16 THE .MORNING. ORE G ONI AN, FRIDAY DECEMBER 8, 1916. HIGH PRICE CAUSE IS FOUND COMPLEX Federal Officials Divide Blame Between Combines and Natural Conditions. REASONS DEEPLY HIDDEN on the quality of -which the action arose, were purchased at his sugges tion, in line with the campaign of the Portland Ad Club to enforce the relia bility of advertising:. Witnesses were called to testify as to the character of wares known as "solid gold" to the trade. On cross-examination, Felix Bloch, a jeweler, said that the actual manufacture of solid gold articles for use was impracticable; that it was necessary in all cases to employ alloy for stiffening. Ralph L. Graves, assayer, who had tested the cuff-links, testified that the face of the button was solid gold of eight carats fineness, while the re mainder of the button was of alloy and baser metal, "containing a lesser per centage of gold. The content'on of the defense is that the cuff-links fully complied with the trade standards and were entitled to display and sale as solid gold, holding International Balance of Trade and Amount of Currency In Circu lation Have Effect, Though .Little Understood. WASHINGTON, Dec. 7. Information gathered from many sources by Gov ernment officials conducting the Nation-wide inquiry into the high cost of living poted with increasing direct ness tonight to the conclusion that the soaring prices of certain necessities of life were due, in part, at least, to the manipulations of speculators in food and other commodities who had com bined to force quotations upward. These combinations are believed by the Government investigators to have beer criminal In character, rather spas mcxlic and rather short-lived. Special attention is being given to al Jeged price manipulation in the SO' called "coal corner" which recently re fculted in sending prices to a- panic JeveL Investigation of the high price ot coal has already convinced some of ficials that there was no warrant what ever for $12 coal in Boston and New York other than the activity of these alleged combinations. 'Whether men who profited most can be punished un der Federal laws is said to be still un der consideration. Inquiries Are Multiplied. Every Federal agency with even a remote relation to the situation was called on today to play its part in the jrreat machinery of investigation which the Government has put into opera tion. A mass of material has poured into the Attorney-General's office, most of which still is undigested, but all of Which will be utilized where available. With the investigation in its infancy, officials were unwilling to predict to night where it might lead. The activi ties of certain men, however, are known to be under surveillance and no finiall part of the work assigned the 60-odd investigators in the field has been the checking of transactions dur ing the past few months by these men. At the same time officials make cleat their conviction that no small part of the rise in prices was due to natural economic causes. Many of these causes, it is pointed out, lay far beneath the Eurface, such conditions as the inter national balance of trade and the amount of currency in circulation hav ing a direct bearing on the situation, although not generally understood. Coal Shipments Investigated. T.Tnited States Attorney Anderson, of Boston, in charge of the inquiry, spent the day gathering data. He conferred with officials in the Departments of Justice, Agriculture, Commerce and Labor. He also had a long conference with Chairman Meyer, of the Interstate Commerce Commission, with reference to interstate shipments of coal. Mr. Anderson will remain in Washington a day or two later, and will visit Chi cago, where a Federal grand jury is conducting an inquiry. He also hopes to visit if possible, Detroit, Cleveland, Kansas City, Minneapolis and perhaps other Middle Western cities with a view to gathering information. The grand Jury investigation at Chi cago, it is expected, will be productive of valuable information, and possibly other developments which Department of Justice officials are unwilling to mscuss. Present activities of the De partment's investigators are under stood to center about Chicago. Trade boards, butter and egg exchanges, prod uce, sugar, coffee and other food ex changes, it was authoritatively an nounced, nave not been investigated. EGG PRICES ARE DEFENDED Poultry Breeders Say Boycott Effect Will Be Limited. The boycott on eggs at present being carried on by housewives of Chicaco and other cities of the country is not considered seriously by poultry breed ers now exhibiting at the annual Poul try Show here. It is admitted that the boycott will probably cause a lowering Jn the price of eggs in certain markets but it is not believed by the breeders that this will prove of any permanent cnaracter. Breeders declare that In carrying for ward the boycott the housewives are noi siriKing at me iunaamental cause of the high price of eggs, and as i consequence no permanent or country wide lowering in the price of eggs is expected to result from the boycott. ' This fundamental cause they declare to be the high price of feed, particularly wneat. ll. . Marx superintendent of the Poultry Show and a breeder of White Vyandottes, declared yesterday tha the margin of profit on a dozen egg at ou cents is not as high now as was on eggs at the quotations prevail )ng two or three years ago. The cos of production, he said, was advancing at sucn a rate that the advance in the price of eggs had been necessitated As a proper means of lowering th price of eggs Mr. Marx suggested the direct purcnase or eggs by the con sumer trom the producer. ex-pbesidest op chamber of commerce: ivamed ox hock. commission". in mind the fact that such articles must of necessity be stiffened by alloy in the parts subject to heavy use. FRUIT MEN TO MEET HOHTICCLTURAL SOCIETY" DISCUSS PROBLEMS. At Hood River Session Scarcity Labor and Car Shortage Situa tion to Be Considered. HOOD RIVER, Or., Dec. 7. (Spe al.) The 30th annual convention f the Oregon State Horticultural So ciety, to be held here December H, 12 i. ARONSOfi'S TRIAL ON DEFEXSE DEMES CHARGE OF CEPT1VE ADVERTISING. DE- Frosecution Contends Cuff Links vertlsed as Solid Gold Were Really of Base Metal. Trial of the case against I. Aronson, proprietor of Aronson's jewelry store. charged with deceptive advertising, was begun yesterday afternoon before jury in Municipal Court. Three hours were spent in hearing the testimon and cross-examiation of witnesses fo the prosecution. The case will be re fsumed this afternoon at 1:30 o'clock Attorney F. H. Whitfield represented me .Better Business Bureau of the Port land Ad Club, assisted by Deputy City Attorney staater, while Wallace Mc Camant appeared as attorney for the oetense. Attorney McCamant, throughout th cross-examination of witnesses, sought to estaollsn that the prosecution of M Aronson was prompted by business Jealousy. "We will show that the pur pose of this prosecution has been to destroy the holiday trade of this de fendant," declared Attorney McCamant Lt L,. Baum, secretary of the Bette Business League, testified that tire gold cuff links, advertised aa "solid," and ; r ' , : f - . '-yM A f - ! J I ( ' - I l , -Z ; I , - ' t 'l V ' 1 1 ; t 1 ' , J ; I fTY t :h V rP - -''Ax :: $t Y Y' ' It t tfaaiiiiM-mfiMi I A. LODGE HALL OPENED Molalla Oddfellows Dedicate New Modern Home. CITY BRILLIANTLY LIGHTED Electrical Arch of Welcome Spans ' Main Street 600 Are at Cere mony and Banquet Other Towns Represented. OREGON CITT, Or.. Dec. 7. (Spe cial.) There were more than 600 per sons witnessing the Impressive dedica tion ceremonies of the new Oddfellows hall at Molalla last night. Oddfellows and Rebekabs from many sections of Clackamas County, with a delegation from Portland as well, attended. There were about 120 from Oregon City who made the trip over the Willamette Valley- Southern Railway. Grant B. Dimlck. oresidenf nf Willamette Valley Southern Railway Company, accompanied the excursion ists, and took an active part in 'he programme. Every store in Molalla was Illum inated and an electric archway SDanned Main street in welcome. The programme opened with Ejec tions by the Molalla orchestra, com posed of O. K. Cole, Horace Robbins, Marion Tolliver, Miss Agnes Cooper, O. C. Purkapile, Raleigh Echerd and Hub bard Stone. At the conclusion of the second selec tion the dedication ceremonies were conducted by H. F. Westbrook, of Port land, and grand master of Oregon. State Officers Assist. He was assisted by Judge Thomas F. Ryan, of Salem, past grand chancellor and patriarch; Howard M. Eccles, of Canby, who assisted in the place of the absent grand herald of the east; William Heinz, of Aurora, grand herald of the north; P. H. Tucker, of Aurora', grand herald of the south; Lee Ecker son, of Canby, grand herald of the west; Fred Hendrickson. of Molalla, grand .marshal; Elliott Daugherty, of Molalla, noble grand; Rev. Mr. Snyder, of u-Olalla. grand chaplain. The remainder of the evening was devoted to a musical and literary pro gramme and this was followed by the banquet. The committee having charge of the programme was composed of Elmer Sawtell and Fred Hendrickson, while the banquet was arranged by Elmer Sawtell, Fred Hendrickson, H. A. Kayler, Mr. Martin and Charles Spencer. The Molalla orchestra followed the dedicatory, after which Mr. Arestbrook congratulated the members of the or der at Molalla on their building. He also spoke briefly of the work of the order. Early Days Are Recalled. S. S. Walker, of Oregon City, grand high priest of the state of Oregon, and A. H. Knight, of Canby, grand senior warden of th grand encampment, re- "WILL called early history of the Molalla lodges. Mr. Zimmerman, of Aurora, brought the greetings from the Aurora lodge and Judge Grant B. Dimick spoke high ly of Molalla lodge, and was greatly impressed with the building just com pleted. Judge Thomas F. Ryan, of Salem, praised the efforts of the Molalla lodge. Among the others who addressed the assembly were John J. Cooke, of Ore gon City lodge: a.. A. Price, of Oregon City lodge; Fred HendricKson. oi Molalla lodge; Elliott Daugherty, of and 13, promises to be full of interest. Molalla lodge; Mrs. J. J. Cooke, of Ore- The recent scarcity of labor and the gon City Willamette Rebekan Loage, car shortage situation, which have seri- William Heinz, of Aurora loage. tr. ously affected all Northwestern fruit H. Tucker, or Aurora louge. ,nno districts, will be given more serious Zweifel, formerly of Aurora lodge, but consideration than at any horticultur- now of Portland, and Rev. Mr. Snyder, sts' meeting of recent years. I grand chaplain. Another problem that will come be- I Danclne Conclndes Day. A. II. Averlll. H. Averill, president of the Averill Machinery Company, who has been named by Mayor Albee as the new member of the Com mission of Public Docks, assumed membership in the Commission yesterday, succeeding Dan Kel laher, retiring member. In view of the fact that Mr. Averill was president of the Chamber of Commerce for two years, and was on the Board when the Commission of Public Docks act was enacted, and also in view of the fact that he was regarded as a man having a broad vision in respect to the development of the waterborne commerce of this port, he was urged by a large number as one of the highest type of men who could be selected. voring grain handling in bulk, and the' construction of grain elevators. Reso lutions were adopted favoring Govern ment control of grain storage. About 200 delegates and visiting members were at the convention, representing 130 communities in Oregon and South ern Idaho. Reports showed that the past year had been a successful one, featured by expansion and business organization. The work of the Trt-State Terminal Warehouse Company was indorsed. A business of several million dollars was shown to have been transacted through warehouses owned co-operatively by members of the union. Officers elected besides the president and National delegates were: Frank Burkholter, Coquille, vice-president; F. A. Bikes, Corvallis, . secretary; execu tive board. W. W. Harrow, of Pendleton; J. T. Arkison, of The Dalles; W. K. Peery, of Dayton; legislative committee BEXD'S MAYOR-ELECT TURXS TABLES ON RIVAL. . " -, V : It K $x";' -Vf ' I I S. C. Caldwell. BEND, Or.. Dec 7. (Special.) S. C. Caldwell, who defeated Mayor J. A. Eastes, a candidate for re-election, yesterday, re versed the result of a year ago, when Mr. Eastes defeated Mr. Bert for Councilman, subsequent ly graduating to the higher of nee. mayor-elect Caldwell Is a member of the present City Coun ell. i W. O. Parks, of Elgin; C. J. Whitaker, of Weiser; A. R. Shumway, of Milton, and J. A. Smith, of Blalock. CHARGE IS REFUTED Portland Educators Say Pupils Don't Cheat in Schools. MR. CHURCHILL ANSWERED LEGITIMATE WATERWAYS HURT BY OTHERS, SAYS ENGINEER. fore the convention of fruit growers is the impending shortage of fruit wrappers. Because of a failure to an cipate the bumper production in all districts, fruitgrowers have obtained wrappers for this season s output with difficulty. It was necessary for paper Jobbers to call on the surplus stock of citrus fruit wraps in California. C. D. Minton, secretary of the Horti cultural Society, is expected to arrive n Hood River Sunday to make final arrangements for the session. A partial formal programme will be as follows: Address of welcome. Mayor H. L. Dumble. Response, R. C. Washburn, of Cen tral Point, president. Annual address. President Washburn. "Sprays an acting superintend er branch-of the Oregon Experiment Station. 'Fertilizers and Results," Professor Brown, of the Oregon Agricultural Col lege. Address, Professor Magnus, Oregon Agricultural College. "Pruning and Its Relation to Fruit Spurs," Professor Gardiner, Oregon Ag ricultural College. "Orchard Inspection and Law En forcement," H. C. Allen, of Medford. "Blight Resistant Pears," Professor Tangent. Oregon Agricultural College, .uarKeiing. Wilmer ieg, sales manager or tne Apple urowers Asso ciation, of Hood River. Address, E. H. Shepard, editor of Bet ter Fruit, of Hood River. "Building Up the Home Market for t ruit and Fruit Products," M. McDon Id. president of the Oregon Nurserv company. "Lnwise Publicity." A. H. Harris, of Portland. ew Horticultural Legislation." A. P. Bateham, of Mosier. Broccoli Growing." Dr. C. H. Bailev. or rtoseDurg. "Celery Growing and Marketing." C jsi. i-ioiioweil. of Milwaukie. "Vegetable CroDs as a Phasn of Hor ticulture." Professor Boquet, of the uregon Agricultural College. ir,wQi selections were given by tne Molalla quartet, composes of Benjamin rhinde-mn. Herman rninagren, n.uu- bard Stone, of Molalla. and H. W. Frost, of Portland. Miss Bernlta w oriey. conira.nu, o.e prtort nav." and was accompanied h-o- Aflss Robbins. violinist, and Mrs, Knapp, pianist; vocal soio, meeA rriomn nied by Mrs. Knapp. rr.i r-i-Lo-nn ritv delegation left at lilt) V. 1 . t-,.J I 11-30 o'clock. Dancing was enjoyed by i-"v'- w ' . . i niiiirtiTiir lust completed uy lalla lodge Is one or tne most ... unhand- convenient structures In Clacka mas County. Iress, President Washburn. I nniinmr d Spraying." LeRoy Chllds, CHAIN STORES IN COMBINE Intendent of the Hood Riv- "n"lnl Tea and Coffee Distributors Unite 256 Links by Consolidation, NEW YORK. Dec. 7. Five companies operating 256 tea and coffee stores and ranking together. It Is said, as tne largest distributor of these staples In this country, have been bought by Mer rill. Lvnch & Co.. bankers, for ?10,- 000.000. It was announced here today. The Jones Bros. Tea and Grand Union Ten comnanies. both established In 1S72, and the Globe Grocery Stores Anchor Pottery Company and Jones Bros. Importing Company are the con cerns bought. The new consolidation will be headed by Harry Jones, it was said, and ap plication will be made for listing the stock on the New York Stock Exchange. Senator Chamberlain Defends River Bills Against Charges of "Fork." Few Attend Congress. WASHINGTON, Dec. 7. Brigadier General William St Black, chief of Army Engineers, addressing the Na tional Rivers and Harbors Congress to day, warned' communities against seek ing appropriations for canals or river channels which cannot be put into oper- tion promptly. He said- such activities injured legitimate waterways move ments and retarded the country's de- elopment. Wilfred H. Schoff, of Philadelphia, secretary of the Atlantic Deeper Water ways Association, declared that the cost of an Atlantic Coastal canal, con necting bays or sounds between Boston ni North Carolina, estimated at 47. 00,000. would be saved in prevention of shipwreck losses, which in the past 0 years have amounted to ?40,000,000, along the Atlantic coast. Senator Chamberlain, of Oregon, de livered an address In which he defended river an harbor bills of the past against the charge that they carried "pork. He contended that the Items were based on ' merit. The Senator charged that the cry of "pork" came rom the railroads and from newspapers under railroad domination, and asserted that the railroads must be taught to keep their hands off the waterways and waterway appropriations. Few delegates heard Senator Cham berlain. From a body that formerly had 2000 delegates, it this year has about 100 at its meetings. The. con gress is about ready to pass into history. GALLANT ACT STOPS CARS Eugene Motorman Takes Time Rescue Woman's Kerchief. to MOOSE WILL ERECT HALL Oregon City Lodge Decides to Con struct $20,000 Building. OREGON CITY. Or.. Dec. 7. (Spe clal.) The Oregon City lodge of Moose tonight authorized its building com raittee to proceed with the construe tion of a two-story frame building to be used for a lodge hall. The total investment will be about 120,000. Ac tual work will begin on the' building as soon as the plans have been ap proved by the committee. The building will be situated at EUGENE, Or., Dec. 7. (Special.) A woman's handkerchief, dropped on Wil lamette street In Eugene today resulted I Eleventh and Main streets, will have In a suspension of streetcar traffic, while a motorman recovered the bit of. linen, which had blown onto the track, and returned it to the owner. The woman thanked him for his courtesy. The car was midway between two street intersections when it came to sudden stop and the passengers looked from the windows to see the motorman running ahead to pick up the handker chief. He called to the woman, who had just crossed the Btreet and had reached the sidewalk, attracting her attention and delivering the handker chief to her at the curb. One of the instructions of the street car company is that its employes be courteous in their treatment of the gen eral public. room for stores on the first floor an lodge and clubrooms upstairs. Members of the committee are George F. Johnson, Peter D. Forbes, D. F. Skeen, E. D. Olds. Frank Bunch and William Welsmandle. Sin?e the beginning of the war about 32,000 trucks have been shipped from this country to countries of, iiurooe. FARMERS' SESSION CLOSES Portland Man Is Elected Union Head at McMinnville Meeting. M'MINNVILLE, Or.. Dec. 7. (Spe cial.) J. D. Brown, of Portland, today was elected president of the farmers Educational and Co-operative Union which closed its annual convention here. A. R. Shumway was chosen delegate to the National convention, and W. K. Peery alternate. At the concluding business session the convention went on record aa in state Superintendent's Statement Is Said to Be Too Sweeping System of Tests Declared to Make Un fair Work Impossible. Portland educators do -not agree with the strictures of J. A. Churchill, Super intendent of Public Instruction. wCio told a McMinnville audience a few days ago til at cheating in the public schools has become common and that In ex amlnations pupils think nothing of matching their wits against their teachers In using unfair means to win good marks. Heads of several Portland schools and Superintendent L. R. Alderman, too, say that the statement of Super intendent Churchill is altogether too sweeping. They deny that Portland student; are cheaters and say that the sj-stem of tests prevalent here pre vents to a great extent any disposition on the part of the pupil to cheat. Superintendent Alderman said: "Where tine examination is made t?ie chief test of the scholar, cheating ap pears to be common unless pupils are watched carefully. But In the Port land schools we minimize examinations such as encourage cheating, and have frequent short tests Instead, wjere cheating la out of the question. Honor Among Pupils Noted. We find a growingr cense of honor among pupils of the Portland schools and the old idea that cheating Is not a sin because it harms no one save the offender is dying out. Pupils realize now that the harm is to the one who uses unfair methods and that It does no good. "In the past we have made too much of examinations. To make an exami nation an end in itself is a bad thing. We should work to develop a high sense of honor that will prevent any possible lapse by pupils in this direc tion." "I , do not believe the statement of Superintendent Churchill is corect," said T. T. Davis, principal of Lincoln High School. "In Portland schools care Is taken to avoid temptation to cheat or to win marks by unfair means and cheating is kept down pretty well, 1 believe the assertion of Superintendent Churchill Is entirely too sweeping. 1 cannot agree with It." System Averts Cheating. E. D. Curtis, principal of Sunnvside School, said: "Cheating is not common here. The remarks of Superintendent Churchill do not apply to my school. We do not have examinations, but we do have teets, in which there is no possibility of cheating, even were the pupils so disposed. The statements made are not true of us. A. R. Draper, principal of Shattuclt School, also contradicts the State Su perintendent. X do not agree with him." he said. Proper supervision will prevent cheat ing and a ropm can be'managed in such a way that there can be no unfair work on the part of pupils. I do not neiievo. there Is any cheating in our school, nor in other Portland schools to any extent." Superintendent Churrtilll, In an ad dress to teachers of Yamhill County at McMinnville on December 3, urged the need of moral instruction to over come the marked tendency to cheat. He said: "Cheating is so common in examina tions that high school students have come to regard this practice as a legiti mate use of their wits against those of the teachers." HOLIDAY EXCURSIONS TO CALIFORNIA North Bank Rail and Ocean Route. Round Trip to San Francisco, in cluding Bath, Meals and Extras $26.70 FIRST CLASS S. S. Northern Pacific Sails Dec. 9, 14, 19, 23, 28. Lv. S. F. Jan. 4, 9, 13, 18, 23. 27 IMSC 6EU- FROM Portland, Eugene, Salem, Albany, Corvallis, For est Grove, Hillsboro, St. Helens, Rainier, Astoria, Ft. Stevens and Seaside and intermediate points. LOS ANGELES Round Trip $42.50 Selling dates: From S. P. S. stations December 23 and 28 and Oregon Electric stations Dec. 22, 23, 27 and 28. Return limit on tickets sold Dec. 22 and 23 will be Jan. 10, 1917, and for tickets sold Dec. 27 and 28, Jan. 14, 1917. Stopovers allowed. Attractions in California U. of O. and U. of P. football and Tourna ment of Roses in Pasadena Jan. 1; New Year's celebration in San Francisco. NORTH BANK TICKET OFFICE 5th and Stark. Phones: Broadway 920, A 6671. HUSBAND IS TRAILED FAR EASTEIIX WOMAN AT SALEM RE SUMES CHASE. Fraternity Head Is Newspaperman. MARSHFIELD, Or.. Dec. 7. (Special.) James jj,. Montgomery, of this city elected praetor of the Pacific Coast province jurisdiction of the Sigma Chi at the fraternity convention at Eugene last week, is a newspaperman, well known in Hood River and Portland. He is assistant to Charles Hall, manager of the Coos & Curry Telephone Com pany. DRAINAGE TALKS PLANNED Programme Is Arranged, for Farm- ' ers' Week at O. A. O. OREGON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, Corvallis, Dec. 7. (Special.) Plans looking toward the reclamation of wet land in Oregon will be considered by the Oregon Drainage Association when it meets at Corvallis January 2, 3 and 4 in connection with Farmers' week at the college. C. C. Chapman, of Portland, will speak on "Reclamation Development." V. G. Sloan. United States drainage en gineer, will lead in a discussion of drainage procedure. W. D. B. Dodson. of Portland, will talk on "The Commer cial Aspect of Drainage." J. W. Brewer, of The Dalles, president of the Irriga tion Congress; William Hanley, of Burns; John Keating and F. F. Hin shaw, of Portland, will be other promi nent speakers. Read The Oregonian classified ads. NONE SUCH Mince Meat Grocers Read The Oregonian classified ads. Mrs. Franklin Coon Starts for San Francisco, After Procuring War rant for Spouse's Arrest. SALEM. Or., Dec. 7. (Special.) Pursuit of her husband, which led across the continent from Richland, N. y., to Salem, was started again today by Mrs. Franklin Coon, when she left for California after swearing out a warrant against her alleged fugitive spouse on a ronoupport charge. She said her husband formerly was a prosperous shoe .merchant at Rich land, but after losing $60,000 In a realty deal he was given the Pacific Vorth west territory for a shoe firm. She last heard from htm. she stated, in a letter sent from Tacoma. Later phe secured trace of his movements by re ports to the company from Salem. Pawning her clothing and diamonds. 3he came West, arriving her on Thanks giving day, and since then, in conjunc tion with the local police, has kept up the search. Telegraphic advices of the wife were sent to San Francisco today and she followed shortly afterward to face her husband there, where he Is said to be located. degrees awarded since the founding: of the college is 30.164. 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