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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 1909)
" - . THE STTVD A T" OTyPOiYVT A "V pnnTT av tttvw -to -sr. i " - , v'x-i-.JyJu, vkjj-iaj it), i 7V;. PORTLAND, OREGON. Entered at Portland, Oregon. Postoftlce. aa Fecond-Claas Matter. Babacrlptlun ltatrn Tin Tlnlilj In Advance. (By Mall ) Pally. Sunday Included, one year $S.OO lally. Sunday Included, six months 4.23 IJally. Sunday included, three months... 2.25 Ially. Sunday Included, one month 73 Iaily. without Sunday one year 6.00 IJ'ully. without Sunday, six months 3.25 rnlly, without Sundav, three months... 1.75 Pally, without Sunday, one month .60 Weekly, one year . 1.50 Sunday, one year 2.30 Sunday and weekly, one year 3. SO (By Carrier.) Iaily, Sunday Included, one year .... 9.00 lially.. Sunday Included, one month 75 How to Remit Send postoftlce money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postofflce ad dress In full. Including county and state. Pnataire Rate 10 to 14 pages. 1 cent; Id to US pastes. 'A cents; 30 to 44 pages. 8 cents; 46 to 60 pages. 4 cents. Foreign postage double rates. Eastern Business Office The 8. C. Beck wlth Special Agency New "York, rooms 48 60 Tribune building. Chicago, rooms 010-512 Tribune building. POKTLaKD, Bl'NDAY, JUNE IS. 1909. THE POOR WORLD'S PEACE. It Is not too much to say that the extraordinary energy of Germany In building battleships is the fact that contributes most to the unrest of the world. For what purpose does Ger many need so powerful a navy? Nat urally It alarms England, and it fur nishes the main argrument for con tinued naval preparations by the United States. But what nation has any wish or expectation of war with Germany? Her great armies make her position in the center of Europe secure. No nation wishes to feel the -weight of her military hand. France is In fear and dread of another war with Germany; and Germany does not need battleships for use against France nor against Russia, nor against Aus tria. Britain naturally Is disposed to think that Germany's great fighting navy Is nothing short of a menace to her; for command of the sea is neces sary to the existence of the historic Island kingdom and the widespread British Empire. Germany declares, however, that her purpose In creating a mighty battle fleet is simply and only to be prepared to keep the peace. But while Ger many Is not free from danger of at tack, she Is practically free from dan ger of attack by a naval power. Her defense Is In her armies. These it must be admitted cannot be reduced without peril. There can be no Just censure of Germany for maintaining the greatest and most efficient military establishment in the world. Her posi tion requires it. But it is not appar ent that a great navy also la necessary for her defense; and her steady per sistence In creation of a great navy not only produces concern in England, but causes America to inquire whether here may not presently be a formidable enemy of our American Monroe doc trine which Indeed official power in Germany Is known to hold in hostile contempt. What nation Is likely to attack Ger many? None, that could use sea power against her. Great Britain, whose power Is sea power, Is in cir cumstances that compel her to hold back from an aggressive policy likely to lead to war with any powerful na tion. France never will fight Ger many, except from compulsion and despair, for the armies of Germany could again overrun France as rapidly as before, and the next war would be decided, as the last one was, -on land, not on sea. It Is scarcely supposable that Russia could become an enemy of Germany, and even If she should, German Dreadnoughts could not hurt Russia nor Austria, either. The Brit ish man, therefore, deems the rapid nnd extensive construction of German battleships a menace specially to him self; and it is useless to ridicule his apprehensions. Likewise the activity of Germany is stimulation to similar activity on the part of the United States; for though we have no expectation of war with Germany at any time, yet the example of "preparation," set by Germany, has a certain effect on ourselves, and we undoubtedly are disposed to go further in building battleships, as a conse quence of this example, than we should be likely to go without It. So, if Ger many is "preparing to maintain peace," so Is England; and to an extent so are we. For here is our idea, that the fntted States must protest against the Intervention of European powers In mutters relating to the American con tinents; and such protest, without preparation to back It, would appear as ridiculous as futile. Perhaps Ger many never would Intrude, yet again . the might. France got her lesson when she interfered In Mexico, and Canada Is a hostage against any new enterprise In America by Great Britain. But Ger man publicists and o tile i a Is scoff at our Monroe Doctrine. Somebody, after a while, will get more lessons. Perhaps We shall get our share of them. Against what enemy at sea, or enemy over or beyond oceans,' is Germany firming? This is a question that must give all the world concern. Germany tiitherto has not been compelled to arm at sea, that she might protect herself and to keep the peace. We are hair Germans ourselves, and we take pride in German achievement. But what? We belong also to a larger and wider world, and In our development we are parts of it. Of course the world never will yield to the German war lord, nor allow him 'to have his own way in 'keeping the peace." So long and so fast as Germany builds Dreadnoughts, other nations that feel they mav possi bly be put in peril, will build Dread noughts too. Every nation, undoubtedly, has a right to do those things which it deems necessary to Its safety and existence. But in pushing naval armament Isn't Germany going beyond this condition and requirement, and possibly forcing results which she professes a desire to avoid? Germany, in the midst of hos tile nations of Europe, must maintain a great army, for her protection. That way safety lies; that way only. The past has demonstrated it sufficiently But why Is It necessary that she should arm so heavily for combat at sea, and force other nations, friendly to her. to Increase their armaments also? It Is ambitions like these that finally force combinations that crush an aggressive power. Germany now is in no mood to listen to the suggestions of peace conferences. She turns with no little contempt away from The Hague. Yet he may sometime And The Hague necessary to her salvation. She now Is the principal menace to the poor world's peace. ALL ARB FOR "PROTECTION." Senator Aldrich maintains stiffly that neither an Income tax nor a corpora tion tax will be necessary, but that the reconstructed tariff w411 give sufficient Increase of revenue. He expects from the committee's bill an Increase of $14,500,000 a year, making estimates on the basis of the actual imports of the year -1907. Of the estimates, the increases are $11,540,000 on what they term luxuries and $3,032,000 on so-called necessaries. The finance committee regards as "luxuries" articles that are used vol untarily, and may be omitted from consumption without real inconveni ence, and classes as "necessary" such articles as people could not go without except with Inconvenience or positive distress. But it Is apparent that classi fications will differ and Jangle here. It is noticeable that all who talk on the subject, whether Republicans or Democrats, declare that their guiding star is "protection." They differ only in the application of the principle, or in variations of it. GREEN CAPS AND CLAWMAMMERS. Green caps for freshmen at the State University are not inappropri ate. They would befit the verdant youth in his first college year at al most any seat of learning in the land. One can hardly find fault with the students at Eugene for adopting this regulation, even if it does seem to in fringe somewhat upon the liberty of the citizen. But suppose some stiff necked young man should decide to wear a gray cap or a brown hat, what would be the consequence? Would he be expelled or hazed? Is it not Just as well to permit young men within the limits of decency to select their own atiiie? Does the state law grant to the student body or to any one else the authority to make the wearing of any particular garment a condition precedent to attendance at the univer sity? Suppose the socialist students should some time or other grow into a majority and prescribe a red cap, would not the obligation to wear it be as binding as it now is to wear the green one? Even if a freshman Is somewhat less wise than a sophomore, why should he be compelled to ac knowledge and proclaim the fact as often as he covers his head? But it is not the green caps which especially interest us. It is the rule adopted at the same time with the caps, which forbids students to wear tuxedos and clawhammers at college functions. One imagines that the rea son for this regulation is a laudable wish to prevent any student from out shining his companions in respect to raiment. Moreover, the youth who cannot afford a clawhammer will not be put to shame by his more fashion able fellow-students. This is well enough, but is there not another side to the matter? Where shall these young men become habituated to ar raying themselves in the habiliments of goo society and learn to deport themselves becomingly therein If not during their college years? A man who has not worn evening clothes in his younger days seldom feels at home In them when age has seared, his brow. The trick must toe learned early, or it Is never learned well. A student may be embarrassed to find himself at a party where he has ona short coat, while everybody else wears the solemn regalia of fashion, but his pain In a similar predicament when he had become a social luminary would be Incomparably worse. Let him have his suffering over with while he Is young. The clawhammer is a necessary part of life as the world goes. Its use must be acquired sooner or later, and the sooner the better. Most young men -can rake up the money to buy one somehow or other, and the effort to, do it will stimulate their energies. Upon the whole, it Is better to let the young men at the university attend to their own rai ment without much Interference. CKAS. XKLSOX, SAILOR. Charles Nelson, a millionaire ship ping man of San Francisco, died in that city last week. Millionaires are so plentiful in San Francisco and elsewhere along the Pacific Coast that an occasional death in their ranks is not unusual. But there was some thing in the life of Charles Nelson that made his passing of more than ordinary Interest. Mr. Nelson came to the Pacific Coast, s many another foreign-born citizen has come before the mast, as a sailor. He brought with him to this land of the free no other capital than a good constitution, a willingness to work and a determi nation to succeed. These proved to be all that was necessary, although the opportunities for Investment of that kind of capital were, open to all. When Nelson abandoned the hard life of a sailor for the still more precarious existence as a miner without capital, he could look all around him and see plenty of men who had thousands, even millions. It never occurred to the young Dan ish sailor, however, that the thousands and millions which other men had earned, and were In possession of, was "unearned Increment," or that they should share it with him. Instead, he seems to have discovered at an early age that the proper method for secur ing a fortune was by working hard and saving his earnings. There were drunkards and gamblers, idlers and socialists, some of them perhaps sail ing under other names, when Mr. Nel son reached California, but the boast ed "equality of man" never bothered hlm. His mining experience was dis astrous, and he returned to his call ing and laid the foundation for his fortune by operating a small schooner on the Sacramento River. Hard work and careful management brought the inevitable result, and in the years that passed the Charles Nelson house flag waved over scores of vessels, and the erstwhile penniless sailor was known In lumbering, banking and shipping circles all over the Pacific Coast. Every dollar he made was an hon est one, and the prosperity which re warded his efforts as the years passed lightened not hla regard for the duties he owed to the country which had adopted him. The lesson of Charles Nelson's life is of special interest in San Francisco, for its contrast with that of some other sailors who have reached that city before the mast. Some of the worst anarchists and agi tators in the United States today land ed in San Francisco as sailors, and began damning the country as soon as they arrived, and have kept it up since that time. To them the "equal ity of man" appeals so powerfully that thev rteitATA tn lahnr lMt hi, en doing they amass money which would disturb that equality. They had the same opportunities as Nelson, the Danish sailor, grasped, but preferred a life of complaining shift lessness and to place the blame for their poverty on a social system which they seek . to overturn. Fortunately for the stability' of society, there are Charles Nelsons still coming over, and working for a living. They are to be found among our great financiers, statesmen, diplomats and captains of industry, and in still larger numbers among that class that can best be de scribed Just as good citizens. ' ONE BCSS PORTLAND. WEEK. Portland has JuBt passed through the busiest, most successful and Withal one of the most pleasant weeks In Its history. First came the election, the results of which give promise of a careful business administration of municipal affairs for the term covered. "Business before pleasure." The city election out of the way, and roses, as if by magic, sprung by millions into full bloom, the Rose Show was fairly on by Tuesday afternoon (following the . brilliant electrical pageant) with such wearth of color, ferns and frag rance as caused thousands of specta tors transports of delight. The suc ceeding festal days each had a setting of its own In beauty and good cheer. Midway in the week, came the Indian War veterans, grizzled and worn with time, yet cheerful, responding to the gratitude that was expressed for their early endeavors in the interest of civil ization with grateful acknowledgment for the bounty of the Government which insures each and every one of them against want during the closing years of life, and appreciative of the hospitality that meets and greets them year after year when they reach this city. Then the Pioneers, aged men and women, whose yearly dwindling numb ers are recruited from tha ranks of their sons and daughters, born in the primitive homes half a century ago. A living, moving history of the reclama tion of a beautiful wilderness from savagery to civilization, these men and women go in and out among us, the life and endeavor of each a chapter which goes to make .up the still un completed story. Feted and fed, these men and women passed a day with us, the memory of which will beguile many a lonely hour of the coming year. And so with t:.e discharge of civic duty, with holiday festivities, with a grand symphony of color and frag rance and beauty, with a rush of busi ness in our great emporiums of trade, "ith kind greeting and open-handed hospitality, the records written and unwritten of a busy week are made up. The fatigues of the week will soon be forgotten; the memory of its pleasures will abide. A NEW LIGHT OX DIVORCE. The National League for the Pro tection of the Family is not properly named. It ought to call itself a league for protecting the- family against one particular danger, since It has nothing to say about anything except divorce. Students of society who are unham pered by prejudice and unwarped by superstition know that divorce is not the only nor yet the worst" evil to which the family is exposed. Theolo gians harp upon it as if it were the sum of all iniquities, but that is only because they have an inveterate habit of Judging the affairs of this world by other world standards; that Is to say, by standards which are not always ap plicable. Many, perhaps most, divorces are so far from being in any way evil that they are a positive spiritual boon to both spouses and they strengthen Instead of weakening the family as an Institution. The United States Government is the most stable in the world, because upon the whole its citizens are the freest. Any Institution founded in un coerced volition and which is left to stand or fall according to the benefits it confers will be a great deal more stable than one maintained by compul sion, provided, of course, that It reallv does give people something worth while. Nobody is foolish enough to argue that marriage and family life fail to Justify themselves by positive benefits from every point of view. It follows that the common sense of mankind may be trusted to take care of an institution which serves the race so well. Laws may help more or less, hut they are not the essential factor. The fact that thoss who shun marriage are necessarily eliminated by natural selection ought to dispel all doubts about permanence of the family rela tion. The fact that perhaps one .marriage out of every ten in the United Sta-.es is dissolved by the divorce courts doea not frighten Professor George Elliott Howard, to Judge from quotations of his opinions in a recent number of the New York Times. He looks upon fa cile divorce as "an incident In the nighty process of spiritual liberation Mhich is rapidly changing the relative positions or men and 'women-in the family and in society." Economic de velopment has destroyed the old-time domestic industries like weaving, brew ing, baking and sewing, which once kept women busy. Emancipated from household drudgery, they have sought money-making employment and made themselves independent of their hus bands financially. As in every other case, so In this one, economic freedom has raised aspirations for intellectual and political equality. The woman claims equality with the man in the home as well as in Industry. This forces a readjustment of the old home relations, and readjustment, as Profes sor Howard sensibly remarks. Implies friction. While the family is adapting Itself to the new status of women, we must look for a great many more di vorces .than there will be later on, when things have settled down again! Naturally women, being but lately emancipated from an inferior condi tion, are more touchy about their rights and wrongs than men. and we see nothing surprising therefore in the fact that 60 per cent of all our di vorces are granted to wives. This dis integrating factor is bound to disap pear when the new relations have be come an old story. The Times quotes statistics " from Professor Howard which show how lit tle effect upon the flood of divorces the reform of the scandalous laws of North Dakota, Utah and the other loose communities of the West would have. Of course these states ought to enact decent statutes for the sake of their reputation, but the truth Is that four divorces out of five in the last twenty years have been granted in the state where the parties were married Tha remaining fifth barely exceeds the proportion to be expected from normal removals. lience. If North Dakota had laws as resDectable as Orprnn'a tri number of divorces would remain about the same. It is no less vain to think of checking them by assigning some particular ground for which di vorces may be granted and allowing no others. We may feel perfectly certain that the parties will provide whatever ground the law may require of them. Ecclesiastical persons whose educa tion has been studiously directed t chimeras and who never have- been trained to weigh the affairs of practi cal life are excusable for fancying that frequent divorces serlonalv th destroy the family, but enlightened ob servers like Dr. Edward T. Devlne per ceive the real menace to the family to be something quite different. Men -svho work twelve hours a day seven days in the week, as some of the beneficiaries of high protection do in Pittsburg, are not likely to find their family condi tions much flmpllnrntaH Kv lacf.lalfi.n upon divorce; neither is the wife whoso nusuana has Deen killed at his work and whose only compensation is a linked lawsuit long drawn out. The first effective step toward making the family what it ousrht to be Is to flnri some way to give every man who wants to worK steady employment at living wages under decent conditions. The next step is to invent a plan to shield his wife and children from beggary If he happens to lose his life prematurely. THE CBOLDREJi'S STRIKE. It Is not in the least degTee sur prising that the little band of Cali fornia school children at Santa Rosa Rancho have gone on a strike because one of their number got a spanking. Children often do very foolish things. What surprises one Is that their fath ers and mothers did not give the youthful rebels a sound switching and send them back to school. Family life In that district must be some thing to admire. Evidently the boys and girls run the concern, and the parents are their obedient servants. It is not pleasant to think of the kind of men and women who will be de veloped by this sort of home training. If they do not all become law-breakers and end their careers in Jail, It will be by a special act of Providence. It appears that not pne of the urchins has remained at his books. Every child has left school In order to ex press his resentment at the teacher, but it is agreeable to learn that the rebellion causes her no grief. She sim ply passes the day sewing or reading some entertaining book, and at 4 o'clock locks up and goes home. The sentimental mania which once bid fair to banish the hickory wythe from the schoolroom is happily pass ing away. If its vigor could be re tained and directed against some of the real evils of modern education, -one would rejoice, but probably that Is im possible. Perhaps nobody did more to cause teachers to see how absurd It was to make so much ado over switching a bad boy than that Milwau kee pedagogue who avowed his opin ion at the National Teachers' Associa tion that it was better to make a boy's skin tingle than to lose his soul. The obvious soundness of his position could not be disputed. A book which also helped the good cause was entitled "The Education of Dodd." It may be that this excellent work has done its duty and passed into ohllvinn i I Its day It was a power for common "i training cniiaren. We do not hear so much as formerly about the "cowardice of striking a child." The cowardice 1b found In those who dare not make him smart for his own good. 1 THE LIVDrO AST THE DEAD. E. Katherlne Bates, the author of "Seen and Unseen," has published an other book on supernormal phenom ena, which she calls "Do the Dead De part?" From the title, one might suppose that the volume was contro versial, but it Is not. It Is strictly a work of edification, Intended to strengthen the faith of those who al ready believe in the fact of commu nication between the living and the dead. The author herself says that, as a presentation of evidence, it Is un convincing, and, to make It more in teresting and comfortable to the elect, she has Intentionally omitted details of the wonders she narrates, although their absence may make the skeptic smile with derision. To those who wish to believe, details are not only unnecessary, but even annoying. What they want is to swallow the story of the prodigy whole. On the other hand, the skeptic will not be con verted, no matter how minutely you particularize about the marvels you have seen. Miss Bates truly remarks that only what happens to yourself can help convert you, and that will not always avail. To illustrate this statement, she re calls a seance she once held in the wilds of far Australia, in the dwelling of an English sheepraiser. The man and his wife were people of culture, and their house was furnished with Inlaid furniture and other luxuries Im ported with great difficulty. Two other sheepmen were present at the seance, and had their hands on the table with Miss Bates and their hosts In the mystic circle through which the ghosts were Invoked. The spirits answered to the call so effectually that they raised the sumptuous table in the air and then smashed it. The elegant chairs were also broken, and the room in general wrecked. At bedtime, when the seance was over, the participants all admitted that they could not explain what had happened. It must be the work of spirits. But, continues the author sadly, the next morning their faith had vanished, and they were disposed to laugh at her for thinking anything marvelous had happened. Thus It Is always. In the presence of the miracle we are dumb founded and cannot doubt, but in a few hours the world intrudes with Its humdrum, and faith dies before it Conversions are wrought by inner ex perience, not by anything we see and hear. Jesus Christ seems to have realized this deeply. He was reluctant to work miracles to gratify those who sought after prodigies. To heal the sick and cure the blind, he was willing enough and he expected the miracle to gen erate faith in the person who was benefited, but as for the crowd . of sightseers he knew that they would not be convinced. For that reason, he often asked persons whom he had healed to say nothing about it. Faith, he told his followers, must grow up in the mind, like a grain of mustard seed. It Is not to be produced by see ing marvels. Still, faith of the most robust kind has been born from mar vels, only they are those which the person hag experienced, not those he has witnessed. Paul's conversion was sudden enough and sufficiently won derful to satisfy the most avid of prodigies, but after all it came from an Inner experience. His companions saw nothing of the adventures that befell him on the way down to Da mascus. So It was with John Banyan. The work of grace In his heart had no outward marvels to correspond. Miss Bates confesses frankly that the kind of evidence which makes a Dersnn nrtlTir,ifillsit anrtnt Via noi. twice over. It is like the water that has passed the mill. You can never grina witn it again. Most of the churches are well ennnerh Awnm rr this truth. They do not seek to make converts Dy argument. There is some semblance of logic, of course, in revi val sermons. Some vague appeals to history appear, and now and then a syllogism Is ventured upon, but VOllT SUCrPSflfHl AVnrtP-AHet vallaa i.nnn something else than history and logic. c o.ppt:itia to Lne win xo Deiieve, set ting forth faith as a duty, and appeal ing to the deep passion for abnega tion and submission. It is foolish to seek to confute any creed by saying it Is Irrational.- Reason has nothing to do with such matters. Creeds are in the long run confuted by experi ence, .but not one of them ever per ished because of its absurdity. Since spiritualists are not made by logic, it is Idle to expect to unmake them by it. Like other men who cherish a faith, their minds are overpowered by something which has happened within them, and which is far more certain than any mathematical demonstration can be, though it is certain only to the person who has felt it. G. K. Chesterton says In his lively book on "Heretics" that the scientific age is apparently passing away. For a little while during the nineteenth century It seemed as if reason would actually gain control of the world. But now things look very different. Credulity seems to be usurping the throne where the calm spirit of In vestigation once sat. Miss Bates' book is but one out of a multitude, all enor mously popular, which address a di rect appeal to the spirit of blind be lief, to the gross taste for prodigies. She is so Bure of credence that she does not think it worth while even to invite belief by giving names and dates. Her book is a mere hash of what look amazingly like sewing-bee stories told by irresponsible gossips to excite the wonder of the Ignorant. And yet she is a person of standing In the world, who enjoys the friend ship of men like W. T. Stead and Sir Oliver Lodge. Her book Is no worse than dozens of others. Professor W. G. Sumner, of Yale, declares his be lief that we may be on the verge of another outbreak of the witchcraft mania. All our creeds, he says, con tain the seeds of witchcraft, and heaven alone knows when they may begin, to germinate in good earnest. The eagerness with which we run after prodigies and swallow incredible tales does not lead one to think he is badly mistaken. " THE AEROPLANE. President Taft was unquestionably right in predicting that the aeroplane "will be the basis of all successful flights," but, in attributing the inven tion of that form of flying machine to the Wright brothers, as he seems to have done in his address when pre senting their gold medal at Washing ton, he was unjust to the memory of a great man, now dead. The Inventor of the aeroplane was S. P. Langley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu tion at that time. He not only con structed an aeroplane before any other human being had thought of It, but he went so far as to try to make It fly with a passenger. His efforts were thwarted by one accident after an, other, and all the reward he ever ob tained for his genius and perseverance was ridicule. It would be singularly ironical on the part of fate to turn the glory which is Langley's meed over to the Wright brothers when they have so much which Justly belongs to them. It would be another case of giving to him that hath and taking away from him that hath not. Langley was a scientist of the first rank whom his countrymen knew lit tle and honored less. Like Rowland Henry, Willard Glbbs and many an other of our truly great men, he is mentioned in the universities of Eu rope a hundred times to once at home. In his lifetime he was ridiculed as the Inventor of the aeroplane. If now any glory has accrued from his work, let us not hand It over to another. There is no danger that the Wright brothers will not be praised enougn, but there, is great danger that Langley will be praised too little. FEEDING THE BABIES. Comparatively few women know how to take care of their babies. The idea that such knowledge comes by na ture or through some Instinctive pro cess Is a mistake. Nature teaches us nothing of the sort. For all that mothers learn from her, every child born Into the world might perish. The woman who proudly boasted that she had borne fourteen children and buried thirteen of them and that for this rea son she ought to be looked upon as a high authority for their food and med icine Is a pretty fair type of some mothers. Many of them think the best they can do for their infants Is to stuff them with everything there is In the l ouse to eat. No matter how indigestible a substance Is, no matter how unfit even for the stomachs of adults, down baby's defenseless gullet it goes. Mince pies, green gooseber ries, fried pork and saleratus biscuits, if baby cries for them he sjrets them and then death gets the baby. When that happens the mother piously says that the grim Reaper has gathered her flower to transplant it In a more beautiful world. The truth Is that she has sacrificed the poor little thing. The Chicago health department has begun a crusade against feeding babies on dill pickles and sausages, at least in Summer. Food of this kind un doubtedly slays its thousands, but contaminated milk slays its tens of thousands. The hot weather diseases which a mysterious providence visits so abundantly upon the child are in nine cases out of ten caused, not by any miracle designed to chasten the hearts of the parents and try their faith, but by poison in the milk it drinks. It is open to serious question whether it is possible in Portland to obtain hygienic milk. The dwsellers within the city who keep their own cows are wise in their generation. When a person reads of all the ene mies which assail the apple he won ders how it comes to pass that any fruit matures. Babies are a still greater marvel. Considering the dan gers that beset their early years, some arising: from neglect, more from Ignor ance, It is a wonder of wonders that any of them survive. A discourag ing proportion do not. Mr. Wittenberg is about to retire as school director for Portland district, after twelve years' service. Mr. Wit tenberg declines to be a candidate for re-election for the reason that he thinks he has given gratuitously to the public service as much time as he can reasonably be asked to give. No fault can be found with his attitude, but re gret may be expressed that the School Board is to lose so active and efficient a memDer. Much is expected or the School Board in Portland, and little is offered in the way of comnensaJinn m- reward. Its tasks are difficult, tire some and vexatious, and it is small wonder that good men hesitate to undertake them. Yet it is not lav difficult to persuade such men to place their time and talents at the pub lic's disposal. Here Is R. L. Sabin, for example, who has been inducer! to h a candidate to succeed Director Wit tenberg. Mr. Sabin is altogether a fit man for such a place, and his choice should be made unanimous, as Indeed It will be, In all likelihood. A difference of opinion seems to exist between young Spreckels and Miss Case in regard to their engagement to be married. She takes the affirma tive he the negative side In the con troversy, to the manifest embarrass ment of both especially the young lady. Practical, hard-headed Spreckels pere Insists that the young man learn something about money-getting and cut the song-bird business out, or words to that effect; Spreckels fils, having evidently been brought up to respect his father's Judgment In serious matters, seems to have yielded a ready, and, indeed, a cheerful assent to the proposition that he come home and go to work. This leaves Miss Case to the mortifying reflection that she was somewhat previous In announcing, even to her mother, that she was "ei gaged," and to the mother regret at having divulged the contents of a con fidential letter from her daughter. All or which proves that it Is unwise to take the public into family confidences. The Rose Festival Is over, and ordi nary tasks and duties have been again resumed by Portland. It was a great week, and will dwell long In memory at least until next vear. when -wo ,hn hope to enjoy an event even finer and greater, 'mere is reasonable prospect that such, expectations may be real ized ir Ralph W. Hoyt can be induced to remain at the head or the Festival Association. What is needed there is a man of affairs who has artistic and musical instincts and experience, and knowledge of the public's tastes and humors; and these qualities Mr. Hoyt has. To him a great measure of the success of the Festival for 1909 is due; and on him the public would be glad to repose much of the responsibility of future festivals. You noticed, perhaps, that the new officers of the Oregon Pioneer AssnHn. tion are citizens who have been here tofore regarded as "young" men. But the young man gets along in years, and mere comes a time when he is no longer young. These remarks apply to Frederick V. Holman, president, and Peter H. D'Arcy, vice-president, of the Oregon Pioneer Association. Both are sons of worthy Oregon Pioneers; but where, alas! shall we look for presi dents and vice-presidents of the Pio neer Association when they have passed on? For both are bachelors, and, according to the most authentic reports, always have been. The man Ross who was indicted for forging names for the Excise Board petition, has pleaded guilty. This shows forth one of the beauties of the initia tive. Ross was hired to get signatures at so much for each name. Signatures were hard to get, and forgery of names became the readiest resource. Ross and his coparceners seem to have pre sented more "signatures" than the pro posal got votes In the election. This is the perfection of the Initiative system on one side, and of its counterpart, bogus moral reform, on the other. Considering all sides of the proposi tion, Portland should omit a public celebration of the Fourth of July this year. The Rose Carnival has been the means of bringing many people from nearby towns to the metropolis, where they have been royally entertained. Why not reciprocate by boarding train or boat for any point that looks best for a quiet or a strenuous day? Port land owes this much to its neighbors. Children are great imitators. Arouse their pride and encourage In them the holiday spirit, and they are painstak ing and eager workers. If these things were not true, the parade and drill of school children as presented on the East Side Friday evening would have been Impossible; being true, this parade was far and away the most interesting feature of the Rose Festi val. Jonathan Bourne and his group will oppose all "advisory" Republican con ventions. For no advisory Republican convention ever will advise renomlna tion and re-election of Jonathan Bourne. Which fact will go very far towards vindication of the advisory convention and making it party law. We hear- by way of Paris and other foreign cities that it is a mixture of heart and liver complaint that trou bles Mr. Harrlman. Too stale. They have tried that kind of fable for years In New York, but the Harrlman stocks keep right on their upward way. , Mrs. Howard Gould, when drunk, would sometimes swear a little and spend her money freely; otherwise she was a perfect lady. Howard ought to have overlooked her little peculiari ties in view of the circumstances. Harry Lane, retiring Mayor, writes a courtly letter to Joseph Simon, In coming Mayor. Fine words are used which, however, butter no parsnips. But, indeed, what an art it is to make court sweetmeats of latent gall! "O for a return of those good old days, when one could buy strawberries for a nickel a box sometimes two boxes for a nickel." Thus the sighing "reformer." But the strawberry grow er has different views. Although pure patriotism prompted Washington physicians to urge the health certificate marriage law. It doesn't prompt them, to be moderate In their fees. TOPICAL VERSE Afrtcanltla. Some snapshots of rhlnoceri, A page about the tsetse fly, A group of hippopotami, And also of giraffes. That awful pest the Jungle ant. Some Africans In clothing scant. The hunting of the elephant. All shown in photographs. A fUTl P. V rtasre H ovntnH trt That mighty, modern Nimrod who as wonting io increase our zoo. As well an eathpr fnniA- Some stories of son Kermlt and A comic verse on Jungle land. An article from Teddy's hand -n ' How to Track Big Game." Some poses ere they sighted shore. . iew more roses tnen some more; The dally page is sprinkled o'er With T. Tt Wx f. Moved: That che suffering public find A man that to fair play's inclined. An editor of generous mind. w no 11 give soma space to Taft. Chicago News. The British Boary. It has a dachshund body And wheels like pretzels fine; It hisses through the heavens Like beer upon a stein. John Bull is filled with boding And thinks beyond a doubt The scareshlp's bound to get him Ef he don't Watch Out. His children stop their crying; If but Its name they hear; .Beside its nightly vision Pink rats are naught to fear. John Bull Is filled with terror. His calm is put to rout The scareshlp's boundto get him Ef he don't Watch Out, New York Sun. An Open Letter. Dear John, I should have answered you before. But I've been busy every minute here: It hardly seems that Winter's really o'er And that, since your last letter. It's a year. I should write oftener, but it seems to me That as a letter-writer I'm a fool. I trust that all your crops will splendid be , The children, now, will soon be out of . school. How I should ifke to see your dear old farm. At time when I am shrouded In despair. And wish, somehow, that I maght Jour ney there. The little river, and the mill race too. And, oh, the old familiar swimming pool Are- scenes of boyhood I should like to view The children, John, will soon be out ot school. My wife sends love with' me to you and yours. She wants to know the health of dear Aunt Kate; Just now It must be lovely out of doors. And I suppose that you are feeling great. You lucky dog! When we are sweltering here. You loll upon a porch that's wide and cool; Breathing a perfume-laden atmosphere Say, John, the kid3 will soon be out of school. Detroit Free Press. The Graduates. SHE. Now comes the gentle graduate To make her gracious bow, To point our highest duties out " And tell us why and how. She clears all knotty points away Concerning state affairs Her pa is wondering how he'll pay For the costly gown Bhe wears. HE. The graduate in glory stands. His college course complete. His brilliant thesis in his hands. The whole world at his feet. He little guesses as he lets Those words of wisdom fall. He'll never see the time again When he will know it all. New York Times. A LtmouMlne. The neighbors never pass us by unnoticed any more; They've ceased to tilt their noses high the way they did before. We're not looked down on by the Browns or snubbed by Mrs. Green There's been a sudden change since pa has bought a Limousine. Ma gets Invited out to tea or something And boys that used to hoot at me have . picauiiL Lujugs 10 say; The callers come in style and show an " . ...... . ' ..... o IVCCU In us and our affairs since pa has bought a j.imousme. Sis used to sit. here lookln' glum, because no beau would call. But now you ought to see them come! they line up in the hall; Ma used to often fret, but she has learned. to be serene. Although we're deep In debt since pa ha bought a Limousine. Chicago Record-Herald. Sonar of the Men of Fifty. We are the men of fifty, Twoscore years and ten. Employers keen and nifty Call us poor old men. We are the have-beens grizzled. We are the failures gray, . We are the boys that fizzled. Wrecks of yesterday. We are the Osier brothers. Here's to the doctor's health! Here's to our. wives and mothers! Here's to the Nation's wealth! So, stand to your glasses ready Ready to win the prize; Death Is the Job that's steady Hurrah! for the next that dies. Exchange. The Rivals. Dere ees a man dat's from Milan, An' wan from Napoll, An' both ees tryin' all dey can For marry weetha me; An' I? I treat dem fair an' square. Because, you see, I don'ta care Wheech wan it gona be. De Milanese ees hard to pleass; He com' mos' evra night. An' w'en dees othra man he sees He justa wanta fight! But wheech wan stan an' wheech" wan go, Ees make no odds, because, you know, I don'ta care a mite. Ee's funny man. N'apolltan; He laughed, an' den he said: "T ain't gon' fight baycause I might Be Justa keela dead! An' how you go'n' be happy wife Weeth ghost for husban" all your life?" I Justa shak' my head. So, steel dis man dat's from Milan, An' Joe, from Napoll, Dey both is tryin' all dey can . For marry weetha me; An' I? I don'ta care so long He gona keep alive an' strong Wheech wan eet gona be. Catholic: Standard and Times.