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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1915)
TITE HORNING OltEGOXTAN. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1915. mm rOKTUUiiD. OREGON. Xatarad at Portland. Onita. Foaiotflaa aa aaeond-claaa mallar. AacscnsUoa ftai.a invariably la advenes: (Br Malt. Salty. Sunday Ineludsd. one year $S ljal.y. Sunday Inrluuwi. sis months ..... , , .. .. . in. in.i.fi mrH niuQlhl . it- I.A.lt' MufMlAV IncllMl!. ODO fUOnlA " lai.y. without liuaOAj. on yar Sou 1al.y, without. Suadaj. ais naoalha lai.y. wlcuoul Sunday. Inraa moalha - l.aj.y. wltbout ftuadaji, M laaau ...... Mti.y. aoa ar i Suaoay. aaa yaar av haaay and V y. aaa yaar s-av IB carrier.) Dally. Sunday tneludao. ana year " Jja..j. auoJay Inc. uau. one mania ..... Haw I Koall ikd Poatofftea monay or. 4i upriu orur oc paraoaai check oa your locil tank, tuffliu, cola a aurreaty aij at mbj a tuk. .! poatolftca auuxaaa is tuu. auc.adlng county and atata. raataaa Kun 13 to 1 pagaa. 1 cant: IS ta a i. a. J canla; 14 Co paa, a ealla, J lo nu caaaa. a cania; a., to caeta; l to IW sagaa. acata. froraign naa'.Aa. doubta rats. AaMara Maatawae OffUsa Varra C"oB Itn. UtjuaKi amioinf. esr lork; r Cuaaao. tr kuudloa. Chicago; tan y'ranciao ypraaaulauva. it. J. UiuasU. J lfaract strt rORrUaN'D. WEDNEiiDAf. AIG. II. 1IA. tua.aoa rom noESTTr Fort Is nd received Its first chArter from the terrttorlal Legislature In 1IS1. It ha therefore been a city lor nearly sixty-five years and during more tuan sixty years or Ita lire struggieu alone under the councilmanic form of government. In that period food Ad ministration and poor aaminiiruus came and went. At tlmat well-grounded suspicions were directed against the official honesty or members of the Council. But during- numerous two year periods the Integrity of no high official In the city administration was questioned. These particulars of history re re called to emphasise the fact that the worth of commission government can not be demonstrated In two years. It lias become the fashion for some Port land newspapers to point to the Ab sence of scandal. Imputation or suspi cion that has Attended less than two years of city commission government nd submit that situation triumphantly s though It completely disposed of Any And all criticisms of Another char acter directed against the present Portland administration. Honesty In government Is A valuable desideratum. But is it necessary to pay large sums for It? The Oregonlan Is one of those who believe that man kind as a whole is honest. If this be Admitted, honesty ought to be the cheapest among the desirable charac teristics sought in A city administra tion. We have had honesty In the Portland administration for two years, but have we added anything else that we really needed? It has cost the tax payers annually much more than the preceding administration. Four hundred and nrty tliouaand dollars Is a high price to pay if for honeaty alone. But walvtng the question of its high price, this honesty csnnot be accurAtc ly credited exclusively or even in large part to the "system." Other cities have a commission form of govern ment snd do not obtain honesty. Nashville, Tenn.. is now In the hands ef a receiver an almost unprecedent ed experience for a municipality. Nashville has the commission form of government. Its officials are accused f various malfeasances, such as favor ing relative with contracts, oppress ing political opponents, colluding with losn sharks and using Interest from public money for private purposes. Portland has an honest city govern ment because It picked out Its Com missioners for their Integrity. Looking back to the first election under the commission charter, we are Inclined to suspect that In seeking hsnest Com missioners we forgot everything else. ' Put what we sought we got honesty yOO.000 worth in the current two J tars. We do not deplore the quest for hon. ty. We do not suggest a return to the councllmsnlo form of government, put we are more than ever convinced that the system does not count half so - much as the character and capacity of the omclals elected. What Portland seeded two years ago was A commis sion composed of men of both honesty and business capacity. There was a demand for both square dealing and economy In municipal affairs. There were do other Issues. To obtain these two desirable factors four well-paid positions had been newly created. These positions have been Oiled with out the elimination of any department head that previously existed, so far as we now recall. Moreover, each new official has set up an establishment of his own. with A secretary and In some Instances a large office force. Each has seemingly assumed that his special mission was to Introduce and establish some pet Idea or hobby About running -A city which the people, when they elected him. did not know he enter tained. Common digging After the or dinary snd humdrum detects of city administration, which when accumu lated mean loss of a mint of money, has seemed beneath the dignity of an Riclal with an Imposing title And a private secretary. Mr. Simon Benson has now come forward with the statement that as manager of the city, with proper au thority, he could save Portland 11000 a day. It is not to be doubted. Mr. Benson Is a good business man and he would hare as his first point of at tack the more than $1000 a day It now costs to run the city as compared with the period dlre-tly preceding commis sion government. The Oregonlan is confident a manager would be a good thing for Portland, provided he was an honest And capable manager. The main difficulty Is to lilt the capacity part of the bill. Municipal manage ment la not yet A profession In Amer ica. The timber to draw from con sists largely of men of native business Ability. But so It Is In ordinary com mission government. Honest commis sioners, as heretofore remarked. Are not hard to find. Trained, or experi enced, or efficient commissioners Are. The advantage of the managerial plan over the commission plan is that it gives freedom of selection. Commis sioners under the existing charter mnst be chosen from those who offer their services. A large salary la not atwajs sufficient to bring out the best men. Each must make his application public; he must publicly advertise his qualifications and spend his own money to do It: he must run the chance of a public defeat, which to many men Is humiliating: worse still, he msy have publicly to compete for place with demagogues, misfits snd political bank rupts. The voters' opportunity to elect qualified men Is restricted by con ditions which keep many qualified men out of the campaign. In selecting a city manager the city has the whole country to choose from. If the proper man does not offer his services the city can take the Initiative aad make an enr. But the mana gerial system ought to be adopted, if adopted at all. with eyes open to the essentials that make good government The people must be vigilant In select ing the appointing body, not once, but In each succeeding election. That body must be composed of men who are honest, responsive to public opin ion and ready to eschew politics and co-operate with the manager to root out extravagance and willing to let the manager manage. Conceding that city managers are to be had. the system ought then to work well. But it will not run Itself. It must be backed by undlmlnishlng public interest. OT YET. The Democratic platform of H1I contains this clear notice to the world that a Democratic Administration will safeguard the rights of American cltl stns everywhere: TM constitutional rights of American eftl sana should protact tnam on our bordara aad so with tham throughout tha world, and ovary American cltlian residing or barlns property In any foralgn country la entmea to ana mum oa i " ' ... taction of lno Unltad Etatea Uoverojuent. Both, for ainiaair aaa nia proparv President Wilson on May IS. 115 reiterated the solemn responsibility of the American Government to its citi zens In the following memorable dec laration: The Imperial German government will not expect tha Corernmeot f tha I ollad Statae lo omit any word or any act neceaaary to tha performance of Its eacred duty of main taining tha rlshts of tha United f tatea and Ita etitaeoa and of aafesuardms tbalr fraa eaerciae and enjoyment. Yet for two and one-half years we have hesitated and faltered on the brink of our duty to Mexico; And even now we profess ourselves willing to do it only if the Central and South Amer ican countries will help us. AMERICA'S WAT. The Oregonfan has from a highly respected cltlsen. whose nsme is with held At his request, a letter comparing unfavorably the attitude of the Amer ican press with the Swiss press during the present war. The newspapers in ths little European republic Are re quired by law to refrain from abusing or criticising contemptuously a foreign nation, or its ruler, or government, and they print the news impartially from all sources. Our correspondent sug gests that American newspapers would serve the Interests of a real neutrality if they emulated the Swiss press. We think our friend has struck the keynote of Switzerland's coercion of its newspapers when he describes the "conflict raging all Around." It is vitsl to Switzerland that it preserve its neu trality its traditional policy, long re spected by the nations of Europe, and not so far violated during the present war. It might well be thought that if the United States were bordered every where by powerful warring nations, and if it feared involvement above even thing else. It would preserve a discreet impartiality, though it would probably arm Itself to the teeth, as Switzerland does. Many American newspapers are frankly unneutral. A large part of them are continuously and candidly critical of Germany on the merits of the European conflict And without spe cial reference to Germany's differences with America. Many of them have taken sides against Germany In the is sues growing out of the Lusitanla trag edy. Some of them are impartial or noncommittal, and A few unhyphenat ed journals sre for Germany. None of the so-called German-American pa pers are either neutral or noncommit tal. They are belligerently for Germany. For example, we have before us a Portland German-American paper, which sharply attacks President Wil son as being guilty of a "well-planned unfriendliness" toward Germany. And it says also that the "American Gov ernment cares less for the lives of Americans (on the Lusitanla) than it does for bringing on A conflict with Germany." These are rather serious charges. We wonder what would have happened In Germany If similar state menu had been made there by any newspaper about the Emperor and the Oerman government. We suppose thst our ML Angel friend thinks all American newspapers representing all shades of opinion on the war ought to be suppressed. But we rsther doubt the wisdom or effi cacy of his plan. We Are willing to let all sides have A ssy. It Is Amer ica's way. FROStrERTTx rOR THE FARMER, The unprecedented host of country merchants which has come to Port land for Buyers Week tells only of prosperity in the great interior east of the Csscades and in the great valleys west of that range of mountains. They have come In larger numbers to buy In greater quantities than last year because their customers are prosper ous, have money wherewith to buy and are willing to spend it How could their customers be any thing but prosperous with such crops of wheat, corn. oats, barley and other staples as the Government reports. And with wheat at 15 to IS cents and like ly to go higher; with a good wool clip at war prices; with an expanding mar ket for A somewhat reduced crop of fruit; with Europe buying our hops; with dairy herds thriving on abundant feed and with butter in good demand; with great herds of beef cattle, sheep and hogs and with Europe taking our meat and gathering up our surplus horses: with Ash to feed the armies as well as the peaceful folk? Here are all the elements of prosperity. The merchants are banking on them by buying that which will satisfy their customers needs and desires, knowing that this Is not a year In which peo ple will do without that which they can well afford.' The country merchant Is best able to judge of the people's ability and will ingness to buy, for he 1 closer to the foundations of prosperity than Is he of the city. He knows now what he did not realise a year ago that the sir cannot for years to come injure the United States, but that, on the con trary, it has brought immediate bene fits. Fear of some undefined evil con sequences from the war, born of con templating Its appalling magnitude And the dire misery which It brought to Europe. At that time restrained mer chants from buying as liberally as they ordinarily would. By a natural process of psychology this fear was passed on to those who came to buy what they did not find and to learn from the mer chant that business was slow. Thus fear robbed the merchant of business which he might have had. He Is not repeating that mistake this year, for palsying fear has left the minds of both him and his customers. The farmers got top prices for big crops last year. They will have as big. If not bigger, crops this year, and again at war prices. The unemployed have disappeared from the small towns to work in the great Industrial centers. Instead of organizing armies to terror ize and prey upon the country, the have become producers who will buy the product of farmer and manufac turer, thus helping to pass prosperity round. Factories sre busy fill lag war orders, supplying newly employed workmen with commodities which were formerly imported and supply ing foreign markets with goods which belligerents can no longer supply. Railroads are hauling trains loaded with this new traffic, they at last show Increased earnings and they have gained courage to make Improvements. Thus the prosperity which began with the farmer is being spread through the cities and begins to make hew life pulse through all the arteries of busi ness. . There Is every reason for confidence In the United States. Had the mer chant and the farmer been able to foresee as clearly a year ago as they see now the effects of the war, they would have realized that It must have the very effects on this country which are now apparent. While Impoverish ing Europe, the war Is enriching the T?niti states. .While loading Europe with Aht. It Is navlnr off American kdebU with Amerlcsn products. It has msde the United States the chief source of supply for all that Europe needs. Far be It from us to gloat over a disas ter to our neighbors because it has brought profit to us, but, since we had no part in bringing the disaster about, we can with a clear conscience accept the benefits It incidentally brings to us. Tt has made the United States A good investment for All its citizens, for it has given them new cause for confidence In this country s future. Having such confidence' and having mhnev derived from two bountiful crops to gratify their reasonable de sires, the people of the country dis tricts have good reason for rational spending. The merchants see that they have, and show good Judgment in laying In supplies oi mat wnicn their customers demand. This is the fruit of rural prosperity and . It will bear new fruit In prosperity for the cities and the factories. DEMOCRACY'S IXErFlCIEMCT IS WAR. The contrast between the thorough ness with which the German people were organized for war before war be gan and the struggles of the British people to organize after the war began has hrmiB-ht forward once more the relative efficiency of a democracy And a more or less, autocratic lorm oi gov ernment. Despite Its King and aris tocracy, tho British empire is ruled by the people. Despite its iteicnsiag. me nlrs is ruled bv the Kaiser and his personally appointed Chancel lor. The German empire" was fully ready on the day it declared war on Ruaala nnrl has riresented ' the most splendid example of team-work in de voting all its energies to military suc cess ever since that day. The British amnlra was not ready. Notwithstand ing the magnificent rally of its young men to the colors, and its great ieai of arms on land and sea, it has only now begun the organization of all its resources in men, material and money for the war. Why this contrast? It Is all very well to say that Ger many has for years been fearing war or planning war, as some prcrer to in terpret her attitude while Britain did not fear or plan war and beiievea mat peace would be preserved. Thatj state ment bespeaks inefficiency among Rritnln's dinlomats and those whose business tt was to keep the government Informed or me military pians ou nrennratlons of possible enemies. It also betrays Inefficiency of the rulers In not taking proper measures to de fend the nation against anacx ana to assist Its Allies in case they shokld be attacked. Waiving the matter of unprepared n.K, when tha war beaan. still there mas delay In taking adequate measures to carry on the war afterward. Every Intelligent Briton knew or should have knnwn that all the resources of Ger many and Austria in men, arms, in dustry, money and food were organ ized and at the disposal of the govern ment for war. The British government did not inform the people immediately of the deficiencies in tneir organiza tion and of the necessity of making tt as complete as that of Germany. The government did not claim the services of every man to fight, to make and inninnri aunnlles for the army and the people, to grow crops for the na tion's sustenance. It did not taxe tne measure of its enemy's resources in men, guns and other implements of war and provide for overmatching him in every respect. It called for volunteer and accepted married men while single men stayed hut home. It accepted as soldiers men who were needed st home to mine coal n4 maka munitions. It was unable to equip the men newly enrolled, that being one reason given oy ititcnener for not nlllnr for more men and for not proposing compulsory service. The government let contracts for guns and shells to be delivered within a certain time and then sat down in blind con fidence that the contracts would be filled. It did nothing at that time to imneaaa unnn ms.nuf acturers the ne cessity of preserving peace with their workmen nor to impress on woramen the need of uninterrupted work at maximum canacltv. In consequence. employers and workmen In the face of the enemy fought out their dirrer ences by the old, wasteful method of strikes. When the necessity of vastly Increasing the output of shells had been made obvious by reverses in the ri.i.l Premier Asauith still Insisted that the supply was adequate and was given the lie in the House of Commons. He And Lloyd George stirred munition workers to activity by addressing pub- j lie meetings attended by those who needed no urging, while those who did need it were soaking In saloons. irinnitv tha London Times opened the nation's eyes by blurting out the truth. Not until then were proper measures taken to organize the na tion's industries. for war and to enroll the entire able-bodied population with view to its use in tne national serv ice. Even then the work was so lm- norfaotlv done that the South W ales coal miners struck for a week and im periled the navy's coal supply. Only now, months after women had been clamoring to be put to work, are they being employed in large numbers. Meanwhile Britain's Ally. Russia, has been, beaten for lack of guns, ammuni tion and particularly aeroplanes, which Britain, the worksnop or Europe, couia have supplied. The new army is tied by the leg In France and tne uaraan- elles expedition makes tortoise-like progress for the same reason. The cause of this slowness of British statesmen in meeting a great military emergency is defined by the London Morning Post as "differences of opin ion whlcn concern memous oi rea.cn tng ths ultimate Issue" and which 'arise from the difficulty of rapidly accommodating A slow-thinking And rather obstinate people to an entirely air rtf onndltions. which thev had been constantly Informed during many- years by a large numoer oi important persons could not possibly occur." The Post points out tho root cause when it says: It was ths party syatam which, earned a total neglect of adequate preparation for war. Let ua make no miatalce aboat that. Both parties In politics were afraid to tell tha truth, because they thought that in ao doing tbey would loaa voiea, inm pwpiv i general waited for a land, and never got It. Under auch eondltlona aa these, amusing and profitable aa they may be, there can be na auch thing aa a national poucy. are two policies, sometlmea more, but never leaa than two. -tneaa may aveo i"""-"'' -tally mean the aamo thing; but tha fact that they sre npheld by rival factions pro vents either one of them from being perma nently adopted. In the case of adequate provision for National defense, of which both partiea were equally atrald. and whoso neces sity waa openly acouted by a party within a party, there waa. cntll tha war burst upon tha country, ao policy at ail. An ever-present menace made re publican France measurably well pre pared, but not nearly -as well aa her great adversary. Party controversy crept Into discussion of foreign policy and raged furiously around the three years' service bill almost to the day war was declared. Only a few days ago the Chamber of Deputies snuffed out an attempt to stir up political strife over the war. In time of war one-man power alone can effectively wield the entire .power of a nation to win victory. Joseph Chamberlain, who remained a radical even after he had become an imper ialist, held this opinion before he left the British Liberal party. Asked how he thought Britain could conduct a war against a great continental mili tary power, he answered: "Oh! we should have to appoint a dictator." The same elements of weakness in the British democracy which have been emphasized by the war exist In the American democracy and the same lessons are to be drawn. What the Post says of Britain is as true of the United States. Foreign policy has been made a party issue, although the National Interest requires that it should be placed above party and should be pursued continuously. ' Na tional defense has been shamefully neglected, and when Its shortcomings are brought to light, officials try to cover them snd to shift the blame. National safety demands that our de fense, like our foreign policy, be above party and be the first care of every administration. Actual war has driven democratic France and Britain to form national admlnstrattons, un der' which party strife Is silenced. Their example should warn the Ameri can people to guard against danger of war by insisting that trifling with for eign policy for partisan purposes cease and that the defense of the Nation be no longer neglected at the behest of pork-barrel statesmen and dreaming pacificists. Th nnnr Itirle-mnnt of President Wil son is shown both by his determination to pass the ship-purchase Din ana Dy his choice of Secretary McAdoo to steer it. Statesmanship dictates that, when support of all parties Is needed for his foreign policy and for National defense bills, such a cause of violent controversy sliould be avoided. Charles Heber Clark (Max Adler), who died yesterday, was a humorist of a generation ago, when the real funny men could be counted on the fingers of one hand. In those1 days the newspa per joke appeared to be spontaneous, whereas now it has the dryness of the kiln and the flavor of the pickle vat. An Assistant Secretary of.the Navy In the Roosevelt Administration is at i.mniini tn throw a small scare by as serting the victors in the war will come this way to recoup losses, ine vic tors in this war will be well off if able to stand alone at home for years. The colored man who committed sui cide by drowning early yesterday must have been an odd member of his race. The man of African blood is too much of an optimist to take his own life, preferring to drift in the sunshine and get under cover in the rain. Governor Johnson's proposed heavy tax on Inheritances is one of those things which are good in theory but don't work out in practice. The tax would cause rich men to divide their estates among their heirs before death and leave little to tax. Thi.iio. am in full bloom and it is somebody's business to see they are cut at once, else they will rival tne aanae lion and marguerite, without the food value of the one and the homely beauty of the other. The gang that numbered eight or ten that robbed the bank at Maple Hill, t-o vuiariliv and arot 13000 did not secure enough loot to make a success ful raid, ynat is a sraaii sunt to u around. The buyers from upstate compare well in set-up with city people. If it were not for the badges they would for hmkv citizens of Portland, a little more frisky if anything. When it comes to doing good to the greatest number, the name of John- F. rA-vv enaa wall to the head of the Hat for his free entertainment of chil dren at his popular resort. t .hnw-a & mn disposition to re joice when a rascally lawyer Is caught In crookedness, but it is a streak In the human being that cannot be eradicated by birth and breeding. cuinia who ilka to read clean humor with enough pathos for leavening suf fer loss In -the deatn oi ueorge rii.cn In a California sanitarium yesterday. Francn now has both Morocco and that part of Congo which she gave Ger many to clear her tine, it sne wins m the finish, she may keep both. The Nation will be unanimous that Colonel Goethals has done a good seven years' Job and is entitled to A change of scene. "The roast beef of old England" must give way to the cheaper cuts, for prices are becoming prohibitive to the common people. Had the meteor shower fallen In England, everybody would have been out with, a gun trying to pot an air ship. How the British tars must have ached to have a chance at the German fleet when It went out to. attack Riga Passing the whisky bottle Is expen sive courtesy in sdme of the "dry" units of this humid region. - If the price of meat continues to soar. John Bull may become a vege tarian. "The printers gathered up the "phat" at Venice'yeBterday. - That Toft grandson must be named Bill. European War Primer By National Gea graphical Society. Siedlce government includes all that part of Russian Poland through which the Tsar's armies are reported to be ,A(r.,(inir rin pvurv side German armies are pressing upon this central Polish government, which is now Burning Its great historic interest as a theater where the most stirring events of the world war may take place. Siedlce government forms the heart of Poland, screened behind the Vistula and Bug rivers, toward the west, north and east, and by the Wleprz River in the south. It Is also more closely re lated to Russia than any other part of the Polish province. The great trunk line railways binding Warsaw with Petrograd and Moscow cross Poland within this government, and some of the most favorable Polish wagon roads also run over its plain toward the Rus sian border. Its river boundaries all around it. together with extensive marshes in the north and low hills in the south. Invest it with unusual ad vantages for defense. While its level character facilitates transport. There are a few sloping, hilly tracts in the government, on the bank of the Bug. around Biala and in the middle. The marshes in the north are treacher ous and worthless. However, only about S per cent of the government's total area of 6633 square miles is unproduc tive. It is one of the richest agricul tural areas in Poland. Nearly half of it, or 48 per cent, is under crops, and another 17 per cent is in meadow and pasture land. The principal crops are rye, wheat, oats, barley and potatoes. The breeding of livestock is second in Importance to agriculture. About 19 per cent of the land is forested. The government is of no importance indus trially. It supports about 1,000,000 pop ulation. aaa It was at Pultusk, on the north bank of the River Narew, that Charles XII of Sweden won his celebrated victory over the Saxon armies, the flower of which he besieged in the great castle, whose remains are still the first fea ture of the fortress town. This. victory was won in 1703 to further Charles' ideas as to how the republic of Poland ought to be governed. Pultusk was again the field of a great battle action, when. In 1806, the Irresistible, triumph drunken legions of Napoleon swept all before them out of the strongholds here. This battle was fought over the icy fields of December, when morass and swamp become solid foundations of frozen, dark earth. " Pultusk is one of the important for tified towns, which, spread out fan wise, guarded Warsaw from the north and west. It lies S3 miles north of the metropolis, with the Narew River at its back and the Bug 15 miles to the south. While strongly defended. It does not compare in the power of its works with Novo Georgievsk or Ivangorod. It Is, however, one of the Important a-atea on that line toward the capital. which takes its way from East Prussia over Mlawa, Ostrolenka and Frzasnyz. The town, with a present population of about 20,000, has shared In the Polish industrial spurt. It was almost entireUr destroyed by a great nre in 1875, and the rebuilding has made it a place greatly in advance of the usual Polish towns. A textile Industry has taken root. Woolen and linen goods are manufactured, and, stimulated from Chemnitz, the great German center for the manufacture of stockings, a hosiery fabrication has been developed. Large copper works and potteries are also among Pultusk's leading businesses. The place is very idd, having been founded in 856. SWISS KEWSPAPER NEUTRALITY Publication ef Abuse or Ridicule of Foreign Nation Is Pnnlshable. MT. ANGEL, Or., Aug. 10. (To the Editor.) It may be of interest to your readers to learn how the Swiss press is made to observe neutrality in the pres ent conflict which is raging all around Switzerland. On August 3, 1914, on the eve of the declaration of war by England, the na tional assembly of Switzerland au thnriT.orl the federal President to formu late regulations for tho observance of neutrality. Accordingly, the President issued the following proclamation: whoever reviles nubllcly. in word or writ in, in nirture or reDresentatlon. a foreign nation, its rules or government, or who holds them up to ridicule or contempt, or who glvea publicity, wltn injurious intern, to a private statement of a damaging na ture, ahall be punished by imprisonment oi nut mare than six months or a fine not to exceed J1000, or by both Imprisonment and flna. Whoever exhibits, aisreads or Bella pub. 1 1 a iinn, ntptiirM of reoreaentAvtlona whicd contain an abuse of a foreign nation, ruler or government, shall be punished by Im prisonment of not more than three months or a fine not to exceea e-uv. r mm. I might add that in Switzerland laws are enforced and conscientiously kept by all classes of the people: also that the measure nas oeen iimneu iu the duration of ihe war and is. there fore not intended as a permanent curb to the liberty of the prees. but as a war measure to insure the neutrality of the little republic in a time when hidden sympathies are. easily fanned into flames of passion and open par ticipation in the strife. Would It not be well for the Ameri can press. In these critical times, to emulate the Swiss press? As it is, the attitude of the American press does not compare favorably with that of the Swiss -press, which gives the war news from all sources without partiality and prejudice. The comparison be comes still more odious when we re member that Switzerland, like the United States, is composed of several nationalities, German, . French and Italian, and that it might naturally be expected that each nationality would side with its kindred nation which, no doubt, they all do. privately. But in spite, of this composite character of Switzerland and in spite of its geo graphical position in the midst of na tions at war, the Swiss government has so far kept clear of all entanglements (even though a few Swiss citizens chose to travel on the Ill-fated Lusi tanla and perished with it) and has applied the neutrality laws impartially and to the satisfaction of all the bellig erents. In conclusion, is it too much to say that, as the Spanish-American War was provoked by the yellow press of this country, so the same press will be held responsible before the tribunal of his tory if we are drawn Into the whirl pool of the present war? D. F, P. Foreign Born and Military Service. AMITY. Or.. Aug. 9. (To the. Ed itor.) Kindly advise If a native-born Hollander wno nas not servea nis re quired time In the native army, but who has declared his Intentions to be come a citizen of the United States, can be compelled to return to Holland to serve In the army. SUBSCRIBER. -He cannot be forced to leave this country for military service In Hol land, but It Is possible that If In fu ture he placed himself within the Ju risdiction of Holland he might be pun ished for failure to respond, to the calL Sale of Wife. PORTLAND, Aug. 10. (To the Edi tor.) Is It legally possible for a man in Oregon to sell his wife? "A" says It is, and he recalls an article pub lished in The Oregonlan a few years ago. which he says supports his argu ment. "B" thinks he is mistaken. Will . you kindly settle the dispute ffirouch the columns of your paper. A SUBSCRIBER. It cannot, be doneiawfully, though it has, perhaps, been done. OREGON HAS MINERAL WEALTH Resources la Precious Metals Bound leas, Tet Largely Neglected. PENDLETON, Or.. Aug. To the Editor.) Along with the scramble of homeseekers for fertile land in Oregon, more interest ought to be taken in the gold fields of this state. The sunny metal certainly exists in countless mil lions In. the quartz ledges of the Blue Mountains In Eastern Oregon and In the Cascade Mountains In Southern and Western Oregon. The yellow metal will some day be delved from the mighty mountain ramparts south of lordly Mount Hood, near Mount Jefferson- and the Three Sisters. Port land. Salem, Albany, Eugene, Rose burg, Medford, Grants Pass and Ash land will hear the talk of gold and gold mining near at hand, as well as discussion of grain, fruit, vegetables, horses, cattle, sheep and swine, and like products from the breast of Mother Earth. As reported by The Oregonlan Au gust S. 1890, gold-bearing quartz from the Bohemia district, near Eugene, was assayed in San Francisco at over $2000 per ton. Fifty years ago The Orego nlan stated that quartz from the Santi ara River country, in the Cascade Mountains near Salem, assayed better than 1500 per ton. Why are these rich facts practically now forgotten , or overlooked. Since the outset of placer mining in Bakef, Union and Grant counties. In 1860-62. there has been piped and washed from those Eastern Oregon mountains, around pioneer Auburn, Sparta and Pocahontas, Malheur and Canyon City not less than $125,000,000 in gold, and very probable more. Au burn was once the county seat of Ba ker County and was headquarters for 10,000 miners, and fortunes in gold nuggets and "dust" were taken out by the. millions. And, after over 50 years' operations, there are still good dig gings and placer gold galore In East ern Oregon. In common parlance, placer or near surface gold is a drift from the higher quartz-rock ledges. Quartz mining is in its infancy in Eastern Oregon, but millions in gold have come from under the thunderous stamps of the mills, from the cyanide plants and smelters. Against the .wide world, the Oregon mining exhibit at the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco has won the grand first prize.. Why should not the mining industry take the lead in Oregon? This refers-to the delving for money stuff, gold and silver, and the burrowing for the useful metal, cop per, as well as for building stone, granite and marble. Two food producers are supported in feeding every miner. Agricultural, livestock, fishing and manufacturing Industries are boosted and increased by mining. Mining ought to be a larger asset for the people of the common wealth of Oregon. - During years that I have been em ployed as a newspaper writer in East ern Oregon many incidents and true stories gleaned by myself, and many others of the newspapermen's broth erhood, seem positive proof that the half has never yet been told of the countless treasure of gold locked in the vaults of the Eastern Oregon Blue Mountains. While merely a fair mln ing start has been made, there are now scores of producing mines and bun dreds of promising properties in the mineral belt of 200 miles by 60 miles in Eastern Oregon-Idaho. Seven miles east from the city limits of Baker is the famous Virtue mine that has yielded millions. Once, from a pocket in one of its rich white quartz ledges. $65,000 in gold was lifted. This pocket, or treasure hole, was only large enough to admit the'neaa ana shoulders of a miner. The Bonanza mine, once owned by the father of Albert Geiser, of Baker, was nearly sold for a span of mules. A few years later, after the Geiser family was enriched by a few hundred thousands In Bonanza gold, the prop erty was sold to an Eastern syndicate for $500,000 cash. In No. 3 tunnel of the Iron Dyke mine, near Copperfleld, Bateer County, In the grand canyon of Snake River, I walked through 400 feet breast of an underground "quarry" that assayed throughout its face over $25 a ton in copper and gold. In Idaho, across Snake River, in the seven ueviis Jioun tains, millions of tons of copper ore of eaual richness and of copper "peacock1 beauty, too, await the delver for wealth. California, Nevada, Colorado and Montana have no mineral fields that "showed up as richly, at the outset of mining there, as the only "scratched" gold and copper belt of Eastern Oregon-Idaho. All Oregonians should en courage the Oregon gold and copper mining Industry. When Oregon min ing Is properly prosecuted, and loyally supported, all other Industries wfu be aided. The Oregon gold, as well as the grain and fruit from her farms, the juicy meat from ner livestock neras. fish from her lakes, rivers and coasts, will give peace and plenty to her peo ple and to the "minions yet unDorn. JOHN W. ELLSWORTH. FOREIGN CARTOONS ARB INFERIOR Americans Are Far Ahead of European Brothers In This Field. EVERETT, Wash.. Aug. 9. (To the Editor.) In The Oregonlan August i a "Constant Reader" criticises Amer ican newspaper art In a rather sur prising manner and I consider your editorial comment, wuue uuiuinj up for the living cartoonists, entirely too meek in reply. Writes Constant Reader: "Why not give us a standard equal to that of our foreign brothers?" etc. Foreign standard, Indeed. Let Con stant Reader invest 50 cents in two numbers of the Cartoons Magazine, one dated before and one after the begin ning of the European war. Compare the European cartoons with the American and it will take but a, short study to convince yourself that if there ia one field where Americans need little for eign teaching it is in cartooning. We need no "able writer who is an author ity to give us a lengthy discourse." "Where are the Nasts, Davenports and Tenniels?" They are right with us. although their work hasn't grown musty yet and been stamped. O. K. by the "able writer who is an authority." Our Constant Reader Is evidently the kind of person who borrows his opin ions from the able writers and lengthy discourses, but who hasn't the energy to form real opinions of his own or to become a. "two bit pen slinger." I am not in the habit of ranting about art. in fact always feel that the less said about art the better, but in this case I believe anyone has a good right to take up the pen. Having been raised in Europe and being familiar with the German and Scandinavian languages, there are many things Eu ropean I think better than American, but I do not think that all of the Eu ropean papers and magazines, even in peace times, produce as many excellent drawings, full oi wit, humor, etc., as do the American. J. NELSON, Enforcement of School Law. - TILLAMOOK, Or., Aug. 8. (To the Editor.) The Oregon school laws pro vide that 85 per cent of the money re ceived by a school district from the general school fund shall be expended for teachers' salaries or returned to the general fund. If a district receives more from this fund than it uses for teachers' salaries, but instead of re turning the surplus to the general fund it uses it for buildings and other Improvements, and the County Super intendent consents to this use of the money, who can compel its return to the general fund? INQUIRER. Tha State Board of Education has the power to compel Its return If the law has been violated ia this way. .Twenty-Five Years Ago From The 6regonlan of August 31. 1890. Yesterday was a black-letter day In the history of Portland as far as fatal accidents are concerned. Three men were killed- by accident. William Hunter, a young man of 22 years, waa drowned in the Columbia Slough. Con ductor Joseph T. Jenkins, on the Second-street electric motor line, was killed by falling from a trestle bridge on the Fulton Park end of the line, a distance of about 76 feet. Arthur Cos grove, aged 18, fell while making a parachute jump from a balloon at Ai- bina and was instantly tinea. A 1. .n.t ii'itnnac tha last game of the Portland series. Portland piayea a usuess ana amaieunsu ""o and the Spokanes won their 10th suc cessive game by a score of 23 to (. The extenslpn of the Willamette Bridge Company's electric motor line to the center of Irvington is rapidly near ing completion. The wiring of the line will be completed this week and everything Is expected to be in readi ness for opening the line by Septem ber 1, as the case should be here be fore that time. The window frames for the second story of the Marquam block are being put in and considerable progress has' been made In the walls of that story. Russell street Is still In a miserable and dangerous condition. A sewer is being laid on this thoroughfare and little or no care is taken to prevent accidents to the traveling public. The ditch is dug over two blocks in ad vance and left exposed without any danger signal. In some places the ditch is 13 feet deep. The returns from the Western dis-: trict confirm the judgment based upon those from Eastern Oregon and Port land that the census of the whole state has been most vilely botched. It is bad enough in Portland, but it Is worse in the state. The people of the state knew It, too. There Is a chorus of protest from one end of Oregon to the other. Berlin The German imperial yacht Hohenzollern and the accompanying squadron anchored off Heligoland this morning. Emperor William and Prince Henry landed at noon and were met by Von. Boettlcher. The inhabitants gave the Emperor and his brother a hearty reception. The Emperer de livered a short address and the Ger man flag was hoisted. - In his speech Minister von Boettlcher dwelt upon the significance of the event as show ing the depth of friendship existing between the two nations and said lie hoped the two armies would never be divided and that the lofty wisdom which the Queen on this occasion had given proof of would ever be her guide. Half a Century Ago From Tha Oregonlan of August 11, 1866. The rooms of the Portland Library Association are open to the public, every day and night in the week. The library is furnished with 1500 volumes of the best historical, political and miscellaneous works extant. We have pleasant and agreeable rooms, the lat est publications of periodicals, etc., and among all a glorious future for a few years to make changes in favor of the best institution that has yet been inaugurated in our midst. There never was a more abundant yield of fruit than Oregon can boast of the present season. Large, ripe, healthy apples, peaches. pears and plums. It makes one feel like melting to think of them. We visited the or chard of Dr. Watkins recently and were perfectly astonished at the pro--ductlon of a few trees. Of plums the doctor has abundance. Three trees produced what was disposed of At $10 cash, besides considerable more used by his tamily, and there is ripening at least a ton of fruit 6n his premises. We notice In our exchanges that our friend Thomas Butler, editor of the late Boise News, was among a party who were lately surprised by Indians on the Red Bluff and Owyhee trail. Tom was not massacred, but he barely escaped. He has always been an ad vocate of the Red Bluff route, but it is no objection to the trail that In dians continually infest it. The steamer Rescue is fast approach- ; ing completion. When again ready for the trade, she will have extra cabins and fine accommodations for the in creasing travel between this city and the Cowlitz River country. A dozen head of cattle, each wearing a bell, yesterday passed through the city, embarking for the East Side at the Stark-street ferry. The serenade called out a crowd at every door and window along the street. Washington street is still lighted at night by the blaze of the fires in the woods on the western borders of the city. There is no further damage ex pected In consequence of the fire. The only states in tho Union in which slavery now has a legal exist ence are Delaware and Kentucky, in both of which it will doubtless soon be abolished. How to Combat Undertow. PORTLAND, Aug. 10. (To the Ed itor.) As an old surf bather and Surf lover I ask you to publish a partial preventive against accidents, from un-. dertow in the ocean, which I know from experience on the beaches to be effective. It Is: Don't attempt to fight against the undertow by eitner ai- te mpting to waia or run or trc owiwu undertow, whilo looking and be ing most formidable, is gone in a few' seconds usually, perhaps never more When you see it. LIl 0. 11 4JAJ. a " 7 coming stand face towards the shore. and brace your ieei ouu nB. but never attempt to move your feet or you are pretty sure to be swept off ur feet, ana in t cy aiwn wno r of the water slaskens. I have. UWCl v w .. - i jtnna Hi a mvaelf manv times not ' - . i. .... iiathino with women and QUt VT 11 1 a " ' young girls have told them to do the same, and always with the same result. In swimming, if you get caught with the undertow, you are usually all right if yOU lot B.V T.H b -V, - short time. G. W. TAYLOR. Criticism of Calvary Sergeant. -Tn d are- Calvary Sergeant I told you never nnn,nanh o hfirsA frOITI thA rAKf LVJ without speaking to him.. First thing you Know, iney n men. juu m uio head, and we'll have a bunch of lame horses on our hands. Overlooking the Obvious Inability to see the obvious Is A striking "gift" with some people. They prefer will o' the wisps to realities. If every advertiser sensed the ob vious he would be a newspaper ad vertiser. Ho would reach the people the easiest and least expensive way. He would put his advertisements where people would read them when the buying impulse was forming. And the result would be Increased sales and lowered advertising ex pense. ' 0