Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1907)
TIIK SV"UAY: OKEGOXIAX, PORTLAND, ; JAXUARV : . 13, - 1907. fH'BSCRIFTIOX KATES. t7 INVXK1ABLV IN ADVANCE. i (By Mall. Sunday I no In vied, ona y -ar ...... Bund&y Included, six months. . . . TO ally. S.OO 4.25 2.23 .75 oo , 11.25 1.75 ; .oo , 2.50 , l.OO , 0.00 JJsl.y, lmlly, Sunday Included, tliree .oonitn.. Dally. (Sunday Included. on. month.... J 1 1 v. without Sunday, on. year ...... lUy. without Suuday, .1 x months Ullly, without euniiuy, three montlis. . I)al!y. without Sunday, onfl mown..... Sunday, one yar. Weekly, oo year (Issued Thurdy) . . . liuaiiay od Wenkly, -on year BY CAKKIEK. Xuitr. Sunday Included, ona year.. Xal)y. Sunday Included, ona month.... .75 HOW XO KKMIT Send poatoHlc monay tprder, express order or personal chock oo your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency r at th sender's rl.k. Glv. postofflc. 0- dim In full. tDcludlm county amd au.a.1.. rOHTAGJB BAIEK. Entertd at Portland, Oregon, PostoSlc as cond-Class M attar. 3 to 24 Pge .1 cent 1 to 2 rii... - 2 cents to to . Pafca 8 cen" 0 to 80 Pnge C6IUI Fore i jtii Pob t af, double rate a. IMPOKTA T The postml law ara etrtefc- Vlcwspaperi on which postal ta not fully (repaid or not orardea w aesunuoa. EABTtKN UUBISK8S OFFICE. H0, r0IO S10-S1S Tribune buiiuia. K.E1T OS HAUL St. l'aul, 5linn.-. 6U Mrl, Commercial Elation. Colormdo Hortnara. Col& Weataro Ktm Arncy. Denver iTamllton Handrtck. OOOW12 ftventecnth ttreot; Prw Boos bww, mm fifteenth street; X. Welnateln; XL P. HAQ- rv . Rlckaeckttr Clsar Co- MiuttfuDoiii-M. ixivinamn. oo Boutu hlrd. t'lnvelaiMl, O. Jamtw Puahaw. SOY A tJU nt lv C ity , if. T. Eli Xayior. tow M City U Jones & Co., am oum; Broadway Theater News 6tsna. Ouklmod, Lal. W. 11- JohntoD, Four- nnlj unci Fmnhllu iroats, N- WbMtley; aklend Is ev. s til and. . . . Osirn-O. L. Utylt; w. o. Kino, w SMh street. Mot burins, Ark. OinMhu Jarka.low TC. Waver A Co. It 1 2 "ar M&selri Stationery Co.. xaw yarmwn; -o touth Fourteenth. , rnmmoDto. Lai. Sacra men to KeWi Co.. bult Lnke Mann Boole Stationary Co. Roscnfoltl & Iiaosen, Itm Anplfr-B. B. Amos, roanafw mw street wafons. tmn X-l a 1- SB- A mo a. l.iia Iioach, C'al. .- E. A room. I'ucttdt'Uii, J1. A- IT. Horning. Him Francisco - Foster 4 Qrear, Jerry News Stand; Hotel St. Francis New Bland ln r-m, IC. W ti-ac ley. EurrkB. Cal.Cal I -Ch ronlcle A snoy. Uaahiiigton, E. C- bbUt House. Ptnn- lylvanla uvtnue, Norfolk. V. Jmpown Kwi Co. 1'ine Ueacli, Va. W. A. Cogrove. I'biutdclithi, la. Kyan'a Tlieatnr Tlclcat roRTUM). 81M1AV, JASTAKY 19, 1007. 01Vl THE WIND. The Mow York American presents to Its readers a tubulated- stitlenient of the taxcii due and un paid w lilch the cor- porayons of the city ought to ra' un" dor the franchise tax law which was passed through Mr. Roosevelt's urgent influence when he was Governor of the etate. The table, which, covers the years from 1900 to lf06. Inclusive, shows that the sum of the unpaid taxes ist very large. The only imaginable reason why the property of these de- fiant corporations -hats not been sold for taxes, as that of an Individual would have been, is that they are ail enor mously wealthy. The law Is very con- siderate toward any corporation which is rich enough to extend "courteHiee" to the officials elected to enforce it. An example choen at random from this instructive table may not be ii n i n - tcresttng. Thus, Mr, Belmont's Metro politan Street Railway has not paid its taxes wince 1900. For 1901 it owes $407, OOO; for 1S03, S360.000. while its outatand- ins tax for vm is wooo. air, m- jnont is one of the leading lig-hta of the JJeniocrallc parly, and one of the most dirrtin-guished opponents in the country of municipal ownership. One can dip cent n n excellent reason why this hrewd and glided Kontlcmah should be gi tip Hod With things as they are. The number of corporations which have not paid t heir taxes for 1906 is llfty-thre- cord 1 ng to the Amerlcnn 0 table. It is these wealthy aggregations which make the heaviest demands upon. the Jivj-rt men t for favors and protee- t ion. They are alwayr? maKins some now and txpenslve pica (ol1 Speoill pri v-f leges. They are al wa ys getting Into trouble with their worfcmer and vailing Upon the Government for sol diers to guard their property. Yet they - n-ver- under any consideration pay a cent of taxes which they can ehlrk by cunniniji intrigue or bribery, .These are the corporations which clafmor loud est " for a weaK government, because under a weaK government they can .continue their flenrcdutlons uncnecKea. It is they that lecry reform most vo vlferoUBly, because reform wou Id 00m el them to bear their Just ehare of the public burden It la ttay that reelat most vlcloustly all legislation to protect t heir employes and the -public from mutilation and destfh, because safety devices would diminish somewhat the extortionate iivideiid on their wate-r-ed x toe :k. It ia t bey t hat run to the Fed- oral Courts tor inlunctions against every legislative act which looks to the public welfare, as did the gae com pany when the New York Legislature reiufcl Ha rates by stat- ute. Grabbing everything In sight and ahlrlcins all Uielr obllgatlonas to the public, these corporations are heaping up odium ag-aJnst themselves which is certain to break In a storm of ruin un less they men d their ways. The public to long tried to rcctwe tnem to obc dlence to the law by lawful means, and it has conspicuously fulled. When the law fails the American public is never Drraanontly M a loss for remodicg in. dependent of the law. What form this remedy may take in the ase of the re bellious corporations one need not try to preMl hut unW they Voluntarily cease tbeli- defiance. and that soon, there Is a reckoning in store that will cancel every debt with interest. rROSPKRITT OF FLOCKMA8TER8. The year 1906 -was a records-breaker In fill Industrial and buslnosd lines. Am. the annual statistics furnished by t he larger newspapers of every state ?How, liie year vac one or prosperity from Maine to Oregron and from the Cireat Lakes to the G-ulf of Mexico. The flocltmastert! of the country, and pari tieularly those of 'the Rocky Mountain region, came in for their -full share in the returns of thta most prosperous jear. The magnitude or this industry is Indicated It can hardly be eompre- hended by statistics sbowirur that over 4.000.000 sheep were marketed at Chicago alone, exceeding m number those of the previous year by 75.000 and excll Injc any previous record. More over, the average cost of sheep during the yiar. was 20 cents per head above Any, ptpevioua Quotation-, In addition to ttiie the wool clip was cnorinou s and tiie pried high. Altogether the "sheep barons" fared sumptmisly 9t the great banauot spread by prosperity, and they e n tf th e n e-s- year with p ros pecti? of success equul a; least to tliaf.of the year just ended. ; Incidentally it jruty bo well to suggest that the . flocTrtmasters . are abundantly, able to protect their flocks from inair- elons of the predatory coyote and other mutton loving ii n 1 1 111 It. of the great ranges. In this view repeal of the scalp-bounty lav9 that are carried on the statute-books "of many etates is In firder, or will be when I-grlasl&tures now ia. session or soon to commence get down to work. The farmer fights at his own expense ruet. ;r.txt and other subtle enemies that threaten his wheat; the orchardist is compelled o fight the pests -that assail -his trees and their fruit. ' Why should not the fockmaster tight1 the enemies that prey upon his Industry and .pay the expend of the campaigrn out of the substantial profits that accrue1 to him? HHYf Oregon has a. Democratic Governor and a Republican legislature. The Democratic Governor insists on the rigrht to appoint the membea-0 of the proposed State Railroad Commieelon, tr u are to Have a railroad commie- eion. - The Republican Lepisla-ture is solng: to obect. -Any one with hIf n ey-e can see already that the rail-road commission scheme is In great danger. It Is to be involved at the outset, in the furious inaelatrom of Oregon poli tics. The .Democratic Governor will not have a. commission at all unless he can have hie lei nl of a eo mm lesion and the Republloa-n Leginlature will have no commfoplon that it cannot name, It is nonsense to say that under the Teal Kobemo the State Senate will bave a voice in the appointments. It will nave a voice only in their possible re- jection. and. if they are rejected, it will he .t -the- Senate's jxir 1 1 . for all the Governor- will have to do will be to wait until the. Legislature adjourns and reappoint his men. ht will do. folio win That Is just what the illustrious pre- cedent of the President of the United State?, who never consults the United States about any appointments and Is not disturbed by an occasional rejec tlon. Cuftoms Collector frum, at Charleston. S. C, was rejected two or three timod, , on I y to be reappointed by the president. The only result' ot the great fight on Cram wafl to defer the beginning of his official term, and he is today enjoying t he emolu mentn and privileges of Uie Collcctorship at Charleston under appointment by the President and confirmation by the Sen ate. Why thie tremendous insistence at the bog-Inning of the railroad commis sion fight that ft shall be appointed by the Governor? Is the Governor of Ore- gun the only authority qualified to se- lect competent members of a railroad or any other commbwinn ? Wh y wouldn't a commission elected toy the Legislature, or elected by the people, or named by a. st&te boaixi cotistetin of the Oovarnor, Secretary rrT State' and State Treasurer, who name many state eommksiong. be as efficient as any other? Why? FREDERIC RASKIN'S LETTERS, With this Issue The Orejironian -begins a daily eervice of letters by Krederlc J". Haskin, a well-equipped, versatile, vig orous writer who knows the United States- like. a. book and1 lay, hold of topics that he knows will entertain ma well as instruct the busy reader in those, the busiest of all times. Aa be fore announced, tfae live subjecte he takea up afford tmirh variety ifhat Jn- torest in them cannot flag. . Afr. Haskln is not an essayist neither is he a philosopher. but young man of abumiiUH vitality, wbo believes that America will rule the world. Facts are bis chief stock ii trade, and he presents them attract lvely. He comments, too, but nearly Always in epigrams. Hie optimism 1e In sharp contrast with writers who think and try to make folk believe the country is going to the bad. This Is not to say that Mr. Haskln finds nothing to criticise. but he flow despair. He is convinced that any normal younj? man or woman can succeed In America by industry and thrift. By indirection he appeals to young pple to do their beat, and pol nts ou t t he never-f ai Ii ng reward A 11 the while he entertains them. The Oregon ia a commends Mr. Hae- kin's letters on account of their new. ness. their varied interest n-d their hopeful spirit. We believe the Paclrlc Northwest will relish them in connec tion with the dally chronicle of the world's news so fully presented every morning. IS TIIK VAIXKV ASI.KEI? Want of enterprise Is the charge that PS oiten fieen maae against ttie Wil lamette Valley. The indictments have ben presen ted time after time-, fi rst upon one specification and then upon another. Upon one of indictments a trial has been had. and the verdict is rallty. Secretary E. Tt- Xake. of the State Horticultural Society, voiced the, opinion of the popular Jury when he eon-dem-ned the appls-srowe of the w uiamette Vadley- ror the jre to come to the annual meeting -wltft a suitable exhibit of their product. Lack of enterprise . flie charge made an-d proven against Willamette Valley ap- Wrora not as individuals, hut as body. There were a few growers v no iimtie ui snowing t uat was pected of. them, but the Valley grow pi's as a whole made a most humiliat- ing failure. Neither Profesor Lake nor the t pie In general ijas anything to say against Willamette Valley applets. The ooa Jrtiver people nave long asserted In aesison and out or season that "W" J 1 - mm Yftiivjr appiw are Mewr ,w their own product. This assertion has been met by vehement denial and the counter assertion that the Valley can and doea raise "lust as good" apples as any region on earth. Agua-inst the charge made The Oregon lan and other newspapers defended, the Willamette Valley. Tha defense bad been so vis:. orously waged that the case had been almost won for the Valley. Krow, how ever, wiren it came to a matter o proof, ae well a denials, the Willam ette Valley growers, fell down and fell hard. The Oregonian still believes, and Fro fes&or Lake believes, that the proof cowa oe- nao. out uirough the lack of enterprise on the part of growers it wa not brought forth and the case goes practically by default in favor of Hood River. Instead of all making an effort to re-estabusn ana sustain tne wnianr ette Valley, each hung back to let the others do the work with the result that It has not been done. So far a the world knows, or, from present indica 1 Uone, ia likely ta koowt Ui Wiilamtte Ik not an appl-growing pction mentioning. The Valley is a p- parontly indulging in a. Rip Van Win Ule sleep. rxi wt re it not a. part of our own beloved Oregon we would be tempted to say, don't dlsturb.tts slum bers. - , 1 - i .such must not be tl "policy;" Neither ihe "Willamette Valley nor any other section of the state muet be permitted to mi?e' Its opportunities. What the Valley moet needs la not a revlv-kl of apple-gTowtng, nor an in- crease of manufactures, ror the build- ihsr of electric lines. It needs, first of all. the development of an enterprisina: spirit, an advertising spirit, which wiiil not let the people rest until the whole world knows what that part of Oregon has done and can do. ' A MltLSTOXE ABOI T HIS NECK. The Chicago Tribune'- has given its readers a rkldle to solve. It is pro posed in the form of three questions: "Which would, you rather have been bo rn, rich or poo r ? W h ich would you prefer for your baby if you had the choice? 1 Ioe It help or hinder a child in the race of Tl fe to be born poor? T 11 stating the terms of this triple riddle we have ventured to modify somewhat the lan guage of our metropolitan con -temporary, though, we trust, not the meaning THe subjw-t offers such at tractions to the reflective mind that we cannot refrain from dlecusslriR it a lit tle ourselves; but before sett in out to sail tho inviting sea we must remark that the whole- matter- is really com-' prteed in the single query whether t: is better for a child to be born rich or poor. ' . ' The argument wiH flow more pmooth " iX we decide at the outset what wo mean by the word '"poor." If we take it to mean the condition, of those chtl- en who are born in the slums In - dire int of food, clothes and air to brcatne, smitten wun aisease uerore they come into the world and morally blighted before thoy learn to speak, the question does not admit of d.lscus slon. To be thug born is to be born as one of the darnried. The child who en- era the world through the gateway of the elums might well imagine some jeering fiend to have ushered him Into the Inferno and to have launched him pon bis career ' with the precept. Abandon hope." For tue erum-born child there is no hope. He is fore doomed to pepd It Ion of bod y and sou I. and. if by chance and the unconquer-, able energy of his manhood one of them does sometimes overcome his fate and. rise -to better things, bis achieve ment is a miracle that proves the rule. The word "poor" must not mean for us the sou 1 d es t royi n g poverty . of the iluxns If we are to concede -two sides to the Tribune's question. Possibly one might go a little farther without serious diumer of error. There degrees of Indigence Itfss ruinous than mat of We slums, wiiien never theless conspire to blight the eoul and degrade thn body of a chilci. It is a dis tinct disadvantage to him f o be born of parentis who are obliged td toll so, long and hard for a living that they have no time to father and mother him. Ety "fathering" a child we rrtean that di- vine companionehto, nurtfre and gov- rnance by virtue of whK'h the male parent may possess his so rust and daugh ters of the high teaching. of experi ence, the stem calls of dty. and the obligations of honor.- Sad b-ithe loss to a child whose father- seeks afs hOme at night outworn with dead'k toil; for whom thr can be no moifriinsr hymn to the A liTi iR lit- because of ilie. imperi ous majMiate to rush to bis labor. Woe to the boy who never saw his father at play. Woe to the nation vi;rioo chil dren's -fathers have ceased to, play with tnem. Why tiave the poor i forgotten God? Because they have neither time nor strength left from their toil to re member him. By "mothering" a child we mean the gathering at her knee at bedtime to learn the magic lore of fairyland, to hear of the love that mak.es the world beautiful and will some day hind all men- In one great brotherhood. To mother a child is to fill his life with sweet and gentle Bu&gestlon, to teach him the law of kindness and the beauty of obedienci'. Just as the rather efti his feet in the path of duty, so the mother shows him the golden land- scapes of love through which duty 1 a d s him. Wha t time for al 1 th is Is there in the homes of the poor who live by daily toll? What strength Is there for it? Mow can a woman mother her children who spends the night laboring n a factor)'? How can a child De mothered who has become a bond slave In the pitilese Industrial mill? Can there be a. doubt that to a child who has missed those things the loss is in- finite? Is it rational to conceive that ft ean be- an advantage to any one to be born with the millstone of poverty a.Uut tils neck and his faoe forever held to the grindstone of toil? It is well to talk about the nobility 0 labor, Lalwr is noDie so long as it conduces to the bodily and .spiritual' Krowith of the man who labora; but when it dwarfs him, when it puts out the light of his spirit, wastes his mus- v and distorts t he bones of hie limbs, iere is the nobility of it?- Such, labor a curoe, precisely as the Bible sta.mp9 it. And to he horn ii the1 ne- Bsity of such labor" is also a curse, verty of this kind, therfor, we in u t admit, ia no bleesin-j. to a child. But there is also a degree of riches which acts . much In the stt.me way. The woman whose wealth makes' her a so- dety leader knows, quite as little of her children as the poor -factory slave. So far as the welfare of the child Is con cerned. It matters , not whether its mother 'lasses tl)G night toiling in a mill or smiling artificial smilea In the porfumed bowe-rs of fashion.. In either caee it suffers lethal deprivation. : It we neeA a. law- to top nlghl work for.iKe women, of poverty, "we need one jurt as badly to stop -nigh-t difisipatioh for the vT ifWltft; Qn cannot, imagine either that It Is' a great advantage to a baby to have sucta a man as "Mr. Corey for . a father. All his wealth would not compensate ror the depcr ate Inheritance, bodily and - spiritual, which he transmits. The loss - corn-pan ion ship of such, a father? a boy has the better for him. ' What eould he teach a son of the great virtues and divine nac rifices -whlct have Tnade uren immortal and reaeemeia the nations? . i( , What the child needs ie a normal childhood.' It needs a mother who has time to love and a father who has time and strength to rule, we set Mary, the mother of Jesus, on high in heaven be cause she bore the redeemer in her boeom; but the mothers of the men whom he redeemed we harness to our machines, while the children for whom he died are marshaled' by the mill loil into perdition, We render unto God our holiee-t reverence by the na,me of Father, while out of the men whom he calls his sons we grind the fatherhood by deadly toll, It is idle for society to J pxaj.se the family and laud its virtues Va Ilfy wort h o Ions' as we deny to the greater num ber of families the means to fulfill themselves.' That child ii most form- nate who is born in a family where there i enough, and no more; who has a womanly rporher and a etern but kindly father; and who parses his youth in healthful play and strict obe dience. That child is most to be cn- vied who thinRs his father the greatest man in the world and his mother the best woman, and never in after years finds reason to change his mind. Ot B AMERICAN ARISTOCRACY. ' In tho daily bulletin regarding his movements and intentions Mr. w. E. Corey ystirda-y announced that he will not marry during hte present European trip. Trite is fnteresting. for our little world on this side of 'the Atlantic has become d eepl y absorbed in w a tch In g the course of th fs vulgar steel king and his chorus lady. And yet we never took- any particular Interest In Mr. Corey before he was drenched in the golden shower wbiohf our protective tariff poured over, the steel barons, Riches throw out a peculiar glamour which effects- quite a transformation In very common clay,: and as a nation we perhaps render a good deal of homage where reproach would be more appro priate. But it seenw to be a. necessity tha-tj we have something to -worship in lieu of a mildewed aristocracy such as bends -the knee among the foreigners. "We-are inclined to make light of the British, who "dearly love a lord' and yet the breathless anxiety with which we seek the news and gossip regard ing our vulgar rich, as well as the other kind if there be any is perhaps fully as grotesque and unaccountable as to the -conduct of our foreign cousins. "Litke all other nations,' says Mark iWn In his autobiography. 'e WOr- ship money and the possessors of ine.v . Doing our aristocracy. and w have to- have- one,- There te perhape more truth in this statement than In om e of t ho se m ade by H uc k le berry Finn or Tom Sawyer, for it mut""be re- memCcred that the aje of our country or, to be more accurate, the youthful- neas of ou r co u n t ry h as ba r red u s from , the possession of a home-grown aristopraer, such as is worshiped in the Old World . More than a century ago England was in possession of an arts tocracy which even then waejeo old, mildewed and revered that It had made menials and lickspittles out of -millions of common people. We could not' "dearly love a lord" at that time, because our lords wore grub bing su.mps, fighting Indians or ex changing beads and booze for buckskin moccasins, venison, dried fish and other eommodkN which the female mem bens of tfae "first 'families' of America had prepared1. Perhape we are not to blame that we have not the real' thins in ancient lineage, which is said to be necessary in building up a simon-pure aristocracy of the Eiigiish brand. it must be remembered that whenever our "first families" of the present day trace their lineage -back very far they aire In continued danger ot a surprise, The coat of arms which emblazons the ro ys 1 encu tch eo n o f Eu rope pro n oral 1 y Its illustrative of mme great event which gave the founders of the family their start in life. In our country the back, trail or some of our first fami lies wouJd lead into a retail whisky store, or something worse, which prob ably had nroved the foundation- for the wealth which made our modern arimoc- racy, Other "family . trees' if; exam Ined too closely, would perhaps disclose eome of the -family da.ngling from limb with a nooee around the neck." Such oatsee and they are frequent- show the difficulty of getting up much or an Idol of royalty in this .country until more of t'ac oldest Inhabitants die' off or the local histories throughout the country -are revised.- .A. whisky bottle dormant and a red Indian rampant would maKe a lively coat or arm?, and it would be full of significance in the case of some' of our vulgar rich; but it Is not to be considered. In fact, we are too young to Indulge in the worship of any kind of aristocracy except that whtoh has the credentials In negotiable eeruritiee. The Engflioh "dearly love a lord" and the Americans dearly love a dollar providing it has multiplied with sufficient rapidity. For that reon the former will . continue to exhibit the greatest interest in the title-bearers ho are fu ppoeed to gi ve tone to t lv country. while we will continue to in- slst on the fullest new of the move- men ts of Senator Got-Roeks. Mrs. New-Rich and aU of the rest of the aristocracy w,hrcri in theee proeperour? times is sprouting' more raptdly than a tepid pond in June NEW HOMER IV CANADA. The encouragement that has given to the occupation and develop- mi of the great prairie region of Oanada beyond "Winnipeg by the Ca nadlan Pacl no Railway Company and the immigration department of the govr ernment at Ottawa has resulted in an toniehlng development of the wide area that pa ys. tribute in traffic to the railway and in taxes to the govern- ment. The figures In which this growth is -recorded furnish indisputable evi dence that it is of a permanent and most substantial and progressive type, Taking stock of its year's work, the immigration bureau .t Ottawa flndi the results very .satisfactory. The in ventory shows that during the season of 190S-S a total of 189.000 immigrants arrived in the Dominion, an Increase of OYer the number the preceding year a substantial gain of husky ag ricultural laborers from the Scandlna vian States, Great Britain and the United States, a very large per cent o: whom, with their families, were imme diately located on the abounding whea- lancte beyond Winnipeg. The harvest laborers carried into the province by the Canadian Pacific dur ing the season of 1906 numbered- 22.S50, an Increase of 6500 over the number who went in for the prairie harvest 0' lOS. Of these laborers, the two forces that combine to encourage immigration tO Canada, ViJ., th? Canadian racmc Railway and the government at Ot tawa. count on 40 per cent remaining: to -make . their .homes in the pratri provinces; and that within the nex two or three years a large proportion of them will have become Homestead- ers upon quarter sections of govern ment land or settlers upon land PUT chased from the railway companies. This expectation is fortified by the fact tfiat 50,000 homesteaders went into Western Canada during- the twelv months ending September 30. 1906. and entered liJ.oOO square miles of farm land. The climate, soil and marketing fa cilities of thds prairie land of West crn Canada are similar to the condi Hons that prevail in the Bakotas. Yet the immigration agente of Canada have, by adroit management, drawn many settlers north across tne Amer icnn border la the Interest of Canadian development. This im perfectly legit imate, it belnar to the interest of the Canadians to get these- people u they can. and that of the. American Gov ernment to keep them If it can. In the latter interest it will be well to heed the plea recently made by Dakota homesteaders, who are suffering bit terly with the cold -because of the pre vailing fuel famine, to be allowed to leave their holdings until Spring, amF with their families seek, some more sheltered place. Of - -the fuel situation on the prairies of Western Canada nothing- ha been said, but it is reason able to suppose that the Canadian Fa cific has made provision against a coal famine that would either drive out or exterminate the settlers that the com pany has -been at such pains to bring In and locate. The tactics of the- thugs who into Insensibility at ari d t ac k ed , bea t robbed a. Chinajnan of the email ?av- Ings of bis industry in.-hte room on top of an abandoned water tower. at Pret yman s Station very closely resemble those of the brutal assailants of Dr. oh n son. "Had they thrown the Inscn Ible victim from the tower, the plm- artty would have fcm complete, This they probably would have done had conditions leading to their own imme diate safety favored the act. Cjulte attirally the murderers of Dr. Johnson have changed their base of oieratIon. That they have gone out of business is ot to be .supposed. Neither is it prob- i. i i.l tili.t Ii TV I . 1 able tnat tney nave lett tne city, w nar is more probable, then, than that they reappnared at Mount Tabor and made a defenseless Chinaman in his lonely abode a victim of their desperate, and brutal quest of unearned spoil? It may be hoped thkt Non Tung will be able o fjvf an accurate description or tiw hugs who availed hi and identify m promptly In cae they a re danger that they i ought before him : (Elected to obviate by throwing his sen soles" form from his room in the water tower. Mr. Harrlnmn appears now In the role of philanthropist. -He Is going to pa y $32,500 for the use of enough rci&M-cars to relieve the coal famine Kansas and Nebraska. Through whoe fault but Ha vrtman's came -this woeful lack of fuel ? It it a note- worthy favor for a corporation that hag grown so rich that it cannot find ln-vest-nient for Its surplus to expend a trifling sura in order to correct a sin of omision? The people of those great states for more than a generation have axed their industry to swell the Union Heine's revenue, They are not men- dlcants. They are willing and able to pay the top price for cos I and full freight rates, but they want the coal. he-very least Harriman can do le to haul it. The present expenditure of a few thouevand- won't be missed out of the next 10 per cent dividend. Even Kmperor "William admits that something may possibly .be learned rom the Japanese In training, strategy and other matters pertaining to miH- t ary efflelen c y. Fou r o fficer of the general staff of the German army, hav- ng made special preparation for the service, "including a study of the Jap- se language, will go to Japan and devote two -years to a careful study of he -methods by -which the soldiers of he Mikado keep themselves In uch splendid fighting- trim, afield and in camp. The detail of officer for thte service Is ' especially 1 complimentary, since the Japanese army received its modern training from German officers and the studv ordered Is an admission that the pupil bss outstripped its tutor upon some Important points in military science. The extension of library -privileges to the growing community of Sellwood. under the auspices of the Portland Li- brary Association, is commendable. The city suburbs, mot less than the country districts, need library facili ties for the entertainment find infltruc- tlon of the reetlens. eager element that must and will find entertainment sone Wfiere (luring the long Winter evenings, The peoplf. of Sellwood have made val- ia n x: errort to neip tnetmseives in tnis line, and the Library Association has come to their aid at a time when it feemed that their unaided effort must fall- The value of the movement is evident and the timely aet&istance ren dered is greatly appreciated. The desperadoes bent" on robbery and murder who are worKing this city at present eem to go in palrfii and trios. They are doubtless prepared to refttet arrest after the manner of the reckless and determined of their kind. Hence the officer who gets the drop on them will need to be bHuidy with his gun or legs. Eetlmatep. -made at the time of her death, of the value of the "late Amanda Reed's Portland real estate need re vision. Nearly alt of It has doubled not on -paper, but the eash It wljl brin In open market. The object of he benefaction ha not suffered financially by the delay consequent on litigation. JUSt or unjust, enough publicity has been given to the manner of Senator G-uggenhetm s election to annul any Guggenheim's . eW genuine effort ho country's eervice, genuine effort ho had in mind for hi. Americans will bave no sympathy to waste on the German insurance com- panles whose Mrthtiunke clause M fence failed In the courts of the Father land. Portland's aide hills afforded, J'OUth the rare sport of coasting yesterda Happy was the coincidence of the flt pnowlall and tneciosea scnooinouBe Emaciating ful conditions In Portland present no terrors to the provident man who mien his casement wim mm and coal laet Summer. JJever was an Oregon Legislature wakM go vigilantly as the one which convenes tomorrow' will- be scrutinized by the- plain people. Senator Guggenheim, of Colorado, has been claesified. Still he will doubt less be permitted to second a motion to adjourn, Last week's weather had: no chilling effect on buslnees, as witness the 36 per cent Increase in bank clearances. For the next forty day Salem wi enjoy ner biennial season or higrh-tlde prosperity. To the legislature of Oregon: member the referendum; also the initl ative. Good morning: "Will this little breath ol old keep VOU from, churchl COMMENT ON CURRENT STATE TOPICS Free Passes to State and County Officials Closing Saloons by Keeping Tnem Open Indirect State Revenues and. Iirect State Expenses Clerks and Spectators at Legislative c OMPTJLSORT issuance of passes to state and county officers, as pro posed 4y some, is likely to be at tended by questions that have not yet been discussed. To cosider the subject in its . general features is easier than solving some of the problems presented when it is studied in its details. What constitutes a state or county officer is, for example, an important question. It the proposed law be limited in its appli es tion to officers elected by the people. It will fall short of its purposes. Among the officers who do much traveling in the public service are the Master Klsh Warden, the Adjutant-General, the State Land Agent, members of the State Fair Board, and other officers who are ap- potntive.- But if these are included in the list to whom free passes are to be ex tended, it Is difficult to see where the line will be drawn. If all appointive officers are also included, the list would extend to superintendents of all statft institutions, employes of all the depart ments, deputies and assistants, who may do some traveling for the purpose of ftt- .tending of passe: to public duties, hut whose use would be chiefly for private pur- poses. To enact a law general in its terms would leave doubt as to its appli cation : to make it specific as to the per sons to whom it will, apply will take con- siderable time in studying the methods of transacting public business. .Then inere Is another question of pu t- lie Interen involved, The proposed jaw contemplates that the pass list shall be limited to those who hold ofrk-lnl position. Then a man who Is In office will have he advantage of free transportation in making a campaign for re-election, while outsider who desires to contest for his position must pay his fare. That would be an Immense advantage to those who are In. especially under the direct primary system, which necessitates con- siderable traveling in making1 a cam. palgn. It Is understood that In the past the railroads have 'been very liberal In issuance of pa?ses to candidates and that they have not discriminated but have sued to all candidates for an office if to any. One of the objection that has been mado to the direct primary law is that it gives a great advantage to an n-ii mlx'ti t. who will have a solid support while the opposition will be divided among new aspirants for the place. This ad- -antage would be greatly increased if the ncumtaent had the privilege of free ransportation while his opponents Had to pay their fares. VERT town that ever tried to en force a eloslng period 'for saloons, whether for certain time at night or on undays. has had difficulty in securing observance of the law, Even in towns where such a regulation is supposed to he In force, hack doors usually a ITord cans of entrance thougk the front door be locked and blockaded. Then raid occurs and men a re found i n the saloon, the f-xpln na tion is usually made that the proprietors were merely looking after private business or chat ting with friends eod prf not open for business. Salem has tried some- Mnf new in closing laws and the- re- suit of the experiment may be of. value. An ordinance that has Just gone into effect in that city provide that all saloons shall close at mldniehti and atV cloned, tile ordlnnnre rqulra that luring- the closed period all curtain. screens and othfir obstructions to tho view must ' removed so that the In saloon may be seen from terior of th he street. This will permit all persons to see whether the law Is being ob served or not. The same rcoulrempnt applies to Sunday closing. Halem pa pers quote liquor dealers aft saying that t-hey will obey the aw for a wl people will le. but forget that after a time about It and they ran return to former methods. RRQXTENT repetition of the assertion in market report. that the great bulk of the Oreaon potato crop in of poor quality and therefore, does not bring a good price recalls the effort of an Ore commission house last year to in farmers to Import fancy bmcI from Wisconsin. Tn order to encourage the Importation of the seed the firm offered to take orders for all who wished to buy. forward the orders when a carload had been subscribed for, ana let tne growers have the potatoes at actual cost. It was estimated that the cost would be a bushel. After sending out several hun- dred elreulars and taking (he matter up personally with many farmers, the orders secured aggregated on 1 y a few bushels. father than pay the price named the farmers used -eed of their own growing and probably used i the culls, consisting of small, knobby and otherwise Imperfect potatoes. They planted the seed on ground that had been- planted. ' to the kind of seed year after year. Till practice. It is said, accounts for the de- terloratlon of the potato prOfJllflt. Th plan of the commission house mentioned was not that the farmers should import 811 ttlCir Cvd Pt tnat thejr should each import a few bushels, plant these Upon well-prepared soil and raise enough for their own seed for the following yea: thus socurinz an abundance of good seed at comparatively small cost and graatly enhanclriK the value of their crop. Pr- liaps a change ot methods in potato growing win not be experienced until the subject receives as much public attention as the reform in apple growing has hs fCNACTMBNT of laws for the raising S. of state revenue from indirect aourcei has for one of Its objects the divorce ment of the slate attJ eOUlltj' fiVfiUlllS of raising revenue, so that tbere will no longer be any temptation to reduce t SeSSvd Valuations, This end is already accomplished by the law establishing fixed ration according to which the coun ties are required to pay their state taxes. but since there has always ocen oouht as to the sired that lidlty of this law it Is de- soon as possible the state "secure practically all its revenue from Indirect gourees. The attainment of that end would entirely remove danger of re newed reduction of assessments to rtdicu lous inures. Put unless there should oe a rapid increase in the amount of reve nue from indirect sources or a denial of many of . the demands that are being made for appropriations from the state treasury. the - expenses increase more rapidly of the state i than tfae indirect revenue, so that the state viij t jetting farther away from the , coveted goal rather than nearer. For example. If a law be passed which will add V1CO.00O a year, to the revenue from Indirect sources, Sessions. but other laws be passed which will : increase the .nate expenditures the state will be farther than ever from elimination of a direct tax On property. One of the state? which now derives all its state revenue from indirect sourco has been aided In that change by shifting much of the state expense upon the counties. Wisconsin requires the counties to, pay a very large part of the expense of maintaining tlieir Insane. Tlw same plan could be followed here in Oregon. . . . . ... . .... 1 .-l-t.a if desired, and mat such a yiaii iiiibiii be deemed desirable is indicated by the recommenaation that counties to charged with the expense of maintaining their feeble-minded in the institution which it tt now propoM.fl tarmll be eaablisred. The Board Of Public Buildlns Commissioners ha3 made this recommendation. Tending In tile name direction would be an amend ment n'hich would require the counttea to pay inc Circuit Judges and District Attorneys. Other changes of similar nature might be made", not increasing the burden of taxation upon the people, but shifting It from the state taxing system to the county and thus a Id. ng the move ment to put the state upon an indirect revenue basis. It has been remarked by those in a position to observe that thrrft Is danger- of the state Increasing its ex penses faster than its Indirect revenue. and thus faiiins; in one el the policies that has received wide popular approval. W ITH . organization of the legisla ture apparently settled, the mem bers of t the past e t wo houses bega reek to pay some to the matter of sflcctlng siiDorfllnaic officers and clerks. Though the de mand for clerkships is not tr gr.-t in the matter of numbers as it was during- the hard times, the pressure Is Just as strong, for those who wish to go to .Salem for iO days are Just as an.ioiis as ever. The ordinary clerk- ship pays but $: a os y . and in th times when niont industrious people have good employment, there are not so many as formerly who are willing to quit their regular work: for a short season of employment at the Capital. But to those who have no employment. the $3 a day looks as big as it ever cilrt. .X r 1 there lit te plenty of ap plicants for all the positions that are to he filled. Every member has a friend who wants a place. The general reference to " a day does not mean in legislative employ- ment what it does in ordinary occupa tions. Tlio legislative clrrk draws pay for 40 days, including Saturdays and Sundays, upon whleh there Is no work . done-. VV orkincr li ve days In a week, the clerk draws pay tor seven, h nd then some, It Is the invariable rule. to allow ''overtime. Toward the end of .the session there Is always a rush of work and the clerks must put in a few hours work in tlif evening. This overtime Is caref ully credited and paid for. notwithstanding the clerk m a y have been idle nine-tenths of the tim earlier in the session. It is related that some Instances the committee ap pointed to report the amount due ATo clerks has urged members of ' the Lee- la t tire to put in claim for "overtime"" for their clerks, though tbe members protested that the cictks did not work after the regular hours. Desiring to allow their own friends extra pay. the members of the committee wanted to enlist other members In the support of the add It ional allowance. These fea tures of legislative employment account In nome degree for tne eagerness of many younjr people to secure clerk ships, notwithstanding the cost of llv ng at the Capital during; a session amounts to at least 11.50 ft day. And usually more. Pome ot tbe clerks do not bfRln their work unttL several days after the session opens, put draw pay from the first. Purinff the first two or three weeks there la little to be done and the clerks have practically a va cation from their usual occupation at home. "Without these incidents of clerkship lire there would be little at- traction in the compcnEation paid. PrtOM the point of view of the spec tator in the gallery, the present oflulfltlve session will be more Inter- esting than been. Rathe previous sessions ha r. there will be much le of tiro tiresome, and uninteresting- roll call.. Heretofore much of the time of the legislature has been given to the passage of charter bills, and as these. arc all passed from one reading: to an- other under suspension of the rules, a great deal or time 1 1 tats been spent In taking a vote on the question whether the rules shall bo suspended. Scarcely ythlng could be more monotonous than the of t-repeated calling of the roll with few of the members answer C to their names. Vet this formality t necessary. Now there -w 1 1 1 be no- charter bills before ttic Legislature and there will be more time for (hi nslderatlon of bills In which there more general Interest and which w411 lilVltC flCDate, The country visitor sv.s to Salem with the Idea that the Legis lature spends most of Its ttmo debafc ng questions of vital Importance to the tale. He is therefor disappoint- ed It he sits In the gallery half a day and hears nothing but roll calls. it taKB a lively dUcuesion o make tho Legislature Interostlnar to the gallery. The rherB B07. Heiiry David Thomii. My life Is liUe a str-Ml upon the beach. -m n- 1- tho occsir. r.lRf I c-ar jeo My t&rdy ntap Its ws.ves omt.lma reach, Sometimes I llay Is lei them oVflrflif. Iy sole vmploymn To place my a.! tWs other peUle. and e&ch sUl moil Elfill kln1y to my 2i . J have l)Ut few companions on the-shor,; They scorn the strand who tail upon the The middle sea contain no crimson dul: Its dr-eper waves cast up no pa.rl te Along the shore my hand is on Its pul9, . And I converse with many a shipwrecked ' Her Moods. Clara llingsr Grn. A. midnlnhi rampant, bloodhound winds Abroad for prey. And growllnc eas that crouch and ! On ship at bay. A. mnminic bland. aea demur. Ai.d nature smiles aputogy lor wack-aid don.
