Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1908)
THE SUNDAY OKEGOXIAX.. PORTLAND. 'MAY C. 190S. SUBSCRIPTION KATES. INVARIABLY IM ADVANCE. (By Mail.) Dally. Sunday .Included, one year $8.00 Illy. ftuniHty Included, nil months.... 4.25 Ially. Sunday Included, three months.. 2.25 laily, Sunday Included, one month 75 rally, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Dally, without Sunday, six months.... 8.25 Dally, without Sunday, three months.. 1.75 Dally, without Sunday, one month 00 Sunday, one year 2-RO Weekly, one year (Issued Thursday)... 1.50 Eunday and weekly, one year 3.50 - ' BY CARRIER. Dally, Sunday Included, one year 9.00 Dally. Sunday Included, one month 75 HOW TO REMIT Send postofllce money order, express order or personal check- on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postofflce ad Sress In lull, including county and state. POSTAGE RATES. Entered at Portland. Oregon, Postofflce as Second-Class Matter. I! to 14 Pages 1 cent 10 to 28 Pages 2. cents 30 to 44 Pages 3 cents 18 to 00 Pages 4 cents Foreign postage, double rates. IMPORTANT The postal laws are strict. Newspapers on which postage Is not fully prepaid are not forwarded to destination. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The pi. C. Beirkwith Special Agency New Tork. rooms 4S-.10 Tribune building. Chi cago, rooms 510-512 Tribune building. KUPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex: Postofflce News Co., 178 Dearborn street; Empire News Stand. St. Paul. Minn. N. Ste. Marie, Commer cial Station Colorado Springs. Colo. H. H. Bell. Denver Hamilton & Kendrlck, 906-012 Seventeenth street; Pratt Book Store. 1214 Fifteenth street; H. Pv Hansen. 8. Rice, George Carson." Kansas City, Mo. Rlcksecker Cigar Co.. Ninth and Walnut; Toma News Co. Minneapolis M. J", cavanaugh. 50 South Third. Cincinnati, O. Toma News Co. Cleveland, O. James Pushaw. 307 Super ior street Washington, n. C. Ebbitt House. Four teenth and F streets; Columbia News Co. Pittsburg. Pa. Fort Pitt News Co. Philadelphia, Pa. Ryan's Theater Ticket OfTice. Penn News Co.; A. P. Kemble. 8735 Lancaster avenue. New York City Hotallng's news stands. 1 Park Row, 8Sth and Broadway. 42d and Broadway and Broadway and 29th. Tele phone 6374. Single copies delivered: L. Jones & Co.. Astor House; Broadway The ater News Stand; Empire News Stand. Ogden. D. D. Boyle; Lowe Bros.. 114 Twenty-fifth street, Omaha. Barkalow Bros.. Union Station; Mngeath Stationery Co.; Kemp & Arenson. Dee Moines, la. Mose Jacobs. Fresno, Cal. Tourist News Co. Sacramento, Cal. Sacramento News Co.. 430 K. street; Amos News Co. Salt Lake. Moon Book & Stationery Co., Rosenfeld c Hansen: G. W. Jewett. P. O. corner; Stelpeck Bros. Ixng Beach. Cal. B. E. Amos. Pasadena, Cal. Amos News Co. . Ban Diego. B. E. Amos. Han Jose. Emerson, "W. Houston, Tex. International News Agency , Dallas, Tex. Souftl western" News Agent. 44 Main street; also two street wagons. Fort Worth, Tex. Southwestern N. and A. Agency. Amarilla. Tex. Tlmmons & Pope. San Francisco. Foster & Orear; Ferry News Stand: Hotel St. Francis News Stand; 1.. Parent; N. Wheatiey; Fairmount Hotel News Stand; Amos News Co.; United News Agency. 14 Vj Eddy street; B. E. Amos, man ager three wagons; Worlds N. S.. 2625 A. butter street. Oakland. Cal. W. H. ' Johnson, Fourteenth and Franklin streets; N. Wheatiey; Oakland News Stand : Jl. E. Amos, manager five wagons; Welllngham. E. Ci. t.olillleld, Nev. L,ouie Follln. Eureka. Cal. Call-Chronicle Agency; Eu reka News Co. " PORTLAND. SUNDAY. MAY 8. 1008. ABSOLVED FROM PARTY.' For years there has been a growing difficulty, culminating now in impos sibility, of maintaining closely defined party lines in Oregon. Since the Re nublican Dartv was much the stronger of . the political . organizations of the siate, n was natural mat. mis aim culty should beset it much more than the Democratic party, which had be come feeble, partly through its own errors and partly because it has hap pened that a larger proportion of Re publicans than of Democrats has come Into the state with the later immigra tion. Finally, it appeared that the Republicans outnumbered the Demo crats at the rate of about two to one; but this was to an extent delusive, since President Roosevelt has always been much stronger than his party. Yet the Republican party of Oregon has not been able to hold together. It has not wished to do so. Oppressed' by the weight of numbers and by its superabundance of talents, it has yielded to factional ambitions; and as commonly happens in such cases, the chief efforts of its factions have been put forth against each other, not against the common political opponent. The result has been that the Demo cratic party has profited mightily, and for years has controlled the chief po sitions, political and official, in the state. Men calling themselves Repub licans have deliberately used the Dem ocratic party as an instrument for "getting even" with their Republican competitors, or of obtaining revenge over them; till now the Republican party has no assured strength in Ore gon. After many repeated trials The Orcgonian gave up the effort to sus tain the party as a party, deeming further effort useless. It Is a party now of factional units which signi fies that it is not a party at all; for it has no common bond to neutralize the dissensions and hatreds within it. Hitherto this newspaper has stood with the Republican party, because it believed that the larger purposes and policies useful for the welfare and progress of the country could be better promoted through the agency of this party than through that of its main opponent;, but it is constrained, after repeated rebuffs and defeats, to give up this view and this "method. About one-half the Republicans of Or.egon, or those denominated as such, have refused hitherto to recognize any party obligation though , some of them now, having come to the front through tne recent primary election, feel that they are in position to sup port the party again, and to denounce as traitors those who do. not. But still there is some manifestation of human nature, from which the retaliatory spirit is unfortunately most difficult of elimination, among those who hith erto have been the victims of a boasted independence of party. "Bolting" has become too common, and the past proves it to be too easily condoned, to he regarded even as a blunder. We have been too often assured that it is the highest patriotism. It has long been the tendency of the time to force the idea that it is the highest duty of citizenship to act with out regard to the general policy or historic tendency of political parties. Every citizen, of late, has been pro claimed a party unto himself. "What Is Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba?" On this principle, the Republicans of iregon nave actea ror years. Many of them perhaps a majority refer their politics to no general principles. Whether the main tendency of a party, as seen in its course and history. Is in una direction or another, doesn't con cern' them. AH political action refers to the factional contests, or personal likes or dislikes, of today. Perhaps the leading reason is that so many persons see no real differences between political parties of the present time; and, never referring to the historical differences of parties, and to "The va riety o. general character that has produced them, no longer see a reason for the existence of any party. To the minority party this is agreeable, exceedingly; and it slyly, though sed ulously, propagates an idea that prom ises so much for Its own advantage. Question now Is whether we are all to cease, as so many have done al ready, to vote for candidates because they are party nominees, and vote wholly without reference to party. Since it has been declared, . again and again in our state," that the course and policy of a party throughout its his tory, its work and achievement in gen eral, afford no ground for appeal in its behalf; that you are not to infer anything for the present, or for the future, from the character or record of a party, or that of its opponent, but may take any petty reason or motive for your guide of action In politics, and indulge your personal likes or dis likes (chiefly the latter) to the limit, and ..vote accordingly, why then, of course, there ia no ground upon which to appeal to party and for party; and this is the condition of Independence, whether happy or not, into which the Republicans of Oregon, or men hith erto called such, have been carried by the wisdom evolved for us through personal and factional contention. It is a period of transition, and The Oregonian, perforce, accepts the dic tum of those who break with the past. It has been proven again and again in our state that the name of party that is, the name of the Republican party Is no longer a thing to conjure with. He who depends on party alle giance, or on any sense or supposition of obligation to party, may be likened to him "who tries to walk over a roar ing flood on the unsteadfast footing of a spear." It has taken The Oregonian long time to get over the idea that it wa3 through maintenance of party that ends and objects were to be ac complished. It has been forced by the factional methods of the Republi cans -of Oregon, and by the results thereof, to abandon that opinion, -which, indeed, has proved a delusion. There are two scriptures pertinent here. One reads that, "in those days every man did that which was right in his own eyes." The other, that, "The way of the fool is right, in his own eyes." Since every man is his own godsmith, why shouldn't every man be a political party unto himself? Experience and authority are no where. Let them go. No doubt we are the people, and wisdom will die with us. TAFT AD BRYAN. That Taft and Bryan will -be the candidates of their respective parties is now as certain as any forecast ever can be. Next best representative of the tendencies and purposes of the Roosevelt Administration next best to Roosevelt himself is Taft; though it is not doubted that Hughes would be a strong man devoted in the main to the same purposes, and perhaps In many localities more acceptable than Taft. We believe Hughes would be surer to win in Ohio and Illinois than Taft, and quite as sure to win in-New York. But Taft, manifestly, is gathering up the strength for the convention. In the Pacific States he will be excep-. tlonally strong, because of his compre hensive knowledge of our commercial and naval needs In the Pacific. This particular subject Is to be the control ling and compelling one in those Na tional and international affairs that have .relation to American interests centering in and upon the Pacific Ocean. Hence it is that Oregon probably will deem it best to send to the Re publican convention delegates earnest in support of Mr. Taft. That Mr. ' Bryan, will have the Democratic dele gates does not admit a doubt. This also will be well; for Bryan certainly is the best representative of the Demo crats of Oregon, as of the West in general. Yet he cannot get the elec toral votes of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and will have slim chance to win indeed no chance at all unless Jie can make good through gains in the great Middle West. This, however, need not be deemed an Im possibility. The great City of Chicago is a mighty orce in Presidential elec tions, and an uncertain one. MR. ARMOUR AND WHEAT. Reports from the Chicago market tell us that Mr. J. Ogden Armour made a furious assault upon the bears on May 2 and forced the price of wheat upward almost 5 cents in as many minutes. This rise was, of course, the result of gambling, pure and simple. The law of demand and supply had nothing to do with it. By loading the dice and fooling his com petitors in the game, Mr. Armour suc ceeded in adding 5 per cent to the price of the world's principal food supply, and an enormous increment to his wealth, which was already swollen beyond reasonable limits. For all we care, Mr. Armour may add million to million until he counts his money by the ton or the shipload, but in common with every American citizen we are much concerned with the price of wheat and with the forces which make It rise and fall. It is es sential to the welfare of the country that the cost of the staple articles of food shajl not fluctuate violently from day to day. They ought to be fairly constant, varying only within those moderate limits which the weather and the seasons prescribe. Natural changes In the price of food occur in frequently, and when they do come they are so gradual that people can adjust their domestic budgets to them. Usually when one article rises in price another falls, and so the average level Is pretty stable, though occasionally. as within the last few years, all prices go upward together. But even in this case the hardship is mitigated by a corresponding increment of wages. Fluctuations caused by gambling, however, fall upon the country sud denly. Nobody has time to prepare for them, nobody can foresee them, and their total effect is disastrous. Even the producers of wheat are not often benefited much by these un wholesome fluctuations, for the gam bling spirit seizes them and they are apt to hold to their supply until it is too late. There has been much spec ulation upon the question how to res cue the markets of the country from the sharks who disturb them ruinous ly. No thorough-going solution has been discovered. Most of the pana ceas proposed " would probably make the evil worse. Restrictive legislation in particular has never done much good, and very likely it never will. Most thinkers agree that if an effective remedy, is ever found it will consist in co-operative selling by producers .and co-operative buying by consumers. This idea seems Utopian Iter America, but it has been carried out on a great scale In England, and especially in Belgium. In those countries co-operative trade plays an important part in internal commerce, and tends power fully, toward stability both of prices and general finance. Naturally it eliminates the middleman who does the gambling. It gives the producer the benefit of natural increment in prices and rescues' the consumer from such piratical raids as Mr. . Armour has just achieved. But co-operation cannot be brought about by legislation. It is the fruit of common sense combined with fore thought and patience. Why It has had so little success in this country is a mystery, considering the intelligence of our producing and consuming classes. Perhaps we have been so well off hitherto that we have not minded being robbed, but the signs of the times point to a change in this re spect. There is much . evidence that economic conditions will never be so easy again in the United States as they have been. The struggle for ex istence will press harder upon the man of moderate income and he will be obliged to consider ways to make his means go farther than formerly. As socn as he begins to consider the prob lem seriously he can hardly fall to turn to co-operative buying. Indeed the great department stores are in re ality nothing but brilliant applications of the principle of co-operative trade, and their benefits to the consumer are vast. The mail-order business is a further example of the same principle. If Congress had the welfare of the country at heart it would enact a par cels post law to promote mail-order trade, since it would benefit thousands where it harmed a single person; but Congress looks at other matters much more intenfly than at the public wel fare. FEMINIZED SCHOOLS. President G. Stanley Hall, of Clarke University, has written in the May number of The World's Work on "The Feminization of the Schools." The em inent student of educational affairs ad vances nothing new in this, article; he merely estates and elaborates two opinions which he has published else where, but apparently he is more than ever convinced that they are correct. The first is, that there are too many women teachers in the public schools and too few men; second, that boys and girls ought not to be educated to gether after they are 10 or 12 years old. If these opinions were adopted In practice they would revolutionize the public schools, and If they are sound, they ought to be adopted. But are they sound? Women have displaced men in the schoolroom very rapidly during tne last few years. They now hold almost 80 per cent of the teaching positions in the country, while in some states they hold 90 per cent. The common supposition that women are preferred to men by school directors, because they will do the same work for less pay, is true as far as it goes. There has been an economic struggle be tween the sexes in the field of educa tion, and the men have been defeated by the same weapon "which ' drove American workmen out of the Penn sylvania coal mines. They were un derbidden. They might have met the competition, perhaps, by a still lower bid, but that would have helped them only for the moment. Since women as a class can work for less wages than men, the contest, if it had been carried to the end, would have re duced the pay of teachers to the star vation point. To this extreme it did not come because there were other opportunities for men where they could make as much or more than they had received for teaching. Teach ers' wages have fallen so low in some parts of the country, in comparison with the remuneration for other serv ice, that it has become almost a dis grace fpr a man to earn his living In the schoolroom. ,We recall a speech of the Governor of Montana, delivered a year or two ago, in which he re marked that no man of spirit would condescend to be a teacher. "Educa tion, he declared, was emphatically women's work. From one point of view this remark Is nonsense, since the old distinction between men's and women's work has vanished. But there Is a marked dis tinction between the masculine and feminine wage scales, and the Gov ernor really meant to say that teach ers' pay had been degraded to the lat ter, which was true. Still it is a com mon . observation that once an in ferior economic class has displaced a superior one in this country, it imme diately begins a struggle to raise its standards of pay and living. This has been true of the Italians, the Russian Jews and even of the negroes. The real reason why many of our snobbish plutocrats love the idea of admitting the Chinese is that they believe this docile and unambitious race will re main permanently content with servile standards. In the matter of trying to better their economic condition women teachers are no exception to the gen eral American rule.' Now that their victory over the men is virtually com plete, and the jobs are in their pos session, they are making a fight every where for better pay; so that the stingy directors who hired women for the sake of reducing school taxes a mill or two on the hundred dollars are destined to ultimate disappointment. Thus the wheel of fortune whirls and time brings in his revenges. . If women do the same work as men. no just person will contend th.at they should receive less pay, but President Hall believes that they cannot do the same work in the schoolroom. He is content to leave the education of all children in the hands of women up to the age of 10 or 12 years, but after that he contends that boys ought to be under the control of men. In his great work on "Adolescence," Dr. Hall made the point that government by women tends to develop sentimen tality, flabbiness and hoodlumism in boys, and he repeats the remark in his article in The World's Work. " It is unnatural, he says, for adolescent youths to be subject "to 'women.. It makes them sullen, indocile, rebellious. It suppresses rn them the distinctive characteristics of their sex and . de velops slavish traits like deceitfulness. malice and cunning. One remark of Dr. Hall's in this connection is very interesting. Women, he thinks, have abolished whipping in school because they detest all forms of violence for one thing, but chiefly because they lack the physical strength to wield the rod persuasively. The result has been deplorable. There is a place for the smart of the hickory withe in educa tion. . Many youths have been saved from destruction by a sound thrash ing administered in the nick of time. The banishment of this means of grace from the public schools is to be sor rowed over by all lovers of their kind. So thinks Dr. Hall, and we must ad mit that the facts seem to uphold his views. Our author also . contends that the government of women excites a pre mature, spurious imitation of chivalry in boys which is 'altogether' hateful. In the hobbledehoy stage, as he aptly terms it, they ought to be somewhat rough in their sports and manners, whereas the effort of their1 women teachers Is to make them sleek little dolls, as much like girls as may be. Beware, he cries, of the boy who does nothing to shock the ladies; such a youth is a monster who will come to no good end. . - The education of boys and girls in the same classes excites Dr. Hall's es pecial dislike. He thinks' that this practice blights the natural charm of the sexes . for each other by that fa miliarity which destroys illusion. It injures the boys' self-confidence be cause in mere formal studies the girls can excel them. It drives young men out of schoolo find a natural environ ment on the street long before they are prepared' for the struggle of life. If these remarks of Dr. Hall are true they merit attention. Separate schools for boys and girls would cost some money, to be sure, but perhaps the best of all uses for money is to give young people a sound education. FORD'S ACQUITTAL. Of course the world is not convinced from the latest San Francisco verdict that Attorney Ford is innocent. There has simply been failure, thrpugh the unfathomable processes of the Califor nia courts, to find Ford guilty. We shall hear no" doubt now that Heney is at the end of his rope in California; and perhaps he is, but it is no re proach to Heney that he has been balked in his persistent and courage ous endeavors to put the San Fran cisco grafters in jail and keep them there. Perhaps Ford is entirely innocent. We haven't said that he was not, only that the verdict doesn't vindicate him. It could not, in view of the known rec ord of bribery and corruption of San Francisco Supervisors by the agents of the United Railways. The Super visors got the money, thousands of dollars, through Ruef. They were told what it was for, and they did what they were told, being paid for it. It was not their part to ask where Ruef got the "boodle." They knew, or supposed they knew. Ford had .withdrawn $50,000 in cash from the San Francisco mint, and there were numerous circumstances to corrobo rate the theory of the prosecution that this same $50,000 was paid by Ford himself to Ruef. But the jury by its verdict said it wasn't satisfied that he did. But if Ford, the United Railways attorney, did not pay out 'this money on behalf of his client, somebody cer tainly did. It is inconceivable that it could have been paid by any other than a trusted and accredited aent of ttie company. There Is no question, of course, that the whole method of the franchise corporations in San Francisco was bribery and corruption of public offi cers. They have openly Justified it on the ground that they could do no business unless they resorted to such methods. Evidently the people of San Francisco have reache'd the con clusion that the defense of the cor porations is reasonable and good. So much the worse for San Francisco. WHERE COMPETITION IS HOPELESS. The United . States last year con sumed about $60,000,000 worth of lace goods, of which more than 90 per cent were imported. These figures turned the attention of the bureau of manu factures .to the lace industry with. a view to increasing the home product. A special agent was sent to Switzer land to inquire into lacemaking there, while . United States Consuls in France, Belgium, Germany, England and British. India were called upon for reports of jace manufacture in those countries. The finer laces of Continental coun tries are made by the slowest of slow hand processes, and the laceworkers toil under conditions and for a pit tance that would not be considered for a moment by skilled laborers in this country. These facts apply also, in perhaps a lesser degree, to machine made lace and embroidery, the mat ter of wages figuring largely in favor of foreign manufacture. The major ity of workers in lace factories in Bel gium, for example, earn from 10 to 17 cents a day, and' the best workers get only 20 cents. The town of Paulen, Germany, sent $5,000,000 worth of lace to ths country last year. Out of 15,000 workers in those factories there are not more 'than ten or twelve who earn as high as 38 cents a day. For these reasons it has been found impos sible to establish lacemaking as an Important industry in the United States. American manufacturers, however, have found it expedient and profitable to engage in this industry in St. Gaul, Switzerland, and nqw own most of the up-to-date lace factories in that lace making center of the Old World, where thrift constantly does battle with penury among the patient, plod ding masses. In British India condi tions are even worse, in that thrift has been eliminated entirely from fhe problem, the laceworker expecting nothing in return for his labor beyond the miserable dole that barely suffices to sustain life. How, indeed, can it be otherwise when, as reported by Consul-General Michael, who. pursued this inquiry under the direction of the bureau of manufactures in Washing ton, "an article that requires six days to make, working from ten to twelve hours a day, sells for less than Jl, the worker receiving of this sum less than 33 cents?" Competition with such labor as this in the United States is manifestly hopeless, and every Intelligent citizen In the land Is glad that it is so. Bet ter Import what face we want, even though the price in aggregate is J60, 000,000 a. year, than to surround any Industry with conditions that exist among the . laceworkers of .foreign lands. "While according to popular be lief there is no sentiment In business, there is a certain recoil of humanity in business as well as industrial cir cles at the -thought of engaging in a competition the success Qf.wh.ich de pends upon a compensation for labor that keeps the laborer constantly on the verge of starvation. PORT OF PORTLAND AMENDMENT. The argument submitted by the rivers, harbors and navigation com mittee of the Chamber of Commerce, in support of the amendment proposed by initiative petition for enlarging the powers of the Port of Portland, sets forth quite clearly the position of Port land on this most important subject. Maintenance of an efficient towage and pilotage service at the river en trance is of vital Importance to the City of Portland, and to the entire Co lumbia Basin. With completion of the North Bank railroad and the Lew Iston branch of the O. R. & N., prac tically the entire wheat crop of Ore gon, Washington and Idaho is easier of access from Portland than from any other port in the Pacific Northwest. But to hold this immense traffic at Portland, it is -necessary that the ex pense of towage and pilotage between Portland and the sea be placed on a parity with that of the ports with which we come in competition. The work of the Port of Portland, in making a twenty-six-foot channel from Portland to Astoria is an elo quent tribute to its worth and its value to the community. The improvements which have been made by this organi zation have enabled exporters to char ter much larger vessels than could enter the river before the work of the Port of Portland was inaugurated, and with the increasing size of the vessels there has come a steady reduction in freight rates. The proposed amend ment enlarging the powers of the Port of Portland so that its present work of deepening the channel can be sup plemented by an Improved tug and pilot service, is a measure which con cerns every property-owner in the dis trict involved. The prestige given Portland by her admirable location at the foot of a down-hill haul from the great producing regions of the Inland Empire, must not be jeopardized by out failure to maintain water trans- portation facilities in keeping with those which deliver the traffic at tide water at Portland. There was no op position to the petition for this meas ure, and there should be no adverse votes at the June election. ANNULLING LAWS. The most remarkable passage in the President's last special message seems pto have been overlooked by many readers. Partly to call attention to it and partly because it bears upon the subject we wish to discuss, a portion of it is quoted here: "Congress has no more right to pass a bill without regard to whether it is constitutional than the courts have to declare uncon stitutional a bill which Congress has solemnly ratified. The responsibility is as great on one side as on the other, and abuse of power by the Legislature in one direction Js equally to be con demned with an abuse of power by the courts in the- other direction." We repeat that this Is remarkable lan guage. On its face it seems to assert that the courts have no right to annul a law duly passed by Congress on the ground. that it is unconstitutional, and we are inclined to think that such is Mr. Roosevelt's opinion. Clearly Con gress does wrong when it enacts leg islation which it believes to be uncon stitutional; hence the inference from the President's words is unavoidable that the courts do wrong when they set aside a law which has been sol emnly enaced. The simple truth is that the Con stitution gives no right to the courts or to anybody else to annul a law. The power, If it exists, is purely inferen tial, and, being deduced by reasoning which may or may not be correct, it is open to question. At any rate, there is another line of argument which leads to a conclusion entirely differ ent, and it is debatable whether the latter Is not better grounded than the former. The Constitution confers su premacy upon no one of the three de partments of the Federal Government. They are created co-ordinate and equal. No. power is given to one. of them to annul the acts of the others; and if such power may be assumed by one, why may it net be assumed by the others? If the courts may annul an act of Congress, why may not Con gress annul a decision of the courts? Why may not the President declare a law invalid when It thwarts some pol icy which he thinks desirable? The common saying that the Supreme Court is the guardian of the Constitu tion has no support in our funda mental law. Congress and the Presi dent are just as much charged with Its guardianship as the court is;' there is not a scintilla of reason for the propostion that this duty is exclusively conferred upon the judges. But the doctrine was in force in sev eral of the states before the forma tion of the National Constitution. It was debated in the constitutional con vention, to an extent, but was left without positive determination. After the adoption of the Constitution, as cases arose and were carried before the Federal Courts, the right to pass upon the constitutionality Of legislative acts, interpreted from the system that had been prevalent in certain of the states, was assumed or taken for granted by the Federal Courts, and was specially upheld by Chief Justice Marshall and his successors. In the Senate of the United States there afe lawyers quite as able and learned as those who sit upon the su preme bench. Their opinions upon a point of constitutional law are fully as likely to be correct as those of the nine judges. Wfien, therefore, they have maturely deliberated upon a bill and definitely decided that it is in har mony with the fundamental law of the land, why in all reason should the judges be permitted to set thelr'action aside as if it were of no validity? And if the judges may do this, surely Congress has -an equal right to set aside the decisions of the courts. It is argued that the courts have to deter mine finally what the law Is, and If they perceive a conflict between the statutes and the Constitution, they must prefer the higher law to the sub ordinate. This is true enough, but Congress has also to determine finally what the law is, or at least it would have to do so if it fulfilled its duties as pointed out by the President. .Con gress frequently has to vote money to carry into effect decisions of the courts. Is it under obligation to do this when it. conscientiously believes that .those decisions are unconstitu tional? Is not the conscience of Con gress as important as the court's? Must the people's representatives smother their scruples in order to give implicit obedience to mandates which they believe to be' wrong? Or take the ease of the President. It often happens that a decision of the Federal Court cannot be executed unless he orders the military, or the United States Marshals, to lend a hand. Must he give such orders. when he believes the decision to be contrary to the fun damental law? Without pretending to answer these questions, it appears to us that they are weighty enough to make the busi ness of annulling laws extremely deli cate. Custom has brought us to the point where the legislative and execu tive departments take orders with more or less grace from the courts. More than . any other nation in the world we are governed by lawyers, and there are writers who say that no class of men is less fit to govern than law yers, are, except priests. However that may be, it is not to be denied that the power of annulling laws ought to be exercised with extreme modera tion. It is, the highest act of sover eignty. It is a power which was for a long time claimed by the British mon archs, but was finally taken from them because it threatened the safety of the realm. When it comes to the pass that a single subordinate judge, act ing with little deliberation, without hearing both parties in interest, merely upon the petition of a lawbreaking corporation, assumes to dispense with the laws of a state or of Congress, it really seems as if it were time for a halt. For this reason the Senate bill regulating the authority of the Federal Courts to annul legislation appears to be opportune. It forbids fewer than three Judges to take cognizance of cases, where it is sought to restrain a state official from executing a state law on the ground of its unconstitu tionality, and no injunction for that purpose may be Issued without notice and a full hearing. This bill ought to pass the House without much diffi culty, for while it is manifestly sound statesmanship, it would put a stop to a practice which stirs up unnecessary discontent and at the same time it im pairs popular respect for the courts. Only a few years ago an injunction proceeding was a remedy rarely used. Now it is a common proceeding. Re cently in Illinois a man illegally de tained sought to gain his freedom by habeas corpus, a remedy particularly guaranteed and guarded by the Con stitution. But before the judge could hear the habeas corpus case an in junction was issued by another judge forbidding him to do so. Soon we shall behold the spectacle of one judge attempting to enjoin a certain act. whereupon a second judge will at tempt to enjoin the injunction by the first, and then a third will come to the rescue of the first by successfully enjoining the injunction of the second. Leave it to the lawyers and they will find a way to make trouble and busi ness. New battleships and cruisers are In some respects like new passenger lin ers. No sooner is one launched than something a little better appears, and the queen of the seas last year be comes a "has been." The new cruiser Indomitable is reported to be smash ing all records in her trial trips, now being conducted on the Clyde, having steamed & measured mile at the rate of 28 knots per hour, and 26 knots per hour in continuous steaming. For the continuous test this is slightly bet ter than 30 miles per hour, which is a pretty stiff gait for an 18,000-ton craft to be hurled through the water. - Up to date there is nothing afloat that can fight and run away" in order to live and "fight another day" with the In domitable. No man who owns real estate in Oregon, much or little, or expects ever to own any, can afford to vote for the single-tax amendment. It means con fiscation, through taxes, of all the pro ceeds of land; that is, of all the value of land, whether in farms or town lots, and exemption of the chief forms of personal property, in which the great wealth of our plutocratic classes mainly consists. It seems to the common onlooker that ' the popularity of George E. Chamberlain Is declining. In the re cent primary contest in Multnomah County he received only 1255 vote3 for Senator- though two years ago he got 9214 votes in the county for Governor. But perhaps in June he will get some of the votes that were cast in the pri mary for Cake or Fulton. Having taken great interest in the nomination of the Republican candi dates, and having secured in the main the nomination of the candidates they wanted, our Democratic friends now are anxious to beat them In the elec tion. Another lesson on the inconsis tencies of politics. "The prosecution in the Ford case," says the press report, "made out a stronger, case in the two former trials." Ford was acquitted in two minutes. Mr. Heney is learning the dangers in California of making out too strong a case. Congress purposes to limit the activ ities of the Government secret service to pursuit of Counterfeiters and to personal protection for the President. The old system has indeed made trou ble for some few Congressmen. The historic tall and short man are responsible "for the Wolff murder, ac cording to one able newspaper theory. If you happen to be short, don't walk down the street with a tall man. The -dice might get you. The prohibition nominees are pre paring to stand up and be counted once more, just the same as the high ball ticket of the Kentucky Klk-k. Two (or more) souls with a single thought, etc. Los Angeles thinks It has a prodigy in a woman who has been asleep for 85 days.. Yet here in Oregon are peo ple a few, only who' have been en joying uninterrupted slumber for years. The single-taxers, men who have no real property and are envious of those who have, are the chief agitators for the proposed amendment for unequal taxation. Prince Helie consents to become a Protestant to marry Madame Anna Gould. We really wouldn't like to say outright just what she will become. Mr. Heney ought to appeal from the jury In the Ford case to the I'ali forina primaries. - Or the Oregon pri maries, perhap VERSE BY HARRY MURPHY. God must, since He made man in that fa dawn. Have often wondered whom the joke was on. He reared the roof that glitters there. His home's 'where heaven spreads; He wove the silk the idle wear. He shivers in his shreds. He won the wealth that weaklings waste A pocket's his least need. With shining tracks the earth he traced. O'er rocks his racked feet bleed. Warehouses with his toil are stored; Dowerless he and gaunt- Nay, not for him they hold their hoard; His child lies dead, of want. His blood has made the desert bloom. He built those cities vast. But street or field there is no room For htm. despised outcast. EPIGRAMS FROM THE LATIf OB MARTIAL. On Fanslos. When Fannius before the foe was flying He slew himself he died for fear of dying, To Kaalca. When I'm, engaged and must decline, 'Tls then you bid me with you dine. To Zollna. My threadbare clothing, Zollus, nejr and fine. You jeer; yet threadbare though they are, they're mine. To Olua. Your locks, Olua, axe Jet, your beard M snow; The reason is to dye but one, you knowi To Soalblanna. Till you are dead your verses you avow Shall not be read; . O but to read them now! . To Fsuitm. We don't know why you write so often ta The girls; we do know that none writes to you. On Llgrla. , If hairs and years should equal be, Llgeia's age were only three. " j To Auctus. j Oft rich men's anger has an end; j To quarrel's cheaper than to lend. To Aemlllanus. Riches are for the rich; if you are poor, Aemillan, then so you'll stay, be sure. On Andragorss. Daily with me he supped, then went ta bed; Met in a dream Quack H., and now U dead. pn Lnpercns. So long that barber has been dawdling o'er Lupercus that his beard has grown one more. To a Bad Couple. Husband and wife In wickedness are ucn A match 'tis strange they disagree much. To Zollna. Red hair, black face, foot cloven, ana blear eyes; If you're an honest man, then nature Ilea, To Catullus. Upon your death your goods I shaD receive. You say? Well, when I have them I'U believe. Ta Parla. You're wise to want to' marry Priscus, and He, too. Is wise, since he declines jroia band. On a Parasite Friend. You think this fellow Is a friend sincere! Not you he loves. It is your lavish cheer-. Your oysters, mullets and wild-boar. As you If I would feast, Td have his friendship, too. To Quintus Ovlillus. I'd please you since you want no present; be You as obliging and send one to me. To Plcentlnus. Galla, who's buried seven, you has wed Galla, no doubt, would follow her loved dead ? To Polllo. When drunk at night you promise yod will pay; Next morn forget; pray, drink both night and day. To Laelia. She wears bought teeth and hair; too bad! An eye for coin cannot be had. To Tupca. Not satisfied to be a glutton, you Are anxious to be seen and called one, too. On a Friend. Genial, sullen, you at once are both; To live without or with you one Is loath. To Aulus. Our wise friend, say you, is not hard ta fool: An honest man-in fraud's a boy at school. On' Paula. Rich Paula is too old for me, though were She older still I'd not object to her. On Himself. Though famed for verse and jokes, envy me not; The fastest horse wider renown has got. To ZOllUK. Who calls you vicious, Zoiius, speaks not true; Not vicious, Zoilus, vice itself are you. On Phllo. He never dines at home, so Philo swears; Then only when invited out he fares. On TlinlM and Laccaala. Net's teeth are black, while Kate's are white; Kate's ought No doubt be white but just this minute bought. To an Envious Man. You, who with spleen and grimace these My verses read, may. If you please, Envy all men; nobody, poor Wretch, e'er will envy you, be sure. To Frientlnnsj. So ill you read that book of mine That 1 begin to think It thine. On Quintus. Quintus loves Thais. Thais with but one Eye; Quintus, it is evident, has none. On Clunn.. China's a writer. I am told, of small Lampoons against myself. You cannot call A writer one who's never road at all. Men In Hum, Write llnivrn. In Freed. New York Tribune. An Tluli:tt. vmilli u.it.l i . . -" ?vu.m. ni. .tllA JH; Via zio Tanelurrino, of New York, was caught stealing a ham in Bayonnc, N. J., and locked up. While in a cell he wrote a postal card, which he asked a police man to mail. The card was written in Italian anil was addressed to '-Jcf-iis Christ, Streets of Paradise." It read: ."O, my dear God, I am in prison because I stole a bain. I did not steal it maliciously, but because I .needed it and hadn't anything to eat in ten clays. I wish I could have died the moment I done this. Protect me in this case. and. forgive me. Goodhy. Koodby." Recorder Lazarus discharged the youth and gave him money enough to get to New York.