THE 3IORXIXO OREGOXIAX. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1915. "
mxxm
PORTLAND, OREGON.
Entered at Portland, Oregon, Postoffice as
lecond'Cl&u mktter.
Subscription Rates Invariably in advanSe.
(By Mall.)
Xaily, Sunday Included, one year S8.O0
XJauy. bundiy included, six montns. ...
Daily, Sunday Included, three months.
Laliy, Sunday included, one month....
Liaiiy, without Sunday, one year
at!y, without Suuaa-, six months....
Dai', without Sunday, three months..
JLailv. without Sunday, one month
'Weekly one year......................
4.2
6.0y
3.25
.00
l.OU
Sunday, one year. 2.50
Sunday and Weekly, one year 3.o0
(By Carrier.)
Dally, Sunday Included, one year 9.00
Daily. Sunday included, one month ti
How to Remit Send nostoffice money or.
der, express order or personal check on your
local bank. Stamps, com or currency are
at sender's risk. Give postoffice address In
;un, including; county and state.
Portage Kates 12 to 1 pages. 1 cent; IS
to 32 Danes. 2 cents: 34 to 48 naees. 3 cents
f0 to tio cages. 4 cents: 52 to 76 pages, a
tents ; 7S to 12 pages. 6 cents. Foreign
postage, double rates.
Eastern Business Offices Veree & Conk
Hn, Brunswick building. New York; "Veree
& Cunklln, Steger building, Chicago; San
Krancisco representative, K. J. iiidwell. 742
Market street.
PORTLAND. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 1, 1913.
THE LUMBER "TRUST" BROKEN.
The abused and cheated consumer
has at last got the wicked lumber
trust on Its back. The lumber trust,
be it understood, is that gigantic com
bination of plutocrats which has been
investing millions in our forests and
which has been cutting our trees into
lumber and filling up our trains for
shipment of their product into our
domestic markets, and loading ships
not our ships but any ships for dis
patch to the remote sections of the
globe. About fifty per cent of all labor
employed in Oregon was directly or
indirectly concerned in the lumber
industry. The word "was" is used
advisedly.
But how is it now? The Pinchot
reservationists became alarmed and
instituted their policy of withdrawals,
making it more costly than ever to get
logs and operate mills; and the tariff
tinkers got in their work, so that the
"trust" would have the competition
of Canadian and other mills. The
object of the one was to make timber
bo precious that it would be held for
unborn generations; and the object
of the other was to make lumber so
cheap that everybody could afford to
buy.
Lumber is ideally cheap, but nobody
buys. . There is something wrong.
Some think it is the tariff, and others
think it is Pinchotism, and still others
over-production and over-capitaliza
tion. But, whatever it is, labor is not
employed, capital is in distress, and
the timber is rotting in the reserves
Perhaps there has been some kind
of a mistake about the lumber "trust.'
The men who, independent of one
another, build logging roads into the
timber and erect mills on the streams
of Oregon, and enter into active com
petition for the sale of their output
are strangely unlike an organization in
restraint of trade. They are builders
of industry, employers of labor. Yet
they are loosely denounced as timber
barons, and they are regarded as
despoilers of the public domain.
Or they were. Just now the opinion
Is gaining headway that if the mills
could be started and men put to work,
the state would be the gainer. The
empty dinner pail is a real educator.
The basis of prosperity is work at good
wages. It is not demoralized markets.
idle men, stagnant industry. The con
Fumer is not helped if the producer is
bankrupt.
HOW TO GET KID OF BOSSES.
Ex-Senator Root's denunciation of
bossism is simply a repetition in
choicer and more vigorous language of
that which has been said again and
again for several decades until such
outDursts attract only passing atten
tion. New men occasionally are
elected to office in defiance of bosses,
but they either become bosses or the
tools of bosses themselves, or they are
defeated by the bosses after serving
a single term. New parties are organ
ized to combat bossism, but they soon
full under the power of bosses.
Boss rule is not a symptom of innate
depravity in the American people. iVe
do not deliberately choose to be ruled
by a boss or an "invisible govern
ment." The secret lies in our carrying
the rule of the people to 'such an
extreme that the people have not time
to do all the ruling which their laws
Impose upon them. They neglect it
between elections and pay only spas
modic nttention to it at elections. The
result is that politics has become a
business in which few men specialize.
As every business requires a directing
mi, nitr iuui til &p t.-ijict lie-la in cilcil
state, city or county elevates one man
to leadership, and he becomes the
boss. Ho and his lieutenants attend
to business all the time; the mass of
voters nuenn to it only at intervals.
Hence the boss has his way and looks
lirst after the interest of his machine,
riving the public interest only enough
attention to prevent a revolt.
The people can only rout the bosses
finally by taking a lively, continuous
Interest in their own affairs. If this
lia Ann nnnnlar Kutn ,.-111 V r-.l
and maintained without the aid of any
of the new devices for its restoration.
If the people remain indifferent, the
bosses will find ways of -governing
tnem in spite or initiative, reterendum,
recall, direct primary, short ballot and
every other engine of direct nomina
tion and legislation.
Mr. Root's panacea, the short ballot,
has the one merit of helping to remove
the causes of public neglect of public
affairs. The people have become indif
ferent because there are too many
elections and too many officials to
elect. In their Jealousy for a voice in
everything and in their unwillingness
to trust any official with extensive
appointive power, they have insisted
upon electing everybody from Presi
dent to constable. It is impossible for
them to discriminate among a multi
tude of candidates for a multitude of
offices. The result is that power to
dictate election of all officers falls into
the hands of the boss, whom the
people do not elect, do not trust, but
cannot depose.. In just the degree
that the short ballot would increase
the ability of the voter to discriminate
between good and bad candidates and
to fasten upon any official the respon
sibility for wrongdoing without pos
sibility of evasion, the short ballot will
strengthen the people and weaken the
bosses. Unless, however, the people
exercise constant vigilance, the boss
will find a way to circumvent the short
ballot, as he has broken every other
-nrb that has been put upon him.
Eternal vigilance is the price of lib
erty from bosses as from every other
species of tyrant.
Everything Is topsy turvey in dis
tracted Mexico. Even Cupid disports
himself crazily. When men fight over
& woman nobody thinks anything of it.
Nature has so decreed, as anybody may
learn by reading Thomson's "Spring."
But in Mexico the women fight and
kill one another over the men, using
knives to do the work. This is' carry
ing revolution a trifle too far.
STORM DOES ONE GOOD THING.
If the Galveston storm should result
in abandonment of the Army post at
Texas City, some good will come out
of the great evil it has done. The
post is badly located, far from the
Mexican border, and has always
caused dissatisfaction among troops
that were sent there. Its selection
seems to have had no other reason
than to please some Texas Congress
man. Texas City is one of 176 posts among
which our Army of 8S.000 men is dis
tributed. The German army, which in
peace times is nearly ten times as
strong, had sixteen big camps before
the war, with a few more than a score
of other places where troops were
regularly quartered. Through having
few posts, Germany mobilized her vast
army in much less time than, during
President Taft's administration, was
occupied by the United States in con
centrating.25,000 men on the Mexican
border. We should by all means make
the most of our diminutive Army by
so distributing it that mobilization can
be completed in the shortest possible
time.
There are many other Army posts
as useless as that at Texas City. Ail
of these should be abolished, and only
a few large posts retained where
entire brigades could be concentrated
Only tremendous pressure from public
opinion can induce Congress to make
this change, for the posts have been
carefully distributed with a view to
rallying a majority to the support of
any posts which it is proposed to abol.
ish. There is an Army post phalanx,
as there is a river and harbor phalanx
and a public building phalanx
VACCINATION FOB TYPHOID.
One of the most valuable triumphs
of modern scientific methods is the
production of the anti-typhoid vaccine
The use of this wonderful preventive
has almost extirpated typhoid fever
from the United States Army. In the
year 1898 we had 10,000 troops en
camped in Florida. More than 2000
cases of typhoid occurred among them.
One man in every five was attacked by
this filth disease, and we know from
saddened memory how many perished.
INOte the contrast caused by the use
of vaccine. In 1911 we had 20,000
men similarly encamped, with but two
cases of typhoid. The rest of them
had won immunity through the use
of the beneficent vaccine. Popular
confidence in this great scientific
boon is growing. Last year
about 100,000 people were successfully
vaccinated, thus acquiring immunity
to typhoid fever. This year it is esti
mated that immunity will be conferred
upon some 300,000 people. After
treatment with the vaccine they need
not stand in drear", of drinking water.
Even if they happen to swallow the
typhoid germs no harm can ensue.
Vaccination for typhoid is a very
simple affair. A small puncture is
made in the arm, as for smallpox, but
the wound is trifling. Physicians say
that no scab is formed and the punc
ture heals with only a little reddening
of the skin. The immunity once
acquired lasts several years, but prob
ably not for a lifetime. The operation
must be repeated now and then, but
who would mind a little trouble in
order to procure immunity against a
disease like typhoid, which lurks insid
iously almost everywhere in drinking
water? Few remember what a scourge
this disease can be when conditions
are favorable for it. We know of two
young men who acquired typhoid this
Summer at a fishing hut on the Colum
bia, where they were working. Of
course, bad water was the medium.
They went home for treatment and
quickly contaminated a cistern from
which the household water was drawn.
The whole family fell sick in regular
order, and now, were it not for the
ministrations of the neighbors, their
situation would be hopeless. Timely-
vaccination would have prevented all
their trouble.
NAVAL STRATEGY IN THE BALTIC.
It has been generally assumed that
the main German fleet is retained in
the Baltic for the purpose of avoiding
a decisive engagement with the Brit
ish grand fleet. There is another
motive, second only in importance. So
long as Germany has naval supremacy
the Baltic, the British commercial
blockade is to a large degree nullified.
Commerce with -.Sweden is uninter
rupted, and, through Sweden and in a
less degree through Norway, traffic
with the outer world is maintained.
Germany thus receives at Baltic ports
a large part of the goods which the
blockade excludes from North Sea
ports. Access of British ships to Rus
sian ports for transport of troops and
munitions is prevented by German
warships. The Baltic has been used
by Germany to transport troops to
the coast of Courland and the Gulf of
Riga for attack on the Russian right
wing. These are the fruits of naval
supremacy in the Baltic.
Could Britain send a sufficient fleet
into the Baltic to aid Russia in wrest
ing this supremacy from Germany, a
serious blow would be dealt at her
enemy. Russia would be protected
against naval incursions, and a direct
route for transport of troops and
munitions to Petrograd and Riga
would be opened. Germany could be
completely isolated from the world
oversea through blockade of Baltic
ports. British warships are as free to
enter the Baltic as the Russian fleet
was free to come out during the war
with Japan.
The British navy seems to keep out
of the Baltic because to go in would
endanger its supremacy and the lanes
of commerce on the high seas. Divi
sion of the fleet might give Germany
an opportunity to send h. fleet
through the Kiel canal and fight the
North Sea fleet on equal terms. If
Germany chose the alternative of
keeping her fleet in the Baltic, the
British invaders would be in danger
of torpedo attack in the straits. The
sound between Denmark and Swede
is so narrow that the British line could
not exert its full power on emerging
into the Baltic Aid would be exposed
to destruction in detail by the Ger
mans. The best that the British seem able
to do with safety to themselves is to
send submarines through the straits to
aid the Russians in repelling attack on
the coast and to pick off an occasional
German ship. They did good service
of this kind In the naval battle of the
Gulf of Riga, disposing of one capi
tal ship. Should they send a squad
ron of submarines to use Russian
ports as a refuge, and should Germany
continue her offensive at sea, these
vessels might possibly pick off enough
battleships to give Russia a chance at
victory on the sea. The straits being
neutral, Germany cannot lawfully fill
them with traps for submarines, such
as have been set in the English Chan
nel to render the transport route to
France- safe. Destroyers being the best
protection against submarines, loss of
many vessels of this type oft Riga was
a serious blow to Germany.
These possibilities must have
impressed on the Kaiser the advantage
of pushing his armies northward
towards Petrograd. Capture of the
Russian Baltic ports by land would
deprive Russia and Britain of their
naval bases and "might cause the loss
of the Russian battle fleet. The Riga
repulse has, for the time at least,
thwarted his plans and raised his
enemies' hopes of gaining the upper
hand.
MURDERER HANGED PROMPTLY.
By the hanging of George Joseph
Smith, the murderer of his brides,
English justice has once more proved
its superiority to that of the United
States. Smith married three .women,
one aXter another, and a few days
after each wedding killed his bride in
a bath. Hence the case became
known as the "brides-in-bath". case.
On June 2 3, a few days after the third
death. Smith was brought to trial,
on July 1 he was sentenced to death
and a few weeks later he was hanged.
Justice was sure and swift.
Had this case been tried in the
United States, a week or more would
probably have been consumed in se
lecting a jury. The taking of testi
mony would have been interlarded
with objections, exceptions and argu
ments on points of law. A plea of
insanity would have opened the way
for a flood of expert testimony, so
contradictory as to confuse judge and
jury and to be worse than worthless.
A conviction would almost surely have
been followed by an appeal to se
cure a new trial and in case this was
denied, by an application for a habeas
corpus writ and to the Governor for
a pardon. If Smith's prosecutors had
been able to avoid all these pitfalls
and to land him on the gallows, their
success would have been hailed as the
result of luck rather than skill, and
the sentimental, forgetting all about
the murdered brides, would have said:
"Poor fellow! It's a shame to hang
him after he tried so hard to get off.
Our laws for the punishment of
crime are substantially the same as
those of England, but we have dressed
them up in a lot of trimmings which
clog the machinery. Lawyers and
judges are more attentive to the ob
servance of a certain ritual than to
the doing of Justice. Judges counte
nance time-consuming oratory and ex
change of billingsgate by lawyers.
We have been waiting for generations
for the lawyers to reform the law
themselves. Our only hope that it
will be done seems to be that the
laymen will undertake the job and
put it through.
WHAT WILL GERMANY DO NEXT?
The questions now being asked
about the war are: How far will the
Germans pursue the Russians before
settling down to an entrenched line.
or before the Russians establish such
a line in sufficient strength to stop the
advance? Will the Germans then
attempt a similar drive in the west, or
will they try to hew a way through
Serbia or Bulgaria to carry help to
Turkey?
As to the first question, the answer
must be influenced to som-e degree by
the purpose of beginning the drive
against Russia. It was begun in seri
our ernest last Fall, when the advance
to Calais had failed and when Austria
was breaking under Russian blows. It
was aimed at Warsaw, first from the
west, then from the north. When both
these attacks failed and Austria was
being hard pressed in the Carpathians,
t was turned to Western Galicia. The
one purpose, however, was not to
occupy cities or provinces so much
to break the Russian army into
great fragments, to capture or destroy
these fragments, and to put Russia out
of business. Then what little mili
tary force Russia could muster could
be held at bay by a relatively small
force, while Germany threw her main
army against France, and Austria
threw hers against Italy.
As to how far the Germans had
attained their end up to the capture
of Warsaw, Stanley Washburn, cor
respondent of the London Times with
the Russian forces, gives the best
available information. He reviews the
campaign from the attack on the Dun
ajec lines and gives Germany full
credit for great victories, but says:
But she has not destroyed the armies, she
has not discouraged the troops. The plain
tacts are that oy a preponderance of re
sources which Russia could not equal, sup
plied over lines of communication which
Russia could not duplicate, she forced Rus
sian withdrawals before her, tor men cannot
tight with their fists. The glory of the
German advance will be halved when the
world knows exactly what Russia had in
men and arms and munitions to meet this
assault, the greatest perhaps that has ever
been made in military history. The Rus
sians have come through their trial of fire.
With the exception of one army, now recon
stituted, they have probably suffered far less
in personnel than their enemies. The Ger
mans have shot their first bolt, a bolt
forged from every resource in men and muni
tions that they couid muster after months
of preparation. The Russians have recoiled
before it and may recoil again and again,
but they always elude its aim.
The force which Germany hurled
against the Dunajec line is estimated
by Mr. Washburn at sixteen corps, with
'not fewer than 2000 guns equal to or
exceeding the eight-inch types,"
against three or four corps of Russians.
Of the result of the battle to the latter
he says:
I have not heard that there was any
panic or attempt to retreat on the part of
the troops. In characteristic Russian fash
ion they lemalned. For miles behind the
line the torn up ground was covered with
mangled bodies and fragments of shells. It
is currently stated that th Germans fired
700,000 shells in three hours.
The . center having been cut away,
nothing remained but for all five of the
Russian armies to retire, including two
which were far through the Carpa
thians towards Hungary. They did so
in such good order that one army
accounted for 20,000 to 30,000 hostile
troops, and the remnant of the Duna
jec army tore up railroads and fought
as it withdrew to the San. Upon los
ing Przemysl the Russians resolved to
retire to their own frontier and fought
the battles near Lemberg only to pro
tect their rear and to inflict as much
loss as possible on the enemy. The
army was withdrawn from the East
ern Carpathians in such good fighting
trim that in six weeks it captured
53,000 prisoners. When the capture
of the Lublin-Cholm railroad on the
south and of the-Narew river line on
the north made 'Warsaw untenable, a
further retreat was resolved on. War
saw was abandoned, and the forts west
of it were held only to protect the
retreat and to occupy the Germans.
The same policy dictated retirement
each of the Kovno, Bialystok and
Brest-Litovsk line, and defense of
these fortresses was only te cover
retreat.
As the German aim was to cut up,
capture and destroy the Russian
armies, the Russian purpose was to
keep those armies "in being" by evad
ing envelopment. The Germans have
captured large numbers of prisoners
and guns, but have so far failed of
their main purpose. The Russians
have gained their main purpose, for,
though greatly reduced In size, their
armies still exist and have inflicted
serious losses on the enemy. In May
and June alone the Germans are said
to have estimated their own losses in
killed, wounded and missing at 3 80,000
men.
The distance to which the Germans
will continue the pursuit into the heart
of Russia in baffled hope of a decision
is contingent upon the extent to which
they can safely lengthen their com
munications and divide their troops
along an extended front. If they
should halt of their own accord they
would give Russia time to gather new
forces .and new "material in her vast
interior. If they should go forward
they might take Riga. Petrograd and
even Moscow and Odessa. They would
risk disaster, but not such as befelf
N.apoleon, for he had no aircraft to
guard against surprise and to spy out
the enemy's position, ' nor railroads to
keep up communications!
If the Russian army should continue
to evade capture of its large units, and
if the Germans should continue the
pursuit, no considerable part of the
latter's troops could be transferred to
the scene of a new offensive. More
could be spared if the two armies came
to a standsiill, as they did west of
Warsaw last Winter. The Austro
German forces must have been dimin
ished by months of hard fighting, and
the number of men which could be
transferred to the west and south might
not be sufficient to bring the Teutonic
total to more than an equality with
the combined French. Italian and
British forces. But guns count for
more than men. as the Dunajec has
proved. Removal to the west and
south of a large number of heavy guns
may open an offensive as irresistible
as that in Galicia.
No signs are so far apparent of any
such movement, but there have been
many hints of a new offensive against
Serbia. If the expected renewal of
the Balkan League should be realized,
we may see a new drive in that direc
tion. Serbians say they are prepared
and there have been hints that British
troops have gone to that country. Hos
tilities on the Serbian front may solve
the mystery as to where is Kitchener's
army. .
If every child had been ideally edu
cated for the last century, there would
have been no European war. As the
twig is bent the tree's inclined. We
have war because the twigs are bent
to war. Thus far we agree perfectly
with the unanimous opinion of the
National Educational Association. But
can we, as the association believes,
bend the twig permanently to peace?
The experiment is worth trying if all
the world will join in it. But woe
betides a nation of lambs in a world
of wolves.
Admirably simple must have been
George A. Smith's life on his Douglas
County farm. He traveled, like R. L.
Stevenson, with a burro for comrade.
On his last trip- he had a goat, too, per
haps for milk. Death overtook him on
the trail, and his faithful companions
did not forsake him. His ambition
was to live a hundred years. No doubt
some accident prevented. 'In the world
where he now foregathers with other
good men years are not counted.
Great things are predicted of the
new aeroplane which the American,
Glen H. Curtiss, Is building at Toronto
for the British. It will be fitted for a
flight of 1900 miles and carry a ton
and a half of high explosives. From
this engine of destruction a ton of
dynamite can be aimed at a German
bridge in a single shot. We can
imagine the destruction if it hits the
mark, something that aeroplane mis
siles usually fail to do.
Mrs. Rorer's opinion of mashed
potatoes is a joy to, the afflicted. She
plainly hints that mashing is the worst
possible way to serve that homely
vegetable. The martyred army of res
taurant patrons agree with her. What
are the ingredients of a helping of
mashed potato? Echo answers what?
Imagination suggests the direst possi
bilities. A potato boiled in the skin
and served hot is a delicious viand.
Mashed, it is fodder.
Every district school in the state
should have on its reference table or
teacher's desk a copy of the Oregon
Blue Book for 1915. The book this
year is' most comprehensive in scope
and is full of matter of value to the
Oregon boy and girl who would learn
the facts about their state that are not
in the textbooks. A request to Secre
tary of State Olcott will bring the
book.
Unitfed States English differs in
many particulars from England's.
There is a suggestion afloat since the
war began to husband our singulari
ties of speech, increase their number
and finally form a separate language
here. This would not be wise. Differ
ences of speech are great promoters
of hostility among nations. We should
try to eliminate, not increase them.
Now it is the Germans who are hold
ing regular but quiet drills In this
country. A few years ago it was the
Japanese who Indulged in this kind
of warlike activity. Some people
delight in scare, while others revel In
humbug.
Foreign money may depreciate, but
the big iron dollar of Uncle Sam buys
one hundred cents' worth anywhere.
Never fear that Europe will cease
buying. The time is near for stocking
up on Winter equipment.'
Resumption of work In the big
Wendlifig mill means a lot to the sec
tion of Lane County.
Is the fall in value of the pound
sterling result of a German plot?
Another Mexican war chief has been
killed, but there are plenty more.
There are enough people in the hop-
yards now to do the picking.
The Spreckels Juniors seem to be
adjusting themselves.
It is a brave man who wears his
straw hat today.
I :
you are welcome to our
Oyster,
midst.
All quiet along the Heiligl
Tag the dog today.
Astoria is calling!
European War Primer
By National Gcofcraphlcal Socley.
WITH the northwestern battle-theater
of the Turks proclaimed by
the war prophets as that where- the
deciding master strokes in this most
titan-like of all struggles are to be
delivered, a sketch of this remarkable
region's past prepared by Harry Gris
wold Dwlght is of more than usual in
terest. Here the west won its self
confidence, and this confidence has borne
fruits with splendid richness for longer
than 2000 years. Here the course of
civilization has been changed and modi'
tied several times, and here, again to
day, the attention of the world is fixed
in the belief that the future of Europe
will once more be determined by events
about to transpire. Mr. Dwight tells
about "The Gates to the Black Sea"
as follows:
"There is something alluring in the
very shape and position of these lakes
the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora
separating as they do the two most
historic continents of our globe, and
communicating with each other and with
the outer seas by openings that seem
miraculous. And those landlocked
waters have been from earliest times,
as they happen again to be today, the
theater of epic events. For us of the
west no legends are older than those of
Zeus and lo, of Phryxus and Helle, of
the Trojan war, of Jason and the Argo,
which commemorate the earliest voy
ages into the Great Lakes of the
Levant,
"Of the two he Marmora the Pro-
pontis, if you prefer to be classical
is by far the smaller. Not much more
than 100 miles long and some 40 miles
across at its broadest part, it is about
the same size as Lake Champlain. The
Marmora has much of the softness of
air, vividness of color, and beauty of
scenery that we associate with the
Aegean and Ionian seas. Thread the
narrow slit of the Bosphorus, however,
and you pass into an entirely different
world sterner, barer, rockier, colder.
"If -the Marmora may be compared
to Lake Champlain, the Black Sea is
about four times the size of our great
est lake. Lake Superior is 412 miles
long by 167 wide, while the Black Sea
has a length of 750 miles and a breadth
of 385. That there is something dark
and unfriendly about it is more than'a
legend. The Bosphorus is 20 miles long,
and at one point of -its tortuous course
the hills of Europe and Asia come wt th
ing 5o0 yards of each other. The Ear
danelles is twice as long and nearly
twice as wide, varying from 1400 yards
to five miles. Its European shore, Gal-
lipoli Peninsula. Is the Thracian Cher
sonese of the ancients, and - its steep
ridge overlooks the plain of Troy on
the Asiatic bank and the broken foot
hills of Mount Ida.
"While its two historic gateways -are
strategically the most important foa
tures of Marmora, that picturesque lit
tle sea has a character ail its own. In
any other part of the world It would
long ago have become a place of so
journ for yachtsmen and summerers. so
happily is it treated by sun and wind,
so amply provided with bays, capes.
islands, mountains, forests and all other
accidents of nature that make glad the
heart of the amateur explorer. As it is
the Marmora remains strangely wild
for a sea that has known so much of
life. More numerous than the ssettle
ments of today are the ruins of yester
day. About no body of water in the
world, of equal size, have stood so many
stately cities. It is almost impossible,
indeed, to give any coherent .account
of the story of'Marmora, so much his
tory and legend have crowded its
shores."
Writing of the antiqiuty of the straits'
question, Mr. Dwight says:
"The true question of the straits arose
as early as the fifth century B. C, when
Alcibiades of Athens counseled the peo
ple of Chrysopolis, the modern Scutari,
at the southeastern extremity of the
Bosphorus, to take toll of passing
ships."
But the Ottoman regulation of the
straits has been far more jealous than
anything attempted by the ancients.
"The Turks have allowed no foreign
men-of-war to enter the Marmora," the
writer continues, "unless under rare
and special circumstances; and not only
do they exercise surveillance over the
traffic in the straits, but twice during
the last four years they have closed the
Dardanelles to navigation of any kind.
At the moment at which I write the
fleets of France and England are ham
mering at the historic gateway. Thus
the question of the Black Sea, which is
the ancient question of the straits, is
posed anew, more dramatically than
ever before. Is it for a final solution?
No solution can be found which will
give any one nation an absolute right
of control over the Bosphorus and the
Dardanelles.
PROTECTION FOR NOTED GUESTS
Mrs. Hidden Thinks Visitors Should Be
Spared Militant Interviews.
PORTLAND, Aug. 33. (To the Edi
tor.) The self-respecting woman suf
fragists of Oi-egon will be thankful
for your timely editorial remarks on
the recent Taf t-compelling-receptlon
incident. It is unfair to the real suf
fragists of Portland that they should be
considered as favoring these enforced
militant interviews, perpetrated at the
instigation of agents from another
state, who have presumed to come into
Oregon for the purpose of directing the
political action of our women voters.
The various committees of the Cham
ber of Commerce and Men's Clubs of
our city, ought to protect our dis
tinguished visitors from this impolite
pestering. Not one of the men thus
waylaid have gone away more friendly
to the doctrine of equal rights than
they were before coming to Portland.
I think ex-President Taft showed
great delicacy and a complete under
standing of the situation he would be
placed in were he even to seem to
recognize these Congressional Union
women, whose slogan "Defeat all Demo
cratic candidates" is well known East
and West.
Again, it is positively outrageous
for anyone to intrude upon the time of
such a notable as our ex-President,
whose programme is made out neces
sarily with not a minute to spare, as
he passes through the country.
The women, voters of Oregon should
resent the attempt of the Congressional
Union to draw them into anti-party
lines, and cause them to appear any
thing else but what they are. sensible,
dignified women. M. L, T. HIDDEN.
No Himtins In France.
In France hunting, which was for
bidden in 1914, continues to be prohibit
ed in 1915. As a result, it is said, the
country outside the districts in which
the war goes on. is swarming with
game. The peasants complain and it
is said that numerous forest fires in
mountain districts are maliciously
caused by people of the highlands who
wish to destroy the woods, in order to
get rid of the wild boars that make
their coverts in them. It is predicted
that in 1916, if the law prohibiting the
killing of game is repealed, sportsmen
will find an overwhelming abundance
of hares and partridges.
Value of Old Half-Dime.
PORTLAND, Aug. 30. (To the Edi
tor.) Is there any additional value to a
half -dime coined in 1856? Are there any
places in Portland where they buy old
coins? SUBSCRIBER.
There is no additional value to a
half-dime of 1S56. There are several
coinages that draw premiums from
coin buyers, but 1856 is not one. We
do not know of any Portland market
for old coins.
THE "EXCLISIVE SET" OF" SOCIETY
T. T. Geer at Loss to Kuw Why Term
Is I'sed In SocinI 3iewi Columns.
PORTLAND, Aug. 31. (To the Edi
tor.) To those who have a deep ad
miration for the "undying principles"
so forcibly set forth in the Declaration
of Independence and included In the
Constitution of the United States "free
and equal," anti-aristocracy, the broth
erhood of man, etc., etc, the phrase so
often found in newspaner reports of a
social function, for Instance, a wed
ding, in which it is announced that the
bride, sweet thing though everybody
will admit she is, belongs to the "ex
clusive set," has a jarring sound de
cidedly out of harmony with the ordi
nary conception of American horse
sense and democratic simplicity.
Of course it is a mere matter of
sheer curiosity that prompts me to In
quire what is meant by an 'exclusive
set." And it Is equally evident that It
cannot be a question of general con
cern aside from the fact that, occur
ring so frequently in newspaper de
scriptions of social functions when ap
plied directly to some unfortunate
young lady, she is accused of belong
ing to a "set." which, for some reason
has been isolated from the association
with, or recognition by other people;
but the charge, always unsupported by
any evidence even of a circumstantial
nature, should not be permitted to pass
unchallenged, or, at least without an
Inquiry.
Or is it not a mere matter of imag
ination that there is "an exclusive set"
in Portland? And if tnere is. who or
ganized it and determined its person
nel? What constitutes eligibility to its
membership and who determines Its
maximum limit &3J.0 members? What
qualifications are required to pass one
into the charmed inner circle? If
Ethl Gwendolyn belongs to an "ex
clusive set" and Hannah Jane does not
and cannot, what is she excluded for?
Isn't she rich enough, or doesn't she
know enough, or isn't she good enough,
or sufficiently pretty, or does she lack
in distinguished birth, and, if so, as to
any of these or all of them. Who con
stitutes the- censorship committee that
passes on the momentous problem?
On the other hand, isn't it impossible
to have an exclusive set? If some one
who had been excluded from an estab
lished exclusive set should decide to
organize another there would appear
to be nothing in the way of such move
ment, and he. or she, as the case might
be. could easily establish an opposition
exclusive set and the course could be
followed indefinitely And. manifestly,
where ther? are two exclusive sets, the
title of each would destroy that of the
other and there you are, or would be.
And this is the situation now, pre
cisely. There are as many "sets" as
you have a mind to think there are. 1
have seen an individual so prouchy and
vinegary that he constituted an ex
clusive se.t of one if the word is ap
plicable to such instance but he never
boasted of it. neither did other people.
Exclusiveness, or even a tendency
toward it, is ordinarily to be frowned
upon as a misfortune in others and to
be guarded against as a latent or de
veloping characteristic in one's self.
This phrase as applied to a beautiful
sweet girl graduate, or other deserving
young woman, has been so frequently
used duriner the nrespnl finmmo nnH
.in many cases where the accused has
not been to any degree guilty and too
timid to urge a defense, that I have
felt it a patriotic duty to make a public
protest myself.
This is a democratic country where
caste does not thrive, or at least,
should not. and a custom that seeks to
establish a pretense of it is distasteful
and should be discouraged.
For we are the same our fathers have been:
We see the same sights our fathers have
seen :
We drink the same stream, we see the same
sun.
And tun the same course our fathers have
run
So why an exclusive set?
T. T. GEER.
ROSE BUSHES XEED CARE SOW
Plant Pathologist Says Fall Is Time to
Thwart Mildew Inroads.
PORTLAND, Aug. 31. (To the Edi
tor.) During this time of the vear
growers of the beautiful Caroline Test
outs and other roses are rather negli
gent of their plants and flowers, and
their interest does not apparently
brighten up again until next Spring,
wnen tne blooms are about to appear.
In fact, I have been told that after the
Rose Festival, some of our rosarians
(I mean the private growers) forcet
their roses entirely, until the following
February or March months.
ir this is so, it is a great mistake.
for it is just about this time that the
mildew begins to get in its work, and
in order to have clean roses next year
It is absolutely necessary that practical
remedies should be applied now. The
mildew attacks the young leaves,
shoots and buds. On the shoots and
calyx a thick mycelium, or white coat
ing is formed, which remains until the
Fall, when it hibernates until the fol
lowing Spring.
During this period it checks the
growth of young wood, and causes the
leaves to remain small and curled, and
the plants become so weakened that
they generally die.
Quite a few florists !:now that the
mildew curtails their income from the
roses, yet the loss can be stopped by
spraying now and in the Spring, with a
good resinous wash, to which a little
sulphur has been added.
If our rose lovers would follow these
simple directions a more abundant and
more beautiful display -would event
ually be their reward.
F. E. BLACKWOOD WEST.
Shade Trees on Parking Strips.
PORTLAND. Aug. 30. (To the Frl-
itor.) To settle a dispute will you
kindly state who owns shade trees that
are planted in the parking strip along
tne streets or fortiana and who is re
sponsible for their care? A says they
belong to the city, else the city would
not go to the expense of killing the
ougs on tne elms. a says the owners
of the adjacent property planted them,
have cared for them and it is up to
them to kill the bugs. Another says
Why should I pay 9 for water- to
keep up the parking that belongs to
the city? Let the city Improve the
parking if it wants it improved."
Please straighten us out.
O. G. HUGHSON.
The city has planted some of the
trees in parking strips and take care
of them. Property owners have planted
the others and they receive no munici
pal attention. In the case of the elm
leaf spraying now under way the city
is doins the work because It is an
emergency and the adoption of an as
sessment plan would cost much more
to the city than the actual cost of
spraying. The abutting property own
er owns the sidewalk, parking strip.
curb and to the center of the street.
This property is dedicated for street
purposes and belongs to the property
owner, subject to the use of the public.
Cause and Effect.
HUGO. Or., Aug. 29. (To the Editor.)
I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier.
I raised the sissy-kid' to be a slave.
Here we have an example of cause
and effect. The jelly-fish doctrine an
nounced in the first line -bears fruit as
expressed in the second verse.
JOHN RITCHIE.
Longr Service.
Philadelphia Bulletin.
English Visitor- Did you ever know
of an American having an old family
servant .
American Hostess Of course. Why.
I have a cook that has been with me
over a month.
Twenty-Five Years Ago
From The Oregomaa, September 1, 1S90.
Washington The Republican cam
paign committee of Congress is looking
with Interest on the elections in Idaho
and Wyoming, the new states. The
sentiment among Republicans is for
Fred Dubois and Judge Carey for Sen
ator of their respective states. The Pan
handle of Idaho has a candidate of Its
own in Judge-Ciagett. who intends to
represent the state in the Senate If
possible. - Dubois has many friends,
however, and his work for the admis
sion of his state will be recognized. It
is believed.
It is reported that United States sur
veyors in Alaska are enduring many
hardships and are in danger of starv
ing. Two members of the crew have
gone on a perilous journey for pro
visions. A Joint immigration committee from
Washington is soon to come to the Pa
cific Coast to investigate the violations
of the Chinese law. The details of ths
trip have not been made.
Bishop Morris laid the cornerstone of
St. Luke's Church, Empire City, last
Saturday.
A dam to cost $20,000 Is projected
across the North Umpqua at Wln
Chester.
Maurice McKim. of Portland, was li
Hoquiam last week, says the Washing
tonlan, and showed deeds to Damon's
Point. He had been absent for about
20 years;
While .W. H. Northup. the well
known attorney, was driving down
West Park street yesterday his horses
became unmanageable and for a few
minutes were beyond control. The team
collided at Yamhill street with a buggy
containing his law partner, Judge E. C
Bronaugh and Mrs. Bronaugh. Both,
carriages were upset and the occupants
thrown out violently. Judge Bronaugh,
as Knocnea unconscious.
Sherman Martin has acquired posses
sion of the Himes printing office by
purchase, Mr. David Steel retiring on
account of failing health.
Hoyt's "A Midnight Bell" will be pre
sented at the Marquam Grand tonight
F. W. Baltes & Co. have Jast com
pleted the first issue of the North
western Review, a fine illustrated
Journal devoted to the interests of tha
Jennie M. Long, the talented!
dramatic reader who will appear at th
Marquam Grand next Saturday, has In
vested 15000 in a Portland suburb, it Is
reported.
Mrs. Leslie Carter, who has just pons
on the stage, is on the brink of her first
theatrical lawsuit. She Is about to sua
William J. Ferguson, her leading man,
for breach of contract.
Fred Nye. of Omaha, was the center
of a large and lively gathering of
former Omahogs yesterday at the Port
land Hotel. Mr.- Nye was for a long
time editor-in-chief of the Omaha Re
publican and has been quite a con
tributor to Eastern journals. He is now
proprietor of the Omaha Town Topics
He is in no way related to Bill Nye. but
Fred Nye is himself a reniarkablv
bright story-teller. W. J. Cuddy, now
editor of the Vale Atlas, is the hero of
more than one of them. When Mr.
Cuddy was city editor of an Omaha
paper there was a certain newspaper
function that ended with Mr. Cuddy
waking up the next morning in a
coffin, and Mr. Nye has embodied thl3
into one of his stories that got peals
of luusrhter yesterday.
From The Oregonlan. September 1. 1SOS.
The subscribers to the capital stock
of the Oregon City Mining Company
have been notified to meet at the store
of Robert Caufield in Oregon City, Sep
tember IS, to elect from three to seven
directors The capital stock has all
been subscribed. The meeting is called
by the Incorporators, Absalom Hedges,
Hiram Straight, Robert Caufield and
Benjamin Jennings.
Benjamin L. Norden, secretary, has
called a meeting of the members of the
i-ortiand stock and Exchange Board
for this morning at 11 o'clock.
A special dispatch from Washington
says the financial condition of the Gov
ernment is easy and that the Secretary
will be enabled to meet all demands
with the means at his command. The
next statement of the public debt will
be Ocotber 1 and every six months
thereafter.
Current editorial expressions are
summarized as follows: The subserv-
ency of England to France is as abject
as it is complete. Britain's ascendency
is gone, bhe is not now the England
that won Crecy, Agincourt, Blenheim
and Waterloo, rranee and herself for
the time at least have exchanged po
sitions. England stands in awe of the
dynasty whose founder her gold over
threw. . . . England exhausted her
self to put down the first Napoleon.
France's loss was in men. These in the
next generation or two were restored.
England's loss was in money, and it
was irreparable, so enormous was the
sum. . . . The American as well aa
the English policy is entirely under
the dictation of France.
New Orleans Texas advices renort
the frontier in worse condition than
ever before. The outrages by Indians
and highway robbers are many. The)
military has promised to act in a pro
tective way.
The roadway up the face of the hill
at the head of Lincoln and Grant '
streets, formerly known as Robinson
Hill, Is now complete. The first car
riage made the ascent last night car
rying Levi Anderson, A. C. R. Shaw,
Joseph Buchtel and a reporter for The
Oregonlan.
The funeral of Walter Boyakin was
conducted yesterday afternoon.
Mrs. E. Van Fridagh is preparing to
go to Europe and is settling her busi
ness affairs at this time.
C. A. Burchardt has found a purse
with some money in it. He has adver
tised the find and it will be returned to
the owner on proving it and paying
for the notice.
John Sellwood is seeking to buy &
tract of land with a perfect title, on
the bank of the Willamette River near
Portland.
Spoofing: Him.
(London Tit-Bits.)
Recruiting is responsible for a good
story from Carmarthenshire. One of th
latest accessions to Kitchener's army is
a stalwart man 6 feet 2 inches In
height, from the heart of the country,
and on joining he expanded his chest -with
pride and ejaculated, "Now for
the Germans.
The following day he received from
London a telegram: "Heartiest congrat
ulations. Kitchener."
This was duly shown around, but next
morning his pride was boundless on re
ceiving the royal message: "The em
pire is proud of you George."
It was not until the third day, when
he received a wire, "For heaven's sake,
keep neutral. Wilhelm." that he real
ized a waggish friend had been pulling
his leg.
i Half a Century Ago