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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 1916)
8 THE MORNING OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1916. rOBTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Portland (Oregon) Postofflce a second-class mail matter. Eubaorijjtiou ratea Invariably in advance. (By Mall.) Dally. Sunday Included, one year Daily, Sunday included, six month. ... Xally, Hunday Included, three month!, X)aiiy, Sunday included, one montn. . .. Xtally, without Hunday, one year. ...... ally. without Sunday, six month. ... Daily, without Sunday, three months.. Daily, without Sunday, one month. "Weekly, one year Sunday, one year Sunday and Weekly 4.25 2.25 .75 6.25 8.20 1.75 .60 1.50 2.50 3.50 (By Carrier.) Dally. Sunday Included, one year - S-OO Dally. Sunday Included, one month..... .70 How to Remit Bend postof fice money order, express order of personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at senders risk. Give postofflce address In lull. Including; county and state. Postage Kates 1 J to 16 pages. 1 cent: IS to a2 pages, 2 cents; 34 to 4S pages, 3 cents; 6u to BO pases. 4 cents; 62 to 76 pages, 6 cents; 78 to 82 pages, 6 cents. Foreign postage, double rates. Eastern Business Of fice Verree & Conk Jfn, Brunswick building. New York; Verree & Conklln, Steger building, Chicago. San "rancisco representative, K. J. Bidwell. 742 Market street. POBILAXD, lltlDAY, SEPT. 8, 1916. 1TCGITE3 AS A FRIEND OF LABOR. Mr. Hughes made clear-cut declara tions of his policy on labor questions In his speeches at Nashville and Lex ington. Those declarations must be read in the light of his acts at the time when he had the opportunity to trans late his opinions into deeds. He had that opportunity during his two terms as Governor of New York. He did not approve every law which was passed at the instance of labor unions; on the contrary, he vetoed several bills which they supported. But, owing to his initiative, laws were enacted in the interest of labor embodying some of the most important features of the progressive code of social and indus trial justice laws the main provisions of which have only recently been adopted with a great flourish of trum pets by the party which opposes him. One of his first acts was to rec ommend in his first message the re organization of the State Department of Labor by consolidating several bu reaus, increasing its efficiency and thoroughly equipping it.- In the same message he urged- legis lation for the protection of children, which was adopted. Employment of children under 1G in dangerous occu pations was forbidden and in other occupations it was limited to eight daylight hours. Similar restrictions were placed on the employment of women and girls, especially in occupa tions dangerous to health. He urged the passage of a bill trans ferring the inspection of mercantile establishments from local boards of health, which had proved inefficient, to the Labor Department. It was so powerfully opposed by the merchants that the Senate rejected it, but Gov ernor Hughes urged it again at an ex tra session and procured its passage. He approved a law requiring steam surface railroads to pay employes twice instead of once a month and, finding the penalties for violation in adequate, he recommended an amend ment, which was passed at the next session. He procured the passage in 1910 of an act for the regulation of employ ment agencies, which protects the un employed from exploitation, limits fees and prohibits misrepresentation. Mr. Hughes was a pioneer in the movement for workmen's compensa tion and for extension of employers' liability. He initiated the movement In 1907 with a speech in which he de nounced the old legal principle that the workman should take the risk of accident and said: The interests ' of labor are the Interests of all the people and the protection of the wage-earner in the security of his Ufa and health by every practicable means is one of the most sacred trusta of society. He proposed inquiry by a commis sion into workmen's compensation and employers' liability in his message of 1909 and after the commission had reported he made recommendations in his message of 1910 which bore fruit in two laws. One extended employers' liability and the other provided a plan of compensation by voluntary agree 'ment, as to industry in general, but made its adoption compulsory in dan gerous occupations. This was the first state law in the United States which adopted the principle of compulsory compensation. The compulsory clause was declared unconstitutional by the Court of Appeals, which, however, ap proved the principle and urged an amendment to establish it. Such an amendment has since been adopted and the law has been re-enacted. While Mr. Hughes' official acts showed his practical sympathy with the purposes ot labor unions, he did not hesitate to disapprove measures proposed by them when he thought ' such measures unjust or unwise, for he said in a veto message on a highly popular bill: It may seem easy to get votes by Just getting a pair of shears and a red book and clipping wherever you think it would be popular. I do not want to be Governor on thoBe terms. ... 1 won't sign any bill simply because It may be deemed popular. On the contrary, I will sign anything that I can think is in the Interests of the peo ple and veto anything 1 think is not in the interests of the people. In accordance with this rule he vetoed the railroad full-crew bill be cause it did not discriminate between roads where a third brakeman was and those where one was not necessary on freight trains. He also vetoed the bill providing for equal pay for equal work for both male and female teach ers in New York City because the prin ciple was not applied broadly enough. He opposed inequality as affecting not only women teachers but all public servants and would extend the same rule to all cities. When a delegation called on him in 1908 -in favor of a six-day working week, a minister made a long address from the religious standpoint, but the Governor told the speaker, pointing to the labor-union delegates, that they were making the six-day week a pos sibility. In the same spirit he said In the same year: T regard it (organized labor) as a fine opportunity for the amelioration of men working with no other purpose than to make the most of themselves and to achieve something for their families. Under wise leadership, with statesmanlike sruldance. with a sincere intention to pro mote the benefit of -the community and to secure honorable progress, the mission of la bor organizations is one of the finest that any association of men could guard. That these words were not mere flattery was shown by Mr. Hughes' entire course as Governor in relation to labor. Voluntary testimony to that effect was given by the Legislative Labor News, the organ .of the New York State Federation of Labor. Dis cussing Mr. Hughes administration as Governor after his resignation in 1910 that paper said: H was the greatest friend of labor laws that over occupied the Governor's chair at Albany. During his two terms he has signed 56 labor laws, including among them the beat labor laws aver enacted In thla or any ether state. Only 163 labor laws have been enacted In this state since its erection in 1T77, In 138 years. Oae-tbird et these, exceeding la quality all of the others, hart been enactad and signed during Governor Hughes' terms of three years and nine months. This record as Governor of New York should bo borne In mind when reading' this emphatic statement of his position, made in "his speech at Nash ville: Now then I stand for two things. First for the principle of fair, impartial, thorough, candid arbitration; and, second, for legisla tion on facts according to necessities of the case. And 1 am opposed to being dictated to either in the executive department or Con gress by any power on earth before the facts are known. . That statement was evidently made with reference to recent events. Though he will never yield to dicta tion nor approve legislation before investigation, he will always stand for justice to labor, as he has always stood. He will promote labor's best interests, which are the interests of the Nation. MEM IXXCEXDO. A discreditable development of the Democratic campaign for Mr. Wilson and against Mr. Hughes in Oregon has been the publication of an article making the charge that Mr. Hughes came to Oregon a quarter of a century ago as the attorney for the bondhold ers of the old Oregon Pacific, a bank rupt railroad. The charge Is true, most true. Mr. Hughes was a lawyer, and he had clients, even in those days. These clients were the unfortunate victims of, or sufferers from, the extraordi nary financial operations of William Hogg, promoter of the Oregon Pacific, i and they invested millions of dollars In his scheme for a transcontinental railroad with a terminus at Yaquina Bay. The Hogg project got into straits and the bondholders employed Mr. Hughes to come to Oregon and rep resent them. He did. There is no intimation from any source that they were not honest men and women. Properly concerned about the fortunes of their large investment: but Mr. Hughes, it appears, is guilty of a heinous crime in looking after their interests. It does not appear from, the record that Mr. Hughes ever succeeded in recovering a dollar forthem from the Oregon Pacific wreck. It is remem bered also that the laborers employed on the railroad got only a. small part of their dues. Mr. Hughes was, of course, not responsible for the fail ure, nor for the workmen's losses, but the object of the publication Is to show that somehow he was engaged in Iniquitous business. Mr. Hughes as a lawyer representing his clients has an unblemished record and it has not heretofore been as sailed, even by Innuendo. As a pub lic man, he has been just and fair to ward labor so Just and fair that as Governor of New York he brought forth the open commendation of labor leaders and labor organs. But his op ponent where, oh, where was he about this time? Let those who desire to know about, Woodrow Wilson and labor read the baccalaureate address of President Wilson before the graduating class of Princeton in 1909. It is a direct at tack on trades unions. But it has been the easiest thing always for Woodrow Wilson to change his mind. Why, along about the same time, he was for knocking William Jennings Bryan into a cocked hat. THE PATIENT HOMESTEADER. The cautious critic of the reserva tion policies of the United States Gov ernment will of course want to know all the facts before he determines the merits of the Crane prairie contro versy: but there is one significant and characteristic development of the campaign to get the Crane lands out of the hands of the reservationists and into the possession of the settlers that deserves attention. Mr. Mohler, who has taken up the cause of the homesteaders, on October 22, 1915, filed a petition at Washing ton asking that the Crane prairie lands, now a part of the Deschutes National forest, and also withdrawn in connection with the Deschutes rec lamation project, be restored to homestead entry. He also requested that a time and place be designated where Mr4 Mohler might, at his own expense, submit evidence in support of his contention that the lands are suitable for agricultural purposes. The request has not met with any kind of favorable response. The Wash ington officials are not in a hurry to hear from the homesteaders, or any one representing them. They are not anxious to know that the Interior De partment or the Agricultural Depart ment, or whatever department is re sponsible for the confused status of Crane prairie, too told that It has made a mistake. The settlers if there are any settlers can wait, The lands ca,n wait. Development of the country can wait. Mr. Mohler can wait. He has been patiently waiting for a year to know if somebody at Washington will hear him, but what of that? When lands in Oregon are once "re served" they stay "reserved." HAY ARMY SYSTEM A FAILURE The recall of the Oregon and other troops from the border, the order that they be mustered out Of the Federal service and the announcement that all National Guard troops are shortly to be recalled to their respective states and mustered out signalize the failure of the Hay military organization and the farcical nature of the entire Ad ministration plan of preparedness, so far as the Army is concerned. The Hay plan entrusted the defense of the Nation to a regular Army of 178,000 active troops, to a regular Army reserve, to an enlarged National Guard and to volunloers who were to undergo voluntary training and to complete their training while the other troops held back an enemy. It has been proved impossible, under present terms of service, to enlist the required number of regulars. Consequently the reserves would fall proportionately short of our needs for defense. The petering out of the Mexican crisis and the prospect of Indefinite, inactive service on the border without any emergency to Justify it chilled the pa triotism of the young men who would ordinarily have enlisted. A mere hand ful of recruits has been obtained since June 18 and many organizations, the Third Oregon among them, which went to the border at peace strength, have not yet attained war strength. When parts of the Guard were or dered home for possible strike duty, labor-union opposition to service was stiffened and labor's patriotism was stifled. The young men who are mus tered out have acquired valuable mili tary knowledge, good health and good appetites, but many of them are out of a job. Enlistment In the Guard has stopped and, after this experience, is not likely soon to revive. The -work of molding the citizen soldiers into an army capable of being handled in large units Is stopped before it is well begun. This Is the result of permitting a sans of pacifist and pork-loving poli ticians to undertake the task of de vising a. military policy. The first thing they did was to throw into the wastepaper basket the well-considered recommendations of the War College, composed of men who. know. They gave like treatment to the Chamber lain bill, which made a close approach to the War College plans. They ad hered closely to the old terms of en listment which, Mr. Hay admitted, had proved Incapable of producing more than 150,000 men and they made that limit the ground for rejecting the War College figure of 260,000. They were persuaded to raise the paper limit to 178,000 combatants, but did not con sider changing the terms so as to stim ulate enlistment. They have had a demonstration of the futility of their plan, tor the War Department has been trying for five months to raise 20,000 men to bring the Afmy to full strength, but has utterly failed, the Army now being 1756 men weaker than a year ago. . The Hay idea was to use the Na tional Guard as a second line of de fense, but events have proved the regulars to be inadequate even for the Mexican emergency, the reserve to be a fiction and the National Guard our only reliance even for such minor service as border patrol. That organ ization has no chance of attaining the strength and efficiency which the Hay law purports to contemplate, so long as it is subject to police duty in strikes and to border duty against mere ban dits. The pacifists have cramped our military system by preventing its de velopment to adequate strength in cither the regular or the militia arm, while endowing it with a most im posing paper strength. OTTNIOX OX THE STRIKE SETTLEMENT. Extracts from the comment of the principal Eastern newspapers on the settlement of the railroad dispute which has been effected by President Wilson and Congress show an almost complete agreement on one point that Congress was coerced into hasty enactment of the four brotherhoods' demands. There is a difference only in the forcibleness of language in which this opinion is expressed. With the exception of a few unfaltering sup porters of the President, the newspa pers agree that Congress at his recom mendation legislated in a panic with the club Of a great threatened strike held over its head. There is small attempt, even among the President's half-hearted apologists. to evade the conclusion that he has dealt a blow at the principle of arbi tration by insisting that Congress con cede the brotherhoods" principal de mand without arbitration or even in vestigation. Some, going into the mer its of the case, argue that the Presi dent has not caused adoption of the eight-hour day but has induced Con gress to order an advance in wages by enacting that eight hours shall be the basis of calculating wages. The opinion is generally expressed that this law- adds a large amount to the cost of railroad operation, which the public must pay. This "surrender" of Congress to brute force, as many newspapers call It, is held by them to be only the be ginning. It warrants and directly en courages similar demands enforced by the same means from the other four- fifths of the railroad employes. -Next would come employes of other public utilities and next those of industrial concerns, until the wages of all would be increased by law, living expenses would be increased in like proportion and as regards the purchasing power of money we should all be where we were hefore. Little confidence is expressed in the validity of the new law. Some news papers express the conviction that it will not stand fire In court and some express hope that the railroads will attack it. A few unhesitatingly de nounce it as a merely temporary ex pedient of Mr. Wilson and his party to avert a strike and at the same time to win votes. While a few newspapers defend the action of the President, even these few give it no warm commendation. If the newspapers reflect public opinion in the East and Middle West, he has brought upon himself criticism with out Btlnt in almost all quarters and has added not one atom to the re spect in which he was held. SARTORIAL, HARMONY. St- Louis is disturbed by the sugges tion recently left behind by an aggre gation of advanced thinkers that there ought to be established in Its schools a course in harmonious clothes. It seems that the suggestion was made in all seriousness, although it cannot be said that it has been received that way. There is a hint in the local com ment on the subject that St. Louis feels that it has been unjustly singled out. While making no special claim that it derives its modes and fashions from London or Paris or any other sar torial center of authority, and con tending only that it does not pattern after Its sister city of Chicago, the city on the Mississippi feels that it has been maligned. Probably as a matter of fact St. Louisans have no worse taste than the people of the average city of the size of St. Louis in the United States, when it comes to the matter of personal adorn mcnt We mention the size of the city as entering into the calculations bo cause It Is pretty generally admitted that, particularly in the Middle West, there are many smaller towns in which the sunbonnet and blue serge seem never to go out of style. The ambition for modlshness is more or less an attribute of the dweller in the more pretentious city. But it will be admitted by thoughtful persons that the vogue is not always artistic: far from it. Not only do colors fight each other, but shapes -have reached the outlandish stage. What with fat peo ple dressing to look thin and the slim ones putting on fictitious adipose tis sue that is nothing more than a cun ningly contrived combination of cloth and stays, avgood deal of our dressing has come to te a fraud and a sham So far as colors go, who until recent years ever saw such blending of pink and green, or purple and yellow, as pass for art in these ultramodern days? The difficulty Is that it is hard to tell where to begin, even if we want to reform. We seem to be passing through a period of sartorial anarchy. The rules are far from clearly defined and our strong individualism, upon which we pride ourselves even to ex cess, interposes obstacles, rather than Sds in the" solution. However, it is one of the trials that we must bear, until the way is opened to us. Estab lishing a course of study in the schools would not be practical unless we could first form a standard for a working basis! And anyone who will take the trouble to look up and down the street on any busy day will realize that such a standard is a long way off. No greater change has come over the spirit of the French people than is shown by their new attitude to ward their criminals, of whom un happily a few still remain. In the be ginning of the war there was a dis position to send offenders to the front, and frequently they were assigned to tasks of danger. Now public opinion looks upon this course as an "insult to good citizens who are fighting for their country," and as an honor not deserved by violators of the law. So the administrators of public justice have set about devising disagreeable rather than perilous sentences as means of punishment, the privilege of dying for France being reserved for those who are regarded as more worthy of the distinction. The crim inal is to be deprived of all opportunity for glory, which in the minds of a peo ple in the present position of the French is regarded as the greatest pos sible punishment. WHO PREVENTED A PANIC t In a recent speech President Wil son said that the Federal Reserve sys tem "saved the country from a ruinous panio when the stress of war came on." In his annual report for 1914 Secretary McAdoo said of that period that "the Federal Reserve system was at that time only in process of forma tion and was therefore unable to ren der any service in the situation." The President should consult the official reports of his Cabinet be fore making publio speeches. He could thus avoid such embarrassing contra dictions. The truth of the matter Is that the country was saved from panic during the months immediately following out break of war by the issue of nearly $400,000,000 of emergency currency under the Vreeland-Aldrlch law. When that law was before Congress in 1908, it was violently opposed by the Demo crats and was passed In the face of their opposition. The Federal Reserve banks have brought good results, but these have arisen from those features which were taken bodily from the Monetary Com mission's bill. The new features which were engrafted upon the system by the Democratic party have impaired Its usefulness to such an extent that many National banks have become members only because that was the only alternative to surrender of their charters and that state banks have held aloof from the system. Only 36 out of the 18,000 state banks have become members. The others are still waiting to see how the plan works out. State banks are wary of coming un der the Federal Reserve Board's con trol because its seven members include two men who are frankly politicians the Secretary of the Treasury and the Controller of the Currency and only two men experienced in banking. The attitude of Controller Williams to the hanks has so antagonized them that they have recommended the abolition of his office as a fifth wheel to the coach since the Board has taken over practically all of its functions. The supervisors of state banks have sought to strengthen them by resolving to encourage the deposit of their reserves with state banks in large cities. The universal check-clearing system adopt ed by the Board has caused wide discontent among the small National banks and has been denounced as "neither just nor equitable" by the state supervisors. Protection is extended by the treaty between the United States and Great Britain, recently ratified by the United States Senate, to 1022 species and sub species of the most valuable and in teresting migratory birds of North America. The compact, though en tered into with Great Britain as a formality, affects Canada only, and It has been noted that it is the most im portant step ever taken for tho pro tection of birds that has ever been taken by any country. The treaty was initiated by Senator McLean, of Con necticut, more than two years ago, but after the preliminaries had been disposed of and it had been signed by Secretary Lansing and the British Ambassador, it was quickly disposed of, only thirteen days intervening be tween its signature and Its formal rati fication. Prompt Indictment of the mob lead ers In Lima, O., will do much to put a damper on the lynching spirit, and if punishment is reasonably prompt it ought to go a long way toward stamping out the practice. The trou ble in the past has been that pursuit of the law-breaking citizen outside the jail has not been conducted with the persistence that the crime deserved. The main thing about the trafflo or dinance in effect October 1 to get Into our heads is that streetcars will stop on the near side of crossings of paved streets. This, it is to be hoped, will eliminate the wild stampedes now "viewed with alarm." The repeal of stamp taxes by the new revenue law is in accord with the Democratic policy to bring home their extravagance to the smallest possible number of voters, consistently with the main purpose of getting the money. The State Industrial Commission and the bureau of labor having de clared cutting wood Is a hazardous oc cupation, it is up to married men to inform their wives. The breadwinner must not be sacrificed. When the war is over Canada will use the number of soldiers it has con tributed as a convincing reason for having a voice. hereafter in the government- of tho British Empire and it will not be denied. Carrftnza probably objects to par ticipation of American troops in the pursuit of Villa because they might eliminate him and he is useful to Car ranza as a campaign issue. Since a Detroit bank teller routed would-be robbers, bankers may re quire that all men who handle cash be "quick on the draw." If you have not registered for the November election and have a little time to spare, attend to the matter at once. Every time a man is gored,, advice is given freely to use a pole on the bull, but the next victim ignores it. The victory on the Bulgar-Rou- manlan frontier is always with the na tion which sends the bulletin. As the elephant said to the giraffe. all days look alike except Sunday on the lot. Great idea, that an Oregon woman cannot get a license to hunt big game Now, then, to get the Third Oregon out Of the trenches by Christina si . , t I PRESS OPINION ON RAILROAD STRIKE I I , J II By Dr. W. A. Kvana. Brooklyn EaKle, Den. CONGRESS is in the position of a man confronted by a highwayman whose pointed revolver decisively reinforces his demands. It has to choose between two desperate alternatives. It accepts the. one that avoids or post pones a conflict which would possibly bo prolonged and which would certain ly cost heavily in money lost and in convenience inflicted. The brotherhoods have disclosed a power at once amasing and sinister. They have driven Congress as a pack of sheep dogs drives a flock of sheep. They have established the dangerous precedent that legislation can be ex torted by threats, regardless of the merits of the issues involved, without time for investigation and without time for debate. New York Sun, Rep. Four hundred thousand men threaten to strike and cripple the country. They will not hear of arbitration, although the other side asks only that. Mr. Wilson knifes the principle) of arbi tration, adopts a course likely to cap ture the trainmen's votes and find ing that he cannot readily force his procramme upon the railways, offers them political bargains. New York Tribune, Hep. To pass the entire programme while the "Big Four" leaders stand at the doors of Congress, "dynamite" in band, would be bad enough. To pass this measure alone (the eight-hour bill) would be such a craven surrender to the labor unions, such a mockery of legislative deliberation, such an injus tice to the people at large that It is scarcely believable even a Wllson-domi-nated Congress, willing to play politics with the labor vote, would dare do it. Boston Herald, Rep. The real issue will spring up with redoubled force when the investigating committee makes ita report. The President and Congress will then have to take definite action. The whole question will be reopened. Where, then is the Value of Mr. Wilson's set tlement? If Congress can be forced to rush legislation at the threat of four union leaders, is not labor justified at all times in taking its demands into politics rather than attempting to ar rive at direct settlement? If large financial interests can bribe the Leg islatures and labor leaders can bully the Legislatures, where does any symptom remain of that stability so vital to the continuance of American industry? New York Globe, InA, Congress will be asked next Winter to decree a like raise of wages for railway shopmen, switchmen, station agents, signalmen, sectlonxnen, bridge hands and perhaps even of railway clerks. Thus the bill that the publio can look forward to meeting in higher rates is nearer $200,000,000 than $60. 000.000. Then it would seem legal and expedient for the states to decree wage increases for the employes of publio utility companies. When the process is completed and every one has received his 25 per cent increase) by grace of the law, then it will be found that the prices of everything the wageworker buys is up 25 per cent, and actual wages that is, wages measured in purchasing power will not be up an lota. New York Evening Post, Dem. It was bound to come, we suppose, the pitch of insolence on the part of the railway unions. It is a familiar and favorite phrase of labor leaders which the president of the trainmen now uses: "No power on earth" can prevent the strike, unless the men get what they want. It is a form of words which ought never to be flung as an Insult in the face of the American public. For that is precisely what it is. under existing circumstances. This Is the moment chosen by a union chief to tell the people that no power on earth can avert from them the impend ing disaster nothing but complete surrender to a body of men represent ing but a fraction or even the railway workers, and not amounting to one half of 1 per cent of the entire popula tion. The force of reckless impudence could no further go. New York Timti, Dent. The blackmailing' of the whole Na tion under the threat of a strike, the extortion from a Nation's Legislature of a special apt granting the demands of the brotherhoods without time to inquire into Its Justice or its practica bility, puts upon the country an In tolerable humiliation, it reduces 100. 000,000 people to a condition of vas-salac-e. Contributions in money may be, have boon, extorted from conquered cities by armed force. Unjust laws may be put upon the statute books through tho agitation of factions or groups strong enough to make their political influence relt. isut mere is no other instance where a Congress of the United States has been forced to ake laws under threat or a small part of the people to do lmmeasuraDie ana irreparable injury to the others- New York Mall, Hep. v . o 1 1 i f-) ....... . . . the public the cost of this innovation in order to nave a perfectly needless : , I Hv tm PrnRlilpnt htm- TMLIItllU'll -1 . .. - self. Worse thsin that is the principle of the thing. t ne men sio i.iusm. ! brute force, threats, are the ways to attain their ends. Idly the President talks of enacting legislation iu iumo future strikes less likely by forcing railroad employes to submit their cause to investigation before stopping work. Xtn York Herald, Rep. There nevff was such a situation be fore the halls of Congress. There never ... . 4h.n,t i n I n u t 1 1 1 n npnc'A and welfare of the country. The strike may be averted, nut it is at wsi u. mis handled Jug the Government is handing . .i . . . " n r nfirt in n tnrnV IU I II U u J ill. .- ....j I - is the motto of the party in power. The eight-hour aay at aw nuurn i .- .1 (n Bfqtnto Vint vrtin hni UB rut;uijuic in . had the courage to say that the publio IS U lOUi win f Chicane Evenlnn Post, Ilfp. The surrender is made. Congress has abdicated its power to the four railway brotherhoods, appar ently finally impelled to that course by the modest request of one of the union chiefs that he be saved a "Gethsemane." The abdication is complete, and en tirely worthy of Leader Kltchin and Woodrow Wilson, under whose auspices It was arranged. We must all hope that our new masters will be generous to them and to us. Manhood and courage have gone out ot Washington. Springfield Republican, Dem. Freight rates ought to be Increased if, for solid humanitarian reasons, the work day of trainmen on railroads should in effect be shortened, and If the Increased cost of operation caused by the change would be more than the stockholders of the railroads should bear alone. It is idle to say that Congress was clubbed by labor unionism into this legislation. The Senate could never have been driven Into passing such a measure within two or three days, al most without debate, unless an irre sistible public opinion, concerned first of all with a paramount puDiic interest, had demanded instant action. Indianapolis Star, Rep. It is a significant fact that in popu lar discussion of the railroad crisis one never hears any reference to the merits of the question, so far as the Presi dent's action is concerned, but only oplnloas as to the effect his action will have on the industrial and especially the political situation, and more than anything or all things else, speculation whether he has done his campaign prospects benefit or harm by his radi cal course. Here is an all but universal popular Impression that the President's action in this supreme business crisis amounts to nothing more or less than his delib erate balancing of the labor vote against the capitalistic vote. Boston Transcript, Rep. It was Mr. Wilson's opportunity to be the spokesman of enlightened public opinion in this crisis. He has preferred to make himself the pliant tool of those who from the first have refused to ac cept arbitration and relied upon their political power to seduce or sandbag the President and tho Congress into yielding to their demands by threaten ing to defeat the Democratic party for re-election and at the same time paralyze the transportation systems of the country. Indianapolis News, Ind. The only question now left for the people to consider in connection with the railroad situation is whether the price that it is proposed to pay for peace is too high. That some price would have to be paid has been clear for some time. But the President and Congress will no doubt agree with him has decided that peace is worth purchasing and that the price to be paid is not too high. Chicago News, Ind. With this humiliation terminates the myth of "the great power of the presi dency," a tradition that took its rise first under Grover Cleveland and again under Theodore Roosevelt. Woodrow Wilson had made it evident that the presidency is no sacred thing which in itself can bend men to its ptirposes and save itself from insult. Ho has shown that unless the greatest elective office In the world Is filled by a man, it Is about ns powerful as the office of keeper of the dog pound. He has humiliated himself, he has humili ated Congress, he has humiliated the people from whom he Is supposed to take his "great power." Chicago Herald, Ind. Very soberly and solemnly and with out rancor the people should and, we believe, will Insist that arbitration in the case of disputes In the transporta tion field be made compulsory. Only by wise action which conserves the rights of the public will the present Congress be able to wipe out the bad impression which the terror-inspired haste of Its most recent proceeding has given the country. Washington Post, Ind. Sooner or later the public will com mand employers and employes of the railroads to suspend their quarrels until the rights of the third party the public itself can be ascertained. Why not command peace now 7 Philadelphia Leferr, Rep. When the President said that "the eight-hour day now undoubtedly has the sanction of the Judgment of society in its favor" he gave utterance to one of those half-truths which are some times more misleading than untruths. The principle which really "has the sanction of the judgment of society in its factor" is that the hours of labor In every occupation should be reason able, that they should not sap the vitality of the worker, that they should leave him adequate time for rest and recreation. It is not easy to imagine anything that would be more crippling to energy and enterprise than a universal eight hour day. It is the amount of labor, rather than the time necessary for per forming it, which counts most. Galveston News, Dem. The thought which must hurt the prido of the normal citizen and dis turb his equanimity as he contemplates the future is that a nation of 100,000. 000 people has found it expedient to turrender absolutely and abjectly to the threat of a well-banded body hard ly one five-hundredth its number. The force of unionism has proved Itself stronger than the force of govern ment. St. Louis Republic, Dem. How can the President "discredit the principle of arbitration" by using his every means of persuasion to secure formal arbitration and then by essay ing informal arbitration when this fails? Whatever the President is doing, he Is not creating a precedent. We are to have no more precedents "created" by makeshifts adopted in haste to get out of impossible situations which we have slipped carelessly and grndually Into at leisure. Tho period of happy-go-lucky ignoring of our perils is at an end. We have had a rude awakening. It Is time for constructive artion. Chicago Tribune, Rep. That such a threat should be made shows the quality of the statesman ship we are afflicted with at this moment in Washington. It is no exag geration to say. what the country should lose no time In realizing, that the political manipulation by the Presi dent and his allies of the present wage controversy Is a peril to the prosperity and peace of tho Nation unprecedented for nearly a generation. New Y'ork World, Dem. It is silly to charge Congress with surrendering to the unions. The unions had a legal right to strike when the strike was ordered. There is not a line on any statute book which pre vents their striking, nor could any law be enacted before Monday which would compel them to work. Whatever their moral guilt may be, they are within the law when they do the thing that they threaten to do. Therefore, it is the duty of Congress to take such practical means as may be adopted at once to remove the excuse for a strike. Whatever further adjustments are necessary can be left for the future. That is the common-sense method, and Congress is displaying far more Intelli gence and patriotism than Its critics. Ronton News Bureau, Rep. Four men, an oligarchy speaking for an aristocracy, continued to make two of the world's greatest deliberative bodies forget all deliberation and scurry round like performing mice, while always timidly glancing at the usurped veto power of the four. This spectacle of the four and the 52D plus the President was an epitomized replica of the relation that existed be tween the bodies which both represent ed the 400.000 that likewise would in timidate the 100.000.COO. Time and Coat of Divorce. PORTLAND. Sept. 7. (To the Ed itor.) How long does it take to ob tain a divorce, when both parties desire the divorce? What nre the costs and where do you apply? The filing fees vary in the counties. They are $12.50 in Multnomah County. Attorney's fees are subject to private arrangement. Ten days notice Is al lowed the defendant when the papers are served and 20 days when service cannot be obtained. The court can set the case for hearing at any time after that. Somewhat Significant. Louisville Courier-Journal. "Our last hired girl gave us a double slap. She said she was fond of music. Being a musical family we got up a little concert for her benefit." "Well?" "The next day she left." v. How to Keep Well. Questions pertinent to hygiene, sanitation and prevention of disease, 1C matters of gen. eral interest, will be answered In this col umn. Where space will not permit or the subject Is not suitable, letter will be per sonally answered, subject to proper limita tions and where stamped addressed envelope, is inclosed. Or. Evana will not make diagnosis or prescribe for Individual diseases. Be quests for such services cannot ba answered. (Copyright, 131S. by Dr. W. A. Bvans. Published by arrangement with the Chicago Tribune.) Teeth and Health. AHORSE DEALER examines the teeth of horses in order to Judge of their age. He Judges by the shape of the grinding surface and the appear ance of the obliterated central canal as it shows on the grinding surface. A physician of experience can examine the teeth of a grown person and make a fair guess as to the health in child hood and the diet in childhood of hia patient. If the teeth are notched in a certaia way the child has inherited syphilis. If they are irregular in still another way it is an evidence that the person had rickets in childhood. If they are soft and crumbly and decay early, it is a sign that the person lived on an improper diet during childhood. Dr. Eurand, of Seattle, in speaking before a section of the American Medi cal association, said, "There is no doubt that our grandfathers had bet ter teeth that we have." This he at tributed to the fact that we eat too much soft food and too much starch and sugar and too littlo hard food such as requires a lot of hard chewing. The very change in our diet is con verting the lean, dyspeptic Yankee of the middle and of the nineteenth cen tury into the fat. round bellied, com placent citizen of the first quarter of the twentieth century and Is maklndC of us a toothless race. In an examination of 2000 school children In Seattle, Dr. Seagrave found that 73 per cent of tho children who as babies had been fed on sweetened condensed milk now had decayed teeth. The percentage of children who as babies were fed on breast milk having decayed teeth was 4 2. Dr. Durand tabulated his findings In several better babies contests, with about the same result. The percentage of children 'having decayed teeth and who as babies got sweetened con densed milk was 63, as compared with 28 for breast milk babies and 23 for children who as babies were fed on modified cow's milk. In 104 cases where the children as babies had been fed for more than five months on sweetened condensed milk, 74 per cent had caries. In order that the teeth shall be good the baby should be breast fed. Orangi juice may be begun at one month of age if it is needed. Vegetables, fruits, and meat may be begun at seven months of age. When the teeth have come through the baby should be given bones to gnaw and hard bread to chew. Older children should not be al lowed to eat an excess of sweets. If pastries or candles are given they should be followed by meat, green vegetables, and fruits. Chewing on such food3 will clean the teeth. Some Dnntrr. "Would there be any danger In sleeping in the same bed with a sister who has tubercular trouble? She had temperature for about three months. Has had none for months and seems better and sleeps in the open." Reply. Ys. Hair and Scalp. L. P. S. would like to know where to get a good treatise on the hair and scalp. Reply. Pussey's "Care of the Pkln and Hair." In Other Days. Half a Century Ago. Krnm The Oregcnlan, Kept. 8. lftfl. Yesterday wo spent n very enjoyable half hour in Central School, of which Professor Prambes is principal. The several departments of the school are well ordered and arranged. The num ber of pupils enrolled in both the city schools is about 670 ami t!i average daily attendance Is about 5G0. We are informed by the officers t the steamer 1'annio Troup, that the ef forts of the committee appointed by the ladles of Vancouver to sell tickets for the Calico Ball In aid of the fund for the purchase of a fire engine for that place have thus far been quite successful. Those visiting Vancouver on the evening of the ball will bo taken over and brought back by the Fannin Troup, free of charge. At the recent meeting of the Vancouver Common Council, It was resolved that in case the citizens would raise $1000 In coin, the Council would appropriate $1000 in currency, to the purchase of fire ap paratus for that place. The steamship Fidellter, M. C Ers kine commander, arrived from Victoria last evening. Chicago. Sept- 6. The ceremonies of the laying of the Stephen A. Douglas monument today were most impressive and were accompanied by a most en thusiastic ovation to President John son. After the corner stone had been laid by President Johnson, Major-Gen-eral John A. Dix delivered the oration on the life and character ot Douglas. The Pioneer Club played another game on the common at East Portland yesterday. Twenty-Five Years Ago. From The Orcponlan, Sept. S. 1S01. Chicago, Sept. 7. Miss Bertha Ison. formerly of Baker. Or., the beautiful daughter of the late Judge Luther Ison and Mrs. Ison, was murdered today by Dr. Charles E. Ballard, of Sayhrook, whom she mot two months ago and who was madly in love with her. He mur- l 1 K tM 1. wntl.n-n V . K- and later killed himself. He was 2 years Ola. iney naa oeen fnsaiteu, out the engagement had been broken. IT. B. Lltt Is ready for business and will exhibit this afternoon a fine array of theater capes and wraps, as well as a number of ready-made dresses. Professor Herman Boos, instructor In the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club gmnnsium. has returned from his va cation. Edward W. Wright, of Astoria, will begin about October 1. the publication of an evening newspaper in Astoria City Attorney W. T. Muir, Sanderson Reed and Al Miller went hunting along the Cornell road Sunday and bagged 33 grouse, pheasant and quail. Two girls were born to Mr. and Mrs. D. H. Brittain. at 271 1" street, yesterday. The mother and twins are doing well. Sam L- Simpson, the well-known poet, has penned some lines "Slain by the Sea," Vn memory of Hugh Todd rjiaham. the Portland lawyer who was raed August 21 at Long Beach.