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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1904)
Editorial SATURDAY, MARCH 12; 1904 PORTLAND, OREGON THE OREGON DAILY AN C S. JACKSON Published" svery evening (except Sunday ) lat-Tha Journal Building, , Fifth OFFICIAL PAPER OP TMB-CITV OFPORTLANLr FROM A BUSINESS VIEW POINT. TJf THE CASE of Robertson vs. the Portland Club, now before Judge Bears court, the public is being treated to some information : as to the inside workings of the gambling industry which flourishes apace under the protection of the city fathers, and the facts brought out in the reports of this case furnish some food for thought. Tn fh varlnua llrcniii.il hnuapH now running in the city may be found every day of the week from 3,000 to 5,000 men. This means that about 10 per cent of the men actively engaged in -conducting the business of the com munity are directly brought into contact with gambling in its varied forms every day. These enter into every ac tivity of the city's life, for whoever has visited the gam bling houses knows that practically all professions and oc cupations are amply represented- in the crowds that con gregate there. The influences at work in them are essentially im moral and brutalizing in the extreme, and no mining town in its palmiest days could boast of greater privileges in this respect than can our fair city today. In these hotbeds of vice are breeding under the most favorable-conditions imaginable, a host of parasites which fasten themselves upon the body social, and will not let go until they have liberally bled 1t of much hard earned ' cash. " '.,. Were this all, the seriousness of the evil might be de bated; but there are other results, to one of which we briefly draw attention. ; V The habit of gambling essentially undermines the prin ciple of common honesty upon which the whole fatrio of a community's business Is based. If, therefore. 10 men out of every 100 are daily being brought into contact with those influences which are universally acknowledged to be subversive1 of the very foundation of commercial life, it is evidently only a matter of time until the whole structure becomes Insecure. This is, however, an ultimate condition which we are too sanguine to take seriously into account, because we believe too firmly in the practical common sense of the American people to' imagine that they will al low present conditions to exist long enough to bring forth their full legitimate harvest That a limit of forbearance does exist needs no proof, and there are signs that it has already been well nigh reached here. Unless we are much mistaken evidence of this will be forthcoming in due eeason, and that at no very distant date. It may be somewhat discomposing, too, to some who now are very confident In their security. , . - The other ' Issues of this state of affairs we pass by meantime.' through no lack of annrerloHnn nf their tm. portance, but because we believe that the men in whose charge lies the care of the commercial interests of the city peed to be further aroused to the danger which lies at their door and that, being aroused, they will do their duty in- putting a stop to this licensed nuisance of most demor alizing character,- The demoralization of the whole affair lies at the door of those who have the power to stop it and could do so with a word; but who, before they will act, require, to have the law Interpreted supreme court of the state. ; FACTS NOT DENUNCIATION. WITH SUCH testimony as that which is being elicited at the hearing of Senator Dietrich of Nebraska, who is charged with having sold postofflce appointments for a liberal proportion of the salary, and with such cases as that of Senator Burton of Kansas who accepted big fees aa a lawyer to get certain concessions from the department as, a senator, it is not at all surprising that the general public look, with some de gree of credence upon the report of the postofflce depart ment that many of the congressmen have been unduly active in' securing, unwarranted favors for their constit uents," if notractually for themselves. All of these investigations have left a bad taste in the publlc'mouthv There has not . only been much smoke but such tangible evidence of crookedness when the cases have been carefully investigated In the courts that a strong pop ular opinion prevails that there is very much more back of it all and that there is a perfect mass of transactions which have not received, but require, public exploitation. Mere denunciation, by individual congressmen is of no consequence. What the public desires are the-facts in the case. It has had enough experience with abusive epithets and it has already had occasion to discount vehement de nials and indignant protests. It is undoubtedly true that japajts r AJt-uAoxnra piajts. Steadily Pursuing a Comprehensive Scheme of Operations. "From th St Lout Globe-Democrat Japan has started into the war with a presumption that she is going to win, and that she ia sure of Increased In fluence and power as a consequence. Several weeks -before war began Japan sent orders to a Philadelphia concern for 20 locomotives, to be used on a mili tary railroad which she Intended to build, and which she Is apparently building, from Funan, on Korea's southern coast, to Seoul, that country's capital. The or der for the locomotives ia being pushed with all possible speed. Some of them have already been shipped and the re mainder will go this week. All the indications justify Japan's forethought and confidence. There have been no Important military operations thus far, but the signs show that Japan is strengthening her position In Korea and then when, a week or a month hence, the order is given to move for ward, sue win ue aoie to arive out any Russians which she may find in that country. Russia has undoubtedly been Strengthened physically though not morally by the removal of her head quarters to Harbin. This has weakened her hold on Port Arthur, but it has aided her In hanging on to the province by shortening the lines which she would hftVA tn VWArH Prtrt IrMmr 1, mu h. presumed.-, will be able to stand out gainst the Japanese In any case for a few weeks yet, whatever may be the fate of the Russian fleets in the Yellow sva -and the sea of Japan. It is conceded that Japan Is in com plete (control of all Korea from Seoul to the straits. Even north of the capital as fsr as" Ping Tang, despite the reports of small bodies of Russians being seen there, Japan is probably master of the ' sltuatlonr Whenever she decides to make an advance she can probably drive . the Russians up to and across the Yalu without much trouble. Her serious task will begin on the other side of that stream. , The Russians will undoubtedly make a hard fight for the defense of the railway from Port Arthur to Har bin. Their prestige at home, as well as among all the conquered tribes in 81 ber, .depends on the maintenance of thrlr ground in Manchuria. Japan made a whirlwind fight on the water, but she I proceeding more deliberately on the land, knowing the difficulties are far greater,. She ts proceeding,, however, with an intelligence -and an elaboration ut detail which show that hor cam- INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER 5 PUBLISHED BY JOURNAL PUBLISHING CO. some of the things done by the departments, which the of ficials would rather not have done, were done under pres sure from congressmen.. These things have led to abuses in the public service and 'the departments have suffered from them. We. have now, heard a good deal about abuses that have arisen in! the postofflce department through the initiative of the officials. ' If other abuses have arisen through the initiative of the congressmen all of the facts should corns out. It will not raise the congressmen in the public estimation to confine themselves to mere denun ciation. That will have no better effect that it did in the case of Senator Dietrich when he escaped trial on a tech nicality.''. ' .' Let the matter be who have -been engaged In queer practices stand forth unmasked. "YOU GET ANYTHING YOU PAY FOR" ... V PRINCIPLE. ' , EVERYTHING Is grist which comes to the Ore gonian mill. In this morning's issue there ap hH m hvtA ' Adltrtrlol . riarnflrranh tn thin, tftfflwt ""Regular' Republicans and Independent" Republicans are advertising their own respective -merits in the columns of this newspaper. It is due to the public to announce that such advertisements are paid for at full space rates, and that they can news articles by the contingent" . These articles have as the mass of the nothing about these any more or any less than "true news articles." In the good old days of country journalism when a single weekly newspaper sufficed tom to sell to opposing political organizations certain columns of space in which to air their views. These col umns were plainly marked for what they were and nobody was left in any doubt as to what they represented or of the further fact that the newspaper itself dis claimed all responsibility for the utterances there in contained. In the editorial or other columns of the paper the editor vigorously maintained his own views. This was Journalism as it used to be and it may be said for it, considering honestly with its readers. But here we have two factions of the Republican party pretty evenly balanced as to numbers. Each Is trying its level best to win at the primaries and using every means in its power to achieve that end. The Oregonian declines to take sides with either one, which is within' its province, but on the other hand with its thrifty eye on the bank account It writes a letter to each side telling It that great modern newspapers nowadays consider certain matters In their business offices and in the event that either the Mitchell or Simon faction has anything to say to the pub lic through the columns of the Oregonian they may do so in their own way at the rate of SO cents per line. Both factions take advantage of the offer and each day have used liberal space. So far as the mass of the readers to them by the were concerned, if last page of the Oregonian they would straightway believe that that newspaper was body and soul with the Mitchell faction. If they saw nothing but the page opposite the editorial page they would believe, on the other hand, that the paper had gone over to the Simon wing body, soul and breeches. Meantime the paper Itself, still with its thrifty eye -on the cash receipts, said nothing one way or the other editorially and its scanty references in the "news columns" were flaccid enough to set harmlessly on any political stomach, There is , first the which no newspaper for advertising run in the guise of news matter. And then there Is that further matter of self-respect which should have led the paper itself to have given perfectly fair and unbiased reports Of the doings ot both factions so that Its readers might know precisely what was going on. Then there Is ing Republican if the paper itself could not fully fill the bill it might allot to each side certain definite space so that the public would be under no misapprehension as to its authorship and this should have been given to them freely and without charge; These are a few things that have struck the general public with considerable force and we fear that the money which the Oregonian will get out of the transaction will scarcely compensate It for the loss in prestige an$ paign has been carefully mapped out long in advance, and that jihe knew tne Russian situation about' as well aa Nicholas II knew It if not better. , CZ.OTKES AVD TB0B FKB80W. S. E. Klser in Chicago Record-Herald. How would you like to be As spick and span And as lovely a man As the one is we see On the spring .fashion plau Which the tailor displays? He seems to wear stays. He's so trim and so straight In his way he is fully as sweet as to looks As the lady Is who Is presented to view With her waist cut in two In the dressmakers' wonderful books. Wouldn't earth be a pitiful place If people were made on the fashion plate scheme If each woman's outfit were "simply a a dream," And man were a suit .of clothes topped by a face? Clothes were Intended at first, were they not," To put upon people who scorned to go bare? Now some of us seem to be swayed by the thought .That p.ople were made for the gar ments they wear. tnrrAaz.zA.B tacts. From the Philadelphia Bulletin. Half the soldiers of the czar are il literate. The per capita wealth of England Is $210; that of Canada $240. Of the public school teachers in the United States 27 per cent are men. During the last decade American ex ports to China have increased sixfold. Six hundred thousand revolvers were exported from Liege, Belgium, last year. The United States buys from Cuba three times as much as Cuba buys from the United States., .... . : Out of 250 automobiles In the annual exhibition In New York City. SO were electrical and 178 gasoline. The United States sold $133,000,000 worth of breadstuffs abroad last year, an Increase of ) 6,000,000 over the best previous year.. "" ' ; Especially Whs Say Doesn't Know. :, . From the Chicago Tribune. , Imagine what "administrative entity" must sound like when translated Into Russian. , JOURNAL JNO. P. CARROLL and Yamhill streets, Portland,- Off. probed to the bottom and let those readily be distinguished from the. true appended name of each Republican been appearing for a week. So far readers was concerned there was articles to indicate that they were to fill the public needs It was the cus its limitations, that It at least dealt they happened to see nothing but the however irritable and exacting. attempt to delude its own readers, should ever do at any price per line the further fact that Doth factions be dignity which will naturally follow. xnwxA.'s nusirosxzr. Mo Seoauee of Any Sympathy With American Institutions or People From the Sacramento Union. We are hearing much these days of Kussia s unselfish friendship for Amer ica This unselfish friendship play used to be of France, because she helped the American colonies during the revo lution; now it is of Russia, because she had a fleet with some sealed orders in New York harbor during the civil war, So firmly was the French friendship policy hugged by the American people mat immediately after the revolution they almost rebelled against Washlna- ton himself when the first president determined that It should be the policy of America to kep free of the war then raging between France and England: to give France no support. Washing ton recognised, as every well-informed American of common sense recognises. that France lent aid to America, not that she loved America more, but Oreat Britain less. A few Frenchmen like Lafayette fought for the Americana because of 'the principles Involved. But the substantial aid that came from the government of Louis XVI was given because of the hatred of the French favorites for England. Russia was neutral during the civil war. Because she approved the republi can principle at stake? Hardly. She was neutral because there was nothing else for her to be and because she. too, hated England, who, so far as she dared, was supporting the southern cause. Those mysterious sealed orders which were never unsealed may or may not nave oeen instructions lor the Rus sian fleet to Join the squadron of the 'north in the evnt of France or England, or both, giving open assistance to" the south. : But whatever those orders con tained. they did not represent honest friendship for the American govern ment, nor for the principles which the American government represents, how ever Russia may wish it to so appear now, As a matter of fact no European na tlon has ever shown unselfish friendship for America. Friendly they have been to America in times of trial. It is true, but only that they might strike an Indirect blow at an European rival. .H" ffl Grumbling. From the Chicago Tribune. Perhaps we ought to be grateful to February for delaying the advent of March one day longer than usual this Oregon Sidelights Thinking it was his last change to make a raise, a man In Pendleton held up the Last Chance saloon and secured 25. .- Great - sensation in Hood River, ac cording to a contemporary; a Portland attorney presented a bill for legal serv ices. Benton county granges are strongly In favor of a line county exhibit at the Lewis and Clark fair. The farmers are generally right. Single ladles beat married ladles at basket-ball .at Joseph in spite of the popular notion that married ladies gain experience In throwing and .dodging things. Wallowa county will appropriate $1,000 If citizens personally will subscribe as much, for an exhibit at the Lewis and Clark fair. Wallowa la a fine county and should show herself. The amount of freight shipped from Lebanon In 190S exceeded that shipped In 1902 by 4.000,000 pounds, most . of which were potatoes. The Imports in creased 1,000,000 pounds. One man in The Dalles, H. S, Wilson; was' not In a good . humor last Sunday. The fine fowl and other good things he had ordered for a Sunday dinner were stolen during Saturday night and he did not feel like giving thanks for his pickup, or restaurant dinner.- Apparently a majority of the people of Montavllla desire to come within the city limits where they really belong. The change would probably be mutually ad vantageous, though some think other wise. But It is a case where the majority of taxpayers of the community affected should rule. There la never any egg famine In Cor- Vallls. according to 'a landlord of that town, who says: "Every other person In town brings eggs In for sale. Farmers, business and professional men all seem to keep a score or more of chickens. And they keep the kind that lay eggs, too. No little, puny ones that belong to a bantam, but large, clean,, whits eggs that we are always glad to get." The president of the Irrigon Irrigation company has received the following let ter, which shows that poverty as well as wealth may be come by honestly: "Mr. hold brook Deer sur, 1 am a mar ried man I 'has a wife an six children wich wood be good for the cooaL 1 wants 5 akers i will hav munny to pay after Harvest. 1 can work but cant pay mun ny. I a,m pore but 1 cum by it Honest" Indications are that there will be more activity in and about The Dalles the coming summer than, for many years past, several large buildings will prob ably be erected, street Improvements and extension of water works will be made, work preparatory to building the canal and locks will be commenced, and so large sums of money will be expended iur moor ana among Dusiness men 01 that city. Recently two $20 pieces were found by boys in the Deschutes river at Bend and surrendered to Jim Overton, as eight such coins had been stolen from his resi dence. Later Mrs. Brosterhous, a neigh bor, found six other $20 pieces In a rain barrel at her house, which were also turned over to Mr. Overton, so that he has now recovered $160 all the gold stolen, but is still short $30 In currency. The trj'efs motive in thus disposing of money he had run the risk of stealing Is a problem beyond solution by the Sher lock Holmeses of tjie Bend bailiwick. A band of over S00 howling, yelping, fighting coyotes Jumped into the Colum bia river near Irrigon about daylight the other morning, and swam to the Wash ington shore, three quarters of a mile distant, where they took a roll in the sand and scampered oft toward the Horse Heaven country, Why the "critters" left Oregon for Washington In such a large squad Is a mystery, unless their heglra be ascribed to the upsprlnglng on their native haunts of the Irrigon settlement and the loud voles of the Irrigator. TUT iMPOKTAJrr BCATTBB. sText legislature lTust carefully Con sider Weeded Irrigation Law. Ex-Judge S. A Lowell In East Oreronlan. There are Interests confronting the voters or Oregon more Important than any party triumph or individual sue. cess. I refer to the necessity of such re. vision of the laws of the state relating to tne use or its waters aa will meet the requirements of the federal government in its reclamation projects. No greater responsibility ever rested upon a legislature of a western state than will rest upon that which assem bles at Salem In January next The enactment of a progressive and compre hensive irrigation act will unquesttona bly mean the immediate beginning of permanent government operations with in our borders, which will not cease un til millions of dollars have been ex pended, and desert places respond in abundant crops and happy homes. On the other hand, failure to leais late, or to legislate wisely, will mean delay of years In this work, which is to be the crowning glory of the century 'to arid America, ' " " While the engineera of the geological survey are already prosecuting their la bors in this state, it Is well understood that such work is preliminary in Its character, and that nothing permanent or decisive will be done until there shall be effected radical amendments to our statutes. , A bill will be drawn by the very able irrigation commission appointed by thd state law board, acting in collaboration with the experienced hydrographlo en gineers in the government service, but, however meritorious or necessary such measure may be, It will not become a law unless there be strong men in both branches. of the legislature to urge and Many of the statesrn. the arid belt have recently enacted new laws upon these subjects by substantially unani mous votes of their legislatures, but in this state, when varying conditions exist as to soil, climate and humidity, the desired result will probably be reached only by labor, compromise and wise legislation. It 'now seems probable that the opening of another spring will witness In this county the government's first reclamation experi ment in Oregon, and success -here will be followed by like wont in every ether county . and every other . stream where water is available, and arid lands: re quire .its artificial application: Will not all political parties then nominate for the legislature their, strongest men men broad enough to grasp, the far-reaching importance . of this most vital subject and will not the press of all parties urge the inter ests and hopes of our state, which seem to rest In the balances at this time, to rise or fait as the legislative assembly shall determine this question? CHINA'S NEW Eliza R. Scidmore In Chicago Tribune. Hongkong. Jan. 20. Hongkong has a celebrity in residence here now to whom, by contrast admirals, generals, dukes, lords, and baronets are Of small degree. "The modern sage," "the modern Con fucius." as the most learned and intel lectual man InChina was widely known six years ago, Is here again Kang Yu Wei, the reformer and intimate friend of the emperor. Kwangssu of China, during the , "one hundred days' . reform" that precipitated that ruler's downfall.. Kang Tu Wei is a Cantonese by birth, a literary graduate and essayist of till the highest degrees, and in the country where learning la so esteemed and hon ored was considered the most learned of all. His fame spread all over China, and while the empire rang with his- great ness in intellect he was summoned to retting, attached to one or the govern ment boards, where his essays and me morials attracted and won the empe ror's attention. Although Kan Yu Wei had never been out of China, he was familiar with European history and literature through the translations that have been made ia Japan and China, and he knew the theories of John Stuart Mill, of Herbert spencer, and even Henry oeorge, ss well as any occupant of the chair of po litical economy In western universities. His memorials were received -with great attention, special ones were called for, and the young secretary of the official board, the modern Confucius, whom they so proudly boasted of, was brought in personal Audience with thd sovereign, and the mutual sympathy and attraction were complete. Then, for 100 days on Wan Shon Shan, the Hill of Ten Thou sand Ages, in the summer palace grounds outside Peking, progress and reform found such favor as the maddest dreamer could never have dreamed. The most progressive, enlightened, and ad vanced of the older officials, those who, like Chang Yen Hoon, who had seen the outside world and foreign countries many times, and LI Hung Chang, who had seen it once, were left far behind by the hot-headed young reformers, the emperor, Kwangssu, Kang Yu Wei, and six others. This group of brilliant patriotic, de voted young . souls dreamed of a new China, for the war with Japan had Shocked them to a realizing sense of tha pitiful condition of their country and the imperative need of reform if China hoped to retain her 18 provinces. Manchuria, and Magnolia, and continue to be China, the great middle kingdom of earth. The emperor dwelt on, discussed, and never grew tired of contemplating the example which Peter the Oreat had set for' the sovreeigns of backward and be nighted nations. Poor, fettered, lonely princel How pitifully pathetic it seems for this soft soled, petttcoated, help less young ruler to have envied the rough giant who swung ship carpenters hammers, lived and caroused with Dutch' workmen and sailors, and, when re turned to his boyhood palace, swung an iron staff that the pale, scholarly Kwangssu could hardly lift. India and Egypt, ruled by aliens, were terrible political warnings to htm; and the story of Poland, torn and alive and divided among three powers, was al ways present In his thoughts, . So the young enthusiast fired with a zeal that transformed the pale and languid, culti vated, and superlntellectual young sov ereign into a restless, strenuous, eager reformer, who tolled through the sum mer nights at Wanshoushan devising means for rousing and regenerating China. Education was the first thing the emperor turned to, for, in all the good advice given to China, 'the example of Japah In spreading western education freely to all parts of the empire was unceasingly dwelt upon. The young emperor ordered schools to be opened in every village, temples to ibe turned over for such purposes, teachers to be brought tfrom abroad, promising stu dents to be sent abroad, and all Chinese who had studied In foreign countries were to be availed of to help on the work of enlightenment The newspapers that were advocating reform were subsidised and encouraged, and officials and literates were bidden to read them. .The old conservatives, from Peking to the' remotest provinces, ahook their heads.- wondered and4xalled, not know Ing where the thunderbolt of an im pertal edict would land next It was when the emperor began lopping off the in competents, dropping unnecessary ofli elals, that the alarm was given. Then when he proposed to go to Tientsin by railway train and review the vaunted army of the northern viceroy consterna tion became real. It waa but a next step for him to propose to his supposed ly loyal general that they should make prisoners of the empress dowager and her conservative cabal that were inter fering with, opposing, and hindering all the reform measures; but when the plan was revealed the loyal ones promptly warned the empress dowager and the thunderbolt fell. KOmS JAPANESE SZSOOVBTTBST. From the New York World. The progress of events In the far east lends additional point to Russia's alle gations of discourtesy on the part ot her Oriental foe. Scratch the thin veneer off Japanese civilization and beneath the surface you find an Innerent rudeness which a half a century or contact with the refining, Influence of Occidental cus toms has served only to conceal without modifying, and which puts the Russian, more regardful of the etiquette of war fare, hopelessly at a disadvantage. The act of beginning hostilities be fore making a formal declaration of war, the use of the enemy's signals, con trary to all consideration for a foe, the stealthy launching of torpedoes in the dark, the bottling up of helpless cruis ers, the disposition to sink a hostile vessel wherever seen, the use of neutral Korea us a base all this indicates a departure from the practices of polite warfare which Russia may be excused for resenting. Now, latest and , worst offense, the Japanese have destroyed a mile of railway In the Russian rear. It Isn't fair. . The rest of the world Is watching with amazement tha activity and readiness of the Japanese. The little Island king, dom Is teaching other nations one of the most interesting lessons known to history. What will be the outcome of the encounters on -land? Will brains be a match for the heavier battalions? Os Sand, in the KOr&lng. From the Seaside Sentinel. ' The Astoria dlvoree business is look ing up. A woman was sued for divorce by her husband, who alleged cruel and Inhuman treatment by reaaon of her staying out nights. In her answer she stated that no matter how -late she stayed out she was always home In time for breakfast . , - -.i i 1 .i i i I, When Harmony Will wrevaU. From the Washington Post V ? Mr. Bryan declares that he does not cars about the candidate but that the Kansaa City platform must' be reaf firmed, 'if that Is done no one else will care about the candidate either. CONFUCIUS. When the emperor realized the situa tion he first sent messengers to warn and to Insist upon Kang Yu Wei's leav ing Peking at once and seeking safety in foreign Shanghai. ?, the modern Con fucius lingered to send messages, but finally hurried wth Liang Chi Tsao to Tientsin and Shanghai,-a British gun boat receiving and assisting them on to safety in f Hongkong. The six other young reformers, dreamers of the hun dred days' dream of reform, were be headed, sons of viceroys and high offi cials, the most able and promising of all tne court rojiowing. -, One martyr died protesting: his love of country in terms to convince one that a word for patriotism would soon have been coined or Compounded for the Chinese language. He declared that his death would bear fruit and his mar tyrdom help on the cause in the end. Believing, his friends safe, the em peror then attempted to leave the palace, intending to ask asylum at: the near est foreign legation until he could as semble other troops around him for his protection. Accompanied . by hia most faithful eunuch he passed. through court after court of the palace grounds and had reached the bridge beyond which was the last gate and a safe scape, when a body of eunuchs overtook him, dragged away his attendant, and hurried him back to the presence of the empress dowager.:: , .-,--r-r' For months afterward the emperor did not leave the little palace by the south ern sea, at the lower end of the great lo tus lake, In the western gardens, adjoin ing the forbidden city of Peking. . The little palace is a gem of Chinese archi tecture and decoration, and rises from a terrace platform bordered with pavil ions and kiosks overhanging the water. A bridge, a flat platform that could be raised at will, connected It with the Outer court of the winter palace, the residence of the empress dowager. When this sad little Trianon by the southern sea was shown me. the rooms had been stripped of every portable, de tachable, packable article, and the Ger man officers, who were playing tennis In the Inside court were using camp stools and boxes when they dined on common tables brought in from any humble bar-! rack. There and at the summer palace the emperor has passed his life in apathy, reverie, and melancholy, giving some time to study and reading and amusing himself with pet animals. Four eunuchs, who were most attached to him. were withdrawn, three beheaded, and one sent to exile, and ever since his atendants are changed every other day. He has no confidants, no companions, alone In the crowd of courtiers, princes, eunuchs, and Women an Idle, silly, teasing boy, says one person; a sad faced, broken hearted prisoner, aays another; while others claim that his reason has failed, and others that he Is playing a part biding his time, and trusting no one. Who can he trust? Who can he appeal to? How can he be heard, and what can he do? , When the modern Confucius had fled to Hongkong it took all the energy of the colonial police to protect him. and he was sent to Singapore for safe keep ing. It taxed the Straits authorities, and. as rewards for his head were of fered, and the price rose to hundreds of thousands of taels, Singapore began to fill up with highbinders and ruffians and secret political agents from China While there Kang Yu Wei waa the Idol' of the great group of enlia:htened Chinese of that free city men who have had English education in the Setlement and many of whom have taken degrees ai ncoicn ana isngiisn universities. To one of these most progressive Singapore Chinese. Dr. Lim Boon Keng. who holds the diploma and degree of Edlnburg University and Medical schooL and en joys a large practice in Singapore, Kang Yu Wei talked his views at length: They were written out in English and printed In a Singapore newspaper, and while de layed there for a steamer connection three years ago a scrap book volume of these letters of the refugee was lev t me to read. They were admirable es says, but they did not betray any orao- tical statesmanship: did not lead to or argue for any definite end. Rang Yu Wei had then been spirited away, and none knew his hiding place, save his nearest friends and the worried British officials. In driving about Pen ang a week later I was shown the old headquarters residence by the parade ground, where Kang Yu Wei waa stay ing as the guest of the Straits govern menta Sepoy sentry pacing up and down before the gate, another guard visible within. "How in the world did you learn he was here?" asked a colonial official when. Just for the sake of conversation, he was asked to lend an Interpreter to go with us to see the modern Confu cius. "O. no. I couldn't do that In fact I don't know that such a person lives nere." said the cautious one; and then caution to the winds "but if you see mm, do let me know what Confucius has to say." But the sage was not seen by any casual tourist idling about JPenang. SOME JAPAJTXSB PSOTXXBS. Good wine brings out the truth. Tho error of a minute, the sorrow of a lifetime. - After having tasted bitterness one be come! a man. It Is easier to find 1,000 recruits than one general. Tho life of sn old man la like lighted candle in a draft It is more difficult to keep a fortune umn o maxe one. The capital and the fireside have each their own attractions. Before we can sympathize with others we mini nive surrered ourselves. Do not be slaves to your children: rney win nave their happiness later. The wise man Shanes hlm.ptf ai.n ing to circumstances, ss water takes the snape or tne vessel Into which It poured. is XX xxwt. From the. Catholic Standard. The fare in Lent should be austere, For one short season in the year. May we not keep our craving down for palate-tickling food and frown Upon our lust for goodly cheer? Good men eschew their wine or beer And mortify their bodies here. . That sweet eternal Joy may crown The fare In Lent But woman, whom we hold most dear, Will not to good advice give-. ear; For everywhere, abroad, in town, . The plans for Easter ht and gown Are interesting most, we fear, . The fair In Lent ." Atoning for an Oversight., , From the Chicago Tribune. "No, sir,'" said Alderman. Boodelle, the eminent statesman from the 'Steenth ward, to the constituent who was trying to secure exemption from the provisions .of the sidewalk ordinance.1 "I don't see why I should do anything, for you. sir. You haven't sny pull with me -as yet" Apologising for his forgetful ness, the constituent pulled out his check book. Small Change A Rooseveltlan administration seems to be about as expensive as a war, .' The 'lingers won In Seattle Tuesday Bellinger for mayor and Rlplinger for controller, " - - - 4 - However the war goes, there seems to be little but trouble Ahead for John Chinaman. - . . ' ' . . ' ' - , It looks as If those other apostles had It on for Smoot perhaps because of his monogamous life. When campaign money can be secured from both sides, the Oregonian has no opinion to express. . The Democratle candidate for president has usually been selected over the op position of Tammany. . - ';-, -, .... ':- .;: w .:',; rl,::;i-;, It is quite proper for President Smith to be at tha head of a department store, aa well as of other things. : The Pendleton Tribune says the Repub lican party Is "a party of deeds." It Is, Alas, and not repentant New York Democrats expect to carry that state next fall until they begin dis cussing the Democratlo candidate for president . : ;. :-.v'-v " 'The senate publto lands committee is "all split up" on the Question of reform of the land laws. In fact, any sort of re form has a rocky road to travel in con gress. - , ::.'-"-: i. ' ' A Kentucky man has named his four boys Orover Cleveland, William J. Bryan,' Mark Hanna and Theodore Roosevelt-He must be determined on having harmony In his family. If the Democrats could size up in Multnomah county with the Republicans in the election as they do numerically In the - respective conventions, they would easily bury both factions. Mr Cleveland insists that he wants to be left alone, in absolute retirement and complains that this wish Is not respected; yet he persists in writing. letters of ad vice for publication quite frequently. Mr, Springer, for several years presi dent of the American Livestock associa tion, has been sprung by some of his many admirers ss a candidate for vice president They think he would run like a scared steer. What was needed at Springfield, O., Tuesday Was a sheriff and other officials with both will and courage to keep their oaths of office and do their duty. In one out of many such cases a man of this sort comes to the front The Atlanta Journal thinks that "the first-class politician Is usually about a third-class man in every other respect." But it this "fee true it does not follow that a third-class politician is a flrst class man in other respects. Judging from remarks or queries oc occasionally made,- It seems that there are people who actually suppose that gambling slot machines are not in opera tion 'in this city. Perhaps even feme of the city officials are thus credulous. Divorced persons who desire to; marry again will not worry much over the reso lution of some ministers not to marry them., A small fee will always obtain the performance of the desired ceremony, without questions as to previous mar riage or divorce being asked. With distressing regrets, ' Senator Fairbanks will consent to run for vice president on condition that the admin istration support him for the presi dential nomination in 1908. But by 190S the people may prefer a president of quite different type from that so well represented in the Indiana senator. Not Infrequently does a real hero ap pear In the ordinary ranks of men nd walka of life one better entitled to wear tn death the hero's bays and to be en shrined as an heroic soul In the hearts of his lamenting friends than many a victor of a great battle or conqueror in a bloody war. Such a ope ts Sumner Smith, a young man who lost his life in saving a little girl from drowning tn the Willamette Tlver Tuesday. True, ht did not expect to drown: strictly speak ing, he waa not a martyr to his valor, for his death was involuntary; yet with out a moment's hesitation he took the risk, and though saving the child's life sacrificed his own; and thus in life's last act became one of the world's real heroes. the on TMxaa vorr mxssxt. , From the Century. It Is natural, wholesome, saving con scientiousness, applied to all the rela tione and emergencies of private and public life, that Is so sadly wanting in many American communities a con scientiousness which results in some thing like that system of honor which distinguishes the student life of Vir ginia, and which, Virginians are apt to maintain, has perceptibly and beneficially affected the tone .of business and other affairs in that commonwealth. Down right unscrupulouuness marks the knave; a partial lack of scruple char acterizes the large - numhers of boards, as merchants, as taxpayers, as politic ians, as voters, wink at evil practices In others, timidly avoid all opposition to official wrong, and themselves commit slight and .not too conspicuous irregu larities, or give support for selfish rea sons te venal candidates for office. Such "respectables" s re . the despair of - the patrlotto men who. In our day and in a thousand communities, are trying to stay the tide of that political corruption which, according to so good a friend of America as John Morley, "for the mo ment obscures the great democratlo ex periment." . " ,( It cornea to this, that "the period ot corruption" which friends of Americans abroad are called upon so often to apolo gize for . corruption which, while bad enough. Is not so deeply rooted as our enemies believe can be brought to an end only by the growth of a sense of honor, of scrupulousness backed - by moral bravery, upon the part of individ uals In the republic. It Is not fantastic to aver that a gift of imagination would assist some people to be virtuous. If a citizen should feel that his own lack of scruple, in any direction, was, a con tribution to the corruption -md dis honor of his country, and that his per sonal withstanding of temptation to do wrong was not only an at of private virtue, but had patriotic uses ss well if he were convinced, for instance, that his refusal to vote as a trustee for contribution to a bribery fund or to V dlshdhest boss was a means of doing away with a national dlsgrnce if he had the. imagination to grasp the large bearings of his individual action, it would be easier for him to take a stand for righteousness Instead of weekly ac quiescing In some custw.sry wrong. Aristotle's idea of the stato was rsnoJ elation "in a life of felicity snd noble ness;"' but Christianity oWght' not to hnva (a 1 frr net sn nla im aA 1 -i 1 " jroott citizenship and thomakliijr of a rlghtaoua pcopla. A'