Morning Oregonian., November 17, 1913, Page 6, Image 6

6
TTrxr i:Trx OREGOXIAX, MONDAY, XOVE3IBER 17, 1913.
PORTLAND, OKEOON.
Entered at Portland. Oregon, Foetofflce as
second-olass matter.
subscription Rates Invariably in Advance:
(BT MAIL)
Dally, Sunday included, one year. ...... .$8.00
Daily, Sunday included, alx months 4.21
Dally, Sunday included, three months... 2.2S
Dally, 8unday Included, one month .75
Dally, without Sunday, one year LOO
Dally, without Sunday, alx months -5
Dally, nlthout bunday, three months.... l-3
Dally, without Sunday, on month
Weekly, one year -J
Sunday, one year 3-0
Sunday and weekly, one year
(BT CARRIER)
Dally. Sunday Included, one year. -22
Dally, Sunday Included, one month.. "
Row fe Remit Send poatoftlce money or
der, express order or personal check on your
local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are
at sender's risk. Give postofflce address
In full. Including county and state.
Postage Kate 13 to IS pases, 1 ceit; IS
to 32 panes. 2 cents: S4 to 48 pases, 8 cents;
CO to 60 pages, 4 cents; 62 to 76 pages, o
cents; 78 to U2 pages, 6 cents. Foreign post
age, double rates.
Eastern Business Offices Verree Conk,
tin. New York, .Brunswick building. Chi
cago,' steger building.
Bma Francisco Office R. J. Bid well Cow
T4t Market street.
PORTLAND. MONDAY, NOV. 17, 1813.
; MR. WORCESTER'S WORD-PICTURE.
The picture which Dean C. Worces
ter paints of the Philippines as they
Would be under an Independent gov
ernment established now or 10 years
hence is gloomy, but not overdrawn.
It is a picture of Mexico as that
country now la and, except In a few
minor details, might be taken as, an
accurate description of that woe
etricken land.
In Mexico we now see brigandage,
confiscation, murder and torture on all
hands, and business flees before the
black flag. In the Philippines the con
ditions closely parallel those which
bred chaos in Mexico, once the re
straining yoke of Diaz was shaken off.
There are a small class of educated
natives and a great mass of people
grading down from the ignorant
veneered with civilization to the un
varnished savage. As in Mexico, so In
the Philippines, the cultured few have
no conception of government except
as a means by which they would ex
ploit the ignorant many. Aguinaldo.
who sold out to the Spaniards, but did
not stay bought, is typical of the gente
lllustrada. These polished Filipino
gentry object to exploitation by Ameri
can capital that no obstacle may exist
to exploitation by themselves. Liberty
in their eyes is liberty for themselves
to plunder and enslave the rest of the
reople, not liberty for all the people,
as we conceive it.
Self-government Is no exotic which
springs up in a people over night. It
la a sii te of mind produced by long,
arduous training, through the struggle
upvaid of a people by their own ef
forts It must spring from wlt'.tln; it
has never been Imposed from without
With any success. The American peo
ple are the first to try the experiment
of training up a people In alf-gov-ernraent,
and the world looks on with
critical eye, unexpectant of our suc
cess. It is a daring experiment, born
of the highest altruism. Ex-President
Taft, who best knows the Philippines,
believes the pupil will not be ready to
walk alone until two generations pass.
Some who are more sanguine believe
one generation will suffice. Nona of
those who really know the Philipp.r.es
believe they are now capable of walk
ing alone, any more than we be'ieve
a child who has Just mastered the four
rules of simple arithmetic can sud
denly Jump to higher mathematics.
Those who would carefully train in
the ways of self-government this na
tion, which was only yesterday, as it
were, brought out of the darknesj of
despotism into the daylight of liberty
and which has not yet become fully
accustomed to the brightness, are de
nounced as imperialists and as little
better than tyrants. There were two
easier ways than theirs of disposing of
the Philippines either keep them
Indefinitely under a benevolent despot
Ism or turn them loose to shift for
themselves and ultimately to fall into
the hands of some nation which has no
sentiment in dealing with the black
race. These men chose to teach these
people how to govern themselves, as a
father trains his child, shielding them
from the bullies among nations and
placing more responsibility upon them
as they gained strength to bear it.
Though these men chose the Infinitely
more difficult and nobler part, they
are condemned by the short-cut
philanthropists, who with zeal untem
pered by discretion, shirk responsibil
ity in tthe imagined cause of liberty.
DANGER IN BRYAN'S BLUNDERS.
The failure of Secretary Bryan to
sense the meaning of warnings ' from
European powers that, unless the
United fatates took steps to protect
lives and property of their subjects in
Mexico, those powers would themselves
Intervene, shows the danger of having
a man at the head of the Department
of State who is ignorant of diplomatic
usage and who neglects to take the
advice of his better informed subor
dinates.
Such warnings as those in question
are veiled by diplomats in language
In which the average man is not apt
to perceive the full meaning. In other
words, diplomats do not "talk plain
Knglish" or "talk straight out," for by
doing so they would violate the eti
quette of statecraft and would give
onense wmcn mignt precipitate a
crisis. In highly courteous, round
about phrase they Intimate what would
happen In certain eventualities
m . I . j , r . . .
j ia.uieu uipiomacy is required to trans
late such language into plain English
Mr. Bryan does not posses it. He has
in John Bassett Moore a diplomat
learned In international law and well
versed In diplomatic usage, but on im
portant occasions is said to have acted
without consulting Mr. Moore. He has
' thus put himself and his Government
In embarrassing positions, from which
he needed Mr. Moore's aid to extricate
him.
Had not President Vilson sensed
the meaning of the European warn
lngs, and changed his tactics accord
ingly, we might have awakened some
morning to find an armed force of
some other nation occupying Mex
ican ports and sending expeditions to
interior points to rescue subjects of
that nation or to guard them and their
property. That nation would almost
certainly have called on Mexico to pay
the expense of the expedition and the
losses of its subjects and might have
occupied some Mexican port until It
had collected enough money In duties
to satisfy Its claim .
This series of events would have
put the Monroe doctrine in grave peril
It has never been accepted by any
European nation except England and
rests solely on our ecceptance of its
responsibilities and on our ability and
willingness to enforce it. Germany in
. particular would delight to prove it a
dead letter. Temporary occupation of
a Mexican port for the collection of a
claim would not be an actual violation
of the Monroe doctrine, but It might
easily become permanent. Some na
tions are notoriously reluctant to sur
render soil they have once occupied,
and we might thus have the alternative
of threatening war or meekly abandon
ing the Monroe doctrine.
If our peace-at-any-prlce Secretary
of State should involve us in wax, it
would not be the first time that a man
of his stamp has brought about results
the reverse of those at which he
aimed. The rebellion of Arabl Pisha
in Egypt in 1882 and the first Boer
war in 181 were the direct result of
Mr. Gladstone's peaceful declarations,
a 'id 1r.e second Boer war was the out
come of LL policy. If we escape armed
Intervention in Mexico, it wi.l he ir.
spite of and not because of Mr. Bryan's
efforts to avoid resort to force and it
will also be in spite of his Ignorance cf
diplomacy and of his unwillingness to
seek and follow the advice of men who
are better informed.
HOW TO COLIBCT WATER BIIXB,
In a letter printel today Mr. G. Y.
Harry offers some pertinent sugges
tions for solution of the water-rate
question. Briefly, he suggests that it
Is wise to Install meters only on the
premises of large water consumers;
that where a flat rate Is collected it
is not necessary to send out a monthly
bill; that policemen can do much of
the work now performed by water In
spectors. The plan, if It be practicable, offers
a saving In postage, printing, clerical
work and inspection service and calls
for no expenditures for additional
equipment. The correspondent points
out that the bill rendered for flat-rate
service Is but a reminder. In truth. It
is nothing more. The gas bill, the
grocery bill, the meat bill are remind
ers, but serve the additional function
of informing the consumer the amount
of his indebtedness. Under the flat
rate water plan the consumer needs no
Information. The house renter does
not usually get a bill unless he be
comes delinquent. Why could not
water service be handled in the same
way? We know of one city having a
privately owned water system and a
flat-rate plan where no bills are ren
dered at least none were rendered
up to a few years ago.
But, it is argued by Mr. Charles B.
Moores, in another letter, that the
flat rate is inequitable. "No man," he
says, "can frame a good reason why a
water user who has only two faucets
in his house should pay the same
water charge as one who has two
dozen." True enough, but the flat
rate of 75 cents per month is pre
sumably the minimum charged. The
man who has two dozen faucets in his
house is supposed to pay a higher
rate. If he does not, a correction In
administration methods is needed in
the water department.
Flat-rate charges can be made fairly
equitable. They will not, of course,
favor the consumer who is saving or
punish the one who is secretly waste
ful, yet it Is not always wise to spend
money for a mere Ideal. Probably in
time the cost of installing meters will
be Justified by encroachment of con
sumption on capacity of flow, but the
city is now far from that point. "But,"
says Mr. Moores, "no man has ever yet
advanced the theory that, because a
seller has a surplus of products he
may not be able otherwise to dispose
of, he should for the same money give
one man twice as much as he does an
other." It is well also to remind our
selves that In any private enterprise it
may be doubted that such a seller
would burden himself with costly
equipment merely to prevent a dis
crimination that did not harm him or
anybody else.
THE HOMICIDE RECORD.
Statistics of homicide In the year
1912 show that the ratio for the
United States as a whole decreased
from 8.4 to 8.1 per 100,000 population,
as compared with the year 1911, but
in the Southern states the ratio
was 20.2 per 100.000 more than
double that of the Western or Central
states and nearly five times that of
the Eastern states. This is also a
great increase on the ten-year aver
age of 15.7. In Memphis the ratio
jumped from 11.6 to 64.3 and in New
Orleans it was 27.5-.
Although the proportion in New
York City was less than that for the
whole country, being 6.8, it Is still
much higher than that of European
cities, London having a record of 1.31,
Paris 3.6 and Copenhagen an average
for five years of only 0.45.
The large population of ignorant
negroes in the South and the com
parative impunity enjoyed by white
men who take summary revenge for
crimes of violence committed by ne
groes would explain an abnormally
high homicide rate in the South.
Memphis, which has the highest
homicide rate among cities of the
United States, ascribes the record to
the existence of surrounding dry ter
ritory. It is argued that men from
other districts come into Memphis
to carouse. They have saved money
for a debauch and continue it until it
often ends in murder.
Temperament may also have its
influence in the South. That the men
tal disposition there is more fiery than
In the North Is . not wholly a matter
of fancy or tradition. A normally
high rate is explainable, but a dte'
proportionate Increase indicates that
some other factor Influences the record
It may be a superior method of keep
ing records. Homicide, suicide and
similar statistics are generally recog
nized as only approaching accuracy
Registration areas are not always
broadly inclusive, and in records
shown by small percentages a mild
and isolated epidemic of the thing
recorded has a marked effect on
figures.
STEAM-KOIXING THE SENATE.
To what are we coming? The Senate
is to be steam-rolled by the President
and the House and compelled to pass
the currency bill they frame. Looking
back no farther than a generation, we
see both President and House dom
inated by such men as Edmunds, Hoar,
Sherman, Hale, Allison, Cullom, Aid
rich and Root. When a bill went over
to the Senate from the House, they
took it to pieces and made it all over
again, and their work was substantially
the bill which finally became law.
That was the case with the anti-trust
law, the interstate commerce law, the
Payne-Aldrich tariff and the railroad
rate laws of 1906 and 1910. The Sen
ate was the dominant power In legisla
tion. Now all this is changed. The
President dictates to the House, and
the House is to dictate to the Senate.
The old Republican leaders in the
Senate who formed what has been
called the Aldrlch machine have
passed away or resigned. But few
survive and their party Is split into
two factions which nullify Its power.
The Democrats' accession to power has
pushed to the front men who are, by
comparison with those named, mere
mediocrities. They are the product of
the seniority rule, under which ability
is wasted in awaiting mere lapse of
time. Such men as Senators Simmons,
Martin, Owen, Clark, Newlands, Myers,
Culberson, : Tillman, who head the
great committees, do not compare
in ability with those who preceded
them. Men of equal ability with the
old Republican leaders' may, probably
do, exist in the Democratic ranks, but
they are held down by the veterans
and have not had opportunity to prove
their capacity and to push themselves
to the front. There Is hope from such
men as Senators Williams, O'Gorman,
Ransdell, Walsh, Kern, hut they are
too young In the service to have won
full recognition of their qualities of
leadership.
The Senate is in a state of transition
and has many members who have not
yet found themselves. Direct election
may bring into It a new type of men,
may force a change of "methods of
doing business. The Senate Is In
eclipse, perhans temporary, as the
dominant power In government, or no J
man would dare say that it is to be
steam-rolled.
OUR, DEFENDERS IN PEACE AND WR.
We naturally associate the army
with war In our thoughts; hence we
are prone to regard it with disfavor
in times of peace. Yet Secretary Gar
rison speaks truly when .he calls our
attention to the splendid work the
army does in peace as well as in war
and calls upon us to give the soldiers
credit for all they do, not only in
fighting for us, but in helping us in
emergencies.
When flood and fire destroy a city,
the army, with Its trained, disciplined
men, comes forward to clear away
ruins, to prevent epidemics, to distrib
ute relief and to police the streets.
When the' Panama Canal was to be
built and one civilian engineer after
another wearied of the task, the Army
came forward and carried the work to
completion. When Alaska, needed roads
and trails, the Army went forth and
cut paths through the wilderness. The
Army is always ready to help us in
time of peace, to fight for us in time
of war. It is not a body of well-fed
loafers, as many are inclined to sup
pose, but spends Its leisure between
times of active service in keeping up
Its training and machinery, that' it
may be ready instantly to respond to
a call to duty. -
Public opinion of the army has a
great influence on its morale. An
organization, like an individual, is dis
posed to live up to or down to the
estimation in which It- is held." Think
and speak well of the soldiers and they
will be disposed to ear,n our good opin
ion. Think and speak ill of them, and
they may make- no effort to be any
better than they are considered. We
need to remember, when we see a man
In Uncle Sam's uniform, that he is
ready to face not only a foreign foe
but fire, flood, pestilence and famine
for us whenever the call comes.
EXPENSES OF COMMON CHOOLS.
Recently - compiled statistics as ' to
the amount expended per capita of
school population by the various states
of the country show that Oregon
stands very nearly at the head, being
outdone by only three states, Nevada,
California and Washington.
By common schools it 13 meant all
schools confined in their teachings to
the eighth grade and below. The gross
expenditures for such schools, which,
of course, embraces the erection and
maintenance of buildings, cost of sites
and all incidental expenses, aggregate
for the entire country to $446,000,000
per annum. Twenty-eight dollars per
capita of school population is fixed as
the amount at which schools can be
maintained with efficiency, and only
12 of the states expend that much or
more, as follows: Nevada, $43.51;
California, $41.52; Washington, $40.36;
Oregon, $37.74; Montana, $37.73;
Wyoming, $35.73; Utah. $32.25; North
Dakota, $30.26; Idaho, $30.06; Colo
rado, $29.96; Massachusetts, $29.35,
and New Jersey, $28.77.
It will be noticed that only two
states east of the Rocky Mountain
slope are in this "normal" column, and
they are at the very bottom of the list.
The great state of New York expends
but $25.52 per capita.
It will be said that the older states
spend large sums, much larger than
the Western States, for higher educa
tion. On the other hand we must re
member that we of the West have
many more new buildings to erect than
the older states. We must also bear in
mind that one of the newer states,
Oklahoma, falls very far in the rear.
That state's outlay is but $12.94 per
capita, the expenditures being $6,769,
413, whereas the normal amount
would be $15,146,712.
For poverty - stricken schools one
must go to the Southern States. For
instance, Georgia expends $5.05 per
capita and South Carolina but $4.27.
Iowa would be supposed to be among
tho higher-ups, but that state expends
but $21.55 per capita.
Upon the whole Oregon has every
reason to be proud of the support
given the public schools, as have prac
tically all of the Western States, for
those not mentioned approach very
nearly the normal mark.
ONE TEMPLE OF FAME.
Why should the male immortals be
enshrined in a hall of fame apart from
the female immortals, as suggested
by Dr. Brander Matthews at the con
vention of the American Academy of
Arts? Is there any incompatibility be
tween the genius of the male and that
of the female sex? To cite one striking
illustration, why should Madame Curie
be separated from the husband, in
whose discoveries she aided and whose
fame she shares? In the work which
won them fame they were partners,
and in the memorial erected to them
they should not be divided.
Survey the whole .field of literature
and the other arts, and the same gen
eral principle will be found to apply.
Among statesmen Queen Elizabeth,
Maria Theresa of Austria, Catherine of
Russia and other sovereigns rank" with
the ablest men, and probably denial
of opportunity alone has limited, the
number of women of their stamp.' Only
an imaginary Una, divides women
writers, painters, sculptors, philan
thropists and social reformers -from
their male co-workers. Should not
Jane Addaras and Helen Gould stand
on pedestals beside Jacob Riis;
Frances Willard and Susan B. Anthony
beside John B. Gough and Father
Mathew; Julia Ward Howe, Harriet
Beecher Stowe and all the brilliant
woman-writers of America beside the
men who shared their Inspiration?
Why should Robert . and Elizabeth
Browning, , each of whom . fired, the
genius of the other in life, dwell in
different temples of fame?
Professor Matthews suggestion is a
survival of the days when men placed
the: genius-of woman on a different
and lower plane than that of men;
when genius in man was regarded by
his sex, as normal, while in woman it
was considered freakish. The twen
tieth century regards woman as man's
co-worker in. all. things except those
requiring brute strength, as his equal
In - Intellectual power and as his
complement, enabling him to per
form finer feats through her asso
ciation with him. The twentieth cen
tury idea would be better realized by
the erection of one temple of fame,
where woman shall be admitted to her
place beside man in all his activities,
rather than by two temples, wherein
the artificial division which has until
recently arrested the development of
woman would be perpetuated.
' The federal Idea. . is taking hold
everywhere In the British Empire ex
cept in the mother country itself, and
even there it is being talked of since
Irish home rule became Imminent. It
is now proposed to federate the West
Indies and the colonies around ' the
Caribbean Sea in a dominion similar
to those of Canada, Australia and
South Africa. These consist of:
Area,
Colony .Sqr. miles. Popu'n.
British Quana 97.800 S1O.0O0
British Honduras . 8,600 GO. 000
Jamaica 4.20T 900.000
Trinidad and Tobago 1.87 850.000
Barbadoea 168 200,000
Bahamas 6,500 60.000
Bermuda 19 20.000
Totals 118,162 1,890.000
These colonies are separated by sea,
but are within easy distance and are
united by cable and wireless. The new
dominion will have a voloe in the af
fairs of the tropical countries.
' The death of a prominent Atlantan
through taking by mistake some tab
lets of bichloride of mercury has been
followed by several suicides with that
poison. An official of the public health
department lays the blame on the
newspapers for publishing the facts,
saying the suicides seized upon the
suggestion. If these suicides had not
taken this poison they would probably
have killed themselves by some other
means, for .their minds must have
dwelt on suicide. The newspapers are
entitled to credit for the warning they
have given against leaving poisonous
drugs where they may be taken by
mistake or with suicidal Intent. The
man who objects to publication of
such events Is akin to the Russians
who seek to keep ideas of liberty out
of the people's minds by censoring ac
counts of revolutions and rebellions
from school histories.
Mrs. David F. Houston, wife of the
Secretary of Agriculture, says we are
not so degenerate after all and are no
worse than our grandparents were. She
recalls that the Waltz was regarded as
a horrid innovation, and considers the
new dances, , "danced by well-bred
young people," beautiful. Women's
clothes were "never quite so pretty
and never quite so sensible," and, as
to modesty, she showel a miniature of
her grandmother clad for the street in
a low-necked gown, while silt skirts
are only history repeating Itself. Cheer
upl We are not going to the dogs after
all. i
Belolt College the other day cele-
brated.the fact that John Pfeiffer had
served it as Janitor for 60 years. The
students sent the octogenarian flowers
and souvenirs, the faculty sat down
with him to a dinner cooked by his
daughter and Mr. Pfeiffer made a
speech on enthusiasm. That is a fine
example of Western democracy and
recognition of long service. And what
a fine spirit must move John Pfeiffer,
that he remains enthusiastic at 80 in
his humble calling. Would that every
80-year-old could feel as he does. We
warrant he does not envy a millionaire.
A few days ago a correspondent
called attention to .what appeared to
be serious mistakes in arithmetical
calculations in a letter printed on this
page over the signature of R. R. Mor
rill. As the letter read, the cost of
installing a meter water system in
Portland was one-tenth of what the
result should have been under the
writer's computations. In- Justice to
Mr. Morrill it should be said that his
copy was correct. Dropping of the
final cipher on several totals by the
typographical department of The Ore-
gonian caused the error.
If we would but learn from our
neighbors, Indianapolis might have
avoided the carmen's strike and Michi
gan and Colorado the miners' strikes.
A conciliation and arbitration law like
that of Canada and like that which
prevented the Eastern railroad men's
strike would have saved much bad
blood, much loss of life and money.
Farmers have engaged in hot rivalry
in sending big -turnips to Vice-Presi
dent Marshall, but did anybody ever
taste one of them? They are coarse
in fibre and not to be compared with
tender. Juicy little turnips.' God makes
little turnips, as he makes little onions,
for people of good taste to eat.
Dr. Brougher says "there Is no dif
ference between going into another
man's home and bunny-hugglng with
his wife while her husband is away
and doing such things openly and bra
zenly in the public view," which shows
Just how much the doctor knows
about it.
The Governor, in his. proclamation,
asks the people to render thanks for
statesmanship at the capital that' has
led tollers and men of great wealth to
better understanding. The Oregon
sheepgrower, of course. Is excluded for
the day.
Harry Thaw's lawyers say Jerome's
methods are undignified. Jerome should
change his methods at once. Let this Thaw
mess be dignified. If It Is nothing else Chi
cago Kecora-ieraia.
Why, certainly; we must preserve
the dignity of the law at all costs, for
what would law be without its dignity?
- The Kansas City Star predicts that
some day there will be in this coun
try a- lawmaking body with no lawyers
In It that will pass laws that the plain
people can understand. They would
be Greek to the lawyers.
The charge that was slow In going
off has again killed a , man removing
stumps. It would appiear the expert Is
as likely to be killed as the novice.
A man who has read The Oregonian
for 51 years has well kept up with the
news, even from the beginning, when
news was hard to get.
A dreary day In November is de
signed to make man think of the
pleasant days in all the other months.
, An American Hall of Fame without
women will be a Jug-handled lncon
gruity, ,
Somebody call off these rains.
Christy cannot play in a raincoat.
Indoor sports have a chance In this
weather.
LET EACH PAY FOR WHAT HE GETS I
Sir. Moores Believes Bfeter System Only
Fair One (or Water Service. ,
PORTLAND. Nov. 16. (To the Ed
itor.) Two recent communications in
The Oregonian upon the question of in
stalling water meters throughout the
city illustrates one of the peculiar
characteristics of human nature the
overwhelming desire to get something
for nothing. There is no city in trie
Union which provides better water than
the City of Portland, and when we
consider how essential is good water to
the comfort and health and happiness
of the people, we are safe In saying
there is nothing, in proportion to its
actual value, for which we pay so
little.
People who cannot bear the strain
of their water tax and who, perhaps,
sigh for the good old days of the dug
well and the Douglas pump, when we
carried in all our water in a bucket.
heated It In a teakettle'-- - -hed in
an old wash tub, must be in absolute
desperation when they get their
monthly meat, grocery, gas and electrlo
bills. Yet from no source do we
the doctrine that, a family that uses
five pounds of meat should pay no more
for that amount than does the family
that UBes only two pounds, and if the
Portland Railway, Light & Power Com
pany should charge- the man who has
only six electrlo lights Just the same
as It does the man who has 100 lights.
what a howl of protests would go up
from the champions of a flat water
rate. Yet, why is it not just as reason
abrb to exploit in this way the re
sources of the electric light people, as
It Is to use the resources of the water
company, which belong to the people,
by making a rank discrimination in
favor of large or wasteful water usersT
A man ought to pay for Just what he
uses, whether It Is meat, or groceries.
or light, or water, and no man can
frame any good reason why a water
user who has only two faucets in his
house, should ' pay the same water
charge as one who has two dozen.
One of your correspondents figures
out that 50,000 meters, at $12 per meter.
would cost In 12 years, principal and
Interest. 1960.000. This Is a formid
able sum. He might have made his
estimate for 48 years, and we would
have had the far more appalling, amd
impressive sum of $3,840,000. Now, let
him give us a few figures on what
the meat, and grocery, and light, and
other bills of the 250,000 people of Port
land will amount to, principal and In
terest, during the next 13 years,, and
we will all be plunged Into the utter
most depths of despair.
A more sensible and optimistic way
of figuring out this proposition would
be to take his arbitrary sum of $960,
000 and find out how much this means
for each one of our 250,000 people. It
would mean Just $3.84 per capita In 12
years, or 32 cents per capita in one
year, 2 2-3 cents per month, or less than
nlne-hundredth3 of one cent per day.
Looking at It this way makes It easier
for us to bear up" under the burden.
But whether the establishing of
meters throughout the city will entail
an extra burden or not is not the most
Important question. Is It equitable? In
what essential respect does a water
tax differ from any other? Every tax
payer, in theory at least, pays them
just what he has, and upon the assump
tion that he is getting an exact equiva
lent. Every man who goes out into- the
open market pays for Just what he
gets. No man has. ever yet advanced
the theory that, because a seller has a
surplus of products he may not be able
otherwise to dispose of, he should for
the same money give one man twice as
much as he does another. There is no
reason why the municipality should dis
criminate against the small and eco
nomical user of Bull Run water by mak
ing a flat water rate, even at a saving
of nine one-hundred ths of one cent per
day. CHA3. B. MOORES.
EFFECT OF ORDER ON LAUNDRIES
Foreman Declares Plants Will Employ
Only Inexperienced Help.
SALEM. Or., Nov. 15. (To the Editor.)
For the enlightenment of the Indus
trial Welfare Commission and the gen
eral public I will give some informa
tion about the conditions In laundries
which I have learned during my three
years' foremanship in one of Portland's
well-known laundries. Right here 1
wish to state that if the news Item re
garding the commission's ruling is cor
rect, they are lowering the poor laun
dry girls' wages with no chance for
ever bettering her condition.
When I became mangle foreman, a
little over three years ago, the lowest
pay was 14 cents an hour. Some em
ployes received 15 cents and very sel
dom one got $9 straight. The day was
of nine hours. One year later the hours
were increased to S per day, while the
pay was reduced to 13 and up to 15
cents, with the elusive $9. On the third
year another reduction of a half-cent
took place, while some of the days
were increased to 10 hours.
In the month of August last, I was
told by some girls that they got 12 V4
cents per hour. The range of weekly
pay runs all the way from $6.50 to
$8.30, with about $7.40 predominating.
Average hours per week, 64.
Now. If the commission's ruling be
nut in force, this will happen: A laun
dry employer will pay $1 per day, as
oer order to inexperienced help and will
work the girl 54 hours. At tne end or
the year he will let her go ana take
someone else. Never will the pay go
higher than $1. Right here I wish to
state that in the Tnangleroom a girl De
comes experienced in from one to three
days.
I will also state that from my per
sonal observation, and I am positive
in my contention, that it is inhuman
even criminal, to work a woman as a
mangle more than eight hours.
What the girls need for immediate
amelioration of their conditions is this:
Sixty minutes for lunch.
An eight-hour day.
$1.50 per day, straight time.
The absolute abolition of piecework,
And the last, and most important. Is
a strong Industrial organization among
all the laundry workers.
I am not pessimistic about the future
of the women employes, but I am
firmly cor.vinced that their salvation
will not come from well-meaning but
misinformed reformers, but through
their own Intelligent organization.
JACOB SOLOMAN.
Etiquette of Party Calls.
PORTLAND. Nov. 16. (To the Ed
itor.) In The. Oregonian Thursday, In
answer to a question on etiquette, you
tell "Very Young Matron" that she
should call upon the hostess giving the
tea in about 10 days following the
function. Such Is not the custom in
any city of which the writer knows, ex
cept Portland, and I cannot believe
that It Is followed here amongst the
"400."
The hostess merely designates a day
on which she will be "at home" to her
friends and offers refreshments to
those calling. And In other cities the
hostess must return those calls. It is
absurd to think that several hundred
cards which are left at her door that
day should all be left over again within
another fortnight
s ONE WHO DIFFERS.
Flood Information.
SHERIDAN, Or, Nov. 16. (To the
n;aitor.) uan you airect me to some
publication that contains a list of the
great fires ana rioods of the world and
the loss of life and loss of property
in eacn? yours truiy,-
LUTHER FUNK.
Haydn's ".Dictionary or Dates may
be the book desired. It is published
by Ward, Lock & Co., London, Eng
land, price $5.04, and can be obtained
through booksellers in this city. Any
good encyclopedia will supply the In
formation except that concerning most
recent disasters.
COUNTRY MERCHANT AND FARMER
Storekeeper In Effect Handles One Class
of Loans That Help, Agriculture.
HILLSBORO, Or., Nov. 16. (To the
Editor.) The letter of J. H. Wilson
and your editorial on country banks
and rural credits November 12 are sug
gestive, especially to the merchants of
country towns. .- Mr. Wilson's letter
would, have been complete if it made
reference to mail orders, to which your
editorial would doubtless have advert
ed and which, I believe, would have
been enlightening. The short loan by
country, banks you properly say is
common. You Intimate that long loans
are the exception to the rule. Of
course you mean that country banks
do not give long loans (even with their
big interest for sustention and main
tenance), and you pertinently ask the
question, after an allusion to compara
tively short terms in Germany and
France, "what banks handle credits of
this character?"
. Answer No banks, but . the mer
chants do. The merchants are the ori
ginal and pioneer helpers of the farmer
and they invariably pay no attention i
to principal or Interest; loans, short or
extended, so long as the farmer re
ceives the wherewithal to make his im
provements, to sow and, cultivate.' har
vest and, market his crop, and then pay
fairly or in entirety the "credit" not
the loan the merchant gave him and
gave him without interest.
As between the panacea In Mr. Wil
son's letter and your editorial, the lat
ter is the lesser of the two evils, hence
preferable. But worse than all others
and emphatlcaly more ruinous is the
mail . order business. If . you say the
country banks can't give long loans,
even at 8 or 10 per cent, interest, with
foreclosure clauses, how comes it that
the mall order business is to be en
couraged if co-operation between ur
ban and rural communities Is to exist,
with Its accompanying esprit de
corps in the matter of related trust
worthiness? Or vice versa?
I know about a dozen small towns,
none 100 miles from Portland, wherein
the merchants give the farmers from
$40,000 to $76,000 credit without inter
est. These merchants have to pay the
manufacturers and wholesale firms
promptly or they would be blacklisted
In the Davis Review or Bradstreet's
compilations. - .
The truth is, if you stop to analyse
it, the country merchant by his atten
tion to business methods, his economy
and small profits and his persistent en
deavor to sell at short margin of profit
large stock, is doing more to keep
the farmer alive than all other forces
together. The prosperity of one re
acts on the other. Instances could be
cited at pleasure. Ask, for example,
any dozen of your farmers around
country towns how much credit they
have received from the town merchant
and how often, if at all. that merchant
has attempted to foreclose, even if he
had the power to recover his debt that
way. If the farmer does business by
the mail order system he has to send
his money orders in advance. The re
sult is he has no money to put in the
bank, he doesn't deal with the mer
chant and the merchant; the main sup
port of the bank, is no longer trusted
by the bank, nor can the merchant
give credit to the dairymen, hopgrow
ers or graingrowers for groceries,
clothing, implements, etc., with the re
sult that Mr. mall order magnate is a
bigger farmer Mian Miller or Lux or
Jim Haggln ever dreamed to be.
COUNTRY MERCHANT.
WAY OUT OF WATER CONTROVERSY
Dispense With Monthly Bills and Make
Policemen Inspectors.
PORTLAND, Nov. 15. (To the. Ed
itor.) The proposed plan of quarterly
water rate collections, making the land
lord pay the bill. Is not a fair one to
the property-owner. It is an unneces
sary change in the methods of collect
ing water rates. I question whether
the courts would . hold property re
sponsible for an Indefinite charge, as
would be the case where bills are made
by meter measurement. Let the water
department quit rendering meter-rate
bills excepting to the large consumers.
Place all on flat rates, which have not
been changed for about eight years.
Quit rendering monthly bills or any
other time bills. The bill Is a remind
er of what is due and when. Rates
established and unchanged for eight
years should not be hard to remember.
Make the bills due on the first of the
month (when all other current bills
become payable), and delinquent on
the 10th, and turn the water off for
non-payment on the 11th. This would
save clerk hire, postage, stationery,
etc., even the four quarterly statements
under the plan proposed.
Us the policemen to make delinquent
collections, also do away with the em
ployment of the inspection service for
domestic water users, and Instruct the
officers to enforce water regulations,
report leakage, etc. They have the
time and are paid a salary by the city,
which owns the water , system, all -of
which is under direction and manage
ment by the Commissioners on a busi
ness basis.
It should not be necessary for the
Commissioner of Public Utilities to
petition the Commissioner of Public
Affairs to permit employes in his de
partment to be uBed in an economy af
fecting the whole city. I hope we will
not have to suspect a possible drifting
of our departments of city control into
bureaucracy.
The underlying reason for voting
commission government was the plac
ing of its affairs' on a business basis,
in the hands of business men. It was
expected that they would take the
broad view that they were an active
board of directors and managers, hav
ing in charge the dlrectlbn and man
agement of all the different branches
of .the city's government. The five
gentlemen who are now managing the
city's business will either rise or fall
as the "administration. Any impor
tant act in any department will be
charged to it. .
While the Commissioner In charge of
each department will be directly re
sponsible for the execution of the Com
mission's policies, he is only responsl
ble for legislation concerning his de
partment as one member of the Coun
cil.
So important a matter affecting, as It
does, all the homes of the city, should
not be put In effect with the responsi
bility resting upon one only of the
board or directors.
The plans which I suggest may be
objected to because it has never been
done: but stop and think. Wasn't that
the real reason for changing our form
of city government, the desire of the
people to have things done which had
not been done before?
G. Y. HARRY.
The Beggar, Time.
Always beside me as I go my way
This beggar, -Time, walks with
outstretched palms.
Demanding, not beseeching, of
his
ma
alms
Alms of the precious hours of my day,
So side by side we walk until my day
Is growing dusk, and Time's purse oi
the years
Holds alms of mine, bright-Jeweled
with my tears.
Since' I have given these treasured
hours away.
Nor from his swollen purse will he give
me
One hour, although with spendthrift
song and gay
I flung him alms, nor ever said him
nay,
A beggar and a miser both Is he!
Century.
His Girl No. 2. '
Washington (D. C.) Herald.
"Algernon, why-do you call on me?"
"Mabel has dropped me." "Well, you
needn t expect me to pick you up.
Twenty-five Year Ago
From The Oregonian of November 17, 1S8S.
Olympia, Wash.. Nov. 16. The
Olympia Review, formerly the new
Transcript, made Its first appearance
today under the new name. It is edited
by H. W. Bessac, formerly proprietor of
the Chehalis Vldette.
Albany. Or., Nov. 16. B. W. Lang
don, who recently returned from Cali
fornia, has purchased of George E.
Chamberlain, cashier of the First Na
tional Bank, a portion of his Interest
in the bank. Mr. Chamberlain has re
signed his position as cashier and Mr.
Langdon will probably be his successor.
Mr. Chamberlain will resume the prac
tice of law.
La Grande. Nov. 16. John Wells,
father of L. H. Wells, of East Portland,
was thrown from a wagon and killed
today.
Pendleton, Or., Nov. 16 Dr. E. J.
Summerville is mentioned as a candi
date for the postmastershlp. Lee Moor
house and J. P. Bushee are mentioned
for other Federal offices.
This evening a public meting will be
held in Hall & Stott's hall to discuss
consolidation of East Portland with
Portland. A petition to the Legislature
has been numerously signed.
Mr. Leaman. who has the contract to
build a lighthouse at Cape Meares.
started out a day or two since. In com
pany with an engineer from Major
Kandburg's office, to visit the cape.
They got as far as North Yamhill, but
were unable to go further. The road
over the Coast range has been badly
washed out and is impassable for ve
hicles. ' Mr. Maddox still gets through
with the mail on horseback, but is 14
hours going from North Yamhill to
Lincoln.
Captain D. C Howard and his son,
George, returned last night from Shoal
water Bay.
Olympia. Nov. 71. Joseph Deaves,
one of the. earliest settlers in Wash
ington Territory, is dead.
Thomas Tucker says there are a
great many potatoes yet undug in the
vicinity of Beaverton.
Jacob Mayer, of Portland, grand mas
ter of the A. Y". and A. M. of Oregon,
will visit subordinate lodges in Rogue
Riber Valley next week.
Half a Century Ago
From The Oregonian of November 17, 1SC3.
There has been quietly put In force
by the Secretary of the Treasury a sys
tem of finance which we candidly be
lieve is sure to become of more val
uable advantage to the whole country
than any one can now estimate. The
results and the benefits of the pure
currency banking system devised by
Mr. Chase, when it is fully establshed.
will be hailed as the consequences of
the most salutary and sagacious act of
the present Administration.
Chattanooga. Nov. 6. The enemy
keeps up a tire from a 20-pounder gun
on the crest of Lookout Mountain, oc
casionally reaching our lines. General
Long-street's forces are established on
Lookout Mountain, which is held by a
strong force. The bulk of the army
here has been on half rations for
weeks, and finally the only way sup
plies could be transported was in
wagons and on pack mules and by the
circuitous route over the mountains.
Accordingly Hooper occupied Raccoon
Mountain. His position is said to be
strong and unassailable.
Sub-Indian Agent A. E. Rogers, in
Oregon, has preferred charges against
Colonel Drew, in command at Camp
Baker and Fort- Klamath, but they
proved to be entirely without founda
tion. The quartz of the Owyhee crops out
In narrow, broken veins, some of which
have yielded assays of $3000 silver and
a fair proportion of gold. There are
about 200 miners at Boonville.
A. G. Richardson, of the California
Stage Company, arrived here on Satur
day, looking as gay and festive as
ever.
ENCOURAGE THE BOY TO WHITTLE
He May Develop Into' Handy Man
Abont His Future Home, Says Writer
FORT CANBY. Wash.. Nov. 15. (To
the Editor.) Acting upon the belief
that a few words of sincere approba
tion, even from tho most humble
source, are seldom entirely unappre
ciated, the writer desires most hear
tily to indorse the sentiments ex
pressed editorially in The Oregonian
Nov. 12. .under the heading "Handy
About the House."
From a number of years' experience,
tho writer feels convinced that a few
good tools, together with an Inclina
tion and moderate ability to use thera.
constitute one of the most satisfying
and healthful recreations within reach
of the average man. But it Is not be
lieved that the poor husband, without
taste or ability to perform odd jobF,
should be visited with entire respon
sibility for his luckless state, for in
the days of his youth any construct! v;
tendencies whicli ho may have evinced
were more than likely discouraged
Into abeyance by repeated maternal
admonitions against "making whil
tllngs on the floor."
So, mother, let the boy whittle. He
may be developing into a very effi
cient "handy man." to the everlasting
Joy of his future wife. But Insist,
from the beginning, upon this one
point: when the whittling is finished,
the boy must understand that it is hi.
natural duty to sweep up the litter,
and not, under any circumstances, t"
expect his mother to do It.
CHESTER J. STEDMAN, M. 1.
Name of Royal Family.
EUGENE, Or., Nov. 15. (To The Ed
itor.) (1) What Is the family name oi
the royal family of England?
(2) Who Is the present poet laureate
of England, and who preceded him?
MARGARET N. FELL.
(1) Guelph. (2) Robert Bridges suc
ceeded Alfred Austin.
Gone
Are the Corsets
Of Yesterday
You have heard the expression
used a great many times In the last
six months, "The corsetless age."
Has it struck you that for an age
without corsets there are more kinds
of corsets being advertised now than
ever before?
The truth of the matter Is that
there are not many women who are
completely abandoning their stays:
but that as fashion decrees that a
woman's figure should appear un
restrained, the corset makers have
been busy turning out new models
faster than they ever have before
in their lives.
Are you sure that you know Just
what the very latest designs are in
corsets, who are making thera, and
where they are bought?
If you don't know all that you
should on this question, you would
better begin at once reading the
advertisements in The Oregonian
daily so that you may catch up with
the times before you find yourself
out of style. Adv.