THE SL-N'DAY OREGONIAS, PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 9, I90S.
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. PORTLAND. SUNDAY. FEB. 8. 1908.
THE VERDICT IN THE HALL CASE.
Tho judgment of the jury lii the
Hall case Is. an expression of the gen
eral disapproval of the methods that
have been pursued In office and In
politics In Oregon, and of the deter-,
initiation of the people to amend
them. Mr. Hall stood as an example
and exponent of a system that has
been pursued these many. years. It
has come to an end, and, though he is
less guilty than many others, the
. penalty has fallen on htm. It was
Mitehellism in office and fn polities
and In government. John H. Hall is
not a bad man. He is a better man
than many others who go unscathed;
just as John II. Mitchell was convict
ed at last of tho least of the crimes of
his career.
It will bo said that Mitchell and his
followers were no worse than many
who opposed them, and their methods
no worse. This must be admitted.
But who started the game? Who was
its original proprietor? To fight It and
beat it others used tho same or sim
ilar methods. Yet they didn't beat
it. The original game was secure and
triumphant, till an executive appeared
at Washington who was susceptible to
no influence from the gang, and not
only wouldn't call off the prosecution,
but urged it on.
Most of the offenses are buried in
time long past and done. John H.
Hall, not so guilty as many more, is
caught in the last or latest sweep of
the broom. He is a victim of the sys
tem which he used as he found it.
And yet there must be victims or
there never can be reform.
Lord Bacon (not to compare great
things with small) Lord Bacon, on
his trial and conviction for corruption
in office, said, "There has been a great
deal of corruption and neglect, for
which I am heartily and penitently
sorry." "I was the justest judge," he
said, "that was In England these fifty
years, but it was the justest censure in
Parliament that was these 200 years."
It is beyond question that Mr. Hall, in
a former time., would not have been
convicted of these offenses; but a time
comes when honesty, fair dealing and
truth, in public as in private affairs,
must have their innings, and new
marks must be set for the advance
towards political and official morality.
Yet all men who pursue the course
that Mr. Hall pursued know they do
wrong. They are not deceived, even
by "the system." The fat-t that it is
"customary" doesn't make it right,
and they know it. Hence the efforts
for secrecy and concealment. Mr.
Hall wished to take care of himself
in office. Hence the sinuosities of his
course and- his neglect or postpone
ment of his official duties. Hence his
interest with a political faction, in the
election of Senators. But the public
conscience has been awakened, and
methods are changed.
As to Francis J. Heney. It is easy
to criticise his methods. It is easy to
denounce him-for granting immunity
to some in order to get testimony for
conviction of others, higher up. Bui
that Is a necessary and universal
method, which Bociety must employ
to protect Itself when occasion re
quires. It seldom hurts a man beyond
his deserts. Mr. Heney, it must be
said, has done during the last three
or four years, what no man of Oregon,
in the office of District Attorney,
could have done. He had no connec
tions here; he pursued his duty abso
lutely without fear or favor. Sym
pathy, social influence, family connec
tions, personal or political feeling,
could have no weight with him. No
man of Oregon, therefore, could have
done the work that he has done; and
no one would have been incited to do
It or permitted to do it, had not a
strange chance or tragedy that every
one deplored made Theodore Roose
velt President of the United States.
Nothing in the universe is so mysteri
ous as the movements of human life
and of human society. Even crimes
and calamities turn t'o results that no
one could have foreseen. Oregon gets
a cleaning up, the old corruptions of
her politics make an exit and- find
their grave through ways that
could they have been foretold would
have been deemed faify tales.
SHALL WE ABOLISH EQUAL TAXATION?
Among the arguments, or state
ments put forth by those who advo
cate 'amendment of the Constitution
in order to change our system of as
sessment and taxation is the follow
ing: One hundred feet square sold in Portland
on January 22 for (SUO.OOO. or at the rate
of more than 82.00U.O0O.W0 for 640 acres.
The latter amount is about ten times the
assessed value of the farms of Oregon.
Such city values, as well as the values of
railroad rights of way, are made by tribute
paid by the producers of the state. This
measure will shift the taxes mainly to site
values, such as the above.
Such stuff is a fair gauge of the,
thought that offers this amendment.
The specific instance is not true. It
is at immeasurable distance from
truth. The 100 feet square, referred
to, was not sold for $800,000. It has
not been sold at all. It would not
bping 8200,000 today. Even this. It is
true, is a large sum. But it was not
"made by the producers of tho state"
except in small degree, and that in
directly. It was made by a man who
has concentrated the hard work of a
long life in Portland, and has done his
full share . toward making the city
what it is.
The values of Portland have been
made by those who came here at the
beginning of settlement in Oregon,
worked hard, stuck to the place
through all discouragements, concen
trated trade, commerce and manu
factures here, and paid back for sup
port of the state all they ever derived
from the state, and still are doing so.
Of course, the general progress of the
state has contributed to the progress
of Portland, and in turn the growth
of Portland has correspondingly as
sisted and promoted the growth of the
state. It has not been one-sided at
all, but a mutual and reciprocal re
lation. But Portland stands and has stood
in nearly the same relation' to two
other states as to, the State of Ore
gon. From Washington and Idaho
Portland has derived more trade than
from Oregon; and so far as a city is
the creation of a tributary region,
Portland owes less to Oregon than to
Washington and Idaho. Far less; for
Portland these forty years and more
has paid one-third of the taxes of the
State of Oregon, and to Washington
and Idaho nothing. Wealth, of course.
Is concentrated chiefly in the cities. It
is a necessary consequence, as well as
cause, of active business and social
life. The wealth of the cities doesn't
hurt the country, but Is helpful, and
even indispensable to the country. A
big tax roll in Portland is mighty good
for Oregon.
And what fairer basis for a t,ax roll
than that now provided by the Con
stitution and laws of Oregon? Is
there any better rule of taxation than
that "all taxation shall be equal?"
Any better method of assessment tTian
that "all property shall be assessed
at its. true cash value?" "Again, let
us ask: Do you. want better bread
than wheaten? Better water than
Bull Run?
We think the people of Oregon will
not wish to abolish the principle of
equal taxation. The press of the
state, so far as it has yet spoken, is
talking gravely and sanely about this
business. We finish for the present
with this from the Albany Democrat,
to. wit: "It is vexy doubtful if' our
people are ready to. make land the
solo basis of taxation, exempting im
provements and personal property. Is
there any good reason why one kind
of property should not bear its pro
portion of the burden the same as an
other? Why should not the ma
chinery in a factory and the building
on it be assessed just the same as the
land itself? The basic principle of
taxation is to make the burden equal
according to the wealth of the tax
payer. Some people have all their
wealth In personal property, in money
and stocks and bonds. Should they
be free from taxation? A man has all
his wealth in cows and horses which
produce a large income. Would it be
right to exempt him from paying his
share of the burdens of government?
These things need to be thought
about."
"HARD LABOR."
In the report recently rendered by
a Joint committee of Congress, ap
pointed to codify the Federal laws,
the suggestion is. made that the words
"punishment at hard labor" in con
nection with imprisonment penalties
passed upon Federal convicts be
dropped. As a matter of fact, these
words in this connection have been
meaningless, except as they have con
veyed ' a false impression, for years.
Whether convicts under Federal law
are held in states' prisons under con
tract from the Government, as is not
infrequently the case, or are confined
in Federal penitentiaries, they come
under such regulations as obtain in
these prisons. In most of these "hard
labor" is but a figment of the imag
ination a decree which the court has
not tho power to enforce. Indeed, the
labor rules in prisons make no tech
nical discrimination as to hard, light
or moderate labor, the custom being
to put the convict (where it is possi
ble to work him at all) to-such labor
as he can perform to the best advan
tage to the institution and himself. A
good accountant, committed for for
gery, for example, is profitably and
properly put to work on the books; a
blacksmith convicted of a similar
crime is sent to the forge, and so on.
The industrial system of any prison
must be conducted on this basis, re
gardless of discriminations or alleged
differences between hard and light
labor. The work that a convict can
do the best is the work that he can do
the most profitably to the state.
In recommending that these words
be dropped from the sentence im
posed upon Federal "prisoners the
Congressional committee explained
that while they "were practically
meaningless, a serious . question has
not Infrequently arisen where a Judge
has failed in Imposing sentence to
name "hard labor" as a condition of
the imprisonment imposed. The point
has been raised in some cases that
this omission practically invalidated
the sentence. Hence the very practi
cal suggestion that these unnecessary
and sometimes embarrassing words be
omitted from tho decrees imposed
upon Federal prisoners in the future.
The theory that labor is a curse is
utterly without foundation in act.
This is especially true- in the case of
the prisoner of the higher order of
intelligence. A penalty of "absolute
idleness" would be far more appalling
to the man or woman of acti-e ener
gies than would be that of "hard la
bor." Carried to the extreme, a con
vict condemned by conditions to a life
of idleness is a most pitiable object.
Imposed to the letter, the condition
of imprisonment in utter idleness has
almost certainly led to the convict's
insanity. Such a . condition is com
parable in a state of liberty only to
that of a sheepherder on a wide range
who follows his bleating, senseless
flocks about -they intent only upon
feeding,' he upon watching them un
til he sinks to the level of their bab
bling unreason.
No man or woman convict was ever
so averse to labor even though
trained in the doctrine of the "primal
curse" as to regard without terror a
decree of commitment for a term of
years to a prison cell with nothing to'
do. The dread of the scaffold, the in
definable horror of the electrical
chair, dwindle into insignificance ,in
the presence of the terror of absolute,
companionless idleness. It is thought
that Congress can hardly fail to strike
from the Federal code words that at
best are meaningless, indicating as it
does an idea of penalty at a time
when labor was held to be a curse in
stead of, as now, a blessing.
A TEXT ITIO MEDFORD.
Sometimes a deck of cards is harm
less and sometimes not. It depends
on circumstances. Wis9 parents rath
er incline to permit their boys and
girls to play with cards at home of
an evening, partly because the am'use
ment they supply is innocent in itself,
party in the hope that familiarity will
lessen the baneful attraction of the
forbidden and destroy that seductive
charm "of mystery which lures many
strictly nurtured youths to their ruin.
But it is safe, to say that whenever
parents feel the faintest intimation of
guilt in permitting their children to
play cards it is better for both young
and old to forbid It. Ttie harm comes,
not at all from the game, which is
neutral like any other, but from vio
lating a rule of conscience. Even
when the rules of conscience are illog
ical and. tyrannous, they must be
obeyed so long as their binding power
Is acknowledged, no matter how
slightly. To defy one's conscience is
always harmful, even when its com
mands are foolish.
It is only when conscience offers no
objection that a person can dance or
play cards or frequent the theater
without moral guilt. Such recreations !
are only for the - emancipated; but
there is a lurking danger even for
them. It is the danger of excess. Be
tween the Puritanism which forbids
all amusement and the libertinism
which makes life nothing but a quest
for amusement there is a sane middle
course where serious and trivial
things are assigned their proper
places.
One may say without reservation
that the place for piaying cards Is
not at school. The Medford boys
who sought to pass their noon hour in
dealing and shuffling were violating
not only a universal rule of every de
cent educational Institution, but they
were also in personal rebellion against
their teacher. A boy who takes cards
to school knows that he is doing
wrong. He knows that he is outrag
ing a sentiment of both teachers and
parents, and that he is , setting a
scandalous example for his school
mates. The atmosphere of guilt
which surrounds anything like card
playing at school doubles its attrac-,
tiveness, makes It irresistibly fascinat
ing, so that it spreads among the
scholars like a contagious disease.
Lessons will not be thought of so long
as the lure of the game exists. Those
who are in the secret of the play are
necessarily united in a guilty con
spiracy against the teacher and the
school becomes for them a hot-bed of
vice. j
If parents support their children in
defiance of school discipline and- the
better- moral sentiment of the com
munity, it makes matters all the
worse. It is hard enough to hold boys
under authority when the home works
in harmony with the school, but when
the home allies Itself with the unruly
will of the boy, then his ultimate ruin
is almost certain. Parents who up
hold their children in rebellion-against
rightful discipline have much" to an
swer for in our day. The terrifying
increase 6f Juvenile crime may be
traced directly to this cause. Still
sadder is the almost certain sorrow
which the ungrateful youth brings
down upon the head of his foolishly
Indulgent parent. One may guess
that at Medford there are two factions
in the district. One of them is per
haps unduly Puritanical; the other is
more or less emancipated. The chil
dren of the latter have heard much at
home about the tyranny of Puritan
ism: they have heard how innocent
cardplaying is and how foolish it is to
forbid harmless games. They then
argue that if cards are harmless at
home, so they must be at school. But
the argument Is illegitimate. Boys
may do many things at home which
are wrong at school. Cards are inno
cent at home if they violate no rule of
the home; but at school they do al
ways violate a rule, and a very essen
tial one, and therefore they cannot
be harmless. For growing boys the
rules of the school are quite as impor
tant as those of the home, and often
more so.
However innocent cards may be in
themselves, they are not a proper
amusement for the school. Boys at
school ought to spend their recesses
In active exercise out of doors. Both
their bodily and their moral health
demand this. The youth who sits
within doovs when his comrades are
out at play Is usually a boy to be
shunned. There is something awry in
his moral nature. The chances are
ten to one that his mind is occupied
with unwholesome' thoughts. Of
course he may be a genius brooding
over, an immortal poem, but it is
much more likely that he is conjuring
up those imaginings with which Satan
is always ready to fill an idle brain.
The games of cards, which rebellious
boys play at school are first cousins
to these unwholesome visions of idle
ness. - They are tainted, not only
with the guilt of revolt against proper
authority, but,- what Is much worse,
they are rank with the infection of in
cipient vice. These illicit games are
part of that drama of guilt which be
gins in a morbid imagination, merges
gradually into deeds, and ends in the
penitentiary, or would .end there if
the penitentiary had not been virtu
ally abolished by the scholastic senti
mentality of our higher courts.
One is fain to dwell upon this seem
ingly trivial affair at Medford, where
the school directors have sustained
some boys in rebellion against Hheir
teacher, because it is typical of a
moral disease which seems to pervade
the whole countcy. It Is the same
disease which broke out at Athens in
the period of her decadence and
which Socrates lost his life in trying
to correct. An exaggerated individu
alism is the best name for it, perhaps;
an individualism which holds that
every person should be a law unto
himself,' be bound by no rules except
his own desires and ambitions, and
acknowledge no rights in . others
which conflict with his own appetites.
"This is the old gospel of Gorgias and
the sophists at Athens and of Dr. Day
and his colleagues in America. Of
course it is anarchy of the most de
structive typfe, but they disguise It un
der fine names and preach it with al
luring speciousness. Still anarchy is
anarchy, and it is Instructive to. see it
showing forth now at the head of the
great Methodist University at Syra
cuse, now In the little village school at
Medford. The virus has 'infected the
Nation. Can it be eliminated without
8urger-?
LET VS WAIT AWHILE.
The northeast part of Portland is
growing with great rapidity. It may
be conceded that it is desirable that
every reasonable facility be provided
for communication with the West
Side, but it is doubtful if the pro
posed scheme for a ruew bridge across
the Willamette River ought to be un
dertaken at this time. A high bridge,
terminating on the West Side about
Fourteenth street and on the East
Side somewhere near Russell street,
or in its vicinity, is suggested, so that
river traffic may not bo interrupted
and vessels of all descriptions may
pass up and down the river. It is re
alized that another drawbridge at this
point, or probably at any other point
in the river within the city limits, is
open to strong objection and should
not be built. "Hence the high-bridge
plan. .
But such a structure would cost in
the neighborhood of $3,000,000, for it
would necessarily be very long and
very high. To add such a sum to
the present large bonded indebtedness
of the city" means to increase the mu
nicipality's fixed interest charge by
$150,000 per year, and, besides, it
would take $50,000 more per annum
to maintain and repair the bridge. It
Is not wise at this time to -increase
the heavy burdens of the taxpayer by
such a large amount. Let us wait.
We are able now to get across the
river with reasonable dispatch. The
capacity of the steel bridge and the
Albina ferry is taxed, to be sure, but
they will do for a while. The northeast
section of Portland will continue to
grow, and later1 perhaps the city may
feel able to add a $3,000,000 bridge to
the present four trans-river structures.
But-not now. v
IT IS HUMBUG. .
Since the Statement No. 1 method
of nominating candidates for United
States Senators does not nominate the
men the people want, how can it elect
the' men the people want? Why
should a man nominated by a minor
ity, against the will of the majority
and defeating another man nominated
by another minority, be designated
the "people's choice," whom members
of the Legislature should be obliged
to elect?
Why should a Republican, rejected
by the majority of his party at the
primaries, but nominated by a minor
ity, and a Democrat, nominated by! a
party that constitutes but one-third
of the voters of Oregon why should
these two men be the only ones elec
tors can vote for, and why should the
one receiving the larger number of
votes under such circumstances be
called the "people's choice"?
Obviously the winner is not the
people's choice. Were the range f
choice free from the confines of the
primary law, each party would nomi
nate a man the majority of its mem
bers wanted for Senator.
In the Repiiblican primaries of 1906
12,877 Republicans nominated Bourne
for Senator. The votes for other Re
publican candidates numbered 29,991
Bourne therefore was nominated by
30 per cent of the Republicans who
went to the primaries. The number
of Republicans who went to the elec
tion in June was between 50,000 and
55,000, as shown by the vote for the
Republican candidates for Supreme
Judge, Secretary of State, State
Treasurer and State Printer. In Ore
gon there are probably 65,000 Repub
licans. Bourne therefore was nomi
nated by 30 "per cent of the Republi
can vote in the primaries, 25 per cent
of the Republican vote In the election,
and less than 20 per cent of the Re
publican strength of the state. Mr.
Bourne evidently was not wanted at
that time for Senator by the people
of Oregon 60 per cent of whose vot
ers are Republicans. The result of
the election confirms this view. The
Republican plurality, normally 30,000
or more, dwindled to 3121 in his case.
But for the fact that the people of
Oregon did. not want a Democratic
Senator though they accept a Demo
cratlc Governor and numerous Demo
cratic Judges, Prosecuting Attorneys,
Sheriffs and . Mayors Mr. Gearin
would have defeated Mr. Bourne.
But when the 50.000 or 56,000 Re
publicans, who constitute the majority
of this state, went to the polls in June,
1906, to elect a Republican Senator,
they found on the ballots the names
of two men, neither of whom they
wanted at that time for Senator one
was Gearin, Democrat; the other
Bourne, Republican; the one nomi
nated unanimously by the Democrats,
who number not nany more than 30,
000 all told and are a minority of the
voting population; the other nominat
ed by 12,877 Republicans out of a
total of 6,000.
These matters are stated merely for
the purpose of pointing out that. the
people are likely to fail again to nom
inate their choice for Senator, under
the primary law, and to designate
truly their choice to the Legislature.
Scarcely anybody approves the
present method of electing Senators
by Legislatures. It has produced
many evils and has outraged the pub
lic in every state. But it will not suf
fice for the element that adheres to
the 8tatement-No.-l method to de
clare the opponents of that statement
foes of the direct election method.
The Statement-No.-l system does not
designate the "people's choice," and is
humbug. It does not matter much,
perhaps, for the policies of the Na
tion, whether Judges, District Attor
neys, Mayors and Sheriffs are, in each
case, under the primary law, the "peo
ple's choice," since one man can per
form the duties of a local officer as
well as another, whether he Is Demo
crat or Republican. But when the
people of Oregon take part in the af
fairs of the Nation they must elect on
party lines strictly, or they will cool
their heels outside the councils of the
Nation. For this reason the scheme
o put up a minority Republican can
didate for Senator against George
Chamberlain, Democrat, and make
Chamberlain the "people's choice" by
Statement No. 1, is. humbug. Some
persons say, "Well, if Republicans
cannot put' up a 'good, strong man,
they ought to be defeated." But what
Republicans should or will put up the
strong man? Do any of them dare?
Does any candidate dare to have
them do it? Would not that be called
ring" and machine politics? Was
not the direct primary law framed
to prevent that thing?
COLLEGE ATHLETICS AT WALLA
WALLA.
. While there seems to have' been a
pretty wide -representation of the col
leges at the Walla Walla conference
upon athlctijs, still It might have been
wiaer witn aavantage. ino ocnouia
at Newberg, Forest Grove and Mc-
Minnville, as well as the denomina
tional colleges in Washington should
have sent delegates, but Whitman
alone of such institutions did so. The
higher Institutions under denomina
tional control need regulation of ath
letics nuite as badly as the state
schools do. They should have par
ticipated in the effort to adopt uni
form rules for clean, and wholesome
sport. If our Coast colleges can suc
ceed in eliminating that commercial
ism which infests and perverts inter
collegiate athletics, they will do a
work which - the country will grate
fully - Imitate. Swarthmore College
thought it worth while to reject a gift
of $3,000,000 for the sake of retaining
its competitive athletics. This indi
cates that among the colleges the sub
ject is deemed Important. The out
side world takes it more jocularly,
but it is undeniable that the moral
and physical health of the. best part 1
of our population Is intimately de
pendent upon wholesome sport in col
lege.
The new rule that a student must
reside a year In his new college after
a transfer before he can play on an
Intercollegiate team is one of those ef
forts to evatle a difficult duty by
sweeping legislation which generally
do more harm than good. When a
man changes his college for the sole
purpose of playing on the team, of
course he' ought to be balked of his
purpose, because such practices would
open the door to commercialism of
the worst sort. The college which
could raise the most, money to buy
men would always have a winning
team, while its scholarship would de
teriorate. But it ought to be possible.
on the other hand, to detect these
cases and punish them without penal
izing all changes of college residence.
One of the defects of our college
system is the slight interchange of
students and teachers which takes
place among them. Movement from
one school to another should be fa
cile; faculties would do well to en
courage it. Each school has some
singular merit which students from
other places might share with advan
tage. A residence of one year at Mc
Minnville, one at Forest Grove, one at
Corvallis and. one at Eugene would
probably give a better education than'
four at either placet and the rules of
the faculties would display a broader
Interest in the student's welfare . if
they recognized the fact. Do what
we may to avoid it, every college left
to itself tends toward provincial nar
rowness. The great merit of the elec
tive system in studies is the competi
tion it sets up among professors. The
incompetent man is sure to be elimi
nated. It is the dread of this which
underlies the opposition to the elec
tive system in mossbaek schools. Just
as election among studies stimulates
teachers, so election among colleges
would stimulate entire faculties to
make their work broad and progres
sive. An overemphasis upon amateurism
is noticeable in this conference as in
almost every other of the same kind.
There is an excessive effort to prevent
students from playing for money dur
ing the Summer vacation. The sup
position is that playing for money
taints a man Indelibly and makes it
Impossible for him to play honorably
on the college team. This supposi
tion is, however, wholly mistaken.
There is no good reason why a college
boy should not replenish his purse by
playing professional baseball in Sum
mer. The game is clean and healthy
and the pay is good. No manly fel
low would be tainted by it, nor would
it make him one whit less desirable
for the college team. The Oregonlan
has observed that college men play
professional baseball in the long Vaca
tion under assumed names without
injury to their standing on - college
teams, and it cannot understand why
It should be worse to do a thing open
ly and honorably than to do it clan
destinely. Much of the talk about amateur
standing is pure snobbery. .It is al
lied with ap effort to draw a distinc
tion between college games and other
games which is almost wholly imagin
ary, and, in so far as it is real,
wholly pernicious. The college boy is
not built of a finer clay than other
youths. If he has acquired expert
ness in football or baseball, it no more
degrades him to earn money by his
skill than to earn it by waiting on the
table at a Summer fesort and pocket
ing tips from plutocrats. . Most peo
ple would say it did not degrade him
so much. A taste for aristocratic ex
cluslveness still lingers around our
colleges and whatever it controls it
makes absurd. ,
With commendable zeal, the citi
zens of East Eugene have decided to
plant a thousand shade trees to bor
der streets leading from the railroad
to the foothills. They have selected
maple, walnut, linden and chestnut.
While each of these varieties is beau
tiful, the inquiry suggests itself. Why
was the elm ignored? It is conceded
by observant visitors that Portland
has a wealth of shade trees greater
than any other city in the land.
Among theni are Included the four
chosen by Eugene; yet the elm out
numbers all other trees except the
maple. If left to a vote by home
owners who have set out shade trees
and watched their growth, the elm
would probably receive in Portland as
prime favorite a handsome majority.
It is especially well adapted to the
mild, moist climate of Western Ore
gon. As to- the particular member of
the elm family for first choice there
are at least twenty to select from
individual taste must govern, but the
community that neglects yie elm robs
itself of distinct arbored beauty. In
structural form and richness of foli
age the elm has many rivals, but no
peer.
The transformation of Kings Into
ashes Is much tess frequent now han
it was in the old days when the poet
aptly wrote "Uneasy lies the head
that wears a crown," but even in this
enlightened twentieth century most of
the monarchs of the OK; Vorld have
ever before them the fear of sudden
and awful death. "The boast of her
aldry, the-pomp of power," appeals
to some natures, and there will never
bo any shortage in the available tim
ber for Kings. And yet If good-natured,
gourmandizing, fat Carlos, who was
borne to the tomb in Lisbon yester
day, had any time for regrets in -the
last few awful moments before the
bullets of the assassins completed
their work, he undoubtedly wished
that he could have changed places
with the humblest of his subjects, and
the mourning Queen, wife and moth
er, will for the remalnfler of her life
suffer a grief too passionate for ex
pression. Royalty has its drawbacks,
and Its gilt soon tarnishes.
The American "muckraking" is
very pleasing to our "nice" neighbors
across the pond. - Paris Temps says that
"financial, administrative and political
corruptions in the United States un
doubtedly have attained astounding
proportions." We read similar ex
pressions a few years ago- from the
English papers when the Chicago
packing-house scandals were being,
advertised throughout the world. Sub
sequent investigation disclosed the
fact that the Chicago institutions
were nice, clean and admirably man
aged In comparison with similar ips-
tablishments which turned out "the
roast beef of old England." If
Temps published all that was "finan
cially and politically" rotten In France
the showing might be no more favor
able than that in this country. The
United States presents the unique
spectacle of telling all the world how
bad conditions are with us. Other
countries keep their troubles to them
selves. ' Ex-GovernorPennypacker, of Penn
sylvania, one of those self-anointed
moralists who are profoundly dis
tressed at the wickedness of the world
In which they live, has been drawn
into the State Capitol fraud in the
Keystone State. Testimony at the
trial of the grafters who robbed the
state shows that the Governor joined
in a letter administering a coal of
"whitewash" intended to cover up the
shortcomings, of the architect. This
highly respectable ex-Governor is the
same Pennypacker who a few years
ago attempted to muzzle the newspapers-
of Pennsylvania with a libel
law which made the old blue laws of
New England look pale and white by
comparison. Perhaps Pennypacker,
even in those days, . had a vision of
some coming event that -was already
casting its shadow before.
Beach Hargis, who murdeTed his
father. Judge " Hargis, at Jackson,
Ky., is said to express no regret over
the tragedy. This in a degree is sur
prising, and yet it should not be for
gotten that the young man knew full
well how long his father's death had
been overdue. If Satan has kept in
close touch with the affairs of Breath
itt County, Kentucky, it is question
able whether( Hargis pere is resting
today where religiously inclined peo
pie think he Is, for nothing that has
ever been credited to Satan and all of
his aggregation exceeds in "devilyfy
the crimes of this twentieth-century
monster. The ruler of the lower re
gions might well reject Hargis as an
"undesirable citizen" even for a place
not noted for its pleasant surround
ings. .. . 1
The final settlement of the immi
gration question between Japan and
the United States is held up on ac
count of a . wide discrepancy in the
statistics of the two countries show
ing the number of Japanese entering
the United States. An investigation
is now under way to determine
whether or not fraud has been pryc
ticed In making immigration returns.
That Japanese have been illegally en
tering the United States from both
northern and southern boundaries has
long been an open secret, and, as
thousands of the little brown men
have entered this country by fraudu
lent means, it is expecting too much
to suppose that tho statistics bear
ing on the matter would be strictly
accurate.
The repprt that Bryan made $52,
000 last year from his lectures Is
seized upon by Harper's Weekly as
the subject for a cartoon represent
ing the peerless leader as a bloated
plutocrat. And yt, with all his faults,
Bryan was .well worth $52,000 to the
people of the United States. If he
did nothing elee, he made such men
as Fairbanks, Knox, Foraker and
Cannon impossible Republican nomi
nees for the Presidency. And that
alone was worth $52,000.
Ten years hence there will be many
a clean, thrifty and productive apple
orchard where today there are old,
diseased and worthless trees. Each
of these orchards will be a living tes
timonial of the value of the work of
M. O. Lownsdale In teaching the
farmers of the Willamette Valley how
to rejuvenate old and neglected trees.
Heney has now convicted every
man in Oregon he lias prosecuted.
The remaining land-fraud defendants
will doubtless regard this information
as both interesting and important.
To a mere spectator, the auto race
through Alaska and Siberia looks like
a hot-air proposition. But maybe it
will need that quality to get through
this time of year.
Taft's chances ' would be immeasur
ably, improved if the Philippines had
as many votes- as New York in the
Chicago convention.
They who take unto themselves tra
ditional leap-year privileges should
not overlook the exceptional week
ending on the 14th.
President Roosevelt cut the coat for
dishonest business men. None should
put it on unless it fits them.
No complaint is heard this week
about weather Interfering with work
on the farm.
Depositors in Morse's chain of burst
banks may properly call him Re
STANDARD VERSE
i
AXJIABKI, MSB.
It was many and many a year ago.
In a kingdom by the sea.
That a maiden lived, whom you may
know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And tills maiden she lived with no
oiiier thought
Than to love, and bo loved by
I was a child and she was a child.
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was
more than love,
I and my Annabel Lee.
With a love that the winged seraphs
of heaven
Coveted her and me. '
And this was tho reason that lon;j-ago.
In tills kingdom by the sea.
A wind blew out a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her high-horn kinsmen came.
And bore her away from me.
To shut her up in a epuli-hor.
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not so happy in heaven,
Went envying her ami me.
Yes that was the reason (as aUl men
know).
In this kingdom by the sea,
That the wind came out of tho. cloud
by night.
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lre.
But our love it was stronger by far
than the love
Of those who were older than we.
Of many far wiser than we;
And neither the angels in heaven above.
Nor the demons down under the sea.
Can ever dissever my soul from the
soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
For the moon never beams without
bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee,
And the stars never rise, but I feel tho
bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
And so, all the night-tide I lie down by
the side of my darling, my darling,
my lifo and my bride.
In her sepulcher there by the sea.
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
Edgar Allan Foa.
THE 4UARREL OF FRIENDS.
From "Christabel."
Alas! they had been friends in youth;
But whispering tongues can poison truth;
And constancy lives in realms above;
And life is thorny; and youth Is vain;
And to be wroth with one we love
Both work like madness in the brain.
And thus it chanced, as I divine.
With Roland and Sir Leoline!
Each spoke words of high disdain
And insult to his heart's best
brother;
They parted, ne'er to meet again!
But never neither found another
To free the hollow heart from paining.
They stood aloof, the scars remaining.
Like cliffs which had been rent
asunder;
'A dreary sea now flows bctwe.au.
But neither heat, nor frost, nor thun
der Shall wholly do away, I ween.
The marks of that which ones hath
been. S. T. Coleridge.
HISSING'S NO srx.
Some say that kissing's a sin;
But I think it's name ava.
For kissing has wonn'd in this warld
Since ever that there was twa.
O, if it wasna lawfn".
Lawyers wadna allow it;
If it wasna holy,
Ministers wadna do it.
If it wasna modest.
Maidens wadna tak' it;
If It wasna plenty,
Pulr folk wadna get it.
Anonymous.
LAV.
Laws, as we read in ancient sages.
Have been like cobwebs in all ages.
Cobwebs for little flies are spread.
And laws for little folks are made;
But if an insect of renown.
Hornet or beetle, wasp or drone.
Be caught in quest of sport or plunder.
The flimsy fetter flies In sunder.
James Benttle.
GOLD.
Gold! gold! gold! gold!
Bright and yellow, hard and cold.
Molten, graven, hammered and rolled;
Heavy to get, and light to hold;
Hoarded, bartered, bought and sold.
Stolen, borrowed, squandered, doled:
Spurned by the young, but hugged by th
old
To tiie very verge of the churchyard
mould:
Price of many a crime untold:
Gold! gold! gold! gold!
Good or bad a thousand-fold!
How widely its agencies vary,
To save, to ruin, to curse, 1,
bless,
As even its minted coins, express, j
Now stamped with the image of g"5
Queen Bess, I
And now of a Bloody Mary.
Thomas Hoo
ADVlt'K.
Take the open air,
The move you take the better;
Follow Nature's laws .
To the very letter.
Let the doctors go
To the Bay of Biscay,
Let alone the gin.
The brandy and the whisky.
Freely exercise.
Keep your spirits cheerful;
Let no dread of sickness
Make you ever fearful.
Eat the simplest food,
Drink the pure, cold water.
Then you will be well. ,
Or at least you oughtar.
Anonymous.
A SUMMER EVKMXO. '
How fine lias the day been! howj
bright was the sun!
How lovely and joyful the course that
he run, !
Though he rose in a mist when bis1
race he begun.
And there followed some droppings
of rain!
But now the fair traveler's come to the
west,
His rays are all gold, and his beauties!
are best:
He paints the sky gay as he sinks to
his rest.
And foretells a bright rising again.
Just such is the Christian; his course
he begins,
Like the sun in a mist, when he
mourns for his sins.
And melts into tears; then he breaks
out and shines.
And travels his heavenly way:
But when he comes nearer to nnisn
his race.
Like a fine setting sun, he looks richer
in grace.
And gives a sure hope, at the end of
his days,
Of rising in brighter array.
Isaac Watts.
Sneezes Oui Two Xntural Teeth.
Wlnstcd (Conn.) Dispatch In New York
World.
C. J. Ssj?e, of New Boston, his friends
assert, is the hardest sneezer in New
Kngland. George Snow says he actually''
shakes the building when lie sneezes'.
He has just sneezed so hard thnt he lost
two teeth and they were not false ones,
either.