so
THE MORNING ORECOXIATT. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1916.
PORTLAND. OREGON.
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.PORTLAND, TCESDAT. OCTOBER 24, 1916.
nul the latest order on the ground that T
it is a violation of the law under which
the commission acts. Congress, fore
seeing: the possibility of prolonged, but
temporary, suspension of water com
petion, and perhaps foreseeing also
the temptation to which the .commis
sion has yielded, added the following
paragraph to Section 4 of the railroad
law of 1910:
Whenever a carrier by railroad shall. In
competition with a water route or routes,
reduce the rates on the carriage of any spe
cies of freight to or from competitive points.
It shall not be permitted to Increase such
rates unless after hearing by the Interstate
Commerce Commission it shall be found that
such proposed increase rests upon changed
conditions other than- the elimination oi
water competition.
There was no change in conditions
affecting; rates other than the tempor
ary suspension of water competition,
yet the commission's order was based
n the very ground which it was ex
pressly forbidden to consider. The
course of events may develop into a
race between the courts and the ship
builders to decide which shall be the
first to annul the order, the one by an
order of court, the other by reviving
water competition in greater vigor
than ever.
DISCHTMTXATTOH.
Personal testimony is offered by our
' town' Senator Chamberlain that the
Adamson act was not passed through
Coercion of the brotherhoods,- or of
anybody, but was the product of free
and open discussion by an uninflu
enced and unterrified Congress. It is
to be supposed, then, that CongTess
was and is ready to take similar action
In behalf of other workers seeking
more wages and shorter hours.
It would bo interesting and impor
tant to have from Senator Chamber
Jain, or from any other supporter or
apologist of the Adamson law, an ex
planation of the reasons why Congress
saw fit, in course of its untrammeled
deliberations, to favor by specific law
tour certain highly paid groups of rail
road workers and to ignore all the
rest.
It cannot be said that there was no
application to Congress for legislation
In behalf of any others but the broth
erhoods. There was. Representative
Temple, previous to adoption of the
Administration bill, offered the fol
lowing:
Add to section 1 the following
Provided further, that this section
thai! also include and apply to the
station neonts, train dispatchers, track
men. office employes, workers in Rail
way shops, and aU other employes of
a railroad carrier engaged in inter
KtAfn earriaco of passengers and
freight."
Yet this amendment, designed to
Include within the scope of the Adam-
eon act ALL -railroad workers, was
voted down, 120 against to 81 ror.
Nearly the entire 120 were Demo
crats. Why discrimination so marked, mis
chievous and hurtful?
thing which 'this Administration has
never done is to look; ahead to meet
the Nation's future needs and to avoid
certain, though more or less remotfe,
perils. It never looks farther ahead
than the next election.
GEyEBAL JAMES JACK-SOX.
Many years ago (in 1894, to be ex
act) a party of Portland citizens waa
taken aboard a steamboat up the Co
lumbia River to celebrate the opening
of the Cascade Locks. Senator Dolph.
Senator Mitchell, ex-Senator , Williams
George H.), Harvey W. Scott, H. L.
Pittock, W. M. Ladd, and many other
leaders of political, financial, intellect
ual and Industrial endeavor in Oregon
were members of the excursion.
The locks, built- by J. G. and I. N.
Day, were formally opened, and on
the return there was a mighty, jubilee.
participated in by everybody aboard,
for there was a general conviction,
then as now, that free navigation of
the Columbia River meant much for
Portland and the Northwest. All the
speeches prophesied a great future for
Portland.
An Army officer, called on to con
tribute his bit to the general felicita
tions, startled and mightily stirred his
hearers by making an eloquent speech
on "Americanism." He dwelt on the
fundamentals of a nation's greatness
natural resources. Industrial skill,
commercial adaptability, sobriety, in
dustry, patriotism, character and
preparedness. It was perhaps the first
genuine note of alarm sounded in the
Northwest for the country's negligence
of and indifference to the elementary
lessons of military and naval prepara
tion, it made a deep and even a
lasting impression. The speaker was
Brigadier-General James Jackson, U.
A., then a Major.
Now General Jackson, after a long
life of single-hearted and efficient de
votion to his country, has passed on.
There were few men, even in the
Army, with such constant willingness
to do their duty, and such knowledge
of what it was, and such capacity for
performing it. He served valiantly
on the battlefield, and intelligently and
indefatigably in the quieter employ
ments of the service. Always he
preached loyalty: always he acted loy
alty; and always he taught prepared
ness. It must have been a gTeat sat
isfaction to him that the Nation had
at last responded to the appeals of
patriots like himself.
THE FLACK OF SONG IX WAR.
"Why shuld we not sing?" says
DaviA Lloyd George, in defending the
Welsh for holding their National Eist
eddfod during the war. Why, indeed?
Song Is associated with battle, as with
every other great event in, the life of
men and of Nations. Song expresses
every passion not only love, but hate:
not only joy, but sorrow; not only tri
umph, but defeat, for do not the
Serbw commemorate to this day the
overthrow of the Serbian Empire at
KoBova ?
Song has ever been associated with
battle and war. The Vikings sang in
the very moment of death, and they
went into battle with their sagas on
their lips. Welsh warriors for gener
ations have been Inspired in battle by
the march of the "Men of Harlech,"
Scots by "Scots Wha Hae WV Wallace
Bled," British tars by "The Death of
Nelson." the French revolutionary
army by the march of the "Marseil
laise," and in the present war the Ger
man army marched through Belgium
singing "Deutschland ueber Alles."
In our own history the sight of the
American flag waving from Fort Mc
Henry, which was resisting the British
.fleet, inspired Francis Scott Key to
compose the defiant "Star-Spangled
Banner!" The soldiers of the Union
marched to the sounds of "John
Brown's Body," or "Tramp, .Tramp,
Tramp, the Boys Are Marching." Not
until the soul of a Nation is crushed
are its war songs silenced. Jn war its
paras are inspired to songs alike by
hope and confidence on going into bat
tle, by exultation over victory, by rage
at defeat, and by sorrow over a hero's
death. War plays upon all the strings
of human emotion and moves them to
expression in song. .
Then it is most fitting that not only
gallant little Wales, but each one of
the many Nations contending at Arma
geddon-should keep alive the spirit of
emulation in song and poetry by hold
ing such festivals as the Eisteddfod
They are not mere Jollifications, but
are gatherings where competition
stimulates the arts. Music keeps the
soldier In mind that he fights for an
idea a thing o the soul not to
gratify hatred or lust for blood. Song
saves the nobler part of man from ex
tinction by its brutish accompani
ments.
trative difficulties in the health de
partment dangerous to public welfare;
Niagara Falls has had trouble, and
these do not complete the list.
In Portland the defects enumerated
in both Tucoma and Harrlsburg have
been encountered. There is no re
sponsible executive head; the commis
sion has difficulty not only in con
forming administrative to legislative
functions, but its economic failure is
doubtless due to the fact that the ap
propriating and spending powers are
conferred on the same set of men.
If it is actually possible to save a
million dollars a year, another experi
ment in .charter forms with that end
in view would not be amiss.
THE COMMISSION FLOCNDERS.
In reopening the interminable Spo
kane rate controversy, the Interstate
- Commerce Commission seems to be
making one more flounderain the bog
which it made for itself by Ignoring
the natural law of water competition,
It is now between two fires, each party
to the controversy contending that the
conditions on which the commission's
order of last Summer was based have
chanced in its favor. In meeting
these conflicting claims, the commis
sion has left itself without sure ground
on which to stand. .
Throughout the' controversy the
commission has permitted Itself to be
Influenced by the apparent injustice
of permitting freight to be hauled
through interior cities to the Pacific
Coast at lower rates than are cnargea
to those interior cities. The Coast
cities have sought to keep its atten
tion fixed on the indisputable law of
water competition, but the interior
cities have confused it with appeals
for sympathy on their behalf. The
result was the artificial establishment
of a trade zone within which Spokane
and other cities similarly situated
could be secure against competition
from the Coast.
Then came the rone system, pro
viding that rates from certain belts of
Eastern territory to lntermountaln
points should not exceed the rate to
the Coast by more than a certain per
centage. Then came the war, with its
famine of ships, and the slides, which
blockade the Panama Canal. Having
induced the commission to abandon
the fixed principle on which nature
In normal times regulates competition
between rail and water, Spokane and
its sister cities found small difficulty
in persuading the commission that th
principle which had vexed it, and
from which it had made timid, tenta
tive departures, no longer existed.
Could the commission once convince
Itself that water competition had not
only ceased to be a fact, but had also
ceased to be more than a remote pos
sibility, it seems to have thought it
could sweep away all exemptions from
the long-and-short-haul clause and
could go ahead on its new tack with
clear sailing.
On the comfortable assumption that
water competition was suspended for a
long and indefinite period, the com
mission fixed an arbitrary,' In place of
a percentage, differential in favor of
the Coast terminals, and permitted this
only on the ground that there was a
potential water competition. This rule
was not applied generally, but only to
the bulk of commodities that are car
ried across the continent. While the
Coast was protesting, asking suspen
sion of the order, and rJannlng ap
peals to the courts, Spoktine asked to
have It applied to all commodities.
Even before the decision was given,
General Goethals, the canal-digger,
took a hand in the game. He cleared
the slides, reopened the canal to traf
fic, and thereby knocked one of the
pins from under the commission'!
frail structure of reasoning. Then.
ca,me the threat of a railroad strike
end the Adamson law. The probabil
ity that that law would impose an
odded burden of expense on the rail
roads is said to have been one reason
for suspension of the order until De
cember 30, though what connection it
could have with the relation between
lntermountaln and Pacific Coast rates
is difficult to conceive. The rapidity
with which ships are being built on
the Pacific Coast threatens to knock
the remaining pins from under the
commission's case before the order can
become effective. With a great fleet
of ships building on this Coast, each of
which will surely take at least its first
cargo through the Canal, water compe
tition will soon again be not merely
v potential but actual. The commis
sion may then be compelled to floun
der back again to the point whence it i enlist large numbers of men.
was started. Perhaps then it will re- ; increase been authorized
jQice at planting its reet once more
on the firm ground of natural law,
which overrules all commissions.
An incident of the controversy
which may hasten the commission's
return to that position is the suit of
the Skinner-Eddy Corporation to an.
TWO-CEXT FAKE IX NEW YORK.
When cornered by statement of the
BARBED THOUGHTS OX CAMPAIGN
Patriotism r-flei. Forv sight Dlm-
eusrs. Mistake Re-vtcvved.
GILBERT, Or. Oct. 23. (To the Edi
tor.) Aval Una; myself of the voters'
privilege, I think I can observe the
law and not shoot again until the big
game season of 1$20.
To Civil War veterans the present
apathy must seem amazing'. Even the
boys of 1861 were more patriotic than
the men of now. Patriotism does not
Involve love of war. but love of coun
try and its welfare. Wilson should
not allow love, of humanity to displace
patriotism.
Mis adroitness, all admit, and we owe
him thanks for exercising it In side
tracking his rival, Bryan. But what
the Nation needs la the statesman's
wisdom, and it will be much safer in
the hands of one who knows what rood
law Is than if intrusted to one who
makes experiments and changes as
often as the moon.
The Wilson party's cry of pain
against "the Golden Special" shows
where the shoe pinches. Why does it
not relieve the monotony and our sym
pathetic commiseration by an oc
casional allusion to J- ord's Golden Spe
cial and to the railroad presidents that
are flocking to the Wilson party?
Why didn't Wilson's Congress fore
stall the threatened strike which threw
its shadow months ahead? No doubt
the boss hoped it would not culminate
until after election. The wily work
men struck while the Iron was hot and
Mr. Wilson's hasty Congress passed a
law favorable, temporarily, to a part
of the working: people. Was it class
legislation, in that all were not in
cluded? ' V
Two great wars broke out under ad
verse conditions Democratic rule.
Watchful waiting proved disastrous
both times. Buchanan was scared stiff,
and in impotence allowed part of the
resources of the country to drift t
the rebel side. Had a' man of Lincoln's
stamp held office each time, how dlf
ferent would have been the result.
Bryan decried threatened Republican
imperialism. Is the Wilson brand O. K-7
Americans have been criticised for
The latest "Dronhet" to arise to lead I investing in Mexico, but critics are dls-
hls people is one Garrick Sokarl Braid, creetly silent about their great-great-
who has come Into prominence in I Knap.renLs mvaa.un inn i
Nigeria and who seems to have ' d i. vastly in the
6hwijcu u. vtt.i uiiio.1 piiiiijiv in iiitib rnnloritv
ne requires as a condition precedent Had Washington and his successors
to healing the sick that they shall allowed, their pride to dominate their
make fiul confession of all their sins, patriotism this poor fatherless country
This simple cataloging of the shrt- would be. on a par with Canada and
comings of people, which it Is required Australia and our men would be in the
that thev shall do themselves, has war zon singing.
In finding work for which cripples
are fit, experimenters have reached
the unexpected conclusion that men
who have lost a leg do not necessarily
prefer trades that permit them to sit
constantly. Preconceived ideas have
been changed by the large numbers
of one-legged soldiers who have ap
plied for such employment as Is in
volved in standing at the printer's
case or at the carpenter's bench, and
even occupations requiring a good deal
vl waihiuB are uui uuw I tgaruBU as
closed to them. There has also been
opportunity fof a not altogether un
desirable readjustment of those who
had previously drifted into trades that
had proved -uncongenial; these are
taking advantage of the opening into
something for which, perhaps, they
have been longing in the more recent
past, so that it is to be expected that
both the workman and the trade he
has newly chosen will be benefited in
the future. "There is also a growing
desire to choose work in which highest
efficiency is likely to be attained.
which shows a hopeful appreciation
of the demands of society when the
time comes for repairing the tre
mendous wastes of war.
why t. r. stamm for jvtxse
hiuhes.
"I champion Mr. Hughes against
Mr. Wilson because in every such
crisis (threatened rail strike) Mr.
Wilson, by his publio acts, has
ehown that he will yield to fear,
that he will not yield to justice;
whereas the public acts of Mr.
Hughes have proved him to be in
capable of yielding la ' such a
crisis to any threat, whether
made by politicians, corporations
or labor leaders.
"Since he (Wilson) went into pol
itics, he has again and again in
cessantly and continuously, re
versed himself on what he had
professed to be his deepest con
victions prior to entering politics.
and in each case the announced
change of conviction agreed with
moment seemed to be
'ItlcaJ interest."
4 change of ce
I what at the
I to his polit
In Other Days
made the work of stamping out sin
relatively easy. The "prophet" has
proved his right to the title of leader
by convincing large numbers of
Nigerians that the trade-jrin sold to
We know we are too proud to fight.
Rut we to got to just the same.
Would the Wilson people like to have
us become another India or China?
Unkept Democratic promises have
been alluded to so often that I will
them and there has been an almost
marvelous growth of temperance, as
well as improvement in health and in-
T-'onxnna n v. -v,- t rdustry. One of the large items of
them by Europeans Is not good for only say that the molasses is changing
to vinegar mighty fast.
W. B. EMERSON.
FROM A "DESERTER."
Ten days ago the New York Evening
Post was reported to have "deserted'
Mr. Hughes a candidate whom
it had but intermittently favored. Yet
the reader of the Evening Post may
find the following sharp criticism of
the Adamson act, and unqualified ap
proval of Mr. Hughes' attitude there
on. In its issue of October 18 (since
the "desertion"):
"You cannot repeal a surrender" Mr
Hushes' reply to a heckler at fcloux City
last night -was much more than an effec
tive epigram. What It put into five words
is tno essential truth of the matter, and
naroiy required the addition or any com
ment to make it, tor an intelligent mind
a complete answer to the silly question
asked by th herkler. It is one thing to
say that the bill extorted from Congress
by the brotherhoods at the point of the
pistol should not have been panned; and
quite another to say that, having been
passed. It ought to be repealed. For good or
ill. Congress and the President gave the
brotherhoods what they demanded as the
price of calling off the strike; for good
or ill, the country must stand by the bar
gain. Mt. Hughes patiently pointed out to
his questioner that the duration of the
arrangement as to wages instituted by the
Dill was such that by the time the nex
Congress assemble in regular session It will
have run Its course, and he added that If
nevertheless, the question 'of repeal should
come up he will decide his position upon
It by "ascertaining the exact facts and what
Justice would dictate ought to be done at
that time." Does anyone pretend that there
was even the faintest effort to do anything
of th. kind. In the holdup legislation of last
month 7
Well, yes, Jt Is pretended here in
Oregon by politicians not heretofore
noted for their propensities for joking
that Congress was not "coerced" in
its passage of the Adamson act.
Congress wriggled, and squirmed.
and whinedand capitulated. The
brotherhood chiefs called a Nation
wide strike for September 4, but Con
gress, responding to the direct demand
of President Wilson,- who in turn had
responded to the direct and open ac
tion of the brotherhoods, passed the
law on September 2, and the President
signed it on September 8 (Sunday);
but to make sure of its entire validity
he signed it again later.
'I yield to no. man," said President
Wilson in presenting the strike issue
to Congress, "in firm adherence alike
of conviction and of purpose to the
principle of arbitration in labor dis
putes."
Firm adherence! Yet he yielded ab
solutely the principle of arbitration
and turned against the railroads be
cause they insisted upon arbltration.
OXB Or DANTEL8' FEATS.
When the new battleship Arizona
was placed in commission it was neces
sary, in order to provide her with a
crew, to detach men from the New
Hampshire, Vermont and Kansas, to
take those ships from the Atlantic
fleet and place them in reserve. Even
then she was short 164 officers and
men. The tonnage of the Arizona is
31,400; that of the 'three ships placed
In reserve Is 48.000. The addition of
the Arizona to the fleet has, therefore,
left it weaker than before.
Money spent on ships is wasted un
less they are provided 'with trained
crews to fight them. If we have not
enough men lnthe Navy to man the
ships, the imposing-totals of tons and
guns serve, only to delude us. Only
at the last moment did Secretary Dan
iels consent to an increase in the au
thorized strength of the Navy suffi
cient to man all its ships. Expert,
e'nee has shown that it takes time to
Had the
year or
more ago, when Mr. Daniels was stub
bornly opposing every move for pre
paredness, and was airily saying that
he needed no more men, the necessary
crew for the Arizona would have been
-available, and the other three ships
need not have been laid up. But one
ernor Hughes' veto of the two-cent
fare bill in New York, his critics try
to squirm out by saying that, though
bis insistence that it was a proper sub
ject for inquiry and action by the Pub
lic Service Commission seems reason
able, the actual effect was that the
people were cofcipeiled to pay higher
fares for several years until the Com
mission gave its decision. In so say
ing they presume on the ignorance of
their hearers.
The fact is that, when Mr. Hughes
vetoed the bill making the two-cent
fare general throughout thestate, that
rate was already in effect on all the
main lines of railroad In the state.
The charter of the New York Central
fixes two cents as the rate for that
road, and all competing roads were
compelled to adopt the same rate in
order to get business. The only roads
which would have been affected by
the bill were some local, noncompeting
lines.
Mr. Hughes' opinion that, while the
two-cent fare might be Just for some
roads, it mighty not be sufficient for
others,, and that only Inquiry could
determine the facts, was fully con
firmed by events. The Public Service
Commission found some roads which
had put it in effect were losing money
on that account and authorized them
to raise the rate in order to escape
bankruptcy. Only inquiry could deter
mine where It should apply.
THAT ELCS1YE MILLION.
It could hardly be asked that the
city of Portland get along with the
same number of employes In 1916 as
were at work in the various municipal
departments In 1906. Since that year
the population of Portland" has great
ly Increased. Greater population calls
for enlargement of police and fire de
partments: indeed, practically of every
department where service is performed
for the public. Within the period em
braced between the two dates Portland
has vastly Increased the area of its
hard-surface pavements which brings
In its train the necessity of
dltlonal street cleaning.
In 1906 there were 735 city em
ployes. Today there are 1761. This
information comes from the City Auditor.
The number of employes has more
than doubled. That conditipn had
been reached before the adoption of
commission government. But what
ever normal increase city advance
ment should have required, there was
a deep-seated impression that the city
government, under the councllmanic
form, was topheavy and extravagant.
Commission form was offered as a re
lief. It was promised that its ad
vent would save to the taxpayers in
cost of government a round million
dollars a year.
There has been no saving. The
number of employes of the city has
been reduced in the number of eleven
since 1912. but the fewer number are
receiving $10,000 more in salaries and
wages than did the greater number.
Growing dissatisfaction with com
mission government 4s based largely
upon Its failure to live up to exnecta
tions. Dissatisfaction is not found in
Portland alone. The Tacoma Ledger
thus speaks of commission government
in that city
trade with the interior has been abol
ished, but the "prophet" seems not to
be concerned about this, and it Is said
that he has done more toward civiliz
ing his neighbors in a few months than
had been accomplished before in years.
The Interstate Commerce Commls
sion pointed to the true cure for rail
road car shortages when it said the
only way to improve the situation Is simply
to provide many new locomotives and I urgent.
cars and to Increase the size and ca
pacity of terminals several hundred
per cent. In order that the railroads
may do this they must have more cap
ital; that they may get capital, their
UEI.GIAX CHILDREN STILL HUNGRY
Appeal Renewed for Aid for Little
Onea of Mrickea Country.
NEW TORK, Oct. 18. (To the Edi
tor.) Once again and for the third
successive year I crave the publicity
of your columns In behalf of helpless
children In Belgium. The dollar Chris
mas fund, of which I am treasurer.
wants to make a still more urgent ap
peal than in the two previous years.
because the need Is more
Mr. Hoover, the head of the relief
commission for Belgium, has drawn at
tention to the facts of the case and
emphasized the positive necessity of
he children receiving one square meal
a day served at school. Under existing
credit must be restored; this can only I arrangements necessitous persons In
be done by letting them earn fair in
terest on their actual investment and
by relieving from the costly, conflict
ing regulation of forty-eight state
commissions. We are gradually learn
ing that every blow struck at the rail
roads is a boomerang which flies back
at the striker.
Belgium there are about 3.000.000 of
them receive one-third of a soldier's
ration. Just enough to keep body and
soul together. The Belgian people as
nation, bruised and broken by the
tragic experiences of war, are feeling
the tremendous strain most severely,
but the alarming scourge of tubercu
losis and other forms of disease due
to impaired vitality has been felt most
of all by the little onea
All Impartial witnesses who have
had the chance of seeing conditions
In Belgium have re-
Congress voted money 18 months
ago for the building of two dread
noughts, but their keels have not yet I for themselve
been laid. It Is useless for Congress I ported that the children there cannot
to vote money for preparedness unless grow to healthy maturity unless shey
men r r,!.-,-,! at fh hnH f th ar" Provided with more food. Money
War and Navy Departments who will
use it in preparation, .secretary ran- splendor and glory of centuries or the
Icls has been slow about spending this loss of life, but money can at least
money because he docs not believe In supply one square meal a day during
arming the Nation for defense, though the Winter months. That is Just what
the lash of public opinion has recent- the dollar Christmas fund is striving
ly forced him into spasmodic action.
TEXT OF ADAMSON BILL GIVEN
Measure Cemtalna Fisr Sections, Pen
alty Brlnsr S10OO Fine.
THE DALLES. Or.. Oct. 11. (To the
Editor.) Will you kindly print a copy
of the Adamson bill? I find a great
many railroad men who have never
seen or read the bill.
MARGARET WENSLEY,
This is one of numerous requests for
the full text of the Adamson law. The
Oregonlan published it September 2. the
day following its passage. It Is here- I
with printed again:
Be It enacted br the Senate and House
of Representatives of the United rotates of
America. In Congress assembled: That, be
ginning January 1. 1917. eight hours shall.
In -contracts for labor and service. b deemt-d
a day's work and the manner or standard
of a day's work for the purpose fit reckon
ing the -compensation for services of all
employes who are now or may hereafter
b employed by any common carrier, except
railroads Independently owned and operated
not exceeding 100 miles la length, electric
street railroads and electric Interurban rail
roads, which are subject to the prolslons
of the act of February 4, lf-87, entitled "an
act to regulate commerce." as amended,
and who are now or may hereafter be ac
tually engaged In any capacity in the ontr
atloa of trains used for the transportation
of persons or property on railroads, except
railroads Independently owned and operated
not exceeding loo miles In length, electric
street railroads and electric Interurban rail
roads, from any state or territory of the
United States or the District of Columbia
to any other state or territory of the United
States or the LMstrlct of Columbia, or from
one placa la a territory to another place
In the same terirltory, or from any place
In the United States to an adjacent foreign
cbuntry, or from any place in the United
States through a foreign country to any
other place in the United States; Provided,
that the above exceptions shall not apply
to railroads, though less than 10O miles in
length, whose principal business Is leasing
or furnishing terminal or transfer facili
ties to other railroads, or are themselves
engaged lu transfers of freight between rall
rallroads or' between railroads suid Indus
trial plants.
Section 2. That the President shall appoint
a ccnimlrslon of three, which shall observe
the operation and effects of tha InsUtutlon
of the eight-hour standard workday as above
defined and the facts and conditions af
fecting the relations between such common
carriers and employee during- a period of
not less than six months nor more than
nine months. In the discretion of tha com
mission, and within 80 days thereafter such
commission snail report its findings to the
President and Congress: that each member
of the commission created under the pro
visions of this act shall receive such com
Densation as may be fixed by the President
that the sum of 4"-.V0Oi, or so much thereof
as may be (lecossary, be. and hereby is,
apiroi-rtated out of any money In the United
States Treasury not otherwise appropri
ated for the necessary and proper expenses
Inourred in connection with the working
of such commission, including salaries, pe
diem, traveling axpenaea of memters and
employes and rent, fumUnre. office fixtures,
and supplies, books, salaries and other neo
essary expenses, the same to be approvea
bv the chairman of aaid commission and
audited by the proer accounting officers
of the Treasury.
faction 8. That pending the report of the
commission herein provi.iea ror ana tor i
neriod of BO days thereafter, the eompenea
tlon of railway employes subject to this act
for a standard elaht-houT workday shall not
be reduced below the present standard day's
wage, and for all necessary time In excess
of eight hours such envployee shall be paid
at a rate not lees than the pro rata for
such standard eight-hour workday.
Meet Ion 4. That any person violating any
provision of this act shall be guilty of a
tnledemeanor and upon conviction shall te
fined not less than J ICO and riot more than
IlOiiO. or imprisoned not to exceed one year,
or both-
CO M rETI XI O N HAS ITS BENEFITS
Half a Century Acs.'
From The Oregonlan ef October 24, ISsa.
New York. Oct. 1. The Times Wash
ington special dispatch still insists that
Stanton has tendered his resighation
and has signified his desire to go as
Minister to tipaln. As soon as Gneral
Sherman can be heard from the Presi
dent will act,
New Vork. Oct. 19. The funeral of
John Van Buren took place this morn
ing In Grace Church and was largely
atlendeO. ,
Surgeon-General Barnes, who accom
panied Johnson to Chicago, was at last
accounts lying ill at that place with
small prospects of recovery.
Attention "Hooks" Tou are request
ed to meet at the Hook and Ladder
House at 7 o'clock P. M. with uni
form, shirt and belt. By order of
the foreman.
Our popular Governor, George I
Woods, has been In the city for several
days and left yesterday morning for
Salem.
Wells JTargo Co.'s messenger last
evening brought down 115,000 in treas
ure. An accident occurred to the main
shaft of the Oregon City Woolen Mill
on Monday last, which has caused a
temporary suspension 'of work.
Twenty-Five Years Ago.
From The Oregonlan of October 24. 1S91
City of Mexico, Oct. 23. Advices re
ceived here from numerous sources re
veal the fact that In many sections
of the country the scarcity of food Is
now so great as to result In actual suf
fering among the people.
Budapesth. Oct. 24. The movement to
present Kossuth with an estate near
Da baa, in Hungary, Is meeting with
enthusiastic support- The estate in .
question Is where Kossuth 3 parents
are burled and where he wishes to be
interred.
The treasurv of the Board of School
Directors Is now depleted and that body
s managed on bed-rock principles. The
board has no funds to meet the salaries
due next month and will have to secure
a loan until the next annual meeting
in March, when an additional tax will
be levied.
Chicago. Oct. 13. Thomas A. Edison's
dlsnlav of electrical apparatus at the
World's Fair Is to be the greatest effort
of that great Inventor's life. He has
been working on It for months ana a
dozen of his ablest assistants have beefs
helping him.
Rev. John Gordon, pastor of the First
Baptist Church, sent his resignation to
the trustees of the congregation, who
accepted It. at their meeting Thursday
night.
to secure.
Our committee is
kas in previous years.
cscftrieratlng now.
v
ith the com
If President Wilson had not avert- I mission for relief, thereby safeguard
ed the strike " begins the organ of ! ln& against all waste. The same rep-
hard times, despair and pover4y. That's resentative and prominent citizens who
it. Once upon a time the dog stopped r "Pl'eai tne -rirsi year
. .? are still with us lately, reinforced by
and the rabbit got away; but all the the nfLtnea ot Oscar Straus and Sir
"l " animai Kingdom cua not Herbert Tree. Percy Bullen, of 68
felicitate the canine for averting dis- 1 Broadway. New York, from whom
aster to the bunny.
authorized collecting cards can be ob
tained Is again our honorary secretary.
Hitherto the response to our Christ
mas appeal has always been prompt
and generous and' our donations are
accepted by the sufferers in Belgium
as a special Christmas gift from one
There is no responsible head. We ara ac
customed to thinking of the Mayor of a city
as me neaa ot tne municipal government.
We have a Mayor under the commission
plan, yet bis power and authority are little
or no greater than that of the other mem
bers of the City Council, who are at tho
same time Commissioners. .At least three
of the Commissioners in practical adminis
tration have more power than the Mayor.
- The Harrisburg, Pa., Telegraph
complains similarly of commission
government as follows:
One of the weaknesses of the commission
form of government is that the administra
tive heads also constitute the legislative
body, and as a result the everlasting log
rolling and conferring and sidestepping in
volve loss of valuable time, with the likeli
hood of needless ' damages and expenses
Action should go hand In hand with dis
oussion. borne projects have been talked
almost to death during the present season.
In Pasadena, Cal., 2500 citizens
have signed a petition asking that a
change be made from the commission
form to the commission-manager sys
tem. Sacramento. has a charter revi
sion committee at work after trying
the commission form for three years.
Denver overthrew commission gov
ernment early lu the year after exist
ing under it for a time St. Paul has
found a modified form expensive: El
gin, Til., has encountered admlnls-
A scribe or a Pharisee, perhaps it
were better to say "amd" than "or,
asks, why change horses In crossing
d. , stream, since Wilson kept us out of
war : on, yes. just so. since he kept I peopje to anoiner, a tangible proof mat
us out of war, the Lincoln aphorism Christmas goodwill even In these days
rannnt ntinlv On with tho r).9ni I 01 "true ana bloodshed Has not dlsap-
I n .- 1 m .!. . it .J .1 .
y " - - - - --' iii. n iiijimiiuua bcul
to mvself as treasurer, earn of Hpnrv
Whenever the European powers I Clews & Co.. bankers. Broad street. New
cannot find anything else lying around I York, will be gratefully acknowledged.
loose ready to annex they take a piece 1 HtNKl CLEW S.
of China. That is the consequence
of relying on the good will of other single tax is reasoned olt
nations instead of on the force which
inspires respecj for diplomacy. I How One Man Rrarhed Adverse Con
ciuMiim on iToposta measure.
Tho ht nnn.r tr. Tr,.lr.e Txril- I TOK1LA.ND, Oct. 2i. (To the Edl-
son's strictures on the Republicans ih. n,",I,tal. ,,WlthT r,ep1 a.b?ut
- r , , , J', . I tn single tax question I find that the
: . ' . ,' " r ' predominating notion la that such a
to toe found in the speeches and writ- tax will Injure only the rich, and at
lngs of Republicans during the Win- least may benefit the small property
ter of 1914-15, when Mr. Wilson said owner. Being a small property owner
there was no need to worry. (myseir, my first concern when the aues-
. I tlon began to be agitated was to find
tt ., v. - , , ir Jt wouia Decent me. As long as I
How toany of us white folks would i, ,
have been in Oregon if General James U faned to make any headway, and I
Jackson .and his comrades had been I was about to give it un when It oe-
too proud to fight the Indians or had curred to me that-I might have better
shown excessive respect for the right I success if I assumed that I was a large
to have a revolution whenever they property owner.
grew restless?. I Alter looaing at it iron that stand
point liii x was riguraiiveiy Diue in
tha face T determined that if T waa a
The difference between a violinist large holder of the ground and such a
and a liaoier is that you tap the foot thing had happened that a single tax
to keep time with the latter, something I law had gone into effect, then my
not to be thought of in hearing the first act would be to sell If I .could
former. The fiddler plays to you. the at sacrifice the bulk of my vacant
violinist over the head. ground and put the money Into a large.
rcuiiuja uuijuiiis- x wuuia do 1 1 1 a L db-
It is time to get umbrellas repaired I namivxed hv tha r.w law. and t would
and to hunt up waterproof coats and do- it at almost any sacrifice that would
rubber shoes. The weather prophet 1 get the money.
Mr. Addia Finds In.arwvess.ent la Car
M-Ttre Slaee Jitney A el vent.
PORTLAND. Oct. 22. (To the Edi
tor.) As Just a plain citizen of Port
land who works'for wages and la try
ing to get a home paid for. I suppose
the lty Cornell is right in making -the
Jitneys take out a franchise on streets
not used by the streetcar company.
But If the new regulations proposed
for the Jitneys are Intended to or are
going to drive them out of business,
then I protest.
The streetcar company was stop
ping its cars at every other block out
our way and other places outside the
downtown districts and many of their
conductors were arrogant, unobliging
and even insolent. Now thev are Chen
terfieldlan in their politeness. Cars
stop at every kind of a street and there
are more cars and better service then
before the advent of the Jitneya
Bo. being more interested in m t own
welfare than in the making of divi
dends for the watered etDjk of the
street railway, it strikes mo our hon
orable Council would Ai well to go
slow on this Jitney franchise proposi
tion. HORACE ADDIS.
803 Kelly Street.
CONDITIOS
UNDER PROHIBITION
Hank
Number of Arrests Decreases,
' Clearings Show Gala.
LINN COUNTY. Oregon. Oct. 21. CTo
the Editor.) Believing you are able
and willing to answer the following
correctly and honestly, I will ask these
questions:
Comparing the Portland records of
1915 to October 1 with 1916 to October
1. how do they compare regarding ar
rests for drunkenness and crime, au
tomobile accidents and traffic ordi
nance violations; also general business
conditions as indicated by bank re
ports? AN OLJ3 SUBSCRIBER.
Compiled from police bureau records
for months of January to September,
Inclusiye. 1915 and 1916:
Total arrests. January -to October 1.
1915. 14.742.
Total arrests, January to October 1,
1914. 8157.
Total arrests for drunkennesg, same -period.
1915. 5008.
Total arrests for drunkenness, same
period. 1916. 1372. ,
Total arrests for larceny, same
period. 1915. 493.
Total arrests for larceny, same
period. 1916. 228.
No record, save the filed reports of
officers, was kept In 1915 of traffic ac
cidents. Harry P. Coffin, of the Pub
lie Safety Commlssslon. has complete
record for this year, so far. Owing to
the fact that many accidents are re
ported to him that would. In the ordi
nary course, never have been reported
to the police, it is Impossible. Mr. Cof
fin says, to attempt a comparison by
actual figures. He is certain, though,
that the decrease in traffic accidents
has been at least 50 per cent
Bank clearings, which are the best
single indication of business conditions,
were as follows for comparative
periods:
January 1 to October 1. 1915, 8397,
940.815.35. January 1 to October 1, 1916, 1443.
407.902.77. . .
says Jupiter Pluvlus is about ready
for business.
And so I pictured myself owning a
85000 lot with a 835.000 building on
it. while the man who owns a 85000
Postage stamps are about all of the 1 "?"Jhf?l?l lLom !? an
price. Mr. Myers' shop on Morrison
street has a large supply.
much tax as I pay. If that man h
not the money with which to put up a
large or paying building on that lot
he would, owing to the fact that .the
The Fall season of quakes in Call-lvalue would be almost all in the build-
fornia has begun. Funny how they ln"' "v sweet time Borrowing tne
1 - . .. 1 m nn.v T had a rlctur- rf film trvinr
K(nn a.wav Trniti tha unv i-itv I- J - -
.4 aomA n.i. law T saw mvlf hav
Sir Thomas Beecham advertised hlsineT the best of It for a time, but only
puis aiter ne maae uiem. imi is now until the tax burden should get me,
he became wealthy.
A campaign song without the pro
fane ejaculation cannot be funny.
too, to make up what the smaller own-
lers were no longer able to pav.
J. A- CLEMEXSON.
The weather is too good to last.
Look up raincoat and umbreQa.
T Devoted By Far.
Washington (T. C.) Star.
"Have you been studying science of
the efficiency?"
I - "V . - kari in milt raaitlnsr thnnf ft
Two weeks from today Will beloot so interested that I found it was
Hughes day over the land. 1 interfering with my regular work."
i What Kind of Blrdt
- PORTLAND, Oct. 23. (To the Edi
tor.) Recently a friend informed me
that a canary bird, while In the cage.
had been attacked by some other bird.
From the Injuries noticed It would
appear that the attacking bird endeav
ored to pull its victim through the bars
by the leg.
In talking the matter over I further
heard that another lady had lost two
birds In much the same manner. In this
latter case they had been drawn com
pletely from the cage.
To know the bird responsible for
such tactics would be of interest and
might be useful Information for those
having singing birds.
E. J. w hu e.
535 Savler street.
Good Prospects try tho ShoveL
Tit-Bita
Offlcei- And what are you going to
do when you get there T
Emigrant Take up land.
Officer Much? '
Ejni grant A shovelful at a time.
Choice of Words.
PORTLAND, Oct. 23. (To the Ed
itor.) Appreciating the literary and
scholarly features as well as tho news
service of The Oregonlan. I would like
an expression in your columns as to
the correctness of the use of the word
"swirling" instead of "swirled" In the
following quotations:
"Arizona lay behind us all unnven
streaks of paste against a torrid sky.
The small station we had quitted had
been whirled fatefully from sight be
fore our overstrained eyes as we stared
back from tho rear platform of the
trair;. biting, clouds of alkali swirled
mockingly upon us."
Would not the conjunction "and
placed after the noun "eyes" or the
making of a new sentence beginning
with "As we stared" make for clear
ness? Lv L. WE6TFALL.
Use of "swirling" would depend upon
the meaning sought to be conveyed.
Probably a purist would not employ it
unless he meant that the swirling of
clouds of dust was responsible for In
ability to see the station. If h In
tended only to be descriptive or as some
put it. to give "local color." he would
divide the sentence In either of the two
ways the correspondent suggests.
"V. S. PROSPERITY ARTIFI
CIAL," T. R.
"During the first 18 months of
this Administration tho National
business went to pieces. .
We were at peace. We were sim
ply experiencing the normal re
sults of legislative action under
Mr. Wilson and the Democratlo
Administration.
"The present stimulus is artifi
cial. It will cease with the war
conditions coming to an end. It
will then be difficult to avoid
some suffering, anyhow. If Mr.
Wilson Is kept in office, this
suffering doubtless will be pro
longed and acute.
"Canada had a war with no tax;
whereas wo had a tax with no
It was purely a deficiency
Wanted! A Daniel.
M'MINNVILLE. Or.. Oct. 2. (To the
Editor.) If you have a Daniel In your
court put him to work on this dream:
I dreamed the other night I waa the
owner of a verdant tree-shaded pool
where ripples danced and birds sang
blithely. One day an old horse came
along and asked if he might drink. I
said yes. help yourself to all you can
drink, whereupon the old horse took
a long drink, then proceeded to take a
bath and went his way. A tew days
later be returned and drank and
bathed as before.
And as he stood there, knee-deep In
the water, looking somewhat older, he
slowly turned Into a little old dried
up man. And death was written on
his face.
I said. "Tou are going to die."
"I know it," said he,, "but before I
go I want to tell you something: I
was going to vote for Wilson who
shall it be?"
I said, "Vote for Hughes." and lot
the little old man vanished, and In his
place stood the Democratic ass.
THOMAS H. ROGERS.
(
'"v