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THE SUNDAY. OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND, MARCH 15. 1908.
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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.