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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1914)
6 THE MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY, MARCH 30, 1914.,. PORTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oregon. Fostotflce as second-class matter. Subscription Hates Invariably In Advance (BY MAIL.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year. . ... .SS.W Daily. Sunday included, six months... .- I'ily, Sunday Included three months.. Xally, Sunday Included, one month... Daily, without Sunday, one year g.OO Dally, without Sunday, six months.... Daily, without Sunday, three months.. l.ia Daily, without Sunday, one month. ... M Weekly, one year Sunday, one year f aiunoay and weekly, one year.... a-ao (BY CARRIES) Dally. Sunday included, one year $9J Daily, Sunday inoluded. one month ' How to Remit Send postotlice money or der, express order or personal check on your looai bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at sender's risk. Give postotlice address iu lull, including county and state, Postage Rates 12 to It pages. 1 cent; Is to Hi pases, 2 cents; 84 to 4S pages, S cents; Oo to 00 press. 4 cents; 62 to To pages, a rents: 78 to ui pages. 4 cents, foreign post age, double rates. .atera Business Offloes Verree Co,1 lin. .New York, bruaswick building. Chi cago. Steger building. fan Francisco Ofiice It. J. Bidwell Co.. 742 Market street. PORTLAND. MON'DAV, MARCH SO. 1914. eURJvKNDtR WHEN VICTORV IS WON. Those who glibly assert, after a superficial reading of the Hay Pauncefote treaty, that no course is open to us consistent with our Na tional honor except to repeal the toll exemption clause of the Panama Ca nal law are seemingly ignorant of the fact that before that law was passed an official representative of the British government admitted that exemption was In conformity with the treaty. The canal law was passed about the middle of August, 1912. On July 8, 1912, A. Mitchell Innes, charge d'af faires of the British Embassy, pre sented a note to the State Depart ment, in which he said: It trade should be so regulated as to make It certain that bona fide coastwise traffic, Vhich is reserved for United States vessels, "would be benefited by this exemption. It may be that no objection could be taken. Secretary of State Knox replied: This statement may fairly be taken as an admission that this Government may exempt Its vessels engaged in the coastwise trade from the payment of tolls, provided such exemption Is restricted to bona fide coast wise traffic. On November 14, 1912, Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Minister, confirmed and elaborated the Innes note. Mr. Knox replied on January 17, 1913: On this point to exempt all American hipping from tolls) Sir Edward Grey says that His Majesty's Government does not question the right of the United States to grant subsidies to the United States ship ping generally, or to any particular branches of that shipping. it is admitted in his note that the exemp tion of certain classes of ships would be "a form of substdy" to those vessels; but It ap pears from the note that His Majesty's Gov. eminent would regard that form of subsidy as objectionable under the treaty If the ef fect of such subsidy would be "to Impose upon British or other foreign shipping an unfair Bhare of the burden of the upkeep or the canal, or create a discrimination in respect of the conditions or charges of pas sage, or otherwise to prejudice rights se cured to British shipping by this treaty. Mr. Knox showed that the burden of tolls imposed on foreign ships would not be increased by coastwise exemption, for he said that tolls for the ships of t all nations were to be computed by including in the sum total the tonnage of American coast wise ships. He thus disposed of the only . remaining British objection to coastwise exemption. Mr. Knox, having thus reduced the points in dispute to a minimum, of fered to ratify the arbitration treaty of August 3. 1913. and thus open the way to arbitration, or to settle the controversy by referring it to a com mission of inquiry. Thus the dispute was in a fair way to settlement in a manner honorable to both nations when Senator Root, on January 21, 1913, four days after Mr. Knox wrote the above-mentioned dispatch, made a speech denouncing exemption as a violation of the treaty and introduced a bill for its repeal. The effect of this speech on the Brit ish attitude appears In the sudden change in the tone of the British communications. In his reply to Mr. Knox, Ambassador Bryce said: tt is unnecessary to repeat that a refer ence to arbitration would be rendered super fluous if steps were taken by the United states Government to remove the objection entertained by His Majesty's Government to the act. A diplomat who, according to the New Vork American, acted as assist ant to Mr. Knox in his negotiations, and through whom access to the roc ords was obtained, Is quoted by that journal us saying: Great Britain acted as though she had suddenly found her case stronger than she supposed, and that with the help of a dis loyal but very subtle and powerful Ameri can element to back up her claims, she rould succeed In establishing a sort of Joint Anglo-American control over the great Pan ama Canal. Negotiations, which were well un der way to an amicable settlement in conformity with the main American contention, suddenly halted and have not been formally resumed. Secre tary Bryan and President Wilson re peatedly said, when asked about the tolls controversy, that there was noth ing new. Had Mr. Knox remained in : office and had Mr. Root kept silent, : or had Mr. Bryan continued the nego- tiations on the lines Mr. Knox was : following, our right to exempt coast ' wise ships might have been conceded and all other points in dispute might now have been settled or might have been in process of arbitration. The ight of the United States to decide "for itself the purely domestic ques tion whether coastwise vessels should be exempt having been established. Congress would have been free to consider this matter of Internal policy without the appearance of surrender ing at discretion to the demands of a foreign nation. But the State Department pigeon holed the tolls dispute, while Mr. Carnegie, through his peace endow ment, of which Mr. Koot is president, conducted a propaganda for repeal. Mr. Carnegie strove to push along his scheme for an Anglo-American alliance by promoting what la tanta mount to joint British and American control of the canal. He was actively backed by all those oversensitive peo ple who readily accept as true any foreign charge that we are playing fast and loose with treaty obligations; also by the transcontinental railroads , and their European 6ecurity-holders; also by those who see in exemption a subsidy to the ship-owners instead of a compensation to the consumers of the whole country, In the shape of cheap transportation, for the great burden they have assumed in build ing the canal. He was backed also by Mr. Wilson, who, forgetting the record and platform of his party and forgetting his own speeches in favor of exemption, persistently Influenced " members of Congress in favor of repeal. When the shameful campaign of slandering their own country and of cravenly accepting an interpretation of the treaty which Great Britain did not finally adopt until It had been fathered by some of our own leading statesmen, had reached the point where success seemed assured, Mr. 'Wilson openly declared himself. He will probably win, but in winning he win split his party and disgust the Nation with his un-American policy of abject surrender of American rights to foreign nations. The longer the American people consider his ac tion the less they will like it. A DOLEFUL POSSIBILITY. There seems to be an opportunity present for the man with an aptitude for figures and a desire for doleful speculation to calculate the City of Portland nearly out of existence. City Attorney LaRoche says it la barely possible one-third of the ter ritory long supposed to be within the city limits is not a part of Portland, the charter never having been amend ed by vote of the people to include those localities. The city has used Its credit to make millions of dollars' worth of improve ments in such districts and the peo ple thereof have paid city taxes and have participiated in city elections. The voters in the territory who may thus not be legal voters in Portland participated In the commission char ter election. Perhaps the exclusion of these votes would show that the charter did not receive an affirma tive majority. Thus we might have but a de facto administration and how to get back to the old system and who are the rightful holders of the city Jobs would make prize legal puzzles of 'a decade. However, Spring is here and there is work to be done in the garden. Let us be up and doing. A YANKEE TRICK. It seems to be generally and cheer-, fully conceded by all foreign nations that we would not be violating the Hay-Pauncefote treaty If after exact ing tolls on coastwise traffic through the canal we paid American coastwise ships a subsidy .equal to the canal tolls. An antl-discrlmination treaty applies to the Suez Canal as well as to the Panama Canal! England, which owns a majority of stock in the Suez Canal, pays British vessels a mail subsidy which equals or ex ceeds the Suez tolls. Russia and Aus tria refund the tolls paid by their vessels. Consideration of these facts has suggested to us a brilliant scheme for settling the toll controversy. Let tolls be charged on coastwise traffic. Let the collector at Colon or Panama, as the case may be, write an order on, the collector at the other end of the canal to refund the amount of tolls each vessel pays, seal the order in an envelope, stamp it and hand it to the captain of the vessel to be delivered. This pleasant little fiction should be perfected by an official order consti tuting each vessel a carrier of United States mail while traversing the canal with compensation fixed at the amount of tolls charged against the vessel. Thus we would avoid "violating" a treaty obligation; we would pay no ship subsidy, and could anybody dis pute our right to pay what we wished for transporting Government mail or deny our right to pay it in any way we liked? This plan is entirely orig inal with us, and we confess to being all puffed up over it. It ought to satisfy all foreign governments, also all American shipowners, also all op ponents of ship subsidy, also all patriotic Americansin fact every body except the railroad interests said to be opposing free tolls. Of course, they would dub it a despicable Yan kee trick. It is offered, however, without ex pectation that It will be adopted, but rather with the idea of illustrating the peculiarities of European and Wilsonian construction of the canal treaty. SURE JOBS FOB THE MTNORITf. A demand for proportional repre sentation is ono of the planks of the National platform of the Socialist party. Proportional representation is to be an initiative measure in Oregon tills year. . The object of the plan is to insure to each political party that the number of its repre sentatives in the lawmaking body shall bear the same proportion to the total number of lawmakers as the number of voters in the party bears to the total electorate. The chief argument in its behalf is that the minority ought in Justice to have representation in accordance with its strength in legislative deliberations. Yet this argument, even if sound elsewhere, can have little force in a state which has conferred the direct legislative power on its people. Ore gon has the initiative. Strict party alignments on political issues are now absent in the Legislative Assembly, although there is occasionally a divi sion on party lines on matters not of political significance. A political party is not actually deprived of any thing by failure to be represented in the Legislature. Proportional representation would give the Socialists In Oregon, on the basis of the 1912 registration, two member of the House. It would give them the privilege of naming two men to jobs each paying $120 in a biennial. That is all. For this it is asked that the people of the state abolish the present system of geo graphical or district representation, for the plan proposes that members of the House be elected at large. Proportional representation is un necessary in Oregon to gain for the Socialists or any other party or' or ganization legislation they favor, pro vided it is acceptable to the people. It can be obtained through the initia tive. Moreover, they cannot obtain what the people do not desire, either through the initiative or through a Legislature elected by the propor tional system. Again, if they have in their ranks men of superior legisla tive ability they can almost unques tionably secure their election by pre senting their names under the exist ing elective system and bringing their attainments to the attention of the voters. If there are no such men in the ranks of those organizations why make it possible to insure the election of their doubtful material? It is wholly unnecessary for political ends that the people of the various legis lative districts of the state sacrifice the right to send to the Legislature men who know of and will endeavor to fulfill the needs of the communi ties they represent. .The presentation of a Socialist plat form plank by Initiative Is in Itself an effective argument against pro portional representation. If there are any other things the Socialists want the initiative is equally available for their introduction to the attention of the supreme lawmaking body and the one that ultimately controls the voters of the state. A change in the political makeup of the Legislature is unnecessary from their own viewpoint. . GORKI AXD THE AUTOCRACY. Lovely Is Russian justice. Some of Its most exquisite features are dis played In dealing with the Jews, but nothing we have heard of recently quite compares with the tricks it has played upon the novelist Oorky. The reminiscent reader will recall Gorky's visit to this country some years ago. His landing was preceded by a copi ous flow of money from the auto cracy, Which was distributed so ef fectively that not a decent hotel in New York would receive him and his trip was spoiled. Its purpose was to raise funds for the Russian revolu tion. Nothing was raised and Gorky went back home in disgrace. Soon afterward he was imprisoned in one of those putrid fortrese which the pious Czar maintains for his men of genius and kept there eight years. The other day he emerged with a bad case of tubercu losis. The autocracy understands all about tuberculosis and makes it an implied part of the punishment of men like Gorky who are so bold as to have minds of their own. The friends of the unfortunate novelist hoped at length to have the privilege of nursing him back to health. But not so. The autocracy never forgives its victims. There is an other charge against Gorky which now conveniently comes to the front. In 1908 he was indicted for impiety. One of his books spoke disrespect fully of the autocracy at about that time and cast slurs upon Its deity. We do not know the trus name of this deity, but he is the being who sanctifies pogroms, imprisonment, government monopoly of alcohol and. wholesale murder. Perhaps that de scription will serve to Identify him. Gorky is now to be tried for blas phemy against this singular fetish. We wonder -what he could have said that came anywhere near the truth, to say nothing of going beyond it. If he is convicted, as of course he will be, the penalty is exile, which in Gorky's case means death. Thus the plague of the autocracy will strike down another of Russia's great sons. If that unhappy country could trade off the Czar and his connections in church and state for a perpetual epi demic of cholera it would be a blessed exchange. A HAPPY THOUGHT IN EDUCATION. The New York Board of Education, ever alive to the needs of the time, has figured out an engaging plan to Increase the usefulness of public School graduates to the business world. It seems that some of them exhibit a melancholy deficiency in grammar, punctuation and spelling, particularly in spelling. If only some gracious providence would cause all of us to be born good- spellers what a happy world this would be! The New York school children are neither born good spellers nor do they be come such by all their schooling. The new idea 19 to have business firms report the more flagrant de linquencies of their help. The of fender can then be traced back to his school and the neglectful peda gogues who sent him forth so illy furnished can be brought to book. It is hoped that by this method the schools of New York can be "made to meet the practical demands of the business world." We praise the zeal of the metropolitan Board of Educa tion and look forward to the happiest consequences from its endeavors. But we are moved to intimate that meeting "the needs of the business world" is not the sole purpose of edu cation. Each o.f the boys and girl9 who are to be put through this stim ulating course of sprouts has inner needs of his own, to quote a great German philosopher. And if his edu cation fails to meet those needs there is sad danger of his becoming an atheist, an anarchist or something else equally dreadful in his riper years. When the soul is starved It matters little how expertly the tongue can spell. Not all the fra grant beauties of the spelling book can perfume a mind which has been left to ptrefy during the years of school life. Nor is this all. There are needs of citizenship which are quite- as pressing as those of the business world. The pupils want studies to make them intelligent thinkers and voters fully as much as they want orthography and grammar. In other words, the "culture studies" of the common schools are at least as im portant as the "practical" ones. Any scheme of education which slights either side of the pupil's being is to be unsparingly condemned. GIVINO SPOILS TO TUB FILIPINOS. Americans are being driven out of the Philippine civil service faster than Governor Harrison and his friends like to admit. In an attempt to re fute the statement of John C. Curtiss that "Governor Harrison Is throwing all the capable) White men out of of fice and filling their places with Fili pinos," the secretary of Yale Uni versity quoted a Philippine "official in a position to be fully conversant with conditions" as saying: ' Governor Harrison made only thirty-three appointments to office from his arrival in Manila in the Autumn through the end of January of this year. Of these, sixteen were Filipinos and seventeen Americans. Of the latter only five came from the United States and of the other twelve eleven were promotions of Americans al ready in office. In a letter to the New York Times Dean C. Worcester exposes the disin genuousness of this statement. The Governor's power of appointment is limited to a few of the highest offi cials. All others are appointed and removed by chiefs of bureaus. In pursuance of the Governor's policy these chiefs are driving out experi enced and competent Americans to give place to incompetent or untried Filipinos. Mr. Worcester cabled to Manila an inquiry for the number of Americans who have left the service since Mr. Harrison's arrival, and the reply was "361." He says that some of these have been unceremoniously thrown out, others have been got rid of by abolishing their positions, oth ers have been asked to resign "from motives of economy," but "with in creasing frequency American em ployes of proved efficiency are being brazenly informed that their places are wanted for Filipinos." How well the newly-appointed Fili pinos are applying the Democratic doctrine, "to the victors belong the spoils," appears from a few examples. General Tinlo, the new director of the bureau of lands, has brought in Fili pinos who know nothing of the work and has refused "for political rea sons" to remove others against whom ! complaint has been made. He told Mr. Scudder he wanted Romanoff re i placed by a Filipino. Mr. Scudder gave General Tinio to understand he would resign first. Fifteen American chiefs of the bureau of posts have been supplanted by Filipinos. A bill is before the Assembly vacating all the judgeships except those of the Supreme Court, which would leave them open to the Governor's appoin tees. The civil service system has been shattered; and the removals and most of the resignations are in reality removals Mr. Worcester says, "In many cases involve the getting rid of Americans because- they are Ameri cans, and the appointment of Fili pinos because they are Filipinos." Disaster begins to loom ominously. Since the Chief of Police of Manila has been removed, a correspondent writes: The police system has seemed to go to pieces of late, as there are nightly robberies and a great many of them. Almost every house In our section of the city has been entered during the past two months, and no one has been caught except four po licemen who were arrested for burglary. There have also been several murders. A Filipino has been appointed as sistant director of the bureau of health and has unlawfully undertaken to change the policy of the bureau when it is facing bubonic plague in Manila and. Asiatic cholera in the provinces. Iloilo, the second port of the islands, is threatened with cholera for lack of an American health of ficer to fight it. The government of the Philippines, which has been so laboriously built up and which has given results com manding the admiration of the world, Is being ripped up to Justify a Demo cratic theory. There is a comfortable mean be tween a motor headlight so glaring that it blinds footmen and one so dim that the driver cannot see chasms In the pavement. The truly conscientious motorist desires to spare both footmen and chasms. Ul timately he will content himself with a headlight that will soothe the pub lic while it Illuminates the pave ment. We have heard wise motor ists say that a too brilliant light was a positive disadvantage to all con cerned. In order to separate his son Ray mond from the woman he married, August Belmont stopped his allow ance and threw him on his own re sources. As the young man had al ways been dependent on his father, these did not exceed the $14,000 re maining of what the father had given him. Not having been required to earn a living he has not learned how. A more pitifully helpless creature is not easily imagined. Even little Denmark flings back Mr. Bryan's arbitration treaty in his face. If she has a quarrel with us she feels confident of being able to equip a navy strong enough to cope with any our Little American Admin istration Is likely to send to sea, and she does not wish to hamper herself by any agreements not to prepare to whip us. In their unreasoning desire for peace the. Democrats have forgotten the warning of Washington: "If we desire to secure peace it must be known that we are at all times ready for war." They have grudged money for warships and for the army until the world has learned that we are not ready for war. The sucker who would get a mail order wife can refrain from tempta tion until a new plan to separate him from his money evolves. The latest fraud, who was a man posing as a marriageable damsel, went to jail In Chicago last week. He was wholly heartless, it is hardly necessary to state. When the American wire of a titled Frenchman has the nerve to assert her rights she wins. The Marchioness de Amodio, finding the Marquis un bearable, called an officer and sent him off in "the wagon," figuratively speaking. She was not raised in St. Louis to be shown in Europe. The Cathlamet editor under arrest on ten warrants charging libel must Of necessity be a bad man. Proof is positive. When the Sheriff frisked him he was found to be armed with, a pearl-handled pocketknife. The little boy abandoned at St. Helens is in better hands than when with the heartless people who left him in the barn. He will grow into a better man without the4 handicap of worthless parents. Chicago has one woman who can fire a revolver without shutting her eyes. She is on the police force and made a record of 92 in a gold-medal contest. She . can .now wing the mashers. ' Will political hatred of Caillaux permit French gallantry to save his wife from punishment? It will be in teresting to see how the French con trive to drag in the unwritten law. The best qualified men and women of the precinct should be proud to serve on the election board. Nowa days skill is required and the posi tion has honor. The fighting at Torreon is progres sing in the outskirts. Where it will continue, very likely, until one side buys the other off. Is John Llnd's adventure in whal ing a preparation of a nice, cool re treat after his mission in torrid Mex ico is ended? Women in other cities than Pasa dena want to put a stop to the filthy habit of chewing tobacco on street cars. Middle Kansas opens the tornado season with the old reliable cyclone cellar scoring; heavily for safety. A chewing gum merger is threat ened. Once stuck, it would be diffi cult to uttmerge. Our fairest- flowers, of course, will be found in the baby show during Rose Festival. A dungeon In the Detention House will make the bad boy a hero when he emerges. Let the bells toll for free tolls and American self-respect. Another American killed i' Mexi cans. No matter. Where to the Stanley to find James Gordon Bennett? ' The colored wig is at the switch. COURSB VIOLATES ETERNAL LAW Contributor Protest Against Arrest of Hlndn Philosopher. PORTLAND, March 28. (To the Edl itor.) With more than ordinary inter est I have followed the account of the arrest of Har Dyal, the Hindu scholar, in California. I was surprised and dis tressed to see broad-minded, liberty loving, freedom-advocating Americans act as they did In this particular in stance. They have violated the eternal principle upon which the greatness of their own country is built. Dyal was arrested on the charge of being an anarchist. Anarchists are "persons who believe in anarchy or the overthrow of the Government of the United States, of all government and all forms of law, or the assassination of publie officials." If Har Dyal 'is an anarchist, then I challenge the whole of the United States to prove that we Americans are not anarchists! Did not we ourselves throw off the English yoke? Did not we our selves establish a new government with new laws that were in harmony with the sublime principles of equality and human freedom? Har Dyal is no mo"re an anarchist than Washington was. Dyal believes in law and government, but not in a, government, not in laws which are be ing dictated by usurpers who have nothing: in common, morally, mentally and spiritually with his countrymen. The charge of anarchy is clearly a ridiculous one, and the flimsy argument is left us to state that the Hindus are undesirable aliens. They work for lower wages is the accusation 1 .1 ask of you: Is this their fault? .Let em ployers give them the wages which are given to the white man. Let Chris tians acknowledge the existence of One Creator of Hindu and white man alike. A Hindu's skin may be brown, but it is my experience that a Hindu's soul very often Is white. In the name of freedom and fair ness I appeal to the readers of your paper to protest against the action of the American immigration officers. Un selfishly this man Dyal is devoting his time and his money to the education of American thinkers and philosophers. He is duing us more good than harm. And we may not consider the sublime wish of freeing one's country from slavery a criminal one. Does not every fair-minded individual tremble with In dignation when he hears about the tyranny of a Russian government; in short of any violation of God's law of freedom? H. VANDEBBTLL, . 1213 Yeon Building. WHERE INDIFFERENCE IS COSTLY Voters Should Demand Economy of Legislative Candidates. THE DALLES, Or.. March 28. (To the Editor.) After reading the letter written by Jefferson Myers In The Ore gonlan March 26, I take this oppor tunity of seconding his statements and making a few suggestions. It seems that the voters of Oregon have up to the present time been very indifferent about who they Sent to the Legislature, and, furthermore, they have never, to my recollection, de manded any paltform or pledges of them, or sounded them on their ideas of what they were going to the Legis lature for whether to work for the best interest of the people at large or Just to add "Hon." to their name. Now, I think the people nre at fault for most of the-blunders. When it was neces sary for a candidate to adopt State ment No. 1 to be elected I noticed most of them did It, even reluctantly, and when the time came to cast their votes for U. S. Senator they stayed with their promise to the people. It is up to the voters of Oregon to demand that legislative candidates now before the primaries publicly express themselves on the stand they will take on the curtailment of the waste of public money. Voters, get busy, make demands of your candidates and vote for the men that will repeal the laws that carry with them such a heavy tax burden. J. L. KELLY. Not Many City Bcne5t. LENTS, Or., March 28 (To the Edi tor.) I noticed an article in The Ore gonlan of March 26 that Lents is per haps not a part of Portland after all, notwithstanding the fact we residents are payjng city taxes, buying city building permits, etc. It also goes fur ther to state we are deriving city bene fits, such as police and fire protection. As to the police protection, yes; one lonely policeman to patrol a thickly populated village; but fire protection, if so, where is it? The only fire pro tection is the volunteer, department with a chemical apparatus. More than half the time the roads are in such a frightful cdndition the auto is unable to pull It, and after the men have struggled to the fire with it they find no water force to tight the lire. The one lonely lire plug we can boast of in a radius of 10 blocks is on. Foster road and Main street. Assuredly a most desirable condition to promote the growth of our little town. And as for street lights, one could count them on one's hand, and they wouldn't have been where they are if enterprising citizens hadn't installed them and paid for the lights out of their own pockets until recently, when the business men asked that the city now maintain them. Oh, yes, we are deriving much benefit from the City of Portland, no doubt. A RESIDENT OF LENTS. Let's Have New Canal of Our Own. JOSEPH, Or., March 27. (To the Editor.) Since our President has as sumed the responsibility of the Demo cratic party, why does not some Demo crat who stands close to Bryan sug gest, to the Colonel to have that Presi dent conclude his (Bryan's) proposed treaty with Nicaragua and build a canal of our own down there? It seems to me, and I am satisfied most of the people of this countrv think the same as I do, that it would be too bad to take advantage of Eng land In her present domestio troubles and uphold the voice of the people in the last election and use the canal for our own business free of. charge to our own boats in our own country. Since we furnished all the money and the ono man to build the Panama Canal we wouldn't mind the expense of build ing another If we could only call it our own. In a roundabout way, the Democrats can thus save the plank that is about to be washed overboard. F. H. S. " Police Jobs. PORTLAND, March 28. (To the Edi tor.) In order to secure a position on the police force in Portland or any other city, who would I have to see or write to? A READER. The Portland police department is under civil service regulation, and ap pointments are made from an eligible list secured by competitive examina tion. For information apply to the clerk of the Municipal Civil Service Board, City Hall. In some other cities the same conditions exist, but in the majority of cities appointments are made either by the Chief of Police, a Police Commission or the Mayor. Why He Went. . (Christian Register.) Jones, who doesn't own a motorcar, and is never likely to, was met at the motor show by a friend, who expressed surprise to see him there. "Well," said Jones, "It's lovely once a year to come and look at a whole mass of cars that you don't have to dodge." Jack Learn New Wlndom. New York Globe. Jack I was just admiring Mabel's hair. How pretty it is! Mabel's Rival Oh. she has some prettier than that. CHAPERON IS SHOCKED AT BALL Visitor at Student' Function Thinks New Dances Are Coarse PORTLAND, March 28. (To the Edl. tor.) I was recently asked to chaperon a young relative to a school dance, and I think the parents of the young people should know something of the present-day dancing. The party to which I refer was given at one of our large boarding schools and the princi pal was present, evidently sanctioning the performance of the pupils. The participants were young people ranging from .14 to 18 years of age. Presumably they were dancing the new dances, ' although the positions taken would have shocked the frequenters of the Bowery. One young girl was heard to say, "Oh, my chin is just raw from rubbing against his coat!" The harem dances were well represented and some of the participants might make successful "muscle dancers" were they inclined to follow that vocation. Now, I am not an old fogy, for al though a married woman, 1 am still In my 20's and like dancing as well as any one. but this was too much for me, and I do not believe that any self respecting girl would submit to the present methods if she realized how disgustingly coarse they are in the hands of ignorant youths and blase men. I have visited the dance halls of Paris and found them refined as com pared with this one which I recently attended, and I would advise fathers and mothers to accompany their school girl daughters occasionally. Perhaps in this way a, different atmosphere would be created, for no self-respecting parents would allow their daugh ters to be placed in a position which is surely permitted only through igno rance on their part. As to "grace and beauty," there is none, either in the young lady or her gown, after passing through the intricacies of the "tango" and other modern dances as performed by these young students who are the future representatives of our country. A READER. AUTOMATIC ALARMS FOR HOTELS Other Regulations of Little Good With out Them In Cane of Fire. PORTLAND. March 28. (To tho Ed itor.) A great howl has been made about carrying guns that take a life now and then. Little is said about the thousands who suffer, perish and die from fires. We hardly think of those common occurences, until they come home. We have Just witnessed the efforts of guests from a hotel try ing to get to places of safety. One lone telephone operator stunk to her post in danger of her own life to do her duty. We pass laws for fire escapes. But tell me what is the good of fire escapes unless the hotel guests are warned in time? Had this hotel been equipped with an automatic call fire alarm and phone this one girl would not have been compelled to risk her life, nor would the guests have been unmindful of the notice given, for by pushing one button the phones in every room would have rung instantly, a red light would have shown beside the phone, the fire gong at the closest station would have sounded and the young lady at the desk by taking down her receiver could have talked to every fuest, in forming them where the fire was and the best way out. All could have been done In three seconds. . Is it not time we howled for up-to-date appliances for protection when we could save the suffering of thou sands and with no additional outlay? Timely protection is what we want. Q. EVERT BAKER. VANDAL'S VICTIM DISCOURAGED Another Resident Tells of Spoliation of Flowering; Shrub. PORTLAND, March 28. (To the Ed itor.) I can appreciate Mr. Wood ward's feelings in having a blooming tulip tree stolen from his lawn. I have some early-blooming shrubs in my front yard, among them a splendid cluster of spirea, which for nearly two weeks has been a glorious mass of white bloom. Unfortunately, it grows close to the sidewalk, and a number of persons, mostly children perhaps, have not hesitated to break off quantities of the long slender stems. It Is hard to reconcile a love of flowers with such disregard for the damage they do, for In their haste to escape observation they tear and mu tilate the shrubs. I have no charitable explanation to make for such conduct; it is stealing, nothing less. That chil dren indulge in it shows a sad lack of home training. . All of the beauty of such shrubbery consists of its symmetrical grow'!? and it does not recover from such mu tilation for a long time: moreover, the despoiled branches soon fade and can give but a momentary pleasure to the despoiler. One who tries to create beauty of lawn and shrubbery around his home would have its enjoyment as free to the public as the air. but it Is expensive to maintain, and if there Is no curbing the vandals then he must either quit or build a high wall along the -sidewalk. C. H. SHOLES. 1530 Hawthorne avenue. - TROUBLE NOT FAULT OP REDMOND Irish Patriot Conciliatory and Is Loved by Many Opponents. PORTLAND, March 28. (To the Ed itor.) To my notion. John E. Redmond looms up as the greatest and most-solid figure in British parliamentary poli tics today. - If racial and religious hatred exists anywhere in Ireland it surely is no fault of Mr. Redmond who as a public man for more than a gener ation haa labored to conciliate faction and blot Out the unpleasant harpings on an unprofitable past. During a recent trip to Ireland I learned from first-hand information that aside from political lines he num bers among hie personal friends thou sands of Presbyterians and Orangemen in the Ulster counties and la London, I was reliably informed, were not Red mond an Irishman and home ruler he would today and long ago have been a leading member of the Liberal cab inet, if not the Premier of England. One word from him now would over throw the Liberal government and undo all the past advanced legislation of that party for perhaps a decade; but al though Redmond loves his country and his country's cause, he also loves hl9 fellow man and is a true champion of his welfare regardless of creed, race or politics. PHILO JUNIUS. City Boundary Muddle. PORTLAND, March 29. (To the Edi tor.) If the city charter, adopted last year, described the boundaries of the city, then those boundaries, at least, still exist. Surely the wise men who drew up the charter under which we are now living did not neglect the im portant duty of describing the boun daries of the city. If they did their duty in this regard then the large ter ritory which appears to be In doubt is safely in Portland now, wherever it may have been from 1903 to 1913. R. M. TUTTLE. The so-called "commission charter" adopted last year is not a charter in Itself, but a series of charter amend ments. Boundaries were not newly adopted, but were left in the charter without amendment. o Exemption for Soldiers. OWYHEE, Or, March 25. (To the Editor.) Does an old soldier have any tax exemption more than any other taxpayer? GEORGE E. SKINNER. No special tax exemption is allowed old soldiers. Twenty-five Years Ago From The Oregonlan of March SO, 1SS9. Auckland, March 29. Dispatches from Samoa state that the American men of war Trenton, Vandalia and Nip sic and the German men of war Adler. Olga and Eber were driven on a reef during a violent storm and totally wrecked. Of the American crews four officers and 46 men were drowned, and of t-e German crews nine officers and 87 men lost their lives. Boston, March 29. Lord Dunra ven's new Scotch yacht Valkyrie will compete for the America's cup this year. Albany. March 29. The new schooner Geo. H. Chance, recently built at Yaquina, broke her rudder soon af . ter leaving that port and is helpless in a heavy sea. Tugs found her aban doned and towed her to Yaquina. Four men are missing Capt. James Robin son, George Robertson and another sailor named Singer and the Chines cook. Salem, March 29. Revs. SI. C. Wire, presiding Elder, and W. Rollins, pastor of the M. E. Church of this city, have purchased the mining claims of J. M. Daniels and H. D. McCutchen, IS miles east of Mehama. Salem. March 29. W. H. Leinlnger, a former resident of this city, died sud denly at Oakland, Cal., this morning. Salem, March 29. Secretary of State McBride and state Superintendent McElroy returned last night from Cor vallis. The Board of Regents of the Agricultural College purchased a farm of 141 acres at IS6.7S per acre. The contract for finishing the inter ior of the big hotel has been let to D. F. Campbell. The contract for excavation for the Hawthorne avenue motor line was awarded to tha P. M. & P. Co, at the office of George Brown. The garbage dump at the North End of the city Is causing much complaint from residents in that part of town. Stockholders of the Oregon Furni ture Company elected the following of ficers: S. Loewenstein, Wm. M. Ladd. C. H. Lewis, Wm. Kapus and L. C. Mil lard. W. S. Ladd is having the foundation put in for a building at the southwest corner of Front and Taylor streets. George A. Cooper, chief raf0 clerk in tho office of Den Campbell, general freight agent of the O. R. & N. Co., has been appointed agent at Victoria. Articles incorporating the Wtlliam ette Brewing Association were filed .yesterday by John Gill, J. S. Dunbar and J. T. Milner. A collision occured Thursday morn ing between the steamers S. G. Reed. C'apt. Empklns, and the Lurllne. Capt. Gray, in which both boats were slightly damaged. B. E. Vestal, the well known drover ana cattle-dealer, was badly gored by a bull in the St. Julian stable on Front street, near Main, yesterday. Half a Century Ago From the Oregonlan of March 30, IS64. Mr. West, of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Ex press, brought us last evening a copy of the Boise News of March 19, which says: "J. Zumwalt arrived here on Fri day night from the Missouri river. The vigilance committee was still at work in the Beaverhead country when Mr. Zumwalt left. They Bad hanged 24 and were after some others, who. If caught, it was thought, would fare badly, and that then the committee would desist until further occasion for their services should transpire." Conway, Vance & Co. have started a line of stages from Boise City to Owy hee mines. Mr. Barry has been spending Some time among- the people on the west side or the river and in looking over the country between Corvallis and Portland for an available railroad route. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was admirably perform last night with Mrs. Leighton as Topsy. Specimens of quartz rock, brought from the Oro Flno lode in Owyhee by Mr. Power to J. B. Price, of this city, have been assayed by Goldsmith Bros, and show a total, value per ton of $3262.50; the proportion being: gold, 12945.71; silver, $316.69. Mrs. Sallio B. Thayer, lately from Ran Francisco, will deliver an adir8S during the present week on "The Du ties of Women to the Country in the Present Crisis." The steamship Sierra Nevada left this port last evening for Victoria and San Francisco, carrying away $88,000 in treasure. The stages of Thomas & Greathouse, between Idaho City and Walla Walla, mado the distance in three and one-half days on the first trip of the season last week. Thus step by step the "great plains" are being reduced by stations to mere nothing, arid a ride to the Mis souri will soon be a pleasure. As "stock" is becoming all the rage and speculations in "feet" ahead of all other matters of a financial caste, the presses of the Farmer job office are kept busy Issuing stock. Julia Dean Hayne will soon appear at the Willamette Theatre, supported by Miss Francis R. Gass, Mr. S. B. Wal dron and the star company. The opposition ferryboat has been laid up to receive a boiler and engine, steam being preferable to muscle, when applied to crossing the Willamette on a windy day. Gusher la An Oil Field. Birmingham (Ala.) Age-Herald. "What Is a gusher In an oil field?" "The man who writes the prospectus," replied he who had been stung. t ' ' The Eternal Question: What, When and Where? The Oregonlan cannot call the at tention of Its readers too strongly nor too frequently to the import ance of Its advertising. The advertising in this newspa per covers in a most interesting and Informing manner practically every form of human activity. What to buy, when to buy, and where to buy is Important to every one. This question is repeatedly answered, and answered to the reader's distinct advantage, in the daily advertising of The Oregonian. It is the day of the survival of the fittest, the day of known values. It is also the day of efficiency in management and the elimination of waste. In order for any Individual to plan his expenditures to his best all 'round advantage he must act with his eyes open. And that Is Just where newspaper advertising is so valuable a help. It makes a great difference what you buy, when you buy, and where you buy. To be, sure of deciding right and getting' the best possible results, e guided by The Oregon ian's advertisers. Adv. , V