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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 1912)
6 PORTLAND. OREGON. - Entered at Portland. Oregon. PoetofTlca tjecond-rlasa Matter. fubeription Ratea InTarlahly In Aovanc. (BY MAIL.) Oat.y. 8ur.la fnchided. one T'","- ,5 Polly, Suodav Included, aix """;; S'oj Dally! Sunday Included, three montna. .z . .Dally. 8urda Included, one tnontn M Sally, without Sunday, one year. - 2J Dally, without Sunday, ill month"..... - Dally, without Sunday, three montna... Daily, without Sunday, on month Weekly, one year .po funday, one year . unday and Weekly, one year J (BT CARRIER-) pally. Snnday Included, one 7r- TJ bally. Sunday Included, one montn..-.. How to Remit Send Poetottlea; ",,,Trr 4er. expreaa order or peraonal check TJ local bank. Stampa. coin or fZ&nu wt the sender", rlek. Give poat office ad area. In full, lncludlnn county and etate. ,o 28 parea. 2 cent.: 60 to 40 pea. J ,40 to 80 pases. eenta, Foreign poaia. double rate. . - Eaatera Bnalnea. OBVea Verree Conk 3ln New York. Brunawlck buOdlng. CM ttaxo. Steper bulldlnr. r& . 6aB FranelMO Office R. J. Bidwell Co.. "T42 Market etreet. g European Office No. 8 Regent street. B V., London. . - , MONDAY, PEC. . 1912. PORTLAND, T THE MERGER DECISION. Marked progress In responsiveness ',to public opinion is seen by the news papers generally in the Supreme Court decision dissolving the Harriman mer ."ger. In 1903 the Supreme Court dis solved the Northern Securities merger -by a majority of five to four. It Tow dissolves the Harriman merger by a 'unanimous decision. Chief Justice -White and Justice Holmes, who dis "sented from the former decision, now -coinciding in the opinion of their as sociates. The general conclusion is ' that the court has decided that rail roads on naturally competitive routes ;must keep alive potential competition, "and that combinations which render competition impossible are illegal. The finding, that the Union Pacific may "arrange with the Southern Pacific for an outlet to San Francisco over the - Central Pacific is held to carry out the ole legitimate purpose of the merger, while the order that the Union Pacific sell its Southern Pacific stock will .'undo the Illegal effects. ' Referring to Harriman's general "practice of using the Union Pacific's ' credit for the acquisition of other lines, the New York Evening Post ex presses dissatisfaction with the deci sion, saying: - It will be aeen that the decision doei i not -touch the mo.t dangeroua part of the Mar 'rlman Idea hi. conception of a railway in corporate machine whoae credit may be -utilized to buy etocks In other railways not -In any way needed for operating connec tion.. The antl-tru.t law waa apparently 'powerle.s to touch this prf.ctlce. so long as actual ccntrol of compettr.g lines waa not acquired. Nothing is more certain, how- . trrer. than that If Harrlman'a plan had been generally imitated, the practice would have ; been successfully attaoked under other laws. The decision is declared by the Brooklyn Eagle to be in line with the ' Northern . Securities decision, that ' journal saying: , What J- J. Hill waa not permitted to do . In one way cannot be dona according to the - plans of the late Edward H. Harriman in ' another way. An evidence of the "Influence of the : trend of public opinion on the Su ' preme Court" is seen in the unanim- . j on nmnnrAil with the-division of opinion, on the North- em Securities case. The .Eagle further says: The Eagle has often pointed out that the g-neral principle of all our railroad legls- - latlon. the maintenance of competition. Is open to serious logical attack; that the In terests of the public may be much better ' served by a single system than by two or . more competing systems. But while the general principle alluded to Is accepted by legislators, and It aeems to be accepted by ' Congress, the Supreme Court has nothing ' to do but to Interpret the law. This Is ln i cldent to our plan of checks and balance. In Government. '. A distinction is drawn by the New York Times between the reasoning ; which led up to the two decisions un der discussion, and is thus explained: The distinction between this caso and the - Vorthern Securities case would seem to be that the former was decided merely upon J the law. The Northern Securities combl nation waa dissolved not because It had done anvthlng wrong, but because It had the ' power to do wrong. It was a combination In restraint of trade, and, therefore, was ', obnoxious to the statute merely for its . form and regardless of lt acta Since then the court haa discovered the light of reason, and comblnatlona are no longer obnoxious to I the statute for mere form, or tor power to do wrng. It Is necessary that they also ao wrong by restraining trade. The Times considers that "only the "traffic between the Gulf and Pacific ports is affected by the decision, and is sure that the effect of the decision Is overshadowed by the near opening t the Panama Canal route." The Times .infers that the combination is Condemned because it restrained com petition, though "the order runs against the form of the combination, Jiot against its acts apart from re straint of competition." In apparent illusion to pooling of traffic, the Times says the combination "never would have been heard of if the same j-esult could have been obtained by other methods which had been made unlawful to statute, although neces fcary for the harmonious co-operation f the ralways in serving the public without cutthroat competition," but Jt says the decision does not com pel return to excessively competitive . "methods. The New York World says the unanimity of the decision renders it no longer possible for those who would monopolize transportation to base their presumptions upon the un certainties of a divided court. It continues: s m the Northern Securities. Standard Oil and Tobacco proceedings. If this action had been under the criminal sections of the Sherman law there would have been an af 'flrmatlou of personal guilt and somebody "would now be. on his way to the penlten- nnry. now " ' - - --- --- American business men have before they . ref jse longer to be misled by highly specu lative lawyers? There will soon be a President who Is Pledged to the proposition that lawbreaklng is not to be litigated forever with corpora tions but is to be punished In the persons "ot responsible men. Who among the eml-1-nent monopolists covets the distinction of - feeing the first to go to Jailf Justice White's dissenting opinion in the Northern Securities case is quoted by the Springfield Republican to show that he no longer holds that, railroads 7 .being state corporations, "the states, not Congress, had control of the sub- ? Ject matter of the organization and ownership of railroads created by the states." It says: In view of the establishment of the prln- clple that the holding by one railroad cor ' poratlon of the controlling number of shares "In a competing corporation is in violation " of the anti-trust law. the question must ' arise how far the Government proposes to - push the .application of the principle. J -vw. DAnnhilrsn uti manv consoli dations "made up of lines formerly more or less competitive are open to ;. consolidation," and that "competition "between the great companies is thus secured the more surely by the decis- ( inns iu ov a. w. . " - - Harriman cases." But whether the lesser combinations should also be at ' tacked it declares "a more difficult question, which far fewer people would answer, probably, in the affirmative," for our railroads are under rigid reg ulation, are "incontestably a natural monopoly," and therefore not on all fours with the .Industrial trusts. The Boston Transcript holds that the court was debarred from considering the facts that "the potential competi tion was small, that the great public has been better served, that values have been increased, and that greater economy and efficiency have marked the operation of the system,"-and was confined to the question: "Was or was not the consolidation a violation of the anti-trust law?" The decision was based, not on what the merger did. but what It might do, and therefore up holds Wickersham's contention that under the Sherman law no sue thing as a good trust could exist. The Tran script proceeds to speculate upon the bearing of the decision on the consoli dation of New England roads. CONSERVATION WORKS BACKWARDS. The admission of the Forest Service that the National forests yearly pro duce more than ten times as much timber as is being cut in them is an Implied confession that the Govern ment is pursuing an erroneous policy. By imposing conditions on the sale of Government timber which prevent .the sale of nine-tenths of the annual growth, the Government is wasting in stead of conserving a large proportion of a valuable natural resource. The National forests being generally more remote from railroads and markets than, timber land in private hands, and restrictions as to cutting being im posed which do not bind loggers on private land, the price of stumpage should be lower in proportion. No criticism is offered on the policy of requiring that ripe timber be cut in such a manner as not to destroy the young growth, for perpetuation, of the forests Is one of the main purposes of conservation. But the drawback of logging on National forests should be offset by a correspondingly lower price for stumpage: It is well known that, when a tree reaches maturity, it begins to decay. Every foot of timber thus lost is a loss to the Nation and is an evidence that the Government Is pursuing the con trary policy to that of conservation. A crop of ripe timber should be harvest ed in every National forest every year, just as the crops on the farm are har vested yearly. There is another respect in which the present policy works contrary to the public lnterset. So long as the terms asked for cutting National tim ber discourage their acceptance, the price of stumpage is unnaturally en hanced and the .consumer of forest products pays too much. The Govern ment has in effect cornered one-fifth of the lumber supply of the Nation and the people are Just as surely pay ing through the nose as when a Chi cago speculator corners the .wheat market. A HINT GIVEN THE DEMOCRATS. In his general message to Congress President Taft conveys a hint that he will turn the country over to the Dem ocrats in a sound business condition and on the eve of a period of prosper, ity. We can read between the lines a warning that, if the expected prosper ity should not be realized, the Demo crats will be responsible. His forecast of an increase of 76, 000,000 in expenditures for the year ending Jurie SO, X914, and of a deficit of $22,000,000 for that year, traces the increased expenses to three causes additions of $25,000,000 in estimates for rivers and harbors, $32,600,000 for pensions, $24,000,000 for the Navy and shows a decrease of $5,000,000 in estimates for other expenses. Had Congress not passed the dollar-a-day pension bill, we should still have had a surplus, notwithstanding the other increases, which will be approved as being for useful and necessary pur poses. It is for the Democrats to find some way to avoid this deficit without stinting the river and harbor fund or the Navy, while they cut tariff duties to such an extent as to imperil revenue. As the income tax amend ment now lacks the approval of only two more states to become effective and is reasonably sure of ratifica tion this Winter, we may look for a stiff income tax to meet the deficit, although the Navy appropriation is likely to feel the knife. The President's protest against the pending bill fixing a date for Philip ine independence should be given due weight as coming from a man who has intimate knowledge of the islands. As an alterantive to the policy of set ting the islands adrift on a certain date without regard. to their prepared ness for self-government, he offers the policy now being pursued. This is preparation of the Filipinos for "real popular self-government and not mere paper Independence," by means of ed ucation and gradual but steady in crease in the measure of autonomy they enjoy, in order to "fit them for complete self-government with the power to decide eventually, according to their own largest good, whether such self-government shall be accom panied by independence." In the minds of those who are more interest ed in the good of the Filipinos than in the application of a pet theory, there will be no doubt that Taft's policy is better for .. the Filipinos themselves. WHAT ROOSEVELT DID IN THE SOUTH. Professor Hart, of Harvard, tries his best to draw some comfort and hope for the Progressive party from the election returns of the South, but the New York Evening Post dissipates his visions by citing his own figures against him. Professor Hart says that his new party has made a splendid start in the South by growing from nothing to 610,000 votes, but the Post points out that he simply divided the Republican vote there as elsewhere. The figures show that of Taft's vote of 1,32,000 in 1908 there were polled In 1912 by Taft 583,000, by Roose velt 610,000 and 149,000 were lost both by the Republican party and by Roosevelt. This statement is based on Professor Hart's assumption that the border states of Kentucky. Maryland. Mis souri and West Virginia are still in the solid South, though recent elections show that West Virginia has broken away and become a normally Repub lican state, while the other three states named have gone Republican often enough to be classed as doubtful. There are only eleven states now in the solid South, and there also the vote shows Professor Hart's logic to be at fault. In 1912 Taft's vote In these eleven states was 202.000. Roosevelt's 271.000. a total of 493,000. against 604.000 cast for Taft in 1908. We must Judge of the measure of success attained by Roosevelt in the South by the gpproach he made to ac complishing -what he set out to do. He announced at the beginning of the THE MORNING OltEGONIAN. MONDAY. DECEMBER 9, 1913. campaign his purpose and expectation at nHnnlnir over a larze part of the Southern Democratic vote. He did not succeed. He caused the normal Republican vote to be divided into thru nurtjL one, of which was polled by himself, another by Taft, and an other by either Wilson or ueDs or noi at all. He did in the South -precisely what he did In the North split the Republican vote and caused a con siderable fraction to be cast for Wil son in order to insure his own defeat. Prnhsnnr Hart savs the greater part of the Progressive vote "cannot be had by the Republican party. ' anat remains to be proved. Had Roosevelt hMn viuino tr vilrt tn some Drogres- slve Republican, that greater part of the Progressive vote could nave oeen had by the Republican party at the late election, it could have dictated the Republican platform, it could have retired to private life the bosses ffiT- whom ProCTswives Drofess such abhorrence, a Republican President and Congress could nave Deen eiecieu to carry out Progressive policies, man tvio t? otiii TiHr n nartv is reor ganized under the control of Its pro gressive element, as it will be, the greater part of the progressive vote wtn return tn trtA fnnks and the Pro gressive party will pass into history as what it is nothing more man a Roosevelt bolt from the Republican party reinforced by all forms of discontent. TROUBLES AHEAD FOR WTLSON. President-elect Wilson will enter of. fice under far more auspicious circum HijinrM after n nnlnterruDted period of sixteen years of Republican rule z . .... . . j ooe than fell to uieveiana s ioi m after twenty-four years of Democratic evnlualnn from rtower. He will have the support of a majority in both branches of Congress, wnne uieveiiuiu dicUnot gain the aid of a majority in tha Senate until the second half Of his second term. Wilson will not be troubled by controversy over the en forcement of the civil service law; he will have no strong Randall faction of protectionist Democrats to contend with; no free silver insanity to com bat; no endless chain depleting the gold reserve which Congress refuses to break. But he wilf have troubles of his own. His efforts at reducing the tariff to a purely revenue basis will be ob structed by members of his own party who are protectionists when their local industries are affected. He will be called upon to attack the trusts more unsparingly than even Taft and to make many a man who considers him self a good Democrat wince. If he fails not only to equal but to excel Taft in this particular, he will be ex posed to charges from the progres sive element of his party that hu is too' tender with the interests. He will be expected to secure legislation which will bring our antiquated banking and currency system up to date. If in de ciding upon his plans he takes the advice of experts in finance, he will be accused of ' subserviency to the money trust; if he yields to those In whose . brains the microbe of flat money and other financial heresies still works, he will render confusion worse confounded and may involve the Nation, and with it his Administration, in disaster. In handling the Army and Navy he will have to choose a safe middle course between jingoes of the Hobson type and extreme advocates of peace and economy who would let the Navy fall into decay. These are only a few of the troubles which await Wilson. They are abun dant substitutes for those which made Cleveland's two administrations times of turmoil and dissension, but which have passed away. When Wilson has wrestled with these problems, for four years he will have earned a rest. COMMON SENSE AND PH1IANTHROPV. Whenever a rich man has a surplus of money and wishes to give it away, the first two avenues of giving that seem to open to him are charity and education. We read nearly every day of some fresh college endowment or the founding of a new one, or the es tablishment or extension of some great charitable work. Truly It seems as if the world has gone mad on giving to these causes. It is certainly well to have better and better educational advantages as nnr niintrv becomes more populous and more prosperous. As to whether there is a point wnicn we in mis coun try have already reached and passed, where the facilities for acquiring col lege degrees tend to take self-reliance and manhood from the student, mak ing of him an object of charity, there is a vast difference of opinion. But there is one thing sure and cer tain the average college graduate does not today stand as good a chance of acquiring by his own initiative an independence as does a bright me chanic. That does not argue that the mechanic with a .college education is not better equipped than the one with out his degree, for he assuredly Is; but there seems to be a dearth of college men who care to take up manual la bor. Having 6pent from three to four years in college, they think there should be remunerative employment which their training has equipped them for. Hence many of them take to teaching, making about as good a wage as does the day laborer, but not as good as the mechanic. Why does not some Oregon million aire try a method of giving that is not charity, a method that does not tend to degrade the recipient, a method tYiat will srn far towards maklm? hon est labor attractive and the laborer Independent? Does any wealthy ore gonian wish to know how this can be done? If bo, here is the answer: Es tablish a model dairy farm, say one where 150 students can secure quar ters at the start. Aside from paying a small sum towards the employment of teachers, these students would be expected to do all of the work on the farm. They could be divided into relays, ecch to work one day each week. In the growing season there would be some additional work in garden and field, planting and cultivating, and during haying and harvesting there would be employment for two or three of the relays for a few weeks. Seventy-five thousand dollars would buy the land, put up the buildings, and equip such a farm.. It would not fully 6tock it, -but it would allow for the purchase of say thirty registered cows, a registered sire, a half dozen brood mares and a stallion, and sev eral registered brood sows and a boar; oi. iwn it a-ood soultrv. The payments from the students should just be enougn to support them. For every hour they labored they should receive full wages. In this way the farm would be conducted on a business basis and made to pay . ,An. in .a. ent on the amount in. vested. If it did not do this it might be considered a laimrc .uu uiu w someone who would make it pay. But if located in one of our best dairy dis-' tricts it would, after the nera nau been fully developed to the capacity of the farm, say to 200 milch cows, rnw over and above interest, taxes, in surance and all carrying charges, at least $20,000 a year, one or me Dest dairymen in the state says he could make such an institution pay $30,000. tf ve rtifl this after navinB- him a sal ary of $3000 a year, he would want 10 per cent of the surplus over ana aDove that amount; if he did not make $150 rter nnw he wnillrl b Willing to give two years' work ' for nothing. Of course the earning "per cow would include all or the profits from the other stock. Why doesn't the Oregon Agricul tural Polle take this matter up, many will ask. Others will contend that that institution is already doing Just sueh a work. But It is not. TTnrlar nnr nrawnt KVRtem of nioTfrardlY appropriations, and then the danger of the referendum, no state institu tion could do such a work as wen as It could be done by private capital, nnr en if hacked bv an Individual, the Oregon Agricultural College offi cials would work In harmony wiin . There is no doubt that would be ad vantageous to all interests. In other words, such a farm would be an ad junct of bur state Institution and not antagonistic to it. Would it be worth while to turn our from 50 to 150 first-class farmer dairymen every year? The number wmiiri rienenri nnon the amount in vested. These young men would be, from the college standpoint, snore on all the dead languages. They might not know whether Epictetus is the name of a Roman statesman or a new breakfast food. But they would have a good grip on a money-making busi ness, and the services of every one of them would be in demand at big wages the moment the course was ended. As an advertisement for Oregon, a paper published by the students of such an institution, showing the dally earnings of the plant, would attract more settlers- to our lands than the distribution of millions of handsomely illustrated and printed booklets. And the giver of the plant? Oh, he might retain the title in his -own name and at the end of twenty years, after collecting 6 per cent interest net per year, it would probably sell for two or three times the original cost. There is an undertaking worth while. Senator Burton, of Ohio, has given notice that when his term expires, two years' hence, he will seek re-election solely on his merits as a Senator, not on account of patronage he may have for distribution. This statement Im plies that ,he regards patronage as a burden and a handicap, thus agreeing with Taft. Burton Is one of our best Senators, having rendered valuable service in both House and Senate in connection with river and harbor im provements, on which he has made himself an authority. He has been sanely progressive, wearing no man's r.niinr hut avoirllnsr factious opposi tion to party measures. He is a credit to Ohio, all the more so oecause n bases his candidacy on service to the Nation, not o the parceling out of offices. Before Great Britain will be in a po sition to protest against the exemption from Panama Canal tolls of American coastwise ships, she should exclude from the Suez Canal all ships on which the tolls are paid from the treasury of the nation to which those ships belong. The provision of the Panama treaty relating to tolls is copied verbatim from the Suez Canal treaty, and should receive the same interpretation in both cases. Those well-meaning Californi ans who have asked the President to seek an amicable and honorable settle ment with Great Britain should ask that country to apply to the Suez Ca nal the same principle which it asks us to apply at Panama. Those who seek equity must first do equity. If Stanford University prevents the sending from that place of news which the censors consider unfavorable to college interests, who will believe the news it allows to pass? Suppression of news invariably causes people to credit exaggerated rumors which would soon be exploded if there were no restriction, for it is human nature to believe that anything which is hid den is much worse than it really is and to doubt the veracity of any state ments made by the keeper of a secret The ' back-to-the-farm fever has even attacked one of the Romanoffs. Who can blame Michael for preferring a wife he loves to one chosen for rea sons of state; the quietude of country life to the lonely state of the Czar, whose chief excitement is afforded by dodging bombs, poisons, bullets and daggers? ' - In offering the use of a naval ves sel to his successor for a trip to Pan ama for the purpose of inspecting the canal President Taft shows that his interest in the success of that great enterprise exceeds his personal pride In the great share he has had in mak ing it a success. Great ingenuity is dlsplayed In some of the toys this season, but the boy who cannot get anything shown in the store windows will be just as pleased with anything from back in the store. Kansas City does well to keep off the streets the bogus Santa Claus who thinks it proper to make Jying prom ises to guileless children. The ruling is worthy of emulation elsewhere. A woman Is claiming the throne of Turkey through right of inheritance running back a few thousand years. Next there may be for sale a quitclaim bargain for the Garden of Eden. Almost everybody knows a needy family that cannot afford to spend money for Christmas gifts. Why not start a line of anonymous giving for the sheer Joy of it? Arrest of the owner of a Jersey dairy fr adulteration makes the Hol stein man chuckle. The product of the black and white animal is too pro fuse to need It. This is chicken show time in Ore gon, when the fowls look their best; but "handsome is as hSmdsome does," and eggs are near the 50-cent mark. Assay offices in the mining states are comfortable berths, and the Demo cratic majority may reconsider their' abolition. - Settlement of the Balkan war is gravitating toward the money-lenders. Grand Duke Michel is more human than roya! BASIS FOR "CTBB" IS CORRECT But Medical Experts Await Comflrtna . lion of Tnbercnloala lJisovery PORTLAND. Dec 7. To the Editor.) The report that a serum has been dis covered for the treatment of tubercu losis which will cure all cases with a single injection, cannot be accepted as true without confirmation by men who are experts in this particular line of work. Twenty-two years ago Professor Rob ert Koch profoundly agitated the medi cal world by statins; that "recent ex periments had led him to believe that he had discovered a specific cure for tuberculosis," and during the next two years there was scarcely a medical meeting without reports of cases being treated. Professor Koch advised that his treatment be employed in certain cases only. Notwithstanding these cautions, the remedy was used indis criminately. Consumptives in the last stages of their disease Journeyed from afar to Berlin In the hope of alleviation. As a result of this "tuberculin delirium" thousands of consumptives were sent to their graves. Then followed the period of "disillu sionment," during which time any man who used tuberculin was looked upon as a criminal. More recently has come the realization that tubercdlln Is a val uable remedy in properly selected cases when used by one who is skilled In Its administration. The theory upon which- Dr. Fried man's so-called euro is based is correct, and we believe that if ever an absolute cure Is discovered it will have been worked out In this manner. Dr. Fried man's work is by no means original. For years we have known that the In jection of properly prepared tubercle bacilli is followed by beneficial results, but the great difficulty has been the selection of a preparation which does not produce severe body reactions In doses sufficient to cure. , The germ- of tuberculosis belongs to the class of so-called "acid-fast-organ-lsms," and is the most active or poi sonous to man of this group. Other members of this group are found tn hay, butter, and in cold-blooded ani mals, as the turtle (those from the lat ter were selected by Dr. Friedman). These germs, although resembling those responsible for human tubercu losis, have little or no harmful influ ence when injected into man. On the other hand, it has been shown that if these germs are injected into the body of one suffering from tuberculosis, they are disintegrated by the body fluids, and liberate certain substances, which, in turn, neutralize the poison arising from a consumptive lung or tuber culous area, and furthermore bring about a destruction of the germs of tuberculosis residing in the consump tive's body, thus bringing about his re covery. Investigators all over the world have been searching for years to find such a serum or vaccine as it is carled, but as yet nothing curative by a single injec tion has been announced and Us value confirmed. Let us, therefore, not become unduly enthusiastic. Announcements of new cures are liKe epidemics of smallpox; they come Just so .often, , soon subside and are forgotten. In ':he meantime, let those suffering from tuberculosis continue to adhere to the hygienic and dietic treatment supplemented by such other measure as are recognized by men engaged in this line of work, and fully 75 per cent will recover. DR. RAY W. MATSON. DR. RALPH C. MATSON. QUESTIONS FOR. MAN TO ANSWER Spinster Counters; en Bachelor With Additional Marriage Catechism. SALEM, Or., Dec. 6. (To the Editor.) The letter from "A Bachelor on the Fence" in The Oregonian is interest ing, particularly his statement in the last paragraph that many men who would otherwise marry are prevented by the fact that their environment does not allow them to meet women who Impress them as possessing qualities to make desirable wives. If this is the case with a man. who can to some extent break away from his surroundings, how much more does it apply in regard to a woman? It is a generally accepted fact that, even in this day of the "woman s invasion her environment is more restrictive than man's, and there are a good many spinsters who, though they have had opportunities to marry,, have not met men who "inspire commence ana rather than make a poor choice -they make none. The bachelor's suggestion regarding questions which should be answered by matrimonial candidates is a good one, although almost any girl would be willing to answer these questions. In addition, the man should set forth his qualifications. Is he generous, not only in money matters, but in all re spects? Is he accustomed to being waited on hand and foot by mother and sister, or is he able to find his own clean handkerchiefs and put away his shoes himself? Is he a constitu tional "grouch" or will he remember to be at least moderately talkative at dinner? Does he consider himseir, both as an Individual and as a repre sentative of his sex, a rarely superior being, whose mental capacity is far beyond the comprehension of any mere feminine mind, or is he willing to admit mental companionship? If these questions were answered honestly by every man and those pro posed by the bachelor by every girl, the chances are that there would be more happy marriages and fewer of the divorces that seem to be taken as a matter of course in the West. The suEtrestions regarding the pro posed club are good and sound and de serving OI serious consiaeranuu. -cjvcu If taken up purely as an experiment the mdb. is well worth a trial. In one point I differ from the bachelor, however, x tninx a gin nas to be a good deal more careful with whnm she falls in love than a man. The girl simply has to. wait until per haps the man or ner cnoice duuuco her, and if he doesn't, she has wasted on that time and affection: while many a man has won the object of his desire simply from the fact that the girl married him Decause sne was tired of refusing him. A SPINSTER. Advantages of Public Market. PORTLAND, Dec. 7. (To the Edi tor.) What would a public market do for Portland? That would depend al most wholly upon its location. Port land is not an inland city. Its natural market Is its waterfront. Place a com modious public market where boats from both rivers can unload the prod ucts from field and orchard within easy reach of our citizens and you will do more to reduce the cost of living than can be done in any other way. All over the Willamette Valley fruit and vegetables annually go to waste, simply because it does not pay to handle them through comission houses In Portland. Give us a public market on the waterfront; call it Fulton market or by any name you please: place It in charge of a competent market master appoint ed by the Mayor. Details could be easily worked out to have consignments sold at stated times by public auc tion, or perhaps committees from the rural districts would find it to their advantage to rent stalls and supervise their own sales. Farmers would take pride in shipping nothing but gooa produce to such a market, whereas they might consign any old thing to a comission house and expect a good price. Such a market 'would advan tageously advertise the city. It could be made a perpetual public exhibit to the mutual advantage of every one concerned. Could such a market be conducted on what is known as the market block? If not, why put it there? K CITIZEN. INDIAN WAR VETERANS TO ACT Grand Commander Ursrca Effort to Ob tain Pension Increaac ALBANY, Or., Dec 7. (To the Edi tor.) Today I am 74 years old as an Oregon native son and I am celebrating the event in the pleasant task of writ ing this letter and also writing to the United States Senators and Congress men from Oregon Washington and Idaho, in behalf of the Indian war vet erans of the North Pacific Coast, em bracing those in the above states or residing elsewhere, who fought in our Indian wars of 1347-48 and 1856-56. During the last session of Congress the increase of pensions for Civil War veterans so fully engaged the atten tion of our National lawmakers (and which resulted in the pension act of May 11, 1912) that bills in the House and Senate to grant an increase of pen sions to Indian war veterans from $8 per month to $16 and as high as $34 per month.- received but scant atten tion, notwithstanding our most earnest efforts. We renew our efforts and ex pect success, with the help of a favor ing divine providence. It was thought by some of the vet erans attending our annual meeting of the Grand Camp in Portland last June that the very best thing to do was to send a committee of veterans to Wash ington personally to interview Sena tors and Congressmen. As we are not organized successfully as we were in local camps some years ago, it seems a difficult task to raise the necessary funds. Unless the Oregon Legislature can be prevailed upon to make an ap propriation, as was done some years ago, when five veterans went to Wash ington and met with grand success. Personal letters to Senators and Con gressmen will have weight, but such men have so many public matters to look after that the surest way to suc cess for us is to have men there for the special purpose of urging the claims for an increase. There are other Indian war veterans besides those of the Paclflo Northwest wars and we must all stand together, especially with those in California. It seems very proper, owing to the wide circulation of The Oregonian and as the oldest newspaper in Oregon or the Pacific Northwest, to send greetings through it to all veterans, and vet erans' widows, and ask them to write to their respective state delegations in Congress urging a liberal Increase of pensions The greatest part of the veterans have "passed on." Those re maining are, most of them, old and feeble, some in straitened circum stances. I gladly mention Captain James Blakely, of Brownsville, this (Linn) county, who celebrated his 100th birth day anniversary November 26 last. In all the late writeups of his life that I have seen, no mention was made that he was Captain of a company of volun teers who took a prominent part in the Rogue River War in 1855-56, hence his title of Captain. His gallant service merits more than $8 per month; not. to put him above want in his great age and feebleness, but as a Just tribute to hts wo.'th; ap plying as well to any and all other of these veterans, but to Captain Blakely as the most aged and as a patriot and Christian we accord the highest hon ors. CYRUS HAMLIN WALKER, . Grand Commander L W. V. PUNISHMENT AS CRIME DETERRENT Must Be More Severe When Decree of Certainty Is Low. PORTLAND, Dec 6. (To the Editor.) It is apparent that an effort is to be made to have Governor West again re prleve the five red-handed assassins who are now confined in the peniten tiary at Salem. The argument is to be that certain voters were misled by the title on the ballot and thought they voted to abol ish capital punishment when they ac tually voted to retain It. It will be fur ther - urged that since the women of Oregon have been given the ballot they should be allowed to vote on the amend ment to abolish capital punishment. Surely the women of Oregon would feel safer from the fiends who murdered Mrs. Humphrey, little Mildred Green, the Holzman child, the Wehrman moth er and child and the Hill family at Ar- denwald, if the death penalty for such crimes is retained. It is folly to argue that punishment Is not a deterrent of crime. Punish ment and the certainty of punishment are the , only deterrents of crime. In places where the certainty of punish ment is an established fact, the degree of punishment does not have to be so severe to act as a deterrent. In places where convictions are certain and pun lshment severe, the two deterrents have greatly lessened the number of mur ders. In Germany the proportion for convictions for murder Is 95 per cent, in the United States the proportion is only 1.3 per cent, but in the United States the number of murders in proportion to the population is ten times as many as in Germany. In some states like Kansas, where capital punishment for many years has been abolished, the proportion of mur ders is low. In Kansas, however, there are several other factors to be consid ered, one of which is the fact that Kan sas is a prohibition state and does not attract the vicious classes; another is in Kansas there are no seaports or large cities to which the criminal element In variably gravitates. Fifty-eight per cent of the murders in the United States are committed by colored people and foreign born, who commit most of their murders In the tenderloin saloon districts of the large cities, which is one reason why so very few are caught and convicted. If Oregon had no large city and was a prohibition state in which all law was rigidly enforced, there would be few murders with or without capital pun ishment. The facts are Oregon has one .arge and fast growing city an-1 Is not a prohibition state, and win tn t-pen-tns; of the Panama Canal will bo over run with- foreigners and aoventurars from all over the world, and if the num ber of murders Is to be held down to the minimum, the two great dHtor.-enrs, sure and severe punishment, must be maintained. FABIAN FISHER. TAFT WILL RETIRE rNSCARRED Correspondent Believes Campaign Abase Not Now Taken Seriously. PORTLAND, Dec. 7. (To the Editor.) I notice a correspondent from Ontario has just "broken out" with a kind of political "rash," which, by the way, was recently epidemic. However, with most people, this malady is merely superfi cial, but with the above correspondent it has gone to the spleen. . By his opponents, and for political capital, Taft was associated with such bosses as Barnes, Penrose and Crane. Yet his motives, his important political acts and his affiliations were never questioned until the recent fight for nomination. Even the great author of "Square Deal" publicly maligned and villified him to satisfy an overweening ambi tion again to occupy the Presidency all this abuse, too, in the face of the record, which shows from the same source came the highest encomiums ever paid by a retiring President to his successor. To expand the maxim, "everything Is fair in love, war" (and politics), we are inclined to forgive the past cam paign abuse. However, to those more or less "microscopic" critics who take all these accusations seriously, it might be well to suggest the application of analysis and the study of fact and his tory. If I am able to forecast the antics of the political weathercock, I would say President Taft will retire unscarred from the political arena, and Roose velt, If he attempts to become standard bearer for the Progressive party in 1916, will not carry a single state. J. E. EASTHAM. Half a Century Ago I-rom The Oregonian of Decern her . Irt2. Marion Moore, the Councilman from Shoshone County, has returned from Boise and communicated the following news to the Statesman: "The mining region, as far as prospected, extends east and west some 30 miles and north and south 15 miles. The diggings are on the north branches of the Boise and are drained by three creeks, known as Grimes Creek, Moore's Creek and Placer Creek. Nearly all the small gulches and banks along these creeks pay from to $50 per day. A vleilance committee ' has been formed recently at Florence, which, it is said, has made a very perceptible change In the deportment of persons with road-agent proclivities, wune number of suspicious persons have taken their departure for parts un known. The Rev. Mr. Miller, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was forcibly pre vented from preaching at a schoolhouse on the Coast Fork on Thanksgiving day. Washington. Dec. 1. The Navy De partment has information that the pirate Alabama is expected to visit the Azores early in November to receive supplies of ammunition and men from Bahama. t: r.anlann Tie 1 A nrlzeflirht .....i. n.,t.pHiv nn Antral Inland iuu. 1 1 v. i; j---... - j -. . between a member of Fire Company No. 7 and a memmr or awn noj com pany. Forty-two rounds were fought, mi.- v. . is;, 7 weal hrnurht over nearly dead; his injuries are thought to be serious. rxr- all attention tn Mr. StfnSOn'S advertisement of a day school to be Kept m the Dasement 01 uie eiw Church. D. W. Lichtenthaler has been ap pointed Justice of the Peace for South Portland precinct in the place of S. E. Barr, resigned. 8uspicious characters are banished from the vicinity of Lewiston on th first symptom of dishonest dealing. In deed, the same is the rule in all parts of the Nez Perces oountry. ' HOW RED CROSS SEAL ORIGINATED Ideal Comes Originally From Charity Stamp of Civil War Period. "How did the Red Cross Christmas Seal originate?" is a question that is being asked by many during this holi day season, when millions of these stickers are being sold all over' the United States. To Jacob Riis, the well known social worker of New York, and to Miss Emily P. Blssell, the energetic secretary of the Delaware Red Cross, Jointly belong the honor of originating our American Red Cross Christmas Seal. Mr. Riis interest was aroused by the receipt of a Christmas tuberculosis stamp on a letter from Norway. He published an article about this que?r-looking stamp in the Out look, and suggested some possible uses for it in this country. Miss BIssell at once saw an opportunity here and pre pared a stamp, from the sale of which her society realized $3000 for tubercu losis work." So Impressed was she with this succeess that she induced the American Red Cross to take up the sale in 1808 on a National basis. With very little organization and with hardly any attempt at careful advertising, the sale that year brought in. nevertheless, over $135,000 for anti-tuberculosis work in various parts of the United States. In 1909, with more thorough organiza tion, the sale was increased to $230,000. and in 1910 to nearly $310,000. Last year the sale increased to over $330, 000, or 33,000,000 seals. While our own Red Cross Seal dates back only four years, "charity stamps." from which this idea originally sprung, go back to 1862, when "sanitary fair stamps" were first used in Boston to secure money for the care of soldiers wounded during the Civil War. Nearly $1,000,000 was raised in this way during the years 1862 to 1865. After the war this method of raising money was dis continued in this country for a genera tion, although it found vogue in Portu gal. Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Sweden and other European countries. There are now hundreds -of different types of charity stamps used in all parts of the world, as many as 40 being used in Austria for children's hospitals alone. Stamps or seals were first used to get money for the antituberculosis crusade in Norway and Sweden in 1904, It was from one of these stamps that Jacob Riis and Miss BIssell received their ideas for our own Red Cross Christmas Seal. BAD THINGS SAID FROM SOAP BOX One Socialist Says He Never Listen to Street Orators. PORTLAND, Dec 6. (To the Editor.T I have been a Socialist more than 20 years, yet I never go to listen to our Portland soap-box orators. They are, in the main, a taboo to Socialism throughout the land. It Is true that dqv some c-nod thinsrs. but they also say many bad ones. I was, there fore, glad to reaa in xne uresuumu that Father O'Hara mounted the box and replied to some of their bad things. Being a thorough Socialist myself, I hereby say that whenever a anan. gets up and talks Socialism and at the same time harangues about religion, he in jures the cause he pretends to help. Socialism stands only for economic and political democracy, and has no more to do with religion than with as tronomy. Anybody can have an inkling of what Socialism may be by the thorough .fRdlant mnnu e-ement of Our DOStul system by the people for the benefit of the people, rlcn ana poor iu8. u Is the only true way. We Socialists want all other public utilities such as railroads, telegraphs, telephones, light and all other things that tend towards a monopoly to be managed by the pub lic for the general welfare of all. With the growth and ownership of publio utilities, the public intelligence will also expand and grow, and they will know and will have what is best' for their welfare. L N. HANOR LOOK CAREFULLY INTO FUTURE Marriage should Be Considered From "Happy Home" Standpoint. PORTLAND, Dec. 6. (To the Editor.) In discussing the marriage question It seems that the mind should be di rected more toward the making of a happy home than simply to getting married and raising children. Should not the future welfare demand that we take notice of the alarming number of divorced persons amongst us and the many homeless children by reason of the same, and seek the cause? Ought not the thought of marriage have the most serious consideration, studving it from every side and if the nature of either party to the contem plated union be not congenial, the proper provision for a home question able or if there be in the life of either that which would hinder that complete confidence which is necessary between husband and wife to make a happy home would not single blessedness with a consciousness of each retaining his or her Individual standard be better than to marry and invite suspicion and wretchednes. for the rest of their lives? The goal of man and woman in this matter should not be to marry, but to mate and make a happy home. People at an age of discretion, who n the mat rimonial lotteiy draw a blank or worse, have themselves to blame but the chil dren to be born have a right to homes where an example of upr ghtness and honor can fit them for future Uf