The Sunday Oregonian., November 18, 1906, Section Three, Page 30, Image 30

THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND NOVEMBER, 18, 1906.
30
WHY THE COURSE OF EMPIRE HAS BEEN WESTWARD
Monopoly of Natural Opportunities Has Forced It A
Lesson That Oregon Will Do Well to Heed.
o 3?Oor H V
. Br LOUIS BOWERMAX.
EVER since the coining of the fa
mous phrase, 'Westward the course
of empire takes Its way." men have
been busy attempting to discover the
reason of the phenomena. Ignoring the
.passions, the hopes, the fears and
wants that urge the human family into
social lite, some have attributed the
western tendency of migration to an
inherent desire to follow the sun, oth
ers to the search for a more salubrius.
climate, others to curiosity or an in
satiable longing for discovery or ex
ploit or acquisition. These are merely
speculations. There is nothing to in
dicate that these are valid reasons for
the phenomena.
The reason for any phenomena must
consist of dependent relations that
make the result inevitable.
The "following the sun" hypothesis
does not liold good, for the reason that
some peoples have traveled eastward,
southward and northward. English
settled Australia is a case in view. The
salubrious ciimate .hypothesis is evi
dently therefore equally insupportable,
and curiosity, discovery, exploit and
WORK AHEAD FOR
BY GEORGE A. THACHEF.
THE people of the State of Oregon
are to be congratulated on getting
their money's worth in the work of
the Tax Commission authorized by the
Legislature of 1!V6. That is so much more
than can be said of the usual commission
of that sort that it is worthy of note In
1M1 Oregon's Tax Commission made a
report which is characterized as follows
by Professor Seligman in his "Essays In
Taxation:" "The Oregon report was in
significant in argument ana extent, with
the exception that it proposeu -..e abo
lition of the mortgage tax law" It is
safe to say of the report, of 1906 that it
not only presents an array of facts, es
pecially concerning aggregations of
wealth which evade a large share of
honest taxes, which every voter in the
state ought to be familiar with, but it
shows a familiarity with c.ie work of the
best authorities on taxation and with
the progress made in tax reform in the
different states. It also discusses in
lucid and interesting fashion the condi
tions in Oregon and makes proposals for
obtaining that most desired reform
equality of taxation.
That sounds well equality. un..ormity
and universality of taxation. nd the
common notion is that it can be attained
by taxing everything. In fact, as pointed
out by the commission, the state consti-
i
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT
BY J. I,. JOXES.
WE are told that in Judea. in the
fime of Christ, there were two
sects. Pharisees and. Sadducees.
The Pharisees were the orthodox and
ultra-religious claes. They were believers
in the law of Moses, which they had so
obscured by forms and ceremonies that
its original intention was altogether de
feated. The Sadducees ridiculed the pretensions
of the Pharisees, dabbled in various phil
osophies and sciences and were practical
ly materialists. They "did ' not. believe
in the resurrection"
We have the same two classes In the
world now. The Christian church has
drifted away from the real principles of
the "religion it professes, but has long
since ceased to practice Then we
have tbe materialists, whose religion is
one of negation, and whose life is prac
tically the same as that of the Christians.
They all observe the same rules of busi
ness. These are the laws that govern
their lives. These the commandments
they consider binding on their consciences.
HAS HENEY STQPPED LAND FRAUDS IN
BY C. G. CLAPK.
WHEN Francis J. Heney and the
corps of Interior Department
service men inaugurated the cru
tade against the land thieves of the Pa
cific Northwest, an incalculable service
was done ,the State of Oregon.
There are remaining thousands of acres
of government land within the borders
of the ttate and capable of sustaining
many families. Hundreds of acres now
uncultivated, would be well improved
farm land, had it not been that bona
ftde. would-be settlers found they had to
contend with the trickery and power of
one or the other of the syndicates of
thieves Many of the latter were success
fully perfecting their schemes years be
fore Mr. Heney appeared with his ap
parently effective brake and stopped the
abuse.
But were thev stopped altogether? In
the past the greatest aim of the graft
ers, with their petty and cheap "timber
land locator" of unsavory odor, was to
CONDITIONS IN SOCIALISTIC UTOPIA
How It W ill Be When True Democracy Prevails All Over the World.
BY CHARLES PYE.
I HAVE been reading The Oregonian's
editorial, "Private Property," which
is in part a criticism of Archbishop Ire
land. The Archbishop, who would keep
ihe people In the ignorance and supersti
tion of the Dark Ages, has well learned
his ' lesson, and is probably beyond re
demption or conversion; but for the ed
itor of a newspaper there is always hope,
and as some of the aame erroneous con
ceptions run through this article that
have been noticeable in other of your
editorials. I am taking the liberty of re
plying to it.
You appear always to write ' with the
idea that under Socialism the state .must
and will act as a boss or . dictator, and
that the people will have no voice. The
very opposite is true. Your concept would
be Paternalism.
Socialism is neither Paternalism nor
Governmentalism. Socialists do not pro
pose turning of industry over to a gov
ernment of any kind. What they do pro
pose is t'o organize business upon a co
operative basis to be operated by the
people in the interests of the people.
Socialism is co-operation organized so
cietyin which the people own and op
erate their own Industries.
Socialism Is Fraternalism. Socialists
acquisition might be as readily exer
cised in any of the eight points of
the compass. These traits are not
found to be as persistent as the pre
sumption implies, while on the other
hand it is evident that migration has
taken the course scientifically stated
as "the direction of least resistance."
In tne civilized world it is admitted
that there is "a cause for everything."
A negation of this proposition is in
conceivable. What. then, is the cause
of the westward migration of the hu
man family or empire?
As far as history is able to Inform us or
investigation'enlighten us, the first great
populations extended over Eastern Asia.
Let us grant this true, or. in the event
of objection, let us grant that in early
periods and before the Asiatic exodus into
Europe. Eastern Asia was the scene of a
great dense civilization. On one hand
lay the ocean, on the other stretched out
land to an unknown distance. Land of
fered the direction of least resistance, for
"man is a land antmaj." The history of
migration shows that it was. except in
isolated instances, westward, northward
and southward, and again westward. But
migration was periodical. Here is the
clue to the westward course of empire.
tution makes that the only possible meth-
in Oregon, with the result, of course,
that ...e great portion of intangible prop
erty escapes almost entirely from paying
any taxes whatever. That is the great
difficulty with the average voter whose
property is incapable of being concealed,
that he is sure that men whose posses
sions consist of money, stocks and bonus
ought to be compelled to pay taxes as he
does. Naturally that certainty results in
"passing a law" to compel payment, after
which the virtuous voter goes about his
own business. The practical result of
that attitude is shown in the commis
sion's statement about taxation of money
and accounts in the City of Portland.
Although it is supposed that the banks
of the City of Portland alone contain $45.
000.000 on deposit, but $8.7152,061 of money
and $3,877,463 of notes and accounts were
found in the entire state.
Money may talk, but it doesn't pay
taxes. To quote again from the commis
sion's report: "The investigation of the
reports of the commissions of other states
clearly shows that the general property
tax results in the placing of the burdens
of taxation upon real property. And that
is true of this state. Under its operation
the tax falls largely upon visible personal
property, and that, too, in the hands of
those that pay the tax on real property.
'The taxation of personal property is in
I quote the following statement by
Elbert Hubbard from a back number of
the Philistine, because they show very
briefly and accurately the inconsistency
between the two phases of modern ma
terialism, which may be called agnosti
cism and positivism.
"I know nothing about Absolute
Truth." "I "itnow as much about Abso
lute Truth as anyone who ever lived"."
"No one ever knew anything about Ab
solute Truth." These are the words as
nearly as I can remember, . all quoted
from one. paragraph.
"I know nothing about Absolute Truth,
therefore nothing about God or Spirit.
This is the position of agnosticism. But
how can one who makes this affidavit ex
pect anyone to accept the other two state
ments as absolutely true. If he knows
nothing of absolute truth, how can he
know absolutely that no one else does?
How can he know anything positively or
absolutely? Would not the admission that
a man knows nothing about arithmetic
disqualify him from acting as the exam
iner of others in that subject?
Agnostic means a person who does not
know. Positivist is a person who thinks
acquire large and rich tracts of timber
land. The larger the body of timber that
could be secured in one locality, the
more profitable for obvious reasons.
Now that , the petty grafters, the bad
among the professional "timber locators"
(and I do not wish to confound them with
the honest cruisers or estimators of tim
ber) have regained their brazen effrontery
in the belief that they are going to be
let alone, they are resorting to their old
tricks and, some have added new ones.
It was only the other day that The
Oregonian published the fact of the
recovery of a judgment against a "lo
cator" who had shown a woman a
heavily timbered quartered section and
induced her for a time to believe that
it was the identical land upon which
he charged a fee to have her locate a
claim. This, of course, is a time-worn
steal, and has been resorted to, more
or less, by the professional locators
all over the Pacific Northwest.
propose to own and manage the Instru
ments of production and distribution
themselves. This is true democracy. So
cialism is essentially democratic and the
antithesis of Paternalism. In a demo
cratic government the people manage
their own affairs; in a Paternal govern
ment the people have no Voice. Under
Socialism we will have an industrial
democracy where the people themselves
govern, and the state will not exist as
something separate from them.
The ownership of the means of produc
tion carries' with it another element In
Socialism the collective management of
production.
This is In order that the benefits of
production may accrue to society as a
whole, and that production may proceed
in accordance with public need. When
production is carried on as now for pri
vate profit, it ceases as soon as it be
comes unprofitable. But' under Social
Ism production would be for the purpose
of satisfying our needs, and so would
continue as long as our wants remained
unsatisfied: until that end Is attained
there can be no real overproduction. This,
of course, would be impossible under the
capitalistic system, where production is
carried on for profit, and for the benefit
of private individuals. As soon as the
profits to the managers ceases the pro
duction ceases.
Socialists would increase resources, de
In every situated society land passes
from common to private property. It is
from land alone that man may live. East
ern Asia became the scenes of vast land
lordism. The fruits of labor fell into
the hands of a few. Existence became
more and more uncertain until with the
recklessness of despair men dared all
dangers, fought all fears and broke all
ties that they and their progeny might
feel the glow of liberty and that what
they acquired was their own: The search
for freedom began. Portfons of the
races moved westward, the oppressed por
tion because no land was to be had to
the eastward. Arriving at a favorable
spot they- settled and built up a society
which soon became afflicted with land
lordism, the old disease from which their
fathers had fled, and dared to brave an
unknown danger to avoid. As time went
by the right to live was again disputed
through the growth of special privilege.
Then other migrations of the oppressed
of this society took place, north and
south and west, and so. until the shores
of the great Atlantic stopped for a time
the frantic effort to live and still be free.
Feeling the touch of poverty result
ing from the old disease, they sought
a way by water to the riches of the
AN OREGON TAX COMMISSION
inverse ratio to its quantity, the more it
increases the less it pays,' says Professor
Seligman."
It is a peculiarly annoying handicap to
a commission which has the ability to do
good work to be barred by constitutional
limitations. To be sure, it may recom
mend the alteration of the constitution
and the Oregon commission has done this
and specified the changes desired- There
are two most important changes recom
mended. The first is an amendment to
Article I. section 32, which . provides that
taxation shall be equal and uniform. The
commission proposes that the words
"upon the same class of subjects" shall be
added after the word uniform. That
would allow progressive taxes, for in
stance, wherever the income of produc
tive wealth seemed to Justify it and
where otherwise, such wealth might pay
the kind of dividends which have made
the stock of express companies and the
Standard Oil seem like productive gold
mines.
An amendment to Article IX. section 1,
Is also important:
"Taxes shall be levied upon such prop
erty as shall be prescribed by law."
It seems a great pity to a layman that
the commission did not stop right there.
The section would then be incapable of
misconstruction. What possible need can
there be for the people of Oregon, who
he does know positively. Of course a
nostioism and positivism about the same
matter are Irreconcilable. Of course a
person may be agnostic about one thing
and positive about some other thing, but
not at the same time on the same sub
ject, any more than he could be on Maine
and Oregon simultaneously.
Now let us examine the pqsition of the
church. It Is the commonly accepted be
lief that God is infinite and unknowable.
The Athanasian creed states that he is
incomprehensible. The first article of
religion of the Episcopal Church declares
that he consists of three persons in one
God without body, parts or passions. This
is surely incomprehensible enough.
Now to admit that God is incomprehen
sible is really a confession of agnosti
cism. It is an assertion that' God is
above human comprehension just as El
bert Hubbard admits that absolute truth
is above his comprehension. The func
tion of the churches to convey to the
people a knowledge of the way and word
and will of God. How can it convey a
knowledge which, according to its own
confession it does not possess?
If on the other hand the churches do
As the timber lands have become
pretty well taken up. another gTaft
has appeared which is defrauding hon
est, bona-flde, would-be settlers in ac--quiring
farms upon the conditions in
tended by act of Congress to induce
the settlement of the country by pro
ducers tillers of the soil. This graft
is no less than an attempt to grab the
farming lands now open to settle
ment upon the easier conditions of
locating or filing upon them under the
timber act.
These lands, especially the vast ma
jority of acres In which the title still
lies with the Government, situated in
Washington and Tillamook Counties,
have some timber and good timber
growing upon them, it is true, yet not
enough to Justify them passing to an
individual asa timber claim. Timber
has been destroyed by forest fires In
the years past, and in most instances
that now rated as merchantable timber
Is so Inaccessible that it would co6t
crease tHe hours of labor, and thus give
leisure which men could apply to the de
velopment of their faculties, to recreation
and to travel..
Socialism would pluck all usury and
unearned incomes up by the roots. So
cialism would render a permanent hered
itary wealth impossible. Abolish rent
and Interest, and the only aristocracy
would be founded upon personal merit.-
The plea that Socialism woujd be de
structive of liberty proceeds from the as
sumption that its government would be
despotic. But in a social democracy
where the government is really of and
by the people, such a notion is seen to be
absurd. It is hardly believable that the
people would destroy their own liberty.
Socialism would secure economic freedom,
which is the basis of all freedom. There
can be no liberty in economic dependence,
and industrial democracy is the only es
cape from this servitude. The rulers in
dustrially are the rulers politically, and
only by obtaining self-government in in
dustry can we obtain it in politics.
Socialism would secure for mankind Its
redemption from the economic bondage.
It would enable each industrial group to
determine its own rules and regulations,
and elect its own directors, thus securing
within the economic realm freedom from
autocratio oppression. That there would
be less freedom outside the economic
sphere no one contends. It is generally
East. Land -was unexpectedly discov
ered, ' and at the cost of toil and pain
and want and fear the great movement
besan again. The eastern coast of
America and other parts that offered
inducement of better self-support filled
with a great population and landlord
ism, the persistent scourge of man,
drove the hordes westward to the Mis
sissippi Valley; and now we, standing
on the western coast of this great con
tinent, view the multitudes moving on
with haste to seize a portion of the
last remnant of a fast fading oppor
tunity view them hurrying to the
final barrier the liquid Pacific, which
laps alike the ancient shorei from
which the great migration turned and
the beach whose surfs and waves will
hiss and mock our futile ages-long ef
fort and furl the. westward course of
empire back upon itself.
Briefly stated, the cause of the phe
nomena expressed in "westward the
course of empire takes Its way" is that
the monopoly of natural opportunities
forces the lives of the many under the
dictation, and the fruits of labor into the
hands of a few and reduces the many to
poverty, degradation and misery, that re
lief could be obtained only through emi
have the power of direct legislation, to
put restrictions on their own power and
then change the restrictions when they
want to do a particular thing? In this
case it seems unfortunate, for the word
ing may even defeat the amendment of
the previous section. "The Legislative
Assembly shall provide by law for uni
form and equal rate of assessment and
taxation upon the several classes of sub
jects of taxation within the territorial
limits of the authority levying the taxes "
The amendment to the previous sec
tion would make taxes equal and uni
form "upon the same class of sub
jects." The last amendment may be
construed as compelling all taxation
to be equal and uniform upon all
classes of subjects, or putting the
matter just where it was before. To a
layman It really seems that the com
mission in this .instance has gone
into ' the same hole it came out of
However, the matter will be threshed
over in the Legislature and before
the voters.
Undoubtedly the supreme value of
the report is in its discussion of tbe
just principles of taxation as applied
to conditions in Oregon and in various
facts concerning those conditions which
are not generally known. Oregon has
the advantage of some other states in
apportioning arbitrary amounts of
ABSOLUTE TRUTH?
know anything positive and definite about
God that they can all agree on and prove,
why do they not put that down as an es
tablished fact, not a mere belief or creed,
and stand pat on that foundation?
Creeds are of no consequence. Beliefs
do not prove anything. It is positive
knowledge, absolute truth, alone, that
counts. A witness in court is not asked
what he believes or thinks or imagines,
but what he knows. Only testimony as
to actual facts and occurrences is of any
value.
Mathematical sciences are known to be
based on absolute or abstract truth. Space
and time are eliminated. A line has
no breadth, a point no magnitude. A
right angle is 90 degrees absolutely. Any
less Is not a right angle, and any more
on one side of the perpendicular would
imply an equivalent deficiency on the oth
er When a witness affirms that he does not
know anything about absolute truth it is
an admission that his evidence is unrelia
ble. Certain privileged classes, such as
lawyers, politicians and historians, are
allowed a great deal of latitude under the
head of poetic license and figurative lan7
more to transport it to market than It
would sell for. Some of the claims are
so rough that if they are not timber
claims they could not well be rated as
homesteads. Yet nine of every ten re
maining Government claims in the
counties mentioned would make good
farms, and their physical nature is such
that they clearly come within that
class meant by the Government to be
settled upon and cultivated as home
steads. Settlers are kept oft by the expense
made necessary by the operations of the
petty land sharks the professional lo
cator, who wants the "sucker's" coin, and
is not particular how he gets it. All ln-tel-.gent
persons want to acquire tii.e in
land. Upon this the "locator" works.
Either himself or through some "special
ist," who lists himself as a Land Office
attorney and these are not all shysters,
under the recognized meaning of that
euphonious word when used in connection
with the practice of law the locator
keeps tab on the land open for entry.
admitted that Socialism would allow full
freedom In the larger leisure.
The world of today is a tumultuous sea
of half-held beliefs, and of cross-purposes
of the self-seeking powerful: and the So
cialists are the only compact body of
men in sight who know what they believe,
and what they are resolved upon.
But the Socialist does not expect one
speech, or one newspaper article to con
vert people. His aim is to arouse suffi
cient interest to cause his hearers or
readers to investigate and study the sub
ject for themselves, knowing that its
benefits are so far-reaching that once
thoroughly understood it will be accepted
He also fully appreciates the stupen
dous task he has set himself, even if
given a free hand. But with all existing
forces arrayed against him. even the
church Archbishop Ireland with willful
and malevolent misrepresentation; Clar
ence True Wilson with his negative knowl
edge; the harassing of their publishers,
and confiscation' of their literature,
through the postal authorities; the hold
ing up of papers by venal postmasters;
the closing of the public halls to them,
and the arrests, assaults - fines and im
prisonment of their speakers, it would
look hopeless to any but a class-conscious
Socialist who realizes Its inevitability.
Socialism is a terrible word to those
who do not understand it. but to those
who do it Is as musical as Multnomah, or
Minne-ha-ha. for it means peace, justice,
prosperity, happiness, altruism and frater
nity. Woodstock. Nov. 14.
Beauty's charm a satin akin secured uainff
Satin skin cream and &Ua. akin, .cowder.
gration beyond the borders of this mon
opoly and its consequences, that land
was the direction of least resistance and
that after settlement of neighboring lo
calities north and south the west offered
the direction of least resistance to mi
gration. Who will delve Into the matter will see
that all forms of tyranny are based on
the privilege granted to a few to domi
nate the natural opportunities, to levy
tribute for existence? Where In the case
of semi-organized society one or several
are given powers over a locality, the
power is only a monopoly of the land.
This power consists of the right to con
trol, exclude from, or grant special privi
leges in the use of that locality and is
similar in all respects to the condition
which has grown out of it and persists in
the more highly developed society as pri
vate property in land. Migration has
been determined by the pressure of this
institution: hence the periodical factor
In migration. But to admit that "west
ward the course of empire takes its
way Is not to admit "must take its
way" or "always takes its way."
When the Atlantic became a barrier
to life, liberty and the pursuit of hap-
I piness in the far land of America, the
6tate taxes to the different counties.
That does away with the unseemly
scramble to secure low valuations, or
at least It ought to. The commission
remarks about this:
"This fact is not overlooked, and is
even seriously controverted by those
who are supposedly conversant with
the revenue laws, and accounts for
the continuing undervaluation of prop
erty in many of the counties at this
date."
Oregon is In a position to realize
the benefits of assessments at full
valuation, and the commission urges
its desirability and suggests measures
to help secure it. The commission
comes ' to the conclusion that it is
not wise to attempt to abolish taxes
on personal property. It advocates
remedying defects of personal prop
erty tax by changing the manner of
taxing corporations, though the con
stitution must be amended before that
can be done. As I understand the
recommendations, the commission be
lieves in an ad valorem tax on corpor
ations, valuations to be determined by
capitalizing earnings. That is a sim
ple plan, but in order for it to be
carried out with success there must
be almost exhaustive arrangements for
examining the accounts of corpora
tions. and even tlen it leaves a loop-
guage. But the word of God is supposed
to be absolute truth. This is the reason
witnesses are sworn on the Bible to tell
the whole truth and nothing but the
truth.
To go beyond the absolute truth to add
anything to it. is to exaggerate, adulter
ate or vitiate to spoil the whole batch.
To leave anything out Is fraud. Ananias,
the champion liar, only kept back a part,
possibly a very small' part. A half truth
is sometimes the blackest of lies.
If you owe a $100 at the bank, they will
rot let you off with $99. They don't run
a bargain counter. You must pay to the
uttermost farthing You can't borrow $1
at the bank without security. You can't
borrow 10 cents. To ask for 10 cents Is
to beg. To ask a reduction of prices Is
to beg or haggle. To cut prices or wages
Is to scab.
A preacher or priest Is an ordained rep
resentative of God He must walk in the
straight and narrow way. He is sworn
to be a "dispenser of the Word of God
which means that he must tell the whole
truth and nothing but the truth. I am
glad that. I am not ordained to preach.
Sow how can an ecclesiastic tell the
OREGON?
For the usual fee of 150 he promises to
locate an individual on a tract of fine
umber. It is easy to show the timber,
even If they have to take the "sucner"
miles away from the claim he believes to
be the one he is inspecting.
-low, as land subject t6 entry is becom
ing scarce, and the profession of . jcator
threatened, he combines with a fellow
shark to have another client "jump" or
contest the claim. In several instances,
which can be cited, a professional who
uses a city store clerk, a store porter and
a former racetrack hanger-on as wit
nesses to "Intelligently" guess at the
amount of timber upon a claim and to
estimate It. although they are in no way
fitted by experience in the country or
timoer files upon these partially timbered
or burnt-over tracts, to the exclusion of
the bona-fide settler, unless the latter
puts up more coin than they can get out
of the city "sucker."
Then, to evade the necessity of living
upon and cultivating the claim, as the law
demands upon homesteads. t..j claim is
Mrs: C. Y. Sherlock a
Hotel Deadbeat
"Works" the Imperial With Package
of Common Lead and Writing
Paper. Supposed to Be Money.
rr WEEK ago Thursday night a
r young ' woman arrived at the Im
perial Hotel and registered as Mrs. C. Y.
Sherlock, of Grant's Pass.' Or. The
next . morning she. appeared at the
desk where Douglas R. Ladd. the clerk,
was on duty and smilingly requested that
he become guardian over some of her
money. . -
"Will you be so kind as to . put these
checks and money in the safe, as I am
afraid to keep them In the room." With
this she handed over a big, long envel
ope, which was stuffed full of paper
and very heavy- Mr Ladd naturally sup
posed that the paper represented checks
and the heavy substance was gold.
The very next day, however, she hap
pened to be short of change and she
called upon Mr. Ladd again.
"Could you please let me have a few
dollars," she pleaded, using her eyes
with good effect. "Do you know I hate
to break those big checks."
Mr. Ladd believed everything was all
right and gave her the money. She came
back several times and each time she
throngs turn toward Oregon? Have
course of empire, after a time, took
other- directions. The seas were
searched for other lands, and New Zea
land and Australia now exhibit the
most advanced form of emipre. Had
the great civilization first formed in
South Africa, the course of empire
would have been northward on into
Southwestern Asia and Southern Eu
rope. Under our present land laws, even
Alaska and Canada are being seized.
Whither now shall empire turn its
course?
It is evident to all that the exodus
from the East, like the exodus from
Egypt, has for its cause the limita
tions, oppression and poverty due to
the monopoly of nature's opportunities
the consequence of landlordism the
world over and for its motie the
search for freedom and opportunity.
This, too, is the Inducement held out to
the East by our development organiza
tions the relatively greater opportunity.
Yet, why should opportunity be rela
tively greater when, where wealth is
produced more abundantly it is pro
duced at smaller cost? Is It, then, not
recognized that, once aware of freer
access to the natural opportunity vast
Several Suggestions for Reform for the Next Legisla
ture Looking Toward Equalization of Burdens.
hole, where the corporation is owned
by a few people, for unduly large sal
aries to be paid to the officers. Then
of course there is the question of the
percentage at which the capitalization
is to be reckoned, but that is not, so
matters as they are under
the present constitution, the commis
sion recommends that franchises be
declared by law to be real estate,
which in any event will secure their
listing nd taxation. In regard to
public service corporations generally,
with the exception of those that had
the gross earnings method of taxation
prescribed by the laws passed last
June under the Initiative, the commis
sion recommends a central board, with
sufficient powers to obtain informa
tion, to assess such properties. The
wisdom of such a plan does not seem
to require comment. The statement of
the commission that on basis of valu
ation of railroads in Oregon on March
1, 1904, "about 63 per cent seems to
have escaped taxation" Is apropos of
the recommendation. The commission
concludes that about the same percent
of the Portland street railway system
'nas escaped taxation. A somewhat
smaller per cent of the O. W. p. has
escaped taxes, and the conclusions of
the commission on the whole matter
Dilemma of Believers and Unbelievers Over Religious
Concepts and Practices of the Modern World.
whole truth If he admits in the creed he
subscribes to that he does not know it?
To subscribe to a creed that declares
God to be incomprehensible and then to
undertake to dispense the Word of God
is contrary to the laws of evidence and
the principles of logic. If God is incom
prehensible his word is incomprehensible
and therefore cannot be explained The
reason of the rliversity of beliefs is that
there Is no positive knowledge, no cor
rect conception or formulation of what
is meant by the term absolute truth.
On the other hand If any minister or
priest does claim to understand fully the
Work of God to know the truth in its
absoluteness and purity then be makes a
claim to infallibility. This also 1s re
jected. If he admits liability to err. then
his testimony may properly be doubted.
If he claims lnfallibilty he Is sure to be
considered a charlatan unless he can
show what he advertises and prove his
contention.
Absolute accuracy is more and) more es
sential In mechanics. To construct im
mense battleships, steel bridges and sky
scrapers, to aim projectiles so as to
strike a mark at a ranee of five or six
Evidence That Grafters
But Methods Have
entered under the timber and stone act.
and final proof is offered accordingly with
the clerk, porter and tout to support the
professional in his assertion that the
claim in question is nothing but "rock,
stone, precipitous and covered with tim
ber." When this is done, the honest set
tier cannot interfere by reason of the ex
pense. Once in a while, however, a person
comes .orward and willingly puts up the
necessary expenses to defeat this Im
proper or unlawful gobbling of good farm
land. When this is done, the professional,
who generally keeps in the background,
through one of bis tools, offers a com
promise for coin. This has been proved
in one instance by testimony to have been
on a sliding scale from a payment of $300
down to $45. When this latter sum was
denied, the professional indignantly gave
up the fight.
Another contest Is recorded at a near
by Land Office, where the professional
presumably from 15 years of experience
under the old-time lax method and not
obtained what 6he wanted. But last
Thursday when Mrs. Sherlock was pre
sented a statement she immediately hast
ened to the desk and poured out her tale
about not wishing to break her big checks
until it came time to depart. Still she was
believed, but a traveling man who over
heard the conversation and recognizing
her as a hotel beat, told all.
The envelope she had left was opened
5 11 H fMJ suffer,
No woman who uses "Mother's Friend" need fear the suffering
and danger incident to birth; for it robs the ordeal of its horror
and insures safety to life of mother and child, and leaves her in
a condition more favorable to speedy recovery. The child is
also healthy, strong and
eood n attired. Our book H
"Motherhood," is worth
its weisrht in erold to every
woman, and will be sent free in plain
envelope by addressing application to
Bradfield Regulator Co. Atlanta, Ga.
we no observed the rush of thousands
to reach newly opened land?
In all the course that empire has
taken is left this enemy to empire's
greatness this restriction on the right
and power to live. Yet. we of Oregon,
may find in this mistake a blessing for
ourselves if we will but heed It.
It being true that emigration . moves
to that locality which offers the freer
access to the natural opportunity, we
may. by taking in taxes the site value
of land, discourage the monopoly
which prohibits the application of
labor and the consequent production
of wealth discourage the useless and
injurious monopoly of Oregon's great
est resources.' and induce the applica
tion of millions of hands and brains to
the mutual benefit of all and the as
tonishment of the world. This, then,
is the cure for that waste of energy In
emigration. The abolition of all taxes
which fall on forms of .wealth and dis
courage improvement and the institu
tion of a single tax on the site values
of land, which will render the with
holding of opportunities from use an
impossibility, and establish that con
dition in the search for which the
great globe has been circled.
Portland, Nov. 17.
are that "the taxes paid by Oregon
street railway companies were about
one-third of the average for the Nation
at large."
Altogether, the possibilities of ob
taining sufficient income for the state
housekeeping seem to be immensely
beyond tiie present actual limits. The
value of that information to the voters
Is worth an immense amount, and the
members of the commission are en
titled to credit and honor for the way
in which they have performed their
work. Of course the ideal in state
taxation is to have the state gov
ernment supported by taxes which
shall leave property generally subject
to merely local taxes. That Is a sort
of home rule idea which promises to
simplify the laying and collecting of
taxes. The commission does not see
6uch a possibility for Oregon in the
Immediate future, but regards it as an
end towards which much may be done.
The creation of a permanent tax com
mission, with two members, drawing a
salary of $2000 each, and the remain
der of the commission consisting of
state officers, is recommended by the
commission. The two salaried officers
would do the greater part of the work,
cf course. With the end in view, the
value of such a permanent commis
sion can hardly be questioned.
miles, requires accuracy that approaches
very closely to absoluteness. There is
a growing demand for people who know
for certain; we are getting tired of guess
work. In the adjustment of human relation
ships, in the organization of society,
there are laws and principles as absolute
and definite as those of mathematics The
anarchy that prevails in all departments
of human affairs, religious, industrial and
political, is due to ignorance of these nrln
inciples and the methods of their appli
cation. In some departments of mechanical sci
ence we have made great progress, but
in the metaphysical or spiritual domain
in the construction of the human temple
we find ourselves under the guidance
of shepherds like Hubbard and other ec
clesiastics who admit their incapacity to
solve the problems of origin and destiny.
So we are In the ditch and know not
how we got there. We know not what is
meant by the fall of man any more than
we realize what is implied in tbe resur
rection and restoration .
Corvallis, November 14.
Are Workin the Old Game
Taken on New Twist.
now tolerated, seemingly forgot that the
-ay nad gone by to safely swear to what
he desired the lam. to be. In order to fur
ther his own scheme. Unfortunately for
this particular professional, an official
record was kept of the testimony and will
be used before the next Federal Grand
Jury in the Government's fight to rid the
Pacific Northwest of all land grafters
big and little.
The absence of Mr. Heney will not cause
a cessation of prosecution, and much of
the land, excellent, farming land, will
eventually be restored to the public do
main from the hands of illegal holders
and thrown open for settlement by hon
est homemakers; that is. those lands upon
which final prooi has been offered, but
upon which no patent has yet been passed.
The Government, through Its Inspectors,
is now examining many of ..iese claims,
and patents are being withheld until such
an examination can be made. This will
undo considerable of the work of the pro
fessional "timber locator" and render
abortive his attempted fraud.
and was found to contain several pieces
of common lead and a thick fold of
writing paper which contained the Hotel
Imperial monogram.
After the discovery. Mrs. Sherlock was
told to leave the hotel, but her baggage
was held. In several hours she returned
with money enough to meet the bill and
she left. It is believed that Mrs. Sher
lock is an assumed name.
And many other painful and serious
ailments from which most mothers
can be avoided by the use of
is a God-send to women, carrying
them through their most critical
ordeal with safety and no pain.
b Stliiiblilb'