The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, March 15, 1908, SECTION THREE, Image 30

The Sunday Oregonian., March 15, 1908, SECTION THREE, Page 6, Image 30

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Newspaper Page Text6 THE SUNDAY. OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND, MARCH 15. 1908. BlBSCRIPTION BATES. ' INVARIABLY IN ADVANCB. ' . (Br MalL) Dally, Sunday Included, en yaar. Dally. Sunday Included, six months. ... 4-2 Dally. Sunday Included. Uiree months.. Dally. Sunday Included. on month-. --7? Dally, without Sunday, one year.:....- J Deily. without Sunday, six months..... Dally, without Sunday, three month.. l-7o Dally, without Sunday, one month. ... Sunday, one year J?" Weekly, one year (Issued Thursday)..- j-ou Sunday and weekly, cao year -u . BY -CARRIER. Dally, Sunday Included, one year...... J" Dally. Sunday Included, one month.... ' HOW TO REMIX Send postnfZlc money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postomce aa aresa In full. Including; county ana stain. POSTAGE RATES. Entered at Portland. Oregon. Postoftlce as Second-Class Matter. - ' , 10 to 14 Paces....... - - 1 to 28 Fases - 10 to 44 Paaes i eB't 4 to fO Pages. . .car Foreign potags. double rates. IMPORTANT The -postal. law are strict. Newspapers on . which postage Is -not. .fully Prepaid are not Xorwarded to destination.' EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The S. C. Reckirltb Special Araioy New York, 'rooms 48-00 Tribune bulluTns. -Cnl-csro. rooms 510-M2 Tribune bulidinaV . . KEPT ON BALE. ' f hlraco. Auditorium Annex: " Postotflce News Co.. 17a Dearborn street; Empire News Stand. ft. Paul, Minn. N. St. Marie. Commercial Station ...... Colorado Springs. Colo. Bell. H. H. Denver. Hamilton and Kendrick. '- Seventeenth 'street; Pratt. Book Store, lev Fifteenth street; H. P. Hansen, S. Rice. Gtnrae Carson. Kansas City. Moj Bleksecker Cigar Co., Ninth and Walnut; Yoma News Co. Minneapolis M. J. c'avanaugn. SU South Third. C incinnati. O. Toms News -Co. Cleveland,. O. James . Fushaw. 30T Su perior street. - . . . . Washington. D. C Ebbltt House. Penn sylvsnla avenue; Columbia News Co. . Pittsburg. 1'a. Fort Pitt News Co. ' Philadelphia. I'a. Byan's Theater Ticket Office; penn News Co.; Kemble. A. P.. 3"oo Lancaster avenue. . New York City Hotallng's newstauds. 1 1'ark Row. 3Mh and Broadway. 42d and Broadway and Broadway and 2lUh. Tele phone 6374... single .copies delivered; L. Jones A Co.. Astor house; Broadway The ater N-.ws Stand; Empire News Stand. Ogdrn. D. . L.. Boyle;- Lowe Bros.. Ill Twenty-fifth street. Omaha Harkalow Bros.. Union Station; lias-eat h stationery Co.: Kemp at Arenson. Ies Moines.. In. Mrrse Jacobs. Irnno, Cal. Tourist News Co. Sacramento, Cal. Sacramento News Co.. 43o K street; Amos Newe -Co. Salt Ijlke. Moon Book A Stationery Co.; Hosenfeld A Hanson: J. W. Jewett. P. O. corner: stelpock Bros. L tsf Beach. Cal. B. E. Amos. Pasadenn, Cal. Amos News Co. Nan Diego. B. E. Amos. Kin Joee. Emersou W. Houston, Tex. International News Agency. Italia. Tex. Southwestern News Agent. S44HMa!n street: also two street wagons. Ft. Worth. Tex- Southwestern N. and A. Agency. Amarilla, Tex. Ttmmons A Pope. San Francisco. Korster A Orear: Ferry News Stand: Hotel St. -Francis News Stand; JU Parent; X. Wheatley; Fairmount Hotel News stand; Amos News Co.; United News Acency. 14 V Eddy streett B. E. Amos, man ager three wagons; Worlds N. S.. 265 A. Sutter utreet. Oakland. Cal. W. H. Johnson. Fourteenth and Franklin streets; N. Wheatley; Oakland News Stand: B. JS. Amos, manager five wagons: Wellingham. E. G. t.ulclrlrld. Nev. I-oule Follln. Eurrka. Cal. Call-Chronicle Agency; Eu reka News Co. I'ORTUMI, MINOAV. MARCH IS, 1908. THE 1JO.I OR TRADE. The general movement against the liquor trade, in our own country, and largely throughout the civilized world, should not be misunderstood.' It is re strictive, not prohibitive; and its sources are the manifest abuses of the liquor traffic on the one hand, and its effects on the efficiency of a people on the other. Industrial forces are' the greatest of all temperance .workers. Men known to have the liking or hab it of drink are not wanted in any In dustrial occupation; still less. In posi tions where Judgment -and responsi bility as overseers or directors of busi ness, are required. What is the reason why those per sons who are engaged In the liquor business in the manufacture and sale cannot see that their efforts to push the- traffic, to cater to the appetite for liquors, and to increase it, and at the same time to minister, for profit, to the appetite thus created, is a busi ness which is sure to ife condemned alike by the moral, social, religious, industrial and economic forces of a Browing industrial and moral civiliza tion? The prohibitionists they who demand absolute prohibition of man ufacture and sale are not many. But they who object to the means and methods employed to push the sale und consumption of liquor, and to the abuses arising therefrom, are a multi tude, and an increasing multitude. The business, moreover, must dissociate itself from the corruption of ouryouth, from debauchery of our boys and Riris, from gambling in its various forms, and from promotion of loose ness and lewdness generally; and must content Itself with the quiot trade that society and government may be will ing to tolerate when- the vices it pro motes lose the greater part of their evil by loss or all their grossness. . It is a peculiarity of alcoholic drink that it benumbs and obfuscates the intellectual and moral faculties, espe cially of youth; so that these liquors become, under unrestricted sale, a chief instrument of the mental and moral degradation that gives so much trouble lo human society. Closer reg ulations and restrictions of the sale must, therefore, be made and enforced In all communities: not prohibition, for that is an extreme remedy, not en forceable, and therefore no remedy at all.. Besides, of everything in this world there is a legitimate use; and so of spirits, wines and beer. But the conditions under which they, are sold and pushed for consumption are to be restricted among us, more and more, till all the gross abuses are cut out. "Thirst parlors" are to have no furth er promotion in these United States. Drinking places will not be-abolished. but they will be reduced to the grade of those In the old countries, and every offense against decency and morality connected with them or promoted through them will be placed to their account. It will follow, of course, that the number and attractiveness of the drinking places will diminish, and that places that sell liquors will not be al lowed to furnish "apartments" or "clubrooms." Fiscal considerations have a bear ing on this whole subject, and cannot Ik disregarded. Government, Xational und State, must have revenues. The liquor trade Is one of the chief sources. Under restrictions of the trade the levenues of Government will be re duced, and the deficiency in 'taxes must be made up from other sources. Almost one-third of the total revenues of the United States are derived from liquor taxation. For the fiscal year, ended June 30. 1907. the Federal Gov ernment derived from the liquor tax JJ1fi.000.000 out of a total. of J665. 000,000. States that are enacting pro hibition under local option laws are now demanding that in the districts where prohibition is voted the United States' shall refuse to license to sell, and shall moreover forbid transporta tion into these districts of liquors from other states. How far this may go one cannot tell; but should -the ultimate demands of prohibition be conceded the whole revenue of the Government from taxation of manufacture and sale would be cut oft. The principle also would prohibit the Importation of wines and liquors from other coun tries, and a very large revenue derived from the customs would also disap pear. It Is not supposed that prohibi tion will reach these extremes, but the theory requires it; and if it should the Government would be obliged to get its revenues Id, other ways. It is a consequence that would profoundly affect tariff . legislation, . and more money would have to come from du ties on imports. This, again, would give protected interests further advan tage. Taxation of incomes ana inher itances by the General Government would follow, and stamp taxes on all legal papers, deeds, contracts, bonds, bank checks, bills of sale, and even on photographs, as in war times. It is Just as well to realize, in advance, what it all would mean. And the def icit In municipal revenues would have to be made up by increased taxes on properly, business and occupations in all lines. Yet whatever is done will come about in a gradual way. There will be restriction, not total prohibi tion; and the revenues from the liquor trad,e, though probably they will gradually,'--or at least relatively, decline, are not likely to be cut off wholly. But If restriction shall go far, It may be taken as certain that the fiscal sit uation and revenue requirements, forced upon public consideration, will be no small factor in the debate, and in the guidance of public action. Since all things In the life of a great people are correlated, it will be seen that a subject like this, which deals with so. many important Interests, moral, social, fiscal, political, cannot be settled at once, or theoretically, or made to yield to any inflexible opinion. Yet one thing' is sure, namely: The liquor trade in all .countries, and es pecially In the United States, is to be placed under closer regulations and restrictions than heretofore; and It will surely be the part of wisdom in all who are concerned directly or in directly in the trade, to see to it that its excesses shall be avoided and its abuses ' minimized. Liquor dealers must stop their efforts and methods to force the trade, and set their faces resolutely against cultivation or tol erance of the immoralities and vices that so commonly attend it. If they do not, the liquor trade in this country wkhin a few years will be virtually an outlaw. FOOUNG THE FARMERS. No doubt Mr. P. S. Guilford, like most of the slngle-taxers, is a sincere man. His letter, which is printed to day, reads as if he thought what he says were true and his reasoning Sound. Some of it is .true and sound, but upon the whole he is in error con cerning the beneficial effects which might flow from placing the entire burden of taxation upon land values. There are other values, many of them, which ought to share the burden. The main argument v in support of the pending amendment is that it will relieve the farmers, who now, as they belleve. pay more than their just share of the taxes. We do not think it would relieve them, nor do we believe that the amendment is devised for that purpose. In. our opinion It Is only an other of the many attempts which have been made to fool the farmers by a promise of imaginary benefits into voting to confer real benefits upon other classes. AH the relief which the farmers can possibly derive from this amendment, under the most favorable construction, could be obtained by an exceedingly simple law of tw,o clauses and no more. The first clause would enact that: no improved land outside the limits of municipal corporations should be assessed at a higher rate for taxes than adjoining unimproved land. The second clause would enact that all movable property actually employed in the processes of agriculture, and dwellings also, should be exempt from taxation. An amendment like this would not be of doubtful meaning. It would go directly to the point. But the pro posed amendment Is beclouded with words; the benefits it purports to con fer on the farmer would certainly turn out to be additional burdens, and its real purpose seems to be the exemp tion of the property of trust-building manufacturers and money sharks. Of this sort of thing let the farmer be ware. If he wishes his improvements to be exempt and his land to be as sessed at the same rate 'as neighboring unimproved land, let him devise an amendment which shall explicitly say that, and nothing more or less. Many would favor such an amendment and vote for it, since all are agreed that the farmer needs relief. But what re lief from taxation do the plutocratic manufacturers and corporations need? NEW H1GHWAI OF COMMERCE. It was a peculiar coincidence that the driving of the last spike in the new North Bank railroad should have taken place within a few hours after the death of R. R. Thompson, the pio neer in steam transportation in the territory traversed by the new road. To the present generation it seems a far cry back to the days when the di minutive steamer Colonel Wright, as the only means of transportation be tween the Cascades and the rich terri tory lying inland, enjoyed a monopoly more complete and in degree more profitable than any the West has ever experienced. But so rapid has been the transformation and development of the country that Mr. Thompson, who, as the pioneer in steam naviga tion on the Columbia River above the Cascades, was nearly forty years of age. lived to see two of the greatest railroad systems on earth following both banks of the stream, with high grade roads hewn out of the solid rocks which in the past had frowned down on the Colonel Wright and the batteaux that preceded her. , The story of the transportation de velopment of the Inland Empire reads like a romance. In that golden age of river transportation was laid the foundation- for many of the largest fortunes ever accumulated on the Pa cific Coast. The Colonel Wright was succeeded by a large fleet of the fin est steamers that ever floated on in land waters. Out of the enormous profits earned by these, steamers came the money which enabled the Oregon Steam Navigation Company to build the first railroad track east of the Cas cade Mountains. All of the old steam ers have passed out. of existence, and but few of the men who operated them remain; but from the small beginning made by R. R. Thompson, J. C. Ains worth, Jacob Kamm, Lawrence Coe and a few other pioneer steamboat men there has developed the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, with nearly 2000 miles of fine track, thou sands of cars and hundreds of locomo tives. Through that narrow gap In the Cascade Mountains pours a stream of traffic that is alike the wonder and the envy of other railroarjs less favor ably situated. All that the Oregon Steam Naviga tion Company and its successors have accomplished on the south bank of the Columbia River, can be repeated on an even greater scale by the new line on the north bank. There will never again, of course, be such enor mous profits as were reaped by the pioneers in the transportation business along the wonderful rlvef, but the rapid development of that inland em pire and the growth of our over-sea commerce, which for the land haul will from this time forward seek the course of least resistance, will insure for the new road a traffic of steadily increasing volume. R. R. Thompson and his associates of little more than a generation ago never dreamed of the striking change which most of them were destined to witness in a short half-century. Equally impossi ble would It be for the men of the present day successfully to prophesy the remarkable changes which the im mediate future will bring with it. In the Pacific Northwest, commer cial history has been making rapidly in the past five years, and the expan sion has been so rapid that no one can safely place a limit to its possibilities. The coming of the North Bank Rail road is one of the most important commercial events that Portland has experienced, and when the completion a few months hence of the longest railroad bridge in the country enables the North Bank trains to run into this city, our joy will be as unconflned as It was In the old days when -the Colo nel Wright openedi up the first steam route to the interior of Oregon and Washington. MOSSBACK HORTICULTURE. Some singular opinions on horticul ture which Mr. J. C. Davis expressed In The Oregonlan Saturday ought not to pass without comment. Mr. Davis is an old citizen , of the state, who has lived in the Willamette Valley for fifty years, and he has near New berg one of those ancient collec tions of apple trees, moss, bugs, worms, anthracnose and other pests which excite the wrath of Mr. Millard Lownsdale and his fellow fruitmen. The expert fruitgrowers, working in harmony with the State Board of hor ticulture, are trying to get rid of pes tiferous orchards like the one Mr. Da vis, owns, and owners like Mr. Davis feel themselves wronged and outraged that the law. should Interfere with their private property rights. In their opinion, if they wish to raise bugs in stead o appLes, and scatter them broadcast, over the country, that is their natural and inherent "privilege. The horticultural progressives, whom Mr. Davis blasts with the fatal epithet of "agitators," desire to cut down the infested old orchards, or at least cut them back to the trunks and graft the trees with new stock.- In our opinion the best way tb deal with them is to grub out the trees and burn them up, root and branch. . The effort to make anything worth while out of these antique failures is not likely to come to much. But Mr. Da vis Is opposed to the whole plan. His theory of treating old orchards is to let them alone. His orchard near Newberg bore last year, he says, "as fine apples as could be found," notwith standing the fact that the trees are "so large that it would be impossible to spray them," and "they are infested with pests like others in the Valley." Fine as Mr.. Davis' apples were, how ever, he sold them for 10 cents a bushel, while Mr. Lpwnsdale, who lives not so very far from Newberg, re ceived some $2 or 13 a box for his. Was not Mr. Davis generous? The poor came from miles around to avail themselves- of his beneficence, carried these' fine apples home, stewed them up into a nutritious porridge of fruit, worms, scale and rust, and, we fear, devoured it. , Now we have some excellent advice to give our contributor if he is really eager to do good to his neighbors. Let him begin by cutting back his orchard and spraying it thoroughly. He is mistaken in thinking that big trees cannot be sprayed. If he will buy a power pump he will be amazed at the results, and since he says his trees are grafted Northern Spies, the fruit will be marketable at good prices. Let him employ his poor neighbors to gather and pack this fruity at .living wages, and at the end of the season they will have money to buy a Winter supply of clean apples Instead of wormy ones, with enough left over to clothe their families respectably. Mr. Davis shows no true kindness to his poor neighbors by cultivating their habits of -shiftless dependence and setting them an exam ple of conduct still more shiftless than their own. If these fruit-loving neigh bors of his would set out half a dozen apple trees in their gardens and take care of them they would soon have abundant fruit of-their own and would not need to go "from miles around" to secure their portion- of Mr. Davis' bugs and worms at JO cents a bushel. Indeed, after finding out by experience what a good apple is, they would deem his price a great deal too high. Our venerable contributor remarks that he has "reared a family in the Willamette Valley and tau,ght them to be law-abiding and respect other peo ple's rights." One cannot escape the wish that somebody had taught Mr. Davis himself to "respect other peo ple's rights." Suppose he has a neigh bor who is trying to produce as good apples as Mr. Lownsdale and the Hood River men. Has not that neighbor the right to do It? Well, Mr. Davis sends over into his neighbor's orchard every Spring a devouring swarm of tent cat erpillars, codlin moths, aphis, bark grubs and bud moths, and every Fall he dispatches across the boundary a pestiferous host of anthracnose germs. Thse invaders from Mr. Davis' or chard do just as much and just as serious harm as if he should take an ax and chop down his neighbor's trees. By breeding pests and scattering them broadcast over the country Mr. Davis puts it out of the question for his neighbors to carry on their lawful business without going to ruinous ex pense of time and money. How much "respect for other people's rights" does that show But he replies, in effect, that nobody has the right to carry on commercial apple-growing in the Willamette Val ley. The proper state of things, so far as fruitgrowing is concerned, he thinks, is for each farmer to have a few old moss-grown trees in his yard, raise a few razor-backed pigs, produce a few bushels of Inferior wheat, a few pounds of rancid butter, and a few to matoes and cucumbers for the can neries. Doctrines of this sort have been the curse of the Willamette Val ley ever since it was settled. The farmer who tries to do a little of everything can do nothing well or profitably. His time will be frittered away in a multitude of ineffectual tasks, all of which will be performed without skill. The Hood River farm ers have made themselves rich by spe cializing. If the Valley-farmers ever become rich It will be In the same way. If they, will each resolve to pro duce some one thing and do it admira bly, that product will enable them to buy everything else they need; and they can supply all their wants with less labor than they now expend to get Mr. Davis" wormy apples at 10 cents a bushel. It is high time for the Willamette Valley to repudiate forever Mr. Davis and all his works and moss back doctrines. . The farmers have dined on bugs, thinking they were ap ples, full as long as they ought. JUST ONCE MOKE. It is feared by the Elgin Recorder that The Oregonlan has undergone "a change." Since and forasmuch, as it expressed satisfaction when Mulkey and Bourne wereelected in January, 1907. without the disgraceful contest so frequently witnessed. It now is "inconsistent," in that it does not sup port "Statement No. 1." But Statement No. 1 had no part whatever in the election of Mulkey and Bourne. They were elected be cause they were the Republican candi dates, designated by the Republican voters, first at the primary, and con firmed afterwards at the general elec tion. Since the Republican electorate of the state had designated them, the Republican Legislature promptly elect ed them. Had the Legislature been Democratic, of course it would not have considered them, for a moment, but would have elected Democrats promptly. The guide was not State ment No. 1, but the Republican vote in June. ' Tho Oregonian, as it has said often and often heretofore, stands for nom ination by the respective parties of candidates 'for the United States Sen ate and- the popular vote thereon. It commended the election of Mulkey and Bourne by the Legislature be cause their party had declared for them; and It was the duty of a Repub lican Legislature to ratify and confirm and make effective the declared will of the Republican party of the state. But The Oregonian never approved or commended Statement No. I, or the claim that Republicans in the Legis lature should be bound to vote for a Democrat for Senator, or that Demo crats in the Legislature should be bound, to vote for a Republican for Senator. From first to last, since this discussion came up. The Oregonian has held this ground. It is not the proper Intent of the primary law to make a man vote against his party, and few will do it, in the Legislature or anywhere else. None ever will do It, when his own party has a chance of success. ' The Oregonian can -state principles and distinctions, but it can't give those whom God permits to edit the little papers that bark and carp at It brains to understand, nor a will ing honesty to learn. SOME DILEMMAS. Republican candidates for the Leg islature throughout Oregon for the most part have turned their backs on Statement No. 1. Of course, all, or" nearly all. Democratic candidates will sign It; but it may be regarded as certain that not many Republicans will go to the Legislature at Salem bound hand and foot by that pledge. Re publicans want members of the Legis lature to be elected who will make It sure, if there shall be a Republican majority, that a Republican Senator shall be elected. - That assurance can not be given if they subscribe to State ment No. 1. Yet many candidates be lieve that It is proper and reasonable for them to define explicitly their atti tude on the Senatorship, and they have declared themselves in favor of the "Republican voters' choice." From the favor with whlch this particular pledge has been received by most can didates, The Oregonian will say -that In its opinion most Republicans who are likely to be elected will have signed that pledge, or at least that that form of statement will have been signed more generally than any other form. Now what does the "Republican vot ers' choice" mean? .It means that every Republican legislator must vote for the Senatorial candidate of the Re publican party . nominated in April, whether or not that candidate shall be "elected" in June. It is capable of no other construction. If the legislator at Salem shall do otherwise, he will have violated his public pledge. So, it either Mr. Fulton or Mr. Cake shall be nominated for Senator in April, he will be supported fdr Senator by all "Republican voters' choice" members, whatever shall happen in June. But let us point out a situation. One of these Republican candidates for United States Senator has committed himself to Statement No. 1. In other words. Mr. Cake declares that the man "elected" Senator in June -by the peo ple, whether Democrat or Republican, should and must be elected by the Legislature in the following January. Suppose, then, that Mr. Cake shall be nominated at the April primaries and shall be defeated at the June election. He will be bound to declare, then, that it Is the duty of the Legislature to elect his successful Democratic oppo nent, probably Chamberlain. What will those Republicans do. then, who have subscribed to the "Republican voters' choice" pledge? Will they fol low Mr. Cake's advice and vote for Mr. Chamberlain for Senator? Or will they insist on fulfilling their own sa cred promise and voting for Mr. Cake himself? What Is Mr. Cake to do? Admonish such members to ignore their pledge and vote for Mr. Cham berlain? Or will he tell them to ig nore the essential principle of State ment No. 1 and do what they have otherwise promised to do, viz., vote fpr him? It will be seen that Mr. Cake's posi tion will be a. most delicate one. Some might say, a contingency of this kind will be impossible; but, in the view of others, it is not even improbable, for into such dilemmas and absurdities are all who advocate Statement No. 1 certain to be led. " - Consider, again, the case of Mr. Fulton. . At Corvaliis last August Mr. Fulton publicly declared that In case he should be nominated at the Re publican primaries for Senator, and should be beaten in June, he wouW not permit" his name to be presented to the Legislature for any office. But how Is he going to help it? If he shall be the Republican nominee, all Republicans who have subscribed to the "Republican voters' choice" pledge must vote for him. They have no al ternative. Of course Mr. Fulton will protest. But what is he going to do? Submit to the "draft," no doubt. He cannot help himself. Of course, he will be indignant and will have his holiest feelings outraged, but senti ment does not count for much when members of "the Legislature insist on doing their duty; that is to say, on fulfilling their pledges, or some pledges. Mr. Cake, too. in similar circum stances, must submit to the "draft" in spite of all his protests. We shall see what we shall see in due time. doubtless. OCR l-AWIJiSS PRESIDENT. "You oppose intelligently and ably many of the iniquities and errors of the Czar and at the same time main tain that he can do no wrong." This extract Is from a letter by Mr. J. A. Morrell which appears - today in an other- column. By "Czar" our contrib utor, means to designate Mr. Roosevelt, . whom he speaks of elsewhere in his letter as "the Emperor." Evidently Mr. Morrell is not to be numbered among the admiring worshrpers of the President. So far as The Oregonlan Is concerned, he might have made his statement still stronger without violat ing the truth. Not only do we oppose "many of the iniquities and errors" of Mr. Roosevelt, but we oppose them all so far as our dim and feeble vision can discern them. Nor does The Ore gonian maintain that Mr. Roosevelt can do no wrong; on the contrary, it thinks he is quite capable of doing wrong and has lamented his shortcom ings more than once with sighs and tears. But The Oregonian hastens thank fully to aver that It has also been pre served from the error which is the di rect opposite of indiscriminate praise, namely, indiscriminate blame. . This Is the error, If Mr. Morrell will pardon our apparent impoliteness, Into which he has himself fallen. Which is the sillier, to condemn a man totally be cause he has some faults, or cover him with blind laudation because he Has some merits? The Oregonlan thinks both habits are silly and does its best to shun them both. We are able, thank heaven, to admire temperately and to criticise in moderation. We do not deem It necessary to call a man an unmitigated scoundrel because he ex hibits human weaknesses, nor to call him an angel because there Is a trace of good In him. Mr. Roosevelt has good traits and bad ones, but the good enormously outweigh the bad. The Oregonlan has fought the scan dalous ship' subsidy steal although it knew quite as well as Mr. Morrell that the President favored It and worked for it. But we do not feel obliged to fight the principle of rate regulation, which is unquestionably right, because we are opposed to the ship subsidy, which is unquestionably wrong. We cannot see why consistency requires us to oppose the National control of trusts and corporations. In which we thoroughly believe, simply because Mr. Roosevelt twists around like a limp pumpkin vine on the tariff, in whose exorbitant schedules we do not believe. If consistency will not permit us to stand with a man in the right and op pose him in the wrong, then good-by consistency. We prefer common sense. Wholesale praise and wholesale blame have been the twin curses of politics from the foundation of our Government to the present time. In the very beginning of our history the American people were unable to differ with Washington upon the French al liance without cursing him as the in carnation of all that was evil. They formed a bad habit then which they have never been able to break, and Mr. Morrell exemplifies its power by vir tually confessing that he cannot con demn anything in Mr. Roosevelt with out condemning everything, nor can he even understand how The Orego nian may have more sense and judg ment upon such matters than he has himself. Why did the good Lord strew In our paths so many opportuni ties to make fools of ourselves and give us so few brains to shun them with? Mr. Roosevelt possesses more of the qualities which attract the admiration and confidence of manly American citizens than any President we have had since Lincoln. This is said not In disparagement of the others, but in sincere praise of him. Our contribu tor's statement that "he is by nature and inclination a lawless man" is false, to put it briefly. Mr. Roosevelt Is so far from being lawless that he has done more during the last dozen years than any ten men or any ten million men in this country to make the laws active and vital and to bring us all. big and little, under their sway. Mr. Mor rell's statement that he "acts on Im pulses and without due consideration" is the Imitative chatter of a parrot caught from the plutocratic Eastern papers, which hate Mr. Roosevelt be cause he Is not impulsive but pursues the powers .of evil with relentless per sistency and because he acts not with out consideration, but with a consider ation of facts and conditions which makes his action far-reaching and ir resistible in its consequences. The hostile critics of the President have committed to memory a set of phrases which they babble on all occasions without a thought of their impudent falsity where they mean anything and their prenatural vacuity where they mean nothing. Mr. Roosevelt has made mistakes and probably commit ted willful errors, Hot being an an gel, he has acted much as other men. do under provocation and the pressure of circumstances. But in the main he ha been brave in his conduct and loyal to his cause, and that cause is one which the American people have so dearly at heart that they w ill stand' behind any man who champions it truly, no matter what his faults or failings may be. Say what you will about Mr. Roosevelt and admit as much to his discredit as you like, nev ertheless he represents today the high est aspirations of a great Nation and those who oppose him in spirit are op posed to all that humanity has fought for in its greatest battles since time began. There are now fifteen hundred pa tients in the hospital for the insane at Salem. This is the largest number of insane in the history of the state. The increase is merely in the usual ratio per capita of the population. As any state grows, its responsibilities and duties toward the helpless and defective classes multiply, and the commonwealth that does not recognize its obligation in these lines Is remiss in the fundamental principles of good citizenship. The prop-er discharge of this obligation toward the state on one hand, an.d the most sadly unfortunate class of its citizens upon the other, looks not alone to the per capita cost of maintaining the insane, but to the benefits that they derive and the com fort that it Is possible to bring into the lives of these people through the ministration of a great public charity. A 'Superintendent of the Insane Asy lum who is able to disburse this fund economically and yet without that pit iful parsimony that scrimps on the quality and wholesomeness of the food served, and in the details necessary for the comfort of his helpless charges, is the man for the place, regardless of party. When such a man is found he should, In the interest of his practically voiceless constituency," be protected in his tenure, of office. Argentine shipments for the week ending Thursday reached the enor mous total of 7,376.000 bushels, this being the sixth consecutive week in which the shipments from that coun try have exceeded 6,000,000 bushels. In the face of such enormous exports from a country which has only within the past few years cut much of a fig ure In the world -s wheat supply, it is small wonder that he foreign markets exhibited weakness. Despite this ava lanche of wheat that has been sweep ing down on the foreign markets, the inherent strength of the American sit uation is so great that weakness is sel dom very pronounced and never of very long duration. The high prices that have prevailed throughout the season have proved fully as attractive to the growers of the Argentine as they have to those of the United States and account in a large measure for the rush displayed in marketing the record-breaking crop. . It is Impossible, of course, for tho vagabonds of Journalism and politics to quote The Oregonian correctly be cause they don't want to-. Here Is one of them, pretending to quote from The Oregonian the statement that Senators and Representatives "will represent their party, not the people as a whble." What The Oregonlan did say was that Senators and Rep resentatives are not elected by the people, but by party, and "after they are elected they will represent their party, in all political matters, not the people as a whole." Which Is the absolute truth, and everybody knows It. But why can't those who see fit to quote The Oregonlan quote what it says, and not garble its statements to misrepresent them? No doubt because the occupation of not a few of them would be gone if they couldn't lie about The Oregonian. That is their breath of life. The big Cunarder Mauretania Is, to borrow a Kipling expression, "finding" herself. On her latest trip she scorched across the Atlantic from Sandy Hook to Daunt's Rock in 5 days and 5 min utes, an average speed of 31 hi land miles per hour for the entire voyage. When the Mauretania becomes a ".has been" on the Atlantic and is sent around to the Pacific for the Portland-San Francisco route, if she main tains her speed, she can easily make the run in about 26 hours. This would be quite an advantage in future rate wars, for the So per head passengers meals while en route. Computation oy officers of the emi grant department of the North Ger man Lloyd Steamship Company shows that the sum of money taken out ot the United States last year by for eigners who returned to their homes aggregated 3110,000,000. This money went principally to Italy and to the Hungarian and Slavonic provinces, and represents wages earned in the main by underbidding American labor upon which a decent standard of liv ing must be maintained in American homes.' Professor Philip R. Alger, of the Naval Academy, descants at length upon the poor showing made by the marksmen of our Navy In the Spanish War. He declares that "the men did not know how to shoot at Santiago." Some way the benighted American public, including the Administration at that time, was reasonably well pleased with the results of this "poor shoot ing." Congress has at length awakened to the necessity of providing adequate means of defense for the harbors of the Pacific Coast. The growth ot. Japan's navy has. It seems, proved more efficacious in this direction than have the warnings of our Army commanders, as embodied In their an nual reports for year.. The groundhog made good. His six weeks of resumed hibernation expires today and Oregon has experienced" that much of Winter weather as it usually - gets. ' Spring is now on and the 1908 fruit crop is practically safe. The groundhog has "Ganderbone." Rev. Irl Hicks and all other weather prophets "faded." What will te anti-Roosevelt papers who condemned him most viciously for sending the fleet to the Pacific, say, now that they learn the expedition is only a world-wide advertisement for Uncle Sam? One thing is certain: they won't apologize. "I intend," says the attorney for Ross et al.. "to take advantage of all the protection for my clients that the law allows." No doubt of it. That's what the attorney is for. But is it what the law and the courts are for? Spokane now employs a uniformed policeman to regulate the conduct nf the City Council. When Mayor Lane and the opposing majority lock horns, as is promised at the next meeting, one blue coat will not be adequate. However, it will be just as well to wait for the next National Republi can Convention to tender the Repub lican nomination to Mr. Taft which it will do, to him. or to some other. About half a dozen doctors and un dertakers want to be Coroner. No Job for a dead one. Mayor Lane can't have an Inimical Council indicted and tried. VERSE BT HARHT MURPHY. SAILOR'S SON ft. Away: and away! Where the dolphins play. O'er the bounding bursting wave; O forever to ride On the foaming tide Is the life for the sailor brave! When the tempests roar To the skies we soar With bosoms free from care; To the shrouds we cling And whistle and sing In the ocean's wild white glare. O it's ho! for the strife Of the sailor life. Through its storms our gay oourM steering. O it's ho! for the free And glorious sea. On its mountain waves careering. Let the heavens crash And the lightnings flash. And away o'er the bursting billow; For the song of the surge Is the sailor's dirge And the deep sea sand Is his pillow.' THE MOOX. Full welcome when the sentinel Of glaring day has done. To greet the soft, reposeful spell Of night's serener sun. Its brooding radiance has power To soothe the anguished breast; It wafts a solace from Its tower Upon a world's unrest. The season of that mellow sphr. In long ago as now. Has been a time to lovers dear, Sweet hour of tryst and vow. Enthusiasts beneath her beam Have burned with god-like thought;; In her chaste eye the poet's dream Has higher rapture caught. Yon orb unchanged has shed her light Upon the infant days, 'Tis now as when her face and flight Met primal man's blank gaze. What myrtad-multltudo of eyes From every fleeting age The King, the clown, the fair, the wise. Have pondered that fair page! And men have loved that gentle glow Which seems to them a bond Of fairer days that they shall know .Than yet o'er earth have dawned. WISD AT MIGHT. The mid-night winds! what rage and wr They sound along the sky! Now loud they howl, now moaning lowi They tremulously die. How dwells the soul in sileitt awe On that dread melody. That viewless force that mocks at law In frenzied liberty! The quickened fancy sees agahast A scene of damned frolic, Upon the mirk and. yelling ' blast By demons diabolic. Hark! how the casement now they beat Upsprings the cat in fear. 'Tis as an entrance they'd entreat From gloom to chambers cheer. Rave on, ye winds; these walls will ward Us safely from your Ire; Your fiercest charge we'll disregard Before our glowing fire. MORM.NG. Hail! hall! to the morning; With spangles and gold Its beams are adorning The flood and the wold. All around are unfolding The night-shaded charms; Bright beauty is holding The world In its arms. From the flowers' fair tresses With fingers of light The fond sun caresses The moisture of night. As the breeze freshly dances Along the green lawn Bach trembling blade glances Dewy-gemmed In the dawn. The last mists belated Flee away to the West. Silken-throated, elated. The lark leaves her nest. On the far peak reposes The magical glow Of heaven-reared roses Heflexed on the snow. The growing things tender Their petals spread wide To bathe in the splendor Rolling on as a tide. Hail! morning victorious. The nffeht's In far flight The broad earth is glorious In laughter and light. EDGAR AI.I.EV TOE. Poe! mighty master of romantic awe, Imperial man of melody and woe! He trod a hated world with soul enwrapt In madness and in dreams. His tranced eye Beheld a realm of mystic gloom beyond The curtain of mortality where dwelt. Forever, beauty and enshrouded sorrow. As in a spell he heard strains sadly sweet And murmurs lowly filtering upward from The sod-encumbered dead. Grief-crazed his day And brief. Cempanionless and lone he fought The league of little minds in sordid need He died. And calm, at length, tho aching brow And anguished breast. No more with ashen cheek And tear-dimmed eye. througn mid night dolorous. He ponders; or, till dawn with naked head. Unquiet lips and heating arms con fronts The frenzied storm. Skilled now the viper-kiss. Of envy and dptrai tion. Haply he Has joined in distant Aiden lost Lcnore. CROWIJKD. ' "Content, dwell In the breast!" He cried. Said she, "I must Decline to be a guest With greed, ambition, lust." May Sell Hlatorle McKlnle-y Home. Cleveland Dispatch in New York Times. Because the heirs of the estate ot Wil liam and Abner McKinley are unable to asree it is likely the homestead of the late President will be suld at public auction. "I see no other outcome of the present difficulty." said Administrator R. F. Shields when Judce Halter ordered him to partition the eatutes of the McKinleys, which are entangled. lmportn rOO0 German Finn. Baltimore Nt-ws. Five thousand live fleh are on their way from Hamburg. Germany, to Phila delphia, the first tlnif- live tlnlt in stn-h numbers have been importeu. One-fourth of a cent a pound Is the customs duty.