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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (July 7, 1915)
THE MORNING OREGONTAX. WEDNESDAY, JUIT 7. 101.-L xmtaw rORTLANT), OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oregon, Fostofflca ai Kcona-cim matter. EubscripUou Rates Invariably in advance: (Br Mail.) Daily. Sunday Included, one year ...... Xraily, Sunday included, six months.... 4.23 iJ&ily, 6unday included, three montbs. . 5S.i Iaily, Sunday Included, one month.... .73 Daily, without Sunday, one year 6.UO Xaily, without Sunday, six months lJally, without Sunday, three months. 1.73 lially. without Sunday, one month.. ... .SO weekly, one year .M Sunday, one year ...................... 2.50 Sunday aud Weekly, one year.......... 3.0 (By Carrier. Daily, Sunday included, one year S.0 ually, Sunday included, one month. ... .id Mow to Remit Send Postoffice money or der, express order or personal check on your iocat paaK. btamps, coin or currency are at enaeri risk, uive postomce aaaresa in xun, including county and atate. Postage Rates 12 to IS paxes. 1 cent; 18 to A'l pages. 2 cents: 34 to 8 pagea. 3 cents f.0 to oir pages, 4 cents: 62 to 76 paces. It cents; to pases, 6 cents, foreign post, axe. double rates. Eastern Hum in ess Offices Verree. Conk Jin, Brunswick building. New York; Verree Ac Conklin, Hteser building. Chicago: ban Krancisco representative, R. J. 2idweil. 742 Market street. PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, JCL.Y 7, 1915. ANOTHER WEST POINT NEEDED. The American Nation seems to have very generally awakened to the neces sity of increasing; our means ot Na tional defense. The only exceptions are those purblind pacifists who be lieve that because the United States would never begin aggresisve war on any other country, no other country would make aggressive war' on the United States. The numbers of these V. ... ...11.- .... j i tl nj i i i i jmc utsizu inaiciidiij in duced by the logic of the war, and they have been put on the defensive Dy ine DomDarameni or iacts to wnicn they have been subjected. We may, therefore, assume that Congress will respond to public opinion by enlarg ing the Army, by providing an Army reserve and by adding to our supply of artillery and ammunition. The time is ripe to pass from generalities "to particulars. One of the most important particu lars is the supply of officers, for they are the framework upon which an army is built. The success of an army depends, among other things, on the efficiency of its leaders from the com manding General down to the fledg .ling Lieutenant. A body of. soldiers without trained officers is liable to de generate into a panic-stricken mob, not because the individual men lack courage, but because they are at a loss what to do. There have been occa sions in the present war when every officer has been killed or wounded and when a born leader has sprung up from among the non-commissioned of ficers, but it is not safe to trust to such a chance. Such an impromptu leader is liable, through lack of training, to lead his men to disaster. By comparison with officers, men Jn the ranks can be trained in a hurry Secretary Garrison says that "by in tensive military training any young man of good health and average men tality can be made a serviceable sol dier in twelve months, and in fact has been so made," but four years are needed to make a man into an effi cient officer. We might make shift to stand off an invader for a year with a regular Army and reserve of 500,000 men while we trained 1,000,000 vol unteers to drive him into the ocean, but it would be very risky to attempt to stand him off for four years while we trained officers to train the volun teers. Even if we should succeed, it would be enormously expensive in both men and money. The only wise course, then, is to have enough trained officers to com mand not only the regulars and re serves, but also any force of volun teers we might need in an emergency. Having the framework for the larg est army we were likely to need, we could reduce the number of both offi cers and enlisted men in active serv ice to the proportions needed for peace and for maintaining the reserve up to the required strength. Basing our calculations on Mr. Gar rison's proposal that the mobile Army be increased to 50.000 men, and pn the General Staffs estimate that 450,000 additional men would be needed to withstand an- invader, and on the further estimate that 1,000,000 volunteers would be needed to back up this Army and fill gaps in its ranks, we should need enough officers for 1,500,000 men. As at least one offi cer to every twenty enlisted men is necessary, we should require 75,000 officers to enable us to put 500,000 men in the field at the outbreak of war and to put another 1,000,000 in service at the end of a year. A year ago the regular Army con sisted of 4701 officers and 87,781 men, but only 24,602 of these were avail able for a mobile army. Mr. Garri son proposes to recruit existing or ganizations to full strength and thus to add 25,000 men. He also asks for 1000 more officers, which would be a scant supply for the additional men when we consider that 20.43 per cent of the line officers were away from their commands, which resulted in "depleting the proper quota of in structors in the Army" and militia, which latter "suffers woefully from lack of .officers," to use Mr. Garri son's words. We are thus short of the number of officers needed for our present forces, and we should make up this deficiency as well as provide ad ditional officers for the regular forces for the proposed reserve and for the possible volunteer Army. We should also have a margin of safety over the number mentioned, for the present war has caused losses among officers out of all proportion to the losses among men. Germany provided a larger reserve of officers than any other belligerent nation, but even she has been forced to raise men from the ranks to fill gaps. Our need of officers has obviously outgrown the capacity of West Point and of all other sources to supply them. Mr. Garrison has established student military camps to train volun teer officers, but a surer and steadier supply is needed. Ex-President Taft showed the way when he proposed the establishment of a second military academy in the West or the enlarge ment of West Point. A second acad emy would have the advantage, of training officers in a different environ ment from that of West Point, with a different field to practice in. Only a small proportion of the trained officers would, under the plan described, be under full pay at any one time. After passing through the acad emy and serving for a limited time with the active Army, they would pass into the reserves under small pay and would be called out for practice with their commands for only a few weeks in each. year. They would pass Into civil life, but they and their training would be at the Nation's disposal when required. PROHIBITION, THEN WHAT? Prohibition has been charged with many evil effects, but some new one comes to light nearly every day. The latest accusation is that it has caused the price of fresh beef tp ad vance. The explanation given by packers to the New Tork World is that prohibition has hurt the distiller ies to such an extent that there is not enough whisky refuse grain to fatten the usual number of cattle in the Mid dle West. Still the prohibitionists can derive some comfort from the statement, in asmuch as it tends to destroy the ar gument that just as much, if not more, whisky is consumed under prohibition as under the liquor license policy. Furthermore, the inquiry naturally arises as to what becomes of the grain that would otherwise have gone to the distilleries. It seems indisputa ble that widespread prohibition will create economic problems as result of the surrender of public revenues and the diversion to other. uses of the ma terials that now go into alcoholic li quors. x - .- There is the familiar argument that the people will be more prosperous under prohibition. It is a comforting thought and we shall learn before long in Oregon whether it Is to be relied upon. Possibly, too, the industrial problems may be safely left to work out their own salvation. Hop fields will grow something else Tjid corn may be fed to livestock in greater quantities or give us cheaper corn meal. Barley and rye land will usu ally produce wheat. On the whole we are less worried about the economic than the moral and social issue. What is to replace the "poor man's club"? the time ap proaches in Oregon when the saloon will close permanently. Are its fre quenters to be left wholly to the ten der devices of the bootlegger? FOOD MAKES BIG TRADE BALANCE. Food has been the principal element in building up the huge American bal ance of trade which has put all the world's exchanges out of Joint. In the eleven months ending May 31, 1915, cur exports of breadstufls were $529,- S38.753 against only S144.109.251 in the eleven months ending May 31, 1914. Cottonseed oil. which is exten sively used for food, was exported to the value of $19,903,909 against 113.- 260,706, and meat and dairy products went abroad to the amount of $173,- 464,56 compared with $122,991,077. These increases more than sufficed to offset the great decrease in cotton exports from $591,725,524 to $360,- 370,125, and the decrease in mineral oils from $137,604,771 to $118,460,072. besides a decrease of over $500,000 in livestock exports. Upon the United States has -fallen the largest part of the task of feed ing belligerent Europe, the other chief contributors being Canada, Argentina and India. Australasia supplies a large proportion of the meat, but a drought has made the great Antipo dean continent an importer of grain instead of an exporter, as it usually is. Though unfavorable weather may reduce our wheat crop below the hoped-for 1,000,000,000 bushels. It Is not likely to reduce the money returns to the American farmer. The less the yield, the higher the price which Eu rope will be compelled to pay, so that the net result is likely to be the same. INTEU.IGENCE TESTS. Some of the time ordinarily spent by the New York schools in worthless routine examinations has been de voted this year to ingenious "intelli gence tests" which bring out the ca pacity of the pupil to act on his own initiative. The usual examination tests the child's verbal memory and nothing else. The "stunts" set for him in this new experiment tested his quickness of wit, his ingenuity, his power of adaptation. They showed, in fact, whether the pupil had a brain that would serve him in emergencies or betray him when it was most needed. Some critics have called these tests "fads," but in our opinion they are of the highest value. The epithet "fad" has just about lost its power to frighten anybody, since it has been ap. plied indiscriminately to every im provement in the public schools for a generation. One of the new tests required pupils to rill blanks In sentences such as this: "Thj kind lady the poor man a dollar." If the pupil filled the blanks sensibly he earned a high mark. Then there were "substitution" tests which required the children to rewrite num bers with arbitrary symbols and trans late the symbols back into the ordinary Arabic notation. This is a species of exercise in which pupils take great de light. The "alphabets" which they in vent of their own accord show how much they enjoy the test, and it must be good for their minds or nature would not so strongly incline them to it. Devices of this kind, properly em ployed, might make school examina tions extremely useful. Of course the "standpat" pedagogue will oppose them, but. inasmuch as he opposes all progress, his opinion need not be al lowed much weight. The public schools should give the pupils two definite acquirements, knowledge and intelligence. The effort to stuff them with knowledge and leave every fac ulty but memory torpid does not bring desirable 'results. It requires a more skillful teacher to rouse the intelli gence than to inflate the memory. This indicates why it is so seldom done. MOTHERS' PENSIONS IN NEW YORK. The Mothers' Pension . law is now in effect in New York, but adminis trative delays will probably prevent any payments under it before the first of next January. The new law will restore to home and mother more than 2000 children who are now sup ported in charitable Institutions of one sort and another. The payments to their mothers are not allowed to exceed the expense of boarding them in the asylums, which is about $10 a month. The relief under the law will only be granted to mothers whose families without it would be broken up by poverty. It is believed by those in authority that even a second-rate home is better for a child than the best care an asylum can ofler. Evidently the law adds nothing to the public outlay, since the money for the mothers' pen sions would have been paid to the various refuges for children had it not been enacted. Bringing up a child by charity is more expensive in the rural districts of New York than in the metropolis. The latter cares for 21,480 dependents at an annual coat of $2,827,000, while the remaining fifty-six counties pay out $2,175,000 for 10.500 children. At this rate country care costs almost twice as much as that in the city. We hope It is twice as good, but probably it is not. New York Is not the first state by any means to provide for mothers' pensions. Several, including Oregon, have preceded it and the movement Ls rapidly extending over the whole country. It Is an intensely practical measure for preserving the home. Child delinquency arises in great part from lack of proper parental care, and this lack arises. In too many in stances, from the necessity which compels mothers to neglect their families In order to earn bread fot them. Even a small pension relieves the demands upon the mother's time and strength and enables her to give some real guidance to her flock. The state could well afford to pension worthy mothers in order to keep their families from dispersal even if the expense were considerably greater than that of institutional care. As long as the two methods cost about the same the advantage on the side of pensions is incalculable. Child de linquency is the direct offspring of mothers' poverty. THE TRAP THAT THAW BOLT. It is popularly assumed that in America there is a milder brand of justice dealt out to the rich than- to the poor. But If we have a proper understanding of a letter published today, the writer, Mr. S. D. Allen, con tends that the Thaw case is a striking illustration that the reverse ls true. Of course it is only a matter of opin ion, but we cannot agree with Mr. Al len that, were it not for the Thaw millions. Thaw would have been freed long ago. We strongly suspect, how ever, thai ;,e would "have passed to deserved obscurity," via either the electric chair or the exclusive confines of a penitentiary or Insane asylum. It does not relieve American Juris prudence from the scandal of the Thaw case that thousands of others have been freed of murder charges on various pretexts. The ease with which murderers escape Justice In America ls a, book of scandal to which the Thaw case has added an important chapter. Cumulative scandal Is still scandal and each incident a scandal in Itself. As for the part the. death pen alty plays in miscarriage of Justice, it Is only necessary to point to the swifter, surer Justice of England, where the death penalty Is also Imposed. Thaw was acquitted of murder on the expressed conviction of the- trial Jury, that he was Insane. The char acter of evidence submitted In his be half can lead to but one conclusion, if it ls believed. He is a paranoiac. In the present hearing the testi mony of many witnesses who ap peared ror Thaw at the murder trial has been read that of the family physician, who had testified that Thaw showed indications of unsound mentality as a child; that of a kinder garten teaciier who had sworn that he behaved peculiarly in school; that of anotlicr teacher who had sworn that Thaw was backward at IS and talked a gibberish that some teachers had to learn before they could understand him; that of physicians and nurses who had testified, to an Incident In London eight years before the murder whn Thaw thought he was burning up v.-ith fever, though the doctor could find no trace of such a condition; he hao demanded twenty tons of ice to keep him cool and had asked a nurse to take charge of a corps of nurses to attend him. The paranoiac, according to author ities, is eccentric in childhood, hypo chondriac In youth, betrays hallucina tions of sight and hearing: frequently holds delusions of an erotic nature and is usually homicidal. In the evi dence referred to, eccentricity in childhood and hypochondria in youth were brought out; evidence of hallu cinations of hearing and testimony ot erotic delusions will be recalled by those who followed the trial; homi cide was not denied. Thaw In effect pleaded paranoia as a defense and was acquitted of mur der on that ground, whether rightly or wrongly. Mr. Allen correctly In terprets us to mean that Thaw should stand by that finding. Paranoia is incurable. A VOICE tOK PEACE ITtOM OEKMANV. The first word from Germany in favor of peace has come from the So cialist party and has been published In vorwaerts. the party organ. An appeal is made for peace on the basis of present territorial limits. Vor- waerts was promptly suppressed, but it has shown Germany to be far from united, and It has revealed the most numerous party in Germany to be opposed to aggression. The Socialist manifesto contains an explanation of the party's action In supporting the war after having made peace the first plank in its platform. It accepted in good faith the Kaiser's declaration that war was necessary to defend the empire: it voted funds and sent its members to the front, for they were Germans first and Socialists afterward. ' But it protested against a war of annexation and it demanded care of the interests of the working class and that after the war its serv ices should be recognized by the adop tion of democratic reforms. There are reasons of party interest why the Socialists desire peace at this time rather than after Germany has won the complete triumph which the military party still believes pos sible. In the latter event militarism would be in the saddle and would an nex Belgium and parts of France and Poland, as well as Courland. The en deavor to assimilate the alien popula tion of these territories by the same methods which have been adopted In Alsace-Lorraine and Posen would be entrusted to military governors and aristocratic statesmen. Democratic re form would be postponed to a more convenient season, and the privileged classes would strengthen their grip on power. From the Socialist stand point it Is more desirable that peace be made under conditions where ter ritorial gains are hopeless, where there would be no alien populations to assimilate, where the people would be groaning under the losses and priva tions of a war barren of spoils rather than glorying in the fruits of victory and heroiztng Generals. In counting his chances of final vic tory the Kaiser might have had such doubt that be would have welcomed a peace move at the present Juncture an unofficial suggestion which would furnish the enemy an opportunity to speak. But the manifesto . was not pitched in the right tone to suit him. It contains these passages: Must this terrible drama, whirh baa no precedent In the history of the .or.d. so on Indefinitely? If the war is not to go on Indefinitely until all the nations are completely ex hausted ... l"pn Germany, which has successfully defended Itself against superior f-rces. and which has frustrated lbs plan to bring it to starvation, reels the duty of taking; the first step towards peace. v Those words betray a weariness of war and a hopelessness 'of victory to a sovereign who has the Russians on the run, and the French and British blocked, while the Italians have only begun to fight. He might be willing to consider peace overture from an enemy whom he holds to be beaten so far and over whom he Is confident of final victory, but he would not countenance from his subjects any suggestion of peace In such despair ing tones. Hence he silences discord and doubt and forces Germany to pre sent to the world an apparently united and confident front. But the Kaiser cannot wipe out the fact that, the Socialists have spoken. The existence of a peace party In Ger many, as in other warring countries. Is revealed. It ts the strongest party In the Reichstag, having polled in 1912 more than twice as many votes as any one of the other four leading parties, or more than one-third of the total vote. When It ls consid ered that Germany has a multiple vote for property-owners, practically all of whom are anti-Socialist, the Socialist party shows the stronger. The hope of peace rests In the growth In each belligerent country of such sentiments as have been voiced by the German Socialists. As the war drags on, the sentiment for peace will gain strength In those countries which for the time appear to have the upper hand and will find response in tho enemy countries. In the absence of decisive victory this sentiment will be a slow but gradual growth, but It may produce the psy chological moment to be seized by a tactful mediator. The sentimental agitation against the sale of war munitions ls some times pure folly, but sometimes It is founded on astute partisanship. Should America cease to sell munitions, that act would assure victory to one side by depriving the other of its means of defense. In other words, the cry against selling munitions ts a cry for an alliance with, one party In ihe European war. The remarkable sand dunes south east of Lake Michigan are among the natural wonders of the United States. The movement to level them for com mercial purposes would deprive the country of one of Its attractions to travelers ami obliterate one of the rea sons for "seeing America first." Chi cago is trying to save the dunes. Good Americans will help her all they can. There is one cause almost always present when autos go over high em bankments. It Is reckless driving. A machine under perfect control ts as safe on the verge of a precipice as anywhere else. Going at high speed, a slight turn of the driver's wrist or a stone in the road means danger. At moderate speed small accidents entail no serious consequences. The great beauty of the current war news Is its flexibility. From Berlin we learn that the British air attack on Wilhclnuhaven was a miserable fiasco, from .London that It was a brilliant success. Thus there is comfort for all of us In the reports. To obtain It we need only select the versions suitable to our predilections. "NVrve." says Christy Mathewson, 'is the ability to show your beat un der the m rat-t critical circumstances, and he believes that It Is worth more than any other quality on the dia mond. So It Is everywhere else. The man succeeds who can do his bent when the best is needed. If he cannot, he falls. If all girls who say "No" were to take Mrs. Rubin's advice, mam would not marry the man they really want It is up to the man to Judge whether "No" means "Yes" and It Is up to tho woman to convince him when "No really means "No." There Is much speculation as to the result of the row between Fielder Jones and the umpires. The men In blue serge represent the league and. If not suMained, discipline and author ity are gone. The lot of the umpire ls hard. If Holt should go to Matteawan for life because he U a paranoiac, why should not Thaw, who has also been declared a paranoiac, go there for life also? Because Thaw has the price of lawyers and Holt has not. Only nineteen persons were killed In the celebrations of the Fourth this year, against twelve last year. This ts a moderate Increase, a little ahead of gain In population, with credit to the sanity ot lite celebration. Since Mary Smith traced her money by Its scent, perfumed monay Is likely to regain popularity. John D. Rocke feller's money ls supposed to smell of coal oil, but nobody was ever known to trace It by Its odor. If more British skippers were to act as did Captain Parslow, of the Anglo-Callfornian, more might save their chips, but more ships would probably be sunk without warning by submarines. The corseted bathing suit ts Just right for the sex that wears It, but what the fat man needs Is something to hide the location of the pumpkin that he appears to have swallowed hole. ' Forts seem to be safe when pro tected by an army or an encircling swamp. In former times they were supposed to do the protecting. If Belgium had no alternative to an nexation to some other country, the odds arc ten to one she would vote to Join the United f-.ates. The Anglo-Callfornlaa was lucky In escaping the submarine, but the sub mersible follows will be all the more eager to get her. Did Maauda want to discount the price of hi wife because her cooking was not up to his high standard? Music that charms the savage breast loses its power where manager and musician are concerned. The occupation of Vera Crus at least made Carranza punctilious about saluting the American flag. Scrape the moss off the roof. In this progressive year there can be none on the back. The trolley car company needs a few two-gun men to work on Its plat forms of owl cars. European War Primer By Natisssl Ideographical Society. After weeks of silence, the news comes that the persistent little army of Montenegro has taken to Itself Scutari, the principal city and fortress of Albania, which fell before the vie torlous Montenegrins' In the first Balkan War, and from which the soldiers of the Mountain Kingdom were compelled to retire by action of Austria-Hungary. The Montenegrins have had considerable practice In at tacking Scutari through their 00 rears of Intermittent struggle with the Turks, and all of the problems in volved in an advance by the side of the Lake of Scutari to the city be tween the mountains are doubtless thoroughly known to the present mili tary leaders of the tiny slate. Scutari has military value as com manding Northern Albania, and a being a key position on the northern head of the plain that stretches from the town into the country's interior. It is the most Important city In the newly- created. Albanian nation, having a popu lation of more than 33.000, and some transit and export trade. It has lost considerable of its commerce, how ever, to Saionlca and other neighboring ports which enjoy the advantages of good railway connections. Another dis advantage under which Kcutart suffers la the lack of all port facilities upon its convenient seacoaat. Situated beyond the flat, fever-laden coastland and Just beyond the coastal hills. Scutari Is effectively closed away from the world, even for Albania. It Is built upon the southeastern shore of I-lte Scutari, near the confluence of the rrln and Boyana rivers. The Adria tic lies little more than 14 miles to the west. The greater part of the Lake of Scutari, since the settlements brought about by tho First Balkan War. is contained within the Montene grin borders. The City of Scutari lies Just across the Montenegrin boundary, but a short evening-houra walk away. The lake Is surpassingly beautiful; its waters are brilliantly clear, the growths upon Its banks fUxurious, while the heavy-shouldered mountains. which give it a aetting like a gem In a ring, greatly increase the effect of the pic ture. There are numerous heavily populated breeding grounds by its shores for aquatic fowl, and the lake Itself Is well stocked with fish. The country all around the city Is wild as is most of the area of Albania and very sparsely settled. The In dividual Albanian builds him a home, a hut. In tbe forest on the spur of some hill, near enough to a city to permit him to send his women, folk for supplies, but seldom near enough to others to aid in forming a village. Very fewr paths that can satisfactorily be classed as roads run through thts country. The easiest way to progress from Scutari la along the plain, which extends from across the Montenegrin frontier south to Alesslo. It is largely owing to the wild, uncharted mounlain-and-ravine ways of Albania, that the Turks were never able completely to subdue this people, but were forced to govern them by a diplomatic distribu tion of favor. Oriental and picturesque In appear ance, there Is. however, little to suggest well-being or wealth In the Albanian metropolis. Ita bazaars and mosques are Interesting, and Ita old Venetian citadel perched upon Ita high crag Is a romantic object. The citadel and other fortifications of the town, are long out of date, and would offer little or no resistance to modern artil lery. Mountains crowd in upon the town, and there is dancer of rinnrf during heavy rains or sudden thams. I ne exports of Scutari are grains, wool hides, akina. tobacco and sumach. It Imports textiles, provisions, metal prod ucts ana arms.. Arms mil cotton stuff. are manufactured. Arms are an Im portant article of commerce In Albania: for. while the Albanian has accustomed hlmslf to going without almost every thing, he will not go without a rifle. Before the A ut ro-tierman advance south of Warsaw, the powerful Rus sian fortress Ivaneorod interposes It self, just about midway between the great manufacturing metropolis of the 1'oles and the north Uallcian frontier This city Is a stronghold of the first class, and forma the center of a defen sive line guarding the southern ap proach to the capital city of Russian Poland. Kapeclally Is it important, as it stands upon the junction of rail ways from Warsaw south, one of which runs southeast to I,uhlln. and the other southwest to Kelxe. The invading Ger man armies are now reported to be pressing toward Lubtln. and Interest in the near future may renter around the redoubtable fortress at Ivangorod. Ivaneorod Is 141 miles north-northwest of I'rsemysl. and more than 9 miles from the Aualrian border. It Is about 0 miles southeast of Warsaw The city la situated at the confluence of the Wleprs with the Vistula and Its plan of .fortification makes use of the Vistula River, which there has be come of sufficient slxe to be naviga ble for Urger boats. Nine permanent works are built along the right bank of the Vistula. and there are three upon the left bank. The country around thla town la rolling. In places sharply uneven, and offers advanta geous features for defense. Ivangorod together with Bresl-Litovsk. Novo G.orgievsk. and Warsaw, forms the celebrated Polish -quadrilateral" the kernel of the Russian scheme for the defense of their frontier land. Russian I'oland. i:diox-s lack op- xf.itrai.ity Incredible to Writer Tbat He Proposes Beyeott tsi Lie War. WALLA WALLA. Wash.. July S (To the Editor.) I have read with no little astonishment the account of cer tain statements credited to Thomas A. Kdison. the Inventor. In an article pub lished In The Orcgonian under the heading "Boycott Is Edison s Plan." While most every thinking person among us. regardless of his or her per sonal opinions, anent the present Eu ropean war. must realise that the so called neutrality of the United States Is an empty term, even a dangerous misnomer. It seems Incredible that so eminent a "neutral" as Edison should publicly advise further un-neutrallty In helping her (Germany's) enemies." Can such a course, even as already pursued. Increase loyalty and patriot Ism at home, or prestige and dignity abroad? Will servile and Intriguing methods of politicians and corpora tions promote National security and Internal tranquillity? Will they not. rather, feed the fires of distrust and discontent already smoldering danger ously within our National edifice? Ve can but reel that Kdlson has been misquoted. J. HOB ART EGBERT. Inasmuch as Mr. Edison's plan was offered solely aa a substitute for war In event open rupture with Germany results from the Lusltania disaster, we rail to discover whence Mr. Egbert derives his astonishment. Oa Talklas; TeV lw. Louise Closser Hale in July Centurr We Americans are of two' kinds; we either talk too lour or too low. par ticularly In public places. A European family will sit down In public with out feeling the necessity of puttinr a TOtute on the voice and retiring as thourts behind a wall. They are not noisy er ttr. they do not toot on tin horns, hug they say what they wish without Krwerlng the tone to that pain ful depth Which we mistake for a cul tivated note. Let us be brave and he ourselves . for nothing can be better PLAY DEPICTS HISTORICAL P.1J.T Production Objected Te by (Glared Folk Nat Pmeat-Day Urasaa. PORTLAND. July . (To the Ed itor.) In The Orrnonian there appears a protest from the secretary ot a so ciety of colored people in Portland against the presentation of "The Clans man" r.lm in thts city. It will be re membered that these same colored people vigorously proteated the pro duction of this same drama on the atare here a few years aso on the ground that it ahows the "worst aide of the negro character." Let me say that these societies of colored people could better defend the history and race characteristics of the nexro by adopting different methods. If the drama Is a vicious mtsreprsentrt tlon. why do they not calmly and Ji paxslonately show wherein it is eu.-h. Instead of trying to secure Its suppres sion? Aa ts well kno.n. "The Clans man" Is an historical production of hair a century ago. It la based en Thomas Iiixon'a great novel cf the same title. It Is a true plc'ure of conditions aa they were during the reconstruction rerlod. There Is not ven exaKXerat ion. to say nothing of false representation. It Is tho ir.oit expensive rilm ever photographed l.i America, according to eminent drrnial Ic critics (not press agents). The assertion that the play s-ek to "secure hostile legislation asalnsT the celurad m.in" Is aa untrue as Ic l ab surd. One might aa well argue that the production of scenes from the Civil War Is des'gned to pois-.r. the m-iid or the rhiid--n or those he'oea In blue and gray who fought that war. If "The Clansman" pretended to de pict condiliona as they exist in the South today these colored people might have some ground of complaint, but aa t la a a:reJt historical drama, they have absolut.lv nos. Tint Indi gent negro chil.lr-n jf the Soum are today being cducattd at the expense of the various states through the pub lic achoola. V.rv f.w of the negrn parenta pay ny rates. The Soutn-rn whltea Insist upon and enforce sewrr gat. on and In so doing they arj emi nently wise. Mrs, Cannady says: "It stigmatizes the gallant class cf men who saved 'he Union and rr.j'lc possible o-:r fr--e-Iom." Let It be ardemtood thtt the "gallant class" of -r.en who saved the I'nlon took no part In the rtnamolul and humiliating practices depicted m this drama. At the close of thj war the brave Northern soldier returned to his home and to the duties of civil life. Only the carpetbagscr and the rene gade, the criminal and the outlaw sought to exploit the freedman (negro) and place Southern mctv under the ao clal and political domination of their former slaves. The Ku Klux Klan was an organi sation of Southern men whose object was to rid their communities ot tne class of criminals I have described and to protect their wives and daugh ters. The name and garb was as sumed by men of criminal Instinct, no doubt, and crimes were committed by persons claiming to be members of the clan, but the responsibility for this cannot be Imputed to the-clansmen any more than 1'ie crimes committed by the carpet bagcers can be Imputed to the brave I'nlon soldiers, who. un der Lincoln, saved the I'nlon and be queathed it as a priceless heritsue to their posterity. In the South today Lincoln ranks with Washington In the hearts of the people. The life and character of Lincoln aa depleted In "The South erner." hy the author of "The Clans man." was one of the mot Kpulax books of the day. tiEOHCE W. PIXO.V. his i:alth is thaws h.uh ap Hat far Millies... Marderer Weald .ew Kajay fib. rare Liberty. ECUEXK. Or.. July t (To the Edl-,or- 'n your recent editorial on Thaw you say: "The Thaw c.nse Is the scan dal of American Jurlspruaence. Thaw 1 " muraerer. sane or Insane, and he should be treated aa such." Of course, you refer to the legal treatment he should receive what the court Is now trying to determine You seem to begrudge him a bearing and to wish him punished for murder, though legally acquitted of the charge. Surely this cannot be. I'nder no rea sonable stem of jurisprudence can a man acquitted of the crime of mur der "be treated aa a murtlerer" Irgallv. Hut you say in effect, he plraded In sanity, the Issue waa founj in Ins favor and he should stand by the finding:- The Imir found at the murder trial was not his present condition, but that at the time of I ne killing. To hold that he is Insane now becatioe declared Insane then l. to deny the basla on which all work for the cure of insanity rests, to avoid thourand of certificates yearly Issued by competent legal authority that persons once ad judged Insane have recovered their san ity, and to return to Insane hopttala thousands now at large simply becaufo they were once adjudged Insane. Even Thaw is entitled to a hearing regard ing his present mental condlt Ion. It la frequently said that Thaw never waa Insane: that he got off on a sub terfuge, lie certainly Is not much of a fellow, but the man killed was shown by the evidence to be a man of great Intellectuality and of mature years, who nevertheless was guilty of gross immorality with young women, and I can easily Imagine that the Jury did not care to decree the taking of even Thaw's life to avenge a killing that In their own minds they In a measure justified. It Is one of the grave ob jections to capital punishment that hu man nature will not decree the death penalty when there Is any considerable Justification for the act of killing. I can see nothing exceptionally scan dalizing to our American Jurisprudence In t)ie Thaw case. Thousands of Amer icans are at largo who have taken human life. They have been freed on the ground of insanity, the unwritten law and other pretexts. The moKt po tent cause. I take It. for this miscar riage of Justice ts the attempt to re tain the death penalty when ao large a portion of our people are not In lavor of lt The Thaw case arose out of r-can-daluus society conditions In New York, and It seems to me undue notoriety has been given to It because of the Thaw millions. You say be. has escaped the law because of the Thaw millions., On the other hand. It seems to me that had It not been for the Thaw millions he would have been freed long ago and would have passed to deserved obscur ity. S. 1. ALLEN. saaklaK la Rnlsarasla. PORTLAND. July . (To the Edi tor.) If one goes into the Public Li brary, railway tlepota. streetcars and other places, one finds notices pro hibiting emoklng. but one cannot find any auch notice In any public eating place in the City of Portland. Why? Personally I could endure sitting In a depot waiting-room where smoking la J being Indulged In much beter trwn hav ing stale cigarettes and half-smoked cigars mixed with my food. However, my likes and disHkea are not what I Intended writing about, but to learn the reason why such la the case. If you can enlighten me I r-hali consider it a favor. A READER. j A number or excellent eating places In Portland not permit smoking. Those that permit It probably do so be. ause they cater to the trade that would go elsewhere were It prohibited. j lassaa la Mssser. Puck. "'Has Frown a comfortable Income?" "Ijirge. but not comfortable! Hta wife knows just how much It Is. a Wilts a Oecided (r'ofarc. Life. " Does any one think your eon ha a future?" "Yes; the 1-fe insurance com panies." Twenty Five Year Ago From The Oregenlan. July 7. X?o. San Antonio James. L Trueshart. special Mexican agent tar the Inter national Exposition, has returned from Mexico City. He reports that Presi dent m.tx reiterates he has only the friendliest attitude for the I'nlted States. Diax Is anxtous to cultivate relations with the I'nlted States ard probably will visit thla country this Kail in that endeavor. New York The Chinese Minister at Washington. Tsui, arrived here yester day on La Rretagne. The celestial diplomat ls very much- worried over recent events in this country aa re gards Chinese. "I'nlesa the I'nlted States repeals the law which now ex cludes my countrymen from this country." said the diplomat, "we shall treat Americans to a dose of their own medicine. I mean we shall ex clude the cltlxens of the I'nlted States from the Chinese Empire." Mayor DeLaahrnutt occasionally takes his friends out to Witch Ilasel farm to view some of Ms tine horses. Hon. liichard Williams went out a few daya ago and he waa much Interested In the colta. He nnally went into the enclosure where they were and had slopped to pet a handsome mare, giv ing her some salt and stroking her glossy mane. At that moment Mr. leLashmutt calied Mr. Williams to take note of a fine, colt near by and Mr. Williams turned around. The roar a also turned, and before anyone could say Jack Robinson, she raised Mr. Williams about three feet in the air and pitched him some IS feet. Con sequently the mare was not a curve pitcher or the consequences might have been more serious. William Tfunder lias plans for an elegant five-story hotel building which he plana to erect at Seventh and st reets. Judge W. If. Adams Is enrrecpond Ing with official In Switzerland with reference to securing an estate which has been left to Charles Humble, the Swiss Consul here, and Mrs. Louts. Remarqu, by the drain of an aunt of theirs. The parlor of the St. Charles Hotel was on yesterday evening the scene of a very interesting and pleasant re union, occasioned by the marriage of J. A. Martin and Mi.s Effie Claughton. Mr. Martin Is a resident of Walla Walla County. Washington, and Miss Claughton is an Oregon girl, being born and raided in Linn Count v. She I the daughter of ex-S!ierl(T Ciauch ton. of l.ewis County, Washington, where the young lady's residence ha been the last seven years. The guesta at the wedding numbered many old Wa.-hincton and Oregon friends and scquaint.inces of the families. .mong those present were: Hon. M. C. (irorca and w'fe. p. H. Raymond and wife. J. W. McKnlcht and wife. Miis Ida. lloma and Winnie McKnlsht. William Woodham and wife. H. McKibben and wife and J. W. Cleorce. The engagement of M.ldrcd. daugh ter of Chief Justice Fuller, and 11. A. Wallace, of Taconia. has Ju?-t been an nounced. It has been learned Mendelssohn, the composer, has h cojsln who l a leader of band of Russian Nihilists ami he was arrested for threatening the life of the Cxar recently. Half a Century Ago Kiom The ("reronnn. Ju'y 7. IJfcV The steamer Colonel Wtisr-t made an tinsu.-ces.-f ul (Ron last wee!; to navi Kate Ihe I'pper Snake River. The Wright succeeded In reaching a po.nt si) miles above Lew ton ni 3 miles farther up Snake I'.l.or than had ever been navigated before by ilranirr. But from then on the river for a good dis tance is e.ich a combination of rapids, edtlies and curves that navicntlnrt r-ectned impracticable. From miners around the dii-trl.t when the steamer had to give tip the effot t it was lrarne tc.ey were within ahont ( mil. -a of Htirnt Ktvcr. the goal. The 1'i.lonrl Wright furnishes evidence ot lard passage, her bow for ij f.-et bring carried away and a bulkhead had In be built to keep her afloat. .l one point four and a half hours were spent In making twice the length of tlie boat. The opinion prevails t ist the best way to navigate the t'pper Snake is tu build a steamer on the rpot. and It la presumed there w t'l be machinery and material shipped nerland soon and a steamer built up there lit the cotnin; few months. t.eneral -vcrifl. the dijtiii,;uit-hed cavalry officer, has ictlfnr.l. it is re ported officially. Interesting an. I var ing accounts cf Jeff lavis resistance when he was In carcerated are arriving. One account said when l'nvia was manacled lie at tempted to fell one of the s..l.'.lers en gaged In the task and did almost ob tain n bayonet, apareiilly to use with, suicidal intent, lie was finally thrown down on the bed In his nil and irons closely riveted to both ankles. A. II. Stephens, th- rebel Vice-President, seems to have some lackeys 4? anions the new supermen ot tho North, who are trying to soften scnll ment tKsiut I; I in. A strange couple appeared on the streeta of our .ity last V ednet-da y night at a late hour, with a Jade. I horse and dufty buggy. Eitidins an of ficer about the only person awake, they sought a hotel for I hemsel vvj. a nd a stable for their horse. They were supplied and retired to reft for a fur ther prosecution of their hurried Might by the steamer Julia at S A. M . They reached i.rclns Oreen. were made one by the silken cord of Hymen and re turned to their hotel by the steamer Fanny Troupe. The old folks have not et overtaken them and It will be a useless matter when they do. aa the happy bride and brldesroom laugh at the (.runny which was to govern them In the classic shades of Yamhill and prevent the consummation so de voutly wished. It was an elopement. The Fourth is over and farmers and citizens tf the town are In the best possible humor to commence the har vest. Wheat and grain of all kinds win be ready ror Ilie reaper next week. There la every prospect for an abun dant harvest. One Inspired by tbe poetic muse, who signs only "N..r." and who lives at Amity. larnhill County, has written for The Oregonlan a poem entitled "The Cruel War is Over." and It Is reproduced In this Issue. Twixt Hay and Grass This Is the season when the mar chant, aa the farmer puts It. Is tlt l ay and grass." Summer business In tieavier lines Is well towards an end and Fall business has not begnn. There la a. large demand for warm weather requisites'. Ourinc odd moments the wise merchant eleana house. He gets out his odd lota and small remainders and lessens prices. He thus clears stock and stimu lates trade. Incidentally, this state of affairs being duly reflected In his news paper advertising makes the adver tising more attractive than ever.