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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1914)
6 THE MORNIXG OREGOXTAN. TUESDAY- THT 14, 1914. Sit to PORTLAND. ORKUON. n 1 y f d States on the latter occasion was o 'following the precedent of 18S5. After the Colombian troops had sailed away in 1903 and when the Enured a: Portland. Oregon, postofflce revolutionists were in sole possession of the isthmus. Colonel Rooaevelt did the first unfriendly act by recogniz ing the new republic. He followed this up by making the Hay-Bunau-Varilla treaty, by which the United States obtained the canal concession and guaranteed the independence of Panama, He retalliated for the per fidious and unfriendly action of Co lombia by taking this unfriendly ac tion. That is how he "took" Panama, as he himself has bluntly expressed it. The act was applauded by public opin ion at the time and has been ap proved since all the details of the af fair have become known. Were the United States now to apologize and to pay an Indemnity, it would be an ad mission that Colombia could act in a most unfriendly manner toward us, but that we had no right to retaliate. The American people will sanction no such admission. Subscription Rates Invariably In Advanca (BY MAIL,) Daily, Sunday Included, one year ... Dally, Sunday included, six montha t-... y. Sunday included, three month! Daily, Sunday Included, one month Dally, without Sunday, one year .... Daily, without Sunday, six montha Dally, without Sunday, three montha. Daily, without Sunday, one month 'Weekly, one year Sunday, one year fcunday and Weekly, one year (BY CARRIER) Bally, Sunday Included, one year ... Daily. Sunday Included, one month . . mow te Kemlt send Fostorrice money or der, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at metiitr'B risk. Give postoffice address in full. Including county and atate Postage Rates 12 to 18 pages, I cent; 18 to 32 pages. U cents. 84 to 48 Pages. 8 cents. to to 60 pagea, 4 centa; 62 to 76 pagea, o cents; 78 to 92 pages. 6 cents. Foreign post age, double rates. .Eastern Business Offices Verree Conk Iln. New York, Brunswick building. Chi cago. Steger building. Ban Francisco Office R. J. Bldwell Co., 742 Market street. PORTLAND, TUESDAY, JULY 14, 1911. gS.on 4.2S 2.25 .76 .00 8.25 1.75 .60 1.50 2.80 8.50 89.00 COLOMBIA'S CLAIM UNTENABLE. The more Secretary Bryan explains the Colombian treaty, the worse he makes it appear. In his statement published on Monday he persists in assuming that Minister DuBois was authorized to consent to an apology, or at least that Colombia was war ranted in thinking so, thus ignoring the statements of Secretary" Knox that the memorandum to which Mr. Bryan refers was drawn by Mr. DuBois of his own motion and was disapproved by Mr. Knox. Mr. Bryan says: Colombia feels that she has been ag grieved, and whatever may be said as to whether this feeling is Justified, no one will dany that she has sustained great financial loss in the separation 01 ranama irum nei. The question is whether Colombia Buffered this financial loss through the wrongful acts of herself or of the United States. If the loss was caused by misdeeds of Colombia, she has no claim on the United States for com pensation and we were Justified in taking advantage of circumstances to obtain from Panama the canal con cession on terms which Colombia had rejected. By the treaty of 1846 the United States guaranteed the freedom of transit across the isthmus and the sovereignty of New Granada over that territory. The guaranty of sovereign ty was against outside aggression, not gainst internal disorder. The guar anty of free transit was against in ternal disturbances. Colombia, the successor of New Granada, appears to have relied on this American guar anty to relieve it of the consequences of shameful misgovernment of Pan ama, for there have been about fifty revolutions on the isthmus since 1846 and the United States has intervened many times to keep transit open. Co lombia, by her misgovernment and by Imposing such a burden on the United States, violated the spirit of the treaty and rendered the maintenance of open transit inconsistent with the guaranty of her sovereignty except under conditions which could not have been contemplated when the treaty was signed. The Hay-Herran treaty granting the canal concession to the United States was Bigned by authority of President Marroquin, who was dicta--tor over Colombia. After it was signed he procured the election, by the well-known Colombian methods, of a Congress packed for its rejec tion. That was the first act of bad faith. This Congress then proposed the confiscation of the French Canal Company's property in order that it might be sold to the United States at a higher price than had been stipu lated in the treaty. The original con cession then had one year to run, but It had been extended for six years by Marroquin as dictator on payment of $1,000,000 by the French. In order that it might carry out Its scheme, the Columbian Congress, a creature of Marroquin, proposed to declare il legal this act of the same Marroquin on the ground that it was done by him as dictator. Marroquin, the con stitutional President, proposed to re pudiate the acts of the same Marro quin as dictator. The action of Colombia immediate ly after the secession of Panama demonstrates by what Jugglery- t had been attempted to blackmail the United States. On November 8, 1903, five days after the revolution, Mr. Beaupre, our Minister to Colombia, telegraphed to Washington an offer of General Reyes, on behalf of Marro quin. to declare martial law and rati fy the treaty by decree or to call an extra session of Congress "with new and friendly members next May to approve the treaty," If the United States would land troops to preserve Colombian sovereignty and open transit. Thus Colombia was willing to ratify the treaty by the same dic tatorial means which its Congress had held invalid as to the extension of the French concession, or by the same device of packing Congress which had been used to procure its rejection. The Bogota politicians thus displayed their readiness to play fast and loose with their constitution in order to extort money from the United States or the canal company, they cared not which. These facta show Colombia to have acted in bad faith and in an unfriendly manner toward the United States and to have been responsible for the loss of Panama. The Panama revolution ensued. President Roosevelt had been In formed that it was impending and had taken precautions to insure un interrupted transit, but there is no evidence that he was a party to it. He simply did as his Democratic pre decessor. President Cleveland, had done in 1885; he kept transit open by preventing the route of the railroad from becoming the scene of hostili ties. To do so, it was necessary to prevent the advance of Colombian troops from Colon to Panama where other troops had gone over to the rev olutionists. It has been charged that he thereby aided the revolution and committed an act of war against Co lombia. If so, then so did Cleveland In 1885, according to the following version given by Philippe Bunau Varilla. an eye-witness of what hap pened: A revolutionary army, commanded by General Aixpuru. had seised Panama. The town once taken, the American troopa had entered Panama to prevent disorder. But when It was seen that the revolutionary Government was malntslnlng order, the American forces were withdrawn, and they confined themselves to garrisoning the rail road and Its wharf, the aole means of com munication with the Pacific Ocean. Soma day later, two ships, laden with Government troops, tried to land at the wharf. General Reyes, who commanded the Colombian troops, was Invited to withdraw and the landing was forbidden by Commo dore McCalla. The General Reyes above men tioned is the same General Reyes who offered to have the canal treaty rati fied after the revolution of 1903. He therefore knew well that the United DIRTY MONEY. If cordial relations are to be restored with Colombia, they must be restored on a basis that 1b satisfactory to Colombia. Friendships cannot rest upon force; neither can they reat upon acquleacence In the power of might. Even If Colombia, under protest and against the Judgment of hon orable people, accept a less sum than that which we offer. It would not restore the relatjpns that ought to exist. We must sat isfy their sense of justice, although a less sum might satisfy our sense of Justice. From a statement by Secretary Bryan. It is a far cry from the old Bryan days when the country rang with ap peals from the eloquent Commoner to put the man above the dollar. What Is he doing now but put the man un der the dollar? Secretary Bryan tells us now that the way to get Colombia's good will is to buy it. He tells us, too, that we cannot buy it at our own price, but we must pay Colombia's price. He tells us also that friendships cannot rest upon force; he would teach us that they rest upon dollars. Is the friendship of, Colombia worth J25.000.000 to us? If it is worth J25.000.000, have we really got it when we buy it? ressed did not think it worth while to reply, they had. Some day they will wish ILL-TIMED D1SCOURAG KM ISN'T. Lincoln Beachey. the well-known aviator, does not believe the contem plated flight across the Atlantic can be made. He says he would not him self try it for a million dollars. The daring airmen who promise to make the attempt have his best wishes, but he tells them they might as well draw their wills before they start. Of course, Mr. Beachey is entirely sincere In his views of the matter, but that does not make it certain that he is right. Men as wise a.s he is have made discouraging predictions about other projects only to find themselves shamed by the event. When the experiment of sending a steamship across the Atlantic first be. gan to be discussed many a great sci entific authority discouraged ij. Their worst objection was that the vessel could not carry coal enough to feed her engines. But the bold adventurers persisted and it was ultimately found that the coal problem admitted of an easy solution. So did all the other problems of the situation, and it was not long before steamers were regu larly trading between Europe and America. In the days of the early experiments with aeroplanes a great scientific light demonstrated mathematically that man never could rise from the ground in a heavler-than-air machine. This demonstration pointed the jeers of those who ridiculed S. P. Langley. But the experiments went on in spite of the great scientist, and Mr. Beachey and other aviators now think nothing of sailing over lofty mountains. It will not be a great while before they think as little of crossing the Atlantic. This is sure to come, and we may as well reconcile ourselves to it. The aviators who are not privileged to take part in the first flight over seas may soothe their envy a little by making gloomy prophecies, but they will not change the course of history. COMPEL THE GUILTY TO REPAY. Strict justice requires that the men who, as directors of the New Haven Railroad under Mr. Mellen's presi dency, managed its affairs with such criminality and extravagance as to waste a sum estimated by the Inter state Commerce Commision at $60, 000.000 to J50.000.000, should not only be prosecuted criminally, but be compelled to make restitution. The directors were, trustees for the stock holders and are liable to them for the consequences of crime and waste. The evidence points to the late J. P. Morgan as the arch offender. President Mellen and the other direc tors were as putty in his hands. He gave orders and they obeyed. They knew the deals he ordered were in defensible, but not one of them dared to disobey him. Justice demands that while they be made to pay for their cowardice by sharing in the act of restitution," the largest share of the lost money be refunded from the Mor gan estate. There would be poetic Justice in realizing the means of restitution by selling the Morgan art collection. It has been bought with money obtained by loading down railroads and trusts with inflated capitalization; by buy ing such Junk as the Westchester road at exorbitant -prices and by sell ing it at still more exorbitant prices to corporations which Mr. Morgan ruled as absolutely as he ruled the New Haven. With money thus ob tained Mr. Morgan ransabked Italy for its treasures of art and antiques. His exploits in this respect rivaled those of Napoleon, but with the dif ference that Napoleon risked his life in battle to obtain them, while Mr. Morgan risked only his reputa tion. Nor did that suffer materially until after his death, when the naked truth was exposed. This is the climax, and, it is to be hoped, the last of a series of crimes of corporation-wrecking. The Erie, the Reading, the Alton and other roads have all gone through like ex perience, but the wrecking of the New Haven surpasses all In the reck lessness, audacity and lawlessness of the wreckers. The surest means of guarding against such crimes in the future is to make the guilty pay to the last dollar what has been wrong fully taken. WHAT NEXT IN MEXICO? Huerta's days in Mexico seem to be numbered. With three veteran armies, aggregating 60,000 men, clos ing in on him and with his last series of outer cities besieged, he could not long hold out, even if his own forces were faithful. Mexicans, like other tropical peoples, are noted for de serting a loser for a winner, and it would not be surprising if the Con stitutionalist advance In Mexico City should develop into a triumphal pro cession. Should resistance continue, it would probably be ineffective against such odds, when the enemy has the confidence inspired by un broken success, while the Federal sol diers can look back only on defeat. It is not too soon, then, to specu late on what will follow capture of the capital by the revolutionists. If they should remain united under Car ranza's leadership, that gentleman, his "head swelled" by victory and by the spectacle of a veteran army at his back, might pay little attention to any suggestions from the United States and might call upon our troops to evacuate Vera Cruz, with the al ternative of being driven out. Then what a flutter there would be among the watchful waiters and what re morse they would feel for having per mitted arms to be imported into Mexico! But it is probable that final victory would be followed by division among the Constitutionalist leaders. The dif ferences between Carranza and Villa, which have been patched up, might break out again, and Villa, the idol of his army, might begin a new civil war. Zapata, who has been carrying on an independent revolution, would demand a sftare in the spoils of vic tory. Jealousy and suspicion may easily provoke quarrels among the three victorious Generals, Villa, Obre gon and Gonzales. The present revo lution may easily breed another, for which rival foreign concession-holders are always ready to supply funds. Our quarrel with Huerta having been settled and he having been elim inated by force of arms before the slow processes of diplomacy could complete the work, our pretext for occupying- Vera Cruz would have been removed and a new one could be found with difficulty if Carranza were to go through the forms of an election. If, however, a new revolu tion were to break out, European powers might weary of our do-nothing policy and might demand that we intervene or permit them to do so. Should we intervene, our task would be far more arduous when confront ed by a victorious army under popu lar Generals, newly equipped with arms through our complaisance, than if would have been had we gone on from Vera Cruz to Mexico City and from that point directed pacification of the republic. President Wilson's policy has not removed, the danger of war; it has only postponed that danger and in sured that, if war comes, It will be far more bloody and long-continued than if he had acted decisively at the outset. Had he kept out of Mexican quarrels, he might easily have avert ed all risk of war and saved the lives of the brave Americans who fell at Vera Cruz. All of which goes to show that the most ardent lovers of peace are often the greatest instiga tors of war. The second wounded William in the shoulder, but this incident did not prevent him from taking part in the battle. The crossing of the Boyne put William under some disadvan tages at first and there were moments in the course of the engagement when it seemed as if James might come off victorious. But in the end his troops fled and he fled with them. James first made his way to Dublin and then to France, giving up every thing for lost without any real ground for it. Just as he had sacrificed England when defense was easily pos sible, he now abandoned Ireland at the first reverse. He might have col lected another army If he had been of genuine kingly mettle and perhaps worsted William after all, for the Irish were his friends and would have been true to the last ditch, while his opponent was surrounded with trai tors who played into James' hand at every opportunity. But the Stuart was his own enemy, like all the men of his doomed family, and the ruin which was beyond the power of his foes to accomplish he brought upon himself.. By the Battle of the Boyne Ireland was lost to the French cause. William was left undisputed monarch of Great Britain and the Protestant connection became for a time domi nant in Europe. The Irish Protestants, or Orange men as they call themselves, custom arily celebrate its anniversary with rejoicings which naturally exasperate their hereditary opponents. This year, since political and religious passions run unusualy high in Ireland, there was more than the ordinary expecta tion of lively encounters, but every thing seems to have passed off smoothly. It takes a long time for a new con dition to become perceptible to a genuine bourbon Democrat. His skull is thick and his eyes are in the back of his head. To these benighted poli ticians woman suffrage is still an ob ject of contempt when they deign to think of it at all. The woman's Con gressional committee asked for a con ference the other day with certain Congressmen on an important ques tion. The Democrats whom they ad- THK BATTLE OF THE BOYNE. , Although the Battle of the Boyne was fought on July 1, the unusual political situation in Ireland has de layed the celebration of its anniver sary this year until the 13th. Con sidering merely the number of men on each side, the battle was not of the first importance. William of Or ange, the reigning King of England, had only 36,000 troops. James Stuart, the banished claimant to the throne, had about 27,000. But the issue of the battle decided the fate of Ireland and firmly cemented it to the British Empire. Had the Stuart cause won at the Boyne Ireland might have be come a dependency of France or even a separate kingdom. James had been driven from the English throne two years before. Brother and successor of the unspeak able Charles II, hi.3 bad faith and treacherous attacks on the constitu tion of his country' had finally made Many of us feel far more than a mere academic interest in the new remedy for baldness. Faith In the cure is stimulated by hope. Hirsute beauty long vanished from arid and glistening regions of scalp promises to return. Our cranial deserts will be reforested, perhaps. 'Tis a Boston physician who has made the great dis covery'- Next to the fountain or youin itself we can imagine no greater. The price of the magic compound is not disclosed. We trust It will not be more than a dollar a bottle and may the bottles be big. ASSOCIATED PRESS; WHAT IT IS General Manager Explains Why It Exists, Trlla of It- Alma anil Answer Uninformed Critics. No doubt Portland citizens are as honest as most people, but we do not believe the open safe in the Backus & Morris hardware store was a fair test. It contained J 50 easily accessible to the first-comer, but nobody took the money. To be perfectly candid, we must add that nobody knew it was there. If the passing crowd had known of the neat roll of bills which might be so quietly and safely ac quired, would it have lain unmolested hour after hour as it did? We wonder. A man who can lift 10,250 pounds might be expected to wash dishes clean, should he devote himself, as Stillman Dempsey did, to that exhil arating and profitable pursuit. Demp sey made it pay his way through col lege and leave him a pleasant surplus after graduation. Other boys can do likewise. The youth who fails to get an education in these days lacks some manly quality. There are help ing hands on every side and countless ways to earn the needful cash. It is significant that Marjorie Dor man, secretary of the Wage Earners' Anti-Suffrage League, who trembies in her shoes lest votes for women damage the "baby crop," is herself a spinster. If she really wants to neip enlarge this useful product, we can mention to her a far more efficient way than spouting against woman suffrage. "Take a husband" would be our simple suggestion. Meanwhile the baby crop is doing' fairly well out here where women vote. AVe readily believe the story that the Maxixe da-nce was invented by wild savages in Brazil, but they must have been very wild and very savage. It would not surprise us either to learn that the tango came from some remote tribe of cannibals. These childlike people often unconsciously L create works of the highest art and achieve miraculous beauty when they are thinking only of sport. Melville E. Stone in Colliers. I have read with interest the edi torial upon the Associated Press which appeared In your iseue-of Juife 6. While I recognize an evident purpose to be just,' it seems clear to me that your suggestion that "the information sent over the Associated Press wires Is likely to have a slight official bias," lacks force. The dispatches of the as sociation are very widely published. If there Is the sort of bias you intimate, it should be easy to furnish some il lustration. Such evidence would cer tainly be convincing. In truth there Is no basis for the idea, as can be dem onstrated, I am confident, in any speci fic case that may be presented. In respect to your other contention, "that the Associated Tress ought to bo required to give its service, under pro per restrictions and conditions, to any newspaper which asks for it." there are eeveral things to say. First, your attempt to find analogy between this business and that of a railroad must fail utterly. The railroad is, N in -the very nature of the case, a common car rier. Not only does it fall under the proper legal rule which applied to the coach, the cab, and the ferry, long be fore the1 railroad existed, but it enjoys certain peculiar privileges, such as the right to eminent domain, etc., which gives the public a distinct claim upon It. On the other hand the Associated Press enjoys no exceptional .right of any sort. It is simply a voluntary union of a number of gentlemen for the employment of a certain staff of news reporters to serve them jointly. For its work if derives no advantage from the Government, from any state or municipality, from any corporation, or from any person. Its service is a purely personal one, and never, except under the long since abolished stave laws, has any government sought to compel personal service, save In cases of voluntarily assumed contracts, or of adjudgments for crime. The output of the Associated PrcsB Is not the news; it is its own story of the news. There can be no monopoly in news. At the point of origin, Havana, the destruc tion of the Maine was known by every man, woman, and child. Any one could have written a story of it. The Asso ciated Press men did. It was their own story. Who shall say that they, or those who employed them, were not entitled to its exclusive use? And is this not equally true, whether the em ployer be one man, or ten men, or nine hundred men acting in co-operation? e You say: "When a city has only one morning paper and where that morning paper, possessing the Associated Press franchise, is able to keen the franchise exclusively and prevent any other paper from getting it. there arise all the mischiefs which attend monopoly." To this let me say that tflere Is no such case, nor has there been in the life of the Associated rress of which you speak. If there were, Mr. Noyes'a re mark that "a competitor has as much right to demand and receive the same news service as he would to demand and receive the use of the other's press, composing room, editors, and report ers," would unanswerably apply. But as to the facts: The existing Associated Press began business on September 29, 1900, with 612 members publishing daily newspapers in 285 cities and towns. In the thirteen years and nine months which have elapsed since that date, 6?7 new members, publishing daily news papers In 434 cities and towns, have been admitted. As you will observe. this means an average of about one new member elected each week. Mean while members have resigned, newspa pers have failed or ceased publication, so tb,at the 627 elected do not represent an increase of that number on the membership roll. The present member ship is 891. As to the exclusive right, my answer Is that there is no exclusive right. There is what is called a "right of pro test," which is simply the right of a member to say that the Board of Di rectors cannot elect a new member in his field, but must leave the question of election to the membership at large. And even this "right of protest" is held by less than one-fourth of the mem bers. No such right has been granted to any member In over thirteen years, and, since it requires a vote of seven eighths of the total membership of the association to grant it, none Is likely to be granted within your lifetime or mine, to say the least. If ail other men In his division of the city government are doing a full him intolerable and the whole nation day's work, Commissioner Brewster united in a call to William, the Dutch Stadtholder, to invade England and drive him out. James, who was a coward as well as a consummate scoundrel, fled without much resist ance, and William became King in his place by act of Parliament. This event, which happened in 1688, marked the triumph in British polity of the doctrine that the sovereign power emanates from the people and is exercised through their representa tives. James fled to France, where he was received and encouraged by King Louis, who was willing to use him. Just at that time there was a great contest on for the control of Europe between the French King and Will lam with his allies. The French stood for the Catholic interest, William for the Protestants. Ireland, being then as now a strongly Catholic island, it seemed to Louis that his friend James might best maneuver there for the re covery of his throne. Accordingly a rebellion was stirred up and the Em erald Isle came pretty near being lost to England before it was again sub dued. James derived some of his sup port from native chieftains and peas ants, some from the French King. The great event of the year 1689 was the siege of Londonderry on the Foyle river In the northern part of Ulster. The town was heroically de fended by the Protestant garrison and only relieved when starvation had re duced the defenders to the limit of endurance. Macaulay gives a vivid account of this siege in his History of England. Up to the Summer of 1690 William entrusted the defense 'of Ire land to his Dutch commander, Schomberg, but he now crossed to the island and took the command into his own hands. His army consisted in part of English levies, but the most dependable regiments were from Hol land, where they had been trained in interminable wars against the French. He had also some French Huguenots who had suffered persecution at home and were eager to revenge themselves upon any Catholics whom they might meet. James, with his Irish troops and 8000 French veterans whom Louis had sent him, took up his position on the south bank of the Boyne River. Will iam advanced from Belfast and con fronted him from the other shore. As soon as he came in sight two of James' cannon fired at htm simul taneously. The first ball shot down a horse under one of his staff officers. may find justification in seeking dis charge of an aged janitor; but if such result can be shown it will border on the altruistic. South Carolina does not acquire luster by the lynching of a negro woman charged with killing a child, presumably white. The mob was, in deed, brave in taking her from jail, and so was the Sheriff who let her go. The manufacture of cheese in Til lamook County Is an Important in dustry and the makers certainly are entitled to all they can get 'for their product. They have for sale a super ior article. Queen Mary has recovered from the first shock of suffragette familiar ity. She laughs when a rubber ball is thrown at her. She is coming to enjoy the antics of her frantic sisters. Republicafls are not calculating whether they will gain any seats in the next House. The question is will they gain enough to block the Wilson legislative programme? One German student will not go about in later life proud of a scar received in a duel. His opponent's sword pricked him in the Jugular yes terday and he Is 'dead. The anti-suffragists need not worry. If they will concentrate their atten tion on the baby crop, they will be excused from voting. , Every man must be his own life saver on the Oregon beaches, as the Government cannot spare men from the service. These are the days when the man in short-legged underwear is misled In believing he is comfortable. One of the puzzles to a white "brother"" Is: Does a colored frater nity use a black goat? Carranza does not want mediation. The rifle is good enough for his purpose. The heavyweight will appear scan dalous in the new style of clothing. Look out Gearhart. for Japanese spies Some applicants have failed of elec tion, It is true. But in the great ma jority of such cases they have failed for other reasons, and not because of the exercise of any protest right. Since the association l a co-operative one, making no profit, there is no fund out of which to provide for the delinquency of one who may be unable to pay for the service. And as contracts for leased wires run over a considerable period, the failure of a member to pay his share of the expenses may become a serious thing. If the Associated Press were a money-making venture. It would be justified In taking the risks which merchants are accustomed to reckon on in making credits. This is one of the difficulties which would be Involved in any attempt to compel the organization to give its service to all applicants. An increased charge would necessarily be paid by the thrifty, solvent memDers to pro vide for the improvident or untrust worthy. Anyone may withdraw from the As sociated Press. What holds It to gether? The confidence of the members and of the public in its integrity. The only property it has is its good will. Is this a thing in which an applicant may claim a legal right to share? e e In the case of the New York Sun. it should be said that the proprietors of that paper have never sought admis sion to membership in the association. On February 19, 1897, when the paper was under the 'control of Charles A. Dana and William M. Laffan, there ap peared in italics at the top of its edi torial columns an announcement that the paper would not join the Associated Press, but would collect tne news tor itself. This policy was pursued until the death of both of the men named. And thereafter the present manager de clined to make application for member ship, but Instead presented a petition to the Attorney-General of the United States asking that he Institute pro ceedings aaalnst the Associated Press as an unlawful organisation. This was not an appeal for aid; it was an ercort to destroy a competitor. For it must be borne in mind that the New York Sun has a news collecting ana Dis tributing agency of tts own. and has had such an agency for over 20 years. But you say "the time will come when newspapers will be recognized as hav ing the qualities of a public utility, and will be subject to Inquiry -and regula tion by commissions similar to those which have arisen in many states dur ing the past few years to supervise railroads, telephone and lighting cor porations." Well, then we shall have turned back the clock 300 years, and John Milton and his "Plea for Unli censed Printing" were all in vain. The first amendment to the Federal Consti tution will be accounted a mistake, and we shall be face to face with a method of governmental administration once delighted In by the Stationers' Cora panyand the Star Chamber. As lonsr so sb March, 1867, a writer In Harper's Magazine said: "The Amer ican public are a little superstitious about tle Associated Press, and the feeling results from that common and natural cause of all superstition Ig norance." That such ignorance exists now, as it did then, is undeniably true. But It would be altogether unfair to suspect that this lack of knowledge on the part of the public is due to any ef fort by the association, or Its manage ment, to veil In secrecy either its scheme of organization or Us method of operation. Any one who Is anxious or even willing to Investigate It will find no obstacle. Neither the member ship nor the management has any apology to offer for the work. Instead It Is believed that the association Is engaged in a distinctly meritorious en deavor. Does the Associated Press receive or distribute to Its members all of the news of the day? By no means. Nor is It Intended that it shall. There are news fields which, however, important, it is forbidden to enter. These are the field which by the proprieties are left for exploration to the enterprise of the individual newspapers. What may It do and what may it not do? It may and should report the consequential events fairly, or as nearly an Is pos sible for human beings to do so. It may not go furtherr- And herein lies in large measure the misunderstanding of the well-intentioned public. e As an Illustration: If a "pogrom" occcurs in a Russian town, the Asso ciated Press should tell dispassionately the story of the event. But it Is not permitted to even say whether the thing is right or wrong. If President Wilson goes to the Capitol and urges a repeal of the statute exempting American coastwise vessels from the payment of the Panama Canul tolls, and If Senator O'Gorman or Republican House Leader Mann, or Democratic House Leader Underwood takes Issue with President Wilson, the Associated Press calmly reports both sides and must give no hint that either side is right or wrong. But, says some one. this sort of neg ative work has no value. It sees a great wrong and makes no sign of dis approval. J.tsees a movement for the betterment of mankind which is of the highest moment and does not lend a hand to help the thing along. Let us see. There Is an underlying belief that the American people, are capable of self-government. If so, they must needs be able to form a Judgment. And we conceive it to be of very great importance that the people be given the facts, free from the slightest bias, leaving to them the business of form ing their own judgment. Let us see what any other method of dealing with the news of the day must mean. If a news agency is to present some body's view of the right or wrong of the world's happenings, whose view Is it to be? And what assurunce are we to have that this somebody's view is the right view? And If it is the wrong view, what then? It was out of all this that there grew a co-operative Associated Press. The business of news gathering In a domi nant way was in the hands of three men. They were responsible to no one. They could send out to the newspapers anything they chose and no one could call them to account. A large number of newspaper proprietors revolted. They felt that far beyond their own interests, there was a greut public question involved. They set about the development of a plan which should Insure an honest, truthful, and Impar tial reporting of events. After delib eration, they concluded that the safest way was to organize a co-oporatlve association of newspaper proprietors, representing diverse interests and thus put the Institution under pledge to re port the truth, and, to guarantee Im partiality, the news service was to be subjected to the scrutiny and the cen sorship of the varied views of Its membership. Twenty-Five Year Ago Thus the business started. It took four years of hard struggle to wrest the business from private control; and then it succeeded. The co-operative association was accepted by enough publishers to make it a success. The very underlying principle was that It, its method of organization and Its news service should be subject to criticism. With an appreciation of their responsibility, and a full recog nition of their duty to the American people, they sought to work out the problem before them In the best pos sible fashion. If they did not succeed, then the effort of as patriotic and well minded a set of men as this country has ever known Is a failure. At one stage of the contest they pledged themselves for hundreds of thousands of dollars as a guaranty fund to break the chains which at the moment bound the American press to enslavement by the three men to whom I have referred, ess f have no thought of saying the As sociated Press is perfect. The frailties tif human nature attach to it. But of this I am ccrtalnf If In its form of organization, or its method of opera tion, it is in violation of any law, di vine or human, it is the very last insti tution In this country to seek to avoid Its responsibility. If anyone can de vise or suggest a better way to do the work It Is seeking to do; It will be glad to adopt it, or to permit some one else to put It In operation. The thing It Is striving for is a truthful, unbiased re port of the world's happenings, under forms that are legal, and not only con formable to statutes, but ethical In the highest degree. From The Oregonlan of July 14. Hit. Seattle. July IS J. R. Lewis, chair man of the relief committee, has Issued an address announcing that no further outside assistance Is needed New York. July IS With reference to the scheme for the consolidation of SS railroads, controlling 100.000 miles of track and billion dollars of capi tal, that will Include practically all -t the road Id the Central and Northwest ern States. Plerpont Morgan, of Drexel. Morgan & Co, iaye: "It Is a big scheme, but I believe It will he worked out ultimately." Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, already well known In the literary world, more par. tlcularly for his life Of Thomas II Benton, and recently quite prominent In politics as the Kepubllcan candidate for Mayor of New York City and by President Harrison appointed Civil Service Commissioner, has written an other excellent historical work en titled "the Winning of the West" Juet Issued. , B. 8. Pague will leave this evening for an extended trip through Eastern Oregon, for the purpose of establishing state weather bureau stations. He also goes In the Interests of the Ore gon Board of Immigration. Policeman Chris Kmlg busied him self yesterday keeping the bums who Infest the Plasa blocks on the move. The steamer Idaho will have among her passengers on her next trip an ex cursion party consisting of Mr. D. r. Thompson. Miss Bessie Thompson, Miss Bertha Moore, Mr. and Mrs, Tyler Woodward. Mr. and Mrs c. H. Pres. -on Mr. and Mrs. A. L Maxwell, Mr. and Mrs. D. F. Sherman, Mr. F. A. E. Starr and Rev. C. E. ("line. They will go as far north as Juneau. Mrs. Rattray, wife of Rev. R. F. Rat tray, pastor of the Ementiel Bspllsi Church, of this city, and an artist of considerable distinction, whose studio is in Oakland, Cal . is visiting her hus band and friends in Portland. For the last time in this city "Onr Strategists" will appear at the New Park Theater tonight. Congressman Blnger Hermann Is t the Esmond. E. D. Dewey, assistant mailing clerk of The Oregonlan. Is recreating for a week In Washtngtoii County Wesley L Kendall, of Maiden. Mass . a nephew of W. S. Ladd. arrived In Portland a few days ago with a view of making our city his permanent home. Judge Shattuck listened yesterday to the argument on the demurrer to the petition of Richard Everdlng for a writ of. mandamus to compel Police Commissioners Csrdwell and Frank to recognize him as a member of the board. Half a Century Ago From The Oregonlan of July 14, li4. tleneral Alvord has received a letter from Captain George H. Curry, First Oregon Cavalry, dated at Camp No. 4. northeast of Harney Lake, July 2, say ing that he was Joined there by Captain Drake and his command and saying: "I found it in good condition and Ion strong. With the two commands I will start In the. morning direct towards Canyon City. Intending to clear the region of John Day's River of Indians. Captain Berry, with his Infanny, re mains at the depot. Since leaving Fort Walla Walla I have traveled U miles. ' Captain Olney'e company were mus tered into the service of the United States at The Dalles on Tueeday. Publication Without Pay. PORTLAND. July 13. (To the Edi tor, i l submitted five poems to the editor of a newspaper. I told him If he published them I wanted pay at the rate of 50 cents a line. He did publish them, but I got no pay. He says he never pays for poems or stories articles. This newspaper claims to be a great friend of the tollers, but It does not want to pay Its own way. Surely any poems worth publishing are worth pay ing for. How can I collect my money? WILLIAM TRULL Many newspapers do not purchase poetry, but publish ver?e for the grati fication and encouragement it may give the author. It Is unusual, however, when verse is submitted with notifica tion that payment is expected for a newspaper; to publish it and then re fuse payment. In such case the news paper would probably be legally li able, i See a lawyer If you think the amount Is worth suing for. Buyers of Rare Books. PORTLAND, July 13. (To tire Edi tor.) I have a Herman book published in Vienna in 1795. It is a builder s book and contains Illustrations and descriptions of buildings In those daya Can you tell me if It is of any value, or where to Inquire? A SUBSCRIBER. Write to "Brentano's," Fifth avenue and Twenty-seventh street. New York City. The Oregon Sentinel establishment has been purchased by B F. Dewell, under whose editorial control It will advocate the people's candidates Lin coln and. Johnson to an election In a private letter to a friend, R. I'. Bruney writes: "Rattlesnake, Creek. Harney Lake Valley. Or, July i. I take up a miserable pie' e of Iron to say that I am alive and a tight match at that. You no doubt think that our prospecting party have all been killed off by the Snakes, but 1 em happy to Inform you that such Is not the case. The dill y one that I know tn have been shot are Mr. Swan, of The Dalles, and myself. The Indians were In nmhush not very far from Ooose Lake, and, when attacked, were only 10 or IS feet from us. There were probably 12 or 14 of the Indians, and only four of ue Dr. William Daln. Rufus Perklne, Alejx Swan and myself. After I got out ( the hushes I begged the others to wait until I could shoot one of the redskins, but they would not. I rode eight mile before dressing my wounds, bleeding all the time: after dressing them, rod 16 miles farther before encamping for the night, suffering tortures all the while." Washington, .luly . Of f Irlal die patches from General Wallace state that a battle took place between the forces of his command and the rebels at Monocacy, today. 6uV forces, over powered by superior numbers, were forced to retreat In disorder. Hrlgadler Oeneral Tyler was taken prisoner. The enemy's force numbered at least 20. "0. Our troops behaved well and suffered severe loss. Wallace Is retreating toward Baltimore. Quite an excitement was create! In town last evening by reports that the public documents, which for a long time have been accumulating In the public hall of th Postofflce. were being gobbled up. Men with their arms outstretched In support of plied tomes could be seen rushing towards their plnces of business or abodes, and a vast crowd was assembled at the Poet -office at a late hour. It Is the custom to deposit the franked public docu ments outside the Postofflce door for any one to select from. A portion of our city subscriber are now served by one of th carriers, Mr. Southworth. on horseback. The sons or M. Mansfield have been celling tickets for a raffle of the Sani tary rooster, recently sold at auction for the benefit of the commission, wish ing to donate more towards aiding the soldiers. The? raised but about tz. when the least one, aged about t years, complained to hie father that there were more serehh In the town than anybody supposed. Philadelphia July 10. General Couch's cavalry entered llagerstown yesterday, capturing about lot) rebel who were plundering. Heavy firing was going on in the direction of Har per's Ferry. The work nt Captain Clinton's ship yard In East Portland hae been resumed. Desert Land Laws, O PORTLAND. July 12. (To the Edi tor.) What Is required on taking up land under the desert act? What must be paid and when? How much Im provements muet be put on and when and the kind? How long before you can get your land deeded to you? READER. Write to Chamber of Commerce. Portland, for booklet on public laDd. NEWSPAPERS SELL MEAT PRODUCTS One of the largest packing firms In the world wrltea: "I am much In favor of newspaper advertising for work In conjunction with special efforts of our selling department. "I especially commend the desire of newspapers to work together with National advertisers and re tailer to make the advertising more specifically efficient" H