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THE SUMPTER MINER
Wednesday, February 22, 1915
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The Sumpter Miner
PUHLISHBD BVBRV WBDNESDAY BY
J. W. CONN ELLA
' Mered at the poitofflce In Sumpter. Oregon, for
lummlsnlon through the malli ai second clan
after
SUHSCWII'TION RATES
One Year St.oo
St Month 5
ALWAYS IN ADVANCH.
Now, that 11 ahortag'i in it
Hawaiian poHtoffloo Iihh boon detected,
It Ih evident thitt other things besides
the constitution follow the radiant
AmerloHti flag.
An American egyptolugiat, Theo
dore M. 'Davia, has, according to a
dispatch from Carlo, discovered a
royal tomb In the neighborhood of
Ltixer full of antlquitieH, Including
Intact sarcophagi, a chariot, furnlure
and numerous other relics of a pMHt
age. The tomb was formerly opened
in the proHonce of tho Duke and
Duahosa of Connaught.
TIiIh in the vay the Minneapolis
Trl tin lie vIowh the nil I road rate
preblem: Juat iih in freight busl
iiohh, the big shippers get rubnteH mid
special couueHHloiiH, mo tho men hetit
able to pay piiHHenger faron pay the
JtiHHt. Moat men of wealth havo their
passoa and ride free everywhere. The
"toady travelerH, whoHe oxpauaoa aro
UHiially paid by their employers, the
large business houses, travel ou
mileage for two uentH a mile. The
Man who cannot line fiOO or 1000
miluH, or who hasn't the money
to pay f '25 or f0 for a book, pays
the full tarilf rateH, 'A oonta a mile.
The whole system Ik upHlde down.
The man who shlin one oar ought to
have iih clone a rate hh the man who
eliips a hundred.
Our priiHtint biiukruptcy law whh an
emergency JJtiHtasuro resulting from
the panic of 1HIKJ, and the Iiouhd
judiciary committee Iihh decided by
a vote of eight to mIx to report
favorably the Clayton bill to ropoal
the act. Hie author of the bill,
Clayton, of Alabama, saya:
"It Iihh never been the policy of
the United Stated to have a perma
nent bankruptcy law. We think the
present law ban nerved Its purpose,
and that it should be repealed.
T'lal and experience have demon
etrated the manifold impnrfectloiiM of
thla law, airl that many oases of
lujustloo have come, ami are con
Mtautly coming, from Km operation.
We do not believe that there Ih any
neoehHity or any general public de
mand for the longer retention of the
law. It Iihh tended to burden the
federal courts with litigation, which,
we believe, could be just aH well
conducted by the court of the MtatoH.
The frlendH of the present bankruptcy
law, who belong to the creditor olaHS,
are coiiHtiiutly endeavoring to per
feet thin action iuto mere machinery
for the collection of dubtM, mini
mixiug or Ignoring aH far aa potable
the primary purpose of bankruptcy
legislation -the relief of uufoituuatc
debtor. "
lleury II. Kogera aud Henry C.
i'rlok won recently elected directors
of the Atchison, Topeka Sc Santa Ke
railway. Thla aatlou Ih accepted iu
Wall street aa meaning that the liar
rimaU'Staudard Oil iutcreata are
now vhe dominating factor in the
company. While these intercut do
nut own an actual controlling in-
tereBt in Atchison, both the com
mon and prefered stock being widely
held by investors, they control a
sufficiently large block of atuck to
render it impossible for any other
iuterent to secure coutrol of the
company.
Last fall it became known that
Kuhn, Loan & Company had pur
chased a block of about :)00.000
aharea of Atchlson'ln the open ruar
kot, aud that thla "j block of stock
had been transferred to a group
of oapitall it composed of H. H.
Kogera, II. C. Kriek. James Still
man and several of their ausoolatoH.
Thla la understood to be the largest
block of Atchison aeoiiritieB owned
by any single interest. The com
pany has $ 102, 000, 000 common stock
and 1114,000 000 preferred stoak
outstanding. These securities how
ever, are very widely scattered among
a large number of small investors.
The bureau of tho census haa just
published its final and complete re
port ou the recent couaiia of the min
ing iudustrioa of the United States.
Thla census was conducted in collab
oration wlch the United States goo
logical survey. It rolates to tho cal
endar year 1002 aud forma a part of
the general work of the 1 2th comma
of the United States, being one of tho
apodal implrioa provided for in the
legislation minting to that ceuaua.
A Hiimmaiy of the statistics relating
to minus aud quarries haa already
been presented to the public iu a pre
liminary report published by tho
bureau at a bulletin about six mouths
ago. Thla waa a pamphlet of 50
pages. The report now issued is a
bound volume of 11 211 pages.
The atatlatica compiled in the
elaborate tables comprise data of the
value and quantity of the product of
the mines, the coat of supplies aud
materials, the mlMCollaueoua expousus,
the number of wage earners the
amount of their wagea, the number
of clerka aud salaried oflloiala, tho
kind aud amount of power uaod, the
amount paid for contract work, etc.
A separate soot ion la devoted to
the mineral industries of each atato
aud territory, and It appears from thla
llHt that MlHHiHHippi aud the Diatrlct
of Columbia are the only political
divlaloua of the United States iu
which the sound of the minor's pick
is not heard.
The agricultural department, at
the reque-it of Setiator Dubois, has
ordered a scientific Investigation re
garding the elfeot of mine tailings ou
the lauda aluug tho St. Maries river
in the Coeur d'Alene mining dis
trict. It ia claimed that the various
chemicals used by these mines in
connection with their woik, and do
posited along the river banks, have
proven very disastrous to all vegetable
matter aud tint during years past has
oauHod the poisoning of thousands
of cattle. Senator Dubois says that
there ia heavy lltlgatlou ponding In
the Idaho courta as the result of
these foreign deposits along the St.
Maries river aud that something must
be done fur the protection of prop
erty holdurs Iu that vicinity. This,
he believes, will be done after the
department of agriculture makes a re
port of its findings.
Seuator Mitoholl is uow wrestling
with, perhaps, the bitterest oxp:1
ence to which mau ia subjected the
loss of the support aud sympathy of
people whom he has befrieuded.
Though universal, that is the most
degrading blot ou humau nature, if
the senator is guilty of all the sins
of which ha Is aooused, it would be a
difficult taak to defend him, in the
abstract, IJut eveu grautiug that
he Ib guilty, be waa only doing
what every one around him was
tiyiug, or willing, to do, and man
is the creature of bis environment.
There are men, of course, with whom
it is impossible to be dishonest, nr
to engage iu any questionable sharp
practice. Such, however, inherit
that sterling trait from a long line of
splendid ancestry, and they deserve
no especial commendation.
Iu the case of these epople who are
throwing up their bauds in holy
horror because Senator Mitchell has
apparently used his otllolal position
to make money for himself at the
expense of the government, and
abandoning him to his cruel fate in
bis old age, are clearly not actuated
by any lofty ideals of honor, or re
pugnance to acta of questionable
character; but are prompted by a
pirit of craven cowardice, are de
serting a former friend because be Ib
in trouble and needs their aid. Under
these circumstances, a real thorough
bred would "stay with" him till the
crack of doom. The act of his part
ner, after admitting that he had per
jurod himself, iu turning state's evi
dence agaiust a pal to use the
possibly inappropriate but expressive
language of the criminal- is par
ticularly despicable Grautiug that
every charge preferred against Sen
ator Mitchell is true, bo occupies a
less oeuHtirablo position, in the eyea
of real meu, than does bis trenoherous
partner, who offers as a afcrlflco his
associate, in ordor to save hls'ouw
hide.
Some writer on a Portland paper
has cuuoeived the fako story that
Baker, (J rant and Mainour counties
are about to make a move to secede
from Oregon and havo themselves at
tached to Idaho. Of course, there
is no truth in tho atatemout; but if
such a movo were left to a voto of
these three couuties, that thing would
unquestionably bo doue. Tho In
tenuis of this section of tho state aro
entirely different from those of Port
land and the Willamette valley, and
by the potion of the lattor during
twenty or more years piiHt, havo beeu
made antagonistic.
The western divlsiou of the state,
being much more thickly populated,
domluates the political; while Port
laud, owing solely to favorable freight
rates aud to no enterprise of its own,
dominates the commercial affairs of
Oregon. Hoth politically aud com
mercially the coast country has been
bo narrow aud short sibgted that it
has alieuiated the regard of the
east and wo are bound to it, not
by cboloo, but by uecesaity. On
tho other baud, our industries aud
interests are identical with those
of Idaho aud we would gladly oast
our lot with that state were it
possible.
A similar condition of affairs ex
ist ovor in Washington aud the prop
osition hat beuu trequoutly disc nosed
by the press aud men iu public iifo.
Owing to the v.'ido dilfereuue of in
terests, an antagonism in govern
mental affairs is almost iuevitable
aud such a condition is detrimental
to both jections. Mnuntalu rauges,
uot rivers, are tho natural dividing
line botweeu areas of country aud
should also be iu eepsratiug political
divisions.
Radical revision of laud laws
affecting the public domaiu is recom
meuded by Presideut Roosevelt iu a
message forwarded to oougress, iu
which is ooutained a secoud partial
report of the house lauda commis
sion, appointed by him October 22,
1903. The commission, upon as
suming its duties, was instructed
to "report upon the condition and
effect of the present laws," and to
recommend "such changes as are
needed to effect the largest practical
dispudtion of the public's land to
actual settlers, who will build homes
uopn (hem," aud to "secure in
permanence the fullest and most
effective use of the resources of
the puilo lauds."
The report sumitted declares the
preaent laws unsuitable to the needs
of the growing public domain.
Agricultural possibilities are little
understood or eveu ascertained and
provision, the commission believes,
rbould be made for gathering the ex
act facts concerning what, the lands
will grow, if anything, and for hold
lug for agrioultnre such tracts aa are
fit tor It.
The recommendation for the re
peal of the timber and atone aota Is
renewed. The commission thinks
the sale of timber from unreserved
publio forests should be authorized.
The immediate application of any
rigid ssytem to grazing lands ia op
osed, but the commission reoommends
that the president be authorized to
set aside grazing districts by procla
mation, said districts to be under
control uf the secretary of agricul
ture Tho commission also recemmends:
"The right to exchange lands in
forest reservations for lands outside
should bo withdrawn;" "provision
should b'j made for the purchase of
needed private lands inside forest re
serves, or for the exahange of such
lauds for traces of like area and value
outside the reservations;" "the
commutation clause of the homestead
act being found to work badly, three
yeara actual residence should be re
quired before commutation;" "the
desert laud act being fond to lead to
mouopoly iu many cases, the area of
a desert entry should be reduced to
uot more thau 100 aores, actual resi
dence for three years should be re
quired, the actual production on a
valuable crop ou one-fourth the area
and proof of an adequate water sup
ply being necessary." The com
mission cencludes: "The funda
mental fact that characterizes the
situation uuder the publiu laud laws
is this that the uumber of patents
issued is increasing out of all propor
tion to the number of new homes.''
If Your Are Mot Particular.
Don't travel over the Illinois
Central, as any old road will do you
aud we don't want your patronage;
but if you are particular and want
the boat aud mean to have it, ask the
tioket agent to route you via the
Illinois Central, the road that runs
through solid vestibule trains be
tween St. Paul, Omaha, Chicago, St.
LouIb, Mempbpis and New Orleans.
No additional charge is made for
a seat in our reclining chair cars,
which are fitted with lavatories and
smokiug rooms, and have a porter
iu utteudauoe.
Kates via tho llinoia Central are
the lowest and we will be glad to
quote them iu connection with any
transcontinental line.
J. O. LIND8EV, T. P. & P. A.,
142 Third street, Portland, Oregon.
B. II. TRUMBULL, Commercial
agent, 142 Third street, Portland,
Oregon.
PAUL 13. THOMPSON, Freight
and passeuger agent, Colman bond
ing, Seattle, Washington.
Slib wood for kitchen stoves or
rauges, only $2.00 per cord. Sump
ter Lumber Co.