. One would suppose a superior breed of people ought to have no difficulty in asserting their character and power over the enervated citizen of the same unhappy state. PAROLE OF J. THORBl RN" ROSS. The case against J. Thorburn Ross has been long drawn out, but has final ly passed through the state courts and been acted upon by the United States Supreme Court. It now rests with a judge of the Circuit Court of Marion County whether Mr. Ross shall suffer the penalty carried by his conviction or receive the benefits of the state's parole law. The crime charged involved the mis use of school funds entrusted to his custody as the head of the Title Guar antee & Trust Company, now defunct It has been held by the several courts that have passed on the Issue that the law forbade the diversion of any school moneys, so deposited, into the ordinary channels of the bank's business. The law was indefinite. The money was so diverted by Mr. Ross' back. His responsibility for the proper custody of the funds was a legal one under statutes which may perhaps did In this case require of the head of a large institution supervision of details which he Is actually unable to give. The history of the failure and re ceivership of the Title Guarantee & Trust Company is out of the ordinary. Its affairs have been so handled that the state has been reimbursed every dollar in school money that was on deposit. Moreover, the man who took over the assets and guaranteed pay ment of the liabilities has or will come out whole In the transaction. It thus appears that no - one has suffered by Mr. Ross1 technical violation of law except himself. He has been put to large expense In defending the case and has suffered severe and long-continued mental anguish. Justices of the Supreme Court who reviewed -the judgment of the lower court have declared that there was no moral. turpitude on the part of the defendant. The members of the trial jury and 'the special prosecutor have joined in the request for parole. Un der the circumstances It appears that the ends of Justice would not be de feated, the interests of society suffer or public opinion be violated by ex tension of the beneficence of the pa role law In this instance. READY. FOR AM MOVE.- i The Portland newspaper which pro duced a "programme of progress" which would. It promised the Legisla ture, be sufficient reply to those who condemn Legislatures, thinks that the work of the session has not been com pleted, although the programme of progress has been carried out. It now presents other bills which It kept up its sleeve when the play began, and demands their enactment. Still, while insisting that there is more that ought to be done, the same critic condemns as foolish the leader ship which caused an extension of the customary forty days' session. The batteries of condemnation thus seem to be well guarded and pointed In every direction. We are wholly unable to advise the Legislature how i.t may escape a raking fire. If it accepts the counsel of its critic it will still be unable to escape the odium of having forced back to Salem those members who feel that they should not work more than fo.-ty days for 3120. THE TURTLE SERUM. Although the regular medical pro fession appears to set but a slight value on Dr. Friedmann's so-called tuberculosis cure, the public at large throbs with hope that it may prove to be all that the inventor claims for it. He pretends that it will cure all the multitudinous forms In which the tu bercle bacillus afflicts the human race, sonsumption of the skin, bone3, glands, lungs, and so on. If his claims are justified by the event, Dr. Friedmann will rank among the greatest benefac tors of mankind. If they are fraudu lent, as many learned physicians roundly assert, he can hardly escape being denounced as an impostor. Dr. Friedmann made his first announce ment of a tuberculosis cure, or immun izing agent, in 1903. At that time he displayed the earns reluctance to make all his facts clear as he has since, but enough came out to permit other sci entific men to repeat his experiments,' and, if all reports are true, not very much came of It. He made large claims which rigorous tests exploded. In 1904 he announced that he could actually cure consumption in cattle by injecting living germs, but the pro fession did not find upon investigation that the facts warranted his state ments. Thus the matter stood until last No vember, when Dr. Friedmann dis closed to the Berlin Medical Society that he had at last perfected a prep aration which would cure tuberculosis in all Its forms. The New York Times gives an account of the session at which he made his announcement. Some of .his colleagues supported his word, but in general they were incred ulous, .The fact that he continued nebulous about the method of prepar ing his remedy, the proper doses and other particulars tended to bias the profession against him, of course, but it seems there was a real lack of evi dence that his serum would do what he said it would. Physicians who had watched its effect upon patients saw nothing new or particularly valuable In It. The cure came up for discus sion at another meeting of the Berlin Medical Society a week later and at that time Dr. Friedmann promised to publish full particulars of his remedy so that, the world might have the bene, fit of it, but, as physicians complain, he has not kept his promise and it is more than suspected that his motives are mercenary. His visit to America, it Is said, follows the offer of a large sum of money and perhaps Its purpose is to build up some great system of ex ploiting the public. The Friedmann cure depends upon the use of tubercle bacilli obtained from the turtle, which is a cold-blooded animal. - These germs will not pro duce the disease In human beings, but, according to Dr. Friedmann, they will produce immunity and even check the progress of consumption' after its rav. ages have become serious. Such a claim is not unscientific. If often hap pens that a germ which to compara tively harmless will immunize an ani mal against others which are virulent. There are three well-known varieties of tuberculosis bacilli affecting warm blooded animals, the human, the bo vine and the avian. The last men tioned, as the name implies, inhabits the tissues of birds. The bovine lives in cattle. It is dangerous to man, but not nearly so much so as his own. The avian is fairly harmless to all animals but birds.' With these facts In mind, scientists began their search for an immunizing agent by testing the dif ferent germs. Might not the cow ba cillus, or that of the birds, perhaps be treated in some such way as to give immunity to man against tuberculosis? The hope was alluring, but it came to nothing. Either the preparations pro duced dangerous troubles themselves or they failed altogether to act. Then scientists turned to a fourth kind of bacillus found in. stable heaps, some times on grass and npw and then in butter. This resembles closely the real tuberculosis germ, and it was thought that perhaps it might confer immunity. But again the disappointment was al most complete. Consumption continu ued to defy the attacks of medicine. Nothing seemed to avail against its ravages except perfect hygiene, and this, of course, was out of reach of the poor. As conditions stand they must toil in the dark, unventilated, filthy quarters. As long as there is no agent that will extirpate tuberculosis germs they are sure to be disseminated on garments made in the slums and in sweatshops, they will be sold in im pure milk and taken in with the air we breathe. With all this in mind it is easy to understand the fervor of hope which thrilled the world when It was an nounced that Dr. Friedmann had at last solved the great problem. His claim was that, with the bacilli from the turtle, he could not only immunize a healthy person, but he could relieve those far gone with the disease. Peo ple perishing with consumption turned to him with frenzied appeals for help. Some so)d their property and traveled to. Berlin seeking the healing serum at Its fountain-head. The poor remained in their hovels and waited for the reve lation of the secret which would mean new life to them. Those who went to Berlin may have been cured, but if so the fact is kept , strangely hidden. Those who have waited at home for de liverance have waited in vain. The new gospel of healing seems to be strictly a matter of dollars and cents. Koch, who .won the first genuine victories over the tuberculosis germ, published his discoveries far and wide, scarcely waiting to test them before he gave them to the world and set the army of science at work perfecting them. The great Pasteur never withheld a new truth when he saw that men or animals might profit by it. If there is really anything in Friedmann's discov ery he cannot keep it a great while from the world. It will be rediscovered by other physicians and humanity will use It freely In spite of all the patents he can heap upon it and all the syn dicates he can form to exploit it. Truths upon which the health and happiness of the world depend are above patent laws. ' Science can no more be imprisoned by legal monopo lies than by creeds. Readers of American history will find much to interest them in John K. Flnlay" articles on "The French in the Heart of America." The author's style is pompously schoolboylsh, but his theme Is a great one and his knowl edge seems to be competent. From Western Pennsylvania to Oregon the French explored and partially colo nized the territory 1 of the United States. For many years they were more active here than any other na tion and their traces are everywhere in buildings, names and the memory of battles. The articles are in Scribner's magazine. Sherman Whipple of Boston, gave some excellent advice to lawyers in his recent address before the Southerrl Bar Association. . He told them they ought to get hold of modern concep tions of justice, forsake --precedents, which originated under feudal condi tions, and become human beings in stead of legal machines. Such lan guage is rather common now with en lightened lawyers, but ' not common enough. The profession has only one eye and that is in the back of its head. It needs two good new ones, both in front." It is of little use for Boston pale ontologists to dig up bones of prehis toric ancestors, whether men or monkeys. Oregon's claim to the Land of Nod cannot be shadowed by any thing within range of the gilded cod fish. Since Turkey has not yet paid the war indemnity exacted by Russia in 1878, how can the Balkan allies ex pect to get $300,000,000 from her? Perhaps they are storing up a pretext for a' future war, whenever they are ready to gobble another slice. . When one compares Professor Shrin er's cannibal's skull with the classic, cultured features of Senator Lodge, one must admit that New England has made some progress in the last 10,000 years. Mills did not know his wife had so much money until he heard of the robbery. A woman who would carry $43,000 in a handbag around Chicago deserves a medal of sole leather. Senator Chamberlain blames Taft for failure of the McCusker appoint ment to go through. Couldn't have picked a better vehicle for the blame at this juncture. Sixteen Americans fought sixty Mexican regulars. That's enough Americans to' contend with a whole Mexican brigade. Commissioner Conant's report on the Harvester trust may be taken as the Taft Administration's parting shot at Colonel Roosevelt's chief "angel." If the lowarvof-ders in England con tinue to mob the suffragettes, they may turn the sympathy of the other classes to the "votes for women" party. Millions of women do not have a thousand dollars to spend on dress during lifetime, yet they live just as happily as their few favored sisters. If Mrs. Wilson should compare notes with Mrs. Taft, she may revise her opinion on the cost of dressing the President's wife appropriately. When they went against the Ninth Cavalry the greasers attempted to crack one of the toughest nuts in the Army. The lottery plan may be all right at the Eugene ball, provided it does not award a six-foot girl to a five-foot man. . Taft takes with him the chair he has used at Cabinet sessions, which is well, for his successor cannot fill It. Probably the sole serene office holder in all the land, is John Barrett, wliose chock chee js good for life. We shall have tq accustom ourselves henceforth to speaking of Professor Taft and President Wilson. That lottery system of picking partners at the University dances is great for the wall flowers. The Ninth Cavalry is as difficult to hold back on. the Mexican border as it was at San Juan Hill. The woman who orders a spool of thread sent home will never go to market with a basket. We thought those British suffra gettes would get their fill of rough house tactics anon. Then why not sell off the whole Navy and salt the proceeds away in the pork barrel.' Alaska's troubles have begun. The first Territorial Legislature is con vening. Of course those 3 o'clock burglars would not catch all of us in bed. Interest centers oh Washington, yet Salem must not be overlooked. It is time to begin worrying about rain on Easter Sunday. Henceforward we shall see what we shall see. Bryan cannot longer emulate the Sphinx. Sxit Taft; enter Wilson. WHEN PEOPLE'S Y'OICK IS HEEDED Governor West Obeys It Only Wka It Coincides With. His On Ideas. SALEM. Or March J, 191J. (To the Editor.) Permit me a communication to supplement your editorial on the un discriminating course pursued by Ore gon's Governor in his use of the veto power. You are undoubtedly right in your conclusion that be uses the veto merely to reward friends or punish opponents. The Governor baa disregarded the overwhelming vote of the people of Oregon and vetoed the bill to repeal the crooked flat-salary printing law called "the Miller bill," which he forced through the Legislature of 1911 by such gross abuse of the power of the execu tive office as was seldom or never be fore witnessed in the United States. In a "deal" as he was, with labor agi tators, to deliver Oregon's public print ing into the "jurisdiction" of an Indian apolis labor government, he threatened members of the Legislature of 1911 with vetoes of important measures in case they did not vote to consummate his political agreements, and so forced the passage of the bill. But it was rejected by the voters on November 5. 1912, by 69,542 noes to 34,693 ayes, and came nowhere near receiving a major ity in any county. The conspiracy in which the admin istration and its "expert" were en gaged dies hard. At every point the Governor' agents have fought repeal of the bill by the present Legislature and sought to set aside the popular verdict. The same sort of falsehoods were used to prevent repeal as were used to force passage In the first place of the scheme to fasten on Oregon the most corrupt, extravagant and costly system of doing public printing ever devised the system of a state-owned plant with flat salaries to employes working on time. If the Legislature does not pass the repealing law over the Governor's veto, this will be the condition: In case of a vacancy before October 1, 1914, in the office of State Printer, the costly sys tem backed by the Governor will go into effect, and the state will be loaded up with a printing plant; and three mouths later the method proposed in House bill 422 (the contract system) will come into effect, to supplant the newly-adopted flat-salary and state ownership method. Two courses are open to the Legis lature on Tuesday or Wednesdayre peal the flat-salary law of 1911, or re peal House bill 422 of the 1913 session.! only those persons In such dense ignorance of the printing question as Governor West, Senator Miller or Sen ator McColloch would think of per mitting chapter 266, laws of 1911, to remain on the statute book after pas sage of Representative Smith's bill to start the contract system in January, 1915. The Governor, In vetoing the Rogue River fish bill, gives as his reason therefor a popular vote of 49,712 to 33,397 on the measure; but he disre gards a vote of 69,542 to 34,693 on the printing measure. In the one case he respects a majority of 16,315 votes, with 10 counties giving contrary judgment; but in the other case he disregards a majority of 34,849 to which each and very county contributed. The Gov ernor believes in the popular will when it coincides with his own Ideas; other wise he proposes to disregard heavy popular majorities. WILLIS a DUNIWAT, State Printer. Descent of Property. HOOD RIVER, Or., March 2. (To the Editor.) A's mother died when he was a baby. A's grandfather died about three years ago, A being about 14 years old. His grandfather left no will; his eBtate consisted of personal and. real property, mostly personal. It was all converted into cash and A re ceived what would have been his mother's share had she been alive, viz. $2600. Guardian was appointed here for A and received the . money, and loaned it . on real estate secured by mortgage for three years. A year later A died, being 15 years old. A has a grandmother, aunt and uncle living on his mother s side, and. a lather, to whom does the estate belong? A SUBSCRIBER. The property descends to the heirs of the ancestor from whom it descend ed to the minor, the same as if the child had died before the death of such an cestor. In this case the grandmother would take one-half and the aunt and uncle one-fourth each. As to Marriage Licenses. SEASIDE, Or., March 2. (To the Ed itor.)-1. A young couple come to Portland to be married. Can the man, alone, secure the license? 2. Is a witness necessary to secure a license? S., What steps should be taken to avoid publicity of a license? INTERESTED. 1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. Marriage licenses are matters of public record. No method of preventing publication Is prescribed by law. First Congressional District. TAFT. Or., Feb.-28, (To the Editor.) pinnxri iHva lit the names of those counties which constitute the First Congressional District of Oregon; also, (3) the address of former Congressman Ellis. JOHN OSTERMAN. 1) Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Co lumbia, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marlon, Polk, Tillamook, Washington and Yam hill. (2) Pendleton, New Marriage License Law. PORTLAND, Or-. March 3.- (To the Editor.) Please inform me whether the State Legislature has passed a bin requiring an applicant for a marriage license to pass a physical examination. If suoh a bill has been passed, how long will it be before it goes into effect? READER. Such a bill has been passed, but it applies only to males. The law will go into effect 90 days after the final adjournment of the Legislature. Homestead Laws. TROUTDALE. Or., March 2. (To the Editor.) Please tell me how much Gov ernment land is an American citizen en titled to? How long does he have to live on it before he gets a title to it? A. READER. Agricultural land homesteads are 160 acres in extent; dry land homesteads 320 acres. The residence requirement is three years on either. Naming New Electric Line. CANBY, Or., March 2. (To the Edi tor.) Please tell me where to send my suggestions for the naming of the new electric line. A READER. To Mark Woodruff, care Portland, Eugene & Eastern Railway, Portland. Qr. Philadelphia. PORTLAND, March J- (To the Ed itor.) Kindly state in what years Phil adelphia was the capital of the United States? I. C. H. 1790 to 1800. " A Is Right. ' PORTLAND, March 2. (To the Edi tor.) A says the money collected from the protective tariff goes into the Treasury and is used as any other reve nue. B'says it does not. READER. Twenty-five Years Ago From The Oregonian of March 4, 1SS3. In Egypt D. P. Thompson and his party on the River Nile; the city of Cairo and Its Interesting surroundings; up the river: ludicrous aspects of a donkey ride. "She" has had an almost phenomenal run at the new Park Theater. One of the principal outgrowths of the Lad I as' Relief Society is that well known and most deserving of humane institutions, The Home, on J street near Tenth, just west of the Oddfellows' Temple in East Portland. The officers are: .President, Mrs. Mary L. rlalse.y; vice-president, Mrs. Kate P. Menden- hall; secretary, Rebecca M. Robb; treas urer, Jane Abraham, and Aunty Frush and Mrs. M. E. Ellis. It is generally believed that Judge Lord will be nominated as his own sue cessor by the Republicans. The names of Judge J. W. Whalley. of Portland, and Hon. T. A. McBrlde, of Oregon City, are mentioned. Dr.. J. R. Cardwell has returned from an extended trip through California. Round trip fare to Sellwood and re turn by the narrow-gauge railroad and Sellwood ferry is only 30 cents. This affords a fine chance to see ' . that prosperous city. Commencing today the O. R. & N. Co. will run a Pullman sleeper daily to Walla Walla via Pendleton. Perhaps the most delighted party which has yet visited the cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg was composed of some 150 children from the public schools of Vancouver. Salem, March S. Governor Pennoyer today removed Robert Clow from the superintendency of the Penitentiary, the reason assigned being that Clow some time ago in violation of law "em ployed convicts to work on his farm in Polk County. Half a Century A o From The Oregonian of March 4, 1863. Washington, Feb. 24. At the unanl mous request of the California Con gressional delegation the Hon. Stephen J. Field, now Chief Justice of Califor nia, has been appointed United States Circuit Judge for that state, vice Mc Allister, resigned. London, Feb. 6. A Calcutta paper states that there Is a rebel pirate oruis Ing in the Bay of Bengal and her com mander declared he would destroy every vessel leaving Calcutta under the Federal flag. At Port Hudson on the 17th Captain Conner, from Red River, brings Intel ligence of the capture of the Federal steamer Queen of the West at Gordon's Landing, Fort Taylor, on Red River. Cincinnati, Feb. 27. Various rumors are In circulation respecting a rebel in vaslon of Kentucky. One report is that BreckenrldKe is advancing on lexlne ton with 30,000 men. Cluber'a rebel forces are leaving Kentucky by way of Mount Sterling and Hazel Green, pursued by Colonel Kunbel with 1800 cavalry and infantry. Our neighbors, Messrs. Wasserman & Co.. received by the pacino tu.uou cigars, Imported by them direct from Havana. Under the influence of the Increased price of gold, Government paper has gradually declined for the past ween and we therefore alter our current price this morning, 52 cents being now tne average marKet price. Judge J. E. Wyche, of Vancouver, will deliver a lecture on Friday even ing at the academy in this city; sub ject "Joan of Arc." . Mr. Simonton, the Washington cor respondent of the Bulletin, writes under date of January 27 that "James Mc Bride, of Oregon, has been nominated by the President as. Minister Resident at the Hawaiian Islands in place of T. J. Dryer, removed." He is the father of the gentleman who was elected to vjon gress last June and about 12 years ago was superintendent ot common schools. Grounds for Divorce. HILLSBORO, Or., March 2. (To the Editor.) (!) Kindly publish the dif ferent grounds for which a divorce is aranted in Oregon. (2) Would a divorce be granted when the parties in question agree to ois agree? A SUBSCRIBER. (1) Impotency existing at the time of the marriage and continuing to the commencement of the suit; adultery conviction of felony; habitual gross drunkenness contracted since marriage and continuing for a year prior to com mencement of suit; wilful desertion for the period of one year; cruel and in human treatment or personal indigni ties rendering life burdensome. (2) No. ' Arctic Explorations. MONMOUTH, Or., March 2. (To the Editor.) Should Stefannson discover some new country while searching in the emDloy of Canada, would It be Enallsh or Canadian property, and would it be permissible under ourMon roe Doctrine? B. Arctic land areas are now known in a general way. Exploration of the Interior of territory known to exist does not give the sovereignty right of discovery. American Manufactures Abroad. NARROWS, Or., FeD. S8 (To the Editor.) Is it a fact tnat our manu facturers sell their machinery in foreign lands cheaper than they do in this country? SUBSCRIBER. It has been reported that harvest machinery and watches manufactured in America have been sold cheaper in foreign countries than in this, but both statements are disputed. Marriage After Divorce, ENTERPRISE, Or.. March 1. (To the Editor.) Please tell me if a person divorced in Idaho can be legally mar ried in Oregon before the expiration of six months' p. 5. It is a moot question. Persons who have regard for the legality of the marriage would better wait. Dirtiest Cities. TILLAMOOK, Or., Feb. 8. (To the Editor.) Kindly advise me which three of tne large cities In the United States is considered the dirtiest, and which three are the cleanest. , J. MERREL SMITH. We know of no reliable information on the subject. Honors for Both of Them. Kansas City Star. "The Jones' go in for a lot of fuss and feathers." "Yes, Jones gets the fuss and his wife the feathers." Yes. ' BIG EDDY. Or., March 1. (To the Editor.) -Was the battleBhlp Oregon in Portland during the Elks' carnival? , L. WILEY. Inaugural Ode By Beam Collins.' (Suns: bv chorus of office-seekers.) Hail to the Chief who in triumph .ad vances; This is the day we mark red In great daubs; High beats each heart and each eager eye glances Bright, toward the incoming Giver of Jobs. There's not a thermostat measures a - Democrat. Such is the warmth of their greeting and cheers. Wilson O never's one so much like Jefferson . Come to this office for years upon years. . Out in the wilderness Ions have we wandered. Doomed In minority ever to roam; Hopeful however we've waited and pon dered. Till we can look toward the White House as home. Hearts bound with happiness, joyous filp-flappiness. As we assemble your advent to eye; Murmuring. "Haste thee and carve up the pastry and Let us forget those lean years! Cut the pie!" Blare the loud trumpets and clash the gay cymbal; Let us disport us and, thinking of plums. Dance on the pavements and gyrate and gimble And whistle gay tunes on our fingers and thumbs! Oh, with some sinecure, .give us a tiny cure For all those years 'we sat. pieless, to sob; Now that we win again, let us all In again. We're hero to hall thee and ask for a Job. Hall to the chief who in triumph ad vances Hark, how we cheer in squads, pla toons and mobs! Loyal forever, we greet thee! . What chances Have ve to land in the new deal of v jobs? Since tiie great Grover's fall, we have been rovers ail: Now we applaud thy incoming with cheers; Send up a clanging shout, with our tongues hanging out; "What can you give us for thres or four years?" Portland. March 3. Incorporating ot Towns. GOBLE, -Or., March 2 (To the Ed itor.) 1. How great a population is required before a town can Incorpor ate? 2. How many taxpayers are re quired? 3. Also, how long a time is required before a town can Incorporate after the first steps are taken to effect an incorporation? A SUBSCRIBER. 1. One hundred fifty Inhabitants. 2. No legal requirement. 3. Petition signed by at least 40 qualified electors must before pre sented to the County Court be pub lished three weeks. The County Court may extend hearings not exceeding two months. Setting of election day must give at least two weeks for publica tion of notice of election. The County Court canvasses the vote on the first Wednesday of its next regular term and if a majority of the voters have approved the Court enters an order of incorporation which becomes effective when filed in the office of the Secre tary of State. A Radical In Polities. Washington (D. C.) Star. "What is your idea of a radical?" asked the young man who is studying politics. .,. "My observation," replied Senator Sorghum, -"is that a radical is usually a man who wants to muss things up in the hope of establishing himself in circumstances sufficiently comfortable to warrant his becoming a conserva tive. Tale of a Generous Soul. Sydney (Australia) Bulletin. Traveler Will there be time to get a drink, guard? Train Guard Yes, sir; plenty o' time, sir. Traveler What guarantee have I that the train won't go without me? Train Guard (generously) Wei, sir, I'll go an' have one with you; Killing Two Birds at Once. Boston Transcript, Griggs Your wife no longer objects to your staying out nights. How did you manage it? Briggs I began smoking In the house the cigars she bought to keep me at home. A Cuckoo and n Cook. New York Mall. Mr. Ferguson That's the new girl singing in the kitchen, isn't St? She's a regular cuckoo, Mrs, Ferguson Yes, except that sb can't cook. ,j , HnslMrnds Beaten In Burma London Mail. The "slippering" of husbands Is man frequent in Burma than wife-beating, said Sir George Scott in an address be fore the Sociological Society In Lon don recently. Measure sf a Dees Thinker. Detroit Free Press. "He's a deep thinker." "I guesB so. None of his ideas ever get to the surface." AN OREGON- SUNSET. (Time in which the changes took place, one hour and 40 minutes.) A long gray eloud stretching far, A fiery sun above the bar, And all around, low and high. As liquid fire appears the sky. The long gray cloud of Inky dew. The fiery sun pieroing through And all around gleams and glints ' Of red and orange in shades and tints. The long gray cloud darker grows. The fiery sun beneath it glows. And all around the fiery orb Colors mingle and absorb. The long gray cloud remaining high, The lowering sun fills the sky, A mammoth disc to behold -in bloody reds and molten gold. The fiery sun sinks to rest Behind the mountains' snowy crest And all around, above, below, .. Many colors gleam and glow. Iridescent shades and lights. Opalescent coIots bright. Ruby reds and roseate lines, Lavendar pinks, above the pines. The long gray cloud in contrast hold Shows an edge of brightest gold, And the mountains' snowy whiteness Stands ablaze in burning brightness. Lower sinks the hidden sun. Colors melting one by one Softer tones above; below Beauties of the afterglow. Purple gray and mellow light Depails the day, and comes the night The long gray cloud a dreary bank. Gloomy pines an Inky blank. (MISS) MONTANA HASTINGS, Eugene, Oregon.