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About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (July 13, 1904)
PAGE FOUR. ASTORIA, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 1904. Ci)c lilorning flstorian ESTABLISHED 1873 4 . PUBLISHED BY ASTORIAN PUBLISHING COMPANY. J. H. CARTER, GENERAL MANAGER. RATES. By mail, per" year $6 00 By mail, per month 50 By carriers, per month........ 60 THE SEMI-WEEKLY ASTORIAN. By mail, per year, in advance f 1 00 fUNION Mt THE NEGRO AND THE CENSUS. A bulletin just issued by the federal census bureau exhibits in an interesting light the growth "of the negro element in our population. According to the returns of the census of 1900, the negro population of the United States, including continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Porto Rico, numbered 9,204,531. For continental United States alone the negro population was 8,833,994-11.6 per cent of the total 'population. The growth for the decade was 18.1 per cent against a growth of 13.9 for the decade from 1880 to 1890. Some alarm was pressed at this showing when the census figures were first published, about three years ago. It was ar gued that the negro race, not being reinforced and augmented by a constant stream of immigration, was, in fact, outgrowing the white race; for the en tire white increase for the period from 1890 to 1900 was only 21.2 per cent Should immigration cease r dwindle, it was suggested, we should be face to face with the unpleasant spectacle of an inferior, and formerly servile, element in our population re plenishing itself more rapidly and steadily than the superior and dominant element in our civilization But a complete study of the census returns hardly warrants so unpalatable a conclusion. The bureau's study of the vital statistics of the negro race in this country demonstrates that it cannot under pres ent conditions keep pace in growth with the Cau casian element A higher negro birth rate may be admitted; but, as might be expected, the negro death rate far outruns the white death rate. From 1890 to 1900 the negro death rate is put relatively at 30, against 17 for the white population. Notwithstand ing its fecundity, the negro race has lost ground in numbers, compared with the white, during the whole of the nineteenth century. In 1790, 19.3 per cent f the total population of the United States was negro. By 1840 the negro percentage had fallen to 16.8. In 1890 it was only 11.9, and in 1900 it fell still further to 11.6. Including the Philippines, with other non-continental territory, the proportion of the negro population under the flag falls today well below 10 per cent less than half its relative strength a century ago. The trend of the negro toward city life is notice able even in a section so distinctly rural as the south. In the southern country districts the negro increase from 1890 to 1900 averaged about 16 per cent; for the towns and cities of the same region the increase was 21.7 per cent. In five of the larger southern cities the negro population actually outgrew the white population, the rate for the former being 25.8 and for the latter 20.8. This acceleration was due, of course, to immigration from the country dis tricts. Baltimore, Washington, Memphis and New Orleans are the four centers whose negro popula tion is increasing most rapidly. Each of these eities, with the country tributary to it, has a negro colony exceeding 75,000. One marked sign of the lower vitality of the black race is found in the fact that half the negroes in the United States are under 19 years of age. The median line for the white race is 23 a disparity which speaks for itself. There is nothing in this study of negro growth during the last decade to en courage the idea that the race is taking a more im portant place as an element in our population, or that it can extort, by force of numbers at least, a fuller recognition of its value as a factor in our civilization. For the 11 months ended on May 31 at that date the trans-Atlantic steamship cut-rate war ' had scarcely begun the number of aliens landing on our shores amounted to 740,000. That record, even for a full fiscal year, has boon surpassed only twice -namely, in 1903 and in 1S82. In 189S the num ber of new comers to this country fell as low as 229,000, while the yearly average for the decade ended with 1902 was only 380,000. Contrast these figures with the tremendous vol ume of immigration in 1903, amounting to 857,000 a number greater than the combined population of the states of New Hampshire and Rhode Island and nearly equal to the population of the state of Connecticut or of West Virginia! There are 26 states of the union that have a smaller population than the number of immigrants practically 1,600, 000 that arrived on our shores during 1903 and in the 11 months of 1904 ended on May 31. It is impossible to view this overwhelming deluge of aliens without feelings of apprehension feelings that are rendered not less acute by the reflection that the bulk of this mass of humanity comes from sec tions of Europe where poverty is the deepest and illiteracy the greatest That the effect of this horde of immigrants will be toward lowering the standard of American citizenship can hardly be doubted. The time is plainly at hand for drawing more closely" the lines against the admission of foreigners to this republic. There is a limit even to this in telligent and progressive nation's capacity for the benevolent assimilation" of aliens of people who are not only alien in race and language but in habits, customs and morals, and who are total strangers to free institutions. ATTACKS TITLE Packers' Right to Desdemonia Sands Disputed. Question Involves the Itouiiitary Line Ilotwtteii th States of Ort'gou aiMl WitMhlngtoii. AMERICA'S LARGEST BANKS. Ilwueo Journal: Litigation which will Involve the adjustment of th Washington-Oregon boundary line at the mouth of the Columbia river and the ownership of several thousand dol lars' worth of salmon around will shortly be waged In the federal courts. The suit will be defended by the Co lumbla River Packer' Association, which claims title to 10$ Acres of ground In the Destlemonn Sands, the tract now In dispute, and B, P. Hues ton the surveyor-lawyer and son of former County Treasurer Hueston of South llend, will attempt to show the Imperfection of the title of the pack ing company, and his own right to the property by value of an application of sale In the land office, at tide land rates. Trouble an Old On. The location of the boundary line be tween the states of Washington and Oregon, which is so doubtful that It has long been the cause of clashes In authority between the fish commis sioners of the two states, has cast doubt on the title to much of the tide- land property In the river, and U Is on I this doubt that the young surveyor I lawyer will fight the case. If the track The American Banker publishes a list of all the. i within the Oregon boundary, the title banks in the United States doing a commercial bank-1 J . AjTf' thtt n' ing businss whose gross commercial deposits exceed 'land office. But. on the other hand. $5,000,000. The reports are based upon the latest, h0 Heu8ton ucceea ,n nvin inM ' . '. . the track Is within the Washington report to the comptroller of the currency, or, m the boundary, ha ho to do, the deed case of state banks, to the state. There are 164 in-.from Oregon win be of little avail. I YtrttilA InMjta In l I si mi t a a rai vrv stitutions in the list, which is headed by the Na-' aluable lt doubtful ,f thelr rwU tional City Bank of New York, whose deposits f value will be considered, as the law of amounted on June 9 last to the enormous total of th, tat prov,d that m&ch i,de i lands be sold to the first applicant at a $184,156,142. The next three banks in the list are , flat rate of s Der am. Hueston Expected to Fight. It Is believed that Hueston has ap plied for the lands fully expecting that has been suggested that If there It a reasonable ground for believing such to be the case, here Is a golden oppor tunity for the state of Washington to claim title to them and thereby get th boundary question Into the federal courts and settle (t once for all time, The people back of Hueston have also stirred up considerable trouble In lea kers bay, near the mouth of the Colum bia, although here the boundary line between the two states 1 not a factor In the question. A tract of over 100 acres lies In the bay, detached from the mainland, ami Is, therefore, subject to sale at the flat rate of IS per acre to the first applicant Fish traps huve been located on the lands for a number of years, however, the trupowners now paying a license of ISO per year on each trap to th state. L C. Webb of Ta coma, who Is represented by Heuston, has filed on th lands and a protest has come up from the flahtrap owners. . More Revenue From Lloenses. The state Is now receiving probably more monej each year from fishtrapa located on th Island than It would receive from th sale" of the lands at $5 per acr, and th question will arise as to whether the state can be com pelled to sell the lands when applied for. That litigation will follow th de cision of the Washington authorities Is considered Inevitable, and It la possible that thereby the long-vexed question as to th location of the boundary will be finally determlnd. The tract Hueston Is seeking to pos sess Is valued at 115,000, but at IS per acre would only cost a fraction oX that amount. SITTERS Far Crimei. DlarrsM sr Bewcl Caatplalat there la no med icine will afford relief quicker than the litters. Take dose at the first symp toms and avoid unnecessary suffering. ft also euro Naaata Isdlgeilioa Dyspepsia aat Malaria Fmr as4Afa. JAY TUTTLE, M. D, FHT8ICIAN AND 8UHOEON; Acting AwUtaat lurgooa U.S. Marias Uu-pltal aVrvt, Office hours: 10 to 11 a-m. 1 to 4:10 p.m. 47? Commercial street Ind Floor. Dr. RHODA O. I1ICKS 08TEOPATUIST Mansell Bldg. 171 Commercial It fllONE BLACK SX, I U W. 1JA UK, Ui.IVi.dl Mansell Building ' 573 Commercial Street, Astoria, Ora TELEPHONE BED ml. Dr. VAUGIIAN, Dentist Pytbtao Building, Astoria, Oregon. , Dr. T. L. BALL Dr. F. I. Fricdrich, "'"dentists"' "" 521 Commercial atmt Astoria Or. Dr. W. O. LOGAN DENTIST 579 Commercial St., Bhansban Building C. J. TRENCH A RD Insurance, Commission and Shipping. CUSTOMS HOUSE BROKER, Agent Wells-Fargo and Northern Paclflo Expresa Companj. -Cor. ELEVENTH and BOND ST3. If It la worth whll t de business at all it la worth whlla ta da let tf It and thl means, always, a proper tlonsts'ameunt f newspaper apaa. STOP OVER. AT CHICAGO on your way to 8t Louis fair. Low ratea and best service via North-West em line. For full Information, writ H. L. 8ller, general, agent No. 131 Third street, Portland, Or. each located at New York city also, the National Bank of Commerce with deposits of $180,633,509; the First National Bank, deposits, $110,52o,277, and litigation will result, but as is per he National Park Bank, deposits, $90,516,997. For-cre "presents m small a fractional. nart of the r va ue. tne lanus are wen ty of the 164 banks in the list are located in New worth fighting for. York city. If the state of Washington refuses The banks havins the largest deposits in each of .to sell the tideionds applied for, iiues- the other leading commercial centers of the country on w,n 8pp,y t0 the court" for WTlt , . t,. . v, .. i t i ni t mandamus to compel the state are the following: First National Bank, Chicago, authorlUe t0 Bell ln accordance wWh the list are located at Chicago. The National Shaw mut Bank of Boston has the largest deposits of any a,tniUlIlAilIlllggllliiliiiiiiiilti,,,.yTrWrA the law. If the state attempts to sell, then some move from the Oregon claimants THE IMMIGRATION RECORD. Commissioner Sargent of the immigration bureau is represented as being "hopeful that last year's immigration record will not have been passed" dur ing the fiscal year that closed on June 30. He is quite confident that, had it not been for the "cut- rate war between the trans-Atlantic steamship companies' there would have been a considerable falling off in immigration for the fiscal year of 1904 as compared with the preceding year. Evidently, Commissioner Sargent is of an opti mistic temperament, says the New York Commercial. Commerce, has deposits of $46,827,718, and is tenth in the United States in the volume of deposits. The hiladelphia National Bank has deposits of $33,- 318,777, and is the 18th in the United States. Kan sas City has a bank with deposits of $30,776,979, which ranks 21st in the list. The next city to ap pear in the list is Pittsburg, whose largest bank has deposits of nearly $20,000,000, and is 37th in the ist. Denver holds the next place, its largest bank having deposits of $19,282,297. There are 45 banks with deposits of $15,000,000 and upwards, 20 of which are located at New York city, nine at Chicago, bur at Boston, four at Philadelphia, three at St. Louis, two at Kansas City, two at Pittsburg and one at Denver. Other cities that figure in the list, having one or more banks with deposits exceeding $5,000,000 each, are Milwaukee, Buffalo, Albany, Detroit, San Fran cisco, New Orleans, Cleveland, Baltimore, Washing ton, Minneapolis, Scranton, Cincinnati, Portland, Ore.; Omaha, Indianapolis, Newark. Los Angeles, ueblo, St. Paul, Jersey City, Birmingham, Ala.; Dallas, Duluth and Rochester. One hundred and sixty-four banks having deposits of $5,000,000 and upwards each are located in only 32 different cities. Nine of these banks only are on the Pacific coast, six of which are at San Francisco, two at Los An geles and one at Portland. 'San Francisco's largest bank ranks 52nd in the United States, Portland's is 05th and Los Angeles' 122nd. I bank in New England, $54,000,028, and is ninth in, be "P1- Fulton Bro- r A" ' ' ' ' I. l . ...V.I..V. TTtl.l at,, I urn Son. the list. A St. Louis bank, the National Bank of iT - " ' IIT.""! have already filed In behalf of the fish ing combine a protest against the at tempted sale of the Desdemona. Sands, and without waiving any of their rights have offered to pay the state of Wash ington a reasonable sum for the lands In order to clear away all clouds to their title. Boundary Defined. The boundary line between Washing ton and Oregon Is described In the Washington constitution as follows: "Beginning at a point ln the Pacific ocean one marine league due west and opposite the middle of the mouth of the north ship channel of the said river, and where lt Is divided by islands up the middle of the widest channel there of to where the 46th parrallel of north latitude crosses the river," etc. At best, the description is indeflnate and since the adoption of the boundary, the channels have shifted and the un certain location of the line has often caused conflict of authority ln enforc ing the fishing laws of Washington and Oregon, which are lacking in uniform ity, and has placed doubtful title on tidelands near any of the channels of the river. Concurrent Legislation Attempted. ' The Washington legislation ln 1899 adopted a concurrent resolution calling for the appointment of boundary com missions by the governors of Oregon and Washington and appropriated $1200 for surveys. It is said that the Oregon legislature failed to take simi lar action and nothing came of the resolution. In 1903, Governor Rogers' message deals with the question and recommends concurrent action by the two states. In the meantime the question has remained unsettled and many pur chasers of tidelands ln the river have paid both states for deeds ln order to have clear titles. Excuse to 8ettle Question. The Washington land office has not yet Investigated the conditions exist ing at Desdemona Sands, and lt Is not known here whether or not a reason able contention can be made that the lands are on the Washington side. It Only those men who are actively engaged in the publication of newspapers can have any accurate idea of the enormity of the work of properly re porting such an event as the St. Louis convention. The Associated Press handled the big convention in excellent manner and gave to its patrons service never before equaled. The Associated Press is truly a great news-gathering institution, enabling the people of every city of consequence in the union to be as thoroughly in touch with world happenings as are the people of the great centers of population. In its general scheme calculated to maintain a high order of excellence in its service the Associated Press has not erred in placing at the head of its north west department Mr. Sydney, B. Vincent. Staple and Fancy groceries FLOUR. FEED, PROVISIONS, TOBACCO AND CIGARS. Supplies of All Klnda at Lowest Prices for Flshrmn, Farmr M , and Leogsra. Brancb Uniontono, . Phones, 711, Uoionlowo, 713 R A. V. ALLEN, Tenth and Commsretal Streets. ASTORIA, OREGON. MinnninmiHuntHiiiiiiiinmiiiiiniim; The TROY Laundry Is the only White Labor Laundry in the City. Does the Best4 of Work at very reasonable Prices, ond is in every way worthy of your patronage. Cor. 10th and DUANE STS. Phone 1991 PRAEL O COOK TRANSFER CO. Telephone 221. DrayinHnd Expressing Allgoodsshippedtoourcare will receive special attention. 709-715 Commercial Street. Reliance Electrical Works H.w.cvutrs, Manager We are thoroughly prepared for making estimate, and executing order, (or all kind, of electrical installing and repairing. Supplies in atock. Wt , !1 the Celebrated SHELBY LAMP. Call np Phone 1101. 428 BOND STREET mmiiiimimiTritrHiniitiiiiiituiinMitrrt FRESH AND CURED MEATS Wholesale and Retail Ships, Logging Camps and Mills supplied on short notice-. LIVE STOCK BOUGHT AND SOLD WASHINGTON MARKET . CHRISTENSON Q CO. rrmMiiiiiMiiiiftrTTTTyrrmTrTTTrri ANDREW ASP, BLACKSMITH. Having Installed a Rubber Tiring Machine of the latest pattern I am prepared to do ell kinds of work in that line at reasonable price.. Telephone 291. CORNER TWELFTH AND DUANE STREETS.