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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 1910)
LflE MORXIXG OREGONIAN', TnURSDAT, DECEMBER 22, 1910- 10. brm St FrrlMd. Olio. Fos-orace Sw-oad-.aa mc Sotacr-.atuB Dwrftur la Araacw CRT JIL Itrrv. SushIot hsiUKTea'. -"- Deirr. 8-iarfsV terludoJ. sts moihf. - . - Ii i Stnd leelurtwd. n moots. .. r.:l i"t nar S iart t.. on Jiir. ------ f .1 w'.m -, ,. whom .fir. iv " rr wtthoqc n a uireei moanS.., i- Cmir. wiuioox asUar. awaia -""J Wtc:y. Jf - -------------- S'rrvtav, an 7""r - - - - auadr sail tu, m y (BT CRRIR TrTv (hniftsv tttiH i sM vear 1.W j ae Dmit'f. ln-lud4. o arotifH...- . HW Uf ortd PMflU "'f' rrt-r. ti' orUr or personal chVJ jur toral MilL n rl" ' r at ud-r't r-.lt. Gl postofftre ad'lr-o la fiiiU mcludlaa emincir and "' rommmm ie to 14 p"- 1 tr ia pa x teats; 3 ro paaea. r"lt- to to paeas, wu. roria poetase eVible rt. Km ilai om. . Tf - "j!" M-r Tr. Brunswick bttilila. - Mfo, St1 fcolldlns. ;r""" TOMTUUnK THTIfMI. DFC. TI. TKJC TAXUUfl WU NCAKE. . It muat be admitted that the pre liminaiiea of the war scare were worked ni with im skill. The -wtr't communlcatioa" from tha Secretary of War to Congress) was managed with a certain deftness. Its pompuuKlr clandestine deliver)', the ostentatiously frightened manner of It rejection and withdrawal, the via Ions dire of Impending invasion which hovered like a cloud over the country while the play went on, all these thine must be admired a parts of a drama which was Intended to ecare the American people out of their wita and cause them In a frenzy of terror to faror the creation of an immensely expensive standing Army. Fortunate ly Mr. Taney and a few other Con areaemea were on hand with their cool Intelligence- The single word flobsonlze." uttered In the nick of time by the man from Minnesota, won half the battle for common sense. Neither Congress nor the country could be Ilohsnlxed as our frenzied military promoters fancied they could and the war scare aeems to have died out before It did much harm. But ft la atlll Interesting-, even if the desired panic did not aweep over the land, to Iminire what motives could make any body think of setting it going. The motive of Mr. Hobson and a few others like him are perfectly plain. There is no mystery whatever about these men. They are simply mad. They thhik of nothing but trea eonav atratagema and wars. They dine on gunpowder and aup on slaughter. Everything they say about the mili tary establishment or the National defense is discredited from the outset by their known susceptibility to night mares and Insane delusions. The mil itary officials themselves belong la another category. They are not ac tually out or their heads with base lesa fright over Imaginary Invasions, but they stand ready to take every possible advantage of such delusions In others. Their professional interest is naturally on the aide of a huge military establishment mlth alt the parades, maneuvers and millinery that ran be attached to it. To them Mr. ' Hobson is a valuable bit of capital. They Invest him and reinvest him and 1 make all they possibly can out of his rattling tongue and his empty head. They are not to be blamed for doing this. It is natural and perhaps proper for the army chiefs to magnify their calling and utlllie every tool that pre sents Itself. Still It would be more to their credit to appeal candidly to the reason of the people than to try to gain their ends by melodrama and hysteria. The American people understand pretty thoroughly that In the present condition of the world a well-eti!pped navy is essentlnl to the National safe ty. It also knows the utility of coast defenses and does not disapprove of a reasonable standing army. Hut on the other hand. Intelligent Americans have very definite Ideas about the magnitude of the Army which is es sential for defense and they do not tnt.n n he frightened Into support ing a vast establishment either for aggresaslon or to puff up the vanity of a coterie of military Intriguers, bome of the arguments set forth by the Hobsonliers to support their wild ly bellicose schemes will be laughed at In many a quiet home where the family rends the papers and knows what the world Is djlng. Take, for example, the nerve-shattering state ment that "1 00.000 troops can be sent across the Atlantic In eighteen days to attack us by any one of three or four different Kuronean nations. Therefore we must set up a standing force of some haif a million men to repel them." The Intelligent Uakota farmer will ask what Kuropenn Na tion Is In a situation to attack the Volted St.itea with 100.000 men. or with 10.000. Is it Germany with r.ussla hovering en her flank and the socialists watching for their oppor tunity within? Germany has already made almost abject concessions to the Vnlted States rather than think of trouble with us. Has England 100.000 troops to dispatch across the Atlantic for our destruction ? She has all she can do to defend India and Egypt. It Is still more ludicrous to imagine France playing the part of our In vader. v hat nation remains, then, which Is to send out the Invading host? Tin our HobsonUer down to hard facta and he flattens out very thin. What he wants is a whole cir cumambient atmosphere to throw himself about in and shout. The Dakota farmer will also won der how this Invading hoet I to get past our Atlantic rieet. The military maniacs seem to forget that we have a fleet sailing the ocean, one perfectly prepared for whatever may happen nd second only to Great lirltain's In number of available unit. The no tion of sending 100.000 men across the Atlantic In one expedition Is In Itself a little craay. It savors of hasheesh. And supposing the miracle were to be undertaken by some mis guided power. how would the numberless flotilla be protected from our warship", from torpedoes, from swift-sailing destroyers? Final ly, what would become of the 100.000 men after they had landed, if they ever did land, in the midst of an armed population of 0.000.00? We know how Nupoleon'a army faired In Spain. Military history shows that no army can hold a position on a hos tile ooast without control of the sea. and If It has not control of the sea It . cannot even land. If the military fanatics should frighten the country Into setting up vast garrisons along the Atlantic, their nsxt move would be for some thing similar from the Atlantic to the Pacific along tne tanaaa ooruov. Think how fearfully unprotected we, are all the way from Maine to Paget Sound. Then weald come the Pacific Coast and the Mexican border. Like Death they are Insatiate. The more they get the more they want. The best way to deal with them Is to give them nothing which la not warranted by cool reason and hard common Keanwhit i im eo ahead with the wise labor and wiser duty of building up a superior Xavy IS MASeA,Jn.gTT. The case of Senator Lodge, of Mas sachusetts, is grving much concern to the New York World. The Massachu setts Legislature b Reupblican. but the majority Is- small and the Repub lican revolt against Lodge Is formida ble. The World wants the Democrats to unite with the "Insurgent" Repub licans and elect a -progressive" Re publican. It Is assumed that the Re publicans will not agree to the elec tion of a Democrat. Why not? Republicans have ne duty any more to rote for a Republi ean for Senator, or Democrats a J Democrat for Senator. If they have VD in?7 t ourri.v. tion to beat somebody with anybody. Here in Oregon the Republican Leg islature elected Chamberlain, a Dem ocrat, and In Kentucky the Demo cratic Legislature elected Bradley, a Republican. In Illinois the Democrats and Republicans elected Lo rimer, a Republican, and the Senate committee conid find no proof of corruption. So It was all right. In Massachusetts the game Is any thing to beat Lodge. We guess the Insurgent Republicans will not hesi tate to do it with the first available club. Just as the Democrats took up a former Republican (Foss) and first elected him to Congresa in a rock ribbed Republican district and then made him Governor. Maasachnsetta Democrats and Republicans are noth ing If not polite to each other. TICK JtEW Fi.KKW IJt CHAKITT. Mr. Rockefeller is acting toward the Chicago University like a good father who sees his son safely through the days of his boyhood and then tells him to make his own way In the world. But It is with something more than a good stomach and a warm coat that the university begins Its In dependent career. The 110.000.000 which Mr. Rockefeller bestows as his farewell benefaction Is the end of a long series of gifts. The grand total of them approaches $15,000,000, more than anybody before our time ever dreamed of giving to an Institution of learning, or any other Institution for that matter. What charity did In former ages is as nothing to the enormous sums our millionaires have fallen into tho habit of tossing out to schools, churches and all sorts of kindly enterprises. For the last decade each year has wit nessed some endowment more mag nificent than anything gone before. If the competition In benevolence con tinues for a dosen years more we shall perhaps see new universities start out In life with endowments of half a billion dollars. When that good time cornea It may be possible to pay the professors living wages, something that has never yet been achieved.! One of the curiosities of modern benevolence is the care It lakes to avoid doing harm. Old-fashioned charity, as we all know, gratified the weak sentimentality of the donor, but as a rule It debased the recipient. One of the hardest problems our million aires have had to solve Is that of giv ing away their money without multi plying misery. Endowing colleges has always been a comparatively harmless mode of dispensing superfluous treas ure and there was a time when It was probably more useful than any other. But at present there Is a feel ing In the air that we have colleges enough. To enlarge an educational endowment already begun Is very well, but for goodness sake, don't start any new ones. This counsel Is usually In cluded In first aid manuals for mil lionaires nowadays and they are heed ing it. Poch benefactions as the Sage foundation and the Carnegie fund for pensioning teachers seems to promise more usefulness Just now than any thing that could be done for a new college. KAIXROAIXl REFKUtS HJBMT. Mr. Jacob Schlff. who Is a financier m well as railroad man, makes a strong point In demanding that the railroads shall be protected from con flicting orders of state and Federal Railroad Commissions. With every state that haa a railroad commission seeking to regulate the railroads in accordance with the local needs, and with the Federal Commission in al most continuous session listening to the complaints of various firms and localities, the men who manage our railroads have for the past three years been leading a very strenuous life. Whatever may have been the abuses that brought down the ava lanche of Investigations, the attitude of the Investing public at this time makes It quite plain that the discip lined roads must be given a breathing spell or else abandon all attempts at improving their service. In the language of President Taft, "the existing legislation with refer ence to the regulation of corporations and the restraint of their business has reached a point where we can stop for awhile and witness the effect of the vigorous execution of the laws on the statute books In restraining the abuses which certainly did exist and which roused the public to the needed re form." In other words, the corpora tions have received a pretty sound drubbing for their misdeeds of the past, and It to no more than right to give them a chance to behave them selves. There are so many local ques tions arising for Investigation by state commissions that It would be a physi cal impossibility for the Federal body to act on them, but It might not be a difficult matter to arrive at some plan or system by which there would be no conflict between the state and the Federal commissions. There Is a steady Improvement In the relations existing between the people and the railroads, and. if Mr. Schiff" suggestion that no stock be Issued under par he followed, hot much difficulty will be encountered in determining what dividends a rail road may reasonably be expected to earn. Just at present, the greatest difficulty encountered by the roads In financing new projects Is the more satisfactory returns that can be se cured from other forms of Investment. The recent crusade against the roads has demonstrated that the public is ne longer willing to Submit to exces sive dividends on watered stock, nor lo cutting of "melons" which In the past has been a highly profitable re laxation for the railroads. This leaves the railroad investment In the same class as the Government bond, inas much as It can hold out no hope to the Investor of more than a fair In terest earned on his investment. Money placed in Industrial under takings, mining or other lines of in vestment, still has earning possibilities far In excess of the 6 and 1 per cent which the railroad as a public service institution is supposed to earn. The continuous Investigation and regula tion which put railroad securities in the doldrums has apparently run Its course, but the possibilities for con flict between the state and the Fed eral commissions, are not yet ex hausted, and care should be exer cised lest they Inflict needless burdens on the railroads and Indirectly retard commerce. ATl-TIUUIT Or SCXGLB TAX. The single-tax srheme aims to strip possessors of landed property. It is a variation of socialism, which purposes to abolish private property in all the activities of production and distribu tion and also In the goods that one persona owns better than another. Single tax, then, is socialism in land. It belongs to the world-old effort of the thriftless to share the property of their more industrious and frugal neighbors. . That, too. Is Mr. Wagnon's endeavor to take from more successful neigh bors than himself the fruits of their labor and saving as represented In land. Since Mr. Wagnon owns noth ing to speak of In landed property, he is an authority on single tax. "The one aim of the single-taxers," he says, "Is to destroy land monopoly, and the one way to destroy land monopoly is to make It expensive (through taxa tion) for anyone to own land that he Is not using." To reconctle the many owners of small land "monopoly," this apostle of single tax proposes a "graduated tax" that will apply In ascending scale according to the value of the land. But this would deprive every little land monopolist of whatever expecta tions he may have that his lot of ground will grow into large value: the labor he has expended through many years In carrying his lot is to count for nothing In his own future pros perity; the Improvements that he has made at high cost, and that have started the growing value of his lot, are to be taken possession of by the state after the lot shall have reached a certain value. Let no "little fellow" be deceived In this business. Single tax proposes the seizure of all land by the state that Is the meaning of Its Jargon, "abolition of land monopoly." Lands of large and of small values are all the target for single tax. Expecta tions based on growing values of land would be abolished, since the one pur pose of single tax is to take the "un earned Increment" from the Individ ual and bestow It on the "public." Men and women who have Invested their savings In land at the progres sive stages of Its value are to be stripped of the fruits of their indus try, while those who have "sold out" and ."unloaded" are to possess their riches untouched. There Is too much single tax In Oregon already. Too little, personal property Is taxed. Tet here presents Itself a scheme to pile on more tax on land. We think the people of Multnomah County will not adopt this tax fad; and that the people of Oregon will not. But the threat of this fad Is felt even thus early. The city finds sale of Its Broadway bridge bonds arrested until prospective purchasers shall learn the meaning or this fresh TTRenism: that Is. ontll they shall know the effect of the proposed fad upon land and other property In Port land that are the basic security for the bonds. TUB tXWJXCn. AVD RAIOONB. The "model" saloon license is suffer ing somewhat at the hands of the City Council, mostly from delay. The public Is In no great hurry, of course, and It does not expect any "model" license to suit all Council men or all people. But It does look for a regulatory measure that regu lates to go through the Council, and that at no very distant day. If the Council, or any of the Council, fancies that the public has lost Interest, It Is certain to have a sharp awakening. It will be better and wiser, we think, for the Council to pass a strong and effective measure of saloon control than to permit an appeal to the peo ple through the initiative. But such an appeal will undoubtedly be made if the Council "falls down." Then the Council, the saloons, everybody but the prohibitionists, will be real sorry. BI1GES)T HUP. BEST TLOtBEK. Portland has dispatched so many big lumber cargoes to all parts of the known world that the clearing of a shipload of our great staple no longer attracts special attention. An' excep tion to this must be made, however. In the case of the German bark Omega, a 4000-ton carrier which was towed seaward from Portland yesterday morning. The Omega, at 'the time or her launching, was one of the largest sail ing ships afloat, and the cargo with which she cleared yesterday was suf ficient to load two of the ordinary lum ber carriers of twenty years ago. But this big cargo of high-grade lumber, which tilled the Omega to her capa city, is all to be used in the deck of a single vessel, the Europe, the largest steamer in the World. All kinds of comparisons have been drawn for the purpose of properly .describing the im mensity of this coming greatest of all steamships, which will be 900 feet long. 95 feet beam and nine "stories" deep, but few of these comparisons give a more striking Idea of the im mensity of the new ship than the fact that the entire cargo of a 4000-ton ship Is required to supply the decking alone. Tha Europa is to be so much larger than any vessel yet constructed that, when launched, she will, for a time at least, be one of the wonders of the world. She will have a capacity of more than 4000 passengers and will carry a crew of 1000 men, so that when carrying a full passenger list there w-111 be a floating population as large as that of a moderate-sir.ed city. It may not have occurred to Manager Wheelwright, of the Pacific Export Lumber Company, of this city, when he was landing the order for this shipload of Oregon sine for decking, that Portland, and Oregon would come in for an Immense amount of valuable advertising as soon as this monster of the deep begun operations, but this is what will happen. The Immensity of the steamer wilj, make it a favorite topic in newspapers of all classes and descriptions of the craft will be printed in every promi nent technical magazine and newspa per in the world. Wherever these descriptions appear the fact will not be overlooked that an entire shipload of Oregon pine was used in building the decks of the mammoth steamship. The builders of the Europa had the world for a supply station, and In sending 15,000 miles away from the shipyard for the Oregon lumber, they paid the highest possible tribute to the merits of our great staple. St. Louis and Kansas City capita Is being subscribed for the purpose of es tablishing a line of steamships to ply through the Panama Canal. The New Orleans Progressive Union is aiding the project and will send a spe cial ambassador to Brazil In the inter est of the enterprise. St. Louis and Kansas City ere located In a part of the country (where ship subsidy senti ment has usually been quite prevalent. This sentiment has differed from that found around New York and In the lobbies and press bureaus of Washing ton, as it was mostly the result of an honest desire to upbuild the Amer ican merchant marine. Now If the patriots in that portion of the West are actually willing to subscribe money for ships, they should "about face" on the subsidy proposition and in lieu thereof demand the right to se cure ships wherever they may find them. There will be plenty of ships flying the American flag by the .time the canal is completed, provided 'Con gress will give our citizens the right, to buy them where they can buy to the best advantage. The New Orleans papers complain of an oversupply of Northern visitors who have flocked south for the pur pose or swindling, thievery and similar methods of obtaining a living without working for it. This is one of the ad vantages of living in a climate where the Winters are too mild. Oregon has the most healthful climate m the world. The rain and fog of Winter are just sufficient to make It slightly uncomfortable for the hoboes, but sa lubrious and enjoyable to the good citizens who , dwell here the year round. As a result, when the days are shortest and the gentle rain falls the undesirable citizens who have loafed all Summer and squandered what they earned, leave Oregon for Oregon's good and work their way down Into the banana belt. And yet New Orleans Is not so exceedingly well supplied with good roads that she should scorn to give the Weary Wil lies s chance at the rockpile. A resident of Oregon on tour of the Eastern States writes this to The Ore gonian: I x that yon hav been having soma discaulon of th slnsie-tiLX. While on my way from Washington to Mobil I mt Joseph Ftla, donor of tho Fels fund, "knd talked with him for some time. He thinks U"Rrn a great man. He says U'Rcn draws S'iOOO per year from the fund as a salary ami that ho save ud a law practice of SSiioO a year to take up this work. They have great hopes of carrying tho measure In Multnomah County In 1I2. and they are working with that end In view. One hardly knows whether to won der more at the magnificent emolu ment earned by a very ordinary law yer at Oregon City not tho most ac tive or Important there or at the magnificent self-abnegation of Mr. TXRen in devoting himself to the pub lic service for so modest a sum as $2500 per year. The steel trap which caught a burg lar In New Jersey suggests something new in the way of protection to house holders. In towns where the police are Inadequate to cope with burglars small and noisy dogs have been greatly esteemed for their promptness in giv ing the alarm against thieves. But since a dog makes as much noise when he hears a person go by on the pavement, as he does when a house breaker comes through the window, his warning sometimes lacks definite ness. A steel trap set In a proper nook would not make much noise, but It would catch a burglar and hold him. The Washington farmer who carried a charge of buckshot in his thigh for a week rather than go to the doctor may have been "gritty" or he may have been stingy. There are any number of people in the country who will suf fer agonies before they will pay a doc tor's bill or a dentist's fee. Some men never believe their wives are sick enough to need a doctor until death knocks at the door. There is nothing heroic in such conduct. Usually it arises from avarice and In all cases It shows poor Judgment. Beginning with nothing, the ex press companies have accumulated gross assets amounting to almost ,110,000,000 in their useful career. This leaves out of the account their rich and frequent dividends. On an active capital of less than $12,000,000 they cleared almost $8,000,000 last year. No wonder they shudder at the thought of parcels post. They can spend a good deal of money stirring up the small storekeepers and still live quite comfortably. It Is pleasant to read that the steel trust Is able and willing to distribute a "bonus" of $2,700,000 among its of ficers and employes. Evidently the protection we accord to this monopoly Is bearing fruit In the form of profits. Will the time ever come when it will bestow upon the public a bonus by lowering prices a little? The favor would be appreciated. It will be noticed that the prizerlng game does not stop. Given two men willing to fight, weight anywhere from 112 to 2S5, a big crowd may be de pended on. Tet In every state except Nevada prizefights are unlawful. Finding the skeleton of a dinosaur underlying the rock of New Jersey's shore Is a remarkable discovery, but lacks the interest that would be taken oa finding the bones of the prehistoric mosquito. San Francisco's withdrawal of her request for financial aid from Con gress for the Panama Canal Fair puts a big crimp In the aspirations of New Orleans. There's cine consolation: We are not so Ill-prepared for war now as we were when we went Into one twelve years ago.. VEXTILATTOX IS STREETCAR. S. prevaleaee of CeMa May Be CaTsaew by Feiseaou Air. - PORTLAND. Or., Dec 21. (To the Kditor. May I have space In which to Indorse the remarks of "R. E. B." in The Oregonlan on the subject of street cars and ventilation? " I have sometimes wondered if my years as a schoolteacher, during which I bad to give attention to ventilation, have made me unduly sensitive to im pure air. for otherwise it has seemed to me the people of Portland would have arisen in a body and demanded that we be permitted pure air in our cars. I frequently patronise the Jefferson-street line. These cars are often crowded at the depot with peo ple who leave the car at down-town points. Boarding the car. Just after such a crowd has alighted, the air al most staggers one. On such an occasion I asked the con ductor to open some of the transoms. Instead of doing so, he slammed down a window behind me where the cold air could blow in on my neck. Asking another conductor the same thing one day, he did not move, but smilingly said: "Everyone isn't of the same mind, besides It Is too cold." Too cold, for sooth! We must be warsnad by the breath of our fellow passengers! - Coming over to the West Side on a Broadway car a short time ago, the car was crowded with working men in extremely dirty clothing. Not a single transom had so much as a tiny open ing in it, and the odor In that car was not as good as that of a pig-pen. Going out to Mount Tabor one evening, the car was full, with passengers hanging to the straps. Only one ventilator was ope a and the air became so unbearable that I had to give up the seat I had taken on entering and stand near the door In order to endure it. I have be come timid about saying anything to conductors on the subject, for no mat ter how kindly and politely it is done, one is met by resentment, or a laugh, and Is evidently regarded as a crank, or at least, as slightly unbalanced mental ly. The conductor Is usually too busy, anyway, to be bothered about the tran soms, which should have been opened before the car left the barn. At this season of the year two thirds of one's frlneds have colds or similar ailments. May not these troubles be traced to breathing the poisonous air of our streetcars? Let us have agitation of this subject until reform Is brought about. Respectfully, E. S. EASTERN COMMENT ON WAR SCARE Sober Attention Demanded. New Yok Sun. The truth about the unpreparedness of the country to defend Itself against Invasion should have the sober atten tion of Congresa Iavltatloa to Swatmbnckle. Chicago Record-Herald. T-r-remble at the thought, rouse yourself from your fancied security and feel frightened if you can. You are in peril without knowing it. Two hun dred thousand Japanese may be precipi tated on your West Coast some dark nlKlit across 8000 miles of water. Be scared and then become a swashbuck ler to prove that you have the good red blood, j Ne Way to Conceal Facta. Philadelphia Ledger. To mark a public document as "con fidontial" is usually a good way to at tract attention to it The Secretary can have no Important facts to present that are not already sufficiently familiar through previous publications, and especially through the report of the Chief of Staff of the Army, and to Imagine that any facts could be con cealed from foreign nations which they had any Interest in knowing is -plainly ridiculous. Knowledge Is Ne Defease. Baltimore American. It Is nonsense to suppose that any foreign fleet, accompanied by trans ports, could set sail for the coast of the United States and the fact and it meaning not become soon known to the American authorities. Knowledge, however, does not constitute defense. Only a permanent fleet of first-class battleships, in numbers to match any that might be sent across the waters, supported by a sufficient number of vessels of the subsidiary types, could do the full work of coast defense. Hood Illver a Pattern. HOOD RIVER, Or- Dec. 21. (To the Editor.) I took great pleasure in reading where J. J. Hill, while In Port land recently, advised the people, as a great man should, to stay by the farm, cultivate the soil for what it Is adapted and that when this is dona the cities would take care of themselves. I hope to be able to help bear him out in his statement by taking Hood River County as an example. Hood River County has a population of 8010 by the census Just out. It is a beautiful valley with fine orchards that produce prize-winners against the world. The county roads are to bo ma cadamized. One of the Valley school districts is having erected a fine brick building which, it is said, will be the finest country school building in the state. The farmers have electric lights, telephones, rural mail delivery, an elec tric line surveyed through the Valley and a railroad in operation. The people of Hood River County are organized; all have their shoulders to the wheel and intend to keep raising prize-winners the apples ;which are repeaters and command the price. The town of Hood River is up to date, has a population of about 3000; has three good banks and a building al most completed for the fourth bank. There have been erected this year sev eral fine brick buildings, two of these costing about $30,000 each. All caused by the famous Hood River apple. This Is only the budding season, for the Valley has many young orchards which will soon come Into bearing, which will cause things to bloom in Hood River. I hope all Oregon will pattern after Hood River" County In these things: First The people of each county or ganizing; second Till the soil for what it is best adapted; third Macadamize its county roads; fourth Building good schoolhouses. Then all unite for a greater Oregon, which will come. Portland to be the largest city on the Pacific Coast and a good market for Oregon farmers. J. E. CALVIN. Germany's Great Strength. . Cleveland Leader. Returns from the census of the Ger man empire, taken late this Fall, havs been tabulated sufficiently to show that the total will be about 65,000,000. That le a gain of more than 13,000,000 in the last 15 years, of about 8,500,000 In ten years and 4,500,000 In the last five years. The German nation is expanding faster than it ever did In the past. It Is drawing in a steady stream of immi gration from near-by countries, less advanced industrially, and there has been very little emigration from Ger many in the last few yeara The de mand for labor i too strong at home for many Germans to seek employment in distant parts of the world. Cause of War. Chicago Record-Herald. War i threatened between Peru and Bolivia, probably just because neither country hag any other trouble of a serious nature on hand. LENTS MAY BE SEW DISTRICT Community Petitions for Justice of Peace and Constable. Lents is soon to be the metropolis of a new Justice of the Peace district. Fifty-five residents of Precincts 182, 163 and 1S4 have petitioned the County Court to comprise all three precincts Into one district, and it is highly prob able that the request will be granted, as the change will not entail expense to the county. The petition will be acted upon early next month when annual redisricting of the county will be before the court. Lents Precinct, Kelly Butte -Precinct and Mount Scott Precinct will be in cluded in the new district and appoint ment of a Justice of the Peace and a constable will be required. Now ad ministration of justice for the district is under charge of the magistrate at Gresham, seven miles away. t It is complained by the petitioners that delay in arrests is encountered and that the seat of justice is too re mote to provide quick relief to the 5000 inhabitants of the three precincts. Lents, says the petition, is an unin corporated town of 2000 inhabitants and does not provide ample peace protec tion. The petitioners request that the new zone be christened Lents' Justice of the Peace District. The district embodies 12 square miles. Before a Justice of the Peace and a constable are appointed by the County Court the petitioners will submit names of men they favor for the new posts. The magistrate and constable will not draw salaries but be compensated un der the fee system. Under the fee system the Justice of the Peace at St. Johns retained $10 in six months and approximates $90 a year as compensation. In the 'year he turned over $270 to the County Treasurer as the remainder of fines left after fees were deducted. This would indicate that the positions of Justice of the Peace and Constable of the new Lents' District will not be remunerative posts. MRS. E. F. GOODE SELLS STOCK Valuable Realty at Fourth and An keny Streets to Be Purchased. Authority was granted Mrs. Edith F. Goods, widow of H. W. Goode, former president of the Portland General Elec tric Company, ' yesterday, to sell 350 shares of stock in the Metropolitan In vestment Company and 65 collateral trust 5 per cent bonds of the Portland Railway. Light & Power Company. Attorneys for Mrs. Goode, adminis tratrix of her husband's estate, assert that stock in the Metropolitan Invest ment Company has never earned divi dends and that the railway bonds are appraised at 80 cents on the dollar, a price higher than 89 cents not haviug been offered for the bonds. By transfer of her interest In the Metropolitan Investment Company and the traction company, Mrs. Goode would purchase two lots at Fourth and Ank eny streets. This property is valued at $140,000. and deducting a mortgage for $50,000, she would be able to realize 6 per cent on $90,000. This, she avers, will give the heirs complete control of Income property In lieu of stock that will not earn anything for a long time and bonds for which she has not been able to obtain par value. It is set forth in the petition for au thority to sell that the Metropolitan Investment Company, capitalized at $140,000, bought real estate for $236,000 and that the appraised value now is $215,000. Deducting a $75,000 encum brance, the company's equity is $140,000. Mrs. Goode's stock Is a- minority In terest in the concern and her 360 shares are estimated to be worth $30,000. MONEY IS WELL EXPENDED Milligan Children Properly Cared For; Boy Is Invalid. Miss Mlna C. MeCommon, ts not yet released from her guardianship over Florence and Oscar Milligan, for whom she has been foster-mother for the last six yeara County Judge Clceton decided yesterday that expenditure by Mrs. MeCommon of $675 belonging to the children may not have been authorize by his predecessor on the county bench and has withheld final release from guardianship until he ascertains from ex-County Judge Web ster whether Mrs. MeCommon was au thorized by him to spend the interest only. Z. Zimmerman, step-father of the chil dren. Is Inclined to fight the case and was told by Judge Cleeton to confer with ex-Judge Webster, the records on file in the case not being clear as to whether Mrs. MeCommon obligated herself to pay the children the money she held for them when they reached maturity. Judge Cleeton contends the money was well spent and that Mrs. McCommon's charge for their keep Is extremely rea sonable. He merely withholds release from guardianship to ascertain if Mrs. MeCommon so obligated herself to re turn the money to the children that a suit might compel her to refund it to them. Adding pathos to the case, little Oscar Milligan is a victim of tuberculosis and recently was barred from attending school owing to the affliction. HUSBAND IS BEQCE.VTHKD $100 Will of Mrs. Anne Marks Filed; Children. Principal Beneficiaries. By the will of Mrs. Anne Marks, who died suddenly November 25, 1910. her husband, Morris Marks, is bequeathed $100, the smallest amount recorded in the instrument. Appraisers were ap pointed yesterday to ascertain the value of the estate, which, as yet, is un known. The appraisers are Mayor Si mon, A. G. Jacobs and Marion F. Dolph. . ' . Other devisees are: Esther Myer, of Portland, a sister of Mrs. Marks, to whom is left $300; Ralph Dertheimer and Helen Dertheimer, grandchildren, each $750; Jessie and Ruby, daughters, J4 whom Is left the personal estate, except money and notes, to be divided between them as they elect. The residue of the estate, the value of which is not recorded in the will. Is bequeathed to her children, Myer Marks. Ji sie Gold stein and Ruby Wertheimer, share and SlAdolph n. Marks, a nephew. Is named as executor without bonds. The will was made September 2, 1910. Solons to Inspect University. UNIVERSITY O WASHINGTON. Se attle. Dec. 21. Plans are now under wav by Graduate Manager Victor Zed nick, who is representative of tha 42nd legislative district of Washington, whereby the legislators of this state while in session at Olympia will visit the University of Washington campus, with the view of Inspecting the build ings and workings of the university. Zednick will invite the state solons to address the students at the regular as sembly Immediately after the Christmas holidays, probably January t. Fine Chinook Salmon Caught. ASTORIA. Or., Dec. 21. (Special.) During the past few days a few fine Chinook salmon, averaging from 2o to 30 pounds each, have been caught in some of the up-river set nets. While there were not a sufnoient number for the market price to be established some of them have brought as high as 20 cents a pound, while others were sold for less than half that sum. CITY GROWS 1000 A MONTH Kate of increase Here Far Ahead of Puget Sound Cities. Evidence of the rapid growth of Portland, outside the natural increase in population, is sustained in the con- . sistently growing passenger traffic business centering in and radiating from the city. Railroad men who have been keeping In touch with the situ ation declare that Portland is gain ing in population at the rate of mora than 1000 every month, and that this figure is a general average for a period extending to tho early part of last Summer. There are 84 passenger trains enter ing and leaving Portland every day. Of this number 23 arrive and depart at the Union Depot and 11 at the North Bank Station. The number of persons coming to Portland daily on all the lines aver ages 100 to a train or a total of about S500. Around 1000 come from Seattle and other Puget Sound points, and the remainder are distributed on the other lines. Eighteen of the 34 trains arriving and departing daily are designated as through trains, and 16 are known as locals. Nearly all the through trains are loaded daily. Travel from the East and California appears to kocp up well, while the local trains are nearly all loaded in both arriving and departing. The local passenger traffic is especially large now, as hundreds of people from as far away as Walla Walla com to Portland to do their Christmas shop ping. While Portlapd is maintaining lta lead In growth, railroad men say that Seattle is losing constantly. Several months ago the arrivals at Seattle out numbered the departures by several hundred every month. Tacoma has not suffered as much as Seattle, but its general average has been lowered dur ing the past few months. Robert Lee. general agent of the O.-W. R. & N. at Tacoma. who arrived in Portland yesterday, said that the sit uation in Tacoma was satisfactory. lie expressed great surprise, however, over the large passenger business enjoyed by Portland. It is his opinion that all the cities in tho Northwest will ad vance in population in 1911. CAMPBELL WILL LEAVE POST Fopular Major Is to Be Macomb's Adjutant in Hawaii. VANCOUVER BARRACKS, Wash., Dec. 21. (Special.) Major Archibald Campbell, of tho Coast Art'llery Corps, chief ordnance officer of the Department of the Columbia for the past year and a half, today received! a telegram stating he had been detailed es Adjutant-General of tho District of Hawaii, with headquar ters at Honolulu. He and his family will sail soon from San Francisco on a Government transport. This assignment will likely last four years, as is curlomary, and he is to be ready for duty April 13. Major Campbell came to these head quarters in May, 1909, and he Is one of the most popular officers at the post. Brigadier-General Montgomery M. Ma comb, who was recently promoted from the Sixth Field Artillery, will have com mand of the District of Hawaii and Ma jor Campbell will be the Adjutant under him. Captain Le Roy S. Upton, First Infan try, today was detailed as Paymaster in the Paymaster's Department, succeeding Captain Edward C. Carey, First Infan try, who will rejoin his regiment andi be assigned to a company April 16. Captain Upton will report- for duty in. the Paymaster's Department April 15, 1911. The detail will likely be for four years. Lieutenant-Colonel Rudolph G. Ebert, In charge of the medical department of the Department of the Columbia, will be promoted to the rank of Colonel Decem ber 27. , ,r Colonel Ebert was a schoolboy in Van couver In the '60s and '70s. RAILWAY AGENTS POSTED Information Imparted Concerning Traffic Matters. About 25 asrents at the various sta tions of the Harriman lines in Oregon. Washington and Idaho arrived in Port land yesterday to consult with the heads of the local departments of the O. R. & N. Matters pertaining to the passenger business were under consideration yes terday and today attention will be given to freight traffic. Following the conference yesterday the agents were taken about the city -and over the manufacturing district on the Peninsula. The party was directed by William McMurray, general passen ger agent, and F. W. Robinson, general freight agent of the company. O. R. & N. CAN BUY LAND KIglit-of-Way Granted, Also Injunc tion; Other Decisions. SALEM. Or., Dec. 21. (Special.) In the suit of the O. R. & N. versus Hector and Margaret McDonald, appealed from Wallowa County, the Supremo Court tnrtav modified the opinion of JudBO Knowles and, the plaintiff was given right of way for $700.- the defendants being enjoined from Interference. Other cases decided: J. W. Baxter. Jr., versus M. F. Davis. Thomas Brasher and Leon Levy, School Directors. Dis trict No. 5, Union County, appellants; appeal from Union County, affirmed. Crane Company, appellant, versus Erie Heating Company, et al., respond ents; appealed from Union County; af firmed. Schollliorn Seeks to Foreclose. Alleged failure to pay Interest on a note for $6500 bases a suit In the State Circuit Court in which Harry Scholl horn requests that the mortgage op the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Davis on Willamette Heights be foreclosed. Mr. and Mrs. R. S. Howard, Jr.. and M L. Beach are made co-defendants, they, too, claiming interest in the prop ertv as creditors. Robert E. and Sarah B. Davis, it is alleged, borrowed $6600 from Mr. Schollhorn June 4, 1909, obli gating themselves to pay interest year ly until 1912, when the note will ma ture. The plaintiff alleges that the interest was not met and that taxes and insurance were also not paid by the mortgagors, compelling him to pay $28 for insurance and $155 for taxes. He asks Judgment for $6500. the amount of the note, $422 for interest, $188 for Insurance and taxes and $500 attor ney's fees. Three Oppose First Degree Verdict. According to George Whitaker, a juror in the Kersh trial, the Jury lied three members who were opposed to a verdict of murder in the first degree. These were John Jervis, Mr. Tomasinl and him self. Mr. Whitaker writes: "The writer was a Juror in the Kersh trial and, with John Jervis and Mr. Tom asinl, never voted for the first degree, as charged, but voted not guilty of con spiracy to rob and murder and then voted with Mr. Jervis for a second degree ver dict with mercy until we had a solid 11. "Mr. Tomasinl voted not guilty or blank, but at my wish voted for man slaughter, which all did reluctantly, it being either a compromise verdict or a disagreement. Mr. Tomasinl at all times acted within his rights as a Juryman, being willing to give the women some degree of punishment, but not too serere, and all agree he stood) upon the dictates of his convictiohf "