The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972, December 27, 1911, Page 8, Image 8

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    THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL, ' PORTLAND. WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER: 27, 1911.
CLl
THE JOURNAL
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inn Snndajr morning at The Journal Bull
nrtn ana xainnm -
Bnterml t tut potornre m u.
.n.i.,1.ili. , thn.Uirh tb mill CODfl
rlM mattrr.
ZKUCI'HONRR Main T173; Hotna, A--ill
dppartmenta reached by the TI?'
tell the operator what department yoo warn.
IWRKIGN AIVRRTISIN(J HKPREPKNTATIVE,
llanjamln 4 Kentnor Co.. Brnoswlri BiUJdlns.
C2S Fifth innnr, New York; 1218 People a
Ua Rolldlnf. Chlraco.
fu(rrl.tlon Term, by raall or to any, addresa
la tht United State or Mexico.
PAILY. '
One year $5.00 I One month -80
Sl'NPAT.
One year $2.60 I On month I .29
DAILY AND 8ITNDAY.
Ona rear.... $7.50 I One month I 5
-a
Piils Is the charm, by sages often
told,
Converting all It touches Into
gold;
Content can soot hp, where'er by
fortune placed,
Cn rear a garden. in tne desert
waste.
Henry Klrke White.
U
Till; WORKLESS
THE people of Portland do not
want the city or county author-
ltles to falter or flinch In the
unemployed problem.
They do not want these authori
ties to play the woman. They do
not want them to be tightwads In
an emergency. They do not want the
county court to "let George do it."
They do not want the city hall to "let
George do it."
While the authorities deliberated
yesterday, a woman with a wailing
child fn her arms waited in the cor
ridor to learn what chance there was
to be for work, so the news could be
carried to her husband. Leopold
Frye, a carpenter -with four little
boys, who recently arrived from
North Dakota, also waited to see
what the dellberatora might have for
him.
They were only two of the army
of 6000 of the city's unemployed.
But they were unanswerable argu
ments for a public policy as broad
and big as the situation Is grave.
The county court's finding is that
work by the county can be found for
CO men. It Is not an official finding
commensurate with a cltv with an
assessed property value of $274.394,-fa
720. Fifty Jobs is not In harmony
with a county in which the annual re
ceipts of the principal city were
about $16,000,000 and disburse
ments about $16,000,000.
So feeble a finding Is not a fit re
flection of Portland, in which $20,
000,000 was spent in the year now
closing in the construction of build
ings. Fifty poor Jobs Is out of tune
with the mounting sty-scrapers and
tremendous flow of business activity
witnessed in Portland - the past
twelvemonth.
In the midst of the splendid re
sources and phenomenal growth of
this city, fifty Jobs is preposterous,
when men, women and children
stand face to face with the black
Epectre of actual want. So small a
public effort is a misrepresentation
of Portland.
Many of these unemployed men
are not seeking charity, but work.
It Is not a call for philanthropy, but
a call for a Job. It is not a request
for a bestowal, but an offer to give
one dollar's worth of good labor for
every 100 cents of public money.
Publicly and privately, Portland
should remove this stigma of an
army of unemployed. Waving aside
the fact that many may have been
brought hero by exploitation pub
licity, a Just Portland and a big
Portland should seek out those who
are bona fide victims of unemploy
ment and find them work. It should
survey the field for needed Improve
ments, public and private, and make
them now.
What are the skyscrapers, what
are the great business blocks, what
Is all this array of Portland wealth,
what are the big churches pointing
skyward, if honest men seeking hon
est work are workless?
OREGON SWEEP
OREGON stands first on the list
of states for average weight
of fleeces, with 8.9 pounds.
The next on the list is Wyom
ing, With 8.4 pounds. Oregon wool
was sold in 1910 for an average price
of 20 cents per pound, while Ohio
wool produced 31 cents.
Oregon stands sixth on the list of
.states for total numbers. But Ohio
passes' Oregon with a total of 2,890,
163 as against Oregon with 1,95 s!
342. In the analysis of the census fig
ures Just received comparative fig
ures are given for 1900 and 1910.
The number of sheep In Oregon Is
reduced by 3013 as between the two
years named. Wyoming flocks have
grown by no less than 1,499,380, and
Montana's by 744,621. In Ohio there
in an Increase of no less than 241 -913.
The reduction In Oregon is cer
tainly not due to one cause only. We
heat that thousands of Oregon bred
lambs are sold and shipped east to
be there prepared for the Chicago
and Omaha markets. We hear that
the big ranges . are being broken up
into small farms. We bear that on
many of the old 'Willamette valley
farms dairy cows have ousted the
tmall flocks of sheep that Used to
graze on the every other year fal
lows that occupied half the farm.
The truth ia that If tbe gospel of
crop rotation were learned and prac
ticed In Oregon, there would be three
times' tbe 6366 farms, which report
sheep, and each year an increasing
number. , Sheep as fertilisers to pre
pare for wheat U what not only the
older coilJtrJe but some of the east
ern states adopt as their invariable
custom. There sheep raising, feeding
and shearing are a regular part of
the balanced industries of the farm.
Ohio is an object lesson for us.
Her area Is 41,060 square, miles
against Oregon's 96,000. But Ohio
reports 2,890,163 sheep, and Oregon,
with her wide ranges, 1,958,342.
Ohio fleeces average only 7.1 pounds,
Oregon's 8.90. But Ohio wool sold
this year for 21 cents a pound, Ore
gon's 20 cents.-.
THE CASK OF 1IARVEY
J
UDICIALLY, the Ardenwald mur
der is as much a mystery as
ever. The dismissal by an Ore
gon City justice yrsterday of the
case against Nathan B. Harvey Is
official finding that the theory that
this neighbor of tbe Hills did the
deed is not sound. Whether or not
the evidence against Harvey will be
brought to the attention of a grand
Jury remains to be seen.
The state showed at the examina
tion that Harvey was at the Arden
wald station shortly before the mur
der was committed. But Harvey's
home was in the vicinity, and the
justice doubtless reasoned that It was
not an unusual circumstance for Har
vey to be there
By the alarm clock It was brought
out In the evidence that the deed
was committed about 12:52, shortly
after Harvey was at the station. It
also appeared In the testimony that
the barking of dogs chained In
neighbor's yard confirmed the prob
able time when the tragedy occurred
But these were not facts to immedi
ately connect Harvey with the crime.
The most extraordinary fact In the
whole matter was the employment
by Harvey of attorneys for his de
fense before any accusation had been
made against him, and at a huge fee
of $20,000. What the mental pro
cesses were that led him to such a
contract, and why he thought It
necessary to secure attorneys at all
before charges were made against
him Is food for Interesting specula
tion. Yet, even so remarkable a step
does not prove him guilty. Few men
would have done it, especially few
Innocent men. Yet in the excite
ment of the time, Harvey's mind
may have been aroused to a tension
'resulted In this unusual act.
It is possible that all the evidence
In the hands of the investigators has
not been disclosed. It is essential
that the case against Harvey or any
other man should be probed to the
bottom.
The extermination of the Hill fam
ily was one of the foulest murders
ever committed In Oregon. If there
Is power to do it, the guilty man
should be sought out Our failure
to catch and convict criminals Is one
of the reasons why we have so
much crime.
ONE MAN CITY GOVERNOR
s
TAUNTON, Virginia, ia a city of
12,000 population. Revolting
from the old style of municipal
government it resolved to try
condensed commission government.
It sent to Richmond, Virginia, for
Charles E. Ashburner, a civil en
gineer and railroad man, and In
stalled him as city manager, paying
him $2500 a year. He has entire
charge of the city's business. He has
been at work for three years. The
tax rate has not been Increased. He
has laid 48,000 feet of pavement, as
against about 3000 under the regime
of the old council. He has Installed
a sewerage system. He has en
larged the water supply. He has re
formed the collection of garbage. He
has put up street signs, paved school
play grounds, and has made city em
ployes earn their salaries by refusing
to pay for Idle time.
"I mean," sayB Ashburner, "to
make Staunton the finest little city
in America." Probably he could
I
earn more money in private prac
tice, but the sense of doing public
service for the public good inspires
his life.
Lockport, New York, was the first
city to adopt this plan. Eureka, Cal
ifornia, has carried an election by a
vote of 8 to 1, on a total of 1172 In
favor of one man rule.
For large cities It is probably not
adapted, for the medium sized pro
gressive city of from 10,000 to 20,-
000 population, it may Insure the
citizens a dollar's value for a dollar
spent.
Ashburner Is not the only young
American suited for Buch work.
CAN WE IK) WORSE?
T
HERE are those who are arguing
with us In Oregon to make no
change in our methods of deal
lug with crime. They resist
every proposal for other methods.
They attack every attempt to find a
better way.
They demand hangings, , In spite
of the fact that after fifteen hang
ings in Oregon within a few years,
we had the Scappoose murder, the
Barbara Holtzman murder, the Grif
fith murder, the Ardenwald murder,
and many others within the past few
months. Thoir theory is that the
hangings stop the murders, but fif
teen Oregon hangings did not pre
vent four of the foulest murders In
Oregon history.
Meantime, the nation Is an orgy of
homicide. Officers do not catch the
criminals. The courts convict only
thirteen out of every 1000 murder
ers tried, while Germany convicts
950.
Yet the opponents of change say
hangings will stop It. But we have
had hangings in a part of the country
for 122 years, and more. To the
stats hangings and electrocutions,
we have added mob lynchinga and
run the number up to 190 in one
year, or more than one every two
days We have even burned people
at the stake and gloated over thcra
as the flames licked and laved thera.
We have gone the limit In savage
execution. We have struck every
horrible note in the butcher's gamut,
but Instead of stopping crime, our
system has resulted in an alarming
Increase.
We have even taught the children
that killings are Justifiable, by the
state, and In Arkansas a boy of elev
en seized a shotgun and blew a por
tion of his sister's head off because
she would not share her Christmas
candy with hlra. Every hour In the
American day, somebody in the
United States Is maliciously slain.
Every month sees the murder of
about 800 men, women and children.
The blood roll of the year mounts
to nearly 10,000, and has reached
nearly 11,000.
In the country, one person in
every 10,000 is murdered. No other
civilized nation is so stained with
blood. America stands horribly pre
eminent, with a rntlo of man killings
nine times as great as Germany's
Rnd six times as great as that of
France.
By arming the crooks, by failure
to catch the criminals, by refusal to
convict the criminals, by our lynch-
lngs, and by our hanging and elec
trocutions, we have achieved no more
than to make homicide an hourly ep
isode, and the shedding of blood a
mere pastime.
In view of our utter failure In
dealing with crime, is" It not intel
ligence to try a few changes?
Can we do worse?
A MAN'S RIGHTS
W
ITII the Christmas shopping
over and the news from Om
aha we are reminded that It
Is a moment of awful dis
tress to a man when his wife insists
upon piloting him through a depart
ment store. Perhaps, it is as cruel
a torture as a husband ever suffers.
For, a man in a department store is
a lost soul, a nonentity. He is In
woman's own domain, and his rights
are nil, his importance Is minus.
He would rather crawl under the
bed after his own collar button or
hang up his nightie or make out the
laundry list or have a touch of rheu
matism, than to invade a department
store chained and lassooed to his
wife's skirt. It Is like stepping on
tacks In the dark. It Is something
that is more humiliating than push
ing a baby carriage at a horse show.
It is absolutely ghastly. And, yet,
the problem Is seldom solved.
But, In Omaha, a husband is of
some consequence. Tnere they rec
ognize his right to "life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness." There he
may lead a quiet; simple, happy ex
istence. An elegantly equipped
lounging and Bmoking room has been
Installed In one of that city's large
department stores for husbands who
shop with their wives. There he
may enjoy human sociability, com
panionship and communion without
regard to the curves and graceful
lines of the changing fashions or the
latest flaunt of feathers. There he
may shout to his heart's content,
'Old Top. B'George, I'm glad to see
you! Have a cigar!" And, It might
be that he could edge Into a little
game with a dollar limit. Who
knows?
The only possible inconvenience
that wife may now heap upon hus
bands In Omaha Is to have the bill
sent to him. Which, after all, is a
flattering tribute. For, In that event,
once again, he reigns supreme, his
importance is undeniable.
What could be simpler than the
Omaha way? How bright the future
looks for Nebraska masculinity!
STILL A BLUNDER
T Is bad business policy for the
Portland water board to pay
$6970 more for pipe by rail than
It would cost by water. It is bad
business policy for the railroads to
demand $6970 more for the ship
ment than the sum for which It could
be brought to Portland by water.
It Is $6970 that could have been
kept In Portland. It Is money that
would have been available for the
urther upbuild of Portland. It is
money that would have gone Into the
channels of trade and business for
the creation of more traffic out of
which later on the railroads would
have profited.
All money put in circulation cre
ates activity. It helps build homes.
It helps create enterprises. It helps
finance activities. It helps the com
munity along the way to Influence,
wealth and power. It helps make
bigger cities and bigger states with
a bigger traffic for the support of
railroads.
By taldng away the $6970 for the
pipe shipment, and sending It as en
larged profits to eastern stockhold
ers, the railroads take away that
much of the capital of Portland,
without giving anything in return.
The water route would have ren
dered the same servlco for $6970
leas. By the process in the shipment
of the pipe, and In hundreds of sim
ilar shipments, the railroads annual
ly drain the state of a huge sum and
hold the state and its cities back.
They prevent the creation of an en
larged traffic out of which they
would ultimately secure greater div
idends. It is the popular railroad blunder
of exacting all the traffic will bear.
It Is economic shortsightedness. It
Is a suicidal business policy. A
broader, bigger and' sounder view
would not only helpthe railroads but
be an effective developer of states
and communities.
It la the cold fact that the ship-
ment is to cost roruana eiuy m.Qreja0wa at iof paid, taso- per acre for
than the sum at which it could have
been brought by water. It is $6970
more than Is necessary for the ser
vice. If the railroads could not han
dle the shipment as cheaply as the
water route, they ought not to ex
pect the business. If they could not
render the service as cheaply, the
water board had no right to give
them the business.
It Is $6970 wrongfully taken from
Portland water consumers. It Is
$6970 that the water board had no
right to take from water consumers.
It Is a business blunder that should
never be repeated in Portland.
The sum would help supply work
to some of Portland's Jobless men.
The woman who Bays she lived 100
years without being kissed by a man,
according to the Kansas City Jour
nal, is mistaken. It says she ftld
not live; she merely existed.
An automobile concern is adver-
tislng a car that "your heirs will ap-
predate." Is the buyer to under
stand that the machine will hurry on
his funeral?
Letters From tlie People
(Comnjunlcatloiu Rent to The Journal for mt
Mention In thla department ahoulil not eieeed
800 words In IcnKth and mum be accompanied
by tha naue aud addivca or the fender.)
New Year's Day.
To the Editor of The Journal. What
Is the real reason that the first of Jan
uary Is chosen to be crowned with the
title "New Year's" (beginning) when It
has nothing to do with the Important
world's event of the resurrection? The
Jew celebrates hi New Year the first
of the month of Tishra (September)
He claims, according to his tradition.
that the world was not created in that
day which opinion he expresses In his
prayer books. N
Even this opinion contradicts science
but anyway It Is based upojj his re
Uglous teachings, which are handed
down to him from remote ages by his
forefathers. Therefore, from his point
of view he is Justified In recognizing
It as the beginning of the new year.
But where Is the Justice of prefer
ring the first of January and naming
It New Year's?
Before I go farther to explain my
view point I will refer you to a legend
in the Talmud: "Adam, was driven out
from paradise for disobeying God's
command which was In September In
the fall, and he noticed that every day
the sun cones up takes In the firma
ment and sets earlier. He was very
gloomy thinking that his sins were the
cause of the coming of the world to an
end. But
when he reached the day I
" , i -i. I
later, n
ual way
he rejoiced, saying it Is the us-
ly and the law or nature ana ne
made that day a holiday and sacrl-
ficed to God," and the Talmud ends this
legend witn tne ronowing remarKs: e,
... .. - ... . M.-r-w I
. ' S'E: "k M a 2?7A Ban"lrlefa long after all of his sermons were for
to the light above and his descendants
for generations after, kept It u a hol
iday to the worshipping or tne sun."
History tells us the early Romans
used to worship the sun and made the
first day of its encreasement a graifd
holiday. Later, Christianity was found-
ed upon the ruins of heathenism. All the
Important events in the new established
religion, as the birth, the resurrection,
occurred In the same period of time and
at the season when the sun commences
to get bigger; only a difference of a
few days. As it was very hard to erad
icate the old custom the fathers of the
new church removed the celebration to
the first of January, only a few days
space and made It a combined celebra
tion to satisfy the old -time custom.
MOSES REIN.
The Hill Reward.
Editor of The Journal It would seem a
lack or appreciation under the circum
stances on my part as a law abiding citi
zen If I did not aiop te say The Journal
is to be commended on getting together
the $2$75 Hill murder reward by head
ing the list so generously, and then get
ting to the ears of my old time friends
William M. Ladd. Theodore B. Wllcor.
"Ben" 6elllng. "Joe" N. Teal, a F. Ad
ams. L. Samuels and others who came
down with a spirit of humane Justice.
My encyclopedia falls to supply me with
the degree word of this atrocity. His
tory tells us-In the barbarous days of
Indians on the plains there always
seemed to be the spark existing ln hu
manity to spare Innocent children. Evi
dence conclusive with no mistake ln the
future and the culprit hung until dead,
there will come a time when every Iso
lated family from the Atlantlo to the
Pacific will breathe easier, women who
are good marksmen were over cautious
hub Bcaun niiiio oi'm"""8 lbhuu uu
tho Klickitat. I used to know your pub-
Usher, C. S. Jackson, in 1880, at Pendle-
ton. Or., before the era of railroads east
of the mountains. "Sam," as I best
knew him, then had not been out long
from his native state, Virginia. He inci- The gentleman Is mistaken ln his con
dentally was stage agent at that time fof elusions, as well as his facts. Every
John Halley, the pioneer stage man. and
he was associated with the late Frank
B. Clopton ln business. The Utter I
had met at the Bishop Scott grammar
school.
JOHN G. MADDOCK.
Prices of Farm Lands.
Portland. Or., Pec. 28. To the Ed
itor of The Journal There has been a
great deal said in the papers, and you
hear it reiterated dally ln conversations.
thai the price of farm lands has been
raised beyond the line of reason, and
tho real estate agent is mostly blamed
for this condition of affairs.
I have come to the conclusion that
the reason Ilea entirely with the buy
ers, and while this may seem strange,
It Is Illustrated by a little Incident of
few days ago. Having come ' to the
oonclu'slon that there was a demand for
land at a lower price, I secured some
logged-off land and divided It Into
small tracts, and ln order to keep It
within the reach of the man of small
means, decided to confine myself to
small ads, and inserted the following
In The Journal:
TPN ACItES $300: $10 down, $10
month; good soil, level. 225 Lum
ber Exchange.
By mistake the. printer got It $3000
Instead of $300, and the next day I
was kept busy explaining th rror to
Intending purchasers, but as soon as I
did so there was a loss of Interest ln
the matter. They were imbued with the
Idea that land offered at so low a price
was absolutely worthless, and would
not even Investigate it. When the ad
was corrected there were but few calls,
and these mostly by persons who ex
pected to find the land cleared and
within the city limits. '
A few years ago I was operating In
tho Itogue River district, and offered
some parties 160 acres of, ground at
$10 per acre. I was laughed at. After
the price had been raised to $15 per
acre it was sold to a man who imme
diately put it on the market at $40 per
acre, and a quick sale was made, r The
new purchasers divided it Into small
trnotai anrl th riRrtlpai vha turn It
COMMENT AND
SMALL CHANGE.
Everybody la glad It's over.
Benjamin Harrison was renominated.
Days setting longer: 'twill soon be
spring.
Christmas alwavs has its accidents.
crime ana tragedies.
W. Morgan Shuster did hts best:
proved himself a man.
Onlv when the craft er and cadets
fall out Is anything found out
The multimillionaires will c-lve gen
erously New Year's, but only to those
who. have plenty.
When on Is 20. he think a man of
40 real old; when he Is 60, he thinks a
man of 40 real young.
After New Yenr'n we mav exneet to
hear from 30 or 40 more candidates for
senators und representatives In con
gress.
.Tonpfl thA rtntpl .Totiah mlinklv
I proved tha truth of the text that the
way of the transeressor is hard. Yet
sometimes it isn't so.
Tf In thft lnnnitv nf thA tlmft flnmn
poor worthy people were overlooked
Christmas, needed aid will be Just as
welcome on New Year's.
. Woman 1 stiff raerlsts of Orecon were
wise not to get Mrs. Pnnklnirst to come
to this state to camnalsrn for them. Sho
would have done the cause more harm
than good.
It Is not at all Incredible that there
is a good deal of dirty graft In and
around some municipal departments, but
one shouldn't believe all that some of
Its expose rs say.
Postal Telegraph company promises to
reduce long distance telephone ratPS to
one-seventh, in some instances of the
W. U.-Bell charges. If this Is done.
people may got something like reason
able rates.
SEVEN DEVOTED DAUGHTERS
Jane
Jane Austen presents an admirable
example of the devoted daughter, who
for so long a time sacrificed her own
career in order tnat sne migni uvsibi
her father who was the humble rector
of a little English parish In the latter
part of the eighteenth century.
Janes father was in sucn sirauenea
circumstances that he was compelled to
take pupils In order to Increase his mod
est Income. Jane at an early age be
came adept In the use of the needle
was "especially great In satln-stitcn-
we are told, ana lnsteaa or iouowing
her Inclination to write books, she laid
euch an Idea aside and did fancy work
for whoever would employ her.
In their humble little home at Stev-
nfnn Vn r am n. little elrl Jane em-
,- ,- t'im mnst children would
and while ner father was ousy in writ
. M next Sunday germon, little did
hfl realIle that thtJ y0Ung girt who was
piavlng about hlm and frequently had
f i .on would
L J Un 1,I11UCU a, atiiuv wv .
D(ok, tnat wouM ve
rotten.
Miss Austen's genius received nine
recognition during her lifetime. Ana
although it took a considerable time
for her father himself to come to such
recognition, yet when he did so he was
Proud of hU little girl, fnd father and
daughter walked hand m hand along
their different literary patnways, ana
while Jane would write Rector Austen
would exert his very best effort to find
a market tor ner proauot.
When Jane Austen had rlnlsnea tne
remarkable novel of "Friae ana re-
Judlce" her father offered it to a cele
brated London puDiisner, out it. wm re
acted bv return post without an In
spection of the manuscript, "Northanger
Abbey" the father sola to a uain puo
lisher in 1803 for 10 pounds. Ha did
not venture to print It and was glad
to take back his money and return the
manuscript to one of Janes brothers a
six acres, and then took far from the
choice. .
Hundreds of similar cases oouia oe
cited, showing that the average buyer
Is not looking for cheap land, but some
thing that can be cut Into town 101s
and sold before the next installment
becomes due. There is plenty of land
f hat can be had for a reasonable price,
for the man who really desires to build
a home but We must be willing to go
nf tha SDeculatlve district, off the
automobile highways and out of the Be
limit hut ripniile who Insist on living
ln town must expect to pay lot prices.
CHARLES E. SHORT.
Is Strain "Stringing" Us?
To the Editor of Tho Journal C P.
ctrain nt Umatilla county, the veteran
Kan r r irocnn i (l ii tin liib o ix.nk a vj
,,,. AKKiTOV m-ivate property ln
land BQ h(J deciarea jn a communication
q organ of lana monopoly aim evci
speciai privilege. He also says that
ipv.lonment of Irrigation enterprises
would cease because no one would care
to acquire land when they naa no uue
to It.
land owner now pays to the state and
nntv s-nvernment a direct rental tax.
If he does not pay it he is dispossessed
as certainly as the government exists.
To inorease that rental tax 60 per cent
would ln no wise dispossess mm n tne
user pf the land was exempt from tax
ations now levied on his tools and
m.nTiia of land using his labor and
capital. Tho owner of Idle, or half used
land would have to make more use of
his land, or pay tho lncreasea rental
tax out of his savings, or his pllferings.
In either case the community would
benefit, by the first because or tne de
mand for labor, by tne second oecaun
of the use of hoarded capital to defray
uubllc expenses. Such hoards would
soon be depleted.
Irrigation enterprises wouia db eaeuy
financed by the general government,
an a verv small portion of the In
creased land values would pay for the
expense, while there would be abso
lutely no incentive in a man being kept
land poor" trying to forestall the
benefits. What mankind demands be
fore It will produoe is not absolute
ownership free from tax or rent, for
that is impossible under any kind of
government whatever. It demands se
curity of possession. If Mr. Strain
thinks men will not build on land they
do not own he would do well to come
to Portland and look around. He will
find investments of capital ln buildings
worth more than any half dozen in
Umatilla county built on land the invest
ors do not own, and never expect to own.
The ground rent paid for security Of
possession is a tax collected by an owner
to get out of tho way.. Will Mr. Strain
say that because the now landlord gov
ernment increases -its demands on the
"owner" so as to take a greater portion
of that ground rent into the publlo till,
that ho more buildings will be erected
on leased lands, or that those now in
use will be abandoned? --.Will
the assessor of Umatilla declare
that If publlo needs call for five - or
10 mills more that the land owners of
that county will give up their homes
and migrate to China? Now, if with
that demand for a few mors mills on
NEWS IN BRlfiF
OREGON SIDULIGUTS.
The Redmond Spokesman is to have
typesetting machine in nine to oi ui
its first Issue of 1912. i
... , '
D. C. - Ashmun has disposed of the
Dayton Tribune to Fred T. Mellfnger,
who take charge as manager and ed-
,to- . . . i
Albany Democrat: The project of a
hotu at Lyon and Fifth streets, has
bean given up on account of the other
projects that are gradually materializ
hig. , 4
Condon Times: Joe Klrschner has
made a survey of tho race track prepar
atory to having it leveled up in time
for the threshermen's convention next
May.
rvn tiov Harhni" At the school meet
ing a 15 iiilll tax levy was made to de
fray the general -scuooi Bxit-n:ti mo
coming year. All regarded the levy as
Just and necessary.
Eend'a school census shows 884 child
ren of school age, an increase of ..
per cent over 1910, notwlthfitanumg tne
eastern part of the district was cut off
to rorm a new aisirici.
Dayton Tribune: The Johnson 'Oth
ers, in the Wheatland aisinci, uii ui
300 acres have sold $2000 worth of pro
ducts and have $3000 worth to seii.
Who wouldn t be a farmer!
rrtu mtlt. e tVi a CunrrA Pnlmer Lum
bar romnnnv. neeordiixr to the La
nrn,i Krrjr will not close down dur
ing the entire winter season except on
Sundays ana icgai iiouanyo.
Harrlsburg Bulletin: The Juvenll
i ,i ia a fntnr In Harrlsbiirfr
growth. How proud we feel of those
imv who are working away without
hope of any monetary return.
Revival services will begin at the
United Hrethren church at Weston the
wecond Sunday In January. The pastor
will be assisted by Rev. Morgan R. Oal
laher, formerly of Spokane and now of
Deep Creek, Wasn.
Austen.
few years later after she had become
famous, unbeknownst to the publisher.
already being the author of four popular
novels.
G. H. Lewis told Charlotte Bronte that
"no author ever lived with a nicer sense
of proportionate means to ends. Given
the end, the life-like proportions of the
social aspects with which alone she was
familiar, the execution Is riawiess.
Among some of Miss Austen's most
ardent admirers, not alone for her writ
ings, but her charming personality and
devotion to dutv and to parents, were
Warren Hastings. Soutliey. Coleridge,
Sir James Mackintosh. Sidney Smith
and Sir Henry Holland.
Q. H. Lewis said that he would rather
have written "Pride and Prejudice" or
"Tom Jones" than any of the Waverly
novels. Lord McCauley declares that
Jane Austen approaches Shakespeare
nearer than any of the English writers
in
drawing character; and he once pro
posed to edit her words with a memoir
to raise funds for a monument.
Sir Walter Scott declared Miss Aus
ten's talent to be "the most wonderful
he had ever met with: The big bow
bow strain I can do myself like any now
going; but the exquisite touch which
renders ordinary common place things
and characters Interesting from the
truth of the description and the sentl
ment. Is denied mo. What a pity such
a gifted creature died bo young!"
Jane Austen was the creator of the
novel of domestic life. She took the
homely facts of middle-class England
and made them Interesting to all the
people of Eneland and of Europe. She
made her countrymen see that there was
heroism In common life, a beauty and
a glory In the plain, ordinary affairs
of the average home circle. Her ardent
study df the subject. In the devotion to
her parents and her home, made her
well prepared to put the sotil of home
and filial affection into her books.
Tomorrow Charlotte Bronte.
the dollar of valuation, comes a re
lease to the producing, working, toll
lng farmers and mechanics of all other
taxes, will not the Irrigation enter
prises continue?
It seems to me that somebody has
been "stringing" Assessor Strain or
that he has been "Stringing" us.
ALFRED D. CRIDGF3.
Hanging Not the Cn.
Portland, Dec. 26. To the Editor of
The Journal In the discussion of capi
tal punishment comes Mr. Searle and re
elaborates the old threadbare theory
that we are all vile, ' that fear alone
keeps us from committing crime, and
fear of death alone keeps us from mur
der. I wish to call Ms attention to the
fact that there lias been no Increase of
murder ln this state since Governor
West announced his anti-hanging policy.
Our race Is descended from savages.
A few hundred years ago our ancestors
were barbarians. We still have Intent
within us the savage and barbarian in
stlncts. The more brutal ones killed
each other, and the more peacefully in
clined propagate the race from which
we sprang. Children are more like sav
ages when young and grow away from
It, If their surroundings are favorable
as they grow up.
The sight of violence excites anyone
who sees It, and hearing of violent
deaths puts thought of violence into tho
minds of the young. Murders always
increase after a bloody war. Public
hangings had such a bad effect on those
who witnessed them that they were
abolished. If fear of hanging prevents
murder hangings should be as public
as possible and scaffolds erected on the
crowded street corners. But fear of
hanging doe1) not prevent murder and
the only reason for Imprisoning a mur
derer is to put him where ho cannot
hurt some one else, and where he can
not influence others by his savage
thoughts and acts. To hang or Imprison
anyone as a matter of punishment or
vengeance Is to allow the savage with
in us to dominate, and to put reason ln
the background.
An understanding of the motives that
prompt human beings to action and of
the influence of social and economic
environment upon human motives,
coupled with a reasonable desire to bet
ter society now and ln the future, can
do much to lessen crime. I do not doubt
tut that Govcrrfor West is honest in his
efforts and is reasoning correctly.
W.-H. ADDIS.
Easily Suited. .
From the Youth's Companion.
When glasses are worn chiefly to give
their wearer an Impressive appearance,
It Is necessary that they be fitted in
other respects than the Vision, as was
recently discovered by a young southern I
woman wnose colored maid one day ap
proached her with a request,
. "Miss "-Bessie, if you are going down
town today, I wish you would buy my
sister, who lives ln North Carolina, a
pair of glasses."
"Why, Annie," replied the young lady.
"I could 'not get your sister a pair of
glasses. ' She has to. have her eyes ex
amined and the glasses fitted to them."
"Oh." , said Annie, reassuringly, ''she
wrote me what fit my nose fit her nose."
A View of Wiclcersliaixi
From the PhOadelphia North
v ,- American
From the Philadelphia North American.
Intelligent American have begun to
discern why some publlo officials, U
positions of high authority who not
only are not personally dishonest, but
who arc consistently true to their stan
dards of duty and actually believe that
they perform valuable publlo service,
neverthelemi nlW nAntinn.u. u
- - vvhmiiubiij VUQ BjailT A
of the enemies of the country and do
more hurt to the publlo than the moat ' I
corrupt machine politicians.
ine thoughtful DeOOle Of America.
swelling In number constantly as they
discard their old Ignorant reverence of
narqes and labels and fetiches and slo
gans of obsolete worship of party as an
end and not a means, are able at hyit
to understand that , Wall Street la v
sincere ln regarding Attorney General
Wickersham a business wrecker as
Wiokersham is slncero ln thinking that
he and h)s chief are doing a superb and
effective patriotic service ln the purifi
cation of business. And the people aro
beginning to see clearly that both are urn
absurdly wrong as Is Secretary of State
ivnox in nis thoroughly honest belief
that his "dollar diplomacy", is a bem
factlon and not a lasting hurt to his
country.
It seems nothing short of farcical to
Americans whose eyes are opened or
opening to hear Mr. Wickersham dis
cussed as "an enigma" and Mr. Knox
as a far sighted statesman. For the
people are seeing that- the errors of sucn
men are the basic error of Wall Street
and all Big Businesses, founded upon
their limited vision and their common
Ignorance of the reafr force that create
the power and stability of the nation,
present and future.
That widely shared error is that
wealth is created and prosperity dlstri
outed and world respect for America:
fostered only by grace of what a few
men, seated around a mahoiranv table.
see fit to put oa paper.
Wickersham is neither a patriot nor
an enigma He Is simply a supreme ex.
emnlar nf thm un-A merlin n fanh. m.m
Island point of view which is not un-J
known elaewhere. In thn nnrmnMnii mnA M
financial circles of other large cities.
Therefore, the summary of the Wioker
sham qualities and defects, in a re
markable sketch ln the Metropolitan
Magazine, is an accurate estimate not
only of the individual, but of the larss
class of which he Is but a type:
From a horizon bounded for twelve
years previous by the outlines of New
York city, he looked over the entire
ttnited States of America. And what
did he see? A world of corporations.
Above the mist of unfamillarfty which
covered the varied interests of the coun
try, those landmarks with which he was
familiar stood up like church spires
piercing a morning fog.
"The United States which he saw was
a map of railroad lines, the fiscal agen
cies of which were in New York. The
hum of industry and commeroe that
oame up to his ears, on the height upon
which he had suddenly been placed,
meant corporations, charters, bylaws,
resolutions of boards of directors, con
tracts and agreements ln New York of
fices not the employment of men, the
earning of wages, the building of homes.
"The evidences of trade which were
apparent to htm were associations,
pools and combinations not the pro
duction of material, the winning of new
markets.
A lawyer who had previously prac
ticed in more than one section of the
United States, or who had served in con
gress (even one term) or ln a govern
mental department, or who had taken au
active part ln business, philanthropic.
military, naval or Masonlo affairs,
would have been distracted from his
professional development and would not
have acquired tho position at the. bar
held by George W. Wickersham.
But to such a one the United States
might have meant something more tha a
corporations, and when elevated to the
position of attorney general he might
have brought a clearer sense of propor
tion to his extended view.
He might, pcrhups, have been able to
see among other things, the foreign
shlppnlg alliances, the associations of
middlemen, the price regulations of food
producers, the unions of laborers and the
fire lnrurance pools, although corpora
tions might still have loomed porten
tous before him."
Tanglefoot
By Miles
Overhnl'
WHEN WOE PREVAILS
An airship streaks across the sky;
A new born infant walls;
A laugh rings out from passersby;
Deceived, a young wire paies.
On Fridays, when the clouds hang low
and fog obscures the trees', I sit and
write of bales of woe a sad and lone
some wheeze. I tell of want and wads
of gloom and gas bills, death and shame
until my sobs fill up the room and
Bhake my withered frame.
A lone sheep calls to Its dying mate;
A beggar, shlv'rlng, pleads;
A lover waits at the garden gate;
A gull rues O'er the means.
When other folk are glad and gay, I
like to talk of prunes and sing a metan-
choly lay ln heart sick, plalntlvs tunssi
I like to warble homeslckllke or skele
tons and graves, of lame men limping
down the pike and prison cells and
knaves.
A starving wolf howls down the vslsj
A rimnknril'n n&rents sob:
A guard tramps slowly 'round the Jail-
l nope l noia my joo.
The Extreme Case.
From Harper's Bazar.
Tightwad Is there anything more
heartrending than to have a wife who
can cook but won't do it?
Dyspeptic Yes. To have one tha'
can't cook and will do It.
The Murder Record
U'ontrlhuterl to The Journal br Walt Uaaon.
tha (uuiona Kanaaa poet. Ilia proaa-pnrina are t
rcsiilnr feature of Uli column lu Tha Daily
Journal.)
This country holds the murder record.
may hold it to the end of time; the na
tlon's history is cneckerea witn ever
thing In deadly crime. Our murderers
are all acquitted If they have money
by the neck; and If a hampen noose is
fitted about some siayer s swaniike
neck upon the gallows where tha saw
yers have left a nole for him to drop, it
means he couldn't hire the lawyers who
best know how to stall and yawp. A
man may spend long years ln prison for
forging -a five dollar check; the lowly
bigamist gets hls'n, the firebug gets It
in the neck. The cops pursue the Idle
vagrant and soak him on his funnybone;
and in the Jallyard, large and fragrant,
you see the plain drunk breaking stone.
Hut he who shoots hts fellow creature.
and sends him to the great beyond, be
comes tha daily's scare head feature. Is
lionized, while out on bond. His trial
Is hke an entertainment; he's freed,
when lawyers cease to rage; he never
knew what fear or strain meant, and
now he elevates the stage. ..
ropyrijht, 10U, by
Qaorse Mstthtw Adas
A