Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1904-02-16
PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY BY THE
GAZETTE PUBLISHING COMPANY.
O. A. DEARING, EDITOR AND BUSINESS MANAGER

O. A. DEARNe, EDITOR AND BUSINESS MANAGER
EDITORIAL COMMENT.
Under the action of the Initiative a nd Refer
endum but petitions, out of many started, have
secured sufficient number of signatures to entite
them be submitted to a vote at the next election.
These are the proposed Local Option Law, and the
Direct Primary Law. Both thsese propositions
will be placed the ballots at the June election
and if they receive majorities will become the
law Interested parties will take notice, and put
in their work at the right time and place.
Strawberries are sale i'll the markets of
Portland Green grass covers the hills of the Will
lamette valley. The foothills are free from show.
Roses, hyacinths and crocuses are blooming in the
gardens of this city. Sunshine and warm rains
alternate Life is worth living. On the same
parallel all through the East and Middle West we
read III blizzards, snow and ice, and temperature
far below zero. People exist in those countries.
They can't live And still there is lots of in
Oregon.
The two vital problems that science has got to
tackle in the future, and which they will
eventually solve, the invention and erection of
sun-storage batteries to furnish light and heat at
all times wherever needed, and the artificial pro-
duction of rain at will. Both these propositions
are simpler than discoveries that have already
been made, aud we look to a speedy solution.
One will solve the fuel problem, which is soon to
become vital one in some parts OF the country
and the other will make California inhabtable,
and place her where she thinks she stands today
one of the favored spots on earth. Both are
simply questions of mechanical ingenuity and we
look to the bright young brains that ares being
trained in our technical schools today, toVcarry
these problems to solution, sN---.r -
Japan seems to be having her way in the
Orient She has already disabled eleven of Russa's
war vessels, blockaded the harbor of Port Royal
so that the others cannot get out, and cut railroad
leading to Port Arthur to prevent communi-
cation between that place and Vladivostok. Herr
vessels guarding the north coast OF Japan, and
living in wait for the expected attack from the
north, when the Russian vessels can get clear OIL
the ice in Vladisvostok harbor. Take it all
around the little brown men seem to be on top.
The latest reports, not confined, state that the
Vladisvostok fleet is not frozen in, but is tree
from the ice, and out the path. 1t is not
known exactly where it is, but presumably looking
for trouble.
When the House Committee report the Lewis
and Clark appropriation to the House, they will
make numerous changes in the bill. One OF the
most important Of these will be the striking out of
Exposition Sunday, and will substitute pro-
vision recognizing the right of the State of Oregon
to regulate the matter it sees fit. The COM
1nttee says that the state, under its law, having
supreme Jurisdiction has full authority to regulate
this matter regardless of any legislation Congress
may enact, and it declared that even if Con-
gress should finally accept the Platt amendment,
it could not be enforced. The House Committee
claim that the Senate Bill very loosely drawn,
and owing to conflict between State and national
Jurisdictions, Congress cannot legally make some
of the appropriations called for in the Senate Bill.
AS result of the discussion this morning Mr..
Myers looked for appropriation of about $500, !
900 for the Government building and the building
for the Oriental exhibit $780, for the Alaskan,
Hawaiian and Philippine exhibits; 500, 900 to
defay expense of transporting the several Govern
nent exhibits, and 500, 900 for buildings for the
Alaskan, Hawaiian and Philippine exhibits. He
adds to this S2so,ooo in gold coins, which will
yield the State just that much revenue. These
estimates may be Increased or decreased slightly,
but are believed fairly to represent the amounts
which the subcomttee is willing to agree to. The
House appropriations, though changing the class
somewhat, amount whole to about the same
sum as the Senate, Even if less, the open Sun
day feature will more than Offset IN gate receipts,
the loss in the appropriations.
The great problem of future timber supply is
soon to be taken up by the United States Bureau
of Forestry on the lands of the WeyerheuSer