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EDITORIAL V'AGE'
'ncogipetent, Vi$jon?My, Extravagant".
TliP ooik o lii'ict 1'. l)is(iic on tlie Pacific const dnr-
in the wiii'timo, jiPriod is now Ifciiijj invest iatei!. "livery
witiu'ss in tlie Noattje iii(iiiry asserts tluit the work of
)itjiK! vns "ifci'oinpetent, visioiwrj' and extntviifjant."
Ad of wliiclg eonfirrfis tlif jiulilie opinion tlie people ot
tflis wiiirt Jieii fls(iie was liere. His methods wei'c
lavishly expensive, Ins Mens were IVrein to all practical
timber work, liis rfsnlts'Verc nil.
It was n ise of n inan.not knowing his fuisiness, hut
wUh retnnrkiiMe nerve and an apparent lielief that he
could "hull" thing's tliriuill, taking charge of the largest
pieces of work the Kovcrniiiciit had fo he done. His
Spruce Division was not only a jokes from the lii'Kiimiiitf,
Jtut .it was positively criminal in its extravagance. One
lias hut to journey through the forests where l)is'iie op
erated to.sec the wanton waste, the hone-headed work of
this man who folded the government and spent millions
of dollars of the people's money through his ignorance
and egotism.
The title of Colonel has been given a man who de
spoiled the timber, who built railroads that are of no
value, who amassed millions in expensive machinery un
united to the work, who used man power in the most ex
travagant manner when the country needed every bit of
production possible, and who succeeded in gelling no re
sults for the country that he was serving.
So long as time shall last, tin; Spruce Division will be
under an odium that cannot be lifted. And as congress
goes deeper info its work the smell will increase and the
people will know that inefficiency stalked over the 'a
eific coast in the personage of 1 )iso1ue, who lacked t he first
. essential of manhood to admit that he knew nothing about
what he was doing.
It is little wonder that every timber worker and lum
ber manufacturer holds a malice for a man who will filler
the great forests of the coast and destroy the limber, to
hay nothing of the terrific waste in money used in trying
fo do things of whi;h lie knew nothing.
There should 1m? a punishment. The fool killer shouhj
get busy. IJich America is the only country in the world
that could stand such men ns "Col." Pisque, ami the pity
of it all is that this nation will refuse to punish such men
as the crime fhey have committed demands.
LA GRANDE'S WATER.
Several days ago the water master for Union county
issued a .statement to the effect that the water in the
upper country where I ax (Irande secures ils domestic
supply has nil been filed by prior rights and that in fact
the city, at a low water season, apparently his no rights
whatever to water except what has been impounded bv
the city. .
The Observer has no technical knowledge of this mat
ter. We have no disposition to doubt the water master's
opinion. On the other hand, the city of La (irande has
proceeded, under legal advice, and spent a large amount
of money on a water system. That system cannot be
junked, not even if it is found necessary to pay reason
able, damages to water owners during the growing season,
The whole matter crystallizes in the belief that the thing
to do is to develop the water on lieavcr creek and if
necessary bring in more of the smaller creeks in a com
bined effort to furnish greater water supply for the city.
Let the legal phase of the matter not be worried over
until the court's determine La (I ramie's rights, then
abide by the court's decision. !nt, first of all, begin
preparations for securing more water regardless of opin
ions, so that next summer this city will not be in the con
dition it is todav.
BURGESS. THE NEW COMMISSIONER.
It was wisdom on tlie part of (Inventor 01ml t to. ap
point Newton .1. Durgess, of I'matiHa county, to a place
on the Highway commission which will be vacated by W.
L. Thompson soon. Air. I'.urgess is a big man in every
way. lie is financially able t'o take such a place which
carries no salary, for he has made a 'thorough success of
nis own business, lie is broad-minded and square. liv
ery 'sect iitn oT the state under his administration', will
receive fair treatment and there will never be a time when
he will not be rc;dv to drop his own work and serve the
Plate.- ' .'
Kaern Oregon has long been proud. of the work of
Mr. liurgess when, he was state senator. In his every
official act lie was fair to all and legislation received his
personal consideration before he affixed his approval.
He ij man who takes nothijig.for granted and is always
keenly alert to the welfare of ol hers: As a.highway com
missioner, Mr riurgess will Jo good work:
Vflwn a camper sets u forest fire he should report it
at once. Failure to so report constitutes a crime that is
punishable by 4aw. fhilv a few daysign campers went
above La yrande and faileto extinguish thcir'eajnp fire.
'A fire was parted, and as a result of that, a large area
of tfiflber has been TuirneJL Also tlie wark of an entjre
i summer0 lly several nien wl were uuwiul'actiii iug cojd
wkmI was lm'iicl. Such jjn offense is serious .and "the
light-hearfcf? fS o.iclr or cmperhuhlebe more careful.
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distaMys covei9cA in n small fiQ.?on of ;ps?cond. loivtbi
Foou (he wireless senders willSlm-sn Dowcftifi that m-
s;is will ciirlo tho oar.!.,
lack iH'fuie they're faiidy Mjivjotl.
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message
way aroml 111
utli. 'that
inrHinj; (liriusrlvt-s cttmin-j
fcho Plumb Railway Plan
o As a Challenge.
(I'rom oVintmy Science Monitor.)
Perhnpn there Is nothing more sur
prising in tl fact that the dronpinr
of the Plumb plan for. ruilrond man
ajft'iyeiif in thu niuUt of a public con
ftciousnesg that had apparently pre
paicj iUnlf to see thu railroad r?
wtored to private ownership ns hai'
ver much the name effect a th
dipping of a bomb in a crowded fity.
Fin there is no denying that th
IMumb plan made something of a de
tonation, any more than there is anj
use in denying that ' the Plumb plai
is an object of considerable size and
Ut many people, of most forbidding
, aspect. It wan, of course, intended t
n.ake a noise; hot nw that the thine
has been touched off, and the dunt i:
clearing n little, H might be reason
able to expect those who have been
ehib!ting signs of unnecessarily acuti
criticism to adopt a calmer demeanor
wiuh a fair measure of reasonable
ness, while everybody is surveying th
ground to discover, if possible what
the whole thing amounts to.
Clearly what the railroad men offet
is no ordinary proposition. It is fun
damental. It could hardly be adopted
for railroads without affecting prnc
tically nil other industries, at least so
far as they are highly organized and
closely related1 to public welfare 01
convenience. The proposal is, without
(fiestion, something more than a step
toward industrial reform; it is nearei
being the first move in industrial rev
olution. Ceitaiuly, if adopted, it
would put the entire structure of in
dLstry, If not finance, in this countrj
o i a basis wholly different from that
which h;is heretofore been the ground
work of American industrial and fi
finni'inl life; for it seems to contem
plate nothing, less than the ousting ol
capital from the controlling and d.
reeling position which it has hithert'
held, as regards the railroads, and the
substitution therefcv, Wi effect, of la
Itor, as represented by the railroad op
eratives. Such a proposal, merely as
pomething for serious consideration
could hardly be made in this country,
without causing doubts and misgiv
ii.gs amongst the more conservative
elements. And while it is natural foi
those .brought suddenly face jg) faoe
vilh n revolutionary project thai
would apparently overthrow the bus
iness and corporation system undo
which the country has proceeded thut
far to a position of prosperity and in
fluence to show signs of alarm, there
is little wisdom, in limes like the. pres
ent, in undertaking to counter the la
bor proposal by mere weight of invec
tive or abuse, or even by failing to
weight it fairly for what it purports to
be. The thing is big enough, its po.
tential effect is sufficiently far-reach-irg,
whilst it claims the indorsement
of a body of American citizens of suf
ficient number, to bespeak a consid
eration by the country and the govern
ment that should be commensurate
with the importance of the matters
nominally involved. Not for the sake
of. the railroad brotherhoods, not for
organised labor . merely, but for the
i-ixkc .of the whole country and in
view of the fact that industrial revo
lution of some kind or another is ad
mittedly imminent, the IMumb plan
ns n serious and well-considered pro
posal by an organized body.of wori
ers which claims-to bs acting in good
f;;ith for tho general good, should lie
made the subject of a study so com
prehrnsive, so intelligent, and so fair,
that its proponents cannot herenftei
s?y
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have ground for asserting that it haf
not hud proper consideration.
All sorts of untenable assertion
are being made against the labor rep
resentatives, too often in place of the
uiguments or facts ti.t.i Tn'.ght be c:
petted to show the fallibility of thei;
proposal. They are accused of threat
ening to cause a general strike u file a
their government ownership plui.
;hould fe adopted, and many persons
ieerii ft have a notion that the rail
toad stn'ke now in progress is rrne
iiow concerned with the railroad own
ership controversy; yet the propo
nents of the Plumb plan have state;'
explicitly that thoy were "not think
ing of a strike" ut a means of com
pelting congress to adopt their pro
ject, rather that they nre counting or
the education of public opinion am
the usual electioneering methods' t(
secure a congress that will favo;
adoption. As for the present strike
that, of course, is based on wholl;
other interests, namely, the interest
of certain classes of railroad men k
put an end to what they feel is uri
warranted delay, on the part of tht
Railroad Wage Adjustment Hoard ii
passing upon their demand for highe
wages.
Similarly, it is as easy as it if
ridiculous to inveigh against tlx
members of the railroad brotherhood
as Uolsheviki, threatening the countr;
with the red terror of Russia beeaus
of their proposition with respect tc
the railroads. Such statements ear
only weaken the position of thoso win
uphold private ownership and wish ti
stand jtgninst any radical change. Foi
the true IJohdievik, of course, would
overthrow the government us th
very first step-in setting up his new
toc;ul order, and the worst that tht
railroad men propose, apparently, i
that the railroad influence upon gov
ornment, always more or less ob
vious in this country since railroad
ever were, shall hereafter be exercise
by worker groups rathor than by in
vestor groups. It is only dodgingthc j
issue to contend that this is an as !
sault upon the national form of gov
ernment. It is nothing of the sort
We have here the American demoern
Vy, capable of being dominated bj
whatever groifps or classes can man
age to swing the greatest political
influence. That one sort of group ha- i
been, dominant in the past does not i
of course, mean that the government
is breaking down merely because, nr
times change, another sort of group
comes to exercise dominating influ
enee. And the claim is equally un
warranted that the railroad men, rep
resenting & Pr cent of the people oi
the United States, nre undertaking ti
thrust their proposal upon the oilier
flfi per cent of the population, as i
the entire 05 per cent were definitely
aligned against the Plumb plan. No
body knows at this juncture what
proportion of the 05 per cent wniuY
vote either way if the opportunity
were given it. ,
Why wot, then, look the proposition
in the face, and deal with it for what
it really is? And what is it, stripped
of all disguises, but the long-expected
challenge, in concrete form, of eol
lectivistic labor to individualistic cap"
ital?
Must Abolish Serfdom in
. the Army. . . ,
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Snys Uricailior-Gunornl Samuel- T
Ansell, formerly juiljre p.ilvonite pen
eial rf the army, and tho 'man whe
exposed the injustice of the American
court-martini system: .
Conflicting Thoughts
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"We will never fight ntio'Tier war
Huecessfulty unless congress radical)
changes the methods of organization
and discipline in the r,y;tnnd tlji;
applies particularly to the courts
martial." 9
The American public has learned s
KooS deal in the last few rmftith
about the practical working of the
present system. A since ns efforl
Mvyifto have been made by the army
authorities, since the arndstice war
signed, to mitigate the severity of thr
sentences imposed during the, wr. U
has been impossible, however, to rem
edy all the injustice under the p re.se ni
mode of procedure. Thou winds of the
undeserved sentences were served
in whole or in part, before the review
ing court got around to them. Many
of the wrongs cannot be righted under
the present law. And it is a signifi
;-ent commentary on the system that
(ion. Ansell was not able to nccom
plish his reform wurk within the orga
nization, but had to leave the arm
t) do it.
"The whole system," he says, "is
out of tune with our democratic gov
ernment. Our military code was tak
on bodily from that of the Uritisb
back in ,1774; and the British in turn
took theirs from old times when the
soldier was but a serf.
The British have revised that old
code until there is little left of it
But we, in free America, have kept if
substantially ns in the days of the
eighteenth century. As a result, toe
many soldiers are tried who ought not
to be tried at all. Too many are trier"
on charges that as a matter of fact
do not specify any offense known tc
the articles of war. Too many arff!
tried on flimsy evidence. Too man;'
are tried by officers not properly
qualified to pass judgment, because
they do not know anything about Jaw. 1
Too many have sentences imposed on!
them absurdly out of proportion to j
their offenses." i
The public agrees with Gen. Ansell !
that .''our soldiers are not serfs, but
citizens, ' and that congress ought to
make it impossible hereafter to repeat
the wrongs under which supposedly
free Americans have suffered in this
war of freedom, as members of an
army supposedly the freest on earth.
Spending Like Drunken
Sailors, j
, William Jf. Lewis, director of thr
snvincs division of the U. S. Treas
tiry" Department, says that consume
themselves, despite nil their com
plaints, are largely responsible for thu
profiteering. They have encouraged
i liy their reckless expenditure. The)
have been' indulging, he says, in n
"spending intoxication."
Dealers, admittedly, have been ir'
the habit of charging '' all the traffic
will bear." Hut how do- those dealer?
form their estimates of how mucl
the traffic will bear?Clcarly enough
fioiri the way the public spends it.
money. If patrons snil carefully, count
ing the dinu'jS and dollars and making
sure they are getting the best vulur
possible, the dealers will naturally
ljuld down profits to a pretty reason
able basis. .Hut when patrons spem'i
money as carelessly as drunken sail
ois, buying by preference the most ex
pensive goods a'nd pinking no questior
01" the cost, the dcalots naturally in
flate prices all along the line, and ac
custom themselves to a higher per
rentage of .profit than they formerly
expected.
"Kvcryono must begin,''' says Mr
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Lewis, ''at ojee o curtailoexpenJi
i'cs r luxuries now selling at co
orbitnnt prices." I-et buyers cuPoul
the e?insive luxuries, njd buy care
fully, not necessarily blaming the
dealer for high prices, but demanding
the most for tfceir mney that hecan
afford tove. 'fhen theis likely fc'
be a double saving the money for
n erly devoted to luxuries will go fo:
necessaiVs, and those necessaries will
drop in price.
Wise, sober buying will encourat;.
horest seeling. . .
The Limit In Mexico Has
Been Reached.
Recent events in Mexico have- cer-J
tainly neared the limit of tolerance.
When American sailors were held up
and robbed by Mexicans, ft was bad
enough. When American army avia
tors arc seized and held for ransom,
national self-respect demanded action.
Carranza continues to palaver as
pompously, verbosely nnd ineffective
ly as ever. In a recent reply to '
Washington note demanding protec
tion for Americans in Mexico, he said:
. "The Mexican government has been
and continues to be animated by the
best of intentions to eliminte all those
difficulties which disturb its good re
lations with the government of the
United States, and wishes its citizens
w iiiju fcit.i. jj.ui.u...
Any profession of good will towardl
the United States on the part of Car-1
ranza certainly sounds like a joke
Possibly that exasperating old dor
has a hidden sense of humor hitherto
unsuspected.
Granting that Carranza would like
to stop all those crimes and indigni
ties for the practical advantage to his
own government, it is clear that he ir
not able to do it. He cannot suppress
the brigandage. He cannot restore
order in Mexico and place that dis
tracted country on a basis where it
can play its proper part in interna
tional relations and guarantee foreign
ers the treatment expected in any
civilized country.
Americans have kept on hoping
ngninst hope that the Mexican people
would put their own house in order
If they cannot do it, the task is ur
to Uncle Sam.
When One Cow Is Equal
to Five.
It may sound like an exaggeration
to say that one good cow is worth
more than five poor ones. The asser
tion is proved, though, by an incident
related in a XJ.S. Department of Ag
riculture bulletin.
A New Jersey farmer had five
cows, just ordinary cows,- which were
not very good milkers, but with which
he was pretty well satisfied. He got
ns much milk from them as his
neighbors get from their cows.
His son, however, was not satisfied.
He bought a high-grade cow, and
paid $153 for it a price which his
father regarded as extravagant.
When those six cows came fresh in
the .spring, the one high-grade cow
produced more milk than the other
five together, and kept it up longer.
There was five times the product
for one-fifth of the labor and feed.
Does good stock pay? Anybody in
that 'neighborhood will ngrce now that
it does. The farmers there are selling
off their old stock and buying a bet
ter breed.
Why not government regulation ol
tips? In many restaurants a patron
has to tip the waiter nearly as much
ns the food bill nmounts to, if he
wants to get anything to eat.
Chicago delicately calls its laniord
profiteers ''rent hogs." Wonder whn
it calls its packers.
Save the pennies. No use trying tc-
spend them, anyway, because you , "c ,a ' "anre 'he 3uer
, -.. ,, lHall and refreshments wHl be eerv
can t buy anything with them an ,, AM ..,,.. . ,, , . , .
DKI-.lt SEASON" OPK.NS SLTT. 10.
The open season for deer in Wal
lowa
anil union counties is from
10 to Nov. 10. In other parts
Sept
of the state it funs from Sept. 1 to
Oct. ai. Heretofore the open season
began in the middle of AugusJ, when j
the weather was too hot and the coun
try too dry to hunt. The bag limit
renffiins as before, th,at is two deer
with hflrns foreach hunter.
Carnegie Perion Fund.
The earned Foundation for the
tilviincvinent of T.-ai'hine provide re
Iring ivnsionx for the teuf hers of mil.
vIMn. college and tei-hnl.al
'k'"!" the l"nlt.-l State. Vumnln
yd Newfoundland. nf-h are on their
ccntlili d list. The penMon Is juvl:
teacher who ha reached theKje
f s:ly-ilve years nnd ha given spr.f
d service or to One who has nerved
"' vear ns .pro.or or .trt vi - 0
S..f..v , and i&f -Q tor. in "lb? .
p'ij !cal di"illty.
9
ObservCT adi art Qij'yQid.
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.
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, The City of Pendleton was mado
defendant hraouit for I15U0 daiiioR
es, the plaintiffs being J. C Critii
mlus and Mrs. Ida Crlmmlna, bis
wfo, ol Fraewator. Mrs. 4fimnihis
tuil and broke her forearm. and dis
located her wrlrft whll wr.lklitg on
Court street on July 1.
Half the Umatilla county wheat
crruj Is estimated to b csold 'at this
time and s::les a ' present are being
made with considrable frequency,
the larger growers have contracted
tor their yields at prices said to hav
been at the basic figure.
Fifteen dffeicnt forst fires ragtn
In various portions of the Whitman
and Malheur reserves could be seen a
few days ago by Uie povcrnmnt man
on watch at Lookout mountain, south-u-st
of Lehman.
Josephus Daniels, secretary of the
navy, has extended to -Governor and
.Mis. Olcott an Invitation to Join him .
self and rrepident Wilson In review
ing the Pacific fleet from the decks
ol th baltleship Oragun in 9an Fran
cisco harbor on Labor Day, Septem
her 1.
DKMOXSTHATIOV IIUI.D WAI.,
IiOH'A SfXDAY AT 8 A. M.
Tin. Oiin,l Pars 1 Aflnr I-Aiuhul
as1. Truck riimbs
Sleep Hill. - i
Throe Nash Auto Turcks were sold
within an hour In Wallowa after the
truck demonstration which took placo
last Sunday morning iu Wallowa.
The demonstration was held Sun
cay mornl.it; at S o'clock on the C
A. Hunter farm where the truck
were put t3 the test on huling wheat
and the Nash track made such a
wonderful record thai soon convert
ed several ol the frmeri that hme
was tho -.aaciiina for thorn, a mach
ine that cn pull a load aud that car
make tho speed.
The Nsh dealer In Wallowa had
Invited any truck to participte in the
dmionstartion and several rival ears
turned out, Louis Graham of Walla
Walla, bettor known as "Shorty",
the Nash Company demonstrator,
was in Wallowa to put Hie Nastt
"over the top" in the capacity con
test, tha Nash ws Iso put thruogh a .
demonstration on plowed ground. The
last test was when the Quad, loaded
with 4 tons, 100 percent over cap
acity, pulled out nd made for a steep
hill. Every one doubted the chanco
of the truck making the hill, but as
in France and elsewhere where iho
Nash went up and over the top ot
the hill, leaving Its competitors stall
ed at tile foot of the hill.
Those buying the cars were J. P.
Johnson, .one-ton regular equipment
Quad; H. W. Cole, two-ton regular
equipment Quad; and C. A. Hunter,
or.e.tnn pneumatic cord tire Quad.
Mr.' Hunter wan the first to buy a
Nash ear In Wallowa county and af
ter the truck demonstration placed
an order for a new Bport model Nash
automobile.
FOUR L'S WILL MEET
The District Convention of the Loy
al Legion of Loggers and Lumber
men will bo held in the Oddfellow'd
Hall on Saturday, August 30th, when
all tho lumbermen In the district,
employer nnd employe alike, will get
together to dincuss the great issues
of the day as they affect tho lumber
industry.
This great organization of one of
the nation s greatest Industries, al
though in Its infancy, now comprises
over two thirds of the men and wo
men .who make tholr living from it.
Those ere they days ot big things
and this organization come3 forth
with a great big new daa, of the re
lations between employer and em
ploye, which Is so simple, and yet so
broad, that it loaves no room for ar
gument. . "
The various committees bvenarge
have arranged for a big time, bo ex
pense having been spared v fni the '
entertainment of visiting deiegatei.
Music will be furnished by a five
-ni,f0 orchestra. In the evening tbore
ux ...un 1 1 icuui
a.-e inviied to join in this big cele
bration. So be sure and come. Evpry
thing is free. Among the speakers
who will be here is (x-Mayor Albeo
01 i oruanu, me man who, mors than
-a"? otner. helped to put the-Loral
j Legion on the map. The opening cer-
emnies. amt address of .welcome
will b by Mr. II. E. CoolUge 6t this
city.
. . O A. REITAN,
, Secretary 4 La
Adv. 8-24-lt.
tillil.'S COM KltlCXt K THIS
The olOJor Girl's; conference tor
Lasie-n OreC, wiu,be held at All
eel August 29. 30 ana 31B All girls
in Inion county between ze aecs ol
1.. and 24 are urged to "-attend this
"r"f- U w" In charge ot Mrs.
Ida Nlven of t'ai.fcm Cily, who Is
Mate rector of Girl's W.Ok for the
Oregon Slate Snnftiy 0-hOl Asfi.-
t:on. Thera Oil be several good
speakers vr among whom are M&B
Ormshy. (,oneral Sectary, for O"
Idaho St.t. .... V.1. '. . 77-
. oiuooi AUOCI1-
on ani .VlU Harold r. Humbr.
IGewral Secretary rotthe Oregom siW
Isociatlon. O O
ia