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'VTiiE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND.MAKCII -- 10,, 1907.
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POKTT.AM). HMiAV, MARCH 10, 1007.
BOWIE.
The death of John Alexander Dowie
removes from the world an Interesting
figure, and one that might have be
come important had -the promise of his
earlier years been fulfilled in his later
conduct. As long- as he was persecuted
for his peculiar religious belief and
conduct his influence grew. When per
secution dted out and- he was accepted
as part of tht! ordinary routine of the
world he became slightly ludicrous, his
character degenerated and his influ
ence Wiuied.
That ho possessed sifts not common
anions; .men is undeniablo5:. His mira
cles may have been all humbug and
delusion; still, the fact is extraordinary
that he vhs able to convince a great
many intelligent people that they were
genuine. few of us could do this, no
matter how strenuously we might try.
Besides his more or loss dubious gift
of healing. Dowie possessed an extra
oitiinary fculty for business. lie was
a ,brn organizer, a captain of industry.
Until his powers declined he displayed
the ttbility to handle men and direct
their efforts to a common end in un
usual degree. ' He understoodi finance
and treated a great fortune by means
as original as they are suggestive.
Howie's personality was dominating,
his nmihoUs unscrupulous. In dealing
with di'pspnt or criticism among. his fol
lowers or from without he employed
billingsgate that would have excited
the admiration of a fishwife. His pol
h y, so long as he had- a consistent pol-ii-y,
wast to crush opposition by vio
lence, ami for years he succeeded. The
spectacle of an individual acquiring
the ascendency over a large group of
followers which Howie had, in this age
of intelligence and education, is dis
quieting. Jt points to the possibility
that we may again behold great relig
ious revolutions In the world, perhaps
the -birth of a new faith and the oblit
eration of tthe old ones. If Howie could
draw thousands after him, some
greater than Howie may draw tens of
millions. lCdneation and intelligence
seem to count for. little in these mat
ters. Whether Dowie was sincere or not
we need not inouire. Probably, like
other i-ligious energumens. he mingled
aincerity with conscious deception,
without being able to draw a distinct
line between them. His extraordinary
gifts probably deceived himself Quite
as much as others, while his desire for
power led him deliberately to assume
faculties which he did not possess. To
ffet him down as a. wilful deceiver is
Bhallow. To believe that he possessed
superhuman power is absurd. Just
what was the secret of his exceptional
influence over men is a mystery, and
until it is explained we must expect
to see his deeds repeated by others lika
tini. Mankind, does not really love to
be humbugged, but it does love to bo
mystified; and it will follow after any
man who can gratify this desire.
A CHRISTIAN SOI.D1KR.
General William Booth, the venerable
head of the Salvation Arnry, reached
New York last Wednesday morning, in
what promises to be his last visit to
the United Stales. After a tour of
some weeks he wiil go hence to Japan
and thence in due time to England,
making a trip around, the world.
It is easy to believe from the vener
able appearance of Gereral Booth and
from the tired eyes and drooping figure
that tell of many active, earnest,
mixious years of life, that he will not
in all probability again visit America.
A soldier in the truest sense of the
word, he has done va-Iiant battle for
humanity for many years. His plans
. lor the betterment of mankind have
been far reaching in their scope, and
in their fulfillment they have brought
comfort and happiness to thousands of
hennes. This errand was not that of
the warrior bent upon conquest
through the death of bis fellow men,
but that of a soldier of the cross, car
rying a message that developed in the
dwarfed souls of myriads of human be
ings a desire to make -the most of life
here, while creating a hope in i:s con
tinuance hereafter.
As was seemly, this man was met
upon his arrival in New Tork by a
staff of officers in the uniform of the
Salvation Army and -escorted through
the streets to the sound of timbrels
end, the hosannahs of a marching
chorus. Originator of a religious move
ment that has come in closer touch
with the masses than any and all
J others of its time. General Booth has
clearly won his title -of Christian sol
dier. He has won his spurs, upon the
broad battlefield whereon humanity
struggles for a right to live.- Belief in
the brotherhood of man has been pro
claimed by others; it has been exempli
fied -by General Booth in earnest, help-
itii, cheerful work among the poor, the
despised and the lowly. As an honor
to his day and a benefactor of his
race General Booth will, wherever he
goes, receive a welcome befitting his
place and his work.
ALWAYS READY TO ASSIST.
The Astorian and the Albany Herald,
taking purchase. of the Astoria road by
Mr. Hill for a text, are offering Port
land some advice as to the method of
business procedure required under the
new deal. The Astorian assures us that
"it will soon be up to the metropolis
to adjun her financial and commercial
prestige td the rare elements inherent
In the new programme." The Herald,
in commenting on the expected change,
enters complaint against the lockage
tolls at Oregon City, and says that
"Portland should take note that the
people of the Willamette Valley expect
her to back and urge the appropriation
by Congress equal to that of the state
to remove this unnatural 'burden from
Valley commerce."
Our friends in the Willamette Valley,
as well as down at the mouth of the
river, can rest assured that Portland
will in the future, as in the past,, re
gard and protect the interests of ali
parts of the state as she guards and
.protects her own. It was Portland, irt
anticipation of the new programme;
and by suggestion of Mr. Hill's traffic
managers, that made a strong fight for
the Port of Columbia bill, which was
drawn fo"- no other purpose than to
improve the facilities for shipping af
the entrance of the river. The aid
which Portland received from the Wil
lamette Valley and from Astoria'... la
well remembered. But Portland has
become accustomed to such treatment,
and it -has not caused devia-tion from
the line of duty laid out for us. Albany
should "take note that the people"
of Portland gave their hearty and un
qualified support to the project for
removing the burden on commerce
which passes through the Oregon City
locks.
The river at that point should not
be under -control of a. corporation or
of the state, but the locks should be
taken over and operated free of charge
to the shipper by the Government,
which for decades has maintained and
operated similar canals for the good
of the commerce that passes through
them. The State of Oregon has come
to the front quite generously with an
appropriation of such proportions that
the Government can hardly refuse to
join in the purchase of the locks and
in maintaining them. No interest nor
no locality in Oregon can develop and
prosper without Portland coming in
for a liberal share of the resultant ben
efits. For that reason, this city always
has worked, and always will be found
working, for the interests of the entire
state. Our interests are all mutual,
and, whenever it is' necessary to "back
and urge" any project that promises
good to any portion of the state, Port
land can be depended on.
' WHY THE YOlTiG WOMAN WON.'
A young woman freshman won the
state intercollegiate oratorical contest
at MeMinnville. There were seven con
testants, all being young men but the
winner. There will be, it may be sup
posed, a disposition among critical
minded persons to investigate the rea
sons why one frail and inexperienced
young girl student should so easily have
vanquished a half dozen male competi
tors, some of them seasoned debaters
and experienced writers. There was.
The Oregonian thinks, no question of
sex involved. It happened that Miss
Romig chose an interesting and sym
pathetic themi: for her essay, and de
veloped it with intelligence and sim
plicity. The others, for the most part,
chose topics that were trite and com
monplace, and undertook to do and to
say too much. ,
The Oregonian cannot speak of the
merits or . the . platform contest at
MeMinnville, but it has examined the
various compositions, and it is pre
pared to say that Miss Romig's was in
contestably the best. It has, therefore,
just a simple Suggestion to make to all
college orators and writers for future
contests. Let them avoid abstract topics,
and take up a living, definite; specific
theme, study It thoroughly and master
it fully. Then they may do as well as
Miss Roinig did. She wrote about child
labor. She wrote as if she knew all
about it, and, because? she "knew, she
had ease, lucidity and facility of ex
pression. Her essays had meaning and
purpose and deep human interest. She
won. She should have won. Tet
others can do as well, if they go about
it right, as she did.
DO WE DIS1JKE CORPORATION'S?
A great deal of talk is heard nowa
days about popular hostility to rail
roads and other corporations. It is said
by President Truesdaie, of the Hela
wre & Lackawanna Company, as well
as by other magnates, that this enmity
of the people to the wealthy monopo
lies is a very sad thing to contemplate.
He does not think that there is any
good reason for it and he is convinced
that it does a great deal of harm. It
frightens the capitalists who have
money to lend so sorely that, as rail
road directors, they can no longer bor
row of themselves as lenders without
paying higher interest than formerly.
This is tragic indeed.
The Outlook narrrates an incident
which it thinks may serve to account for
some of the general prejudice against
the largo corporations, and. since Mr.
Truesdaie Is directly concerned in it.
he ought to find the narrative instruct
ive. It seems that in former years the
steam whistles in New Tork harbor
caused much annoyance to the people
on shore. In 1S97 Federal rules were
made to abate the nuisance, and in
course of time they were accepted and
obeyed by all the boats in the harbor
except those of the Lackawanna com
pany. This corporation persistently
evaded them, causing great incon
venience to other boats and a number
of accidents. One of its pilots was
finally, suspended for recalcitrance, but
the company still employed him, in
spite of the law. resorting to a series
of tricks under the direction of Its
"counsel" to shield him.
Tin Outlook suggests to 'Mr. Trues
daie that he can find in these circum
stances a reason to expect some popu
lar dislike of his company.
It is. in fact, through a long series
of petty meannesses, shifts, tricks and
annoyances that the corporations have
made themselves disliked. The bump
tious refusal of a station agent to say
how much a train is behind time; his
surly replies to questions of all sorts;
the impudent negro porter who stirs
up the foul dust in a Pullman against
the protest of the suffering passengers;
the dining-car man who charges a cus
tomer a dollar for a cup of tea; all
these contribute, each in a small but
effective way. to make plain, unso
phisticated people hate the cor
porations. The public has laid up in
its secret memory a great mass of
these petty insult-s and abuses, and
when -the time comes it will probably
show that it can return them in kind.
This is deplorable, of course, but is it
not human nature?
MADAM Bl'TTERIXY.
A long time. ago Mr. W. H. Mallock
wrote a book with the title "Is life
worth living?" After a careful discus
sion of the question from several points
of view. Mr. Mallock decided that life
was. not worth living; or, at least, not
unless one were a member of the
church which, he adorns with his affili
ation. The church promises a better
state of -things in another world and
this life is worth while only because
it conducts us thither. "If all our hopes
and all our fears were prisoned in life's
narrow bound." Mr. Mallock thinks
we could neither endure to live nor
dare, to die. as the old hymn puts it.
Why does the hope of another life be
yond the grave add value to this one?
Simply . because in the next we expect
to. be happy. If we knew of any way
to make ourselves as happy here as we
hope to be there, then this life, as far
as it goes, would be just as much
worth living as that one. It is briefer,
one may admit; but there is plenty of
time in it to enjoy a good deal if we
had the chance and to suffer a good
deal if the chance of happiness misses
us. The truth is that the systematic
depreciation of this life has greatly
contributed to multiply our miseries
and-make them permanent. Touching
ail efforts to make the earth a place
decently habitable we have always
been' taught that it was not worth
while. -'It has even been suggested
that misery here was for our good,
since it must enhance . the joys of
heaven by contrast; and there is a
suggestion that it may be even wicked
to try to bring about the reign of hap
piness and justice among men.
Sometimes we are taught that happi
ness is. wicked.. This Is a vale of tears
where we should be occupied with
thoughts of our sins chiefly. Any time
spent iu the pursuit of pleasrure is. , as
it were, pilfered from the higher duty
to weep over our shortcomings. There
is something devilish a-bout enjoyment
in any case. . Who can pray while he
Is dancing? Who could Intone a psalm
at the theater? "Poor, miserable crea
tures," exclaimed Carlyle, addressing
the -human race, "what have you to
do with happiness?" John Wesley re
cords in his journal that as he pro
gressed toward holiness he made up
his mind "Never to laugh, never to
indulge in light conversation, never to
go anywhere or do anything in which
he could not invite the Lord to par
ticipate." Wesley expected that he
would be happy in heaven and that the
Lord would take no offense at it; but
to smile or play in this lower world
would be unpardonable. But why
should not the Lord- be as willing to
participate in a dance or an opera like
Madam Butterfly as in the ordinary
church service?
The next Jife is worth what It is
worth. How mneh or how little that
may be we shall know when we come
to it. As for this life, it Is worth what
goes into ir. as we pass along. Our
days are chambers on whose wbited
walls we hang pictures. Some of them
are gay, some are sad. Some are but
records of woeful deeds, others tell of
kindly Dity and duty nobly done. When
the leaf grows sere in the autumn we
wander through these chambers aiid
, gaze with joy or sorrow on the pic
tures. At some of them we smile; over
others we weep shameful tears. All
might have -been beautiful. To every
man when he awakens upon earth the
Creator says. "Here is life. It is an
unrealized possibilit-. Make it as rich
with all things desirable as you can."
The man takes the wonderful gift from
the Creator, and by his folly, his ignor
ance and his superstitions proceeds to
ruin it. The contrast between what life
might be and what it is is the end
less tragedy of. the ages. Man has
made the world sordid and -miserable;
art shows us what God' intends it to
become. The Venus of Milo is a
prophecy: the harmonies of Beethoven
foretell the golden age. which is an
other name for the kingdom of God.
The worid is now a clangor of brazen
discords; then it snail move in' sym
phdnious concords. Tii the days unborn
existence shall be like a fugue by Bach,
wherein the life of each man is inter
woven like a divine melody.' It shall
pass like a thread of gold in a queen's
garment, precious in itself , -but far
more precious because of what it
makes a part. .
All art is ' prophetic. Classic art
prophesies by types. It sets before us
the platonlc ideas in visible forms,
whether of beauty, of strength or of
sacrifice, and teaches that In the better
times to come thus we shall all be.
Modern art shuns the type and seeks
eternal values in the individual. But
romanticism finds value only in what
is exceptional, while the realist dis
covers it everywhere. The romanticist
loves the rose light on the mountain
tops at sunset; the realist sees beauty
in the clear white light of noon. The
romanticist revels in gems and gold;
he is charmed by the adventures of
the great; he recounts the fortunes of
the noble. If he descends to common
life it is to separate the destiny of
some favored -man and raise him to
lofty station. Realism takes the com
mon man as he is and pictures both
the joy and the misery of his lot-, In
the joy it discovers hope for all. In
the misery it sees a problem to be
solved. r The -prophecy of realism is not
merely for .the individual but for the
whole race,, and the problems which
it sets us to solve are for all man
kind.. Realism is just as democratic
in the music of Puccini as In the novels
of Howells. -
Puccini's score, as it rejoices, sobs
and shudders through the story of
Madam Butterfly, continually calls
upon us not only to feel but also to
think. "H-ere is the tale," it says. "It
Is an old Qjie and a common. Here is
the man's sin and there is the woman's
misery. Here is his selfish and
thoughtless pleasure; there is her piti
ful death. It is no class tale, but one
which has been repeated in every sta
tion year after year since time began.
Weep over it if you will, but also think
about it. How shall we put an end to
this useless suffering? Must it go on
forever?" As .'oner as we remember the
beauty of the music, those melodious
dialogue.?, those, d,eeji eh onl sA t h o " rT r-
plexing discords struggling into clear
harmony, so long must we also remem
ber the question they ask. Andi as the
bleak clatter of the drums and the
wandering wail o.f the violins find rest
in ultimate symphony so shall we
solve the problem of evil, and the
groaning of the universe that perpetu
ally ascends to heaven shall cease at
last.
OVERCROWDING IN CITIES.
Sir Henry CampbeH-Bannerman is a
sturdy Scotchman and- a native of Glas
gow. He likes elbow room and breath
ing space, and during a recent visit to
his native city he took occasion to
speak against the congeston of popula
tion in cities as contrary to Nature, to
health and to morality. In his view,
unless- powerful counter attractive
agencies are. introduced, the tendency
of human beings to herd together like
cattle will result in gradual destruc
tion of the mass of the population. He
takes his stand upon the hard ground
of physical fact, .and in answer to the
question "Why will this result follow
this overcrowding?" he says: "When
the powers of the air and the soil are
not equal to the task that is put upon
them the air and the soil will revenge
themselves." We do not need to cross
the ocean to find proof of: this state
ment. It exists-in the tenement dis
tricts of our large cities and in such
laboring districts as find their worst
and m6st appalling representation in
Packingtown, the horrors of which were
lately probed by Government investi
gation. .
One of the most powerfully written
books of the last year, "The Jungle."
goes into detail of these, horrors in a
manner that should 'turn foreign mis
sionary effort to the home field and in
stitute methods of dealing with the
simple, the ignorant, and the industri
ous stranger within our gates, on the
basis, not of theology, but of humanity.
"We have had," said Sir Henry, "the
spectacle of countless thousands of our
fellow-men, and a still larger number
of children who are starved of air and
space and sunshine, and therefore of
the very elements that make a healthy
and a happy life possible."
This view ;of life-as represented by
overcrowding in great cities is so
shocking that t-o follow it out in detail
as it is presented in the story of "The
Jungle" is to induce shuddering horror.
It is a story that cannot be put away
as fiction, since it ' bristles at every
point with fact. The' horrors of the sit
uation are: not- hinted at; they are
plainly stated in words that mince not.
Any one rising from 'the perusal of this
story of eager hopes blighted, of simple
honesty robbed of its hard earnings, of
thwarted human effort put forth in the
simple desire to get a home and a liv
ing in a land of strangers, of degrada
tion slowly encroaching upon purity of
life and purpose, and sights and sounds,
and filth and odors, and all grades of
human misery, incident to the congest
ed condition of this mass of workers
and to the grinding greed of the men
who amass vast wealth from this coin
age of human misery, will be fain to
ask with Sir Henry:
What Is all our wealth and learning and
the finest flower of our civilization and our
constitution ajtd political theories what are
these but diist and ashes if the men and
women on whose labors the whole social
fabric is maintained aro doomed to live and
die in darkness and misery in the 'areas
of our great cities?
OCR FOREST POLICY.
The year book of the Department of
Agriculture, a carefully compiled, finely
printed and beautifully illustrated vol
ume of nearly SOO pages and issued in
an edition of 500.000 copies, attests the
effort that is being made by the Gov
ernment to advance the oldest of sci
ences by proper investigation and ex
periment and by the diffusion of the
knowledge thus acquired. The seques
tration of forest areas under the name
of forest, reserves being just now prom
inent in the minds of public men, and
vigorously championed- 'by the Presi
dent, the present? standing of forestry
as treated at length in the year book
is of interest, especially, perhaps, in
the West. The position taken by Sena
tor Fulton upon the question of forest
reserves; the successful issue to which
he brought his view of the matter be
fore Congress in his -amendment to the
agricultural appropriation bill, prohib
iting the further creation of forest re
serves except by authority of Con
gress,, and the addition of 17,000,000
acres -to the National forest reserves
by proclamation of the President prior
to affixing his signature to the bill car
rying the amendment, makes the for
estry question of paramount interest
in this'state at present. Of the grand
total added to these reserves, Oregon
contributes 4,051,000 acres.
From the year book of the Depart
ment of Agriculture it. is found that
vastly" more exact knowledge concern
ing our American forests has' "been
gathered during the last .seven years
than had been gathered previously
from the time that Columbus landed.
As late as 1898 the specific problems of
forest management in. the United
States had developed ho efficient meth
ods of forest protection and rehabili
tation. The industry displayed by the
Department of Forestry since that
period is shown by records now on file.
Commercial tree studies looking toward
intelligent management of this branch
of our National resources have been
prosecuted for thirty-two important
species. Working plans looking to their
protection and perpetuation have been
prepared in twenty-eight states, while
field work has been conducted in
every state and territory in the United
States and in Porto Rico, Alaska and
the Philippines. The scientific knowl
edge thus gathered has taken form in a
rapidly growing literature on the sub
ject, and has furnished the basis for a
system of professional education.
There is. therefore, today scarcely
more occasion, for an American to go
abroad to study forestry than to study
law or -medicine. (
At the practical beginning of its work
the forestry service found in existence
a fully developed system of lumbering
which had brought efficiency and econ
omy of labor to the highest point, but
was enormously wasteful: It regarded
forests simply as ' so much standing
timber waiting to be cut. Men who
regarded cheap logs at the mill as the
supreme test and sole end of good lum
bering, justly proud of their proficiency
in a highly specialized industry and
impatient of restraint, could not be ex
pected to welcome with cordiality
changes for a purpose that interfered
with present gains, and emphasized the
long look into the future of American
forests. To work a reform, says this
record, it was necessary to begin with
existing conditions and improve "by
criticising them. Had not the forest
service taken the lead in finding out
Just how practical rules for conserva
tive lumbering might be laid down and
("Tied qmi, forestry could not have
reached its present status in the Uijiried
States. .
Added to this was the fie'.d of eco
nomic tree-planting, the comparative
adaptability of various species to re
gions and local conditions of climate,
soil and moisture; the comparative use
fulness of species that can be made to
thrive; the protective benefits of plant
ed timber and the rate of growth and
the future yield that can be expected.
The results of this, effort, as worked out
through experiments, have established
in the -minds of Western farmers gen
erally the fact that tree-planting c
be made successful and that it adds a
Pmoney value to their farms. It has
also called attention to the great hy
gienic importance of tree-planting on
watersheds, of public water supplies of
cities, and it has developed practical
methods for reforesting denuded moun
tain slopes and for establishing new
forest growth in regions of little rain
fall. Finally it has contributed pow
erfully to the great -work of reclaiming
desert lands through water conserva
tion and- to the whole irrigation move
ment. It is this effort that the advocates of
forest reserves seek to assist by the se
questration of timber, areas by the
Government, to the end that large
areas may not be deforested while the
smaller areas are being reforested. The
latter process is necessarily slow the
former alarmingly rapid. The creation
of these reserves means, in the view of
the President, that the timber will be
kept out of the hands of lumber syn
dicates for the benefit of the actual
settler and home-maker; for the use of
the present generation according to its
needs, the surplus to be preserved for
the benefit of children now growing
up, who in due time will inherit the
lands. The opposing view of forest re
serves has been recently and succinctly
stated by Senator Fulton and others iu
Congress.' The forest policy of the Gov
ernment thus outlined is before the
people. The future will decide as to its
wisdom and effectiveness.
The chinch bug, the Hessian fly and
other entomological factors in the
wheat market have not yet appeared,
but a very excellent substitute is in
evidence in the Texas "green bug."
The increasing appetite, together with
the propagating powers of this new
comer, has -resulted in elevating the
price of wheat to such dizzy heights
that there is reason to believe it will
be a full cent higher before the "gree.i
bug" fades or the bears take a fresh
hold.
One way to postpone a bill 'before a
law-making body is to "talk it to
death." A measure for which there is
a strong insistent public demand is,
however, not likely to be finally dis
posed of in that way. Woman suf
frage may be, shouted down, in the
British Parliament, but if there is a
vital demand for it among the English
masses it will not long be smothered
by an avalanche of words.
The student who purloins his college
oration and attempts to contest with it
for championship with students from
other colleges brings disgrace upon his
university only to the extent that he is
shielded by the faculty. The prompt
censure visited upon Wallace Trill, of
the Willamette University, by the fac
ulty, for an attempt of this kind. leaves
the plagiarist to bear alone the disgrace
of his -inexcusable action.
Sam ' Shortridge. attorney for Abe
Ruef. who was ordered to jail for twenty-four
hours for contempt of court,
by Judge Dunne, of San Francisco, was
a Salem schoolboy some thirty years
ago. This is not mentioned with any
feeling of exultation in connection with
what will no doubt prove his vigorous
defense of the late political boss of San
Francisco, but merely as an item of
local history.
Mr. Ruef, says the news account, is
''quartered at the St. Francis, where
a telephone connects him with the out
side world, and he spends a large por
tion of his time using it. replying to
messages of sympathy- from his fol
lowers and issuing orders to his lieu
tenants." No doubt he looks forward
to enjoyment of the same privileges at
San Quentin.
Orator Trill undoubtedly .went on
the theory that Bcveridge would never
miss a small matter of 300 words from
any of his speeches, and the public
couldn't tell how it differed from any
other schoolboy's oration. While he
was at it, why didn't, he plagiarize
something worth while?
Among the cheering proofs of en
hanced real estate values is the sale
at good figures of improved property
that a few years ago was a drug. The
A. O. . U. W. Temple, at Second and
Taylor, selling for $140,000 is one of
many examples.
Fathers of families who, according to
the dictum of the National Milliners'
Association, must dig deep into their
purses for feminine Spring headgear,
have the right to call on Congress to
regulate this traffic.
"I never intended to evade any
process of the court nor to leave the
city," explains Abe Ruef. That's the
reason, no doubt, that neither the
Sheriff nor the Coroner could find him.
The Washington Legislature has
again definitely decided not to muzzle
the press. They did not even get to
the point of discussing the question as
to who should bell the cat.
Down in Texas the State Railroad
Commission cancels all trains more
than one-half hour late. That would
be a good way In Oregon to keep the
traveling public at home. ' ,
Detection was easy with oratorical
plagiarists, as well as with Oregon
land thieves. The evidence against all
of them was in writing and they
couldn't dodge it.
Ex-Surveyor-General Meldrum denies
vigorously that he was promised im
munity for testifying against Binger
Herman. But probably he wouldn't
refuse it. .
Today Is a good time for Port'.anders
to begin learning how the city has
grown since the rainy season set in last
Fall. Fare to any suburb is only five
cents.
Detective Burns knew where Abe
Ruef was all the time. It's a way Burns
has, as everybody in Oregon knows.
Do not put all the money In a bank.
Buy a suburban lot with part of it.
A home site that commands a view
of Mount Hood Is worth its cost.
COMMENT ON CURRENT OREGON AFFAIRS
Forester Pinchot's Theories and Their Practical Application in the North
westFooling a Fruit Inspector The Dande'ion Pest Shall the Leg
islature Be Abolished? Protecting the State University.
ANNOUNCEMENT that Germany
and Rusia are buying pine cones
in Oregon and other parts of the
United States for the purpose of intro
ducing American varieties of pines into
those countries is of particular interest
at this time from the fact that the
present aggressive forestry policy of
the Roosevelt administration is bor
rowed largely from Germany. Glfford
Pinchot, the leading spirit of the for
estry movement, spent several years in
Germany, studying the plan of refor
estation in that country. He is a man
of independent fortune and need not
work for a living, but he became im
pressed with the need for forest pres
ervation in this country, and has de
voted his energies to propagation of
modern ideas of forestry. The fact that
this generation does not appreciate the
value of forest preservation and res
toration does not greatly worry him,
but he is striving to bring as many
people to his way of thinking as pos
sible, and is willing to await the judg
ment of future generations as to the
correctness of his theories. Ills Idea is
that only mature trees should be cut
and that in removing these reasonable
caie should be exercised not to injure
young and growing trees. Where tim
ber land has been devastated by the
logger's ax or by fire he would have
new trees started, so that in the course
of time 'new forests will have grown' to
replace those that have gone. He be
lieves that America should begin early
a policy that Germany adopted after
its forestr. had practically disappeared.
He wants this policy adopted before the
forests of Oregon, Washington and oth
er Western states have passed through
the sawmills, as have the forests of
Michigan. Wisconsin and Minnesota.
POOLING a fruit inspector is an
achievement of which a Dallas
man has boasted, much to the amuse
ment of his neighbors. According to
reports, a general spraying order had
been issued requiring treatment of
trees with a. lime-sulphur solution, but
as this was not only expensive, but
difficult, the fruitgrower - mentioned
used it substitute. He used lime only,
and gave his trees a coating of white
wash before the inspector came around.
Then he bragged about it. The fact of
the matter was that he fooled nobody
but himself, for he was the chief loser
by the substitution. Though his diseased
trees may endanger other orchards, they
will be first to suffer the ravages of
the scrtle. His smart trick was on an
equaiity with that of the farmer who
mixed sawdust with the cornmeal fed to
his horse. He may have fooled the in
spector, but he didn't deceive the scale
Insect.
F the dandelion 'cure suggested by a
I Willamette Valley paper is as cer
tain in results as represented, it will
be worth a great dedl -to" people who
have failed in their efforts- to keep
lawns free from this pest The dande
lion is perhaps the worst pest in Wil
lamette Valley lawns. Digging out the
plants is difficult and not very ef
fective, for fragments of roots that
may be. left will continue to grow and
send up new tops. The new remedy
suggested 1s . gasoline. ' According to
the authority quoted,' a teaspoonful of
gasoline on a dandelion plant will kill
it, root and branch,' without injuring
the grass surrounding it. The gaso
line Is said to act particularly upon the
milky sap of the dandelion. .While there
re some yards that would need an ap
plication of gasoline with a street-
sprinkler, there are others that could
be very quickly relieved of this pest
if the gasoline will. do the work.
JH. WIMLOT, of Beaverton, having
torn down his extensive chicken
nursery, the Hillsboro Independent
takes occasion to remark that his ex
perience has been the same as that of
nearly all others who have attempted
to go into the poultry business on
large scale. They have found that it
does not pay, and that the task of sup
plying the markets with chickens and
eggs must be left to the farmer's wife,
who rtiises a flock of chickens as a side
issue in general farm operations. The
conclusion the Washington County pa
per reaches is very commonly, believed
to be correct, yet it does not follow
that the poultry business must be car
ried on according to old methods. Poultry-raising
as an exclusive occupation
does not pay because too much feed
must be purchased, the fowls do not
thrive best in large numbers and they
require proportionately too much at
tention. The time of the poultry-raiser
has a cash value. It costs him money
to attend to his flocks and market the
product. The time of the farmer's wife
has no recognized cash value, and she
sends her eggs and chickens to mar
ket when her husband is going to
town on other business. As a rule she
gets eggs only when prices are low.
A happy medium might be struck with
satisfactory results if the man who
wants to go into poultry extensively
would merely make this the strongest
feature of farm work, but not make
it exclusive. On the other hand, the
market would be better and more uni
formly supplied if the farmer's wife
would give just a' little more attention
to poultry by enlarging the flocks and
caring for them so that the hens will
lay when eggs are in most demand.
EVERY mention of an organization
of agricultural producers for the
purpose of controlling the marketing of
crops reminds H. M. Williamson of a
movement he particularly observed
about a dozen years ago. Mr. William
son is now secretary of the State Board
of Horticulture. At that time he was
interested in horticulture only as edi
tor of a farm paper. Strawberries
were selling in Portland at 2ss cents a
box and the growers were losing
money. They held a mass meeting',
agreed not to haul their berries to
Portland before a certain hour in the
morning, and to hold them for 3 cents
a box until a certain hour in the af
ternoon. To see the result, Mr. Will
iamson went down to the Madison
Street Bridge before six o'clock In the
morning but found that practically all
the East Side berry-growers had al
ready come into town and had shoved
their produce upon the market at the
same old price or less. When he in
quired of jicveral the reason for break
ing the agreement eacli replied: "Well.
1 saw tlia-t others were selling, and
I had to set rn before the market
was supplied." On that day the de
mand happened to be unususily strong
and early tn the afternoon three cents
was freely offered, bo that the few
growers wflio held faithfully to their
agreement received a more substantial
reward than the approval of their own
consciences.
THK proposal that the Legislature
shall be' abolished, as suggested sev
eral times otf Is subject to one objec
tion that is apparently insurmountable.
The FederaJ Constitution guarantees to
every state a' Republican form of gov
ernment. When the initiative. a:id tef
erendum araendment was adopted by
the people, the amendment was fought
in the courts for the reason, among
other thircrB. that it contravened this
provision of the National Constitution.
The Orcgom Supreme Court held other
wise, however, since the. adoption of
the initiative and referendum did not
abolish ttie Legislature but left that
branch of the state government to ex
ercise its powers, though subject to
new limitations. To abolish the Leg
islature would give Oregon a purely
Democratic, form of government.
PRESIDENT p. L CAMPBELL, of the
University of Oregon, is showing rare
generalship in his handling of agitation
for the referendum on the University of
Oregon appropriation. Whenever he hears
of anyone who is taking steps toward
having the appropriation held up. he go?s
to that person and presents the facts and
figures, shoving the needs of the school.
just' as they were presented before th
legislative ways and means committee.
He shows that Oregon is spending less in
proportion or hisher education than most
other stater:, and that to hold- up the ap
propriation would practically mean th
closing of the university. He has a frank
and pleasing manner, and thus far seems
to have convinced everyono to whom he
has presented the matter as he views it.
PORTLAND'S sawmill and box factory
strike is likely to have serious con
sequences to all kinds of packing estab
lishments, especially if it extends to out
side mills and factories as threatened.
Boxes havte been difficult to get almost
all over the Coast. Tn California the
oransegrowcrs have been hauling fruit
to market in orchard boxes. In Oregon
last Fall there was a scarcity of apple
boxes. So long as the strike is limited
to Portland mills the fruitgrowers wili
not worry much, but if it begins to ex
tend outside they will lose sleep over
the problem of securing boxes in which
to market their produce.
TEN DOLLARS a head is said to be
the record price in Oregon for stock
sheep. This price is reliably reported
to have been paid for a small band owned
by Joshua Purvine, a , Spring . Valley,
Polk County, farmer. Though larger
prices have been - paid for .sheep for
breeding purposes, it is asserted that this
is the highest price ever paid in Oregon
for stock sheep. Dealers say the great
scarcity determined the price.
CLATSOF PLAINS, one of the oldest
settled "localities in Oregon, is the
last to experience a "boom." .-The dis
trict that hns been known for over half
a century toy this name is located just
south of the mouth of the Columbia
River, and extends from the Columbia to
Gearhart Park. . Probably no people in
Oregon have been more frequently en
couraged to believe that a real boom had
come, or more frequently disappointed.
Several times extensive portions of the
"Plains" have been platted, but the cor
ner stakes rotted away. When Ham
mond started to build his road and
bought land extensively at the head of
Clatsop Plains, the hopes of the people
down there became buoyant. But the
subsequent disclosure that the road was
not part of a transcontinental system dis
sipated the expectations. Now, however,
since the Northern Pacific has acquired
the Astoria & Columbia River road the
region where Lewis & Clark spent their
first winter In Oregon is enjoying a re
vival of real estate activity surpassed
only by that in Portland. Clatsop was
first in discovery and exploration. It has
been last to receive recognition of its
commercial opportunities.
IN the effort to secure publicity of
bank accounts of deceased persons
or persons who have disappeared, the re
cent legislative session passed two' bills
governing the subject and both have be
come laws. The Haines banking law re
quires the bank examiner to report to the
Board of Bank Commissioners the name
of every person not known to be alive
who appears by the records of a bank to
have a deposit to which ho has not added
or from which he has not drawn for a
period of seven years. The Beach law
requires every bank in July of each year
to report to the Secretary of State the
amount standing to the credit of every
depositor not known to be living, who
shall not have made a deposit or who
shall not have withdrawn any part of his
deposit for seven years. The act also
applies to deposits made by persons who
becomo insane or who are under other
legal disability. Addresses of depositors
must be given and the Secretary of State
is required to publish the list or deposits
thus reported. It is generally believed
that the reports due in July. 1907. will dis
close a large number of deposits that
have been unknown to relatives of per
sons now deceased.
IN MARCH.
Somebody knocks on the window pane.
And rattles the doors at night;
Somebody cries'and tugs at the latch.
Which gives you an awful fright.
Somebody whistles a shrill whee-ee.
Then begins a low sad song:
Somebody's only the old March wind.
Who laughs as he goes along.
Wilhelmine Barck Duniway.
- Catching.
-Pu.-fc.
Jennie kissed me. lip to Tip.
when she met me yester-mornlnp:
Now, I'm laid up with the grip
Failed to hcod the official warning.
fay 1 went out numnier-clad
And pneumonia just miJwfd me;
Say "I told you but ro1
Jennie kissed me.