PORTLASD, OREGON.
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Market street.
PORTLAND, n-EDNESDAY, SEPT. 29, 1915,
THE TRIAL HEAT IS OVER.
Budget estimates of the cost of
operating the city government are, of
course, tentative. They are subject to
consideration and revision by the City
Council sitting as a budget commit
tee. But Inasmuch as there is a "wide
spread impression that operating costs
for 1915 have been higher than they
ought to be, it is not encouraging to
observe that the several departments
have submitted estimates entailing in
the aggregate an increase over the
current twelve months.
For 1916 nearly $3,000,000 will be
required, according to these estimates,
for direct operation of municipal af
fairs, and the sum is $93,000 more
than the total finally allowed for 1915.
In this sum approaching $3,000,000 are
not included special appropriations,
the needs of the Dock Commission or
the cost of running the water depart
ment. The two former will find ex
pression in the total tax levy; the last
will not, for water revenues pay the
operating expenses of the water de
partment.
We shall not here dwell upon the
fact that the sponsors for commission
government promised that it would
save the city Jl.uuu.uoo annually, or
upon the contrary fact that it has cost
the people much more than council
manic government. Those things are
well known -and ought to invite cau
tion among the Commissioners. But
there are certain elements present this
year which lend gravity to the situa
tion.
One of them is the loss of revenues
from liquor licenses. In the matter of
dollars and cents this loss is equivalent
to adding to the general budget a
single item of approximately $350,000.
That is to say, the general taxpayers
must turn in $350,000 more than would-
be required of them were it not for
the prohibition law.
In admitting Linnton and St. Johns
to the city additional bond interest,
police, fire and lighting obligations
were assumed, and within a short
period considerable areas of street
pavement will pass from under the re
pair guarantee of the contractors and
become a responsibility of the city. For
these three things the city adminis
tration nor commission government is
In any way responsible, yet they are
liabilities which must be met, and they
call for sterner efforts toward economy
in other directions.
There is another factor of a little
different character. At the beginning
of 1915 there was a treasury surplus
of more than $800,000. The year 1916
will begin, Jt is apparent," with this
surplus reduced probably to $300,000.
Now a surplus is necessary in order
to carry tho city government forward
until the first tax payments come in.
The prospect is that cash will not be
available for city employes' salaries
during a period of several weeks. Last
year, by cutting the Urvy too low, a
shortage was created. This year not
only must that shortage be made up,
hut an allowance, in good sense, ought
to be made for the early months of
1917.
Without attempting to analyze de
partment estimates, and judging only
from matters that are common knowl
edge, one is forced to the conclusion
that when the effects of the treasury
shortage, of prohibition, of extension
of city limits and of expiration of pav
ing repair contracts are calculated,
there will be charged to Portland tax
payers something like $750,000, per
haps $1,000,000, that they did not have
to meet in 1915.
These facts, coupled with business
depression, call for a more serious con
sideration of the growth of municipal
activities and the expansion of the list
of city employes than the present Com
mission has yet evinced. It is char
acteristic of men employed in state or
municipal offices that each acquires an
exaggerated conception of the im
portance of his own department. The
same tendency is noted among the
heads of departments in large private
enterprises. It is human nature. But
in the private enterprise there is a su
preme authority who revises estimates.
It is a frequently offered criticism of
commission government that the men
who prepare the estimates finally pass
the budget. Logrolling offers its
temptations, and logrolling may be re
sponsible for the protests that have
gone up from numerous commission
cities against the high cost of com
mission government.
At this particular time the financial
welfare of the public cannot conform
to expenditures for frills, fancies, lux
uries or departmental prestige. The
serious business in hand is the promo
tion of economy. The Portland com
mission has now had ample time to
get its bearings and learn the intri
cacies of the machine. It is beyond
the trial stage. The public will as
sume that in 1916 commission gov
ernment will be traveling at its fixed
and permanent gait. Is it to be one of
economy and efficiency as so glowingly
promised ?
THE RISKS WE TAKE.
The terrible slaughter and destruc
tion caused by the gasoline explosion
at Ardmore remind us what risks man
has taken in the effort to subdue to
his use the forces of nature, and how
puny are the greatest of human works
when these forces are exerted against
them.
A great lake held back by a dam,
an oil or gasoline tank or a gasholder
may be compared to a lion restrained
only by some hidden impulse or by
man's compelling eye from tearing his
keeper to shreds. One careless move
ment, one second of relaxed vigilance
and the beast Is upon the man with
tooth and claw. So with Nature's
forces. A little careless, hidden work
don by, a laborer may cause a great
dam to yield to the pressure of a flood
A burning match or cigarette care
lessly thrown near a powder factory,
an oil or gasoline tank may cause an
explosion destroying scores of lives
and millions of property. An imper
fect rivet in a ship's plates, firing of
ner Doners to produce too high steam
pressure, or a wrong turn of her wheel
may cost the lives of all on board and
loss of the vessel also.
Such disasters are the price we pay
ror unequal development of man's in
telligence and moral responsibility.
The greatest care and skill . of the
highest genius may be made of no
enect py a reckless fool with a
match between his fingers. The wise
and careful must be ever on their
guard against the ignorant, foolish and
careless, let alone the malicious, in
order to prevent our boasted resources
of civilization from .becoming the
means of our destruction. Such dis
asters as that at Ardmore are the
penalty we pay for not having raised
the lowest as much higher in the scale
of moral and intellectual progress as
we have raised the highest. The con
sequence is that those at one extreme
are constantly undoing or destroying
the work of those at the other extreme.
WARDEN MINTOS DEATH.
Harry Minto died as he would have
wished to die doing his duty. He
was a brave man who all his life had
dealt with desperate men. They knew
him and respected and feared him
feared him for his remarkable effi
ciency as an officer and for his un
yielding determination to enforce the
law. He was a real disciplinarian a3
warden of the Penitentiary, but he
was not a Jailer of the old style who
believed in brute force and summary
vengeance. He was just and humane,
and a practical reformer. He was a
friend of the prison Inmate who
showed a willingness to do right. He
helped many a poor fellow to his feet.
But he believed that laws were not
made to be trifled with, nor crimes to
be joked about, nor prisons to be mere
playhouses.
The convicts at Salem were in a spe
cial sense the charges of Warden
Minto. They looked to him for re
wards if they deserved them and for
punishments if they earned them.
When one broke away and ran Harry
Minto did not send a subordinate after
him, but went himself. Hooper fled,
and Minto promptly pursued him. They
met, and the warden was slain. The
officer succumbed to the risk of
his calling, but it was a risk he neither
feared nor shirked.
Men die but once, and the opportunity
Of a noble death is not an everyday fortune.
It is a gift which noble spirits pray for.
Thus died a model officer.
EXTRAORDINARY.
The Portland Labor Press, as might
have been expected, has added its
voice to the boisterous and un
scrupulous claque which denounces
the late land-grant (Salem) confer
ence because it was so the Labor
Press says "controlled and mani
pulated by the interests for the bene
fit and support of the railroad and
timber companies."
The truth ought to be adequate for
the purposes of the Labor Press when
it sets out to criticise the Salem af
fair, but the truth rarely serves
papers of its kind.
The Salem body passed resolutions
Requiring the prantees under said act to
perform the terms and conditions of said
act, and sell and dispose of said lands ac
cording to the true intent and purpose of
said acts to actual settlers;
And also went on record as
Unalterably opposed to any further in
crease of forest reserves In the State of
Oregon.
Is the Labor Press favorable to the
increase of the forest reserves of Ore
gon? Does the Labor Press oppose any
plan to sell the railroad lands to
actual settlers at $2.50 per acre, or
less, in lots of 160 acres, or less?
The railroad grant so requires, and
the Salem conference so demanded.
The railroad company, owner of the
grant, for years refused to comply
with its terms, and for that reason
was taken into court.
What an extraordinary perversion
of the facts to say that the railroad
company caused the Salem conference
to demand what the company had for
years defiantly and insolently refused
to do and still refuses to do.
IMPENDING EVENTS IN T1IE BALKANS.
The allies have boen so quiet lately
about what they .are doing on the
Gallipoli peninsula that speculation
turns to the use which they will make
of the new army of 110,000 men
landed on the Island of Lemnos, if a
Berlin dispatch is to be credited.
Shrewd guessers believe this to be the
Italian army, recently reported to have
sailed eastward. It will bring the
allied forces in the vicinity of the Dar
danelles to nearly 300,000 men.
The field of operations at Gallipoli
is so restricted that more men than
the British and French now have there
could scarcely be profitably employed,
though reinforcements will constantly
be needed to keep up their strength.
Lemnos is said to be practically the
strategic center of the Aegean Sea,
being 45 miles from the Dardanelles,
5 0 miles from Dedeagatch, the Bul
garian port, and 100 miles from Sa
lonica, where the railroad from Bel
grade through Serbia and Greece
terminates. From Mudros, on this
island, the army could be speedily
moved, either to Enos as a base for
reinforcement of the main allied
army on the other side of the Gulf
of Saros, or to Dedeagatch in case
Bulgaria should join the Teutons, and
it should be decided to attack that
country directly, and to close its only
southern outlet, or to Salonica for the
purpose of helping Greece and Serbia
to withstand a Teuton onslaught from
the north and a Bulgarian attack from
the east.
Statements of Sir Edward Grey and
British diplomats that the allies are
prepared with armed assistance for
Serbia and Greece support the opinion
that Salonica will be the landing place.
Thence the allied army may be car
ried by railroad to Serbia to resist the
Teuton drive and the Bulgarian rear
attack, while Greece may invade
Southern Bulgaria, seize the latter's
ports and advance northward against
the Bulgars and eastward against the
Turks. The course of operations would
depend much on the action of Rou
mania, for, should that country attack
Bulgaria, it might be able alone to
deal with the main body of Bulgars,
while the Greeks could divide most of
their forces between the Serbian and
Gallipoli fronts.
Should the Balkan States enter the
war, the Important fighting would be
continued on five main fronts, namely:
Franco-Belgian in tho west, Italian in
the south, Serbian in the southeast,
Russian in the east and Turkish in
the extreme southeast. The central
empire would be ringed 'with enemies
on all sides by sea and land, and Tur
key would be conducting an isolated
struggle for existence.
AN UNSUNG BENEFACTOR.
While we are observing the e'en
tenaries of great poets, of great war
riors and of great achievements in this
richest of years in centenary events, let
us not overlook the beginning of an
important epoch in the development of
civilization. It is recorded that long
trousers first made their appearance
100 years ago, along about this season
of tho year exact day unknown,
They were the ingenious invention of
a London tailor who manufactured the
first pair for the dauntless Duke of
Wellington, and the Duke in his new
garments was received in much the
same manner that the wearers of
trousers-skirts are received today.
Theretofore the male animal of the
human species had disported his nether
locomotion accessories in abridged gar
menta which were an abomination to
anyone in a hurry and a curse to in
dividuals possessed of unshapely limbs.
Even the man aroused at night by the
burning roof overhead must needs re
main at risk of his life until his legs
had been incased In a variety of ap
parel including knee pants and silk
stockings. Modern invention has now
made it possible for him to draw on his
trousers with one deft pull and flee on
the instant fully safeguarded against
Infringement of any proprieties.
Now this blessing is univeral and
who can gauge the impulse it has given
to human progress? How much of
what we have achieved would have re
mained undone had our great minds
been delayed each morning by the in
tricacies and complexities of medieval
attire? How many of our immortals
of the past century would remain un
born had not their bandy-legged sires
found concealment for their deficien
cies in the merciful trouser during
ante-nuptial days?
Surely we moderns are without grat
itude and barren of appreciation if
we do not Taise the Duke's tailor to a
niche in the Hall of Fame. Let some
tuneful poet burst-forth in paens of
praise. Let our modern composers set
his deeds to ragtime. This benefactor
of the human race has slumbered in
the neglect of Ingratitude far too long.
CAUTIOUS MR. BURTON.
Ex-Senator Burton is taken to task
by the New York Times for keeping
up "the age-old pretense that the of
fice was seeking the man" by inti
mating that he is in the hands of his
friends as regards the Republican
nomination for President. The Times
says "the one great benefit which di
rect primaries have conferred on
politics" is that "they have compelled
the man who wants an office to come
out and say so, and even fight for
what he wants"; but Mr. Burton "per
sists in talking in the outworn lingo
of the convention period."
The Times seems to forget that the
modern practice of coming out and
fighting for an office is a much more
serious business than the old practice
of putting oneself in the hands of one's
friends. A primary campaign requires
an elaborate organization, a vast
amount of publicity and a personal
canvass in many states, which involve
heavy expense and great exertion. A
man may be excused for feeling out
public sentiment toward him in order
to determine whether he has a fight
ing chance before plunging into the
fray. If he should try and ignomini
ously fail, he will have spent his
money and effort for nothing except
to be classed as an "also-ran" and a
"has-been." His political career would
then be definitely closed. If after the
feeling-out process he should decide
that he has no chance, he can dis
creetly stay out of the fight, save his
money and energy and preserve his
record as a political asset. He may
then make another race for the Senate,
or may round off his career with mild
glory as an Ambassador.
Mr. Burton has the reputation of
being a fairly sagacious man, who does
not compete for a prize until he thinks
he has a good chance of winning. He
has probably not yet completed the
work of feeling out. He may not yet
have reached the conclusion that in
these times of rapid change in the
public mood the psychological condi
tions are favorable to him. He would
be a safe, careful, reasonably pro
gressive President, but that may not
toe the kind of a President the people
will want when the 1916 primaries
begin. There is plenty of time to de
liberate before it will be necessary to
decide.
IF NAPOLEON WERE IN COMMAND.
If the immortal Napoleon were re
turned to earth in all his martial vigor
and thrown into command of the
French armies, what effect would his
military genius have in the great game
of war now being directed by our mod
ern strategists and tacticians? This
query is presented to The Oregonian
by a correspondent who appears to
have entered, into a controversy with
some military person who contends
that Napoleon wouldn't be much of a
factor. The Oregonian must say that
it cannot settle the question conclu
sively, but it is not averse to present
ing the main considerations that ought
to be weighed.
Napoleon was the master strategist
of his time. He had a genius for war
that was unfathomable. No other sol
dier has possessed such ability In so
many phases of military activity. Cer
tainly his peer has never been known
in strategy. As a tactician he was the
superior of Marborough. In organiza
tion he equaled Caesar and Alexander.
His achievements rivalled those of
Hannibal.
Yet Napoleon necessarily would find
himself lost if placed suddenly in
Joffre's place without having had an
ample opportunity to adjust himseLf.
Command of such forces as led him to
dream of world conquest would entitle
hirn to nothing more than minor mis
sions today. The forces whose desti
nies he guided through glittering suc
cesses in his Italian campaign of
1796-7 would suffice for little better
than advance elements in the titanic
campaigns of 1914-15.
Take his Army of Reserve, which he
created with consummate skill and led
over the great St. Bernard pass into
the Valley of the Po to cut the Aus
trian communications and startle the
world with his successes. Numerically
it wquld not measure up to the task of
holding the right wing at Verdun. His
Army of Italy, which in one year de
feated six Austrian armies and one
Sardinian army, would serve for little
more than a five-mile sector along the
western front in France.
Scores of men command equal
forces, while men whose names we
never hear command larger forces
than ever fell under the control of
Napoleon. In the eastern front bril
liant strategies have been employed!
from time to time both in the Rus
sian attacks on the Austrians and in
the later Austro-German drive upon
the retreating Russians. Tet we hear
only of men such as Von Hindenburg
and Von Mackenzen, who may be said
to direct the military policies in the
theater of operations rather than lead
concrete armies. It is to the smaller
commanders commanders of forces
such as Napoleon led that the carry
ing out of the strategies is left.
Whether any of these operates with
the masterful skill or Napoleon can
not be known for years to come. It is
recorded that Napoleon never lost a
battle In which he had the numerical
superiority. Frequently he won against
overwhelming odds. Not that he dis
covered or applied any new principles
of strategy. His stratagems were as
old as Epaminondas'. It was his grasp
of special situations, his marvelous use
or combinations, his ability to annlv
the science of warfare, that enabled
him to meet and defeat the larger
forces of adversary after adversary.
But his ability as an organizer and
his ability to judge the larger and
more serious problems of warfare must
not be lost sight of, nor must the en
ergy and thoroughness with which he
applied his genius to the problems at
hand. It will be recalled that upon his
return from Egypt in 1799 the Little
Corporal found the French Republic
confronted by a most menacing situa
tion. Austria had combined with Ens-
land and the dependencies of those
powers to crush France, while Russia
had an army In the field against
t ranee.
Added to this was civil war in
Western France, a depleted treasury, a
poorly equipped and wretched French
army and a downhearted, bitter popu
lace. It was into this situation that
Napoleon threw himself with desoer-
ate energy, restoring the confidence of
the people, rehabilitating the treasury,
cheering and equipping the army and
secretly organizing the Army of Re
serve, which afterward was the key to
aazznng victory. In this task alone
he did the work of several great men
and thereafter it was his brain that
directed the strategical combinations
whereby the combined 210,000 French
nosts were able to rout the 250.000
fighting men of the allies.
Who can say that his genius might
not today perform like miracles?
Warfare is different m manv essen
tials. Added to the firearm, of which
Napoleon made the first adequate ap
plication in warfare, is tho telegraph,
the locomotive, the aeroplane, the hitrh
explosive. These render warfare more
complex and therefore, perhaps, more
susceptible to the influence of the
genius. While we are presented with
the spectacle today of nations In arms,
or. races righting one another, of whole
countries under siege, of solid fighting
ironts along entire international
boundary lines, there is the possibility
mat a mina such as that of Napoleon
might evolve strategical combinations
which would serve to force the Ger
man hosts back from the Marne and
drive them out of Belgium.
With the howitzers hurling vollevs of
big shells, the press bureaus are
exuding broadsides of hot air and mud.
ow that the nations are interlocked
in a veritable struggle for existence,
the function of the official war press
Dureau is hardly less important than
mat or formidable batteries. It must
emphasize the value- of gains and
minimize the importance of losses so
as to keep the public hope and courage
runy sustained. Hence the entirely
different stories that come from the
several great war capitals.
However, it will be some days be
fore we will know the meaning and
possible result of the great forward
movement in the western battle front.
Weeks may pass before the assault is
fully developed and we are able to
learn anything about causes and ef
fects. A great epoch in the history
or tne world may be in process of
forming these mild Autumn days of
1915, or it may all turn out to be a
carnival of bloodletting, devoid of
larger results.
j. no citizen wno aoes not take a
few days off and visit one or more of
tne au rairs is missing one of the
bright spots in life. Nothing can be
-more refreshing and delightful than a
tour among the choicest products and
achievements of the farming people
the real bulwark of this great region.
Don't fail to reserve an open date for
the balem Fair this week.
It may be Flynn, the health re
former, is right when he says exer
cise of the eyes is good for the liver
and other vital organs. The "rubber
necks" all seem to be healthy.
A New Jersey man, who held off
until he is 91, is running for Justice
of the Peace and contemplates reach
ing higher honors when he acquires
the judgment of maturity.
Considering things military", is there
anything finer than for posterity to
boast that its ancestor marched in two
grand reviews fifty years apart?
With railroad stocks looking up and
exchange low, the British investor may
let go of some of his holdings and
thus help to square accounts.
Any attempt to dynamite the Anglo
French financial commissioners at
present seems rather previous. They
have not got the money yet.
To an outsider it would seem that
Turkey needs both the sj-mpathy and
the money which some of its subjects
have sent to Germany.
Now that the movies have achieved
popularity, they should be very cau
tious about the matter of Increasing
admission rates.
You cannot make money any faster
than by paying taxes today, unless
you pay tomorrow.
The Czar is pleased to see others
than Russians being killed.
Location of the auditorium site is a
never-ending problem.
Thursday always is Portland day at
the State Fair. Go!
Judge McGinn is
liquor out of candy.
right. Keep
To Dr. Dumba: Here's your hat;
what's your hurry?
Good time to talk of repealing the
anti-hanging law.
The movie houses cannot stand jit
ney company.
.We're off. tor Sal em I
Twenty-Five Years Ago
Irom The Oregonian of September 2ft, 1S90.
San Francisco, Sept. 28. W. E. Nor
wood, president of the San Francisco
Stock Exchange, is' dead.
Tonight will witness the reopening
of the dramatic season, when the
strong moral play, "Ten Nights in a
Barroom." will be given at Cordray's
with a full strength of the stock com
pany. The musee department also of
fers some new and attractive features.
Lafayette Ledger The manufactur
ing edition of The Morning Oregonian
is a big advertisement for Oregon.
Every person who has a friend in the
East should get a copy of it and send
it to him.
Centralia News The two great po
litical parties have held their conven
tions, put now comes the campaign
fund soliciting committees and the
formerly would-be big politicians are
keeping well in the background.
Walla Walla Spectator Every ill
hath Its use. When the town cows
were at liberty they kept the cross
ways and the byroads neatly cropped.
Now these places have become un
sightly with a rank growth of high
weeds and the owners of contiguous
property are too lazy or too indiffer
ent to appearances to disturb them.
Washington, D. C. Sept. 28. The
conference report on the tariff bill will
be taken up in the Senate tomorrow, and
speeches on itvwill be made by Senator
Aldrich for the Republicans and by
Senator Carlisle for the Democrats.
The Sumpter Valley Railroad is be
ing pushed to completion and by the
time snow nies will be running.
Owing to the popular demand, L. C.
Henrichsen has decided to open the
second series of his watch clubs, and
is now ready to sign members for the
new clubs. Anyone wishing to Join
may do so by calling at the store of
Air. .Henrichsen, 149 First street.
' Mrs. J. F. Cordray's pet dog disap
peared when the matinee was dis
missed Saturday afternoon. He an
swers to the name of "Ray Cordray"
and wears a harness with a brown rib
bon and a collar with a license tag.
A liberal reward will be paid for the
return of the dog to the theater.
London, Sept. 28. Boulanger has is
sued a manifesto. The General writes
that he consorted with royalists to ob
tain money for the promotion, of his
cause. He found that they believed his
success would benefit theirs and he
suffered them to believe so. He denies
that he intended to become a Socialist.
He declares that he has ever been and
always will remain a Republican, but
he is an enemy to the present system
in France, as he is a foo to monarchy
in any form.
WAR OK PEACE NOT THE ISSUE
Question I, Shall We Win or Lone If
SA Forced to Fight T
PORTLAND, Sept. 28. (To the Edi
tor.) Mr. Plummer's services to this
community and his position as one of
the heads of our Bchools command re
spect for anything he may have to say.
It is, however, difficult to take seri
ously the view of National preparedness
expressed by him in yesterday's paper.
Declaring that he advocates peace at
almost any price, but that he favors
maintaining peace through education.
he said: "If the pupils of our public
schools are taught the art of diplcmary,
truthfulness and straightforwardness,
I consider that our National safety will
be assured."
No doubt a knowledge of this useful
art will be of great value to all our
boys and girls; but inasmuch as the
National safety will be imperiled, if at
all, by outsiders who have not enjoyed
the same educational advantages, it Is
obvious that Mr. Plummer's plan would
in effect be merely a sort of National
"safety first" movement. There is no
warrant in history for the belief that
the rectitude of its citizens alone will
assure the safety of a nation, however
meek and long-suffering those citizens
may be. . As a matter of fact, our citi
zens are not meek and long-suffering,
and will not be as long as we remain
a forward-looking and successful race.
Mr. Hummer himself is not for peace
at any price, but at almost any. By
this he means that America must in
whatever circumstances preserve an ir
reducible minimum of self-respect, and
that there is a point beyond which
neither he nor any other real Ameri
can would go for the sake of peace. If
the Nation is ever pushed beyond this
point war will be inevitable. Prepared
or unprepared, we will surely fight,
though in the meantime every school
boy in the land may have been taught
the "art of diplomacy, truthfulness and
straightforwardness" until he la black
in the face.
Thus the question before us today is
not whether we will have war or peace.
That Issue is on the laps of the gods,
to be determined by conditions which
we can neither foresee nor control. The
real question for us is whether, in the
event of war, we will have defeat or
victory. We hope for peace: but it is
a' stupid claim to omniscience to say
that war arfd righteous war will
never come. And if it does come, and
we are forced to enter it as we entered
the Civil and the Spanish wars, pitiably
unprepared and incompetent, a heavy
burden will be laid upon those who for
any reason, however honorable, pre
vented the timely organization of our
resources and betrayed us into weak
ness and inefficiency.
It is astonishing to learn how many
Americans aside from the lotus eaters
and vague opportunists who insist that
tnings are sure to muddle through for
the best profess to believe that we are !
either loved too much or feared too
much to make our position even poten
tially dangerous. Millions of our peo
ple are possessed by a curious delusion
that everybody loves us. We fanev
our country as a sort of sublimated
Sunday school superintendent for hu
manity, and see visions of the United
States as the elder brother (and com
mercial overlord) of South America,
and the guide, philosopher and friend
of all the world. Born in part of a
real desire to serve, these notions are
nourished by our National sentiment
ality and vanity, and by an amazing
ignorance of what the rest of the world
is thinking. No less curious Is the
delusion that everybody fears us, and
that our faith in our "million farmers
armed with pitchforks" is regarded
as anything more than the side-splitting
joke that it is.
Delusions are poor stuff upon which
to build policies of government or
education. At a time when treaties
are broken, radical passions are on fire.
ana nail the world is at war it seems
wiser to face the future soberly and
sanely, and to take such precautions
to insure the National safety as we
have long taken to insure the National
health. In England Just now they are
not teaching their schoolboys to walk
like sheep. Many of them will not
walk again, for the reason that those
who governed England allowed it to
be believed abroad that the virility of
British manhood was spent, and that
Britain was no longer prepared and
determined to defend her own.
B. C. J.
. Question of Wear.
Judge.
The Answers to Correspondents' edi
tor was in a quandary. "Here's a com
munication from a woman who wants to
know how long it takes to do ud a
shirt." ho said. "That depends on the
laundry." volunteered the sporting edi
tor, rne one l patronize win jo ud a
shirt In about three washings,"
PATRIOTIC AIRS ARE CHEAPENED
Writer Condemns Stage Parodies and
Routine Renditions Often Heard.
PORTLAND, Sept. 28. (To the Edi
tor.) I most heartily agree with your
correspondent who protests against the
base uses that our National airs are
frequently put to on the stage. 1 have
often had my patriotic feelings out
raged by hearing a cheap comedian
perpetrate a comic song set to the tune
of the "Star-Spangled Banner" or "Co
lumbia, the Gem of the Ocean." Pub
lic opinion should resent impertinences
of that sort by hissing an actor of such
low type off the stage. A man or
woman who has no more taste or abil
ity than to prostitute the National airs
of his country to dance a jig or sing
some vapid and vulgar song by is un
worthy of citizenship and should be
speedily given to understand that his
career before the public is at an end.
It is time for the theatrical managers
and actors to make an effort to rid the
stage of the degrading attitude too
often shown toward our National songs.
It is a patriotic duty they owe the
flag and the country.
Another change that deserves to be
made is the discontinuance of playing
"The Star-spangled Banner" by the or
chestra at the close of each perform
ance. This splendid song has come to
be merely a mechanical routine, devoid
of meaning and, under the circum
stances under which it is played, gen
erally Ignored by the average theater
goer. All this strikes me as very unfor
tunate indeed. "The Star-Spangled
Banner" should be an inspiring piece of
music that stirs deeply every American
heart whenever rendered. But if heard
constantly, upon merely ordinary occa
sions, it soon ceases to thrill. The voice
of the Almighty himself, if we heard It
every hour in tho day. might go un
noticed after a time. Just as the sun
light, though we are miserably depend
ent upon it for our very lives, is ac
cepted as a matter of course, because
It comes to us with mechanical regu
larity. If we would cherish our patriotic mu
sic and avoid cheapening it, if we
would preserve It for great and soul
stirring occasions, we must take steps
to see that no Individual or organiza
tion is permitted by public opinion to
use that music for any but the noble
and unselfish purpose of inspiring loy
alty and devotion to our own beloved
United States. BRUCE J. TILDEN.
SUPPOSE NAPOLEON WERE ALIVE
Would Conqnerer Cot Any Figure In
Today's Wart Axks "Writer.
PORTLAND. Sept. 28. (To the Edi
tor.) In "A Night at St. Helena." a
poem by Alfred Noyes, the noted Eng
lish poet, occurs a place where Na
poleon is made to say:
Nations shall call me Christ and Anti
Christ; And in all aces to the end of years
My spirit shall brood upon the seas of war;
And in the dawn of battle, when great
kings
Take council, they shall think and dream
of me
And speak my name with bated breath;
nor dare
To call me their exemplar; lest the world
Should mock their mad assumption of my
throne:
And when another conqueror comes and
goes
His fame shall be a Jewel In my crown;
His sword shall only serve to write my
name
More deeply In the memory of mankind.
Now, my friend, "The Major," who is
by way of being a Captain of artillery,
laughs this fine frenzy down to scorn.
He assures me that In the great war
now raging there are a hundred "Na
poleons," any one of whom is vastly
superior to the "Little Corporal." and I
lurtlier he tells me the day of defeat
ing an enemy in detail is gone. War
now is a business, a business of the
best mechanics.
on Hindenburg is his idol. He
the Major has no patience with the
"child of destiny" and the "militarv
genius legend." In fact. I think mv
dear friend is a German, though he
denies It strenuously.
ISow, Emerson in his essay on "Na
poleon, or the Man of the World," has
it that Bonaparte, in speaking of his
son, said: "My son cannot replace me;
l could not replace myself. I am a
creature of circumstances." I wonder
was the great conqueror entirelv riirht
when he said this? Were it possible for
nis spirit to return from Valhalla and
reinhabite the dust of the lnvalides.
could he again become "Tcte de armie";
or have 12-centimeter guns and trench
warfare forever antedated that?
I am sure. Mr. Editor, there are manv
of your readers who would like a word
rrom ihe Oregonian on this subiect.
and, please, "a good hot one" to slip
the Major. C. R. DAXNELLS,
ISO Grand ave, Portland, Or.
THEY ARE LAW'S WORST ENEMIES
Dry Extremists. If Given Sivar, Will
Brlnsr About Itepenl of Prohibition.
PORTLAND. Sept. 2S. (To the Edi
tor.) I note with considerable inter
est tho report in The Oregonian of a
meeting held in the Central Methodist
episcopal Church at which "a perfect
ly lovely scheme" was advanced by
Mrs. Mattio M. Sleeth, state lecturer
for the W. C. T. V. As I read that
article I am led to believe that one
of the purposes of this meeting was
to devise ways and means to enforce
the new liquor law. If such is the
case, 1 would like to suggest that the
first way to enforce any law is to have
public opiinon back of It; in fact. I
question the possibility of enforcing a
law with a strong public opinion
against it.
If this be a fact. I believe that the
advocates of the prohibition law must
bo honest. I believe that unless they
show themselves to be honest it will
not only bo impossible to enforce the
law. but it will be only a matter of
short time until the law is repealed.
The advocates of prohibition, trvin
to get votes irom
get votes from tho citizens of this
state at the last election, in the first
place told them that it was not their
intention to interfere with the personal
rights of the citizens. Their object in
passing the prohibition law was to do
away with the saloon. The first exhi
bition of dishonesty was when the ad
vocates of prohibition went to Salem
and put in effect a law which did in
terfere with the personal rights of the
citizens, by limiting the amount which
any citizen was permitted to import
into tho state.
Now. as another exhibition of dis
honesty, some of them are trying to
write into that law a limitation which
was never contemplated, and are try
ing to prohibit the importation of
liquor by any person using tobacco in
any form. This is almost too humor
ous to be taken seriously, but if tnere
is any serious attempt to misinterpret
tho law in this way, it Is certain to
react against prohibition, and It la
pretty nearly time that the honest ad
vocates of temperance would take a
hand in this fight, and. for their own
sakes, eliminate extremists.
GEORGE C. MASON.
Copyrights.
PORTLAND. Sept. 28. (To the Edi
tor.) (1) Where should I apply for a
copyright, and the cost of one?
(2) Can a copyright be sold?
A SUBSCRIBER.
(1) Copyright Office, Library of Con
gress, Washington, D. C. The regis
tration fee is $1.
(2) Yes.
Address Is Given.
CLATSKANIE, Or.. Sept. 28. (To the
Editor.) Please give me the address of
the man who wrote the piece lately in
The Oregonian concerning the new Jap
anese peach leaf treatment for tuber
culosis. OLD SUBSCRIBER.
Francis E. Blackwood-West, Orego
nian building', Portland, Or,
Halt a Century Ago.
Prom The Oregonian of September 29 1SC3
The white thieves that have ' been
committing dopredations this Summer
east of the mountains disguised as In
dians wear wigs made of horse tails
A short distance away these wigs could
not ho distinguished from the hair of
an Indian.
Cairo. Sept. 24. It Is expected that
Memphis will soon cease to be a military
post. The New Orleans Delta has
learned that the President has appoint
ed J. Madison Wells as provisional
"u""ur ot Louisiana and given him
the same authority that was vested in
Governor Sharkey. The Delta thinks
that members for a slate convention
can be elected within 30 days and that
an election for the members of the
Legislature, Congress and the state of
fices may take place before Novem
ber. It hopes that new Senators will
be sent to Congress before the open
ing of the next session.
New Tork, Sept. 20. The Herald's
special dispatch says that the whole
number of negro troops mustered into
service since the commencement of tho
war was in round numbers 180.000.
Their losses by death and casualties
has greatly exceeded the number of
whites, and amounts to 60.000 or 60.009.
Of the remaining, 150. 000 have been
lately ordered to be mustered out in
the several departments. These only
are entitled to vote under the laws and
regulations.
New York Sept. 20. The Commercial
Advertiser says that a Portland, Me.,
merchant saw John H. 'Surratt in Mon
treal a week ago and that he has been
concealed for some time. On one oc
casion, when tho detectives were in
close pursuit of him, he hid under the
stairs of a church. It was believed In
Montreal that he would take passage on
the steamer St. George to sail from
there for Glasgow on Friday last.
We understand that our money mar
ket is in sympathy with the feeling
in San Francisco and tho East and that
capital wlll be accessible to borrowers
in good credit at the rate of 1 per cent
at Ladd & Tilton's banking house on
and after October 1.
Articles of Incorporation have been
filed in the Secretary's office at Salem
for the Willamette Iron Works Com
pany, to be located at Portland. The
incorporators -are A. B. Hallock. John
Nation and John T. Thomas. The ob
ject of the corporation Is to manufac
ture steam engines, quartz mills and
Iron machinery. The capital stock is
$20,000.
Among the many articles manufac
tured by Portland mechanics for ex-
hibition at the coming fair we think
that none will bo more likely to obtain
a first premium than a pair of fine
pump boots finished by Mr. Nicholas
Lumsden at nis shop on Alder street.
They are the finest of their kind that
we have seen on the Coast.
Dame Nature recently served an in
junction on the laying of the Nichol
son pavement in tho city. The Injunc
tion was raised yesterday, one of the
workmen going ball for the street with
a tin dipper and an Iron pot.
A lecture at the Methodist Episcopal
Church will be delivered this evening
by Rev. B. C. Lippincott. The subject
will bo on temperance.
WOMAN'S CAUSE IS WEAKEXF.D
Suffrnsre Loses by Pnylnsr Heed to
Mercenaries, Says Writer.
PORTLAND, Sept. 28. (To the Edi
tor.) Robert Browning tells us in his
inimitable way of the Pled Piper of
Ilamelin, how he came to charm away
the rats from the city and ended with
charming the children and drawing
them away into the woods and Into a
place from which they never returned.
Just so have paid mercenaries and or
ganizers appeared among the women of
our city piping on a Susan B. Anthony
pipo to charm them as unreasonably as
that old legend of Ilamelin sets forth.
The stranger within our gates is en
titled to our most graceful hospitality,
and this is old policy and statecraft.
Hamlet instructed I'olonitis to "take
them in; the less they deserve, tho
more merit in your bounty." This in
speaking of the proper bestowal of tho
players just arrived at tho castle. If
we think properly of these things we
must realize that paid mercenaries who
make their living by commercializing
certain public situations, doing It in
the name of sentiment, playing every
stop of the pipe of human sympathy to
coin gold for their own needs If we
will think properly of this we will
know that measures soueht after in
that way will fail of success.
Men know this. too. and all history
will show that success conies from true
merit, from unseltishness and from
sacrifice to the really best to be ob
tained for the general good. It we
expect to realize any hopes in the
matter of National suffrage we havo
gone improperly about it. We must
get it by sacrifice, by unselfish service
and real worth, and not by herding
underpaid mercenaries and queer lead
ers who make a living by making us
notorious as well as ridiculous. Men
know strong women won't do those
things, and so we Impress them as
sending our weaklimrs out to win our
battles and lose. INDEPENDENCE.
I.et"s Have Ony for Everything.
PORTLAND. Sept. 28. (To the Edi
tor.) The genius who would make us
all doff our straw hats on a certain
day. eat salmon or apples on a certain
day, and parade something personal and
sacred on "Mothers' day" has missed a
great opportunity: he has overlooked
the fact that the bulk of the calendar
is as yet unexploited.
Why not by fiat of the Chamber ot
Commerce, W. C. T. U. and other rep
resentative bodies, in joint session, ar
range the community activities for tho
whole year? Individualism in habits, in
the expression of emotions, etc., is
dancerous, and should ho sternly
curbed.
A few suggestions are made: Septem
ber 25, Buy-Goloshes day; liecemher 28.
F.xchange-Presents day; the third of
each month. Wash-the-Dog day; Au
gust 13. Think-of-Home day: Septem
ber 3, Hired-tJirl day: October 4. "I
I 'idn't-Raise-My-Boy-to - Be-a - Soldier
day." T. V. WILLIAMS.
Mr. Benson for Hlsh School Cadets.
PORTLAND. Sept. 28. (To the Edi
tor.) I believe in National defense for
the same reason that I believe in local
defense against robbers and highway
men. We havo an object lesson in
Europe today, where a national high-
wayn-an is no different from
local
burglar.
If our home and fireside is
ever attacked by any nation I
want our boys to know how to defend
themselves. There is no better time
or place to start training the boys
than at school. S. BENSON.
Then and Now
Bread and cake baking used to
be a tedious operation.
Now there is a machine to do it,
so simple that a child can operate it.
Chopping meat was hard work. A
meat chopper now does it with the
turn of the wrist.
There are washing machines, dish
washers devices to lighten every
branch of women's labor.
The housewife who does not avail
herself of these things toils unnec
essarily. The advertising in The Oregonian
is a good index to these modern de
vices and the stores that sell them.
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