..wm a wr "Plircn 1 V ft TTalTTSSTP lOl v I-OKTLANO. OUGO.N. Entered at Portland. Oraaoa. raatoBlea as aof-or.e-caaa uuir. abecnptloa f.atee Invariably ,1a advance: (By Mail.) rllr. Sunder tartudea. ana Mf I'ii. uxlr included, al mottlM ..... - I'jiiiy. t,nday taclodcd. tbrce moDiu !)::?. uail) 1'111. OM rii. Itbout Sud. on JMf ........ a.w l'at:j. wltnoot auaday. eis mootae ). o-lihout aandair. loree aaoetna . 1-2 rt.l-. Ilboul kultar. OMBoI ...... .JO w kl. on )r i"JS -iaaaj and w eeklr. oaa jear tBy Carrier.! v ri:. Faadar iBdaded. oae rear .. 1 ' lallr. oeauay. Included, ona moota . .la Moor io Bomlt Bead FootoUlt money doi. tiprm orJer or Berauoal check oa, er l-xl baa, aiamoo). rolo or eurreacy are at eeetiere rUh. lilo pootoaTica addroaa la lull, lartudlns coaaty aod atate. roataao Haira IT to l pate. 1 coat: 1 to 1.- ytt. i nau; 4 to 4 pafee, ceate.; lo to pose. coot. to I pas. !. to K3 pasee. ol roroisa postage, double rate. taatti Boon oeieee Veree Conk II a. Hruaeop-k butldiBe. ew York: ora Coakuo. Siosor balldins. Cleao: ban rraactar npcnuttUx, 1U J. laU. ' -Market etreal rORTLAMD. TXtD.Y. WWW . ll. ' THE BUTISH BLOCavADlC ' By upholding the right of neutrals to freedom ot the seas In opposition both to the British blockade and to , the German submarines Prealdent M ilson has strengthened the Araen- can position, for ha haa demonstrated i; bis Impartiality In dealing with belllg. erent violation of neutral rights. He i has deprived both Germany and Brit ? aln of cause for complaint that he favors either. The greater urgency of i his demands on Germany Is due to no J' leaning toward her enemies, but to the fact that Germany destroys American lives as well as American property, J- while Britain takes American, prop- arty alone. The principles of lnterna : ttonal law Involved in both cases) are J. tha same, but In tha case of Germany the higher principles of humanity are '. ' Involved. That fact Justifies tha em- phaais which he has placed on his pro i tests to Germany. J Britain, like Germany, .claims the - right to set aside International law as T it existed at the opening of the war ' and to substitute a law she has her self made to meet the necessities of .'. nor position. Germany's plea is that she haa a new weapon the submarine 1' which cannot ba used If Interna '. tional law stands unchanged. Britain retorts tiat Germany's action Justifies ' use of another new weapon the long l range blockade which Is also un- known to International law. The "United States replies to both bellig- ersnts that new weapons and devices can be used only so far as their use ..conforms to the law of all nations. The United States, as a sovereign pow. 7! er. can recognize that law alone, not -: the law set up for the occasion by any other nation, belligerent or not. '.' Britain has been slow to apply the ; torn -blockade- to her embargo on - German commerce, for she cannot ef J.foctlvely blockade all German ports - as the law of blockade requires. She '. can and does blockade commerce with German North Sea ports and orlth "Germany through Dutch. Belgium, " Danish and Norwegian ports on the ,'INcrth Sea. Hence she can lawfully seize all vessels carrying goods through T these neutral ports to and from Ger t many. But she cannot blockade Ger- man Baltic ports except so far as she ', . can close the Skagerrack to commerce, "hence ships passing from Baltic ports ' of the Scandinavian countries to Bal Vtic ports of Germany are not subject to seizure under the law which Mr. Wilson upholds. Here Is the main point of conten tion. Britain points to the great In crease In Scandinavian imports of food, cotton and war munitions from ."the Cnlted States as proof that the 'Scandinavian countries are supplying Germany on a large scale with Amer ' lean goods.- There is an active agita tion In Britain to have cotton placed -on the contraband list, as It Is ex ; tenslvely used In making ammunition. If that were done, cotton imports to L Scandinavia In transit to Germany could be seized without a blockade. Scandinavian countries! deny that their Increased Imports from the United States are destined for Germany. They maintain that they are buying from ' this country goods to replace those which they ordinarily obtain from Germany. Britain hesitates to antag onize the cotton Interests of the United States by declaring cotton contraband, but seeks fo prevent its Importation to Germany by limiting Imports to the 'Scandinavian countries to the quan tity which they consume In normal .times. ; Britain defends her blockade against American Imports to Germany through 'Scandinavia by citing the precedents '.established by the United States In the Civil War. Our Supreme Court then :iaid down tha rule of continuous voyage as applying to goods shipped 1 from England to Nassau In the Ba '. liamas on their way to blockaded Confederate ports. Such goods were theld to be subject to confiscation be cause their port of ultimate destination was blockaded. Britain then refused to be bound by that principle, but now quotes It In support of ber action. From the American standpoint It ' cauld be applied to North Sea ports. : where tha blockade Is effective, but - not to Baltic ports, for vessels can ' cross the Baltic Sea freely between ; Scandinavian and German ports. While strenuously maintaining the , legality of her action. Britain betrays , consciousness that her position Is le- gaily weak, for she does not exercise "the full rtehts granted by the law of t blockade. Were the blockade effective against an German ports, she could confiscate all ships and cargoes go ing to and from those ports, either - directly or .by way of neutral ports. In fact, she confiscates only those ships and cargoes which would be for- ' felted by capture, even were there no pretense of a blockade. She buys, or sells for, the benefit of the owner, non contraband goods and releases the ".ships which carry them. She buys all cotton cargoes which she Inter cepts. She permits Norway and Swe Jen to import enough cotton for nor mal domestic needs and she permits Holland to carry on her commerce . unhindered on condition that no for " elgn imports cross the frontier into 'Germany. These measures may be -designed to mollify neutrals, but they seem also to be prompted by knoul ' edge that her action is not legally de fensible, and by fear that, when all cUlms growing out of the war come before an International court for adju dication, she will be mulcted In heavy la mages. While no action so far taken by Great Britain and her allies calls for forcible action by the United 8tates, 2Jr. Wilson does well to maintain to the full in diplomatic correspondence cur rights ss a -neutral Nation. He thereby not only saves our rights for future settlement, but fortifies him celf in dealing with Germany by Icar- ing that country no opening to charge this Nation with partiality. He can the more lirmly inaUt that Germany yield to his demand, since he is equal ly firm in his attitude toward her enemies. HISTORY REPEATING ITSELP. A reader sends to The Oregonian a marked copy of the New York Tri bune, which nas reproduced, aa perti- nent to the present times, the con cluding page of volume II, Macaulays "History of England." It Is a descrip tion of the conditions which surround ed the English Revolution (1689) and led to the enthronement of William and Mary. It Is: All around n tho world ia convnlaad by tfao igonkf or great nations. Govornraenta wbieb Utolr aoornoa likely to stand durins asa hava been oa a auddeo shaken and overthrown. Tha proodeot capital" of West ern Europo hare atreamed with blood. All evil pouiobi. tho thirst of sain and tha thirst of venseanee. tho antipathy of claaa to rlaaa, tho antipathy of race to rare, bava broken loco from Iho control or divine and human laws. Fear and aaztety have clouded the face and depressed the hearts of mil lions. Trade haa been suspended and In dustry paralysed. The rich have become poor: and the poor haoo become poorer. Doctrtaea boetlle to all sciences, to all arts, to all Industry, to all domestic charities, dortrtaea which. If carried Into effect woulj In SO years undo all that 50 oenturies bave done for mankind, and would make the fairest provinoco of France and Germany aa . m rnmk end Pataaonla. have been avowed from tha tribune and defended by tha aword. Europo haa beeo threatened with sohjusatlnn by barbarlana compared with whom Iho barbanane who marched nnrfer Anna and Alboln were enllshtened and humane. The truest mends of tha peo ple have with deep Borrow owned that ln- teresta more precious man iw """-- rtrlleeeo wero In leopardv. and that It mlsht bo necessary to sarrlftca even liberty ta order to sava civilisation. There Is nothing new under the sun. RNOTHOIX LOGICIANS. Mayor Albea very Intelllsently Insists thst In the recent vote on meters the people did not take a position asalnst permlttms thoeo who want meters to bave them, and bla In- supplying meters to thoeo who ask for them. Mr. Oleca looa, ino oamo view. - Journal. It Is an Interpretation of the vote of tha people that might be applied In numerous otner instances to ms great gratification of the minority. And it la really too bad. now that we look back on troublesome days of yore, that this cheerful conception of a pleblclte was not born earlier. Th.r. wero tha inner veara when the woman suffragists were seeking the ballot and were denied it by the vn I. nnno of the defeats that occurred prior to the 11S victory, alas, was there a single one to "in telligently Insist" that the people did not take a position against permitting those women who wanted to vote to bave the privilege. Rut thero ara other Issues to which this broad and learned view of the sanctity of the people's will may yet apply. The people have voted down slns-le tax. Of course land owners who do not wish to have their lmprove mente and nrnnTial rtronert v taxed should not be denied the exemption. As to prohibition, unquesnonaoiy me peo ple have merely ruled that those who don't want to sell or manufacture in toxicants shall be the only ones de prived of that right. Mr. Albee, Mr. DIeck and Mr. Daly have missed their calling. iney should have been Philadelphia law yers. There are some plausible sub terfuges for every legal and mora! ob ligation. Predatory wealth la said to pay high prices for the services of men who are adept at discovering them. NOT DVK TO POLITICIANS. The New Tork Evening Post, com menting upon the retirement of Mr. K. H. Newell as director of the recla mation service, declares that the "Na tion can 111 spare Mr. Newell and what he represents." and that "Western po litical lnfluencea are one explanation of the reorganization- pf the reclama tion branch of tha Interior Depart ment. It has never been publicly explained why Mr. Newell, after years of serv ice as chief engineer and director of the reclamation service, has been re tired, but so far as the Post intimates that Western political Influences have advanced an unworthy end, it is sadly mistaken. Western political influences have had precious little to say for long years about the conduct of the reclamation service. The Senators from Oregon, for example, have had almost nothing to say. Oregon has been sadly mistreated and overlooked, and there is no present prospect that the future has anything better In store. The probable reason of Director Newell's retirement is not "Western political Influences," but Imperative necessity of a change. The extraordi nary engineering miscalculations of the Government's agents and the well nigh hopeless financial muddle of the whole service may or may not be traceable to Mr. Newell, but it was in evitable that he be held responsible. If there was a Government project to put through on the basis of the origi nal Washington estimates, and com pleted to the satisfaction of the Gov ernment and the settlers. The Oregon ian would like to know where it is. Now Congress has taken from the Interior Department the disposal of the reclamation funds, and The Secre tary of the Interior will no longer make any arbitrary money apportion ments. We are to have appropria tions made for reclamation Just as for rivers and harbors. ItvWiH be inter esting now to see whether our Sena tors and Representatives have any "pull" with Congress. They have had only a weak one with the bureaucrats of the Interior Department. HI MAN 1TRK VSQIKSCMABLK. Facts of history do not bear out Dr. G. Stanley Hall's belief that war quenches the fire of the human Tace. True, after a long, exhaustive war a nation usually rests from fighting, but the fire flares up again In a genera tion or two. No country was ever more exhausted than Prussia after the Thirty Years War. but eight years later she was fighting Poland and twenty-eeven years later she drove the Swedes from Pomerania. A century after that war she was raised to the front rank among European powers by the wars of Frederick the Great. She has grown in strength at every point until she now hesds a great empire, which ia among the first In commerce, science, art and industry and now, with her allies, combats two-thirds of Europe. There Is no ot quenched fire in that nation. The Nupoleonic wars might have been expected to quench the fires of both France and Britain, both of which continued the contest for twen ty years, but the succeeding century has been a period of Intellectual and virile progress for both nations. In dustry, science and art have thriven, armies have upheld the best traditions of both nations in war. and they arc now allies In a struggle. which proves the present generation no whit in- ferior to those which fought for and against Napoleon. There would be more truth in the saying that the fires of truly virile na tions are unquenchable, and that they burn the brighter for the strife which seems to exhaust them In flame. In such times aa these it is natural for minds of a certain mold to presage the degeneration of the human race through war's destruction, but a new generation arises excelling the old. as was proved by the Eglinton tourna ment. British noblemen of 1839 found ho armne worn bv their feudal an cestors too small tor their more stal wart forms. So may we hope that the men and women of 2015 will ex cel those of 1915 in brain, physique and moral stature. A PATRIOT AND BRTAX. Ex-Presldent Taft telegraphs to the New York World that the latest note to Germany "succinctly, forcibly and finally presents the Just attitude of the United States, and President Wilson will have and should' have the ap proval of the American people in maintaining it." A noble sentiment from a whole some and patriotic American. There Is nothing of guile or deceit or of sub terranean statecraft about Mr. Taft. He Is no whited sepulcher. He does not offer a smiling exterior of fair weather agreement with the Presi dent's war-time policies, and yet deal foul blows of secret opposition by striving to incite the American peo ple to revolt against them. Not Taft. No one haa seen from William Jen nings Bryan, who falsely pretends to be helping the President toward the goal of peace, a word or a syllable approving the third Wilson letter to Germany. SIR, BRYAN ONCE MORE. Tn f Rrran'i estimation every person who does not approve his Deaca oollcy is a Jingo, tivery per son who opposes his economic policy is a plutrocrat. Conversely, every person who approves his peace pol icy Is a neace advocate, though -war De its legal .outcome. No person who approves his economic theories is a plutrocrat. no matter how rich he may be. in his sweeDlnc denunciation of an who Aa not rearard his neace treaties as the best security for peace, Mr. Bryan classes together as jingoes Dotn thrum who would make the Nation safe against attack by adequate Na tional defense and those who would provoke war by foreign adventure or by fighting over every international rllfflrultv. Advocates of a stronger Army and Navy may yield nothing to Mr. Bryan and his adherents in their abhorrence of war. They dis agree with him by regarding his peace treaties as a worthless bulwark against . nations which look upon treaties 'as scraps of paper and by regarding war as a less evil than na tional humiliation. They Include such stalwart Democrats as Secretary Gar rison and SDeaker Champ ciarK ana the great majority of the Democratlo party as well as the great body of the Republican party. In stigmatizing as plutrocrats those who fail tn sea eve to eve with him on economic questions, Mr. Bryan dis plays his innate Pharisaism. He ana his like embody all the virtues, and his ononents all the vices. In hia es timation those rich men only are plu tocrats who oppose mm. jr a man annlauda him. that man is no pluto crat, however rich he may be and however his wealth may have been acquired. To him there is nothing unseemly In prostituting the office of Secretary of State to grab Chautauqua dollars, nor in giving positions of trust to men whose sole qualification is that they are deserving Democrats, nnr in carjitalizinaT a reputation as a demagogue for the establishment of a personal organ. Mr. Bryan has unwittingly paid a feth xcmniiment to The Oreeonian by denouncing it. The Oregonian has almost invariably disagreed with Mr. Bryan on public questions, and mat fact haa strengthened Its confidence in the soundness of Its views. an m whether The Oreeonian serves the people of Mammon, those who know It best can Judge best. Cer tainly the plutocrats have not been highly pleased by its support of direct legislation, the direct primary, popu lar election of senators, currency re form, railroad regulation and the In come tax, nor by its opposition to an excessive tariff, ship subsidies and frnt Those serve the people best who discriminate between the truth and the fallacies of men who, with loud professions of devotion to tne pudiic interests, strive to lead the people nto disastrous error. NOW THE GASOLINE HORSE. nna of tha 'important elements in h mnunllnr rout Of llvlnaT is the ititcworH mnvnment of the Deople. In the last census decade the increase of land in tarms ine country over woo t.. m e ... .hll. In ee f f hp OUIjr v.o jver " . ... states there was an actual decrease. Theodore H. Price, writing in the Out look, predicts that If the tendencies which these figures disclose continue for the next twenty years tne eco nomic situation will become intoler- ble. The hope lies in making tne farm more attractive. Thr. io e-rent virtue In carrying so cial attractions to the Tural communi ties: solution of marketing proDiems wouldadd to the attractiveness of farm life. These may be provided. but there are still the long hours or .rrf.,no tnii which In EDite of agrl- culture's superior Independence, drive youth in countless numoers w tne easier life of the towns and cities. The age of machinery exists every kr arMti nn tha farm. True the owner of great acres finds that his needs have been fairly well supplied by Inventive genius, and In the last half century invention of harvesting ppllances has given vaiuaDie sssisi n human enerarv. But the aids t.. onltlvHtfon have been Incidental. In some work the farmer may now ride Instead of walk, but nis nours oi la bor have not been materially short ened. Incidentally machinery may draw the water, separate the milk rmm th, rmni and aid his wife in butter making, but to perform his . . larger tasks tne general larmer oi oderste resources must work rrom inup till sundown. Since the perfection of the gas en ine there has been a potential de on,t for a farm tractor that would serve more than one purpose and still within tne means ox ino oruiuau farmer. The farm- tractors on the arkct are costly Implements ana not .jnnrtmin vnliiA on the small farm. They are ponderous machines, pri- .... . . ji .i m amy oesignea to pio, ha rrow on largo rancnes or Droaa es- tat :e. Machines of more general util- huvo heon invented. Jbut their addi Ity tional capacities are largely In sup- pljlng power Xor other machinery, such as corn shelters, pumps and threshers. They are not adapted to the cultivating process or the hauling of produce to market. They, too, are costly and ponderous. In the substitution of gasoline pow er for animal traction on the ordi nary farm Mr. Price sees the solvent by which the farmers' difficulties will be resolved and the movement from the land stayed. The small, practical tractor has been developed, he believes.- Imagine a little gasoline wagon that will pull a plow cutting an eight-Inch furrow through a heavy, rank, unbroken field, pull a twenty- four-disc harrow weighted to cut the ground about four Inches, draw multi ple cultivators through the young corn at four miles an hour or haul four tons of produce to town.' Given such a tractor at a cost of $200 a machine that could do the work of four horses and the farmer will have . a convenience that repre sents a smaller Investment than one team of draft animals and that takes away materially from his early and late chores. It is such a machine that Henry Ford has now perfected. Mr. Ford has discarded the theory that a tractor must have weight Nat urally it was necessary to discard that theory to get down to a low cost Weight requires greater power and greater power means higher initial cost and greater expense of opera tion. Grip plus a maximum of pow er used not in operating the tractor, but in doing the tractor's work, was the ideal sought. It Is like the story of the cat chased up a tree by a dog. The cat", said Mr. Ford, "didn't have weight: she had traction." The substitution of the gasoline horse for the living flesh on the farm ought not to be an idle dream. The gas engine has revolutionized high way transportation. Whereas, like the prewent-day weight tractor, the first automobiles were for the convenience of the wealthy, the automobile has now developed Into a universal neces sity procurable In all grades ana at all prices. Automobile produc tion is the one conspicuous manufac turing industry -in the arts of peace that has not suffered by the derange ment of world affairs. The farmer is the auto manufac turer's best customer. He is not timid In the face of mechanical mysteries. He was quite ready to discard the team and buckboard for the swifter gas- propelled vehicle. The small tractor will not be looked upon by him as an impractical toy. The autombbile has nrefared him for IK When it has mit igated the hardship of agricultural life, converts to tho back-to-the-land gospel will be more noted for their works than for their talk. Were the United States to permit specific compliance with its demands to hang fire or to remain subject to the will of German naval officials, this Nation would Justly be held, to have relaxed its determination to exact . a direct answer to the questions we have put to her, namely: Whether Germany approves tha Lualtanla massacre. Whether Germany will mane reparation for that maeaacre. Whether Germany will give assurances that no more each murdera of Americans wlil ba committed. Until those questions are answered In the manner we have demanded, our dispute with Germany will remain un settled, and we shall still hold her guilty of a crime for which she has not atoned arid which she is ready to repeat.' i ' ' . The attempt to expurgate French and English words from the German language reduces to an absurdity in ternational hatred. From time im memorial conquerors have adopted the language ' of the conquered and vice versa. Men use the most con venient words to express ideas with out regard to origin. Once It becomes known that a thirty-four-inch trout, weighing over eleven pounds, has been caught in Southern Oregon fishermen from the wide world will make the pilgrimage. Conversation must halt In Norway, since it is unsafe for anybody to mention the subject which is upper most in all minds without risking a rupture. Even if Howard Spaulding has only a dower right In his wife's estate, he will be able to live without work. A half or third of J30.000.000 Is not to be despised. Russia's promise of autonomy to Poland wbuld be received with less skepticism If it were not made at a time when she needs the help of the Poles. It would be Just like the Kaiser to push things both ways, suggesting to Kitchner that it is a long time since May, when the war was to begin. Britain may be financially able to fight the war to a finish, but her wealth will be' more effective when converted into guns and shells. The Jute trade may' be brisk, but abolition of capital punishment in some states gives warning of depres sion hi the hemp trade. It was time that Russia gave France and Britain a hint to lay aside their tatting and do some fighting. The bear can't do it all. . . O'Donovan Rossa had an elegant funeral, and that Is some comfort. His body rests under the old sod, in the "patriots' corner." Alarmists will see another recruiting base .in the big sugar plantation in Hawaii Just bought by a Japanese company. Suppose, when two lawyers seem to be anxious to fight, the Judge should step down and let them, would they do so? ' ' Might as -well drop a few more of tho Northwestern League and enlarge the "Coast Defenders" next year. Dr. Hoxamer may have been born in the United States, but he is not an American at heart. If .your ancestor was transported, take a look at the ship that carried him over. Twelve Inches of deficiency and a mighty hot month in which to make it up. Easy, Villa, easy. The American Government will not go there. Russia must fight alone. The al lies seem to be In a deadlock. Some of these osteopaths do not look so bony as might be expected. European War Primer By National Geographical Society. Through the government of Lomzha, where the right wing of Field Marshal von Hindenburgs army began its bat tles for Warsaw and the way beyond the Bug, the battle tide has ebbed and flowed in decisive waves since the war's outbreak. From this northeast ern corner of 1 Russian Poland, the forces of the Czar smashed their way deep into East Prussia, and they were thrown back this way by the re inforced Germans upon their fortresses of Osowiec, Kolno and Ostrolenka. The ground in the north of the gov ernment has been fought over a num ber of times, and Just recently have the Germans swept over the first line of defenses toward the southwest and the southeast. A description of this interesting battle., amphitheater fol lows: e e e The government of Lomzha is one of the dreariest regions in Russian Poland. Extensive marshes spread over much of its area, particularly fol lowing the banks of the Narew River, as it winds its way southwest toward its confluence with the Vistula, north of Warsaw. The Bug forms the south ern boundary of the government, and Is one of the last obstacles to a march on Warsaw from the north. In parts of its course, the banks ot the Bug are worn in deen terraces, and, likewise. the bed of the Narew is cut so deep in parts as to give the country a hilly appearance. Clayey, wire-grass tufted swamps fill in much of the monoton oua picture of this region with dingy rust and brown. Just to the north of the government lies the Masuren Lake region of East Prussia. The same stinging, moist cold, the same leaden skies, and the same hot. breathless Summers hang over the Polish district as those found In East Prussia. The Winters here are the bitter Winters of the Russian plain, where the snow crystals snap and crack like powdered ice under runners or the tread of heavy boots. The cold and northern storms set in about the middle of November. - e . e e The . government Is primarily agri cultural. It has an - area of 4666 square miles, much, of which is taken up by grain, fiber, potato and stock farms. The chief crops are rye, oats. wheat, barley, buckwheat peas, pota toes, flax and hemp. The potato crop Is used. .In part, for the manufacture of alcohol. This is carried on in nu merous distilleries within the govern ment The flax and hemp find their disposition in home factories, in the factories of Lodz, and in export. Geese probably, the distinctive prod uct of Russian Poland, and one which in the past has taken a valiant part tn supplying the German Empire with its untold tons of gooseflesh and its acres of goose-feathered bedding are found in countless white and grayish white herds throughout Lomzha. Bee keeping is also a profitable part of Lomzha farming. The country, in the Lomzha govern ment is mostly flat monotonous or slightly undulated, except in stretches in the north and southwest Except for river crossings and forest belts, it is open for the passage of troops. Its roads, as are all roads in Poland and in Russia, are very bad. In the east of the' government and stretching away to the fortress of Osowiec in the gov ernment of Grodno are heavy forest tracts. There ase no rail communica tions in the government except that which connects the fortress Osv-olenka with the main Jine between Warsaw, Grondo and Vilna. Kovno. the key to the railway sys tern of northwestern Russia, behind which the Germans are endeavoring to strike the great interior lines, is the central fortress in- the Russian north western chain of frontier strongholds. It stands at the confluence of the Nie men and the Viliya Rivers, east of Central East Prussia. Petrograd- lies 550 miles by railroad to the north west, while, behind Kovno, and between this fortress and Fetrograa, tne rcus sian plain is strewn as thickly with lakes as fallow meadow lands with July and August daisies. Mltau Kovno, Grodno and Lemberg He nearly In the same line, north and south, and Jvovno rorms me normern lenimia- tion of the line of the Bug, to which the Russians may retreat and of which Brest Litovsk forms the central fortress. e e e The railway from Eydtkuhnen, East Prussia, to Vilna runs through Kovno, and. at its terminus. Joins the trunk- line between Warsaw ana -etrograa, which the Germans are endeavoring to sever. Kovno is a fortress of the first class and has been considerably strengthened In recent years. Its main defense consists of a girdle oi 11 forts, surrounding' the town in an arc with a radius of about 2H miles. The work of the river Junction is an important feature of the city's strength. Here, it is guarded by three forts in the direction of Vilna, one of which commands . the Vilna bridge. The fortress is 55 miles from the East Prussian border. Kovno has shared In the expansion caused by the demands of tke present generation of Russians for a home in dustry of sufficient development to hasten the supply,of the young nation with the material elements of modern civilization. It has developed several important metal industries, and has large factories producing nails, wire. barbed wire and machines. It nas also developed a large commission busi ness, and was an important entrepot for timber, cereals, flax, flour, spirits, fish, coal and buildmg stone products of trade between Western Russia and Prussia. It has a population of about 75.000. Kovno was founded in the 11th century, and, between 1384 and 1398, it was a possession of the Teu tonic Knights. Sues Canal Traffic. Edinburgh Scotsman. The Suez canal traffic for 19J4 Ii not sufter the diminution that might have been expected as a result of the war. In 1913 a total of 5085 vessels passed through the'canal: In 1914 the number was 4802. Of these vessels the vast majority were British: other na tions In 1914 were represented in this order: German. Dutch, French, Aus trian. Italian. Japanese, Russian, Dan ish, Greek. Swedish, Norwegian, Span ish, Turkish, Siamese, American, Per sian. Satisfaction of Applicant. Houston (Texas) Post "Want a Job, eh?" "Tes, sir; I am looking for a place where there is plenty of work." "I am sorry, but there would not be enough, work here to keep you busy an hour a day." "That's plenty of work for me, sir." Call From a Pasaiosmte Poet. Louisville Courier-Journal. "You see," said the country editor. "I have printed your poem." "Thank you," responded the poet. "I suppose I shall receive remuneration according to your usual tariff." "Tariff? My good man, poetry is on the free list." Discharge of a Chauffeur. Puck. Chuggerton How's your chauffeur? Carr Had to Are him; he used to be a motorman. Chuggerton Too reckless, eh? Carr Reckless, nothing! Why. I couldn't break him of the habit of slowing up at crossings. Enquiry of a Suitor. Boston Transcript Her Father You've been calling on my daughter for some time, young man. Why don't you come down to business? .. Suitor Very well! How much are you going to leave her? OWN POCKET PLACE FOIl DOLLAR Home Merchant lie Blarht to Coin That Can Be saved by Trading Eloewhere. CLATSKANIE, Or- Aug. 1. (To the Editor.) I am interested in the com munications of .Harry Cummings and F. W. Rowland! I did not know, that Mr. Cummings' kind are legion, but am glad to hear it But I differ with Mr. Rowland in that he Is either misin formed or easily deceived. Rather the contrary. I am one of those individuals who see no honor in putting a dollar in a country merchant's pocket when I can keep it in my own, in spite of the divi dends of the mail-order houses. I am not sure Mr. Cummings got a 13.50 pair of shoes lor $1.85. But from my own experience I know if he had paid $3.50 for them at home, he could have sent and goi two pairs like it away from home, almost. He would have gotten a $1.85 pair for $3.50. Some difference? I can get a pair of shoes here for $3.50 which will last two months, for a lad. I can get as good in Portland for $1.95. For $3.50 in Port land I can get a shoe which will last the whole school year. When will the drummer and the merchant realize that to sell an inferior article at a superior price will put both out of business? I have seen a drummer drive a mer chant out of business. Have you? I. like all well-informed and not-easily deceived people, hate to be "held up." I bring my eggs into town and get a half-cent below market price, in trade. The merchant makes a profit on my eggs and his goods. Next time I send them to Portland for- cash. 1 have a dollar in my pocket extra. But tha merchant says that dollar should be in his pocket: then I would be an "honor" to the "community." Is the storekeeper of so much better clay than the rest of us? A friend recently said he saved $7.50 on a $30 order for groceries by order ing from Portland, comparing with pric.es here. On 60 pounds of lard he saved enough to pay for the money order, freight and hauling, and had 10 cents to put in his other pocket. Mr. Cummings' "shrewd ability" comes from knowledge. And if the mail-order houses continue sending out catalogues there will be more people with that same "ability." Haste the day when it will be an honor to the community for a man to keep in his own pocket the dollar the storekeeper wants! Will the small-town merchant go to the wall? Do you think I care if the merchant has to dig for a living as some of us do? If so, you have an other "think" coming. MRS. W. P. SCHNEIDER. FICKLE f SiO, MERELY SENSIBLE Bryan Knows a Good Thins to Drink When He Finds It New York Tribune. Of course a man has a right to change his tipple, and so he has to harvest his whiskers or grow a beard. But when from long association he has become identified in the public mind with one thing or another of this sort he Is really under some obligation to remain constant to early choice. Other wise the anguish caused cartoonists and headling writers and the utter havoc wrought In the popular vocabu lary Hopelessly outweigh the slight ad vantage to him In convenience or com fort which the change brings. For this reason his countrymen will hope that Mr. Bryan's taste for the Juice of the Loganberry will only tem porarily eclipse his - passion for the Juice of the grape. Aside from the widespread mental readjustment which such fickleness on his part threatens, the Loganberry is by no means as well known a fruit as the grape and it has far too many syllables. To have our former Secretary of State return from the Pacific Coast wearing a Van Dyck beard would be less of a catastrophe. Some few months before the Euro pean war broke out last year, it was reported trora Vienna that the Emperor Franz Josef had scandalized the court barber by. suggesting one morning that in the near future he shave off the royal side whiskers. The barber pleaded with him in vain against such sacrilege, and then appealed to the members of the royal family, who, In consternation, called a family council. Together they finally persuaded the aged monarch to forget his mad fancy, but not until it had been explained to him that all the coins would have to be restamped, and new plates made for all the stamps and paper currency; that old portraits of the Emperor would have to be recalled and new ones distributed broadcast at great cost, and all kinds and conditions of insignia altered tne wnoie not lm probably resulting in a revolution which would shake his throne to its foundations. The case of Mr. Bryan and his grape juice differs in degree only, not in kind. With our foreign relations in such a delicate state, has he not already caused domestic disturbance enough? AT FIFTY. I met a woman on the way. Her smile was sweet her hair was gray. Her dress was dear and nifty. Her face breathed forth such rare con tent I asked her what such radiance meant She said: "Sir, I am fifty." . I knew somewhat the. life of care That dimmed her eye and grayed her hair. I knew that she was thrifty. I thought-of battles hardly won. Of work from dawn till set of sun. From twenty up to fifty. And then I thought of daughter fair. And knew the love they both would share. Till daughter, too, was fifty. I thought me of her sturdy son. Whose work in life was well begun. And wished that I were fifty. If we could, like this woman dear, With radiance crowned, give all good cheer. The years when we were fifty. If we could see, through good work done,. Our lives prolonged in maid and son. Dear 3od, we d all be fifty. - HORACE WILLIAM MACNEAL. Germany's JVaval Power. . PORTLAND, Aug. 2. (To the Edi tor.) To settle a bet, will you kindly tell me which has the greatest num ber of superdreadnoughts, building and built, the United btates or Germany, and the number? READER. It is impossible to give a definite an swer, as a distinctlion between dread noughts and superdreadnoughts is not commonly made in naval intelligence. Moreover, Germany is more or less secretive as to size, speed and arma ment of her largest battleships and every possible cloak of secrecy has been thrown over her naval building since the outbreak of the war. Classifying dreadnoughts as battle ships having a main battery of guns 11 inches or more in caliber, Germany, on July 1, 1914, had 13 dreadnoughts built and seven building; the United States, eight built and four building. Glaaa Cansea 9800 Blaae. New York Sun. A house was nearly burned down in New York recently because some one had left a- magnifying glass leaning against a wicker sewing basket. The glass caught the rays of the noon sun, focused them on the inflammable ma terial In the basket, a blaze followed. and before the fireman put it eut $S00 damage had resulted, " Twenty-Five Year Ago From The Oregonian. August 8. 1S90. Cresson Springs, Pa., A.ug. 2. Presi dent Harrison's sojourn at Cresson during the greater part of the months of August and September is now a fixed fact The Presidential house hold will leave Cape May cottage about the 12th inst., and take up their residence for the Summer in their beautiful mountain home. Parke cot tage, and the President himself, it Is expected, will follow within a week. Tne steamer State of California ar rived from San Francisco at 9:30 o'clock last evening. Citizens of Salem freely contributed fruit of all kinds with which to feast the Mystic Shriners as they passed through that city last evening. Chief Morgan withdrew all the fire apparatus, except the reserve en gine, from the North Pacific mill yes terday. He said last night that the fire was about out He had been fight ing eight and a half days. Rev. D. O. Ghormley, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, is taking a month's vacation, and his pulpit is be ins filled by Rev. Mr. Day. City Attorney J. V. Beach and wife are at Turner's Station, on the South ern Pacific. D. P. Thompson, J. W. Vawter and others have made application to the Controller of the Currency to have au thorized the organization of the Na tional Bank of Med ford. Or., with a capital stock of $60,000. The bank will take the place of the present Bank of Medford, of which Mr. Vawter is man ager, and is expected to be in opera tion on the new basis about October 1. Mr. H. B. LItt who Is now in Paris, sends to The Oregonian the dally papers or that city containing accounts of the celebration there of the anniversary of the fall of the Bastile, which are very interesting. Mrs. Lyman Abbott, .wife of tho suc cessor to Henry Ward Beecher as pastor of the Plymouth Church, Is to become one of the editors of the Ladles' Home Journal- on September 1, next. Half a Century Ago From The Oreeonian of August 3, 1S65. It is said that Messrs. Moore and Fosus have actually effected a sale of their mining interests in Owyhee to a New York firm for $1,000,000. The California Farmer, the oldest agricultural paper on this Coast has commenced its 24th volume. It is a complete farmer's guide, and should be on every ranch. The Missouri constitution excludes from the ballot box all rebel soldiers. Knights of the Golden Circle, Sons of Liberty, O. A. K.'s; forbids compensa tion for emancipated slaves and pro vides for an efficient registration of voters. The steamer Webfoot was yesterday discharging a cargo of alder bark, and a scow which she had in tow lay alongside with a load of the same material, in all probability 100 cords, at the foot of Yamhill street which is for use at our tanneries. The qual ity of alder bark for the purposes of making a good article of leather causes considerable demand for it, and we learnr there is an abundance of it to be obtained in most places along the Willamette and Columbia rivers. The funeral of the late Mrs. J. R. Cafdwell will take place from the Presbyterian Church today at 10:30 o'clock. The union men of Vermont have nominated Paul Dillingham for Gov ernor and A. B. Gardner for Lieutenant-Governor of that state. On the 6th day of June, A. D. 1S65. W. Noe Parrish, of Yamhill County, State of Oregon, was Joined In mar riage to Sarah Jane Beaver, of Yam hill County, state aforesaid, by Israel L. Clark, minister of the Christian Church. THE SWEET IDEAL IS THERE. I'm a soul born today Of Life's slow cosmic play. Eons long, long ago, I fought struggled and climbed With the brute round me twined; Vaguely yearning, I dreamed Of the sweet joy that gleamed In my dawning ego, Then blazed the psychic flame Lo, this thinking I came! This marvelous mind, whence? This longing soul, and hence? . At either end the veil The mystery deepens The mind's keenest weapons. Searching as a star's light When piercing deepest night Can find no hidden trail; Why the bravesoul despair? The sweet ideal is there. In youth's golden morning. Ere manhood's ripe dawning. The ideal came to me; Oh, how it shlned and twined,' And so tenderly climbed Into this soul of mine. Like a flowering vine 'Mongst the leaves of a tree; Through my soul's gates ajar Shines this sweet day-dream star. The songs and visions dear Of prophet, psalmist, seer. The dreams that filled with light The poet's heart of fire; Tunes from Apollo's lyre, Tha wisdom of sages. Coming down the ages. Are my own free birthright; Mine to drink of my fill. To enjoy,' If I will. Tis the ideal gleaming That sets the soul dreaming So. sweetly in the night; Though Summer friends betray. And plighted love fades away. Riches elude and laugh, And Fate pricks with his gaff. While Hope turns off the light; Still the sweet Ideal wiles. And the singing heart smiles. Why fear ye doubting hearts. Why the trembling soul starts? The Eternal knows best: I but came up through Time, This thinking soul of mine Cannot stay here alway; Mayhap supernal day Will be mine, or sweet rest; He doeth all things well The curtain drops, farewell! J. T. Ford. Dallas. Or. "Speed Up" The "Speed-Up" message has gone out In many lines of industry. Orders are coming in. Business is getting better. . This will be ai active Fall season. Sales will be larger and failures less frequent. The signs all say, "Push for Busi ness Now." The man who lags Is going to lose. BEGIN. INVITE PEOPLE TO BUT TOUR GOODS. ' ADVERTISE!