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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 1908)
TITE SUNDAY OREGONI AX. PORTLAND, NOVEMBER 2I, . imvo. $1$ (Dnejpoman rORTUND. OREGON. Entered t Portland. Oregon. Posutflce as Fecond-Claas Matter. r-obM-iipttoa Umtn Invariably l Adsanc. (By Mall Tal!v. Funday include, on year. Iiallv. Sunday Included. six months... Dally. Funday Included. three roontns. Ially. Sunday Included, one month... lislly. without Sunday, one year. ..- .J....,,.- month... 18 0 4.2J 6 i.KI j "any. wiuiuui run . . . . - f..v- VirM months. . I J 'any. minnm oun-i.-. i t i. ii.. . . . i . t a . . nna month. .... "J l..V Weekly. on year Fundav. one year Sunday and Weekly, one year ... (By Carrier..) c- a i .- -1 . . ii one year 2 DU 3.30 9 00 . taily. Sunday tncluded. one month.... How la Remit Send postortice money order express order or personal cue. rV.! i Zl? hanlc. Framps. ruin or currency are at the sender's rlk. Give postoffioe ad dress In full. Including county and atat. .--. RsIm lo to 14 tw'l 1 rent; Ifl to :. ndii. 2 cents. 30 to 4 pare... 3 cents 4 to 6" pages, 4 cent double ratea. Foreign postage Keslera Rnhm OflTlre The 6. C. Eerk wtth (-iwial Agency New York. rooms 4V Kn Trihune building. Chicago, rooma 410-w Tribune building. l-ORTLANO. SUNDAY. NOV. S9 1908 DEPENDENCE OS GOVEBN JtENT". The hearings before the Tariff Com mittee are more or less a rarer mora ,,.H..r than lexs. It is certain that the people of the United States mean .,ih.. the riolicv of protection. Hence they -vho are most active and .-Uil.nt -ill ent most Ollt OI It. It is the same in all the business of human life. "Mens agitat molem. ai thov mv at the University of Oregon But "the other fellow" has a chance the fellow who can rick flaws In he avstem. anil in the argument that Kiinnortx H. He contends, however, .n academic basis. Yet his argu- nient Is necessary, even if it doesn't ii. ihrA must be a stop, or jITaii. i". hi' " ' .Kd..L- cimAnhiTf. It Is. certainly, no proper part of the. business of government io nv man or any set of men to make Rut this idea, that govern ment'must help, has become part of the American system. It is Socialism though many may not know it. The Question is. Where Is the halt. or check, to come? All the time great numbers are demanding that society, through government as lis n cvrnii Ho more and more. It nm.st suDDort higher education and push it. build bridges and highways to equalize the values or property, supplv water and light and heat, and maintain employment bureaus and libraries and resorts and places for comfort and amusement of those who don't want to work or who find work irksome. The policy of protective tariff is in this line of dependence on govern ment the same in principle, but dif fering in detail. What is the proper function of government? To protect and coddle and enrish some at the ex pense of the whole? That certainly is the drift of It oil. BY BREAD ALONE. That prolific author. H. G. Wells, has published another hook. New Worlds for Old." In which he reUrns with xest Insatiate to the discussion of social problems. Among other things he recalls Karl Man' famous proph ecy that modern Industry would finally develop a class of workmen entirely propertyless who would have nothing to lose by revolution "but their chains" and possibly a "world to gain" by it. How dangerous such a body of men might be to : ociety one need not specify. No sane person would think of denying that a clvill yajon in which every person has a substantial property stake is incom parably more stable than one which includes a poverty-stricken proleta riat. It does not require much prop erty to make a man a fritnd to law nnd order, but it requires some, or at least the prospect of some. Granting this, one -would predict, would he not. that all our captains of Industry, our financiers, our million aires, our corporatioi. magnates, would bond their energies in season and out to encourage thrift among the masses? We naturally expect to see them toiling with frenzied zeal to put bank deposits beyond all peril, to provide Impregnably secure ways to Invest small savings, to make life and accident Insurance as cheap as pos sible and to discourage all efforts to deceive and rob the small capitalist and the wage earner. This is what we should see if our great property owners were men of reasonable fore thought, because such measures are the best and cheapest defense for their own possessions. But what do we actually see? Mr. Wells remarks that the men of millions seem almost to be In league, not to make small property secure, but to devour It. Of course he does not Intimate that they have formed a definite conspiracy; he means that the financial system acts as if they had diftie so. If this is true it In volves a terrible danger to society. In the long run people will not save un less they can invest their savings safely and the decay of thrift means evidently the evolution of a property less proletariat. Ix-t us face a few of the facts. It is well krown. for ex ample, that about 35 per cent of all those who start small stores lose their investments. We may explain this to suit ourselves. We may say these men are Incompetent, ignorant, foolhardy, nd very likely many of them are; but the significant fact remains that here is a stream flowing In steady volume Into the ocean of poverty. Is there nny way to chock It? Compared with the whole number of banks in the country there are few which fail. Still the absolute number of faiiejres is pretty large and they affect depositors by the hundred thousand. Sometimes they lose part of their savins, sometimes all. In either case th.ir thrift is discouraged and they are taught the poisonous les ion of distrust and hatred toward the government which professes to pro tect progeny i.no et permits the man of humble means to be ruthlessly de spoiled. Is not the air full of shady projects big "i:h faLse promise and aimed directly at the thrift of the Small capitalist? The government which complao ntly allows such an industry to Mourish is committing slow suicide, though perhaps it is not so very slow i:her. Think of the measureless fatuity of the million aires who oppose postal savings banks. Whom I he gods w ould destroy they lirst make mad. The tariff buccaneers ere kindling conflagrations to con sume tneir own spoil. Mr. Wells points out how easily a change in the price of securities may sweep away the property of the poor. The price of Knglish consols illus trates his remark. These are sup posed to be the most secure Invest ment III tlio world. Before the Boer War broke out they stood at 114 and verjhody was urged to buy them. Multitudes of little capitalists did buy them, investing their all. During the war they dropped to 86. a fall of 2 8 per cent, which annihilated a full quarter of the savings of a great mul titude of people. Other securities, even the most stable, fluctuate still more violently. It is nobody's fault, perhaps it cannot be prevented. But what is the use of preaching thrift to the humble under a financial sys tem which seems framed to sweep away the fruits i f their thrift? Idealistic doctrinaires try to min imize the importance of this economic problem. They tell us to point out the heavenward wav to the poor and as sure them that if they are patient under their wrongs they will go when they die to a world where banks do not fail and stocks do not fluctuate. The secret of the paralysis of the chuches is their insistent preaching of this transm lindane gospel which falls like hitter irony upon the ears of the multitude. A single one of Mr. Roose velt's homilies, which call for clear justice here on earth, is worth mil lions of such empty preachments. We cannot lie by bread alone, but we must have bread before we can live the life that transcends the material and touches the spiritual. Give a man economic safety and Independence and you have taken the longest neces sary step toward making him a good citizen and a true Christian. THE BEST I.EOISI.ATIRE. There will be another session oi the Legislature in January. There Is no need of one, because it will not do any of the things and the only things that the legislature ought to do. to x-lt reneal of manv of the laws enacted during recent years. Nobody can name or indicate a sin gle new measure that ought to be passed, or that there is any real de mand for. that has the least chance of enactment. There will be jobs of all kinds and Irrational and foolish propositions of all kinds; but nothing that would be beneficial to the state. It is an old saying that "the world Is governed too much." Never was it illustrated more clearly or fully than in Oregon. The best Legislature this state has had in recent times was the one that refused to organize, quit, and went home. But perhaps there will be no imitation soon of this example. Perhaps patriotism is on the decline. THE r,AI.K)W9 XEEDED. Isn't it getting time to hang some body In Oregon, and somebody right here In Portland some one of the numerous murderers? It is, it is, in deed. Yesterdav's murder was one of pe culiar malignity and atrocity. Is hu man life worth anything, when It en counters such a condition as mat which led up to this most abhorrent murder? There must be punishment for acts of this kind. Leniency has pone be yond the just limit. Tt steadily en courages deeds of this description. There is no sufficient fear ot tne penalty of the law. Without delay, this very ween, in the criminal court this murderer should be put on his trial, and after the trial the shrift should be reason- bly short. Of course, there will be the defense of irresponsibility probably through alcoholism. But alcoholism is no ex cuse. It is itself an offense. It is high time juries should teach that men can't use liquor for stimulation to murder, and escape the penalty. Of fensive a spectacle as the gallows is, this community needs It still, and so does many another. THE FARMHAND AND HIS WAGES. There are many indications, says the St. Paul Pioneer Press, that the last barrier that has hindered the bright and capable man be he col lege graduate or not from engaging in agricultural pursuits, is crumbling before the light of science and reason. That barrier is the low rate of wages that custom and tradition have pre scribed for farm hands. This may be true, but behind this custom there was a real and vita! cause. The low price of agricultural products in many past years made it impossible for the farmer to pay his hired man a craftsman s wages ana have anything left for himself and family to live on from harvest to har vest, to say nothing of taxes and farm betterments. Behind this still was an other reason a limited market; ana yet farther back was poor tillage and the Inability ot tho hired man and, in deed, of the farmer himself, to im prove it and so increase the yield. A Job in a department store, con tinues the journal quoted, "or In a wholesale house or bank, demanding an equivalent amount of energy and ability to that of a ranch foreman carries a salary of from $.'00 to Jau month. Why the supremely able griculturist should be rated lower than these, it would be exceedingly difficult to explain; also why the less brilliant man worth J 1000 to $2000 In city callings could not command half as much on the farm." The explanation is not at ail diffi cult. Briefly stated, such wages In rural industries in which board and housing are always included, would be simply to run the farm for the benefit of the hired help. When farming all along the line reaches the status of a science; when all crops yield well, and there is a clamorous market waiting eagerly to absorb all that is produced at prices that will pay for the cost of production (includ ing a city employe s income for the hired man), then perhaps the farmer, if taxes are not too high, can afford to pay the salaries demanded as the farm hand's Just due. and by apply ing strict economy to personal and family expenses, have a small surplus for himself. That new methods which the recent farmers' demonstration train repre sented are shortly to supersede the wasteful methods so long in vogue is certain. That a new era in agricul ture will follow this change there can be no doubt. A widening market will give impetus to the new order of things. In fact, without an ample market, all this effort would be futile, in a financial sense. The wages of farm hands, based upon their intel ligence and capability, in applying the new methods to farming will un doubtedly rise. But it will" be some time before the small farmer can af ford to pay more than $40 a month and "found" to the man who works beside him in field, orchard and gar den throughout the year. Besides, there are fevr men in the cities in any Held of labor who earn better pay; if raid more they have to spend more to live. If. to quote the Pioneer Press, "the graduate of one of our farm schools shows that he can take the farm whose owner, with cheap help, clears only a beggarly $700 or J 1 000 a year, and make it net from two to five times as much; if he doubles or more than doubles his employer's in come the latter has. or ought to have, enough sense to see that this student farmer is worth double or more than double the wages he paid before. The voung man who can extract from $2000 to J6000 a year out of a small farm Is going to inaugurate Is today Inaugurating an era when brains will be as fully recognized on the farm as in any city employment. He will not only earn as good pay, but he will demonstrate that he can get in finitely more out of life." This is the roseate view; the one with which we are all familiar is not so highly colored and. indeed, it need not be to make farming an attractive and profitable vocation to the young man who uses his brains in conjunc tlon with his hands in plyingthls old est of vocations. THE GREAT MR. GOMPEKS. Mr. Gompers says he will pay no fine, but will go to jail if he is. de ciared guilty by the Supreme Court of violating the order or injunction re straining him from pushing, by speech and publication, his boycott policy. Nor will he allow- others to pay his fine. He will go to jail. This is mock heroic. In tragedy it is called King Cambyses' vein. The Denver platform demanded trial by jury in such cases. But peo pie laughed. Never was the order of a court subject to trial by jury. Bryan said contempt of court could raise no question of vital concern to business men "because every man has a right to-trial by jury." If that is so the courts of the country have always been densely ignorant; -for the. Su preme Court itself has declared and held that the power to make an order, and the equal power to punish dis obedience of that order, including in quiring into the question of disobe dience, "have been from time imme morial the special function of the court." Further: "To submit the question of disobedience to another tribunal, be It jury or another court, would operate to deprive the proceed ing of Its efficiency." Again, "If it has ever been nnderstood that pro ceedings according to the common law for contempt of court have been subject to the right of trial by .lury, we have been unable to find any in stance of it." Therefore, in spite of all the stout protests and defiant declarations of Mr. Gompers, if he shall be adjudged guilty and contumacious, on the final appeal, he should prepare to accept the penalty. It will probably be a fine, but he can go to jail If he likes. rORTUASD'S POSITION STRENGTHENED The North Bank Railroad has in augurated its regular train service to Spokane, and with connections at that city it is possible for Portland travelers to go Kast over a new route. With the completion of the new line so that trains can reach Spokane over its own tracks, it is announced that a through fast service to the East will be started. This will mean, for a large amount of the travel over the Hill lines, an abandonment of the roundabout route to Puget Sound and thence over the Cascade Mountains. The Columbia River route not only offers a much shorter mileage than that by way of Puget Sound, but the absence of grades and curves will re sult in an enormous saving in the op erating expenses alone. It was reali zation of the fact that his most pow erful competitor in the railroad busi ness was enjoying a tremendous ad vantage in mileage and operating ex penses that first induced Mr. Hill to build the North Baiic road. Having at a very heavy expenditure secured a short route of easy grades Into Port land, it is but natural that all com petitive business will be routed over it. At the present time it is a physical impossibility for the Northern Paciflc,- wlth Its wide .detour by way of Puget Sound, to land passengers in Chicago and beyond in the same time that was made by the Harriman luies. To this handicap of distance was added the enormous expense of bucking big trains of heavy Pullmans over the lofty Cascade Mountains. The aban donment of that route with all busi ness that can be diverted to the water- level line down the Columbia River will not be made for any sentimental reasons or to favor Portland at the expense of the Puget Sound cities. It is a cold, hard business proposition, in which the diversion of. the passenger traffic is being made for the same rea son that the wheat of Eastern Wash ington and Idaho will be diverted from the present expensive route over the mountains. It is this somewhat belated recognition of the economic waste attendant on a continued at tempt to set aside the laws of Nature that has brought sir. Hill and his great railway systems into Portland. Now that he is at last through the Cascade Mountains on even terms with Mr. Harriman, the advantage gained will undoubtedly be pushed to the limit and Portland will be the gainer by the change. Occasional comment appears in Washington newspapers to the effect that the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul and the North Coast Railroad will make their Pacific Coast termi nals on Puget Sound, and will not en ter Portland. As the natural advan tages of location, the enormous traffic originating here and the Im possibility of securing much of it without a direct line into Portland eventually forced Mr. Hill to build to this city, it is hardly probable that any of the new roads will make the mistake of not coming here. With two big systems like the Hill and Har riman roads making this city their North Pacific terminals, this city can get along very well without patroniz ing any road that will not build here. ONE ABSURD EtAI. KULE. A well-established rule of law. which is of very doubtful wisdom, declares that if a defendant in a criminal case does not take the wit ness stand in his own behalf that fact shall not be considered against him. The rule conflicts with the teachings of human experience, and Is therefore but little regarded by Jurors. even though particularly called to their attention in every case to which it is applicable. A man accused of crime is very properly pre sumed to be innocent, and every in telligent jury is willing to give the accused man the benefit of this pre sumption. The mere tiling of a charge against him should not put upon him any burden of proof. But when a trial has been had and the prosecu tion has introduced evidence connect ing the defendant with the crime evidence sufficient to be submitted to the ' Jury the circumstances have changed. When the state has made out a prima facie case against an ac cused person, every reasonable man knows that, if the defendant does not ta-ke the witness stand In his own be half, it is because he knows his tes timony would tend to substantiate the charge against him. No honest man need fear to go upon the witness stand and testify as to his actions at any particular time when he is charged with having done wrong and the charge has been fairly well proven. If he does not pursue such a course, he cannot reasonably complain if a presumption be raised that his testimony would be against him. This presumption is, in fact, raised under such circumstances. When a man is placed on trial for theft and evidence has been Intro duced showing that the stolen prop erty was found in the defendant's possession, if he does not attempt to explain how he got the property his failure in this respect creates an im pression that he could not satisfac torily give an account of his posses sion of the stolen articles. It is ab surd to tell a jury or anyone else that the silence of the man against whom the case has been thus far proven shall not be considered against him. Not to give weight to his re fusal to teRtlfy for himself would be to do violence to ordinary common sense. An honest man may very properly keep silent when there is nothing against him but a mere charge of wrong-doing. No man Is called upon to prove his innocence of a charge. But when the prosecution has added proof to its charge, silence is no longer consistent with inno cence. Any rule of law which de clares otherwise is a mere fiction. But in fictions the law takes delight. COUNTY UNIT SCHOOL PLAN. The county unit plan of public school management, as proposed by Super intendent of Public Instruction J. H. Ackerman, has much reason in its favor and yet it is not likely that pub lic sentiment will immediately ap prove it. Under the present system, each county is divided into a large number of districts, each governed by a board of directors composed of three citizens chosen by the people of the district. As a rule there is but one school in each district, except in the large cities where there may be three or four. In Portland there are con siderably more than that number. Throughout the greater part of the settled portion of the state these is a school every three or four miles, with a separate board to manage the fin ancial affairs, employ teachers and direct local educational policies. This is the system prevailing in practic ally all of the states. It is a plan of management in harmony with the al ways popular idea of local self-government. The' county unit plan proposes that the large city districts continue as at present, but that all the other schools of a county be placed under the con trol of one county board which would have the same powers over all the schools that the city board exercises over the numerous city schools. The theory Is that one board could man age fifty" schools with better results than fifty boands can manage them. In some respects they undoubtedly could. It must be admitted that the average school board in a rural dis trict knows very little about the quali fications of teachers. They have no opportunity to learn of the success or failure of any teachers other than those employed by them or by ad Joining districts. Since teachers are continually shifting, it is not surpris ing if incompetent teachers remain long in the public service under the present system. There is no oppor tunity to weed them out, for if dropped by one district they can easily secure employment in another district in the same county. Under the county unit system, the board of directors would soon learn which teachers are Incompetent and wrould not re-elect them. The county tfnit plan would quite likely save many a school from the disastrous consequences of neighbor hood rows. There is no other one subject of controversy which so fre quently divides a rural community into factions as does the management of the local school. Election of di rectors, choice of teachers, and nu merous other matters of school con trol, furnish the basis for quarrels that extend throughout a neighbor hood and continue for years. Under a system of county control these dif ferences would be as rare as they are In a city, where there is central rather than local authority. A system of county management would enable the board to assign teachers to districts where they can do the best work. Those of most ex perience could be sent to the schools most difficult to handle. A system of promotion couid be established under which every teacher would be as sured of retention in the public school service as long as he or she "made good" with promotion to better schools and higher salaries whenever opportunity and merit permitted. Such a system would undoubtedly in duce teachers to remain longer in school work. Quite likely, too, there would be a material saving in the purchase of supplies, for a central board would avoid many of the un wise purchases which country boards are induced to make. Lower prices could be obtained by a board making large purchases. But opposed to the county unit plan is the great American principle of local self-government. We have come to consider a public school a matter for local control. Just as we have the local affairs of a city. We may be wrong in both particulars, but people will be slow to admit it. There is no likelihood that the" legislature iwill soon adopt a county unit plan of man aging the public schools, and yet It Is well that the subject has been pre sented for consideration. It is a good subject for granges and local debating societies to discuss, and if the pro posed plan is the best, the people will eventually come to that conclusion. If the new plan should eventually be adopted Superintendent Ackerman will have the satisfaction of adding one more improvement to the public school system. Among the many conflicting opin ions in regard to incorrigible children one thing stands out clear and indis putable: parents who cannot devise ways and means whereby they can control a son of eleven years, to the extent at least of keeping him at home at night, committed a crime against the child and against nature and society when they assumed the duties and responsibilities of parent age. Think of a wretched little urchin of that tender age standing discon solate in the rain, on the street at night, having lived up to his home training, or lack of it, by running away from the home of the Boys' and Girls' Aid Society and his parents being notified of his pitiable plight refusing to take him in! Truly there are crimes against humanity that are not catalogued in the code. Chief of these is irresponsible parent age. Delinquent children follow in its train, a menace to society, a tax upon thrift and a burden upon char ity. Uow a man can hold up his head and tell his name in a community who has refused to give shelter from the storm to- his eleven-year-old son on the plea that the boy is Incorrigi ble, or, indeed, upon any other plea, passes the comprehension of decent, self-respecting people. MENTAL HEALING. Professor Dickinson S. Miller, of Columbia University, New York, has written a letter to the Times on mental healing. Professor Miller believes in the reality of mental healing. and bids the cause godspeed. Moreover, he does the cause a substantial service by remark ing that the cures are effected by physical energy set free in the brain. The distinction between physical afld mental energy is one of those baseless illusions which persist in the world in spite of fact and reason, and this par ticular one has done a great deal of harm. The only possible criticism upon Professor Miller's instructive and urbane letter relates to the opin ion it expresses that mental healing is effected through suggestion. The htruth seems to be quite the opposite of this. The healing is done, not by suggestion, but by the solution of some suggestion already existing. In other words, those diseases which yield to mental therapy are themselves modes of suggestion, and what is really accomplished in order to cure them is to break the spell which the mind Is held under. The philosopher Max Stlrner would call such diseases "spooks." The cure consists in annihilating the spook and setting the mind free fronr- its pre possession. Mental therapy is not the imposition of new chains upon the mind, but the breaking; of old ones. This distinction Is important, although it is not well understood even among mental healers them selves. So far as one can discern, the Christian Scientists seem to be the only large body of mental practitioners at present who thoroughly grasp the truth that in extirpating disease t,ney are performing an act of emancipa tion instead of subjecting the individ ual to further domination. This view of the case is not only more whole some than the "suggestion" theory, but it is much nearer the truth. IF SHEEP, WHY NOT FRUIT? We are told that the sheep indus try of the state has suffered the loss of a million dollars during th,e year through depredations of the coyote. If this is true, then are the flockmas ters the most pareless and wasteful of all captains of industry. They are willing, however, according to a Pen dleton correspondent of The Orego nian, to pay half of an assessed bounty of $1.50 on every coyote scalp brought In, if the state will pay the other half. This is, indeed, exceedingly generous. Perhaps if they were consulted upon this point the orchardists of the state would be willing to pay half the ex pense, instead of all, as now, of spray ing their trees in order to kill the predaceous codling moth and the pro lific San Jose scale, which must be done to protect the fruit industry from heavy loss. Jf it is just and equitable for the or chardists of the Willamette Valley, Hood River and Southern Oregon to be taxed- to protect the sheep Indus try of Eastern Oregon from being preyed upon by its specific, enemy, it is no less Just and equitable for the fiockmasters of Eastern Oregon to put up money to fight the specific enemies of the fruit industry. Then 'there is the hopgrower, who must fight the specific enemy of his Industry If he would have a clean yard and a mar ketable crop ; and the wheatgrower, who must incur certain expense every year if he would insure against loss through the predaceous enemies of his specific industry. Before a board of naval officers at Newport, R. I., Wednesday, a torpedo fired from a Davis torpedo gun pierced a network of steel w:hich had proved impenetrable for Whitehead torpedoes and passed on through a steel hulk inside the net. The feat was accom plished with a reduced charge of pow der, and proves that the new weapon can, in short order, put out of com mission any craft which it is sent against. The invention is in keeping with other similar . improvements which are being made in facilities for warfare. No sooner does the very lat est thing in warships appear than the keel goes down for something which will be built expressly with a view to conquering its immediate predecessor. If necessity is the mother of inven tion, we will probably soon learn of a new type of torpedo net made to catch and hold the Davis torpedo, which seems to menace the security of $5,- 000,000 battleships. Any community that sends a su perior lot of fruit to an Eastern mar ket is entitled to all the benefit that can be derived from the advertising feature, incident to the exhibition of the fruit. More than that, such a community is entitled to the gratitude of the whole state, for to a large ex tent the whole state- gets credit for the excellent products of any portion of It. On the other hand, any com munity that puts upon the market an inferior or discreditable lot of fruit should suffer the condemnation of all the rest of the state for all the state must, to a large extent, feel the loss of reputation which the marketing of poor fruit entails. Whether a horti cultural district wins prizes at local fairs or at state fairs is of much less importance than the winning of high est prices in the markets of the coun try. The importance of the city election in Milwaukie is equaled, in the sub urban life contingent to this city, only by that of St. John. The people in both towns are wide awake to their interests and strenuous in advocating them from their different points of view, as becomes good citizens. All is quiet in St. John at present, but in Milwaukie the municipal official pot is boiling merrily, as is seemly when matters of vital concern to the tax payers are at stake. The Mayor and Municipal Board to be elected in & short time will have to deal with the important qustion of allowing the Southern Pacific Railway, a franchise for twenty-five years, covering the principal street of the city. Obvi ously there is need of men of the best Judgment and business sagacity at the head of municipal affairs in -the little pioneer city. After one week of persistent, syste matic work the soliciting committee of the Y. M. C. A. of Eugene secured pledges aggregating $51,250 for a building fund for their organization in that city. This sum represents an average of $25 for every man in Eu gene. Those who couid not give large gave small sums and those who were financially able " to do so gave gener ously of their means. The keenest appreciation Is felt for these dona tions, great and small. The stake set at the beginning of the canvass was $50,000. The effort occupied exaetly seven days and ended with $1250 in excess of that sum. The result shows that the people of Eugene not only appreciate the help which comes to their city through the substantial state appropriation for the University of Oregon, located in their city, but that they believe In and practice the doctrine of self-help in their local undertakings. The proposal of the Bar Associa tion that judges be required to give their instructions to the jury in writ ing and inform the lawyers what the instructions will be before the case is argued to the Jury, will, if enacted into law, compel the Judges to do some pretty fast thinking. During the trial of a case the judge must listen to the testimony in order to make correct rulings and To determine what instruc tions are appropriate. Under the present practice, the judge prepares the instructions while the lawyers are addrssing the jury. Under the pro posed plan the Judge must be ready with his instructions as soon as the testimony has been completed or must keep the Jury and lawyers waiting while he puts his views in writing. But, notwithstanding this inconven ience, it Is probably better that the lawyers be told what the law Is be fore they begin their arguments, in stead of waiting till afterwards. The announcements that the Chi nese hive rembved the boycott against Japan are exceeded in num ber only by those which state that the boycott has not been removed. Late advices from Hongkong report an anti-Japanese riot a few weeks ago, In which one of the offending trades men who desired to withdraw from the boycott society had a portion of one ear clipped off, while a number of others were roughly handled. The Japanese are famous for their patri otism, and their trait of working to gether on any proposition for the gen eral good. In this respect they have apparently learned that the Chinese, when properly aroused, as they were by the Tatsu Maru outrage, can also develop strong powers of cohesion in a good cause. The immediate settle ment of the Tatsu Maru controversy would leave Japan loser by a vast amount, and the longer the settlement Is postponed the greater will be the ultimate loss. Rear Admiral Russell, U. S. N., re tired, is dead at his home in Phila delphia, aged 84 years. .The period covered by his long life was one of national struggle, growth and great ness. From the old sloop-of-war Sar atoga, upon which he went to sea in his early youth, to the Dreadnaughts of the modern navy, is a large step in naval architecture and flgtiting abil ity. This interval was covered by the life of Admiral Russell and until the last score of his four score and four years, by his personal services, afloat and ashore. He died naturally, as die the aged, of "heart failure" a term meaningless and greatly overworked In m,odern mortuary reports. Connecticut and Utah, states widely separated in location and community characteristics, come in touch upon one great social and domestic point. They are the only states in the Amer ican Union that show a decrease in the divorce rate in the past twenty years. In all others there has been a steady increase in divorces during that period. According to a late bulle tin of the Census Bureau there is one divorce in every twelve marriages throughout the country. There are a lot of farmers these days who cannot go to a good roads convention because they are afraid their vehicles will get stuck in the mud on the way to town. Then there are others who can attend road con ventions day or night and travel back and forth In carriages, on bicycles or In automobiles. There are roads and roads. The new Oregon institute for the feeble-minded has been completed. Quite likely Eastern people think such an institution very appropriate in a state that gives 25,000 plurality for a Republican President and content plates sending a Democrat to the Uni ted States Senate. The crime of "Jim" "Finch ends the next to the last chapter, of a life of unthrift, worthlessness, drunkenness. and general unsavoriness, in the call ing of a politician, lobbyist, news paperman and lawyer. The last chap ter will be written by the jury. The Castellane family linen was foul enough before the De Sagan family wash was thrown into the tub. The jouncing and sudsing and airing of the combined noisome dump causes an odor to arise that vexes the nostrils of decency in two continents. Moral anasthesia is the name given a new disease to which rich or influ ential criminals are subject. Now we need a statute prescribing punishment for those who commit crimes while laboring under the influence of this dread malady. What do Eastern people, reveling in 25 below, think of the Oregon Country, where light-draft boats run on the dew in Summer and the small boy has to get along with a, heavy frost for coasting in Win tar? An evangelist working in Heppner had for his themes "Oregon for Christ" in the morning and "A Prayer From Hell" in the evening, which covered the ground of a rather long Sabbath day Journey. If there is no law in Oregon com pelling Republican Legislators to vote Jor Chamberlain, how can they com mit perjury by voting for what the state needs a Republican? Now if some of the lawyers, who defend from the gallows the too nu merous insane murderers should fall victims there would be some compen sation. Now, after beholding those fine apples at the several shows, we should like to see them growing on the trees. If Anna Gould will but listen to her two husbands, they will tell her a whole lot about each other. Aftar tt,. tnrirpv Is paid for. every body can begin ' saving for Christmas tree decorations. We are all thankful that our appe tite is coming -back for Christmas turkey. , SILHOUETTES BI ARTHUR A. GREnNH. Success that comes in Installments costs too much. e a e Although sealskins are quoted much cheaper this Winter than usual, most of the dear women will continue to worry along with rabbit and house cat. e e It isn't the pains and aches that dis turb a woman when she's ill in bed; it's her complexion and touseled hair. Optlmiam. Maybe things look mighty gloomy; Can't see a single thing To make the world look brighter And you hear no minstrels sing; But just take a look around you And you'll see so much that's good That you'll wonder why you navsr understood. Some of us it seems must carry Burdens for the other ones; Some must feel the weight of sorrow and the woe. There is much to do that's merry In the helping of a friend. And its fun to be unselfish and to ro Through the valley where the shadows Lengthen out towards Happyland, Which we reach by being cheerful. While we lend a helping hand, e e Even a blind man may see his finish, e e e There is no redress for the woman with only one gown. e ' Perhaps if you were all that you should be you'd be where you should be Instead of a "would-be." see An after-dinner speech that lasts too long is a cheerless affair. To Yon. Dear heart, no matter how the winds may blow. No matter how the weather may be have; It's always Spring and sunshine when I think of you. A memory of you makes me brava As ancient heroes and their deeds to do. I feel full ready, when I think of you. When the wolf Is at tho door it's no time to kick the watch-dog. It is easy for a self-satlsfled acro bat to pat himself on the back. 9 My Idea of an optimist is the man who believes the Southern Pacific will get off of Fourth street. Every girl from 16 to 20 cherishes the secret hope that man in a Gains borough hat and a black clonk will ride along on a charger and kidnap her. . Every man lies about the amount of money he makes. VERSE i Knock Dor Kaiser. New York World. Knock er Kaiser! Was 1st los? Hand him out a pood hot dose: Show him that he's not the cheese In such freedom days as these. When they who wish to do as they pleaael Knock der Kaiser! Knock dcr Kaiser! Wacht am Rhelnl Pass It down the German line; Show hfm uo for what he Is, Rex Tmperator, Pazsiz! Hutting In where he Is not Quite the Willie-on-the-spot That he might have been when kings Had a cinch on earthly things. Knock der Kaiser! Knock der Kaiser! Ausgesplel! Spank him till he has to squeal: Chase him round the royal Plats; Punch him in th' imperial slats; Put a muzzle on his face A a means of silent grace; Slap the lid down good and hard! Tie him up in his back yard; Aa a tribute of repard. Knock der Kaiser! Knock der Kaiser! Was man thut! Knock der Kaiser! That's the root Which the uncrowned land of ours Hands to all the kingly power.. The Land of Liberty, by heck! Bangs every tyrant in the neck. Except a few that we produce For public and for private use; However Knock der Kaiser! The Unpdejudieed Rain. Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch The gentle rain falls down to earth. As it was meant to do (If rain fell upward, oh my mirth Would be Intense. And you?) But to return, the rain comes down Note "come" instead of "fall" Upon the meadow, hill and town. Or anywhere at all. It drops on ladies, men and rents, It drops on street and crop. Indeed it drops with confidence Where It desires to drop. It falls on Rome, it falls on Ghent, If falls on Brussels sprout And most it falls on those who"va lent Their own umbrellas out It knows no party laws or ties. No whys or wheres or whens. It loves to fall and Hauldlza. "Distinguished citizens." The rain cares not for ua below. It recks not any man. It's near the only thlni I know That Is non-partisan. Smitty. New York Sun. My name Is Smith, I'd have you know. But no one calls me that A bit too embonpoint I grow The vulgar say I'm fat; I have a smile and hearty grip. I'm always on the street. My nickname hangs upon the Up Of everyone I greet. Hello there, Smitty how is Smitty T pot a cold? Well, that's a pity; Theer up- Smttty!" That's the ditty Through the city Every witty Foolish It, he Calls me Smitty Like that; Bmitty. Where others draw the term "old man,- Or "John" or Mike" or "Bill. Since this sad life of mine b'ean Thewve put me. through the mill With '".Smitty" this and "Smitty that And "Smitty" .so and so. Until I question where I'm at Me. with a real name. Joe. When Kgcs Are Eire". ' Indianapolis News. At this time eggs are eggs, or well. One might say they are more or less sn. For sometimes when therTe In the shell It seems to be a case of guess so. However. egs:s are eggs, we ll say. Just for the sake of Illustration. And take no hee4f what they may Become from u long preservation. Well, eggs are eggs, a pleasant fornix Of most nutritious human forage. Unless, perchance, they get too warm While they are waiting In cold storage. So eggs are eggs, and we delight To have tnetn serveu v u- When they are just exactly right, And not raaied out with well-meant warnings. But eggs as eggs at thirty-five Per dcz., all guaranteed not shad Do not appeal unto our thrlv- Ing flrst-claas tamo Duaruiiig
