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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 1915)
THE jrORXIXO OEEGOXIA. TnUIlSDAT, AUGUST ID, 1915. roartAxo. oaxGos. ' t't rvui oim rwwtnc a ...... - -rr bail". Veaacrisuea Jtatse tasertaots' tBr Maa.) fare. StjjfJsr raeivdat. om r ii4Ar til MMtKl ... . J. I ifid; la -.u' 14. tare eBOatae r .. a-iauar laoaa.. eoe saeal .... ily. vtratit sia. eae ' ...... Sc:. ti:aitoe4tr.iuBi(li .-t-a... vttiM: tare aMa&a mm 7. ee y-er .......- VV Suatier. eae rear aca sa mil, eaa leaf 8y Cinwr.) rsrr-e. 3us4ar tKi'.tf). eae year .. lew I- IimH 4 roetoUVc. noaey sr. S osi.raa rrr or itmul eases e jowr Sea., stampe. cots e ti r are i MHiifM nee. ul' eUese t t tuit. im,i:i ceva.tr rm aates is i i (tm I eeat: 1 t ci. . " r.r - . - 1 i . .....J ki lO mO C4M COaia, 3 l ' -eKr... in im auu tun . v o Icy. It may abandon all pretense of blockade and mar treat all useful artl. dee. as distinguished from luxuries, as contraband when ultimately destined for Germany. It might then place Itself In a stronger position legally; It would relieve itself of the expense of compensating owners of roods which are now non-contraband and it would, by applying- the principle of continu ous voyage, render Its war on German commerce at least 'as effective as un der the order In council. MAaBTIG MONET. Tee Summer school girls at Harvard University who have pledged them selves not to mary any man with less than S-000 Income are not worthy specimens of their sex. We very much suspect that these mercenary girls are the mythical creations of some writ er's aberrant brain. Perhaps the sea ;j wi .. casta, grew dull. In default of anything else ' ""rTIW T.f"omr T,r-- a c.- exciting he upheaved this hoax from irm, iin ti. New io arpm oi iui turoia imagination, InwiK. resesata:ie. M. J. suaaeil. its 3fe-sef street. Tfft EAPAT. ACC I. Ml. Br declaring raw cotton absolute contraband Britain has recognized the v eakness of Its blockade policy against crovany. It has attempted, by not etrrrt-tng Its full rights against those riiTMn port which It ran effectively ilorkade. to induce neutral powers to air a at clear Illegalities In the seizure rf good destined by way of neutral r suntrtcs for porta whfc h- it cannot I icekade. It has assumed that qucs t ms of International law ran be com. I remised between Individual nations tr between groups of nations. Sex-re-t irjr Lansing proved the assumption f Use by standing firmly on Interns t enal law and by refusing to recog- m any different law made by any or more powers. The Morkade Is effective aa-alrst rran ports on the North Sea. but It it Ineffective against German ports on t te Haltlr. L nJer the law of continu ous vnvage and under the agreement ith the Dutch government. It Is also fee-live as t go.d entering Germany I rroLih Dutch ports. Since a North u blockade would be worthies so I- nt as Germany was free to receive U at FUtthr ports by way of Mean- o latUn rountrtrs. Hrltiln attempted t Induce neutruj powers t. close their c "re lr the tneffectivenes of her blork a le of tUUh- ports by waiving her r-fhl to ronfisrste non-contraband r irgnes destined for Germany, either firectty or through neutral countries, aid tb shlpn carrying them. Neutral untrtes refuse to consent to any such compromise, as shown by Mr. Lan S'ng's declaration. They lr.sUt on rwpert for all thetr rights under ln t vnatlonal law and are wilting to irvce-ie t Eritaln alt the nghts that eiurtry may exercise under that law. To do otherwise would place all their rights at the mercy of a belligerent. They would In fact have no rights hlch belligerents were bound to re spect unless they rhose to maintain t iok rights by fighting. Decision of - I'SlIigrreni whether to respect neutral rights would hinge on the question e-hrther neutrals would fight and i hether it was wise to a.td any par t eulr neutral to the number of their riemles. A neutrals would almost irely have a quarrel with both bellig erents on this score, their only re course would be In form an armed reutrallry league like that or i;&0 for tie maintenance by force of neutral r ghts against all assailants. The British people are being brought to realUe the weakness of tleir position by the situation aa to inter. Otton has become one of the ivwt Important Ingredients of ammu ittlon and Is an essential for military tlothlnr Tet the Hague conference rf ! declared It absolute non-contraband and the London conference of !- adopte-1 the Hague lists. Neither the Hague treaty nor the Lon don declaration has become operative. Were they operative, the belligerents would remain free lo transfer to the' (ondltlonal contraband list articles nscepttble of use for either peace or war. or to add to the absolute eontra tand list article which have become exclusively used for war. In fact, the I'racttre prevailing previous to 1)07 ts still lawful. Kach belligerent decides lor Itself which articles it will treat i-a absolute contraband and w hich as endttional contraband. The lists of no two nations then agreed or now agre. The conditions under which the j-reeent war Is carried on are such that, each belligerent being free to make Us own contraband list, they may add to the absolute contraband list the entire list of conditional con traband and many commodities which havs hltharto been treated us non entrahaed. The entire mature tnan bood of nations Is emplo)ed either In the armies or In supplying the armies with the requisites of warfare and a large proportion of the women Is em ployed In the latter manner. It may reasonably be argued that discrimina tion among articles rtasxed as condi tional contraband between thus which arc designe-l for the uses of war and the which are designed for uses of peace ! rn longer possible. A whote sati-n being employed in the Army er in suppljisg the Army, any com wfodlty which would aid that cation In continuing the struggle might be treated as contraband. On that theory II Useful articles would become con traband and the attempted classifica tion weuld be swept away. Pntain might declare raw cotton nd fod absotut contraband In ac cordance with thts theory and wtth IHe practice "Mch The Hague Con ference and the London Conference alrtv attempted to set astde. The Jtrltiah government has until now heal tted to do so as to cotton lesf It an-tag-rli the cotton Interests of the Vnited States, and as to foodstuffs lest It ave color to the accusation that It was tmnr to starve Germany. Seeing large cargoes of cotton enter neutral Girls as a rule are not unwilling to marry ambitious young men of small; means. The woman of normal dispo sition relishes the thought of strug gling and succeeding at her husband's side. She does not want to receive everything from htm. preferring to be a real helpmeet Instead of a parasite Current fiction has made It hardly less than a sin for a poor young man to marry rich girt, but that Is all non sense. If two young people love each other and have good health It matters tittle bow poor or rich either of them mar be when they marry. Money la a trifling consideration compared with the great essentials and most girls are wise enough not to overvalue It. for the coal mining companies before elevation to the bench, he might nat urally be expected to hold prejudice, and the counsel for defendants are acting vatahln their rights In asking the relief that should not be necessary. DEVELOnNO RIVER TRAFFIC. By appointing a committee on devel opment of Columbia River transpor; tation the Portland Chamber of Com merce has taken a useful step towards expanding the commerce of the port. and. In Its ultimate consequences. towards further extension of the navi gable channel. The cardinal features of the committee's programme are eminently practical, and. if they are successfully carried out. cannot fail to stimulate traffic on the river. That traffic cannot be economically carried on unless river ports have modern wharves with modern facili ties for rapid loading and unloading. It cannot grow to Important propor tions unless good roads are con structed from interior towns to river ports. Formerly short lines of steam Think what such an amount would have done for the church to which he belongs; think what It would have done for the poor "ye have always with you," as no doubt Father Gra ham haa discovered many times. It was pot a sane refusal. It was all very well for the priest to decline to be hampered with the care of he money. But he did not have to as sume the management of the fortune. One stroke of the pen would have set It aside as a permanent rift to some great oause, some work that would have meant much to humanity in general, perhaps to Father Graham's co-workers particularly and thus the name of the benefactor would have lived long In the land. sTrrtD.AXD rtusc There Is an organisation which falsely calls Itself the American Inde pendence Union of California. It haa set out to educate the people of the L'nlted (-tales aa to a proper foreign policy In the present International crisis. To that end it haa begun to disseminate literature throughout the country, taking for Its avenue the hyphenated press. A recent offering from the California organisation de- voles Itself to an attack on President Wilson and to an exposure of his rela tions with certain great English finan cial Interests, arranged through his friend. Colonel House, and hit son-in-law. Secretary McAdoo. A paragraph from the so-called In dependence Union's latest outgoing will show Its amaxlng character: Prertrfeftf W! le- sad preetonetr tnued a PTwlamatloa savins that r-al nutra!ltjr re ft II red bira to slop the eiportailon of arms lata aiasiro. a:i of hl-h la a matter t re"rs Put It aeffna that ha was sot his t master, and he heard his masters n!ce. or lha vol-st of Kn -In-law atrAdoo, the Paar s-st-taterteuj, aaa . at. Ileus tea a,ul-lr ehaosed his opinions: iher hava aiaa ru.-l the t'abtnet; re pealed tha Panama t'anal tolls; put the rt p gal at tna iet in ine propo;i ion 10 merchant marine; rmiKhf lrn ana There is some complaint here and there over the country that public librarians are too much disposed to censor current literature. There is a fever of censorship In the United States and librarians are not immune to its ravages. In their ardor to suppress bad books," who knows how many or trolley railroad would have been Duaoln geniuses tney may siay.- i necessary. In these days a hard-sur- son,e minus an unusual dook is neces- face road with easy grades wilt ena- f aariiy a bad one This criterion would ble farmers and merchantable trans- nav exclude", .-union, tvoraswortn port goods to and from the river by and Shelley In their day, auto truck as economically as by rail road, v I rne latest fashion in taking "straw It has been claimed by railroad men votes" is to do It over The telephone. that they ean carry traffic as oconom-Mr. Jones is called up and his views Ically as steamboats. The basis for I flatly demanded. If he merely slams this claim Is the fact that railroads I down the receiver he Is counted with have continually adopted every eco- I the negative, so there is no escape for nomlcal Improvement as It has ap-hlm. "Straw votes" have become more peared. while river steamboats and popular since the telephone came to river wharvea In this country have their aid. There la talk of using the made little progress In fifty years, tier- I same handy appliance in real elections. many has built up a large inland water If there were some way to Identify the traffic; by doing as Germany docs. Ore- voter, we see no objection. gon can do likewise. To do so re quires establishment of modern tug When Governor Slalon commuted European War Primer By Katlonal Geographical Socley. N1 and barge tines on the upper river and I Frank's sentence it was freely pre- of fleets of barges, lighters and tugs dieted that Georgia would one day at Portland and other lower river repent of Its wrath and do him honor ports for transfer of cargo between I for his deed. There are as yet no signs river and ocean vessels. If to these I of the state's repentance. On the cou- be added co-operation between pro- trary, time makes its wrath grow ducers and marketers, the chain will hotter and the ex-Governor is warned be complete. by high officials not to so back home Provided the upper river ports do I lest Frank's fate befall him. The bad their part In furnishing wharves and I sister seems to revet In her sins. roads of the chsracter described, there should be no difficulty in finding capl- Whatever crimes John R. Lawson tal for the tug and barge lines. Capl- may have committed, he is entitled to tai goes wnere mere is pront in signt. a. fair trial before an unprejudiced When the communities bordering on judge. The Colorado Supreme Court the river had proved their confidence has therefore acted with obvious lus- m tnetr own proposition oy backing tlce In granting him another hearing, it wun uieir money, capital would be were the Rockefeller Interests always inspires wun connoence to oaca n allowed to nominate the Judges who further with the river craft. are to try their enemies. Justice might lose purity for the sake of speed. rtzzuxc tub rotrnciAxn. Politicians are' greatly perplexed Lynchings are always to be deplored. which way to jump these days, for I but, granting that there had to be one. woman keeps them guessing. Two Is- it is a pity that the Georgia mob sues are Die cause, and In a certain chose Its victim with so little sense. sense they are twins. These are nro- Instead of hanging Thaw, who Is hibltion and woman suffrage. They known to be a murderer, it lyncned h... v. n n t,A e-nne V, I Krnnlc who as llkelv an not. ! Inno- iro him oat of the iaMnei: mad us w j women, the great majority of whomlcent. The best of intentions seldom emr an si:j. roi a eassai oi r.ns:aaa. aw that me orta snows that EneisnH eon trta our foreign poller, and her newspapers edlfrtai! tell ua hat to do. and sh does aa sh pleasea alti our eltliena and com merce. ono we now know that It ts lh result of the Srllherata work of R. V. tfooeo ant tha Interests thai he repreeeata. Pear sons. Lord Cowdray, Wail fctree! and Me Adoo latsresta aad thetr aasodataa. The Impudence and offenalvenese of this performance are exceeded only by Its extraordinary stupidity, lo say nothing of Its unquestionable falsity. The Orogonlan will mako no com ment further than to aay such enemies of Woodrow Wilson, pursuing such methods, will make his re-election a certainty. .. . seldom made fun without a inrir uirimmi uenrin-iEion- tnun I . r.ewspapcrs hive been ctamorlng to have cotton placed on the contraband list. The Government Is assailed at Iinme w-.tn the charge that Its modi fied blo.-ka.le ts Ineffective and by the United States with the charge that the felackavle ts Illegal. Its attempt to cosctliate neutrals by exerclalcir less) taaa its rtgnts In one direction in the liipe that it might bo permitted to exceed its rights In another direction haa eonsplcqraosly failed. The London rviromcle atataw the situation In a nut shell when it says: HaS lesaTt'e rs teiera ta'e-ahio to ems w i-ie thaa tnUU Ulecalitr. Our errt ts It prwveot eetlea rm to Oarwiaar As that eat Pa suns eff-tletv hy Seelartat eotton euteahao. sappe-nentetf he tha prloetple spslimss saasa, tha Ooraaeat's eoaraa la eloar. By plas-ier cotton on tha contraband fst tha British iwrniawi may have taaaaraxad a rascal c&f of pcl- Ai:ICAX HTMOR. Max Adeler. who died a few days ago, was one of the old-time Ameri can humorists. His true name was Charles Heber Clark, but the public hardly ever heard or saw it. i Max Adeler he won his modest renown and earned the affection of newspaper readers by his Jibes and Jests. The particular kind of funmaking of which he was master I no longer lo fashion The column of Jokes all written by the same hand, the weekly page of hu morous sketches, have been succeeded by other appeals to our mirthfulneas. There Is the wise dialogue such as Mr, Dunne has faithfully provided for these many years. There Is the daily poem, usually of astonishing finish and point. There Is .the column of paragraphs full of shrewd observa tion on life. But the old style of American newspaper humor has had Its day and given place to something else. The newer mode may be better than the old. Some say that the humor of Max Adeler's time was like dancing In a pig trough and peeking through a horse collar. They call It "slapstick humor." Our humor has become sophisticated and. perhaps it ha been Improved since the time of Bill Nye. Peck's Bad Boy. Brother Gardner of the Detroit Free Press and Opie Read's contribu tions to the Arkansas Traveler. But there waa a great deal of wholesome strength in the older variety. It made us laugh and grow tat. iucn is more than some of our pallid modern fun makers can do. Perhaps we have not so much heart for laughing now as we had In those primitive times, when the country was new and hope had re reived few checks from experience. The disposition to accept rebuffs with a humorous tolerance grew Into a Na tional trait for which we loved and praised ourselves. But the Nation which alwajs smiles when its toes are trodden on Is apt to find people walk ing on Its prostrate body In the course of time. The sense of humor of which we had boasted to much wakened after a while to a conviction that we were being Imposed upon In a thousand til which no other country would have endured unless force obliged It to submit. With this awakening our Na tional humor soured a tittle. It de voted Itself to cynical paragraphs, free verse of the sort to be read In the "Spoon River Anthology" and satirical plays like "The Easiest Way" and "Within the Law, Our humor haa always been some what biting. Kven In Mark Twain it stings rather than soothes. Bill Nye sub- stratum of add comment upon Instttu tlons. When the otd-tlme humor lacked this acidity It usually became coarse, as we see It in Mr. Spoopen dyke and Peck's Insufferable Bad Boy. More pretentious humorous works such as Oliver Wendell Holmes' "Auto crat' books and Lowell's "Blgelow Pa pers" always pointed their Jokes at decadent Institutions of some sort. Very likely the critics will finally de cide that all this was wit rather than humor. Our funmakers have usually been more nearly akin to Caxlyle the scold than to Charles Lamb with his sunshine. ' favor both, though promoting each save a mob from being cbsurd as well separately. Those politicians who put I as criminal success before principle cannot Indorse either without antagonizing the per-I A srroun of 311 men who graduated , sonal liberty and liquor men, and they I from Harvard in 1909 now earn an cannot easily guess on which side are I average annual Income of 12114 each, the most votes. I Four of them who are publishers earn Prohibition has made such strides $3312 each. Twenty financiers make, In the last two years that many are together.. 357,350 a year, while thirty guessing in its favor. There are seven who are teachers make only eighteen prohibition states and nine of $60,500. Finance barely misses paying these voted dry in 1914 and 1915. The twice as well as education, Federal constitutional amendment scored a majority of two in the House. The EsperanUsta are making great tnougn u laneo or submission ror lacx preparations for their . meetings to of a two-thirds .majority. Congress I comt oB ia few days at San Fran- nas passed a drastic liquor law ror trie cgc0. Tne adepts in this international District of Columbia, and prohibition iansuaes say that their number now In the capital was prevented only by exceeds the combined populations of a tecnnicaiity in me senate, wasn- Denmark, Greece, Belgium and Swit ington expects to be dry in two years jeriand. It te easy to learn and 1U ny act or i-ongress, tne people naving usefulness is undeniable. nothing to say about it As between prohibition and suffrage, the lines are crossed. Seven Southern There is a parallel between Napoleon anH Vn.n Qhl ITfil fe,, (liflH la ino States have gone dry. not because the Lerlou8 naAr. Both' attoJne(j absolute white man has given up his toddy but because he wishes to keep liquor away from "the nigger." The two border states of Tennessee and West Virginia have gone dry for much the same rea son. Jn Kentucky, greatest producer of whisky, 10$ counties are dry and 14 wet. while South Carolina has 30 dry and 14 wet and Oklahoma has 77 dry- counties and makes drunkenness cause for Impeachment. power at the close of revolutions, but Napoleon reached the throne after a career of conquest, while Yuan seems likely to reach it after signing a hu miliating treaty with Japan. - The American dollar will yet rule the world's trade, provided it la backed up by the physical Btrength of the American Nation. Otherwise some and cozy, as trim and as indiffer ent to what went on in the world as a seaside vacation resort well might be. Ostend. up the coast to the north, strove for the correct cosmopolitan air, the high-tension vivacity proper for the modern, go-ahead Summer resort, and left to little Nieuport-Bains, 13 miles down the strand, the business of being a rest-cure, and an abode of peace. For nearly a year now shells have been screaming: through this still retreat. Nleuport, where the great battle lines through France and Flanders rest tne flanks upon the North Sea sands, lies two miles southwest of the bathing: re. sort. Here is the terminus for the rai way from Dlxmude, a brisk morning' walk distant. The beach shelves ou very slowly, and at low tide the waters slip back for a great stretch, while the prevalent west wind drives the uncov. erel sands Into dunes, or whirls them into the little cottages back from th shore. The Yser, that most contested of tiny streams, runs Just to the north of the resort, and Its waters provided excellent fishinfT for the reflective Summer guests who passed by Ostend to the south. Nieuport-Bains was quite a modern resort, lis foundation going back only to 1SS9. It possessed a fine pier, ex tending from the mouth of the Tser 1500 yards out to sea. and from a cats that stood nearby fine views could be obtained of Dunkirk and Ostend, those two towns that now might just as well be in separate planets for all the com munlcatlon that is possible between. them. SOCIAX BETTKnaEEXT THEORT TAKING OVER MI-'VERAfj LA.XD9 rj v- n.mner.1. In Southern I ouicr nation, snorx oi money put. long dry' atatea oppose woman suffrage ror on physical strength, will come over he same reason that they support pro. I u m... h Ihl rlnn hM-stiK of 1 1 hpsrlne rn the I ' ro. n,.A.tir. Th r.r fh.t h. an. As there 1 an Impression that one franchising negro women as well as only needs to pick a living off the trees negro men In the black belt. It would "i,na "l orviuu,. .nhnc th. dlfflrultv of keenlne- the excite surprise. Perhaps the people ne i hi. r.in. R..fTrn oHt. re. are too exhausted by fighting to pick ply that in nine of the fifteen Southern tho "I raust have lt Put ln thelr States having a large negro population white women outnumber the total ne gro population and that In the entire mouths. Premier Gounaris, of Greece, "lasted So..th there aro i ooo 000 more w rhita quick" after the new Parliament had women than nerro men and women opportunity to exprea its opinion or combined, nesro women outnumberlnr "aa uajb tor peace white women In Mississippi and South cabinets ln Europe Carolina alone. Tha suffraara amend ment mleht fall of early ratification The men who went into prnnes ln through rejection by the fifteen South- Clarke County a quarter century ago e.rn States, but the odds are with the d stayed with them are doing very suffragists, for a state can reconsider well this year. The crop is estimated rejection but cannot reconsider ratlfl- to net. sjju.uuu cation. Kurrrage was defeated in the House I That quake on the border yesterday at the last session by a vote of 204 to morning waa Intended to Jog the taxy 174. which la 78 less than the neces- sleepers into activity, a sort or auo- sary two-thirds, but It will have many terranean affair not charged to uer- more friends In the new Congress. It I mans. finds more favor amonar Republicans than among Democrats, for 30 per cent I Alabama lynched two negroes within of the Democrats voted for and 0 per I ten miles of Montgomery yesterday- cent against the amendment, while 69 and all the blacks were charged with per cent of the Republicans supported I was poisoning mules. and 38 per rent opposed It What a bloodthirsty official is tne Mayor of Atlanta, who attempts to condone the crimes of the Frank lynchers, not immediately be made to pay it mifrht lie there for years with only light taxes to be paid upon It and still contain (be richest mineral lodes in the state, were the opprrtunity only given fjor thttir prater development. Furthermore, the average prospector cannot afford to pay out directly an amount of money necessary to purchase a mining claim whenever he finds prospect. Every great mine must have at one time been a prospect, but every prospect does not make a mine. There- tore, should he be unable to make pay. it would be well to let lt again be open to relocation. Purchase of the ground would forbid this, while tempo rary location would not. It is for these reasons I still believe the Federal Government should take over the mineral lands of the laml f grant and protect them from immedf ate sale. In the bands of Individuals or companies they might stand Idle for years, but when once under supervision of the Government they are oven at all times to the prospector, and. where a field for labor Is left open, the devel opment of Oregon's mineral resources may be assured. WADE V. LEWIS. It would seem that a nice sene of decency would prevent Judge Hilljer from presiding at trials growing out of th Colorado coal strikes without aa order from th Supreme Court of th( state to rrvlnMt him- Aa attorney SI3.aee.aas BKQltsT SITRNED. lt seems like a fairy' tale to tell about a man refusing a bequest of $15,000,000. a bequest with no strings" whatever attached to it. All h had to do was to sign the papers. take over the money and spend it as he pleased. And yet Father William Graham, of St. Patrick's Church In A recall election is much like mar riage before the days of easy divorce. Once ln, one can't get out. Continued talk of conscription In to Pittabur'g. Pa, turned down a bequest p1 Bf"1" te preparing the way of that amount left to him aa next of tho inevitable. kin by an uncle In Australia. It seems that almost anybody could find use for a "pot of money" like that. But Father Graham says, "I have no desires to add to my burdens wealth that would bring no satisfac tion; I have enough for my needs, and I am nearly SO. Give It to relatives w ho need It." It seems that a man refusing such a gift must be lacking in Ideals. Al most everybody has at one time or another had "dreams" of what he would do If he should come into a large sum of money. More than likely Father Graham, at least when a youngster, had such "dreams." But he must hsve forgotten them. Later in lire, after assuming his clerical robes, he must have had "dreams" ss to what he would do for the church were he to fall into possession of great wealth. If he had he has forgotten them, for he has spurned the means that could have mada them a reality. A German submarine sank a Span ish steamship yesterday Just to irri tate Alfonso. Zeppelins again are trimming the English coast, with a few incidental casualties. Less than two weeks In which to make up a big deficiency in Oregon rainfall. Germans are only E50 miles from Petrograd, a striking distance for them. Thistles are scattering their seeds and somebody is neglecting a duty. Haitien rebels can see their finish in harassing foreigners. The Beavers are bumping the bot tom. - Wade V. Lewis Presents Argument 1 Dlapoaltloa of O. fc C. Lands. PORTLAND. Aug. 16. (To the Ed itor.) The writer appreciates H. N. Laurie's most comprehensive explana tlon of his plan regarding the disposi tion of mineral lands within the Oregon & California Company's grant lands as presented in The Sunday Oregonian August 15, in reply to my friendly criticism one week previous. Mr. Lau riss plan shows thought and study and I believe we will all agree he brings out some excellent points relating to the disposition of hydro-electric, sites. agricultural, grazing, and waste lands, and the mineral lands non-metal in character. There Is one point, however, to which I wish to call attention as undesirable namely, that the mineral lands contain ing metals such as gold, sliver, copper and lead be sold directly to Individuals or companies In tracts of land either large or small. According to the plan set forth the mineral lands are "to be sold to the highest bidder in no more than 2560-acre tracts." Mineral lands are one of the princi ple sources of a nations wealth and when sold directly to individuals they are taken .out of the public field for metal prospecting. In other words, when a tract of mineral-bearing ground Is purchased by any person, all others must abstain from prospecting upon It because It then becomes private property. When it is a part of the pub lic domain it Is a .field for labor open to all who desire to search for precious metals. In the course of his communication Mr. Laurie makes this statement: "It is my opinion that the metal prospector would be assisted more by being able to acquire Immediate title to such land that he finds valuable for its metal content, than be forced to comply wtth the legal requirement!) of doing yearly assessment work of $100 on each and every claim 30 acres In extent." As a matter of fact, the law only requires a cut or excavation 10 feet long. 6 feet deep and 4 feet wide yearly on .each mining claim 600 feet wide and 1500 feet in length, or 20 acres in extent It appears to the writer that if the prospector is not willing to do this amount of work annually upon his claim of 20 acres, if the mineral values found therein do not warrant an exca vation of this size in shaft or tunnel which usually takes but a few days for actual labor (except In extremely hard rock formations), if ho cannot spend If necessary two weeks out of the whole year in doing the small amount of work required by law, then I say let him vacate the ground and give some other person a chance to develop It. This is the natural result when the as sessment work required by law is not done. It Is taken as evidence that the ground cannot be made to pay for Its mineral values and is open to reloca tion again by any who may so desire. In this way the development of the state's mineral resources would not be retarded should the land In question revert to the Government. Whereas, were these lands to be once sold di rectly to individuals or companies, then the opportunity of the prospector ever to discover mineral on them Is forever taken away. Those In possession of the ground would retain it regardless of whether it really was paying ln min eral values, and no law would compel the owners to do any development work In order to hold title to it. If it could Many Attempts Xea to Rain, Says C E. Wnlalar, f Medford. MEDFORD, Or- Aug. 17. "(To the Editor.) While it may be questionable whether a state constitution should de prive a State Legislature of the privi lege of passing minimum wags laws, as is being advocated by William Barnes and others of the New York constitu tional committee, yet the issue Is cer tainly worthy of some careful consid eration. The complaint of the prophet of old that "My people perish for want of knowledge'' is ever true, and If some means eould be provided whereby they could be saved from themselves their social welfare would truly be enhanced. While civilized nations "are acting on the theory that the welfare of the citi zen is the concern of the state." they are doing many foolish things in a futile endeavor to promote that wel fare. Social betterment always was and al ways will be the concern of the state, but many an attempt at social better ment has only been proved to be but a short cut to social ruin. Social bet terment through a minimum wage when given a local application can bring but one answer, and that is financial and social disaster. lt must be conceded that the cost of labor affects the cost of production; that the cost of production affects the selling price: that the selling price af fects the consumption: that the con sumption of the article produced af fects the industry which employs la bor ln its production; that competition affects profit; that every article in the whole world la in competition with every other article of like nature, and that the lowest price asked fixes the standard of value. Therefore if the industries of one lo cality are compelled to offer their products of labor at a higher price than is the same article from some other locality, the law of self-interest on the part of the consumer soon puts the industry out of business which trying to operate under this handi cap, and labor finds itself unemployed at any wage, and thus social ruin re- suits from a foolish attempt at social betterment along theoretical, visionary and impractical lines. It is rather far fetched to say that minimum wage laws follow as a nat ural sequence to education at public expense." In the case of education the one paying for it, whoever it may be, is supposed to get value received: but the use or consumption of an ar ticle that has been manufactured un der a minimum wage, the party payin for Jt does not get value received, pro vided the same article oould have been purchased at a lesa price and which is almost Invariably the case. For government to fix the price of labor through a minimum wage is t fix the cost of the article produced therefore, the government should com pel Industry to produce at a give price, it at once becomes incumbent upon the government to guarantee tha price plus a reasonable profit to th industry, otherwise capital is robbed its opportunity, and self-interes under the theory that "a bird in th hand is worth two in the bush" puts money ln the bank, buys cheap bond or lets it out at low interest; as a re sult industry languishes, labor Is out of employment and minimum wag clearly proved to be- but a boomerang. The public appears in that silly po sition of inviting capital to promote in dustry, but is filling the air with boomerangs, and then appears to won der at industrial stagnation. Is it any wonder that men with good business sagacity and common sense view with alarm the prevalent ten dency of the people to destroy them selves through freak legislation and that they will endeavor to put some virtue into the constitution that will safeguard public welfare? What else s the committee for? What is the con stitution for? C. E. WHISLER. .Twenty-Five Year Ago' PORTLAND INSPIRES SOUTHERNER .Runs ta Cribbaxe. PORTLAND, Aug. 17. (To the Ed itor.) Kindly give authority for an swer to "Constant Reader" in issue of August 14 regarding runs ln cribbage. I maintain that B Is right when he claims a run of six and that there is no run of 2-3-4, as the 6 following the 2 breaks the run. The cards as played are 1-6-2-4-1-5 and there Is no run completed until the 5 is played and that S or T If played following the 5 would continue the run. An answer through your paper win oe appreciated. CR1BBAGE FAN." There is no run, because the cards were not played ln sequence. In order to count a run the cards should have been played: 1-2-3-4-5-6 or 6-5-4-3-2-1. Even according to your Interpretation of the rules A would have no run, for the 6 broke the run. Yes. CHERRTVILLE. Or., Aug. 16. (To the Editor.) Please state if a home steader has a right to sell his home stead after making final proof, all be- ng found O. K. at local land office. without patent from United States Land Office. READER. Perfectly Proper. Motor Age. I am afraid this comnanv is dninar Fusinees on an inflated Capital!" tes.-but then it deals in automobile tires." San Antonio, Tex., Visiter Finds Mneh Worthy of Comment. PORTLAND. Aug. 17. (To the Ed ltor.) As a resident of the grand Lone Star State I do not wish to depart from rortlantL without ottering my tribute of praise for the many attractions, the amazing beauty of these fir-crowned hills that nature has assembled for our beautiful homes and the Joy and delight of tourists from distant states. My appreciation is not so much for the ne streets so gloriously electrified at night, your stately architecture, the almost perennial rose bloom, which in the wondrous beauty of your Spring Festival Moore might have rhapsodized over as he did about the Vale of Cash mere in "Lalla Rookh" perfect as these all are Portland Oregon seems to have the premier Summer climate of the Pacltic Coast. The past two weeks have been so de. lightful to me. 'twould be a privilege linger forever. The temperature most of the time is so pleasantly cool even in full sunshine, that one may walk many blocks without fatigue. Al though by reason of age I have lost out as a worker, my strength and en ergy are so rejuvenated that were it not that I might disturb the home la bor market, I would go out and hustle for a job. I am perfectly resigned for the other fellow to work, while enjoy ment Is mine for every holy hour of my visit. And may the hours length en to days and weeks. We In the South have heard much of the excessive rainfall ln Oregon; that it "rains most of the time, even ln Summer." In such respect I surely am happily disappointed. Surely one can well bear the Winter rains, which are so highly valuable, knowing the Sum mer will be dry and free from the al most unbearable heat wave in states far inland during July and August. What a glorious future Portland will have, surrounded by imperial valleys whose products will go to many states and countries over seas. San Antonio. Tex., is largely supplied with Oregon apples ln Inter. . , So far my Jaunts around the city disclose some new, novel and wonder fully pleasing features. In all my trav els I have never seen such a combina tion of art, architecture, engineering with nature ln all her glory so near to a great city, close in. as displayed on Mount Tabor, Council Crest and last, but more fairly thrilling, my climb up into wasningion or uity arK, on Sun day. All of Central Park, New York, or Fairmount, Philadelphia, is not sucb a wonder and delight to the jaded man from far Southwest as the vista buena vista, from the roof of Wash ington Park, encircled, by heights whose fir-clad summits stand forever as nature's sentinels over the queen city of the Pacific. For the second time I have made The long Journey in part to gaze on that chef d'ouvre ln bronze, "The Coming of tho White Man." It commemorates an epic in American history almost Ho merian, eloquent of a romantic past. prophetic of Portland's assured fu ture when America's merchant marine comes to its own and the ships from Portland will sail the seven seas, lou will have over 1.000,000 population by 1930, for, as Emerson, with prophetic vision, wrote, 50 years ago: r hear the tread of pioneers, of nations yet to be; The first low wash of human waves. Where soon shall roll a human sea. The Pacific for Portland's commerce will be an "American lake," as Lewis Cubs expressed it in 1850. Benton: There is the East, there is India. JOHN A. WTT.T.KV, San Antonio. Prom The Oregonian of Aurust 10. 1S90. Washington-Oregon fares better in the river and harbor bill than ever before. With Mr. Hermann on the House committee and Mr. Dolph on the Senate committee, the state .stands third in the list. If anyone wishes to form an idea of the amount of business carried on In Portland he should spend an hour or so on the upper roadway of tha Steel bridge during the afternoon and watch the switch engines at work ln the terminal grounds, and the teams coming and going with freight. At least half a dozen engines can be seen at work as busy as nailers almost any time. It may be set down for a fact that there is more business going on aroupd the railroad sards hero than ln the yards of all the other cities of the Northwest. Teams were passing backward and forward over the washed gravel on Front street yesterday and everybody seemed happy and business flowed like a river. The clay which raised Cain when it was wet made plain sailing for everybody when lt got dry. lt is devoutly to be wished that nothing more may be heard of a stoppage of traffic again and that no more people .will ask for washed gravel streets.. Narva, Russia. Today being the fes tival of the patron saint of the Pre obraskeneky regiment, the Czar and Emperor William of Germany attended divine services in camp and afterward in the church. In the- evening a ban quet was given in honor of the vis itors. London. Davis Dalton, an American, has accomplished the feat of swim ming the English Channel from Gris Nez to Folkestone on his back in 23 4 hours. He finished strong. A boat acted as pilot to the swimmer. From all sections of Oregon and Washington come reports of unex ampled yields of wheat of the very finest quality. The probability of a good price for the season's crop and consequent prosperity have made farmers correspondingly jubilant. Half a Century Ago From The Oregoulan. Aurust 10, 1665. The rebel ex-Governor Harris, it ap pears, has escaped to Mexico. Another seditious villain flying from the knives which he sharpened against his coun try and its laws. City Marshal Hoyt is making a busi ness of arresting persons for fast driv ing. It is a violation of a city ordi nance to drive faster than at a rate of six miles per hour. Why this ordi nance has not been enforced ln past times is only a mystery. A Drettv little srirl of about five Sum mers was lost from her ''parents on Thursday evening In this city. When missed there was considerable excite ment following the announcement, which led to a thorough search for her. When found she had wandered about a mile from her parents, who are new comers to the state. We are informed that Colonel Curry, commanding the military department. has issued orders for the abandonment of Fort Walla walla by the united States troops. The troops from Walla Walla will be sent, lt is said, to points from whence they can operate more readily and efficiently against the In dians. Masters of vessels inform us that there is a shoal of about 2i feet in leneth at the mouth of this river which should receive the first attentions of tha dredeer. It is soft bottom and can easily be removed in a short time. Fort Laramie For the 16 days end- ine June 30. 1865, 2227 teams passed Junction Overland Mail Road bound West. The number of horses, mules and oxen and other cattle with these teams is nearly 18.000. Nearly as many passed for the 14 days ending June 14. And during the month of May over 5000 teams and 40,000 head of stock passed the same point bound West- It will not take many years at this rate to erect states on the broad prairies ef the West and build cities on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. CITY FAILS IN SMALL THINGS One f the "Little People" Among Vis itors Points Ont Few. PORTLAND, Aug. 18. (To the Edi tor.) An article in your paper of Au gust 18, entitled "City is Losing Out." s of especial interest to me because. as a tourist, I belong to the great mass of "little people" who stop at the small hotel3, eat at cafeterias and ride on streetcars. It is very impolite for a guest to find fault, but since Mr. H. H. Haynes has introduced the subject. I would suggest that It would add to our convenience if the street signs were more numerous and uniformly isplayed. There are also many places In the city where tree advertising of parks, public buildings, etc., might be most profitably distributed. Portland is indeed a beautiful city. So far as I know, tourists are favorably Impressed, except that a few are think ing that the people are too slow. Some of them when they go away will carry this impression with them as a souvenir of the city. As a single illustration: I arrived here on a 3:30 P, M. train from Seattle. My attention was attracted to a fine, large sign at the Union Station giving the direction to the Y. W. C. A. aa Seventh and Taylor streets. Naturally, when I looked for Seventh and Taylor could net find it because a year or more ago Seventh street was changed to Broadway, ln order to keep up with the times, why did not the Y. W. C A. change their sign? This is only a little incident, but a few experiences like this are confusing, especially to people wno are not es corted by the Chamber of Commerce. However, as I leave your city, I shall try to forKet these little annoyances. They are as nothing compared to the pleasure derived from my visit here. After all, it is infinitely better to be too slow than to be noisy and bom bastic in exaggerated praise of Port land. This spirit, so noticeable in eisrhboring cities, is absent here. You are to be congratulated. MISS CECILS ESTY. New Hotel Green. Corroborative Detail. Washington Post. It doesn't follow that a man is serious simply because he Is always sending a girl sweets and conserves." "I don't know about that. I should take such presents aft a candled ex pression." t Question For Manufacturer s Mr. Manufacturer, what per centage of your advertising is going to the places where you actually have distribution? Is part of your appropriation covering places where there is never even the remotest hope of distribution? If so, you have not brought your campaign to a basis of highest profit. Advertising can be directed as surely as rifle shots by the news paper route, and by that route only.