THE STOflDAT OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, MARCH 12, 1905.
Entered at tho Portofflce a Portlsmd. Or-,
as eeonfi-cla3 :xnatter.
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PORTLAND. SUNDAY. MARCH 15. 1905.
A PECULIAR MILITARY SITUATION.
It is general knowledge or belief, de
rived from reports from the seat of war
In Manchuria, that the strength of the
Russian and of the Japanese armies,
at the beginning of the series of recent
battles, was nearly equal. The strength
of each or either army was supposed
to be from 300,000 to 400.000 men. Forces
in the aggregate numerically greater
operated against each other during the
Franco-German "War; but the prepon
derance of numbers on the side of the
Germans was Very great. Hence Se
dan. But it is understood that the Russian
and Japanese forces, facing each other
on the Hun. River, were nearly equal.
Tet the Japanese have pushed forward
their wings on either side of the Rus
sian positions, and have attacked and
driven In the Russian center. The
fighting in the center has been terrible;
on the wings or flanks hitherto of no
great consequence. But the Japanese
have forced the Russian center, and
their flanking columns are said to be
in position to cut off the Russian re
treat. That is, the Russian army has
been enveloped, considerable part of It
has been cut off, and it Is questionable
whether any considerable portion of it
will be able to effect its escape.
This is all very singular and start
ling. It indicates that the Russian
army has little mobility, or power of
action, beyond that of dogged resist
ance. In strategy Russian generalship
has always been weak and deficient
conforming In this respect to the na
ture of the Rusl8an soldiery, which has
enormous power of resistance, but no
quickness or initiative. A Russian
army has always represented the sim
ple obstinacy of force and fortitude;
never the quick Inspiration of strategic
action.
Hence it is that the Russian army in
Manchuria allows its center to be
driven in and rolled back, while it
makes no effort to And a vulnerable
point for counter attack, on the long
and necessarily attenuated line of its
assailant. The commander knows noth
ing of the art of concentration of a
superior force on a vital point, to over
whelm his adversary, and of the quick
and sustained movement necessary for
it. He takes no advantage of the op
portunity offered for sudden movement
in force on interior lines, against the
positions of his enemy. Hence, with
forces on either side, amounting to
300,000 to 400,000 men, the Japanese are
able to "surround" the Russians. That
is, one Japanese soldier has surrounded
one Russian soldier on three sides of
him, and now is hopefully striving to
surround him on the fourth. And this,
though the Russian army occupies in
terior lines, and might be launched as
a thunderbolt upon any part of the
long and thin line of Its adversary.
The generalship of the Russian army is
suited to the Immobility of the Russian
60ldler, who can fight bravely and die
devotedly; yet who has not the quick
ness to meet an. enthusiastic, enterpris
ing and resourceful enemy. So the
General of the Russian army of 400,000
men allows his army to be "surround
ed" by a force no more numerous than
his own. The French were surrounded
at Sedan, but by enemies outnumber
ing them three to one.
TW O STRIKES.
The New York subway strike has
failed, and the men are advised by
their leaders to apply for their old po
sitions. Some will get them, others will
not, for it Is the purpose of the Inter
borough Company to protect the old
men who have been loyal and
to retain in their service others who
have taken the places of the men who
loft. It Is Interesting to note In the
news dispatches this paragraph:
Mr. Jencka ta strike leader) held the press
responsible for the result, contending that the
pa pern had aroused a hostile senUment. The
strikers bitterly denounce their leaders, say.
Ins the natn were deceived by them.
The Now York press represents a
great variety of sentiment, political, so
clal"lind commercial, but it seems not
to have supported the strikers in their
effort to discommode the traveling
public: hence the bitter complaint- of
the unsuccessful strike leader. If the
newspapers had united to Indorse the
strike, without reference to its merits,
they might have secured the invaluable
commendation of Mr. Jencks.
"What they did was doubtless just what
The Oregonlan has done In Portland in
setting forth the situation at the Xiewis
and Clark Fair grounds. A strike was
declared. It has not been successful.
On the contrary, it appears now that It
Is soon to collapse. The work on the
Government building, the main point of
attack, is progressing satisfactorily,
and practically a full complement of
workmen is employed. Indeed, there
has been no real delay, except for one
or two days. The facts have been
printed conspicuously and without bias
In The Oregonlan. It has, besides,
printed what the strikers had to say.
Yet The Oregonlan is made the target
of a moBt vicious assault by the Port
land Labor Press and is accused of
continuous and persistent misrepresen
tation. Truth is that the strikers have
been deceived by. their leaders, or by
some of them, and they are learning
now that what these leaders have said,
and what the Labor Press says for
them, is not true. The strike-leaders
and agitators, being about to fail, must
lay the blame somewhere, and they
blame The Oregonlan. The workmen,
likely enough, will blame their leaders,
as they should.
irUXICrPAL HOUSEC LEANING.
The vigor with which the Civic Im
provement League is pushing the ordi
nance that forbids the Obstruction of
streets and sidewalks Is commendable.
The same may be said of the impartial
ity shown in notifying offenders that
long-tolerated abuses in this direction
must stop. Of course the wholesale
district Is not subject to the rigid In
terpretation of the ordinance that may
be justly applied to the retail and resi
dence portion of the city. But even on
Front and First streets much improve
ment may be made In the matter of
keeping sidewalks and streets unob
structed, without hampering business
transactions. While builders will be
confined -to the privilege of the street
as defined by ordinance, it is the pur
pose of those who are leading the
"clean-up movement" to restrict them
to the limit prescribed and to insist that
the litter incident to building be
promptly removed.
Our people have become so accus
tomed to the slipshod, go-as-you-please
manner in which sidewalks and streets
are used and abused for business pur
poses that many of them have come to
view as an abstract right the privilege
of storing surplus wares on the one
and using the other as construction
yards. To disabuse them of this idea is
a part of the work of the league, and it
may be added that it is not the least
difllcult part.
There is likely to be overofflciousness
on the part of persons charged with
this duty. Not every official, perhaps,
will be able to discriminate properly
between a publlc'nuisance and a neces
sity of business. Zeal Is as apt to make
mistakes in one direction as indiffer
ence is in another. Great care should
be, and doubtless will be, exercised in
order that the legitimate rights of busi
ness, be not Invaded. But for the mer
chant who piles his wares, placarded
with prices, on the sidewalk in front of
his -storerooms; the green grocer who
ornaments the sidewalk in front of his
place of business with bags of potatoes
and turnips, crates of cabbages and
cauliflower, open kits of mackerel,
pickerel, salmon and pigs' feet, and
garnishes the whole with overripe
fruits in their season; the butcher who
pushes his display stand of choice
meats out over the sidewalk; the second-hand
man who makes the sidewalk
a place for the display of his motley
stock In trade all of these and perhaps
many others will be given fair warn
ing, not once, but twice, that they must
do business on their own premises, not
on the streets. Falling to heed these
repeated warnings, they will be haled
before the Police Court to show cause
why they should not be fined for
flagrant disregard of a wholesome city
ordinance. This is a move In the right
direction. It is in the interest of clean
liness, good health and the good name
of Portland. Loyal citizens will look
upon it with favor, and assist it to the
extent of their ability, beginning, when
necessary, upon their own premises
and extending their individual efforts
to such vacant spaces about the city as
they own, that are now and long have
been used as dumping grounds for un
sightly refuse.
CLOTHES AND THE MAX.
College presidents have a power of
calling up a tempest of discussion with
the wand of an apparently Innocent re
mark. The latest instance Is afforded
by President Harrft, of Amherst, "the
little Yankee college." President Har
ris Issued an appeal to former students
for cast-off evening clothes to be given
poor young men working their way
through college. These students, he
said, were debarred by their lack of
evening dress from joining in many of
the social events of the college. Quite
naturally an appeal of this character
has brought forth much comment, a
little favorable and a great deal ex
ceedingly unfavorable The "dress suit"
is also the central figure in a discussion
carried on In the New York papers as
to whether or not a young man earning
515 a week should expend $35 upon glad
rags, to use a term as elegant as "dress
suit," and considerably more express
ive. Both questions -appear to hinge
upon the same points.
If the poor student could bring nlm
self to accept a dress suit presented by
some alumnus of larger wardrobe, he
would surely have an uncomfortable
"second-hand" feeling in his new togs.
The homespun trousers that passed
from father to eldest son and down the
line to the youngest, shrinking as they
went, were not received with the same
joy by the second and subsequent wear
ers as would have been a new and par
ticular store product The second-hand
dress suit would be better adapted- for
use by a waiter, who Is not worrying so
much over his appearance as is a stu
dent going to a dance, and It may be
that President Harris had In mind some
students who are working their way
through college by waiting. It Is more
than likely that the student who was
debarred from attending an entertain
ment by lack of a dress suit of his own
would scorn to gain admission In bor
rowed plumes. The jackdaw who pea
cocked it for a time did not find his
experiment worth repeating.
If a man cannot afford evening
clothes, his reasonable course appears
to be joining in a society where such
clothes are unnecessary. "The rank Is
but the guinea-stamp," a.nd a dress suit
is not even that, to any exeat extent.
A man can get the benefit of social
Jlfe, if he does wear the same suit from
xae mne ais aiarm ciock goes on until
he winds It up again. If, however, Am
herst expects that every man at night
will wear a dress suit, and solicits of
ferings of such things, why stop there?
Clothes are as important In the daytime
as la the evening. If the poor student
gains no social polish sans evening
clothes, who shall measure his loss by
playing golf in some unseemly cos
tume? He should have riding breeches
and motor-car coats, morning coats,
frock coats, and so forth, and to keep
up the polishing croccss he should sleen
in silk pyjamas. If he cannot buy these
clothes for himself, the Amherst "alumni
should be called" upon to do their best.
President Harris should nause.
.Clothes may make the man, but eecon-
nana clothes make the dub.
"KID PRATS.'
Under the above head, the New York
Tribune, after apologizing for the
phrase, but pleading In extenuation the
fact that no other fitly describes the
subject treated, joins the protest
against "Greek-letter societies" In con
junction with our public schools. If
any one objects to the phrase all peo
ple of taste and discretion will all the
writer has to say is that "it is no
worse than the things it stands for,' to
which things it is to be hoped all people
of taste and discretion, and especially
of influence, will also strenuously and
effectively object."
As stated by the Tribune, the things
in question are not college fraternities,
nor yet college "frats" two very dif
ferent things, by the way as different
-as are gentlemen and "gents" or
sportsmen and "sports." "While con
cerning the merits of college fraterni
ties there Is a diversity of opinion the
preponderance of which seems to be
favorable to them, there can scarcely
be two opinions among thoughtful, ob
servant people in regard to the "frat"
of the high school, the grammar school,
perchance of the kindergarten. Any
school day now the Tribune sees little
boys In roundabouts trotting along to
school with detachments of the Greek
alphabet embroidered on their caps, or
engraved in pretty little gilt badges
upon their jackets. By these tokens it
Is made known that the "kids," as they
call each other, are members of some
"kid frat" which has Its mystic motto,
its finger-tangling grip, its password
and countersign, and all the secret
solemnities of the Vehmgerichte. That
is the sort of thing against which wise
and thoughtful principals and teachers
of schools are protesting in various cit
ies as a serious evil.
It should not take a labored argu
ment to show the absurdity of boys
who have not yet learned the Greek
alphabet . forming themselves into
Greek-letter societies. Still less should
It require argument to show that the
secret, oathbound fraternity is emphat
ically something for older years and
maturer minds than are found In our
public schools. If little boys enter
into such a compact, the result Is more
than likely to be mischievous, since of
necessity it lacks the Judgment that
should wait, upon the selection of last
ing friendships of the seriously
"pledged" order.
The matter has assumed grave pro
portions in several Eastern cities. In
our own city It is coming on apace,
though Principal Davis, of the High
School, has placed himself on record as
having seen nothing objectionable in
the movement, the workings of which,
in his school, were so succinctly set
forth by a High School student la
these columns a few weeks ago. In
Seattle, it will be remembered, the
school authorities were compelled to
deal strenuously with the matter a
year ago, or capitulate to the "frats."
Children are children the world over,
and In familiar phrase "boys are boys"
wherever found. It Is Idle, therefore,
to suppose that the Portland schools
will escape the Injury that has over
taken the schools of New York, Chicago
and other cities through the medium
of "kid frats." Hence It is most unwise
to allow these things to become a bar
nacle upon our public school system.
"When," says the Tribune, "a youth Is
trusted to go away from home, live in
dependent of his parents' or teachers'
control and manage his own affairs,
he is presumably competent to select
lasting friendships and to fulfill the
obligations of fraternity. Until he
reaches that estate be should be con
tent with the conditions that are ap
propriate to childhood."
Thfs sentiment commends itself to
experience and prudence, and parents
and teachers cannot get very far away
from It In practice without finding
trouble.
TUB WASHINGTON LEGISLATURE.
To a greater extent than ever it will
require the test of time to permit any
thing like an accurate estimate of the
work done by" the Washington Legis
lature, which closed the session at
Olympla last Thursday. In the crea
tion of much new patronage, the ses
sion from a political standpoint was
undoubtedly a success. A Railroad
Commission with, practically unlimited
power and $60,000 to spend In the next
two years; a Tax Commission, providing
three lat jobs, and a State Printer are
among the more important additions
made to the patronage list during the
session. The Railroad Commission bill
has been pretty freely discussed In
these columns, and the full effect of its
pernicious nature cannot be appreci
ated until the machine which will grow
around It is In full working order. No
legislation enacted by a rabid Populist
Legislature ever approached it as a
trouble-maker, and if it should prove to
be constitutional, a wall for its repeal
will, sooner or later, go up from all
over the state.
The Tax Commission bill bears more
of the imprints of sincerity, and pos
sesses features of merit which, if prop
erly enforced, may result In good com
mensurate with the salaries ald the
Commissioners. The fact that this bill
was passed without the necessity for
the disgraceful trades which resulted In
the passage of the Railroad Commis
sion bill Is a strong point in its favor.
There was the usual number of "cinch"
bills and the usual attempts to legal
ize the stealing of the state's oyster
beds and timber lands, but fortunately
In both cases the schemes were,
blocked before the promoters succeeded
In blowing the lock oft the treasury
safe. Eerhaps the most harmless, but
at the same time the most disturbing,
measure before tha Legislature was the
capital-removal bill. The majorities by
which It passed both the House and the
Senate show the extent of the dissatis
faction over the presentCapitol build
ing -and lack of accommodations, al
though the peculiar position In which
Governor Head was placed made It a
certainty that the bill would never be
come a law.
But there was one act of the Wash
ington Legislature which shines out
clear and bright above all others, and
that was the election of a United States
Senator without the old of money, and,
most peculiar as it may seem, It was a
millionaire candidate for the Senate
that caused the strange climax to the
Senatorial fight. The rebuke to the
bribe-seekers was startling, and Its ef-
iect win not soon wear-off. It has cer
tainly placed Senatorial elections In
Washington on a higher plane, and has
brought into power in the Evergreen
State a new faction which may change
the political man of the state. The
Legislature was fully alive to the im
portance of the Lewis and Clark Fair,'
and, fortunately for the state, the Chief
Executive, unlike his predecessor, was
in accord with the Legislature, andv
despite the short time remaining, the
appropriation is sufficient for a. Mod
exhibit to be made.
There was little savorinsr of economy
in the Legislature, but the absence of a
swarm of female relatives and friends
drawing several dollars per day from
the state treasury gave It a decidedly
caving appearance In contrast with the
alms -distributing Oregon Legislature.
wna. me exception of the Railroad
Commission bill, the work of the Legis
lature on the whole will not suffer by
comparison yith. that of Its predeces-
owi auu wcu me commissiBH diu may
prove to be worth all it swats in the
way of experience. It will at least sup
ply a living for a few politicians who
always have to be taken care of.
riiEPAKED VICTORY. .
.When the world rings with results
It Is time to study methods, but not
less causes. A nation has risen In arms
before, but by no means with cer
tainty of success, against powerful foes
and disciplined armies. A year of war
waged by Japan has proved far more
than the valor of her soldiers and the
patriotism of her people. Her succes
sion of victories has come as the nat
ural issue and . consequence of years
long of preparation. This again is not
alL Casting aside the broken fetters of
habit, Japan not only has adopted
Western methods, but, having tested
to her satisfaction the arms she was to
take, she has developed the use of them
with the highest intelligence. No blind
follower, but a reasoner, she has fore
seen victory, organized for It, and has
shown herself willing to pay the price.
It Is an old tale that when, Japan
after 186S commenced ner new life the
first thought was the need of national
power in war. For models of ships she
went to America and to England. So
she laid the foundation of her navy.
For the plan of her national army she
went to Germany and became a most
apt pupil. Soldiers everywhere have
studied the events of the past year as
object-lessons on the grandest scale
formed on the German plan for waging
successful war.
A short account, -from responsible
sources, should be of general Interest.
Granted that the nation is a- unit In the
effort to bring its army to perfection,
of what avail would be the training,
the devotion, the valor of the troops, If
the leaders are Insufficiently prepared?
The officering of the army through all
Its ranks must be efficient, so that
unity of design, co-ordination of means
to end, shall inspire every movement
of the great machine. What, then, Is
the German model on which Japan has
worked? The curriculum of the War
Academy, the training home of officers
of the General Staff, was arranged by
General von Moltke In 1SS8 and revised
in 1S99, but the principles he laid down
are unchanged. Entrance Is reserved
for lieutenants. They must have mas
tered practically company drill and
service, and be certified to possess high
military character, to be fit. Jn brief,
from both personal, and military char
acteristics for the higher grades. Out
of about 600 candidates offering them
selves each year, from 120 to 140 are
chosen. Examinations are written, and
include military history, geography,
mathematics and one language beside
their own. The course Is of three years.
Each year ends with a written exam
ination, answers to the questions de
pending more on sense and judgment
than on memory. At the end. of the
three years' course, after a final ex
amination, at which the details of the
General Staff of the army are special
subjects, the young officers return to
their regiments with their certificates,
and their examination papers are sub
mitted to the chief of the General Staff.
This officer selects the choice officers,
who are then designated to the General
Staff.
This next stage lasts also for thVee
years. At the end of each year, after
close scrutiny of their work, a certain
number are dropped, and return to duty
la the regiments. The best of these are
taken for Adjutants. The residue, at
tached permanently to the General
Staff, are the very pick of the brains,
character, physical and mental ability
of the nation. In this system there is
no room lor favoritism or lnfluence
Solld merit tells for advancement.
The number of higher officers on the
General Staff at any time will probably
not exceed 200. They are known- as
comrades to each, other, and the highest
spirit of loyalty and enthusiasm per
vades the whole body. The chief of the
General Staff becomes naturally, In war
time, Commander-in-Chief of the army,
subject only to the Emperor. His offi
cers next In rank become commanders
of armies, and the next corps com
manders. Trained In the same school. Impressed
with the Influence of the chief, accus
tomed to receive instructions and or
ders from him, a grand idea of unity
pervades the whole organization. When
emergencies arise, and unforeseen dif
ficulties ore interposed, the spirit and
method for meeting them has been im
pressed on every commander In ad
vance. The officers of the General' Staff
devote themselves entirely to prepara
tion for war, and serve In the 'cam
paign as aids to the higher command
ers. They are entirely relieved from
regimental duty. The prophetic words
of Count von Moltke, addressed to the
German General Staff, have seen abso
lute verification in the gigantic war
now before us:
The Prussian General Staff represents the
Intellectual side of the army in its highest
development. It the Ministry of War forges
and sharpens the weapons, the General Staff
directs and drives them home. The next
will bo one is which strategic science, the
art of command, will play the highest part.
Marshal Oyama filled before the war
the functions of Chief, of the General
Staff. Generals KurokJ. Nodzu and
Oku were also high officers of the same
body. The harmonious action of the
various armies, of Japan as parts of one
splendid force, under one unchallenged
head, have shown the world an exam-
pie on the largest scale of the working
out In the hard school of war of the
organization of its General Staff.
How the Japanese nation has been
filled and animated with the duty and
the delight of sharing in this supreme
effort is indicated well in the closing
sentences of a charming sketch by
Pierre LotI, the French sailor-poet, of
his second trip to Japan in January,
1904, up the mountain behind Naga
saki four or five miles from the city:
Oh. the wonderful liUIe people that I met
on the road today! I saw them trudging
along ahead of me, fifty of them, ranked
like soldiers, all alike and air In white.
Wrappers of white calico, belted to the
waist, no corsets, elegant figures. White
caps, plain and egly. but with a certain plc
turesqueness. Who were all these people?
Japanese women, bundled up this fashion,
without beauty? Impossible! I .hurried' for
wards to be sure. There under these com
ical high caps I saw the faces of Japanese
glrla set in eerlooa purpose no Joking or
Jesting as they pased. Then I learned that
it was one of the nun erf schools for the
ambulances tor the army taken for their
training tramp up that mountain road.
They tell mo that In the ranks of these
little people were descendants of the old
est families of Japan families too proud
as yet for any foreign Intercourse. Com
rades of mine who have been already
nursed and cared for by their like carry
tender recollections of their handling, so
gentle, so adroit, so skillful, their pattenco
without OlmlU
The launch recently of the new
Cunard liner Carmanla gave to the
ocean a ship of most impressive dimen
sions. The registered tonnage of this
biggest of turbine vessels is 21,000; her
length is 678 feet, and, including crew
and passengers, she will be able to
carry 3000 people. Her estimated speed
is twenty-one knots an hour. This is
considerably less than that of some
other liners now plying between New
York and European -ports, and In sev
eral respects she Is smaller than some
of the vessels that fly the flags of rival
companies. But she will be the first
great carrier of ocean commerce to use
the principle of turbine propulsion.
Her speed, though less than that of
other liners now in commission, will be
great enough to determine the extent
to which this principle, may be devel
oped as an economic measure compared
with the usual method of propulsion.
Those who, remembering the great
freshet of 1894, felt a shiver of appre
hension when the site of the Lewis and
Clark Fair was selected, -may be reas
sured by the probability that there will
not be even an ordinary freshet thfs
year, for the very good and sufficient
reason that there is very little snow in
the mountains of Idaho and Eastern
Oregon and Washington with which to
supply it. A combination of conditions
that produced the flood of 1894 is not
likely to occur again In the lifetime
of any one who witnessed the tremen
dous expansion of the waters of the
Columbia at that time. In any event,
from the present outlook Portland Is
safe from a June flood this year.
"I wish to thank you for the tales
from Dickens which you are publish
ing in your Sunday edition," writes a
subscriber at Albany who has not
missed reading The Oregonlan for
thirty-seven years. "I am too old to
retfd Dickens' works again, but the llt-
le stories so admirably told by Miss
Rives revive fading memories and I
take a positive delight in reading them
aloud to my grand-daughter, who is
beautifully entertained by them." No
doubt this subscriber with, thousands of
others will find no little pleasure in re
calling "David Copperfleld," whom
Miss Rives takes as the subject of a
story on page 39 of this Issue.
After all, the river was here first, and
the boats next. Then came the bridges.
A great outcry has been raised to
close the draws and keep them closed
an hour In the early morning and an
other hour in the evening. Statistics
have been prepared to show that there
Is little river traffic at that time, and
therefore ltwill not be a great Incon
venience for the boats If the draws
ore not at all opened during the
specified times. It would appear, how
ever, that If there is then little or no
traffic, then there Is little or nothing for
the bridge-traveling public to get in
dignant about.
Frank G. Carpenter, the well-known
newspaper correspondent. Is now In
Panama and will write to The Sunday
Oregonlan concerning the colossal work
undertaken "by the United .States Gov
ernment, accompanying hfa letters with
entirely new photographic views. Un
less there be a miss In the mails, the
first letter will be published a week
from today. Preliminary to these con
tributions Mr. Carpenter, on page 37 of
this issue, describes such of the world's
great artificial waterways as he has
visltedf They serve as comparisons
with, the lnteroceanic canal now build
ing. When the Russians retired from the
Yalu River before the Japanese, they
explained it all by 6aying they were
"luring them on." When they were
badly whipped at Ldao Yang, and fled
towards Mukden, they said they were
"advancing northward." When the
Japanese enveloped their flanks at
Mukden and attacked them from the
rear, Kuropatkln told St. Petersburg
that he had been assaulted on his
"north front." The phraseology of de
feat la something wonderful.
Grand Duke Vladimir wants to "send
another army." The Russian armies
are recruited from the masses. The
theory of the Russian autocracy seems
to be, the fewer the common people the
better for the autocracy. The Grand
Dukes continue to remain off the fir
ing line that is to say, the Japanese
firing line.
Mr. Wood appears to think that the
true 'course for the Prohibitionists Is
to remove the first great cause, viz..
the appetite. Mr. Wood Is -too much of
an iconoclast. He would knock out at
one blow all the Prohibition "princi
ples" in the world.
It is uncertain whether Mrs. Stanford
was poisoned, and whether she was
murdered even If she was poisoned.
Naturally the police find it difficult to
apprehend the murderer.
The Police Department appears to 'fie
proceeding on the theory that no repu
table citizen knows or cares what Is
going' on between 1 A. M. and 5 A. II.
It Is somewhat too late for the Rus
sian terrorist blown up by Ills awn
bomb to, explain hat; he didn't know k
was loaded. . .
NOTE ASP COMMENT.
Wherever he may be, Tolstoi Is al
ways "agin" the government.'
The battleship Minnesota, when she's
launched, will get the "ha-ha!" At
least she's to bo christened with Minne
haha water.
"In tho streets of .St. Petersburg
every third woman wears crepe," says
the Associated Press correspondent.
And all because of their ruler's desire
for more of a frozen land on tho otaer
side of the world.
St. Petersburg says that peace "de
pends upon Japan. If Tokio offers nice,
acceptable terms, peace- will be made
at once, but if the Japanese insist upon
getting what they have been fighting
for. then on with the war.
Iu Berlin some young men have
formed the Association of the Active
Friends of Animals. If one of the .Act
ive Friends meets a lady wearing a
stuffed bird in her hat. he will politely
request her to remove it. If the lady
refuses as seems entirely probable
the Active Friend will proceed to re
move the suffering animal by force. It
will be seen that the alms of the as
sociation demand activity of no mean
order. Few Friends of Animals will be
able to cope with an indignant woman
thrice-armed with a long hatpin, to say
nothing of any male companion who
may object to 'have the lady thus at
tacked in tho street- We, fear the Active
Friends have, in homely metaphor, bit
ten off more than they can chew.
Nothing could prevent woman from
wearing stuffed birds or dead squirrels
on her hat except a ukase from Madam
Fashion.
Already in Portland may be seen ads
of "Shirts men's style for women."
Will they leave us even our trousers?
A Russian army is a body of troops
almost' entirely surrounded by Japan
ese. Mrs. Perkins Gllman has been paint
ing an idyllic picture of the home of
tho future. The grub will be sent in
from a municipal kitchen and the kids
will- be sent out to a municipal nur
sery. Municipal compressed air ma
chines will do all the dusting', and the
Are department will probably do all
the washing. Home will be the real
thing then. Nothing to do but sit and
curse the city officials. Mrs. Perkins
Gilman omitted to say how tha ingre
dient .of love would be supplied to the
home, but wo suppose city employes
could be detailed to do the loving as
well.
Great victory for law and order! Beat
the cymbals and bang the drum! An
Italian, just arrived from Spokane,
never in the city before, has been ar
rested for spitting on tha sidewalk.
Tho laws must and shall be enforced.
Arrest and fine all the strangers; they
have no friends. Home Industry can
carpet the pavements with half
chewed tobacco, so off to the dungeon
with the interloping heathen.
As a saloon is not closed when lfs
open. Chief Hunt wrongly argues that
it's not open when it's closed.
T am surrounded." Kuropatkin.
"So am L" Nicholas.
Portland's hungerers after spiritual
food will rejoice over tho formation in.
our citV of the Ministers' and Mediums'
Protective Spiritual Association. Spir
itual food is so subject to adulteration
that the hungry must welcome an as
sociation whose brand will be a guar
antee of purity. Besides the ministers
and mediums will now be more able to
protect themselves from false and
vicious attacks, a duty that seems to
be ungratefully neglected by the spirits
who are enabled to break the monotony
of eternity by unaworing- fool questions
through the mediums.
"A news item is to the effect that a
Seattle policeman was held up by a som
nambulist," says the Argus, adding that
doubtless "by" Bbould have read "for."
A somnambulist necessarily walks; how
about a Seattle cop?
Rider Haggard took off his hat to the
Statue of Liberty as he entered New
York harbor. Bidding Liberty adieu, per
haps. The New York Evening Post is to have
a new building in the best pact of tho
city The Post knows it's the best part
of the city, because that's where Its of
fice is to be.
Booker T. Washington said in a recent
speech: "Don't wear a 5 hat on a 5
cent head." That seems bum advice. If
a manbas a 5-cent bead, why shouldn't
he draw attention from it by wearing a
$5 hat? A 5-cent hat on a 5-cent head
benefits nobody; the other arrangement,
at leasts-helps the hatters.
In the Critic a number of persons give
their views on "The Slump in Poetry."
As most of them are poets, they agree
that It's time the bulls got hold of the
market.
There are two ways, of obtaining collegiate
honors. One Is to earn them, andth other 1
to be a successful politician or a nobleman.
Seattle Argus.
Tip to aspirants: The first way la the
easier.
Japanese soldiers believo they are
watched by the ghosts of their dead. The
Russians are not inspired by erven the
ghost of a chance. -
It might be arranged to have the gum
chewing championship go with the basket
ball championship.
The Washington Post is worried over
the space taken up by civic organizations
in the inaugural parade. People don't
travel to Washington to see a lot of
awkward men in store clothes hoofing it
down the street; they want dash, bright
uniforms, something impressive or some
thing funny. Therefore, tha Post suggests
that in future each plain clothes organiza
tion be required to present some special
feature before being allowed to join in the
parade. The Fat Mea'a Marching Club
would make a hit. A political club, com
posed of the ugliest men in America,
would attract some attention. There are
unlimited opportunities in thi3 direction,
and the Post's suggestion may be. tha
cause of making the inaugural parade of
19tt look like tha Lord Mayor's show, a
circus and the Trail combined.
Having given a woman customer the
wrong order, & Chicago restaurant-keeper
slapped bjsr faca la an endeavor to make
her eat the food. Chicago people are hos
pitable to the verge of embarrassment.
The $ eattl Times is abeut to pay 310,000
for two jshorjt stories, which will appear
shortly tho Arfrtis explains on top of the
Times building.
. - WEXFORD JONES.
Atf ANSWER TO MR. WITTENBERG
With all' .due deference to our worthy
school director and the School Board he so
ardently., not to say belligerently repre
sents, vwe wish to call the 'attention of
the much-abused public ear to the inter
esting lino of fiction the gentleman baa
recently put forth.
Word .for word, he says: "The plan
that we have adopted has given to 36t
teachers $50 per year, consuming, as you
will notice. $13,200 of the $30.(100, leaving
$11,800 balance on hand."
The fact' is that up to tho expiration of
the present school year, teachers will
have received not $30. but $25 apiece, this
being $3 for each of the five months front
February till June, consuming, as you will
please take pains to notice, .only $9100 of
the $30,000. leaving $20.S0O balance on hand,
not $ll,S0O; as per Mr. Wittenberg. In hts
strange misstatement o an incontrovert
ible and proven fact.
Furthermore, he avows his positive con
viction that in. September there' will be
20 teachers who will have survived the
ordeal of application to and diagnosis by
theonystical four, who will receive an
extraNoO per year for merit, "which will
more than use up the balance we "haxe
on hand."
This, in the face of tho fact that it has
been expressly and repeatedly stated that
only a select few "would survive to an
swer rollcall on the merit list. Thl3, in
the face of the advice of. principals to
their teachers to look well before they
leaped! This, in the face of the Burn
ham statement regarding the favored two,
and two only, the heavenly -twins of Jhls
establishment.
Either Mr. Wittenberg is creating fic
titious avenues of disbursement to account
for the public moneys or else the pro
jectors nave silently abandoned their.
original ground and concluded to give to
all who apply. And, If so, wherein lies
the supposed merit? The facts show-that
the number of teachers qualified by ex
perience and diplomas falls far below 250.
How then can 230 be adjudged meritorious?
Mr. Wittenberg's mathematical evasions
regarding present expenditures leave $9100
flatly unaccounted for sufficient to pay
the Superintendent, who Is not "figured
In the $30,000," a nice little additional wage
of $1000 per month for nine calendar
months. How much more will remain un
accouned for, on Mr. Wittenberg's basis,
cannot be known till the merit list is
completed.
The statement has gone forth that all
teachers of over three years experienca
received $3 "raise." Under the old sched
ule three years' experience brought $3
extra, and under the new this has re
mained unchanged. Only teachers of four
years' experience and over have been ben
efited by the taxpayers' recent action.
Mr. Wittenberg would regulate the em
ployment of teachers according to the law
of supply and demand. Let us say that
the poor, Inferior, sweathouse product is
always with us, and that In abundance.
If he wishes cheap labor, competition, un
derbidding and consequent .lowering of
standards, it is within his reach, but he
must buy it with a price, and that price
his children and our children must pay,
and at fearful cost. Subject crackers to
the law of supply and demand, but not
the educators and leaders of our little
children. Commercialism may invest the
operations of the trades or govern tha
wage of clerks, or determine the price
of coal, but its spirit should be kept far
away from the guarded walls of the
schoolroom.
Mr. Wittenberg ventures to state that
tha faultfinders are not paying their peo
ple as high a salary as teachers receive.
Is he so Imbued with the spirit of trade
and traffic that he sees a parallelism in
the untrained, untaught clerk at tha coun
ter, dealing out drygoods and groceries,
and the teacher of long training and rips
experience, the second mother, as it were,
of his children, whose thought, whose
loves, whose aims, whose ambitions are
engrafted upon those children during
many hours of many years of their lives?
Would he trust his child to the averags
clerk or factory girt, to receive its moral'
and mental bias therefrom?
The gentleman in question assures us
that the merit system will result in giv
ing our city schools the most efficient
corps of teachers they bava ever had. In
other words, this body of teachers will be
so stimulated by the offer of a will-o'-the-wisp
phantom of five paltry dollars per
month, that they will render service of
an altogether higher, more professional
grade than before. To the truly profes
sional teacher and we believe there are
many such the very thought Is an insult.
The teacher who is lured on to higher
ideals and effort by such reward belongs
not to the profession, but. to the trades.
The teacher who is by nature unfit and
confessedly we have some such among us
will not greatly Improve either for
money or love. As well put a cow on a
racecourse and attempt to develop her
into a trotter as place the golden bait be
fore such teachers with expectation of
results.
We are assured, furthermore, that teach
ers' work but nine calendar months that
their remuneration is, therefore, first
class for services rendered. Does the
gentleman forget that teachers are nar
rowed by specialization to one single
thing teaching? That during the Sum
mer they are in enforced Idleness? That
they must sustain the honor of their pro
fession, and cannot therefore work in
kitchens-or canneries or factories? Does
he forget that, unfortunately, they must
eat? Anaconda-like, they cannot swal
low an ox and let It suffice for a Sum
mer. Does he not recognise another law
of supply and demand, based upon our
physical needs and evidenced by the
clamor of the stomach? Does he not even
faintly perceive the working of still an
other law, grounded in mind and heart
and spirit, and demanding with an In
finite yearning intellectual and spiritual
food? We do not send our children to
a clod to be educated. Rather we send
them to a man or woman inspiring, live,
impelling, fitted alike by Nature and
training for a sacred trust. And here we
demand much. Shall it bo said of usr
that we supply little? A TEACHER.
Change of Heart.
Milton (Umatilla County) Eagla.
The Eaglo wishes, to retract what
ever unkind things it has said about
tha Weston Normal School. The state
can well afford to pay tha trifling sum
of $12,500 a -year for maintenance in
order that Weston's title to the Inland
Empiro basket-ball championship shall
be maintained, to say nothing of the
dozen or so graduates that are inci-
dentally turned off every year.
Song of the Plains.
The Spectator.
No harp have I for the singing, noranserS
fashioned for skill.
Nor ever shall words express It. the song
that is in my heart.
A saga, swept from the distance, horizons
beyond the hill.
Singing of life and endurance and bidding
me bear my part.
Tor this is Song, as I sing it, the song that
I Ioto the best, -The
steady tramp In the furrow, the. grind
of the gleaming steel.
As anthem sung to the noonday, a chant of
the open "West,
Echoing deep, in my spirit, to gladden
and help and heal. y
And this Is IJf e. as 1 read It. and. X.lfa In
Its fairest form.
To breathe the wind on the ranges, ths
scent of the unturned sod.
To strive and strive and be thankful, to
weather tha shine- and storm.
Penciling over the prairies the- dextlay
planned by God.
Asd no reward do I ask for, save' only, to
-work and wait.
To praise the God of my fathers, to- labor
beneath his sky.
To dwell alone in his greatness to- strike
'and ta follow straight.
Silent and si-"""- and contented the lis-
Jtlea plsf . . t - - '