Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 1916)
8 - ' . ,- TIIE 3IORNIXO OREGOXIAN, 3IOXDAT, AUGUST 28, 1916, ' PORTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Portland (Oregon) Postoffice a second-class mail matter. Subscription rates--Invarlably In . advance. , (By Mall.) Dally; Sunday Included, one year SS.OQ Daily, Sunday Included, six months 4.25 Daily, Sunday Included, three months... 2. 2-3 Daily, Sunday included, one month..... .76 Dally, without Sunday, one year........ 6.25 Daily, without Sunday, six months 8.25 Dally, without Sunday, three months.... 1.75 Xaily. without Sunday, one month...... .60 "Weekly, one year , 1.50 Eunday, one year 2.60 Sunday and Weekly 3.S0 " (By Carrier.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year -. 9.00 Dally, Sunday Included, one month. ... . .75 How to Kemlt Send poatofflce money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at sender's risk. Give postoffice address In full, including county and state. Postage Rate 12 to 18 pages, 1 cent; IS to 31! pases. 2 cents; 34 to 4S pages, 8 cents; 50 to 60 pages, 4 cents; 62 to 76 pages, n cents; 78 to 82 pages, 6 cents. Foreign postage, double rates. Eastern Business Office Verree 3k Conk Un. Brunswick building. New York; Verree & . Conklin, ftegror building;. Chicago. San Francisco representative. R. J. Bldwell, 742 ilsrket street. PORTLAND, MONDAY. AUGUST 28, 1916. WHAT CAUSED PROSPERITY T An elaborate attempt is made by Theodore H. Price In the Outlook to prove that the prevailing prosperity la due more to President Wilson's pol icies than to -war. As means of bring ing; this prosperity he cites all the important lawa which have been passed by the present and the pre ceding Congresses and the administra tive steps to protect and encourage legitimate business at home and to extend foreign commerce. While Mr. Price's reasoning appears on its face to be impartial and dis passionate. In fact it is decidedly par tisan. Although the groundwork for the Federal reserve system and the rural credit law waa laid by the Re publicans and the latter law itself was supported by them In committee and in: Congress, he gives the .entire credit to the Democrats. The Income tax amendment was submitted and rati fied before the new Administration was warm in Its seat, but It is assumed that the Democrats did it all. The good roads law and the Smith-Lever agricultural education act were also not party measures, but they are as sumed to be the sole work of the Democratic party. The Trade Com mission and Clayton anti-trust law are extolled, although they were de nounced by a leading Democratic Sen ator as having neither teeth nor claws and the contrary still remains to be proved. As evidence that prosperity Is due to: the Wilson Administration, not to the war, Mr. Price gives figures to show that during the last two years the increase in our National wealth has been twenty times the Increase in our balance of foreign trade. Can he not realize that this increase, of wealth was the outgrowth of war trade as well as of two consecutive bumper crops of the principal cereals, neither of which was produced by Democratic Administration? The prosperity arising from the war is not measured only by our exports of war material nor by the Increased exports of foodstuffs; it extends to our trade in all commodities, not only with bel ligerent countries but with the rest of the world. Almost all of our war material has gone to Europe, but in the last year -our exports to North America have increased BB per cent, to South America 81 per cent, to Asia 144 per cent, to Oceania 40 per cent, to Africa 63 per cent Wo have ex ported to these countries commodities which they could no longer buy in Europe. We have also supplied our selves with vast quantities of goods which we ordinarily buy In Europe, quantities which have been Increased beyond measure by the greater buying power of our people resulting from war trade and good crops. In this domestic trade the money derived from war trade must have been turned over several times, which goes far to account for the greater increase in wealth as compared with trade bal ance. The strongest proof that our pros perity is a product of war and not of Democratic rule Is the fact that it does not extend In full measure throughout the country. At the be ginning it was "spotted" where the war orders were placed. It spread as they were more widely distributed un til it reached pretty generally through the East and Middle West. Renewal of cotton exports and advanoe in cot ton prices, due to the war, extended it to the South, and the prosperity of those sections enhanced domestic de mand for products of all sections, but - prosperity has not yet reached the Pa cific Coast. The premier industry of this section is lumber and whatever recovery that Industry has experienced has been due to domestic trade, which has revived under the Influence of war trade and good crops. The lumber industry was prostrated by the Under wood tariff and has been raised to its knees by war prosperity. In order to judge correctly the effect of Demo cratic rule, we must consider the state of our Industries between the passage of the Underwood, tariff and the beginning of the war prosperity flood, not the state In which that flood put them. Then we shall know where Democratic rule would put them when war and its after' effects had passed away. But Mr. Wilson has done this coun try an Injury far outweighing In its ultimate consequences any part he may have had in producing prosper ity. Mr. Price quotes a New England manufacturer as predicting that a ma jority of his employes would vote for Wilson because, "first, Wilson has kept us out of war," and as saying: As to our honor, time enough to- consider that when the rights of soma of those who live here and are willing to stay here are attacked. The Outlook rightly bases Its oppo sition to Mr. Wilson not on economic grounds but on the fact that he In effect says that "the chief right of Americans is the right to safety and prosperity and their chief duty is to be neutral In the great world contro versy that now actually threatens their safety and prosperity." He has en couraged them to forget the ideals which inspired Washington and Lin coln, -to forget National rights and Na tional honor for the sake of easy en joyment of war-made wealth. He has taught them to prefer safety first for their bodies and their material well being at the sacrifice of the National self-respect and of the respect which this Nation should exact from other nations. The Outlook says:. It may be that the mass .of Americans nave not yet risen to an appreciation of American ideals., It may be that they do not yet realize that their prime duty Is to stand publicly for those ideals at home and abroad. If so. Is it not because Mr. Wilson has failed to grasp the great opportunity of moral and patriotic leadership that was offered to him T Instead of rising to a great occasion, instead of touching the consciences of the people and . arousing them to their duties, Mr. Wilson appears to us to have devoted himself to "playing safe." . Should the American people,-by re electing ilr, Wilson, indorse this pol icy and permit its continuance, they will, have a terrible awakening from their dream of false security and of artificial prosperity. They will foster a belief abroad that they will endure any wrong rather than arouse them selves from their ease to fight and they will excite the cupidity of preda tory nations by piling up wealth until peace again puts in operation those causes of depression which the war has temporarily suspended. MR. HUGHES AND THE HATTERS' CASE. One of the worst blunders of the Democrats in their search for ground of attack on Mr. Hughes is the drag ging of the Danbury hatters' case into the campaign. They have overlooked the fact that the original decision in the District Court was given in favor of the labor union by Judge Piatt, a Republican. This decision was re versed by the Supreme' Court in an opinion by Chief Justice Fuller, a Democrat. The final decision against the union was given by the Supreme Court In January, 1916. The opinion was given by Justice Holmes and was concurred fn by the entire court, in cluding Chief Justice White and Jus tices Lamar and McReynolds, all Democrats. Justice McReynolds was Attorney-General In President Wil son's Cabinet, and was appointed by him to the Supreme Court. Any reflections which are cast upon Mr. Hughes for concurring in the decision extend also to this appointee of Mr. Wilson and to the other Democratic members of the court. The simple truth Is that politics had nothing to do with the case, nor had the personal opinions of the judges as to whether the boycott Is a proper weapon of Industrial warfare. The judges did not express their opinion of what the law should be, but of what It is. They were called upon to con strue the law as they found It, not to make a law conforming to their own opinions. IT DARKS TO NAME IT We observe that the Public, a radi cal publication of Chicago, frankly re fers to the "People's Land, and Loan Measure" of Oregon as a single tax amendment. For some reason Ore gon proponents of the amendment whisper "single tax" behind closed doors when discussing their measure. There seems to be an impression thai odium attaches to the correct title. The group that is responsible for this amendment never has frankly es poused single tax before the electorate. Heretofore single tax has been aimed at indirectly. It has never been of fered In a flatfooted, honest way, al though It has been presented obliquely and voted down repeatedly. This year's variety comes forth un der a title supposed to be alluring to the homeless and the landless, and it is sugar-coated with an Imitation of the rural credits principle. It must be a poor doctrine that will not stand alone under its own name. The Public refers to the amendment as result of publication in The Ore gonlan of Henry E. Reed's statement that the amendment would make worthless $6,200,000 In mortgages held by the state school fund. That publi cation says: As a matter of fact, Mr. Reed is need lessly worried over the publlo schools. The Interest on these mortgages now goes Into the school fund. Under the proposed law it will he paid as ground rent into the public treasury and should the schools need It, no douht will be appropriated for their use. . As a school fund mortgage is based on a land value three times that of its face and as it draws 6 per cent in terest, the foregoing is a candid predic tion that taxes would be Increased 20 mills over the present rate. How a Chicago publication Is able to epeal. with such apparent authority concern ing the market rental of land in Ore gon, which, under the proposed law, would be the tax rate, is not quite clear. But as an estimate we imagine it is conservative. Probably those whose land is mort gaged, if they were able to set aside conscience and moral obligation, would be willing to cease paying mortgage interest and pay an equivalent sum in taxes Instead, were it not for one fac tor. They would never cease paying the Interest equivalent. A mortgage may be paid and then interest ceases; taxes go on forever. But if the Publlo desires to be help ful in the Oregon campaign it would better come under the ambush and call the amendment something besides single tax. THE NEEDLE'S EYE. The world is prone to judge the phil anthropy of the individual by the sum of his benefactions rather than by the sacrifices that attend the gift. The world, though it may deny the expe diency of the Ford peace expedition and the neutral conference, though It may deride the whimsy that it could succeed, nevertheless approves the generosity that was willing to back a hopeless cause. It cost a lot of money and the ordinary man gauges the gen erosity of the deed by what the sum would mean to him rather than what it meant to Mr. Ford. ' But there is a different thought ex pressed upon the subject by Dr. Aked, who was a member of the expedition and has now written of its failure for the Congregatlonalist. By "failure" as used herein is not meant the inability of the expedition to accomplish its purpose, but the grosser failure that revealed Itself In suspicion, Intrigue, hostility and jealousy within the expe dition and Is frankly admitted to have done so by Dr. Aked. "There was too much money in the Ford expedition, There was too much money in the neutral conference," says he. Mr. Ford's money was flung about, never for his own aggrandizement, never by him personally with an unworthy purpose. It was flung about unselfishly, with prodigal extravagance yes, with wicked extrava gance. It thrust a colossal temptation be fore the eyes of men and women only too ready to be tempted. It corrupted. It de bauched. You cannot buy peace. A multi-millionaire cannot buy peace. With, gold, he can ndt buy the kingdem of heaven. He can not, with all his wealth, buy the "fruits of the spirit." Now the fruits of the spirit are peace . . . With us the spirit was not present, and peace. Its fruit, was not to be looked for. The gospel of peace is an Integral and indestructible part ofthe gospel of Christ. Yet It is not a new thought that you cannot buy peace, material or of the spirit, nor buy the kingdom of heaven with gold. It is more than 1900 years old. It was expressed in the admoni tions to the rich young man and con cerning the widow's mite. There may be, as Dr. Aked says also, "a guilt In extravagant generosity not less culpa ble than in, extravagant self-indulgence." The wonder is that a man who knows so well the lessons taught by his divine preceptor could have been led to engage with Mr. Ford in such an adventure. There are millions of men on each side of the European conflict who sincerely believe that they are engaged in a work for per . manent peace. Theirs Is a sacrifice of home, position, perhaps of limb or life, for the same cause for which Henry Ford gave what to him was of no use unless it might be to plant and culti vate that it might grow into more. . The idea that the spirit of sacri fice which pervades Europe, misguided though it may be, could be over whelmed with gold and pious invoca tion is one of the most unaccountable follies that ever led men and women into a crusade. PLAYIXQ POLITICS WITH GREECE. Most significant is the fact that in all the reports ef fighting in Macedo nia we see little about participation of the British and French, who are supposed to constitute Tour-fifths of the Salonlki army. Nor do we see any thing of Germans and Austriana fight ing beside Bulgarians. All the battles are fought between Serbs and Bul garians. This is the more significant as the Serbs are losing ground in the west, near Fiorina, and the Bulgars are overrunning Macedonia east of the Struma River, right to the coast. The facts suggest that the allies are playing politics with Greece. They have forced that country to Install a Cabinet that is benevolently neutral toward them, but it is merely a stop gap until the Greek army is demobil ized and a new Parliament is elected about a month hence. The Issue is between King Constantino, who favors a pro-German neutrality, and Venlze los, who favors war on the allies' side. The natural desire of the allies is to make campaign material for Venizelos. They may find it in the Bulgarian ln .cursions into Greek territory on the two wings, with the apparent design of blocking their plan to force their way up the Vardar Valley. These incursions and the stubborn resistance of the Greek troops at Seres and Startila have stirred the Greek people to war fever. Demonstra tions in favor of Venizelos have been held at Kavala and Salon lki. Popular hatred of Bulgaria is the consuming passion and may make Venizelos supreme. He would override the King's objections and espouse the cause of the allies. The latter then would undertake an offensive with all their forces, which they are loath to begin so long as there Is. danger that an unfriendly Greek ruler might stab them In the back. If the Salonlki army remains at its reported strength of 700,000 men, with the addition of the Russians and Ital ians "who landed recently, and IT prac tically all German and Austrian troops have been withdrawn from Macedonia, the allies may feel confident of their ability soon to regain the territory seized by the Bulgarians. They may calculate that with the addition of the Grreek army they could make a general sweeping movement northward all along the line from Avlona on the Adriatic to Seres. They may count on the moral effect of such a movement to end Roumanla's indecision. In leaving the Serbs to do the heavy fighting to this time, the French and British are only giving the latter their desire and are playing their own game. The spectacle of the Serbs the allies whom they left in the lurch fighting to save Greek soil from invasion by the hated Bulgars may help to inflame the Greeks and help to swing them into line. Thus the Balkan campaign Is more than war it Is a game of Greek politics. WAR'S ETTECT OX PEARLS. One industry that has suffered de pression during the war is the pearl fisheries of Australia. Before the war $1150 a ton ws paid for pearl shell at Broome, West Australia, and at Thursday Island; now the price is $650. Europe Is spending its money on war, and America cannot use the entire output of. the fisheries. Pearling is as speculative a business as mining. Many go "broke," but the chance of finding a pearl of great price gives it a fascination like that which keeps the prospector in the mountains in the hope of "striking it rich." Stories are told of four pearls having been sold for $85,000 and another for $25,000, while one of the Vanderbilts is said to have paid $25,000 for a single stone. , The divers are mostly Japanese, Malays and Filipinos, who have not been looked upon with favor by the Commonwealth Government, for it wishes to .make Australia a white man's country. A commission has been inquiring into the practicability of employing white divers, but has found that they are not a success, as they would demand higher pay and are not as efficient as Asiatics. Probably the diamond kings of South Africa also - feel the adverse effects of the world's absorption in war. The nations of Europe are spending so much money on shells that they can have but little for precious stones, and the women have so much cause to mourn and so few entertain ments that they have few opportuni ties to display their Jewels. The glam or has gone ouof life for them, and hence for the pearlers. LAST STRUGGLES OF PLNCHOTTSM. The conferees In Congress are dead locked on the rival Shields and Adam son bills providing for development of water power on navigable streams. Chairman Adamson, of the House committee, favors dispensing with the provision imposing a direct charge on the. use of water power. The only Im portant point at issue is whether the Secretary of War shall have power to grant leases or whether Congress shall pass a special law authorizing each lease. The Shields bill gives final authority to the Secretary; -the Adam son bill reserves it to Congress. The most that the Plnchotites can gain is postponement of the bills to the De cember session of this Congress or to the next Congress. This situation denotes a marked change of opinion on the water-power controversy in Congress, which follows a like change in the attitude of the Conservation Congress and of the newspapers throughout the country. When the Conservation Congress, by a majority of four to one, indorsed the Shields bill, the fact was favorably commented upon by newspapers in the East and Middle West which had formerly been deluded by Pinchotism. The customary cry of "the interests" was raised at the convention, but it was silenced when Professor Condra, of Nebraska University, asked the'116 delegates who composed the majority to rise, then asked those among them who were interested in power com panies or projects to sit down. Eighty seven, or more than a two-to-one ma jority, remained standing. Most of the minority were former subordinates of Mr. Plnchot in the Forest Service. Since that vote was taken the for mer newspaper champions of Pinchot ism have been veering around. One of the most stalwart among them was the New York .Evening Post. Most significant is this comment in that Journal on the deadlock on the Shields bill: The question of a Federal charge is In deed a debatable one; but the arguments against It havs been persuasive, and It is time that the country stopped guarding its power so well that it is of no us to anybody. At last sound common sense as to where the public Interest lies has a prospect of triumph over doctrinaire fanaticism supported by calumny and misrepresentation. The West will soon come into its own. . The protectorate over Haiti gives such assurance of peace ttnd good government in that country as has al ready begun to attract American en terprise to Its development. The Banque Nationals de la Republlque, which was formerly under French and German control, is about to pass into the hands Tf the National City Bank of New York, the leader In expansion of foreign trade. The country is rich, but only the coast belt Is half-clvllized, the Interior being given up to barbar ism. The only large investments are two short railroads, both owned by Americans. The United States sup plies 74 per cent of the imports, and is the natural field to which the coun try should look for capital and di rective energy for its development. It may become as great a hive of In dustry as Porto Rico. Polygamy In the United States Is by no means limited to the Mormons. William Wallace Snyder, a retired lawyer, who died last February, left three wives, one at Harrison, N. J., one at Mount Vernon, N. Y by whom he had five children, and one at East Orange, N. J. He had separated from the East Orange wife years ago, but he lived three or four days alternately with the other two, yet his neighbors knew nothing of his several families. He was excelled by a millionaire New York manufacturer and patron of the arts, who left three wives In New York, one in London, and one in Paris, while one died shortly before him. The Wright Aeroplane Company has been asked by a New York banker for estimates ' on ten airships, each ca pable of carrying three tons of freight. He contemplates using them to carry workmen and tools to an al most Inaccessible mine in the moun tains and to carry valuable ore- out. This type of airship would cost about $60,000 each. If a round trip were made daily on 300 days a year, an airship could carry 900 tons of ore a year. At only 5 per cent interest on their cost the transportation charge would be $3.83 per ton of ore. Much ore has stood a higher freight charge with the addition of mining cost and smelting. The approaching Maine election re minds us that Maine has lost the grip on the Government which it once had. During the Harrison Administration, the Secretary of State Blaine; the acting Vice-President Frye; the lead er of the Senate Hale; the Speaker Reed: the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Dingley; the Chairman of the House Naval Com mittee Boutelle; and the Chairman of the House Commitrtee on Public Buildings Milliken, all came from Maine. All of these great men are deadr and Maine has not supplied others to step Into their shoes. One of the most, serious deficiencies in the equipment of the United States for war is the small capacity of the Government arsenals for producing army rifles. The war has done much for us in that respect by inducing manufacturers to build great factories. Contracts for 9,200,000 rifles had been taken by six companies up to January 1, 1916, and their maximum capacity has increased to 25,000 a day. The value of the contracts was $225,000, 000, and rifles worth $9,493,000 were shipped abroad in the first five months of 1916. This Is one example of the preparedness with which the war has provided this Nation. The President did not overlook in significant people when he rushed an order to New York to prevent depor tation of a woman whose husband had been executed by Russians for selling bread to Germans in Poland.- If the United States cannot be a haven for the poor and oppressed of Europe, what is it to become? Young Lochlnvar with his bride at' the dawn had nothing on the young man of Lamont, Wash. Indeed, con sidering the young man's foresight in blocking pursuit by engaging the only automobile in town, it appears that ho has a bit the best of it, without dimming the romantic feature in the slightest degree. The banquet for farmers and busi ness men at the close of the Tillamook Fair had the nature of the annual din ner that was a great feature of the "cattle shows" of the East. The plan can be repeated at every county fair in Oregon with profit in U1 ways. It's up to "Ed" Vers.teeg to sit in solemn state In the shade at 1 P. M. next Saturday while Wilson is being notified he is In the running. Mr. Ver steeg is an honored warhorse. As soon as the news is wirelessed Into the African Jungle, the hippos and rhinos will put their homes in order and arrange to die. Bwana Tumbo is going again. Government needs a large number of stenographers and specifies the male sex. This Is rank discrimination, but perhaps the bosses know best. The Shreveport region of Louisiana took its hot-weather diversion Satur day by hanging a negro for attempt ing the usual crime. 1 The veterans assembling at Kansas City jwlll appreciate the week of cool weather that is forecast for that dis trict. Portugal thinks patriotism Is stir ring the nation, but more than likely it's the big Portugal onions. Any smoke in the atmosphere can be charged to forest fires to the north. Oregon is clear otherwise. ' Official data show that second-hand business is flourishing in Oregon. So it was twenty years ago. If a' railway strike is the salvation of the Oregon hop crop it were better to lose the crop. The "twinkle trot" Is a Portland production, and that alone should make it popular. Candidate Hanly cannot speak too well of Portland water when he makes his talk here. What Hood River calls its "inferior" fruit will make good cider. Kansas is enjoying the Oregon kind I of Summer weather. I ' -' " ! How to Keep Well. By Br. w. Ay Etui. Questions pertinent to hygiene, sanitation and prevention of disease, if matters of gen eral interest, will bo answered in this col umn. Where space will not permit or ths subject is not suitable, letter will be per sonally answered, subject to proper limita tions and where stamped addrnsed envelop la Inclosed. Dr. Evans will not make diagnosis or prescribe for Individual diseases. Re quests for such service cannot be answered. (Copyright, 191, by Dr. W. A, Evans. Published by arrangement with the Chicago Tribune. J Two BaUej en u Boat. The scene: A boat traveling to South Haven. Mich., from Chicago. The time: A hot day about August 4. In one group was a six-months-old baby, his mother, and a party of friends. The baby was breast-fed. He got his meals by the clock. When he indicated a willingness to stop the mother encouraged him to do so. The mother had brought along a bottle of boiled water. This the baby drank from a clean bottle with sterilized nipple which was kept covered with & clean cloth when not in use. The baby was happy and healthy and did not cry. Nearby was another party in which were a mother and her baby. This mother spoke soma foreign language. Her baby was bottle-fed. The trip from Chloago to South Haven requires five hours. During the trip this baby got four bottles of milk. While theYe was no regular feeding time, the baby got his bottle at intervals of about an hour and a half. He did not often want, the bottle when it was offered, but at least once when he refused it his mother slapped him and persisted in making him eat. When he wanted water the mother went to the faucet for it. The baby fretted much, of the time. This baby was about eight months old. The first of these babies is reason ably certain to get through the hot season without bowet trouble The sec ond is Just as certain to have one or more spells of bowel trouble. He may not survive. But the reader, taking the side of the mother of the bottle fed baby, recalls some fine, fat baby fed on a bottle who got his food every hour and took things as they came. Or maybe recalls some baby contest where some go-as-you-please baby got first p-ize. Not all wrongly fed babies die. Some thrive, and some even win prizes In baby shows. There must be excep tions to every rule. When we study the death rate among a thousand or more babies in each group we see the wisdom f the mother who feeds her baby rightly and the unwisdom of the mother who feeds her baby wrongly. In 1915, in Chicago, 20 per cent of the baby deaths were among the Polish babies, although only 6 per cent of all Chicago babies were Polish; 1.4 per cent of Chicago babies had Austrian parents, but 20 per cent of the baby deaths were among Austrian babies; the Italian babies constituted 2.4 of the population and furnished 6.6 per cent of the baby deaths; the babies of native Americans constituted 64.1 per cent of the population and furnished 25.39 per cent of the baby deaths. The babies whose mothers were born abroad were 35.9 per cent of the baby population and furnished 73 per cent of the baby deaths. This is more than an offset to the winning of some prize by the baby of some foreign speaking parent. Not all of the go-as-you-please feed ing is among the foreign speaking people, and not all of the regular, systematic, careful feeding Is among tho children of the native-born. Ir regular feeding and overfeeding is not responsible for all the bowel com plaints in babies. But after making all allowances we come back tothe fact that a baby that Is fed wrongly does not have a fair show for life and health. One of these mothers had had a chance to learn this. The other had not. In the course of time she, too, will learn the disad vantage of bottle feeding, and the need of giving the stomach some hours of rest between feedings. Should Investigate. Z. E. J. writes: "A little girl 4 years old In our neighborhood about two months ago was taken sick. It was at a time when her grandmother, living In the same house, was dying of what was said to be typhoid meningitis. "The child was acutely sick with stomach trouble and when she got bet ter would drag' one leg when she walked. She complained of paina in her Joints and hot feelings up her back. She has always suffered severely from constipation, and her present trouble is said to be caused by that. She has had several, spells since the first and is still at all times too sick to go out doors. "A little dog that went with that child frequently died two weeks ago of constipation, vomiting, and paralysis of the hind legs. "After reading your article yester day, I thought perhaps the child might have infantile paralysis. "Having children of my own, I am much concerned to know if the neigh borhood is safe for them." REPLT. In Justice to your own children you should ask the state or local board of health to Investigate this case. If it was a case . of infantile paralysis it Is possible that this child is still Infectious or - that some one in the house is a carrier. Brlght's Disease. Anxious mother writes: "My daugh ter has had acute Brlght'a disease for two years. 1. Is there any safe rem edy besides dieting and rest? 2. Is buttermilk good? 3. What are safest methods of reducing the albumen? 4. How long should it take? 6. Can you give me the name of good authority on this?" REPLT. 1 No. a Yea.- 5 Dieting1. .-4 if the disease has lasted two years Complete recovery will require several years of right living. 6 Von Noorden's small book oa ne phritis. Dislikes Tree of Iodine... C. O. J. writes: "Will you please ad vise me whether there Is anything as efficacious as iodine for a germicide In connection with small cuts and wounds, but which Is not so painful In its application. Iodine seems to do the work, but particularly In the case of children the pain caused by it Is almost & bad as the cause for Its use." RBPLT. Probably turpentine is as good. Ton are Justified In trylnr It. but do not experi ment further. EX-9ALOOXMEX OPPOSED TO BILL Petition Circulator Says 90 Per Cent Refused to Sign Brewery Measure. PORTLAND. Aug. 27. (To the Edi tor.) Having heard Rev. Billy Sun day's speech and read a writer's arti cle In another paper, it seems to me they had better study the Breweries' bill, as they call it- In both speech and write-up the main Issue raised was the saloon. For the benefit of the readers of this article I will state that the bill Is far from favoring saloons. I was one of the circulators of the petition for the bill, for which I secured 2500 names. I am personally acquainted with al most every ex-saloon-keeper in the city, and 90 per cent of those that I asked to sign said petition flatly re fused. "Why should we sign this pe tition?" they replied. "It means death to saloons forever In the state of Oregon." I write this to show the readers the unfair methods the prohibi tionists are taking in this campaign. CHRIS LOLLICK. 209 North Sixteenth street. CICFAIRNESS !EEX IX ARGOIEXT Assessor Ball Explains High Tax Charges Made in Behalf of BUI. TOLEDO, Or Aug. 25. (To the Ed itor.) So much is said about the pro posed tax limitation that one would suppose it to be something original. In fact, there is nothing new about it, as the supporters of this movement themselves acknowledge It to be iden tical with the law we now have, the Bingham law. except that part restrict ing or enforcing the bond limitation. But this latter phase of the question seems to them of so little consequence that it is overlooked and all their en ergy Is spent on the tax limitation part. This would be ludicrous were it not a serious matter to try to prejudice the voters against the public officers of Oregon. Especially is this true in this connection, as they should tell the vot ers that practically every dollar of pub lic money, raised and used, either has been heretofore demanded through the ballot, or has been passed on at the time of levying, or under the budget system has been sanctioned by the voters. They would then, at least, bo giving some information, which. If un derstood by the people as it is, would furnish a bass upon which to build constructive legislation. Again, is it fair to advertise to the world that Oregon Is a tax-ridden state, without making any explanation, when it is so easy to explain? The state should be defended against this acrimonious and unexplained statement concerning our per capita tax. Let us reason this1 point out. Is there In this whole United States another tract of land the size of Oregon where there is more natural wealth, and is there an other place where the population is so small, measured by the size and wealth of the territory? Can you think of an other spot, considering the wealth and population taken as a whole, that Is as undeveloped as Oregon? Do you know of another place, considering the nat ural wealth and population, that has advanced and developed faster in 10 years than Oregon? Do you realize that it costs money to do this? If these people want to be fair about this matter, they would tell us through the same public press that the people of Oregon are spending more money per capita in developing public high ways and improving the school system than any other state in the Union. I'ut when comparison is made on the basis of actual valuation of the state as com pared with other states, then Oregon is not first In high taxes; and our small population will explain why our per captta tax is high. ' The comparison these people make Is misleading in other directions. If they are obsessed with desire to do good, why don't they tell us some of the reasons why our taxes are high on assessed valuation, one of which Is the National forest, totaling more than 15.000,000 acres, and other reserves, which are star boarders when It comes to raising revenues for our state and municipal governments? I will mention a few other items of public expense that have come to us through the bal lot: The present primary law, with the Initiative, referendum and recall; state highway; extension of state schools; the increased number of votes through the extension of our franchise; state wide prohibition. Many other costly things have come to us through direct vote of our people and covering the same period of time that we are referred to by this tax agitation. Can we spend our dollar and keep it? Can we in crease our public expenses, curtail our revenues and lower our taxes at the same time? W. E. BALL, Assessor of Lincoln County. LACK OF SCIENCE IS SOCIALISM If Doctrine Is Exnot Why Do Follow ers Disagree on Tenets f PORTLAND, Aug. 27. (To the Edi tor.) I am not ambitious to have a running controversy with two or more persons, but as Dan Ronald spoke of me as being an "unconscious humor ist" in his letter In The Oregonlan, August 26, dealing with the Marxian conception of economlo value. It is quite proper. I take it, for me to make a serious comment or two, while ignor ing his reference to my childlike quali ties. I can assure him Incidentally that if he continues a discussion with me about Maxian Socialism he will discover soon enough that I am far from childlike. In the first place, Dan Ronald seems to be an adherent of Marxian social ism himself. He and Mr. Barltz are supposed to be harnessed to the same wagon (the Socialist movement) in or der to pull society out of what they might call the "mire of capitalism." But note the very poor team work on the part of these wheelhorses. No sooner do they exeTt themselves suffi ciently to make, known their views publicly through such a neutral and impartial channel as The Oregonlan columns than an immediate difference of opinion springs up as to what is true Marxian economics. They cannot agree on the question of whether or not within the past 60 years' gold has, changed in price. Furthermore, they cannot even agree as to what their great fountalnhead of economic knowl edge, Karl Marx himself, thought about the variability or invariability of the price of gold. Certainly this lack of harmony be tween the views of two Socialists can not be of my making. I may, however, be. permitted to say that if both are Socialists and represent "scientific so cialism," It is a strange sight to see them so far apart In stating the con clusions of their "science." A Teally positive science Is characterised above all things by certainty. A .natural science, still in its formative stage, is acknowledged to be such by its pro fessors. But Marxian Socialists. to Judge by the sweeping dogmatism of their statements, claim to have a sys tem about as well established as mod ern astronomy. Tet hardly any two Socialists agree, once they begin writ ing or talking proving that their "scientific socialism" is mostly folderol. They remind one of the prophetess who could tell all about the coming crops, the end of the world and the second advent, but did not know the logarithm Of 9. T. W. FRASER. Reliable Witness for atlclu-esll. TU3IALO, Or.. Aug. 25. (To the Edi tor.) Kindly allow me space to say a word In behalf of an old-time friend whose statement has been Introduced Into the somewhat spirited contro versy as to the original and correct name of the stream that runs through the town of Dallas. I have no desire to enter into the controversy as to the name of the stream, but when anyone, through inad vertence or otherwise, reflects upon the ability of Mark A. Ford to testify in that matter, I feel it my duty to say that for many years I was intimately and well acquainted with Mark A. Ford and know him to have been a man of the highest order of intelligence, a close observer of men and things. He was one of the first settlers In that part of the country and bad good op portunity to know of the facts about which- he testified. To his statement the utmost credence is due. B. F. NICHOLS. Finding Out by Degrees. Baltimore American. An old negro was taken ill and called a physician of his race to prescribe for him. He did not seem to get any bet ter, and finally a white physician was called. Soon after arriving the new doctor felt the darkey's pulse for a moment and then examined his tongue. "Dld the other doctor take your temperature?" he asked. "I don't know, sah," ihe answered, feebly. "I hasn't missed anything but ! my watch as yit, boss." In Other Days. Twenty-five Tears Ago. From The Oregonlan August IS, XS . Raymond, the 6-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. James Lyon, of East Portland, was killed by a Waverly- Woodstock electric car last night. It is reported that W. B- Hearst has completed a deal for one of the New York morning newspapers, and is ne gotiating with Robert Porter, census superintendent, to be the editor of lt- Miss Ida Benfey gave a recital at the T. "W. C. A. hall last night. Her rendition of "The Mill on the Floss" was well received. Robert Livingstone, manager of the Oregon Mortgage Company, has re turned from a trip to Scotland. Attorney John Ditchburn has re turned from Long Beach, where he as sisted in tho hunt for the body of Tom Bingham. Sam J. Gorman has purchased the Dodson place on the Columbia. Dan J. Buckley had an encounter with a highwayman Wednesday night on the corner of Lane avenue and Rus sell street. Half a Century Ago. From The Oregonlan August 2S. 1SSS, Washington Stanton's position In the Cabinet continues to be actively discussed. The Philadelphia delega tions Insist on hla removal although they are willing he shall be let down with a mission to Madrid or St, Peters burg. The New York Herald has infor mation that Jeff Davis soon will be released on ball or parole to answer In the court at Richmond in October. N. C. Matthlessen. of the St. Nich olas Hotel, Victoria, has taken the Lincoln House at the corner of Wash ington and Front streets. The following is a partial list of "solid" men who now reside In Port land: Captain A. p. Ankeny, 205 pounds; William Birch, 215 pounds; George Bottler, 215 pounds: Captain J. H. Couch, 205 pounds; Dr. J. A. Chap man. 260 pounds; William Dellinger. 215 pounds; Constable Dorr, 213 pounds: John Fay, 245; Henry Ganz. 20S ; Dr. A. J. Hoffman, 220; George Hoefer. 230; James Lappeus. 235; D. Mon astes, 217; J. R. Prlndle. 235; J. B. Price. 210; B. F. Schrader, 225; John White, 200. J. N. Dolph, chairman of the Union State Central Committee. has ap pointed George H. Williams, H. W. Eddy. C. R, Meigs and A. M. Starr as delegates to the convention of South ern Unionists at Philadelphia, Miss Barrett requests us to announce that owing to the serious illness of her father she is unable at present to deliver papers, magazines, etc., to her subscribers and asks If they will oblige her by calling at the store. PLUXKVII.LE WRITERS ASK POSER Distinguished Association Questions Unreliable Democratic Psper. PLUNKVILLE, Or.. Aug. 26. (To the Editor.) Plunkvllle. at present, is at a loss to understand the whys and where fores of the absence of the sweet-singing robins that were such welcome vis itors to our lawns during the morning and evening hours. An Oregon booster suggests that they are on a tour of in spection of the Columbia Highway, but your Plunkvllle correspondent is of the opinion that they, the robins, have grown tired of "watchful waiting" and have gone or are going to the front to do picket duty and establish frontier protection, and to turn their melodious lays to the Glynn slogan, "He kept us out of war." with frequent interludes of "Who killed Cock Robin?" Passing this inexplicable Incident, I have to state that I am a member, in good standing, of the Plunkvllle Asso ciation of Distinguished Writers and Publicists, who are short on party af fliliatlon but strong on Democratic democracy, and who insist on direct and Incisive answers to all questions of pub lic interest, always without explanatory statement. We cannot form a Just or clear understanding of any candidate's position or standing on any given sub ject except by the short and direct answer, yes or no, since all explanatory remarks are confusing and often mis leading. This association of distinguished writers and publicists being thus handi capped in comprehension, must continue to insist upon answers, in every case, yes or no, without explanatory state ments.. In furtherance of the plans of our distinguished writers I am directed to make inquiry of the Portland Even ing Journal, as follows: "Do you intend to continue to pub lish knowingly false and misleading statements as in the past, touching po litical actions and candidates during the entire Presidential campaign? The answer yes or no only accepted." O. P. PLUNK. ' Potash From Bananas. Oil City Derrick. An Interesting discovery ij reported from England, which Is along the line of chemical research which is attract ing so much attention all over the world in utilizing the waste. An Eng lish chemist experimented with banana stalks to determine whether the fiber could be used for paper making. Dur ing the examination he noticed that the Juice was sufficiently alkaline to cause Irritant action on the skin, and this led him to examine It further, with the result that he found there was present a large percentage of potash and practically no soda. His analysis has been confirmed by Dr. Hanley. of the Leeds University. In fact, the fig ures showed that the dried matter of the original stalk was as rich in potash as kalnlt. According to his analysis a ton of banana stalks would yield 188 pounds of dried matter containing 13.7 per cent of potash, or 54 pounds of ash containing 47.5 per cent of potash, or 25 pounds of pure potash. This offers an important addition to the source of the article, as the plant can be grown In the United States. American Efficiency. Financial America. We hear so much about German effi ciency that we are apt to forget Amer ican efficiency. Let it not be forgotten that the first essential of efficiency is the conception and initiation of practi cal and constructive ideas. In this re gard the United States has led and still leads the world. Indeed, not a few of the inventions which have made war fare so "efficient" have sprung from American minds, just as Inventions which have done most In stimulating agricultural and manufacturing prog ress have come from this side of the Atlantic The Germans have excelled in applying Important Ideas and impor tant Inventions to the various depart ments of economic activity. Tho Amer ican bent is to initiate: it does not al-, ways excel in the painstaking work which must follow the launching of a great idea. Yet there are scores of ex amples ready to hand In this country of a surpassing efficiency not only of conception and initiation, but of sys tematic achievement as well. Marriage ss a Lottery. Baltimore American. "Marriage is a lottery with very few prizes." "Of course It la. The best man never gets the bride."