H O M E AND FA RM
Expert Discusses Freight Rates
Capital Short Story by Lauder Clement.
Proposed Increases W ill Have But Slight Effect on Cost of
Commodities, Is Asserted by H arry Thompson.
S
I follow ed her down a passage w ith
th e w ind blow ing in it and stood w ith
her outside a small door. “ W hy do you
keep him out h e r e ! ” I asked.
“ He w an ts i t , ” she said. “ I t w as a
good storeroom fo r provisions, having
a window, b u t since he got back from
his ja il he w an ts a very small room.
So I cleared th e onions and fr n it out
of this and his saw s an d tools he used
to use, and he sits on the edge o f the
X
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4
bed w ith his legs a p art. l i e ’s no help,
jo e can see for y o u rse lf.”
“ He is ill, th o u g h ,” I said.
“ It
seems to me you have ch an g ed .”
“ H e 's sick enough, surely.
“ Yes,
I'v e changed enough. You c a n 't lik e a
man like th a t, tim id and quiet. H e ’s
quiet enough. .Sometimes he puts on
his vest w rong side out, but th a t 's all
he does. A nd he w ants his meals hand
cd in thro u g h a track in the door. He
will not have a lot o f blue and yellow
aud w hite rushing in at him from out
side when h e 's used to his grey stones,
nor a crowd o f children—all his, as I
say —before bis eyes, and the cat walk
ing in an d ont among th e m .”
BY HARRY THOMPSON.
NE of th e most noticeable things
about th e proposed 5 per cent in
crease in railro ad freig h t rates is
the wide discussion the subject has
provoked in th e press e f the country,
the public will bo b e tte r inform ed
trav el because of its d irect p a rt in it;
b u t freig h t tra ffic has been a closed
book to all except those engaged in
overland commerce.
I t would seem
now. however, with th is enlightening
discussion in progress, th a t before the
proposal a t p resen t before th e I n te r
state Commerce Commission is decided,
the public will be b e tte re inform ed
th an ever before on th is mueh more
She opened the door. “ Well, how im portant source of railro ad earnings.
are y o u ! ” I said to the man inside. I
Considerable comm ent has been given
saw a sm all room w ith a window over
the bed on which the man sat, w ith his to a pam phlet which th e railroads iravo
legs a p a rt and his w aistco at on wrong issued, supporting th e ir contention of
side out. I saw th e m eager b ranch of the necessity o f inereased rates, in
a peach tre e cross and recross the pane which th e roads endeavor to show th a t
in the slig h t gusts of spring. “ T h at th eir side o f the case is really the pub
tree, I d are say, is a pleasure to your li e ’s side. This docum ent is subtly en
titled “ Are th e W ages We P ay the
eyqfi, ” I said to him.
“ I d o n 't like i t , ” he said. “ The R ailroads H igh E n o u g h !” and in it is
window is too large. And the ro o m ’s shown th a t the tonnage of freig h t as
too large. I like a v ery sm all room compared w ith the w eight of passengers
and a sm all w indow .” His eyes fell on is in round num bers, nearly th irty to
th e p late o f food in his w ife ’s hand one, w hile th e av erage haul of freig h t
and he th rew out his arm w ith th e ges is four tim es th e averago passenger
tu re of sh u ttin g a door. He took no journey.
The tran sp o rtatio n cost to the con
fu rth e r notice of me. We w ent out
again. H is w ife smiled the smile she sum er on articles of every day use is
g raphically shown; for example, the
had got.
“ T h at fish will be cold enough,” she railroads g et 2 2-5 cents for carrying a
said to me. Then in the kitchen, look pair of shoes from Boston to Chicago.
ing to w ard th e glass, “ I ’m losing my I f the rate were increased 5 per eent
th e fre ig h t would still bo less th an 3
looks. W hat do you th i n k ! ”
cents per pair. Should this, the rail
“ I d o n 't k n o w ,” I said.
“ You can see fo r yourself h e ’s no roads argue, effe c t the average selling
u se,” she rem arked from th e top step. price, $1 per pair. A ♦35 seat of bar
ness is now carried from New York to
“ And no com fort, e ith e r.”
Chicago fo r 43 J ce.nts or 1 80 of its
I said.
“ T h at prison was too much for h im ,” selling p rice; a $50 shot gun is carried
“ Y es,”
she agreed, “ h e 's sick 1000 miles for 71 cents—and sim ilarly
are shown the in sig n ifican t cost of
enough.” — H a rp e r’s W eekly.
tran sp o rtatio n on garden and farm im
plem ents, clothing, tools, etc.
I
Laughs From Far
and Near
D R EA D FU L sto ry is in circulation
about R ichard H ard in g Davis, the
novelist.
U r. D avis, as everybody know s, is
a w it. H e was th erefo re te rrib ly an
noyed th e o th er d ay to h ear th a t a
b ro th er au th o r has spoken u n fav o r
ably of his w itticism s. Coming upon
th is b ro th er author, he said:
“ M y boy, I b ear th a t in( a house
where o th er people were kind enough
to consider me w itty you declared th a t
I was not so. Is th is t r u e ! ”
“ N o; not a word o f tr u th in i t , ” the
other answ ered cheerily. “ I was never
in a house in my life w here anybody
considered you w itty .”
A
e
•
e
U R IN G a concert to u r of the la te
Theodore Thomas and his celebrated
o rch estra one of th e m usicians died,
and th e follow ing telegram w as imme
d iately dispatched to the p aren ts o f the
deceased:
“ Jo h n B lank died suddenly today,
Advise by w ire as to d isp o sitio n .”
In a few hours th e answ er was r e
ceived, read in g as follow s:
“ We are h eartb ro k en ; his disposi
tion was a roving o n e .”
D
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C
A
IF
Going East
or
Coming West
W rite ns for reduced freight rates
on household goods or automo
biles. Consolidated car service.
PACIFIC COAST FORWARDING CO.
107 Rr- ta. Bids: Perthad. Or.«««
Badge« and
Trade Check«
Good roads enthusiasts, as well as
F ru it Stamps
brick m an u factu rers of Zanesville, O.,
Bras« Sign«, Box Printing Platen and Bur»,
have made a u nited p rotest against the
ing Brands. Numbering Machine
Expert«.
plans and specifications of im proving
MAIN 2 U d
the old N atio n al highw ay w ith concrete
35 0 Oak Street, Opposite P olice Station.
instead of b riek , as originally planned.
Portland Oregon
The advocates of brick paving th reaten
e
T
Is it enough! The roads ask. And
the question is directed to tho general
public as tho u ltim ate consumer of
transportation. They w ant the public
to rem ember th a t present freig h t rates
were made when operating costs were
much less than they are now. Wages
for aJI classes of employes are now
higher, term inal facilities cost fa r more,
equipm ent and
supply
costs
have
greatly increased, m aintenance aud re
pairs are g reater—every item o f cost
th a t enters into freig h t carrying has
notably increased, while the rate per
ton mile has decreased.
Io this high cost of living for the
railroads is of course a ttrib u te d the
strik in g decline in railroad construc
tion. In the last ten y ears th e mileage
for the whole country inci eased leas
th an 20 per cent while fo r the last
three years new construction has lallen
to alm ost nothing. The railw ay Mileage I
of the U nited S tates is nearly -250,000
— four or five tim es th a t of any other
country, and nearly h alf the railw ay
mileage of the world. On the average
there is not in th e U nited S tates a
point of h ab itab le laud d ista n t more
th an five miles from a railroad. There
is a little new construction for the sim
ple reason th a t m spite of the am azing
industrial grow th of the country, new
lines do not pay.
A very clear understanding of the
needs of the roads is shown by the at-
titu d o io f the shippers tow ard the pro
posed Increase in rates. In its inquiry
into the justice of the ra ilro a d s’ pro
posal the In te rs ta te Commerce Commis
sion has received frank statem en ts from
shippers favoriug the g ra n tin g of the
privileges asked. 1‘rohably the fa c t
th a t the roads have been compelled to
retrench in every direction lias had
som ething to do with th is change of
heart.
E veryth in g considered, it would seem
probablo th a t some concession wild be
made to enable the roads to meet their
increased expenses.
bent flame of dawn l ie leaping across to appeal the case to P resident W il
the dome of th e w o rli!
son.
“ H ave you le v e r w atched the red
To prevent «erstehes, dry fhe hom e's fet
stained islets flo atin g in lakes of fire !
“ H ave you never been draw n by the lock and heels when he o m e s in, esp ecial
ly In w inter and rub on a little glycerine
ragged, ra v e n 's wing, sky phantom s as or vaseline before ho goes out in snow ur
they b lo tted out the m o o n !”
mud.
“ N ot s'n ee I swore o l f ,” replied th e
f a t man, as be ptep ared to hunt an
AG ENTS W ANTED
o th er seat.
in Rvery Tow n to Handle
« • u
LTHOUGH th ere was not a breath LANGE 8 MINERAL WONDER
A M atari, M ineral Remedy
o f a ir stirrin g little Tommy w ent
A l Lerge Profit« Au A rticle of G reat W**nt,
out to fly his new kite. In tho back
end a R epatable Husiue«»
y ard th e serv an t w as s tre te lin g the
WRITS FOR PARTICULARS
H W LAW GE A SOW
clothes lin e from one tree to another, it
being wash day.
Portland, Oregon.
•
E es 1073
F ailu re to m ake th e kite fly a fte r a
h alf hour of strenuous e ffo rt brought
National Stamp &
Tommy into the house, eyes and voice
Seal Works
filled w ith tears:
RUBBER. STEEL
“ M amma, m am m a,”
he pleaded,
and BRASS
“ m ake K a tie u n tie the trees, so th a t
th e wind can blow. I w ant to fly my
STAMPS
k ite .”
Stencils, Seals,
IE Y w ere gazing ont o f th e win
dow of the Pullm an ear. The th in
man was rapturously adm iring the eon
set.
“ Ah, N atu re is a real a r t is t ,” ex
claim ed the th in man, addreaeing the
f a t man who eat in th e opposite seat.
“ H ave you never gazed a t her won
deaf
“ H ave you never w atched th e lam
X
7
9
A V e r y S m all R oom
BY LAUDER CLEMENT.
H E would o ften a i crying a t my
fe e t in th e e a rlie r days of her h u s
b a n d 's com m itm ent, e n tre a tin g me
to get him out o f prison, but she was
able to fu p p o rt her th ree childreu
through o u t the six y ears of hl9 sen
tence.
Prom her firs t days of despair she
soon stepped fo rth . She began, sur
m ounted, and ended each day w ith one
in te n t. Through six years she rushed
w ith a splendor ou her mind; through
a fierce asceticism aud self denial to
w ard a complete self indulgence. She
v. as o ften tired , bu t in the main her
stre n g th increased. She became very
strong anil handsome, w ith the dis
tin ctio n of a vigorous single minded
ness th a t never once had broken down.
N or in th e new delight and power of
herself did she forget her first object
or grow to th in k less of th e rew ard.
H er love for her husband rem ained
lively anil fresh, her compassion leaping
and intense. D uring the six years, she
had accounted for her over weening
ard o r—as one excuses too much love and
folds it deeper in th e rose by o fferin g
a likely and a selfish motive— saying:
“ He w ill be a g reat help to me when
he g ets o u t.- ’ I told her she could not
he sure he would be much help a fte r
his six years. She had scarcely listened
and had answ ered, leaning her head to
one side, “ I hardly care about th a t . ’’
A t th e end of th e six y ears her hus
band was discharged from jail. When
he had been a t home a few m onths 1
w eut to seo her.
“ H e ’s no h e lp ,” she said. “ I t comes
to th i s ” — I saw th e tw ist of a new
huiuor on her m outh—“ H e ’s got th ree
children— th ey are all his, to o ,” (h er
lips compressed Fike the lips of young
men on stre e t corners whose slightly
sm iling m ouths absorb one more ob
scenity w ith a fa in t trem or and sensa
tion <f th a n k s), “ it comes to this.
H e ’s got th ree children—as I say, all
his; aud I have four, him self the
fo u rth . H e 's no help. H e 's cold, too.
T h e re 's no pleasure in a man like th at.
H e ’s no h e lp .”
“ He is ill, th o u g h ,” I said.
“ Y es,”
she agreed, “ h e 's sick
en o u g h .”
She took some w hite, wet
fish from a pot.
4
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