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PORTLAND, SUNDAY. JAN. 15, 190.
ARBITRATION AND WAR.
"What power, what persuasion, .-what
moral force or arbitration, can stop
the terrible war between Russia and
Japan? At the present stage of the
inflict it Is useless to talk about It.
The war will stop at once, If Russia
will retire from the position which she
has taken In the Orient. Will she do
it? Is she likely to do it? No one
thinks 6he will, unless on compulsion.
But who is to compel her? Japan has
undertaken to compel her, and. asks no
help from anybody. "Will other nations
step in, and say to Russia, "You shall
withdraw from Manchuria"? "Will
other nations step In and say to Japan,
"You shall not resist Russia's advance
in the Orient"? Mere sentlmentalism,
namby-pamby, and pribbles and prab
bles, can have no place In such affairs.
Russia is in Manchuria and Corea to
stay, or she Isn't. Japan must expel
her or perish. Tribunals at The Hague,
or elsewhere, may deal with small mat
ters between nations, but can't deal
with matters like this; any more than
a Peace Conference .could have settled
the differences between the American
Colonies and the Mother Country In
1775, the conflict 'between Revolutionary
France and Monarchical Europe, or the
antagonistic tendencies of two centu
ries that produced the American Civil
"War.
From this point of view, which is ab
solute and unquestionable, It is clear
why the. civilized world cannot, by re
monstrance or arbitration, stop the war
between Russia and1 Japan. They who
see and comprehend the sources and
causes and conditions of such a war
are not "more fond of war, have no
more delight in bloodshed, than others.
But in their judgment of national and
of historical movements they are not
children nor mere sentimentalists.
The causes of the war between Rus
sia and Japan lie in conditions that are
Inseparable from the life of either na
tion. Russia presses on Eastern Asia.
Japan, with a true national instinct,
sees that she must set up and main
tain a barrier against aggressive Rus
sia. This Is the present war. "What
can a peace conference, what can ar
bitration, do in such a case? Command
Russia to withdraw, to get out? For
bid Japan to protest against Russia's
aggression?
But, it is asked, why should Russia
press forward, and why should Japan
resist? Shallow Inquiries! Each na
tion obeys the law of its own being.
Each is guided by "the providence
that's watchful in a state." Russia
cannot sit still. Neither can Japan.
Each of these nations has Its charac
teristic and historic development. They
have come Into conflict with each
other. It 1b a burst of old eloquence,
by one of our own orators, classical
mow, embedded In our history, printed
in all our older school books, subject
pf universal declamation by our youth,
utterance of the spirit that made us a
Nation "Men may cry 'Peace! Peace!'
but there is no peace!" So it is in
every great crisis of a nation's life.
In such crises the peace conference Is
as absurd as he was who imagined
he might "swim with flns of lead and
hew down oaks with rushes." Russia
will cease only when she lacks power
to persist. Japan will cease only when
she lacks power to resist Every great
war, springing from great causes, is
on this basis. Peace conferences and
commissions of arbitration may deal
with small matters, like the Russian
misadventure In the North Sea; but to
suppose that great wars, like that be
tween Russia and Japan, could be pre
vented, or could be ended, by. them. Is
manifestation of very shallow cre
dulity. While the primary causes of this war
lie in the forces which have pushed
the Russian Empire upon Northern
China and Corea, menacing Japan, the
active and Immediate cause was the
interposition of France and Germany,
ten years ago. In support of Russia's
demand for Port Arthur as a commer
cial station, under lease from China,
and for railway concessions In Man
churia. France, with her customary
folly, was cultivating Russia; and Ger
many, wishing to be complaisant, so
as to prevent closer alliance of Russia
and France, acquiesced in the Russian
demand. England was drugged into
insensibility to this scheme by offer to
her of the small port of Wel-Hal-Wel.
which she didn't need Japan had just
captured Port Arthur from China, but
was forced to give up to Russia. The
present war began then. Japan at that
time had no preparation for conflict
with Russia; and Russia, moreover,
was supported In her demands by
France and Germany. Japan was
forced to submit, but Immediately be
gan her preparations for renewal of the
conflict upon which she saw her na
tional life must depend. Contrary to
her -agreement that there was to be no
military occupation of Manchuria or
fortification of Port Arthur, Russia
from the -first moment began to pour
her troops Into the country and to con
vert Port Arthur Into a stronghold and
naval station; and when Japan remon
strated, Russia received her remon
strances with evasive answers or treat
ed them with contempt. Ignorant of
the fighting power of Japan, Russia
supposed .she might safely do what she
would. Through active support rof
France and Germany, and through ac
quiescence or England, Russia had
come into Manchuria and had occupied
Port Arthur. These nations were In no
position to remonstrate with Russia,
still less to command her to desist from
military and naval occupation, against
which Japan protested. Japan, how
ever, .could not ignore the danger to
her own existence; and war came about
through causes that no peace confer
ence could have dealt with, no arbitra
tion averted.
Is The Orpcmnlnn thon hoMtioo t
Tsets these things out in the state In
I -i-fefnl. - - . t. ....
atiuaiiy exist, "an advo
cate of war," as one critic has said of
it, or "a bloody newspaper," lis another
has called it? Contrary, it delights
not in war, but deprecates war and
shudders at war's horrors. But though
It-knows that war from trifling causes
may be averted, yet it has Judgment
also to know that such conflicts as the
present one between Russia and Japan
are necessary consequences of national
rivalries, and inseparable therefore from
the position of races and nations
upon the earth. Our great Civil War
likewise, through the growth of an
tagonistic forces in contact with each
other during two centuries, was
unavoidable. So .was the conflict
between Briton and Boer, In South
Africa. There has been no war In
recent times on slight pauses unless
It was our war with Spain. Yet that
war was one which no arbitration
could have averted, and for that war
every member of our Congress cast his
vote. A peace conference may be' an
agreeable international svmnositim nr
picnic, but it will avert no war that has.
an actual cause pressing it on.
A
THE POWER OF THE PULPIT.
One hears it stated as 6ne of the signs
of the times in this new century that
the power of the press Is waxing, the
power of the pulpit waning. It Js worth
while to consider If this idea Is well
founded, and if so, on what grounds it
rests. In the first place, the propor
tions of the people reached by the two
agencies has noticeably changed. Dr.
Joslah Strong, in "The New Era," pub
lished In 1893, draws attention to the
thousands of churches in the rural dis
tricts of the United States which have
"died from exhaustion," by reason of
the migration of the population to the
cities, and to the consequence that dn
many parts, even of the New England
States, the young are growing up, not
members of or attached to any church,
and even In irreliglon and ignorance.
These conditions are admitted and de
plored in the religious papers that have
a general circulation over this conti
nent. In the cities the numbers and
the character of the congregations
show great changes. The pews at the
morning services are occupied by the
heads of the seat-holding families, and
with them are seen the children: but
the "young people" are not seen with
the family, and in"many cases are no
ticeably absent. The evening services
are either attended by small numbers,
and the minister often preaches to half
empty benches, or else by virtue of ad
vertising special attractions In subject,
or of effort by the preacher to Intro
duce passing Items of the day's news,
the churches are crowded with tran
sient audiences.
Up to within the last few years re
ligious fellowship among thoughtful
people of all ages was far more com
mon and more powerful than is the
case today. The force of sympathy in
Inspiring the desire and the habit of
church-going among all ages was far
more commonly felt. Again, the church
goers of the last -generation expected,
and were willing to learn, more from
the pulpit than nowadays. The spread
of education, the ability to understand
and to reason on religious matters, has
advanced more rapidly In the congre
gations than in the preachers. The In
junction "This is the way. walk ye in
It," is not without question accepted
as It was in the past. The historical
and critical facts on which religious
argument are based have been, in
newspaper, magazine and book, brought
so close to the intelligence of the ordi
nary reader that conviction comes
rather from printed than spoken argu
ments. It must not be forgotten that the line
of division between what was called
"the church" and "the world" was
much more strongly drawn fifty years
ago, still more a hundred years ago,
than It is today. As to the thoughts,
words and works of the former, relig
ion colored them all. The interests of
life were almost entirely divided be
tween earning a livelihood and provid
ing for the household, on the one hand,
and the then admitted duties of religion
on the other. As to the latter, little
pretense was made. To enjoy, and If It
was not too much trouble, to improve
the world in which they lived, bounded
their aspirations. Every observer will
admit that hard-and-fast lines of di
vision have been and are being gradu
ally rubbed out. The pulpit was the
main agent in enforcing the strict
rules of thought, of stndy and of life.
With the change of habits and of direc
tion of life Just referred to, other agen
cies, noticeably the press, have de
stroyed the former balance, and wid
ened vastly the horizon.
If the sphere of directly religious
habits and life has contracted, the in
fluence of what are essentially relig
ious motives in the attitude of the in
dividual towards the various classes of
his community is more and more ap
parent. Never have the agencies of the
many branches of the church in sup
porting the hospital, the refuge, the
asylum, the day and night school, the
social settlement, the nursing Institute,
been more generally sustained. And to
this widened recognition of the claims
of brotherly kindness and charity the
press has given and Is giving Its con
stant aid.
sThere is no sign, then, of any dim
inution in the power of the pulpit. Let
us see what history tells us of the
great preachers of the past. Wherein
lay their power? It was essentially In
burning protest against the tyranny of
their times. In so far as men's smile
were either bound, stupefied or drowned
In obvious sin. In the hlstorv of th
English-speaking people, John Wycllf
was tne nrsu in 1377, when the medi
eval priesthood assumed to be inter
posed between God and man, he
claimed me tnrone or God as the tri
bunal for the individual man's normal.
John Colet was the second. In 1499 he
flung aside the religious dogmas of his
day and sought a rational and practical
religion in the gospels themselves. Up
holding the moral life, freely criticising
the earlier Scriptures, simplifying doc
trines, creeds and confessions of faith,
he was the real hero of the earlier
Reformation.
Hugh Latimer was the third of the
great preachers. Of him, .who preached
from 1520 to 1530, we read In Green's
History:
His homely humor breaks In with story and
apologue. His earnestness Is always tem
pered -with good sense; his plain and simple'
style quickens with a shrewd mother-wit. Ho
talks to his hearers aa a, man talka to his
trlends. His theme is always the actual
world about him. and In his homelr lessons
ot loyalty, ot industry, of pity tor the poor,
he touches upon almost every subject from,
the plow tohe throne.
Passing Bishop Jeremy Taylor, the
great advocate for toleration of all
forms of religious belief, the striking
figure among the preachers of the ages
to follow Is, of course, John Wesley.
It is hardly fair to connect him wljh
the pulpit, since few. If any, made less
use of It. His church was the market
place, the roadside, the colliery, the
factory. The wild soldiery from the
neighboring barracks crowded to pro
tect their preacher from the Insults and
violence with which he was continually
threatened. The spiritual flres of the
Protectorate had died out in the ashes
of the Restoration: the church was
asleep or dead in England; there was
but a remnant left when Whitfield and
the two Wesleys headed the only great
revival of spiritual life In modern times.
Their appeals tol the church-goers and
to the much larger multitude who
never darkened the doors of a house
dedicated to the worship of God were
addressed to the soul of each, and were
based on an overshadowing sense and
absolute certainty" to them of that
Savior of men whom they preached so
earnestly to all;
In the last "half of the nineteenth
centurytwo names at once suggest
themselves Charles H. Spurgeon in
England, Bwight Moody In America.
Here .we have the actual printed rec
ord of many of their sermons. Calmly
reading them, we feel how greatly the
effect of the sermon hangs on the per
sonality of the preacher. That the
force these two men exerted' on their
generation has not died out that thelr
Influence Is ever and again reproduced
In those who were deeply influenced
by their ministry, cannot be disputed
and is plain to all students of the religious-history
of the past thirty years.
What, then, are the deductions from
this hasty sketch of the preachers of
.the ages past?
One and all were In dead earnest.
Their work lay not In a function they
had the opportunity of filling, but In a
message they were bound to deliver.
They were nearly all ahead of their
time. They felt deepljr the evils under
which men lay, and gathered up Into
their own spirits the unrest of their
times, and they uttered the cry of the
best men of their age; revolt certainly,
but a vivid sense of available remedy
for the evils under which men groaned.
Each one despised the externals of
life. They were content to pass the
soft side of things, to labor hard,-' to
eschew luxury, to accept danger and
death, if need be. If only their message
could be delivered to men.
MORE NAVAL AND ARMY OFFICERS.
Neither the United States Military
Academy at West-Point nor the Naval
Academy at Annapolis has room
enough to house the cadets from whom
the future supply of officers of the
Army and Navy must be recruited.
For the enlarged Navy, to which the
country is committed almost to a man,
no one institution will be large enough
to graduate officers In sufficient num
bers, say three years from this time.
West Point was ample for the old
standing Army, but is not big enough
for the regulars on the present foot
ing. It Is not likely that we shall have
fewer regiments In the future than we
have now.
If the best way to preserve peace Is
to be prepared for war. the United
States needs another West Point and
another Annapolis. Both should be es
tablished on the Pacific Coast, which
faces what must b the theater of the
world's greatest activities in the first
half of the twentieth century. A nat
ural site for a second Naval Academy
is near San Francisco. The very best
place for a second Military Academy Is
the Columbia River. In a ride of two
hours by steamer you can pick out a
dozen or more situations rivaling West
Point for scenic beauty. Whether It
shall be on the north or south bank
makes small difference.
To secure these institutions is a work
that the Pacific Coast members of Con
gress ought to undertake now. Sena
tors and Representatives from Idaho,
Montana, Nevada and Utah will be cer
tain to add their influence. - While It
may not be possible to put such a
measure through Congress at this ses
sion. It will serve to get the matter be
fore the country. If Congress shall de
cide that two more academies are
needed, the country won't mind footing
the bills.
VALOR FOR A ONE-MARK BALLOT.
When a political machine controls a
government and dominates a party, in
stinct tells it to make the fort secure
against raids of barbarians from with
out. When Republican sentiment Is so far
ascendant as in the State of Oregon and
the County of Multnomah, the Repub
lican machine naturally desires to
make the most of that fact and to
enact laws so that It can; while Demo
crats and Republican rebels ,put their
heads together to run the Republican
machine with a blind switch.
Behold, all this Is now come to pass
in the State of Oregon, the County of
Multnomah, and the Legislature
thereof.
The proposed ballot law, whereby
electors might vote a straight party
ticket by putting one mark on a ballot
at the head of a party list of candi
dates, instead of one mark in front of
the name of each candidate voted for,
was put through the last Legislature by
the brain and brawn of the Republi
can machine. It was held up by a
Democratic Governor. This week the
new Legislature will deal with the veto.
The Republican machine which con
trols the Legislature Is feeling of its
sinews to see whether it can override
the veto. That feat will require the
support of two-thirds of each house.
The purpose may fall, for the Demo
crats and the rebel Republicans wield
some power in the Legislative palace;
ye$ it may succeed, for the Republican
machine has more power. Did not the
Republican machine organize the Leg
islature? True, the barbarians would
have sacked the "organization" had
they been aided by one or two more
votes in each house. But Is not "a
miss as good as a mile"?
Could electors have voted a
straightj
party ticket by a single mark. George
Chamberlain would not fee Governor to
day, nor would C W. Nottingham now
sit in the place of A. A. Cou'rteney in
the Senate, nor O. P. Cos how In
the place of A. C. Marsters; nor per
haps would Tom Word be Sheriff: nor
JohnManalag- District Attorney.'.
The people of Oregon wilb behold a
trueteat'of valor at Salem: that's a
fact. Let them get out their telescopes.
MCCK-NEEDED LEGISLATION;
The regular memorial to Congress,
asking that the south half of the Col
ville Reservation be thrown open to
settlement, is again before- the Wash
ington Legislature, and bills introduced
In Congress In accordance with previous-memorials
are still pending. This
is a matter of considerable importance
to the State of Washington, and, atf
there is a large extent of Indian lands
similarly situated In Oregon and Idaho,
it becomes In a degree a matter of In
terest for the entire Northwest. The
Colville country Is one of the richest
localities In the State of Washington.
It abounds in minerals and Its agricul
tural nnd timber lands are of great
value. So long as these valuable lands
remain In the hands of the Indians they
will be practically nonproductive ot
wealth of any kind, and the expense
entailed in looking after their holders
will not decrease.
There are still large bodies of very
good land in all three of the North
western States outside of Indian land;
but bo long as the latter are In no way
adding to the comforts or the prosper
ity of the Indians, there is no good
reason why they should be kept off the
market and the Incoming, settlers forced
to take up less desirable holdings. By
opening to settlement the rich Colville
region there would also come Into touch
with civilization a vast area of rich
adjoining terrltor3-territory that can
not easily be reached until the reserva
tion lands are out of the hands of the
Indians and subject to state, road and
other laws. The Indian question has
always been one of the most vexatious
problems that has confronted the Gov
ernment, and no method for handling
It has proved entirely satisfactory: but
It has been demonstrated beyond all
doubt that, when It comes to placing
the red man on a self-supporting basis,
he will be fully as successful on a re
stricted area of poor land as he will be
on thousands of acres of good land.
From a business standpoint It thus
becomes apparent that the good land,
wherever possible, should be placed in
the hands of white men, who can make
it productive.
The Colville reservation is said to be
exceedingly rich in mineral wealth,
and, If prospecting and development
should confirm reports of this richness,
another Spokane may spring Into ex
istence near the boundary line. For
permanency as a wealth-producer, the
mining Industry can never equal agri
culture, but throughout the West and
in the Far North It has been the mag
net that first attracted attention to new
lands. The demands of the miners have
brought In the farmers and lumbermen,
and where there are such great possi
bilities for development " on all these
lines an old-time boom is not Improb
able. Oregon never lost anything by the
increasing population that has flowed
into her sister state, and for that rea
son, if any assistance can be rendered
In expediting the bill for opening of
the Colville reservation, it will be
forthcoming on demand. Shou'J the
project meet with the success It de
serves, we "may get around to opening
up some of the Oregon and Idaho res
ervation lands In territory tributary to
Portland. If the rush for Colville lands
Is proportionate to that which has been
noticeable at the opening of less valua
ble reservation land, there will be
enough of an overflow after the allot
ments are all made to give this state
an opportunity to locate several thou
sand new settlers.
MUST FIGHT FOR PEACE.
An American has been slain and the
property of a number of British resi
dents looted by Moorish brigands oper
ating near Tangier. Numerous similar
cases have been reported since the boss
brigand, Raisuli, secured a heavy ran
som for the return of a "galvanized"
American citizen whom Raisuli had
carried away. The payment of a ran
som, frequently regarded as a tempor
ary expedient which cannot be avoided,
can never be anything else than com
pounding a crime, and it Is doubtful If
the good resultant has ever' come any
where near to overbalancing the at
tendant eviL It would have been very
unfortunate If the brigands had car
ried out their threat and murdered Mr.
Perdlcaris. but It is altogether proba
ble that, had they done so, other un
fortunates would not have fallen vic
tims to their savagery.
Cable advices which bring news of
this latest deviltry do not oiTer particu
lars regarding the identity of the
American who has been slain, but his
life was worth as much to the Ameri
can flag as that of Perdlcaris. who was
not much of an American after alL
The chaotic condition of affairs In Mo
rocco and the Increasing boldness of
the brigands Is another argument
against being too peaceful in the treat
ment of a people who recognize the
beauties and benefits of peace only as
they are beaten into them with a club
or thrown In with a Gatling gun.
When the peaceful people of the earth
compounded a crime by bargaining
with criminals for the safe return of
Ion Perdlcaris or Ellen M. Stone, they
only arranged for another Installment
of trouble for some one else.
There Is a possibility that neither of
these two wandering Americans would
ever have had the opportunity to tell
their story on the lecture platform, or
In the magazines, had some of the
great nations of the earth that boast
of the respect which their power com
mands sent heavy forces after these
outlaws and brought them to Justice.
This, of course, would have been very
unfortunate for the gentleman and
lady, who should have had better sense
than to get so far away from the pro
tection of the American flag, but It
would have made life and property
safer for others yet to come. "Peace
hath its victories," but It has never
scored very heavily when dealing with
the brigands of Morocco or any other
country. With such outlaws the only
kind of peace that Is worth having Is
that which follows the cannon's roar
and the bullet's whistle.
The history of savage races from the
beginning ot civilization shows but few
instances where the olive branch ac
complished any permanent good unless
it was accompanied by some tangible
f ear-Inspiring' clement of warfare. All
civilized nations prefer neace. and all
of them at some time orother in their
existence
.nave naa tp light, for if If,
the particulars of this latest outrage
are as serious as -Indicated' -in dis
patches already "printed. itIs-the duty
of the. United States arid Great Britain
to get together and insist on the presen
tation of something besides a ransom
to the unpeaceful Moors.
.-iS TO TKUC XAXUAL TRAINING.
Manual training has been, to a lim
ited, extent. Introduced In the Portland
public schools. The system Is as yet
poorly equipped even for an experi
ment, yet It is making commendable If
not satisfactory progress. The purpose,
as expressed at the meeting of the
School Board last Monday, is to estab
lish a manual training center, the
basement of the Atkinson School build
ing being suggested assultable for the
present purpose. This Idea, though not
new, will have to be worked out in
this city by a process of growth that
makes advance somewhat slowly, but
surely. The trend Is practical, and by
contrast with the nonessentials that
have barnacled the High School course.
It commends Itself to the workaday
people of a workaday world. ,
The popularity of manual training
rests upon this basis, and, though some
parents, even among .the working
classes, object to It and in a way re
sent It, as Interference or presump
tion, it is believed that the majority
ot thoughtful people, whose children,
like themselves, must work for a living,
will respond cheerfully to the effort
to teach them to use their hands deftly
and In conjunction with their brains
during the plastic years of childhood.
The question of manual training by
the state is not one of duty, but of ex
pediency, in this It Js like the question
ot higher education by the. state as
exemplified In our High Schools and
State Universities. It Is the parent's
duty to equip his children by proper
education for the trades, arts or sci
ences, as he may elect, or according to
the aptitude of ability of the Individual
child. Failing In this duty, either
through disinclination of inability from
any cause, the state, as a matter of
self-protection against ignorant or In
competent citizenship, assumes the
burden. If it may legitimately and
properly do this as regards High School
and University courses for the few who
push on, or are pushed on, it may with
greater propriety extend the benefits of
manual training to the larger number
whose school days end with the gram
mar grades or before this educational
point Is reached.
In this view manual training in con
nection with the grade work In the pub
lic schools should become, and no
doubt will become, universally popular
with parents of the working class, with
the exception only of those who con
sider their whole duty to the state and
the child accomplished when the latter
is born Into the world.
It is a condition, not a theory, that
confronts us under the name of Irre
sponsible parentage. To reduce the
evils consequent upon this condition to
the minimum is the best that the wis
est of our educators and legislators
can hope to do. Looking to this end,
manual training in our public schools
has been found helpful In older cities
and states than ours. It will doubtless
prove helpful here.
THE CONGJtESSIONAL PROGRAMME.
The President is tender of the feel
ings of the Republican leaders ic Con
gress. He does not want to offend, or.
override, or dictate to them. He will
not insist upon his own opinions as
against theirs in the great matter of
tariff revision. Congress is the legislat
ive branch of the Government. Its duty
Is to formulate and enact laws, and it Is
the duty ot the President to sign or
veto the bills when they reach him.
At the same time the President sees no
great harm In intimating, gently but
firmly, to Senators and Representa
tives' that it would give him much
pleasure to affix his signature to a bill
passed by a Republican Congress hav
ing for Its object revision of the Ding
ley schedules. Finding the President in
this amiable and expectant mood, the
Senate leaders and the House leaders
have evidently made up their minds
not to disappoint him. There will be
examination and discussion of the
DIngley schedules, for the- sole pur
pose of learning If they. or any of them,
are too high or too low. At the begin
ning ot the present Congress the Re
publicans, whose voices count for any
thing said they would not even con
sider the question. They stood pat.
But now they say they will consider
it. Perhaps then they will continue to
stand pat. Perhaps not. That is suffi
cient progress for the present. The
Congressional programme may thus be
summarized:
1. Interstate commerce committee of the
House to bring; out a bill deaUng -with the
recommendation or the President in his mes
sage as to freight rates.
2. No extra session of Congress In the
Spring, but a session In the Fall, beginning,
perhaps. In the month of October.
3. Curtailment of the naval programme
with a view to economy, the Congress In Its
bill only providing for one battleship and no
cruisers. Nary Department estimates to be
cut about $40,000,000.
4. Consideration of tariff schedules during
the Summer months by a commission com
posed of the members of the Senate commit
tee on finance and the House committee on
ways and means. Amendment ot the pres
ent DIngley tariff rates not to be attempted
at this session of Congress, but to be de
ferred until the extra session. Every effort
of the party to bz directed toward prevent
ing revision, as It is popularly known, and
instead to have simple readjustment of such
schedules as the Investigation of the Con
gressional tariff experts establish can and
should be done for the benefit of the coun
try and Its leading Interests.
The President says he proposes to re
form freight-rate abuses, and he "will
fight for It, and fight bard." Congress
is not sensitive as to the Executive po
sition on that great subject, because It
does not know, or pretend to know, all
about It; and it Is perhaps glad to fol
low the President's lead. It Is the spe
cial custodian of the tariff, which is
distinctly a political issue; it considers
regulation of railroads as not a polit
ical, but an Administrative, matter,
and It will depend more or less on the
findings ot the Bureau of Corporations,
the Interstate Commerce Commission
and specialists in freight tariffs for
guidance. If the President meets- with
opposition in Congress to his railroad
and anti-rebate proposals, it will not
be from the Republican party, "it will
be from Individual Congressmen.
Criticism of Japanese strategy has
not been infrequent of late, and in the
case of the land operations the Euro
pean sharps have managed to show
that the Generals have not manifested
the Napoleonic quality of striking an
instantaneous and decisive blow. Re
garding the operations at sea, however.
It Is a surprise to find hostile critics of
the Japanese, yet W. E. Curtis, In a
Washington letter, declares that Amer
ican naval men characterize Togo's
strategy as a series of mistakes. This
criticism Is based principally upon the
fact that Togo did ngt press home an
Attack with hl3 whole force upon the
night "of February 8, and further upon
the sea fight of August 10. To criticise
a commander who has achieved his ob
ject is futile, after all. As well censure
Sampson for not entering Santiago to
destroy--Cervera's squadron. And the
certainty that if Japan's fleet was
beaten her cause was Irretrievably lost
is. aufficlent answer ' to Togo's critics.
To have said with Farragut. "Damn
the torpedoes; go ahead," would have
been "magnificent, but not war," and
the Japanese wanted no magnificence.
That their object was as fully attained
as was Dewey's at Manila or Nelson's
at Copenhagen is enough.
China's "administrative entity," as
Secretary Hay termed it In his note ,io
the powers, is in danger of being shat
tered, if Russia's recent circular Is
more than an attempt to weaken the
moral support accorded Japan. The
assertion that Japanese agents are fo
menting the anti-foreign feeling of the
Chinese is the most important feature
of the Russian notification, but it is too
general In its terms to produce much
effect, especially as the specific allega
tions concerning China's disregard of
neutrality obligations are weak. Chi
nese firms are accused of supplying the
Japanese with provisions and muni
tions of-war. Chinese firms did the
same for Por Arthur. Chinese islands
are said to have been used as a base by
the Japanese. All Manchuria Is Chi
nese. As to the employment of 'Man
churian bandits by the Japanese, if
such is the case Russia, and not China,
occupies Manchuria in force, and Pekin
writs do not run across the Liao River.
Official returns- on United States ship
building for 1904 show a. decline from
1159 vessels of 3S1.970 tons In 1903 to
1065" vessels of 265.104 tons last year.
This decline, while less pronounced pro
portionately than that of foreign coun
tries, again reflects the decided con
gestion In the freight markets due to
an oversupply of tonnage. It Is nearly
time, however, for the pendulum to
swing the other way, and shipowners
who have lost heavily for the past three
years are more hopeful. The lesson has
been a severe one, and no matter how
high freights" may climb with the re
vival due to a slackening in the out
put. It is doubtful if there will ever
again be such an era ot overbuilding In
'shipping as marked the closing years
of the last century. If there was ever
a time when a subsidy, or any other
method of artificial aid, was not needed
for Increasing the supplies of shipping,
that time is here and now.
Had not Senator Dubois, of Idaho,
been in desperate political straits,
stranded through the folly of his pur
suit of the sliver craze, and on a search
for any kind of "issue" that might
launch him again, he wouldn't have
made himself such a fool as- he did
make himself by his attack-on the Mor
mons of Idaho. It has been apparent
for years that polygamy was expiring;
but the adherent of the Church of the
Latter-Day Saints has as good ground
to stand on, .under our system of gov
ernment, as the adherents of any other
church. Dubois never was anything
but a time-server, a hare-brained fa
natic This disposition made him one
of the fools of the silver craze. That
over, he must employ some other silly
expedient, in the hope of further polit
ical success. But Dubois Is at the end
of It.
The movement among the various or
ganizations of women of this city .look
ing to measures for the protection of
young girls and women who will come,
unacquainted with the city and un
attended by friends, to visit the Lewis
and Clark Fair next Summer, is, to say
the least, in the interest of hospitality
and nelghborllness. In Individual cases
It will doubtless have a deeper signifi
cance, inasmuch as it is Intended to
extend protection to visitors of this
class who, from Inexperience or other
cause, need this Important office. The
movement is founded In generosity, hu
manity and morality, and will, no
doubt, be both widely and specifically
beneficial In carrying out the purposes
designated.
Cancer, which, next to leprosy, has
been the despair of medical science
for ages, has been closely studied since
1899 at the Gratwick Pathological Lab
oratory of the University of Buffalo,
with results that lead to the belief that
the cure of this insidious enemy to
human life is likely to be made possi
ble. A. parasitic disease, infectious in
type, it has been transplanted and- re
produced" In healthy animals and cured
by the use of a serum prepared In ttie
laboratory. So pronounced has been
the success of the experiments that it
is confidently believed that a serum
that will cure cancer In the human be
ing will soon be produced. Scientists
could scarcely confer a greater boon
to suffering humanity than this.
Intervention In Costa Rica is now
asked by an American fruit company,
which alleges unfair treatment. Haytl
has been warned by the State Depart
ment that the sentence imposed on an
American citizen for alleged connection
with bond swindles cannot be recog
nized, and Venezuela would have had
a sharp warning before this time, were
It not for the two factions which claim
control of the asphalt company, which
has been so unjustly treated by Presi
dent Castro. The unruly members of
the crowd that Is sheltered by the Mon
roe Doctrine will be receiving a sur
prise packet from an American Ad
miral If conditions do not mend
promptly.
Of course the Supreme Court of the
United States will not try to prevent
Senator Piatt (New Tork) from taking
his seat. The Senate alone determines
the qualifications of its own member
ship, and It Is not the court's business
to interfere.
The standpatters evidently think the
great Republican landslide last Novem
ber was a victory for them. Somehow
they have forgotten that it was Roose
velt who was nmning, and he is not
a "standpatter" of that kind.
Nicholas believes that the time is
coming when God will give strength to
his army and navy. In this event he
should have postponed the war until
assured of heavenly co-operation.
With her recent experience in mind.
New Tork will doubtless agitate for
the insertion of a clause In the arbitra
tion treaty with Britain providing for
the exclusion df "London fogs.
; NOTE AND COMMENT,
Some of the barrels at Olyrapia. are full
of those apples that don't have any cores-.
Senator Depew rises to stato that the
title chases the girl: hot the girl the title;
True, but the title gives the chaser an
undeserved pull.
Bandits In Tunis kidnaped a bride and
bridegroom on their wadding night. This
will Rive the young people a chance to
become acquainted with one another while
waiting for ..ransom.
Major McBride and Maude' Gonne had
too much In. common to get along well as
husband and wife. '
Where did all the caps come from that
were worn in Portland yesterday? AH
kind? ot strange cold-weather headgear
were to be seen on the street?, just as if
people kept fur caps, coonskln caps, caca
with earflaps. and all the rest of them
hanging on hatpegs ready for the sn-
The few sleigh-owners were there with
bells yesterday.
Representative Sheppard, of Texas, Is an
unreasonable sort of cuss. He has Intro
duced a bill providing that no mileage ba
paid to Congressmen who travel on
passes. What good is mileage to a man
who doesn't travel on a pass? He must
pay it all. or most of it, to some bloated
corporation to fransport him to the scene
of his official relaxation in Washington,
and consequently Isn't a penny the better
for it; whereas, mileage means something
to the man with a pass. Back, back, back
to the Rio Grande with. Sheppard.
The Mazamas have announced their in
tention of climbing Mount Rainier In ths
Spring. The poor, bloomln' mountain
can't run away, y know.
Cheese Is not high in favor with Albany
teachers; or, rather, it's high, but' not In
favor.
The Pedestrian.
I'd like to be a comet and dash about tha
-sky.
And know if anything got hurt that thing
would not be I.
How comforting it must bo to a cam
paign manager to have a few SL Louis
brewers on his visiting list.
William Hart, Jr., the amicable seer
of Sagle's Pass, Tex., has again forward
ed to The Oregonian his semi-annual fore
cast ot Oregon weather. For January 8-11,
his prediction was, "stormy, rain or
snow," and for January 12-14, "fair." Jan
uary 15-18 It is "probable rain." January
19 is to be "fair," and the rest of the
month he gives as stormy weather, with
rain or snow on the side. It is real mean
of a man in the sunny clime ot Texas to
discourage us with so much rain or snow,
but we suppose William Hart, Jr., does
his duty as he sees it, let the' snow fall
where it will.
Belllnghara is being revived by the "Cow
boy Preacher," who Is said to have turned
so many girls from dances to prayer meet
ings that the young men. Irritated by lack
of partners, have threatened to tar and
feather the revivalist. This Is a. novel
development of the religious wildfire, and
is only, equalled by the case reputed from
Wales, where a revival has roused the
country a3 It swept along like the bloody
cross ot the Highland chieftains. In one
slate-quarry section tha miners have
given up their profaae csmwia a thor
oughly that the horses fall to understand
tho unaccustomed words of command.
Whether the revival will re-dio or the
mineowners will have to import Scottish
drivers is at present uncertain.
"What Is the sentiment In regard to tho
polygamous families?" asked Chairman
Burrows.
"That It was an awful condition."
"A lawful condition, you say?" interrupt
ed tho chairman.
"No, an awful condition."
Another Instance of Chairman Burrows
giving them "L"
"Now comes the season of legislatures,"
says the Saturday Evening Post, adding
that most of the legislators are In "parson-like
frock-coats," giving tho legisla
tive chambers "an air of solemn, even
funereal respectability." The Post then
goes on to ask: "But if they buttoned
their frock-coats and, without doing any
lawmaking, rode home on their free
passes from the railways, would we, as a
Nation, be any the worse oft?" Can
Gorgon Graham Lo rimer have been de
feated for the Pennsylvania Senate, or
some office of that kind?
Looping the loop dn skis is a feat to be
tried next month by a MIchlgander.
Sounds more like the idea of a MIchigoose.
The Argus says that orders for contra
band goods to the amount of more than
$2,000,000 have been diverted from Seattle
because the dally papers there printed
something about the possibilities of blockade-running.
As if the persons Interested
In such matters can learn nothing except
from heads in box-car type. Besides, the
Japanese officials in Seattle would nat
urally be aroused by the sight of a
steamer in the harbor there.
Paris physicians have discovered kissing
to be a "natural therapeutic practice." It
is seldom that Love and Science thus find
themselves in accord.
It, would be .money in Mrs. Campbell's
pocket to discharge Pinky Panky Poo and
get one with another name. Boston Herald.
"Pinky Panky Poo" may not be ot suffi
ciently classic architecture for Boston, but
it is a winner in any other part of the
country. Were Mrs. Campbell to throw
.away the"Pat" part of her name and
her Pinky Panky Poo, she might as well
go back to Upper Tooting.
Portland is -reaching that stage of de
velopment wherein a man is either secret
ly ashamed or brazlngly proud of living
In a suburb.
While armies clash In the Far East, it
Is refreshing to come across a touch of
the nature that makes the world smile.
On all the bridges of the railroad around
Lake Baikal are stationed Russian sen
tries. As the soldier guards his lonely
posts along comes an engine, and the
driver, with civilian pleasure In giving
the military the worst of it, never falls to
open a steam valve rfs he passes the sen
try, leaving the poor fellow with wring
ing garments. Somehow or another one
feels more interest in the grinning engine
driver and the pilloried sentry than in
all the men in Kuropatkin's army.
In the matter of land frauds the Presi
dent wants it understood that he's not
"teasing, just to see what they would
do."
The lovesong sometimes turns to gush.
The chicken's sometimes boiled to mush
But oh! the snow that turns to slush!
AH kinds of shoes were slippers yester
day. WEXFORD JONES.