The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, February 13, 1916, SECTION THREE, Image 46

The Sunday Oregonian., February 13, 1916, SECTION THREE, Page 12, Image 46

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Newspaper Page TextTUT: SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND. FEBRUARY 13, 191G. IS MOUTH OF COLUMBIA RIVER ADEQUATELY FILLS ALL REQUIREMENTS FOR MODERN NAVAL BASE Report Sr" Harbor U ml Important Strategic Point, I AUayt Acrnwiblr, Has Protected Anchorage, Is Safe From Attack and Is Near Commercial Center Channel Depth Already Enough and Jetty Makes It Deeper. JL "l ? f fill I L, f vtfew , ,t i ...... . i .., 3 - ..-. --. . - - - . i i 1 . J- jr ' l-.. ' : 3C . v5T S.Abrih&rsi JZaczfi'c. ASTORIA. Or. rb. 11 Fpcti.) AtorU O'tl ! commll r conl'iMl thai th harbor if t Cci'mM l:ir. t or nr lt rtoulh. mt th B imallsl rjalr rint e t?! Joint Aratjr n.l NT i.r! whti-h. unlr t !lr'l"n cl hxt'lMT M-r. In 1)11 ln-tiKt-l Ihm Niy-Tr l(ualion In lha t nltl rroirtnrnt mrmbra Ihl or-t wr A.tmfral ;.ir lmry. !ir..lmir,l UalnwMahl an ltar imiral llr.Tr A. bm ?"- r-fr Can al I 4ibtr-i or naal at 1 f -.nn.' Th rrrl f tMa r. a lt. M'" an-1 r fi fl- Naln n'uM.ull.if, "h1il'jt'lT In tlnl' li a tal b t iv.i ! nnl t al' at an lm- lMfal (Vaalblllfr lfJ. rr-on-t It rnfl t frtulblt from k n ( r atl rnf HtltTi,, Thtr-J ft niu.l a n-ar a rro- f'rirth It m. af from atf-li. "ir'h It M ha riaaV em riif I rlf th ltiltfl labor ITr.t T'-r "irrf rrrrtn'- of l-i. I'ul ink, l:ir l l-l!ral4 h lha .-t tn.it n l r to a tributary t.rr'.irTr srir in arra tHan tiar Miv. in rtirnt t thm 11 or lax I- rl riloi. wur th ptlon f '"ri a rrirn adanrirtf in tvori !rton o rarMljr tat it rltra 1"0 T r rnl lnrr alrrrjr drai. Hrcord tntf to rnu ncurw. that mort trtna mntinrnut raitruaa cvnvrrct en tha hinit)l H.in to afwoj. h tha fa cile . than can h- founj on nr 'iir part of tha W(.i,m lor: that It rrit tha eriiT natural lncraa anU irr f-om ti. Interior tf tha t nlt4 Stat: that It la tlo narl tort to Vokotiama. havlnrr a alllr.B dlntanca adiraiilaaia ovrr rirattla of : wilra anl icr r-an Kram - of 4:1 mllea fur t . roun.1 trip; that it haa In Ita tributary trrrltorr rry rraourr nee Mxrr lor raalntcnanro of a Nrjr or an Army. ra,tljr ajtrmhlrl on a down cradv. by rtr. rail and hlKhway. Hevtm fa Ha aVaraaaHrea. ffrond-Tha "cclblllty from tha mrmT of tha Columbia harbor la Indl ratril by thi fart that tha roaal Una of tTricon and a --rt of WahlnKton form a atralc'il norlh-ami-aoutli Una and thrra ar no Inland or rcrfx In tim pp.n roadjilad of the ortan; that It t only one-half hnijra aailtnat tlm (rm thta uim roadtad to rcaih the tlt.d harbor. Thlr1 Th- -protrrtrd an. horaa.-a of tha. a'ulimbi harbr I. 'toad aa fol Inifa Tha ptflcnf- t.f lonu Ilnra ff out!d" Jttira blta an atta hlntf p to alritn dlrotljr In from the m thu a-nabllnar the comat Orfnaws aTun to converter thrtr nra on a nafl mix aracr: tha channel hi an n I'oar and reulai" tlopth hi-h rre.-t!y fa--iiitalra th rUnlinn of a vrrltabl network of auhmarlnt minea: tbe aTreat drtth tl at elt within tha harbor would maa, the orarationa of atibma rlnea an aatired u-rea; tha pronon lurir. m the Inaida harbor ahlrh pro )e from tha hort-a aiTor.l aafa rafutT for Teaaela and ldal haea for harbor defena i una and mortar. Konrth Th entrance to the Colum bia Hirer ran be nud' aa Impregnable aa Gibraltar or the I'ardanellra. Ita In rvl tlefenaea can be cheaply devel- opeil and made hlchly erTectltre. On! of tha amall fort located there now haa an advanced poult Ion on a head land projecting Into tha Tai-lnc which Klvea It an adirantace In E'ln ratic, of nearly S'o yard. Thla fort la Im pervious ' to attark eirept from on !' pt - - ' r :i L. C7c77 n cf 2Zn i nance CZolumba fpvcr. aide and la well protected from naval rhell damage on account of Its liclt abova r level. The hlllia at the mouth of tha Columbia are well screened hy forest which afford a. splendid nak for batteries. I -arse lltlea Nearby. Kirth The mouth of thn Columbia Is "near a commercial center (or con ters. with plentiful labor and supply facilities. namely. Astoria and Port land, and several other" towna of tha Columbia Valler. On January 27. 1J14. Secretary IV-in-lela itave Con-cress official Information concerning the dpth of channel de manded by our ntrhtinrr ships. "Such a channel." said Mr. L'anlels. "should have Ji feet at mean low water. The modern drcadnouicht demand thla ,tcpth under the mont favorable ton- ditiuna. In cac of an unsuccessful na val emsafement. however, the ships. In flooded condition, would naturally be lower In the water. The General Board lind. therefore, derided that the ap. nroaches to tho Navy-yard should have a channel of at least 10 feol preferably more." The channel entrance to tho Colum Ma River showe a mean low-water depth of 35 feet as per last report of I'nited States engineers for this dis trict, with constant tendency throu-th jetty action to Increase. The commit tee reports that continued dredKinjt operations will undoubtedly secure a channel 40 feet In depth before, the end of the current year and In time this depth will be Increased to 60 feet. Con tlnued drediclnir. with the operation of the currents by Jetty action, will main tain this depth permanently. MR. GREGORY INTERPRETS DECISION ON LAND GRANT Attorney -General IHaeosar Limitation Placrd on Con-err and Says if Railroad Mould Acre to Adjust mrnt. Sonic Concetwion Micht De "tt'ise. rv -::,,. max nkw.s :t itKf. vh. Itun. b. I; Tha f.r,t authentic In terpretation f tha d?vliota of the l'mte.4, rteale s ipr.m, ourt la tha Orrfun A California land (rant taaa a. contained In the letter of Attor-ney- c;naral Crffoy. aent to tha Panate eomtettte tn puhtle 1nd and to Se rtarle Ijaoe and Itouaton. The At tnreev - leneral doe tot dal with tha of poh. y of disposing" of the lard,, but rather with the limitation within hf.-s rnrcrMa mtr al. 't-r frl"ln t-a hl.torr o' the ST-a-tiea' a-t he rtta tha provision In I a-t . whlrtt prold"d that onia.a miht at anv 1 1 me. "vlnaJ d la rrd fr t rianta- of tne rail rnd foirpn? "'M to. alter, amend or rvei' t.-ia araatlnat a t. N liha pro vision a.'t.ar, t tha art of M'. but ti a-t tf M1! embraea nerlv alt t. lM a)-,ll aim in tha t hanibar 1 n Mil. lie aj)a the l.nJ. patented . fh ratlroaj rfnwPt amount to ; .io at. re a. leavlaa npatatd !.- a..ra. Ialr-ev. alwrat r-03avaaMa. In - trial f tha land crant suit, t N - val ia of tha tand InvoHad was eel at I M. '. . hut t ie Attonay-ieneral re-Ha t jal om pta;a t"ia vat'a a, tMa aw ,i).aw.'i. "TSa timber t'lereoa. ha sav. -roastitulea t1. chief vai'ta. T rnra. eotnpanv's Interest n tha I. ! '' i-raa nold. at liia a a -r. U I ". Ivjjtl this from r 1. t -al l of tha land. 1 : 1. . ta rtmrrnmie vai i adopted t, t A ftorne, ;enerl and wa haa a ta'av- a $".." tha a;vero re,t preaeef Interest lift-l't tha da f t'e iff.n, I'olfl. T e At torney-'-enaral then ahows rrr the laft ( h'la were vlo-'-t an. I r.itxa the h;tory ef trie . e-n.ee-t !. He fe ts- fa t I j .4 p.fwa who eeltl'd the ... wllloul t"ie .tn,ehf Of the rAl rne.l a rlilTH t " rlM bur I u- r at mn -r. he--ame rrwl. rwlrnan'. n-1 ..rwe 4ae other ap-.i.-Afi. wr -1 ee,-r etilej on the land, w.ra pe'-nit'e.t . lrler-ene. ronlendin tn-v w.ta eft tied t., ronuun'. 1'otn . o-. i-nl-d th railroad held the lands In im.t f ?e theie a and benefit. 'ofulfif down to tha siprtna Court ae. i, ion. li. .lternev-e?ieral pave: ""lti rewo-et to tha reo.a-patmoner aet latervenora. tha raprni I'ourt hel l t"iat ther ha I no r'M whateer t ha land: that the .'.mflli'inwlll .-f the purO'M, f tha aranta determine amt t -e creation of a trn,t." 1 aa caitfl. la aUajoa-a- ml kba) Vtov- arnment'a claims, held tliat the re strictive provisions were not conditions subsequent, but enforceablo convananta. and reversed treneraily tbe lower court's decree, with direction that the dis trict i'ourt rrter a decree providing that tha railroad company ha enjoined from sale in violation of tha restric tive convrnanta and front any disposi tion of the lands or of the timber, until I'uncnu haa a reasonable opportunity to provide (rcUlallon for tlcir dlapusl lion, etc." lie shows that tha court then provided a course which tha rail road company rnlv.'t pursue If Congress should fj'l to a-l within a reasonable time. The lower court, ha saya. haa entered a dere, in accord-' with tha dec. tlon of tsa t-tiprenia Court, and the 'tidcment aaalnvt the cross-petitioners and lotervenor. hotwithatandina the order of general reversal, was affirmed. "It also follows." ha says, "thsl br virtue of t'.e general reversal, tlie part af In first decree denting an account ing to the tovernm-nt Is eliminated. The railroad company, contending that tv.i last da.-ree is not in harmony with tiie mandate of t-'ia Supreme Court, has appealed, but no action which Congress might take concerning tha disposition of tn landa can bo. affected thereby. ttaltrwaal'a Kagtt-a Drnsei. The At torney-G-n.ral cites that part of tha Muprem Court opinion whirn hold that "tha grants must ba taken a thv were given. Assent to them wa reiulrv and made, and w can not Import a different measure of the requirement and the aaent than tha language of tha art expresses. It Is t remembered that acta are laws as wetl aa vranta and must be artvea the evartnea of laws lie also rites other paragraphs vf tit decision, and sav -These eirerpta rlrarlr rstabll.h two things. "HI That the reetrlrtite provision nvtt b taken as they read that they m-an what t-r al, and b That I J i per t.-ra In the as- grraate I the sole measure of 'ail the val'i conferred be the granting arts upon the railroad.' . - Whatever other rishte were given la the railroada by tha granting arts. urn aa right of wa over tha nubile domain, etc. have all been satisfied." ha ii) . "Therefore III per acre Is the miilmum amount which the railroad company Is. or was at any time, en titled to receive. rly the decision cf tha r up re me Court the rights of the rauiroaai coausvo ere llaet aU a aiua, not to exceed II.SO per acre. There fore, Congress hns the power to amend this act. provided It secures to the railroad company IISO per acre, that being the measure of Its rlKhla In the land. Ceaareaa rawer I a. pi led. "Hot apart from this, the fact that tho tiuprmne Court ba referred the subject to Consjrraa necessarily Im plies the power of Congress to deal with It alone tha line of the court' opinion. lie rite tha record of the Govern ment's suit showing; that the railroad company, prior to the Institution of tha suit, had received on account of tne lands a total of li.S0S.S7O, of whirn I4.ni.sr3 came from sale of lands and ll.o:i.ri from Interest on contracts. tha remainder from timber sales, esse, etc. "ferhnps the Interest Item should be reduced." saya tho Attorney tienrrsl. "hecacso some of It undoubt edly came from the railroad company's share In the proceeds of the sales. The time may come when an exact adlust mrnt of this Item may be pertinent, hut it Is not now." lie also shows that about IIOO.OOO additional haa been re ceived from sales made by order of the court, which amount I now held hack, lie give the following table showing what the railroad company claims to bava disbursed on account of the lands: .I...H.I., .................. I 71 I m aip.rjra . Krs'lll.s 'and .... .f ..... - I i iimI Siaiea iurna ............ a:fia and off'ce eipenaes .Hisilooe-r -" pr'ntins Tessa aa lands :i v! 14 2 H.VT7 Cllll 1 Vl t.t::.;: Total Alia aar la Ksearaa Opeoeed. "I do not believe. says the Attorney-General, "that tha railroad com pany la entitled. In strictness, to credit for any of the Items shown In this ta ble. The IS.iO per arre Is the maxi mum amount given to It by the grants. If the credit which It assert are rec-, ocnixed It would receive not oniy per acre, but a sum In excess eoual to an. amount of the credits allowed. This la not warranted by trie terms of thai grants, a Interpreted hy the Supreme Court. I'erhaps generosity muni al low the company credit for taxes paid on a a nation above 13 SO per acre. In later years. I am Informed, it ha paid on -ich a aluation. and since, accord ing to the decision of tha Supreme Caoirt. it had no interest In the e.-ess alu-. poibly It would he Inequltuhle to refus It credit for the taxes paid thereon. "Still It must not be forgotten that the railroad company Invited thks h'h er valuation by the prices at which It held tha land and tha Insistent claim made that It owned tha full value, not withstanding the restrictive provisions. What the amount of the tavea paid on the excess value Is I do not know, but whatever It may b. It L the only Item which. In mv JudgmerTt. should have any consideration aa a credit. By this 1 do Bel Bieaa to say Uial Uke claim for auch a credit haa any basis in law or equity. "In tbi connection It should also be remembered that I proceed on the the ory that 12.50 per aero should be al lowed to the railroad company. It is more than probable that there are thousands of acres which are not worth 0 cents each. Therefore the allow ance to the company of an average of $. :.( per acre Is exceedingly Kenerous. "Should the amount already received by the railroad he considered In con nrction with pendtntr legislation?" asks the Attorney General. By way of an swer, he says: "Undoubtedly the printer part, although not all. of the receipt of the company came from the sold lands, and the question Is whether those receipt should be considered in making the present adjustment, since the Government's ault Involves only the unsold lands. "The Supreme Court says that in dis posing; of the last-named land.. Con gress should secure to the railroad company 'all the value' the granting1 act conferred. In ascertaining; what this la. should we not consider how much of that value the railroad has al ready received? I think so. To settle with the company by paying 11.50 per acre for the unsold 2.3OM.O00 acres, without taking Into account what It has already received from the lands sold In excess of what It should have received, would fre open to two ob jections. (a. paying it more than It Is entitled to on full consideration of the whole subject, and 4b) endanger ing possibly the right of the Govern ment to recover In a new suit the ex cess over 12. 0 per acre. vlt.. 13. 500. 000. Of course this last consequence miacht bo avoided hy express provision in the act of settlement, but why not dlsnora' of the entire subject at once? Why pay the company I3.7SC.OOO when It la Indebted to tho Government in the sura f I3.SO0.00O? Kirrsi Already R ece I ved. "The Supreme Court ha made It clevr that at no time was the railroad company entitled to more than II.SO an acre. It has received from the aol lands, as w-e have shor n. nrre than tw"e that. If the Government has the right to recover the excess of value of the unsold lands, why has It not. by a parity of reasonlnar. tho right to recover the excess received for the sold lands" 1 It not money had and re ceived by the railroad company for the use and benefit of the Government of tha I'nsted States? The fact thst the trial court when rendering the first Judgment, denied the tjowrnment an accountlnac. is Im material, because that judgment has been completely reversed. In the opin ion of the Supremo Court, tha right of the Government to proceed against the railroad on account of the sold lands I specifically reserved. "There Is a trust deep upon t)ii rail road company property. Including the crant lands, for a balance of II 7. 745. "00. This debt Is guaranteed by tha South ern Tacific Company. According to the rscorua la the. Gov eminent suit there are about 660 mile of road belonging to the company. A fornier general manager of tbe road testified that it cost 150.000 a mile to build and equip it. This is low. but, assuming it to be correct the road and its equipment, apart from the lands, are worth at least 133.000.000. Consequently the bondholders are amply secured without reference to the grant lands. Still they have a Hen upon them to the extent of tho railroad interest therein, which, of course, must be taken care of in any disposition made of tho lands by Congress. Stockholders "tVell Provided For. "According 'to the records in the euit mentioned, the stockholders did not in vest over $1,000,000. The rest was bor rowed, partly upon the security of the grant lands. It has all been paid now except a above stated. Deducting this balance. $17,745,000 from tho total cost, 133.000,000. there remains a balance In favor of the stockholders of $15,SSO,000, as the result of the investment of $1. 000.000." The question of those who' purchased from the railroad company nd paid more than $2.50 per acre is held to be material only as it bears on the ques tion whether or not the excess belongs to tho UnUed states. "These pur chasers." it is held, "entered freely Into their contracts to pay what must be presumed was only the value of the land at the time they bought it. Ac cording to the Supreme Court's hold ing with respect to the cross petiti tloners and lntervenors no one had the right to compel the railroad company to sell. It said the company 'might choose the actual settler,' etc Conse quently whatever right these pur chasers acquired was purely contrac tual and for the consideration which they airreed to pay. Upon what prin ciple, therefore, could they ask for the return of the monty?" Tho Attorney-General then reviews at length the innocent purchaser suits, under which "about $900,000 has been collected by tho Government, and then takes up outstanding, contracts. aavtnir: "There are a number of contracts outstanding for the purchase of landa unon which a part only of the pur chase price has been paid. The lands covered bv these contracts, amounting to 80.000 acres, were omitted from the Government suits. Relief OrTered I'urrhasera. "Inspecting these lands I would ob erve. first, that it would bo fair to allow the purchasers and their as signs the same measure of relief as was offered in the cases governed by the act of 1912. Whether any of these executory transactions Is protected by the statute of limitations prescribed In tho act I will not undertake to say. Some of them. I am persuaded, were not within tho limitation of the com promise. Equality between these cases and the cases settled by that act will be brought about if those who claim under the executory contracts are permitted to gain good title by paying to the Government what they agreed to pay the company, where the contracts ca 11 tor less tnan luuu acres. and making an additional payment of $2.60 an acre where the contracts can for 1000 acres or more. "In rough figures tho account be tween the United States and the rail road company may be stated thus: rmal smnttnf rtf the Inn rranta. ..rr-n.imO acres at 15.50 per acre.l.OOO.onO Amount received on their account. 6. 506.870 Economy Event Our Profit-Sharing Piano Club imTP TUItJi There is no piano eold elsewhere at less than $32ri that is equal uwik iiiiui to this Piano, and its promises are good. This store is careful of its statements; its word Home I; LjLt "V.7.tc'.''ll. ' Wl"""'oitScv?l if "J"" """ " ' " 1 " 1 " "7 p -111111 As Club Member Pay Usual Price, With Interest, $1.25 Weekly $417.28 Weekly No Interest Balanoe due railroad company. . 12.493,129 "An early settlement of the contro versy is much to be desired. If. there fore, the railroad company should be Induced to agree to an adjustment of the whole matter, it might be wise for the Government to yield on a, lew- points, especially with respect to some of tha charKcs made and credits claimed. In the statements given above, Settlement la Invited. "But if the company is goii.g to con test any legislation that Concress may pass upon the subject, and urn indica tions now are that it will, then the Government should claim all that It is entitled to by strict rule of the law. In this connection I would respect fully suggest tho wisdom of inviting the reoresentatives of the railroad company to Indicate what, if anything, they would agree to as a settlement of the entire controversy. "From the foregoing discussion it will be eeen that, in harmony with the Supreme Court's definition of the rail road company's rights. Congress may buy back the unsold land immediately, or within a reasonable time, by appro priation from the public fisc. or pro vide new methods of disposing of the land for money, and satisfying the just claim of the railroad company out of the proceeds of sale. I am also of the opinion that in all cases not settled by and under the act of 1912. where lands have been sold in viola tion of the granting acts. Congress, if it chooses, may deal with the lands. as though the sales had never oc curred: for. legally speaking, such rales, having been made in contraven tion of express statutory prohibitions, are absolutely void. I .a iv Should Be Made Clear. "Postponing the case of the purchas er for separate consideration, and con fining attention now upon the problem presented by the claims of the railroad company and its lienors, I would first of all lay emphasis upon the desirabil ity of a law so clear and so elastic in its adaptation to the possible results of further litigation that no doubt need be entertained a to its validity. As already indicated. 1 hold to the view that the amount of moneys which the company has collected lr excess of its rights should be deducted from the payments to ba made, unless the com pany and its lienors shall justify a more libers! adjustment by consenting to the act and thus precluding the possibility of any further controversy and litigation. That amount the act Itself should not attempt to fix either bv figure or rigid definitlotv. On the contrary, the act. in fairness as well as for it own sure protection, should provide for the ascertainment of the amount through Judicial proceedings. wherein all questions of fact and law Involved may be conclusively deter' mined. Payments to the company and the lienors, whether from the treasury or the proceeds resulting from dis posals of the remaining lands under tho act may properly be deterred until the amount of the deduction has thus been established. If Congress regains the lands through a payment made or guaran teed from the Treasury, they may be, of course, retained or disposed of as Congress sees nt. It has been sug gested that, in some part at least, they should be added to existing forest re serves. apeedy Settlement Desirable. "Whether, and to what extent, thil suggestion should be adopted is a mat ter which, from the executive stand point, should be of Interest to the Sec retary of Agriculture. On the other hand, it has been urged that in jus tice to the State of Oregon, and espe dally to the counties of that state in which the bulk of the lands is situate. the lands and the timber should be opened, as speedily as possible to pri vate acquisition, in order that -settle mrnt and industry may be promoted and that the local taxing power may not be unduly restrained. In the hands of the railroad company the lands were taxable to the extent of the com pany s interest (12.50 an acre), accord ing to my belief, but to their full valim, according to the claims of the coun ties. My Information is that these counties were largely dependent on such taxation for their revenue and that since the entry of the decree in 191$ they have suffered greatly be cause of their inability to collect the taxes assessed and levied. "These accumulated taxes, whether technically valid or not. should, in my Judgment, bo paid immediately when Congress resumes the title. I suggest thla not only In fairness to the coun ties, but because the taxes would be a ciQud upon, the Government' tiUe a.nd The Piano You Will Be Proud Of and Glad to Show Tour "Friends. Be advised, compare our improved 1916 Model Club Pianos with anything new or old offered elsewhere, and we will leave it to your judgment, as your judgment is bett after making such a comparison. Jir. Schwan-kovskv. President of this company, during his 36 years of piano selling, was never known to recommend the purchase of a used, unimproved piano or second-hand piano. Why have vour children continue the forcing, the pounding of the used, unimproved piano-actions piano, when our double repeating, brass - flango actions of todav permit the drawing of a more musical tone, with no need for forcing? Besides, the life goes out of the string, use produces lost motion, etc. All of which you need avoid to obtain the best musical results and artis tic performance by selecting one of our 1916 improved, easy, double-repeating, brass-flange action Club Pianos. EXCLUSIVE CLUB FEATURES EASIEST K,i,,cc"- Everv other piano store charges ihte rest on time payments, therefore It's vou who are paying for the time. In this Club you secure the Factory Cash Price and 2 "A years without interest. This alone saves you from $S0.38 to $115.00. because of the 8 per cent charged elsewhere, when observing our range of prices. CLUB PAYMENTS As a special inducement, we have reduced our regular pavment terms. The usual payment, for instance, on a Player Piano is $25 cash and $12 monthly. Club terms are $10 Fee and $2 weekly. Pianos. ?a Fee and $1.2., $1.50 and $1.75 weekly, and then with no interest to pay. GUARANTEE Every instrument offered in this Club carries the Manufac turers' guarantee for 5 to 10 years. Also, the instrument may be exchanged for jrtioiher any time within ono year (of equal or higher price). Free deliv trv in citv and country. HOW TO JOIV THE CLUB You cail at the store and we will supply you with a Membership Blank, and you return it to us. together with the $5 or $10 Fee. which entitles you to all the membership privileges and the immediate delivery of the instrument. Schwan Piano Co. Tllannfaeturera' Coast Dlstribntora, 111 Fourth Street at Washington. Open Monday. Wednesday and Saturday Evenings. would embarrass any attempt to dis pose of the lands to settlers. "Generally speaking, if Congress de cides to gain the money for satisfying the company by disposing of the lands themselves, the law should be such as to guarantee the payment within a reasonable time. This certainly should, I think, be made to appear upon the face of the act and not left to pre sumptions or deductions from facts and conditions not there discernible. Income Should Be Assured. "The law should definitely assure an income of at least $2.50 per acre from all the lands now unsold, devotalile, so far as may be necessary, to the rail road's claim, when the just and proper amount of the Government's set-off has been judicially determined." Taking up the Chamberlain bill, the Attorney-General says: "This bill undertakes to deal only with the unsold lands. Except in a few points of detail the changes which occur to me are merely such as will be desirable if Congress shares my opin ion that the matters of the excess col lections, the outstanding executory contracts, and the existing taxes should also be included in the legis lation." He then formulates various amend ments to carry out his views. Among other things, he susgests that bids for timber be accepted by the Commis sioner of the General 1-and Office rather than by local land officers. He would also add a provision to the timber-sale section of the bill providing "that where the timber is offered for sale hereunder and no bid is made therefor, or if made, is rejected, then the timber shall become subject to pri vate entry at prices to be fixed by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, after -appraisement, but in no case to be less than $2.50 per acre. All timber sold under this act shall be siihieet to the taxing power of the states apart from the land." Suits Are Authorised. The suggested amendment as to a civil suit reads as follows: "That the Attorney-General of the United States be and he is hereby au thorized and directed to institute and tirnseciita anv and all suits In equity and actions at law against the Oregon & California Railroad Company and any other proper party which he may deem appropriate to have determined the amount of moneys whlcn nave Deen ,.r.i.iuj hv th said railroad company or its predecessors from or on account of any of said granted lands, whether sold or unsold, patented or unpatented. and which should be cnargeo against lt. a nart of the 'full value' secured h grantee under said granting acts as heretofore interpreted by the Supreme Court. In making mis aeie. mlnation the court ehall take into con sideration and give due and proper le gal effect to all receipts of money, from sales of land or timber, from for feited contracts, rent, use of timber hy the railroad company, timber depre dations and Interest on contracts, as well as from any other source relating to said lands." Another proposed amendment vests in the United States title to all money arising from grant lands and now on deposit to await the final outcome of the pending action. The proposed provisions as to taxes reads: . "The taxes accrued on the lands re vested in the United States, whether situate In Oregon or Washington. shall be paid by the Treasurer of the United States, upon the order of the Commis sioner of the General Land Office as soon as may be after me approval i this act. and a sum sufficient to make such payment Is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated." 1'axes Should Be Paid. The accrued taxes amount to $1,300. 000' The counties, says the Attorney General, need the money badly. No land or timber should be sold by tne Government, he says, before the taxes are discharged. Another section provides for the de duction from amounts sun cue me ru- road companv. wnaiever iimuiu be Judicially determined should be de ducted as outlined in the foregoing plained, is not approved. It proposes to appropriate and pay the railroad com pany $5,750,000 for all the remaining land, which, the Attorney-General say, is $2,493,000 more than it is entitled to, and may be in addition. $1,300. 0n0 more if the accrued taxes are to bi discharged. The McCumber bill, which gives pref erence rights to certain applicants, not settlers, would enable applicants to g t i quarter sections worth from $50u0 to 1 $20,000 for $400, says the Attorney- f General. "Among those who would f benefit by this measure." says the At- torney-Getieral. "aro the cross-pelion- V ers and intervenors, who, according to the Supreme Court, have no riehls in the land, and of course the other ap plicants have no better standing. True, some of them, but not all. were dupi'l by locators, many of whom have been prosecuted by this department and are now being punished. However, neither the Government nor the railroad com pany is responsible for the deceit prac ticed upon them, and in consequence they havo no claim for special consid eration on that or any other score. "I shall take the liberty of submit ting copies of this communication to the Secretaries of Interior and Agri culture. It is possible that they may favor me with their criteisms and sug gestions, in which event I may take oc casion to communicate with you again. ' FIVE GENERATIONS LIVING Mrs. Mary Venuble, or Idaho, Has One-Hundredth Descendant. BOISE. Idaho, Feb. 12. (Special.) The mother of 15 children. 13 of whom are living. Mrs. Mary Venable stands at the head of a family of five gener ations, at the age of 76 years, a dis tinction believed unique. The pride of her heart, however, is her 100th direct descendant and great-great-grandson, James Morrison, 7 months old. Mrs. Venable Is probably the young est great, great-grandmother in the Western country. She is hale and hearty, and surrounded by her many relatives at her home at Eagle, 10 miles west of Boise, Is happy indeed. Mrs. Venable has no less than 99 grand and great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. She is a. native of Texas, and came to Idaho 2o years ago. The Boise Valley was se lected as her future home and there she reared her large family. Of the 13 living children, six of them reside in Western Idaho and Eastern Oregon: John W. Venable, of Eagle; Thomas B. Venable, Ontario: Marion and Minor Venable, of Nampa: Mrs. Rosa Post, of Nampa, and Mrs. MatU Armitage, of Nampa. WOMEN STUDENTS EXCEL University of California Scholarship Statistics Are Interesting. ducted, as out opinion. The Attorney-jen-rai wuinu write the section oi me -i''i'"ci bill which gives the counties 40 per cent of the receipts, me mme - cent, and the Government the remain der As rewritten this section does not affect the state or counties, but if the court should charge the railroad company. witn me amount, i? Jc iv.d hv It over and above $2.50 an acre for the lands heretofore disposed ol the Government s receipts wouiu on in creased to that extent. The states, in other words, get their money only from the sale of unsold lands: the Govern ment may get something on account of recovery on past sales. About 200 acres of the unsold land are in the state of Washington. Tho Raker bill, aa nereioiore ex- i UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. Berkeley. Feb. 12. (Special.) The semi-annual report of the registrars office at the University of California, contains some interesting statistics on scholarship ratings. The figures show that women are better students than the men. and that students belonging to organizations have received better grades than those who do not. The organizations on the campus. i.ch as fraternities, sororities and house clubs, whose scholarship is above the average, are published In alphabetical order in the Daily Cal ifornian, the student organ. Fourteen fraternities and three house clubs re ceived places on the coveted list. All of the averages are lower than thos -, of last year, and the fall is attributed to the exposition influence. i Infected Hogs Killed. DAVENPORT, Wash.. Feb. 12. (Spe- ) cial.) Lincoln County health officers I quickly dispatched five hogs which had been bitten by a mad dog, and burned ( the barn in which the swine had been confined Bince they were bitten a few days before. The owner of the prop erty, John Zeimantz, called the offi cials on the case and readily consented to the destruction of his property as a. safeguard against an epidemic of rabies. The dog hud already been shot and its body burned. Evangelist and Bride Coming West. ROSEBURG, Or.. Feb. 12. (Special.) Bruce Evans, evangelist, who has held meetings in various Southern Ore gon towns during the past year, was married recently at Buffington. Ind. The bride was Miss Helen Cash. a. church worker of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are now en route to Oregon, where thty will inuke their homo.