The Oregon daily journal., April 18, 1905, Image 4

: - c n o . : o
Dull
THE ORE
AN
"A '
STILL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. -,
HE Oregonian contains frequent assertion or ln-
.5 I V4-inuations to the effect that conditions in rort-
. land and in Oregon are and alwayi have, been all
' ' jitht, '-or good enough; that there bat been and Is no need
ioi any reformation of improvement, and that everybody
1 who point out wrong and evils and nrge improvement
in the condition of society is meddletome crank or, a
'''troublesome nuisance. r Portland is and always has been
-"' quite clean and decent and virtuous, and progressive
. enough, says th morning paper; and there is not and
1 nevef has been any need, of any reformation pr. better
ment, and whoever alleges that there is such a need is
'i pestiferous charlatan,, who. has some sinister ulterior
; object in View.--' '"--. v'V.V-.
", " : Yet while Portland people on the whole are; up to the
'average in all respects -of urbanite's generally there bat
.'been -very urgent need of. an improvement io. methods
.and manners; in various respects, and opportunity for
such improvement is not . entirely lacking even yet
jEvei7b9dyknowAhatJorimany years a system of
'grafting, by the police department, under the direction
" and domination of some 'political boss, was carried on,
. And that politics here were consequently, utterly- rotten,
'Such a system was perhaps pleasing and'f bly so
; because it was profitable, to "the morning i, er7 but
; most good citizens do not'agree that such c Juiotfof
"affairs was all right 'and needed no reform...,.' .Then
for a time the City, acting through its mayor androthet
'officers, sworn. to execute the laws, became-a. partner
Nwtth lawbreakers, officially sanctioned and. authorized a
-. species of -vice and crime,' to the- crying shame of the
-city, and to, the great hurt ol many of its people. ;That
'shameful regime was satisfactory to the Oregonian; it
. then taw no occasion for a change; but bsppily most of
the people of Portland did not agree with it, and last
: June they elected men for the purpose of putting an end
; to that -shameful eviL'. Then .note- the shameful frauds
1 ' in bridge, sewer and other contracts. ,T:.'. ''
1 I For years ; the county's ' affairs were wretchedly mis
managed, and grafting was the rule, all along the -line.
County officers were overpaid, were supplied with need
less deputies, and while the people were paying about
'double what-the service was worth, their business was
Hot properly; attended to. The condition of probate
' business when Judge .Webster took charge of his office
'is a sample.- The Taxpayers league, that was scarcely
r-1. ever noticed by the Oregonian except by a sneer, took
up these abuses and had them remedied, and the tax
payers have been benefited to the 1 amount 'of many
(thousands of dollars a year, because certain persons in
sisted that things were not running just right and that
, reform was needed. ,'v'AV' vV" .-.".' .
And has everything been all right in state affairs?
"" "Has there "been and is "there no need f a change, "6f re
; form? The state has lost many thousands of its school
fund directly, ' and large amounts of its school lands,
through incapable or dishonest officials, to say nothing
of the spectacle Oregon, presents in, the matter of its
members of congress, but according to the tall tower
' oracle everything was all right, and everybody wnoTnade
clamor against these impositions and iniquities was a
mere meddler who only made a nuisance of himself and
was not worthy of attention." '.' . ". " --
There has been improvement in various ways. " Con
ditions are in some respects better than they were form
erly. But there is yet room for improvement. There is
always, and always, will be, need of -betterment Port
land is a somewhat better city. than it has been, but it
' can be and should be a much better city still. But if it
; ' becomes- so' it is manifest that this result will not be in
any wise due to any influence in that direction exerted
by the Oregonian. Whatever reforms are wrought out
.will be accomplished in spite of its covert or open oppo
sition.' - v'U , X'.-X: :l.-f-.-.
ANOTHER FIVE-TQ-FOUR DECISION. 'I A -
HE supreme court of thelUnited States has ren
dered Another -liv-to-four
; important case, the majority
'. that a 10-hour state labor law is in violation of the con
stitutional guarantee of contractual freedom. 'The state,
' ,;. the decision says in effect, cannot enact a valid law lim-
iting the, hours of a day's labor, because each individual
. has the right, which the courts must sustain, to make
-----whateverycontract he-pleases either in the sale or the
purchase of labor. : The case involved a. New York law
' which fixed 10 hours' as a legal day's work, and if this
. Isw be unconstitutional and void, then of course an eight
hour labor law is so also. And no such law. can be en-
forced, and there, is no use in cumbering the statutes
' '.with them. v "i ; ' - : J. ,':
: We have to take the majority decision of the court as
the law, . though people cannot be expected to entertain
: quite the same degree of respect for it that they might
j -if the opinion of the court had been unanimous. As it
i is, the judges are practically divided about evenly upon
-this important practical -question,' and counting the
judges of the lower courts probably a majority of them
, all are in favor of sustaining the law, yet the opinion of
V one supreme court justice, who very likely is not very
, firm in it or very sure of hi ground,' turns the scale and
, " decides the law to be that a law limiting a day's 'work is
A.null and void.' ,"' v, vA.v..i
It happens that nearly . all of the most important de
.) cisions , rendered recently by, the supreme court , have
been thus decided by' a bare majority.' four of the nine
' judges reaching a contrary conclusion. ' And whatever-
, ' - . - f .1 - . . . f , . . i ... a
, , ?rc may iniDK. oi xnc mems. oi me law ana ine oe
' ci!on, we are afforded another illustration of the fact
that law, as made for us by the courts, is just about as
likjely to be wrong as right, since hslf the .wise men
upon the bench so consider it . ,
- 4 ...-,7.f r f i' -.-v;;':; ,
"" v-'l .WtlY NO5 MORE OREGON EGGS? ,;;-t ;
I
T. MIGHT be a 'good thing if
50 ceataAdozcn and, a. gooA.chkkea could
bought for less than $2. Apparently only some
such elevation of prices will induce people to take ad
vantage of the remarkable opportunity offered here
' about s to engage in the business of raising poultry and
."rggS. ' :- ''..'--.' 'V - -.i "-'
--lt it-astonishinf-that more poultry -nd 'Cggmrrwot
(produced ia Oregon.' . You pay 25-cents a doten, even
now in mid-April, for a dozen fresh Oregon eggs, and
, may have some doubts even then whether they are such
eggs. - fW ; . consume Lgreat .numbers of eastern cold
storage eggs, sold by people who help very materially to
.make their living by selling them at from 10 to 15 cents
;a dozen, and yet year after year passes without the, local
supply coming any nearer to matching the demand. A
' ' .- "Pee t,Plaev . ' v- '
''- Prom th Boeten WrUd.-' , ' , r'
Nr.' Bryan la new praising Oorerne
! Pollatt as tos rt and roramort
.'-tploa of eefomr -In the ftepubltfaa
' -r la th UntH4 Butea JUallyt
t second, place e (or U PeUotut
T - '. ..:. ;' .
G ON DAILY
, INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
l PUBLISHED , BY JOURNAL: PUCUSHtNO CO.
-'"-I ' OFFICIAL PAPER OF THC CITY OP PORTLAND
of thousands of
change for the
or-across
its whole course.
decision, in a very
of the court holding
eggs would rise to
For' 33 years
- " ' Ooisoi am )oJaf
-1 " Prom th Kuiu Clty Tlmes. r
The lociral Mquoneo of Mr. Roekefsl
lre expanding prortclency In golf mut
f cMaltr, b that by aad bf nobody
aia wtu have a , chape 4' pUy tb
iv-
JOURNAL
good fowl costs from 50 to 75 cents, and eggs from
20 to 30 cents a dozen, and yet a person on a few" acres
of land and with slight expenditure can produce hun
dreds of fowls and hundreds of dozens of eggs in the
course of a year,, anywhere around Portland. True,
producers get only about J wo thirds or three fourths
the price paid by consumers but even at that, price a
thousand , families within a radius of 20 miles around
Portland could make a good fat living oh poultry and
eggs alone, besides raising fruit, berries, vegetables, 'and
producing their own milk and butter. And if they chose
they could be measurably independent of the middlemen
too,' for thousands of Portland housekeepers would be
glad to have these1 products; brought regularly to their
doors. KM1 ' v ' ,V; ' .:.- A;.1i-
Here we have a mild, "equable climate, abundance of
fresh, pure water, just the kinds of soil needed, and feed
can be produced . easily and cheaply, and yet we im
port many carloads bf cold storage eggs annually, pay
for eggs-about twice what they are profitably sold for
in Iowa, and cannot have a b'g fat fowl for dinner ex
cept at a cost of 75 cents or more; and yet there are men
with money in their, pockets looking around for some
easy way to make a living, and wondering what they had
better do.: ''.-.'"'" . i.; "v.".- -V- 'r" : '
. We don't understand the reason for this continued and
almost perpetual scarcity of high prices of fowls and
tezt in-such a region as this.. .Perhaps with the advent
newcomers the situation 'may gradually
better. At least city people who 1 tike
chickens and plenty of fresh eggs hope, so. ," v ,'
Vj FORTUNATE IN OUR WATER WAYS.
HZ "SO-CALLED river problems which confront
us, whether at Celilo, from Portland to Astoria
the. bar. to the sea, seem to us very
serious indeed until we contrast them with similar problems-,
elsewhere' grappled with and -settled. Indeed,
looked at thus, no part of the round earth is more for
tunate than that portion of our common country which
is tributary to the navigable portions of the Columbia
and Snake rivers. - The great Missouri river Is well nigh
impossible, notwithstanding itsgreat flow of .water, be
cause , of the almost inconceivable uncertainties of its
Channels. The Mississippi the father of waters, is 'not
much better because of the soft soil through which it
Danes and the snags and shifting- sandbars which mark
. The government has. poured,, mil--
lions upon millions -of dollars into work along its un
certain channels and, except at the jetties below New
Orleans, has never achieved any result that could safely
be -characterized as permanent . It was ever thus, it
probably always will be thus.- 7 - .
The dispatches today tell us that Amsterdam is about
to spend $40,000,000 on its harbor,, after, having, in the
past spent $100,000,000 or. more. Everybody remem
bers the millions pn'millions spent on the; Manchester
ship canal. Consul General Guenther in bis last' official
report to the government from Frankfort shows that jit
canal extensions alone the '.Prussian diet' has arranged
to spend $79428350.' Construction work is to begin next
year. Provinces nJ "municipalities along; the lints of
these various canals nave not only obligated themselves
to pay their proportion of the cost and the accruing in
terest but as well the deficit which may not be met by
the-tolls. " :' -' ;".r- ':; .sl..
The point which we wish to make -is that the river
problem which this section of the world has to meet
are utterly insignificant compared with those which con
front other manufacturing and maritime,- countries.
Above Celilo on the way to Lewiston there are a few ob
structions in the river but the cost of. their removal is
insignificant. .. From Astoria to the Big Eddy the Co
lumbia is open with a good channel which for the pres
ent requires nothing but a little dredging to maintain it
From the Big Eddy to Celilo there is a distance bf
eight'and one half miles covered by rocky obstructions,
yet the canal which the government is beginning to build
about that break in the river will cost only. $4,000,000,
exclusive of the right of way which this state has paid for
and donated without cost to the general government
At the mouth of the river the jetty once completed to its
proposed limit will in a very simple manner and for some
time to' come settle the problem of deep water at the bar.
Altogether it wilt be seen that nature has been exceed
ingly kind to us even in the respect of waterways. All
that is needed is a little energy and foresight to place txi
in the very forefront in utilizing-those labor saving and
developing agencies which are part and parcel of th;
country itself. , '-,;- "'..-,;.,,.
.. Meanwhile the portage road furnishes an outlet which
may be used temporarily until the canal itself is built.
To complete the chain , boats are needed on the upper
river. This is a matter which intimately concerns Port
land. The chamber of commerce was a very important
factor in bringing about the building of the portage road
and is securing rights of way for the canal and railroad.
It is taking hold with practical force of the up river bo.it
problem.' In this enterprise it should have the enthus
iastic backing of the whole city. .' ,; ; i , y
: THE DREDGE AND THE BAR. ;
HERE IS A REVIVAL of the talk that the dredge
Chinook is ' to be put into commission at the
mouth of the river again this year. Back of it is
a concerted movement that is not without influence.
For eight months' operation last year the dredge cost
$80,000; it will cost the same amount for the same length
of time this. year. All of this will be chargeable to and
to that extent decrease the jetty fund.-. There is no dif
ference of opinion among practical men that the dredge
ia not now and cannot immediately become a genuine
factor in the problem at the mouth of the river which can
alone be solved by the jetty ' extension.' To put the
dredge into commission, therefore, will have the effect
of reducing the sum which can be devoted to the per
manent improvement without af the same tint?' even
temporarily increasing the depth of the water at the bar.
TheschcmeLicuagain.put the dredgeJntocommisaion
should be resisted with every force at the command of
those interested in the improvements at, the mouth of
tb tirtt" ',.,-: -..- ::""'' .:'''' ; V-' .::.,.
W. T. Shanahan has been the executive
officer-irhras-th foundenr thenumane"s&efetjr.
uuring tost time ne has received no salary for his work,
which was' always a labor of, love with him. It has now
been decided by the society that he should devote all of
his time exclusively to humane work and be today enters
upon the duties. The society has filled a well-defined
and essential sphere in this community and under the
new arrangement will be more valuable than could pos
sibly have been the case in its whole previous career. -
'- ' )atle Mlas,
' From lb Bleu City Journal.
Of eoura. Kanaaa might build a pip
lln of hr awn. hut Kanaka tnlnka It
would ha mora entertaining to lu Mr.
Rockrfrllrr operate the pipe Una !whll
k - Utn tt tUe rate and regulations..
f - Small Ckange
jswaasniwwiw"swas ai
Tea, it' next Buaday.
' Pity tb Colorado Prs,i;.
t. Milliner looking plaasaat . "
Colontl Hawklna la on guard. '
Oold. gambling and auddra death at
uoaopan. . ,,-..
Bat ' you don't know who'll bo tha4
nextmayor. ,.'-';.''.. ,
A tapeworm la aald to cur tubercu
losis. Tia a hard choioe. ;., ,
- "Damoeratle prinolplae- are whatevar
ona aasiraa to eonahler them. .
' Don't let impecunious ertpples uffar.
dui aetp una ore tn ,frata '
At laaat Dodd, Rockefallar'e lawyer.
. .IIIVU. AUU, Ull
"The half; has not bean told," aaya
aara, tuavics. About ner debtsT 1
Must w have another grand Jury o
oonr . wny not some-trial Juries?
But hasn't the mountain bear as much
ngoi to lira a a two-lagged egotist?
Bat it ooata much, more ia Wall
On It flM Amvm mm tin tk. ,...4
oua atrala of kaaplng Lant will ba ra-
' After his term I out Taddy oan get
jb cowooy, apiia oi at at and
Thera Is no doubt' that Mayer Dunn
earn into Immediate" poasaaaloa of a
The blgrallroad gambler are' at it
aaun oeiprng aioug pabllo ownership
- "Is a girl's klas worth' $5,ftP0rTTl
"a- TaBiDiy, out moat of thorn.
uxmaK ronune, coma cheaper. -
'' After Taddv nti thmnvt. m.k tv.
eeyotea, eata, ratUeanakea and bears, he
y ura am auenuoo .to Castro. ,
- Newfoundland threaten to refuse to
eit Americana run bait. But thauk
'" mdiucbt ia yet in the union.
A woman may not he able to drea on
year, put sna can spend several
week In department atorea on SI eaata
There Is probably a eat; difference
between'' what the Lord thlnka of Baer
and what Baer think the Lord think
or aim. : -v
1 ' But the rjeanla. ui Wiuhii. v
to pay the donation a, and om of them
. 09 una n convert the
heathen. . - - . ;.;,:.'. ,
j;-B kind to theTlch." says Boosevali
Bur, weuaa will relieve them of the
load of care that richea bring, if they
ar willing. - .
a Beningnam Bcandtnaviaa papar
urges that Qeorge Waahingtoa wu a
Scandinavian.. Perhapa. but according
to reports he didn't talk It, -,
. An argument la being printed' In va
rious papers to ahow that. prohibition
Inoreaaea crime." The Inference Is that
If everybody would get drunk thtre
wouia oe no Crimea. . .
Nothing eaa keep Oregon ry. ,
. Oregon fanner never so happy.'. -
United Brethren will build a ehureh at
Holier. . ' '
-'Tea, Portland might be fit for Bcott
auitsojp. .. .;...;,
Why 1 It that onee gambler always
Burglar have been to . Seappooae J
came away nungry. . v.- .
Tent eaterpillara threaten to -be "an
iBjunoua auiaance 10 Lincoln county. -
. Cottage Grove 'wants a ereamerjr wQl
get 11 u ana want it badly enough.
It I expected that the wool,-yield of
uuiiarn W1U DO aDOUt 1.100,101
a- Mayor Stanley of Gold Hill, 74 year
old.' ha been re-elected for the ninth
oonaeeuuve term. t' t
Two Drain men who went flahing told
a very curious story that they caught
only one' little trout
' A Hlllsboro man named Ooodmurphy
naa neen arreatea. rrom which it is
suspected that he Is a Badmurpby.
: Some unknown man who should be In
the penitentiary shot 14 fine sheep be
longing to a Lincoln county man.
- . - 5 "-' ' J . -, , , - ..7 ,..,; t
Mr."' and Mrs. B. D. Quaey were -married
( years ago . In Ha iris burg aad
have lived , there continuously . ever
inee,,.;:; "'.-.- , , , . .. ,
1 ' "s .; " ; - f;-'j
The Hood ; River Glacier 1 boomlrlg
that town's foremost eitlsen, Hon. B.-1
Smith, for governor, but he 1 not seek
ing the nomination. - r'r : j
Creeswelt eorreapondenca ; . Eugene
Guard: Creawell la booming. A social
laat night and a ahow tonlaht. Bine
(re have got our new hall thera is some
hlng to go to almost every nlaht
The Odell correspondent of the Hbod
Wver Glacier aaya there Is net an Idle
or iasy man In that neck of wooda and
yet In another paragraph he says "the
old home shoe game la in full blast In
the main street and ringers are easily
made by a number of the sporty elaee."
A Woodbury woman found a snake in
fhe white of a, hen's The yolk of
the esg waa unbroken, the snake having
been eontented with a home In the white
part. -It was six Inches long, eolled up
ilka an Intestine, with reddlah brown
spots where the eyes of a snake should
te. . , -.. -.
C 'K.- McKaaehton of Hardman. Mor
row county, makes a challenge to walk
a distance of 1 miles with -any wooden
legged man at the Lewis and Clark fair
who Is over 0 years of age and welsh
ing Within tl pounds of Ms weight, hie
age being SI years and hi weight lit
pounds. . He IS an old soldier and
thlQks he Is a record breaking walker In
the- wooden legged r-lane, hence hla
challenge to walk against any corner
to, ine exposition.
1"""" ' ' ' '
OrcoSiclcKgttr
I ..:,.;".,l..v ..
A List bf New.
Oregon L
aws
' ' .. w
The Joarnal la printing' a ' synopal
of all th laws paaaed by the laat legis
lature, which those interested would do
wau 10 out out for reference: ( ,
v- ',,; '' ' ' 9a'TaO 'tmrt. .
8. B. Tl-udiclal dlstrlot containing
10S.SQ Inhabitant or more shall be cre
ated forthe especial care and protection
of juveniles' The circuit judges shall
daalgnat one or more of their number
to hear all eases coming under this act.
Th jurisdiction of th court ia original
in all case of dependent or dellnqgfent
children . under the age' of. 1 - years.
Children are declared dependent when
placed In certain forbidden associations,
have brutal parents or left alpne, and
they, are- delinquent- when they violate
the laws ef the country, become Incorri
gible r habitually truant.- - The juvenile
court has power to commit to any re
formatory or detention institution es
tablished by state, county or city, and
If It. finds a child, hopelessly t beyond
reformation, may turn it over to. the
regular judiciary for punishment. - Approved-February.
II. . , , , ( .V
:, Bake Oonaty Assissos.'-
' 8V" B. lit The assessor of Baker
county la -to b paid 11.100 a year, and
shall be allowed on deputy at a salary
of .11.000. and such additional -deputies
as are needed, which shall be allowed
and paid by the eounty court. Approved
February II. ; ,:-: ; :
- '.'.'; TaUdatiar ' aacdlaa ..Bala,' J- '
.' B. B. Ill Bale by guardians shall
not be Invalidated because of Irregulari
ties in proceedings if it is established
that th guardian was authorised by-ia
competent county : court to make the
salejgave approved bond, took the oath
prescribed, gave proper notice ef time
and place of aale, and -hat the prem
ise war sold aa advertised In the no
Uce. Approved February- II. -
' .'- ProSeetlBg Motel Zeepers. '
' 8. R 117 Arry-person obtaining, food
or lodging from a hotel or innkeeper
with intent to defraud, or having ob
tained food or lodging, surreptitiously
removes his baggage,, shall be subject to
a fine of not leas than 110 and not more
than $100. Approved February 15.-v-Oerrallia
. Water BysSem. ' '
' 8. B. lit Corvallls is empowered to
hold a vote on whether bonds shall Issue
to the amount' of $71,000 for a water
system, and a water commission was
appointed by the ' legislature t to carry
out the work should it -be authorised
at the election. Approved February la,
' WaaUagtoa Ooaaty Bxkibrt.
" 8.' B." tie Washington eounty Is a
thorised . to appropriate $1,000 for an
exhibit at the Lewis aad Clark fair at
Portland. .-Approved February 16,
v. tineola woaaty Deputy.
: H. B. 171 The eounty clerk of Lincoln
county la authorised to appoint a dep
uty at a salary of $10 a month. Ap
proved February II,
Blgatt Judioiai Btatrtat,
H. B. lie Baker county 1 taken from
th eighth judicial district and eeUb
llshed aa th ninth district of th state.
and the governor waa authorised to ap
point a Judge for the new district Leroy
Lomax,' district attorney for the -'old
eighth district, being named district at
torney for the new eighth district. Th
judge for this district appointed by the
governor will hold office until the reg?
ular election In June, llftt, when a new
judge shall he elected for six years, and
at the aam time, the, district attorney
will be- elected for four year. - Approved.
rabruary 1 , r, -"-vrr. .
, . ta .rndltiUa Slstriot. "
H. B. lie Union and Wallowa coun
ties are greeted a separate judicial dis
trict, numberea 1 in the state list.
Judge Bakln, former judge of the eighth
district, continues as Judge of the new
10th diatrtct. and th governor waa ap
pointed to name th new district at
torney. ' Approved February II. ; j
' AppoUttag Tax Oomwilaa Iw,
H. . B. 7 The governor, secretary of
stat and state treasurer ar required to
name - a commission of three eiUsena,
ehoaea from different part efjthe state,
not more than two of the aam political
party, to examine into and report upon
assessment and taxation of property of
th state, and to make such recommen
dations as it sees fit In the laws of th
state for assessment of tangible knd in
tangible property. The commission is
to meet In the office of the secretary of
stat , On the second Monday in . June,
1S0S. and continue its meetings until
the work is finished, provided they shall
"not extend beyond the first day of July,
HQS. The board may administer eetha.
swear witnesses and require attendance
upon- ita meetings under penalties of
contempt proceedings. Each commis
sioner is to be allowed $1,004 at the
completion of hla work. Service on such
board la specifically "designated as not
disqualifying any one from holding at
the earns time- any other omc not in
consistent with the duties required of
this one. Approved February II.. '
' : Xadlaa War Claim. ' ' '.
H. B. 141 Th Sum of $41,008 Is p
uronrlated to nay Indian war veterans
for their services m the ware or list
and 1111,' the amount being Intended to
make up deficits round in tn prior ap
propriation. 5 Approved February 1 s.
&aa School SuperlatoadoBt.
IL B. 14 .Th auperlntendent of
coanty schools of Lane oounty la al
lowed a maximum of 1200 traveling ex
pense a year, and authorised t em
ploy a stenographer at a salary of $60
a month. Approved February 1$. .
: - Douglas Ooaaty Salaries , ..
H. B. Ill Th following salaries are
fixed for Douglas eounty officials:
County clerk. $1,000: sheriff. $1,100,
with first, deputy st $1,000 and second
deputy at 4110; eounty 'Judge, $1,100;
treasurer, $1,100; school superintendent.
$1,100; assessor, $1,100, and commission
ers $1 a day while employed in their
work. - Approved February Is. t i
MulwMmaa Ooaaty Clerk, '.''
H. B. IIS The offices of recorder of
eonveyancre . and, clerk of the circuit-'
court In Multnomah eounty ar merged
with th' office of eounty clerk to take
effect the flrat Monday la -June. HOI,
the salary of the 'county clerk to be
$1,000 a year. . Approved February is. ,
DXTOBOB
ar SsTwXJurD.
-r-
"1 ;From th New Tork World.
A striking contrast to the prevalence
of the divorce evil In this country le to
be found In recent statistics for Englaml
and Wales furnished by Consul-General
Evans. Tha number of divorce suits
proper filed in 101 in a population of
11.000.000 wss III. In the asms time
01 decrees were granted. The cause
was in practically every caae that which
Is recognised by the New Tork law. ,
Divorce wss not usually sought in
haste by persons scarcely out of the
honeymoon. Nearly half the applications
were filed by those who had been mar
ried from 10 to le years. .The great ma
jority of applicants had been marrld
over tire years. , Of tha nesrly 1.100
u(jUlnurf aad respondent three bad been
previously divorced. Two prevalent
ODlnlona aa to common eauaes Of divorce
are confirmed In the figures. Almost
half the petltlonere were chUdlesa ana
II ner cent of the women concerned had
been. married whea under It year of
as-e. ' ' ' - '
As compared with our 100.000 divorcee
la a year, with our kaleldoaoople tast
ings and remstlnrs and with tha laxity
of our law concerning divorce in many
states, these facts prepare us for Mr,
Evans' conclusion that In England "ex-
nerlmental or trial marriages seemingly
are not (encouraged by the ease of secur
ing divorce. . The sentiment or the peo
ple, sustained by the courts. Is clearly
sgalnst divorces or the divorced.- -
Has tke Pre'sicicnt
tke Courage?
'- From' Public Opinion
In Publlo Opinion, April 15. Mr. Wil
liam J. Bryan outlines the difficulties
which must beset Mr. Booeevelt if he
continues ia the course which he naa
marked out for himself. Th greatest
Of these Is the argument bf Ingratitude
of the "Interests" which were influential
in securing his election. , ; Mr.. Bryan
aava la Dart:- , , -.' -
"Mr. Jordan, ta his book entitled. The
Power of Truth." declares that ingrati-
tude Is a greater sin than revenge, for
while the revengeful man repay injury
with Injury, the tngrate repay gooa
wlthesiL . "-Th greet corporations,
against which , th president1 attacks
must ba directed, ar corporations which
have -contributed liberally to tha Re
publican party. They all supported tha
Republican ticket in 18IS. and but -cor
the success of -that election the Re
publican -party would not have been vic
torious in 1100; and but for the -victory
of 1100 Mr. Roosevelt would not
mv ita nreaident. TheL railway mag
nate, th trust magnates, and th tariff
magnates can aasuy snow mm was n
holds his position aa a result of what
they have- done for the Republican par
ty, and the question; Will you now re
ward us by hostile legislation r will be
aa difficult a one to answer in tn amrm
ativa. aa one involving hi own ambi
tion. -..-. -i . i ..-,.. '- .
, "Bat this 1 not th hardest question.
for in answering this Question hla sense
of duty might enable him to. answer
In th. affirmative. But what will he
say when they-show him that an at
tempt to paa effective legislation will
divide -hla party? They will point b
hla enormous majority and ask whether
he will risk the conversion of that great
majority Into a minority by dividing
the Republican party into factlona and
arrevln theee factlone against eay
other. . They -will mUdly suggest that
his platform did not pledge htm to a
war upon tne reiiroeas, upon me iruis,
ar unon tha protective tariff. They may
Intimate that he Is adopting Democratic
theerlea after the Democratic party was
overwhelmingly defeated. They may
even inquire ef him whether hi cour
age would not have been more severe
ly tested had he Inaugurated, before the
Republican - national convention, or be
fore the election, the reforms that have
been developed stnog the polls closed."
I - - '
(The xpoTRlon'l now en route up
the Missouri river from Fort Msndan
and bound for the headwaters in the
Rocky mountains.! ' '- ;' .-'-'--'
April 11 We had again a plaasaat
day and proceeded oa with a westerly
wind, which, however, changed te north
west and blew so hard that we were
obliged to atop at 1 o'clock and remain
four hour, when it abated, and ws then
continued our course. - , v
We encamped about dark en a woody
bank, having made 11 miles. ?be coun
try presented the usual variety of high
lands interspersed with rich plains. . In
one of these we' observed a species of
pea bearing a yellow flower which I
now in blossom, the leaf aad stalk re
sembling the common pea. It seldom
rises higher than six inches and ths root
Is perennial. On th rosebushes . we
also saw a quantity of tha. hair of the
buffalo, which- had become perfectly
white by exposure -and resembled the
wool of the sheep, .exoept that It was
much finer and more soft and silky A
buffalo which we killed yesterday 'had
shed hi long hair, and that whloh re
mained waa about two Inches long, thick
and fine, sad would .have furnished live
pounds of - wool, of which we have mo
doubt an excellent cloth may be made.
Our gam today waa a beaver, a deer.
aa elk and soma geese. The river has
been crooked sll dsy and bearing to
wards th souths- . , .--
On the hills ws ebaefved considerable
quantities of dwarf Juniper, which sel
dom grows higher than three feet. We
killed in the course of th day an. elk.
three-geese and a -beaver. The . beaver
on this part of ths Missouri -are tn
greater quantities, larger-, and fatter.
and their fur is mora- abundant and of a
darker color than any we had hitherto
seen; their favorite food seems to be
the bark of the Cottonwood .and willow,
as we have seen no other speclee of
tree that ha hern touched by them,
and theae - they gnaw to the ground
through a diameter of 1 inches. .
OBA AT PBAYUL
Perclval Gibbon In MoClure's Magsglne.
. The prayers of the csar hava been the
subject of many jeata . They . are a
synonym for futility and childish Inade
quacy. It is Russia that takes upon
herself to Jise these words. - I saw him
once formally suppliant in the vast and
splendid Isaac cathedral; '. marching In
front of a corps of bishops and between
two lines of euirasslers. A stiff, brold
ered robe wss over his shoulders, snd
from where . I stood I could eee only
that and the back of his head.- There
where chants and anthems innumerable,
but presently, when choir -and priests
were hushed, there cams a thin, treble
pipe, a staccato -squeak like a -child's
suppressed exclamation the voice of tha
eeer-frr-prnyert Hs is-llie Head "bf "the
ohurcb-itt Russia, and .perhaps of all his
distinctions be prides himself most on
this. It is a vanity that baa been care
fully fostered In him by M. Pobledono
styeft, ths procurator of the holy synod,
whom the accessibility ef the cur to
flattery has road on ef the great force
of. Russian politics ,r
Fxzrjre-i
STAtVaV
From the Philadelphia Telegraph.'
A bachelor farmer a little past bis
prime, finding himself herd up, thought
the best thing he could do would be. to
marry a neighbor of his, who was re
ported to have some bawbees. Meeting
with no obstscles to bis wooing he
soon got married. One of the first pur
chases hs mad with part of her' money
was a horse. When he brought It horn
he called out hie wife to eee It After
admiring it she said: 'Well, Ssm, It It
hadna been tor my siller It wsdna hae
been there." "Jenny,"- Ssm replied. "If
It had not been for yer siller ye wadna
ha been here jrerset'' L , . ,
JLewis- arid Clark
T
. -. .. , . i
INcrv; Cnal Hccl a
Man of Nerve
'-r -j-" y rvy
(Washington Dispatch to the New Tork
.: f .Herald:). . ; i.
" Theodore P. Blionts, the new chair
man ef the Panama oanal commission,
is 41 yeare old. Aocordlng to the calcu
lations of his friends, whe.know. some
thing ef - his - capabilities . for doing
things; hs will have completed the great
canal and gon en a mucM needed rest
by the -time ha is 10. : " '
r Men who know Mr. Shout's wU be
lieve in him fervently, and yet when he
was mentioned for the office of execu
tive head of the canal there were few
persons In' the east who had eVer heard
of htm, or, having heard of -him.--had
not promptly forgotten there waa each
a person. v
If ths expectations of his friends ere
realised Mr. Shonts Is going to be heard
from -more frequently, and hla name is
going to be' known all around the world
as ths. man who carried through tha
greatest piece ef construction; on tho
western hemisphere. For ' Mr. Shonts
admirers do not doubt for sn Instant
that he will succeed where De Leaaepa
and the almost Inexhaustible wealth be
hind him failed. . -. .'
Mr. Bbonts is one Of those physical
glanta of tha west He is not entirely
a product of the western country, be-'
casVe he waa born la Crawford county,
Pennsylvania, but he wss transplanted
to Iowa and Chicago..- Most of the rail
road men of the west who have made
their mark are large la stature, Many
of them began to make their way whan
they dominated by sheer physical force
th men on tho section, and from that
climbed sometimes to the presidency of
grea rsunm ayewme.:.,
; Mr Shonts is no 'exception. -'-. "Hs
stands a trifle more than six -fset and
Is built like an athlete. He la an ath
lete. He hea a face that shows good
humor and, at the same time, great
firmness. His mustache ia tinged with
gray and his eye ere usually laughing.
Hs has a firm Jaw and a backbone that
la straight . aa aa. Indian's,, It Is als
sun. 7 - ' -. - :
- Mr. Shonts is th on-la-law - of
former Governor Drake pf Iowa and h
began active life in. that state building
railroads. Mr. Shonts has done every
thing tn the railroad line, from obtain
ing the right of way to completing the
system, equipping It putting it la opera-,
tlon. and then running it - He Is one
ef those man. who, given a scheme snd
expanse of -prairie and two polnta for
termini, would turn out a railroad and
run it for the benefit of the stock
holdersand sell it for them if a good
bargain could be made. , He has been
a success aa a railroad constructor, sa '
an operator of a largo system, as a'
traffic msasger. aa a master of rail
road Isw, and aa manager of an audit- -ing
.department He Is One of tha -best,
accountanta In the country, and Is ree-v
ognised aa a very successful traff to
manager. ; - 1 . -; . ' -
Whan he was selected by tha presi
dent te be chairman af' tha new Panama
oanal commission, Mr. Bhonta was presi
dent of ths Clover Leaf railroad system.
The legal name of thi road ' 1 . the
Toledo, St Louis Western. 7 .
. 1 !.,.. , -I ... .JWM i
When the directors of this railroad
wrota to Paul Morton, secretary of the
navy, .asking him what hs thought of
ths capabilities of Mr. Bhonts for ths..
head ef .that system, Mr. Morton re
plied! '- .. ...
"If I owned a railroad X would want
Mr. Bhonta to run it t would father
have him at the head ef a railroad
property of mine than nay ether man In
the United States." , , -?
Mr. Morton knew the man he wss
talking about Hs aad Mr. Bhonta had
been associated in what to - them, waa
a great - enterprise. ; This was - the
Indiana, Illinois aV Iowa railroad.. Mr.
Shonts built this road and then oper
ated' It He and Mr. Morton controlled
the property, and Mr. Bhonta finally
old it to th Vanderbilta sa a to not ;
a profit - of about $1,000,000. . Mr.
Bhonta profit was about $1,100,000. He
is still a director ia the Iowa Central
railroad, which waa th first road he
built This he did In connection with
hla father-in-law. . - ' .
- Mr. - Bhonta, - aa chairman ' ef the
Panama canal commission, will receive
a salary of $11,00 a year. Jits salary
as president of tne Clover utmx system
is understood to have been about the ;
aame, so that ks hse-made no . great
sacrifice in income. Hla income eutsid
ef his salary la supposed-to be in ex
cess of $100,000 a year. 'He haa been
making his home In Chicago,- His fam
ily consists of his wif s and -two da ugh
ters. . The daughters are now at school
lh thi city. ; v .'. ;, - ..;
- The'cahsl builder le a man-of nerve.,
je is capaote or taxing car ox aim
self almost anywhere. Not long sgo
blackmail him. Mr. Bhonts waited Until .
hs hsd entered hie office end bnd stated
his purpose. Then he locked the door,
pot the key In hie pocket and, taking
off hi coat with deliberation, proceeded .
- - HI work was well done. When he "
police station ia an ambulance. There
Was exhibited te the police, aad he waa
instructed to leave town, and ordera
were Issued that if Tie appeared In Chi
cago again he would be put to work,
breaking stone The men hs never
visited Chicago again. '- ' .'
'Mr. Bhonts eomes from much the
same stock aa rresiaent ftooweveit. mis
r rand father waa Dutch from Holland..
Hla grandmother- waa Hugenotfrora .
VvamAa Thu. mm . ttle ftitmr'm nan. -
enta, One of Mr. Bhonta sister is Miss
Eva Shonts, a prominent - temperance
lecturer, who is regarded out west as
the legitimate suocessor of the late Miss
Frances K. Wlllsrd, president -f ths
Women's Christian Temperance unlorv
M rv S bent and Mr. Wallace, the chief
engineer of ths Panama canal,, are close -friends.
Their acquaintance began in
boyhood. Both graduated from Mon- .'
mouth college and Mr. Wallace's father
was the president- of that Institution.
It Is predicted that Messrs. Shonts snd
Wallace will do great "team work" n
the canal. ....',. . - -
If was lef telyHu "to Secretary Mor
ton' that tha president we ablatio ob
tain the aervJcee of Mr. Bhonta. Mr. .'
He thought a minute and unhesitatingly "
saia met 1 neooore 1-. nnonta waa tpe
very best men hs eould think of, sqd
he probably had ths constitution to see
the work through. Mr. Shonts Wss In
vited to take a trip with Mr. Morton
on the Dolphin snd there he had ample
time tA thlnlr It A... tt (!,.. .1..
elded that he would undertake th task
In order to make a name for himself In
rendering publlo service. ,
Mr. Bhonts haa resigned tits off les as
president of the Clover Leaf rsllrnsd
snd he will be in Washington In s fw
aaya 10 aevoie an bis time to conquer
ing tat Isthmus oi re-iran. "j ' - ---
V