The Oregon Daily J OURN AL j y THE TABASCO COLUHN. nvnxAXt munnra coicatt, proprietors. ' C. B. Jacknon. v - MAmm TKI OUOOI DAIX.Y 70TBBTA&, tM Tamklll St, 8twm Tourth iu nra, nrotaa, gnrra. -: mBnism noomATic vajpbb o obsoob. ; - Entered t th Poatoffle of Portland. Oregon, for , tranmlUf tbroub th - Snail mm second-dan matter. . iHwtut (or single coplaa For an It r 13 -page aper, & cent; II to XI pages, I cents; ovev 2 Pge. cent. Tli a complaint against the saloon men I of Bremerton by the United States Navy officer will not belp to refor$i tb to-wn unless the sailor are themselves -re formed. Lewi, and dark mlghte-V beiT ISlaj J, 'VTXft to navlgat the Columbia, out some part of Sixth atreet would have stumped them. Telephones! Business Office Oregon, Main 6 00-; Columbia, 70s, tentorial RoomOregon, Main 100. City Editor Oregon, Kaln 160. THE! j6rjRNAL, one year.. THU JOURNAL, alz month THE JOURNAL, three month. 9:U JOURNAL, by the week.. Yems by Carrier! THE JOURNAL, by mail, pr year ,, THE JOURNAL, by mail. ix month THB JOURNAL, by mail, three month 1.00 4; ..$5 00 . . 2 SO . . 1.30 .. .10 ..14 00 z.oo Kn man nne-ht ronaclAltloualV to WLT hie neighbor hat out of a barber' hop unlesa he leave a good one in it piace. It take a thief to catch a thief In moat part of the world, because the police iorce is often tnudequa-te. T CHANGIirG OKANIC'UW. 8. B. Huston ex-Senator from. Washington County, calls attention to the' net that the people of Oregon amended the Constitution last spring in most radical manner by adopting the, initiative and the referendum. He correctly States that this was an alteration' In the organic law of the state that went . to the very strucure of the instrument. - Kx -Senator - Huston, was writing from bis hone In HJJUsboro, In reference to an editorial recently printed in the Oregonian decrying the proposal for any changes In the Constitution of Oregon, and .that was based upon the Idea that we of Oregon should let well , ' enough alone. ' Regarding the alteration of Constitutions, wisdom dictates this is ob .yloua and taught by experience organic law should not be lightly amended aor without good reason. Constitutions lay down general principles, and ; changing conditions may be provided for by statutes enacted from time to - time) by legislatures and Congresses. Constitutions should be amended not . frequently. - :. Tet, times come when they should be 'arrfended. Even the great na -(tonal Constitution, drawn by such geniuses of statecraft as Thomas Jeffer ton, bat been amended from time to time, and, too, in a manner to recognize principles greatly at variance with those that previously had been incorpor ated therein, A number of distinguished citizens of Oregon at the annual meeting of the, State Horticultural Society declared against a convention for the revision of the State Constitution. They pronounced quite plainly against such a proposition. They paid compliment to the wisdom of the men who drew the instrument, and said that they believed that Oregon should not attempt to improve upon its present form. .Jf .These citizens hold, the respect of. the people. They have wrought well for the state, in manifold ways, and have contributed towards the upbuild ing Of our existing Institutions. TJheir counsel ca.njnptjlghtl be passed over for that they Bate ever riven rood counsel i -tlmf" M.'"yMrf!w - Tet can'Oregon afford always to let well enough alone ? Is she not some time going to refuse to abide by what has been and strive to reap the fruition of the thought of the years that have Intervened since the present' constitution was adopted? . .With all due respect to those venerable men who view the Constitution M .Sacred and subject to no change from the younger generations, issue must be taken with them, to the extent, at least, of suggesting that there is . scarcely a state in the Union that has not found it necessary to amend its Constitution, and again to observe that our national Constitution has been amended materially since, the fathers of the republic drafted It. " y There are radical defects in the existing Constitution. There are Clauses that appear absurd now, in the light' of events more lately transpiring, and . soma have been abrogated by decisions of the Supreme Court. And, too, ' there are important principles that should be written therein-. The system f state office management is in some respects crude. In many respects It hould be. amended, and must .be before it will meet the requirements of . a Commonwealth that is growing and developing, and the growth and develop fnent of which Will be hampered without those changes.- Conservatism is ail right, radicalism not always desirable. Yet Oregon Mwl'iMf' Uvf 'tcrvsfm," !ad iJ Jy.: ftB&.ttiiy 4ha.fr-- quality, we of this commonwealth need not make spet-lujl exertion to' cultl vate that spirit of conservatism, for of it we have now an abundance. Our Constitution must soon be revised, revised by a convention that must be appointed before the first decade of the twentieth century shall have passed. And as to the proposition that Oregon has not brains and honesty hough to revise its Constitution wisely, as stated by the Oregonian, The Journal demurs. It is not willing to subscribe to the wholesale condemna tion by its morning contemporary" of the-state in which it exists. The people of Oregon were not highly complimented by that editorial in the Morning Oregonian. It was a pessimistic view that does not honor to our people. California is enjoying a cold spell, and we don t hear much about her glorious climate these days. There Is no man of less value to his city than he who Is afraid to be quoted on public Issues. The bogus certificate man is in town along with his Chinese ally, the pipe dreamer. Borne men can accept a gold brick and he as proud of it a a hen with a china egg. Jeffries ought to retire while he has a chance to keep his money. Let's all Portland! knock till we get a better NEWSBOY TENOR SINGER. Bernard Landino, the great newsboy tenor singer, or "Harney." a he Is bet ter known, i a great favorite In Cleve land, says a Cleveland dispatch. He wa at one time a newsboy on the streets of thlH big city, and was In the habit of singing the latent songs to the officials and other men around the court house, and one day some prominent man hap pened along, listened to "Barney's" sing ing and thought he had a sweet voice, and immediately took the young man into confidence, had his voice well taken care -of imd !V -tunr -go -through- ttrte. ot. the best training with some of the very lest teacl-ers in New York; the result is that today he ranks foremost and Is held in high eseteero In the singing and music world. He has a vfery line tenor voice. For some time this season he has trav eled with the Mascagnl Opera Company, and on his tour made Suite a hit. H Is his Intention to come to Cleveland, Jan uary 9, IPOS, and give a recital at the Chamber of Commerce. He will come to Cleveland, not to show the people how great a Dinger he In, but how much his valce has Improved. On this occasion It might -be well to state that he will be assisted by the great violinist, Mr. Bwold Huntom, and by Mr. James Rogers, pl- anirt. Tlw future has a great store In it for "Barney," and he has certainly done great In IiIh own particular line. He has bad a very successful time of it out West, and Is destined to do likewise in the Bast OPINIONS OF PtHEFt EDITORS. Bi'li . . m n tiM iaekr aka City Mas. - ' V -s-- Baker City Herald: I Schaffer, of this city. Is authority for the statement that 111,109,000 ha bees (hipped to the treasurer of the United States by the German government for distribution: among the Emrich heir,, of whom there are about 100 in the United Bute, and of whom Mr. 8chaffer is one. The estate ha been held in trust by the German government for the last hundred years, awaiting I I "PURPL.B MOTHER" IN THE COURT ROO I ----T-tfl -i Emrich. a Northwestern far trader and sea captain, and consist of real and per sonal property in Philadelphia and the- Fatherland, amounting in the aggregate to vyv,vva, ,.-. t ji. , t-.-... Seep tie Oarne Warden. ' Boise News: There is some talk of abolishing the Office of game warden for the State of Idaho. If a measure to that effect should go before the Legislature it Is to be hoped that it will be defeated, j If there 1 anything in the "Gem of the Mountains" that needs protecting it is oui! game, During the past year, while the mining excitement wa an, the wanton destruction of deer and elk has played havoc among those noble beasts of the forest. Instead of abolishing the game warden, each county in the state should have a gun clflb and the members should assist this officer In protecting our game. With the game warden done, away with there would only be a Had remnant of our magnificent herds of deer, elk and moose left in another five years; we appeal to the legislators to stand by the game warden and make the laws still more -stringent la regards to killing game out of season, CorraJlia Postoojaala, CorvaUis Times: For the year ending December JL 1101, the postal receipt frompostage stamps were $5,180.4; tb receipts for th year ending December SI. 1102. Twill approximate $5,00. During one jtay last week til worth of stamps were sold. The receipts of the office turf the quarter ending December Si, 101. were 11,411.84; for the quarter ending December 31, 1902, the receipt will be approximately 1.640. This Is an increase of about 11 per cent over last year. The number of money orders Issued from-October 1, l0t, to December '26. 1102, was 1,120. The number of nuMtey orders paid during the same period wa 1.012. This feature of the office represents a Vast sum of money and consumes considerable time. During this period til registers were dispatched and 885 were received.- Bomb is Basement f School Bullaiag. Walla Walla Union: A bomb wa discovered by Janitor Harris in the base ment of the Lincoln School. Attached to it was a fuse. However, as the candle lying near the fuse had gone out' before accomplishing Its purpose, and as the janitor saw there wa no danger from the bomb exploding, he carefully curried it with Its accessories to the police station, where it was opened by Chief J. J. KaufTman. . The bomb was a piece of iron pipe two and a half feet lone and about two inches in diameter. Both ends had been plugged up with lead. A hole had been bored partially through one end and the fuse inserted In it. It contained a peculiar grainy substance of a .blackish color. The chief of police cautiously tried to Ignite a small quantity of the stuff and when it refused to burn It slowly dawned upon the big official that some one was the butt of a huge joke. The powder In the tube has been pronounced by grocery experts as rice and lampblack. In breatnlisK awe the trembling firemen stood around the head of the police force while the bomb was being opened. "I tell you that man Kauffman is either a brave man or he is foolhardy, declared one of the Are .4. dies. "Why, all the money in Walla Walla wouldn't have induced nm to open that thing." 1 FOUND A GENIUS, 1 - LEVYING SCHOOL TAX. The existing law requires the county courts of Oregon to levy an annual tax of 5 per cent for school purposes. This forces low assessment valuation of property. It i one' of the. Influences, that almost induces assessors to vio late the statute, and not assess property at full valuation. The figures proving this fact were recently printed in the East Oregon Ian at Pendleton, in a letter written by C. P. Strain, assessor-elect of Uma tilla County. Mr. Strain plainly shows that in Umatilla County is property worth not less than $29,600,000. The property of the county is assessed at less than 16,000,000. Five mills taxation upon the 16,000,000 raises 130,000 annually for the public schools. Were the property assessed at full valua tion;the five-min tax would yield 2148,000 annually, too much money to de vote 16 that purpose. With the law as it is, assessors -in Umatilla County cannot assess at actual valuations, else they would force the County Courts tnMtjfJktmitstg mills nprntttwremei ppiKmmut:V-tt- the county treasury altogether too large an amount. iit. Strain suggests that the law be amended so as to require the County Courts to realise a given sum, rather than require them to levy a given number of mills. . Exactly as It affects Umatilla County does it affect all of the counties of the state. Everywhere is low assessment. In each county the levying of five mills upon full valuation would raise more money for schools than it is desirable to raise. '" it Another evil results from too low assessment of 'property. The law provides for the exemption of $300 of personal property" from taxation. By assessing property at, say one-third of its valuation, the exemption operates actually to exempt $1,000 of persdnal property, thus freeing many people from bearing their Just share of the public burdens. Many persons who under proper laws and enforcement of them would pay towards the support of government, are able under the existing regime of Jow assessment, to avoid it altogether. 5 These are only a few of the reasons why the Legislature should take up the question of the methods of school taxation. The enforcement of the towtreulrmg,. MsBme9t lies with the coascleoeeof.tbe je$jpleJThe. law. already tells assessors t'o 'do ioi ' ' , . "Talent will out," like murder, and It sometimes happens that it "outs" In the most unexpected way. To the sharp and Well-trained ear of William O. Stewart is due the "discovery" of a ringer who may give the world a treat some day. Mr. Stewart was sitting in the Lambs' Club one evening recently, when he was Ftartled by hearing "The Holy City" sung In a remarkably clear tenor voice by some one in the street. He investigated and discovered the owner of the vocal ap paratus. He was a poorly-clad youth and somewhat bashfully accepted Mr. Stewart's Invitation to enter the club house, where he sang for some time to the great delight of the members. They kept him at it until 3 o'clock in the morn ing, and the collection amounted to $23. Mr.- Stewart told the- young man, whose name is Arthur Bchell, to call at the of fice of the American School of Opera the next day. He did so, and after his voice had been examined by Reginald De Ko- ven and Herman Perlet, and pronounced O. K., Mr. Stewart offered to stand the expense of his musical education. MfcJ Bchell was engaged by Hurttg and Sea- mon for their concert on Sunday evening last, and received $100 for his services. He is the son of a Philadelphia confec tioner and came te New York to seek his fortune. He certainly- seems to have sought sucesslully. . - -.- - years, if these men accept these prof fered benefits, will it not virtually put a stop to strikes, unless cause there for be exceedingly important? WOOD A ITS OOIX. (John Mlnto of Salem In Morning Asto ria n.) The second resouroe, that of forest products, can be increased and greatly f"proldnged by more eoontfmtoal mean ot harvesting and ue. Bach species should be applied only to Its best use; the re fuse of the logging should be utilised for fuel, and all debrin be carefully burned so as to remove it from becoming a dan gerous conductor of forest Itres. Natural forest resources may be greatly prolong ed by. the substitution of coal for wood a fuel, and gravel, sand and cement for sidewalks and cellars. Health preserva tion In cities and town favor their sub stitution 'rdo. wood. The subb-tltutlon of oaal tern wood as fuel Is to imperative as to make the former the foremost of publio utilities Justifying the use of sov ereign power over Its supply and use. The recent miners' strike, the publio suffering from which has justified the Intervention of the President of the United States and appropriation of public money by Congress providing tor payment of a commission to settle dif ferences between the laboring miners and mine operators, points to the necessity of separating the coal value from the sur face value of the land from w.birh food and "other wop can be taken annually by means of labor. The recent contest between extortion ate and obstinate mine operators and the well-nigh helpless and ignorant mine workers, has shown that owners and op erators of coal mines have a power of life and death over their laborers, and over consumers, which ought not to be continued. Not only that, but they hold the means of stopping the use of steam power, and preventing the means of na tional defense, by denying coal supply to warships. The usd of coal has become a necessity of life to millions; to the freedom of com merce, and to defensive warfare; and this to such an extent as to create a new pub lic policy, that of reserving coal meas ures, and working them under humane rules, so as to Insure a permanent supply of coal for distributive commerce and national defense.' leaving the working miners as secure of health, comfort and mental freedom as are soldiers, sailors and engineers. The reservation of grow ing forests, which has recently become a publio policy, would be greatly aided; though this dwindles Into Insignificance when compared with an assured supply of coal. The timber reserve policy wa initiated by Its friends' showing that when the najton was young Congress created a forest reserve In Florida, in order to secure a supply of live oak, the supposed best timber' for warships. But now the best warship is a steel box flt- f fed with stteT machinery; to moe all of which coal is an absolute necessity; and the same Is true of the chief agent of commerce steamships and railroad trains. It is reported that Berlin students have decided that the sword is more honorable than the pistol. It's a lot safer than the pistol in duels, which Berlin students fight occasionally. It now looks as though the Senate will ratify the Cuban reciprocity treaty. If they do not. then would they better go out of the Senate busl ness, and some of them will. "This life ' and then This weeK-and then, at Salem Conspicuous, indeed, was the failure of the Oregonian to take notice of the prosperous city of Astoria and the wonderful resources of Clatsop County hj its New Tear's number. Clatsop County is one of the three or four most Important counties of Oregon, and has beforeJt a great future. Its present Is not to be despised, with a town like Astoria, with industries that Droduce enormously of ESn "and. lumber and With "shipping Interests as the first port on the Columbia River, reached by ships entering that stream. ,-' John L. Sullivan ,has been sued for the -labor of writing a monologue some one penned at his instance. There It some consolation in the fallen state Of the one time hero, and his present condition Is one element to save the youth from thinking that everything that amounts to anything in this world Is wrapped up In a prize fighter. . The Democratic leaders appear to think that the tariff must be the Issue In the next national campaign, common people have thought so for some time. The leaders are Just now running to the front to take their po sitions as leaders, to prevent some one else from getting their job. Leaders would better not fall to see the point ing of the people's views. , The latter have no doubt that the tariff will be the issue.- At 11 o'clock, 'Thursday f ight the electric oflrfeift "began to flow between Honolulu and the American continent, and greeting was sent to President Roosevelt from the Hawaiian Islands. It is aji event in the history of the great West. Hitherto we have de pended upon the East for such things. Hereafter, we will receive our news directly from the Islands, and soon from the Orient, for that .cable is to "be extended at once to the shores of. the Asiatic continent. GIFTS TO COUOEOES. The gift of John D. Rockefeller of an other million dollars to the University of Chicago, his customary Christmas gift to the institution, is announced,. Other benefactors contribute $528,000, making a. total addition of $1,626,060 to the endowment fund of the nniversity.: During the last 30 years-the benefac tions to American educational institu tions have reached the imposing total of nearly $300,000,000. The contributions for the year just closed, it is believed. will compare favorably With those of previous years, and will certainly ex ceed the average yearly exhibit. Tears of general prosperity are reflected by the largesses to educational and charita ble institutions. For some years- after the panic of 1873 the donations to insti tutions declined in value materially and began to rise with the improving busi ness situation. In 1876 the .total was 24.126.000. In 1899 it was $25,332,792. In that year the Leland Stanford University "alone received $11,000,000. - ' The steel trust proposes to give em- J-ployes opportunity to "secure stock in the corporation. There wilt be also some profit-sharing for those that The I. shall have "remained with the corpora tion as employes for at least five - LaSOBl STAT0S IOW. Perhnna no country presents a more In teresting phase ot the student of social problems than little Belgium, where workinsmen. accept a minimum wage of rom 6 to 8 cents an hour. Their noon day meal onsists"of slices of bread and oleoanargartnerwashed-dowB. -withblack cofTee, minus sugar or milk, or what is worse, the cheapest " and worst quality nf irin. their proverbial "schnick." Meat i a Juxury Indulged la on Sundays only. . Looonra ox? boous Brrxa. (Coast Mail.) A Grants Pass dispatch says A. A. Hall, a lumberman of the Upper Rogue lUver, has contracted to furnish 100.0CO feet of pine logs for R. D. Ilurr.e, of the lower river. Seventy-five thousand feet of the logs have already been placed In the river and for the first time the ex periment Of floating logs from the source to the mouth of the Hogue Is being tried. Unluckily, the loga were placed in the river Just before its recent ri.se and as a result many of them were carried high and dry and washed on bars and flats away from the main current of the stream.. So soon as the remaining 25, OU0 feet are set afloat they will be fol lowed up and the whole drive gathered up, as a crew of men will make the trip down the river and roll In all the strand ed logs as they are iound. If Mr. Hall makes a success of driving logs down the Rogue It is likely that a number of others will try the same feat. There Is a quantity of sugar pine timber In the Upper Rogue country that ean be brought to the mills easily If the logs can be brought down the river. (Grant Wallace In San Francisco Bui - letin.) SAN DIEGO, Jan. Mine eyes have seen ine rarple mother of the lost my terles of antiquity.-the reincarnation of the Hindoo Jesus, Vishnu on whom an -emttnd fa4e tht plblsn nnmfi of plain Katherine Tingley, I have even had the temerity to gase down Upon ber aumpHngettu proportions, to look into her. heavy-lidded, burnt-orange colored eyes and to grasp the puffy hand that sway the mystlo scepter of power over the lotus buds and millionaire and other theosophlcal bipeds tb world over, with out experiencing . the slightest feeling that I had tackled a live wire. I even penetrated the cordon of her circumlo cution cabinet and held converse with Madame, the Mahatma, in the court room where he )s trying to convince the world that her fair purple name has been bedraggled and discolored $60,000 worth by that grlzsled veteran of many a Phil ippine mosqu. to fight. Gen. Harrison Oray Otis, publisher of the, Los Angeles Time. The legal drama' which," owing to the laobe-enclrcllng ramifications of the Universal Brotherhood organization, of which Mrs. Tingley 1b the head and soul and pocketbook Is really of world wide Importance and It- had an appropri ate and elaborate setting in Superior Judge Torrance's court room. First, there was the Purple She, her- self, clad In an ordinary gray gown, with white satlnfaced jacket instead of her royal robes, hern only suggestion of pur ple being in the figured lavender satin boa She wore a very ordinary hat with very ordinary .velvet, and tulle, trim mings, above a verjt-ordinary appearing face, which had It possessed more of age and of purpleness of nose, might have passed for- Queen Victoria's, crowned only With dark brown hair con taining very ordinary streaks of gray. "I fell and hurt myself while playing with those dear Cuban Children she said. and so this purple Vishnu "she who must be obeyed," leaned on two very or dinary maple crutches to prove it She was hedged in from the vulgar herd of two or three hundred sightseers who thronged the court room by her cabinet of a dosen, more or less, headed by Gen. Pierce, who looked like Koko In "The Mikado," and who is Mr. Ting ley's secretary of state and Lord High Everything else. He loked bored and kept, his eagle optics glued Jto his news paper. Then there were the ten legal luminaries, five on a side, Judge A. W. McKinlay and A. B, Hotchkiss of Los Angeles, Charges Kellogg of New Tork, and Judge W. -R. Andrews and J. E. Wadham of 8an Diego- for Mm. Ting ley. Gen. Otis, feeling -as though it would have been money In hie pocket if he had never been born, nestled like a silent gray eagle in the midst of his de fenders. Attorney General Fitzgerald, Sam Shortridge, W. J. Hunsacker, Eu gene Daney and Grant Jackson. The jury, all horny-handed agricul turists and pomologists, most of them with a hirsute facial frontage spilled all over their chests, sat mute and won dering in the midst of the toping about of the occult mysteries dealt in at Point Looia. And this rehabilitated antique soul, the Purple Mahatma, otherwise Mrs. Tingley, has been accused by Otis of being a "common dollar-taking medi um," "a fraud and a fake," who con ducts a "Spooks' Roost" and sends out prevaricating circulars to corral gullible millionares and who by some hypnotic power so terrorizes her victims, that. once in ber lair, they remain perpetu ally enslaved,, unable to escape. She has been accused of starving and mal treating the children of whom there are a hundred or so at the loint Loma home stead, of conducting "Foolish Gabfe&s" and - Insane midnight. -ceremolfue amdngsr-tnelteged-amisblemarJhce who have the honor to sneeze when the Purple She takes snuff. They do say, too, by inuendo, that she - has flouted the marriage bond and kept husbands segre gated from wives, inaugurated a style of free love with a delicate disregard for the hampering restrictions of the mar riage bond not compatible with straight- laced notions of the Harrison Gray Otis type of puritanical ancestor, and In short that her "School for the. Re vival of the Lost Mysteries of Antiquity is a place ot direful horror. All these several charges the aggrieved Purple Queeri of Lomaland indignantly denies. ' "I want tehave all thi testimony go In," for I want the world to know the whole truth, and. to set to the bottom of all these charge, for I have aothlnr to rsaT-raem ine most searching lnvestlga ftion," she said to me, but curiously enough her attorneys spent the whole day in blocking the taking of testimony that might have let in a flood of light along these llhes. Poor Johnny Price," she said with a smue, arter most of his deposition re lating that she was a spiritist medium who went Into trances and prophesied things that never Came true," had been thrown out by the judge. "He was a good fellow, but a weak dreamer, arid always fancying he saw things. When ever I got tired and vested my face on my hands so (dropping her double chin into her hands, whereon gleamed a big turquoise weighing something less than half a pound) he would think I was in a trance. r When Mrs. Mohn's sensational depdn sition relating how Mrs. Tingley bad demanded that she kill out all her mother love on the ground that It was pure selfishness and tended to retard the spiritual progress of her child, the ac cused lady shook her head fiercely, but when it developed that the mother -had not been imprisoned but had on the con trary received quiet hints to leave, sh punctured the judges remarks with a smiling "That's right" The trial promises to be a long and a sensational one unless Judge Torrance keeps on ruling out testimony calculated to stir up" the Purple Mother's queer past. So that the end of this libel suit seems to be a movable festival, and Mrs. Tingley- has given out that all other newspapers publishing dlsagree atyft stories about her majesty will be treated even as the man of the Times is being treated. I am told that Judge Torrance, in the somewhat unusual capacity of press cen sor, has announced that all newspaper men who send ut facts and interviews without the official sanction are liable to be jailed for contempt, so if my next telegram is dated from the Iron Grated Bastile it will be because I have blun dered into telling too much of the truth in advance of the testimony. Whether the charges are lil"l.-us or true I know not, the testimony nut being in yet I have no wish to set down aught In mal ice or to darken counsel with words without wisdom. If Mrs. Tingley Is conducting an institution along high moral lines the world should know it. If not, a part of the world Is sura to be told about It. . STOPTBB SBU XTOTTBBS. (Blue Mountain American.) Manager J. N. Esselstyn, of the Mountain View, is out for "bar." When he reached the depot, accompanied by a sturdy assistant, the twain carried an Immense bear trap, a large-slsed steel traD. a reueatins rifle, a pack of ammu nition, and rations for many days' marching. It Is learned that large tracks, evidently made by a quadruped. have been seen around the Mountain View since enow fell deep. Another vague report .comes from the Cove side, to the effect that big tracks are found there porcupine or bear Is not stated. But these mining men are on the trail, and full particulars-are expected. BHaXJss bt rAxurjro iTtnor, (Astoria Budget.) Frank M. Sweet ot Skamokawa and an old resident of Wahkiakum County, was almost instantly killed through an acci dent about 5 o'clock on Saturday after noon. Mr. Sweet and his eldest son were engaged in cutting down an old stump back of the family residence. They were standing on spring boards, several leet from the ground and bad the stump saw ed about half through when it spilt Both men lumped, but Mr. sweet slipped as' he struck the ground ana tne neavy piece or wood fell on top of him. crush ing him to death.' It was necessary to get Jack screws before the body could be extricated. - Ji. COST Or TKB BOSBWJJB. (The. latest calculation made by "the"' British war office shows that the cost of the BoerWar was. In round figures, 240,000,000 (tl.200,000.000). The pay account was 68,178,600; medical service, CB46,600; militia pay, f6.101,600; yeo manry pay, 519,020; volunteer corps pay, f2, 9611,200; transports and re mounts, 51,741,500; provisions and for age, ia4.423.800; clothing. 13.756.700; warlike stores. 31,170,000; works, f8. 258,083; military education. 371,600; miscellaneous effective charges, 782, buO; war office, 640,300; non-effective charges for officers. 5.561.929; for men, f3,86v,oi0, and superannuation and compensation charges, 374.700, making a total expenditure of 242.340,692. It has been calculated that each of the 360.000 men employed In the war re ceived an average compensation of 197, and, allowing i4ft.500.QOO for transporta tion, with the hypothesis that 350,000 horses were shipped to South Africa, it cost 84 to take One man and his horse out and back. On the same basis, it works out that f77 was spent to main tain each 'man and his horse. BAKER? COUNTY'S PfRST rfANQi'rXQ 0 BJ5 AX IMTXIIO, (Band cm Recorder. J storm, on Thursday night oflast week, that was something above the ordinary in the electrical display. Lightning struck a fir tree In Woodland addition not far from George Farriers house. The tree was more or less demolished and the concussion broke three panes of glass each in Stephenson s and Fisher's houses and one each In M. I. Swift's and Dan Koonta' houses. HOW BXB TEXT BO ITT An exchange remark - thut it seems incredible that th Humberts could have swindled people out of an aggre gate of 125.000,000 without the aid of a single nickel-ln-the-slot machine. TKB SirrBBEVOB. It was on board an Atlantic liner, and every night a few of the choice spirits among the male passengers would as semble in the smokeroom, consume the spirits of .their choice, and tell one an other stories. There was one fat, Btolld man, however, who never spoke a word. On thejast evening he was appealed to.' "Tell- us a story." they said. "Tou have always been silent." And thnahe fat and stolid one spoke. "I can not tell you a story," he said; out I wilt ask you a conundrum. "What is the difference between me and a tur key?" They all gave it up. Some saw a re semblance, but none could tell the dif ference. 'The difference," said the stolid man, "is that a turkey is not stuffed with chestnuts until he Is dead." Chicago Journal. ' Speaking of the sentiment to lynch Armstrong, the Baker County woman murderer, David- Llttlefield, an old timer, tells the Baker City Herald of the first hanging In that county as follows: "it mil in 1862. Wa all lived In tents at Auburn in those days. "One day a feller came runnin' into the tent where my partner and I were and said a man In the next tent was jumping around In great shape, w e went xnere and found he had been poisoned. His partner was layin' down by the spring In the same fix. We called Doe Brackus, he was the first doctor in Auburn and the first man to bring a woman into camp. Doc said it looked like poison. There was a big Newfoundland dog sitting there he belonged to the men poisoned, and Doo found a part of a loaf of bread which had been soaked in a pan. He broke off a piece to the dog. The animal was hungry and he snatched it. In ten minutes h war nctfnar like his masters, and in another ten he waa dead. Then we knew .ao ih trnnhla Tho flrRt man died but his Dard recovered. "We nosed around a bit and accidentally learned from Immigrants that the two men had come from Pike's Peak in company wltn a j-renenman. iney nau trouble and the Frenchie accused them of 'doin' ' him out of his stuff. In the meanwhile we found all the flour belonging to the pardners had been filled with arsenic and DOc said there was enough to kljl 50 or 100 men. Well, we called a delegation of miners and went over to French Gulch. Here we got ahold of cv.nhia nnrt hrniiirht him to Auburn. Georsre Hall was sheriff In them days, appointed by the government We told George to go up on the hill where the Spaniard was burled and erect a scaffold and when he got through to bring tho Dill down and the miners wouia pay it . ., nnoa hnii tha arafrni' nnrl wa housrht the rone and started for the hill. When we got there someone proposed to try the feller. Well, we'd never thought to do that. One of the crowd, who was f tandin' alongside a log said: 'All ypu who want this feller hanged get on t'otlV side of this log, and all who don t want that stay where you are.' 'Course we an got on t otner siae. "Did you hang him. Uncle -Dave?' " ''Well, did we hang him? What d'yer suppose we built the scaffold for? BX43K nOBOBOBA GXB&. Marie Louise Wlmsatt, better known as Marie Wilson, of the original "Floro dora" sextet, who is said to have won a fortune of $750,000 in Wall street, ob tained a decree of divorce from her hus band, R. Henry Wlmsatt. Wlmsatt was a government clerk in Washington when he first met Marie Gamble, who became hi wife, They-eloped and the bride . soon went upon the stage, taking the name of Marie Wilson. Her first success was in "The Belle of New Tork." Then, as end girl in the "Florodora" sextet, she danced Into a fortune. She retired from the stage, to. buy a $50,000 diamond neck lace and a villa on the banks of the Potomac. X.AKS Ttn.ES rats. -- People - In the streets of Ashland no ticed a brilliant red light on the eastern sky, Friday evening, and which aroused a good deal of interest, as from appear ances there might have been a great fire raging ; in , the Cascade timber reserve. Later information revealed that the wonr derfullyj-hrilliant light came from the burning of tha tulea on thehores of the Lower Klamath Lake, about 70 miles distant. There being a large amount of ice in the lake at the present time, the weather coadlt'ons were favorable for the burning of the tules without dam aging the wild hay lands, so the confla gration was started by the "Slick" men. two iLssnzsa norax. A Michigan man owed another man $10. It was due on Tuesday. At mid night on Monday night he man who owed the money came around, woke his friend and told him be. couldn't pay the bill. "It worried me so I couldn't sleen. and o I Just thought I'd tell you now," he said. - . "Dern It, ; said th other man, "why didn't you -wait till morning? Now I can't sleep, tither." The Lyre. ."OUB ' 02? THEM CHBOMO MEH." When Frederick .Remington, the artist, appeared one day In the Grand Central Station In Now Tork City, a Bostonlan caught sight of him, and said to a friend from Chicago, who was with him, "Why. thero Is Frederick Remington." "Where?" asked the pork packer. "That man .coming this way. Shall I Introduce you?" "Bet your life. No man I'd better like to see." "I had no Idea you cared for his work." "Care for itl Nothing like It. Knocks the spots oft of every thing else In the line." The man of culture presented the Chl cagoan. "Proud to meet you. Remington Is a great name with me." "Indeed,1- said Mr. Remington. "That's right. My wife will be glad I've run across you. She used to be my Stenographer; liked your machine mighty fine. I will never use any other, and if you want a recommend from ' Mr. Remington' turned away. : When tha Bostonlan recovered he ex plained things. "Artlstl Oh, Lord. One of them' chromo men. f thought he in vented the typewriter. Now, wouldn't that kill you?" "TEMFXT8 TVaXT." 'A lady who went to Cape May by wa ter became interested, says the Philadel phia Times, in the picturesque attire of an old salt in sailor togs who boarded the steamer at Chester. He spoke to nobody, but sat In his chair and gassed afar until the landing was in sight When he arose, took from the folds of his blouse a huge telescope, and proceeded to sweep the horizon . Then he turned, doffed his cap, and cour teously passed the glass to the ladies. When they returned it to him one of them remarked:' "That is an excellent telescope, sir." "Tes, miss, It be that," he replied, "That there 'scope was given to me by Lord Nelson." . "Nelson?" repeated one of the ladies. "Why he has been dead nearly a hundred years! 'Well, I declare! . exclaimed the sad old tar. "'Ow the time do rly!" A OBAOXEB JOKE. - (Corvallis Times.) Crackers alleged to be 147 years oldf have been exhibited about town for thJ past few days, and many persons felu victims to the Joke. The date 1755 anil the initials "J. H. D." stamped in thd surface, helped to carry out the deceit. In size the crackers were not wideH different from an ordinary slap jack, One well known cltisen bit off a piecd of the ancient biscuits and declared that it tasted remarkably good for thing so old. Another said. "Oh no; h(i didn't want to handle it, because a thind so old and precious might break li pieces." The story that went with th crackers was that they had been kept as heirlooms in the Kriens family, hav ing been baked by Mrs. Kreina' great great-grand-father in 1755. John Krelnij yesterday, after sufficient sport out ot the proposition, explained that th cakes were recently baked In an old troi that is an heirloom In the family, an which was actually in use for the pur pose in 1765, 147 years ago. KICS I St HUB HAIR. A New Tork street car incident a "Tew days ago should furnish a JreadfuLwarn ihg to women Who wear last year's hatd A tolerably young and charming womai boarded a suburban car on the othe side ot the river, and after having seate herself discovered that her hat was nliv The next instant saw the millinery the floor and the woman standing on th floor with skirts lifted, rather indeco rously high. Four mice scampered aroun the floor in great consternation at hav ing been dispossessed of their teneraen After the mice were killed the woma explained that the hat was an old op which she had not worn for a year. BAKEB'S rOUOl FORGE. (Baker City Democrat) One-night policeman does not 'meet the requirements of .8,000 people. The needs of Baker City demand better pro tection after dark and the ' council it would seem could see its way clear to put on an Increased force. INDIAN,? AND WEATHER. "Tha Indians are very much excite over the weather." said Mr. Hare-to a East Oregonian reporter. ' "They predi- deep snows arid a hard winter. Man ponies will die and dogs starve In tepee Before spring they will begin the Ch nook dances and make- things merry Several years ago we had snow befoi Christmas-and a severe winter. The Inl dians went wild and danced for man days and nights before tne weather mo erated. One .chief stabbed himself wit tr knife until- he died trom theeffeot of his wound.. He did this to appeas the wrath of the bad spirit and bring o a Chinook wind to melt the snow.'