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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1914)
TITE MORNING OREGOXIAX, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1914. PORTLAND, OREGON. Entered at Portland, Oregon, Postoftlce Second-class matter, subscription. Rates invariably in 4 (By Mail) Daily, Sunday Included, one year ........ $8.00 X)aily, Sunday Included, six months ..... 4.25 Pally, bunday included, three months l.'i Xjaiiy, Sunday included, one month TJaily, without Sunday, one year ....... 6.00 Paily, without Sunday, six mouths Pally, without bunu, three months .... l-5 Pally, without Sunday, one month Weekly, one year 1.50 fcunday, one year 20 Sunday aoil Weekly, one year . .6o By Carrier) Eaily. Guiiday Included, one year ...... ..O0 ally, Sunday included, one month ..... -?5 How t Kemlt Send Poetofflce money or der, express order or personal'check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at Bender's risk. Give Poatoffico address In lull. Including" county and state. Postage Batea 12 to 16 pages. 1 cent: Is to 82 pases. 2 cents; 34 to 43 pages, a cents; 0 to 60 pages, 4 cents; &i to 7d pages, o cents; 78 to at pages, a cents. Foreign post age, double rates. Eastern Business Offices Verree & Conk II n, Jitv York. Brunswick building. Chi cago, fctenger building. ban rrucisco Office R. J. Bidwell Co., H-i Market street. PORTLAND, THURSDAY. SEPT., 24, 1814. WAR .TAXES AND ECONOMY. Tha Imposition of war taxes and the Contest of endurance which promises to end in elimination of pork from the river and harbor bill should prove the introduction of an era of thorough fiscal reform in the Federal Govern ment The public support given to Senator Burton in his filibuster proves that the people are awake to the sinB of the Government in squandering- the people's money. The im position of direct taxes will bring home to the people every time they put a revenue stamp on a document the fact that It is their money that is being wasted. They may then de mand reform with such unanimity and insistence as to cause Congress and the administrative officials of the Government to give heed. Every party platform for decades has contained a plank denouncing ex travagance and pledging; economy, but these planks have been .forgotten as soon as election was over. The poli ticians did not take them seriously be cause the people did not, and the peo ple did not because taxes were indi rect, hidden in the price of the articles they bought. The people complained of high and steadily-rising prices, but they did not realize that this high cost of living was largely the outcome of the high cost of government. Indirect taxation hid excessive protection, which added to prices, and" it deluded the people as to where the money spent by the Government came from. The people have thus become an ac cessory to Governmental waste. "Whenever a good thing1 needs to be done, they call for an appropriation by Congress. When money needs to be spent on exterminating the boll weevil, the cattle tick or fruit pests, the cry has been: "Let the Govern ment do it." Impartial crop reports were needed, and the Government was called upon to supply them. If a monument is desired or a celebration or an exposition is to be held com memorating some great historical event, the cry goes up for an appro priation. From improving actually navigable streams we have advanced to improving mere creeks in order to gratify the desire of a .Congressional district for expenditure of public money in its midst. The same state ment is true of public buildings, navy yards and army posts. Good roads are demanded, and the Government is called upon to help. All the improvements named are highly (Jesirable. but the self-reliance of the individual, of local communities and of states is undermined by the delusion that Government money comes from nowhere in particular, but is brought into" being when Congress waves a magic wand. The only magic worked by Congress Is the imposition of taxes in such manner that the people do not know to what extent they are being taxed, and, not realizing that the money comes from their own pockets, they constantly demand that more be spent. There is no magic about the way Congress spends money. It spends with the wastefulness, almost the recklessness, of a gambler who J nas just made a stake. vvnatever Congress does costs twice as much as if an individual or corporation did it. It has evolved no means of co-ordi nating expenditures in the several de - 4 partments or of balancing each year's revenue and expenses, such as has long been in. vogue in Europe. It treats appropriations for much public work as so much largesse to be dis tributed among states and districts. This system has resulted in shameful inefficiency. Rivers are improved piecemeal, whether their character justifies it or not. Buildings are erected where the interest on the Investment far exceeds the rent which "would have to be paid for rented quarters. Naval stations are main tained where there are no ships and in some cases where channels are too shallow for ships to enter. The Army is scattered at posts established for Indian warfare long after such war fare has ceased. Mobilization is thereby rendered absurdly slow, and officers are deprived of that practice in directing large bodies of troops . which is essential to success in mod ern warfare. Congressional ineffi ciency Is thus a. source of danger to the National safety which will become apparent in time of war, but that time will be too late to apply the remedy. Adoption-Of the Income tax was the first step in collecting direct taxes, but that impost reaches only a few hun dred thousand of the people, though these are the wealthiest and probably : the most influential. The protest against the pork-barrel items in the river and harbor bill probably gained volume from this source.. When eery man who writes a check, note or draft, receives a. money order or bift of lading, send3 a telegram "or telephone message, gives a lease, mortgage or power of attorney, takes out insurance or charters a ship when for each of these acts of ordinary business he must attach a stamp to the document, the great body of citizens will be re minded that they are contributing di rectly out of their pockets to the ex penses of Government. Then recog nition of the fact that the people pay for the extravagance of Congress and the departments w-ill not merely be an intellectual exercise for the few: it will extend to the many. , The people will then demand that the Govern ment introduce system and economy into its finances; they may cease to demand that unnecessary dollars be expended, and may demand Instead that no unnecessary dollar be ex pended. If this be the result of the war tax. the United States will profit by the war in more ways than in the expan sion of foreign trade. EGGS AS AN ISSUE. What are a few eggs, more or less, from China? Eggs is eggs, to be sure, but Chinese eggs are also eggs, and the importation of a few million dozen a year to the Pacific Coast is a good thing. Thus we hear from those flip pant and derisive critics who say Chi nese eggs needn't worry anybody, and that they haven't dignity enough to be an" issue in a political campaign. - But the egg is both a fact and a symbol, for, it teaches a lesson. A correspondent, Mr. J. C. Moores, writ ing to The Oregonian, has this to say, among other interesting things: I have traveled over the greater part of Oregon in the last six months' and I have noticed a large decrease "in the number of hens en the farm. When I inquired Into the whys and wherefores, in many cases I have been answered, "What's the use? What incentive im there for anyone to raise a large flock of hens for egg pro duction, ship your eggs to Portland or other market centers and be compelled to meet the Chinese eggs in competition for which the same price, or nearly so, is being paid T" When eggs and other products go up, your Democrat proudly boasts of the prosperity of the producer under the new tariff.' When eggs go down, he Is able to show that the cost of living has been reduced. MALT1HS AGAIN. The European war, as we might have expected, has revived Malthu sianism in some minds. A writer in the North American Review takes oc casion to exploit the theory for our diversion. He explains that the earth will ' not support more than three billions of people. We already have half that number. Let the human race go on multiplying for a few dec a3ea moro and the horrors of Mal thusianlsm will be upon us, starvation, the exposure of infants, prevention of maternity and al the rest. The writer ajeks in real or sim ulated horror whether it is not bet ter for men to kill each other in de cent battle than to prevent overpopu lation by the dark arts of Malthus? It is not necessary to say a great deal to put him out of court with his hid eous alternatives. It is well known to Intelligent readers that the prog ress of civilization of itself cuts down the birth rate. As the mind develops the procreative function grows re stricted and the danger of overpopu lation vanishes. We might add that science provides annually new means of increasing the world's food supply. In fact, food has incre. sed faster than population for a century or so. But there is no need of such consicTerations. - THROUGH. EYES OF PREJUDICE. The fable hath it that the scorpion, when aroused fo fury and unable to compass the destruction of its foe, turns and stings itself to death.- The surviving friends of the Portland Evening Journal ought to take a" hand to prevent so many recurrences of its futile manifestations of scorpion journalism. It has now a bad case of anti-Oregonian rabies, in intermittent form. There is no telling what day there will be a sad calamity. The rage of our angry contempo rary is Just now directed jointly toward The Oregonian and the recent Orego nian Legislature. The Legislature, it appears, was the most powerful, most reckless and most extravagant ever organized in the state, and it was throughout its session aided and abet ted by the marplot Oregonian. That Is said to be the reason taxes are high. State taxes are high because the Leg islature passed such measures as the $450,000 appropriation for the Central Oregon project demanded by Governor West and his newspaper partner and because the West administration is the most wasteful in history, as the record shows. Under Governor West's exclusive direction, the State Peniten tiary" costs $25,000 more per annum than under any previous admin istration. The Governor vetoed with great parade and bombast a few tri fling salary bills, but favored the Gill general salary bill, which would have materially raised official salaries throughout Oregon. But the subject of Congressional extravagance does not concern the newspaper scorpion. Not much. It Is the only Oregon voice for the pork barrel. For the present Con gress, the most prodigal and reckless in history with appropriations ap- proximating $1,150,000,000 there are - onlv words of warm commendation For the war tax there are excuses and weak explanations. Through the blindness and dishon esty of political prejudice, the hein ous crime of extravagance, at Salem, becomes the shining virtue of care and prudence at Washington. THE BREEDER AXT THE HORSE. Our amiable friend the horse is understood to be suffering some men tal distress of late on account of the pitiless rivalry of the gasoline engine. Still he is able to exert himself much as usual and even to win fresh laurels under proper stimulus. At the Co lumbus races Anna Bradford lowered her own pacing record by a whole second and three-quarters, bringing it down to 2:01. This was a feminist feat, the credit belonging really to Anna Bradford and not to any of her male relations. But for all that we may set it down as a triumph for the horse tribe as a whole. No doubt Anna would never think of being selfish In the matter of fame. The trotters did not acquire any new glory on that particular occasion. They only held their own, although that was doing pretty well. Time was when 2:40 was miraculous speed on the trotting track. Then it went down to 2:10 and everybody shouted with admiring wonder. It seemed super human, or superequine at least. But all that is slow now-a-days. Etawah trotted a mile in 2:04 at Columbus and not a great deal was. thought of it Pacing, is one of the horse's natural gaits, so v?e need not be surprised that Anna Bradford, a pacer, outdid her companion Etawah in speed. The trot is a difficult and highly artificial gait acquired by breeding and educa tion. Whether it will ever be made much faster than it is now is a ques tion. No doubt it can be done, but whether it will or not is another matter. The economic law of,dimin ishing returns applies with startling rigor to the production of speed in trotters. Every second deducted from this time on will cost immensely in time and money. Of course if more speed Is ever obtained it must come out of the lottery of heredity where there are many blanks and few prizes. Speed, like other desirable qualities In the horse, is produced by mating animals which both possess it In a high degree. But under the most favorable conditions there are nun dreds of recessive Mendelian units which may become dominant in the offspring and spoil all the breeder's best-laid plans. Heredity can hardly be spoken of as a science yet. It Is on the highway to that dignity, but it has not arrived by any means. The results of any given breeding experiment are still more or less a matter of guesswork, though they are coming nearer to certainty every year. One thing is already demonstrated. When a quality has once been pro duced in a horse it can be preserved and increased by judicious selection of mates. It is by this process that the entire line of trotters has been brought into existence. We can say the same thing ef the 'English hunter and the Kentucky thoroughbred. They are artificial products obtained by man's mastery over nature. Most good things in the world have been secured, not by the servile following of na ture, but by taking the law out of her hands and using it ' with Intelligent purpose for definite ends. In Nature there is neither purpose nor intelli gence. All that belongs to anotner and totally different sphere. A COIXECTIOX FOB THE BED CROSS. The President has set apart Sunday. October 4, for prayers for peace throughout the country. On that day. therefore, the minds of millions of people will be fixed upon the horrors of war and they will be exceptionally willing to do something practical for humanity. The most obviously prac tical thing they can do is to give money to the Red Cross. This society, whose good work is known to every body, is in serious straits for funds. The demands upon its resources are greater now than they have ever been and donations are urgently needed. What better way to procure them than to take' up collections in all the churches on Peace Sunday and turn the proceeds over to the Red Cross Society. No doubt most worshipers will feel that they ought to make some per sonal sacrifice to show their genuine devotion to the cause of peace, and Just now giving money will do more good than anything else. In this time of war America occupies a peculiar and enviable position. The belligerent nations are all courting our good opinion and stand ready to receive help from us with a warm welcome. There is usually very little that a really neutral country can do for one belligerent without offending the others. But donations to the Red Cross are an exception. That society Is truly international. Its heroic work is done for all alike and money contributed to its treasury will be used wherever it is needed, without distinctions of nationality or creed. This suggestion was first made by Mabel Choate, of Massachusetts, to the New York Evening Post. That paper endorses it heartily. No doubt the press in general will take the same view of it. In this way public gen erosity ought to be widely awakened and a great sum of money obtained for the Red Cross on Peace Sunday. We can think of no better way than this for the worshipers In the churches to prove their faith by their works. FROM AMBUSH. Will you please explain in a brief way the twenty-nine initiative measures to be voted on at the coming election? I may say I feel totally incompetent to vote in telligently on all these measures. 1 under stand that single tax would take toll from the widow who owns a 'Jo by 100-foot lot and let a banker who rents go free. 1 would like a short explanation. The conscientious woman voter who penned the foregoing to The Oregonian is in a predicament that a great many voters will find themselves in even on election) day. The initla.tive meas ures are too many and too complicat ed for the diligent voter as a rule to grasp. The Oregonian nor anybody else can explain the twenty-nine in brief terms. Nor could one explain all the rami fications and possibilities of the $1500 exemption amendment,' to which, we presume, the correspondent refers as 'single tax," in a brief way. The Ore gonian will have something to say about each of the twenty-nine meas ures before election day, and while primarily.it advises the voters to In form themselves to the extent of their time and facilities, it again commends the seund policy of voting no when in doubt. As to the specific question about the $1500 exemption asked by the corre spondent it may be said that if the widow owned a lot wholly unimproved the adoption of the amendment would increase her taxes. Moreover, ap proval of the amendment would in crease her taxes if the lot had modest improvements on it. The reason is that a specific amount of money must be raised by taxation to. meet the cost of government. The proposed exemption would reduce the total value of taxable property and a higher tax rate would have to be im posed on the remaining property in order to raise neded revenues. Many poor people, while obtaining a small exemption on houses and personal property, would fifld their taxes in creased so greatly on their lots that they would pay higher taxes than at present. It Is doubtful if the "banker who rents' would escape higher taxation In an indirect form. The exemption applies to the person owning his home. It is apparent that the owner of a residence who does not utilize it as a home but rents it to a banker or anybody else would obtain no exemp tion. He (the owner, not the renter), like the widow, would have to pay more taxes and he would pass his higher taxes on to the renter. The chief single tax advocate in Oregon, the Portland Journal, states unequiva cally that the renter pays the tax on the building he occupies. That is to say, rents rise with taxes. There are probably 60,000 - or more renters fn Oregon, some of them poor, sonie fairly well-to-do. If the assertions of the chief newspaper supporter of this measure are true, all -tenants will pay higher rents upon adoption of the exemption measure. In the matter of rents the increased taxation ia of course indirect. In a direct way, the banker or other man who rented his home would not be affected by the adoption of the meas ure, unless it might be in respect of household furniture taxes. Household furniture in use is now wholly exempt by law. The amendment provides that the $1500 exemption shall be on household furniture among other per sonal property. Lawyers in Oregon are not agreed as to "whether the amendment would repeal the present household exemption. It is asserted by some that the existing total exemp tlon of household furniture would not be affected and In such event the di rect tax on the renter would not be changed regardless of the value of the premises he occupied or the amount of the furnlshlBgs, although, as here tofore stated, his rent might be in creased an J he thus be indirectly bur dened by the exemption. On the other hand there is the opin ion that 'the amendment would repeal the present household exemption, but that the $1S00 exemption would not apply to household furniture unless It were, on land also owned by the owner of the furniture. Thus one who lived in a rented bouse would Dot get a household exemption, be he rich or poor. He would, moreover, have to pay taxes on furniture now exempt, while those who were so fortunate as to own their own homes would get a furniture exemption if they possessed no more than $1500 worth of Im provements and personal property. There remains still another possible alternative' In construction, and that is that the present general household exemption would be repealed and that furniture would be exempt up to the value of $1500, be the owner renter or home-owner. The Oregonian classes thte $1500 ex emption amendment as the worst of seven vicious measures on the ballot. It is the worst because of its vague and uncertain possibilities and above all because it is presented under cruel ly false pretenses. It is commended to the voters' by its sponsors as a poor man's measure when it is the oppo site. Because of the abstruse charac ter of the subject of taxation, decep tions of this kind are comparatively easy. The briefest and most compre hensive statement that can be made concerning it is that it is an attempt from ambush to inflict single tax on the people with public confiscation of land through high taxes as the real and ultimate purpose. One of this Summer's educational phenomena was the growth of Sum mer schools of many sorts. More than 100,000 teachers attended them with hosts of others. Their popularity in dicates that many persons feel like turning their Vacations to account by Improving their minds. We never took much stock in the theory that a vaca tion means idleness of brain or body. Summer reading need not be silly nor Summer rest total indolence. The main requirement Is change. ' Friends of Wellesley College have not forgotten the fire which destroyed its main hall some time ago. The Rockefeller fund has promised the college $750,000 if others raise $1,- 250,000 by January 1. We dare say the fund is progressing comfortably. but the Wellesley graduates should not allow their energies to relax until the whole sum has been subscribed. How much has been raised on the Pacific Coast? The New Tork papers are groaning over the growing cost of the public schools. The figure is $41,000,000 for the current year in that city, a pretty penny to be sure, but not excessive if it is thriftily spent. Money spent on education brings the best possible re turns. They are remote but certain. Wise public policy would pinch every other department before curtailing the activities of the schools. Commissioner Daly has made cred itable reductions in operating the wa ter service and can go further. Why not eliminate the bills to small con sumers? A man knows his rate and knows the date of delinquency Fear of being disconnected will impel. him to pay on time. The items of postage and stationery seem a waste of public money. The' efforts to pull the American troops out of Vera Cruz may not suc ceed, for the Mexicans are growing ugly again, despite the fact that they ought to show their gratitude to the Wilson Administration by remaining tranquil until after the Fall elections. Botha, the Boer, to lead a British army! Who knows but that "Von Kluck shall be at the head of an allied British and French force five years hence? Such are the inconsis tencies of war. Reported Japanese atrocities in China are in' marked contrast with the civilized demeanor of the Japs in the Russo-Japanese campaigns. Britain must expect to lose a few vessels. The great naval battle of the twentieth century will be in the nature of an experiment. Mr. Krebs' advice td Oregon grow ers to hold for a high price meets their views exactly. There are no cheap hops this year. Has anybody sent to Bishop-elect Sumner the customary batch of clima- tological data? That ought to stop his hesitation. The combatants now seek to shell each bther out of their trenches, but so far this shell game has not been fruitful. It is going to take an output of sev eral Iron mines to supply all the iron crosses needed for German hero awards. The millennium is casting a shadow. A Centralla lawyer has been ordered to pay back a fee because he failed to win. . Both sides continue to win in France, an arrangement which ought to be universally satisfactory. As we predicted a few days ago, the correspondents are now filing their reports "at the battle front," With Virginia "dry." the little corn patches in the hills will continue to produce white moonshine. Italian volunteers -in France are off to the front In red shirts. What a splendid target! All the babies, livestock and fowls are being primped and preened for the state fair. Old General Disaster continues in command of the Austrian armies. John Barleycorn is now a fugitive from justice in Virginia. All eyes of the British navy will watch for the U-9. Must Villa be "licked" into peace in Mexico? - William of Weld has agreed to recede. These days suggest a ramble In the woods. ' Regular made-to-order weather. On to Pendleton! Stars and Starmakers 81 UONs CABS BAJBR. Digging around among local talent has brought to light a few more "trag edies of time." Robert Gleckler, leading man at the Baker j Theater, says his idea of it is when a fat actress finds it necessary to ask the photographers to scrape off slices of her lines in a princess gown. e Walter Gilbert opines that the big time in tragedy Is when a perennially ambrosial and fascinating ingenue is cast for an old lady character role by a well-paying manager. But William Powell voices what a lot of us think when he says that time's real whack ia at a one-time great pro ducer who decides to become a press agent. Mister Jack Lil A'thuh Johnson, for merly a well-known citizen of America, but lately of France, is being Impor tuned to dash into vaudeville over here. Jack is safer . on a battlefield than he would be on an American stage. Again it has been proved, that if you cast your bread upon the right waters It will return after a few days nicely buttered and laden with jelly. Willard. the "man "who grows," played at the Victoria Palace in London last week and donated his entire salary to the national relief fund. The management. not to be outdone in generosity, prompt ly gave Willard a contract for one year's solid booking in London and Australian vaudeville. . . e - In -London the music halls are in vesting their programmes with red fire in the form of patriotic songs. Eng lish flags and those of their allies, moving pictures of soldiers, battleships. military and naval celebrities, together with flashing bulletins of the progress of events. All the actors treat the war seriously, no one daring to perpetrate a joke or a song on the subject with anything bordering on the humorous. It remained for Jack Norworth to fig are out a new comedy viewpoint with out giving offense to his audiences at the Hippodrome. He has a timely ditty that starts off like the inevitable glve-me-your-kind-applause patriotic ditty, called "Sister Sue Is Sewing Shirts for Soldiers." He works it into an audi ence number ingenuously compelling the patrons to essay singing thechorus, which proves to be well nigh impos sible with its prevalence of sibilants. The hissing, sloshing, splashing of esses sung by an audience registers a happy hit. ' And the song industry in England also is undergoing a revolution. Pub lishers take advantage of the Interest In national and patriotic numbers. A song without the accompanying red fire has about as much chance as a German Uhlan at a Cossack picnic Fa vorite ballads are "The Trumpet Voice of the Mother Land Is Calling," "Sons of London," "We've Got a Mailed Fiat Too," VWe Didn't Want to Fight," "Hullo There. Little Tommy Atkins" and a similar 50 more. George Arlisg, playing "Disraeli," will come to the Pacific Coast this sea son. He announces that it is positively his last season in the piece this Is his fifth year in it and says that he will have a new play, "Nero." next season Secretary Bryan has located the IS Onondaga Indians supposed to be stranded as a result of war conditions abroad. Ten are in Copenhagen and the others in Hamburg. . The Indiana were with a circus and when hostlll ties commenced the other members of the outfit left to Join their respective armies, leaving the Americans to heir fate. Dorothy Devoe, the daughter of Mrs. S. F- Devoe, a prominent church work r In Fresno, is being starred in Henry Miller's Coast production of "Her Hus band's Wife." The show opened last week and will play engagements all through California. The Gilbert-Sullivan Opera Company is on its way to us with De Wolfe Hop per at Its head. Just now the organiza tion is in San Francisco. The University of California has paid to De Wolf Hopper and to the skill of Gilbert and Sullivan the compliment of asking the comedian to appear in their Trial by Jury" on September 25 in the Greek Theater of the university at Berkeley, Cal., though comic opera is not commonly regarded as within the rigid purview of theaters built in the style of the Athenian amphitheaters. The occasion will mark Mr. Hopper's first appearance In "Trial by Jury," In which, presumably, he will play the role of the susceptible jurist as to whom the ensemble sings at every op portunity: "For he is a Judge And a good judge, too!" "Trial by Jury" was so successful when it was first given In London, In 1878, that It had much to do with ce menting the long collaboration between Gilbert and Sullivan. Apart from the satire based on the human propensity of juries to give verdicts in favor of the woman without regard for the evl dence a theme which has recently en listed the satirical fling of Sir James M. Barrie In his "The Legend of Leo nora." in which Maude'Adams is to be seen later in Chicago the operetta was hailed as a perfect example of mu sical burlesque, making fun, as it did, of the standard forms of grand opera. m m m The war Is of more than vital impor tance to the majority of the members of the "Kitt MacKay" company. Near ly all of tHe principal members of the organization have relatives along the long battle front of the allies. Marjorie Murray, who plays Kitty in the play, is the daughter of Captain Blair Murray, of the Seventh Hussars, an English regiment. Paget Hunter has an uncle in the Coldstream Guards, which, by a coincidence, is the regiment Hunter belongs to In the play. Eleanor Daniels has received word from her home in Llanelly, South Wales, that a brother and a cousin have enlisted in a regiment organized there. Rule Pyott is eagerly watching the bulletins for news of his brother, a Lieutenant In the Third Scaforth High landers. . Marie Stuart has a second cousin in the Inlskllling Dragoons, and James Finlayson has a nephew in the Gordon Highlanders. Newsboys wherever the company has been playing have reaped a handsome profit on their wares by rushing to the stage door of the theater with all of the war extras and scraps of Informs tlon. WII V FIOXEER SUPPORTS BOOTH. Personal Scrutiny of Fifty Years Finds No Flaw In Manhood. The following letter from W. H. Byars, a well-known resident of Salem and an Oregon pioneer, has been for warded to Senator Chamberlaln'sv po litical headquarters in response to a letter Inviting his support: Salem, Or., Sept. 14 Tour letter bearing date of the 11th Inst, is re ceived and the contents have been duly noted. This is a synopsis of your let ter as I see it: Too ask me. as a good citizen, to vote tor Mr. Chamberlain. You inform m that the war m Europe is keeping the Senator in Washington, I am told that the war situation is very eomplicated and that the Senator's power ful influence will be for peace. I am further informed that the senator is glad we escaped war with Mexico and also wishes to avoid war with Europe, I am told that Senator Chamberlain is powerful in the Senate, is progressive. Is on the side of the plain people, has done much for Oregon and has made gooa. You inform me that he created tne Alaskan Railway law, rot results for re claiming Eastern Oregon deserts, in improv ing the Columbia River and the harbors on the Pacific Coaat, I am also informed that Senator Chamber lain is a success, that he is the Senator and strong and energetic man of the people and a steadfast, loyal friend of the old soldier. And. finally, at the suggestion or senator Chamberlain, you say. you ask me to reply to your letter. Replying thereto I must say that I shall not be able to vote for Senator Chamberlain, as you request, arsd the following are some of my reasons: I am a Republican and not a non partisan. Mr. Chamberlain generally claims non-partisanship about this time of his candidacy, and, of course, is a Democrat at other times, especially when making appointments and plac ing Oregon's products on the free list. He bas no claim on me for support. In your letter you claim much for Senator Chamberlain. I am from Mis souri. Tou will have to show me. I should like to see the goods. It is true the Administration, in order to give Chamberlain a political boost, put In his hands the Alaska railway bill, that all Western members, and the country generally, were favorable to. and the bill became a law, but everyone knows that Delegate Wickersham, of Alaska: Senators Jones and Poindexter, of Washington, and others had as much a part, and some of them a great deal snore, in pushing this matter before the Administration and Congress than did Mr. Chamberlain. However, much legislation detrimental to the people of Oregon has been enacted by the party of which you claim Senator Chamber lain is an important integral part. And there is a still stronger reason why I cannot vote for Mr. Chamber lain. And that reason Is that he is op posed by Senator Robert A. Booth, the nominee of the Republicans at the di rect primary. I have known Robert Booth' for near ly 50 years from his early boyhood to the present time. In 1869 and 1870 I was one of the instructors In the Ump- qua Academy at Wilbur, Or. In sev eral of my classes was a young lad bove the average in intelligence and appearance. He was stuolous, genial and orderly, and was a favorite of both teachers and classmates. His recita tions were generally perfect, and he was one of the leaders in all of his classes. This youth was Robert A. Booth, the present candidate for United States Senator from Oregon. I have also known much ei the ante cedents of Senator Booth. His father was a minister of the Methodist Epis copal Church, had a large family to support, and in general In those days was not well paid. Robert was the kind of a boy we all admire, who would, not be a burden upon his people, and h worked for the means to secure his education. To this end he worked hard and unceasingly, cutting wood, plow ing, etc., until he arrived at a sufficient age to teach school, and he then fol lowed the vocation of teaching, later served as a clerk and finally became the successful business man we find him today. Senator Booth knew how to give satisfaction to those who em ployed him, and when he became an employer of large numbers of men he knew how to appreciate their services, and his kindness, fairness and generos ity will be attested by hundreds of Oregon's best citizens. As a representative of the people in the State Senate he rendered able an-d efficient service. There is no doubt but that he will give equally satisfac tory service in the United States Sen ate, and as a veteran of the Civil War. I do not have the least hesitation in saying that I believe Senator Booth Is now and always will be an active friend of the veterans of his country's wars, their widows and dependent children. He is also the nominee of the Repub lican party, which has a record entirely different from the party whose nom inee you ask me to support on this im portant subject. Therefore, I will be unable to vote for Mr. Chamberlain, but will most as suredly vote for Robert VA. Booth for United States Senator. W. H. BYARS, Salem, Oregon. "C" Is Right. HARRISBURG, Or.. Sept. 22. (To the Editor.) John Schmidt, a native of Germany, comes to the United States with his wife, also a German, both being above the age of 21 years. mere is born to them, in this coun try, several children, some now being over the age of 21 years. John bcnmldt has never - become naturalized by law. C claims that his children (Schmidt's) are citizens of the United States, and as such entitled to vote. E claims they are not citizens until the father becomes naturalized. Who Is right? ONE OF THE CHILDREN. The children are citizens and entitled to vote. N Prefsand Secreey. (Washington Star.) "Is Mrs. Babbles a gossip?" "Well," replied Miss . Cayenne, "I won't exactly say she is a gossip. But she isn't any news censor." AN" INVITATION- TO WRITE. In order to arouse public dis cussion of the numerous measures on the election ballot. The Ore gonian will devote, on Sundays, such space to letters on those subjects from the people as re sponse to this Invitation justifies. in making this announcement The Oregonian admonishes brev ity and freedom from temper and personalities. Up to this time numerous contributions on the subject of prohibition, both for and against, have not been given space because a forum on. that issue prematurely opened invari ably leads to controversial com munications between individuals and soon becomes devoid of in terest. Letters on prohibition, however, will receive consideration for place in The Oregonian on Sun days from this time forward. But variety and an even balance in affirmative and negative argu ments are desirable in this de partment. An impartial attempt will be made in passing manu scripts to gain those ends. This invitation ia not extended to paid propagandists. The de sire is to encourage sincere in dividual expressions of opinion on the various issues, that their merits and demerits may be as widely understood as possible. Twenty-Five Years Ago From The Oregonfan September 22, 1SS9. Berlin If Bismarck's plans are ef fected, instead of a short and uncere monious visit the Czar will be treated to a number of court banquets and a dip lomatic dinner. The absence of De Giers, Russian Foreign Minister, indi cates that the Czar is determined to refuse Prince Bismarck a political con ference. All the Russian papers agree that the exceptionally friendly treat ment of the Czarovitch during his visit to Germany and the courtesies to be offered the Czar do not affect the rela tions between the two countries- The Czar's personal feelings toward the Emperor have been excited recently over the GruefT incident. He was re ported as "exasperated." Oklahoma City United States troops yesterday prevented an election here. Two or three weeks ago a charter pre pared by the Council committee was voted down. The original charter fac tion then called another election with out the consent of the Council. The troops at the point of the bayonet up held the Council and the would-be voters left the polls. M. L. Pipes, who has conducted the Benton Leader during the four years past, has reired from the raper. which. now will be published by Henry Pipe, Jr. Miss Allia Chapman and A. C. Gayer, of Portland, were married at the home of Mrs. Guyer September 18. Rev. B. F. Itattray officiating. The "Little Lord Fauntleroy" troupe Is comins to the New Park tomorrow. Wallie Eddinger and Flossy Ethel will alternate as the little Lord. Dr. Anton Sonnenfeld. late of Vienna, ho arrived here a few weeks ago wittt Minister Sol Hirsch and Colonel L. Fleischner, has opened ' an office In Portland. Mayor De Lashmutt is happy. He has reason to be. His horses have beaten all Oregon records and all others in this neck of the woods. Harold Pilkington, of this city, was admitted to the bar at Salem yester day. The Marysville, Mont., baseball team beat the Willamettes yesterday. 9 to 4. Following is the lineup: Willamettes I SiarysvlUe T. Parrott M Moflett lb W. Parrott p Hubbard 2b Bufhtfl ss,ionahue .....o Col'fmaa at) Cronln .......p Kerns ir McDonald o O. Parrott .cf-Uuwan ............ It Morgan r;Semper cf Bailey Ub(shea rf Jseal rt.Haggenmiller as Cronin struck out 10 and Parrott struck out 12. Kennedy, of Spokane Falls, was umpire. "Rabelais," who writes now and then for The Oregonian, contributes an arti cle, "Adieu to Summer Joys." In this Issue. The First Presbyterian Church was brilliant last Tuesday evening for the wedding of James Thorburn Ross and Miss Emily M. Lindsley. Ralph Hoy-t played Mendelssohn's wedding march. The church was filled to overflowing. Half a Century Ago. From The Oregonian. Sept. 24. 1S0-4. A very large crowd assembled at the Theater building last night to listen to the debate on the political questions of the day between J. F. Gazley of Douglas County, one of the presidential electors on the Union tic ket, and Judge A. E. Wait, one of the unterrifled, an elector also, but on the ticket, of the so-called Democracy. B. P. Cardwell has been appointed from the office in this city assistant U. S. Assessor for Clackamas and Marion Counties. The largest raft of lumber run down the Willamette for years has been re ceived at the new wharves of the O. S. N. Company. It contains 225.000 feet, and the lumber was all cut Inside of a month at the Oswego mills of J. C. Trullinger. Captain F. C. Paine has ordered Company D, Washington Artillery, First Regiment, Second Brigade, Ore gon Volunteer Militia to appear, fully armed and equipped, with five- days' rations, at the Armory tomorrow. The steamer Brother Jonathan sailed from the mouth of the Willamette yes terday for San Francisco, carrying J250.000 for Wells, Fargo & Company, and $12,500 for Ladd & Tilton. Rev. Mr. Schmidt, of the Evangeli cal Association, will preach in the County Courtroom tomorrow at 10:30 A. M. He will preach in German, and as our German friends need a house of worship, they should encourage him in his labors. A little boy six years old. son of Dr. J. A. Chapman, fell into the river at the foot of Washington street yester day, and was rescued by Richard Hoyt. barely In time to save the child's life. It was probably 15 minutes after the child was brought' out of the water before respiration was established. There have been several Ineffectual attempts at burglary this week, but the thieves have not been arrested. On Wednesday night some silver was taken from a restaurant on Front street. The same night a man left R. Pittock's warehouse in such haste that he forgot to take his skeleton keys with him. On Thursday night a man tried to steal a pair of boots from a store at Front and Ash streets, but dropped them when an officer fired at him. The chicken ranches throughout the city have een literally cleaned of fowls. Washington. Sept. 21. Information received by the Government up to noon today makes it certain that Sheridan has secured 5000 prisoners. Every hour they are being sent to the rear. Rev. Mr. Twining, of San Francisco, will preach at the Congregational Church at the usual hour tomorrow evening. Many of our ladies are acting upon the suggestion of Dr. Bellows, to keep their own hearts warm and do good by knitting soldiers' socks. They de sire to make the first shipment by November 1. The board of County Commissioners will meet at the County Court House today, to receive and pass upon the report of the County assessor. Large Hats? Small Hats? What will milady wear this Fall as a frame to her pretty face? It is to be a season of large hats, or small hats, ribboned hats, or feathered hats. What will be the correct mode? What will the modistes have to offer in the way of distinct novel ties? These are questions that Interest every woman and more men than admit it. Merchants, manufacturers and de signers have been working for months to produce the right answer. Now they are telling about it from day to day In the advertising columns of The Oregonian.