PORTLAND. OREGON.
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THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
C. S. JACKSON
PUBLISHED BY JOURNAL PUBLISHING CO.
JNO. P. CAMOU.
Published every
except 6undy ) and every Sunday morning at The Journal Building, Fifth and Yamhill
treats, fortune, Oregon
OFFICIAL PAPER OF THE CITY OF PORTLAND
ELLIOTT AND THE BRIDGE MATTER.
-fMTY ENGINEER ELLIOTT i warmly defend-
m ing the contract he recommended between the
' city and the Pacific Construction company, for
additional work on Morrison Street bridge. Mr. hlliott
'i asked the executive board to let the work to the com-
t pany at the prices submitted, 'and Ms sanction of Secre-J
tary r. M. eutitrs recent statement is not unexpected.
Members of tin- special council committee and the
Taxpayers league who have been prosecuting impartial
investigations through one of the most eminent en
gineers of the northwest, and have this authority for the
allegations that an exceaaive charge has been made, are
j not perturbed by the city engineer s defense of his own
I work. But in making art answer, he is complicating
i matters. When- Secretary Butler answered Charles S.
.Bihler's report, explaining that the charge of $37,170 for
substituting steel stringers for wooden joists was not
I exorbitant he said: The actual weight of the steel in
I the stringers was considerably in excess of that assumed
' by him (Engineer Bihler), and we paid a higher price
than he shows. i
Mr. Bihler estimated that the weight of the steel
stringers wan 606,000 pounds. Mr. Elliott in the state-
roent h has just issued says the Pacific Construction
' company's bid asked to put in 630.000 pounds of stringers
, -The difference between this total admitted by the com-
any and Mr. Bihler's estimates is but 24,000 pounds
, This difference, at the cost Mr. Bihler places, $3.80 a
j hundred, gives a total of but $840. and does not reduce
materially the $t"ooo excess pointed out by the expert
Mr. Elliott devotes much time to explaining that the
bridge company should not be held in making the ad
ditions to the "cost of material and labor and 15 per cent
additional for superintendence and use of utensils pro
vision of the contract. He says all of this work was
done under the head of extras, and is not included
under these provisions. Mr. Butler holds the same
The effect of this -construction is that there will be no
more limitation upon the cost of all such work than the
'whim or judgment of the executive board.
The men conducting the investigation are firmly con
vinced that it is the spirit of the charter, contracts and all
other conditions governing such work, to impose limita
tions which the executive board cannot exceed, and that
these limitations shall be imposed by competitive bids.
If the contention of City Engineer Elliott and Secretary
Butler prevails, it is alleged that, through putting al
ternative provisions in plans and specifications, the ex
ecutive board may overstep any bound as to total cost
and price of work it is having performed.
Mr. Elliott says that in the original contract, plans and
specifications, provision was made for the executive
board to substitute steel girders for wood, if they de
sired. It appears that in his specifications containing
the alternative provision, there -was no limit placed upon
the price (hat would have to be paid for steel substituted.
Because he did not fix such a limit, he holds that the
executive board may pay any price it desires, and the ac
tion is legal.
Members of the investigation commission think the
present instance a good argument why this loose inter
pretation should not prevail. After considering all con
ditions, the executive board, representatives of the Tax
payer's league and council thought $3Ji,ooo enough for a
good bridge. After the contract was let for stteh a
structure, additions of $52,000 were made to the total
cost for alterations an eminent engineer believes un
necessary. It is evident that construction of the original contract
will be an important feature of investigation. The par
agraph in question says:
"Work necessary to be done and ordered by the ex
ecutive council or the city engineer-of the city of Port
land, not included in this contract and not, otherwise
agreed upon, shall be performed by the contractors and
paid for at actual cost of the material and labor and the
additional amount ot 15 per cent thereon lor superin
tendence and use of machinery and utensils."
The committee believes this was intended to restrict
alterations to minor necessities, and to control the price
of all extras or additional work. If a binding, detailed
contract and such specific limits for alteration do not
control the executive board and the contractors, the com
mittee is unable to see wherein there is any benefit what
ever from asking bids and trying to do work on other
basis than current control of the executive board, and the
stand of the committee is abundantly justified.
them will be unknown. This would be a desirable state
of affairs if these few men would squeeze the water out
of their stocks, be satisfied with a fair percentage of
profits, and play no favorites among shippers. But this
policy will come in only with the millenium. The peo
ple must show that they are greater, that their interests
are of -more importance than those of Rockefeller, Van
derbilt, Gould, Harriman, Hill, Morgan, Cassatt and all
the rest of the big railroad moguls.
Nothing need be expected at this session of congress
And there is but slight foundation for hope that the next
congress will do anything important along the line sug
gested. Too many will fall back on the excuse: This
is too difficult a problem to be immediately solved. But
in thus delaying an urgently needed reform they will only
be hastening a more radical retorm and making it ir
resistible.
A MAN DESTINED FOR EVEN BIGGER THINGS
E.
E. CALVIN, who will become general manager
of the Southern Pacific with headquarters at
San Francisco, is a man destined to reach the
most conspicuous heights in the railroad world. He was
a protege of W. H. Bancroft, one of the most con
spicuously able men of the Harriman interests and while
in charge of the Oregon Short Line placed that road in
an ideal physical condition which has made it the stand
ard of comparison for the whole system. He came here
to lift the Southern Pacific in Oregon up to a higher
physical level and the work which he has already set in
motion will accomplish that purpose in due process of
time. His next step in advance logically leads him to
San Francisco and the broader railroad field which ra
diates tHtrefrom.
In the operating department of railroads Mr. Calvin
stands on a level with the very ablest men in the country.
Those who know him best say that he is destined to
reach the most conspicuous heights in the railroad busi
ness. He has youth, perfect health and physical strength
in his favor. But he has very much more. He has risen
from the ranks. He knows the business in which he is
engaged as thoroughly as most men know their alphabet.
He not only can tell how a thing should be done but he
can do it himself. He has an enormous capacity for hard
work, a faculty of concentration which speedily gets him
to the heart of the most complicated problems and a mind
so thoroughly balanced that he is always and under all
circumstances complete master of himself. He never
moves by impulse; he sees his goal before he starts and
has counted and discounted the intervening obstacles. A
thoroughly modest, unassuming and approachable man
himself, without conscious effort on his own part, he
leaves a strong and lasting impression upon those with
whom he has relations.
But this is only one side of his equipment and one ele
ment of his strength. He never courts popularity and
shrinks from publicity. And yet such are the sterling
qualities of the man, such his courtesy and perfect fair
ness, that few men have more friends in more directions
and among more classes of people. He knows nature as
well as he know! the railroad business. Steps taken by
other men that would arouse the bitterest antagonism
he can take without creating a flutter. He knows pre
cisely, when in his capacity as railroad manager, to make
a concession gracefully that otherwise would be wrung
from him and thus lay in store a stock of good will that
will be of great future advantage. On the other hand he
knows precisely when to stand for and how to-get at
least all that is coming to those he represents.
. . a a r f a
With such a combination ot personal ana official qual
ities one may predict with entire confidence a brilliant
career of national significance for E. E. Calvin in the
railroad business.
Small Change
The expenses never taate a holiday.
Anything alsa tba Bouth-Kelley com
pany wan La 7
And think hew awfully disappointed
Senator Di'pfw'n young wife wouM be.
Lawson on Sunday perhapa reflects
that he la playing David to Rogers' Goliath.
Perhaps Mrs ChadasVfk's jewels, whan
.Uncovered, may be Ilka har securities
paste.
The eaar In his reform ukase uses a
'urge number of Tallyrandlan Russian
words.
The clearance sales afford a good op
portunity for buying: Chrlatmaa presenta
for 1905.
The I nteresting
! German rVorkman
As usual, nobody, not even himself,
knows where or what Brownell Is or
will be "at."
A Paris doctor affect a cures by caus
ing hie patlenta to sleep, and he Is not a
doctor of divinity, either.
A lot of Filipinos or Indiana could
scarcely have worae m la managed the
dlepoaal of the public domain.
(Harold Begble In London Mali.)
lie la Interesting In himself, this sou
of the forest, aweatlng like a nigger In
a roaring factory, but he Is more Inter
estlng as the weapon which la being
swiftly polished, tempered and sharpened
for the commercial victory over England.
They do not disguise this objective
In Berlin, and one doea not know why
they should. .Germany needs trade for
her stalwart millions, and the market
Into which she can cut moat con
veniently la the market of England. The
government plans In this direction and
legislates In this direction. State rail
ways are at. the service of manufac
turers, the state purae Is at their dis
posal, and the- tariffs are arranged for
their convenience In this struggle.
Germany presents to the world the
spectacle of a whole nation aiming In
all Its classes, with a general and scien
tific concentration of all Its parts, st
commercial supremacy.
Editors who are calling for wood on
subscription have no objection to the
big atlek. providing It lan't knotty.
If any poor people were overlooked
there Is time enough yet this week to
make them happier on New Years.
Engineer Wallace Bays it will take 10
yeara and IS 00. 000. 000 to finish the
canal. If Uncle Bam can stsnd It, he
van.
We are thankful that Xmas is over
For a year we will not have to see that
moat .horrible of all contracting lnven
tlons In print. I
Stoessel's friends have started a sub
arrlptlon to build a houae for htm. Now
let him get to the front and die like a
nero, rather than face, this new danger.
Nan thought It very hard to be kent
In prison over Christmas, but she should
reflect that hsr situation might have
been worse if the Jury had found her
guilty. Now her conviction la very lm
probable.
If all the males guilty of election
frauds In Colorado are sent to , prison,
the women voters will have things all
their own way there. And then some
of them might be sent to keep the male
prisoners company.
FIRES PREFERABLE TO MORE OFFICERS.
FEDERAL REGULATION OF RAILROADS.
OMMISSIONER of Corporations Garfield in his
recent report recommended the control and reg
ulation by the federal government ,of all inter
state corporations, having railroads particularly in view
He specifies "secrecy and dishonesty in promotion
overcapitalization, unfair discriminations by means of
transportation nd other rebates, unfair and .predatory
competition, secrecy ot corporate administration, ana
misleading or dishonest financial statements,'' as the
principal evils that have grown up under corporate con
trol and under the surveillance of the practically power
less interstate commerce commission.
The demand for some greater measure of federal con
trol and regulation of interstate railroads is spreading and
becoming more insistent. The railroad magnates and
stock manipulators who have brought upon the country
the evils that Commissioner .Garfield mentions, and who
have insolently defied the interstate commerce commis
sion and the courts, have themselves to blame for this
growing sentiment in favor of government regulation.
And if they persist in opposing all attempts in this direc
tion, the result will he a far more radical policy than that
now contemplated. The president perceives and states
this, and he devoted a greater portion of his annual mes
sage to this subject than to any other.
But it is a very difficult matter, one that needs very
careful and thorough consideration, say a great many
railroad men, lawyers, congressmen and newspapers.
But that is no reason for letting things go as they are,
which is what most of these people desire. A job neces
ssry to be done is not to be avoided and indefinitely post
poned because it is difficult. It is the business of our,
real or professed statesmen to solve such problems; if
they cannot or will n;t. they will have to make' way for
those who can and will. The difficulties are real, but
they are not so nearly insurmountable aa a good many
people who desire no change would have us believe.
All the principal railroad are gravitating into very
few hands, and after a little while competition between
REVENTION of forest fires in Oregon is a sub
ject that may properly engage the attention of
the next legislature, and if any practicable meas
ure that will not create new offices and be the basis of
further grafting, and is likely to accomplish anything, is
proposed, it should receive favorable consideration. But
the proposition to create the office of state forest and
fire wardento be paid out of the state treasury, and au
thorized to appoint deputies at the instance of timber
owners, is not a good one.
In the first place, no more state offices should be cre
ated, unless in consequence of some imperative need.
There are already some state officers who are not much
needed, and Some others whose emoluments amount to
several times their earnings.
Again, the men to pay for forest protection, although
all the people of the state are interested in it, are the
owners of timber liable to be burned. They might be
authorized to form some kind of an association, and hire
as many men as they deeded or chose, who should be
clothed with some degree of the state's police power; but
as for taxing the people to maintain an elaborate sys
tem of forest fire patrol, chiefly for the benefit of timber
owners, many of whom do not pay taxes on a quarter of
the value of their holdings, it is not to be favorably con
sidered for a moment.
The state as well as the general government has been
very kind to the present owners of timber lands, large
areas of which have been acquired through fraudulent
processes. Nobody on that account wants the timber
destroyed, but the state cannot afford to protect it for
them at great additional cost.
We have a state biologist, we have a state labor com
missioner, we have a state land agent; and the state
really cannot afford to create another office, with un
known potentialities of expansion and grafting in it. It
is easy to create offices, but one is very seldom abolished;
on the contrary, their cost grows like a rolling snowball.
There should be the best possible legislation calculated
to prevent forest fires, that does not involve more offices-and
a big biennial addition to the already over
grown budget of taxation. The men with timber likely
to burn should pay the cost of its protection, just a
owners of buildings pay such cost by insurance premiums.
For IJ years General Superintendent James P. O'Brien
has been one of the ablest and most faithful representa
tives of the O. R. & N. If merit counts he .has won pro
motion. If Mr. Calvin goes to San Francisco it would
be great gratification to the people of Oregon to see
Mr. O'Brien succeed him here. Well qualified and fully
equipped he would be invaluable and the company can go
far without finding a man better qualified to fill the bill.
Engineer Elliott resigned because
there waa talk about the work ha hn.i
done In the city of Portland. Perhapa If
vanuusen. tne nsti commissioner, ahould
hear what is said about his administra
tion, he would go. and do likewise
Houlton Reglater. Not likely. Buch
cases ara rare.
The Salem Statesman becomes thus
facetious: "It la reported from Port
land that the federal grand Jury 'Is leak
ing.' Well, since It Is the fashion there
at present, the only remedy Is to Investi
gate the architect who constructed such
a faulty panel. A) well-made Jury box
ought not to leak."
A Montana woman heard a Jail bird
alng. and later saw him and fell In love
with him. On his release he followed
ner 10 uemngnam and they were to be
msrrieo. nut ne got In Jail again for
thievery, being a chronic crook, and now
una naa temporarily gone back on him
but will probablr relent. A Jail bird la
good enough for a woman who falls In
iove witn mm.
Of what kind of stuff, then. Is the
German workman made the man with
out whom ail thla machinery of govern
ment is powerless?
I have seen him In his factory, hia
home, and his cafe; I have discussed
his nature with Professor Hans Del
bruck. Herr Bernstein, the Socialist
leader, 'and many of his direct errr
pioyers; and I have talked about him
far into the night with a capable social
student, himself a workman, who Uvea
in the workman's quarter , and works
among the people. The result of these
studies is the conviction that only th
Teutonlo spirit of eternal contradiction
delays the triumph of the German.
He Is more sober than the English
man. more thrifty, more painstaking
more amenable to long hours and con
centrated effort but, he la a German
He la a German, and therefore he le
aiwaya in a state or revolt againat some
thing or another, always frittering away
hia energy in more or leaa unimportant
quarrels with his government, and al
ways looking enviously away from hli
own well-being to the greater well-being
of other people. He has none of the
dash of the Englishman, nose of hia
quick perception and vivacious - per
formance. He works grudgingly, and
clumsily, and only succeeds because he
sticks to it with greater doggednees than
the Englishman permits himself. More
over,, there is one tremendous fact
not yet, I think, sufficiently realised
by the government which Is assisting
Socialism in Germany, and ao fatefully
checking the pace of commercial devel
opment. In Berlin the working classes
say, "Once a workman, always a work
man!" and that Is paralysis to a peo
pie by nature envious of money, clothes
and position. They are working with
out the hope of achieving anything for
themselves.
and almost secretly, la making dlsclplsa
of the people In Berlin.
Certainly an Inspiration, of whatever
kind, would give to the German that
which he moat needs for victory In the
battle of nations, a forget fulness of him
self and a stimulus for his ardent and
imaginative nature. Given this, the
German ahould prove In a generation or
two the roaster workman of the world
At present he Is like a perfectly laid fire
waiting for a match.
1j ' ' -1 - -1 'i 1 11 1 11 1 -i. -1. X111 I igj
Food Basis of
New Americans
p -
Oregon Sidelights J
Town cows are a nuisance in Oakland.
The Santlam News is an exceptionally
mwA paper, eaiionauy.
Sherman county will have a fine dlaplay
of frulta. grains and fresn vegetables at
mo A.ewis ana 1 lurk fair.
A young man named Lamb was mar
ried at Springfield, but It doesn't follow
inai tne oriae wss a lioness.
The Toledo Reporter says something
unpleasant Is going to happen to men
wno give or sell liquor to minors.
jvent citlsena took up a subscription
10 get material ror new sidewalks, and
men went ana ount them themselves.
State exchanges report the birth of a
number of 11 and 11-pound babies. They
ui unending to snow themselves at
ine is.it. .
acxrrntw m nm
Prom the New Tork Tlmea.
Kffinghsm I.. Tallman. of Blauvelt.
Rockland county, claims to have trained
a hen to lay three eggs In one day. The
shells are not well formed, aa the lime
serration doea not keep pace with the
1 "lk and slbumen formation, but he
hopes o remedy this by a larger mix
ture of powdered oyster shells with the
ins ah
The scarcity and the hlgjh price of
have led chbken farmers to try
all ktnda of devices to -make Willing
hens do double duty. One of the com
monest of these devices Is the use of
trap nests. Instead of the ordinary
open nests these Inventions have trap
doors, which close when the Hen enters.
After the hen has laid an egg aha la
allowed to come out. but Instead of
permitting the hen freedom and rea
until the next day some avaricious hen
farmers let her out at the rear of the
neat Instead of the front, and the her
Instead of being free finds herself In
another trap nest. Having learned ay
experience that the price of liberty Is
an egg and believing that she must b
mistaken in thinking she has Just laid
there is nothing for the poor hen to do
but to lay again.
Such duplicity ultimately destroys
the hen's faith In mankind, and she
either reaaea to lay or becomes a pessi
mist egg-eater and makea these incep
tions unprofitable
A Marlon county young man la trying
to Invent a talking machine to use for
proposing to a girl. She ought to 1
fuse him.
The Dallas Observer claims thst town
as the only real, genuine goat center
or uregon. and that Salem's claim to
mat distinction la abaurd.
An Aurora man Is a manufacturer of
reeos ror clarionets, having customers all
over the United States, and supplying
"; military ana naval Bands.
A Weston man. thinking It was nearly
nanism, got up ana plowed a garden In
tne aam and then discovered that he
must nave risen about midnight.
There Is no great need of a new
reaersi district in eastern Oregon, but
nobody could get the men who want the
ornces to be created to acknowledge this
fact.
The Tillamook Headlight says a man
who waa killed In eastern Oregon owed
mat paper a sunscrtptlon debt, but It
charitably hopes that "Old Nlek won't
make It any hotter for him on that account."
Slash your brush-covered land and then
turn a band of goata loose and let them
eat the sprouts. By so doing land bow
of little value will soon be earning good
money for the owner. Oakland Owl. And
the goats will make money for the owner,
too.
In one of the great engineering works
which I visited in Berlin I waa struck
more by the general plan and manage
ment of the place than by the ex
cellence of the work turned out. Every
thing was done for the health and com
fort of the workers. They enter through
a spactoua lavatory, where each man
has his allotted basin snd soap, and
where each man, too, has his own pri
vate looker for placing his clothes.
They are permitted to bring three bottles
of beer Into the works in the morning.
and three in the afternoon; and there
also a kitchen where they can pro
cure bottles ot tea twice a day.
To preserve the eyesight of the work
ers special arrangements are made -for
lighting the shops; electric lights,
properly shaded, are distributed In
every part of the buildings, and the tatf
windows sre filled with frosted glaaa.
which collects all the rays of light and
throws no shadow. Every Inch of the
solid floors Is kept shipshape, and an
automatic apparatus collects every
particle of dust and discharges It from
the shops. Outside there Is a plsasanl
garden, where the men may rest and
breathe pure open air.
Piecework la the rule, and men work
overtime without complaint In order
to make extra money. A 10 -hours day
Is said to be the average, but on many
of the time-cards I noticed that workera
who assembled at 6: so did not leave till
11 o'clock at night.
The average wages of the Berlin work
man range, perhaps, from IS shillings
to 40 shillings a week. They do not earn
the very high wages of the best English
workmen; but. on the other hand, there
Is no such ultimate class as fills the
aluma of London. Like everything In
Berlin, there la among the working
classes a general decency, and a mean
well-being no extreme of any kind.
Writing of "The Economic Interpreta
tlon of History" In the bimonthly Annals
of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science, Prof. Simon N. Patten of
the university of Pennsylvania aays this
of an American future baaed on food sup
plies:
Not only has America a better food
supply than Europe, but the barrlera to
commerce have been so far broken down
aa to make the food aupply of the whole
world available at our great centers
'A new civilisation Is now posalbie to
which those of the past can offer few
analogies. Individual struggle has prac
tically ceased. A sufficiency of food
comes to the unskilled laborer, and the
Increase of population even when aug
mented by a million Immigrants a year
does not Increase the pressure. We
have higher standards today with so. 000.-
000 people than we had two generations
ago with 40.000.000 people, and we could
support 300,000,000 with as great ease and
with as little Individual struggle.
"The great central plain of North
America Is a vast storehouse of food. We
have the wheat that Europe has, but
we have it more abundantly. We have
more extensive graalng regions, and with
corn for fodder have superior facilities
for raising oattle. Pork never took Its
proper place In the diet of the world un
til the great cornfields of the weet came
Into existence.
"To think of the changes in diet that
the cheapening of sugar haa made Is to
realise In a measure what an Increase of
population will follow the full utilisation
of available root cropa. We have com
blned the resources on which the civi
lization of North Europe depends-and
those which made the ancient civilisa
tions of the south. The emigrants from
South Europe find here a possible diet
like that of their home countries, and In
Its use they evoke qualities In our soil
that lay dormant as long as the northern
races were fed from It. '
"In addition to these home possibilities
the nearness and accessibility of the semi-
tropical regions of the West Indies and
Central America make many new food
stuffs available and In quantities practi
cally unlimited. Measured In food, these
regions can support as great a popula
tion as can the United States, and cost
is less than that of the home aupply
We need only a fruit and a vegetable
loving population to utilise- these new
food materials, and it is at nana in tne
emigrants from Southern and Central
Eurore.
"This food supply could not be made
available nor could the abaorptlon ana
assimilation of southern racea take .place
without the recent cheapening of the coat
of transportation.
Coincident with this Improvement In
food and transportation have come so
cial betterments that nave lengmenea
life and made people more healthy. Great
scourges like the mediaeval plagues are
no longer possible and fevers are so well
under control that they nave ceased to
be grievous afflictions
'To attain all these advantages a rapid
Increase 1h capital Is necessary; and
fortunately the growth of- the aavlng
nsttnet haa kept pace with other im
provements. A slight change m tne rate
of Interest calls forth capital enougn
for our great enterprises.
Food, health, capital and mobility
of men and goods are the four essentials
to progresa. All of them are now abund
antly supplied and capable of Indefinite
Increase. Must not thla be the basis
of a .great social transformation, chang
ing our Institutions, hsblts and tradi
tions until they establish a social ad
justment as complete as the present
economic situation permits? If there
waa a break In traditions, institutions
nd Ideals when civilisation removed
from southern to northern Europe, a
rtlll greater crlals Is before us when
American civilisation matches Amerl-
csn possibilities."
1
Building a New
London
Randall Blackshaw In Century Magaalne.
London is being rebuilt ss rapidly as
New York; but It Is so much vaster
than the American eity that the process
Is leaa conspicuous. Nothing Is being
done today that stands out so promi
nently as the great brldgea over the
East river; nor Is there any analogue
In London to the . Irruption of hotela '
and office buildings above the normal
sky-line In New Tork, the nearest ap
proach to a "sky-scraper" Queen Anne's
mansions. Westminster varying In
height from il to 14 stories only.
or governmental projects perhaps the
greatest la the buying Out of the enflt,
paniea that supply London with water. "
Their clalma amounted to about 1260.-
000,000, but radical- cuta were mad by
the court of arbitration appointed to ad
judicate them. It Is unlikely that the
Metmpalltan water board will do as
well, for the city's needa sre growing
with Its population, while one of the
ehlef sources of aupply-Mha Thames
has been gradually dwindling for the
it 10 years; so that It will he neces
sary to go far afield, before long, for a
aupply of water that can be depended
on In times of drought. Next cornea the
proposed Improvement of the port, snd
Its control by a single body exercising
the powers now divided between the
Thames conservancy and other authori
ties. The commerce ot London has not
grown. aa rapidly aa the city Itself. Lest
it ahould continue to lose ground, the
river channel must be widened to form
600 to 1.000 feet and deepened, to 30
feet at low Water. The estimated ex
pense of this improvement is 112.600,
000; and new docks are recommended at
a cost of about 122,600.000.
Newport will fall In line and do what
she can to scratch the moss off hsr back
and make a neat appearance next vear.
The city dads will make a special effort
aiong tnts line. A special effort will be
made to bring Newport out of her old,
dilapidated conditio,, snd make her a rlty
of beauty and Joy forever.
11 ilgsrls Is again appealing to the
powers againat Turkey, alleging rapine
and massacre.
A pioneer named Butler died 17 years
sgo In Polk county and an old desk that
he ussd wss removed to a fruit house.
A few dsys ago his daughter-in-law. Mrs.
Butler, derided to have the old desk
brightened up, a bit, and when the dust
wss brushed off and one of the small
drawers unlocked, alx good OA pieces of
anclsnt mintage were found hidden.
It seems that heavy drinking Is the
nsblt among, the men, but the liquor la
not flaming whiskey snd scorching gin.
It Is beer, which the government reso
lutely sees Is pure and wholesome; and
it does not drive its votarlea Into
madness and crime. The workman can
drink six bottles of this beer, and after
wards sit down to a program of classi
cal music without falling aaleep. Cer
tainly bs If at his bench next morning
with the old doggedness and tin- "old
energy.
Among msny of the workmen there 1s
a reverence for nature which is charm
ing to the observer, and which protecta
them from the excesses of . their fel
lows. "You must go to the workman's
colony." everybody tells you, "If you
would see the German workmen."
This "colony" Is a summer retreat of
the workman. Land comes Into the
market, and era the bricklayers arrive,
and until the last rod Is covered with
new palaces, the workmen erect wooden
shanties there, plant a few vegetables
and flowers st the doors and Journey
thither to spend rustic week-ends with
their wives and families. It la a great
hour on Saturday afternoon, when the
mother makes her fire of sticks, the
father goes with the kettle to the near-
eat stream, and the family crowd about,
the wooden hut waiting for their tee. '
On Saturday afternoon, too, during the
summer months, the trains are packed
with humble working people journey
ing Into the country they travel fourth
class for almost nothing to enjoy a
nine respite xrum me rusn 01 city lire.
Simple, happy, clean-hearted trippers.
They ars not so well educated, politi
cally, aa the English work people, but
they are Infinitely better educated lit
the things which make for Intellectual
peace.
They know the folksongs," they know
the ancient stories of their land, and
they are deepvarsed In the history of
thslr race. Thay read, they sine, they
converss and they dream At the pres
ent moment they are turning away, a
email but significant number of them,
from the grosser snd cruder material
lam of their early Socialism. Ths Sal
vation Army, strangely enough, Is help
ing to bring- beck to ths German work
man his poetry and his Imagination.
"Olve-them religion once mire. I wss
told, "and you will aee wonders from our
people." The Salvation Army, quietly
. A .
A OKAsTCM IV iTt
From the St. Helena Mist (Rep.).
Dinger Hermsnn. unless he Is one of
the most Ignorant of men, knew the en
tries and proofs were fraudulent. He
la thoroughly familiar with the land In
question, and he knew that It was not
suitable for a homestead and that no
auch Improvements as alleged had ever
been made by any or the gang, it is
possible and even probable that he
never be indicted by is grand jury, and.
If Indicted, that he will not be found
guilty; but, so fsr as public opinion Is
concerned, he hss been indtciea. trieu.
and found guilty, and ws do not think
It will ever sgaln be possible for him to
represent Oregon In ths congress of the
United States.
Under the old system of conventions
such men as Hermann were practically
masters of the situation. He was no?
the choice of the Republicans of his
district when nominated at Eugene, but
he had the support of the most skillful
politicians, snd therefore, after a bard
contest he won. This was the reward
given him by the powers that be for the
vote of his son In the previous legisla
ture. It was. as Mr. Brownell aptly
said, "according to program," and, under
the old convention aystem those who
sided him did nothing unusual.
But a new aystem has besn Inaugu
rated in Oregon, and hereafter those who
desire to occupy elective positions of
trust snd power must go directly to the
voters of their respective parties to
secure nomination. Under the direct
nrimarv law the people have an oppor
tunity at last, provided they do their
duty, to select the csndldate for .whom.
they desire to vote, it is sn untried
remedy for acknowledged evils, and Its
efflaaey depends upon the manner In
which, it Is applied. It Is to be hoped
thst It will forever put sn end to the
power now exercised by political bosses
who. under the present system, abso
lutely control state, county and dls
conventions.
srrTomooo: s hau job.
The principal public improvements of
the laat 16 years have been due to-the
county council, which superseded the
metropolitan board of works under the
local government act of 1888. One of
ts single undertakings is the Blaokwell
tunnel, which, when opened in 1837, had
swallowed up 67,000,000. The next
undertaking of ths sort (the tunnel from
Rotherhlthe to Ratcllffe) Is expected to
absorb as much. The tower bridge,
completed In ISM et a cost of 15.000.
000 ths most conspicuous of London
brldgea, the one farthest down stream,
and the only one provided with a draw
waa the work of the corporation of
ths city of London; and the earns body
la now widening London bridge, the
most famous and still the most traveled
of the many roada across the Thames.
The cost Is estimated at 1600,000. The
corporation before long will probably
lower the crown of the Southwark
bridge a task which will virtually In
volve rebuilding, and is expected to
swallow up f 1.760.000. The sway of the,
counts council begins somewhat farther
up ths river, whore II. 600,000 Is being
spent to replace Vauxhall bridge with &
structure of steel.
The two roost important buildings now
In course of construction are the war
office. In Whitehall, and the additional
government offices. In Parliament
atreet. Whitehall's continuation, each of
which will cost some millions ef dollars.
The former, designed by ths lste Wil
liam Young, and to be. completed In
June leoi (at an expense of SI. 600.000
In addition to ths -(treat ooet of the site),
occupies an- entire block .bounded by
Whitehall. Whitehall place. Whitehall
court and on the south by Horse Guards
avenue, which sepaxatsa it rrom tne
bannustttng hall from which . Charles I
atepped to his death. The block Is a
large and slightly Irregular one, Ita
main facade. In Whitehall., being the
shortest, and the northern one. In
Whitehall place, the longest. This ir
regularity la masked by an ingenious
treatment of the angles.
The new government offices, st . the
lower end of Parliament street, designed
by Mr. J. M. Brydon, will be ready for
occupancy In June. 1107. Though only
four f torles high, the building la ao huge
thst the Inner rooms will be lighted
from 19 courts, the largest being 160
feet In dlsmeter. It has a frontage of
about 300 feet and a depth somewhat
greater, and ultimately will run all the
way from Parliament street to St.
James' park, a distance of 700 feet.
which la also the depth of the adjoining
home and foreign office block. The
latter extends from Charles street north
to Downing street, snd the new block
from Charles street to Greet George
street on the south; and It Is planned to
unite the two by a bridge carried across
Charles street above a great portico or
arcade of three arches on columns, with
a deep sculptured fiiese above it,
crowned by a quadriga. At the seme
time the treasury building, fronting-Parliament
street Just north of Downing
street, will be similarly Joined to the
home office; so that from the Horse
Guards southward for a distance of
nearly 1.000 feet the slightly bending
western edge of Whitehall and larl la
ment street will be lined with Imposing
public buildings, harmonious In general
effect, though designed tjy tMffeTent
architects . snd . erected, . st different
times. The new bfflcss' border on the
open space north of St. Margaret's
church and Westminster Abbey. The
vslus of ths land they stand on la
enormous, and their coat la proportion
ate to their sire, the part now In coarse
of construction Involving sn outlay of
11,760.000. while 11.760.000 will be
needed for the proposed extension.' A
third block of the beautiful new ad
miralty office, at the northeast corner
of St. James' park, hidden from White
hall by the old admiralty buildings and
the Horse Gusrda, when completed st
the end of June. 1906, will have cost
$750,000
1 - -j"r; ryy
Lewis and Clark
s .
December IS. The wjiyj continued
high lsst night, the frost severe, and
the snow drifting In great quantities
through the plains.
From the New Tork World.
Secretary Hitchcock' waa talking of
the' land fraud cases in the west at the
cabinet meeting today. He sxtollsd a
man who had helped him In the prosecu
tions. "He's honest, too honest to be elected
to office,'' ssld ths secrstsry.
Secretary Hay, Secretary Morton and
Postmaster-General Wynne, who have
never been elected to office, thought
that waa a good line. The president.
Attorney-General Moody and Secretaries
Tsft, Wilson, Shaw and Mstcalf, who
hva been eandldatea for ths auffrages of
the people, shouted, an araased "What's
thst?"
It took Secretsry Hitchcock hslf an
hour to explain, snd thsn ha didn't gst
anywhere.
flum naa.
From the Grants Pass Herald.
The contest being waged by Senator
Carter of Ashland and Senator Kuyken
dall of Eugene for the presidency of the
Senate Is one that Is unseemly because
so small and selfish. The motives of
these two gentlemen srs simply to se
cure their own political advancement.
It Is ssfs to ssy thst neither hss s
higher object thsn to build a little
atronger his political fences to make
an entrance Into some other lucrative
state dtnee. The gentlemen are what
are known In politics ss men of affairs
who do polttica on business lines. Among
politicians they are known as platln log
rollers. Ths sbsurd legislative system
of this StatS permits the carrying on of
such rontsats, and In fart Is an Induce
ment for them. The president of the
senste appoints sll the commit toes and
can give his friends a cinch on legisla
tion Hs also appoints many clsrks'.of
ths body 'and by a wise distribution of
the patronage at his disposal, snd what
csn be ohtslned by wise maneuvering
from the state onVlals, hs can further
his own lntsrests considerably.