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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 14, 1922)
10 TJIE MOKNIKG OKEGONIAX, TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 1923 jltarmuc)(9mTimtan EoTABLISHKD BY HENRY I rlTTOCK. Published by The Oregniin Publishing Co. 13i Sixth street, i'ortland. Oregon. C. A. MOHDE.V, . E. B. PIPER, ' Editor. Manager. The Oregonian is a member of the. Asso ciated Press. The Associated fress is sx Cius;veiy entitled to the use tor publication all news dlafiatcb.es credited to it or not otherwise credited in this pape and also the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are ai&4 reserved. ' Subscription Kates Invariably In Advance. (By Mall.J Dally. Sunday included, one year 300 Dnily, Sunday included, six months.. le.i)y, Sunday included, three months Li;y, Sunday included, one month .. Daily, without Sunday, one year Iaiiy. without Sunday, si months... Dally, without Sunday, one month... Sunday, one year . 4, 2.11S .75 6 00 0 2.50 By Carrier.) Dally, Sunday included, one year Daily, Sunday included, three months, 2.25 Daiiy, Sunday included, one month... -J Dally, without Sunrtayone year 7'J?? Dai'y, without Sunday, three months.. l.Oo Daily, without Sunday, one month 65 How to Kemit Send posteffice money order, express or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency ara at owner risk. Give postofflce address in lu.l, including county and stale. Posts Hates 1 to 16 pages, 1 cent; 18 to 32 pages, 2 cents; 34 to 48 pages, a cenes: SO to 64 pages, 4 cents; 6i to 80 jatres. 3 cents; to 96 pages, 6 cent. Foreign postage double rate. Eastern Business Office Verree Conk ltn, 300 Madison avenue. New York; Verree & Con it i m. steger building, Chicago; ver ree t:onkiin. Free Press building. De troit. Mich.; Verree & Conklln, ilonadnoek building, Saa Francisco, Cal. FORCED TO FACE THE TRUTH. Secretary of the Treasury Mellon has a most exasperating habit of im pressing upon congress that it can only pay the soldiers' bonus with real money. Being a cold-blooded, scientifically exact financier, he is utterly devoid of sympathy with a congressman in trouble. The. con gressman is racking his brain for a scheme by which a bonus shall be paid to the ex-soldier but by which the money wherewith to' pay it shall r.ot be taken from the taxpayer, who is the only person from whom it can be obtained. That is the "feat which the - congressman thinks he must perform in order to get the soldier's vote without losing the taxpayer's and in order to get the taxpayer's without losing the soldier's. In the effort to devise a scheme that will conform to these specifications, the ways and means committee of the house is in danger of "contracting amnesia, aphasia, cerebro-splnal meningitis, rickets and St. Vitus dance. Far from being helpful, Mr. Mel lon only adds to the sufferings of the agonized committeemen. They thought they had solved the riddle by devising a plan whereby the veterans would get not over one-half the bonus in real money from the banks next fall, but the government would not have to pay it till 1925. That would defer the awful day of raising the money by taxation until after the flection of 134, tiding congress over two election ordeals. Now comes Mr. Mellon with his cruel criticism that this scheme "makes no pro vision for a sinking fund, amorti zation or other reserves against the liability that would be thrown on the government In 1925" or against the liability extending forward for twenty years. Out of a cloud of un certainty he brings an estimate that "the total direct cost" of the entire bonug scheme in the fiscal year 1923 will be almost $290,000,000, smaller sums in 1924 and 1925, but will rise to more than $615,000,000 In 1926 and will total more than $1,200,000, t;00 in three and a half years. That must be real money, when congress wants to pay with stage money till 3 925 and leave, to the congress of that year the job of making it real money. After bombarding the committee with more figures, all going to prove that it must provide real money now. in 1922, to pay the bonus, Mr. Mel Ion says that it must be "paid for each year out of current revenues," that this "means the imposition of additional taxes." Then he renews President Harding's recommenda tion of a sales tax. Mention of the sales tax has the same effect on most congressmen that a newspaper blown about by the wind used to have on a nervous horse. It fiends them "up in the air." The bonus problem has developed this situation: Congress is trying to dodge the facts. Every time it dodges, Mr. Mellon takes it by the shoulders and makes it face those facts. . It has promised a bonus to the ex-soldiers, but it has filled the minds of so many people with dema gogic fallacies about taxes that it t'ure not provide the necessary money in the only possible way by taxation. It has fostered the idea that the excess profit tax was paid ty the rich, not added to the prices of goo'ds and paid by everybody, therefore farmer and labor organ izations demand revival of that tax to pay the bonus. Congressmen know at least those of them who have begun to think seriously about it know that revival of that tax would be a blow to slowly reviving industry, therefore to their chance ot' re-election. But they have also cultivated the idea that a sales tax would be paid by the poor in greater proportion than by the rich, with liio result that farmer and labor or ganizations have passed resolutions against a sales tax. In fact a sales tax would be paid by each citizen in proportion to what he spends and, being spread wide, it would be spread so thin as to constitute no burden. Congress is caught in a trap of Its own making. Its members are pre- eumed to be and should be leaders and moldera of opinion in their own communities. On the contrary many of them permit men whoso loudness and volubility are as great as their knowledge is small to shout them down, to shape opinion, to mislead the people and to intimidate con gressmen through fear of defeat. Hence when a man like Mr. Mellon teHs them unpalatable truth, they dare not act on that truth, for it. Is in flat contradiction of the false teach ing to which they have surrendered, though they know its falsity. Announcement that a university of Alaska' will be opened at Fairbanks. which is within 100 miles of the Arctic circle, constitutes unmistak able intelligence that people now re gard that once-remote land not as a place to be exploited and then de sorted, but as a haven of permanent sbode. In every region peopled by Anglo-Saxons the creation of educa tional institutions has been a test of I-aMtability, even as the drift from the rural district to the cities has been influenced in important degree by the quality of existing schools. The first settlers in Alaska did not expect to remain: those who did eiay, iiowever, Insisted fin ha vie schools for their children because these are the indispensable adjuncts to family life among Americans And now that a university is abou to open its doors, wei may be sure that a new generation is jspnngin up which has no thought of leaving, but which demands for its young sters facilities as good as those ob lainable In any other part of the world. MR, BBYAN'S NEXT MOTE. Speaking of monkeys and th Darwinian theory. Mr. Bryan emits the fervent hope that the "evolution ists would stop with their own an cestors and leave mine alone. They can't," cries Mr.-. Bryan, "make monkey out of me." The retort is ob-vi6us; but let us not make it. We "agree that it is hot a monkey that Mr. Bryan has made out of himself, and the democratic party as well. Now Mr. Bryan declares war on Darwin. He pokes fun. at the scien tists, who are never funny except to ethers, and he accepts for himself the biblical account of the creation All this throws an interesting light on the Bryan complex. Po litically, he has been the greatest doubter of his time, challenging ac cepted and established political and economic truth time and again; but in religion he solves all problems by the simple test of faith. There are millions who will commend him for the latter, while they criticise for the former. Mr. Bryan harassed the last Dem ocratic convention with a proposal to take an outright stand for pro hibition. It refused, and what hap pened in November the world knows. Now when Mr. Bryan shows up at the next convention with an anti Darwin plank, it may be assumed that he will be received with most respectful consideration. AS EXPECTED. Senator Johnson roars out his dis approval of the four-power pact, ac cording to schedule. He knew rn advance that it would never do. Just what kind of a pact with any na tion would please the stentorian senator cannot be guessed; but it is quite clear that he will be bound to be displeased, offended, alarmed, ex asperated, outraged by any treaty not negotiated by him in the eover eign name of the great state of Cali fornia. Not that the four-power pact does not protect California and not that it is not of greater moment to California than any other state except Oregon 'and Washington. California itself, too, is probably favorably disposed toward ratlfiea tion; but Johnson is California, so far as the senate is concerned, and when he speaks his is the voice of California; and it is no feeble voice For the present occasion the pur pled senator is for the Japanese British alliance. Does he not quote, with no sign of Irony, the past utter ances of British and Japanese states men to show that it is not a menace to the peace, dignity, or welfare of the United States? The solemn as severations of the British and Jap anese as to the policies of the dual alliance are enough for the senator enough at least for his purposes in furious debate. But he will not take the word of Secretary Hughes, or Senator Lodge, or Senator Under wood as to what the four-power pact means. Not he. It means war ul timate war; that's what it means. Johnson knows knows more than anybody else knows, and what's more, he always knows what nobody else knows. - He always did. How do men get that way? One way to get that way through the Hearst taint. is GHOSTS. The ghost of Caledonia Mills comes in for a good deal of interest because belief in ghosts i3 one of the very earliest of religious phenomena, antedating perhaps even man's con ception of a philosophy of life and death. No people advanced enough to speculate upon the possibility of continued existence after death have been without some feeling of con cern over the fate of the spirits of the departed, and this in the begin ning has usually been a feeling of fear. The tendency to ascribe to so-called supernatural causes every happening that cannot be explained in the light of data in hand a ten dency still manifested even in civil ized lands has contributed to the survival of- the ghost superstition. It is a curious fact that the benefi cent ghost is not often encountered in the literature' on the subject. Ma leficence almost exclusively becomes a ghostly property in modern times, showing that we have not yet wholly recovered from impressions deeply implanted in the minds , of our re mote ancestors. We bear frequently of ghosts that rattle dishpans and upset furniture only the other day the Canadian visitor was reported to have slapped an inoffending young man soundly in the face but not often of ghosts with a cheerful mes sage to convey or a pleasing duty to perform. We might be inclined to wonder why it is that these evil spirits linger longer on the footstool than their higher-minded brethren do, but then we remember that fear is a powerful stimulant of the imagi nation and that the kind of people who would be most likely to see ghosts or think they have seen them would be just the kind who would be taking counsel of their fears. Your true ghost is the mes senger of calamity and woe; not cftener than once in a blue moon does a ghost appear to deliver an in spiring communication, or to uplift us mortals, or tell us how to live so that we may find the going easier when we cross the Styx. It would be interesting to deter mine precisely how many people in the twentieth century have dis carded all belief in ghosts. The number probably would be smaller than is generally supposed, if the truth were known. For, as has been said, fear is a powerful excitant and !: most difficult to overcome. Those who openly scoff at the machina tions of disembodied spirits are un likely to be worth much as possemen on an errand of investigation. Dread of the unknown, or apprehension that there "may be something in it after all," unfits nine men out of ten for a leal job of ghost-laying, as Profes sor Walter Franklin Pierce has re cently had occasion to find out. Since it seems that superstition must survive in some form, wouldn't it be a fine thing for all concerned if we might transform our ghosts into guardian angels and turn out to welcome them instead ot standing shudderingly around in abject terror of the clanking of their chains? We have, a striking icturexgfi twentieth century in the news re ports from Caledonia . Mills, where people "are sitting up late, expect ing at any moment to see the psychic professor his hair on end fleeing from whatever it was that took lib erties with Ale'x's cattle, slapped, a provincial detective and '- a reporter when they grew too bold and then refused to walk when its would-be visitors called." The ghost-concept In Nov Scotia is closely akin to the demonology of a hundred thousand years ago: with out the change of a letter it is in essence the same old spirit that dominated men in the first eratof which there, is any legend or his torical record. The folks around Caledonia Mills may say. that they don't believe in demons, but they are careful about going out nights and they sleep with their shutters locked Different in new york. In New York, during the war, telephone rates w,ere advanced 28 per cent. In June, 1921, the public service commission of that state ordered city rates reduced 10 per cent. It has now ordered a further reduction of 5 per cent. In Oregon, while the war was In progress, an attempt was made under government control to raise telephone rates an average of 27 pet cent. The public service commission intervened and rejected the new schedule except that business service rates were somewhat increased and an added charge for desk sets apply ing to residence and other service was allowed. - After return of the telephone sys tem to private control, the Oregon commission permitted further ad vances late in 1919, in exchange rates including residence telephone rates. For example, main-line un limited residence service was in creased from $3 to $3,25, In 1921, shortly before the New York commission ordered a reduc tion of 10 per cent in rates that had previously been advanced only 28 per cent, the Oregon commission ordered a further increase, ranging from 30 to several hundred per cent. depending on type of service. The main line unlimited residence service that in 1918 cost the sub scriber in Portland $3 a month now costs him $4 a month, an increase of 23 1-3 per cent. In other words, New York rates which were never increased as great a percentage as Portland rates, are reduced at about the same time that the maximum increase In Portland rates is reaffirmed by the Oregon commission. The reductions in New York were ordered in view of the downward trend of prices, the decreasing .cost of money, the daily readjustments in the labor market, the effort toward economy manifested by all private enterprises and because of excess sums set aside as depreciation re serve. All these factors in- telephone service cost were cited by the peti tioners In the Oregon rehearing, ex cept, we believe, the decreasing cost of money. But for making the same showing that convinced the New York commission that a decrease in rates was justified, the Oregon pe- tioners were ehided by the Oregon body for "having presented nothing worthy of serious consideration or justifying the 6Uspicion and agitation they have aroused. -. FORGOTTEN PROMISES. The committee of California - In dians now at Washington trying to revive a matter of certain forgotten treaties, entered Into In 1851 and 852, by which the tribes they repre sent were to have received compen sation for the cession of lands which hey used to think were theirs, has reopened a chapter in western his tory that, for the honor of the white people, might better have re mained closed. It is not denied 'that the treaties were actually completed, so far as the Indians and the com missioners representing the federal government could complete them. But they were never ratified, al though the whites, then flocking into the country as the result of the discovery of gold, proceeded on the assumption that this had been done. That is to say, they proceeded on that theory to the extent of expelling the Indians, but not to the extent of paying them for the privileges which they appropriated. Indian Commissioner Lea, who presided over the bureau of Indian affairs in that time, was a man with out imagination. The treaties pro posed to do things which had not been done before, wherefore he had misgivings as to whether they were wise. "The treaties negotiated with the Indians of Oregon and Califor nia," he wrote in transmitting a sheaf of eighteen of. them to con gress, "contain novel provisions, tHe practical operation of which cannot be foreseen. Whether they shall be ratified as they stand is a question which will, of course, be duly con sidered by those whose constitu tional province it is to determine in what form they shall become a part of the law of the land." It is not surprising that congress did not wax' enthusiastic over the work of so weak an advocate. At that distance in miles and time from the scene of the treaty-making, the lawmakers at the national capital could obtain no dequate conception of the rights of the original inhabitants, and the treaties failed. The history of the entire period Is replete with similar incidents, all constituting a policy, or rather, lack of policy, on the part of the United States government which must, have made the Indians wonder why the whites called themselves the su perior race. Efforts in 1850 and 851 to adjust matters between, the government and the Indians in Cali fornia, tad their counterpart in 1852 and 1853 In Oregon, which then in cluded the present state of Washing ton, in the negotiation of a long list of treaties which were regarded gen erally as binding on the Indians but not on the whites, because with one r two exceptions they were never atified by congress. .The early months of 1858 saw the beginning of migration from the Willamette valley to the region east of the Cas- cades, based on the supposition that the Indians had surrendered title to their land. . But here congress also dallied and finally failed to act at all, so that in a subsequent effort to keep faith with the red men by or dering the settlers out of the coun try, the latter became almost as em barrassing a problem as the Indians ad been. The wars which followed were conflicts In which the very survival the contending peoples was at stake. It is doubtful whether in all pjir. iistcirx tUere, aj fceeg jaore, complete misunderstanding of each other by two belligerents. The white inhabitants in battling for their homes did no more than they might normally have been expected " to do and the same thing may be said with a good deal of truth as to most of the tribes. Official red tape and neg lect resulted in a prolonged period of disorder and unrest, caused the loss of hundreds of lives and delayed the economic development of the region by more than a decade. WHAT IS iOST BY ISOLATION. Hopes of Irreconcilable senators that they will arouse such popular opposition to the Pacific treaty as will defeat Its ratification are founded on the state of the public mind which is thus described by Mark Sullivan: , - It must be said that on any question of foreign relations it is easier to arouse ptibllp opinion in opposition than In favor. It is easier to arouse suspicion over a small objection than to achieve clear pop ular understanding of the whole of a sub ject that is both, complex and foreign. That would not be if the mass of the people understood the relation of this to other nations and the bearing of foreign affairs on their particular Interests. The war began a sudden, intensive education on this subject, but the reaction to peace and the controversy between Presi dent Wilson and the senate gave the irreconcilables the opportunity to play upon the fear of the people, to go farther into the new field of in ternational co-operation and to lead them tq draw back. They played on the traditional preference of the na tive-born for national Isolation, on the inherited national animosities of the foreign-born, to prevent the United States from taking its proper part in the work of world reorgani zation, which is the necessary sequel to the war. if the people had been well informed on their Interest in this work they could not have been so misled. -J ...... Had all gone well, the" United' States should have made peace to gether with the allies by the end of 1919 and would then have joined them In enforcing the-treaties and in the work of economic reconstruc tion. That work would now have been far advanced, but the begin ning is only at hand. The materia loss which the American people have suffered through this delay is vast and far- exceeds the cost of any in tervention in foreign affairs that was at all probable, for this would have been diplomatic in exertion of moral pressure, and financial in the way of stabilizing conditions rather than military. By thus looking backward and considering what might have been,' we can form some judgment of the consequences if the four-power treaty should be rejected by the sen ate. That treaty is the keystone of the arch that was built at the Wash ington conference. Without It limi tation of navies would be Impossible and the Anglo-Japanese treaty would be given new life. Such state of feeling Would result on the part of the other signatory powers that they would be tempted to scrap all the other Washington treaties. Com petitive navy-building would then begin in earnest. Other nations would be reluctant to enter other conferences or to sign more treaties with us, the experience of the last few years going to prove that the two branches of our treaty-making power could not act together ' to make a treaty effective. Then we might have our fill of isolation and all ito consequences. Interest of the people of the In terior has been aroused in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence waterway to open a channel for ocean-going ships to go to the head of the lakes. As they vision ships loading at Chicago, Duluth, Milwaukee and other lake ports to sail direct for Europe and as they realize that by this means 15 cents a bushel is added to the farm price, they will see the sea as only a few hundred miles away, and they will see ships as the complement of railroads In carrying thir products to market. Let the shipping board throw away its map of the United States showing control of shipping as con centrated in a few ports and all others as subordinate to them, and let it. draw a new map showing all the coasts lined with ports, each controlling its own ships and all de veloping by competition on equal terms. Let it act upon this latter con ception by revising its policy, and then it can gain the popular support without which no subsidy can be ob tained. Submerging of much of Europe is predicted following tomorrow by an authority on earthquakes. Much of Europe now is submerged in another sense and anything additional can- hot add much to the despair of its people. . Illinois charges a shortage In babies to prohibition; that is, more pqople want them ready made than the foundling institutions can supply. If the demand prefers babies to dogs, it is a redeeming sign. An injured man In the Georgia wreck refused help until the others were cared for, lit a cigarette and waited. He was a newspaper man, not better than others, of course, but as good. , " France has so much on hand, due to lack of trade with America, that a "wine" week begins today. America will feel sorry for her, but owing to circumstances that is all. . The problem ' of simple stump burning seems to be nearing solu tion. It will be a great day for this coast region when it Is perfected. .Whether he saw. his shadow, the groundhog's six weeks expire today and he has made good. Oregon never loses on a late spring. Gifford Pinchot wants the repub lican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. It's a big contract, even with Penrose dead. "Procrastination"' Is a healthy English word. What it means can be seen at the custom house today and tomorrow. Nobody can predict when the earth will quake, but anybody can guess. " ' March weather is designed boost the umbrella trade. to Three times "FattX," and out (or in), SWIMMING POOLS ARE! BEXEF1T Installation In School Promote Vigor . and Cleanliness. PORTLAND, - March 13. (To the Editor.) In a letter appearing in The Oregonian March 9,'W. H. Odell, after criticising the extravagance of our schools, remarks that "the home bath tub or wash basin is safer and less vulgar and demoralizing than the swimming pools. .Why vulgar? ' Is the objection on moral grounds or those of promiscu uyr rn pooi are common, yes, common to rich and poor alike, to children of all nationalities, henc somewnat promiscuous, but a mos democratic Institution. Apropos this let it be said they are a valuable asset in Americanizing our - foreign population, offering recreation un known to their parents while in th old country, and creating in thes children a love of cleanliness and love for the land which offers them such blessings. All precautions ar taken to insure a clean, germ-proo pool so that danger from infection is practically nil. ' If the objections are on moral grounds, I do not see them. I hi been around these pools quite fre quently and I must say that I have observed nothing that has shocked my sensibilities. No, the money spen on the school swimming pools ha been well spent. Ask the parents o the husky young Americans who swim there. Swimming Is the most healthful form of athletics, bringing every muscle Into play, and has proved blessing to more than one stoop shouldered, sickly child. Swimming corrects faulty breathing, and is wonderful stimulant for a sluggish circulation. I have heard more than one person remark, after a good swim "I feel like a million dollars. As regards the play grounds being used by the Idle rich and spenddrifts I have seen far more children from the middle classes, and the poore class, many of foreign born parents hence the playground is another fac tor contributing to the making o Americans. Our children most play You .cannot keep a boy or girl a home all the time, and tneir aDunaan energies find a safe and healthful outlet in swimming, the finest form of physical culture. UL'ot . iLFUtiiivviii!i, Fertiliser From Air. PORTLAND. March 13. (To the Editor.) Kindly state the process by which nitrate is taken from tne air, as proposed by Henry Ford with the plant at Muscle Shoals. IHISU. Jt!ilSlJll., GENE DELT. There are several processes for the fixation of nitrogen. The one which the Muscle Shoals plant ,is designed to use provides for the nquetae tion of air by first compressing it to 600 pounds per square inch, then per mitting nine-tenths of it to expand to 50 pounds. Thi3 expansion cools down the other tenth, still under high pressure, to the liquefying point Trays of liquid air are then stacked in towers and the nitrogen, which has a boiling point lower th oxygen, bubbles oil ana is conecteu at the top of the tower, the residual air, now about half oxygen, escaping t the bottom. The nitrogen is then run through pipes into ovens ran taining pulverized calcium - carbide, These ovens are first heated by elec tric current, which starts a reaction which afterwards produces enough heat to keep it going. As the stream of nitrogen passes over the finely divided carbide it . is absorbed to form calcium cyanamid,, a, product Which is sold as fertiliser under the name of lime-nitrogen or kalkstick- stoff or njtrolim, and which may by further processes be converted into ammonia and nitric acid. A TALE OF WONDERS Have you heard of the royal ramiiee Who lived on the banks of a pea green sea? Their home was a palace of finest erold. . With windows of purest diamonds, I'm told. mut this was a good long time ago, When diamonds were not so high, you know.) They dined on a table of sculptured mi it And ate from dishes of Chinese silk; The princess' coat was of mother of near. Trimmed with gashings of fine green beryl. iBut this was a long, long time ago, When milk was not so high, you know.) On her white hand shone a "fairy ring," Tied to her wrist with a piece of string. Her skirts were fluffy and long and wide, Cut from a length of good rawhide. (But that was a very long time ago. When skirts were not so high, you know.) , Her feet were shod in rosewood san dals. On her throat glowed a necklace of candles. On her hair gleamed a tumbler of water. Oh, but she was a rovely daughter! (But this was long, long, long ago, . When hair was not sd high, you know.) The prince was clothed in a wondrous way; His shirt was of new-mown clover hay, And over .this a tunic he wore . Of homemade " doughnuts bought at the store. (But this was ever so long ago. When clover waa not so high, you know.) , In his hand he carried a swagger stick Made from a ton-of red pressed brick. On his head there reposed a raisin bun. Now, wasn't he a manly son? (But this was a right long time ago, When buns were not so high, you know.) This wonderful, wonderful father anl. mother. How could they afford such a eister and brother? (But this was a long, long time ago, When children were not so high, you know.) LILIAN G, HASKIN. Brownsville, Or. V Qualifications for Mother's Pension. SPRINGFIELD, Or, March 12. (To the Editor.) Please inform a reader of your paper for a quarter . of a century as to whether or not a widow's pension would be allowed in the state of Oregon under the con ditions following: - Man and wife legally adopt a child Of .minor age in another state; after two years fatherdies and mother wishes to return to Oregon, but can find no adoption papers. If compen sation may be had, what is the amount? Would it be necessary to secure duplicate papers? CONSTANT READER. Residence of three years .in. Oregon immediately preceding-application for pension is required, and the applicant must also show that she was not in indigent circumstances when she came into the state. Proof of adoption would; b$ aecessajyj, ' RECOGNITION OF KING IS IBOED Demand Held Simplest Right ot Greeks From Other Nations. PORTLAND, March 10. (To the Ed itor.) There are Greeks who" write for Americans to read, that the pres ent government of a freedom loving, independent, sovereign people should not be recognized by the allies and the United States. The Americans have no time to waste on internal Greek politics. They are broad-minded enough to look be yond these internecine conflicts and perceive the interest of Greece alone. The Americans are intelligent enough to reftlize that . both Venizelos and tne King are mortals, and what really counts after all, is not this nor that passing personality, but Greece alone, eternal Greece. But do the Greeks look upon ' this matter from thti broader standpoint, and are they also ready to forget the past with all its clouds, .to forgive each other their sins, and work to save their mother land? If the resumption of friendly relations - between the two countries will serve the interests of Greece, why begrudge Its being turned to the profit of the royalists? Are the Greeks the serfs and tools of this party or that faction, or loyal sons of their coun try? They only will have themselves to blame for the stand the Americana nave taKen against Greece. In the beginning of the recent world war the allies were sure of victory and they wanted Greece to keep out of the conflict. It was for their benefit to have Greece eliminated from their company, so that the division of Turkey among themselves' could be more easily effected. Greece was the law iui neir of the "vineyard," and their secret plans were unjust. They already naa promised Constantinople to the late czar, and Jater on bribed Italy with the dazzling gift of Smyrna, thus dealing the blow of death to the great idea" cherished in the bosom of the Greeks for many centuriesvThe Greeks believed that the allies were fighting for Justice, for the freedom of the oppressed and for that noble cause they also were eager to fight. If they were not in sympathy with the allied cause, Venizelos' war policy would never have had any chance of success. But the allies were utterly inconsistent and they proved unmerl torious of the confidence and friend ship of the Greeks. The allies previously and secretly had bargained and eold the inherit ance of Greece to satisfy their pur poses. The opponents admit that; "While Bulgaria's role was in doubt and, subsequently, so long as the military power of Italy and Russia remained unimpaired, the allies did not particularly welcome the co-operation of Greece in the struggle, in view of the conflicting territorial claims involved." But when the course of the war dis appointed their hopes, they turned again to Greece and used all means to coerce her to enter the war on their side, promising to give herall the help she needed. They made the same promises to Roumania, and just as they left her to be overwhelmed by the Germans, and they shed no tears on her calamity, caused by their indif ference, "blunders and cross-pur poses," so they wouIJ have left Greece to be overrun and devastated. Under these conditions- could Greece enter the war in 1914? She could not. and ehe did not. Wag it not her duty and her right to remain neutral? VVas not the United States neutral till that very time? Was not Mr. Wil son re-elected on the slogan: "He has kept us out of war?" And what about Switzerland, Spain, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway? Were not they neutral to the very end of the con flict? Shall we punish Greece for keeping out of it until 1917, in the face of the fate of Roumania, Servia and Poland? Since the general election of No vember, 1920, and the ensuing plebi scite, the allies have refused to recog nize the king, on the ground that he was pro-German. But they recognize the Greek government, and therefore they admit that the Greeks are free and sovereign people, and they are en- ytled to eelf-determination. If they recognize the right of the Greeks, as free and sovereign people, to elect their rulers, why should they take exception in the person of the king? And if the people also are pro-Ger man, why do they recognize their government? The recognition of the king is the simplest right which the Greek peo ple demands from all the other demo cratic peoples of the world. The king is the highest servant ot the Greek people. If they do not want his eerv Ices, it is up to them, and to them alone to dethrone him. All outside interference is intolerable and de structive of its own purpose. TSEFALAS. r- MEMORIAL PLAS HAS OPPOSITION McMInnvlIle Objects to Proposed Adaptation of Highway LoOTv McMINNVILLE, Or., March 12. (To the Editor.) In The Oregonian March 6 there appeared an article supposedly turned in by the representatives of the Oregon Memorial Highway asso ciation. The article stated that the association was to meet March 9 in the green room pf he Portland Cham ber of Commerce and that one of the topics up for discussion was the loca tion of the route by way of Lafayette and the St, Joe cut-off instead of com ing to McMinnville. In The Oregonian of March 10, in reporting the meeting no mention was made of the fact that there was any opposition to the plan nor even a re port of the ,talks thai were made, al though there were some very good objections raised to the plan of put ting a memorial highway along thia route. The Commercial club of McMinnville is opposed to the plan ror the reasons set forth by its representative. Mayor W. S. Houck, at the meeting. They are in brief: First, the name would not attract through tourist travel so that the west side would be able to compete with the east sidp route. Second, the memorial feature could be carried out in some better way than by means -of beautifying an already beautiful highway. And third, what ever plan is proposed for beautifying this highway will mean the expendi ture of a large sum of money at the outset and an annual upkeep that will be no small item. Some of this, the annual upkeep most likely, will even tually have to come from state' funds raised .by. taxation and we feel that any undertaking that will tend tq raise the taxes should be one of neces sity rather than one of sentiment. Our reason for writing this letter to you Is that we hope it may be given publicity and the proposed plan: receive the consideration of all from both angles. If it is to win, let it win on its merits not be railroaded through. McMINNVILLE COMMERCIAL CLUB by. B. O. GARRETT, Secretary. ' Choice of Dfctionnry. PORTLAND, .March 13. (To the Editor.) Please tell me what you think Is the best unablrdged diction ary on the market, for general use? For general use, choice of an un abridged, dictionary is a. matter, of individual preference as regards com pactness and arrangement of material and departments. There.ls no distinc tion as to completeness, reliability and clearness of definition among modern standard dictionaries. XES j TWO HELPS TOWARD LOW TA Freehold Qualification When Tax Voted, Death of Primary I rged. McMINNVILLE, Or., March 12. (To the Editor.) I agree with those who are making an outcry against the pil ing up of large state, county and municipal indebtedness. I agree with them that the prevailing rate of tax ation is unbearably high, and that taxes eho.uld be very materially re duced, but I may not agree with some of them as to the proper rem edy for this oppreseive burnden. Re formers frequently advocate radical schemes for "reform" that would. If adopted, be as bad as or possibly worse than the evils they desire to eliminate. Permit me to mention two things that ought to be changed and that would,, in my judgment, improve ex isting conditions. . First, I believe that our state con stitution, giving the legal voters the power, by the initiative, to vote upon he taxpayers of the state a practically unlimled indebtedness, and to provide for almost any kind of tax upon the taxpayers, should be changed by elim inating that power. As the constitu tion now is, every legal voter, whethe he has any taxable property or no has the power to vote for any kind of bond issue or for any kind of tax or for. the creation of any kind o debt. It Is well known that a van majority of the legal voters of th state are not tax payers. Is thi right? Should the non-tax payers have the right to vote upon the t payers of the state a bond issue o a tax to oe paid oy tne iniierj seems to me that a provision allowln this Is morally unjust and indefensiv We. Secondly, I maintain that our pres ent system of nominating candidate for office, by primary elections. responsible for many of the ineffl cient officials who have been electe to office in receoi years. Primary elections cost largs sum of money, and the convention system costs the taxpayers nothing. Under the old system people wer fend of tire old maxim, "tne offic should seek the man, and not th man the office." Under the primray system each aspirant throws "his ha into the ring" and "goes for the nom ination with all his might." He doe not wait to be persuaded by men who know his qualification, if be ha any. Under the old system there wa always some effort on the part conventions to nominate men wh were qualified for the different of flees, but under the existing system each aspirant makes himself a can didate for the nomination by obtain Ing the requisite number of signers upon a petition, or by paying the re quired fee, and then his name I printed on the primary ballot. All who vote for him at the primary hav a share in his nomination. It is safe to say that of all who vote for a can didate for a state office at a primary !'0 per cent know practically nothing of the qualifications or iftncss of th person for whom they vote, and a large majority of them do not even know the names of the persona for whom they vote until they eee them on the ballot after they have enered the election booth. Their votes ar cast with little or no knowledge as to the qualifications of the persons fo whom they vote. Conventions are usually made up of men who have some knowledge as to the qualifications and fitness of the different candidates wohae name are before them for nominations, and hence the nominess of a convention are likely to be better qualified fo the offices for which they are nom inated than the nominess of the pri mary election. I am In favor of going back to the convention system of making nom inations. CONSERVATIVE. In Other Days. . Twenty-five Years A(o. (From The Oregonian of March 14, 189T.) tionaon. unless Greece gives un her aim to annex Crete, the blockade of her ports will be enforced, accord ing to dispatches received tonight. Berlin. The Reichstag is expected to reruse to indorse the emperors request for naval credits for a num ber of new warships. New electric headlights have been put on the cars of the Portland stree railway company and are a decided success. The first of a new line of palace buffet sleeping cars between this city and Spokane was received by the O. R. & N. company yesterday. Fifty Years Ago. (From The Oregonls-n of March J4, 1S72.) niiaaeipnia. Tne committee on plans and architecture from the United States centennial commission will visit New York and Boston In a few days to confer with architects. Madrid. A decree has been pub llshed authorizing Ortega to lay i direct telegraph cable between Spain and England. Five emigrant wagons were taken up on the Cascade steamer yesterday with- families and stocks en route for eastern Oregon. Charles F. Brown commenced yes terday the preliminary surveys for the Portland and Washington county plank road. Naturalization of Soldier. WOODBURN. Or., March -12. (To the Editor.) I enlisted in the United States infantry in December, 1879, and have an honorable discharge at term of service, 1884. During my time in service I was present in Indian cam paigns, and also' at taking Indian prisoners of war. I have neglected to take out citizenship papers. I have taken out my first papers. What I would like to know, under those circumstances: Have I any claim or right to final papers, or do I have to wait two years between first and final citizenship papers? SUBSCRIBER. Naturalization officer. New Post office building. Portland, states that he could not answer your question until he had first seen your discharge from the army. He advises that you write him and send your discharge with your letter. (location In Grammar. PORTLAND, March 13. (To the Editor.) Which of these sentences is correct: "Let us go, Just you and me," or "Let us go, just you and I?" INTERESTED. A noun or pronoun used to limit. explain, expand, or emphasize the meaning of another noun or pronoun denoting the same' person or thing is put by apposition In the same case. The sentence reconstructed is "Let us, just you and i.ie, go." "You" and me," being apposltives of "us" take the same case, which is objective. Origin of "White Elephant." PORTLAND, March 13. (To the Editor.) What was the origin of the expression relating to a white ele phant on one's hands? E. The expression originated from the veneration of white elephants of the East Indies, which must be kept In royal state and from, the old tale that the king of Siam sometimes presents them to courtiers whom he dtsires to ruin. Those Who Come and Go. Tales of Folks at the Hotels. An optimistic prediction that busi ness conditions will be normal In 3D days was made yesterday by Paul Tieburg, managing director of a well known chain of eight shoe stores in Pacific coast cities. Mr. Tieburg ha Just returned from a trip to New York, Boston and other eastern cities, where he Inspected manufacturing plants nd stores end studied the business sltuatiou. "Optimism Is re turning to merchants all over the United States," said Mr. Tiehurc "There is little doubt In my mliul that within a month conditions will be normal and a period of prosperity In all lines of trade will begin. A build Ing boom has started in California end other western statts. Lurse busi ness firms are making every effort to pull trade. A pet iort of iL-pression brings a retrenching policy to many firms, but far-sighted men sre tryini; to aid the coming of good times by spending money in a dull year Just an they would in prosperous peaBons. The little firms have been hard hit by the period of declining markets. An epi demic of colds, grippe and influenza has hurt business. 1 have a report from the manager of my Fresno mora that Fresno ichools have been closed because of the "flu." and that the the aters will also be locked up until the epidemic abates." Mr. Tieburg like the Oregon climate, and doesn't miml a little rain. He plans to nake hi permanent home in Portland, as he Is tired of California weather after liv ing there for 82 years. He is regis tered at the Portland hotel. The gas engine in a few years will have a keen competitor In the auto mobile field with the development of the new Baker car. according to II. T. Splcsr, representative of the American Locomotive company. "Our firm Is building the boiler for this car and we therefore have had sn opportunity to see what It can do," said Mr. Spicer. A Awo-cyllnder steam car, with the same bore and stroke, can do ths work of an eisht-cyllnder gas en gine, for the steam engine deliver power at both ends of the stroke and the gas engine delivers power only at one end and on the third stroke of the cylinder. Already In foreign coun tries the steam engine has been used for heavy duty In trucks, and In Scot land one can see trucks driven- by steanv and the boiler being fired by coal. The life of the steam engine is much longer than that of the gas en gine and an automobile with steam power should last a great many years." Mr. Spicer is registered at the Multnomah. mm i- C. Edward Wood of San Franclsoo, after a visit of several weeks In New England and the middle west, reports that normal conditions are returning fast to the manufacturing districts and that one of the largest hardware and tool manufacturing plants has announced that it Is within 0 per cent of normal production. While In Chicago Mr. Wood was Informed fcy members of Medlnah temple of the Mystio Shrine that 6000 Shrlners from Chicago would attend the an nual Shrine convention at San Fran cisco this year. Members of the Shrine convention committee In San Francisco estimate the number of Shrlners who will attend at 250.000. Mr. Wood is a guest at the Multno mah. Miss Nellie C. Cornish, founder and director of the Cornish, school. Is at the hotel Benson lor a few days, re newing acquaintances In the city. She is on her way to Seattle after a two months' tour of the United states in the interest of the Cornish school. Her summer school faculty Includes a number of notable persons, among whom are Adolph Bolm, famous Rus sian dancer; Sergei Kllbansky, Cor nelius Van Vleet, Anna Louise David. Sam Hume and Rudolph Schaefcr of the Greek theater nt Berkeley, Cal. Miss Cornish spent much or her childhood in Portland, having at tended the North Central school, mi. Mary's academy and the Cook Musi cal institute. John Dobry. fighting commander of Prineville post of the American Le gion, is a Portland viHltor. Mr. Dobry served in France as a United Stati- marine with the Immortal second di vision, which made such an inHplring record in the darkest days of tho war. Since his uiscnargo ne ns ton- tinned his career of fighting lor Americanism as an active leader of American Legion affairs. Ho led tho fight against Japanese colonization in the fertile lands near Prineville. I felt that, as a representative or the American Lection, it was my duty to oppose settlement of American lands by Japanese," said, Mr. Dobry. "Tho American Legion, In national conven tion assembled, twice pointed oui mis duty, and Prineville post is doing Its bit in the matter." Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Greenfield and little daughter Bcttina liavo re turned to I'ortland after a nine months' visit to southern California. They made the return trip by auto mobile, and report that tho road homo was dotted with many thrilling and hnmnrous exDeriences. "It was quite a thrill to find Our car locking fend ers with another machine on a IiIkIi and lonely mountain road so narrow that cars could not pass each other." said Mr. Greenfield. "We were forced to cut into an Ice bank and push tne smaller car around ours by our own strength, for to drive on would Imvn meant a plunge to the canyon below." Motorists are-beginning to feel tho lure of approaching spring weather and the open road, and are making preparations for the pleasant season of nicnics and tours, according to Harold Miller, garage owner of Hub bard. Or. "People are gelling mrir automobiles overhauled for the c"tn- ing motoring season airi-aay, sain Mr. Miller. With Mrs. Miller, lis camo to Portland to fill out his application for the state bonus for ex-servlco men. The lumber business, Oregon's great industry which Is a barometer of prosperity. Is coming back to normal conditions slowly but surely, according to George Gustinia, saw mill owner of Vesper, Or. "Orders are coming in with some degree of regularity, and the outlook is en couraging," said Mr. Gustinia yester day at the Imperial hotel, where ho was in conference with local lumber men. Mr. and Mrs. Reuel W. Ketrhum have returned to Portland after an extended trip to the orient. They landed at Seattle a few days ago on he Keystone State from Manila. On the same ship were Mayor Hugh Caldwell of Seattle, potentate of Mln temple of the Mystic Slirinn, and other Shrine officials returning from Manila where they initiated a larco lass of Shrlners. Arrivals atjLhe OroRori hotel yrjlrr ay Included J. F. Gilpin, t-ontraclor f Astoria, and G. A. Schumacher, ruggist of Newport, Or. Guy N. Hlekok, banker of McMinn ville, is registered t the I'ortland. Hons In XfW York. PORTLAND, March 13. (To th" Editor.) What has the Mate, of .Sen- ork dona in the way of bonus t' heir soldiers? TtKADKR. Bonus leginlation after adoption i;i New York was declared unconstitu tional by the state uupmuu cuuiU