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I
PORTLAND, SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 190".
A TI.EA FOR POLITICIANS.
The culminating grace of the preacher
is charity. It is comparatively a facile
achievement for a minister to stand in
his pulpit and denounce Mr. Rocke
feller. Chancellor Day, Mr. Harrlman or
some other pirate. It Is not difficult to
pour out the vials of righteous wrath
upon the heads of the politicians. And
by doing so one may cheaply gain the
applause of the unthinking vulgar; tout
will he also add stars to his crown? Is
it conceivable that Mr. Harrlman will
ever be won from his wicked ways by
denunciation, however scorching? Will
not bitter words tend rather to confirm
him in the practice of wholesale pilfer
ing? Will not pulpit execorlation drive
Ills soul down the Toadf to perdition in
stead of alluring him heavenward? .
There can be little doubt that the
harsh language habitually burled from
the pulpit at millionaires drives many
of them from the salutary consolations
of the Sabbath sermon to seek sinful
refreshment at baseball games, to rush
wildly ovar the country in their auto
mobiles and, maddened' by the stings of
a guilty conscience, to resort to the de
lusive solace of the Intoxicating bowl.
Our preac-hers,' on the one hand, furi
ously exhort us to extirpate the use of
alcoholic beverages, while on the other
by their virulent attacks upon the sins
of their wealthy pewholders, they force
these unfortunates to drown their sor
rows in champagne. Is this consis
tent? But it Is the unfortunate attitude
of the pulpit toward our politicians that
especially interests us just now. The
lot of these wretched men Is most piti
able. When a preacher finds his con
gregation dropping off to somnolency,
all he has to do to make -them prick up
their ears Is to sail into the politicians.
When he can think of no other subject
likely to rival bridge whist in attrac
tiveness to the elect he announces that
ho will, next Sahbath evening, lay the
lash to the hide of the City Council or
calp the Prosecuting Attorney, or un
veil the rottenness of the ward boss.
All this is deplorable.
Our ministers forget that the politi
cian is not a free moral agent. These
poor creatures have to do as they are
told. When their masters say to one
of them "Come," he comet h; and when
they say unto him "Go," he goeth.
They are like automatons moved by
j springs or like soldiers in the regular
army. They must obey or they suffer
; penalties quite as severe as the loss of
! his pulpit is to a preacher. Oases are
im record of City Courrcilmen who have
j refused to do as their masters ordered
; in the matter of voting franchises; and
what happened? Why, thoy lost their
i passes, and we all know what a dls
eziaclous figure a Councilman cuts wfth
; out his passes. A fox without a tail
j is respectable compared to him. An
i elephant without his trunk, a mule
: without his hind leg, a. fish without his
fins, are all dignified Individuals be
i tilde a Councilman without his passes.
(He wanders desolate and ashamed
through the streets, conscious that
: every urchin is pointing at him and
j whispering There goes the guy what
had his pass took away." On the street
ar he is obliged openly to produce an
Ignominious nickel and hand it over to
the conductor like a common, citizen.
Think of his shame and grief under the
humiliation. When he meets the Dis
penser of Passes on the highway that
mighty potentate blasts him with a
scornful eye, as If to say. "Aha! Behold
the bitter fruit of disobedience." At
Council meetings he must endure the
Jeers of his colleagues like the bad boy
who has been kept In at recess. He
suffers all the mental agony of the
wicked little pig who had no roast beef
while ail the other nine were devouring
their ample slices.
If he strives to set a noble example of
public virtue by denying some tidbit of
public property to the corporations,
everybcaly sneers and says. "He is mad
because he didn't get a pass." If he
pours out a flood of burning eloquence
against the pirates at election time, his
jeering rivals nullify it all by whisper
ing, "He didn't get a pass this year."
Oh, it is awful. And to make matters
worse, to add to his sorrow the crown
of sorrow,, as the poet Fays, when he
oas to the sanctuary for comfort the
preacher denounces him as a grafter.
Let us not abuse the politician. Let us
pity him. Let us remember that he is
a man under authority who must obey
the voice of his master. Shall we hurl
diatribes at the patient mule because
he strains at the traces? Shall we de
nounce the cot because he knoweth his
owner, or the ass because he knoweth
his master's crib? Nay, rather should
our eyes overflow with gracious drops
for his hard lot. The politician Is an
object of compassion, not of wrath.
We urge upon our pulpit orators to
take these few words of kindly counsel
to heart. In the sweet language of the
second reader they should remember to
Speak gently to the erring politicians.
let no harsh words be heard. They
have enough they must endure, without
an unkind word." Is It not enough to
be driven like a dray horse under an
unrelenting lash without being called
bad names besides? Abuse of politi
cians is ' not only uncharitable it is
positively unscriptural. "Servants, obey
your masters," says Paul. The politi
cian Is a servant of the corporations
and he does his best to obey his master.
How fearfully .wrong, then, for the
preacher, whose truo mission it is to
applaud those who follow the precepts
of the inspired word,' to censure" and
vilify him. ,
DOES IT HELP? j
The demand in business for men with
a technical education is greater than it
ever was before and it increases all the
time. Engineers, upon the average,
make more money than lawyers and
doctors. Their social position is quite
as desirable and their freedom of action
is incomparably greater. The ordinary
young man who thinks of educating
himself has. therefore, to answer the
question whether he will be more bene
fited by classical or technical training.
We mean, benefited in a practical
sense. Nobody denies the worth of
classical education as an ornament or
lu,xury.
Has it any other value? Can a poor
voung man afford to learn Latin? The
New York Evening Post believes that
classical training imparts to the mind a
certain aptitude and vigor which may
afterward be applied in any direction
with good practical results, and it may
often be true. But one has to remem
ber that there' is a force In some kinds
of education which unfits a man for
contact with realities. It dulls his en
thusiasm, blunts his ambition and1 para
lyzes his energies. Tihs is what some
people call the "Harvard disease." It
sends the youth out into the world a
stranger, an alien. 'He looks supercili
ously upon the common tasks of man
kind and despises the ordinary ends of
ambition. Not only does he lack the
skill to accomplish practical work, but
he thinks such skill beneath him. He
scorns to acquire it. Education of this
sort is a distinct misfortune to any
man. If the old classical course gives
it, then the young man who has his
way to make should beware of the
classics. What Is the teaching of uni
versal experience upon this point?
One thing is certain. A technical
training does fit a youth to do a man's
work and earn a man's wages. Classi
cal training may not unfit him, but
does it always help?
A CHIME FROM TRINITY.
The April number of "Trinity
Chimes" contains some Interesting
strictures upon Mrs. Eddy's philosophy
and creed. They are chiefly Interest
ing hecause they contain an assault.
very thinly veiled, upon the inerrancy
of the scriptures andi also upon the
creed which is professed in Trinity
Church. Says The Chimes, "Hep no
tion that man was created a perfect
being denies historical experience."
And the editor goes on to state that his
tory, biology and all -the other sciences
refute it, adding finally that "A normal
mind cannot accept such a proposition."
This is astonishing. The belief that
man was originally made perfect, that
he was created In the image of the Al
mighty, is maintained everywhere
throughout the Bible. If a normal
mind cannot accept it, then no mind In
Christendom was normal until the mid
dle of the nineteenth century, for it was
believed always. In holding to the doc
trine Mrs. Eddy holds to the orthodox
creed of Christianity. '
(Moreover, if biology contradicts the
doctrine of man's original perfection,
how does it stand toward the doctrine
of the Virgin birth? We apprehend
that the organ of a denomination which
has so recently expelled Dr. Crapsey for
denying the Virgin birth makes a rath
er parlous venture when it appeals to
biology. If biology is to decide one
question of theology, why not another?
'A perfect mind," says The Chimes,
"cannot make mistakes or errors." W
submit that the editor of our pious con-
temporary does not know any.thing
about what a perfect mind would or
would not do. He never saw one. He
has no experience of its operations, un
less gained from introspection. "What
is the use of a perfection," he asks,
"which sins and suffers and errs?"
Well, Jesus was perfect, and he certain
ly suffered. Paul was perfect in teach
ing, according to the creed of The
Chimes, and he erred. At least Th3
Chimes thinks he did; for Paul says
that in Adam we all fell; while the edi
tr of The Chimes declares that we did
nothing of the sort.
WHERE LIDS THE BLAME.
In a recent editorial in the Railway
Age the assertion ismadethat "recently
published statistics show that in the
five years that the railroads have made
reports of accidents to the Interstate
Commerce Commission, over 70 per cent
of the serious collisions on American
railroads have been due to the negli
gence of trainmen and enginemen." An
appeal is then made for a public senti
ment that will cause the prosecution
and punishmen of the railway em
ployes who are responsible for the ac
cidents. In order that proper discipline
ma be maintained Complaint is
made that public sympathy is usually
with the culprit while censure is visited
upon the railroad comapny. As one
aid in relieving the situation the Age
suggests that railroad managers might
give to the public the facts ascertained
by them in investigations of accidents
and also make known the negligence of
employes whose carelessness does not
result disastrously.
All of which makes on its face a very
bad showing for the employe and lnfer
entially a good showing for the railroad
managers. But it is worth while to
give the matter a second thought. In
the first place we are to remember that
the statistics, showing that 70 per cent
of the serious collisions are due to the
negligence of trainmen, are compiled
from reports made by the railroads.
This relates only to collisions and not
to all accidents. The railroad mana
gers, who of course would like to es
cape responsibility, make the reports.
If the reports were made by the train
men, or even by disinterested! investiga
tors, we might have an altogether dif
ferent compilation of statistics. An
engineer who sleeps, or becomes care
less at his post, is presumably responsi
ble for any accident that happens; but
in the five years covered ty the reports,
how many of the accidents so occurring
have been due to the fact that engi
neers were worked too -many hours at a
stretch or too many hours in a week?
It is quite likely true that in case of
accident public sympathy is with the
trainmen. In a large proportion of
cases of serious collision the trainmen
go to the hospital or the cemetery,
while the railroad managers continue
to- wine and dine in comfort. Where
could the public bestow its sympathy in
such a case? The railroad managers
select the employes, and must be held
accountable for their efficiency. . The
trainment are accountable to the mana
gers and the managers to the public.
Censure will continue to fall in the fu
ture where it has in the past.
" THE SHAME OF RUSSIA.
The famjne that has so long prevailed
over large districts of Russia lifts its
gaunt hands In the face of the so-called
civilization of the mightiest empire on
the face of the earth with mute en
treaty and drops them from sheer ex
haustion unrelieved Some funds have
been appropriated by the government,
it is true, toward -the pressing needs of
these wretched millions, but the relief
furnished thus far is not a drop in the
ocean of their dire necessities. With
millions of his loyal subjects keeping
life in their naked emaciated, unhoused
bodies upon a vile concoction known as
"hunger food" food) that hogs on an
American farm would refuse the Great
White Tsar lives in imperial splendor;
his relatives, to distant kin, draw large
sums in excess of any reasonable re
quirement, even of munificence,, from
the public funds, and from rentals,
pinched from meagerly supplied toilers,
while his immediate family, a large one.
revels in every luxury that ingenuity
can devise or money procure.
The shame of Russia is advertised to
a shuddering world by every smothered
wail of hunger.'every weak whimper of
naked, unhoused humanity that reaches
the ears of the pitiful; every cry for
succor that reaches the nations. .
A monarch and an imperial family
rolling in wealth, and 20,000,000 of sub
jects driven to the direst extremity to
keep a semblance of life in their wasted
bodies! This i:j the indictment of civi
lization against Russia an indictment
brought in the name of humanity and
supported by economic considerations
that, were the plea of humanity to fail,
should be sufficient to cause a govern
ment, which is a military despotism,
supported by soldiers under arms, to
provide against this wholesale waste of
human life.
A ruler with a conscience, himself im
mensely wealthy, should be ashamed to
have the poverty, the destitution- and
the misery of his people spread upon
the recordis of the world. It is as if
a man w-ho boasts the possession of a
numerous family were to surround him
self with luxury and call upon others to
supply the needs of his own. sIt would
not be necessary for the rulers and the
aristocrats of this vast empire to im
poverish themselves in order to relieve
the sufferings of these naked and starv
ing hosts. Relatively a little from
their vast abundance, systematically
distributed, would .supply the pressing
needs of these people, and give them
seed for their fields, as an assurance of
self-help a few months hence-. This is
humane, this is economic, this is na
tional honor and national safety. To
let this famine go on is cruel, unecono
mic and dishonoring, unless indeed
Russia is ready to stand boldly before
the world and, proclaim that she has too
many people and an empire too large
for her resources in executive ability
and financial acumen.
SITROGEJf.
Most of us when we went to school
used to admire with many reservations
the wisdom which the Creator mani
fested in mixing the earth's atmos
phere. The scant one-fifth of life giv
ing oxygen which he commingled with
the superabundant four-fifths of useless
nitrogen seemed to point to an economy
quite unnecessary and not entirely
creditable. The nitrogen, our teachers
told us, was used to dilute the too ar
dent oxygen. Now we all know that it
has other uses. We know that if we
could not breathe without oxygen, with
out nitrogen we could not eat; and since
most of us would rather stint the lungs
than the stomach, we behold the gener
osity as well as the wisdom of the
Almighty demonstrated by the abun
dance of the chill, Intractable nitrogen.
which some scientists have called azote,
or the lifeless gas. It is really the life
giving gas.
Without nitrogen we should have no
wheat. A bushel of our favorite cereal
contains some four pounds of the gas
in solid form while the average wheat
crop of the United States extracts about
1,237,000 tons of nitrogen from the soil
each year. Unless it is restored In
some way the fertility of the land di
minishes, the wheat crop falls off and
the human race sees the wolf staring
wide-eyed through the door. That the
nitrogen is by no means. all returned to
the land we may learn from the case of
France where agriculture is much more
scientific and less wasteful than it is
here. We quote from an interesting
article in The Independent by James
MacKaye: The French "remove an
nually about 600,000 tons of nitrogen
from the soil, of which only about 358,
200 tons is returned in fertilizers," leav
ing an annual deficit of more than 240,
000 tons. By so much is the soil of
France, one of the best tilled countries,
in the world, growing poorer every year.
What then of our own?
Nitrogen in solid form, suitable for
wheat to utilize, is very expensive. One
of the best forms of it is that of sodium
nitrate, or saltpeter, which comes from
Chili. This costs 5275 per ton, a rate
which makes the nitrogen in a bushel
of wheat come to 51 cents. Under these
conditions wheat would be too expen
sive to eat unless one. had a Dingley
tariff or an oil field ' to furnish his
table. Moreover the supply of Chill
saltpeter is extremely limited. Were it
applied to grow wheat the deposits
would be exhausted In a few years.
Thus, as Mr. Cleveland would put it, a
condition confronts us. We must either
stop eating wheat or else find some way
to draw upon the atmosphere for nitro
gen. The condition becomes all the
more depressing when we recollect that
wheat is not the only food material
which must have nitrogen to grow. All
plants require it. Seeing that nitrogen
is indispensable to all plants and that
the supply in the air is superabundant,
one would suppose that leaves or roots
or bark or some other plant organ
would have the capacity to extract it;
but they have not. Leguminous plants,
such as the clovers, peas and beans, can
supply themselves by calling In the
services of a bacterium which lives in
tubercles on their roots, but to most
plants even this indirect resource is
denied. Man must provide them with
nitrogen or they must go without. Not
long ago great excitement arose in the
magazines over a reported invention
wihch was said to enable us to multi
ply these nitrogen accumulating bac
teria without limit. It was asserted
with refreshing confidence that the
sandiest land. ith their aid would blos
som, "not like the rose, but like the clo
ver field, and that the problem of the
human food supply need thenceforth
trouble nobody any more. We could
feed the metropolis from old gravel pits
if we wished. Thl3 astonishing inven
tion has unfortunately proved as dis
appointing in practice as it was beauti
ful in theory. The clover bacterium
does accumulate, nitrogen from the air,
ameit siowiy, ana is an important re
course for fertilizing womout land; but
it does not work fast enough; the de
pletion of fertility - would outstrip its
efforts even-if every-tiller of the soil
practiced clover farming. Which man y
of them do not.
The great desideratum is some merit
ed of solidifying: nitrogen from the air
In a form which vegetation can use and
which is not too ex-pensive. . Mr. Mac
Kaye mentions several methods, mostly
tentative and all but one inordinately,
expensive. With the money which this
country spends on its department of
agriculture and the corps of "scientists"
employed in the department of agricul-'
ture , in the agricultural colleges, one
might have expected that the one suc
cessful method of forming organic ni
trogen from the air would be an Ameri
can invention. But it is not. Ameri
ca shines in many things brighter than
in science. The invention with such
glory as it Implies belongs to effete
Europe, to Norway in fact. At Notod
den in that country they pass plain- air
through an electric arc which is kept
sweeping in a circle by the attraction of
a magnet. This applies the arc to
large quantities of air in a short time.
The effect is to unite the passing oxy
gen and nitrogen into a compound
which may be secured in water and
utilized to fertilize the soil. - The ex
pense per ton of fixed nitrogen is only
28 cents, or a little more than half the
cost of Chili saltpeter. Thus the assur
ance of our food- supply seems well un
der way. Scientists expect to make
the process still cheaper and more ef
fective. One can not help hoping that
our. Department of Agriculture may
some time foe moved to direct a certain
fraction of its energies from the free
seed folly and the manufacture of crop
reports which nobody relies on to this
humdrum but useful investigation.
AIDING CRXMIJiALS TO REFORM.
The problem of reformation of the
criminal is one so far from solution
that we can scarcely be said to have
made any progress worthy of partic
ular mention. We -have improved the
sanitary conditions of our prisons, have
given the convict better food, more
light, less restraint and more comfort
able quarters. A number of states have
abolished capital punishment reform
schools for boys have been established
in nearly every state in the Union, and
every part of the country. Yet mur
ders and robberies, criminal assaults
upon women, train wrecking, election
frauds, embezzlement and all manner
of crimes are apparently as frequent as
at any previous time in our history.
Neither religion nor .the public school
seems to have changed conditions for
the better, for crimes are committed
today by church people as frequently
as ever,' and in recent years we have
been discovering that men of education
and high business standing are impli
cated in a species of refined robbery
none the less criminal because refined.
To "give the criminal a chance" is
the policy coming into favor in most of
the states, with the hope that he will
appreciate the kindly feeling manifest
ed toward him by his fellow-men; but
It is uncertain whether that course will
be effective in Its purpose. Yet it is
the prevailing sentiment of the time,
and will have its trial in practical ex
perience in handling criminals. Here
in Oregon the drift toward greater
leniency has been very pronounced. A
few years ago the Oregon prison estab
lished the system of giving credits for
good conduct, thus enabling a prisoner
to shorten his length of service by
obeying the rules of the institution and
giving no trouble to his keepers. A de-
crease of 50 per cent in the time to be
served is allowed for all time spent at
labor, thereby encouraging industry.
It is quite likely that the man who is
a criminal by choice will be very little
changed in character by the good con
duct he maintains in order to shorten
his term of Imprisonment. If his in
carceration is not effective In restrain
ing him from future violations of law,
it is not likely that shortening the term
a few days will be recognized by him
as an act of kindness requiring from
him good conduct in the future as an
expression of gratitude. He is good
for the time being because he is prac
tically paid for being good.
Recently two changes in the policy of
prison management have toeen inaug
urated in this state with a view to
"giving the criminal a chance." One of
these is the discontinuance of the prac
tice of sending out to peace officers the
names and photographs of convicts
about to be discharged from the peni
tentiary. Another is the practical ap
plication of the parole system, by which
men are released from confinement
upon the condition of good behavior
and useful industry. The first change
was made because ex-convicts com
plained that as soon as they were re
leased they were hounded by peace of
ficrs and Often arrested upon suspicion
when there were no facts or circum
stances warranting their apprehension.
Police officers, having the names and
pictures of men recently discharged,
would arrest the ex-convicts in the hope
of-being .able to connect them with- a
crime committed soon after their re
lease. This practice, the convicts de
clared, made it useless for them to try
to lead honest lives, for they were sub
jected to arrest without cause. Gov
ernor Chamberlain ordered that no
more pictures be given out unless spe
cial reasons existed therefor. It re
mains to be seen, whether this will re
sult in aiding criminals to reform or
whether it will merely serve to aid
them In returning to avenues of crime.
Establishment of the parole system is
prompted by the highest purposes, and
has sound reason to support it. Men
who have violated the laws of the
state, who have been convicted and
sentenced therefor, and who can con
vince the Governor that they desire to
lead honest lives in the future, may
secure release upon condition that they
engage in honorable occupations. They
must make regular reports to the prison
authorities as to their residence and oc
cupation, and must not violate any
laws of the state or ordinances of a
city. The release carries with it the
agreement that, if the conditions be
violated, the prisoner may be retaken
and returned' to the prison to serve out
the unexpired portion of his term. To
further aid him in being honest, the au
thorities keep secret the list of men so
released, so that each man turned out
of the prison may feel that he will be
as free as possible from the handicap
of his own record.
The parole system seems to be as
practical as any that could be devised
for the purpose of encouraging crimi
nals to reform and aiding them In do
ing so. Its success must, in the nature
of things, depend largely upon the
judgment and conscientiousness of the
officers who are charged with the duty
of carrying the parole law into effect.
An officer with a poor understanding of
human nature would be easily imposed
upon. In the hands of a dishonest offi
cial the parole system would offer end
less opportunities for Injustice and
graft. Should the criminal classes once
learn that incompetent or dishonest of
ficers had charge of the administration
of the. parole, system, the law would
become at once a promoter of crime
rather than- a deterrent. The system
is right, however,-in its plan, and, if
carefully applied In practice, should
show results satisfactory to those who
are interested in reformation of wrong
doers. If we have not witnessed as
great results as we would wish from
past methods of handling the criminal
classes, we must be all the more eager
to devise better and more effective sys
tems. Oregon is awake to the need of
progress in reformatory efforts, and Is
not a laggard in adopting modern
ideas. Whether modern ideas will prove
more satisfactory than those that have
gone before, experience alone can de
termine. The Salem Journal is unable to see
any difference between the case of
Stenographer Hill, who sold a copy of
the 'Harrlman letter, and the case of
Robertson and) the department stenog
raphers who gave testimony against
Mitchell, Hermann, and others. But
there Is a vast -difference. Hill was
employed In a private capacity and the
letter he wrote was private in its na
ture. The public had nothing whatever
to do with it and had no right to know
its contents unless either the writer or
the recipient saw fit to give it out. The
stenographers who gave testimony in
the land fraud trials were public em
ployes, paid by the Government for their
work and the matters to which they
testified were of a public nature. Hill
approached newspapers with offers to
sell the letter he had in his possession.
The government stenographers gave up
their information when they were ap
proached by Government officers whose
duty it was to gather information re
garding the conduct of public officials.
Hill was guilty of a breach of trust to
his employer. The Government sten
ographers have fulfilled their duty to
their employers, the people of the Unit
ed States. There is the difference.
The Pendleton Tribune says that
Governor Chamberlain is a man of pret
ty small caliber for the position of
United States Senator, which it is said
he has in mind. Brother Geer should
be careful in his choice of lan
guage, for an expression like that has
a back-action that may hurt. It would
be unkind, after the Tribune's comment,
to remark, that Dr. Withycombe de
feated Geer in the primaries last Spring
and then Chamberlain defeated Withy
combe at the polls. The records are
there and speak for themselves.
Especial timeliness attaches to an ar
ticle on community advertising by Tom
Richardson,1 published on page 9 of the
magazine section of this paper. It is
in substance an address delivered be
fore Taeoma's chief commercial organi
zation, but It applies to every live city
on the Pacific Coast. Exemplifying
the most effective agency for promotion
urged by Mr. Richardson is the Tour
ists' and Homeseekers' edition of The
Oregonian to be issued Monday, April
29.
The Oklahoma constitution, recently
drafted by a constitutional convention,
contains 100,000 words. What that
means -will be readily understood when
it is said that the United States Con
stitution contains but 6000. The people
of Oklahoma have put Into their consti
tution many limitations that most
states provide by statute, but the peo
ple of the new state are apparently
afraid of legislatures.
The fame of the bachelor tax ordi
nance, passed by the Fort Dodge, Iowa,
City Council as a joke, has spread even
to Germany and a measure has been
passed by the lower house of the Hes
sian Parliament which the dispatches
inform us is framed according to the
"Iowa idea." There is one thing certain
that if the bachelors flee from Ger
many they will not move to Iowa.
The Ohio State Fair has been denied
a special -reducedi rate by the railroads
because the Legislature passed a 2-cent
fare law. Now Iowa is wondering
whether her state fair will get the same
treatment. Out here in Oregon we have
no 2-cent rate so it may be assumed
that the Southern Pacific will make the
usual excursion reductions.
Hon. Jim Foley, Jacksonian stalwart
of the local Democracy, is reported as
defining Dr. Lanes political platform
as "To hell with us!" If the Hon. Jim
speaks for his party and for whom
else does he speak? further scriptural
admonitions from the leaders thereof
are superfluous.
The Klamath Falls Republican says
that most of the anti-Roosevelt politi
cians and corporations are wearing
wooden hats for fear they will be next
to feel the crack of the big stick. Well,
isn't a wooden hat propel? on a block
head.
- It is probably fortunate for Delmas
that he has an opportunity to quit the
Thaw case. The American people
credit him with winning a victory and
he might lose his reputation if he tried
the case again.
. The Jennings murder case is to be
tried again. The killing look place so
long ago that most people have forgot
ten all about it, but probably most of
the witnesses can be found.
On April 16 the Circuit Court in Des
Moines, Iowa, adjourned because the
courthouse could not be kept warm. O,
come West.
The Governor of Nebraska vetoed an
$85,000 normal school bill. We thought
normal school troubles were . all our
own.
Because one man" spends more than
another Is no indication that he lives
higher. He may be living lower.
SYMPOSIUM OF CURRENT STATE TOPICS
Useless Formality in Administration of an Oath Architects and
State Buildings How Wildcat Timber Locators Swindle the
Unsophisticated Salem's Mighty Dog Trouble Evils of Carry
, ing Concealed Weapons Some Cows and Some Men Legisla
tors Who Object to Criticism.
THAT the system of administering an
oath to a witness, a juror or a
court official Is foolishness, has
often occurred to T. G. Halley, now ot
Portland but formerly of the Supreme
Bench, and It Is his intention to advocate
discontinuance of a practice which, in
his opinion, has nothing to commend it.
It is a waste of time, a useless formality,
a proceeding which Is not essential to
the punishment of false testimony. Upon
such reasons Judge Hailcy bases his be
lief that the formality of an oath should
be dispensed with, aside from the Scrip
tural Injunction to "swear not at all,
neither by Heaven, for it is God's throne,
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;
but let your communication be, yea, yea;
nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than
these cometh of evil." Judge Hailey would
have witnesses- called as they are now,
and placed upon the sttond, without
swearing or affirming. He would have
them testify in answer to questions and
would provide severe punishment for the
witness who should testify falsely, but
the punishment would be based upon the
false testimony and not upon the viola
tion of an oath. Under the present pro
cedure jurors are sometimes sworn be
fore they are questioned as to their qual
ifications, and are sworn again before
the trial begins. The Court Bailiff is
sworn every time he takes charge of a
jury, and as this occurs many times dur
ing a term of court, an officer takes
many oaths to do his duty when one at
most would do as well. But Judge Hailey
thinks none at all would do as well, for
the law could make it the duty of a
witness to tell the truth, the whole Truth
and nothing but the truth, the duty of
a Jury to find a verdict according to the
law and the evidence, and the duty of a
Court Bailiff to guard the jury from in
terference, and violation of such duties
could be made a crime just as serious as
violation of an oath. Instead of swear
ing a man to an affidavit. Judge Hailey
would have it merely, signed In the pres
ence of an attesting officer, which is, in
fact, the general practice, though the law
requires that an oath be administered.
That the solemnity of ah oath is inef
fectual' to prevent false testimony, is
common knowledge among people familiar
with court proceedings. The land-fraud
trials in this state show how little regard
men and women have for the oath ad
ministered to them by a notary public
when they make affidavit in the form re
quired by law. Because it is evident that
the oath serves no useful purpose and
is a waste of time. Judge Hailey calls It
foolishness and wants It abolished.
HERETOFORE it has been the prac
tice of the State Boards to employ
an architect to draw plans for the public
building and to oversee the work of con
struction. The architect is paid either
a stipulated sum or a percentage upon
the cost of the building. It ' Is under
stood that Governor Chamberlain will fa
vor a new method when the Board gets
ready to adopt plans for the building's for
the new Institution for the feeble minded.
The Governor's scheme is not only to call
for .competitive bids for constroctlon
work, but to ask; for competitive plans
and specifications. Ail architects1 will he
Invited to submit plans, and the one
whose ideas are the best will be awarded
the contract for supervising the con
struction. This method may be slightly
more expensive than that of hiring an
architect before his plans are known,
for the Board will probably find it neces
sary to offer extra Inducements to coun
terbalance the certainty that some of
the architects will get no pay for their
work in drawing plans. But the Governor
is anxious that in starting the new in
stitution the best plans be secured, hence
his advocacy of the competitive idea.
The land for the institution will be pur
chased soon, and then the Board will be
ready to proceed.
fJEGULATION or extermination seems
m. to be the alternative presented for
the choice of dog-owners up in Salem.
For many months, years, in fact, Salem
papers have been telling of the efforts
of the City Council to control the dog
nuisance. Owners of lawns and flower
beds rise with a mighty protest and
demand that a stringent dog ordinance
be passed. The Council accedes to the
demand, imposes a heavy tax and pays
an officer to round up the untagged
dogs. A wail from the dog-owners, a
law3uit, suspension of the dog ordi
nance and finally repeal of the obnox
ious law, follow in due order, and soon
the owners of lawns and flower beds
have their inning again. But some one
seems to have tired of that sort of
procedure, for there has been a whole
sale poisoning of dogs recently, and all
efforts to discover the guilty persons
have been fruitless. Unfortunately, the
poison does not always kill off the dogs
that ought to be killed, but if the pro
cess should be long continued there
will be no need for a dog ordinance of
any kind in the Capital City.
SHIPPING beef from Portland to
Coos Bay is one of the incidents of
Oregon commerce that has created
comment. particularly because the
Coos Bay country Is a great stock re
gion. But this is no more remarkable
than that beef should be shipped from
Portland to Willamette Valley towns,
or that Valley farmers should be buy
ing grain to feed their stock, after
having sold oat and barley crops last
Fall. Just such transactions are tak
ing place nearly every day,, and they
are no more surprising than that Port
land creamery butter should be shipped
by rail and stage to the stock ranches
of interior Oregon. Coos Bay finds it
cheaper to import beef grown in East
ern Oregon, and. on the other hanri.
Central Oregon finds it cheaper to Im
port butter than to make it. That Wil
lamette Valley farmers should be buy
ing grain to feed their stock can be
explained only by assuming that they
must have raised too little or sold too
much immediately after harvest. Such
.transactions leave no room for doubt
that the farmer pays the freight on
the grain from the Valley, to Portland
and from Portland back up the Valley
again.
WHEREVER grass grows on lawns
there the dendellon flourishes,
whether in Oregon or elsewhere. In this
state an din nearly every other state ef
forts are being made to find some way to
exterminate the pests, or at least to hold
tbem in check, but they seem to thrive
on antagonism. Digging them out seems
to make two dandelions grow where ouly
one grew before, and surface applications
intended to kill the plants act as fertiliz
ers rather than exterminators. How to get
rid of the dandelion is. therefore, as per
tinent a question as ever. Of course,
every man has his theories and most men
are as ready to suggest a remedy for dan
delions as for a cold. One of the newest
suggestions comes from a man who de
clares that frequent mowing Is what gives
the dandelions a chance and results In
their multiplication. Mowing checks the
grass more than it does the dendellon.
This authority asserts that if lawns were,
left a season or two without mowing,, the
uenuenons would nearly all die out, and
that this is shown by the fact that hay
meadows are not overrun with this enemy
of the cliy lawn. The less mowing, par
ticularly in the early part of the Summer.
me less trouble from dandelions. Is the
rule this theorist advances.
OPPORTUNITY is a word that catches
the eye of the average citizen and
often serves as a hypnotising agency.
Tho first chance or the last chance al
ways servos as a hypnotizing agency.
The first chance or the lust chance al
ways offers an opportunity which, if
permitted to pass, will never be pre
sented again, so the over-anxious fre
quently act blindly In grasping what
looks like a good Investment. Efforts
to get hold of timber lands afford many
illustrations of the power of this first
chance or last-chance idea, and the
"wildcatters of the woods" have made
tho most of it. When an Indian reser
vation or a forest reserve is thrown
open to settlement there is a great rush
for claims, and men grab blindly for
the first chance. Timber locators, rep
resenting that there are 'only two or
throe claims left," appeal to the Easy
Marks and get a fee of 100 to J151 for
locating a man on land that is practi
cally worthless. "They take their vic
tim to a thickly wooded piece of prop
erty," says a Baker City paper, "show
him the fortune to be. had by locating
upon that spot, and then give him the
numbers of a, vacant claim. Alas for
the purchaser when he proves up on
his claim, for he finds that It is located
far away from the timber shown him,
which has probably been taken up for
years. ' Numerous cases of the kind
have been reported here recently, and
it is rumored that these confidence
men of the forest are to be prosecuted."
SEVERAL shooting scrapes in Eastern
Oregon recently have led to agitatlor
for a campaign against the evil of carry
ing concealed weapons. Such a warfare
has been started in several Kastern cities
where the police round up all questionable
characters and bring them into court and
have them heavily lined If weapons are
found upon their persons. One problem
has been presented in many such cases
what to do with the revolver after the de
fendant has been discharged. So far as
the law Is concerned, the guilty person Is
entitled to a return of the weapon. If the
law were changed so as to declare the
weapon forfeited, the state or city would
soon have a good-sized arsenal of revol
vers or would have to sell the implementa
of destruction for future use. '
IN dairying circles considerable Interest
has been aroused in the-records of a
Forest Grove .farmer, whose six cows last
year yielded 'over 42,000 pounds or milk,
which he sold to the condensing factory
for J5-92.SO. This was nearly J100 per cow.
Tk. f" U- . , . . . . ...
Alio wuiicj wno nas tnis record is i. u.
King. The Forest Grove Times says this
Is a "fair sample of what can be done
here," but many people will be Inclined to
think that it is probably a fair sample
of what can be done by some men with
some cows. There is a difference in men
and also In cows. However, the record is
good enough to encourage dairymen to
stick to the industry.--
THAT some members of the Legislature
do not like to have their actions in
that body criticised is evident from some
disclosures the Grant's Pass Observer is
making conoerning its advertising and
circulation business. The Observer re
marks that when he was a candidate for
the Legislature L. L. Jewell was an adver
tiser in that paper and also a subscriber.
Candid criticism, so the editor thinks,
was the cause for discontinuance of both
his advertising and his subscription, but
this "terrible financial catastrophe" will
not stay the pen of free discussion of "a
condition of affairs which calls for vigor
ous criticism from all state newspapers
that are not toads or imbeciles." The Ob
server evidently entertains the same view
of the freedom of the press as that Indi
cated by the Pacific Outlook, which sets
forth in verse the opinion of many people
upon the subject of how to run a news
paper: When a man goes astray
Keep it out.
When the critics roast a pJay'
Keep it out.
When two men in anger clash t
When a merchant goes to smash;
TV hen the cashier steals the casll-
Keep It out.
When they quarrel In the church
Keep it out.
' When the teacher wields the birch'
Keep it out.
When nine women fair to see
Whisper something over tea
Print it? Goodness gracious ma! '
"Keep it out." )
When two statesmen make, a.deal'
Keep it out.
When another tries to steal
Keep it out.
Stories thin and stories tall;
Good and bad and big and small
Anything that's news at all
Hear 'em shout:
"Keep it out." !
Sonnet to John D.
M. A. Matthews in National Stereotyper
Journal.
Who owns the pipes down In the grounj
That carry oil the country 'round
From Boston. Maw., to Puget Sound? '
John D.
Who owns New Jersey, New York Bay
And No. Twenty-six Broadway? '
Who owns the air we breathe each dayJ
John D.
Who owns the great old Empire State
The P. P.. R., the Nickel Plate.
The Santa Fe, the Golden Gate?
John D.
Who owns the Western Union, who
Owns all the ships that sail the blue?
Who owns, b'gosh, e'en me and you?
John r.
Who tenches how in Cleveland. O.,
Kach SRhhath morn to save your dough
(It all goes hack to him, you-know?
John D.
Who put the coal down in the ground-
And then got men to dig around
Till Hazelton, Pa., was found ?
John D.
Who's going to excommunicate
Missouri as a sovereign state
Because her Folk don't hesitate?'
John I.
Who owns the Senators that we
Send down to Washington, D. ..
To make the Jaws for us oht gee;?
John U.
Tn fact, who Is It. lank and tall.
Who has us at his beck and call.
That owns the earth, and owns It allt
John. V.