IO TITE BIOILNIJSO OllEU TTSTAIK, TTTTDXT; 7TWSE 5, 1914, Wit Bm$amox rOBTLAXD, OKEGOK. Entered at Portland, Oregon, Postotflce m Second-clue matter. Subscription Bates Invariably tm Jkdrao: (BT MAIL.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year jjaiiy, eunasy inciuaea, six mourns Ually. Sunday Included, three months .. X)ally, Sunday Included, one month Xially. without Sunday, one year . XJally, without Sunday, six montha Pally, without Sunday, three montha ... Xally, without Sunday, one month Weekly, one year rlunday, one year ........... Cunday and Weekly, one year 4.25 2.2D .70 e.uu U.2S 1.7ft .faO 1.60 2.50 S.50 (BT CABBIIR) Dally, Sunday Included, one year Dally, Sunday Included, one month & How to Kemlt Send poetolllce money or der, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at sender's risk. Give poatofflce address In full. Including county and state. Postage Kates 12 to Id paces, 1 cent; 18 to 82 pages, 2 cents; 84 to 48 pages, 8 cents: BO to SO pages, 4 cents; 2 to To pages, 5 cents; 78 to 02 cages, tt cents, foreign post age, double rates. GaHtern Business Offices Verree Corne ll n. New York. Brunswick building. Chi cago, Bteger building. Kan Francises) Office R. J. Bldwetl Co T42 Market street. POBIL&KD, FSIDAT, JXTNK 5, 1914. AFTEB TUB BATTUE. wnen the victorious Mexican rebels inarched upon Teplo and routed the opposing- federals, they captured thirty-five officers. These loyal sol diers of the Huertan army were at onoe condemned to summary death. Kear-Admlral Howard sought to In tercede, and he was re-enforced by the German Consul at Teplo. Rebel General Obregon was obdu rate. The execution of the prisoners, he replied, was necessary to prevent them making trouble In the future. "The prisoners were taken to the cemetery. May St, and shot In quads," says the news dispatch, sen tentlously. Such Is Mexican warfare as prac ticed by our allies, Obregon, VUla and Carranza, The world knows that VUla loots and murders; and the Im mediate signal of every victory by Villa or Obregon Is a repetition of the horrible Teplo episode. Yet we find President Wilson, In his recent statement to the country through the Saturday Evening Post, warmly com mending General Villa for his treat ment of prisoners and for his observ ance of the rules of war. Bald the President: Well, If yon read that dispatch you learned chat Consul-Oeneral Hannah was most agree ably surprised and greatly gratified by the treatment Villa's men gave their prisoners; how they endeavored to live up to the rules af civilised warfare; how tbey were con stantly on the lookout for new Information that would relieve them of the stigma of being barbarians. This merely shows that these people. If they get the chance, are capabls of learning and are anxious to learn, Mexico Is nine-tenths Ignorant and six-tenths barbarous; yet the Presi dent thinks he has a duty "to serve an&nklnd" by giving Mexicans a "con stitutional" government and letting them run it, DEMOCRATS HOSTILE! TO THE WEST. The adverse report of Democratic committeemen In the House on the Reclamation Service is a sample of what the West may expect from the Democrats. It Is such a mass of mis statements and misrepresentations that It can only have been Inspired by deliberate enmity to the entire work of Government reclamation. ine minority report iuny aisposes of the mendacious statements of the majority. It shows that the increased expenditure on each project beyond the estimate was due to enlargement of the area reclaimed and to increased cost of construction which could not have been foreseen. It shows "that the only serious violation of the pur pose of the reclamation act was com mitted by Congress Itself in ordering the expenditure of $10,000,000 In Texas, which has not contributed a cent to the fund. So far from the re volving fund having been abandoned, several millions have ' been paid by settlers and payments are being made regularly. The reclaimed land has not been taken up by speculators, but by farmers, and Is being brought un der cultivation as fast as it can be plowed, and only 2.1 per cent remains untaken. The West can exnect nothing from this Administration. The Secretary of the Interior is our ardent friend, and the President Is favorable to his policy, but Is so busy uplifting the submerged 85 per cent in Mexico, giving away our canal and making apologies to Colombia that he cannot attend to the wants of his own coun trymen In the West. Congress is not nly distinctly hostile, but is densely Ignorant of Western affairs, as the speeches of Southerners on the Alas ka railroad bill revealed. These speakers knew as little of Alaska as the orators of seventy years ago they called It a desert not worth fighting for. f glixF, Dr. Frederick Peterson, a nerve specialist, says In the Atlantic Month ly that most people probably take more sleep than they need. The aver age man spends about twenty-three years of his three score and ten prone on his back In bed. For all useful purposes he might as well be dead during those periods of unconscious ness. The time spent In slumber earns nothing and the sleeper himself enjoys nothing. Dr. Peterson's theory that we should be Just as healthy and happy if we slept a great deal less Is sup ported by many facts. Mr. Edison, the Inventor, for Instance, is habitual ly awake and at work twenty hours out of the twenty-four. The celebrat ed traveler and scientist, Humboldt, allowed himself only three hours' sleep a day. A learned professor re cently kept two healthy young men awake for ninety hours upon a stretch without Injuring- them at all. A very few hours of extra sleep made up for all they had lost. While loss of sleep affects some people Injur iously, perhaps, It Is also true that too much of it makes one stupid. No doubt slumber Is a habit and If we give way to It unduly It may become a very bad habit. , The average healthy person in comfortable circumstances sleeps too much just as he usually eats too much. If he would curtail his indul gence in both these luxuries he would be a great deal better off. Even in somnia is not so dreadful as most of us have believed. Dr. Peterson says he knows of no direct 111 effects from It upon either mind or body. If those who Buffer from it could only stop worrying their sleeplessness would probably make very little difference to them. The trouble is that they fret and stew over it until evil conse quences actually ensue, which they then mistakenly attribute to the Insomnia. There are such things as good sleep and bad sleep. The former rests one. The) latter sometimes Is more ex hausting than wakefulness. It is also possible to sleep Intensively. A per son who can do this gets as much benefit from two hours of sleep as a shallow sleeper does from six or eight. As the world grows more interest ing and varied we shall no doubt modify our habits of slumber. The new devices by which we turn dark ness into light will in course of time break up the ancient sleep rhythm which was formed in our. savage state and make us far more wakeful than we are now. The more highly hu man beings are civilized the less they eat and drink and the less they will sleep ultimately. Our Teutonic an cestors did little else but gorge them selves and doze in the long Winters when they could not fight convenient ly. Their children utilize - the cold season In a thousand ways which are more Interesting and quite as healthful. Dr. Peterson predicts that our chil dren will sleep much less than we do and also eat less. The consequence of their abstinence, he thinks, "will be an enormous affluence of psychic power. It is certainly a fact that the great psychic geniuses of the world have been ascetics. GOOD TIMES VS. BAD TMES. If The Oregonian is expected to reply to the question as to what par ticular policies- of the Wilson Admin istration It would reverse, it will be gin by saying that It would promptly reverse the Wilson self-reversal on tolls repeal. Tour Democratic standpatter Is si lent when It comes to the tolls mat ter. If he supports the President, he repudiates the Democratic platform; if he explains the tolls plank In that wordy mosaic by showing that some body put it there when the conven tion was not looking, he Is confront ed with President Wilson's former public Indorsement of free tolls; If he openly favors free tolls he criticises the present position of the Adminis tration and his party. The free-and- easy critic of ail previous National Administrations Is Intolerant of any kind of criticism of the President and Congress, solely because they are Democratic. The Oregon! an criticises the Wil son-Underwood tariff as It criticised the Payne-Aldrlch tariff. The one gave over-protection to the manufac turer; , the other gives no protection to the producer of raw materials. The Oregonian has many times ap proved the currency act of the Wil son Administration; but It heartily disapproves of the Indefensible politi cal gerrymander by which the bal ance of financial power In the United States was sought to be placed In mindr Southern and Southwestern cities. The Oregonian Is utterly unable to approve the President's Mexican pol icy, partly because it is not under standable, and partly because it has brought us to the verge of war, and partly because It has been foreseen that uncertainty, evasion and palter ing with a great situation would lead inevitably to a lowering of our own National standards and to a worse sit uation in Mexico. It Is foolish and unfair to compare the best of the Wilson regime with the worst of the Taft regime. .Yet if we were to be asked to choose be tween Wilson and hard times and Taft and good times, we should have no difficulty in deciding what to do. WE BEAT THE COIXXNEL, TO IT. It Is generally supposed that Colo nel Roosevelt Invented the device known as the recall of judicial deci sions. But It appears from the de cision of the Supreme Court of Ore gon In the motor vehicle case that Oregon has had the recall of judicial decisions in a limited form since 1906, when the first home rule amendment to the constitution was adopted con ferring autonomy on cities in all matters pertaining to municipal poli cies and activities. The recall of judicial decisions as the principle is declared In the Pro gressive National platform is as follows: That when an act massed under the police power of the state fs held unconstitutional under 'the state constitution Dy tne courts, the people, after an ample Interval for de liberation, shall have an opportunity to vote on the Question whether they desire the act to become law notwithstanding such de cision. The motor vehicle law was passed under the police power of the state and has been held unconstitutional in so far as It applies to Portland. The Supreme Court holds that, while the Legislature is powerless to pass an act of such scope, the people through the initiative have that au thority. Therefore all that is neces sary is to submit the act by initiative and if the people desire it to become law it will become law, notwithstand ing the Supreme Court's decision. It may be presumed that it is Colo nel Roosevelt's idea that a law so held unconstitutional would be sub mitted to the people automatically. Here a petition by 8 per cent of the voters is required. Otherwise there Is no praotlcal difference. It would be a simple matter to put the motor vehicle law on the ballot next November. The expenditure of less than $1000 for employment of petition shovers would do it. Yet we have no Idea that the law will be Initiated. It is not a matter of grave consequence whether the city ordi nance regulating vehicle traffic or the state motor vehicle law prevails in Portland. But were Colonel Roose velt's idea in full flower In Oregon we should have to vote throughout the state on this Immaterial issue next November at considerable ex pense and annoyance to the -electors. While Oregon has secured recall of judicial decisions In modified form through Inadvertence, it has adopted a better plan on the whole than the Colonel's carefully devised proposal. TITE PSYCHOLOGY OF PROSPERITY. "Cheer up" is the substance of President Wilson's reply to the West ern business men; "business depres sion is tonly psychological. Stop thinking that business is depressed and business will be good." This Is most encouraging. The merchant whose customers can't pay and whose goods don't sell Is nourish ing a delusion. Let him only think that bills are paid and goods sold and, hey presto! it will be so. Let the manufacturer whose factory Is running only half time think he has orders to employ its full capacity and the sun of prosperity will beam upon him. Let the workman who finds only half a week's pay vin his envel ope believe that the full amount is there and he can promptly buy meat, groceries and clothes galore. Let the railroad manager visualize endless loaded trains rolling over ,his tracks and the earnings win promptly swell to old-time totals. All we need is by common consent to demonstrate the mastery of mind over matter. Unfortunately we are poor, weak mortals and are not so completely under the dominance of our minds as is the President. When a man is out of a Job,' hungry and penniless, he cannot, think himself Into a Job or think food Into his stomach or money into his pocket. The Yakima Repub lic tells of one man who attempted this feat and this Is Its sad story of his fate: We don't believe It. We had a man here not long ago who tried this soheme, and It failed. He didn't have a nickel on earth, but be went around town believing he was John D. Rockefeller and had a billion. He was hardly started on the President's road to prosperity when an unfeeling Sheriff's deputy arrested him and the next day he was sent to the Medical Iake asylum. He Is there yet, getting richer every day, and the richer he gets the longer they are going to keep him. Many of us are Idealists, but the vast majority are so practical that we cannot by mere thinking make our ideas take substance. ETJGEJOOS Aim MARRIAGE. Some time ago the Medico-Psychological Association appointed a com mittee to study the subject of eu genics in connection with marriage. The particular question which they undertook to answer was this, "Is it wise to require health certificates as a prerequisite to marriage?" The committee's answer was no. In their opinion, while such health certifi cates would be an excellent thing theoretically, yet In the present con dition of society they would probably do more harm than good. They would not accomplish the desired results and would cause a great deal of suffering and lawlessness. The men who concurred in this opinion were all physicians, and since it Is well known that unhygienic mar riages cause heavy doctors' bills, an unkind person might suspect that professional considerations swayed their Judgment somewhat. There are certain diseases common among men which are almost certain to bo com municated to the wife after marriage. She has no way to defend herself against this peril, which is real and frightful, except through the require ment of a medical examination for the prospective husband. Why any sane person should object to such an examination unless he Is conscious of suffering from some of the diseases In question It Is difficult to Imagine. The law goes to great trouble and expense to protect Innocent women from many dangers far less serious than this one. It must be admitted that a medical examination would probably ' be irksome to many men, but the consequences of omitting it are worse than irksome to the un happy victims whom they marry and contaminate. It seems reasonable to Ignore the prejudices or shame of such men In comparison with the great benefits which the proposed ex amination would bring about for women. To be sure, the law can be evaded by fleeing to a state where medical examinations are not required, but as women grow wiser we may feel con fident that they will not be partners In folly of that kind. They will per ceive that the law is for their protec tion and assure themselves of its ben efit. The real objection to a medical examination law Is that It would make vice and Its consequences less agreeable to men. ' HEMOBKS OF JOHNSTOWN. Twenty-five years ago on May 31 happened one of the greatest disas ters In this country the Johnstown flood. A season of unprecedented rainfall "caused destructive high wa ter, accompanied by considerable loss of life, throughout the Eastern states. The extent of the damage was such that, even without the calamity at Johnstown, the floods would have be come memorable, but the awful ruin wrought in the Conemaugh Valley rendered them historic. The disaster - was directly due to the recklessness of man. A disused reservoir of the old Pennsylvania canal at the headwaters of the south fork of the Conemaugh River had been bought by a party of rich Pitts burgers composing the South , Fork Hunting and Fishing Club, and had been made the scene of Summer out ings. No effort was made to secure the old dam against abnormal floods. About 4 o'clock on the afternoon of Friday, May 31, when Johnstown was already under several feet of water from the overflow of the Conemaugh River and Stony Creek, at the con fluence of which It stands, the dam burst and the whole lake, seven miles long, was precipitated down the nar row valley. As described by an eye-witness, the water carried before it great masses of earth and the trees growing there in, many still upright, and rushed along between the steep, confining hills. It swept away towns and vil lages in its course, using the debris of one to batter down the next. When it reached Johnstown it was a. wall of water forty feet high, reaching from hilt to hill, and hidden behind its battery of trees, logs and wreckage of all kinds. It hurled these, missiles before It at the homes of the thriving city of 80,000 people, knocking some to pieces, smashing a corner off an other and maiming or killing many of their occupants before it -drowned them. Its progress was stayed by the stone railroad bridge which crossed both the Conemaugh and Stony Creek. The arches quickly became choked with debris and the torrent backed up in the town. The water swept across the flat between the two streams, divesting It of every vestige of human habitation and converting it into a waste of sand. Overturned stoves soon set fire to the pile of drift, in which many human beings and animals were en tangled, and burned them alive, roast ing also the many dead bodies which had been caught in the mass. When the. writer entered the town two days later he was nauseated by the smell of burning flesh and, though exhaust ed by two days of continuous work, ran for dear life to get through the stifling smoke. A body of regular soldiers was sent to the scene to clear away the drift and build bridges. They found hundreds of coils of wire from a mill wound around the other wreckage, and dynamite alone was effective. The . main street of the town escaped the force of the flood and received only the badk water, which deposited rubbish, extending from wall to wall and up to the second-story windows. All the food in the town was de stroyed and the supplies of the neigh boring farmers were soon exhausted by the fugitives. The great Cambria Iron Works and the other industries were either wrecked or submerged. Immediate relief was needed and was forthcoming. The first relief train from Pittsburg arrived about mid night June 1 and, by the next night the tracks were blocked with trains loaded with food, clothing and work ers. The whole Nation sent aid and more than $3,000,000 was collected. Governor Beaver sent Adjutant-General Hastings (afterwards Governor) at the head of two regiments of mili tia to guard the town and supervise relief work. At the head of the vol unteer workers were the late Clara Barton and Tom L. Johnson. During the height of the excite ment immediately following the flood estimates of the dead ran as high as 15,000, but a careful canvass finally fixed the number at 2142, of whom only about half were identified. Many were stripped of clothing and some were disfigured beyond, recogni tion, tub property loss was estimat ed at nearly $10,000,000. Many deeds of heroism are record ed. A young man, seeing that the dam was breaking, rode at breakneck speed down the valley, warning the people to take. to the hills, and thus saved many Uvea. Another warning was telephoned to the town, where the operator stayed at her post, send ing it far and wide. She paid for her devotion with her life. Old Davy Truax was so glad to leave Leavenworth prison after stay ing there twenty-five years that he died of Joy. Very likely that was the happiest -way his story could end. Had he lived to go out Into the world his joy would have faded In a day or two and the squalor of the world would have driven him back In sor row to his prison. There la a story of another old man, discharged after long Imprisonment, who begged his warders to take him back, since he could not bear to go out among stran gers. It Is a piteous world. The plan to gain $2,000,000 to add to the endowment of Williams Col lege seems to involve somewhat of a departure from Its policy as an nounced some years ago. Williams then took a stand as a strictly clas sical college aiming at a select body of students, high standards and a lim ited curriculum. Should Influential chairs be founded In philosophy, Eng lish and political science, as It now looks probable, Latin and Greek might be thrown into the shade. The necessities of an opera queen are fabulous luxuries for common people. Schumann-Heink, when she went to see her son graduate, re quired a private oar which carried not only the divine creature herself, but her daughter, chauffeur, waiters. cooks and "a gentleman" too. Cooks, mind you, not merely a cook. The diet of the gods requires many hands to bake and stew It. The "gentle man" now looms up unpleasantly In her divorce case. In "regard to the New Haven road and Its tribulations, the country will believe Mr. Mellen rather than any of the witnesses who contradict him. He told a straightforward tale which was inherently probable because it was so villainous. The baseness of the conduct he described chimed ex actly with the wreck it caused. All other stories of the affair look wanly mendacious. Woman suffrage has .brought one ray of real comfort to the men of Utah. Now that women are voters In that state, they must pay a poll tax equally with the men. Such a tax Imposed only on males Is "discrimi natory and unjust," according to the State Supreme Court. Thus does ex act justice slowly but surely permeate the world. ; We now are willing that a list of acceptable candidates shall be sub mitted to the Mexican congress for selection of a provisional president. And this is the same congress that Messrs. Wilson and Bryan decreed must not convene following a shady election deal of a year ago. Jerusalem Is to have lnterurban trolley cars and electric lights. To some It will seem sacrilege thus to modernize the holy city and to make a "great white way" through its midst. The devout would prefer to find Jerusalem, a relic unchanged by nineteen centuries. The auto driver, on the wrong side of the street, who collides with a pe destrian and then gives him a tongue lashing for being in the way, needs an Improvement In his disposition such as can be most effectively provided at the rockplle. A movement has started in New Jersey to consolidate about a dozen seashore resorts into one city. It would be about twelve miles long and one and one-half to two miles wide and have 40.000 people. A Bend newspaper reports William Hanley as saying: "Woodrow Wilson Is the greatest President since Lin coln." Evidently" a misquotation. Mr. - Hanley, of course, meant since Taft. American sailors near Tamplco are facing an epidemic of malaria, large numbers being on the sick list al ready. Also the approaches to Mex ico City are being heavily fortified. If Bryan can only keep his media tion talkfest going until Congress ad journs, watchful waiting will be se cure for the Summer and chautalking can go on uninterrupted. Sylvia Pankhurst Is going on an other hunger strike. Anyway this serves to keep down the price -of maintenance of John Bull's penal In stitutions. A life-term prisoner at Leaven worth, fell dead on receiving a parole, thus serving out the unexpired por tion of his sentence. Huerta is an old man and perhaps the Administration hopes that even tually General Debility will overthrow him. . The Spanish papers speak dispar agingly ' of Teddy. So long as they don't ignore him Teddy cares little. Captain Griffith failed to prove that he was unbalanced. Or that his accounts were balanced. Anyway, we're glad the weather got that bombardment out of its sys tem in plenty of time. Our "retaliatory measures short of war" are also short of retaliation. Never mind. The graduate will soon be In our midst to regulate things. The Resolute took the vanity out of the Vanltle. AXOTHSR ROUTM IS iTin.tm.il I Hood River's Attitude aa t ColnimbLa II lh nay Explained. PORTLAND. June 4. (To the Edltsx.) Kindly allow me space to reply to the published statements of Mr. S. Benson in tae matter of the Columbia River Highway, wherein Hood River's atti tude Is criticised. In the first place. Hood River la not fighting said high way, but believes it ought to be built by the entire state of Oregon. Hood River County Is willing to pay Its pro portionate share of the expense at any time, but is not able and will not take on the building of the hardest and most expensive part of the highway which is located within Its border, and no amount of bluffing or ridicule will change Hood River's attitude in this matter. Hood River County is out many thousands of dollars already for surveys and other trimmings, "We should worry" to see a new line of steamships hauling -the automobiles past our very doors. What's the matter with taking the regular steamers, any way, mat sail dally from Portland to all places on the upper river save tire and gasoline expense and enjoy the scenery of both sides of the river and cut out the entire expense of the said highway if the promoters are really going into the ferry business? Or, to be strictly up-to-date In the matter, why not use flying machines to bridge the stubborn, rock-ribbed Hood River gap? Would it not be a delightful fea ture of the trip? Now, listen. Had it not been for the Water Board of the City of Portland there would now exist a splendid wagon road on a 5 per cent grade aoross the Cascade Mountains through Hood River Valley to all points in Eastern Oregon. This matter has been taken up with Chief Forester Graves, of Washington, D. C. He is willing to open the road to the public, as the United States Gov ernment needs it, and only awaits the withdrawal of the unwarranted objec tions of the said Water Board. Believing, as we do. that the said Board does not represent the best in terests of the City of Portland, numer ous copies of a remonstrance are being circulated demanding that the Water Board, dominated by Commissioner Will Daly, immediately withdraw Its objec tion and let the good work proceed. We want this road opened up by the United States Government in time to connect Eastern Oregon with the Pa cific Highway travel of 1915. If we miss this, such an opportunity may not oome our way in the next 60 years for exploiting our enchanting scenery and rural and city development. The pro posed road passes through beautiful agricultural and fruitful valleys and crosses the enchanting Cascade Moun tains close to the snow line on the north side of Mount Hood, In full view of anow-capped mountain and lakes like glittering gems. Part of the way it is above the clouds, with many rugged mountain peaks Jutting through like islands in a billowy sea. The experi ence of such a trip will be most un usual and travelers will hardly know whether they are In auto or aeroplane. These remonstrance petitions can be found at all the prominent hotels and business places, and all who are inter ested in good roads and the develop ment of all Oregon are earnestly re quested to sign with us. Remember, this road will not cost the State of Oregon anything, as the United States Government has already built it on a S per cent grade. W. R. WINANS. Liability of Stockholders. CHEHALIS, Wash.. June 3. (To the Editor.) It a company incorporates, say, for $3000 and pays in only $2000 and becomes Insolvent, owing more than incorporated for. In case of a suit brought against the firm, can they hold the stockholders liable for the difference between amount incorpo rated for and the actual amount put in the business, and would the dis posal of the stock release the original stockholders of all liabilities or would the buyer be responsible for ltT BEN KENDRICK. In Oregon stockholders in an insolv ent corporation, unless it be a bank, are liable only for the unpaid amount on their stock subscriptions. The lia bility is not altered by the fact that only part of the capital stock has been subscribed or by an excess of liabil ities over capital. Under the Washington law, no cor poration has corporate existence until all stock has been actually subscribed for. The person subscribing for stock is liable for the amount of subscrip tion. Persons buying stock cannot be held responsible because no stock is supposed to be isauel until It Is fully paid for. The disposal of the stock would not release the original stock holders, and the buyer would not be responsible. In the case mentioned the stockholders would be held liable, if the stock had been subscribed. m Objection te Parade Roste. , PORTLAND, June 4. (To the Edi tor.) I have Just read in The Oregon ian the route of the electrical parade for Friday evening, and It seems to me that a great Injustice Is being done to the thousands of people who live along Eleventh and Thirteenth streets, the route of parade of former years. We, like hundreds of others along these streets, have invited our rela tives and friends to our homes where they may sit in comfort on our porches and lawns and enjoy this beautiful spectacle. Last year at our own home we had nearly 50 people and the sidewalks all along the way were lined with people, but there was no crowding, such as there would be on Washington and Morrislon streets, and everyone saw and enjoyed the pretty sight. The route as" outlined in The Orego nlan Is Washington to Twenty-third to MorrlBon to Third to Glisan to Fifth to Washington to Twenty-third. E. A. W. The Flag on Publlo Buildings. PORTLAND, June 4. (To the Edi tor.) Some time ago I noticed In the statement in The Oregonian that Mayor Albee was In the future going to have the American flag floating from the flagstaff on the City Hall every day In the week. The practice Is right and proper and is done in every well-regulated city In the Union, also on all Fed. era! buildings. However, about the only time you see It on either the City Hall or the Courthouse is on Decora tion day. at half mast, or when out of respect for a deceased relative of some official. Is thtre no way to have It hoisted to the top without waiting for the Fourth of July? AMERICA. Others Possess Rare Rose. PORTLAND, June 4. (To the Edi tor.) We saw In The Oregonian May 31 a picture of a Tausendshon rose. which the owner, Mr. C. C. Stanley, of 606 Sixth street, claims to be the only one in the city. We have one, wnicn we have had about six years. It also came from Pennsylvania. Its branches would reach. If trained upright, to the top ridge or our 14 -story nouse. Three years ago we took a Jardinlere- ful over to the Armory to the rose exhibit, and found someone else also had some there, so guess there are several bushes In the city. Any one wishing to see ours can do so by calling at the address below. E. L. PROBST. 1924 East Davis street. Information om Alaska. ALBANY, Or., June 3. (To the Edi tor.) Please advise through your de partment where I can get Information in general about Alaska. SUBSCRIBER. Apply, to your public library. AJtxriUnOS BE1TH DlkUTl. Osnr Miats llfstifc Sscr Bin, FQgri.sXD. Juxss 4 T tb EfB- tnrO ) thcsrs) Is m moremsit In Congress to submit the question of Panama Canal tolls and regulations to arbitration with European, powers. I will be obliged If you will allow me. as an American citizen, to say In your columns, that I am utterly opposed to such an arrangement. It would be beneath the dignity of this Government to enter upon any such palaver, or to tolerate any such Interference with its private affairs, as arbitration of canal management would imply. There is absolutely nothing to arbitrate about. There is no more to arbitrate about in this case than there would be if an outsider should walk Into a store or workshop of Portland and tell the proprietdr how he should run his business, and If he dissented, suggest arbitration of divergent views. In that case the proprietor, if a man,' would probably kick the Intruder out. and that is what the .United States Government ought to do in this case. The management of the canal is an affair of our own, exclusively, and it is a bit of impertinence. If not some thing more, for any outside govern ment to tell us what we must do, and what regulations we must make. The canal Is the property of the United States. It was paid for by American money, is a business venture, and we have the right to do as we please with it, so long as we do not Injure others directly thereby. We have offered the use of this property to other govern ments, at a rental, such as we believe to be Just and fair, but if they dp not choose to accept our terms that is the end of the matter. They can go their way and we will go ours. The high seas are open to them, as before the canal was constructed, and they can go from ocean to ocean, around the Horn, as often as they choose. But to ask us to "arbitrate" an affair In which they have no rights at all, and in which this Government has all lights, is to rub it in on us, and to ask us to submit to a humiliation that is preposterous. I do not like arbitration, by third parties, at all. Let us settle with each nation all questions as they come up, one at a time, and settle them Justly, honorably and fairly, by peaceful means if we can, but settle them ourselves, at all events. I would not go to The Hague with any question that arose between us and another government, and I can see no good reason for an international court of nine, or any other number, as has been suggested. The United States can not go to any such court, packed as it must be with the representatives of the warring. Jealous European govern ments, and expect to get justice or fair treatment. Besides, we do not need to go to such a court. We are big enough, and strong enough, and Just enough to settle all our difficulties In our own way with the governments of the world, and without tying ourselves up In en tangling arrangements. We can help ourselves, and all the world besides, best by standing on our own feet. LEVI W. MYERS. CXritBIN'O PARIS SPEED FIENDS Fit Motor Cars With Siren to Sound When Excess Limit Is Reached. Paris Correspondent New York Sun. Eugene Billard, Municipal Counselor of Paris, has undertaken to curb the excessive speed in which the chauf feurs of Paris delight. The City Coun cil is to consider the question at on early meeting. The prohibition of manufacturing cars capable of exceeding 18 miles an hour has been discussed and rejected as bound to injure the motor industry. The Council then thought of making the use of speed registers compulsory, with the idea of having each record examined every day at police head quarters. The number of motor cars, however, would make the work of ex amination every day an Impossibility and examination thrice a week would Interfere with the owner's liberty, as it would occupy his chauffeur a con siderable time. So this . scheme was abandoned. Mr. Billard has his own suggestion to make. "Many motor car builders," he says, "have told me that customers have abandoned the use of motor cars from fear of being telescoped by care less drivers and have taken to using motor buses Instead, as their mass pro tects their occupants in case of a col lision. "Every motor car should be fitted with a special sounding apparatus worked by the motor, which should sound automatically whenever the reg ulation speed is exceeded. This alarm would warn foot passengers, drivers of other vehicles and the police. If there were no police about and if the chauffeur persisted in his rapid speed, although the alarm bell was sounding, an automatic action after a certain time should drop a number of brightly colored pieces of paper from the car giving its number and its owner's name and address, so that the first police man passing by could pick up these papers. "The papers could then be used as proof that the chauffeur had firstly exceeded the speed limit and secondly broken the law by throwing paper on the public highway." SCHOOL BUILDINGS AVAILABLE! ' Consent to Use as Election Places Given In 1912. PORTLAND, June 4 (To the Edi tor.) There have been, from time to time, notices In the various papers ro gardlng the advisability of holding general elections in the school build ings. In order that there may be no mistake about the attitude of the board, I am enclosing herewith a copy of a letter directed to F. S. Fields, County Clerk, on November 23, 1912. The same letter was sent to A. L. Bar bur, City Auditor, under the same data Additional letters covering the same point have been sent to the County Clerk and the City Auditor under date of April 8, 1914. The letter to F. & Fields reads as fol lows: At a meeting- of the board of this district, held on the 23d Inst., I was authorized to notify you that the school buildings of this district are available upon application for election and counting of ballots. Insofar as is consistent with the original purpose for which schools are built, with the expressed understanding that the use of tobacco and all forms of smoking or chewing shall not be permitted. There are several polling places in school buildings at this time. R. H. THOMAS, Clerk. The Bright Surgeon's Diagnosis. Lipplncott's Magazine. A surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital is fond of stories in which the Joke is on the doctor. He tells this one: One patient fancied there was some thing the matter with his heart. His physician made a cursory examination, which disclosed a large swelling in the patient's cardiac region. "There certainly appears to be an extraordinary swelling right here." said the doctor, tapping with his fingers on the patient's side. "We must reduce this at once." Whereupon a faint smile appeared on the patient's worried countenance. "Oh, doctor," he exclaimed, "that welling is my pocVetbook. Please don't reduce it too muchl" Copy ef Will. CHEHALIS, Wash.. June 3. (To the Editor.) Please tell me where I can get a copy of the will of a person who died recently In Malheur County, Oregon. SUBSCRIBER If the will has been filed for pro bate a copy can be obtained by ad dressing the clerk of the county. A reasonable charge will be made by the clerk. Twenty-Five Year Ago From The Oregonian of Juno S. 1889. Seattle. June 4. The County Com missioners today arranged for the ne gotiation of $300,000 In bonds to be used In the construction of navy coun ty, buildings. . Corvallia. 'June 4. The State Sunday school eonvention met at 8 P. M. today In the Congregational Church. B. W. Allen, of Portland, presiding. George F. Billing, of Ashland, was chosen sec retary. The muslo was led by Rev. Mr. Wetaell. of Portland. Mrs. F. M. John son presided at the organ. This even ing Rev. C. C. Bateman, of Ut Tabor, delivered. an address. Walla Walla. June 4. The Walla Walla Trust & Savings Bank has In corporated; J. K Ed mis ton. F. W. Paine and II. K. Keyler, trustees. The wealthiest citizens are backing it. Walla Walla. June 4. Mrs. Frank Rlgler, of Oregon City, is visiting rel atives at Walts burg. Salem. June 4. Judge George H. Williams will lecture tomorrow even ing on "The Divinity of Christ.'' A collection will be taken up and sent to the Pennsylvania flood sufferers. Vanoouver, Wash, June 4. The mar riage of Miss Kate Goodwin, daughter of Lieutenant Goodwin, of Vancouver Barracks, and George B. Markle, of Portland, was solemnized at St. Luke's Church tonight. Rev. Marsden D. Wil son officiating. Seattle, June 4. A 7 B -yard, footrace was run today between Harry Bethune and Frank Lewis, formerly a well known Oregon runner. Bethune ' quit before the goal was reached. New York, June 4. Presidents Ad ams and Oakes, of the Union and Northern Pacific Railroads, are said to have reached an agreement regarding the election of the O. R tt N. Co. They are pledged to an early trackage agreement, under which the O. R. & N. line east of the Cascades Is to be used Jointly and the Northern Pacific Is to give the O. R. & N. connection with Puget Sound over its PaclDo division. The Oregon Immigration Board met yesterday and decided to furnish Pro fessor Looney. commissioner to the Paris Exposition, with a neat display of products and some printed matter. J. Alex Mayer, who will shortly leave for Europe, was granted a letter of au thority to act as the board's represen tative. The executive committee of the Port land Hospital yesterday decided to erect a building on the 5 H -acre tract at Sunnyslde. There were present: G. W. Staver, president; John Kenworthy, vice-president; George II. Chance, sec retary; Dr. E. P. Fraser. Architect Stokes, Dr. Rhlnehart and Rev. Mr. Mc Dermott. The Oregonian fund for the Johns town flood sufferers yesterday reached a total of $290.50. The general Fourth of July commit tee yesterday decided to give a double river parade from the Steel bridge to Ross Island and back. The High School Alumni Association yesterday elected the following offi cers: President, Ed Northrup; vice president. Miss Mamie Gantenbeln; treasurer, Mrs. Nellie Seeley; orator. Samuel Connell; poet. Frank Wells; historian. Miss Wallace; prophet. Wal ter Dodd. Palmer & Rey have added a com plete type foundry to their business. Dick Emmons, a young man well known In this city, has received an appointment as inspector afloat for the district of Alaska. A minstrel entertainment was given by Johnson & Slavln's company at the New Park Theater last evening. Hon. W. B. Gilbert has gone East. London, June 8. Parcels containing parts of a woman's body were found today. It Is feared that "Jack the Ripper" has again been at work. The water committee yesterday de elded to purchase a 10,000, 000-gallon pump and to construct a 24-inch pipe line. Features for The Sunday OREG OKflAJSf Portland's Rose Harvest. A full page in colors on the city's wonderful rose harvest. Why Port land has become the greatest of rose-growing communities. Marital Happiness. Two views of it are presented by Rita Reese the man's view and the woman's. A delightful illus trated feature by a popular writer. European Brigands. They are discovered by American travelers in the polite places of Europe. They don't wear masks and carry guns. Rather they oper ate as servants and their weap ons are more effective than guns. Unique illustrations. Tango Madness. Coningsby Dawson, the noted English writer, lays it all to the evils of early education. A mas terly analysis of' the present dan cing craze among the middle-aged and elderly. Fisher's Picture. In the fifth full-page drawing of his new series Harrison Fisher Ehows another of the greatest mo ments in a girl's life. "The first evening in their new home." r Breaking tho Limit. The new engineer on a farmer's railroad and his ride for life and lives. A 6hort story of adventure and peril. Gentlemen at Tea. The feminist movement is breed ing a sissified lot of slender-wristed male mollycoddles, according to the observations of a New York writer, who finds that the afternoon tea habit among men has a wide vogue and is growing. Seafaring Birds. A story of local interest about a dock of seagulls that follow steam ers from port to port. Moods of Genevieve. In the eighth of .this series Gene vieve writes of "The Child Mood." The Fold-Up Family. Another clever cut-out for the children, together with a page of other children's features. Scores of Other Features. Order early of your newsdealer.