OCTOBER 25, 190S.
PORTLAND. OREGON.
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PORTLAND. SUNDAY. OCT. IS. !.
A BLOW TO BBYANISM.
Under the direction and leadership
of Tom Johnson, a great friend of the
people, and of course an Intense ad
mirer of Bryan, the City of Cleveland
has been led on and on, in the ten
dency of Its elapses towards "munici
palization of utilities."
Johnson is a half-baked Socialist
and in full accord with Bryan. His
notion was that the city was to take
over the streetcar lines and the man
agement of urban ' and inter-urban
passenger transportation. He won in
three or four consecutive elections.
Cleveland, under socialistic munici
palization, was to be a paradise. The
three-cent fare was enough. The
other two rents had been nothing but
robbery. So the city took possession.
At last the people had come into their
rights.
This beneficent system has. how
ever, been in operation in Cleveland
till the people of the city have tired
of It. They have had enough of it.
It has collapsed. The three-cent fare
and municipal administration an im
mense official force has to be main
tained out of the publie purse do not
supply revene enough, to meet the de
mands of the service. Hence the serv
ice is scanty and poor. There is general
dissatisfaction. In the final act, the
whole bustness is put up to the peo
ple of Cleveland, and they reject the
innovation. They want the service,
but the three-cent fare and the so
cialistic administration of the city do
not furnish it. The plebiscite is
called and the whole thing Is voted
down. The business again goes back
to the old system for efficiency and
relief.
Men of Judgment foresaw the col
lapse and endeavored to forestall it.
In the hope of doing so they induced
Theodore E. Burton, member of Con
gress from one of the Cleveland dis
tricts and chairman of the commit
tee on rivers and harbors, to stand as
a candidate for Mayor of the city. He
was defeated. The experiment had
not yet proceeded far enough. It has
by this time. and. Tom Johnson's labor
of years has come to naught.
Cleveland, after Chicago, Is the
largest city of the great region of the
great lakes. It has. outgrown Cincin
nati, once the supreme city of Ohio.
It has a population in excess of halt
a million. It Is a city Df labor and
of industry and of manufacturing
establishments. To its working peo
ple for years past Tom Johnson,
agitator and demagogue and hot air
artist, has been holding out won
drous hopes and elyslan dreams. The
people were to have cheap transpor
tation. They got it. . Yet when they
got it they found It was not efficient,
and they didn't want It. They have
rejected, therefore. Tom Johnson and
his works.
It Is one of the most significant
things of the present time. Johnson
is a great admirer of Bryan, and
Bryan Is a great admirer of Johnson.
Into the administration of the City
of Cleveland Johnson has projected
Bryan's Ideas. Hence the result of
the yote In Cleveland, the Judgment
of the people of Cleveland on these
questions and Issues. Is the severest
blow Bryan hiffc received, from the
beginning f his present contest till
now. Tills result, we believe, surely
Indicates that the State of Ohio will
reject Bryan and Bryanism repre
sented by Johnson by a great ma
jority. A lot of people try experi
ments, but when they have tried them
out they return to old experience and
to established Judgment. The vote
that repudiates the Johnson fiasco in
Cleveland Is solidly against Bryan,
and It assures Ohio for Taft. Trust
good sense in the long run to assert
Itself even though at times appar
ently overborne.
(iRAdOlS TtSK FOB WOMEX.
We are told that the trail of Lewis
find Clark through Montana is to be
marked at special points by suitable
monuments commemorative of that
wonderful journey. The first of these
monuments was unveiled at Living
ton, October 23. the spot chosen be
ing that w here Captain Clark pitched
his tent In the beautiful valley of the
Yellowstone on his return from the
Pacific Coast an hundred years and
more ago. The Montana chapter of,
the Daughters of the American Revo
lution have this work In charge, and
In due time a number of historic spots
In the great Treasure State will be
suitably marked for the edification of
the present generation and the en
lightenment of generations to come.
Women who have banded them
selves together in patriotic or memor
ial bodies have proved quite effective
In work of this kind. A striking ex
ample of this Is found In the collec
tion of relics of colonial times In the
old Van Courtland mansion, near
New York City. In charge of the "So
ciety of Colonial Dames." Number
less relics of the old burgomasters of
Manhattan Island, the contiguous Jer
sey shore. Siaten Island. Long Island
and the mainland of New York are
there exhibited, properly labeled. In
glass cases, and behind open doors
protected by Iron railings from the
too-close Inspection, with its probable
consequences of abstraction by the
throngs who visit the place during
the Summer months.
Infinite detail Is required In the ar
rangement and care of an exhibit of
this kind, which is not required In a
more robust exhibit out of doors, as
represented in monuments placed to
mark historic events or to perpetuate
great names. Hence the Daughters of
the Revolution, who have undertaken
to place monuments upon historical
spots In Montana, have a task set for
them that is much easier than that
undertaken by the Colonial Dames.
Against the commercial Idea which
ever seeks and courts the new is ar
rayed this veneration for the old: and
against the spirit that lives only in
the present and valiantly seeks to
make the most of It Is arrayed the
feeling, wistful or patriotic, that seeks
to commemorate the names and
honor the achievements of a past age.
Between these is the sentiment, hold
ing, as it were, the balance of power,
that finds expression in monuments
that mark historical places and be
stows care upon that which is worthy
of preservation In Its relation to In
dividual and National progress.
WHY TAKE ANY CHANCES?
The Oregonlan prints today a large
number of interviews with Portland
business men and manufacturers on
the industrial outlook If Bryan shall
be elected. Almost without exception
they express their apprehension and
anxiety over the consequences of
Democratic success. They do not pre
dict panic, nor indeed do they appear
to expect it; Just a suspension of all
but necessary activities until it shall
be learned what Bryan as President
will or can do, or until the country
has somehow, accustomed Itself to the
new scheme of things. Just now
everybody is "waiting till after elec
tion"; if Bryan wins, the commercial,
political and Industrial world will
doubtless "wait to see what Bryan will
do.". Of course the country cannot
go bn waiting forever; and- we shall
get along somehow, for we must. But
the waiting process, whether It is for
long or short, will not be pleasant or
profitable.
There is a lot of talk about "coer
cion" when an employer tel(s an em
ploye that there will be reduction of
wages if Bryan wins. If an employer
undertakes to tell an employe how to
vote, undoubtedly it is ceorcion. But
has or has not an employer the right
to adjust his business to conditions,
present or imminent, and to arrange
to reduce his expenses to meet them?
Has he a right to inform those largely
dependent on him what In his Judg
ment must happen in certain contin
gencies? Has he a right to assume
that his interest is theirs and theirs
his, in a large measure? Is he or is
he not doing his duty to himself and
to them if he silently awaits the ap
proach of disaster, certain or possible?
Has or has he not a right to appeal
to his employes to protect their inter
ests and his?
No one looks for disaster, of course,
if Bryan shall be elected; Just a little
slowing up, or a little more than a
little, perhaps. The country Is too
well off. No one expects disaster, of
course, If Taft shall be elected; Just a
little acceleration of our present pros
perity; or perhaps more than a little.
Why take any chances?
A HOLY SHOW.
If the publicity campaign contribu
tors and contributions is to advance
the cause of political morality, there
must be no deception about it. A
pretended publication which conceals
more than It xeveals. can only make
matters worse. Like every deception.
It will tend to destroy the belief of
the people that such a thing as po
litical honesty exists. Mr. Bryan has
made a great parade over the publi
cation of the names of those who
contributed to his National campaign
fund. He has said all he could to
convince the public that the list as
printed includes every sum contrib
uted except a few petty amounts not
worth mention. In fact, it does noth
ing of the kind.
But where does the trick come in?
It is not difficult to see where. There
are National campaign funds and
state and county funds and divers
other funds. When a contributor's
name would not be ornamental upon
the National list, which must be pub
lished, what more simple than to put
It on the state list, which Is not to
be published? Thus the names of
Indiana and Illinois 'brewers do not
figure on Mr. Bryan's virtuous printed
roll. Nevertheless, their money haa
figured largely in his campaign. What
became of it?' Only the confiding will
ask. It went Into "state" funds. Here
also would be found the real contri
butions of New York millionaires of
the shady class, like Flngey Conners,
who only gave $100 to the Bryan fund.
If we are to believe the Bryan publi
cation. The truth Is, of course, that
he must have given thousands, and
he Is not the only one by any means
who has been able to avoid undesir
able publicity In this way. So much
for the tremendous superiority of Mr.
Bryan's campaign ethics. The net
result of all his pomp and show will
be to make people smile cynically and
say, "It Is Just what we expected."
CARRIERS AM) I ARM! RS.
Among the questions which Mr.
Roosevelt's Commission On Country
Life propounds Is this: "Do the farm
ers in your neighborhood receive from
the railroads, highroads, trolley lines,
etc.t. the service they reasonably
should have?" The further In
quiries, "Why?" and "What sugges
tions have you to' make? are ap
pended to the main one. This ques
tion, with Its subdivisions, is the
fourth out of a list of ten which the
Commission has sent far and wide,
hoping to collect as many opinions as
possible from sources of all sorts.
The answer to the fourth question,
which has been selected for a word of
comment here, must be a general
negative. The railroads In this sec
tion of country emphatically pay
little attention to the convenience or
profit of their rural patrons. The
time schedules of trains are arranged
without the slightest reference to ac
commodating the farmers. For ex
ample, the train between Kalama end
Vancouver has been running for years
upon a purely theoretical scheme of
connection with trains on the main
line. To the service pf the people
who use the local train no attention
has been paid.
Nine persons out of ten along this
road would prefer that the train
should run to Vancouver In the morn
ing and return in the afternoon. On
the contrary, it goes to Kalama In
the morning and to Vancouver at
night, making things as inconvenient
as possible. Moreover, the time for
starting the train is made to depend
on the arrival of a through service
at Kalama, which is proverbially be
hind time. At Vancouver the train in
variably makes a stop not far from
the depot, which delays the passen
gers until the ferry has gone. This
causes an unnecessary delay of half
an hour waiting for the ferry, and.
when we add , another usual wait of
twenty minutes for the trolley on the
Portland side, .the utter indifference
of the management to the convenience
of the public will be apparent. Con
sider, also, the exasperating fact that
ticket agents at stations on the
Kalama and Vancouver 4Ine often
make an overcharge for fares unless
passengers protest vigorously. The
overcharge is slight to the individual
passenger, but to the company or the
agent, or whoever pockets it, the
total per month of these pickings Is
considerable.
The ills attendant upon traveling
from Kalama to Portland by way of
Vancouver will be mitigated, of
course, when the new bridges come
Into use, but it is still worth while to
mention them since they are typical
of the relations between the carriers
and the public. On the one side we
have contempt. Indifference and oc
casional swindling: on the other, re
sentment and a resolute determina
tion to get even when the chance ap
pears. CHECKS AND BALANCES.
It is an open question whether the
most serious hindrances to progress
come from good men or bad ones.
The opposition of bad men is usually
In the open and stands for what It Is.
Hence It can be overcome for the most
part without great difficulty. But the
hindrances which good men interpose
are of a more subtle character. Often
they are Indirect and obscure, and
not seldom they arise from the best
of motives. There are a great many
excellent citizens who, at some time
or other in their lives, have become
deeply interested In a reform meas
ure, like civil service examinations,
for example. Their intense zeal for
the new and desirable plan has taken
entire possession of them, and has
created in their minds the disastrous
hallucination that nothing else will
ever be necessary to bring perfection
In government.
These unhappy reformers present
cases of arrested development They
are like a hen sitting on a china egg.
There is no likelihood that it will
ever hatch, but still she perseveringly
sits, and will evermore continue to sit.
Her compeers in the yard may lay
multitudes of real eggs and from
them hatch lively broods, but all this
disturbeth not the serenity of the hen
peacefully Incubating her china egg.
For her it holds the germs of all
hope and upon its hatching hangs the
destiny of the universe.
Civil service examinations to de
termine the fitnesss of persons for
civic employment are a moderately
useful device. They are not nearly so
useful as many fanatics imagine and
they are exceedingly liable to doctrin
aire perversion. But upon the whole,
they probably do more good than
harm. Honestly conducted, they
partially eliminate the spoils system,
which Is well worth while; but if they
replace It with a system of crystallized
incompetence, the gain is not marked.
Your civil service devotee sees in his
fetish a panacea for all political ills.
He believes that if he can only get
a set of employes Into office who have
answered a certain list of questions,
all will go well forevermore In the
government of the country, or the
city, as the case may be. Of course,
this state of mind is comfortable to
the zealot. It affords him perennial
ground for admiring his civic virtue
without any future exertion. It ab
solves him from taking part in efforts
really to better things, because he can
always point to his panacea and say:
"If you would only introduce a little
more civil service reform, the troubles
would end."
Experience has shown, however,
that civil service reform does not by
any means end the troubles and it
may augment them. Thoughtful ob
servers are pretty well agreed that a
set of civil service rules which, makes
It unduly difficult to discharge in
competent employes does a great deal
more harm than good. The true
principle seems to be to make civic
employment hard to get and easy to
lose. Heads of departments cannot
Justly be held responsible for results,
unless they have full power to rid
themselves of Incompetent employes.
Of course, there is danger that the
authority to discharge may be abused,
but so may any other power. The
presumption is, and ought to be. that
It will not be abused. One 'of the
most curious phenomena in Ameri
can municipal life is our ingrained
distrust of men in office. Everybody
seems to reason on the assumption
that the moment a man goes Into of
fice he becomes a rascal, and w-ill do
all the harm he possibly can. The
assumption is natural enough, con
sidering what we have seen of city
management in this country; but for
all that. It Is false. The opinion is
defensible that even in America our
civic officials have been as upright
as the system we have commonly
adopted permitted them to be. By
our irrational plan of "checks and
balances" we have tied their hands
so securely that every beneficial im
pulse Is thwarted while harmful mo
tives play unrestrained. For it is the
notorious effect of "checks and bal
ances" to paralyze the good and foster
the bad. Good motives are frank and
somewhat timid. They will rather
perish than seek to elude restraint. On
the other hand evil Is sinuous, cun
ning? and persistent, and there is no
system of checks which will stifle it.
Experience in America snows con
clusively what may be expected of
checks and balances. We have al
ways resorted to them in framing our
city governments and our city gov
ernments -are the scandal of the
world.
Another hindrance to progress
which good men and not bad ones are
accountable for Is the chimerical
dread of "bad majorities." In pretty
nearly every American city the major
ity of the voters are at least as vir
tuous and Intelligent as the excellent
persons who call them "bad." There
Is in fact no such thing in the United
States as a bad majority. There are
mistaken majorities and some that
are misinformed and misled, but none
that are truly bad. Experience shows
clearly that the majority of the voters
In our cities and states is decidedly
upright. It can never be won by an
appeal to its lower impulses, and
can usually be won by an appeal to
what is right and sound. A vicious
system of checks and balances In city
government has so bafHled the good
impulses of the majority that it has
too often become discouraged, but
whenever it has the chance to right
wrongs and correct injustice it never
fails to do so.
The talk about "bad majorities" Is
the worst kind of cant. Still, in spite
of fact and reason, we are always
at work to guard against the hypothet
ical harm which bad majorities can
do. The sole fruit of these labors is
to kill the benefit which good major
ities might do. At the bottom of all
this, distrust of men in office and of
majorities is unbelief In American
principles. It is the outward ex
pression of an Inward hatred of de
mocracy and preference for aristo
cratic oligarchy. AVhat the modern
world has gained In light and sweet
ness has come through democracy,
and yet there are those who still cling
to the dire old fetish of the rule of
the few, and whenever they have a
chance they put their faith In practice
by maligning the majority and seek
ing to tie the hands of Its elected
servants. The only outcome of their
efforts is to hold the world yet a little
longer in subjection to the bedraggled
relics of hoary Iniquity.
OREGON'S FEMININE NAMES. I
Some days ago inquiry was made of
The Oregonlan by a student of the
Agricultural College at Corvallis
about the origin of the name of
Mary's River and of Mary's
Peak, near that place. These
names were given by Adam E.
Wimple, earliest actual settler there.
He was from Oneida- County, New
York; was a bachelor, and named the
town Marysvllle, for his sister Mary,
who never was in Oregon; and gave
her name also to Mary's River and to
Mary's Peak. He Bald, "I will make
my sister's name known forever."
But Marysvllle was a name so com
monly used that the Legislature at an
early time, while Oregon was still a
territory, changed the name to Cor
vallis. The territorial capital was
changed from Salem to that place, but
after much wrangling was soon taken
back to Salem. At the time when
the name of Marysvllle was changed
to Corvallis the name of Albany was
changed to Tekenah; but the name
failed to obtain approval and "Al
bany" was restored.
Feminine names are not abundant
in the geographical nomenclature of
Oregon; but another occurs at this
moment, whose origin Is worth re
mark. It Is that of the county named
Josephine. It was named for a young
girl, Josephine Rollins, daughter of
an early settler and gold miner there.
The county was ..created In January,
1856. Josephine Rollins had been at
heroine In the Indian troubles of the
country, and if we mistake not was
one of the victims of the savage war
fare. Several postofflces in the state have
feminine names, some of them from
pioneer women; others from old my
thology. It Is remembered that the
name Mehama, In Marion County,
was from Mehama Smith; that' of Al
bina, now incorporated with Portland,
from the wife or daughter of the late
W. W. Page. Anabel and Clarnie (the
latter made from the first syllable of
Clara and the last syllable of Jennie)
are suburbs of Portland.
It would be worth while, doubtless,
to explore this field further. A few
streets In Portland, and perhaps In
other towns of Oregon, bear fem
inine names, of local origin; but on
the whole our women have not been
honored as they should be. In our
geographical and local nomenclature.
The town of Florence, in Lane County,
was not named, we think, for a wo
man, but for A. B. Florence, mem
ber of the Senate from Lane, in the
first Legislature of the state.
LINE OF LEAST RESISTANCE.
Thirty-five miles of steel have been
laid on the new line that is to follow
the Snake River from Huntington to
Lewiston, and there is steel on hand
for an additional fifteen miles, which
will be laid as soon as the grade can
be prepared. The line already com
pleted will open up a very rich min
ing country which will undoubtedly
become a revenue producer for the
road as soon as it is turned over to
the operating department. One or two
new towns have come into existence
and, in a sn-rall way, there will be some
agricultural development. All of this
is interesting to Portland, for It is in
Portland territory; but it is not in
the mining traffic nor in the com
paratively insignificant amount of new
agricultural development that this
city will regard the new line with
more than ordinary interest.
This new road is the beginning of
a connecting link which will give
Portland a water-level rail route for
nearly 800 miles eastward. The com
pletion of the road between Lewiston
and Huntington, forming a connect
ing link between the O. R- & N.'s
Snake River line and. the Oregon
Short Line, means that for more than
one-third of the distance between
Portland and Chicago, and about one
fourth of the distance between Port
land and New York, a single locomo
tive can haul a greater tonnage than
can be moved with a corresponding
power by any other trans-continental
railroad in the United States. Mr.
Harriman has for years been spend
ing vast sums of money on the Union
Pacific, to which the Oregon Short
Line turns over the traffic which is
hauled out of the Portland territory.
Recently he has taken up the work
of straightening out the Portland end
of the line, and at this time Is over
hauling the road between Portland
and the Cascades at an expense which,
for many miles, Ig more than double
the original cost of the road.
With the elimination of all grades
and most of the curves along the
river, the line will not only stand with
out a rival for economical movement
of freight, but It will also be in a
position to maintain very fast pas
senger schedules. For the immediate
future, the new North Bank Road,
tapping, as it does, new and at many
points undeveloped regions, means
more to Portland than any Improve
ments In the trans-continental service.
The same is also true of the proposed
line to Central Oregon, to Coos Bay
and to Tillamook. But, looking ahead
and at the pace at which we are
now moving it Is not very far ahead
the time is coming when the prestige
of being the western terminus of
trans-continental lines using the
easiest grades from the Atlantic - to
the Pacific, will mean much to Port
land. The manufacturing centers of the
East are steadily shifting farther west,
and by the time the Panama Canal is
completed, there will be vast quanti
ties of Oriental-bound freight gener
ating so far inland that It can be
shipped west to the Pacific by rail
and steamer to better advantage than
via the Atlantic seaboard. This im
mense traffic will some day be in con
trol of Portland if we continue our
campaign for a thirty-foot channel to
the sea. The water-level grade is as
serting its advantages. If we center
all our efforts on opening the river
from Portland to the "sea, no other
port on the Pacific Coast can offer
the same advantages as a meeting
point for the railroad and the ocean
carrier.
BURYING AN IDIOT ALIVE.
Civilization, so it seems, is unable
to do anything better for an idiotic
Indian girl at Tacoma than to order
that an Iron cage three feet by six be
built for her, In her father's house,
and that she be kept confined therein.
The poorhouse authorities of Pierce
County would have none of her; the
insane asylum at Steilacoom refused
to open Its doors to her; the Govern
ment school at Canton, S. D., has not
seen Its way clear to provide for her,
and the distracted humane officer de
vised the cage as the best that could
be done for this wretched human ani
mal. ' Three feet by six the length and
depth of a grave are the dimensions
ordered for this creature's living sep
ulcher! Strange as It may seem. It is
true nevertheless that many so-called
humane and Christian people accept
this solution of a perplexing problem
as the "best that can be done" for this
poor creature. They would be horri
fied at the suggestion that painless
exit from the body by simple means
known to medical science Is the truly
humane solution of such a problem.
"Murder." cries a shocked and
thoughtless public sentiment. To
which, medical science, earnest and
humane, might well respond: "No, not
murder, but release." Murder lurks
about the cage, torturing its ultimate
victim by neglect, cold, hunger, foul
odors, sleepless nights and dull, sod
den days. Release through ciean and
painless means is at hand, but dare
not announce Its presence, so short
sighted is human sympathy, so blind Is
human law to the true spirit of hu
manity In such a case. The follow
ing beautiful lines of Helen Hunt
Jackson, though not quite applicable,
are suggestive in connection with a
case of hopeless idiocy and cruel
physical suffering.
If one had watched e prisoner many a. year.
Standing behind a barred window pane.
Fettered with heavy handcuff, And with.
chain, t
And gazing on the blue sky far end near;
And suddenly some morning ha should bear
The man had In the night contrived to gain
His free'lom and was safe would tbia bring
pain?
Ah, would It not to dul'eat heart appear good
tidings? '
THE SEVEN CANDIDATES.
The New York Independent haa
conceived the singular Idea of laying
before its readers the views of each
of the Presidential candidates upon
the merits of his party. The result
Is seven of the most Interesting politi
cal articles which have appeared in a
long time. Six candidates speak in
person and one by deputy. The can
didate of the Socialist Labor. party,
Mr. M. R. Preston, is prevented by
circumstances over which his control
Is slight from writing his own article,
so his proxy, August Gilhaus, supplies
his place. Mr. Preston is perhaps the
only man who has ever run for Presi
dent within the walls of a peniten
tiary, 'though possibly there have been
others w-ho would have done so If
everybody had his dues. The immured
Mr. Preston should not be confounded
with Mr. Debs, who represents a much
more numerous body of constituents,
and Is abundantly able to speak for
himself, as his article shows. Com
menting on the seven short discourses
The Independent says that they all
agree In an impulse toward the better
ment of National conditions. Not one
of them expresses much satisfaction
with things as they are. All look to
ward changes and the principal dif
ferences among them are of method
and degree rather than of substance.
The reader will search the articles
In vain for a defenso of any admitted
abuse. All confess that abuses are
numerous and all aspire to correct
them. Mr. Taft, as is natural for an
optimistic Republican, dwells a good
deal upon the prosperity of the coun
try, which he thinks is only tempor
arily Interrupted, and from this hope
ful opinion he draws his conception
of the principal issue of the campaign.
Shall the party which made all this
prosperity for us be continued In office
or not? He does not believe that the
tariff Is a substantial issue because
both parties have pledged themselves
to revision; while the question of
trusts and rebates is hardly an Issue
Hither, since both parties wish to cure
the evils though by different reme
dies. He condemns Mr. Bryan's idea
of putting all trust-controlled articles
on the free list for the reason that It
would destroy the small competitors
of the trusts. Possibly It may have
escaped Mr. Taft's observation that
many of these small competitors are
going to the wall pretty rapidly as it,
is. There is much doubt whether the
repeal of the tariff which strengthens
monopoly would accelerate their fate.
The real objection to Mr. Bryan's plan
is that it is impossible to separate
trust-controlled goods from others.
Concerning the tariff Mr. Taft speaks
with evident constraint. He is at his
best when treating other subjects. His
calm and lucid exposition of the in
junction problem Is the most admir
able section of his article.
To Mr. Bryan's mind the greatest
of the evils Is the control of the Gov
ernment by the representatives of the
corporations, who have usurped the
rightful power of the people. Three
principal means, he thinks, have con
tributed to their usurpation. The first
is the huge sums of money which they
advance to the Republican campaign
managers. The second is the indirect
election of Federal Senators. The
third Is the control of the. House of
Representatives by the petty Cannon
clique. For the campaign fund evil
he proposes the remedy of publicity.
This he claims is peculiarly Demo
cratic though Mr. Taft favors it quite
as strongly as he does. To eliminate
the corporation Senators he would
make them elective by direct vote of
the people. Whether this Is to be
brought about by amending the Con
stitution or simply by Ignoring It he
fails to specify. To get rid of the
Cannon clique In the House, Mr.
Bryan thinks it would be sufficient to
reform the rules in such a way that
the majority may rule. This solution
appears simple enough, but when one
remembers that Mr. Cannon has
wrought all his mischief under a set
of rules reformed for the express pur
pose of securing control by the ma
jority one is constrained to pause and
meditate. The real remedy for the
abuses in the House is probably to
elect members 'who have some Initi
ative and courage of their own. One
might safely venture the sally that
our beloved brethren, of the Methodist
persuasion are doing mors to abolish
Mr. Cannon and all his works than
I Mr. Bryan's reforms will ever do.
j Mr. Watson's article Is the liveliest
kind of reading and his shots at me
Supreme Court do not always miss
fire. Our Federal Judges are human
beings after all and humanum est to
grab power when it is within arm's
reach. Mr. Watson sees no virtue In
the courts and little anywhere else
outside the circumscribed volume of
his own brain. If he could only be
elected President, what a Jubilee of
righteousness there would be at
Washington for the next four years,
but alas! there is no hope for it. After
Taft and Bryan. It will probably be
conceded that the next most Impor
tant candidate Is Debs. The Inde
pendence party is but an evanescent
phenomenon. It represents a protest
mereiy and not a very sincere one at
that, while the Prohibitionist party Is
a real obstacle to the reform which it
unwisely advocates.
Still nobody can read Mr. Chafln's
article without according him a trib
ute of profound admiration for his
unmistakable sincerity and depth of
conviction. As for Mr. Debs, those
who only think of him as a wild agi
tator will read his article in The Inde
pendent with surprise. Very likely
there is no escape in the future from
a decisive reckoning between the
socialist theory of production and the
wage system. Those who wish to
read an enlightened treatment of the
Issue may find it in the last number
of The Outlook, where Dr. Lyman
Abbott In a signed editorial predicts
the speedy disappearance of what Mr.
Debs calls "wage slavery" and the
Introduction of what Dr. Abbott calls
"industrial democracy" In its place.
i In Oregon you must not ask a man
on election day how he Intends to
vote, of what he thinks about the
questions to be voted on, ' or try to
show him. In the way of friendly con
versation, what you think about mat
ters Involved In the election. If you
do you will fall under the ban of "the
corrupt practice act." But damn
humbug, and its propagators! Not
a Jury In Oregon would convict a man
for uttering-fair and honest speech
on election day. But URen might
be convicted by a jury, in any county,
for drawing up such an act. Let any
man who wants to make a fair argu
ment with his neighbor on election
day, do so. Or on any other day. Try
It on U'Ren, and let him essay to put
you in the penitentiary! Only no
doubt you would be unwilling to come
Into contact with U'Ren.
The great age of 104 years,
reached by John Garrison, who died a
few days ago at Tracyton,' Kitsap
County, Washington, represents a
length of years that few would care to
attain. Failing sight, dulled hearing,
halting memory, enfeebled body, the
inevitable accompaniments of so great
an age, reduce life to a state of mere
existence that It Is pitiful to contem
plate, and but for the mercifully
dulled perceptions, would be grievous
to bear. Nature is not given to mis
takes. She refuses to indorse the Os
ier idea of suspended usefulness and
capacity for enjoyment at the age of
three-score, but she very seldom, rel
atively speaking, drags a human be
ing along to a point where little else
than life survives and holds him there
in sheer helplessness, wistfully await
ing her final decree.
The provision of law that compels
a street railway company to pave be
tween Its rails with Belgian blocks
should appeal to friends of the horse.
As a city grows its area of hard,
smooth pavement Is extended and
these are, naturally, the streets that
attract traffic. In moist or wet
weather animals, no matter how shod,
cannot get a foothold. One has but
to watch the heavy draft horses edge
toward the middle of the street to be
come convinced; and the hearty pull
In the traces by the animals when
they reach It attests their satisfaction.
Traction companies, of course, are not
humane societies, yet they are un
der obligation to. man and beast for
all make the city and its business.
" There is a. chance for some enter
prising town to become very well
known by securing the next meeting
of the Oregon Dairymen's Association,
to be held in December. The presence
at a two-day session of 400 or 500
people who are accustomed to buying
at the rate of $200 or J300 a head is
a factor to balance the expense ac
count and the consequent advertising
the place receives can go into the
profit column.
, All newspaper men, all obesrvers,
agree that the election is in three
states, New York, Indiana and Ohio.
To these states the campaign has nar
rowed. Bryan seems to have a chance
In Indiana, but scarcely a chance In
New York or In Ohio. As to Ohio,
The Oregonlan believes Taft is as sure
to carry it as any state in the Union.
Pretended publication of the Bryan
campaign fund, in advance of the elec
tion, as the New York Sun shows, Is
humbug of the cheapest kind. Pub
lication down to this time, and se
crecy as to everything during the last
days before the election. Is "a trick so
vulgarly transparent as to nauseate
the looker-on."
To tell voters that you don't know
whether you will be able to continue
your business after election Is no
coercion of voters. Perhaps they may
not want you to continue your busi
ness. Perhaps discontinuance of your
business is Just one of the things they
want.
Now just suppose that Illinois had
really been in earnest and had suc
ceeeded In getting Uncle Joe Cannon
nominated for President at Chicago.
It must make Illinois shudder when
ever it dreams over what might have
happened.
Now it is reported that there is dan
ger that Oklahoma may go for Taft,
But perhaps "danger" isn't the right
word. It depends on how you feel
about it.
Mayor Lane is employing secret In
spectors to watch contractors. Had
he done this before, with other per
sons, he might have avoided a lot of
trouble.
The nonpartisan party in Oregon
has gone back to the Democratic
party. But nobody . sftOuld be sur
prised. As signs multiply that Bryan will
be. defeated, it becomes plainer that
he is the advance agent of prosperity.
HAS HAD ENOUGH OF IT.
That la, of the Craay and Abomlnabl
Innovation.
Weston Leader, Dem.
An offspring of Populism, the Si
amese twin-child. Initiative and Ref
erendum, was foster-fathered and cud
dled by both old parties In Oregon. It
was and is yet by many regarded as
sound political gospel; a most Illumin
ating satellite of the bright Star of
Progress, i The Leader embraced It
albe.lt with some mlsglvlmrs. Tt had
been Indorsed by the Republicans,
which Is enough of itself to condemn
any measure: but had also been In
dorsed by the Democrats, who are the
wisest things going In politics this side
of Mars. We thought our beloved
party knew; and so we became an In
ltlatlvellte and a Referendumpist.
But It's been a sorry dose so far
a panacea for political ills that gives
us both pain and pause. We are not
sure but we'd rather have the Ills. The
general appropriation bill was held up
and the Weston Normal put ouiof busi
ness until at the succeeding election
the good sense of the commonwealth
could come to the rescue of Its Institu
tions which it did beautifully by
downing the referendum crowd about
four to one. Next the University of
Oregon was hammered, and had to be
rescued from the knockers. Other minor
things were done under the referen
dum, but these will suffice to "point a
moral and adorn a tale."
But the Initiative twin had not been
idle either, and under his mischievous
Influence we have a number of freak
laws or will have when the Legisla
ture meets and the mandate of the
people is obeyed. That known as the
"corrupt practices law" deserves the
highest bench at the side show as the
wlerdest freak of them all. It Is a
blow at free speech and Indirectly at
the 'freedom of the press to "prohibit
attempts on election day to persuade
any voter to vote for or against any
candidate or any measure submitted
to the people." If It's wrong to dis
cuss a measure or a candidate on elec
tion day It's wrong at any other time.
The law is absurd and cannot be en
forced. It is useless except to furnish
an object lesson of stupidity. The
Leader opposed It, declaring that the
people were trying to make tyrants of
themselves and would become their
own slaves. The editor personally
worked against It at the polls, an ac
tion -for which he wojld be liable to
arrest had the law been in effect. No
use. It carried Weston by about two
to one and the state by a big vote. The
people had spoken.
The Leader may be recalcitrant and
a traitor to the cause of reform, but It
now wishes to say that It considers the
Initiative and Referendum most in need
of reforming or else of the "hook." It
hag occupied the stage sufficiently long
in Its present guise. We don't care
if It has been Indorsed by the Demo
crats of the Angel Gabriel, we do
longer regard It as a "thing of beauty
and a Joy forever." We are willing
that It's nondescrlt remains may be
given a belated burial with the Populist
party.
HARRIMA, "GENERAL PROVIDER"
Does the Trail of His Immense Sams
Lead to 26 Broadway f
New York Journal of Commerce.
Apparently Mr. Harriman Is becom
ing a sort of "general provider" for em
barrassed corporations. The roll of
cripples to whom he has supplied
crutches was Increased yesterday, re
port said, by the addition of Westing
house. The story goes that Mr. Harri
man has Joined the National City Bank
in supplying the funds necessary to
pacify malcontents, and that he will
give the company'an enormous amount
of new business in connection with the
electrification of the Erie and other
wise. Is the fanciful picture drawn
some time ago of Mr. Harriman per
emptorily commandeering various In
dustrial corporations as adjuncts to
his railroad empire going to be repro
duced in realty? Some people wonder
where Mr. Harriman obtains the mill
ions upon millions necessary to reha
bilitate railroad after railroad without
being reimbursed. Were he to re-enter
politics, perhaps an enemy would think
it worth while to steal more of his cor
respondence, not with the White House,
but with No.' 26 Broadway. Then the
public might be enlightened.
The Morality of It.
Kansas City Journal.
What moral right had the Bryan
managers to oust Haskell from his of
ficial position and at the same time
take money from such men as Roger
Sullivan, "Fingy" Conners, Tom Tag
gart, - Boss Murphy, Perry Belmont,
Moses Wetmore and other malefactors
of considerable wealth? Why should
Bryan condemn the Republicans for
accepting help from Andrew Carnegie
when he himself Is benefitting- from
the money contributed to his campaign
by Senator W. A. Clark, the Montana
multi-millionaire? Is not the con
tribution of a wealthy business man
to the Republican campaign fund off
set by the contribution of that sterling
patriot and friend of the people, Rich
ard Croker, erstwhile Tammany chief,
who grew rich at the expense of the
taxpayers of New York? Tammany
is and has been for years the most
corrupt political organization the
world has ever known; it has stolen
millions upon millions from the people
of New York In grafts of colossal
magnitude and brazen character. Yet
it is this money that Bryan has ac
cepted In his virtuous race in behalf
of the dear people. Mr. Bryan holds
up his hands in horror when somebody
suggests that "tainted money" is be
ing contributed to the Taft fund, but
when money comes his, way he smiles
blandly and asks no questions.
The Upper Room.
Mary Roberts Rinehart.
In my house of life Is an Upper Room.
A small ana " . ,
And there I dreamed In the mist-gray gloom
And I looked my -soul in the face.
('O Upper Keom with your dreams where I
Let my friends, unwept, so passing by!")
Once Love tried the door, and child's voice
came
I - heard it through my prayers
But the door was barred when the child
called my name.
And the steps went down the stairs.
("And yesterday at the door I found
A toy and a rose trampled on the ground.")
And -my prayers were heard, for with toll
my house
Has grown, tho' empty, great;
And from my Upper Room I see
Crowds gathered around my. gate.
("From my Upper Room with its dreams
where I
Let the loveless years go passing by.")
I have fought my fight. Hark, they brlns
the prize
I have won; I have won the race!
But sit and I dare not lift my eyes
To look my sou! in the face.
("For yesterday at the door I found
A toy and a rose trampled on the ground.")