The Sunday Oregonian., January 12, 1908, SECTION THREE, Page 6, Image 28

6
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, JANUARY 12, 1908.
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PORTLAND, SUNDAY. JAN.
12.
1908.
OVERWORKINU THE INITIATIVE.
No more, said Burke, is it given to
man to tax and to please than to love
and be wise. It is verifiable every
where, and in all times. Never will
contentment associated with any sys
tem of taxation be found among men.
Jt is a subject on which almost every
one' holds a theory, and each theory
is an admixture of merely notional
ingredients and supposed self-interest.
Our Initiative system, gives theorists
of all sorts a chance, for the first time.
A group, or groups of them, now want
to make radical change in the prin
ciples of methods of taxation that have
stood from the first in the Constitu
tion of the state.
There is an abuse they strike at,
namely, the prevalent habit of holding
land out of use, to await growth of its
value, through the labor of others and
through the progress of the state, at
the same time avoiding as far as pos-
, slble taxes upon its advancing values.
Hut this is an abuse that might be
abated, or greatly reduced, without
radical change of the tax system. Put
up the assessments on these unim
proved lands. Every Assessor and
every County Board are1 in possession
of this remedy. During the last four
or five years they have begun in most
of the counties, to employ it, to a
much larger extent than heretofore.
We believe the people of Oregoh will
insist on this as a continuous and pro
gressive policy, as they certainly ought
to do. But It is not probable that
they will approve the sweeping
changes in the whole system of tax
ation that would follow the adoption
of the proposed initiative amendment.
For, in the first place, it is impossible
to 'tell what the whole effect would
be; next, it-would exempt much prop
erty that most people will think ought
to bear its share of taxation.
By far the greater part of the bur
den now falls on land. Practically,
all the remainder of it, under this
system, would be transferred to the
land. It is, substantially, the Henry
cleorge theory of single tax. "Virtually
it is the cry of the landless for Im
position of all the burdens of taxation
on the land-owners. But it is a de-
. mand that Is likely to receive more
favor in the towns and cities and
among the wage-earners than among
the farmers and the large body of the
land-owners of the country. Exemp
tion of buildings, machinery and man
ufacturing establishments will be ac
ceptable only to a class of theorists.
We Imagine, for example, there are
not many who would like to see The
Oregonian exempt from taxation, as it
would be under this system; for it is
merely a manufacturing establish
ment. "The Constitution as it is" contains
a proper mandate on the subject of
assessment and taxation; and it is sup
ported by as clear and positive and
Just statutes as can be made. All that
Is necessary is fair cmforcement of
these plain provisions; and en)rce
ment is absolutely In the hands of the
people, who elect at frequent inter
vals their Assessors and County
Boards. More constitution and more
law are not our needs, but fair ad
ministration and effective enforcement
of what we have. An altered Consti
tution will no more enforce itself than
the present one.
Moreover, it is perfectly practicable
lo put up the taxes on outlying and
unimproved lands, and thus remove
the abuse which Is the main basis of
the complaint that leads- to this call
for change of the Constitution. Un
der any system, so much money must
be raised for the needs of the state.
If the tax Is to be removed from the
farmer's improvements, machinery
and products, it will necessarily be
added to the tax on his land; and if
. you exempt manufacturing establish
ments the tax, .which still must be
paid, will reappear in rents and in
costs of doing business, which in large
degree must still be .paid by labor,
through prices charged, to consum
ers. In all probability the proposed
change, instead of giving relief to la
bor, would place it at further disad
vantage. Finally, what better method or prin
ciple of taxation, than this, that all
taxes shall be equal and uniform?
Such now is the Constitution, such
now is the statute. The only trouble
has been that the rule has not been
always enforced. But it can be en
forced; and every one sees that great
progress in this direction has been
made in. Oregon within recent years.
To expect reform through change of
law, when the law already is the best
it can be, and moreover is the prod
uct of an experience that runs back to
the beginning of our commonwealths,
will scarcely strike our people as a
dictate of wisdom, but rather as an
expedient of mere innovation. From
efforts of this kind the people of Ore
gon are likely to conclude that the
new Constitutional system, " through
the initiative, is in some danger of be
ing overworked.
THE CASE. OF PUTNAM.
We have just closed a week nota
ble chiefly for Its various and
extraordinary legal decisions. Judge
Hanna, of the Circuit . Court for
Jackson County, adds his portion to
the astonishing record by denying a
Southern Oregon editor the right to
plead the truth in a case for criminal
libel. One Putnam, a Medford editor,
had harshly criticised the grand jury
and Prosecuting Attorney of Jackson
County for their failure to return an
indictment in an assault ease at Med
ford. The Prosecuting Attorney' caused
Putnam's arrest and subsequent trial
for criminal libel. Putnam endeavored
to show that his criticisms were justi
fied by introducing testimony of wit
nesses who saw the assault. The
judge denied him the right, in face of
this plain provision of the Oregon
statute:
Section 2170. In afl criminal prosecutions
for libel the truth may be given in evidence,
and if It shall appear to the jury -that the
matter charged as libelous iei true and was
published with good motives and Justifiable
endsi the defendant must be found not guilty.
There would seem to be no way of
avoiding the plain meaning of the
law; but Judge Hanna seems to have
found a way. The Oregonian doesn't
know much about the merits of the
strictures passed by the Medford edi
tor. Very likely they were not war
ranted. But The Oregonian does
know if the reports from Jackson
ville as to the procedure In - Judge
Hanna's court are correct that, there
has been here a most surprising inva
sion of the liberty of the press and an
unjustifiable denial of Putnam's ele
mentary rights before the law as a cit
izen. This decision means that a news
paper has no right to criticise a grand
jury or a court. That Is absurd and
cannot stand any test of history or
experience or judicial, precedent. If it
shall be said as we suspect it may be
that Putnam erred in assailing the
grand jury while the assault case was
pending, and was therefore In con
tempt, whatever the facts as to the as
sault, it is pertinent to inquire why he
was prosecuted for libel, and not for
contempt of court?
Possibly it is too much to hope for,
but we should really like to have
from Judge Hanna an explanation of
his remarkable decision; or we should
like to be corrected if our understand
ing as to what the decision Is is not
correct.
QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY, COUNTS.
Young people who are studying
English in our high schools and col
leges should remember that the aphor
ism is no less important than , ampli
fied expression and that command of
condensed style requires even more
thought and practice than does the
ability to 'write extensively and with
circumlocution. The well-trained
writer is master of both forms of ex
pression, and he uses them together to
give strength and beauty to his com
position. There is a tendency among
writers, as there is among speakers,
to measure productiveness in terms of
quantity rather than of quality. The
attorney or the political speaker who
boasts that he delivered an address
covering four hours of time overlooks
the essentials of effective argument, as
also doesthe writer who proudly tells
of the number of words, pages or col
umns in his dissertation. Power is
not always determined by volume.
While constant dropping will wear
away the rock, the well-directed blows
of chisel and mallet will do It much
faster. ..'-
The great temptation of the stu
dent of English- composition is to
strive for "fine writing," which Is very
well in its place, but entirely inade
quate if unaccompanied by a plain, di
rect and concise style of expression.
The short, pointed sentence, crowded
full of thought, penetrates the. mind
of the reader or listener, and finds
lodgment there. -The grandiloquent
word-picture is more likely to glide
over the-surface, leaving a pleasant
but only temporary sensation. The
aphorism is the soul of literature; am
plified expression Its body. The aph
orisms of the Bible, -of Shakespeare,
of Bacon, of Franklin, of Pope,. and of
many other writers, constitute the
living, eternal elements of literature
which would survive even though all
the printed books were burned. Cul
tivation of an aphorismic style tends
to develop habits of concentrated
thought. It leads to economy of time
for both the writer and the reader.
One sentence that lives is worth a
thousand that die.
REFORM IN RUSSIA.
It is hardly probable that glimmers
from the outside world ever reach the
unfortunate political prisoners who
are wearing their livs away in the
dungeons and salt mines of Siberia
and the Saghaliens. If, however, per
chance these unhappy Muscovites
should learn of the fate which has
befallen the signers, of the Vborg
manifesto, who have just been con
victed of high treason, they would
certainly agree, that the world was
growing better. Death or a lifetime
of hard labor in the Far Eastern pris
ons of the Russians has In the past
nearly always been the penalty for
freedom of speech in the . country
which seems to have been forgotten
by the Almighty. But the members
of the first Douma, who signed that
famous epistle of freedom, were, on
conviction, the evidence having been
supplied by themselves, sentenced to
three months' imprisonment and the
loss of all political rights.
The term "political rights," when
used in Russia, to designate a prerog
ative enjoyed by the common people.
would by a strict Interpretatfon be so
meaningless as to be almost humor
ous. What the 167 patriots of "the
Douma have really lost is the right to
speak or write on any topic which in
any manner affects the government.
The autocracy and its puppet Czar
have thus silenced quite a number of
their, critics without the customary
official murders "which in the past
have been relied on to' squelch, ex
pressions of public opinion which were
not in accord with the ideas of the
Czar. And yet It is questionable
whether the Czar tan make, a success
of this new form of official leniency.
Nicholas, like his predecessors, has
"lived by the sword," and the blood of
thousands is on his hands. He has
seen brave men and fair young girls,
tortured and murdered in the cause
of liberty. He has silenced their
voices and removed their mortal pres
ence, but to the millions who felt and
still feel the yoke of the oppressor the
silence of the.e- departed martyrs
speaks more eloquently than the
voices that are'stilled forever. What,
then, will be the effect of a living
mind In a living man constantly be
fore the people as an example of official-
wrong? . Nicholas has made a
mistake which c.an "be rectified only
by the execution or the Douma patri
ots or by . reformation of the entire
Russian .government..' The -latter
course would be right Unfortunately
the Czar Is never rights nor will he
be right so long as he remains the
helpless puppet of a venal and blood
thirsty autocracy.
A COMMISSIONER OF ENGAGEMENT
RINGS.
False, fleeting, perjured Frank
Bleigh! He must warn his next- love
of the dubious character of his en
gagement pledges so that she can de
liver her affections on the installment
plan. Thus a harmony of Interest will
be achieved which is clearly impos
sible when the lady bestows her heart
without reserve while the diamond
which binds the swain remains but
partially paid for. We take it 'that
Mrs. Beebe is a wldosv who sought to
console herself for the loss of her first
husband by the delights of a reiterated
espousal. Like Mrs. Barde'll, she put
her confidence and established her
hopes in a young man, a single man
in fact. Again, like Mrs. Bardell, she
has found from sad experience that
single men are even as the flower that
fades or the grass that is cut down
and withered away. Next time she
will undoubtedly try a widower who,
as a rule, is a more tangible asset than
a man who has never submitted his
feet to the matrimonial fetters.
Would a widower have presented
Mrs. Beebe with a ring that was not
paid for? Not .he: Poignant recollec
tions would have warned him of the
danger of trifling thus with a wo
man's heart. But not every woman
who desires to enjoy connubial felicity
could find an available widower, even
If she were wise enough to seek for
one. Some individuals of the angelic
sex must perforce love youths like
Bleigh. The problem is, therefore,
practical and pressing how to deter
mine whether the engagement rings
which they bestow, to say nothing of
the Ice creams, theater tickets and au
tomobile rides, have been paid for or
bought upon the treacherous Install
ment plan. 1
The suggestion that each gift be ac
companied by a bill of sale would be
awkward to carry out. It would also
destroy many a roseate illusion, since
bills of sale always state the prosaic
actual price of things and not that
fanciful estimate which prevails in the
domain of Cupid. A better plan
would be to appoint a Commissioner
of Engagement Rings and Courtship
Gifts. Clothe him with authority to
summon every betrothed youth before
him and extort a strict account of the
presents which he bestows day by day
upon his intended bride, stating where
he bought them,, whether on the in
stallment plan or not, and how much
he paid for them. The happy couple
could then swim in a sea of bliss while
the lcfver affixed imaginary prices to
his gifts and the fiancee could keep in
touch with realities by subsequent
visits to the Commissioner's office.
This strikes one as an admirable
scheme. Let us by all means add to
our already richly amplified list of
commissioners a Commissioner of En
gagement Rings. He would be a
great deal more useful than some of
the others.
WHY PROHIBITION GAINS.
Twenty-five . thousand converts to
the temperance cause In a single day
Is a record that has never been ap
proached by the most powerful tem
perance organizations in existence.
But this is the number of able-bodied
American citizens working for one
employer who on New Tear's day
pledged themselves ' to abstain from
the use of intoxicating liquors. .. This
wholesale accession to the ranks of?
prohibition was on the Northwestern
Railroad, and neither emotion, senti
ment nor religion had anything to do
with dealing such a body blow to the
demon rum. It was simply a busi
ness proposition worked out to a log
ical conclusion on strictly economical
lines. So far from being reformers
or altruists, it is not Improbable that
the men actually responsible for the
Innovation : still Indulge in the wine
that sparkles and the highball that ex
hilarates. '
With them the requirement of tem
perate habits among their employes
was not prompted by any nobler mo
tive than that which assured them
that, with all of their men sober all
of the time, the liability of costly dis
asters would be greatly reduced. The
movement was not confined to the op
erating department of the great road,
but also ' included the shopmen ' as
well, the very natural assumption be
ing that the man who came to work
after a night of battling with booze
was not in a condition to deliver a full
day's work for the day's pay which .it
was, of course, necessary to give him.
The conditions which have forced
temperance on so many Southern
communities are exactly the same as
those which have reformed this array
of railroad men.
The proud and haughy Southerner,
with an inherent aversion to permit
ting any man to limit his rights to
est and drink as he sees fit, is un
doubtedly as fond of his mint julep
and cocktail as he ever was: but the
'economic waste and disturbance of
law and order through indiscrimi
nate drinking by men who have .only
partial control over their appetites
had become so serious that the indi
vidual pride and desires of the ele
ment which could control its appetite
were subordinated to the general good
of the communities. This gathering
strength of the temperance movement
is from a quarter never suspected by
the Murphys and Dows who devoted
their lives to the cause, but who
scarcely looked beyond the moral or
religious aspect of the case. Indis
criminate drinking not only prevents
good work, but it leads to crime, and
crime Is expensive both" for the crim
inal and for the community. In other
words, the people have at last learned
that it pays to be good and it pays to
bj sober.
THE GOLD CURE IN 'COURT.
The Keeley "Jag Cure" emerges
from the United States Circuit Court
of Appeals with a bad reputation. We
dare say that Dr. Keeley if he Jives
now bewails the day and the folly
that first led him to wander from the
peaceful Esculapian shades of his
"laboratory" and trust his unwary
fortunes to the incalculable chances
of the law. But. in a manner, he was
driven to it. What should a philan
throplcal physician do when the part
ner of his bosom, the participant of
his medicinal secrets, deserts him and
sets up a rival anti-jag shop? .The
natural thing to do, of course, would
be to give the traitor a dose, of, their
own dope. But Dr. Ke"eley could not
avail, himself of poetical justice, so he
must perforce seek the elusive palli
atives of the law. ''He that seeketh
by the law to destroy, by the law shall
he be laid " waste," salth the an'cient
saw; and never was its truth more
glaringly illuminated than in the sad
and moving case of Dr. Keeley.-' v
A monster named Hargreaves was
the mgrate.l Dr. . Keeley had warmed
the viper in his bosom, and It repaid
him -with its sting after the manner of
vipers. Having learned the mysteries
of the ""Gold Cure" from the great
mother laboratory at Dwight, under
the esoteric ministrations of the "aw
ful Keeley, away skipped Hargreaves
to Memphis and set up a, rival lab
oratory of his own. "Come hither,
come hither," he called in siren tones
to the . tattered and tipsy army of
sots, "and you shall be dosed with
gold and cleansed of the lust!, for
drink.. Tea, . more " thoroughly
cleansed than even at Dwighf by Dr.
Keeley himself." ' The" melancholy
host of the slaves of the bottle heeded
the voice of the charmer, as poor hu
manity always does heed when. there
is a chance to play the fool, and forth
with the streaming tide of dupes was
divided. Half went to Memphis, half
remained faithful to their first love at
.Dwight. The effect upon Keeley's
revenues was disastrous and he ap
pealed to the law of his country for
justice. "Avenge me upon the trait
orous Hargreaves," he cried to the
United States Court of Appeals. He
Importuned for. justice, and he got it.
The Keeley cure, as all the world
knows, purports to! turn the lust for
strong drink into loathing. The met
amorphosis is effected, like so many
others, through- the power of gold.
That is. Dr. Keeley said .it was. But
lo, when the chemists of the court
came fto analyze his healing potion,
behold it contained not a vestige of
the precious metal. No gold was there
whatever In the "'Double chloride of
Gold" Jag Dope, not even a clearing
house certificate remotely represent
ing gold, nay, not even a. particle of
silver, that pale and sickly-substitute
for the adored fetish of humanity.
Now, when a court of justice is called
upon to apply a name to a gold cure
which contains.ro gold,, what shall it
choose? There is but one that can
be chosen, it seems. The Federal
COurt, therefore, "in grave, ' solemn
tone, without one if or. but," damned
the Keeley Cure, not with faint praise,
but with the frightful appellation of
fraud. Being a . fraud, Keeley came
into court not with clean hands, but
with shockingly dirty ones, and the
judges, who are very particular about
the state of a suitor's hands, thrust
him forth rudely and entreated' him
with harsh vituperatives. He could
get no injunction forbidding Har
greaves to run his rival jag cure in
Memphis, nor could he get damages
from the viper he had nourished.
Frauds have no standing in the Fed
eral Courts. They can neither sue nor
be sued.
Far be it from us to asperse the
even-handed justice of this judicial de
liverance. We desire only to raise one
point, or at most two or three, like
Nora with the macaroons. . What is
the proper test by which to decide
whether a medicine is fraudulent or
not? Is It what the medicine contains
or what it does? Grant that Keeley's
Double Chloride of Gold contained no
gold; still if it destroyed the taste for
strong drink, as it purported to do,
was It a fraud? If the title "Gold
Cure" helped to excite the psychologi
cal state which is essential to a drunk
ard's reform and cure, did it do any
harm? Was it not rather a source of
good? Ia.it a fraud when a regular
physician) or even a homeopath, ad
ministers a bread pill to a nervous pa
tient? What doctor ever tells a patient
what" he is swallowing if he can avoid
it? What. doctor does not deceive his
patients at every turn as to their
symptoms, their danger and their
treatment? What doctor does not re
sort to all sorts of. delusive arts to ex
cite those ' psychological conditions
which he thinks desirable? Was Kee
ley doing anything more or worse than
to repeat upon a large scale what
every physician does upon a scale' as
large as he can compass?
Of course, the vital point is, pace
the Federal judges, whether the Gold
Cure was or was not a cure; whether
It contained gold or not is utterly ir
relevant. There is plenty of testi
mony, known to everybody, that it
has occasionally performed something
that looks' amazingly like cures. But
let that pass. Admit that it is a fraud
and that Keeley came into court with
smirched hands demanding equity,
which the court denied him. "He that
seeks equity must first do equity." A
lovely motto is it not? It sounds so
excellently upright, so Roman, as it
were. And it is of such wide applica
tion, too. When the New Tork Gas
Company comes Into ' the Federal
Court demanding the annulment of
the state law, the first question the
Judge asks of it is, of course, "Are
your hands clean? Here you come
asking equity; have you done equity?
Have you any stolen franchises in your
possession which you have capitalized
I and which you demand that the people
shall pay dividends upon after having
suffered the theft of them?" Not hav
ing clean hands, the gas company was
thrust out, of court, or do we dream?
One more point, and we shall close.
The decision that Keeley cannot pros
ecute. Hargreaves gives the latter a
free license to repeat and continue for
ever precisely the same fraud that
Keeley has practiced. In other words,
it doubles the amount of active fraud
in the country. This fact was pleaded
to the court by one of the lawyers, but
the judges replied that "they could not
take such a point as that into judicial
consideration." Charming naivete- on
the part of the court, was it not? The
only consideration in the case was a
piece of abstract logic, an elegant syl
logism. Concerning the practical con
sequences of their decision the judges
knew .nothing and cared nothing.
A TYPICAL RECEIVERSHIP.
In June, 1900, that Is. about eight j
years ago, the Republic Savings & i
Loan Association, of Brooklyn, passed
into the hands of receivers. At that
time the state banking department es
timated the assets of the concern at
$1,086,000. The receivers valued
them at $304,000. Since then it has
been managed by the receivers and
their lawyers, presumably in the in
terest of the investors, and the result
Is astonishing. Upon the million dol
lars of assets only $275,000 has been
realized, and of this sum all but $30,
000 has gone for expenses, legal, cleri
cal and other. It would appear from
this result that a receivership may be
a pretty costly piece of business for
the investors in an insolvent concern;
but the lawyers have no ground for
complaint, so far as one can observe.
The beauty of the affair lies in the
fact that It is typical. Eastern papers
say that it costs upon the average 39
cents to collect one dollar under a re
ceivership in that state. Persons fa
miliar with the subject will probably
agree that it costs about the same
elsewhere. The bulk of the expenses
are lawyers' fees. The receiver Is an
officer of the court, and his hypothet
ical duty is to close up the business
of the . Insolvent concern as rapidly
and cheaply as possible under the
court's supervision. This is the the
ory of the case.
The practice Is somewhat different.
Actually the receiver does little, while
his lawyers do almost everything; and
they do ' it with the maximum of
pomp, ceremony,' red tape and delay.
The principal expense of receiverships
arises from payments to lawyers who
are ' hired to keep the receiver from
doing anything illegal. It would save
at least one salary to make the law
yers themselves the receivers, though
the ultimate outcome of this expedient
might prove disappointing.
A more satisfactory course would be
to appoint a state officer to take
charge of insolvent state banks and
administer them. Experience might
render him so capable in course of
time that he could get along with
moderately frequent doses of legal ad
vice, and one firm of lawyers might
be sufficient, with the admonitions of
the court, to, keep him on the right
track. In this way the creditors qf
Insolvent concerns might escape with
less plucking than they now suffer,
though receiverships .will always be
expensive, make . the very best of
them. From him that hath not shall
be taken away even that which he
hath. It is. the fate of the unlucky to
become the prey of the lucky. The
expedient of a state official to look
after insolvent concerns Is much liked
by Eastern newspapers and may pos
sibly be adopted in New Tork. If it
works well there, other states will be
likely to follow suit.
BRYAN AND JOHNSON.
The New Tork World's antipathy
to Mr. ' Bryan' has gone to that ex
treme vahere It ceases to be funny arid
becomes pathetic. One is constrained
by the perusal of some of the recent
lucubrations of the great metropoli
tan party rebel to wonder what It
would do were Mr. Bryan actually to
be elected President of the United
States.' Would it be as much enraged
as .it now thinks it would be? Or
would it discover in Mr. Bryan, the
President, charms and graces which it
falls to discern in Mr. Bryan the
perennial candidate?
This question is no mere academic
speculation, for If there is a Demo
cratic President within the next
decade or two It will be. Mr. Bryan
and not John Johnson, of Minnesota,
as the World so fondly hopes. Mr.
Johnson is a good man, an excellent
man, but the Democratic convention
to be held next Summer at Denver
will not nominate him In spite of all
the alluring qualities which he pos
sesses and which the World displays
in a double-column editorial. The en
dearing young charms of Mr. Johnson
are to the longing imagination of the
World like daisies and buttercups in
a riverside pasture to a Jersey cow;
but the Democratic ass discerns no
sweetness in daisies and buttercups;
that seasoned animal prefers the
well-cured hay which Mr. Bryan prof
fers, r
Mr. Bryan's hay is not so substan
tial as alfalfa. If lacks many of the
staying qualities of tlmdthy. Indeed
it is no more nutritious, perhaps, than
the sour grass of the sloughs which
an animal may chew upon all day
and still be hungry. But for the
Democrats, used as they are to feed
ing upon the east wind. It suffices.
They prefer it to anything more lus
cious for fear of colic.
The World makes much of John
son's . luck In carrying Minnesota,
which is a Republican state; but it
Is not safe to bank very heavily upon
this feat." He carried Minnesota upon
local issues. Upon these issues the
voters ignored party ties, which in a
National election they would remem
ber. As Democratic candidate for
President Mr. Johnson might carry
Minnesota, and he might not. His
extraordinary success in the guberna
torial race affords no grounds what
ever for making predictions as to the
Presidential contest, which is a dif
ferent matter altogether and will be
fought out on different issues.
Loss of Mta.ve New Tork firemen in
a burning building twelve stories high
once more demonstrates the -necessity
for strictest regulation by municipal
authority in the matter of skyscrapers.
Every building more than four stories
high should be fireproof not Jn the
plans alone, but also in the construc
tion. Present fire apparatus is too
feeble to cope with structures rising a
hundred feet or more in the air, and it
is not likely that future inventions
wilL overcome the handicap. Here in
Portland skyscrapers are going to
multiply in the next ten years; Irence
the need for stringent ordinances and
strictest vigilance in inspection.
The mohair Industry of the Willam
ette Valley will be exploited at Dal
las, Polk County, by an Angora goat
show January 16-17. The growth of
this industry has steadily advanced
since its first .Introduction, scarcely a
dozen years ago, until it has attainejl
substantial proportions. The exhibit
will be held under the auspices of the
Polk Count? Mohair Association. It
will be well worth inspection, not only
by those engaged in goat , husbandry,
but by all who are interested in the
development of the state through a
diversity of industries. y
Some time ago the California apple-,
growers were very much alarmed be
cause the Federal authorities threat
ened to. forbid the use of? sulphur in
bleaching dried apples and other
fruits, their fear being that their trade
would be ruined by the rigid enforce
ment of the pure-food law. . At that
time The Oregonian ventured the
opinion that the growers were need
lessly concerned and that they would
either find a way to cure their fruit
without bleaching or the consumer
would learn to use it unbleached. Now
comes Chief Chemist Wiley, of the
Department of Agriculture, with the
announcement that apples can be
dried with steam heat, after being
subjected to a steam bath, and - that
when thus cured not onry Is all insect
life destroyed, but the fruit needs no
bleaching. - He remarks that if they
adopt, this method the - California
growers can advertise to 'the. world
that no sulphur is used in curing their
fruit,
An . ex-diplomat says that a very
large majority of the disagreements"
and separations between American
wives and their European husbands
have their origin In the determination
of each to adhere to the customs of
the land of nativity. Except in the
case of American women who have
married titled rakes, he says the trou
ble arises from the most insignificant
incidents. For example, one American
girl insisted upon having a "square
meal" early in the morning, while her
English husband adhered to his cus
tom of taking a cup of coffee and a
roll in bed at 10 o'clock. If this is
all the cause for disruption in the for
eign homes of American girls, the ex
diplomat should be able to render . his
country good service by establishing a
correspondence school of domestic' di
plomacy. -
Comparatively few men are rich
enough to endow colleges. There are
in every city, however, men .with
wealth enough to enable them to offer
suitable prizes for superior work in
the public schools. The offering of a
prize serves as a. stimulus and aids in
maintaining interest. Prizes need not
be large, but' should be numerous
enough so" that a large number of pu
pils may have a . hope of winning.
Comparatively few children go to col
lege. In the1 grammar school or high
school they complete their study of
books, and It is there the greatest
good can be done by encouraging per
sistent effort. - . .. j
The cotton mills at New Bedford,
Mass., paid dividends in 1907 to the
amount of $2,578,000, or nearly 14 per
cent on the capital stock. Quite likely
the capital stock was made up in part
of water. However that may be, the
stockholders who received this divi
dend and the employes who earned
wages In the mills are not likely to
listen with much' credence to the as
sertion that the Roosevelt administra
tion has crippled industry.' A. net
profit of 14 per cent after all operat
ing and repairing expenses have been
paid would look good even to an Ore
gon farmer.
" There is strong probability" that
Governor Hughes will seize an oppor
tunity next month to advance his po
litical fortunes. The, occasion is " a
banquet by the Union League Club of
Chicago on Washington's birthday,
where he will be tb,e principal speak
er. It Is expected that on this- visit
his first invasion of the. West since he
became prominent in the Presidential
race he will speak with precision on
a number of National issues. -Those
who oppose as well as they who sup
port him hope he will meet the de
mand for hfta views on pjjbjlc affairs.
The Department of Agriculture at
Washington is sending out a pamphlet
on ' the "Preservative Treatment of
Fence Posts." If the preservative
processes known to the department
can be guaranteed to be effective In
maintaining political fences, there
should be no trouble in getting the
Senators and Congressmen, to vote for
a heavy, appropriation for publication
of a thousand editions of the pam
phlet, each edition to consist of. one
copy for each legal voter in the coun
try. In various parts of the world. there
arethose who are so sure we shall
have war with Japan, that calculations
are offered on the chances of our war
fleet getting into the Pacific Ocean in
time. But how, -If japan shall send
her war fleet into the Atlantic? Shall
we hear the alarm, presented from
our affrighted Eastern cities,-which
never were willing for the war fleet to
leave them? '.
Anybody can invoke the initiative in
Oregon. That sound, like treason to
URen, but anybody can do-it. Here
is a mistake that we may expect Moses
U'Ren to repair by giving us a law
that there shall be no law unless IS
bears the XT Ren O. K.
The debt of the City of New York
is $604,487,013. It is about 10 per
cent of the valuation of the real estate
of the city. The burden of such a
debt tries the resources of the metrop
olis severely; and yet- the debt is to
be further increased. i
A dispatch from Tacoma tells of- the
death in that city of an old man who
expired for very joy at meeting old
friends from whom he had long been
separated. Strangely enough, this
death is spoken of as a "sad',' one.
It is needless to descant upon the
evils of an unrestricted coolie immi
gration. These evils are so apparent
that only through utter National stu
pidity can they become overwhelming.
That Cooper Union crowd missed
an opportunity. In the free-for-all
catechism, why didn't some one ask
Judge Taft, Would you like to be
President?
It is up to the State Horticultural
Society to pass a vote of thanks to
Judge Parker for booming the Oregon
apple in his "untutored Idealism"
speech.
Ex-Sheriff Tom Word, running for
re-election, promises to "try to do bet
ter than he did before." This seems
to open up for debate how well he did
before.
ODDITIES OF VERSE
The Sir of Belsrrade.
An Austrian army, awfully arraj'ed,
Boldly, by battery, .besieged Belgrade;
Cossack commanders cannonading
come
Dealing destruction's . devastating
doom; .
Every endeavor engineers essay.
For fame,, for fortune-fighting furious
"-, fray
Generals 'gainst generals grapple; gra-
clous Ciod!
How honors Heaven heroic hardihood!
Infuriate indiscriminate in HI,
Kindred kill kinsmen kinsmen kln-
dred kill!
Labor low levels loftiest longest lines
Men march mid mounds; "mid moles,
'mid murderous mines:
Now noisy, noxious, noticed nought
Of outward obstacles opposing ought:
foor patriots, partly purchased, partly
pressed:
Quite quaking, quickly quarter, quar
ter quest.
Reason returns, religious right re
dounds. Suwarrow stops such sanguinary
sounds.
Truce to thee. Turkey triumph to
thy train! ' -
Unjust, unwise, unmerciful Ukraine
Vanish vain victory, vanish victory
vain! ,i
Why wish ye warfare? Wherefore wel.
come were
Xerxes, Ximenes. Xanthus. Xavlere?
yield; ye youths! ye yojmen, yield
your yell!
Zeno's Zapater's, Zoroaster's zeal.
And all attracting arms against acts
appeal:
Oliver's Impromptu.
Oliver, a sailor and patriot, with
merited reputation for extempore
rhyming, while on a visit to his cousin
Benedict Arnold, after the war, was
asked by the latter to amuse a party
of English officers with some extem
poraneous effusion, whereupon he stood
up and repeated the following Ernul
phus curse, which would have satisfied
Dr. Slop himself:
Born for a curse to virtue and man
kind. :
Earth's broadest realm ne'er knew so
. black a mind. V '
Night's sable veil your crimes can
neVer hide,
Bach one so great, 'twould glut hi.
r toric tide.'
Defunct, your -.curest memory will
live
In all the" glare that infamy can
give.
Curses of ages will attend your
, name. ; -Traitors
alone will glory in your
shame.
: - - .. -
Almighty vengeance sternly waits to
. roll -Rivers
of sulphur on your treacherous
i soul:
Nature looks shuddering back with
conscious dread
On'sueh a tarnished blot as she has
made. V
Let hell ' receive you, riveted in
cnatns,
Doomed to- the hottest focus of its
- flames. ' - ' .
Ingenious Subterfuge.
A young lady newly married, being
obliged to show to her husband all the
letters she wrote, sent the following to
an intimate friend. The key.is.-to read,
the first and then every alternate, line
only;
I cannot be satisfied, my dearest
friend! ---- . .
blest as I am in the matrimonial state.
unless I pour into your friendly bo
som, ''.'
which- has ever been in unison with
mine, -
the various sensations which swell
with the liveliest emotion of pleasure
my almost bursting heart. I tell you
my dear
husband is the most amiable o'f men.
I have now been . married . seven-;
weeks, and , .
never have found the least reason to
repent the day that joined us." My
DOtn in person ana manners tar xrom
resembling .
ugly, cross, old; disagreeable, . and
''jealous m '
monsters, who think by ' confining ' to
secure ' , ' - .-
a wife. It is his maxim to treat as a
bosom friend and confidant, and not
as a b - i
plaything, or menial slave, the wom
an . v
chosen to be his companion. Neither
party ,- .
he says should always obey lmplic
V itly;
but each yield to the other by turns,
An ancient maiden aunt, near seventy,
a cheerful. venerable, -. and pleasant
Old lady, j
lives in the house with us; she Is the
de
light of both- young and old; she is cl-
vil to all the neighborhood round,
generous and charitable to the poor. .
I am convinced my husband loves
than be does me; he flatters me more
, than a glass; and his intoxication
(for so I must call the excess .of his
love) i.. v '.'
often -makes me blush for the un-
worthiness
of Its object, and wish I 'could be more
deserving v
of the man whose name I bear. To
say all In one word, my dear, and to
rrown the whole my former gallant
-.. ' . lover ,
Is now my Indulgent husband; my hus-
baqd ,(
Is returned, and I might have had
a prince without the felicity I find in
him. Adieu! , may you be blest as I
' am un
able to wish that 1 could be more
happy.
Memoria Technical
Names and Order of the Books of the
Old Testament:
Tbe Great Jehovah speaks to us
In Genesis and Exodus;
Leviticus and Numbers see
Followed by Deuteronomy.
Joshua and Judges sway the land,
Ruth gleans a sheaf with trembling hand;
Samuel and numerous Kings appear .
Whose Chronicles we -wondering hear.
Ezra and Nehemiah, now,
Esther the beauteous mourner show.
Job speaks in- sighs, David in Psalms,
The Proverbs teach to scatter alms;
Ecclesiastcs then comes on.
And the sweet Song of Solomon.
Isaiah, Jeremiah then
With Lamentations takes his pen,
Ezekiel. Daniel, Hqsea's lyres
Swell Joel. Amos, Obadiah's.
Next Jonas. Mtcah. Nahum come.
And lofty Habakkuk finds room
While Zephaniah, Haggai calls.
Wrapt Zachariah builds his walls;
And Malachl, with garments rent, .
Concludes the ancient Testament.
Names and order of the Books of the
New Testament:
Matthew, Mark. Luke, and John, wrots
the life of their Lord;
The Acts, what Apostles accomplished,
record;
Rome, Corinth. Galatus, Ephesus, hear
What Phllllpplans, Colosslans, Thessalo-
nians revere:
Timotheus. Titus,' Philemon, precede
The Epistle which Hebrews most gratn-
Jamea. Peter, and John, with the short
' letter Judge,
The rounds of Divine Revelation con-
. f-