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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1914)
6 TTTE 3IOHNIXG OREGOmX SATURDAY", DECEMBER 12, 1014. " POBT1AJTD, OBEOON. Entered 'at Portland, Oregon, Fostofflea second-class ma!ur. Subscription Rate Invariably In Advance: (By MalL) -IJLTlly. Sunday Included, one year. ...... -S8-O0' aiiy. Sunday Included, six months. . . 4.5 Iaily, Sunday Included, three montha.... 2. Xaliy, Sunday Included, one montb Ially, without Sunday, one year.. ....... -"9 JjaSly, without Sunday, six moutbi. laily, without Sunday, three month.... !- Pally, without Sunday, one month...... .JO "Weekly, one year 1.0O Sunday, one year ,,'77, fcunday and "Weekly, one year. au (By Carrier.) Dally, Sunda- Included, one year. ...... lally, Sunday included, one montb ' How to Kemlt Send Poetoftlce money or Ser, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency axe at sender'a risk. Olve postofxlca address in full, including; county and state. Postage Kate 12 to i pases, 1 cent; is to 32 pages. 2 cents; 4 to 48 pases, 8 cents; tO to Ut) pages, 4 cents; 62 to 76 pases, o cents; 18 to V2 pages. 6 cents. Foreign post age, double rates. Eastern Business Office Verree Conk 11 n. New York, Brunswick building; Chl fr&ao, Stonger building. baa Francisco Office R. J. Bldwell Com etany. 142 Market atreet. POBTM.ND, (SATLKDAY, DEC, 12, 1814. OUT THE KNOT. . The suggestion made at the com ' tnonwealth conference at Eugene that ; centralization of authority and con solidation of departments In the state ' government await a survey by a duly appointed commission is doubtless a popular one among the officeholders and the officeseekers. But hardly anywhere else will It be received with ; favor. A majority of the "members of the Legislature were elected on a definite pledge to promote economy and many of them have specifically promised to briny about abolishment of needless offices. The state government is top heavy, complicated and costly. Changes have been proposed, the mer its of which are perfectly obvious. It Js even better to incur the danger of going too far than to ignore pledges and the public demand for immediate reform. j If an investigating commission we j must have, let us have it now. There , is no necessity to await formal author ity by the Legislature and postpone action for another two years. There are public-spirited men who have al ready studied the problem and are doubtless willing to devote time to conferences with each other and to the work of formulating a report. Sen ator I. N". Day, Professor F. G. Young and doubtless others have given the i matter much thought. Governor-elect "Withycombe could do no greater serv ice for the state at this time than to ' invite them to consult with each other ,' and submit their ideas to the Legisla ture in a formal way. At the commonwealth conference Thursday Professor Young delivered an address on the subject which is worth more than casual notice. Pro fessor Young suggested repeal of all continuing appropriations, excepting therefrom the millage tax appropria tions levied for the maintenance of the Agricultural College and Univer sity; the abolishment of the open maintenance of departments by the fee system; the inauguration of a com plete budget plan extending to every department and the elimination of certain needless reports. His plan for. consolidation of departments may be condensed as follows: The University, Agricultural College and State Normal should be placed under direction of one board of re gents of not more than seven mem bers, one of whom should be the Su perintendent of Public Instruction. The Governor's private secretary should also act as clerk of the State Land Board and as secretary of the Board of Control. The duties of the Insurance and Corporation Commissioners should be performed by department clerks in the office of the Secretary of State. The existing bureaus of Labor Com missioner, Industrial Accident Com mission, Industrial "Welfare Commis sion and Board of Inspectors of Child Labor should be consolidated and the present Labor 'Commissioner made a member of the consolidated board for the full term of four years. The offices of State Forester, Fish and Game Commission, Game "Warden and Master Fish Warden should be merged and be under one head. The State Engineer should have charge of all engineering projects and take over the duties of the Highway Engineer. The State Printer should perform the duties of secretary of the State Printing Board and act as foreman of the office, thus dispensing with two salaried positions. The office of State Bank Examiner should be made a department under the State Treasurer to save overhead expenses. A department of agriculture should ; be created and a director appointed ' by the Board of Control, taking over the work of all boards and commis sions having to do with agriculture , and farm products, and also assuming . the duties of State Immigration Agent and State Conservation Commission. A department of health should bo created composed of the State Health Officer and the superintendents of the two asylums for the insane. The Ore go. Social Hygiene Society, Board of Barber Examiners, Board of Graduate Nurse Examiners, Board of Dental Examiners, Board of Optometry Ex aminers, Board of Pharmacy and Board of Medical Examiners should be bureaus under the Board of Health thus created, and the State Biologist and State Bacteriologist placed under the same direction. The Board of Health should also have charge of the tuberculosis hospital. 'The Railroad Commission should be given Jurisdiction over the depart ment of weights and measures, the work of the State Tax Commission and the Board of Portage Railroad Com missioners. The bureau of mines should be done , away with and its work taken over by the department of mines and geology at the Agricultural College. The work of the Pure Seed Board should be turned over to the Agricul tural College. The State Superintendent, the presi dent of the University and the presi dent of the Agricultural College should constitute the State Board of Educa tion, and perform also the duties of the Board of Text Book Commission ers and Board of Higher Curricula. The Board for Licensing Sailors' Boarding Houses and the Board of Pilot Commissioners should be abol- ished. Professor Young does not himself claim that his plan is original or per . feet. Yet we think It offers some ex cellent suggestions, and, moreover, its mere recital reveals the multiplicity of boards and commissions with which the state is burdened. Some of the - changes proposed do not- even need discussion, much less the slow and " ponderous investigation of a legisla tive commission. There are numerous plain roads to reform in the conduct of the state government. The people expect the Legislature to tread them firmly. To do nothing- on the theory that a formal survey is first needed would be pure evasion of a plain duty. BS" A MAJORITY OF OSE. The curious reversal by the county budget committee of its previous rec ommendation that John B. ' Yeon be retained as county roadmaster calls for explanation. What - influences have been at work to bring about thiB change? Why should a decision that met the unanimous support of the budget committee be upset in a night? The new decision of the budget committee by a vote of three to two is, - to be sure, not final, nor even binding upon the County Com missioners. But that it may be, and perhaps will be, used to support ac tion the Board desires to take, and will take if it feels that it can, is obvious enough. The duty rests with the Board as to what shall be done with Mr. Yeon. But the budget com mittee, nevertheless, assumes a heavy responsibility when it seeks to clear the way for the Commissioners to get rid of the roadmaster. The Oregonian gives its distinct ap proval to the plan to retain Mr. Yeon aa county roadmaster, with supervi sion over all the county roads, and not merely over the Columbia high way. It thinks the. public over whelmingly desires his retention. If he shall be removed, or his authority shall be limited, it will be hard for the Board of Commissioners to Justify its action. MR. WILSON ON RURAL CREDITS. Touching upon the important sub ject of rural credits President Wilson said in his message, "It is a matter of deeD regret that the difficulties of the subject have' seemed to render it im possible to complete a bill for passage at this session." A very large number of intelligent people will join with the President in this expression of regret and some of them will wonder what are the Insuperable difficulties to which he refers. Possibly suspicions may arise in some minds that the one great difficulty Is the fear of offend ing those "interests" to whom an ade quate system of rural credits would be repugnant. No doubt there are obstacles in the way of providing rural credits for our farmers. There are obstacles in the way of almost every beneficial measure. But it is the business of true statesmen to overcome such ob stacles, not to lie down weakly before them and make no effort at all. Rural credits have been established in Europe and are working well in sev eral countries in one form or an other. The need for something of the kind is pressing in the United States. We repeat that the country will Join President Wilson in regretting that the problem cannot be attacked at present. Everybody iwill hope that he has something -more beneficial and important on hand and will wonder what it can possibly be. ONLY WASTE COJTDEMENKD. Mr. Gill has submitted an interest ing communication on the number of anglers and hunters in Oregon who buy licenses, travel on transportation lines and pay hotel bills. But he overlooks the sole and only criticism The Oregonian has offered. That criticism is that on their face the expenditures from the game-protection fund reveal an apparent waste of money. In 1913 there was expended from the fund J140.496. This is $84,000 more than was expended in 1911 and nearly $100,000 more than was ex pended in 1910. The Oregonian does not believe that the sportsmen thenv selves have had value received for their license money In actual improve ment of hunting and angling possi bilities. The sole contention is that the game-protection fund shall not be wasted simply because it is collected and the law says it may be expended We can conceive of no reason why the anglers and sportsmen should op pose a diversion to legitimate use of such portion of the money they con tribute that is not needed for game protection and game propagation. That is all thatinybody asks. BUT DO THEY MEAN" ITT There is a question whether Wilson and Bryan mean business in their latest stand against "sniping" from Mexican trenches. With scores of Americans dead or maimed from months of uninterrupted firing on Americans on American soil, the Ad ministration appears to heed the ris ing tide of American indignation over un-American policies of the past. It sends three batteries of artillery to the scene of greatest trouble at Naco and announces that firing on Ameri can soil from Mexican trenches must cease. With the artillery on the scene and with ample troops at hand to mas ter the situation, the Administration then proceeds to effect another de lay. Yesterday shrapnel burst on American soil and bullets fell thick and fast from the Mexican trenches, according to the dispatches. Did the soldiers act? They did not. It would have been worth the commission of any officer who had replied to the fire. The Administration had a new ex cuse for delay. It would notify the chiefs at Mexico City and elsewhere to warn the combatants at Naco. It was admitted that this might cause a delay of several days. But delay In carrying out a drastic order is ex actly what the Wilson Administration has continually sought. We shall be very much surprised if the soldiers are permitted to stop the "sniping" of Americans, provided the Mexicans do not see fit to heed the warning. Leave it to the Administration to find some way out of doing anything. IOOK OCT FOB SPOILSMEN. The short session of Congress offers peculiar opportunities to spoilsmen. In the effort to pass general legislation Congress usually crowds final action on appropriation bills into the last week or two of the session and acts in a hurry. That 13 when the spoilsmen do their work. They "sneak in" riders which exclude certain classes of Gov ernment employes from the merit sys tem and they insert items of bad odor in appropriations. . The leaders, in haste to dispose of the bills and in fear of a filibuster, submit to a hold up and the pernicious scheme wins. Many members were defeated at the last election, and, having no political future to consider, have their last chance at the public grab-bag. They have deferred political debts to pay, friends and relatives to take care of at the publlo expense, and they lie In wait like the coyote around the sheep. The present Congress has already shown its greed for spoils by excluding income tax employes, deputy collect ors, deputy marshals and commercial attaches from the merit system. There is danger that it will attempt further raids. The best hope of foiling it rests in the President. He has had the ex cuse for winking at former raids that he needed the aid of the raiders in carrying through the important meas ures by which he wished his Admin istration to be Judged. This excuse has lost much of its force, and the President would be safe in setting his face against the spoilsmen. Nothing can be more important than honesty and efficiency in the public service, and - nothing is more destructive to these qualities than the spoils system. Mr. Wilson condemned pernicious riders to appropriations before he be came President. He now has an op portunity to prove his sincerity. NEW NOVELS. There has been a great sale of books on the European situation since the war broke out, but it does not seem to have diminished the call for novels a great deal. Most of us must have our fiction whatever betide. The New York Evening Post prints a list of 300 selected books which have appeared during the year and novels occupy their usual place at the head of it Mary Johnston enters with a new historical story, which she calls "The Witch," dealing with the times of Queen Elizabeth. It is said to be well up to her average of merit and will please her great group of readers. George Barr McCutcheon enriches literature with another of his "Graustark" tales. In fact few of the old favorites have allowed their pens to rust in idleness. There is also a volume of stories translated from Gorky's Russian. Perhps the most promising of all the fiction is the Countess von Arnim's new novel, "The Pastor's Wife," which takes up the deplorable situa tion of the' German Hausfrau from the femininist point of view. The countess la known to everybody as the benign inventor of "Elizabeth and Her German Garden." THE PCBJJC IXBRARl'. Time withers not the activities of the Portland Public Library. They only grow all the more vigorous and pervasive with age. During the year just passed a number of new deposit stations have been opened and all the old ones, to say nothing of the central library Itself, have been Industriously used by the public. It is interesting to notice from Miss Isom's annual re port that the outlying deposit stations have circulated almost twice as many books as the big heart of the system. They have lent 800,000 volumes and more. The central library must con tent itself wich the comparatively modest figure of 484,000. Together they have supplied those mythical be ings, the average readers, with some what more than four and a half vol umes per capita this last year. Which proves, we may add, that Portland is quite a literary town. The library possesses about 200,000 volumes which have been thriftily loaned times enough to come to 1,200,000. The li brary operates like a bank, loaning its funds over and over again so that a little goes a long way. .Each vol ume has been borrowed upon the ave rage six times. - But this average, like all other fig ures of the sort, needs interpretation. We must not fondly believe that Gib bons' Rome has been read as often as Dickens' Pickwick. The chances are that the novels in the library have contributed by far the largest propor tion of the fine showing which it makes. This is true in spite of the heroic efforts the authorities make to discourage the rage for fiction and build up a taste for more solid read ing. But the mere laity need waste few or no tears over the prevalent appetite for novels. Most of them are harmless and' a few are positively beneficial. People in general learn more history, science, biography and philosophy out of novels than from any other source. Some would learn nothing at all if it were not for the fascinations of fiction. The current novel is usually enriched with scat tered tidbits of science, art and psy chology which preserve it from com plete inanity. So we need not grieve because the populace love fiction. It is a great deal better than loving noth ing. One of the finest utilities of the public library is its hospitality to free speech. Its halls, where meetings may be held without money and without price, are sufficiently numerous, and they are almost constantly engaged. Last year there were 364 lectures de livered in the various rooms of the library building, while there were also 1220 meetings of the nature of clubs and committees. This is grand. It shows that the library is performing one noble public duty extraordinarily well. In a democratic community there is no other single factor for safety and sanity that can begin to compare with unhampered freedom of expression. The lectures were attended by 94,000 listeners, which demon strates that some of them at least were as popular as could be expected for rarlfied literary feasts. THE COMMUNITY SING. The plans for the community sing on December 29 are extensive and happily devised. The singing groups which have been developing in the public schools are to be drawn upon for leaders In the big public enter tainment. It is expected that their practice will render them efficient for this duty and that the public, with a goodly number of competent singers to lure them on, will respond with heart and voice. With the singing there is to be an instrumental con cert. Diversity is as excellent in music as in farming. It is well to try to please all tastes. Those who do not care for the old songs and the new ones can delight their souls by listening to the band when the voices are silent. The city is to help in this worthy project. The municipal brain has learned the civilizing power of music and is going to take part ire provid ing an Ideal programme. We can think of no better work to occupy our officials along about Christmas time when everybody has turned virtuous and there is no other use for police and Mayor, except to help make the world melodious. Of course the best part of the pro gramme will be the congregational singing when every good citizen lifts up his voice and makes a joyful noise before the Lord. To facilitate this enlivening exercise the songs are to be printed on leaflets so that all may know what the words are and every body sing the same verse. When dif ferent parts of the congregation sing different lines it somewhat Jars upon hypersensitive ears. ..It would be an excellent plan to distribute some of the leaflets before the sing takes place. The great public might then be learning the words and getting the hang of the tunes. Some elderly men . sing a great deal better after they have partially learned the tune. Nobody expects them to learn all of it. That Is left to the professionals. A word or two ought perhaps to be said about Mr. Eaton, of Lane County, and his little effort to be Speaker of the House at the next Legislature. Mr. Eaton is sending letters to the state press exploiting his grievances against The Oregonian and other Portland" papers, which, he says, have refused to print his side of the controversy. The Oregonian cannot speak for other newspapers, but for itself it appears well enough to say that it has. stated the facts about the Speakership cam paign as they developed. That is all. Mr. Eaton was invited to make a state ment for publication In The Orego nian, and he sought to abuse the priv ilege by submitting a mass of false, trivial and irrelevant matter which no self-respecting newspaper could have deemed worthy to print. The Orego nian will be patient with Mr. Eaton, whose disappointment may be natural, but whose resentment is not at all warrantable. He is doing no service to the county he represents by his silly course. - - Twelve years ago Louisiana pro duced 450,000 boxes of oranges an nually. For some reason the indus try languished until recently, but now It is reviving. This year the state sends out 600,000 boxes of citrus fruit. Louisiana is well adapted to orange growing, and as sugar becomes less profitable the fruitful groves are likely to multiply. Will this make oranges cheaper? Lumber la becoming such a drug in the market that the necessity for pre serving forests, except to protect soil and stream-flow, is diminishing, yet Secretary Houston proposes to increase the reserved area in a roundabout way of classifying timbered land outside of National forests. What a shudder of horror would go through the frame of the Secretary of State if General Bliss were actually to shoot some Mexicans. The killing of two Iowa women by Mexicans is to him of no consequence, but the killing of Mexicans by Americans would be terrible. The Russians are adapting their Manchurian tactics to Poland. They change front and advance. They aban don cities for strategic reasons, one of which is that the Germans are prod ding them. It took a Walla Walla Jury Just one minute to reach a verdict In an important case. You see, they couldn't afford to lose too much time from their Christmas shopping. A shipment of vowels to Insert be tween the consonants of Polish names would be timely and should not be contraband of war. A good-sized car go is needed. British Columbia Hindus are or ganizing for service at the front What is the matter with sending a few native Canadians to the front. Lay in more fuel. An old Indian on the Chehalis River says this will be the coldest Winter on record and bases prediction on action of the fish. Big insurance c o m p a-n 1 e s place themselves on record as favoring larger Insurance policies by American families. How very radical. Secretary Daniels admits that our Coast is vulnerable. What! Are con ddtlons so bad -that even Secretary Daniels recognizes the fact? That (was a narrow escape from seri- dus disaster in the Irvington School It is well there shall bo no more af fairs of the kind. In the French and Flanders fighting areas it continues to be a military football game with the gains num. bered in yards. The Pacific Coast is not wholly de fenseless. As -Secretary Daniels says. there is the old Oregon. She is de pendable. As to Senator Works' plan to have all aid withheld from European com batants, he forgets that we are still human. The Kaiser says he Is ready for a Christmas truce. We Imagine the plan ought to suit the Russians fairly well. The people of Dover, England, seem to have had "an" attack of nerves' which produced visions of submarines. It's a safe bet, though, that the American artillerymen "will not be permitted to fire on the Mexicans. First one side wins a great victory. then the other. After which the process is repeated ad infinitum. The whole country lies under a cold blanket. Even in California a man froze to death in a snow storm. Three hundred thousand French youths of 19 and 20 are training for the sacrifice in the Spring. Monday is Prosperity day. Make a noise at 10 o'clock by buying some thing made in Oregon. According to figures given, the City Pound is the most profitable line of municipal endeavor. - There is nothing Just as good as contraband game. Therefore the chance is taken. The German and British fleets at the bottom are now about equal In size. China, not having had a revolution for about a year, is brewing one. Another peremptory note sent to the Mexicans. It is to laugh. Carnegie opposes a Christmas truce. Of course that settles it. Old Neptune is now harboring quite a large German colony. Take the children to see the numer ous Santa Clauses. The show windows are marvels of artistic display. Half a Century Ago From The Oregonian. December 12, ISM. J. A Chapman. M. 13., late of the UDited States Army Medical Corps, and William H. Watkins. M. D., late of the First Oregon Cavalry, have returned and have offices at the corner ot Washington and Front streets. The Commissioners of Multnomah County have offered a bounty of $50 for every man who enlists for the pur pose of getting the full quota In the new regiment. At the charter election held In Salem, December 6, John Q. Wilson was elect ed Mayor, P. L. Willis, Recorder, and W. 8. Barker, Marshal. The board of delegates of the Port land Fire Department will meet in the Council chamber December 12 at V o'clock for the regular annual meet ing. Delegates are requested to be present, as business of importance will be discussed. Sheriff Jacob Stitzel is conducting several sales this week. The last Legislature having passed law making the Sheriff the county and state tax collector. Sheriff Stitzel announces that he will start on his rounds of the city for the payment of all taxes, which must be paid by the first day of February of each year, rl has been at the voting places at Fast Portland, at Multnomah and at W ll- lamette, and he will be at Sandy to day; at Powell Valley, December 13; at St. Johns. December 14; at Sauvles' Island. December 15. and at North Portland, December 16. DANG KR IS SEEN 13, MILITARISM. Assuming It la Proposed for U. S MX. Lunatrui Names Its Evils. ELLENSBURG, Wash., Dec 10. (To the Editor.) In your rebuttal to my last communication you state that I ignore the fact that militarism is for eign and impossible in a democracy. I do not ignore it. I deny it. The most powerful and conquering government this world has seen was a republic. The very word king, not merely "the divine right of kings," was hateful to them. That France and Switzerland arm for defense only is true, but they are not growing nations. Neither it England. There are but two nations in Europe that have not yet reached their prime Germany and Russia. That the United States should escape the law that growing nations enter upon a period of conquest, shown forth by history, if they arm to a largeex- tent, is at least fatuous. But we are always prone to think ourselves excep tions. To Instil into the coming generation the necessity for arms, and interest them in the complicated engines of de struction, as the airship, the dread nought, the submarine, and yet to ex pect it to be peace-loving, convicts us of want .of reason and logic. To arm to a greater extent at this critical juncture would be a lamentable ex ample for America to set for the rest of the world. What we need to do Is to conserve our resources to help bind up the wounds of the world, grow food stuffs, minufacture clothing and help stem the torrent of destruction; not to sacriftce still more on the altar of Mars. For we cannot do both. War preparations on a large scale will put kink in even Uncle Sam's great wealth. We hear from various sides that the Kaiser is unjustly blamed for this war that what he wanted was peace. Peo ple who get accidentally shot offer as an excuse that they didn't know the gun was loaded. The Kaiser sowed the wind of military defense and 13 now reaping the whirlwind of war and ruin. And here, as a little digression. let me offer: Statistics show that you run a.bigger chance of shooting your self with your own weapon, if you carry one, presumably for defense. surely not for attack, than of being shot by a burglar if you do not carry gun. -. That the cry for a national defense is correctly labeled militarism needs no further proof, for here comes its champion in America's Kaiser, Theodore Roosevelt. It begins to look as though the issue in 1916 will be on this plat form: "National defense" between Wil son and Roosevelt. Politics is said to make strange bedfellows. Wouldn't it be a joke to see Teddy heralded by the stand-pat Republican press in 1916 as "the only one"? But this issue shall not win. The country is extremely' fortunate in hav ing at its head Woodrow Wilson, a man of peace, at this critical time. We have gotten a strong boost in the right direction and though some, like unruly boys, would like to fight, their will shall not prevail. Let us . not be in haste to condemn the waiting policy. The mills of God are not reputed to grind fast. Some people have been killed by our tardiness, yet a far great er number would be killed by an hostile occupation. It is important that Mexi co be shown that we have no evil In tentions toward her. We certainly gave her cause to have them when in our last war with her we sheared her of half her territory. To whip some one for their own good was the doctrine of the middle ages, when the "star chamber" and the "inquisition" were supreme. We are living in the 20th century and, though wne-half of the world has suffered a relapse Into the 12th and 13th, we can best help them by keeping true to the standards of our day. NEL3 LUNSTRUM. Mr. Lunstrum, like the President, demolishes a straw man. There is no suggestion that the United States em bark on an armament policy such as France and Germany adopted. No sug gestion of a nation trained to arms has been made. It is not proposed that this country "arm to a large extent." MT FATHER'S GOOD ADVICE TO ME A Dissertation Ons Are We Americans Quitters? "Still Jim," by Honore Willsie, in Everybody's. "My father said to me, "Jimmy, never make excuses. It's always too late for excuses." He said, "A liar is a first cousin to a skunk. There isn't a worse coward than a liar." He said to me, "Don't bellyache; stand up to your troubles like a man." My father said, "Hang to what you undertake like a hound to a warm scent." He said to me, "Life is made up of obeying. What you don't learn from me about that the world will kick into you. The Btars themselves obey a law. God must hate a lawbreaker." My father sakl, "Somehow we Amer icans are quitters.' My mother said my father said. "I want Jimmy to go through college. I want him to marry young and have a big family." The thing my father said to me oftenest lately was, "Jimmy, be clean about women. Some day you will know what I mean when I say that sex is energy. Keep yourself clean for your life work and your wife and children." Blanc Is Fixed. PORTLAND, Dec. 11. (To the Editor.) The writer of the editorial in the Portland Journal, December 8, anent Colonel Roosevelt's - indictment of President Wilson and Secretary Bryan, seems to have missed the point. Let us look this matter squarely in the face. If Colonel Roosevelt's indictment is true, Wilson's and Bryan's hands are stained with the blood, the life blood, of priests and nuns. All the perfumes of Arabia will not wash awav that blood from their lily white hands. J. H. BLACK. 64 East Eleventh street. MONEY BENEFITS COME FROM GAME Mr. GUI Makes Estimate of What Sportsaiea Spend la Season. PORTLAND, Dec 11. (To the Edi tor.) More than 10300 anglers in Multnomah County paid $1 each in 1914, and In 1913 11,607 anglers of this county paid $11,607 for fishing icenses. Many " thousand hunters in this county during the last five years paid yearly the same aggregate sum for shooting licenses. Throughout the state the aggregate received for these nuntlng and angling licenses for 1914 was ?ius.s0u. Many men take out licenses for both hunting and angling, but surely more man tou.uoo individuals are Included among this great number who con tribute the total. Doubtless manv thousand! sf rhAsn do not catch a fish or shoot a bird yearly, but thousands make coed use of their privileges. lo hsh. for trout or hunt dunk, or pheasants in Portland is out of the question; so from this city alone, for half the year at least, more than 1000 anglers go weekly on trips which cost for transportation an average of $1 or more. During the Autumn and Winter their member is decreased, but the hunters nearly make up the shortage. Increase the sums paid for licenses fourfold and you will fall short of the sum paid for transportation alone; say for the state $250,000. Hotels and other stopping-places receive, nearly as large a sum from these sportsmen. It is almost lpcrseUble that 23,000 men and boys In Portland .should have the dollar or the faith to produce such sum, but many -men keep cogs and love mem, ana pay their licenses, and comply with ordinances for muzzling tnem. The state is taxed for scientific examinations for rabies, for time spent by the Legislature in discussing licenses and other dog laws, and other costs. xen times as much money is ap propriated for the supervision of the livestock of the state, and in the many attendant expenses for the anglers and hunters' cost to the general public And If wisely expended the appropria tion for livestock is well bestowed. The fisherman pays his part of that, tax wnnouc a murmur. The $40,000 appropriated for bounties upon predatory animals could as rea sonably be charged againot the State Board of Dentistry . as against the sportsmen. It was appropriated to protect poultry and lambs, as every body knows. Can it be possible the Oregon census was 600.000 short? If not. then half of our adult male population of military age must be licensed anglers or hunters. Those who hunt are presum ably marksmen, and their value must be greatly enhanced as military resources for the state. It was the skillful -marksmen of Colonial times that made the armies of raw levies formidable opponents of well-drilled Hessians who did not know how to shoot. And if one In three of our males above 18 Is a sportsman, and pays the legal license, from which fund, alone the propagation, policing and all other costs of the fish and game commis sion are paid, it is not to be wondered at that there is a lively interest in this subject. Half the members of our Legislature doubtless are licenti ates (in this sense). The handsome fund paid for licenses has been a temptation for some time. It would be very nice, indeed, to use even a moiety of it for some other purpose than that for which it was paid and is solely meant. To attempt any such ulterior use of this money or any part of it will be let us say inadvisable at the present time. A very large proportion of the anglers', fund has found its way Into the expense of the commercial fisheries and since these Interests overlap, in some degree, the anglers have paid cheerfully. They know that the in crease of our commercial fisheries is so important that a few thousand dollars of the anglers' fund may be Wisely spared to that end. When Secretary Redfield was in Portland last SDriner he told the Co lumbia River Packers' Association. who were entertaining him at a lunch eon, that the State of Maine received in 1913 from sportsmen who went thither from all parts of the United States nearly $20,000,000 in licenses, fares, guide hire, etc This pleasant fad, this whim, this annoying subject of legislation as you describe it, thus produces annually for .Maine a sum five times greater than the annual value of all Oregon's fisheries; yet Maine had the product of its fisheries to add to this great revenue from sport; and we hope the determined efforts of the- Sportsmen's League and the anglers' clubs of our state may do much to repopulate our rivers and lakes with fish for our own pleasure, for the attraction of sportsmen from abroad, and for the filling of many million more salmon cans annually. The "few" sportsmen are not nig gardly " fellows. They give away five game birds - for every one they eat. We hope your worship has not been overlooked. If game birds and game' fish were for sale in the markets, still many of us would be ignorant of the gust and flavor thereof. It is brooding upon such privation that makes life seem a waste. Really pate de fols gras is not comparable to good -mutton chops. - One hardly seed read between tho lines of your article to receive the impression that game laws, propaga tion, conservation and the trouble we give ourselves over these things is not worth while. I The "few" sportsmen and anglers of Portland and the state have a more buoyant . view of matters, and will willingly face the cost and trouble for the end that there shall be more fish and birds and better sport. JOHN GILL. Qaaljflcatlona of Lawyers. PORTLAND, Dec 11. (To the Edi tor.) What are the qualifications nec essary for one to practice law in Ore gon? Can a layman practice in the lower courts? - ADVERTISER. Anyone may practice in the courts of this state who has successfully passed the state bar examinations and been admitted to practice. As a requisite to taking the examinations, the appli cant must either have taken the regu lar three-year course in a law school or spent three years as a student in a law office. It is also required that the applicant be a graduate from some high school or else pass an examination on general educational subjects. A layman may practice in Municipal Court only, with the permission of the court. Doubtless It Was. Kansas City Journal. A husband and wife ran a freak show in a certain provincial town, but unfortunately they quarreled and the exhibits were equally divided between them. The wife decided to continue business as an exhibitor at the old ad dress, but the husband went on a tour. After -some years' wandering the prodigal returned and a reconcilia tion took place, as the result of which they became business partners once more. A few mornings afterward the people of the neighborhood were sent into fits of laughter on reading the following notice in the papers: "By the return of my husband my stock of freaks has been permanently increased." Change In Aparbneits. Washington. (D. C.) Star. "I thought you were going to move into a more expensive apartment? "The landlord saved us the trouble. replied Mrs. Fllmsilt. "He raised the rent of the one we have been occupy las." Twenty-Five Year Ago From The Oresonlan. December 11. 1SS9. Johnstown Again has tiiis ill-fated town been visited by disaster. This time instead of water it was a cry oC fire in a theater. Nearly a score of lives were lost. The cry of fire was false, and many were trampled to death Id the Jam through the narrow stairway, in I'arke's Opera Housev ,-Brooklyn Oliver Johnson, the last ot the first ureat figures in the aboli tionists' ranks, died yesterday after noon in this city. ith the aid of William Lloyd-Garrison, he organized the anti-slavery movement in 1822. B. S. Pague. of the State Weather Bureau, goes to Forest Grove today to nstall a complete meteorological out fit for the college there. It will be come part of tho. state weather service. A sketch of the building to be erect ed by the Hibernian Benevolent Soci ety at the corner of Washington and toixth streets has been completed by the architects, Williams & Williams. Harvey W. Pearce, of Brooklyn, head of the Vulcan Saw Works of New York, is in the city visiting his life long friend, C. W. Boynton. The new Grace M. E. Church will be dedicated Sunday morninc. Rev. Dr. Ross C. Houghton conducting the serv ices. H. will be assisted by Rev. E. W. Caswell. Rev. Dr. G. W. Izer, of San Francisco, will preach in the even ing. Invitations have been Issued for the marriage of Charles F. Leal, cashier of the Merchants' Bank, of Port Town send, and Miss Margaret A. Hum phreys, of Liverpool, England. The wedding will occur at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. William A. Wadhams. 343 West Park street, ChrlBtmas eve. at 8 o'clock. Tho Granite Mine, of Coeur d'Alene. of which Mayor De Lashmutt is one of the principal stockholders, declared a dividend of $10,000 Monday and paid the same yesterday. President Donald Macleay, of the Board of Trade, has appointed Cap tain George Pope, E. N. Shurtleff and W. F. Burrell. a committee to gather data to provide to our Congressmen to be used in their efforts to get an adequate customs house for this city. PRECEDENT OF SELLING ELECTION One Other Man Has Served as Presld ins Officer In Both Houses. PORTLAND, Dec 11. (To the Edi tor.) Dipping into the pending con test for the Speakership no further than to say that Mr. Selling would make a most impartial and efficient presiding officer, his election would present the second instance in the 55 years of Oregon's history as a state where any man has been chosen to serve botn as President of the Senate and Speaker of the House. Ex-Governor John Whltaker was chosen Speaker of the House in 1863 and in the sessions of 1876 and 1878 served as President of the Senate a distinction that has never been ex tended to any other man, even Includ ing the ten - years of our territorial history. Very few men have served more than once as President of the Senate or as Speaker of the House. James Fay, ot Jackson County, was President of the Senate in the sessions of 1870-72 and John Whitaker in those of 1876-78; C W. Fulton, in 1893 and in 1901. In this respect, however, Joseph Simon has the highest record, as he was Presi dent of the Senate in 1S89, 1891, 1895 and 1897. I W. P. Keady is the only man who has ever been presiding onricer or eitner houso from two different counties from Benton in 1885 and Multnomah in 1893. Very few men have served a term In the Senate and then a term in the House. Among those who have I re call D. P. Thompson, who waa a Sena tor in 1868-79 from Clackamas County, and a Representative from Multnomah in 1889, and H. B. Miller, who was a Senator from Josephine in 1887 and a Representative In 1891 and now Mr. Selling. Doubtless there are others, but very few men have had this ex perience. Several men have served four terms in the House of Representatives I be lieve Allen Eaton's recent fifth succes sive election from Lane County gives him the state record but Ben Simpson is the only man who has served in either house from four different coun ties, territorial and state history in cluded. He was a member of the House from Clackamas in 1860. from Marion in 1851 and 1852, from Polk in 1862. and from Benton in 1872, each term in the House and he was always a scrapper. These little putcroppings of history are interesting not only to old-timers and near old-timers, but it would be a matter of benefit if such matters, or those kindred to them, were more fre quently presented to students in our public schools. T. T. GEER. Messengers of Santa Clajis A delightful front page in Bril liant Colors Which Breathe3 the Spirit of the Yuletide Season. Christmas la Many Lands. An illustrated article of how the merry day is observed in the far corners of the globe. Christmas in Camp. A page article, with many illus trations, narrating memorable Christmas days spent by warring: armies in the field. Revolutionizing Tarm Methods. The story of a remarkable agri cultural movement which is being spread rapidly throughout the rural districts of the United States. Women and "War. An illustrated acconnt of sorrow and suffering in the Sultan's do main. Torpedo Cruisers. Hudson Maxim describes a new type of "fighting craft, which he says will render dreadnoughts ob solete and gain complete dominion of the seas. Winter Campaigning. A reproduction of three famous paintings of the Franco-Prussian war. . Dolly Dip. The second appearance of the re freshing tango maid. A page in colors, with verse and music. The Music Lesson. The tenth in the series of free piano lessons is in the keys of E-flat and C-minor. Tairies' Christmas. An illustrated story for the chil dren. Many Oilier Features to Meet Every Interest. Order early of your newsdealer.