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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1904)
Editorial Page of Tft Journal IAY, DECEMBER 1, 1904. PORTLAND. OREGON. THE OREGON DAILY AN C S. JACK SON Published every evening except CHANGED CONDITIONS IN EASTERN OREGON. THERE IS no more prosperous section of country in the United States than eastern Oregon. And it might probably be added that the most pros perous portion of that region, all things considered. Is it agricultural districts the farming portions of Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Morrow, Unfatilla, Union and Baker counties. A wonderful and exceedingly gratifying change has trken place in tht region since about 15 years ago, or perhaps a little less, as many who lived there then will remember, some of them with a momentary shudder at the trying experiences of that time, followed by a feel ing of contentment and satisfaction at present pros perity and future prospects. At the time alluded to both wheat and wool were low, and railroad rates were much higher than now. With good crops fanners on good land could not make much. And then there came several hard years in succession. One or two years the seasons were, exceedingly dry, and newcomers supposed they were ordinary seasons in that region. Another year or two, when the prospect late in ,. the spring was good for a wheat crop, a hot north wind I cooked it in its milk. Frosts in winter seemed un I .....oil., m,i,,irn atwMit thai time. On the best lands unu.11; mwvtuivii. - - - - - fair crops were raised, in spite of all these climatic dis couragements, but on lands not so good, but where great crops have been raised for years past, not enough in many instances could be harvested to pay the cost of raking the crops. Many disheartened new farmers moved away in disgust Many others would have gone if they could. It was a dismal, chilling period for the wheat growers. The sheen and cattle men also fared hardly They had not yet become accustomed to feed against a hard winter, and tne hard winters came. Stock perished by tens of thousands. And what were saved were scarcely, worth what they had cost. Wool had to be hauled far, and sold cheaply. in Chicaero or Omaha were driven overland most of the wav. The country, was well-nigh "broke." The banks, narticularlv one at Pendleton, stood stockmen and farmers nobly, and risked much, to tide them over. Otherwise hundreds of them in thesa coun ties would have been forced to five up, who thus aided weathered the storm and are now well Propitious years followed, one after times there has been damage by drouth or trost or wind or hail, but when the harvest time comes around the damage is found to be comparatively slight. There has not been since such a series of discouraging years in that region. One is a little better than another, but all, since about 1800, have on the whole been good. Land that then was abandoned as worthless is now producing big ciops. and lands, in Morrow and Gilliam counties espec ially, that no one would then have thought of farming at all, are turning off from 30 to 35 bushels an acre of first class wheat. And the best lands, that produced well then, have gone on producing ever since, and never bet ter than now. That soil is inexhaustible. Almost coincidently with better seasons came better prices. Wheat has. ever since sold at a paying price, if a man had a good farm, and some years, as this year, a big crop of wheat yielded a very large profit. The price of wool also rose, and while fluctuating somewhat, the experienced and careful sheepmen have had a long pe riod of fair prosperity. Cattle are low now, but they, too, have formed the basis of a profitable industry. While the range has necessarily decreased, stockmen have raised more feed, especially alfalfa, and even the agricultural counties of eastern Oregon will always re main a good stock country. New lands have been opened up to wheat raising, and farmers have improved their methods. Dairying and fruit raising have also be come profitable industries in many localities. Business conditions have immensely improved in every respect. The banks are overflowing with deposits. Farmers and stockmen are usually out of debt, and many of them have thousands of dollars ahead. It was a dark, chilly, gloomy time in portions of that region 14 or 15 years slo. Now the sun of prosperity shines brightly over all. It should be added that while all this is true the dif ference in the seasons during a few years about the time mentioned and those since is probably partly imag inary. When a man has his land in good shape and his crop well put in, has good comfortable buildings and a bank account; or when one has big stacks of alfalfa for winter feed and his stock is already sleek and fat, and he has the proceeds of last year's sales deposited, the hard winter and the dry summer haa slight terror for him ss compared with the time when an unusually un propitious season meant dire disaster and as it seemed "ruin. The' farmers and stockmen of eastern Oregon could almost smile at a barren year now, when a ' "n years ago or so it would have been the last stra. A broke their backs. DEMAND FOR A GREAT IF IT IS a definitely settled policy of the government thst we should and must have a big navy; if it be con cluded beyond debate that a great navy makes for peace and is a good investment, and that we should have one in proportion to our site and importance as a na tion and a world power, then the government can gcarcely progress too rapidly in the desired direction. The cost of such a navy is great, but we are a nation that can stand the cost. If we must have it, and this stems to be the popular as well as the official opinion, go right at it and keep at'it until we are second only to Great Britain, or until we can rival that nation. We can build as big battleships, and build them faster, than she can. ! "v In 1801, the total expenditures upon the navy were From the Naw York World. "" President Roosevelt may not be slow to anger but he Is plenteous In merry. He haa modified the ukase against the Boaton Herald. Hereafter our cultured contemporary will be permitted to print the weather report- and other "routine news" of the federal government. While there la no excuse for printing fibs about the president's children or anybody elae's children, it Is as well that the edict haa been modified. After all, Mr. Roosevelt doea not own thai. news. In aplte of a popular plurality of 2,t.o0. The news Is not Ma per sonal property. It Is not even a hand some trinket, like the croaa of the Le gion or Honor, to be conferred for dis tinguished service The Herald has been punished enough. All the world now understands that It was capable of believing that a 10-year old boy would pull feathers out of a turkey gobbler's tall. Everybody knowa that a boy would do nothing of the kind, Least of all a president's son. Nobles oblige. We are still wondering, however, what Would havs descended upon our Boeton friend If It had ventured to Insinuate that one of the president's boys tied a tin eea to an alley dogs tall or heaved INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED BY JOURNAL PUBLISHING CO. Sunday i and every Sunday morning at street!, Portland, Oregon. OFFICIAL PAPER OF THS CITY OF PORTLAND putting up sufficient It HAS HERETOFORE been our privilege not to say our pltasura to call attention to the feverish recklessness with which the esteemed Oregonian and the scarcely less esteemed Telegram lavish money in the effort to get the news. We have at various times called attention to the prodigal expenditures for Wash ington news made by our morning contemporary and endeavored to show it how it could savt thousands a month in telegraph tolls were it to utilise the informa tion which it could lay its hand on in Portland rather than to go to the trouble and expense of getting it by wire from Washington. We have noted the fact that cer tnin editorial utterances of the Oregonian itself are promptly followed up by specisl telegrams embodying the same utterances, in language less powerful, it is true, but still embracing the ideas, and which therefore might much less expensively have been done at home. In the same line we desire to call attention to the fact that on Thursday evening, December 8, one of The Jour nal's bright young men turned in an article covering the matter of millions of expenditure by the Harriman lines during the coming year. It was there made plain that Oregon was to largely profit by the expenditures not only in betterments but in cars and new and heavy lo comotives. At that time the news was really news and happened to be entirely true. It waa ignored by our able contemporary which waited until this morning and then went to the great expense of having the information specially sent it by telegraph from Chicago. The evening Offshoot of the Oregonian is constantly guilty of similar extravagances. In its bulging columns of Pacific coast news it publishes masses of matter which appears to have reached it by telegraph when, if it were so minded, it might have clipped the same stuff from its hebdomenal exchanges which in the meantime have reached its table through the slower, but at the same time quite satisfactory, medium of the mails. In the same line a kind friend has called our attention to the' fact that seven days after the receipt in Portland of a copy of the London Times' weekly edition, the Tele gram went to the almost unpardonable extravagance of having a Times article on the decrease of the Irish pop ulation cabled from London to Portland. This is a pace which makes an ordinary man giddy. It shows an utter heedlessness of expense that roust be demoralizing to the weekly papers of the state which get the same news by msil. It sets a bad example, too, for while no paper should count the cost in getting the news most of them will content themselves with using what is at hand rather than go to what they perhaps unjustly deem the unwarranted extravagance of paying telegraph tolls from distant quarters on matter already in their own offices. Sheep marketed by the unfortunate - to - do. another. Some THAT THERE is a- great deal of needless and costly circumlocution in judicial proceedings, both civil and criminal, is clearly apparent to laymen, and has been often remarked. It is no guess work or prejudice with them, cither, but a common sense certainty. The cases now on trial in the federal court in this city furnish an illustration, though only a mild one, of this fact. The attorneys for several de fendants are asking for an acquittal on the ground that they have already been tried on the same charges. This may not be strictly the case; that is for the court to say; and if any one is to be tried for forgery, that is of course NAVY. a ditterent ottense no need of two or three conspiracy trials of the same persons becsuse the lands involved be in different town ships. We are not criticising the court or the district attorney at all, for they are only following precedents and custom, if not specific statutes; but what we are shooting at is those that through these tions and formal tape impose a heavy and entirely unneceasary burden upon taxpayers, and she got and keeps a atone at a stray eat Nothing less than the fires of heaven. Of that we are sure. A Boosevelt nasal. From the Minneapolis Tribune A trip to Europe and an automobile are offered to any subscriber who will solve the Roosevelt matrimonial prob lem. Miss Eleanor Roosevelt, daughter of Eliot Roosevelt, and niece of Frank lin Roosevelt, is to marry the son of Mrs. James Roosevelt, who is a half brother to J. Roosevelt, and whose half niece. Mies Helen Boosevelt, married a nephew of Prealdent Boosevelt. Theaa facta being as they are, hew much did Great-grandfather Roosevelt get for cordwoodT From the Chicago News. , Brown St 111 troubled with rheum attain 7 Oreen Tea. Brown Why don't you go to that doc tor who advertises to heal by touch t Oreen I did. Brown Did he do you any good? Oreen Oh, yes: he did me and he did me geed. He touched me for 125 and thereby healed himself. JOURNAL JNO. P. CARROLL The Journal Building, Fifth and Yamhill $?6,ii.1,ooo; in 1808 they were $68,800,000, and they have increased steadily until during 1902, and also in 1003, they exceeded $80,000,000. This is more than is ex pended by any other nation on its navy except Great Britain, which will have expended this year about $175. 000000. Germany's navy will cost for 1904 about $55, 000,000, and France's $60,000,000. We are rapidly over taking and passing those powers, as well as all others, except England. There is not one chance in a hundred, perhaps not one in a thousand, that we will ever be at war again with Great Britain, hence in a few years, if not already, Great Britain and the United States could whip the whole world besides on the seas. But in case of a war with Germany, say, Great Britain might remain neutral, while Germany might have allies. And then there is one chance out of very many that we might have to fight again. At least so the politicians argue, and say that the cheapest way tp make sure of peace is to have a tremendous big navy. Perhapa so, though we think the time is coming when the civilised nations of the world will not need navies to preserve peace. The acquisition' of the Philippine islands renders it necessary to greatly increase and in fact practically to dcuble our navy. Accepting the common theory as to navies, we will need a vary large fleet almost constantly at or within easy reach of the Asiatic station. The- president wants a big navy, the secretary of the navy of course echoes the president's desire, the poli ticians all follow suit, and the people don't seem to com plain about the cost; so go ahead and make a navy that in case of need, can even lick John Bull's. EXTRAVAGANCE RUN RIOT. JUDICIAL CIRCUMLOCUTION. trom conspiracy; dui mere snotua oe precedents, customs and statutes, tedious circumlocutions and repeti winding and unwinding of judicial red- often cause justice to wonder how her name. TOW oonriuii. From ths Chicago Tribune. Rockefeller Is the name of an Illi nois village, ths only town, city, ham let or cross roads In ths United States that beara the name of the Standard Oil king, as he asked for the favor. The place la just across ths township tins from where Uncle Sam haa deter mined to build a naval training school It Is the scene of a brave attempt of a Chicago school teacher to estahllah a great educational Institution that ahe expected aoma day would become as big as the University of Chicago la today. The nam was given to the town in the hope that It would lend aid to both town and school, but it afforded none. Mow XI Ws From the Chicago News. The Man Tour daughter telephoned me to call and fix your plan. Her Father What's the matter with Hi The Man One of the strings Is broken. Her Father What will It cost to re pair the broken string T The Man Two dollars. Hsr Father Well, hare's U Break the rest of em. m ---., 1 Small Ckange - What a pair Ton Lawson and Mr Chadwlck would have mad. PeeslMy murderer- Ouglellmo and William- may be "worked off next year. Crank Baker ! back eaat conferring with Roosevelt. Cortelyou, et al. Look out, boys. Flva warda In the proposed new city of Estacada. And enough voters to fill the offices. Mrs Chadwlck borrowed a good deal of money, but the trouble came along without borrowing. Perhapa Or. Chadwlck would be justi fied In remaining In Europe and hanging on to hla purae. It seems the laat state of that sewer. like a certain scriptural character, la worse than the first. Senator Tom Piatt thinks Uncls Chaunoey Depew la a model senator. No doubt; a good one, then, to retire. Men era will Ins to so ball for Mra. Chadwlck, says Attorney Carpenter, but rear tne notoriety. bo may are not willing. The gamblers are running into trou ble all over Oregon. This state is tired of them, unless they change their occu pation. A Chicago doctor with four front names wants lltf.tSO for attending a deceased woman. Let' a not be cocksure he didn't earn it A press dispatch reports that the fire of another civil war are breaking out In Guatemala. Isn't there a Roose vslt fire department down there? The greatest hog at the Lewi and Clark fair will be an object of interest but the greatest atreet car hog. when the rush Is on. will be Indistinguishable among so many big ones. Profeaaor Wagner charges 8800 per evening to deliver hla lecture on "The Simple Life." On these term ha can afford to live any kind of a life he wants to even a double life. If Mrs. Chadwlck could get a million or ao by having Carnegie's nam at tached to notes, now many millions might one obtain from bankers, like wnat s-tneir-namea ny putting j. d. k. a nam to a few notes? A strange if small Item of news comes from Stanford university, that a Wash ington county boy Is winning honors there, and they are mentioned, and not a word aald about football or any other game or athletic a port. He must be an old-faahloned youth. Woodburn Independent If Captain Ormsby winked at certain pro seeding he did so at ths request of ths Mitchell ring, whose tool , he was. but It is hard to believe that he was actively engaged in any wrongdoing A man named Fayerweathar died In New York 14 years ago and left moat of his estate, amounting to about St. 000.- 000, to various rolleges. Ths contest case has just finally ended, the will being sustained by the United States supreme court. This Is speedy work only 14 years over a tt.000,009 estate. But perhaps there was nothing left The Portland Journal Inquires what the legislature Is going to do about the shamefully axoesslv salaries of certain state officials T Well, why don't you read the different atata platforms and find out what will be done? Salem Statesman. O, platforms be Dlngleyed. Who ever knew your party, or any other for that matter, to perform according to platform T Oregon Sidelights Mi-Minn vllle may have a dog show. Rend young man are organising a football team. The Moro Observer calls It the Pew- terware case. Now HUlsboro will have muslo (7). It has a woman'a band. Some real estate In Bend has doubled In valu In four months. Sllverton's city council has ordained cloaad saloons on Sunday. Newberg business man are trying to organise a commercial club. flood duck shooting now In Willam ette valley lakes and atreams. Why don't It ralnT Pendleton Oregonian. It do, down here. East Irrigation near Summervllle, Union county, produces Immense crops. Medford is half dry, half wet erybody can be accommodated, perhapa nobody la satisfied. Ev Tet Over 10 carloada of produce were shipped from Haines In November hay, grain, flour, lumber and granite. Salem papers Insist that Salem la go ing to grow a whole lot. right slong and begin right away. All sight, go it There are now prospects for the es tablishment of another electric power plant en Rock croak, west of Haines, next season. The Main street of Klamath Fall Is being much Improved by being widened, and the houses ars being raised and new sidewalks built. Five people, four of them of one fam ily, are reported to have killed 487 ducka, mostly mallards. In a grain-fed lake in Linn county laat Tuesday. A Sclo woman waa so overcome with Joy at the unexpected arrival of a daughter from the east that ah swooned and in a few moments was deed. Yamhill, wake up; you can't grow and prosper on your ancient fame. Oregon I moving; step along at or near the head of the procession, old Yamhill, or th world will think you have bn overrated. Kamela haa experienced as cold weather during the past week as at any time laat winter, the thermometer re cording a low a sight below sero. There haa been no snow and th weather I pleasant If one likes it Potatoea weighing four pounds and upward In different parts of Oregon are becoming too numerous to mention In dividually. But housekeeper Jtnow that of most potatoes thsy bay It takes a large number to weigh four pounds. Easil omen DupcM en (By D Lancay Nlcoll, Former DItrlot Attorney of New York City.) In the cas of Mrs Lroy 8. Chadwlck nie punu iiihi nas cauaea tne moat wiae spread Interest I th euse with which ha, an elderly woman without physical charms, was sble to borrow vast sums of money from shrewd old financiers whoae experience ahould have made, t hern wtav. x tie seciei 01 una uduivaV on ner part is a mystery which haa been the absorbing topic of discussion for a week. Nona la more deeply Interested In thla phase of the extraordinary caae than De l.umey Nlcoll, whoae years as district sttorney and asslatant district attorney, to aay nothing of hla experience as coun sel In criminal caaea, have nude him an expert Judge of the method of those upon whoa tranaactlona there la a shadow, haa watched th development with close attention. A World reporter aakad him yeaterday: How Is It possible for a woman such as Mrs. Chadwlck to Induce keen old bankers to Isnd her hundreds of thou sands of dollars without security" "A woman," replied Mr. Nlcoll, "ap peals to a man's sentiment. Ths very faet of a woman propoalng extraordinary financial schemes to a shrewd man of business appeals to him when such a suggestion from a man would not even lntereat him. A man, no matter how ex perienced, does not expect duplicity In a woman, and hla aantimant Is awakened when ah asks blm for hla aid." "But is thla the case when th woman Is of an age that precludes th possi bility of tender amotions blinding th man's Judgment T" My experience haa led me to suspect that whan an old or unattractive woman succeeds In wheedling large sums of money out of clever business men. there Is almost always another and a prettier or 'younger woman behind the scenes I do not aay it Is so in this case, for so far as I have seen there haa bean no hint of such a thing; but If I were a prosecuting officer Investigating a case similar to this, the first thing I should try to find would- be a young woman one who could be used as a decoy. "If, as has been reported, Mrs. Chad wlck appealed to the men simply through their cupidity, and there waa no young woman lp the case, how would you ex plain her powerT" "She must be a woman of extraordl-4 nary buatnesa ability," replied Mr. Nlc oll. "Hera la evidently an exceptional cas. Most woman have no head for business at all; but she. It la certain, Is a keen financier, able to conceive and carry into execution gigantic schemes This very fact would enable her to win th confidence and reach th heart of a hard-headed old banker or capitalist. Man of that sort admire such qualities In women, for tby are ao totally unex pected. They become Interested, then perhaps fascinated, by her great finan cial ideas, and at laat they are easily duped. "When woman, the ministering angel, stoops to deception In financial affairs, men are taken off thslr guard." "Are women more skillful deceivers than men?" put In th World reporter. "When they are deceivers they are cleverer at It than men," replied Mr. Nlcoll, smiling, as he walked about th room. - "Thy are certainly clvrr at deceiving man, Th instances of this are too numerous to recite In detail, but any man experienced In criminal law knowa how easily a clsver woman can pull th wool over th eyes of th clev erest of men. For ahe can arouse his sentiment, and, one this is aroused, she la hla master. No man knows 'this bet ter trutn th lawyer. You get a clever woman on th witness-stand, and her testimony, even If you know it to be absolutely falae. Is far harder to break down than a man's under the same cir cumstances. Th cros-xamtner must use finesse In dealing with hsr, when with a man he can go at him with a club. She haa the sentimental sympathy of the Jurors, whether she be oldyor young, ugly or handsome. A tear, .a smile, will soften th hardest of hearth, and whan a woman goes to a man and asks a favor h 1 always predisposed to grant it Just because she Is a woman and he Is a man. And when ah la a woman of exceptional talents he la all the more ready to help her. This un doubtedly explains Mrs. Chadwlck pow er, unless It should turn out thst there was another woman used as a lure, and who ha been carefully kept In the back ground.'' PACB TUT BgSJ From the New York World. In New York and moat 'of the large centers of wealth there ha been an alarming Increase of desth from organic heart-trouble and Brlghfs disease This need not worry the comparatively poor to any great extent, aaya the Bridgeport Post, for these are aristo cratic ailment. Bright' disease comes along with a rapid existence and late hours and rich feeding and win. In 1S71, In New York City, the two diseases mentioned killed 17. SS persons out of vry 10,000 of th population. Naw York wa a little alow It year ago. It had only begun to learn how to burn up money. The rich did the best they knew how then, and were Willing to learn more. . The pace quickened, and so did th death rat. You can't fool th old man with th scythe You cannot sneak lata hour and highball and S1.S0O dinners In on him. and so In 1888 th death had jumped to J.SSI from heart disease and Bright' dlseaae, or 21.91 peraona In every lO.eoo. In 1808 th total deaths from th cause named wr 6,947, and th number of person per 10.000, 27.20. The remedy la ane living. That doesn't mean that one can begin living sanely after h has sowed wild oats for a quarter of a century. The cropa put In must be harvested. It means sane living from childhood up. A look at the vital statistics quoted ought to make the average poor man who has robust health fairly well satisfied with his con dition. A SPOT AI, TaUruhBVBB KOVSB. At Msrlborough house the plate room contains what la probably the most valuable collection of treasures In any private house In England. Th room la under ground and lighted by electricity, the walla being lined by bookcasea con taining many rar volumes presented to King Edward and th Prlne of Wale from time to time, forming a valuable library. In big iron aafca In th center of th room I stored away a wonderful collection of gold and silver plate, including two enormous silver pil grim mottle presented by Alexander III of Runla to King Edward, and a priceless embossed gold shield, which was a present to th sovereign from a number of Indian prince. Monotonous I-ondon maw warn. Prom th St. Jamea' Oasett. The "Saints" have no fewer than 397 treat named In their honor In London. There are 10( Church streets. SS Chapel streets. King streets, 100 Queen streets and narly aa many High streets If a hrtter ware addreaaed to on of these without further definition It would take some months before It could reach th address, W Tne Play "I know how to lov better than know how to write!" This I th trueat Una In Florence Roberts' conception Of th character of In which ah mad her reappear ,nc at ,h. Marque laat night. Ant having Invited H herself, now must com th Inevitable comparison. What la true of her Tea, compared with Mra. Flake's, la true of her Zaaa, compared with Mra. Carter s She may lack aoma of th technical awing and turns of acting that belong to th original, but Mlsa Roberts compels tho greater avmnathv She haa certain power which I defined as "heart Her Zaaa Is never revolting. You never feel sorry for Dufresne never for 11 or ment. Zaaa la not the covetous serpent try ing to coll itself about a fairly respect able man. aa In Mra. carter wierpre tattoo. Indeed, the auditor flnda himself wlshlne that there were ao obstacle to the un-platonto love of the concert hall singer and her married lover. But when that obstacle finally cornea Into view Zaaa, la cheered tor quitting her Du fresne coldly at the atage entrance of th theatre to which hla deceptlun haa forced her to return. . Of the production of "Zaaa" laat night too much cannot be said In prelaa. Th flrat set the acene behind the acanes waa accomplished with extraordinary kill by th company. In her dressing room Zaaa la making up, exactly a Florence Roberts make up In th real dressing room, while th Jealous per former, th stage manager, th "John lea," the houaa manager, the low com edian, th thunder sheet and lightning traps are all combined In a show of realism which is Intensely Interesting to- th average playgoer who haa not watched a performance from behind. Each of the five acta is worked out just as carefully, and the result la a Pr formance full worthy of th star. Second honors were won laat night by Oeorgle Woodthorpe, as th tippling Aunt Rosa. She had already established herself aa a splendid character actress but this particular role seemed to ault her best of all. She did not exaggerate She was always natural as the half In toxicated, catering old dame, with both yea out for money and liquor. Mr. Henderson, who played Dufresne, Is a good actor, but in thla bill th a tar aulte bedims the candle. He oould not rlaa to the climaxes with sufficient strength to make himself remembered, although at no tint waa Mr. Henderson 8 performance altogether poor. Cas cart, the alnglng partner, la played by William Yerance, whose conception 1 less after th Bowery than th orig inal and consequently more Intellectual. If much leas amusing. The Due De Brlssac th old "rounder," is well done by Gregory Badgers. Louise Royce is a capital Nathalie and Oiil Cooper, the remarkable child actress, doea a pretty bit In one act of the play. Zaxa" will be repeated tonight and, thanks to the management. Miss Roberts la with us all week. . - RACE WHITNEY. (F. W. Haskell. In December Engineering Magasina.) The large number of accidents on American railways Is attributable to a habit of carelessness which the train man cultivate with the connivance of their superiors. The operating rules, aaya the writer, sre sufficient to pre vent nearly every accident and the rec ord of late haa been appalling but. they are habitually disregarded. Part of Mr. Haskell's article is quoted below: Olvan a aoltd roadbed, heavy rails, strong equipment proper signals and almost perfect operating rules, why do we have the almost dally murder of paaenger from preventable accident 7 Becauae the admirable rules for .th government of employe are habitually disregarded. Wa are prona to apeak with some thing like contempt of the average Eng lishman's blind slavlshn to "regula tions," apd to compare It to its disad vantage with our superior fashion of disregarding fixed rules and using In dividual intelligence. But we, with our quicker Intellect, kill our passengers, while the dull-witted" Englishman car ries his In safety. A train is unexpectedly stopped between stations. Th rules provide that a flagman muat go back a Vry considerable distance It la snowing. A long tramp means wet feet. Ths flagman reasons: "We will be here only a few seconds anyway. I will be called In before I can get back to my post, and then the train will be delayed while I am running back to it beside, the block signal will' hold back any following train." Many roads having installed a perfect system of block signals destroy Its entire effectiveness by establishing the "permissive block" or "going ahead under green." By thla ayatem a follow ing train Is given discretionary power to run into a block already occupied. Thla permission Is alwaya coupled With th injunction that the engineer must use caution, and "at all times have his train under perfect control." But in actual operation "caution" usually means not exceeding the maximum poaalble speed of the engine. I once atood by the aid of a busy line with th signal engineer of th road. This line had a complete Installa tion of block signals. We watched a dosen heavy freighta rush by at 10 miles an hour, with not a hundred yards of daylight separating any , two of them. I expreaaed surprise at the recklea dis regard of signals, and th officer said: "Freighta run regardless of th block. We couldn't get them over the road If we kept them a block apart" In th rear-end collision last year on th Central of New Jersey the engineer of the following train disregarded the red block, the waving lanterna of two flagmen, and the tall lights of the first train. Into which he plunged. Id a butting collision a few months ago In Michigan the engineers of the opposing trains saw each other's head lights on a atralght track for four rnilea. Every added mechanical devlee for the protection of trains (short of on which In spite of th effort of the trainmen would automatically stop and hold a train) is an added eouree of dan ger, until every man conneeted with the train service is drilled to the point thst he would murder his' mother in cold blood as soon a he would disregard an order or a signal. Xlltnota' Tonus- Oonarre Five of th recently elected congress man from Illinois are to year and younger. Their ages are aa follow: Anthony Mlchalek. St year old; Frank L. Dickson, ft year old; Charles 8. Wharton, It years old; Zeno 3. Rive. 80 years old. and Charles McOavln, the A same age. 1 wsMwassswasj rVnen Signals Are Useless l p Belinda and Her Christmas Presents From the Baltimore Ne era Belinda decided, aa long ago aa th flrat of September, that ah herself would make every Chrlatmaa present she guve this year. Hr resolution was taken because her funds were low and Christmas things are more or leaa ex pensive. Therefore, since he embroi ders better than anyone, and paints al most aa well aa Murlllo, and burns wood Ilk a kitchen stove aha felt that ah might aa well put these talents to some purpose. To this end she visited the shops and mad purchaaea of materials. She bought a canter-pleo to work for a young married friend who "certainly la good to her," and some fin white stuff to maks cuffs and collars for Edith, who wears mourning; a plate rack to decorate pyrographloally for Mabel, who la to wed in the spring, and some white plates to decorate with big gold mono grams for a fruit' aat for another friend. "These," said Belinda, surveying them whan she got them boms, "will furnish occupation for my Idle hand for quit two mcntha. At th end pf that time I will probably have received a check from Unci Robert, and will be able to buy the remainder of my gifts." The check from Uncle Robert Is a pet delusion Of Belinda'. She always begins ba believe It is coming whenever he wishes to buy something on credit and her conscience suggests th ques tion, "Where will you get th money to pay for this?" It la true that Unci Robert did once, la a sudden burst Of generosity, send her a oheck (It waa for ll.sO), but It haa kept her poor ever since, for ahe la alwaya remembering It and spending the anticipated one. She undertook the working of the cen terpiece first and ahe embroiders ao rapidly and ao beautifully, too. that It was finished In something less than two weeks. It was an exquisitely pretty thing all American Beauty roses and open work and Belinda had Just se cured th box to put It In and th ribbon to tl It up, when In to her came one of her mother's friends. "What have you there that'a pretty. dear 7" she asked. Belinda took' out the center-piece. proudly, and showed It The frlend-of-her-motner (Imply went Into raptures when shs regarded It through her lorgnette. "Have ynu ever aeen anything more exquuiter ne raved. "Belinda, my child, I will give you $20 for It" ' Now. Belinda I only flesh and blood. and feminine flesh and blood at that, and aha closed the bargain before the visitor could speak again. She regarded thla windfall as good as 100 checks from Uncle Robert, Just aa one bird In the hand la worth 100 In the bush. Instead of a paltry two. She reaaoned that she could buy ..the young married friend a present with part of tne Z0, and apena the rest for other presents. After this she occupied herself with th euffa and collar. She hemstitched them daintily, and made the hem exactly the right width, and didn't have the col lar a mile too long aa the bought ones usually are and the results of her handiwork were so attractive when they had been put away In violet sachet powder and tied with violet ribbon out of deference to her friends mourning. that she felt a little pang at having to dedicate them to that young person. It waa exactly two days after she had tied them up that Belinda, going to the alums to do aoma mission Bun-day-school work, arrayed herself in a severe black suit It was vastly becom ing to hsr straight, slight figure, but It needed decoration. Perclval was to be there she had roped him In herself After meditating deeply for a moment. Belinda went up and got the ouffa and collar she bad mad for Edith and put one set on. They were intensely becom ing, and as she pinned on her hat It waa with ths consoling thought that at leaat she could make some mora In a fw day. Mabel s plate rack waa a lovely thing. It was burned with a design of grape leaves and clusters of th fruit and colored In th natural tints. Belinda showed it to everyone, with th greateet pride. Then, on of her friends marry ing suddenly and unexpectedly, ahe gave It to her for a wedding present Yesterday some one asked Belinda when she meant to begin the fruit plate, with their big monograms. "Never," replied the heroine of this story, with sudden vehemence. ' "Never, o long as I live, do I Intend to make another Chrlatmaa present Something alwaya happena ao that they don't go to the person they were Intended for at ail. On Chrlatma Bv I am going downtown with th check that I am sure Unci Robert will have sent me before then. and buy aomethlng for each of my inti mate friends. Then I know tne girt will not be diverted from tholr original purpoae." "But you have the 120 that you re ceived from th sal of your center piece, haven't your" "No." aald Belinda, alowly, "I haven't I bought a hat with that. But I feel quite sure that Unole Robert will send me a goodly sum beror the sttn, and with thla I mean to buy the 57 varieties of presents that it will be my pleasant duty to give to my relatives and friends." J Clark ewis an twmk., 1 3 T.aat nlwht waa clear and a very heavy froet covered the old now, the thermometer at sunrise Deing tin day. rne river rans. a or In SO year perhap than tO, If th present laws remain In effect and are rigidly executed the Chlneae popu lation of the United State will become practically extinct according to the view of W. S. Harwood in tne uecem ber World's Work. From 1190 to 1900 they fell away from 1U.77S to lit, 060. a decrease of nearly eight thousand, or mora than t per cent. In the fiscal year ending June 80, 190.1, more than four thousand voluntarily left the port of San Francisco for the land of their birth, the total deported and returning volun tarily being 6,080. A generation ago there were In San Francisco from thirty to forty thousand Chinaman. Th Chinese consul general there told me that counting men, women and children, there are now not 10,000. Th total number of Chlneae now In th United States Includes t,7t7 In Hawaii and 8,118 In Alaska, so that at the beginning of thla decennial period' there were living In the United States proper only 89,000. A generation ago there ware at least 160,000. Ths main adult population la male, Js unmarried, or at leaat wifeless In Amer ica, and la rapidly approaching old age. Thus by 1180 or 1140 the main Chinese Ufa la America will be extinct