6
THE SUNDAY OKEGOMAN, PORTLAND, JAfiURY 27, 1907.
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l"ORTUAND, SUNDAY, JANUARY 27, 10O7
7HO NIRTRIMK X"OK OREGON.
Nothing- startling; aa developed in the
Interstate Commerce Commission hear-
ing In this city; or at least It preecnted
no features that could or " would ooca-
sion surprise tn Portland and Oregon,
The attorney for the prosecution seemed
f u rpr 1 sed
ease -with which
lie proved the case he sought to ee
llsh. and yet all facta brought out at
the h earing have been known to Ore
coniana for the paet five years. "When
the "Pacifies" were amalgamated, un
der the llarrtman management and all
The money paid .fey Orepon to any and all
of the roads was parceled out In d ivi
(lends or for Investment by Mr. Har-
rlman alone. It was quite obvious that
3W r. Harrlman would not Jeopardize the
size of dividends or the amount of the
profits by permitting competition that
would redound: to the 'benefit of the
men "wlio ptitd the freight. What
everyone In Oregon already knew was
quickly ascertained by Attorney Sev-
eranoe before he had examined one-
half the witnesses.
.Mr. Miller, of the railroad forces,
made a very clever witness, and by
hi testimony presented the case in
the beet possible light for the railroads;
but. when Mr. Miller, general freight
agent of the Southern Pacific, and per.
force obliged to make the beet possible
financial Tetuni9 for that road, at
tempted to show that re was in active
competition with Mr- Miller, of the O
& N., or. in other words, with him
1
self, and was also expected by com
petitive tactR'S to take business away
from tils Southern iaeltlc. it wa. 1m-
possible lor Wm to maKe a satisfactory
explanation. To use an expression of
The street, the Harrlman roads seem
to hav been "caught with the goods
on them." If there was anything novel
In the alleged expose. It was In the fact
that the people of Oregon have -for
more than five years remained patient
and passive under this monopoly.
We have witnessed the shifting: of
the Oriental flour trade from Portland
to Pugret Sound simply' because the
'Harrlman .syetem, in Its blind deter
mination to build up San Francisco at
the expense of the Northern ports,
failed- to iuipply tis with the necessary
tonnage for taking: care of the Duel
ness. That this short-sighted policy
failed to accomplish the object sought
" is quite clearly demonstrated toy the
nresent, condition of a IT aire ; for, while
the business ni rained lor Portland,
it failed to ro to San Francisco, but
dnstead do-ifted. Into the hands of M r
Harrlman'B .greatest enemy, Mr. Hill.
Vfl havft vltncfised In the attempt of
the Southern Pacific to force business
b y ral 1 the -practical arandonmen t of
the .waiter route, no effort being made
to rtecure now and up-to-date steamers
for the run. although our chief com
jx?tItor In the Northwest trade, Seat
tle, to provided with new steamships
vhich hnvft been built since the HarrU
man line was. left with only one fairly
satisfactory, steamer on -the route.
' 'Here ag-adn- haa trie short-sigrhted
Harrlman policy failed to work, for the
business, instead of beinsr forced to the
railroad, by lack of water facilities,. was
taKeu up py a ecore of smaller vessels,
all of whch havo .made money out of
it. 'while eome of the paesenger traffic
which insisted on the water trip by a
good, boat has .been forced to go by
way of Puiret Sound.' where still more
of It will K as won as- several rriiiK-
nlficent new steamens now under con
struction are completed. Another re
suit of elimination of competition is
Khown in the abominable train service
between Portland and the East. With
the shortest route and the best facili
ties of any road for making fast time
between Portland and the East, the
train service has been subordinated to
that of California to such an extent
that travelers who knew by experience
or reputation the wretched connections
made by the Oregon Short Line and
the Union Pacific, are many of them
going over to the Hill lines. Coming
west, this has resulted in thousands of
straugers stopping at Puget -Soand.
who, had there been an adequate train I
service to Portland would nave taken
the short route, and at least have had
an opportunity of seeing Portland, and
Oregon.
These serious fihorteominpa have, of
course, been tiishly exasperating to
the people of Oregon, but all might
nave ue-en home with that mild bud-
mission which is characteristic of Ore-
gonlans, had not the amalgamation of
these lines stifled competition in rail
road extension as well as in the opera-
tion of the lines already built.. No one
who haa witnessed, the aggressive man-
ner In which Mr. Harriman "got buey"
as soon as Mr. Hill, began building a
line down the north bank: of the Co
lumbia River, will believe that, if the
Southern Pacific and Union Pacific had
remained in competition with each
other, one or the other would not long
ere this have entered. Central Oregon.
With these great transcontinental
roads competing with each other for
business, the building of a railroad Into
such an enormously rich' trade field fld
the Tillamook and Ne-halem country
would never have been left to a pri-
vate individual like Mr, Lytie. who
during the past ten years has displayed
Infinitely more enterprise than Harrl
man in 'the opening up of new territory.
It is not at all clear .Mat punigh-
ment can be meted out to Mr. Harrl
man. even should he be found gruilty
of this combination in restraint of
trade, but it Is clear that, no matter
what the result may be, or wha.t
changres may come with a possible .re
adjustment which would naturally fol
low a dissolution of the merger, Port
land and Oregon can get nothing- worse
in the way of railroad-building. or train
atnd steamship service than we have
been forced to accept for several years.
since all competition ceased between
the two great branches of the Harri
man system, which have held Oregon
lnfa vise-like grip.
EVANGELISTIC PROGRESS.
Persons who can remember back
some forty years often find it instruct
ive to contrast the methods of the
modern "evangelist" with those of the
revivalist' who was then the active
recruiting agent of the church militant.
That there is a contrast cannot be de
nied. The very change in the name of
the officer 'proclaims it. "Evangelist"
is a more elegant appellation than "re-
vivalist." It is lees startling to the
sensibilities. It implies less of etorm
and fury and more of those grentle
breezes which insensibly waft the soul
to salvation, while it enjoys all the de-
lighte of sin. "With the inelegant term
"revivIIt" went also many of those
disturbing and vulgar beliefs which
would look out of place in a modern
oongresation of taste and refinement.
We stiri have a hell, of -course, but
what a contrast it presents to the old-
fashioned abode of the unblest. The
lake of brimstone, Satan with his rod
hot pitchfork, the cunning little -doviJs
who rolled the wicked about on the
coals all. all have vanished, and in
their place we have nothing? mor terri
ble than a somewhat overheated parlor,
tastefully furnished, where the .unre
pentant sinner Is permitted to meditate
In solitude and make food resolutions
for the future.
The revivalist used to exhort the un-
converted in a powerful voice, pictur
ing vividly the unpleasant -features of
their future dwelllngr-place while he
pounded the pulpit for emphasis and
t he elect re enforced His remarks with
ehrleks. groans and tears. All thte is
changed, The evangelist doei? not ex
hort: he would do nothinpf so common
and vulgar. Me argues in tha t limpl y
sentimental style which is so soothing'
to many church members of the gentler
sex; he relates pathetic anecdotes
culled T rviTi a lare book full of them
prepared expressly for hiB ue; he pic-
tures the modified joys of a refined and
chastened heaven, but he Ka.ye nothing
unpleasant. Nor would anytbody be
caught groaning and shouting "Amen"
for any imaginable consideration. -A
discreet sigh . fully expresses his relig
ious emotions, and he does not need to
sigh often, . The old revivalist would
exhort the congregation to join in sing
ing one of those rousing hymns, "Come,
ye sinners, poor and needy," or "Come,
thou fount of every blessing," urging
them to efforts more and .more ener
getic until the whole "building was one
mass 6t sound fraught with burning
passion; then, while the singrJnfi: pro
ceeded with increeslns vigor, he would
raise his voice above the tenor and the
soprano, high, vibratory, almust preter
natural in its weird energy, and issue
1 tic call to the unconverted.
The evangelist till luee$ music, but
he uses it ametically and with re.
straint. He delights In soft tones, wail
ing harmonies and twilight cadences.
Purveying music for evangelists is now
a distinct art, or profession, like the
manufacture of artificial flowers ; and
manicuring. The hymns which led the
South and the Middle West to salva
tion 'half a century ago were "pitched
by farmers and eung by carpenters,
blacksmiths and hunters with their
wives. The hymns which allure, but so
seldom lead, the modern congregation
to forsake its sins are pitched by a paid
professional and sung by his paid at
elwtants, while the call to the uncon
verted I0 delivered with graoefHxl elocu
tion in soft and chastened tones.
' Thus tha world progresses.- In rellg-
ion aa in everything else there are
style changing with the season. But
the more observant student perceives
presently that the changes In evangel-
tr !-. .fjuhionA n.re nuiRtlv miri(rfliIn 1
The purpose of the -evangelist, with all
his elegance, 13 identical with that of
the rough old revivalist: aiid he uses
the same store of fact, argument and
fiction to accomplieh. h,is end. The
trimmings are somewhat altered ; tbp
garment itself la the same. To the re-
vivalist nothing had happened in the
world since the fall of Jerusalem. Mod
ern ntotory did. not exieti -modern life,
with Its problems and difficulties, was
of no consequence; modern men, with
their . examples, the lessons and the
warnings of their lives, , were pure
chimeras. Nobody worth 'mentioning:
in a. sermon had 'been 'born since Abra
ham; no deed worth recording had been
done since the Hood. Thus It was WltU
the revivalist and thus It' remains with
the evangelist. Xo both of them alike
modiern life -has no meaning, no prob
lems. . Every question worth answering
was answered by the Jews 3000 or 4000
years ago. To do our full duty in every
particular we need only imitate Mel
ch.lzed.ek.
Preachihjr about "Fools" the other
night, Mr. Geil did not look around him
and select his types and example Irom
the abundant material at his disposal
he went 'back to ancient Jewish litera
ture and selected nine more or lets& illu-
sory types from those venerable books
Why? Can Mr. Geil possibly believe
that we have evolved no new forms of
folly since the day 3 of Noah which re
quire new classification and analysis?
X 5 'hen shall we have an evangelist who
will cease talking about the fool of the
days of Abraham and tell us something
about the fool of the days of plutoc
racy? The - old stories and instances
are like squeezed orangee. Mankind
cries out for something that is alive.
Religion is not necessarily dry bones
a nil .Mm hunk. T"Vij a 1 !.-.. I vi
husks. There is .plenty of vi-
tality in it if gome one would find a
way to bring it out.
"LET THE nUMAirV LAW ALONE.
The Legislature should let the direct
primary law alone. No doubt it will.
The law was enacted by the people,
and the people desire that it shall have
a full and fair trial. If it shall transpire
that it has serious defects, or is wrong
in principle and disastrous in opera
tion, the people will themselves correct
it. Of course, if there are obvious
blunders or oversights or omissions in
the law, the Legislature might be jus-
tifled in taking: action. Not otherwise.
State Senator Bailey, we observe.
deslnee to -do away with Statement
No. 1. Why?r. Because it is "subver-
slve of -party,' he says. But it needn't
be.v A Candidate Tor office who does not
like Statement No. 1 need, not igrn it.
If he Is not prepared to observe its
terms and conditions, he should not
fxtrn it. Alirl- Iff hn 1a c-n hi rnom.tl .mxT-i
he will not. Thereis no compulsion
about " accepting:' Statement Ka, 1 or
btatement- ro. 2, or any otner state
ment. The law says the candidate
may" inclucfc Statement o. 1 or
Statement No. 2 in his petition. He
mil y. of course, subscribe to any other
statement or announcement or declara
tion' on the Senatorial question that he
desires to frame for himself. Or he
may make none.
In Multnomah. County last year a
number of Republican candidates
framed their own statement, under
which they agreed to vote for the "Re
publican voters', choice." They did o.
They fulfilled their pledge as faithfully
and honestly as any member who sub
scribed to Statement No. 1. It is fortu
nate, perhaps,- that members who had
accepted Statement No. 1 were not put
to the supreme test under its terms of
voting in the. Legislature for a Sena
torial candidate of opposing political
faith. Any future Republican candi
date for the Legislature- who desires
to avoid that dilemma may easily do
eo by himself adding: a qualifying
clause to Statement No. 1, committing
himeelf to vote for the people's choice
"provided he shall be the Republican
nominee." So with the Democrats. We
think no candidate for the Legislature
will lose a solitary vote if he makes
that condition. He can make euch a
condition, or any other condition he
pleases, under the law as it stands.
No one, of course, will take with
much seriousness Senator Bailey's pro-
posal to nominate estate officers in con
vention. There oa-n be no objection to
a state convention, however, for the
purpose of framing and promulgating
a party platform and considering and
discussing -party autairs. It should have
no other function.
GENKRAL ROE
!RT K- LEK.
When we remember that war has
been one of the principal occupations
of mankind for many thousands of
yeans, - it is surprising that military
genius should be so rare, The num-
ber of really great -Generals who have
appeared since the records or history
began Is pitiably; emttll. Antiquity
supplies some half dozen names; mod-
ern times not many- more. Napoleon
mate master of attack, Nhile neither
Rome nor Greece produced such a de-
fenelve strategist as Frederick the
G reat. The aggressive campaigns of
that marvelous man were for the moet
part failures, but the united armies of
Kurope were insufficient to break down
his dt'lcnfv at home. The evident ten-
dency of evolution Is to eliminate war
by withholding the ability to lead
armies to victory. Most wars have
been fought by blunderers, and the re
suite have depended more on chance
than on foresight or calculation. Wa
terloo was an accident. 'Our Civil War
was for the first two years a continued
series of mistakes on the part of North
ern Generals and failures to profit by
them on the part of the Southerners.
Neither side produced more than two
or three leaders above mediocrity. The
North finally m-t Grant and Shrman
over the heads of the Incapablea who
had been leading Lite Union armies to
slaughter, and the South -had General
Robert B. Lee to pit agrainHt then.
Which of these men was the greatest
military leader history has not yet de
cided. X-e lost every aKgrewlve move
ment that he undertook, while neither
Grant nor Sherman failed in a single
one. But the odds against the Con
federate commander were immeasura
bly greater than either Grant or Sher
man had to meet. Marching through
Georgia, Sherman found little effective
opposition. There was but the shadow
of a defense, and no attack worth men
tioning. On the other hand, when Lee
invaded the North the opposition : to
his advance accumulated at every step,
and by sheer weight would have forced
him back even had he not been de
feated in pitched battle. But Judgment
ia an essential element of military
ccnftifi and one, ia rnmnelled to award
he palm for judgment to Sherman
rather tnan jee; tor tne rormer accu-
rately measured tha chances of defeat
and victory In his invaHon of the
South,- while Lee's calculations Invari
ably came out wrong:.
On the defense, Lee was at his best
and- historians are disposed to ' rank:
him among the greatest -masters of de
fensive strategy. But since. In the
end, he was overcome by Grant, hie
glory only increases ' that of the man
who finally conquered him. The great
er Lee was as a master of defense,
the greater still must we reckon Grant
as a master of attack, for he finally
broke down Lee'e defense and captured
his army. The disposition of mankind
to judgd leniently thosa to whom for-
tune has been unkind probably has
loaded the balance tn favor of Irfe's
military capacity. - Unbiased criticism
must assign him a place below both
Sherman and Grant.- but even thus his
rank is no mean one, for the-. latter
were very great commanders, while
the tendency of opinion is to number
Grant among the greatest. Perhaps
the beet thing- that can be said of Lee
as a military man is that he knew
when he was defeated. Me had the
sense and courage not to prolong a
bopelese etruggle by guerrilla warfare,
and did an Incalculable service to both
North and - South by surrendering his
army to Grant when effective fighting
was no longer possible.
This decision on his part involved
both -military Judgment and - ethical
temperament. A. man of character less
fine than Lee'e would have sought
grlory in resisting to the last extremity,
no matter at what cost of eulterins to
his-8oldiers and people. On the side of
personal character Lee. was without
flaw. Tha civilisation ot the old South JL
Droduced no better tvne of man than
he wag, though the types which It pro-
diuced were various, and many of them
admirable. The anecdotes related of
Lee while he was leading the Southern
armies show that he had a soul of sin
gular .gentleness, an extreme rectitude
of spirit, and that hl0 faith in divine
providence was deep and genuine. The
writers who knew him speak of him
as a "lovable" man. After the war his
influence as a teacher did much to
sweeten' the bitterness of defeat to his
students at ' Lexington, and, through
them, to the entire South, while hia
philosophy was thoroughly optimistic.
"Look not mournfully Into the pat;
it comes not bade again. Wisely, im
prove the present; it la thine. Go forth
to meet the shadowy future without
fear and with a manly heart." Such
was Lee'B doctrine, and his teaching of
It sanK deep.
In commemorating the hundredth
anniversary of the birth of this great
man, the natural disposition to praise
m superlatives may be Indulged with
a good conscience. Still the harp is
not quite in tune. One or two strings
jar -a little. JL.ee possessed that com-
trtnation of faculties whlcn lias been,
perhaps, more dangerous than any
other to the welfare of the human race.
an inexorable conscience with a bjyl
Judgment, fib conscience made him
in-fl3cibly loyal" to an indefensible
?ause which with a sounder judgment
he woujd: never have chosen, tiia de
feat ivas one of the great historic tri-
umphe of righteousness, yet Lee him
self was a good man, who believed that
he was fighting for righteousness. Un
doubtedly he chose what eeemed to him
the beet, but it is impossible to forget
that his cause was not the best, and
that he devoted great abilities and pro
foundly admirable qualities of heart
and soul to the perpetuation of evil.
For this we must blame, not the man,
but his environment; and we account
for the complete sway which his en
vironment exercised over him by that
flaw In the intellect which made his
military calculations! go awry and viti
ated his Judgment upon a fundamental
question of right and wrong at the
critical moment in his career.
THE RABBITVILLE S.IGK AGAIN.
It is not easy to discourage Editor
Bennett, the Rabbitville sasre. He
broke a lance with the people of Ore
gon on the Senatorial question after it
had been settled by, them. But that
didn't settle him. Now he bobs up
serenely with a powerful argument for
the Gubernatorial prerogative. "We
would far rather trust the fair judg
ment of the executive than-the voice
of the people or the whima of the Leg
islature,' in naming a Railroad Co(ji-
mission, he says. The Governor knows
what he about. The people don't.
The Governor has good sense. The
people have not. The Governor is a
Democrat, but he will arise above poll-
tics. The people cannot. ' Such, in ef
fect, is Brother Bennett's argument.
Let us see. The Governor of Oregon
Is firat of all a partisan. When a Re-
publican United States Senator died
he appointed a Democrat - to his place.
It may fairly be eaid that the people
wanted a Republican Senator, but the
accident of death preven ted the com
plete fulfillment of their desire and
purpose. The Governor seized his
chance by sending t Democrat to the
United States Senate. We cannot
criticise him for his action, fur every
Democrat In Oregon expected and de
manded that he do that, very thing.
If he had desired to rise above politics
he could not have done so, There can
be no nonpg rtteanshlp in such an ap
pointment. The Governor was and is
a Democrat, and he will be a Demo-
crat if he shall have the appointment
of the Railroad Commission.
Why cannot the people be truKied?
Every candidate for Railroad Commis
sioner before them will be required to
declare where he stands and what he
will do on the great question of reg'u
lation and control of railroads and
other public-service corporations. There
is no chance that any -person who de
sires to nullify the effective operation
of the Railroad Commission will se
cure nomination from the people. The
campaign in the primary between in
dividuals will necessarily lead to scru
tiny of the promisee and pledgee (f
every candidate. No csndjdale who
declines to make promises and to tie-
fine absolutely his position will stand
any chance of nomination. L't the
railroads put Up a candidate i r they
desire to Know where the people of
Oregon stand on the question w rail-
road regulation and control.
THE MOCKER.
Alfred Russell AVallace. who was a.
moderate user of linuor in hi younger
days, became a teetotaler in his old
age. This he tella ue in his ponderous
but Interesting- autobiography. He had
discovered, or thought he had. that
strong, drink is peculiarly injurious to
the agred. Walt Whitman, on the con
trary, enjoyed the bottle, and put it to
the lips of his neighbor up to the day
of his death: but Walt was an invalid
for many yeans of his old. age. and h
example is not quite safe to follow.
Dr. Osier writes himself down on the
&ide of abstinence, with the remark
that we should air better off If our
sTore of alcoholic beverages were caet
into the sea. Medical opinion is, In
fact, a unit -that strong drink does us
but. little good, and .may do us a great
deal of barm. The fact that medical
practice aW not quite Jibe with this
opinion may be set down to the frailty
or Human nature. The flesh is weak,
though th spirit willing. Alcoholic
liquor is not a food, we are taught, but
it may in some caaea stimulate the
body to make use of food that would
otherwise go to waste. It supplies no
strength, but it sometimes enables m
to call up unsuspected resources of
strength, and therefore helps occa
sionally to pull through in an emer-
gency.
A man who W too exhausted to do a
piece of work: which must be done may
sometimes gets through it with the aid
of-strong: drink: but such an one is
like a person Who lives beyond his in
come and dra we upon his -capital. The
income is forever less than before, and
the tendency to nibble at the capita!
growfl stronger. If one could use alco
holic drink, entirely as a servant, he
might profit by it at many critical
points in life: but few can do this- The
servant quickly 'becomes master with
most men; or, if not quite that, he ad
vances to the position of a dearly
cherished Intimate. Upon the whole,
alcohol i3 too insidious a friend , and
too deadly a foe for most men to deal
with. The entirely safe, motto is to
let it alone- tn the . days when.lt was
good form to bicycle, philosophic ridero
used to observe with amusement the
effect of a single glass of beer upon
the nerves of t heir friends.
A bicycler must aim almost a accu
rately as a rifleman. One glass of
beer in many, case a would destroy- the
9teadlnesB of his hand and land him in
a ditch, though otherwise the effect
was not noticeable. Scientists have a ;
machine- called the sphygroo graph. ;
which traces the heart beats on a sheet
of paper and shows whether they are
regular or not. It takes only a few
drops of alcoholic stimulant to make
the trace on the sphygmogTaph look
like the edge of a saw. For a boy, one
cigarette .-will do the same thing.
though he may feel no evil result from
t at the time. The ruinous effect of
alcohol l to muddle .the relations- be
tween the thought centers and the
muscles. It perverts the reports of all
the eense organs, and thus causes the
brain to act upon fakie information,
while it destroys the capacity of the
muscles to obey the orders that they
receive. How much alcohol will pro
duce this' effect upon any individual
depend, of course, upon hte constitu
tion. For some a little will act disas
trously: for others it takes a good deal
to do much harm; but with every man
the proce?s of disturbance between
mind and muscles begins with the first
drop be swallows.
For this reason, alcoholic drink is
singularly dangerous for railroad em-
pi o yes. whose sense must be acute and
whose muflclea muvt be strictly obe
dient. There Is, therefore, excellent
reason why the companies should for-
bid their liands to drink either on or off
duty. This is one speclee or safety de
vice which the companies have not
hesitated to employ, because it costs
them nothing:. Total abstinence on the
part of employes contribute? to the
safety of the public almost as much as
the block system of signals, while It
takes nothing from dividends. How
much it would help to avoid accidents
if the great railroad barons who issue
orders would themselves consume less
champagne and devote more thought to
their duties hae not been accurately as
certained. The relation between cham
pagne emppers In Mew York and the
car shortage in Oregon is a fascinating:
subject for speculation. Of one basic
truth we may be certainthat if strong:
drink is bad for the busineee of an em-
pJoye It is worse for that of his em
ployer.
The stress of modern life requires a
sure brain and an inflexibly obedient
hand. The tendency of alcoholic drink
is to muddle the brain and lead the
hand astray. Therefore the - chances
are against him who uses it. He may
succeed in epite of the alcoholic handi
cap, but it will never aid him. What
ever we hope for at some time in the
future, and whatever we may work
for, the simple fact is that our present
life is a struggle where victory jroes to
the best fighter. It is a fool, therefore,
who niil.q Into his .mouth an enemv
that will betray him at his moment of
direst need. For an old man who has
nothing more to ask from the world, it
if -per h apt? excusable to taste the cup
that intoxicates. For a young man
who has no battles to fight and noth-
S to cnntrlbuto to the good of man
kind, drink 1s advltw bio, since it will
hasten his exit from a world where
he is in the way. Rut for the thinker.
the worker and the helper, strong drink
is an evil with only the most shadowy
mitigations.
Inquiry in the case of tvlna Slinger-
land, the 11-year-old girl of the East
Side, w how nerves were being1 played
upon .-ruolly by cosirse and brutal -fanatics
in the name of "religion de-
veloped a slate of' affairs that war-
ranted Judge Frazer in taking the
ehild from her ii rents- and sendi ng
here to the detention home oC the
Juvenile Court. The diH-losures may
well arouse public ind ignation and
should be suftlcient to cause a closer
watch to he sot upon the fanatics who
babble nonene in the name of the
Lord and tndul ge 1 n grosp ind ecencl es
under the cloak of religion, to the
bodily debasement and mental wreck
of innocent, helpless children.
The small grafter never did have a
fair chance. Here now are two Road
Supervisors in Baker County arretted
for padding their accounts $25 each
Prosecution should be suspended by
proclamation of the Governor until
.some steps have been taken for the
prosecution of the former superintend
ent of the portage road who padded
his aocountr several timee 25. Then
perhaps some blggrer grafters who have
ateo claims to prior prosecution could
be found,
chance.
Give the little . fellow
The Oma'ua Juajre who finds the
works of Hubens. Van Dyke and other
master? ''tndeeent" presents a curioua
subject for speculation. Where did he
go to school to acquire ideals so de
based? What books did he read in his
boyhood to grather his' groveling: im
purity of thought? The "indecency"
of a work of art invariably lies in the
mind of the person who looks at It. A
normal, healthy-minded human being:
nndet nothing abhorrent in any of the
Creator's works.
A joint memorial, asking Congress to
remove the tariff from the Importation
of jute and jute cloth and bags, was
unanimously adopted by the Oregon
State Senate, composed of twenty-three
Republicans and l3c Democrats. Now , If
the farmers can get Vhcaper bags by
the removal of the tariff, and it is best
for them to do bo. why not give them
a few other things cheaper by removing
a few more tarirfo? The Oregon Sen
ftU Is evidently In favor of tariff re-
vision. -
Certain famous pictures, or copiC3
thereof, by Vandyke, Rubens and oth-
era of - the old masters tnuat have
clothes painted on them. Otherwise
they cannot be soI3 or carried by the
art dealer of Omaha. This is the log-
ioal deduction from the decision of the
courts of the metropolis-of Nebraska.
The question whether or not Thaw
committed murder seems likely to dis
appear In the spectacular preliminaries
of his trial. Criminal procedure Ji8-
playfi a discouraging inability to stick
to the main point.
The dissenalone and Infelicities In the
Thaw family ft re euch as may be ex
pected to exist among people who as
sume that wealth Is a screen for moral
delinquency, social dishonor and mari
tal unfaithfulness.
. To our ,409,000.000 annual dYink
bill the average workingman's family
contributes 25 cents, a week. The reat
of It comes from champagne uppers
to the demi monde and monkey dinners
the semi baked.
"We shall never get the true version
of the Swettenham incident until we
hear from Mr. IooIey.
Mergers are like Canada thistles.
From the pieces of the old one. a dozen
new ones grow.
COMMENT ON CURRENT OREGON TOPICS
How the Normal Schools Are Working for Appropriations Committee
Chairmen and Their Influence Need of Committee Rooms at the Cap
itol Tree-Spraying Not General How to Establish New Counties.
JU AJAIN L oy rne manner in wincu
some of the Normal schools are
asking that their appropriations
be made by the Legislature, they are
beginning to appreciate the Importance
of making figures look small, it has
always been the practice to make ap
propriations for two years in one lump
sum, but the proposal of the Iriends
of some of the normals now is that
the appropriation be made an annual
one. An annual appropriation of
) does not look nearly so large in
print as a biennial appropriation ot
V45.000, though it Is exactly the samo
to the recipient and the taxpayer.
Some of the institutions learned this
plan of - making appropriations loo It
small several years ago, but others
are just waking to its aflYantap.
CUSTOM seems to have caused some
embarrasing situations at Salem
it the time of the organization of the
irlnlnt ure oartlcularlv In the ap
pointment or the chairman or one of
the important committees. According
to reports It had been arranged that a
certain melflber of the house should
ntroduce a resolution for appointment
of a committee, and, In accordance
with custom he would be named chair
man of the committee. The plan would
have worked well but for the enter
prise of another member who rushed
a similar resolution to the clerk's desk
and had it read and acted upon first.
thereby securing for himself the pres
tige the well-recognized custom aies.
There was nothing in the rules of pro
cedure that prevented the presiding
officer frot appointing another mem
ber to the chairmanship if he so de
sired, but lie evidently considered the
obligation to follow custom more blnd-
lnK than that carrying out a pre-ar
ranged plan. This custom is one that
has caused trouble many times anil ill
many assemblies, yet it has become so
firmly established that to Ignore it
would be a pergonal affront to the man
who moved the appointment of a com
mittee. ' Probably no presiding officer
In a legislative assembly will under
take to overthrow this unwritten rule
and it will remain in force unless each
body formally abrogates It by adoption of
a written rule.
.
IT has been nuite generally believed
that the eagerness of the members
of the Legislature to haye special in-
YCStlgatlns COiumiUees appointed at
the opening of the session has been
due to their desire to provide ciorK-
slilps for their friends. While this has
in sonic- measure Mounted for the
promptness with ' which the resolu
tions are Introduce! for appointment
Of investigating committees, there is
another advantage the framer of the
resolution can obtain. By soruilns
the chairmanship of the investigating
committee a member gains" the power
to direct the investigation. If the re
port oC the committee be favorable, as
U IS In nine cases out or ten, the head
of the institution or department so
commended feels grateful and will al
ways he ready to do a favor tor the
chairman of that committee. This
feeling exists even
was no more thai
though ' the report
w as . morlt ed . 1 n
any institution there are some things
that could be criticised if the Invcs-
tljyator were dispose! to lak
an un
favorable view of the
mans gement.
Regardless of the justness of the com
ment, one man feels grateful for the
public commendation received from
another, and in this way the chairman
of an investigating committee may
secure Influence with the head of an
Institution.
IN matters of legislation in jrencrat
the chairman of a committee pos-
sesses more power than, all the other
members of the committee combined.
This is liio general rule, to wl. leh
there are exceptions. Ho ions as a
chairman does not arouse the antag
onism of the members of lits commit
tee and a ts with ordinary fa 1 mens,
lirutii Is left to his judgment and (lis-
cretion. lie calls meetings when he
thinks best, and reports bills wlif n ho
gets ready. Very often the report of
the committee is practically the re-
port of the chairman.' In important
committees and in transaction of bus
iness that has attracted attention and
discussion this is not so generally true,
for the questions ' involved come he
fore the whole committee and receive
their particular attention. But if a
chairman undertakes to conduct the
work of his committee arbitrarily,
ignoring the other members, the re
lations between hltn and tho other
members are likely to heeome so
strained that he will be compelled to
consult them upon every subject, call
meetings of the committee when they
mo reo u est and report bills when they
direct. The dictatorial chal rman Is
usually borne "with patiently aa lon
as patience continues to be a virtue.
but when t lie otner memo
upon a revolt tne time xo:
onioun
action has passed.
chairman at
outs with lils committee Is usually at
outs with the whole assembly.
IF this session of the Legislature falls
to make arrangements for con-
structlon of more committee-rooms in
the Capitol. It- will not be because of
a lack of knowledge of the need of
such improvements. The most impor
tant committees of the Senate. Judi
ciary and revision of laws, have been
working under very adverse condi
tions. They occupy a small room off
the Senate chamber, which must also
be used in part for a cloakroom, for
the reason that there is no other room
available for that purpose. U num
ber of stenographers also use the
room, and the committee works amid
the confusion of rattling typewriters
and the interruption of persons enter
ing to Bjet their coats and hats. This
is a subject that has been called to the
attention of several Legislatures, but
has never been attended to. Both the
cause-of srood legislation and the com
fort of the committees could be pro
moted by construction of several rooms
on the third floor In the north wing
of the Capitol.
ONE or the interesting and .valuable
state reports that has been published
this year is that Issued -by the State
.Board, of Horticulture. The report of
this board Is always a source of useful
information to the fruitgrower. The pam
phlet has a number of excellent pictures,
showing typical orchard, scenes in Ore-
gon, and contains a number of Instruo
tlve articles on the care of fruit trees.
L the eradication of pests and other topics
in which every orchardlat Is or should be
interested. While 1 docs not pretd to
be a guide to fruitgrowing, it will serve
to lead, the intelligent reader around
many pitfalls of the fruitgrowing Indus-
try.
IN THI5 connection It Is appropriate to
repeat an assertion that has been made
by a Valley fruit inspector to the effect
that the agitation in favor of sprayinc
of trees Is not producing the aggressive
action that had been desired and expect-
ed. While many growers are spraying
their trees, as they have done from time
to time in the past, the number of thope
who have adopted spraying: an a feature
of their orchard work and are golns a t
it In a thorough and intelligent manner.
is comparatively small, Agitation and
education have had some effect, he says.
but the great majority of the ownr of
trees that are most In need of spray in gr
are neglecting the work tills year, n
they have done in the past- When a,- .
proached upon the subject. they admit
the need and declare their Intention of
obeying the law, but they procrastinate
until it will be too late In the MCiison and
their trees will bo uncleaned another sea
son. All are enthusiastic over the clean-Ing-up
movement, but tha trouble Is to
get the spray pumps started.
o
NE of the difficulties in the enforce
ment of the horticultural laws seems
to be the neighborly relations of the
ruitgrowers and the fruit inspectors.
The inspector lives among the people
whose orchards -need clearing of pest.
He likes to be on good terms with his
neighbor.. He wouldn't like to prosecute
one of them, nor try to cut down their
trees. Neither will he po to them In .1
commanding way and give them direct
personal notice that the law must be com
plied with or there will bo trouble. If the
growers are disposed to let matter? drift
along in the samo old way, so are tlio
fruit inspectors, aa a rule, for they do
not take the aggressive action that will
be necessary to bring the desired results.
It may be doubted whether Inspector
sent into a community in which they are
4s tranRtrs would accomplish much . more.
for the growers of almost any commu
nity would resent interferenee of a
stranger who tried to tell them how they
must run their orchards. Observance of
the law by comparison would lie iiett' r
than none at all; but the work would
probably not be very thoroughly lon.
Tlie problfni of necurlns obrervainc f
ihe horticultural 1-iws. is one yet to he
solved.
ESTABUSHMKNT of new rutin H.-s
like the enactment of city charters, of
purely .local interest. yet the subject
eeniH to ie conll:retl one upon which
the legislature may still tiike action. In
view of the f.ict that the Supreme O'mirt
has declared :l routity to be munlripnl
corporation e :d the constitution has ben
amended so ir !o forbid the pa.-'s.ige of a
siccial act for t he ereat ion of a corpora
tion of any ktnii. it hUM been t ri o 1 1 c 1 1 1 t'
some that the lt-;;islRture has no power
to create a county by. special law. 'ev-
ertheless. advocates of new counties hit ve
been lobbying at 5ak;n, and one bill has
been introduced for the creation of n
county. Kit her fTuim const ItutionM 1
Rroundn or of public p".:i-". number f
members of the LeRlsla.turc have forum-
lated a plan by which ti:c new county
contests can be settled out of the l-,eris-lature,
and by the people wlm arc tlio
mopt interested. The plan Us to piss a
general law proscribing tlio manner In
which the people of a portion of a county
may proceed if they wish to have them
selves set off into a new subdivision of
the state. The law will provide for pub-
mittlng the question to a vote. aiul. in
order to prevail, the proposal must re
ceive the affirmative votes of 73 per cent
of those voting in the proposed mw
county and 25 per cent of those in t he
remaining portion of the old county. The
plan takes cognizance of the fart that
the people of a proposed new county are
HKely to favor it for ! 1 renmiiw. and
the people of tle old county to oppose it.
licncc, In order tu piwil iwai cmim-
siasm from snallling the expense of a new
county gDvern incut upon
o w ncrs. 1 1 7 IV per
required, and, on the
t lie irievty
nt vol.- tri
other hand,
that !i 2.1
It Is to be provide!
ner cent vote in
the renin inder
of the old county snail '- necnsMiry in
order to prevent the formation of the. new
county. This plan, it is Relieved, will se
cure a fair expression of public opinion
aa to the need of the entabliHlimf-nt of a
new county. If such a genpral law Hhoulii
be passed, it will save the members of
future Lginlatures some annojancc anil
will place the nucHtioii of new counties
in the power of the people most interested..
...
THE present session of the lvsislaturo
bids fair to redeem the reputation
of Legislatures in general, in till state,
end to lessen the general dltrut In
which law-making bodies are held.
Whother the opinion be well-founded or
not. there has Ions been a feellnj? that
the Lofrislature misrepresents the people.
Tills Idea has found frequent expression
not only in the newspapers of the state.
but amons the people who take an Inter
est In public affairB. This I:gifflature Im
different in several respects from any
that has preceded It. Its members wefa
nominated and ejected by the people and
not In a convention controlled .ty a boi.
The Legislature was organized without
the presence of any of the men who havi
been active figures in the preliminary
HtruKsrlB In years prone by. The I--im-l.ture
elected Senators on the nrt bal
lot and without any candidates at a-
loin maintaining expensive hoadqiiartors
where liQtior and cigars were provided
for all vis i tors. The two houses hv
been working two weeks and have gotten
along fairly well without the presence ot
"House bill 104," tn other words, a. sun-
Tl- of whisky at a convenient place. It
Is asserted that there Is no linuor to bo
had in the Capitol, and that there will ho
none throughout the session. Tlio Lecis-
lature has manifested from the start a
disposition to eliminate the extrava
gances that have brought criticism upon
its predecessors. There is no talk wtiat,-
ever of clerkships held by women of
doubtful character.
The legislatures of years gone by have
been the ruin of many of their members.
Going to Salem from quiet towns where
they lived respectable live?. the members
were thrown into the company of lobby-
ists and employes of Senatorial candi
dates, and were wined and dined as they
never had been before. In forty day
of last living many of them acquired
new ideas of life and were never of uso
to themselves or their families afterward.
Many a man who went to the IeiarlMature
rich In reputation, returned to h is home a
sbankmpt. Boodle and booze did tho
work. This session seems to have start
ed out on a high plane, with no linuor in
evidence and no one entertaining- lavish
ly or trying to exert an improper influ-
ence upon the members. This session i
likely to be a creditable one to its mem
bers and to the stale.