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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (June 7, 1915)
8 TIFE 3IOHNIXG OKEGOXIAX. 3IOXDAT, JUNE 7. 1915. FOBTLAND, OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oregon. Fostoffico as Hecond-clags matter. 6uLcrivtioi Kaua Invariably In advance: (By Mall.) Daily. Sunday Included, one year $S.OO Dally, Sunday Included, six months .' Daily. Sunday Included, three months ... I i.ilv Kiinduv ini-liiflMl flue niUllth ..... - ' Daily, without Sunday, one year ...-.- -'-J Daily, without Sunday, six ruonthH Daily, without fcJuuday, three montha ... 1.' Z'aily, without Sunday, one month ...... Weekly, one year t..iO I, Sunday, one year 2. J'O Sunday and Weekly, one year .. ........ 3.u0 (By Carrier.) Dally. Sunday included, one year 8.00 Daily. Sunday included, one month How to Kemit Send Poatofllce money or- ' der. exprtiw order or personal check on your local bank.. Stamps, coin or currency are at . vender! rmk. Uive poHtoffice address In full. Intruding county and state. to paecii. 2 cents: 8-i to 48 pases, a cents: to to iio pages, 4 cents: 6J to pages, 5 cents; 78 to 1 pages, tt cents. Foreign post age, double rate3. Kutrrn ItuxineM Office Veres St Conklln. New York. Brunswick, building; Chicago, btenger building. . PORTLAND. MONDAY. JCNE 1, 191. TODAY'S ELKCTTOJf. Today will be the second election under the commission charter ofPort land. There are Important issues to be settled and three offices to be filled. 'Voting on referended meas ures has ceased to be a novelty in Portland", but there Is still somewhat of a feeling of unfamlllarlty with the preferential system which applies to candidates. It is the Intent in apply ing the preferential plan to secure the election of officials who are accepta ble to a majority of the electors. The plan Is based on the assumption that each voter may find in . the list of candidates three men whom he con siders worthy of election to a given office. But the number of candidates this year is not large. It is likely that many -will have no second or third choice to express. It is quite gen erally conceded that the voter, is un wlea to cast a second or third choice vote for any candidate who. In hl3 opinion, is unworthy, but that in the event he believes more than one can didate Is qualified and fit for the of fice he seeks, it is wise to vote more than first choice. As to candidates the voter has for his guidance only what he has been able to learn as to personal qualifica tions. What is meant herein is that there are no pronounced policies to whioh candidates are committed which iwill stand or fall in accordance with the identity of the men elected. The vacancies to be filled do not even constitute a majority of the Commis sion, and within the Commission there are no well-defined factions or divi sions on policy which success of this or that candidate will frustrate or . build up. It Is not surprising, there fore, that interest in choice of candi dates has been milder than in the Issues contained in some of the meas ures. There are twelve measures on the ballot, three of which were placed there by application of the referen dum. . Several of the nine measures submitted by the Commission are tech nical In character, and all have been submitted only because they are char ter amendments which the Commis sion alone is powerless to enact. The - civil service amendment, firemen's pension provision, the grade-crossing amendment, the fire-stop amendment, the Bancroft bonding act amendment ana possioiy mo ciLy pcunu amend ment would hardly create more than passing opposition or even arouse gen eral public interest if they were mere ordinances and the Commission passed them without reference to the people. The charter amendment providing for free collection of garbage, how ever, cannot be classified as purely technical or routine. It -would estab- lish a new and costly municipal serv ice paid for by the taxpayers, re lieving the individual of an expense or trifling labor which he now bears without protest. It has the aspect of an unexpected treat offered the non taxpayer and an undeserved kick di rected at the property owner. Its sub mission in a time of depression is par ticularly Inopportune. Other paramount issues lie In the referended ordinaces and annexation proposals. Outstanding among these is the plan to purchase 5000 water meters, involving an ultimate equip ment of all services in the city. This ordinance originally did not have the support of the entire Commission. It carried by but a bare majority. Its adoption immediately created such strong opposition that a referendum was readily invoked without employ ment of paid solicitors. During the campaign that is closing - the voter has been offered an elabor ate array of' figures and arguments in justification of meter installation generally, but, on the other hand. there has been impressed upon him the the purchase of BOOO meters, although nearly nine times that many meters are required to equip all premises In behalf of universal meters most extravagant promises have been made The people have been assured that they will use less water if it is m tered, but will still have plenty; that their quarterly bills will be reduced, and that regardless of the consequent reduction in . revenues the several hundred thousand dollars required to pay for the meters will be forthcom ing These promises and arguments are insincere on their face. Merely to col lect them and put them in one para graph where their inconsistency is re vealed is enough to condemn them But were it possible to buy equipment with a deficit, there would still re- main the overshadowing facts that the flow of Bull Run River is more than enough to fill to capacity the Bull Run pipe lines; that the pipe lines are shut down to less than capacity; that not more than one-half their capacity is delivered to Portland, and that of the quantity delivered an average of 5,000,000 gallons daily overflows from the reservoirs into the sewers. The most that can be said in behalf of meters Is that .they compel an ab stract equality in the use of water. The meter policy appeals strongest to the man who objects to his Neighbor's use of what he does not want or need himself, which use does not discom mode or cost him one whit more than if the sewers got it Instead of the neighbor. If Portland was confronted by less than an abundant supply of "water, installation of meters would ' produce practical and necessary equal ity, but under present conditions their installation would be ill-advised, even If they cost nothing Instead of several ' hundred thousand dollars. In the . conduct of governmental functions exact equality In revenue contributions in numerous. Instances is rejected in behalf of a broader justice sessment in accordance with abil ity to pay. That policy the flat rate now approaches in a rough way. The premises of the wealthy pay more in proportion for the -amount of water used than do the small premises of the poor. Yet, 'wonder of wonders, it is the "laboring man's friend" who proposes that the poor shall be placed on exact equality with the rich in the use of water. Another referended ordinance pro vides for regulation of the Jitneys. In terms it is milder than any similar law in force in any other- important city. It .. contains no bonding provi sion, but requires the Jitneys to de fine their routes and operate over them during certain periods .of the day, imposes inspection of autos used in the jitney service, prevents opera tion by incompetent drivers and es tablishes a restricted district in the congested center of the city. It is more than fair to the Jitneys, and in the interest of public safety and con venience' ought to pass. The third referended ordinance dis criminates against the sale of groceries on Sunday. It permits the sale of confectionery, tobacco, milk, fruits and bakery goods. It is invidious, and for that reason, if for no other, ought to be defeated. . - ' There are two annexation issues to be decided by the voters. The pro posals to admit St. Johns and Linnton will each appear on a separate ballot. The Oregonlan Is convinced that the St. Johns merger is .a wise proced ure, but it offers no advice as to the admission of Linnton. The voter should not fall to remember that these two questions will be decided by a different method than any others on the ballot. A state law governs, and neither community will be admitted to Portland unless the affirmative votes constitute a majority of all votes cast in the election, A failure to vote Is therefore a negative vote. WATER, 11 K A I. Til AND BEAUTY. Portland abandoned the "Willam ette River as a source of water sup ply because it wanted pure mountain water. It abandoned the pumping system because the water could be delivered by rravity. It abandoned filters because they were not needed and besides were not efficient. With Bull Run water came health, satisfac tion, beauty and verdure. Meters belong1 with pumps, filters. chemical treatments and with a lim ited (water supply. If we go to me ters, -why not go back to the river for our water? We could discard the ex pensive Bull; Run pipelines and put ourselves on an exact equality with Buffalo, Bloomington, Milwaukee, Chicago and other Eastern cities where meters are said to be giving satisfaction in the necessary work of conserving the water. "Meters," says one of Mr. Daly's faithful organB, "encourage the use of water." Ah, yes! We suppose they do. For everybody knows that me ters encourage the use of gas and electricity. Of course, Daly will meter the Benson fountains and charge so much per drink. The "water hog" must be curbed. Portland's water is Its own. It is the best in the world. It Is bountiful and it is for use. Why should it not be used? "People who get meters save money on water bills," is a favorite argu ment It follows that under a uni versal system of meters everybpdy will save money. Then, of. course, there will be a falling off in the. total water revenue, tne only possible re sult -will be higher water rates for everybody. There will be no alterna tive. , Los Angeles, a city on a former desert, is as proud of her lawns as Is Portland. Is 75 per cent metered ana. as a result ol ner ex perience. Is making her meter system uni versal. Portland Journal. . Any on who has visited Los An geles In midsummer knows that this is untrue. The southern city has many wealthy residents who main tain beautiful lawns and gardens the year around, but In the poorer dis tricts the streets are lined with parched and barren homesites. No better example of the effects of me ters could be found. Los Angeles is increasing her meter service because it is good business for that city to do so. Her great pipe line, built at a cost of more than $20, 000,000, is laid through a district in which there Is ready sale for water to be used in Irrigation. No such con dition exists in Portland. Here un used water fills the sewers. FORESTER Ci RAVES' SCHEME. Chief Forester Graves' plan for pre venting the settlement of timbered agricultural land . by homesteaders whose ostensible object is to make farms while their real object is to sell timber is a new illustration of -the Ineptitude of Eastern officials at handling Western problems. Mr. Graves proposes that the Gov ernment first Bell the timber on con dition that the purchaser remove it, and that then the land be opened to homesteaders. The settler would then have a tract of logged-off land of the same character as the 3,000,000 acres in Oregon and Washington which Mr. Graves pronounces an obstacle to set tlement. If the settler were left free to market the timber, while reserving the land, he might realize enough by the sale to pay for clearing. The Graves plan would take away the timber and leave the stumps. The set tler would then be confronted by the same obstacle which prevented him from buying logged-off land the ne cessity of grubbing stumps. This land Is not held at excessive, but at mod erate prices. The stumps, not the price, prevent settlement. If Mr. Graves could sell the Umber on terms which required the logger also to clear the land, there might be eo'me merit in his scheme. Unless provision was made for removing the stumps as well-as the timber, he would simply add to the area of logged-off land, upon which few homesteaders would go. The homestead law was passed by Congress with a view to providing homes for poor men," but a man must be a small capitalist to make a farm on logged-off land. Con gross legislated in ignorance, as usual, when it legislated for the West. It had in mind the open prairie land, and carelessly made the same law apply to the densely, timbered land of the Pacific Coast. The settlers made the best they could of a stupid law. Tacoma develops a new kink in marital Jurisprudence. A man has been sent to jail for three days on complaint of hjs wife for taking more than half the bed. The villain! He probably took the outside major frac tion, too, and that is rather to his credit, for he could not push her out to the floor. So he cannot be so bad, after all. The judge in this case seems to have erred and should be re versed. A Portland . magistrate, rather than administer a Jail sen tence, would have sent them home to compromise. Tacoma is primitive. NEW EXPENSES IN PROSPECT. With the Treasury deficit growing, new causes of expense for the United States are constantly appearing. To the original estimate of $30,000,000 deficit after the income tax is collected we must add $15,000,000 for. the five per cent rebate on duties, and unless the free-sugar clause of the Under wood tariff is repealed before next May, we must add 135,000,000 for lost sugar duties. If present conditions continue, the deficit, which threatens to be 145,000,000 this year, will be nearer $80,000,000 next year. Aside from the proposed additional expenditure of $30,000,000 for Gov ernment ships, which we can avoid. wa are threatened with other expen ditures which we cannot avoid. We are really only beginning to spend money on Mexico. If reports as to the general prevalence of destitution are approximately correct, the feed ing of the hungry will be far beyond the resources of the Red Cross. The Government will probably provide the food and use the Red Cross as a dis tributing agency. But we could not stop there, or our relief would be a mere makeshift. We should need to provide seed for the next harvest and then to protect the crops from destruc tion by contending armies. That would require a considerable army, even If we did not undertake the general pacl- fl ..n 1 1 r,f V. a ...... ..... n ,1 -t '..ill . ) on ft many millions. If our'dlfficulties with ! Germany should come to a serious cri sis, it would be impossible to esti mate the sums we should spend. The Government will get off easy f it makes good the deficit and the extraordinary expenses In Mexico by issuing bdnds for that part of the Panama Canal's cost which was paid out of the Treasury surplus. It would do well to cut out all pork, luxuries and fads which cost money, or it will add a startling sum to the National debt. COMBINE FOR rXJBEIGN TRADE. Surely it should He possible to amend the anti-trust laws in such manner as to permit American man ufacturers to combine for the develop ment and conduct of export trade without opening the way to any of the evils c-f monopoly, at which those laws are aimed. Foreign trade can be adequately developed by great com- blnatlons of capital alone. The effect of our present law is to open this field to the big fellow and to shut out the little fellow- the very reverse of that at which the laws aim. The law should permit exporters of any class of goods to combine for for eign marketing in much the same way as fruitgrowers combine for domestic marketing. Associations could be formed which would send out salesmen and establish agencies. They would di vide expenses and orders according to capacity of the members' plants. Mem bership should be open to newcomers in the field on complying with fair terms. Under the supervision of the Federal Trade Commission the organ isations could be made to serve the same useful purpose as U served by the syndicates which built up German commerce to such great proportions. It might be possible to organize for this purpose not only by industries, but by communities. For example, Oregon manufacturers might combine to send agents to South America and to build up a trade In all their lines. Flour, lumber, furniture, canned fruit, canned salmon and dairy products should find a market on the West Coast and' around the Caribbean Sea. No one firm can do this business on as large and complete a scale as can many in combination. MACHJAVEXXJ IN THE NEW YORK SCHOOL. The Boston Evening Transcript gives an account of a curious piece of Machiavellianism which has lately been acted out in New York. It has not been wholly successful, but it has made a good man 'a great deal of trouble and has put back the cause of education in New York for nobody knows how long or how far. The drama began Vith an invitation from the fossilized New York Board of Directors to William Wirt, of Gary, Ind.. to go to the metropolis and infuse a little common sense into its public school system. Mr. Wirt has done wonders with the schools at Gary, making them educate the hands and senses of the children, as well as their brains, and doing it all with out giving them tuberculosis, bent backs and crooked legs. He has ap plied his ideas more or less com pletely in half a dozen other places, Including Kansas City. His fame among educational men is pretty wide spread, and it finally penetrated the fog of Tammanyism and conceit that envelops New York, and brought the School Directors to invoke his serv ices, which, we need not remark, were sadly needed. New York spends so much money for her various Tammanyized activ ities that she has comparatively little left for educating her children. The school buildings are often ancient. and they do not provide sittings for more than two-thirds of the pupils. The remainder must do the best they can with a half or quarter day's at tendance. To provide seats for all the children, it has been estimated that some $40,000,000 must be spent upon new buildings, wfclch would, of course, be of the antiquated sort that New York has always affected. The Superintendent of New York's public schools, Mr. Maxwell, was at one time something of a progressive In peda gogical affairs, but that was long ago, before he became petrified and be muddled under the stupefying in fluences of the metropolis. He now sees little or no merit in Mr. Wirt's new ideas. The fact that they work wonders wherever they are tried proves nothing whatever for New York. To be truly useful in that city an idea must have originated on Broadway or Fifth avenue, and since nothing of the sort was ever known to happen, there is a perpetual dearth of ideas in the public schools. The old mill grinds out Its grist cf chaff, and nothing better is expected from it. A good New Yorker never looks for anything but chaff from any of his revered Institutions. If one of them should suddenly begin to give useful results for the money spent upon it, experts fear that the whole city would go insane with astonish ment. Momentarily roused from its usual anemic lethargy, the New York Board of Directors Invited Mr. Wirt to come and do something for their schools, and six of the buildings were supposed to be put under his, direction. But the supposition turned out to be far from the mark. A shrewd politician named Ettinger slipped himself in be tween Mr. Wirt and his charge and secured the real direction of the pro posed reform. We need not add that It was thoroughly Tammanyized. The outward semblance of the wonderful Gary methods was preserved, but the soul was eaten out by graft and Im posture. Mr. Wirt went to New York to take up the work that had been assigned to him, but he was craftily put aside and could not get his hand upon anything tangible. Machlavelli never conceived of any scheme more complete in all its par ticulars. , But the best-laid schemes cannot always be counted upon to work by the programme. It hap pened that some ' of the parents of School District No. 80, in Brooklyn, became so exasperated at the treat ment of their children that they threatened a strike. Lest a worse thing befall them, the Directors actually put this school Into Mr. Wirt's hands, and he began to trans form it from the .word go. His plan is to give six solid hours to schooling instead of the traditional five. He thus commands time for work with tools and the like from the beginning of the grades. The seats in his schoolrooms are all movable. The pupils are kept on their feet most of the time. They walk about and talk as much as" they like, if only their work is done as it should be, and in the corridors and upon the grounds they discipline themselves. Mr. Wirt cares very little for magnificent buildings. What he wants is spa cious grounds where he' can build "? what he calls "child communities.'' These communities are totally unlike the traditional school with Us dis eases, stupidities and dead traditions. Mr. Wirt makes another Innovation by utilizing the full resources of the school system during the entire school day. The classes pass from room to room and from buildjng to building. A new class comes in as soon as the first has gone out. Thus each room and each teacher is constantly "utilized and waste is eliminated. By managing in this way, Mr. Wirt reaches some strange conclusions. He finds, to the' astonishment of every body concerned, that New York does not need any new schoolhouses. It already has more than enough to ac commodate all the pupils if" they could be put to their full use. What is really needed is more outdoor space. His work in Brooklyn District No. 8 0 was so successful that Mr. Wirt finally "obtained charge of other schools in Greater New York. The results - were everywhere the same. There is now some prospect that pub lic sentiment will oblige the letharglo and reluctant Board of Directors to give him a free hand. For the sake of the neglected New Tork school children, we sincerely hope it will. Mr. Churchill's confident speech would have more weight if he had not threatened to follow the German navy Into its ports as he would dig rats out of a hole. "The rats are still in the hole, except when they dart out and sink a British or "neutral ship. The London Times escapes convic tion on the charge of publishing for bidden news on the ground that the facts published were not news. Thus the censor scores either way, for he convicts the Times of publishing a "chestnut." In refusing to extradite a young man who escaped from the Washing ton Reformatory six years ago and has become a good citizen of California, Governor Johnson does Just the thing to keep him in that course. It is a safe rule to allow a passen ger on a streetcar to carry anything he cau "lug," and the Public Service Commission of Washington has so or dered. That has been the rule here, to a great extent. The censor at Baker has barred all gymnastics at public dances, and that will go until such time when the boys come in from the ranges. Then will he, indeed, be a brave man to inter fere. The source of Tillamook's prosper ity is seen In the four million pounds of cheese produced annually, bringing $654,374. Tillamook puts all her milk in the pail and watches the cow. The discovery of "cribbing" at the Naval Academy may have saved the Navy from giving commissions to men who, as Captains, would have run their ships aground. Opium-smuggling is bo persistent that many more smugglers must es cape capture than are caught, or the industry would die out. That sugar refinery at Souchez, where the French and Germans are fighting, must be a lovely spectacle by this time. If ten Texas cowboys can hold 150 Mexicans at bay, how many Ameri cans would be needeo to conquer Mexico,? The same old Inefficiency afflicts Russia. The men at Przemysl were short of ammuniition, ana the Austro- Germans knew it. Fair weather should bring out a large vote. Let the womenfolk have the whole afternoon for the purpose Not one citizen in a thousand knows how beautiful this city is just now, with its million bushes In full bloom If the latest John Jacob Astor's living costs $30,000 a year in infancy, how much will it cost in manhood? The Maharajah of Karputhala should have been robbed of a million and get into vaudeville. King Constantino's "misery" has been located In his tenth rib and the cause removed. The Police Band's harmony was marred by too much management. The German spy-hunt has been transferred from England to Italy. This is the weather to send the lad3 'in" many times a day. Young Astor, aged S, is the premier high liver of America. To meter or not to meter, that the question today. is The week of the Rose! T.wenty-Five Years Ago From The Oregonlan of June 7, 1890. Washington The appointment of Charles M. Ogden as receiver of the Seattle Land Office will be made in a few days. v. Cleveland, O. Lightning struck the riayers' baseball park today during a Came, breaking tne nagsian ana icarmu up the diamond. ' Bob Fitzslmmons. the amateur boxer who defeated Billy McCarthy at the California Club, has issued a challenge to anyone on the Coast at 151 to 156 pounds. San Francisco The following is con tained in a letter from Seoul, Corea, concerning the political tempest in which O. N. Denny, ex-Police Judge of Portland finds himself: "Mr. Denny's engagement is con cluded and he has been preparing to leave for home, but the King, who has always had the utmost confidence in him. notwithstanding all the endeavors of the Chinese resident Yuan, to get him ousted, is doing all he can to get Mr. Denny to renew his engagement. This he has consented to do on certain conditions which have not yet been complied with, but meanwhile the King at least, is decided that Mr. Denny shall not go. As for Mr. yuan, he is decelv ing the Viceroy, Li Hung Chang, the government at Pekin and himself, and this he will discover when it la too late. Mr. Denny -has virtually concluded for Corea a loan from certain American capitalists on fair terms, and the money Corea must have, but Yuan has opposed all that Mr. Denny has done, and, while the two have been fighting. Japan has stepped in. She is prepared to make loan to Corea in the same amount and on about the same terms. Corea is rap- Idly falling into the arms of her plucky little Eastern neighbor, and China will wake up to find that, while her repre sentative has been occupying himself to thwart everything Mr. Denny has tried to do, Japan has stolen a march on her, and made herself powerful here. There will perhaps be an explosion when Pekin realizes this." W. H. Starr, of Decatur, 111., is visit ing Mr. and Mrs, Ira Brown, 605 E street. Pelllo, the condemned Indian mur derer, expiated his crime on the gallows at 1:15 yesterday afternoon. The exe cution took place in the woodshed of the county Courthouse under the direc tion of U. S. Marshal L. T.- Sarin, and was witnessed by 60 people, including the jury who found the murderer guilty. To the end Pelllo, who maintained he was not guilty, was courageous. He made a speech declaring his innocence from the gallows. Father Orth gave him spiritual consolation. Pellio was convicted of murdering a half-breed woman on the Umatilla Reservation. PROUD OP AMERICAS CITIZENSHIP Naturalised Greek Calls on All Adopted Sens to Stand as One, PORTLAND. June B. (To the Edi tor.) Will you kindly allow me a small space on your editorial page so that I may be able to express my views re garding what it means to every immi grant to become a true, faithful and re sponsible American citizen? Since the European war has broken out 1 have known foreigners to go back to their countries to participate in that terrible struggle, which has ocourrea at a time when we thought that the world was civilized. Why should any one go back there and fight for the selfish glory of Kings and monarchs? What is the matter with tnis country! Is there not enough room here to make comfortable and happy horne7 Every foreigner who has come Into this coun try and stays more than two years should by all means be naturalized. otherwise he should go back from whence he came. It makes no differ ence whether I am Grecian, or he is German or French, or she is English or Russian, we are all obliged to be come American citizens, and we must comply with the ethics and customs of this country, because we all live to gether In one country and we should adore this Government because we are all . opportunely protected by it. Wo must work together, faithfully and har moniously for the betterment of our own interest and of the country's. Some foreigners say that they like their country better than this country, and if that be so why do they not stay there instead of coming here or return immediately? It would be much better for them and for this country. I am Hellen (Grecian) by birth, and I was born in Hellas (Greece) in the beautiful district of Hellas in Olympia, which is well known. I thank both my country and parents for having brought me into the world, but, on the other hand. I would like to emphasize strong ly that I am proud today of being an American citizen. I am not say ing this for the sake of publicity, but for this simple reason: I do this for the sake of the country in which I am dwelling. We are one. like a family in one house, and we must act like one group. I trust that we all American-born and foreign-born Ameri cans, do justice to our own cquntry s Interests and let Europe alone to settle Its own affairs and not become active partisans, for we gave up this right long ago. C. D. GANNOPULOS. 825 Y. M. C. A. CHINESE STALLS ARE BESEFIT Desirable Competitors at Pnbllo Market, Says Sold Back, Jr. PORTLAND, June 6. (To the Edi tor.l Durlnff election times various candidates for office do certainly hold wild theories, and to get votes they would use us as one of the planks of their platform. At this coming election especially a certain candidate for Com missioner has, as the principal subject In his platform, a proposal that the nuhllr- market should only be occupied by citizens and taxpayers of this city and county, excluding those that are not citizens and those who pay little or no taxes. This I take to aim principally at our people, who, although they would line to become citizens vt this great coun try, cannot do so because the law pre vents. So on this point 1 would like to make my reply. After having denied them the rights and privileges of citizenship, which they feel keenly, now. on top of this, they are discriminated against because they are not citizens. Just because our peo ple, who are Industrious and enterpris ing In their work, thereby producing more in a given area (the very thing for which Oregon has been praying and paying huge sums to accomplish), thus enabling them, at times, to undersell their neighbors, they are looked upon as undesirable competitors and should have no,p!ace In the public market. It is this very labor which will aid mate rially in reducing the high cost of liv ing, and is, therefore, surely a benefit rather than a detriment. It has been said that these- people pay little or no taxes. This is not true. These people who occupy stalls In the market form only a small percentage of our people, many of whom pay heavy taxes. In fact, several of our leading Chinese property holders here pay many thousand dollaTs In taxes on real prop erty, in addition to all those mercantile establishments which pay their propor tion of personal taxes. On top of all this our people are great importers, and in that way contribute materially to the revenues of this country. It Is neither fair nor wise that these people who occupy stalls In the market should be -excluded and looked upon unde sirable competitors. SEID BACK, JR. HOW SEATTLE WAS BUNCOED. Neither Meter Nor Garbage Scheme Has Been Beneficial. Seattle Argus. The Portland Oregonlan Is making a fight against municipal waste which is commendable. Had the same fight been made Tn this city a few years ago, hundreds of thousands of dollars would have been saved. - An attempt is being made in Portland to install water meters. Seattle has meters. In this city at first their use was not compulsory, and so nobody complained very much. It was un necessary, however, as thousands of gallons of water were going to waste dally are now, for that matter. As soon as the meter ordinance became a law restrictions were placed around the non-roetered water. Householders could us the hose only when held in the hand, and then only during cer tain hours. The rate of metered water was placed so low that the average consumer could use all he wanted, and save money over the flat rate system. Gradually the use of meters spread, when there were not enough people left who stuck to the flat rate to put up much of a kick, the use of meters was made compulsory. Probably half a million dollars has been expended by Seattle for meters, and before the city shall have grown to such an extent that we will not have more water than we need, they will have worn out and will have to be renewed. And while this was being done, the city instituted a municipal garbage system. Under that system thousands of owners of small homes who have usually burned much of their garbage find it easier to have it all hauled away by the city. It costs nothing why not. If this situation, when dished up in this way to Portland people, does not make them .sit up and take notice, then they deserve to be buncoed. The only people who will benefit by the metering of water are the people who sell the meters, and the only ones who will benefit by the. "unmetering" of garbage will be those who get fat Jobs working in the garbage depart ment, and the politicians who, by giv ing out those Jobs, help to build up a political machine which will perpetu ate them In office, and allow them to put through other deals, like the sale of a half million dollars' worth of use less junk to the city. PUBLIC PROSPERITY IS MENACED Such Spendthrift Policies' as Meter Scheme Retard Progress. PORTLAND, June 6. (To the Editor.) It would seem that Mr. Daly is court ing his recall. Surely there is some way to prevent his carrying out his meter scheme la the face of the tax payers' protest. 'Tis such high-handed manipulation of the taxpayers' money that are absorbing the people's homes and causing others to hesitate to in vest money in the city. Daly can see the waste magnified many times in the city, but is blind to the great waste going over the spillways and into the sewers. Let the city have this water. We have but three months of really dry weather in Portland at most, dur ing the year, and I do not believe, with our annual rainfall, and the melting snow, with our many streams, that if the great waste was stored up in reser voirs, and the money properly used, with good management, that Portland need ever have meters. Which is the oetter way, tne people to have free and liberal use of this water, nature's bless ing, or let it pass away into the rivers. thence to the ocean; benefiting none? an tne lace ol all the evidence at hand, why should Daly be so determined to carry out his meter scheme? Nature has bestowed upon us three great essentials necessary for our health and wellbeingjpure food, pure air and pure water. TTe first has been so capitalized by the selfish greed of the few to the detriment of tli manv that thousands of our young America are barely existing; hollow-eyed, pale stunted, dwarfed, half-nourished little creatures, victims of all sorts of dis ease. We spend many thousands ol aonars to erect hospitals, poorfarms aim an sorts or so-called charitable institutions to care for the vl,-tim but why not begin at the root of the evil In the first place, and give them their God-given right to pure food? And now, here comes the hydra-headed monster, the meter octopus, to strangle us to death for the want of our natural tioa-given right pure water. Thi water belongs to the city, and every resident is u. stockholder: there for, let us not fail to do our duty, but go forth well armed and slay the mon ster, A. SUBSCRIBER. . NICKEL HEALS XUMBKR 135,000 Working-men's CInb Gives Its Winter Record and Plans for Summer. PORTLAND, Juno S (To the Edi tor.) I have thought that perhaps a great many of our citizens might feel interested in knowing something of what has been done by the Working- men's Club, of 271 Front street. Since it has been started we have served 125,000 substantial nickel meals of which about 5000 have been given gratuitously to those in absolute want. We have hx connection with the club a free employment office, where every assistance is given to help men to find work, and we are always glad to do our best to supply efficient workmen to those employers of labor who may apply to us. The large floating population which wa had with us during the Winter has mostly drifted away, and those to whom we now cater are chiefly city worklngmen anxiously loo King ror a Job, and to whom work is preferable to chanty. Free telephone. Main 844 0, and sta tionery are 'supplied to all who wish to answer advertisements, or to write personal letters. The founder of the club having de cided to keep it open during the Sum mer months, we start on June 1 what we may term our Summer campaign. during which we hope to put forth re newed efforts to endeavor to solve the problem of the unemployed and the high cost of living to the workingman. - The only assistance we ask from the public Is that they will give us, as far as possible, a chance to find work for those deserving cases which we have always on our hands, and which we consider" it at once our duty and our privilege to help. What we have so far been enabled to accomplish has been rendered possible by the unostentatious generosity of one of our foremost and most public-spirited citizens. CAPT. J. G. M'CLELLAND, Manager. Answer to Rabbi Wise Indorsed. f PORTLAND, June 3. (To the Edi tor.) The Italian people and the Americanized Italians of our fair city have a deep sense of gratitude to The Oregonlan. on account of the able and very brilliant editorial of June S In answer' to the unprovoked and mall cious attack on the Italian nation by Rabbi Wise. Italy needs no champion as "he who runs may read" Italy, the dream of the -Doets. the cradle of all art and Intelligence, ft land of milk and honey. V. (JHA.n u. 360 First street. Wrltlns; Up a Baby Show. Baltimore American. "Why was that young man In trou ble with his paper?" "Because he wrote up the baby show as a howling sue cess," Half a Century Ago From The OreKonlan of June 7, 1S65. Charles S. Ringgold and Miss Mary Dullard, of San Francisco, were mar ried in Portland, June 3, by Rev. Father Flerns. It will be remembered that the Portuguese authorities some time agi fired upon the United - States ship Niagara in the harbor of Lisbon be cause it was insisted that that vessel was attempting to violate the neu trality laws by proceeding out of port within 24 hours after the rebel ram Stonewall has sailed from the same place. It was shown to the Portu guese government that such was not the purpose of the Niagara and she was merely shifting her anchorage. The Portuguese government made all possible reparation by ordering th boat which had fired on the vessel to salute the United States flag. The recent orders of the War De partment curtailing military expenses has effected a reduction of $500,000 a day in the outlay of money by th department. New York General Lee Till be in dicted by the grand jury at Richmond within a few days for treason. The Governor of Illinois has received from the widow of Senator Douglas, for $25,000, a deed of the lot in Chicago where he lies burled. A magnificent monument will be erected. Yesterday a fine span of sorrel horses and an excellent carriage were almost ruined in a smaehup in the Third Ward, The sorrels were driven by Mr. Stevens, a young man from Corvallis, and belong to Lipscomb & Wells, of the same town. The horses Decame unmanageable, falling upon the pole of the carriage. The near horse was badly cut about the head and the cords of his right forleg severed. Washington The Postoffice Depart ment has contracted with J. E. Ree slde for the conveyance of mail on the route Irora Lincoln, Cal., to Portland, service to commence July 1. Rev. E. R. Geary has accented an invitation to deliver the Fourth of July oration at Corvallis. The opening of the Sues Canal to navigation throughout its entire length from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean has been officially announced to all the Chambers of Commerce In Europe by Monsieur Lesseps, president and super intendent. The returns from Washington Ter ritory are gratifying beyond the most sanguine hopes of the friends of the Union. The foul dishonor of two years ago is removed. The Democ racy proves not to be able to survive the fall of the "Confederacy." A union mass convention will be held on the evening of June 10 at the Court house for the purpose of nominating Union candidates for city offices. CRUEL IMPOSITION IS PROPOSED. Plight of Many Persons Contrasted With Salary of Council Meterttea. PORTLAND, June 6 (To the Editor.) The Oregonian is right; S. Benson is right. This is not the time .to add further to the burden of the property holders. At the present time there is no need of meters or of adding to the city debt by Installing meters. Were it a mere matter of the 5000 meters it might not be so bad but prop erty owners know that the 6000 meters asked for will be but the entering wedge and that Mr. Daly will scheme about in one way and another until he has, as he has staled he Intended, hav ing meters installed all over the city. There is also no question in my mind but that E. G. Hopson, of the United Stat-s Reclamation Service, is right: that there is all the water at the source of supply that now Is needed or that is liable to be needed by the city for many years to come. With two large pipelines to bring the water to our city, and certainly when there is turned into the Willamette River the volume of water as overplus that is claimed, there surely cannot be any necessity for going to any expense in the near future In order to hjjsband the use of water other than to see to it that users of water should not be per mitted to let the water run nil night, as I have known to be the rase both in buildings and on lawns. With all the paid employes of the city there are certainly enough to make all the in spection needed if there are not now sufficient inspectors for that purpose. At a time when thousands of our best men are unable to get the money with which to meet their obligations; when thousands of men are unable to secure employment at any price and when many business men have been com pelled to cut down the number of their employes and even reduce the pay of the meager force kept, all of which must be well known to those at the head of our city government, it would seem that notwithstanding the big pay the Mayor and Commissioners get, they would have something akin to a friend ly feeling for others not so situated and act like good business men do -curtail all unnecessary expenditures in hard times. S. 11. GllUBEK. Annexation of Suburb L'rgcd. PORTLAND, June 6. (To the Ed itor.) Although election day comes on Monday a home day for ladies I hope they will make special effort to vote. Linnton has voted over two to one to annex to Portland and we ought to give .them a cordial admittance by a strong vote. Adjoining the city, Linnton has a long strip of splendid territory for first-class scenic develop ment something Portland will be produ of even more and more, and later, when you spin along the splendid bou levard now being built 500 feet above the river, you will exclaim: "This Is Portland, great Portland!" Then with the lower Llnnton or St. Helens avenue under city control, safe and speedy, all will say: ".This Is a fine annex to Port land!" Business men know of Its Ions, spacious deep-water harbor, where big ships can turn around, and of ships that arrive and leave that never get into Portland territory. So let us all vote solid for annexing Linnton as well as St. Johns, and get both sides of five miles more of harbor. H, H. B LANDING. OREGONIAN ELECTION RECOM MENDATIONS IN A NUTSHELL, Water meter policy. Vote 101 No. Sunday grocery closing. vote 103 No. Civil Service amendment. Vote 104 Yes. Garbage collection. Vote 107 No. Grade crossing elimination., Vote 108 Yes. Dog pound measure. Vote 1 Yes. Jitney regulation. Vote 1 Yes. Bondinx act amendment, vte 114 Yea. Firemen's pension amendmnt. Vote 11 Yes. Fire stops measure. Vote118 Yes. Annexation St. Johns. IPote Yea. Annexation "Linnton. Norec ommendatlon. 4