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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (May 17, 1915)
6 ' THE - MORNING O REG ONI AN. MONDAY, MAY 17. 1915. PORTLAND, OBKtiON. Entered at Portland, Oregon, Postoffice as Mcandclasi matter. ' Subscription Raloa Invariably In advance: toy . 1 1 . , Iallv, Funday Included, one year ... Jiatly, Sunday Included, six months . Dally, Sunday Included, three months J ullv. Sunday Included, one month Jially. without Sunday, one year . . . . Imlly, without Sunday, six months , . lHlly. without Sunday, three months Jally. without Sunday, one month . . "Weekly, one year ............. riunday, one year feunday and Weekly, one year (By Carrier.) rally, Sunday included, one year . .. Ijally. Sunday Included, one month . .Ss.OO . 4.5 . 2.25 . .75 . 6.1X1 . 3.2S . 1.73 . .BO . J.oO . 2.00 . 3.50 . 9. (Ml . .75 How to Remit Send Postofflce money or der, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at sender's risk. Give postofflce address in lull. Including county and state. Postage Kates 12 to ltJ page.. 1 cent: Is to 2 panes, i! cents; 3 to 43 pases, 3 cents, Co to 6o paxes. 4 cents; S to 7 pases. S tents; 79 to 92 pages, cents. t orelgn postage, double rates. Eastern Business Office Veree & Conklln, 'cw York, Brunswick, bulldlnj; Chicago, fctenger building. San Francisco Office R. J. Bldwell Com pany. Market street. rORTLAKD, MONDAY, MAY 17. 1915. SHIFTING UROIND. Germany seems determined to per sist in her representation of the sub marine war as retaliation for Britain's placing: food on the contraband list. Yet before any suggestion had been made by Britain of preventing ira iports of food to Germany, Admiral von Tirpitz, head of the German navy, on December 2 threatened a sub marine -war on Britain for the pur pose of starving that country and ter rorizing its civil population. This was the very purpose which Germany now accuses her enemies of pursuing against her and which she now makes the excuse for her massacres at sea. Germany proclaimed British waters a war area on February 5, announcing Iier purpose1 to execute her threat be ginning on February 18. President Wilson sent his protest and warning to Germany on February 10. This did not prevent Germany from warning neutral nations on February 13 to keep their ships out of the war zone. Not until March 1 did the allies proclaim the long range blockade against German commerce and not until March 15 was the British order In council issued putting the blockade in effect. Its announced purpose was not to prevent food in particular from entering Germany, but to destroy all .German commerce. The motive was reprisal against German methods of war, beginning with the sowing of mines in the North Sea, continuing with the bombardment of undefended English towns and ending with the submarine attacks on mercnani snips. Food was not declared contraband by Great Britain until after Von Tirpitz had made his threat to starve Britain nor until after the German government had established a food monopoly, which rendered it impos sible for her enemies to discriminate between food intended for the armed forces and that intended for the civil population. Yet Germany first pre tended that the submarine war was caused by the stoppage of food im ports and then rejected a plan pro posed by the United States for renewal of these imports with British con sent. When the United States proposed that Britain permit importations of food to Germany for distribution among the civil population by United States officials on condition that Ger many abandon her methods of war fare at sea, Germany promised only not to torpedo ships if they did not resist or fly a false flag. Her treat ment of the Kalaba shows that she regarded flight as resistance. In fact, she agreed to board and sink them instead of torpedoing them. This was not an acceptance of the proposal and, because it was not, Britain turned down the American suggestion. There hs never been any real danger that Germany would be starved out. She has proclaimed the sufficiency of her food supply. If It ..... V. Aonn.nTr an Vi O f iYin UaCU mbll QLUIIUIILJI bmu V..W measures taken to regulate consump tion were designed merely to enforce economy. The facts prove that Germany first proposed the starvation policy. It did not become inhuman in her eyes until, according to her own statements, it was turned against her. When she had the opportunity to escape it or to transfer the burden of" guilt to her enemies,, she rejected that op portunity and persisted in her cam paign of marine massacre. Germany continually shifts ground in defending her naval war. One day It is said to bo in revenge for the attempt to starve her, another day for tile sale ot war material to her enemies. There is no more basis for the latter than for the former defense Only last December she admitted the right of neutrals to sell war material to belligerents. She has always ex ercised this right when other na tions were at war. A fiET-TOCETHEB CONFERENCE. The suggestion that a conference of Republican and Progressive party leaders be held, preliminary to the Republican National Convention, will meet with favor among members of both parties who desire to see them present a united front in the cartipaign of 1916. The men whom the reunited party is willing to accept as leaders in the future may well come together, as Mr. A. E. Clark suggests, and talk over the principles which should be embodied in their platform. Of course their action would not be binding, but It would be useful In clearing the ground for action and would form the basis for discussion by the convention It is essential to the complete heal ing of the Republican party's wounds that the leaders on both sides in the split of 1912 be relegated to the ranks. Neither the progressives who stayed in nor those who went out of the party will accept as leaders such men as Barnes, Crane, Penrose and .Cannon. Neither the progressive nor the con servative wing of those who stayed in the party would accept the leadership of Colonel Roosevelt or any of his t hief lieutenants. Mr. Barnes has been discredited by the revelations of his unit against Colonel Roosevelt. Mr. Crane is a man of the same stripe, the late Senator Aldrich's willing servant. Senator Penrose has been re-elected by Pennsylvania, but the party at large is under no obligation to follow him because his state chooses him. Mr. Cannon will re-enter Congress merely as a picturesque survival from a by gone political epoch. The party has abundant good ma terial for leadership without calling upon any of the men whose names are associated with past blunders, feuds and animosities. The new men who will be called to the front are capable of building a platform embodying all that is genuinely progressive in both the Republican and Progressive plat forms of 1912, and of nominating a ticket capable of putting; the Nation again on the sure road to progress and prosperity. EXPERT AUVICE. 4 A somewhat bitter experience, doubtless Increasingly re'gretted as each of the thirty-eight years since the event has rolled by, has caused Chauncey M. Depew to issue a warn ing against expert advice. On his eighty-ftrst birthday he said: jn ion i naa an option on a eixtn or tne Bell Telephone for some days for flO.OOO. 1 consulted the-most famous telegraphic ex pert In the country and he advised me to drop it. "It la a toy and commercially a rake," he said. Had I followed my strong faith In the enterprise 1 would today (If alive, which Is doubtful) be a hundred mil lionaire. I have always lost money when following the advice of experts. They are governed by their data and lack imagina tion, and without imagination all things not demonstrated are to them worthless But doubtless a great many others could, if they would, disclose profit from expert advicfe. The rise of the telephone has been used in countless cases as an argument to induce per sons to invest in enterprises which had all and more imagination at tending their inception than did the Bell invention. Countless intending investors have been restrained by ex pert advice and have lived to learn the wisdom of their caution. But it Is true also that some of the best-known revolutionary inventions were originally rejected, by experts. Probably the best test as to whether one shall engage in an untried enter prise, provided he has faith and im agination, and possesses hard com mon sense, is the condition of his financial resources. If only those who can afford to take a chance would listen to the promoter there would be less suffering in the country and probably just as many successful in ventions. t SPLITTING A NICKEVL. The correspondent who is so anxious to obtain equity in water rates regard less of expense should pursue his in quires further into the methods of government. Judging from his letter today he believes that courts and all their machinery are paid for out of fees. Did he fail to read the story recently printed in The Oregonlan of how litigation between two dealers over a second-hand stove cost a county several hundred dollars? The inequalities in the use - of bridges, parks and fire department are not comparable to the inequalities in water rates, he informs us, because they are supported by a general tax and no one pays for their use." This seems to be a repetition of the fancy that taxes are a tine or penalty and that governmental conveniences spring Into being fcom nowhere. A bridge is built for use and every property owner pays directly and everybody else in directly for its use whether he uses it or not. Direct taxes are charged against the property. Water rates are also charged against property. Frequently each is passed directly to the ultimate consumer, but the only difference is that one is paid at the Courthouse, the other at the City Hall. Our equity pursuing friend is quite satisfied with what he terms a metered telephone service. A higher rate is charged for the business phone than for the residence service; some are charged by the number of calls; others have nlckle-ln-the-slot instruments. If. this is a. metered service and quite satisfactory, then the present flat-rate water system ought to be. Flat water rates are now regulated by the num ber of persons in thefamily and num ber of fixtures. There are different schedules for stores, manufactories. hotels and various other institutions. Many large users are required to have meters, and it has been the policy to install meters at residences where waste has been discovered. ' Universal installation of meters to provide additional equality is equiva lent to spending many thousand dol lars to split a 5-cent.piece exactly in half. HASTY RESOLUTIONS. In some phases the resolutions adopted by the State Grange at Tilla mook do not disclose as much thought or Investigation by the reporting com mittees as was warranted. The roads- resolution, for exampre. proposes that the expenditure of state road funds be taken out of the hands of the State Highway Commission and transferred to the County Courts; that the State Engineer be relieved of authority to select the roads to be improved, and that roads be built without incurring bonded indebtedness. How. would the Grange have the road funds apportioned? If divided in proportion to the amount each county contributes in taxes, the fund will be equivalent to a county tax and not be state aid at all. If apportion ment is left to the Legislature, it is a moral certainty that division of road spoils will become the basis for ma chine organization of the Legislature, as it is in the State of Washington. Roads will be built more -on the basis of political influence than cbmmunity needs. Moreover, If our Information is cor rect, the road laws of 1913 are pretty nearly if not quite just as urged upon the Legislature during the session by Mr. Spence, one of th'e Grange leaders and head of the legislative committee Has the road law proved itself a fall ure so soon? In another resolution there is more or less of an indorsement of rural credits. The State Grange is thus on record as encouraging the Individual to obtain long-time loans for improve ment of his own property, but objects to the community doing the same thing for improvement of community prop erty. Pay as you go is their advice to the body politic; pay a long time in the future is their hope for the individual. The Oregofiian is not at this time in dorsing a large bond issue for road work, but what is the difference in principle, pray, between mortgaging all property for all property's benefit and mortgaging a farm for the farm's benefit? The Grange's stand for a single leg. lslatlve house of from nine to fifteen members to sit permanently Is also of more than passing interest. Yet w are reminded that when tne state Land Board was asked why it referred the Summer Lake leasing project to the Legislature when it had full au thority to enter into the contract, the reply was that the members of the Board felt that so important an issue should be decided by a body more rep resentative of the entire state. Here was a matter not local In any sense and presumably of great conse quence to the state. It was quasi legislation, but still exactly of the type which advocates of commission state government assert would be act ed upon most intelligently by a small legislative body. Yet it was passed u to the Legislature by a commission not because of legal necessity, but be cause it was felt that the men elected from and representing every locality in the state were best able to, judge of the needs and desires of the com monwealth. If important matters ought not to be intrusted to a board or commission, what of local legislation concerning which it would not have first-hand in formation, but to consideration of which a large part of the ordinary ses sion is now devoted? MODEL SERMONS. Dr. Lyman Abbott, editor of the Outlook, is of the opinion that con gregations do not want war sermons. Early last Fall people were hungry for any scrap of speculation or intelli gent thought about the war, but now their mood' has changed. It has been so thoroughly discussed in all its as pects, the pros and cons so pitilessly canvassed, that it has become weari some. The news is perused languidly except when some catastrophic event occurs, like the sinking of the Lusi tania. The daily reports have grown jejune. What, congregations want is not sermons that dwell passionately, or even scientifically, upon the evils of life. They crave consolation, as they always have craved it. Blfnd our selves to it as we may. this world is a vale of tears and our life here is a sorrowful pilgrimage. Wfiat can the preachers give us to brighten things up a little? Dr. Abbott has had many years' ex perience in the pulpit and his ser mons have gratified numberless lis teners. He could give a recipe for making ideal sermons if he would. He has not done so yet, but he may some time. While waiting for his words of wis- om we may suggest that a thorough ly good sermon should contain a fair spice of sentiment. If it does not, it will be dry and tasteless. It should also contain a mingling of sound thought, not metaphysical specula tion. That is not what congregations ant, but solid reflection upon life's impressive problems. With that must go a bounteous measure of faith. We o not mean faith in any particular creed or formula, but in the righteous- ess of the world's government. The preacher who can impress upon his hearers that goodness is sure of its recompense and loving kindness of its reward, that Justice lies at the foun dation of things and mercy "animates the decrees of the Almighty ruler, will ot speak without a response from lightened hearts. With' his great faith the preacher must unite great hope. Things will not always be so bad. This old earth will not always be so gloomy. The will of God will be done ere some time as it Ls done in heaven. It is not enough to pray for this. It should be preached for, too, and, better yet, worked for. MR. DANIELS AND HIS CRITICS. The guns of the Administration's critics have been turned last upon Secretary of the Navy Daniels. Some of his antics have made him ridiculous and have been ready tools in the hands of those whose opposition he has aroused. Ho loves to talk, to pose In the limelight, and to stand conspic- ously for democratic equality. He has his photograph taken, showing one hand on the shoujeer of a corporal, the other on that of a blue jacket, his face wearing . a smirk seemingly assumed in an effort to look pleasant." He violates naval traditions by appearing on deck in civilian costume, but with a naval officer's cap on his head. It is dif ficult to conceive that a man capable f such acts ls also capable of wisely administering a great department of the Government. The criticisms of Mr. Daniels fall into two classesthose relating to the discipline and efficiency of the per sonnel and those relating to the adequacy and character of the ships. An article by Colonel George Harvey in the North American Review is mainly in the former class. Renaming Mr. Daniels "The Rt. Hon. Sir Jo- sephus, N. C. B." (North Carolina Boy), he likens the Secretary to Sir Joseph Porter, K. C. B., of "Pinafore1 fame, and satirically traces his career from boyhood. He suggests that the real Mr. Daniels was talked to death in a talking match' by another man who then assumed, and has since masqueraded under the name of the victim. The suggestion is made that he is a busybody and "an Industrious ass." First among his pernicious activi ties is cited the removal of Philip Andrews as Chief "of the Bureau of Navigation and his forbidding the promotion of Captain T. M. Potts to the grade of Rear-Admiral, for the suggested purpose of showing that he (Daniels) was ".monarch of the seas. He makes speeches to ships' crews and thereby disturbs discipline to such a degree that captains dislike to see him come aboard. Colonel Harvey approvingly quotes the New York Sun as saying that Mr. Daniels regards the Navy as a neees' sary evil and as a "field for t-he ap- plication of his political principles.' Hence his order forbidding alcoholic liquor in the Navy, which. Admiral Dowey explains, will prevent our en listed men from accepting invitations from foreign navies because they can not return hospitality in kind. Naval officers could not understand why prohibition was not applied to the Army also. Secretary of War Gar rlson's sole comment was that he was minding his own business, but he "put forth no edict forbidding his subordinates to do what nobody had accused them of doing and reflecting, at least by way or comparison, upon their characters and their conduct. Hence, says Colonel Harvey, "the officers of the Army swear by and the officers of the Navy swear at their respective chiefs." ' Mr. Daniels ls taken to task for 'the turning of battleships into pri mary schoolhouses." He has thereby mad himself so unpopular with en listed men that they hailed with loud cheers a prolonged recess when the ships went to Vera Cruz and hissed Mr. Daniels' picture at a moving picture show.. On; the theory that a sailor is any mans equal Mr. Daniels proceeded to democratize the Navy. He reduced the standard of examination for commissions and "ordered that ten vacancies in the pay corps be filled by noble tars." It is asserted, though denied by the Sec retary, that he ordered that officers and men mess together, but rescinded it when he discovered that colored bluejackets would necessarily be in eluded. Ignoring the Democratic platform declaration against extravagance, he punished New Hampshire for going Republican by taking away ship re pair work from the Portsmouth Navy yard and giving it to Pensacola and other Southern yards. In support of the charge that the Navy is both inefficient and insuffi cient, the North American Review quotes Admiral Flske's oft-quoted I testimony before the House com- I mittee. It also quotes Admiral Knight, president of the Naval War College, as saying that the Navy lacks absolute harmony in all its branches, lacks dry docks and supporting ships and lacks efficient organization of the personnel. His , criticism is t summed up in these words: The thing that is most radically wrong is the fact that the Navy Department takes no account of the relation of the Navy to war. Mr. Daniels . is accused of having taken to himself the honor of secur ing from Congress provision for four battleships, though Congress had re jected his own proposal for only two. The North American makes this sting ing indictment: Of all our Secretaries of the Navy, he has proved himself unquestionably the least competent. If he has done a single use ful act. barring his boasted saving at the spigot while wasting at the bunghole, the instance has yet to be revealed. If he has failed to utilize an opportunity to dis credit both the department and the Ad ministration, the omission is not yet ap parent. A defense of Mr. Daniels is made in the Independent by Park Benjamin, who discovers "a widespread inclina tion to pitch into Secretary Daniels." He ascribes this partly to the Secre tary's having saved $3,000,000 In building the Arizona and scaled down the profits of armor and ammunition making concerns. He quotes the Sec retary's statements as to the number of ships in commission, in reserve and under construction; that the supply of mines and torpedoes and the facili ties for their construction have been increased; that the ratio of desertions is the lowest on record and that "the drunken tar Is as extinct as the dodo." ' The Secretary's notions as to up lift of the enlisted men. savor of the ideas of the French revolutionists of 1793, who forgot "that there can be no such thing as equality in an or ganization in which some of its mem bers must obey the orders of the others." In this respect "the Secre tary is striking squarely at the dis- ipline of the Navy," for example In ncouraging enlisted men to write irectly to him about their grievances. instead of through their captain. Mr. Daniels has not Improved his ase by the wild exaggerations and bold assertions contained in his speech the officers of the Atlantic fleet. No critic that he can name has said that "so long as we have-not as many New Yorks as all the nations of the earth combined, it is worthless," nor that we should have "as many sub marines as the three biggest European nations combined." When a man so grossly misrepre sents the position of his critics, he iscredlts all that he says in his oyn efense. How do the - vigilant officers of Maekamas know the fifty gallons of booze captured early yesterday morn- ng was not intended for external use by the Oregon City fraternity to whom it was consigned? Did they never hear f using liniment on a goat? Secretary Lane has a gradual and painless method of separating recla mation officials from their jobs. They are eased out so slowly that they find themselves out in the cold without knowing how they got there. Thousands of people in the sage brush country have been bitten by ticks and have not died of . spotted fever. In the case of those who die there must be organic or other trouble that predisposes to fatality. If President Wilson always did as well without the advice of his Cabi net as he did in dealing with Ger many, we should feel disposed to urge him always to decide first and consult the Cabinet afterwards. Thpra l not much in Kiffht Fnr th I Beavers when they come home next week, except precedent, and that ls comforting. The pennant winners al ways have a bad first half of the year. The German-Americans are discov ering that they are just plain Ameri cans after all. We always thought they were, but they just needed a gen tle reminder to cut off the prefix. Adjutant-General White is advised that torpedo-boats and destroyers are all right for Portland harbor this Sum mer, but what the landsman especially wants to see is a submersible. When we contemplate the divided counsels of the eingle-taxers, we won der whether the Israelites would ever have reached the promised land if they had had no Moses. Every boy and man in Oregon whose given name is William Lair; and there are many will rejoice in the golden wedding celebration of William Lair Hill and wife. The suddenness with, which the Italian riots subsided when Premier Salandra withdrew his resignation suggests that they were carefully staged. Americans in danger in the Yaqui zone must make their way to the coast to be protected by marines. That is the best this Nation will do for them. What would be the use of any evll- intentloned nation sending spies to this country? We have very little to spy on and we have no secrets.- The Michigan, under charter to the American line, sailed Saturday, carry ing contraband. Does anybody sup pose Germany knows it? With, wars and revolutions in nearly all countries, 1915 makes the first French revolutionary epoch and 1848 seem peaceful indeed- The man arrested on the roof ef a three-story business house early yes terday may have been taking a look at the milky way. The Austrians are about to restart all the Przemysl business, just as the world had decided It could not say the name. There are .figures and "Aggers," Mr. Daly. Some do not He and some de pend upon the shaping of them. If Austrians and Huns do not leave Italy they will be shot full of holes with macaroni. The Police Band will leave a trail ot Oregon harmony on its 'path through the country. Portugal is so far from the firing line it must start a row of its own. This is agony week in the contest for queen of the Rose Festival. Twenty-Five Years Ago From The Oregonlan of May 17, 1880. Wllkesbarre, Pa. Twen.ty-seven men wera entombed yesterday when a cave in occurred In one of the coal mines of the Lehigh & Wilkesbarre Company. San Francisco. The Southern Pacific Railroad Company, owing to the snow blockades and bad weather, has suf fered a substantial decrease in the earn ings of the company during the last three months. The expenses have far exceeded' the Income of the road in that time. Washington. At the request of Mr. Wilson. Commodore Ramsey has desig nated (September 22 as the date for the examination of Harlow E. Truax as a naval cadet from Washington. Spokane Falls. Fire broke out here on the morning- of Friday, May 16, at 2:30 o clock and before it was curoea had caused a damage loss of more than $50,000. The Wasco Board of Trade bas elected the following board of directors: J. K. Morrison, C. J. Bright, V. C. Brock. O. B. Hartley. W. M. Barnett, Angus Cam eron and J. B. Hosford. Richard Lemon has been elected chairman of the North Portland Demo cratic Club and J. Adams has been named secretary. A letter has been received by Mrs. Charles E. Ladd from Miss Hamlin, who accompanied the Pundlta to her home in India. The women of Portland were much interested in this high-caste Hindu lady.'who was in this city about IS months ago. Emperor William's Alsatian shooting expedition, it is said, was a complete failure, his Majesty missing every bird he shot at. Charles F.andolph. of Chicago, who. It was supposed, had ; been missing for some time and about Whom various ru mors and reports have been printed, came to The Oregonlan office yesterday and announced who he was, adding that his family was not worried, as tome believed. Mr. Randolph said he quietly left Chicago because his health was noor. He was at one time secretary of the National Board of Trade and president of the American Fireproof Steel Car Company. Paris Messrs. Bartholdi and Eiffel, after careful calculation, have decided that the celebrated wonder of the world, the "Colossus of Rhodes," as de scribed by ancient historians, could not possibly have existed. Eiffel worked the problem out carefully with, Bar tholdi and proved as conclusively as modern science can that the legend of Colossus is as mythical as those of Hercules or any of the others of the sun gods of old. x VOICE OF COPPERHEAD IS HEARD. Men Who Don't Uphold the President Express Tbelr "Patriotism." CLE ELUJI, Wash., May 13. (To the Editor.) Wy cant you be fair? Every thing is. for England to start a hole nation and wee beeing a Party to Help them. Bryan and Wilson Done rong to themself ouer country' and every one, by Not Insisting or Demanthing thyer rights, to Trade with Germany. The English Press has been Acting sistematlcly for the Last 15 Years like You and this War ls the result. " E. J. DUERRWAECHTER. He Didn't Dare "ten Hla Name. PORTLAND, May 16. (To the Edl-tor- In reading your editortal, "Cop perheadlsm" I wiali to say that you are mistaken when you write about the United States never violated any rules of war which Involved the un deserved death of neutrals. Then do you mean that those school children at Vera Cruz deserved death? Do you, Mr. Editor, think that the women and children in Ludlow deserved death Do you think that there ls no stain on the Stars and Stripes. There ls some people that you can not fool, Mr. Editor. ONE WHO KNOWS. P.S. I dare you to print this letter Why Not Sic Dos; on Prealdentf PORTLAND. May 16. (To the Edi tor.) Since the sinking of the Lusi tanla you are bristling up for a fight and wish to drag the United States in to the war. I would advise you to go over and help John Bull It you are anxious to get in to the fight he needs men like you. If you don't care to go over there I will Invite you over to my place. have a mighty good fighting bull dog who would be pleased to meet you, and I will guarantee you that he will 'be able to shake all the fighting spirit out of you and, perhaps, be able to shake a little common sense and self-respect Into your hide. It would have been a mighty good thing if there had been several hun dred of you crooked John Bull paid editors on the Lusltanla when she went down. Thi country would sure ly be thankful to the German sub marines. - R. T. HOODMEIl Front a Wle Old Scout. PORTLAND, May 16. (To the Edl tor.) I am a traveling salesman and make Portland about every two months I am an everyday reader of the Morn ing Oregonian. and I am filled with surprise that a small city like Portland can keep such an able writer as the gentleman who writes the editorial buncombs that daily appears on 'the eighth page of your paper. The thought that created or in spired these words was the lndeffinate answer given to "Father Gregory's' letter in the issue of May 13. You say the sinking of the Lusltanla was murder. How do you define "murder?" Is It murder for the allies to drop bombs In cities of mixed population, irrespective of whose death it may cause? Is it as bad to sink the Lusltanla that was conveying munition of war to the enemy as It ls for th subjects of Great Britain to mob Ger mans who unfortunately are residing in England? How about the acts the English during the early history of our country, when they employed the Indian to attack our forts,., to oespon tne women, mutulate the men and siaugnter the children? This, of course, is justifiable because you, like the pope, are infallable and are ingiish. Your writings are not. true: they arouse animosities in the ignorant and ridicule in others. . R. H. KAY, We presume the last corresponden classes himself among the Ignorant, as he expresses anlmosltyjiot ridicule. In knowing where he belongs he is to that extent and that only a wise old scout. He "lias not yet discovered that Amer ica's protest is against murder of Amer icans, not against German, English, French or Russian murder of other peoples. Mauretanla Fastest Shin. ' I PORTLAND, May 15. (To the Edi tor.) Which of the two boats held the record across the ocean, the Mau retanla or Lusitania? f ' ROBERT WIFFEN. The Lusitania broke p'cevious rec ords in 1908 on the New York-Queens-town run by makkag the trip In 4 days, 15 hours, but this record was lowered by the Mauretanla in 1910 to 4 days, 10 hours, 41 minutes. The Mauretanla also holds the record for the fastest day's run 676 knots, or 27.04 knots per hour. CHANGES IX SEA WARFARE RILES Correspondent Suarajests New I'ssges to Fit Submarine Combat. EUGENE. Or., May 15. (To the Edi tor.) in view of the introduction of the submarine into modern warfare, it will, undoubtedly, become necessary to make changes In the present rules and practices of warfare at sea. The fol lowing suggestions for such changes are herewith submitted to the consid eration of The Oregonian and its read ers: 1. That absolute contraband arms, ammunitions and explosives in particular be carried on belligerent ships only, such ships to be treated as warships, having the right to be armed, ' and subject to attacks by submarines without warning: the crew to be re garded as combatants. 2. That conditional contraband and non-contraband be carried on either belligerent or neutral ships, such chips not to be armed, and subject only t5 the right of visit and search, and not to be destroyed until after the crew has been taken to a place of safety; the crew to be regarded as non-combatants. 3. That passengers be carried on neutral ships only, such ships not to be armed, and to carry non-contraband only, and to be subject to the right of visit-and search, and, possibly, to be convoyed by-neutral warships 011 their arrival in the territorial waters of a belligerent state; both the passengers and the crew to be regarded as non combatants. 4. That the ship manifests be pub lished at the time of the sailing of the ships. 6. That the limit of the territorial waters be extended from three miles to 25 or 30 miles. - The adoption of these rules and prac tices would seem to bring modern war fare at sea into harmony with the exigencies of the time. JEAN DU BUY Horsea and Food In Germany. PORTLAND, Or., May 16 (To the Editor.) I quote below for publica tion in The Oregonian paper, a letter received by me from a friend in Ger many: I am Just setting; orders to make prepnra- 110ns 10 join my former resiinent. Tlein artillery, where I am a reserve officer. m -40 years of age, but there are many men ahead of me so that they will not need my services for the next six months. am going to every-day training so that may be ready when the call comes. mljht add st this time, there will be r.o shortage of horses for artillery, as we ha an over-supply also there is no shortage of raw material and provisions. We are on; way rrom nunger starvation. By mall, under separate rover. I nm sending you a bill of fare from which you will readily see that pries In cat-s and restaurants have not been changed, and that imported delicacies are much cheaper. Opera houses and theaters are eoine in fill Mast, and the better class of theaters havl full house every day all tickets tx?ing old. With kindest regards to yourself and wife and hoplns; to hear from you very soon. Hincerel'. , ERNEST PCH EL.I.KN BECK. Thanking you in advance for giving this room In your esteemed columns. PAUL, STEIN METZ. MISTAKE TO ADOPT POt'.ND LAW Institution Conducted Carefully and Humanely, and Yield Profit. PORTLAND. Mav 16. (To the Edi tor.) 1 am not in 'the habit of writ ing letters on public matters, but there seems to be considerable agitation at the present time concerning the matter of transferring the conduct of tha city pound to the Oregon Humans Society. Now, I am competent to bay on this subject that this would be a. very fool- h mistake. During the two veara that I served on the Executive loard of the city, 1 was chairina.i of the committee In charge of thirf depart ment and I have no hesltan-y In say ing that the city pound whs 1 '.ittle more than self-sustaining: that the work was carefully done: that no con,- plaints were made to the committee against the conduct of the pound; and impounded . animals were well cared for. and when It wss necessary to do away with any of them, it was done in a humane and scientific manner. I feel very sure thnt it would be a great mistake to dilrb this depart ment when it is beint; so efficiently conducted. sAMUKL COXNELL Cartco Question la Raised. WILLAMINA. Or., May 15. (To the Editor.) ls It a general practice to load 20o0 humans in a ship above a vast quantity of explosives? is it not pos sible that one torpedo only disabled the Lusltanla, causing a listing and sinking, yet by reaching the chamber of ammunition, caused such a havoc that the whole structure 'Jlsappeared in such a short time, whilst naval ex perts declare the Lusitania was ordi narily unsinkable? Every community forbids storing of considerable explosives within the city, yet in this unfortunate ship were enough stored to blow 10 times the number to the other side of time. Is the captain to blame or his com pany or the United States officials, for allowing such a cargo on a passenger ship? CHARLES RHEL'DE. Oh, Sath Luscious Spnds! Aurora Observer. The Mount Angel potato pool, of 1 1 carloads, was sold last week et Mount Angel to Mangls Bros., of Salem, at 71 cents per bushel. It la said the buyers have already sold them at a good profit. Measures on Ballot Xo. 1. Tho Oregonian herewith presents the first of a aeries of explanations of the measures which will appear on the ballot at the regular city election June 7. other measures will be ex plained in subsequent issues. "An art to amend the charter by add ing thereto a section to be designated as section 27513. authorizing the Coun cil to provide lp one proceeding for the elimination of the grade crossings of two or more streets with any rail road or railroads in a district." Elimination of a great deal of ex pense and unnecessary work ii the handling of the big Sullivan's Gulch grade elimination project on the East Side is the purpose of the above meas ure, which will appear on the ballot at the city election June 7. The measure has been submitted by the Council at the request of City Commissioner Uleck. The charter, as it stands, make no provision for handling more than one grade - crossing elimination project with one proceeding. There are eight grade-crossings to be done away with In the Sullivan's Gulch project, and all are so Interlocked that they must be handled as one project. The charter makes no provision now for handling them as one. According to the plan, H.000 lots on the East Side between the head of Sul livan's Gulch and the city limits are to be assessed for the cost of changing the crossings and constructing via ducts. Should It be necessary to han dle each one of the eight projects in dependently of the others, each of the 14,000 lota would have eight different assessments. This would involve a I great deal of useless work on the part of the City Auditor and the engineer ing department. The voters at an election about two years ago adopted a. charter amend ment providing for the elimination of grade-crossings. That measure, as passed, made no provision for handling the big Sullivan's Gulch project as a unit. This probably was through over sight, as it was the general intention at the time the measure was adopted to apply the new measure to the Sul livan's Gulch project. In that case It would be impossible to eliminate one of the crossings without clirninatim; the rest, owing to the fact that the project involves the lowering of the railroad tracks as well as the erection of viaducts. ; Half a Century Ago From The Oregonlan of May 17. 1M. The "down" trade of the Columbia. River is Jut beginning to attract no tice. A few years ago all the ship ment of our noble river were confined to shipments of Government freight to supply forts, etc., next to supply mining communities with the necessi ties of life, and the only returns have heretofore been in bullion, with occa sional lots of hides from the beef rattlo slaughtered there. Last year the re ceipts increased so much that it was taken . into account, and the present season we find it very materially larger. The residents of First street are very much delinquent the present teason by a lack of enterprise In making prep aration for the Improvement of their avenue. a notice that becond. Third. Fourth and other streets are all re ceiving some improvement. John Dolan, County Assessor, is now making the assessment of Multnomah County, and in accordance with the provisions of an act of the last Legis lature is taking, in connection with the assessment, a fall and complete census of the county. The steamer WiL-on G. Hunt has been put in trim and will again reaume her trips to tlia Cascades today. The Hunt, with the exception of about 10 days, aside irom Sundays, hag mad regular trips to the Cascades from this city every 2 hours since the Winter of -62 and '6.1. The O. S. N. Company has Jut com pleted a new side-wheel steamer as near the pattern of the Oneonta a could be made, for use in this city as a vane, to be placed iu feet above, their new warehoiife on a spindle attached to a spire. The boit was made at the establibhment of Messrs. Milwain K. Joynt by a practical tinsmith. It Is s'n feet long and - feet beam. Murk A. King, asrsyer for Wells. Fargo & Co.. of this city, yesterday turned out a fine lot of gold from crude bullion, deposited by Mr. Hotter front the new diggings not far from Grand Konde Valley On the river of that name. The gold shows a value of $17. S3 and $17.86 an ounce and we are informed there Is an abundance ot It to be ob tained In those parts. By the Statesman, received lai-t even ing, we learn that the people of aUm had made preparation for a picnic yes terday at u grove near the residence of E. X. Cooke, for the purpose of re ceiving and entertaining the delegation of our firemen, delivering the engiic lately sold by Company No. 2 to the Capital City. Beale and Baker, the murderers of Delaney, air today to auffer the penalty the law affixes to tiieir monstrous crime. The authorities at Salem are taking proper precautions against any disturbance. THIXtiS I'O K WHICH ISO O.VK PAYS Meter Enthusiast Thinks Bridges, Parks and Fire Defense Free. PORTLAND, May 16. (To the Edi tor.) In your criticism of my article In The Oregonlan you My my com plaint In effect Is that I use less wa ter than my neighbor, hut pay the same price. If this were my complaint (but It is not, it would be good as against the system that brings about such results. Does it really make any differeu-c that the gas company and the electric company have to manufacture their products and do not tap a natural res ervoir? if the service of furnishing light and heat Is worth charging for at all it should be charged for equably. The whole question is summed up as fol lows: A service such as the water service must either be free or charged for. If a charge is made it should be an equitable one. It Is not a question of conservation. althoURh that may have been necessary In some localities at times. But rather shall we formu late rules that are not to he observed or if observed do not tend to deal im partially with the users of water. You ask how would I like to have my tele phone metered. That is Just what I done. Some phones have so many calls per month for so much, ome have a, nickel in the slot. There Is a difference between a residence and office phone charge, because the office phone Is supposed to be used more th.m the res idence phone. Bridges, parks. Fire De partment are cited, but they are not in point because produced and sup ported by a general tax, and no one pays for their use. They would be a good argument against the law requiring a property owner to build the street In front of his property when he may not use it at ail. It is for the public use and therefore the public should make the, roads. A municipality should build Its streetu ty a general tax Just as the county makes Its roads. As for litig ious persons who have the services of the court. In all civil cases the liti gants pay for the service rendered them. It Is true the cost Is usually taxed against the party who loses. In criminal cases the cost is borne by the Government. Even a gravity water system costs something. The original outlay, the continued costs for betterments, the cost of deprecistion, etc., must all bo considered. Because there happens to be plenty of water is no reason why it should be wasted or that the rules governing its use should not be ob served. The city ls the largest consumer and In order to allow the Water Board to make a fair showing should ba charged for its consumption. While It would be taking out of one pocket and putting in the other It would put the only department that Is self-supporting on a true basis. If we sell water to the consumer, let us have one price to all, and In order to have one price we must meter it? J. W. fi. Railway Commissioners Association. HUNTINGTON. Or.. May 14. (To tha Editor.) I will thank you to let m know the address of the National As sociation ot Railway Commissioners, or where I may secure copies of their annual reports. Their reports at one time were dis tributed by the Bureau of Public Docu ments from Washington, D. C. but I understand they have been withdrawn from their lists. N. E. KELLER. Write to the secretary, William H. Connolly, Washington, D. C. ' . Say Twice a Month. Rainier Review. We can all help the cotton industry by changing our shirts oftener. The Dollars That Die Every retailer knows them well. They are represented by goods on his shelves for which there la no demand. Ills dollars have died the slow withering death of ,old age. The dying dollars eat the life out of profits. The retailer wants quick sellers and, from experience, he knows the value of worthy articles that are newspaper advertised. Me knows that the manufactur- er's advertising In the news papers will bring bim customers. And In customers is prosperity. 1