s THE 3IORNTNG' OREGONIAN. FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1915. . I wttm rORTLAKD, OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oregon, Poitofflce as becond-class matter. Subscription Kate Invariably in advance: (By Mail.) I-'aily. Sunday Included, on year $8.00 Xaily, Sunday Included, six months.... 4.-5 l-'ally, Sunday Included, three months.. 2.26 XJ&ily, Sunday Included, one mouth.. .75 I'aKy, without buuday, one year S.OO Ially, without Sunday, six months 8.25 Dally, without Sunday, three months... 1.75 Xl!y, without Sunday, one month. .... .60 Weekly, one year..................... 1.50 ftunday, ore y ft&r 2.50 feuoday and Weekly, one year.. - S.50 (By Carrier.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year $9.00 X)i'.)y, Sunday Included, one month 75 Horn to Remit Send Postoffice money or. der. express order or personal check on your local bank, titamps. coin or currency are at sender's risk. Uive poslofflce address In full, Including county and state. Postage Rates 12 to 18 pages, 1 cent; 18 to '62 pages. a cents; 84 to 48 pages, 8 cents; to to U pages, 4 cents; 62 to 76 pages, 5 cents; 78 to y2 pages, o cents. Foreign post age, double rates. Eastern Buslnese Officer Veree & Conk Sin. New York. Brunswick building; Chicago, cUenger building. ban Francisco Office R. J, Bldwelt Com pany, 742 Market street. .PORTLAND. FRIDAY. APRIL. 16, 1915. TWO TO ONE FOR PROGRESS. There is more than an assurance of good roads for Multnomah County and their attendant benefits in the vote on the bond issue Wednesday. There is the promise therein of a general im provement in business conditions, and there is an example that is certain to be emulated sooner or later by nearby counties which are now submitting to dust and mud. The gratlfyingly large majority for the bonds is the best expression of community confidence that could be obtained. The voters have signified faith in their resources, a willingness to back faith with money, a determina tion to progress in spite of retrograd ing influences beyond their control. If there is any psychology in hard times and to the extent that timidity ac centuates them there is Portland and Multnomah County have hit it a stun ning blow. Jt is but natural that every prospec tive investor who has been hesitating, be he home seeker, home furnisher, manufacturer, agriculturist, a mer chant who has been marking time, will derive courage from the emphatic endorsement of the pull-together pol icy. It is something that makes every citizen of progressive spirit square his shoulders and lopk with confidence to the future. For some reasons the size of the bond majority provokes surprise. One or two smaller counties not long ago rejected road bond proposals. Two or three which accepted them were led Into adoption of extravagant construc tion, and are confronted by serious problems in extricating themselves from financial difficulties. These might well have been looked upon as adverse Influences, and In addition to them business depression and strong protest against high taxes con fronted the bonds. But there was obviously widespread confidence in the County Commissioners, confidence in Road Master Yeon and deep apprecia tion of the patriotic and disinterested work of Mr. Teon and Mr. Benson. The Oregonian believes that that con fidence has not been misplaced. Wise expenditures of the bond pro ceeds will be an impetus to good road work elsewhere in the state. Defeat of the bonds would have delayed per manent road construction In Multno mah County. We should doubtless have undertaken work of that charac ter in installments and some delay would have been our only portion. But in other counties the example set by this, the one county best financially able to engage in large construction, would have been disastrous. Perhaps a season of dull times is a good influence rather than the oppo site in such matters as road construc tion. It .invites Introspection. So long as there was continued advancement and every one was prosperous we had less cause to worry about our road de ficiencies. So long as other resources were productive of good business, agri cultural land, the most permanent and reliable of all wealth producers, and our scenic attractions, both lying waste, did rot impress us. But the time of need had come, and the peo ple's thoughts turned to latent re sources. They are to be developed by the most approved method. It is the starting point for a new growth. It is an enterprise promising immediate and permanent benefits. It is the in auguration of a movement that will not stop with seventy miles of paved highway In Multnomah County nor be confined- to this locality. The Ore gonian does not doubt that when the advantages of the completed work become apparent there will be demand for more of it In Multnomah County and throughout Oregon. Pessimism was buried Wednesday. Progress took tip new work toolsv We are a people of faith in ourselves and by our works the world shall know us. ASHAMTH OF HIS COTTXTRT. An officer of the New Jersey Na tional Guard has been so impressed by reading of the barbarities perpe trated upon American men and wom en and of the insults heaped on the American flag in Mexico that he writes to the Army and Navy Journal, referring to personal stories backed by affidavits: If they are correct. I for one can no longer take pride in being able to wear the uniform, of the citizen soldiery of the TJnitea States. If they are correct, the uniform which Indicates United States service is a badge of ehame, showing service to a dis honored Nation, and every soldier and sailor, through no fault of his own or of his service, should hang his head. To such-men as this President Wil son's answer is in effect: "It's none of our business how many people the Mexicans kill, outrage or rob." If it is none of our business now, it was none Of our business whether Huerta or any other man ruled over Mexico. But the President made it our business, going as far as he dared to crowd out Huerta, even to the commission of acts of war. We owe it only to the forebearance of Huerta that war did not result. Some Journals meet criticism of Mr. Wilson's present Mexican policy by telling us that the only means of giving effect to the critics views is war, and that the vast majrjrf ty of the American people are firmly opposed to war In Mexico. The inference is that critics might as well be silent, since they argue in effect for a remedy which the J-Jation will positively not adopt. That may be true of conditions as they now exist, but it may not remain true, There is good reason to believe that Mr. Wilson had some difficulty in withstanding the importunities of Eu ropean nations a year ago and that their failure to intervene was due more to the critical situation which has cul. mlnated in the present war in Kurope than to respect for Mr. Wilson's policy or for American sentiment. If anarchy in Mexico ghould con tinue until peace is restored in Europe, we may witness a radical change in the policy of either Britain or Germany, whichever comes out victor. The United States may receive notice from one of those powers that either we must restore order in Mexico or the power in question will. The American people would be no more willing to tolerate the presence of a European army south of the' Rio Grande in that contingency than they were in. 18C5, when the army was sent to the border and the French were warned to evacu ate. The choice would then be, not between war and peace, but between armed intervention in Mexico and war with some mother intervening power. Deplorable as would be the former alternative, it would be far less so than the latter. This is the choice which will probably be forced on the United States by the President's in effective meddling. The only chances of avoiding it are the vague one that some faction will become supreme in Mexico before the war in Europe ends or that the latter war will continue until a Republican Administration is installed in. Wash ington. In the meantime Americans, not only soldiers and sailors, but civ ilians also, must hang their heads in shame at the unpunished crimes that are committed against . their fellow citizens and their flag. CHILO WELFARE. The first biennial report of the Ore gon Child Welfare Commission touches briefly upon a number of fundament ally important subjects such, as birth registration, delinquent children, the school for the blind, parental schools, the boys' training school and so forth. The Commission does not appear to favor "parental schools" which are in stitutions for the education of badly- behaved boys and girls. The school is supposed to supply the Darents' place, a part which the Commission does not believe any institution can successfully. The report contains some extremely Interesting matter upon the boys' train ing school, commonly called the re form school. It was conducted, at the time of which the Commission speaks. without much regard to the boys' wel fare. They were required to do menial work for the greater part of the day with only three hours in school. "School work," the commissioners re mark, "is subsidiary to labor." Nat urally the boys were not greatly bene fited by such treatment and when they were discharged they were "sent out into the world with no supervision and help to do right." The last Legislature appropriated $15,000 to found a manual training de partment in the reform school. This should contribute' materially to make educational conditions better there but it will not entirely solve the problem. The Commission asks for cottages where the boys may be trained in small groups and for an adequate teaching force. These points deserve considera tion. It is cheaper for the state to prepare the boys at the reform school for useful lives than to support them as permanent delinquents. One of these two alternatives must be chosen. There is no third way as a general rule. TLMK FOR TRADE TO REACH OCX. A practical advance is to be made in promoting American foreign com merce by a conference of representa tives of American states on the financing of trade abroad. The neces sity for some action in this direction has become urgent since the war sev ered Latin America from the -supply of European capital, cut off the Eu ropean market for South American products and crippled Europe's power to supply commodities to the southern continent. We have always needed to unite our energies for the extension of foreign trade, but the present world- situation has greatly increased the need and at the same time has created the opportunity to extend that trade rapidly. The first essential is a change in the point of view from which the Ameri can people regard foreign trade. They are prone to view an American who engages in business abroad as a more or less shady adventurer, while one who obtains a business concession in a Latin-American state is in their minds an exploiter of unsophisticated peo ple, who are in fact decidedly so phisticated. Any support given by the State Department to American invest ments abroad is branded as "dollar diplomacy," while an appeal to our Government for protection against in justice at the hands of a foreign gov ernment is denounced as an attempt to involve the Nation in war to protect private interests. That is not the way Great Britain, Germany, France and Holland built up their foreign commerce. Both their consular and diplomatic service are enlisted in the cause of their trade. German diplomacy aided German cap--ital in obtaining from Turkey the con cession for the Bagdad railroad. When French bankers lent Turkey money with which to buy arms, French diplomacy insisted that a certain pro portion of the purchases be made in ""ranee. When, on the outbreak of war. Britain set out to capture German commerce, her Foreign Office caused the collection of samples of all goods sold by Germany in British colonies and neutral countries for inspection by British manufacturers. When the personal and property rights of their subjects in foreign countries are vio lated, European nations procure re dress, by force if necessary, as when they blockaded the, Venezuelan coast. Changes of administration do not change this policy, as they have with us. In consequence, Americans en gaging in business in Latin-American countries are advised to "get under the British, French or German flag." Foreign commerce of the kind on which we are now embarking has to coax capital, and the lack of support, in the manner described as being given by other nations, places serious ob stacles in its way. Our Government should discover and inform our busi ness men of opportunities abroad; should aid them, through its consular and diplomatic agents, in procuring concessions; and should exert its whole power to protect them in the exercise of their rights In foreign countries. This does not mean war; it simply means diplomatic pressure and pos sibly, on rare occasions, a naval dem onstration. We must also recognize the differ ence in conditions governing domestic and foreign trade. Our anti-trust laws are designed to preserve competition and give the little fellow a chance. They will accomplish this purpose at home when in full operation, but abroad they have a diametrically op posite effect. Only the big business man can afford to incur individually the heavy expense of building up for eign trade. The little business man- is shut out by the limitations of his own capital. In order that the small man may have an equal chance with the big man in foreign trade, it is neces sary that all in one industry be not only permitted but encouraged and as slated to combine for that purpose alone. We are making a good beginning at development of our commerce abroad. Our banks have been permitted to es tablish foreign 'branches, and several have already done so. The Federal re serve law has opened an American market for foreign exchange. Foreign loans are being made in the United States. Our manufacturers should cease treating foreign trade as a side issue. Our Government should cease to regard aid to capital in opening markets as dollar diplomacy and should cease to answer, "It's none of our business," when Americans com plain of being wronged in a foreign country. Our anti-trust laws should be relaxed so far as foreign trade is concerned. If this policy be adopted, the close of the war may find the United States in possession of the for eign markets, and our rivals may face the necessity of taking away a share from us. while before the war they were in possession and we had to take away a share from them. ADVANCING BACKWARDS. Professor Camden M. Cobern, of Alleghany College, takes' occasion in the New York Times to reiterate the old "wheeze" that the ancients were more modern than the moderns. He points to the old Egyptian, saws for cutting stone whose teeth were edged with a substance marvelously like carborundum. It has been found also that some Egyptian riders sat hunched up on their horses' necks exactly like Tod Sloan, whose "new" racing seat excited so much attention in England not long ago. Both carborundum and Tod Sloan's racing seat are as up-to-date as possible but the ancients had them four thousand years ago. They had suffragettes too. Queen Hatshepsu, of Egypt, outdid our most advanced women In her assumptions of masculine prerogatives. She wore men's clothing, called herself "him" in public proclamations and sported a false beard. Few of our modern new women have gone so far, though some of them are well on the way. Hat shepsu erected many temples and monuments to commemorate her ex ploits. Of course her name appeared originally at the most conspicuous places on the columns and walls, as became a great queen and conqueror, but her good-for-nothing husband Thothmes, who unhappily survived her, stole most of her glory by erasing the name Hatshepsu and inserting his own. He was not the first husband to gain a cheap renown at the expense of his wife and the example has been often followed since his day. Thus Hatshepsu sank into unmerited ob livion for many centuries but her glory has now been revealed anew and per haps it shines all the brighter for hav ing been temporarily obscured. At any rate we know that there were suffragettes long before Mrs. Pank- hurst's day. Professor Cobern finds the ancients most surprisingly modern in war and their treatment of the con quered. He tells, for instance, of an Assyrian King who upon coming home after a victorious campaign gave his wife a picnic dinner under a spreading tree with the headless trunk of a captive King for the principal orna mental feature. Armies in those days were accompanied by professional skinners whose art was applied to prisoners for the entertainment of their captors. Evidently the lighter and more amusing side of war as prac-1 ticed today differs but little from the ancient Assyrian. It may be a little more barbarous but we must allow something for the advances of science and culture. TRUE AND FALSE FRIENDS OF PEACE. One can easily guess the reason why the women pacificists are unwilling to publish Colonel Roosevelt's letter on their propaganda, for the Colonel's views are well known from his articles in magazines and newspapers. The Colonel contends that his policy would preserve peace far more effectually than would that of the professed peace advocates and that, moreover, it would secure the National safety and honor. He works to the same end as the women, but he maintains that his means are more effective than theirs. Because his policy includes military preparedness for defense he is termed a militarist by those who imagine peace can be preserved by military im potence, but he can point to seven and one-half years' as President during which his mediation ended a great war and our National Interests were protected without war. That is a fairly good peace record for a man who is branded as a militarist. In contrast with the Colonel's peace policy may be set that or Great Brit ain leading up to the present war. Ex plaining the strikes of British work men in wartime, Robert Blatchford says in the London Dispatch that the Liberal party, which is now in power, gave solid and hearty support to pacifist doctrines, opposed armament and ridiculed "the German menace." When war was declared, the workmen could not suddenly change their coats. "They could no longer say it was im possible, so they said it was unneces sary or wicked," says Mr. Blatchford, for so they had been taught for half a century. When a labor leader recently declared himself opposed to the war, he was cheered with enthusiasm by his audience. The government hiid to make an army, arms and ammunition. Mr. Blatchford says: We had not enough guns or - rifles, neither had the Russians or the French. The fovernment would not say so. The censor would not let anybody say so. More than once I tried to tell the truth In the Weekly Dispatch, and the censor struck it out. How were th5 worklngmen to know the serious need of the cot-ntry when nobody was allowed to tell them? The worklngmen had been led to believe that wars were caused by financiers and armament rings and to suspect of a selfish interest in war every man who urged military prep aration. When war came they saw their employers making fat profits, while the price of food and coal ad vanced, and they demanded- higher wages, which the employers refused. Thus they forced the government's hand, and Lord Kitchener was allowed to speak. He spoke well, proclaimed the need which the censor had con cealed and promised to see that the workmen were paid higher wages to compensate for higher cost of living and extra exertion.. This recital of what has been hap pening in Britain -has a direct appli cation to the United States. Colonel Roosevelt and others who are urging that this nation put itself in a condi tion for its own defense are in the same position Mr. Blatchford occu pied for tn years or more before the war. He -was called a scaremonger and a militarist because he warned Britain of her danger and begged her to arm against it. Colonel Roosevelt Is called a militarist because he warns this country to arm against a like danger. The British pacificists said then, as the American pacificists say now: "We don't want war; we don't believe in war and we refuse to believe that any other nation is so wicked as to want war." The very party which has persistently preached this doctrine to the British people has now found itself compelled to accept war. Britain was amply prepared at sea and powerful allies compensated for her unpreparedness on land. We are III prepared at sea, our mobile army Is smaller than that which the Britons sent into the battle of Neuve Chapelle on a mere fraction of the allied front, and we have no allies. - The pacificists, innocently of course, are not helping to avert war by their propaganda; they are helping to bring it about, for no stronger temptation can be offered to a. well-armed, ag gressive nation than an ill-armed, rich nation. They are promoting a state of public opinion which, when war comes, will place the same obstruc tions in the way' of vigorous prosecu tion of hostilities as the pacifist senti ments of the British workmen have offered to the adequate production of munitions. The whole nation needs to understand, as Mr. Blatchford says, that "men employed In making ships or guns or rifles or shells are employed in the war; they are fighting for their country; the better they work, the bet ter they fight." If when war comes to this country, Americans employed in making war material should approach their work in the spirit inspired by the pacificists, the efficiency of our army would be as seriously impaired as is that of the British army by the slack ness of British workmen. Sooner or later all great private col lections come under the auctioneer's hammer. There is nothing on earth with a fate more certain. Only the other day the great Morgan art collec tions were offered for sale. Now comes the famous Moreau library which Charles C Moreau spent fifty years in forming. It is particularly rich In material relating to American history. Henry Ford certainly knows a good deal about automobiles and he thinks he knows something about war. , He says, to show his acquaintance with the subject, that "militarism -is never patriotism. It is usually commercial ism." When it isn't commercialism it is hypocrisy. Many philosophers have missed the truth farther than Mr. Ford. Rider Haggard's books are always interesting. Readers will be glad to learn that he has published a new one. It is about Allan Quatermain, an old friend much beloved. The author takes up this time the adventures of the hero's youth and makes him as charming as he was when we first knew him. Some parts of England seem to be reasowably well prepared for Zeppelin raids. A citizen living in an inland village advertises room for rent in his "capacious cellars" where "patrons will find a large stock of wines and spirits" to keep them cheerful during the ordeal. We do not know what more any patriotic person could ask. Pittsburg ammunition houses are working day and night filling orders. Orders from every source except the United States Government, which hasn't enough powder for a single bat tle and doesn't seem to care a rap. This is a tough old world in spots. Are Italian out on the Sandy Road lost his money- in a bank failore and later buried more in the cellar. Now that is gone. Here is material for a ven detta. That probably was a new Zeppelin on a trial run over Northumberland the other night. Really, though, it is time the Zeppelins were doing some thing. If they can. The belligerents who are truest to their toddy are the British and the Germans, between whom there is the bitterest hatred. . Does alcohol aggra vate hatred ? Arizona took no chances In voting dry. There is water enough behind the Roosevelt dam to last three years If it never rains a drop. With strawberries from Louisiana, pineapples from Hawaii and all kinds of oranges from California, Portland la reveling in a fruit diet. The voters who voted against the road bonds are not easy to discover. They are either silent or have gone over to the majority. That systematized robbery of a New York Central freight train took place in an Eastern state, mind you, not in the woolly West. "Work for peace" Is the Pope's ad vice to the American people. "Work for the pieces" seems to be the Italian plan, however. A Mexican gunboat declined to sa lute the American flag. Having the temperament of our State Department in mind. From the result of the road bond election it will be seen e that moss backs are relatively few in Multnomah County. A Puyallup "Valley fisherman dropped dead while trying to land a 12-inch trout. Died happy, anyway. Mexican gunboats now have such contempt for American warships that they do not speak as they pass by. The way of the public school teacher in La Grande is rosy. A dozen have married in the past year. The mossbacks of Multnomah County will now scrape off the moss and join the progressive army. The F-4 has been located. Some what late, however, for the fact to be of much Interest. British losses in the war already ex ceed the total of the first expedition to France. Portland gets its pineapples from Hawaii, by the carload and consumes them. Neuve Chapelle has provided history, with one of its reddest pages. Those Zeppelins are well named when referred to as gas bags. This is the weather for the game that has "ginger." Now for a strong pull for the Rose Festival. "We will have good roads!" Contributed Oregon Verse VISIONS. In boisterous Winter, daffodils: 'Mid city's grime, the green-clad hills; Labor-worn, before the eyes Isles of rest 'neath sapphire skies. The grown man's struggle, childhood sweet; ' A crowded square, a field of wheat; Weary slave with dinner-pail; Farm boy whistling o'er the swale. Row on row of houses dense; Sumachs growing by a fence; Garden made by rule of book; Ragged robins by a brook. Blare of band and blaze of light; Whip-poor-will at fall of night; Yapping throng in circus" wake; Lone loon wading in a lake. The vulgar dance, at maddening pace; A gentle girl with quiet grace; Painted face on Lighted Way; A mother's prayers at close of day. Tainted cell and rattling keys; Clover field and hum of bees; Drifted sand on sun-parched plain; Glistening foliage drenched by rain. Sickening toil and tears that blind; -Age when men shall love their kind; Bursting shell and dead-strewn sward; Time when men shall serve the Lord. Earth, where mortals search for Truth, The fountain of eternal youth; Heaven, where time collects no toll. And peace at last for the ageless soul. MARY H. FORCE. Hillsdale, Or. OUT OF DOORS. Oh, the wonderful, wonderful out-of-doors. It must-be God's delight. For he hangs the curtains of silver at morn And the gold and purple at night. There's the music of birds, the ripple of streams. The minor chords of the winds. Which the Master Musician together In one great anthem binds. Oh, this wonderful, wonderful out-of-doors. It must be God's delight. For he clothes the mountains in er mine robes And the moonbeams' silvery light. Oh, to be near to Nature, Let me flee from the city's strife And go where the beauty and peace of God Appeal to the inner life. N. S. KEAEBT. AS OREGON HOSE. When Nature in her sweeter mood Gave beauty to the rose. She ne'er forgot sweet maidenhood. But lovingly she chose A dewy rose, a lily white. And with her own fair hand Designed a gem of rare delight, A fay In fairy land. A spirit of the wildwood Then breathed upon her eyes Sweet joyousness and girlhood Outrivaling the skies. Her beauty is her dower. Her innocence her shield; No fairer, sweeter flower In bonnie wood or field. Though chivalry is over And poets fear to sing. Will she listen to a lover? Will she hear the voice of Spring? GEORGE H. SANDS. TOO LATE, Come, talk not of future joys to me Nor with faith inspire and bid me see A visionary star on the horizon high An emblem of hope, new life drawing nigh. Thou canst not my soul to hope dispose, When fates have ordained it to bitter woes. Nor stay the hour the fates have de creed. Conspiring with nature that I never succeed. Anchor my tempest-toss'd soul to peaceful coast To give it in keeping to some beloved host. What need then prolong, and Inward smart conceal? Doth not the eye our soul reveal? Cease then my heart with temptations rend, t When it's all too late, too late, my friend. ANNA GOLDEN. TUB PORTLAND ROSK. The month of June will soon be here. The fairest month of all the year, Radiant in beauties each year told, Oft repeated but ne'er grown old. Of sunshine bright and birds so gay. Of droning bees and making hay. Of all the grand and wondrous things That to the month of June fame brings. No fairer beauty nature shows Than that of the famous Portland rose. MRS. E. B. W., Box 113, Silverton, Or. TO THE "1913" TOURIST. If you contemplate a visit "to the Ssn Francisco fair, just travel via Portland. Tou will find a welcome there, and share with us the beauty and rVagrance of her rose. Tls the, emblem of that city, as the whole world knows. Then view the Columbia River with its scenery so grand A sight itself worth seeing -unsurpassed in any land. At her mouth, the town Astoria, then Flavel soon you'll reach. And further on the coast you come to Clatsop's famous beach. One hundred miles from Portland, all the way a scenic ride Will land you in five hours or less at Gearhart or Seaside. Now Seaside it is famous as an all-year-round resort. 'Tis there you surely can indulge in every kind of sport. There is bathing, boating, riding, autos, ' lots for hire To view the lovely scenery, of which you ne'er will tire. The fishing in her rivers and her streams we proudly boast. And the ocean fishing Is the best there is along the Coast. If golfing is your pastime and your ball you'd like to tee. You will And a splendid golf links up at Gearhart by the sea,. And facing towards the ocean Is a cas tle styled hotel Where the cuisine it is perfect, the sea foods, they are swell. Now come along and visit us. you are welcome to our shore; Besides those things I've mentioned you'll find there's hundreds more. Her mountain peaks and valleys are a sight to gaze upon. You'll remember long your're visit to the shores of Oregon. P. M'KELLAK, Seaside. Or. RELIGION. For the place we call our home, And all the kindness there. For all the food and drink we have. For all the clothes we wear. For all our toys and pretty thngs, For books, and songs and play. For things they do when we are sick We can say thank you every day To our fathers here. But for that place we call outdoors And all the "lovelies" there. For yellow sunbeams and gray rain. Glad light and flying air. For flowers and trees and singing birds. The changing, windy sky. The stars and moon between the days. We surely, surely ought to fry , To thank sur Father there. FRANCES GILL. A WAV FOR THE "DOWS-AXD-OIT' Self-Made Man AdvUea Able Street BrRifri to Serk Work em Karma. PORTLAND, April 15. (To the Edi tor.) Last night as I left the office I was confronted by a man who wanted help. A strong man he was; so was his breath. Before I got three blocks away, two more had encountered me on the same errand. Seldom aday passes that a similar incident does not occur. I try to argue with them and find the cause of their sorrowful plight. Their stories usually bring nothing new. I advise them to go out of town, but they refuse. Their number is increasing daily and their helplessness is increasing, also. One of the men I met last night claimed to be an American citizen and a Spanish-War veteran. He declared that every contractor hires foreigners in preference to Americans and in many other ways discriminates against Amer icans. Now the question with me Is, what shall we. do with them? Also, more par ticularly, what shall 1 do for them? There are certainly two Bides to the question. Truly I am comfortable and they are in need, therefore, I should divide up. On the other hand, why should I deprive myself or my family of a dime for their support? Do I owe them anything? I came to Oregon when a mere boy in my teens with $7, when the hard times of '93 began. Money was scarcer then than now. I never asked a man for a dime in my life. I should have thought such an act the vilest disgrace. However, I did not deem it a dis grace to work for my board until bet ter times appeared. The first work I did in Oregon was to clear two acres of land for S20 per acre. At this task I earned 65 cents per day, which did not quite pay for my board, room and washing. But, remember, I cleared the land. 1 worked out my surplus boardbill later. It is a source of gratification to me now to drive by this place occasionally and re new my memory of those happy days. Happy? Yes, indeed, those ere happy days. I owned not any man. nor did I auk favor of any man. Care free, debt free and healthy! Being too old and overgrown to at tend the public schools, I got my edu cation at private school, where I paid my tuition much of the time by work irvg half a day and attending school the other half and reciting at night. I go into this detail in order to state my case plainly, I have always dealt honestly and have gained a small portion of this world's goods. Not wealthy, but comfortable. I have a wife, and four boys that I am trying to educate not to be hobos. It is not an easy matter to make both ends meet these times when the monthly bills come rushing In and an occasional call for a new Kaster bonnet and a baseball bat or two. The question is, where shall I Invest my spare dimes and quarters? I be lieve I have a chance of making good citizens of my boys and prefer to in vest it there. On the other hand, I honestly believe that the hope of im proving the citizenship or easing the suffering of those who now are walk ing the streets is very small. I believe It is true that contractors do employ mostly foreigners. This, however, is a result of which the Amer ican laboring man is undoubtedly the cause. The American laborer is In dis repute in many sections, and a large portion of the foreigners are In the same class. Their recent demand for a $3 wage for 8 hours of unskilled labor is but additional proof of the above as sertion. If there ever was a time when organized labor could ill-afford to make such demand, it is now. I enjoy work, and in that respect 1 admit that I am old-fashioned. Before I came West I worked on a farm for $15' per month. I worked on the 8 hour schedule, but it was S hours in the forenoon and 8 hours in the afternoon. Two 8-hour shifts, of course, is too much for any man, but I thc-ight noth ing of it at the time. In my work now I come In contact with farm conditions a great deal and I know that the farmer's greatest prob lem today is that of getting good, re liable help. It is simply unobtainable. ..ow why should such a condition pre vail when there Is absolutely no other occupation where a man can begin at the very bottom and In 15 or 20 years reach an Independent position some where near the top? If I were without a cent today. I would never waste a mo ment in doubt of the success of such a venture. A young man can today go into any county in the state, outside of Multnomah, and by working for his board long enough to convince the farmer of his Integrity, he can get all the work he wants at reasonable wages. By saving his earnings he can, in a few years, buy a small outfit and rent a farm. Or he can rent one all ready stocked as soon as he can con vince the owner that he has brawn enough to make a shadow. In 15 or 20 years he can buy a 40 or 80-acre farm and be Independent. Of course, all this cannot be accom plished on Broadway nor can it be ac complished by spending half the time In the movies or in the thirst em poriums. I have written more than I intended to and have said much less than might be said. I have pointed the way by which some hungry "1k" can win suc cess and independence. It cannot be said that this plan will not work, for hundreds of us have made it win. My happiest days were those when I was getting my start, and if I were down to bedrock today I would gladly go the same route again. If I meet a hungry "bo" tomorrow, what shall I tell him? SELF-MADE MAN. (Which DeWitt Miller once said was slightly better than one not made at all.) As to Incorporating. DRYAD, Wash., April 3. (To tho Editor.) (1) Will you kindly tell me what advantage it would be to an ao stract firm to incorporate? It is now owned by one man and there is one other abstract company In the town, which is incorporated. (2) Would it be wise or foolish to incorporate? (3) Is there any way Jn which a man can incorporate and still own all the busi ness (dummy partner or something of the sort)? (4) Doesn't It tie one's hands to incorporate, as far as selling or making changes of any sort? (5) Has a woman, in Oregon, any claim to her husband's bank account? For Instance, if she wishes to leave him. Is she by law entitled to any of it, and if bo, how can she get It? () Whera can i procure copies of the questions given in the last teachers' examination in Multnomah County? - H. V. A. A. (1) The Individual would not be held liable for the debts of a corpora tion. (2) That is a matter of opinion. (3) There must be three stockhold ers, at least. One person may own all but two shares and in this way control the corporation. (4) That Is for you to judge. Ask a lawyer for advice. (5) Only by a court decree in a di vorce or separation suit. (0) Write to J. J. Krapps. Salem'. Or. Cushion of Love Letters. Kansas City Journal. "They were married kneeling on a cushion stuffed with their love letters." "1 should think such a cushion would be full of angles." "No; those letters were very, very soft." Nearly Out of Does. - Judge. "How many dogs have you, Wooli ver?" "I Isn't got but six now, cuhnet, since de white men took to shootin 'em for killin' fheop. Looks like l'a mlghtynlsh out o' dogs, eah." Twenty-Five Yeart Ago (From The Oreronlan of April 18. 1 !.) The delegates for the Republican state convention are all here. They will begin work at .Masonic Hall at 11 o'clock this morning. The ticket ap pears to be the following: Congrcm man, Biuger Hermann. Ro.eburg; Gov ernor, David I'. Thompson. Portland; Secretary of State, George P. McBrldr. St. Helens; State Treasurer. Phil Metschan. Canyon City, or J. P. Fuull. Baker City; State Superintendent ot Public Instruction, E. B. McKlroy, nf Salem; State Printer. Frank C. Baker. Portland. State Senator Tongue, of Waohington County, will probably be chosen chairman. Friends of J. W. Cusick. of Albany, are pushing him for the nomination of State Treasurer and R. S. Bean, of Eastern Oregon, Is evidently the choice for Supreme Court Judge. James J. Corbett, Instructor of box ing at the Olympic Club. San Fran cisco, has knocked out McCaffrey lit four rounds and will be glvenarou.slr.sj reception upon his return home, not to mention a lino token of esteem In the form of a gold watch. Dr. K. B. O'Brien, a" crazy physician at Vancouver, Wash., tried to kill Father Becker, president of Holy An gels' College, by shooting at him on the street. Biekmore Leroy, aged IS years, whose parents reside at Brownsville, and who has published a .comic paper at Albany, called the Joker, yesterday cluared out for parts unknown, giving no reason for his sudden departure. Colonel Van Cleve, of Sclo, has told The Orenonlan that a rich vein of coal, 10 feet thick, haa been discovered at the end of a 30-foot tunnel near his town. Tillamook Is beginning to be recog nized by the Government and the es tablishment of a llvesaving station ne'ir the bar will be of great service. Councilman Tyler Woodward. friends are considerably Interested in the report that lie Is paying his East ern hotel bills with street railway franchises. W. fcs. Ladd said that he thinks that Woodward and Parrel I must have agreed to let the blanket ordinance go through. Tho Pile foundation for the pivotal pior of the Madison-street bridge is being sawed off. Two and Two Not Four, Says He. PORTLAND, April 15. (To the Edi tor.) "Would Mr. Barzee vote a man guilty of crime or a litigant large tor Mmall, either) damages if he were lit doubt?" Most certainly not and thi is just why "In doubt" voters should keep their doubts where they will damage no one. The Oregonian's comparison Is not a. fair one. An elector's vote on elec tion day takes, entirely, in every re spect, the attitude of a witness before a court or Jury. If it did not never in the history of this or any other state have laws been legitimately made, as in all jury oecisiorjs every man's vote must be counted. No de cision is accepted unless every Juror has opinions and expresses them by his vote. And when once he has voted the consequences pass from his power to repeal or change. Thit is not so with an elector vote. He may vote or not vote, as hs ehoosen. and he may reopen the case by petition on further Information or new evidence as a wit ness and hold another election or trial, as the case may be. while a Juror passes entirely, legally, out of the canr. The Oregonian should get right on this question. Its demand that people Inform themselves Is Just. So much, m good. Its advice that they should vote, at all, uninformed, falsifies every such witness on election day. It docs nor. tend to such statesmanship as would move a city, a state, or a nation for ward with the progress that Intelli gence found In all ages dmnds. C. W. BARZICK. Mr. Barzee Is painfully arguing that black is white. An elect'on result Ik universally termed the "verdict" of the people. Witnesses do not render ver dicts. If the voters are witnesses there is no court or jury, for no one Is left to decide the case. Mr. Barzee admits that as a Juror in court he would vole no If in doubt and thereby possibly damage a litigant or the public, but i a Juror In elections he would "keep his doubts where they would damage no one." Community Property States. BROWNSVILLE. Or.. April 11. (To the Editor.) Please Inform me if theio Ik any state where a man having a wife living and not divorced can sell land and give a deed without her sis nature. A READER. Washington. California and several other stares have what is called the "community property law." t'ndcr thl law property possessed by either party before marriage may remain Folely in his or her possession, and the other party has no right to it. Property ac quired after marriage, except by spe cial bequest to cither party, becomes community property. Ordinarily, how. ever, the signature of the wife Is re quired to any deed, the "right of don er" being recognized in common law. The only exception would be non-com-munlty property In any state having such a law. Oregon haa no community property law. Admlolatrator'a (Marges. PORTLAND. April 14. (To the Edi tor.) My father died in the State of Missouri. There was no will. A pub lic administrator was appointed '-y the court. Does the court limit tho admin istrator's charges, or can the- admin istrator charge as much as he pleases? SUBSCRIBER. A certain fee, based on a percentage of the valuation of the estate, is pro vided by statute in every state. Claaa In Literature. Life. "Who was Shylock. Aunt Kthel?" "My dear! And you go to Sunday school and don't know that!" "To Be or Not to Be? That Is the Question." Whether or not the flare, circular, slx-yard-around fklrt has come to stay or whether tho wore practical, more economical and more trim looking narrow skirt will come back again. Where the former style of nklrt In used in the building of a dancing frock, or a light Summer gown of soft, fine material, the effect Is, without doubt, attractive. But for the plain, smart, tailored suits of serge, shepherd checks, woolens, gabardines and the like, the more narrow skirt will rontlnua to find limited favor. As a matter of fact, as the adver tising columns of The Oregonian will show, coats and skirts of al most every variety are being worn, and their selection will depend upon the wearer's individual taste. '1