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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 28, 1905)
li THE -SUKBAT- 'ORBOKIAN,. BQ1I&AN3. "330 ' petered at the Postoface at Portland. . Or., as second-class matter. j SCBSCRIPHOX KATES. INVASL4.BLT IX ADVANCE; (By Mall or Express.) Dally and Sunday, per year-.... -58.00 Xsily and Sunday, six months --- 6;O0 Dally and Ssaday, three months --". Dally and. Sunday, per month. ......... -85 Daily without Sunday, per year -p Dally -without Sunday, six months..... 3.90 Dally -without Sunday, three months. LOo Daily -without Sunday, per month -03 Sunday, per year...... ........ ......... -.00 Suaday. six months...... 1.00 Sunday, three months - .60 BT CARRIER. Daily without Sunday, per -week .15 Dally, per "week. Sunday Included .20 THE "WEEKLY OREGONIAN. (Issued Every Thursday.) Weekly, per year...... . 1-50 Weekly, six months. - -75 Weekly, three months 50 HOW TO REMIT Send postorfice money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The S. C. Beckwlth Special Acicy New Tork; rooms 4 3 -SO Tribune buHdlng. Chi cago, rooms 510-512 Tribune building. The Oregealan does not buy poems or stories from individuals and cannot under take to return any manuscript sent to it without solicitation. No stamps should be inclosed for this purpose. KEPT OX SATE. Chicago Auditorium Annex, PotoIDce News Co.. 178 Dearborn street. Dallas, Tex-Globe News Depot, 200 Main street. Hot Springs, Ark-F. C. Boring. 418 Cen tral avuue. Dearer Julius Black, Hamilton & Kend rick, 006-012 Seventeenth street; Harry D. Ott, 1D03 Broadway. Colorado fiprlegs, Colo. Howard H. BelL Des Melaes, la. Moses Jacobs, 309 Filth street. Daluth, la. G. Blackburn. 215 West Su perior street. GoldHeld, Nev. C Malone. Kaaaas City, Mo. Rlcksecker Cigar Co., Ninth and Walnut Eos Angeles Harry Drapkln; S. E. Amos, 514 West Seventh street. Minneapolis M. J. Kavanaugh, 50 South Third; I Regelsburger. 217 First avenue South. Cleveland, O. James Pushaw, S07 Superior street. New York City L. Jones & Co., Astor House. Oakland. Cal. W. H. Johnston, Four teenth and Franklin streets. Ogdea Fi R. Godard and Meyers & Har top, D. L. Boyle- Omaha Barkalow Bros., 1612 Farnam; Mageatb Stationery Co., 130S Farnam; Mc Laughlin Bros., 240 South 14th. Sacramento, CaL Sacramento News Co.. 429 X street. Salt Lake Salt Lake News Co.. 77 West Second street South. LoBg Beach B. E. Amos. Saa Francisco J. K. Cooper & Co., 740 Market street; Goldsmith Bros.. 23C Sutter: L. E. Lee. Palace Hotel News Stand; F. W. Pitts. 1008 Market: Frank Scott. 80 Ellis; N. Wheatley Movable News Stand.' corner Mar Vet and Kearney streets; Hotel St. Francis News Stand; Foster & Orcar, Ferry News Stand. St. Louis, Mo. E. T. Jett Book & News Company, 800 Olive street. Washington, D. C. P. D. Morrison. 2132 Pennsylvania avenue. PORTLAND, SUNDAY, MAY 28, 1865. DUE TO PLUTOCRATIC GREED. We suppose our country is "booked" for socialism. Greed of speculators is bringing it on. Exploitation of public utilities by our first families hurries it forward. Such incidents or operations as this one. under our own eyes, of capitalization of the streets of "Port land for millions, in the interest of pri vate Individuals the public expected to pay dividends on the usurpation are making socialists by thousands, in every direction. It is the same with all this exploita tion )t the modern time. Operators everywhere are seizlng-thcir opportu nity to "capitalize" the wants of the public. In ways to create great proper ties and to obtain great dividends. The people believe that the only check to these schemes of plutocracy lies In a socialistic movement, under which the productive forces In particular those related to municipal functions may be transformed into socialized effort. ' The Oregonlan has not been willing to see this change. But In the contest that Is coming forced by the greed of capitalism and of exploitation It finds Itself compelled to yield to new condi tions. In the contest between greed and privilege on the one hand, and pop ular rights on the other, it will follow the demands of the people, because it belongs to the people. It must stand with them, rather than with those who contend for the Actions of privilege and of vested rights. It will take its place in the ranks of the proletariat, and struggle with and for the proletariat, rather than with or for those who have adopted the modern scheme of capital izing the needs of the multitude, and making the multitude pay dividends on the capitalization. Everything tends towards this new division or alignment. It is empha sized by the demand of President Roosevelt for regulation and control of the railroads". It Is furthered by efTorts everywhere exerted, and witnessed In Portland as elsewhere today, to capi talize public functions, and .to turn them to private profit, for support of "first families" in luxury and idleness. It Is not an Issue which this newspaper has sought- Gladly, rather. It would have avoided or averted It, But It Is upon us today, and it challenges atten tion; and tomorrow and next year Its demands will be more imperative still. The astonishing growth of it is due to the inordinate greed of a plutocracy which never will admit that it has had enough. THE REED ESTATE. It is seldom that the relations of person who has a property and makes a wJU are willing to acquiesce In the disposition of the property made by the testator. They who suppose themselves heirs at law think, they ought to In herlt the property which they did noth ing to accumulate. To them it matters not what the wish of the testator was. Their, relative was beloved, not for his character or wishes, but for the estate he left behind. S. G. Reed and wife were early citi zens of Portland. The state of Tils health took him to the milder climate of Southern California. Before he could make the disposition of his prop erty mat ne naa intended, ne was taken away by death, leaving every thing to his wife- As .the years drew tin she made a will, by which she di reeled that large part of the property was to be devoted to a public use. In educational lines. The couple had no children. But the estate was a large one. and Mrs. Reed, in Tier will, gener ously remembered the "relations of her self and of .her-husband dedicating, however, large portion of the estate to the foundation and support of an edu cational institute at their home In Portland. But there Is a law of California which forbids a testator to devote more than one-third part of his orher estate to uny charitable er public uee, . It Is an old law. framed apparently on the Idea that It "was necessary to curb the disposi tion to make bequests to ecclesiastical bodies, under whose influence the tes tator might be. Nok,' in order to make the claim upon the Reed estate, the contestants of the will of Mrs; Heed have assumed that she was a resident of California and, therefore, that dispo sition of her property must follow the law of -that state. But in fact the. Reeds were citizens of Oregon and residents of this state. They were simply visit ors In California, and their sojourn there was only temporary domiciliation in that state, for climatic change. Their home. "asHhey always said, was"' Oregon, to which they returned with frequency; and both are burled here. The Reeds left a large estate. It was accumulated in Oregon, through an ac tive business career, beginning in early pioneer times. They were loyal to' Ore gon, and wished the bulk of the estate to be employed here. In perpetuity, for the worthy public purpose indicated in the will dictated-by Mrs. Reed, who, a the survivor of her husband, knew his intent as she knew her own. But the assumption of the contestants of the "will.. -that the Reeds bad become citizens -of California, would, if al lowed, tie up. the will, defeat the Intents of the testators, divert the property ac cumulated In Oregon' from the public purposes to which they devoted It. and perhaps waste larce cart 'of it through prolonged ' litigation. The technical ground on which the will is contested surely -cannot- hold. It ought not to hold, certainly; for this couple, man and wife, whose active lives were spent here, whose estate was made here, who had that degree of remem brance and love of Oregon which caused them to enjoin that they should be buried here and the bulk of their "estate devoted to beneficent purposes in the community where they accumulat ed it, should not be defrauded of their intent, either by the greed of contest ants or by figment of law. TYPES OF ANARCHISTS. There are hierarchies In the. common wealth of thieves and . distinctions of rank among anarchists. The philo sophical anarchist, for example, holds his garment away from the touch of his bombthrowlng brother; we hold ours away from both of them. It Is of two other types of anarchists, who are not proud of the name and would probably reject it if they could, that we wish to speak. They are anarchists who re semble verbs In that half of them do and the other half suffer, so that they are rightly named active and passive. . The passive anarchist may be seen In full bloom all the year round In al most every American city, but nowhere else does he flourish in such perfection as In Philadelphia. Here soil and cli mate are perfect for his type; he feeds upon placid Quaker traditions and de cayed fragments of Christian ethics; family pride fattens and paralyzes him. In that enchanted city, where time has forgotten how to move and manhood has not learned how to assert Itself, the passive anarhclst contentedly ripes and ripes, and then as contentedly goes on to rot and rot; and thereby hangs tale of gas works, and -water works and typhoid fever And other things you know quite well That I hain't time just here to tell. In the words of the poet. The passive anarchist does not desire the overthrow of government and law. but he contributes to it by his super cilious indifference to politics, and by his meek submission to be pillaged by the active anarchists. He and his kind are like tfiVflocks and herds which the Gothic warriors drove with them upon expeditions of plunder. He denounces corruption with his tongue and sup ports it with his purse; he rails at In iquity In his pulpit and salaams to It In banks and parlors. He exists In his lamentable perfect ion In Philadelphia, but he is found everywhere and In all callings. He gives away franchises to street-car companies, who despise him too much in return to provide him a seat, though he pays for it at twice its value; he breaks his shins on the barrels and boxes with which active anarchists make man-traps on the pavements; he Is poisoned by gas from leaky sewers; he Is crushed under-walls built without mortar; he is drowned by iron life-pre servers; he is Durnea up in tneaters without exits: he, is mashed to jelly be tween colliding engines and Incinerated In the wreck. But he springs perenni ally young from his ashes; shudders, forgets, aa goes on multiplying nim self. The passive anarchist wants a social machine that will run Itself while he attends to his eating and drinking and his business. Republican government is not a machine of that sort, so he pro claims It a failure. The failure Is him self, not the government. Democracy gives him rights and arms him to de fend them; heprefers to present an In offensive area for every boot to kick. Fighting is brutal: he is a lover of peace; he takes refuge in high ideals: he wants the right of suffrage restrict ed to a chosen few like himself, who would elect perfect officials from cir cles of perfect respectability to turn the crank's of a perfect governmental machine. So far as taking a hand in public life goes, he Is, in brief, what Carlyle would call a perfect fool; and the sad part of It Is that he Is very nu merous. Such Is the passive anarchist; may his days be short. The active anarchist is a different sort of person. The others are the sheep, he Is the wolf; they are the mu tilated slaves of the palace, he is the virile Caliph. Of a sinister potency, still he Is potent. He acts, he does not dream. His intelligence Is devilish, but It Is efficient: It Is probable that the Almighty prefers him, with all his mis deeds, to the passive anarchist upon whom he preys and without whose do cile complicity he could not flourish. The active anarchist, "out of the su perabundance of his plunder, some times makes a present to the Lord; the nasslve anarchist Is afraid to take It lest the good name of the Lord be tar nlshed or the. irtue-of his' church se duced. How very frail must that vlr tue be! V The active anarchist has his earthly paradise no less than lu passive vas saL The latter blooms In unrivalled beauty In Philadelphia; the former Is found in bis perfect estate in the United States Senate. To that Valhalla of lost reputations he has, climbed upon the ruins of the moral or civil law, and often of both; he -has corrupted the en tire population of some Insignificant community like Rhode Island; he "has made himself the representative and steadfast champion of incorporate free booters, as Piatt of New York . has done: he represents a coterie of Beet sugar men,, a clique of railroad men. tfae Standard. Oil coyd; he-'te the detey gate of laad and timber thieves, whoan, he defends against the law as- the rob ber baron of former times did his li centious vassals. Such are some of the men who pass bills against anarchy in the United 'States Senate. They do more to advance anarchy in one ses sion of Congress than all their statutes can do against it in half an eternity. The President-sees to negotiating reci procity treaties with foreign nations; the good sense of the country approves them; they would promote the general welfare, but they would cut off here and there a freebooter from his accustomed rapine. The Senatorial anarchist who represents those freebooters lies In wait for the treaty with his 'bomb; .at the fatal moment he throws it with an aim which his brother in Moscow or the -Haymarket may envy in vain, and the fragments of the treaty are carted away to the graveyard. This Senator ial graveyard is a flourishing place. Reciprocity, arbitration, Haytian ad ministration. Canadian comity, all lie peacefully buried there or the pieces of them do; while In a shady nook may be seen toy the Summer tourist a neat grave already dug for the President's railroad rate bilL How pathetic the epitaphs on the tlmbstones In that last resting-place of so many murdered in fants! Here, side by side, tenderly decked with tansy and everlasting flowers, slumber postal currency and parcels post. The sweet babes have one gravestone with a lamb carved on It, and this touching verse: , To make the express business fat These lovely babes were slain by Piatt. Fof the connoisseur of epitaphs, real or possible, this Senatorial graveyrd Is a fruitful place to glean In; to the student of anarchy It is only less In structive than the Senate chamber. NAVAL BATTLE IMMINENT? Great events are Iihminent in the Corean Straits. The conflict has possi bly already occurred. The Russian fleet is sailing boldly between Japan and Corea. In line of battle. Inviting at tack by the enemy. The Japanese fleet was last heard from at Ma-sam-pho, on the Corean Peninsula. The Japanese have been fully apprised of the Russian movements, and have been lying In wait. It Is not easy to know whether it is the Japanese strategy to join Issue now. or avoid a general engagement and wait for an attack'at Vladivostok. The long delay would seem to Indicate that the Japanese were not ready to flghtr not that they were not reason ably confident of victor-, but that they could take no chance of defeat If they lose on the sea. everything Is lost. The peculiar wording of a late Toklo dis patch, however, would indicate that the long suspense Is over and there would soon be something doing. The dispatch was extremely guarded, using the expression "transmissible news" and "today's historic events." We shall learn what "today's historic events" are -whenever Toklo chooses to tell us. The Japanese censorship is exceedingly rigorous, and has been throughout the war. On the other hand, the corre spondents who have used the Russian wires in Siberia and Russia have been permitted to discuss both political and military matters with astonishing free dom, so that the earliest and even the most authentic news has come as a rule from Russian sources. In this instance. however, the Russians have no means of getting prompt information except from the Associated Press. It may be that -the first definite news we shall get from the seat of the- conflict. If there snail be a conflict, will be from Shanghai. 500 miles distant, which Is the present terminus of the English ca ble. The cable to Chefoo, equally dls tant, is said to be cut. ir there Is no engagement at this time off the Tsu Islands. It Is because the Japanese will not fight. They-have fewer vessels, guns and men than the Russians, though larger gun power. greater experience and, presumably, higher efficiency. RELIGIOUS BODIES GETTING TOGETHER "Nothing of human interest Is out side our range." may well be "the watch word of journalism today. The world movement In all countries In. favor of concentration in religious organization and relations In place 'of segregation and dispersion, of passing ancient boundary lines, of recognizing the com paratlvely small and the essentially vital, is a case in point Apart from all personal relationships to the world of the unseen, the student of the history of applied thought In religious' affairs takes note of rapid changes, effecting In one year more. in one direction than fifty years In the- other. Increase of divisions in the -Christian church, which followed the bursting of the bonds of compulsory compliance with the Rom lsh dogma and ritual at the Reforma tion, has been followed In. all civilized countries by assumption by each dlvis Ion of a distinguishing name, and adoption of a more or less definite creed. Pages of the census books have been occupied by such names, and each census has noted a long addition to the list. No wonder that a Japanese, when Invited to join the Christians, should answer, "which Christians?" That there should be so many men of so many opinions on what are appropri ately called the mysteries of the Chris tlan .faith was to be expected. Wonder may be well felt that the variant trans latlon and significance of a single word in a written creed served as a dividing line between the Eastern, and Western churches, with their millions of adher ents. Stranger still It was that so mi nute and mystic a distinction should in our own country have a similar "dividing power- A reason may possl bly be found In that, while such de bates and searchings of heart were In progress, there was amongr all Interest ed persons a substantia, agreement on the few essentials lying underneath all Christian creeds, and also an unques tloning acceptance of the Bible, from beginning to end, as the record on which all creeds and faiths must be based. It is true that each age produced its doubters but the apologist met the doubters' arguments. Wide spread of researcn mio nisroncai records, ana application of material methods to splr Itual problems which have followed during the last forty years on the pub licatlon, of Darwin's and Herbert Spen cer's books In English, and those of contemporary German students) hav evolved the higher criticism In Bible study. The foundations of the Chris tlan belief have been shaken. Facts and deductions have, been placed In doubt on which, previously, no question had arisen In the mind of the average Christian man. So It has followed that in the defense of the citadel the out works have been in effect abandoned. The-natural and legkral consequence Is seen la the drawisg .leather of t the separated parts and divisions of the Christian church, who. while defending essentials, can appreciate the compar ative unimportance of their grounds of difference. It may be expected tbat the formation of 'further sects will cease, while the present condition Con tinues. He who on trivial grounds severs existing bonds, and seeks to es tablish a- denomination or communion of his own, will, by common consent, "be deemed sectary and not reformer. The process of which all are witnesses resembles the scene when the plate on which quicksilver has been spilled Is shaken. The little globules run .to gether and blend themselves into the1 larger masses. Under the agitation the segregating force which, kept them apart loses its power. The main bodies exercise a resistless attractiveness to the globules which vibrate around them. Therefore there seems no reason why hot only Presbyterians. Baptists, Meth odists and United Brethren should merge the several divisions constitut ing those generic bodies of the Chris tian church, but that the process should continue, to the blending In one church whose .motto should be unjty nut not uniformity. Not being required to de- ote so much time and energy to the tudy and perpetuation of differences, there wilj be much more of both to be expended on the common works of charity, beneficence and good citizen ship, by which the whole world will be the gainer. rOEICISOF THE STATE GRANGE. The practical nature of the subjects considered and of the policies proposed for adoption by the State Grange Is ery noticeable. In common with nearly all thoughtful citizens, the Grangers feel that the pressure of tax ation Is not proportionate and therefore not Just. Examining somewhat closely the adopted report of their committee on this subject., It appears that two remedies are In-mind. The first Is the assessment of all property at actual alues. regardless, that Is, of any arbi trary or customary "reduction of per centage of value by the Assessor. Af ter all is said and done, this Is only returning to the plain meaning of the law as it stands. It is easy enough to say "actual values." The problem Is to ascertain and apply a clear and Just ascertainment. Two sources of Infor mation appear. The one Is return of property by the owner or his author Ized agent; second, the opinion of the Assessor. anouid tney agree, owner and Assessor, there Is no more to be said assuming, of course, that there is no collusion. .Should they differ, what then? The Grangers propose to apply this remedy, that the Assessor should have the power to have the books of a 'corporation or business firm experted.' with penalties in case property "con cealed or covered up" be discovered. Two observations are suggested by this somewhat primitive method. Why confine it to a "corporation or business firm"? May not Individuals be equally culpable? Then, why to "business"? It has been generally thought that er roneous returns were supplied by property-owners, in town certainly, but are the country people not also possl- uiy m luuii.'. xnere nas even been a whisper that a thoroughbred horse. cow. sheep or hog might figure In a re turn, aust as an ordinary scrub not worth -a fourth as much in actual value. And so of farming lands. Surely they diner as much as one star dlffereth from another star In glory. It Is not on!y books that may require "export ing- And who Is to pay for that pro cessthe county or the culnrlts? Rather a heavy bill for some one to meet. The Grange and its committee think the county too large In area to be cov ered by one Assessor. So they suggest precinct or district Assessors, who. In turn, are to meet at the county seat and "sit as a board of equalization." Rec ommendation No. 2 Is at variance with recommendation No. 1, which Is -that no board of equalization shall have power to raise or lower the valuation. What then, is to Issue from the sitting of the Assessors? Doubtless the design Is that by confining the action of the new As sessor to the precinct in which he lives he may be expected to have more ex act opinions on values, and It Is antic! pated that In this way there may be less guesswork in results. Possibly there may be difficulty In securing a qualified Assessor In every precinct. Be It remembered that character, even more than ability. Is needed. It Is ad mitted that the Assessor must be like Caesar's "wife. It is putting him to nam test, to set values on nis own property and that of his friends, rela tives and neighbors, and no one else. When he has the county to cover, the larger part toy far In both numbers of property-owners and in properties are, of necessity, outside the reach of per sonal Influences. These are the most Important recom mendatlons of the Grange. -No doubt they will admit that the subject Is very thorny. A commission of qualified per sons was provided for "by the last Leg islature to make recommendations to the next. It may be as well to. wait and see how they propose to deal with actual values and with Assessors. The. initiative Is to he invoked in sup port of afl per cent tax on thi gross earnings of express, telegraph and tele pnone companies, if this measure shows ,a fair prospect of bringing all corporations controlling public faclll ties Into a just and uniform condition of contribution' to the state funds, there will be little objection to It. MEMORIAL SUNDAY. The Sunday before Memorial day has come to be designated "Memorial Sun Iay." It is again with- us, and again from many pulpits, sermons Instinct with patriotism and breathing rever ence for the soldier dead will be dellv ered. It will be well for ourpeople to forget for an hour the political -strife in which they are engaged, dismiss the cares of business, lay aside the fret and escape from the friction of com petition in the marts of gain and labor, and pass a quiet our in -memory of those for wnom an striving has ceased Looking backward, generally speak ing, is not wise, since, in a sense, it unfits those who must still strive for the battle of today the battle of every day. The Injunction Let the dead past bury Its dead Must be followed if we are .to do our full part In the "living present" fol lowed not arbitrarily and stoically, but reasonably and with deference to the -duty In hand. Unavailing regret is waste of the vital force and spiritual strength,. without which life Is a falP are; reverence for life that was, and exultation in what it meant to those wh have completed its tenure. Is quite aaeiser .tniniV-, to .Ignwe $-hlc&. u distinct Ion to ourselves and to hu manity. A generatiea has come into life and passed on to middle age since Memorial day wag- Instituted. It -Is too -much to expect those to whom the 'Civil War and its vast sacrifice in human life Is but history to approach the day with sorrow and join In Its ceremonials with sadness. It may reasonably be expect ed, nowever. tnat a sumcient numoer of thoughtful persons may be found In community such as this to fill its churches on Memorial day and listen reverently to the eulogies that are pro nounced In patriotic spirit, upon the silent host that, for their country's sake, went untimely to the shades. An hour given to the memory of the heroes who fell InHhe strife for National life will be a kindly hour wisely spent. SHIFTING OF POLITICAL POYVEK. Engrossed in the smaller politics of City and state, notes of changes in world politics pass almost without re mark. Battles and sieges, insurrections and revolts, are followed by every reader of the jdas's dispatches. Events marking the gradual transfer of power lrom one representative body, to an other, or the equally important cession of power from legislative bodies to In dividuals, are unrecognized as turning points In history. When the French Republic was es tablished, on the fall of the Louis Na poleon empire, two legislative bodies ere created, the Senate, and House of Deputies Their powers were most carefully balanced, to forestall en croachment by either one on the rights and privileges of the other. In spite of this, the people's house, the Chamber, has grown until it has become the focus and center of the life of the republic. It makes and unmakes, Ministries at will. The policy of Ministers Is framed and guided to hold a majority there. The Senate lives in dignity, it is true. Its members look on. hardly more than spectators of the conflicts and debates brought to Issue In the other house. The French President has held his own through all these years, rather the ar bitrator In reserve, and the figurehead "bf the nation. But the policy of France Is that of the Ministry, as dictated by or dependent on the majority of the Chamber, through which majority the nation is supposed to speak. Therein lies the real, the active, control. In England the process above de scribed Is being. It may almost' be said has been, reversed. Not even so large body as the Ministry, but the com mlttee of Ministers, now called the Cabinet, overshadows King, Lord 3 and Commons the historical powers of the British Emrlre. The House of Com mons of Great Britain and Ir;!and was called the mother of Parliaments. It steadily wrestled power from the mon arch through the centuries, stood ever for the people's rights, reformed from time to time to gain greater strength from a wider electorate, until the clos ing years of the last century its right to claim respect as well as obedience from the nation was unchallenged Usages had grown up"bywhlch at any time a vote could be called for, and would be instantly conceded by the Ministry In power at thertlme, demand ing that the opinion of. the hous be taken on any question, great or small. The Prime Minister, or the leader of the house, was ever in his place tb regulate debate, support his policy and to testify by his acts respect for the assembly. By equally long custom,, tjme and op portunity were given so private mem bers to Introduce independent legisla tion, debate such bills,- and challenge either the support or the opposition of the government'thereon. The House of Commons was a live assembly, the pride of the nation. The influence of its decisions was courted or feared. How are the mighty fallen! Mr. Bal four, sitting In the place of Peel arid Palmerston, of Gladstone and Disraeli, secure In the voting power In reserve of a" subservjent majority,' Ignores the ac tion-of the House and tramples on Its best-established usages The -climax came during the past few weeks, when the word was passed to the supporters of the Ministry to take no part in de bates raised by the liberal opposition on the protection policy of Mr. Chamber tain, leave the House rather than' vote. and let the opposition of more than 250 members pass such votes of censure on the government and Its acts as they pleased. So the world was treated to the sorry spectacle of the House-of Commons re duced to the level of a college debat ing society, free to amuse Itself by passing such resolutions 'as it pleased, impotent to secure any effect, or Influ ence by a hair's breadth the acts of the nation. It Is a House of Commons held together by the fear of a dissolution which would -efface a big majority of Its members from political life- Meanwhile the British people look on as If stuper fled. So bred and-reared In respect for law and- custom,- however, are our cousins across the water that they sub mit to oppressive and reactionary laws. month after month, year after year, only confidently looking-on to the In evitable death of this Parliament when Its lease of life expires. Two years' terms and frequent elec tions have their drawbacks. But what has passed and Is passing on the other side of the Atlantic goes a very long way to reconcile us to those evils that we know the worst of. In the opinion of Police Judge Hogue, Charles McGInty Is a wlfebeater whose offense Is of more than ordinary mag nitude. This fellow was hailed as the first candidate for the whipping-post under the law that went into effect May 18. .but his act was so brutal and so serious Iir Its nature and conse' auences that it became a crime requlr ing "The attention of the grand jury. Instead, therefore, of calling upon a stalwart policeman to lay 20 stripes upon the bare back 'of the brutal wlfebeater. Judge Hogue placed him under bonds of $200 to appear before the grand jury. The appearance of the woman in the Police Court and recital of her story would fairly Justify the charge of assault with Intent to kill. It would be a good Job If McGInty were Indicted upon this charge, tried, con victed and given the limit. It appears again to be necessary to assure the Seattle Times that the peo Die of Portland and the management of the Lewis and Clark Exposition are not In a conspiracy to -prevent visitors to Portland from going to Seattle and en joying the hospitality and viewing the "beauties of that fine city. The crimes Is much disturbed over the fact that the Portland doctors have not adver tised Seattle lrr. their literature, and, because California visitors will not have days-to vldt Puget'Sound. No ajjioufrt tSe Jimes -is ..overlooked' the fact' that Portland commercial bodies have, already lodged a vigorous protest with the Southern Pacific Railroad, and are doing everything- In their power to extend the stop-over limit. As for the quarrel of the Portland and Seattle physicians, the less said about it the better. It Is to be regretted that the Times and other Washington newspa pers have not been sufficiently Informed about the generous attention given to the state by the Exposition people greater by far than accorded to any other state. Any interested citizen of Washington can fully verify this state ment by coming to the Fair. The Oregonlan fears that the organ pf the plutocrats of Portland, the mouthpiece of their Various schemes for capitalisation of everything In the city for dividends though ib makes wry faces and roars loudly will have to digest the venom of Its spleen, though the operation may spilt It. For many and many a year the reigning families, who have set up this organ and pay for It out of the proceeds of various capitalizations on "public utili ties." have been "working" the munici pal government for all sorts of things; till the claim of disinterestedness, and of high civic and municipal virtue, plied with the persistency of "damna ble Iteration." Is becoming rancid and stale. But let us have no unseemly ex citement. There are days yet to come. This timely suggestion Is offered to the first meat market owner who Is willing to adopt .It: Put a stationary washstand in the most prominent part of your establishment. Require your men to wash their hands In It publicly, where every customer may see every fifteen minutes. It Is easy to Imagine what effect it will have on women given to cleanliness. Never allow a salesman to wear a badly "soiled apron Let him change every half hour. If necessary. Cost of laundering will be repaid tenfold by Increased sales. No charge will be made to the -market man who uses this fine advertisement. But some cynic may say that the benefit of the scheme Is self-evident, or that It isn't new. Well, it will be new In Portland. ' . The "gas grab" In Philadelphia and the gas grab of Portland what of them? Portland Is not as big as Phila delphia, but here Is a gas grab, too In Portland the gas grab Is even worse than the. gas grab In Philadelphia, be cause, the gas grab In Portland has a perpetual franchise; And this-franchise. as you .might expect, is in the hands of the "first families" oT Portland. It tears up the streets without anybody's leave. It Is a branch of the first-family ownership of the town. There is no regulation. It pays not one alme for the use of the streets. The reigning families deem-the streets, of Portland and. all they can make out of them their own proper inheritance. Their newspaper organ- will tell you so. Why shouldn't the Pacific Bridge Company have had the Morrison-street bridge contract? The Pacific Bridge Company Is the same thing- asyie Port land uonsouaaiea itauwawjwpany, and the railway company has atheor" that the bridge was built for It, and not for the people. The fine way in -.which the bridge . company carried out the railway-company's Ideas Is" to be seen In the guard rail, which was p'utthere as a permanent notification that the public has no rights which the street railway company is bound to respect. However, the people, who paid for the bridge, are permitted to cross on foof. For the present. Portland Is to have no reform In the matter of meat inspec tion. Perhaps it Is not so necessary as some folk imagine, but there Is one thing that market proprietors should be forced to do. namely: protect fresh meats from the big blue-bottle fly. Glass cases are best; still, mosquito netting makes an effective barrier if adjusted with care. In weather like yesterday a few hours Is sufficient to develop living organisms In perfectly sound flesh. Too much care cannot be exercised to prevent contamination from the blue-bottle at this season of the year. S"lr George Williams, who founded the Young Men's Christian Association In England sixty-one years ago, was the most conspicuous and interesting figure in the recent world's conference of that organization In Paris. Sir George, an octogenarian, but still vlg orous, presented In his forceful pres ence a refutation of the assumption that a man of his age has outlived by a score or more years the period of his usefulness. It hardly takes the bank clearances to prove tnat .Portland is prosperous; but they may, be regarded as a very satisfactory sign. For the past week the aggregate has been' over $4,100,000. an Increase of 52.2 over the same week the precedlngvyear. The total average Increase for the United States was 46 per cent, so that the prosperity of Port land is not local. A Salem man, who was bothered with a cataract on his eye, was mending his roof. The wind caught a piece of tin and it cut- off the cataract, restoring the Salem man's sight and leaving the organ perfectly sound. If some Inter ested friend could persuade the Munlcl pal Association to embark In the tin roofing business, it might lead to bene- flclal results. Chief Hunt's police and Chief Camp bell's firemen made a fine showing In the parade yesterday. If Mayor Will lams Is proud of what this administra tion has done for both police and fire men, the reasons were obvious to every one of the spectators along-the line of march. If the waters of Nauheim have really been of benefit to Secretary Hay, the press of the United States will not be erudsre. the Immense publicity It has given them without price. It has probably not escaped public notice that Dr. Harry Lane Is holding Democratic meetings, not "citizens" or independent" or Municipal Association meetings. Municipal Judge Hogue decides that Attorney Vaughn is not guilty of con tempt of the Municipal Court Every body breathes easier. St. Petersburg Is again full of rumors of a Russian victory. Rumors of Russian victory always precede a bat tie. If any other railroad desires to build t Lewlston it should speak up; or for Xjeax. aieraiards hold its peace. . - . t- 0REG0NDZ0NE. Our Guarantee. Jokes you will never meet In this col umn: The mother-tn-law joke. It Is a chests nut.. The old maid joke. It Is-uhscntlemanly. The Springrmovlng joke. It was copy righted byoah -when he packefd up to get aboard the ark. A vaudeville troupe of evangelists has arrived In New York for a three-weeks.' stand In revival repertoire. The Igorrotes have gone to Coney Is land. "Four-in-hand cravats, are cheaper In New York than In Portland. This Is a strange world. Joseph Ches ter, a United States soldier who was killed in a battle in Cuba seven years ago, was burled at his old home. Wheel Ing, W. Va., his aged, father footing the undertaker's bill. . The other dav- the dead man returned home and proved that he was still alive. Now he Is suing the undertaker to recover the expenses of his burial. The Irrlgon Irrigator. At Irrlgon, in Oregon. The Irrigator Is The paper of the people, and It always books the biz. The Irrigator irrigates the arid lives of folks Who otherwise with thirst were, curat and might succumb to chokes. No doubt The Irrigator lies an ever-open ditch For "Old Subscriber." "Amicus," "Vox Populi." and slclr. Who through its columns flow their stuff, to saturate the soli Of those benighted- souls (like moles) that only delve and to'H. ' I The Irrigator's editor, I have no doubt, sometimes. With that alliterative name, must dally with the rhymes. Oh. may he turn his floodgates loose, and inundate the earth With songs of lilt and leap and sweep whereof we have a dearth! 0 Irrlgon! O Oregon! O Irrigator (The)! 1 think I'd like to make myself your ed itorial "we." Oh, take these limpid lavings of my some times tearful Muse And grow a crop of greens by jeans, you couldn't grow the blues! Commencement. Commencement Is with us once more. Like Christmas, It comes but once a year; when it comes It brings good cheer and big bouquets to the graduate, but only regrets to the middle-aged mortal who has a high school diploma, bound around Its waist with a blue ribbon tied In a double bow-knot, lying somewhere underneath the other rubbish in thi attic of the house he lived In 25 years ago, where moth and dust corrupt- When we were about 17, and sat upon the rostrum on the great day In early June, sandwiched In between two girls In white, like a grinning gargoyle between pair of cherubs on a cornice, we' used to wonder why It was called commence ment. "To us It appeared to be the finish. We had achieved. We "had arrived. We were there. The past there was nothing to it, except the tears in the voice' of the graduating girl who read the valedictory, beginning "And now, d-e-a-r class mates". The future there was none. 'Act, act In the living present," cooed the dreamy blue-orbed angel who- took . that line for the subject of her com mencement essay; and we were acting. Some of us acted like . idiots, no doubt; but we were "actors oh ,ie great, stage of life." as the, boy Iru.tbe, striped, .pants orated; and who was there so base- as to insist that we should be passive Instead of active? There was. we must admit, since we come to recollect It, one adventurous dam sel In the class who held up before us and shook In our faces a future, and her subject was "Beyond the Alps Lies Italy." Of course there was such an essay; who ever heard of a commencement during the SOs or anywhere between the episode at Appomattox and the affair at Santiago. for that matter that did not have, an Italy, lying beyond the Alps?. In those days the world was full of Alps and Ital- iest There were no Tyrolean Alps not until the World's Fair at St. Louis; they were all Italian. At one impending com mencement we recall that there were two Italles arid, two Alpine ranges when the essays were turned In, and theglrl with the golden hair hanging down her back gave up her beloved Alps , only when the principal said she might write on the more poetic subject: "She slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty; She woke and found that life was Duty." Then the Blessed Damozel with the dreams In her eyes and the delicious, dulcet lisp In her voice urged us, male and female alike, man after his kind and woman after her kind, to climb and cross the Alps of Endeavor ah"d slide down the other side Into the sun-klsaed, azure- skied Italy of our ambitions. Some of us boys never could see just why it was necessary to go to Italy to succeed In life, nor why it -was Impera tive that we climb over the Alps to get there, for we found nothing In the tourist guidebooks to Indicate that there was a perpetual Chlcagoesque railroad strike and tie-up on the Italian frontiers. But we will let that pass alas! it has passed, and the world Is none the better off. Nowadays a commencement is not what ltruscd to be; It Is a beginning, and not a finish; a change has come over the spirit of the. dream; the world has grown strenuous In these 20 years last gone, and where once divine poesy reposed there Is now only earthy .prose in volcanic eruption. . When . you go to commencement this year you will hear orations and essays on sociological and Industrial subjects such as "Should We Shoot the Filipinos or Fatten Them on Dog Meat for Circus Features?" and "The Relation of the Panama Canal to the Panama Hat." These be practical days, and the prac ticality has robbed youth of much of its glory that pristine, unspoiled, unsated glory when a commencement was not the commencement of hard labor and the be ginning of a tussle with trusts and taint ed money, but merely an arrival, an apex. Let us buy a bouquet this year as big around as the bulge of ajaarrel of sugar, and fling it at the feet of the one brave girl who dares, In this up-to-date age, to read a -commencement essay on "The She Heroes of Shakespeare," or "Pluck Posies as You Go." Too many of us are engaged In plucking geese in the maudlin marts of trade. You will observe that even the present writer, though he protests against the new order,, is modernized, for he has. not once mentioned the sweet girl, graduate. ROBERTUS LOVE. Two Real Statesmen. Charleston News and Courier. It has now come to a point at which Europe Is saying that America has-ttwo real statesmen one Tsthe Hdn. Joba Hay laad tie. other one isa'f. '' . f-