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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1913)
THE MORNING OREGONIAN. WEDNESDAY. APRIL 16. 1913. 8 PORTLAND, OBEOOS. Entire-, at Portland, Oreion. Poto!tle aa cond-cla matter. Subacrlpuoa Invariably In Advaaea: tBT If All) Tally. Sunday Included, om year Dally. Sunday Included, aix month ... Eaiiy, Sunday Included, thra nrnntna.. l)aiiy, fcunday Included, on month .... Daily, aitnout Sunday, ona year J-Jt' Ll,y. wltnout funilay. a'., month . Dally, wltliout Sunday, thre month .. 1." Daily. wlLhout Sunday, oo xaoola , Wk!y, out year. i'rx Sunday, ona year bunday and Weoaly. on jraar. (BT CARRIER) . Dally. Bonday included, ona year 9. Dal:y, Sunday Included, on month. Haw la llemlt khiI poaiojic money or . e'er, expris o. dor or perianal chec on your local lank. Stamp, com or currency ar a. the aendr riak. OI poatofflc addrea in lull, including county and atata. roaiax rtatea n y . - -, IS to s paa 3 cent. SO to u P ; ' enta; 40 to eO pace, cent. o.aln ! poetae. double rats. Eaatera Boauma Off We Verre co"V lin. New Voi Brunawicls buiidlc. -01 Cafo. S!eer building. ban Iranciac Off lea R. J. Bld c Hi ysrket t'reet. - w. l.ondun vobtlavd. n-EOXEMDaV. ATBll. M, JM -uf .:-re TMK MI'RMIDY? I ....v v -- So exemption of coastwise ships t n n-nnlrl he a 1 1 uili ruiidiua .iei . . - I subsidy. In the opinion of President Wilson. Then for whom would impo. ..... I siUon of these tolls be a subsidy . l- or Governor Moorhead has a very in the transcontinental railroads. ller- , IH. nf Christianity. Evident- chants who ship goods by the water rniitn are compelled to pay nignct i r.Auh tm hr tViA exclusion of for- I . ' J . eign ships from coastwise coramera ana oi coune txicy a cost to the conaumer. That fact en- ables railroads to exact Just so much higher rates in compeunon un tne water route. Hence the consumers are being taxed for the benefit of the ii .1 - TVia -anal wnt built f OI laitlUBU.. w . - I the purpose of cheapening water Irnnsnnrtalinn. but that DUTDOSe will I be defeated to the extent that the tolls raise the cost of transportation. " The impression nas retn siumuusi.. fostered that the ship-owners would prom oy exeinpwui. num i would do so only througn tne increase in volume of traffic resulting from the lower rates they would be enabled to i A x-nA V. n .iHrt cnfnrn mtTlt i uai hiuci . " v . . . . i or tne anu-irusi ia nuit.ii -a.- ever- right to expect from the Wilson Administration the ship-owners would toon be forced by competition to pass this saving along to the merchants ana , me meri:ii.iiL iw . For ln the end the consumer pays the freight it la nil wrv well for the Interna tional Conciliation Association to as sume that toll exemption Is a violation f tr tv- nMiBFRflnns. hut we have aX good enoilgn case to Slinmn in aruma- ; tion. Why back down without making a defense? Why not arbitrate? The " railroad kings who tremble at the . prospect of Intensified water competi ' tion have suddenly grown very sensi ' tive about our National honor and our fidelity to treaty obligations. Do they . never think of the reflection which would be cast on our National honor ' by an admission that the la.t Con gress and President had passed a law . plainly violating the Hay-Pauncefote ; treaty? 1 That would be the implication from a repeal of the exemption clause with, out preliminary arbitration. Our Na tional honor demands that we main tain a position once taken up by our Government in honest belief that we had a right to take It and that we do not confess ourselves wrong until the question at issue has been fairly tried out. Other nations, in dealing with us, should not be allowed to take ad vantage of political changes to reopen questions our Government has once decided, except by arbitration, for they must deal with us as a unit and with our Government as continuous, not with the parties which succeed each other in control. Should we change front on the toll question simply in response to British protests, we should humiliate our selves. There would be no humilia tion in defeat before an arbitration court and subsequent repeal in com pliance with the court's findings. PAX HAN DUNG. We might look with a degree of ad miration upon the patriotism of men who wonld abandon Jobs that give them livelihood and travel many hun dreds of miles to defend a constitu tional privilege. Tet the invasion of Denver by the' "armies" of the Indus trial Workers of the World falls to Impress one in that way. The mem bers of each army are typical hobos, almost without exception, and are adepts In the art of beating their way. Pnst experience has given them con fldence of something better than the usual lot of the loafer who is locked tip on a charge of vagrancy. Every so-called "free speech" fight in the '. past has given ground for the solicit ing of a defense fund. Easy money contributed by deceived sympathizers pours in on a lazy crew that never worked and never will except with " vocal organs. It makes flush times vocal organs. It makes flush times for the Wear- lllie and hastens to the scene of trouble. Hannllv Socialists and labor unions rr , . re becoming aware of the real mo- tive of such pilgrimages The social Democratic Herald edited by ictor Eerger. discerned a "frame-up at the time of the San Diego free speech fight and said so in plain terms. It cost the Herald a great deal of lndig- nant criticism, but it stood its ground. Mr. Berger's attitude in errect na, since been indorsed by the official organ of the Western Federation of Hlnera. , secur1tles which are considered ab The following paragraph is from that 8olutey and which, therefore. publication. rZlZ XrXSr Vym," the bait and parted with their money ba-1 iieTim that tn-y ware ainina m s :lr7phwMrteCrJ.rimrtloer'1- a who batched tlia cbama to repeat tna spoaane .nuco i in 8an Dleeo reaped a rich harvest from I th salllble. when the rax m t-an V'.TT ru: t come to San Dieo. and then th I. w. w. Arab fidd their tenia and "pulled their f relent- for 'pa.tnrea new In the hope that another "frea speech" acrap Could ba launcneu to aecura tne in aiu m. I - . I . xit-lA In I Til M)Cllll-ln"'i'"'- ... i commenting on the foregoing para- graph. remarKs: Thi Im testimony practically from the I r the fnht Itee.f. aa the areat mtn-1 rs' onion cover tn entire on. ln.tlnctlveiy hate, a I.Ke ana tn. time ha com. lor SoeJallat. tor tna th reputation of the movement, to rive no more money to tha faker. , or any of . EaaTor'ln. Wb'lb" The Denver battle ln the "social revolution" will doubtless end as did the contests with the authorities at Grays Harbor. Spokane and San Diego, . ..... i.i h. aiihiected to annoyance and trouble and the Jails and workhouses win oe overpopuiatea i for a time. But when the graft isj exhausted the panhandlers will seek nlh.r maamt rtf llvlntF without toll. An early exodus may bo expected now that two Journals wmcn nave iimu ence among the people who have here tofore been gulled have protested against contributions to free speech frame-ups. SEVHMKNTAL CHTUSTHNITy. Happily. Governor Moorehead's op position to the sterilization bill is not likely to do much harm, because the Nebraska Legislature will pass it over his veto. Still his ground for the in effectual veto are interesting. The bill, he says. Is unchristian. Sterilization of criminals and defectives, to quote his own words. "is more like the prac tice of a pagan than a Christian coun try." and therefore he cannot consent to it. no matter how beneficial it might prove to his state. This is a strange reason for the pre sumably enlightened Governor of an enlightened state to give for opposing tisLtlnn. If we are to accept the "practice of pagan nations as Houiv ithr fnr nr airalnst modern laws we shall fall into the worst kind 0f trouble. Governor Moorehead's I principle seems to uc w... " - roion all thpv did and do all they re- w a it.aa with him We jenru. ii " r- ...... should abolish public streets, city Inn for- wnrkj and republican institu- - - . tlons from bottom to iop. oecu t.. au " Inns ,y h6 i00it8 upon It as a religion which -nAAlfa nnH condones crime. II we 1 1 .. ..-tot. tA fnllnw trip nrecents of icujij niou vJ r tne Master we must ao notning va eraaicate evii irum uie v contrary. It Is our duty to believe that evil Bent to try our faith and drill us ln tne seif-denying virtues, une more there js cf jt the better for our souls, Hence, instead of seeking to root out i .1 1 V..1(.illfv u a mnftt rrlprifih L 11IIC IIU lllli:vii4j "w it as something salutary. Unless there oi-lminnU anrl fools In the world wise mpn jir. Moorehead would naVe no opportunity to exercise their goodness ana cnarity. In our opnion this view of Christ. anity is iunaamenmny inac. i. anity is fundamentally false. It Is a reiigion of robust common sense ratner tnan Berttimental weakness. It teaches tnat the deepest mercy lies in pur- . . i . . . tmnA nf tfiA trreatMt Humg lilt' gicaicpi e "' r - numDerana ir tne wenare ui mc generation requires that some persons now jVlng should not produce off- 3prinKi it is profoundly Christian to deprive them of the power to do so. ARM TO PRESERVE PEACE. A correspondent, referring to an article In The Oregonian of April 6 on the subject of war and disarmament . v, rn mt in thA lnsf twenty years there have been more wars than in any like period for generations ar .nao nnthinir in favor of war. but be- comes a stronger argument in favor of its abolition. Of course mat iaci does not argue in favor of war and it does argue in favor of abolition of war. The Oregonian is as strongly opposed to war as our correspondent anH t am nrtiA.cttlv ln favor of its abo lition, but we contend that the United States must deal with things as tney are and as they are likely to continue, not as we think they should be. The United States alone, by refusing to maintain an adequate army and n a a n h hv rhamrjlonine the cause of peace and arbitration, cannot abol ish war. Nor can tne unuea etaies in co-operation with Great Britain, r e.v In rn nn ration with both Great Britain and France, these three nations being the foremost advocates or arDi tration. Were they to disarm without a general agreement among uu mt great military powers to do so, they would simply Invite aitacK irom na tions which had not reached their high level of idealism. Such are Ger many, Austria. Italy and Kussia, Were all the nations named to com hin. in a noral asrreement to dis arm and to settle all future quarrels by arbitration, war might be abolished n ,1 armament micht cease. Until all are ready thus to combine, each must arm in self-defense. The United States should arm only for self-defense, but sufficiently to withstand attack from the strongest possible antagonist. To do so would not be a provocation but a preven tive of war. Our international policy was proclaimed long ago and Is well known to the world. Other na tions know they are safe from attack by us and that war with us can arise only from attack by them upon us or frnm i-lnlatinn of those DOllcies which we deem essential to our National safety. So long as we maintain mili tary power sufficient to resist that attack, it will not come. Our Army and Navy are therefore a guaranty of "peace. Unarmed and rich, we nmiiii a. KiirTv invite attack as did decadent Rome invite the Inroads of the barbarians. TIUU1T IN EAST AND WEST. Many Eastern people quote the greater volume of savings bank depos it, in thn TCsKtprn than in the Western evidence of greater thrift ln ';.,, It ta rather aslK ,,tf nnnnrtimltv for Individual " . . r. -j investment OI savings mm ui mum disnositlon to avail oneself of - opportunity ln the West. Eafit who v w t thelf 1 dfcment ln maklng lnvestments. trust the Judgment ' banker to put their money in an(f bonds. The bank. conscious that he is a trustee for . . onv. invest, it only yield a proportionately lower return. Then. too. the opportunities for small Investments are lewer in me .cost. where property values are nign ana where enterprises are conducted or, a I. vlnra in the hands of bankers , , , .n .,. in j .--- invest can alone put their money In mortgages and bonds. I" the Wt more people have the ambition and self-reliance to go Into business for themselves, to Invest their . . . ,- . .P9..r " - " rvmrii uttiu n. .1.1 ov The aheenherder saves -vu.u k-j- his wages until he can buy a small nuv ui ' can run his own herd, the wqrker in ft iniriIr rnmn until he can run his mn Inzrlnr outfit, the thrifty among - , .h h,. icui.u - COme station men, then sub-contrac- t and , on p the scale. The Journeyman carpenter. plumber. painter ana oncaiajer arc w take contracts on tneir own account, The smaller volume of savings bank deposit, in the West is thus an evi- dence of greater prosperity, of more opportunity, of more willingness to mne1 mu.....Bc thrift. The thrift Is here, but Is prac ticed In different ways from those most in vogue In the East. IS THE STANDARD INCORRIGIBLE? " TV-ran I. tha nrisrlnal "trust-busting" state. It has always pursued the Standard Oil Company ana us suuom laries without relenting and has al ways been ready to enter the fray on its own account without awaiting the action of the Federal Government. In bringing its latest suit against the several oil companies it is only contin uing a long campaign. The Lone Star State may have only anticipated by a brief period proceed ings by Altorney-General McReynolds for violation of the decree of dissolu tion Issued by the Federal Supreme Court. His former chief. Mr. Wicker sham, had been investigating charges of this nature and It was predicted that, if he found sufficient evidence (o sutaln the charges, he would bring criminal proceedings against the offl Ktn nf tha several oil companies con cerned. Mr. McReynolds" rejection of the Union Pacific directors' pians tor dissolution of the Harriman merger implies that he will be less lenient than his predecessor in dealing with trusts. He is doubtless continuing his predecessor's inquiry into the Stand ard and may follow up the Texas pro ceedings with some of his own. These are very likely to include charges of contempt of court, carrying with them criminal penalties. The habit or combining nas oecome so confirmed in the heads of the Standard through almost lifelong practice that It is doubtful whether they can be cured of it. Hope of its nhnndnnment must rest On a Change of men having the direction of the Standard's affairs. John D. KOCKe reller long ago retired from active di rection of the business and Is growing very though still in good health. His brother William is a hopeless in valid and can never again become ac tive in business. H. M. Flagler long since retired from the oil business and is nnw -rltlcallv 111. Thev have given place to John D. Archbold, who Is himself 65 years old, but is aDout tne last survivor of the old "Standard Oil fri.ii.-rf" remfllnine an active executive officer. The old regime of habitual monopolists is passing away. lounger men must succeed them, and these should be men open to the influence of dominant opinion about trusts. The younger generation will be more apt t. nhanrinn nld nractires and to sub mit cheerfully to the spirit as well as the letter of laws which tneir preae cessors persistently regarded as dead letters. TR.VN8MVT1NG THE ELEMENTS. Although there are still doubters, scientific opinion appears to be setting strongly toward the belief that Sir William Ramsay has actually accom plished the transmutation of some ele ments into others. Madame Curie, the illustrious discoverer of radium, is one of the skeptics and Sir Oliver Lodge is another. But Sir Oliver has no doubt exhausted the stores of his cre dulitv upon the messages he has re ceived from the spirit land, while Madame Curie, as a woman scientist, naturally wishes to guard herself from any suspicion of haste in accepting novelties. The standing of her sex in the learned world is at stake. The Journal of the Chemical Society, an eminent British periodical, inclines to the opinion that Sir William Ramsay has verified his experiments ln trans mutation so conclusively that doubt is no longer admissible and other learned publications take the same view. One of the things Sir William has done is to subject a little pure water in a vacuum tube to the action of niton and study the products of the decom position which ensues. Niton is a heavy gas ODtatnea oy the disintegration of radium. The ra dium, in fact, breaks up normally into niton and helium. If the niton Is left to itself it again disintegrates into helium and a degenerate form of ra dium, but it produces no neon. In Sir William's experiment the natural course of things was altered and the niton was made to produce neon when it disintegrated. We need not remind the reader that pure water contains nothing but oxygen and hy drogen. When the products of disin tegration were withdrawn from the tube after the experiment and exam ined they were found to contain oxy gen and hydrogen from the decompo sition of the water and some helium from the breakup of the niton. Nat urally there ought also to have been some' degenerate radium, but there was none. In place of tt Sir wimam found a minute quantity of neon, in other words, the presence of the pure water had altered the course of nature and obliged the niton to break up, not Into helium and secondary radium, but Into helium and neon. This reads like a little thing, but it was in truth the solution of the problem of transmu tation which has baffled the world for ages. All the great scientific miracles begin with almost imper ceptible trifles. Sir William Ramsay was not satis fled with this modest beginning of transmutation. He went on to more striking experiments. For instance, he put a little copper salt into the tube with the pure water and niton and found as the result both sodium and lithium. The copper had been trans muted into these metals, but of course only in the most minute quantities. The chemical student will recall that copper, sodium and lithium all stand ln the same column in the famous Periodic Table of the elements dis covered by Mendeleef. Their atomic weights run, copper sixty-three, so dium twenty-three, lithium seven, so that the rule of disintegration was for the elements of heavy atoms to break up into those of lighter atoms. The same rule was obeyed when niton, of atomic weight 222, broke up into neon, whose atomic weight is twenty. Sir William Ramsay fouid it always true that the heavy atoms were trans muted Into lighter ones. Thl is in accordance with the law of nature that the universe tends to lower levels of energy in all cases unless something Intervenes to reverse the operation. Sir William Ramsay also tested the effect of niton upon compounds of sill con, titanium and thorium and ob tained carbon dioxide in every in stance. The obvious Inference is that these metals were transmuted into carbon. From his experiments it seems as if the elements which stand In the same columns of the Mendeleef table are so Intimately related that they can be changed into another by the Influence of niton. ' Perhaps they are all merely modified forms of one fundamental substance. A more vivid imagination would nq. doubt conclude that all the known elements are com posed of the same material at bottom and that by suitable manipulation they can be transmuted, gold into lead. Iron Into silver and so on. This may be true. Recent experiments In dicate that all the material atoms, in spite of their different weight and varied appearance, are really com posed of electrons. If this is so we might break them up into whatever new forms we liked if we could con trol energy enough to carry, out the work. " A great quantitty of energy is locked up in every atom. Small as these entities are, they contain almost infinite stores of potential activity. If we could find some way of freeing it from Its imprisonment we should have no more need of coal or water power. The disintegrating atoms would do all the world's work. Unfortunately no such way has been discovered as yet except through the action of radium and its products. Radium atoms break up of themselvese, giving out great stores of energy when they do so. Niton, one of the radium prod ucts, also sets .a great deal of energy free when it disintegrates into helium and secondary radium. It Is this energy from niton that Sir William Ramsay uses to transmute copper into sodium and lithium and effect his other experiments. His results thus far have pure scientific rather than practical value because they are ter ribly expensive while only the most minute quantities of the elements have been transmuted. But the point to be kept in mind Is that nobody can tell how soon a merely scientific ex periment may become practical in the highest degree. . Some investigator is liable any day to light upon the secret of unlocking the energy imprisoned in all sorts of atoms and then the entire face of the world will be changed. One of the most promising projects offered for preventing floods in the Middle West is to, direct the surplus water into the Great Lakes. Here they would do good by raising the level slightly and might be restored to the Western Rivers in time of drouth. Very easy engineering would turn toward Lake Erie part of the water which now flows southward in the Miami River, while the Mississippi might be con nected either with Lake Superior or Lake Michigan or both. Thoughtful Americans are deeply concerned just now with the problems nr rural Hfe. How shall it be made attractive and profitable? How can the farmer hope to obtain a tair price for his produce? The solution seems to He in organization, and yet to or ganize farmers effectively Is discour agingly difficult. Why does the Y. M. C. A. not take hold of this work? The field Is inviting and the association has ways of reaching the young which are inimitable ' The new Scotch colony which is to improve 80,000 acres of Wisconsin land, starts out under the best of au spices. Wisconsin is a good state to live in and Scotland is a good country to come from. But the colony has oth er advantages. It will have a corps of expert advisers composed of trained men from the Wisconsin and Minne sota universities. Evidently the people of that section understand how to put "the higher education" to practical use. ' Thvlral collapse has overcome many tariff revisers, including Senator Mills, of Mills bill fame, ana senator Aldrich. Senator Dolliver was killed by his labors with the tariff. Repre sentative Underwood should take warning and share the work with some of his associates. President Wilson may soon be called nnon to act in Cuba under the Piatt amendment if the present campaign of assassination in that island contin ues. Secretary Bryan's beautiful plat itudes will have no effect among the Cuban politicians. The Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas will hereafter quench Its thirst before 11 P. M. and go dry all of Sun day, unless some careless vendor oi beverages should happen to leave his side door unlocked. A California poultryman was in duced to import a hive of bees, which forthwith killed all his chickens. No doubt he feels that he was stung by the transaction. According to a French engineer it Is feasible to reach the moon. Yes, but we suspect It would be well to call in an alienist on the case. inhn T wan served with a notice cf that 1100.000.000 suit while playing golf. A record of his foozles thereafter would be Interesting. Ttv oil means make the back door of the new Postoffice the main en trance, that ethical ideas of beauty be not disturbed. Divorce decisions have tangled up ...env marrirps ln Illinois and they can only be untangled by more mar riages. Now that Senators are to pay for their own baths and shaves, the cost of living may be brought home to them. . mk. oo we w-rtmen voters enrolled iiic . . " will hold the balance of power in the city election ana win uu An "overflow" game was not neces sary yesterday, but may be as the spirit grows in years to come. Free mohair will kill the Oregon Angora industry unless people get poor enough to eat the meat. - Standard Oil is sued for $100,000, nnn hv the State of Texas. What would Texas do with all that pelf? Opening day must be made a public holiday, to relieve the' grouch of fans compelled to work. There is room yet on the ticket fo many more candidates for Council man. Parisian high heels are to be made of Dresden china this season. Get the hook! The man who could not attend the game had the worst case of hard luck. -Martin- the missing Memphis man. has entered the Charley Ross class. Some 22,146 women have registered. Watch the politicians primp. Japan appears to be getting really peeved. i Llsrht on Home Money Treat. New York Sun. "John, dear. It's too bad that we have to pinch and save and economize on everything we buy. 1 is there such a thing as a money trust?" "Yes, love; I thinkthere is. (Pause.) "John, dear, why don't you Join Itr' 1- JAPANESE PERIL IS SNEEZED AT No Rtuoi ExI.ta, Say. Writer, for Re garding; Nlpponeae With Alarm. PORTLAND, April 14. (To the Edi tor.) We Americans may well para phrase that part of Cicero wherein he is made to say "How long, oh Cataline, etc., into "How long, oh, my country, will this Japanese specter continue to haunt us?" And yet so long it will continue to perform that office, until those yellow peril jingos have died, ot we as a country have overcome our natural timidity by reason of the erec tion of the bulwark of a strong army and navy. But Is It not a lowering of our Na tional standards and a cut to our pa triotic pride that such a state of being should exist? That such headlines should caption our newspaper columns as "Japan reserves right," "Japanese, question delicate," and "Japanese ad nauseum." We look in vain for such headlines anent our relations with Great Britain or Germany. Now what has Japan, with her 350,000 regulars trained to the minute, to do with Germany's 800,000 regulars, trained to the second? Why give our selves as a Nation such cause for alarm over a nation of little, brown people who have yet to show that they are entirely civilized? How will they, a country bankrupt by the cost of the Japanese-Russian war, and the upkeep of a standing army and efficient navy, conduct a war against such a power as the United States? What European nation would lend them the money for such a perilous undertaking? And finally, has Japan fully con vinced military experts that she is able to cope successfully with a white peo ple on "the same military basis as her self? Have they, the Japanese, entirely satisfied civilized war departments that their victory over the Russians was anything more than the victory of a people prepared for years for Just that event over a nation 7000 miles away from their base of supplies, and direct ed by a corrupt bureaucracy which did not give adequate support, or munitions to as brave a soldiery, "if we are to be lieve contemporary accounts," as the Japanese? What then Is that specter that has so affrighted us in the far east? Nothing more or less, according to events that have been recorded since the Russian-Japanese struggle, than the awakening, of a nation of little brown people, who having won a doubt ful victory over an ill-prepared white nation, presume to take place among great world powers. And the answer is for the American people, not the "dol lar diplomacy," so often sneered at in Europe, but more of the kind exercised by brave old Grover Cleveland, who let Europe see the steel on the hand of Uncle Sam when Venezuela and the Monroe Doctrine were threatened. C. R. DANNELLS. COMMISSION PLAN SHORTCOMINGS Ex-Mayor of Portland Dlacnasea In adeqaacle. of System. SPOKANE, Wash., April 14. (To the Editor.) The-writer has not read the proposed city charter of Portland, but we have the commission form of gov ernment here and possibly some of your voters may be interested in a few suggestions from me on this subject. In the first place, it is a mistake to pay high salaries to the commissioners. This eliminates public spirit, for the salary constitutes the incentive for the office, and thus a band of candidates enter the field purely for the money there Is in it. The preferential system furtheT com plicates matters for a small but united minority is almost sure to concentrate Its vote upon some one not fitted for the duties to be performed and as a rule any successful vote-getter Is al most sure to be a man void of execu tive ability. The commissioners should serve for little or no pay they should legislate and administer the affairs of the city, but the detail work should be performed by those especially quali fied for such work, and they should be given compensation commensurate with such work. The great difficulty with the commission system is to keep it free from politics, which is next to impossible where the personnel of the commission is selected by popular vote .ni t foal that I am not violating my duty as a loyal citizen of Spokane, when I lnlorm your voters mm oui present city government does not come up to the expectations and hopes of our people that it Is sadly deficient in ex ecutive ability, and that this city is suffering severely from lack of a broad and comprehensive administration, and the bone and sinew of our citizenship those who foot the bills are begin ning to realize that it takes more than $25,000 per year to secure a successful commission (the amount we are now paying) if you place it upon a monetary basis. VAN B. DELASHMUTT. EDITORIAL IS READ TO FACULTY Booker T. Wasblngrton Commend. View, of Tbe Oregonian. TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE, Ala., April 10. (To the Editor.) It may interest you to know that I read your very fine editorial on "Educational Prog ress" in The Oregonian of March 20 be fore our faculty of 186 persons this morning. All enjoyed It and were greatly Instructed and Inspired. Of course, a large part of what you suggest in your editorial we have been trying to do at Tuskegee for years, but I thought it would encourage our fac ulty to know that other people are thinking and working in the same di rection. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON. Money Spent Without Voucher. PORTLAND, Or., April 12. (To the Editor.) Can you give some good rea son for the section in the new charter, on page 13, section 1821, which reads aa follows: "There shall be annually appropriated and set apart the sum of $5000, to be Known as tne emergency fund of the Council," and the Council may use and expend such fund or any part thereof, ln its discretion for any purpose It may deem proper or advan tageous to the public welfare, and shall not be required to furnish vouch ers showing the purposes for which such expenditures were made. No part of such fund shall be used as compen sation or additional salary or for the personal benefit of any Commissioner. The question is. Why should any set of men have the use of $5000 per year and not be required to give some state ment as to what it was used for? (2) Is there any company or mer chant who will set apart $5000 to be spent by their help and not want to know what It was used for? J. C. R. The same provision Is in the present charter, but only $1000 is appropriated annually. While the charter provides thajt no voucher is necessary for the expenditures therefrom, nevertheless it requires an ordinance so to appropriate, so that, no matter" what the fund Is used for, it becomes public For ex ample, the City Council appropriates each year a certain sum to assist ln decorating the graves of old soldiers at Decoration day. The Mayor now has a fund of $600 which he may ex pend without voucher, and no one knows for what this money is ex pended, for he does not have to ask any one's approval; he simply goes to the City Treasurer and gets it. He Could buy candy with it, if he wished, and no one would ever know it. (2) Many big corporations have done so. Acting; 17p To Instructions. Exchange. Mrs. Subbubs. to neighbor's child Oh. there Is the dozen fresh eggs I asked your mother to send over. How much are they. Mary? The Child-Please'm, its 40 cents. But mother says if you grumble its 35. NATURE'S LAW AND THE UNFIT. Engenlat. Run Into Immutable Law of Elimination, Say. Writer. PORTLAND, April 15. (To the Edi tor.) In the editorial, "Dr. Jordan's New Book," you overlook the fact be fore which all theories of eugenists must fall down. There is no absolute standard of human fitness. It varies in different times and under different conditions. Darwin teaches not that the fittest should survive, but that the fittest must survive. It Is true that we have not the muscular power nor iron con stitutions of our grandfathers. But we no longer need them. Why should we attempt to develop power in our arms when we have millions of horsepower on tap in steam engines? Even in han dling a shovel the five-foot man who knows can move more dirt than the six-foot man who does not. Herbert Spencer says (to quote from memory) that man should be a perfect animal. That is no longer true. How would Cecil Rhodes or Spencer himself meas ure up in this respect? Nothing shows the futility of eugenics better than in vestigating the experiments that have been tried in the past. For example, Frederick William I of Prussia attempt ed to produce a perfect race of sol diers. He obtained, at great expense, all the abnormally large men and women he could find; men who could throw ordinary soldiers over their heads on the point of a pike. Had the work been continued, it should by now be bearing fruit. What splendid tar gets such men would make for modern high power rifles. The British govern ment lowered the minimum height for its soldiers, not because no large men could be got, but because a small man can pull a trigger just as easily as a large man. In fact, that was one of the things which caused the smallness of the race. The Oregonlan's conception of the perfect man is easily read between the lines the respectable middle-class Pharisee. Kipling's. "Tomlinson" repre sents him exactly. He is neither fit for heaven nor hell, because he has never done anything wrong nor any thing else. The drunken cowpuncher, ... Jq.t.ff aiiHiiw qhH the skillful Dick- pocket have a profound contempt for such a man. How ooes ine uregumau knows that tr-e other fellow may not be right? If the native American is being dis placed by the ignorant races of Europe, it is not because the fittest does not . Knt hPcniisB.lhc illiterate im migrant is the fittest. Is it not possible that the modern American, iookuib uu tno-a an a hnhhv. to be tried, pro viding it in no way interferes with his social position or bodily comfort, has been weighed in tne merciless wuiu" of nature and found wanting? Can you wtt imagine a nubile school system casting a race in a dull uniform mold and suppressing tne lnuiviouai vana .i - ithniu wHIch n rncA cannot live. The perfect man of the eugenists is invariably tne man oi yesieruny. perfect man of today may be anything. In the very nature of things he can not be recognized. The laws being made cannot do any good. They can not do any serious harm' because the law that the fittest must survive is as immutable as the law of gravitation. Only it Is a sad waste of money and effort that could be better expended in other directions. v B B SCHOOL WORK UNDER CRITICISM Teacher Say. Improved Method. Should Be Adopted In llty. PORTLAND, April 14. (To the Edi tor.) I was much interested in read ing the address delivered by Mr. Alder man in Philadelphia, which was pub lished ln The Sunday Oregonian. As he has been chosen as head of the Portland schools, I am wondering if a little common sense is at last going nc.mi.ata AMI SVfitem. He seems to have some idea of the needs of the schools, will ne De per mitted to try to meet those needs or will he be so hampered by assistants and supervisors who are not in sympa thy with him that he can accomplish nothing? Mr. Alderman says: "I have seen girls shrink from making little models in sewing:". Yet this is the method of teaching the subject in vogue in our city. For two or three years the girls are kept at work upon little models which they commonly term "patches." Not until the eighth or -ninth grade do they attempt to make one useful article. Again Mr. Alderman would- have a closer connection between the school arid the home. Allow me to give an in stance of our present methods. A family living in a suburban district has by close economy built a neat lit tle home. Each member of the family has been much interested in making it as attractive as possible. As it is yet but scantily furnished, the boy of the family desired to make something in manual training class which would be in tha hnme. Havine some natural mechanical ability, he thought that he could make an umDrena rac, a. footstool, or other simple article. When he asked for permission to do this, note the answer: "No, it is not in the course of study." Instead of making the de sired article, he spent his time con structing a miniature Dutch windmill. It was of little interest to him and of no use at home, but it was "in the course of study." PORTLAND TEACHER. Voilnn at the Primaries. PORTLAND. Or.. April 11. (To the Editor.) In The Morning Oregonian of April 8 I notice in a letter of Mrs. Austin Felts the statement that per sons who have registered as Prohibi tionists, Socialists or Independents have a right to vote at the direct pri mary election on May 3. When I reg istered on March 13 two persons having charge of the registration informed me that should I register as a Prohibition ist I could not vote in the primaries. I find that many. were led to believe the same. Will you kindly give us the truth in regard to the matter? L. G. No matter what affiliation a voter gives when registering, he can vote on any proposition, such as the commis sion charter, but one must vote the ticket of candidates corresponding to one's registration. One registering as a Prohibitionist can vote only for Pro hibition candidates ln the primaries. If there are no such candidates, Prohi bitionists will not be able to vote for anyone for public office, but may vote for wnom tney choose in the general election June 2. Data for Church Record. Judge. It was in Sunday school, and the young teacher was endeavoring to ob tain certain data for the church rec ords. Turning to one of the little pupils, she asked: "Ethel, dear, were you ever bap- tized?" ,,, Ethel, who Is a very serious child, thought deeply for a moment before replying, then she said slowly: "Yes, I think I was once, but it didn t take." Savins; the Collection Money. Boston Transcript. On his way home from the Kirk the parson met Sandy Macgregor. Said the parson: "I doubt, Sandy, that ye re growing remiss. I've no seen ye in the Kirk these three Sabbaths." "It's no that I'm growing remiss, meenister." replied Sandy, "but I'm just tinkerin' awa wl' ma soul masel.' Matter of Conviction. Cornell Widow. He I know I am not two-faced. She Why? He Because if I were I'd be using the other one. Twenty-five Years Ago From The Oregonian of April 16. London, April 15. Ignatius Donneily claims to have received new proof of his theory about the authorship of Shakespeare's writings by new cipher disclosures since his arrival in Eng land. Work of construction has been re sumed by the O. R. & N. A contract has been let for building a brancli from Willow Creek Station to Heppner, 45 miles, and another for building a line from Wallula northeast through Eureka Flat to Estes, 38 miles. Work on the steamer Telephone No. 2 Is progressing rapidly, and Captain Scott hopes to launch her May 1. Masonic Temple is to be repainted and kalsomlned and the woodwork in the hall (first floor) to be repainted. An artificial stone sidewalk will also be laid on Alder and Third streets. New Tork Tonight the Juvenile Opera Company returns to the New Park Theater. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenlnKs they will re vive Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pina fore " on Thursday evening they will repeat "Mikado," and Friday evening "Olivette." Salem, Or.. April 15. The Willam ette Valley Horsehreeders' Association organized -here this afternon by the election of G. Glenn, president: E. J. Frasier, secretary, and Henry Fletcher, treasurer. Eugene, April 14. The Republicans of Lane County today placed in nom ination the following ticket: Senator. S. B. Eakin, Jr.: Representative. J. M. Stafford. S. W. Condon and A. C. Jen nings; Sheriff, J. M. Sloan; Glerk, Joel Ware: Treasurer, Joseph S. Luckey; County Judse, Rodney Scott: Commis sioners. J. V. Smith and B. S. Hyland; Assessor. D. P. Burton: School Super intendent, J. G. Stevenson; Surveyor, C. M. Collier, Dr. F. W. Harris. The Portland baseball club yesterday afternoon partially effected organiza tion and will be thoroughly in the field in a week or so. Tiiero will be two batteries. Bushy and a catcher whom he will bring from Salt Lake, being one, and Mebns and Timmons the other. Smith will play shnrtfleld. Con nolly first base, Nolan of Vancouver second, and Cook of Vancouver third. Half a Century A? o From The Orconlftn of April 1. is3. Philadelphia. April S. A private let ter, dated near Churlestun, April 1. says: "It is reported that Charleston has been evacuated by the women anil children." Harrisburg. Pa., April 9. A major ity of the Senatorial investigating com mittee to inquire whether unlawful means were employed to secure the election of a United States Senator, re ports General Cameron guilty of the charges of bribery preferred against him by Jefferson Boyle, member of the Legislature. It Is understood that a minority report, signed by Repub lican members of the committee, will differ materially. The steamer Cowlitz has been laid up for the past few days undergoing repairs, and the Express, Captain Strong, is making regular daily trips to Montlcello. A recent trip to Monti cello convinced us that passengers have no grounds of complaint against the hotel-keeper. The route from Monti cello to Olympla Is beyond all descrip tion the worst, most tiresome, less provided with even common and rea sonable accommodations for travel and over horrible roads, the like of which does not probably exist elsewhere on the surface of the earth. We publish this morning the eloquent summons of some of the loyal citizens of Washington Territory to a convention of delegates, to be held on May 25 at Vancouver, for the purpose of nominating a candidate for Dele gate to Congress. NOTES FROM RF.DF1EIDS BOOK Secretary of Commerce Discus. In dustrial Problem. In Recent Volume. Chicago Record-Herald. William C. Redfleld, the new Secre tary of Commerce, has just published "The New Industrial Day," which is a discussion of present-day labor prob lems. In it he argues that human values are not fully appreciated ln the great body of our industries. Here are some extracts from his book: Never give up self study. There will always be something to learn about your ways. Don't let your initiative become ster ilized by a tariff or anything else. (This may be as a friend says it is "gross ly inferential," but it is true, neverthe- '"it'is not wise to destroy the initiative of your working force by looking so hard at a quarter yourself that you can't see the $5 bill beyond. A Justly discontented force can cost you more directly and indirectly than the most expert and costly supervision can ever find out. The cheapest and most efficient dis cipline is that which well paid, hopeful and zealous work naturally "e8- The cutting of piece-work rates and wages is the hall mark of inefficient management. . Obsolete machinery is the foe ot profits, the brother of high cost and the friend of bad methods. Export trade begins at home, in your own shop, and first with the bead, of : t. To get it bring your wages and output uo your costs and prices down; know what is doing in your own plant and you can smile at a competing world L When you have good stuff to sell, well and cheaply made, properly de signed and of regular quality, well packed you will have no trouble to S5S ?t abroad. What one country o market won't take another will. It s a UT4r. Redfield Va, actively connected with manufacturing life for 30 years, filling Positions from shipping clerk to president. WORLD IS A RATHER GOOD PLACE Correspondent Point. Out Coodne. and A.k. Pertinent Uuratlon. PORTLAND, April 14. (To the Edi tor.) I am reading with interest and sympathy the various letters on the topic "Why Girls Go Wrong." and the letter signed "T. P." impressed me as being the best from a man's point of view that I .have seen. I believe with him "the world Is a whole lot better than most people think" (also the people in it). - I hope and try to believe, in spite of strong evidence to the contrary, that "there are thousands of men who would not contribute to the debasement of a wo man's soul," and because I think T. P. represents one of these I wish he would answer these questions if he reads this letter. If you should meet and care for an "M. J. B." would you marry her, know ing her history? Do you think these thousands or average men never take advantage of the double moral code or merely do not ruin innocent girls? Many times a 'M. J. B." would take heart from read ing your splendid letter, fight her way up from the mire, redeem her past, only to find such words are mere theory, not practiced when put to a personal test, and I would be glad if you. will an swer for yourself and the average man in this respect. - L. L. O.