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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (June 16, 1915)
8 THE "MORNING OREGONIAN. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 1915. PORTLASD, OREGON. Entered at Portland, Oregon, postofflce a second-class matter. Subscription Rates Invariably In advance: (Br Mall.) Iall3r, Snndty Included, one year .JS.OO Dally. Sunday Included, e!i months . .... 4.25 Xaily, Sunday Included, three months ... 2.25 Lally, Sunday Included, one month ..... .75 Dally, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Dally, without Sunday, six months 3.25 Dally, without Sunday, three months ... 1.7S Daily, without Sunday, one month. ...... .ft0 Weekly, one year 1.50 Sunday, one year 2.50 unday and Weekly, one year 3.50 (By Carrier.) Daily, Sunday Included, one year 9.00 uauy, bunday included, one montn .o 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 full. Including county and state. Postage Rates 12 to 16 paces, 1 cent; 18 to 32 pages. 2 cents; 34 to 4S pages, 3 cents; CO to GO pages, 4 cents; 62 to 76 pages, 6 cents; ts to vz pages. t cents, foreign posi. age. double rates. Eastern Business Offices Verree A Conlc lin. Brunswick building, New York; Verree Ac Conklin, Steger building, Chicago; San Francisco representative, K. J. Bldwell, 742 Atarket street. PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 1915, l , "IV A U AND PROGRESS. ' The Chicago City Club has closed Its series of War Lectures with a symposium on Progress. Like many other thoughtful people the members of the City Club had begun to doubt whether there is such a thing as prog ress in the world. Men have been talking about it a great deal for the last hundred years. They have boasted of .it In season and out and assured us that it would save us from war, persecution and all injustice. Then the European war broke out with horrors never seen before. The old atrocities of Attlia and the Huns are outdone in cultured Europe. . Naturally the feeling grows upon us that progress is a mere matter of fancy. It means nothing tangible. To reassure its members upon this point the City Club invited three speakers of National reputation to discuss .the methods and machinery of progress. Professor Dewey, the educator, came first. Following him were Professor Hollander, the economist and Profes sor Robinson, the historian. Different as their fields of thought are, these distinguished men agreed upon one point most thoroughly. Their point of agreement was that civilization and the progress it im plies are purely human in their origin and nature. Of course they are prod ucts of evolution but the. law o the jungle does not apply to them. In nature or the "jungle" - it is the adapted creature which survives. He is "fit," not because of any mental, moral or even physical superiority but merely because he is adapted to his surroundings. In many instances cruelty and bodily weakness imply adaptation. In such cases cruelty and weakness make "fitness." This law of survival does not apply to civilization. Man differs from all other living creatures in one funda mental particular. He does not adapt himself to hi3 environment. He adapts his environment to himself. The speakers all emphasized this point to the Chicago City Club. As far as physical contrivances are concerned man has gone a' long way in the proc ess of adapting his environment and subjecting it to his will. His me chanical inventions are well worthy of his highest gifts. In the social and moral realm he has not gone so far. It must be confessed that so cially and morally we stand just about where our ancestors did 10,000 years ago. Physical science has advanced with seven-league boots. Social and moral science has stood still. The consequence is that we have used our physical contrivances exactly as primitive savages might be ex pected to use them. Instead of ap plying them to increase the happi ness of mankind we have applied them to slaughter and destruction. When a new invention is presented to us our first thought, like that of the prehistoric savage, is. "How many people can it be made to kill?" This truth may be stated in another way. In the physical world we have not allowed natural evolution to take its own course. In place of it we have substituted intelligent evolution and the wonderful results are visible in railroading, cattle-breeding, fruit-culture and a hundred other fields. But In the social and moral world we have religiously refrained from applying our intelligence. We have given free rein to naturah evolution. Now natural evolution has no con science, no purposes and no standards. It goes downward as willingly as up ward. It produces wolves and rattle snakes as readily as doves and hu man beings. It begins in confusion, leads nowhere, and its whole route Is red with blood. If we want in telligent and conscientious arrange ments in the world we must apply in telligence and conscience to get them. In other words we must do for the moral and social sciences what we have already done for the natural sciences. Our peace advocates, for example, must stop trying to end war by treating f-ymptoms. They must search into causes, Just as a physicist searches into the causes behind the action of an electric generator. There are certain forces at work in society which infallibly generate war and will continue to generate it as long as they act unmodified. These forces must be identified, studied and controlled as we control electric cur rents. This is the real work which lies ahead of the sincere friends of peace. BROUGHT HOME TO THE FAIOrER, The farmers of the Inland Empire are being awakened to the fact that they have as deep an interest as the people of the coast in the merchant marine. A Dutch steamer cleared from Portland just before the war with wheat at 18 cents a bushel freight. The American steamer Mack inaw now here to load at 54 cents. The difference is the penalty the farmers pay for not having American ships, only one of the 91 which loaded wheat at Portland between July 18, 1914, and May 12, 1915, having been American. The farmer is as deeply interested in ocean freight rates as in railroad freight rates. His pocket is affected by all elements in the carrying of wheat, from the day it leaves the farm until it reaches Liverpool. Last year he did not bear the full burden 'of the advance in freights. The bottling up of Russia, a crop failure in Australia and a short crop in Argentina made the United States and Canada almost the sole source of supply, and Europe, In its eagerness to buy, bore a share of the advance In freight. This year the other producing countries will compete with the United States and Canada, and the American farmer will have to bear most of this burden. Our antique shipping- laws take money right out of the farmer's pocket by denying him enough Amer ican ships to carry his crop to market at a time when foreign ships are largely employed In carrying war ma terial. American investors are wrongly accused of refusing to build ships, thereby making necessary Govern ment-owned ships. The truth is. that they have been driven from the ship ping business by laws which prevent the building and operation of Amer ican ships at a profit in competition with those of other nations, and by the threat of the Government to engage in the business. Money will go into any business in which money can be made. When Congress makes laws which render a certain line of busi ness unprofitable, Congress is to blame. In this case Congress must share with the war responsibility for taking the farmer's money. HE NEITHER DRINKS NOR SMOKES, A paragraph in Collier's speaks pleasantly of Ralph de Palma, the young Italian who won the 500-mile automobile race at Indianapolis. His best speed was ninety miles an hour and he kept it up for several hours in succession. His average was 89.84 miles. He made the whole distance in 5 hours, 33 minutes and 65 seconds. A trial of this sort makes the chariot race in Ben Hur look like child's play. De Palma exhibited en durance surpassed by nobody of whom we ever read. His nerve was almost superhuman. His muscles must- have been trained to the fine temper of the best steel. But back of all these physical quali ties . there was something else with out which they would never have won the race. ' De Palma's moral na ture was of as much help to him as his bodily perfection. He is an Ital ian. He came to this country when he was five years old and neither drinks nor smokes. He "lives a life of clean restraint" and can therefore count upon his nerves for all de mands. The first requisite for bodily "fitness" is a clean mind. He that would win . automobile races must first learn to rule himself. STRIKE SHOTTED BE PREVENTED. After the strike of streetcar men had thrown the entire transportation system of Chicago into disorder, the State Board of Arbitration offered its services i in arranging a settlement. Those services should have been ren dered in preventing the strike, not in ending it. It is intolerable that the entire population of a city of several millions should be subjected to toss and inconvenience by a quarrel about wages between traction companies and their employes. These are the initial consequences. When strike breakers are Imported, Chicago will be fortunate if it does not witness rioting, bloodshed and destruction of property. Had Illinois provided that no strike should be permitted until inquiry had been made into the merits of the dis pute by a board of conciliation, there would probably have been no strike. Either the board would have adjusted the dispute or it would have published a statement of the points in contro versy, of the settlement it had pro posed and of the responsibility for rejection of these terms. If the board had been composed of men in whom the people had confidence, public opinion would have accepted its ver dict and would have turned against the party that was in the wrong. As a 'general proposition, strikes cannot win when public sympathy is against the strikers, and " they often win through public sympathy. Employers and employes have repeatedly ad mitted this statement to be true by taking pains to lay their case before the public. So long as we provide no better means than strikes for settlement of industrial disputes, we are in no posi tion to throw stones at European na tions for settling their disputes by war. We prove by our conduct that, if "we were placed as they are, we should be prone to act as they act. Strikes are as truly a relic of bar barism as war. LET LUMBERMEN CO-OPERATE. Organization by Pacific Coast lum bermen of a corporation to market their product abroad does not differ in principle from organization by fruitgrowers of associations to market their product both at home and abroad. The principle is that of co operation to attain a common object with the greatest efficiency and at minimum cost. Praise has been be stowed on fruitgrowers for adopting these methods, which have been freely admitted to benefit the consumer as well as the producer, hence the en tire community. Equal encourage ment should be given lumbermen. The purpose of the intended co-op eration among lumbermen is to de velop trade in new foreign fields which have not been touched and to expand trade in other foreign fields which have only been scratched. This work requires heavy and perhaps long con tinued work before results equivalent to the effort begin to show. That expense is beyond the means of the average lumberman. If it were with in his means, it would involve a Dupli cation of effort which would be waste ful. Were lumbermen forbidden thus to combine on the theory that they were violating the anti-trust laws, those laws would defeat their own purpose, for only the large lumber companies could engage in export trade and the small ones would-be shut out or reduced to the expedient of selling their product to the large ones. - ' If this form of co-operation is not letral under the anti-trust laws, It should be made legal, subject to rea sonable supervision by- the Federal Trade Commission. Care should be taken that the organization be open to new members on compliance with fair rules, and that it does not covertly expand Into a combination for control of the domestic trade and for main tenance of exorbitant prices. A time of depression in the lumber Industry is the time to form such an organiza tion, for a time of great prosperity will follow just 'as surely as harvest follows seedtime. Now is the lum berman's seedtime, and no obstacles should be Interposed to his sowing the seed for a bountiful crop. The pros perity of the entire Pacific Northwest Is bound up in his welfare.. Julian Street says in a- current arti cle that the Battle of Bull Run would have ended the Civil War if the Union troops had been trained men. Our soldiers at Bull Run numbered 28,000 raw volunteers and 800 regulars. Af ter the rout the 800 regulars saved the rest of the army from destruc tion. This is a diverting kind of fic tion. , It is well known that if the Union officers had been aa competent as the common soldiers. Bull Run and many another field would not have been lost. SCIENCE AND ENTERTAINMENT. New York's big wax-works show, commonly known as the Eden Musee, is bankrupt for want of patronage. We wonder how the famous Madame Tussaud exhibit in London is getting along. News about such little mat ters as a show of wax-works is scarce in these exciting times. London may care as little as New York for these old-fashioned forms of amusement. Time was when an exhibit of. wax works delighted every heart. The Tussaud array of celebrated mur derers, generals and politicians was a world's wonder. Everybody went to see it and nobody complained of not receiving his money's worth. But now people go to the movies instead. The world's entertainments, keep pretty even pace with its mechanical inventions. Electricity was applied to the show business long before it en tered into . commerce and manufac ture. Photographs ministered to our vanity many years before they became useful in the arts. The sports of this generation of children would have seemed like oriental magic to our fathers. Fun follows closely upon the heels of science. We play with gasoline as our fathers did with wax. EAST ROADS TO KNOWLEDGE. The policy which The Oregonian, among numerous newspapers, pursues of publishing answers to questions is not intended wholly to be an indivi dual service to the inquirer. Many matters concerning which one person is In doubt are also puzzling to others. Preference 13 accordingly given to questions deemed to be of most gen eral interest. But occasionally a correspondent asks for voluminous information which he . could more profitably to himself seek elsewhere. Personal In itiative and research are recognized aids to the permanency of an educa tion. "Easy come, easy go," ' applies to information as well as money. The Oregonian has received a list of questions from -a would-be follower of an easy road to knowledge. The list is given herewith: (1) Please give the gist of the.' amend ments to the U. S. Constitution after the fifteenth. (2) Enumerate in order the various steps In the election of a President of the United States. (3) Explain fully the process of making treaty to which the United States Gov ernment Is a party. . (4) Name some of the most important International unions of which the United States Is a member and give briefly the wotk ana .purpose or each. A significant feature of the letter submitting the foregoing questions is that It is dated at Portland. In this city there is a most excellent public library, thoroughly equipped with ref erence works of all kinds. The visi tor in quest of knowledge or informa tion is given reasonable assistance, by courteous attendants. . - " The Oregonian earnestly recom mends that those who have so neg lected to keep up with current events as not to know what the most recent amendments to the United States Constitution provide, or those who are so unversed in civil govern ment as not to understand the proc ess 1f electing a President of the United States, and desire to learn, use the conveniences the -public provides and exert a little more energy than that involved in writing to a news paper. - LOSSES TO THE ARMIES. Although the losses suffered by the British armies in the present war exceed the total number of men they had engaged in the Boer war; they appear small by comparison with those of their greater ally, Russia, and of their antagonists, Germany and Austria. The British total to May 31 was announced a few days ago as 258,069. The ratio of loss per day has in creased steadily. In the seventy-six days ending September 7, including the defeat at Mons, the casualties were 18,783, or at the rate of about 7000 a week. By February 4 the total had grown to about 104,000 or about 470O a week from the beginning of the bat tle of the Marne, though this period included that battle, the fighting on the Aisne, the fall of Antwerp and the desperate battle of Ypres. By April 1J. the total had grown to 139, 000 or less than 4000 a week for the period beginning February 4, though this period covered the battle of Neuve Chapelle and subsequent counter-attacks. From April 11 to May 31 the loss was 119,000 or an average of 17,000 a week. This period included the savage fighting at Hill 60 and Ypres, but the increased losses must have been due largely to the battles on the Dardanelles. The ratio of loss Is much heavier for trench fighting than for the open fighting at Mons and in the retreat which followed. This fact justifies the belief that the British have been under severe pres sure on the Flanders and French front and that the Turks have offered most desperate resistance on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The British have made only small local attacks in the west since Neuve Chapelle and have been on the defensive at Ypres. Their only continuous attacks on a large scale have been along the Dardanelles. The explanation probably is that in the west the British have been un able to. take the offensive for lack of explosive shells, their supply of which may have been used against the Turks, and that they have been exposed to a continual bombardment from the German heavy artillery. The figures reveal that they have held their ground- at enormous cost, and that the slackness of the British workmen in making shells is costing the Em pire dear in the lives of its soldiers. Hence the . stirring up of the British people which , resulted in a coalition Cabinet, a minister of munitions and Lloyd George's impassioned appeals to the workmen with hints at con scription, which called forth angry protests from Labor members of Par liament. Up to the end of May Prussia had reported the loss of nearly 1,400,000 men,-- An addition of 30 per cent for the other German states would bring the total above 1,800,000 and the losses in the recent furious fighting in Galicia would probably raise It to 2.000,000, of whom about 400,000 are likely to have been killed. At the beginning of May Germany claimed to have 513,000 Russian prisoners and Austria claimed 302,000. - Their bulletins have added nearly 300,000 for the recent battles in Galicia, making a total of 1,115, 000. Russia has issued no totals of killed and wounded, but the number must be large, though not as large in proportion as that of her enemies, for considerable bodies of Russians have been surrounded and have surrend ered Instead of trying to fight their way out. The total of killed, wounded and prisoners is likely to be less than that of the Germans. Austria has not proclaimed her losses, but Russia in April announced that she had 616,000 Austrian pns oners and ;the battles in Galicia and Bukowina have probably increased the number to 700,000, capture of 30,000 in one engagement having been an nounced. Serbia also holds 60,000 Austrlans captive. It. -may not be wide of the mark to estimate the Aus trian killed and wounded as equal in number to the prisoners. That would bring the total loss to about 1,500,000 Of other hostile nations Germany an-d Austria were reported to hold on- May 20 254,000 French, 40,000 Bel gians, 50,000 Serbians and 24,000 British. Adding the Russians, the total would be 1,483.000. The num ber of German prisoners is relatively small and is not likely to exceed 250 000, . for the " Germans shoot any of their men who attempt to surrender, and no great, numbers have been cornered; These enormous totals throw Into the shade all the figures extant as to previous wars. ' They are made pos sible by entire nations in arms, as when the barbarians descended from the north on Rome, followed by their women and children. We must go back to the Invasions by Attila, the Hun, by the Saracens and Turks in Western Asia and Eastern Europe, by the Moors In Spain, by Genghlz Khan, who is reputed to have built a pyramid of 400,000 skulls in India, for parallels to the slaughter, and captivity of this greatest of all wars, Thus far the Austrlans have not been very lucky in the war. Almost anybody has been able to rout them They now threaten to annihilate the Italians at one blow. If they do as they say the disgrace to the peninsular troops will be crushing. It is no shame to be beaten by the champion, but to be laid low by the hand that has faltered before every other foe is war's worst disgrace. The Illinois State University has just received in a lump sum $5,000, 000. It has accrued from taxation and is the accumulation of years. Money given to state universities and agricultural colleges brings, upon the whole, better results than any other public investment. It is devoted honestly and intelligently to promot ing human welfare. Offenders in Shaniko have to go to The Dalles, sixty miles away, to receive their portion of justice un less, as Druggist Wilson did, they submit to trial and sentence by tele phone. Since Shaniko has no court of its own we naturally conclude that it has no lawyers. Thus blest, the town should grow rapidly. In some Colorado towns Billy Sun day's sermons raised mobs which drove ' the Unitarians out of their houses. This is one way of nourish ing Christian fellowship and brotherly love, but how many Unitarians, do you: suppose, were ever won from their errors by tearing their houses down? These are the days of freak wed dings. Couples are married in aero planes, balloons, motorboats and on horseback, but they would do well to avoid the bucking cayuse, lest he pre vent them from Joining hands and shake the ring out of the bridegroom's fingers into the dust. A man who goes "on a pleasure trip in a taxi "at 1 o'clock In the morning with total, strangers deserves some kind of punishment. Beating and rob bery may be somewhat severe but if they Infuse a little common sense into men like Eric Faulk they are not wholly regrettable. The president of the Chicago Car men's Union sounded a note of wis dom when he advised: "Don't let whisky defeat this strike!" Carmen the world over do not have the whisky habit in ordinary times, but the dan ger exists when the lines are relaxed The smallness of the coins current on streetcars seems to be an insupera ble obstacle to the getaway of holdup men. They can take the money, but they dare spend it only a few nickels and .dimes at a time, lest they arouse suspicion. .The Liberty Bell will be he're six hours and Colonel Roosevelt will stop twenty minutes five days later. That one is cracked and cannot make a noise does not account for the dif ference in length of stay. The ambitious American boy must change his mark. It is better to be a Justice of the Supreme Court than President The Justice gets a three months' vacation. John Bull has learned that the game of reprisals has no limit and is willing to postpone a settlement for submarines' misdeeds until the peace conference. The McAdoo girl who went to France four months ago to be a war nurse is home again and can find-all the work she wants with the ' new baby. Premier Asquith sums up British doggedness in restating the national policy "to pursue this war "'at any cost to a victorious issue." If all Missourians accept Champ Clark's invitation to his daughter's wedding, all outdoors in Missouri will scarcely contain them. When the tourist enters a state that is covered with medals from the San Francisco Fair, he nvill know he is . in Oregon. Judging of the Varying symptoms, the first 'thing King Constantine knows he will be dead, or .remain alive. -v. "The picnic season is at hand, when everybody gets a cold in , the head sitting around on fallen trunks. Mr. Lea knocks down the whole row of bricks by declining to become game warden. Roosevelt will be in the city for twenty minutes next month. Much obliged. Now maybe Dlggs and Caminettl will go to jail and stay there. Prince George, of Greece, is not yet King and talks too much. s- Ex-premier Venizelos, of Greece, Is strong on the come-back. BRYAN'S RESIGNATION FROM CABINET Newspapers of Nation Express Opinion on Voluntary Retirement of Secre tary of State Few Uphold His Act. Kansas City Star. It is one of the ironies that Mr. Bryan's protestations for peace put the thought or possibility of war into peo ple's minds more definitely than they had it before. If it is true, as Mr. Bryan believes, but as the most of us are loath to believe, that a Arm stand for National right and National honor Is inconsistent with peace, then peace is In a far worse way than it was hoped it was. New York Herald. It is well to give Mr. Bryan the credit for his convictions. . But his convic tions are all wrong. His retirement should be heartily welcomed by the country. President Wilson is ' fortu nate in getting rid of his Haldane be fore the decks are even cleared for action, but he did not get rid of him quickly enough. But the important thing that will cause a great feeling of relief, mingled of course with a feeling of concern throughout this country today, is that the President has stood up firmly, strongly, courageously for those prin ciples for which this Government has always contended. vThe Nation is be hind him like a wall. Hartford Courant. It Is -a safe guess 'that we are going to have Mr. Bryan again as a Presi dential candidate. His platform will be peace and prohibition. It will split the Democratic party all apart, for the South is strong for prohibition and Bryan himself is strong with the Dem ocratic party through the wide West He is likely, too, to draw from the Re publicans, on the same Issue that will strengthen him at the South. The news of his retirement and of a practical break with Wilson will, on the other hand, prove, highly gratify ing to old-fashioned Democrats, espe cially through the East. It makes at least a three-cornered fight for 1916. Savannah News. The truth probably is that Mr. Bryan has been disgruntled for months by the secondary part he has been re quired to play In foregn affairs. It Is the Secretary of State's duty to handle such matters. He Is the one who is at the front. It Is he to whom the world looks for policies and the shap ing of the papers that convey those policies. In this Administration the President has been dictating not only the policies, but also the diplomatic notes that announce them. While Mr. Bryan has said nothing, it is but natural, that he should feel that he was being pushed into the background when he ought to be espe cially prominent - In its foreign policies the people are following the President, not Mr. Bryan. Pittsburg Dispatch. What must be the resentment with which a patriotic people will view the defection in his hour of danger of one who stood at the right hand of the President? Personally there would be few tears shed for the retirment of Mr. Bryan from a position where he was an embarrassment to both the President and the country. But his quitting just at this time will be taken abroad as an indication of American disunion and may prove mischievous, if not perilous. -No pride of opinion, however con ceited, should have led Mr. Bryan into the appearance of deserting his post in the hour of danger. No personal or political ambition can outweigh a man's duty to his country. St Louis Globe-Democrat. The difference between the President and Mr. - Bryan seems to be one of method rather than one of purpose and this being the case it would appear that the disagreement could have been and should have been reconciled within the Cabinet council. Mr. Bryan says he resigned in order to relieve the Presi dent from embarrassment. He could have found no better' way of causing him embarrassment in this crisis. San Francisco Chronicle. Those Jingo newspapers which jumped to the conclusion that Bryan's resignation was the prelude to a dec laration of war have had time in which to reflect upon the folly of their un reasoning haste. That they blundered badly is seen in the fact that the re tirement of the Secretary of State, far from constituting a Cabinet crisis, was merely a passing and more or less wel come incident. Bryan, though elevated by the Jingo istic Journals into the importance of a National problem, is only a side issue and can be dropped from the discus sion. Washington Post. The people will support the Presi dent as against Mr. Bryan or any other man who proposes an ineffectual meth od of enforcing American rights. It Is to the President's credit that he stood firm against what must have been in sistent pressure from Mr. Bryan for the enfeebling of the American policy. New Orleans Times-Picayune. Of the distinguished Nebraskan it may be said by historians of later day that nothing in his brief diplomatic career "became him like the leaving it." ... It may be said further, without disparagement of his splen did qualities and past service In more congenial fields that his voluntary re tirement will give satisfaction to the great majority of hia countrymen, who feel that the time for hesitation, in decision and diplomatic experiment is over and desire that a clear and reso lute stand in defense of American rights and American lives shall be taken by a Government solidly united In counsel. St. Louis Republic. Ex-Secretary Bryan's statement, to the public, issued yesterday afternoon. has greatly cleared and simplified the situation created by his resignation it is at once so clear in expression, so excellent in temper and so totally wrong In its fundamental positions. The more industriously Mr. Bryan champions such ideas the less the American people will be inclined to give them any weight not because of any lack of regard for Mr. Bryan, but Decause tne more such conceptions of peace are dwelt upon the more clearly win tneir essential fallacy be Der- ceived. , Pittsburg "Gazette-Times. The chorus of bitter criticism that has been visited upon Mr. Bryan on account of his disagreement with the President , is highly significant. It Is profound testimony, on one hand, of the popular support of Mr. Wilson's general policy with respect to the Ger man controversy, while on the other it is overwhelming evidence of wide dis approval of Mr. Bryan. He hs been the most illlustrlous disappointment of his generation. The' feeling of relief now that he 'has retired to private life is unmistakable. And it is painfully suggestive of the current estimate of his character and methods that, on every side, there is a belief that he meditates political mischief and in tends to ruin where he could not rule. Baltimore Sun. Mr. Bryan's retirement and Mr. Bryan's attitude will not lessen the country's faith and trust in the Presi dent. Nor will it diminish Its desire that he handle this situation according to his judgment, unhampered and un restricted. We believe that the peo ple of the United States, regardless of partisanship and sectionalism, infinite ly prefer that the honor and safety of tne itepuDiic rest in- tne keeping of Woodrow "Wilson rather than witn William Jennings Bryan. Public sentiment in the United States from the start has placed the full re sponsibility for the steering of the ship of state upon the President. At no time since the sinking of the Lusitania have the views of Mr. Bryan been of .serious concern to the country. They are not of serious concern now. " Cleveland Leader. President Wilson is absolutely sound in his disagreement with the former head of the State Department and Mr. Bryan is entirely and eternally wrong. Milwaukee Sentinel. Undiplomatic to the last! Or is the unhappy paragraph which stands out ominously above all the rest In Mr. Bryan's letter of resignation deliberate. political, the Parthian shot of a man who has felt some slights, has personal ambitions for the coming year and is not incapable of malice? Pittsburg Leader. The general public wllLJook upon the retirement of Secretary' Bryan as a regrettable fact, mainly because for weeks the dominant note throughout the Nation has been the grave neces sity for all citizens to stand by the President in the crisis, regardless of the outcome. - Secretary Bryan's con scientious scruples seem to forbid his following his chief to that length. So that whether Mr. Bryan is right and President Wilson wrong, the result is likely to be that the country will crit icise Mr. Bryan, possibly with unnec 'essary harshness, and refuse to with draw its support from the President. St. Paul Pioneer Press. The present Is an excellent time not to permit political small-talk to poison the most important asset of the Re public: namely. National unity. Mr. Bryan's chosen course may have done much to encourage Germany's disdain for American rights and demands. That phase of his act is a matter of serious regret But it means a sum mons on-American citizenship not to indulge in mean and divisive political bickerings, but to stand as one man behind the chief who proposes to de fend American rights according to the law of nations. Richmond Times-Dispatch. It is Wilson, not Bryan, who strikes today the note to which the heart of the American people responds and with which it beats in generous sympathy. The Nation is with the President. If here and there are dissenting voices, they are drowned in the great surg ing chorus of National approval. In the support that has been tendered there. Is neither party nor section, class nor creed. East and West, North and South, It is universal and all-embracing. At this crisis of our fortunes, in the presence of this men ace to our happiness, our safety and our honor, even Mr. Bryan must share National aspiration, oppose resolutely every further invasion of our rights or stand aside. Philadelphia Record. If Mr. Bryan had deliberately and traitorously endeavored to defeat the ends for which the President and the Nation are working if he had pur posely sought to strengthen the hands of the German government in the pending negotiations if he had inten tionally tried to convey to Berlin the impression that there is an appreciable division of sentiment in the United States as to the-course to be pursued in enforcing respect for the lives and property of American citizens jeopard ized by Inhuman and outlawed methods of warfare that override neutral rights, he could hardly have conceived of a more striking method than to tender his resignation conditioned on the sending of the note on the eve of the dispatch of that Important document. The Cabinet is now a unit. Behind the President stands the Nation. He is stronger for the elimination of a sin gle discordant element Salt Laite Tribune. In some respects Mr. Bryan's con duct Flnce his resignation is without precedent. Just as the President is on the eve of Bending an Important note to a foreign government Mr. Bryan resigns, attacks the President's policy toward that government and then Is sues a statement in which he appeals to the people of the United States to repudiate the President's action. In the midst of critical negotiations with Germany Mr. Bryan adopts Ger many's views and demands that the President shall do likewise. When the President refuses Mr. Bryan says, in effect: "I will ask the American peo ple to compel you to follow my pol icy." Chicago Herald. Probably for the first time in his public career William Jennings Bryan will find the people of America practi cally unanimous in favor of something he has put forward his resignation from the Cabinet Mr. Bryan as a private citizen will be less of menace to the peace of the Nation than he has been as Secretary of State. Therein the country and President Wilson are to be congratu lated. KOBE SOCIABILITY FOR riOSEERS Less Oratory and Better Chance to Meet Friends Suggested. PORTLAND, June 15. (To the Edi tor.) May I say just a few words in regard to the entertainment of our grand old men and women of the Pio neer Association? I am not a pioneer, but a native daughter and attend the pioneer meetings when it is possible for me to do so. I would make one suggestion, and that is that these good old people be allowed a day together to greet old time friends and talk over the past, without being compelled to sit and lis ten to speeches that are of little In terest to them. I have sat among them during the exercises and have heard many re marks such as, "How I wish they would get through with this. I am so anxious to meet Mrs. Jones, or Mrs. Smith. They sent me word they would be here this year. I did not get to see them last year." But the speeches go on and soon these dear old people are nodding. You can hear a cane drop here and there. At last the programme ends and they are rushed off to the banquet hall and -served with an elegant dinner. Many must start home immediately after, as it is a long drive vvith team after leaving the nearest station. Not all of these pioneers have trolley lines past their door. Why not give them this day to en joy in their own way, meeting one an other? CAROLINE M. M'BRIDB. Disposition of Stcrls)' Confession. PORTLAND, June 8. (To the . Ed itor.) Will you kindly inform me through the columns of your paper what disposition, if any, was made o the supposed confession of one Sierks relative to the murder of Mrs. Wehr maV.of Scappoose, Or.? READER. All documents in the case have been filed with the Governor of Oregon, but there was not sufficient corroborative evidence to support the purported con fession. Sierks is still In the asylum and Pender is in prison. Still Fewer Rocking Cradles. Huntington News. A large Increase In the number of women who are learning to drive au tomobiles is noted, but no more seem to be learning to run sewing machines. Twenty-Five Years Ago From The Oregonian. Jane 10. 1S00. London. The police of the Metropol itan district, which includes all of Lon don, except what is known distinctly as the city, have decided not to go on duty next Friday unless their demands for increased pay and reduced hours are granted. ' Berlin. As If to put at rest all ru mors of increasing friction between the German and Russian courts Emper or William has sent a special request to the Czar to be allowed to command In person during the Russian maneu vers the Viborg regiment, of which the Emperor is honorary Colonel. What ever the actual and secret foreign pol icy of Germany may be, the Emperor certainly gives every outward indica tion of desiring friendliness with France, Russia and all his other neigh bora Condon Is the county seat of Gilliam County, having received a majority of 106 votes over Arlington. Hon. E. De Peatt, the well-known citizen, lawyer and politician, at pres ent a resident of Jacksonville, and Miss Jennie Booth, of the same place, a sis ter of Mrs. Willard Crawford, were married on day last week and have gone to California on a honeymoon. Yesterday afternoon as Mr. II. H. Northup and his wife and daughter were driving through Riverview Cem etery, he stopped his horse near a point which commands the finest view and they were lost In admiration, when three bicyclists came around a curve at a rapid rate and scared the horse, which made a spring as if to leap over the bank. The buggy was upset and all the occupants thrown out None was seriously hurt. About 4000 persons witnessed the balloon ascension and parachute Jump by Professor Hagul yesterday on Mount Tabor. The sixth annual trap shoot tourna ment of the Sportsmen's Association of the Northwest will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday next The renowned billiard experts Shaefer and Ives are due in Portland tomor row. John G. Russell, who is arrang ing for their visit here, said they would exhibit at Mechanics' Pavilion, In all probability. The 18th annual reunion of Oregon pioneers will open tomorrow at the Hotel Portland, where a procession will form and march to the Industrial Ex position building, where the business session will be held. O. F. Paxon will be grand marshal of the parade. The business session will be called to order by John Minto, of 1844, president of the association. The Marine Band will play and the annual address will be given by H. W. Scott Another ad dress will be that by Seymour W. Con don. The cornerstone of the Patton Home for the Friendless, in Albina, was laid Sunday. Half a Century Ago From The Oresronlan. June 16, 1S65. . It now seems to be made a question whether the rebel officers, civil and military, whom the President excludes from pardon, should be protected from further molestation by the terms of their surrender. Some Insist that the civil authorities now have no right to try for treason any who laid down their arms on the conditions agreed upon be tween Lee and Grant. We think It is an erroneous view of the matter to sup pose that the officers of the Govern ment meant to put it out of the power of the proper authorities to deal as the law provides with those who should bo found guilty. Though the Government of the United States, after having quelled all armed opposition, may now well afford to exercise a judicious clemency to wards most of those who are incapable of making further resistance, yet it cannot permit John C. Breckinridge to escape. His -crimes are too great; his treason is too flagrant. Of all offend ers against the laws none are so guilty as he. For months after the war be gan he acted in the capacity of a spy about Washington, furnishing the reb els with information which greatly aided them in their early triumphs. Holding the office of Senator from Kentucky he" did 'his utmost to prevail on the Government to cease from at tempting to punish the rebels and grant them their independence. John C. Breckinridge was the father of the odious peace party of the North. After remaining in the Senate as long as was consistent with his safety he left for the South to aid openly the rebel cause. . An extensive vein of coal with alter- -nate layers of a species of gypsum has been discovered on the east bank of the Cowlitz River a few miles above Monticello. Professor Sinsheim has at his place of business on Front street a very an cient musical instrument which was brought to this country at an early day to enliven the lonely hours of the Hud son Bay Company's agents, and has managed by its shifting course of pro prietorship to survive the growth of time, and when some needed repairs are added will still be enabled to fur nish music for the races that have turned the primitive wilderness into a populous and fertile region. The con struction of the instrument is a nov elty, being in style similar to an organ, with the difference that there are six ylinders with set pieces, each cylin der performing from six tq 10 differ ent tunes, instead of the regular keys by which any desired- piece of music can be produced by a musician. This venerable relic is now the property of a resident of Washington Territory. Voters In School Election. PORTLAND, June 15. (To the Edi tor.) Can only taxpayers of real prop erty vote? Must all register? I have found none who can answer these ques tions. Now, if only real estate tax payers can vote, is it a fair proposition? For instance, A owns a vacant lot grown to weeds, no children to attend school. B rents adjoining property, pays rent, keeps up lawn, pays water rent for this; several children in school. But, as I understand, cannot vote at school election, though a voter at city election. A TAXPAYER. To be qualified to vote In the school election the voter must be registered and be on the tax rolls or own stock In a corporation that is on the tax rolls. The Oregonian printed a complete statement regarding qualifications and polling places Sunday, June 13, section 1, page 11. Selling What the Public Wants Anything that aids the retailer in finding out what the public wants is helpful. It puts him in the way of stand ardizing his stocks. That is one reason why the dealer is influenced by the manufacturer's newspaper advertising. This advertising brings a definite demand that the dealer feels. The goods become live goods, and the storekeeper Is serving his self interest in pushing th-"rv