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THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND,' JULY 17,,JL9(&.
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YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem--perature,
57 deg.; minimum, 52. Precipitation,
a trace.
TODAY'S WEATHER Cloudy and occasion
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PORTLAND, SUNDAY JULY 17, 1904.
THE MORALITY OF INDUSTRY.
How to bring up our yodth so that
they shall be self-supporting members
of society, and at the same time sup
porters of society itself, is the problem
that concerns all parents, whose chief
anxiety is or should be the welfare of
their posterity. Unless in the season of
youth ere the mind becomes rigid un
der the influence of habit, and takes
the set it is to bear through life our
young people be taught the duty and
the method of self-support, they are al
most sure to fall below necessary re
quirements in the efforts of life; and
therefore sooner or later to become de
pendents, fail to make their way in the
"World, and sink at last to inferiority
and helplessness. Such is the fate of
multitudes It is, it must be, the solici
tude of all parents of forethought to
make preparation against this unhappy
consequence, which only can be averted
by implanting the working habit and
instilling the principles that will sup
port it.
For the working habit the mere
homely ability of working fairly and
honestly for one's bread is of more
value to a country, when diffused
among its people, than all other gifts
be they hills of gold or rocks of dia
mondsthat can fall to Its share. Such
habit will make a poor country a coun
try poor by nature like Scotland, a
rich one; but without such habit a
country rich by nature, as Spain was,
and possessing all advantages of cli
mate, soil and position, as Spain had
them, may and will take the retrograde
course. "What is true of a country is
true of the individual units that make
up Its population.
If a people of a country, or any con
siderable part of them, possess not this
habit of industry and the ability it cre
ates and is created by it. then it mat
ters not what else they possess there
is a weakness in the constitution of
that people and country for which there
can be no compensation in other ways.
The welfare of a country has two foun
dations. Right principle is one; the
other is industrial habit combined with
useful skill. Such is the constitution
of man that the two never can be sep
arated without loss or deterioration of
both.
The wealth of a country lies not in
the present accumulations of its people,
but in these principles of life and these
habits of industry, directed by intelli
gence and skill; for present wealth,
however great, would soon disappear
unless conserved and renewed. The
world could eat up all it possesses, in a
very little time, unless labor should re
new its stores.
The best equipment for the world that
any young person can receive is in
struction In habits of industry and in
principles of morality. Except to the
weak and Infirm, alms are an injury,
moral and .physical; not blessing, but
cursing, both him that gives and him
that takes. The best and most moral
of all alms is work; and if you have
wherewithal to employ in useful labor
the working alms of a community, then
you do a real good. It degrades char
acter, and is most wasteful in an eco
nomic sense, to give or receive as gra
tuity what might have been received
as wages. The opportunity to work is
all that any one should desire who Is
fit to live.
To bring up our youth to useful em
ployment, in some field of effort, is the
problem, therefore, of those who have
In their hands the destiny of our youth
and the destiny of the state. Nothing
is more false than the. saying that the
world owes one a living. It owes him
nothing, and he will be no good citizen
of the world who doesn't realize that
he Is entitled to nothing that has not
been earned.
A large number of property-owners In
the assessment district affected have
remonstrated against the construction
of a steel bridge across Sullivan's gulch
on Grand avenue. The cost of "a steel
bridge is large and very many taxpay
ers think a properly constructed wooden
bridge is all that is necessary. They
have been assured by competent au
thority that such a bridge will last
many years, and as 4t will accommo
date traffic quite as well as the more
costly structure, the latter Is deemed
both extravagant and unnecessary. The
duty of scrimping and pinching for the
benefit of posterity has its limits, hence
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this view may be taken as the pruden
tial one. In the -meantime, however,
the demand for a bridge or bridges
across Sullivan's gulch is an insistent
one, and the delay In building causes
daily inconvenience to- a large number
of people. A compromise of differences
on the subject ought to be reached
without unseemly and unnecessary delay.
SOME AMERICAN CITIES.
A long block and a wide street will
enable a city to recoup itself in dignity
for the loss of almost every natural ad
vantage. The narrow street is neces
sarily a practical obstacle to growth
and esthetlcally a blot; for It is only
with a considerable open space before
It that any piece of sculpture or archi
tecture can impress the mind. "Wide
streets and long blocks go together In
evitably; for their opposite must spring
from a narrow and constricted view of
the city or town that Is planned. Here
in Portland we understand at length
the penalty of narrow streets and short
blocks; for the cost of paving is nearly
doubled and becomes to an extent pro
hibitive, and incidentally street-car
travel is very slow.
St. Louis has no elevated railroads,
while these are a necessity In smaller
cities, notably Kansas City. The rea
son Is that the surface cars are enabled
to take care of the traffic, because the
blocks are long and stops infrequent.
A trolley-car takes you from down
town to the World's Fair grounds in
thirty minutes a distance that would
take an hour In Portland or New York
City, because of frequent stops. A
heavily laden Washington-street car
will consume far more time In stops
than In travel between First street and
Willamette Heights. This mistake In
the planning of Portland will be of in
creasing discomfort and detraction as
time goes on. It would pay us, if it
were practicable, to close up half the
streets and widen the others.
Few cities make the most, or any
thing at all worth while, of their op
portunities. Buildings that might be
disposed with Impressive effect upon
the beholder are scattered about to no
purpose either of convenience or
beauty. A recent correspondent com
plained bitterly of the arrangement
which, after putting the tourist down
at our prepossessing union passenger
station, leads him through the depress
ing districts of the North End. He was
right; yet the same thing prevails in
New Tork, where the Incoming voy
ager, after a sublime entrance past
Liberty statue and through one of the
noblest harbors in the world, in view of
the imposing edifices of the lower end
of Manhattan Island, is dumped Into
the miserable slum regions of West
street.
An inspiring example in this respect
is Cleveland, whose jump from tenth to
seventh place among American cities
was the sensation of the twelfth census.
Cleveland has secured a goodly portion
of its lake front against the Inroads of
business, and there the visitor will soon
see completed a Custom-House, City
Hall, Courthouse, Public Library and
Chamber of Commerce, all In an ad
vantageous combination and near the
union passenger station which, also,
one Is fain to hope might be rebuilt in
view of the present structure's fierce
and losing battle for forty years with
the blackest smoke that ever assailed a
weary passenger's eyes and poisoned
his breath.
As the proper study of mankind is
man, so the most fascinating aspect of
that study is in the crowded centers
of municipal life. There Is more to see
and profit by in New Tork than In all
the World's Fair at St Louis. The re
generated and reconstructed Coney
Island is more creditable and more pop
ulous than the much-advertised "Pike."
There are finer paintings and more fine
paintings in the Metropolitan Museum
in Central Park than in all the gal
leries of the World's Fair; and when
you have threaded the thronged ways
of the East Side, with its ghetto Italian
quarter, and have studied for a day
what is perhaps the richest and the
most interesting street in the world
Fifth avenue the memory is one you
would hardly exchange for all the ex
hibits that have been crowded into the
gates of the St. Louis Exposition.
It is a happy thing for Portland that
with all the mistakes we have made in
planning, or in the absense of any plan
ning, the hills above the city are so
largely in the public possession. These
eminences must be crowned some day
with edifices of stateliness and beauty.
Such locations, in all history, have been
spontaneously chosen for Impressive
public adornment, It may be with a
military castle-fortress, as on the rock
of greatest elevation In old Edinburgh,
or temples as on the Acropolis at Ath
ens, the Notre Dame de la Garde of
Marseilles, and the wonderful cathedral
of St John the Divine on Mornlngside
Heights, New York, or a park or gar
den as the Plncian hill at Rome, East
Rock in New Haven and the mountain
at Montreal, or a Courthouse like the
Palais de Justice at Brussels; but In
any event we should have on some of
these high hills a stately structure of
white stone whose columns, pinnacles
or towers may inspire the beholder as
his eyes leave the turmoil of the street
for the serenity of the arching skies;
and If the structure could be at the
head of a broad avenue, as the Lewis
and Clark monument already sits In the
City Park, facing Mount Hood, so much
the better.
There Is another thing Portland can
do to Impress the visitor favorably, and
that is to Improve and beautify the
river front Here as on Chicago's lake
front a narrow park might run along
the east bank at least, with adequate
provision, here as there, for traffic by
water and rail. In time a more sightly
wharf line can be planned, with rail
road tracks and docks at the low-water
level, a broad promenade at the street
level, and stone and cement taking the
plate of wood. Unless some of these
things are done now at the proper time,
future generations will, at the cost of
millions, as in New York, raze whole
urban districts for the creation of
breathing spaces and the enforced en
trance of light and air, safety and
health These anticipations of the fu
ture are no wilder now than similar vis
Ions of progress seemed la their time in
older places. When the canal where
now Canal street stands was dug to
drain the swamp of Lower Manhattan
Island, the thrifty taxpayer growled at
the reckless expense, because he knew
full well, he thought, that the city
would never extend so far north. Port
land advanced from sixtieth to forty
second among American cities between
1890 and 1900. At this rate of progress,
and with Asia's teeming millions, under
the leadership of Japan, imbued with
the commercial powers of Europe,
young men who cast their first vote this
coming November may live to see the
day when a new St Paul's shall rise
from Council Crest, when along the
Willamette from Sellwood to St. Johns
another Thames embankment shall
stretch in stately pride and when the
park blocks, north and south, shall be
lined with splendid structures, the
equal of the Burlington depot at Omaha
or the unbuilt Lincoln memorial at
Washington.
A GREAT QUESTION JUGGLED WITH.
Judge Parker gives it out that he re
gards the gold standard as Irrevocably
established, and if elected he will act
accordingly. Judge Parker therefore is
for the gold standard; but his party Is
against it
After tremendous effort during many
years to' break down the gold standard,
the Democratic party, through motives
of policy, now Is silent on the subject
It has not changed its mind or purpose;
It Is merely trying to sneak Into power
under cover and concealment Had
Judge Parker openly declared 'for the
gold standard, before his name went to
the convention, he would not have been
nominated. But the managers waited
till the nomination had been effected,
and then got the telegram from him.
Then it was too late for the convention
to recall the nomination, or to send the
platform back to the committee, for
more specific statement It was a
pretty play.
But, as Bryan said, after the game
had been revealed, If Parker had an
nounced himself earlier, he would have
had no possible chance for the nomina
tion. And, If the party was for the
gold standard, he continued, it would
have been honest to put the declaration
in the platform.
In certain Democratic quarters the
argument now is that there is no issue
on the money question. Then why did
Judge Parker bring It forward? He
threw the question directly Into the
convention, telling it in substance, that
it had omitted a necessary declaration
on the vital issue of the time. He spoke
of nothing else, thus showing that he
regarded this one thing as paramount
But the convention, which was act
ually against the gold standard, had
consented to omit the former demands
for free coinage of silver, merely to
keep the peace. It would not, however,
even in the stress and emergency pro
duced by Parker's telegram, declare for
gold; and upon this Juggle the party,
the candidate and the platform are be
fore the country.
CHURCH UNION.
In Canada a movement Is on foot
with a view to the organic union of
Methodist, Presbyterian and Congrega
tional Churches, and at the recent Gen
eral Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church, held at St John, N. B., a reso
lution was adopted Indorsing the move
ment The Presbyterians wish to go
one step farther, however, and have the
union include the Baptist and Anglican
Churches. The union plan has already
been pledged the support of the Meth
odist Church, and there seems a likeli
hood that within a very few years three
or more denominations In Canada will
act as one.
Christian people in this country will
watch with great Interest the result of
the movement across the line. For
many years there has been a growing
belief that the power of the church is
weakened by the division of forces.
Christian people have been desirous
that a union be formed, but no basis of
agreement being apparent, nothing has
been accomplished. From any point of
view there is much to be gained and
nothing to be lost by a merging of the
great Protestant Churches. Surely there
Is a common ground somewhere upon
which all can stand, and If half the
effort that is made in defending the
peculiar doctrines of the several de
nominations were made In finding this
common ground, the union would soon
be perfected.
Economy Is one reason for church
union that appeals to every reasonable
man. As an almost universal rule it
may be said that every town that has
two or more Protestant Churches has
too many. In nearly every town the
congregations could be accommodated
In one-half the number of churches,
and in many places one-third or one
fourth the number would suffice. But
wherever one denomination gains a
footing others must follow. The story
Is familiar in every populous commu
nity from the Atlantic to the Pacific
One denomination builds a church in a
small town and all Christian people at
tend it Some small difference arises
and the members of another denomina
tion form a church organization of their
own. At first-they rent a hall and later
erect a church. They go in debt for
the building, and after years of beg
ging, giving entertainments, holding
sociables and church fairs, the money Is
at last raised and a mortgage Is burned.
As the town grows other churches are
added, and the debt-paying process
must be repeated. A minister whose
work is supposed to be the salvation of
souls gives most of his time to saving
the church property from sale by fore
closure. That pastor who finally raises
the last dollar is ranked as a more suc
cessful minister than he who turns the
larger numbers of men from darkness
to light
It would perhaps be untrue to say
that some men are dissuaded from be
coming Christians because the mainte
nance of the church organization re
quires too much of their time and
money. This would seem necessarily
untrue, for a man who has the Chris
tian spirit in his character would be a
Christian though he supported a church
alone or though he never saw a church.
Whatever the Lord demanded he would
freely give. Yet It Is possible that the
continual demand for money for church
maintenance keeps some unconverted
men away from church and places them
outside the Influences which might lead
to their conversion.
A multitude of churches, where a less
number would suffice, not only discour
ages churchgoers but starves the
preachers. Let the number of Protes
tant Churches in cities be reduced one
half and the salaries of the preachers
doubled, and there will be a pulpit
awakening which will, fill many an
empty pew. It is to be expected that
some one will deny the truth of this,
too, for in theory no true disciple of
Christ would render poorer service for
$1000. a year than he would for $2000.
Yet the Increased opportunities for
study and travel and the lessening of
outside cares Would tend to make him
better fitted for the writing of master
ful sermons. At any rate, if Christian
people undertook vto maintain only half
as many churches the preachers would
give less of their time to raising money
and more of it to healing sin-sick souls.
But the purely material view Is a
poor one at best The great question Is
not whether expenses can be reduced
by diminishing the number of churches,
but whether more good may be done
whether the world may be-made more
i Christlike, more or the sick healed,
more of the naked clad, and more of the
imprisoned visited. . The experience of
the Canadian churches will shed some
light upon this question. Perhaps we
shall learn that the principle "hi union
there Ih strength" does not prevail In
church work.
"CELLAR DAMP."
- The subsidence of the June freshet
has left dank and damp the cellars of
practically the entire business district
of the city back as far as Fourth or
Fifth street From the rottenness that
festers in these places, secluded forever
from the sunlight, ill-ventilated, dark
and damp, noisome odors arise, telling
of the hidden vileness beneath.
"Cellar damp" is the name by which
cleanly people who are wont to look
well to the conditions of things about
their homes from "garret to cellar" des
ignate this half-stifling, unwholesome
odor. Within the dark recesses from
which this noisome odor arises through
the gratings in the sidewalks, or so
called ventilators in the walls, lie the
breeding-grounds of fever germs and
of many all too common disorders, more
or less pronounced, that make their
poison known In the human system by
"that tired feeling," which too often Is
the precursor of physical collapse, tem
porary or permanent, as the case may
be, but attended in any case by much
suffering and expense to the victim.
To be plain, what 13 needed in this
city at present more even than surface
street sweeping, street sprinkling, the
extension of cement sidewalks or even
a new system of collecting and dispos
ing of garbage. Is a thorough inspection
of cellars within what Is known as the
"flood district," followed by a peremp
tory order from the proper authorities
to "clean up."
Every cellar in this city into which
water from the June freshet oozed,
whether the depth was measured in
inches or in feet, is now, and will be
until It Is properly cleaned and disin
fected, a breeding-place for a low or
der of organic life known under the
general name of disease germs. We are
too greatly inclined to rely upon our
healthful location. Incomparable cli
mate and Bull Run water to give us a
clean bill of health and to leave the
minor details of intelligent sanitation ta
take care of themselves.
Civic improvement societies are
worthy of commendation and encour
agement, but bare telegraph poles and
clean cellars are more to be desired
than are poles adorned with vines or
glittering with fresh paint, and cellars
the unspeakable vileness of which is
announced half a block away by "cellar
damp" rising through street gratings.
True, it may be said that these things
we ought to do and not leave the other
undone. Ready assent may be given to
this statement, but The Oregonlan
wishes to go on record here and now
with the declaration that if there are
not whitewash and civic pride enough
to go around the cellars should be
treated to these before the electric light
poles, and that back yards should be
made clean and sightly before the park
ing which flanks the sidewalks is set
with a profusion of rose bushes.
Let the basements In which "cellar
damp" Is being generated and from
which it Is being diffused upon the air
of downtown districts be thoroughly
drained of stagnant water, ventilated
as far as possible and treated with a
liberal dressing of lime. Whitewashed
walls, a generous sprinkling of lime
upon basement floors after the muck
and ooze of the waters have been re
moved, and a deposit of chloride of lime
in dark corners, would speedily abate
the odor of "cellar damp" that offends
the nostrils of those who pass along
our -business streets. It is a condition,
not a theory, that confronts us here a
condition that will continue to prevail
only through official negl'gence, indi
vidual carelessness or public indiffer
ence. THE POWER OF AN ORATOR.
It Is clear from the detailed reports
of the St. Eouls Convention that Bryan
was easily the supreme orator of the
occasion. It Is the testimony of ene
mies as well as friends that he dis
played rare power over a vast and tu
multuous audience. Bryan Is the great
est convention orator of our time. Wal
ter Wellman, in the New York Herald,
confesses that Bryan was splendid In
his last hours. The brilliant John
Sharp Williams tried to mouth epi
grams through a megaphone, but Bry
an, aMnan of fine physique, handsome
face and trumpet voice, is a born ora
tor. Chairman Williams could not still
the tumult of the convention; but when
Bryan took the platform, the moment
he raised his hand the tumult was
stilled. Why? Because everybody
wanted to hear him talk. That great
assembly recognized the difference be
tween a man who was an orator and a.
man who was a mere perfunctory
talker. When Bryan raised his match
less voice the great audience felt and
acknowledged the power of the orator.
As an apostle to the multitude, Bryan
Is without an equal in our country.
This supreme talent is the source of all
his success, and does not deserve to be
treated with contempt He is not a
statesman, nor a scholar, but he Is a
born orator of remarkable ability, and
his political foes can affordto admire
his great natural talents. Mr. Bryan is
a man of upright personal character,
and his financial errors are due largely
to his imperfect education, but his ora
torical talents are so superior that his
political foes can afford to award them
praise. Such men as Mr. Bryan, who
have been matchless orators but not
statesmen, have not heen rare in his
tory. Burke was surely the greatest
statesman who prosecuted Warren
Hastings, but Sheridan, a comparative
ly cheap man, was the greatest orator
of that famous trial, for he was an
actor by profession and knew how to
bring to his service "elocution's artful
aid."
Lord Chatham owed the largest part
of hi3 Influence to his power of voice
ana his magnetic manner. Fox was a
great debater; Burke was always able4
but never eloquent; the younger Pitt
was ame and pleasing, but never elo
quent, like hi3 great father. English
and American history is full of exam
ples of men of great 'oratorical talents
who have never risen to the level of
statesmen. Fisher Ames is remembered
only by his speech In favor of the Jay
treaty. Thomas Corwin is recalled only
oy nis speecn against the Mexican War.
Sargent S. Prentiss has nothing but an
oratorical fame. The great magnetic
orators of our country have seldom
been statesmen. Henry Clay was both
an orator and a statesman, but Web
ster was jiot an orator In the sense
that Clay was an orator; he impressed
tne reason or nis audience, but not their
Imagination, as did Clay.
The great orators of this country have
been men, like Bryan, who did not rise
i to the level of statesmanship. Patrick
Henry and James Otis were the oratorl-
caj, forces of our Revolution but they
were not Its statesmen. Orators do not
count for much in great civic affairs;
as witness what a failure Castelar was
in Spain. Oratory is useful to anarch
ists .because It Is Inflammatory, but ora
tors are useless to good government be
ca,useevery popular orator Is presump
tively an anarchist or a demagogue.
NOVELS AND THE "SILLY SEASON."
This Is the sweet o the year that has
been nicknamed the "silly season," be
cause the public ha? sense enough to
abandon the polemics of Fall and Win
ter days and to content Itself with tales
Of the sea serpent, the giant goose
berry and other matters that pertain
more closely to our every-day life than
the art of a- dead painter or the lack of
art of a living author. True, this year
the aftermath of two National Conven
tions and the "purple patches" in the
war news from Manchuria have served
to distract attention from the serious
affairs of life, but there are signs that
July will kill the remaining interest in
matters of such purely academic inter
est There is Just now a lull in the roar
ing of our million presses. The torrent
of new books is abated, and the gasp
ing reader Is given a moment to recover
breath before the sluicegates are lifted
for the Fall trade. In England last
year 1859 new novels were published
more than five every day. While the
exact figures for America are not avail
able, we know that a country of double
the population is certain to have beaten
that record by hundreds and hundreds.
As these innumerable volumes are
bunched together in the Fall and Spring
seasons. It Is no wonder that when the
torrent is at Its height no reader, au
thor or critic has time to do anything
but skim and skip. When the blessed
silly season comes there Is a little rest
Novels are then published rarely, and
only when there is some unusual bait
to entice the public mouse between the
covers of the publisher's trap. A novel
that really is a novel, or one that Is to
be sold at a low price, or. one with col
ored Illustrations such are the allure
ments to catch readers, perhaps buyers
would be more accurate, In the Sum
mer. And the mention of illustrations
recalls that the readers and the critics
two distinct classes, the members of
one not necessarily belonging to the
other are making use of their breath
ing spell to discuss the value of pic
tures to novels.
In the discussion it is observable that
the poor artist is the one upon whom
readers, writers and critics all "Jump
with both feet" an expression that a
recent pretentious work notes with ap
proval and greets as a permanent addi
tion to the language. In the chorus of
literary hammers there is not a single
inharmonious note. The artist gets it
every time. It is not much wonder,
however, for the illustrations of most
novels care little for the text or the
spirit of the story, and in many in
stances utterly Incompetent artists are
employed by the publishers. When o
good man is given the commission It
not infrequently happens that the story
has the appearance of relative Import
ance to the pictures that a catalogue
Of the artist's works might possess.
Such is the work of Christy, for exam
ple. In his illustrations to "Her In
finite Variety" he has made several
slips, due to carelessness, as Miss" Gil
der points out in the current number of
the Critic. One of the heroines 13 de
picted In different gowns, although she
had no time to change her dress if the
action of the story be considered. A
"little brown turban" in the story be
comes a "large, white sailor hat" In the
picture, but then Mr. Christy undoubt
edly knows more than the author about
the dress of women. Miss Glider men
tions also the Illustrations of "The
American Prisoner." Mr. Shepperson,
"whose frontispiece represents the hero
ine lying 'where the grass made pleas
ant cushions amid the granite boulders,'
in his eagerness caught the word 'cush
iongland has depicted the young woman
in a bathrobe on a heap of fluffy pil
lows." W. L. Alden, discussing the
same subject In the latest copy of the
New York. Times' Saturday Review,
tells of one artist that drew a full
rigged ship to represent a schooner, and
of another that showed a naval battle
in which three ships were sailing in
three different directions before three
different winds.
Such slips are amusing, but there is,
as a rule, more to be said against the
illustrations than that they are inac
curate in detail. In most Instances the
Illustrator falls to catch the spirit of
the characters, and while this does not
matter much In the yearly 1S50 volumes
of drivel, it Is enough to spoil the re
maining nine that possess more merits
than an absence of bad grammar. On
the whole, it may be said that illustra
tions may help a bad but harm a good
novel.
THE DEGENERACY OF THE POTATO.
The menace of drouth is over the po
tato crop in this section, and the good
housewife Joins her lamentations to
those of the grower at the sorry pros
pect Last year, as Is well remembered,
was an off year for potatoes In the
Willamette Valley. Not that there was
a great scarcity of potatoes, but the
quality of those offered was not flrst
class, and, owing to an increased de
mand for shipping as well as for home
consumption, prices were high, adding
to the unsatisfactory situation so far as
consumers were concerned. In fact,
during the past year, for the first time
in the history of farming In Oregon,
good potatoes have been practically un
known In this market,
Growers were warned early in the
season by those in authority agricul
turally speaking that the disappoint
ment in the quality and quantity of the
potato crop last year was due to the
fact ihat change of seed was necessary
if the best results In potato culture
were to be obtained. It was cited that
even the reliable old "Burbank," which
In former years turned out from each
hill a full quota of large, smooth tub
ers, white and sound, had literally "run
out" by being seeded over and over
again upon the same ground, and ex
change of seed potatoes with neighbors
living some distance apart, or, better
still, importing potatoes for planting
from an entirely different section of the
country, was strongly urged. This ad
vice was followed to a considerable ex
tent by progressive fanners In various
sections, and the hope of the grower
and housekeeper for a good crop of
good potatoes would no doubt have
"been realized this year but for the long
"dry spell."
Potatoes, next to bread, are regarded
I as the staff of life in American homes.
1 Dietarians oppose their use three times
a day as unheal thful; assert that their
nutritive qualities are absurdly dispro
portionate to their bulk; that they are
I indigestible to children, student and
Others who lead sedentarv Hv nn1
are. valuable only as they occupy
"stomach room," or. In other words,
help to fill the stomachs of laboring
men. Notwithstanding all of this and
much more, they hold their place on the
daily bill of fare In nine-tenths of
American homes, and If from any cause
they are omitted the Inquiry 'Where
are the potatoes?" goes round the
board.
This being true, a potato crop short
In quantity and inferior in quality be
comes a matter of general hardship.
Our local market Is at present almost
distressingly bare of potatoes that are
fit to eat The residue of last year's
crop Inferior in quality in the first
place is now shriveled, dry and un
palatable. Some at least of the new
crop that has come up from California
to meet an imperious demand are
wormy and generally worthless. The
long absence of rain has retarded the
growth of Orgon potatoes and the mar
ket has been, up to thl3 time, practi
cally bare of them. As a climax to this
situation, all that are offered small, of
medium size, wormy and shriveled
command prices tnat have turned a
common article of dally food Into a
luxury.
There is no help for this, thouch ther
is still hope that rain may fall in time
to benefit the late crop. But so far as
It is true that the potato Is degenerat
ingrunning back to the acrid, dry and
unpalatable tuber from which It sprang
through lack of care in selecting seed
and soils, rotation of crops, proper cul
tivation or what not Its degeneracy
can be stopped. The question is one
that is serious enough to engage the
attention of agricultural scientists and
set the most easygoing farmer to think
ing. The annual meeting of the Chautau
qua Assembly at Gladstone Park has
become the occasion of the Summer
outing of many families. It combines
the pleasures of camping dear to those
who do not have to work around camp
amusements that are unexceptionable
as to morals; life in the open air for a
fortnight, which is a tonic with which
no medicine can compare In efficacy;
the renewal of old friendships and the
formation of new acquaintances, and,
last but not least, an opportunity for
study and literary development that
could come in no other way to very
many who attend the meeting. The
weather of the past few days so pleas
ing to the farmeir has proved a disap
pointment to many campers on the
grounds, but those who are well
equipped with tents and other conven
iences for camp life have suffered but
little discomfort, and are cheerful in
the hope that this week will bring fine
weather. The financial success of the
meeting depends somewhat upon the
fulfillment of this hope. Its popular
success was assured when its remarka
bly fine programme was published.
Low fares across the Atlantic seem to
encourage travel in both directions.
The steamship Teutonic, which sailed
from New York last Thursday, was
obliged to leave behind over 150 steer
age passengers after filling her second
cabin accommodations with passen
gers who had originally purchased
steerage tickets, but were will
ing to pay the adVance In order to get
across the Atlantic by that particular
steamer. The rate from New York to
Europe Is now 15, compared with $10
from Europe tcNew York. If all that
Is being printed about the class of peo
ple coming info this country Is true,, it
Is undoubtedly much easier for the outward-bounders
to raise the $15 than it is
for the Incoming throng to get hold of
the necessary $10. The United States
can probably get along very well with
out the presence of many of the people
who are moving out under a $15 rate,
and If the steamship companies restore
the rate and shut out some of the $10
passengers, they will never be missed.
There are now six Presidential tickets
In the field. Debs and Handford, of
the Social Democratic ticket, were the
first out, their nomination taking place
two months ago, which is long enough
to make the present announcement of
their candidacy an item of news to the
vast majority of American' citizens, who
took little or jio Interest in it in the
first place. The Prohibitionists were
second In the field with Swallow and
Carroll as standard-bearers, while later
the nominees of the Populists at
Springfield and the Socialist Labor
party in New York Joined the proces
sion of candidates. These, with the
regular Republican and Democratic
nominations, complete the list of Pres
idential tickets up to date. When it Is
remembered that out of a total vote of
13,901,556 in 1900 all but 333,597 were cast
for the Republican arid Democratic
electors, it is easy to estimate the small
figure that the four minor parties will
cut when the grand tally Is made up In
November.
The Leavenworth Times predicts that
Paul Morton will find even the arduous
duties of a Cabinet official easy as com
pared with his recently attempted work
of adjusting freight rates so that they
would be satisfactory to the Kansas
shipper. Perplexed and hotly besieged,
traffic agents of transcontinental roads
running to and through Spokane and
other inland points and on to Pacific
shipping ports, will doubtless apprpeci
ate the force of this remark and sigh
that there was only one Cabinet posi
tion to which our strenuous President
could transport a man whose strenuous
life contains an invitation to come up
higher.
Though the State of Oregon Is strong
ly Republican and every county in the
state now shows a Republican majority,
the Democrats have succeeded in elect
ing quite a number of their candidates
for county offices. There are 33 coun
ties, each with a full set of county offi
cers. The Democrats have 16 County
Judges, 13 County Clerks, 15 Sheriffs, 7
Treasurers, 7 School Superintendents,
11 Assessors, 8 Surveyors and 5 Coro
ners. Each county has two Commission
ers, and out of the 66 14 are Democrats.
Only ten of the counties have Record
ers, as separate officers, and only one of
these Is a Democrat.
Now Is the time to spray hops. Ne
cessity for spraying and exact figures
as to the expense are set forth on an
other page by an experienced grower of
Polk County. Whether prompted by
the purely selfish motive of gain or by
pride and public spirit to maintain Ore
gon's reputation, spraying should not
be neglected. Last week's ralna have
given pests of the hop a good start
Public Opinion mentions "I H. Amos,
of Connecticut," as one of the candi
dates for Vice-President on the Prohi
bition ticket This Is a blow to our
local pride.
- - N0TB.ANDJ0"MMENTf
Served Hlm'RIgnt. !
The following are curious plays 'on deifies
and the abbreviations of states In which they
are located:
Where does Seattle Wash? -
In a Topeka Kan.
What did Jackson Miss?
A Roston Mass. , ,
What does Dallas Tex? . ',
A Pittsburg Pa.
What made Chicago HI?
A Manila P. I.
What brings Portland Ore?
A Little Rock Ark. Nashville News.
And what did the Judge do? Fined Nash
ville Tenn.
Paul Kruger. t ;f
Facing upright the fiercest blast.
He knew not how to bend;
The oak, uprooted, falls at last.
Unyielding to the end.
Judge" Parker now gives a negatlyejtto
all requests from photographers.
-
July, no matter who preaches or be
seeches. It's the peaches to the beaches.
The Dowager Empress of China believes
In the evil eye. And probably the evil. I
also.
Pretty soon the Russian ships In the
Red Sea will be getting themselves dis
liked. Citizens of Pe EH are about to incor
porate the town. The name might also
be incorporated into Pell.
We sincerely hope Admiral Togo is not
dead. Because if he is, all the papers will
be saying he has went
It's wonderful how the Liberty Bell re
tains its popularity, considering the
amount of poetry It provokes.
A Seattle man thinks he owns helL
That's nothing lots of people up there
act as If they'd bought the town.
From the outcry In Seattle one would
think that fault had been found with the
booze supply instead of with the milk.
Each sex of grief has got Its part, J
Each sometimes seems a glutton;
For woman often breaks her heart.
And man his collar button.
The story from Spokane about the so
called "French ball" should bring a num
ber of Spokane wives post-haste from the
seaside.
Lives of strikers all remind us f,
We can Join the striking rank.
And. departing, leave behind us
Just a plain, unnoticed blank.
Fltzslmmons has been arrested for steal
ing a lion. After taming so many
puglllststlc lions, FItz probably thought a
change would be pleasant
Since reading about Judge Parker's be
ing photographed in his bathing suit, sev
eral women have begun to think It a
shame that the President must be a man.
There are some persons that are not
worth listening to. Their only reason for
talking Is that they'd burst with their
own emptiness if they didn't say some
thing. Even if the Japanese get licked In fight
ing, they have made their reputations as
unrivalled In the burking of news. It's
a cold day that a scrap of information gets
abroad unless it is to Japanese interests
to have it known.
The following amusing error in the Poat
Intelligencer, was dug up by the Seattle
Argus:
The boat was christened by little Miss Nata
lie Fisher, daughter of the late Major Evan
Thomas, who was killed In a gallant flght with
Modoc Indians 31 years ago, and In honor of
whose memory the vessel was named. The
little girl she's only 6 Is one of the prettiest
of joungstera.
Denials of press reports are. becoming
altogether to common. Numbers of per
sons lately have denied that they were
dead, and now Senator Daniel denies that
he Is ill, although his friends have all
been reading that his condition was seri
ous. A Parisian woman complains that men
are losing all sense of gallantry, because
a stranger whom she mistakenly battered
with her umbrella was not courteous
enough to conceal his surprise and feeling
of mortification. In the circumstances, it
would have required an unusually pollto
Parisian to present a countenance show
ing unmixed gratification at being singled
out for a beating.
Cecil Rhodes rests in the Matoppos, his
dreams of empire forgotten. Paul Kruger
is to rest in the land to which he trekked
when the darkness of Africa was un
broken beyond the Vaal. Their struggles
over, the two strong men are at peace
In the "great spaces washed in sun." To
extend what Kipling said of one "living,
they were the land, and dead, their souls
shall be Its soul."
Consul Ayme, who is stationed at the
Brazilian port of Para, makes an interest
ing report on yerba mate, which Is much
used in South America as a substitute for
tea and coffee. "Yerba mate," says Mr.
Ayme, "has a peculiar, bitter, smoky taste,
which is usually considered unpleasant" In
view of this recommendation there should
be a great market in the United States for
tea. If a thing only tastes bad enough,
you can persuade the great American
public to use nothing else. People will
think It's doing them good.
Julius Chambers, who writes a New
York letter for a syndicate of newspapers,
has made an Important discovery. When
J. Plerp. Morgan landed In New York the
other day, he had what might be described
as a rum look about the legs. It took
several minutes for Mr. Chambers to per
ceive the cause of the rummines. At last
he noticed that Mr. Morgan's trousers
were creased at the sides, instead of at
the back and front This, it appears, is
the latest London fad, and Mr. Morgan's
tailor had pressed the great man's
trousers in accordance with the latest
eccentricity. As Dr. Brougher came over
with Mr. Morgan In the Baltic, we shall
await with interest a view of his legs in
church this morning.
When we are told how the President
spent the night on the Long Island shore,
"with the sky for his tent," and how he
cooked his breakfast in the morning, and
recognize that the campaign is fairly on,
and that Judge Parker will have to do
something more picturesque than moke a
shivering plunge into the Hudson every
morning. Camping out as the President
does, Is a certain way to obtain pic
turesque effects. Every city-bred man
that has missed his store camping kit
and burnt his fingers in his efforts to get
an egg into a pan and fry it, will at once
hail the President as a man capable of
holding any office. Itlooks as if Judge
Parker might make more use of his cattle.
Why can't he get up at 4:30 to milk the
cows? That would Impress the city people
even more than cooking a camp, breakfast.
WEXFORD JONES,
:A. &"