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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1913)
THE 3IORXIXG OKEGOXIAN, MONDAY. APlSli. PORTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Pot-Una. Oresoa, potulkt as roBd-clw matter. njbscriptlaa btw Invariably ta Aavaaes: BT MAIL) rs:ly. Paoflar Include. ens Jr ......$3.00 Daily. Sunday Included, sis. months ... -' I'Ai.r. Sunday loauced, tore month.. Lb::v. Hucd&r lnciudAd- ODi mouth .... riy. without Sunday, ont year ...... J-V' fatly, without Sunday, thrae month .. 1-75 L'Aiiy. without oucaay. en month -y WmaI. on T ...... .--.----- I- Sunday, a&e year. ........... ... auaday aa4 Weekly, on year... (Bt CARRIER) .,.- L- . .. .- , ... . aa - 9. -" Sunday lueludrd. ona month t Haw to Krnut send poetoZica money or ' sr. express order or personal cneew your local bank, Stamps, coin or currency are at t.-ie aender-a ru. Give poetoffice addreaa is tail. Including county and state. roataca Katee Ten to 14 paces. 1 cant. IS to i paces. 1 cants; 10 to PT cents: 40 to AO pages. 4 canta. Eastern Binlasn OffWa Verree 4k Co na na. Me Yoj . Urunew.cs: DlU'dicg. eago. Sieger building. KM trawrlecaj Officer R. J. Bid we II Caw, Carepcaa Office So. 1 Resent straet s. V.".. Lir.duB. PORTLAND. MONDAY. APRIL 1. I"1- FREE WOOL COIU) BE IEt" BATED. If free wool should be Imposed on the woolgrowera. It will be through v. ,PAU t n.mnnifli Kenstors from wool-growing states. The Democrats i ..i Mnin.Hi- nf lsht In the Senate. five Democratic Senators could, by voting against a party uir ure. defeat It. The great woolgrow ing states which have two Democratic .- . ctMLvnn I 'nlnrji scniiiors wn i c . r " . . Montana and Arizona. One of the Senators from unio, anotner wuui growlng state. Is also a Democrat. Any five of these men could, by offer. Ing determined opposition, prevent the placing of wool on the free list. Yet dispatches from Washington tell u that only one or two Senators are disposed to hold out against being bound by a caucus pledge to support the whole Underwood tariff, free wool Included. Senators from woolgrowlng states are lying down. They are be ing whipped Into line by the Presi dent. They are ready to sacrifice one of the greatest industries of their states to party harmony. In contrast with their supine, sub missive attitude Is the determined, pugnacious resistance of the Louis iana Senators to free sugar. Firm as are the President and the Congress leaders In their insistence that the V'idenrood bill shall go through un changed, they have offered some con cessions to the sugar Senators. The latter reject the offer and ask only an opportunity to prove to the Presi dent the Justice of their demands. - The contrast does not put the wool Senators In a favorable light in the eyes of their constituents. WILDCAT MIMSO COMPANIES. The wall whk-h hits gone up from sellers of mining stock against the new "blue sky" law shows that that law hits the bullseye. The law. was aimed at Just such operations as those of mining stock merchants. There Is a broad distinction between these men and mining men or mining companies. Stock merchants mine In other men's pockets and little. If at all. in the ground. Their game Is to get the money, get out from under and leave the Investor holding the og. The accepted method of this class of promoter Is to find some prospector who Is willing to give up an Interest In his claim to get capital to develop .It. A district is usually selected which has gained a reputation through the development of a good mine by real ' mining men. The fakers trade on this reputation. They Induce the - prospector, on whose claim little, sometimes no. work has been done, to sell his claim to the corporation ' which they will organl2e In consider ation of so much stock. Or they bond his claim, he agreeing to relinquish It to them at a future date In considera ; tlon of a certain amount of develop ment work and certain cash payments ' to be made at stipulated times. Such . a company owns nothing except its charter, stock certificate book und a slender string on the prior right of the prospector to acquire title to his claim. - Before the Government gives pat ent. It requires that $500 worth of work shall have been done on each ..claim or $500 cash paid for it. Until he secures patent In this manner, the prospector holds it by doing $100 worth of work each year, called as sessment work. Fake mining com '. panics usually bond claims In groups, ; and whatever work they do Is usually ' not more than assessment work. To spend $500 a claim and get patent would be too much like real mining " It would be waste of money from their viewpoint. - The company Is usually capitalized ut $1,000,000 In $1 shares, though no more than $50 may have been spent by the promoters and only a little "gophering" may have been done on the claim. If the prospector is to be t paid In stock, the shares are divided among him. the promoters and the . :reasury. The promoters then make a ,-ontract with the company, which Is really themselves, to sell the treasury itock at a certain rate of commission. This Is usually extravagant, ranging high as 75 per cent. Sometimes, in rJer to blind the buyer, an agree ment Is made to pool the promoters' "and prospector's stock, with a proviso that it shall not be sold until all the - treasury stock has been sold. A pros . pectus Is Issued tolling In glowing terms of the richness of the developed .mine, which the company does not .own, and promising equal wealth 'from the prospect, which is often said ; to be "on the same vein." Stock is sold at such ridiculously low prices that, even If the entire Issue were sold "and the entire proceeds put In the ground with Integrity and skill, a . mine could not be developed. ; But a mine is manifestly tmposst- Me when from half to three-fourths , of the capital Is eaten up in commis sions and what little goes Into the ; ground is expended by the Ignorant ' prospector, who is often hired as su perintendent to "Jolly him along." The promoters also hasten to 'unload their own stock ahead of the treasury ; stock, unless it Is pooled, and they sometimes violate the terms of a pool. When sales drop off. the game Is con ' sldered to be played out. the promot- ers move to new fields, and the . "mine" Is shut down. If the claim has any merit, the original holder retakes possession or some other pros. pector "Jumps" it. In any case, the ompany loses all equity In It and Tlhe "suckers" have nothing to show ;r their money except their stock ' ;crtlflcates. "" By putting a stop to such swindles the blue sky law will not injure, but will help, mining development. There are hosts of people who would ven- . ture their money In mining If they could be assured that It would go Into the ground. Instead of promoters pockets. But successful mines are rarelv developed by stock-selling com panies. A practical mining man with capital bonds a group of claims un der an agreement to do certain work within a certain time with the option of buying the claims at a fixed price at the expiration of that time. If the work gives promise pf a paying mine, he takes up the option, organizes a company and then sells stock. The same plan of operations may be adopted by a small group of individ uals, who incorporate for convenience, but put no stock on the market until with their own capital they have proved that they have something worth buying ore In sight, not stock' certificates. Some of the best mines in the country have been developed in the latter manner. They are at first speculations, but they are legiti mate. The wont enemies of the mining industry are the wildcat promoters. Their operations cast suspicion on le gitimate mining companies and ob struct their sale of stock. Raising of money for real mining Is thus hin dered. But for the wildcats the min eral output of Oregon might have been many times as great as it now Is and the United States might not have been surpassed by the Transvaal as the chief gold-producing country of the world. THE LATEST FROM LAFKEBTY. Representative Lafferty Anally aligns himself with the Progressives by at tending the Progressive caucus. Just why the Progressives should descend to the discredited expedient of hold ing a caucus a device heretofore re served for the dark and criminal proc esses of wicked Democrats and wick eder Republicans Is aside from the mark. The bald truth is that the Pro gressives had their own caucus, and that Lafferty was there. Just how long Lafferty will stay put may be another matter; but undeniably Laf ferty has started again to be a Pro gressive. We wish the Progressives joy in their accession or convert or asset or liability, whatever it Is. We hope they will be able to put up the bars, and brand and keep him. Any party is better off without him. for every time Lafferty essays to uphold any cause, he subtracts a genuine modicum from its prospects of success. let we would not have the Progressives think that a malicious desire to blight their fair young lives or wreck their most promising schemes by loading them- down with Lafferty is the in spiration for our satisfaction at his latest dlvngatlon. Not at all. It arises solely from the fact that Oregon's chances of getting adequate represen tation in Congress by electing a tit successor to Lafferty are decidedly im. proved. Lafferty procured a Kepuoucan nomination and then a Progressive nomination last year. It is high time that a barrier be " raised against a similar performance In the future. That Lafferty was forced by circum stances to raise it himself is no credit to him; but it Is none the less effec tively done. It may be hoped. WALL STREET'S FIGHT. Wall street is making a desperate fight against being brought under legal control. The New York Stock Ex change Is now a purely voluntary as sociation of brokers, amenable only to their own rules and their own com mittees. It has no legal existence. On the plea that its own powers of self- discipline are far more effective and prompter In application than any pow. ers which could be conferred by the state or exercised by the courts or the executive, it has always opposed in corporation. As an unincorporated body, the ex change may or may not enforce. its rules and discipline its members. That is discretionary with it. However stringent regulations may prevail, no legal power exists to compel their en forcement, so long as offenses against the exchange's rules are not also of fenses against the law. The officers of the exchange testified before the Pujo committee to the imposition of penal ties which were absurdly mild in comparison with the gravity of the of fense. Were the exchange Incorporated, as Governor Stilzer recommends and as the bill now before the Legislature provides, the law would fix penalties for violation of regulations by individ ual brokers and would punish officers of the exchange who failed to Impose those penalties. The exchange as a body would be responsible for the acts of its members and the state could step lit to see that the guilty were pun. u-lied. The public demands that the Stock Exchange be a market for dealing In stocks, not a place for manipulation. It demands that sales be actual, not faked for the purpose of stimulating activity. The days of Irresponsibility In selling stocks, either on exchanges or in the country at large, are passing away. Exchanges must come under legal control by Incorporation, Just as stock-sellers in general are being ruled by "blue sky" laws. M AWKISH . KENTIMKNTAUS.M. The Polk County Observer, which Is not a believer in capital punish ment, protests against the raising of "the old. threadbare cry of mawkish sentlmentalism by all exponents of the death penalty when referring to those who do not believe in this method of rnlshment of mur derers." The cry may be old. but the facts that it is old and is yet frequent ly used do not make it threadbare. It is a term that faithfully depicts the attitude of not all but many of the opponents of hanging or the elec tric chair. What better appellation could b applied to the mental state of one who expresses a firm belief in the Innocence of the Humphrys brothers, yet turns, as does the Ob server, upon believers in capital pun ishment in this wise? Tha exponents of lecal murder thirst for the blood of the accused. It makes little difference. It appears, whether there Is doubt of their guilt. The mere charge against them Is two-thirds of the battle. They have no patience with tha a:ow-movtna machin ery of the law. They want the men buns, they w-aut their necks bruken and they want them hustled Into a nameless crave as quickly ns possible In order that "society may be protected" and tha crime -avenged." What but mawkish sentlmentalism is it that Induces one to aver that the confessed slayers of a helpless old woman are guiltless but that expo nents, in general, of the full legal penalty for murder are actuated by bloodthirst and care naught if there be doubt of guilt? What else is it that impels one to look upon murder ers as persecuted Innocents and upon law enforcers as murderers? No crime, however heinous or conclueively proved, can be commit ted without some person with fraxzlcd sensibilities and tearful emotions dis covering some doubt as to the guilt of the slayer or some excuse why he should not receive the same fate as his victim. In the Humphrys case their dull bestiality was construed to be incapability of determining be tween right and wrong. Their con fessions were doubted, because once repudiated, yet they were later re affirmed. The unburdening of their guilt was and is yet ascribed to brutal extortion by officers of the law, al though there is independent testimony that "third degree" practices were not emnloverl. In Virginia, at about the same time that effort was being made to save the Humphys from the gallows, mawkish sentlmentalism was being exerted In behalf of the two Aliens, who In a crowded courtroom had shot down the judge of the court, the com monwealth attorney, the Sheriff and a Juryman. In the Allen case there we.re numerous eyewitnesses. Confes sions were unnecessary to establish guilt. The crime was most wanton and brutal: the victims wholly Inno cent of wrongdoing toward their mur derers. Yet mawkish sentlmentalism raised the cry that the men had been rail roaded to the electric chair, notwith standing that the crime had been com. mltted one year before the trial; a mountain missionary pleaded with the Governor for clemency on the grounds that the men had not had Christian training and that execution would an ger their friends In the mountains; a young woman offered herself as Host age to enable one of the murderers to make a personal plea to the Governor; others clung to the belief that the of ficers of the court began the fray, al though as a defense that theory had been disproved in court. The Virginia incident supplies cumulative evidence of the power of sentiment to belittle facts. Those who possess it to a mawkish -degree can not weigh the value of evidence. If they could, evidence that capital pun ishment is a crime deterrent and a protection to society would greatly lessen agitation for abolishment of the death penalty. OERMANV MAY BE HEMMED IN". German supremacy faces a new dan ger ;n the rise of the Balkan states. Dividing the population of Cen tral and Eastern Europe on race lines, Yves Guyot finds 62,000, 000 Germans in Germany and l-,-000,000 in Austria, a total of 74.000, 000. From Germany's population of 6S.000.000 he deducts the 3,000.000 Poles in Posen, whom Germany treats as enemies. In European Russia there are 132,000.000 Slavs, in Austria 25, 000.000, and in the Balkan States 7.000.000 or 8,000.000. a total of 164.- 000.000. The 10,000.000 Magyars of Hungary and the 3,000,000 Roumani ans belong to neither race. Russia has uniformly shown & disposition to make common cause with, the Balkan Slavs and the recent successes of the latter, combined with their probable confederation, may well awaken race consciousness amongr the Slavs of Aus tria. When the Balkan States have recu perated from the effects of the present war. we may expect them to experi ence a great spurt of energy such as usually follows a successful war. A movement to detach the Slav provinces from Austria and to attach them to the confederation Is probable, with the secret encouragement of Russia. A Balkan-Austrian war, accompanied by a Slav revolt against Austria, is one of the future contingencies, -with Rus-' sla standing guard to prevent German aid to Austria. The 12,000,000 Ger mans of Austria and the 10,000,000 Magyars would be confronted by 32. 000.000 or 33.000,000 Slavs bent on the creation of a great Slav power con. trolling the east coast of the Adriatic, the Aegean Sea, the west coast of the Black Sea and, then or later, the Dar danelles and the Sea of Marmora. The success of such designs would shut out the German race from the Mediterranean and would leave It in closed by foes on all sides Russia on the east, the Balkans on the south, France on the west and England on the north. The German empire Is increas ing its debt and imposing new taxes. But every new military measure of Germany is matched by France and England. Germany may be as hope lessly crushed by her own armaments as she would be by a combined on slaught from her engirdling enemies. The Kaiser's struggle has the sem blance of a struggle for existence, rather than for dominance. ANNIVERSARY OF 8HILOIL The battle of Shlloh, which began on April 6 and ended on April 7, 1862, just fifty-one years ago, is memorable as the second great battle of the Civil War and the first decisive repulse to the rebels in an engagement of the first magnitude. It was marked by blunders on both sides, but the worst were committed by the victors and only the timely arrival of Buell with reinforcements prevented Its being a disastrous defeat for Grant. Grant, fresh from the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, was ad vancing to attack Johnston's army, which had retreated to Corinth, when he encamped his forces between Pitts burg Landing, on the Tennessee River, and Shiloh, two miles back from the river. Although ordered by General Jialieck to await Buell. who was marching to reinforce him, and to keep his forces together and fortify his position. Grant was so confident of Immunity from danger that he did neither. He allowed his divisions to encamp with wide spaces between them, threw up intrenchments and on receiving word April 4 from Nelson, commanding Buell's advance, that he would arrive April 5, replied that he need not hurry, as boats could not be ready to ferry his force to Pittsburg until the 8th. Johnston timed his attack to begin before Buell could arrive, but delayed one day and thus gave Buell time to come up on the evening of the first day and to turn the scale against tho Confederates. The Union Army was totally unpie pared when the attack began. The Confederates worked around the flanks of Prentiss' division through the wide gaps between it and Sher man's on the one side. Stuart's brigade on the other. Prentiss' division was alone in maintaining its organization, but was surrounded, and after ten hours' splendid fighting surrendered. Sherman's division fought savagely, but in broken groups, aided by Mc Clernand. whose organization was much broken. The Union line was everywhere driven back, its camps captured and the ' shattered forces cooped In a narrow space of about 400 acres between tho river and Snake Creek. The battle looked Jike a rout. But just as an assault was being delivered on the Union Army in this position, Ammen's brigade of Buell's army took, a hand In the fight, the gunboats Lexington and Tyler shelled the rebel right and the- attack was checked. Johnston having been killed, Beauregard took command of the reb els and suspended the battle. Dur ing the'nlght Lew Wallace's 5000 men arrived and a large part of Buell's army of 25,000 men was brought on the grouud. On the 7th the Union Army tock the offensive, drove back the rebels, regained all the lost ground and started in pursuit of he rebels, who retreated on Corinth. The rebel rearguard under Bragg repulsed all assaults and Grant had to be con tent with regaining the ground he had lost Grant bad 33,000 men at the open ing of the battle, who were joined by Wallace's 5000 and Buell's 25,000. Johnston had a-bout 39.000 men. The Union loss was more than 13,000, the Confederate nearly 11,000. This battle was hailed as a victory by contrast with 'Bull Run, and put heart Into the Northern people, espe cially as It "was followed two days later by the capture of Island No. 10 and before the end of the month ty that of New Orleans. It caused the greater joy because It came so near being a defeat. PROBLMS OF IMMIGRATION. It is predicted by some who have looked into the matter that the prob lems of Oriental Immigration will be made more complicated and difficult by the opening of the Panama Canal. A comparatively small addition to the fare which now brings a man to the Pacific Coast will then take him on to New England or Yirglnia- The conse quence will be that the question of Asiatic Immigration will no longer be local. It will have become National. If Chinese and Japanese immigrants are a good thing for this part of the country, of course they will be a good thing for the East and South. If cheap, servile labor is the sole con sideration worth taking into account in settling the question here, the same point ought to be decisive everywhere else. The eastern part of the country has passed through some interesting ex periences in regard to labor. Many years ago most of the men who worked for wages in New England, New York, Pennsylvania and the South were of "American" birth. That means, of course, that their parents came to this country from England, Ireland or Germany. Their standards of Jiving were rather elevated and their wages necessarily high. It was ostensibly to meet their demands that the protective tariff was continued after the close of the war seemed to take away its excuse for existence. A little later began that influx of immigrants from Southern Eurppe which has continued, with some changes, to this day. The Italians and others brought their low standards with them and they could be hired for correspondingly low wages. The older class of employes could not com pete with them. Hence the newcom ers filled the mills and mines and be gan to take possession of the aban doned farms. Now it is rare to see a laborer of "American" birth In an Eastern factory. Are we destined to see the South European laborers driv en out by Asiatics as they, themselves drove out the Yankees and Irish? It will be interesting to watch the course of events and see what happens. And if the Dagoes and Huns have to re tire from their Jobs before the Ori entals, where .will they betake them selves ? rtomncratu who engaged in the ancient fraud of registering as Repub. llcans are not to be recognized for n..hii office. We thought retribution would come to these creatures one day. tho ssv,nni Rnarii mia-ht let the boys off the afternoon of opening day if for no other reasons than to make a rec ord attendance and save an immense grandmotherly mortality. IT. ,1 4t.A mvotlllA CltttPr At San nau in u ii- Francisco fired on the Chinese and . . a mnvttir nicture machine. there would have been some pictures worth going to see. That man over in Clark County who engaged in a rough-and-tumble fight with a neighbor woman over a fence probably had to do so to retain stand ing at home. ah eves will now be on Connecti cut to see if that state will seize the opportunity to complete ratification or the direct election amendment. I The alacrity with which Democrats concede committee places in the House to Bull Moosers Is a sign of joy at di visions among their opponents. In the latest Installment of the State Printing Office controversy the Gov ernor exhibits a strain of humor not hitherto suspected. Why should not the harvester move its twine mills to Europe? It pays European wages and follows European methods in them. There will be plenty of work for the immicrrntinn committee when the ships begin to arrive from Europe by ay of Panama. If the male marriage swindlers con. tinue operations, an abstract of title ill soon be as necessary to a nusoana s to real estate. The Democratic party today goes against its age-old problem of trim ming its sails to suit all peoples and conditions. Tha Canadian Pacific's sixteen-mile tunnel through Kicking Horse Pass will be an American wonder worth seeing. Th aonior Senator from Oregon would leave a little tariff on wool say Just enough to last two years. What difference is there between the suffragette firebugs and the petro leuse or the French Commune? Perhaps the Balkan allies are defi ant because they detect sounds of dis cord in the European concert- a Those lynchers at Mondak know how to circumvent the Governor by destroying the evidence. A campaign without an Issue is as unsatisfactory as a boxing match with pillows. Cavalieri calls New York a Puritan village. This Is the crowning insult. Sl-NSHINB BAD IN LARGE DOSES Northwest Has Beat Climate, According to Neve York Ssrgeon. PORTLAND, April 5. (To the Edi tor.) I have Just read with amaxe ment a book called "The Effects o I lnht nrt Whit fn " ll" Major Woodruff, A. 1L. M. D. (Redman nnhi!.hrl. T s v with amazement. because I am amazed that the facts and theories put forward In this book, which has now been before the public lor eignt years, nave not oeen eugmi seiaea upun auu maua uio niun. v& thA nuhliitv nrBa.niKs.tions of this se .Inn 1 H Mllltltrv Xff.t PATI Cil 11 Si VB arguments as to the superiority of thi3 climate to all others in the United mtM have, never. I venture to say been advanced. They are the more con vinrinir inasmuch as thev come from one who is not a westerner and one who has no ax to grind; he is an Army surgeon stationed in tae aiate ui. Vrtrlr uA ilnuhl wllliniTl u Vn n wl erl era of any such theories and facts each race would, in the oourse of time, gravitate to that section of the country to which 1, to olimaTlcnllv mnsl miited. But in the meanwhile the search for the right climate may involve untoia suatruis. Now it is lust here that 'this book comes to our helD and enables eacn race, without previous and painful ex- narimnntaHnil to K H 1 .1 1 ' t the TTlOSt SUit- .M. .Kmgtii TTa hnw in ftlKirt t ilR t excess of sunshine is injurious to the blond or Teutonic races, ana ultimately invariably leads to their extinction. He V. tlii-niiirkniit tha whole Of the United States, with the exception of the Nortnwest ana one or iwo ma lated moutainous regions, tne amou unt of sunlight is excessive and cause: degeneration of the blond or light skinned races. (Bionaness is cmeiiy mattol nf alrln not h It ) T and eVeS.) It t. V. ,nntBTita thA fltinin Or Ultra violet rays of the sunlight that do the narm. ana it is oniy in me ueice which the skin is pigmented that the f a n withHtanri thA errant of these rays, and then only within limits. As the Pacinc coast, nas aamiueuij tjie best climate, we need not concern ourselves with any otner pari. in great rivalry in the future will b between the Northwest ana uouui west, in other words between Ore o-rtii nnn Washington on the one hand, and California on the other. Let us see, therefore, what our aumor says about these sections respectively Let ns take, first of all. Southern Cali fornia, all of which is included be- tn,.an thA so nnn 35th deerrees 01 lati tude. "This belt." he says, "though aniiDii fn, hmwn rpd. yellow and olive men. Is wholly unnttea lor wmies i any complexion. Indeed, degeneration and extinction are the rule in this belt, even for the best fitted those brunette Creoles whose ancestors came from Spain and Southern France. Ana ngm .,n in thA IQth ripe-ree he sroes On to d o with thA ATre.-itlon of the north west corner, it is unfitted for blonds except in the mountains. tkad. nat-te nrA all riAstined ultimate i n v.. AttiAn hv rfloM from the same latitudes of Houtnern isurope, an iu tnfarinr mentally, rthvsically and morally to the Teutonic races. nun regard to the Northwest, he refers en thusiastically to tne people Deins ao ..,.illv hAalthv 'anrl as for the chil' th.v ai'mnnt burnt with ruered i. i . u Than u Vi n 1 1 1 il thnnlr (rod that 1 1 T.T111 I 11- i 11 1. J they are protected from nis sunsnine. Tirith thA nonsin e exception til me iwu pie of San Francisco, which has a cli- to itAir the neonle of inaiQ jii v .1 1.... ... . - r.. ii Prt.ni.i a m certainly not remark able for their healtny appearance, h Bnv o thA ohiiriren there look as if .u aH hnrattnir with health, they certainly kept out of sight during the two years the writer was down mere. mi.- . i. ... K MtiAa of Seattle. lilt? KULIIUI 11 11 11 m.. nn.i PArtlgnOnra fairly brist ling with brilliant blonds, with com plexions which the eastern peopio An,r,r Tn nmall doses he maintains sunlight is stimulating, but In excess (and It would seem that the limit for blonds is soon reached) It causes men tal, nervous and finally organic ...... Kino "it is a curious commentary on our ignorance of climatology." he says, "that the people of Tacoma, Seat tle and all this region, attribute their exuberant health, small sick rate and small death rate, to all sorts of causes except the right one protection from sunshine." E. MARTIN WEBB. NEW PLAN FOR T'NITED RAILWAYS Taxpayer Urges That Company Aban don Lower Stark Street, PORTLAND, April 6. (To the Edi tor.) The United Railways is using lower Stark street as a depot for Its suburban cars, to the detriment of the city and the neighboring property, ana it should not be longer permitted.. Its franchise certainly does not cover any such use of a narrow city street. lor the gauge is broad and the cars heavy and suited only to out-of-city use. Be tween Second and Third streets, where these cars stand daily for Indefinite Derlods. obstructing the thoroughfare, is the end of the line, and the company will probably argue that it must Keep the cars there until starting time of the next train, because It has no better place to put them, which leads up to the point 1 want to make, viz., why should not the unitea auways wil lingly give up and abandon its entire Stark - street franchise, because Its large and heavy broad-gauge cars are entirely out or place on so narrow ana busy a city street, and make its en trance into the heart of the city over its own line on Flanders street irom Twelfth street and over the Oregon Electric on Tenth street, both the Ore gon Electric and the United Railways heinsr under the same ownership? To use Its own Flanders-street line would make a far easier grade for the United Railways than climbing tne mil to Stark street on Twelfth, also using the Oregon Electric tracks on Tenth street would DUt it on a wide street, well suited to suburban service, and the joint use of these same tracks would reduce the maintenance expense of both companies. The Stark-street tracks need not be torn up, for the Portland Railway, Light & Power Com pany would likely take them over at a fair valuation, and use them for a local service by reducing them to its stand ard narrow-gauge, which would be en tirely suitable for the street, narrow gausre cars always being able to find their way, no matter how busy a street may be. I should think the United Railways would look with favor on the change herein suggested, for their cars are daily subjected to vexatious delays, caused by inability to pass wagons and business vehicles drawn up on Stark street between their tracks and the sidewalks, and this trouble will be more serious, and there will be a lot more of it, as the business on the street gets more and more congested. The Oregon Electric cars run across the city from their Jefferson-street station to the North Bans, station, aud the United Railways could run- in the opposite direction, making their termi nus at the Jefferson-street station, ac commodating people .in the center of the city, and those living south and east, a great deal better than it is now taking care of them from Its Stark street terminus. TAXPAYER. Rule Is Well Known. RIDGEFIELD, Wash.. April 2. (To the Editor.) I have read the answers . thA oiiAtttinn of how tnanv feet board measure in a stick 6 by 6 at the top and 12 by 12 at base. The correct answer is 280. This is a frustum of a pyramid. 1. This Is the rule: Find area of up per and lower bases. Then find the area of mean base by multiplying the - I Ka ..nr-.AP Huca hv n T A Of 1 (Iff IT base and extracting square root of proauct- 3. Add the area of the upper, lower 1 WauAo mn mtlltinlv their SUtB by one-third of altitude, and divide by 12. Yv. A. xikhjui, jn. TWO PROPHETS MAY COLLABORATE Devlne Claravoyut Invited to Join O'Henneasy ta Political Forecast. PORTLAND, April 3. (To the Edi tor.) In the matter of "Devine Clara voyant vs. O'Hennessy," now being discussed in ThOregonian. O'Hennessy sympathixes with Devine as against "any skeptical editor." We brethren of the visions must stand or fall to gether. Profane pens shall not us part. Devine erred in forgetting my won derful performance at the time of the visit of Halley's comet, when I pre dicted that there was enough of gas, sting, gargoyles, gasconade and gas conading in the vicinity of Salem to blow off any comet six times the di mensions of Halley's. if it got close qnough to earth, which proved a fact, but the scientific world simply Fried mannized me and I never made one cent out of my divine inspiration. The Philistines have eyes to see and ears to hear, but see not, neither do they hear; likewise our fair citizens have finely developed tongues, but no organ of speech, if speech and sanity are in any way related.- Devine errs in attributing th.i shift ing of the North Pole to the Equator's banana zone for material ultimatts: it is for no other purpose than to cool off the governments of the South American republics, but Devine is right when he says "the axes of the earth" will shift. They shift so often that It takes an Impervious heart and nimble brain to dodge them, eternal agility and a bitulithic head are the price of our reputations. Devine may be right, the poles may Bhift one fourth of the circumference of the earth, but one-fourth of the circum ference of the earth may not shift Dan Kellalier's modesty nor Cridge's hu manitarlsm; no, not one-half. Scram bled brains is the poor man's diet. Too bad. In return for our endowments De vine and O'Hennessy owe humanity a debt. Let's get our superheads to gether and soothe the neurasthenia in the body politic. Now the law of shift ing shifts on things animate as well as Inanimate. Who will land the Fed eral Jobs? That's what our trembling constituency yearns to know. We can tell them. How will the lobe of U'Ren's brain shift? Will it flop legwards or will It scatter Itself into aggressive units and bloom into a full and vig orous Pankhurstlan mind? There are things of great moment and If Devine leads off at bat I will loan my brain pan to lighten his brachygraphy. O'HENNESSY. WHAT COMMITTEE FOUND AT PEN Honor System Not Mentioned Minority Charges "Juggling" of Accounts. -WOODBURN. April 3. (To the Ed itor.) In a political talk with a neigh bor, he asserted that Governor West's conduct of the state prison was severe ly censured by an Investigating com mittee of the. Legislature, which charged him, in its report, with having garbled figures about brick making at the prison In fact, with making false reports as to its profits. I am a farmer, living some miles from the railroad, and depend on The Oregonian for news, but I have seen no such reports in your columns. Is the assertion of my neighbor correct? If so, what is the substance of the com mittee's report? Also, my neighbor asserts that the legislative committee rsVorsed Gov ernor West's "honor system." I con tend that it only indorsed the "parole system." Which of us is right? A. G. KYEK. Two reports, majority and minority, were filed by the joint legislative com mittee that investigated the peniten tiary management. Neither report con tained a specific reference to the Gov ernor's honor system. Both reports in dorsed the parol system and both recommended the appointment of a parole officer to keep in touch with such prisoners that the number of parole violations might be lessened. The majority report made no adverse criticism of the brickyard accounts. The minority report, however, which was signed by Representatives L. G. Lewelling and W. O. Smith, charged that figures given in the Governor's message purporting to show brickyard profits in 1911 included receipts that should have been credited to the pre ceding administration. The report con tains this statement: "While your committee does not be lieve or contend that there was a mis appropriation of funds derived from the sale of these brick, yet the records plainly show that the figures have been juggled in order to show a profit where none existed." ELECTION TO BE HELD ANYWAY Mr. Parkinson Avers That Dentists' Referendum Is Responsible. PORTLAND, April 6. (To the Ed itor.) Kindly permit me to correct an error made by Colonel E. Hofer, "nov elist, editor and politician," in The Oregonian Sunday. He says: And von can say for me that the Parkin son referendum will necessitate a special election and that the special election will cost the state 475.000 or nearly as much as It is planned to refer to the people, with the uncertainty that the money would be voted down if the referendum should be applied. This is not a fact. The 20 per cent referendum will not require a special election, this owing to the fact that the special election is to be held, even though the two 20 per cent referendums are not presented. The dentists of the state, through their attorney, John A. Jeffrey, have Invoked the referendum upon the law passed by the last Legislature regulat ing the dentistry protesslon. person ally. I have Been the thousanda of Big natures already secured on this refer endum. The 20 per. cent referendums were not presented until it was certain that a special election would be held. There Is merit in the movement to consolidate the university and college and in the 20 per cent referendums; such, being the case. I sincerely trust that the many "Colonel E. Hofers, nov elists, editors and politicians," will not dodge the real issue by trying to mis lead the taxpayers as above stated. - H. J. PARKINSON. Railroad Land Grant. METZGER, Or., April 5. (To the Ed itor.) Kindly inform me when a de cision will be rendered regarding the homesteading of the railroad land of Oregon. W. H. M. There is little likelihood that any railroad land will ever be opened to homestead entry In Oregon. The Oregon-California railroad land grant is now In litigation, but date of final de termination of the case cannot be lore told. If forfeited to the Government, the present prospect is that the tim- hered Dortlon will be DUt into a reserve. The manner of disposing of the agri cultural lands will require Congres sional enactment- Spelling of Llnnton. PORTLAND. Abril 6. (To the Ed itor.) Recently I wrote to The Ore gonian asking the correct way to spell the name "Llnnton." The Oregonian claims that two "n"s should be used, while the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Lighthouses, differ with vou. Thev claim that one "n" (Lin ton) is correct, giving as their author ity coast and tieoaetic cnaria since 18S7. What is The Oregonian's au thority? EDWARD BRAY. Llnnton is so spelled in the United States postal guide; in the Government census reports; on all railroad maps; in Rand-ilcNally's atlas; in Polk's Ga zeteer; on all standard maps of Ore son: by the people of the place and in. the town's incorporation record. j Twenty-five Years Ago . From The Oregonian of April T. 1SSS. Salem, April t. Democrats In Salem are agitating the project of starting a straight-out Cleveland-Pennoyer Dem ocratic paper, to be run in opposition to the Vidette. which they denominate as a Ben Butler organ. New York. April 6. Henry Villard left here on tha German steamer Trave Wednesday, a very sick man. If wool is to go on the free list, woolen goods should go on the free list. too. There is no fairness In com pelling the woolgrower to sell his wool in a free trade market and buy his clothing in & protected market. . The building of the cement company at Oregon City Is completed. Railroad Commissioners Slater and Waggoner and Mr. J. R. N. Bell, clerk of the board, go up this morning, ac companied by officials of the P. & W. V. Railway, to examine the scene of the late accident near Oswego. Work is to be commenced on the Wallula, Eureka Flat & Walla Walla Railroad at once. Mr. G. W. Hunt, the contractor, left for Albany yesterday to hurry up his stock and plant there. The State Board of Immigration started out to raise 32500 a month for 12 months. Without very much labor the have already secured subscriptions of S10S6 a month. Half a Century Ago From The Oregonian of April 7, 1S63. Vicksburg, Miss., Mar. 25. Two of the enemy's boats attempted to pass down the river this morning, but our batteries opened on them and one was sunk and the other badly riddled. New York, Mar. 31. The Housa, from Southampton, reports having been spo ken by the Alabama on February 23. The Alabama had burned the Alice Lane, going from Bordeaux to New York, and a large vessel bound from California to Queenstown. The election yesterday was quiet. The returns: For Mayor, Logan, 405: Con gle, 181; for Recorder, McCoy, 468; An derson, 127; for Treasurer, Rlsley, 334; Morse, 250; for Marshal, Clark, 819; Arnold, 228: Grooms, 63; for Assessor, Pomeroy, 342; Going 237. At the school meeting last night the following persons were elected direc tors: T. J. Holmes, 8. J. McCormlck and William King. PROPER UPBRINGING OF YOUTH Lectures Will Not Save if Temptation Is Freely Permitted, CRESWELL, Or., April 5. (To the Editor.) I am a traveling man and Creswell is not my permanent address. I have read a great deal of the corre spondence regarding the vice question, and the raising of children, and must say if many would gitfe a little study into the real facts and study human na ture more they 'would not write as they do. We were created with certain passions and all the theory and preach ing in the world will not change them. Any normal child, be it boy or girl, is liable to go wong in spite of all the "teaching," if he or she is allowed to run unrestrained at that certain age. The letter signed "A Mother" cer tainly hit the spot when she said she provided a place at home for her boys and did not allow them to roam the streets. There is the danger of the whole thing. I am & father, have a happy home and several children, and while they are not yet of the age when they are trying to get away, yet the one rule will be never to allow any loitering about after reasonable hours and anyone that they are permitted to associate with will be expected to come to my house. " My work Is such that most of the care of the children falls to their mother, yet my work enables me to see a great deal of human nature. Almost as well try to tell a dog not to eat a piece of meat' and then give it to him and expect him not to eat it as to give your child a lecture and then throw him out into temptation. They are human. Lewd pictures, stories and conversation have much to do with starting the child's mind In the wrong channel. I am heartily in favor of legislation or any other system that will cause more modesty in dress. For those that think there is nothing wrong with the "lack of dress." I wish they would tell why It Is that any girl with scant dress is subject to insult when one fully dressed is not? Their power of resisting these Insults Is limited and they may fall, when a modest dress would have protected them. Take temptation out of their way as far as possible and your teachings will be more effective. The thought that low wages are the cause of girls' downfall Is only par tially true. Low wages will not enable them to have the luxuries of life (joy rides, etc.) that they may want and the offer of these lead them to places where they are unable to resist, but I doubt very much if ever a girl made her first misstep for a price. Do what you can to keep J eVil thoughts from their minds; allow the young folks a place &.t home to receive their company; do not permit loitering around at night. When they go to any entertainment of any kind insist that they come directly home and you will prevent many mis steps. E. A. M. Grotesque Attitude of Prudes. FORT STEVENS, April 3. (To the Editor.) Comes "A Sometime Strap hanger" and proclaims (seriously or not it Is difficult to say) that man's sackcoat and trousers constitute an "indecent" attire! Supposing that the criticism is made in all seriousness which is by no means impossible what Is it that these morbidly sex-conscious members of so ciety really desire, anyway? If men and women were to swathe themselves in garments yards thick, until they looked like shapeless bales of merchan dise, the prude would still deem them indecent, for behold "we know the human form is in there, at the center of the mass!" Why, pray, should the "human form divine" be considered "shameful?" And why should the free exposure of it be "indecent?" Are we to believe that God has given us bodies so beautiful and perfect, and then expects us to be ashamed of his handiwork? If some of our prudish friends were to pause In their frenzied search for Indecencies," long enough carefully to peruse a few such thoughtfully-written and spoch-maklng classics as Have lock Ellis' "Sex in Relation to Society." and Iwan Bloch's "The Sexual Life pf Our Time," they might perhaps better appreciate their own grotesque and un natural viewpoint. But perhaps not. CHESTER J. STEDMAN. M. D. High School Student Knows How. ASTORIA. Or., April 3. (To the Ed itor.) Having seen several methods In The Oregonian concerning the example pertaining to board measure, I thought I would submit my formula for discus sion. It follows below: Six times six is 36; 12 times 13 is 144. The product of the two is 51S4. Extract the square root of 5184. which gives 12; add 36, 144 and 73 together, which gives 253. Now divide 253 by 3. which gives the mean thickness, or 84. . Multiply 84 by 40 and the product is 3360. Divide 3360 by 12. which gives 2S0, the answer. Mr Kendall says that figures don't lie unless you make them so, accord ing to the answer his figures must lie. A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT.