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PORTLAND. SUNDAY, MAY 14, 1903.
T
TWO KINDS OF MONOPOLY.
The somewhat clumsily constructed
metaphor that "two wrongs never made
one right" certainly failed to appeal to
the Chicago labor leaders who prepared
that remarkable protest to President
Roosevelt. They implored the Presi
dent not to place Federal troops at the
disposal of the men whom they termed
"notorious lawbreakers of the land
the constant suppliants for Government
privileges." Investigations now in prog-J
ress seem to warrant the belief that
there are a great many lawbreakers'
among the large employers of labor,
and'strong effort "is being made to bring
them to Justice. In the long: run they,
will suffer punishment with other crlm-'
inals. The fact that these monopolists
and "cornerers" of food, and transpor
tation are not always brought to book,
however, does not in th'e slightest de
gree palliate the offense of the striking
teamster, .who, dissatislled with the
wages offered him. immediately breaks
the law- by murdering or maiming some
other free American citizen who Is
merely exercising his God-given right
by working for any wages he sees fit
to accept
This is the rock upon which labor
unionism and freedom split, and, in an
endeavor to enforce its demands, the
labor monopoly goes farther than any
capitalistic monopoly ever dared go.
In Chicago the food supply and the coal
supply of hundreds of thousands of peo
ple were threatened, and. had the
unions been sufficiently powerful, would
have been entirely stopped, in order to
enforce the terms of a few hundred
teamsters. What would have been the
effect had the coal trust, or the meat
trust, or any other monopolistic combi
nation In charge of the necessities of
life, determined to force people to pay
an exorbitant price for their products,
and because a portion of the people re
fused, withheld coal and meaf from
everybody until the dissatisfied few
were starved Into line?
Coercion of this kind on the part of
capital would be so intolerable that it
could not exist, but it is exactly this
kind of coercion that the labor monop
oly has been using in Chicago. It
sought to prevent the delivery of coal
and of food products to' people who had
nothing in common w ith either the em
ployer or the laborer, simply to enforce
the adjustment of a difficulty between a
comparatively small number of team
sters and their employers. Exhibitions
of this kind cannot fail to Impress the
p-ublic with the necessity of treating a
labor monopoly in the same manner as
w e have begun treating capitalistic mo
nopolies. It is not alone the few hun
. dred, employers or the few thousand
employes who are the real sufferers by
these strikes, but It is the millions of
people who stand between these two
fires.
They object, and object strongly, to a
monopoly which interferes with their
xights as American citizens, and, so
long as such Interference exists, the
millions who, by rights, should be dis
interested spectators, will be unable to
see where 'a labor monopoly Is pos
sessed of any more virtues than can be
credited to a monopoly of capital. La
ior is the only capital possessed hi the
poor man, and he should be permitted
to keep that capital employed' at what
ever wage he cares to accept. His
Iriend, the capitalist, loans money at 6
per cent when the demand is good, and
supply" Is light, but. when money is
plentiful and demand light, he is glad
to accept 5 per cent The fact that in
nearly all the big- strikes of the past
few years there was an abundance of
labor to take' the places of the strikers
4s evidence that the supply of labor is,
just at present somewhat in excess of
the demand. -
"So lo-nsr as cheat) labor from the Old
World is pouring into this country In a
record-breaking stream, this mild con
gestion cannot be relieved. When it
ceases and there is more work than
there are workers, wages will advance
and strike will be unnecessary and im
possible. Meanwhile it Is with a very
bad grace that union labor at Chicago
alludes -to its. opponents as "notorious
lawbreakers, of the land." It Is such
ceoduct as that SHgaged-ifi it Chicago
that has brought laber" unienlsna at
least Chicago labor unionism into such
disrepute that It will -take considerable
prudence and moderation to enable it to
regain Its former position in public es
timation MR, WOOD AND THE CHURCHES.
Pious attention has learned to wait
appreciatively upon all of Mr. Wood's
flowing utterances. He has won many
a valiant field with the keen, though
fortunately not deadly, weapons of the
prophet and the reformer. 6ls remarks
in the Pacific Monthly touching the
duty of the churches In the matter of
Mr. Rockefeller bearing gifts lack
nothing of the accustomed felicity and
enthusiasm of his utterances, and if
their wisdom cannot be called Inspired,
it is certainly both striking and enter
taining. Enthusiasm is not the best friend to !
a man when he is, stating cold facts.
Had Mr. Wood cheeked his, somewhat,
at the beginning, he would have re
membered that it is not quite correct
to repeat that "John D. Rockefeller,
without solicitation, offered 5100,000 o
the American Board." The Outlook has
published an account of the pursuit of
these dollars by the American Board
through their secretary. It has printed
letters wh!chprove that, far from be
ing unsolicited, the gift was besought
with holy Importunity for. two years
before It was vouchsafed. Why Dr.
Barton, the secretary of the board, for
got about these letters when he gave
the first account of the transaction to
the press Is one of those sacred mys
teries which an uninspired pen modest
ly retires from investigating.
The Oregonlan does not wish to join
Issue with Mr. Wood upon Mr. Rocke
feller's character or the number and
nature of his iniquities. The former is
probably a good deal -blacker than Mr.
Rockefeller will wish it were when the.
day of judgment comes; the latter are
notorious, infamous and undisputed,
except by persons whose evident inter
est discredits their testimony. These
are matters about which people of dis
cernment and ordinary information do
not disagree. "Are John D. Rockefeller
and his Ilk hypocrites?" asks Mr. Wood.'
Tea, verily", they are. He has lied sys
tematically and with brazen shameless
ness; he has robbed the widow; he has
ruined his competitors with malignant
Ingenuity; .he has evaded or broken
whatever laws have stood in his way.
"All this and more," says Mr. Wood In
effect Mr. Rockefeller has done."
"Who denlges it, Betsey? Who de
nlges It?"
Moreover, and still worse, Mr.
Rockefeller is unrepentant He would
go-right off and do It all over again If
he had the chance. His gift to foreign
missions is'bedew'ed with no teats of
remorse; no groanings of sorrow for
sin have Inspired it. It Is an open,
shameless and Indisputable offer by
Rockefeller to buy the silence, and out
ward connivance in his misdeeds, of
the church. So far as he Is concerned,
it is hush money; and so far as many
of the spokesmen of the recipients are
concerned, it lias been so received. "I
would take the money," declares Dr.
Chapman, the revivalist, "and I would
not denounce his manner of accumulat
ing it" The money Is Rockefeller's, the
law adjudges and the court awards.
It is his to give, and Dir. Chapman
would do right to take and use it for
,the,gIory of God.
'This brings us to the issue. "Will
the churches." asks Mr. Wood, "take
from Rockefeller with one hand and
lash him with the other?" Yes, we re
ply; that Is exactly what they ought to
do. That is what Rockefeller woruld ex
pect them to-do if they were,not degen
erate. They ought to laBh him until he
crawls to the altar a repentant sinner;
and the well-grounded suspicion that
they will take his money without dar
ing or wishing to chastise him for his
sins is the crowning Infamy of present
day eccleslastlclsm. The church has
always taken money from sinners; and
it has In the days of Its power and
glory always scourged them with one
hand while It took their gifts with the
other. Why not?
"If they take, dare they lash?" de
mands Mr. Wood. If they take, how
shall they dare not to lash, he ought
to demand. It ts the chastening rod of
the church for whose smart Mr. Rocke
feller, subconsciously, bargains when
he gives his money. To think the con
trary is to get the whole outfit of re
lations between church and sinner
turned upside down in the mind. Such
a thing as a -sinner trying to buy the
connivance of the church ought to be
unthinkable anywhere outside the mind
of the sinner. It is her admonitions
and scourglngs which her character
ought to make us all think he is trying
to buy. If the churches do not take
Rockefeller's money, they are unfaith
ful stewards of God's treasury; if they
fail to .lash him, they, are partakers in
the guilt of his crimes.
There is no conceivable argument
which could Justify the church in evad
ing the duty to take this money and
spend it for the greater glory of God.
If In taking it she cannot escape the
suspicion of being bribed to silent par
ticipation in notorious unrighteousness,
that is the penalty of her lapses into
Mammonish idolatry. She must do her
duty and endure the resulting disgrace
as a merited penance.
I'll bear the cross, endure the shame.
Supported by Thy -word.
The estate of the church In men's
opinions ought to be not that she is a
prostitute whose favors are foisale, not
that she is a venal judge who may be
bribed to render unrighteous decisions,
but that she is too pure to admit any
taint of corruption and too Just ever to
vary from the standard of exact right
eousness. It ought to be unthinkable
that this church could be bribed Into
silence about Rockefeller's crimes, no
matter how much of his money she re
ceived. But It Is very easily thinkable. "Very
well; so much the worse for the church.
If she has lost her reputation, that Is
deplorable, but it does not release her
from her duties. One of those duties
is to disburse for God's glory a,ll the
money she can lawfuly get; another is
to scourge the sinner and spare not
until he repents and ceases from his
sins.
"We will not take Rockefeller's money
because he Is an unrepentent sinner
and we shall be suspected of condoning
his Iniquity," Mr. Wood wishes the
churches to say. "We will take Mr.
Rockefeller's money, the mere of It the
better; and we will so deal with the
stiff-necked reprobate that he will wish
he never bad sinned and incontinently
resolve to sin no more." That is what
the churches ought to say.
Richard Croker's tainted money can
purchase for 'Mm many of the "bodily
comforts and rixuriee that poverty dt-
nies the poor, but it cannot bring him
happiness or stay the hand of death.
Ostracised in the land from which he
wrung his ill-gotten gains, and snubbed
,by the better element with whom he Is
now spending them, his latest affliction
will fall hard Indeed. The love of a
father ior a boh is almost invariably
deep and strong, and the loss of two
sons within a few months is an afflic
tion that will overshadow and dim all
of - the triumphs which wealth and
power made possible for the ex-Tammany
leader.
WHAT THE STATE DOES FOR ITS
CITIZENS.
In these days, when the question of
extension of the functions of the-state
to ownership and operation of public
utilities is being debated, it is interest
ing to inquire how much the state has
already undertaken in its relations to
ltsrdtlzens.
The head of the ofliclal hierarchy Is,
of course, the Governor, .charged not
only with execution of law, but with
the duty of making and publishing sug
gestions., for improving law from time
to time. The Secretary of State, the
Treasurer, the Attorney-General, come
next The titles speak for themselves.
They have to do with maintenance of
the fabric of the state. In the execu
tion of the laws, punishment is award
ed and a Penitentiary is involved. For
wayward youths the Reform School is
maintained, lest they should have an
other excuse for criminal courses. De
pendent citizens, whose sad fate makes
them a state charge, are cared for in
the .institute for the blind and the
school for deaf mutes. For soldiers who
have served their country In war In
valids and aged men. a home is pro
vided, where over a hundred, In Oregon
alone, find shelter and rest In the In
sane Asylum a multitude of unhappy
ones are supplied both with treatment
for their sad malady and whatever al
leviation for troubles of body and mind
can be obtained.
The state undertakes to provide
teaching for all young citizens In its
;publlc schools finds money, organiza
tion and superintendence for them all.
It supports training schools for teach
ers, and also takes higher education
under Its charge In university, college,
and high school.
The state has an immense fund to
find Investment for and manage. It has
some lands left out of an originally
great domain. The residue needs care
and conservation. It has public build
ings .to maintain, a .railroad on a small
scale to construct and manage, and
public works, locks and canals, to
see to.
As a sovereign state Oregon must be
provided with an armed and drilled
force, recruited from her citizens, suffi
cient to maintain, under all emergen
cies, the public peace, and under a Na
tional cal! to contribute her quota for
the National defense. .
The foregoing demands on the state
are addressed to her in the capacity of
guardian of the general interest. The
laws she has so far undertaken to up
hold are general laws for security and
advancement ot the whole body politic,
or else the duties she has assumed in
care of the young, the afflicted, the
sick, or the helpless, are Incumbent on
the state as the representative, the ag
gregation of individual, citizens. But
the state has gone farther." The prod
ucts of the earth, and of the waters,
within her boundaries, she has under
taken to examine, to count, to protect
So the state has constituted guardians
of health, of fruits, of fish, of game,
of dairy products. She has taken steps
to acquire and publish results of scien
tific Inquiries on some of these matters,
through the State Biologist and the
Domestic Animals Commission.
Lest children should suffer wrong,
the Inspection of child labor has been
undertaken. Factories and workshops
also come under the eye of the state.
Careful and elaborate reports and ac
counts on every one of the subjects,
and by every one of the state officers
referred to, are demanded by and fur
nished to the representatives of the
state and published widely, to the end
that no wrong be done in secret
Thus we live, encompassed by law
and regulation on every side, and yet
are free men In a free country, living
and moving in the "orderly liberty"
defined by the President Are not these
functions of government enough? Is
this prospect narrow? The dominant
Idea is of control, regulation, and re
straintnot of state ownership. Is it
wise to press into so far a country?
PROGKESS BY FARMERS.
The most significant feature in West
ern agricultural development, says the
New York Independent, Is the move
ment of the vast crop-raising area
toward larger production and better
farming. "Intensified farming," we are
pleased to designate the diversity in
Oregon agriculture that has" followed
railway transportation across the con
tinent, making wheat only one of the
many products -of Oregon farms. And
while among our older farmers and
their descendants wheat is still "the
crop," our rural population of newer
date looks to hops, fruits and dairy and
garden products, with now and then
flax and corn, and poultry, hogs and
other livestock, as the chief money
makers of agriculture.
We are told that the "gospel of good
seed" has swept the corn belt of the
great Middle West, and the results are
assuming proportions wonderful in ex
tent and influence. The new fashion,
as It is called, started a year ego In
Iowa, when a company of teachers from
the State Agricultural College was sent
over the lines of a railroad system to
Instruct farmers how to raise good
corn. Instead of being offended at the
message, X)r regarding- it the interfer
ence of people without practical knowl
edge, in a business to which they had
been born and bred, the farmers, being
furnished with free railroad transporta
tion to. the nearest point of demonstra
tion, flocked thither to learn of the best
methods of selecting seed, the surest
plan for cultivation, and the means
whereby the largest crop possible could
he secured per acre. The "traveling
corn college" made Its way over the
state, giving -these speclflcjristnictions,
and when the com crop of Iowa was
gathered last Fall it -measured up 'full
49,600,960 bushels In excess of the nor
mal crop.
Later other Western States took up
the work, diversified to meet the several
localities. For example, a seed and soil
special was seat over the principal rail
way lines of Missouri and the attend
ance of farmers at the Winter demon
strations, when all had time to spare
for the purpose, aggregated sometimes
more than 1000 in & sfogie day. High
schools and. colleges were dismissed in
order that pupils might be taught nw
to jet the beet rwUs,eK. of the land.-
and farming-was presented as a science
instead of monotonous drudgery by
means of which a more or less meager
living was wrung from the reluctant
soil.
In the territory traversed fields were
not uncommon that had been planted
to corn continuously forforty years; no
fertilizer had been used and the stalks
had been raked from" the ground each
year, and burned. Following such
enormously wasteful methods the crop
yield had dwindled year by year. It
was shown that land, that under this
treatment produced twenty-five bushels
to the acre might, with proper fertiliza
tion and seed selection, be made to pro
duce" 100 to 110 bushels.
The gospel, of good seed has proved
contagious, and other states will shortly
send out missionaries of agriculture
equipped with sermons on wheatralslng
and seed selection, potato-growing, the
care of Spring crops, rdtatlon in crops,
forage crops, ensilage, etc.
Farmers of the great abounding West
including the Middle and Pacific North
west, are very favorably situated. The
telephone and free rural mail delivery
have penetrated vast sections, bringing
farmer folk are in close touch with the
great, throbbing world beyond their line
of vision. Electric railways reach on
and out o'ver sub-rural districts, and
advanced Ideas In farm machinery and
Implements have minimized the labor
of plowing, sowing and gathering. Fa
cilities for moving crops improve yeafc
by year, and now comes the gospel of
good seed, dispensed by men who have
broken away from the orthodoxy of
primitive agriculture, to complete the
transformation from the old to the new.
"The gospel of- sowing good seed,"'
says the journal above quoted, "Is a
healthy and helpful one in any depart-
Jaent of human existence! Its appllca
lon to the development of the farming
Interests ought to entail a particularly
rich train of blessings."
WOODSON CRAY'S CRIME.
The story of the crime committed by
Woodson Gray makes a very poor
showing in support of his plea for a
pardon, especially since he has served
but two or three days of his five-year
sentence. Because his son had been
suspended from the public schoolat El
gin as a result of trouble with the chil
dren of A. M. Halgarth, Gray armed
himself with a "revolver, and, In pass
ing along the road, left the usual path
and went along the side of the road
nearest the Halgarth residence. When
he was accosted, he replied with curses
and abusive language, calling his en
emy and members of his family such
names as Invariably provoke men to
fight Brandishing his revolver, he
challenged Halgarth to come on, and
the challenge was accepted, whereupon
Gray shot and killed his assailant.
Two juries found Gray guilty of man
slaughter, the leniency being due. ap
parently, to the fact that In a measure,
he acted In self-defense. They refused
to acquit him because he went to the
scene with murder In his- heart and took
the life of his victim. He went seeking
a fight In which he would have an un
due advantage, and found what he
sought He used language "which he
knew would provoke his enemy' beyond
his- power to withstand, and met his
victim half way In the encounter. He
tried to take the life of his neighbor
and protect himself by the. form of act
ing in self-defense.
The law cannot Justify Halgarth in
making the assault, even though the
provocation was .great He committed
a misdemeanor and paid the penalty
with his life. But Gray provoked the
commission of the lesser crime and
committed a greater himself, and
should be left to serve out the paltry
Ave years' imprisonment To pardon
him Is to say to the would-be murderer
that. If he can provoke his enemy to a
fight, he may take life with impunity
Such a policy Is destructive of law and
order, and Gray has no right to expect
Governor Chamberlain to become Its
exponent " If he bad- not been the ag
gressor, or had tried to "avoid the
trouble after he had started it, he
might be in a position to ask for clem
ency.
A STEAM FIRE HORSE.
Steam-propelled Are engines are now
in use In London. LiverrJool. Ports
mouth and several other cities of Eng
land. In a late report of Consul Ham.
at Hull, the largest and most power
ful motor Are engine yet built is In use
In London. It Is of Afty horsepower
and Is able to throw 500 gallons of
water a minute to the height of 150 feet.
It is propelfed by a steam water-tube
boiler situated between the rear wheels
and heated by a petroleum boiler of
new design, In which the fuel is
sprayed into the furnace. The same
motor takes the engine to the fire and
on arriving pumps the water. The en
glne carries enough fuel or a forty
mile journey. It is steered by a hand
wheel and fitted with rubber tires.
We have long regarded with un
bounded admiration the tried and trusty
Are horse, guided by an intelligence
that Is almost human, and possessed
of an eagerness to reach the scene of
trouble that Is not exceeded by that of
the Are chief himself. The thought that
he is in the near future to be super
seded by a thing of iron and steel,
snorting steam and fed upon oil, may
be for a moment disquieting. But upon
second thought we must congratulate
the Are horse as we have long done the
street-car horse upon his emancipation
from service that can be better borne
and as well performed by Inanimate
elements harnessed for the work.
Economy, swiftness and endurance
are the characteristics that commend
the steam Are horse. Equipped with
these, he will In due time supersede
the faithful servitors that have long
been regarded by the Are-menaced
dwellers of cities with a feeling akin
to the worshipful admiration that is
felt in Oriental countries for the horse.
charging In battle and dying like men
and with men for his country.
ADVANCING THE" PIONEER DATE.
In the opinion of Eugene X. Thorp,
the pioneer date should be raised ten
years. That is to say, membership of
the Pioneer Association should be al
lowed to include men and women who
came to the Pacific Coast prior to Feb
ruary 14, 1&68. Instead of being limited'
to those who came ten years earlier
than the date given. A few years
hence it may he ten, twenty or twen-ty-Ave
years, according to circum
stancesthe pioneer date will have to
be- raised. At present it is not consid
ered necessary or. indeed, feasible to
do so. The membership now Includes
all -who desire to avail themselves of
its privileges, who came to, the Pacific
Coast f-tHh- to and including liM. These
are drooping from the ranks ysr after
LYuvfcL a'JnrjK bc Kill remam.
to whom the- annual reunion and ban
suet means much, and some of whom,
at least, would be crowded into the
background by an Influx of younger
pioneers. The latter have only to bide
their time. They will constitute the
Pioneer Association of the next gener
ation., and In their turn wiH contribute
of their knowledge and experience to
the history, and, better still, to the en
chanting folklore of early -Oregon.
Patience, good friends; time passes.
DESIRING PEACE. PREPARE FOR WAR.
England and France clasp hands, sign
treaties, exchange visits and proclaim
a lasting- friendship. The very next act
in the drama of the nations, is tha vital
differences in the relations of each to
the outside world that is, in the defi
nition and. conduct of neutrality bid
fair to embroil them again. Then, with
obvious reluctance, the British Premier,
In explaining the new plan of national
defense to Parliament admits that the
possible, because nearest, enemy to be
taken Into account Is France. He anx
iously declares that such a war Is the
last thing to be regarded as possible.
But facts remain, and the new .scheme
will be considered and debated from
that standpoint What an armed camp
is Europe. Nations which are neigh
bors, bound by business and commer
cial ties, each one the other's best cus
tomer, from whose future all possible
clashes and grounds of offense have
been but recently removed, civilized,
alive as never before, to the horrors of
war. taxed up to the limit even In time
of peace, governed "by men anxious to
the last degree to -avert war, yet are
armed to the teeth by land and sea. It.
would seem as if the Mediterranean,
Atlantic and home fleets, of England
should have sufficed for her protection.
But the Government considers six bat
tleships, six first-class cruisers, twelve
cruisers, twenty-four torpedo-boat de
stroyers, ninety-five iorpedo-bo'ats, and
indefinite submarines (to be ready as a
force within a few hours from the call),
as no more than a necessary precau
tion. A heavy insurance indeed. A
world-wide empire Is a costly Invest
ment
Then appears the Russian bugbear.
looming1 large on the. Indian horizon
The question of land force Is immedi
ately substituted for the command of
the sea. Railroads built, not for com
mercial use. not to serve an Infant pop
ulation, not to foster the industries of
the lands they cross, but to hurry the
sudden invasion of a neighbor's coun
try this Is the prospect. The problem
Is not how to create and develop, but
how most rapidly to put armies in
place to kill and destroy. Nations are
taxed, not for the expenses and pur
poses of government, but to pile up war
funds for indefinite campaigns.
Is it. then, the Russian people who
are the Inspirers and originators of
these tactics? Far from it. What do
the millions of her peasantry know or
care about the Afghanistan frontier?
Their land, their patient work, the In
terests of their village and commune,
the bettering of their home lives, these
would absorb them. If they were but let
alone. The Intellectuals then? Is It
war with Britain for India that they
deslfe? No. Their lives are freely
given for the new birth 'of a Russia
free in lawmaking, in education, in so
cial life, free to expand within her own
-wide boundaries. Is it the rank and
file of her great army, then ? Far from
It. They have had their AH of fighting
with an unfinished war yet on their
hands. Their depleted ranks are to be
Ailed with reserves dragged from their
homes. A conscript army Is drawn
from all classes of the people, every
desire and passion of the peasant, the
townsman, the factory-worker, being
represented In the regiments. If oiot
the Russian nation, then the Russian
bureaucrat and aristocrat are In. real
Ity the common enemies. For them the
war railroads are to be built for them
the armies mobilized for them the
threatened war waged. For them
France is agitated, and Britain dls
turbed. America may have no direct
and avowed Interest in this excitement
But the whole world is kin. A reor
ganlzed and free Russia would be no
offense to any. but the interest of all.
Instead of a disturber she would take
at once a place in the comity of nations
peace-loving and peace-seeking. Under
such conditions the next peace confer
ence of the nations, might, with some
hope of success, raise and discuss .the
questions how armies and navies might
be reduced throughout the world.
A rOETIC CENTENARY.
Spain's year of celebrations In mem
ory of Cervantes, whose "Don Quixote"
was published in 1605, and Germany's
year of celebrations in memory of Schil
ler, who died in 1S05, recalls the fact
that this year is also tfie centenary of.
the publication of "The Lay of the Last
Minstrel' which placed Scott In the
foremost rank of British poets. In
Spain, Cervantes museums are being
built. Cervantes institutes for authors
are being founded, and Cervantes stat
ues Innumerable are being placed In
plazas. In Germany, celebrations of all
kinds are being held, and every Swiss
school child is to be 'presented-with a
copy .of "William Tell." The centenary
of "The Lay" is not being, marked by
any celebrations In Britain, although its',
publication had an effect similar to
that produced by the appearance of
"Don Quixote." If Cervantes killed the
old romances, Scott vivIAed English, po
etry apd gave It a simplicity and direct
ness that it needed much. -.
"The Lay" is not by any means great
poetry. Scott was never a poet's poet.
On the contrary, he was the singer of
the multitude, and perhaps his greatest
merit is" that he has given many readers
their Arst taste for poetry, that . his.
works have served as primers to many;
graduates. How many boys have been.
thrilled for the Arst time by Scott's
poems, and how many men have
paused to-listen when he would -Elnjr
achievements high.
And circumstance of chivalry.
It- is the martial ring in Scott's poems
that attracts so many readers. He -is
open-hearted, adventurous, an admirer
of derrlngrdo- As a descriptive poet.
Scott ranks high, and when the com
plete novelty of "The Lay of the Las
Minstrel" is considered, together with
its simple and lively metre. It Is not'
strange that the poem immediately
achieved a popularity which It has
never since lost Scott is not so uni
versally known as his compatriot
.Burns, wnose wonts are more iner
oughly Scottish, but his poems are yet
widely read. and. are familiar to many
who have no desire for other poetry' and'
would look upon Shelley, or even By
ron, as an Intolerable bore. The Im
portance of the ptiblScatie-n of "The Lay
of the Last Minctrel' however, dees. not.
reet on -its Town merits alone, butaleo
vpe' the raltfeaee it had' moat Tjarttaki
verse h general, tjist as "Waverley" -
nttenced EngHeh fietien. Literary an
niversaries of far lese moment are cele
brated often encash, and it seems that
this, centenary might well have oeen
observed. .
Saturday, June 3. has been designated
as Rose day at the Lewis and Clark
Fair. It is not possible to make a nota
ble exhibit unless there shall be uni
versal response to the request for roses.
If only one fine rose from every bush
blooming in Portland be -forthcoming.
the display will astonish visitors. In
order'that roses now in the bud may be
brought to highest perfection within the
next three weeks, Mr. W. S.- Slbson,
chairman of the Rose Society's commit
tee, addresses himself on another page
of this issue to the Portland public.
Nothing Is t'o be gained by exhibiting
poor -roses. Quality is wanted as well
as quantity. Intelligent effort put forth
to stimulate roses for Rose day Is so
much permanent gain to the man or
the woman who owns the bush. The
Oregonlan joins the' Rose Society and
the Exposition management in urging
generous response to the request for
choice blooms. Remember the date,
June 3.
The Idaho people seem to be pushing
their Clearwater electric-line project
through to success with a rush. They
have already raised about three-fourths
of the amount -of subscriptions neces
sary to get construction under way.
and' liave' every assurance of complet
ing- the matter Jn a very short time. A
Lewiston dispatch says that "every
safeguard wras thrown around the pro
ject with a view to keeping It in inde
pendent hands." This Is the policy that
must be strictly adhered to if the road
is to accomplish what is expected of It
The experience of independent railroad
building all through the West shows
that, no matter how diffident or dila
tory a big road has been about open
ing up new territory. It always has
tened to gobble up the Independent
road that dared to build into the neg
lected territory. This is a fate that
should not befall the Lewlston-Clear
water project.
The high regard and Implicit confi
dence which the American wheat trade
places in the Government crop report Is
reflected In the course of the wheat
market The Government report ap
peared Thursday, and was the most
bearish report that has appeared at any
corresponding date In the past ten
years. It showed such remarkably fa
vorable conditions that, had the trade
placed any dependence whatever In It,
there would have been a sharp decline
In prices. As it was. the market ad
vanced over a cent on Friday and an
additional 2 cents yesterday. The Ag
ricultural Department may be -a valued
aid to farmers and the grain trade, but
in order to get the full benefit of its
"guesses" It Is necessary to understand
the system and "copper" Its predictions.
If the Panama Canal Commission
wishes to avoid the suspicion of job
bery, it will at once extend the time
for submission of bids for lamber and
other supplies for the canal. Pacific
Coast-bidders were given but five days
in which to prepare bids Mr more' than
$1,000,000 worth of supplies'. Of this
amount more than $300,000 was for lum
ber. In this commodity no other por
tlon of the United States can make
such good terms as can be secured from
the North Pacific mills. Time for In
telligent making of bids and time for
delivery are needed, however, and. In
the interest of economy and justice, our
lumber manufacturers should be given
a better opportunity than has been af
forded them.
Washington will print an edition of
30,000 copies of a book calling atten
tion to the resources of the state. An
Olympia dispatch states that the book
will show the probable wheat crop of
the state for 1S05 to be 35,000,000 bush
els. It Is explained that this estimate
Is based on the crop of 1904. As the
crop last year was only about 25,000,000
bushels, and has never yet touched 30,
000,000 bushels, the amount claimed is
rather extravagant The Evergreen
State can make a sufficiently fine show
ing without padding her figures as It
would be necessary to do In order to
show a 35,000,000-husher wheat crop.
The obsequies of the late Judge Bel
linger will take place at the Crema
torium, at Sell wood, this afternoon. A
man whose life followed Nature along
higher lines of appreciation and devel
opment, his mortal remains will fitly,
in accordance with his wishes, be re
turned to Nature in the cleanest, slm
plest, quickest manner. His friends and
those nearest and dearest to him will
acquiesce In this with reverence and de
votlon, as a proper disposal of the gar
ment which had served him long and
well, but for which he no longer had
any .use.
Secretary Hay, greatly Improved In
health, and without any present in ten
tion of resigning his high office, will, it
Is" said, return home early, in June. This
Is good news, and all the better be
cause of the great apprehension that
was felt in Tegard to his health and the
possible early termination of a life so
valuable to the .Nation. The wisdom of
taking rest In time, and the value of a
decided change of scene, and climate,
are verified In the early recovery, or de
cided Improvement of the condition of
Secretary Hay under these clrcum
stances. "
The - Pacific Coast Steamship Com
pany Is to build two new modern
steamers for . the Puget Sound-San
.Francisco line, at a cost of $1,600,000.
This may enable the. O. Ri & N. Co. to
Improve its San Francisco service by
the purchase of the steamers to be dis
carded from the Puget Sound line.
Mr. Hearst, the new owne of Cos-
.mopblltan, will.; it is announced, "con
duct the magazine' on the same conser
vative lines that mark the course of the
other Hearst publications." The public
.has long noted and . admired "the ex
'emplary conservatism of the ; Hearst
publications. .
Several of our Eastern exchanges
Mbve begun agitation for a "safe ahd
sane" Fourth of July. If; Portland re
formers expect to. accomplish anything
they cannot begin too soon.
Notwithstanding Colonel ."Bryan's in
dorsement President Roosevelt goes on
with his chosen work of bringing; the
railroads -to dook.
Young Croker's, death . was de to
smoking opium too 'fast The moral is
obviMie, -. .....
'NOTE ANfijtOMMENt!
Honey XeHody, 'ot Spokane, his the
most saccharine, welllKseus. eandied name
that has appeared In print for seme. time.
Who weald think that Honey Menedy was
a prizefighter, a pu$r. bralser scrapper?
But so he is: the man whose name "melts
In the- raeuth," and trlekles from the.
tongue like molasses from a bung-hole
engaged in a common ornery Queensberry
scrap at Spokane a few days ago.
A physician In Chicago is suing a
woman's, estate for $126,000. which he says
Is due him for professional services. It
looks as "If the bill were so large that
It will advertise the physician and is
therefore not In accordance with, profes
sional ethics. Still, if the physician gets
the verdict he will be able to retire and '
then he needn't care, a snap for ethics.
We have an Idea that the man in a
straw hat when caught by a heavy storm
feels something like a Russian admiral
when Togo heaves in sight
A trade paper speaks of an "auto
fiesta," which seems a strange mingling
of terms old and new.
"Seattle woman may be heir to $50,000,-
OCO." says the Seattle News. So may a
Portland woman, or any other person
The news that a steamer has been sunk
by a mine oft Port Arthur follows -close
on Premier Balfour's speech concerning
these menaces to peaceful traders. Mr.
Balfour said that an international confer
ence would probably place some restric
tions upon the use of floating mines.
and it seems likely that the peace con
gress which is due sometime soon, if It
has not been forgotten, will consider
this question. ,We believe all the great
powers, and especially Cook's, will favor
restrictions upon the scattering of mines.
Such things play havoc with the tourist
traffic.
Mr. Matthews probably noted that it
was the 13th.
One of the last things done by . Herbert
Croker, the young man-who was found
dead in a railroad train, was to ask wherg
he. could "find a little fun." He was taken
to an opium den, which apparently satis
fled him as being a good placo for
little fun. Ideas of fun arc widely di
vergent. A Russian orderly shot and killed' his
master because he was ordered to the
front. Some slight display of annoyance
may be excusable in a Russian who is
ordered to go Japwards, but he cannot
be allowed to shoot an admiral. There
are not enough admirals to go around.
"A majority of the Board of Education
seem to require teachers with no ideas."
said a teacher in the Everett High School
as she handed in her resignation. Sensi
ble majority. A teacher with ideas has
no time for the children. -
From a correspondent of a New York
paper we learn that the paper- estab
lished in Kishineff ""by the notorious
anti-Semitic editor, Kron3hevan. Is not
named The Fiend, but The Friend.
Some' more scattering ' paragraphs
spoiled.
"When the Russian squadron w;a3
reduced to an acephalous condition by
the killing of Admiral WItoft ." . Thus
the New York Times. No other paper
could possibly think of having a squadron
"reduced to an acephalous condition." "
Illinois has a lynch-quick party of
considerable- attainment, buts usustlly
overlooks its own merits in this way
while watching the South's amateurish
performances.
Ever since the wretched little armor-encased
Czarovitch was born we
have felt a lively sympathy for the
poor little chap, but never so much
as on reading of his escape from being
boiled alive. The Czarina, it appears,
caught a nurse in the act ' of putting
the imperial mite into a bath of boil
ing water! Any one that has ever
turned on the hot water by mistake
for the cold In a bath will- quiver with
sympathetic fright on reading of the
youngster's escape.
In Armour's secret telegraph -"code
"Woodpath" represented the Interstate
Commerce Commission. What the Ar
mours want now is a path through the
woods.
Kuropatkin has taken to criticising.
But It's only fair he should have a turn
after his long experience of being
criticised.
Rapine wins. Greed triumphs The looters
loot. The people arc robbed. Men that the
city trusted have betrayed it. and the court
sustain the wrong. Indianapolis News.
Oh. my! '
Tho Kansas City Star has discovered
a man who is so polite that he takes
off his hat when addressing Central
over the telephone. We may all be
doing that when the televue gets
working.
Referring to the German paper
which is to bo printed on one. side only,
so that It may be used for wrapping
sausages or butter, the Argus says that
the Seattle Star could go it one better.
"That paper," says the Argus, "would
be more of a credit to the community
were both sides of the paper left
blank." Andk not content with this
jab, the Argus takes another at tha
Times, which bears above, its headlnsr
the liiie, "Made in Seattle." "A careful
examination, of most any issue shows
this claim is true," says the Argus,
"even to a great deal of the tele
graphic news." ,
Connecticut Camembert Is tha laieii
thing in cheese. We may yet .progress
to Georgia Gorganzola, Rhode Island
Roquefort and Louisiana LImburger.
An. English paper publishes the photo
graph of a shop front In Johannesburg.
It shows a sign:
Mrs. . Laundress.
No damned, Chinamen or Indians employed.
Chinese labor Is apparently no. more
popular In the Transvaal Colony than Jn
California, and the East Indians are
placed Jn the same " condemned category
as the Chinks.
"General knowledge" papers are" stlH
the fad in England, and the papers hare
lately been giving some of the questions '
asked. The most extraordinary on record
was this: "How many less 'have the fol
lowing a centipede, a tortoise, a steve
dore?" Imagine a kid or an' adult
struggling with such a teaser, and by
the way, did the examiner think a steve
dore was some kind ot Insect? -
Writing in the Pittsburg, Dispatch, Julius
Chambers' says that the honest Oregon
rabbit could not compete with the, domes
tic ' cat and that's the, reason rabfeit
. canning was not a suceeeev.' -