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THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, JUNE 14, 1908.
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PORTLAND, era'DAT, JUNE 14, 1908.
IT IS CONTEMPTIBLE SNIVEL.
Everybody knows that Secretary
Taft, in his remark about General
Grant's early habits, told the simple
truth. It Is the hypocrisy of the de
nial from some quarters that dis
gusts. The truth was told for a good
purpose, too, and the effect cannot be
other than good. Grant, after a hard
struggle, such as few men can make,
completely redeemed himself. The
fact conduces immensely to his hon
or, and all succeeding generations of
his young countrymeii should know
It.
All biographies of Grant mention,
of course, his resignation from the
Army in 1854, and several give it as
a reason that his habit of drink had
made It necessary. He himself says
in his memoirs, that he resigned be
cause he could not .support his fam
ily, from whom he was separated by
duty at distant posts, on the pay of
a captain. He could not be expected
to speak in his memoirs about the
unfortunate habit of his early life.
In his great historical work James
Ford Rhodes says that after the Mex
ican War "Grant passed ' four years
at Detroit and Sackett's Harbor,
when his regiment was ordered to
the Pacific Coast. This occasioned a
separation from his family, and a
cloud came over his life. He fell In
to habits of Intemperance. In 1854
he resigned from the Army and re
joined his family."
All who remember the current
news, written at the time of the Civil
War, will easily recall the statements
which' then frequently appeared, that
Grant sometimes took liquor, observ
ing which General John A. Rawlins,
his chief of staff, told him that total
abstinence in his case ' was an Im
perious necessity, and that he (Raw
lins) would quit him if he did not
make it an Inflexible rule. That
Grant ever was intoxicated after he
came to high command there Is n&
certain proof available though his
torians do not shrink for considera
tion of the stories told about the time
of the Vicksourg campaign, and later.
Colonel George E. Church, who had
the most friendly personal relations
with Grant, and wrote a biography
of him, says in his book that "Grant
had one physical weakness, and that
was an incapacity to take the small
est drink of spirituous liquor without
being overcome by it, and at rare in
tervals, when a young officer, he
would be betrayed into what was for
him an overindulgence. This," con
tinues Colonel Church, "led to a dif
ficulty with his post commander (at
Fort Humboldt), Major Robert C.
Buchanan; . . . and he conclud
ed to resign, though it was not in
the power of his superior to compel
him to do so. against his will." This
statement seems to support that of
others, that Grant was threatened
with court-martial for Intemperance.
These things belong to history; and
Grant's place In our history is so
great that they cannot be ignored,
but even are. necessary to full knowl
edge of his life and character. A
most hypocritical uproar has fol
lowed Taft's allusion to them, as If
he had uttered a slander, as mall
clous as false. The truth about our
eminent men is due to history. Wash
ington, at times, fell, or rose, to
stormy passion, and uttered vehement
"cuss words." Hamilton had well
known foibles that brought him Into
difficulties and subjected him to bit
ter, yet not unjust censure; Webster,
down to his last years, was addicted
to over-indulgence in brandy. But
what? These men did things, and
knowledge of the weaknesses as well
as of the virtues of our great his
torical personages is necessary to
right estimate of their character ana
achievements. To say that greatest
men have had faults is only to say
that they were men. . The man -wholly
made up of Ideal virtues would most
likely be a milksop.
Should Taft be nominated for the
Presidency, the snivel about his "at
tack on Grant" will probably con
tinue. Should he fail to get the nom
ination, no more will be said about
"the Infamous slander."
IS IT A MTSTERY?
An esteemed contemporary offers
the remark that "The Oregonian
comes nearer making its circulation
pay than any other paper in the
Northwest." That is because every
body in the Northwest who has any
thought or concern about anything
in human life or affairs must read
The Oregonian. And they who read
it willingly pay for it. Herein is the
reason why The Oregonian has a uni
versal circulation. Every person in
terested in affairs, every thinker on
any subject, must have it. There is
no mystery about its circulation, or
about the eagerness with which all ?
persons to whom nothing of human
interest is alien, read it and pay for
it.
If, as asserted, "The Oregonlan's
subscription business is the envy of
every other paper in the Northwest,"
it may be supposed there Is good rea
son for it. For we are told that
multitudes who buy and read The
Oregonian -with deepest interest
"cuss" it. That is because it offers
something Unusual to their thought,
and forces them to challenge the
correctness of their own opinions.! It
makes them "scratch." King James,
after he had come from Scotland to
the English throne, said nobody but
a King should be permitted to have
the itch, because it was such a lux
ury to scratch. It may be that the
luxury of scratching is what makes
all those who are said to "cuss" The
Oregonian read it.
But the mass, who haven't any
"itch of poor opinion," the phrase
Is Shakespeare's but want the news
and straight common sense, have still
better reason for reading it. On the
whole, however, a newspaper's ene
mies are even surer readers of it than
its friends. Even their enmity to it
is a tribute to Its activity and force,
and to its power to stir them. On
the stage of human history there
never yet was a man of force or a
thing of force that didn't stir opposi
tion and enmity. Persons of active
minds don't want altogether . the
ideas they agree with, but are inter
ested in ideas and purposes opposite
to their own, especially when pre
sented with an incisiveness and force
that compel attention.
This sceptre has been snatched
with a vigorous hand, and it must
be as vigorously maintained as
gained. This phrase also is Shake
speare's; without whom every per
son who speaks English would be
tongue-tied. But though The Ore
gonlan's circulation may be the envy
of others, tjjere is nothing miraculous
about it. The Oregonian, this many
a year, has simply striven to be a pub
lic Journal that people would feel
they must read. .
A SANT5 FOURTH. ,
As the glorious Fourth makes its
dire approach, that fraction of the
press which aims at edification rather
than diversion begins to exhort for a
reasonable celebration. "Alas," walls
the Outlook, of New Tork, "what a
vast deal of useless noise we make
upon the natal morn, to say nothing
of the night before and the day after.
What a wretched host of us get drunk
and act like maniacs in our cups.
How many people we kill; how many
other's we maim and blind. Behold
that devilish Instrument of death, the
toy pistol, and consider the hideous
use the abandoned urchin makes of
it. Reflect upon the firecracker teem
ng with the bacilli of lockjaw. Medi
tate upon the bursting cannon, the accident-breeding
gun, the rocket
spreading conflagration far and' wide,
and admire if you can the wisdom of
a great Nation which can devise no
better way to commemorate the day of
its nativity." ,
The Outlook contsives an excruciat
ingly bitter fling at the noise-makers
by reminding them that they imitate
the Chinese. That people, whom we
despise, always celebrate great occa
sions with an infernal uproar, and
from them we have caught the same
bad habit. Thus do evil communica
tions corrupt good manners.
For there was a time, ere America's
griefs began, when we used to cele
brate the Fourth with less tumult and
more sense. In those good old days,
forever gone perhaps, the preliminary
bills set forth with pomp and parade
the name of the orator as the princi
pal attraction; now it Is the name of
the baseball club and the hall where
the. dance will be held. And great has
been the change in the day's pro
gramme. Formerly the eager crowd
gathered early in the morning at the
door of the principal hotel waiting to
see the procession set forth in solemn
array. After a, delay befitting the
greatness of the individuals who were
to participate, it finally started. First
came a glittering vehicle wherein rode
the president of the day, and at his
side that still more exalted personage,
the orator. Immediately behind them
the brass band rode in an omnibus
decorated with flags. Then followed
all the dignitaries of the town in
seemly array, with plain citizens and
little boys bringing up the rear.
The procession was a noble specta
cle, well devised to fire the heart of
youth with patriotic emotion. "Will
the time ever come," the bare
foot boy asked himself, "when I
shall ride exalted in a carriage
at the orator's side on the glori
ous morn. Nay, why should not
I bay the orator himself, In some far
and fortunate future?" And when
they had all sat down in the grove
and the orator stood up and let the
grand sentences roll from his lips,
sentences which burned with the un
quenched fires of the Revolution, great
watchwords of liberty, mighty calls to
high ambition, did not the boy's heart
kindle and his soul ride heavenward
like a young Elijah in a chariot of
flame? Perhaps much of what the
orator said was mere noise, after all.
but it was better than the noise of
firecrackers and toy pistols, and it had
the exceeding merit of being harmless.
Nowadays the procession is some
what different. At the head rides in
glory a steam calliope, whose squawks
drown the noise of the various Chinese
deviltries which we have adopted with
which to celebrate the Day of Inde
pendence. The baseball club follows
with the band. Next comes the man
who is to go up In the balloon with
the hired vaudeville troupe, while the
orator of the day rides humbly in the
rear or inconspicuously walks.
And woe unto him when he gets up
to deliver his speech. Behind him the
calliope continues to play for the re
volving hobby-horses; on his right a
fiddler allures the crowd with fiendish
melody to the dance pavilion; on his
left the barker for the fat woman
lifts up his profane voice in ceaseleses
exhortation, while all around, fire
crackers explode continuously. Un
happy .orator. A few old men who
are partially deaf seat themselves on
the edge of the platform In a vain
effort to hear what he says. Every
body else is busy making as much
noise as possible. Why such a
change? Why has the celebration of
the Fourth' of July so degenerated?
The cynic will reply that it is part of
the .general slump in our National
morals and manners which has taken
place since the Civil War, one more
proof that as a people we have for
saken intellectual and spiritual things
In a mad pursuit of material enjoy
ment. But the cynic will be wrong, as he
usually is. There has been no such
slump, for one thing. The American
people have tolerated a mad race for
material enjoyments and possessions
on the part of a few, but as a-whole
they have not taken part in it and now
they are ceasing even to tolerate it.
The orators are not listened to because
as a rule they have nothing to say
worth hearing. Let them discuss
sanely and 'bravely the questions
which we are all thinking about and
we will gladly lay aside our firecrack
ers and hang upon their lips even as
our fathers did of yore. The usual
Fourth! of July oration In these baser
times contains scarcely more thought
than a Roman candle. Like the ordi
nary sermon, it deals with the dry
bones of dead Issues and tries to make
up for its lack of sense by empty and
mendacious boasting. The people can
find better mental food In the newspa
pers and magazines, and very wisely
they choose it. They drown the ora
tor's eloquence with firecrackers be
cause the firecrackers are more intel
lectual than he Is, and usually more
sincere. Make the celebration of the
Fourth significant of living issues in
stead of dead . humbugs and it will
become sane and safe without further
trouble.
VICE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARENTAGE.
The story that comes from New
Tork through the Washington, D. C,
Herald, of many children of the East
Side -tenement districts crying with
hunger as they start to school in the
mornings, there being absolutely not
even bread in the house and no way
by which the parents can procure It,
Is one of the sharpest arraignments
of parental responsibility or irre
sponsibility that has ever been
brought before the open court of pub
lic opinion in this country. Talk of,
and seek to discourage, race suicide,
so-called! What Is this too selfish ir
responsible race propagation? If it is
not criminal to encourage the class
of people who cannot, or will not, or
do not take care of children Jn their
helpless childhood (the only class by
the way, and alas, a large one, that is
encouraged by any exhortation from
any source upon this subject) to bring
large families Into the world, such
encouragement is certainly irrational.
Far better were It for humanity, bet
ter, Indeed, for a man's own good, to
use such stringent measures as alone
are adequate to prevent race propa
gation In the wretched abiding places
of squalor, unthrift and dissipation,
than to commend and encourage it.
"I must shake hands with that
patriot," President Roosevelt was re
ported to have said, when told in
Butte, Montana, several years ago
that there was a man in his audience
who was the father of eleven chil
dren, the oldest of whom was but
thirteen. Pushing his way through
the crowd with eager self-conceit, so
the story ran, came a short, low
browed, malodorous fellow with a cob
pipe between his teeth and proudly
proclaimed himself the "patriot"
sought. And when later his toothless,
slatternly wife and their dirty, un
kempt, unmannerly brood was lined
up for inspection the President's good
sense and sense of parental respons
ibility must have Been shocked.
Inquiry afterwards disclosed the
fact that the home of this "patriotic"
pair and their numerous progeny was
little larger than a pig sty and much
reminded one in other respects; that
the man's wages were mainly squan
dered in drink; that the children
from the time they were able to find
their way about the streets sold
papers and picked up their living,
such as it was, in any little odd jobs
that presented, including emptying
cuspidors In saloons; that they early
became known .as pilferers, and that
the mother, taking with her the baby
and the other baby, went out to wash.
Patriot, forsooth! Breeder of suffer
ing and destitution and crime rather!
Promoters of vice and anarchy, such
parents especially such fathers as
this are the shame of civilization, as
later their misbegotten offspring. In
the role of bomb-throwers, hired as
sassins, train wreckers, and in their
turn irresponsible and prollflo par
ents, are its bane.
Pity Is due to little children, de
prived of all the Joys of childhood,
poorly nourished, miserably clad,
starting in the race of life with their
double handicap of untoward heredity
and wretched environment; but for
the fathers there Is nothing but cen
sure. THE ERA OF THE CHAFING DISH.
"From cooking by the open fire
place, with its crane and trammels and
pots and skillets, to cooking on the
chafing dish, is a far cry," said a
white-haired woman after reading in
a popular magazine an article by
Christine Terhune Herrick, a woman
beloved of women, on "The Era of the
Chafing Dish." "Between these two
extremes," she continued, "lies the era
of true domestic comfort in modern
civilization." A little reflection will
establish the truth of the estimate.
"Only the rich can afford to lead the
simple life," says the author quoted.
When she adds, "People possessed of
less than wealth must rack their
brains to devise means for keeping any
sort of homes, if fate 'casts their lines
in big cities," she makes a statement
that can readily be verified by the ex
perience of thousands of energetic, re
sourceful women in large cities to
whom home without home-cooked
food is but an empty name.
To meet this condition the chafing
dish has come Into use, and its era is
a busy one. The art of cookery before
wide-mouthed fireplaces, with their
rude but substantial and sufficient
utensils taxed the strength, the in
genuity and the endurance of Ameri
can women of a century ago; the art
of cookery on the chafing dish taxes
the strength of women less, but their
patience and ingenuity .more.
The "kitchenette," a name applied to
the little box in a modest suite of
"light housekeeping" rooms, bears no
resemblance to the kitchen in the
homes of old New England, or of those
in the cabins of the early settlers of
the Middle West; yet, thanks to the
chafing dish and the determination, as
strong now as then, of womanly
women to make the best of the condi
tions that surround them, odors arise
from the former, as savory as have
floated down on the breath of tradition
and folk-lore from the latter.-
Between these extremes, however,
the true comfort of the American
home is secured. The well in the door
yard of the old home, with its old
oaken bucket "dripping with coolness,"
holds its place In song and ctory, but
no one would wish to see It supplant
the running water In the kitchen; the
potatoes roasted In the ashes were
sweet and fluffy and toothsome; the
bread and pies baked In the old
"Dutch oven" were perfection, in their
kind; but the more modern housewife
has demonstrated the possibility of the
duplication of these wholesome viands
upon the cook stove. And now, Mrs.
Herrick tells us, the miracle of good
cooking- can be performed by means
of a chafing dish, a pan or two, a
coffee pot and a pint of denatured al
cohol. Since the kitchen, with all its
convenience and comfort that the
name implies, is an impossible achieve
ment in the home of the person of
moderate means in the great city, let
us be thankful for the "kitchenette,"
the chafing dish, denatured alcohol
and such other shifts and makeshifts
as have been evolved from the love of
home and the ingenuity and patience
of women as make a home possible
under difficulties.
EDWARD AND NICHOLAS.
Germany has naturally viewed the
meeting between King Edward and
the Czar with disquiet. The real pur
pose of such a conference is never
disclosed. The nations left out are
obliged to guess at what is going on
and the self-protective instinct leads
them to' surmise the worst. Thus
they are pretty sure to be agreeably
disappointed when the genuine facts
come out because of the visit of one
monarch to another, though it often
cements friendship, seldom Implies
much hostility to anybody else. Kings
are not unlike schoolboys in their mu
tual suspicions and jealousies. Anyone
who happens to be left out of a par
ticular arrangement thinks the rest of
them are conspiring against him, when
as a matter of fact they are only plan
ning for a little lark together. How
ever, it Is altogether likely that Ed
ward and Nicholas are planning some
thing more serious than a lark, and
William does wondrous wisely to be
on the lookout. His empire Is squeezed
In uncomfortably between France
and Russia, which have been close
friends for a long time, while the for
mer only bides an opportunity to have
Germany on the hip and get even for
the wrongs of forty years ago.
If England Is now to be added to
this alliance, William may well look
upon it as a Kriegesdreibund, which
being interpreted means a conspiracy
of three nations to fight the father
land. Edward and Nicholas deny that
they wish to change the present rela
tions of the powers, but monarchs
take such a pragmatical view of truth
that we are not always compelled to
believe what they say. When Edward
VII came to the throne England was
diplomatically isolated. She 'had not
an ally and scarcely a friend on the
Continent of Europe, nor was it sup
posed that the new King would help
matters much. But in this respect he
proved a wonderful surprise to the
civilized world. He turned out to be
the most adept diplomatist among
modern monarchs. As international
statesmen, perhaps such men as Bis
marck and Cavour were greater than
he in their day, but not much greater.
While Russia was at war with Japan
Edward contrived to keep up intimate
relations with France, though she was
Russia's main dependence for sympa
thy and money, and at the same time
with Japan. More amazing still, al
though hostilities with Russia were on
the verge of breaking out two or three
times, he avoided them and almost as
soon as the war was over not only
strengthened his alliance with Japan,
but also concluded a friendly agree
ment with Russia which made the In
dian frontier secure. Thus very soon
after the peace of Portsmouth Eng
land found herself in close diplomatic
relations with Russia, Japan and
France, while it was Germany's turn
to be Isolated. The reality of this con
dition was beautifully illustrated when
the trouble In Morocco arose, for Will
iam then stood alone in his hostility to
French intervention, while all the rest
of the world favored It.
There Is, and has been for years, a
rooted dislike between the English and
German peoples. It arises, of course,
from commercial rivalry. While the
Germans have little genius for plant
ing colonies, they are, nevertheless, en
terprising traders, and their mastery
of scientific technique has gone far
toward giving them the supremacy In
world markets which England once
enjoyed. William has advanced Ger
man manufactures and commerce In
every way he could think of, by plant
ing colonies, by building a great navy,
by Imposing a protective tariff, by im
proving internal waterways, by taking
possession of the railroads and by fos
tering technical education. Meanwhile
England has done little except to
grumble over her losses and nurse a
grudge against her competitor.
Of late years the Kaiser has main
tained a close alliance with Turkey,
exacting in exchange concessions In
Western Asia which are disagreeable
both to England and Russia. On the
one hand he has made steady progress
toward Persia and the Russian fron
tier in Asia; on the other he has
moved toward the Persian Gulf and
the Indian possessions of England. It
seems likely enough that he will soon
have a railroad with its remote termi
nus at the head of the gulf. He is
thus In a position to threaten Russia
and England at pleasure, while his
own territory is guarded by the troops
of the Sultan, whose army is officered
by Germans.
William has pushed himself like a
wedge into Western Asia, where he
holds a position incalculably harassing
to Russia and England. The delicacy
of the situation Is increased by two
facts which probably have much to do
With the present visit of Edward to
Nicholas. Though the truth about It
Is concealed as carefully as may be,
nevertheless students of current his
tory know that India is on the ragged
edge of revolution. The power of
England is threatened there as it has
not been for the last fifty years. Again,
Russia Is irritated on one. side by Tur
key and on the other by japan. Tur
key Is not a power to be despised and
never has been. Japan will not yield
an inch that she has gained without
a terrible struggle, and she is waiting
an opportunity to gain more. Ger
many lies securely fortified in Western
Asia, waiting like a tiger to spring
upon either England or Russia, as oc
casion may direct, hating both of
them, fearing neither one alone, but
almost certain to be overpowered if
they form an alliance with France to
help. Almost certain, but not quite,
for Germany has fought Russia,
France and Austria all together and
come out safely. Thus the key to the
present European situation must prob
ably be sought in Asia. If there is
anything in the rumor that the English-Japanese
alliance Is weakening,
we may before long see the Mikado
and the Kaiser pressing toward Cen
tral Asia from the east and the west,
respectively. In a common cause, with
Russian and English troops fighting
them, while France seizes the oppor
tunity to strike Germany along the
Rhine and India nses in revolution
against her hated white-faced rulers.
Who shall say that the peace of the
world is secure with all these possibil
ities impending?
LINE OF LEAST RESISTANCE.
The Tacoma.Newa continues to take
a very gloomy view of Portland's fu
ture. Using for a text a slight refer
ence made by The Oregonian regard
ing the necessity of getting commerce
out of the grasp of" the pilotage mo
nopoly at the mouth of the Columbia
River, the News proceeds to sermonize
on the impossibility of this city mak
ing any gains in the shipping business.
"There are no such handicaps clinging
to shipping from Tacoma," asserts our
Tacoma friend and well-wisher. Not
exactly, but the handicaps which will
never again permit Tacoma to reach
the prominence as a wheat port that It
has enjoyed in the past are different
from the pilotage handicap which Is
temporarily costing- Portland some
money. When Portland business men
wake up to the fact that compulsory
pilotage is out of date, and too expen
sive for modern times, they will simply
ask the Legislature to pass a law mak
ing It optional and providing rates no
higher than those In force at ports
with which this port competes.
This, at the worst, is an artificial
handicap, and in the long run all arti
ficial devices, whether they retard or
facilitate commerce, will be supplant
ed by natural methods. Commerce
the world over follows the lines of
least resistance. Poor judgment and
unnatural haste may result in a rail
road for heavy traffic being built over
a lofty mountain, but as the newness
of the country wears off and the Im
possibility of such a road successfully
competing with a water-level route is
realized, the error is corrected. The
over-the-mountaln railroad to Tacoma
is the handicap which caused the
building of the North Bank Railroad
and the construction at Portland of
the largest wheat warehouse in the
world.
During the season Just closing Port
land handled more wheat than ever
before in a single season, and without
being crowded for dock or warehouse
facilities. If, as asserted by the
News, "Portland's case is as hopeless
as ever, in spite of the North Bank
road," Mr. Hill has made a serious
mistake in providing facilities for han
dling any more wheat than was han
dled last season. And yet there are
people all over the country who firmly
believe that the North Bank magnate
will make more money by pulling
trains of seventy-five loaded cars down
the Columbia to Portland with one en
gine than he could make by "bucking"
trains of ten or twelve cars over the
Cascade Mountains with two engines.
The News is of the opinion that the
completion of the Milwaukee Railroad
will make tributary to the Puget
Sound city some new territory and
"will have the effect of giving better
rates." Portland sincerely hopes that
the News will not be disappointed, es
pecially regarding the rate matter. If
there is any one influence that can
hasten the day when all of the wheat
that is to be shipped from that vast
territory east of the Cascade Moun
tains wil'l come out over the line of
least resistance, it Is a readjustment
of rates.
There will always be a train service
over the lofty Cascade Mountains to
Tacoma. The scenic beauties of Snp
qualmie and Stampede make the ride
through the mountains a delight for
tourists, and the road is a necessity
for passenger travel between Eastern
Washington and the state capital, but
the completion of the North Bank
Railroad marks the beginning of the
end of that costly railroad operation
which commenced when the North
west country was a virgin field for
exploitation. All that is needed to
complete the economic change that is
now taking place Is a readjustment of
freight rates on the basis of cost of
service. When that readjustment
takes place there will be a sudden
doubling of the volume of traffic
which now follows Nature's highway
down the Columbia and through the
Cascade Gorge to Portland.
DEFECTS IN CRIMINAL LAW.
Two years ago Attorney-General
Crawford requested all District Attor
neys to report to him all defects they
have found in the criminal statutes
of the state and to recommend such
changes in the laws as they deemed
necessary in crder to prevent guilty
men from escaping punishment upon
technical defenses. A number of sug
gestions were made and were acted
upon by the Legislature, with the
assistance of the Attorney-General.
This was a good move, and while per
haps not productive of as much good
as might be desired, if followed up
every two years, it will - eventually
bring our criminal laws to a high
standard of efficiency. . The District
Attorneys, more than any other offi
cials, are in a position to observe de
fects in criminal laws. Quite likely
many of them forget the particular
flaws by means of which guilty men
have escaped during their administra
tion, but it they would check over
their cases lost upon technicalities in
the past four years they could make
a fairly complete list of statutes that
need improvement.
It is to be hoped that Attorney-
General Crawford will renew his effort
in this direction and that the several
District Attorneys will aid him in
every way. Other officials or private
Individuals who know of loop-holes
which afford a means of escape for
the guilty could render a public serv
ice by calling the Attorney-General's
attention to the circumstances within
their knowledge. By placing before
the proper committees of the Legis
lature the Information he can gather
upon this subject the Attorney-General
will not only lessen the work of that
branch of the state- government but
will greatly increase the value of the
work it may do with regard to crim
inal statutes.
The recent trial and second convic
tion of Ab Hembree suggests one need
ed change in the parole law. It will be
remembered that Hembree was con
victed of murdering his wife and was
given an Indeterminate sentence. At
the end of one year he was let out of
the penitentiary on parole, the Gov
ernor taking the view that the law
left him no alternative, provided the
prisoner's conduct had been good while
In the penitentiary. There are a great
many who believe that the executive,
under the law as it now stands, has
the right to exercise discretion In
granting paroles. But since the Gov
ernor's opinion prevails, it is desira
ble that the law be amended so that
there can be no question and so that
responsibility for the parole shall rest
upon the man who grants it. Hem
bree's second conviction, this time,
upon the charge of killing his daugh
ter, leaves little room for doubt that
there was adequate proof of his guilt.
This being true, there should be no
shifting of responsibility if he escapes
punishment.
The Newport Mail upbraids the
people of Taquina Bay for sending
orders to Portland for goods. It is a
pretty old story, not confined to
Taquina Bay. But we can't all "keep
our money at home." Many of our
people go over to Taquina Bay every
Summer and spend much money
there. It may be suspected the New
port Mail would not have them "keep
it at home." There is. much humbug
in this phrase. People spend their
money on their own Judgment and
for their own gratification; not as
others may wish or advise. And, by
the way, it Is the production of a
country or a community that adds to
Its wealth; not the money it "keeps
at home," except in very small de
gree. A screechy paper at Salem ex
claims: "After the people reaffirm
Statement No. 1 by 45,000 majority,
and carry every county in the state
for It, then they are to be defeated
in their choice of a Senator by the
machine managers." No; they are
not to be defeated by any managers.
They have simply made a contrivance
for election of Democratic Senators
and conversion of Oregon Into a set
tled and permanent Democratic state.
Let it go so; but don't be fooled by
It.
It is charged that a boodle fund of
$50,000 has been raised in Louisiana
for the purpose of preventing the en
actment of legislation adverse to race
track gambling. That isn't enough to
be worth mentioning, compared with
the amount spent in the effort to save
the Louisiana state lottery some
twenty years ago. Evidently the anti
gambling movement in that state Is
still making progress, though against
strong influences.
The London Iron and Steel Trades
Journal reports the formation of a
British steel trust with a capitaliza
tion of $375,000,000. Of course this
is a kind of pigmy alongside of our
own and only rblllion-dollar steel
trust, but there are great possibilities
ahead of it. The introduction of a
few Installments of water would dou
ble and treble the dimensions and in
cidentally increase the profits of the
promoters.
Notwithstanding Chamberlain's en
thusiastic Indorsement of Roosevelt's
policies it is significant that it was
Bryan and not Roosevelt who has
tened to congratulate Oregon's Gov
ernor on his having secured the high
est vote for United States Senator.
Bryan considers it a great Democratic
victory. We shall hear him say so
before the Presidential campaign has
progressed very far.
Mr. Taft, of course, Is merely listen
ing for the call of the people and Is
not concerning himself about the Na
tional convention; but he has a wicked
partner named Hitchcock who appears
to be attending to a few details that
might otherwise be overlooked. See
report of proceedings of National
committee.
The Portland Journal's "contempt
for the intelligence of the common
people who gave Ellis that stupen
dous majority," Is an object of re
mark. Tou see, the cqmmon people
are very intelligent when, they vote
your way; awfully stupid when they
do not.
Marion County gave a large major
ity against the constitutional amend
ment increasing the pay of legislators
from $3 to $10 a day. Did the people
up there forget that legislators spend
all they can afford on rooms and board
and other things while at the capital?
This and that Republican Legislat
or will not be rewarded with Federal
office, after electing Chamberlain,
but this and that Democratic Legis
lator will be "cared for," sure enough.
That may be an improvement, but
we shall all find out.
A correspondent at Toncalla asks
The Oregonian whether it knows
when work on the railroad from
Drain to Coos Bay will be resumed.
The Oregonian does not know that it
ever will be resumed.
Oregon Democrats, In their state
platform, failed to condemn erring
brethren who register as Republicans.
But perhaps that was an intended
omission.
California liquor men may boycott
Oregon products but will probably
not put the ban on Oregon money.
"Oregon," says the Clatskanle Chief,
"is neither a Republican nor a Demo
cratic state. What is it?" Both.
The world will be much improved
by the graduating essays and ora
tions, or ought to be.
TOM JOHNSON'S GREAT FAILURE
Ron- Ilia Three-Cent Fare Scheme Is
Working at Cleveland.
New Tork Commercial and Financial
Chronicle.
The difference between promise and
performance In the political world Is
well shown by what Is transpiring -at
the present time in the City of Cleve
land. For years Mayor Tom Johnson
of that city had been a great power In
political affairs. He was elected over
and over again, and seemed to be daily
Increasing in popularity. His sole cap
ital was his antagonism to local trac
tion interests. He was working to get
for the local residents lower fares and
kept Incessantly telling them how
much better oft they would be if only
the municipality could take over these
trolley lines and operate them in the
interests of the whole community, In
stead of their being operated for the
benefit of the stockholders, as repre
sented by private capital. He made
strenuous efforts to get possession of
these local lines with that end in view.
The owners fought determinedly
against having their property virtually
confiscated, but finally, when Mr. John
son last Autumn again triumphed at
the polls, and it seemed as If he might
remain enthroned indefinitely in the
Mayor's chair, they In effect threw up
the sponge. After much further par
leying with the owners, Mr. Johnson
at length accomplished his purpose and
acquired the linos on terms deemed ex
ceedingly favorable to the city, and the
reverse to the owners. Mr. Johnson
had attained his goal. The lines were
now "the people's." and 3-cent fares
were established.
If. at this Juncture, a merciful Provi
dence had removed Mr. Johnsoh from
the scene, he might have remained a
popular hero. But no such good luck
was In store for him. With the city
In possession of the trolley properties,
Mr. Johnson was called upon "to make
good." Troubles for him began almost
the moment the city took possession.
The public had been educated to expect
much. They were getting little. In
stead of the service being Improved, It
became worse. The traveling public
began to grumble, and intimations
came that they would prefer to pay the
old rate of fare and get decent service.
They were told to be patient; that the
people themselves now owned the trol
ley lines, and soon the benefits would
be apparent to everyone. Confronted
with the necessity of making both ends
meet, the new management also found
itself obliged to discontinue operating
non-paying lines. That made more
trouble. Then came difficulties with
the employes, who wanted more money,
and who went on a strike when the re
quest for Increased pay was refused,
thus paralyzing street-railway opera
tion. The Cleveland Finance says that
Mr. Johnson has not lived up to his
promises in any respect. Instead of
giving 3-cent fares, lie is giving 3, 6. 8
and 11-cent fares. Instead of universal
transfers, he has eliminated over 25
transfer points. Instead of more fre
quent service, the interval between the
cars has been lengthened, and Instead
of carrying out the contract made by
the Clev.eland Electric Street Railway
with its employes, he is discharging
the three-year men and hiring men at
much lower wages. Moreover, Finance
says that were he now a candidate for
Mayor, he would be defeated by 20,000
votes which seems quite likely.
There is a useful lesson in all this.
For years blatant demagogues all over
the United States have been criticising
street-railway management, and have
been telling the public how much bet
ter things would be when the public
came "into possession of its own." In
Cleveland, the experiment has been
made, and we see the result. It is one
thing to criticise the acts of others,
and quite another to be called upon to
do the same work better ourselves. The
experience of our Public Service Com
mission has been much the same. Great,
things had been expected of this new
body. Tney devoted themselves first of
all to the Brooklyn bridge "crush," but
the crush still remains unrelieved, ex
cept so far as the opening of the tunnel
to Brooklyn, as the outgrowth of pri
vate endeavor has reduced the pres
sure. Then they devoted themselves to
the trolley lines,' with the result that
practically all the surface lines in
Manhattan Borough and the Bronx
are In receivers' hands, and that
a large portion of the free trans
fer privileges previously enjoyed
by travelers has been cut off by
order of the courts the receivers hav.
lug notified the court that they could
not pay wages and buy supplies with
transfer checks. If these experiences
shall lead to the development of a more
tolerant spirit toward public-service
corporations managed by private enter,
prises, the harm and suffering entailed
through the assaults of recent years
Will not have been without compensat.
lng advantage.
No Fault With Taft'a Grant Speech.
New York World.
In Secretary Taft's Memorial day ad
dress on General Grant, regarded as a
whole and with an eye to its Intent,
there Is little ground for the criticism
voiced by some of its veteran hearers.
The speaker referred plainly to certain
weaknesses of Grant in his early man
hood, to his drinking, to his resignation
from the Army under a cloud in 1854,
and to his subsequent ill-success at
farming and in business. No honest es
timate of Grant's career can be made
without taking these things into con
sideration. In Secretary Taft's speech
they were used simply to emphasize an
eloquent tribute to Grant of later years,
to accent the wonders of self -rehabilitation
displayed when emergency and
duty had called the great soldier to the
front and had brought out his hitherto
latent powers.
Next Great Reform.
Irrigon Irrigator.
The East Oregonian, published by
a Democratic non-partisan Socialist,
registered as a Republican, says "the
next great reform, after nation-wide
prohibition, will be the removal of the
tax exemption from church property."
Why, certainly. Give us that "re
form" by all means. And the school
houses and other school property
should be taxed. And why exempt the
graveyards and tombstones? Sure, they
should be taxed. And our parks should
bear their share of the burden. And the
hospitals; they must not be exempt under
this "reform" wave.
As Samantha says, "when you're
glttln', git all you kin." So while the
"reform" spell Is on the Oregon voter
should go the whole hog.
The Coming- Topic
St. Louis Port-Dispatch.
We might as well begin right now
And memorize again
The Hat of presidential votes
In Arkansas and Maine,
And learn to trip them glibly ta
Our everyday debates.
For that's the coming toplo
In our United States.
W might as well get at it.
As we've often done before.
And learn If Indiana has
Eighteen or twenty-four.
For that's the great essential
That Immediately awaits
The art of conversation
-In our United States.
If Bryan lost New England,
Now York, and Idaho.
"Wnat others would ho have to get?
Is what we've got to know,
For that's the sort of thing to which,
All talking gravitates
"With proper provocation
In our own United States.
The fellowe who are posted
Are the men that win cigars
And drink their booze for nothing
At the few remaining bars.
For they've memorized the figures.
And they're loaded for debate
In a Persidentlal season
In oar own United State,