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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1915)
THE MORNING OREGOXIATT, TUESDAY, APRIE 2T, 1915. v rORILA'D, OBEGON. .wintered mt Portland, Oregon. Fostoftice as v, second-claaa matter. ubncrlptlou Hates Invariably In advance: it By Mall.) ral!y, Sunday included, one year $8.00 l aiiy, fjumiay included, six months 4.5 ally, Sunday included, three months... 2.3 Iriiy. Sunday included, one montU 73 ' Unity, without Sunday, one year . tt.00 .paily, without Sunday, six months. .. a.ldo TUMly. without Sunday, three months... 1.73 f rtt - witnout Sunday, one uionin. .M'eekly, one yiar. , .00 unday. one year . l'.5o . 3 00 Sunday and Weekly, one year.. - tBy Carrier.) tlsily. Sunday included, one year ?9 -lJa ily. Suitoav included. on month How to Kemit Send Postofiice money or .rier. express order or personal check on your ,,loval bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at wrnaer a i-isk. tiive postornce address in iuli, including county and state. s - Postage. Hates 12 to 1 pages, 1 cent; 18 i.aes, a cents; a to 45 pages, a cents; -uw to tin pages, 4 cents; 2 to 70 pages, : Events: 78 to 2 pages, cent. Foreign post double rates. Kaatern Husilietia Office Vai-o At Conblin. ISlw York. Urunsnick building; Chicago, fctcnger building. i fan Jrranrbx-a Office R. J. Bidwell Com jhm, 74 Market t-eet. JJ'ORTLAM), TIESOAY. APRIL 7, 1913, . fcllOl l.l) WE DKOr THE TAKIFF ISSUE? t' In an address to the American Newspaper Publishers' Association "James J. Hill made a plea for cessa tion of tariff agitation as a political issue. He had been referring to "the Cpower of the publisher to change pop ular standards and create a different publlc demand." He discerned as "one " exercise of the admitted influence of .tlie newspaper upon public opinion" -4Bi?ns that "a determined effort will be inade to give the tariff the leading 3laee in the next National campaign." Cl-lb referred not to readjustment of particular items, but to another gen cral upward revision. He held that 'a reopening of the whole tariff ques tion with a view to the restoration of 'practices that brought disaster can ilook only toward an increase of prices 2nd be justified only by a promised increase in wages," and ho contended "that these things are not desirable at "the cost at which they must be ob tained. He argued that we can sell "our surplus products abroad only at low prices in competition with other Aviations and that higher wages would 'prevent our making such prices and would continue a large measure of ..unemployment. He then made this appeal to the newspapers: K.;p?rlenca has shown that every general rcoiiu:r-tru'.li.n. of the tariff, whether tor belter or for worse, means at leant two years ol doubt, hesitation, bad business. The eornal see-saw of tariff tips ant! :ownt costs tho country much more than It would tw live ouitly evn under a bad tariff sys tem. iome tia perhu u, the luea of taking the tarllt out of politic, and confining its resolution to a commission of exports, will lie realized, l.i tho meantime, wliiic there .m:iy be pome inlMukes to rectify and some ilems to l.e re-wriitn in tho llcht of stu pendous trade changes That have occurred, imitation for arty wholesale tariff overturn iiiy mii!t he bad for everybody, and l'or lahor worst of all. The reason for express ing these views here is that, if the news papers of tho country mako it plain that they will disapprove of such a movement, which cun have only a political motive and only unfortunate industrial consequence, the attempt will not be made. It seems to it1e thut here lies an opportunity for you to perform a rent public service, and to rise still .further above tho bo of blind suhserv ieri ;o to party which has been tho bane ot the press of every country and of every age. The Oregonian has for years advo cated the same policy as Mr. Hill ad vances that the tariff be taken out of politics. We have urged that the bf-st means of so doing is to confide Its regulation to a commission. This can be brought about only by persis tent agitation, for powerful influences oppose it. That idea can be realized only by inducing Congress practically to abdicate one of Its most important powers. Congress would do so' only In response to an overwhelming public sentiment, which can bo created only by persistent discussion and agitation. Hence we can best attain that which Mr. Hill desires take the tariff out of politics by doing that which he asks us not to do continue tb ugitate the tariff question. This agitation is not now aimed at a genoriil revision of the tariff as soon as a Ilepubliean Administration gains office. The Republican party realizes that the earliest time at which it would be possible to begin revision would be the Spring erf. 1917. Unless the expect ed revulsion of public opinion should be great enough to transfer control of the Senate to the Republicans In that year, revision may not become possi ble until 1019. Thus we shall be obliged against our will to make the best of the present tariff for two years and possibly for four years. But during that interval great prog ress may be made In ripening public opinion in favor of a commission. The idea has taken strong hold and is gaining favor in the Republican party. A good beginning was made at putting It in practice under the Taft Adminis tration, but the accession of the Demo crats to office prevented it from bear ing fruit in actual revision along the lines laid down by the commission. JJemoL-nita have been hostile to the commission policy. President "Wilson having declared a commission unnec essary in 1912, but their hostility has shown signs of abatement recently. JThey have represented that the func tions of a tariff commission are per formed by the Bureau of Domestic and Foreign Commerce and will be per formed by the Federal Trade Commis Jsion. This is true in a very limited aense. The conditions are propitious for Jawakening public sentiment in fa vor of a commission of high stand ting, large powers and undoubted non "Sartisanship. That done, the Repub licans, even if slightly outnumbered in the Senate in 1917," might win over Cnough Democrats to pass a commis sion bill in that year. The commission could then get to work and, if the Democrats opposed, adoption of its recommendations, could have revision iif several schedules ready for ratifica tion by Congress as soon as the Re publicans gained , a majority in the Senate. Establishment of a tariff commis sion will be more than ever advisable when the war ends, for the basic con ditions governing tariff schedules will then have undergone a radical change Jn consequence of the present world convulsion. Scarcity of labor, high, in terest and taxes may have advanced the cost of production in Europe much nearer an equality with that prevailing ?n the United States than were the Comparative costs before the war. The Inly basis for a tariff which will be permanently acceptable to the Amerl--t an people is the difference in cost of production. It will not be possible to Ascertain this difference with any cer tainty until conditions the world over have again become normal. A tariff commission should be created in time to begin its inquiries as soon as the world has settled down. Meanwhile the conditions produced by the war may nullify the worst effects of the Underwood tariff. . - Uncle Sam is slow, aggravating! Blow, but he sets there finally in mak ing a real estate deal. He began buy ing the Oregon City locks years ago. and he has just closed the deal. Yet he proposes to remain the landlord of 60 per cent of Oregon. If he should, a boy would no sooner be born than his parents would need to begin nego tiations with Uncle Sam for a farm for him to liv'e on. Then the boy would get the lease signed about the time when he reached his majority. DOOMED TO SLAUGHTER. Writing from France, where he sees trained soldiers under fire and green soldiers under training, Robert R. Mc Cormick says: Men can be so trained in peace that they are good soldiers at the beginning of the war. the Germans, French and English nave shown it in this war cone. Our reg ulars have shown it in every war. .Untrained men are never, good in their ea.-iier engagements. They are doomed to panic and frightful toss or lire. This slaughter is the gift of the anti militarists to our .Nation. Secretary of State Bryan said, in op position to the training of which Mr. Mccormick wrote in the first para graph quoted, that at the call of the President a million men would rush to arms. These would be untrained men, who, as Mr. McCormick says, would be "doomed to panic and frightful loss of life." He evidently refers to people of Mr. Bryan's way of thinking when he says: "This slaughter is the gift of the anti-militarists," though they are by no means the only anti militarists. The Bryan kind of anti militarists profess a particular abhor rence to bloodshed, yet would delay preparation to defener the country un til the attack began. Then they would send their million untrained men to be slaughtered. The Oregonian also is anti-militarist, but its anti-militarism is of the Swiss type.-. Switzerland preserves peace by being prepared for war. It keeps it soil inviolate with war raging north, east and west of it and threat ening south of it. That' type of anti militarism would withstand militarism by fighting it, while the Bryan type would inevitably be crushed by it. GERMANY HITS FIRST. The'second battle of Ypres appears to surpass the first in fury. Tho Ger mans apparently have duplicated the trick played on them by the British at Xeuvo Chapelle by secretly concentrat ing large forces of infantry and artil lery and by suddenly launching a furi ous attack on the British positions east and northeast of Ypres. Their first success seems to have been due to the use of bombs loaded with as phyxiating gas, which for the time overpowered the men in the first line of British trenches. As to what- extent of ground they gained and actually held, official re ports conflict as usual. The Germans claim to have gained more ground since the battle began, while the Brit ish claim to have recovered much of what they lost. The probability is that a British counter-attack has recovered lost - ground at the original points of attack, but that the Germans have gained at other points, as the fighting extended further along the front. Germany, forewarned of an early allied attack with greatly augmented forces, appears to have anticipated it in accordance with the maxim that the defensive is an offensive. The Germans knew that the British had landed more than 500,000 fresh troops in France and they determined to break the allied line, if possible, be fore these new troops could be brought to the front and broken into actual warfare -as supports in local engage ments." By an offensive movement the Germans could foil the British plans and make another effort to break through the allied line to the coast. The present was the most favorable time, for the thaw and the floods have rendered Poland impassable for both German and Russian armies, and Ger many could therefore safely transfe largo forces from east to west. With Italy hesitating on the" brink of war and with the Balkan states growing nervous at . the spectacle of allied at tacks on the Dardanelles and of Rus sians at the crest of the Carpathians, the psychology of the situation de manded that Germany score a decided success. The best chance of success offered itself when 500, 000 Germans could be spared from tho east and be fore an additional 500,000 British came upon the scene. Lord Kitchener "tippctf off his hand" when he said the war would really begin in May, and Germany took the tip with profit to herself by hitting first. LUCKY STOJiES. Let him who never has put any faith in the horseshoe, the rabbit's foot or the new moon cast the first stone at Admiral Dewey for patronizing the esoteric Captain Rand. This gentle man is a manufacturer of lucky stones. He makes them by the thousand, ap parently, and has lately been haled into court by some disappointed investor in his wares, or by some envious offi cial of the Government, we scarcely know which. The charge against him is that he has been using the mails to defraud the purchasers of his occult treasures and to defend himself he has summoned a cloud of testimony, among them one from Admiral Dewey. The Admiral purchased a lucky stone several years ago and for a long time permitted a reference to the fact in the advertisements with which the land was plentifully showered by the cabalistic Captain. But of late he has withdrawn the permission. . It seems that he was overwhelmed with letters of inquiry about the mystical virtues of his purchase. Did it help him with the battle of Manila Bay? Where was it when he thought of running for Presi dent? Since Admiral Dewey has treasured the lucky stone all these years we must perforce believe that he seta a high value upon it. Indeed there is no evidence that Captain Rand de frauds his customers, while there is any quantity of testimony to the necro mantic powers of the stones he sells. One of the witnesses at the trial never made a successful deal in his life until he purchased one of Captain Rand's lucky stones. Now everything he touches turns into gold. The stones will even cure diseases. A young woman suffering from neu ralgia placed one of them, for which she paid a dollar, near the seat of the pain and in a little while she was quite at ease. The misery had vanished. A dependable neuralgia cure is cheap at a dollar. Captain Rand ascribes the healing effect of the stones as well as their command over fickle fortune to their "psychic power." He confessed on the witness stand that he did not know what he meant by "psychic power," but that makes no difference. The phrase has an occult sound and it reads well in advertisements. It must fascinate the minds of peaders, for the Captain sells M4.000 worth of his tal ismans every year, some of them to most estimable people. Witness Ad miral Dewey's purchase, for example A distinguished New York editor has said that at least two-fifths of the in habitants of the earth still believe in witchcraft. The estimate is probably rather low. We should put it at three- fifths, or even five-fifths in a pinch. Who does not occasionally forsake the hard highway of cause and effect and momentarily at least stake his trust on the witching efficacy of a horse shoe picked up In the road or the new moon seen over the left shoulder? Captain Rand's lucky stones are just as valuable as a rabbit's foot, a buck eye, or a dishrag pinned up over the front door. As long as one remem bers the good they seem to bring and forgets the evil they do not prevent, faith in them can flourish like the green bay tree. A MUNICIPAL ORGAN. Portland, Me., has a municipal or gan, a pleasing possession, one would think. A.Philadelphia publisher who gratefully remembered an old musi cian of Portland, a Mr. Kotszchmar, gave the organ to keep his image alive in the people's hearts. The instrument is of rather magnificent pretensions, having cost some $30,000. It has been erected in Portland's new City Hall, l-which has a comfortable auditorium and every Sunday afternoon it is used for public exercises. An accomplished organist employed by the city at a dignified salary pre' sides over the organ. The exercises begin with a community sing which lasts for ten minutes or so. not long enough to tire anybody. The words are printed on slips which are distrib uted through the audience and tho or ganist takes good care that everybody sings In time and tune. If some do not it matters little, since their linger ing discords are drowned by the har monious thunders of the crowd and the instrument. ' After the commuity sing comes a sermon, which by inexorable edict must be unsectarian. The exercises close with half an hour of pure organ music, a fugue by Bach, some tidbits from Tschaikowski's Pathetic Sym phony, and the like. The music is as good as the most high-browed artist could ask for and yet the people like it. They submit to wait till the last note is played before putting their bon nets and shawls on, and, it is said, no body talks during the performance. This is another bit of evidence that the common superstition, "The public does not enjoy good music," is all non sense. The public does not enjoy dull music, iwhich is quite a different thing from good music. Portland's Sunday afternoon exercises seem remarkably well devised. Some might think that the sermon, which lasts ten minutes by municipal ordinance, 13 a little too long, but we dare say it is patiently endured for the sake of the music. Perhaps Reed College will be moved to make some such delightful Sabbath use of its new organ in due time. THE WAR AND DANISH BUTTER. The National Geographical Society has issued an interesting circular giv ing the effects of the European war on the sale of Danish butter. This great staple of international commerce no longer finds markets it did before the war broke out and the consequent loss to the Danish dairymen will be heavy. In normal times their butter sells for a dollar a pound, which is a better price than the dairymen of any other country can obtain. It is sold fresh in England, where it is a luxury for epicures. To distant parts of the world It is shipped in tins, and the packing is so adept that it is not injured by the prolonged heat of the tropical sun. Travelers in Burma h and South Africa tell of using Danish butter. It goes wherever white men fight or trade. But now the Danes find it piling up in their warehouses, with no outlet until the ships of the world are again free to traverse the high seas. - There is an instructive story con nected with the production of Danish butter. It is not many years since the farmers of Denmark practiced that sterile and impoverishing individualism which prevails in so many parts of the United States. Each man made but ter on his own premises in his own way. There was no common standard, no system of grading, no rigorous cer tification of quality and precious little quality to certify in any case. The but ter could not be sold, and the farmers grew poorer every year. . In that crisis a genius arose who, by founding the rural folk schools and by, other wise' measures, taught the Danish farmers to co-operate in dairy ing and general farm work. The art of scientific butter-making was thorough ly studied. The dairies were vigilantly inspected by women employed co operatively. Each farm was, and is. visited every week by a trained in spector, with whose work politics never mingled. High standards were fixed and 'inexorably enforced. No man was permitted to market his own dairy produce. It was all done through the co-operative agencies. The same system was presently ex tended to veal, pork and every other farm product, with the result that the Danish farmers became the most pros perous in the world. Their experience has a lesson for America. The evil consequences of the great war will pass away In due time, but the good effects of their wise and prolitable co-operation will endure forever. WAR'S EFFECTS ON AFRICA. . One Important result of the war is likely to be a new partition of Africa. In that continent Germany has most persistently striven for a place in the sun. She has acquired considerable possessions there, but they are widely separated. She has on the East coast German East Africa, sandwiched be tween British East Africa on the north and British Rhodesia and Portuguese Mozambique on the south. On the West coast she has Southwest Africa, with British South Africa on the south and east and Portuguese Angola on the north; Kamerun, between British Nigeria and French Congo; and Togo land, between the British Gold Coast and French Dahomey on the Gulf of Guinea. In an article in the Atlantic Monthly Hans Delbrueck recalls a division which he proposed in 1912 as satis factory to Germany and which he still considers -right. He would have that country join- Britain and France in purchasing all the Portuguese coloniesj ana would nave France transfer to Germany the reversionary right to buy the Belgian Congo. He would then hand over to Britain German East Africa, with Mozambique and Lorenzo Marques, acquired from PortugaT,' while Britain would give up to France Gambia, Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast and-would give Nigeria to Ger many. France would give Germany Dahomey, the French Congo and the right to buy the Belgian Congo and would take Portuguese Guinea on the West coast. Germany would also take Portuguese Angola and the small Por tuguese colony of Kabinda, north of the Congo's mouth, and would buy the mall Spanish colony of Rio Muni, which juts into Kamerun on the Guinea coast. The advantage which Herr Del brueck sees for the three colonial powerjs in this arrangement Is that their possessions would be consoli dated. Britain would have the entire East coast from the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope except Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, and would be free to carry out the cher ished scheme for a Cape-to-Cairo rail road through her own territory. Ger many would have the West coast from the boundary of Cape Colony to a point half way along the north side of the Gulf of Guinea; as well as the great Congo Basin in the. heart of Africa. France would have the entire northwest, except the Spanish corner of Morocco and Rio de Oro. Italy would retain Tripoli besides the two colonies already named. Abyssinia would remain the only independent country in the continent. Were the fate of these territories to be decided by the course of hostilities within them, this programme could pot easily be carried out, for the allies have made serious inroads on the Ger man colonies on the West coast, while the British have made little or no progress In German East Africa. But the 'fate of Africa will be decided on the battlefields of Europe. If Ger many should win. she would keep all her present colonies and take all that Mr. Delbrueck proposed she should ac. quire in trade, while the allies would celebrate victory by wiping out Ger many as a colonial power. Africa is the one remaining field for colonization. Americans have an in terest in its fate, for the freer scope European powers have there, the less liftely are they to seek an outlet in the Western Hemisphere and provoke dis putes with this country. xne bcliool Bulletin publishes a pretty poem by Phillppa Norton Sher man, who is a seventh-grade pupil. It is entitled "The Birth of a-Buttercup" and shows bright fancy as well as competent mastery of. English. Of course it is not perfect. Orchestras do not sing as a rule. Choirs do the singing. And drinks are not "real fresh and cold" except in pages of false syntax. But the poem is creditable to the girl who wrote it. Metolius has planted 1000 trees on its streets. The country where that pretty town is situated rather lacks timber and shaded streets will contrast pleasantly with the surrounding fields The "Searchlight" publishes an exhor tation by the Mayor urging all good citizens to help protect the trees. The best safeguard of public property is an aroused public conscience. Modern warfare sips honey from every flower. Its latest triumph is an adaptation of an ancient and not very pleasant Chinese weapon. The "asphyx iating bombs" of which we read are enlarged and glorified stinkpots. The invention" is Chinese, but consider how Christian civilization has improved it. Boston has 9413 women qualified to vote at school elections. At the elec tion Just held less than 41 per cent of them voted. This slothful neglect of duty is being used as an anti-suffrage argument in Massachusetts. It is a pretty good one. Chicago's mammoth "prosperity pa rade" is probably an indication that good times are with us again. And yet a man with perfect digestion seldom mentions his stomach. It is usually an invalid who boasts of his health. The knowledge acquired by the dwellers in the Brazilian Eden from the tree of knowledge seems to have been that work makes a person tired. They must have , been the original I. W. W. The Angels are at the top and the Beavers at the bottom, but there is nothing to prevent the Beavers win ning today but the mere matter of basting tho ball. The British press censor is not so intolerant after all. After he has killed the new he lets the newspaper fill the vacant space with "roasts" on him. There is a deficiency of nearly four teen inches of rainfall around here, but do not mention it and break the charm until the Angels go away. Hood River thinks its apple crop will not be as large as usual this year. However, the quality will be u,p to standard-. Deputy Sheriffs Phillips and Beck- man did great work in catching the highwayman an hour after the crime. The Albers mill fire was an object lesson in the wisdom of building fire proof structures on the waterfront. .The forty American peace women held up on the Noordam are Just as well off as at The Hague. Intense heat in the East will breed the usual frost to kill the Michigan and Delaware peach crops. With Major McAlexander back at Corvallis, why not bring the regiment to the Rose Festival? Yesterday was traveling day and Portland fans were saved an attack of heart staggers. Senator Chamberlain's lantern show will be a bigger attraction than Bryan at Chautauqua. The moral of the Crcsswell slaugh ter of the innocents is: "Stop look. listen." The widow of "Silent" Smith wanted something to raise, her children being grown. Italy is as slow about making up her mind as a woman buying a hat. The Czar has inspected Przemysl, but has not changed its name. If a man; cannot do more, he can at least clean up the basement. The agony of choosing the queen will, begin Saturday. Everybody get a haircut for clean up week. ... , Great days for the choppers. At last the locks are free. Twenty-Five Years Ago From The Oregonian of April 27. 1890. Henry M. Stanley, the noted explorer, is in London. Coming from Berlin he was escorted to Ostend by the King of Belgium. Thousands of persons gath ered at Victoria Station to catch a glimpse of him. He will be the guest of the Prince of Wales. An alarm of fire was turned in at 2:34 this morning, owing to a tire in the Parrish building, at Front and Wash ington streets. The fire was discovered by a. barber who sleeps in the Metro politan barber shop. The firemen were slow in responding, but did good work after their arrival, gaining - control ol the flames in 1 sw.niinutes. The damage will be considerable when estimated. The First National "Bank of 'McMinn ville recently declared a dividend of 10 per cent and also passed $3000 over to the surplus fund. The Western Union Telegraph Com pany's messengers have appeared for the first time in attractive uniforms. The boys are- very proud of their ap pearance and so are. the girls, we sup pose. t i Last evening about 7 o'clock Charles Xewman was run over by a horse and buggy which was driven by Maurice McKim, a crier In the United States Court. Newman escaped serious injury. The steam fishing schooner George H. Chance has returned from fishing the banks off Cape Flattery. Her cargo coirMsts of 40,000 pounds of halibut and 60J0 pounds of cod. A lively runaway and smashup oc curred yesterday at the intersection of Front and Stark streets. While I. M. Canning was selecting some new har ness for his horse, his animal, hitched to a buggy, became frightened and ran away, upsetting the buggy, which was smashed, and the horse injured its front legs. C. P. Huntington, the railroad king. wa3 in Portland yesterday with the lawyers, officials and secretaries of his road. They were at the Portland Hotel and local railroad functionaries danced attendance upon him. He Is in this part of the country viewing the situ ation, but was suffering from such a cold that he -refused to be interviewed. Mrs. W. Clarke Lee. modiste, late of Louisville, Ky., at home i21 B street, is now. prepared to mal.e a limited number of evening gowns, tea gowns and street costumes in the newest fashion. S. L. Stone, the popular retail mer chant of Portland, is now on the high road to recovery. Aden Stark, who died a few days ago at Milford. Ind.. was one of the characters in the story of "The Hoosier tcnoot Master." which made Edward fc-ggieston famous as an author. It was the house of Stark's father that was robbed and the place is still pointed out as such to tourists. Hon. D. P. Thompson, the Republican catiaiaaie ror tiovernor. narrowlv escaped death yesterday at First and wasnington streets, when a telephone pole erosstree dropped on his shoulder. Jt knocked him to the sidewalk Hart It hit his head it would have killed mm. General IX. A. Alsrer. of MIMiin-ar. Mrs. Alprer, their two sons and three daughters, Mrs. John A. Logan her daughter. Mrs. Tucker, and Miss Henry o.nveu iron can Francisco yesterday on tho overland. THey were fittingly received by prominent residents of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Geortre Onnri nn? mi. bailie rewis leave for Europe in a fe days. OX COLLECTIXO WATER ItKNTS Present System All Rlsbt It Tou Knovr the Law, Says, K. F1. Smith. PORTLAND. Ariril 5(5 (Tn h. t-ai. lr-) Referring to the present system oi. cunecung water rates, about which complaint has been made to the City Council, I was opposed to the change when it was up for consideration and voted against It on the ground of ex pediency, but it is the law, and from the landlord's standpoint I fall to anything unfair or unreasonable about it. Having lived Tor 25 years In a city where our present system was In vogue, it is in no way novel to me. In the first place, it is the law. and the complainant will find the courts pow- eness to atrord him any relief: his perfect relief is in his own hands. In the second place, water bills stand in pieci.xtly the same relation, as between landlord and tenant, as grocery or butcher bills of the tenant, and are enforcible in precisely the same man ner and in no other; if the landlord does not wish to pay for the water consumed by his tenant he should re fuse to sign a contract to do so, and In case he does refuse no court will compel him to pay it; the statute of frauds is complete protection against the collection of such bills; but if he does sign the contract, then it Is en- forcible the same as any other valid contract. As'to sprinkling rates. I am not in formed as to whether the water bu reau permits tenants to. sign these. If so, the Jjllls are not legally enforc ible against the owner or his property. To avoid annoyance and possible ex pense it is best to notiTy the city that the owner or property w.ll not be re sponsible for sprinkling rates contract ed by the tenant and you have absolute protection. It is always best and saves trouble and lawyers' fees to mix' a little business sense in your affairs. You cannot sleep on your rights and expect Justice to come around and awaken and protect you. The law pro tects the diligent not the careless and the laggard. . Know your rights be right, and stand for the right, and you cannot be harmed. F. F. SMITH. 100 Hazel Fern Place, Laurelhurst. Lincoln' Wondroun Sympathy Springfield Republican. A touching incident of Abraham Lin coln's characteristic thouarhtf ulness for others was brought to lijrht in Phila delphia by the death there, the other day, of Mrs. Amanda Kuhn, 84 years old. When her husband was wounded In an early battle of the war and was taken to an Army hospital in Washing ton, Mrs. Kuhn went to nurse him, tak ing with her her youngent child. Alter her husband was discharged and went back to the front she remained to nurse other soldiers. President Lincoln, during his many visits among the wounded soldiers, was atracted by cheery Nurse Kuhn and arranged that her baby should be cared for at the White House during the day, while the nurse was busy in the hospital. Carry ing the burdens of the sorely dis tressed Nation on his shoulders, the President of the United States could yet see to it that this child was looked after, so that the mother's mind might be at ease. No wonder that this man of sorrows and of vision. Old Abe, was beloved by his people. The infinite pity of his murder, half a century aso, is that he was not permitted to super intend the reuniting of the sections that had been at war. What might not his generous common sense have accom plished in the way of an earlier under standing? Arrival of at Patient. Life. Young doctor's wife Mary, go and teil the doctor there's a patient waiting to see him. Maid I wish you'd go, ma'am. He maybe wouldn't believe me. PHICE OF LABORER'S BOARD HIGH Road Work by the Day and t'hra Liv ing; Advocated to Aid Fnrmployed. SEATTLE. Wash.. April 25. (To the Editor.) Under date of April 3, I took the liberty of forwarding you a report by the committee appointed especially by the Chamber of Commerce on the Hotel Liberty. In the latter part of your comment on the report you state: "Of course, the Hotel Liberty and all similar enterprises are merely pallia tive; they offer no thorough-going so lution to the problem of unemploy- j ment." Your statement may be true, but not in" Its entirety. To give proper relief to the unemployed (having in mind particularly the Itinerant work er) changes must be effected in our city ordinances, city charters and laws governing County Commissioners. There is no question in my mind but that if the County Commissioners of our county and maybe of Multnomah County had a right to do road work by the day Instead, of always forcing them to have it done by contract to the lowest bidder, great relief could be accomplished. The granting of con tracts to large contractors and the con tinual sub-letting of contracts until the final one who does the work has been forced to bid so low he is com pelled to operate by paying a low wage and charging enormous board for the men that is where the relief must come. The idea of having to pay t or $7 a week for board when it can be had for 12.50 is an absurdity. Speaking of our expense, we have boarded the men for less than 15 cents a day, covering everything; but naturally in camp, where cooks would have to be em ployed and wages paid, it would be impossible; but $2.50 would cover it and give excellent food. The feeding of the men on county work should be under public or state supervision. Take the city work, for Instance, where tlie city is forced to pay $2.75 a day for eight hours' work, which often means seven hours, the men having time to go and come to their work. For the public to take care of the unemployed there should be an emergency wage, for the city cannot afford to have work done in the Winter months and pay Summer wages. These are Jutt a few of te thoughts, and I trust you may make uf of them in some way. The City of Seattle has Just with drawn its support ot the Hotrl Liberty, but the hotel is still running, and we expect to close on a contract for 15000 worth of land clearing within the city limits, and we havet50,000 worth in sight. The volume of this work we might aret depends upon how the prop' erty sells when we get it cleared, for the" property Is being cleared for city lots, and as it. is on a paved highway and belongs to an Institution (the Puget Mill Company), the chances are good. I am firm in the belief that a great volume of employment can , be worked up. One of the principal phases of the unemployed problem that we have been unable to do anything with Is that of the married man. The union ncale pre vents granting them any relief. With an emergency wage and with proper organisation there is no reason why the married man cannot be put to work on this land clearing, as well as the itinerant worker. It . might be they would draw small pay. but they would have the opportunity of buying mer chandise for their families at a rate far below that they pay their grocer. It might interest you to know how cheap food can b9 obtained in a sea port town, located as we are here, hav ing particularly in mind fish of all varieties, frozen and freah. The H- tel Liberty up to the preRent time has served more than 340.000 meals at a cost not to exceed 4 cents each. J. B. POWLES. Chairman House Committee. Hotel Liberty. - FNCI.K SAM AS A STORI'.KKKI'KR Some Further niscoialon of His Rela tions Itk t'UMtoinera. PORTLAND. April 23. (To the Edi tor.) Your article on Uncle Sam, the Storekeeper, attracted my attention. In a way your statement may be correct, but I hardly believe it hits the mark. Uncle Sam is keeping the store nil right and is willing to eellthe good to whoever will purchase, but here is the trouble: All of his nelsrhbors are In a quarrel which has affected our Uncle to a groat extent, wo much so that he deemed it advisable to hold out inducements to other nalionB to come under his flag that his delivery svstem might not be too severely im paired. But John Bull does not rec ognize this kind of delivery as legal, so he lays lown the law for your Uncle Sam and tells him what he can and what he cannot sell to William. Uncle Sam makes a kick and stands on his rights, which John to date refuses to grant. Now. instead of our Uncle bringing .lohn to time by refusing him goods, he prefers to lay off a large number of his clerks in tho grocery and iry goods departments, seemingly thinking John's trade from the hard ware department will offset his loss from the other. This Is where William begins to doubt our Uncle's Klnrerlty. W. C. ELFORD. Uncle Sam dUJ not "hold out induce ments to other nations to come under his flag." In an effort to serve Will lam and others he called on his boys to start a delivery system for him with wagons they had hired to others. Nor Is Sam tamely submitting to John's dic tation as to what he may sell to Will iam. He is having a lively correspond ence with John and may end with a lawsuit. But Snni will not close his hardware department to John in re venge for the injury done to his other departments, though he may suspend business with John altogether as a hist resort. AVILl.AMF.TTE FLOW tiKNTI.Y. Willamette, flow gently, while passing along The home of the roses, we'll sing t'.iee a song. No other great river hath such honor sublime We pray thee flow gently, June festi val time. On thy banks green with verdure the violet doth bloom. On thy bosom is wafted sweet roses' perfume Which arrow iu the valley made known , by thy name Flow gently sweet river, we'll pass on thy fame. Willamette, flow gently, while thou dost pass by The city of roses, whose hills kiss the sky Where often doth linger the sunset's red glow. And robins sin sweetly while soft breezes blow; For there on the slope of thy riverside hill Lie the friends of our childhood so silent and still. Whose fate would remind us, this earth's not our goal. And bid us prepare for the home of the soul. From snow-covered mountains the streamlets do glide. Through orchards and meadows, that grow by thy side. Mount Hood lifts his hat and shakes his white gown And adds to thy fame, oh, stream of renown ! The wild dusky maiden who gave thee thy name. The ghost of Willamette that sang of thy fame Whose presence is with us, with spirit eo free, Willamette, Willamette, flow on to the 80 JEROME H. MALLETT. 1731. East Eleventh Street. Half a Century Ago From The Oregonian of April 27, 1S.-,. Our dispatches of today give us word that President Johnxon set apart this duy for observance by the Nution at large as a season of humiliation and mourning. It eo happens that we are. bj- proclamation of our Governor, called to observe it in much the same man ner and it will add interest to the oc casion that the same thought and in tention is promulgated by the general Government. Notwithstanding the prospects for a bad day yesterday morning, the cele bration by the fraternity of Oddfel lows of this stale in coinmemoralUm of the 4Sth anniverxary of the I. O o. F. on the Continent of 'America was duly observed in this city. After march ing through the principal streota the procession halted at the Methodist Church, which was anon filled to hear the adrdeg of Hon. J. H. Mitchell. Four convicts, the "Lota" Smvth. of this city: Charles Kogg. and Jol,'n P.it ten. convicted at The Dalles, and Will lam D. Quigley. convicted at Auburn, made their escape from the Peniten tiary situated In this city, yi .-tcnl:i y mornirig by sawing off tine. ft th three-fourths-lnch bars of the buck ranee of grated windows with a ca-e knife. At a late hour list maht we lea'neri that Mr. Dclat-hmutt had cap tured Smyth. At a meeting at Columbia Kngine Company. No. 3. held at their hall on Tuesday evenine:. April 23. resolutions were adopted that the house or the company b draped in mourning for the -pace of 20 days in memory of Pre ici en t Lincoln. It was ilro decided that the member of the company at tend in a body the funeral obsequies to take place in the city todjy. Notice is hereby uiven that the Com mon Council of the t'ily of Portland proposes to improve Front street from the center of C street in Couch's Ad dition to the City of Portland to tho center of Hnrt ison street. The m ... j po.-tf (l improvement will he made in tne jonou-lng manner: From the cen ter of C street to the south side r.f Morrison street by pavinc with cobhle stmie nd putting in stonf? curbing und laying sidewalks with two-Inch plank. From the south side of Morri son street to the center of Harrison street by maciidamlxing said street snd puttins- In wood curbing and lavtnc; sidrwHlko with two-mh plank. H. II. Meeker. Auditor and Clerk. MOVIK IVKIIItlATFS 15 I.AMEXTKU. Votild F.llmlnate Cigarette Smoker From (rrrra, Too. rOUTLAXD, April 26. (To the Kdi tor.J At various timea while seated as a member of tl.e audience in vari ous play and film houses of our city I have viewed with disdain the portray al of intoxicated characters for the. purpose of comedy. Now from a personal point of view I don't believe those parts are thought funny by the majority but quite to the contrary, and I believe their elim ination would he an uplift to the stase and screen. We know and feel aasured that the thoughts, charartcrlNtl.s and behavior of our youth is largely brouarht about throtia-h what thoy are taught, see and hear, which in quire reasonable as the child grows and de velops in harmony with his suiround lngs. Now this being the case and the fart that the staae and movies com mand so much of the time Hnd atten tion cf our future citizens let 'is elim inate that which tends to bear harm ful influence and which does not en tertain tho people who sit through and view scenes of this type. And another matter tliat I would like to draw attention to is the smokiu of cigarette by players in sunie films that I have seen. I h. wondered why the promiscuous use of ritaiettcs. if for effect. Well, it has an effect alright, a demoralizing one. and if the player tabooed cigarette smoking while on the stage and screen I am sure another wholesome feature would be added to the play. As the source of frond material is of unlimited meanF let us draw from her boundless supply for clean and up lifting amusement and hnniMi forever that which caters onls to the base and evil of mankind. J. A. M. 5 Movie"' er. From Indianapolis .r. Seven years aao lavid W. ' Griffith was a penniless actor, knocking about New York tryins to get some one to IlFten to his scheme for producing mov ing p'rture1! on a larpe scnle. To!aV he is tiie leadlnu figure In the movlnc picture wnili, with an .-mnunl salary that runs Into lx figures, lie declares Hint within the next three of four years moving pictures. wMI be produced to which the price of admission will bo to and In support of his assertion he points out that a few years ago an expenditure of $.'.00 on a single film was thought to be a much as tiie busi ness would stand, and S cents was con sidered the best price that could be asked st a theater where the only at traction was pictures. Then came the $50,000 picture, for which theater m.n- geri asked and obtained 50 cents. He is now exhlhltlmr a picture In New York which cost 200.0iio, and he Is asking 3 for a seat. The public not only Is payina the price, but It is buy ing tickets from speculators for as much as t'i. "And when you can put on a picture that will cost 2.onn.ono to produce, the public will be willing to pay ?5 a seat for It." he ndus. Prayer at Sea In Wnrtlme. . Iondon Times. When the crew of the llarpalion, one of the Uritlah ships torpedoed off KAm.ht' llenrl arrived ill London. Harper, the second officer, describing the experiences of the crew, said the ship was sailing down the channel at the rate of about 1 1 'i knots. "' had Just sst down to tea," said Mr. Harper, "at the engineers' table, and the chief engineer was saving grace. He had Juat tittered the words. 'For what we are about to receive may the Lord make ua truly thankful,' when there came an awful crash." Turn About la Fair Flay. Washington D. C. I f- tar. "Are you going to have a garden thU year?" "No," replied Mr. (Jrowchcr. "It Isn't my turn to make a garden. I'm going to keep chickens this year and let my neighbors make the Har den." Writing; a Foolish Letter. " Houston (Texas) Post. "Did you ever write a foolish love letter?" "I never wrote any love let ters." "That is practically what 1 asked you." A New Chapter to An Old Story. A certain roofing manufacturer decided to find out about advertising for himself. He came to the conclusion that newspaper advertising was what his business needed. He began timidly but gradually Increased his list to hundreds of newspapers. It.it month he announced that notwithstanding the so-called hard times his business this year showed a 70 per cent increase. Just another straw that shows the winds of newspaper advertising blow towards the cash register. ( I!