THE MORNING OirEGOXIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 19M. PORTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Portland. Onion, Postottlcs a second-class matter. Subscription Rates Invariably la Advance: (BT If AIL) J!ly, Sunday included, one year SS.OO pally. Sunday Included, six months ..... 4.2i -!'y. Sunday Included, three months ... z.25 gaily. Sunday Included, one montn 76 gaily, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Daily, without Sunday, six months ..... 8.25 Daliy. without Sunday, three months ... 1.75 JJaiiy, without Sunday, one month eu weekly, one year 1.60 Huaday. one year z.60 Sunday and weekly, one rear 8.&0 (BT CARRIER) Dally, Sunday included, one rear $9.00 Dally, Sunday Included, one month TS How to Kemtt Send postofflce money or f,r' express order or personal check on your local bank. stamps, coin or currency are t sender's rlek. Give postofflce address to full. Including county and state. Foots xe Rates 12 to 18 pases. 1 cent: 18 la 32 pages, 2 cents; 84 to 48 pases, a cents; 0 to 60 pages, 4 cents; 62 to 76 pases. 8 cents; 78 to 93 pases, a cents. Foreign post ax, double rates. Eastern Business Offices Verree Conk 'in, ht York. Hrunswlck building. Chi cago, steger building. F,rMcl OOlce R. J. Bid well Co.. T42 Market street. rORTLAXD, THIRSDAY, JAN. 29. 1914. MAKJNO A GREAT PORT. Portland is inclined to think that it is expending: great sums in improving Its channel and in building docks, but in. order to view our work in correct proportion we must consider what other porta are doing and what they need to do in order to attain equality with Portland in. channel depth and with other ports in dock facilities. London's supremacy as the world's chief port has been threatened by the inroads of Hamburg, Liverpool, Southampton, Havre and other conti nental ports on its commerce. The Old port authority, the Thames Con servancy Board, had power and re sources too limited to accomplish much. The- channel was shallow in many places and the docks were pass ing out of date as to depth, capacity ana racmues. Parliament created a new body named the Port of London Authority, which has jurisdiction, over about 100 miles of the course of the Thames, embracing practically the whole navigable channel, and which has large borrowing power. The Au thority has surveyed the whole river from Teddington to the Nore and has begun execution of plans involving ex penditure of $70,000,000. These in clude dredging the channel to a depth of thirty feet at low water from the Nore to the Albert Docks, twenty feet thence to Greenland Dock, sixteen feet to Thames Tunnel and fourteen feet to London Bridge, a total distance of forty-seven miles. This "work requires removal of 22,000,000 cubic yards of material in addition to the constantly accumulating sil There were under construction in the year 1913 additions and improve ments to the docks costing $18,750, 000. Docks are made necessary by the tides, the range of Spring tides being seventeen feet at Southend and twenty-one and one-half feet at Lon don Bridge, while that of neap tides is thirteen feet at the former and sev enteen feet at the latter place. At London Dock the passages are " being widened and deepened and a Jetty, 800 by 190 feet, is being constructed and covered with a tw.-story shed. At West India Dock two of the quay walls are being widened and three great sheds erected. At East India Docks the entrance passages are be ing widened and deepened, great sheds erected and pumping plant Installed. A new dock is being constructed at the RoyalAIbert Docks, having sixty four acres of water, two and one-half miles of quay and an entrance lock 800 feet long and forty-five feet deep, while another dock Is being enlarged. A cold storage-house to hold 250,000 carcasses is being erected with transit sheds and sorting floors at these docks, while another cold storage house for 78,000 carcasses is being erected near Smithfleld Market. At Tilbury the main dock is being ex tended 1611 feet, transit sheds erected and a reinforced concrete jetty con structed. 1000 feet long. The Thames does not compare with the Columbia in natural advantages and tributary productive country, but Improvement begun by the Danes over a thousand years ago has been con tinued and has given London the greatest commerce in the world. By much smaller proportionate expendi ture Portland can secure a broader, deeper channel and equal dock facili ties. We have the present and' poten tial commerce to justify a much larg er expenditure, if it were necessary. When we consider our great oppor tunities and compare them with Lon don's and when we consider what Lon don has achieved "with much less op portunity, the sums we have spent and are spending on jetties, dredging and docks seem beggarly. WHAT THE FCBI.TO SCHOOLS HAVE DONE. Often the best friends of the public schools are their severest critics. Their enemies are not silent either, and be tween the wounds of friends and foes it sometimes seems as if the little red schoolhouse, with all it stands for, were doomed to go under. That the public schools can and ought to be made better than they are few will be bold enough to deny. That the system ought to be destroyed is a thought which no good American would tol erate for a moment. The rational plan is to make the schools as good as possible in every way, both by spending more money upon them and by raising the quality of the teaching force. With all their faults the schools have accomplished wonderful things for the American people since the republic was founded. In the last forty years they have ed ucated 90,000,000 .boys and girls, ac cording to figures given out by the Federal commissioner of education. In the same interval they have reduced the general illiteracy of the country from twenty-two to seven in the hun dred. Among the negroes the schools have done still better work. They have reduced illiteracy from ninety-five in the hundred to fifteen. Among the foreign immigrants the percentage of Illiteracy has gone down to twelve. These statistics show conclusively enough that the public schools are genuine bulwarks of our liberties. For liberty in a democracy like ours de pends upon the general intelligence 'of the people and in the modern world there can be little effective intelligence without the ability to read and write. An illiterate person may in exception al Instances attain to some success in life and be, upon the whole, a worthy citizen, but such Instances are so rare that we may neglect them. As a rule n illiterate person is defective both in mind and morals. It has always been the ambition of the American people to give every child an opportunity to acquire the fundamentals of human knowledge. They have sought to attain this jmr pose through the common schools and within the limits of human achieve ment they have done what they set out to do. SOMK EARLY 1IGI RES. The Oregonian will make no at tempt now to interpret the 1914 regis tration figures for Multnomah County, since they are quite incomplete and the results before the books close may be much modified. But it is well enough to show what the surface in dications are and to suggest that something or other ought to be done by somebody or other if (1) the worn, en are to display an appropriate in' terest; (2) the Progressive party is to survive; (3) the Republican party is not to perish from the earth, and (4) the Democrats are to abandon their old habit of registering in large num bers as Republicans. The men are registering more nu merously than the women nearly four to one. Why -do not the women register? Was the old-time conten tion of the anti-suffragists that only a Bmall part of the women, wanted the ballot well founded? The Republicans outnumber the Democrats three to one; but in no election ever held in Multnomah County has such proportion been maintained. Why do the Democrats or some of them continue to be ashamed of their own party? The Progressive registration is one In twenty or thereabouts. Where are the brave patriots who once stood at Armageddon? MARTYRS OF THE "SYSTEM." Tim Healey is a veteran of the Spanish-American War and a special officer of the law. Three months ago ho was married. All his life he has been a good citizen, a faithful friend and a deserving worker. Now he is dying at St. Vincent's Hospital, with his weeping bride at his side, and a shocked community stirred by his un timely fate. He was. shot by a vaga bond in the performance of a police man's duty. The man who shot him, one Louis Stros, was himself shot by Healey, who discovered him prowling about Portland Heights with a companion. When Healey. in the pursuance of his duty, demanded that the strangers give an accounting to him, pistols were drawn, and two men are near death as a result. Now there is an appeal for Stros and, impliedly, against Healey and the law, because Stros was one of the un employed. Stros was in the "army" that marched upon Salem. Then he came to Portland and Joined a fellow vagrant in a scheme of burglary. "What kind of a country la this," he is reported as saying, "where a man can neither eat, sleep nor be sheltered, and where a man is forced to commit burglary to keep body and soul to gether?" It is not such a country. It is des picable and detestable that there are Individuals and newspapers that clamor loudly and continuously that it is. They blame the "system" indis criminately for both the sins and mis fortunes of individuals. Stros was a loafer and an idler, Jailed many times for vagrancy. Un doubtedly he would not work. But he had a pistol and he attempted burg lary and when thwarted he promptly committed murder. Who shall be held accountable for crime 'but the criminal? Who is to blame for sin but the sinner? Yet we have fallen on times when society and civilization are Indicted for the mis deeds of individuals and men who toil and save, and obey the laws, moral and civil, are held to be in a gigantic conspiracy against men. who will not work. Poor Healey! Poor Mrs. Healey! ANOTHER "SO" ELECTION. Before good money is expended in initiating bills and amendments for governmental novelties the proponents may find it profitable to glance over the prospective direct legislation bal lot, hark to the noise of the campaign for office already beginning and recall what has happened in the past to overloaded ballots. The initiative ballot has a fair start with ten state-wide measures submit ted to the voters by the Legislature. Definite work by the direct route has commenced on six more, a list of which was published in the news columns of The Oregonian Tuesday. Not mentioned therein as probabilities or possibilities are three measures from the anti-saloon element a pro hibition amendment, a prohibition statute and a repeal of the home rule amendment; Mr. Bourne's bill to pro hibit paid petition circulating and two or three others of similar import; an amendment to abolish the State Sen ate,' and a measure to do something or other to water-front titles in, Port land. The list thus already gives promise of exceeding twenty-five in number, notwithstanding the fact that the gen eral election ballot has by special elec tion been cleared of five referendums. A United States Senator, a Governor, a Representative in each Congres sional district, members of the Legis lature. Justice of the Supreme Court, several state officers and a large num. ber of county officers are to be elected. There will be much to think about aside from lawmaking. It has been very plainly demonstrat ed that a long ballot means a general ly negative vote on initiated and ref erended measures. Legislation really desirable is often defeated when the public is annoyed by the noisy clamor of a hobby-wedded minority, while freak bills thus advertised have scant prospect of enactment. What is the use? How many rebukes must the people give to pernicious law tinkering before it is ended? STANDING PAT FOB PINDELL. The Senate has-decided that if Henry M. Pindell is the kind of man President Wilson wishes to send to Russia as his representative he is wel come to that kind of a man and the Senate will not interfere with his wishes. That is the position taken by the committee on foreign relations in recommending and by the Senate in granting, confirmation. The Senate cannot thus evade Its share of the responsibility. The Sen ate is required by the Constitution not only to consent to but to advise upon appointments. It advises and consents to the appointment of Mr. Pindell with full knowledge of all the facts showing his unfitness. The com mittee's inquiry showed these facts to be more damaging than those which have been published and they prompted Chairman Bacon to criticise the nomination. Mr. Pindell admitted to members of the committee that he did not expect to remain long in the diplomatic service, thus corroborating the impression created by Senator Lewis' letter that Ills annaintmeat, is designed only to give him a year's travel in Kurope with all the per quisites and prestige of an Ambassa dor. That letter wafts said by Mr. Pin dell to be even more remarkable than the one which was published and which Mr. Lewis denounced as a forgery. Letters written by Mr. Pindell to Representative Stone, of his district. concerning appointment of postmas ters were also condemned, Mr. Burton saying they undoubtedly suggested a plan to use postmasters In promoting business for Mr. Pindell's newspaper. Mr. Wilson cannot escape an iota of responsibility, for he had seen these letters before he sent the nomination to the Senate. The President's persistence in the face of the revelations which have been made Is in line with his disposi tion to "bull things through," once he is committed to action. He displayed this disposition in accepting Mr. Mc Nab's resignation and in retaining Mr. McReynolds and William B. Wilson In his Cabinet and Mr. Caminetti at the head of the immigration bureau. He is a new kind of standpatter and the fact is not to his credit. POOLING THE READER. The "Confessions of a Successful Man," which the Saturday Evening Post has been publishing in install ments, came to something of a climax In last week's number. Giving him self the fairly appropriate title of a "Goldfish," the "successful man" pro. ceeds to describe the education, he re ceived in his boyhood and to point out how it might have been improved upon. The incautious reader must not imagine that this individual was suc cessful in anything but money-making. He married a wife long years ago, but she never has been a helpmeet to him. Her part in his life has been to bear three children and spend large sums of his money. Beyond her ca pacity for those duties he knows noth ing about her. His children, two girls and a boy, are even, more strange to him than his wife. Occasionally he meets the latter at home and even stops to speak to her, but the children, who are now grown, only come home to sleep and not always for that. They are lost, as far as their father is concerned, in the whirlpool of society. It is doubtful if he would readily rec ognize them on the street. They are educated, polished, efficient for their parts in the world, but one does not discern much humanity amongst them. The son is a successful lawyer like his father. He has a desk In a prosperous firm's offices and manages to make a good deal of money first and last. Just how he does it his father cannot explain, but the dollars are concrete evidence of the young fellow's ability. The father, who purports to write the articles for the Post, makes about $50,000 a year by his law practice. From what he tells of his knowledge and general ca pacity it is -difficult to believe that he could make fifty cents without friends to help him. But he comes of good family and has hereditary friends who give him business, so that fees accumu late. The practice of stfch a lawyer in New York consists of drawing up papers, arranging transfers and so on. It requires no oratory, very few ar guments in court and scarcely any publicity. It is purely machine work, so that after all even a man as in competent as our author depicts him self might manage to do it fairly well. His principal complaint is against the education he received, which, he believes, is far less satisfactory than his father's was in the good old days of plain living and high thinking. He says, I was an imitation educated man, but though spurious I was a suf ficiently good counterfeit to pass cur rent for what" he pretended to be. Apart from a little Latin and some considerable training in English com position he confesses that "he had no culture at all." He went to college with his head empty and came away with it full of conceit. He got "the semblance, but not the substance of education." He learned to talk pre tentiously about dozens of great writ ers and famous captains, but really knew nothing about any , of them. When Bergson came over to New York to lecture, our author could not listen to him intelligently because he "had not the rudiments of knowledge nec essary to understand what it was all about." In history his case was worse still, if that be possible. Of this branch he says that neither he nor any of his fashionable associates knows anything whatever. "I pass socially," he assures us, "as an exceptionally cultured man, one who is well up on" such matters as history and biog raphy, "yet I confess to knowing today absolutely nothing of history either ancient, mediaeval or modern." This is tl-o kind of education he and his chums- received at college. It not only lef them densely ignorant, but it destroyed their capacity to learn anything in later years. They all pos sess the faculty of talking as if they knew a great deal, but their heads are quite empty. His set is ignorant of the common facts of life. Though he is a lawyer, he does not know the names of all the Supreme Court judges and only remembers who one of -the New York Congressmen is. About such subjects as good govern ment, Tammany Hall and reform they never trouble their heads. Why should they? For them the world is all cakes and ale. No matter how the city is governed, our author's valet will come into his room precisely at 9 in the morning, light the fire and tell him his bath is ready. His elegant breakfast will be served and the day will pass as luxuriously as heart could desire. He and his friends are the chosen of the earth. They have no hum.an worries. Money smooths every thing for them. They have no learn ing, no patriotism, no family affection. They live through the luxurious rou tine of their days for their own pleas ure and nothing else. Even this pleas ure lapses finally into a stupid same ness and ceases to satisfy. The articles of this diverting series are all brightly written. The one which describes the "Goldfish's" edu cation is particularly meritorious from a literary point of view. The author describes himself as a perfect fool and does it with consummate skill. He proves himself utterly ignorant of his tory by displaying an incredible wealth of historical knowledge. He demon strates his incompetence in every day affairs by v telling how suc cessfully he has mastered them. To convince the reader that his education was worthless he explains that he has made a fortune practicing law and puts the narrative into English so clear and pungent that we are charmed from beginning to the end. Some inconsistencies are permitted to every writer, but there are a few too many in this case. The author chose his fool injudiciously. While pretend, ing to fix the honor upon himself, he really confers it upon the reader, who la expected to belleva this mass of im probabilities, it would have been more polite to the public to adopt some other device. The Interstate Commerce Commis sion is apparently preparing the way for that advance in freight rates by showing some of the railroads how they can Increase their revenue with out outside help. It is just as well that the ground be cleared of syndi cate operations like those of the Frisco officials and of excessive allow ances to industrial railroads before the main question is touched. We need to get down to bottom facts on not merely what the earnings are, but what they should be at present rates under economical and impartial man agement. An Eastern contemporary well says that better rural schools must precede any real movement back to the land. Country homes are often broken up to give the children an education in town. It is possible to have model schools in rural communities, but only by combining the resources of several districts for each school. This obliges some of the children to g a long dis tance daily and requires some sort of transportation. thus we land once more in the good roads problem, which is basic everywhere. We fear the Montana rancher who has plighted his troth to Miss Virtue, the suffragette, will have to wait a long time for his wife. They are to be marnea as soon as English women ret the rleht to te an pvont rf which the immediate future holds out no promise, Miss Virtue is at present pining in a aungeon deep ana damp for refusing to move on when a Lon don policeman so ordered. We Sup nose hp.r invor rtnlH let rwnef AT-Ino- Vtta r - " - - ---r ill u.' VVI .11), 111-J gallant cowboys to rescue her. Here's wisuiug mm 1UCK. A newspaper publisher yesterday testified before a Congressional com mittee that the Canadian government paid him $42,000 a year for publishing "dope" to allure Americans across the border. That is a high price to pay ror much of the immigration. On the other hand, this country gets the brightest and best young men and women of Canada for the mere price of a welcome and opportunity to pros per. After what the Senate committee learned of dictatorial rule during the West Virginia coal strike, it Is as well that there should be inquiry into mar tial law In Michigan and Colorado. We need to guard against drifting Into ab. solutlsm under the guise of public ne cessity, for a dictator always makes that the excuse for perpetuating his rule. It is but a step from public ne cessity to divine right. . If three Bull Moose out of the local party numbering sixteen are seeking office, that is a fair average 18 per cent. But such figures are not re liable. The great body of Progressives is overwhelmed with modesty after their leader. P. S. A long way after. It is erroneous to suggest that boss ism ruled at the Progressive nominat ing convention. Since the total at tendance was but- sixteen, the worst charge that might arise must neces sarily be that of straw-bosslsm. The New York grafters kept a book to record distributions of pie. They may also have a card index of high way and canal contractors who con tributed graft, for they are business like grafters. It now appears likely that the Ad ministration will lift t'.e embargo on arms for the benefit of Mexican reb els. Which is a most effective way of storing up future trouble for our selves. In estimating the height of women at the San Francisco registration booths, hats, hair and heels will count. In many cases a division by two would be necessary to arrive at the real height. . There are three things due the end of the world, free locks at Oregon City and a new postofflce building at Port land. It is devoutly to be hoped the other two beat the first. The Japanese are said to be fur nishing Huerta "with arms. But those little .25 caliber Japanese army guns would hardly Inconvenience a coarse grained Mexican rebel. Election petitions may no longer be circulated in corridors of the Court house. It will now be possible to com plete a brief business visit there in one day. General Kuropatkln has challenged a newspaper writer td fight a duel. The offending editor must have re ferred to that "I regret to reportsky" episode. In celebrating his sixty-fifth birth day Samuel Gompers is subject of con gratulation for the good work he has done in the past generation. In the interest of an early Spring, Mr. Beals is asked to continue the bad weather until Tuesday at least. This is a ground-hog' case. The growth of graft Is Insidious and the City Council very properly de clines to pay for telephones in the homes of employes. The President of Haiti is now a fu gitive. Thought the Wilson policy in Mexico was going to put a stop to that sort of thing. Rhode Island, about as small as states are made, is facing a deficit that would hardly feaze an Oregon county. Jerusalem will have trolley cars and electrio lights. . For a young city Je rusalem certainly has a progressive Bpirit. A Japanese farmer sent Secretary Bryan a radish. Recently, also, a Jap in Tokio cabled him a lemon. It's a rare Winter day now In Port land -when we don't get a peep at the sun. The policeman who shirks in the face of danger should lose his star. The Pope pronounces the tango dull. That's the surest way to kill It. Anna Held does not mind the taint on the money. Picked out your 1914 oar at the Armory jatZ LIBRARY FLOOR PLAN CRITICISED Patron Finds Inadequate Room In Moat Frequented Department. PORTLAND, Jan. 27. (To the Edi tor.) Although we have in Portland a better building for our Public Library than any other Pacific Coast city, I be lieve that local citizens would approve vigorously any effort to overcome the present inadequacy of the circulation room. This department should have been Improved when abandoning the old building, but if any change has oc curred, it has been for the worse. The visitor on entering jostles between two counters or desks, around which are crowded people who are ready to leave. The same door is made to serve for en trance and exit,' The two counters most used are both close to this door caus ing congestion and confusion. The en tire room is too small. In small towns the library starts as a circulation room. That remains, and should remain, the main feature. Other departments are added as needed. In our new building other departments, useful as they are, seem to have been given all the room. A cubic half block of air space, from the second floor up, contains a card cata logue and Information desk nothing more. The circulation room the most actively and constantly patronized de partment of the institution, is ill-arranged, is crammed and Jammed, and considered as the chief literary clearing-house or exchange of this city, it is ridiculously small. I have noted many instances where certain books are spe cifically called for. they are brought in from the stack-room, not appearing on the shelves at all, probably for lack of shelf space; all this in a public library building of four stories and occupying a full block. Daylight enters this crieulation-room through windows In the south wall, and falls on the books against the north wall. The south wall section is nat urally the darkest portion of the room, so against this wall have been placed the books containing plays, literature, poetry and fiction. These must be sought in gloom and shadow, while the north wall brightly displays all those marveli ous biographies that no one reads for eign politics, books on exploration and discovery, etc., mostly published in 1840 or prior thereto.- If I exaggerate re garding the north wall, the fact still remains that only one person makes use of that side of the room to every six or more people who must crowd and jostle about the dark south wall. , I do not wish this to be construed as an attack on the corps of librarians or attendants. I have found them courte ous, efficient and willing: to please. H. C. SChAPPERT, 749 Water street. UNIVERSITY EQUIPPED FOR WORK Not Expensive to Maintain. Engineering; Course, Says Writer. EUGENE, Or., Jan. 27 (To the Edi tor.) A recent article in your paper signed "Granger" gives a wrong im pression and an unjust criticism of the Board of Higher Curricula in regard to engineering courses at the State Uni versity. They have done what is prob ably best for the general good of the state. Oregon has been gaining a bad reputation all over the United States on account of her treatment of the Uni versity. What must Intelligent people think when they read the articles about the enormous waste and unheard-of ex travagance, such vast sums spent in duplication of courses? The fact is. Oregon educates her stu dents at about the lowest cost per cap ita of any institution of its class east or west. Other states give liberally and say little about the expense. We give very little, and talk of the com paratively small sums as if it were a most heartbreaking affair to give any thing that could possibly be withheld. If the university had no equipment there might be more reason to talk, but the state has spent large sums of money for buildings and experiments and has turned out from the university some of the best engineers in the Northwest. To keep some branches go ing is not expensive, and it will be an advertisement for Oregon worth many times its cost, while removing these courses will cause widespread un friendly criticism which will injure the state. We fear "Granger" is sailing under false colors, in preaching economy and closing his article with a veiled threat of moving the university to Corvallis. That would be very expensive. It would cause the state much loss, would greatly Increase expense: it would in jure both institutions and give the state nation-wide notoriety of a very unfavorable character. The action an nounced by the Board would incur so little expense that it would not be a matter of dollars and cents to most taxpayers. It would be a matter of only a few cents each year. Public spirit has built California and Washington ahead of Oregon. Littleness and penurious- ness on the part of Oregon's citizens alone could keep her in the lower ranks. Any citizen of Oregon who would do anything to impair the usefulness of either of our state institutions Is sadly lacking in public spirit. Let us stop unjust criticism, look over some acts and faults, as we see them, of our officials and all Join hands in the up building of Oregon and she can take her place in the sisterhood of the states, fairest and most desirable of all. JONATHAN JOHNSON. CHARGE WOULD IMPAIR SYSTEM Mr. "White Opposes Removal of Postal Bank Limitations. PORTLAND. Jan. 27. (To the Edi tor.) In The Oregonian I find the following: "The removal of all maxi mum limitations on amounts of postal savings deposits"; "establishment of checking account privileges." The advocates of the Postal Savings Bank wished the system adopted for the purpose of affording a depository where the poorer classes could place their savings and have absolute secur ity (1. e., as safe as the foundation of the Government) and not be at the mercy of the unscrupulous. To the best of my knowledge there was no Idea of the Government going into a general banking business. I admit there should be facilities for the depositor to get his money without a lot of "red tape," but I believe the checking proposal is both unwise and unnecessary, if for no other reason than that many accounts would be liable to withdrawal, being so easy; and the further fact that many small accounts now transacted In legitimate banking institutions might be trans ferred and thereby cause friction. The maximum might be raised somewhat, yet If the depositor can ob tain interest-bearing bonds of small denominations I fail to see any advan tage In a change. The class most in terested have a good thing estab lished and it would be wisdom to leave things alone. I am not a banker, nor depositor in the Postal Bank, only one of the earlier advocates of a system that was pre dieted to "wreck" the banking indus try, therefore am somewhat familiar with this subject. E. C. WHITE. 535 Savier street. Irishman Keeps .His Job. Lippincott's, Philadelphia. One of the bosses at Baldwin's loco motive works had to lay off an argu mentative Irishman named Pat, so he saved discussion by putting the dis charge In writing. The next day Pat was missing, but a week later the boss was passing through the shop and he saw him again at his lathe. Going up to the Irishman he demanded fiercely: "Didn't you get my letter?' "Yis. sur. Ol did." said Pat. "Did you read it?" "Sure, sur. Oi read it inside and Ol read It outBide," said Pat, "and on the inside yea asid I was fired, and on the outside yes said, 'Return to Baldwin's LooomoUna Works in Ave dayat DREDGIXG FOR BIGGER PORTLAND Destiny of Colombia Basin's Fort Calls for" 40-Foot Channel. PORTLAND, Jan. 27. (To the Edi tor.) Occasionally, some without due consideration, claim that Portland's 270.000 population is top-heavy in pro portion to Oregon's 750.000 people over one-third the state, they say. But such is not the way to look at it. Thoy forget that Portland is on a line be tween Oregon and Washington of 2,000,000, and is more or less a natural city for both states. They also overlook that Portland commercially Is the natural city for the great Columbia River basin, com prising three-f mn-tH rt fw,.,r,.,. . .... quarters of Washington, the whole of Idaho, and parts of Wyoming, Nevada and Western Montana and a large por tion of British Columbia all drained down to this city by cheap river transit-ways, and with down-grade hauls for railroads and other forms of land transportation, which basin drain has now a total of nearly 2,500,000 people. In addition, Portland is somewhat at present, and prospectively, a great competitor for immense additional territory in portions of Alberta, Sas katchewan and Manitoba, in a down- tO-the-Sea OUtlet for tholr- (romance shipments of wheat and lumber and utner products, wnere they now have over 1,000.000 more of population. Besides. Portland Is Tinw no ....... destined to be, a Pacific seaport for impuris ana exports or our whole country, ' east and west. Who would think of calllnor N'pw "Vn-i- rittr v. .. Atlantic topheavy, because it has over nan or trie population of New York State? Portland is small, compared with de mand for a erftt oitv en t ii a ri.i,ni.u outlet to the Pacific Ooean on the completion of the Panama Canal and the final Improvement of our great river mouth. The Columbia's natural channel has now only about a half mue or car, 28 feet low water three feet of which wsq t-ohkm-.wI tiiio i c Summer with f hi. uttiA r - v. .-, ir dredge. Years ago, and before the soutn jetty, wnen mere were two chan nels. Captain Flavel used to hitch on to (1 n f af hln tiioo a Vi o ,,- .1 ,11 - - n -. " i o.ju Afi It over bumps in the bar and let the uuneiit scour out to advantage even then. Captain Gorringe, in Villard daVS. Raid WA ntlP-ht in IrnAn a at work there constantly. We should now get a leviathan dredge and not wait for more Jetties. Portland's t' r tti m prpn . 1 . m m n j m-1. . i depth. Our foreign Imports and ex ports ougm now to be eight times uiih.l oi rugei souna, ratner than the reverse at present. Dred-A out th hap tn 4n f Aoi keep it dredged. The interests of our whole country demand it. Then."keep your eye on Portland." M. C. GEORGE. LOCAL ASSESSMENTS FOR ROADS Mr. Odell Offers Plan for Statewide Highway Improvement. PORTLAND, Jan. 28. (To the Edi tor.) To the coming of the automobile and the motorcycle is due the awaken ing and Increasing outcry for "good roads." Automobile owners, tourists, pleasure seekers and joyriders, all see the need of good roads. This increasing class has grown to be a very large per cent of the .traveling public, hence the outcry commands serious consideration with prompt action. Much of the road work in the past has been misapplied without system, to little profit, beyond temporary ne cessities. The day for neighborhood road work ing, even under direction of college ex perts, with "split-log drags" has passed and the demand calls for scientific en gineering, going back 2000 and 3000 yearn to the builders of the "Appian Way," made possible under despotic power witn an army or slaves. In this age, however, no less skill and scientific engineering are de manded, but a better adjustment of the rights of citizenship, equitably ad ministered. Utopian dreams and cen tralized commissions should be avoided, lest large sums expended on scenic highways, tourists routes and roads to pleasure resorts for Joyriders, instead of embracing all the roads needed in the entire state. Including outlying.dis tricts as well as prominent thorough fares. To this end let each county in the state be divided into districts of suit able size under carefully guarded and wise legislation by which the real es tate owners in each district shall n authorized to designate the sections or roaas to be improved, together with such other discretionary powers as may be deemed reasonable and lust- let all work be by contract, carefully supervised Dy competent engineers; when the work is accented Davment to be made by the adjacent land owners in the same maner as Is usualy pro vided for payments for Improvements or streets in our cities under careful bond restrictions. This plan, fully worked out and properly guarded, would place the cost of the Improvements upon the adjacent lands, which would be enhanced in value, thereby compensating the own ers It would embrace every nook and corner of the state, and the opportun ities for graft and favoritism would be minimized. Under this plan road building would be modified by local conditions and adjusted to meet the demands for serv ice. Scenic highways and extended thoroughfares or boulevards would re ceive greater care and more extended improvements; and the adjacent real estate be proportionately enhanced in value; so that the burden of cost would be adjusted to the benefits received. If this plan has merit it needs no boosting arguments In support, if not the less said the better. W. H. ODELL, What Mr. Fording: Proposed. PORTLAND, Jan. 28. (To the Edi tor.) I beg to correct a mistake ap pearing in Tne Oregonian, to the effect that I want jd Republican clubs to in dorse certain candidates. I suggested no such scheme. What I did suggest was that we take steps to secure a test vote of Republicans on the many can didates for Governor of Oregon, giving to each voter a first, second and third choice, and to do this before the pri mary so that we need not vote for men who in fact have no show of nomina tion. No suggestion was made to form clubs in the Interest of any candidate or to bind the club to support any can didate or even request the support of any candidate. Because we can have but one .guess on primary day we thought it a sane method to throw some light on the real sentiment of "voters. It Is true that some protested against any move that might throw light on the chances of candidates for nomina tion and held it to be a violation of law to in any manner interfere with the sacredr right to keep the voters de ceived and divided. Some -of the latter class insinuated that any practical work to throw light upon the voter which would make it possible to avoid Wasting his vote on a friend would be assailed by the enemy as an indorsement of the club. Such claim did not seem to de mand any denial and I protest against the accusation that I even hinted at club indorsement. T. J. FORDING. Little Hint in Bill Revision. London Sketch. Luncher Look here, waiter, I'm very sorry, but I've only Just sufficient money with me to pay the bill, and nothing left for a tip for you. Walter (confidently) Would you mind just letting me 'ava another look at the bill, sir? Brief Fashion Note. Boston Transcript. Mr. Snapp Well, all the fools are not dead yet. Mrs. Snapp I'm glad of it, I. never filsX look, welLJn MaoJs, Twenty-five Years Ago Prom The Oregonian of January 29, 1SS0. Salem, Jan. 28. Simon, of Multno mah, and Tongue, of Washington, had a tilt on the Portland water bill in the Senate this afternoon. Tacoma, Jan. 28. M. C. Sullivan, of Portland, with a force of men em ployed as guards at the coal mines near Seattle, arrived today and says work has been resumed. Seattle, Jan. 28 William Walker to day sold to J. J. O'Connor, of Elmira, N. Y., a lot on Front street, between Marion and Columbia, for $30,000. Washington, Jan 29. McComas. of Maryland, offered an amendment in the House to the sundry civil bill ap- propriating J50.000 for the education of children in Alaska. He said Con gress had been negligent in its treat ment of Alaska. Constable Aleck Keegan has been indisposed for several days with a cold. Simon Harris returned yesterday from the East and California, A band of Journalists, composed of N. J. Levinson, Will H. Parry and Martin Kgan, took flight for the Sound last night. The majority of their con freres here live in hopes of going to the Sound when they die. There were 578 round-trip tickets sold on the Portland & Vancouver Rail way last Sunday, which was 78 more than ever sold before on one day. Dr. E. A. Jones will supply his two new cottages on the motor line, south east of Lone Fir. by means of a wind mill and an elevated tank. R. L. Polk & Co., publishers of the Portland city directory, estimate the population at about 48,000. In about 10 days the remaining clerks of the Southern Pacific con nected with the auditing and treasury departments will go below. They In clude F. O. Heints, auditor of freight and ticket accounts; J. L. Wickersham. bookkeeper, and Max Crandall. Half a Century Ago From The Oregonian of Jan. 29, 1S64. Our dispatches this morning speak of a movement in Congress for the erection of a new territory out of por tions of Idaho and Utah, to be called Montana. This is the name that was to have been given to Idaho. Adjutant W. P. Kapus and Lieuten ant Halloran. of the First Washing ton Territory Infantry, have tendered their resignations. Washington, Jan. 18 The House committee on territories will eoon re port bills authorizing state govern ments in Colorado and Nebraska. The new constitution of Nevada will be adopted by Congress. The citizens of Oregon City are to give a festival tomorrow evening in aid of the sanitary commission. The Mechanics' Band and Captain Thayer, of the steamer Fair Play, have volun teered their services. The Adelaide, formerly used at the foot of Salmon street, has been brought into use at the Stark-street ferry, run ning in connection with the Pony. If any one doubts that business is picking up in Portland. let them take a walk along the wharves from Tay lor street to the steamship landing. CRUST WILL CO.VSERVU MOISTlltK. Farmer Advocates Protection AjraiuM Wind in Dry Climate. GRANGEV1LLK, . Cal.. Jan. 27. (To the Editor.) When the tests were made at the Agricultural College at Corvallis to determine which method of cultivation will conserve the moist ure best I believe one condition was not taken into account, though it will hold moisture better even than the fine dust covering. I lo not know if those tests were made in the open air. They should have been. Every farmer knows that wind will dry the soil more than any amount of heat. It follows that the condition which will safeguard against wind will do best service. The condition is this: The soil Is prepared the same as in the test that won out at the college. A packed soil with a light covering of very fine dust, then sprinkle just enough water over the surface to make a thin shell crust, the thinner the better Just so that the surface Is sealed. This will prevent the wind sucking the moisture out while it does not interfere with the ef ficacy of the fine surface. The purpose of the fine surface Is to prevent moisture coming to the surface and escaping. This Is good, but sealing the surface will prevent suction by wind. Let nature have her way when she seals the ground all Winter to hold the moisture, but when it is necessary to break it for seed ing let it be closed as soon as possible by a covering of fine, even surface. Then should it rain Just enough to form a thin crust the thickness of a blade let it not be broken by any tool whatever. One can try thi3 out In a garden by means of a sprinkler. URIAL GROAT. Position Is Sound. VADER, Wash., Jan. 27. (To the Editor.) My attention was lately drawn to your timely indorsement of the sentiments of Granger, whose arti cle appeared in The Oregonian Janu ary 20. and I have read your editorial with much interest. As one who has been fortunate enough to receive some of the benefits of attendance at one of the higher in stitutions of learning in the good old state of Oregon, permit me to commend your attitude as to the most practical arrangement of the curricula at the two principal seats of education In your state. Your position Is well taken and worthy of the doepest consideration by those in authority to regulate such matters.- W. R. D1LLET. All the Comforts Of Home." This is an old and familiar phrase that suggests many genial and com fortable thoughts to one's mind. It was a happy expression years ago and always will be one, It is hoped. The comforts of home, however, have multiplied many, many times in recent years. When one considers and compares the bare household necessaries of fifty years ago with those of today the advancement is recognized aa most marvelous. Any one who is at all familiar with the home equipment of a gen eration or two ago knows well what remarkable strides have been made. There Isn't a department of the home that hasn't benefited by the inventive genius and skill of an ad vanced civilization. Are you right up to the times in all of improvements? If not, there is no better way than to turn to the advertising pages of The Oregonian, wherein is set forth dally, interesting Information of every possible description all point ing to and describing the things that go to make the home modern and comfortable. Adv. i