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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1915)
MOHXIXG OREGOXIAJT, WEDXESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1915. 0 X. AX U t7 enMnMnannMnannjnnnnnnn " " " ' 1 ' 1 1 ' PORTLAND, OBEUUS. Entered at Portland. Oregon. Postofflce as sec'jnd-class matter. EubacripUra Ratea Invariably In advance. Bv ilill.l PiIIt, Funday Included, one year .. . taily, Sunday Included, tlx months . Daily, Sunday Includ-d, tnree montha lat;y. Sundav Included, one month . Laiiv. without Sunday, one year ... Dally, without Sunday, sir months .. Daily. 9 ithout Sunday, three montha Daily, without Sunuay, one month .. Weekly, one er .. IS.00 2.20 .7o 6.00 S.JB 1.T5 .60 1.S0 bunuay. one ear .. - , Sunday and W eekly on year (By Carrier.) Pallr. Sunday Included, one year 9-2!J Daily, feunJay Included, one month ..... How to Remit Send postotfice. m" "J: der. eipress order or personal cheCK on your loial bank, Stamps, com or currency are at sender a risk. Give postolfice address in lull, including county and state. Pacam Rte 12 to 1 raees. 1 cent: is to 3 La4es, 2 cents: 34 to 4S pages. centa, 60 to ( pases, 4 cents; 62 to 7 pages, o cents; 7S to 1J ragea, 6 cents. Foreign post age. double rates. Eastern Bulne- Office Veree lln v.w vnrli Brunswick building; Chicago, 2.50 tatengcr building. ban Francisco Office R, J. Bldwell Com. rany. 742 Market street. PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, KKB. S, 1913, CONVENTIONS ABE REPRESENTATIVE. The next Republican National con vention will more nearly approach a true representation of the Republican voters than any convention of recent years. The over-representation of the Democratic South will be reduced to a degree which will materially in crease the representation of the Re publican North, not by an increase in the number of Northern delegates but by an Increase in the proportion of Northern to Southern delegates. While in former conventions the South has had 33 per cent of the total number of delegates, on the new basis it will have only 16 per cent, calculating according to the vote cf 1908. A comparison of the new apportion ment with the vote cast for Repre sentatives in the South in 1914 will show that that section will still have a higher ratio of delegates to Repub lican votes than the North. Regard less of the number of Republican votes cast, each Southern state, like each Northern state, will have four delegates at large, two delegates for each Representative-at-large and one delegate for each Congressional dis trict. This would give fourteen dele gates to Alabama, which cast only 10, 538 Republican votes in 1914; eleven to Arkansas, which cast only 4087 Republican votes; nine to Florida, six teen to Georgia, twelve to Louisiana and twelve to Mississippi, although no Republican votes were cast in any of these states in 1914. Northern dis tricts do not begin to acquire addi tional' delegates to offset this repre sentation of no votes or this over representation of a few votes until they have 7500 or more votes to show, and then they get only one additional, though the Republicans may be three, four or five times 7500. The remnant of Republicans in the black belt of the South has no cause to complain of the new basis of rep resentation, for the National Commit tee and the state conventions which approved its action have erred mi the side of generosity to them. For many years the South has been grossly over represented sis an encouragement to build up the party in the South. In stead of building it up, the few hand ful!" of Southern Republicans have maintained a mere skeleton of an or ganization as a pretext for securing the Federal offices whenever the Northern Republicans won a National victory. Southern delegates have been a fruitful suurce of corruption, scan dal and discord in National conven tions and were one of the main causes or the split in 1912. Until they begin to represent a real, live, aggressive party, the fewer of them we have in Nutional conventions the better for the Republican party. By recognizing state laws providing for direct primaries and for election of all of a state's ilelegntes-at-large. the party has deprived California and other states of any excuse for bolting. Except as to its generous treatment of the South, the party is now on a genuine representative basis. The platform which it adopts in 1916 will embody the principles to which the great majority of Republicans adhere and the ticket then nominated will be the undisputed choice of the party. The cause for division among Repub licans has been removed, and every day furnishes new evidence that the schism is healing so completely that soon little trace of it will remain. DEATH TOLL OF RAILROAD TRACKS. A commendable step in the "safety first" campaign is the movement of Jho Railway Business Association to reduce the enormous mortality due to trespassing on railroads. "What a ter rible toll of human life is thus taken Is shown by the fact that from 1901 to 1910 the number of persons killed from this cause in the United States was 50,0-3 and tho number injured 53.4-7. This contrasts with 4434 killed and 1315 injured by tho same cause in the United Kingdom. The discrepancy is due to the fact that in Great Britain and other" coun tries there ate laws against trespass on railroads, and that they are en forced. Thirty-five of our states have no laws specifically forbidding per sons to walk on railroads, and those which have such laws are lenient in enforcing thein. as local officials dis like to feed and lodge prisoners for slight offenses. How effective is strict law enforcement can be judged from the fact that in one year the number of trespassers killed on the Wabash road in the United States was 94, while the number killed on the part of the same road which runs through Canada was only three. Canada im poses fines up to $50 and imprison ment up to two months. The habit of walking on the track is a survival of the time when popu lation was sparse, trains were few and public roads were bad. if not impas sable. Although trains row pass fre quently and roads are being improved, people" refuse to change fTieir habits. Tramps and criminals travel on rail road tracks in order to seize an oppor tunity of stealing a ride, robbing cars, burning buildings and robbing farm ers, country stores and banks. Neglect to enforce the law against trespass adds to the activities of criminals. The bulletin speaks truly when it says: "It would probably cost te states and municipalities less to en force a law against trespassing than it does to pick up and bury the dead and care for the rripples." Dean Calvin's resignation from the Agricultural College to accept a Gov ernment position emphasizes a diffi culty which has been felt both at Cor vallis and Reed College. The faculties are constantly being depleted by the promotion of members to other insti tutions. Presidents Kerr and Foster make the mistake of selecting teach ers who are too competent. A few mossback -fossils would solve the sit uation amazinglj". , fORRECT AN ABSURDITY. The Oregonian notes with moderate interest that the Pendleton East Ore gonian is all stirred up over the pro posed amendment of the Presidential primary law, embodied in the bill in troduced by Senator Smith, of Coos and Curry. It is fiercely described as a "reactionary measure" because it will eliminate the provisions that the state shall pay the actual expenses e-inn -t Vi i rF thu riatpimtps to all National conventions of legally or ganized political parties. rrv,a iVomiiiian foela Indifferent as to the fate of this particular clause. So far as it now recalls, tne oniy aeie- -Vi i V. nom fnrtiinate PnOUh. in 1912. to come within the benign reach of the state s Dounty were icm- flrotu an4 PonilhMrnnH. The PrOhl- bitionists, the Socialists, and those pa triotic souls who later met at Arma geddon and nominated Mr. Roosevelt paid their own way. They had not cast twenty-five per cent of the total Presidential vote in 1908, and they were not political parties within the definition of the law. In 1913 the Progressives, imbued with the notion that as a political party they had a great and growing future, caused the Oregon law to be amended by a reduction from twenty five to twenty per cent, so as to let them in as a political party. There fore, if the Progressives are still alive in 1916 and hold a National conven tion, Dr. Henry Waldo Coe and nine other kindred spirits will be there, on the front seat, all expenses paid. But the Socialists and Prohibitionists may stay at home, so far as the state cares. The really important provision of the Smith bill is that it provides a sane method of electing Presidential delegates at the primary. Each citi zen may vote for two from his Con gressional district and for delegates at large, besides. The Legislature ought by all means to correct the re strictive anomaly in the present law and adopt the Smith plan. JITNEY REGULATION. fh Portland Commercial Club has made a specific reply to the Mayor's general inquiry as to how tne motor (jitney) 'bus should be regulated. The club by resolution recommends that the City Commission grant a fran chise, or franchises, to any auto-'bus assnciflti-m or corporation, or several of them, which will undertake city- wide service as a common carrier on terms approximately equivalent to the conditions imposed upon the present streetcar corporation. The fairness and the apparent feasibility of the proposal cannot be disputed. The Jitney car as a competitor of the streetcar the public appears to regard as something of a joke upon tlfc established public-service corpo ration. But it is not a joke. It is a factor in the traffic situation that must be recognized and controlled. There is an element of gross un fairness in unregulated competition of this kind that ought not to be tol xrato.4 bv the Citv Commission. It cannot be tolerated without ruinous consequences in the end: and the pub lic will be the chief sufferer. A NEGLECTED DISCOVERER. It is not so well known in this coun. try as it should be that the discoverer of the Antarctic continent was an American, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, of the United States Navy. There is so much interest taken in that remote and desolate region of late years that Wilkes' achievement deserves to be recalled and proper credit accorded to him for it. His discovery was made under a law passed by Congress in 1836. He sailed by way of Australia and at Sydney, very strangely, he left his scientific men, proceeding south ward without them. A more modern explorer would leave anything else behind him rather than his trained observers. No doubt the oblivion that has overtaken Wilkes- achievement may be in part accounted for by the want of scientific witnesses. The story that he had actually discovered a new continent was not believed by the Washington authorities and Wilkes himself was courtmartialed for some trivial offensp against routine when he returned. Hi's (reward hardly measured up to his merits. Two famous British explorers who are interested in the Antarctic conti nent. Sir Ernest .Shackteton and Sir Douglas Mawson, have recently res cued Wilkes' name from its unde served neglect and given the scien tific world an account of his discov eries. He actually reached the Ant arctic continent and sailed for some distance along its shores, noting among other unmistakable features the ice barrier which all his success ors have commented upon. His ex pedition was very poorly equipped and he made matters worse by leaving his men of science behind at Sydney, but from one point of view this only in creases his merit With an adequate outfit he might have accomplished more, but the wonder is that he did anything at all in the circumstances. Wilkes Is remembered by Oregon ians for his pioneer visit to the Wil lamette Valley and his description of the country in his official report. This visit was made In the course of the same voyage as the discovery of the Antarctic continent. It lasted five years in all and extended to almost every point of interest in the Pacific and its surroundings. OVIt SOFTENING CLIMATE. In our opinion W. P. Gray has the best of reasons for remembering the hard Winter of '61 and '62. A bath In the Willamette through the ice with the weather so cold that his clothes froze to his body as he skated home ward is an experience not to be for gotten. We recall hardly anything quite so tragic unless It be Mr. Pick wick adventure at Old Warden's Christmas'party. But that was in Eng land, where the mid-Winter weather is rather expected to be icy. Here in Oregon Mr. Gray does not believe we have had so muoh hard cold of late years as thero was in pioneer times. He remembers, as he wrote to The pjegonian a day or so ago, when it was common for the Columbia to be frozen over between Portland and As toria. That phenomenon is certainly rare now. People who have lived in Oregon for the last 20 years scarcely recall seeing ice in the Willamette. In '61, by Mr. Gray's account, it was frozen hard enough for laden wagons to cross in two places at least. He also speaks feelingly of the extreme cold at Pasco in the Winter of 1888, when half a mile, of railroad track was laid on the ice to relieve a coal famine." It is hazardous, of course, to say that events of this sort will never be seen again In the Oregon country. They may recur, though it is not like ly. We read of far more severe weather in Medieval Europe than is ever seen nowadays. Famines resulted from frosty Summers in England and the January cold was Arctic. Noth ing of the kind is witnessed by our contemporaries. It is commonly re marked that the early settlers in Kan sas suffered far more from drouth than their children do. Many believe that the breaking up of the soil brings increased rainfall, while the deforestation of timbered regions ameliorates the Winter temperature. It almost seems as if man softened the rigors of nature by the improve ments he makes on the surface of the earth. It is well known that delicate plants will thrive in city gardens which can not be reared in the coun try. The houses act as windbreaks, for one thing, but that is not the whole story. The fires in dwellings and manufactories actually raise the average Winter temperature outdoors. Everybody who has cultivated- flow ers and shrubs knows how much ben efit the slightest protection affords. A little bush that turns the force of the wind will often cause a plant to thrive which would otherwise pine away. Trees have their friendships and en mities. An apple tree usually does better near a walnut than standing alone. The cedar is hospitable to al most every flower and shrub.' They all dwell pleasantly under Its kindly boughs. The birch is also a good neigh bor to other garden inhabitants, but some t-cees kill everything near them. This is true of the oak, whose habits are predatory in the extreme. ' Nature teems with secret likes and dislikes. The world is full of mysteries whose causes we can only glimpse until sci ence has investigated them. Perhaps the greatest mystery of all is the weather. CRANBERRIES IN OREGON COITNTRY. The State of Washington has 5000 acres of bog suitable for cranberry culture. It has also some 275,000 acres planted to apples. Good author ities tell us that were all the bog utilized for cranberry growing it would produce a greater net revenue than the apple orchards, though its area is only one-flfty-fifth as large; which illustrates the beauty of a monopoly. There are no more than 20,000 acres of cranberry soil in the United States, according to R. L. Dil lon, Washington's Horticultural In spector. This scant area must be de pended upon to supply 100,000,000 people iwith the delicious berry. Nat urally the demand will always out run the supply and prices must re main comfortably expansive. Wash ington, it is said, can consume all the cranberries her marshes will ever raise. Oregon demanded 44,000 bar rels this season and could only obtain 14,000. Think of the turkeys that went uncranberried because the fruit to complete their gustatory harmonies simply did not exist. New England has always been the prime source of our National cran berry supply, and is still. Washing ton has only about 1000 acres of bog in a productive condition, but more is being prepared. Four years are re quired to bring the vines into bear ing, and they then go on yielding their annual crop for thirty years or more. Washington is better adapted to cran berry culture than New England, on account of its mild Winters, which make protective flooding unnecessary. Moreover, it is free from deleterious insects and noxious weeds, but this Is obviously nothing but a temporary advantage. It costs a round thousand dollars to plant and care for an acre of cranberries up to the productive stage, but once that is reached the profits are most agreeable. Even the culls can be made into a sort- of cat sup which is worth $22 a barrel. Ore gon has some of the sphagnum bog land which is suitable for cranberries, but little seems to have been done with it as yet. No doubt we shall hear more about it by and by. COSTLY PATERNALISM. There is no argument in support of state aid to the employers in the pay ment of their industrial accident in surance premiums that appeals to The Oregonian as taund. But that policy was adopted by the state in the enact ment of the original law. It is con tinued in the amendments adopted by the House yesterday. For the current vear the estimate of the state's con tribution is about $110,000. The amendments udopted are .designed, among other things, to make the act more popular among, employers and employes. If the amendments have that effect the state's contribution, which comes from the general tax payers, mv.st increase, for the state pays an amount equivalent to one seventh of the premiums contributed by employers and employes It has been suggested that it is equitable for the state at large to pay the sum taxed against it because that policy promotes industrial peace. Yet the fact remains that other states are obtaining a better and more general quality of industrial peace without such a tax. If industrial peace could be obtained in no other way than by taxing the public it would be wise to apply that levy. But it can be. The situation in regard to state con tributions to compensate industrial ac cident"? draws a distinct line of de markation between economy and needless expenditures. There is no justification for the state to pay out $100,000 or more a year to maintain a compensation law. Just as good a law can be maintained at a cost of $20,000 by adopting a form of state supervision which eliminates the state from the field as a monopolistic in surance company. To continue what other states have demonstrated to be a needless expense docs not square well with the pledge of economy to which nearly every member of the Legislature has subscribed. Aside from their neglect to con sider the economy phase of the com pensation law , the members of the House seem to have placed tindue weight to the wishes of this or that employer and to the recommendations of the existing Industrial Accident Commission. Furthermore, they have paid little or no attention to the need for provisions in the law which would prevent accidents. The flat, fixed schedule applying, even when classi fied according to hazard, must, no matter how carefully estimated, im pose an unnecessary cost upon the in dividual employer who has Installed every known safeguard against acci dents. The careful employer must help pay for the accidents of the careless employer in his own classification. It is quite natural for each em ployer to desire the cheapest insur ance he can obtain. The state's con tribution and the unjust burden placed upon the factory which is thoroughly equipped with safety de vices gives the-indifferent employer a lower rate than he is entitled to. Of course he favors the present law. Of course the employer who can see where his own initiative in preventing accidents will save him money under some other system opposes the pres ent law and the proposed amend ments. Of course the members of the Industrial Accident Commission de sire to save their jobs. The main thing for the Legislature to consider in revising the compensa tion law is exact justice. It is not exact justice that one employer be made to assume the hazard of an other. It is not exact justice to tax the general public to pay for the in herent and ineradicable hazard of any employment industry itself should nay for it. It is not exact Justice to adopt any law which will not place. a greater burden upon the man wno Dy indifference invokes possible accident and misery upon his employes or their dependents. In entering upon or continuing a monopoly of compensation insurance the , state is undertaking work for which it is not equipped. It is a costly paternalism for which labor will ultimately pay in lives and limbs and the public pay in hard-earned dollars if it be continued. It may be said in justification of the House action that if the existing pol icy of conducting a monopoly in com pensation insurance is to be "main tained the law now in force must be amended. It Is vitally defective. The amendments adopted in some respects trend toward improvement. At least they lessen the prospect of a financial deficit It is to the maintenance of a state monopoly with its attendant cost and its failure to attain the ideal of accident prevention, when a satisfac tory substitute at less expense is avail able, that The Oregonian objects. The great migration to Oregon from (v,a TvricLiccinni Vnllev between 1840 and 1850 was stimulated by the lack of markets. Farmers in Missouri and Illinois produced heavy crops which they could not sell. It was supposed that Oree-on produce might find an outlet to China. Facts have only par- tia'.ly justified this expectation. Ore gon now cries for markets as pathet ically as Missouri did seventy years ago. The Commercial Club has under consideration a project which may de velop into a system of, rural credits. It is inchoate as yet, but a convention will be held soon, we understand, to bring it into shape and set it working. Farming even on a small scale re quires capital and the profits of the business do not allow high interest rates. When 70 per cent of the graduates from the lower grades pass on into the high school there is cause for con gratulation. Portland, where this has happened, may Indulge in some justi fiable pride over it. There is much complaint in other cities that pupils leave school forever when tney tinisn the grades. The diseruntled attorney who makes charges in open court against the integrity of policemen must be nrpTifl red to nrove them or stand con victed of being a common liar. The spirit of pride in the corps possessed by the police force will keep members in the path of personal and official rectitude. Much is expected from the meeting of the by-products board to be held in Portland next Saturday. No doubt the future of fruit-growing in Oregon depends largely upon the profitable disposal of by-products. The board will probably throw light upon this difficult subject. At last Great Britain has declared contraband food shipped to neutral ports with ultimate destination doubt ful. Mr. J. Bull fails to realize that Uncle Sam is keeping store and doing some advertising. Although very "cocky" as to her richts. Canada knows when she is against a hard proposition and will pay liberally for the shooting of Americans at Fort Erie by rattled militiamen. A houitrv or pet stock show should run on its merits and not be given state aid. Those things are embraced in the laws to promote county fairs, and that is where they belong. Tho Japanese military programme is said to nave every assumii u dorsement by the people. v here would a military programme get off before' the American people? The attempt to blow up a bridge on "blue nose" railway undoubtedly was the work of an overzealous Ger man and not part of the Teutonic scheme of war. The billboard bill has passed both houses and will soon be law. How, then, will the man who never reads the papers know where to buy clothes and tobacco? Graduates to the number of 970 are leaving the grammar schools and the boys mostly will seek Jobs, while the girls mostly will go to high school. -R. ij 1 t n-ntttn, CIlMbPI-DTIOll n MA J2jlig LcLUU Ja 6CLLi6 ui. l. . . .... . ... 1 I.- I .11. well as sUDmanne shocks.- jt.ii etw m quake there is a novelty that cannot oe cnargeu to me ucimati A bounty of $3 on coyotes will not stimulate the industry of raising them. It merely gives the Jackrabblt opportunity to thrive. At S:10. while taking his after- dinner nap. the groundhog missed seeing his shadow. Begin garden preparations at once. ' Another revolution escaped from Pandora's box in Mexico this week. Anything for a change in the news. Commissioner Daly would dispense with efficiency trimmings and get a day's work for a days pay. Ttpiv seems to be preparing to get into the fight Thoughts of-lost prov inces rankle. Hornibrook's investment in mud last Summer produced a profit. N t th'ntr will be "Jim Crow" Jit ney 's for particular people. Household Triple-Entente. Exchange. A. man WHU una x wud aim iv daughters understands the meaning of triple emenLc, i ifa" - j Half a Century Ago. J From The Oregonian of February 3, 1S65. Dr. R. Glisan. late of San Francisco and formerlv with the United States Army, has offices located on Front be tween Washington and Alder streets. Dr. Glisan has taken up a residence on North Fourth street between B and C streets. There is steadily working in the South a disntegratng element that bodes ruin tc the Confederate cause. The question is being asked. Why did we commence the war? The time for sober second thought has arrived. Southern men and women reason by the light of experience. Mournfully .1 iVia nnYff ill. ViaDDV days of Union as they grieve by new made graves, and -lament over homes that are desolate and impoverished, and a land that groans under the rav ages of destroying war. The New York World, in reviewing the situa tion, foresees the extirpation of slav ery and sagely admits the Democratic party will have to seek and find new materials with which to construct Democratic platforms. The world moves, and the Democrate press must move a trifle out of its present course or it will be found advocating rebel lion when rebellion has ceased to ex ist: and be clamoring still for slavery when all the civilized world has shouted .hosannas because it has ceased to be. The man who brings the British peace address to the president is Rev. Joseph Barker, formerly notorious In this country as a preacher of infidel ity and anti-slavery. He became dis gusted at his poor success, returned to England, renounced infidelity and became a clergyman. Lately he has been traveling in England as an agent of the rebels. Louisville. James Speed has been summoned to Washington by Presi dent Lincoln to assume the position of Attorney-General of the United States. A fecent number of the New York Day Book reads the World out of the Democratic party because it abandons the Democratic creed "the restoration of the Union with slavery." A. Bushwiler. an old citizen well known to most of the financial and commercial men of Portland and once a reporter for The Oregonian. will leave for the East on the steamship Pacific soon. W. W. Parker, of Astoria, reported, on arrival in Portland yesterday, that Captain Ketchum has succeeded In getting his schooner off the point where she had been driven. The hull was bit sllght'.y damaged. General Lee is described by a North ern Army correspondent rather glow ingly. He says of the distinguished rebel: "Lee himself is worn and anx ious, but as cheerful to the eye and as Indomitable as ever. I assure you Lee is more than ever a sight for gods and men. The same tranquil modesty, utter absence of vanity, egotism or self-seeking, and determination to spend and be spent in the discharge of his duty. He is certainly one of the most beautiful characters I ever read of c ertainly the most beautiful ever encountered." ROAD RACE TO SETTLE QUESTION Dean Ramsey Of fern Substitute for Debate on Bible Ixaue. PORTLAND, Jan. 31. (To the Edi tor.) I have read the challenge of H. C. Uthoff to the clergymen of Port land with a troubled mind. It is a great pity that no one arises to answer this Goliath. But it is a rule in mak ing a confession that one acknowledge his own sins and not the weaknesses ... D.lnv in cnmA Ktlfifi. - 'A OL OINCIS. i-cnif., ii. clergyman of Portland. 1 must make an apology tor my silence, i nc num I have not debated since I finished my second year in college, when I lost my confidence in the usefulness of the kind of controversy which the Ration alist Society proposes. Mr. Uthoff has succeeded in preserving the youthful mind. i The biography of John Henry rew man has a story which may indicate to the clergymen of the city a way out of the deep ignominy into which Mr. TTi,,.ff' nancu-crari rhnllen&fe has pre cipitated them. Some loquacious per son asKed tne carainai tu buiuo iu"io tion by debate. Newman replied that i. 1lnu-iiiine- tn ieooardize his cause by accepting the method of com bat proposed, tor ne consiuoreu uuiuc" a poor speaker. He said, however, that his friends thought him a good hand with the fiddle and that he would sug gest that the matter in controversy be determined by the use of the violin. It may be that, in the versatile ranks of Portland clergymen, there is some one who could fiddle this matter out with Mr. Uthoff. If the worst comes to the worst, I feel in duty bound to say that, since t.. n-iir v-nnth T WAR A fairlV KOOd walker, I will, when the roads are good, settle this matter oi cioie reau- 1 . K .-. niihllo erhnnlfi OTICA Allll for all by walking Mr. Uthoff to the top of Mount ttooa. oesi two in iiuee. imo offer Is made solely on the supposition v,o- thin XTr ITthnff is the same Mr. Uthoff who, in the course of a learned communication to your columns, spoke so delightfully of the Hebrew version of the Old Testament. '1'. M. JrtAlUB.X. 343 Thirteenth street. Your Coming, Sprina;. Your coming. Spring, makes glad my heart, and light. When birds are singing under skies of blue; The sap runs free when sun is warm and bright And things burst into leafy green anew. I love to dig the ground all moist with dew That gently falls upon it night by night. And in the upturned mold the seedlings strew; Your coming. Spring, makes glad my heart and light. There in your earthy bed, with dark ness dight. You'll sleep awhile, then thrust your green heads through; And I will watch you with a Keen de light. When birds arf singing under skies of blue. One of the greatest' joys I ever knew. Was watching that your branches grew aright ' And of Dame Nature's methods learn a few; The sap runs free when sun is warm and bright And when you budded, bloomed; O, beauteous sight And round about your sweetest es sence threw. The whole sweet world with color was alight , When things burst into leafy green anew. I weave the laurel wreath, sweet Spring, for you, And place it on your brow so fair and white. And my allegiance I will pledge you true. And patiently await through Win ter's blight, Your coming. Spring. LUCIA I. DOLPHIN. January 27, 1915. Boas of HU Honneliolfl. f Exchange. The man who is boss of his house hold is a bachelor who does his own work. Taxpayer Seen Poaatble Manipulation of Politics In Plan. PORTLAND, Or., Feb. 2. (To the Editor.) The Oregonian conveys to Its many readers the glad tidings that "city employes are to have unrestrict ed freedom in the joining of labor unions, ir the City Council adopts a report completed yesterday by City Commissioners Daly and Brewster." We are further informed that this is a result of "a campaign to organize em ployes In all branches of the city serv ice Into a civil service union to be affiliated with the American Federa tion of Labor"; that this "campaign has been conducted secretly for some time." and that "an expression of pol icy was asked by the Central Labor Council and the request referred by the City Council to Messrs. Brewster and Daly as a committee." By all means, let our grand army of city employes be duly permitted to Join the labor unions, and thereby be better enabled to live on the taxpay ers, and. Incidentally, help to manipu late politics In the Interest of the tax eaters, provided it la all done on a non-partisan basis. It is a wonderful thing to give freely to our army of office holders the right to stay forever in their places, regard less of what returns the community might receive from them in exchange for the salaries these employes receive; to authorize their Joining of labor unions for "mutual Improvement" and incidentally regularly and systemati cally,, to raise their salaries; to be free from any actual discipline it obligation to do and perform an actual day's work the same as common folks have to do, and to be In perpetual employ ment under elective officials who hold their office only temporarily (for two or four years) and who because of that are powerless to exercise real author ity over the patriotic army who hold their places until Gabriel blows his horn. Hence the well-organized efforts or our noble and patriotic army of civil service employes forever to fasten themselves on the careless taxpayers, now therefore propose to get behind the "Impregnable defenses" of organ ized labor. Accordingly, we now have the report of the aforesaid City Com missioners, who so generously pro claim therein: "The attitude of the city toward all these (religious and frater nal) organizations is one of tolera tion, and in their efforts to better man kind or improve conditions, social, eco nomic or moral, it Is one of sympathy and encouragement, and under no cir cumstances the reverse. The rule or unrestricted freedom is the policy of the city." , , , Let us therefore all unite In prais ing the great source from whence all these wonderful blessings bo bountiful ly flow; tho grept generosity of the voters and the astounding carelessness of the taxpa ers. who in great humility wor-hip at the shrine of civil service. or p JUST A TAXPAYER. DAYS AMENDMENT IS OPPOSED. Christina Hermann Uphold Right of Petition "Chanera" to Work. PORTLAND, Feb. 2. (To the Editor.) The proposed legislation to deny the right of citizens to circulate either for pay or fee. an initiative, referendum or recall petition is entirely wrong, both In the letter and spirit of democratic Petition "chasers" or "shovcrs" Is a term erroneous in its interpretation of the meaning of the work and the ob ject of the workers. Most of the cir culators have been life-long workers for people's legislation: for laws for the betterment of society, and the fact that they are being paid enables them to give more of their time to the meas ures they are trying to promote than they could otherwise afford to give. Il ls pioneer work, and, like all initial work it receives the buffetings and the insults inflicted on all who try to change the old order of society. So slow is the average citizen and voter to realize his or her responsibility, and j,in.,t ro thev uoon their daily application to their regular occupation, that scarcely couia ssuiki i""""" filed by and for the working people without paying for the work. The eight-hour law for women was filed by the expenditure of but $L'D0. and was the most popular measure for signatures ever promoted. If the peti tion circulators were not paid, solicit ors and campaigners would of neces sity be paid, and the annoyance of the circulator would in no way bo miti gated. Large corporations have or ganization, agents and employes who could be induced to work for their measures, and would bo able to grant favors and compensate them In many ways. The amendment proposed by Senator Day is entirely opposed to peo ple's power, and should be deprecated by every liberty-loving citizen. In the free use of the initiative petition lies the safety of this nati.i. CHRISTINA HERMANN. VOICE FROM AFAR IS HEARD. Reader of The Oregonian In Maryland Interested In Infidelity" Debate. HAOEBSTOWN. Md.. Jan. 25. (To the Editor.) As stated in your colmns some time ago, the Portland Rational ist Society invited Rev. L. P. Law to discuss with one of its representatives his recent assertion that "Infidelity has done nothing to advance and make the world better, and has founded no schools of learning, no hospitals or In stitutions for the betterment of the hu man race, while Christianity has done all these things." We are informed that the society of fered to give $50 to any charity llev. Mr. Law might name. If he would main tain the affirmative of this proposition In said debate, but it is reported that he has not even shown them the "char ity" to reply to their proposition. This is indeed recrettable. as we. even thousands of miles away, felt in terested in the discussion, and surely those near enough to attend It would have been proportionately more Inter ested therein. Is Rev. Mr. Law doing his duty to himself, his religion and his favorite charity by neglecting so great an op portunity to enlighten his opponents? Can it be possible that he fears discus sion? Does he not owe us all an ex planation? D. WEBSTER G KOH. Hagerstown, Md., Jan. 25. Private Wlrrleaa Telephone. PORTLAND, Feb. 1. (To the Editor.) Will you kindly inform me If It s al lowable for individuals to own and use a wireless telephone. SUBSCRIBER. There is no law that would prohibit the owning or operation of a private wireless telephone in Its present stage of development The Government now maintains supervision and regulation over private wireless telegraph sta tions. Pay of Canadian Private. VICTORIA, B. C, Jan. 31. (To the Editor.) With reference to the pay of a private soldier in the Canadian army. The answer tiven the Vancouver. Wash., inquirer was hardly complete enough. The pay given a Canadian sol dier is $1.10 a day, which is the lowest paid to any man in our contingents which have already gone to England and, some of them, to France. X. Rocka for Seeker After Truth. Exchange. Occasionally there is a seeker for truth, but most people prefer to listen to their wishes or their prejudices. Time to Pay One'a Bill". Atchison Globe. A man who has the money but who hasn't time to pay his bills is lazy, and that's all there is to it Twenty-Fiv Year Ago. Frem The Ortgonl&n of February S, lwo. Washington. Speaker Heed last night unburdened his mind to the re porters, explaining why he ruled e he did on the question of quorums, stout ly defending his stand. Mr. Reed also went into detail on how filibustering is done, explaining how robust Con gressmen draw $13 a day to sit Idly in their seats and retard the progress of legislation. San Francisco. It is announced hero that Professor Jim Corbett will meet Jake Kilraln in New Orleans during the Mardi liras. Washington. Senator and Mrs. Dolph, of Orfffon, gave an olaborata dinner party last night to Vlce-Prenl-dent and Mrs. Morton. Postmaster General and Mrs. Wanamakcr. Sir Ju lian ami Lady Pauncefote, Piron da Struve. the Russian Minister: Mrs. Ila zen, Mrs. Wllmerdtng. General Beale. Senor and Madame Romero, Senator and Mrs. McPherson an.1 Mr. and Mrs. Edwards. Mrs. Dolph will give a sc ries of dinners before l'nt begins. Rain continue to full throughout the Willamette Valley and all streams are rising. The Columbia is rapidly swell ing and ice ts beKintitng to come down from The Dalles. The greatest local loss so far has been suffered at WeWI ler's mill, where J.OOO.000 to 6.0O.CO feet of loirs, valued at I2...000 to $30,000. have been taken. Hoathonsos hava been washed away, scows unturned and warehouses are beinc flooded. Every creek feeding the Willamette Is a rag ing torrent. Readers of the New York Journal voted recently on the most popular man in New York. More than 1.000.000 votes were cast. The favorite wil Mayor Huch H. Grant, with Fsther Mi Glynn srrond. Chauncey M. Depewr was third and other leaders In order were: lienrv Clews, Grover Cleve land, David B. Hill, Henry Genraa, Thomas A. Edli-on. P. T. Barnum. Ward McAllister. Inspector Byrnes. Su. perintendent Murray, John W. Maikay, Jav Gould. General Sherman. John L Sullivan, Judge Duffy. Robert G. In gersoll. Coroner V. I.OVV. August P. W'agem-r. W. K. Vanderhllt, .1. J. O'Donohue. Marshal Wilder, Harry Howard, Dennian Thompson. Henry K. Dixie. Ned Harrigan. Abe Hummel and Robert Bonner. LEGISLATIVE CLERK HIRE UMB State Ofrirlnla Lax In Duly In Alio" In "Perjury" la Contention. AMITY. Or., Jan. 31. (To the Editor.) Attain 1 would like to be heaid. to nnfraft an Mrriinpnuii I 111 O rmS to n HlW of your readers ml lit have alined from your comments upon my article in ina Oregonian January 13. I will admit that the Lealslntnre l a law-making body, and can mnke new laws or repeal those of former senrlons: but that is Just the point I wish to make, in the case of clerk hire they have not done so. We are governed by the laws they exist upon the statute hooka, and until they are amended or repealed we have to abide by them (1 say we do, but ap parently the Oregon Legislature la en empt), and they cannot override a statute by a resolution. Tn order to amend or repeal a former law a bill to that effect has to be Introduced in one of the houses, be read three tlniei, re ceive a majority of tho votes of that House, slttncd by the presiding officer, go to the other House and aitaln ma throush the same proceedings and then be signed hy the Governor. Tlieir manner of unlawfully employ Ing these extra clerks and stntios raph ers is this: Some one Introduces a res olution In una House to hire them and everybody "fulls all over themselves" to vote yea and then rush Inlo the Sec retary of State's office to swear in their wives, diHiiihters. or friends as expert stenographers. The poor woman per haps never struck the key of a type writer in her life, hut she Is helping to plav the game and Is willing to per jura herself to get that r "per." 1 will say that In mjnv canes she Is Innocent of wrong Intent, for she doos not know what she Is doing, but for her benefit 1 would like to refer her to sections Nos. :0i6-J7 which refers lo perjury, and to section No. itio.l, which lefers to her being competent to fill the position. This game has been played there fir years and granting that we have elect ed men of averaeo Intelligence to such offices as Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney-General and Stato Treasurer, they cannot hrlp but know It, when it is going on right under their hoses and Is a matter of common knowledge. For their edification I would like to refer them to statute No. 104 L. . 1. and to save them the trouble of looking It up I will quote It verbatim: "No of ficer of cl"rk shall be elected or paid bv either House, other than those pro vided for In this chapter." which refers to statute Nos. LTiHR-MU. Sim-e the Leg islature ilois not see fit to abide by the law. It looks lo me like some one should make them, nnd that some one has an office In tho statehouse. Now If any lawyer member of the legislature or any nno else for that matter, tlilnka he can Justify the employment of these extra clerks, 1 would he glad to hear from him. CONSTANT READER. RooHevrltlaa Phraar. EUGENE, Or.. Feb. 1. (To the Edi tor.) Has en-President Roosevelt coined any words In the English lan giume, and what are they? Has he cojned any phrases? C. o. RL'SSEI.L. For his effective linking of wolds Mr. Roosevelt has been called a phrase maker. He has done nothing notable In coining words. Among some of hla popular phrases or terms are: "Male factors of great wealth" "Undeslrahla citizens": "Beaten to a framlo"; "Hull Mooso"; "I stand at Armageddon." It Is probable that "Tho Ananias Club" was suggested by Mr. Rooaevrll's pro lific uso of the term "Ananias" lo thoe who deviated from the truth as Mr. Roosevelt recognized It. "The short and ugly word" and "the strenuous life" also belong In the category of Roosoveltlnn phrase. j. II. louii and C R. (.ray. PORTLAND. Feb. I. (To the Editor.) Will yon please give me the addressee of J. H. Young and Carl R. Gray, for merlv with too illll railroad linea In Portland? SUBSCRIBER. .1. It. Young, president, Norfolk Southern Railway. Norfolk. V. Carl R. Gray, president. Western Maryland Railway, Baltimore. Mil. nrldglng n Japanese Mralt. London Tit-Bits. Japan is considering a plan to bridge the Shlmonosekh Strait, at a coat ex ceeding Jio.ooo.ono. Failure I ImpoMiblc An advertising expert who l a large user of newspapers waa asked this question: "In your judgment what are th4 chances of success for an ordinary newspaper advertising campaign.'" Note the emphasis of hla answer: "If the article heat Proper trihiitlnn. leo prr rent quality ana character, ana the right ropy la u-d In the riant arwapapera It cannot fall. "In my Judgment there la no guess work about It and I speak from a varied experience." t