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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 1919)
to THE MORNING OREGON! AN, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1919. ESTABLISHED BY HENRY I.. PITTOCK. Publ! bllshed by The Oregonian Publishing Co.. n ifti street. Portia I. B. C. A MO R DEN. PIl'KK. Editor. Manager. Th Oregonian i a member of the Asso eiated Press. The Associated Press Is exnuslvely entitled to the use for publica tion of all news dispatch's credited to it or not otherwise credited In this paper and also the local news published herein. Al. rights of republication of special dispatches herein are aisu reserved. (subscription Kate- Invariably In Advance. tSy Mail.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year Daily. Sunday included, six months . Dally. Sunday included, three months Daily. Sunday included, one month Dally, without Sunday, one year . . . . raily. without Sunday, six months .. Dally, without Sunday, one month . . $8.00 4.5 ".T3 6.00 3 I!."' .60 Week !y. one year Sunday, one year Eund&y and weekly ........ 1.11" 2 (By Carrier.) Ta11v, Sunday included, one year Dally. Sutwiay included, three months. Daily, Sumiay included, one month Dally, without Sunday, one year Daily, without Sunday, three months $.nn --- 75 er, lanly. without Sunday, one monm llot o Remit Send Dostofflce money order, express or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or " " owner's rl.sk. Give postotfice aaareas in full. IncliiditiK county and state. PoMslr Kates 1-J to IK pastes. 1 cent 18 to 3J pagea, 2 cents; :U to 4S pages. 3 fonts: .VI to tin pace. cents. t pages. 5 cents; 7H to 82 pases. 6 cents. Foreign postage, double rates. Eastern Itimincs Office Verree 4 Conk- lln. Brunswick building. New York; Verree Conklin. steger bui dmg, Chlcaco; ver ree & Conklin, Free Press building. De troit. Mich. San Francisco representative. It. J. Bldwell. - AFTER ONE YEAR. This first anniversary of the armis tice with Germany Is a day for re joicing over the tremendous victory r.f which it was the climax. It is day to honor the men and women who won it by their valor, their self- sacrifice, their patient endurance, by all the powers of manhood and womanhood. We mention women as well as men in this connection, for they did their part right up to the battle line in caring for the wounded and sick, in providing food for the . Vmnerv and rest for the weary, and in keeping before the soldiers a re minder of the folks at home for whom thev were battling. It is also a day to honor those who worked realously at home in every branch of activity to win victory and to provide for the soldiers and sailors. It is a day when every good American should register a vow, and keep it. that he will do his full part to insure that no man who wore khaki shall ever want. The most practical, im mediate" way to do this is to sub- scribe to the Red C ross, the one great. never-failing, unresting agency of mercy. As we look back'with the advan tage of a year's perspective on those momentous first few days of Novem ber and consider the events of that year, doubts arise whether the war should have ended when it did. As things seemed then, the allies had won all thev wanted. The Ameri cans had beaten the German left the British and Belgians the German right and the French were hammer ing the German center to pieces The enemy confessed himself beaten. "his army was disorganized, his fleet in mutiny, the kaiser a fugitive, the people in revolution and democracy seemingly triumphant. The allies dictated armistice terms which to all ,,,,, tv, t. v,-!-. - , , But subsequent events suggest that Germany needed an absolute knock out blow. It welcomed the soldiers In Berlin as "our undefeated army" and gave many signs that, though it bad become democratic in form it still remained militarist, faithless and ruthless in spirit. Its objections to the peace terms were a mass of denials or distortions of the truth. Though driven by threats of renewed hostilities to sign the treaty, it im mediately began to break it. yhe allies seriously erred in not provid ing for occupation of the eastern as well as the western provinces. By ftiio nao-tart Vl 1 . - left on niwn l i O-h .way to the Baltic provinces. They left Von der Goltz's army in that re- gion, where he draws recruits Irom Prussia and where he remains in de fiance of the armistice, of the de mands of the allies and of the Ger man government. On November 11 an advance had begun which would have enveloped Metz, would have cut the sole remaining line of retreat. would have destroyed the German army and. would have sent its frag ments fleeing like a rabble across the Rhine. It was estimated that this could have been accomplished in ten days. If this final blow had been struck,' more severe terms could have been included in the armistice and the history of the last year might have been changed much for the better. The lessons of the last year, how ever, teach us to turn from whaf might have been, to what is, and to profit by the mistakes of that year in performing the duties of the fu - ture. When the armistice was "signed, only the first part of the ' work was finished, and in a certain sense it was the easiest part, for the American and the allied nations had been fired with a spirit of self-sacri fice which infused them with resist- . less power. With the cessation of hostilities this energizing spirit has -been lost and with too many has given place to selfish care for their . own national and personal interests The fervor of battle has been suc ceeded by the coldly practical and spiritually depressing work of the peace conference, by the labor troubles, disorders and local wars to v liich the people have abandoned themselves. Imagining that danger ended when war with Germany stopped, the people assume that the work of the war is finished and that they may safely fight out their inter- nal differences. Hence the ill- omened events at Fiume. at Buda- pest, in Silesia, the Baltic provinces and in Turkey, where the allies are again defied. The truth is that the war tore down the old structure of Europe, and the building of a new structure has barely begun. The work now in hand is dull drudgery compared with the awful, yet exhilarating work . of battle, but if it be neglected or ill done, that which has been done at the cost of millions of lives will be thrown away. The work now in ileum wimiaw in uniuiiig uie it a li una together in a league which shall pre - -"' vent future wars, at least of such magnitude, in deciding the terms of peace and executing them. While this is being done, the people must, be fed and clothed and put to work, that - production may be resumed on greater scale than ever and that the waste of war may be replaced. The lead in this work must be taken by the United States, for the nations are one family in which the big and strong murt help the small and weak. We have suffered least, --re sun strong and have abundance, while others have suffered to the point of exhaustion and impoverish ment. Then it becomes us to ratify the German treaty with such reser. vations as will guard our rights without impairing the effectiveness of the league, to quell the forces of revolution and disorder at home, to increase production to the maximum, to provide in liberal measure food, clothing and medical care for those nations which lack all of these things and to restore trade to its channels. Our own peace and security rest on general peace founded on freedom and justice. We can best guard this interest by generous helpfulness to other nations. We are the big brother among nations. Let us act the part. Kach individual cannot contribute to that end better than by joining the Red Cross. PASSING OF JOHN P. WARD. T. ..... . ... jonn t . ward uvea ine later yt-aia of his ,onET life in retirement in Port land, so that he was not personally iwiuw II lU lUduy lcloJJls CAtrt i-uu whose residence dates back a quar- .,. , centnrv r,H more To them he was well known. The announce ment of his death revives the full political . story of Oregon running from the stirring days of "the civil war through the momentous triple decade and more that began with reconstruction and ended with the election of McKinley in 1896. In all that long time John P. Ward had much to do with politics and politi cal management in Oregon. He held many offices, and he discharged every trust with fidelity and capac ity. His resourcefulness in practical political management was very great and made his favor and his service valuable both to individuals and to his party. It is likely that he knew as much from personal participation cf the ins and outs of Oregon politics as any man, living or dead.. He had a rare memory and a just apprecia tion of the part that other men had played and it was a pleasure and a benefit always to listen to him. The Oregon of today is a different commonwealth from the Oregon of a half century ago. Politics are dif ferent, of course, less intense, less personal, even less vital in any party sense. Mr. Ward lived in a time when the entire current of affairs was controlled, or very greatly col ored, by politics, when every political happening had a definite relation to the public interest industrial, eco nomic, social. In a very marked de gree, politics were more interesting then than now. As loyalty is less clearly acknowledged, and as orgtni- zation has been all but abandoned'. there has been no special use for managers of the peculiar and very remarkable talents of such men as Mr. Ward, and they have passed to the rear. Btit he and his activities are nevertheless a part of Oregon's history, and they will not be for gotten. Nor will he be forgotten, for many men trusted him, and they made no mistake. THE il I.I.1BI.KS. The greediest people usually are the gullible ones. Overweening de sire to get something for nothing is quite likely to lead its possessors into trap. Sixty taxicab chauffeurs in ew York for example recently paid liberal initiation fees to a man who knew human nature and who ex "T liceman and the judge of the traffic court were members of a well-known fraternal order, and that all they needed to do would be to give a cer tain sign to the officer on post and they would be permitted to violate the laws with impunity. The same was to apply in court if by a mis chance the policeman did not re spond. Of course these representations were false, as nearly any "hick" from the backwoods west of Jersey City and Weehawken would have known instinctively, and as the chauffeurs severally were destined to know, th Jirst time they attempted to give te mysterious signal and dash by in violation of the ordinance. The incident is illuminating because a New York taxi driver is supposed to represent about the last word in sophisticatedness. He is skilled in the art of extorting coin from the pockets of the unwary and unable to comprehend that the rest of the world is not also in a conspiracy to live by its wits at the expense of any who may not have the wit to protect themselves. The big confidence men long ago learned not to waste their time on the small fry. Cassie Chadwick won her measure of success by picking her victims among financiers whose outstanding trait was cupidity. No honest man was ever caught by a green-goods or a sick-engineer swin dle. Men who make their money in devious ways are prime raw material for the get-rich-quick artist. The author of the Wallingford stories made his hero attractive because the latter almost always got the better of men whose own schemes were at least questionable. Robin Hood jus tified common thievery on the ground that he took nothing from those who had come by their wealth honestly. The New York taxi chauffeurs who were so neatly taken in will not come in for anybody's sympathy. They ought to have known from their own experience that crooked ness really doesn't pay. Who, as a matter of fact, ever heard of a crook who died wealthy? Dishonesty practically without exception defeats itself if it is given time enough. THE RED WAR ON AMERICA The documents seized in raids on the quarters of the Union of Russian Workmen prove all that has been al leged, or even suspected, in regard to the purpose behind the strikes of this year, and the purpose of this and similar revolutionary organizations. They incite strikes for these ends. and they divert to these ends strikes begun by others for the ordinary aims of labor. Strikes are to be the skirmish fire which ushers in revo lution, and they are to be extended until they expand into actual revolu tion. A clean sweep is to be made of all existing government, of all those who maintain it and of all evidences of property of religion, until godless i ana rc i 1 y reigns supreme. 1 Soviet Russia, prostrate for two years under the red terror, is thus to be duplicated in the United States. The ruthless methods proposed are the same as were pursued by Lenine and his confederates. The terms a used are the same, even to the "vil lage commune." a distinctly Russian institution. We find the same hatred of religion as characterizes the reds of Russia. General Pershing is branded as a director of wholesale murder, though wholesale murder is urged in the cause of revolution. I The conspiracy which has been broken up is fulfillment of the threat of Lenine to make his bloody Rus sian Utopia worldwide. It is at tempted extension to America of the system which he directs from 'Mos cow. It is war on the United States, on democratic institutions, "on the right of a man to own anything, on the right of a man to believe in and worship God. It would substitute for this republic an oligarchy wading in blood like that which rules Russia. It is a part of a general war on hu man liberty, civilization, religion as they have toilsomely progressed for a thousand years since the dark ages. Its success would take 'the world I back to the condition to which it was reduced by the barbarian invasion of the Roman empire. All of this adds force to what has already been said of the folly dis played by President Wilson and the allies in not making relentless war on bolshevist Russia wheji it openly defied them and threatened to de stroy them in the summer of 1918. While they have been sending such men as Bullitt and Steffens to nego tiate, Lenine has been making war on them in their own territory by means of strikes, conspiracy and pro paganda. The one rational course was to tufn all their forces against bolshevism as soon as they had beat en Germany and to crush it in its breeding place. It was no mere mat ter of intervention between two fac tions which struggled for supremacy in Russia; it was a matter of war on a declared enemy of civilization, and of saving Russia as a part of the work of saving civilization. That this was not done is due to the presence in the administration of parlor bolshevists, who judged bol shevism by its communist ideals and refused to believe its hideous deeds ANOTHER NOTE-WRITING FIZZLE. D'Annunzio and his filibustering army are in Fiume. Who will put them out? Not Italy, ftr Italian soldiers could not be driven to attack them.. Not Prance and Britain, for they seem to have agreed with Italy on a plan by which Italy will get all that he expects to get and by which he may be enabled to claim a vic tory. But President Wilson refuses to accede to this plan, whatever it is in detail, and thus removal of a source of friction among the allies is delayed. The rebellious poet can be put out of Fiume only by force. , It is a moral certainty that President Wil son will not propose to use force and that. If he should, congress would not consent and the allies would not help, probably would vigorously oppose. Then we seem to have launched on another note writing campaign similar to those with Mexico and Germany, by which American diplomacy was brought into contempt because there was known to be no disposition to back the notes with force. Respect for the United States was not restored until we began to follow up words with deeds, yet the president leads the allies into another note-writing campaign, not only with Italy, but with Germany. Though Italy has a colorable claim to Fiume, the Jugo-Slavs have the better of the argument, but the allies have lost the opportunity to enforce their decision. This' could hava been insured only by occupation by the disinterested allies in such force as could have overcome any attack, with plain notice that either Italians or Jugo-Slavs would be re sisted. Their best escape from a dilemma of their own making is to make the best compromise they can and to trust the league of nations to do more exact justice. WHAT ABOUT IT? The real questions before the tax- payers, says a correspondent today, in discussing the special city election, "are whether economy and efficiency in expenditure pf tax funds are prac ticed, are the proposed improvements so necessary that they should be done before the effect of war on prices has passed, and is it honest for one who will profit by such in creased expenditures to vote for them?" The improvements referred to by the correspondent are improvements already petitioned for by property owners who stand ready themselves to pay for them in the form of dis trict assessments. The only bearing the additional tax levy has on these improvements is the ability that will thereby be conferred on the city to perform the engineering work. While the improvements in prospect will cost about $3,500,000 the charge im posed by them upon the taxpayers generally will be about 5 per cent of that amount. It is clear that every other property owner will profit to the extent ot 5 per cent of the value of these improvements if they are carried forward. If the property owners directly benefited are willing to pay 9 5 per cent of the cost of the work, it would be small indeed for the general public which pays but 6 per cent thereof, to object because of present-day prices, the inflation of which may be permanent. On the question of municipal ex travagance comparative figures shed an interesting light. For the year 1914 the city of Portland had avail able for general fund expenditures the sum of $3,367,267. This sum comprised tax revenues, saloon and other license revenues and a balance carried over from the preceding year. For the year 1919, the city has had available for general fund expendi- i tures acquired from all sources the sum of $3,223,591. At the end of 1914, however, there was a balance left of $x09,275, while this year there will be nothing left. It is therefore indicated that it has cost in 1919 only $365,000 more than in 1914 to run the city. Yet since 1914 the city has been in creased in area by annexations from 53 square miles to 66.36 square miles; about 60,000 persons have been added to its population; its park and playground areas have been added to; it has an auditorium to maintain which it did not have in 1914 and it has a vastly greater area of pavement to keep clean and in re pair. On top of these every article which the city must purchase has greatly increased in price and it has, as a matter of fundamental justice, been necessary to pay higher wages and salaries. , As already stated there will be no balance carried over from this year. From 1918 there was a balance car ried over of $281,202. Unless the additional tax levies are authorized Portland, therefore, stands to have less than $100,000 more than it had in the low-c'ost era of 1914 for gen eral expenses of a much larger city. And it will have $281,202 less than it had in 1919. It is a grim prospect. It can hard ly be expected that $175,000 can then be expended to carry on the city's part of the district improvements in prospect. These improvements are tbe accumulation of the work post poned because of the. war. The en gineering costs they call for repre sent almost wholly a new item. With that item eliminated the city will still be short $280,000 in 1920 as compared with this year's revenues. What is then the proper economy?! Shall parks and playgrounds be closed, and the fire department and police department be reduced? What is economy -under such circum stances? What are we going to do about it? Do without or pay more taxes? Ki'NTHTETIC SUGAR. We consume in the United States in normal times about 86 pounds of sugar a year, by comparison with 66.6 pounds per capita in 1899-only twenty years ago. A century ago sugar was a rarity. We made no sugar at all in America until the middle of the eighteenth century. Yet so rapidly do the luxuries of one period become the necessities of an other that we are on the verge of suffering because our supply prom ises to be reduced by a little more than 3 per cent, to a point that is still 25 per cent above our per capita consumption at two decades since. So we are in a mood to hall the announcement of Dr. Osterhout, Harvard professor, fellow of the American Association for the Ad vancement of Science, and an emin ent chemist, that sugar can be made in the laboratory. The riddle, he says, has been solved in several dif ferent ways. Iron rust exposed to the prismatic rays of the sun through water makes formaldehyde, and from formaldehyde certain forms of sugar can be made. Other ways of making sugar synthetically sre through employment of trn? ultra-violet rays, radium and elec tricity. Chemists obtained their clue by observing the manner- in which plants transform carbon dioxide gas and water into sugar and later into starch, either of which forms can be preserved. But there is a fly in the ointment. There is a flaw in every scheme that is developed for creating something cut of nothing. The professor, as serting that synthetic sugar is en tirely possible, admits that while the chemist can duplicate the processes of nature, the latter still has the inside economic track. The labora tory process is enormously expensive, by comparison with that of the plant. which goes on storing up cavoon diox'de and converting it into sugar through the action of rain and dew and subsurface Irrigation, and worke while chemists sleep, and yields its completed product with small charge for the operation. The plant itself undersells the synthetic method by so wide a margin that we may he sure there will be no synthetic sugar in the market in time to supplement the 1919 crop. Queen Elizabeth regarded is as a privilege to be able to munch an oc casional bit of sugar cane then a curiosity in Europe. There were no sugar bowls on the tables of any people 250 years ago. We shall never be content to return to those sugarless days, but they serve to remind us that we can subsist on a good deal less sugar than we are now consuming and keep our health if stern necessity requires. The old-time "great American des ert" is in the throes of an vearly blizzard. Blizzards are a climatic overhead in that region, yet it is a great country in which to live, and greater yet to leave and come to Ore gon. Funny, isn't it, how the voice of . the people calls, and calls, and calls on so many of the boys to sacrifice themselves on the altar of public service and run for secretary of state? Railroad conductors in Japan have been shorn of their gold-braided uni forms and swords. As long as they have their ticket punches left, the situation is not necessarily desperate. Probably the 3000 gallons of milk alleged to be wasted in San Fran cisco each day are- skimmilk, and who is buying that stuff in these days of "cream" wages? The forces of the poet D'Annunzio and the Italian government are re ported to have clashed at Fiume. Another game in the iamble penta meter league. Why should workers be needed in this big city to bring the Red Cross quota, to a finish? Perhaps Port land, as customary, awaits the elev enth hour. Evernotice most of these moon shiners being caught have foreign sounding names? Wonder what they think the United States is. There is a man in California who has been asleep two weeks, and lots of fellows who never will catch up are Just bound to envy him. The Albany Chinese laundryman who saved only $1000 in 40 years was evidently not a true laundryman, but a philanthropist. Cauliflower is out of the market, but its cousin broccoli is about due. Broccoli is an Oregon specialty, .by the way. Plenty of noise is wanted in today's celebration. Here's a chance for the man who is always blowing his own horn. Can General Denikine be expecting to take his Thanksgiving dinner in Petrograd? Lloyd George has put the "O. K." on Lady Astor and what "Lloydie" says goes. Two more holidays this year both regular, and that will be about enough. ' The noet who called November days "melancholy" spoke by the card. A dollar Is a dollar yes, but it's a Red Cross dollar today. Make H so. : ' Two hundred Reds have been ar rested, and better make it 2000. Steady, Mr. Gompers, Buckle up the breeching! steady! Never mind the weather! Whoop 'er up! A little license Is allowable today. BY-PHODtCTS OK THE PRESS Search After Orlsin of "Dickens'" Names Semi-Literary Hobby. One of the most interesting semi literary hobbies is the ' search after the origin of "Dickens' names." It is specially Interesting, no doubt, be cause rrobody can prove to demon stration that his particular "solution" is the correct one, and. as a conse quence, the long list of potential-discoveries Is seldom reduced, much less exhausted. One of the latest "strikes" is a possible origin for the old favorite. "Chadband." A recent writer tells how, a few years ago, in one of the small hamlets between Sutton and Epsom, there stood a small tailor's shop bearing In large letters the name "Chadband." And he goes on to .wonder whether Dickens, "going down by road to Dorking, noticed the name, and kept it for future use," for on that route he would have passed the very door of the shop. The writer seems to think it high ly likely, whilst. In proof that Dick ens actually made the journey, was it not in the town of Dorking that there stood the Marquis of Granny? And was It not the hostess of the Marquis of Granby who ultimately became Mrs. Weller?" asks the Chris tian Science Monitor. TJncle Joe" Cannon is sometimes a little absent-minded. Not long ago Governor Frank O. Lowden of Mr. Cannon's state came to Washington to testify on the national budget sys tem and perhaps to examine a little into the health of his presidential boom. After the committee session he was strolling uptown toward his hotel, when he encountered "Uncle Joe" walking along slowly, with his head down, evidently immersed in thought. "Pardon me, sir," said the gover nor, "but could you direct me to the Shoreham?" "Certainly," said "Uncle Joe." "I'll show you just where it is." They walked perhaps half a block, when Mr. Cannon seemed to come out of his trance and glanced up at his companion, who. meantime, had been keeping perfectly quiet. "What the h !" sputtered "Un cle Joe." He has known Lowden all his life. Rebecca Dick, better known aa "Mother Dick," who is dead In New York, was 95 years old and was re vered by the families and children of Riverton street for her many charities. The house in which she lived is owned by Max Dick, her son, and is known as "the house of 200 babes." The house is occupied by 60 families and 200 babies. When rents on the east side began to increase Mrs. Dick requested her son not to raise the rents of tenants, and in some cases she had the rents of tenants reduced to help them to meet the high cost tf living. Mrs. Dick was sitting on the stoop distributing fruit among the children who thronged about her, when shs suddenly became ill. Just before she died she again requested her son to take care of the children and not to raise the rents of the tenants. A worthy successor to Baron Mun chausen has been fotlnd. He is Henry J. Connors of Peterboro, K. Y., who vouches for the truth of this rural tale: Seven years ago Connors hung his vest on a fence in the barnyard. A calf chewed up the pocket of the gar ment. in which was a standard sold watch. Business of seven years passing, as they say in the movies. The butcher arrives on the scene and the animal. a staid old milch cow, becomes steaks and stew beef. But that isn't all; the missing watch was found in such position between the lungs of the cow that the respiration the closing and filling of the lungs had kept the stem wound, and the watch, so Con nors says, had lost only four minutes in seven years. Jeremiah T. Mahoney, as adminis trator of the estate of the late Raphel Kirchner. artist, filed suit for $10,000 against Florenz Ziegfeld. Jr. He al leges that about May, 1917. Mrs. Zieg feld obtained certain portraits paint ed by Mr. Kirchner, who died August 2, 1918, leaving them to Mrs. Nin Kichner, his widow and executrix. The portraits, it is said, are those of Miss Hazel Lewis, the Fairbanks twins. Misses Ann Pennington, Helen Barnes, Eleanor Doll, Grace Jones Ethel Davies, May Wallace, Grace Darling And Marion Davies. Friends of the late John Morven Carrere, New York architect, have erected a memorial in the form of an exedra and staircase leading from the park at the level of Riverside drive and Ninety-eighth street to the park below. Mr. Carrere was killed in a street car accident in 1911. The memorial, of pink Milford granite was designed by Thomas Hastings, Mr. Carrere's partner. The dedication was made by Joseph H. Friedlande and was received by Commissioner of Parks Francis B. Gallatin on behalf of New York city. Dr. Nicholas Mur ray Butler, president of Columbia university, made the principal ad dress. The Charlotte (N. C.) Republican says the story is told that during. the period the Wheeler Bros.' elephant was wrecking the garden of a West Seminary street lady the gentle one, turning to one of the showmen, stated with some emphasis that un less the circus folk took their ele phant out of her yard at once she would call a lawyer. "My dear madam," said the showman, "if you know of any lawyer who can per suade the elephant to get out of your yard, for heaven's sake send for him." Miss Eunice A. Beecher. youngest daughter of Colonel and Mrs. William C. Beecher. Brooklyn, and grand daughter of the late Henry Ward Beecher, was married recently to George S. White. The ceremony was performed in Plymouth church. Brook lyn, which was made famous by her' distinguished grandfather, and was followed by a reception in the lecture room, the bridal party standing in front of a portrait of the great preacher. Cbohs and Kffeet. Tillamook Headlight. Attention is called to the fact that the wages of teachers In colleges have failed to keep pace with the increase in the cost of llvinn. The college professors have had tough sledding ever since a college protessor was ! elected president. Those Who Come and Go. Robbed of his wallet, containing all his money and his railroad ticket, George McKay has reason to remem ber Chicago. Mr. McKay, since he sold his ranch near Fossil several years aeo. kills time attending movies and sporting events. He went east to attend the world series and It was toward the end of the series, in Chi cago, that someore lifted his poke. Being philosophical. Mr. MfcKay says that it is a regrettable thing for the pickpocket that he did not get the wallet when the Oreson sport en thusiast first arrived in the east, for after he had spent a wad of coin for tickets to the game, the roll of bills was greatly depleted when it was finally confiscated. On one of his trips to the gome, as he was stand ing in line. a. small boy came along and Mr McKay asked if the young ster was goirg in. The boy said he couldn't afford it, so the Oregon cat tleman took the boy into the game, paying $25 for the boy's tickt. Mr. McKay is at the Perkins There's) romance In business." ad mitted G. B. Weatherly of San Fran cisco, at the Benson. "Take the con cern which I represent. Three years ago it started with $160. and last week it incorporated for $1,000,000, and it is spending thousands of dol lars in national advertising. Now, he man whD Invented this particu lar irticle was broke, but he owned a monkey and a friend offered him $8 for it. The future inventor went to get the monkey, which escaped into a bicycle repair shop and got some sticky stuff on its paws. Whila trying to clean the paws, the monkey ownjr hit on the Idea for the inven tion, so instead of selling the mon key he sold his motorcycle for $50 and experimentea; borrowed $50 mere and experimented, and after negotiating a loan for another $i0. perfected his invention. That was three years arro ar.d yesterday I re ceived a letter saying business has ncteased ao that it is necessary to ncrease the capitalization to a, mil lion dollars." 'The Panama canal is getting near ly all of its lumbetr from the Pacific northwest. I think about 15.000.000 feet have been shipped from Oregon this yer.r." savs J. B. Ellison, regis tered at the Multnomah, who is here to inspect lumber shipments from Oregon ports destined for the canal. 'The yellow piiio lumbermen of the south lost out because the northwest tvds wer considerably lower. I haven't been at the canal in three years and do not know present con ditions, but I -lo know the c.:nal is perfect working order. From the Pacific to the Atlantic Is about 42 miles and it is possible to put the largest ship throuprh in nine hours. If nces!ary. The cnal zone is 20 miles wide, that is. 10 miles on each side of the conal. The government employs about fiOOO men and about 15.000 soldfera looking after Uncle am's interests. There is always the possibility cf a quake which mlsnt rut the big -litch out of commission for a while. When R. L. Sitz sold his ranch in eastern Oregon, he started out to find some section of the world which might suit him better. Mr. Sitz browsed around southern California and sampled the climate, and then he traveled all over western Ore gon looking for his ideal and finally wound up by returning to eastern Oregon and settling down in the little town of Drewsey. which once had a couple of saloons, but now consists of a postoffice and a store or two. Mr. Sitz was a' member of the legis lature for a term. Yesterday he cam to Portland with his son and It waa the first time the boy ever saw a big city. "And just when I was starting for home," said Fred Herman, "a service car smashed into me, busted a rear wheel and put my car out of com mission." Which is the reason why Mr. and Mrs. Herman were at the Imperial yesterday instead of being on their way to their home in Rainier, where Mr. Herman practices law. Be fore entering the legal profession Mr. Herman was a clerk at the Imperial and, once upon a time, he confessed. he traveled with a circus. William Jones of Juntura, Or. they call him Kill who is registered at the Imperial, is president of two or three banks, owns some 2000 head of cattle and a couple of ranches All of which shows that there are plenty ot opportunities for an In dustrious man to accumulate wealth in sections of Oregon which the pave ment hounds of Portland consider re mote. A. C. Spurloek of Riverdale, a ship ping point for ranchers in Malheur county, and Deane Goodman, another stockman, whose headquarters are at Juntura. are in Portland as witnesses In a case In the federal court in which the Warm Springs irrigation project is clashing with the owners of a ranch which will be inundated by the waters of the irrigation dam. At his ranch on Otis creek, in Mal heur county. A. H. Altnow has a spring of warm water which he uses give employment or rather to prevent to irrigate with. The spring pro- unemployment, appears to me to be duces 250 miners' inches of watei another form of the philanthropy or and is sufficient to irrigate quite an;cnarit' or benevolence formerly rep area of the ranch. Mr. Altnow has ' resented during a hard-time period a big hay ranch, partly the result of here by the municipal woodyard. etc. ine warm water. Air. Altnow is reg istered at the Imperial. Twenty-four hotel men of Portland held a meeting yesterday afternoon at the Multnomah. They agree on many things, but mostly on the opinion that there is no need for another big hotel in this city. Business is good for all the hotels as matters stand, but the introduction of an establishment with 700 rooms, more or less, would put a crimp into the hotels now operating, they feel. N. B. Vickery, owner of Ye Alpine Inn, on Mount Lowe, one of the tour ist meccas of those who visit Los An geles, is at the Multnomah with Mrs. Vickery. About everyone who visits Mr. Vickery s place walks a trail out to a commanding point and ties his or her card with name and address on a bush. The trees and bushes are loaded down with fluttering cards waving in the vagrant breeze. Mr. Vickery is on his way north. Arthur M. Moody, county clerk of Harney county, is among the arrivals at the Hotel Portland. Mr. Moody is a democrat, for in Harney county the democrats have a habit of clipping a man into office every once in a while, which gives some concern to the re publicans. However, the republicans intend to change all that. To be on hand for the livestock ex hibition. A. H. Chambers of Olympia registered at the Perkins yesterday. He also brought a shipment of cattle to the local yards. Mr. Chambers sends his stuff to the Portland mar ket, althougn he is nearer to Seattle. B. R. Westbrook, an Albany hotel man, was in Portland yesterday. With Grant Pirtle, who also operates a hotel In Albany. Westbrook will en tertain the Oregon Hotelmen's asso ciation ror two days, December 5 and 6. Fred Schwartz of Roseburg was at the Multnomah yesterday. When at home. Mr. Schwartz divides his time between conducting a hotel and man aging a hardware store. The navy recruiting band rise and shine at the Hotel Oregon when they hit the deck during their stay in Port land. The musicians arrived jester-, day. HARD BOUT WITH WOOD ALCOHOL j "Stick" In Eggnog Would Have Killed II Im Bat for Chinaman. McMINN VILLE, Or., Nov. 10. (To the Editor.) Saturday The Oregonian contained an account of a number of men going blind after a debauch on wood alcohol. If they. like the writer, live to tell the tale, it is to be hoped they may hereafter abstain for all time to come. And I'm think ing they will. However, for fear that others may follow suit, I will tell just how such an experience feels. This may act as a warning to those so in clined to stray from the straight and narrow path. Such a diet I want to say right now will ruin the stomach of. an iron man capable of digesting tin cans and brickbats. Hereby hangs the tale. Years ago a young fellow and my self were "hashers" on the good ship Lurline, piying between Portland and the Cascades. One afternoon while the steamer was tied to the dock and all hands on the hurricane deck were ashore watching the head butcher disembowel salmon in the cannery, my friend and I entered the galley. The first thing that caught our eyes was a bottle labeled alcohol, oi shelf. The word "alcohol" was In big. bold type over an insignificant skull and crossbones. The facts are we had no eyes for the latter, if we saw it a all, nor sensed the warning the sym bols conveyed; that Is, not then. But we did a little later on. A teakettle was singing merrily on the range; a sugar bowl, glasses and spoons and a platter of eggs stood hard . by. So we concluded to make an ecg nog. While Jack beat up the eggs 1 added the hot water, sugar and. nutmeg, and the thing was done. Pro ficiency was ours. Had we not seen big Ed make 'em hundreds of times behind the bar in the old Esmond ho tel? That was a long time ago, yet, for all the years that have elapsed I can yet see old Hup Lee, the cook, as he burst into the galley two hours later. and hear him yell. "Gee Chlist, you dllnk 'em wood alcohol!" Hup Lee was no doctor, only a low ly Chink. But he was onto his job moreover, he knew how to keep his mouth shut, which, by the way. ex plains why The Oregonian was cheat ed out of a bully eood news item. Such copious draughts of luke warm mustard water and salt I hope never to swallow aerain: neither do 1 wii-"h to feed so many little river tish over the rail of a river steamer. Never do I wish to look at the Krand Colum bia crags through such fust-dimming eyes nor hiccough such molten quan tities of egc and blood and slime that found their way through my nostrils in place of my teeth, so tightly clinched ware they that it took stove poker to pry them open; neither do I want to be twisted into knots, set fire to within and ooze such beads of perspiration when helpless from paralysis. If you think this picture overdrawn, just try it and see for yourself. About the only solace I derive from this incident is tinctured by the pleas ant memory of a soothing draught forced down my throat of dark brown stuff in a bottle in which floated sun dry objects resemftling a cross be tween a dried prune and a mummi fied bullfrog. As a pharmacist. I should like to know what it was, for it did the work. But old Hup Lee is dead now and lies sleeping way over yonder in old. Cathay. "Wood alcohol" is a misnomer. It should be renamed. The very word Is a temptation; it's first to catch the eye of the very thirsty, who will al ways take a chance. The skull and crossbones should come first in big, bold type; the new name next. It should, be dispensed only in clear white glass containers and colored blue by the addition of four grains of methelene blue to the callon. TOM ROGERS. IMPROVEMENTS NOT OPPORTUNE Correspondent Klrctst to Stand Guard Over DiMtrlct Asaeatnments. PORTLAND. Nov. 10. (To the Ed itor.) It is hardly fair to pick out for comment a minor proposition and neglect the majors. The real ques tion before the taxpayers is whether economy and efficiency in the ex penditure of tax funds are practiced, are the proposed improvements so necessary that they should be done before the effect of war on prices has passed, and is it honest for one who will profit by such increased expend itures to vote for them. It is obvious that inflated prices and profits, due to war conditions, still rule, with fear induced by unrest and instability an excuse for higher profits as a safety factor. Until stable conditions are re-established, good sense dictates that only essential and productive expenditures should be made. To undertake the large programme of improvement for the reason ad vanced by the city council, which is to Economy and production of essentials are the prime requisites at this time. Again, the argument that for an average tax of only $2 several mil lions of improvements will be pos sible fat some one else's expense), is manifestly intentionally mislead ing. Two powerful interests will un doubtedly favor the improvement pro gramme labor and capital. Both want employment without too much regard to the man who has to pay, a legitimate desire if the majority of those who pay express a willing ness to do so. GEORGE RAH. Those who will pay have already expressed a willingness to do so. The proposed improvements are district Improvements amounting to $3,500. 000, petitioned for by the owners of property that will be directly as sessed and pay the bill. Only 5 per cent of this sum is to be raised by general taxation and is for engineer ing costs. The need of approximate ly $175,000 to do the city's share of this work is but one of numerous items of increased departmental costs which the proposed tax increase will provide. Property owners in general have no interest whatever in the cost of these improvements or their op portunness except as to the 5 per tent engineering charge. Final Citizenship Papers. PORTLAND. Oct. 10. (To the Edi tor.) Kindly inform me where to in quire for my final citizenship papers. W. F. J. Go to the United States district court, postoffice building, or to the state circuit court, courthouse. For advice consult United States natural ization service, custom-house. Atr of Harold Horrrll. FAMK1V. Or.. Nov. fl. (To the Edi tor.) I wish to inform you that Har old Howell's asre is It years, which was sworn to on the witness stand anr" which I ran prove from the rec ords where he was born. The Ore Konian. Monday. November 3, placed his age at 15 years, which is wrong. So therefore, I request you to correct the mistake. O. O. HOWELL. More Truth Than Poetry. Br James J. Montague. A SONG OF WROGS. Caruso sings a trifling song While ululating thousands cheer him. And every person in the throng Fays fifteen bucks a scat to hear him. If I should sing the self same plec Id waken public consternation. And. more than likely, the police Would drag me roughly to the sta tion. John D. a thumping check can sign And in the Wall street district fla.sh it. And financiers will stand in line. Delighted if he lets them cash it. But if 1 signed the self same check Or one not half as big as his'n. A cop would grab me by the neck And clap me in the nearest prison. When Reverend Mr. Maynard flies. The plane that he commands con veys him In soaring spirals to the skies. He wills its course, and it obeys h i m. But if I drove the self same plane And sought to reach the skies above me. My friends would later search in vain To find the merest vestige of me. I might, of course, bewail my lot. 1 might put in my leisure sighing Because no talent I have got For singing, writing checks or fly ing;. I might pour forth & moan of too On many griefs that I could men tion. But I don't do It, for I know You wouldn't pay the least atten tion ! Aak the Bootleggera. With strict prohibition enforcement when you say 2.75 it doesn't mean the alcoholic content, but the price. . Too Much to Hope For. We should like to see capital and labor shaking hands instead of fists It Will Keep Better Now. We used to be afraid the coal sup ply would be exhausted In our life time, but that was before the miners becan to strike. (Copyrieht. IMP. by Bell Syndicate. Inc.! In Other Days. Twrnty-flTf Tears Ago. Krom The Oreconlan of November It. 1804. Washington. D. C. As a result of negotiations now pending It is confi dently believed the t'nited States will he asked soon to mediate between China and Japan with a view to bringing about peace. Ba-sed on the allegation that Gam bling house of the city were regu larly paying hundreds of dollars per month for protection the committee of 100 adopted a resolution favoring investigation. From Lane county it is reported that James Wilhelm has unearthed a 12-foot vein of coal on Bear creek, about 11 miioa from Tresswell. Theodore G. Hoech. prominent civil engineer from Berlin, hearing the title of "royal Prussian inspector of public works." has been visiting Port land the past two days. Fifty Years Ato, From Tbe Oregonian of November 11, lKfiO. Nashville. Tenn. Andrew Johnson, badly unnerved by his failure of elec tion to the senate, hae, been receiving only his most intimate friends who call to condole with bim. Boston. Clergymen of the state are to present a petition to Governor Claflin praying him not to issue a proclamation for Thanksgiving unless he can initiate measures for better observance of the day as a season of fasting, humiliation and prayer. The Tualatin Navigation company started its boats yesterday, the On ward to go to Hillsboro and the Har riet to run on Oswego lake, connect ing with the Onward Yesterday morning the locomotive of the Oregon Central railroad was fired up and a trial run made from the machine shope to the turntable, a distance of two and a fourth miles. The Measure. By Grace E. Hall. Not by the days but by the heart should time be counted here. And sometimes I am very young, with dark locks on my brow; My step is light-with youthful hope, my eyes are keen and clear. And pierce the ever-shifting clouds that dim the happy Now. Not days but deeds check off th dates upon life's schedule slip And many an hour's uncounted be cause 'tis free from strife; And many a deep impression is marked on a trembling lip. While many a day speeds onwacd with never a touch on life. I never have paused to ponder how long I have lived nor how. According as time is measured by those who can reckon fair; But today I am moved with wonder ' at the brown locks upon my brow. When my heart assures me sadly that white ones should cluster there '. FENDER DOLPHINS ARE NEEDTCD Only Good Fortune Has Prevented Grave Loms or Harbor Bloekajle. PORTLAND. Nov. 10. (To the Edi tor.) The recent log jam which threatened the Hawthorne and other bridges calls attention to the fact that with the exception of the draw spans of the Hawthorne bridge none of the bridges has fender dolphins of pilins at the piers. If these had been placed at each pier the rafts would have hung on them and the racking and vibration, which did the bridge and its piere no good, would have been carried on the spring of the piles. It speaks volumes for the skill of the river pilots who have taken the big fleet built here through our bridges without an accident, or strik ing a bridge even in flood and in the bad eddy at the present Burnside bridge draw, but some day a sneering gear will go wrong, or a bell wire break, and we will lose a bridge or a boat, and have our harbor tied up just for lack of a fender pile clueter at the draw opening. The nearest approach to an accident was rlurine the summer. A light wooden hull was being brought down the river during a strong west wind. On making the turn for the steel hridee the tow boat was aft. The wind swung the bow to the easi. pointing the tow boat full speed head on for the pier. If it had not been for the watchfulness of the captain, who held his deckhands at the lines while they cast off the hull and let it drift through the bridsre. while the tow boat, backing full strength bumped the pier, there would have been a sunken tow and a big hull loose in the river. A group of piles a little upstream would have prevented this occurrence. BEACH COMBER.