TTTE SUNDAY OREfcONIA- PORTLAND,. . JUNB
1911.
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riOCREMIVRI ARE THE HKIRMISII
uxr.
Th Republican party. a changed
by th developments of recent years,
may be compared to an advancing
army. First, there are the acouta and
ret-nnnolterlng parties, known aa In
surgents or progressives, who explore
the country on the projected line of
tunrch. propose new subjects of legis
lation and roughly outline the method
of treatment. But the generals who
really frame and carry through the
new law, find much to change and
tone down In the roughly drawn plana
of the Insurgents. Lastly, coma the
rear guard, stragglers and camp fol
lowers, who are the standpatters and
conservative. The party must te!d
fcimethlng to its conservative element
or that element will refuse to move.
Valuable service has been rendered
the Republican pnrty by La, Kollette.
Cummins. Borah. Brlstow, Norrla. Len
mnt. Murdock and others In exploring
new fields of legislation and striving
to hasten the advance of the party Into
those fields, but Roneevelt and Taft
have had to modify their p'.ans to sat
lfy the more moderate demands of
the main body and to Induce the con
servatives to make any advance at all.
Without the progressives It might have
teen Impossible to advance, without
the conservatives legislation might
have gone ahead of public opinion
and the new Jaws might have been
Ineffective through Jack of that force
to Impel their execution. If th party
advances too slowly, the progressiva
aiement deserts to the opposite party
or forms a new one; If It advances too
fast, the conservatives do the same.
As head of the Republican party.
President Taft I' advancing, as fast
as safety will allow, along lines marked
out by the'arlrator and propagandists
who have cultivated public opinion tin
Ill it Is ripe for change. Ite Is not
advancing ao fast but that the con
eiervattves follow. reluctantly. It is
true, with occasional concession and
with more frequent calls to "hurry
up." But still they follow. Roosevelt
aw that public opinion was ripe for
railroad legislation, thanks to tho pio
neer work done In Iowa by Cummins
ad In Wisconsin by La Follette nnd
aha put It through. In operation It
ehowed certain defects and Taft. fol
lowed with another law. Roosevelt
feegan the work of prosecuting the
rusts and rebaters and got It well un
der way. Taft has driven It through
to the point where the oil and tobacco
decisions hare clearly defined the law
and has extended It to many mora
combinations.
But Taft'a work hx not been con
fined to the continuance of his prede
cessor's policies; he has Initiated poll
ties of his own. He founj public opin
ion ripe for tariff reduction and
forced his pnrty to take action, but the
leaders In Congress were lagging ao
far behind public opinion that they
passed the unsatisfactory Paye-Ald-rlch
law and public opinion rebuked
them with the defeat of 1910. Still
Taft continued to drag the conserva
tive along the road he had chosen
and secured the temporary tariff
board. Next he negotiated the Cana
dian reciprocity agreement and when
a large section of his army refused
'to go with him he accepted the aid of
'Iemocrat In carrying out an oft-de-!
claxed Republican policy. Ha has one
I more battle to w in and that policy will
; ta In effect.
The conclusion is that men who
.make good Insurgents, such as I -a Fol
llette, do not make good generals, for
'they are always too far ahead of the
public opinion of the time to accom
jjllsh anything. La Kollette would not
make a good candidate for President.
, because the measures he advocates are
tabout two Presidential terms ahead of
'the times and therefore he could not
carrv the whole party with him. He
'would hare the enthusiastic support of
th progressives, tho reluctant support
'of much of the main body, but the
i open hostility of the conservatives.
That would mean defeat for the party.
'And by th time the party had caught
J tip -with h!s policy be would again be
far in advance.
, Taft. on tha other hand, ran hold
..ha support of the progressives since
they know that he will advance In
,4helr d'rection. though not at their
,paca Ha has tha undivided support
.of the main body, w hich desire prog
reaa by steady strides, not by leaps.
which imply rebounds. Ho has the
upport of the conservative for they
realize fnat some progress is unavoid
able and that Taft'a pace la more con
ducive to their comfort than I Fol--lette'a.
Moreover, they are much
chastened by recent experience.
gocro Antic vs rack ishx
Attacks by blacks on white women
'In South Africa have caused tha Brit
ish colonists to revert to the view of
tha race question w hich was taken by
tha Boers and which was the original
cause of the conflict between Briton
and Boer. White mobs have threat
ened to lynch two offending blacks
In Natal, and a white man shot
dsaJ a black who had Insulted his
daughters. Tha problem, which Is
made mora serious than In our South
ern States by the fact that the black
ctnumber the whiles to 1. I evl
tertly drawing together tha two con
victing white races nnd extinguishing
tie, last traces of animosity remaln
lEf from the Boer War.
Th Kaffirs were delivered from
larery by the British In Cape Colony
anJ har a!wa been given much
freedom r the government and treat
ed with humanity. Their enfranchlse-
' me.-.t provoked the Boers to migrate
rtcrthwrl and organize th Orange
iFre Srat and Transvaal Republic,
t wtf r they znaJntaJnad slavery and re
cruited It by raids on th surrounding
tribes. One of these raids caused a
race war which threatened the Trans
vaal Boers with extermination and
caused the British annexation of tho
republic and all the subsequent wars,
of w hich the cllma Is the Dominion
of South Africa.
It Is a strange turn of events that
the humanitarian" British policy,
which enfranchised the Kaffirs and
. - .u.i- tnfdr.iplhal wars.
should have not only caused s series j
of wars with the Boers, tne issi oi
which has almost broken the back
r.r ih. rm.i ifh tht. but caused
auch an Increase In th black popu
lation that it iaa become a menace to
tb scanty white population.
BOtRXC THE rtOWHAV.
It may as well be confessed that the
populace of Oregon Is disconcerted at
the announcement of Senator Bourne
that he will conduct a speechless let
terless, moneyless, voteless, campaign
for re-election next year. Our sorrow
Is only In part aasusged by the com
forting assurance that he will run.
though he will do all his running from
a great distance an absentee and run
less runner, aa It were.
Xo more will we hear the eloquent
words of that ringing voice from th
platform. No more will we hang about
th cross roads postofflc awaiting th
latest proclamation by mall from
the ever-ready Bourne typewriter. No
more will we be gently taken by th
lapel of the coat and urged off Into
any adjacent cosy corner to hear the
magic words of pertuasion and wis
dom delivered In that magnificent
whisper. No more will we be tantalized
and tickled and teased with awful cu
riosity aa to whether this candidate or
that, shouting r.ow with Impressive
fervor his undying fealty to the people,
has established satisfactory communi
cation with the Bourne sack. No more
will we pick up our favorite weekly
paper and there dtacover on the first
page the benign countenance of our
much-loved Senator double column,
next to pure reading matter facing
th delighted reader with the smile
that won't come off. No more will we
behold that earnest friend of th peo
ple, clad In the toil-stained habiliments
of his laborious profession, diligently
pursuing his weary way to the golf
links, there to conquer a few obsti
nate bunkers and knock about & few
low balls all In th Interest of th
common people. No more will we see
our noble-hearted Senator mingling
daily among th common people, slap
ping Tom on the back and giving Jerry
a hearty shake of the hand, and re
sponding cordially to all Invitations to
visit his admiring constituents In their
humble homes. No more, no more.
Alackaday!
Clnclnnatus Bourne will stick xeal
oasly to Ms plow till he again hears
the call to duty. If the voice is dumb
th plowing will go on. If w los
thereby the services of a great slates
man we gain tha work and labors of
a steady and persistent plowman. And
Oregon has a plethora of statesmen
and a paucity of real plowmen.
TlfX jr.Ws AND THE ARM V.
Wa are disposed to sympathize with
th kindly old Scotch woman w ho be
lieved In giving the devil his due.
Whatever his moral lapses might be.
she declared, his industry at any rat
was praiseworthy. The elegant Colo
nel In the Regular Army who in
curred Mr. Taft'a wrath th other day
Is far from being the devil. He Is not
even a devil. The worst one can say
of him I that he Is a simpleton, but
on Instinctively feels that in rebuking
his Indiscretion the President dealt
rather harshly with a man whose fee
ble Intelligence went far to excuse his
folly. What this silk nnd feather
Colonel did was to prevent the promo
tion of a young Jew who had made
an excellent record in the ranks and
was ambitious to rise to the station of
an officer.
Our perfumed darling of the mili
tary aristocracy denied his application
on the ground that a Jew is not so
cially eligible. As an officer the young
man would be more or less In associa
tion with the genuine nobility of the
land and think of the horror of th
situation. .The duties of such officers
being largely social, of course they
naturally think more of th social than
of the military qualities of their com
rades. Th main question concerning
some Colonels and Generals Is not
whether they are good fighters but
how skilfully they can lead the ger
man. Their deftness at trldge Is an
Infinitely more Important considera
tion than their knowledge of military
tactlca and even cowardice might be
pardoned In an officer who could set a
good eampt ty wearing perfectly
tailored clothes.
We have not been told whether th
young Jew In question was distin
guished for military ability or not.
The probability Is that he had made
an exceptional record In that respect or
he would not have dare'd to apply for
promotion In the face of the social
difficulties which he must have known
would confront him. In France, be
fore th revolution, nobody could be
an officer In the army unless he was
of the fcluest blood. Sixteen unexcep
tionable quartering were required on
Ida coat of arms. It was one of the
worst social offenses of Napoleon that
he abolished this sacred requirement
and opened the road to a marshalshlp
of France to the. lowest peasant who
showed that h waa fit for th dig
nity. Too elegant army officers nat
urally detest thla policy. - Being them
selves for th most psrt derived from
a long line of ancestors whose bands
never were polluted by toll and whose
blood was of the purest origin, how
ran they b expected to tolerate asso
ciation with the sons of Jews and
American farmers? Perish the
thought. Whatever else happens to
our Army let us for heaven's sake
keep It at least fit for admission to
good society.
If th young Jew whose applica
tion for promotion was denied by our
pomaded and powdered Colonel was
not a man of courage he differed sadly
from most of his people. Th Jews
never hav waged wara of conquest
sine they marched from Egypt and
took possession of th Promised
Land, but they have held their own
pretly well, compared with other na
tions, both In war and peace. What
other race has clung to Its religion,
laws, family customs and social or
ganisation so long and successfully in
th face of opposition so bitter and In
cessant? The Roman found Palestine
on of th most difficult of their con
quests. If we may trust Josephus.
Titus could not have captured Jerusa.
lem In th last terrible siege. In spit
of all th resources of the Roman
Empire, had th people within the
walls been united. It was their fac
tional dissensions and not th power
of Rom which finally subdued them.
Few defenses have been mora heroic
than that -of the Jows against Titus.
Motley makes much of the stand the
Dutch made at Leydcn against the
Spaniards and certainly It was admir
able, but their sufferings were a Sum
mer pastlm compared with those
which Josephus describes In the siege
of Jerusalem.
But tha military virtues are not the
only ones which the world has found
useful. Formerly they were of prime
importance and, of course, they are
still useful, not to say ornamental, but
there are others which mankind would
probably dispense with less cordially
in thees days The Jews have made no
conspicuous record in modern war
far because they have not been or
ganized as a nation and have had no
armies of their own. but In tho troops
of other countrlea they have won envi
able renown like the military adven
turers who have shed no much luster
on th name of Ireland. If they have
not been at the head of armies very
frequently we must remember the silly
prejudice which has constantly hin
dered their promotion. Idiots are not
confined to the American Army. They
ar to be found in all armaments.
Apart from military affairs the Jews
have no doubt produced mora disting
uished men in proportion to their
numbers than any other race of men
without exception. In statesmanship.
In science. In art. In trade they have
made their way to the front and held
their own In all encounters where they
had anything like fair treatment. Their
achievements entitle the Jews to a
place In the foremost rank of civiliza
tion. To deny It to them Is sheer in
justice. As for odety" It Is a phan
tom affair. Us laws are trivialities and
Its customs for th most part sense
less. If It chooses to exclude the Jews
they can easily make up for the loss
by organizing a better social life of
their own.
But public office and promotion In
the Army are different matters. Here
th issues are not mere chimeras from
th soft brains of fops. They concern
th real welfare of mankind and to
deny to the Jews the Just rewards of
their merit In these fields Is to Inflict
upon a great and honorable people an
unpardonable wrong.
PAVAMA CANAL A COOD BAKGAINV
The report of th new commission
of appraisers shows that President
Roosevelt got th best of the bargain
when he fjought the Panama Cnnnl
from the French company for J0.
000.000. The new appraisers, who
were appointed soon after Representa
tive Ralney scented a scandal In the
deal and mad sensational charges
which culminated in the libel tuits
which ver recently dlsmissd. The
new appraisers find that the excava
tion done by th French was overval
ued $2.0S4.79S. but that tho Panama
Railroad stock was undervalued 12,
794.320, and that tha original ap
praisal of maps, drawings and rec
ords at 12.000,000 was correct. The or
iginal estimate mad a lump allow
ance of $3,675,967 to cover omissions.
This Item covers the following includ
ed In the appraisal of the new com
mission: Material and equipment I2.112.l3
ButliilniB 2.0..4 20i
Lnd. J.ooo.oou
I t. of I'aciric ablj channel. . .'.0O.0O0
Itoadmaklnx and :!arlng 100.0UO
Total SS.760.200
Mr. Ralney's contention was that a
large part of the $40,000,000 was not
paid to the French company, but to
certain attorneys and middlemen who
negotiated the sale. Mr. Roosevelt
contended that it was no business of
his to whom the money went: all he
was concerned with was the question
whether the property was worth $40.-000,000-
Ha believed It wa.s a good
bargain at that price and he let the
Frenchmen do what they pleased with
the money. The new appraisal shaws
that he got $2,799,826 of "velvet," and
if W. N. Cromwell and his associates
got a fat fee from the Frenchmen, to
much the better for Mr. Cromwell et
al. The Frenchmen got rid of an In
vestment w'hlch' they were unab'e to
complete and put on a paying b.iris.
so they are satisfied. The only pfr
son who is dissatisfied appears tj be
Mr. Rainey, for he has a suppl of
spoiled campaign material left on his
hands.
A BII.IOIS VOICE FROM TKXA8.
The Oregonlnn has received from a
friend a newspaper curiosity In the
form of a clipping from the Houston
(Texas) Post. It Is an account of his
travels through Oregon by a dyspep
tic Munchausen from Texas. This
unblushing romanclst aays he bought
a team at Pendleton, and drove
through Central Oregon to Klamath
Falls. He found "not a stalk of corn
east of the Cascades, nor a cabbage
head, nor a hill of beans, nor a water
melon, and hardly a satisfied man."
Everybody was starving or trying to
get away. There was no water. Fresh
meat was unheard of. Canned gooda
were the main means of subsistence.
Horses and cattle were dead from
starvation. People were merely ex
isting, not living. The country was
sandy, full" of sagebrush and grease
wood. And more sensational, extrav
agant and untrue stuff like it.
We shall not tarry to defend- and
describe the comfortable homes and
prosperous ranches of Harney and
Crook counties, nor the beautiful and
productive orchards of Summer Lake,
Goose Lake and Chewaucan, nor the
Irrigated farms about Redmond, nor
the great live stock establishments of
Klamath and Lake, nor the thrifty,
wellfed and contented people of all
that Immense region. No traveler
who looks for watermelons in the
Springtime and satisfied men In the
barrooms and wayside inns will
emerge with many happy experiences
or recollections. Tou can find In
Eastern and Central Oregon pretty
much what you look for, from chaln
llghtnlng whiskey to scribbling ptid
d In' -heads. Just as you can In Texas. -
A resident of Oregon, who spent a
few months In Southeastern Texas
several year ago, came home a shat
tered Invalid, poisoned with malaria
and shaking with fever. He gave a
llttl volunteer testimony as to the
mighty state of Texas that will
hardly make pleasant reading there.
"Texas." he said, "has store cattle and
fewer dairies, more meat and fewer
good beefsteaks, more horses and
fewer good roads, more preachers and
less religion, more law and less ob
servance of law, more doctors and
less health, more hotels and less good
eating than any state In the entire
Union. There are a billion mosqui
toes, bugs and other vermin to the
square Inch, and there Is not a win
dow screen to b found. Tou 'have
the alternative of drinking swamp
seepage or bad whiskey, and either
means certain death. The sun bolls
away all day and you sweat and
scratch away all night. You shake
with chills or you die with smallpox.
Tou pass the hours between yearn
ing for a good drink of fresh water
and dosing yourself with quinine and
calomel. Living in Texas is a waste
of time, a sheer theft from a miser
able eternity."
Of course, this Is the worst of
Texas, a bilious view due to the un
fortunate experiences of one sick and
discouraged Individual. Texas has
many attractions for the homeseekers
and many monuments to the enter
prise and industry of a fine popula
tion, it has great cattle ranges,
mighty farms, splendid cotton fields,
beautiful cities and a patriotic and
worthy people. The man from Ore
gtn who goes there can find as much
to condemn more. ' we think If he
is hunting for It. aa the Texas sooner
who comes to Oregon onlly to be dis
satisfied with everything and every
body he sees. '
The traveling contributor of the
Post had evidently left his. calomel
and quinine at home. He. had to get
rid of his stored-up bile; so he spread
It all over Oregon. -
READERS TS JTEW YORK '
It is natural for a man of confirmed
literary habits, like Dr. Robert Under
wood Johnson, editor or th Century
Magazine, to think that everybody who
does not read much la a sad sinner. Dr.
Johnson is very much of thla opin
ion as he made perfectly clear in his
commencement address at the New
York City university. In this discourse
he berated the .Inhabitants of the
metropolis in good act terms because
while they publish a great many books,
they read very few. New York, he de
clared, had been . "swamped by the
Imported provincialism of the rich"
and In Its greed for money, the lusts of
the eye and other fleshly delights had
about the same as forgotten how to
read.
We are not surprised at this. Indeed
we do not believe that the New York
ers would have been great readers even
If the new and offensively provincial
rich whom Dr. Johnson so Justly
loathes had not Invaded Its precincts.
There Is much going on in the metrop
olis most of the time. Some of the
goings on are frivolous and. rome are
solemn. Some are Jolly and some are
sad, but they are fairly continuous and
most" of the people of the city find
them more entertaining than a book as
a rule.
To our discernment Xew Yorkers do
rot differ from other human beings a
great deal in this respect. There are
very few men and women In the
world who read books because they
prefer that pastime to any other.
There are some who do but not many.
()t course all intelligent cilizens read
the newspapers and a respectable mi
nority of the population has fallen
Into the habit of skimming through
some of the magazines in recent years,
but there their, literary pursuits end.
If they take up a book it Is to save
themselves from some more insuffer
able boredom. It Is because they can
not go to ride In an automobile or to
see a ball game, or to an afternoon
tea, or to a game of bridge, -ony of
which they would far prefer to do.
Th newspapers which have com
mented on Dr. Johnson's remarks are
rather Inclined to praise the Isolated
housewives cm Western farms and oth
er people living in lonely and humble
surroundings because they read more
books than the New Yorkers do. We
cannot beJicve that the praise Is whole
merited. Let us first set down one of
these bookish housewives in the giddy
whirl of the metropolis with all the
money she wants to spend and see how
her taste for books holds out. If she
still loves the printed page better than
more earthly advertisements we will
cordially Join in singing hymns to her.
The chances are, however, that she
rends books because she can find no
other occupation for her leisure hours.
By a sort of necessity sho has become
literary.
Certainly this is fortunate for the
persons who write books since a time
would inevitably come when nobody
would publish th outpourings of gen
ius If nobody read them, but it is
perhaps Just as well not to grow too
fervently enthusiastic over the phe
nomenon. We dare say that there are
n goodly multitude of men and women
in New York who buy and read books
and those who do so really deserve a
great deal more praise than the lonely
reader on th Isolated farm because
they follow the cult of the muses in the
fac of temptations numerous and
winning which do not beset the rural
lover of letters.
As a rule literary men have not been
exorbitant devourers of books. Milton
read much but we have no evidence
thnt Shakespeare ever opened a vol
ume except to cull the plot of a play.
Macaulay was perhaps the most omniv
orous reader of modern times. Some
body has said of him that he read a
dozen volumes to write a line. He
could recite whole books of Paradise
Lost and did so when he was traveling
to divert his thoughts, which must
have been rather vacuous, on of his
biographers remarks, to have needed
so much diverting. Burns, of course,
was not in the- least bookish and
neither was Byron. Wordsworth scarce
ly opened any books but those of his
own writing after he was 30 years old.
Even the celebrated Dr. Samuel John
son, Boswell's hero, tells us that he
did most of his reading before he was
20. After that he seldom read any
volume through, though he lived
among books and their makers.
But it 1 not our purpose to try to
palliate the sin which the learned edi
tor of the Century so properly up
braids. On the contrary we relish, his
denunciations of the book scorners
heartily and Join with all our souls
In maledictions upon ' their wicked
ways. What we have said is merely
by way of explaining why the vast
majority of mankind are not great
readers. There are other things, to
put the matter briefly, which they like
better to do.' And one reason why they
like better to do other things Is that
they never have been taught to read
books as books. They have analyzed
books in school and college. They have
learned hated lessons out of books.
They have beheld books In solemn
pomp on the library shelves but no
body, has ever Initiated them Into the
sacred mysteries of reading books just
for the love of It. Indeed a great many
boys and girls have been taught that
It is a deplorable waste of time to read
for pleasure. The world In general
when it aees a person reading sighs
with pity for his forlorn condition.
Surely he would not have his nose in a
book if he were not bereft of every
other resource. So all his friends
think they are conferring a favor by
Interrupting him and beginning a
"conversation." as It is satirically
called. If it Is true that New Yorkers
do not read much we are Inclined
to believ that it is more their friends'
fault than their own. Whenever they
sit down to a book they are sure to be
interrupted.
SUE-EFIXG IN CHl Rt H.
In a sermon recently delivered by
Rev. Mr. Elayer. of the Wagner Place
M. E. Church, St. Louis, it was boldly
asserted that discussions of the higher
criticism in the pulpit put people to
sleep. Possibly. But how about the
good old Puritan times, wherein high
er criticism would have been pun
ished with the stocks, and still It was
found necessary to formulate a law
with severe penalty against the
church sleeper?
It is indeed probable that a dis
cussion of the higher criticism would
have a Boporlfic effect upon people
who go to church to rest In- peace
and good company, since it is neces
sarily scientific and calls for either
close attention or stupid inattention.
In the one case it is a disturber of
rest. In the other it wooes to slum
ber. It was thus. Indeed, with the
sermons of old which smelled of sul
phur, exuded brimstone and pointed to
dogma and -its acceptance as the one
hope of the race. And elnce'fatlgue
and Incomprehensibility even under
such torrid conditions overcame fear
and conduced to slumber who can
wonder that (to the average mind) the
equally Incomprehensible discussion
of the higher criticism would have a
similar effect?
Nor is the man In the pulpit to be
blamed for this. Men have gone to
sleep, and even snored aloud in Ply
mouth Church when the great Henry
Ward Beecher was In the pulpit, yet
no one will pretend to say. that this
preacher was dull or his presentment
of his theme uninteresting.
The truth is that there is something
in the atmosphere of the church, and
In Sunday relaxation from worldly
duties and cares that is conducive to
slumber. This being true "the
preacher should not take It to-heart
if sleep visits the eyes and slumber
the eyelids of some of the members
of his congregation of whom he felt
vni ha i-s entitled to expect better
things In response to his earnest ef
forts to charm by his oratory, con
vince by his logic or astound by his
learning. The compelling force of na
ture, a soothing atmosphere and the
peace of a good conscience has sent
more than one good deacon and de
corous sister to sleep while the most
brilliant sermons were being de
livered. WORTH CONSIDERINO.
Anent the important and very beau
tiful and interesting part that school
children of Portland take In the an
nual Rose Festival It may be suggested
to the School Board to so revise the
calendar that these exercises will not
interfere with the closing of the work
of the school year. This could . be
done by arranging for the schools to
open the first instead of the middle of
September, thus allowing them to close
the first week in June.
The dates as now arranged cause tho
w eek of the Rose Festival to come one
week in advance of the final examina
tions and closing exercises of the
school year. This works Inconvenience
and annoyance to teachers and causes
the pupiis to lose, practically, two
weeks in their studies at a time when
they have no chance ot make up the
consequent delinquencies.
While the schools were dismissed
nominally but two half days during
the Festival week, to enable the chil
dren to see and participate In the pa
rade, as a matter of fact little or no
studying was done during the entire
week, and recitations were simply per
functory. . A repetition of this next
year can only be prevented by opening
the school year two weeks earlier In
the Fall, thus allowing the schools to
close two weeks earlier in the Spring.
Since candidates for tho vacant posi
tion on the School Board evince a de
sire to acquaint themselves with the
Just requirements of the schools looking-
to their increased efficiency, it
might bo well for them to Interview
the teachers In tha public schools on
this subject. All seem to regret the
interruption of the work of the pupils
Just prior to the semi-annual examina
tions In early June.
WAR SCARES ARE EXPLODED.
The bubble of the so-called Inevita
ble war between the United States and
Japan Is pricked by Baron d'Estour
nelles de Constant In an article in the
Independent. As a result of his recent
tour of the United States in the inter
est of peace, in the course of which
he Impartially sounded public opinion
on the Japanese war scare, the Baron
falls to find more than a trace of
anti-Japanese sentiment, all of which
he explains away in the most natural
manner.
He disposes of the wild fiction of the
Japanese aggression through Mexico
in these words:
Mv lourney took mo to Texaa. and. fol
lowlns tho Mexican border. I .topped at San
Antonio. A-.a.ln and El Pa,o. I ..ked tho
most enlightened men whom I met. thosa
to whom self-deception would be oral cost
ly those In tha beat position to appreciate
4 'teal danger, ahould there be one In exis
tence, on very hand I waa rean.iire.l. t
heard rothlnK. aw nothlnn. which woUil
cive tho moat llhty Imagination an ex
cv.ee for tha Idea that either the Govern
ment or the people of the United Sttea
were about to commit the folly of declar
er war agnlnat their Mexican neighbor,
whal'ver misht bo the eat difficulties of
the latter.
Ho proceeds to discuss the probable
consequences if such a war should
come. An American attack on Japan
ending successfully would raise Japan
to tho rolo of victim and Inter to that
of avenger, and would become the
champion of the yeUow race against
the white with the most thickly popu
lated continent of the world behind
her. On the other hand, if Japan were
to mako the attack by seizing the Phil
ippines she .would threaten the Asiatic
possessions Great Britain, France,
Russia, Germany and Holland,
threaten tho integrity of Australia and,
with the whole world against her,
would lose her influence In China. He
adds here:
ny effort to monopolize the Pacific
Ocean could, mean nothing for Japan hut
utter dlsrjlier. It would be a march to the
abvea. to annihilation and not to maettry.
In our own interest, we must all see that
the empire of the ocean la today but an
Idle dream. 1 cannot say too ofton that
no alngle state can possibly be tho mis
tress of the sea. The sea belongs to the
world at large Just aa the heavens belong
to aviation.
But the war scare will not die out.
It makes a loud noise but-4t wins no
converts. It has subsided In the
United States, but.tt has. revived In
Japan. The brown-skinned Jingoes
have worked themselves Into a frothy
frenzy over the Joint loan to China
and accuse the United States of Insti
gating It for the purpose of undermin
ing Japanese influence in that Empire,
but they are taken no more seriously
than our Jingoes.
It. seems we muet always have some
kind of a war-scare on hand, if only
to keep the local warriors occupied.
When Schley threatened to "shut up"
Valparaiso, when Cleveland sent a
threatening message to Britain about
Venezuela, when a German got in
Dewey's wav at Manila, when some
strav bullets in a Mexican battle on
the " border accidentally killed and
wounded some Americans, there was
going to be a war, in the opinion of
those vociferous military experts who
see red whenever the slightest break
occurs In the ordinary course of inter
national relations. But they do no
harm so long as the sober, common
sense of the nation pays no attention
to them. -
Secretary Meyer says that the Gov
ernment could have saved $1,000,000
last year by abolishing useless navy
yards. Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury Curtis tells of needless cus
tom houses, at one of which It cost
$4400 to collect 60 cents. Comment
ing on these facts the Indianapolis
:tx-s snvs: "Everv day it is becom
ing more and more evident that the
racent Congresses have been a posi
tive drag on the working depart
ments of the Government." Not only
recent, but many preceding Congresses
have been guilty in this regard. .Mr.
Meyer is going tho wrong way to
bring about reform. The proposed
abolition of useless navy yards by
wholesale is only to solidify the in
terests against him. If the most glar
ing Instance is picked out first, he may
succeed. Then the Senators and Rep
resentatives who have lost their navy
yard will become ardent reformers
and vote to abolish the next fellow's
graft. So with the custom houses.
The principle of tariff revision by
schedules applies. The interests may
stand together, but not with the same
enthusiasm.
in attomntinc to exDlolt the benev
olence of the sugar trust, Mr. E. F.
Atkins, its acting head, testified be
fore the Congressional Investigating
Committee that the trust was organ
ized primarily to reduce the cost of
production, the inference being (or
intended) that the consumer might
profit thereby. A shadow was cast,
however, upon this assumption of
benevolence, when under persistent
prodding. Mr. Atkins was forced to
admit that "other considerations"
were the elimination of competition
for the purpose of obtaining the best
possible prices for the product.
Though he insisted that these "other
considerations" were subsidiary to'
the benevolent purpose of the organi
zation, he failed to convince the stiff
necked committee of the virtuous in
tent, which he claimed for the trust.
Some people are so obdurate!
Prerogative based on custom is apt
to deny the claims of Justice In be
half of change, and dies hard. The,
protest of river men In the matter ot
keeping the bridges closed during the
rush hours, morning and evening In
which thousands of workingmen and
women are crossing or seeking to
cross the river in pursuit of their daily
vocation is in evidence of the truth of
this statement. There Is clearly no
reason except in custom why water
transportation should be permitted to
disregard the convenience and the ne
cessities of land transportation. The
protest of the river men against the
closed draws is based upon a privi
lege that they have long enjoyed. The
reasons by which they seek to support
It are narrow and illogical.
John R. Walsh conceived the idea
of building a connecting link between
two railroads which should run from
Chicago to the Gulf, and In his en
thusiasm to carry it out he used other
people's money and lost his bank, his
railroad and his liberty. That link
has been completed and coupled up by
contract with the roads it connects,
and on July 1 will be put in operation.
It will be the Harriman lines' competi
tor from Lakes to Gulf. It is only one
of many Instances of an idea being
conceived and its realization being
started by one man. who was unable
to somplete the work and who left it
to other men who lacked the faculty
to conceive but possessed the faculty
to execute.
Says the Kansas City Star: "There
are two Irrefutable arguments In
favor of the commission form of mu
nicipal government. The first is that
it Is intrinsically right and has been
proved so; the second Is that Kansas
City's existing scheme of municipal'
government is Intrinsically- absurd,
and has been proved so." Citizens of
Portland do not have to go far back
Into the records of tho City Council
In order to establish a kinship with
Kansas City in municipal government.
The ".scheme" is not only "intrinsi
cally absurd," it Is, through iis wide
possibilities for self-seeking. Intrin
sically corrupt and enormously expen
sive. Search has commenced in Washing
ton for a suitable site for the great
Lincoln monument. This monument
is to cost $2,000,000, and no mistake
should be made in placing it. -Since
it will be one ot the world's land
marks, prominence and accessibility
should govern in the choice of Its lo
cation, and in this choice real estate
and commercial interests will govern
less In Washington than in any other
city In the Nation.
Farmers and dairymen on the bot
tom lands of the Columbia are cutting
their hay and clover in order to save
it from the encroaching waters of the
June freshet. If the weather serves
so the hay can be cured very little
loss will result from the inundation of
those lands. The crest of the freshet
will probably be reached during the
present week and a second crop will
be taken from these fertile low lands
in September.
We should not be above learning
a lesson in the fitness of things from
our British cousins. Compare the
weather that prevailed at the Inaugu
ration of President Taft, and that
which will smile upon the coronation
of George V. It is simply the dlffer
ence between March and June, and
truly the Britishers have the best of
It.
Governor Woodrow Wilson's speech
in Seattle in favor of the commission
form of government meets the ap
proval of tho New .York Sun. That
kind of medicine might be good for
New York. Mayor Gaynor Is doing the
best he can with the present cum
brous system, but how much better he
might do with a smaller number of
officials and direct responsibility.
Cropi prospects hold out some hope
of continued prosperity in spite of the
tariff debate.
Scraps and Jingles
.Lease Cases Baer.
Could a teacher ot dramatic art be
.called a stagecoach?
Walter in a locaj cafe burned up a
$500 bill. Waitexs are about the only
class of people who can afford such '
luxuries.
a
Apropos of the coronation, I'd like to !
know If all the Knights of the Bath ;
have to furnish their own soap and
towels
aaa
Ode to Insomnia. ,
Soma of labor preach and pray
To the boon of an eight-hour day. I
But I await with keen delight j
Tbe making of an eight-hour night.
a a I
Aside from the fact that ft soft j
answer Is commanded, it usualy Is i
more effective anyway in that it makes I
en angry person madder than anything !
else you could say. I
i
Judging from the photographs of !
eminent musicians their art must have I
the practical benefit of keeping their !
hair from falling out. i
A sad sight to contemplate Is a j
narrow-minded man with broad means. !
aaa
To an Onion.
I love you onion, yet I trow 1
My affection deep you do not know.
You cannot know me since I still wait
Your redolent presence on my plate. i
I see with Ill-concealed dismay
Your popularity with my rivals gay, '
While I my wove may not breathe yet.
They cannot fill my order I Just bet.
'Ie my despair I'm all aflutter.
To flank you dear with bread and
butter.
To gobble up your tender tips.
And smack you much between my lips.
Oh come relreve my palate, cloy.
Thou luscious globule of green joy.
aaa
I know a Mrs. Henpeck who 1b so
mean she begrudges her husband a
few words of talk In his sleep.
A Portland Mrs. Malaprop says she'
wants to see her rising young nephew
standing on the binnacle of fame. i
Miss Calamity Step-and-fetch-it. the
charming and sweet lady poet of Kal-,
ami, has unburdened her soul and ink-,
pot on a neat little ditty, which she;
says was inspired by standing In a.
Rose Festival crowd watting for the'
electric parade to pass. She calls It.
"A BROWN STUDY."
Tight packed I waited a hour and a
quarter, ,
For to see the electric parade I had
a notion.
I think all public-spirited folks orter,
But I felt like a catfish out of the'
ocean.
As I stood by the curb-side a-slghing,
I had a pennant and lots of roses, j
And the minutes was not exactly fly
ing. And we was tireder than many sup
poses. '
I said politely to several about me
"It is very unpleasant to be so
crammed,"
And a rude gentleman chewing to-1
bacco
Grinned and said "You be jammed.".
But at last it 'twas not in vain I
' waited.
Here come the grand parade a end
to pain,
And I felt like Mr. Faust rejuvenated. .
In the pleasure of having my elbows'
free again.
A good example of being brought up
by hand Is when the messenger boy
climbs seven flights .of stairs to your
floor.
TOPICAL VERSE
One Rich, Old Man.
He pays rent for a safety box
Which he has filled with mlnlag
stocks;
He falls to try each new
Concoction recommended to
Preserve his disappearing locks.
He dyes his whiskers and believes ,
That he thereby his friends deceive.
He clings serenely to the queer
Belief that others like to hear
Him talk of triumphs he achieves.
His wife is young and fair and prona
To make his will subserve her own:
He's well along in years and fat.
And never yet has doubted that
She married him for love alone.
He thinks that if he were tonight
To pass away, tomorrow's light
Would be perhaps a trifle dim.
And that the poor world mournlnj
him . .
Would cease to roll along Just ngnt.
Chicago Record Herald.
Willie and His Dad.
"What are- all those men talking for?"
said Willie to his dad. (
"They're talking politics, my boy, said
father to the lad.
"And tell me. what is politlcsT said
Willie to his dad.
"You'll find that out full soon enough,
said father to the lad.
"It's something over which men talk
when they get out and mix;
With it they dose the Government when
it gets out of fix.
But generally the Government survives
the politics.
And then It all blows over In the
morning." .
George B. Staff, in the Indianapolis
News.
Her Hat.
I met a young girl on the street.
With a hat of exceptional spread;
She carried it well quite a feat-r
(As I passed her she nodded her
head). .
"Ah," I thought, "here's a chance for
a chat!"
So I stopped her, b;it soon was told
that ,
I was wrong. (Her nodding misled.)
She was trying to balance her hat.
I next saw her standing quite still.
Near the tracks where the passengers
land;
And a streetcar came swift down the
hill;
(As it passed her she threw up her
hand).
So the motorman. Jolly and fat.
Stopped his car. But he soon observed
th9t
The lady had made no demand (
She was trying to balance her hat.
I happened one day on the street
To notice her walking quite slow;
She staggered and scarce kept her feet;
(Must have taken a bottle or so.)
Then an officer (sad to relate)
Took her in, but the lady proved that
She never got drunk. (As you know)
She was trying to balance her hat. ,
Puck. I