THE SUNDAY OREGOMAX, PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 2. 1908.
SI BSl BIPTION KATES.
IXVA1UAB1-T IN ADVANCE.
(By Mall.) '
Dully. Stindsy ln.-luded. one year $S 00
rally. Sunday Included, nix months....
Dally, Sunday Included, three months.. -):
Ially. Sunday Included, oue month.. "'
I'sily, without Sunday, one year 6.0ft
I-aily, without Sunday, six months 3.23
I'all. without Sunday, three months.. 1.75
3ally. without Sunday, one mouth U'
Sunday, one year 'u
Weekly, one year (Issued Thursday)... l.j0
tiunday and weekly, cne year 3.5U
BY CARRIER.
Dally. Sunday Included, one year 8 J)0
Dally. Sundav Included, one month o
HOW TO REMIT Bend postofftce money
order, express order or personal check on
your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency
are at the sender" risk. Olve postoffice ad
dress In full. Including county and stale.
POSTAGE RATES,
Entered at Portland!, Oreson, Postolllce
as Second-Class Matter.
10 to 14 Pajes.'. c'nt
JO to 28 Paaes cents
SO to 44 Pages 3 cent
46 to 60 I'atres .' cents
Foreign postage, double rates.
IMPORTANT The postal laws are strict.
Newspapers on which postage Is not fully
Prepaid are not forwarded to destination.
EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE.
The S, V. Beckwtth Special Ageucy New
Tork, rooms 45-50 Tribune building. Chl
' caso, rooms Stu-ol'J Tribune building.
KEPT ON BALE.
Chicago Auditorium Annex; FostofCloa
News Co.. J 7 Dearborn street.
St. Taiil, SI inn. N. St. M;uie. Commercial
Station.
Colorado Sprlnits. Colo. Bell. II. II.
Denver Hamilton and KcndrliR. 000-012
Peventeenth street; Pratt Itouk Store. VJ14
Fifteenth street; H. P. Uansen. S. Bice.
George Carbon.
Kansas Clty Mo. Ttlrkyerker Cigar Co..
Ninth and Walnut; Yomn News Co.
Minneapolis M. J. Cavanauuh. 60 South
TuiiiL
Cleveland, O. James Pushaw, 307 Su
perior street.
Washington, U. C. Ebbltt House. Penn
sylvania avenue.
Philadelphia. Pa. Ryan's Theator Ticket
Office; Pnn News Co.
New York City. U .Tones A Co.. Aster
House; Broadway Theater News Stand; Ar
thur Hotallng Wascons; Empire News Stand.
Ocden V. 1a. Boyle; Lowe fros.. 114
Twtuty-nfth-street.
Omaha Hurkalow Bros.. Union Station;
alairealh Stationery Co.
Des Moines, la. Mose Jacobs.
Sacramento, tal. Sacramento News Co.,
4M K street; Amos News Co.
Salt Eake Moon Hook & Stationery Co.:
Rosenfeld Jt Hansen; G. W. Jewett. P. O.
corner.
Los Awrelea II. E. Amos, manager ten
street waKons.
Pasadena, Cal Amos News Co.
San Dieao K 15. Amos.
San Jose, Cal. St. James Hotel News
Ftsnd
Dallas. Tex. Southwestern News Apent.
S44 Main street: bIpo two street wagons.
Amarilla, Trx. Tlmmons & Pope.
San FranclMo Korster & Orear: Ferry
News Stand: Hotel SI. Francis News Stand;
I.. Parent: N. Wheatley; Fairmount Hotol
News Stand; Amni News Co.; United News
Apency. 14, Eddy street; B. E. Ames, matt
scr three wasons.
Oakland, Cal. W. H. Johnson, Fourteenth
and Franklin street? N. Wheatley; Oakland
News Stand; B. E. Amos, manager five
wajron. .
GoldHeld. Nev. I.oulo Follln: C. E.
Hunter,
Eureka, Cal. Call-Chronicle Agency; Eu
reka News Co.
PORTLAND, SUNDAY, l'EU.
1008.
POLITICAL PARTIES.
The leading article in The Atlantic
Monthly for February is entitled "The
Significance of Political Parties." It
is a strong and fair statement of the
necessary place and function of polit
ical parties under our form of gov
ernment. The first part of the article
is an essay on the historical rise and
progress of political parties in the
United States, and their general sig
nificance, together with their influ
ence as a nationalizing agency; while
the latter part deals with their ten
dencies and springs of action.
The historical, part need not now
'detain us. We simply take the politi
cal parties as they are. and note their
methods of action. Burke has de
fined a political party as a body of
men united for support of some prin
ciple of action or upon a policy
which they are all agreed. It is a
philosophical generalization too high
for present conditions in the United
States, or for that matter in Great
Britain. The Atlantic w riter, offers a
definition or statement of a more
practical kind, when he says that "a
party is a body of men, somewhat
fluctuating in personnel and in num
bers, who have begun to work to at
tain some political purpose or to. op
pose other men to whom, for some
reason, they have felt antagonistic."
Not to put anybody against Burke,
for philosophic statesmanship, this,
nevertheless, is a practical definition
for the conditions of tho present time.
It is the work or method of parties
that this writer deals with, mainly.
The growth of the national idea and
the national purpose he shows, has
been the main influence in determin
ing their course of action. Transfor
mation of the. federal republic Into
a national republic has determined
everything. The unceasing pressure
of the national idea has spread from
the center of governmental activity
to the remotest hamlet. "Today,"
says our writer, "the domination of
the national idea is nearly complete.
There are no state parties which look
after state issues and which are dis
tinct from the parties and politics
that are of national dimensions. In
every step taken in ward or township,
in every nomination made for local
office, there is deference to the Inter
ests of the great national organisa
tion." How true this is every observer
knows. Both the great parties of the
country act constantly on these lines;
one of them usually having the lead,
the other following with criticism or
opposition. But the tendency all the
time is towards assertion and enforce
ment of the idea of a national repub
lic, with concentration of power in
the hands of its legislative and ex
ecutive departments. The most pow
erful impulse in this direction since
the Civil War has been imparted by
President Roosevelt. With approval
of the people he delivers lectures even
to Congress and to the Supreme
Court. Both parties are forced to ap
plaud, in deference to the growing
idea of concentration of national pow
er; yet, of course, in each party there
is opposition, mostly, however, silunt
and sullen. Within any party there
are. nearly always, ii.tarests and ele
ments of most divergent character"
A good observation is that "the
present task of democracy is. not to
prevent the party management from
getting possession of the Government,
but to make tha-t management respon
sive to the will 'of the people." On
this great issue confusion is constant
ly produced by the fight between the
"outs" and the "Ins." One phase of
this contention is between the oppos
ing parties: another, the contention
between individuals or factions of. the
same party. Men who denounce the
boss or the machine combine to set
up another boss and another machine.
For it is not possible to effect any
thing in politics without combina
tion and organization. , But honesty
in dealing with the public interests
is an indispensable requirement. Yet
most men are honest even in office:
and the practices that the reformer?
! "condemn are usually continued by
them. It is alike the habit of party
men, independents and reformers, to
t make as much out of office a- liberal
construction of the laws and regula
tions win auuw, t nun. is fjiieen
trated In this: "So long as- we have
popular government we shall have
parties: so long as we have parties
we shall have party managers; so" long
as we have managers we must expect
them to look after their Interests and
their party's nurture." There is, con
sequently, "no chance of the disap
pearance of party and of party ma
chinery; for every movement to over-,
come party management must itself
be organized." In Oregon, however,
during the last few years there l.as
been a faddish tendency or effort that
way, in one of the parties, aided by
the other, the latter In this manner
striving to build itself up and to put
its own machine in the. place Jf the
other a common phenomenon and
contradiction.
The pith of this article is the argu
ment that the influence of nationalism
in our country is the mainspring of
party action, and must continue to e
such; for. the tendency of all organi
zation is towards uniformity, and all
organization obeys necessarily- the
laws forced upon it ty the conditions
it must work In. In this national as
pect, of parties and politics lies the
reason why The Oregonian through
out its whole lite has acted in politics
with a view to efficiency in National
Government. The best exponent of
this principle has been the Republi
can party; and Tho Oregonian can
not but regret that so many in Oregon
who have called themselves Republi
cans have failed to see it, have as
sisted In party disorganization, and
have made further effort for the pres
ent practically hopeless. There was
party abdication, no party left. What
was this journal to do? Nothing, till
times change and men change with
them, but to keep in memory the
words of the great poet: "They also
serve who. only stand and wait."
THE THAW VERDICT.
Thaw has been acquitted by jury
men who probably cared more for
their idea of rough, primitive justice
than they did for their oaths. .The
defense was insanity, but Thaw was
not insane when he -shot White, and
the Jury knew it. They must have
used the plea of insanity as a mere
pretext for setting him free. The
true ground of their verdict was un
questionably the conviction that Thaw
rid 'the world of an intolerable nuis
ance when he shot White. There is
much to be said for their view, but
not everything. The unwritten law
often tempts one to admit its valid
ity, but it is too dangerous for accept
ance without protest.
The charge of the trial judge seems
to have- been sensible enough as such
things go. His definition of insanity
is clear beyond cavil, but evidently
the jury disregarded it completely. A
person is legally insane, according to
Judge Dowling, "when he does not
know the nature or quality of his act,
or does not kilow that the act is
wrong." Thaw knew the nature of
his act very well, and he knew that it
was wrong. But he ventured to com
mit it relying on the mushy mentality
of the average Jury to acquit him,
and the outccme shows that his reli
ance wag safe.
One sentence in the judge's charge
reads strangely: "tha burden of es
tablishing sanity is on the prosecu
tion." This was his language. It
means that the defendant need not
prove himself insane; the prosecution
must show that he was sane when he
fired the shot. In other wordr, the
law presumes that everybody is in
sane, and in order to convict a pris
oner the prosecution must in every
case first establish bJs sanity when he
committed his crime. The old-fashioned
presumption of the law was
that everybody was sane, and a pris
oner settling up the defense of insan
ity had to prove It. All he has to
do under this rule is to allege insan
ity and the state must overthrow his
allegation by evidence. To such queer
issues does our criminal law verge
under the manipulation of scholastic
attorneys.
But whether we like the Thaw, ver
dict or not, it must be accepted. We
must -believe that he is insane and
reconcile ourselves to see him de
tained for a while in some luxurious
retreat and then turned out upon the
world. He will be turned out as soon
as the experts employed to attend to
the business can decently release him.
Of course that will happen as soon
as the public interest in the matter
subsides a little. What ought to be
done is to confine Thaw for life in a
hospital for the insane. On his own
showing his disease is hereditary and
therefore liable to break out again at
any time. When it 1 reaks out again
he will naturally shoot somebody else
a3 he did White. A quarrel with the
Ineffable Evelyn, a new intrfgue with
some variety actress, any excess of
vicious indulgence, is" liable to -unset-,
tie his intellect) if one can speak of
unsettling such a questionable entity,
and he will commit another murder.
Indeed, he will shoot more readily
than before, because he has now
learned by experience how safe it is.
The Thaw verdict is one more les
son In the series which the courts are
teaching criminals,' whose purport Is
that lawbreaking is the surest and
safest road to great riches, and that
homicide is the least dangerous and
most expeditious way to satisfy a pri
vate grudge.
TROUBLES OF A KING.
That ancient observation regarding
the uneasiness of the, head which
wears a crown first came into circu
lation at a time when it was a mat
ter of grave uncertainty as to wheth
er the head which bore the crown to
day would remain on the King's
shoulders or roll aside from the ex
ecutioner's block. The world has
progressed since, those old days when
popular disapproval of reigning mon
archs was expressed b3" removing
their heads, or burning them at the
stake, but Kings still have their
troubles," and, so far as King Edward
is concerned, they seem to be accu
mulating Instead of decreasing. The
ruler of England opened Parliament
Wednesday with the usual display of
gold lace and ermine and his speech
was sufficiently agreeable to meet the
requirements of the most exacting,
so agreeable that none of his con
stituents threw bombs or even drew
stilettos from their boot legs.
But, in spite of Edward's talk,
which vtilgar Americans of the under
world would term a "hot-air jolly,"
interspersed with an occasional strain
of "I am'the King, and unto priests
and people be it known, there is no
power can push me from my throne,"
there appeared In the throne speech a
vague suspicion of uneasiness. It is
generally believed that the Irish pol
icy will not be sufficiently liberal to
suit the Irish, and it will be too much
so to suit the landlords. The matter
of old-age pensions was left "up In the
air," and women suffrage and suf
fragists got the same treatment that
they received in Hoyt's "Contented
Woman." Everybody that wanted
something was disappointed in what
the King recommended, and even at
that the opposition thought he went
much too far with his promises. Mr.
Balfour, in particular, in discussing
the programme declared that "It
could not be carried through without
an unprecedentedly violent use of the
guillotine, which would practically
stifle free debate."
King Edward congratulates him
self that the immigration problem
regarding japan has been settled on
satisfactory terms, but his views on
that matter may be subject to revis
ion next Spring, when the Japanese
fishermen crowd a few more white
men out of, employment along the
Fraser. Millions of starving English
people at. home are developing a fine
breed of Socialists, who are already
flirting with anarchy, and out in In
dia other millions who are starving
are fast losing their reverence for the
(stcp)mother country. In' the old
days, when dissatisfaction with the
King and his government became too
pronounced, it was customary t cure
the evils by killing the complainants
who were too demonstrative in airing
their grievances. This policy is no
longer popular or possible, but the
accumulating troubles which are con-,
fronting Great Britain, are of a na
ture well calculated to caus. appre
hension as to the future of tho country.
INVISIBLE MICROSCOPY.
, The pre-eminence of the modern
world over the ancient, both in sci
ence and economic production, is due
to the possession of better tools. The
same advantage which. In the course
of the ages has assured the suprem
acy of man over tho lower animals
las made the world of today richer
and wiser than tfiat of Greek and Ro
man times. We have no greater
geniuses now than they had then;
perhaps we- haVonone so great. But
our scientists and captains of indus
try have so much better. tools to work
with that they can accomplish incom
parably more. Hence it comes about
that we possess so much wealth that
there is sufficient for everybody,
could it be properly distributed, with
out fighting for it; while science con
quers new emplreto almost every year.
Just as each advance in productive
industry depends upon the invention
of a new machine, so each forward
step in science depends upon some
improved instrument of' investigation.
Working scientific instruments are
of two classes, those which analyze
and those which measure. Whether
one kind is more useful than the
other it would be difficult to say. The
telescope and microscope analyze; the
ehem'.cal balance measures weight.
Which is the more useful? Deprived
of either of the three, great fields of
investigation would be closed. The
telescope separates the thin star mist
of the milky way into isolated worlds;
it resolves stars which are apparently
solitary into suns - with retinues of
planets. The microscope analyzes
the invisibly little. It works by sep
arating points which seem to the
naked eye to be Identical. Tho best
old-fashioned microscopes could sep
arate two points which lay the
twenty-thousandth of a centimeter
apart. The new quart microscope,
which uses invisible rays of light, sep
arates points which lie only the
forty-thousandth of a centimeter
apart. It is therefore twice as pow
erful as its predecessor, and will be
twice as useful to science. We may
expect it to disclose a world as new
and .wonderful as the microscope with
glass lenses did, but it will be a world
almost immeasurably more minute.
Objects are made visible by the
light which they throw back to the
eye; and light moves in waves, some
longer, some shorter, according to the
color. Red light has the longest
wave, violet the shortest, so far as
visible light goes. Now an object
smaller than a wave length of violet
light could not by any possibility e
seen either in an ordinary microscope
or by the naked eye, because It would
not reflect any light. On the other
hand a microscope using violet light
would show smaller objects than one
using red light, because the violet
waves are shorter. And if waves
still shorter than the violet could be
made available they would reveal ob
jects smaller yet. It is these shorter
waves which the new quartz micro
scope employs. They are found at
the violet end of the spectrum, or
rainbow, but they lie beyond the vio
let and the eye ' cannot see them.
They are detected by their action on
photographic plates.
A microscope magnifies by virtue
of the refraction of- light. Passing
through the lenses the light is re
fracted, or bent from a straight
course, so that when it reaches the
eye the object it comes from appears
expanded, or spread out. This ap
parent spreading is what scientists
mean by magnification. Of course
the more widely the lens spreads the
light the more the microscope will
magnify. It Is-a beautiful provision
of Providence, made undoubtedly for
the benefit of evolutionary science,
that 'light of shortest wave length is
the most refracted in passing through
a lens. Hence , the invisible rays
which the new microscope uses have
two advantages, both dependent oh
the fact that they employ light of
very short wave length. They can
analyze objects so minute that they
would destroy ordinary light instead
of reflecting it; and the light which
they employ is more widely spread by
the lenses, so that the object is more
highly magnified. But .Why use
quartz? Why would not glass do as
well? Unhappily the invisible rays
beyond the violet in the spectrum will
riot pass through glass, while quartz
is transparent to them.
After all, though, it seems rather
futile to magnify ,an object with in
visible light. How is a person to see
it? He cannot see it. and yet the
process is not futile by any means.
Although the object cannot be seen it
can be photographed,- for these rays
of short wave length act vigorously
upon photographic plates. The only
difficulty is to get tho plate in the
right place. When the photographer
takes a picture he is careful to place
the face to be immortalized in the
focus of his instrument; otherwise he
gets a blur, and not the Hying image.
The microscopist must be still more
particular to focalize his instrument,
since he deals with things infinitesi
mally small. This trick of focalizing
with nothing to look at is one that
the scientists still puzzle over. The
best they can do at present is to take
a dozen pictures by guess, on the
chance that there will be one among
them which Is perfect. The chance
seems rather long. By and by they
will discover' some, kind of glass
which shines by invisible light, and
then the problem of the new fnicro
scopy will be completely solved.
OUIDA.
The novel-reading world or that
portion thereof that reads fiction of
the type that fascinates the reader
while shocking his sense of morality
was awakened to a languid interest
by the announcement last Sunday of
the death, in Florence, of Ouida
Louise de la Ramee. When later
came the details of the last illness,
death and burial of thLs woman, the
tender pity of the pitiful was aroused
for the friendless woman, once pos
sessed of great wealth, whose last
years were spent in abject poverty,
with one old woman and a number
of dogs as hec only companions. The
climax of the neglect into which this"
woman had fallen was depicted in
the statement that her body was fol
lowed to the grave only by her serv
ing woman and a dozen or more dogs
that she had starved herself to feed.
A woman of affectionate nature but
sadly perverted moral sense; of more
than ordinary intelligence and of un
tiring industry; .of conspicuous per
sonal beauty in her youth and middle
age; of some culture and of subtle
insight into the ruling forces of hu
man nature, Ouida lived sixty-eight
years on earth to so little purpose
that she passed hence unlamented
and unmissed except by dogs!
Her industry and abounding mental
activity are witnessed in the number
of novels which she wrote between
1863, the date of the appearance of
her first book, "Held in "Bondage,"
to 1895, when she gave "Views and
Opinions" to her .sated ' readers. In
each of the years intervening be
tween these dates she published at
least one novel; several years two or
three were conceived in her abnor
mally fertile brain, and fell from her
busy pen .while in one year (1890)
she published no less than six.
That many of Ouida's books were
mischievous and even pernicious in
their tendencies is unquestioned;
that they enjoyed a wide popularity
is shown by the large revenues that
they brought their author, but that,
after all, the interest that they awak
ened was evanescent was sadly (for
her) attested in the squalor in which
the closing years of her life wore
spent, in her lonely death, and by her
unhonored funeral.
The lesson of such a life is as plain
as it is pitiful. It is said that an af
fection for tJogs indicates a nature
deeply sensible to the virtues of faith
fulness, endurance and gratitude.
This may be true, but it is sad never
theless, when one so lives, as did
Ouida, that unreasoning faithfulness
alone waits 'at his or her deathbed
and dumbly, riot knowing why,
grieves the loss of a familiar pres
ence. Sad indeed was the experience
and pitiful the record of a woman's
life, the events of which caused her
to prefer the companionship of dogs
to that of human beings upon the
hypothesis that "the more she knew
of the latter the more respect and
affection she felt for the former."
Baffled by the contradictions of a na
ture affectionate yet perverse; gifted
yet unlettered in the finest sense of
true womanliness, we can only say In
our perplexity: .
The outward, wayward life we see,
- Its hidden spring's we may not know.
ARGENTINE'S RISING PRESTIGE.
The long-held prestige of the Unit
ed States as the dominant factor in
the world's wheat' markets seems to
be threatened seriously by the rising
influence of the Argentine. The sen
sational decline of more than 5 cents
per bushel in the American wheat
markets in the past three days was,
of course, a reflection of similar de
clirie in Europe, but the' weakness In
Europe was due almost exclusively,
to the remarkably heavy shipments
from the Argentine. That country is
now pouring -wheat into the foreign
markets in greater quantities than
ever so early in the season, and,
from this date on, the .weekly ship
ments will undoubtedly be greater
than from t" i United States. The in
fluence of this comparatively new
source of supply as a regulator of
world's markets, is vastly greater than
it would have been a few years ear
lier. This, is due to changed condi
tions in marketing t' e world's crop.
The advent of steam on all great
trade routes throughout the world
has brought the great producing re
gions of the earth into such close
touch ,with the consuming centers
that the wheat production of the en
tire world may be said to be in easy
reach of Europe, the chief market for
the world's surplus. ' A dozen years
ago, when the wheat crop of the Pa
cific Northwest was but little more
than half as large as at the present
time, and shipment to Europe by
steam had not been tried, November
cargoes from Portland seldom ar
rived out before Anril or May. This
year, steamer, cargoes, clearing from
both Portland and Puget Sound in
November, have already arrived at
European ports, and January ship
ments, which in the old days did not
reach Europe until new-season wheat
was arriving from the Atlantic ports,
will this year be on the European
market in March-April, while the
Argentine wheat can be delivered in
Europe a month after it is loaded
aboard ship.
These radical changes in the man
ner of marketing the crop have had a
tendency to cause a greater feeling
of independence on the part of the
foreign buyer, and with them have
come more serio-us price vibrations
than were noticeable in former sesfc
sons. And yet it' is questionable
whether any such" radical declines as
have taken place in the past three
days are warranted by . actual condi
tions. The fact that the Argentine is
shipping 4,000,000 bushels per week,
or 10,000,000 bushels per week, will
not affect the size of the surplus w-hich
can now be accurately gauged by the
trade. It will, of course, come on
the market more rapidly in weekly
shipments of 1.0,000,000 bushels than
when the shipments are half that
amount, but the available supply will
be no greater.. For similar reasons
the foreigners may be making a mis
take regarding the United States. Our
exports to January 15 were more
than 30.000.000 bushels greater than
they were for the preceding season,
but it is known the world over that
the crop from which these big ship
ments have been made is, or was,
nearly 100,000,000 bushels smaller
than that of the preceding season.
High prices and scarcity of money
have combined to move the American
crop more rapidly than ever before
when the yield was correspondingly
small, but European buyers would do
well not to deceive themselves with
the belief that this movement can be
kept up. The time is approaching
when American bins will be scraped
clean, and then it is a question
whether a single week of abnormal
shipments from the Argentine will
force prices down 5 cei.ts per bushel
In two days. The wheat market has
a sickly appearance now, but there
are many long weeks intervening be
fore the 1908 crop in this country
can come to the rescue of the vanish
ing reserves.
The proposal of the Chicago Asso
ciation of. Commerce for a non-par-
tizan commission of experts to inves- !
tigato alleged .inequitable tariff rates,
and report upon them to Congress,
has merit. The mere matter of in
vestigation and report will be easy,
but, unfortunately for the American,
people who suffer by our absurd tariff
system, the prospects for action are
not so favorable as they might be.
The tariff barons are pretty firmly
entrenched at Washington, and, when
ever .the subject of tariff revision is
called up. It immediately produces a
howl against any interference with the
sacred idol of the trusts. The Chi
cago Association does not propose to
get busy with the matter until after
the next Presidential election. This
would seem to be in line with the
recommendations in the President's
message; but, reasoning from past ex
perience, there are small grounds for
hope that anything' will be done until
the party which must stand the odium
of the present system receives a forc
ible reminder that it is not fully in
dorsed by the people.
The tendency in the past has been
to urge tariff revision with more or
less, energy until the Presidential
election was passed, and then drift
into a state of coma until another
election drew near.
There was another news item in
yesterday's Oregonian which presented
some interesting features of the tariff.
This second item came under a New
York date line, and it told of the net
earnings of the steel trust, the largest
of our tariff-fed "Infant industries."
For the last three months of 1907,
when values In nearly all other
branches of property, were melting
like a- snowball in a July sun, the
steel trust showed , net earnings of
$32,553,995. nearly $11,000,000 .per
month, and the net earnings for the
year 1907 were $160,984,477. This
gigantic trust has been paying enor
mous dividends on a capitalization so
vast that Its immensity can with dif
ficulty be comprehended, but, in spite
of these big dividends, there still
remains an undivided surplus of
1113,173,274.
All of this vast tribute is wrung
from the American people, for the
workings of the tariff system are such
that the sales made at low prices and
small profits are all to foreigners. It
Is even stated that, at times when
business is duller than usual, steel
products are sold abroad at less than
cost, in order to keep the plants work
ing on other products for which the
American ' consumers are forced to
pay exorbitant prices. Steel rails
which cost the Americans $28 per ton,
have been laid down in far-away
Egypt, with freight paid, at less than
$23 per ton. We not only suffer the
monstrous injustice of having to pay
more for. the steel products than for
eigners, but the Immense profits are
all poured into the coffers of a few
men -whose prodigal expenditures in
the purchase of chorus girls and for
eign noblemen, and in political de
bauchery, have a' debasing effect
throughout the entire social struc
ture. Tariff reform is needed with
out delay. It will be brought about
in the 'near future, probably by its
friends, if not by others.
GAMBLING AND THE YOCNG.
In a speech before the Women's
Republican Association in New York
the5 other night Gove tor Hughes
mnrl AOrrtA n n I n t p nhcori'jlinna ,,m-,n
racetrack gambling in his state. The
constitution of New York forbids
racutrack gambling, I ut it exists all
the same under the protecting sane
tion of the Legislature. How? Sim
ply because the Legislature has pro
vided a humbug penalty for it. This
is one among the numerous -current
ways of evading inconvenient articles
In a constitution. It is only against
legislation which Is humane and
beneficial, that constitutions are effec
tive, apparently.
Governor Hughes' efforts to abolish
racetrack gambling are commendable,
though, as the World well remarks,
this is not by any means the worst
species' of the vice. The harm done
by betting and poolselling at races is
extensive, but, after all, it seems
slight in comparison with the con
stant flood of vicious influence that
flows over the whole country from
the gambling-houses of Wall street.
It would be incorrect to say that no
legitimate transactions occur in this
famous sink of iniquity, but those
which are vicious outnumber the oth
ers many times over.
To an impartial observer. the cru
sades which take place every little
while against gambling must seem in
effective and even insincere so long as
nothing is done to suppress the enor
mous evil of Wall street. To every
business man in the country the ex
ample of Wall street is a constant
temptation to desert the slow ways
of conservative trade and launch out
into wild speculation. But its worst
influence is upon young men. In al
most every city there are branch
gambling-houses connected with Wall
street where youths are inducted Into
the vice early and taught its destruc
tive fascinations. The law will never
have done its duty until these off
shoots and their parent houses are
suppressed.
It is only partially true that the
law cannot make men moral. Legis
lation is a powerful educator of the
conscience, and it, can also modify the
environment in which we live, mak
ing it favorable to virtue Instead of
vice. The law cannot change our
vicious inclinations, but it can make
it difficult for us to grs-tify them. It
cannot change the will to do evil di
rectly, but it can enforce right con-
duct until it becomes habitual and
thus modify the will indirectly. While
the law cannot make us moral, never
theless -we can be moral under good
laws a great deal more easily than
under bad ones. Legislation against
gambling will appear somewhat eva
sive and trivial until it seriously at
tacks stock gambling dealing in fu
tures, and all the insidious forms of
Wall-street vieiousness.
Herman A.- Metz, comptroller of
the city of New York, rose high In i
public estimation the other day by
ruthlessly lopping off some of the
items from an insanity "expert's" bill
against the District Attorney's office.
Mr. Jerome had arranged with this
particular alienist to testify at the
first Thaw trial for $100 a day when
ever he was on the witness stand
and $15 an hour for all the other
time that he might giye to the case.
The, bill amounted to $5,315, the "wit
ness having included in the time
given to the state that purporting to
be consumed in going to and from
his home to the criminal courts
building. This charge included
three-quarters of an hour twice daily,
which' he figured at $22.50 a day. The
comptroller determined to resist' this
demand as an extortion when, after
due experiment, he found that the
time actually consumed in making
the round trip was but forty minutes,
against one hour and a half for
which the charge was rendered.- So
he lopped $292 off the bill. The
alienist protests and threatens to sue
tho city. In Portland the charge for
time spent in going to and from work
is made only by plumbers and some
washerwomen. Laborers of all other
classes are expected to appear on
time for their day's w-ork wherever
that happens to be their wage be
ginning when they go to work. They
are also expected to get home, go to
bed. rise In the morning, eat their
meals, etc., "in their own iime." All
laborers, except those preferred classes,
are forced to yield to this rule.
The New York courts may have to
pass on the question whether a physi
cian should collect pay both for the
time of his visit and for that of his
ride to and from the place of his
visit.
"In politics the good players do not
show their hands. They are content
ed with the spoils." Thus says a
magazine of pofitics. The saying was
true 'at one time, but is not today. In
politics Roosevelt is a good player and
he does show his hand. Frankness is
his most conspicuous characteristic.
He takes all the people into his con
fidence all the time. So far from be
ing contented with the spoils, he
seeks nothing of the kind, nor is he
contented if any one ejse is enjoying
spoils of government. If -spoliation
has not terminated in this country,
his is not the responsibility. He has
had no political secrets and no one
has had reason to doubt where he
stood upon any important issue. He
has struck at wrong wherever he has
seen it. and no man or set of men has
been big enough or powerful enough
or wealthy enough to stay his hand.
By playing this kind of politics he has
attained the position occupied by no
other American except Washington,
"first in war, first in peaces first in
the hearts of his countrymen."
Though famous as an aOvocate of the
big stick, he has won laurels in the
promotion of peace, and he holds the
love and admiration and. confidence
of the people. In the grt-t game -of
politics the good players do show
their hands and they are not content
ed with the spoils.. -
The report of Dr. Esther Pohl to
the City Board of Health; of. the death
of a young woman of reputable fam
ily in this city several months ago,
as the result of a criminal operation,
reveals a circumstance the woe of
which is by no means-confined to the
death which occurred. It is In the
interest of justice that the criminal
In such a case the man who, as. a
physician, was Immediately responsi
ble for the death of the young woman,
should receive punishment. Beyond
this it is a matter of regret that the'
name of a young woman heretofore
stainless, and that of her bereaved
family, should suffer through publia-
ity that can only add to the distress
of the living.
Whew! exclaims the Oregon ten
derfoot, as, muffled to the eyes, he
turns a corner and meets the compli
ments of a sharp east wind. Yet the
mercury was 26 degrees above zero
yesterday, the coldest day ef the Win
ter thus far by two or three degrees.
Just across the Rockies and from
there to the Atlantic seaboard zero
weather has prevailed for a week and
deep snowdrifts obstruct traffic In
many places. Is it not about time
for Oregonlans to become cognizant
of their blessings?
Farmers and other progressive citi
zens of Clackamas County want a fair
of their own one thaf will be a year
ly recurring delight to them and an
advertisement of their abounding re
sources. Needless to say, they will
have one, beginning next Fall and be
coming a feature of Clackamas Coun
ty progress and enterprise for years
to come. Preliminary steps for the
organization of an association in this
interest have already been taken. The
rest will follow-.
Let us hope that Harry Thaw when
he is released from the asylum,
which is only a matter of time, will
so conduct himself as to keep his
name out of the newspapers
.Notice has been served that Presi
dent Roosevelt will continue busir
ness at the old stand for. the next
thirteen months.
Isn't It worth while for Portland to
arrange for something to signalize
the completion of the North Bank
Road?
Whether Hughes becomes the can
didate or not,, the plain people will
O. K. his views on all important is
sues. -
Like their distinguished father, the
Armour children don't often get on
the wrong side of the wheat market.
It may be expected that New York
sports will be making books on the
length of Thaw's new imprisonment.
Bryan is certain to indorse Hughes
attitude toward corporations. That
makes it unanimous.
Statement No. 1 is preparing to
start on its biennial' tour of Oregon.
SILHOUETTES
BY ARTHUR A. GnEENli
There can be no real happiness with
out sacritice.
Those who In-Hove patent medie!n
testimonials will be delighted to know
that Lincoln StefTens ia contributing a.
new serios of 10-cent hysterics to con
temporaneous magazine literature.
They tell ve that Hope springs eternal
in the human breast; but in most rases
II6pe Is not in trim to win standing high
jump records.
e
A sroat many people both think and
sin? through their noses.
This cold weather is responsible for a
brilliant display of Winter underwear
in the show windows.
Curd of 'I hunka.
. The Amalgamated Band of Plumbers
and Fuel Dealers desire to take this op
portunity to express their heartfelt thanks
and gratitude to Colonel Weatherman
Eeals for ttis bountiful goodness and
loving kindness to us during these recent
days of our exaltation. May he continue
in the -pood work and may his arm b
strengthened for even greater worka Is
our prayer, world without end. Amen.
Would luf
How'd you like to be the milkman )
And get up at 2 A. M.,
When tho pump is frozen solid
And the cold Is humping them
Pesky cows that have a grouch on
And refuse to liquidate?
Then to drive nlnfe miles to peddle
Out the juice that you call milk
And to have tho Health Board meddl
When you try housewives to bilk;
And such fearsome sights to witness
As you make the morning rounds
Women in their mother-hubbards.
Husbands reellna; home and zounds..
Cold wind . whistling through your
whiskers
How'd you like to be the milkman
Honest now?
Gus Lowit and Thorburn Ross are con
vinced that it is a cruel coda which
makos failure a crime.
' ' :
Consistency may be a jewel but it is
frequently paste.
The one regret the, American people
have in connection with the Thaw ver
dict is that the Jury did not award the
young Pittsburger a gold medal for kill
ing Stanford White. 1
With the fleet safely through the
straits there is little to fear for Admiral
Bob until he falls into the hands of the
San Francisco reception committee.
No, Angel Visage, the ortler known as
"The Patrons of Husbandry:1 is not a
matrimonial agency.
Several fellows In this town Tjreak into
the society columns as "well-known cluh
men" whoto sole claim is membership- in
$I-a-week "pantatoHuins."
You can always tell which wy the
wind blows by watching the women's
skirts.
There shoul be some protection
against cub reporters who make peopla
"depart'' when they leave town and live
In "residences" when they are at home.
Reports from the East and Midil!
West indicate that our old bugaboo man
wl.b feds on the blood of o'.C women
and little children and calls 'himself Coal
Famine wlU soon stalk through the land.
Helpful ilenr.vV Mint to the Heinle.
To Aileene My dettr girl, yours is
certainly an unhappy lot, jind I feel a
deep sympathy for yon In your time
of trouble. However. I would ndvisa
that' Instead of resorting to Bertha M.
Clay and George Burr MeCutcheon for
consolation, vou try Marie Corclli. You
say you are 19 and the eldest of six
children; that your noso is pug atid
your eyes do not track: but that you
yearn to be a beautiful and accom
plished heiress and marry a hero who
uses nothing btjt a quill toothpick on
the street. Since you add that your
father works in the street-cleaning
department at $15 per, I don't see how
your case can be properly handled
through the newspapers. At that,
however, the action of your mother 'In
compelling you to arise at 9:S Ii the
morning and wash the breakfast
dishes is simply intolerable. If, as
you say, you possess such exceptional
musieal ab'ility that you can play
"Narcissus" without looking at your
hands, you might run away from home
and Join a church choir. That is a
job where you don't have to do mucli
in the looks line.
To Angeline You say In your letter
of inquiry that Harold took advantage
of the darkness in the hall to hold
both your hands and kiss you. A
young girl cannot be too careful under
such circumstances. Of course, you
could not have prevented him from
kissing you, but you should have re
taliated by kicking him on the shins
real hard. There is nothing so effec
tive for bringing a young man out of
a trance of that kind as a well-administered
kick on the yhin. Edward W.
Bok. In his Cosy Corner Chats With
Girls, advocates sticking with a hat
pin, but such a procedure is unneces
sarily cruel, and besides it might
awaken father. The best authorities
now agree upon the shin-kiekintr
method or a good stiff punch in the
slats, as being more ladylike and bet
ter form.
i .
It is fortunate for most of our public
speakers that they are allowed to dis
play their oratory only after the viands
have been eaten. Also fortunate for
the diners. t
I am glad to extend congratulations
to Richard Holder, one of the few rail
way magnates who has not been
threatened with criniloal prosecution.
If the resort hotels were as attrac
tive as their advertisements, very few
people would want to go to Heaven.
The man who Is habitually "pickled,"
evidently believes that self-preservation
is the first law of nature.
A celebrity is a person you hear
a lot about but never met. After
you know him he ceases to be a celebrity.
1