THE .SUNDAY OEGONUlN, PORTLAND, JANPABY' 17, ISOi
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YESTERDAY S "WEATHER Maximum tem
perature, 50; mln'r"""i temperature, 44; pre
cipitation, .60 of an Inch.
TODAY'S "WEATHER OccaslonalralnJ lower
temperature; winds mostly southerly.
1
PORTLAND, SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 1801.
J)IS05TdITED AT HOME AND ABROAD.
Special agents and grain experts con
nected with the Agricultural Depart
ment at Washington occasionally make
visits to the Pacific Northwest, and
Invariably complain at the criticisms
made by The Oregonian over the worth-lessness-
of the grain crop estimates of
the Bureau of Statistics. This paper
has frequently printed extracts from
newspapers In the Bast and Middle
"West showing that the Government es
timates are as generally discredited in
other parts of the country as they are
In Oregon, "Washington and Idaho.
Now comes the Liverpool Corn Trade
News, the greatest grain paper in the
world, with Its detailed annual state
ment showing the wheat crop of the
world for the past ten years. The open
ing 'sentence at the head of this table
reads as follows:
Official returns are taken when obtainable,
except in the caso of the United States,
where recognised commercial estimates are
adopted in preference.
Following this pointed reflection on
the accuracy of our Government crop,
reporting bureau are the official figures
from forty-six wheatgrowing countries
throughout the world. The official re
turns from Crotla and Sclavonia, Her
zogovlna and Bosnia, Greece, Cyprus,
Algeria, Tunis, Persia, Tasmania, Cy
prus and all other countries which con
tribute to the world's supply of wheat
are considered sufficiently accurate by
this great grain authority. The official
figures of the United States, the great
est of all wheat-producing countries,
and the one country among all the
others In which commercial civilization
has reached the highest degree of per
fection, are alone discredited. At first
thought it might seem that this was an
Intentional slight to a country on which
Great Britain, the world's wheat mar
ket, was so largely dependent for sup
plies. This theory, however, Is un
worthy of serious consideration, for the
very existence, of the Corn Trade News
Is dependent upon Its presenting, as
nearty as possible, the actual figures
on available supplies of grain. In con
sequence, an error regarding the size of
the American crop would be more seri
ous than In the case of any other coun
try, for no other country offers so large
an exportable surplus.
Thus, being confronted with the In
disputable evidence at home and
abroad that the Government figures are
Hot reliable, the question arises, Why
should they not be equally as accurate
as the commercial figures which are
gathered at no expense to the Govern
ment? The answer may be found in
the recent appointment of a Wyoming
politician, with headquarters In San
Francisco,, to supervise the collection
of grain statistics in Oregon, "Washing
ton, Idaho and California. If the selec
tion of a man to supervise this work
had been left to the growers and ex
porters who handle the crop of the
four states, there Is every reason to
believe that they would have chosen
from their number a man familiar with
the situation and in touch with the
business, in all or at least one of the
four states mentioned. The extent to
"which "Wyoming figures as a wheat-
growing state is shown in the Govern
ment's own figures for the year just
closed. It Is credited with a wheat
production of 473,740 bushels, so that
the opportunities for a man to famil
iarise himself with the business axe
necessarily much more restricted than
In states which produce fifty to sixty
times as much wheat.
It is this policy of making the statis
tical bureau of the Department of Ag
riculture a home for place-hunters, re-
: gardlpss of their qualifications, that has
resulted In bringing the department
Into disrepute at home and abroad. It
has forced the commercial Interests of
the country to expend large sums of
money in securing accurate informa-
Itlon while at the same time the Gov
ernment is spending vast sums In sal
aries and expenses of men who, by the
results achieved, prove themselves un-
I fitted for the service. Eastern papers
have frequently urged the abolishment
of the Agricultural Department's Bu-
Ireau of Statistics, and, unless some
i steps are taken to relieve It from the
odium that is being cast upon it at
home and-abroad, It would be well to
put an end to its existence. The money
now expended could be used in provid
ing a home for indigent politicians, and
in this way would mot be used in the
circulation of inaccurate crop reports,
which are worthless alike to dealers
and producers.
TJEX SLEEPING DOGS HE.
War between Japan and Russia seems
very close, but it is doubtful whether
Russia, whose statesmen are among
the most astute and far-sighted in Eu
rope, have any serious purpose to go to
war with Japan unless Japan forces a
fight by striking the first blow. Rus
sia knows that it might be compara
tively easy to repulse Japan's attack
on sea and land, but Is too long-headed
not to -see that, even If no European
power interfered, Japan, when defeat
ed, could take refuge In her island
home, which is impregnable to naval
attack, and there, like a nest of pirates,
bide her time when some Russian hour
of difficulty would furnish her with a
new opportunity. This Is assuming
that Russia was successful on both sea
and land. Russia knows, too, that a
war with Japan is beset with many
perplexing complications. She knows
that China, while nominally neutral. Is
a secret ally of Japan. She knows that
the insidious emissaries of .Japan may
ultimately succeed, when the Empress
Tsl An dies. In gradually persuading
China to adopt the military arms and
organization that have made the Japan
ese a nation of formidable soldiers.
The popular impression that the ChF
nese could not be made Into stanch
soldiers is not shared by Lord Wolse
ley, who met them In battle under Sir
Hugh Rose in 1860. He says that they
have every quality required for the
good soldier and the good sailor, and
they "only want a Chinese Peter the
Great or Napoleon to make them the
most formidable nation in the world.
Should China ever be wise enough to
follow Japan's example In reforming
her army and navy, she is bound to
become the most powerful of nations.
China has only to study how Japan has
converted herself Into a powerful em
pire within the life of one generation."
This is the Judgment of an educated
English soldier, who has fought the
Burmese, the fighting races of India
and Africa. There is -nothing incredi
ble In this prediction. There are be
tween four hundred and five hundred
millions of people in China, and out of
this vast population it would be an
easy matter to raise a vast army of stal
wart men of fighting temper. Trained
under Japanese officers, there Is no rea
son why they could not become for
midable soldiers. They are of the same
blood as the Mongols, that under
Genghis Khan and his successors In the
thirteenth century penetrated Into Rus
sia, Poland and Hungary; they are of
the same blood as the Tartars, that
under Tamerlane marched to the gates
of Constantinople In the first decade
of the fifteenth century. Of course, It
is easy to say that such conquests
could not be repeated under our mod
ern jrailway system of military concen
tration. That is true, probably, but
with Japanese instructors China would
be placed in a perfect tate of formida
ble military defense and could become
capable of making a destructive mili
tary invasion of Asiatic Russia Now
there are able men in China who know
"what Japan has done, and, taught by
the force of example, they will some
day, with Japan for an organizer and
instructor, seek to place China In a
state of military defense. Of course,
this is not a certainty, but the astute
statesmen of Russia know that It 13
among the probabilities that are worth
considering in their project of the fu
ture. Russia is too shrewd and astute a
diplomatist to wake a sleeping dog in
shape of a new China, roused, educated
and organized Into a military nation by
the arts and impulse of Japan. The
fundamental dispute between Russia
and. Japan Is the domination of Corea.
This Is a matter of vital consequence
to Japan, since it is their only field for
colonization, but It is not a vital mat
ter at all. for Russia; that Is, It is not
a matter of present pressing conse
quence. Russia's real interest lies In
quietly clinging to Manchuria. Russia
has a legal right under agreements
with China In 1S96 and 1898 to keep
troops In Manchuria to guard her rail
roads across Manchuria to Vladivostok,
wtlh an extension from Harbin, on this
road, to Talien Wan- and Port Arthur.
During 1900, Just as the allied forces
marched on Pekln, Russia poured thou
sands of troops Into Manchuria and
quartered them as far south as Nlu
Chwang. These troops have never been
withdrawn.
Manchuria has an area of 370,000
square miles, with a population of
S.500.000. It is a country of enormous
undeveloped mineral wealth: it has ag
ricultural lands of wonderful fertility.
The City of Harbin. In the heart of
Manchuria, with 9000 Inhabitants, is as
much a Russian town as the Russian
-seaport of Dalny. If the Russianizing
process continues, the finest province
of China will become part of the Rus
sian Empire, and the Russianizing pro
cess will continue If Russia keeps out
of war with Japan. Japan today is the
largest foreign market for Manchurian
produce, and altogether Russia risks
too much, even if she wins the battle
with Japan. Corea, Indispensable to
Japan. Is not Indispensable at all to
Russia, while war with Japan might
weaken Russia's foothold In Manchuria,
for the line of railroad communication
would be exposed to acts of costly de
struction. Small parties armed with
dynamite can easily break a railway,
and if It was seriously broken by the
Boxers in 1900 It can surely be broken
by Japanese emissaries In time of "war.
Russia is long-headed: she sees all these
possibilities; she knows there Is a here
after, a consequent, an aftermath, to
every war. and because Russia Is as
tute and far-sighted, we do not believe
she will go to war with Japan unless
Japan strikes the first blow. Russia
knows that the real prize is Manchuria,
for which she can well afford to concede
to Japan domination In Corea. When
the Trans-Siberian Railroad has a. dou
ble track, a solid roadbed, rolling :stock
enough to make it a sufficient line of
railway communication, when Russia
has a Pacific fleet of superior strength
to that of Japan, war might be a toler
able venture, but even in that event
Russia will hesitate to make a vindic
tive enemy of 45.000.000 of warlike
Asiatics, who mean, soon or late, to or
ganize and arm China against Russia.
Russia has hitherto won by treading
softly; she understands the Oriental
character, and she will not now aban
don astute diplomacy for the bayonet
unless Japan forces war by firing, on
the Russian flag, thus closing the de
bate with cannon. "
If Japan is suffered to dominate in
Corea she will be content to obtain in
Manchuria neither more nor less than
the United States obtains, but if she
cannot dominate in Corea, her coloniza
tion ground, she win fight, and if she is
beaten she will retire to her impregna
ble island home and organize insidi
ously trouble for Russia In China. It
may take twenty-five years, but ulti
mately China will be organized' by
Japan's promptings Into a state of for
midable military defense. Russia does
not want this to take place, and she
will not quarrel with Japan unless
.Japan forces the fighting.
COLONEL HOFEB'S P.LAJQC DUTY.
The Salem Capital Journal has inaug
urated a scheme by which it proposes
to give away to its subscribers a $150
diamond, absolutely free. The plan re
quires the payment of a dollar for
subscription, which entitles the sub
scriber to a guess as to an unknown
number. The person lucky enough to
guess closest to the right number is
entitled to the diamond. In a recent
issue the Journal explains the whole
scheme In a first-column editorial, and
follows this with an editorial on gam
bling. The editor says: "What to do
with gambling? This question comes
up in two forms: What is our private
duty? What is our public duty?" s
Tour duty Is plain, Colonel Hofer,
absolutely clear. There be no pos
sible doubt about either your public or
your private duty In the suppression of
gambling. You have undertaken a
work of reform that is worthy your
rare, ability. The desire to get some
thing for nothing is the greatest evil
of our times has ruined thousands of
lives of brightest promise, has made
desolate the homes of thousands of
happy families and has broken the
hearts of thousands of proud fathers
and affectionate mothers.
Bdth your private and your public
duty are plain. Tou must strive to
teach both young and old that it is not
honorable to get something for nothing
by the mere stroke of chance. You
must tell the young people who read
your paper that it Is work, and not
chance, that wins in this world; that
business men of the highest standing
no longer have use for young men who
play at games of chance for reward.
Tell them that It is in small and appar
ently harmless ways, that the gambling
spirit is developed; that man Js a bun
dle of habits, and that evil habits
formed in youth are flaws In personal
character.
Tour duty Is plain, for you have said
that "the private citizen's duty is to
obey the laws and set a good example
In all things to' his fellow-men." In
setting a good example it Is best to
follow the Bible injunction to "avoid
even the appearance of evil." In dis
cussing this gambling question before
your readers, do not mince Syords. bSit
go in to demolish every gambling
scheme from playing marbles for keeps
to buying options in Wall .street Re
count to your readers the reasons upon
which the lotteries were denied the
United States malls. Reprint, at the
head of your editorial columns, the" re
cent report of the Postmaster-Generalv
in which he denounced guessing con
tests as among the most pernicious
schemes that are now enabled to exist
by use of the mail system. Go after
them, Colonel, and you will have the
commendation of all decent people.
FAMOUS SONGS.
A memorial building is to be erected
in Sheffield, Mass., in honor of the late
Dr. George F. Root, through contri
butions obtained from the G. A. R. and
the Woman's Relief Corps and Loyal
Women of the United States. Dr. Root
was widely known as a musician and
teacher of music before the war. His
first popular song, "Hazel Dell," was
published as early as 1853, but to his
songs during the battle for the Union
he owes his largest and most lasting
fame. Among these famous songs were
"The Battle Cry of Freedom," "Just Be
fore the Battle, Mother," "The Vacant
Chair," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," and
many, others of superior merit.
The song of "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp,"
is still in vogue, and is in our judg
ment the finest song of the war on
either side, from the sentimental point
of view. It Is, of course, not equal In
poetic merit to Randall's famous song
of "Maryland, My Maryland," but that
Is a pure war lyric; the battle side of
the conflict; but "Tramp, Tramp,
Tramp," touches both the battle side
and the home ties of the soldier with
great tenderness of sentiment and felic
ity of expression. No other song of the
Civil War ever touched so many hearts
In war time, and long after the war Is
over, as this Immortal song of "Tramp,
Tramp. Tramp." It does not mean so
much today as It did forty years ago,
when thousands of Union prisoners sat
in confinement "thinking, mother dear,
of you"; that is the sentimental thought
of one verse. Another verse tells of the
battle front, of the fierce charge, of the
repulse, of the victorious cheer. To the
soldier of the Union Army this famous
song was realistic, and to the friends
and neighbors, the mothers, brothers
and lovers of the soldier behind the
Army, this wonderful song was real
istic, too. There were other famous
songs, like "Tenting Tonight," a most
beautiful song, both in the words and
the air. Then there is the splendid
song, "Old Shady," which was the spe
cial favorite of General Sherman.
"Flag of the Free" was another charm
ing songsand with the Western armies'
"Marching Through Georgia" was a
prime favorite. Then there was a good
deal of sentimental trash that had con
siderable currency, such as "Mother,
I've Come Home to Die," but the fine
songs we have named soon drove the
cheap stuff Into obscurity. It Is said to
be true of soldiers that sentimental
songs have a larger vogue than humor
ous ditties. We suspect that It depends
on the mood and situation of the sol
dier. Sherman's soldiers had an easier
time marching through Georgia than
Grant's Army did marching to Peters
burg, so felt more like singing rollick
ing songs than Grant's Army did, but
Sheridan's Army in the Shenandoah
felt more like chirping occasionally, for
the enemy was not so near and so
deadly all the time as in the march to
Petersburg.
But after the surrender at Appomat
tox the air was vocal with songs of war
and peace. A Confederate General said
laughingly to General Gibbon, whom he
had known before the war In the old
Army: "We always envied you your
songs; we couldn't sing 'The Star
Spangled Banner,' 'Red, White and
Blue' any more; we couldn't sing
'Maryland, My Maryland,' and 'The
Bonnie Blue Flag all the time, but
your army was stocked with good
songs; you had all the old Union songs
and some new ones better than the old."
This was true, and It was a pity that
It was true, for the average. Southern
man Is fonder of good, popular music
and good songs than the average
Northern-bred soldier, unless the North
ern soldier was city bred and had his
taste educated and his songbook en
larged by attendance on minstrel enter
tainments or English opera of light
quality. The average country recruit
from New England couldn't sing any
thing but popular hymns and tiresome
stuff like "Joe Bowers." The song of
"John Brown's Body" obtained easy
popularity- because it was sung to a
popular Methodist revival air. But the
really fine- songs of the Civil War were
those of George Frederick' Root; they
were fine sentiment set to fine music;
they touched the hearts, of the whole
people; the people within the Army and
the people behind the Army .whose
hearts were always with their boys,
their boys Who fought at the front and
who fell where they fought. Dr. Root
caught the mood of the plain pebple
within- and without the Army at what
might be called the psychological mo
ment of the war, when he wrote his fa
mous war songs, and for many yeare
they will be his most eloquent popular
requiem.
EUPHEMISMS FOR DIASPHESIY.
Not only do the English take their
pleasures seriously, but they take their
societies in the same way. The names
of most of them are so ponderous that
they indicate the state of mind of their
promoters. The latest society of tedi
ous name is the National Association
for the Suppression of Bad Language.
Over here such an organization would
probably be known as the Anti-Cussers
or something equally abrupt. While
one may cavil at the name, nothing can
be said against the society's object, for
if any class of people on earth should
have' the greater part of their language
suppressed It is the lower stratum of
Londoners. Americans use plenty of
oaths, but the wanton obscenity that
defiles the speech of a certain type of
Englishmen is almost nauseating. Fur
thermore, the American usually shows
some Ingenuity in his cursing, while the
Englishman has a mere parrot-like
repetition of words that were originally
chosen, to all appearances, for their
power to disgust.
The N. A. S. B. L. has work before
it, and it is proceeding to tackle Its
work In a peculiarly English way, by
the distribution of tracts. At football
matches hundreds 'of speclaily prepared
leaflets are passed among the specta
tors, and the too-ardent barrackers are
exhorted to. refrain f rom saying any
Ing stronger than "Oh, my!" or "Dear
me!" when the opposition shoots a goal.
It is further stated that the N. A. S.
B. L. is preparing a list of '.'harmless
words to take the place of profane lan
guage." Just what harmless word will
be suggested for use when a man steps
on a tack we are not Informed, but It
will have to be an explosive one to af
ford any relief to an overflowing soul.
Newspapers will also feel the influence
of the society. The -question of indi
cating cuss words by dashes will be
taken up. To most minds it seems
preferable to spell out the ordinary ex
pletives than to leave a dash, which
provokes the imagination and possibly
leads the evil-minded reader mentally
to supply a worse word , than the
speaker used. Furthermore, vwhat a
trouble to have little Willie asking,
"Pa, what sort of a fool is one with a
line to front?" Sentimental Tommy,
whom" Barrie. described, used to read
aloud to a woman of strict Scottish
virtue. When; he came to a doubtful
word he said 'stroke."
"iFTou strok$ scoundrel cried Sir An
thony," he would read, and who can
doubt tie harmful effect of such a sub
terfuge upon hl&toihd. Some writers,
Kipling one ofjh'emi spell out "blank."
"You blanket blank blank!" at least
gives one the. rhythm, but It must ' be
condemned alcng .with . dashes and
strokes. " . ,
There is nothing virtuous in a dash.
Bishop Potter, playing a round of golf
with Plerporif Morgan, made an atro
cious foozle. He looked at'' the ball In
silence for almost a minute. "Bishop,"
said Mr. Morgan, "that was the profan
est silence I ever heard." Similarly
some newspaper dashes are the profan
est blanks that one ever saw. Dash
dashes! Do you think Speaker Cannon,
when he wrote on the back of his check
for a set of useless books, left his re
marks In this spineless fashion: "The
books are not worth a , and are high
at that"? It requires no intimate
knowledge of Mr. Cannon to know that
he went off with a greater report, and
that a well-known word was spelled
out In full, even to the mute Inglorious
letter at the end.
AN INTERESTING BOOK.
The British soldier, Field Marshal
Viscount Wolseley, In his "Story of a
Soldier's Life" describes his military
career of over half a centuryT His first
service was In Burmah, when, an en
sign of 20 years of age, he was danger
ously wounded. In the Crimea he was
again wounded, losing the use of one
eye and obtaining the cross of the Le
gion of Honor; he served in India dur
ing the famous "mutiny" of 1857; he
served in the Chinese war of 1860, when
the English and French troops captured
Pekln; he was one of the British offi
cers ordered to Canada with their regi
ments during the excitement following
the Trent affair; he headed the expedi
tion that put down the Riel Red River
rebellion; he commanded in the Ashan
tee War of 1873, and captured Coomas
sle; he defeated Arab! Pasha's Egyptian
army at Tel-El-Kebir In 1882, and was
commander-in-chief In the Soudan cam
paign" of 1884-85, undertaken for the re
lief of Gordon. This story of a mili
tary career of varied experience In
many lands Is admirably well told. It
shows that General Wolseley was al
ways & very gallant soldier, but
whether he was a great General will
never be known, for the merit of a sol
dier Is determined by the ability of the
General he encounters and the number
and quality of the troops he defeats.
It was no "trick" at all for General
Wolseley. in command of the crack
troops of the British army, to defeat
an army of Egyptians or to put to rout
the Ashantees. Lord Roberts fought
Afghans, a fighting race of powerful
physique, many of thenf ' admirable
marksmen; he fought the Boers, but all
of Wolseley's victories were won over
a fighting foe of poor quality, 111 armed
and III disciplined. Lord Wolseley has
all his days been a supercilious critic
of the Union side during the Civil War,
and his book shows that he has not
got over his prejudice. He still thinks
the Confederate side had the right of It,
and he still holds Lee and Jackson the
only figures worthy of note In our great
struggle. Shortly before his death, in
1831, General Sherman, in an article
contributed to the Century, took Gen
eral Wolseley sharply to task for his
contemptuous and supercilious treat
ment of our campaigns as offering no
legitimate and valuable lessons In the
art of war. Sherman could speak with
authority, for he was educated as a
soldier; knewjthe art of war as It Is
found In standard military text-books,
and knew it by four years of practical
experience in the field, where as subor
dinate corp3 commander or as leader df j
an Independent force he watched the 4
operations of armies ranging 'from 50,000 j
to 100,000 men. " j
General Sherman led a veteran army j
of 100,000 men of English blood and to-
telllgence against a veteran army of j
50,000 men of English blood and Intel- I
llgence, commanded by a General who j
had been a soWIer and studied the. art !
of war from his youth. General Sher- i
man said that if the operations of our j
great veteran armies of English blood,
seasoned as. they were by three years of j
battle, conveyed no useful lesson to the j
military student in Europe, it was sig
nificant of stupid arrogance rather than !
superior scientific knowledge on part of,
the European critic Sherman didn't
live to see the Boer War, in which the
best troops of England were discomfited
more than once because men like Lord
Wolseley" had refused to be taught the
Wessons of our Civil War, which were
the use of mounted Infantry and the
futility of frontal attacks on Intrenched
lines held by well-armed stanch infan
try. If Lord Wolseley and the English
War Office had studied the history of
our war instead of sneering at it, they
would have escaped repeated disasters.
The per cent of loss on both sides
after our troops became veterans shows
that they were the equals of any troops
of the century. Their losses are only
equaled in the most terrible of Napo
leon's battles, where defeat became
destructive because of the use of large
masses of cavalry, which could not be
used In our day over difficult ground
and against long-range rifled muskets.
All of our losses were suffered In
"stand-up-and-take-lt" fighting, and
not by the slaughter of panic-stricken
fugitives by cavalry, such as swelled
the losses of the beaten army by pur
suit in Napoleon's day. In the .mat
ter of strategy and tactics, General
Sherman's campaigns surely were full
of lessons of military energy and skill
that could have been studied with profit
by such "scientific" foreign soldiers as
Bazalne and MacMahon, and even by
General Wolseley, who lost Khartoum
and sacrificed Gordon -by his slowness,
who never commanded to exceed 10,000
men, and whose sole victories were
over Ashantees and over a rabble of
wretched Egyptian insurgents.
The 'campaigns of Lee, Grant. Sher
man and Johnston must have as much
interest to the European military stu
dent as the Red River campaign against
the halfbreeds, the defeat of Arabl
Pasha, the capturo of King Koffey and
the fruitless .march on Khartoum.
Lord Wolseley Is a soldier of distin
guished gallantry, but his notes on our
Civil War are valueless, because his
prejudice clouds his eye like a cataract.
There is a strain of meanness in Gen
eral Wolseley when he alludes to Grant.
He speaks of Lee as "General Lee," but
In some of his published correspond
ence he persistently called Grant "Mr.
Grant." This" was only repeating the
insolence of the British General In the
Revolution who addressed a letter In
tended for General Washington to "Mr.
Washington." General Wolseley does
not repeat this old-time Insolence In his
present book, but It is the first time he
has omitted an opportunity to treat the
civil and military leaders of the Union
with insult and contempt.
PENALTY OF CHEAP RAILWAY CARS.
It has been cited that out of the 32,
000,000 passengers carried, in Pullman
sleeping-cars on the raiiways of the.
.United Statjes in the last three years
only six were killed and about sixty
slightly injured in wrecks. By- con
trasting these numbers with the fright
ful fatalities and casualties to passen
gers who were traveling in the light
and fllmslly built smokers, chair-cars
and ordinary coaches, a very .potent
reason for this wholesale death and
mutilation Is discovered. The remedy
Is not far to seek, but It will in all
probability be difficult to apply.
In the rolling stock of most, If not
all, of the great railways are large
numbers of cheap, old cars that, while
everything goes well, answer the pur
poses of local passenger traffic with
reasonable safety and comfort, but
which go to pieces In collision or de
railment as If they were constructed
of cardboard and glue. In a late wreck
on the Rock Island near Topeka, for
example, all of the deaths occurred In
the chair-car. That car, with its
doomed passengers, was placed between
a new and heavily built smoking-car
and a second chair-car, new and of
modern construction. The smoker was
strong enough to resist the Impact, but
rose In the air, crushing and telescoping
the UghC worn-out first chair-car, re
ducing It to kindling wood and killing
and maiming Its occupants. This Is
only one instance among many which
show that it Is not only the fact that
the Pullman cars are placed In the rear
of the trains which gives them im
munity from destruction, but that their
heavy and-substantial construction is
a factor that further Insures their
safety. There is, indeed, no room to
doubt that loss of life through railway
accidents would be greatly lessened If
all of the cars that make up the trains,
Including the iriailcars, which are the
flimsiest of all, were heavier and more
substantially built
It Is ndt conceivable that any Indi
vidual railroad manager or owner In
the United States would willfully cause
or permit the death of persons travel
ing upon his trains through greed or
to save money. But the corporation's
conscience becomes dulled by divided
responsibility, while the desire of
boards of managers to declare divi
dends which show an Increase of busi
ness over their roads may easily over
rule considerations of possible danger.
"Surplus emotion" is not a factor In
business of any kind, and It Is not
strange that It Is ruled out of railroad
management. This is conceded without
prejudice to the humanities that govern
individuals, whether they are engaged
in one business or another.
It may be said, however, that the
time is overripe for legislation upon
some of the points wfiere danger has
been developed by the terrible loss of
life" in railroad wrecks In recent
months. Since railroad managements,
as events show, do mix with their new
and substantial equipment, in making
up trains, old cars that. In their flimsi
ness, are an additional menace to hu
man life when accident occurs, it is
the duty of Legislatures, railway com
missions, and, If It comes to that, the
National Congress, to pass laws or
adopt rules which require every possi
ble safeguard In the ma'tter of car
construction and equipment that ordi
nary prudence enjoins for the 'safety of
the traveling public
A portion of the press of Montana is
in favor of offering special inducenjfents
to the homeseeklng Boers of South Af
rica to come in colonies to that state
and engage in stockraising and farm
ing. It is no doubt true that after two
or three generations of "Americaniz
ing" these disaffected Boers would
make good American citizens. But it
is also true that they are a stubborn,
pugnacious, non-progressive people,
with Idea3 of Homebuilding that do not
touch at any point the Idea upon which
the American home is founded. They
are thrifty In the ability to compass
a . rude abundance, but. unless Olive
Schrlner and others who have written
"from personal observation of the Boer
homes and social life greatly malign,
them, there was not a home -on the
broad veldt over, which their flocks and
herds roamed prior to the late war that
afforded the decencies and comforts of
life according to the civilized view.
They love liberty, it is said, but this
was not a sentiment that caused them
to scorn alike "to be or have a slave,"
since" they either enslaved or drove out
the Kaffirs whose lands they took. The
self-exiled bands who are founding col
onies In Mexico will no doubt prove to
be an Improvement, industrially speak
ing, upon the, thriftless people whom
they displace or with whom thfi3come
in contact, but it is very doubtful
whether under two or three generations
of contact with the American public
school system and strict compulsory
education .laws they would make in
telligent, progressive American citizens.
Henry Livingstone Thomas, who died
recently in Washington, was for
twenty-eight years chief translator to
the State Department, and' had been
connected with it in confidential capa
city for. thirty-four years. The record
of his service that was made public
after his death calls attention to the
fact, says the Outlook, that there are a
number of men employed by the Gov
ernment who are absolutely unknown
to the public and are quite removed
from the sphere of politics, yet who
render faithful, expert and Indispensa
ble service. That journal adds: "We
hear so much of rogues in office, of
place-aeekers and time-servers, of sen-sation-(mongers
and political plotters,
that It Is refreshing to turn to the rec
ord of a man like Mr. Thomas and to
award him and those like him the
praise due to a scholar, -a gentleman
and In a true sense a patriot." A cor
respondent of the New York Evening
Post pays tribute to this faithful public
officer, saying: "Mr. Thomas made a
life study of languages, and was famil
iar with nearly all except Chinese, Jap
anese, Russian and Hungarian knew
them, moreover, as a scholar in litera
ture and grammar, with power to write
as well as, to apeak." It Is easy to see
how a man of such attainments could
make himself almpst indispensable to
the State Department in its dealings
with the nations of the earth, and to
agree with the Post writer that If Mr.
Thomas did not have the meed of pop
ular applause and political reputation
he certainly had the satisfaction of a
quiet and modest usefulness.
Thousand-dollar purses, with men of
unquestioned character in charge, will
certainly result in the 1904 meeting of
the Multnomah Fair Association prov
ing a record-breaker. The "sport of
Kings," when cbnducted as sport and
not on a sure-thing gambling basis,
has just as strong a hold on the people
as ever, and" Oregon horsemen are to
day better provided with prospective
record-breakers than evej before. Un
til last year there had been a long In
terval since the old days of honest rac
ing and enthusiastic crowds,- and, now
that the "pastime has got back to a
proper plane, the experience of the past
will probably be a guard against the
recurrence of any of the evils that
killed horseracing in Oregon for more
than ten years. Incidentally, It is
worthy of mention that M. D. Wisdom,
of the Rural Spirit, Is entitled to more
credit for the revival of honest racing
and good meetings than any other indi
vidual In the Pacific Northwest.
Through all the years of depression in
the breeding Industry, due as much to
crooked racing as to the hard times,
"Mike" Wisdom never ceased hammer
ing away on a policy the adoption of
which alone could save the breeding In
dustry and bring back the confidence of
the public. He has at last been suc
cessful, and for his efforts Is entitled to
the thanks of every horseman on the
North Pacific circuit.
The buffer of the lost steamer Clal
lam 13 out. with a statement that "there
never was a stancher or more sea
worthy vessel on the Sound than the
Clallam." This reads well txovk the
builder's point of view, but it is ridic
ulous for any individual to put forth
such a claim In the face of the facts.
If the Clallam had answered the de
scription thus given, she would not
have been pounded to pieces in a sea
which was not so terrible as to prevent
a 25-year-old tugboat going out to her
assistance and after taking hold of her
pulling her to pieces with an ordinary
towline. The statement Is further made
ridiculous by the fact that a number of
other "stancher" and "more seaworthy"
vessels were out in that same gale that
ended the career of the Clallam, and,
with the exception of that unfortunate
craft, all of them reached port in
safety. There is a -grave responsibility
for the Clallam disaster resting on some
shoulders, and It cannot be shifted or
dismissed by any such wild statements
as are credited to Superintendent
Heath, who had charge of the construc
tion of the steamer. Stanch" and sea
worthy steamers are not knocked to
pieces before they are six months old
by a gale that permits 25-year-old
wooden vessels to weather It in safety.
The British Columbia government has
at last succeeded in making the "stump
tax" so onerous for American loggers
and mlllmen operating across the -line
that they have been forced to retire.
Telegraphic advices from Bellingham
Bay state that the Americans will
either close down their camps in Brit
ish Columbia or sell the raw product to
the British Columbia mlllmen. The
"stump tax" came into existence as a
retaliatory measure against the lumber
tariff, and our Canadian brethren have
increased its obstructive powers until
It has at last proven as effective in
keeping American loggers out of Canada
as the American tariff has proved in
keeping Canadian lumber1 out of the
United States. All bands should now
be satisfied, but .are they?
Disgusted at the 111 manners of
American sightseers upon the occasion
of her daughter's recent marriage in
New York, Mrs. Ogden Goelet has de
termined to reside In Europe hereafter.
She will be very fortunate if she meets
abroad no rude t Ill-mannered people
much more fortunate, indeed, than
well-bred Americans generally have
been. The attempt to fly from cheap,
lll;mannered people Is both futile and
foolish. No country has a- monopoly of
them.
NOTE ANDCOUMENE
, JustWIshesr j
Fm. sick to death. tSf Panama; '
I bate the mention of its name.
Ami all this -tails about its birtb.
And whether we helped on Its garnet
I wish a tidal wave would sweep
The Isthmus plumb Into the deep.'
This talk of names that end in ski
The very mention of Japan
Ccrea. China, cursed four
How tired they make the common man:
1 wish they'd go to work, and scrap,
Or else back, olt the suffering- map.
Ths" hunt for Issues, too Is fierce
Expansion, silver, trusts, to-wlt
If there's no issue, what's the use
Of dolus anything but quit?'
I wish the Democrats would plan
To pass as straight Republican.
It's a live wire that makes a dead man.
The-Jury to Chief Hunt: Not guilty, but
we must fine you on principle. .
Few persons seem capable of dying in
so many places as does the "daughter
of John Brown."
There are few thlnes more discouraging
than to look through the Dictionary for
a word you don't know how to spell.
"Has a hen a mind?' asks 'the New
York Times.
Well, she won't lay unless she- has a
mind to.
Councilman Mahncke, of Tacoma, eays
he married his wife for pity, because
she told him such a sorrowful story.
Those that marry for pity seldom get it.
No doubt Pattl will feel happier when
she gets back to Cralg-y-Nos, where the
ripple of the LJwyrddlwdns as It runs past
the storied rocks of Llwchyiiddnwydd will
lull her to sleep as soundly as the famous
old Welsh bard Uwyddnwehgogogoch.
However, Paul Heintz accomplished tha
feat. He has shown that it is possigU
to fire the hired girL If this particular
hired girl were thrown down the steps
of the house, it may be that people will
think too much emphasis was laid upon
the order to "git!"
Georglna Hewlstorl, aged 14, chafed
under parental control. So to free her
"cabined ample spirit" she filled, mother's
teapot with carbolic acid. Mother did not
drink the acid, and Georglna Is now under
the control of the Vancouver police. It la
pitiful how the desires of youth ars
thwarted in this world of injustice, and
Georglna's case makes one more than
ever Inclined to hope for a scheme ol
things moulded closer to the heart's de
sire. The postmaster at Geneva, Washington,
must be In a quandary. Should he kicb
himself for his carelessness or pat him
self, on the back for his Inventive genius i
It appears that the postmaster invented
a new kind of gunpowder, and placed it
to dry by the kitchen stove. Presently
the powder exploded with such force that
the postmaster, the postmistress, and the
postchlldren were shot through the win
dow, and nearly became subjects for a
post-mortem. Evidently It was good pow
der. Prairie City Is nothing if not spo'tin.
A prizefight has been arranged and two
good men. have been selected for the go.
One is said to have stood up to Jawn L.
Sullivan for four rounds on some - occa
sion in the vague past. The other man Is
a ' long, slim "FltzIrnmons-looking'
fighter. This scrap should be worth a. trip
from Portland, and the wise ones will
be puzzled to pick the winnerr Is a man
who is alleged to have stood up to Jawn
L. for four rounds better than a man who
Is undoubtedly a "Fitzstmmons-looklng"
fighter? 'Tls a puzzling question.
No doubt the new woman (in the hen
world) will be duly grateful to Mr. Ladd,
who so ably defended her In The Orego
nian yesterday. There is always a cer
tain amount of prejudice against any
thing new, and it takes time to live it
down. No doubt the grandsons of Noah
kicked about the new-fangled hens of
their time. "Not like those we had In the
ark fresh eggs there every morning the
year 'round." Even the chicken-pox of
our youth seems better than the kind they
have nowadays how much better, then,
the chickens.
The great Eastern educator was visiting
Portland In 1920. The president of the
Reform School Board was showing his
visitor around the city. "Here," he said,
"is the forest we have planted to give
the children climbing exercise. That hun-ured-acre
plot to the left is the play
ground for girls of 5. Similar spaces are
provided for the girls and boys of all
other ages. It is, we flatter ourselves, the
finest educational establishment In the
world." "It Is certainly magnificent," as
sented the visitor, "but may I ask where
tha school itself is situated?" "Oh, the
school? We've had to spend so much
money on playgrounds that we can't build
the school for five or six years yet."
A Pendleton newspaper man has for
warded to The Oregonian the poem re
print eel below. "I have always contended
that Eastern Oregon could beat the entire
state in the production of anything
poetry no exception. Carefully peruse this
communication and then admit that it Is
up to you Webfooters to come anyway
near a duplication." The poem was aenl
to the Pendleton Tribune from Pilot Rock:
The Chicago theater was burned Just the
other day.
It seems as though some poor sinners
had their penelty to pay.
the house was built in eighty eight the
grate by walls of brick,
the hall filled up with gsss and smoke
and turned the spectaters sick.
They ""as visiting this theater at th'eir very
hearts diszlre
the house was erected, at a very heavy
cost.
and from six to eight hundred lives
were perished there and lost,
those that were not burned to death,
were looking very pale.
and none of them could speak a word, to
tell the oful talL
The pal'e.-facedand slim actor Is giving
way to a man with bulging muscles. San
dow has opened a physical culture class
for theatrical people in London, and Sir
Henry Irving has commended the project
very highly. Now we may look for some
tin' doin' cn the stage. Duel scenes and
wrestling scenes, struggling heroines and
baffle.1 villain scenes, death grapples and
melodramatic rushes of the mob. will be
worth seeing when professional strong
men engage In them. We may expect
future bills to read something like thist
Borneo and Jaliet!
Neville Dingbat, the strongest actor In the
world, as Romeo Hasel Hopllte, champion
female wejght-lifter, as JuliettU
Romeo hangs from the balcony by one
band for 30 minutes Juliet hangs from her
window by one band for 29 minutes 29!!!
Special Attraction!!
On the conclusion of . the first act Juliet will
meet all comers in i weight-lifting contest
Romeo and ilercutio in a catca-aa-caa
contest.
" WEXFORD JONES.