The Sunday Oregonian., April 28, 1912, SECTION THREE, Page 8, Image 46

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PORTXAM). MMHY. APRIL t.
THE .MEMCAN PROBLEM.
An Amrriomi expedition through
M'xUo. similar to the expedition to
I'ekin. may be the outcome of the
M fx l.-ati imbroglio. The sending of
American and British hlps to the
roast a place of refuge for citizen
9f their nations will prove a totally
Inadequate measure. Those who are
penned In interior town, unable to
reach the coast, will be most In need
of relief, but ships cannot relieve
them. They can be aaved only by an
armed expedition sent to snatch them
and their belonging from the hands
pT the warring factions and the bands
of brigand. Having; rescued them
and all other foreigner who wish to
leave the country, the United States
routd leave the Mexicans to fight to
a finish, until some strong man lika
Diaz gained undisputed wiy. Thl
new government might be called upon
to pay a hoavy indemnity for the
ov "suffered by foreigners during
:he period of ananny. as a condition
of commercial and diplomatic Inter
course. But such an expedition might pre
cipitate the very catastrophe which
It was designed to prevent. It would
urely be the signal for an outbreak
tf anti-foreign, and .particularly. anti
American, frenzy, in which the for-r-i
nrs might be massacred before the
reliof expedition cotild reach them.
in. e the days of Maximilian the Mex
.cand have always been able to agre
ja one thlr.g fanatical opposition to
foreign Intervention no matter how
fii-rcely they might quarrel about their
Internal affairs.
Doubtless recognition of this dan
ger, amounting almost to certainty,
has restrained President Taft from
taking steps towards intervention,
though he has laid plana and made
preparations for such an eventuality
In case the situation should become
ntterly Intolerable. The sending on
board the Buford of no commissioned
Army officers except the doctors and
members of the hospital corps Is. no
doubt, a precaution against arousing
.Mexi. an ire by a display of armed
force, since such a display would Im
peril the lives of those whom the Bu
ford Is sent to save. But the Mexican
frenzy may reach such a pitch that
reath to Americans might be certain
without intervention and armed force
night at lenst save some.
ritlRTKKN OVSt E5 TO THE POI ND.
In many respect the laws of the
State of New York give greater pro
tection to the poor and the weak than
those of any other commonwealth In
the country, not even excepting those
of the stat- recently admitted,
where what might be called the "new
thought" innovation, such as the in
itiative, referendum and recall, have
been introduced. Yet robbing of the
poor In the great cities of that state
by short weights and dishonest meas
ures has gone to greater extreme than
In any other section of our country,
for. while other sections have long
since discarded the dry-measure
method of veiling fruits and vege
tables. New Tork still clings to It.
The purchaser of a "small measure."
peck or lialf bushel of produce does
not know within perhtps 50 per cent
of what he- is g.-tting. the "heaping
measure" provided by law being a
flexible term dependent entirely upon
the conscience of the seller.
Many of lis remember that in Port
land ear- ago our two-pound rolls of
butter were of such weight as the
packer:- decided to make, and the
number of ounces varied during the
rar. growing less as the price grew
greater. Many of these roll supposed
to contain two pound were sold In
Portland when they weighed a half
pound less. We regulated such mat
ters. In time, and now the buyer gets
what he pavs for. and always knows
that he L- getting It. But In many of
the Eastern states the old and unfair
customs Mill exist, the purveyors -till
continue to rob the buyers, and the
smaller the buyer the greater the per
centage of that robbery.
But the great State of New Tork.
through its lawmakers, is about to
call a halt on these robberies, for a
bill was passed last Winter, to go Into
effect June I of next year, which fixes
a m ale of weights and measures along
modern and sensible lines. It makes
it easy for the buyer to understand
wlval he ought to get for a pound, a
quart nr a bushel and expensive to
the seller if such buer does not get
all that Is coming to him. Here will
lie the greatest slaughter of light
weight and false mearure ever
known, for after that date everything
that can be stamped or labeled with
its "weight or measure must be !
stamped or labeled. Even butter,
which It was found was often sold in
"pound" packages which weighed only
thirteen ounces, trust be plainly
stamped with its actual weight. Our
Oregon apple going Into the New
York market will have to have the
exait capacity of the box stamped
upon it. fanned goods, bottled goods,
pickles, preserves and Jams must ell
have the weight marked plainly upon
the container. For any Infraction of
the la there is a heavy penalty and a
quick source of relief for the one Im
posed upon.
When this new law goes into effect
It will go a long way In compelling
other state to follow it up with simi
lar laws of their own. for New Tork
reaches out for Its supplies to every
oection of the country', to nearly every
community. Every' factory putting
up any sort of food, canned, bottled,
boxed or barreled, will presently be
compelled to state In plain languaje
on the container the exact weight or
measure.
Such methods will be of benefit to
all honest dealers and manufacturers.
Only the knaves will suffer. In the
Investigations made In New York City
by the legislative committee it was
found that the cheating of the poor,
who buy In very small quantities, wood
by the S cents' worth, coal by the
bucketful, potatoes and other vege
tables often by the cent's worth, suf
fer under the present laws a system
of robberies amounting to over 50 per
cent, the comparison being with the
larger sales made to the well-to-do
and wealthy.
t'nder the new laws the greatest
reform w-lll come through the enforced
selling of many commodities by the
pound, which are now sold by meas
ure. Potatoes and other vegetables,
apples and other fruit, when 'doled
out In small quantities, must be sold
by the pound. The poor man's "ton"
of coal, a bucketful, will be a memory,
and the "ton" of ice. a nickel's worth,
will be pleasurably forgotten.
A HISTORIC PARAI.LM,
So much British Indignation has
been expressed at the reflection cast
upon British maritime regulations by
the Senate Inquiring Into the Titanic
disaster, that our British friends need
to be reminded of a little history.
They have all heard of the "Pllmsoll
mark" on Brillsh vessels the line
above which vessels must not be load
ed but they have not all heard its
history.
Samuel Pllmsoll was an English
member of Parliament, who for years
struggled to prevent ships from being
overloaded or from being sent to sea
when not aeaworthy. He finally. In
1T. induced the Disraeli adminis
tration to take up his bill establishing
the load line and to make It a govern
ment measure. But the British cab
inet submits to every session of Parli
ament more bills than can be passed,
and as the session draws to a close,
announces that it will drop certain
bills. This Is called "the slaughter of
the Innocents." PllmsoU's bill was
among the Innocents picked for
slaughter In 1876. but the announce
ment was no sooner made In the
House of Commons than PllmsoU's
anger boiled beyond control. He ac
cused the government of callous in
difference to the lives of sailors, cursed
and stormed and shed tears of rage.
He Ignored all efforts of the Speaker
to stem his torrent of Invective and
finally w-as "named" an awful but
mysterious penalty and suspended.
The next morning almoet every
newspaper excused PllmsoU's outburst
and denounced the government for
proposing to slaughter his bill. Meet
ings were held In many cities to de
mand that the bill be passed. Pllmsoll
apologized, but he won a victory, for
the government yielded, .retrieved his
bill from among the doomed inno
cent and secured its passage. Thus
the Pllmsoll mark became law. This
law has been strengthened by. subse
quent enactments, but It was the fruit
of PllmsoU's work.
An outburst of rage from Pllmsoll
was necessary to -compel the British
government to protect sailors lives
from being endangered by the over
loading of vessels. A Titanic disaster
and a Senate inquiry seem necessary
to compel that government to require
adequate life-saving apparatus on pas
senger vessels. The British love to
dwell on the influence of corporations
In the American Congress. Like
Pharisees they exclaim: "We are not
a other nations are, nor even as the
Americans." They need to be re
minded that their shipowners wield
a potent Influence in blocking bene
ficial legislation by their Parliament.
Their anger 1s due to the merciless
exposure of this fact by the Senate
committee. Their vanity Is hurt.
ASU KTIl.t. THE WONDER CROWS.
By the time we get through with
all of the tales of the sea that are
told In connection with the wreck of
the Titanic, we will not know what
to believe. Over and above all of the
pitiful, tragical, shocking fact of the
wreck Itself stands boldly out a hor
ror that "thicks man's blood with
cold."
As time goes on. however, wonder
grown that inasmuch as the fact that
the ship did not carry lifeboats suf
ficient to take off more than a third
of those on board, prompt measures
were not taken to build of the Im
mense stock of furniture and wood
work on the ship, rafts that would
have kept those whom the lifeboats
could not take afloat until succor came.
As far as reports have been given to
the world no energy or Ingenuity was
displayed and not a hand was lifted in
thl direction.
Were Captain Smith and his officers
paralysed by the calamity that over
took their magnificent ship? Or did
they, until the vessel farted amidships,
fling to the belief that she was liter
ally unslnkablc?
There waa a force of carpenters on
board and a well-equipped carpenter's
shop, presumably ready to meet any
emergency of repair or construction
that might arise. In the four hours
that Intervened between the impact
with the Iceberg and the final plunge
that gave to the icy waters 1600
shrieking human beings, a consider
able fleet of life rafts could have been
Improvised, enough probably, had the
available material for such construc
tion been promptly utilized for that
purpose and all available hands called
tc the work, to have given the greater
number of those who were left with
out succor a floating chance for their
lives. That no attempt was made to
do this is the greatest wonder that
attaches to this stupendotis shipwreck.
It is. Indeed, almost incredible that
a thousand able-hodied men made no
effort beyond putting on life preser
vers to float themselves until help,
which they knew was responding to
the ship's frenzied call, could reach
them. Such helplessness would be ac.
countable in women and children, but
for men possessed of physical strength
sufficient to meet the emergency by
turning the wood work and the furn
iture of the sinking ship into rafts,
to go down without making an effort
to save themselves by the work of
their hands Is astonishing, to say the
least.
Contemplation of this amazing
phase of the wreck of the Titanic
forces the unwilling conclusion that
Captain Smith did not measure up to
the awfur re'ponslbi:ity of the sea
man who puts to sea in charge of a
magnificent ship earning more than
two thousand human beings. Other
wise, while some of his officer were
directing the lowering of the lifeboaLs
the carpenter's crew, assisted by as
have worked to advantage, would have
had a fleet of life-rafts ready to
launch by the time the last lifeboat
cleared the ship. "Why this was not
done why no attempt was made to
do it will ever remain a mystery.
ROICH BIT SAIA'TARY.
"Fanatics." wc are wont to call the
Dowieites who maintain the commu
nity as organized by tho deceased
prophet of Zion City, a suburb of Chi
cago; but we must say for them that
they believe In the enforcement of
aw. promptly, efficaciously and with
out quibble. They have, for example, a
law which applies to their municipal
ity w hlch prohibits smoking within its
limits. Thla law meana exactly what
it says, as should all law, municipal
and state. Its meaning Is not In the
least obscure and the municipality
known as "Zion City" is clearly within
Its rights In enacting this law and In
enforcing it when an attempt is made
to violate it.
Hence very properly two traveling
men, thinking to teet It. perhaps, got
all thev went for when they allshted
from tne train In Zion City, smoking
cigars. With the nonchalance charac
teristic of the smoker who proceeds
upon the hypothesis that he has a
vested right and unimpeachable title
to the air that encircles the earth,
these travelers puffed away at their
cigars: but not for long. They were
surrounded bS' several hundred citi
zens of Zion. and In their midst
dragged through the streets to the
police station, their captors singing
lustily, "We're marching onward to
Zion."
Two points stand boldly out In this
eecital. One is that these people are
In earnest and that they possess tho
courage of their convictions: the
other, that they' make laws to be en
forced, not violated. Upon both of
these points they may be acclaimed as
good citizen. The world is wide, and
most of It is given up unreservedly to
tobacco smokers. Here is a little
corner, so to speak, where smoking is
Interdicted. Men who Invade this
place, puffing cigars In violation of
law, deserve to be dealt with harshly
as harshly as is necessary, not only
to punish them for setting up their
Individual wish and appetite against
:he expressed will of the community,
but to warn other men similarly dis
posed that the law against smoking
in Zion City was not made to be
broken. .
Similar procedure in our own city
would put a sudden and permanent
stop to spitting in public places an
act directly forbidden by an ordinance
passed In response to the demand of
health, cleanliness, and a decent re
gard for appenranees. yet openly and
flagrantly violated both by sufferers
from catarrh or tuberculosis and
rhewers of tobacco. Clearly the law
that makes a man responsible crea
ture should hold him responsible.
Otherwise It has no more salutary ef
fect than has the babble of children
st their play.
THE BAILAIS.
The visit of Abdul Baha to the United
States will attract much attention to
the principles of Bahalsm, of which
he Is the foremost living representa
tive. Tt is hardly correct to speak of
the Bahat as a sect, since their faith
alms rather to unite all religions In one
harmonious bond than to Increase the
differences already existing. They
promulgate no doctrines which are
really new. On the contrary, they
have selected from the great faiths of
the world those tenets which appear to
be fundamental and universal and by
molding them Into a body of belief
have formed a creed which they hope
that all sects can adopt without aban
doning their present connections. A
person can become a Bahal and at the
same time remain a Christian. Jew or
Mohammedan if he likes. The raith
is spreading rapidly in the Orient.
Many Buddhists have found It to be
the iogical development of their own
beliefs. The followers of Mohammed
are becoming Bahais in many parts of
the world. The new faith has numer
ous followers in the great European
cities, and there is hardly a town of
any considerable size in the United
States which has not a congregation.
The most flourishing center of the
faith in this country seems to be Chi
cago, where a temple is in process of
erection. Abdul Baha is regarded as
a prophet by hi followers. He re
ceives revelations from on high which
are communicated to the world In the
form of "tablets." and these are dis
tributed wherever there are Bahais
and perused with profound reverence.
According to the faith of these devout
and enlightened people, there have
been a great many representatives of
the deity upon earth first and last.
Among these they include Jesus, Mo
hammed. Buddha. Confucius and many
other great religious geniuses. The
Bab. a Persian reformer, who founded
the new faith, was not supposed by his
followers to supplant any of the for
mer "Messiahs." He merely gave to
mankind a new and fresh version of
their teachings. It is believed by the
Bahais that revelatlo'ns, like other hu
man institutions, wear out in the
course f time. They gradually lose
their power and significance, and it
then becomes necessary for a new
prophet to appear. In conformity
with this principle the Bab was an
insplredl representative of the deity
and his authority has in some degree
descended to Abdul Baha through
Baha Ulla. who preceded him.
Although the new religion teaches
nothing but peace and unity, it has
been subjected to the most dire per
secution. Hundreds of the Bahalsts
have been massacred Jn the East by
fanatical Mohammedans. Abdul Baha
himself was Imprisoned by the Turks
for many years. It is only recently
that he has become a free man. with
liberty to travel 'to foreign countries
and preach his doctrines without re
strictions. While he remained a pris
oner of the Turks at Acca he was vis
ited yearly by thousands of the faith
ful, who brought home with them
marvelous accounts of his dignity, wis
dom and Inspired teachings. The tab
lets which he delivered to pilgrims
were cherished like tokens "from
heaven and passed from hand to hand
with pious assiduity in order that as
many as possible might share In the
direct teaching of the head of the
faith. Just now the Insistence of the
Bahais Is upon certain social doctrines.
The expression of their religious prin
ciples relates profoundly to the better
ment of the conditions of mankind.
Abdul Baha in his addresses at New
York Insisted that the civilization of
the world suffers from the disease of
materialism. "The crafts have been
perfected and natural science estab
lished." he said, "but the civilization of
the spirit has been left behind. To
day." he continued, "the body politic
needs the oneness of the world and
universal peace. No matter how far
material civilization advances. It can
not be conducive to great end. We
must strike with all our powers for
spiritual ends. My request of you is
that you put forward your efforts to
bring about the peace and unity of all
men." With the Bahais universal
peace is not merely a formula of lan
guage to be reverenced in talk and
forgotten In action. It is one of their
fundamental tenets. No Bahal would
enlist In the army of his own accord,
nor would any leader of the faith ever
be found praying the Almighty to give
victory to either side In a battle. Not
only do they condemn war, but they
are invincibly opposed to religious
strife.
The Bahais do not seek to make
proselytes In the ordinary sense. Their
effort is to propagate their doctrines
within the various religious bodies,
hoping thus to Inform all of them
with' the new truth and harm none of
them. Should their dreams ever come
true, every religious . person In the
world, no matter with what denomina
tional title he may label himself, will
be a Bahai. They Insist almost as
strenuously upon' education as upon
peace and unity. According to Bahal
principles, every child Is entitled to as
good an education as the world can
give him, and no child is entitled to a
better education than any other. They
have plans already In operation
whereby all young persons of the faith
will be educated in practical as well
as cultural studies. - Foremost among
the practical studies they place social
economics. Their doctrines In this
field do not differ at all from those of
Jesus, but they are thrown Into mod
ern form and wrought Into the daily
practice of the congregations. No re
ligious movement of recent times is
nearly so significant as that of Baha
lsm. It aims with perfect frankness
at the conquest of the entire world
and is quietly but persistently and
successfully carrying out measures to
accomplish the task.
ROBERT BROWMXO.
Unlike most of the poets Robert
Browning was educated 'for the voca
tion he actually followed and not for
some other. His father was a dis-
Lsenter of comfortable fortune who
had the ability to indulge the inclina
tions of his gifted son and, contrary
to the rule commonly followed by
fathers, he had also the Inclination.
So- from hi, earliest boyhood Robert
dreamed in peace of writing Immortal
verse and soon began to make his
dreams come true. By the time he
was 12 years old he had a .volume of
poems ready for the press but. as one
might have expected, he did not find
a publisher. The dissenting opinions
of the Brownings excluded Robert
from the English universities and he
was educated at home, but very like
ly he lost nothing by that. Univer
sities exist to train ordinary persons
for the ordinary courses of life. They
are no places for poets and novelists.
No doubt it was really a piece of good
fortune for Shelley when he was ex
pelled from Oxford. Universities have
marred many a genius but it is not on
record that they have ever helped any
a great deal. Browning, by a course
of indiscriminate reading became a
variously cultivated man and travel
gave him what he could not obtain
from books.
He seems to have escaped all nar
rowness. In his verse we find none of
the preoccupation with physical sci
ence which Is so marked in Tenny
son. Browning appreciated science
but in his mind it raised no disturb
ance of fundamental beliefs. He re
tained his faith In a personal God at
a time when many of his ablest con
temporaries saw nothing but blind
force or purposeless law behind phe
nomena. In the days when material
things had gained almost complete
mastery of the intellectual world's in
terest Brow ning was as much engaged
with the affairs of the soul a- if he
had dwelt in Dante's Italy. His spirit
was a great deal more medieval than
modern, though he could think as
scientifically as Herbert Spencer him
self. In many of Browning's poems
there is an evident clash between his
medieval preferences and the modern
logic from which he could not escape
and this conflict accounts for some of
the obscurities which perplex his
readers. When the sympathies of St.
Thomas Aquinas exist in a man's brain
side by side with the reasoning pro
cesses of Huxley there must arise
something of a clash between them.
Such an lnharmony is visible in a
great deal of Browning's work.
Browning shows his originality more
1 in the tenacity with which he clings
! to antique beliefs than in any other
I way. The pervading theme of hte
poetry is the frustration of earthy pur
poses and the belief that all will be
made right in another world. This I
a very old article of faith and in
Browning's day It was sadly out of
fashion. Still he never let it go. The
up-to-date reformer agrees with
Browning that most earthly plans are
frustrated and life more often than
not a trageds" but he does not look to
another world for the remedy. The
agnostic holds that for what is past
and gone there Is ro remedy. The
broken lives of yesterday and the day
before will never be mended. The most
he looks for Is some rearrangement of
earthly affairs which will prevent
lives being broken and wasted in the
future. Browning proposed no remedy
so far as this world is concerned, but
he taught that In the next world all
would be made right and Justice done
for every wrong, no matter how
ancient It might be. If h- had only
been able to prove that his future
world was a reality little Vault could
have been found with his philosophy
of life.
But to Browning proof was the last
and least of all mental requirements.
He established his doctrines by Intui
tion. He felt that they were true and
therefore they must be true. Those
who could not experience his intuitions
must take lils conclusions at second
hand. In this again Browning ex
hibited the medieval quality of his
mind. For the modern man Intuition
Is not a very trustworthy source of
knowledge. He believes what he- can
rrove,' not w hat he happens to feel
ought to be true. He is inclined to
subject every article of faith to objec
tive tests and cherish none which fail
to Jibe with the universe of experience
and fact. Browning made up his
creed without much reference to what
actually goes on In the material world.
The difficulties which make it Impossi
ble for many devout men to believe In
a personal God scarcely troubled him
and he accepted the ancient theologi
cal machinery without any essential
modification.
But he had his own rules of ethics.
To Browning the chief end of man
was action. Whoever contended "to
the uttermost for his life's set prize, be
it what It will," won Browning's ap
proval. The ordinary notions cf right
and wrong did not mean a great deal
to him. He was much of Carlyle's
opinion that might makes right and
that the success of a project is the
v.t r ! athla The crood God
who rules the world could not posslbly
permlt anything to succeed which was
fundamentally wron. ' Carlylo and I
Browning were almost the last writers '
of the highest rank to preach this doc
trine. Of course, it amounts to noth
ing more or less than Pope's "What
ever is, is right" and the shallow op
timism which Voltaire ridiculed in
C'andide. But Browning's genius gives
it an air of profundity and makes it
seem almost credible. We have dwelt
upon his philosophical side at some
length because it is the most import
ant side of his thought. He was phil
osophical and metaphysical to the bot
tom of his soul. But this should not
cause us to forget that he was at the
same time a great poet. Browning
rose to his highest flights in the dra
matic monologues. Such poems as
Andrea Del Sarto, Bishop Blougram's
Apology and Paracelsus sh3W his
genuius at its best. His lyrics are so
overweighted with thought that they
tend sometimes to become chaotic,
but many of them are exquisitely
beautiful though the form is some
times unpolished. It is usually agreed
that Browning's greatest poem is The
Ring and the Book, but it is not the
one which is. most read or which ex
hibits his genius ii. its most attractive
aspect.
COMMERCIAL CM B "Jl'NKETS."
The "Junket" Just concluded under
the auspices of the Portland Commer
cial Club was. like all former affairs
of the kind, a pronounced success.
Just how many excursion parties
the Commercial Club has sent out
during the last three or four years
we are unable to state: but it Is sure
that each one has accomplished more
than its promoters anticipated. At
nf thped rtarrfea were oreanized and
conducted merely as get-together j
trips, to have the Portland people get
in touch with the people of the out
lying .communities, to' bring about
closer relations between our mer
chants and their customers In the vari
ous sections of the state and our con
tiguous territory in Washington.
But these "Junkets" have developed
until they are looked upon by the
communities visited as of the utmost
importance in advertising and build
ing up their sections, as prime factors
not only Tor closer relations but for a
solidarity of effort which could in no
other way be accomplished. Each
succeeding excursion seems to accent
uate these Ideas, seems to accomplish
more than Its predecessors.
The members of the Commercial
Club, numbering the majority a very
large majority of the best and most
progressive business men of Portland,
have given a large amount of money
and much valuable time to make these
trips protltable and they stand ready
and willing to do even more in the
. . cn Idlrinv the nasi successes
IUIUICi . " ' . . -' " I
as harbingers of still more important I
affairs to come, along the same lines,
we are safe In saying mat tne coming
season will witness a periol of closer
relations and a more active unity of
effort between the people of Portland
and the citizens of the various com
munities in our tributary territory
than ever before. And for this state
of affairs all of the people of such
territory owe a debt of gratitude to
the Portland Commercial Club.
Next week an excursion will be
made to The Dalles. A large number
of our people will undoubtedly take
advantage of the opportunity to be
come better acquainted with our
neighbors of that beautiful and pros
perous city, and to show them that
we not onl' take pride in the prog
ress they are making, but that we
wish to lend our aid toward their more
rapid development in the future.
CLEARING AWAY THE BTVMPS.
The charpitting system of getting
rid of the stumps on our cut-over lands
has, like the road to knowledge, no
short cuts. By that we mean that
Its success does not depend upon any
theoretical basis: a certain amount of
well directed labor will bring a cer
tain amount of results. As in the case
of education, the student must get the
knowledge into his ow-n head before
he makes a success. He cannot take
It second-hand. No amount of theo
retical instruction will make a land
clearer proficient. He must have the
know-how and the has-done back of
him.
You can find hundreds of people
in the Northwest who will tell you that
the charpitting system is a rank fail
ure, both as to cost and results; you
can find perhaps a dozen or so who
know It is one of the best adjuncts
toward land-clearing that was ever
practiced. These latter know they
are right because they have done the
work and know the, cost and the re
sults; the others have merely tried to
do the work but they also know the
cost! They thought they knew, still
think they know, but they did not and
do" not. They do not even understand
the rudimentary principles of char
pitting. If they did know even that
much they would not speak of char
pitting as a method of clearing land,
as the most of them do.
Charpitting Is a method or system
for burning out the stumps on cut-over
land, but that is only one of three or
four things necessary In clearing land.
It Is the most expensive, as It is the
most Important part of the work. But
the getting rid of the small stumps,
grubbing the brush, firing, leveling and
plowing these are all expensive.
Did you ever hear of anybody in
this latitude cutting wheat in Jan
uary? That is Just as good a season
of the year for harvesting wheat as it
is for stump-burning every bit as
good. The farmer sows his wheat late
in the Fall or in the early Spring, ac
cording to his fancy, the condition of
the soil or the variety to be sown.
When the wheat is ripe he harvests it,
along In the Summer or early Autumn.
If the charpltter is wise, if he is
onto the Job a.t all, he will prepare
his stumps when the ground is soft
In the Wintor and set the fires after
the wood has thoroughly dried out in
the late Spring or early Summer.
After he sets the fires he will watch
them. Just as somebody must watch
the fire In a furnace or under a boiler.
And he must not only watch them
he must know how to keep the fire
burning as It ought to burn, eating
Into the wood and down into the roots,
never faltering or falling until the
stump and roots have been destroyed.
That, say the hundreds, cannot be
done the fire will not totally destroy
the stump, nor will It follow the roots
and eat them out. But the dozen who
have the know-how- not only say that
It will do this they will take you
over the ground where thousands of
stumps have thus been gotten rid of.
One of the great expenses of land
clearing Is the burning of the old tree
trunks, brush and smaller roots. When
all of this sort of stuff is taken from,
say an acre of ground, and placed In
a pile it will be a heap as large as two
or three ordinary haystacks. But so
to pile it is expensive; the proper way
is to take the fire to the wood in place
of taking the wood to the fire.- So in
place of one fire there should be a
dozen, perhaps twenty, likely more.
Anyhow enough so that the labor of
moving the material would be reduced
to the minimum.
If the landclearer has been wise he
has used considerable powder in
cracking logs before firing. A log ly
ing on the ground by Itself will not
burn unless covered with flamable ma
terial. But if It is cracked open and
a fire started in the crack it will burn
entirely up provided the pieces are
thrown together occasionally as the
fire advances.
One of the difficulties of the clearers
at present is the lack of a stump puller
for the pulling of the small stumps,
roots and brush. The machine driven
by horse power is too slow, too diffi
cult to move, too hard on the horses
(as they must step over the cable in
their circuit) and too light. The great
need of the landclearer is a puller
driven by electric power or gasoline,
self-movable, with a capacity of some
where up to 75 horsepower, a speed on
the cables up to 500 feet per minute
and yet it must not be too heavy.
When such a machine is perfected,
and men will go at land-clearing as If
it were something like a trade that had
to be learned, and will then go to
school, so to speak, to those who un
derstand the charpitting and the fir-ing--then
we will take a long step for
ward toward attracting agricultural
settlers.
It is a fact beyond all dispute that
near to Portland we have hundreds
of thousands of acres of stump land
lying useless, vacant, an eyesore to
ever' beholder; and yet it is as good
agricultural land as the sun ever shone
upon.
Is it not worth' while that we should
learn how to clear it?
The request made at the Dallas
meeting, that Governor West appoint
a committee "to look into all phases
and plans broached for the consoli
dation of the University of Oregon and
the Oregon Agricultural College,"
should not be understood as an in
dorsement of consolidation. It is very
plain that the participants in the
meeting did not intend, offhand, to
urge that the two institutions be com
bined. The movement is one designed
to obtain information. The Governor
is asked to appoint a committee to in
vestigate. Consolidation is under more
or less discussion and those who
oppose consolidation and are confi
dent of the soundness of their views
no doubt welcome an investigation
by an unbiased committee. This
body will report on the feasibility and
practicability, of each plan broached.
The report may favor some one plan.
It may oppose .-11. As there is pros
pect that an initiative measure pro
viding for consolidation will be pre
sented in November it is highly proper
that the voters should have authentic
information that only such a com
mission can give.
We have no more ground for object
ing to an investment of Japanese cap
ital at Magdalena Bay than we have
for objecting to investments of British
and German capital in other parts of
Mexico. But we have Just as much
cause for objecting to a cession or lease
of Mexican territory to the Japanese as
to any other foreign government. The
Monroe Doctrine applies with as much
force to Japan as to any European
monarchy. If the Japanese enterprise
at Magdalena Bay is a mere cloak for
a Japanese coaling or naval station,
we should, and no doubt shall, state
our objections in unmistakable terms.
If the animals in the City Park con
stitute a nuisance they should be
placed somewhere else. Since the
park exists for the public good. It
should harbor no objects which are
Injurious. The animals are mildly
amusing to some visitors and -tepidly
instructive to the young, but to sur
rounding residents they appear to be
extremely offensive. Removed to some
other quarter, they might retain all
their amusing and Instructive attri
butes and be far less of a nuisance.
The St. Helens should be the first
of a line of several steamships between
Portland and Alaska. This port is
able to supply the northern territory
or. equal terms with any other port,
and only preoccupation with the field
nearer home has prevented our taking
a share of the trade.
The fact that whole flotillas of other
ships were in the ice fields at the
time of the Titanic wreck indicates
very clearly that there was something
criminally wrong in the operation of
that luckless craft. All the others, it
seems, slowed down and escaped.
It can never De charged that we are
other than a peace-loving people,
when we content ourselves with send
ing a hospital transport to bring our
maimed and outraged citizens away
from the West Coast of Mexico.
It seems a shame to put Seattle's
grafting Police Chief in the pen. If
the adage Is really true that it takes
a thief to catch a thief Wappenstein
ought to be a valuable man for police
work.
Sweden has barred Mormons from
her public schools and Colorado Mor
mons have retaliated by excluding
Swedish children from their schools.
About time for Mr. Hobson to predict
war.
How filled with uncertainties is life!
Contrast the happy homecoming
planned a week ago with the realiza
tion found in the pending arrival of
the morgue ship at Halifax.
It is as hard to get an American
bank-wrecker out of Canada as to get
him to the penitentiary after we have
brought him back and tried him.
Lew Whitlock has proved conclu
sively that Mrs. Bellaire's objections
to him as a son-in-law were well
founded.
While "Wappy" is serving those
years in prison, he will think his for
tune was not so easily gained after
all.
Not to be behind cities of less im
portance, McMinnville will do a let of
hard-surface paving this year.
President Taft has come out at last
as an active supporter of Teddy for
President of the Ananias Club.
There would be small sorrow if an
epidemic of mumps were to break out
in the German band.
Scraps and Jingles
Leone Cans Baer.
Maxim for this month: "Spades are
trumps."
The really proper term for bachelor
buttons
Is ranunculus, so botanies assert.
Ten millions of the dainty little but
tons Each field and greening hillside girt.
But, ain't it queer, the darned old laun
dry Tears all the ranunculus oft my
shirts!
a a a
Always put off till tomorrow the duu
that comes dunning today.
a
Matrimonial garden hints: Enterpris
ing parents should set out their young
off-shoots for' grafting with young
sprigs, taking care to select older
branches. Wall flowers should be got
rid of.
a a a
Definition of a "broth of a boy": Thl
soup course at a cannibal dinner,
a a
Wouldnf you say that a Coroner's
fee was a dead swindle?
a a a
Application of old saying "I should
just like to pay you off" what Uncle
Sam said of the National debt.
a a a
I.
Just a wife whose name,
Tho' loved, was all unknown to famt
Until that awful morn.
Born of fierce and sudden fear.
Has made it loved and held as dear
As any woman great has borne.
II.
That one moment set it fair
Upon the records high and fair.
That glorify our age.
No longer young, but tender, fond.
To loyal loving could respond.
Who her heart can gauge?
nr.
What more have history's heroines don
Or what with nobler purpose won
The laurel wreath of fame
"Clasping husband, she was lost to
sight":
Yet on the scroll immortal let us write
Her gentle name.
a a a
Appropriately a girl from Tennessee
won one of the cups In a big tennis
tournament.
a a a
"Too funny for words" description
of motion-picture comedy.
a a a
The toast of the cafeteria: "Pot luck."
a a
P. S. Also of the toper.
a a a
Light example of "burning words"
making a blaze in the kitchen stove
with the morning paper.
a a a
Lenore writes to ask where she can
get "Jewel's Apology." I dunno, unless
of a dealer in paste diamonds.
a a a
O. what is this faint odor that I smell.
It is familiar, I am sure I know it well!
Memories of days agone It brings again.
Trooping past my heart's door, bring
ing pain,
Is It a bit of lilac, plucked that other
day?
Or mem'ries sweet of fields o' new
mown hay?
Or is it. ah the perfume lingers yet
Of that rose-laden June I cant' forget.
When all unwillingly I my love con
fessed And Ho caught me and my roses to his
breast.
No, 'tis not that, but I've known it, yes,
these many years.
Its subtle strength will soon bring
tears.
What is that scent? I'm sure I know It
Just as you know I am not a poet.
Ah-ha, I have it, memories are laid
flat.
It's the gasoline with which I cleaned
my hat.
a a
Just noticed in a physical magazine,
for women, an article labeled "Looking
Backwards." Now, of all fool exercises,
doesn't that seem the mildest?
a a a
Motto for vode villains: "Sketch as
sketch can."
a a a
To find the value of a friend, ask him
to contribute to your pet charity.
To find the value of time, travel on
a Depot and Jefferson streetcar.
To find the value of patience, con
sult a railroad time table.
a a a
Hard Unea to My Landlord.
I.
Who demands rents so awfully high
You might as well the blamed place
buy.
Who says the rooms are nice and dry?
Apartment landlords.
II.
Whose plans for keeping me cause
tears?
Who at my slightest request jeers?
And kicks when I'm ten cents in
arrears?
Same old geek.
III.
Who till he gets me is so nice.
And says the place is free from mice.
And when I've moved, brings up th
price?
My dear landlord.
IV.
What's this, a dun? nice howdy-do.
Brief lines to say my rent is due.
Who'se always "doing unto you"?
The man you rent from.
a a
Right Back at You By the Landlord.
I.
Who chewed away about the rent.
And settled it but when coin I'd spent
In columns of advertisement?
My renters.
II.
Who howl for all sorts of repairs,
Of celling, plumbing, walls and stairs,
And cook up "sanitary" scares?
Same folks.
HI.
Who wails for kalsomine and paint.
And every day make some complaint.
Who make my soul grow sick and
faint?
My tenants.
IV.
What's this, a note? At it I'll peer.
Ah the electric push bells' out of gear.
Unless It's fixed they'll move I fear.
Oh, you renters!
A Bla; Rational Task.
Life.
Brisks I see they have brought it up
against Crawlson that he used to work
for the Standard Oil Company.
Griggs How absurd. As if every
true and patriotic American citizen
were not doing the same thing.
An F.plsode In Ilish Finance.
Exchange.
Blobbs Here comes Easymark, the
Human Banana.
ssiobbs Why do you call him that?
Blobbs He's so easily skinned.
Tbe Advice and the Medicine.
Philadelphia Record.
Wlgg The doctor told him to avoid
rich things.
Wat'S And yet he persists in falling
in love with every heiress he meets.