THE JOURNAL AW IMPlcyEHnKNT WEWSPAFER C. a. JACKSON Publisher tBltllahe4 every erasing (e-ejt Sunday) and vary Baada am-nlng at Tb Journal Build las. BrMawar sad YambiU ate.. fortland.Or. festered at the pnetofflee at Cortland. Or., (or traaamlaaios through U mail' aa seeood class matter. TELEPHONES Malo T178I Hoc . A -6061. All Vpari masts mrhad br theee nombera. Tall taa operator what departmeat yoQ wm. lORCIQN ADTEKTISINO KEPBBSENTATI VE BJamla Kantnor Co.. Brunswick Bid.. 224 Klfth A.. New Xora; 1218 People's Uaa Bids., Chicago. Butaeeriptk Urui by mall or to any ad draaa la the United Ktatae or Mexico: DAILY Ob year....... f 6.00 On sworn. ......9 -90 SUNDAY On year $240 I On month f -33 DAILY AMD SUNDAY One yar $7.80 I On month -85 A firm faith Is the best divinity; a good life the best philosophy; a clear conscience ths best law; honesty the best policy, and ' temperance the best physic", living for both worlds Is the wisest and best life. Sir M. Hale. a- YESTERDAY NO LARRY SULLIVAN sat all day yesterday at a Portland polling place, gun In hand. No body of voters, held at bay by him, waited all day for a chance, and finally left the polte without voting, as UBed to be done in the old days. No voters were bought at $1.50 to $5 per head and herded to the polls in groups of five and ten. There was no $20,000 of Lotan money and $15,000 of Simon money on hand to be used in par rying the primary. No Simon supporters broke into a voting place where Mitchell men were canvassing the ballots in the belief that the Mitchell men were counting out Simon officials. No bunch of policemen, on orders from .higher-ups, raided a voting place where the count was going on, and after arresting the elec tion officials On trumped-up charges, carried off the ballot boxes, as was once done on the East Side. It is dirforcnt now. Riot and fighting, bribery and lawlessness on primary day have been super seded by tranquility, peace, good order and good manners. Every voting place in Portland yester day was as orderly as a church service. No ward heelers stood around to buttonhole and bedevil rotors. Any lady could go to the polls and deposit her ballot with as little molestation or embar rassment as in dropping a letter in the neighborhood mail box. Everything was regular, order ly, dignified and tranquil. There was so little buzz about them that in some cases It was difficult to locate the polling places. It is a mighty change from Lar ry Sullivan's day to- yesterday. It li a long step in civilization. It 4s a splendid purification of the ballot and a marvelous fumigation o" politics. It is a change brought about in the face of heavy odds. Every inch of progress from the bribery and riot of a few years ago to the tranquility of yesterday was disputed. It was only by dint of perseverance by the forces of prog ress that peace and good order at Oregon primaries were finally achieved. The Journal points to yesterday with a glow of satisfaction in the fact that it helped to bring about such a day. MELLEN'S COMING EVIDENCE R EVELATIONS that will star tle the country and be a dreadful Indictment of cer tain American financiers, are expected when Charles S. Mellen returns to testify before the In terstate Commerce : Commission next Tuesday. i His anxiety to testify leads to I the expectation that he will tell all. he knows. He has for months r been under fire and humiliation j on account of, the near wrecking i of the New Haven railroad, and it is assumed that he will bare all f the details of the frenzied opera , .tlons and place the responsibility where it belongs. Enough Is already known to make certain that if Mellen tells all he knows, modern manlpula ' tlons of some great railroad prop : erties will receive a. shock that will shake the whole business ' world to its foundations. The fall of the New Haven road from a position ot primacy to bankruptcy has already amazed the country. It was one of the ' most splendid properties in the ' s 1 1 esiek A rnM ttur i4As.wt a. manipulation that Mr. Mellen is now to tell about, it has sunk to the level of the lowliest and most r famished railroad line, and that 9 under the pilotage of J. P. Mor gan and the Rockefellers. ' One of the things already known by which the New Haven was , brought to ruin is the case of the Westchester road. It is lllumina . tlve of the process of the looting, The old Westchester Company, formed in 1872. went bankrupt In 1875 and did nothing for 29 years. .Early in 1904 the Westchester Company received a franchise from ' the New York Board of Alder men; vetoed by Mayor McClellan the franchise was again passed About that time $100,000 in a aown town isew York bank changed possessors, and immedi ateiy after a six-million-dollar con tract .lor work on the New Haven was eecured by a Taminany coa- cern. " About .this time, the - stock of the Westchester road had been bought by the late J. P. Morgan, William Rockefeller and George Miller for the New Haven. They paid more than $5,000,000, though less than $500,000 had been ex pended; though the road had slept 29 years; though President Mel len himself protested in vain that the Btock .was worth "ten cents a pound," and the New Haven al ready too heavily loaded. As a final act in the transaction, the Westchester road, which only coat $22,000,000, went into the New Haven system at $33,000,000 the difference, as Interstate Commerce Commissioner Prouty said, "vanishing Into thin air. As to how the money vanished ! and where it went, is expected to be a part of the story of Charles S. Mellon will tell to the world In his testimony before the Inter state Commerce Commission next week. in all. 336 subsidiary corpora tions were joined to the New Haven before Morgan and Rocke feller finally accomplished Its ruin. The financiers seem not to have luii the New Haven railroad as a I railroad, but as a bank, a stock J broker, a trust company, a gas i works, a steamship line, a trolley system, and everything else but a railroad. If all the facts come out, Mellen's testimony will con stitute indictment of Big Business that will outrage decency and add enormously to the impulse for a national house cleaning. . THE REED CONFERENCE I T IS a good thine to have con ferences like that at Reed Col lege. Its purpose is the uplift and welfare of mankind. It deals with issues for forwarding social and Industrial betterment. It con cerns itself more with man and less with property. We have been interested more in the conservation of our hogs than with the conservation of our people. Ohio recently appropri ated $25,000 for hog serum and nothing for diphtheria serum. In Portland during 1911, we spent 13 cents per capita for protection of health and $i.!3 for protection of property from fire. We are, this year, spending 25 cents for health and $3.75 for prevention of lire losses. We quarantine the state against diseased sheep. We forbid im portation of Infected fruit trees. Our bent has run for so long a w.i lUo B.uo 01 property that we have almost forgotten the hopes and health and needs of men. Three million people are sick each year and their maladies shorten their lives 15 years. Of the 1,500,000 who die in the ! Lnited States annually, 630,000 are carried off by diseases that are preventable. .ucOC yuiiuuioua iacis raise questions of proper housing for the poor. They appeal for wider public attention to sanitation. They challenge public interest in building regulations by which to safeguard the lives of families j wnose tacK or intorrnatlon denies The inefficiency of legislatures to them the knowledge so essen-, will not be tolerated much longer, tia to perfect life conditions. !A fit executive will not be com In the present conference, Reed peiled to veto hundreds of ill di College is radiating all that sci- gested bills and bills with jokers ence has yet revealed, and science and then be charged with respon ds revealed much for the protec- I sibility for . excessive taxation tion and uplift of -human lives. I Science made the Isthmus of Pana ma a health resort, and the ren dezvous of tourists. Panama used to be a slaughter house of men. A WOMAN'S EXPERIENCE H AS the Reed College Confer ence heard of the dependent Chicago woman who. during -.- 1CI.C1 vni IHNM than $300 in aid, while $5000 was expended Inquiring into her condition? The details of the case are il luminating. Seventeen charitable organizations, two court a i vMoi ft " V; " "" and thr0a ' " "Di -vami uyce)1.iiH.iiiim ii ni voiniano treatment oT her casT Th were no less than 105 visits an! interviews regarding it. The facts were brought out in a legislative Investigation. It seems incredible that there could be other cases like it.. Yet it is common observa tion that the whole tendency of institutional charity is to expend much to do little. ' Overhead ex pense and red tape eat voraciously into charitable funds. Among the institutions of Chi cago, there Is a United ChnritiA to co-ordinate the work. It was through that body that the womaH '7flrre 10 was given aid. In i1tCriirali av I. .... "'r8 lut? various activities j nas no straight-out Republican pa on the list of its tonics. Reed Onl-1 ner. Ttn imimaiUTn i. tr, lege conference might emphasize m a general way the simplifica- Wl lu processes and an in- v. ,u me ernciency in all ex- pendltures of charitable funds ANOTHER SHRUNKEN FOR TUNE T BEATS all how fortune. I shrink when the tax collector comes in contact with them. Take for instance the fortune of Charles y. Murphy, who achieved fame by being manager of a Chicago baseball club. When he was forced out of the club he boasted: "I ran a shoestring Into a million dollars and sold my rtock in the club for half a mil lion." Ho is now called upon by the tax assessor to reconcile his boast with a schedule he filed j with the assessor" listing personal 'property to the value of $6650. ' j It is probable that Marphy now appreciates the virtue of silence. A TEMPLE A T SHEDD next Wednesday, there Is to be a school rally. In which several districts will participate. It is a splendid purpose when neighborhoods gather to em phasize the rural school. The whole story of the little red school house has never been told. Its glory in the service of the re public is immeasurable. No Investment is comparable with the money spent on the com mon schools. Every school house Is a fortress for the national de- fense. The school books ar.e the artillery and the rifles with which to defeat foes from without of within. The classrooms are the recruiting stations for drilling the real soldiers of the nation. The common school teachers are the re cruiting officers and drill masters of the grandest army the world has ever seen. It was not Bismarck's army so much as Bismarck's school houses in Prussia that gathered the little neighboring kingdoms under the leadership of Prussia, and created out of the German speaking peo ples, one of the greatest nations of the world. It was the training in the school houses that produced German sol diers who went to the front and defeated the Austrians in a six weeks' war and the French in a six months' conflict, and it was out of those campaigns that Ger many was born. Bleeding Mexico is unanswerable proof of what neglect of the little red school house leads to. Of the Mexicans, "75 per cent, accord ing to a late report of the minister of education, are illiterate. It was because of that illiteracy that an assassin was able to climb over the corpse of Madero to a throne, and able to overthrow the national con stitution, imprison congress, abol ish the supreme court and trample the ballot boxes under foot. Let us forward the American school house. It is a temple of civilization. WHY TAXES ARE HIGH T HE New York Voter's Legis lative Association has pub lished a bulletin which brings out in bold relief the need , of legislative reform. ! Th recent (short tpKKlnn nf th New York legislature resulted- in the passage of nearly 800 bills of which the governor vetoed 223 Of those that passed muster many would probably have been killed by him had he sufficient time to examine them more thoroughly. The legislature was faction ridden and far from harmonious and It failed to pass the essential supply bills, making an extra session necessary. Yet it put 500 anact- ments on the statute books. Is it to be wondered at that there should be talk of commis sion government for states, one house legislatures, the initiative and referendum, and agitation for other drastic reform? A SENSIBLE RESOLVE T HE girls of the 1914 gradu ating class of the La Grande public schools have decided that their graduation dresses shall be limited in cost to $5 each The La Grande girls are to be or gooThTrse sense Tun litaSSS that they have established what will prove to be a precedent f 6r the entire state. The theory of graduation day Is that all are fstarting out in life on an equal footing and in keeping with this 1. ?CCi""B 1 imougnc tnere should be a mod m - .... 01 aress whln the means of iV i-A"? n b OI an The La Grande girls have shown wisdom by Initiating the reform tnemselves. Reformat thus begun are reforms that reform. CHANGING CONDITIONS T HE merger of two large news papers in Chicago Is not only significant of the waning strength of the morning newspaper but It also indicated the STn.riua.1 rpvnlntlnn In Amaio ! political conditions. For the first , time since the Civil War Chicago .. 0 pendent or oDDortuniat. Onlv j few years ago every newspaper in i the city was an organ of the Be I publican party. The drift of the Chicago press is but a reflection of that greater current of political Independence among the voters at lage. The ! "f f PaFty orKanIzatlon a crumbling on every hand and party prejudice is losing Its force OTHER EXPLORERS c OLONEL ROOSEVELT'S dis covery of a Brazilian, river Is rivaled in South America by the University of Pennsyl vania museum's Amazon expedi tion under the leadership of Wil Ham C. Farrabee. He has reported the discovery of a dozen unknown native tribes, the-navigation of a number of unknown rivers and the placement on the map. of South America's new territory In" north ern Brazil and southern Guiana. The expedition spent a year in" the Amazon basin and encoun tered severe hardships, emerging from the jangles bareheaded, bare footed, hungry and fever stricken. Its experience was similar to that of the Roosevelt- party. Like Col onel -Roosevelt. Dr, Farrabee had a narrow escape ;ln navigating rapids and falls and like the colo nel be lost 50 pounds in weight. ' The rivalry of the two expedi tions will be continued on the lec ture platform and in : the publica tion field in the future. A strong reason for avoiding war with Mexico Is the protection of the 15,000,000 gum chewers in the United States. Chicle the base of gum Is secured from a tree in central Mexico and a war would cause a most distressing famine. Letters From the People (Conomnnleatlons aent to The Journal for pnbUcatlon In tnia department should be writ ten on only one side of the paper, abould not exceed 300 words In length and tnuat b ac companied by the name a (id addreaa of the ender. If the writer does not deslra to have the name publiahed. be should so state.) "Discussion la the greatest of aU reform era. It rationalizes everything It tonchea. It robs principles of all false aanctlty and thro we them back on their reasonableneea. If they have do reasonableneea, it rnthlesaly cruahea them out of existence and Beta np lta own conclusions In their stead." Woodrow Wilson. Declares Kansas Dry. Portland, May 15. To the Editor of Ths Journal Referring to the article in Wednesday's Journal entitled "A Kansan on Kansas" by Charles Schmidt, I wish to correct what might otherwise be an erroneous Impression. There may have been many saloons in the town of his birth; he says there were 150. If so, we cannot wonder at thb position he takes on the prohibi tion question. It was, however, more than four years ago, as he states, that Governor Stubbs put the padlock . on me saloons. Since that time Kansas has been a dry state. For many years before that ths nrn- hlbition law was enforced in the rural districts of the state. These same pro hibition people caused laws to be en acted by which the evil effect of the use or aiconoi was tausrht in the nubile schools' of the state. During this time inousanas of boys grew to manhood wunout Knowing the taste of intoxi eating liquors. About the time these young men were casting their first ballot Mr. Stubbs became a candidatn for governor. He made the campaign pit-use ma; lr eiectea He would drive tne saloons trom the few remaining wet cities of the state. These cities were principally "Wichita. Toneka. Leavenworth and Kansas City. Most of tne violations of law were In the latter two, which border the at that time totally wet state of Missouri. U was here doubtless that "Kansan" was born and reared. Considering his early environment, we may in charity excuse the attitude he assumes. When Governor Stubbs became a candidate for governor the young men rallied to his support. Stubbs was elected. Governor Stubbs began to fulfill his campaign pledge by first putting the padlock on every saloon in Wichita. In regular order he did the same in To peka, Leavenworth and Kansas City, ine worn was quickly done. It only took a few weeks. The Honor Interests looked at the beginning of the work at Wichita as a Joke. At ToDeka the saloons began to close and hide thair liquors. At Leavenworth, in their haste, they hired teams to transport their wet goods across the state line Into Missouri, in the- night. Their stampede was on, to get out of Kansas. The governor had named Kansas City as the next point of attack. A more stubborn resistance was made at this place, hut the governor kept his pledge, and the padlock went on every saloon in Kansas City that did not vacate be fore his appearance. It was a glad day for Kansas, but not for all. Owners of saloon buildings howled, said their property was ren dered useless. In a few months, how ever, the good buildings were filled with legitimate lines of business. Prop erty in tnose cities very soon made a notable advance in values. The un desirable and criminal class had fol lowed the saloons across the line Into Missouri. Bank accounts increased and taxes decreased perceptibly. 'Kansan" has the audacity to say that blind pigs and bootleggers took the place of the law breaking saloon. This is not true. I am a Kansan by adoption only, but I heartily resent the Insult that our native son has hurled at this progres sive, independent, sober, hospitable and prosperous people. GEO. C. SHEFLER. Mr. Hollis' Figures Assailed. Portland, May 15. To the Editor of The Journal W. S. Hollis must be a comedian with an awful disposition. Those who disagree with him are "maudlin Baalites." and he "would hang the liquor traffic as high as naraan meaning, I suppose, all who engage In its manufacture or sale. As a comedian, Brother Hollis "put a good one over" when he said,' "I have lived in three states at the times they changed from saloons to prohibition. and know whereof I apeak." But he got right away. Couldn't he make a living? If Oregon should go dry, he'd proDamy move again. This is not asked in a spirit of criticism. I'd go myseir, as I also have a delicate stom ach that rebels at prohibition whiskey Mr. Hollis says in his communica tion to The Journal, dated May 8, that "ths tax rolls of Kansas are over $1,000,000,000 larger than tax rolls In Missouri, while Missouri has twice the population of Kansas, and in addition has the largest brewery this side of Milwaukee." He uses the tax rolls In this instance as a measure of wealth and seeks to convey the impression that Kansas has more wealth than Missouri. Now, let him take the World's Almanac for 1914, turn to page 229 and he will find, by consult ing the two columns headed "Total Assessed Valuation" and "Per Cent Actual Value," that Missouri has prop erty valued at $4,391,193,475, and Kan sas has property valued at J2.746.885. 967, or $3,052,073,297, depending on whether you use 90 or 100 per cent as the ratio of assessed valuation. Giving Kansas the benefit of the doubt, Missouri then has over a billion' and a third more wealth than Kansap, In stead of over a billion less, as he stat ed, or a slight difference of over two and a third billions "between his asser tion and the truth. If he Is not sat isfied with the World's Almanac, let him consult the latest government sta tistics on wealth, debt and taxation and he will find he Is In Just as bad a coat as by using the World's Al manac. A. S. RUTH. Wants a Sunday School. Sherwood, Or., May 14. To the Edi tor of The Journal I live In a com- A FEW SMILES "India, my boy," said an Irishman to a friend on his arrival at Calcutta, Is Just the finest climate under the 0, sun, but a lot of young fellows come out here, and they dbrink and they eat, and they dhrtnk and they die, and then they write' home to '.heir friends a Dack o" lies and say it's th climate as has killed them." : Loads of Instances have been told of the speaker's misinterpreting the iooa or interest on a hearer's face. But one of the best and most recent in stances of that, in which the fall of the speaker's pride and inspiration was hard est occurred to John D. Wells of the Buf falo News, who does platform work. Once at Sherman, N. Y., he was pleased to notice an old lady who never took her eyes from his face. Afterward she said: "I was mighty Interested " Yes, I was so glad you seemed to De enjoying my lecture. "Oh, sir, it wasn't anything you said. Dut I was wondering if you were any relation to the Wellaes In Jamestown." Woman's World. "I wish you to understand," he said, addressing his 10- year-old son, "that I am still the boss in this house." "All right, dad, the boy replied, "but you're a coward to make the boast be hind mother's back.' Two hard citizens were standing In a secluded spot talking confidentially. One of them suddenly sneaked away wniie the other stood try On fi-llfl rrt flnAn tha l& first one was seen to emerge from a win dow and Join his pal. "Did yous gtt any t'ing?" whispered the one in waiting. "Naw, de guy what lives In dere is a lawyer," growled the other. "Dat's hard luck," said his pal. "Did yous lose anything?" munlty not 25 miles from Portland, across the river In the hills from a place called Butteville. Here we livet on the west side of the Willamette river. There are no Sunday schools nearer than from six to nine miles that I know of. except to cross the river at- Butteville and pay 15 cents ferry fare on each child. A poor fam ily could not do that. We have a nice schoolhouse. called the West Butte ville schoolhouse. If only some one would start a Sunday school here, there are at least 25 or 80 'children attending school who are growing to manhood and womanhood without any study of the Bible or Christianity. While I am the mother of quite a large family and do not have time, or at least don't take time, to try to In terest anyone, if only some one would start it and get the parents interested in sending the children, I think our community would be much better off. We ought to have a minister to come and preach to us at least once or twice a month. We live close to large cities, such as Portland, Oregon City and Salem, yet are far from civiliza tion. My children are really getting skeptical on the subject, and I wish you would print this so others may unite and advise what to do in a case of this kind, also how to get a church or Sunday school started. This letter is from a mother who was 'reared in a Methodist church and would really like to see her children grow up In the Christian faith. A SUBSCRIBER. Kansas Wet or Dry? Reedville, Or., May 14. If Kansas Is wet, as Carl Schmidt tells us then why don't the liquor Interests quit aim ing their shafts of ridicule at it? If Kansas Is wet, why Is It that the liquor Interests dispose of their goods in a sneaking, under-handed way there? The argument that prohibition doesn't prohibit, and that it brings about "blind pig rule." has been shot to pieces. The law against the sale of booze is just as binding on a state as the law against murder. The great trouble Is to enforce It. We can see law meted out to the letter against the poor, while too often the rich escape. The liquor business is a mighty busi ness, and, like the Rockefeller Inter ests, wants to run the country. They have become bigger than the law and the country. When we send these peo ple to the penitentiary or deport them out of the country Instead of.lmpos ing fines, which In the end the people must i pay anyhow, . we will begin to get some measure of relief. Kansas, according to its laws, Is a dry state. and because of the notorious lawless ness of tho liquor traffic, Carl Schmidt is in a position to tell us that Kansas is wet and always - has been. 'What would Carl Schmidt have us do? Vote to perpetuate this notorious outlaw? Ella M. Finney advances some tre mendous figures In her argument for booze. Really, one would think the financial welfare of the entire coun try depended upon the existence Of a business which depends .upon human weakness and error for support. O. E. FRANK. 'On Which Side?" Sherwood, Or., May 14. To the Edi tor of The Journal The wets and the drys are very busy trying to prove they are both on the right side. There is only one right side, and that Is the side God is on. We know that God is on the side of right and against all sin, so he Is surely against such an awful sin as the liquor traffic. There can be no doubt about it. The temperance cause has come to stay. God is the father of the thoughts and works of his people. and he will never forsake their Just cause against such an awful monster of sin. MRS. JANE REISER. No Sympathy for "Victim." Portland. May 16. To the Editor of The Journal "A Victim of a Dishon est Contractor," in Wednesday's Jour nal, Is to be pitied, but be got what was coming to him, all right. The writer knows, for he Is In position to know, and be also has been stung. If "Victim" will think back, he will re call that the lowest bid of ths respon slble men who gave him an estimate was $3000 or $3100, about 10 per cent higher. This is about the difference betwaen the class "Vlctom's" contractor belongs to and the members of the Builders' Exchange, who .are reeponsi ble. But just as there. are such con tractors who beat the owner and the material man, so there are such peo ple as "Victim" and ths writer, who think they can beat the contractor and get something for nothing, or a better fin PERTINENT COMMENT 8MAL1, CHANGS Selfishness -another name for self- love. The long distance phone makes the heart throb faster. If you don't want people to like you criticize what they do. All successful candidates are sure that the best men won. There's always room at the top and always a crowd at the bottom. One of a boy's first ambitions Is to get all the pie he can eat. a O A bunch of women don't seem to be having a very good time unless three or four are talking at once. e Now the numerous "rallies" are all over, and many sad candidates will look back upon them as vain and de lusive things. The many automobile wrecks and consequent injuries and even deaths seem to have no deterrent effect on the reckless driver. a Niagara Falls is a much pleasanter climate In summer than Vera Cruz; but ambassadors and soldiers are quite different persons. The majority of Mexicans are land less, ignorant, "downtrodden," prac tically serfs; who can blame them much for whatever they do? The mystery of the "Mona Llse" smile has at last been solved. The art ist caught her expression when she was trying to laugh at one of her hus band's Jokes. AN OREGON SENATOR ON OREGON From Equity. j It Is quite common for opponents of the Initiative and referendum move ment to refer to the experience of Oregon as a sort of "horrible example," of the excessive use of the initiative and referendum. In varying degrees of scorn, these critics point to the Oregon ballot, which carried along with Uie list of elective officials 32 legis lative acts or proposals at one election on which the voters of the state were expected to express their final verdict. Having this in mind when recently the writer met Senator Chamberlain of Oregon In Washington, the question was put to him frankly as to how he and the people of Oregon now look at the matter. And this is what the sena tor from Oregon had to say: "In the tirst place, even the presen tation of that large ballot, which- has caused the unfavorable comment to which you refer, came along with the flood of Ideas natura.ly c onnected with the transition from the old to the new system. This meant a tremendous amount of study on the port of the people about public needs and public remedies. If vou' could have seen, as I did during that campaign, thousands of people spending their evenings and spare time in study groups, with the list of propositions before them, read ing the pamphlet explaining the prop osition and formulating their opinions on the questions submitted, you would never have doubted the tremendous educational value of that referendum campaign to the electorate of Oregon. "From that point of view alone it was worlh all the cost. But anyone who Imagines that the adoption of the initiative and" referendum is going to mean the continuous and extensive use of that process upon a large and In DON'T INVEST ON By John M. Osklnson, First, here is a quotation from a thrift preacher: Many fortunes have been made. and many more wHl be made, through wise Investments. Many fortunes are lost, too, through unwise Investments." But thrifty habits and consulting with experienced persons like conservative bankers will give one the wisdom nec essary to handle money wisely. Second,' I set down a quotation from the advertisement of a wise and con servative investment banker: "In loaning or Investing money, all possible care should be taken to guard against hasty or Impulsive decision Every endeavor should be made to as semble such reliable information as will permit of the exercise of intelli gent judgment. The man who assumes this attitude toward all Investment propositions comes to have an Increas ing regard for the element of conser vatism, and Is ordinarily the first man to seek the cooperation of Investment experts." Job for less than It Is worth, and they get soaked, though only once In a while one of them will have the nerve to "holler." The very moment the contractor hedged on a bond. "Victim" should have dropped him, or at least asked him to show his card as a member of the Builders' Exchange, when he would have had some assurance that he was on the square. Of course, there are many good contractors who are not members of the exchange, but how does the aver age 'victim" know they are "good"? While a member has something worth while In the way of a guarantee, and he can be got at without "consulting the district attorney." Any man who attempts to build a home or a housa or any other build ing without a responsible architect and a responsible contractor in a city where the architects are as fine a class of men as can be found, and where there Is a strong Builders' Ex change that only responsible contract ors can join, ahd getting harder to pass examination for admittance? all the time, deserves to get let down, ahd his futile wail against the "dis honest contractor" and the "law and its administrators" who have "robbed him" is as music to the honest, reli able contractor whose bid was only 10 per cent higher. O. G. HUGHSON. Secretary Builders' Exchange. Newspaper Vilification. Portland, May 16. To the Editor of The Journal I am only a private in the ranks, but I am a full blooded American, and my father helped pre serve this Union. Therefore my blood has been made to boil when reading some of the editorials in the Oregon lan. 0 I have always been a Republican, but not the Oregonlan stripe. The Oregonlan is for everything against the United States government and common decency. It has been saying alt manner of things against our pres ident and Secretary of State Bryan, and If that Is not aranrchy then I don't know what the. word means. I was never of Bryan's political faith, but I lived within about four, blocks of him for eight years and I can truth fully affirm that there Is not a cleaner or more conscientious man in the United States Ths Oregonlan would do well to take some lessons of a man as good. I also have found our pres ident has a record above reproach. But AND NEWS IN BRIEF OREGON SIDELIGHTS The Sentinel claims that CtxjuirU's per capita of automobiles still remains the highest of any town in Oregon of no greater population. Tb Weston Leader is "glad to ob- ' serve from the Democratic registration that there are at least 2360 intelligent voters in Umatilla county." A meeting of the Klamath Falls chamber of commerce at which, the question of disbanding was to be con sidered was turned into a rovival meet ing, and a campaign of rejuvenation is now in progress. a By recent order of mayor end coun cil, members of Hood River's volun teer fire department are to be paid $3 per fire at which water is thrown, and i also to be reimbursed for hospital or physician s Dills as a result or any in juries received while fighting fire. 1 Citizens of Metolius and farmers of the vicinity have installed telephones and formed a company known as the Metolius & Farmers Telephone Co. They will have free service to Madras, Frineville and Laments. a Canyon City Eagle: This spring has seen a revival in government land lo cations. The Bear valley country Is attracting attention. From present In dications It Is a safe prediction that during the next two years practically every foot of the open lands in the county will be taken up. "Two young women from the east. "ne a mrmer aienosrapner in aunneap- oils." says the Enterprise Record Chieftain, "have just finished building a barn on their homestead In the Three Lakes district. The homestead is in th name of Lucile Parent, ahd her sister Rosa formerly operated a typewriter. The girls constructed the entire building without help. creasing number cf public questions each year is entirely mistaken. W In Oregon know that the number of ques tions submitted at that election was due to the fact that the legislature had failed to respond to the progressive demands ot the people. We know that a majority of the legislature was still in the hands of the corporate and predatory Interests. "We know that this Is only a tem porary condition, and that in a few years at the most it won't be necessary to use the initiative and referendum at all, or very seldom. In our state, for the legislature will have become re sponsive to the needs of the people. The Initiative and referendum are not Intended for constant use nor for use at all so long as the law making repre sentatives do their duty. They simply stand in reserve as the weapons with wuicn to express or enforce the re served rights of the people. "But there are no regrets over tho adoption or the use of these Instru ments in my state. See the great steps in progress they have given us, such I colunrbus, the Conquest of Peru and as the direct primary, the corrupt prac- j Conquest of Mexico. 1 was fas tices acts, workers' compensation and I clnatcd by the story of Texas. Texas many acts for the improvement and extension of the public service." And even though the use which Ore gon has made seems to some to have been excessive, yet the referred meas ures have been inconsequential as com pared with the total number of bills. resolutions etc., passed by the legis lature; and the Initiated measures have numbered only a small percentage of er of bills, resolutions. Into th leeislatur for the total number off. tntrnilllf-ewl Intn th. lotHclatnr. fn, consideration. As these facts are squarely faced, it Is evident that the ; P7 1 'ed1 in use which Oregon has made of these ,,'1 """f of "6 a',d b'a," -Instrument hL not ben excsslv. dependent republic On April 21, lias. SNAP JUDGMENT Conservatism In Investment means, ; Eight or ten years later, or, to l first of all, keeping the principal sum t-exact, in December, 1845. Texas was safe. What profits It to get 7 or 8 annexed to the United States, per cent a year on your money for ! "About a month before the anncxa three or four years If at the end of . tion of Texas President 1'olk had sent that time misfortune of any sort over- John Slldell of Louisiana as Unite. I takes the company you invested in j States minister to Mexico with In to such an extent that you would find I structlons to try to buy California, what you have paid $100 for Is only j President Herrera of Mexico had been worth $75? And when you leave the deposed and the new president re road of conservatism in putting your j fused to receive Slldell. President money out to work this Is exactly the I Polk ordered General Zachary TVyMr experience you are likely to have. j to occupy the disputed territory. Better keej your money In the sav- Taylor's forces, while caoipari on tli-j ings bank, where it will earn about 4 1 Rio Grande river, near Matamoraiv per cent, and where If you wish Inter- 1 were attacked on April 23,. 1846, JkV est will be compounded, until you are ! Arista, in command of Uie Mexfcau positively certain of the soundness of j army. Meanwhile General 'Ktepnii the investment advice you receive. ; W. Kearni-y conquered Nejir Mexico. Adding to the saved sum in a savings ', winning the battle of Kan I'asqual bank, too, is a mighty good way to fas- .and establishing a provisions! govern- ten tne tnrirt namt upon yourself, Choose as your first adviser in invest' ment some one who has selected in vestments for the savings bank. From him learn what the elements of sound Investment are. Go slow! the Oregonlan has vllllfled him and made all manner of evil remarks about him. Coming down to our own stats, see how the Oregonlan has censured our governor, all because he wanted to en force the laws of the state and make it a fit place for respectable people to live in. The OregonUm, In my estlma tion, and also In that of a great many others that I know of. Is the little end of nothing whittled down some, and I. with others, think if they can't be loyal to the old Stars and Stripes and to our president It would be better for our country If they would leave It A PRIVATE. Concerning the Rose Festival. Portland, May 15. To the Editor of The Journal I suggest that the Rose Festival management set the time for the show in April, Instead of October, because they might not be so apt to miss the prime of the rose season a half a month or more. It looks now as If they may find It expedient this season to send to Alaska for a cargo 01 roses tor tn snow or else confine the exhibit mainly to rose-petal beads. A LOOKER-ON. The Ragtime Muse , Perils in Plenty. I have heard the Mausers whine Their curt messages malign. I have heard the Maxims snarling on the hill; And the barking of the Krags 'Neath the bullet-riddled flags. And theburden of each utterance was I have faced a watery grave On the sad and salty wave. In a lug sailed tub as wieldy as an ark; And sought what men called "sport'1 In a semi-tropic port That was playground for ths ever hun gry shark. I have' leaped and fled afax From the honlcinsr motor car. In a cyclone I have turned a trifle pale. For an office I have run And esteemed It merely fun. I have even braved a Monday bargain sale! But these dangers are all time. To the fateful parlor game where the sexes meet In desperate, deadly strife: For If one has not a care One will be entangled there Sure! Marriage is the only happy life! IN EARLIER DAYS By Fred Locklej. Alonso Perkins, a Mexican war vet ran, living at SIS Morris street, has1 led an adventurous life. The story1 of his adventures In ths Mexican war' and on the frontier ara irks an atdio, from the past, and are as interesting; a tne pages of any best seller or historical novel. When I had been introduced to Mrs. Perkins she excused herself to finish ths dinner dishes, and Mr. rerklns and myself settled down for an after noon talk. "Some folks feel sort of proud over celebrating their golden wedding." said Mr. Perkins. "My wife and I celebrated ours 15 years ago. Ws were married in 1a Salle county. 111., SeDt- 22 184. Her maiden name Samantha Jenkins. 1 was born in ths village of Waterloo In tb staU of New York on August 11. 182, John Qulncy Adams then being president of the United Htates. There were 13 children in our family. I was about the middle of the crop, and though there were as many younger ss older than myself, 1 am the only one of the 13 left. "What iiave I done? Well. I served In the Mexican war; 1 have fortcd up against Indians; I was a membr of the territorial legislature of Nebraska back in 1857; 1 was deputy United States marshal, county Judge and mayor.. "Somehow or other it doesn't seem as If I am S8. When 1 was vounsrer. v in ,, . . - 2? "K wh.cn 1 WM P viuimnS ou, ji Bcenitx to me that a man or 88 was an old man. "Seventy-five years ago when I was a boy all water wheels were made of wood and all the work was done by hand. It was just about 75 years ago that I went to work with my father to learn his trade, that of rtill-WriKht. I Worked with him nntll il was 18, when I went out west. 1 There were no railroads west of Buffalo. N. Y.. In the early forties; so I took a boat on the Krle canal to Buffalo, where I took passaxe on ; a steamer for Chicago. Chicago was a pretty good sized place for a west ern town. It had about 009 people, f should Judge. From Chicago 1 went about 100 miles to the southwest to Ottawa, the county seat of La Salle county. One of my older brothers lived near Ottawa. He was a mill wright like myself. I worked with him for 1844 to 1846. "In those days there was constant discussion about Mexico and Texan. At first the United States claimed that Texas was a part of the terri tory she had bought In the Louisiana purchase. She gave up that claim along about I8J6. at the instance of opsin, wnich owned Mexico. A couDle ! ' years later, in the spring of 182:. our country recognized the Independ ence or Mexico. I was, when a boy and am yet, for Oat matter, a great reader. I read history and travel mostly. I read of the voyases of nd oanulla, as you probably know were together made one of tho north ern states of Mexico In 1827. "An American, Moses Austin, set tled In what is now Texas In 1820, and started a colony of Americans. In 1833 Texas had about 2(1,000 set tlers, who adopted a constitution which the Central Mexican s-ovm. ! T ? 1 1 TecoKniz- Tw V ! 1n2a,.ht,M' pre8ldent I elco. abolished the states of Mex- s f I t 1 . "ni -made tnem departments lr- cam Houston with about 700 Ameri can residents of Texas, defeated Santa Anna with his army of 160.) men. General Sam Houston became president of the Republic of Texas. i n ent at Santa Ke. He went on to California and sent Colonel Alexander Doniphan to Join General Wool at Chihuahua. "On May 8, 1846, while Genert! Taylor, with 2300 troops, was marcb- I ing from Point Isabel to Matamoras ' to go to th hf;,p of Major Brown, he encounierea me Mexican generals. Arista and Ampadia with 1000 Mexi cans. After fighting all afternoon the Mexicans were defeated and re tired to Resaca de la Palma. Next day General Taylor attacked him. i CaPt&in May ot Taylor's dragoons charged the Mexican battery and silenced it. The Mexicans fell back, leaving their baggage, guns and am munition and supplies In the hands of ! v, im.Hn t.,r, j "Today, with our ' telegraphs, wire less, and railroads, we know things as soon ss they happen, and when our troops capture Vera Cruz we learn of It before the surgetfns have finished bandaging the wounded. But' 68 years ago It was a different story. The story of the fighting an ths result of the battles were sent to President Polk by a courier on horse back. "Congress, which was in session. Immediately upon receipt of news of the battles, authorized President Polk to call for volunteers. Illinois wss assigned three regiments of infantry. ! The governor of our state notified the officers of the militia to enroll volunteers for service. Word cam to me that C. R. Potter, a rpilltU officer at Ottawa, 12 miles' out, ha.i Issued a call for volunteers and set certain day fo them to assemble. I was 20 years bid, my parents were in New iork, too far away to do any objecting, and I was as a boy rath -r fond of adventure and romance. rto it was a foregone conclusion bhat I would enlist to go to Mexico. "I walked in to Ottawa. Every where was excitement; the town was full of farmers and every hitch ing rack was full. I heard a fife and drum," and, hurrying forward, I saw about 40 men following the music; I fell in line and we were marched to the recruiting office, where I signed the muster roll and was duly en listed. Pointed Paragraphs Many a man who has that tirad feel ing did not acquire it legitimately. A bully Is a man who Is always wanting to fight some other man half his size. - However, the woman who marries a-' preacher doesn't have to nag hint in order to get him to go to ehureh. ' ,