-y cm:co:r statesiiait, Tuesday, jantjahy 19, lsot.
::iYcr.:c::iSTAT:.:ri
IV.lstei tTerj Tuesday and Friday by the
K. jr. ffEXOKTCKR. Manatee.
, T. X. GEtR, dltoe.-
' ; -ETJE3CS1PTIOS KATX3. : VV---
Cne yew .n advance....... $U0O
Hx xaontna, in advance..... JbO
pree months, la advance.... ....... .25
u ne year, on Umi.. J2S
The Statesman bu been established fbr nearly
f Ity-two years, and It baa some subscribers who
have received It nearly that long-, and many
who hT read It for a generation. Borne k
thee object to banns; the paper dis-ontlnned
at Use time of expiration of their sutacripUooa.
i or the benefit of these, and for other reaaons
we hare concluded to discontinue subtcriptioiM
only when notified to do so. AH person paylnr
when aofctcribng, or pari rig la advance, win
hare tU beneflt of the dollar rate. Bntiftbey
do not pay for six months, the rate will be $1.25
year.- Hereafter we will aend the paper to all
responsible persona who order It, thourn they
may riot send the money, with the unOeratano
lag tisvatUiey are to pay tX2S a year, to eaa they
let the ubecripUon account rna over lx
inontha. In order that there soar be no mfamn.
demanding, we will keep thla notice atacdlnc
CIRCULATION (SWORN) OVER 4000.
WANTED AIT HEXBSKY.
The Czar was lounging on the throne,
The doctor paced -the hallski, ,
Vhen through the palace came a faint
And feeble sort of squallski.
Tie doctor hasteried.to the Czar - ;
And said, "I wish yon joyski; .
You are once more a Papaviteh,
But it is not a boyskil" ,
The Czar laid down his seep trevi ten
And said, "It mikes me sickski
To think that it is not for me :
To- play with little Nickski.
'Ti bad enough tp walk the floor ?
"With teethoviteh annoyski,
But it would not affect me so -
If it, had been a boyski."
Then to the palace gate be went, ,
Unheeding bomb and, mineski,
And on it nailed a placard large,
A boldly lettered signskL.
- .
The Russian eried: "Long lire the
Czar.?' '
The French eried: "Vivi lTSoiski,"
And read the royal si en on high,
lit. i l V ..... KsivaVit"
, Czarinavitehski.
TIIE BEEF TBUST.
The recent gathering of representa
tivc of the cattle and shefp men of
. the country, in '' annual convention in
Portland, was an intelligent assemblage
of men who know what tbey want and
know how to go about getting it. . Tbey
. are not only representatives, of cattle
and .sheep men, but jwere those men
themselves. Mont of, them were men
who can ride a backing broncho or lasso
a steer's hind 'fool'aaj well as the pro
feiisional cowlov. They could tell , a
goat from a slierjf, ol hand, or a' Jack
rabbit from a coyote. i
Ami they came n to Portland, not
merely Yor a jaunt, although they en
joyed the scenery and our moderate
winter climate to the full, but to take
slips' toward removing some of the in
ntuHs that are a handicap to the
pryspcrity of their different lin.es of
Lutune'ss. tapecially, lcan this be said
of ,tho. cattle men, whose interest9 have
been, ieriously affected during; the jast
two years by the great Beef Trust
whano rapacity lias outrun that of any
similar ; organizftion in the United
States. t " -: '
The- operations Jof this trust are felt
all over the country and are noticeable
in the fact that while all kinds of
meats are higher in the retail markets
than ever before known the prices paid
for "meat bearing animals" have de
clined one-half to the seller. This j. is
made possible by the combine of all 'the
meat packers in the United States and
they are ina position where they de
termine the prices to be paid for ani
mals! and those charged the consumer
who bays at the block.
Under the manipulation of this com
bination, merchantable stock in the
East can hardly be given away while
the consumer can ; scarcely afford to
pass by a butcher's shep and even
glance at a steak. To govern a situa
tion like this, by any kind of law,
seems utjerly Impossible without the
assertion of the. right by the govern
ment to exercise aopervisory control of
the private business of individuals, a
right, once claimed and undertaken
would know no stopping place.
The remedy for this injustice su'g
Mother
"Mr mother i trntihied with
consumption for many year. At
last she was given up to die. Then
he tried Ayer's Cherrr Pectoral,
and was speedily cured.
D. P. Jolly Avoca, N.'Y.
No matter how hard
your cough or how long
you nave nad it, Ayer s
Cherry i Pectoral is the
best thing you can take.
But it's risky to wait
until you have consump
tion.' Get a bottle of
Cherry Pectoral at once.
Tarce alias i ZScaScSt.N.
Consalt your doctor. Tt he nays take it,
tben do aa be says; If he tells roa not to
take tt, tnea aon t take it. lie Knows.
Aid recovery by keeping the-bowels
in good condition with Ayer's Pills,
ill vegetable, gently laxative.
J. C. AYER CO, Lowell. Mass.
gested by the live Stock Association
is the , establishment ". of independent
packing houses in the leading cities of
the country by stock men themselves
and to attend to their own. shipping
and packing. They represent sufficient
wealth to successfully establish and
operate these packing houses and it is
to be hoped the proposed movement will
be speedily inaugurated. It is estimated
that through the grinding processes of
the beef trust within the last two years
the cattle men have lost enough by the
forced depression in prices" to ; have
built a ' sufficient 1 number of "packing
houses to have broken the trust.-
The address of j President Springer
was a model of clearness in setting
forth the' just' grievances against ' the
great" beef trust monopoly and the
forceful manner : in which he roasted
the magnates who sit in palatial offices,
drawing j salaries of fabulous amounts,
fixing the price of beef to the seller and
to the buyer, was a treat to hear. The
efforts of these men were efforts in be
half of the common people audi should
prevail, j '
OPPOSITION FOR PARTISAN PUR-
POSES ONLY.
The history, of the Democratic party
is repeating itself in its untimely and
absurd opposition to the- recognition of
the Panama Keputlic and the ratifica
tion of the canal treaty. The Demo
cratic eaueus has " resolved to oppose
the trety and ' many of the leading
Democratic Senators are expYessing
their disapproval of it as often as op
portunity offers., -i
This1 is but a repetition of the oppo
sition of the Democratic party to the
results of the Spanish war which left
us withjthe Philippine Islands in our
possession and with the responsibility
of caring for them in some way. To
secure the islands was in line with the
oliey of -the Democratic party since
the time of Jefferson and if the oppor
t unity "for doing so had been unim
proved by the MeKinley administra
tion, the loudest Democratic wail for a
century would have gone to heaven in
wild deounciation of the cowardly Re
publican administration which had
neither the brains nor the courage to
thus enrich our great domain!
And if we had neglected that oppor
tunity "the Republican' party would
have deseived the Democratic censure
it would have received and for about
the first time in fortyyears the Demo
cratic party would have been clearly
in the right.
So now, merely '!?? partisan purposa,
that great party is opposing a "step that
any man who has ever1 been President
of the United States, or who ever will
be, would have taken as readily as did
President Roosevelt. It 'might' be of
some practical assistance to the average
Democratic brother if he would read 'up
on the early history of the United
States and find what Jefferson advised
Madison to do a few years prior to the
war of 1812, in order that a general
imbroglio with foreign nations might
ensued as a result of which the United
States could seize Cuba and make it a!
part -of our national territory. There!
was no ! apparent justifiable cause for j
war with Spain, but Jefferson expressed j
the hop5 that if we had war with Eng-;
land, he "would rather have war with
Spain than not," in orVler that we
might have the opportunity to "swipe"
Cuba. !
In all oar dealings with foreign coun
tries of late years we have been acta-1
ally timid and modest to a fault when
compared with the grasping and ruth
less methods advocated by the early
fathers Jefferson, in particular, i It i
would afford a much needed lesson to
these Democrats who profess to feel
aggrieved at President- Roosevelt's:
"precipitate action" in the Panama
matter; if they would read a. little of
the early American history on similar
subjects though for partisan reasons,
the present short-sighted policy of the
Democratic leaders should - not, ":' and ;
does not, meet with any objection from
Republicans anywhere, save to nee that
it does not prevail. -l :':
THE FASCINATION OF MINING.
The wild cat nature of mining specu
lation is well illustrated by the fact
that at the meeting of the stockholders
of the! Golconda mine in Baker county,
held at Pendleton on Wednesday, it de
veloped .': that C. B. Wade, the cashier
of the Pendleton National Bank who
failed j recently, owned more than a
million shares of its stock.
: The' Golconda - mine has for several
years been regarded as one of the most
valuable in Baker . county and though
large amounts of gold have been taken
from it, the aggregate results have
not; been satisfactory and its history
has had its ups and downs.' During the
past year or two the value-of the
shares of stock in' this mine has de
pended on the point of view of the pur
chaser. ; ".. s - . ' ' .;
At j the' recent meeting Mr. P.' B.
Ciopton "was elected , secretary of he
board) of directors and it was gi ten out
that he owns' one share of stock. for
which he gave six and one-half cents,
ft was' speculation in a mine of 1 this
character that has brought the present
misfortune upon Mr. 1 Wade and his
creditors. It is the general opinion
that the mine is worth a large sum of
money, but the nncertainty .which al
ways attends operations in mining belts
is shown by the reports that "the
Stockholders, board. Oft dirpctofja'jjtnd
Mr.TVade's friends believe that wjth
careful management and " continued
favorable returns from 'the operation of
the mine, this stock now owned by Mr.
Wade will be worth at least 100,000
within the eoraing year, if not more,"
This would make the shares of stock
worth ten eents eaeh. No doubt Mr.
tt aup KCBieu bib nuuioa mun si t
much less rate than -this, and, being an
enterprising and ambitious man, re
garded it .as A promising '. opportunity
for making a very . profitable ;- invest
ment;' . ' . "
Whiltf - mining ventures on a large
scale are always attended by a large
degree of risk yet it is the only way by
which the precious metals Can be ex
traded - from the bowels of. the. earth
and added permanently to the world's
circulation. Indeed, -it has been esti
mated that for every dollar of gold
added to the total 'amount in circula
tion ten others are spent in the effort
to secure it, and while this means that
nine out of ten men who follow raining
for a livelihood lose their time and in
vestment, ,"Jret:i their' failures are not
lost to the world, while 'tha gains f
the tenth man are permanent additions
to the world 'a wealth. The great risks
taken in mining operations are only
equalled by their accompanying and
glittering fascinations. 1 " I
THE EVILS OF DTSPEPSIAi
' Onr esteemed evening contemporary
is still wrestling with what the States
man, so long ago as last Sunday,said
about the "tipping" habit The rail
roads themselves have-taken the subject
"from the table" ; and are seriously
thinking of abolishing it as a nuisance.
The Statesman in that article said that
public sympathy is with the colored
porters who are placed at the merey of
the travelling public instead "of being
properly paid by the companies. With
the .Statesman, the.; evening paper
staads in with the f porters, but that
paper "takes a fall" out .of another
class of our worthy, working people
which the Statesman cannot endorse, as
follows:
"An extension of tipping would be a
good thing if it . could convert the
snappy, jerky waiter girls in. many
hotels and restaurants into more
agreoable creatures, that did not put a
man's stomach on its nerve, and keep
it there all the way through a.meaL"
Now, let us suggest to the dyspeptic
brotherwboae diet is principally straw
berries and sauer kraut, that, if he will
present himself in 5 any restaurant or
hotel in Oregon with ; a. pleasant face
and manner once, he will find the
waiter girls, not. 'smippy and jerky,"
but positively "agreeable creatures"
without the remotest thought of any
sort of tip. The bt other should not ex
pect the impossiblefor instance, keep
ing his stomach or ( mind in the same
notion all the way . through an ordinary
meal. Of course, the very appearance
of some men in a dining room is
enough tortfansform the . "agreeable
creatures" one generally finds .there
into. "snappy, jerky" waiter girls, and
some allowane esbould be made for the
afflictions they are often subjected to.
THE KLAMATH SWAMP LANDS.
The opinion of Attorney General
Crawford, furnished at the request of
the State Land Board, on the rights, of
the state in its claim ' to swamp lands
in the recent Klamath Indian reserva
tion, sets forth the merits of the case
in a manner that should insure its al
lowance by the Interior Department.
This is a valuable tract of land, plain
ly, coming within the ' terms of the
swamp land act of March 12, 1860, and
unquestionably belonged to the state
and not to the Government at the time
the Klamath reservation was created.
In fact, the state has been damaged by
withholding this" land during all- these
years as a reservation, during which
time, through natural causes, the
waters have receded and tracts which
were then submerged most of the time
are now dry the year round.
- At that time and for years afterward,
there would have been no difficulty in
establishing the swampy character of
the land and there would have been no
doubt about the validity of the right of
the state to it, but after forty years
the only wii to establish proof is to
secure the testimony of reputable wit
nesses that it was of a swampy nature
at the i time ; of. the passage of
the aet in ..I860. Thisv ,' has
been done by the' state and there
should be no haggling over the prior
rights of the Indians to the land. If
prior rights of Indians to a single..-ere
of land in the United States are to be
considered, then the title to the site of
Washington City, itself, is subject .at
any. time to be stubbornly contested by
some alleged descendant of Powbattan
or of Pocahontas. Certainly Oregon is
compelled to fight for all it gets, even
of that which is unmistakably its own,
from the present administration of the
Interior Department.
A DISTINCTION WITHOUT A
DLFFESENCE.
Throughout all the deliberations of
the different divisions of the live-stock
conventions in Portland last week.
there was a Spirit of hostility to Secre
tary Hitchcock in constant evidence,
always near the surface and frequently
finding the most emphatie expression.
If his policy on any question affecting
the! Jive stock interests met with any
approval whatever, its advocate was
notieeablyr mute. . Tbjis fact was the
subject of frequent onment, as was
the other fact that while the Secretary
of -the Interior was in ill favor, Presi
dent Bcosevelt was at all times . the
recipient of nil sorts of praise and com
mendation. And yet, if any step has
been taken by the Secretary on any
important question concerning which
he has not had the outspoken support
of the President, that ' instance ; has
never come to public notice. .
It is also to be observed that when
the Secretary refused to sanction the
appointment of Mr. Knowles as Regis
ter of the La Grande land office our
Senators denounced him in the plain
est terms, but when it was given out
that the President was back of it all,
no word of criticism of him was forth
coming. When the Secretary xef used
to reinstate Mr." Thompson the delega
tion took the ease straight to the Presi
dent, Ixnd when the Secretary's action
was affirmed, there was no fault zonna
with the President, and the Potomac,
like the Father of Waters onee upon a
time, proceeded again unvexed to the
sea. .-,--. r. " f- ;;'
Now, as to all this why does . the
President escspe criticism -whieh falls
upon Secretary Hiteheock for doing the
very thing the President requires him
to dot The Secretary makes a ruling
of issues an order, and the entire west
is up in arms about its manifest injus
tice, an appeal is taken to the Presi
dent, he sanctions the decision of the
Secretary arid everybody's hat goes up
for Booseveltf
' Of course the President will b re
nominated by acclamation and elected
without trouble. He should be for
many reasons, but the foregoing reflee
tions are the product of observation, in
passing., J.. ,
The death of Ruth Cleveland, the
eldest child of v the ex-President, has
brought numerous expressions of sym
pat by from all parts of the country,
which is but. natural, considering the
prominence, of the family thns afflicted,
and, indeed, no earthly sorrow can be
greater than the loss of a child, espec
ially one who has for fifteen years been.
a part of the family circle; but it
should be remembered that such afflic
tions are borne every day in the house
holds of the lowly where parental love
is just ae deep-seated and where the
unwelcome visitation of death causes
the same unspeakable grief as that
whieh visits the palaces of the rich.
While the sympathy of the nation goes
out to Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland, their
affliction is no greater than that which
wrenches the hearts of thousands every
day, whose histories, as Lincoln said
of himself, are fully described in "the
short and" simple lives of the poor."1"
War vessels belonging to both Russia
and Japan, nd which happen to be in
the Mediterranean at this time, are
said to be collecting at Port Said, at
the northern entrance to the Suez
canal waiting for their turn to enter the
Red sea by way of the canal and thus
into the Indian ocean on their way to
the Pacific. It is a singular spectacle
to see these fighting monsters respect
ing the-rights each of the other, until
a point is reached where it is permissi
ble; to let loose the dogs of war ! Inter
national law and the demands. of "the
powers," are, after all, a strong, con
trolling force in the preservation of
peace and in the prevention of barbar
ous praetieetT between- nations that may
lose their better judgment in times of
excitement. 2
The headline! jto a dispatch from
Salem in the Oregonian announce the
names of "guarda1 appointed by Gover
nor Chamberlain from Portland," at
the penitentiary. In heaven 's ' name,
how lone is it coins to take for the
papers of the state to understand that
the Governor appointed the Superin
tendent of the penitentiary at the be-
.2?! - I. 1 A. . A t 1 1
ginning nnu gave il uuv uiiii Jie woui'i
hare nothing to do with the selection
of his subordinates? The fGevernor
holds the Superintendent responsible
for the management of the prison,
leaves all minor appointments to him,
and knows nothing about tbem himself.
This intention was given to the public
a year ago and it is time" it was gener
ally understood.
The Boise City News says "terrible
storms have prevailed all through Ore
gon and on the coast, as well as to the
east of. us, especially in the region
about Salt Lake," This announcement
brilliantly illustrates how necessary it
is to go away from home to get the
news. There has been no storm in this
part of Oregon.: this winter, not a flake
of snow has fallen, the frogs have al
ready begun thei melodies . which are
a certain harbinger of Spring and the
robins are cheerfully seconding .the
motion.' The f Boise News' itemizer
should be writing poetry where, bis im
agination could, avail itself of that un
limited sweep for which it appears to
be so eminently qualified by nature.
' The .Woodburn Independent ; reports
farmers coming to town and declaring
it to be their last trip until spring, Mas
the roads are almost impassible." Tak-4
ing this as' a - text, the Independent
makes a good argument ' for better
roads as a means of contributing to
the growth of the country and stimu
lating v trade", s between sections and
neighborhoods adding that the busii
boss men of the country towns should
interest themselves more in the secur-
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TO
French. Prairie, In the Early Days. ' l be treated to the same indignity and
Scott Tayior, the Gervais man whom itt J.ftfi ff?"
everybody in Marion county knows and psphiea located Mt. Hood in the een-
delights to know, was in Salem during 8hMt f,. ., .'
theVeek, nSing in with the boys tori T of the old time appropri-
a few hiurs. Icott, though a young, tio" of our native products udtj.
man for an Oregonian, has been suffer-jtages have been made fPOble
ing with a slight attack of rbematism, t the increased "assertiveness''. of
but looks wellfhaving just had bis hair fur modern Oregonian. Thef act now
re-cut after the latest mpadour style, j generally Tuiown that Oregon
Although Scott was born in Portland,1 Flth hT own wings and, if neces
in ....t, he has been in Gervais even nJ 1 1 cari furnish the required hoVair
longer than MeKinley Mitchell has, and ; accompaniment. It is, however, with a
is the chronological connection between reluetant feeling that the covetous Cal
Joseph Gervais, a Frenchman who aet-i'oan.yW k grasp be has for, so
tied exactly where the town now stands long a time had on many of the cljoiCe
in the '30 's, and the present time. As products of Oregon. r. .. ;
a small boy he well remembers I the .While m Washington City last spring
eldet Gervais men in their old age when George Pearee ran across an illustra
tive town they founded was in the Jine on oi now me wauiorniana . ge- n
of those aspu-ing to become the state their; effective work. While being
capital, along with Corvalbs and Eola. j shown around the Capitol buUding Dy
In th '30 's the Alaska Fur Company,' an attendant he came to "Statuary
desiring jto use wheat" and flour in their Hall' and seeing a sUtue of corn
business,! and ! operating in a country j manding figure with the word
whose rigorous climate precluded wheat ;" Baker" in conspicuous letters across
raising, proposed, to Dr. MeLoughlin the base, inquirea oi the officer if that
that if he would sendsome of his men was Col. E. D. Bakert "I don't know
to the Willamette valley and. raise his first name," said the attendant. "1
wheat, that company would exchange know it is the California Baker."
Alaska furs for the grain thus raised. While a little boy, yet in his short
The - proposition was accepted and
Joseph Gervais was sent to the Freneh
Prairie for that purpose, followed in a
shert time by others, This was the
very first settlement of French Prairie
by the whites and was the cause of it.
Students of Qregon history will remem
ber that the first meeting ever held in
Oregon looking to the establishment of
a civil government was held . at the
bouse of Joseph Gervais on the first day
of March, 1843.
Scott Taylor .'recalls seeing an old
mill when he was a boy, situated on the
Willamette river immediately west of
the town, buut by Joseph Gervais, and
run by water power. It was built on
an arm I of the river whieh was fed
somewhat by springs and in the primi
tive times sufficed to convert the wheat
into flour for the pioneers, who no
doubt welcomed the improvement with
eager satisfaction.
The motive power of this crude effort
of our fathers to provide for the wants
of a budding civilization was a very
wide wheel of small diameter, which,
with other remnants of the old mill,
was yet to be seen not many years ago
on the site of the old structure, mute
evidence of a struggle in the early
times by enterprising men and women
who were nobly doing the work that
has rested on the vanguard or. eivuiza
tion from the beginning. - 1
1 O O
A "Perpendicular" Fad.
It would be difficult to name a great-
er piece of fully developed nonsense
than the really earneet effort now be
ing made to teach the vertical system
of penmanship.: No system of penman
ship can ever me successfully taught.
It would be just as xeasiDie to teaen
all men to walk alike or to swing an
ax alike. Writing is not ,a mental pro
cess but is a sjk-cies of manual labor
as is the effort to decipher some of it.
Forty years ago every writing teacher
and the country was full oldhcm
was teaching what was known as the
Knn0r!an" Britpm of writing, in
the composition of which .there were
eight "principles" a nl the iormation
of any letter in the alphabet included
some one of .these principles or a com
bination of some two of . them. Onea,
become master of the eight 'princi
ples" and it would be impossible to
write in any manner except the one
which would attain practical perfec
tion itself. f
Hardly a nian can be -found today
who did not forty years ago "master"
the Spencerian" systeni of penmanship,
either from a teacher at first hand or
from 'ready; made copy books. But
where are they today t Can a man be
found who gives in his chirography the
faintest survival of any trace of the
"Spencerian" system I Aa soon as the
academy smell wears off and men. be
gin to write less f or' tjie' appearance of
the page and more for business effects,
each one at. once assumes his natural
movement and all the teaching in the
world will not prevent it. So true is. it
that scarcely tny two men inU thou
sand write f hands" that eventftpprox
imately resemble each other, that it baa.
become almost a maxim that a man's
character can be pretty well outlined
by the style of his ehirograpny.
.Besides, there is a grave aouDt u tne
vertical system of writing has any
virtue, anyway. Arge of letters writ
ten after; this system, eaeh standing
on its perpendicular end. more - than
anything else looks like rows of dummy
soldiers on their way to a mimic war
without any responsible commander
but their real engagement, begins when
the practical business man, Jtlready
worried, has to wrestle with them in
the midst of pushing, serious affairs.
; . : ' : -4V
The California Baker."
The Calif ornian can be . safely
matched against any comer as a boomer
of his state under any and all circum
stances. Goodness knows, California
has enough advantages and attractions
of its own without undertaking to rob
its neighbors of their just possessions.
But the disposition to take onto itself.
everything that is not actually chained
down and labeled, no , matter' where
found, has been a msrked and notice
able characteristic of our southern
neighbors ' ever since they moved in.
Oregon salmon is often relabeled as
California salmon;" and shipped to
foreign markets, Oregon wheat used to
a aa w rtA1 WfmX ' Iissb SS Wkt " tnAfS
B U va ('v v " aa J aaava
important local question than this and
those who are moat alive tt tbo aeces-
sity
of better roads' will have to
keep a-hfmmering.'"
Surely, there can be no delay in the
appointment of Roberts to the receiver
ship at the La Grande land office. Of
course, since it is given out that he is
a half brother f Judge Ellis and was
a HeBrida . man. Secretary Hitchcock
will at nee endorse his sppointment;
Other qualificatloas hare nut been men
FROM THE : OFFICE WIN t) OW
Editorial. Sideli yjKts and Observations on
Varlous i People and Things. Picked Up
and Scribbled Down at Odd Moments .
.pants, George had heard Baker deliver
that celebrated Fourth of July oration
in Salem in I860, as he stood in a' little
grove of native oaks not a hundred feet
from where he has been keeping store
for thirty years, which fact has. had
something to do with his entetaning
even; a little more. aumirat ion for the
great Senator than other loyal Oregoh
ns who were not thus providentially
favored, and this faet led him to reply
ia a I spirited manner to the; attendant
that Baker was a United 'States Senator
from Oregon when he died.: "Don't
care,!" indifferently replied the attend
ant who had been there in that business
for forty years, he was Colonel of a
California regiment," and George came
away with an increased admiration for
the Oregon Senator but bis opinion, of
the officious Califbrniari whose enthusi
astic! state effervescence, creates wrong
impressions wherever he goes, was not
obtained, as just then a customer ap-
proaeheit and inquired the price of
chilled plows and barbed wire.
' O O ' ,.
As we have half-way suspected all
along, the great and awful loss of life
by fire in the Iriqnois theater in Chi
cago: has led to the suggestion that it
may I not -e' safe to attend the modern
churches. Of this base suggestion it
may! be said at the outset that there
are alreadv.tbousands of men who have
for years been waiting for some sueh
excuse to more frequently absent them
selves from houses of worship. Jt may,
aJsOjj be said that the man who first
thought of this alleged danger is really
ho friend of the churches or he-wouM
have reliziously kept it to himself if
he never did anything else rcligously
in his life. The male . attendance at
the churches is small enough -'' as. it is.
The average man had better attend our
churches and run the risk of fire thain
to invite the certainty .of it hereafter
by staying away. A word to the wise
s atiaiffiftinsi - .
O O
woman, known in Malheur -county
for tbirtv vears as a man, and named
Joe jMonnahan, anil "owner of a. good
stock rancn, neu receniiy, anu wuen
the body was being prepared for burial
it was discovered that. "Joe" was a
woman. An Eastern -Oregon paper, in
commenting ottthe wonderful decep
tion; says she "was the only Woman in
th state who for nearly twenty years
has votel at all elections." Hut it l!
quite evident . that this conclusion is
only a mere vague guess, for how do wo
know but scores of other similar - de
cent ion a .are being practiced on aA un
suspctinBcommunity every day t Such
Stoss) violations ; of our election' laws
should bo vigilantly head off wherever
? ....
.: O O
A! Salem man who, with his wife, in
tended to go to Portland to hear Patti,
concluded, since it would cost them all
told, about twenty dollars, to forgo the
pleasure abd, instead, send the money
to- some relatives living in that city
wboi needed money on general princi
ples. Imagine his surprise a day or two
later when he. received a' letter ac
knowledging the receipt of the money,
with thanks, and the explanation that
it was especially acceptable, since the
family of four had wanted to go and
hear Patti "so bad," but could not
think of doing so until the unexpected
eift came to. hand. Then there 'was a
scene and resolutions were adopted.,
it : o : o : :
Some man with more money than
brains has died and left the sum' of
$5000 to Andrew Carnegie 1 And this
in spite of the oft repeated declaration
of Mr. Carnegie that the consuming
passion of his life is to die poor. ' This
deceased idiot has thns interfered with
the most creditable desire Mr. Carnegie
has; ever given expression to, while
there are thousands of newspaper men
who will die poor in spite' of all their
efforts to prevent such an awful fate.
Wouldn't some of the inequitable ad
justments of this life jar youf
: ",f-";-' - . r' V-. V'
-Notwithstanding they perennial
'range wars" between tne cattle men
and sheep men, the bulls and rams fed
over tho same pastures in Portland dur
ing the week just closing with no trace
of former difficulties or evidences of
alienations yet to tome. n -''. ': J
tioned nor inquired about this being
the only one as yet given out. This
abofibl settle it, though all the others
had that special fitnesa for a bind office
4 Knowles, ; Thompson and' the rest
save the relationship jto the Jndge. Of
rouirse, Hitchcock j will require nothing
further than this. - - ' . ,
And Jerry Sim won also says that
Capital willi support the Democratic
candidate for Iresident this year. Then
how tbo DrWSrsta who have a holy
horror for Octopuses and their kindred)
devouring monsters to be found in Wall J
Cupid and the School Ma'ams,
f What a splendid world this would be
to live in if conditions were properly
balanced if extremes were abolished
Unsatisfactory situations arise and
when efforts looking toward a rtmoly
are crowned with success, the pendulum
is more than likely to swing too far
tho other way and we are met with the
same trouble in another form.
Last year a national crisis was dis
covered to be upon ua in the form of
threatened race suicide. . So few mar
riages were being contracted and so
few children born in the .amities of
those who were married that, the PresN
dent of the United States sounded tbo
alarm and invoked a free but carets
people to rise to the occasion and save
the country from impending depopula
tion. t ; .
. But the proclamation of the Presi
dent has begun to bear fruit and children-No
doubt if it had not, 'tho
congress" would have been summoned
in extraordinary session. But the ef
fects of the Presidential activity aro
showing themselves all over the coun
try, especially . just now in Nebraska,
and more especially among the school
ma'ams of that state who have so fre
quently violated their contracts to
teach throughout the year by getting
married that" the Attorney General has
been asked to institute mandamus pro
ceedings to enforce the contracts signed
by them.
As if by a preconcerted agreement
the young men of Nebraska have male
a raid on the country school houses,' and
in some .cases those of the towns, 9s
well, and their wooings have in nearly
every case found a reciprocity of senti
ment in the hearts of those dear
creatures who constitute the rank and
file of the average county institute! To
those who are disposed to take changes
in guessing it will be a safe proposition
to predict, however, that no mandamus
proceedings will ever successfully mi-
join Cupid from accomplishing what he
is after, for be has always proven a
law unto himself with plenary jurbm c
tion wherever his duty seems to call.
From now on, general interest will bo
centered Jn Nebraska where a merry
war is leing waged letwe4n the state
courts and-the unprecedented bddnes
of Prince Cupid in hi effort, to ingrati
ate himself in th I residential favor.
Most of the contracts, do not cxpiro
until the coming May, while many of
the school ma'ams, yielding to the im
portunities of the brave young men of
Nebraska, were married during tho
holidays, thus leaving .the schools in
the air, so to "speak. But in extenuation-of
this higli-handrd indifference to
regularly made contracts it may 'bo
urged, and no doubt, will, that condi- -tions
had risen wherCi it was a quetdion
whether it was hvt' to havo the re
quired number of teaehVrs in the schools
and. but a handfiil of children, the num
ber gradually growing smaller, or to ,
adopt the only otlu-r course'-. that' can
be relied upon to arresr this iri:itroii
tendency toward the undermining of
our public school system.
Affairs with our school ma'ams in
Oregon have never reached -such --'an
acute. stage- as this, however. They liav.o .
never been allowed to accumulate in
the matrimonial' market. Not one can
be found 4n the entire Mate today who
has reached tho age of thirty years -and
this fact can be verified .by person
al inquiry. Try it.
. 0
A little' loy named .Robin Cro.n was
playing. with a ten1 year old conijianion
who had an umbrella under his arm, ats
New Westmiiter, -when he fell for-"
ward, atrikingbis eye against the point
of Jho umbrella, which pierce'd his brain, .
resulting in death within twelve hours.
The wonder is that more fatalities do
not result from tho careless exploiting
of umbrellas on the streets by th'ono '
who seem to forgot that there are oth- "
ers who, at times, h have a proprietory."
interest in public sidewalks. . lnler
certain conlitions the umbrella is a .,
dangerous weapon. And then, tlrc is
the hatpin!
" O O
A great many people who heard Patli
in her fifteenth consecutive farewell
tour were quite a littje disappointed .it
the quality of her singing, but allow
ance should be-made for the fact that
while a great many-of us can sing
quite as well as. we could thirty years
ago, this ability is not 'vouchsafed to
everybody, and Undoubtedly Patti is
not one of the favored few. However,
those who did not entirely appreciate
her singing should feci some compensa
tion in having bad the opportunity to
see the famous singer and say farewell
tour.
o o ;
Speaking of the excellent work of
our county officials, daring the past few
years, the Gervais Stars says: "Marion
county is in a prosperous state and pro
poses 4o continue ao, and she wjll, you
ean rest assured, gentle reader."
That's right. Oregon is one of the
most prosperous of states and there is;
no talk of seceding from it up in this
part of X)ld Marion.
O O : '
Public sympathy will universally bo
with the Ohio vistor to Washington
who wished to see congress in B4;saion
and complained to the door keeper that
every time he came to the bouse it bad
adjourned, and every time he visited
the senate Mr. Morgan was speak iog.
Even the Ohio man occasionally gew
the worst of it. .'
Street will flock to Teddy's standard!
Of course they will. ' :
Mr. Bryan's positive declaration that
he "got'one new idea" while abroad
will be received with a fueling of un
feigned pleasure and even relief by his
admiring friends throughout the nation.-"'
- 1 -.-
The report that Bryan is going to
be tbe editor" of a new Hearst paper ia
St. Louis indicates that the poor man
is willing to become Commoner than
ever. And nobody would have thought
it. - ''.'
-I