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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1916)
8 THE MORNING OREGONIAN, rnURSDAT, MAY 25, 1916. Kn tared at Portland (Oregon) Postoffice as econd-VIass mall matter. Subscription Bates Invariably in advance: (By Mall.) Xaily, Sunday Included, one year ..$8.00 Eally, guiiday Included, six months 4.25 Ially, Sunday included, three months ... 2-'-$ Dally, Sunday Included, one month .75 T)ally, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Dally, without Sunday, six months 8.23 Daily, without Sunday, three months 1.75 Daily, without Sunday, one month Weekly, one year .................. - 1.50 t-unday, one year 2.50 Sunday and Weekly, one year - 3.50 (By Carrier.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year .oo Daily, Sunday included, one month 75 How to Remit Send postoffice money order, express order or - personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are ar sender's risk. Give postoffice address in full, including county and state. Postage Kates 12 to 1(S pages, 1 cent; 18 to 32 pages. 2 cents; 34 to 48 pages, 3 cents; 60 to 60 pages, 4 cents; B2 to 76 -pages, o cents: 78 to 82 pages, 6 cents. Foreign post age, double rates. Kastern Business Office Verree & Conk lln, Brunswick building, New York; Verree & Conklln. steger building. Chicago. San Kranr'isco representative K. J. Bldwell, 742 Market street. POETL4'D, THURSDAY, MAY 85, 1916. lOClS I. BRAN DEI 3 AND HIS CASE. The decision of the Senate Judiciary committee to report favorably on the nomination of Louis D. Brandeis for Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court was reached in the face of strong; evidence that he is un fit for the office and through, the exer tion of political, pressure which Is de grading to a court that should be held above all political controversy. The members of the committee were di vided on strict party lines, although such a division, never occurs when an appointee ia above serious criticism. The Democratic committeemen were united in favor of Mr. Brandeis only through direct appeal from the Presi dent, for four of them were known to share the adverse opinion, held by the Republican members. These are the bare, bold, shameful facts about the efforts of the Presi dent to Jam through a partisan ap pointment to the highest Judicial tribu nal in the land a tribunal concern ing the freedom of whose decisions from political or personal bias there should -not be a breath of suspicion. The action of Mr. Wilson and the Democratic majority of the committee has the effect of dragging the Su preme Court down into the arena of party controversy. It defies the moral Judgment of the leaders of the 'bar and sets at naught the great volume of evi dence sustaining that judgment. It is an assault upon the integrity of one of the three co-ordinate departments of our Government. The charges are that repeatedly Mr. Brandeis, after appearing on one side of a legal dispute, appeared on the other side. These charges are spe cific and were supported by a great mass of testimony, the hearing of which by a subcommittee extended through two months. At the close of that hearing four separate reports wre made by the five members of the subcommittee. . Two of these, by Senators Chilton and Walsh,' (were fa- vorable, two by Senators Cummins and Works were unfavorable. On April 3 a pamphlet was issued from the GOV' eminent Printing Office purporting to contain all four reports, as the table of contents shows. It purports to - give the "views of Mr. Cummins" on page 61 and the "views of Mr. Works' -on page 79, but it ends with the close of Mr. Walsh's report on page 60 and neither at the Public' Library nor at the office of The Oregonjan, where such documents are filed, have the missing reports been received, and we are forced to rely on excerpts pub. lished by the newspapers for the pur pose of comment. There may or may not be significance in the wide pub licity given to the pro-Brandeis re ports and the at best limited publicity given to the adverse reports. Because some of those persons who have made charges against Mr. Bran deis are interested- An large corpora tions, the attempt is made to give the opposition to him the appearance of persecution of a man who, to use the words ot Senator Walsh, "has not stood in awe of the majesty of wealth But who are hia critics? Senator Cummins. Has he "stood In awe of the majesty of wealth"? His entire political career has been one contin ti.ous struggle to bring railroads under public control, to tear down monopoly and to deprive it of any benefit from the tariff. No man has stood less in awe of the majesty of wealth. The chief ground of Mr. Cummins' criticism is that Mr. Brandeis, after having been employed by the Inter state Commerce Commission to pre sent the shippers' side of the railroad rate case, made an admission that the railroads should have more revenue thus strengthening the railroads' and weakening the shippers' case. How did Mr. Brandeis stand towards wealth in that case? To Mr. Cummins his acts "seem utterly indefensible." j Mr. Cummins showed his Impar tiality by declaring some of the charges without merit. As to one charge he questioned the propriety of Mr. Bran deis' conduct but was "satisfied there was no corrupt motive on Mr. Bran deis' part." As to another he found "nothing whatever in it which reflects Jn the slightest degree upon anybody connected with it," and as to a third he said: "I find nothing to warrant extended comment." His exoneration of Mr. Brandeis from blame In these cases adds force to his condemnation of Mr. Brandeis' action in the rate case as "an offense against common morality and professional ethics." Nor is Senator Works one who bows before the majesty of wealth. He was elected as a progressive Republican and he has voted repeatedly for the public as against private interests. He proved his fairness by finding no wrong in several acts of Mr. Brandeis concerning which complaint was made, but he summed up the entire case in these words: He has in many Instances been intolerant and offensive in his methods, as the evi dence sitows. He has resorted to conceal menta and deception when a frank and open course would have been much better ani .-tiave saved him arjd his profession from 'sus picion and criticism. He has defied th plain ethics of the profession, and in some Instances has violated the rights or hi clients and abused their confidence. H seems to like to do startling things and to work under cover. He has disregarded or defied the proprieties. It has been such courses an he has pursued that have given liim the reputation that haa been testified to. and It is not undeserved. It is just such a reputation as his courw of dealln and conduct would establish in the minds of men. This reputation must stand as strong; barrier against his confirmation To place a man on the Supreme Court bench who rests under a cloud would be a grievous mistake. As I said in the- begin ning, a. man to be appointed to the exalted and responsible position of Justice of the Supreme Court should be f ree . from sus picion and above reproach. , . The fitness . of Mr. Brandeis is de nied not only by Senators but by six former presidents of the American Bar Association, who united in addressing this protest to President Wilson: . The undersigned feel under the painful duty to say to you that in their opinion, taking Into, view the repute, character and professional career of Louis D. Brandeis. he is not a fit person to be -a, -member of the Supreme Court of the United States. Of those. six: men, one is ex-President Taft, who showed 'his superiority to political bias ty elevating Associate Justice White, a Democrat, to the po sition of Chief Justice; another is Simeon E. Baldwin, the Democratic ex-Governor of; Connecticut; and an other is Moorfield Storey, who wrote an article lauding. the Wilson Admin istration for the April number of the Yale Review. The other three were Joseph H. Choate, Elihu Root and Francis Rawle. Thesa men are not moved by political bias; they place the integrity of the courts above party. The ' adverse opinion of Mr. Cum mins and Mr. Works and of lawyers such as those named, combined with study of the testimony to produce such an effect on the minds of the remain ing members of the Judiciary- com mittee that on May 3 these Democrats Senators Hoke Smith, Shields, Reed and O Gorman were reported to be disposed to vote against confirmation. In order to bring them into line, the President two days later wrote a let ter to Senator .Culberson, chairman of the committee, testifying to Mr. Bran ds' high sense of honor and fair play and quoting the late Chief Justice Fuller as saying that ' Mr. Brandeis was "the ablest man who ever ap peared before the" Supreme Court," though the charges do not relate to his ability. This executive pressure did not have Immediate 'effect, for as late as May 9 the dissenting Senators were reported to be of the same mind. But evidently they have-finally yielded to the exigencies of party and In a matter wherein, party considerations do not and should not enter we find the two parties aligned solidly against each other. Not only the President but seem ingly the entire Democratic party has elected to stand by Mr. Brandeis. They have chosen to champion the Brandeis code of ethics and to maintain that the Brandeis reversible legal opinions are adapted to the Supreme Court Let them be Judged accordingly. NOT- THE SAME. "I am," says an old gentleman who has just celebrated his 70th birthday, an old-time Lincoln Republican. Now I am a Wilson Republican, which is about the same thing." It is not the same thing. There is no record that Lincoln, when his hand was placed to the - Union plow, hesi tated, or backtracked, or sidesteppedT or wavered, or quit. Nor did he ever dream or think that disunion could be crushed and the Union saved by vocal exercises and not by strong coercive measures. . Let us put Lincoln in Wilson's place n the Brandeis case. It is not con celvable that he would have ignored the opinion of half the American bar and the open protests of six past presi- dents of the American Bar Association and by the sheer display "of. Presi dential power sought to force a par tisan Senate majority Into confirma tion of such a Supreme Court appoint ment. Nor can it be imagined that Lin coin would have fought for the con firmation of a Rublee to the Federal Trade Commission. Let it be not for gotten that the President for purely partisan reasons utterly evaded the ex. pllclt provisions of the law creating tne board and appointed three Demo crats and two Progressives. Now the Senate declines to confirm the Pro gressive (really a Democrat) Rublee. If Gallinger, who fought Rublee be cause he is "personally obnoxious." was wrong, what about Chamberlain of Oregon, who stood with Gallinger? AFTER. THIRTY YEARS. A Portland man who lived at Salem thirty years ago had recently the idea that ho would like to know what had become of the friends and acquaint ances of his youth. It Is to he recorded here that the- Inquirer possesses a re markable memory, and that he had consciously or unconsciously, kept track of many of them during the in tervening years. In no other way can the remarkable fact be explained that now, after a third of a century, he has produced a list of more, than 800 names, all men. .remaps it. is not a sneer leat o memory, and the directories and news papers of the early '80s may have been freely consulted. But even so, it is a most Interesting performance, with re suits of great value to contempora neous history. It is somewhat startling to note that of the 840 persons, active In the earlier day, 339 are now dead. It is Interest ing too, to find that 14 3 of the num ber now live in Portland, while only 102 remain in Salem. . To be sure, there are many old-timers at Salem not represented; but, if anyone has a better list, let him produce it. . It may be supposed that other com munities in Oregon have their mem ories of the days of the '70s and '80 and that old residents would like to know what has hecome of the men and women they once knew. The Salem list has no women, perhaps because the historian was conjuring up figures of a time when he was very young an timid, and he did not know many girls. That must be the reason. But th women ought not to be overlooked even if uncomfortable disclosures about age are made. Though indeed we are prepared to recede from this suggestion at the first sign of feminine dissent. Let us hear the story of other Ore gon towns. .Where are the local -biog raphers? WHEN GIRLS MARRY. Having chastened Standard Oil and instituted various and sundry eco nomlc reforms and near reforms. Miss Ida Tarbell has directed her genius to instructing and advising women upon their duties to the state in marital matters. Before an assemblage of Philadelphia teachers she found oc casion to castigate the thoughtless girl who looks upon marriage as personal experiment for her own ad vantage rather than as an incident o the great social plan. Selfish jade, not to reflect calmly upon the ulti mate effect on society of her union What crass irresponsibility to look no farther than the fact that she loves certain healthy man who is able to support her in the luxury to which she has been accustomed. Attempting to regulate the laws of natural selection and induce maids to be led by calm reflection rather than by warm affection may be no more of an undertaking than that' of forcing Standard Oil. into the straight and narrow path of trade honesty. Never theless it savors of the feat under taken by the elderly woman who with a broom 'set out to sweep back the sea. Fancy the average miss, con fronted by the specter of spinsterdom, rejecting a healthy, handsome, cap able male specimen because of fome coldly calculated theory that the union might not serve the best Inter ests of society because, for example, her temperament was not nicely ad justed to the needs of his professional ambitions, she being of retiring do mestic inclinations and he being im pelled towards public life. Theoretically this is beautiful. It is as beautiful as the dream of universal peace; and all such dreams may awak. en Into actuality in the millennium. But in the meantime women are go ing to regard matrimony as a personal matter, something which concerns them and their families more than it concerns the state. They have a per sonal interest in seeing that they do ot marry unwisely. Sound health. sound morals 'and the ability to earn livelihood should he demanded of a husband, for personal reasons. 'The state has an interest in the match, to be sure. But the state should safe guard its interests with proper laws and regulations designed to prevent the union of the unfit. WHAT IT MEANS. The eroquent appeals of Mr. Sinnott and Mr. Hawliy in the House at Wash ington yesterday fell upon deaf ears. Of course. What matters it to Con gress, under the direct influence of Uhe Federal bureaucracy, that Oregon has paid more than $10,000,000 into the reclamation fund "-and received less than $4,000,000? ' Why should a member from Massa chusetts, or Illinois, or North Dakota, or Florida, Interested only In his own little pork-barrel, worry about the 1,000,000 in back taxes due the coun ties of Oregon? Why should an ardent conservation ist from Podunk, who has engineered his public-building graft through Con gress, care how long the school chil dren of Oregon must wait for a piti ful share of the excess proceeds to be given them after the railroad is paid? Why should a member from Texas, secure in the possession of his bit in the rivers and harbors bill for the benefit of some crooked creek or muddy slough, give any thought to the starvation and strangulation of Oregon's development through the se questration of 4,000,000 acres of its fertile lands? . This is reservation, miscalled con servation. It is the fruit and flower of the Pinchot agitation which has swept the! country, overwhelmed the Government bureaus and obsessed the politicians everywhere. The Oregon and California land grant was fifty years ago by Congress given to Oregon for its actual settlers; now it is in. effect- being taken away from Oregon by the same Congress. Yet there are men in Oregon who have aided the policy of throttling the state's development by their ceaseless clamor for Federal control against state control. Congress takes them seriously. The Oregon delegation in Washington and the people of Oregon are now hav ing a costly demonstration of the real meaning and consequence of Gov ernment control. RECESS. BETTER THAN RETIREMENT. It is a notable' fact that many ath letes on leaving college are in prime condition. They are vigorous, high ly vitalized and possessed of great en durance. A year or so afterward, when they have completely let down from " rigorous training and settled themselves into the- sedentary pur suits of business or the professions. they frequently undergo physical de cay; their vitality, however strong in college, Is easily sapped, their re sistance speedily degenerates and they fall victim to earthly ills that hardly make an impression on "men who were not athletes in their school days and who have had little or no physical training. The reaction is too complete. The reverse likewise is true. Active business men who have followed their calling diligently through , period of years do not respond to the inactivity and idleness which come when they retire completely retire from stren uous .office routine. Their physical fiber falls apart and the change af fects them in body and in mind. President Mohler, of the Union Pa cific, whet is about to retire after 46 years in the harness, seems to have realized" these laws of nature and he has announced a plan of living when he shall have cut all the ties that bind him to the head of a big rail road system. He said: I am 67. I want to be a plain citizen and think of something- beside maintenance and revenues. When July comes I'll go to- the Atlantic, get Into old clothea and try to forget telegraphs, telephones, stenographers and all that stuff. I want to fish and loar. mostly loaf. If I'm to get outings I must get trem right away. But I may decide to come back to Omaha and engage in business. How unlike the average American business man! The speed with which he is always Taclng toward a goal, real or imaginary, is hard, to check. He races on until he falls from ex haustion, to retire permanently and in some instances lose his mind or sink into physical stagnation. Mr. Mohlers way Is the better. He will take an outing. While his wind is still good and his legs sound he will slacken the pace; let the younger pacemakers pick up the race. When he shall have had a respite in recrea tion, he is ready to enter into activity again. How much better it is for a man of business or professional genius to conserve" his energies in this way and live to longer and greater useful ness than in going the pace that kills until the end and then suddenly to "retire" into a retirement that gives no rest nor peace of mind. Men of England, Germany and other European nations have learned that reasonable time to eat and sleep, rec reation and occasional recesses from the steady grind of work enable them to keep their wits at work to a ripe old age. They do not "retire" com pletely, and it is a welcome sign that American men are learning this. LOOK TO THE AUTHORS. It is not easy to agree with the American booksellers who, in conven tion at Chicago, started a movement to counteract the ill effects of moving pictures and motors on' the reading public. What appears to them a pre vailing indifference to books they blame largely to the screen and the automobile, two agencies which now engage thousands In hours of leisure. But is it the moving picture or the automobile wnicn nas dissipated a reading public? A good moving pic ture not infrequently will act as a lit erary cocktail, sending many to their own or public libraries to get the com plete story as the author put it down, unaltered by the exigencies of moving picture demands. ' An hour in the automobile will send many back to the library rested and in mental condition to enjoy a good book. Reading is not, as so many suppose, a pastime hit upon when the body is completely tired. As for the thousands who attend mov ing pictures and who do not read books too, can it be said that before the moving picture cajne thejr read any more than they do now? These belong to the unreading class,, and it is easy to believe moving pictures In some Instances cultivate an appetite for literature, even among them. There are thousands of automobiles, of course, and thousands of individual hours are spent in them. for pleasure. But those who have automobiles usual ly have time to read, too. There are millions who do not have the advan tage of an automobile, and yet we do not find them thronging the bookshops or the libraries. Once formed, the reading habit is not-easily set aside. Good habits grow as inherent as bad ones do. Men and women who read books before the pic ture and the motor came on still read them. Perhaps the booksellers would find (some of the blame .with the authors. -uxnpeiretx v tin y ears ago, dooks are so easily turned out now that pub lishers, to keep the presses running, often dump mediocre stuff into the bookshops. It Is little wonder that readers browse among musty volumes of good writers of the past rather than worry along with modern mediocrity? If the movies and motors, modern institutions, have spoiled a reading public's appetite, likewise reading cir cles and study clubs, also modern in stitutions, have tended to sharpen a reading public's appetite and make tempting literary fare which other wise would go unnoticed. While motors, and movies may have taken some readers, there is evidence enough that there are readers yet who do not buy, either "because public li braries are , so numerous or because bookshops are insufficient. Perhaps, too, booksellers would do better to pay less for poor stuff and spend part of the money saved in acquainting the reading public with what Is good among their stocks. i During the course of an address W, Jennings Bryan asserted that the American people have no intention of abandoning the Monroe Doctrine. It seems incredible that he could utter such an intelligent statement after his recent months of raving ibuncombe. Army officers in - condemning the border militia for failure to recruit rapidly to war strength should remem ber that after nearly ten weeks of constant activity a fourth of the quota for war strength, regiments has not yet been enlisted by the Army. " Any suggestion to Washington County to 'do something in the Jen nings cJrse cannot very well come from Portland, which has a number of un solved murder mysteries on hand. General Townshend and his soldiers are said to be receiving every consid eration from the Turks who captured them. That should make the next capitulation easier. A large church body righteously condemns the use of beer and egg as a tonic. The mixture is bound to destroy the value of two good units. Suppose, now ,-the berry season is fairly on, the housewife refuses to buy unless the boes are full. Then it will be up to the dealer. ' The suspicion dawns that if Bwano Tumbo ever expects to toe President again he will have to try some such place as Congo Free State. Why should not the wife of Dr. Walte be against him, if he killed her parents? A woman is a good daughter before she is a good wife. In grading crime, the man who bun coes a woman with a bad' check in payment for groceries .deserves a lit tle more than the lirrht. One good way to make the use of the telegraph popular is to deliver a message before the object for which it is sent is history.' Naming Bryan by the Prohibition party will destroy the peace and com fort of good Democrats like Honorable Milt Miller. There will be enough water in the river to float the whole Navy by Fes tival time, and only the South Dakota is coming. Bryan may become, the Prohibition party candidate. Or. If he misses that. the Socialists mlght.be induced to pick him up. Never In the life of this world, even though it runs a million years, will there be another battle like that at Verdun. . Since ice cream . Is good for the health, the lack of hot weather can not affect consumption of the article, It's Just as well to be optimistic. If high water is here during the Festival the queen can ride on a real float. However, this is splendid weather in which to perfect the Rose Festival It does not admit of Spring fever. This Nation will receive distin guished honor if Von Buelow comes as Ambassador from Germany. Secretary of War Baker now favors universal service. Quite a step for a former peace propagandist. Abe Ruef is wasting time inventing a drink with the "kick" omitted. The market is full of that dope. Germany wants a new loan of J2,- 500,000,000, and probably will get it at home for the asking. It may be that we will be favored with no more crises until after the Democratic convention. The State Department sent a new note to London yesterday. It may mature in ninety, days. A Justice of the Supreme Court should never' get on the bench by a strict , party vote. Possibly the June rise will be a June affair, Instead of coming along in May as formerly. The defeated candidate is now able to sit up and take light nourishment. The report of all Germany being on short rations comes from London. Austrian armies have the Italian forces on the run. On to Rome! Von Hindenburg is for peace when the Russians are beaten. .Straw hat weather is returning to the job. , The battle ef Verdun is becoming a habit. - . .. . AMERICA.MTIS TROl'BLING NATION Preparedness Need Show United States Up, Says Ardent Advocate. PORTLAND. May 23. (To the Ed itor.) The majority of the people or the United States heave a sigh or satisfaction ani relief when Congress agreed upon a standing Army of 206, 000. Now if we cannot recruit, our present standing Army up to lull strength (87,000), where are we going to get the extra 120.000 men? Conse quently five years from now we will, unless we adopt some other system, have a fine standing Army of 206,000 on paper. As to the federalized mili tia, no one takes much stocK in mat, for it was politics that forced Federal aid for state militia and simply means 48 llttlo armies, officered in time of war mostly by political Incompetents, but then this 400.000 militia will only cost us $75,000,000 a year out of the Federal Treasury, In addition to what ever sum the states expend, while Switzerland, with a first line militia of over 500,000. expends the magnifi cent (?) sum of 18.000.000. With this paper Army of 206,000 and 4 little armies, where are we going to get officers with the necessary training and experience to handle even 50.000 men, not to speak of 600.000? William J. Bryan tells us how 1.000. 000 men would spring to arms at our country's call. Sure they would, but what would we do with them? Who would clothe and feed them, let alone officer them, when it took 10 days to outfit 6000 men of our Regular Army fha. has been doing border duty for the past three years and were sup posed to be ready to move at a mo ment's notice? We have three kinds of fools with us: The peace at any price, the fool who thinks he knows what the future will bring and the worst Kind of a fool the kind who" realizes the possi bility of war. but thinks that there is no need of preparedness. They think that the Americans, prepared or un prepared, can lick anybody, on earth. This brand of fools are red blooded, "patriotic" Americans; we know they are, because they say so themselves until we are driven to admit.it In self defense. The real diagnosis of their case is Americanltis, or "swelled head." Loud-mouthed oratory is no , more a sign of real patriotism than swelled head Is a slam of brains or that bluster 13 a slam of ability to back it UP. . . All of the great financiers and diplo mats two weeks before the great Euro pean war started explained In detail how impossible such a war was and then after It started they explained In detail how impossible It was for any nation to finance a war for more than six months; but two years have passed and the end is not yet. - What has caused President Wilson to change from a small Army and small Navy advocate to an ardent and insistent advocate of adequate pre paredness? Simply because we have skated on mighty thin Ice since this war started, not alone with Germany, hut. also with England, and who can say what the morrow will bring forth? By our neutral policy wo have won the-"enmity of all and the friendship of none of the warring nations, and don't think for a moment that when they have settled their differences that they are going to forget, us. Now In regard to the wars of '76 and 1812. In both of these wars we had a preponderance of numbers, but poorly trained, officered and equipped, our troops, the bravest of the brave, could make no headway against the enemy, who, numerically weaker, had the cequipment and the training: and don't overlook the fact that during these wars England was carrying on a war at the same time over in Europe and at that It took the aid of France tojiull us through the Revolution. In the war of 1812 we lost every battle except Lundy's Lane, and that was a draw. Everyone knows or should know that Jacksan won the battle of New Or leans after peace was declared. In our war with Spam, a rourth-rate power. we lost more men by disease than we did by Spanish bullets. Sure, speak right up! Of course we licked them, but Just because we spar.ked a baby that doesn't signify that we could lick a full-grown man. Now If you believe in preparedness, don't Just read this and say, "That's rtRht." Do something, be something! Write your Congressmen and Senators, When the preparedness parade Is pulled off in Portland, bo there and If you are an employer, don't think It Is enough that your employes are In line; be there yourself. Everybody in Portland who is a real. red-blooded American wanting real peace will be there, for only in pre paredness Is there a guarantee of peace. C. L. ELLIOTT. CATS MUCH MAL1GXKD OK PETS They Have Their Place In the World I.Ike Everything: Else, Saya Reader. PORTLAND. May 23. (To the Edl tor.) Last .sunday was set aside as "Humane Sunday," when kindness to the dumb brutes was preached from the pulpits here and .throughout Call fornla. yet on this of all days Biologist Finley advocated the destruction of cats and an editorial paragraph In The Oregonian, ' Monday. championed his stand. Cats are and have always been much maligned animal and have hard enough struggle in this world without a newspaper suggesting and encouraging half grown boys to dis pose of them. What do half-grown boys know of killing an animal In the quickest least painful and most humane way? The writer has had cats and knows their traits, habits and characteristics kind has found them, a lovable and appreciative pet and contends that Lthey have their place in the world as wen as Diras. aogs, etc. It seems to me very deplorable that the editor of The Oregonian should so far forget the sentiment of "Humane Sunday" as to encourage the brutal destruction of these helpless animals . MRS. A. L. GRAY Getting a Patent. PORTLAND, May 23. (To the Edi tor.) I have perfected a device for domestic use. Can you, through The Oregonian, tell me what steps to take to get it patented and if the expense would be great? A W OMAN. Apply to Commissioner of Patents a Washington. Unless your device would require considerable draughting and extra work the patent cost should no be heavy. The fees must be paid fn advance; $15 on filing each original application and $20 on the issuance of each original patent. In design cases additional fees range from $10 up. Purchase of Alaska. PACIFIC BEACH. Wash., May 20. (To the Editor.) Can you give the information as to when the United States purchased Alaska? You were agreed upon as final in settling a wager. There is one date given In the World's Almanac and another In the Teachers' and Students' Encvclo" pedia. W. T. BROWN. The treaty was signed , in March, 1867; the United States took formal possession in October, 1867; the United States customs, commerce and navi gation laws were extended over the territory in 1868. Non-American Officeholders. SALEM, Or.. May 23. (to the Edi tor.) Can a man hold an office If he is not an American citizen? What is the penalty if he Is not? C. O. B. Elective offices require American citi zenship, and public policy would hardly tolerate any difference in appointive unices. Disqualification, is the only penalty. ABISE OK DKFEATED CANDIDATES Republican Sees 1 Iterior MotUe In Democratic I"ost-Irinia ry Interest. p6rtlAND. May 24. (To the Edi tor.) The Republican primaries having settled the contentions of the various candidates, it would seem to be good politics for the friends of the success ful candidates to suspend their abuse of the defeated. The Portland Journal was in a paroxysm a month before the primaries over the suggestion that Mr. Olcott was to be opposed. Then, real izing it was showing too much interest in a Republican primary, there was onimous silence for a month. Now its paroxysms are resumed over the fact that besides the Oregonian and Tele gram in Portland. 43 Republican news papers outside of Portland supported Mr. Moores. It reeks with abuse and ridicule. Is it because of its interest in the Republican party and the welfare of the state, or because It desires Re publican discord and Democratic suc-r cess? Was not the yeast working in the Journal office durine all that month of silence, and were not all Its satellites frantically at work under cover? Was It engaged In open politics like the Oregonian and Telegram and the 43 other Re publican papers? Were it and its candidate alone honest? Can only one man aspire to any office in a Republi can primary that It desires to control? Must the motives of every man with whom it differs be impugned? Up to within two days of the primaries it was practically the universal belief that Mr. Moores would succeed. Every element that worked in the open por tended that result. What followed? A committee of the German-American alliance announced its decision In favor of Mr. Olcott, and the word went out to Germans in every section of the state. What Interest of the German Americans of Oregon was subserved by that act, and what issue In any way involving them could be affected by the success of either candidate? Neither candidate was Indorsed by the A. P. A yet It is common rumor that the great bulk of that vote was directed to wards Mr. Olcott. while at Mount An gel, In Marion County, the seat of a great Catholic school and monastery, the voto was In favor of Mr. Olcott by 5 to 1. Was all this spontaneous and well considered, or was it the re suit of smooth politics, by which hon est voters on both sides were misled? Then within 48 hours of the primary. the Portland Daily News, that Is con sidered the organ of the labor element,' pronounced for Olcott. How did this coma about? Was there any communi cation with the owners, the Scripps- McRae syndicate at San Diego, as ru mored, or not? Here are three great elements of the electorate, any one of which had sufficient voting power to have swung the scale the other way. A prominent Democratic official is authority for the statement that 10.000 Democrats In Multnomah County reg istered as Republicans. Few, if any, will deny that Democrats thus regis tered exceeded the Olcott majority. We miy well ask. was the result a spon taneous and Intelligent expression of Republicans based solely on the merits of the candidates aid the issues in volved, or was it tne result or shrewd political manipulation? Is there an in visible government after all? Are there not a series of invisible governments? None of these questions would be neces sary If those who have provoked thejn would let the results of the primary- speak for themselves and end their false and offensive comments as to what was really involved in the contest. REPUBLICAN. ORKilV OF THE WORD "(iRKASKRS" Term Is Offshoot of Well-meant "bra- da" In Returning; Tuankx. PORTLAND. May 23. (To the Edi tor.)- A few days ago some one In formed us that the Americans are called "grinproes" because, during the Mexican war our troops frequently sang the then popular song, "(ireon Grow the Rushes." the natives there imperfectly rendering It "grin-go . . .," etc. Then some others asked the reason why our people calletj the Mexicans This latter term resulted from a similar misunderstanding. to wit: Whenever a Mexican (civilian or pris oner) received any special favor or courtesy from one of our invaders, he. or she, politely returned thanks by saying. gracias. which was by our men more easily rendered, "greasers," and as every native, high and low, said It, all were dubbed greasers. This reminds us of the way that the New England people acquired the name, Yankees. The early settlers told the Indians that they (the settlers) were "English," but the natives in trying to pronounce the word, could no do better than to articulate xankees, so this ludicrous term was taken, and pre vails to this day. Therefore, we see that, perhaps a great many bad names comes from a misunderstanding, and ridiculous. If not always injurious, results may fol low! ST. D. MARTIN. Fourth and. Clay. Call Him "Father." From the Spokane Spokesman-Review. Boys, when you speak of your father don't call him "the old man." Of course you are older now than when you were taught to call him father. You are much snfarter than you were then, you are much more manly looking, your clothes fit you better, your hat has a modern shape and your hair Is combed differ ently. In short, "flyer" than you were then. Your father has a last year's coat, a two-year-old hat and a vest of still older pattern. He can't write such an elegant note aa you can and all that, but don't call him the old man. Call him father. For years he has been held to the thorny path of uphill in dustry and the brightest half of life has gone from him forever. But he loves you. though he goes along without say ing much about it, therefore be not so ungrateful. Subscribing; for Periodical. HILLSBORO. May 23. (To the Edi tor.) 1 subscribed for a poultry Jour nal four years ago. paying for one year in advance, but I asked for no continuation at expiration of one year's subscription. Without my authority the paper continues to come. Can they force . me to pay for it? Answer through-The Oregonian. A SUBSCRIBER. ' Probably not: certainly not if you have declined the paper at any time, If the matter went to court, perhaps a judge or jury would be influenced by the fact that you did or did not seek to have the paper discontinued. The fact that for three years you have ac cepted the paper as your own without paying for it, would have a bearing. Villa and Luis. PORTLAND, May 23. (To the Edi tor.) (1) Is Villa an I. W. W.? (2) Was George R. Lunn. Socialist Mayor of Schenectady. N. Y., a corporal in the Spanish-American war? FRED ZIEGLER. (1) Not that we know. (2) Yes. In Company I, Third Ne braska Regiment. Numbness. PORTLAND, May 23. (To the Edi tor.) Would you kindly inform me what is the cause of numbness In the hands or feet, and what treatment should be taken to prevent It? SUBSCRIBER. Probably poor blood circulation. If exercise and ordinary health care do not give relief, better see a doctor.' In Other Days. Half a Century Abo. From The Orcsonlan of May 23, 1S6S. -San Francisco. May 23. Private dis patches announce immense failures of banking houses and mercantile firms In London, consequent upon the an nouncement of war between Prussia and Austria. ( The ranchmen on 15-Mi!e Creek. In Wasco County, are organized into a Stockrais.ers' Mutual Aid Society." Tne object of the society is self protection from Indian raiders and road agents. A semi-weekly mail will begin July 1 from Portland via Hillsboro. Center- ville. Forest Grove. Wapato. to Lafay ette and return. The present service is only weekly. EsDyinsr our old friend Sam Buchtel on the street yesterday, we were glad to lake him by the hand and welcome, him home again. Sam left up about 'a year ago for the East, but returns satisfied that there is not a place on the American continent that can begin to equal Oregon. The robbers of the Overland Hotel safe arrived from Umatilla last evening In charge of the Deputy Sheriff of Um atilla County, en route for a six years' residence at Salem. Twenty-f Ive Years Abo. From The Oregonian of May 25, lS'Jl. Denver, May 23. The Trans-Mississippi Congress voted for the free coin age of American silver and then ad journed to meet at Omaha next October. There will be gjneeting of the Fourth of July committee in the Council cham ber this evcnir.fr at 8 o'clock. A full attendance is-desired. The tiestle and grading of the. ex tension of the Multnomah-Ptreet Rail way Company line from Fulton Park to the cemeteries is about completed and the work of laying theralls will be begun today. Mr. Bronson Howard's great dram atic story of the Civil War. "Shenan doah," will be presented at the Mar quara Grand tonight by the New York company and with the original scenery and mechanical effects. Memorial services were held at the Taylor - Street Methodist Episcopal Church last night. About 200 members of the Grand Army of the Republic posts and Women's Relief Corps met at the Grand Army of the Republic hall and marched in a body to the church, which was beautifully decorated with flags, flowers and bunting MAKING TIIK FOREICX WELCOME Kind Reception and Friendly Aid Do Much to Make Him Good Citizen. Des Moines Capital. The people of the United States have as a rule given a kindly welcome to tlr foreigner. Forty years ago the state of Iowa sent men to Europe to urge immigra tion. At the same time all of Iowa a public documents, or at least many of them, were printed in two or threw languages to help out the foreigner. These days have gone by. Tne American people are not advertising for foreigners to come over. Concede that a majority of immi grants have been and will be of the. ignorant classes. The people 1n the new world owe it to themselves to take the ignorant foreigner by the hand and teach him the ways of the country: teach him the language; tell him about our form of Government: tell him his privileges; tell him his duties. In other words, be a friend to him and prevent his being; wronced by contractors. If he Is treated right, and encouraged, he will not stop in the large cities, but will go out West. where he has room and where he can make his own livina; and a living for his family. We Americans have pro ceeded on the idea that when a man reached America his opportunities were so great that if he were in good health he did not need a friend. This is a mistake. ... Reader, if you meet a foreigner any where who is making an effort to speak the English language stop long enousrh to help him out. If he inquire where to go. be kind to him and give. him the right Information. We must, make good citizens out of the foreign ers ho come In order that tliey may love the Unitel States. Prudery and Virtue. From Robert G. Ingersoll. The artist, working simply for the sake of enforcing a moral, becomes a laborer. The freedom of genius is lost, and the artist is absorbed in the citizen. The soul of the real artist should bo moved by this melody of proportion as the body Is unconsciously swayed by the rhythm of a symphony. No one can Imagine that the great men who chiseled the statutes of antiquity intended to teach the youth of (Jreece to be obedient to their parents. We are perfectly certain that Corot painted those infinitely poetic landscapes, those cottages, those sad poplars, those leaf less vines on the weather-tinted walls, those quiet pools, those contented cattle, those fields flecked with light, over which bend the skies, tender as the breast of, a mother, without once thinking of the ten commandments. There is the same difference between moral art and the product of true genius that there is between prudery and virtue. Kind Argument a Bit Thick. LOUISVILLE. Ky.. May 18. (To tho Editor.) Under the heading. "Insane From Liquor," the American Issue, the official organ of the Anti-Saloon League of America, devotes half a col umn to the story of a man who drank intemperately and then mistreated his wife. The story is "played up" as part of the argument In favor of prohibition, but, as the man got his liquor in Rock land, Me., and as Maine has had pro hibition for 70 years, the argument seems to be a "bit thick." After all. Ad miral Evans must have been right when he said that the kind of whisky sold in Maine did not make people drunk; it just made the:.i crazy. T. M. OILMORE. President National Model License League. Caution. Puck. "Doctah. how's de way f treat a mule dat's got distempah?" "You bettah treat him wif respect." Mournful Fart. Passing Show. "Fancy hringin' a child like that to a funeral! Wot pleasure can it be to 'er?'' Women Have a Sixth Sense It is the value sense they know what a full money's worth means. One reason for this is that women are great readers of advertising. No part of a newspaper is of greater interest to them than the advertis ing columns. They study them daily and they shop as carefully through the news papers as they do vhen they go to the stores themselves. Without the advertising the news papers would lose half of their wom en readers. Incidentally, local mer chants would lose more than half of their business. The man with something to sell to women who does not advertise in. newspapers makes a serious mistake.