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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1916)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1916.. LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER TAGS FOUR THE OBSERVER - t An Independent Newspaper. Published Duily and Weekly at La Grande, Oregon, by the LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER PUBLISHING CO. J. D. MEYERS, President, H. B. LEITER, Vice President, CLARKE LEITER, Editor and Publisher. Entered at the Postoflice at La Grande, Oregon, as second class matter. On Sale in Other Cities: Oregon Hotel News Stand, Portland; Imperial Hotel News Stand, Portland. Advertising rates on application. Telephone Main 37 City Official Paper. Member United Press Associations. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Carrier. Daily, single copy 6c Daily, per week J- Daily, per month 65c Daily, per fix months in advance 3.6U Daily, per year in advance . . . $7.00 By Mail Daily, by mail per year, In ad- vance 4 00 Weekly Observer-Star, per year In advance $1.50 The Observer carrier boys are in structed to put the papers on the porch. If the carrier does not do this, misses you, or neglects getting the paper to you on time, kindly 1 phone the Observer, as this is the ' f nly way we can determine whether ' or not the carriers are following in struction. Phone Main 37 before 7:30 o'clock and a paper will be sent you by special messenger if the carrier has missed you. Address all communications to THE OBSERVER. 1710 Sixth Street. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 191C. FOOD EMBARGO DANGEROUS BOOMERANG. The job of a congressman is any thing but pleasant these days. Added to the multiplicity of stirring and em barrassing thomes which faced the last congress and made the recent election the closest and most uncer tain contest that America has seen for a generation, comes the demand for a food embargo. It matters lit tle that this demand comes from peo ple who do not produce foods. It mat ters less that the congressmen them selves know that any interference with the prosperity of the fanner will wreck the thrift of the nation. It matters not at all that he knows that such action will meet with summary action by those nations whose vessels carry our commerce and that those nations possess and will use the power to destroy our commerce if we fail to feed them in their hour of need. The demand is being made upon the congressmen by their constituents in the cities who are feeling the cold clamp of the high cost of the neces sities of life. , The member with a farming con stituency is indeed fortunate. He can oppose the embargo and Test as sured of the loyal support of his friends back home as well as of the lending men of the business world. For once the interests of the farmor and the dealer in war orders are identical. But the congressman whose constituency mingles the city dweller and the grower of food stuff s hns before him a titan's task to maintain his seat unshnken. An ndngc as old and as true as the nation itself maintains that the pros perity of the man who tills the soil insures the prosperity of the nation. The history of a dozen generations proves it. A food embargo will merely cut down the farmer's in come. On the cost of foods is bascl :... ..., Drl iha dealer who sup plies them with the necessities oi life. Their recompense nan ewi just enough that the prudent man might live and save just a little of his daily wage. 'If foods jro up. his daily wage must increase. If foods go down, his pay will certainly fall. Th lot of the worker and the small shop keeper has always been more toler ..i.i....kn rri,v were hiirh. With the farmer prosperous, .nore people will go back to tno sou anu u:v mvi . ers of the land there are in any com munity, the more prosperous and healthy that community becomes. Let congress think well before it nnv food embariro. Such an act will prov.; a dangerous uwm erang. ! THE FALL OF BUCHAREST. ' Of great strategic importance is Bucharest. Commanding as it does the rich valleys of Roumania, its im portance as a base of war operations cannot well be over-estimated. But of far greater momen; at the present time is the moral effect of its down fall. German armies, wearied by long months of fighting, take new courage nnd press forward with re newed vigor with the prize in view. And once in Bucharest, what German warrior can fail to make high re solvo that so far as he is concerned, the ambitions of his leaders shall be realized in the days to follow. But what of the effect on the al lies? Roumanians see their fairest provinces overrun. Their promise of support and assistance and the re ward of Besarabia and Transylvania they now realize to be but empty husks, thrown to them in attractive phrasenge bright guile that led them to national suicide. With what heart can the loyal Roumanian now support the cause of the allies? Greece and the other smaller na tions of Southern Europe which have not yet taken part in the great holo caust will find scant encouragement in the fate of Roumania to induce them to support the cause of the al lies. The morale of the rank and file of the Allied troops has undergone a se vere strain in the past few months 1 and the fall of Bucharest but adds to the tenseness. Its full effect is not .ni !.. in th months to come. Truly. the fall of Bucharest is of mighty portent in the giant struggle of Eu rope. Portland wins. The railroads havs the right to charge less for hauling goods farther, says the Supreme court. It is hard for people who live in the Inland Empire to see why rail roads can haul goods three hundred miles farther over high grades for less money than they can unload them in I,a Grande, Baker or Spokane. England's government is to be re constructed for the 'steenth time since the war began. And each ha3 been an improvement for Germany. If this is the hard winter which the prophets foretold, it seems that we will live through it. Give Venizelos enough rope and he will hang his whole following. More and better days are ahead for the Northwest. 4 An Expert Foot Specialist will be at Our Store December 9th to December 11th. Consult him-free Your Choice of Any Ladies' Suit in the Store Newest Fabrics Latest Styles-!3 Off. EDITORIAL COMMENT The inside making of a Suit or Over coat is either the making or ruination of it. The secret of long wear and shape looking lies beneath the surface. That's why you can't buy by looks alone you must buy by reputation. Our reputa tion has . been in good standing with good dressers for many seasons. We know the inside making of every gar ment we sell. Hart Schaffner & Marx Suits and Over coats j $20.00 to $30.00 Other .Makes $15.00 to $17.50 CotrjTifiht Hurt Srluf fnrr & Marx EXTENSIVE SHOWING Bath liobes $3.50 to $18.00 Smoking Jackets $4.00 to $12.00 Gloves $1.50 to $5.00 Hats - -.-$1.00 to $5.00 Shirts $1-00 to $7.50 Underwear $1.00 to $7.00 SUppers -$1-25 to $2.50 Neckwear 25c to $2.00 Enormous Stocks of Good, Sensible, Useful Christm as Gifts. Some Job If Judge Stephen A. Lowell of Pendloton, who has headed a league for the abolition of ' profanity, is successful in toning down the wild and picturesque expletives of the Umntilln county sheepherdcr he will be fully competent to tackle the brand used by the hoss wrangler and the pirates of the seven seas. The Portland Telegram, City Affairs. I.a Grande, Dec. 7. (To the Edi tor) Of the present City Commis- the recompense of the toiler in the i sioner campaign, I have nothing to "Life's Seven Ages" Through all life's seven ages there is the need of a Bank Account, but not through life's seven ages will there be the chance to save, there is today. You can start a bank account today and keep it alive, and feel that those dependent on you are provided for. There never was a belter time to save than today, and every dollar you place in this bank is fully protected: always acccssablc, and acts as an ever-present inspiration to save more COME IN TODAY Deposits Assets . $1,040,000.00 ....$1,365,000.00 cCa Qrande JYational Bank do; but as City Manager, I am pleased to keep the public informed of the city's affairs. When matters creep into print instigated by ignorant and vicious it seems proper that they be corrected. The city recorder's books are open and plainly written, contain ing a full history of every financial and legislative transaction; hence, there is no excuse for the irresponsi ble demogogue to make assortionj about measures which the public rec ords show to be idle and false. Wihat is there about the light ques tion calling for information? There are four business blocks alone Adams avenue which last year were provided with electric cluster lights of three lamps eacn, or tnirty two clusters. These cost the city three dollars each per month to maintain. In the interest of the whole city and of economy, the com missioners, in an effort to reduce an enormous city debt, considered these lights more of an ornament than a necessity since other streets with equally ns much travel had but one lamp at each post. The stores be fore which these cluster lights were placed, closed at six o'clock; henco they were not specially benefitted. There was a constant demand from other parts of the city for a supply of lights. So these cluster lights were pruned down from three lamps costing $:i(.00 per year each to $12.00 per year and the extra lamps put in lark business nlleys, and over tns entire citv where actually needed, with less capacity, and thereby ac commodating all the people, nnd by reason thereof, the expenses were re duced one hundred dollars per month or twelve hundred per year a saving to the taxpayer in that amount. It is folly to assert that Ln Urando is poorly lighted at night. Mr. Harmon, the manager of the compnny furnishing electric lights to Baker, North Towder, Union ana La Grande is authority for the state ment that Ln Grnnde is as well lighted ns any city in Eastern Oregon including Pendloton. The question is asked docs the tax payer see any difference in expenses? No taxes hnve beon collected since the reduction in lights. The budget for the coming year shows a reduction in general expenses of over $22,000 which will reduce the city's debt that amount hence leases the taxes. It was intended to make further re duction, but the Reaver crock dam re quired nn expenditure of $10,000 while the septic tank a legacy of former years, requires an expenso rf $7,000 -for which the present gov ernment is not responsible. Concluding, it might be a good sug gestion that if any who arc aged and decrepit experience difficulty in per ambulating the streets on dark nights, they should keep early hours or pro vide proper guides having sufficient eyesight. J. E. FOLEY, City Manager. SPIES OF WORLD ARE GATHERED ' AT STOCKHOLM. ' BY WM. PHILIP SIMMS ' Stockholm, Nov. 8. (By Mail United Press Staff Correspondent.) This is the spy-center of the world. Hero foe meets foe but with his fingers crossed. It is neutral ground and the spy plays his ungrateful game in perfect safety. ' "See that chap over there?" a frend asked, pointing across the lobby of one of the prettiest hotels in the world. "That is an Austrian military attache. The man he is talking to is a Russian from Petrograd. I know them both." "There they were playing their frames. Each trying to trick the other to some end, only heaven knew what. "Never mind about locking your chest of drawers, or your bags or trunks," an acquaintance told me the day I landed in Stockholm. "Locks . are no good here. If anybody wants to see what you have hidden away they I will manage to do so. And they usual ly want to see." There is perhaps no more fascinat ing spot anywhere than a certain ! great hotel here. In the world's most bentiful dining-room under a sort of collonade ranging alongside u formal garden whore a superb lawn grows i under n lofty glass dome, where huge palms and flowers grow in profusion nnd the tinkle of a fountain in the , Venetian court is not much softer than tho music of a hidden stringed-orches-1 spying on spies and spies spying on spies set to catch spies. It i3 a great game. There is on record at least one case of a spy doing nearly all of these things at one and the sr.me time, being simultaneously in the employ of France, England and Germany. There are ,of course, big games be ing played by men not ordinarily call ed spies. Diplomatic agents being the more dignified term. These are educa ted, cultivated men. And they do the finer, larger work. Smaller fry keep track of shipments to Russia, of the movement via Sweden of government agents, etc., or in the case of the Allies of the shipments of materials to Germany by boat, etc. Of course there are free-lances who scurry around picking up scraps of information and selling the same for whatever the in terested parties feel like paying. These are the rag-pickers of the pro fession. Of course there arc women spies or women agents. These are not always used as Oppenhcini and other romanc ers lead one to imagine, but there is much of it that is true enough to make these women interesting. Their great utility comes through being able to mingle in high circles where they can listen to the gossip. "Listen, my dear," says one lady to another, "here is some great scandal: I promised not to tell but I must tell it to you, knowing you'll not breath it to a soul." "And so on it goes. l Hotels are packed. Only by reserv ing a room days in advance can one find accomodation save by rare good luck. At tea time, at dinner and again at supper, the splendid restaurants here are jammed and tables are at pre mium. Champagne corks are popping; like machine guns. Everybody seems to have plenty of money and nobody appears to be stingy with it. One sees many German people here Here and there in dining rooms are German diplomats, army officers in mufti or evening clothes, and frequent ly they have their women-folk' with them. These are wearing skirts quite as short as any seen in Paris nnd the cut of their gowns is proof that thought Frenchmen and Germans are killing each other, Rue de la Paix styles have found their way to Unter den Linden. This is the Great , Cross Roads, the meeting place of the folks of the war 'ring nations. Tonight, in the lovely 'upper-room, at adjoining tables, two men, their wives and daughters, all faultlessly dressed in evening clothes hear each other talk, though in'differ ent languages. Tomorrow these two men may be leading charges at each other, over rain-soaked, shell-pitted ground. One may slaughter the other and leave the bloddy, muddy corpse to bo trodden on ty a regiment of iron shod men, leaving a woman without a husband, a family without a father. But tonight they dine elbow to elbow. tra, Germans nnd English, Austrians and French, Russians nnd Bulgars, : Italians and Turks, Belgian and Hun garians and all the rest mingls at ta ble, but their elbows sometimes lit ' ernlly touch at adjoining boards, i Stockholm Is easily accessible to all the wnrring countries. At the Central I Railway Station every night, on nd ' loining tracks, are three trains. One goes north to Tornea, the Russian i frontier town; one to Bergen whence one takes tho boat for England and France; Express whirls one to Berlin. The Russian train leaves first nbout 9 p. m., the Germnn train second at ; 0:20. So on the platforms one sees mingling and jostling German and Bri tish, French and Prussian nnd all tho i rest. In the hotels one has the impression j that each column conceals a spy and each pnlm two or three. And one is , nearly rii'ht in this impression for they are as thick as fleas everywhere. Spy spying on unsuspecting persons, spysj PIANOS Pianos of Quality Sold on Terms to Suit Your Convenience--- The Wiley B. Allen Co. Foley Hotel Building
