Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, June 13, 1916, Image 10

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Morning Oregonian., June 13, 1916, Page 10, Image 10

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Newspaper Page Text10 THE MORNING OREGONIAN, TUESDAY. JUNE 13, 191G. PORTLAND, OKEGOX Entered at Portland (Oregon) Foetofflce as second-class mall matter. Subacrlptloa Rates Invariably In advance: (Br Mail.) Pally. Sunday Included, one year $8.00 Dally, Sunday Included, alx months.... 4.25 tally, Sunday Included, three months.. 2.25 Pally, Sunday Included, one month.... .75 Pally, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Pally, without Sunday, alx months.... 8.25 Pally, without Sunday, three months.. 1.75 Pally, without Sunday, on month 60 Weekly, one year.... . 150 Sunday, one year. ... 2.50 Sunday and Weekly, one year 8-50 (By Carrier.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year 00 Pally, Sunday included, one month.... .76 How to Remit Send postofflce money order, expreaa order or peraonal check on your local bank. Stampa, coin or currency are at sender's risk. Give postofflce address In full, including county and state. . I-ostage Bate 12 to 16 paces, 1 cent: 18 to 2 pages, 2 cents; 8 to 48 pages, 8 cents; CO to SO pages, 4 cents; 62 to 76 page, 6 cents; 78 to 82 pages, 8 cents. Foreign postage, double rates. Eastern Business Office Verree at Conk lln, Brunswick building, New York; Verree 4c Conklln, Steger building, Chicago. San Francisco representative, B, J. Bldwell, 742 Market street. fOlTLAKD, TUESDAY, Jl'XK 18, 1916. RESERVE EXEROI CALLED FORTH. An impressive lesson In the need of that industrial preparedness and eco nomic independence which holds a prominent place In the Republican platform is conveyed by the latest Government report on our foreign commerce. It shows that our Imports of all except one of the main classes of commodities increased in April and that the total is greater than that for the same month in any of the preced ing five years and is nearly double that for April, 1911. After a severe check during the early months of the war, our Imports began to show de cided recovery in March, 1816; re ceded in May of that year, but since November have increased steadily from month to month. The total for the ten months ending April shows an increase of 348 millions over the same period ending April, 1915, and far ex ceeds the total for any corresponding period in the last five years. This increase can only be partly ex plained by Increased Imports of raw material for manufacture in this coun try, though that item Is 50 per cent greater for April. The next largest increase Is from 19 to 36 millions in partly manufactured goods and the third in rank is from 21.7 to 26.3 mil lions in finished manufactures, while manufactured foodstuffs show a growth from 33.7 to 36 millions. Only crude foodstuffs show a decrease, namely, from 22.7 to SI. 4 millions. The principal imports to the United States from Europe can come only from the entente allies and the few neutrals, and those countries surely play the chief part in swelling our Imports of manufactured goods. That the allies should be able to make such a showing when fully half of their ef fective male population is withdrawn from industry is a most surprising feat. It can be explained only by the calling forth of the nations' reserve industrial forces. Both labor and cap ital have been compelled to abandon restrictive rules, the former by sus pending limitation of output and by permitting unskilled to replace skilled labor in many operations, the latter by abandoning discrimination against union labor. About 300,000 women in Great Britain are employed in muni tion factories, and women have re placed men in many other occupations, leaving men free to fight or to work where women cannot be employed. One factory in London has found women a success as stationary engi neers. They are employed as ticket agents and collectors on railroads, as conductors on streetcars, as mailcar riers and in farm labor of the lighter kinds. Boys of 18 are released from school for farm work. The allied gov ernments conserve the resources of their countries for prosecution' of the war by restricting imports of luxuries and unnecessary commodities and by diverting industrial energy into those channels which will swell imports and thus at least reduce the adverse trade balance. It is not to be supposed that, when peace returns, these nations will throw away the lessons which war has taught them. The unused energy which they have called forth will con tinue In a large measure to be used. "Women are likely to retain perma nently the new places they have taken in industry. The economy effected and the Increased output secured by using automatic machinery in many operations where cheap manual labor was formerly employed have been "an eyeopener to ' manufacturers. Such devices will be used on a much larger scale. Thus the great waste of popu lation due to the war may be fully compensated by the Increased pro ductive power of the survivors. This economy In production which Europe has effected will add to the keenness of its competition with the United States. Our manufacturers have hitherto held their own by the greater use of machinery, which adds to the productive power of labor more than the difference in wages between the United States and Europe; they have also been aided by the restrictive rules of British labor unions. Should the latter realize the folly of restric tion, and should their employers re- move its excuse by adopting piece work with a permanent sliding scale the labor cost of European products may be reduced. This factor and the introduction of labor-saving machinery in Europe may more than offset any increase in wages due to decrease in the male population. It will be a new Europe, keyed up to the highest pitch of energy, with which we must con tend for the world's trade. - That the United States may not only hold what it has -gained during the war but may not lose much of what it held before the war, it is necessary that we take a leaf out of Europe's book. "We must recognize that friction between the Government and business or between capital and labor is waste, which injures not only the parties immediately concerned but the whole Nation. While continu. ing to combat monopolistic combina tions, our Government should encour age and assist co-operation and co ordination of industry as contributing to the Nation's economic power. Con gress should provide means . for ad justing industrial disputes by concilia tion, and thus should make the waste of energy in strikes practically im possible. Our tariff should be so al justed that, so far as possible. It will foster the production within our own borders of every commodity necessary to the existence of any industry. Every measure contributing to the health, wellbelng and good morals of our people should be recognized as con-' tributlng also to our industrial effi ciency and independence. - Thus we can be keyed up to the higher pitch of energy at which Europe works. An obscure dispatch tells of the fi delity with which Apache scouts fol- low the trails of Mexican renegades In Mexico, leading American detach ments to hiding places in almost im penetrable fastnesses. The interest ing; phase of this co-operation is found in the fact that it is not bo many years since these same Apaches were trailing; American troops bent upon shooting: them as mortal enemies. Now we could have no more loyal and ardent allies. "What will . another twenty-five years bring: In the way of Mexican friendship .for American soldiers? EMPTY HONORS. Having had about all the fun there is in the Job, Will R. King will resign as Democratic National Committee man after the St. Louis convention and hand over the dry husks to Mr. Esterly, provided some other faithful Democrat does not forestall Mr. Ester ly, as is now said to be probable. Mr. Esterly was elected In 1914. His successor will be chosen Jn 1918. If he is not re-elected, none of the con vention honors, prestige and influ ence, so dear to- the heart of the Na tional committeeman, can be his. For does not the Democratic National platform of 1912 Instruct the com mittee to seat "immediately," upon receipt of credentials, members who have been elected by the primary method. Of course the plank did not hold good in Mr. King's case. But after a les-fon In November, Democracy may be more attentive to platform pledges. Perhaps Mr. Esterly, however, will then be as content with the role of martyr in the conflict between boss ism and people's rule " as he would with convention honors. We hope so. STICKJXY. SPEAKING. Chairman McCombs, of the Demo cratic National Committee, would monkey with the Constitution in re spect to the eligibility of Federal judges to any other office. As ap pointment of Federal judges Is for life, presumably under the proposed amendment any person who accepted appointment to the bench would auto matically relinquish one" of the cher ished rights of democratic citizenship, even though he thereafter voluntarily resigned. Otherwise the amendment would be useless, for a judge could re sign and remove the- constitutional disability at his pleasure. Of course, the Honorable McCombs Is speaking stickily. He does not se riously advocate such an amendment. It is more of that "molasses to catch files." - In a sticky sense, the Democratic platform in 1912 advocated several pleasant little innovations, and one of the stickiest was - a constitutional amendment making the President of the United States ineligible for re election. It also pledged the party candidate for President to that "prln clple. Today we read the following naive statements in the dispatches: Among the tentative planks Is none on the subject of one term for President. William Jennings Bryan was responsible for the 1912 plank declaring for a single term, but Bryan will havexno voice In the present convention and the piatiorm win say nothing as to Presidential terms. It Is & eut-and-drled affair, a Wilson and. Marshall love least. Otherwise, the platform will doubt less be patriotic, progressive and at tractive stickily speaking, of course, UNIVERSAL SERVICE. Mr. .Hughes vigorous utterance, as well as the new Republican platform, forecast a new era of American secur ity in which the best traditions of Americanism will be re-established and maintained. In these days when pre paredness against war . is a vital issue the. Wllsonlan solution is little more than another .literary effort. Armies are provided by the written word but they are not forthcoming in the flesh Provision is made on paper for an ade quate force, but provision is not made in fact for an effective system of land defense. Armies are made legally but not actually possible, and even were it possible to secure the force pro vlded for the system would be need lessly extravagant, both in Its initial cost to the taxpayers of the Nation and in its effect on the country's in dustries. Universal service, the economical and effective means of providing for a defensive force In keeping with the democracy of the American people. was thrust aside without a struggle by the Administration. . With a universal service provision a sufficient land force would have been assured and the cost of its maintenance reduced by millions of dollars. But the lure of meeting the demands for security with a pork barrel military policy was more than the Democratic party could resist. Such a policy met the approval of special interests which would share in the pork distribution: it mollified he peace propagandists, who were satisfied with mock-preparedness where they could not gain disarmament. As for the people at large, it was assumed they would not recognize the Inadequacies in a system which has received so little serious study and consideration. Failure to recruit the Army to Its new strength under a system of com petition with labor for men is plainly foreshadowed. When the hour of that failure is made apparent it will be well for the country to have in power a man and a party which will meet the issue fairly and squarely. REVAMPING AX OLD SAW. Granddaughters have been wont to shock grandmothers as far back as the record of mankind runneth, but the -world has grown so used to the changing tide of conventions from generation to generation that grand daughters no longer are criticised for their failure to observe those niceties which their grandmothers held sacred The world grows more liberal and more tolerant In its attitude toward innocent diversions, such as the thea ter and dancing. Decency, of course does not lose its tone or character. Morality is as steadfast as Gibraltar in its demands and requirements. But social customs and parlor refinements change with shifting economic condi tions, and here is the source of th cry that younger generations are go ing straight to perdition. In glancing over the baccalaureate sermon which Rev. Mr. Charles Rich mond, of Union College, delivered at Vassar the other day there is to be noted one of the infrequent survivals of that tendency to rail at modern laxness, so-called. Dr. Richmond even sees respectability as something of a handicap to those who would ac quire professional greatness. He finds that old admonition of our grand mothers, "Be good, sweet maids, and let who will be clever," transposed by modern condition so as to read, "Be clever, sweet maids, and let who will be good." It may "be, of course, that the good doctor was moved by desire to play on words and make a bright catch phrase regardless of the precise' truth of its application. Such sins are com mitted not infrequently by sober speakers on solemn- occasions. But admitting his sincerity, it would have been enlightening had the speaker given us his interpretation of good ness. Does the term embrace, aa his words imply, strict observance of those conventions which were the vogue twenty-five or fifty years ago ? Is it im proper for the maids to enter the pro fessions and compete with men by the use of such methods as may be neces sary in achieving honorable success? And why, for that matter, need there be any incompatabllity between goodness and cleverness? Is It not a matter of common observation that goodness and cleverness go hand in hand among the sweet maids of one's ac quaintance, even as stupidity and bad- ess are frequently . noted as boon companions? AS TO FARM LAND BANKS. In anticipation of the passage, by Congress and approval by the Presi dent of the' rural 'credit bill, the Orange Judd Northwest" Farmstead is already out with a scheme for divid ing the country into Federal land ank -"districts, and urges farmers to form preliminary . organizations for farm loan associations. These, it says, "may be helpful in seeing to it that the land bank districts are laid out" so as best to accommodate them. That paper publishes a map showing tentative districting and location of land banks. It places Oregon, Wash ington, Idaho, California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona in one district with a bank at Sacramento. This is a hint to the people of the Pacific Northwest to see that their in terests are not ignored in the matter. They should not be required to go all the way to Sacramento to arrange a loan. Oregon, Washington and Idaho have far more in common with Mon tana and Wyoming than with Califor nia, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Those five Northwestern states are on the same main lines of railroad, and com munication is as easy and frequent among them as with California. The volume of population and capital should not be the sble deciding fac tors. Area also should be considered. This demands that -a large district such as the five Pacific Northwest states have a land bank, though It be small, rather than that their people should be required to go or send away off to Sacramento for transaction of business. The time is not any too soon for the Chambers of Commerce to act with a view to due consideration of our in terest and convenience. ANOTHER LOST OPPORTUNITY. Thomas W. Lawson claims distinc tion not only as a frenzied financier but as a political prophet. He pub lished a pamphlet which he called "A Pathpointer for Delegates to the Re publican National Convention" and in which he made a series of predictions. He was quite positive that the Repub licans should nominate Roosevelt and, if not Roosevelt, McCall, saying that with the Colonel's indorsement "Mc Call can swamp Wilson at the polls.'' He predicted that, when it became evident that Roosevelt could not re ceive the Republican nomination, the latter would Indorse McCall and that the next President would be "Roose velt or McCall- or Wilson." These ideas were elaborated by the industrious literary broker in his well- known ragtime English. He gave in detail his reasons for objecting to Jus tice Hughes. He (Lawson) had sup plied the ammunition for the insur ance investigation and the guillotine for decapitation of "the all-powerful System," when Mr. Hughes "closed the investigation and used the head bas ket for the floral offerings of a grate fully hysterical public." Even with this evidence before it of Mr. Hughes' unwillingness to slay the System, the Republican conven tion went ahead and nominated him for President. Governor McCall hav ing thus been eliminated and Colonel Roosevelt having eliminated' himself, there is no alternative, if Mr. Law son's' prediction is to be fulfilled, to tne re-election or President Wilson. Thus do 985 obstinate men, by reject ing the advice of the one wise man in the United States the man who knows precisely what will happen if they do not heed his counsel call down sure disaster on their party and their country. Really the one safe course for the convention would have been to nomi nate Thomas W. Lawson for Presi dent. Then, if he had been elected. he would have furbished up his guil lotine, decapitated the monster Sys tem and gloated as its gory head rolled Into the basket. Why did nobody think of it? i NTKrPE ra te cse of tobacco, While moralists and scientific men are rejoicing over the decreasing vol ume of alcohol consumed yearly and the corresponding decrease of cirrho sis of the liver and alcoholic gastritis, a new menace ia creeping slowly to ward dangerous proportions. Dr. Robert Abbe," senior surgeon of St. Luke's Hospital, New York,- in an ar ticle contributed to the Medical Rec ord of that city, classes tobacco as a formidable rival of alcohol in its evil effects . upon health. Not tobacco used moderately, bait that persistent over-indulgence which marks the ab Ject slave of Lady Nicotine. Cancer of the mouth, nervous over-stimulation, heart irregularities, irritated throat and Indigestion follow in the wake of tobacco excesses. Without presenting concrete statistics, the writer contends that these maladies are on the increase. - In making out his case against to bacco excesses, Dr. Abbe gives the world a bit of unsuspected news. He says that the death of Major-General Frederick Dent Grant was brought on by cancer of the mouth. At the time of General Grant s death in April, 1912. heart failure waji tmlsrtiwl n the cause, and Dr. Abbe, who was one of the attending physicians, says that while the immediate cause may havt reen near; iaiiure, me larger con triDuting cause was a cancerous growth similar to that which claimed the life of General Grant's illustrious father. General Ulysses S. Grant. The circumstance leads the doctor to con elude that'eancer of the mouth is legacy of the intemperate use of to bacco. Perhaps the cancer itself is not transmitted, but the inordinat craving for tobacco is passed on from father to son. Just how over-indulgence is to be guarded against, the writer does not say. In fact, he admits that the quan tity of tobacco which may be use safely does not agree in two Individ uals. As one smokes, the quantity of tobacco that may be used without se rious consequence. Increases, but there la the danger of permitting the habit to grow until It leads to serious consequences. Doctors, who are users of tobacco as a rule, are lenient with disciples of the weed until ill effects manifest themselves.. . Then there must be regulation or disaster. How ever, moderate . use of tobacco, by those who persist in seeking its tran quillizing associations is preferable to an ultimate crisis. The first symptoms of distress should serve as a warning against continued excess. The position of precinct committee man is held in such little esteem that not many cared to run and as a re sult there are many men tied for the office in all counties on one or two votes - each which friends cast as a joke. In populous counties, the com mittees are too large and unwieldy when full. Think of it 734,412 Germans have been kiHed in this senseless warl All able-bodied and good men the life of the nation, the biggest and best. The allies' losses by death are not stated, but must be as great, though divided In - nationality. Many a generation must pass before Europe regains its standard of virile manhood. If there must be more battles, let them be on the sea. People can un derstand what, happens when a few ships connect up and bang away until one or the other side has most of its ships at the bottom. It takes a mili tary sharper, on the. other hand, to get any notion of what is going on in a big land battle. If you haven't got a flag for Flag day (tomorrow), get one today and fling to the breeze so the sun can greet as be rises from the mists of the night the most glorious combina tion of color made by the hand of man. What has become of the case of the woman charged with mutilating an American flag? In the average Amer ican city .there are officials bold enough and patriotic enough to deal firmly and finally with such offenders. Four babies were born in Halsey last week, one boy and three girls, and whether the proportion .knocks out all war theories and is a slap at pre paredness Is something for considera tion by those who like a problem. The grand Jury of Lane finds the people at the Poor Farm are ill fed, which is about the meanest thing that can be done, officially or otherwise. Lane is a rich county and does not need to slight its unfortunates. The difficulty before the engineers f the Democratic machine is to hold down its speed to the pace which will make the convention last four days and deliver the goods to St. Louis. The machine runs too smoothly. The Colonel says he is out of poli tics. What will politics be without him? But there is one consolation: we still have Bryan to lecture us on moral ethics," as the reformed gam bler termed it. Tou do not hear anything about Bryan and Henry Ford running on a Peace ticket, and you will not, for under the hide Bryan is a Democrat and Ford Is a gilded turtledove far from the cote. The platform which ' Senator Bill Stone will present at St. Louis .de fends the Mexican policy, but there Is nothing to defend the Americans now in Mexico and in danger of murder. Every time the Germans take a British trench in Flanders, the Brit ish take a German town in East Af rica, so honors will be easy so long aa both trenches and towns last. However, it might be Just as well not to insist on a too vigorous enforce ment of the lazy husbands law until the Spring fever season has passed on. The Supreme Court took another vacation yesterday, to last until Octo ber. - And a good man resigns that Job to run for President. Another convict has escaped at Sa lem, the second, in. a long period These escapes are so few they reflect credit on Warden Mlnto. British and German newspapers are still sinking each other's warships, which la a safe but not exciting style of naval warfare. People who think the palm for grace has passed from woman to man would better v await opening of the bathing season. It has been twenty years since Port land has seen a political parade and the old-timers are forgetting how to step. King Constantino surely has enough ultimatums from the allies to make a bullet-proof breastplate for him. Senator Chamberlain is doctor of laws when abroad; but at home will continue to be "George." The November incident will be mere ratification of the Hughes-for- Presdent selection. The whole country feels more op timistlc and cheerful now that Hughes Is nominated. All Roosevelt need do is to say It to start the Progressive stampede to Hughes. Who cares for news from Chicago and St. Louis! "Painless" Parker passed! The Russians lately have' captured 114,000 Austrians and are still at it. What are those 25,000 American soldiers in Mexico doing ail this time The affair at St. Louis will nothing more than a sideshow. be Substitutes - and "near" goods not go at St. Louis this week. do It will take another naval fight to decide who won the last one. Now is the time for a spin out on the Columbia River Highway. Indiana will be assorted, classified and labeled this year. Teddy paid the price for his folly of 1913. The call of the sea is in the air. Cheer up, cherries are ripe! Gleams Through the Mist. BT DEAN COLLINS. BALLADE OF THE LATE FESTIVAL. Since BUI McMurray framed the slogan old About the "Roses fragrant, rosea rare," Each year has served still further to unfold The fame that clings about our rosea fair. Each year with honest pride do we compare With others the last Festival we close; Each year more evidence discover there To prove the whole world knows the Portland rose. When the last festal plans I saw unfold While Lloyd McDowell and Dundore . worked with care. Doping out plana more fanciful and bold Than any other Festival might dare; I said, "This show Is gonna be .a bear! Compared to all of our preceding shows. And when it's done, the dope will all be there To prove the whole world knows the Portland rose." "For you a rose In Portland grows," we're told, Eo every one can come and get his share; Believe me. If last Friday's crowd were polled You'd find the delegates from every where Amid the rose drift and the trumpet's blare And the confetti storm that drifts and blows. People from all the world assembled " there To prove the whole world knows the Portland rose. L.ENVOL Fellows, draw round and tell us, on the square. Now that the Festival has reached Its close; Is there a better lineup anywhere To prove the whole world knows the Portland rose? The Courteous Office Boy had a fight with the cockroach that lives under my desk the first thing yesterday morn ing, when he took the bug out to give him elementary instructions in clean ing paste pots. While the cockroach does not shun eating paste, he declines to apply his talents in that line toward the clean ing out of old paste pots, of which there are 17 every day for the C. O. B. to attend to. I gather from the attitude of the cockroach that he feels that it would be prostituting his art to the demands of mere commercialism, if he should permit his priceless paste-eating tal ents to be applied to the cleaning of paste pots. "However," says the C O. B., "there appears to be no other practical method for cleaning 'em, and in a case like that It seems to me that a public-spirited cockroach must eventually yield to the popular demand which Is me." THE SHORTEST POME. The blank space published last Sun day, which was the ultimate degree of compression to which the shortest pome shrunk in our contest, is inter preted by Phil Wilder under the title of "The Useless Pen," which won't make a mark, and is hence, No Go. A student In Gooding, Idaho, suggests that If we want to carry the contest further than the present vanishing point to which it has attained, we might take a few subsequent verses from "Case III of the Third Section of Xartaxerxes on the 'Fourth Dimen sion,' " and J. D. C. has the reading of the metrical hiatus: What? Spot? Dot? Not! Under the circumstances we would ended be willing to call the contest and wearily to award the prizes, were It not for three urgent letters we have Just received which have put an- en tirely new face on the matter. OIR rROXOl'JCIXG GAZEVEER. 'Bou B.," a metrical knut whom we have known these many years, still seeks' to hava our poetio license re voked because of our rhyme about Til lamook. , Says be: When you . rhymed Tillamook with duke. My warmth of love for you grew luke. In fact It almost made me sick As if I'd eaten too much cake." (He forbids me to publish the above stanza. Ed. Note.) "Another bad rhyme you did hatch up. When Clatsop rhymed with mis-spelled catsup. 'The Slwash klootchmen piled the flats up With clam shell middens down at Clat sop. "There' romance fit to fill a book Each Summer down at Tillamook." (He sent some more, but we won't print It Just now, lest he become swol len up with unseemly pride and' tries to take another fall out of our 191S rhyme schemes. 'Nother Ed. Note.) HE'S IX The Rev. M. M. Martin sends us letter expressing his earnest desire to get Into the Thumbnail International Geographical Society, and enclosing the geographical pome he started to write, , As far as he got it reads thus: "I've traveled all around the earth. And half around the world " Then he bogged down and couldn't get any further. At that we think he got far enough to get into the Soc. and we re voting him in unanimously. AND ALSO TI1ISSUN-. The fourth member added to the Thumbnail International Geographical Society ia "Q. Ed," a new star that has swum into our constellation of con tribe. He got In on the following: I've never been in Hamburg, BufJ that no dlff'rence makes I know the Hamburghers of Hamburg, They never mane mis-steaks. DE GUSTIBUS. Welsh rarebit is a dish it seems. (I like It) That raises hades with your dreams; I like it. It la a dish for which I sigh. But how they'll make it's more than I Can tell now that the town la dry; I like it. D.VNGEK IX THAT OPEX MOUTH f Seattle Paper Implies That Open Co lumbia is Menace to Safety PORTLAND, June 12. (To the Ed itor.) Under the caption of "Naval Base for the Columbia." the Argus, a Seattle weekly, publish the following -comment: The bill of Congressman Hawley, of Ore Con, providing tor a naval base at , the n.outh of the Columbia la unworthy of serious consideration. From a pork barrel standpoint that waterway is now. swallow ing up something like $1,000,000 per year. From a utility standpoint, the selection of a site there would be about aa poor a one as could possibly be made. The expenditure of o.000.000 or more for a naval base would be waated unless the base, when completed, were used. -A dry dock to take the largest dreadnoughts would be Idiotic unleaa the mouth of the river waa ao improved that such ahlDi could reach the dock. This would cost many millions, and even then It would not b" certain that - it would be successful. Should It so prove, however. It would be necessary for the Government to Immedi ately spend many millions more to keep foreign dreadnoughts out of a section which It has already spent other millions to make passable for those vessels. There are sample locations for naval bases on the Pacific Coast, and It Is costing Im mense sums of money to protect them. The next thing In order Is tor Utah to de mand a tew submarines on Great Salt Lake. And there you arel What a meaty little Item It Is, to be sure. To beg-In with we are caught right in the pork barrel by the watchdog of Puget Sound for, says the Argus, "from a utility standpoint the selection of a site there would be about aa poor as could possl bly be made." Just why this Is so the keen-eyed Argus thinks it not worth while to state. But later he does assert, "a dry- dock to take the largest dreadnoughts would be Idiotic unless the mouth of the river was so Improved that such ships could reach the dock," and that Is clever, is It not? This would cost millions and even then It would not be certain that it would be successful." When will this Puget Sound Rip Van Winkle roll over and stretch himself? But where we all get together is when the brlght,-eyed Argus discovers that should it so prove, however, it would be necessary for the Government to Immediately spend many millions more to keep dreadnoughts out of a sec tion which It has already spent other millions to make passable for those vessels. We were ' moved to open this cam paign because It had "so proven" and we also believe that the Government should spend whatever Is necessary to "keep foreign dreadnoughts out of this section which it has already spent mil lions to make passable for those ves sels." But why it should ever be necessary to spend a cent on the Columbia if the strategic Importance of that river is not greater than-that of Salt Lake our Argus-eyed friend fails to state. The cleverest thing about the Argus editorial is the suggestion that the safety of this section depends upon keeping the river mouth impassable to big ships. We look to the Argus to start a campaign for filling of the Co lumbia River on the ground that it may prove a great National menace it per mitted to continue to flow. JOHN BERTRAM KELLET. Depends on Terms of Contract. PORTLAND, June 12. (To the Ed itor.) Can you advise ' me whether or not a real estate concern can comnel me to pay for the care they put on a live-acre apple orchard (work which they were advised by me not to do? on account or my nayinr them an abnormal sum for the care of the place last year, I advised them I could not afford the additional expense this year and because part of the heavy mortgage on tne place came due this year, which they know, and the orchard not yet old enough to bring in revenue if it ever win. Regardless of my instructions they went aneaa ana aid the work, whereas I had planned on having it done on a smaller scale on-the outside. aow the real estate company says It is going to put a lien for labor on the place for the $120. saying it is protect ed by the state In so doing from a hor ticultural standpoint. The trees were entirely free from In fection and xne company Itself guaran teed the care given the trees in De cember last. There seems to me to be no Justifies tlon in this Bort of procedure. Can you advise me? A SUBSCRIBER. The question is not specific If you have a written contract with the com pany, knowledge of its contents would be required by one endeavoring to give a legal opinion, and it is a matter that should be taken up with a lawyer. The Oregonlan undertakes to answer only those legal questions which are fundamental or general in their appll cation. Cats! O! the ladies with their logic. Which to some sounds pedagogic! They have burned the midnight taper, They have written to the paper! They have said, "God made the bird," Which sounds not so absurd; But they do not stop at that. They also say he made the cat! The cats, they say, catch rats and mice. And this, I think, sounds very nle; But if God created cats, -Who the Devil made the gats? Be consistent, if you can. While this rhyme of mine you scan; If the cats we should protect. Rats and mice we can't reject. Now each neighbor has a cat. And maybe two or three, at that; And he keeps them not at home. O'er the city wide they roam. I can hear their horrid calls. Ere the shade of darkness falls; At night, with amorous Intent, O'er the roofs they fly, hell bent. And before the Summer dawn. They are digging In my lawn; And the flowers I plant with care Lie uprooted to the air. My brother's keeper I should be. So the Good Book aays to me; But if I know where I'm at I'll not keep, my brother's cat! , . J. K Pearcy. Where to Find List of Official. PORTLAND. June 12. (To the Ed ltor.) 1 trust that you will publish or tell me where I can find the following information: (1) The Cabinet officers and the of fice of each. (2) The Chief Justice and his asso ciates. (3) The present Oregon (state) offi cials that are elected by the people and their office. (4) The Judge of the Supreme Court of Oregon If not included In ro. 3. (5) The present Multnomah County Officials. A SUBSCRIBER. All thie information is included In the Oregon Blue Book except two changes since its publication. Louis D. Bran dels has succeeded Justice Lamar," de ceased, and Newton Jaker has suc ceeded Lindley M. Garrison as Secretary of War. Consult Blue Book at Public Library. Where Kitchener Was Born. CONDON. Or.. June 10. (To the Edl rtor.) If you want to know the exac spot where Earl .Kitchener was born, here it is; Earl Kitchener was born In Crotta, County Kerry, Ireland, a few miles from the town of Ustowel. His fathe was Colonel Kitchener, a retired cav alrv officer. I knew him as a boy, as I made my initial squalls five miles on the other side of the town. Ai. FITZMAUBJCEm In Other Days. Twenty-Five Years Ago. From The Oregonlan of June IS, 1891. San Francisco. June 12. Capt, Ecott, of the British tramp steamer West In dian, who had some trouble In getting away to British Columbia some weeks ago with a non-union crew, this morn ing shipped a full union crew from the office of the Coast Seamen's Union. The fire commissioners are figuring out how many new companies the con solidated city will require. It is prob able that East Portland and Albina will require seven new companies. They will also build a fire boat. - Traffic on the cable road was blocked for a short time last evening. Car 21 jumped the track while speeding down Jefferson street between Fifth and Sixth. A distillery on quite a large scale is soon to be in operation at Troutdale. It Is being built by the Portland Dis tilling & Cattle Feeding Company and win nave a capacity for using looo bushels of grain, wheat and rye. per day. Mr. Graden Is one of several promi nent engineers who. without being par ticularly interested in the subject from any cause, thinks that the Peninsula, somewhere midway between the Co lumbia and Willamette rivers, it the place to get water for Portland. It Is proposed to dig a deep well for this purpose. Half Centnry Alto. From The Oregonlan of June IS. 186. Ban Francisco, June 11. Since In junctions have been granted against the Pacific Telegraph Company, tuelr offices have been closed and all their business stopped. It Is now generally understood that the two lines will con solidate and the whole telegraph busi ness across the plains and on this Coast w-ill be under the control of the West ern Union Telegraph Company, which owns nearly all the telegraph lines in the United States. Goods of all kinds are very low In the Montana camps. Flour sold at $15 per 100 pounds at Helena on the 20th and other articles are selling propor tionately. Chicago. June 9. The United States District Court met at Richmond on Tuesday and on Wednesday the case of Jefferson Davis was postponed until he first Thursday in October, to which day the court adjourned. Multnomah Engine Company No. 2 extends an Invitation to the ladles of the city to call and see the new steam fire engine. It will be ready for in spection by the ladles today from 10 A. M. to 4 P. M. The damp sinks of iniquity in the vi cinity of Alder and Second streets, ten anted by the Chinese of our otherwise fair city, were last evening the scenes of bloody riot and homicide, occasioned by an eruption among the American ized Celestials and the successful killing- of one of them' by another skilled in the use of firearms. WELL-FED CATS NOT RAPACIOUS. Owner of Motherless Chirks Says Her Poultry Is In No Danger. MILWAUKIE, Or, June 11. (To the Editor.) I was beginning to hope that the poor cat had been slandered enough by The Oregonlan and some of its con tributors, but here comes W. Vernon and puts what he calls a "complete con demnation" over the much-abused ani mal. As far back as I can remember, and that Is a good many years, I have been fond of cats and have had them for pets, and I have nothing but good words for them. At present I have two fine, lnte.li- gent felines and they are not "mny and disease-carrying." I would con sider It my fault it they were. The cat, as well as other animals, must have proper care to be healthy, and in clean habits. If not always in in telligence, the cat Is far ahead of the dog. w. Vernon says a eat will "scratch and run" when abused. Why not? It s likely that Mr. Vernon would "scratch and run," too' if he were abused beyond endurance and so would the dog. Aa for the cat a being worthless, that is not true. The farmer with 1? cats whom Mr. Vernon refers to very likely did not .feed them and in that case de served to have his chick eaten. I have about SO motherless chicks running at large and I never see the cats "prey on them.. As for wild birds, our place is swnrmed with them, but the cats pay little or no attention to them. On the other hand, there Is not a mouse tfh our place nor a mouse trap. because even It a cat is too laiy m move." mice win not stay wnere. mere are cats. We live outside the city and were bothered with moles to a great extent. Our cats have literally cleared our place of them. The cats do not eat the moles. They catch them and bring them to our back yard. We have counted as many as 19 killed in one day. So much in defense of the cat. Me has many friends, as well as enemies, and I do not believe "sufficient has been said against the cat to make his condemnation complete." Airta. a. J. ttccu. Trespass and Owner's Remedy. PORTLAND. June 12. (To the Edi tor.) (1) Have I a right to ask a reg ular police patrol officer to keep a little extra watch on vacant property of mine, situated on his regular beat? (2) Would I violate any law, or city ordinance, if I offered him pay for the service? - (S) If boys, ranging In age from S to 15 years, persist In playing on the lawn of a vacant bouse of mine, in the face of my protests, what are my legal rights? (4) If I should put up a fence and "no trespass" notices, and they should be disregarded, what should be my next step in protection of my rights? M. B. C. (1) Yes. (2) Tes. He is paid to perform duty as policeman and his salary is in full for au services. (3) Have them arrested for trespass and tried before Juvenile Court. (1) Same answer as No. 3 unless the persons are not minors, in which case trial is before Municipal Court. jSo Relation to Ira. Partington. PORTLAND. June 11. (To the Ed itor.) One who would presume to de fend so-called "formal grammar" should at least be familiar with the words and terms he employs, else he makes him self ridiculous, and I am averse to pos ing as a lineal descendant of Mrs. Par tington. Of course, being in the third declension and in the accusative case, singular, it is not "nauseum," but "nauseam." I know something of the "precession of the equinoxes," but I suppose the blue pencil man during this festival week was obscessed with the idea that everybody and everything should "parade"; hence "procession" of the equinoxes. The lower East Side is a well-known section of" New York City: there may be a section lower than the "lower East Side," hence "lowest Fast Side." but I think the average New Yorker would fail to locate it; at leabt the lower East Side is low enough for purpose of illustration. -F. F. SMITH.