THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN. TORTLAm SEPTEMBER 19. 1909.
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rOBTLAXD, SO" DAT, SEPT. 19. 1909.
TAFT'S TARIFF SPEECH.
The President's speech on the tariff
will bring much criticism upon him.
lit can scarcely expect other conse
quences. On the whole, he defends
the Payne bill. Such course he deems
a necessity of the situation. So far
as the tariff may affect politic, the
President realizes that his Administra
tion must stand or fall by this bill.
So he makes It a party matter. He
had much to do with bringing the
bill Into Its present shape, by forcing
concessions from the Senate, and he
takes his stand directly against the
Republican insurgents, who voted
agairst it on Its final passage.
His speech raises the question
whether they are to be sustained by
the constituents, especially by those
of the Republican party, or not. The
President commits his party. This
speech means no more tariff legisla
tion during his term.
Protection. If not a principle, at
least la the purpose of the country.
The Insurgents themselves claim to
be protectionists. But they say the
benefits" of protection are not fairly
distributed. This will always be a
matter of opinion so long as protec
tion shall stand as a policy, and the
opinion will depend chiefly on local,
sectional, or even personal Interest.
The country will not hearken to the
principle of a tariff for revenue; and
each district or section contends under
protection for advantages for itself.
In such contention over "the pie" it
Is Inevitable that some will complain
that others are getting the larger
pieces.
The President believes the Payne
bill a compromise of these interests,
as far, as compromise can now be
reached. One effect of his speech Is
to put 1n uncomfortable position
those -who desire full protection for
the Industries of their own states or
districts, yet want "?he other fellow"
to accept reduced duties, or go on the
free list. But since the country Is re
solved on maintenance of protection,
this bill, most probably. Is as fair as
any bill could be on that basis. "The
country wants protection," the Presi
dent says to protectionists. "You
have It. and you never will get a
fairer or better protection bill."
Tears ago it seemed probable that
policy of taxation of foreign goods,
coming Into the United States, might
be used as a principle or method of
revenue, mainly: If for protection,
only Incidentally so. This would
mean a tariff for revenue. The Dem
ocratic party for a time seemed to
stand behind this principle. But it
soon ceased to support the principle,
and after awhile abandoned It alto
gether. At this time the Democratic
party. In many parts of the country.
Is thoroughly committed to protection,
for the sake of protection. In every
state and district where the Demo
cratic party Is In the ascendant, and
where large interests clamor for pro
tectlon. Its representatives in Con
gress lend efficient aid to -the policy.
Last March, when Cannon and Pa3"ne
were In extremity, a consequence of
their abandonment by the Republican
Insurgents, Democrats from many
districts that wanted protection for
those local "Interests." refused to act
iwith the caucus of their own party,
and In the skirmish for organization
of the House, "stood In" with sup
: porters of Cannon. The protectionists
f the Democratic party were afraid
' to give the opponents of protection
: power to organize the House. So they
let Cannon and Payne walk away
with It.
Now. therefore, it Is absolutely true
that the Democratic party cannot be
depended on to disestablish protection,
or to render efficient assistance in
that behalf. Had Democratic mem
bers of Congress Joined the insurgent
Republican members, the rule, of the
House by Cannon and Payne would
have been utterly broken. But groups
of Democratic members stuck to the
Republican protectionists, regarding
the tariff as & local question and hold
ing that the interests of their dis
tricts must be conserved.
Since the tariff question has got
Into this state, there is not much use
to 'wrangle over it. Protection now
Is, and for years to come, will be the
policy of the country. Over the de
tails, there always will be conten
tion. But such Is the attitude of both
parties. In their contention for local
advantage or benefits, that It is im
possible to regard the tariff as a party
question. The most vigorous protests
against protection as a policy come
from Republicans, not from Demo
crats. But the majority of the Repub
lican party Is for protection, and
President Taft stands with It. A large
proportion of the Democratic party
also Is for protection, and stand
ready to furnish the support for It
whenever needed. This, now, is .the
state of the tariff question.
A QVXSTIOX OF VERACITY.
It la a curious example of the per
versity of human nature that many
persons question Dr. Cook's veracity
while they accept Peary's unhesitat
ingly. Perhaps they feel vaguely that
Peary had a better right than hia rival
to discover the Pole, and therefore
they believe statements from him
which they reject when Cook makes
them. Take the rate of travel, for ex
ample. Both men say they made over
fifteen miles a day upon the final dash
northward. The Peary partisans de
clare that no such speed was possible
for Dr. Cook, but their own Idol could
make it with no difficulty at all. ' So It
was with the polar optical phenom
nt which Dr. Cook has described.
The Peary worshipers crfed out that
they were Incredible when read In the
Cook narrative, but as soon as Peary
related the same things they became
us natural as sunrise.
Now thia sort of tolas; la aeithar
sensible nor fair. Cook had as much
right to discover the Pole as Peary.
The latter was better known as an
Arctic explorer, but he, had not pre
empted the region. Other men were
not made trespassers there by his prior
adventures. Nor Is there any reason
In declaring a statement false when
Cook makes it and true when Peary
makes It. If the two explorers say the
same thing, as they do In almost every
particular, each adds to the credibil
ity of the other. It Is Impossible to
believe the one and doubt the other.
If we believe either we must believe
both, and the fact of their close agree
ment renders It absurd to reject their
common testimony. If Peary reached
the Pole, so did Cook. Otherwise how
did he come to describe It precisely as
Peary does?
PORTLAND PREFER PORTLAND.
The burden of the complaint made
In the testimony of the Astoria wit
nesses, at the common point hearing,
which closed in this city yesterday,
was that. In deepening the channel
from Portland to the sea, the Port of
Portland had interposed a barrier
which prevented Astoria from becom
ing a great seaport. To nullify the
effect of this great expenditure of
money, which Portland has made in
order that the commerce of the Co
lumbia Basin may have easy access
to and from the world's markets, an
effort Is now being made to force the
railroads to haul freight over' the 100
miles of road between the two cities
free of charge. This proceeding
would be, of course, such a rank dis
crimination against Portland that it
would not be permitted to exist, for
some means would be found of re
moving it.
Zeal of Astorlans In attempting to
secure advantages which nature has
denied them is, of course, commend
able, and Portland has no objection
to Astoria getting all of the busi
ness that can legitimately be attracted
to the mouth of the river. But Port
land people In the future, as in the
past, will prefer to do business In
Portland. In deepening the river, In
providing railroad and wharf facili
ties and In entering objection to any
attempt by unnatural methods to di
vert to other ports traffic which nat
urally belongs to this port, this city Is
merely protecting its own Interests.
Astoria will continue to grow, and the
Puget Sound cities will do likewise,
but the extent of this growth will de
pend on the natural advantages of the
respective ports and the enterprise of
the citizens In making the most of
these advantages. -
Portland has no intention of mov
ing to Astoria, to Tacoma or to Seat
tle. The city was founded by far
seeing men, who selected the site at
the most convenient point at which
the commerce of land and sea could
meet for interchange. Time has al
ready vindicated the Judgment of the
founders of Portland, and there will
be no reserval of that Judgment.
Portland In the future, as In the past,
will maintain a channel to the sea of
sufficient depth to float any vessel
that can enter the river.
CONCERNING COMETS.
Next Spring will not be the first time
that Halley's comet has made a bril
liant appearance In the sky. It has
been a regular visitor to the solar
system for many centuries, perhaps
since the beginning of things, and has
more than once terrified the mighty
wHh Its flaming splendors. IJ was
this comet which appeared In 1456,
when the Turks were besieging Bel
grade and threatening to drive Chris
tianity out of Europe. Pope Calixtus
III was so frightened at the evil omens
he saw' In its tail that he launched a
bull against It and commanded all the
faithful to unite In prayer against the
monster. Their prayers prevailed. J
The comet sailed quietly away to
some other department of the universe
and did not a particle of harm. It Is
marvelous what an effect the petitions
of the pious sometimes have upon the
course of Nature, but in this instance
one may safely guess that the comet
would have acted about as It did had
Calixtus held his peace. The truth of
the matter Is that with all their pa
rade and bluster, comets as a rule are
not big enough to accomplish much
either for good or harm. In their
faculty for puffing themselves out so
as to present a terrifying appearance
witlsout much substance to back it up
they are amazingly like turkey gob
blers. The Ingenious Ignatius Donnelly,
the raging terror of orthodox Shakes
peareans, wrote a. book about the year
1887 entitled "Ragnarok," in which he
undertook to prove that the vast
"drift" of cobblestones and clay which
covers a great part of the Northern
Mississippi Valley was deposited by the
tail of a comet through which the
earth once had the misfortune to
sweep. In excited paragraphs he de
scribes the deluge of mud and stones
which desolated the world and slew
Its inhabitants. Incidentally he opines
that the Impact of the comet's tail
also slewed the earth's axis around so
that ever since that fatal day we sail
through space lopsided toward the
plane of the ecliptic. Of course the
succession of the seasons was funda
mentally altered by this catastrophe.
One may very easily be too hasty In
laughing the speculative Ignatius out
of court. He Is not altogether absurd.
That the' drift must have come from
somewhere Is certain, and nobody can
deny that the earth not only lops
toward the plane of the ecliptic, but
that It wobbles ungracefully as it
skims along. Just as it might do If a
comet's, tall had disarranged Its ideas.
The only serious trouble with Don
nelly's theory is that the tail of the
biggest comet ever seen does not
weigh much more than an ounce.
Sir Isaac Newton said on an occa
sion that If a comet's tail could be
compressed Into a thimble it would be
about as dense as the earth's atmos
phere. Imagine, then, how very far
from dense it must be when It is
spread pompously through a space of
some scores of millions of miles. In
fact, astronomers have been puzzled
first and last to conceive what the con
dition of the matter nust be which
composes a comet's tail. There are
few substances we know anything
about which are so exceedingly tenu
ous. The haze which thinly over
hangs the hills on a September after
noon is compact in comparison with, It.
Stars of the fifth magnitude shine
through thousands of miles bf tail
without any loss of brilliancy, and we
are pretty certain that on June 30,
18$ 1. the earth was Involved In one
for several hours, though nobody
knew at the time that anything ex
traordinary was happening. There
was no deluge of rocks and clay. There
was not even a pestilence or the death
of any renowned monarch. One curi
ous thing about comets' tails Is the
wav they sweep around through the
sky so a to keep, pointed lnraxlabuj
away from the sun. t The sun seems
to frighten or at least' repel them. To
accomplish this amazing feat they
scurry through space much more
s-wiftly than the theory of gravitation
permits, and savants have been hard
put to It to account for their conduct,
which Is highly erratic. If not scandal
ous. Speculation on this point has led to
the conclusion that the tail of a comet
Is not matter at all In the ordinary
gross sense of the word.' Neither is It
an actual ghost, one hastens to add,
though few things are more ghostly.
It is probably a wan and wasted as
semblage of electrons, -which, as
everybody knows, are nothing more
nor less than little wads of negative
electricity. Now the sun is negatively
electrified also, and when we recall
the fact that two charges of electricity
of the same kind always repel each
other, we have the secret of the
strange performances of a comet's tall.
It is driven away from the sun ex
actly as the thin leaves of a gold elec
trometer repel each other. But the
tail is not the whole of a comet by any
means, though it is by far the most
terrifying portion. There is also a
head, which, like the majortiy of hu
man heads, is comparatively quiescent
and Innocuous. We must beware at
this point of trying? to push the re
semblance between comets and men
too far, for while we possess a stom
ach, or middle segment, the heavenly
visitant has none. It is allhead and
tail, without body. x
The head or solid part of a comet Is
composed of that sort of material
which Ignatius Donnelly wrongly
placed In the tail, although he greatly
exaggerated the quantity of it in any
single one. It Is a mass of small
stones such as we often see falling
earthward on a clear night, a bunch of
meteors, in fact, held together rather
loosely by their mutual attraction.
Our November meteor showers come
from the rubbish which a comet has
scattered at the point where it crosses
the earth's orbit. Gravitation draws
them into the atmosphere, and when
they strike it the Impact heats and
usually vaporizes them. This Novem
ber meteor comet makes regular trips
around the sun. The same Is true of
Halley's and a few others, but most
of those which visit our solar system
sheer oft again into Infinite space and
never come back. They are ships
which we pass in the night, glimpse
fleetlngly and know nothing further
forevermore.
SOME OF OI'R FOES.
In one of the satirical chapters of
"La Terre," Zola tells how the hero's
wife and his1 cow happened to fall sick
at the same time. For the suffering
cow the good man labored with
strenuous zeal all night long. Piteous
was his grief at the thought of losing
her and great was his Joy when, as
the dawn broke, she seemed to be out
of danger. In the meantime his wife
had been left to get through the night
the best way she could. If she did
not die it was not because her hus
band valued her above his livestock.
The feeling that human life Is some
thing which it is worth while to take
pains to save seems to be one of the
last and highest products of civiliza
tion. According to Zola it had not
yet appeared among the French
peasantry' when he wrote "La Terre."
According to many observers it is
comparatively rare In the United
States. There is a bitter saving, com
mon among worklngmen, that human
bodies are the cheapest commodity on
the market. Dr. L. O. How&rS, in an
article in the Geographic Magazine, on
our economic losses through insects,
repeats the reproach that, while the
Government has done wonders to pre
serve the health of pigs, cows and
horses, it has never succeeded very
well in doing a similar service for men
on women. In fact, some' of our
state governments permit little chil
dren to be done to' des,th by the hun
dred In factories when, an easy leg
islative act would save them.
Dr. Howard's article in the Geo
graphic Magazine is reprinted from
one of the bulletins of the Department
of Entomology, and many others of
similar character have been issued.
Lately the Government has been try
ing to make the people of the coun
try understand what a dangerous
enemy they have in the common ty
phoid fly, which passes under the In
nocent alias of the housefly. This
filthy pest Is probably accountable for
more deaths than any other insect in
the United States, but, taking the
world over, the mosquito's record ex
cels. There was a' time when the
mosquito was thought to be a good
Joke, especially the Jersey variety.
Our so-called humorists have all had
their laugh over it. Nowadays th.
Joke has pretty completely disap
peared, and intelligent people under
stand that death has few more ef
fective allies on earth than the tiny
mosquito. Dr. Howard recursto the
well-known fact that the propagation
of yellow fever has been traced to
these insects in all parts of the trop
ics, and he tells again in his article
the Interesting story of the prevention
of yellow fever epidemics in Cuba, in
Louisiana, on the Isthmus of Panama,
and in other places, by draining mud
puddles and thus 'extirpating mosqui
toes. These pests played an important
part in causing the failure of the
French engineers who undertook to
dig the Panama Canal. Mosquitoes
not only killed off their workmen in
such numbers that excavation was Im
peded, but they were also fatal to the
officers, who were, of course, better
protected than the men. Dr. Howard
tells of a band of eighteen young en
gineers who came from France on
the same ship. Within a month all
but one of them had bfren killed by
Infection from mosquito bites.
The mosquito which spreads yel
low fever infection by Its bite is
called stegomyia calopus by the
learned. It is not so interesting to
people in this part of the world as
the species which carries malaria
from one person to another, because
we are not subject - to yellow fever,
while malaria knows no limits, either
of soil or temperature. The malaria
bearing mosquito is called anopheles.
Perhaps it has not yet made its Way
to the Columbia Flats, but if it ever
does, malaria may become as deadly
a pest here as It la on the Roman
Campagha. or about Lake Kopais In
Gieece. Places along the Columbia
have thus far been singularly free
from malaria, and .naturally the su
perstition has arisen that the locality
Is immune. One malarial patient from
some other locality, and a swarm of
anopheles mosquitoes to bite him and
carry his germs to other people, will
soon destroy this blissful illusion.
There is no such thing as Immunity
from malaria. It goes everywhere
and attacks everybody. Scientists es
timate that fully one-half the popula
t rt world nerishes. directly or
lndiroUy. from it affects, uisuiouij
L1V11 V. - " ' .... I
which have never known it before are
often uridenlv Invaded and made al
most uninhabitable. Some savants
attribute the decline of the Greek
race, which once dominated the
world, to an Invasion of malaria.
The country has now become so in
fested that almost every child is ex
pected to suffer from it. It stunts the
bodies of the people and. dwarfs their
intelligence. The beleif that it
strengthens the race by selecting the
hardiest for survival has been shown
to be false by experience. What it
really does Is to degrade the entire
stock. The Roman Campagna was
once a prosperous area of farm land.
It had mosquitoes, but their bite was
Harmless because there was at that
early day no malarial Infection for
them to propagate. During the wars
between Marius and Sulla mercenary
troops were imported who ' brought
malarial germs with them. The mos
quitoes of the Campagna then became
poison bearers and the entire region
was almost depopulated.
The beauty of all this Mes in the
fact that malaria, like typhoid fever
and yellow fever, is a preventable dis
ease. We suffer and die from it be
cause we are careless and lazy. Just
as we permit the filthy typhoid fly to
parade over our food and bestrew it
with deadly germs, so we permit the
anopheles mosquito to multiply in
pools and marshes which might easily
be drained. No mosquito is ever
brought to maturity on dry land tin
less some accommodating person sup
plies a rain barrel or tub for the wlg
gler to wiggle in until he gets his
wings. The scientific pessimist who
has predicted that the flats of the
Columbia will ope day be as deadly to
mankind as the Roman Campagna Is,
unless timely measures are taken to
drain them, probably exaggerates, but
the subject Is well worth thinking
about. 4
PHYSICAL BASIS FOR CALVIN'S THE
OIXMiV. The world has become accustomed
to the theory of the criminologist,
which seeks to excuse crime of the
low, vicious or vulgar type upon the"
basis of individual Irresponsibility,
superinduced by heredity and en
vironment. But it belongs to the mod
ern' pathologist to arraign men, who
burned their fellows at the stake for
the love of Christ, at the bar of cause
and acquit them on the plea that as
they were physically constituted, they
could not help doing as they did. .
Dr. I. A. Danforth, writing In the
Northwestern Advocate (Methodist),
presents from this standpoint a study
of John Calvin, which is interesting.
"It would be Impossible for a mod
ern physician," says Dr. Danforth, "to
regard the blood-curdling tenets of
Calvinism as the product of a healthy
mind." He goes on to say that "the
study of Calvin, great and lofty and
pure as he was, and ChrisUike, as he
tried to be, is really a study in mental
pathology." It Is further set forth
that healthy mental processes were al
most Impossible to him, since, inddi
tion to his self-imposed, extreme
asceticism and his excessive Intel
lectual labors, "he carried about In his
frail and half-starved body, a list of
diseases that would . have furnished
material for a professor of chemical
medicine through a whole lecture
term and then have enough left tor
half a dozen modern surgical clinics."
This estimate of his biographers is
the basis for Dr. Danforth's theory
that the brain of John Calvin was lit
erally poisoned toy the diseases of his
body. ,
Proceeding with his pathological
findings and arraying them in de
fense of Calvin, Dr. Danforth says:
If It were possible to subject th John
Calvin of October 2T. 1553. the day that
Servetus was bufned at the stake to the
refined processes of diagnosis of this present
da. what would the finding's be? First, ho
would be sadly wanting In red-blood corpus
clesthat is. he would be "anemic.": not a
drop ot healthy red blood would or could
be sent to his brain, because he had no such
blood, owing- to his ur.wlso abstinence from
sufficient nourishing; - food, and his ascetic
and sedentary lite. Therefore, lh. place ot
healthful oxygen-bearing red-blond globules,
with their life-givlns properties, being sent
to his brain, his cerebrumffauld b under
the depressing and toxic influence of carbonic
dloxld. which would be positively Inhibitory
of normal mental processes. Secondly, he
was suffering also from chronic septemia.
or blood-poisoning from the presence of
septic gepns. derived from any one of his
diseases which involved tissue destruction
or necrosis" like "hemorrhages and hemor
rhoids and ulcers." and so a modern bac
teriologist, could he have examined ttw blood
of Calvin, would have found two or three
varieties of pathological microbes circulating
throuKh his system, forming minute foci of
necrosis, and sending swarms of septic germs
to the already poisoned brain.
Thirdly, he was a chronic dyspeptic; In
fact, he was in a chronic state of mild
starvation, and his nervous and muscular
systems were calling loudly and constantly
for nourishment. . . . His work was the
product of a mind diseased," and he Is de
serving of aympathy and pity rather than
drastic and cruel criticism.
This is certainly a charitable view
to take of the case; possibly, also. It
Is a scientific view, and upon this
basis it may serve to explain and In a
sense excuse the ferocity of Calvin's,
theology.
TOBACCO AN 11 THE CLERGY.
A Vinma ri "! u n 7 f (1 rlpm'fnfltl.
which has just been closed in Phila
delphia, had only one inmate, in the
tnrAntv-nno von ra rtf Its existence It
has admitted only fifteen applicants.
The reason for this sad failure of an
admirable charity Is said to. be a
clause in the founder's will, which
forbade the decayed clergymen who
entered the home to use tobacco. Pov
Artv njirl a nine uppm to have charmed
the good old Philadelphia ministers
more than comfort devoid of nicotine.
Perhaps without nicotine "there was
no such thing as comfort for them.
Ministers, like other men, necome
nrottv cnmnletelv enslaved to tobacco.
nfiBn iislne- It a number of years, and
cannot forsake the habit without keen
suffering.
TYta mipHnn whether ah old man
ought to give up tobacco or not Is
rather devoid of interest. For the few
years he has to remain on earth it
makes little difference wnetner ne
smokes or not. Even If he "chaws"
we can extend the mantle of our char-
itv over him. A vastly more im
portant question is this: "Ought a
man, when he Is young, to acquire in
jurious habits which are sure to make
him their slave when he is old?" Es
pecially ought he to consider it when
the habits render him offensive to
other people. We can imagine nothing
more sadly pitiable than an old man
inumuhlA from his pine, who reeks
wirh ih inanfferabls odor of tobacco
and possibly wears a streak of the
Juice on his chin.
Of course one may try to evade the
dilemma by saying that tobacco is
not injurious and that the naoit or
using it is not offensive, but neither
nii fan Ha admitted. In spite of
many poets and a few physicians we
are oonstHined to believe that tobacco
1-mna.lrs the DhvRcal and mental pow
ers of those who use it. Certainly It
makes them objects to be shunned.
There never yet was a healthy man
who relished the undisguised smell of
nicotine.
STATISTICS. ACTUAL AND SUGGESTIVE.
A string of statistical figures may
be Interesting or not, according to the
use made of them.
The territorial area of the United
States not including outlying Islands
closely estimated, Is 3,602,990
square miles. That of Europe, includ
ing Russia in Europe, is set down at
8,986,975 square miles, nearly one
half -Russian; but division between
European Russia and Asiatic Russia,
is somewhat indefinite. In 1783, on
the achievement of our independence,
the area of the United States was
827,844 square miles larger than the
present area of Austria-Hungary, the
German Empire, France and Spain.
The Louisiana Purchase, with the
area added from the portion of Ore
gon territory retained after the treaty
of 184 added 1,171,931 square miles;
the FTCrida Purchase of 1819 included
59,268 square miles; Texan Annexa
tion in 1845 brought in 375,239; the
Mexican Cessions of 1848 added 691,
318 square miles. The Alaskan Pur
chase of 1867 Increased the National
area by 677,390 square miles, making
the present total on the continent
3,602,990 square miles. Area of our
outlying territories is thus estimated:
Philippine Islands, 127,863 square
miles; Hawaiian Islands, 6449; Porto
Rico, 3606, making for the Islands a
total area of 137,908 square miles.
The total population under the
Jurisdiction of the United States is
probably about 95,000,000, of which
almost 10,000,000 are in the outlying
Islands. The population of the Phil
ippines, upon their acquisition by the
United States, was overestimated.
The census taken in 1903 was not
wholly correct, but approximately so.
It gave a total for the group of 7,635,
426 inhabitants. In 1899 the popula
tion of Porto Rico was 953,243. It
probably now exceeds 1,000,000. The
Hawaiian Islands' have about 200,000
inhabitants.
We got by the Florida Purchase a
territory exceeding in size that of
England and Wales, and by Texan
Annexation an area larger than that
of Austria-Hungary, Italy and Switz
erland. The Mexican Cessions brought
us almost as large a territory as that
at the present time of France, Spain
and the German Empire (colonies not
included). Russia, except the Asiatic
part, is but little larger than the area
covered by the Louisiana Purchase
and the acquisition of Oregon. But
Jt is not probable we shall ever have
within the like area so dense, a popu
lation as that in Europe, from
the Mediterranean to the Baltic and
from the Atlantic to the Vistula not
because we have a less productive or
more waste land, but because we
probably shall not adopt on any very
extensive scale in our country the
humble, meager methods of life and
Industry that have grown up in Eu
rope during many centuries. Tet
probably we shall be more free from
devastating wars. In our country
there is a tendency to reduction of the
size of families, which is likely to
continue and Increase till exhaustion
of the resources of nature shall cut
off the hope of the many of improv
ing their condition or of 'becoming
rich. Then we shall have the familiar
paradox of Increasing numbers with
Increasing poverty and hopelessness.
But that will be far in the future.
WTTERE KIKE LOSS IS HEAVIEST.
The destruction of property by fire
Is a loss that Is hard to bear In pro
portion to the hardship that It entails.
It Is, at best, a waste of resources that
tvio cnmmunltv cannot afford, since. If
- -J v., tnoi,', nna tt f n m u nut nf
guvoicu uj iiwunw".v, ...
the heavy tax that .Insurance entails-
. Inli'Unala nt a miTlTTl I1T1 1 tV.
Upuil lliu luumuui-io - 1-
On account of the wide distribution
of the loss it is relatively lightly felt,
but It Is a waste, nevertheless, that
represents much striving in the larger
sense and not a little saving ana sen
denial In the smaller, since no insur
onoA mvers. or can cover, a loss so
many sided.
It is, however, wlien fire breaks out
in a farming community and destroys
in a few hours the Ja.bor of an entire
year for the most part uninsured;
when It leaps across the settler's
nionWntr and reduces his house and
barn to ashes; when it destroys his
growing or gathered crops, ruins his
orchard trees and leavesvhim and his
family smoke-begrimed, their wistful
eyes looking out of blistered faces,
their earthly all represented by smoul
dering, blackened ruins, that the
waste is plainest, the desolation that It
leaves in its wake the most brtter and
Thp evnresslon. "tried as
UVf . . -
by Are," takes on a literal meaning
under such conditions and they wno
face this trial are in far greater need
of immediate and material assistance
than are the majority of those who
face fire loss in the cities.
The latest message of distress, inci
dent to the encroachment of forest
fires upon country homes and crops,
comes from the Las Posas Hills, in
the vicinity of Ukiah, California.
Hundreds of tons of hay and beans
have been burned, homes In the can
yons have been destroyed and a solid
stretch of thirty miles, in the path of
the fire, has been laid waste. This is
the message that comes from this des
olated section of California. The con
ditions demand material aid, of the
practical order. This the state and its
great commercial city, though not long
ago fire-swept and later rehabilitated
by the unstinted offerings of generos
ity, will no doubt furnish. The aid
required is the easiest that it is pos
sible to render. People of this class
are unaccustomed to luxury, but they
are used to, and will duly appreciate,
means to help them help themselves.
ucoo triov must have, but the simp
lest structures will suffice; clothing
they require, but of the plainest sort;
fnnii but of the simplest. For the
rest implements, feed for- the stock
that was saved from the fire and seed
for resowing their burrred-off fields
these are the things necessary to put
the people of the burned-out farming
district again on the road to the In
dependence that comes through labor.
Portland has been generous to peo
ple near and far, who have suffered
loss from fire and flood, but it Is doubt
ful if Portland ever did a more gen
erous deed or one more fully ap
preciated than when, some seven
years ago, it came promptly and prac
tically to the help of citizens of East
ern Multnomah County, who lost
homes and crops and clothing in the
great forest fires that devastated a
large area In that district, In 1902.
There weie no frills put on the cloth
ing sent out to aesinuie iuiuucs aium i
the workrooms of the various churches I
and cliar liable organizations inat year,
but the unfortunate farmer folk were
well clad when the work ended. No
ornamental cottages rose on the sites
of burned-out homes, but the houses,
built of rough lumber, gave shelter
from the storms of Winter, and with
this and other assistance along prac
tical lines, the farmers took a new
lease upon opportunity and today no
trace remains of the black and bleak
desolation.
We can only hope that the thrifty
ranchers of the Las Posas Hills will
be as fortunate in receiving timely
and practical assistance In their need
as were the sturdy yeomanry of our
eastern foothills in their distress. Such
aid Is not charity, it is an expression
of simple humanity and true nelgh
borliness. Russian wheat shipments for the
week ending yesterday were 6,384.000
bushels, the largest on record at a
corresponding period. There was a
decrease of more than 1,200,000 bush
els in the. American shipments and
heavy decreases In the Argentine and
Australian shipments. These enor
mous shipments from Russia are quite
similar to tKe movement that set in
when the new Argnetine wheat crop
began coming on the market last Jan
uary. Present prices are sufficiently
attractive to Induce foreigners to rush
their wheat on the market in record
breaking quantities, and the heavy
shipments enable European con
sumers to meet their demands with
out necessity of abnormally high
prices, which a few weeks ago their
depleted stocks seemed to forecast.
The world may be following an im
provident policy by eating up the
available surplus of one country be
fore the crop of another country Is
harvested, but so long as these crops
follow each other In sufficient volume
to meet the demands, there will be
no abnormal prices. I
Admiral Lord Charles Beresford,
for fifty years a conspicuous figure in
the British Navy, in a speech at New
York Friday, made the very candid
admission that "supremacy at sea
means life or death for the British
Empire." He also stated that what
Great Britain desires is to hold what
it has. The announced policy of
Great Britain's chief rival, Germany,
is .continually to increase its power
on sea and land. As Germany has
practically reached the limit of ex
ploitation in its own territory, and the
most convenient field for a raid Is that
on which Great Britain has claims, it
Is daily becoming more apparent that
British supremacy at sea may now be
at Its maximum. Great Britain's
thirst for power and territorial ex
pansion up to the present time has
been such that the desire to hold
what it has was never so prominently
displayed, as the desire to grab every
thing in sight. This publicly ex
pressed modesty may be attended by
serious results when the news is
wafted to Berlin.
Evidence seems to be accumulating
that Papa Elkins Is to purchase the
Duke of the Abruzzl after all. It will
be remembered that a few months
ago negotiations were rudely broken
off because it was learned that the
Elkins family tree had no royal
branches. Subsequently Papa Elkins,
after a still hunt on both sides of the
country, ran down , and cornered a
title of his own. It has always been
a little hazy in the mind of the public
how this title had been lost in the
shuffle, while the Elkins fortune was
growing, but It Is said to bear the
proper hallmark and to be In good
repair. Most of the American mil
lionaires who buy foreign noblemen
for their silly offspring pay only for
the one title, but In the Elkins-Abruzzl
case it would appear that Papa Elkins
not only had to spend a large sum for
v,o rnke hut in addition was com
pelled to supply a title for his un-
i peueu iu ouv'J
American daughter.
I
"The Alaska Almanac," for 1909,
Harrison Publishing Company, Seat
tle, comes to the notice of The Ore
gonian a little late in the year, but
I it contains a. iiiifii-j
the beauties and glories and resources
and possibilities of Alaska, witn pic
torial Illustrations that add to the at
tractiveness of the text. Alaska has
made Seattle, and Seattle should ex
ploit and cherish Alaska.
Typhoid fever of a virulent type has
been disseminated by the water of an
old well on the Evangelical camp
meeting grounds near Jennings'
Lodge, on the Oregon City carline.
Three deaths have resulted. It be
hooves residents of that district to
look after the filth source which con
taminates this well, and, above all, to
shun its water as they would a pes
tilence. The regular dispute between the
wholesale and retail grocers in. the
matter of furnishing a supply of per
ishable stuff to hawkers at less than
retail rates is on. -Prices that con
sumers pay to whomsoever they pur
chase eurely ought to afford money
enough to go round and leave pur
veyors in all lines reasonably happy.
If one-half of the Portland peoplo
who visited the State Fair will attend
the coming meeting at the Portland
Country Club, success at Portland will
be assured. The round-trip fare to
Salem was $2. .To tho Country Club
races and livestock show it will be 10
cents.
By the aid of the Government
dredge Mathloma, river transporta
tion has been resumed between- Ore
gon City and Salem. It Is on a job of
this kind that the Government "gets
solid" with our Valley farmers.
Councilman Belding may succeed in
putting through an ordinance requir
ing a one-pound loaf of bread to
weigh sixteen ounces, but it isn't clear
how he can force a baker to sell it
for five cents.
Latest telegrams indicate that the
cities .of Detroit and Philadelphia are
more Interested in a local contest than
in the North Pole controversy.
And now the Southern Pacific is
going to harness the Clackamas above
Cazadero. Wonder is that the man
agement hadn't done it years ago.
Washlne-ton street is steadily com-
ino, ii n in the world. Its next step
will be a twelve-story building at the
northeast corner or t ourtn.
Another skyscraper for Washing
ton street! In a few years Portland.
too, will boast of a city canyon.
"Who said that the State Fair al
wajra brings raini
TOPICAL VERSE
Etiquette for Any African Jungle
- ' Hunter.
Laugh with the gay hyena.
Weep with the crocodile;
Attune your mood
To the jungla brood.
When others are smiling, smile.
Add with the busy adder,
Chatter with chimpanzees;
If porcupines
Have fretful spines.
Be tactful, and strive to please.
Clean the spots from the leopard t
Return the bear's fond hug;
When the tigers bound.
Lie on the ground,
'And act like a tiger rug.
With zebras wear striped clothlnsrj
With camels a camel's-halr shawl
Adapt your tone
To the beast's own,
And you'll have no trouble at nil!
Carolyn Wells, in Harper's Weekly.
rrogress.
When friends no longer cared to sit
Around and talk,
In olden times, one would suggest:
"Let's take a walk."
And then when walking was abhored.
And wheels came In,
It was quite common then to hear:
"Let's take a spin."
And then when bicycles were loathed
And autos plied
Across the land, was often heard:
"Let's take a ride."
But autos now are out of date
And airships ply
The air above, so now we sayi
"Let's take a fly."
What we'll do next nobody lcrtowa.
Perhaps suggest
When airships are no more the fad
"Let's take a rest."
Now York Sun.
Alaa and Alack!
The melancholy days are coma.
The saddest of the year;
School books now rise to take the place,
Of Johnny's fishing gear.
Boston-Herald.
Too Practical.
"Where'er I turn," he sadly said,
"A dreadful waste I seel
The clothes I wear from foot to head
With buttons are too free.
Upon the back and on the sleeves.
All uselessly and still,
They stand. And surely none bellsrve
They help keep out the obilL
"Upon each house what fancy lines
They carve and trace. 'Tls plain
That all those elegant designs
Do not protect 'gainst rain.
And pictures, lights and flowers there.
Where festal spirits meet
To dlno, but crowd the bill of fare.
They are not"good to eat.
"What fruitless vegetation grows!
What creatures vainly run!
What U3elessness we all disclose
In hours of rest or fun!
If power to do as I see fit
Were given to me here
I'd make this world before I quit
A vastly different sphere!"
Washington Star.
A Misspelled Tall.
A little buoy said: "Mother deer.
May eye go out to playT
The son is bright, the heir Is cleart
Owe mother don't say neigh.
"Go forth my sun," the mother said
His ant said: "Take ewer slay,
Ewer gneiss new sled awl painted red.
But dew not lose your weigh."
"Oh, know!" he cried, and sot the street
With hart sew full of glee.
The weather changed and snow and
sleet
And reign fell fierce and free.
Threw snow drifts grata, threw watery
pool.
He flue with mite and mane.
Said he: "Though eye wood walk bye j
rule
Eye may not ride, 'tis plane."
"I'd like to meat some kindly sole,
Kor here gnu dangers weight.
And yonder stairs a treacherous whole.
Two sloe has bin my gate.
"A peace of bred, ' a gneiss hot stake,
Eye'd cheews if eye were home;
This crewel fair my hart will brake;
I love knot thus, to rome.
Tm week and pall; I've mist my rode,"
But here a cart came passed.
He and his sled were safely toad
Back to his home at last.
Houston Post.
The Rlvnl Millennium.
When the 'lectric-light bulbs bloom
And the early eggplants lay,
When the weather counts Its change
And gets settled down to stay.
When tho chickens wear thoir "shoos'
And the pigs wipe all their pens,
I'll move out in the country on a farm!
When the -.vuiions take their tongues in
And the cherries throw no stones.
When the butter flics churn
And the corn-ears tend, the 'phones.
When the ants do all the mending
And the beeses wax the floors.
Then I'll move out in the country on a
farm!
A. C. Fitch, in Harper's Weekly.
The Doer.
Never "planned to Bonie fine day,"
Never "meant, to, anyway,"
Everything of work or play
Katydid.
Never "would have but for this,"
Never '-madfl the barest miss,"
Everything for woe or bliss
Katydid.
Never "would if others would."
Never "would, but what's the good?"
Everything just as she should
Katydid.
Never "would another trip,"
Never "had to let it slip."
Everything with firmest grip
Katydid.
New York Sun.
A Sky Hnnseboat Wanted.
Build me a househo.it, please.
To sail in the upper air;
In the skies I could take my ease
There would be no neighbor therel
Build me a houboat, pray.
That will float on the ether's blue;
I would co wiiere there's naueht to pay
Where no weekly bills come due.
I could sit at my humble door
And gaze on the vast expanse:
There would be no sounds galore,
No sights that -would vex my glance.
There would be no piano's strum.
No phonopi-aph loud and shrill.
And the bigsar would never come
To stand on my lonely .sill.
I could drop to the earth by night
And fill up my larder quick,
Then rapidly take my flight
Where the cloudbanks are piling thick.
Build me a houseboat, do!
I would dwell In the realm on high.
This planet may do for you,
But for quiet and peao I sigh.
New York Sua.
4