Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (June 30, 1915)
THE MORNING OHEGONTAN. WEDNESDAY, JTJNE SO, lf)15. BgPfflttcttt PORTLAND, OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oregon. Postoflce aa second-class matter. Subscription Kales invariably In advance: By Mall.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year $S.OU Xally, Sunday Included, six month 4-2j Uaily, Sunday included, three oionlhi. . Ially, Sunday included, on month..... 7o Xall, without Sunaay, one year 6.0U Xaily, without Sunday, six months.... Ualiy, without Sunday, three months... X. tit Xaiiy, without Sunday, one month...... -0 "Weekly, one year unday, one year Sunday and Weekly, one year ." (By Carrier. Dally, Sunday included, one year 8. 1ally, Sunday included, one month.... How to Itemit Send postofflce money or der, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at sender's risk. Give poslofllce auuress m Including county and stateL . ln.tuVM MntM 12 to lit oaKCS. 1 Centt 18 n u-i r.w -a r.ntjc n-4 to 48 tiSfces. 3 cents 80 to 60 pages. 4 cents; U2 to pages. 5 cents; 78 to 02 pages, cents, toreiga posf age. double rates. " lAjrtwii iin ,in.HH offices Verree & Conk' Do, .Brunswick building. New Xork; Verree & Conklln, Steger building, LnicBso. i'ranclaco representative, K. J. isldwell, tz Market street. rOBTLASD, WEDNESDAY. JUNE 30, 1915. THE PRIME FACTS. ; Let us keep firmly in mind the car dinal facts about the land grant deci sion, and not be misled as to the vast importance of a talr disposition of the lands by the senseless and harmful repetition of exploded falsehoods about the midnight resolution and its purport, and tne auspices through which it passed the Legislature. If it be true that the legislative resolution influenced the Supreme Court in its decision, a great service has been done for the state by the Legislature. If the Government had won, the trrant would have been forfeited and the lands would have reverted to the United States, assuming at once the status of a forest reserve. If the railroad had won, the repeat ed violations of the "enforceable cove nant" would have been condoned, and the title of the company to millions of acres of land, worth many million dollars, would have been confirmed, and the lands would again have been withdrawn from settlement, to be sold at the railroad's pleasure and at its own price. The primary concern of Oregon' is to open the lands for settlement and development. That great and desir able object would have been defeated, or at least long deferred, if the lands had reverted to the Government or been restored to the railroad. It seems to The Oregonian that any plan to buy the, interest of the rail road with state funds, contemplating an investment of $5,000,000 or J6, 000,000, is impracticable. A far bet ter proposal would be to pay the rail road its J 2. 50 per acre interest as the lands are sold. Why should the state be burdened with an enormous and unnecessary debt, when the same ob ject can be accomplished without any such expenditure? Let the railroad wait for its money. . It has on its part been willing to hold up the develop ment of Oregon in order to realize the greatest values out of the grant. If the Congressional delegation from Oregon can persuade Congress to turn over to Oregon the Government's in terest or even one-half thereof in the lands for the benefit of its school fund, or for whatever other reason able use may be made of them, they will have accomplished a mighty re sult for Oregon. ' GETTING TOGETHER. Encouraging signs that the German American situation is being cleared up are to be found in the latest news from both Washington and Berlin. Each nation is arriving at a clear understanding of the position taken by the other and is endeavoring to adapt its practice to the position as sumed by the other, so far as this is possible without abandoning or im pairing its own rights and principles. If Germany should, as indicated, exempt passenger ships from sub marine attack on condition that they do not resist search and seizure of contraband, a large part of the Amer ican objection to the submarine war would be met. The suggestion that the United States give notice of de parture of American vessels for the war zone would prevent such mistakes as the torpedoing of the Gulflight, for Germany could discover by their loca tion at any particular time whether these were genuine American vessels or disguised belligerents. If these American vessels carried contraband, however, the risk of their being in tercepted would be increased by this notice, and the owners might prefer to take the chance between their be ing sunk and evading capture. If they were sunk and lives of non-combatants were lost, the rights" of Ameri cans as defined by President Wilson would still be violated and the con troversy would be renewed. While the President's condemnation of submarine war as heretofore prac ticed would stand, it might be reduced to a mere expression of opinion on a general principle of humanity if that species of warfare -were continued in future only cgainst Germany's ene mies and against other neutrals. If Germany were so to modify her treat ment of American ships and of bel ligerent ships carrying American pas sengers that no wrong would be done to American lives or property, we should have no cause to quarrel with Germany, though our opinion of her methods of warfare might be un changed. The United States is not disposed to inaugurate a crusade for the general purpose of compelling Germany to carry on war in accord ance with our standards of humanity. Neither in the case of the Lusitania nor in that of the Frye does the Pres ident recede one inch from the defini tion or American rights which he has adopted. He makes this plain in the latest dispatch regarding the Frye. The difference between the two gov ernments in that case is one pf prin ciple only. Germany is willing to pay compensation as soon as a prize court has fixed the amount, which is to be the amount of damage suffered by the owners. The United States asks no more than that amount, but contends that it is no case for a prize court. Sums which a nation must pay inci dentally to exercising a recognized belligerent right are fixed by prize courts. The United States contends that In sinking the Frye Germany vio lated the plain terms of a treaty be tween the two countries; that there fore compensation is due for a wrong done to the American Nation; and that in such a case the amount of compensation must be fixed by diplo macy. Were the United States to con cede the German contention, it would be equivalent c inserting in the treaty a proviso that either nation was free to violate its terms on payment to the injured individual of damages award ed in the offending nation's own prize court The insistence of the United States on it3 position in the Frye case i3 the more important because it suggests the tenacity with which the Govern ment will stand by the principles In volved in submarine attacks. In the light of the Frye dispatch, the con ciliatory tone, of the second Lusitania note cannot be mistaken for weak ness. While adhering to the sound principle therein propounded, the President showed a disposition to in sist on nothing which was inconsistent with that principle and to make it as easy as possible for Germany to re spect American rights without aban doning rights she claims to exercise against her enemies. JCST BECCN. The attention of the people of two states about to enter upon the great experiment of general prohibition is Invited to the following paragraph from the North Yakima Republic: The Mayor of Aberdeen does not enthusi astically approve the suggestion of the W. C. T. U. that a substitute for the saloon ought tq be provided at public expense. He says a lot or money Is wasted to provide amusement for adults as well as children and leaves the impression that he tit-inks people who want . to be helpful would be more orofitahlv emnlov-ed if thev loined in some sort of general movement to make others busy and useful Instead of merely trying to keep them out of mischief. His Idea Is worth consideration everywhere. It has long been under consideration by peo ple who wer-a brought up to work. After January 1, 1916, there are to be no saloons in Oregon or Washing ton. A large number of them are now arranging to retire from business. There must be a substitute for the saloon, and the Mayor of Aberdeen and every sensible and observant citi zens know it. But whether city or state has a duty to provide it may well be doubted. The fight for prohibition is only Just begun. It will be ignominiously lost if the worthy citizens who carried the amendment to a triumphant pass age last November in Oregon and Washington fancy that their duties and responsibilities have ended. Mere ly making it impossible for a man to get a drink legally will not reform a community or state. ACADEMIC FREEDOM, Because the trustees of the Univer sity of Pennsylvania disapprove the views held by Professor Scott Near- ing, assistant professor of economics, he has been dismissed. The result is a general discussion in . college and newspaper circles of academic free dom and the right and .duty of a teacher to teach what he thinks. Says one critic: The University of Pennsylvania chal lenges the theory that an Institution of learning should be devoted to search for the truth in an atmosphere of intellectual freedom. ... The modern spirit Is not patient under such interference with acade mic Independence, and it Is well that It should not be. The dignity and usefulness of a university suffer heavily when ' the prejudiced hand of restraint is permitted to rest upon Its honest and earnest thinkers. Truth cannot be found or served under such conditions. Undoubtedly, honest and earnest thinkers should '. be encouraged to think and to express their thoughts. But they have as sacred an obligation to hold to the sound bases of scientific and economic truth as their univer sity or college has to give them the means to find it and the opportunity to proclaim it freely. Shall a board of trustees remain quiet where an instructor enunciates revolutionary doctrine or fathers so cialistic heresies and economic ab surdities? No; never. If our opinion were to be asked, we should say that too little, and not too much, restraint is placed upon some college professors we know. COCkTS VS. PEOPLE. I Government by Injunction was given a new emphasis by the decision of Judge Gantenbein in the jitney case. The law was upheld by the court, yet a restraining order against its enforcement pending appeal was issued. Here is a law .conceded and ad judged by the court to be good law withheld from operation indefinitely by the same authority. A police measure having legal sanction and adopted by a large majority of the ) people is temporarily nullified by the judicial power of one man. To be sure in connection with the ruling admonition to appeal immedi ately was given. But a strong incen tive to early appeal and early decision In the higher court would have been offered had the injunction not been granted. The jitney owners in ap pealing could have asked for a tem porary injunction from the Supreme Court and if the ' Supreme Court felt that property interests were jeopardized and the public rights were not Immediately at stake it would have granted the relief and set a date for hearing. Now the case is subject to all the jockeying and delays that are possible under cover of pretended sincerity. We hazard the guess that for a court to enjoin the enforcement in definitely of admittedly valid law and its own decree is practically If not wholly unprecedented. HOT DRINKS AND CANCER. Whether the doctors would be able to treat cancer any more effectively if they knew its cause is uncertain. The chances are that they would. At present nobody pretends .to under stand the cause of cancer, though al most every physician has a theory of his own as to its origin. Some attrib ute it to a germ which infests, the body from some outside source. Oth ers say that it arises from an anar chic cell which has ceased to obey the usual rules that govern the bodily structure. Still others ascribe cancer to bits of the germ plasm misplaced here and there in the tissues which begin to function under untoward con ditions and thus destroy the life that sustains them. But there is one point upon which the doctors agree. They all say that irritation of any part of the body con tinued for a. long time is pretty sure to produce cancer. In this way the old-fashioned clay pipe set up cancer of the lip and a decayed tooth may start cancer of the tongue by the abra sion it continually renews. Along thi3 line Dr. Mayo,, the famous Minnesota surgeon, has made an interesting remark about hot drinks. Of course such drinks are irritating. A person who swallows a cup of very hot tea often feels a raw ness of the gullet for some time af terward. And if the hot drink habit is kept up day after day for several years, we can understand that serious lesions of the tissues might result from it Dr. Mayo says that he can not get rid of the notion that this sort of irritation sets up cancer of the stomach. "I cannot get it out of my head" these are his words "that "hot drinks are the cause of much can cer of the stomach." Years ago we were constantly warned to shun ice cream because its chilliness injured the digestion. Now we must eschew hot drinks for a worse reason. Nothing is left for us but lukewarm beverages, which are very apt to turn the stomach. Dr. Mayo is perhaps the best surgeon In the world, and his opinion cannot be lightly regarded. Even lukewarm tea is preferable to cancer of thi stomach. MITCHELL'S POIXT. The road around Mitchell's Point, on the Columbia Highway, is a fine piece of engineer's work. The State of Oregon made a special appropria tion to overcome its difficulties, and the money was needed. For some hundreds of feet the road passes through a tunnel in the solid rock, which is here of a basalt and lava for mation mingled with seams of coal as hard, as flint and almost as useless. The engineers cut through one such seam three feet thick. The river wall of the tunnel has been pierced with five windows which serve more than one useful purpose. They light and ventilate the tunnel and they afford travelers charming views of the Columbia. The road at this point seems to overhang the river, so abrupt ig the mountain wall through which it has been carried.. It is more like some of the wonderful en gineering upon the Alpine roads of Switzerland than anything commonly seen in the United States. We have heretofore spent our best efforts on railroad building, but a di version of money and energy to motor roads is now under way. DOGS AND DUTY. We learn from an exchange that seven dogs have lately been poisoned in McMinnville. This Is a large num ber. Citizens must have been driven to the verge of distraction by the dog nuisance or they would not have taken the matter so vigorously into their hands. Our exchange remarks that the persons who poisoned the dogs "were malicious" and that they com mitted "a felony." Probably "misde meanor" would be' nearer the mark. As to their malice we have our doubts. As a rule nobody thinks of poisoning a dog until his patience has been worn out by the misdeeds of the mis erable beast and the neglect of his owner. Dogs make themselevs offensive in the daytime by befouling everything within their reach. They destroy gar dens and snap viciously at passersby. But their worst offenses are commit ted at night when they howl dismally hour after hour, keeping a whole neighborhood awake. It is strange but apparently true that the owner of a dog never hears him howl, or if he does, the noise is sweet music in his ears. But the neighbors hear him to their sorrow and when they have endured the misery as long as they can they sometimes put an end to it by poison. This is wrong, for it is unlawful to poison a dog, even the most noisy and worthless one, and we should all obey the law. The city is no place for a dog. He is there in an unnatural environment. He is filthy, noisy and dangerous, un happy himself and a cause of unhap piness to the neighbors. In the coun try a dog is a pleasant companion and occasionally useful, but in the city he is neither pleasant nor useful. If dog-owners would take proper care of their pets and keep them out of mis chief their utter uselessness might be overlooked, but this is seldom done. In the dog-owner's mind the privi leges of his idol take precedence over the rights and comfort of every other being. No matter who suffers, the dog must be allowed to disport him self as he likes and howl to his heart's content. THE IDEAL CELEBRATION. We should all help to reclaim the Fourth of July celebration from the bad habits which cling to it- Within the last few years it has regained some of its lost character, but there is still room for improvement. We can all remember the dismal days when the Fourth of July had become nothing better than a riotous holiday with hardly a particle of patriotic sig nificance. Noise, wounds, calliopes, dances and sack races were its least unworthy features,, and- It. required a good deal of imagination to connect such performances with the birth of a Nation and the sacred scenes of Amer ican history. Wc do not object to sports in their proper place, but the celebration of the Fourth of July should be devo tional rather than sportive. There is a time for fun and there is also a time for solemn reflection and the great memories of the past. The Fourth of July is the one day in the year when we may most appropriately turn our thoughts to the privileges and duties of American citizens. Young men who have lately been naturalized are un der peculiar obligations to celebrate the Nation's birthday with a serious purpose to learn what duties they have undertaken and what privileges they have acquired. United States citizenship has often been too lightly regarded. The oath of allegiance has been looked upon as a more or less jocose formula entail ing no weighty duties and requiring no deep study. The Fourth of July is the best day in the year to correct this error. The time has come when we need a well-instructed, earnest and devote body of citisens. There should be no more trifling with the great ceremony of naturalization, and those who have taken the oath should learn its full significance. To this end the Fourth of July celebration should be the grand civic event of the year, in which all the organizations contribut ing to our municipal life should par ticipate. It should be made so impos ing and attractive that everybody would be Irresistibly drawn to attend. And the attractions should not be mere gewgaws. They should solidly contribute to knowledge of our insti tutions and history and to form a pa triotic habit of mind. The schools are under more than common obligations to promote the noble celebration of the Fourth of July, because they form the minds of the young. At school boys and girls may learn to trifle with the duties of citizenship or to take them seriously. They may be taught a flabby, selfish preference for personal safety above everything else, or they may learn the high principles of devotion to their country. They may be taught to seek National happiness in meek submis sion to wrong or in the strength that can repel aggression and stern con secration to great ideals. With the strength to r.-.aintain our National in tegrity 'against all assailants we should cultivate the grandeur of soul which scorns the rash guidance of ignorance and passion. It is well indeed for the schools to cease making a fetich of war, but it would be sad to see them teaching that submission to wrong and dishonor is a National duty. A Fourth of July celebration con ducted with the solemn grandeur which befits the occasion would make us all wiser and better citizens. The following from Professor Will iam Howard Taft, in an address to the Yale Alumni, is probably as near a sneer as that fine gentleman ever perpetrated: I wish to speak of a gentleman for whom I have sympathy from a common experience. That gentleman in an election campaign in which I took some part said that I had been elected by a large majority, but that I would go out by a unanimous vote, lie made this statement as near to a political truth as it was ever possible for him to come. Now that he has been retired with genera approval, I stand here to defend him, and to say that we who are trying to reform the world with our lungs and throats must stand together, and because we make an occasional slip fs no reason why our profession should turn against us. Mr. Taft's sense of humor is so per vasive that he does not spare himself; but it is not at all likely that Bryan will fail to see the Joke or feel its sting. The Legislature has been harried and maligned by a Portland news paper because it instructed the Attorney-General to intervene in the land grant suit and assert the state's in terest in the lands as opposed to Gov ernment forfeiture and Government reservation. The same newspaper which was amazed and aghast at the simple expedient of sending the At torney-General to Washington now indorses a scheme conceived by one of its friends to spend several million. dollars to accomplish the identical thing the Attorney-General and the Legislature sought to accomplish. The inconsistency discloses plainly that that newspaper is governed in its poli cies toward any movement not by the character of the movement but the Identity of Its source. Klamath County has sold 500 horses to Europe since the war began at an average price of $100 a head. We wonder how many of them are alive yet. Miss De Graff says a horse stands a chance to live perhaps five or six days at the front and its speedy death is not always mercifully bestowed. If a good Christian is merciful to his beast, Klamath County horsemen may, possibly, seek some other market for their stock, upon reflection. In the school bulletin "What to Read Before High School" there are ten selections from Longfellow, two from Lowell, two from Holmes and one from Eugene Field. This is list No. 5. Including poets from C to L. It fairly measures Longfellow's popu larity, perhaps, but outside the school room Is he read ten times as much as Eugene Field? We doubt it. If he is, he doesn't deserve his pre-eminence. V It is learned from Collier's that Cleveland's Court of Conciliation, or People's Court, Is prospering famous ly. Up to January 1, 1915, it had han dled 7000 cases and disposed of money up to $100,000. Two-thirds of the cases were compromised, as nearly all lawsuits should be. The court began operations in March, 1913. Judge Manuel Levine originated it. The Chamber of Commerce pleads powerfully for a clear sky this Sum mer for tourists' sake if not our own. The smoke nuisance arises from neg lect and thoughtlessness. Reasonable care in extinguishing fires and a little deference to the common welfare in burninc slashings would mitigate it greatly. In, these matters farmers and all outdoor men can help. The artistic beauty of Laurelhurst Park would be enhanced rather than Impaired by a swimming pool properly built and conducted. Neither clean water nor the human form i3 unsight ly, and a pool may be so built as to be an ornament. But the most agree able thing about a public swimming pool to healthy minds Is the innocent joy it diffuses. J. Bull, Esq., is - getting Into his stride. There were 216 offers to take the new $5,000,000,000 war loan and the bids amounted to four times the sum wanted. Britain may move slow ly, but the sluggish progress is over whelming. Since Mexican revolutionists love fighting more than they love their country, why don't they enter the service of the European belligerents? Because they love loot more than they love fighting. Six days In advance, the weather folk at Washington say there will be showers in Oregoii Monday. Oregoni- ans are not alarmed. The umbrella is a fixture of the Fourth of July cele bration. It is a sad commentary on the re formatory effects of our prison system when a paroled convict prefers prison to freedom. Most convicts express their preference by committing new crimes. Portland postofflce clerks and car riers are to get their rights in annual promotion, a way having been found to do Justice to a lot of hardworking good men. Is not the Senatorial delegation cruel in keeping Hood River guessing on the postofflce Job? An uneasy as pirant is a nuisance and a joke. Having developed Its business enough to pay running expenses, the Panama Canal will now reach after enough to pay interest. The boys and girls who attend school in usual vacation time are the young people who will make the rec ords later In life. This is the time when the head of the family figures on a visit to the beach, but she does not consult the old man. This Government now notifies Ger many of the sailing of all American craft. This is precaution, and not a dare. If Germany loses three-quarters of a million men in taking Galicia, what will she lose in taking Europe? The United States will not permit new revolts in Mexico. It is protector of a fine job lot of them now. The girl in the one-piece bathing suit may look like a goddess, but she is going to be censored. The Czar has a new Minister of War, as if that will help any. European War Primer By National Geographical Society. Among the European towns that were before the war, but which a long, con tinued hail of shells and explosives have swept away, is Dixmude, a month's long center of tne Flanders battle the ater. ...... Dixmude. the melancholy little vil lage of yesterday and the ruins of to day, was once a brave, wealthy mer chant city, with more than 30,000 in habitants. In the days of its prosper ity, it was a port for large ships, and the products of many countries filled its warehouses. In those days it was a strongly-walled and bastioned city, and its well-trained citizen soldiery knew how to uphold the honor of their thriving port on the sluggish Yser. The German invaders, however, found no evidences of the old-time walls and fortifications, nor of any Yser quays. Dixmude, just before the war has tened the final process of Its oblitera tion, was a decaying village of 1100 people, with grass and weeds growing in its sleepy streets and In its large Grand Square, that square roomy enough to hold in comfort a mass meet ing of twice the town's population. This large square, the splendid Church of St. Nicholas that stood upon it, and some solid, old st6ne houses, lining the crooked streets, remained to bear testi mony to Dixmude's earlier importance. Much of. the city's 'splendor was wiped out by the soldiers of Ghent and Bruges in the middle of the 16th cen tury. During 1553 enemy troops burned J00 homes, the palatial guild and cor poration halls and the chateau at Dix mude. Its walls and the palaces of Its merchant princes were destroyed long before the present war. When Dixmude became one of the key positions in the Flanders campaign it was a substantial quiet village. The martial and mercantile fame of the town had sped. Its chief renown was that of its superior butter and eggs, and that of the singing, or, better, trilling competitions - of its blind finches. The natives snared these shy birds, and, that they might sing undis turbed by the presence of onlookers, they were blinded by the searing of their eyes with hot irons. These sing ing competitions between the birds were held on holidays, and money prizes were distributed for the sweet est trilling. Accomplished birds often brought their owners large sums. More than 1000 trills In one hour by one of these sightless little finches was a Dix mude record, and as proud a one to the burghers there as Is a baseball pen nant In an American city. The town was mediaeval in appear ance. Many of the houses had. win dows screened by heavy, rust-eaten Iron bars and heavy, one-piece wooden shut ters. Some of them were very ancient, and thus valuable memories of Europe's struggles. St. Nicholas Church, an im posing structure with a Gothic tower, was the town's principal boast, and its interior contained some exquisite or namentation work, patterns carved In stone as delicate as rare, hand-made lace. The altar screen was prized as one of Europe's marvels. Effective railway mileage has played a potent part In the winning of mod ern battles. The Russians have not only had well-equippe-d, well-trained men opposed to them in the eastern war theater, but also a wonderful, strategically invaluable net of railways. The German railways have been in struments of first importance in every Russian defeat- On the western front, where the fighting has been more sta tionary, the highly-developed railway system of Germany meets the equally highly-developed system of France. The total length of the railways of the world is about 750,000 miles, of which considerably more than four fifths falls to the continents of Europe and America. The United States leads all the other nations of the world in the total of its railroad mileage, though It Is proportionately behind some of them. Belgium, now back of the In vaders' lines, is one of the best-supplied territories in the world for rail communication, and the railways of Great Britain, Germany and France are equal to almost any strain that a war traffic may put upon them. Europe possesses more than 212,500 miles of railway lines, of which about one-third falls to the share of the cen tral German powers, the German em pire and Austria-Hungary. Germany, with Its 210,000 square miles of area, has about 40,000 miles of rail line, while France, with Its 208,000 square miles, has 32,500 miles of trackage. Russia and Finland together, with a total area of 2,095,616 square miles, or very nearly ten times the size of Ger many, has a railway mileage slightly less than that of Germany. In great part, the Russian railways are far flung trunk lines, and the Muscovite land nowhere has anything correspond ing to the interweaving railway nets of Germany and France. This lack of railway facilities has been one of the disadvantages that the Russians have had to overcome during the present war. Among the other countries of Europe, Italy has some 11,250 miles of railroad, so- laid down as to bind almost her en tire frontier by a rail line fringe; Spain has about 10,000 miles of track; Great Britain and Ireland have 24,000 miles, and Austria-Hungary has a total mile age of about 28,000. The United States has about one third of the total mileage of the world. There are 65,000 miles of railway on the continent of Asia, about 26,000 miles on the continent of Africa and 21,000 miles in Australia. Japan, with Korea, has only about 6500 miles of railway, and China has a mileage which totals about the same. The railways of Germany, France and Austria-Hungary have been devel oped with considerable attention to their value In times of war. This fea ture of railway development has been especially prominent In Germany, where the state has presided over the growth and destinies of steam line com munication. Several great trunk lines traverse Germany from her western to her eastern frontier, and these lines are prepared to bear almost any strain. Along the French border an all-Inclusive network of railroad has been laid, while German railway lines parallel the Russian frontier and receive feed lines from all parts of the empire. How Torpedo Is Aimed. DETROIT, Or., June 27. (To the Editor.) Please tell me if a torpedo has to be aimed at its target or not. If it is not aimed I would like to know how It is arranged. A. N. R. The torpedo is guided toward Its tar get by means of a gyroscope whirling within it. The torpedo Is launched in the general direction of the target, but the gyroscope has been previously aimed and automatically controls a vertical rudder so that the torpedo reaches its mark. A general descrip tion of torpedo mechanism was given at length In The Oregonian March 14, 1915, Dumping Valuable Soil Into Sea. - In the current issue of Farm and Fireside, the National farm paper pub lished at Springfield, O., a contributor writing under the title "Dumping Soil Into the Sea" tells how Middle West farms lose 11 tons of earth a second. Following is an extract from what this writer' reports: "Eleven tons of soil is carried Into the Gulf of Mexico every second by the Mississippi River from its immense drainage district. This material amounts to 340,000,000 tons every year and is equal to the surface soil, 6 2-3 Inches deep," of 346.000 acres." ALBERTA CLUB'S PRACTICAL AID Organisation Leader In School Market and Vacant Lot Enterprises. PORTLAND, June 29. (To the Edi tor.) While serving on the market committee to establish markets in Portland some 14 months ago. the idea of school markets came to us, as a means of Interesting children In being self-helpful, and calling into use the enormous A-aste of vacant lots. After no little deliberation, we type wrote and distributed the following slip on which was a condensed com plete outline of the proposition for children's markets: Let the children market their own pro ducts in the basements of thelT home schools, Saturday mornings from 8 to 10. Organize boys' and girls' leagues, conduct employment bureaus. Eliminate the cigarette by barring tobacco-users from membership. A board of managers from the Parent-Teacher Associa tion to appoint an overseer. Our efforts apparently being fruit less, the Alberta Woman's Improve ment Club, at a meeting held on June 2, 1914, authorized the market com-i mittee to select a site and open a mr-rket- Two weeks later the Alberta Market was opened, and the children were Invited to bring their products, and a real community market was suc cessfully conducted all Summer. The Montavilla Parent-Teachers' Associa tion, acting on the advice of Mrs. .Sarah H. Wilder, opened and conduct ed a similar market. In December of last year we post poned the weekly meetings until "Jan uary then to take up vigorously the ' acant-lot movement. The first ap peal for vacant lots was Issued Jan uary 6 in The Oregonian. A very strong Indorsement followed January 7 by Mrs. Maud Spafford Burley. Ar rangements were made for . giving prizes to the children, for the best kept accounts, and silver loving cups vere selected to be presented in Oc tober We then appealed to owners tor the donation of use of vacant lots, and for men, women and children who wanted lots to cultivate, to send in their names and addresses. ' The response of lots was so far In excess of the demand for lots to culti vate that again a problem confronted us. After some deliberation the thought came to get tents and put the peopie out of work and money on to these lots. This was followed by the unsightly, dilapidated houses being asked for and appeals have been made repeatedly for tents and houses; adopting the slogan, "Let the people who cannot pay rent into the houses that cannot be rented." Other organizations have taken up the work, and some have followed the example of Mr. Pingree, of Detroit, Michigan, In furnishing seed potatoes, and as we stated in the Telegram of January 16, "it probably will take two years to get the work well in motion, but it is so Important that we can well afford to. wait." By the generous space allotted to the movement by the daily papers, the name of the Alberta Woman's Im provement Club and its work have reached the civic world, bringing fame to Portland. Now we are out with an appeal for funds with which to build a community clubhouse and give the club a permanent homo. JOSEPHINE R. SHARP, President Alberta Woman's Improve ment Club. INVESTIGATORS DO NOT AGREE K a rl Prnrson's Theories as to First born Dispnted by Hnvclock Ellis. PORTLAND, June 29. (To the Edi tor.) A reconciliation of seemingly di vergent conclusions by two well-known students of eugenics is evidently need ed, to judge from a recent article of yours on Karl Pearson's discovery of certain unfavorable tendencies mani fested in first-born children. On the other hand, the results arrived at by Havelock Ellis In his work called "Study of British Genius" tend to em phasize certain advantages for first born children. Ellis found that the chances for the eldest child to become distinguished seemed to be especially marked. The more recent findings of a German in vestigator. Dr. Vaerting, of Berlin, (as cited by Ellis in Harper's Weekly May 16, 1914, page 22) tend to corroborate the conclusion that genius Is much more likely to appear in the first-born. Vaerting confined his studies to data derived from the lives and antecedents of more than 100 German men of gen ius. His averages also led him to con clude that the third son stands next to the first as to capacity. Why the second should not rank thus is ex plained by Vaerting as due to the fact that too often the second child follows too soon after the first. In the light of further facts the vari ance beween Pearson and Ellis may be seen to be more apparent than real. It may be found later that' merely be ing born first has less influence on the good or bad quality of offspring than the sufficiently mature age of the mother and the not too advanced age of the father. Thus both Ellis and Vaerting agree that a more elderly mother will be more likely to bear a child of genius than a very youthful mother. According to Vaerting, the most frequent age of mothers was 27, although in 13 cases the mothers were over 39. In view of the falling birth rate all over the civilized world, these studies assume much importance. More light needs to be thrown on the question of what are the best conditions for the production of a race of higher average physical and intellectual capacity. Mod ern morality is not willing to accept the ancient plan of approving an in rush of surplus babies of all sorts into an indifferent world with a shortage of food, only to have them eliminated sooner or later In a ruthless struggle for existence, after the manner of the blind biological process of nature. But if humanity wishes to improve its quality without depending " upon mere numbers, it will have to give seri ous thought to the problems of both heredity and environment in their re lation to racial Improvement. Science alone can give us aid in this direction. II. C. UTHOFF. Aberdeen to Manhattan Beach. ABERDEEN, Wash., June 28. (To the Editor.) Please tell me how to reach Manhattan Beach, Or., from Ab erdeen. Wash., and the ferry fare for an auto from Kalama to Goble. SUBSCRIBER. The route to Portland is via Che halls and Centralia to the Pacific High way. The ferry charge at Goble varies. It has been as high as $5 and it is re ported has gone as low as 50 cents re cently. The road to Manhattan Beach from Portland leads through McMinnville, Sheridan, Willamina, Dolph and Tilla mook. Manhattan Beach being about 16 miles north of Tiyamook, over a good road. The road from Portland to Dolph is said to be in better condition now than it ever has been. About four miles between Dolph and Hebo, where road work is- now in progress, was rather rough and muddy last Sunday, but that stretch Involved no serious difficulties. Unless rain overtakes you on the journey it will not even be necessary to use your tire chains. From Hebo into Tillamook the road is in good condition. Woman When She Cries. Kansas City Journal. There is nothing admirable about a woman who begins to shed tears early in the evening and bawls all night, just because of a difference with her hus band, says the Atchison Globe. The average woman, when she cries, looks like a fat woman getting up in the morning, and there is nothing in her appearance to make her sinful husband feel repentant. Twenty-Five Years Ago From The Oregonian. June 30, 1S0O. A tornado swept over the central Western states yesterday, doing con siderable damage in parts of Michigan, Missouri. Indiana. Kentucky and sur rounding country. London There is every indication that a revolt of the tory members of Parliament is Imminent. Many of them are ridiculing the position the government has taken and are ctill further exasperated at the stubborn silence of the ministry in regard to the procedure to be observed on important measures to come up. The Chronicle says a recasting of the ministry is a not far-distant event. The building occcupied by the Wil lamette Bridge Company at Second and N streets was burned to the ground early this morning. The fire 'iroke out about 1 o'clock. The livery establish ment of Morgan & Lumsden was iso a mass of flames. Forty-five horses stabled in the latter building were cut loose and ran away to safety. Vancouver. B. C. Lieutenant Seton Karr arrived on the steamer Queen of the Pacific yesterday after a successful expedition across Alaska. He left about two months ago to discover a pass across the mountains Detweeu Chilcat and the Altsehk River. New York John L Sullivan paid his respects to Muldoon, the great wrestler, today by calling Muldoon a coward. He said he had learned that Muldoon had offered to turn state's evidence against him (Sullivan) and Mike Donovan in connection with the prizefight. Sulli van taid he paid Muldoon $2000 for training him. The old two-story house on Church street, Salem, recently removed to make room for George Collina' new res idence, was built in 1S5S by L V. Glo ver, then a young and rising lawyer In that place, who as Governor and United States Senator became noted. While digging in the old Chinook burying-grounds at New Astoria re cently J. M. Long unearthed one of tl.o old Harrison "Log Cabin" medals. The lettering stands out very clearly and the outlines of the cabin aio quite plain. The date 1840 is still visible, althougn the medal is corroded consid erably. It is supposed sonio tricky trader brought out a quantity of thesa medals and exchanged them at a high valuation for furs. The diggers also found a pair of silver and a pair of copper bracelets. Verdi is reported from Geneva to be. in excellent health and although hl3 white hair and flowing beard give him a venerable appearance his eyes are full of fire. He will not admit that "Othello" is his last word and says there is no telling what he may yet do if the inspiration comes to him. "Jim the Penman will be produced tonight at the Marquam Grand. The Madison Square company will be seen here. Half a Century Ago From The Oregonian. June 30. 1SG5. There are already two railroads run ning from Sacramento a distance of 40 miles or more, across the east side of the Sacramento Valley and into the Sierra Nevada. These are, first: Cen tral Pacific, which is now carrying freight and passengers to and from Clipper Gap, 43 miles from Sacramento, tapping the trade and travel of the im portant counties of Placer and Nevada, and which by September or October will be completed 20 mils further. Second, the Sacramento Valley and Pla cerville railroads, which together form a line about the same leneth and will in a few months bring I'lacerville in direct communication by rail with the capital via Kolsom. Some time last Winter a proposition was made in Boston that the wealthy men of the country be requested to unite and aid in paying our National debt by voluntary contribution. At that time the idea was looked upon as a crochet which had found a place in the fanciful brain of some Imaitmat'.vo Yankee. But when we Judgo Yankee ideas to be absurd or chimerical we are in danger of putting ourselves in a po sition for which, by the defeat of our predictions, retraction becomes neces strv. No great thing this Nation has ever done has the sanction of prece dent. A letter received last evening from Walla Walla informs us that the in terest felt in the newly discovered mines of Cocur d'Alene and Boat En compment is becoming much more gen eral. From all over men are flocking to the new diggings. Great excitement prevails at Walla Walla. The cable of the Russian Telegraph was successfully laid across the Frazer River last Wednesday. The members-elect composing the new Board of Councilmen met at the chamber last night and were called to order by Mayor Failing. They an swered in the following order: F. A. Clark, S. M. Gilmore. J. P. O. Lowns dale. John McCraken. E. S. Morgan. O. P. S. Plummer. A. Rosenheim, A. M. Starr, P. C. Schuyler. Jr. H. R. Meeker was chosen clerk pro tern. Now that Davis and Stephens have "abdicated." the. presidency of the Southern Confederacy devolves udoii Thomas S. Bocock, of Virginia, SpeaKor of the rebel House of Concress. r 1 Am 1 he INewspaper Born of the deep, dally need of a nation I am the Voice of Now the incarnate spirit of the Times Mon arch of things that Are. My "cold type" burns with the fire-blood of human action. I am fed by arteries of wire that girdle the earth. I drink from the cup of every living joy and sorrow. I sleep not rest not. I know not night, nor day, nor season. I know no death, yet I am born' again with every morn with every noon with every twilight. I leap into fresh being with every new world's event. Those who created me cease to be - the brains and heart's-blood that nourish me go the way of human dissolution. Yet I live on and on. I am Majestic in my Strength Sublime in my Power Terrible in my Potentialities yet as democratic as the ragged boy who sells me for a penny. I am the consort of Kings the partner of capital the brother of toil. The inspiration of the hope less the right arm of the needy the champion of the oppressed the conscience of the criminal. I am the epitome of the world's Comedy and Tragedy. My Responsibility Is Infinite. I speak and the world stops to listen. I say the word and battlo flames the horizon. I counsel peace and the warlords obey. I am greater than any individual more powerful than any group. I am the dynamic force of Fubllc Opinion. Rightly directed, I am a Creator of Confidence. A builder of happiness In living. I am the Backbone of Commerce. The Trai. -Blazer of Prosperity. I am the teacher of Patriotism. I am the hands of the clock of Time the clarion voice of Civiliza tion. I am the Newspaper. From address delivered by Joseph H. Finn, President Nichols-Finn Advertis ing Co., Chicago, before Associated Ad vertising Clubs nf the World Convention, Chicago. June 22. 1U15. A