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PAGE TWO ash;am tidings Monday, June 10, 1012. I r. Ashland Tidings SKMl-Wr.KKl.Y. 1:STAB1.1SHK1 ISTfl. Issued Mondays and Thursdays Bert 15. Giver, - KUiWtr and Owner V. H. Gillis - - - City Editor W. E, names, - Business Manager Sl'BSCIUPTIOX KATES. One Year J2.00 Six Months 1.00 Three Months 50 Payable in Advance. TELEPHONE 39 . Entered at the Ashland, Oregon, Postoffice as second-class mail mat ter. Advertising rates on application. First-class Job printing facilities. Equipments second to none in the interior. Ashland, Ore., Monday June (, 1112 THE ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANT. Slowly but surely the electric light department is being placed upon a practical business basis. Last Tues day night the council passed a reso lution providing that from and after January 1, 1912, the electric light department should be paid 1 Vfe cents per candle power per month for cur rent consumed in lighting the city. There has been some question as to whether the electric light plant could be made to pay. The Tidings maintains that the plant can be made a profitable proposition. It can only lie so by selling the output at what it is worth, whether it is used by the municipality or by private individu als. The waterworks should be put on the same basis. If a private corpora lion owned the Ashland waterworks it would charge a fixed sum for each hydrant, for all taps for every city use, and for each school house, just as it charges for private use. If tne waterworks department is to be maintained and is expected to carry its own weight, the only way it can be brought about is by collecting for every service. The city should pay the water works fund as well as the electric light fund for every service it gets from these departments and the profits from them should be used to retire the bonds Issued for their con-I tstruction. And these profits when collected should be inviolable. They should be used to retire the bonds and for no other purpose, until the department Is entirely out of debt. Some will ask, "What is the differ ence? We have to pay for it all any how; it would only be transferring tax moneys out of one fund to the other." There is this difference: Munici pal ownrship of water and lights is on trial. Many persons argue they cannot be made profitable. In order to Intelligently demonstrate the truth, the lighting and water depart ments should be made to bear the name relation to the city as would be borne by a privately owned plant that Is, that consumption, by whom soever used, must be paid for. When this is correctly done in Ashland It will be found that each of these public utilities will not only carry themselves but 'will retire the bonds issued for their construction, as they fall due. After while, then, all of the bonds will be paid, Interest charges will cease, and tne profits from these two sources will be al most sufficient to carry the general city expense fund without a direct tax levy. A consummation devoutly to be wished for, but which will surely soon be brought about if the business is handled as wisely and judiciously as it would be in private hands. REIRIGEKATOR SERVICE. The inauguration of a fast refrlg- ! erator line from Ashland to Portland, by the S. P. Company, will prove of incalculable benefit to the Rogue river valley. It will carry all sorts of vegetable, fruit and poultry prod ucts and provide a market for the valley heretofore impracticable. The service will be started as a tri weekly experiment, its permanency depending upon the tonnage. If the tonnage increases, as it no doubt will. the service will be made daily. This service should prove an im mense stimulus to dairy and poultry culture In the valley. There Is no reason why a carload of poultry products per day should not be pro duced by Ashland alone. There Ib no better place on the coast for chicken culture. Slowly but surely the Rogue river valley is being put in touch with its natural and profitable markets through the S. P. Company, a con summation long hoped for and now hailed wtih gratitude. The fortieth annual reunion of the Oregon Pioneer Association will be held iu Portland, Juiie 20. COST OF ARMAMENT. Professor Briscoe, in his Decora tion day oration, crystalized a thought well known by many but re membered by few, in regard to the cost of the civil war, in fiuman life and treasure, and the cost of main taining armed peace throughout the world. He emphasized the stupendous fact that the world cost of armament maintenance if applied to education would build each year a national uni versity at a cost of ten millions; a university for each state costing one million each; one hundred high schools in each state; five normals in each state; five technical schools in each state; thirty agricultural schools; and have enough left to add to the common school funds of each state one million dollars and pay for every text book used by the children of the nation. And all of this treasure is expend ed for what? To maintain a peace which could be as easily maintained by a simple international world agreement without a cent of cost. Last fall when the writer came through San Francisco, on his way from southern California, there we-e lying in the bay there six American battleships. They were veritable sea monsters as well as sea masters. It was cleaning and wash day and thou sands of men moved in and out at their tasks, and the great gun muz zles glistened in the sunlight. To an American citizen it was an inspir ing scene. It was good to look upon these great instruments of death and think that through such our own country had come to be the greatest j world power that had ever existed on the face of the earth. And then there came that other thought: the gigantic expense con nected with its maintenance. How perfectly useless it all was in a thor- oughly civilized age, if, indeed, this 1 age could be called so, and how much greater good this vast treasure might be made to the world if in vested in utensils of civilization in stead of engines of death. We thought of the barren wastes we had crossed on our journey from the middle west what vast need of treasure there was there what grand possibilities for reclaiming and transforming these burning sands into gardens of beneficence and joy how the waste waters of the moun tains might be harnessed and made to work for humanity on their way to the sea YVn hail tiiKt viultufl tho " J magnificent Roosevelt dam at Phoe- of the army. Lincoln heard the corn nix, and had witnessed the grand I laint through, then quizzically metamorphose from desert to garden, J askd. ..Cun you fi)ld ()Ut for me or three hundred thousand fertile ; ,. ,.,, i11.ri r.M,,0r,.i r.,; ii,.?" acres at an expense of but six mil lions of treasure. How a wise gov ernment had turned these dollars Into an agency of everlasting good to the nation. We thought of the roads that might be built, of the want that might be alleviated, of the vast possi bilities for education, that lay In this wasted treasure what might be ac complished in internal improvements in this nation, in twenty short years, j Mayflower and had all of the dls lf this sum was turned to the trueeases which the Pilgrim Fathers uses of civil development, and we said: God hasten the day when the nations of the world grow wise enough to shake off the habiliments of barbarism and doff the true and shining garb of civilization and hu manity. And let our own America, the freest and most eulightened of all nations, lead the way in this splendid and gigantic world task. CHICAGO AND BALTIMORE. The greatest preliminary battle for delegates in both leading parties ls , " ' . nearly over and we know as much about the probable outcome as" we knew before the battle began and very little more. It is thirty-two years since the re- Inl,,li UI1 situation presented such ele- lm'n,s of uncertainty and dramatic interest as it does this year. In 1SS0 the struggle between Blaine and Grant was fierce and bitter, but not so much so as the present strug gle between Taft and Roosevelt. Neither Blaine nor Grant reached the convention with a clear majority. The party did not dare to risk deser tion of the friends of one by nomi nating the other. The result was that Garfield and Arthur emerged as the final ticket. Both were compara tively unknown. It is sixteen years since the demo cratic situation was so mixed and doubtful as now. In 1896 the lead ing contestants were Governor Hor ace Boise of Iowa and Silver Dick Bland of Maryland. Both were cast aside and the party went to battle under Bryan and Sewall, both com paratively unknown men. This year is pregnant with unknown possibili ties, including the posslblity of a new party. It seems to be one of those pecular years when the unlike liest outcome Is most likely. Get ready for the Fourth. ABOUT KOTTEX CATSUP. It is quite impossible for a mere layman to understand anything about ; the method of enforcing the pure j food law, as now enforced by the de partment of agriculture. From the public notice of judgment No. 1329, issued by the department May 13, we learn that a case involving adultera- tion of catsup was decided against the Bilken Winzer Grocer Company of Burlington, Iowa. The chemistry bureau's examina tion of this catsup showed it to con tain "yeasts and spores to the num ber of 329 per one-sixtieth cubic mil limeter and 100,000,000 bacteria in each cubic centimeter, also mold fil aments present in 94 per cent of the microscopic fields examined." Adulteration was alleged "because.! it consisted in whole or in part of a putrid or decomposed vegetable sub stance and was therefore liable to seizure for confiscation." Xow see what happened to this filthy, decomposed mess: "The court found the product adul terated as alleged, and entered ft de cree condemning and forfeiting it to the United States but with the pro viso that it might be released to claimants upon the payment of all costs and the execution by them of a bond on condition that the said property should not be again sold contrary to law." What in thunder would the com pany do with this rotten catsup it' they could not sell it again? To make Ashland greater we nnit make our individual selves greater. We must believe in ourselves and in Ashland. There is nothing selfish in sayng "I am strong. 1 can do things. 1 believe in myself." There is noth ing arrogant in believing and saying. "Ashland is the grandest city In all the world she has the natural ele- ments in her that will make her great God has planted here a city pre-eminent; I can and will develop her; she shall become what nature intended her, the grandest health emporium of the earth." Only the narrow minded will look upon the man who speaks thus as an egotist and a palaverer. A paper mis-called "Clean Poli tics" is being circulated, charging that Colonel Roosevelt is a drunk ard. That reminds us of the well meaning minister who complained to Lincoln that Grant was a drunkard ' , .... 1 ana ouunt to ne removpil as eensra The minister was surprised and asked, "Why?" "Well," said Lin coln, "1 would like to get a supply for some of my other generals." MILES STANDISH. Miles Standish is one of the Pil grim Fathers who has rattled down through history in company with some amorous blank verse by H. Longfellow. Miles canm nvpr in thp brought with them, but he had a very low rating as a Puritan, having a temper which nobody cared to toy with and a vocabulary of rich and unadorned expletives. On account of his squatty style of architecture and a mild blue eye, Miles was picked on a good deal at first by strangers, several of whom died while in the act of discovering their mistake. The Pilgrim Fathers and the Indians were not on speaking terms at this time, as the Indians used to come around and kill off a few of the neighbors and steal onions and other canned goods. As this was before the codfish ball was invented, an epi demic of the triple-plated scurvy broke out and the colonists were kept " tcmuK e. c otner s uacKS that people couldn t tell a town meet- Ing from a corn-husking bee. Miles refused to have anything to do with the scurvy, but his friend, John Al den, got enough for two, as is so touchingly portrayed by Mr. Long fellow. Miles had been made a widower soipe time before, and not liking it as" well as he thought he should, he decided to marry Priscilla Mullins, a young lady who came as near being a coquette as any of the Pilgrim Mothers ever got without be ing parboiled over a slow fire for witchcraft. On the day that he in tended to propose to Priscilla, Miles was called out to suffocate a few In dians, so he sent Mr. Alden with a power of attorney and a quit claim deed to his shotgun. John Alden is one of the basest characters in Amer ican history. Clad in a blue nan keen suit and the fetid atmosphere of the quinine pill, he sidled up to Priscilla and suggested that she ought to marry somebody .before old age gilded her with crowfeet and other blemishes. Priscilla had not thought of being married that week, but after remarking, "This is so sud den," or words to that effect, she laid her head on John's shoulder and spilled a number of large, salt tears on his shirt front. When Standish heard the news at prayer meeting, his first impulse was to erect a mod est headstone oyer John's remnants, but after seeing a little of John's home life and the brand of sole leath er cooking he had to put up with, he ceased to repine. The llermiston farmers are now busy harvesting their first crop of alfalfa, which is above the average. ................... Ii The Hnmp Circle a M M M W v a w -mm w 51 it tz ;t Thoughts from the Editorial Fen ti a ... ........................ A Swede was courting his girl one night, and, overcome by the tender passion, asked her to marry him. She readily consented, after which both were silent for a long time. Finally the girl asked Ole why he didn't say anything He replied, "I tank der bane too 'much said al ready." A woman of Seattle, Wash., adver tised for a young man to whip a wife beater. She was flooded with appli cations. She selected a young man, six feet, and weighing 190. Her prize was $10. This young man said he would do the job gratis; that it would be pleasure to do it. The pa pers say the husband has not been able to be out since the job was com pleted. To steal a kiss is natural. To buy one is stupid. Two girls kissing is a waste of time. To kiss one's sister is proper. To kiss one's wfe Is obliga tion. To kiss an ugly woman is gal lantry. To kiss an old, faded woman is devotion. To kiss a young, blush ing girl is quite a different thing. To kiss one's rich aunt is hypocrisy. Kissing three girls on the same day is extravagance. There are a great many people who labor under the 'delusion that what was once known as the "drop letter" can be mailed with a one-cent stamp. That- is a mistake. Every sealed let ter, even if it contains only printed matter, requires two cents. So does a written letter whether sealed or not. These rules apply as much to letters addressed to people in Ash land as to people in San Francisco. Look most to your spending. No matter what comes in, if more goes out you will always be poor. The art is not in making money, but in keep ing it; little expenses, like mice in a large barn, when they are many, make great waste. Hair by hair heads get, bald, straw by straw the thatch goes off the cottage, and drop by drop the rain comes into the chamber. A barrel is soon empty if the tap leaks but a drop a minute. At a funeral of a well-known sa loonkeeper, the minister, Instead of making the usual announcement that "an opportunity will now be given to view the remains," thought to make a change in the announcement and said, "An opportunity will now be given to pass around the bier." And quite a number of old fellows in the back part of the room wiped the sym pathetic tears from their eyes, re moved their quids of tobacco, spit out of the window and awaited re sults. We live in what may be termed a superficial age. A man or a woman is judged by clotning and external appearance not by intrinsic quali ties. We wear diamonds to show that we are "well to do." We wear fine raiment to show people that we can afford it. We live In stone-front houses to prove that we belong to the upper class. To discern charac ter, which, after all, is the thing of greatest value, we must look beneath the exterior surface, for such virtues as honesty, consistency, humility and character, which are the attributes of the best people. Every community is divided into workers and shirkers, hopers and mopers. The workers toil on cheer ily, daily contributing to the prosper ity of the place and full of hope and plans for its future. The shirkers hang back, contribute nothing to its welfare, criticise those who do and talk despondingly of things in gen eral. Strange as it may seem, it is easier to be a worker than a shirker, and ceratinly it Is a good deal better all around. Then, also, there is the satisfaction of knowing that one's life amounts to something. Therefore don't shirk, work; don't mope, hope. It is estimated that the great school army eligible to school privileges in the United States will number ap proximately fourteen millions. Of the total number about one-half of them are between 10 . and 14 years of age; those from 15 to 17 consti tute less than 13 per cent and those of 18 and over about 5 per cent. There is a significant fact in the re search which was made in estimat ing the actual and the possible strength of the school army of the United States that out of the entire number of children ranging between 5 and 9 years of age available only half attended school; of those from 10 to 14 years of age substantially four-fifths, and those of from 15 to 17 a little over two-fifths. The boy stood on the back yard fence, whence all but him had fled, the flames that lit his father's barn shone just above the shed. One bunch of crackers in his hand, two others in his hat, with piteous ac cents loud he cried, "I never thought of that." A bunch of crackers to the tail of one small dog he'd tied; that dog in anguish sought the barn and 'mid its ruins died. The sparks flew wide and red and hot, they lit upon the brat, they fired the crackers in his hand and eke those in his hat. There came a burst of rattling sound the boy! Where was he gone? Ask of the winds that far around strewed bits of meat and bone, and scraps of clothes and balls and tops and nails and hooks and yarn, the relics of the dreadful boy that burned his father's barn. Land offices report a great deal of inquiry for vacant land in this state and it Is expected that 1912 will be notable for the large areas of the government domain to be taken by settlers. The change in the land laws, allowing a residence of tnree years on a homestead preliminary to making proof, which h"as passed both houses of congress and waits only the signature of the president, Is making public lands more attractive than ever before to the settler. The Tidings is for sale nt W. M. Poley's Drug Store, 17 East Main St. TTAINT will not be this season. Oils J CbU Up W cXl U. LCLlU.KSU.Kiy. r U W IS LLXK3 LLL11K3 to buy. We can furnish you paint at almost any price from $1.25 up. A full line of the latest patterns in wall paper WE WILL CONTKACT YOUR PAINTING AND DECORATING LET US FIGURE YOUR WORK I WM. O. DICKERSOIM i. R0ALD AMUNDSEN. Discoverer of the South Pole Now Lecturing o His Exploit p a JIthena KNIT UNDERWEAR For Women, Misses and Children A Delight for Summer Wear THE fabrics are just as dainty, soft and elastic as any woman could ask to have them; they are sheer and cool. Athena garments have the distinction of being perfectly shaped they have a real tailored appearance. The exquisite trimming on Athena gar ments anticipates that they will be worn under dainty summer waists. This beauty and daintiness of trimming and fabric is not lost in laundering. All Athena union suits and separate drawers are made with the patented seat, the greatest improvement ever made in knit underwear It gives extra room where room is needed most. and contributes much to the fit of the garment. A variety of popular summer shapes at the prices you usually pay. Vawnpdl's l It I I II llllllllll H had at a lower price and turpentine both OPERA HOUSE BILLIARD PARLOR Cigars, Tobacco, Candy and Soft Drinks J. P. Sayle & Son Successors to IJuger !C- Sayle. Granite City Express A. F. Abbott, Prop. Handle's Freight, Household Good and General Dray Work Office with Rose Bros., Ashland, Ore. Office phone 213R. Res. phone 252R. V. V. IIAVVLEY Contractor and Builder Remodeling and repairing, etc. 25 years' experience. Address P. O Box 174 or TELEPHONE' 39. Phone 129 27 Main St. C. H. GILLETTE Real Estate, Loans, Rentals, Conveyancing SEE ME BEFORE KIVIXG. Weekly Oregonian and Ashland Tidings one year, $2.50. ATS,