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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 17, 1915)
IE 3I0RXING OREGONIAW, WEDNESDAY, MARCH IT, 1915. POBTLASD. OREGON". Kr.tered at Portland. Oregon. Postofflce as Subscription Rates Invariably In advance. (By jaau.f -. ;, ' r.i uhpiIbv air months. ... i3. 3aily.' without Sunday, three montlia. . I '-; J'aJlv. -without Sunday, one month . Weekly, one year i-""? Sunday, one year -rV ' e-nnday and. Weekly, one year S-au By Carrier.) J'ally. Sunday rneiuded. one year. W-JJ Xmil. Sunday Included, oae montlt..-.. .' Hear Remit Send Poateffice money er ier, express order or personal check oa your lorrt bank. Stamp, n or currency are at Pender's rii.lt. ilve postoffice address u fall, including- county and state. rwtaca Kates 13 to 36 pages. 1 cent: la o 82 pajjes. M cenlt; :i4 to past cents: to 60 pace. 4 rents: 62 to i pases, 0 -eiua: 78 to vt as a cents, Foreign post, are. double rates. Eastern Bllie Office Veree k Cenk Jin. w York. i4ruawlclt building; Chicago, tstenscr building. as rro-lr Office R. J. Bid" ell Cora- Tait?. t - Market street. J-OK1XAXD, WEDNESDAY, .MAR. 17. WIS. TIU5 BRITISH BLOCKADE. The British order In council estab lishing a blockade against all com merce with Germany is an application on the ;ca of the same theory which Germany ia accused of applying on land that might is right. As to food, German acceptance of the American proposal that imported food be dis tributed among the civil population under American supervision and guar anty deprives Britain of all ground for alleging .that imports are or may be destined for the armed forces. The British order Is a frank admission of purpose to starve out Germany and to paralyze her industries and commerce by denying her raw material and bj preventing export of German goods, even in neutral ships to neutral coun tries. By the fiat of the nation which proclaims itself mistress of the seas, Germany is put ia Coventry. Thin action is an evidence of con tempt for Germany's submarine cam paign. One of the concessions offered by Germany for free admission of food for the civil population was the aban donment of this campaign, but Britain practically defies Germany to do her worst with submarines. Almost every day sees the destruction of some Brit ish or neutral ship and the loss of sailors" lives, but this is treated as a mere trifle, an unavoidable incident of war. and the British government goes relentlessly forward with plans for the economic prostration of Ger many. Britain seeks to justify her course as retaliation for German "vio lation of the usages of war" in the de struction of all British and allied mer chant vessels "irrespective of the safe ly and the lives of the passengers and the crews." Germany's offer to cease this submarine campaign and to dis tribute imported food only among the civil population removes this justifica tion, but Britain sweeps aside German concessions as of no consequence. t Britain's action Is as clear a viola tion of international law as is Ger many's submarine campaign, but the latter is no longer an excuse for the blockade. The' order in council is an attempt to obtain all the advantages of a blockade without complying with the obligations imposed by interna tional law'. It is also an attempt to ndapt the methods and rules of block ade to modern conditions of warfare, but every doubtful question is solved in favor of Britain. The Declaration of London is the latest statement of international law on this subject, but I.avreiice in his "Principles of Inter national Law" intimates that in some respects the rules therein laid down have already become obsolete. He points out that to maintain an effec tive blockade it may be necessary to station ships 300 miles from the blockaded port, as a vessel could evade the warships after dark and steam that distance at night. Prior to the London Declaration. Britain main tained the right of a blockading power to capture a ship at any point in the outward or return voyage, but she sur rendered that right in the Declaration. She now reasserts it. though she does not style her naval operations a blockade. Another point where the old style blockade is impracticable relates to the close patrol of a block aded port. Mines and submarines have rendered this impracticable, for ships cruising close in could easily be destroyed. Britain evados the obligation of a blockade by a pretended renunciation of some of the rights It confers on a belligerent. Were she to proclaim and maintain a blockade, she would have the right to capture all neutral ships and cargoes seeking to enter or leave a German port without paying for thenv he proposes merely to take ships to BrititJi. ports, to unload their cargoes, take them before a prise court, condemn contraband goods, requisition and pay for such noncon traband as she needs and sell the re mainder, but not pay for it until the war is over. The. seized ship is pre sumed to be guilty until its innocence is proved. This is a direct reversal of a fundamental principle of law, that the accused is presumed to be inno cent until proved guilty. Although, the rules of blockade may nceed revision to conform with the present methods of warfare, a confer ence of all nations alone has authority to make the revision. Britain at tempts to revise them by her sole ac tion Jn conjunction with her allies, to meet their necessities in time of war. This is done lit callous disregard of the rights of neutrals, like a man who rushes to attack an enemy and knocks down several bystanders in his rush. Britain cannot expect that the new rules which she seeks-to enforce by might alone will be sustained by the tribunals which will ultimately adjudicate the disputes growing out of the war. Here purpose is to extract all possible advantage from her style of blockade in this time of need and to take the risks of having to pay in the ond. The only limit to her arbi trary encroachments on the rights of neutrals is likely to be the point at which they would be provoked to war. President Wilson rightly interprets the temper of the American people when he announces his intention to protest vigorously against this London decree, which in its arrogance is par alleled by Napoleon's Berlin and Milan decrees. The United States is not likely to be alone in its protest, for Holland has shown signs of Joining us and the Scandinavian countries will also second us if their people have the enrage of their forefathers. The backing of Central and South America would give the protest such weight that even proud England must give heed. Neutral nations will not meekly tolerate the destruction of a large part of their commerce at the dictum of one nation, which has no other author ity than possession of the greatest navy. Still less willing will they be to tolerate it when the design is to use (Pally. Sunday Included, one year. TValy. Sunday Included, six month.... I - IDary, bundav Inciuded, three montns.. i..a lially. Punday Included, one month . .a T-. , i .- ,,,,, csundav. on year . .- euo them as Involuntary Instruments for conquering a. nation by the starvation of its women, children and old men. FAK.WKRS' BONANZA TEARS. If all industries in the Pacific Northwest were as prosperous and had as bright prospects as the grain growing industry, there would be noth ing but optimism abroad. And when that industry thrives, prosperity is not far away from all others, for it is the foundation of prosperity. Reports to The Oregonian from all parts of the grain belt foretell a yield of Si,000,000 bushels of wheat in Ore gon, Washington and Idaho,' if the weather should be favorable until har vest. This would be a record crop for the three states, due largely to an increase of 10 per cent in acreage. Adverse weather is not likely to re duce the crop below 56.000,000 bush els, the total for last year. The price ia now much higher than in many years, having for some time ranged well above 1 1.60 a bushel, and promises to remain .as high through out the year. If the war should con tinue and should involve other coun tries, the price may rise much higher. High prices will prevail next year if the war should be prolonged, and will probably continue for a. year or two after the war ends. The farmers are assured of bonanza prices for their wheat, not only for this year's crop, but for one or two succeeding crops. What is true of the Pacifio North west Is true of every agricultural state. Tho great bulk or that part of the 1914 crop which has been sold brought war prices and the effect ia seen, for example, in an Increase of JS6,000,000 in deposits of St- Paul and Minneapolis National banks on March 4, compared with last March. Farmers of the United States also had in storage on March 1, according to a Government report, 1,509,000,000 bushels of va rious kinds of grain, estimated to be worth at least $1,000, 000, W0. With all this wealth in the hands of the farmers and ia prospect, pros perity cannot fait to spread to other industries. The farmers are now cap italists, and, like other capitalists, will not keep their money idle indefinitely. Thev will spend some on improve ments, which -will give business to other industries. They will seek in vestments and will put money into new enterprises. Inevitably the wealth which has been stored up in the banks and that which will accumulate from the sale of this year's crops will be turned loose and will spread pros perity through the country. REASONS FOR ROAD BONDS. We fear that Mr. Isensee, who writes in opposition to the road bonds today, has not followed current news verv closely. The "small clique of men" who are asking for a special election on the bonding question con sists of about 12,000 men and women voters who have signed the petitions voluntarily. There is nothing inconsistent in the statement credited to Mr. Ben son by the correspondent to the effect that a large part of the bond pro ceeds will be expended for the benefit of the farmer and that the autoist will be able to take his friends for a ride on a rainy day. Roads are public highways. A road that enables, the farmer to haul a maximum load to market is an invitation also to the man who drives an automobile for pleasure. In some cases there may be a ques tion as to whether it is wiser to raise road money by tax levy or sale of bonds. But Multnomah County's need is imperative. The tax levy provides only for building in installments. The bond issue provides funds for imme-t diate completion of needed work. Involved in the slower process is the cost of upkeep of dirt and macadam roads. They are more expensive to maintain than the hard-surfaced roads. At least this is true of the macadam roads. Many dirt roads cannot be kept in passable state in this country. The idea that the-first permanent road work should be done in dis tricts not served by railroads is too altruistic to be practicable. In a country in which rail road construction has preceded road Improvement the larger settlement is along the lines of rail transportation. The farmers there have use every day for good roads. A proposition to tax them to build highways into uncleared land while they' wait for improvements would not get very far. The plan might, in the long run, bring full land development quicker, and again it might not. It would be speculation, Indulgence in which would bring at least temporary disad vantage to those who foot the bills. In the present Instance the place to spend road money is in the dis tricts that have immediate use for roads. CONGRESS NEGLECTS ITS ' DCTY. Notwithstanding all that has been said of our need of more adequate National defense by Secretary Garri son, by the tienerai tioaru oi me Navy, by General Wood and by men of every party, the late. Congress did almost nothing toward increasing the safety of the country. Secretary of War Garrison asked for 1000 more officers and 25.000 more men for the Army. He did not get them. He proposed a short term of Army service and creation or a genuine Army reserve. He did not get them. He asked that te militia pay bill be passed as an aid to Increasing the efficiency of the National Guard. It was not passed. The General Board of the Navy asked for four battleships, sixteen de stroyers, four scout cruisers, lour gunboats and several badly needed auxiliaries. Congress voted two bat tleships, six destroyers, no cruisers, no gunboats and one oil ship. Only in the matter of submarines did Congress approach compliance with the Board's request. The Board asked for $5,000,- 000 for aeroplanes, but got a tenth ol that sum. Provision was made for a naval re serve, but no increase was made in the active personnel of the Navy. If need arose for every ship, several would be wholly or partly manned with green hands who might bring disaster upon us through their ignor ance. The President tells us to rely upon "a citizenry trained and accustomed to arms." Congress makes no provi sion for training our citizens and provides no arms. When every nation which is not actually fighting is fur bishing its armor, the President takes the minds of Congress off our weak defenses to discuss a ship-purchase bill which causes bootless contention and meets a deserved death. We need at Washington an admin istration composed of statesmen who view the world as it is. not as they dream it may become: who will formu late a strong foreign policy and sup- port it with the reouisite force; who will work for prosperity of the whole United . States, not of some section. nor for the enactment of some fad into law. We need men in Congress of the same stamp, men whose idea of patriotism rises above "the old nag and an. appropriation." V COCRAGE MISAPPLIED. The aeroplane, as yet, has little no receirnized utility except as an or in- niment of war. To admit that lt ran he develoned to no other purpose would b to denv one of the fondest hopes of the day. But it ia to be seri ously doubted that spectacular evolu tions such as caused the death of Lin. coin Beachey at San Francisco bundi pnslHhutA anvthine of value to avi tion progress or spur inventive genius to any good purpose. Beachey's daring and skill cannot be disputed. But how much better would it h if his oourae e and abilities had been devoted to experiments other than those wnlen were primarily.. risk or me to tnnu a muimuae. -A hsadlnne nlunero of several thou sami font followed bv a safe and grace ful landing inspires confidence in the DArnnTi) ne hut onlv for the moment. The seemingly inevitable disaster that rnmea tft air men who staae lite against supreme tests of mechanical strength discounts every aemonsira tinn nf the sannftremt et&bllitY Of till aeroplane that has gone before. Prog ress of aviation to thus set back. n,fatt-v of th air. if it be finally accomplished, will be attained by men of Lincoln Beachey's talents working in conjunction with others' inventive rrentns. Even now. probably to mm may be t justly credited some of the successes of heavier-than-air machines in their limited field. When it was riunfTArnus to venture aloft for straightway flight Beachey was one of the courageous few who unaertooK to m- That was constructive work, but the same thing cannot be said of air ,nm morsa nits or hair-raising dives from high altitudes. It is a pity that Beachey's talents were not devoted in later -years to use ful experiments. His financial emolu ments might not have been so great, but his life would have been pro Innntri Kven had death resulted from one of them, he would have had more lasting fame and there would have been more in his career for others to emulate. ' COT.VMBI'S AND INDIA. A courteous contemporary, the Co quille Valley Sentinel, takes exception to some observations lately made" by The Oregonian upon ' the history of Constantinople. ' Our point was that the capture of the city by the Turks in 1453 obliged the western nations of Kurope to seek a new route to India and ' the east in order to save their trade from annihilation. We' added that after many years of experiment Columbus by "sailing directly across the Atlantic found the solution of the problem." The Coquille Valley Sentinel objects that Columbus never really discovered a route to India, though he supposed he had, while voyagers sailed round the Cape of Good Hope years before Magellan crossed the Pacific through the strait that bears his name. This is all true, but, as the lawyers would say, it is irrelevant to the issue. Co lumbus indeed never sailed to India, but he solved the problem of the new route to that country quite as well as if he had gone all the way. The real difficulty was to venture out of the ancient trade routes close to shore and strike boldly across the Atlantic. ah tnrt. of sunerstitions deterred the mariner from this enterprise. It was supposed, for example, mat at a certain meridian the earth came to a sudden end and any ship approaching it would fall sheer down into a bot tomless abyss. Another current belief wa that sailors who crossed the equator would become negroes. The ocean was populated wun norriuie monsters waiting to swallow ship and sailors. And so on without end. - Columbus put these imaginary ter rors to rout by actually sailing across the Atlantic. Thus he really did solve th nrAhipm of a new route to India. He made the high seas passable to all mariners by proving at one stroke tne ..loitT. of a thousand superstitions. After the intellectual and spiritual dif ficulties were overcome by his first voyage all the rest was comparatively nv The seas became the highways of the nations and trade could no longer be stifled by the possession. ol Constantinople or any other key city. THE NEW DRUG 1AW. Thro are sierns in all parts of the country that the new Federal act to restrict- the use of drugs is working effectively. The habitual drug users, deprived of their doses, exhibit a great variety- of painful symptoms. Some resort to crime to obtain the poison to n-hit. hr.y havn enslaved themselves. Others plead piteously with physicians and police orncers to nreait me iaw and provide them with the opium, heroin or cocaine for which their poi soned systems crave. The agonies which they suffer are intense, but, after all, the experience is salutary. Once tne preliminary toi-i,,-.,c nvnr and the Doison eliminat- .,i trnm their bodies thev will in many cases recover their normal manhood and become self-respecting citizens. Even if they perish in the struggle per it iu Viottoi ra than to ero on liv ing in abject slavery to a soul-destroy ing drug. The use of such poisons as nni.iiin. oH rnrainfi not only ruins the body, but it breaks down charac ter as well. The drug addict develops n low riinnintr which enables him to conceal his habit, often for years. The same species or cunning invents many artful tricks to obtain the drug after the supply has been cut off by law. It is reported mat ourgianes nirfinilv crown more frequent than usual since thfe drug law went into effect. The miserable addicts, driven half mad by their tortures, run anv risk that promise; to provide a temporary supply. Happily their agony is only transient and me release from the drug habit when once wop to he lastine. Health of niiiid and body will return and years of useful life may await tne rescuea victim. Thi Viniilr1 sufficiently compensate him for his nassins- torments. Al though it causes much temporary-suf fering, the new arug law is wnoiiy beneficent, since good is certain to come out of .the apparent evil for n-iih it 1r re:nnnRihTp.. A noDulation freed from strong drink and baneful drugs should snow marnea gains m health and intelligence. Roland G. Usher's opinion that it will be our duty "to whip the winner" In the European war gives a pleasant fillip to our military pride. The task once done, the United States would be In a position to dominate the world. The enly disagreeable thought in con nection with the prospect- is that the winner might whip us. Such, calami ties have sometimes befallen even the most self-confident, THE TITLE , -ANGLO-SAXON." It appears that the hyphenated word Anglo-Saxon is' not' in quite so good standing as it once was. The necessities of the British government have obliged it to draw heavily upon the good will of its Irish, Scotch and Welsh subjects, many of whom are neither Angles nor Saxons nor a com bination of the two breeds. It does not sound very discreet, therefore, to be always boasting of one's proud Anglo Saxon lineage. The Celts might feel offended, for they believe that their lineage is worth a few boasts. It is still more ri-ky just at present to des ignate all British subjects by the term Anglo-Saxon as if the rest were of no consequence. So a quest has been in stituted for a new name which shall include everybody subject to the Brit ish crown and offend none. Anthropologists have long known that the Anglo-Saxon race was a myth. It never has existed anywhere except In the Imaginations of ward politicians and their ' followers. Investigators have been trying for years to ascertain the exact composition of the English people, but not much progress has been made in their researches. The most anybody can say is that it is a highly complicated blend, including not only Celtic and Teutonic but many other -stocks. On the other hand there are rem nants of pure breeds living isolnted in England like islands in the sea of pop ulation. Maurice Hewutt says relics of the Normans still exist there "as a distinct caste." No doubt other sur viving remnants could be found., If the population of England is difficult to name adequately on account of its complex character, what shall we say of our own where all the . nations ot tho earth have been mingling for more than, a century? A contemporary making some friv olous comments upon the school situ ation says that the superintendent should have "breadth of vision as well as depth of character." Mr. Alder man has both, and if he came trom a distance his ability would be recog nized by his petulant critics. His real offense is that he was born in Oregon The rage to censor the moving pic tures .is nothing new. When printing was first invented anxious busybodies feared that It would sweep souls to perdition by the million and it was censored everywhere. Now It is cen sored nowhere in civilized countries. No doubt the movies will travel the same road. If the ablest man obtainable In the East were made superintendent of the Portland schools he could not succeed without loyal' support by the directors and his subordinates. Two or three busy and treacherous! tongues can im pair the efforts of any superintendent. The new British blockade ruling substantially duplicates the famous orders in council" of the Napoleonic wars, though the language is different. Now, as then, the European world, is rarrayed in two hostile camps and each side is ready to do anything to win. The three projected American bat tleships will be the greatest fighting machines afloat, but Britain Is laying the keels of 'five to match them. Neu trally speaking, some day Sam and John may stand shoulder to shoulder to sweep the seas. Two ships, grain ladenr are about to start -a. race from Portland to Queenstown arid it is to be hoped a submarine commander will not hold a stop watch on them four or five months hence. Legislative aetion against it having failed, Arkansas will begin Friday to short-circuit its first-degree murder ers. Arkansas is sentimental only when lynching. The Vice-President will soon be of enough prominence to De inciuueo iu the prayer by the Senate chaplain. He has a flag all his own for naval cruising. Good for the Japanese girl of four teen who is the best speller in a Clackamas school! How many Amer ican girls could equal that record in Japan? Now that streetcar conductors are throwing "tack mines" for jitneys, ratalintnrl- measures mflV take the form of axle grease on car tracks. Vice-Presidfint Marshall has been given a special flag. Design is a talking machine rampant on a field of hot air, we take it- Secretary Daniols says the Navy is ready for war. but that we must have no war. So long as we have no war, the Navy is ready. . As soon as Carranza begins to weaken the Administration assumes a most belligerent attitude. Th quarter. million Irishmen on the fighting line today ought to take crack at something. Prussian casualties number more than a million, and Prussia is but part of the empire. French need powder, says headline. We thought they went in more par ticularly for rouge. The United States is to insist that Britain yield. But what if Britain should not-yield? TTnnri Ttlver fruitmen believe they are big enough to stand alone,, and they look so. If we cannot have a submarine for the Rose Festival, give us an aeroplane. Let's get busy and have some of the exposition travel started mis ai- rection. Many yestqrday thought of the Tw erily-fourth and vaugnn days to come. Don't forget to wear a shamrock on this, the seventeenth day ot ireiana. The Oregon Naval Militia appears to be getting down to serious business. A submarine during the Rose Fes- tiv 1 would stampede the fish. The Portland booster spirit was evi- den t at Flavel yesterday. Some steamer, eh? Half a Century Ago From The Oregonian of alarc! 17, 1865. The Vancouver brewery, which is also a lodging-house, was robbed by a thief early Thursday morning. The thief took $3.60 from the clothes of three lodgers, a pair of boots and a silver watch and chain, valued at $40. Messrs. Barman Brothers have turned the Bank Exchange into a handsome bazaar of clothing and in tend lowering the present high prices charged elsewhere for such wares.. We noticed in passing up the street the other day a tine new sign on the What Cheer House. Sheriff Stitzel will today dispose of the trees and shrubbery on the Court house block formerly owned by Thomas Pritchard. Recorder's Court. No items of inter est have transpired In the Recorder's Court for several days. The project of building a canal on the Willamette River at Oregon City is a worthy one. The estimated cost of the canal is $300,000 or $300,000. Two young men 'named Hall and Warnock fought a duel with pistols at Grass Valley the other day. Neither of the "guns" was loaded so their obituaries are postponed until we can hear better news about them. ABSTAINERS' VITALITY" SUPERIOR, StallnHea Offered to Show l r e Alee hoi or TobaeeQ Is Injurious. FOREST GROVE, Or., March 15. (To the Editor.) The discussion of the question of long life as respects- mod erate drinkers, in which you have Joiued issue with some of your corre spondents, may have some light thrown on it by the following statistics, taken from the American Advance some yeara'ago. No doubt the same author ities can give later and more accurate statistics; but it so I have not seen them. Incidentally it gives tobacco users a rap also. It may be interesting to note that while a large majority of the users of alcohol use tobacco, a large jiumbor of tobacco users do not use alcohol, which would seem to indicate that up to the moderate use the tobacco was the more injurious. No doubt this will bring up the points as. to whether alcohol and tobacco act as adjuvant or antidotes. OBSERVER. The clipping from the American Ad vance follows: The must conclusive scientific evidence to orove the disaualifylnir results of even or dinary use of alcoholic beverages is thus summarized, by the- latest official healtn Dul letin of the Postal Life Insurance Company: This bureau has called attention from time to time to the superior vitality ex hibited by total abstainers from alcohol as compared to so-called moderate arinKers, and has cited the experiences of a num ber of comnanies wherein these groups have been separately classified and the relative mortality experience carefully computed, notably the United Kingdom Temperance and General provident Institution, whose experience was referred to in our bulletin Xo. 3, Issued March IS, 1910. In October, nil. Or. T. F. McMahon. medical director of the Manufacturers t.ife. of Canada, read a paper before the associa tion if TJfe Assurance Medical Directors. in whieh he presented the experience of The United Kingdom Company, ins ad staiuer and General Company, The Sceptre T.ifa AnancifLtlnn. The Scottish Temperance Life, The Australasian Temperance and General Life, and also mat oi nm uwm company, showing a remarkably low death rate among abstainers as compared to the non-abstainers who had been niil an nresumably temperate and healthy risks. tMedlcal Record, December 3. 1911; proceedings, Medical Directors As sociation. October 4 and 6, 1911). Dr. Mc Mahon stated in the discussion that his company offers lower rates to abstainers as has been a common and successful prac tice In Great Britain for many years. In the discussion some very interesting figures from the experience of the New Eng land Mutual Life Insurance Company were presented showing not only a low rate of mortality among abstainers, but a ratio of mortality among moderate drinkers Increas ing with the degree of indulgence. Figures were also produced on abstainers and non abstainer from tobacco, which almost par alleled those on alcohol, viz., Katlo of actual to expected mortality - Abstain- Barely ers. - Use. Temp. Mod. Tobacco S9 71 84 8J Alcohol " 72 84 125 THE CACTI'S. I grow where others cannot live, None but I survive the desert sun. The desert winds and rainless days Thru it all, as a babe its milk, draws from its motner s Dreast. I draw trie moisture from beneath the desert s sand. To hold my own, I drew a thousand swords. That man nor beast might waste my life away. Living by the sword I knew not kindness, care nor love. I stood a thing alone Yet waiting for my time. Some thought me useless ti thnna-h such a thing could be. Some thought my use was only pain'- Until my savior came. He knew me And the whole world gains. He took me in, cared for me. Anrf wn.trhed me srow- He understood and knew that I was srood He saw that I was made for man. &T.4 ltnrtwtnsr love. T ceased to draw my swords What need has Love of Bwords? And now for man I make the desert bloom. Oh, Man! What you have given me Give to your own; Your human cacti, your misery aouis Take them in, care for them And watch them grow. Before Love, Where worse than nothing grew With Love, Now grows food and wealth for all. If Man will but give to all As he has irtven unto me. Tie nhall tome into his kingdom And of his glory there shall be no end. JULIAN . SW1 I. Question in Pinochle. GOLD12NDALE, Wash.. March 15. (To the Editor.) In the game of pi nochle, if a royal marriage has been declared and the queen subsequently used for trumping in, can anotner aueen from the hand be substituted and 150 trumps be declared? Or is the value of the marriage destroyed Dy having used either of the pair? I find nothing in Hoyle Bearing di- rectlv iinon the play; and differences of opinion arose in applying the rule for counting four Kings, queens, etc, from declared marriages. JIRS. P. H. COLLINS. Hoyle says a player cannot meld cards which have already been used to form, higher combinations in the same class; but he may use cards melded in lower combinations to form more valuable ones In the same class, provided he adds at least one fresh card from his hand. The principle is that cards may be added to melds al ready shown by, but they cannot be taken away to form other combinations in the sam class. For example: Royal marriages have been melded and scored. The player may add to this the ace. ten and jack of trumps to make the sequence which is the more valuable combination in the same class. But if the first meld Is the sequence he cannot take away from the sequence the card or cards to make a marriage. TAX LEW PREFIGURED TO BONDS Cvrrespondeat Adveeatea Iasnrt for Reads M W e ti- PORTLAND, March 1. (To the Edi tor.) Noticing several boosting articles for the road-bond Issue, I would respectfully request you to give little space for the other side of the question. Is it not rather high-handed for small clique of men to put the county to the expense of a special election for a bond issue, in face of the almost unanimous decision of the voters in the last elections that they did not want any more bonds? Are they so satisfied with spending hundreds of thousands of the taxpay ers' money without supervision, ac cording to a statement of your paper, that they want more? Is Mr. Benson consistent when he states in one place that 50 miles out of the 70 to- be improved is for the farmer, and in the next that we have to do it so he can tajte his frienda for an auto ride on a rainy day? The statements do not fit well together, nor do they correspond with your statement, that about I767..132 of the bond issue will be spent on the Co lumbia Highway. How many, farmers are using these roads for quick travel? They are paralleled by railroads and the dust does not annoy the slow traveler as it would the man in the auto. Don't let it be understood that we do not need to spend money for gdod roads. Tax property to it limit and spend the money on jfood roads. It Ir the best investment we can make. But build roads so that land which Is lying Idle now and can be bought at a reasonable price can De got at and settled. Build good roads in directions not served by rail or water, and. above all. do not mortgage the home or prop erty of the taxpayer for something that does not produce revenue. Or if we want to, let us have all the luxuries we can pay for: we are rich; we can afford it. The man(who cannot afford-a t-000 auto maybe can afford a 35-cent Jitney ride and still have that inspiring feeling come over him when lie is taking bis Joy ride that he Is master of all creation. But pay for it while you go. Do not mortgage the material wel fare of the future. We can only take the timber from the land once lo years. After that the'stumps have to he dug out. We have gone the bond ing craze pretty lively in the last ten years. Let us halt. Never mind what Seattle does. If that city wants to be come a community owned by Eastern bondholders that Is none of our con cern. Let Portland be owned by Port land citizens. - WILLIAM JSKN.SKE. 411 Broadway. The Stronaent Mlnerlty Psrlf, PHOENIX. Aril!., March 11. (To the Editor.) Why so much criticism about the President appointing two of the Federal Trade Commission from the Progressive Party? According to the law he was obliged to appoint two from the opposing party. In the last election the Republican party received eight votes iit the electoral college and the Progressive Republicans re ceived 88 votes. Now I ask you, was it not justifiable in thi President recog nizing the strongest opposing party? UNPREJUDICED. The last election before Presi dent Wilson appointed the Federal Trade Commission was that of 1914, which showed the Republican party to be the strongest minority party, only a few thousand votes behind the Democratic party, while the Progres sive party was a very weak third. Mr. Wilson knew that the Progressive party had lost three-fourths of the votes it polled in 1912 and his action was contrary to the accepted princi ple that minority appointments should be given to the strongest minority party. Date Believed W rong. SALli.Vf, Or.. March 16. (To the Edi tor.) I am convinced that your corre spondent at Medford is in error re garding the date of the construction of the Dollarhide Toll road over the Siskiyou Mountains. The date should be 1S."S. Instead of 1SS2. I base this statement on the'fact that I was in the mail service from August. 1856, to July 1, 185S, and crossed the mountain once a week during all that time. There was no toll road then, but during the month of June, 1S58, there was a large force of men working on this new road, but it was not open to travej until some time afterward. General, then Lieutenant, Joe Hooker, located the present road through the big canyon In Douglas County the same year. The old road followed the bed of the creek for ever a mile through a deep gorge W. H. BYARS. If Law, It la Had Law. PORTLAND, March 15. (To the Edi tor.) International law is a. queer product. According to Robert W. Munly in his letter to The Oregonian, all that this Nation can do with the Prim Eltei is to repair her, fit her out with pro visions, fill her coal bunkers and send her forth to raid more American com merce, to sink more United States ships and subject more American sailors to indignities and loss. Because this ves sel belongs to his imperial majesty, we cannot hold the Eltcl by legal proceed ings. The damage done and the money that this Government is called on to pay for insurance of the cargo of the Erye is to be left to diplomacy. If all this is international Jaw. this Is a good time to protest against Its lack of justice. R. M. T. I!flw to Solve Problem. ABERDEEN. Wash., March 15. (To the Editor.) The following is an easy way to solve the painter's problem: Sixty minutes divided by llitt equals 60-136 minute, time required to paint one square foot with first coat. Sixty minutes divided by 93 equals bO-KJ minute, time required to apply second coat to one square foot; 60-138 minute plus 80-03 minute equals 1 91-1054 min utes, time required to double coat one square foot. Sixty minutes divided by 1 91-10o4 minutes equals 65 53-229, the number of square feet to whieh double coat Is applied in one hour. Another wav to soive: Divide ine product of 138 and 93 by the sum of 136 and 93. D. If. KELLY. Law aa o Bnlldln;. PORTLAND. March 16. (To the Ed itor.) Is there a law to compel land lords to put their houses In a sanitary condition when. plumbing and the walls become defective and are not fit to live; in? If so. who enforces same? j TENNANT. Yes. If insanitary report to the City Health Bureau. If unsafe report to Building Inspection Bureau, city hall. To Clean Hats. ALBANY. Or., March 16. To the Editor.) Can you tell me how to clean my last year's Panama hat? It isn't a genuine Panama, but good quality ol imitation. W', A, A straw hat cleaning preparation can be obtained at any good drug store. Anxiety of Ie BHdrarroom. Youth's Companion. The worried countenance of the bridegroom disturbed the best ' man Tiptoeing up tho aisle, he whispered: "What's, the matter, Jock? Has e lost the ring?" "No," blurted out the unhappy Jock, "the ring's safe no'. But, mon, I've lost ma enthusiasm." y . Twenty-Fiv Year At From The Oregenlaa March J7, lfO. London .Moberly Bell has been ap pointed general manager of the Ixindon Times, a successor to the late Mr. Mai Donald. Bell's dispatches con tributed in a powerful ay to the oc cupation of Egypt by Great Britain in 1S83. London Lady Colin Campbell 1s tag struck, till has written a drama In which she will take the leading part. Lady Colin Campbell after her divorce became quite a literary eeleb rity. She made considerable money from a novel she wrote and many peo ple say she Is the most beautiful wom an of all Europe. Tacoma Citizen Gcorce Kraniis Train addressed 8600 people last night in the tlrmanla Theator. All prepa rations for his trip around th world, which ho is confident of making In 80 days, are completed. R. J. Lsncefield disputes the ser tlbn made by many that tliia ban broil the most severe Winter In the history of Oregon. P-ort y years aa Mr. Lancelield assert was a worie, one and that It snowed or rained for 27 days in March. Bishop Morris received while in the East two donations or 3noi rai h for the Good Samaritan Hospital, the funds being badly needed. The North Pacific Futldrrs Supply Company elected the following offlrrr last night: C. W. Ceulter. president; W. T. Hume, secretary; !!. Varwig, Jr., treasurer. G. A. Vanderbeek returned yestar day from Tacoina where he has been attending a meeting of the North Pa cific Raaeball Conference In which several Portland wen are Interested. That a four-club professional Imgue will je formed to Include Portland. Taconia, Spokane and esltle. is now a certainty. "Senator" Morgan will help organise the ' Portland club, backed by local capital. Italian editors have tried h.ird tn translate the woia "Buffalo Bill" since the famous cowboy-cireusman'M visit to Italy and tho rope. On ot th editors makes it: "Campugriia, Ameri cana di Uugliclino Bufulo Occidental tielvagglo" (The troupe of William, Buffalo, Savage West). Another makes it "S'no capo e GuftHelnio il Buffalo" (Its chief is wniiam the Buffalo). Chairman Lotan. of the republican County Committee has issued a reply to a letter signed by Measrs. BleliK. Witherell and Carson, in which h says in reply to the assertion of Joseph Simon, that ho fLotan) never betrayed a trust of his party. The Central Committee seems to be divided, three lo three. THIS ITCHING HOIK. Midway between March first and Easter, When It's time for the bee and the llower; Conies a pause In the grind everls.Mlns. It is known as the Itching hour, 1 hear in the realm about me. A music that's soft and awed : It's the sound of a Clackamas eddy Where the silvery riffles meet. I see In the visiou before me By the stream where the fir treea tower, A camp of Old Walton's dieciples. lt'a on me the itching hour. I'm unable to work in the morning. I'm unable to work in Ihe nighi : I can see nothing but nshpolc and fish hooks. My studyronm looks like fright. I walk in my sleep In the night lime, 'Tho to rest I try wilh all power; My appetite's left me forever, lt'a got me the itching hour. In puddles all over Ihe pavement. The "rainbow" are swimming shout: From vegetable wagons and mail carts The salmon coma Jumping out. My calabash looks like great big gaff That could hook the old boy from his bower; Be good to me, "kids," I know I am bugs," But I'm "down" with the itching hour. The bathtub is covered with grampus, Grasshoppers Jump under the bed; Salmon eggs float over niy coffee. At times i wish I was dead. Girls in their esrs wear sponnhonks Too big for a shark to devour: Their handbags are made out of firh heads: It's awful this itching houf. I'm trolling when lying In bed. And casting while walking the street; I see baekets, of trout and big pack sacks On every man that I meet. So I oil up my reels and fix ut my flies. And make ready my "kit" for a shower: I'm waiting to "beat It" long days In Advance, It's "s-o-ni-e time" this itching hour. HILLY DILLS. Depositions ef Sick Witnesses. BORING, Or., March 15. (To the Edi tor.) A summons B with a charge of defrauding and trial Is set for certain date, and A lias trial postponed. If the star witness or most important person, that B has to prove that the charge Ik false is in a serious illness and likely to die. and. the esse dragging I cann ing B difficulty In business, can It have trial come to a hearing or have tlm witness' testimony taken by a notary? D nays B can, but E says no. Who is right, please? Your subscriber. C. r. T. A deposition to perpetuate the tes timony of the III witneas may be taken. Perm hr Will arlrloa. KNAR. Wash., March 15. (To tha Ed. ltor. l'lease state where I can get Will Carletnn's poem, "trover Them Over With Flowers." A. R. K. In "Farm Legends." price 11.26. to be procured through any bookseller from Harper & , Brothers, Franklin Pquara, New York City. "Why 'DAME Fashion?'" "Why," asks the Woman Who Wants lo Knew, "do they sy 'DAM K Fashion," when every stylo of dress for the past few years aeems to have been designed for little sllin young girls?" Perhaps the answer has just coma, for surely the styles of today are quaint, old-fashioned and matronly enoush to suit even the most con servative. No more tight narrow skirts for stumbling, tired feet. No more knee-ltne, figures. No mere volumi nous drapery, only beautiful on the ellsrht girlish ligure- Hlmpllcity seeina to be the key note of the present-day mods, and there are many who will appreciate the change. The advertising columns of The Or-esonian contain dally Items of interest In resard to the evar. varying fashions. They carry as much news of this character as the raws columns- ' V