9
From
rioMS Topic
on
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, MARCH 1, 190&
Letters
the
People
Va
i n
Tote Both of Them Down
TV. HAMPTON SMITH.
IN" The Oregonian recently you have
criticized the initiative and refer
endum quite sharply and refer .to a
number of measures as bad and c.iarge
them up to the weakness of the refer
endum, among these you refer to the
rival flsh bills.
Now. I ask The Oregonian to just
patiently wait, and watch the outcome
of the measures referred to at the June
election, and then I am sure It will be
ready to give the people credit for more
judgment and common sense than It'does
now. The flsh bills will both be voted
down, as they should be, because, while
they both have merit, they are unjust
to the people, to the fish and to the par
ties engaged In the business of taking
flsh. They are' retaliatory instead of pro
tective. The Oregonian deplores such cross
lifting and charges it up, at least In
part, to the Initiative and referendum.
I have been intimately familiar with the
s&lmoif industry on the Columbia River
for over 40 years, and during all that
time there has been a continuous run
ning flght between the parties engaged In
the business, one against the other, when
different methods of fishing were em
ployed, and In every session of the Leg
islature during all that time the fight has
been waged within its halls with no re
sults other than to destroy one of the
most magnificent and ujseful industries
in the great West or in any other country
because the net result of the business is
a food supply for the people. None of
the parties interested have been willing
to do anything or permit anything to
bp done to protect the flsh whereby so
much as a single fish would be taken
from their own catches.
With all the energy at their command,
and they have a good deal, they have
tilled the river with all conceivable gear
that would take or entrap a fish, and
they have put this gear at every point
and place where it was possible for a
flsh to be. They have even gone cut to
sea and met them before they got into
the river, even at the sacrifice of their
own lives. Still more: they have not
only done all those things, but they have
finned out of season and In season. The
t raps and wheels and seins and gill
nets, etc.. have run day and night with
out ceasing, ignoring all closed seasons,
when It was possible for them to do so.
The result of It all fs a ruined industry,
and all this time, mind you, your proud
and splendid legislature,, the emblem of
a purely representative government, has
done absolutely nothing to mitigate the
evil. What excuse can The Oregonian
give for such results of Legislative ac
tion, or Inaction? indifference and a
few dollars from this party or that party
or the other party added, and everything
goes on unmolested; as in Oregon, so it
has been in Washington.
The Legislature has treated the whole
question as a factional fight between
rivals, when. In fact, it Is a question in
which every man, woman and cmld in
the state, yea, much more than that,
is vitally Interested because It the fish
ing industry Is a food supply and the
people have a right to demand that this
criminal war, this scrapping over gain,
he brought to an end and that speedily.
They remind one of a well-contested foot
ball game.
The Legislature -has been weighed In
the balance and found wanting for over
40 years in this matter. It is to e re
gretted that both these factions did not
take more deliberation and call into their
councils some of the rules of justice and
River Fis
Argument Against the "Fish Wheel" Bill
lxwcr Columbia Fishermen Insist That Fishing Must Be Stopped Over the Head of the Tide.
BV K. M. IjORNTSEN". SBCRETAT
Columbia, rivbr salmon- pro
tective ASSOCIATION.
THIS bill, while pretending to be for
the protection of the salmon of the
Columbia, is a bill which the few
wealthy fishwheel owners of the Upper
Columbia ar presenting to the voters in
an endeavor to retain the unfair and de
structive monopoly of catching salmon
with fish wheels In the narrows and at
the falls of the Upper Columbia.
The initiative petitions for this bill
were started after the Columbia River
Salmon Protective Association was or'
Kanized for the purpose of stopping fish
ing for salmon in the Columbia at head
of tide, that Is, where the river becomes
o narrow that the flsh wheels catch
nearly every salmon that reaches these
narrows and falls.
The fishwheel owners, realizing that
throughout the state the sentiment for
bona fide salmon protective legislation
was growing, got up this trick bill for
the simple purpose of confusing the vot
ers. None- of the fishwheel owners cared to
openly associate their names with this
intended imposition upon the people.
They evidently could not get one man of
note to father it. So they got as sponsor
H. A. Webster. ex-Deputy Fish Warden,
who was recently discharged because
Ciovernor Chamberlain, Secretary of
State Benson and State Treasurer Steel
no doubt considered that the fisheries of
our state could be better served by a
better man.
We deem it necessary for a thorough
understanding of this matter to plainly
state who and what is behind this trick
bill.
It is not difficult for a clever advocate
of greed and wrong to so abbreviate quo
tations from the writings and sayings of
authorities on any given subject, that the
exact opposite apparently stands proven
from what the quoted authorities desired
to prove. There arc unfortunately men
who for consideration are as versatile as
the fallen mgel of whom Milton says:
"He could ntake the worse appear the
better reason."
On the othpr hand, who are the men
behind the bill which the fishwheel own
ers bill Is intended to kill? (According
to our law. if there are conflicting bills
on any subject, and If such conflicting
bills receive the majority vote necessary
to carry them, then the bill receiving
the highest majority vote becomes law).
The men who stand for abolition of
salmon fishing at the head of tide in the
Columbia as officer and executive com
mittee of the Columbia River Salmon Pro
tective Association are as follows:
George M. Orton. of Portland, president.
He la an ex-member of the Oregon Legis
lature an4 manager of the Multnonrah
Printing Company. The vice-president is
Jay Tuttle. M. IX. Astoria. He is an ex
State Senator. The treasurer is F. B.
Beach, of Portland, wholesale and retail
merchant. The secretary is H. M. Lorat-sf-n.
Astoria, secretary of the Columbia
River Fishermen's Union and second
vice-president of the Oregon State Feder
aiion of Labor. On the board of directors
are: Thomas A. McBrlde, Oregon City,
Circuit Judge: William 1. Vawter, Med
ford, member of the Legislature: G. S.
Wright. McMinnvllle. State Senator:
Charles O. Roberts, Tanglewood, Hood
lilver; D. H. Miller, Medford; T. B. Kay.
- n
d the Oregon Initiative
n Dins ana tne
and Then fass a Law Which Shall Protect a Great Food Supply.
right before delivering themselves in that
manner. The only proper thing to do
now Is to overwhelmingly vote both prop
ositions down in the interests of the fish
and then for the people to come together
and get up a measure that will do justice
first to the fish, second to the people and
third, to those engaged in the business.
The Oregonian. the initiative and refer
endum is all right. It is only through
the whole people that such wrongs can
be made right, and when they are made
right none will be more pleased than the
people engaged in the business.
It Is too late now to do anything
through Initiative at this election to save
this splendid food supply from the grasp
of selfishness and greed on the part of
all. The Legislative power will have to
be called Into requisition once more.
Neither one of the bills that are now
before the people if passed will change
the present conditions, because the prop
osition in each is simply to trip the other
fellow up.
Laws to be effective in preserving and
augmenting the Bupply of fish in the Co
lumbia River must have something of the
following provisions to cover at least
four years of time:
First The cutting in two in the mid
dle of all the fishing gear in the river.
This means that the gillnets shall have
only one-half their present length. The
same to apply to all seines in the river.
The seine as now managed is most de
structive and deadly. If any gear should
be weeded out it should be the seine.
The traps to be out of the water one
half the time.
The wheels to be also raised half the
time, and all wheels, traps and seines to
be so constructed as to not destroy the
young salmon that have never yet been
to sea. Many thousands of these every
year are destroyed by these last-named
instruments of destruction.
No fishing should be allowed below the
head of Sand Island. Twenty-four hours
out of every week it should be closed.
These are the heroic measures to be ap
plied for four or five years to permit a
restocking of the river; but the measure
to save the Columbia River as a salmon
supply river lies in the hatcheries and the
housing and care of the fry in the
nursery till they are able to scrap and
take care of themselves whether that be
two or eight months. The young salmon
do not go to sea till they are a year old.
at which time they are from 10 to 12
inches or over in length.
No river was ever made to produce sal
mon and black bass at one and the same
time. That Is in a state of nature. The
black bass is perhaps the most voracious
fish known. You can bait a hook with
Its own young and it will take it all the
same. Young minnows of any kind are
Its delight. The haunts and delights of
the black bass are the natural feeding
grounds of the salmon fry along the
shores, in shallow water and the sloughs
and side channels of the river where mud
flats predominate. Their search for food
brings them both to the same feeding
grounds, and the young salmon leave
these grounds inside of the black bass.
Some one in the past with more zeal for
so-called "sport" than hard horse business
sense planted the black bass in the Co
lumbia River. From that date it was
doomed as a salmon river. It is safe
to say that there are now in the waters
of the Columbia River and its tributaries
1.000,000 grown matured black bass. This
I deem to be a low estimate. This 1,000,000
will consume in a b ingle season 50,000,000
or more young salmon fry. This I con
sider a conservative estimate. Is it any
wonder that in the past few years no
apparent results from the artificial
spawning grounds have been witnessed?
Salem, State Senator; James Withy
combe. Corvallls, director of the Oregon
Experiment Station and candidate for
Governor on the Republican ticket at the
last election; James A. Lackey, Mayor
of Ontario; C. G. Huntley, Oregon City,
druggist, member of the Oregon Legisla
ture; William Miller, of Burns, attorney-at-law;
John H. Smith, Astoria, attorney
at law and ex-State Senator; Frank
Kankkonen, Astoria, manager .Union
Fishermen's Co-operative Packing Com
pany. James Wlthycombe, in accepting the
position on the board of directors,
wrote: "I shall be pleased to accept
a place on the board of directors for
the movement mentioned, namely, for
the protection of the Columbia River
salmon. I believe that every honor
able means should be employed to pro
tect this great natural source of
wealth, not only for the present, but
for the future generations."
Senator G. S. Wright wrote: "Will
be glad to do anything for the fishing
Industry, by serving on the board or
otherwise."
William I. Vawter, in accepting,
wrote: "It seems to me in every way
commendable, and that legislation that
is protection along the lines indicated
should have the support of every pa
triotic citizen."
Judge McBride, when asked to serve
as president of the association, de
clined on account of press of business,
but readily agreed to eerve as a direc
tor, adding: "The only way to save
our salmon is to stop fishing at head
of tide, so as to give the fish a chance
to reach our hatcheries and natural
spawning grounds. For many years I
have fought for the protection of our
salmon, and am pleased to see this
concerted action. My voice and pen
will ever be ready to save one of Ore
gon's greatest industries. I am a poor
man. but If necessary I shall contrib
ute my mite towards defraying the ex
penses to fully present this question
to the voters of the state."
Many, many other words of advice and
cheer have been given the officers of
the association In this task to save our
salmon. Necessary limit of space for
bids here to quote any more.
Judges, legislators, professional men,
sclenlsts, business men and fishermen
are represented in this association. Lead
ing citizen of the state, seeing that one
of the leading industries of the state is
threatened with extinction, have come
forward to rescue it.
And opposed to the bill to stop fishing
at bead of tide, at the confluence of the
Columbia River with the Sandy a bill
fathered by these public-spirited citizens
1s opposed this sham bill of the fish
wheel owners. The fishwheel owners
were too cautious though it Is alleged
the proper term is "too cowardly" to
father their bill, so they hired a dis
carded deputy of the state fishery bu
reau to champion a bill which is a
trick bill from top to bottom.
Now. as to the tricks in that bill.
In the argument, supporting the wheel
owners' bill a desire is expressed to save
our salmon.
But true to the methods of trickery,
section 1 the main question is not
taken up first. Instead, sections 3 and
4 are defended and section 1 the big
gest nigger in this legislative woodpile
Is sandwiched in between sections 2
and 5.
If the cannery mo nt if the fishermen,
if the people expect to continue to eat
salmon caught in the Columbia River
they must not only artificially spawn,
but keep, feed and protect the fry till
they are at least six months old, or
okier if necessary. In this way it is not
only feasible but possible to stock the
great river with fish so that all may have
plenty at a low cost and be practically
unrestricted In the methods of taking
them. This should be the chief provision
of any law passed to protect the salmon
1 n dus t ry of the great ri ve r.
A few days ago I had an interview
with two of the leading1 cannerymen
on the river. They were pessimistic
as to the future of the river as a sal
mon producer. One of them remarked
that civilization and - settlement of a
country always destroyed the produc
tiveness of rivers, that had been the
haunts of the salmon. This is true in
part only. If the proper effort be not
put forth to protect the salmon and
propagate them, it is wholly true. The
hog, the ox, the sheep, the every form
of life, that is now a blessing to man,
would have been extinct centuries ago
had not efforts been put forth to save
them by carefully guarding' and pro
tecting the young of these animals till
they were large and old enough to
care in the main for themselves.
In short, if we have them now we
have got to raise them. The same is
true of the salmon. They are not dif
ficult to pawn and raise till large
enough to shift for themselves against
all enemies, and after that Nature has
prepared great feeding grounds, some
where off the mouth of the Columbia
River, where a mud bottom exists, and
where these young salmon may be ma
tured and return to their place of birth
in quantities to the satisfaction of all.
This may be kept up indefinitely, and
to almost any extent, through the
hatchery and nursing process; but if
the policy continues to kill the goose
that lays the egg, without raising more
geese, the end is near by.
A party largely interested in what
is known as the up-river bill, made the
statement to the writer that the up
river bill had the sanction of the Unit
ed States Flsh Commission. The
number, of long ears covered up under
United States this and United States
that and United States the other is
great. The United States Fish Com
mission has lost Its charm for most
North westerners in the course it has
taken in turning the little, helpless
salmon fry loose among its enemies
by the million, to be devoured in a
month's time by thera. All this time
the Commission has stood by and
watched this thing go on in the face
of vigorous protests by the people, till
the industry is wellnigh ruined. Not
only has the Commission done this, but
it has planted in the waters of the
Columbia voracious game pan flsh, that
feed on salmon eggs, and the helpless
small fry that have been abandoned to
their fate among these imported de
stroyers, and enemies.
They also consume the food most
sought after by the young salmon fry.
Dr. David Starr Jordan gave wisdom
on this proposition in the face of his
survival of the fittest -doctrine. Kvery
law for the protection of the salmon
has been violated by the Commission,
and those who have been engaged in
the taking of them. Now, let the peo
ple get In and vote the two cock-pit
laws down and elect a Legislature that
will work in the interests of the fish
and the people, and retrieve its lost
reputation.
That trick, however, is very clumsy and
can be -easily exposed.
Section 1 of the fishwheel owners' bill
provides that no fishing at nights can be
carried on in the channels used for com
mercial navigation.
That means that the 4000 gillnet fisher
men of the Columbia, with an investment
of about $1,500,000 in boats and nets must
quit the Columbia if the law passes. The
fishwheel owners and Webster know this
full well, hence they tried to hide this
section in .their argument, hoping to thus
fool the voters of the state.
To explain. Fishwheels or fish traps are
located on the banks of the river, or in
narrows or at falls, where they presum
ably do not interfere with navigation.
Wheels and traps are stationary appli
ances and before they can be erected
must secure a permit from the War De
partment, in charge of navigation of our
rivers. Thus under this section traps
and wheels could fish the entire 24 hours.
Traps and wheels are built more or less
upon the principle of a cattle corral, the
fish striking fences or leads projecting
into the river, follow them and are lead
into the tunnel of the trap and then into
the pot, from which they cannot escape.
The fence or lead of the fishwheel loads
the fish Into the mouth of the wheel, when
the wheel ceaselessly turning with the aid
of the flowing stream, pumps thfe salmon
Into-a box. for the owner to take away
once in every 24 hours.
The gillnets, however, against which
this section is directed, are drifting nets,
on a submerged sandbar one moment, in
the channel the next. They catch fish by
gluing them, that is the salmon strike the
net and put their heads into a mesh, when
they cannot retreat, their gills preventing
retreat and their bodies being too large
to allow them to get through the mesh.
Salmon only gill when the water Is muddy
in freshet time or at nights. When the
salmon can see the gill net they swim
around it. A gillnet Is only fished at
slack tides, on an average six hours out
of every 24. A gillnet further, to be
worked properly must be tanned once a
week and dried, which takes from one to
two days. Thus a elllnet fishes only from
30 to 36 hours out of the 168 hours of
every week, while the traps and wheels,
stationary appliances, flsh day and night
the entire 168 hours in every week, as long
as the fishing season lasts.
Thus this section would drive 40.0
of our gillnet fishermen from their call
ing, destroy their property and make
in a few years a dozen or so already
very rich fishwheel owners manifold
millionaires, without protecting our
salmon, because the fishwheels in the
narrows and at the falls do not permit
fish to pass by.
Year by year these wheels have been
so located and Improved that where
only four years ago the Washington
and Oregon upriver hatcheries secured
some 20,000 salmon for hatchery pur
poses, this year but a few hundred
were caught- Washington has closed
its four upriver hatcheries and Oregon
is doing likewise.
The hatcheries below The Dalles, ac
cording to official data, are doing fair
ly well, considering that this was a
poor salmon year.
Section 2, prohibiting fishing for sal
mon between the first day of 'October
and the 31st day of December of each
year, is absolutely valueless, as far as
our Royal Chifcook salmon are con
cerned, a-3 this variety almost entirely
ceases entering the Columbia the latter
part of September or the middle of
October-, during a late Chinook season.
The blueback salmon, almost absolute
ly destroyed by the fishwheels, run in
June and July. Our silver salmon enter
the river in October, November and
December, and if the fishwheels were
allowed on the Oregon side, they, with
their leads, would drive in the narrows
of the Upper Columbia the fish from
the Oregon shore to try to find easy
ascent close to the Washington shore,,
where the wheels and seines owned by
the same men who own wheels and
seines on the Oregon shore would catch
the fish. This section is rather a clever
trick on the part of the fishwheel own
ers. Fishing for silver salmon on the
Oregon side would be stopped, where
the river is from four to six miles
wide, and where the fish have a fair
show to get by fishing appliances.
Then where they get to the narrows
and falls, the places of ascent on the
Oregon side would be barred by the
leads of the wheels and a rich harvest
reaped on the Washington side by the
wheelowners. -
The most destructive fishwheels are on
the Oregon side of the Upper Columbia.
Stoppage of fishing from the mouth of the
Sandy and up would abolish these wheels.
Then Washington would follow with like
legislation.
Section 3 provides that all fishing for
salmon shall absolutely stop below a "fine
drawn from Smith's Point across the Co
lumbia. That is fishing with, gill nets
must stop from Astoria to the sea, about
12 miles from the Bar, where the river is
from four to six miles wide; where fish
ing with these nets only averages from 30
to 36 hours out of the 168 hours in each
week; where about 75 per cent of the gill
net fishermen drift with their nets, be
cause in the Columbia from Astoria and up
the fishtraps have driven the gill netters
from their old-time drifting grounds. An
other trick to give the salmon to the rich
trapmen and wheelmen.
Some men, noting that yearly some
fishermen ' were drowned at and outside
the mouth of the Columbia, have declared
out of misplaced sympathy with the fish
ermen that gill net fishing should stop at
a line crossing the river at Cape Disap
pointment. The fishwheelmen have in
Section 3 advanced this line nine miles up
the river to Smith Point. The almost ab
surd trickery here again is plain.
Section 4, by limiting length of nets is
another intended humbug on the voters.
The fishwheels could continue serenely as
they now are to catch every salmon get
ting to the Upper Columbia and the gill
netters, thepoor men, would be so regu
lated that they would have to quit the
Columbia.
Section 5, providing for a weekly 24
closed season would be of value if the
fishwheels were abolished. It is the
nature of the salmon 'to travel, once they
enter the Columbia, about eight miles
in 24 hours in their effort to reach the
spawning grounds, until they reach the
narrows and falls. There they rest for
several days in the pools below the nar
rows and falls and, after having over
come one set of obstructions, again rest
for several days. With the fishwheels
stretched out as they are, not one sal
mon In a thousand reaching the upper
river would escape the uppermost wheels.
A 24-hour weekly closing law would
simply give more fish to the rich fish
wheel owners.
It is absolutely necessary for the pres
ervation of our salmon that fishing must
stop where the river becomes narrow.
Every nation and state-owning salmon
streams had to adopt this policy, or see
its salmon destroyed. Canada does not
permit any stationary fishing appliances
in its rivers and draws deadlines against
all fishing away below head of tide.
California, Oregon and Washington for
bid stationary appliances - in their rivers
and draw deadlines against fishing where
the rivers become narrow. - The Federal
Government, through a decision rendered
December last by Secretary of Commerce
and Labor Straus and confirmed by
President Roosevelt, has' adopted this
principle for Alaska.
The only exception to this beneficial
legislation is the Columbia River, where
the fishwheel owners so far have suc
ceeded in retaining their unfair monopoly.
But these men know this monopoly is
doomed; they know that the vote of the
people will tell them next June "Stop
destroying our Columbia River salmon
industry,! and so they got up this so
apparent sham bill. Verily "whom the
gods wish to destroy they finst make
mad."
Let the fishwheels be abolished by the
passage of the bill presented by the Co
lumbia River Salmon Protective Associa
tion, and the fishermen will be the first
to urge our Legislature to enact a Sunday-closing
law, fairer regulation of open
and closed seasons and other laws really
protective of the salmon fisheries of the
Columbia.
The fishermen possess only their skill
a fishermen and their boats and nets.
With the destruction of our salmon,
their means of earning a living for
themselves and their families b de
stroyed. On the other hand,, the dozen
rich flshwheelowners own splendid
farms and real estate in our cities.
They and their children do not depend
on the salmon for a living; all these
men now care for is to have a few
more years of absolute monopoly on
that portion of our salmon crop which
composes our seed fish.
We therefore ask the voters to vote
"No" on the flshwheelowner's bill, and
to vote "Yes" on the bill which stops
fishing at head of tide, at the conflu
ence of the Columbia with the Sandy.
One of the little Women.
Chicago Post.
One of the Little Women, she came up to
heaven's gate;
And seeing the throng was pressing, she
sighed that she fain would wait.
"For I was not great nor noble," she a aid;
I for poor and plain.
And should I go boldly forward I - know It
would ha In vain."
She sat near the shining portal, and looked
at the surging crowd
Of them that were kings and princes, of
them that were rich and croud:
And sudden she trembled creatly. for one
with a brow like flame
Came to her and hailed her gladly and
spoke unto her by name.
"Come, enter the jeweled gateway," he
ald, "for the prize is thine:
The work that In life you rendered was
work that was fair and fine;
So come, while the rest stand waiting and
enter In he-e and now
A crown of the life eternal is waiting to
press thy brow."
Then trembled the Little Woman and cried:
"It may not be
Here wait they that wrought with great
ness, so how may I pass them by?
I carved me no wondrous statues, I painted
no wondrous things.
I spake no tremendous sayings that rang
In the ears of kings.
"I tolled. In my little cottage, I spun and
I baked and swept.
I sewed and I uatched and mended O,
lowly the house I kept!
I sang to my little children, I led them In
worthy ways,
And so I might not grow famous; I knew
none but care-bound days.
"So was it by night and morning, so was tt
by week and year:
I worked with my weary Angers through
days that ware bright and drear.
And I have grown old and wrinkled and I
have grown old and bent;
I ask not for chants of glory now that I
have found content."
"Arise!" cried the waiting angel. "Come
first of the ones that wait.
For you are the voices singing, for you do
we open the gate;
So great as has been thy labor, so great
shall be thy re-ward."
Then entered the Little Woman the glory
of the Lord.
Lease of Public Lands for Grazing Purposes
Views of a Practical Cattleman Who Holds Thirty Years of IVeding Have Not Injured Range.
PHILIP I. MOULE. '
I NOTE the letter of K. O. Kohler, of
Ellen sburg. Wash., in a recent issue
wherein he expresses surprise at the
action of a"number of intelligent men at
the National woolgrowers" convention, at
Helena, opposing; the Government policy
of leasing the public domain.
It is my belief that the sentiments of
this gentleman are the voicing of the
opinions of a large part of the people of
the country.; not only the stockgrowers,
but others wideawake to economic sub
jectseven including Government offi
cials, not to exclude our honored execu
tive of the Nation. And I am just as
firm in the belief that these opinions
obtain to the extent they do from a lack
of understanding and even consideration
of all the elements the question involves.
. In the first place, let ue be fair and
not say, it was "a number of men at the
National convention of woolgrowers that
opposed the Government policy," but let
us allow the fact to remain that it was
the whole body of the convention. Let
us alljw the truth to stand that of the
hundreds of delegates and representative
woolgrovrers of the west there present
not one, in that large assemblage, arose
and gave expression to anything akin to
objection to the voice - of the conven
tionwhich was most vehement in its
enunciation against the unqualified and
unrestricted application of the policy of
the representatives of the Government as
to the holdings of the public range.
Th is phase of the convention proceed
ings may reasonably surprise those who
hold views of this subject obtained from
the same common standpoint, above in
stanced. I will at once acknowledge that there
are on the face .of the subject prominent
features that first engage the attention,
and make their impression, which from
their inherent characteristics, on a straw
ballot, get a large vote from people
having at heart the adoption of meas
ures whose righteousness they seem to
prophecy.
And such I ween is the fact regarding
many advocated public policies. They
are popular, but when time Is given for
analysis and a fuller understanding of
their relation to all parties affected it is
found they are not well advised. In all
questions affecting public interests this
truth is so often repeated that It may be
said to have become painfully true.
Therefore as one observant of condi
tions in the great West for over a quarter
of a century, - as relating to National
resources in forestry and grazing inter
ests, I would say that the action of the
National convention of woolgrowers, at
Helena, Mont:, last January was not eo
contrary to reason nor adverse to public
welfare as may on the surface appear.
This is a question of greater moment
not alone to the . stock interests of" the
West but to the higher, wider and more
Th
ose Ten Commandments
Modern View Does Xot Accept
- BY D. PRIESTLY".
GENERALLY what' Mr. J. L. Jones
writes is interesting, but his
spiel In The Sunday Oregonian
of-February 2 does not seem to me to
be very luminous. He says that "God
gave only ten commandments." That
is probably counting ten or perhaps
eleven too many. The "modern view"
does not accept the story of God's writ
ing on stones with his fingers. In He
brew. Those commandments do not
purport to be issued to the world, but
to a selected tribe of savages; and if
they contained an available code of
ethics for mankind it would be a won
der. Just as the Federal Constitution
is issued in the name of the people of
the United States, so the. preamble to
the commandments is, "I am the Lord
thy God which brought thee out of
the land of Egypt and outTof the house
of bondage."
This God instructed his chosen tribes
not to induce or compel other tribes to
worship him, but to kill all the other
tribes they could get in" reach of, and
he promised them that if they would
stick by him and not worship the gods
of other tribes and nations he would
stick by them and help them fight and
murder and rob.
It is worth noticing that the death
penalty Is attached to the violation of
each commandment and yet one of
the commandments is "Thou shalt not
kill." None but the utterest savages
have the death penalty for all offenses
alike. What a country that would
Electricity Doing the
Household Duties
THE wonderful electric house, the
Villa Ferla Electra, which has been
built by M. Georgia Knap, at
Troyes, France, clearly defines the part
which electricity is destined to play In
the home of the future. If not an exact
type of what most houses will be in 50
or 100 years time, it at any rate shows
progress, says Electro-Notes.
From the exterior there Is nothing un
usual about the house, unless it is the
total absence of a chimney. The gates
cannot be opened from the outside, but
as soon as the electric bell is touched,
the portal swings slowly open and a mys
terious voice, which seems to emanate
from a small iron box near the gate, bids
you enter. Stranger than anything else,
the voice has apparently recognized you
and calls you by name, if you are a
friend of the family. If a visitor arrives
after dark the same push button that
rfngs the bell will light up the way. ThS
gate swings in place as soon as you start
toward the house. M. Knap, apprised
electrically of your coming, will be found
in the vestibule awaiting you.
With the first step Inside the house a
small device automatically cleans the
soles of the visitor's shoes.
Although the house is a museum of
electrical inventions and conveniences,
the dining table is the greatest wonder.
No servants wait upon the diners. At
the touch of a hidden switch the table is
flooded in many colored lights. Beside
each plate Is a Utle glass and metal cyl
inder, which become small electric radi
ators at the touch of a button. Foot
warmers are also located under the table
opposite each chair.
At the head of the table Is a circular
desk. Its center traversed by a curious
metal strip, with a groove like a minia
ture tramway. At the touch of a button
the disk in front of M. Knap disappears
as if by magic, and In its place appears
a steaming tureen of soup, which rapidly
travels to the seat occupied by Mme.
Knap, while the sections close quickly
and noiselessly. If the ladle happens to
far reaching interests of the states and
Nation. And I Huiow some of the hard
headed and large-hearted men who rep
resented that convention presented facts,
and figures that should stand as gateway
sentinels to make impossible the passage
of the at present ill-considered and ill
advised leasing of the public domain in
the form of any act by the present
congress.
The reasons against the proposition are
so many I shall not attempt to name
them here but must confine myself to the
main features of the letter I am giving
consideration, which Is a true exponent
of the salient features of the case the
writer represents.
I will accept the statement that there
is a vast amount of range in the states
of Idaho, Washington and Oregon that
has been greatly injured by excessive
grazing, and so far as the present graz
ing interests and other interests in the
states would go I would not venture an
objection to a 'leasing proposal suffi
ciently flexible to be adopted to the
districts in which it may. on careful
consideration, appear necessary. But be
cause conditions are bad in one com
munity or state, because one locality is
unfortunately affected I do not see the
wisdom of a quarantine for communities
not affected.
First,, prove to me that the ranges
of, we will say, Montana and Wyoming,
for Instance, are to any appreciable de
gree injured by excessive grazing be
fore you expect me to elect Government
supervision. We are cited to the fact
that tens and hundreds of thousands
of sheep and cattle die In certain states
from lack of feed in Winter, and the
loss is declared to be from .the effect
of over-grazing of the range. If this
is not openly declared to be the fact,
the inference Is always left for your
adoption that this Is the case. I say
this is not in accord with the facts, and
he -who tries to make manifest the
need of Government supervision of the
range on such conclusions is not only
uninformed, but misinformed. ' I will
assert that the number of sheep that
graze upon the public domain in the
States of Montana and Wyoming at
present from 10,000,000 'to 15,000,000, is
nearly 20 times as large as 20 to 30
years ago, and the ranges used even
earlier than that are today carrying
just as many sheep as they did then.
Not only that, but- I will fruther say
that the Winter loss on the ranges
first used is less, five to one, than it
was then, and districts carrying large
flocks of sheep have nowhere near
the losses they sustained when the
ranges were comparatively new.
The fact is that after 25 to 30 years
of constant use the floekmasters of
Montana find their ranges just as pro
ductive as they were when first used
for sheep. They find it is the deep
snow, together with at times intense
cold, and not the shortage of grass,
that is the chief factor against the
safe Wintering of their flocks. They
ZD
the Theory of God Writing on Stones In Hebrew With His Finger.
have been for a prosecuting attorney
like Mr. Heney!
Let us look at the. commandments
with- God's own penalties attached:
"Thou shalt have no other gods be
fore roe." Here Is the penalty:
"If thy brother, the son of thy
mother, or thy son, or thy daughter,
or the wife of thy bosom, or the friend
which is as thine own soul, entice thee
secretly, saying. Let us" go and serve
other gods which thou hast not known,
thou, nor thy fathers before thee; name
ly, of the gods of the people which are
round about you, nigh unto thee or far
off from thee, from one end of the
earth even unto the other end of the
earth; thou shalt not consent unto him,
nor harken unto him, Neither shall
thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou
spare him; but thou shalt surely kill
him; thy hand shall be first upon him
to put him to death, and afterward the
hand of all the people." Deut. xili:6-9.
"Thou shalt not kill." They were com
manded to kill all the other tribes and
all their own folks who worshiped the
wrong gods or picked up sticks on the
Sabbath day or did anything wicked.
"Thou shalt not commit adultery."
"When thou goest forth to war against
thine enemies, and the Lord thy God
shall deliver them Into thine hand, and
thou hast taken them captive, and seest
among the captives a beautiful woman,
and hast a desire unto her, that thou
wouldst have her to thy wife; then thou
shalt take her home to thy house and
she shall shave her head and pare her
nails; and she shall put the raiment of
her captivity from off her, and shall
be rather awkwardly placed the tureen
swings around and places the spoon al
most In her hand. All this is done by
the press of a finger on two buttons
under the husband's control.
After waiting for Mme. Knap to take
what soup she wants the tureen passes
of its own accord around the groove in
the table in front of each guest until all
have been served. After it has com
pleted the journey it disappears as mag
ically as it came. In a few minutes a
receptacle for dirty dishes appears and
waits patiently for Its load. Tne re Is
no rattle of crockery, no , danger from
careless servonts, no noise and confusion
of waiters. In this wonderful way all
the food, from the delicious Julienne to
the coffee and cigars. Is served. If the
room becomes slightly overheated the
investor presses another button, and a
cool, sweet-scented breeze fans the
guests. The air is scented and cooled
by passing over perfumed water.
After the dinner the visitors are invited
to Inspect the wonderful house. The first
place visited Is always the kitchen. Here
everything is done by electricity. Fixed
to the walls are switches, meters, etc.,
for controlling the apparatus. The elec
tric heat Is applied direct, and it only
takes a few minutes to prepare the food.
The dishes are all of aluminum, easy to
clean, and each designed especially for
its work. On the kitchen table are a
number of electrical utensils. Including a
mincing machine, a miniature chum for
producing fresh butter, a coffee grinder,
a buffer and polisher, and even an elec
tric dish washer. There was also shown
the motor-driven apparatus which waited
on the table so nicely.
In the laundry the clothing Is washed,
dried and ironed by electricity. The
guest chambers are heated and lighted
and ventilated by the current. Electric
bells, telephones, and cigar-lighters
abound. A simple electrical device noti
fies the servants In the basement of a
visitor at the front gate. By a series of
mirrors, the owner of the house can see
his guest standing in he street. With
the telephonic apparatus he can talk
with him from the den, and at the press
of a finger the gates swing open or shut.
Sheet Iron is rolled so thin at the Iron
mills that 15,000 sheet are required to
make a single Inch In thickness. . Light
shines as readily through one of these
sheets a through ordinary tissue paper.
find that in a succession 'of dry years
the grass crop is short, and with a
year of average or abundant moisture
it is as correspondingly luxuriant as
they ever have known It.
So these people who voiced the senti
ments of that convention reason: "Why
do our states and communities require
the same rule of measurement for their
capabilities that govern other regions
not having the same conditions?" For
my part, 1 am of the belief that those
people know what they are talking
about. I am willing to concede that
they have been in the business of stock
raising undoubtedly under different
conditions from those affecting results
In the Coast States. They should know
what they want for themselves, and I
am not in favor of forcing upon them
rules and regulations (mind you, not
laws) which, while they may be for
the making of one community or com
monwealth, are for the undoing Qr hin
drance In the making, of another. I
am informed that that convention was
largely composed of men from Idaho,
Montana and Wyoming, and it voiced
the sentiments of nine-tenths of those
affected by the questions Involved, as
did the Denver convention voice the
sentiments of nine-tenths of the terri
tory of those . chiefly represented, whlirh
territory I am Informed is chiefly en
compassed by the State of Texas, where
special grazing privileges are sought
by cattlemen, to the exclusion of the
far broader consideration of the gen
eral subject as it bears on its effect
upon the many not so pertinently and
impertinently prominent. .
Speaking of the Texas cowman's in
terest in this subject reminds me that
I am told Mr. Potter, who is chief under
Mr. Pinchot for the regulation of fees
in Forest Service, is a Texas man
!' having failed In the cow business In the
Lone Star State. I am further brought
to a comparison of the fees this same
Mr. Potter establishes to be collected
In the various parts of the forestry res
ervations of the country. For example,
the fee charged for grazing 1000
pounds of beef, the approximate
weight of a cow. is 25 cents for a
period of five months or more. The fee
charged for grazing 1000 pounds of
mutton, approximate weight of 10
sheep, is from 80 to 90 cents for a less
period, and with the added injunctions
that the sheep0 must not camp in the
same place more than four days at a
time. Now, as it is a well-known fact
that sheep will first use the weeds, rub
bish and undergrowth in our forests,
which the cattle leave, preferring the
grass, I fail to appreciate the equity
In the regulation, and dispensation of
Mr. Potter. Verily, we sheepmen are
"as clay in the hands, of the Potter." or
of anyone who shall be In a position
to exercise such dictatorial sovereignty
over us.
I am a Roosevelt man, but. "When
thine eye offend thee, pluck It out."
Portland, Or.
Are Enough
I remain In thine house and bewail her
I father and her mother a full month; and
after that thou shalt go In unto her and
be her husband and she shall be thy wife,
and it shall be, if thou hast no delight
in her, then thou shalt let her go whither
she will, but thou shalt not sell her at
all for money; thou shalt not make mer
chandize of her because thou hast
humbled her." Deut. xxl:10-14.
I will not venture to comment on the
above, only to observe Reverently what an
act of loving kindness and tender mercy
our Heavenly Father manifested In not
permitting one of his chosen people to
make merchandise of a captive woman
under those circumstances. If God had
not restrained his chpsen people some
times they might have been wicked like
"the heathen round about."
Jesus said they were permitted to do
these things on account of the hardness
of their hearts. Would it not have been
nice if Ingersoll had arrived in time to
put in his suggestion that such- cussed
ness as that be stopped and they be
allowed to pick up sticks on the Sabbath
on account of the hardness of their
hearts?
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
house: thou shalt not covet thy neigh
bor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his
maidservant, nor his ox. nor his ass nor
any thing that is thy neighbor's."
. That commandment classifies the wife
as a thing, a chattel, of a little- less
account than the house and little more
than the other slaves.
"A little better than his dog, a little
dearer than his horse," Brother Jones
says, "God only gave Ten? Command
ments." Ten are plenty.
$36,000 Carriage for
King Edward
WHEN the King of England opened
parliament recently he roue irom
Buckingham palace tc Westminster in
ono of the most costly and splendid
carriages in the world. It was built
in 1761 at a cost of $.'16,000 on the oc
casion of the marriage of George ITT.,
and has ever since carried tlie English
kings and queens on all high s.ate
occasions. Sir William Chambers de
signed the vehicle, which weighs four
tons.
Despite its 147 years' servfee its
great wheels, gear and body are said
to be as sound as when built, and it
looks as If it would go on forever.
Steel springs were unknown when the
coach was .built, and its. ponderous yet
daintily luxurious body Is suspended
on leather brace, not unlike those of
the old Concord stage coaches of
America. Its balance is so perfect that
a touch of the finger is enough to net
the body swinging on the big creaking
straps which brace the carved and
gilded tritons supporting the driver's
seat and hammer cloth. The length
of the vehicle is 24 feet and it Is 13
feet high.
The elaborate carvings cost more
than the carriage proper, the coach
builder's bill having been lest tnan
$9000, while that of the carver was
more than $10,000. Something of the
character of the ornamentation may be
guessed from the fact that the artist
Cipriani received $1500 for painting the
panels, and that the lace maker's
charge was about $4000, the crimson
satin interior of the carriage being
most elaborately upholstered.
The preparation of the royal equip
age for state occasions Is a real sight.
Six pairs of milk white horses from the
royal stud are always used, and all
wear false tails. The coachman, In
powder and curls, mounts his seat with
the aid of a ladder, but does not really
drive, postillions on the horses and
state grooms who walk beside them
being in command of the team.