Morning Oregonian., January 04, 1913, Page 6, Image 6

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PORTLAND, SATURDAY, JAN". 4, 1913.
OPPORTtTSITY FOR THE UNKNOWN.
President-elect Wilson, in an article
in the World's Work, impresses upon
us the need of "a body of laws which
will look after the men who are on
the make rather than the men who are
already made." He declares that we
have now "a set of conditions which
enables a small number of men who
control the Government to get favors
from the Government; by those favors
to exclude their fellows from equal
business opportunity." He calls at
tention to the fact that the old per
sonal relation which formerly existed
between employer and workman has
given place to an impersonal relation
between a great corporation and its
employes. He criticises Judges for ig
noring this change in applying the fellow-servant
law to superintendents of
corporations, while freeing directors
from liability for accidents. He pleads
for opportunity for the inventions,
originations and ambitions of un
known men. He pronounces the So
cialist vote to be 20 per cent Socialism
and 80 per cent protest against pres
ent conditions.
We have already advanced far in
wresting control of the Government
from the holders of and the seekers
after special favors. Between the in
dividual shipper and the great railroad
we have interposed the Interstate
Commerce Commission as representa
tive of all the people. By employers'
liability laws we are tearing from the
eyes of the courts the scales which
blind them to the difference between
the employer who works side by side
with his few employes and the director
of a company which employs thou
sands at long range through the medi
ation of a superintendent. We are
recognizing that freedom of contract
between a woman who grasps eagerly
at a wage of S3 a week and a corpora,
tion which commands hundreds of
millions of dollars Is a cruel sham. By
our laws limiting hours of labor and
requiring factory inspection we are re
stricting the power of large employers
to exercise their freedom of contract
with men and women who must ac
cept their terms or starve. By placing
the government of state or Nation be
hind the workman in driving a bar
gain with his employer we are putting
him on equal terms with the corpora
tion, however huge.
We are realizing more and' more
that monopoly is a menace, not only
through the power it has exercised
over the Government, through domi
nating trade in all channels and
through enhancing and maintaining
prices in defiance of economic law, but
through stifling individual ambition,
energy and invention. The New York
Evening- Sun admits that "Governor
Wilson is entirely right when he de
clares that the real treasury of Amer
ica is the ambition, the energy of her
'unknown men." " The Sun is entirely
wrong when it asserts that this ambi
tion and energy have an open outlet.
The best ambition in business seeks to
found and manage an Industry of its
own, not to become manager for a
great corporation, at however princely
a salary. Energy gets full play only
when the man who exercises it sees its
results accruing directly to him, not
indirectly in the shape of salary. In
ventive genius gets its sharpest spur
from the hope of founding an Industry
the fruits of which shall be divided
among the inventor, the capitalist and
the pructical producer. When the
only hope of reward is the sale of a
patent to a great corporation, which
may ilnd more profit in its suppression
than in its use, inventive genius is
chilled. If the invention be not put to
use, the people are cheated out of the
benefits of its fruits, and the purpose
of the patent law is defeated.
We all recognize the evils of special
favors, of closing- the door of oppor
tunity to ambition and invention. We
disagree only as to the means of re
moving these evils. To find and apply
successlully the best means will tax
the highest powers of Wilson and his
ablest lieutenants. 1,'ariff revision
alone will not do it, for monopoly
thrives as well in free-trade England
as in the United States. We need not
only more laws to open and keep open
that door, but we need the highest
skill, courage, integrity and foresight
ed patriotism in administration of
those laws. Between those great com
binations which were created and ex
, 1st only to destroy competition and to
levy a lawless tax on the consumer we
need to draw a line demarking them
from those corporations which are the
legitimate growth of modern condi
tions. The door of opportunity has
been opened for Wilson and his party
to devise such laws and to select and
guide their administrators.
AN I' N FAIR CRITICISM.
Commenting on the exposure of the
water transportation monopoly, Bry
an's Commoner says:
Many people will think It strange that the
Taft Administration did not sooner make
this discovery and apply the remedy.
This is unfair criticism inspired by
partisan bias. The report of the Com
missioner of Corporations on water
transportation is one of a series of re
ports on our waterways, which have
been issued at intervals throughout
the Taft Administration. Suspicion
that this particular report has been
delayed through any tenderness for
monopoly is utterly inconsistent with
Taft's whole record in relation to
trusts. If the Wilson Administration
should prosecute to a successful issue
all the anti-trust suits, both civil and
criminal, which have been brought by
Taft, and if it should prosecute in ad
dition all the trusts whose existence
Taft has brought to light, it will be
kept busy throughout the next four
years and will have almost extermi
nated monopoly. . .
Taft has many shortcomings, but he
has prosecuted the trusts more relent
lessly and with better success than any
of his predecessors. In truth, the un
derlying motive of much hostility to
him is his stern enforcement of the
law against trusts in which some of
the loudest shouters for progressive
ness are large stockholders.
GLAVIS.
The picture of Louis R. Glavis
painted for an admiring world a few
years ago by the muckraking maga
zines represented him as a human
Gibraltar standing erect, undismayed
and undeflled in a howling sea of
graft and grafters. He was a special
agent of the United States Land Office
and was the impeccable Glavis who
was largely the source and foundation
of the furious war waged on Ballinger.
When Glavis was dismissed from the
service for sound cause he was at once
canonized by the sympathetic ink
splllers who were leading the anti
Ballinger crusade; and to this day a
large fraction of the American people
believe Glavis is a hero.
But Glavis is no hero. He never
was. He is a little grafter, just as he
was always a palterer, a mischief-
maker and an informer and an ingrate.
Taken to California by mistaken
friends and admirers, he was made
secretary of the State Conservation
Commission and of the Water Com
mission, at double the salary of an
ordinary public employe. His duty
and hi9 oath commanded him to serve
the public; his private interest led
him to make an essentially dubious
bargain with one or more lumber cor
porations to promote their welfare in
the prosecution of certain land claims
before the Government. It is not
clear that Glavis directly betrayed his
public employment to serve private
ends, or that the applications of the
companies were not in themselves
proper. But that his arrangement
with them was secret, and in the cir
cumstances collusive, in ' view of his
official position, appears plain.
That is Glavis. He has been ex
posed and has "resigned." It is well
to reflect that what he is he was and
what he did to his enemies he was cer
tain in turn to do to his friends.
MR. BAILEY'S SWAN SONG.
Mr. Bailey's swan song to the Senate
was as doleful as such musical per
formances usually are expected to be.
It breathed a note of sadness from
beginning to end. Beneath the well
rounded periods of the great Texan
one could hear the murmuring under
tones of woe. "What is going to be
come of the country now that I am
withdrawing from the helm? Storms
and tempests are before us, shoals and
Quicksands on .the lea. and alas, the
only captain capable of steering the
tottering craft safely into harbor is
driven by a sense of wounded dignity
and the keen edge of popular ingrati
tude to accept a position under a New
York corporation. AVoe is me."
A sense of immense solitude per
vades Mr. Bailey's melancholy elo
quence. He realizes that he is the
only living great man in America and
probably the last who ever will be
born on these forsaken shores and his
soul is depressed. As he stood on the
Senate floor and bade farewell to the
pygmies whom he had so long honored
by associating with them he felt as
Anatole Franje did in his vision of the
silent universe deprived of the gener
ous heat of the sun and left to solidify
into a mass of gelid atoms.
Admiring Mr. Bailey as we do and
feeling deeply the loss his resignation
is to the country, still we cannot quite
agree with him that he and "the
mighty dead under whose banner he
has enlisted" engross all the ability in
the. world, while his fellow statesmen
are mere "noisy demonstrators." The
disagreeable truth is that Washington,
Jefferson and the rest of the Fathers
were called noisy demonstrators or
something worse by the Baileys of
their day. If the Baileys of that
period could have caught George
Washington they would have hanged
him for a traitor, which is even more
disgraceful than to be berated as a
demonstrator.
Mr. Bailey feels that he is conde
scending a little when he arrays him
self under "the banner of the mighty
dead." He knows perfectly well that
he can make a better speech than
Washington, and we know It, too. But
after all we are not sure that Wash
ington and Jefferson would be proud
of his company. Their ideals differed
considerably from his and their con
duct in public office obeyed other
standards. They exercised their trust
for the whole country. Mr. Bailey has
exercised his for a nobler purpose, of
course, but still it is not the same pur
pose. We are convinced, therefore,
that Washington will experience a cer
tain discomfort at the sight of the
wounded Senator marching under his
banner.
PAY FOR THE MILITIA.
Much concern is expressed by the
New York Evening Post over the pro
posal to put the organized militia of
the country on a small pay allowance.
The Post presents as the main argu
ment against such an expensive inno
vation the fact that the 110,000 men
of the militia seem to be altogether
willing to put in their time for
nothing. Further than that, the
Post doesn't believe that the ills which
affect our citizen soldiery would be
remedied by a lotion of coin and is in.
clined to look upon the whole move
ment as a product of lobbying propen.
sities among the militiamen, many of
whom are prominent politically.
The Post's argument is mainly valu
able as revealing that extreme provin
cialism which has always been the
stumbling block of a progressive mili
tary policy in the United States. It is
a provincialism that sees no need for
military preparedness. It is a pro
pensity that closely resembles the in
stinct which prompts an ostrich to
hurrow its head in the sand and rest
in fancied security from roving
enemies.
The principal motive of the Govern
ment for wishing to pay the militia is
thereby to bind a hard bargain. The
return the militia must pay is service
on demand In any part of the world.
Inasmuch as the militiamen would
have bound themselves to this service,
and accepted pay during the period of
preparation, the obligation could not
be broken. The militia would be
equally available with the regular
Army for any sort of service, whereas
under the present system active serv
ice must be confined to the borders of
the United States. Instead of being an
expensive military programme, the
militia pay bill provides the United
States with an additional military
force of 110.000 trained men for a
mere fraction of what it would cost
to maintain half that many additional
regulars.
Military students generally are
agreed that only when the militia is
given a fixed rate of compensation can
real hope be attached to it. A month
ly pay roll, no matter how small, gives
the officers strong hold on the men
and makes possible the development
of better discipline. Then it promotes
new standards for officers. The' pro
posed pay rate for the officers is suf
ficiently attractive to secure excellent
material and thus the careless, negli
gent and inefficient officers would
quickly mend their ways or forfeit
their commissions.
The Post's final objection' to the
militia pay bill lies In the fact that
enlistments are brought about largely
by a desire to enjoy those privileges
and associations found in a militia
armory. Hence the ' Post concludes
that pay is not necessary in order to
stimulate enlistments and hold the or
ganizations together. But the motive
for enlistment has no bearing in the
matter. The ultimate aim in securing
the enlistment of these young men is
to use them for war. That is the rea
son the Government now helps sup
port the organized militia. And if by
spending a relatively small sum each
year we can make the standard of
this reserve army much higher and
can make the force more readily avail
able for field service it is wise to make
the experiment. The Post should
stand alone in its pretty sentiment that
young men who are preparing to serve
on the firing line in possible hour of
need receive ample pay in the privi
lege of studying military science in a
state armory and enjoying the annual
ten days under canvas at maneuvers.
WORKING GIRLS AND DRESS.
Girls and women who work in Port
land laundries, factories, stores and
offices are in debt for the most part,
according to a social survey committee
which has been making a canvass of
the situation. Of the 509 cases looked
Into it was found that 478 finished the
year with a deficit of from $11 to
$145.86, the smaller sum representing
laundry girls not living at home and
the larger sum being noted against
girl clerks living at home.
The significant thing about the
canvass is the disclosure as to annual
expenditure by these working girls
tor clothes. It costs the laundry girl
about $15S a year to dress. The fac
tory girl spends from $126.46 to
$140.33 a year for clothes, while the
department-store miss lavishes from
$139.63 to $161.66, the larger sum if
she lives at home and the smaller if
she is dependent wholly upon herself.
Thus the average expenditure per
month for clothes among these girls is
about $12. The amount is one out of
all proportion to their wages. It indi
cates that vanity oversteps prudence
and that careful and- conscientious ad
justment of individuals to their lot is
not effected. These girls who spend
$12 a month for clothing are practic
ing an extravagance that they cannot
afford and that is not attempted by
many women in comfortable circum
stances. They have not learned that
tact and cleverness and taste count as
much as money in dress. Time spent
night after night in empty diversion
could be utilized in learning some of
the inner secrets in that fine art of
living within one's means.
The wage scale for girls is small and
Insufficient, but in the light of their
dress extravagance it is apparent that
Improvidence plays its part in the
working girl problem.
REFORMING EXPERT TESTIMONY.
The" subject of expert medical testi
mony continues to worry both doctors
and lawyers, to say nothing of Legis
latures. The public smiles at the
mention of a learned physician testify
ing in court. Sometimes the smiles
are not deserved. Too often they are.
The common belief that an expert will
say on the witness stand whatever he
is paid to say has too much ground
to be despised as a mere vagary of
the mob. Chief Justice Valiant, of
Montana, declares that he "can call
to mind instances wherein the ex
perts, being paid large fees for giving
their whole time to the particular case
during the herring, have exhibited
more partisanship than the lawyers.
Indeed," the Chief Justice continues,
'I have been shocked at the reckless
ness with which witnesses of this
character will sometimes speak."
Others have been shocked, too. In
deed, the whole country is in a chronic
state of shock at the partisanship
which experts of the most exalted
learning permit themselves to exhibit
on the witness stand. What shall the
remedy be?
All sorts of remedies have been sug
gested and some have been tried, but
without any startlingly brilliant re
sults. Naturally the first recourse of
the American people, who believe that
law can cure all troubles, was to the
State Legislatures. Many statutes were
formulated and passed. In every state
except Rhode Island this legislation
has gone to wreck on the rock which
lies in wait for any statute which the
courts do not like. It has been pro
nounced unconstitutional. The gener
al weakness of these laws seems to be
that they affix a higher value to ex
pert testimony coming from official
sources than to that which litigants
hire for themselves. Any such par
tiality is, in the view of the judges,
contrary to the principles of American
liberty. Michigan had a fairly good
law to regulate expert testimony. It
lasted until the Supreme Court of the
state got a blow at it and then it went
the way of the wicked.
The Michigan law made it the duty
of the trial Judge to appoint not more
than three expert witnesses on each
side in homicide cases where such tes
timony was necessary and fix their
pay. The litigants were permitted to
hire as many more as they liked and
pay them from their own pockets.
Expert witnesses in other cases were
forbidden to take more pay than the
law allowed ordinary witnesses and
each side was limited to three, but the
trial judge might modify these provi
sions if he saw fit. Liberty does not
seem to have been seriously infracted
by this legislation and yet the Michi
gan Supreme Court could not over
come its apprehensions on that score
and the statute was annulled. The
court discerned that "the expert wit
nesses provided for by this section tes
tify under a sanction which gives their
testimony practically the same weight
as if it came from the court itself.
One would suppose that it ought to
have greater weight An unbiased
man of science who knows what he is
talking about certainly pught to carry
more weight than a judge who speaks
in dense ignorance, as most judges
would speak on matters of science if
thev spoke at all.
The Michigan court shuddered to
think what would happen if this pre
ferred expert testimony "being against
the accused were either wilfully false
or ignorantly mistaken." The conse
quences could not be worse than if
the judge himself were wilfully false
or ignorantly mistaken as sometimes
happens. Ignorance might easily be
avoided by appointing no expert who
was not approved by the body of the
profession and it would certainly seem
that half a dozen doctors might be
found in Michigan who could be re
lied upon not to perjure themselves
wilfully in a case where they had no
personal interest dn either side. But
the Michigan court advanced these
reasons against the law merely to save
appearances. The real reason why
they found it unconstitutional is
tucked away in an obiter dictum which
we quote for what it is -worth. "We
are of the opinion that the remedy for
this evil lies in the development of a
livelier sense of responsibility to the
public," both among the lawyers and
the doctors, "rather than in revolu
tionary legislation." What hope is
there for a bench of Judges which de
tects "revolution" in the timorous re
forms of the statute we have de
scribed ?
The Michigan court stands almost
alone in depending upon the slow
processes of education to cure the
evils which have clustered so thickly
around expert testimony. Chief Jus
tice Valiant, of Montana, says, "In-the
absence of legislation I cannot see ant'
remedy for the evil which it is sought
to avert." Chief Justice Winslow, of
Wisconsin, thinks "that the real rem
edy for the existing difficulties in re
gard to the testimony of medical ex
perts must ultimately be found in leg
islation." As an alternative for the
law which was unconstitutional the
doctors of Monroe County, Michigan,
proposed to make out a list of quali
fied experts and send it to every law
yer and judge in the county with
notice that the men named could be
relied upon. This is known as the
"Monroe County Plan," and it has
been widely discussed with much ap
proval. Chief Justice Moore, of Mich
igan, gives out word through the Med
ical Times that it would afford ground
for a new trial if it were followed,
but since almost anything will serve
that useful purpose in Michigan he
has not frightened the advocates of
the project.
We do not understand that the se
lection of medical experts is in any
sense a judicial duty. The judges
ought not to be burdened with it even
if they were competent to do it well,
as we do not believe they are. They
would in any case be obliged to de
pend upon the official associations of
the doctors for advice in making such
appointments. It seems reasonable,
therefore, to leave the matter to these
associations entirely and let the law
yers select their witnesses on technical
questions from the lists for which the
medical profession has made itself re
sponsible. This is the solution of the
problem which is growing in public
approval and it is the one which ap
peals to unprejudiced common sense.
If William Rockefeller is really too
111 to testify about the money trust,
why does he not ask the House com
mittee to appoint a physician who will
satisfy it of the fact? By hiding he
justifies the suspicion that his Illness
is a sham or is exaggerated. Such
conduct on the part of a rich man
might have been tolerated a few years
ago, but the people have rebelled
against and overturned the theory that
any man should be allowed to dodge
service of summons. Moreover, Mr.
Rockefeller is confirming the belief
held by many that he is afraid or
ashamed to tell what he knows of ma
nipulation of the stock market, partic
ularly of copper stocks.
Failure of the Bates & Chesebrough
steamship line might have been pre
vented had the vessels been able to
come through the Panama Canal in
stead of trans-shipping to the Panama
Railroad, which was choked with con
struction material for the canal. Af
ter the canal is opened the volume of
traffic should be so increased as to in
sure remunerative rates and delays
should be eliminated. The failure goes
to prove the necessity of the canal.
As steamship lines have no right of
way to buy and no roadbed to main
tain it is strange that they did not
long ago move their tracks across the
Atlantic out of the way of icebergs.
They need only draw a line across the
map. Their ships may take a little
more time'on the voyage, but they are
more likely to finish it in port than
where the Titanic lies.
If our Speaker were to follow the
example of the Speaker of the Hun
garian Diet in fighting a duel, what
weapons would he choose? Possibly
hickory clubs from Missouri would
suit him best.
Research by which James J. Hill
proves that the wheat yield of the
Northwest can be doubled, which
means doubling of his railroad's traffic,
is dictated by the most enlightened
selfishness.
Ta-n Hnnrrariall statesmen f oueht
with sabers until exhausted. The
care that must be exercised in han
dling a saber so as not to injure an
adversary is fatiguing.
Theodore Roberts, the actor, has
gone to jail because he says he can't
afford to pay alimony. A man who
can't afford such luxuries shouldn't
court them.
A nonresident capitalist may be of
little benefit, yet Utah profits by the
death of Harriman in exceeding large
number of dollars.
However, - the parcel post is young
and must have time in wnicn to adjust
itself to this world of many problems
and perplexities.
Possibly Bailey is bitter because the
sphere of activity for a first-class cor
poration Senator has been greatly re
stricted of late.
Now a woman is being urged for
Secretary of War. Next they'll want
command of the Army and Navy.
Little drops of water are mighty
powerful when they unite. They, move
mountains occasionally.
Perhaps Senator Bailey's resignation
this time is final. The time is ripe,
for he is "seeing things."
The peace conference bids fair to
end in a free-for-all among the pleni
potentiaries.
A coffin sent by parcel post ap
proaches the mundane limit.
Live lobsters should travel as pas
sengers, not by parcel post.
Jim Keene has taken his final
plunge.
About time now to revive baseball
talk.
PENALIZING FAILURE) TO VOTE.
Proposed Bill Dlaeuased by Leader la
Suffrage Movement.
PORTLAND, Jan. S. (To the Editor.)
I am In receipt of a bill to be pre
sented to the Legislature, of which the
following is a copy:
Section 1. Any Qualified elector in the
State of Oregon who shall fail to register
according to law within the time and man
ner prescribed shall forfeit $25 and costs to
the school fund of the State of Oregon for
failure so to do. and a like recurring fine
after any National, state, county, school or
municipal election within the boundary of
the precinct of the person in contempt.
Section 2. Any voter who fails to vote
at any National, state, county, school or
municipal election within the precinct ex
cept for reasons hereinafter stated shall
forfeit to the school fund $2.50. and costs
of collection, for each and every such default-Section
3. In the case of sickness or other
Inability by -which any voter is unable to
attend the polis and vote in person a mailed
ballot with affirmation of the nature of an
oath shall exonerate such voter from fine
and the ballot so mailed shall be registered
and counted as if delivered in person.
Section 4. In case of unavoidable absence
from the precinct a similar attestation will
justify and the vote be counted.
Section 5. Any voidable absence from a
voter's precinct, as for hunting, fishing or
other frivolous reasons by which failure to
exercise the right of franchise is occasioned,
shall subject the offender to a fine of $5
and costs for every such delinquency.
Section 6. Any employer of labor, or
agent or representative of the employer who
fails to voluntarily give opportunity for a
voter in his employ to exercise the right of
franchise by the employe, without diminution
of the wage, shall forfeit 10 to the school
fund for such delinquency.
It is a lamentable fact that the ex
ercise of the elective franchise, or fun
damental principle upon which the Gov
ernment of the United States is found
ed is growing more and more into dis
repute, as the states and Nation are
increasing in individual and inherited
wealth or corporate power. It has be
come the fashion among such people
and classes and their would-be satel
lites to sneer at the ballot as something
beneath their consideration and almost
beneath their scorn. It is the purpose
of this bill to make the exercise of the
elective franchise as mandatory as the
payment of taxes.
When I last visited Central Illinois.
the home of my birth and childhood, 1
found whole townships occupied by
groups of "Hood-and-eye Dutch," who
have purchased the land and grown
rich under the protection of the Gov
ernment, which they repudiate by re
fusing to vote. They never attend good
roads meetings or public gatherings
outside of their own sect or class, or
contribute in any avoidable way to the
expense of the government. But there
is one Issue that arouses their antog-
onlsm always, and that is the enfran
chisement of women. We have in Ore
gon a similar hierarchy of men, aided
and abetted by their feminine hangers
on, whom they use as their "hewers
of wood and drawers of water, who
do their bidding like dependent bone
gnawing spaniels, exactly like the un
derlings among the wealthier classes
of the hook-and-eye Butch of Illinois,
who are rapidly overrunning Kansas
and Wisconsin.
Let the foregoing bill become a law,
and these lordly would-be aristocrats
of both sexes would soon find it to their
interest not only to vote, but to inform
themselves of the nature, responsibili
ties and uses of a republican form of
government whose only sure founda
tion Is the ballot box. As matters now
stand, the irresponsible, homeless, no
madic classes hold the balance of
power. They never refuse to vote, and
the classes who are constantly grow
ing richer under existing conditions
must be compelled to vote in self-de
fense, as well as the defense and pro
tection of the government they hold in
contempt by neglecting their patriotic
duty. ABIGAIL SCOTT DUNIWAY.
ETHICS IN FIXING CANAL TOLLS
Writer Likens Coastwise Exemption to
Railroad Rebating.
GOLD HILL, Or., Jan. 1. (To the
Editor.) In The Oregonian I find an
article under the caption. "Our Rights
in Panama." supposed to be fitly illus
trated by "The man who cornered the
peach market." This so-called illus
tration is trivial, as the "peach corner
was local and illogical since the prin
ciple Involved In the Panama discussion
is not illustrated by it.
The Hay-Pauncefote treaty (lsui)
with England provides among other
things that "The Canal shall be free
and open to the vessels of commerce
and of war of all nations observing
these rules on terms of entire equality,
so that there shall be no discrimina
tion against any such nation or its
citizens or subjects in respect of the
conditions or charges of traffic or
otherwise."
We are equally bound by the spirit
of equity manifest in this article, to
all nations, and any other nation nas
tha same rlKht under it to make the
same objections that England is mak
ing.
I well remember when tne ranroaus
of this country talked In just such a
high-keyed and defiant tone about
what they pleased to do with their
exclusively private property as some
Americans are using today in regard
to this Panama discussion. But the
railroad companies have come to see
as all others have come to see, that
they hold their great properties in
trust, since all have rights in the mat
ter, while but few have a moneyed
interest.
The Panama Canal is to be held by
us in trust for the use of all nations
und any attempt on our part to
"corner" any privilege will be a .Na
tional diserace.
This quibble about .the abrogation of
the Hay-Pauncefote treaty is contempt
ible since we are under the same moral
obligation to carry out its spirit of
equity whether we promised to or
not. It is akin to the "open door," the
Oolden Rule of commerce.
Uncle Sam has had quite a time
rlisciollnlnz- our railroads for the com
mercial sin of "rebating," which viol
ates the spirit of business ethics, by
destroying the equality ot opportun
itv.
Is there, then, a distinction between
national and international ethics? To
give our own shipping at Panama an
advantage in any sense and our sin
of rebating is complete. , The reply to
this, used from our President aown
and suDDOsed to be conclusive, is "In
our coastwise shipping, there is no
comrjetition with foreign nations.
This is a quibble and only true In ap
pearance. How will otner nations
vlnw it? In its true light, as a mari
time nursery out of which will come
fortunes, saved from remitted tolls, to
he used to build ocean liners, to com
nete with them for over-sea traffic
This is the way Standard Oil beat Its
competitors. Are we yet to De Known
as Standard Oil bam.'
J. R. KENDALL.
Butter and Butter Fat.
DREWSET, Or., Jan. 1. (To the Ed
itor.) I see butter fat quoted at 38
cents, and In the same market reports
creamery butter at 39 cents. Where
does the profit come In? This has al
ways been a puzzle to m and, perhaps,
is to many others. FARMER.
In the "overrun." Butter contains
salt and water, which are heavier and
cheaper than butter fat.
Election In France, January 17.
London Standard.
The new President of France, to serve
for a term of seven years, .will be
chosen by the Senate and Chamber of
Deputies January 17. M. Bourgeois,
who appears to be posing as "a recep
tive candidate," will probably be op
posed by the Radicals, who are led by
M. Clemenceau. Other candidates are
M. Antonin Dubost, M. Deschanel and
M. Poincare.
HIGH COST OF LIVING MISNOMER
Effort to Keep Vp Pace Set by
Wealthier Raises Prices.
CORVALL1S, Or.. Jan. 3. (To the
Editor.) There has been much com
ment recently upon the high cost of
living. The real problem presented.
however, should be termed the cost of
high living, and not as above stated.
PerhaDs this thought has not present
ed itself to many of us in this light,
but we are paying tribute to the prop
osition directly or indirectly, whether
we are aware of it or not.
The fact is that during our recent
era of prosperity, due largely to the
development of the resources of our
country, many people have become
wealthier and have set a pace of liv
ing: and environment which all of us
are more or less inspired to Teach and
keep. Consequently, in every avenue
of the commercial, world the percent
age of profit and commission is ad
vanced to the limit, with the resultant
high prices.
It is. therefore, absurd to say that
the farmers are to blame for the pre
vailing -high prices, especially when
they are confronted on every hand by
"what we can pay you and what you
must pay us for produce and commod
ities. Since the farmer is not to blame,
we must then look to the middlemen,
initial cost of production, cost of dis
tribution freight, drayage, etc. to
account for the long price in many in
stances. The middlemen merchants
and commission men are simply col
lecting and distributing agents. They
should, therefore, be classed as such,
and ought to be the servant, and not
the master of the producer and the
consumer.
It is an old saw that the people pay
the freight. In fact the consumer pays
the tariff and the freight and the jolly
drummer, too, and, we may add, the
rent of the middlemen.
There certainly can be little ques
tion as to the fact that the relation
of producer and consumer is not in
keeping with the modern facilities for
communication and transportation. It
is a deplorable fact that so many farms
have few more domestic conveniences
than our pioneer women had when
they kept house on a dirt floor. The
farmers should learn that charity be
gins at home, and if there is anything
extra for anybody, let us become in
spired with the idea of installing mod
ern conveniences in the home and- add
many of the bric-a-brac that will add
to its attraction and beauty.
It behooves the farmers to enhance
the cycle of their environment in the
construction and maintenance of good
roads. When the. farmers really ap
preciate getting- value received for
their efforts and labor, some middle
men and others would better be seri
ously considering the-back-to-the-land
movement. ROBERT H. GELLATLT
IN DEFENSE OF HOMEMADE BREAD
Writer Challenges statement Made in
Living: Cost Discussion.
KELSO. Wash., Jan. 2. (To the
Editor.) I have read all the articles
appearing in The Oregonian on "The
High Cost of Living," and the best
thing I have 'read anywhere was the
article by Robert G. Duncan of Decem
ber 14. This went right to the bottom
of things and explained it all.
thought it so good that I cut it out
and put it away with some clippings
that I want to keep, but today he comes
out in defense of the fancy package in
an article that is ridiculous, to say the
least
The day of sanitary show-cases is
here and the day that the cat ' can
make her "daily bed in the sugar-bar
rel" is past. Tou can buy your bulk
goods with the exact guarantee from
the retailer as the package carries, get
the same goods and more of them for
the same money.
He says the "well equipped manu
facturer has specialists in every de
partment." Right he is, and the best
paid specialist he has in the whole
business is the advertising manager,
who makes the demand for the goods.
and iliat is one of the big items that
add to the cost of the package. And
when the manufacturer fixes the price
he gets the profit and the retailer gets
stung because he has to sell it and the
consumer gets stung because he buys it.
If left entirely to advertised goods the
retailer could not stay in business with
the profit he gets out of them.
Mr. Duncan goes on to say: "Who
wants any of the cheap stuff that Mr.
King and these gentlemen tell us
aboutr It is not cheap stuff: it is the
same thing we eat every day, but we
like the fancy trimming and of course
we pay for it.
He further says he is no "wise man
from the East," but that he can say
without qualification that "we don't
want home-made bread more than once
in so often." Now that is positively
not true with most of us, but it puts it
right back to the consumers again, as
they can get more and better bread out
of a sack of good flour than they can
get for more money spent at the
bakery.
I have heard a man kick on the ten
cent rise in a sack of flour, and 30 min
utes later happen into a cafe when he
said: "Come on, everybody, and have
something.
"It is not the work we do when we
are working that kills." It is the work
we do when we are not working. It is
not the price of goods we need that
makes the high cost of living; it is the
goods we buy that we do not need. Per
sonally. I think that any man who will
write an article wherein he says he
prefe.'s bakers' bread to the good home
made loaf should have h'.s letter print
ed in the matrimonial column.
R. T. KING.
Jack Rose's Story
The Sunday Oregonian
My Life in the Underworld This is the subject of a series of eight
remarkable stories by Jack Rose, the gambling- partner of Lieu
tenant Becker and the chief witness against him for the murder of
Rosenthal. This series forms a remarkable revelation of methods
among the 200,000 criminals of New York and how they work un
disturbed by the police.
Theodore Roosevelt's Hunting Tales Tn the fourth of the Colonel's
hunting articles he describes the thrilling events of a hunt for big
game in the Louisiana canebrakes.
Leading the Life That Kills A special interview in which Edward B.
Phelps analyzes the conditions and habits that are killing Americans
off by the thousands. Half the 1,500,000 funerals every year are
preventable, he says.
An American Woman Explores Africa Mrs. Manruerite Roby in
vades the darkest part of the dark continent and while there acts as
peacemaker between two tribes of warring cannibals.
Where Is the Perfect Woman? A man's idea and ideals are set forth
in an illustrated special article of unusual charm, interest and
strength.
Is the World Becoming Americanized? Hauptmann, greatest of Ger
man's literary lights, says that Americans, by their wonderful
achievements, are making their influence felt everywhere.
Turning Butterflies Into Gold An attractive page in colors of the
delightful enterprice whereby a California girl earns an ample and
easy livelihood.
New Color Comic Features Four whole pages of striking new comic
features will be introduced. These are the. best that could bo
obtained in a careful canvass of the comic supplement field.
Features for Women Two full pages for women, including new em
broidery design feature.
Two Short Stories and Many Other Features.
ORDER TODAY FROM YOUR NEWSDEALER.
The New Year Whistles
Br Edgar M. Mnmford.
The sprite "Woodsy Welkin" referred
to is an imaginary being in these parts
who liven In the tin-tops of the tall
fir trees, skipping with a whistling
sound from one tree to anotner wnen
the wind blows.
Late last ni.ght "there came a tapping,"
And. (apologies to roe).
An airy sprite called "Woodsy Welkin"
Stood up twelve men in a row.
What Is this committee after?"
Said I. elbow under chin.
But they only shook with laughter.
bh! ' said one, we must oegin.
Then spake wiley Woodsy Welkin,
Holding laughter up a sleeve,
'These are they who start the whistles
Twelve o'clock on New Tear's eve.
This one doesn't care a piffle.
Mug of something up his sleeve.
He will . toot the brewery whistle
Twelve o clock this New lears eve.
This one here, whose laugh Is brittle,
(Hard of hearing. I believe),
He will blow the Mute School whistle
Twelve o'clock this very eve.
Then the watchmen and the mill men
Sound their whistles loud and long;
This one, working on a steamer.
Adds a touch of siren s song.
Soon the factories, shops and sawmills
Start in awful noisy very
Likewise all the boats and engines
And the whistle at the ferry.
Take It In the dead of Winter,
When there isn't any snow.
What would New Tear's eve amount to
If the whistles didn't blow?"
Suddenly I was awakened
By a most unearthly din
That was it the clock was striking
, New Tear's day was usnerea in.
Guns aflring, children shouting.
Whistles, bells, the midnight chime
She had won again old Earth had
Around the whirl with Father Time.
If that noise could all be throttled
And shot upward toward the stars,
Properly encased and bottled.
It would reacn tne pianet jiars.
Ask the men who blow the whisltes
Just at midnight they will know
What would New Tear's eve amount to
If the whistles didn t blow.
Vancouver, Wash, January 1, 1913.
WHAT IS IT PERVADES LL SPACEf
Sun's Rays Come to Us Warm TtaronBtt
Vast Region of Intense Cold.
PORTLAND. Jan. 1. (To the Editor.)
Certain facts have come to light, the
last few years, convincing astronomers
of the) existence of an exceedingly
dilute form, of matter pervading all
space. v
It is nothing we could detect in the
ordinary way. The most delicate in
struments have thus far failed to
recognize its presence; so that, in a
popular sense., The Oregonian was cor
rect in stating not long since that its
existence cannot be proved. And yet it
is. It is only when some great body
goes rushing out at awful rate ot
speed through midheaven that tho
cosmic ether (supposedly that) he
comes sensible in resisting somewhat
the motion.
The great space above us is only a
vacuum. It has no atmosphere. As the
ascent is made from the earth the at
mosphere gradually becomes thinner,
till it ceases altogether. La Place has
shown that after 50 miles there is no
atmosphere whatever. The heavenly
bodies, therefore, move In a vacuum.
The starry spaces are also most likely
dark Intensely black. To an ob
server out half way between earth and
sun the whole scene would seem muf
fled in one horrible pall, with the sun
and stars hissing In a sea of Ink.
It is also intensely cold out there.
The higher we go into space the colder
it becomes. The highest mountains of
our earth are covered with perpetual
Bnow. Bird men report a cold higher
up that is intolerable. Sir John
Herschel calculated tho temperature at
50 miles from the earth to be not less
than 132 degrees Fahrenheit. It is
probably colder than that. Think what
it must be at a distance, say, of 10,000
miles.
If you were to set a bucket of
water there It would explode Instantly,
like nitro-glycerine. though without
sound, for that region is soundless.
Better, perhaps, leave the experiment
untried.
How the sun sends its rays more
than 92.000,000 miles though this cold
and black darkness. with gentle
warmth upon our earth, is something
not easy to see. C. E. CLINE.
The Presents and Her Love.
Exchange.
Hokus So she didn't return your
love, eh? Pokus Return my love?
Why, she didn't even return my pres
ents. No Cabinet Position.
Life.
Briggs Is Calker a Democrat?
Griggs I think not. I haven't heard
his name mentioned for the Cabinet.
The Lunch Ik on Kew York.
Detroit (Mich.i Free Press.
"He's different from most men."
"That so?" "yes, he admits that he likes
to go to New York."
in