THE MOUSING OREGOMAX, fHTJItSDAY. MARCH 27, 1913. 10 PORTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oregon, poatofflce as scond-clase matter. Subscription Kates Invariably In Advance: (BY MAIL) Dally. Simrtay Included, one year """ railr. Sunday Included, six monthi ... -r? pal'.y. Sunday Included, three roonlna.. Ja!;y. Sunday included, ona month .... Dally, without Sunday, one year J t ' Daily, without Punday. six monthi -- -- Daily, without Sunday, three months -- Ialiy. without Sunday, one month. .... -w Weekly, one year 1" ?t Sunday, one year Sunday and Weekly, one year. (BY CARRIES) Daily. Sunday Included, one year. . Xa:r. Sunday included, one montn. ' J How to Remit tend poslofflce money or der, express order or penonal check n local bank, Stamps, coin or currency are at the eendei-a risk. Give postofflce addreaa in full. Including county and state. Postage Rates Ten to 14 P IS to 2s paces. 2 centa; SO to o V"'; rente: 40 to 0 pages. 4 centa. Foreign postage, double rate- Eastern Business Offices Verree Con Itn. Kew Yoik. Brunswick building. t-t-cago. steger building. . Saa Fraadsco Office R. J. Bldwell Co.. 742 Market street. European Office Xo. 3 Regent street a. W.. Loi.don. I-OKTI.AN I. THIRSDAT. MARI ll 7. ; THE MOVING FINGER WRITES, i Speaking; of the earthquake which , destroyed 250,000 human beings at . Antioch. in the reign of Justinian, the . historian. Gibbon, remarks that "man i has industriously labored for his own j destruction" when the forces of nature are let loose upon him. The phllo : sophical historian had in mind the walls of the high buildings In cities which topple over during an earth ' quake and overwhelm the fugitives . below. He was thinking, too, of the ' unrestrained passions of the vicious ' and criminal classes which seize the opportunity of a great catastrophe to 1 rage unchecked. No doubt the fires which added to the horror of that night of death In Dayton were for . the most part set by looters. The greed and cruelty of bestial humanity : are as merciless now as they were ' when Antioch was destroyed, and if the historian were to behold the works that have been erected since his day ' he would repeat with new fervor his comment that "man has labored for his own destruction." The conven iences of civilized life become menac ing dangers when nature falls into one . of those angry moods which now and then demonstrate her power and sweep , her puny creatures by thousands to ' their death. At Dayton the electric connections were severed almost at the beginning of the flood and the city was left in total darkness. The rain was falling from the pitiless sky and the waters of the Miami River were rising mo- : mentty. Houses had begun to crumble under the impact of the stream that surged through the streets, and the shrieks of drowning women and chil dren rent the thick blackness of the night and storm, but not a ray of light shone from any window. The horror of death was multiplied by the secrecy of its work. Had the inhabitants de pended on the primitive lamps of their forefathers, this recourse, pitifully in adequate as it is for routine use. would not have failed them in the moment of their extreme need. Progress car ries with it penalties so severe that they sometimes seem almost to coun terbalance its benefits. With the lights of the city the waterworks also failed, and the people, deprived of food and shelter, were compelled to endanger their lives still more by drinking the contaminated waters of the river which had swept into its current the refuse of hundreds of square miles of land. Men are never prepared for the great catastrophes of nature. -Their times and effects appear," says the meditative historian, "to lie beyond the reach of human curiosity." Partly because the effort to predict their re currence is vuin and partly because security always -breeds carelessness of the future, these dire events take their victims unawares and their destructive ness is multiplied because they are un foreseen. "In the day when ye think not" the windows of heaven are opened and the rains descend. We who dwell at a distance wonder at the improvi dence of the people of Dayton who were caught by the flood without boats to rescue the drowning. Men were forced to stand Idly by and listen to the screams of perishing families. It was impossible to save them, because there were no boats. But in this par ticular the people of Dayton resemble all the rest of us. When the earth quake and fire fell upon San Fran cisco the Inhabitants were as unpre pared as were the people of Antioch. In that old misery which Gibbon de scribes with such tragic calm. The molten lava of Vesuvius has swept down its verdant slopes a hundred times, carrying death with it and leav ing desolation behind, but as often as the burning current cools, the peasants return with their vinehooks and plows and build new homes under the shadow of death. Over the ashes where Horculaneum lies buried, with all its stricken souls, men till the soil and rear their families, careless of the frowning volcano which only waits for the signal from destiny to repeat the deed it did on that fatal morning long ago. Hope springs eternal. If it did not. how could we endure to live in this world, where nature plays with us ' like a half-tamed tigress ready at the taste of blood to spring and slay? Per haps in our secret hearts we feel in stinctively that death Is so near, what : ever we may do to ward it off, that . precautions are idle. The valley of the Miami, where the city of Dayton lies. Is one of those narrow chasms which the slow action of the tireless elements have carved from the level surface of the great Ohio plain. Stretching from Lake Krle to the bed of the Ohio Klver, in primeval times this plain was ' like a smooth sheet of parchment whereon God was to write the history of the world. The streams scarcely knew which way to flow, so level was the surface. Some that now reach the Ohio flowed In those days toward Lake Erie. In the course of ages their chan nels were blocked by glacial drift and thus their way was determined for them. But their valleys, cut sheer down through the, plain, slope so steeply that the rain falling upon them gathers instantly Into raging torrents. At the headwaters of the streams there are no lakes to receive and retain the surplus rainfall, so that in seasons of unusual downpour the accumulated floods are compressed between the sheer cliffs that conilne the river and nothing can resist their frightful onset. At its widest the valley of the Miami only opens over forty miles of land. At its mouth It hardly affords space for the escape of the river in the August drouths, imagine, then, the fury of the imprisoned floods which have path, ered there after das and days of ceaseless downpour such as the mem ory of man can scarcely parallel. With his eye. which nothing escapes, fixed upon the melancholy panorama of history. Gibbon perceived times when the human race has been com paratively free from the scourges of nature, but he saw other times when all the woes of fire, flood, earthquake and plague seemed to accumulate as if to sweep man from the face of the earth. The reign of Justinian afforded such a spectacle. "It was disgraced," says Gibbon, '"by a visible decrease of the human species." Faith in Provi dence forbids us to believe that such misery can ever recur, but if it could our own times are ominous. What with wars and rumors of wars, with floods desolating the world from China through Europe to America, with earthquakes and strange climatic dis turbances taking place everywhere and storms sweeping across entire states like demons of destruction, does it not seem as if the evil powers of nature had been let loose upon,us to blight the works of man? PENSIONS FOB FIREMEN". While It means much to them, the tax levy asked by the firemen for the aid of their proposed pension fund is small In fact and inflnitesmal in con sideration of the long service to public duty, or the injury or the life that must be given in return for it. Before a fireman may become a beneficiary of the pensioning system he must have served twenty years or been disabled. If he meets death In performance of his duty his widow and children will receive relief. The pro posed tax is but one-tenth mil), or one one-hundredth of each cent of assessed valuation In the city. As a further aid to the fund, the firemen are to tax themselves by turning a percentage of each month's salary into the fund and are to divert all gifts and bequests to the same purpose. The fireman's work is trying, exact ing, dangerous. Moreover, It is in be half of the public safety and welfare. He is a soldier enlisted in a public cause and differs from most other city employes who come and go and in whose work there is no element of risk. The pensioning plan is not greatly different in principle from the com pensation system recently enacted by the State Legislature to which all prop-i-ttr in the tate will contribute a per centage of the cost. If it Is a public duty to aid in the reuer or worismcii onfrncAri in nrlvate employment who are injured as the result of the In herent risk of their employment, u is a public duty to aid in the pensioning of firemen, for. aside from the in herent risk of their employment, the public Is the employer as well. In the compensation system the employer is taxed, while the employe contributes against the day that he may be maimed or killed. Practically the only difference between the two plans Is that the fireman is to be pensioned after a lengthy term of service. We can think of no sound argument for defeat of the pension bill and of many for its approval. Not the least of these Is the encouragement it will give to capable men to enter the serv ice and remain there permanently. ONLY SAFE WAY 18 TO WAIT. The Oregonlan prints elsewhere to day a letter written by an Indiana physician who has made a personal in. vestigation in Europe as to the widely exploited Friedmann consumption cure, and who had opportunity also to see and know more or less about Dr. Friedmann. If is sufficient to say here that Dr. Walker was not at all convinced of the curative value of the new serum, nor of the genuineness of the specimen cases, nor of the entire sincerity of the discovery. It may be true that this Indiana doctor is too much Imbued with the indurated skep iiM.m nf hi nrnfesslon. and that he saw only what was dubious or inci dental or unimportant and refused to see what was worth while. We do not know. We will not know for some weeks or some months whether the Friedmann serum is a miracle of sci entific truth, or a great fraud, or a mere tonic, or lymph, which relieves, but does not restore. The spectacle of the hundreds and thousands of emaciated and frantic tu berculosis victims crowding about Dr. tviaHmann in a despairing appeal for help has touched a whole Nation. From every part of the united states uru has come that some poor Bufferer had had his hopes revived by stories of the wonderful medicine administered by the German doctor, and the trains are filled with Invalids on their way to the magic healer. They spread con tagion everywhere; they endanger the lives of everyone with whom they come In contact. All this would be borne without protest, of course, if It seemed that their hopes were to be realized, in whole or In part, at the end of their wretched Journey. But they pursue an ignis falnus. Dr. Friedmann tells them not to come now. Common prudence requires that they wait. If there is a remedy it will be brought to them. The Oregonian reprints the letter of Dr. Walker for what It Is worth. It hopes that Dr. Friedmann Is all he claims to be and that his cure will really cure. But it is to be remem bered that half of all the cases of bone and fistulous tuberculosis cure them selves, and It is this class of patients to whom Dr. Friedmann appears to give the most attention. It is well to be cautious and wait The Govern ment experts are at work and will re port after full Investigation. Then we shall know the truth. INITED AGAINST TAMMANY. Champions of good government in New York City have once more united for a municipal campaign. Republi cans. Democrats and Progressives have joined in the appointment of a com mittee, which will take steps toward an effective programme and the nom ination and election of candidates who will carry It out. This is to be no mere temporary fusion of National parties for the occasion. It is to be the or ganization of a new municipal party, which will combat with Tammany for control of the city. Emphasis is laid by the promoters of this movement on the necessity of a positive programme, not merely a neg ative one of opposition to Tammany. The leaders would have the new party offer the people something definite, something better than a mere promise to take the offices away from Tam many. Revelations as to the wide corrup tion In the police department should certainly awaken the people of our largest city to the necessity for a change, if anything car.. The known lack of sympathy with Tammany in the Wilson Administration and the open breach between Governor Sulzer and that organization should help. But a newly-formed party has no easy task before it in the overthrow of a com "pact. thoroughly-drilled body like Tammany, which has been built up through many years and enjoys the prestige of success, which will deter many from opposing it. New York City owes it not only to itself hut to the country to redeem the city from the shame of Tammany rule. As our chief city, it should be an ex ample of clean, efficient, honest gov ernment, of what a democratic people can do in the way of municipal admin istration. As it now is, that city is a by-word for corruption, inefllciency and waste. LETTING PUBLIC ENFORCE LAW. Massachusetts will undertake to en force the findings of its minimum wage commission by force of public opinion. The various steps taken to ascertain the proper compensation of women workers in each employment are much the same there as in Oregon, but In stead of the commission's order being obligatory on the employers, as in Ore gon, its report is to be published In the newspapers. It Is hoped that pub lic sentiment will cause the employers to fix wages in accordance with the report. The law will provide, no doubt, an Interesting illustration of how much the delinquent employer fears the pub lic and how far the public will go In discommoding itself in order to estab lish what It believes to be right. We fancy that the people will accept as conclusive the findings of the commis sion. But will they walk to the mer cantile establishment that pays the minimum wage when one that does not can be reached three blocks closer? Or will they accept from the former some article with which they are not exactly suited In preference to one that does fill the need that may be obtained at the latter? How long, too, will the public remember which are the good and which are the bad establishments in the, wage controversy? And will they take the pains to segregate them from the long list? These are questions that occur at the moment but even if they may be answered favorably to the cause of the minimum wage there remain the great textile mills of Massachusetts which employ large numbers of women and minors and whose trade extends to the confines of the country. There, at least, the hopes of the working woman are resting on forlornly remote chance. Massachusetts has gained some credit for being first of the states to enact a minimum wage law, but the honor, we fear, is an empty one. POINTS ON SERVANT PROBLEM. In the March number of the Na tional Review an English woman of the working class discusses the prob lem of domestic service. She calls her article "A Servant's View of the Serv ant Problem." In England, as in the United States, the comfortable classes r, n l i ti o- mora and more difficulty every day In supplying their house holds with efficient neip. much been published as to the -causes of the trouble, but most of it has been from the standpoint of the mistress. It is therefore novel as well as ln-,.,inn- ipam what the servants themselves think about the situation. Their appearance In literature witn an account of their woes and aspirations is a strictly modern phenomenon. Nothing of the kind was ever seen in former centuries. Our ancestors were disposed to look upon domestic serv ants as a superior kind of cattle whose opinions were of very little importance. Only when the humbler orders of soci ety broke out Into such disorders as the peasant war in Germany or the re revolt of the English boors under Jack Cade did their betters condescend to take any notice of their preferences. No doubt the new faculty of expres sion which the toiling masses are de veloping will In the end promote the harmony of the world, though It may make some disturbance to begin with. Nothing Is ever lost by Increased knowledge and understanding. The servant girl who writes in the National Review takes the ground that the relation between mistress and maid ought to be one of pure business. The girl has her labor to sell. The mis tress buys It. There their relations end. The girl's morals are no con cern of her mistress. How she may spend the time which she does not sell Is her own affair. The mistress of the household has always been Inclined to hold her servants In tutelage. Worse yet, she has been disposed to Insist upon their social Inferiority. Men do business with their inferiors and never think of their fitness or unfitness for a dinner part-, but this women have not as yet been able to do. Perhaps some of their troubles over the servant ques tion will be mitigated when they ac quire the gift of buying work and let ting the worker look after her own manners and morals. WORK FOR CONGRESS TO DO. Should President Wilson recommend action on, and Congress take up, all the subjects suggested for legislation at the extra session, the National leg islators might easily remain in session until the date for the regular session next December. Already Mr. Wilson is said to consider asking for currency legislation as soon as the tariff is dis posed of. Congress has also been urged to legislate for Alaska. Now come the advocates of the bill pro viding for an international conference on the high cost of living and those who desire an amendment of the Erd man act, under which railroad labor disputes are settled. So good a case Is made for prompt action on each one of these subjects that one is inclined to suggest yet an other an inquiry into the best means of promoting economy and efficiency in the work of Congress itself. When we consider how much there is to do and yet how time is frittered away on trifles, on mere emission of a great volume of words, on personal wrangles, on displays of "smartness" by individ ual members, there appears to be great need of such an Inquiry. The high cost of living is likely to be so greatly affected by legislation on the tariff and the currency, which is promised at the extra session, and by other laws which may be passed before an Inquiry could be completed, that no great harm could be done by deferring action until the regular ses sion. But the subject need give rise to no serious controversy, and If Con gressmen would but bottle up their oratory, legislation could be secured at the extra session while Senate or House Is awaiting the disposition of the main subjects of legislation by the other body. Just so with the Erdman act. This has proved of inestimable benefit in adjustment of railroad disputes, but Its workings have betrayed serious de fects. Managers and employes Join in asking for a few amendments which would render It far more effective in preventing strikes and more satisfac tory to both parties immediately con cerned and would extend Its applica tion to other railroad employes than those engaged in train service. A com paratively brief amendatory act would accomplish all that is desired .and could be passed through each house in a few days. Should Congress delay, a disastrous strike may enforce the urgency of action. If Congress will buckle down to work it can pass such minor laws as these without Interfering with those of major importance. All that is re quired is expeditious but careful work and a minimum of oratory. Let that be saved till the session preceding the next Presidential election. The people expect a flood of it then and are re signed to the infliction. When the story of the siege of Ad rianople comes to be told, as it doubt less will be when the Balkan war is over and the Bulgarians lift the veil of secrecy which has covered their op erations, it will prove to have been one of the greatest sieges of history. It has continued for five months and has been marked by slaughter rivaling that at Saragossa, Vicksburg or Paris. This victory of Bulgaria and Servia is prob ably the closing chapter of the war. The Young Turks dared not cede the city until it had been actually lost, lest they forfeit their heads. They can now yield it with good grace and safety since it is already lost and can rely on the great powers to prevent the Balkan allies from securing territory on the Sea of Marmora. An Eastern contemporary com plains in a mood of discouragement that "the average American parent is not classical, medieval or romantic. Neither reason nor imagination in their higher ranges appeals to him." Hence he urges his sons and daugh ters to pursue the practical In their college courses. Why should he not? In the days of Rome and in the Middle Ages what we now call "classical" was strictly practical and what we call "the higher reason" was utilitarian. Those men lived for. the things of their own day, why should we not live for the things of ours? Persons who bewail the disappear ance of romance from modern life simply betray their own mental blind ness. There is as much romance in a train of cars with its bold and agile brakemen as there was in a feudal tournament, hut some of us lack the eyes to see it. And what could be more romantic than an aviator coursing thmiivh rh clouds in his flving ma chine? Our forefathers would have taken him for a sorcerer. The realities of our world are more romantic than the dreams of our ancestors. There are 150 girls studying agricul ture at Cornell University. When they r,dnit. ihov will follow farming for a livelihood. Some of the most suc cessful practical farmers are women. They have tried all its branches from poultry to cattle ranches and usually their determination and ready wit en able them to forge ahead. With sys Lmfltix trainlnc women ouerht to farm better than men, who are often too set in their old, superstitious ways ever to master scientific agriculture. Secretary Bryan's Commoner exults over the reorganization of the Senate as a victory over the seniority rule. It was a partial victory, but the commit tee list shows that the veterans still hold their places on the principal com mittees. The Democratic caucus adopt ed Mr. Bryan's theory, but was cau tious about putting it in practice. The progressives may succeed in sweep ing away seniority, but the battle they have won was only the first of the campaign. - Referring to Colonel Roosevelt's statement that the only place for good, honest men and women who are pro gressives is in the Progressive party, the Commoner asks: How can he keep hla face straight when he claims a monopoly of the reform senti ments of the country for his party? Does nol Mr. Bryan know that Mr. Roosevelt is an unconscious humorist? A ray of refulgent light in the East ern gloom is election of James Hamil ton Lewis. As the horny-handed agri culturist would say, transplanting pro motes growth. A philosopher would say all great men now come from the Far West. Patterson, the convicted president of the National Cash Register Company, has gone far to redeem himself in the eyes of the people by his labors to res cue the drowned-out Daytonlans. We are thrilled by tales of daring at Omaha on the one hand and ap palled by accounts of rent-raising bees on the other. Human nature is a wide ly diverse institution. Amundsen is making a series of aeroplane flights to determine whether air craft will be of use in arctic ex ploration. Death seems to be that man's pet plaything. If Mr. Finley will add to his collec tion of wild animal pictures a series Bhowing the Democratic mule in vigor ous action, it will be complete. What would the Rose Festival be without the parade of our human rose buds? The very suggestion that we dispense with it is absurd. Sordid thrift never loses an oppor tunity and Omaha landlords are no different than others when suffering humanity needs shelter. ' The barley crop is damaged. But if the rye, corn and hop crops get by in good "shape we may be able to strug gle through. Fortunately nobody has of late been killed and more time is given for in stallation of fenders. While attention of the world is else where the Bulgarians have done re markable fighting. Omaha and Nebraska can care for their afflicted, but Dayton Is a Nation-wide appeal. . National Committeeman King's pos sibilities are down to the District At torneyship. Chic hats may be made for 45 cents. Here's hoping they become the rage. Just now we are glad enough not to be "On the banks of the Wabash." Oregonlans have much for which to be thankful. The "swat-the-fly" season opens April 15. Omaha was disaster, but Dayton Is calamity. How frail and uncertain, after all, is life. Get a contributor's medal Stars and Starmakers ! Br Leone Cans Bsrr. Florence Hart, a Portland girl and sister of Harry Hart, is playing second leads with the Egam Lyceum Stock Company in New Britain, Conn., where j the knives and forks and spoons and things come from. Her husband, Alfred Cross, is leading man. J Maude Hansford, a Los Angeles girl who played stock with the Baker for a fortnight last season. Is with Mrs. Leslie Carter in Chicago at McVlckers Theater, playing in "Camille." The Carter company, in repertoire under direction of John Cort is headed for this coast. e The many friends of Jacob Proebstel. of 429 Halsey street, will be surprised to learn that he is a member of "The Prince of Pilsen" company, which will play the Heillg Theater for three nights beginning Thursday, April 3. Young Proebstel left Portland last Summer and went to New York. There ia ro, .mravMi fnr th sinking: role of Wilhelm in the famous Heidelberg Octette. It is his first professional en gagement, and his Portland friends will be glad'to learn he has made good. It is expected he will come to ior a great many social affairs while playing in this city. e Jack Norworth and company (five people) open!d Monday at the Orpheum, Oakland, at 3. salary of $1000, substitut ing for Marquard and Seeley, who closed there so the pitcher could re join the Giants. e e Bookings around New York are be ing arranged by Morris & Fell for Blossom Seeley as a "single." Miss Seeley will play alone while her ball rtitxhinir husband is trying to get the Giants at the top of the first column. e m i Kkotc-h Is being sought by Maude Fealy, the Denver actress, who wants to play vaudeville. Miss 'eaiy ana James Durkln were out in "The Right Princess" which closed last week. Al though bearing the John Cort brand as n.i,.r nn thn -naner. the show was Miss Fealy's and Mr. Durkin's own property. Mr. , Cort loaned his name for the value it mignt give io j,. had it played the Cort circuit as ex pected. The Right Princess- cost. ii cipals some money, and also a stock engagement at Wilmington for Mr. Durkin. He relinquished his hold upon the New Jersey proposition to Join Miss Feaiy in the starring tour. In this week's Dramatic Mirror, George Alison, one time Baker leading man and now in his fourth year head ing B. F. Keith's Crescent Theater in nrnnkivi. N Y.. discusses the whys and wherefores of his ability to stand the strain of 12 performances anu a change of Play each week. Here is a bit of his system: By reducing my working day to an abso lute system and living with clockwork res ularltv. I have learned to utilize every min ute of everv day. and by doing so I find time In addition to my theater work, to read' a good deal, write occasional verse and music and even drive an automobile. The latter furnishes my wife and myself with plenty of the outdoor air we should other wise be deprived of. To rehearse a play every morning, give two performances of another the same day, at the same time studying a new part, is certainly hard work tout with long working seasons practically assured, and the possibility of a long and thorough rest during the Summer. I find ... . . .in-ai nnrlr milch more tniS SiaB OL pmicoaiuiia. ' - .nteresting and prof itable than the reh'arse- so much just now. t Gertrude Rivers Is the professional name of Mrs. Allison- e Jeanie Fletcher, the Scotch nightin gale at the Empress, is at home in Portland, and she regards this city as a milestone in her stage career. Fort land was one of the first cities visited by her after her arrival In the United States from Glasgow, Scotland, seven years ago. Then she appeared at the old Grand in a repertoire of Scotch dialect songs. Later she sang at the Dn.tian1 Mfttil for one month, and she was one of the first artists to appear at the Multnoman iotet soon uwi opening of that hostelry. Throughout her engagement at the Empress Miss Fletcher is a guest of Mrs. E. K- Moy lan, an old friend, at the Moylan home on Willamette Heights. Mrs. Moylan, her daughter, Eunice, and Mrs. J. W. Mathis. wife of the Dutch Consul here, were guests of the songstress at the Empress Monday night. Miss Fletcher has eight brothers and sisters, all of whom are singers. She Joined the Sullivan & Considine circuit this sea son, after touring the United States under the management of a Lyceum bureau. The Scotch songstress may re turn to Portland to live after the ex piration of her present vaudeville en gagement. , e Edna Archer Crawford, once a lead ing woman in stock with the Baker players, is playing leads in Yonkers, N. Y., stock. PriscIIla Knowles goes back to the scene of her former triumphs, the Academy of Music in New York, the first of next month. Theodore Frlebus Is her leading man.. Hugh Dillman will play stock this Summer with Jessie Bonstelle in Buf falo, N. Y. e e Among the performers at the Or pheum this week are two Dave Lerner, t-i or,A T orner and Kred M. Griffith, the monologist who will soon be home for the first time since tney left the Pacific Coast Mr. Griffith is a Sacramento boy. Since leaving, 15 years ago, he has been in Europe twice, through Canada, and even as close as Mexico, but never home until tills year. Mr. Lerner is from San Francisco. He Is a brother-in-law of Abe Attell, the ex-champion featherweight. Mr. BIx ley has been renewing school friend ships of 25 years ago with Perry, James and Fay Jackson in Portland this week. Mr. Bixley was the original tramp in "Buster Brown," which he played here some seasons ago. ee William Dowlan is with the Essanay Company In Los Angeles. Sidney Ayres is with the Edison players at the Long Beach studio, where two pictures are prepared each week. The long-expressed determination of David Warfield to play Shylock is finally to materialize next season at the Belasco Theater. Some time ago the actor went to Europe for all sorts of books and drawings on the subject of the various stage presentments or "The Merchant of Venice," from which he intends to create his own peculiar and unique conception of the char-acter- A DOCTOR'S VIEW OF FRIEDMANN. Results of Cloae laveatlsjatlon Are Not Kncourasrltts; mm to the Cure. Journal of the American Medical As sociation. (To the Editor.) Everything of Im portance connected with Dr. Fried mann's alleged "cure" for tuberculosis has been fully set forth in the Journal. But for the fact that the many news paper reports are confusing to some doctors as well as to the public, I would not write this letter. I have just returned 'from Europe, where I spent two months. I was alert . i -ii t ..mils! ahnut Dr. Fried- mann and his remedy. I questioned Dotn tierman anu Aniwuvan " men as to what they had seen or heard from others. I visited the doctor's of fice; I crossed on the same vessel with tollAyl uri-th him. hiR ASSiStant, Dr. Benjamin and his press agent. Mr. riunoi; l saw some ui ...... u his office, and met others and their friends at their hotels. -nrun. 4c ther -to SUtlDOrt Dr. Friedmann's claims? Dr. Friedmann has publicly deeiareo mat no one himself knows what his remedy is; he has given it to no one, and hence all evidence must come from him. His nKitBhAri mnnrt miiRt be regarded as entirely inadequate. -In fact, all his reports are inaenmte. ne gives vmy- i Ae lha niimher nf cases lUg IHVUUJ.l.l ' . - . treated. The statement as to the char. acter of cases and tne perceniago m cures are equally indefinite. He showed me ten patients at his office, the first a boy he claimed to be cured of tuberculosis ol tne Dones i it hand, and the second claimed to be cured of a similar affection of the knee. Instead of showing me a record he had the mother detail to me the histories. 1 -V. Kvt onnltAjt tn dthprS WithOUt relief and finally were cured by Dr. Friedmann. jnese paueiua un well a year and a half, and as the same patients were exhibited to other phvsicians at different times during the preceding month, I am sure they were "show cases," for there was no necessity for frequent visits to the clinic for cured cases. The other pa tients gave no evidence of special Im provement. Most of them said they were no better nor were any whom I visited in their hotels. Dr. Friedmann l-n. ... V. ,,n aire thA AVllrfate Which forms at the site of the injection be gins to be aDsorDea, tne panciu n.ja improves. I saw five patients in whom this was not the case. I was struck with the superficial ex aminations and meager histories kept. . ,i . mllnnp,i this had 1 WUU1U IlUk ua'C ...... it not been corroborated by a number or physicians, patients tim inc.., had made many visits to his office. In t ni nnt cam nnr could I hear of anything to indicate that Dr. Fried mann s patients were ooine ecu ii with fiiTnllnr cases under ordinary treatment. He had not in structed any of tnose witn wuum talked how to live, and I found all In 1.-1.1- .....minflintr n TlA doiniT the UIIBUIU1U1D Du i ' best they could with the knowledge they had received Deiore. t. i- koi- nr ttia to exDress In calm language the Impressions Dr. Fried mann, his clinic, ana ni umiuuu on me. Dr. Friedmann has made great -i-i ...it ho tin. rnilAd to submit them to any efficient test. The evidence of his own results, taken even as he gives :. -ii- e shnt Uln nnndnot of se ll., laus iai duui crecy as far as the profession Is con cerned, nis appeal to mo !". v his spectacular gift of his discovery to men of prominence, his trip to America with a press agent, in short, his whole attitude, have been such as to excite distrust. ' EDWIN WALKER, M. D., Evansville, Ind. CHAMPION PREDICTOR SPEAKS OUT He tella What Will Become of Equator When Earth Flopa Over. PORTLAND, March 26. (To the Edi tor.) -I publicly deny that Divine Claravoyant" predicted the Spanish American War, the Missouri flood and the San Francisco disaster, as alleged in The Oregonian March 25, over Devine's signature. I predicted all these things years before Devine was heard of, and more too; I predicted at the same time the Titanic disaster, the election of Gov ernor West, the retreat from Arma geddon, a new president for Mexico and another one coming, all in the pres ence of associate members of the Cruiskeen Club down at "The Dutch man's." "Devine Claravoyant now predicts the flopping of the earth and the shifting of the North Pole to where the equator now is. This is unscientific for the reason Devine doesn't account for what will become of the equator. Long ago I predicted the same thing but said that the equator would appear in Portland about the time the present Federal jobs would be filled, then move in the direction of Bill Hanley's ranch, thence eastward toward the District of Columbia, where it would preside during the tariff debate. Judging from the disturbances in my hydrocephalus predictum, I could predict more, but I will wait until I hear from "Devine Claravoyant." O'HENNESSY, Original Predictor. Develop the Moral Fibre. GRESHAM, Or., March 24. (To the Editor.) I want to congratulate you upon your editorial on "What Makes Girls Go Wrong." Although brief, it is in my opinion the ablest article I have read during all this much-needed agitation in regard to the subject. We Americans, in our haste and zeal, are apt to grapple with a threat ened danger by seizing the horn near est us, and the result is a great com motion and a great going round and round attended with very little dam age to the thing we would check. Poverty undoubtedly Increases the pressure in times of temptation, but the girl with the right kind of moral fibre developed under the right sort of home training, will starve rather than go wrong. Shame on the parents of our land! They used to neglect the training of their boys; now even the moral welfare of their girls will not draw their atten tion from lodge and club and social function. The word home is fast be coming a meaningless term. (Rev.) FORD M. BURTCH. Exploration of Amnion. PORTLAND, March 26. (To the Edi tor.) I was interested' in the letter of Mr. cathcart, of Roseburg, in The Ore gonian today. Like Mr. Cathcart, I read the "Exploration of the Amazon Valley" by the Government, which was issued along in the '50s. The party di vided, and one division was under the command of Lieutenant Herndon (father-in-law of President Arthur) and the other under Lieutenant Gardner Gib bon. There were two volumes, each ono containing the record of one of the parties. One explored the Amazon proper and the other the Maderla. I have these volumes in my library. They were procured for me by the late Hon. Thomas H. Tongue while he was a member of Congress, after consider able difficulty. Mr Cathcart, I think, might procure them through some of the second-hand book stores in Wash ington, D. C. They are extremely inter esting. S. B. HUSTON. Both Are Reaponalble. SPOKANE, Wash., March 22. (To the Editor.) Referring to your edi torial "Sentimental Diplomacy," March 20. why Mr. Bryan? Is not Mr. Wil son President and, as such, subject to any censure for crab statesmanship in connection with the handling of this Chinese loan? Yours very truly. T. A. WAKH. Certainly Mr. Wilson is responsible. We referred to Mr. Bryan particularly, because he is directly in charge of the Nation's foreign relations. Twenty-five Years Ago From The Oregonian of March 27. 1SRS. Salem. Or., March 2b. iranK ivet- a logg, a prominent attorney of Hopp ner. Morrow County, and Miss J. E. Dawne, of Salem, were married here today. San Francisco, March 26. Captain Hall, of the Ango, which arrived from Coos Bay Saturday, reports that the towns on the buy are in a flourishing condition. Two new sawmills are being rapidly put up, one at Isthmus Slough and the other at Porter, between North Bend and MarshfieliL A now logglnif railroad has. been constructed by the Oregon Improvement Company from a point below Sumner to Coos River, & distance of four miles. The keel of a steamer for the Oregon Coal & Naviga tion Company was laid a couple of weeks ago. Albany, Or March 27. The remains of W. B. Rice, w ho died Sunday morn ing, were taken to Ashland last night for Interment, the Oregon & California Railroad furnishing a special car for the purpose. Funeral services at his late residence were conducted by Rev. E. R. Prichard and Rev. S. G. Irvin. In Douglas County a few days ago Volney Oden killed a large eat;ls measuring seven feet from tip to tip. R. A. Gesner departed this life at his home in Salem Saturday at the ad vanced age of 72. He leaves a wife and eight children, among them Alonzo Gesner, of Macleay;-G. B. Gesner, of Turner; Dr. Van Gesner, of Prinevlllii. The Idaho Democrat announces James H. Hawley as its candidate for delegate to Congress. Plies are being driven at the north end of the city levee to make a founda tion for new terminal building for the Portland & Willamette Valley Rail way. During his recent visit to this city Hon. Elwood Evans, of Tacoma, held a conference with the committee of the Indian War veterans in regard to their forthcoming history. Hon. L. F. Mosher, of Roseburg. to whom that por tion of the work relative to the coun try south of the Calapoola Mountains has been entrusted, also conferred with the committee. People who get up "when the birds are singing their sweetest notes, at 5 o'clock In the morning" will do well to look out for the brand new comet, which is now coming north at the rate of a degree a day. The latest freak in millinery la a torpedo-shaped hat. It Is very Jaunty and becoming. Can be seen both trimmed and untrimmed, at the Bouquet, 67 Morrison street Manager Will HoTcomb, of the O. R. & N. Co., being asked regarding pro posed branches, said: "We are asking for bids for a road to be built up Willow Creek to Heppner via Lexing ton." The East Side The streetcar line has been built across the bridge, track; . , i iQi,i onrnca the draw. Yes- terday one of the cars was taken out and run up and down N street with the new horses the company have bought. There were quite a number of people on hand to witness the first streetcar moving in East Portland. Half a Century A?o From The Oregonian of March 27, Is"' The Democrats at The Dalles have nominated candidates for municipal offices, placing at the head of the ticket for Mayor Colonel James K. Kelly, who has recently become a resident there. Oregon Sentinel O. Jacobs, who has been running the above machine at Jacksonville. In the last number takes leave of his patrons and announces that he "exchanges editorial habili ments for those of a lawyer H. Denlinger will assume charge of the Institution. Washington. March' 17. A resular commission issued by General Stuart of rebel fame, has been found on the person of Miss Ford, who Is charged with having betrayed General Stough ton into the hands of the enemy. Willamette Theater. Friday evening. March 27. "Ingomar, the Barbarian. Ingomar G. B. Waldron. Parthenia Mrs. G. B. Waldron. Shed on School Grounds. SHERWOOD, Or., March 25. (To the Editor.) Can a person take a horse shed away from' school grounds, if he nut it there two seasons ago and wants to sell it now? Can the direc tors keep him from taking it away? The shed is built on the ground. A B A SUBSCRIBER. In the absence oT agreement to the contrary, the shed becomes a part of the real estate and belongs to the school district. MAN'S PART IN THE SOCIAL EVIL False Promises. Liquor and Joy Rlde Main Cauaea of Glrla Downfall. PORTLAND, March 25. (To the Edi tor ) The Oregonlan's article headed "What Makes Girls Go Wrong" is timely. Men are responsible In 90 per cent of the cases. No need of arguing the point. The writer was active In work some years ago that had to do with those confined in Jails, prisons and convict camps. Nearly all girls and women with whom we had to do said that "promises" of men were the principal cause of a girl's misstep. Most of them said it came about through the dance hall or places where liquors were served. . The only thing to be wondered at Is Timlin llOTl- that so many yuuu "' "- - est. in view of the fact that it is easier for them to succeed in some lines if they would do as they see others do, and who are considered "good fellows. The case of a youni? man comes to my mind who is a resident of Portland, and is clever, possessed of ability, and respected, who has by reason of sick ness and deaths in his family never been able to lay by enough to become his own boss to go into business for himself. He can "make good.' "has the goods." and could soon be com fortably well fixed, but there are few if any who would loan him enough to get started for himself, and yet they wonder why men don't marry young. Others see how he has suffered and striven, patient, ploddingly, and be cause of no fault of his -own has not acquired a competence. Can you blame young men for hesitating about mat rimony? Let fathers take up sex matters with their sons, and mothers with their daughters. Cultivate your child's con fidence; do not condone their faults. Keep thein away from social affairs where liquor is served. Keep them away from grills, joy rides and kindred places and doings, and you can re duce white slavery 75 per cent. Low wages are perhaps the cause of the other 25 per cent. A MARRIED MAN. Why Girln Go Wrong. ECHO, Or., March 24. (To the Edi tor.) I have read the editorial in The Oregonian on 'Why Girls Go Wrong.' I wish to state that it was the most broadminded and the nearest to the actual reasons or causes to that effect that has been written up to dute. We all know that father and the son must be the recipients of more pay and that the use of the same In the proper way will eventually elimi nate the question so prominent in the minds of the well-meaning citizens to day. A. W. STRICK1E.