THE ''SUNDAY QKEGONIAN, PORTLAND, AUGUST 20,-
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PORTLAND, SUNDAY, .AUGUST 20, 1005.
THERE IS NO PEACE.
It is not possible for Russia and
Japan to "get together." No observer
who has taken in tho whole scheme of
differences between them has supposed
it possible. The effort to bring them
together has done credit to the human
ity of President Roosevelt; but even
President Roosevelt, with all his opti
mism, could hardly have supposed there
was a chance of success.
Briefly stated, the demand of Japan
is that- Russia shall withdraw from
the Pacific shore of Asia, give up all
her possessions on the coast and retire
into the remote Interior of Siberia; and
pay-moreover a money indemnity to
cover the cost of the war. To these
terms Russia cannot possibly assent
Japan is to be censured for advancing
them; but Russia is not compelled, can
not be compelled, to grant them, and
she -will not grant them. For, if Rus
sia Is not. to hold her footing on the
Pacific, she need not pay any Indem
nity, for she has only to "go home"
and pull her railroad up after her, and
be forever out of the reach of Japan.
Japan deems the menace of Russia
so great that now, when she has the
advantage, she means to end it, once
for all. She believes her own safety,
perhaps her very existence as a nation,
depends on extinction of Russian power
in the Orient. Her victories, by land
and sea, have placed her in position,
she believes, to. dictate terms which
will give her security against further
attempts on the part of Russia. Much
of her work has been done. She has
gone three-quarters of the way. She
has rolled back, after bloody fighting,
the great Russian armies. She has re
taken Port Arthur after one of the
most difficult sieges of history. She
annihilated the naval power of Russia.
She has taken Sakhalin. She has in
vested "Vladivostok. She confronts the
Russian armies In upper Manchuria
with armies Vhich she believes will be
able to destroy the remnants of Rus
sian power on the Pacific. She believes
herself In position to exact peace on
her own terms If not at the council
board, on the theater of grim war. That
she is resolved not to be put in this
peril or to be required to make this sac
rifice in war again Is the ke3'note to
her policy. She will give therefore one
hundred thousand men more, or two
hundred thousand, to have it out with
Russia now. -The heavier part of the
sacrifice has been made, and now 'she
wishes to finish the Job.
That President Roosevelt can do any
thing at all toward bringing the par
lies to an agreement seems unlikely.
The quarrel admits of no accommoda
tion, because the Avar hasn't been
fought out. If Russia Is to be forced
to retire from the Pacific, there never
will be need of a treaty of peace -between
the belligerents, for they will
be virtually beyond each other's reach.
If Russia Is to be expelled from Asia,
Japan will never go to Europe to fight
Russia. The war, then, may drag Itself
out.
UNITED STATES AND CUBA.
We are getting on well in our trade
with Cuba. Official figures show
that Cuba is steadily buying
increasing quantities of goods from
the United States. The exports
from this country to the isl
and in 1904 were $32,742,000, against
S25.703.000 in 1903. And the United States
was far ahead of all other countries,
Great Britain, which ranked second,
selling Cuba S12.CS4.000 worth of goods
in 1904. with Spain, the mother nation.
$200,000 behind the British. The United
States last vear furnished 42.3 per cent
c the entire Imports of Cuba, which
finds here her best market. Aa we are
also larce purchasers of her products,
such as sugar, tobacco and fruits, it
may be said there Is true reciprocity in
this matter even though the vast
quantities of sugar we take from Cuba
make a heavy balance against us.
In addition to the general trade both
the United States and Cuba benefit
enormously through the Investment of
American capital in Cuban works of
great importance. Cuba's railroads,
street transit systems and other under
takings represent vast sums of money
which have been provided by capital
ists of the United States, and these
big interests In Cuba will naturally
have a steadying effect. The new re
public will make mistakes, but there
is really little ground for apprehend
ing that Cuba will do anything to dis
turb seriously the pleasant relations ex
isting between the island and the peo
ple or Government of the United States.
Time will come when Cuban Interests
will demand annexation of the Island
to the United States. For Cuba is not
big enough to "go it alone" always.
A POINTER FROM THE BERS.
Mr. Bodlne, superintendent of com
pulsory education for Chicago, In his
remarkable address before the Inter
national Association of Factory In
spectors at Detroit, cited facts and ven
tured upon prophecies of ominous sig
nificance if they are true. His. remarks
touched upon the invasion by women
of vocations once followed by men
only.
It is curiously characteristic of the
spirit of the day that almost at the
moment when Mr. Bodlne -was utter
ing his very radical thoughts In De
troit. Dr. Josiah Strong was speaking
in Portland upon the problem of the
city with equal vehemence, but with
Incomparably broader comprehension
and deeper Insight.
As a nation we are at the mourners'
bench, to borrow the dear old phrase
of the circuit riders. We are under con
viction of social sin and heaven is be
sieged with our tears and groanings.
Like Bunyan's hero we. all want to flee
from the City of Destruction, but, also,
like poor Christian, we do not know
which way to go. The counsellors are
multitudinous, the wisdom le slow to
emerge. "Save the city," says Dr.
Strong, "and you save the world." Mr.
Bodlne seems to think that half the
world Is doomed, do the best we may.
Fortunately that half is the one best
deserving reprobation, the men. They
are to be crowded by the women from
all industries where skill and brains are
exercised. They are to be driven from
the cities to mines and farms and here
their ultimate destiny is heavy, unin
telligent manual labor. Mr. Bodlne's
propnecy Is not without a basis of facts.
School teaching and clerical work, the
ancient and honorable calling of the
waiter, spinning, weaving and shoe
making are all falling to women, and
this is to mention only scattered ex
amples of what is going on through
out the world of industry. Stock-breeding
they have followed with signal suc
cess. Their standing is no longer ques
tioned In the ministry, in medicine and
the law. They are captains of Industry;
they have even founded trusts. So
much must be granted.
But In the professions there is no
sign of women replacing men. They
compete with men, but thus fan the
competition Is fair; they do not undor
bid. When they will offer the same
service as men In the" law, say, and
for less money, then they will drive
men out of the law as they have out
of school teaching. In this calling and
In the manual trades they have com
peted with men unfairly; they have un
derbid: and men have lost the Jobs not
because women eould "do them better,
but because they could do them cheap
er. This is a bold thing to say, but It
is true and sooner or later we must
face the truth in all things.
Admitting -numerous exceptions, the
woman worker Is celibate as a class. In
some vocations If she marries she loses
her place. On the other hand, a nmnj
has a family to support. If he te not
already, he is urged by an Irresistible
instinct to become, a husband and
father. For this he deserves neither
praise nor blame. It Is the way he is
made. And on account of It he de
mands more wages' than a woman will
accept for the same work, and often
throws up his job sooner than meet
her competition. If he accepts woman's
pay. he must also accept celibacy; as an
increasing number of men do with so
cial consequences which we deplore In
the stews, but can never remedy o
long as the cause persists.
The man thus crowded out of his vo
cation does not always retreat to a
mine or a farm as Mr. Bodlne seems
to believe. He may find work where
the pay meets his standard of what a
man should earn; or he may degenerate
into a tramp, a drunkard or a crim
inal. Colncidently with the feminine in
vasion of men's employments, crime
has increased five times as fast as the
population and the per capita consump
tion of alcoholic drinks in the nation
has doubled. If. therefore, as many
believe, the Industrial emancipation of
women is a blessing, it is one for which
we pay a heavy price; though it may
be, and probably Is. worth all It costs.
As for the final position of the male
sex In our social economy, Mr. Bodlne
might have prophesied what It would
be with more assurance of truth " had
he studied the civic arrangements of
bees. In their peaceful and presumably
happy communities, all the work Is
done by females, dogenerated to be
sure, but still females, while all that is
expected of the drone Is a single act,
simple but Indispensable to the per
petuity of the swarm. Having per
formed it Ire Is eliminated and the
daily routine of life goes on perfectly
well without him. Is there not a point
er here for our social reformers?
rAY FOR PREACHERS.
Much that Is the most arrant non
sense still passes current under the
name of solemn, even inspired, truth.
Witness the following from a septar
lan Journal of this city:
Any man who would cease profcchlnc be
cause no salary Is paid him. Is Hot tit to
preach under any circumstances. . If one. Is
called of God te preach It Is bis duty to
preach, even though he have to support
himself as did Paul, making tents. It may
not be a man's duty to serve as a pastor
some of our modern churches with all their
exactions and requirements without salary;
but It is necessary for every true man called
of God to preach on the streot corners If
need be. But preach he must, whether men
will hear him or forbear.
This assumption Is utterly foreign to
the simple facts of . ministerial life.
Preachers like other men must be
clothed and housed and fed. . The time
has long passed when a man can place
sandals on his feet and a leathern gir
dle about his loins and, thus equipped,
walk the world, or even the wilderness
as did John the Baptist as an evan
gelist. Neither Is it possible for the
proncher in these days, to support him
self making tents as did Paul and fol
low the profession f the ministry. As
to being "called of God to preach," peo
ple these days have their own opinion
about that, too, many men being far
too reverential to hpllevn that CinA
made the mistake of calling to the pul-
pit some of the men who are found
there.
Why this foolish assumption in re
gard to the value of the necessity of
material things? Did not the Great
Teacher declare the laborer worthy of
his hire? And Is it not a fact that no
man values that for which he is not
required to pay? And do not nine
tenths of all preachers who occupy
pulpits, regard the street preacher very
much as the real estate dealer who
sits in a well appointed offloe, looks
upon a curbstone vender of town lots'
as a sort of pariah in the profession?
Finally, is It not always well to credit
the community In which one lives and
makes his living by -preaching or other
wise with some discernment?
LOWER CAR FARES IN PORTLAND. .
Seattle residents- pay four cents for
car rides. Some day the people of Port
land will demand four-cent fares, but
will receive answer from the Consoli
dated Company: "We can't afford It."
Why?
Because the road is so. heavily capi
talized that lower fares probably would
not earn enough money from the pub
lic, to pay Ave per cent dividends on
stock and interest on bonds. With the
"water" squeezed out of the $6,000,000
capital stock, lower "fares would yield
legitimate dividends, but that's the rea
son the stock was watered so that the
fat earnings of the company might not
be visible.
The" water was Injected by highly re
spectable and pious gentlemen of Port
land, who paid the city never a cent
for the street franchises. Issued bonds
to build the car lines and then sold the
franchises, the free gift of the people,
to Eastern investors for 56.0OO.0W. there
by binding the people for 27 years to
pay dividends on a watered capitaliza
tion. The Eastern Investors have paid their
price, and naturally expect to get their
returns. So let it be. But when the
people of this city grow tired of pay
ing five cents for a car ride when their
neighbors In Seattle pay four bents, let
them remember the men responsible
for the public's thralidom. They who
put their franchise graft through the
City Council are now scheming to con
trol the .Legislature and the politics of
the state, all the while posing as crl
terions of "righteousness" and. bene
factors of the public
What their further franchise grabs
are to be that will come out later.
The car lines In Portland are favored
not only with the five-cent faro graft;
their franchises are exempt from tax
ation. If the people of this city can't
travel for four cents through their own
streets on franchises which they gave
away, their Assessor can reach the
franchises with taxation.
THE BENNINGTON LESSON.
The Bennington disaster as an in
cident and a tragedy has passed into
history. Its effects will be felt long
In the homes that furnished the vic
tims. But to the general public It has
been superseded by the swiftly crowd
ing events of the hour. The Jessoh,
however", It Is hoped, and believed, has
not been lost.
A commission under the direction" of
the Navy Denartment is still working
upon the matter In detail and It is
scarcely possible that the leason will be
lost to the navy and the country. Still
It Is urged apprehensively that the
management of the Navy is strongly
supported by tradition, custom and dig
nity, all of which resent criticism and
are. averse to cliangc. The dlseoptlvo
methods and efficiency of that, valiant
arm of the government are held to be
above criticism and practically un
changeable. "As It was In the begin
ning. 1r now and e,ver shall . be." are
words that fitly describe the traditions
and customs of the Navy.
Secretary Bonaparte asked for a sus
pension of public opinion until after
the findings of the official Investigation
now in progress are given. Accom
panying this request was the assur
ance that no one in this connection
would be whitewashed nor any one be
made a convenient scapegoat. This re
quest was proper. Insofar as tle ac
cident that wrecked the gunboatwas
as unaccountable as It was sudden.
The cause, however, was not from
the first amystery. On the contrary,
says the Independent, this disaster like
several others that have taken place
In the Navy of late years, "needs no
Investigation to disclose Its underlying
cause, nor will this obvious cause be
made any plainer by the possible fix
ing of personal responsibility." This
Journal goes on to say:
Its well-aprlnjr Is In the. lll-rnMrNl Per
sonnel Act ot 1S08 which abollnhul the corps
of skilled engineers whloh the Navy had pos
sessed ever since steam beeame the chief
motive power of warships, and substituted
young line officers of no special training or
enMsted machinists equally without experi
ence in the management of warship engine.
The obvious and dangerous possibilities of
that measure were ursently represented to
Congress. It was again and again showed
to be fraught with disaster. It was pointed
out that the calling of the mechanical en
gineer is wholly distinct from that of the
seaman that the duties of sea officer and
sea enclnecr'wero never combined, and "that
there is not a Mngle steamship line In the
world, much less a navy.. where such amal
gamation has ever taken place, or whore
there Is even a probability that It will take
place. The navigating and engineer forces
of all modern steamships are always kept
separate.
It is well known that the Increasing
complexity of the propelling machinery
in vessels of war Increases the neces
sity of specially skilled men in the engine-room.
As urged by Park Benja
min, through the columns of the Inde
pendent, the naval engineer should not
be merely a skilled mechanic but an of
ficer hiirhlv educated both in theory
and practice of steam engineering. All
of this and much more of similar im
port, was urged while the bill above
referred to was before Congress. But
the pull or the pressure was too strong;
the measure was passed and by It the
niost complex mechanisms ever em
bodied by man in single structures were
deliberately put into the hands of per
sons unskilled in their management.
Plainly stated, the motive power of our
warehlps, on which their efficiency and,
in emergency, our national safety de
pend, was given into the hands of tyros
and boys. Quoting again from the In
dependent: . We have sow afloat a dozen battleships and
half a dozen armored "cruisers costing from
$.000.000 to $7,000,000 each, also some 20
protected cruisers and monitors of the sec
ond rate and 50 smaller cruisers, alo gun
boats, torpedo-boats, auxiliaries, etc.; la
brief, a world-power navy. For sea duty
on those we have now left of the old edu
cated engineers Jut 03 men. Saving these,
the engine-rooms are filled with mechanics
taken from the- shops and benches ashore
and young graduates from Annapoils-7-not
one of them trained as a naval engineer.
And every ship of which they are In control
of the machinery Is In peril all the time
This is a tremendous arraignment of
the chief engineer of the Navy Depart
ment, of the Bureau of Staam En
gineering and. of the Navy Depart
ment itself, but It is a far more scath
ing arraignment of the politicians who.
In the face of the most earnest and
solemn protest, pushed this bill through
Congress in 1S99. It Is an arraignment
of official Incompetency at a vltnl point,
and whatever the verdict of the spe
cial commission upon the Bennington
disaster, public Indictment will be re
turned on this ground. The graves at
San Diego, are mute witnesses in the
case and if the evidence adduced by the
disaster does not result in the repeal
of an ill-considered and dangerous law.
Congress will be guilty of "deliberately
sinning against the light"
TIEE BOOM OF CmCAGO.
Scientists of late have Joined in dole
ful chorus In regard to the doom of
Chicago. They do not, like evange
lists in the doldrums, assert that the
city one day will be submerged be
cause of Its wickedness. Their obser
vations are made In the most cold
blooded manner possible and then con
clusions are worked out with .mathe
matical precision. And this Is what
they And:
The level of Lake Michigan has risen
a foot within the last year and at this
rate not more than ten years will
elapse before all the low-lying sec
tions of the city will be submerged.
Professor Cox. of the Bureau of Me
teorology of the National Government,
has given special attention to the rec
markable phenomenon presented by
the gradual elevation of the lake and
agrees with Professor Maury, of Co
lumbia College, and others that the
lake region Is tipping toward the Mis
sissippi Valley. He thinks, moreover,
that If the process noted Is not checked
by some counter movement of nature
man of course being powerless only
a few years will elapse before all the
present city of Chicago will be added
to the floor of the lake that now
washes Its shores.
How far eastward this tipping pro
cess extends, scientists have not defi
nitely determined. If Lake Erie be
Included, the list of Its waters west
ward will Inevitably affect the flow at
Niagara Falls, and Buffalo. If that city
Is soulless enough to exult In the men
ace that is over Chicago, will enjoy
a short-lived triumph over Its great
shipping rival, since Lake Erie, being
deprived ot Its source of supply would
become but a shallow pond or swamp,
and In the course of natural process,
dry land. "
This situation Is not a matter for hu
mor, though ghastly Jokes hnve been
based upon IL It Is a physical fact
w'hich may, at no distant time, revo
lutionize the physical and commercial
conditions of a "vast region. Chicago.
It is said, takes the matter philo
sophically, resolved to eat, drink and
be merry today though possibly sub
merged tomorrow.
The-tipping of the earth toward the
Mississippi Valley Is a matter of tre
mendous Import to a vast region out
side of Chicago. While It Is Idle to at
tempt to assess the agricultural, com
mercial and Industrial magnitude of
such a disaster. It may be well to give
ear to the facts as disclosed by the
observation of scientists and regard the
conclusions submitted by them, at least
as possibilities. The prudent man. says
Solomon, foreseeth the evil and hideth
himself. The prudent man. being- en
lightened by the mathematical calcu
lations of the scientist, may readily
foresee the evil that menaces a great
city and a vast region by a 'move
ment that would drain the great lakes
Into the Gulf through the Mississippi
River. But how he can escape the con
sequences or as the wise man has It,
"hide himself' from the evil it Is hard
to see. .
NEGRO COLONIZATION.
The Rev. Thomas Dixon, author of
"The Leopard's Spots," revives the old
scheme of negro colonization In Li
beria as "the only rn;lonal basis" for
solution of the negro problem. The
matter deserves some attention, not on
account of the weight or moderation of
his opinions, but because he represents
a certain class of Southerners, for one
thing; and also because of an Increas
ing tendency In the North to acquiesce,
from weariness or indifference. In the
extreme views of reactionary negro-
phobes. As a matter of fact, the negro
problem is largely overrated. That race
numbers only 8,000,000 in the entire
country. 2.000.000 less than our foreign
born population In 1900. Its annual In
crease is about 135.000. a little more
than one-tenth of the number of for
eign Immigrants of late years. Their
death rate. 30 per 1000, is not far
from double that of the whites. More
than three-fourths of all the negroes,
77 per cent to be accurate, live on
farms. In no city do they form more
than an Insignificant fraction of the In
habitants. Washington, where they are
most numerous, has but one In three;
New Orleans has one In four, while New
York City has only one negro in every
seventy of Its population. The whites
today outnumber the negroes In the
United States by more than 70.000.000;
In fifty years the difference will have
increased to 130.000,000 at least.'
Under these circumstances, to per
ceive an "approaching tragedy "of Ir
reconcilable conflict" between the white
and the negro races requires a -warmth
of imagination not very favorable to
clear thought or accurate statement.
But It Is exactly that warmth of Imag
ination which Mr. Dixon and many
other Southerners possess, and their
principal reason for expecting a race
conflict is precisely the one which
seems to the rest of us to make such
a thing doubly unlikely.
It Is the progress of the colored race
In wealth, education and self-respect
which these extraordinary political
thinkers are most frightened over.
"What shall we do with the educated
negro?" Mr. Dixon asks. "Do the
same thing with him as with the edu
cated white man." the common sense of
the country answers. "Give him a fair
field and no favor and let him alone."
But Dixon wishes to cart off the whole
black race, rich and poor. Illiterate and
educated, willing and unwilling, to Li
beria. It Is cruel, very likely, to laugh at the
fits of hysteria a Southerner like Mr.
Dixon falls Into at the sight of a well
dressed, prosperous negro; but how can
one help it? As for the colonization
project, ludicrous as It is, the qualified
approbation of such men as Clay and.
Lincoln made it at one time almost re
spectable; though, let it be remembered,
Lincoln never advocated colonization
except for such negroes as freely de
sired IL The monstrous proposal to
tear 8.000.000 people from their homes
and exile them to a foreign land would
have horrified that great and kindly
statesman as It must every person not
frenzied by race hatred. This disposal
of the negro race, which Mr. -Dixon,
a Christian minister, not merely con
templates without a shudder but ad
vocates with passionate zeal, has no
parallel in the annals of brutal tyranny
or religious fanaticism. The depopu
lation of the Palatinate was a trifle; the
expulsion of the Huguenots, the exile
of the Spanish Jews, were Insignificant
offenses against humanity compared
with this tremendous scheme which Mr.
Dixon's imagination plays with so
gaily. It-Is not merely those consent
ing freely whom he would transport to
Africa: It Is the entire race to the last
individual.
The Colonization Society, organized
at Princeton In 1811, purposed to ship
to Liberia free negroes onli William
Lloyd Garrison approved of it at the
beginning of his career. In 1822 he
made a speech advocating the project,
though he remarked even then that It
was merely "plucking leaves from the
Upas tree." Six years later he had
penetrated to Its real object, which was
to get rid of the influence of the free
negroes upon the slaves, and thence
forth he consistently condemned colo
nization. Daniel O'Connell, the Irish
patriot, said of the society that it ad
vocated the most ridiculous schetrfe he
had ever heard of.
The abolitionists were divided upon
the subject. Henry Clay and most of
the liberal-minded Southerners of his
day approved it. Lincoln, appalled at
the hosts of helpless negroes whom the
events of the war were turning loose
upon the country, saw In colonization
a temporary and partial remedy,
though he was puzzled to see how
funds and ships were to be found to
transport them. Upon his recommenda
tion. Congress appropriated 5100.000 In
1S62 to begin the undertaking, and Lin
coln actually made a contract with an
adventurer to transport 5000 negroes to
Haytl. though nothing Important re
sulted. Lincoln never particularly fav
ored Africa.
In view of these facts It Is Interesting
to read Mr. Dixon's statement that
colonization "has never been tried." Cer
tainly colonization as he wishes It has
never been tried and. one may reason
ably expect, it never will be tried. Lin
coln's estimate of the expense of trans
porting negroes abroad was $50 per
head. For 8.000.000 people this would
come to $109,000,000; and this is the least
Item of the expense, since their prop
erty and business must be paid for
unless we mean to rob them of their
possessions as well as to exile them.
But when one comes to figures, the folly
of the whole project Is too glaring.
WATERWAYS AND THEIR OUTLETS.
In the agitation for the control of
railroads, the fixing of fttres and
freights on the reasonable basis, the
enforcement of equal rights and priv
ileges, the public ' is apt to overlook
the comparative transportation by
water. One of the chief considerations
in cheap and safe railroading is that
of grade, which in reality governs cost.
But the water grade is the standard,
and the more nearly the railroad con
forms to that, the better does it fulfill
its essential function.
The next consideration in transpor
tation Is the relation of motive cost
to freight and passengers carried. Here
again the steamboat discounts th
train. Another point Is cost of main
tenance, the liability to decay and de
terioration and consequent accident.
How better can this be escaped than
on an open river? Contrast the cost
of railroad and equipment with that of
the steamboat which parallels Its
course. These simple observations be
ing admitted, it is but natural that
the open river should be the regulator
of fares- and freights on the railroad
wherever competition between them Is
possible. It is so In practice and all
know and admit It. '
On this basis It Is just as logical, just
as demonstrably right, for the people
of the United States to demand from
their government Improvement of waterways.-and
fostering of river naviga
tion, as it is to require control and
regulation of railroads. - For an alter
native system of transportation which
should, by competition, compel regu
lation and reduction of fares and
freights through the wide districts af
fected by waterway transport, how
much should we be willing to pay, es
pecially when such a system would be
directly on national routes? Yet those
possibilities exist now.
Many river systems could not be
opened -without excessive and unreas
onable cost. The first question, there
fore, is that facts on this head be es
tablished. But this having been ac
complished it should be no longer a
matter of petition, and appeal, and
Influence, to get the work done by the
hands and the purse of the nation. The
people at large surely have a right, an
undeniable right, to the Improvement
of their waterways Just as plainly as
to the control and regulation of their
railroads.
How much more conclusively does all
this reasoning apply to harbors and
estuaries? Even were It logical to ar
gue that Interior waterways are of
merely local Interest,the right and duty
of the nation at large to open, and
keep open, the outlets and Inlets of
commerce with the great world outside
this continent. Is past dispute. Nor Is
this question now one of East and
West. The Pacific Is even as wide a
highway ot American commerce as the
Atlantic -
At the seventh annual congress of
Zionists held In Basle. Switzerland, last
month, careful consideration was given
to the offer of Great Britain of a tract
of land of 5000 miles In East Africa for
a self-governing Jewish colony. A com
mittee had been sent to Africa to Inves
tigate the matter, and reported that the
place was not adapted to the purpose
for which It had been donated, being
swampy and unhealthy and accessible
only by parsing through a dense Jungle
Infested with savages and ferocious
beasts. After a long and heated dis
cussion, the Zionists declined the gift
with thanks. It seemed to some of them
a national plan merely to get rid of
Jewss without the stigma of murdering
them outright. The Incident proves
that there are times when It Is proper
to look the gift horse In the mouth, the
Scriptural injunction to the contrary
notwithstanding
President Wyte, of the Canadian
Pacific Railway, places the wheat crop
of the Canadian North west this year
at 100,000,000 bushels, against 55,000,000
last year. Conservative estimates do
not fall below 80.000,000. To the or
dinary mind, these figures convey little
Intimation and still less knowledge of
the vast bulk, of wheat that the broad
areas of Manitoba yield. A produc
tive energy so wonderful presents pos
sibilities of wealth and population that
, soon retreat Into the shadowy realm
iof the imagination. The Canadian Pa-
clflc Railway was a moving factor in
the occupation and development of this
great grain empire. There Is a sug
gestion In this development that sup
ports the demand for the construction
of railroads In Southeastern Oregon.
The railroad pushed ahead in and
through Manitoba and brought fallow
lands in touch with the markets of the
world. The response to the Invitation
and opportunity is found in the Incon
ceivably large . figures that represent
the enormous bulk of wheat that will
soon ask transportation to market.
Little Billy Ladd, who Inherited his
father's property, and therefore Is a
great man, moves his so-called news
paper, subsidized with money got from
franchise grabs, to vilify The Ore
gonlan. He does It through nameless
subs and scrubs and jours whom he
can hire; but It deceives nobody. Lit
tle Billy Ladd Is great In his an
cestors. Through his nameless hire
lings he takes particular delight In
attacks on The Oregonlan. But It
doesn't signify; It doesn't matter.
Never before was the business of The
Oregonlan Publishing Company com
parable with Its business of today. Lit
tle Billy Ladd would better operate
his little tin-cup bank, and let The
Oregonlan alone. He and his group will
work up no more 56,000,000 franchise
grabs In Portland. They print their
monopolistic, plutocratic, holier-than-thou
organ In vain. The Oregonlan Is
not making this year any six millions
of dollars, as franchise grabbers do;
but It Is making enough to buy beef
and bread and potatoes, and to pay
taxes. That will do.
The Providence Journal thinks Sec
retary Wilson was Indiscreet in try
ing to explain why he sent his son
Jasper on a mission to Alaska that
merely gave him a pleasant Summer
trip at the 'expense of the Government.
But for this attempt, few would have
given the matter any attention. It is
perhaps true that the Secretary of Ag
riculture might have obtained, at the
cost of a few cents In postage, from
government representatives already In
Alaska, all the information contained
in the report that his son turned in,
accompanied by a long expense ac
count. It is cited furthermore that
while the young Mr. Wilson was mak
ing his pleasure tour of Alaska he was
drawing salary for duties supposed tq
be performed In Washington. The pub
lic, however. Is a cheerful, even stolid
pardon bearer and has. withal, a short
memory. Hence petty grafts of this
kind. Illustrating nepotism and official
greed, do not greatly move, either to
contempt or indignation.
The peace conference between repre
sentatives of Russia and Japan seems
to have been premature. Russia, though
having "suffered reverses," as Mr.
Wltte acknowledged early In the con
ference, had not been whipped uqtll It
was ready to cry "enough." Russia
does not. Indeed, admit that it has been
worsted in the great game of war and
is astonished, seemingly, that Japan
thinks itself victorious. Under such
circumstances the terms of peace of
fered seem monstrous. Any schoolboy,
who. though down and at serious dis
advantage In an encounter, is still full
of fight and anxious to deal blindly
anv. number of blows. to the fellow on
top. can sympathize with and under
stand Russia's defiant spirit at this
time. Whatever the soldiers afield or
the sailors afloat may 'think. It Is
plainly evident that. In the estimation
of the officials of the Empire, Russia
has not been whipped.
The thrifty hopgrowers who refused
31 cents per pound for their product
last Fall, because the consumers "had
to have 'em." are now unable to se
cure 20 cents per pound. The situation
admits great possibilities for specula
tion as to what caused the slump. Did
the world drink less beer? Did the
I brewers substitute something besides
hops? or was there a flaw in the line
of reasoning which made it seem that
the consumers "had to have 'cm?"
About all that the grower can get for
the missing 11 cents per found Is some
excellent food for thought, and even
that will not pay the pickers.
The new system of transporting in
sane patients from and to the insane
asylum at Salem has been In operation
three months and on the score of econ
omy has proved quite satisfactory. The
new law provides for escort by asylum
attendants for the insane. Instead of
by sheriffs and deputies. As a matter
of humanity and common decency in
sane women should be In charge, dur
ing the Journey to the asylum, of com
petent persons of their own sex. The
Improvement In this particular will be
largely a matter of unwritten history,
but It Is no doubt the chief feature to
be commended.
Acclamations over the national as
sembly authorized by the Czar need
not be excessively jubilant. It is a
"consultative" body merely: and this
means, in the long run. that it will be
a cipher. The Czar can give It signifi
cance when he likes; at other times It
will be of no consequence. He Is to or
ganize the lower house himself. In fact,
it has all the appearance of one of
those Imitation reforms with which
rulers when hard bested please tte Im
aginations without much increasing the
liberties of their people.
The South has grown in grace since
the days when it resented Federal con
trol of local conditions so hotly and was
ready upon the slightest pretext to fight
for state sovereignty. Witness the wil
lingness with which Louisiana and Mis
sissippi accepted Federal control of
yellow fever within their limits.
Back In the state of. Maine, tlTey are
scouring the country for 550,000 io build
a monument to Thomas B. Reed. Only
515.000 had been secured at last ac
counts. Torn, would not have permit
ted his friends to be thus dunned.
What prophet six months ago could
have foretold that there would be a de-,
mand . for Federal supervision of life
Insurance business? The result of one
young man's folly can not easily be
measured.
.- And it has been but a few years since
the man whom Mr. Wltte represents at
Portsmouth -proposed universal, per
manent peace.
The Czar Is to convoke a douma or
national assembly no doubt a "packed
convention" of bureaucratic delegates.
He Wasn't Green.
Washington Star.
Farmer Wanter aee me milk ther cow?
The City Boy Au gwan. You needn't kid
me 'cause I'm from the city. Dey gets
milk out of .a red wagon! I knoi
0REG0NOZ0NE
The Plea of the Poets.
0 Mr. President, dear Mr. President,
Won't you review my books?
1 cannot get noted,, or copied or quoted.
Either by hooks or by crooks.
Now Mr. President, good Mr. President.
Please, won't you come to my aid?
Boost me a little; just one Jot or tittle.
Then will my fortune be made.
(Signed) ALL THE POETS.
.Tack Was Very Wary.
The Souvenir Lover and the Noise
Hater were passing through the Manu
factures building at the Exposition.
The Souvenir Lover carried an armful
of junk. She bade the Noise Hater,
who was her husband, pause with her
at a booth from which several mega
phonic funnels were pouring forth last
year's songs In cracked voices.
"Oh. Jack!" she cried, "just look at
that sign: It says. 'Register Here and
Get a Chance on This $75 Phonograph,
with Fifty Choice Records Let's reg
ister." "Not if I know- it." snid the Nolaa
Hater, preparing to move away.
"Why not, dear?"
"Because we might win the blamed
thing."
The Joke Turned.
Friday evening1 a crawfish dinner was
given by a party of Portland people In
honor of a visitor from tho East. Just
before the hour for the assembling of
the diners the lady In charge of the
affair met a gentleman whom she
wished to Invite.
"Oh. I'm so glad to find you!" she
cried; "we're going' to have a crawfish
dinner, and I've been trying to catch
you all day."
"You are going to have a crawfish
dinner?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you have been trying to catch
me?"
"Yes, sir."
"Now, madam, since you have caught
me," said the gentleman, "how are you
going to servo me h ot or cold,
boiled or scrambled?" '
The victim of the intended Joke sur
veyed her tormentor scornfully for a
second and said, coldly:
"I think we'll have to serve you- cold,
for If we boiled you our guests would
be disappointed. Inasmuch as we have
assured them that they will get craw
fish." "And why so, pray?" inquired the
Joker, somewhat puzzled.
"Well, you see, they would mistake
you for a lobster."
3IcSwack's Lack.
Silas McSwack was a wonderful man,
Built on a somewhat superior plan.
When SI was a boy
His particular joy
Was talking of things he was going to
do.
He never got busy, somehow, though
It's true
He had some ideas of marvelous force
And talked about them till his talker
was hoarse.
Oh, a thinker was Si, and a dreomer
' was Mack
But never a doer was Silas McSwack.
Young SI sat around on a barrel or bos
And talked to the grocer a .patient
old ox:
He told how he'd go to the city some
day
And make so much money 'twould
cripple a dray
To haul It around.
Yes, Silas was bound
To leave the old town and get gor
geously rich.
And he talked about that till his voice
got a stitch.
He was going to do,
Yes, going to do.
But Momehow he didn't, although it it
true
His notions were groat; yet a sert of
a lack
Of deeds was the trouble with Silas
McSwack.
When Silas was thirty his voice was
so strong
It sounded as loud as the old dinner
gong
At the Railroad Hotel, where as usual
Si
Sat watching the trains go a-thunder-ing
by;
But get on the train
He did not thougn 'tis plain
He Intended to dp it and go "and get
great.
He talked of the time when the pride
of the state
He would be. and the natives would
welcome him back.
He was going to do, bat he didn't
not Mack.
In time as was natural Silas grew
gray.
Bat still he talked on in his wonderful
way.
Though his voice It was cracked
And his talking it lacked
More or less of the vigor it had in his
prime;
But Silas was waiting was biding his
time.
And his time came at last, and they
carriod him off In
A hearse, and the township provided
the coffin.
He departed at last, but he didn't come
back;
And there's where he failed poor old
Silas McSwack!
ROBERTUS LOVE.
Southern Praise ot Roosevelt.
Richmond, Va., Times-Dispatch.
One day we see him as President of the
United States, receiving the plenipotenti
aries of Ruasla and Japan and performing
the highest functions of diplomatic Gov
ernment with all the pomp and circum
stance of high official life; the next day
we Jlml him as a simple, faithful Chris
tian man, standing before a little gather
ing of 20) persons, telling his brctheren
how to live here and how to prepare for
the life hereafter. The man Is an Inspira
tion and he Is doing a work ot civic right
eousness which few men In that position
have done rfnee the Republic was found
ed. It Is worthy of note, especially, that
a Democrutic newspaper which Is radi
cally opposed to the President's politics
and which fought him with all lta might
in the last campaign, is not only willing,
but gratified to pay this tribute to hla
personal charactor. '
In Extremis.
From Life.
First Official Say, Bill. HIgginbotham
of the canal board is in trouble. They
say he stole up a ship-load of dredges, set
fire to a lodging-house, beat his wife
senseless, and poisoned a couple of au
ditors. I'm afraid he'll lose his job.
Second Official Oh. I guess not. That'll
all blow over.
"Well, the President has exonerated
him!"
"No! Gosh, Is It as bad as that?"