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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (June 28, 1915)
TTTT3 MORNING, OREGONIAN. 3IQNDAT, JUNE 28, 1915. PORTLAND, OSEGOX. Entered at Portland. Oregon, Postoffiee as second-class matter. Subscription Rates Invariably In advance: (By MalL) Ially, Sunday included, one year. . . . .$8.00 Xaiiy, Sunday included, six months.. ... 4.-3 XJaily, Sunday included, three months... 2-25 Uaily, Sunday included, one month 74 Dally, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Jjaily, without Sunday, six months..... 3.5 lally, without SurJtlay, three months... 1.75 Xally, without Sunday, one month...... .oo Weekly, one year. .. l.K Sunday, one year 2.50 fcunday and Weekly, one year 3.60 (By Carrier. Xally. Sunday Included, one year. ...... 0.00 .Daily, Sunday included, one month.... .70 How to Remit Send Postoffiee money or der, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at sender's risk. Give postoffiee address In full. Including county and state. Poetae Bates 12 to lo paces. 1 cant; IB to 32 pages, a cents; 84 to 48 pages, 3 cents; CO to 60 pages, 4 cents: 63 to 76 pages, 5 cents; 78 to pages, 6 cents. Foreign post age, double rates. .Eastern Business Of flees Verree & Conk- lin. Brunswick building. New York; Verree & Conkiln, bteger building, Chicago; San 'raucico representative. It, J. indwell. 71- llarkot street. POKTI.AM. MONDAY, JCXK 88. 1915. BRITAIN'S BLOCKADE POLICY. Most significant is the care with . which Britain refrains from giving the same "blockade" to her naval re prisals against Germany. That name has been given colloquially to the measures provided for by the order la council, but never officially. The term "long range blockade" has been used as describing the war on Ger man commerce, but only for the pur pose of defending its legality. The reason seems to be that a for mal blockade cannot be made effective against all German ports. Neutrals might join Germany In " demanding that the British patrol ships should go close in to the German ports, oth erwise they would not recognize the blockade and would hold in suspense claims for damages to all seized ships. A close patrol of the North Sea coast would Involve great risk from sub marines and floating mines, though It would be practicable for a nation which chose to take that risk. It would be Impossible to comply with such requirements for a blockade of the Baltic coast, for the blockading fleet could not approach without going through the neutral waters of the sound and drawing all Its supplies through that route. It would be in an inland sea, subject to attacks by submarines and mines. The entire German fleet might slip through the Kiel Canal and destroy the blockading ships before help could reach them. Such a catastrophe would go far to deprive the British navy of its superiority over the German. The risk is too great to be taken. But a blockade of the North Sea coast would be abortive unless the Baltic coast were also blockaded. All that Germany would need to do in or der to evade it would be to divert commerce from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea ports. Neutral ships carry ing non-combatants to the Baltic would then be exempt from seizure, and Germany could import American grain, meat, cotton and other manu facturing materials without stint, Britain, therefore, adopts new meth ods unknown to international' law and calls them reprisals for German meth ods expressly forbidden by interna tional law. She holds that Germany's departure from law absolves, her from observance of law except so far as humanity demands. By seizing all commerce to and from Germany, either direct or through neutral coun tries, she seeks to obtain all the mili tary results of a blockade of all Ger man ports, Baltic as well as North Sea, without incurring all the risks. She attempts to win consent of neu tral nations by buying non-contraband cargoes, by releasing all neutral ships w-hich would not otherwise be subject to confiscation, and by putting no in nocent human life in peril. Her meth ods are humane, and therefore do not call forth demands for their immedi ate abandonment, as would the killing of a thousand non-combatants. If she can prolong the negotiations until the war is over, she will have gained her end, and should she be required to pay compensation, she can count that as a part of the general cost of the war. This policy violates the freedom of the sea, but so does the German naval war. In fact, all naval war violates that principle, for its first aim is to destroy an enemy's trade, while free dom of the sea means that all private property except contraband should be safe in time of war. During' the Civil War Cobden proposed that the United States set an example to the world by abandoning the right of blockade, but this country refused. Though all na tions might agree at a Hague confer ence to recognize freedom of the sea, the first nation which engaged in war would probably violate it. as the pres ent belligerents have violated other principles adopted at The Hague. To hold warrin nations to any set prin ciples is as difficult as it has proved to prevent a pugilist, heated by fight ing, from hitting a foul blow. TOO MUCH SUNSHINE. Colonel Charles Edward Woodruff, who -has Just died at New Rochelle, N. T., was famous for studies in the effects of light upon the human mind and body. His general conclusion was that light is injurious. He wrote in 1907 that "God's sunlight" was greatly overrated and that our true Triend was "God's cloudiness." The common belief that sunlight is beneficial he called a "superstition." No doubt there can be such a thing as too much sunshine. Those who recommend a perpetual aunbath go to a dangerous extreme. In countries where the sky Is almost -always clear nature has protected the human body by dark pigment tn,the skin, and for thi here must have been a sound reason. White men are obliged to shelter themselves from the sun very carefully in tropic lands. If they fail to do so they suffer serious conse quences. "Sunstroke" is not always caused by the sun, but often it is, and we may then observe for our-, selves the III effects of too much heat and glare. We see, therefore, how In temperate those persons are who urge us to Indulge in unlimited sunshine. But Colonel Woodruff goes to the other extreme. Sunlight Is like any other good thing, we may easily, get too much of it. But that fact does notjmpeach Its good qualities by any means. A proper quantity of sunshine is essen tial to human health. Deprived" of it entirely our race pines and degene rates. It is p.lso true that human be ings who are obliged to -live in the dark continuously acquire terrible diseases. Tuberculosis is an example of these maladies. Germs of many baneful varieties which thrive in the dark are destroyed by sunlight. It is the simple truth, which any compe tent scientist will confirm, that with out the light of the sun all life would speedily disappear from the . earth. Our sources of mechanical power such as coal and waterfalls originate In the sun's rays. Without the sun the earth never would have been habitable and if Its light were to cease today all the inhabitants would perish. A man can poison himself with table salt If he is foolish enough to eat a quart. But It does not follow that we should deprive ourselves of alt entirely. MB. WEST IS BACK-TIUCKTNa. It is suggested that Mr. West's plan to have the Legislature offer to Con gress to purchase the land grant at a sum equaling the difference between the amount the lands would bring and the net profit the railroad has already received from them will meet with some opposition. Quite likely. We fancy the railroad company, for one, would object. The opinion of the Supreme Court in the forfeiture suit expressly . disclaims any purpose to rule therein on any controversy that may arise over sales already made by the railroad in violation of the terms of the grant. The title to lands sold to 'other than actual settlers and at more than 12.50 ner acre and the right to the proceeds therefrom in excess $2.50 per acre have not been adjudi cated. Perhaps the purchasers will sue the railroad company for a refund of money paid for the land in excess of $2.50 per acre; perhaps the sales will be declared void; perhaps the sales will be confirmed and the railroad permitted to retain its profits. It requires little imagination to fore see a tedious amount of litigation be fore this collateral Issue in the case is settled. Certainly it would be folly to call the Legislature in special session with no more definite or practicable scheme than Mr. West's in sight. However, the suggestion by the for mer Governor that the state acquire the grant and control its sale and set tlement is an interesting indication of a tendency to back water on his pre vious assumption that the Federal Government is more honest and capa ble than the State in the administra tion of public 'resources. We almost have a vision of him advocating State control of its water powers in the forthcoming conference of Western States. A SD3RCIFUX MEASURE. The tentative draft of the Central Labor Council's single-tax measure is printed this week in full in the Labor Press with an invitation from the committee to their fellow-citizens to offer criticisms and suggestions. We hasten to suggest that the committee has overlooked the important fact that some persons might still have a few dollars left after paying one year's taxes. The measure proposes a tax of 90 per cent on an indefinite something termed "ground rent," and proceeds to tell how to determine the value of that Indefinite something. It is done in this way The words "ground rent" as used In this section mean the highest price that is or can ne oDtaineu in tne open maricet tor me use of any lot, tract or parcel of land, tor a definite time, exclusive of improvements. plus the total tax on the ground rent and plus the tax on the lease. We shamefacedly confess that we do not know what is meant by the "tax on the lease," but perhaps that is where the framers of the measure ex pect to get the last dollar in the pos session of the fortified landowner. But we shall eliminate that from the cal culation. Ground rent, according to the meas ure, is the rental value in tne open market plus taxes, and the taxes are to be 90 per cent of en unknown quan tity.. The definition provides a simple problem in algebra. Suppose a tract of land worth $1000 has a rental value in the open market of $50 a year. Let X represent the ground rent: X (the ground rent) is equal to $o0 plus nine tenths of X. The equation discloses that the ground rent is $500 and the annual tax is $4 50. An annual tax of $450 against prop erty worth $1000 seems rather high we thlnK it is aDout ten times as high as Henry George ever suggest ed going. However, as single tax in practice, if not In theory, contemplates confiscation by the state of all land, we presume U would be more humane to separate the ordinary owner from his land at one thrust than to let him linger along in an-.attempt to escape bankruptcy. But why not approach the purpose boldly? Why not declare ground rent to be the market value of land and tax it 100 per cent? GOMFERS A TRUE AMERICAN. There is an agreeable contrast be tween the utterances of that foreign born American, Samuel Gompers, and that native-born American, William J. Bryan, on the subject which is now foremost in the minds of patriotic citizens. On June 11 the president of the American Federation of Labor said: The Influence of the American Federation of Labor, the workers of the country, will be exerted for the maintenance of peace, and yet we cannot permit to be challenged the insistency that the lives of Americans shall not be unnecessarily and unwarrant ably Jeopardized. He reiterated these sentiments on June 20, saying: I am not willing to have either the labor movement or our men and women placed in a false position. The United States will not voluntarily enter into the present Euro pean war. Of that 1 am confident. We shall keep out of it If we possibly can with any degree of faithfulness to' the funda mental principles of justice, freedom and safety. If despite our reserve and self-control we shall be dragged Into It. whether we like it or not there will be but one position for us to take, and that Is to be true to our. selves, true to our fellows, true to the high, est ideals of humanity for which our. move ment stands. While Mr. Gompers was thus plain ly stating the position of American labor as on the side of American rights, Mr. Bryan was opposing to President Wilson's firm but concilia tory demands on Germany a policy which would have made those rights the subject of bargain for the present and of Interminable negotiation for the future. Mr- Gompers stands for maintenance at any cost of the Amer ican right to travel the sea without danger of assassination. Mr. Bryan stands for peace at any price, even though the price be abandonment of this right. ANOTHER GIFT TO CANADA. Success of one good purpose of the seamen's law abolition of Imprison ment for desertion depends on its be ing made applicable to foreign ships. We are bound by treaty with Jhe prin cipal shipowning nations to enforce the penalty for desertion, and we can escape that obligation only by annul ling those treaties or by negotiating I new treaties. Notice of abrogation of many treaties has been given, but be fore that notice becomes effective the law will come into operation on No vember 4, 1915, applying to American ships only. Hence seamen will be free j to desert from American ships in any port, but they will be subject to ar rest for desertion from foreign ships in American as welt as foreign ports. The result is to add to tlie handi caps under which American shipown ers labor. They cannot hold their crews, but foreign shipowners can hold theirs. The cost of operation under the American flag will inevita bly be raised. Owners of passenger ships in the Great Lakes say their busi ness as well as that on the high seas is menaced by the new law. Tralc wilLbe handed over to the Canadians on the lakes. The seaman will gain nothing, for American ships will fly to foreign flags, under which deserters can be arrested, or will bo '-'id up. Muddle-headed legislators, blindly accepting the guidance of Mr. Furu- seth, have gone the wrong way about doing the right thing. They have not advanced the cause they had at heart, but have dealt another blow at our merchant marine. Will Congress ever learn to study out the shipping ques tion to a finish and to legislate under- standingly In the general Interest, ln- stead of passing vote-catching laws to I please a particular interest laws which experience proves injurious to that interest? A coterie of gossips in a village store could make a better job legislating on some subjects than Congress makes. WELCOME TO PORTLAXD. Portland extends a welcome to the Chinese Commercial Commissioners. who will spend today here while on a tour of the United States to return the visit paid to China in 1910 by representatives of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of the Pacific Coast. The welcome should be the heartier because China has returned good will for the consistent friendship of - the United States and because China is one of our best customers and is willing to become a better. There Is no room for mental reservations in extending friendly courtesies to these Chinese Commis sioners by the people of Portland or of any other part of the United States. As neither the great Re public of the Occident nor the great republic of the Orient desires from the other anything which each is not willing to give, there is nothing to cloud the horizon. Looking through our front door across the Pacific toward China, we see nothing to desire but commercial intercourse. which forms the strongest and most j enduring bond of friendship between nations. mis intercourse win pront China as much as It will profit us, hence It 1s the desire of both. .Its growth will be promoted by progress in China's development, hence we desire and are ready to assist in that work. Neither covets the others ter ritory or would lessen the othe-'s rights. Independence or prosperity. The sincerity of mutual expressions of good will is in such a case tjyond question. Portland then greets as friendly co-workers in the arts of naacA th leaders of Chinese commerce w!io are with us today, and wtll etrew their path with roses. We shall be as reluctant to see them go as we shall be glad to see them come, and we shall hope to make their visit live in their memory with many pleasant associations. , STANDARDIZE TRAFFIC RULES. The wider radius of travel on public highways which has resulted from use of the automobile has produced a de mand for uniform traffic rules in cit ies. A touring party may be required to stop at the near side of a crossing in the first city it reaches, at the far side in the second, at either side in the third, to hood headlights in the fourth, not to hood them in the fifth. It will also find variations In rules as to traffic signals and parking and in licensing of chauffeurs. It would be impossible for an autoist traveling across the continent to learn the traffic rules of each city, through which he would pass. In the old times, when a resident of one city rarely drove his team farther than the next city, no such difficulty presented itself. Steps were taken . at the recent meeting of the Safety First Federa tion in Detroit to standardize traffic rules in fifty principal cities. The plan has been indorsed by the 'authorities of - forty-eight of these cities. . v The points aimed at are: Thorough education of traffic policemen before assignment to duty; standard code of signals; fixed posts for traffic policemen; hooded headlights; use of muffler cutouts to be prohibited; standardise. ion of left-hand turns at Intersections; near side stops for streetcars; rear lights on all- horse-drawn vehicles; standard sise, color and shape (or traffic posts, chains, etc.; designation of safety zones and cross walks at intersections as embodied in the Detroit plan; education of pedestrians. As improvement of the Pacific High, way progresses, travel between north and south along the Pacific Coast will increase and Portland will become more interested in this subject. Our desire is to encourage travel to this city, and one way of doing this is to Join with other cities in adopting standard rules, to which travelers will conform at every point along their way. FOR RIGHTS OF AMERICANS ONLY. President Wilson's last note to Ger many regarding submarine warfare differs in one important particular from the note of May 13 demanding satisfaction for the Lusitania- massa cre and for attacks on American ships. The earlier note put the United States in the position of cham pioning the cause of all humanity. The later one limits our demands to observance Of the principles of hu manity and of international law as applied to American ships and Amer ican citizens. The President thus re turns to the position he assumed in the note of February 10, in which he entered a general protest against Ger many's plan of submarine war. In the note of February 10 the President said: If the commanders of German vessels of war should act uponthe presumption that the flag of the United States was not being used in good faith and should destroy on the high seas an American veel or the lives of American vitizens, it would be difficult for the government of the United States to view the set In any other light than as an Indefensible violation of neutral rights which it would be very hard Indeed to recon cile with the friendly relations now so hap. plly subsisting between the two govern ments. Then followed the warning that for such acts the United States would hold Germany "to a strict accountability for such acts of their naval authorities and to take such steps as it might be necessary to take to safeguard "Amer ican lives and property and to secure to American citizens the full enjoy ment of their acknowledged rights on the high seas." While the note of May 13 informed Germany that the United States would not "omit any word or any act neces sary to the performance of its sacred duty of maintaining the rights of the United States and its citizens," it also declared "the practical Impossibility of employing submarines in the de struction of commerce without disre- ; garding those rules of fairness, reason, justice and humanity which all mod ern opinion regards as imperative." It also expressed our expectation that German submarines would "do noth ing that would involve the lives of noncombatants or the safety of neu tral ships, even at the cost of failing of their object of capture or destruc tion." This declaration was not con fined to American or even to neutral noncombatants, but by its terms ap plied to those of beligerent nations and to all neutral ships. The note of June 9 is confined al most entirely to discussion of the Lusitania case, and though It reiter ates the principle that "the livea noncombatants cannot lawfully or rightfully be put in jeopardy by the capture or destruction of an unresist ing merchantman," it does so merely as a basis for notifying Germany that we expect her to adopt measures "nec essary to put these principles into practice in respect of the safeguarding of American lives and American ships." The President is in a much stronger and safer position since he wrote the note of June 9 than when he wrote that of May 13. He cannot be accused of embarking on a humanitarian cru sade on behalf of all neutrals and all noncombatants, whether neutral or belligerent, and of -thus endeavoring to compel Germany to abandon the use of a powerful weapon of war. He condemns German methods of war on principle and he demands that, so far as American citizens and American ships are concerned, they shall be changed to conform with the general principle he lays down. Noncombat ants of belligerent nationality and other neutral nations may derive whatever incidental advantage they can from this position, but it is not the purpose of tHe President directly to seek this advantage for them. The Government of the United States has proved on numerous occa sions that, in protecting American rights, it will conform to the princi ples of humanity and will set up a high moral standard for imitation by other nations. We fought Spain be cause Spain maintained a public nui sance at our door, not in order to lib erate the Spanish colonies or redress their wrongs. We found the - best means of abating that nuisance to be establishment of Cuban independence, taking Porto Rico under- American rule with 'ocal autonomy and the training of the Filipinos for indepen dence. Application of the principles of humanity was the cure for a wrong to the United States in that case. So It would be in the present controversy with Germany. Other neutral nations are free to adopt the same principle In dealing with an evil from which they suffer alike with us, but we do not Intend to fight their battles unless ne cessity should prompt us to., league ourselves with them in a common cause. Witness the finesse In the report of the two patrolmen who . were com pelled to eat a hundred cones of ice cream to keep them from spoiling at the close of a recent entertainment. Therein lies a broad hint to commit tees on arrangements in the warm nights to come. Germany's boycott of foreign words may cause her enemies to adort words out of each other's languages. The mixture of English, Gaelic, Welsh. French, Russian, Italian and Serb words would make a linguistic gou lash that is appalling to the imagina tion. If whistling a piece off a glacier be comes habitual with Alaska steamers, they will destroy their stock in trade. for glacier arc what tourists go to see. Gilford Pinchot should be com missioned to conserve the glaciers. People who scoff at the story of the walls of Jericho are commended to the exploit of Captain Baughman, of the Humboldt, who brought down a large section of a glacier by a blast of the steamship's whistle. The peac-s parade in Bryan's honor at San Francisco has been called off for obvious reasons, mainly financial. and he will participate in a military demonstration, more becoming to the Fourth of July. Laurelhurst should remember that Laurelhurst Park exists not for it alone, but for the whole surrounding population, -which includes some thou sands of boys and girls who like to swim. With so many candidates how can President Wilson appoint a Collector of Customs from Washington without making half a dozen enemies for every friend he wins? The man you come upon unexpect edly this week and find him pawing the air is not mentally erratic; he's due for a Fourth of July oration. It would be the height of hospital ity for the Press Club to supply Mr. Taft with a bathtub in which he can bathe without slopping over. Portland can reel assured things are looking up, since L. M. Sullivan, erst while prominent citizen, has returned to reside here. Modern medical science has made war so healthy that the only un healthy thing remaining about It is the fighting. Salem's tenth annual Cherry Fair will be held this week, and It will be worth the while of Portland people to attend. Id starting a boozeless saloon, Ta coma will need to be careful lest some over-exhilarating cold tea is smug gled In. Having bad much trouble to get Huerta out of Mexico, President Wil son does not intend to let him get in again. Possibly Bryan's- political future is a mystery, but basing ft on the, dope book, he can be placed in the "also This is the week In which the Bea vers are due to break into the first di vision on their upward climb. The European' ganger zone has been extended enough to keep good Ameri cans at home. Some men do not learn their value until they are' sued for breach of promise. Portland can get along with fewer saloons in the next six months. Owing to the schedule, a glorious day was wasted yesterday. Hilf a. Century Ago From The Oregonlan. June 28, 1865, A good many English . noblemen whose seal for the rebel cause led them to speculate heavily in the Con federate loan now find themselves af flicted with impecunioBity because of their indiscreet endeavors to sustain tnelr rebellious friends and destroy Republican, liberty. Their loss will oc casion a deep satisfaction among our people. To rejoice at. it is not indi vidual or wrong. The loss of their money is but the fulfilment of justice. The following item will give some idea of the sum in which certain doughty but obtuse representatives of John Bull have been mulcted by the failure of those who got the benefit of their money: "The New York Express says it has good authority for stating that Sir Harry Bald do Houghton, proprietor of the pro-rebel organ in Liverpool the Standard had, 1.750,000 pounds sterling invested in the Confederate Cotton loan. He took one-tenth of the entire loan at par and his punishment by this time, we fancy, must be some thing more thin he can bear." In compliance with a petition for warded to him we learn Governor Gibbs has appointed J. P. Argersinger County Judge of Union County. Major Rinehart, First Oregon Cav alry, left here yesterday to take com mand of Fort Klamath. V hat bas been done xwith the body of Booth the assassin? This question will, in ail probability, become as great a secret as that concerning the execu tioner of Charles I of England. A correspondent of the New York World writes from Washington regarding the matter as follows: "The Secretary of War without in structions of any kind, a few days ago, committed to Colonel Lafayette C Baker, of the Secret Service, the stark corpse of J. Wilkes Booth. The Secret Service never fulfilled Its purpose more secretively. In rep! ' to a ques tion as to what disposition he made of the body Colonel Baker replied, 'That is known to only one man living be sides my sen. it is gone. Jacob Holstead and Miss Jane Con stable of Washington County were married June 25 at the residence of Thomas K. Cornelius, of Washington County, by E. Jackson, Justice of the Peace. It becomes our painful duty to re cord the deatn by drowning of a truly generous and nobly disposed man, Mr. Jacob Kimball, at The Dalles, on the Columbia, on Friday last. In com pany with Captain Madison of a sloop running on the Columbia above Des chutes, they had taken on a few tons of merchandise and had put' 3d out in the stream heading for Celilo. One of the oars was broken in attempting to land at Celilo; there bclni. no wind, the oars Instead of the sails were used. The sloop hit the current and dashed into the rarlds. captain Aladi son reached shore after Jumping over board, but Kimball took the water too late to be saved. He was seen to pass over the falls and finaly into an eddy from which he river arose. By reference to our advertising col umns our readers will notice the co partnership of Drs. Hoffman and Blacn. of this city. SPECIAL PRIVILEGES TO XOJ'E Writer Objects to Showing of Censored Films) to Censors' friends. PORTLAND, Juno 27. (Tothe Edi tor.) Perhaps a year ago, a motor cycle club lo raise funds gave a private run of moving pictures to a tew in vited" friend in the basement of i bu-ilUing near the Courthouse. Sheriff Tom Word, not being: one of the in vited," broke up the entertainment. Now that he is eliminated, a news item states that Mrs. Colwell, of the Cen sorship 'loard, ,vho confiscates the part she dislikes. going to show "a thou sand teet of lmuiora.1, obscene and un desirable features" to a. few "invited' guests. If these pictures are too immoral for me to see. why should a few "invited guests of Z.Irs. Colwell be allowed to view them? They certainly can get no good information from them. It is not to pass upon the morality of the film, because she ha- already done that. It appears they will only get pleasure from it. Because I do not enjoy the honor of being the censors friend, my moral integrity wouldn't stand the strain of even one little bit of obliquity in film of thrilling adventure, but if I were more fortunate I could stand 1000 feet qf "obscene, immoral and unde sirable features" without blinking an eye. If there are undesirable features in a film. 1 believe in censorship meth ods and confiscation, but 1 can see no necessity of preserving these pictures to entertain a -ew select friends. There seems to be a tendency of the "upper class to" dictate what the lower class shall do relative to morals. It an pears proper for ladies of high degree to smoKe ana nave liquor served to them in high-toned hotels in teapots, but if some poor factory girl indulges in the same "luxuries," but. of course, in less favorable places, she not only meets the disapproval of her own class, but society immediately appoints a censor at a hundred a month to gather special material for her friends' en tertainment. U D, U. SUPER-CENSORS FOR FIRST RUN Let Nevr Board Decide Whether De leted films Are Fit to Show Council. PORTLAND, June 37. (To the Edi tor.) Is . it not about time for the really good people of Portland to take steps to s" that our film censorship board does not outrage public decency by having a private exhibition of the violent and immodest scenes which have been cut out of the regular movie shows? What assurance has any upright, clean-living Christian man or woman blessed with a good conscience that the objectionable features to be shown the council and invited guests will not corrupt them? Evidently no assurance at all. Consequently we may infer that the situation is really desperate. The censorship board has exercised its best judgment, reinforced by police power, to the effect that certain im moral, obscene and violent features must be suppressed, on the theory that they would exercise a pernicious in fluence on the public that frequents the movies. . What evidence is there that the same demoralizing influence will not affect the guests of the censors at a private view? Are they not all flesh and blood like the rest of us or must we believe that they are angels of light with such a superabundance of the grace of God in their souls that they are altogether incorruptible? It may yet be necessary to create a board of super-censors, who will ex amine the moral quality of the films that the ordinary censors and their favored friends view in private. Their moral welfare seems to be seriously menaced by viewing the awful things that the 'public at large is protected against. . R. D. Northern lights and Pole Star. - PRINEVILLE, Or., June 25 (To the Editor.) Kindly give reasons for "northern lights," also from Dipper the position of North star, and is same a bright star or not? READER. Northern lights, are supposed to be of electrical origin. , The North star is In a direct line with the two outer stars in the cup of the Big Dipper. It is a star of second magnitude. - REFORMS IN PRISON THAT PAT Relaxation In Roles at Sins; Sins Im proves Condition of Inmates. PORTLAND. June 27. (To the Edi tor.) The large number of persons coming out of our prisons every year emphasizes the importance of turning these men back upon society better than they went in. It is necessary that persons who have committed crime should be placed aside and excluded from social privileges for the protection of society, but our prison system has been a failure as a means of protection. It has defeated its purpose in all ways. It has sent out men more dangerous than when they went in, evinced by the number of those who come back again and again. Statistics show that two-thirds of the men in prison are serving a second term at least. To quote the words of an ex-convlct on this subject: "I do not think there is such a thing as a confirmed criminal except what the state makes." If you study the old prison system you will see that this s true. The present theory is that a man Is sent to prison to be punished. Donald Lowrie in his book, "My Life in Prison," says: So long as punishment Is the object and end of Imprisonment, the inmates of prisons cannot manifest themselves as human be ings they must -be suppressed in every way. But af-er this suppression, after this ab normal period, they are expected to go forth Into the world of men where Initiative, self reliance and responsibility are the first es sentials to success In the Industrial strug gle, and manifest the very characteristics which have been beaten down and obliter ated while they have been in prison. I do not mean to cirlticize or tear down our present prison system with out offering a better one In its place, because remedies already have been offered and are being put into effect by sveral wardens in this country. When Thomas Mott Osborne, the present warden of Sing Sing, came into office he immediately began putting Into action his revolutionary plans for pr'son reform. Of course. Mr. Osborne has been severely criticized, as there are always people who object to hav ing the old order changed people like the man to whom Talleyrand referred when he said: "Had he been present at the creation he would have asked. 'Is this a wise change: would it not disturb chaos?'" Mr. Osborne's Idea of prison is that it should be a place where men are educated back into use ful citizens. He believes in teaching them that it pays to work and that It will pay them when they come out if they learn to be efficient and honest workers in the prison. About a month ago I visited Sing. Sing with some members of the Na tional Committee on Prisons and was shown through the prison by Warden Osborne. The most dreadfully Impres sive thing about Sing Sing is the cell block. The men incarcerated within shiver with the cold and dampness of the stone and iron cells during the Winter and suffer from the extreme heat in the Summer. The cells are six and one-half feet high, seven feet long and three feet four inches wide. They are so unhealthy that they breed tuberculosis every minute. The damp ness is so great that you can see large drops of water on the walls. It 13 often necessary to put two and three men in these cells, the third sleeping on the floor. I stepped into a cell and the xlpor was closed so that I might better get the effect on the Inmate. At first the light was so dim that I could barely see, and the air was extremely stifling and close; in fact, the cell was not as comfortable as some cages I have seen for wild beasts in our parks. As we came out of the cell block we stopped and talked to a prisoner. He had been in Sing Sing for 20 years and was serving a life sentence for murder. He was 84 years old and told ns about his grandchildren, whom he had never seen. Although life in prison was more bearable under the new sys tem, he wanted to get out. and his family had almost secured his pardon, which is now among a pile of others on the Governor's desk, but the Gov ernor has not time to sign them, and the old man will probably die in prison. The change in the mess hall under the new system is very great. The men are allowed to talk and they file In the room in perfect order and take their seats at the long gray tables. There are no longer any guards and the order is greatly improved. As we stood watching hundreds of these men go by without a single guard it never once occurred to me to be afraid, be cause I looked upon them as men, not as murderers and vicious criminals. This may not seem surprising, but there was a time when wardens never went among the prisoners without a loaded revolver again the difference between the old and new system is manifest. As it was Sunday, the workshops were closed and the prisoners were playing baseball in the prison yard. An outside team the Mount Vernon Republic were playing against them, and Sing Sing won. 16 to 1. Although there was not as much cheering as there is at most baseball games, the prisoners all looked happy and were extremely enthusiastic The scarcity of guards was very noticeable, but those who were present were as in terested in the game as the prisoners. In fact, one of the guards was chosen by the prisoners to be the umpire. This Sunday ball game sends the prisoners back to their cells in better condition physically, mentally and morally, and yet it has been greatly objected to by some worthy people, who consider that It is profaning the Lord's day and think that the prison ers should remain idle in their cells on Sunday and contract tuberculosis from the dampness and unhealthy con dition. Under the old system the pris oners were locked in their cells all day Sunday and it was so unbearable that they resorted to taking drugs in order to Ket through the day. The drug question grew to be a most dif ficult one, but is now being success fully handled by Warden Osborne. The absence of guards that I have spoken of has been brought about by the organization of the Prisoners'. Mu tual Welfare League. All the prisoners voluntarily Join this league and vote for their own officers from among their number to keep order in the nrlson. It is a self-governing system organized by the prisoners with the heln of Mr. Osborne. They nave tnelr own court, where they try prisoners who have broken rules, ana tne suc f the organization Is obvious by the results. Under the old system 117 cases were handled by tne warden in three months, while under the pres ent system during the same length of time there has been Just one punish ment. I think no one can a-ouor tne service of Mr. Osborne to mankind, and that as time goes on we will see his ever growing plans come to their full real ization. In the meantime we. as citizens of this country, can help to bring about these better conditions and so aid in the cause of civilization. CATHERINE IS. KUSSELU When Roonevelt Left Town. PORTLAND. June 27. (To the Edi tor.) Kindly inform me date of ar rival and departure of President Roose velt at Portland in April or May, 1903. What day (Friday or Saturday) did he leave Portland. Thanking you in ad vance for reply. READER. President Roosevelt arrived in Port land Thursday. May 21, 1903, at 2:16 P. M., and departed Friday, May 23. at 8 A M Address of Humorist. PORTLAND. June 26 (To the Edi tor.) Kindly give the address of John Kendrtck Bangs. -CONSTANT READER. Mr. Bangs' address is 7 West Forty- third street, New York. Twenty-Five Years Ago From The Oregonlan Jane 28, 1890. "" Washington. The Oregon delega tion, having received the protest against the method pursued by the census enumerators In Portland, from the Chamber of Commerce, laid the matter before Superintendent Porter, who at once directed that one of the efficient inspectors In the service should proceed to Portland at once and take the necessary steps to straighten out the situation. Chicago. The first meeting of ' the national commissioners of thA World's Fair met here June 26 at noVn. Judge John T. Harris was chosen temporary chairman. Judge Boyd Thompson said the New York commissioners had been requested by Depew to say that his name should not be used in connec tion with the Presidency. Colonel Corbin, U. S. A. was made temporary ergeant-at-arms. Chicago The crisis In the big strike of the Illinois Central trainmen was reached last night. After an all-day session the conference between the strikers' committee and officials ended with a positive refusal on the part of the company to discharge Superintend ent Russell. Speculation is rife as to whether a general strike will result now. The Pacific Postal Company expects to have its wires into Astoria by Au gust 15. Mrs. Jack Dempsey mourns the loss of a handsome diamond ring presented to her by her husband. While waiting at the foot of Stark street for the fer ry she took out her purse containing J15 and the ring. She laid it on the seat in the waiting room and while her attention was otherwise taken the purse was snatched. A reward of $50 has failed to bring the ring back. The ring is greatly prized as it was a gift from Mr Dempsey. The person who has that ring knows it and will do. well to return it, or it will some day be the cause of trouble. Miss Alice Porter would like to see all the members of the "Minthorn Sketching Club" at her studio today at 10 o'clock. Astoria President Reid. of the As toria & South Coast Railroad, tele jrraphs that J3, 000. 000 of bonds of the company have been negotiated. This means that 3000 men will be added to the building force immediately and .hat 60 miles of road will be completed this year. The negotiations were com pleted in London. New London, Conn. As usual, great throngs of people congregated here yesterday to see the annual four-mile straightaway eight-oared shell race between Yale and Harvard. Yale won ty three and a half lengths in 21:25; Harvard 21:40. This is Yale's fifth consecutive victory. Mrs. L'.llie Devereaux Blake is the best looking of the female suffragists, though some unappreclative people say that the competition is not strong. Hon. William McAdoo will presently transfer his statesmanship from New Jersey to Virginia, where indeed he has made his home for some years. BISMARCK AND WAR WITH FRANCE Famous Ems Trlegram Precipitated Rather Than Caused War. GEER, Wash., June 26 (To the Editor.) In that peculiar, if not re markable poem, "The Song of the Stars," published in The Oregonlan re cently, reference is made again to the oft-mentioned "Bismarck telegram." During the last ten months the press seems never to have got tired of tell ing us that Bismarck, by falsifying the telegram regarding Benedettl's inter view with King William or some other telegram caused the Franco-German war of 1870. German particularists (German copperheads) generally con tent themselves with saying, that by falsifying or manipulating the tele gram he cut short the suspense and precipitated the war, when Germany was ready and France thought she was, thus destroying any hope of avoiding it, if there was any hope. Larned does not refer to any telegram, but simply puts the blame on Na poleon. Everybody, or most every body, seems to have agreed with Larned by putting the blame on Na poleon and his glory-thlrstlnjr clique, until the unexpected happened, and it became apparent that the French might definitely lose at that time, when, as usual. the losing party blamed the other side, which may or may not be true. in any particular case. 1 have made many fruitless in quiries. Nobody can give the facts. Nothing but general assertions. Will The Oregonian kindly publish the complete original telegrram, and then the complete falsified form of it., or if there is no such thing, tell us just what the "manipulation" was? Further, you will greatly oblige me, if you will kindly tell me who Mr. Larned, the author of the "History of the World." distributed by The Ore gonlan last Winter, is. Of what na tionality or descent? Where born and raised? Where did he make his studies? If a professor of history, at which universities i ing? or was he lectur- R. STUEHCK. According to James Wycliff Head lam, an English authority and author of "Bismarck and the Foundation of the German Empire," the publication of the Ems telegram, as "edited" by Bismarck, precipitated rather than caused the Franco-Prussian war. France had intervened in a movement fostered by Bismarck to secure the choice of Prince Leopold of Hohen zollern as King of Spain. France asked for a letter of apology and the French Ambassador personally re quested from the King of Prussia that he would never allow the candidature to be resumed. A telegram from the King to Bismarck telling of the in terview and his refusal was published by Bismarck, who, by omitting part of the telegram, made it appear that both request and refusal had been conveyed in a more abrupt form than had really been the case. "But even apart from this," says Headlam, "the publication of the French demand, which could not be complied with, must have brought about a war." Josephus Nelson Larned was born in Chatham, Ontario, and was educated in the publia schools of Buffalo. He was a newspaper editor, later a librarian and author. He was not a cojlege professor. Mr. Larned died in 1913. Cash In, Mr. Retailer When the manufacturer advertises his product in the newspapers he is inviting the retailer to cash in. He is building sales for them starting customers towards t h e 1 ri stores The alert storekeeper puts adver tised goods where people can see them. He invites the customers the ad vertising has created to come his way. He widens his circle of influence, serves his public well, and reaps the profit of the manufacturer's advertising. 1