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J'ORTl.AM), SlNIAY, JAMARY 6. 1fM7-
ERE TUB SUN iOK9 DOWN.
Most men purpose. Apn the oppor
tune moment arrives. to reform " all
their bad habits and repent of all .their
rins. The only reason in the world
why the average citizen Is not a virtu
ous pilgrim in the straight and narrow
path the failure of thia opportune
moment to present itself. Concerning
his ability to loose the' clutches
of habit no man entertains the slight
est doubt. "I could quit smoking thin
minute," says one. . Another assures
Ilk friend as they lean up to the bar
that he can "make this glass of, beer
hi la-st." "Why Jnt you do It.1 .then,
and put your nickels in the savings
bank Instead of the' barkeeper's till?"
"Oh, I haven't got ready yet." When
It comes to those larfter and more seri
ous backsliding which we "have agreed
to call fins, every man cherishes in
his eaecret heart the belief that he can
n t any ' moment forsake them and
square his account once and for. all
upon the record books of the Almighty.
Still, the precise conjuncture that
would make repentance desirable In his
sight never arrives. At daybreak he
thinks noon will be Soon enough. At
noon the evening twUljrht seema a bet
ter time. "When the eun eoea down
and the lengthening- shadows warn him
that "thf night cometh when no man
can work." he still delays, waiting for
tho ftrt stroke of the passtnft bell to
make his peace with the ruler of the
universe.
Wliiit t'ohfirlonee we all have in the
Tintlrlns; mercy of God! The e-entiine
intent of most men, which they hide'
from themselves under a thin veil ot
elf-ckepption. In to sin all their lives
up to the moment when -physical weak
ness makes further p?In impossible and
, then- affront the Almighty vith a
"deathbed repentance." In current
theological beliefs there is much to en
. courage this practice. It Is never too
late, we are often taught, to make our
peace 'with the just and righteous
Judge. He Is more ready to forgive
than we are to ask forgiveness, and no
matter liow long we put oft repentance
he Is ever eager to accept it. Hymns
which children sing in Sunday school
encourasre this disastrous faith by sug
KfstlJir that the Lord is just as much
1'leasea to receive the wreck of a senile
sinner's mind and body as to enroll
li i m among the redeemed In the vigor
ous bloom of youth. He to "knockingr
at the door," according to one of these
dubiously.' moral songs, and will con
tinue KnqckliiK- though admittance be
,lenlrt in," to . til end of 1 1 r-. '!..( w.'-11
the saddle and the ground," one f the
favorite maxims of this strange super-
s t i t ion ru nil, mero y w h sou ch t and
mercy found." The morality of all this
lis extremely questionable because it
oVflrs the universal law of conae-
ciuenees.
The punishment of evil habltB lies. In
their votisequences. - These no repent-
ance can aver t. Habit and the
of habit are linked together, not
chain of steel, but by the I ncomp
stronger bond of cause and
effect
of habit are linked together, not by a
chain of ateel. but by the IncompanLbl'y
furongor bond of cause and effect.
Broken boJy and ruined mind follow
vicious indulgence inevitably. There is
no avoiding? them. The Infinite1 power
of the Almighty cannot work contra
lietionft He cannot make three equal
to four, nor can he construct a flat
body which ahall not have two oppos
ing surfaces. No more is there any
power In Ita universe which fan Inter.
pose oetween habit - and. its conse
quences. "We ma-y. if -we like, believe
that a man secure by repentance the
cancellation of his guilt But the ruin
he ha wrought upon himself remains
It was. No norrow oan obliterate it.
V regret oan change it. We must be-
licve that strong resolution can break
the insidious chains of habit, for every
iy we see men emancipating them
selves and attaining that freedom
vhlclj only he Knowa who is complete
ruler of himself. Mare!ou is the
power of the human will. Not only
does it subject trie invisible powers of
Nature to the needs of man, but, more
-wonderful still, it rends the intricate
entanglement of habit: it emancipates
the soul. Noblest of all things In' the
universe is a free nrm. Seeing clearly,
thinking: truly, undaunted by euperstl
tiuii. uoappalltid by Uclusious, master
of himself and the peer of his fellows.
he walks the earth equal to life and
ready for death.
To most of us this nobility is some
thing to dream of. but never to attain.
Habit ts like those Lillputlane who
came In the right while Gulliver lay
sleeping and bound him with a million
spidery threads. With a touch of his
linger he could have broken one of
them. With a little exertion he' couia
bave broken a thousand. But all to-
gertier they held him motionless and
belpletsa upon the ground while the pi?-
mies wrought thefr will with him.
Habit comes upon ue like the drop of
-oee leaves in the dewy twlllfrht. It Is
Hfce- .th? gaudy Insect In the eastern
talo which flew In through the keyhole
of the door and charmed yie student
with its screen and golden shards; but
a. little later, when he thought to drive
It out, behold it had waxed to giant
size, and with its talons tore out his
heart. "Tli i ( i will do Just for once."
Thua sayeth the root In hte folly. II-'
does it once and again, and In the day
Tt-hen he thinks not the habit holds him
llice the arms of that brazen statue
"which, drew' the victim closer and etill
closer until he perished.
. Habit is like that vampire of the
southern seas which et I r-s a' gentle
breeze with Its wing's to lull a fluni-
bering man while it sucks hie blood, It
stupefies him with perpetual delusion.
'While It winds and sn-athes him with
silken cords stronger than forged iron.
it continually assures him that he can
free himself. But let the victim once
strain his muscles to the task. Then
he ha!l see the truth. If there is no
first dram there will be no need of a
last one. If the first cigarette is nver
smoked there will .be.no call for the
broken nerves and paralytic -will to seek
In vnin for the last one. The man try
ing to free tiimfself from a vicious' habit
Is like the child In the story book
which had taken a red hot Iron in its
hand. Crazed witb Jpain. the infant
filled the house with it'e shrieks,-but it
still held to the iron, It is a nne thing
to paed from slavery to freedom, but
it is still finer never to have been r a
slave. Repentance is a noble act, but
il is better to form habits which need
not be repented of. He is a wise man.
eays Professor James, who In lii youth
forms habits which shall be his friends
instead of. his enemies 'as he nghta the
battle of life. There are foes enough in
the world to keep ev-ery one busy with
out admitting: them into his own "house-
hold,
Sfl YSTERIOL'8 MR. LI.KY.
One of the many mysteries whkh
hang with dubious aspect over Mr.
Bailey's trarwactioiid with Standard
OiJ is pet. forth with much analytical
skill in the Springfieli Republican. We
do not mean that the Republican ex
plains the mystery. Nobody but the
Texas Senator and- his oleaginous cli
ents could do that. What the Repub
lican does is to make it exceedingly
clear that a. mystery exists, and to
show how greatly 1t would advance Mr.
Bailey's cause to unravel the puzzling
circumstances.
The train or baffling incredibilities
which -Mr. Bailey asks riis admirers to
accept upon his almost unsupported
word. begins with a statement that he
did not know that the Waters-Pierce
Oil Company wa allied with- Standard
Oil when he helped H to resume busi
necs in Texae, To this he adds that
he helped on the restoration of -th
trust out of pure charity, receiving
no fee for it. Such afi act is so little
in harmony with either the legal or
the Senatorial type of character that it
Is a strain to believe Mr. Bailey when
he says he did it.
But there are other things. A cer
tain draft plays an important part in
the frame. It was drawn by Mr. Bailey
upon Mr, Fierce, of the trust, appar
ently: but th Senator dwlares that
the draft was forjred. A telegra.m from
Mr. Pierce alluding- to the draft and
authorizing- it, was ateo forged, he eaye
one forgery trepring the way for
the other.
All this is very puzzling. To the
plain man who sees little probability
in the sinuosities of melodrama, it
looks as if Mr. Bailey's explanations
themselves demanded explanation. The
ccount of his adventures with Stand
ard Oil reads like a dime novel, with a
peculiarly wily villain in the dark
dark background, and a. singularly
simple-minded hero in the foreground.
If Mr. Bailey is innocent of complicity
with the hated octopus, he has been
maligned with surpassing ingenuity
IC he is g-uilty, he defends himself with
brazen inventiveness. Unfortunately,
his election or defeat will not settle the
truth of the matter. In any caae. It
will be a long- time before Mr, Bailey
completely regains the influence he
once had.
THE AMERICA! OF THE rTTCRK.
By degrees, slow but sure, the human
race i coming back to its famed or
fabled period of longevity, for the ex
treme limit of which the name of Me-
thusaleh has stood for many centuries
In the opinion of Dr. MoGee. one of the
directors -of the St. Louis Museum, the
American of the future will be a giant
in intellect, in humanity, in . physical
strength and . in bodily development,
and Incidentally be will live longer
than the American of today. . He cites
In eupport of this statement that the
average length of human life has in
creasid within half a century from 2
to 2S years, while a. century ago th
pnan ot life, calculated upon thie basis
was from 24 to 25 years. We leave to
those whose appetites for ' abstruse
mathematical problems .ri stimulated
into abnormal activity by uch ques
tlons as ''How old la Ann?' the dues-
tlon of how loner it will take at this
rate of progress to gret back to the
span of life which it is recorded was
allotted to the Jewish patriarchs.
We are uit willing1 to take Or. Mc
Gee's Btatement that the average length
of human life is increasing, and are
more than willing to believe that the
American of th-e future will be a. larger
man In inches. In intellect and in
strength than is the American of to
day. Most people &r$ ready to believe
statements that please their vanity as
individuals, as a. race or as a nation,
and, where all Is speculation, why not
bslleve that which .Is the most pleas-
ing and self-sattef ying? The world has
come, in a. large measuw, to take Its
theology upon that basis. Why not ex-
tend It throughout the domain of
speculative belief? Thus far, therefore.
we are with Dr. McGe. Th world Is
setting better every year, the span of
human life ie Increasing, has Increased,
between four and flw yeans in a cen
tury; the race of the future will show
great Improvement in mental, physical
and spiritual development; and. in all
of this grand march of improvement
Americans will lead t h van.
This much la settled to the satisfac-
tion of all good Americans. But
when . Ir. McG goes ' farther and
points to John X. -Rockefeller as the
y.pe of the1 improved American of the
future; aa a man who has preceded hto
day and generation In the development.
ht the qualities of perfected manhood;
first in the r.nks. of humanity, etc..
etc., -an observant generation will re-
pudiate the statement as contrary to
the known facts in the premises. The
shadow of the Standard Oil story ob
scures this eetltnate; the story itaelf
tells ot method? that contributed to
the Incidental accumulation of-great
wealth" by .Mr. Rockefeller that will
not bear Investigation from the stand
point Of a perfected manhood. We
would rather believe that Mr. Roeke-
feller represents the occasional Amer
ican of the present than that he ptanda
fur the type of good Americans of the
future.
The span of human life among civil-
zed nations Is lengthening. Tf any
one doubt this assertion, let him con-
ll the flgufee. Americana will lead
e human race in all that pertains to
tellectual and mora 1 growth, I-t the
n erica n who doubts this consult his
own vanity and b& reassured. But
away with the idea that .John 1.
Rockefeller Is a present example of the
perfected manhood of the future.
THE SFXILAR AftM.
The Pacinc Christian Advocate feiicl-
tates itself upon two encouraging
facts which it discerns among the
signs of the times. Xhe first is the vir
tual disappearance of infidelity from
the world. "Neither in public speech
nor' in book nor In magazine article is
there any longer any Infldef attack."
So thinks the Advocate. The second
hopeful fact le the abated virulence of
the higrher criticism. Once It was a
threatening apparition, but 'its danger
most places is no lonsrer feared."
One feels like congratulating the Ad
vocate upon its cheerfulness. Deter
mined denial of facts Is almost as good
as proving: their non-existence. e
hope our piouet contemporary has not
made any mistake In its diagnosis. If
t should turn out. that, after all, in
fidelity and the higher criticism are
tl.rampant in this wicked world, the
disappointment of the Advocate would
be something terrible.
Still, the Advocate has something to
complain of. There If- a crumpled leaf
in its couch' of roses. It has discovered
that men do not go to church. "Three-
fourths of most congregations are
women." it s-sse-rts. The Oregonlan
made this same discovery some time
ago and was roundly abused in certain
riuartere for publishing It. We trust
the eame vigilant c-enewrs of the press
will not spare the Advocate. Other
wise it might feel slighted. Rut the
Advocate her made a much more im
portant discovery than the mere fact
that men do not go to church. It has
rooted out the reason for their delin
quency, and an appalling reason it is.
They stay away from church to read
the Sunday newspaper. 4They do not
wish to go to church because they wish
to sliRy at "home and read their paper."
the Advocate thinki. For the same
reason they slight the Sunday school
and the Bible. And the Advocate be
lieves that, if it could secure the en
actment of a law abolishing Sunday
newspapers, the churches would forth
with fill up with eager listeners of the
sterner sex. Perhaps they would. . .
1 1 has not. however, been the com
mon experience of the -world ,that the-
cause of -religion is very much fur
thered by secular legislation. Laws in
tended to compel men to go to church
are almost as antiquated in these pip
ing times as infidelity and the higher
criticism. There. i& some ground to
apprehend that men who are devoted
to this idol of the Sunday newspaper
might resent being rudely deprived of
it by the pitileee hand of a statute ta
promote church attendance. The fetish
of "personal liberty" is unhappily
abroad in the land, and plays havoc
with ecclesiastical legislation of all
sort?.-
We are of the opinion that preachers
who have anything to say worth lis
tening to seldom lack con gregrat ions
with a fair sprinkling- of maled. The
real reason why men. and women, too.
shirk 'church-going may be somewhat
clearly discerned in the Advocate's own
remarks, though It was put there un
consciously, we hope. It la that incon-
sequential logic, that failure to grasp
the true relations of things, that mag
nification of trif!er3 and neglect of
weighty matters which prevail in so
many pulpits and in so much of the
religious press. The Advocate's rea
soning is of that futile sort which the
plain man calls "nonsense." Its fact,)
are mistaken. Itt? conclusions have not
the slightest relation to its premises.
We advise'both the religious press and
the pulpit to try the effect of a little
reform along these lines and see if the
churches do not fill up without regard
to the Sunday newspaper. The simple
fact is that the Sunday paper eupplies
moral instruction and sound religious
teaching on many practical points
which the churches neglect. To genu
ine -religious work there ia no better
friend and no more efficient' ally than
the Sunday newspaper, -
1 ' '
WORTH V Of TIIK1R H1ICK.
- The Government cannot afford to be
niggardly with Its postal servants. In
order to maintain the service up to the
point of efficiency- demanded by mod
ern business methods, trained men are
required, and a sufficient number of
them to handle the enormous business
of the postal department promptly.
In the opinion of First , Assistant
Postmaster - General Hitchcock the
salary ecale of rxwtofflce employes
must toe adjusted upon a hiarbei- basis.
If this class of clerks is to be retained.
Thle opinion Is reinforced by the 'fact.
as shown by the records of the depart
ment, that reslstnations from the .serv
ice Increased at an alarming- rate in
the last fiscal year. Specifically stated,
about 12.3 per cent of the clerks em
ployed in first and second-class offices.
whose ealaries range from $600 to $1000
per annumresigned during the period
noted, while 2.6 per cent of the letter
carriers attached to these ofTTcea volun
tarily quit the service.
As ft check upon these resignations
Mr. Hitchcock has formulated a plan
which he will present to the consider
ation of Congress, whereby tlje service
will he made, more remunerative and
therefore more attractive to responsible-
men. He proposes six grades of
compensation for both clerks and- car--
.Tiers, ranging from J600 the first year
to $1200 for the sixth year and there
after. There is an incentive to con
tinue In any service In a scheme that
carries certain promotion, ana, If the
recommendation of Mr. Hitchcock is
favorably received by Congress, it will
mean tbat the beet men those am hi-
tious to Increaee their naming capa
city as well .as their earnings will re
main in the service to its advantage.
The plan - is carefully elaborated, and
It details' will be r?mbodieil In a bill
that will be submitted to Congress
w lctl tilt: reiMjrt ahowlur. the wisdom
and Indeed the necessity of making
the poetal service more attractive,
rnore promising and more ieauineratlve
to both clerks and carriers.
"THE FIRST FTWITS OF THE I.A l."
Under the above head, Dr. J. R. Card-
well, for many years president of the
Oregon State Horticultural Society.
hlmeelf a devoted son of nature and
an admirer of her works, discourses in
a pamphlet pleasantly and profitably
of early horticulture In Oregon and of
the indigenous fruits of the land. The
list that lie furnishes of the latter
must bring to the minds of the older
pioneers much that was grateful to
the palate before cultivated fruits were
common indeed, before they were to
be had in any quantity or variety In
the, , "Wlllarrwtte Valley. The wild
straw-berries of early times, are held
especially grateful in memory; scarce-
ly less so are the blackberries, luscious
and abundant, borne uron creeping:
vine?, instead of the upright canes of
the Middle West; the raspherriee that
flourishetj in rlotoue abundance, and
the. gooseberries. the wild. piquant
flavor of which, when made Into pies
with the addition of their weight In
sugar, made a 'dessert for the noon
day meaT fit for a King's banquet, or,
better still, for the dinner of a sturdy
pioneer and his wholesome, happy
family.
; We recall, too. the delicious Jellies
made from the little eour native crab-
apples, .the pungent Oregon grape and
the purple elderberry, and. rising above
the mere taste of things, the beautj of
the red-flowered Oregon currant, and
the milk-white blossoms of the service
berry. . ',
Ravenously hungry" for fruit w?re
the settlers of early Oregon, who ljad
Veft well-grown orcharde behind them
"in the States," and, while waiting
for their own orchard trees to grpw,
their children scoured the woodra for
the "first fruile of the land." and re
turned laden with the luscious spoil.
Ther-e incidents and facts "belong -to
memory, and are happily recalled! by
rr. Cardwell's graceful treat men if Of
Ills theme. And when lie te:is funther
of the beginnings of horticulturi in
Oregon : of the Hpplt neecVs bro h t
here by the Hudson's Kay Company,
growing into treea eighty years I-kl,
still in bearing at Vancouver; of 1 he
grafted apple sprouts brought acrfoss
the plains In boxes in
by Hend
or-
wn wic.mig ana pisntea at mhw
kie: of the first nursery started f linm
this stock, reinforced by seedlings! in
1S48; of a bushel of apple se'cn and
half a WM of pear seeds, ptantecf in
the Waldo Hills by Ralph Geer arjout
the sa me t Im c, f r om which in a few
years sturdy young treee were sVnt
throughout, the entire sparsely settled
country. ' forminsr the' nucleus of ? the
."'finst orchards." and throujrh all the
etory, true in every detail, weaves ("the
.golden . woof . thread, of romance,' he
tells a tale that can hardly fail tp be
appreciated, not only by pioneers i and
their descendants, but by the people
w ho make up the population of Oregon
today. .1
There is much in this little paniihTet
of lefe than forty paes that is vTorth
preserving. It has, indeed, a historical
value that, like all things historical,
will be more fully appreciated ih later
years. We cannot more filly close. Lthie
necessarily brier review, which is hard
ly more than a reference to the sub
ject, then--by-, the following esl-imrftte
of .fruit culture as presented : by, pr.
Cardwell. in his interesting and' in
structive little pamphlet:
Fruit culture I most fits'-? I nut trite and
nnbling, at wll at tti m o f t profits Hi-
branch or nortlrulture, ana the idva nee In
the fruit product i evidence of t!ir rqi
tur and civilization of a people. It is hard
to overestimate th brncflclal Influence n
h-.lth. tnorli .nd manners of R Kenrmun
fruit supply. The ornamental pcrounrlB aim!
orchards of ino homesJead do much In child
hood to strengthen that love of home and
pride of family
which is the foundation of-The-
chrlnhd meniorli's of
at 1 1 patriotism, The ?he
home thus enriched art-,
after the
strongest bond of family to bring batik tiie
absent and wandering to the roof tree; and
the erring one is not wholly lot as loiif? as
these sacred mernoriei of home and child
hood sometimes come to swell the heart and
dim the eye with the tear of repentance and
contrition. . .
rRFPARlNT. P-OR HAKO TIMEf
At the beginning of the present beriod
of prosperity it was r-vveral timej sug-
geeted in these columns that thifc i a
very good time for countlee and cities
to get out cf debt. The suggestion met
wide approval, and nearly all the coun-
ties are either out of de-bt or have re
duced their incumbrances to compara
tively small amounts Some of the cit-
lee have also 'been lifting part of their
bonded indebtedness, but others have
not. A good business- policy for the
public as well as for Individuals It? to
save money In good times and spend it
In hard times. Of eouree, if all should
do this, we would have no "good
times" and "hard times' ; buv., since
there is no hope that all men will be of
one mind," there is opportunity for a
few to lay the foundations for benefit
to the many. It Is contended by some
that during periods of financial and in-
dustrial depression it e the duty of
the state or the city to provide work
for the laboring people. Those who
hold thiij opinion assert that public Im-
provemcnts should 'bp 'undertaken as a
means of nroviding the employment, tf
it be trueihat it is the duty of the pub
lic to provide employment for the poor
In hard times, then' it is the duty of
the public In good times to prepare for
that duty.
In every part of Oregon, and of the
whole country, for that matter, there
has been great trouble for three or four
years in fsecurlngr laborers. Wages are
high and workers are scarce. There
are not enough mm to do the wok that
Is to be done. Farmer want "new land
cleared, but cannot find men to do it.
even at nigh wages. Xhe same men "
who refuse such work at high wages
now would have been glad to get it a
few years ago at very little more than
thir board. All over the state people
In town and Country are puttinsfup
rrew dwellings and otherwise improving
their property, though at great coct.
for -high wages mean costly f lumber
and expensive construction. In many
cities there is demand for street im
provement and other public enterprise.
Yet it would be difficult to find men
to do the work If It were undertaken,
All have-profitable employment.
o w. a, man need not be a pessimist
In order to see the possibility of a re-
currence of .the industrial conditions
that give rise to the assertion that the
state or oity should provide employ
ment for the poor. There are many
men of good judgment who are ppylict-
ng hard times within the next four or
five years, or perhaps sooner. If such
a period ehouJd be experienced. It
would bp particularly fortunate if
some of the cities of Oregon should be
in a position to undertake public Im
provements that would give employ-
ment to. labor. Such enterprises "would
be appreciated not only by the laboring:
yeopl themselves, but U?o by the
merchants and other business men who
depend largely upon labor for their
Irid JProbkbly ni) .'one would :dvo-
eatft adoption of a policy by which a
city would accumulate money in it
treasury in good times In order to have
some to impend in hard times. Such a
policy would be un-American. In thle
country it is the universal policy of
government municipal, state and na
tional to be in debt. The most that
any one could suggest would be that
in good times a few debts should be
paid off. so that when hard times come
again conditions would permit the In-
currln? of new debts. Then a city that
desired to help out it working people.
and indirectly it merchants, could 1h-
sue a few thousand dollars worth of
bondand go ahead with improve-
ments. They would get more work done
for one dollar under such . conditions
than for two dollars now. The city that
has money for which it has no panic-
ular ue may well spend it on
public
or a n
improvemenxs. but either a city or
individual carrying a debt would
do
well to use ware money to cancel the
debt while there is opportunity. The
city or individual that fx in a. financial
condition which will permit spend ing
money on improvements will not suffer
greatly from a period, of hard times,
come they soon or la te.
Rugene suffers more afflictions of the
unavoidable kind than should beset a
college town, the soat of the State Uni
versity. Twice this season hav the
cellars of the lower sections of the
town been flooded, the water works
put out of commission and the publW
schools closed by reason of floods all
for lack of drainage and a well-devised
water system. For the first caus? there
its probably no remedy for the low
lyinj? districts of the town, the levels
of which approach that of the river
at an ordinary stage of water. Tlio
second disability can only be overcome
by the investment of a sum of money
large enough to bring- in a full water
supply from a mountain stream of de
pendable volume and assured purity,
Xhe situation mny prdperly be de
scribed as acute when a community of
eeveral thousand people And them
.sflves for a period of several days,
through tlie exigencies of a sejsonn ble
iitorm, without water to fluiVi their
toilets, supply their baths or Doll their
dinner, though basements and streets
a re flood od. The oltua J ton ma be de
scribed Ji s one w lie rein there is
Water, water everywhere,
Nor Hny drop to drink.
W f z h i n the month the ra i 1 ion d s will
be assailed ty the Legislatures of a
dozen or more states on the question
or car shortBge. A yea r of uncxa m
pled prosperity would. but for thin
block upon traffii:. with its attendant
fuel famine, lumber shoiago. livestock
detent ion and e-uffcrinsr. srra in conges
tion and merchandise blockade, have
been a year of universal prosperity as
well. The pulso of industry has been
quickened as, never before in the
world's history, but the facilities of
traffic have not kpt pace with the de
mand made upon them. Legisjative in
quiry "win be directed to the why and
wherefore of this traffic infirmity. It,
may. be, hoped that answers to theisc
inquiries will be elicited that will load
to prompt, remedial measure.
Boyr are coming1 into great " promi
nence, in the Pacific Northwest. Be
tween slipping up behind people and
killing them and running away from
home, they keep the courts and con
stabulary busy, and in the determina
tion to control the high schools by
means of "frate" they keep educa
tional "authorities on the rack. Time
was (so we pre frequently told) when
the men of the state controlled its
boys. The latter, ho wcv-cr. 'eeem to
have got the whip hand, and are driv
ing at a pace that makes the achieve
ments of "Jehu" of song and story ap
pear tame.
It may be hoped that the present
owners and the appraisers will ''get to
grether" and agree upon a reasonable
price for Havthorne Park and that the
Common Council will take prompt
measures. providing the ''price is
right. to pu rchi se t'n ft bit of wood
land and water so close within the- city
limits. Tho spot is an idea! one for
' hade. recreation and meditation on
1 hot Summer f.fternooiw and evenings.
The city wants it. but not at a pre-
miiim. Doubtless it will be willing to
pay a. proper price- for it.
Unfortunately. Chancellor Day pulled
out a prop when he attempted to
ftrenKthn his weak position by quot
ing; from the editorial pasre of the New
Tork Sun. Notoriously the organ of
trusts, with Standard Oil as its chief
patron, that onre great newspaper as
well as Dr. Day thinks by "inspira
tion." Large educational bodies in the" corn
belt have resolved in favor of "thru"
and S99 other apelllnga that Congress
disapproved. Kxperimcntally, write the
word "thru'' In your natural ehlrog-
raphy nd note whet her you can dis
tinguish it. except by the context, from
"then.'
The menace of a
heavy rains tbat 1
Pacific Northwest
flood following the
el! throughout thi
during the flrst
three days of the new rear har? passed.
The damatro from the ptorm was. rela
tively fipeakin, nominal and weather
conditions hav again become normal.
Part of the 5 per cent dividend on
all Its stock m Ijrht ba.ve been uned
by the Southern Pacific to pay a ftrifie
more wages to Its section hands. These
men and the flange on the wheels are
what makes railway travel safe.
Portland's gain of 39 per cent In bank
clearances ft anrjfi out in happy con
trast with New York-!! decrease of 14
per cent. Portland doesn't overplay
hwaelfjn stocks; the other games aw
closed. .
In- the interests of social and eco-
nomlc science, the Census Bureau
ought to And out how many men who
got on the water wagon January 1 fell
off before tiie end of the first week.
On sworn testimony before the In
terstate Commerce Commission it may
be truthfully declared that Harrlman
is the biggest hired man in the United
States.
Nowhere-ln the land will Secretary
Hitchcock's order to tear down Illegal
fences be hailed with greater satisfac
tion than In Oregon.
Among the January bargains, don't
overlook Bull Run water; family elze.
regrular $1.50. marked down to (I.
No charge ot Portland's proverbial
conservatism can lie against the pres-
tn. City. Council.
COMMENT ON CURRENT STATE TOPICS
The Proposed New Water Code and. Its Provisions Appropriation Bills and
the Referendum Sums Needed, by the State Candidates' Expenses
Under the Direct Frimary Law-Higher Assessments and Moro Taxes.
Tl I E proposed new water code, pre
pared by a committee of the
Portlund Board of Trade, differs
In several particulars from the hill in
troduced in the House by Representa
tive Cole at the session of l05. That
bill, known as house Kill SI, Was the
subject of much discussion and contro
versy n 1 1 through the session. Mnny'
meetings were held by the irrigation
committees and advocates and oppo-
nentR of the moastit e were heard in
extended arsumentu, Tlio bill could
not pass ill its original form, and was
amended to such an extent that when it
finally pnsed It wa. at 1 togetlier differ
ent from ti e Vi 1 1 introduced. Tho law
enacted merely provided for condemna
tion of water rights by the Government
for It projects', and created the office
of State Knglnoer, with power to make
hydropraphlf and topographic surveys
in co-operation with the Government.
Tlio act a lo khvi the State Knjrincer
charge of the engineering1 work in con
nection with the reclamation projects
under the Carey Act. ana provided that
application tor tlie appropriation of
water shall be tiled in his office instead
of in the offices of county clerks, fls
heretofore.
Jn the new bill an attempt has evi
dently heen made to avoid sonic of the
ohjectiors . marie to tiic measure lire
rented two years airo. The new bill
provides, for example, that the pu!IU
ownershlp of water snail be "subject
to existing rights." thereby removing
opportunity fcr the charge that the
measure proposes to destroy vested
rights. The new bill .leclaros. dlrl
the old one, that the nenertcial use of
water is a public iisp, and that, there
fore, water rigli I
under the law of
may he condemned
mnent domain. This
.vas ono of the points ir. the former Mil
over which there was a hard flsrbt. i nt-
it I likely that the t-ontcst will bo re -ne
won. . it is .isf?rt - ci oy romo mat tne
beneficial use of water is not a piuiiic
use. and that no legislative declara
tion to tli at eff ect cn m ako It so. The
purpose of this feature of the bill is to
enable one wlio want? to use water to
a--atiire the rlRht from one who assorts
tit. i . hul d oo not lies nis riKht. In
brief, it e?:preFsIy blares a limitation
upon tin indefinite right of A riparian
owner, by a uthorixl nsr the condemnation
of h 1 1 h it right except that wh k-li he
lias by virtue of hi use, whkh the law
makes a public use.
The committee's bit! difTfra from the
Cole bill in prescribing the manner of
appointing Water Commissioners. The
Cole bill made tli Governor, Attorney
CScnei al and St ate Tariff 1 neer a Y"h tor
Board, with power to appoint three
ComiviPFioriers, The new pUres
the appointing power In the Supreme
Court. Thrt Cole bill gave . the State
Knginer power to m.ike rtiles with the
Approval of the , Wa;. iJoani The
present bill requires no S-uch approval,
and permits a" clut ngc only 'In case of
appeal, "One! thm Mpoii vote of two of
the Commissioners.
The Cole bill fixed the quantity of
water to bo used at one ci-iic foot per
second for each 60 arres. - The new bill
allows tlir same quantity for 80 acres.
The Cole bill proposed the appropria
tion of $5000 for commpm-ini; .the
liy-
tlon
drograpiiic t-urvcys for the ad.iuItoa
of water rinbu; tho present lull appro-
prlots ::". 000. The Cole liP. provided
SIL',500 annually f o;- tin; Stalo Kn-
giner'a department; the present bill
$25.0lifl. The Cole bill fixed tho com-
p.nsation of "YVa ter Commissioners at
f r, p.-r day and expenses, for not to ex-
cced 60 days in a year. The new bill
extends the limit to -00 ?ays. and i.lso
provides for the employment of water
masters- at ?4 per day and expenses.
without limitation as to time.
The .m w bill Increases the salary of
tl?j State Engineer f-om t- lOO n year
to S3O0O.
UK experience of the last T.eafisla
held up by the referendum will almost
ccrtninly rrsult in a rhano of policy
in preparing and introducing impropri
ation bills. In fact, d Isfusslun of thin
sub.iect during the campaign made it
necessary for many candidates to ex
press themselves and there was a very
general disposition to promise reforms.
That appropriations for different pur
poses should not be grouped, but should
be separated, so that the veto power
may be exercised as to one without in
terfering with others, was pretty gen
erally asserted by men who aspired to
sit in legislative halls. Though not
many pledges were made on another
phase of the appropriation subject. It
is quite probable that hills for appro
priations will be Introduced and passed
before the last week in the session. It
has been the practice to leave the ap-
propriation bills until near the close
of the session and then the measures
are enrolled
Of the Gov
placed I
too late
consider before adjournment. Under
such circumstances, the Governor has
been t'ompelled to perm It tlie tnllls to
become laws notwithstanding his oh
jectlons. or veto them and leave some
of the institutions entirely without
funds.
If amendments are made to bills
after passing one house, it generally
takes about a week to Ket a bill
throujcli both 1 o ues.s If tne Hpproprla-
tlon bills should be introduced at the
end of the third week of the session,
and a weel spent in considering them
in the two houses, they would sot to
the Governor about 12 days before ad
journment. That would Rive the ex
ecutive a few days to loo It them over
and Investigate the merits of the ap
propriattons, and, if he so desired, veto
some of them and send them back
for further consideration before adjournment-
Such practice would re
lieve the legislature of any charge of
attempting to force a measure past
the Governor, and would place upon tho
Governor responsibility for every meas-
ure he permitted to become a law.
PROM present indications, the de
mand upon the coming Legislature
will be the heaviest In the history of
the state. In bis biennial report. Sec
retary of State Dunbar presented an es
timate of the appropriations that will
be needed Ih the next two years. In
this estimate, he made additional al
lowances for the different departments
and institutions In accordance with
the growing needs of the state be-
X cause of its increased population lie
r.OOO for new building; for
and 9150.0OO for a Homo
for the feeble-minded, the approprta-
tions for both of which are generally
admitted to be n fccaary. H is esti
mate foots up over" $2,340,000. But
this estimate Included only whit tha
Secretary could see from his official
position were neces&nry for th main
tenance of the state government and
Institutions. Besides the amounts 11
found to toe necessary, there are m r n "
appropriations demanded concerning
which there will be more or less dif
ference of opinion. Then Is tta Dl'rt-
posa 1 . for ox ample, t hat 1 .000.000 he
appropriated for the p urchane of thu
locks at Oregon City, by agreement, if
possible, and by condemnation if neOeS-
sary. Then tho agitation in favor of
the establishment of a jute mill at the
prison calls for the expenditure of
$12r.,000 for a plant. $100,000 for raw
m atcrlHl and jL'n.OOO for opera ti rife ex
penses while getting started, or a total
Of J230.000.
The bill
for a law
for the workiiiR . of convict on
the roatls rarrlis n appropriation
of I'.'uO.OOO. The N'ational Guard would
like $100,000 wltlrwhiih to ronstriRt
armories in different parts of the fttate.
The Seattle Fair will want $100,000 and
the Jamestown Exposition J65.000. The
demand for removal of the printinK of
fice from the Capitol and construction
of r separate building therefor, to
gether with the purchase of a print
ing plant by the state, will require
about $100,000. The University of Ore
gon will want JjO.OOQ additional for
new buildings and furnishings, and the
Agricultural College a similar amount.
The normal schools will need an mldi-
tional appropriation of some $75,000.
Under the proposed new Irrigation cocifs
and tho hydrosraphic and topographic
surveys. $50,000 will be . needed. Tl)
State Ktilr is askinK for $10,000 addi
tional ami the several district fairs
will probably second tlie. request ny
asking a similar sum. Kor the ex'n-
tlon of the portage road from Vtic tC1a
to The Dalles, 950,000 Is sskeo. The
creation of a railroad mmmUMon wm
cost about $40,000 for the ensuing two-
year term. Th rrestlon of tlie offi-e
of State Hank Kxamlnor will tK
about" $10.0(10.. The free text booX
movement, if successful, will reo, ulre
about $100,000. Then there are a ntim-
ber of minor demands which will ;
grcfrnte In the neighborhood of J2.V00U,
and all making up a total of some
300.000. The demands for approprta-
tions in addition to those estimated ss
necessary by the Secretary of State are
about equal to his estimates, .and. if
all were grained, the total would be
In the virinity of $4.6"0,000. Mnnl
festly. the work of the "Ways and
Means Committee will not be light.
expense of running for
the direct primary law
Hfi tienv;.
office un.
was a. frequent subject or comment our
ins; the campaign and after the contest
closed. Almost -ithout exception the
candidates admit! d expending larger
sums thnn they -pected. and much
more than they wou:d have done under
the bid convention s.tem, As th 1m-
norliint contest was a lining Republican.
1 tlie RepirllcTi papfr. v.milil not smpytort
1 on, candidate to the exijunlon. of others,
from their columns, but a rule ac
cepted advertising from all. To siome ex
tent political workws adoptcrt tli rw
policy, and those men who dvotert con-
sidcraile time ami work to tho inlrrwt
of one candidate were In many cases paid
for It. Wlill, a nrat deal of work waa
done without pay, there was more paid
work In the last campaign than In ny
that preceded it. The result of this is
that men elected to office are under lews
political obligation than ever before. Vn-
i)Pr the convention system, appointments
and deputy-ships were pretty well prom
j M before a nomination was sKUr"-a.
The political boss who could deliver a
dclrfration was In a -position to exact
pledges of reward. Tn the popular nomi
nation there were no bosses who could
"deliver the good." and very few ap-
pointnients were promised in "advance. As
h consequence, the nfwly e!ertd ststs
officers are free to appoint to office whom
soever they please. Their re-election will
depend upon their pleasing the" people,
and not upon thir yielding to the de
mands of bosses, hence they are likely to
select subordinates with a view to secur
ing good sen-ice rather than for the pay
ment of political debts. Prom this view
point the money-spending campaign has
its advantages.
TUB Department of the Interior to
recently isuod a statement showing
that in the permanent forest reserves in
Oregon there are over 11,500,000 arre. Th
rea of the state is almost SLOWA
total
acren. The forest reserves cover
less than one-fifth of the area
a little
of tho
Slate, hut temporary rrem-w win prou-
ably be made permanent in sufficient area
to bring the total up to one-fifth.
r gHHiliS to 1) the evperiencd of nearly
every county that raised its
valuation materially that the
assessed
increase
Included -3
the asylum
llM raited in a marKea increaee in
taxes. The theory that a higher assess
ment would be followed ty acnrreitpond
Inffly lower rate or levy has nt worked
01H "fffll 1 practice. In most innce
the rate has been lowered, but not hi
proportion to the ralro in valuations. In
view of this experience, the flrnt year or
marked advances, there is a tendency t
believe tbat the same course will be fol
lowed In the future and that the higher
taxes this year, made poralble by the
higher assessment, will be followed by
still higher levies next year. The news
papers of the state have pretty gener
ally condemned the raise In taxes becaune
it will very likely create a siron? rle-
mand for a reduction to the former val
uations. lle'i Aot Sfltl'flrit.
Chleaca Niwg.
S-h- ay wide m r-l etnt inwluc
, m i-i Uite bint. And that tho duc!
I think that he's a poor eicuw,
Though I agree It
May bi- the can. lie Py b fins
And not what 1 would term a "shin.
The error may perhnps be mine.
Hut I ran't tr It. t
Phe eavs has a rrobl mind. '
That lie is true and brave and Kind;
Perhaps he K J may be bllnl
And very stupid.
At Irn ft h- wsmrs . unod ill i illai ,
But whfther that or otherwlne
1 always thought that bandaged eyes
BelonH to Cupid.
- He0 not bad look Inn. T aitrvlt
Jf! clot h"f, too. h nlway ""raa -to ftt.
Hut atill h .jpn"T. mnk- & hit
With m. I'd rather
fh'd Kt a boy vho's not in debt
. And who abJurM the cfra.re.tt.
Ferharu I have no ca'1 to fret
Jiut 1'zu br tat bar.