THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND. ArRTL 10, 1910.
POKTUXO. UEEGON.
Entered mt Portland. Oregon. Postoffloe mm
Fecond-Class Maxtor.
Subscription Bate Invarlablr ta AdrmiK-e.
fBT MAILO
&ily. Sunday Included, one year JS.09
I'ally, Sunday included, nix months... 4.2j
Iaily, Sunday Included, three montbf.. 2.2j
iJaily. Sunday included, one month...- -"3
raily. without Sunday, one year..... -
rJly. without Sundav. alx months.... 3-'J5
Daily, without Sunday, three month 1.75
Ially. without Sunday, one month 6
Weekly, one year : 1.0
Sunday, one year 2.50
fcutday and weekly, one year -
By Carrier.)
tally, Sunday included, one year 9.00
Dally, Sunday Included, one month....
How to Remit Send Foatofflce money
order, express order or personal check on
your Jk-1 bank. Stamps, coin or currency
are at the s-nder's risk. Give postoffice ad
dress in full, including county and atate.
Postage Kate 10 to 14 pases. 1 cent; 16
to 2 pages. 2 cents: 30 to 40 pases. 3 cents:
40 to 60 paces. 4 cents. Foreign postage
double rate.
Kutem Business Office The S. C. Beck
with (Special Agency New York, rooms 45
50 Tribune buildine. Cbicaco. rooms 01O-512
Tribune tuiltiins
PORTLAND. SVMAV, APRIL. 10, 1S10.
rOUTlt'AL RANCOR IN rOR-MEK TIMES.
Though defamation of eminent men,
by partisan spit ? and rancor, in our
time, has frequently been very com
mon, it has seldom reached during
recent jears the malignant fury that
characterized it very commonly in
earlier days. It- may surprise those
who haven't read the history of Wash
ington's Administration closely and in
detail to be told that our first of Fres
Merits first also of men and of patri
ots was reviled and defamed more
Terribly than any other man who ever
has occupied that position, or any
other in our country, with Hie pos
sible exception of President Lincoln.
The second volume of MeMaster's
(treat "History of the People of the
United States" contains perhaps the
best collected account of these attacks
on Washington. The citizen of our
own day, who hasn't had the curiosity
to look up the record, might be in
credulous when assured that a swarm
of enemies, detractors and calumnia
tors filled the publications of their
.day with invective - and denunciation
of the man who in a higher sense than
arty other in all history was the Father
of His Country: for Washington was
the one man who achieved the inde
pendence of this country of ours and
preserved it. But for him the Revo
Iittion would have failed; but for him
anarchy would have followed the Rev
olution, and then some kind of mon
arch leal or oligarchical government.
During the war he was beset by
ftibal In the army, consisting of plot
ters and adventurers, who, themselves
without military ability or constancy
in the fat:.. schemed to undermine
and overthrov- him. The heads of
this cabal in the army were Lee, Con
way, Gates and Mifflin; Lee. after
the lapse of more than one hundred
years, proven by papers in his own
Handwriting, discovered in England, a
traitor negotiating with the British
Ministry for betrayal of the colonies
Crates, inefficient and useless in the
army, but possessed of inordinate van
ity; Conway, a despicable conspirator,
w ho wrote anonymous letters to prom
inent men in and out of Congress, al
leging Washingt' n's responsibility for
recent military disasters, believed even
to have forged Washington's name to
papers designed to further the plans
of the conspirators, and a, Uttle later
driven from the army; Mifflin, more
Flupiil than malignant, yet at one time
desiring to place Lee at the head of
the army, and at another time to ad
vancc (Jates to that position. These
men and the supporters of their fac
tion had much influence at oneltime
and another in Congress. The attacks
of the conspirators on Washii ;rton
were Incessant and venomous to the
last degree. He never could know the
extent of tho conspiracy, nor assure
himself against betrayal of his opera
tions and or the army, even at the
most critical times. There was an ex
ample of it in the conduct of Lee at
Monmouth, where there was delib
erate attempt to betray the army and
to sacrifice the cause. These wretches,
through their agents, poured forth a
constant stream of abuse upon the ob
ject of their hatred. By these con
spirators Washington's motives and
patriotism were as incessantly im
pugned as his abilities were depreci
ated. It is not probable that any
other man whom our history has pro
duced could have sustained himself
and Ms cause amid such dangers from
treachery on one side and In the face
of a powerful enemy on the other.
After the war political and party de
tractors succeeded the military cabal.
From the beginning of Washington's
first term as President to -the end of
his life he was a-ssailed bitterly by poli
ticians: his motives and his acts were
subjected to every species of attack;
it was asserted continually that he was
plotting with others to betray the lib
erties of his country, establish an aris
tocracy and convert the government
into a monarchy; that he was a pro
tector of rascals and scoundrels in of
lice, and even was guilty of peculation
himself. The principal begetter of
these accusations was Jefferson: but
he was usually adroit and secret in his
proceedings, and only n part of his
work came to the surfa-eo in his own
time. He asserted that the Govern
ment under Washington was "gallop
ing into a monarchy." and affected to
believe that the zeal, the patriotism,
the eminent public services of Wash
ington and the men whom he had
gathered round him, were but a cloak
to cover up horrid plots dangerous to
the liberties of the people. Jefferson
was incessant in the prompting of the
more open assailants. Freneau'-; Ga
zette was the principal organ through
which these attacks were delivered,
for a time: afterwards Bache's Aurora.
Jefferson; as Secretary of State, kem
Freneau in official position in his de
partment, and Freneau in his old age
declared that Jefferson himself wrote
' or dictated the most virulent of the
nrticles that the paper had published.
ISaehe's Aurora said: "If ever a na
tion was debauched by a man. the
American" nation has been debauched
by Washington. If ever a nation was
deceived by a man, the American na
tion has been deceived by Washington.
Let liis conduct, then, be an example
to future ages: let the history of the
Kederal Government instruct mankind
that the mask of patriotism may be
worn to conceal the foulect designs
against the liberties of the people."
Men in Congress made similar at
taclrs. Among the most factious of
these was William Giles, of Virginia.
He urged the House to censure the
President, in particular for his foreign
policy: he did not believe the Admin
istration had been tlrm and wise: he
felt no regret at Washington's retire
ment, but believed it necessary for the
welfare of the country. The Aurora
newspaper, March 6, 1797, the day af
ter Washington's retirement from the
Presidency, said:
Lord, letteet now thy servant depart in
Vacs, for-' mine eyes have seen thy- sal
vation." was the pious ejaculation of a
pious man who beheld a flood of happiness
rushing In upon mankind. If ever there
was a time that would license the reitera
tion of the ejaculation, that time is ' now
arrived, for the man who is the source of
all the misfortune of our country is this
day reduced to a level with his fellow-citizens,
and is no longer possessed of power
to multiply evils upon the United States.
Every heart, in unison with the freedom
and happiness of the people, ought to beat
high with exultation that the name of
Washington ceases from this day to give
currency to political iniquity and to legalize
corruption.
Similar extracts, containing accusa
tions against Washington and the men
whom he had gathered ar und him.
might be multiplied without end
Washington leaned on Hamilton more
than on all others; and Hamilton iwas
declared to be a negro (he was born in
the West Indies), and a traitor, who
designed a separate monarchy for the
United States, and, failing in that,
reunion with the British crown.
It is needless to review in any detail
the fiercely defamatory matter uttered
against Lincoln, down to the day of his
death. Multitudes still living have
distinct recollection of it. The pres
ent day offers bad ex; tples of defam
atory accusation against men in high
place, but nothing perhaps quite so
violent as those which may be recov
ered from study of the records of for
mer times.
SENATE IS "EASY" HOISE "HARD.
It may be feared that the appropri
ations granted by the Senate may not
in all cases be conceded and confirmed
by the House. We speak now of the
appropriations for Oregon and Wash
ir.gton for rivers and harbors, which
have passed the Senate.
The Senate doesn't act in a spirit of
candor about local appropriations.
Whatever may be asked it usually will
grant in most casts not expecting the
appropriations to be approved by the
House, but relying o. the House to
reject them, or to pare them down.
Such is the situation is to the appro
priations in the river and harbor bill
for Oregon and Washington.
All who have had experience with
legislation at Washington know this is
true. These local bills can be got
through the Senate easily; first, be
cause the Senate doesn't want to
bother; second (yet this is the chief
point of the matter) because the Sen
ate expects the House to take the re
sponsibility and trim everything down.
On the part of the Senate the action
is evasive and uncandid. On the part
of the House, where the fight is to
hold down appropriations, or at least,
to distribute them, "there is contact
with actual conditions, hence it is
more difficult far to get local bills
through the House than through the
Senate. In fact, It isn't difficult at all
to get bills or amendments of this
kind through the Senate. But when
it conies to getting them through the
House "Hie labor, hoc opus est"
as the great classic poet said, when
talking of the difficulty of the ascent
from Hades.
What will go through the Senate
without question matters of this kind
it will require a hard fight to carry
through the House. The Senate, in
deed, expects the House to reject most
or all of them, certainly to cut them
down. They go through the Senate
easily for this reason.
So, if Oregon and Washington don't
get all the appropriations allowed by
the Senate in the river and harbor
bill, there can be no ccasion for sur
prise, on the part of those who know.
PI.VMBERS iXD LAWYERS.
Plumbers, whose alleged trust has
been assailed in the local courts, seem
desirous of convincing the public that
no trust or hold-up exists. But none
of them offers the one essential proof
that of reasonable prices for plumb
ing. Instead, they all stand together
same as ever, to collect the huge prices
that make nightmare for every per
son who builds a house or puts up a
skyscraper.
Plumbers could give a more con
vincing sign than by "fighting" the
present case in court, though of course
they have been summoned to the house
of justice and needs must answer.
Substantial reduction of charges and
curtailment of graft would make so
much difference that a jury could see
the square deal without the harangue
of an advocate. The over-burdened
public is waiting expectantly for the
Jobbers, who sell the goods at whole
sale, the bosses who sell them at re
tail and the journeymen who sell
"time," to do some gracious act be
sides hiring lawyers. However much
the plumbers may suffer at the hands
of the thrifty lawyers, that will not
lighten the burdens of the builders.
So that the public views, with extreme
solicitude, the co-operative effort of
the plumbers and the lawyers.
PRELIMINARIES TO 1012.
The Chicago Tribune has made a
poll of the Democratic editors of the
country to learn what their Presiden
tial preferences are. Out of the 1415
who responded only 418, far less than
one-third of the whole, are for Bryan.
Harmon's popularity falls short of the
peerless leader's by no more than four
editors. He had 414 votes. A curious
point in the poll is the popularity of
Roosevelt among the Democrats. It
turns out that 169 of their newspapers
want-hint for the next President. This
is more than one-third of the. number
for either Bryan or Harmon. In fact,
there is a significant lack of unanimity
in the sentiment of the answers to the
Tribune's question. The Democrats
are no more united on men than thev
are on principles. The party has at
present no leader and no platform. It
comes as near being chaos and noth
ing else as a party can without losing
its very name. The New York Times,
commenting on the result of the Trib
une's poll, remarks that the tariff will
be the issue in the next campaign and
that the country will not trust' t:.e
Republicans to revise it because they
have broken the promises they made
hi 1908.
Governor Harmon, of Ohio, also
thinks the tariff will be the predomi
nant Issue, and hi3 opinion is impor
tant. The fact that he stands next
to Bryan both among Eastern and
Western Democrats Indicates that he
may probably play a decisive part in
framing his party's next platform.
Judge Gaynor cuts no figure as yet.
Only thirty-nine papers in the entire
country made him their first choice.
But he is a growing man. Every day
he does something which gains new
respect for him and increases his fol
lowing. It would be unsafe to assert
that he will not head the next National
Democratic ticket. He combines in
his personality most of the elements
which will insure tremendous popular
ity when he becomes better known.
It may be admitted that tariff revision
will be the principal issue in the next
presidential campaign. Mistakenly or
not, the country . does not like the
Payne-Aldrich . bill, and nothing can
ever make it popular.
But that is a very different thing
from admitting that the people are
ready to trust the Democrats to re
vise the tariff. The discontent which
is apparent everywhere in, the country
is not with the Republican party, but
with certain Republican leaders. Prob
ably a majority of those who sincerely
demand tariff revision downward are
loyal Republicans and their wish is to
obtain their purpose by changing lead
ers within their own party rather
'than by going over to the Democrats.
The Democratic party does not enjoy
the confidence of the country and does
not deserve it. . In more than one
crisis the leaders, such as they are,
have betrayed the public to the so
called "interests," and the feeling-is
prevalent that they -would do the
same thing systematically if they con
trolled the National Government. The
next Congress may be Democratic, but
if it is, the reason will be, not that the
people like or trust that party, but
because they have not as yet any other
sufficient recourse. In districts where
Republican candidates appear whom
the voters believe they can trust to
carry out the promises of the platform
of 1908 there will be little or no dan
ger .of Democratic victories. The key
note of the coming campaign will be
not merely tariff reform, but political
sincerity. The voters are moved by a
predominant moral passion which all
hands will profit by recognizing and
bowing to.
AN TN TERES TING BOOK, THIS.'
Few recent books have interested
the churches more than Charles A.
Gordon's "Religion and Miracle,"
which seeks to prove that the Chris
tian faith does not depend : upon
miracles for its validity. -. Dr. Lyman
Abbott, in commending the work in
The Outlook, remarks that Jesus re
fused more than once to base his au
thority on his miracles. His mighty
works were simply evidence of his
power and kindliness, not of his di
vine mission.
In our day among people of en
lightenment the miracles not only do
not strengthen' the appeal of Chris
tianity, but they actually weaken it.
They form a burden to the faith in
stead of wings by which it soars. They
are something to b'e accounted for,
excused, hustled aside with more or
less open apology. Current Literature.
Irtn commenting on Dr. Gordon's book,
reminds the reader that he is a re
sponsible pastor and not a mere in
novator whose words carry no weight.
His pulpit is in" one of the historic
Congregational churches of Boston.
His purpose seems to be to free the
Christian religion from that connec
tion with miracles which is likely to
become more and more of a burden to
it with the development of intelligence.
To paraphrase Dr. Gordon's own
language, he has no interest in de
stroying any person's belief in mir
acles. He is only concerned to show
that, where the belief in miracles has
actually been destroyed, Christianity
still remains in all its essence. -'The
future of religion is not to be identi
fied with the. future of miracle."
This appears a much: safer vS well as
a more rational position than that of
the rash theologians who proclaim
that a person who rejects the miracles
must necessarily reject the whole
mission of Jesus. . Dr. Lyman Abbott
goes so far as to say that "if it could
be proved that Jesus Christ did not
arise from the dead, the proof would
take no intelligent disciples from the
Christian church." This is a strong
statement, but perhaps, if not, true
just yet, it will be in a few years. Of
course much depends on what one
means by "intelligent."
THE HIRED MAN.
A matron dwelling in the country
asks some interesting questions of The
Oregonian in regard to the proper
treatment of her hired man. Her hus
band is away fronf-home much of the
time, and therefore the management
of the farm naturally falls upon her.
Being unaccustomed to such business,
se is perplexed by a number of. un
certainties. For example, should the
hired man do the chores on Sunday,
or should he lie abed while she does
them herself? On week days should
the chores come in as part of his reg
ular ten hours' work, or should he do
them before he begins and after he
finishes-? If the hired man does not
work out a full month, ought his pay
for the fractional part to be computed
on the basis of 26 days or of .10? Im
portant as the particular points re
ferred to are in themselves, they are
still more important! because they are
significant-of the relation in which
this woman stands to her hired. help.
Since this relation is very much like
that of other people in the same situa
tion, it is not too much to say perhaps
that our correspondent's questions are
of universal interest.
In the good old pioneer days there
was a community of interest between
the hired help on the farm and his
employer. His home was with the
family. He dined at the same table
with the proprietor and his wife. In
the evening he shared in the conversa
tion which intervened between supper
and bedtime. On Sundays the farmer
and his hired man did the chores be
tween them and then rode to meeting
together In the family wagon. The re
lation of the hired man to his em
ployer was idyllic and democratic. In
due time he often married one of the
daughters of the household and suc
ceeded to a portion of the inheritance
which he had helped to till in the days
of his youthful poverty
It might Have been better for the
country if the circumstances of those
charming times could have been per
petuated everywhere, but they could
not be. The pride of prosperity grad
ually Invaded the farm as well as the
town and the ideal relation between
the husbandman and his help disap
peared. The hired man no longer
dines with the family, but devours his
food in a shed or at best in the
kitchen. At nightfall, instead of sit
ting round the glowing hearth to con
verse on intelligent themes with his
employer, he too often slinks away to
the saloon, if there happens to be one
in the neighborhood, or seeks his pal
let to lose his sordid memories in
sleep. - No more does he hope" to marry
the farmer's daughter. She moves in
a social sphere far above him, and if
she distinguishes between him and the
cattle he cares for, it Li because of the
gentleness of her heart and not be
cause she recognizes him as a fellow-being.-.
Taking these, unhappy changes into
account it naturally follows that what
some of our agitators call the "class
struggle" should show itself on the
farm quite as plainly as in the cities.
The hired man usually makes it his
principal business to do as little work
as he possibly, can for the pay he re
ceives. The farmer on the other hand
seeks to wring from him the last
atom of toil that his tired muscles will
.yield. He is a piece of machinery to
be used to Its utmost capacity.-When
the cogs are .broken and the joints
creak irreparably, God only knows
what is to become of him. The farmer
does not and moreover he does not
care.
These facts are n-t stated in order to
cast odium on either party. Sad as they
are they are an inevitable outcome of
the advancement of civilization. No
body is to blame for them. Nobody can
help them. Social evolution is just now
passing through a phase where the old
family aspect of servitude has van
ished and nothing better has as yet
appeared to take Its place. The con
sequence is a squalid - chaos which
makes the heart of the philanthropist
bleed . but for which his brain seeks
vainly for a remedy. Nobody w-ill hire
out to work on a farm any more if he
can find any other employment and
on the other hand the farmer's boys,
harried to death by the prospect of
unremitting toil, flee to the towns.
The production of food falls off pro
portionately every year. Prices rise
and discontent stalks through the land.
The Inefficiency of American agri
culture is to be attributed more to the
scarcity of help than to any lack of in
telligence among the farmers and the
scarcity of farm help, like that of
domestic servants, must be attributed
to the social degradation of the calling
as well as to the material hardships
which the degradation naturally en
tails. i
rroni these, premises -we mav now
perhaps -answer our correspondent's
questions without much difficulty. Of
course, the hired man ought to do the
chores on Sunday. - Whether he will
or not depends on his employer's de
termination. All that he can shirk he
will shirk. On week days the chores
ought to form part of the regular day's
work. If they consume extra time the
hired man ought to receive extra pay
for doing them. The employer should
no more ask him to work without pay
than he should expect pay without
work. For a fractional part of a
month the hired man ought to be paid
on the basis of 30 days to the month.
since even when he is not actively at
work he is supposed to be on call for
emergencies, such as the Sunday
chores and the milking on the Fourth
of July in the morning.
HOOD RIVER'S CT'RFEAt.
The reason for which Hood River
has repealed its curfew ordinance is
curious. The city seemsto have but
one policeman for night service, and,
inasmuch 'as he is busy at 9 o'clock
receiving hobos at the train and des
patching them on their way to the vast
and empty void, he has no time to at
tend to errant children.. Hence the lit
tle ones will hereafter parade the
streets until midnight. If they are so
disposed, and sleep in the apple-houses
or even in the orchards.
A town which can afford Xo employ
only a single policeman finds itself
in numerous embarrassing dilemmas
as a matter of course, but rarely is it
necessary to choose between the hobos
and the children as it seems to be in
this instance. To keep the place clear
of hobos is a duty which the officials
cannot neglect. To provide for the
welfare of the children is a duty which
it appears that they may neglect un
der sufficient pressure. The employ
ment of a second policeman would cost
more, one may suppose. than the
morals of the city's children are
worth.
But perhaps the city fathers of Hood
River have come to the conclusion
that the curfew ordinance did not ap
preciably benefit the morals of the
children. If it did not, we can hard
ly blame them for repealing it, but
for the information of the public they
ought to have assigned the actual
grounds for their action instead of
imaginary ones. Speaking generally,
any municipal regulation which seeks
to relieve parents of responsibility for
their children's conduct is not to be
commended. It may be assumed fairly
enough that the proper persons to
keep young children off the streets at
night are their fathers and mothers
rather than policemen.
There are serious objections to per
mitting the young to become too fa
miliar with the officers of the law. A
certain indifference to the disgrace of
arrest is likely to result froni asso
ciations of this sort. A curfew ordi
nance might possibly convert a merely
unruly boy Into a criminal under some
conditions. Perhaps after all Hood
River knows what it is about; but it is
disappointing that it does not say so.
OUR DANGEROUS NAVY.
Another fatality has been added -to
the long list which has- made the
American navy a poor place to look
for good life insurance risks. This
latest disaster. In which one man was
scalded to death and two others seri
ously injured, occurred on the cruiser
Maryland. The accident, as usual,
was caused by defective boiler-tubes.
These disasters, in which defective
boilers have nearly always been re
sponsible, are so frequent that it
would seem appropriate that a search
ing investigation be made with a view
to fixing the responsibility for them.
Boilers in a Government vessel are
seldom, if ever, subjected to a more
severe strain than is placed on boilers
in merchant marine craft in regular
service, but taking the relative num
ber of craft in the navy and in the
merchant marine, the percenage of
disasters of this kind in the latter is
so smuu as to oe naraiy noticeaoie.
This indicates clearly that the Gov
ernment Insists on a more rigid system
of inspection, construction and opera
tion of boilers in the merchant marine
service than in the navy. The situa
tion calls for reform either In the
construction department or in the en
gineering department on board the
vessels. From surface indications it
would appear that some branches of
the navy department may be suffering
from the same complaint that is no
ticeable in other branches of the Gov
ernment; that is, too much red tape,
and not enough horse-sense or me
chanical skill.
There is always a reason for boiler
tube explosions. If the boilers are in
charge of high-class engineers, it is
difficult to understand why these dis
asters occur with such frequency. Up
to date our new navy has killed more
of its own men in the boiler rooms
than it has killed enemies in battle.
If these accidents happen . as fre-
quently in time of peace, they will be
much more frequent and deadly in
time- of war.
NEW BRANCH OF FARMING.
A Walla Walla dispatch announces
that members of the Farmers' Union
, have decided to build a large mill at
or near v alia Walla for the purpose
of getting more money out - of their
wheat than they are able to get under
existing circumstances. Thus far the
Farmers' Union has had plain sailing
in all of its enterprises. World-wide
conditions since the union was first
organized have been such that higher
prices for wheat and other farm prod
ucts were inevitable. For this reason
there may have been a tendency to
credit to the Farmers' Union some of
the advantages in price which were
really due to other influences. Flour
milling is a business separate and dis
tinct from graingrowing. Since the
world began there has been an allot
ted place in the great industrial plan
for farmers and millers as well as a
large number of other tradesmen and
manufacturers.
The best results for the individual
or for society have n6t followed the
occasional attempts to consolidate too
many of these callings under one
management. For this reason farm
ers who are to make milling a branch
of the agricultural industry may be
disappointed with the results. The
flour milling capacity of Oregon and
Washington is about twice as large as
the demand for the output. This nat
urally creates strong competition, and
it is doubtful if there is another local
ity in the United States where flour is
manufactured on a smaller margin of
profit than in the Pacific Northwest.
These are the conditions the farmers
must meet with their mill. The ex
periment will be watched with inter
est." It is not a new one.
CURING CANCERS.
Some time ago the. Pennsylvania
Medical Society - appointed a cancer
commission to investigate the ravages
of that terrible disease and report
upon possible methods of abating
them. The report has now been pub
lished and readers who wish for th
full text may find it in the Philadel
phia North American of April 2. It
is one of those admirable scientific
utterances, peculiar to the modern
medical w-orld, which seek to benefit
humanity by preventing rather than
curing disease. Were the doctors as
selfish as men in general seem to be,
they would certainly not try in this
way to injure their own business. The
report of the cancer commission is
but one among many similar efforts
to enlighten the public as to its health,
no matter what the effect may be on
the incom of physicians. Progress
seems to be steady in the direction of
getting the better of disease by at
tacking it in the early stages or pre
venting it altogether, and we may see
the day when the principal business
of the doctors will be' to advise us how
to retain our health while we still have
it rather than how. to regain it after
it has been lost by ignorance or care
lessness.
- The Pennsylvania Medical Society
has no new cancer cure to offer. The
reliance of the report is entirely upon
surgery. It even -goes the length of
warning people against quack reme
dies of various sorts, especially the
contemptible "X-Ray" cures which are
so much advertised, r.nj3 so . utterly
worthless. All proposals to cure can
cers by means of lotions, plasters,
magic incantations and the exercise of
faith are set down as humbugs. In the
present condition of science the only
safe reliance is the surgeon's knife.
but it appears that this is by no means
to be despised or feared. By timely
action it is asserted that four-fifths
of the lives now lost from cancer can
be saved. Timely action is the essen
tial point in the matter. In the be
ginning few cancers are dangerous.
Not many of them are situated in
parts of the body inaccessible to the
surgeon, and, if completely removed
by the knife before they have had
time to distribute their wandering
germs to the vital organs, the patient
need not fear that they will return.
The report contains some instruc
tive notes upon the origin of cancers.
Vlthout speculating upon the difficult
question whether or not they are due
to a parasite, it takes the safe ground
that a cancer is liable to appear in any
part of the body where there is re
peated Irritation. A broken tooth
which lacerates the tongue may cause
a cancer. The use of a clay pipe
which sticks to the lip in smoking may
have the same consequence. This is
again one of the principal dangers
from the cigarette habit. Cigarettes
are pernicious enough in themselves,
but when we takeT into account tha
fact that by long use the habit of
smoking them may develop a cancer
on the lip they become doubly obnox
ious. If one must smoke cigarettes
or perish of ungratified desire, he
should by all means use the kind
which are provided with some sort of
tip which will not cling to the lip and
lacerate the membrane. Warts and
moles, in whatever part of the body
they may be situated, are said by the
Pennsylvania physicians to be pre
disposed to become cancerous. As long
as they show no irritation all is well,
but let the clothing or any other cause
set up an ulceration and they imme
diately become dangerous.
' It is a duty which every person owes
to himself and to those who depend
upon him to watch for the symptoms
of cancer so that he may resort to a
competent surgeon in time to have the
disease safely and completely re
moved if it appears. The malady is
increasing rapidly. Already, it is re
ported, there are parts of the country
where it is more fatal than tubercu
losis, and its share of the annual har
vest of death grows greater constant
ly. During the year ending last Sep
tember. 30.000 persons perished of
cancer in the United States. This
number exceeds by 10,000 the victims
of that disease in 1901. It follows that
the cancer death rate is accelerated
more than five per cent a year, and
the reader must bear in mind that this
Is a geometric ratio. The victims ac
cumulate precisely like compound in
terest. The Pennsylvania Helical Society
makes no recommendations as to diet
or habits of life which might be sup
posed to help ward off this mysterious
and fatal malady. The truth is that
most of the alleged facts of this sort
are superstitious. It is said by many
persons, for example, that tomatoes
predispose one to the attack of can
cer. Others saj' that the trouble is
caused by eating meat, but there is no
scientific foundation fop' any such
statements. They belong to the wide
realm of fancy. It must still be con
fessed by the physicians that they
know neither the cause nor the cure
of cancer. Our main reliance for aid
when once attacked by it must be upon
the surgeon's knife. Fortunately this
reliance is safe in eight cases put of
ten. Cancer is not necessarily a dan
gerous disorder. It only becomes dan
gerous by neglect. When it has so
destroyed the tissues that an artery is
opened, of course there is no more
hope. When its germs have been car
ried by the blood to vital parts of the
body, life is again to be despaired of.
But taken in the early stages, as it
may be In almost every instance, can
cer admits of easy and permanent
cure.
The communicabllity of tuber
culosis has often been attested by the
fading from this disease of one mem
ber after another of the same family.
This fact has given rise to the still
largely prevalent idea that the dis
ease Is hereditary, when in fact it is
merely communicable, the seed; in
such instances falling upon receptive
soil. A pitiful example of this fact was
lately drsclosed in Portland through
the ministrations of the Visiting
Nurses' Association. Five cases were
found in ojie fat-ily; f these the
father and mother had passed to the
incurable stage and the three children
are suffering from the malady in its
incipient stages. These people have,
presumably, lived in the same rooms,
breathed the same air. slept, perhaps
two in a bed. eaten from the same
table of food prepared by the mother
and, all unconscious of the danger of
infection, have communicated the dis
ease to one another by the close con
tact of their daily lives. This situa
tion, in view of the effort that has
been made to disseminate knowledge
upon this subject, is astonishing. It
shows how much yet remains to ' be
done in the way of educating the
masses upon the nature, prevention
and treatment of consumption.
Tho new site secured by the School
Board for the Lincoln High School is
an admirable one for the purpose.
After the mistake made in the location
of tho Washington High School build
ing a mistake that is apparent to any
one who approaches the building from
whatever direction the School Board
and citizens generally are to be con
gratulated upon securing a location
for the new Lincoln High School that
is at once sightly and well suited to
the purpose. To do the School Board
justice, it was not in favor of building
the Washington building on its pres
ent site. But the district owned the
lot, which, from its close proximity to
the Hawthorne School, was not sale
able property, and many taxpayers in
a spasm of economy vigorously pro
tested against the expenditure of
money for a more suitable location.
IX was not until the costly pile of
stone and cement took shape that th'i
unsuitability of the site was fully
manifest. Experience is a costly
teacher, but those who learn in her
school have a graduate- knowledge of
the subjects taken.
A patron of the Washington High
School protests against a. levy now be
ing made upon the ctudents of that
school to pay the expenses of bringing
a Salem High School baseball team
to Portland to play the Washinjrton
High School team. The protest is
based in justice and prudence. These
games between teams belonging to
schools outside of the city should be
discouraged, if not interdicted. The
best place in the world for high school
boys over night Is at home. The rea
sons for this are so obvious that it is
unnecessary to reepat them. Inter
collegiate games are distracting
enough and in many ways objection
able; inter-high school games, except
as thej- are played between students of
the high schools of the same city, may
easily become pernicious. It is not
wise to encourage them.
Employment of women as stenogra
phers, clerks and telegraph operators
in the offices of the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad has been stopped by order of
the directors. The order will not dis
turb women already in the service.
This class of employes, it is under
stood, have been remarkably faithful
and efficient in the several lines of
work designated, but by reasons of tho
limitations of their sex they cannot
rise in the ranks. And as the higher
officials of the railway companies are
drawn from the ranks of experienced
subordinate v-jr:ers. It Is manifestly
Judicious to keep J.hese ranks
full of available material. Tho order
is an arbitrary oner but not more so
than are the demands of business gen
erally. . The old adage that "the fool and
his money are soon parted" does not
always hold good. The modern game
for separating the fool from his
money, as played by Mr. Maybray and
a number, of others, discloses the facf
that there is nothing very "soon"
about the performa-.ee. When the
modern bunco man taltes the trouble
to carry a victim all the way from
New York to Florida in a special car,
the parting of that particular fool and
his money is attended by so many
complications and incidents that, com
pared with the old gold-brick game in
which the Indian handled the gold, it
is like a race between a thoroughbrel
and a plow horse.
The money that Gifford Pinchot is
spending in Europe would plant many
square miles of land in the United
States that needs reforestation. Yet
Plnchot's fad is conservation.
George Gould will give his daughter
a $600,000 mansion. He expects the
son-in-law to put up the money to
rtn it. No wonder Count Boni was
not eligible.
A comet is an illusory ghost of some
departed star glory sent from 1' nit
less space to make so-called experts
on planet earth think they know just
what it is.
Legend and superstition call f r
sunny w-eather on the second Sunday
after clear Easter. Now we shall tee
again.
If Roosevelt made Tillman sick that
last time, Tillman ought to know at
last that Rorsevelt is a pretty big
man.
Meanwhile the coal of Alaska is
safely conserved just as it has been
for the last ten million years.
Mr. Heney also goes abroad. Things
have been rather tame :-i America
since T. R. went away.
An early morning comet gives sky
gazers excuse for staying out the night
before
TOPICAL VERSE
Throusli Thick and Thin.
You who whisper that you love mc.
Pause a moment: tell me this:
Will you. think you. still drain of me?
Will you crave of me a kiss.
When the years have added fatty
Tissue to my slender frame?
When I'm neither trig mr natty.
Will you love me just the same?
Wili you still keep up your ardor
When 1 am of ample frirth?
Won't your heart far me srrow harder
When my footsteps shake the earth?
Do you think you'll love nte duly
When I grow so lursre as that?
Tell me, darling; tell me truly.
Will you love me when I'm fat?
New York Telegram.
In Ilwana Tuinbo's Story.
In Bwana Tumho's story
We got the painful facts.
And all the details gory
Resulting from l-.i.x acts.
He tells us how he sisrhted
And what he aimed to hit.
And when the ball alighted.
Just what became of it.
'What time I killed a li n,"
Says Bwana at his best.
"I firmly glued my eve on
. The middle of his chest.
The hall a 40 rtodel
Impinged upon his hip
And ranged into the caudal
Appendage nar the tip."
In Bwana Tumho's story
We hear the bullet thud.
And what is even more. we
Can smell the fumes of b1or4.
He's very frank about it,
And leaves the reader no
Alternative to doubt it.
Was even thus and so.
"I came upon a kudu."
- Says Bwana in a place.
"And doing what but few do,
I shot him in the face.
The bullet smashed his gizzard
In forty thousand bits.
And strewed from A to Izzttrri
His obfuscated wits.''
Jn Bwana Tumbo's story
There is no tempered word
Or show of allegory
Concerning what occurred.
It's all set down precisely.
As it appeared to him.
And nothing is said nicely
That truth to tell war; grtm.
"I hit him in the shoulder."
Says Bwana in his stj-le.
"He shut up like a foider. v
And perished w-ith a smile.
It was the Holland slew him
The steel-nosed 42
And It made a hole clear through him,
That I tossed my helmet through."
St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Pinal War.
Oh, East and West shall know not rest
and the seas shall run blood-red
When the fierce war dogs of the. world
break loose from the thrall of their
resting bed.
There's a sign in the North and a sim in
tlie South that blood shall flow no
more
But the signs of the stars say too, that
Mars must have his glut of wttr.
0 God! what a hell the signs foretell
of the final clash of the Powers,
When the great steel ships which their
sons have built shall go to thir
testing hours:
Then blood in the North and blood in the-
South and blood in the West will
flow,
And the old white priest of the hoary
East shall reap blood as his woe..
We have set our seal on tho might of
Bteel, and the steel some test must
find.
Uro we cast away tho grim old dream
and know that our eyes were blind.
There is but one door that leads to th
- light and Mars knows that right
well.
He will give tho word when hts wrath I
stirred which will loos a his hounds
of hell.
Then East and Wtest shall kaow not rent
and the flags sliall dip In th red.
And. the seven sean shall open wide to
engulf tha Nations' dead.
And tha stars shall smoke and tha sun
grow dark till the mighty caxnaga
cease,
Then over the world shall he unfurled
the one white flag of Peace.
Boston Transcript.
Resolutions.
1 ain't a'goin to git mad when the gas
man comes arotrn'
With a bill that lookB as if rdi furnished
gas fer half tho town.
I won't fume an' flare an throw a fit,
an' tear my hair an' cuss.
When tho stovepipe comes a-rumblin'
down on' makes an awful muse.
Or if when I have gone to bed.
The telephone should ring.
An' to my bare an" tender feet I'd quickly
have to spring
To find there's nothin' doin".
An" they've rung me by mistake,
I'll simply swaller down my rage.
An' bear the cold an' shake.
An' all the other cares of life
I'm goin' to ignore.
There ain't'no pesterin' troubles
Goin' to hurt me any more;
For I've made my resolutions
That I'm goin" to keep or bust.
An' rm never goin' to worry
Or sit mad until I must.
Indianapolis News.
The Spendthrift Muses.
He slaved along for se-veral years
And made a tittle money.
He had a host of woes and fears,
But saved a little money;
He never had the time to spend
An evening with some cheerful friend.
He kept on toiling' to the end
And saved a little money.
He died last week, and folks now say
He saved a little money;
Nobody mourns although he may
Have raved & little money;
I hope that when I come to die
Folks will not worn me where I lie.
Therefore, old scout, I shall not try
To save a little money.
St. Louis Star.
Seedtime and Harvest.
I've got a new seed catalogue.
All full of pictures bright;
No flower bed or garden patch
Was ever such a sight.
They make me want to seize my rpade
And dig from morn till night;
I like my new seed catalogue,
"Tin such a wondrous sight.
The roses are as big as plates.
The onions are the same;
To lug the watermeloi s round
Would make a fellow lame.
The beans are 14 inches long.
Cucumbers 23;
O, what a mess of giant stuff.
Within my book I see!
I'll plant a bed of everything.
And then I'll watch them" grow;
I'll get a magnifying glass
And study every row.
And if I gut a Summer squash
As big as half a crown.
I'll b the wonder of the year
In this suburban t,own.
Boston Herald.