The Oregon daily journal., March 29, 1904, Page 6, Image 6

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PORTLAND, OREGON ' :
TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 1904
T
THE! OREGON DAILY JOURNAL
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER "
'. C. S, JACKSON
Published every evening (except Sunday) and every Sunday morning at The
streets, Portland, Oregon.
OFFICIAL, PAPER OP THG CITY OF
SEEING UNEXPECTED
"HEN A CANDIDATE for a
the dignity of being attacked
I - w dance tnat there is some strengtn Dacs. 01 mm,
otherwise no one of sense would waste time on him. This
Is the1 conclusion to which most discerning people, will
vv tiv uats tcotu vtviaviv - - , .
Washington correspondent of the Philadelphia; Press and
Chicago Record-Herald and a strong partissfn of the ad
ministration, upon the candidacy of W. R. Hearst At the
tvery beginning the mention of Hearst's name was received
with sneers, ', None of those who would naturally be his
political enemies would admit that there was the' faintest
possibility of Hearst even getting into the "also ran" class.
; They boomed Cleveland,, they boomed Parker ' and they
lhad many flattering things to say of Gorman. They were
not oblivious even to the existence of Hill. But except
for a. sneering word or .Mr they utterly ignored Hearst
J But as time went by the vitality of the movement be
icame so manifest and widespread that some of the more
liberal newspapers began to sit up and notice things.
SWhlle the other men mentioned stood back playing policy,
fearful of committing themselves in any way, and while
! their friends found their hands tied through having ho
definite lines along which to pursue their aim, the friends
of Hearst knew precisely what they wanted, they knew
precisely what their roan stood for and they were at work
(like beavers in all parts of the country. The result of
itheir efforts Boon began to tell in widely separated sec
tions of the country, in some of which Hearst was cred
ited with no strength. His campaign has now reached Its
;most important stage, that in Which the opposition forces
And it expedient to attack and belittle him, positive proof
pn its very face that his campaign has now reached such
-proportions as to have excited fears.
-I All of this cannot fall to be gratifying to the friends of
Mr. Hearst while at the same time it majkes sufficiently
plain to the general public that at the present stage the
Hearst boom transcends in Importance all others that have
been started in the Interest of candidates for the Demo
cratic presidential nomination. ;
A PRAISEWORTHY
cTHE NEWS which we publish today, backed by the
I official sanction of the Northern Pacific, will be
.A exceedingly gratifying to the many settlers in the
overlap districts of Washington. When the decision was
rendered adversely to the settlers it involved fearful hard
ships, provided the railroad company was determined to
take its pound of flesh. The title tcf the land was abso
lutely in the hands of the company. Naturally the set
tlers have been extremely anxious to learn exactly what
the company proposed to do and it is with great pleasure
that The Journal is able to authoritatively gratify them.
It, will be observed that the company proposes to deal
with them generously, those strictly entitled to it being
given the chance to make their proofs and thus perfect
their .titles In the ordinary ( way, the company selecting
and accepting lieu lands elsewhere Instead of those lands
now improved and upon which the eettfert. have expended
a vast amount of labor, but to which, under the court de
cision, the company holdstitle. ;
". mere ib a, vuai amuuni ox criticism 01 corporations ana
unfortunately sufficient ground for a good deal of it
But here is an instance in which a corporation is entitled
to unstinted commendation and Tne Journal, which never
hesitates to denounce- corporate aggression, takes great
pleasure in warmly commending the course of the North
ern Pacific officials In this case. -" -'
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE
. How Is Tills for Portland?
Portland, March 18. To the Editor of
The Journal I am a traveling man for
one of the largest glass manufacturers
in the United States. I have been
around the world four times and have
visited 11 tha bis cities. What I wish
to say is this: I have here before me a
sight draft for $5,009 which I will
wager Hon. George H. Williams, mayor
of Portland, that this city Is the wicked
est in the world, the winning , money to
go to charity. I mean business and will
put the money in the hands of 'The
Journal the moment Mr. Williams is
willing to accept this wager.
' 1 Dase tne prospects u& winning iu m
hundred different ways. For Instance,
where in the world can you find a grand
free exhibition of prostitution like the
"Paris House V Where can you find a
place like the- Cafe, right in the
heart of the city where women and al
most little girls sit right in a saloon
and drink beer and smoke cigarettes?
Portland has at least 20 such places;
you can't find them in New York or Chi
cago and such a thing would not be tol
erated in wicked Paris for a moment,
Portland has more houses of prostitu
tion, more street walkers, more "plmpB"
and more wicked girls than any city in
the world four times its size. Portland
Is the only city where lounges and
locked doors are tolerated in saloon
boxes. Each one of these boxes Is a
bouse of prostitution by Itself. There
are ordinances against these things, but
they exist just the same. 1. can name
you 20 such places. Young girls not
ever 16 or 17 visit the concert halls,
working girls, and think nothing of it.
, I will show an instance: A veryjfciirttty
brunette working in a little five-cent
.coffee house, sat In a private box in a
dive.- 8he sat in full view of everybody
drinking beer and thought it nice of
course. I expected the girl, had thrown
up her job and gone to the bad, but such
was ' not the case for' the very next
morning the girl was working as usual
and only four doors away. Where on
God's green earth can you find Its like?
I will eat Mr. William's old hat If that
girl Is over 16 years eld.
. I could crowd out all the telegraph
and local news of this paper if given
space to show the wickedness and rot
tenness of Portland. I could point out
12-year-old bell boys who gamble In the
broad open light of the day In the big
licensed gambling houses and lose all
their earnings and what they can steal
from the guests. I can show you a
score of negro prostitutes that are
trained to pick pockets and lift watches.
The mayor, the chief of police and the
entire police force know nothing about
it, while I have been here less than three
weeks and know it all and am willing to
back it up with 16.000 that I don't lie.
GEORGE W. CUNNINGHAM.
- ; v.
Olve Xfarshfleld Show.
Salem, March 35. To the Editor of. the
Journal. By this evening's Issue of your
valuable paper I euserve a report or col,
1 C. Oai-rigus Impressions of how he
found the, trade of Marshfleld tending
and tha loss by Portland of that trade,
11 was my pleasure o visit that and
PUBLISHED BY JOURNAL PUBLISHING CO.
THINGS.
public office reaches
It Is public evl-
r
It has been denounced as though it had in it some ele
ments of criminality. ' The Journal is indifferent neither to
praise nor to criticism. At the same time when It takes a
position on any public question Undoes so deliberately and
to the degree that It believes it is right neither friend nor
foe can swerve it. The purpose of The Journal Is not to
make commercial gain out of any of these disputed pub
lic questions.; If they involve a question of government, as
this one does, , there Is a right and a wrong side to the
question. From this standpoint alone have we considered
It and for this reason alone have we pronounced in favor
of local option. - ' !
We are. nbt of those who believe In legalized prohibition
as a means of destroying the liquor traffic That ques
tion is not involved In this issue, The question which is
Involved is that of majority rule the right ofp. majority
of citizens In a given precinct to say whether or not a
saloon shall be opened and maintained within the limits
of that precinct. s This right we regard as fundamental.
If the people of a residence section do not want a saloon
they should have the right so to declare and so declaring
the law should back their decree. Majority rule is the
very ; essence of our governmental principle. This is a
platform upon which men who are neither prohibitionists
nor total abstainers may meet and it is a platform which
will appeal to many men of Intelligence who have no ob
jections to saloons, per se, and who even patronize them.
But many of these same men who have no objection to
saloons in the right
to abolish them and
outright prohibition,
movement which will keep the saloons out of the residence
sections where a majority of the Inhabitants vote against
them.
SENATOR
THE
ACT.
guilt was
jury, and beyond doubt in the public mind. He prosti
tuted his high office to the service, for pay in dirty dol
lars, of a concern whose business was to swindle the
public. His plea was that he did this only as an attor
ney,' but everybody knows that he was thus ' employed
because he was a senator. Other senators not a few
habitually and systematically work to plunder the people,
for personal or party gain, but not often In quite so raw
a manner. Burton not only deserved conviction, and the
consequent penalty, but the better and more important
result of the just verdict may be less senatorial grafting,
crookedness and corruption. It is rather humiliating to
hope that senators may thus be kept straight and honest
through tear of the fate that has befallen Burton, but as to
some of them no other, inducement would be effective.
What a loose-Jointed organization there Is, to be sure,
at the; police headquarters and the city Jail. There doubt
less were complications enough before the inauguration of
Chief Hunt's kangaroo court, but since that unhappy day
things have been going at sixes and sevens. Now that an
Identified thief lias been turned loose "by mistake" public
attention is so forcibly called to, the chiefs unwarranted
assumption of judicial powers that he may be officially
discouraged from pursuing his strange courses. It is high
time that it was done.
other towns in that part of our beautiful
state In October and again In the latter
part of NovembepOn my last visit I
took time to ascertain the condition, of,
trade and found it as the colonel states,
and on asking why they did not trade
with Portland merchants Instead of Ban
Francisco, I was told Portland merchants
were always ready to sell them goods,
but when it came to the disposition of
any of the things they had to dispose of
they were not in it, whereas Ban Fran
cisco was always ready to take at fair
prices anything they had to sell. Then,
too, it was said they bad tried to work
up a better service between the bay town
(meaning Marshfleld) and Portland by
offering to do their share toward build
ing a boat to ply between the two towns,
but this was no go. The colonel Is right
when he says they are greatly in need
of a railroad. I have been over tne three
lines, vis., the Myrtle Point, a 3-mlle
stage ride from Roseburg to Myrtle
Point, then a railroad of about 30 miles
to Marshfleld; what Is called the Marsh
fleld old stage route, one goes from
Marshfleld to Sumner on a gasoline
launch, then by stage where you have a
mountain climb of 12 miles and as rocky
a 12 miles as I ever rode, then on to
Roseburg. My last homeward trip was
by the way known as the Drain route.
You leave Marshfleld by. gasoline launch
to Gerves' landing; then a stage ride of
20 miles Is on the beach of the grand
Pacific, where the wheels or the horses'
feet scarcely show a mark. This ride Is
beyond my capabilities' of describing, hav
ing the ocean on one side with now and
then the head of a seal to be seen and
the beautiful hills covered with' Oregon
fir on the other. At the mouth of the
Umpqus we took steamer for Gardner,
leaving the lighthouse to our light and
the life saving station to our left On
hill or mountain sides of this liver are
some of nature's most perfect masonry. ,
But I started to tell you about how and
what I found In Marshfleld, as I shall not
attempt to say aught of Myrtle Point,
Coqullle City, North Bend or Porter.
Marshfleld has three dry goods, three
hardware, 10 grocery and two furniture
stores, one undertaking establishment,
two hotels, two restaurants, one racket
store, nine saloons and one cold storage.
There are two coal mines in worktig or
der from which large shipments are made
to 'Frisco. The last few years have
brought a new Industry which Is giving
the farmers a grand lift, as many farms
that before its undertaking were under
mortp ge for their full value are now out
of debt. It Is the creamery business that
has wrought the change. The shipment
of butter last year amounted to some MS
tons. Persons owning gasoline launches
do a good business carrying milk to the
creameries; as the best or larger ranches
are on the different streams so as to have
the marshes for pasturage, Ik would be
greatly to the interests of Portland's
business men to continue liberally to
ward whatever Would,, tend to give them
what Is due them of Jthat trade) and that
Is all of It. Respectfully yours,
A. W. DENNIS.
, The Fresldeat's Salary.
: Portland, Or., March 25. To the Editor
of The Journal. Apropos the editorial
today's Journal, Isn't the president's sal
ary given him In block, that Is, without
house charge or kitchen expense, Juat
handed to him free aud clear of any kind
of household cost! If this la sot doesn't
JNO. F. CARROLL
Journal Building, Fifth and Tamhill
;..,.'.. ,' .';'. ;
PORTLAND
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION IN THE
1 ELECTION. ',
N ITS Initial Sunday paper The Journal came out flat-
tooted for local option.- In many quarters this pro
nouncement has been warmly commended; in others
place, who would resent a movement
who would cheerfully vote against
will cordially support the local optlqn
BURTON'S CONVICTION.
CONVICTION of Senator Burton should serve
very useful purpose In our public' life. His
established to the satisfaction of the
it virtually increase his salary to that
amount, whatever it may be? And it
probably runs up to 225,000 or more; this
should make his salary enough.
surely we ought not to become a oeonle
of lordllngs and old country style apers
-7-mougn it mignt suit the- dollar-rlch-r-that
so much money need be spent to
please our dollar snobs. Didn't the .pres
ident have some vessel or ship fixed up
recently at an expense to the country
for himself to tour around on?
C. W.
8.
LOOXIHO FOB XXXI 110X41.
From the New York World.
Willie Nelllson. 12. brlght-eved and
curly haired, with father dead and
mother Insane, has been trying for 10
days to find his uncle, "Mr. Nelllson,"
in the big city of New York. None of
the Mr. Nelllsons from the, Battery to
tne uronx ana there are a lot of them,
as Willie's sore feet tell him knows
his uncle.
When he started out he had his
pockets full of quarters valued quar
ters tnat nis xatner gave him every week
to save for the Fourth of July. They
went, one Dy one.
The tenth day of searching for "Mr.
Nelllson" ended yesterday, and Willie
with hi last Fourth of July, quarters
gone curled up on a mat of a great hall
entrance In West Thirty-fourth street
and went to sleep. He didn't feel the
boot of a big policeman who tried to
awaken him at 10 o clock. -
"Thieving newsboy," said Policeman
Lurker, "playing 'possum.
But Willie slumbered on.
. "Maybe he isn't, af tew all," thought
tne Dig policeman. "Well, 1 11 take a
chance.". : He picked thai sleeping boy
up in his arms, carried him down Broad
way to the Tenderloin station, and the
police gathered around and Willie woke
up.
"Are you my uncle, Mr. Nelllson T' he
asked out of habit They weren't his
uncle, and he started to shamble out
as he had done a hundred times In 10
days. They asked him If he was hun
gry. Hungry? Why, yea There came
in a spread such as Jim Barry, the door
man, knows how to order. .
When it was cleared away William
Nelllson said he must be going. They
asked htm why, and he told them of
his search. Gradually they got from
him the tragedy of the Nelllson family
at their home in Irvlngton, N. J., and
how ne became a wait.
"We will help you tomorrow. Better
stop for the night.'.' said the sergeant
They took him to the Children's society
rooms, where he went to sleep' In a soft
bed.
"There ain't no doubt but what I will
find uncle tomorrow," he said. "All
tha cops said they will help me. Then
I'll have a Fourth of July after all.';
Tolly of strikes.
" From the New York World.
' The state board of arbitration reports
3.800,000 work days lost last year
through strikes. . Shall the people build
higher yet this stupendous monument
to folly?
: looks Tunny to Boms.
From the New York Press.
It's funny how much more extrava
gant it seems to take your own sister
to a 26-eent lecture, than an old school
chum to a champagne dinner.
Oregon Sidelights
': Moody Is making his opponents look
anxious in eastern Oregon. , S
: . Southern Oregon miners are looking
for a big out turn this year.
In 24 hours last week S6 inohes of
snow fell on Elkhorn mountain.' .:--.
Lane county people held a good roads
convention Saturday, It is tne fashion,
and a good one. ,
Eugene Citizens are asking why they
should not own the city's water works
and light plant.
Oregon's gold output will never appear
In official reports until an assay office
Is opened in this state.
This unprecedented wetness is dis
agreeable and discouraging, but people
back east are having even a worse time.
After its failure last Sunday the
weather bureau la in doubt whether to
try to pull off a nice Easter Sunday or
not.
There! has ten quite an epidemic of
suicide In Oregon lately, and more may
be expected, if the weather doesn't
clear upi
The new mayor of La Grande Inti
mates that he Is going to have some
reform and better compliance with laws
in that town. ..
Deer in Southern Oregon mountains
are poor and weak, and some are dying
of starvation, owing to the excessively
deep and prolonged snow.
A Eugene young woman Is author of
a play performed In that city entitled:
'What Is the Matter With the Baby?"
Of course it was a howling success.
Within the city limits of Corvallls is
such a sea of mud that a light wagon
could not be hauled through It But if
the rain keeps up, a rowboat may be
more successful
A Silverton paper boasts of an egg
latd by a hen hi that town that meas
ured 7tt by 6H Inches and weighing a
full' half-pound. Oregon hens are ap
parently in an Easter-egg contest
Rain, and more rain, and in the moun
tains snow, and more snow, Is the bur
den of items from rural correspondence
in the country papers. Everybody is
weary of the time, and anxious for a
change. t
1 . " '
Another Infant has died from suffo
cation while sleeping In bed with its
parents, this one in Coos county. "These
tragic incidents have become so fre
quent that It is a wonder parents do not
take warning and be more careful.
A Eugene man wants 99 other men to
Join him in raising $5,000 a year for the
city, the amount of revenue derived from
the saloons, and so to get rid of them.
His motive may be good, but like that
of many reformers, his judgment is
poor.
The Pendleton city marshal is mak
ing that town so uncomfortable for
hobos that they avoid it, much to its
satisfaction. Other cities' officials may
well follow his example. There Is lit
tle excuse for the existence of the genus
hobo, in this oountry.
Cattle and stock, especially horses. In
Harney county are picking up and now
are in fairly good condition. Prices ara
advancing and as the winter was not a
nara, one on stock, ranchers expect to
make some profits. The prospects are
good for splendid crops as there will be
plenty of water this season.
The Cry for Good Hoads.
From The Dalles TImes-MountAlneer.
Farmers who are compelled to coma
to town these days would be willing
to be doubly taxed for road improve
ment. They say the roads are in about
as bad condition as they can be. There
is mud and mud, and then some mora
mud piled on lop of that They fur
nish a. forcible discourse on the neces
sity or road building that will nnt
soon be 'forgotten.
BITS OF MINING NEWS.
Layton's famous placer mine of Farrls
gulch, which Is running spring, sum
mer and winter, taking from the earth
the hidden treasures of gold, has been
in operation since the early fifties, and
is still making a steady output of
wealth to its ownera The Channel is
rapidly growing wider and is also -grow
ing deeper. There Is a crew of men at
work cleaning, ditch at the present time.
These two ditches are 40 miles in length
and the pipe line Is a half-mile In
length and has a 400-foot fall.
The Sumpter Miner says that it is
understood a quiet effort is being made
by the mine operators of the Cracker
Creek district to deprive Bourne of its
charter. The animus of the situation is
to remove saloons from the vlolnlty of
the mines, since the operators reckon
these among Influences which militate
against effective service from their em
ployes. If the town were deprived of
Its charter, no license could be granted
according to law for a saloon nearer
than one mile of an operating mine, .
The Butcher gulch placers are In full
blast piping. From vast treasures of
gold in its bed which has lain there for
untold ages, pieces have been picked up
from the bedrock which contained $40
and 660. , This gulch is a tributary of
Horse Head, which le-Tcnown the world
over for Its richness and large nuggets.
This property Is owned . by A Watts
of Provolt, who has a force or men at
work picking rock, ,:-. . , ;
The Bamboo placer mine of Williams
creek was worked during the winter and
the results were satisfactory. This
mine Is on a small ridge at the foot of
a large mountain, and was worked by
the early settlers some 0 years ago,
and Is still giving the most pleasing re
sults to Its owner. 4
At the Red Jacket mine they are
cross-cutting the ledgX at the 600-foot
level, and Superintendent Wood says
the property is looking better every
Shift , --;:; .
Another Order in Order.
From the Washington Post '
The president has ordered officials of
the government not to talk about the
Russ-Jap war. It would also help some
If they were ordered not to talk about
the postofflce war. ,
,.' . .. ' i y h
. Oircwmstantlal gvldenee.
Frpm Town and Country..
Husband Does Jack know Miss Pep-
pert reel .
Wife ' (calmly) I believe not tor he
4 has asked Her to marry, him, . .
FAMINE CHRONIC IN INDIA.
W. E. Curtis, in Chicago Kecord-Herald.
. Famine is chronlo in India. ' It has oc
curred at Intervals for centuries past
as long as man remembers, as long as
records have been kept and undoubtedly
will ' ocCjuV for centuries to come, al
though tne authorities who are respon
sible for the well-being of the empire
are gradually ' Organizing to counteract
the forces of nature " Which they cannot
control; by Increasing the food supply!
and providing for its distribution. But
there must be hunger, and starvation in
India so long as the population remains
as dense as it i. The reason is not be
cause the , earth refuses to support so
many people. There Is yet a vast area
of fertile land untllled, and the fields
already cultivated would furnish food
enough for a larger population when nor
mal conditions prevail. There is always
enough somewhere in India for every
body, even in times of sorest distress,
but it is not distributed equally, and
those who ara short have no money to
buy And bring from those who have a
surplus. . The export of grain and other
products from India continues regularly
In the lean as well as the fat years, but
the country Is so large, the distances
are so great the facilities for transpor
tation are so inadequate, that one prov
ince may . be exporting food to Europe
because It has to spare, while another
province may be receiving ships loaded
With charity from America because its
crops have failed and Its people are
hungry, ..-;.-' ...
. The health and happiness of 600,000.000
human souls in India and that of their
cattle, their oxen, their sheep, their don
keys, their camels and their elephants
are dependent upon certain natural phe
nomena over . which neither rajah nor
maharaja, nor viceroy, nor emperor, nor
council of state has control, and before
which even the great mogul on his be-
Jeweled throne stood powerless. It is
possible to ameliorate the consequences,
but it is not possible to prevent them.
Whether the crops shall be fat or lean.
whether the people and. the cattle shall
be well fed or hungry, depends upon the
"monsoons," as they are called, the al
ternation' of wind currents, which bring
rain in its season. An animal and veg
etable life is dependent upon them. In
the early summer the broad plains are
heated by the sun to a higher tempera
ture than that of the water of the great
seas which surround them. In pArts of
Northern India, around Delhi and Agra,
the temperature In May and June is
higher than in any other part of the em
pire, and is probably exceeded in no
other part of the world. This phenome
non remains unexplained. The elevation
Is about 2,100 feet above the sea; the at
mosphere is dry and the soil is sandy.
But for some reason the rays of the sun
are intensely hot and are fatal to those
who are exposed to them without suf
ficient protection. But this extreme heat
is the salvation of the country, and by
its own action brings the relief without
which all animal and vegetable life
would perish. It draws from the ocean
current of wind laden with moisture
which blows steadily for two months to
ward the northwest and causes what Is
called the rainy season. The quantity of
rain that falls depends upon the config
uration of the land. Any cause which
cools the winds from the sea and leads
to the condensation of the vapor they
carry any obstacle which blocks their
course causes precipitation. Through
all the northern part of India there Is
a heavy rainfall during April. May and
June, the earth is refreshed and quanti
ties of water are drained into reservoirs
called "tanks," from which the fields are
irrigated later In the summer.
The quantity of rainfall diminishes as
the winds pass over the foothills and
the mountains, and the enormous heights
of the Himalayas prevent them from
passing beyond their snow-clad peaks
and ridges. Hence the tablelands of
Thibet which He beyond, are the dryest
and the most arid region in the world.
This wind current which brings rain
for the summer crop is called the south
west monsoon.
As the sun travels south after mid
summer the temperature falls, the vast
dry tract of the Asiatic continent be
comes colder, the barometric pressure
over the land Increases, and the winds
begin to blow from the northeast which
are called the northeast monsoon, and
cause a second rainy season from Octo
ber to December. This enables the farm
ers of India to grow two crops, and
they are entirely dependent upon their
regular appearance..
Over 80 per' cent of the population Is
engaged In farming. They live from
hand to mouth. They have' ntf reserve
whatever,, and if the monsoon falls them
nothing will grow, and they have no
money to Import food for themselves and
their cattle from more fortunate sec
tions. As a rule the monsoons are very
reliable, but every few years they fan,
and a famine results. The government
has a' meteorological department, with
observers stationed at several points in
Africa and Arabia and In the islands of
the sea, to record and report the actions
of nature. Thus it has been able of late
years to anticipate the fat and the lean
harvests.,. It is possible to know almost
precisely several 1 months in advance
RUSSIA' GBEAT ITXXD.
Tor More Than a Century Xt Kas Sought
a Warm-Water Outlet.
From the Chicago News.
Tha suggestion that Russia attempt
the almost Impossible feat of sending its
Baltic fleet around the north of Asia to
Join the warships at Vladivostok and
Port Arthur is not likely to be seriously
considered, but the fact that it could
be made at all indicates the helplessness
of the plight in which the Slav power
is placed by Its lack of seaports.
Russia has a total coast line equal to
half the circumference of the earth.
Judged by the number of its warships,
it is the third of the great naval powers.
Despite these facts, it has not a single
seaport available for use at all seasons
of the year. ,
The entire Arctic coast, of course, Is
practically icebound all the timte. The
port of Archangel, qn the White sea. Is
open for about four manlliadurlng the
summer, but ships leaving it have to
skirt the head of the Scandinavian pe
ninsula before reaching the great lanes
of commerce. The Baltic porta, Includ
ing. St. Petersburg, are icebound during
a large part of the winter, and even
when open access to the ocean is guard
ed by other powers which ara equal
sharers in the control of the Baltic.
The Caspian sea is a mere inland lake
without outlets. The Black sea Is
navigable at all times, but the entrance
is sealed by the treaty stipulations
which enable the Turk to forbid passage
through the Dardanelles. - Beyond the
Dardanelles lies the Mediterranean, with
England holding the vantage-points at
Gibraltar, . Malta, Cyprus, Egypt and
Sues. C-n the Pacific ocean the em
pire's position is but little better, Vladi
vostok is frozen up for from two to four
months of the year. If Captain Belt
zensteln's boats actually have left that
port they had to use dynamite or: Ice
crushers. The facts serve to explain not only
ona oi"the fundamental causes of the
present war, but the whole purpose actu
ating Russia's steady, encroachment to
the south at all points of tha empire.
whether there will be a failure of crops,
and a permanent famine commission has
been organized to prepare measures of
relief before they are needed. In other
words, Lord Curson and his subordinates
are reducing famine relief to a system
which promotes economy as well as effi
ciency, - " -. ,
It is an interesting fact that the mon
soon currents which cross the ' Indian
ocean from South Africa continue on
their course through Australia after vis
iting India, and recent famines there
have coincided with the droughts which
caused much injury to stock in- Aus
tralia. Thus It has bees demonstrated
that both countries depend upon the
same conditions for their rainfall, ex
cept that human beings suffer in. India
while only sheep die of hunger in the
Australian colonies. - 1
The worst, famine ever known In In
dia' occurred in 1770, when Governor
General Warren Hastings reported that
one-third, of the Inhabitants of Bengal
perished from hunger 10,000,000 out of
30,000,000. The streets of Calcutta and
other town were actually blocked up
with tha bodies of the dead, which were
thrown out of doors and windows be
cause there was no means ' or oppor
tunity to bury them. ' The empire has
been stricken almost as hard during the
last 10 years, : The development of civi
lization seems to make little difference,
for the famine of 1900-1801 was perhaps
second in severity to that of 1770. This,
however, was largely due to the fact
that the population had not had time to
recover from the famine of 1896-1897,
which was almost as severe. And al
though everything possible was done to
relieve distress and prevent the spread
of plagues and pestilence that are the
natural and - unavoidable consequences
of insufficient nourishment; even now
people are dying by thousands every
week.
No precautions that sanitary science
can suggest have been omitted, yet the
official reports are loaded 'with enormous
fatalities. , Last week there were 21.103
deaths from the bubonic plague alone.
The officials say that that Is not so high
a rate as Inexperienced people infer,
considering that the population is nearly
300,000,000, and they declare that it is
a miracle that It is not larger because
the Hindu portion of the population is
packed so densely into unsanitary dwell
ings, because only a small portion of
the natives have sufficient food to meet
the demands of nature, and they are con
stantly exposed to Influences that pro
duce and spread disease.
The death rate la always very high In
India for these reasons. But It seems
very small when compared with the
awful mortality caused by the frequent
famines. The mind almost refuses to
accept the figures that are presented; it
does not seem possible in - the present
age, with all our methods for alleviat
ing suffering, that millions of people
can actually die of hunger in a land of
railroads and steamships and other
facilities for the transportation of food.
It seems beyond comprehension, yet the
official returns justify the acceptance of
the maximum figures reported. '
. The loss of human life from starva
tion in British India alone during the
famine of 1900-1901 is estimated at
1,236,855, and this Is declared to be the
minimum. In a country of the area of
India. , inhabited by a superstitious,
secretive and ignorant population, it is
impossible to compel the natives to re
port accidents ana deaths, particularly
among the Brahmins, who burn instead
of bury their dead. Those who know
best assert that at least 16 per cent of
the deaths are not reported In times of
famines and epidemics. And the enor
mous estimates I have given 'does not
Include any of the native states, which
have one-third of the area and one
fourth of the population of the empire.
In some of them sanitary regulations
are observed, and statistics are accur
ately reported. In others no attempt is
made to keep a registry of deaths, and
there are nd means of ascertaining the
mortality, particularly in times of ex
citement In these little principalities
the peasants have, comparatively speak
ing, no medical attendance; they are de
pendent upon Ignorant medicine men and
sorcerers, and they die off like flies,
without even leaving a record of their
disappearance. Therefore the only way
of ascertaining the mortality of those
sections is to make deductions from the
returns of the census, which is taken
with more or less accuracy every 10
years.
The census of 1901 tells a terrible
tale of human suffering and death dur
ing the previous decade, which was
marked 'by two famtnes and several epi
demics of cholera, .smallpox and other
contagious diseases. -
Taking the whole of India together,
the returns show that during the 10
years from 1892 to 1901, Inclusive, there
was an increase of less than 6,000.000,
instead of the normal Increase of 19,000,
000, which 'was to be expected. Judging
by the records of the previous decades
of the country. More than 10.000.000
people disappeared in the native spates
alone without leaving a trace behind
them.
For more than a century Russia has
been trying to reach warm water, and
at every point it has been checked, chief
ly as a result of British intervention.
At the Dardanelles, on the Indian fron
tier, in Asia Minor, in Afghanistan and
Persia Its efforts to get seaports or to
construct and control railways leading
to seaports have been frustrated. In
the Llao Tung peninsula and Port Ar
thur It has seen a last chance to get
this free outlet to the sea. If it can
not justify ths seizure of Manchuria on
moral grounds It probably would plead
dire necessity as its excuse. Probably
Its ministers would say that the bar
tiers in the way of an outlet to the
Pacific are as . intolerable to them as
Was Spanish or French control of the
mouth of the Mississippi to ths people
Of this country a century ago. :
BXXXiXOire TOK TZNSXOVS.
From the Chicago Tribune. '
Several readers of the Tribune have
asked : it for. Information as to pension
disbursements Since the close of the war.
The following table gives by fiscal years
the amount between July 1, 1866, and June
30, 1903:
lRfl8. .$16,606,0001
1(W5. ..,,...$ 86,102,000
1HN6, 8,4O4,OO0
ZO.BHfl.tHMI
18HM. 8S,7N2,000
1887..
T6,02U.UH)
1HIH. ....... 1IM,4TH,UIK)
18NS ,
1889....,,,
I8IM1. '
H0,288.(MM
87,24,0O0
i(K),.m,ooo
124.415.000
: 184,583,000
lMt,ar7.ooo
: 141,177,000
141,305.000
189, 484, 000
1N70. W,84O,0IIO
1871 B4,448,l0OO
28,fj.Ha,lHlo!l8t.,,H.
1873.......
lM74i......
lBTft. .
1878.;.....
187T.......
2o.8ne,ono
1802..
2ft,0:iX.KMI
2H,4M1,I)
28,257,000
27,808,000
27,187,000
86.121.000
1808..
1804..
18115..
1806..
1878..
1870..
1880..
1881.,
1882.,
1883.,
1884.V
181tT.
141,068,000
18S. 147,452,000
5n,T77,IXM
18WH. 1,I,8H4,OOQ
loon..,.,,;, 140.877.fMM)
111. im.82;i,ooo
W2 , 188,488.000
1803. 137.769.0OO
, , . .
(10,0(1(1,000
fll.84S.0IIO
....fl6.012,IOO
66,420,000
It is estimated that Commissioner
Ware's policy will add between 115.000,000
and $60,000,000 a year to the pension ex
penditures. It may, then be expected that
for ths fiscal year 1908 pensions will reach
high water mark, and that the pension
expenditures will thereafter diminish for
a few years until some still newer inter
pretation be put on the act of 1890, when,
doubtless, a new high water mark of
well over $200t000t000 will be achieved, v
X
Small Change .
The groundhog must have' seen his
shadow double, . ,
No, there will be no reform of the
land laws, either. . '
Now there Is a broom trust and
women can't vote! v : r ,
- Even California has too much water
--sin overflow from Oregon, perhaps. .!
Japan is having, some backsets but
this news comes mostly from St Petera-v
burg. .
The greatest need of this town, soma
people seem to think. Is more vaudeville
theatres.
, Mr. N. H. Bird is performing his bi
ennial flight. Some year he may get
to the worm first
For everything evil, as well as tor
what Is good, "stand pat," Is the policy
of this administration and congress. :
What Is the use of speculating about
candidates In 1908T If Roosevelt - is
elected we may be a monarchy by that
time,
About all the visible result is that
both the postofflce department and con
gress live In glass houses, and throw
stones. .
. A Colfax, Wash.; judge sentenced a
wlfe-beater to a year in Jail, and served
him as near right as he could, this being
the law's limit
The postofflce department Is so
crooked that it seems even the plans for
the Improvement of our little postofflce
could not be drawn .straight
Yesterday the Chicago river was flow
ing both ways Chicago News. The
fresh water was anxious to get away
from that town in any direction.
A New York actor 70 years old has
Just married a stage-struck girl of 17.
But he is young enough yet to become
free again by means of a divorce.
The business interests of ths people
of this district and not those of a fao
tlonal machine, should control the nom
ination or a candidate zor congress.
"An Albany lad declares that she can
not go to sleep nights without having
read the Democrat Albany Democrat.
It must require but a little to put her to
sleep.
The two papers of The Dalles have
expanded their arguments for and
against Williamson to about two col
umns a day, but It is doubtful if either
will change anybody's opinion or action.
Some parents seem not to know, or
else do not care for the fact, that .Ore
gon has a law requiring children to be
sent to school. Too many children of
school age are growing up in mischiev
ous idleness. .
The Eugene Register thinks It due to
President Roosevelt that every Repub
lican voter of Lane county should vote
for every local Republican candidate
down to constable. This appears to
some of the voters to be carrying loy
alty to tha president to rather an . ex
treme point ,.
For once the miners of southern Ora
gon have plenty of water and expect to
do more placer mining this year than
ever. Oregon will make a good' show
ing as to mineral production when tha
mining congress meets here next year,
but will never make a true showing till
the state has an assay office. .
APTEAX. TO WXXSTXOES.
From the Pendleton East O'regonlaa
Oregon is waiting, Whistler; turn tha
water on. s ; Let the desert blossom
Whistler; hurry up the dawn! Sand
dunes 'neath your touch will waken
Into smiling fields; desert wastes are
throbbing. Whistler, with their unborn
yields! Bee the idle mountain torrent,
dancing to the main; wasted floods mean
wasted harvests, ripe with golden grain I
Tours the task to spread the verdure
on the barren waste; yours, the magic
world redeems it; Whistler, please make
hastet j . ' : , . .. '
Advice ' to the Lovelorn
8T BSATBICZ MAIMTAX.
r
Dear Miss Fairfax: I am a young
man 29 years old. About four years ago
I met a young lady whom I liked at once.
I asked her if I might call. She con
sented, and- from that time I kept com
pany with her for about a year, when I
was told something concerning her which
I did not approve of, so I wrote her say
ing I wished our friendship to snd, but
only hinted at the reason, as I thought
she would know. She answered saying
she regretted that it was' to be so, but
she would never renew it. Since that I
have learned that ths Information I re-'
ceived was false. 1- hava written her
several times asking her If I might call
and explain, or if she would meet me,
but she pays no attention to my letters.
She was always very proud and Inde
pendent and I think that is why she acts
In this manner, as I know she cared for
me when we were on friendly terms,
and I have' reason to believe she still
cares for me. I have never kept com
pany with any one since we became bad
friends, nor has she, although I know
plenty of fjna young men who wished to
call on her, but she will not allow them
to do so, but she remains very popular
with them all and she is very well liked.
. W. W. W.
I am very sorry for you, but I really
cannot blame the girl for being unfor
giving. You jumped at tha conclusion
that she did wrong without taking any
steps to prove her innocence. Most nat
urally she was hurt and offended. Your
love could not have been very great
There is nothing-for you to do but re
Iterate your regret and beg her to for
give you. If she does so, be careful in
ths future to have soma foundation for
your accusations.'
i
Dear Miss Fairfax: I am a girl of
18 years of age, and have been keeping
company with a young man for one year
whom I dearly love.' v ,
My mother is partly unable to do tha
housework,' so I am at home to assist
but still my father is unwilling to have
me at home. ' As I have no education he
wants me to work In a factory, but this
young man objects to it and says If I
go to work in a factory it will break our
friendship, but I am sure ha loves me.
o Now, what I want to know is what can
1 oo to roaae matters ail right with my
friend, for I cannot live without him.
:.. ' :-";. .-:..' '';- A W, .
There is no disgrace In working in a'
factory, nor in any other honest occupa
tion, and tha -young man should bs
ashamed of himself when he finds fault
with your doing so. Oo ahead and work
at whatever you are best fitted for, and
do not fret if he shows his disapproval:
Jia Is not .worth fretting over, .
V