8
THE MOKM(x UKJSUOMAX. AVJJ JESDAY, J ULtY U, 1913.
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PORTLAXU, WEDNESDAY, TVVY 0, 1918.
MORE PETITION FRAUDS.
It would not be surprising if at
tempted blackmail, forgery and other
fraud were revealed in the referend
lng of the workmen's compensation
law. The loose system under which
initiative and referendum petitions
are circulated invites the commission
of corrupt acts, yet these evils seem to
make little impression on the public.
Former outrages have not brought
forth corrective amendments to the
law.
The form of blackmail charged
that of soliciting money to suppress
petitions is not even covered by the
state's criminal statutes. It is a
felony for the elected law-maker to
solicit money to withdraw or defeat a
measure, but the lawmaker under di
rect legislation may traffic in hold
ups or cinch bills without fear of
prison. It is not so long since a
former City Councilman frankly ad
mitted to a Multnomah County grand
Jury that he had sold initiative peti
tions to the representatives of the
interest the law would have affected,
and had not stayed bought. But no
legal wrong had been committed.
The people of Oregon have revolted
against corruption in the Legislature
but apparently they look with com
placence upon fraud in direct legisla
tion processes. Only a few of the
Initiative and referendum petitions
have been rigidly searched for fraud
and we recall none that have so been
inspected that did not reveal false
names and forgeries.
Such investigations call for the ex
penditure of time and money. They
.are not conducted unless some inter
est substantially affected by the pro
posed act is willing to provide the
funds. How many petitions not in
vestigated have been fraudulently de
fective is a matter for grave specula
tion. As a matter of history It may be re
called that the first exposure of forge
ries In petitions was made in Port
land about four years ago. The
liquor interests employed handwriting
experts to investigate the genuineness
of signatures on an initiative measure
to which they objected. A sufficient
number of forgeries was discovered
to invalidate the petitions; several pe.
tition shovers left town in a hurry,
while one who was caught pleaded
guilty and went to the penitentiary.
The story of how Joseph T. Kills
sold signed petitions for a paving
amendment to interested persons and
used the money to circulate new peti
tions is also a matter of record. In
the referendum petitions on the uni
versity appropriations in 1912 hun
dreds of forgeries were traced by a de
tective agency employed for the pur
pose, but not enough in number to in
validate the petitions. Several more
solicitors wer.e Indicted but we do not
recall that a single one was ever
brought to trial or punished.
The revelations In the referendum
on the workmen's compensation law
are the last chapter. It is alleged to
abound in duplications, fictitious
names and incorrect addresses.
Probably the greatest need for cor
rection la In the freedom with which
irresponsible solicitors may be em.
ployed. Crimes committed in initiat
ing or referending laws are more of
ten than otherwise perpetrated with,
out the knowledge of the solicitor's
employers. The piece system payment
under -which the solicitor Is paid per
name encourages him to carelessness
if- not fraud. But aside from seek
ing signatures among the floating
population, the petition circulator is.
too often lured by the ease of copying
names from city directories. Gen
erally coupled with these practices is
misrepresentation. It goes not only
to the text and intent of the measure
Involved, but it is not unusual prac
tice to obtain the signatures of one
man to several petitions on the false
plea that he must sign in several
places to initiate or referend one
measure.
These practices can be in large part
eliminated by a very simple provision.
The making unlawful of paid circula
tion of petitions will accomplish it.
Direct legislation, moreover, ought to
be removed from a purchasable basis.
It is antagonistic to the whole sdrit
of the initiative and referendum that
It should be possible for one or two
men to propose or hold ud legislation
by the simple expedient of employing
men to circulate petitions in the
slums and among the ignorant.
DEMOCRATS trXB IT AT THE WORD.
Line up! line up!" is the word of
command given to Democratic Sen
ators. They have lined up, all ex
cept two, but with mutterings and
grumblings from many, open protests
from a few. Party discipline has
been used to meet the exigencies of
party policy, and one Senator . after
another has been driven to sacrifice
the industries of his state and thereby
to endanger seriously his prospects of
re-election.
The argument has been: 'If we do
not unite solidly to pass a tariff bill.
tne party is lost.
The individual Senator mournfully
reriects: "if i vote for the bill, I am
lost. I am called upon to offer up my
political hopes as a sacrifice on the
altar of my party."
Western Senators particularly have
been called upon to make this sacri
fice, for the bill strikes its most dead
ly blows at the industries of their
section. Such raw materials as wool.
mohair, lumber, fish, hops are placed
on the free list, while commodities
manufactured from these materials
in the East are dealt with tenderly
Duties on manufactures are reduced,
it is true, but in nowhere near the
proportion in which those on raw ma
terials are cut, lor in many cases
these latter are entirely swept away.
The Eastern or Southern manufac
turer is thus doubly favored. Not
only is the reduction less in propor
tion than the Democratic policy of
a tariff for revenue only would Justi
fy, but compensation for even this
reduction is given in the shape of
cheaper raw material. Duties on cot
ton manufactures are made even
higher by the Senate ttuin by the
House, as was to be expected from
the preponderance of " Southern in
fluence on the finance committee.
Senator Newlands openly declares
that the bill discriminates against Far
Western products, but he "can fore
see no contingency which will separ
ate me from my party associates in
legislative action." Par,ty solidarity is
everything, individual Judgment noth
ing. The bill Is not a fulfilment of the
promises of ethe Baltimore platform.
It is not a tariff for revenue only,
for it gives protection, which Democ
racy pronounces unconstitutional. It
injures many legitimate industries,
such as the platform promised should
suffer no injury. But the Senators
have been lined up for it by the
President as a party of schoolboys by
their teacher. They tremble at sight
of th'e rod, and will obey, though re
volt on the part of but two besides
the Loulslanans would effect the lib
eration of all.
IS A WAGE DISPUTE EVER SETTLED T
The Industrial Welfare Commission,
a body created by the state, investi
gated conditions at the plant of the
Oregon Packing Company and made
certain recommendations, including a
minimum wage of $1 per day, which
were immediately accepted by the
company and by- the greater part of
the workers. The Commission has
power to enforce Its findings; but in
this instance it refrained owing to the
temporary nature of the employment,
the urgency of an immediate adjust
ment of the trouble and the special
character of the investigation.
Here, then Is a Commission made
up of citizens of the most respectable
character and of- unquestioned impar
tiality and intelligence, clothed with
the great authority of all the people
of the state, yet derided and ignored
by a faction of the strikers who are
supported by a notorious gang of I.
W. W. busybodles with nothing else
to do but make public disturbance and
foment trouble between employer and
employed.
The Industrial Welfare Commission
was created in response to a demand
for responsible and disinterested me
diation in labor or industrial disputes.
But disinterested mediation is the last
thing desired by the Industrial Work
ers of the World. They thrive on dis
content and feed on trouble. If there
Is to be no issue between capital and
labor, what becomes of them?
The packing company affair is of
serious public concern because it ap
pears to indicate that there is to be
no official or public arbitrament in
wage controversies if a certain pro
fessional Socialistic element can pre
vent and that one's right to work on
terms acceptable to him or her is to
be denied by chronic Intruders, who
do not work at all. If the packing
company is not to be protected in
its efforts to do business, after the de.
cisions of the Welfare Commission,
what business In Portland is safe?
When is any wage question settled?
HIS MASTER'S VOICE.
Senator Chamberlain is now de
fended on the extraordinary ground
that his strange tariff position is a
protest against the "National calamity
that was revealed in the tragedy of
the Lawrenceville strike." It is the
most Impudent plea yet put forward
for the Senator. For he is for the
Underwood tariff bill because he is
acting under the coercion of the party
lash, and for no other reason. He
would be for any other tariff bill
adopted by the Democratic caucus.
He is for high protection, low tariff,
or no tariff, just as the Democratic
party, inspired by the man in the
White House, dictates. He has utterly
surrendered his control over his own
vote and sacrificed the interests of
the State of Oregon at the behest of
party.
Yet it Is pretended that he is for
free wool in Oregon to help the under.
paid workers of Massachusetts, just as
Senator Bourne was for a high tariff
to help the overpaid manufacturers
of Massachusetts. The underpaid
wool producers and the underpaid
herders of Oregon have not entered
into the calculations of either Bourne
or Chamberlain.
Senator Chamberlain's method of
aiding the downtrodden slaves in the
New England cotton mills Is to give
a substantial tariff duty on woolens
for the benefit of . the New England
manufacturer and no tariff duty for
the benefit of the woolgrower. For
the principle of the Underwood bill
is free trade in raw products and a
protective (or revenue) tariff for
manufactured products.
If free wool will alleviate the
burdens of the miserable textile
workers of New England, why will
not free woolens utterly remove
them? Why are we to have free
wool sauce for the Oregon goose and
a tariff-protected sauce for the wool
en gander of New England?
One time we hear that the purpose
of free wool is to make woolen goods
cheaper for the. consumer. Another
time w-e are told that the consumer
can shift for himself, but that the
actual beneficiary of free wool and
protected woolens is to be the un
happy serfs in the cotton mills. Sen
ator Chamberlain utterly forgot the
producer when he abandoned an Ore
gon industry for the benefit of some
body or a lot of somebodies outside
of Oregon; but ' just who the some
bodies are to be he is uncertain. All
he is certain about is that he is for
protected woolens and unprotected
wool because that is the order of a
political party which contributed
precious little to his election; for a
Republican Legislature in a Republi
can state elected him, after he had
had the votes of Democrats and Re
publicans at the polls.
PERRY'S VICTORY IX A PAGEANT,
It is a pretty thought to celebrate
the centennial of Commodore Perry's
victory on Lake Erie by a historical
pageant. On July 7 a citizen of the
town of Erie rode over the route by
which the young seaflghter went to
Put-In Bay, where his ships were
building from green timber a hun
dred years ago. On the same day,
accurately timed to preserve the ve
racity of history, a wagon arrived at
Erie from Philadelphia, laden, to all
appearances, with ammunition. It
was thus that Perry received his mu
nitions of war a century ago. Had
the wagon not arrived promptly he
could not have -won his fight and the
British would have held the Lake and
all the Northwest.
It was Perry's unexpected victory
that broke their power in those quar
ters. He not only cleared the inland
sea of their fleet, but he destroyed
their prestige with the Indians, who
had been their fast allies against the
United States. The British had a
project to found an inland empire for
the Indians somewhere in the Lake
Region. Of course it was to be under
English tutelage and would have pre
vented the expansion of the United
States in that direction for many
years, if not forever.
Perry's valor put an end to this
charming scheme. Had he failed we
should probably have been bickering
with Great Britain ever since and in
stead of celebrating a hundred years
of peace we might now be fighting the
last of a long series of wasteful wars.
The full importance of Perry's vic
tory can only be appreciated when
we reflect what the development of
the Middle West has meant to the
Union. Without it, to mention but
one circumstance, slavery would have
had far more territory than free la
bor, so that there could have been
no real political struggle between the
two forces and probably no Civil War.
No doubt the United States, but for
Perry's victory, would have remained
a slave power until it fell of its own
corruption. An event of such mag
nitude cannot" be too well taught to
the young. The ' historical pageant
which is under way at Erie will im
press it upon many minds. If mov
ing pictures were secured and ex
hibited widely with a sensible lecture
many more would be instructed. We
are Just beginning" to learn how to
teach history to the yojing.
A FRENZIED JOURNALIST.
Henri Rochefort was a Tolstoi
turned to gall. Like the great Rus
sian he was of noble birth and de
spised his rank. The two geniuses
perceived the humbug and Injustice
of the modern world .with about the
same clearness but Tolstoi was a
builder, while Rochefort's only pas
sion was to destroy. In the days of
Boulanger and Dreyfus he attacked
the republic as viciously as he had the
bad rule of Napoleon III in its pride.
Rochefort was a newspaper man all
his active life, but we have in this
country no specimens quite like him.
He was excitable, vitriolic and regard
less of truth and decency in his out
pourings to a degree that would have
seemed amusing to American readers
if he had not scandalized them. Ir
this country the yellow press loses
ground by its efforts to be diabolically
mendacious, tout the French enjoy
that sort of thing, or they did at least
thirty or forty years ago when Roche
fort was in his flaming prime.
. The French do not care so much
for excitable Journalism now as they
did a generation ago, but their papers
are still full of flame and fury com
pared with ours. The political writer
is a personage in Paris if he has any
ability at all. He signs his name
to his articles and his views collect
around him a clique of disciples who
are ready, at least as far as words
and gestures go, to die for him. He
also has a clique of enemies who chal
lenge him to fight duels at every fa
vorable opportunity.
Rochefort's career included innu
merable adventures of this kind. He
fought more duels than anybody now
cares to count, spent himself in
floods of highly-Inflamed newspaper
writing and died like a rocket, In the
dark. Before the last call came for
him he had been pretty well forgot
ten both by friends and foes, though
his recent autobiography recalled him
not unpleasantly to some. Throughout
his public career of more than fifty
years he was never what we Ameri
cans would call "sane." He was al
ways at white heat over something
or other. At the outset it was the
Iniquities of Napoleon III, who in
1863 was lording it over France with
vulgar and greedy tyranny.
Rochefort attacked the Emperor in
Figaro with such venom that he was
compelled to withdraw from the pa
per. But, as far as the government
was concerned, the leap'was from the
frying pan to the fire, since Roche
fort, in 186 8, began his tigerish Lan-
terne, which spared nothing and
clawed at every head that appeared
above the crowd. The paper was
seized after nine issues and Roche
fort was sentenced to a $2000 fine
and a year's imprisonment. J3ut Na
poleon's seat was- by that time be
coming rather infirm and he felt
safer with a firebrand like Rochefort
in exile than shut up in a French
prison. So he was permitted to es
cape to .Belgium and from that haven
of the ungodly he still' published his
Lanterne and smuggled it with true
fanatical ingenuity into Paris.
Like our own Giovannitti, Rochefort
was elected to the Chamber of Depu
ties while he was still in exile. The
Italian poet and syndicalist has been
chosen to represent three districts in
his native land. Rochefort had some
trouble to get a majority in one, but
he finally succeeded and was allowed
by the forgiving tyrant to return and
take his seat. No sooner was he es
tablished among- the lawmakers of
France than he founded another in
fernal sheet, which he called the Mar
seillaise and repaid Napoleon's grace
with a deluge of malignant abuse. The
fact that most of it was true made
It all the more dreadful to bear. One
of his assistants on the Marseillaise
was Victor Noir, a lively and popular
writer Prince Pierre Bonaparte took
It into his silly head that something
might be accomplished for the totter
ing dynasty by murdering one of the
writers for-the Marseillaise. He did
not like the idea of tackling Roche
fort, who was a skilled duelist, so he
assassinated Victor Noir, who was not
eo well able to take care of himself.
This, of course, effected just the
opposite of what the Prince hoped.
The dynasty tottered more perilously
than ever after the murder. But
Rochefort's paper was seized and he
was again imprisoned. Jail life al
ways agreed with him. He emerged
from each incarceration more incan
descent than ever. This time he came
out into the flame and fury of the pe
troleum revolution at the close of
tHe war with Germany. His sympathy
was all with the Communards. He
resigned from the National Assembly
rather than agree to part with Al-
Isace and Lorraine to Germany and
stood wiui ms comrades on the bar.
rlcades. When the Commune col
lapsed Rochefort was exiled to New
Caledonia,, where he might have'pined
for the rest of his life but for a provi
dential American sea captain, who
took pity on him and contrived his
escape. The fugitive hied him back
to Europe as fast as he could sail and
revived his old Lanterne, to the hor
ror of peaceable Frenchmen, publish
ing it now from London, now from
Geneva, but aiming it always at Paris,
which was the constant home of his
soul, wherever his body happened for
the moment to 'be.
A general amnesty permitted him to
return- In 1880. He then established
the Intransigeant, a paper as wild
and whooping as any of his previous
ones. Rochefort never edited a real
newspaper. His sheets were seething
political pamphlets, but they influ
enced his contemporaries as nothing
of the sort could possibly influence
Americans. In the days of the third
Napoleon he happened by accident to
be on the right side, but ever after
ward he was consistently wrong. For
example, he upheld the inflated Bou
langer and he bitterly hated Dreyfus.
But for all that he helped to keep
France from stagnating, which is not
a bad thing to do, and, what is better,
he had a good time all his days. He
saw about all there was of life in his
generation and enjoyed every bit of it.
The New York Times comes to the
defense of the West Virginia coal op
erators against the assaults of Colonel
Roosevelt. . It says that the wages
paid miners in that state are the
highest and the coal the cheapest
nevertheless; that an impartial com
mission has found the miners' home
exceptionally comfortable and that
foreigners send large remittances
home. It accuses competitors in
other states. of stirring up trouble in
West Virginia in order to reduce the
competition they could not endure.
To sum up, the Times puts wings on
the West Virginia operators. The
truth about that state seems hard to
discover, but - the . Senate committee
learned a few things which do not fit
into the Times' argument.
The unearthing of another gang
addicted to cocaine calls attention to
the growing use of this most baneful
drug. There are no "saloons" to prop
agate the cocaine habit and yet it
.reaps a larger harvest of victims
every season. Who are responsible
for the dreadful work? Who gives the
giddy girl and the foolish boy their
first lessons In cocaine "doping"?.
After the first lesson the rest Is easy.
There must be a score or more of
scoundrels In Portland who keep pret
ty busy piloting youths to perdition
by the cocaine route.
Even Wall street is shocked by La
mar's confession of depravity, yet ac
cording to the New York World his
type is common In the stock gambling
district. That Journal says he has
earned the name "the wolf," and is
regarded with loathing, execration
and fear, but that rumors, false re
ports and gossip about large proper
ties are "the kind of stuff gamblers
and stock market speculators feed on
all the time." How can Wall street
fortunes be anything but fleeting
when they are founded on such stuff?
It is bold of the Christian Endeav
orers to predict the death of the li
quor traffic by 1920. A business
which has so much vitality may rea
sonably hope to last longer. There
is more strong liquor drunk in the
United States than ever before. We
use more beer than Germany and are
second only to Russia lit whisky
drinking. Half our population live
in territory theoretically dry. The
other half must be very wet indeed to
achieve such a record.
The frantic English suffragettes are
coming more and more to resemble
the women of the French Revolution.
Or perhaps they are more like the
petroleum fiends of the Paris Com
mune, who ran riot about 1870. Their
excuse for their excesses is devotion
to' a great cause the same excuse
that Torquemada and the Duke of
Alva made. What form of monstrous
Iniquity ever failed to shield Itself be
hind a noble intention?
President Wilson inherited from his
predecessor a reform for which he
could not claim credit, but which he
dared not reverse the reorganization
of the customs service. Useless custom-houses
are abolished and a waste
of $400,000 to $500,000 a year is saved
which the Democratic Jobhunters
would have been glad to divide among
them. But the President was under
moral and political compulsion to
deny it to them.
Baltimore having failed to sell a
$5,500,000 bond issue at 90 on June
5, the Baltimore Sun sold . $966,000
worth and caused so many Investors
to apply direct to the city that the
offer to sell at 90 has been with
drawn. ' The people know a good in
vestment when they see it and don't
need to toe coaxed into buying it by
bond dealers, who take a. rake-off.
Captain Potts resents the action of
the "plucking board" in retiring him
before he became a Rear-Admiral.
The Army does this better than the
Navy. Only a Brigadier-General usu
ally is placed in the discard, with sat
isfactory pay.
One of the meanest criminals is the
hobo who attempts to kill a trainman
to get even for fancied grievance.
When one of the rascals ia caught he
should get the limit and all thoughts
of mercy be forgotten.
N
Rochester is experiencing some of
the Joys of Portland a year ago, only
Rochester is too tame for the uncon
flned article that exhilarated this city
during that memorable Elks' week.
When occupants of an automobile
going fifty miles an hour escape in
jury in a collision there is little use
in saying or doing anything. The
hands of fate are protecting them.
Passage of a" twelve-Inch shell over
his head did not disturb Wilson. A
man who can handle Congress and
the office-seekers has no fear of a
shot that did not hit him.
An expedition of; Arctic explorers
that sailed from New York a few days
ago forgot its icebox. In the frozen
North they need a refrigerator to
keep the food warm.
Peace will spread her wings over
New England if the report' be true
that Mellen has resigned the presi
dency of the big railroad that "owns"
the province.
Zeppelin dirigibles come high as
well as go high. The company lost
$375,000 last year, despite the big
sums given by the German govern
ment. Philadelphia, a city that In years
gone thought it was in the class with
Portland as a seaport, is preparing to
spend millions to improve Its river.
The record of the woman at Silvana,
Wash., of seven children in four
years will make every owner of a lap
dog sniff.
History is repeating in the twenty
year 'cycle. Ninety-four per cent-of
the Eastern trainmen have voted to
strike.
SEPARATION CHURCH AND STATE
Abandonment of Principle "Would Here
Lead to Chaotic Condition.
PORTLAND, July 7. (To the Editor.)
Besides a narrowly sectarian attitude
toward Mormonism assumed by one of
the -ministers at the recent Christian
Citizenship Conference, a certain ex
pression by some of the officers and
speakers has a decidedly reactionary
tone. I refer to the proposition put
forth as a fundamental fact that the
state Is a divine institution, and de
manding on the strength of this con
tention that "Christianity be recognized
as the supreme authority in the realm
of National life and incorporated in the
organic laws of the Nation."
This Is a doctrine that strikes at the
very foundation of the American theory
of government, namely, the complete
separation of church and state, co-ordinate
with complete liberty of con
science in religious belief. To propose
such a change is to seek to bring back
the days of intolerance, bigotry and
persecution for opinion's sake.
The majority of persons in this coun
try, according to the figures gathered
by the churches themselves, are not
members of airy church organization.
These may fairly be presumed to favor
a strictly secular government. This be.
ing the case, to call this Nation
Christian in any exact meaning of
the term, would be to ignore
all the facts. Even such men
as Washington, Paine, Franklin, Jef
ferson. Lincoln and Grant, who did
more than any other equal number of
men to establish and preserve the Re
public, cannot be classified as orthodox
Christians. They were convinced and
declared Deists. Every one of them, it
may be added, believed whole-heartedly
In the principle of separation of church
and state and in religious toleration.
Consider to what confusion we might
come if as a Nation we abandoned
these two sound and vital principles.
If the state Is of divine and not human
origin, if it is still essentially divine
in its nature, if God stands at its
head, who then shall speak with au
thority as to what, under any given
circumstances, is God's will? No con
ception of God is possible unless there
is a divine interpreter to say what are
God's mandates. This interpreter must
also be infallible. Otherwise of what
binding power can the Interpretation
be? Who shall this interpreter be?
Shall it be the head of the Roman Cath
olic church? Shall wo look to the Pres
byterian Synod? Shall we accept the
Archbishop of Canterbury's word for
what he thinks God's will is? Or shall
we be more patriotic and look to the
heads of the two distinctly American
I religions, ' Mormonism and Christian
Science? There are a' score of other
perfectly sincere and nunrerous rellg
ious sects who will not deny that God's
will is equally well known to them.
Evidently if we once admit the princi
ple of the divine nature of the state
and the predominance of Christianity
n governmental -enactments we ehall
find ourselves in the midst of religious
chaos, rancor and fanaticism the very
thing enlightened civilization seeks
above all things to avoid.
Of the direct physical, mental and
moral advantages of one day of rest in
seven for every worker there can be
no doubt. Even pagan Rome had its
dies soils (day of the sun), whence is
derived our Sunday. In our complex
civilization It is impossible to have a
complete cessation of work on any one
day. The only feasible plan is to as
sure some other day of the week as a
day of rest for those who work Sun
days. But this arrangement ought to
have no religious significance whatever
in law. The religious character of Sun
day or any other jest day. must b
determined by the Individual according
to his particular belief. Any other
method of observance, like all union of
church and state, - is arbitrary, reac
tionary and unjust. H. C. UTHOFF,
501 Schuyler street.
THE ULTIMATE IN WOMEN'S DRESS
One Man Fcan Today's Fashions Are
but Chrysalold.
PORTLAND. June 8. (To the Edl
tor.) I quote from the letter of Miss
R. V. M. in The Oregonlan July 7
"Many good people are unnecessarily
exercised over the supposed immod
esty of women's dress. Their fearsome
cry, wtiat are we coming to 7 is a
superfluous and unprofitable vexation
of spirit. We are coming out all right.
Just give us time.
My observation led me to believe
they had already "come out." What
will society be like if they come out
any farther? Does she mean that after
awhile they will dress like the women
of some tribes she speaks, of who "feel
terribly embarrassed only when they
haven't the usual string of beads about
their necks?
With the society women coming out
at one end and chorus girls at the
other there will soon be very little
secrecy about female anatomy, and as
she says, "narrow skirts are not the
true type of dress for the modern free
woman," we may expect the string of
beads to be the next fashionable cos
tume for women. She says the new
fashion "is not going to be a mere
aping of men s clothes, but an ex
pression of the conscious independence
or her sex, so what could then be
more appropriate than the . string of
Deads? Hose beads would be espe
cially, appropriate for Portland women,
"Wherever women have been fjee
they have never hesitated to show
their physical charms," she asserts, and
when they return home from the show
ing they tell an exciting tale of how
some men followed them. What else
could they expect?
Husbands and fathers- whose Income
is severely taxed to supply their wives
and daughters with fashionable clothes
ought to welcome the day when the
string of beads becomes the fashion
able costume, unless the beads are like
the present-day garments In that the
smaller they are the more they cost.
ONE MORE MAN.
ARDENT YOUTH HAS ACHING VOID
He Longs for Meeting Place Where He
May Find Soul Mate.
CAZADERO, Or July 8. (To the Ed
itor.) I would like to ask If that much
needed- meeting place for people matri
monially inclined has ever been estab
lished. I am very anxious to find out
and if it has, I will certainly show up
there at every favorable opportunity,
for I am one of those lonesome young
bachelors in the early 20's who are
Just dying to meet some lonesome
young old maid who is similarly af
flicted. I do not know how to get acquainted,
as I am somewhat bashful when around
the charming young damsels and can
not summon courage to butt in. If
you butt in on the street you will
probably get 90 days for insulting the
charming maid, and If you write to
them and pour out your heart's emo
tions, you are Ignored as a young fool.
If you fall in love with some neighbor
girl and take her out, she, poor thing,
many times thinks you only want to
spend your money, or perhaps want to
flirt.
Will some one kindly advise how I
may meet some congenial miss of lov
ing, affectionate, faithful and sweet dis
position, who really longs for love, a
home and marriage? LO-NE-LY.
High Buildings la Portland.
SHERWOOD, Or., July 7. (To the
Editor.) To settle a discussion, please
print the height in stories and the
names of the five largest buildings in
Portland, Or. F. L. FOSTER.
The Yeon building has 15 stories. The
Northwest National Bank building and
the Pacific Telephone building, both
under construction, will be 15 and 14
stories, respectively. The Oregon Hotel
has 13 stories and there are several 12
story structures, including the Spauld
lng, Wells-Fargo, Selling, Journal and
Wilcox buildings.
NEED OP PORTLAND-OWNED SHIPS.
Nature Has Been Lavish bat Commerce
Rests On Human Endeavor.
PORTLAND, July 8. (To the Edi
tor.) In The Oregonlan July 3, In an
article headed "Keep Digging on the
Bar," you make use of the following
expression, "but as the commerce of
the port grows." Now, I would like to
point out several facts in this connec
tion. First All of our local imports from
the Atlantic Coast are transshipped to
us either at San Francisco or a Puget
Sound port.
Second All of our- Oregon exports to
the Atlantic Coast pass seaward
through a Puget Sound port, and none
whatever through the port of Portland
direct.
Third The major portion of our lo
cal Imports from the Orient are simi
lar, admitting, however, that time may
assiBt in materially ameliorating con
ditions in this direction.
Fourth Our exports of grain have
about reached the maximum, as the
same exporters are Interested in the
whea,t warehouses at Tacoma, which
must De sustained.
Fifth Our foreign exports of lum
ber are all that our millmen desire as
they have to conserve the domestic
demand.
We have no trade or commerce with
any of the many countries of the Pa
cific: Hawaii, the Philippines, Central
and South America and Alaska, such
as our neighbors to the south and to
the north of us enjoy, nor can we ever
expect to have, as conditions have
arisen in the past that Portland did
not take advantage of, and that have
driven that trade away from her doors,
never to be Drougnt oaeK. There Is a
trade, however, that is naturally ours
out now In possession of others. All
we have to do Is to take it and none
can ever. take it from us so long as we
retain the means of holding it. The
means are seagoing transportation fa
clllties. But we have got to furnish
tnem ourselves.
An increase of population which in
course of time may build uo manufac
turlng industries, may in some vears
increase our commerce, but, speaking
lor tne present. I ask you in all seri
ousness, and without the slightest de
gree of sarcasm, where the increase of
commerce you speaK of is to come
from and when it will be brought
about without an effort of one single
citizen ox foruanii;
.Nature has formed this Western
country in such a manner that one par
ticuiar point Is given an advantage
uver an otner localities on the Coast
that point is the city of Portland. Th.
great financiers and railroad builders
can sit at their desks In New York with
a topographical map before them and
discern this and have acted accordingly,
Jforty years ago the Argonauts and
iounaers or Portland saw their oppor
tunlttes beyond the seas and to the
extent of their means and so loner a
they lived used all their endeavors to
make the city they builded the Empire
vjity or tne west; they were the plo
neers in establishing commercial rela
tions with Hawaii, the Orient and
Alaska, but have their successors and
descendants degenerated? No; they
have but lived in a city in the midst of
a country that was flowing with milk
and honey; there was no strife foF
Dusiness; more came to them than thev
were able to handle and their ideas and
efforts were naturally concentrated In
conserving that which they were most
interested in and today we find only
efforts to induce others to establish re
lations and give us the means of inter
course beyond the-seas.
As previously stated, Portland is en
dowed with all the requisites that na
ture can give to make a great commer
cial city, but nature cannot build ships
nor bring commerce to its doors; that
Is left for human energy, and ship
owners of other seaports are not in the
business of building commerce for
neighbors or for a stranger's benefit.
Portland is and always has been the
most affluent and prosperous city In the
world: It has bank deposits greater
than $300 per capita. Of $120,000,000 of
mortgages. $100,000,000 is held at home
by our own people. Of all the rentals
paid and received 95 per cent Is retained
here a magnificent and a better show,
lng than can be made by any other
city in the United States. But on the
other hand not one dollar of the money
we pay out for transportation charges
is retained here.
Half a billion dollars Is paid by the
people of the United States annually to
foreign shipowners for ocean freights.
Our share of this is $25,000,000. The
home disbursements on this amount of
money if we were the owners of the
tonnage would be $20,000,000 and the
net profits would be $2,250,000. At pres
ent it is that much drain on our re
sources. The little fleet of steamships I am
advocating the building of to ply be
tween Portland and New York via the
Panama Canal, will require an initial
capital of but $650,000 and the sub
scribers would have 15 months to pay
it in. As it was paid out it would.
merely pass from one bank account to
another, conferring mutual benefits in
transit. The construction of the ships
would provide employment for 75
skilled mechanics; their operations
would provide an office force of 20
people with employment: crews to man
the ships, 150 men; laborers for -handling
cargoes, 50 men. and the estab
lishment In the city of a dozen or so
brokerage concerns.
The earnings and disbursements of
the fleet will amount to - more than
$1,000,000 annually, and, while we could
not pass along the street every morning
and look up at our property, we could
take a walk down to the river bank
once a week and see a portion of it.
RICHARD CHILCOTT.
COMPULSORY INSURANCE LAW.
It Is Snjrgested as Ally of Mothers'
Pension and New Marriage Acts.
PORTLAND, Or., July 8. (To the
Editor.) The article in The Oregonlan
July 6, "Pension Law Is In Working
Order," pays a fine tribute to the be
neficent Influence of life Insurance
when you say: "Several who have made
applications here own their own
homes, or had money in bank, gen
erally the proceeds of life insurance
poltcies on the lives of their hus
bands. The law does not contemplate
that any except those in actual need
shall be given assistance." This goes
to show that the widows of provident
husbands require no help from others.
We need to go but one step further
and that is to make life insurance
compulsory, the same as we have made
a law that no marriage license can
be Issued without a health certificate.
A splendid law as far as it goes, but
it would become better yet if our
neighboring states could be induced to
enact and enforce a similar law. With
compulsory insurance In addition to the
health certificate the question of pen
sions solves itself, because no person
would be able to get a marriage license
without having the best health certlfi.
cate that any person could possibly
have, namely, a recently Issued life
insurance policy In a well-conducted
life Insurance company.
Such a company not only requires
perfect health in the person applying
for Insurance, but also requires a per
fect family history and clean moral
habits before accepting the risk, conse
quently only the cleanest in the com
munity would wed and the chances
for unprovided widows woud be al
most nil. L. SAMUEL.
A Wife Above the Average.
Boston Transcript.
Wife (with newspaper) This article
says that a person speaks on an aver
age about 12.000 words a day.
Cruel Husband I've always said that
you were above the average.
Bitter Retort In Bostonese.
Baltimore American.
"Do I take this train to Boston?"
"No; all you have to do Is to get in.
The engineer will attend to taking it
there."
Half a Century Ago
From The Oreeonian of July 0, 1863.
Lancaster. Pa.. July 1. Signals have
been seen and firing: heard last night
at Columbia, in the direction of Gettys
burg, which continued till 3 o'clock
this morning. At times the cannonad
ing was rapid and heavy.
Philadelphia. Julv 3. Heavv Urine- is
heard in the direction of Carlisle. No
doubt an engagement Is going on. The
ngni is probably near Mechanicsburg.
Rear of Vicksburer. June 26. Yes
terday, under ord era from f5fnira!
Grant, the whole line moved to the po
sition for an assault. At 3 o'clock four
signal guns near Logan's tent gave the
signal. As the steel struck a mine un
der the parapet of a fort in Micker
son's front. It exploded, throwing the
worKS nign in the air and opening a
large fissure. On the instant of the
explosion, every gun on our side opened
witn a tremendous hre. Four regiments
from Logan's- and two from Quimby's
division charged through and into the
tort. The rebels returned to the rifle-
pits and to the rear. A sharp mus
ketry fire followed, in which our work
ing party threw up earthworks, while
hand grenades and 30-pound shells
were used with terrible effect on the
rebels in their pits. In the meantime
the rebels massed in heavy force and
drove our men out. As they moved to
the charge our batteries opened, sweep
ing tnem Dy hundreds, and the rebels
under General Ulm were repulsed.
Some of our citizens, admirers of the
Mechanics' band, propose, by subscrip
tion, to raise an amount sufficient to
furnish them with a neat and service
able uniform.
Benefit of Mrs. G. B. Waldron This
popular and attractive artiste will take
her first benefit in Portland this even
ing. The third term of the Beth Israel
school will be closed this day, but the
publics exercises will be omitted until
the close of the next quarter, so that
they may be held In the new school
house, which Is nearly completed.
Twenty-five Years Ago
From The Oregonlan of July 9. 1888.
Mt Angel. Or., July 8. The dedica
tion of the new Benedictine Convent
at Mt Angel took place today. Arch
bishop Gross preached the sermon.
San Francisco, July 8. Advices from
Honolulu today state that the Rev.
John W. Sellwood, rector of the Epis
copal Church at East Portland, Or., and
wife arrived from Hawaii a few days
ago, and are the guests of Mr. and
Mrs. B. F. Dillingham.
The New Haven News of June 27
says of the reunion of the alumni of
Yale College "William H. Law of this
city sat at the head of the table. A
10-year-old son of Dr. J. M. Hill, of
Portland, Or., sat at Mr. Law's right
and beside his father. Round "78's ta
ble sat W. H. Taft, of Cincinnati; J.
P. Clark, of New York; J. P. Pigott. of
New Haven; W. Ahearn, of Waterbury,
and John Addison Porter, of Washing
ton. John Kenworthy, of East Portland,
has accepted the position of superin
tendent of the Portland Hospital.
The new Methodist-Episcopal Church
at St. Johns was dedicated yesterday
by Rev. Alfred Kumraers, pastor of
Taylor Street Church.
Colfax, W. T., July 7. The Whitman
County Republican Convention unani
mously endorsed John B. Allen, of Wal
la Walla, for Delegate to Congress.
Nineteen runs to 10 The Wlllam
ettes wallop the Portlands in good
shape.
A trip over the Portland & Vancou
ver Railway shows that the company
is energetically constructing the road.
Oregon Fashions for Oregon Women.
FREE WATER, Or., July 7. (To the
Editor.) In the Oregonlan several days
ago you published an article, or rather
an editorial, on "Woman's Dress." It
was fine. Isn't there some way it
could be published and given to all the
women of Oregon? I think it ia time
the decent women of America quit let
ting a handful of men and women de
cide whether they shall go out modestly
or Indecently clad.
Why don't the decent women of Ore
gon start a campaign to dress differ
ently and ladylike, so when a gentle
man meets one he will not question her
social and moral position?
AN INTERESTED WOMAN.
Mothers' Pensions.
JEFFERSON. Or.. July 7. (To the
Editor.) Please tell me to whom one
Is to apply for the widows' pension or
information on same.
AN OLD SUBSCRIBER.
Applications for mothers' pensions
go to the County-Court in counties
having less than 100,000 inhabitants.
In the latter the Circuit Judge having
charge of juvenile court matters has
jurisdiction over mothers' pensions.
Helping Those
Who Help You
Local dealers owe it to them
selves to co-operate energetic
ally with manufacturers who
use space in local newspapers to
advertise the goods the dealers
handle.
Whenever a manufacturer
tells the dealers in a certain
community that he is going to
advertif2 his product in the lo
cal newspapers, or whenever
that advertising is placed by the
local dealer himself, then that
dealer should do everything in
his power to aid in increasing
the sales of the goods in ques
tion. If the manufacturer's adver
tisement runs independently,
the local dealer should make
reference to the article in fais
own advertising.
There should be special win
dow displays and special inter
ior displays.
Clerks should be fully in
formed, handed copies of the
advertisements and told what
to do to stimulate the demand
for the article involved.
Dealers who are interested in
local advertising for National
products are invited to write to
the Bureau of Advertising, Am
erican Newspaper Publishers'
Association, "World Building,
New York.