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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 1912)
8 THE MORXIXG OREGOXIAX. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1912. : ' - ' PORTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Portland. Onion. Postofflce aj sconc-clasa Katter. Subscription Bates Invariably to AOvanes Daf.r. gireilaT Included, one year. . ..-.'? Daily. Eundav Included. six month.... - Daily. Sunday Included, three months..;; riiw t: ,. ,1 . ., in.iIlxMt Mn month.... -fr Dally, without Sunday, one year....... D-tlly. without 3unday. air months.... Dally, without Sunday, three months. . Daily, without Sunday, one month Weekly, on year. .......- 9.00 S.I5 1.73 .00 1.50 Sunday, one year 2.50 Sunday and Weekly, on year. a.so (BY CARRIER.) Daily; Sunday Included, one year. J Daily. Sunday Included, one month How ta Remit Send PotoIle money or der. expreaa order or personal check on local bank. Stamps, coin or cuirencj at the senders risk, owe postotflco address In fun. Including county and state. . Postage Bates 10 to 14 pasee. 1 to 28 pares. 3 cents; SO to 40 pages. 0 to 60 pages. 4 cents. Foreign postags. double rata. Eastern Business Offices Verree Cotilc lln New Tork. Brunswick building. .- cayo. Stecer building. Ijm can Francisco Office R. J. Btdwell Co H2 Market street. European Office No. 8. Regent street. B TV.. London. PORTLAND, SATURDAY, DEC. 14, 191S. THE PARCEL POST. The parcel post, which comes Into operation on. January 1, will open a new era In the business relations of city to country and to a large extent of one city to another. It will vitally affect the business of the express com- . panies and will be a revolutionary step In Government competition with pri vate enterprise. It will, however, pro vide the people with much-needed means of transporting goods of light weight and small bulk at small cost and with safety, expedition, the great est convenience and the least labor. It . Is a facility which the people have long needed, and, in the light of its - successful operation by every other modern nation, could not longer be withheld unless our boast of being the t. n-.ost progressive Nation were to be silenced. --- There can be no question that, prop .; erly managed, the parcel post can be operated more econom cally, at lower 4 rates and with greater efficiency than .; the express business. It will reach every corner of the country, however ' remote, which is reached by a rural " mailcarrler, while there are wide stretches of country untouched by ex ", press. By the use of stamps it will - avoid the complicated and costly sysr tem of accounting used by express : companies. The Postofflce Depart- ment already has the organization and ". mechanism necessary and needs but to ' expand them to handle the increased business. There will remain to the ' express companies a large volume of ; business in earning parcels exceeding the postal limit of weight and size, ' and in carrying goods in bulk, as well as their banking and money order ', business. There will be cases where ; they can continue to carry parcels ' weighing eleven pounds or less in com. 1 petition with the parcel post. The " express companies will not be driven ' out of business not yet although it I is probable that the weight limit of the parcel post will gradually be in creased until it approaches that of Germany, 110 pounds, or of Belgium, - 132 pounds. By giving a local minimum rate of 15 cents for an eleven-pound parcel V. for deliver- in the same city or on ' the same rural route as the place of mailing, the parcel post affords facill ! ties for merchants to deliver goods in town or on a rural route extending from their town, for farmers to buy in " the city and for residents in cities to buy supplies of all kinds from the r farmer. In Germany the parcel post " Is extensively used for the last-named purpose. We may therefore expect to ' see a great Increase in direct dealing between the producer on the farm and ' the consumer in the city, which will " greatly aid that economy of distribu- tion and elimination of the middle '. man for whicl all except the middle ; man have been sighing. The farmer ' will be still further relieved. of his iso. 1 lation and- the urban dweller of the high cost of living. We shall all be . brought closer together, and business ; will be quickened by the greater ease and cheapness of transporting small ' articles, of which the bulk of the deal ings of each individual is composed. Any misgivings which the country merchant, or the merchant in small ; towns has felt about the inroads which the parcel post would enable mail-order houses to make on their business will be quieted by the adop tion of the aone system of postage rates. For 14 cents a Portland mer chant can send a' ten-pound parcel to any point in the city or on any of the rural routes radiating from this city. A country merchant can send a parcel to any person on his own rural route at the same rate. To send the same parcel from Chicago would cost $1.20. The local merchant thus en joys protection against the merchant in" the remote city equal to the differ ence between the railroad freight rate and t;ie parcel post rate, which Is about $9 per 100 pounds. The parcel post, instead of injuring, will help the country merchant by enabling him to give quick delivery, while his cus tomer must now spend time in going to the store to make his purchase. The postage rates for parcels in this country are lower for the Inner zones than those of Great Britain, but higher for the outer zones. As that country has a flat scale of rates for any distance and its maximum dis tance is only TOO miles, while ours is 3000 miles, our rates will probably av erage lower. Germany starts with a much lower rate than we, but has a zone system on which rates ascend more rapidly in proportion to dis tance. As the initial rates estab lished in this country are necessarily experimental and as we aim simply to make the postofflce pay its way, it is probable that as our service develops we shall make reductions which will place our rates below those of other countries, although their greater den sity of population gives them an op portunity of cheaper operation. The parcel post is a step even greater in Importance than the postal savings bank in making the postal service a real servant of the people, enabling them to do their business with the greatest economy and ease. It is a long stride in National co-operation. A statement of the Nicaraguan Min ister at Washington that continuance of peace in bis country must depend on the maintenance of a firm policy by the Wilson Administration is taken by the Springfield Republican as a hint that the present rulers "would like nothing better than to be kept indefi nitely in control by American ships of war," but that Journal remarks: "It does not follow that this is the policy wbich the United States ought to pur sue." Let the Senate only ratify the Nicaraguan treaty and warships and marines will be unnecessary to keep peace in Nicaragua. By our control of the revenue we should then prevent revolutionists from securing the sin ews of war and the revolution indus try would languish. By our control of the custom-houses we have already snuffed out a revolution in Santo Do mingo and prevented a war with Hayti. Our control enables Santo Domingo to pay her debts, deprives foreign nations of any excuse for in terference, gives the government more revenue than it formerly had and fa cilitates development and public .im provements. Financial control is a peacemaker and an instrument of progress. THE EVENT AT SALEM. Four men were hanged at Salem yesterday; but Webb, an execrable murderer, who slew a harmless man for the sake of lust and money, still lives; and Hassing, who foully assas sinated his innocent wife, also lives, both monuments of a mistaken clem ency and exhibits of the fruits of the recent clamor against capital punish ment. Mrs. Kersh, paramour of the un speakable Webb, lives, too; but she is a candidate for parole, which doubt less she will soon achieve. Eleven men wanted to hang Mrs. Kersh, at her trial; but one objected and the result was a verdict for manslaughter. Another result will probably be her early freedom, and none will recall her infamy except the relatives and family of her poor victim. But why should sympathy be wasted on men who are murdered by other men or by heartless women, or on young and blithe boys who fall by the roadside beneath the deadly weapon of a prowl ing beast on two legs? Governor West and his sympathiz ers reproach the people for the spec tacle at Salem yesterday. The Gov ernor has given them a lesson which he thinks will cause them to change their minds about capital punishment He accepts responsibility for the great notoriety the quadruple execution has had, and he has earned it. But why should the people express regret, or feel humiliated, that by an overwhelming vote they insisted on vindication of the law? Let the Gov ernor, if he can, revoke the reprieves of Webb and Hassing, and fix another date for their execution two years hence, after another referendum on capital punishment. We rather think the record of 1912 would not be re versed. GUESSING AT THE FUTURE. It is futile to argue with Mr. Abry, or with any other Progressive of simi larly perverse vision, that the .Pro gressive party has no future. But The Oregonian has an opinion on that subject and has expressed it and will express it again. If changing condi tions or future emergencies should cause it to modify its views, it will rest content in the knowledge that it has seen with the best light that could be given at the time and spoken in accordance with its knowledge and judgment. If there were nearly 4,000,000 votes for Roosevelt as the Progressive can didate, there were more than 3,000, 000 votes for Taft as- the Republican candidate. We think there were from 600,000 to 1,000,000 Republicans in the Nation who voted for Wilson. It is clear, 1 therefore, that the division between the regular Republicans and the seceding Progressives is almost exactly equal. But the element that voted for Roosevelt as a protest against Taft, and not as a definite purpose to join a new party, is clearly a large part of tlfe bolting 4,000,000- How many Progressives are there In Oregon, for example? Mr. Roose velt received 37,382 votes, but Mr. Clark, the Progressive candidate for United States Senator, got 11,083. The Progressive candidate for Secre tary of State received 17,400 votes, and the Progressive candidate for Railroad Commissioner, 10,377. Clear ly, Mr. Roosevelt was more than twice as strong as his Progressive party in Oregon, and, we think, in the Nation. Without Roosevelt the Progressive party appears to have something less than 2,000,000 members; and there are approximately 2,000,000, citizens who voted for Roosevelt but for no other Progressive. Evidently they have not ceased to regard themselves as Republicans. If the Progressives think they have destroyed the Republican party, they are mistaken. They have caused its defeat, and may again, "ut what have they won? If the Republicans cannot accomplish'anything without the Pro gressives, what can the Progressives achieve without the Republicans? SPECULATION AND ITS REMEDY. The testimony given at the money trust inquiry by New Tork stock brok ers reveals a new golden rule which guides their actions. It is: "Get the money." That is the plain Inference from Mr. Sturgis' admission that, when a member of the stock ex change simultaneously buys and sells the same stock through two different biokers for the purpose of creating the appearance of -an active market, the important point is that the bro ker's commission is paid. The same inference Is to be drawn from the ad mission that, when a broker fails and stock belonging to his customers is sold as part of the broker's assets, other members of the exchange are paid and the customers get the leav ings: and from the further admission that brokers use stock owned by their customers as collateral for loans. The customer is the sheep to be shorn, and never is paid until the broker has taken his percentage and until other brokers have been made whole. By these admissions stock specula tion Is frankly revealed as gambling and the broker is placed in the" same category as the keeper of a gambling house. The broker, like the gambler, always gets his percentage, but, also like the gambler, he is not satisfied with that. If he gave a "square deal," that is all he would get, but he runs a crooked" game. He "rigs the mar ket" to attract speculators, just as the gambler fixes the 'roulette wheels, marks cards and loads dice. There is Just enough legitimate business for the stock broker to ren der impracticable the legal prohibition of speculation as we prohibit gam bling. When a man employs a broker to buy stock or bonds for him out right as an investment, there is no element of gambling in the transac tion, but if that were the only class of business done on Wall street, there would be fearful depression in the stock market and the great majority of brokers would bedriven into other business. Trading on margin is the life of Wall street and is purely spec ulative. It offers the temptation of Rur-h lare rirofits and the risk of such heavy losses that money is bor- rowed at exorbitant rates of interest to carry stocks. Those high rates, which no legitimate business could pay, attract money to New Tork from all parts of the country, render money relatively scarce in other cities and enhance the general rate of interest throughout the country. At the same time our antiquated banking law drives money to New Tork, where it gluts the banks. It causes them to shun time loans for commercial busi ness and to prefer call loans for stock speculation. The banking law is thus a direct Incentive to speculation and a hindrance to legitimate business. The remedy was suggested by the testimony of C. W. Turner, of the National City Bank. He said that his bank never charged more than 6 per cent on loans, regardless of the call loan rate on the exchange. He said that if all banks did likewise money would not be attracted to New Tork. The National Monetary Commission's bill denies rediscount facilities of the National Reserve Association to notes secured by stock collateral. Let the Democrats incorporate a similar pro vision in any financial reform bill they may adopt and they will stop the flow of money to New Tork. Let them give the banks power to encroach on their reserve on payment of a tax graduated in proportion to the reduc tion in the reserve and then the New Tork banks will have less motive for preferring call loans - to time loans. The country banks also will have less motive for carrying large balances in New Tork. Through the reduction to very small proportions of the supply of money on which it is based, stock speculation will be reduced to very narrow limits. New Tork can then no longer start panics and lock up the money supply of the country when it is most needed. The fever of specula- tion will ho longer burn in the arteries of business, but give place to a healthy flow of money. DISEASE IN THE ARMY. The United States has added to its triumph over yellow fever and ma laria in Cuba and Panama the' prac tical extermination of typhoid fever in the Army. Inoculation against this disease has been made compul sory for all recruits and for all offi cers and men over 45. Secretary Stimson says in his annual report that in 1909, when Inoculation began, there were 173 cases and sixteen deaths. In the first eight months of 1912 there were only nine cases and one death. Of the 368 cases and- thirty-three deaths occurring from the beginning of 1909 to the end of the eighth month of 1912, only eighteen cases and not a single death occurred in immunized individuals, and of the nine cases this year six were among the non-immunized individuals, among whom also occurred the only death. Typhoid has been almost extinguished and rendered harmless to life. Equal success has followed attacks on beri berl among native troops in the Philippines. By a simple change of diet that disease, which was the greatest cause of death and disability, has been virtually extirpated, there having been in the year 1911 only three cases and no deaths. The greatest cause of sickness in the Army is now those diseases which are due to licentiousness, and the greatest cause of licentiousness is the abolition of the canteen- Mr. Stimson says that during his recent inspection of nearly half of the Army posts he "found the military reservations ad joined by dives and ill -resorts of the vilest character," which "have arisen or greatly increased in number since the sale of light wines or beer at the post exchanges has been abolished." While science is extirpating one class of diseases, well-meaning but misguid ed reformers are causing the spread of others which physically and mor ally ruin their victims and greatly Impair the efficiency of the Army. CHESTERTON ON THE DIVORCE EVIL. G. K. Chesterton holds some sensi ble opinions on the subject of divorce and some which are not so sensible. In an article for the New Tork World which he prepared a few days ago he mingled the two sorts to make one of those agreeable dishes of intellectual hash which he understands so well how to prepare. Mr. Chesterton be lieves that people should marry young and marry for love, two precepts which no person of genuine Anglo Saxon prejudices will think of disput ing as matters of pure theory. Dr. Eliot, of Harvard, preached the same doctrines most attractively in his ad dress to the freshman class this Fall and his sentiments received universal approval. But when we come to ap ply the charming theory of early mar. riage in practice we confront difficulties.- It is easy enough for the wealthy. Their money resolves this difficulty for them as it does most others. But unhappily the rich do not form the major proportion of the population. Ashamed as we may be of the fact, most of us are either poor or Just on the verge of poverty and the problem of early marriage be comes harassing In proportion to one's lack of means. It is all very well to talk to young men and women about the duty of timely matrimony and the joys of a large and Increasing brood about the family hearth, but if there is not money enough between the couple to provide a hearth, to say nothing of paying for beefsteak and doctors' serv ices, the question assumes a delicacy which theorists like Mr. Chesterton do not always comprehend. It is easier for a poor man to appreciate the beau ties of family life than it is to pos sess them. Every normal man and woman of proper feeling desire to live a family life and few wish to break up their families by the inter vention of the divorce court. But this Is a world where we cannot all do as we wish and it happens occasionally that the best-laid plans gang agley. Like many other people who consider the subject of divorce from an aca demic standpoint without proper ref erence to the facts of life, Mr. Ches terton would abolish divorces alto gether if he could. He seems to have gained the surprising piece of infor mation In some way that all marriages are arranged by the deity and that it is an unpardonable offense to him to dissolve one, no matter what the cause may be. "Not all marriages can be expected to be happy," he sagely remarks, "but all can be made permanent." Just why an unhappy marriage ought to be made permanent he does not satisfactorily Explain. When it comes to the pinch he fol lows the good old plan of clinging to his prejudices with a death grip and throwing the responsibility for his ob stinacy on the Lord. This is one of the less sapient fea tures of Mr. Chesterton's divorce lore. Its folly is counterbalanced by the re mark which he makes over and over again that the real gist of the whole question is economic. The rich desert their wives and break up their fami lies because they have, too much money. The poor do the same thing because they have too little. Find some way to make a fair distribution of the good things of life, the material good things, and the divorce problem will not trouble us a great deal. He goes so far as to say that there would be no call for the services of the divorce court if we could contrive to relieve the distressingly rich of their super fluity and the distressingly poor of their want. We opine, however, that this is a doctrine of perfection. Do the best we may in the matter of im proving living conditions, there will always be reasons why it is well for certain mlsmated couples to separate. There will be physical reasons, for one thing. As long as there is no definite provision for bringing together couples who ought to wed, from eugenic con siderations, and keeping apart those whose unions are certain to prove undesirable, we shall be compelled on practical grounds to grant divorces, whether we like to do it or not. If it is seen, for example, that a given union is bringing an idiot or a deaf and dumb child into the world with annual regularity there seenis to be no good reason - why it should continue and several good ones why it should be terminated. If a man and his wife have found by years of experience that their married life is a continual wrangle and never can become any thing better, common sense counsels a separation. Of course we can preach the beauti ful doctrine of submission to the wife. We can tell her that it is her duty to put up with any amount of abuse and patiently endure cruelty and outrage year after year in the confidence, that God has so decreed. We may advise her to refrain from asking why he should, have laid so many of the burr dens on the women and so few on the men. We may pursue this plan if we like and there was a time when it was effectual. The women of a former generation were quite ready to under go almost anything in this life with the expectation that it would be made up to them hereafter. But times have changed and we shall do wisely if we change - our methods of dealing with women to correspond with other phases of progress. The modern woman is not a submissive creature and she is sloughing off every year a few more of the relics of sex slavery which she has retained so far. Mr. Chesterton's theory that every marriage has been arranged by the deity is all humbug and women have seen through it Some marriages are contrived by scheming mammas whose connection with the deity is extremely remote. Many are the result of hasty passion which mingles desire and ignorance in equal parts. Many are based upon financial reasons, and in order to sup pose that the deity approves of them we must allow that he is a good deal more mercenary than it is agree able to believe. There are plenty of marriages consummated every day which it is simply shocking to imag ine the Lord could have looked upon with the slightest approval. The growing conviction of the modern world is that in this matter as1 in most others we must cease our idolatry of the institution and fix our attention upon the welfare of the individuals concerned. The divorce courts will not break up the family. It is in far more peril from miserable marital rer lations than it is from the severance of those which ought not to continue. Irish home rule being now practi cally out of danger in the British House of Commons, we shall -soon see the House of Lords disturbed by dis mal forebodings of the dismember ment of the empire as a prelude to re jection of the bill. The great cause of anxiety to the Irish is the question whether the Liberal-Nationalist-Labor coalition can hold together until the Lords have rejected the bill a second time and the Commons have passed it a third time over the Lords' veto. That will require two more years, during which many things may happen to force election of a new Par liament. When the Housekeepers' League of each city begins buying eggs from the Farmers' League and having them de livered by parcel post to each mem ber, the cost of living will go down and the cold-storage men will be left out in the cold. Sojourners at Kelly's Butte will heed the dinner bell, now that they begin the Winter programme of two meals a day. Many a poor mortal existing on the outside on one near meal a day will think the prisoners in luck. A statistician has figured, the United States spends $1,000,000 a day on luxuries, about 1 cent per capita. There is nothing alarming in such extravagance. .' The case -of Homer Baker, ex-convict, shows need of a method of pris oners' aid, but the problem is. ages old and far from solution. The proposed new police alarm sys tem should by all means include pocket alarm clocks for members of night shifts. Life of the letter-carrier will be all Joy when he begins delivering eggs and other produce in parcel post packages. If Friday, the 13th, is an unlucky day, what is the 12th day of the 12th month of the 12th year of the cen tury? ' ' Shortly the grocer will be able to slap a stamp on a. pumpkin or bunch of onions and drop them in the mail box. Every chronic grumbler now has opportunity to unload on the Council committee his streetcar grievance. Those who believe in luck symbols will be shocked to hear that the horse shoe trust is in serious trouble. It is a most unkind thing to suggest that Wilson may serve only lemon pie to the voracious of his party. Exercise of patience when shopping puts a ray of sunshine into the life of the harried clerk. . Fhllaaeipnias ultra, upper tea neia a novel reception in a barroom. Very appropriate setting. Others who contemplate murder will be checked while memory is keen on the execution. Murder in Oregon has been ren dered unprofitable, unpleasant and unsafe. FIT11U3 OF BULL MOOSE PARTY Prosreaaiv Cannot See- Personal Bolt In 4,000,000 Votes. HILLSDALE, Or., Dec. 12. To th Editor.) The article in The Oregonian today which closes with the dictum that the Progressive party will pass Into history as nothing more than a Roosevelt bolt, reinforced by all forms of discontent, and a letter in the samu Issue from J. E. Eastham, who has the temerity to predict that Roosevelt as the Progressive standard-bearer in 1910 could not carry a single state; both overlook the principal element in the Progressive party nearly 4,000,000 voters. It is true that there were many dis contented ones in the Progressive party, during the recent campaign, but discontent does not necessarily mean vaerrancy. Idleness, inefficiency or shift- lessness although the ordinary reader would so interpret your editorial, it is safe to assume that the Barons were "discontented," when they wrested the Kreat charter from King John; the Boston Tea Party was certainly the outgrowth of "discontent" and 4,000.000 voters expressed their discontent with the action of the Chicago con vention when they cast their ballots for the Progressive candidates. Whether the Progressive party, as a party, passes Into history dead or very much alive, is not a matter of very grave importance, but, leaving aside the disputed question of "steal," it is certain that never again will the leaders of a great party have the audacity to hoist the "black flag of Baronism" and flaunt it in the peo- ole's face as they defiantly override whether in due parliamentary form or otherwise is not important the popular will of the voters of the party when it has been so clearly Indicated as it was In the case under discussion. In so far as this result, alone, is beneficial to the body politic, Just so far was the ProCTessive party an In dignant protest of an outraged and "discontented" electorate and not a mere nersonal bolt of one man. Of course this idea was vigorously ex pressed throughout the campaign, but it will perhaps tend to clarify the atmosphere if it is repeated now with the actual figures before us. The Progressive party has not polled a scant 1,000,000 votes like the Popu list party, which, according to the Tory element. It Is soon to lonow to tne discard, but rather. In its initial per formance it haa polled over 4,000,000 votes and surpassed in popular favor the Grand Old Republican party, the hero of an hundred battles. None are so blind a they who will not see! AS to ,Mr. Eastham's prediction we heard many similar ones last August when the Progressive party was boun and they increased in volume and rial oule as the campaign progressed. I nresume it is not necessary to inform Mr. Eastham that the Progressive party finished first or second in more than two-thlrda of the states of the Union but only one who has met and talked with the Progressive voters not lead ers of the country is in a position to assure him that the great majority of the 4,000,000 are in the fight to stay and no compromise with the "black fiacr" wir be tolerated by the "dis contented ones." Leaders are, in the lnnir run. unlmnortant but the prln- ciDles of democracy are eternal and students of democratic government have found that when "leaders seriously deny to the people their right of free choice and action the result is swift and severe punishment which is ofttimes fatal. E. ti. ajiki. ECONOMICAL BAYS HAVE PASSED Writer la Bound to Keep Up With Pro cession, So Signs Paving; Petition. PORTLAND, Dec. 13. (To the1 Edi tor.) Having contributed liberally to the campaign for the preservation of rho uitnrv .r.rclscri the ritrht of -suf frage in a highly intelligent manner. collected my election wagers ana re covered somewhat from rude shocks mln lutapaH Vitr mntfll irrpsnonsibleB who disagreed with me politically, I can now return to ia pxauni-m v, ten antry of placating the grocer, butcher, coal dealer and milk man; appeasing the telephone, light and gas companies, mollifying the newspaper boy and dodging the tax collector. All whlph tlixpthf-r With littlfl Odd jobs like making a living, sidestepping fast-moving autos, waiting tor nueci cars, boycotting the barber, bootblack and dentist, and looking out for drizzly days, would seem to be a task for any man. It would have been a difficult task mi, fathora vhn wore leans oants and hickory shirts, killed their own meat, cut the firewood, brought water from the creek, drank from a gourd, never knew the exquisite Joy of asking pn.r,i tnr Main 4-11-44. or heard the chug-chug of a benzine buggy. But for my single sen it is mere luumij. Tt i. 4uat aiimilv a Question of having a little bit of money, and I am so used to associating with millionaires that a poor man has become a curiosity. All of my irienas are ncn, na really very pleasant to meet folks who a nnt tnriiiio-A in small talk of econo mics in the matters of food, clothing and pleasure. Yes, sir, money is pienxnui. v ueu .A aA a fhinir we want we buy It A few hundred dollars is of no conse quence. Just now we are putting our names to a document mat aumui men - mi n nut rinwn a naveraent in front of our bungalows. It will cost only about l,uu,uuu tor tne aniricu This is in "easy payments," only $20 Der annum lor eacn lot, ana wno uu for $20"? Have your street paved? Most as suredly, Margarett! There are two miiv wno-nnn nflssine out house every night! Other folks are "signing up," and we ve as mucn money as mej. indeed. Of course, the Democrats may not perform up to promises, but even if .u., Ann1 Vm nnt flroinsr to let anyone know that I'm poor not by a jug full! I'll meet all Dills, aues ana uaotsao nova nnmp. time to devote to literature, art and the science of gov ernment and be reaay to save tne try again in 1916. ' 549 East Forty-ninth Street - How Marlon Voted on Brldice. ST. PAUL, Or., Dec 11. (To the Edi. tor.) I see 'that a mass meting of the taxpayers of Marion County is to be called to consider the Columbia bridge. There is no need of this.' The taxpay ers of Marion County have spoken in favor of giving state aid to this bridge. The Democratic candidates for the Legislature said in their platform that they were "opposed to the state aid for a bridge aorosB the Columbia River." The voters of Marion County snowed the Democratic ticket under with a majority of about 1400 votes. The vot ers have spoken in favor of state aid for the Columbia bridge. It is the duty of the legislators to obey the mandate and vote as directed. If any Republican does not like It he has only to kick himself for it "The people do rule." JOHN F. THEO. B. BRENT ANO. Dignify the Name. PORTLAND. Dec 13. (To the Edi tor.) I note in The Oregonian that the National Democratic committeeman is called "Will R. King.'? Permit me an earnest protest I want you to stop using such a chewing-gum name as "Will" and to mention him as he is mentioned where he Isn't known Judtre William Rufus K.ing." ir nis Barkis campaign should succeed, Oregon won't be honored by having a school boy "Will" in the Cabinet when she might be represented by a cognomen of imposing character. Fetter call him "Judge W. Rufus King" than "Will." However, it is noticeable that non-po litical bodies continue to indorse Joseph N. Teal, while the office-seekers are for Committeeman Will. A KICKER. I n mar rt--s nvr i-rn DDnrncGC I i I AUAiXK UVJ.UI UOUA a uuuJ I Kins David Mlsbt Have Bidden In Aoto But for Fall In Eden. ONTARIO, Or., Deo. 11. (To the Edi tor.) In a late editorial The Orego nian mentioned a certain centenarian and told how different many things ar now from what they were when he wa young. It reminded me forcibly of old times. I have eaten meat fried in a spider set on the forestlck of the kitchen fire; potatoes boiled In a pot hung on a crane, and biscuit baked In a tin baker set on the hearth betore the same fire; and more, I have eaten pork and beans, brown bread, pies and puddings baked in a brick oven built in the kitchen chimney stack. Now, when we con sider what changes have been Wrought to make work lighter, and life mors comfortable, we may pat ourselves on the back and "point with pride" to our achievements, but when we look at it in another .light, the view is not so flat tering. For Instance, we say this Is the .20th century. What will you do with the 4000 years that passed before our pres ent era? Really, we're living in the 60th century, and the race of mankind has been wading through periods ot darkness and Ignorance, with occasion al glimpses of wisdom and has just discovered that the latent force In elec tricity can be utilized; that we can swim In the air; that we can send wireless messages across the oceans, and the other things we claim to have discovered. ' Abraham was not on earth till after the 20th century. Why did he not live In a bungalow instead of a tent? Why dldn t Jacob have a motorcar wnen ne went in search of his fortune and his wife? Why did not Tubal build an up right piano and a pips organ for his players? And why did not Nimrod, that mia-hty hunter, have a repeating Win chester rifle? All these things were as available in their day as In ours, but thev did not know how to get them. Now, why? I think It was because Adam changed teachers. At first he listened to his Maker, and while he did he showed superior intellect. As an tvamn! ha named all the beaats of the field and birds of the air, offhand, as fast as thoy were presented before Mm. If one thinks that an easy task, let him take a paper , and penoil and make a list of new and original names lor eacn animal and bird on the earth. Our President-elect" Is considered a smart man. and ha had to go to Bermuaa ana take three or four weeks to think out a dozen men for his Cabinet Again, see how we use names over and .over, rather tnan una new ones. How many children have been named Washineton? The capital of our Na tion is Washington. We have a state named Washington; almost every state has a Washington County and many cities have a Washington street. We can't find new names for our battle ships, but have to use the state names. We have other Instances of the Lord's teaching. Noah served no apprentice ship at shipbuilding, yet Qod gave him the dimensions, specifications and In structions and he put op a ship, stanch and strong, that rode out that great storm with all Its living freight. Again, when Moses built the tabernacle, the Lord Instructed Aio.iab and Bezaleel how to do the silvr and gold work for it and again Solomon did not graduate from Yale or Harvard, and then take a post-graduate course at Berlin Univer sity, and yet he was more learned than any man before or after him; and if Adam had not played hooky and gone to Satan's school he and his posterity might have been a race of illustrious savants. Instead of being a herd of ig noramuses. Suppose Adam should visit the world now and witness the effects of his act. He would see quarreling, fighting, thieving, robbery, grafting, murdera wars, etc., and the better part of hu manity spending its time and money in preparing for war, each nation watch ing the other with jealous eye to see that it does not get more than Its share of trade; condition of ' things almost like Catllene's "wan treachery with hie thlrstv dasrerer drawn, suspicion poison lng his brother's cup, naked rebellion with torch and ax." Is that too strong? Then how about the Becker plot, and those of Haywood and Pettibone. and of the McNamaras? Why are there so many detectives abroad, and so many investigations afoot, if there Is no cause for It? Yet some tell us the world Is erowine better. Well, perhaps It Is, but It must have been awful bad before the advance, and there is wide room for improvement yet COGITAT. HOME BUILDERS NEED ENDOWMENT Altruistic Suggestion for Millionaires Who Aid Colleges. MONMOUTH. On. Dec. 12. (To the Editor.) I am much interested In the editorials in The Oregonian, as well as the letters on that page, particularly those relating to the cost of living and the rearing and educating children. I think most young people are too optimistic on the subject of matri mony, and I wish we could all see a little further into the future before marrying and bringing a lot of help less children Into the world. It seems to be harder every year to get a decent living. Now, I am not a Socialist far from It but if you were a mother, with Christmas coming and no money to buy food or pay rent, to say nothing of presents, would you not be a bit disp couraged? Last Summer my husband, who is a good carpenter, was able to find work only about one-half of " the time, and this Winter there seems to be so little work that there are a dozen men for every Job. The goal of my life has been to have a pleasant home of our own to raise my children in, but Just how to feed and clothe a family of eight and save anything on less than $400 a year is a problem I have not been able to solve. Why cannot some of the rich men, instead of founding so many colleges, try a home-building association where by honest men with families can gain a home by arranging payments on long time at low Interest? There Is land enough 4n Oregon for each family to havo from one to five acres, but If one has no money it Is hard to obtain, to say nothing of buy ing lumber for buildings. DISCOURAGED MOTHER. Women Needed In Government. PORTLAND, Dec 13. (To the Edi tor.) Oregon is another of the many states that have given women the priv ilege to vote, and I think it only a mat ter of time when the women of the en tire civilized world will enjoy the same privilege. The suffering of women in England and thei sacrifices they have made for this cause I think have done a great deal toward the uplifting of women in this country, for we have benefited by their failures. It seems to me that America grasps opportunities for enlightenment sooner than other countries. I don't believe in women ruling over the men. but I do think the business world needs the spirituality and higher intuition of women, espe cially in politics, including the Govern ment in general, which will be better off with the votes of women. They have needed us for a long time, but didn't know it The minds of the women of the fu ture wili be a good deal broader than those of the past for It requires thought to vote conscientiously, which will naturally make better laws and better conditions. LILLIE W. Dawn of Real Trouble. Puck. First Excited Railroad Official Heard the news? Second Same Thing Oh, not so bad. Only five killed two of 'em brakemen. First But didn't yon know that along with that vaude ville baggage we were carrying Jung leo, the $200,000 trained baboon? The wreck drove him crazy, and the own er's getting ready to sue the road for his full value. Belated Claim, by Ghosh Br Dean Colllna. One Dekram Ghosh, prince of the Hindu races. Lecturer In our college, high - brow tilapAK. Brings many new things to our under standing Of who in America made the foremost landing. It was not C. Columbus, but a bold Hindu, if we believe what we are told By Ghosh! Oh, Ghosh, you tell us 'twas a reg'lar Hindu , First sailed the b.iny waves to stumble into. This vasty country of Pilgrims' pride. For which our fathers bravely fought and died. Two thousand years ago this Hindu Came - Unto our land, and we are told the. same By Ghosh! Great Ghosh, if true, your story full of mystery. We must revise our High School U. 8. History, The earlier chapters must be expur gated; The fame of C. Columbus be deleted; And in the pages of the htst'ry new Give honor to the Hindu; claimed as due By Ghosh! Ghosh, old Lief Erickson was but a piker, And Heinrlch Hudson, as an ocean hiker. Was Way behind the times when for ad venture he Sailed hither, sometime in the six teenth century, To find a country and explore a spot Already found before. This news we've got 'By Ghosh! Yet Ghosh, If Hindus found Indeed this territory. And your report be not a dainty fairy story; You must admit your Asiatic seamen Left darned few marks in this fair land of freemen: So credit for improvements now that cover It We claim, though told that we did not discover It By Ghosh! Portland, December 13, 1913. Half a Century Ago From The Oregonian 'of December 1.1, 162. Some inventive person at Nebraska City has Invented a steam wagon and called it a ."prairie motor." Great things were expected of it, but on trial it does not answer to the hopes of the Inventor or tho public The Rocky Mountain News says it started from Nebraska City for Denver on August 1 and by November 1 it had proceeded just ten miles on Its way. If the dashing cavaliers who be witch the town with their elegant horsemanship will manage to restrain their impetuosity, or that of their horses, they will oblige a large num ber of persons -who are compelled to go out on foot The Golden Age, published at Lewis ton, denies polntblank the statements made to the Appeal that A. S. Gould, former editor of that paper, has been threatened by secessionists for his Unionism and had his office fired upon at night by them. The Age says Gould was well treated, that there Is no seces. slon sentiment to speak of In Lewlston and that the citizens subscribed money to help him establish his paper, m I Who Carried California! ROSE LODGE, Or., Dec 13. (To the Editor.) In view of the spilt electoral vote in California this, year, is it cor rect to say that "Roosevelt carried Cali fornia" or not?. That Is, does the fact of his having received a majority of the electoral votes justify one in- say ing that he carried the state as a whole? If not please explain. INTERESTED READER. According to news reports,' election bets are being paid on the basis of Roosevelt having carried California. Paylna; Expreaa Chararrs. NEWBERG, Or., Dec. 12. (To the Editor.) The public should be cau tioned In sending presents prepaid by express to examine the rate sheet them selves. Local agents may quote only half the correct rate and give a receipt for what you pay, and when the pack age Is delivered, the other naif is col lected, a right the company claims un der our laws. This was the writer's experience recently and all the satis-, faction the express company gave me was to quote me the law. ' E. U. WILL. 221 Adams street Johnnie Goes Up Head. Woman's Home Companion. "Johnnie." asked the teacher, "can you give us a sentence sing the word 'income' in it?" Johnnie hesitated a moment, then: "Yes'um," he replied. " 'The boy opened the door, and In come a cat. ; Three Big -Special Features for Tomorrow Theodore Roosevelt He will present in The Sunday Oregonian the first of a series of big game stories relating to the outdoor pastimes of an American hunter. He tells of a cougar hunt in Colo rado. It abounds in live action and is told in Roosevelt's force ful, graphic style. Maxim Gorky The famous Russian writer presents a char acteristic story, "On Christmas Eve." Complete, ' with illustra tions, Sunday. Winning Oregon The first in stallment of a brief history of Oregon. The important events in the state's past are summed up in attractive form. There will be two installments of a page each, illustrated profusely with photo graphs and drawings. American Trade Spies A keen analysis of foreign trade fields and the work of American agents who are developing new markets for our products and wares. An article of rare value. Parcel Post An account of the rules, regulations and working of new system which will revolution ize parcel delivery. ' Madonna and Child An illus trated page on masterpieces of art that have been painted on that . best-beloved of topics. Santa's Toy Factory An illus-f trated page ou the making and marketing of toys for Christmas. Society's Sidewalk Gallery A striking poster page in full colors. Four pages of colored comics and Many Other Features. ORDER TODAY FROM YOUR NEWSDEALER.