THE " OIvEGOU DAILY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, TUUGDAY LVEIUI.'G, AlIJL l), K
fl-IEJOURNAL
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Mfth aemie. New Jork; 121 faopio a
buliwrlnttno Terma by BIJ or to tar add""
tu lb L'uittrf State or afexleoi -
DAILT ,. "
Oo year. ...... ,$3.00 I On month..
' SUNDAY. " ' '' '
Ona rnr........J60 t (l mntk.M.l.9S
DAILY AND 8UN0AX
On rear.. $7. 50 I One month I .M
Sensible men show their sens
by saying much In few words. If
noble action are the substance
of life, good sayings are its -ornament
and guide.--C. Simmons.
. , WHICH? ;':'.-:)',:'
',,, ,' i t rTv-'t 1 '' 'ifi
rltERE is no way to-toiBUUdilr
stand the charter Issue.
; It la a choice between the
nirf charter and the new. It
is a choice between government with
officials tinder cover by theoio. cnar,,
ter, . and government with officials
In the open by the new.
Those ,who are against the new
charter,' are standing for a -charter
that has been condemned by every
Portland mayor for the past eight
years. Those who are for the new
cliarterare standing for a change
that is advocated by every candidate
for mayor but one, and that one ad
vocated It until a few days ago.
Thenew charter provides a' short
er ballot and thereby removes an
enormous strain from the principle
of the primary laW.Vlt reduces the
number of elective offices In an av
erage city election to four or less,;
and will correspondingly reduce the
number of candidates. It will give
citizens a chance to kn-w the merits
mid demerits el those who Beek of
fice.': ; ;:::..;-
i There Is scarcely a voter In Port
land who knows ach of the present
fifty-five city candidates. Thousands "l .uumug oou,,
never heard of most f them be- Europe to support the Albani
fore and will never hear of them ns In forming an ndependent gov-0-r!ltn
u t ,n aWft fitratn n the;ernment and choosing a prince for
Primary law. Its cure Is a reducedTinem5Briremi.p0TrTnvl!.rB fu
number of elective official, and
this Is one of the great merits of the
new. charter. :'v; ". " -; "
There has been protest against the
old. charter.' ever : since 1907. 7 A
commission w'as appointed then ' to
revise It The agitation against It
has ' been going on ever since, and
It is now crystalied into the pend
ing commission charter. -
.Such la the . issue. The paving
trust is trying to beat the new char-:
te ,Tae' puDlIc service corporations
arfe (rjing to beat : it. Those 'who
live by politics are trying to beat It.
Thel' 'TaJpayets- As6clatfoA' so
called, Is, trying beat it . Its tight
Is conducted from ambush,-" Kobody
knows r where It gets, the large sums '
ot money n is spending in ,j;ne ugni.
It ' refuses to tell the name of Its
mmbef. 'It? attacks1, on thenew
charted consist of lies, slanders and
m isrepresentation j.v4
l- Such are some of the JnfluenceB
that. are striving to retain the old
charter '.The Very '.character ,of the
opposition is a powerful argument
for average men to support the new
charter, - - ;
Incidentally, not a man of those
attacking the new "charter defends"
the old one. The only candidate in good terms, and- Essad: Pasha,
v lio ever did that. was" J." E. Werleln j the Albanian with his 40,000 sol
in Tiia candidacy for mayor two years diers, marched out in peace. Scu-
ago, and he was so badly beaten in
the primaries nobody has since lifted
a voice in defense of a system con
demned, by every one of Portland's
mayors for the past eight years.
The Issue Is so plain that nobody
need be fooled. It is a question of
whether we are to continue jiiider
the present system, a system" that
nobody defends, a system that no
body apologizes, for, a system, that
Is fought for by those acting in se
cret, a system wanted by practical
men "who know exactly what ' they
want and how to get It, a system
condemned ; unqualifiedly by all the
recent mayors of Portland.
ALASKAN RAILROADS
T
HE long delay In taking any
decisive step towards construc
tion by the United J States-gpy
" , VWT pen8ating,5erritory.fartheE;., to t the
-crnment of railroads designedl,,.., ,hw
to open np the resources of "Alaska,!
has been broken by the Introduction
of Identical bills of wide scope by
Senator Chamberlain in the Senate
and Representative Wickersham r in
the" House.
" These bills are evidently based on
lbe; reports of the commission sent
by; formef President Taffto-AIaska"
Inst year. The authorized .mileage
733 corresponds with the 'com
mission's advice, and will each both
the great coal fields, connecting
them with tide water,, and also
opening a route by rallrpad through
American territory between tide wa
ter and the Yukon valley. .
The powers to he t conferred by
tbese-'Wl.ls on the president? are
most extensive, leaving,, in his dis
cretion methods- bath of onstrtici
tlon and of subsequent operation.
Special permission is given for the
transfer, to, Alaska, of the plant of
the Panama canal .works of all kinds
nnd its use thee In construction.
Although the invasion by the gov
ernnient of the field of railroad
rewi t twi-HHi ttftfa)ioB..i au. . a
large scale Is a comparative noyelty
; ct s precedent in man.1 respects is
Tumul in tl) purchase and operation
' t ho Rovf rnment of the trans-isth-
:;t r.iilro!id nf Patlama. ' "
li1a',o, coi'ltal ha"surrcnderc(I
aUinii(s lo complete nil 'or any of
the Alaskan lines. Construction by
the 'ample, moans of the government
la the only alternative. . Kxpericnce
at Panama has proved that govern
ment engineer officers are most
fully competent for the heaviest en
gineerlnc and constructing exi-
j genciea. '
Mil. LO.MHAHD IX
r
X ANT nddrecs last night, Mr. Lorn
bard again denounced the com
mission charter.
But recently Mr.' Lombard
thought he knew that the commis
sion charter was splendid and was
advising his audiences to support it.
Now," he- thinks he' knows that it
is not as good a charter as the old
one, and advises his hearers to vote
it down. '
Matching up what Mr. Lombard i
thought, he knew about the commis
sion charter recently and what he
thinks he Itnows about it now.'can
anybody tell with safety just what
Mr. Lombard does know about com
mission; charters anyway? '
Meanwhile,0' Mr. Lombard, two
yeara ago, was bitter In his attacks
on the old charter, and clamorous
In his demands for commission gov
ernment. In an address in Port-
d . h)g camwaKn for mayor Mr.
Lombard said April 26, 1911: ,
Where doe Mr. Rushlight stand on
the - commission . form of government?
MP.'fWfitein is defending the old char
ter, and, placing the .'blame for' condi
tions on the shoulders of past mayors
of the city.' I say a complete revision
of the charter Is needed, ' tlmt will do
away with antiquated, methods and
bring- responsibility home to each of
ficer of the city. If I am elected
mayor I will at once appoint a com
mittee to prepare a draft of a com
mission form of government to be
submitted to the people hot later than
June, 1912. ,
A DARING COUP
K'
ING 1 NICHOLAS of Montcne-
gre has the reputation of be
ing the 'most astute politician
among European monarchB.
Europe, through its ambassadors'
conference, agreed to support the
demand, voiced by Austria, that
Montenegro recognize the boundaries
ropean princelings began pluming
themselves for . office, hoping that
lightning might strike them. ... : . :
Meanwhile King Nicholas went on
with the siege ..
The commanding 'general of the
40.000 Turkish soldiers In Scutari
was Essad Pasha, an Albanian by
blrthi and a chief among that hold
but half savage people. The4ma
jorlty of his 40,000 soldiers "also
were Albanians, the Turks having a
great liking for them. The major
ity of Essad's forces were Moham
medans,' v:; -:-:-r;: ; -.::..,: ..
lot the besieging forces at, Scu
tari about 40,000, or one half,' were
Montenegrins, the other half Ser
vians. JDispatcheS' told us that the
two halves did not agree very well
and that the. Servians were going
home and they did.
But the Montenegrins, being left
"1 alone, redoubled their attacks and
captured ';' the heights overlooking
the defenders' trenches. Then fol
lowed a fierce assault. Essad Pasha
surrendered, and the Montenegrins
marched into Scutari. Austrian pa
pers prophesied a massacre of Al
banians in the city. But no vic
tors and vanquished were seemingly
1 t a rl ti 'o a trrtr HttlA hnh' htr oil
the bombardments.
' Kicholas was. left In the city with
his Montenegrins, vowing, that none
of the powers should put him and
his men. out while life lasts.
Austria ground her' teeth and
put 10,000 men on shipboard at
Trieste,; to occupy Montenegrin
ports, and cross the mountains to
Cettlnje the capital. But now Essad
Pasha plays his strong card. He
announces himself as prince of his
native Albania and he has' 40,000
argumenls to back him in his sol
diers' rifles. The chances are that
Albanian opposition to him will
not be very serious.'.,.
If It turns out, as probably It
will, that Scutari is left to King
Nicholas, and the new Albania es
tablishes Its capital, and gets com-
themselves as satisfied, what can
Austria do about it? Non-interference
and neutrality are the ties that
bind the European concert, and that
Austria cannot afford to break.
Then the coup of King Nicholas
wins. , : .('...:. ;
i.
DAIUv LANTKKN METHODS'
w
ITH what alacrity the well
known "Taxpayers' League"
hastened to assure the' pub
lic that it is not the "Tax
payers! Association," and did not
send out the lying' circulars about
the' new charter.
. There is not an organization in
Portland except the "Taxpayers,, As
sociation" that would stand sponsor
for the circular for one'taomeht.)
The so-called ''Taxpayers' Asso
ciation" could do it because it is
without pride of ancestry of hope of
posterity,. It sprang inta existence
over night, and will vanish with next
Saturday's balloting, tn effect, It
is a doorstep foundling, with only
dWiigTlo
appear as its, sponsors.
It was formed to do Jtist such
things as issuing the lying circulars
whicl the Taxpayers League, has
hastened to dinown! There is other
campaign - dirty workthat If was
formed to do for tlio benefit of men
who remain in .ambush and refuse
to -hiako their identity known,
What better" argument for the
adoption of the new .charter t'hifn
tliia over-night dark-lantern ."Tax
payers' Association?" ;
When the opposition is cloaked,
maske4 and ambushed, when it Is
ashamed of its .methods and
ashamed to be known in Its work,
how fitting for honest men to be
for the new charter?
When, then?
S
PEAKING of the reports of the
Bureau of Municipal Research
on Portland'- governmental
system, the OregonJan Baysf "
Still It seems that thenbureau tnlftht
enlarge Its own efficiency by conduct
ing surveys only ti such times as its
reports are not likely td.be suspected
of political coloring. .-
Of what "political" purpose does
the Orgonian suspect the bureau
The bureau favors no'candldate, but
strictly' confines Its reports to ques
tions of" how Portland can better its
organic system of government.
Is the.lOregonian not Interested
in . such questions? ' Does - the Ore
gonian think it wrong for the means
of bettering, government," to be dis
cussed in campaign, time? v
( At just what time does the Ore-
gonian think It would be proper for
the bureau to make reports as to
the " defects, in Portland's .old char-
'V- '. ' - -;t ' ' -.''-.
Does the Oregonian think it would
be better to withhold the reports
until after election, when there Is
no chance to vote to abandon the
old charter,' thereby Insuring .two
years more . of a' system that has
been denounced by every...mayor of
Portland for : eight years?
Or, does the Oregonian think it
would Abe 'more fitting for the bu
reau never to submit the reports at
all. a consummation so much de
sired by the public service mag
nates, the paving trust and the tax
eaters. ;- '
- The bureau Is the highest author
ity on city government In the world,
and its work In Portland is at the,
instance of a committee of patriotic
Portland citizens interested only in
better government for this city.'
; Seriously speaking, if the findings
as to tne. oia cnarter by such a
bureTu-Tr9norto-De
considered
when a new charter Is pending for
adoption, when, In Heaven's name,
is. the proper time for them to - be
considered?
THE VOICE OF A TISTOL
w
HAT happened when the voice
of a pistol whispered appeal
ingly to a weakminded boy is
recounted on this page,
,lt occurred in' the Elgin tragedy,
in which a defective boy of fourteen
shot and killed a mother, and then,
with an ax, slew, her two small chil
drea who were eye witnesses to the
shooting. ; - t
The act was without provocation.
The boy had found the pistol In a
cupboard a few days before., Sight
and subsequent possession of the
weapon aroused a latent suggestion
in the weak mind to use it. Mrs.
Sleep happened along at the psycho
logical moment, and became the tar
gefc and the victim.
The case is not isolated. In vary
ing degrees, there have been thou
sands like it. The -graveyards are
crowded with victims of those in
whom: possession of a pistol was the
suggestion or , temptation to use, it.
The hew pistol law of Oregon is
sound, to the core in principle. It
is founded on common sense, and is
bound to become a part of the crim
inal code of every state. The Elgin
tragedy Is so clear and so convinc
ing as to press forward restriction
of pistol sales and pistol carrying as
a basic reform. ' "
There are provisions in the Ore
gon law, that functionaries cannot
afford to overlook. . If these func
tionaries 'permit sales and carrying
of revolvers In violation of the lawj
how can they explain when a homi
cide is committed with a weapon so
bought and carried?
RESOURCES OF OREGON
T
HE State Bureau of Mines was "a
creation, of the last legislature,
and a worthy one. The governor
was charged with the selection
of the seven members, and combed
the state oyer in all districts to make
WrtW'tnft
' -Me-wbrk 1 was. d!stjlbutedV!'eacft
man being a specialist; in his own
line. The very variety ' of the de
partments is indication of the' varied
character of the resources of Oregon-
.: ;- : :-.jr: -
. Metallferous and hydraulic mining
has' been followed in Oregon , since
the early days when the 'pack "trains
at Corvallis were loaded '" with the
flour, and bacon, and apples of the
Willamette Valley to supply the gold
miners at Jacksonville and the foot
hills of the Siskiyous. The placers
were rich in those times of recent dis
covery. Subsequent developments in
quartz mining in gold and copper, in
iron mines, in silver and platinum, in
quicksilver, ana in various new met
aj3; of the present day, Jjave Juggled
Vide prospecting and promise 'rich
returns, r- ;.;:.';..vY.
Oregon is rich in , widely scattered
deposits of clays of all kinds, firs
clay, bulldinj5 clays, pottery clays, of
cement rock. Yet we still Import our
building materials from sister states,
and even1 from" abroad. There is a
great, field , for domestic mnnnfac
turera.' n . .-. -
The next branch fuels, salines
and fertilizers will, find ample em
ployment for more than one expert.
Not one OreKoniau lu a hundred has
more than the - vaguest' idea of. the
riches" of the stain in these depart
ments of enterprise.
Tho bureau has assigned ma
terials and forestry relations' to a
special department. - No department
w ill better repay prompt and vigor
ous work than this, if the demand
for good roads Ij to be met. i
A president who is a mining en
gineer has been etected, while the
heads of the State University and of
the State Agricultural College have
been given charge of conservation
and transportation.
Thus the work haa been divided
up. The time of planning ahead is
past. The day for development has
arrived.
, An I.'W W. speaker at Portland
said Sunday nght that his people
are silently organizing in the lumber
camps; and that when strong enough
thev will riAmanri And . eet nhnver
baths, reading rooms and planoV
Sensible ambition, this. And the
bosses may well afford to grant such
boons If by so dping it will lessen
the booze evil and other brutalizing
influences. ' , -
. v r . -j
'4 One wonders how the Portland
scribblers happen to know anything.
They don't want to know history.
They sprung the gong on L. M.
Lepper, East Side booster, just as
he had flung out his verbal skir
mishers for a masterly oration on
the battle of Waterloo.
The Harney County News says
that "the Bend Bulletin is an inter
esting and amusing little cuss, even
if It Is a slippery and artful dodger."
Trap It, brother, and ship it . to
Portland. There may be room . for
it in the monkey cage at the .city
park. ..-' .'.''' V,;:','' '':":''; '"',',
Letters From the People
(Commnnleattonn nt te Tbe Journal for
publication Id tbts department boold be writ-1
ira vh vim wiiw aiuv tit mv )Bivr, iuvuiii mi
txeerd 8(iO wor til (a length and muat be ae
tompanled br tb nam nnd addresa of tbe
ender. If the writer doe not dntra to bate
tba same published, be abonld ao state.) .
Commission Exegesis.
Portland, April 28. -To the Editor of
The Journal There Is a story of a
young modern preacher." who was ap
pointed on a certain occasion to give an
exegesis of a text of scripture. When
be had concluded a brother of the old
school remarked that there was no ques-
ttu" aa the comtteteqf-the
"exit Jesus."
In all of the speeches I have heard
and In most of the articles written, ex
plaining the provisions of the proposed
charter, there pan be no question as to
the lack of a studious digest of Its con
tents. If not too late to shape it up
before the primary election, would it
not be a good and helpfut plan for some
one of your capable men to prepare and
vou nublish a terse and unprejudiced
4... -.1,-, 1 ll .1.-1
obvious intent of the commission char
ter? It could start out something like
this: -
Under the new charter we propose to
elect five citizens to run the affairs of
the city.. One of. these we elect mayor.
These five are to work at this one Job
during business" hours and be paid for
it., No one elected can qualify unless
he can furnish a -satisfactory moral
bond In the sum of $25,000 to protect
the city in case Jie falls to properly dis
charge his duties. It is Intended that
the surety companies having $125,00)
at stake, will scan with considerable
vigilance the fitness of each of the five
applicants for a bond. The city has no
such protection how. - , -
The mayor will have no veto power.
All business done must be a matter of
record, Whether orders or ordinances;
no secret meetings, and all meetings as
well aa records open to : the public.
Every three months there will be. is
sued a statement of the business, done
and at the end of the year the Portland
clearing hoUsa , Will , furnish an' expert
to audit the year's accounts and certify
as to their correctness," etc.,' etc., etc""
, Note: If a business vision, a big and
ever increasing future," if love of, his
city and pride In his workj. if a good
salary and the feeling of power, won't
give the city a clean cut business man
agement, then the voters -who opposed
the Incumbents, the citizens at large and
the tremendous force t a $25,000 bond
and the inspiration that will arise from
the fact that the city hall, on the adop
tion of the new charter, will ever after
lie directly in the protecting 60 mile
shadow of Oregon's strongest Institu
tion all these will,
The proposed charter Is drawn to get
better results for the city, on the policy
that "you can't keep a bad man up nor
a good man down,'' and "there 19 always
room at the top." ',' '
So everybody is protected, as far as
can be foreseen at present, and the cit
izens can change add to pr take from
this first document as experience will
surely point out. .
' It seems to me that when old Pontius
Pilate of the bonding company gets the
new mayor spiked to the cross of re
sponstbility for his acts, and with anj
Inscription that begins, "Know all men
by these presents that we bet 125,000
to a buffalo nickel that this man is a
good man and will stay good," the may
or av H 1' look at the gen tlem en oocu py I ng
Uke promlnent-positions on either side,
with like inscriptions over them, and he
will say as his ears take in the strange
languages or the mob "malfeasance,"
dereliction," ' "neglect,"' "corruption."
etc: i'Verily, you are with me this day
in Paradise." ... p. . G. IIUGHSON. :
'Where Roes Olson Stand? r,
Portland, Or... April 28.-To the Ed
itor or The Journal I noticed in the
Sunday Issue of the Oregonian a two
column illustrated eulogy of Fred Ol
son, candidate for municipal Judge" at
the coming primaries. While it com
prehended the history of his life fromJ
me log caoin to me mansion in wntcii
he now resides, and also chronicled the
narrative of his six .years'--tenure as
Justice of the peace, during which In
failed to accomplish anything or evan-
gelize the whole world, as he now de
elates, If elected, he Will do, why did he
ro", artfullv dodge any - issue that ' he
.i .,. ... i ..: , , ... j . " .
iooiini nuuiu jMHiunr ur injure ma can
didacy? Will ,Tho' Journal do quite a
favor to.a considerable number of vot-
e,- in thi nplciitmrhoorf hw askimr-Mr
Olson publicly if he Is for or agalnSt!1"
the commission :Xdrm -.of government?
Will you please ask him further h"jw
he expectj to parole prisoners7 after
sentence is Imposed, when he knows, or
else is very vaguely posted on his au
thority;, that,; after sentence, the case
! Hn.lff nut nf.lil. rlttlH..r. .rp
la the. bands of the parole board.
V..,:.:--:? .;;,-.:,:-: J. L. QUINN.
: A Farmer's Complaint.
Sidney, Or., April 28. To the Editor
of Tli e Jfurnal-A"Srrrat deal Is said
about - the;-rates transportation coin-
PERTINENT COMMENT
SMALL CHANGE
Is everybody some sort of a klckert
Being president is no easy Job for a
fit man. .
Beats all how much some people know
that Isn't so.
; .... e . e '. . ,, , c .
A man "fit for mayor ,jls a man to, be
. .
There Is scant originality of thought
or expression in the average candidate.
,
The 'hen that lived 25 years and'lftid
4500 eggs deserved an honorable fu
neral. -
. ..
'My I What ravishing heads of hair
some of those candidates show In their
pictures, ' "-, .
' Having nothing better to do or talk
about, bodh people are predicting a big
June flood.
, -" :-: v--. ':;:-
' The Republican party may "come
back.r but if so it will be a very dif
ferent Republican party. .
Some' nations, like .some men, appear
iu ilium iiiui innir main ODiecc or rx-
laince in 10 Dorrow money.
Maybe the owner of the Beavers' will
hive to lay it on to the 13 year. But
'13 was nothing to boast of.
'. Bab,! What a fiokle-false spring, to
allow Jack Frost to come sneaking
around o nights the last week In April.
It may be a debatable question
Whether we need a good deal more gov
ernment or a good deal less. One or the
other, apparently. 1
Orchardists cannot complain this year
Of buds and blooms developing too
early. But the prospect Is fine for a
big crop In due season. . .
NEW YORK
Hear Joseph Sechler Coxey:
"Blood will run in the gutters in 1914,
Capital will try to crush strikers by the
use of soldiers. It will be worse than
war.'-,. - - .
Sounds a good deal like a Mother
Shipman prophecy. But Coxey means
it vo'ha'rd that after you talk with
him you feel like buying a rifle and a
lot of -buckwheat on the way home. He'a
the man, you'll remember, who led the
Arirty of the Commonweal across the
grass to Washington rn 1894. .
'"Dissatisfaction always follows a new
tariff. The workingman is discontented
now. That means strikes. With the
I. W. W. leaders in the saddle the
radicals of the A. K. L. are Joining
them strikes mean violence. Witness
Lawrence, and West Virginia, and Pat
erson, and the skirmishing by villages
In Colorado. The I. W. W. either win
or lose a strike. They never split the
difference.
"The tariff, the Strikes, "and the dis
sension over the suggested changes in
the monetary system will aid the I. W.
W. leader ta
A their .JdeJd.Tr-lbft.Bali:J
darity of labor. The moment they come
near enough to cripple the means of
communication In any state the troops
must be called out. That's what the
I. W. W. want. They sincerely believe
they are engaged in a war, and that
their victory depends,upon their oppo
sition of the force of labor to the force
employed by capital. It seems to me
these rays of discontent are being
focussed on the body politic as through
a burning glass; Next year I think, the
body politic will begin to wiggle itself
where the rays meet."
. Coxey has been called a crank be
cause of his good roads and flat money
Ideas, and because he was the first to
advocate the radical ideas that have
found recent favor with the voters. But
he is so little of a crank that he has I
bum up a sound, well-banked fortune
although he doesn't believe in banks
and therefore Is not looking forward
to solidarity and bloodshed with any
true Joy. .- - . . ,. ..
"The best wish I have Is that I'm a
poor prophet," said he. .
Cab-using New Tork is pulling, for
Mayor Gaynor's new taxicab ordinance.
If it becomes law, it will reduce the
high cost of taxicabblng and eliminate
certain dangers of the present. - The
police are frank in declaring that 200 of
the public chauffeurs are graduates
from Sing Sing. They warn against
taking a taxi which carries an extra
man on the driver's seat.
"Because the odd man is apt to be a
stick-up specialist," the policemen say.
Overcharging by taxi robbers is an
old story. But now and then an anec
dote is worth recounting. - One of Broadt
way'a most prominent actors objected
laat week to a charge.
"Why should I pay you $4 when last
night I paid but $2.50 for the same
ride?" he asked. The chauffeur re
piled with unexpected kindness. -
"Boss," -said he, "the only reason is
that I need the money."" '
The fare is usually helpless. . He
doesn't care to go to a police station
to have the dispute arbitrated. And
he ,1s Just as apt to be overcharged
by the chauffeurs who .have placets
upon the hotel stands as by those who
bargle for business up and down Broad
way. The 'theory that the $500,000
which the cab companies 'pay to the
hotel keepers for their occupancy of
the city's streets ensures the cab user
against overcharge is a mistaken one.
"Gentlemen," said the manager, of
one of the greatest hotels to an inves-
panles charge, as discouraging the farm
ers from shipping produce, bjrt there are
other causes that are more discouraging
than transportation charges.
A short time ago I shipped a coop of
14 chickens to a commission merchant
In Portland.- When I shipped the -chickens
they weighed 82 pounds, hut when
the returns came back I was given only
71 pounds. rThe distance from Portland
was only about three hours. One might
expect a-small 'shrinkage, but 11 pounds
was surely a pretty big rakeoff. -The
producers of farm products seem to be
mulcted by everyone' with whom they
try to do business, and are looked upon
as a legitimate subject for exploitation.
If these conferences that meet Xo study
rural conditions and high cost of living
and our good professors at the college
who "do so- much for the farmer" would
investigate these small matters, it would
do more good to the farmers than land
banks and expensive college professors.
- J. F. D. ,
Marriage Law Complications.'
Beaverton, Or., April 29. to the Edi
tor of The Journal I would like infor
mation through The Journal concerning
new ,ftw' I see by the papers that
after June 3 one has to get a certificate
to get -married, and it has to be 100.
Now that means perfect, and how many
can be found Who are perfect? Probably
one-half of our men are afflictel with
rheumatitsm, and the. other half have
catarrn; ana that is not being perfect.
Theft,' why should a woman be allowed
""? V- .1. , Z 1 w
some
malady? I think the result will bo that
the majority of them will go out of the
state, to marry. If they. have the same
law In Washington they .will go to Brit
ish Columbia, and then, could a woman
sue ft man for breach of promise if he
could not get a. license? ; r t
Then f ste time Iw Ulk-rf iawtnn
bachelors. Can they tax them when
they refuse them a license? This looks
like a mixed up mess, and probably the
result will be ten times more bachelors;
No one, will be allowed to marry onlv
the high toned. Is that constitutional?
1 ; A READER,
AND NEWS IN BRIEF
OREGON SIDELIGHTS
'Headquarters of the Whitman forest
reperve will be removed from sumpter
to nuKer.
'
The Hllltsboro Argus congratulates
WaHliinuton county on its $2,000,000 of
deposit oanaea tn nome towns, oennos
what the east end deposits In rortlanil.
: Boys taking domestic science In the
Hood River iilgh school course are giv
ing dinners, cooked and served. by them
selves At a recent dinner there were
on the menu "light biscuit, roast beef,
Jellk'H, asparagus tips, baked apples,
vegetnblcs, peaches and cream and angel
food,"
Fof a number of years Albany lias
enjoyed the distinction of being the
railroad hub of the Willamette valley.
A fen weeks ago the Misfit Man of the
Democrat asserted that the eity may
rightfully claim an additional distinc
tion of being the ' dog hub" of the same
territory.
.
1 Pendleton East Oregonian: V Though
there is no shouting about it, Pendle
ton is enjoying a good period jt ad
vancement and It Is fast making this
city a better, 'more modern and more
wholesome-place In which to live. The
Improvements are coming as the result
of natural demand, not from agitation.
Pendleton Is not getting ahead of Itself.
We are Just catching up.
, . - .
; Alta Illatt of Lyons won two prizes
at an ' educational .rally contest held
recently at the Jordan Grange hall, in
Linn county. One prize was for the
best map of Oregon and the other tor
the best solo, given to pupils below tnc
seventh grade. Alta Is a bright pupil
in the fifth grade. AUa's brother, Roy,
also won a prize. The Lyons school
secured more prizes. Including the spe
cial prize, than any of the other five
schools in the contest.
DAY - BY DAY
tlgating committee, "I give you my
word that we make only lft per cent on
the business we give the taxi company
at our hotel. You do not grudge us that
pitiful little cum. do you?" .
That pitiful little sura proved to be
134.000 annually.
Where do relatives come from, any
how? Not long ago an old man died In
Philadelphia. For three year he had
been a patient in a hospital there. The
hospital authorities had tried their best
to find his kin and failed. They traced
his life from the day that he landed
from an immigrant ship, and they could
not learn that he had ever written a
letter or received one,
"Three weeks after his will proved
that he had saved up $7000 there were
11 claimants." said Dr. O. C. Lane, who
tells the story. r .
Last year an old woman died In New
York. She had been known as an apple
seller to an earlier generation. They
held some faint recollection that when
her daughter died, he told them that
She had neither kith nor kin alive). Rut
she'Tiaannofe'tlan'flOOOn "bonds, Of
the 63 claimants more than 80 were able
to prove that they. actually had a plight
relationship to the deceased. But the
prize story of all Is that of Daniel
Creedon, who lived In an old mill at
Woodside, L. I. In some way he man
aged to put away $50,000. More than
1000 persons in all parts of the world
put in a claim for that money. Only
four made good.
Those who are fighting against the
present habit of permitting certain
classes of work to be done in tenement
rooms have pleasant little stories to
telL Mrs. Florence Kelley of the Child's
Welfare league recalled one. She found
two small kids with whom she had be-
come- acquainted staggering along West
Nineteenth street They were so com
pletely overshadowed by their burdens
that Mrs. Kelly, could Just see , two
stubby little legs wagging studily on
under each bundle.
"What are those bundles?" she asked.
j"'Pants," said the youngsters, suc
cinctly. ,
"And why are you not In school?"
she demanded. - . ; '
"Aw," said the elder, "have a heart.
Can t yuh see we got scoilet fever?"
And they had, too. Or they had had not
long before. The Joke is that both were
supposed to be strictly quarantined.
"I don't know how many dozen pairs
of those pants were finished in the
three or four flats in which persons
were sick from scarlet fever," said Mrs.
Kelley, "Pwrhaps the worst of it is
that they were all knee pants Intended
for the use of healthy little young
sters.. . ,'r. ,. .... .... ; . ..,;. ,...
Little attention is paid to the shots
fired now and then -in the bomb belt.
The police take the attitude that firing
revrhers at each other is an aradlcable
trait of the Italian. Now and then a
story aeveiops. t Salvatore Variscl was
arraigned oh the charge of shooting
inree times at Herman Knepper, ,
"Sure I shot at him," Variscl told
the magistrate, calmly. "But I missed
him." , .
"And why did your'
"Aw," said Variscl. "It was awful
quiet that day. I thought I'd have a
little fun."
It recalls Don Marquis's storr of the
negro who was arrested for shooting a
friend. . ' - ... , ..
"S'possinM did shoot htm?" he anirt
Indlgnaotly. "I didn't huht him none.
De J3ullet hit him in de haid."
Wall Street Wisdom.
Frorri the Omaha World-Herald.
The Wall street Journals a'r forever
talking about the demand for Increased
wages regardless of "the value bf the
product" which U about as evasive a
way of meeting a proposition as could
be invented. They never attempt to
tell what the value of the product of
labor Is, for they would meet with insur
mountable difficulties in that direction.
What is the value of the product of a
fireman or engineer , on a railroad? Will
these" Journals endeavor to tell? The
wage workers know -that the value of
the money they have been receiving for
the last few years has been constantly
decreasing, that is, it purchases less and
less as the years Was by, and they can
estimate accurately what the loss has
been to them. Moreover, the product of
their, labor nas been increasing all the
time for the engines are larger and the
trains are hauling more freight with the
same number of hands. v
According to Wall street papers, all
wisdom is located there and never es
capes from -its precincts. One of them
say 8: . -
"The most dangerous threat overhang
ing every branch of business is that of
legislation by politicians who take some
sort of pride In admitting that they do
not understand the intricate business
processes for which they propose to leg
islate." Members of congress are generally
spoken of by these men as the scum of
the ignorance of the whole country,
whereas there are men in'' congress of
tho widest and most. prof otind culture,
In whose presence thesei speculators
would appear as . mites of the gutter.
Most of Wall street could not pass a
kindergarten examination 4n i political
economy arid know as 'little about the
strenew of gwyerwrf)--e-o-wHd tHmia
Indian ' in a. crowd or nine of them the
question was asked: "How many.imem
bers . of the cabinet are there?" and
not one could answer. There is no
"intricate processes" about stock gam
bling that a scliUQl boy cuuld nut under
stand, i
THE ELGIN TRAGEDY
. Dispatch to Chic-iiKo Tribune.
Tills is tlio Htory of the mnnier on
the Slecb funii an it whh tnli! In- I lor.
man Copies to his mother bix! fa Hum-:
"I found the pistol" on a Hhclf In the
cupboard several days before. There
were a lot of bullets with It. I put tlio
Iumu.ii ana me duiicis Jit my porKetr- l
thought I would have some fun. I never
tllOUffht- of Imrttnir iinvnmv Wlion l'
CHme into the house' I saw Mrs. SUe.
When I got homo from school, soiti
thing seemed to keep telling me to sbo, t
Mrs. Sleep and I Just pulled the ' i-
volver , from my pocket and shot
I didn't wartt to kill the kids, but they
had witnessed the shooting and I had
to.".. , - : ; , .-
A pistol,, left carelessly in an easily
accessible spot, fell into the bands of a
degenerate boy. The weapon carried
with it its own latent suggestion to
kill.' ? .- -.
The boy kept it In his pocket for a
few days, fondling It constantly;- exam-.
lnlng it occasionally in secret. - And all
the time his thought were dwelling on
the weapon and the power which Its
possession i conferred on Jilra. Finally
the victim, Mrs. Sleep, and the oppor.
tunity to kill presented themselves. The
pistol's latent suggestion to murder be
came active; The boy's weak will suc
cumbed to its power, He killed the wo
man and then the little eye witnesses.
It is probable the Sleep tragedy, in
addition to prompting legislation for
the scientific care of defectives, will '
arouse agitation in this part of the
state for more rigid laws regulating the
carrying 'of firearms. It, now is reaN
ized that the mere possession of a pis
tol In the Coppes boy's case was an In
centive to use it Ills emotions, accord
ing to his own statements made here in
the Jail, were like those of a man stand
ing on the edge of the top of a high
building. The man with difficulty re
presses a desire to jump; the boy, be
ing a mental weakling, was unable to
repel the suggestion' to kill.
' The boy told his story of the murder
after the first manifestation of emo
tion he has exhibited since his arrest
His father and mother had come to El
gin from Piano to talk the ease over
with him. '-: - - '
When the father and mother walked
Into the Jail corridor the boy burst out .
crying. It was several minutes before
any one of the three cduld talk. The
father began crying when he drew tears i
to the boy's eyes. Deputy .Sheriff
George German took the boy out of his
cell. ....::.-.-,;- -.N I.";,.,,:, a
"Hermy. Hermy, did you do It, did
you do It?" the mother asked as she
clasped the boy In her arms and kissed
him. '- -
"Yes, mother; I did It t shot Mrs.
Sleep and then killed her babies," he
sobbed. ..-'
'But, my poor little boy, you did not
do it alone; someone musty have helped "
you," the mother pleaded. . ,;"
"No, mother, I did It all alone, nO one
told me to do it and no one helped me,"
he cried, and then threw, lils-arms about
his mother's neck. ; '. ; ' -
"Hermy, what -made, you do UT. Why
did you do It?", ,
"Mother, mother, I Just shot ber, that
is all," he answered.
Then he detailed his meeting with
Mrs. Sleep and bis yielding to the pas- '
ion to kill.
Mr. andMrs. Copps announced they
had retained the law firm of AlachuleY,
Putnam '' James of Aurora to defend
the boy. The senior partner In tWs
firm is Samuel Alschuler, recent candi
date for the Democratio nomination for
governor. ' ' '
Detective Edward Held, to whom Her
man confessed, today told the state's
attorney that so far as he was able to ,
estimate rrom an tne evidence ne naa
heard, Mrs. Sleep and her two children
were all murdered within six .minutes.', .
Pointed Paragraphs
ill
There la less fun in gambling if you
can afford to lose.
A woman seldom knows what she
wants until she discovers that aha can't
get it ',. ,
-
With riches some men Imagine that
they can gild a lot of vices until they
look like virtues.
- e
The difference between the average
young woman and a fsuffrag etta Is gen
erally about CO yearsV
4
When a small boy overhears the doe
tnr tn in r his motherXto take plenty Of
exercise, that's bla cue to be good. ,, ;
After a woman has spent 2& years - ;
trying to make a man of her son. along ,
comes another woman who proceeds
to make a tol of him in 20 minutes.
-.,.r i ,' "'
Intervention In Wall Street. " '
From the San Francisco Bulletin. :
Revelations are piling up that show
the Imperative necessity of intervention
in the affairs of Mexico, not on its soil
or in Its domestio matters, but in Wall .
street, New York, and Lombard street,
i .nn - ottiM. th wnrlc tit naclflcfttion ai
MVlluu... w - ' - t- - - ;
must be done. Certain great financial
Interests need to be choked until their
.'tongues protrude a foot or so; then per
haps they win loosen tneir grip on un
happy Mexico. So far the, conflict of
contesting greed has cost, something
like a hundred thousand Jives, hunger
and misery to untold thousands-more,
money losses running to hundreds of
millions, the utter ruin of a nation and
the disturbance of the world's peaoe.
Beyond a doubt this kind of intervention
is demanded. It should not be delayed a
moment.
138 Years Ago
To-Day :
One hundred and thirty-eight
years ago . today Paul Revere
took the famous ride that
linked his name forever with
the heroes of American Revo-.'
lutionary history, i:, f :, . ,
A lone . man on horseback '
stirred up a whole countryside
"every Middlesex village and
farm," as we are told.
If newspapers had been more
renerally circulated ; the Mid- '
dlesex folks would have known
all -about the movements of
the king's troops. They would
have been prepared for the
news that Revere might have
ent over the phone to ten
times as many in one tenth the
time. .v.'.t -
'In every corner of this great
country people know what's
aroing on in all other corners
through the medium of the
dally newspaper.
i And the newspaper Is the
medium that the business
world employs to bring to
gether buyer-and seller.
When you read the adver
tisements in THE JOURNAL
aiuiiar Xha t .this, depart-.
ment. represents a distinct
service to you. It Is. the means
of communication between the
reliable store and your home, .-'
L'se It carefully and systemat
ically, , ,; -