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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 1912)
PO RTLAVD. ORKOO!!. Entered at Port land. Oregon.' postofflce Scondclaia sJstter. aa? Subscription Rates jnranaDiy u - IBT MAIL.) Dal.y. Sutdav Included, on yr Dally. Sunday Included. ix month.... ; Pally. Sunday Included, three montna. " Dahy, Sunday Included, one month j-'any. vitnout buncay, one yer. , Dally, vitnout Gunday. alx months..... Daily, without Sunday, three monlha... j vuiiy. witnont eunaay, on mum- -0 weekly, on year so Minaay. on year aunaay ana veaiy. on y. IDT CARRIER.) Dally. Sunday included, on Tar. J J vauy. ounaay inciuaeo, one '"" How to Komlf Bend foetomce '-milder, express order or peraonal check on t.t . . .in nf currency are at the tender's risk. Olv poitoMlc aadresa in lull. Including county ana ,g rneiac nair id m - , to 28 pares. 1 cents; 10 to 40 paces. S 40 to 0 psges. 4 cents. Foreign postage, double rate. Lastern Business ODTIrra Verree Conh," lln New York. Brunswick building, v-ni-esjo, Sieger building. baa FrancUce Oillc R. J. Bldw.U Co t42 Market street. . . European utile No. S. Regent street, o TV.. London. j PORTLASD, MONDAY, DEC. 16, PUBLIC LAND LEGISLATION. Whatever delay may occur here after In the development of our nat ural resources -with due regard to their conservation must be laid at the door of Congress. Secretary Usher, in his anual report, describes the pres. ent condition of public land affairs and outline a policy which is gener ally approved by public opinion. The country awaits the action of Congress in adopting that policy and giving it the authority of law. The recommendation that coal, oil, phosphate and other land bearing non-metalliferous minerals, aiso gr lnir land, be leased should be adopted without delay. Great progress has been made in classifying such land. Leases could be granted for that land of which the character has already been determined and the work of de velopment under leases could be set joins; on other land as fast as the geological survey completes its classi fication. Power-sites have been withdrawn and can now only be put to use by the Issue of revocable permits, which form too precarious a tenure to justify large Investments. We need a clear definition of the respective Interests of the Nation in the site and of the states in the water and the adoption of regulations which will insure devel opment and sale of power at reason able prices on pain of forfeiture. Mr. Fisher betrays some fear that. If the Government were to cede power sites to the states, the latter would allow them to fall into the hands of private monopolies, which would exploit them to , the Injury of k the people. There Is no ground for this fear, in Oregon at least. We have created a Public Utilities Commission with am ple authority to regulate power com panies. There is every probability that. If the Government .ceded the power-sites to the states, this Commis sion would have a strong voice in de ciding the terms on which they shou'd be leased ana tnai mose terms -wuuiu safeguard the Commission's regulative power- Mr. Fisher's plans for the develop ment of Alaska are ripe for action. He is rapidly disposing of the coal land fraud cases and Is thus separat ing the sheep among the settlers, who should be allowed the preference right of lease, from the goats, who have forfeited that right. A leasing bill is now before the Senate for action and might be passed at this session If the Senate were tint wasting time on the Archbald trial and were not likely , to waste more on oratory. A commis sion of engineers is ready to report a plan for the construction a Govern ment railroad to the coal districts and Congress at the present session should authorize the execution of this part of Mr. Fisher's plans. The whole sub ject of conservation is too large to be deal with at the short session of a r.-.oribund Congress, but it should be possible to dispose of that part of it which concerns Alaska. Land legislation in general will rrobably be postponed until the first regular session of the new Congress. The extra session will be devoted mainly to the tariff. If any other sub jects are disposed of. they will prob ably be the trusts or monetary re form,, possibly both. By the expira tion of another year, Mr. Fisher's suc cessor should be well equipped to lay before Congress a general line of pol icy. We may hope then to see some thing done. Our land policy is not a party question and there should be no division along party lines. The policy of the present Administration differs in no essential particular from that put forward In the Democratic plat form. Its opponents will be the few remaining friends of private exploita tion on the one hand and the radical Pinchot conservationists on the other. Neither should be allowed to block the safe middle-ground legislation that is in harmony with the opinions of the great body of both the old parties. GREECE AS A NATAL POWER. If Greece should acquire the Aegean archipelago and the Aegean coast of Turkey in Europe, a new maritime power of some conseq"nce would ap pear in the Mediterranean. With Sa lonica, Crete, Lemnos. Rhodes and Chios added to her naval bases, Greece could practically control the Aegean, prevent the weakened Turks from sending warships out of the Dardan elles, make a descent on the ports of Asia Minor and Syria in any future war, and through the proximity of Rhodes to the Suez Canal could make it to England's interest to court her friendship- Additions to the Greek coast on ho Ionian and Adriatic Seas would enable the kingdom to exact added respect from Italy and Austria and render her a necessary member of a league of Balkan states. The ancient Greeks were naturally a maritime people. From the defeat of Xerxes in the great naval battle of Salamis Greece ruled the waves for centuries as effectually as Britannia has ruled them for the last century. Her hardy seamen roamed through the Mediterranean and planted colo nies on every hand. What they did, the modern Greeks may do again un der changed conditions and on a smaller scale. By attaching such a maritime people to the triple entente, Britain, France and Russia could do much to counterbalance the growth of Italian and Austrian naval power and could retain naval supremacy in the Mediterranean. The triple alliance may be expected to exert itself for the reduction to the smallest limit of the accessions of ter ritory to be made by Greece at the peace congress. Austria covets the seacoast claimed by Greece, and Italy will not relish the prospect of hand- Ine over - her ambitious little neigh bor the Islands conquer- from Tur key In the Trlpolltan war and to be returned by the terms of the treaty of Lausanne. KIAT MONEY AGAIN? If Bryan should be in "Wilson's Cabi net, he will probably have much in fluence in shaping the new President's plans for dealing with the money ques tion. The following paragraph from the Commoner stating Bryan's posi tion is therefore Important: Mr. Brysn does not advocate the retire ment of outstanding; National bank currency, but he opposes any enlargement of the prlv. lieges now enjoyed by National banks and he believes that such emergency currency aa may be necessary should be issued by the Government and not by the banks. Is this to be taken as a hint that the Renunciations of National banks and the advocacy of fiat money, which were current in 1896, are to be re vived? Should Bryan be in the Cabi net, he will be in a position to pour his plausible heresies Into Wilson's ear. He has never recanted his financial errors, but has only kept them in re serve ready to be sprung at some con venient season. Perhaps that season is at hand. y JACOB KAMMl Jacob Kamm was during a great part of his long life identified with the development of river transportation in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. His life story is indeed in a graphic per sonal sense the history of early steam boating on the Columbia and Willam ette Rivers and the growth of the pioneer craft into the great fleets of the Oregon Steam Navigation Com pany, the Oregon Railroad & Naviga tion Company and their successors and competitors. ' He had other large in terests, however, but all were more or less directly related to his transpor tation service and Investment. He made a considerable fortune, and kept it; for, added to a carefulness of mind and frugality of habit, he had a keen and bold business Judgment, which guided him safely through many ven tures. The name of Mr. Kamm was widely known scarcely less known, indeed, In the closing years of his life than in its most active period. If he has built no monuments of philanthropy or public charity, it is at least true that he was implicitly trusted by his associates and respected by his em ployes, and that he was incapable of dishonesty or dishonor. He was tem perate, unobtrusive and attentive to his own affairs. He lived lone be cause he lived decently and modestly. He was misunderstood by the puDlic, possibly because it was his humor not to be understood. Yet he is known in have trlven freelv to Dartlcular in stitutions. He left something besides a large fortune a good name. THE PENSION ROLL PERPETUAL. While the number of pensions an nually decreases, the amount expend ed in pensions will annually increase for a number of years. There was a rlerrenre during- the last fiscal year of 31,804 pensioners, the number on July 1, 1912, having been 860,294. During the year there was a decrease of 14.338.726 in the amount paid, but the service pension law will cause a rapid increase hereafter, the appro priation for the present fiscal year be-ino- lifiJKOa.nno and the estimate for the following year $185,000,000. The new law has caused the number ot pending applications to increase from 36.793 at the beginlng of the last year to 422.464 at its close. Hnw Inns- n time will elanse before rho nnvmenr of nensions to Civil War veterans and their widor s will cease may be inferred from the fact that the last widow of a Revolutionary War rpipniTi did not die until Novem ber 11, 1906, Dr 125 years after the surrender of Torktown, that the last nendnned soldier of 1812 died in 1905, nr nlnetv vwirn after that war closed. and that 238 widows of 1812 still draw pensions. Wo mnv therefore expect the last widow of a Civil War veteran to sur vive until 1990. Veterans of the Span, ish War and their widows will keep thA nonnlnn mil alive after that date and we can scarcely hope to escape war In the Interim. As. pensioners oi one war drop off the rolls, those of another war take their places. Pen sions may be considered a perpetual cause of public expense. NEAT BTATE RIGHTS AND PLAIN ENGLISH. The Southern Oregon newspaper sponsor for the unntelligible railroad rate law the Medford Mail-Tribune has become an alarmist. It hyster ically announces that the destruction of the Oregon system is threatened by the legal attack made by the railroads upon the validity of the act. It will be remembered that the act was ap proved by the voters at the polls. Therefore, we presume, it is the idea of the Jackson County oracle that the act should be held religiously sacred, never to be amended or repealed by the Legislature or construed by the courts, and that interstate commerce and the Nation itself must bow. If their rights are invaded, to the will of the sovereign people of Oregon. I may be pertinent to call to mind that it was In Jackson County that it was proposed by county act to amend the National bank law, and that the people- of that oounty solemnly voted on the question at the recent election. Luckily for ' the Oregon system, the bank law was defeated, for had it carried, a and unresponsive Uncle Sam would have declined to accept its provisions and "the right of the people of Oregon to make their own laws" would have been thereby denied. The rate bill is declared by the Jackson County authority to be "so clearly drawn that it needs no inter pretation. So ' was the Jackson County bank bill. If we have reached the stage where clear wording will override National enactments, we have secured something by peaceful means which one section of the country failed to obtain by shedding much blood. But is the rate bill simply worded? Here is the first section': Section 1. Th classification ratings of freight shall bear a unirorm relationship of one class to another clasa.- and the percent age of the first class shall be 100 and the other classes shall be the following; percent, ages of th first olass: Classes! 1 284BABCDB Perceptaf es. . 100 84 70 69 GO 42 85 29 24 20 The first question . that arises is what is meant by "classification rat ings." In railroad parlance the term means the fixing of rates charged for the movement of freight by grouping freight in classes each of which is given a general rate. It is required by the act that these rates shall be "uniform" in some uncertain particu lar. The word "uniform" cannot re fer to the schedule of percentages, for those percentages are specifically fixed by the law and are not . uniform. There Is a variation of percentages between nearly every class. The rail roads adopt the construction that the rate on one commodity in a certain class must be uniform with the rate on every other commodity in the same class: therefore no special low com modity rate can be given . on any freight because all freight is classi fied. But even this construction leaves part of the section meaningless, for the law provides that the uniform ity shall be in the relationship of one class to another class, yet the speci fied schedule of classes makes that Im possible by Imposing anything but uni formity. It is our understanding that the au thors of the bill contend that it does not affect special commodity rates. To pbtain this construction one must materially change the wording of the first section, as well as read an excep tion into another, part of the act. The reading the author seems to place on the first section is this: "The . classes under which freight is rated shall bear a fixed re lationship of one class to another olass, and the percentage of the first class shall be 100 and the other classes shall be the following per centages of the first class." The meahing is thus constructively changed by reading "classification rat ings of freight" to refer to "classes under which freight is rated," and by using : the word "fixed" Instead of "uniform." - The law is "clearly drawn" in much the same way in other sections. Its author apparently had scant knowl edge of ordinary word meanings, and it will be necessary to obtain court construction of the act in several par ticulars before its meaning will be established should it ever pass mus ter as a whole. Ol'R GREATEST BATTLESHIP. The new dreadnought Pennsylvania, bids for which are soon to be opened, will be larger by 4000 tons' displace ment than any of her older sisters. Her displacement will be 31,500 tons, as compared with 27,500 tons for the ships now under construction. She will be somewhat longer than the New York, Texas, Nevada or Oklahoma, her greater displacement being due principally to the greater ' weight of her armor. This will materially ex ceed the present standard of "eleven inches in thickness. The speed of the Pennsylvania wl.l be about 21 knots ah hour, which is about the utmost practicable for so heavy a vessel. The ship will burn oil as fuel, but the type of her en gines has not been decided. If she were driven at full speed all the time, turbines would be more economical, but, as she will usually cruise at half speed, reciprocating engines may be preferred. In armament the new ship will also excel all others. She will have twelve 14-inch guns, as compared with ten of that size on the last four ships author ized, while older ships have only 12 inch guns. The big guns will be mounted three in each of four turrets, in such manner that all can be fired in a broadside. The ship will be equipped with every modern device, including torpedo tubes, and possibly catapults for launching aeroplanes. The cost will be about 314,000,000, of which 37,425,000 has been appropri ated for the hull and machinery. How great and how rapiJ has been the advance in size, speed and arma ment of our battleships is apparent from comparison of the Pennsylvania with the Oregon, which was queen of the Navy in the Spanish War, no longer ago than fourteen years. The Pennsylvania's "displacement will be more than three times that of the Ore gon, which is 10,288 tons. The Ore gon's speed is only 16 knots against the Pennsylvania's 21, and she mounts only four 13-inch guns against the Pennsylvania's twelve 14-inch. The Delaware was considered the last thing In battleships at the British na val review only two years ago, but her tonnage is less than two-thirds that of the Pennsylvania. GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES. The Christmas which is almost here will be notable to students of folk lore because it marks the hundredth anniversary of the publication ol Grimm's Fairy Tales. The event will be celebrated in literary centers with ceremonies befitting one of the epoch making Incidents in the history of science. There were two of the Broth ers Grimm, Jacob and William. They won renown among the learned by the compilation of an Immense German dictionary and by epochmaking work in comparative philology as well as by their collection of fairy stories, but it is the last book which has endeared them to the heart of the world. Ev ery college student Is reminded of their place in philology by that "Law of the Procession of the Mutes" which he has to learn at the beginning of his Greek grammar. This law ex plains why It is that a German turns "time" Into "dime" when he is speak ing English, for example, and why he makes "game" of "came." The lin gual mutes, t, d, th, tend to pass into one another either forward or back ward according to the habits of the people who are trying to pronunce them. And it Is the same with the other mutes. They form the frame work of all spoken language' The vowels are mere ornaments, of no par ticular importance to philology. The Grimm brothers . were as af fectionate as possible to one another all their lives. They lived and worked together and only separated when thair duties compelled. They were familiar figures in the learned world of Germany until 1863, when Jacob died. Bachelors for many years and wholly absorbed in their erudite re searches, still their lives were not without romantic adventures. Like Wagner, Schiller and many other great Germans of that time they felt the movings of the revolutionary spirit, and when in 1837 the King of Hanover abolished the constitution of his country Jbcob Grimm and his brother were among the seven brave professors who protested against the arbitrary act. For this they were im prisoned, but no doubt approving con sciences took away the sting of their punishment. In the "revolutionary year," 1848, Jacob was elected a mem. ber of the Frankfort Parliament. They may have looked upon their col lection of fairy tales with something of the same shy contempt which Lewis Carroll felt for his Alice books. When Queen Victoria complimented him upon his wonderful genius for amusing children Carroll replied with stiff reserve that his true fame rested on his mathematical works. The point of the story is that his mathematical works are not worth a pinch of snuff even to scientists, while "Alice In Vonderland" is a treasure forever to all mankind. We do not suppose that the Grimm brothers were ever foolish enough to despise their "Kinder und Haus Maerchen," but ' it must have added to their satisfaction with the book to know that it was valued by the learned as well as by the people. . It really Hid the foundation of the folk-lore studies which have been so fruitful for the last century. , The Grimm brothers did not invent their fairy stories. They merely collected them and perhaps edited them a lit tle. The English translation has been frightfully edited, so much so that it has lost a good deal of the racy humor which makes the joy of the original. The tales were gathered by the Win ter fireside in peasant huts, from talks in the fields with laborers, from gar rulous old women who had nothing else to think of except the stories they had heard when they were little girls.. One such woman, a Frau Viehmaennin, was particularly rich in memories of this kind. More of the fairy stories came from her, perhaps, than from all other, sources. For one of the later editions of the book she provided all the new material, and it was considerable. Since the fairy tales were collected from lowly nar rators, they naturally contained the ideas, ways, of thought and humorous vulgarities which abound in the speech of such people. God and heaven are treated with astonishing familiarity. Germans of all classes speak of Der Liebe Gott a great deal more lightly than we do. The French have the same habit. "Mon Dieu" amounts to nothing worse than "my dear suz" on their lips. This Intimacy with the Almighty runs through the fairy stories as the Grimm brothers published them, but it has been edited out of the English translation. Per haps the tales have been made more edifying by the process and perhaps not. The collection became interesting to scientific men through the discov ery that the fairy tales were in a sense universal. In one form or another the stories which were told to German children by the fireside were known to the Finns, the Norwegians and even to the-Hindoos. This discovery made the beginning of a new science, the study of folklore, and thus contributed an important section to anthropology. In another direction it a-- the study of comparative literature and religion going. But of course the genuine im portance of the fairy tales to the world lies not in their scientific uses, but in the pleasure they give children. This is as keen now as it was in the dim primitive ages when they were invented. There Is something about them which appeals to the child's In telligence with perennial power. The morality of the stories is of that rough and ready kind which invariably re wards virtue and punishes vice. Poetic Justice prevails everywhere. Riches go always to the deserving. Cruelty Is delivered up to torture and tyranny never escapes full retribution. They present to the imagination a world whefe everything happens just as it ought. The truth of the matter Is that the only truly rational world we know anything about exists in fairy stories. They express the ideal of the oppressed. They voice the hunger of the human heart for the Justice it never got anywhere except in the realm of Imagination. From this fact it must be clear to everybody how wholesome the stories are. The best thing about them Is their freedom from sentimentality and gush. Every thing that happens Is accepted with calm philosophy.. Head3 are cut off without disturbing the erene current of the story.. Tears flow as a matter of course. The cruel Btepmother gets her dues in a barrel, of sharp nails without causing anybody to stop and lament. Death is an Incident like birth and of no moro consequence. The stories accept the world, not as It is, but as it ought to be, and make no fuss over the processes by which the ideal end is attained. When our richest men are able to finance a successful revolution in a country of 15,000,000 people, and al most to involve us in war, as the Sen ate committee says was the case with the Madero revolution in Mexico, we can realize the power enjoyed by multi-millionaires. In the light of the committee's report, we can realize that the shooting of Americans in border battles was not entirely accidental and may have been designed to pro voke intervention. It is quite proba ble that Taft knew more than he ever made known about the influences be hind the revolution and that this knowledge strengthened . his determi nation not to intervene. He would have been a pretty spectacle, had he, while prosecuting the trusts at home, allowed them to dupe him into play ing catspaw for them In Mexico. The Representatives who protested most loudly against the literary test for immigrants, came from the states which have the largest proportion of illiterate foreign immigrants, em ployed in the industries from which we hear the loudest cry for protection against the pauper labor of Europe Pennsylvania and Massachusetts wish to be allowed to import this pauper labor, pay it European wages, and to have a protective tariff based on the assumption that they employ Ameri can labor at American wages. They "play both ends against the middle." i - loi-turer at Farmers' Week at Corvallis places blame on housekeep ers for much of the mgn cost, in mat tvnir dpvntn too little time in prepar ing food. Perhaps he is right. The frying pan and skillet are too nandy in most homes. They not only call for the best and most expensive cuts of meat, but increase the family doc tor and medicine bills. a tart at interest In the report of the Controller ia that National banks might ' increase their circulation a nIn. nf morn than S300.000.000. which would materially loosen any possible stringency. He who finds a bunch of another's money and fails to give it to the own er will also find it is tainted when he disposes of it to his own benefit. Peter, the talking cat of Hamburg, ica nr.t n much of a novelty. Any old torn can climb the back fence at mid night and yell "Marl-ar!" F. Augustus Helnze follows royal precedent in protecting the Identity of the "lady." Hlllman wants to get out of Mc Neil's, and as Hlllman has oodles of cola he may succeed. The man imbedded In the concrete dam at Keokuk is there to stay until resurrection morn. When the peace conference is done with the carving, Turkey will at least have the dish. 'Tis the week before Christmas and father's present is still unbought LAWS FROM LEAST INTERESTED Bankers Should Not Have Whole Say In Drafting; Monetary Bill. PORTLAND. Dec. 15. (To the Edi tor.! What The Orearonian remarked in an editorial of Friday on "A Great Opportunity for the Democratic Party, is very pertinent and appropriate and if the opportunity is given it will un doubtedly go forward to merit your best wishes. I say "If because Bryan gives us warning that the Republicans will endeavor to pass the Aldrich monetary bill through the tail end of this session, unless Democrats are on guard. Taft's well-known predilection for that scheme, which was brought into life by the bankers after several years of musing, affords the only pos sibility of its becoming a law, as it was specifically condemned by over 11,000, 000 voters at the last election. You intimate that the Aldrich bill was approved in committee by both parties, but as you must remember, that committee is an entailment left over by the Aldrich-Cannon combine and was composed with but one conception, by bankers' or persons In closely af filiated relationship. I have no doubt your good judg ment will constrain you, as it did our forefathers, to the attitude that those most interested should have the least to say on a matter so vital to the mil lions of our population. This inference was clearly in mind to them where, on naee 20 of the Journal of the United States Senate, first session of the third Congress assembled at Philadelphia December 2, 1793, will be found the following resolution offered on Decem ber 23 ot the same year, ana passed that body with but two dissenting votes: signed by George Washington, President, and Samuel Adams, Vice- President, which reads as follows: "Any person holding any office or any stock in any institution in tne nature of a bank for Issuing -or dis counting bills, or notes payable to bearer or order, cannot be a member of the ffouse whilst he holds such office or stock." This is as good policy today as it was 119 years ago, and the Democrats will seek to enforce that rule. Just at present, however. Senator Poindexter and Congressman Llnaeoergn, Dotn tte Dublicans. are attempting to get this subject matter before their respective bodies In the same attempt. The Aldrich money plan is a very comprehensive, satisfying one ror tne bankers as framed by themselves: no one can criticise its perfect symmetry to accomplish favorable results to them. But it subverts the Inalienable right held by the people, as expressed by the Constitution "to coin (emit) money and regulate the value thereof," which by the Aldrich bill is surrendered to the bankers for 50 years. Other happy advantages accrue to the bankers. One of which Is Uncle Sam must deposit all his moneys in the Central Bank and lean on the strong arm of that alliance, when he needs money like an ordinary indivi dual. However as the whole matter will be up for discussion In your columns I hope, I will not Intrude farther at this time except to say President Wilson is committed to the justness and neces sity "that any man any where and at any time should have a loan in legal tender.' if he can produce good in destructible security therefor on a thoroughly safe basis for the accom modation. If the banker cannot furnish this the Government should." Is that not a splendid slogan to unfurl at the mast head? Just one other question; you speak as If the county bankers were obliged to send their deposit security money to the New Tork or Chicago banks; under what law? I heard a rumor in 1907 our bankers promised with tears of contrition that they "would never do It again." CHARLES P. CHURCH. CONSUMERS AND FANCY PACKAGE I.ivlner Coat Ia Increased by People's Demand for Goods In Small Lots. KELSO, Wash., Dec 14. (To the Ed Itor.) I read an article in The Ore gonian, "Profit Takers and Living Cost," that lays all the blame -of the high cost of living to the middleman, and It is surprising the number of peo ple there are who really believe this. I think it is safe to say that nine out of ten men in the mercantile business (and they are the ones that know) will tell you that the high cost of living is caused by the consumer ana nim aione It is truly said that it pays to ad vertise, and when the good housewife sees in her favorite magazine an ad vertisement of "baked beans better than mother used to make" at 15 cents a can, weighing less than one pound, she immediately tries them out instead of getting a full pound for 6 cents and baking them herself. Also vinegar that the merchant sells at 35 cents a gal lon comes handier to the careful (?) manager at 15 cents per bottle, five bottles to the gallon of the same vin eear, which makes it 75 cents a gal lon. Take coal oil that costs the mer chant 9 cents a gallon In iron tanks and 16 cents in cans. It would astonish you to see the number willing and anxious to pay 35 cents for that can. Tbjs list could be made to reach from Portland to the mouth of the Columbia, but what's the use? They must have the fancy package, can or bottle. Bulk goods will not do, and as long as they demand it and pay the price the mer chant is going to furnish it. Another place the consumer is at fault is buying In small quantities. For instance, when potatoes are selling at $1 per 100 pounds, .when you buy in small quantities you pay 1 cents a pound. In other words, every time you cause the merchant to break a pack age you have to pay for the paper, twine and clerk's time, or store ex pense.' Suppose a hotel or restaurant would buy in little dabs, as most people do today, how long would it stay in busi ness? The high cost of. living will be a thing of the past when people put away their vegetables, flour, meat, etc., in the Fall as our fathers did, and do not demand that their groceries be de livered in an automobile with a college graduate at the wheel. The article mentioned read: "A man well posted in the rojery business Uld me that 40 per cent was the usual profit made on sales in that business." If that is the profit that man gets there are certainly a lot of us that would pay something to learn his system. He does not understand why a merchant should mark a coat $75 at the beginning of a season and at the end of the season sell it for $30. It is the consumer again. The man or woman who buys where he or, she can have the largest assortment to select from. They de mand variety. Knowing this the mer chant selects his stock and at the same time knows they are not all '"going to take" and he has to put the price on those that do sell to offset what he loses on the others when they are placed on sale. The writer's idea of a public market is a good one, but the man who sells his celery with a little pink ribbon around it will get 15 cents a bunch, while the man in the next stall cannot sell his without the ribbon at 5 cents. If you don't believe these things to be true hand this to your good friend the merchant end ask him. R. T. KING. Pointer for Old Santa. - Life. Street waifs (viewing Christmas tree festivities through window of mansion) "Ain't it funny, Jim, they's our broters and sisteri?" "How'd you know?" "Teacher said we all was brothers an' sisters." "Gee! I wl6h Santa Claua knew that.' ' Sample of Suppressed Hauteur. Baltimore American. . He She swept out the room with re pressed hauteur. She Why didn't she do it with a broom . PENSIONING WIDOWED MOTHCBS Omission of Some Sussestlons Ex plained j Purpose Outlined. PORTLAND, Dec. 13. (To the Ed itor.) The Oregon Congress of Mothers has framed a bill known as the "De pendent Widows Pension Bill." The main objects have already been pub lished, namely that the state pension the widow whose husband is dead or is an inmate of some Oregon state in stitution ,or is totally unable physical ly to work, and whose support and the support of the children are dependent on her labor. The county in which such a mother resides is to pay her $10 per month for one child under the age of 16, and $7.50 for eaoh additional child. In sending out this bill for in dorsement we find that the principle of the bill is unanimously Indorsed by men and women wherever presented. Many have heartily Indorsed it Just as it is framed. We also find the people are so magnanimous that they wish to include other clauses, such as providing for widowers, for women deserted by their husbands and for unmarried mothers. The Congress of Mothers wishes to make this bill state wide, to prevent an influx of widows into Multnomah County, which would necessarily in crease the taxation for this county. After consultation with those who understood the situation in Ore gon, and with careful consideration, it was deemed best to present a single bill that would not incur a heavy mill tax at this time, which must be in creased considerably if further provi sions are made. It is because we feel it the duty of the mother to remain with her children that we have prepared this bill invok ing the state to come to her partial support. In serving her the state will reap its reward in a higher type ot citizenship. As to pensioning widowers, we might ask: will the widower be content to remain at home to mother the children for the small pension set aside for this purpose? Few cases are sadder than those where a poor father is left with several small children. No pension could be great enough to fill such a void. Most men can earn at the very least twice the amount of such pension, which will enable them to pro vide proper means to support their children in respectability; As to the woman who is deserted. W fully realize there are many pathetic cases where help In some way should be given, and where counties might make special provision, but we have found that hundreds of citizens strongly op pose such a measure being included in this bill, on the ground that the state would be encouraging the shiftless, un principled man to "take French leave" of his family any time, complacently living elsewhere with the assurance that his family was being cared for by the taxpayers of Oregon. It is the privilege of our legislators to add various other clauses to this bill and increase the tax necessary to cover such provision. We are asking for not less than one tenth mill nor more than two-tenths mill of taxable property in each county. There are some who think the amount allowed is too great, others too small. To the former, I wish to ask how much of such an amount would remain in the average family of three or four chil dren after the rent (in a respectable neighborhood) is paid and school books purchased? Let us not forget that the average cost of children cared for In our state Institutions, comprising the State In dustrial School, Boys and Girls' Aid Society, Children's Home and the Baby Home amounts to $11.25 per month per child, and that eventually much of this expense to the state will be simply transferred to another account, namely, the dependent widows' pension. Another question asked is: Will there not be a great influx of poor widows and children come to Oregon? Wash ington, Idaho and California are now planning to legislate on a similar meas ure, as well as many other states. Surely every state wishes to conserve the family relationship, and especially its children, for the whole foundation of our commonwealth rests in the proper rearing of its boys and girls physically, mentally and spiritually. This is what the Congress of Mothers is trying to do through educating the parents and elevating the home life. Therefore we feel that no labor on our part In behalf of this bill can be too great. The children in our state institutions have been well provided for under the supervision of efficient officers, but there Is no love like the maternal love and no home like the one presided over by the mother. MRS. ROBERT H. TATE. Acting President Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teachers Association. SOCIALISM A RECURRING DREAM It Is Outgrowth of Unrest but Offers No Good Substitute for Condition. PORTLAND, Dec. 15. (To the Edi tor.) Mr. Moses Baritz, as the organ izer of the Socialist party In Canada, explains his views very clearly to the effect that a Socialist cannot be a Christian, but must necessarily, be op posed to all religious faith. Mr. Baritz undoubtedly is right, and his statement comes the nearest being a correct explanation of one of the fundamental principles on which the theory of Socialism is founded. The fact is, no one seems to know what Socialism really is, and this is for the simple reason that in reality it does not exist. Socialism, in my opinion. Is a theory, an imagination of some day dreamers growing out of the unsettled condition of today. It is supported by. a class of worthy cithns who hon estly believe in the theory. They are continually finding fault with the present condition, but offer no logical solution for betterment of the great problems confronting us. It seems strange that the theory of Socialism, which as such has existed from the beginning of history, has not formed lteelf into a substantial pre dominating National policy, though at times the enthusiasm of the theory burst forth in great revolutions. These, we will note, in looking back Into his tory, were caused by extreme oppres sion. We observe that Moore's Utopia was an Inspiration of a compassionate mind, moved to pity as It saw the mis ery and poverty in which the wars of the Roses had left England. In the "Oceanic" of Harrington we can also hear the literary echo of a civil con vulsion In which England had been rendered asunder during the days of Cromwell. So it is at this day. We are in a critical stage. All over the world there Is an unrest a disquietude, ex ternal and internal, and It is but nat ural that Socialism again should come floating up before men's eyes, only to fade away in the end. In short. Socialism stands for doing away with the most efficient factors of civilization, such ag religion, govern ment, political Institutions and scien tific knowledge in general, wltho'it substituting something better. JOHN OLSEN. President Taft's Record. BROWNSVILLE. Or., Dec. 14. (To the Editor.) Noticing the article writ ten by James M. Moran under date of December 11, in which he asks: "Was not Taft the most disappointing Presi dent we have had in the Executive chair since President Hayeg?" Will Mr. Moran kindly explain why Mr. Taft was so disappointing? Also I would like to be enlightened on the fol lowing: What Is it that Mr. Taft might have done that he has left undone? In what way might Mr. Tart have im proved on the things that he has done? I have not yet found any one who could answer these questions although I have asked every person whom I have heard finding fault with Mr. Taft. W. W. BAILEY. Sonnet to ihe Dove Br Dean Collins. Oh, Dove of Peace, after this spell of weather ' Among the Balkans, hie thee to thy perch; , . Hasten to smooth out rumpled crest and feather; And spread on earth the stillness or a church. When war's alarm rang and bade tnee flee , From all the cities of my loved Na tion Sailing across the wild Atlantic sea. Went a great tide of Grecian emigra tion. Behold my waiter when he heard the news , Forsook the restaurant for battle s line; Also went Pericles, who shines my shoes: Leaving me here, sans victuals and sans shine. Haste Dove of Peace and drive away those black. Clouds In the Balkans send my boot black back. H. Haste, Dove of Peace, allay the storm of war Between the trouncers and the Turks they're trouncing; My jaw is weary, worn and palsied, tor I've done my best, those Balkan names pronouncing. A few there were (such names as this: "Scutari") That I could do with pleasure ana with esse; But those which drove me nigh to . hari-kari. Were spelt and sounded very like a sneese. Tchataljo, loveliest village of the vale. Has wrenched my diaphragm and. bruised my Hp; .i.h.w i shattered 'neatn the nail U Of falling cities in that Balkan trip. Haste, Dove! uonnrm mo u framed for peace And let my wrestling with my atlas . cease. Half a Century Ago From Th Oregonlan of December IS. 1862. Recent developments Indicate that the danger of foreign intervention In our domestic strife Is really greater than had been supposed. The French Emperor, it appears, has made the pro position to the British Government to recognize the Southern Confederacy. This the British have wisely declined to do, but we owe no thanks to their forbearance, for they are none the less the enemies of our nationality. General Buell's oonduct Is to be ex amined into by a military commission. Speaking of the new mall contract let to L. A. Mullen at $74,000 a year, a Walla Walla correspondent of the Lewiston Age says: "This stupendous appropriation by the Postofftce Depart ment for a Bervlce that hundreds of good, responsible men in this territory would be glad to give for one-third of this pay is creating a sensation throughout the whole Coast." The remains of Mr. Frank Mc'ialey, of Marion County, were brought down on The Dalles boat yesterday on their way to Marion for interment. Mr. Mc Haley died at his brother's house on Dog River, of measles, aggravated by cold. Much curiosity was excited by the spectacle of a coffin being hauled through the streets. At a regular meeting of Willamette Lodge, A. F. and A. M.. the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: C. H Lewis, W. M.; J. W. Cook, S. W.; P. C. Schuyler. Jr., J. W.: H. Seymour, treasurer; S Pennoyer, sec retary, and F. M. Arnold, tyler. The law firm of Williams. Gibbs Hoffman has been dissolved by mutual consent. George H. Williams, A. C Glbbs, J. J. Hoffman. LARGE FEES FOR LITTLE LABOR Correspondent Classes Them Wltk Usury and Wsnts Reform. PORTLAND, Deo. 16. (To the Edi tor ) In re the letter in The Oregonlan December 11, signed Will, I will say that after some years' experiencs In business and close study of human na ture I feel somewhat the same. In justice? Why! this country Is teeming with courts of Justice, but do we get It? Justice should be common sense and not fraught with legal technicali ties. There are too many laws and too many technicalities, due in a great measure to lawyers. There is no honest profit except that wrested from mother earth or received In exchange for honest toil. ... Lawyers and others make a deal or fuss about usury which is supposedly regulated by law. Thev would have laws limiting the railroads to 3 cents - Miia tarrvine n&flaenorers. laws regulating charges for freight and again, without looking Into experi ence of maintenance, they wuuld regulate rawroaa BmpiujM f hours without saying how much energy they should give in return. They would i . v. .. thft anl of arame. the roijuiaiv " " pay of public offlclalivi the-cost of edu cation, the importation of certain wares j h . ,-1 f tiieronn in fact every thing in the universe if they could, but would they welcome a law reBuiuu attorneys' fees? So much depends on whose ox is being gored. There should be a law making a charge of over 10 per cent of amount ln nlvll fnA ItauriOUS. It would be Impossible to get this except by a vote or tne peopie, u monv nttnrnpvft in both the upper and lower houses. Were I a politician I wouia ian tru r i . OTrt-o law vera to either UKttlllBh BCHW6 " house to give us more technicalities. I know or an instance wuic " j charged a man $100 for a few words of advice and for writing a letter 1.1 f nrhtfh hr 0 1 B h t ft h 0 11 1 the desired result. Now what would be i .1 a iarovman who charared as DWU V J ' ' much for a bit of spiritual advice, or . t.nAJl tl AA sa nil. i i an amt.Hr ovf-n t h nil irh h A miniBiciinB " --'- did get the desired result an-d save a human lire i a lawyer uncu tamo w a hospital, where I had lain on my back for months to pret me to sig-n a mortgagee to him on my property for a fat fee. He charged me not only for .iVAnfintr sjamA. Kut aAA i t i nnal at- i uiurj torney's fees for making- up tne mortgage ana j.u tor cumin; i .V.ih nnot htm 1 ft f OfltH Car II US L 1 lai TV tisv (I kwoi w fare and took 30 minutes of his valu able time. I don"t know if this was I AW . TK TtlMa HflVM VOU UBUIIUUO Ul tlwi in, o shall not charge usury, but I fail to nna wnero it oennes tne wuim. v i. r nnn.KAw u m where a x niiuw ei 1 1 u v 1 1 . i lawyer caused all of a man's property, that exempt by law with the rest, to oe seized ror a large cmim. j-.j i x.t. i . , . UA.I-t nf shout 145. but costs, keepers' fees, attorneys" fees ana other rees ran up to this Justice? Not all lawyers do these things. One of my best friends is a thoroughly conscientious attorney-at- law. . It is the law, and tne lawyer nanay with his technicalities that deprive man of his life, liberty and pursuit of hap piness. By this time you think me a nihilist; .not so. The present social system is pretty good, but It needs some "lixln'." I voted for capital pun ishment and stand for law and order, a simplified code, a sure form of Justice. I don't claim to be prominent nor able, but think we need "a little more pati ence, a little more charity for all, a little more devotion, a little more love; with less bowing down to the past" H. R. N. ,