Editorial Page of TSe Journal ti w.Mi.ii .:
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1
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PORTLAND. OREGON.
THE OREGON DAILY
AN
ft. JACKSON
every evening ( except Sunday ) and every Sunday morning at
Streets. Portland, Oregon.
OFFICIAL
-1-
A MUNICIPAL WHITE ELEPHANT.
OKE OF THE burden and worries of this munic
ipality for lo, these many year has been that
notorious Tanner creek sewer.
was a big job in its original construction, but thai oc
curred so long ago that nobody remembera or care
about it how. But ever since, on frequent occasions,
the sewer has taken some kind of a tantrum. The water
of Tanner creek couldn't get into it, or
stay in. Nobody for years could go to-' sleep at night
without the fear of the Tanner creek. sewer breaking
cut in some new spot before morning. It finally had
a worse tantrum than ever a few month ago and turned
itself amuck all over several blocks and it was a long
time before the cantankerous thing
again. This was finally done, and
ui. at a cost to property owners of
lars. and now experts who have
job was alighted, and the notorious
shape that it is likely to break loose
ever on slight provocation. How much truth there is in
these reports is yet to be determined, but usually there
is some fire where so much smoke is visible and it
certainly would be a strange, unexpected and an al
most inexplicable thing if the job had been well done.
and that white elephant of a conduit
bling the city and being a burden to
considerable length of time.
But in any case the property owners on whom the
v. eight of the last repairs fall do right to look closely
into them, and to refuse to pay for them unless the work
'was thoroughly ana wen done, in every particular.
AM IMPROBABLE CONTINGENCY CONSIDERED
ANSWERING an inquirer, the Chicago News say
thai if President RcwsevcltJlad been killed when
he fell from his horse a few
. "the Republican national committee
issued a call for tht immediate reassembling of the dele
gates to this year's national convention of the party.
Those delegates would then have proceeded to nominate
a candidate for president. They might have nominated
Senator Fairbanks or any other prominent Republican
whom they preferred. If Senator Fairbanks had been
nominated another candidate for vice-president would
have been chosen. If there were not time between the
death of a presidential candidate and the election for a
national convention of the party to assemble and choose
another candidate the Republican national committee
would choose one and he would be accepted as the
party candidate. In that case probably the candidate
"'for vice-president selected at the national convention
would become the candidate for president, a Aew man
being given the second place on the ticket."
It is undoubtedly true that if there were time the
national committee would select the candidates, and if
elected the electoral college would carry out the people's
will as expressed at the polls, yet it is to be remembered
that the electoral college is not legally bound to do this.
It still has the reserve power to do as it pleases.
Suppose a candidate for president should die oh the
morning of election day, too late for a new nomination
to be made and placed before the people, and yet electors
chosen for him should be in a majority in the electoral
college. In that case the majority of the people would
have voted for no one, a man not alive when the votes
were cast. Then would not the opposing candidate hav
ing the next greatest number of electoral votes be en
titled tu the of lice? Probably not, for here he office
ot the electors, as originally designed, would come into
play. The original conception of the electoral college was
that it was to be composed of a constitutional number
of superior men who in reality would choose the presi
dent. Those responsible for that feature of our electoral
method had no confidence either in the ability or in
telligence of the masses of voters to pass upon the qual
ifications of the , man most eminently qualified to fill
the great office of president of the United States. In
stead of voting for president they were to vote for elec
tors and these in turn were to independently cast their
votes for the men in their opinion best qualified to fill
i The Play j
In in eloquent and evidently sincere
speech, following a half dosen curtain
call. White Whittlesey, the new star
of the Pacific, expressed the hope that
he and Portland would become fast
friends. There waa no agency besides
hand-clapping through which to recipro
cate thla wleh laat night, so let me do It
now. Bo long as you, Mr. Whittlesey,
furnish us plays of the standard of
"Hea-tsease" and atage them as pret
tily your welcome la assured.
It was Mr. Whlttlesey'a first appear
ance here an a star and not more than
one act waa required to act the pulses
. throbbing a "Howdy; glad to have met
you." He sailed In the name flagship
that carried Henry Miller to fame and
fortune "Heartsease," one of the most
' beautiful drama the pen of man haa yet
produced. It la that familiar story of
the stolen opera and the real composer'
return after weary years dn the night of
Its rendition; hi recognition of Its
melodle; hi belief that he 1 suffering
wild hallucination, and Anally hla
meeting with the thief and the tragic
undoing of the great wrong done him.
Jn fairness, of comae, the perform
ance) of last night cannot he compared
with Henry Miller, but It thrilled a
large audience. - nevertheleas. Mr.
Whittlesey has many charming charac
'terlBtlcs an enviable physique, a musl
eal voice and a clear knowledge, at leant,
of those qualities which the best of
actor must acquire. HI modesty Is
praiseworthy Always the company
shared his curtain call, and at no time
did he allow Erie Temple to "hog'' a
situation. His best acting was in the
third act, where It hould be. when he
hears hi own opera being played under
a different title and believes the melo
dlas to be the haunting of his long-lost
work. Hare tbe star attained a splendid
climax.
The company aa a rule 1 capable.
John Balnpolts Is almost an Ideal Geof
fery the musical thief. Throughout his
villainy be never loses the polish of a
courtier and never once exaggerate the
character. Henry I.ewellyn aa Padbury
proved himself a capital character com
edian, just awkward enough for one of
lowly life and Instincts In sn eigh
teenth century drawing room. The Lord
Neville of Harry D. Brers waa another
good piece of character acting. Taylor
Curt la. the Captain O'Hare, waa leas
successful. because of a strong tendency
te drop his dialect
The hoaors among the women ware
about eqaftlly divided. Miss Lawton
ads beautifully aad her acting la
INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHED BY JOURNAL PUBLISHING CO.
PAPER OF TNI CITY OP PORTLAND
accordance with
actual division of
which Hamilton
Very likely mere
being in, wouldn't
could be subdued
the sewer patched
many thousand dol
examined it say the
sewer left in such
again worse than
A'
were to cease trou
taxpayers, for any
us sugar, Cubans
days before election
would have met and
plaining caustically
Republican candidate
ing it to Republican
ftjbe on to say: . . 1 .
There is fine hope in this increasing dominance
of the personal note in politics for, states like Minne
sota, that are Wallowing in the muck of furious fac
tional strife and selfish-personal contention for petty
ends among men unable to command general con
fidence and enthusiastic support by high service to
all the people and broad appeal to civic patriotism.
If we should ever get a man in this state big enough
and strong enough and pure enough 4n hi devotion
to the public service to appeal to the popular imag
ination as Roosevelt and Fblk appeal, at! the irri
tating clash of private selfishness and mean resent
ments that degrades our politics would disappear in
a spontaneous burst of genuine enthusiasm for him.
All we need to cean up our politics is a Man. That
is a universal need, which nature takes the trouble to '
supply only in vital emergencies.
These timely remarks can be applied in many states.
graceful, but abe destroys much of thla
favorable impression by making up her
eyes uka two pieces of coal and chalk
Ink her face until It la ghostly. Miss
Brlsaac waa wholesomely charming aa
Alice Temple, and the Lady Neville of
Edith Campbell waa uniformly satis
factory. There are detail of atage manage
ment that abow very little ears. When
a character walka off right and is
within a moment, pointed out aa being
off left and when a supposedly great
music hall adjoining tha stage contains
no light during a fashionable recital,
it la time for rehearsal. The laat act
of tha place haa a climax almoat aa
atlrrlng as the scene at the opera, and
I would like to see It worked up better.
It can be done, after a glance at the
prompt book of the original production,
If not from memory.
Tonight Mr. Whittlesey and company
appear in John Drew play of a fsw
seasons ago, "The Becond In Command."
Bck to Alaska'
A crowd of Indiana whose three-sheet
posters proclaim them tha "Metlakahtla
Band" meaning aome kind of a tribe,
no doubt appeared at the Marquam
Grand theatre yesterday afternoon be
fore an audience numbering S7. 31. 20.
I. 11. s and scattered. The Indians
were there, the program stated, for the
purpose of giving a concert. The only
other Indication of this Intention wss
that all of them carried instrument,
upon which they blew, at Intervals.
During these moments they made 1
deeperste sttack upon "William Tell"
and turned Roslnl over In his grave.
Buppe suffered a similar experience
when with a great crash of braas and
reed the tribe pounced upon "Poet and
Peasant."
The clarinet was a hit. The player
Is one of .the best truck-drivers in the
musics! profession, and succeeded
admirably in reducing to n painful
operation anything that started ' out to
be really entertaining. I don't know
who conceived the idea of taking the
Metlakahtla band on the road, but he
seems to have got his route mixed.
Thla band belongs on .the summit of
the Mulr glacier.
The quartet of vocalists who doubled
In brass, or rather, the braaalsts who
doubled In voice, would have been aa
funny as the band but for tha limit of
human endurance. Evan the Indian
woman who aang "I Have Waited Long.
Love" while the audience prayed she
would wslt longer didn't have any luck
striking the key, end when she poured
forth her erctle tones the audience held
Its congealed breath and Invoked
providential relief.
But no' On more feature to come.
Tha great Indian Chief Neaahloot. billed
for "an Indian performance of tricks,
JOURNAL
JWJ- ere esSjesOeaeBt
The Journal Building, Fifth and
the office. So long as there was no contest, as in the
case of Washington, everything apparently worked in
this idea, but the moment there was an
political sentiment upon the lines, for
and Jefferson respectively stood the
electoral college, instead of finding itself an independent
body with the initiative in selecting men for president
and vice-president without reference, if need to be, to the
will or wishes of a majority of the voters, simply re
corded the popular will as it has continued to do ever
since.-
The contingency herein indicated, that of the death
on election day of the candidate receiving the highest
number of votes, is not likely to arise, yet the unex
pected oftentimes happens ia politics as in other human
affairs. Suppose that it should arise in this case, would,
the electoral college exercise its originally intended
function and independently name a man for president?
A SAMPLE, OF RECIPROCITY.
FTER GREAT and prolonged effort, and over
strong and persistent opposition on the part of
the stand-patters, a modicum of reciprocity was
gingerly measured out to Cuba last year, over the wail
ing protests of sugar trust organs like the San Francisco
Chronicle that it would ruin our beet sugar industry and
a lot of other things. .
But reciprocity with Cuba hasn't hurt anybody. It
has been beneficial both to Americans and Cubans, and
the beet sugar men are doing very well. Cuba is pros
pering. Its" exports last year were $16,000,000 more and
its imports $12,000,000 more than the year before. It has
sent us more sugar and been able to make a living profit
out of it, sugar that we needed though it, too, is strained
through the sugar trust's sieve and Americans have
sold Cubans more manufactures. By being able to sell
have- increased by 35 per cent their
purchases of American lumber, eloths, flour, sewing ma
chines and oil. Even thjs little piece of reciprocity, that
dangerous entering wedge of awful free trade, has greatly
benefited both countries and harmed nobody.
Now if a little two-bit slice of reciprocity workaso
well, why should not a larger piece of it be still better?
And if freer trade with Cuba turns out beneficially all
around, whjr would not freer trade with Canada, South
America and France work equally well?
The "free trade" hullaballoo of the high tariff mouth
pieces is about the shabbiest species of claptrap in the
whole Republican party repertoire of humbuggery.
FOLKS NEEDED EVERYWHERE.
PROPOS of Folk's triumph, simultaneously with
. that of the president, in Missouri, the Min
neaoolis Tribune, a Republican paper, after ex
the reasons for the defeat of the
for governor in Minnesota, charg
factionalism and unscrupulousness,
What they need, as governors and senators-and mem
bers of the house and other officers of high degree, is
Men men of convictions, of moral courage, of a large
degree of independence, of true patriotism real states
men, not mere tongue-wagging, wire-laying, purely parti
san politicians. 1 .
etc.," came on In a fright wig and a
black mask, in which there waa a pair
of eyes that worked from one aide to
another by pulling a string. This was
the hit of the show, revealing aa it did
the Alaskan Indian's keen sense of
humor.
There may be worse aggregations than
tbe Metlakahtla Indian band, but not on
tbla earth.
Back! Back to Alaska!
Mrs. Dierke Scores Distinct Succeas.
A distinctly musical audience greeted
Mr a. Beatrice Diarke at her appearance
In concert last night at Paraona' hall.
Before ahe waa allowed to take up her
work fqr the evening ahe had to bow
again In acknowledgement of hearty
welcoming applause. Grigg's "Concert
in A Minor" opened the program, and
her work was powerful In this, her place
da realstanoe. Soft, green lights aided
the effect of the adagio movement.
Charlea Dierke played second piano and
hla accompaniments were exqulaltely
done. Her second number offered six
various compositions of lighter nature
and each was received with much enthu
siasm. "Llndenbaum." by Schubert-Liast,
brought out the long, alnglng tonea;
"8olree de Vtenne," comprising a number
of sprightly ajra In a minor key. was
played with vivacity; and "Invitation to
the Dance," by Weber-Tanalg. with lta
waits measures temptingly run in.
brought a storm of applauae that ex
pressed the enthusiasm nnd apprecia
tion her hearera felt for the entire se
ries. Her final number in three parts
presented two of her marked triumphs.
Poldlnl'a "Etude Japonalse" was so odd
that the house imperatively demanded
a repetition. Her quality of tone was
something unique, being ao full and yet
so short aa If cut off In the middle. The
old favorite. 'Tannhauaer Msrc.h," by
Wngner-Llsst, shows Mrs. Dierke at her
very best. Her rhythm and accent were
Irreproachable and aa she struck the Inst
chord, before It could die away her audi
ence was on lta feet with exclamations
of delight. She waa literally burled In
floral offerings snd staggered oft the
stage with her burden only to be re
called to receive more. Seldom Is a
local artist granted such an oyatlon,
but musicians recognlaed her power ana
her ability to rank with the world's
grest ones.
RACE WHITNET.
Use of ftlectrlclty Will Purify Ate.
When the transformation of cities by
electric power snd light is completed,
we msy expect the sir to be practically
aa pure aa that of the country. It Is
eatlmated that the carbonic arid ex
haled yearly by the people of a city ef
2.000.000 la about 410,000 tons, ftnt that
this Is less than three per cent of that
from fuel combustion.
I Small Change j
Becoming Hovemberlsh.
D. a Hill
tire from.
hasn't much now to re
DnubtleSs Deba and Swallow will toe
wining 10 try again.
Maryland has the distinction of being
tfte only doubtful mate.
And all Judge Moreland'a many roars
of campaigning for nothing, after all.
What the Democratic party aeema to
need for awhile I a trained nurse.
Are our lawmakers going to allow the
royal chlnook aalmon to become extinct?
By the time they get through trying
old boodler Doc Antes ha will probably
be dead.
NoW Theodore Roosevelt haa a aplcn-
dld opportunity to make a really great
president.
Now can the Soclallats keep on grow
ing, or will they retrograde, aa tha Pop
ulists did?
"Now will all the other shoe manu-
facturera try to run for governor or
something?
Speaking of stout men. politically.
take a squint occasionally at Governor
La Follette.
Shrewd moneyed men know Portland
Is the best and la to be the greatest
Pacific co ist city..
If you go to Ylck Springs, be careful
when you alt In a gaase with T. T. He
Is not feeling very pleasant these daya.
still another alrehlp haa broken down.
Being composed of aolld matter, air
ships have a atrong affinity for Mother
Earth.
I Didn't anybody Interview Uncle Joe
Cannon about tha election, or, aa usual,
were his remarks unsuitable for publi
cation f
' "Perhaps you will remember that I
remarked beforehand that the battle
would begin In a footrace and aad la a
rout." W. J. B.
Now will the Republican majority In
tbe Mlaaourl legislature play petty par
tisan politloa by trying to put and keep
Governor Folk "In a hole?"
It Is reported that tha board of lady
(women) managers will have a surplus
when tha St. Louis fair elosee. And yet
some men sneer at women's beg par
don, Indies' business capacity.
Portland seems to be the home) at
present of a multiplicity of financial
schemes to rob the people. Salem Jour
nal. And thla after winning that ISO
prize, too! Or did some Portland high
financier get it away from tha colonel?
Will Portland buy the fair grounds
for a park? At a reaaonabl prloa, to
be paid long hence. If bonds could be
well aold. It would be a good Investment.
We must look snd plan for tha future.
We are a city of iso.ooo now; what will
It be In 30 years?
The Albany Herald
election changed from June to Novem
ber to avoid tha worry and trouble and
expenae of two campaigns. The ques
tion waa submitted to the peopte not
long ago, and they decided against Ifj
by a large majority, and probably would
again. Oregon will remain a June state.
Oregon Sidelights
Hood River Commercial club Is wlda
awake.
New first-class laundry
Grove.
In Forest
Fine fall for work lota of It being
done, too.
The new Houlton cooperage plant la
In operation.
Wild gees are
back of Arlington.
very numerous juat
Olendale haa six times tha population
It had four years ago.
- . s
No applea at St. Louie equal those
sent from Hood River.
The Malheur Oasette promises
readers a railroad before 101.
Its
There is still a loud call for country
school teachers In eastern Oregon.
Rome land In Hood river valley sold
laat week at $325 an acre and was
cheap at that.
A Big Elk wood chopper's name Is
Ladyview. That nam would fit some
of our town maahers.
The father and sister of the, only
Democrat elected to congreaa In Illinois,
H. D. Foster, live In Independence.
Two Rainier young men have bunt a
fine new gasoline launch, which they
think wUlebo the fastest boat on the
river. e
An Iowa man who recently located In
Corvallla says a great many lowans
a re coming out to the fair next year,
and to look over Oregon.
A box of Hood River King apples pre
sented to the Glacier contained 14 ap
plea, all apparently exactly alike and
equally perfect, and weighing 10 pounds.
Oakland Owl: -Mrs. J. P. Crouch has
grown s lemon 10 Inches in circumfer
ence on a tree a trifle over a year old.
Thla tree lfe not exactly a house plant;
It grew out of doors most of the tine.
The Mud Springe correspondent Of the
Madraa Pioneer writes: "Miss Mary
Booth haa juat finished putting In a
large field of grain." 'And lots of stal
wart single young men up there, too!
A few year ago Walt Smith rode Into
Morrow county on a ISO aaddla and a ft
cayusa, with $31 In hi pocket, and now
he owns 1.000 acres of what haa turned
out to be good wheat land. He haa
lust finished seeding SAO acres.
McMlnnville News Reporter A dry
summer in a dry county haa not retarded
the growth of alfalfa, the king of forage
crops. G. F. Earhart has cut three crops
from his alfalfa patch this year, and the
fourth crop Is knee high waiting to be
harvested.
The Bouthern Oregon Nursery com
pany has planted 1.000 pounda of peach
pita. They average 110 to the pound.
Mr. Drew expecta 10,00 peaeh seed
lings to bud next eummer, besides 60.000
spple, pear Ind cherry. The firm ex
pacts to have over lAA.ooA plants of
nursery stock growing In the nurasry
by next fall.
Is the
ArVar Just Begun
Charlea E. Hand's Mukden Letter of Sep
tember II In London Mall.
"As, well! The wsr has not begun
yet." It was the most familiar of Rua-
slan phrases.
At each, stag of the campaign, after
every fight. It waa the comment that
atruck the final note of the aoldlera' die
cusslons. After the YSlu they aald.
We v not begun to fight yet"; after
Klnchau It waa. "Walt a Uttls while,
until we begin to fight"; after. Wafango
the grave-faced debates ended upon the
same note, "Russia hss not begun to
make war yet." The aoldler preserves
a cheerful confidence In discussing de
feats In which he personslly has not
been engaged. Thlnga might, nay, must
have been vary different If he had bean
there. For him the war haa not begun
yet, and every sturdy soldier arriving
from the north fait aa he detrained at
Llaoyang that now the war had entered
upon an entirely new phase.
The Japaneaa had advanced on every
line. No matter! The war hss not be
gun yet.
They had possessed themselves Of the
Motlen and the other passea In the east
ern hills: "Walt till we are ready to ad
vance; they won't be doing much "ad
vancing then."
Tha army retired from the Llaotung
peninsula: "No matter; .the war will be
gin aoon and then you will see."
The retirement continued, Taahlchao
and Slmacbeng. Halcheng and Yanaullrfg,
and tlll the same comment. The
Japaneae were good fighter, certainly;
but what would they do, what could they
do, against Russia when Ruaala began
really to make wart Up to now there
had been aome , little fighting, but no
war; juat tha preliminary skirmishing
that waa all. while Ruaala had been get
ting ready. A few Russian army corps
had been In the field, but that was all.
Not Russia What, after all, were four
army corpe, or, for the matter of that.
10 army corps? But Russia was coming.
Russia and that waa quite another
thing.
There 1 something very touching, al
moat pathetic,- In, tha individual Rus
sian soldier's simple filial trust and con
fidence In Russia as a vague, mysterious,
all-powerful Influence quite remote from,
outatda of, and above himself and other,
Russians a sort or detached poten
tiality a sort of magnified Lord Roae
bery beyond and exceeding the might
of the nation, vaguely and infinitely
greater than the sum of energies of all
the Russian people. .
We English do not have that vision
ary conception of England; Great Britain
la to moat of us little more than a
geographical term, and even tha thought
of tha British empire chiefly appaala
to our pride of ownership aa a collection
of valuablea the possession of which la a
tribute to the national merits. The di
rect English mind prefers to exalt the
Anglo-Saxon race, which ia French for
'our nobis selves." The Frenchman,
whan ha spreads a golden halo of words
over "I.a France la really talking of
himself, of the glorious achievement
and the admirable qualities of lea Fran-
oala. The American regards, America
with the pride of achlav.ement aa tha
country which he haa made what It is
rather than aa tha country which haa
made him what he la; and, Indeed, with
all nations, the fervour of patriotism la
baaed oft the pride of raoe.
But to tha Russian Russia means
either ao very much or ao very much
less. It la a term which conveys to him
no Idea . of something that be haa
achieved or created, of something that
he Is or Is a part Of. The Russian may
suffer flareet, but that does not alter hla
conception of the ever-victorious Rus
sia. The Russian regiment may he out
flanked and outnumbered, but Russia
la , not affected. Russian oattleshlps
may be sunk, a Rusalan fleet may be
pulverised, but although that may be
bad for the fleet It Is of small matter to
Russia A Russian army corps may
find Itself overpowered, the entire Man
churlan army might be beaten, but that
would not affect the Russlan'a vlaw of
the Irresistible might of Russia.
To him, Russia scorns In exerclae a
power that is aa one of tbe giant forcee
of nature, aomethlng that la Independent
of and Immeasurably greater than the
strength of the Russian navy or the
might of the Ruaslan army or tbs ca
pacity Of the Russian people. So, for
each auccaselve Incident of the summer
campaign In Manchuria, the Ruaalan sol
dier found slwaya tha satisfying expla
nation that Ruaala had not yet begun to
take part In the war. The Russian army
had been struggling with dtfflcultiee be
cause Ruaala had not aa yet come to lte
assistance.
But I confess that to the plain man
who sees only what he looks at, and not
even all of that, the constant reiteration,
while the Ruaslan military forces have
been doing their doggedeat, of the belief
that Russia had not begun, to put out
any such exertion ss the emergency
called for, became more than a little
wearlsoma '
Not only the monotonous repetitions
of the excuse jarred, but the futility of
It. For If after more than atx months
of war Russia had not yet bestlrsd her
self to do her utmost ene would Imagine
that the Russian would be beginning to
realise that It was time he began to de
velop a little more reliance upon him
self, Instead of comforting himself with
a belief that waa In fact a sort of aeml
ortental fatalism. Its effect upon the
soldier seemed to be thst of a sedative.
His emotions, Instead of being quick
ened and fired by the realisations of tha
mighty Issues and tha crowding Inci
dents of war. were soothed snd deadened.
He waa not enraged by defest, nor elated
by the prospect of retaliation. He re
treated from position to position, and
learned of one stroke of Ill-fortune after
another, and when one looked at him to
see with what emotion he bore It all one
saw only the negation of emotion, a
curious apathy that waa neither re
signed nor despondent a sr. of over
ripe patience. "Russia has not begun to
fight; there Is no need for me to trouble
yet,", hie attitude Beamed to say.
Llaoyang was full of men who had
taken part In the . retreat from
Taahlchao, or had been through the two
bad days with Genersl Ssssulltch on
the wsy down from the hills to the eest
of Hslcheng. or hsd endured the diffi
culties of the same two dsys In the
more northern hill positions eat of
Llaoyang full of men and full of the
Inevitable phrase. A little depressed, a
little tired, no doubt, after their furloua
gnashing of teeth and clenching of fists
(if the strong man whose passion la
aroused, "why worry7 We have not
begun yet." For the present a good
dinner Which is to say a great deal of
dinner, with lota of sakouskl, such as
cheese and fish, snd Httle glasses of
vodka to begin with, and a lot of aoup
with a huge floating Island of tough
meat in It. and plenty of bottled plva
waa a matter of more pressing Interest
than tha war. The ahaded courtyard
restaurant of the Greek hotel, and the
pleassntly placed beer-garden under the
shadow of the old Korean pagoda were
crowded with full tables at noon and
sunset. And after dinner, with the
Inevitable papiroee. and perhapa a little
aweat win, or maybe soma beer, or
maybe only the little vodka glass, again
cam loud-voiced Ruaalan conversation,
of which the war had Its share, but
Onlv lta share and waa discussed With
no mora interest than other matter of
minor Importance, such aa tna un
precedented failure of the rainy aeaaon
and tha various sepecta of the expulsion
of women ami-children from the town.
If there waa anv subject which com
manded eager and excited Interest. It
was the questlbna arising out of the
Malaoca Incident, and the etrange
rumor that passed from mouth to mouth
to the effect that the English ambassa
dor In St Petersburg and the Ruaslan
ambassador In London had been re
called. There, Indeed, waa a poaaiblllty
of something worth taking a real inter
est In; but aa to thlB war, It waa notn
Ing; and, besides, It had not commenced
yat.
Down at the railway station the
buffet waa aa crowded and aa nolay aa
all railway station buffets had been
since the railway began te carry noth
ing but aoldlera. Some of lta customers
were not only showing no Interest In the
eventa of the war. they were manifest
ing a complete unconsciousness of
everything. What did It matter? The
war had not begun yet
But If thle waa tbe atmosphere of
Llaoyang, where General Kuropatktn'a
conatant presence was felt what was
likely to be the condition of thing
further north In Mukden, for lnatanco,
where only an occasional rumor of ro
mot fighting cam to Invade Its
cathedral city quietude? T remember
the thick-set, shock-haired. sturdy,
stolid Siberian soldiers who used to
lounge heavily about the place, knowing
nothing, and apparently caring no more,
about the war or the Japaneaa. I had
occaalon to go to Mukden, and the rail
way time-table being a trifle uncertain
juat then there was a difficulty in ob
taining quick railway transport, even
for the Red Cross hospital atorea whloh
at that time were being aent north I
went by road.
Juat north of Llaoyang a series of
camps bordered the road and the ran
way. New troops bad been placed' there
alnce last I had passed. At Yental
where a little branch line rune away
east to tha coal mines where the Jap
aneae had lately made a passing call
there was a big camp. At Shahsy, two
thirds of tha way to Mukden, there waa
another big camp. I came to. the Hun
river, a few miles south of Mukden, at
the point where, when the ford la not
practicable, the main road traffic Is
carried over br a ferry. A fine stout
timber bridge, S00 yards long, with mas
sive masonry approach piers, had been
built alnce laat I had bean that way,
and at tbe foot of the bridge there waa
a camp, Setween the river and, the
south suburb of the town there Is ft
atretch of sandy plain, and when I
looked down upon It from the rldgo
above the river bed tna plain was be
come a spreading city of white canvas
tents.
Russia. It seemed, might not have
begun yet, but a good many Russians
were getting ready. The road led
directly through the camp. And since
one camp la very much like another.
and the men of the laat regiment one
saw very much the same sort of fel
lows as the men of the regiment before
that. I waa not looking for any novelty
In the aapect of theae regiments and
their camp., ,
But I looked round when I came
among the men. For what was this'
Thla waa a new kind of a camp to en
counter in Manchuria The aame kind
of tent, but aomehow set and ar
ranged more amartly. But It waa not
only that. What elae waa It that made
toe look of the encampment so dif
ferent? I looked round again. It waa
the soldier wbo wag tbe naw element.
Why, be was a different stamp of man
from thoae we had been accustomed to
meet, tha thick-set heavlly-movlng,
shock-haired peasants who - had
mobilised with their bearded reservlste
In the Siberian wilds. Thee) newcomers
were slim, supple, even smart by com
parison with the others.
And they were young. There waa not
ft long-bearded reservist father-of-a-famlly-looklng
soldier among them. And
they were bubbling over with the alert
ness and ths quick, eager Interest In
thlnga of youth. Theae, were the first
men I had encountered who manifested
any Interest in the presence of a
foreigner. The Siberian soldiers inter
est in anything was .satisfied -by one
dull yokel, stare of half comprehension
at anything unaccustomed, one dull
stare, and then he want on with hla
plodding. Rut these men were of an
other stamp. When I etopped to make
an Inquiry they crowded round me.
eager to know who and what I was,
where I had coma from, and what I had
been. Bom- of them were able to apeak
German, several talked with me In
French, and one spoke excellent English.
And of all the unwonted and unexpected
subjects for a eoldler to show Interest
in. they were keenly Interested In what
do you , think? Ths war. What waa
happening around. Llaoyang? Were the
Japaneae going to make a flank move
ment on the west? What sort of posi
tions were thsy which the Japaneae held
on the Motlen, road In ease of a real,
whole-hearted attack by a resolute
force? And, above all. what waa known
or expected ft the Japanese movement
towards Mukden?
They were keenly disappointed thst
the Jspanese force which hsd como
through the hills towards Mukden' bad
retired. They were eager for an op
portunity of distinguishing' themselves.
Where waa General Kuropatkln? And
where was General Mlatchenko? There
Were many inquiries after that dashing
commander, whose exploits seemed par
ticularly to have caught their imagina
tions. A cheerful, buoyant confidence
theae young men had that waa alto
gether a different thing from the vague
sort of reliance or aomethlng else that
waa behind tha tlresomely reiterated
phrase For these men were confidsnt
In themselvee.
They had Juat arrived from Russia,
from Russian Russia That waa the ex
planation. They were part of an army
corps from European Russia, the first
complete European army corps to take
their placee in the war. Was there then,
sfter all, something in the reiterated
phrase? Might ' it not. after all be
literally true that Ruaala had not yet
begun to fight, aeetng that ths real
Russians from Russia hsd onlv just
begun to arrive?
It had never occurred to me before.
but now I come to think of it. hall not
the war ao far been wrongly described
as being between Russia and Japan. The
Japanese had only had Siberia to op
pose them. Instead of the disciplined
might of the weat. there had been of
fered to them only the hasty levies of
the semi-settled Asiatic provinces In
deed, there was something In It. Russia
was only Just beginning to take part
In the war.
In the town afterwards, and at ths
railway station where the troop trains
from Kitssia were passing through, tn
aspect of thing had changed In a hun
dred way. The atatlon waa bueler end
more crowded, but more businesslike
Meinself
1 Unci Gott
Perceval Gibbons In London Dally Mail.
Prince will be prlnoea, It aeeme. and
there have been times when the kaleer
haa had to talk Ilka a father to his off
spring. There la a dellelous story of
ons wigging whloh h administered to
them whloh the court la still chuckling
over.
"Never forget." ha aald solemnly, aa
iney siooa in attention before hlra.
"that you are Rohenaollerne and sons
of the kaiser of Germany. But you." he
added, turning upon on who shall not be
particularised you remember that I
have my eye on you."
In person the kaiser la a florid man or
barely middle height, with a fuU face,
fleshy neck and a noticeable general
plumpneaa. On foot especially In one
of hla two score uniform, he la leas
regal than engaging; on hbrsebftck he le
quite a fine figure of a man. Although
his horses are specially broken and
trained for hla uae, he has a good work
ing seat In the aaddla To see him go
peat a saluting base at the rooking ohalr
center the German cavalry afreets la to
see a good type Of a military looking
man; he could paae In a crowd for a
well-to-do major without ambition. In
pit of hla growing atoutneaa he takes
a good deal of exercise, in particular
bs shoots, snd he Issues to the chaae
with not much leee circumstance than
the Duke In Browning s "Flight of the
Duchess."
When the kaiser's mlmea produce the
kaiser's play In the kaiser s theatre It Is
the kaiser's audience that applaud
with enthusiasm snd half an eye on the
kalaer's box.
He wrote a poem once, which he sub
mitted to a great literary man who
dined at the castle for thst purpose par
ticularly. Knowing the man, I believe
him no less dutiful to his ruler than to
the craft he knows so thoroughly. He
read the effort, and found hie dual duties
in conflict. One haa the tendereet sym
pathy for that critic; he had to advise
an amateur poet with an exceptional
power for resenting hostile comment.
He yielded only a very little to the ex-
IgencicB of .lbs slluatKm.
"This vera, your majesty," he began,
"seems to require alteration In certain
respects."
The author took the manuscript and
conned It thoughtfully. Then his brow
cleared.
"Why," he orled, as one aeelng a sud
den light. "I have not actually signed
the poem. Give me a pen."
And the only fault tn the work waa
forthwith remedied.
Half ths stories that are current
about him could never have come Into
circulation had the man been accessible
to criticism But this Hohensollern Is
an emperor from morn to dewy eve; his
suite 'only epeak when they are spoken
to. But now and again he overhears a
word.
When he waa younger and leas uaed
to the "go and he goeth" system, he con
tracted a habit especially Irritating to
hla troops. He uaed to sound- alarms at
odd hours, and turn up all available
army corps to march paat or maneuvr
when they lcaat expected It at night,
or In the gray of a winter morning. On
one such occasion the garrison Included
s detachment of submarine crews, and
the emperor came along juat before
dawn, accoutred aa an admiral. .
He was standing among a group of
shivering officers, when one veteran, ap
proaching him from the rear, took him
for some other worthy ealMr? He
slspped htm vehemently on tbevbaok.
"I see that Oondoia winy naa flsned
up the aquarium tbla morning," he ob
served, pleasantly.
They attribute the cessation or sudden
nlarms to that incident tn the army, and
have all but canonised that daaed
veteran.
A fortnight ago he wag after elk tn
North Germany, and. of course, shot an
elk. In this great , empire loyalty ex
tend also to elks The elk killed, the
next thing waa a blast on the horn, the
feudal call announcing that the. quarry
has become meat. The plumed and cos
tumed chief huntsman lifted the alug
horn nnd blew "Hlraeh todt" (stag
dead).
The kaiser demurred at once.
"This Isn't a stag." he said. "It s an
elk."
Mit Erlsub." tha huntsman agreed.
deferentially, "but there len't such a call
as 'elk dead.' "
'Sen to It then." directed the kaiser.
"that one Is composed."
Next year the elk's laat moments win
he mitigated by appropriate mualc. But
the elk will be- less critical than the
kaiser
There Is one tale of him which dates
from the time when he waa a mere
princely Guard subaltern, which will
do for my laat He waa at some mili
tary function, wearing, among others, an
English order. A fusay general officer,
who did not know him, called him up.
"You appear to be ignorant of the rule
against the wearing of foreign order by
officers." he snapped. "Where did you
get that starr
'My grandmother gave It to moV
plained WUhelm.
"Tour whatf
'My grandmother tha Queen of Eng
land." '
and Infinitely more quiet There waa
no longer In the buffets the old clamor
and confualon, but a quicker movement
and a lighter tread, a look of Intelli
gence and an air of realised responsi
bility. Discussion was more animated,
but In lower tonea and with voices less
gruff. The very trains seemed to move
faater for the quicker youthful eager
neea and activity ef these troopa they
were now carrying, and each train ioa.i
Went off with a cheer.
It was quits trua Russia was only
Just beginning. Why not montna
earlier? la another Question. It la ft
long way from Europe, even for a rail
way, and Siberia waa comparatively
handy.
But, however, that may- nave oeen.
there ha come a change. Russia la
beginning to take part In tha war.
A beastle novel to sodloglsts and all
other scientific "lata" Is a cross between
a dog and a raccoon and has lately made
a trip from northern Japan, its father
land, to tha New York soological gar
dens. The Japanese cell It a white fox.
and the American scientists aay that It
probably resembles a white Arctic fox
more than any other creature, but they
are christening It a raccoon-dog. The
director of the New York soological park
finds a puasle In Its hablta for all allied
species of animals are Inclined to hi
bernate In the winter and borrow euir
able bedrooms whsrever found for their
long winter's nap. and when they do not
find a bedroom to hand they are fully
able to dig a burrow of their own. The
little alien from Japan, however, despite
severest winter's cold, la up and about
with no drowsiness, and haa auch small,
abort and weak feet, With feeble claws,
that It la not fitted to dig burrows. It
is in general poorly equipped for self
preservation, has small, weak teeth and
needs a home whose population Includes
no bears, wolves or fossa.
mm