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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1904)
Editorial Page of TKe Journal PORTLAND. OREGON. WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 7, 1904. THE OREGON DAILY AN C S. JACKSON Published every evening except Sunday) and every Sunday morning at treats, Portland, Oregon. DIRECT ELECTION OF SENATORS. THE NEW SYSTEM of conducting nominations for office in Oregon should reach far enough to insure the nominstion of United States senators by the people, and the ratification of their choice by the legislature. Senatorial contests in legislatures are in themselves an evil, and are the source of much evil in legislation. These have become so frequent and appar ent that they are generally recognized and acknowledged. It may be that better men for senators would not in variably be selected. Very often the same man would be chosen by either system. But the senators should be chosen by the people, and be directly responsible to them, rather than elected by the legislatures, and per sonally responsible, as many of them think, to their members. This change cannot be effected directly except by an amendment to the constitution of the United States adopted by the people or the legislatures of three fourths of the states. Such a change is hopeless, because congress, of which the senate if a constituent part, will not propose such an amendment to the people, and the legislatures of most states do not wish to lose this prerog ative. But the change can be effected through direct primaries, for few legislatures will dare to despise or ig nore a mandate of the people. Once the custom of elect ing senators in this way ia established, it will not be abandoned. Several of the southern states now elect their senatora in this way, and the duty and action of the legislatures arc merely perfunctory, like that of the electoral college ia electing a president, and politics aside the personnel of senators so elected ia higher in character and fitness than that of senatora from other parts of the country where the primary system of choice is not in vogue. Il linois has. on occasion influenced a legislature in this way, and Minnesota is moving in that direction. Let all voters of the dominant party in a state name the senators at primary elections which is preferable to convention nominations and insist that the legisla tures shall ratify their choice. The result would be in some important respects beneficial. QREAT COST OF GOVERNMENT. TAXPAYERS OVERBURDENED; expenses in creasing: government facing a big deficit. This ' is the story that comes from nearly all the Euro pean nations, and it is one of which there are hints and mnrmurings even in this country of unparalleled wealth and resources. Just now it is in the German reischtag where the loud est complaints are being made. In spite of increased taxes, there, is a big deficit in the government treasury, and several elements of the national parliament are re belling against the budget submitted by the government, and demanding instead a change of methods. The money goes largely to maintain a great standing army, which ia the emperor's chief pride, to increase the navy, which also stands high in his regard, and to main tain a very expensive system of royalty and nobility which is first in the kaiser's affections. If the nationa .of the world could agree on permanent peace the army -could for the most part be disbanded, and the outlay for a constantly increasing navy need not be made; and under a different system of govern ment the immense cost of royalty could be avoided. But these big and expensive toys must be maintained. Only the extreme reformers propose any change that will result in much benefit to the people. And in the United States, where we are not burdened with royalty and nobility, the cost of government is becoming enor mous, even for such a great and prosperous country. Looking the world over, one may not unreasonably entertain some doubts whether civilixed government pays the masses of people for its maintenance; whether it is not a farce in which they act the role of fools. A RQOSEVELTIAN MESSAGE. THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE ia characteristic ally Rooseveltian. It is unique in the amount of moral lecturing or preaching it contains, and this, while excusable, if not commendable, is not likely to be productive of reformatory results because congress is w a WAT. From Forest and Stream. What appears marvelous and posi tively uncanny to a town person Is sim ple to a buahman. Tears of continuous observation de velop the bump of locality, every ob ject has a place and meaning- to a trapper; his eye- Is ever on the alert, and what hla eye aeea Is photographed on the brain and remain's there for fu ture reference at any time he may re quire it This bump of .locality la highly de veloped In all Indiana and whites who have passed many years In the bush. Without the faculty of remembering ob jects a buahman could not find his way through the forests. Providing the trapper has once passed from one place to another, he Is pretty sure to find his way through the sec ond time, even If years should have elapsed between the tripe. HSvery ob ject from start to finlah Is an Index finger pointing out the right path. A aloptng path, a leaning tree, a moss covered rock. a al'ght elevation In land, an odd looking tone, a blasted tree all help hh guides as the observant trapper makes his way through a path less forest. Of courre, this tax on the memory Is not required of trappers about a eettled part of the country, but I nm telling of what Is absolutely necessary for the safety of one's life In the far-away wilds of the north, where to lose one's self might mean death. I followed an Indian guide once over a trail of 110 m!ls, whereon we snow ahoed over mountains, through dense brush, down livers and over lakes. To teat my powers of a retentive memory, the following winter when dispatches again had to be taken to headquarters, I asked the Indian to allow me to act as guide, he following. On that long journey of 14 or 12 days, always walking and continually think ing of the read, I waa in doubt only once. We wars standing on the ice; a tongue of land stood out toward us, a bay on eithar aide. The portage leaving the lake was at the bottom of one of these have, but which? The Indian had halted almost on the talis of my snow Mhnea. and enjoyed my hesitation, but aid nothing. To be assured of ao mis take, I bad to pass ever the whole of last winter's trip m my mind's eye up to the point on which wa stood. Once the retroepeot caught up with ua. there , we no further trouble. Our route was down the left hand bay. When the Indian saw rae start In that rtiretlon. lie raid: "A-a-ke-pu-ka-tan" ('Yea. yea. you are able"). The asowt difficult propoeltlonf to tackle la a Mack spruce swamp The trees are mostly of a uniform else and, INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED BY JOURNAL PUBLISHING CO. OFFICIAL PAPER OF THE CITY OF PORTLANp height, the surface of the snow Is per fectly level, and at times our route Ilea miles through such a country, and should there be' a dull leaden sky or a gentle snow falling there Is nothing for the guide to depend on but his ability to walk straight. It has been written time and again that the tendency, when there are no landmarks. Is to walk In a circle. By constant prsctlce those who are brought up In the wilds acquire the ability to walk In a straight line. They begin by beating a trail from point to point on some long stretch of loe, and In the. bush, where sny tree or obstruc tion bars the way, and make up for any deviation from the straight eourae by a give-and-take process, so that the gen eral line of march Is straight. During 40 years In the country I never knew an Indian or white buahman to carry o compass. Apart from a black spruce awamp It would be no use what ever. n going from one place to another the contour of the country has to be con sidered, and very frequently the "long est way around Is the shortest way home." A ridge of mountains might He between the place of starting and the objective point, and by making a detour round the spur, one would easier reach his destination rather than to climb up one ante and down the other. If I were to tell you aa a fart that when a buahman aeee the track of some wild animal in the snow he can tell you not only the name of the animal but If It was male or female, within an hour of the time the- tracks were made. If It waa calm or blowing and the direction of the wind at that time, and many other minor things, you would think this won derful. Yet, as wonderful aa this may appear and hardly to be credited, an Indian boy of 10 or 11 can read thla page from nature as eaay aa one of us can read a page of print. MOOSE TUED TO OA1 MltH. From the Los Angelea Times. A man who spends considerable time each year hunting In the northern woods tells 6f an experience with a bull moose which led him to believe that that par ticular bull waa nobody's fooL He slightly injured the animal at closer range than It is usually poaalble to ap proach such game. Suddenly the animal turned and rushed toward the hunter with lowered head. The sportsman squared away and prepsred for a second shot, but to his liorror his feet became entangled In e oral briars and he fell. Cloee to him wan m large tree several feet In thickness. Without having an opportunity to re cover his weapon, he barely had time to acrarable to hla feat and dodge behind JOURNAL jno. . CAnoa The Journal Building, Fifth Yamhill certain not to heed such instruction, and relatively few except editors and political economists, and here and there a man with nothing to do, reada a message of fruch length. There crops out also between the lines another Rooseveltian trait; he not only knows everything' that is true and right, politically, morally and socially, but always does it, never making an error or committing a fault. Some extreme partisans will be surprised and dis appointed at the admission that the country's prosperity is partly due to its natural resources and advantages, but they will be somewhat consoled by the statement that it is also due in part to "our long-continued governmental policies," including high protection of favored classes and the subjection and control of far distant islands. For the rest, the message mentions, in many instances at much length, almost every conceivable governmental subject. ' Its recommendations are in the main good, though there is a savour of executive egotism and in fallibility in them as a whole. The document is notice able not only for its expansion into comparatively un important details, but for its omission to say anything about the principal question now being discussed by the people the tariff. But it is rumored that this is to be the subject of a later and special message. One thing is sure from even glancing over the. mes sage; the president 'likes to talk, and to write, to ex press his views and opinions on everything. Volum inous as the message is, there is no danger of an ac cusation that the president hired some one to produce it. It is manifestly his and when all is said and done any document bearing the stamp of his personality is well worth reading. TRIALS COST TOO MUCH. THE TRIAL of Nan Patterson will cost the people, of New York a large sum of money, as every similar trial does, most of which is sheer waste. The system of judicial procedure fh such cases is in great part needlessly foolish, and the people who pay the cost should demand some simple, practical reforms in this antiquated system. In the first place, entirely too much latitude is allowed in challenging and excusing jurors. It is in no wise necessary to protect a defendant's rights, and insure him a fair and impartial trial, that hundreds of talesmen should be summoned and dismissed. Ordinarily as good a jury for any rial can be secured from 30 men, properly stlected, as from 300. Another unnecessary and unreasonable practice was exhibited in the Nan Patterson trial. After it had pro gressed several days a juror became ill, and the whole jury was thereupon discharged, and a new one is being selected, through the examination of hundreds of other men called to serve as jurors. In any such case it should be obligatory both upon the state and the defense to proceed with" eleven jurors, and this practice should be extended to an even less number. There is no virtue in the number 12, nothing sacred about it, and state consti tutions or statutes should be changed in this respect. SCHOOL CHILDREN" RAPIPLY INCREASING. THE INCREASE in the attendance at the public schools in one year is nearly 1,000 pupils, or about 14 per cent. This is a good, safe test of increase in population, and indicates that the directory estimate of 150,000 inhabitants of Portland was none too high. , This increase suggests also the necessity mentioned in The Journal a few days ago, and justifies a repetition of the warning, that more school houses will be needed next year, and they will be needed, fully ready, on the opening of school. The lamp of last year's experience should surely guide the directors and taxpayers in the path of such' foresight and energy as will preclude a r. petition of that experience. Whatever else we have we must have sufficient ac commodations for the rapidly increaaing number of schoql children. A new high school building must be provided, and many, new rooms for common school children. Nothing will again excuse neglect in this matter. the trunk of the tree before the bull was upon him. The breathless ntmrod waa chased around that tree until his head fairly whirled. Suddenly the bull stopped and charged from the other direction. Then ha stopped again and resorted to the small boy's trick of making a feint one way, then darting In the other. He nearly caught the now thoroughly rat tled hunter by the ruse. The gentleman claimed that the timely arrival of a companion who dropped the wily bull In hla tracka waa all that aaved his life. WAGE Or WOT AS DEATH. A wager between wine and death made 65 years ago may soon be paid. In the vault of. a bank at Covington, Ind., re poses a bottle of ancient vintage, the contents of which will be drunk by the single survivor of a little band of 20 soldiers of the Mexican war. The wager la the most unique of the kind on rec ord. After the cloee of hostilities with Mexico 10 of the veterans who .went to the front from Mountain county, Indi ana, met In reunion. This waa In 1849. It was voted to assemble yearly there after on Thanksgiving day. At the first dinner a bottle of wins waa presented to the little company, and In sV half-Joking manner one suggested that the bottle remain corked until btfl one sflrvivor remained, thin one to quaff the wine to the memory of those gone before. The Idea met with instant favor and It was so agreed. Each year the an nual dinner-has been held and each one more closely cemented the ties of com radeship formed on the plains of Mex ico. Far yeerast the annual gatherings the bottle has occupied a place of honor at the head of the table, and waa annual ly the subject of merry Jests and predic tions aa to whp would be the last sur vivor to drink its contents. Aa the years passed and the little band became re duced In numbers, the Jests ceased, and Instead the old soldiers who were left looked with awe and veneration upon the fiaak, regarding It aa a link that binds them to the memory of those who nave gone before. Now there are 17 Who have crossed the dark liver, leaving three who will aaeemble next Thanksgiving day. Of the three who are Jeft, all are past 10 years of age. and all know full well that soon the strange compact made In 1841 must end.' Bach wonders to whom the lot will fall. In the yearly Interval be tween the Thanksgiving day reunions the botJUe of wine la kept safely under gusrd or the bank vault, but before many years It will be removed from Its place of deposit for the last time. For 66 .years it has been preserved, a pathetic memory of the shadowy past, but t will not be long until its mission will be fulfilled. 1 Small Change br, Coxey has gone broke, but how la son-in-law Cart Browne making it J To a strict party man, the eandtdatee on hla ticket are always the better men. Now Smoot comes to the front again, but he Is not worth a great deal of apace. The man or committee who has charge of space at the fair has no easy Job from this on. A New Tork automobile plsyed a new trick by starting a 12(0,000 fire, and is very proud of Itself. If,., I l.ir.wi.-rotlr. rvonnra nf the country will find something In the message to criticise. Automobiles, It is suggested, csn be made very useful In wsr. Surely; that Is the proper place for them. -At least Judge Parkar was correct when he said that there was not hope, or fear, of the senate becoming Demo cratic for several years. Not needing sny river or harbor Im provements on his property In Iowa, Secretary Shaw la opposed to a river and harbor bill. Great statesmanship, thla In the matter of Frenxled Finance. Mrs. ("hadwlck and the bankers who loaned her hundreds of thousands of dollars can pass up to the head of the olasa. , Some of the senators' and representa tives' flower hills at the opening of con gress must take quits a slice out of their salaries, unless they are figured aa perqulsltles. Fairbanks, Root and Taft are the most conaplcuous figures with reference to the Republican nomination In 1908. But many things may happen between now and then. Now some scientist who wants to be disagreeable aays pumpkin pies are full of microbes. Well, we are Inclined to believe It. of some of them, but not of those our motbera used to make. The Japa are atlll losing man, sccord- lng to soma reports, at the rate of from 5.000 t 10.900 a day, showing that the male population of Japan must have been greatly underestimated hitherto. It seems Impossible to determine which party committed the most elec tion frauds In Colorado. It might be well. If possible, to throw out both sides and reduce the state to a terri tory. Representative Lacey is opposed to tariff revision beaause the oountry has produced a great crop of corn. And there are newspapers who will assert that r.acey's statesmanship and logic are equally superb. , Although the Salem papers urged the voters there to vote the straight Repub lican city ticket, a large number of them declined to follow the advice. Straight party voting In local elections Is becoming more honored In the breach than In the observance. Nan Patterson la white as chalk, de pressed and nervous and exhibiting signs of the great strain upon her. Nan Patterson Is bright, cheerful, even viva clous, snd shows no Indications of worrying over her situation. So It Is re ported. Believe which report you please or neither. Oregon Sidelights La Orande has over 1,000 population. The lone public school has it 2 pupils. Kent has a 10,000 redwood tank and la happy. Good wheat land la still low In Mor row county. North Bend la to have a reading room and lyceum. The Falls City curfew ordinance la strictly enforced. The Ollllara county court haa Inaugu rated a good-roads campaign. lone needs more residences and IS or 10 will be built in the spring. A Myrtle Creek preacher is named War. Tet he Is a man of peace. Oregon ought to have a great many more hens, or better laying ones. The manufacture of mineral soap on a large scale will soon begin In Rainier. McMlnnville water and light plants yield a revenue considerably exceeding expenses. Newberg public cltlens have pur chased a beautiful tract of ground for a cemetery. A dairyman of Curry county It build ing a barn that will require ,80,000 feet of lumber. Brownsville haa three candidates for postmaster, one of them having held the Job for eight years past. One hundred tramps were driven out of Arlington in one day. Why they wanted to congregate In Arlington la not explained. I Everybody connected with the La Orande beet-sugar factory haa made money this year. The plant may be dou bled next year. Rev. Mr. Connell of Grants Pass has been vindicated by the southern Oregon presbytery; which decided that he only kissed a girl In fun. lone Proelelmer: If the water even now going to waate In Willow creek could be utilised by spreading It over our lands It would be worth 11,000 per day returnable In crops next season. Kent Recorder: The ft rat day of the hog law In Kent waa the acene of a live ly chase by some of Kent's lady sprint era, who gave chase to a small pig through the streets, which waa not cap tured until It got far Into tha country. In due time the small animal was heard to squeal at a great rate, sounding tha death-knell that his frienda could not run at large any more. Tha Corvallla Times ssys thafdown In Alsea a member of the Bible clasa arose and announced that there would be a dance at Mr. Day's house on the follow ing Friday night. Another Sunday, In the same school, the superintendent an nounced thst "there will be no Sunday school next Sunday, as the baseball team Is going to ptay, and I am captain, and, besides, moat of the children will want to attend the game." The King's Legs ana the Fainter (James Creelman, In New Tork World.) Mr. Abbey has almost finished his picture of the gorgeoua coronation scene In Westminster Abbey. The final brush atrokea In thla attempt by an American painter to represent the mediaeval pomp which survives In modern England wars deferred by a suggestive Incident. King Edward, by whose command Mr. Abbey undertook the work, had looked at the canvas, and the aweep and glow of It pleased him. The beautiful handling of the resplendent coronation robe appealed to hla frank love bf color. Presently, It is said, a courtier, hav ing in mind the human nature of kings. whispered in the royal ear that It was a pity the robe hid the royal legs from sight hla majesty had such fine lege Being- but a man, after all, the king bit hard at the delicate bait, and Mr. Abbey waa asked to readjust the robe In such a way as to reveal one of hla majesty's legs. The leg was painted from a model with handsome limbs. When the king saw the picture agsln he was delighted. The firm, graceful Una of the calf, ourvlng ao elegantly In white silk hose, stirred the royal imag ination. He Insisted that both lega should be ahown. Thla, of course, necessitated a mora serious change In the arrangement of the robe, the key of the whole scheme of color, and there fore a modification of the general tone of the picture. It Is a common complaint of, the dis tinguished European portrait painters who visit America that they are seldom called upon to paint men. The frock coat and trousers of today do not lend themselves agreeably to the poetic re quirements of art. Nor doea the stiff collar or "top hat" help the Imagination. In the old days, when men were painted aa frequently aa women, the mala sitters wore laoa ruffles, plumed hats, knee breeches and hose; silk and velvet coats, out away at the waist line to show the line of the thigh; mantles, swords, queues, quaint buckles, chains. These things bespoke leisure and luxury. Woman waa no mora picturesque than man. But aa the Idea of a leisure claas be came odious In the eyes of a practical and busy world the gauds and fripperies of men's attire began to disappear In a world devoted to Industry and com merce a man must aspire to a reputa tion for gravity. The gay adornments of an Idles and discredited society excite scorn and ridicule In an age of steam and electricity. The modern man must attract by his strength, courage and wisdom. He must no longer look upon himself aa an object of beauty If he would avoid the laughter or pity of hla fellows unless he happens to be a king. Therefore the stiff, sombre coat, the formless trousers, hard collar and hat devoid of grace. These and the monotony of black, brown and gray, with the violent and unsym pathetic contrast of the starched white shirt front, ' are signs of a change in the consciousness of the mala factor In society. But the adornments that go with the character of femininity still persist. The world still loves a woman's beauty and grace and expecta her to make the most of them by employing all the ac cessories of color and line and texture that heighten her natural charms. That furnishes the elements neoeaaary to a pi caning picture. A picture that Is not pleasing In com position or color baa no welcome place on the walls of a dwelling. It doea not blend with Ua surroundings. The mere likeness of a man, formal, severe and unlovely, la a challenge. The picture of a woman, gracious In color and In soft, flowing line, becomes a part of the deco rative acheme of a well-ordered home. The desire for a likeness aa a family record la ordinarily gratified by the photographer. It la to him that the modern man goes with his frock coat creased trousers aha silk hat. Now and than a man who considers himself to be sufficiently distinguished goes to the trouble and expense of having his portrait made by a good painter. But It la notorious that even In New Tork, where so msny millionaires live, the portrait painter seldom geta a male alttar. "Until the tailors come to our assist anca we shall hare to confine our work almost exclusively to women," said a famous portrait painter who Is visiting New Tork. "America will have few good portraits of Its great men. Stuart. Trumbull and the other American paint era of their day have given us noble pictures of the men who made the re public, but where is there a good portrait of Webster, Lincoln or Grant T For tunately Washington lived before the days of trousers and frock eosta." From the Philadelphia Press. A torn linen collar, a piece of lath, a cuff, and half a dozen other odd ob jects hung above a certain bank; clerk's desk In thla city. "My collection of queer checka," the young man said. "Bach of those things Is a check. Bach waa duly honored. Ektch has a story" "I have been collecting queer checks for three years. That piece of lath started me. A bank honored the lath for 12E0. It was made Into a check by tha owner of a sawmill, who was out at the plant with his son, 10 miles from any house, and totally without paper, let alone a check book. The money waa needed to pay off the hands. The aawmlller wrote on the lsth Just what a check correctly drawn has on It, and he sent his son into the bank to get the money and to explain. The lath check waa honored after soms discussion smong the bank's officers. "The cuff check was drawn by an actor who had become slightly Intoxi cated, got Into a fight and been arrested. Ha was treated cavalierly In his cell and they wouldn't give him any paper and he bribed a boy to take the oheck to a bank. The boy got tha money, and with it the actor paid his fine. Other wise he'd have been Jailed for 10 days. Thus a cuff check may be said to hava saved a man from prison. "The oheck written on that linen col lar won a bat of fl. A man bet a wo man that a check made on a collar would be cashed, and, of course, he won his bet. " "Tour bank, If you -carry a good ac count, will honor the most freaky checks you can draw up. In such monkey busi ness, though, I won't encourage you." From the Chicago Tribune. The peacock heard the nightingale singing. "That seems eaay to do," said the big bird. I'll see If I can't sing as well aa that" At the dlsmsl squawk that followed a moment later every living thing within bearing distance Bed In terror. iCureee on my fatal gift of beauty"' exclaimed tha peacock. "Why wasn't I made plain, like all the great mu sicians!" Lewis and CJarkJ December 7. The wind atlll contin ued from the northwest and tka day la very cold. Shahaks, the chief of the lower village, came to apprise us that the buffalo were near, and that his peo ple were walUng for ua to Join them In tha chase. Captain Clark, with 15 men. went out snd found the Indiana engaged in killing tha buffalo. The hunters, on horseback and armed with bow and arrows, encircled the herd and gradually drove them into a plain or an open place lit for the movement of horaea; than they ride In. among tbam and, singling out a buffalo, a female being preferred, go as eloae as possible and wound her, with arrows till they think they have given the mortal stroke, when they pursue another tUl the quiver la exhausted. If, which rarely happens, the wounded buffalo attache the hunter, he evadea hla blow by the agility of hla horae, which la trained for the combat with great dexterity. When they have killed the requisite number they collect their game and the aquaws and attendants come up from tha rear and akin and dress the animals. Cap tain Clark killed 10 buffalo, of which five only were brought to the fort, the rest, which could not be conveyed home, being seised by the Indians, among whom the ouatom la that whenever a buffalo la found dead without an arrow or any particular mark, he la the prop erty. of the finder, ao that often a hunter secures scarcely any of tha game he kUla if the arrow happens to fall off; whatever la left out at night falla to the ahara of the wolves, who are the con stant and numerous attendants of the buffalo. The river cloaed opposite tha fort last night, an Inch and a half In thick ness. In the morning the thermometer stood at one degree below aero. Three men were badly frostbitten in conse quence of their exposure. JaXBOTSZOXTT SW SOUTM AT AX OA. "After the war" In South Africa haa meant reconstruction of an emphatic ally progressive sort, and. In no direc tion perhaps more than In electricity. All towns with more than 1.000 inhabi tants either have or are arranging for eleeirlcal plants, overhead lines being used freely, so that the smallest town can get an electric supply. Johannes burg haa recently plaoed order with English firms for 11.700,000 worth of electrical apparatus and Is supplied by an overhead Una carried 11 miles from Brakpan at a pressure of 12,000 volts. The different ports are adding to their dock facilities aa rapidly aa possible and In many caaea adopt elec tric, cranes and trsnaporters. The de velopment of mining enterprises In the Rand and Rhodesia promises big de mands for electrical apparatus to be in stalled in large central atationa. Rapid progress in electrlo haulage la expected. Telegraphic and telephone mattera are humming and new Unas are being in stalled In the territories recently an nexed. The telephone systsms of the older towns are being remodeled after the latest Ideas and trunk Unas are be ing ran which will put Johanneaburg In connection with the coast towns. MOT PITCH Dustlessness Is the new watchword for good roads, and dustlesaness is not only an ambition, but an accomplishment on some European highways which are not duatlaaa by nature, but duatleaa through the nature of hot tar or hot pitch. It appears that ordinary dirt roads when properly prepared and sub jected to the application of hot pitch can be made prdJvttcally duetless. and In many respects as good as macadam or asphalt streets at about a fraction of the cost. The hot dry summer months of July, August and September are the best time for applying the pitch since It must be done when the road surface la perfectly dry. The pitch Is heated to a temperature of from 140 to 10 de grees F , and not only plastered over the road surface but thoroughly worked Into It. It Is poured Into the center of the roadway and worked energetically over the surface and Into It by means of stiff brooms. This leavee a rough, untidy aspect which vanishes shortly after traffic has begun. For a long time thereafter wear la . Imperceptible, and the application preserves the roadbed from deterioration. TAB The pole star is really the most Impor tant of the .stars In the sky. It marks the north at all times. It alone la fixed In the heavens. All the other stars seem to swing around It once In twenty-four hours. d Rut the pole stsr of Polaris Is not a very bright one, and It would be hard to Identify but for the help of the so-called pointers In the Big Dipper or Greet Bear. The outer lim of the dipper points nearly to Polaris, at a distance equal to three times the space that' separatee the two stars of the dipper s outer side. Vari ous Indians caU the pole star the "home stsr" and "the star that never moves," and the dipper they call the "broken back." The Great Bear la also to be remem bered as the pointers for another reason. It lr the hour hand of the woodman's clock. It goes once around the north star in about 24 hours, ths reverse way or the hands of a watch that Is. It goes the aame way aa the aun and for the same reason that It is the earth that Is going and leaving them behind. AST The secretary bird Is a South African species, though It is found as far north as Abyssinia. It builds Its huge nest of sticks In low bushes, or tangled under brush. While sitting the female secre tary Is fed by her mate. The young ma ture In strength very slowly, seldom leaving the nest till six months old. The secretary bird differs from the other members of the hawk tribe In its exceedingly long legs It is a bird of prey, feeding on insects, small animals end reptiles, snakes being Its favorite food Theas reptiles are often of the most venomous kind; but of them the secretary feels no fear, attacking them with Us great and powerful wings and beating them to helplessness, after which It swallows ths victims whole and head foremost owing to Ua value as a snake eater, the secretary waa carried In great num bers to Martinique to help destroy the poisonous snakes that overrun that Island. 1 J ST MIS or TTTAXJTT OL 8. Marden In Success. Debt Is a great force-waster, because try few men or women can be heavily In debt without worrying or being anx ious. If you are so deeply Involved that It Is Impossible to extricate yourself without going through bankruptcy, then take your bitter medicine at once, and start again. Pay your debt In full af terward, when you are able. Get rid of alK vitality-sappers. If you hava taken an unfortunate step, retrace It If vuii can. Never allow "what Is dead and should he buried to keep bfthblng up and draining nfr ytmr lire capital In worry or valh regreta. Spread of the English Language The English language la spoken to day by 135.000.000 of people. Three hundred years ago, in the time of Queen Elisabeth, the language waa spoken by about 1,000.000 people, nearly all of whom lived In the British isles. It waa about thla time that England began her colonisation to which the great epread of the tongue la mainly attributed. , The principal languagea which enter Into competition with English, and which are spoken by the greateat num ber of people leaving out such lan guagea aa Chinese or Hlndoostanee are. In order, French, Spanish, Russian and German. French la practically sta tionary aa regards the number of ad herents snd Is distinctly on ths decline. It Is no longer the universal language of diplomacy and commerce; In both re spects It had to give way to English. Spanish. Ilka English, la now larsrelr spoken on the American continent, and. like it also, owea Us wide distribution to the x olonlathg genius of Its speakers. There Ire those who see in It a formid able rival to the' English, and If Portuguese, which Is practically a branch of Spanish. Is Included, then the twin languages dispose of a territory even greater than the English, and wtth greater room for expansion, and are spoken by a population of not leaa than 70,000,000. Strange aa It may seem, Spaniards and Portuguaae have never been able to make any headway In colder latitudes. In South America, where nearly the whole of that continent la occupied by the deacendanta of the Spanish and Portuguese, the temperate regions to ward the south have never been properly colonised by them. Patagonia and north ern Chili, which possesses almost an Eng lish climate, have little attraction for' the natives of southern Europe. Both Germans and Russians are Increaaing rapidly In point of numbers, though the latter language has had but little Influ ence on weatern clvfllaatlon. Thla may be owing to the apathy of the Ruaalans themselves, who are perhaps the best linguists in the world and are often mors at home In French. German, or English than In the language of their own country. This le particularly true of the upper claaaea Though the English In thetr colonies and offshoots have abaorbed millions of aliens there le no record of any body of English speakers becoming absorbed by any other race. In the United States there are millions of Germane who have become merged with the English in a single generation. Even Ve names are loat. Thua Schmidt becomes Smith, MuUer Miller, and the children In many caaea1 do not understand the father's language. In Florida, California, Texaa and other states French and Spanlah-speak-tng Battlement have become Anglicised. It le . otherwise in Casada There the French-speaking- population la Increas ing faster than the English. Not that the French element absorbs the Eng Uah, but rather that It crowds U out In other parts of the world besides Canada the French language has shown considerable vitality and powers of re slstence. bat nowhere Is It absorbed eo rapidly aa other European languagea by the Anglo-Saxon. In Egypt the French language waa all-powerful In official and commercial circles some 10 or II years ago, but hers it also haa lost ground before the English, owing to the occupation of the country by the British and to the Increase of British Influence In the administration of the Suea canal. Asks American Physician to Berries la India. Klttannlng, Pa., Cor. New Tork Times. Dr. C A. Fowler of thla place haa re turned from St. Louie mystified still, but covered with presents. Ha has also promised to remove to India Within a year to become private physician to Rajah Tips Sahib, a dignitary of whoee existence Dr. Fowler waa In complete Ignorance until some days ago, when he was confronted with the rajah's courier in St. Louis. Eleven years ago, while In Chicago at tending the world's fair. Dr. Fowler was Instrumental In saving the foot of a young foreigner who had been tram pled on by a camel. The lad, who ap peared to be a Hindoo, preeeed on the physician a medal and took ia axohange the physician's card. Some weeks ago Dr. Fowler received a copy of a weatern paper, in which ap peared an advertisement asking him to call at the Indian embassy at St Louis, bringing with him a medal which had been given him for services at Chicago In 1111 by a young native of India. The doctor hunted up his medal and hurried to St Louis. There he received presents from the Rajah Tips Sahib, who, it seems, wss the lad whose foot he had saved at Chi cago. The Hindoo dignitary hoped that the American doctor would accept hla poor presents and would come to India to live aa his private physician. The preaenta are worth about 110,000. Dr. Fowler wil go to India on April 1. food ov id Airs room. The every day man on an everyday diet, dlgesta and uses about 94 per cent of the material and about 11 per cent of the energy of his food So Prof. At water says to the British aasoclatlon He also aaya the Idea of the need of large amounts of meat all the way through la often exaggerated, and that muscular laborers need more food thsn sedentary workers. Mental labor differs from muscular labor In requiting much less material and energy for lte eupport. In general, people with sedentary oecn patlone hava the larger and those whoee labor is manual the smaller Incomes Thus it comes about that the well to do are often overfed and ths poor under fed. In many cases the food of the poor le Inadequate for normal nourishment and must remain eo until they have larger Incomes or cheaper food. Half the poor man'e money is epent on food and it Is worst spent In the market. Little attention Is given to the relation beween the real nutritive value of food and lte coat. His la the worst cooked food and the worst served food snd lllus trates the old writings that "To him that hath shall be given, and from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." Oostuer Than nhaaipagna Although champagne la called the "wealthy water," there are few hotels in the country where one can pay more than 14 a quart for It, while, on the other hand there are hundreds of placoe where Burgundy le sold as high as 111 a quart. At one hotel the menu advertises a special brand of thla fine wine for 128 a bottle. There are any number of Rhine wines which cost above 11. and there Is a big demand for them. Chain pagne does not improve with age aa the other wines do and this probably ac counts for the difference.