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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1915)
THE MORXIXG OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1915. ;. -I f! ri i i 5 3. : 1 r; t a : PORTLAND. OREGOX. Entered at Portland. Oregon. Postofflco as second-class matter. Subscription Kates Invariably la advance, rsy MaiL). tal!y. Sunday Included, one year s- Iaily, Sunday Included, an months Xail. Sunday tocluild. three montha ... .Xaily. Sunday included, one month ..... ? lai:y. without Sunday, one year ....... wJ Iailv, without Sunday, six months 33 Lia.ly. without Sunday, three months ... 2-aiiv. without Sunday, one monta Weekly, one year .. ..........--- i-vr t-unday. one year Sunday and Weekly one year By Carrier.) ' tally. Sunday Included, one year 'rs Xaiiy. Sunday included, one month ..... How to Remit Send poatollice 'money w er. expres order or personal check on jour local oank. Stamps, coin or currency are at aeniier risk. Give poatolUce address In lull, including county and state. Pos-age Kates 12 to Id pages. 1 cent: IS to 62 pages, cenia; 34 to 45 pages, S cents. to tlo pages. 4 cents; SS to 7 P"-. cents: 78 to Dl pages, a cents. iorin post age, dojble ratea. iastern Business Office Veree 4 ConK lln. .V9 York. Brunswick building; (-Bicago. fctengcr building. Kan rranrteeo Office B. J. Bldwell Com fany. 12 Market street. PORTLAND, FKIDAV, FEBRL'ABY 5, 1913. THE COUNTRY MBKCIIANT AND TICK FARMER. The Oregonian accedes with pleasure to the request of a cor respondent, whose letter Is printed elsewhere, for an editorial discussion cf the 'relations between the country merchant and his neighbors." These relations have become increasingly difficult in recent years. The store keeper sees in himself a benefactor to the community. When goods are needed in an emergency he is de pended upon to supply them. He is a taxpayer who contributes to main tain the country roads, the village streets, the school and the courts; He Is also a voluntary contributor to the local church, the lodges and what ever benevolent efforts are under taken in his community. It is a mat ter of common knowledge that the merchants in country towns are the principal support of religion and edu cation. As a rule they are among the most intelligent men in their com munities, excelling in public spirit and liberality. It must be added that they directly befriend the farmer in many ways. They keep in stock the articles which he is likely to need badly in case of accident. They give credit which tides him over in times of stress and, to a certain extent, they provide him with a market for his produce. In return for these undeniable pub lic and private benefits the rural mer. . chant demands, with much apparent reason, that the farmers of his neigh borhood should trade at his store. If they fail to do bo he must, of course, retire from business and there is no question whatever that the com munity would feel his loss acutely. He fills a place in village life which no other individual could exactly sup ply. But the farmer often looks at the matter from another standpoint. He acknowledges his obligations to the rural storekeeper, admits that the credit he receives is often useful, con fesses that it is convenient to obtain repairs promptly and even does not deny that the local merchant gives Iiim a market for certain articles. But at this point he begins to demur. Years ago it was true that the coun try store perfectly supplemented the farmer's business. It bought from him substantially as much as it sold him. His veal, potatoes, apples, dressed jioe-s, wool and poultry, as well as his milk and. butter could be disposed of In the Home village. If he made cider or vinegar the local merchant took it off his hands. If his wife put tip a surplus of canned fruit there was a ready sale for it at the village store. But this is no longer true in any large sense. The local merchant still receives the farmer's eggs and some other small articles, but his dairy products, his pork, veal, potatoes, fruit and wool must all be sold in the city if they are sold at all. If the farmer asks the village merchant to buy his cider he is told that the big city plant sends in all that is needed. It is the same with vinegar, canned goods and even vegetables. The common impression Is that the country merchant is completely con trolled by large central combinations and that he would not be permitted to buy of the farmer, even if he desired to do so. Sometimes farmers who try to sell their produce locally are openly told by the merchant that if lie bought their goods the big city operators would blacklist him. Thus the old and beneficial reciprocity be tween the rural storekeeper and the farmer has been succeeded by a one sided commerce. The merchant buys virtually nothing at home. And yet lie complains when the farmer fol ,)o's his example. It is perfectly natural that as long as the farmer is obliged to find a market for his produce in the city he should also do his buying there. If he could dispose of his goods at home he would, as a matter of course, spend his money at home. But he cannot. This has loosened the bond of loyal friendship between the merchani and the farmer until there is very little left of it. Forgetful of what he really owes to the local trades men, the farmer thinks only of his Immediate advantage and avails him self of the alluring offers sent out so widely by the mail-order houses. It Js vigorously denied that these houses undersell the local merchants, but the farmers who actually buy of them evidently think otherwise. The mail order houses not only appear to un dersell the local merchants, but they give an ironclad guarantee as to the quality of their goods, permit the free return of any article not fully satis factory and afford a sen-Ice whch is almost miraculously prompt and sure. Notoriously their prosperity is colos sal. One Chicago mail-order house is about to declare an extra stock divi dend of 50 per cent. Others thrive almost as well. For such astonishing thrift there must be a reason. We cannot account for all of it by merely saying that the farmers, their prin cipal customers, are perversely disloyal to their home towns. Xo doubt the very existence of the country merchants is involved tn stay ing the tide of mail-order trade. We fear this can never be done by ex hortation and rebuke. Vigorous and Intelligent action is required. We re peat that farmers will not buy at home unless they can sell at home. When the country merchants contrive some plan for receiving the farmers' pro duce they will be able to appeal ef fectually for his trade but. we are Inclined to believe, not before. Suc cessful commerce is seldom entirely one-sided. It usually implies reci procity and the more reciprocity there is the more stable the course of busi ness. Suppose some of the money now disbursed in printing sermons to the farmers on the beauty and ob ligation of local loyalty were spent in establishing canneries, opening vil lage manufactories of dairy' products, establishing community connections with the city public markets and founding rural credit systems. We imagine that such activities on the part of local commercial clubs would strongly tend in the long run to draw the farmers' trade to the local stores. OV ITS WAV. General Villa proclaims himself President of Mexico. The self-electing process is not known in Mexico, or elsewhere, but there is usually the polite form of holding an election or calling a convention. . But Villa, the simple Villa, is impatient of red tape and scorns evasion. What he wants ho wants, and gets, if he can. The hero of a hundred murders concedes something to conventionality when he calls himself president, though he sets himself up to be dictator. Watchful waiting has borne its richest and ripest fruit. Anarchy reigns in Mexico. A few months ago there was one usurper, now there are a half dozen, and the greatest of them is Villa. Poor, blood-drenched, poverty stricken, revolution-torn Mexico! Once we looked upon Mexico as a precious charge and though President Wilson acknowledged and proclaimed , our moral obligation, a moral obligation to elevate the submerged peons and Indians, and put them in the 'way of controlling their government. It was a lofty pose. It impressed all tne world, except the Mexicans. In the en. thusiasm of our own self-assumed virtue, we declared that Huerta was not fit to be President of Mexico, and we got him out through moral coercion. Now we tell the world that Mexico is "none of our business" and "none of your business" and we wash our hands of all accountability. We sub scribe cheerfully to the new doctrine that Mexico can go to the dogs. That is where It is going. "A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION." The Senate of Oregon has done its part toward removing the taint of ITRenism from the Presidential pri mary law by passing, . without a dis senting vote, the amendment eliminat ing from' the law the proportional scheme of electing National conven tion delegates. Oregon sends ten delegates to the National political conventions. But under the existing law the voter may vote for but one. The consequences of this insane provision at the first election to which It applied are readily recalled. Oregon instructed its ten Republican delegates to vote for Theodore Roosevelt. Yet on the dele gation were men who had publicly proclaimed their allegiance to Mr. Taft, others who were devoted to Mr. LaFollette, and still others who ad hered to the Roosevelt cause. Except on the one specific instruc tion frnm the nartv it was naturally a divided delegation. Under such a system the Presidential prererence 01 a political party cannot hope to gain the support of the entire delegation in every movement that may be de vised to further his candidacy. The plan involves the preposterous propo sition that the will of the people shall have two or three strings attached which scant minorities may pull to override the preponderance of senti ment. No scheme that means partial dis franchisement of the voters can re main long in popularity. Even that consistent "insurger" and famous in surrectionist. Senator Kellaher, voted for the change. TAIT ON DEMOCltATIC WASTE. Democrats will not easily find an answer to the review made by ex President Taft in the Saturday Even ing pn.t of the records of fiis own and of the Wilson Administration in the matter of economy. Mr. iatt frankly admits that both the Republi can and thf Democratic parties are to blame for failure to hold Govern ment expenses within reasonable limits hit hi chows that durinir his administration some effort was made, and with success, to reduce expenses; that the increase in appropriations Murine the latter half of his term was due to legislation passed by a Demo cratic Congress, though approved o himself; that expenditures have in creased under President Wilson, and that no effort has been maae to re duce them;: i t Tht- fHrtx'rited bv Mr. Taft prove his case. The first full fiscal year of his administration ended June ju, 1910. but the appropriations were his oredecessor. That year closed with a deficit.. By reduc ing estimates, under a strict injunction tr oconnmv his heads of departments expected a reduction of over $5,000,000 a year for ordinary expenses in the succeeding two years and produced a surplus. Then tne .Democratic con gress elected in 1910 set to work, passed a service pension bill, a rivers and harbors bill and a public building bill, increasing expenses over $28,000.- 000 in 1913 and nearly i,u"",uvu in ion thnnfrh each of these years nicot -n-ith a Kiirnlus. The total expenditures under the 'Republican Congress or lsua-ii were over $74,000,000 less than those made un der the Democratic Congress of 1911-13. Tn fari. of this record the Demo cratic party had the audacity in the Baltimore platform to boast of its own economy and to denounce Re publican extravagance. Tnat aeciara- in ..n-a orniiml for exnectine a de crease in appropriations under a Gov ernment that is all Democratic. tui annrnnrintionji for the year 1915. the first for which the present Congress provided, showed an increase 01 more than 117 000.000 over those for 1914, and the estimates for 1916 already show a further increase of about $20,000,000, with further estimates 10 come. The present Administration has not only increased expenditures, but it has taken no steps towards their per .,nii i-odnrtinn in the future. The last Republican Congress provided and Mr. rait appointed a cuiuiuiniuu to recommend changes in the Gov ernmental organization, and this body reported many ways in which money could be saved and efficiency in Thp Democratic House ig nored its recommendations and ended its existence by cutting orr its ap propriation. President Wilson in his last annual message said the duty of economy was "manifest and impera tive, but hedged oy adding: ins nnnie of the United States are not jealous of the amount their Govern ment costs. He belittled tne possioie economy of reorganizing the Govern MAtui mnrhlnprv bv savlnt? the sky ing would be "relatively small;" that "the people do not wish to curtail the activities of this Government n,-.- n-h rather to enlarge them:" that "the Nation is not niggardly; it is very, generous. thus as blew not and cold on the subject of economy. Discussing Senator Aldrich's re mark that, if he could run the Gov ernment as a business is run, he could save J300.000.000 a year, Mr. Taft al lows $200,000,000 for "certain ex penses that a private business should never have and that a popular Gov ernment cannot escape," but believes a saving of J100,000,000 a year would be possible by "reorganization of; the Government.' reduction of officers and improvement of methods.". He says that certainly $30,000,000 a year could be saved, but be observes: In swallowing $:;O.OiK.000 in one gulp for a Government-subsidized and operated merchant marine, the intensity of effort needed to save what is voted so easily may seem hardly worth while. The Democratic party demanded "a reduction in the number of useless offices," but it has made a net in crease of 6522 in the number of new offices and a net increase of $6,977,049 in the amount of salaries. It demanded a return to "simplicity and economy," but its own chairman of the House appropriations commit tee says it has juggled appropriations into "a horrible mess." Mr. Taft admits the difficulty of arousing the people "to the benefit of a policy the discussion of which in volves a tedious recital of figures or ja detailed explanation of a complicated plan or uovernmentai reorganization, but, he says "it is only when hard times are at hand and taxes pinch that an Administration may find in difference to such a reform of bad politics." So long as the tide of pros perity runs full and taxes do not reach directly into one's pocket, the people do not worry about how much their Government costs, but when direct taxes are imposed, economy becomes an important political issue. GETTING 179 TANGLED IX WAR. The new status which Great Britain has given food as conditional contra band of war, in conjunction with the German Government's monopoly of the food supply, has a direct bearing on the wisdom of -the ship purchase bill which British newspapers are not slow to recognize. As Britain will probably contend that Germany's ac tion renders impossible any discrimi nation between food destined for mili tary use and that, destined for the non-combatant population, it is likely to treat as contraband all food con signed to Germany. The latter country may be expected to retaliate by treat ing food destined for British ports in the same manner, and food would then be in fact, if not in name, absolute contraband. British newspapers evidently hope that German submarine attacks on ships owned by the United States Gov ernment and carrying food to British ports will arouse animosity in this country against Germany. Resulting complications would offer a prospect that we should become involved in the war as an ally of Britain. In case of seizure of our Government ships, bound for Germany, by British cruis ers, the United States might contend that their cargoes were for the sole use of German non-combatants and that the seizure violated the Hague definition of contraband, but Britain would cite the German food monopoly in justification of her course. If worsted on this point, she might flatly refuse to be bound by the Hague treaty. We should then awaken to the fact that international law is not binding on any nation without its consent and that the only means of obtaining con sent from an unwilling nation is war. Thus might makes international law, and might can change it. Britain says in effect that food Is absolute contraband and is prepared to main tain her position by force. That decla ration is one of her implements of war, and she would not willingly abandon it. Are we disposed to fight either Britain or Germany? The ship pur chase bill contains the seed of a quar rel with either or both of those coun tries. THE JOIBXAI.ISTIC DAW. A man may cry Church! church! at every word. VTIth no more piety than other people. A daw's not reckoned a religious bird Because it keeps a-cawing- from a steeple. The Portland Evening Journal is just now giving a new and revealing exposition of its characteristic insin cerity and unblushing hypocrisy. It berates the Legislature daily because it is going ahead in a practical way to carry out its pledges of economy. It fills its columns with reasons why certain appropriations should not be cut. It definitely urges that other new appropriations be made. , It is fearful that some bureau or other will be abolished. It is powerfully agitated because some political fav orite, holding down a fat job, may be displaced. The Journal is for "economy," of course, or pretends to be. It piously protests against waste and extrava gance. But it cries out in anguish when the pruning hook is about to descend upon some precious bill in which it is interested or in which its friends are interested. Yet this same facing-both-ways newspaper has heretofore been the harshest critic of the Legislature for prodigality and carelessness in its ap propriations. Now it is the most per sistent booster for the expenditure of the state's money on the scale here tofore established. If it has made a single helpful suggestion to the Legis. lature, asto ways and means to save money, The Oregonian has not seen it, except in its opposition to Senator Thompson's judiciary bill. But the fact that it hates Thompson, and has uniformly sought to discredit him be fore the state, though the state's opinion of him is shown by the fact that he is President' of the State Senate, through the vote of all parties, may account for its attitude toward that measure. THE RIGHT KIND OF A DEAL. Frank T. Berry and the four young men who have arranged to clear and cultivate his eighty acres of land in Clark County, Washington, have gone the practical way about escaping from their difficulties. Mr. Berry has land from which he has derived no bene fit The four young men have un certain jobs at which they may never get ahead in the world, but they have energy and character. The most sensible course was for them to get together on the terms they have ar ranged. When their contract is com pleted Mr. Berry will have forty acres of cleared land, growing a good crop, in place of eighty acres of brush covered, unproductive land yielding nothing. Each of the four other men will have ten acres of good, productive land which skill and industry will be the means of giving an income. They will have made good jobs for themselves from which they can be "fired" only by themselves, or by death, and their work will bs so healthy as to postpone indefinitely death's chance at them. There are hundreds of men in the same position as Mr. Berry and there are thousands of others in the posi tion of Mr. Smith, Mr. Griffin and the two Millses. All they need is to be brought together, and each can supply what the other wants. The men who have energy! but no land, may need a small amount of capital to start them, just as a prospector needs a grubstake. Given the requisite qualifications industry, intelligence and integrity -they should have no difficulty in getting that, for these qualities are.the best security. If other, owners of wild land will do as Mr'. Berry has done, and if other young men will do as the four have done with whom he made his bargain, the army of unemployed should soon melt away and the thou sands of acres of wild land around Portland should spon become pro ductive. Such deals as they have made are the foundation of good times, and too many of the kind can not be made. Success to the Producers & Con sumers' League, which brought about this deal. It has gone the right way about disposing of (he unemployed problem. Let its good work go on. A letter published by the New York Sun takes exception to such expres sions as "society leader," "wealthy so ciety women," and the like, on the ground that there is no fixed wall be tween society and common people. It is pleasant to think there is none. But let one of the common herd try to cross the imaginary barrier and his experience is usually exciting and often entertaining. . We notice that he seldom storms the fortress. Since the President of Princeton has come out against paid athletic coaches it will, perhaps, no longer be ac counted blasphemous to tell the truth about, these parasitic phenomena of college life. Faculties have tolerated them because they were afraid to dis please the students who preferred ath letic intrigues to study, but now that the rage for big mobs of matriculates is passing we may hope that the-paid coach' will disappear. Russian airmen have launched vio lent attacks on German towns. And while the casualty total is not men tioned in the dispatches we have no doubt but that the list reads: One old man, two widows and eight little chil dren. It Werner Horn is simply crazy, his deed in blowing up the bridge in--vioino ic nrtt an act of war. and he cannot .be extradited. In all proba bility he is an overzeatous uermau wanting to take a crack at something. Again is the scheme sprung at Salem to make insanity cause of di vorce. It should be killed. "For bet ter, for worse," has a great and holy meanlnn- in the twentieth century as it had -when civilization was young. This session is clever with veterans of the Civil War. They are likely to fish and hunt as well as peddle with out a license. The boys who wore the gray must get in on those things, too. So far the Washington Legislature has passed only three bills. Now if the Governor vetoes them that par ticular Legislature ought to be on the highway to success. Chicago gets smaller loaves at a i.rr nri.-p. Which should enable de vout' Chicagoans to throw added zest into a certain section of the Lord's prayer. Again the Turks have failed; this time to shut the waterway at Suez, iroiinra i irrowinir to be the chief national characteristic of the Turks. The Kaiser having gone to Kiel to jolly the submarine men and pass out iron crosses, renewed activity against the English Coast is bound to follow. "Grow grain" is the advice to the people by President Wilson. If he'd given it to us a year ago and we had followed it we'd all be rich by now. Only thing left for Great Britain is to hire McAdoo to build a subway to France, so Kitchener can get the million men across in the Spring. Georgia relieved the monotony yes-toi-riav hv lvnehine a white man. The evidence was sufficient to convict, but Georgia mobs have the habit. ACT!)in thn German navy is described as preparing to dash out and meet the British. W ell, tne jritisn are per fectly willing. Now Berlin charges that Wilson is inclined to accept dictation from the British. Why limit such a charge to the British? Germans say they will keep ham-merino- the French out of Argonne. At least until the French argonne, so to speak. Ainn- with all this Drice-ralsing doubtless we shall be advised anon that even powder and dynamite are booming. Villa having been selected as Pres ident, nominations are now in order for Vice-President. We nominate Bryan. There are no German submarines off Lower California, so the disaster to the Japanese cruiser is attributed to rocks. A local evangelist says human gravity pulls" down the souls of men. Why not a little levity to elevate them? Some observers claim that W'ilson is trying to get rid of Bryan. Too late. The damage is done. American shippers have now been warned away from France by Ger many. Unhappy days. European dispatchers are arranging Summer train schedules. Which they will never use. Nevertheless this is giving every promise of being- the best Legislature ever held. Rockefeller is said to have "open" mind. Knocking did It. an Possibly six tickets for a quarter would demoralize the Jitney. The infant -Slingsby had the ear marks and won. , WEARY TAXPAYER" IS DOUBTED. Streetcar Campany'a Influence In Building; Ip City I Set Forth. PORTLAND, Feb. 4. (To the Edi tor.) "The Portland Railway, Light &' Power Company never builds any ex tensions to its rail or electric plant, except those paid for by the property owners and donated to the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company." The above quotation is an extract from a letter written by "A Weary Taxpayer". . to The Oregonian. and I wish to say that I am sure this state ment Is not correct. It would have been .better for this "Taxpayer" to have obtained facta from the officials of the railway com pany before making such a statement. Although my knowledge is slight, still I can safely say from information, gleaned from speeches of officials, and from statistics published in the daily papers by the Tortland Railway, Light & Power Company, that the majority of line extensions are made at the in stigation of various real estate deal ers. These real estate men open up new sections, or tracts of land, and apply for water and line extensions, giving a guarantee of a certain amount of revenue for same. The Portland Railway, Light & Power Company stands a greater share of the expense in making line extensions, while the eity makes these real estate men stand their own expense entirely for water extensions. Furthermore, does it not seem a re flection on the intelligence of the tax payers of these outlying districts that they should simply pay their money for a donation to the Railway Com pany? Who profits by a line extension.? The Portland Railway, Light & Power Company surely does not, because the revenue from the sparsely populated districts does not pay expenses, and it is generally known that the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company loses money on these long runs. Then, too. It is a recorded fart that the Portland Railway. Light Power Company gives a longer run on its lines for 5c than does any other company in a city of the size of Portland. On the other hand, the property on these ex tensions is increased in value. In fart, made saleable, and the owners are af forded greater convenience in trans portation. Moreover, the property owners do not begrudge the money ex pended, and some of the staunchest supporters of the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company are to be found on these extension lines, notably on the Hawthorne line. Also, "Weary Taxpayer," do yoo realize that the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company is one of the heaviest tax payers in this city? "Will the Jitr.ey bus harm the prop erty owners?" Yes. For is it con ceivable that the railway company will continue to operate with the same ef ficient service under a loss of $700 a day? Indeed, these same property owners will be among the first to suf fer for the reduction of the force, which will naturally follow this de crease in revenue. Will the "jitney" then take a man to his home on East Seventy-first street? Certainly not! These "jitneys" only make short runs, and muny operate only during the rush hours, taking the cream of the earnings from the rail way company, which has to give the same service at all times of the day and to all -districts. Is it fair? I firmly believe that every fair minded, clear-thinkinp, unprejudiced individual in the City of Portland rec ognizes the evils resulting from this unjust competition, and will demand that the "jitney bus" te permitted to operate only under a franchise. LUCILE DANFORTH, 140 East Twenty-ninth St. W. T. STK.VD'S WORK CARRIED OX. DriilisInK of Gulf Between I.lvinc and Dead In 'Sot Allowed to Lopxe, PORTLAND, Feb. 3. (To the Edi tor.) The following, which I tran scribe from a letter just received from a friend In London, may be of interest to your readers: "Since the passing over of W. T. Stead, in April, 1912, many friends in terested in Borderland matters have expressed a wish that his epoch-marking work in bridging the gulf between the living and the dead should not be allowed to lapse. The chief obstacle to continuing Julia's Bureau on its original lines was a financial one, Mr. Stead having himself maintained the work at great personal cost. In the early Summer of 1914 a home was of fered for the bureau by Lady Lewis, who, however, withdrew from the scheme after the outbreak of the Euro pean war. Mrs. Bayley-Worthington then came forward with the necessary financial help, and the library and bu reau are now established most fitting ly in the room, at the Review of Re views offices, formerly used by Mr. Stead as his editorial sanctum. When Mr. Stead started Julia's Bureau in 1909 he set forth its aims as follows: "Its one and only object is to help those who mourn to communicate with their loved ones who have passed on to another world: to heal broken hearts, t comfort Rachel mourning for her children, to bring sure and cer tain knowledge of immortality to light, by restoring communication between death, divided friends and relatives.' "The committee of the W. T. Stead Borderland Library and Bureau now es tablished will do all in their power to forward these noble aims, and will gladly give counsel and guidance to sincere inquirers seeking to get in touch with relatives and friends." Miss Estelle Stead is president. Vice presidents are: The Baroness Siri de Barnckow, General Sir Alfred Turner, K. C. B., Mrs. Bayley-Worthington, Miss Lind-of-Hageby, Lady Muir Mac kenzie. Lord Leigh, Platon E. Drak oules. LL. D.. Count Chedo Mljatovich, A. P. Sinnett. Professor Charles Richet, Paris; Edward Ezekiel de Young. TO E. B. WATSON. "Tn ATemoriam.) He has passed to his rest and his crown, boys. He has earned them both rightly, we know; A man of quite some renown, boys The world at large has long known But to me he was classmate and chum, boys, Tl,n.a art nnlv fl ffW Clt IIS left. Though the summons to all has to come. boys. My heart seems sadly bereft. We worked side by side in the school, boys, Second class Old Pacific e'er knew: Prex Marsh gave us precept and rule, boys; -?Aa noMor1 him thA nther Hav.'too. And now, in a school that will last, boys. irk.,, v-mra Ink n dinlomft. and Drize. 60 'tis only for days that are past, boys. My neart oreasB anu nana mi eyes. Horace William MacJ.eal. To Become Aurse In War. LA GRANDE, Or.. Feb. 3. (To the Editor.) As I am anxious to offer my services as a nurse in the European war, would you kindly Inform me to whom I should make application? INQUIRER. Apply to American National Red Cross, 1624 H street N. W., Washing ton, D. C. Oxbow Plnnt Asrain Operating. DitrP Op Feb. 4. I Special.) After a shutdown of several weeks, caused by the heavy ice in the Snake River, the big power pianr. at usoow - I t n Anaratlnn Cn n t r II Pt I M tl IS K HI it. E work is going ahead with a big force of men. . WORK IX PLACE OP CHARITY Useless Labor Declared Only Desrndln Snbatitute for Gifts. CORVALLIS, Or.,' Feb. 3. (To the Editor.) It is regrettable that in so excellent an article as the leader on 'Unemployment and Its Cure" in Th Oregonian January 27, statements Ilk the following should have been made: No able-bodied man should be given clothes or Induing; unless ho renders sn equivalent. It would be better to require a man to tne up tne yaru. uiopsn ' is unnecessary, or to cjirry the woodpile from one side of the basement to the other and. to pav him the actual value of his tims than to give him alms and a push on the road to pauperism. Permit me to point out that uelesa work can never ho an equivalent, for food or lodging, which have value. Nor can the time spent in the performance of useless tasks be paid for according to its actual value; since nothing ot value is produced. Furthermore, use less work is morally degrading, a fact recognized in penal institutions when the treadmill was discarded in favor of productive work. Ta set men to breaking stone, a labor usually performed by the aid of machinery; chopping wood, which can be better done with a power saw; clear, ing logged-off lands by hand, and many other varieties of "made work" are all open to the objection that they are costly and inefficient, and there fore degrading to the men required to perform the labor. Such measures ai evasions of the problem of keeping men employed, not solutions. They are only substitutes for charity and. being clear ly recognized as such by both the la borer and the employer, degrade both. The only real solution possible must in sure productive, useful work, performed by the most scientific and efficient means available. Unlike the Socialists, I must confess myself unable to give In detail a method of nrriving at this much-to-be-desired solution, hut 1 Be lieve The Oregonlan's suggestions as to carrying on of various public worka would be a partial solution at least. A society or a community must insure to each of Its members an opportunity for useful, productive work, performed In an up-to-date manner, and paid nt a rate which will enable him to keep his self-respect. If it cannot do this. It must acknowledge Itself a failure. And judged by that standard, present day society can hardly congratulate itself on its success, can It? One more comment. What does the editor mean us to understand deter mines the market value of labor in Winter, when he advises street and sewer work "if the city were not com pelled to pay for labor more than its market value In Winter?" Three years ago The Oregonian advised street and park improvement to relieve unemploy ment and at the same time pointed out that such work could then be done at a great saving to the public In short, It proposed to save public money by pry ing low wages to destitute men. Must the present statement be similarly con strued? LOUISK OLIVEREAU. The passage quoted from our edi torial was simply intended to em phasize our point that no man should be given alms when it is possible to obtain even a nominal equivalent In work for the money given him. Charity injures an able-bodied man, for it helps to make him a mendicant. By the "actual value of his time," we of course meant the amount he would have been paid If the work had been really nec esary. True, this Is a substitute for charity, but it is better than charity, for it serves to impress on the unemployed that they must not expect something for nothing. We did not suggest It as more than a temporary remedy to be adopted while a permanent remedy Is being provided. As such, the substi tutes for charity which our correspon dent describes are better than charity. PLEA IS MADE FOR S1XGLE WOMEX. .Married Ours With lluxliandn Employed I'raed to Make Place.. PORTLAND. Feb. 3. (To the Editor.) As the writer is in a position to know the condition of the working people of this city and how ve-y hard up some are for work, I would make a suggest, ion which I hope will do some Kood. It Is a well-known fact that a mi-eat many married women are at work, eh-, pecially those that have no need of it, as their husbands earn wages enough to support two. There are barbers, printers, electricians, and all those that have steady work. Could not their wives quit work and give some other woman that sorely needs it a chance to make a living? If they would do this it would bring relief to a great many families. 1 understand there was an electrician working for the city get ting over $100 a month and his wife is earning $75 a month as stenographer. A. WELTMER, Kern Park. How Committees Are Earned, THE DALLES. i)r., Feb. 3. (To the Editor.) By whom are tho commit tees in tho House of Representatives in Congress appointed? In what ways are our cousts pro tected? SCHOOL BOY. Since Cannon was defeated for Speaker in 1913, the committees are dppointed by the ways and means committee, subject to confirmation by the caucus of each party, and election by the House. Prior to 1909 the power was practically vested in tho Speaker, who was chairman of the rules com mittee. At' that time the rules were modified and the Speaker's power re duced, and finally practically shorn in 1912. The ways and means commit tee is named in the party caucuses and confirmed in the House. The American coasts are guarded by the Navy, which exercises a general patrol; by mines where necessary; by coast defense fortifications where practicable, as for Instance the forti fications at the mouth of the Colum bia; and by troops which come under the designation of the Coast Artillery Corps. Tho lighthouses and life saving stations and allied signal ser vice serve dual purposes. Miisrle Tax Vote In Wnnhlnsrlon. PORTLAND, Feb. S. (To the Edi tor.) Will you please state whether the single tax went Into effect In the State of Washington, and if not. was the vote close? A. ELSWOHTII. Six years ago the State of Washing;, ton voted down tho single tax by a vote of about 2 to 1. Two years ago the City of Seattle voted again on sin gle tax as a strictly municipal issue, and it was defeated again by about Vz to 1. Government Bulletin on Birds. PORTLAND,. Feb. 3. (To the Edi tor.) Could you inform me to which department of tho Government to ap ply to get the farmers' bulletin cover ing the article you published Sunday, January 25. under the heading. "Houses Easily Made to Draw Bird Neighbors"? S. B. STEWART. Write to the Department of Agricul ture, Washington, D. C, and explain the nature of the bulletin wanted. It will be forwarded. Concession In the Philippines. Indianapolis News. The Philippine government recently granted its first concession to foreign capital, an English company getting a 20-year right to develop hardwood forests. Twenty-five Year Ago From The Oretronlan. February 5. 1S10. The most frightful accident, insofar as lots of life Is concerned, known In tho history of the O. H. t X. branch of the Union Pacific occurred at brldiio No. 6S over Williams Creek, ono and a half miles from Cuscude lxicks and two and a half miles from lionnrvlllc, at 6:45 o'clock Sunday morning htxL Owing to teleKraphlo lines being down and all river communication blocksdnl. the details have not arrived until the fourth day. The huge bridge gavu m just as the train was going; over. Nine men were killed and at least ?6 Injured. The killed men were. Jerry Casey. Fred Marithougb. Andrew Krosc, Theodore Skolochlme. August Carson. Charles Reston. John Schraib r, Henry Kronche and William Cole. They were all section laborers of Tho Dalles or Cascade Locks. The continuous rising of the rlvor Is the absorbing topic of conversation. The water now runs through Front and First streets and factories have been carried awav. llotn bridges, thouirh severely tried, remain standing. Tim water Is IS Inches deep on Front strci t between Washington and Oak streets. It presents u Venice street sceno. even the gondola not helmr l.icklnK. a" sev eral were out yesterday, stark stret was Hooded up to First street at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. Reports from up the Valley tell of havoc snd wreckage due to tho raging streams. Washington. Mis. Trscy. wife of Secretary of the Navy Tracy; Miss Mary Tracy, his vounKCst lHUnht'r, and Josephine, a French ntitid. now lie dead the horrible sum of the calami ties from the lire wbb h destroyed the Secretary's residence yesterday morn ing. Secretary Tracy la in a stupor from the effects of the smoke. Mrs. Wllmerding. his eldest daughter, l suffering from a strained wrist anil tho shock and Alice Wllmcrrting. her daughter, is badly affected. President Harrison had the unpleasant task of breaking tho news to Secretary Tracy that Mrs. Tracy and his daughter wrrs dead. Sheriff Smith, of Clatsop, says not a person has jet tome In to pay his taxes. Miss Jeanne Hlongett nnd Miss I.loyd Jessup will appear on tho Y. M. C. A. entertainment progrummo Friday even ing. Professor Wihults I to have charge of tho music. Fire Chief Morgan says the. water supply no- Is sufficient for prompt and udequute protection In case of (Ire. R. M. Ftuart hus Just returned from Tacoma, where ho' witnessed a spec tacular streetcar holdup. C. E. S. Wood will deliver tha ad dress at the graduating class at Ins Portland Hieh School this evening. "Imperfect Developments In Educa tion" is his subject. Kl U.ll. Ill' VI KM AT HOME TIIORLKM Scappoose l'nrmer Asks The Orraronlsn tu Dlaesss Pertinent lasse. SCAPPOOSE. Or.. Feb. 2. (To the Editor.) In The orcnonian February 1 you state that a Chicago mall order houso has Just declared a 50 per cent dividend, nnd followed with the state ment "that this will cause tho country merchant to gnash his teeth, for hs will not find relief until human nature changes, his as well as his neighbor's." You have struck upon a very Import ant question in the business relation ship existing between tho country mer chant and his nclKhbors. nnd as The Oregonicn Is widely read by merchants of the Northwest, will you discuss fully In your editorial columns this all important topic, showing how the rural population can best servo their homo problems In business by standing by and co-operating with the home mer chant, providing always that tha latter Is fully cognizant of the needs of his neighborhood? J. 1. W ATTS. 4 -ihiiirt and Supremo t'ourl. REDMOND, Or., 1'uh. 3. I Til the Editor.) How many nnd what uro tho names of tho Judges of the Huprumo Court of the United Htutes? What are tho names of tho members of the President's Cabinet? AI.HKUT MELTON. There are nine Justices In tho su preme Judiciary of the United States. They are: Edward D. While. Chief Justice; Joseph Mi Kenna, Oliver W. Holmes. William 11. Day. Charles K. Hushes, W. VanPevanter, Joseph It. Lamar, Mahlon Pitney Bnd James C. McReynoIds, Associate Justices. The President' Cabinet consists of: William J. Bryan, Hecrelary of citato; W. G. McAdoo. Secretary of tho Treasury; Llmlley M. tiarrlson, Sei rc tary ot War; Thomas Watt Gregory. Altorney-Ooncral; Albert H. llurlcson. Postniaster-C.encrul; Josephus Punlcls. Secretary of tho Navy; Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior; David V. Houston, Secretary of Agriculture; William C. lUtlfleld. Secretary of Com merce: William Puuchop Wilson, Sec retary of Labor. opyriKhtlna . ron I U.M', ren. .1. 1 to" f Please Inform tne what to do and how to proceed In applying for a ropyrtiihl A tin, K nnlfl of a. sons' S musical composition? ... r a.i.iiv iiuviiu.c. . , ... if... , : .. ...I Pul nfflfA for Apply II loc , F-i ,,,..,. - , i.f... ni..iA- I f , ma t Inn as til a uooaiei ni"'Ma cla.ses of copyrluht, and do. ldo on tho class under wnirn you uetuo nm your manuscript. Ai'iuy ir A r,l I, lank filled Out II Ulan., anu i" -' required, together with manuscript of song, etc, to tho copyright ofdea at Washington. . .. 1 1 . The wonts aro moro propcuy fhi. ( the lyric; the music the composition. Pay sail Honrs for Dressmakers. n. I.-.I. a ITn fhe Kriitor t What Is the new law In ranard to hours and wanes lor womin sm,ii..y.. In dressmaking shops? MAl'.EI t.,.,.,n.liinL' conies under the ruling of tho Industrial Welfare Commission, which fixes the minimum wage for such work at $.:5 a week and limits tho time for doing such work to M hours week. Two Hand. Pull Harder Than One. When manufacturer and dealor join together to push a particular product, results are sure to follow. It Is a case "where two heads and two pairs of hands are better than ono. Tho meeting ground for mutual effort is tho advertising columns of tho newspaper. When tho manufacturer adver tises his product ho Is creating prospective customers for tho atoro of tho dealer. When tho dealer pulls with tho manufacturer he Is cashing in on tho newspaper advertising. He shows tho goods 1n his win dows and on his counters, bringing them to the notice of ciu-tomers and selling the goods. It is tho kind of co-operation that spells mutual profit.