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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1917)
12 TIIE 3IORXIXG OliEGONIAN". THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 1, (Bwgommx PORTLAND, OREGON. Entered at Portland (Oregon) Postofflce as second-class mail matter. Subscription rates Invariably in advance: (By Mall.) Pally, Sunday Included, one year $8.00 Pally, Sunday Included, six months . . . . . 4.25 Dally, Sunday included, three months 2.25 laily, Sunday Included, one month . .... .75 Xaiiy. without Sunday, one year ........ 6.00 Dally, without Sunday, three months ... Daily, without Sunday, one month . .... .60 Weekly, one year .... 1-50 Sunday, one year .......... 2.50 6unday and Weekly 8-50 (By Carrier.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year ....... 9.00 Pally, Sunday included, one month ...... .75 How to Remit Send postofflce money order, express order or personal check on J-our local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at sender's risk. Give postofflce ad dress in full, including- county and state. Postage Kates 12 to 16 pages, 1 cent: 18 to 32 pages. 2 cents; 34 to 48 pages. cents; 50 to 00 pages, 4 cents; 62 to 7 pases. 5 cents; 78 to 82 pages, 6 cents. Foreign postage double rates. Eastern Business Office Veree A Conk lin, Brunswick building. New York; Verree Conklln, Steger building, Chicago; San Francisco representative, R. J. Bidwell, 742 Market street. rOBTLAKD, THURSDAY, FEB. 1. 1911. against the tendency of food to decay quickly in the presence of heat. Men live to great ages under extraordinary variations of climate and also in the temperate zone but they are mostly men who, according' to their environ ment, live simple lives. EOCT1IERN PACIFIC SHOULD ACT. In his address to the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. S. B. Cobb showed that the principal industry of Oregon is suffering paralysis through failure of the Southern Pacific Company to sup ply enough cars to carry the product of the lumber mills to market. Men have invested their own money and money which they have borrowed in this industry, have manufactured lum ber and have sold it in faith that the Southern Pacific would furnish cars The cars have been promised, but have not been delivered. Men are being driven into bankruptcy, and capital is discouraged from investment in Ore Bon by inability of lumbermen to de liver the goods which they have sold. When President Sproule appeared before the Public Utilities Commission last October he promised more cars. Since then the supply of cars has been Increased 3 per cent,- but is still only half as great as the lumber industry demands. Mr. Cobb estimates that during eighty-eight days lack of cars has caused the industry In the "Wil lamette "Valley a loss of business amounting to $2,393,000. The con tingent loss has been much greater, for business connections have been broken which cannot be renewed. A reduced rate was made to Salt Lake territory and new customers were found there, but they have been lost again through inability to deliver the lumber sold. In explanation It is said that the fceavy munitions traffic in the Cast and Middle West has caused Eastern roads to commandeer the cars of the Southern Pacific and other Western roads. The railroads have tried to apply a remedy by Increasing demur rage and rental, but they have failed. The Interstate Commerce Commission has sought to force return of cars to their home lines, but the roads do not obey and impose delay on en forcement of the order. But there is evidence that the shortr age on the Southern Pacific existed before the munition trade began. It existed in 1914 and has since merely become aggravated. It is due to con ditions peculiar to that road. Mr. Cobb gave figures compiled by the Public Utilities Commission showing that of six lines extending to the Pacific Coasts the Southern Pacific has fewer freight cars per mile of line than any other except the Union Pacific. It has only 4.74 per mile, as compared with 6.43 on the Santa Fe, 6.97 on the Great Northern, 7.50 on the Northern Pacific and 6.12 on the Burlington. Its equip ment per mile of line has actually de creased in face of the great increase of traffic. Its report for 1915 shows that it operated 6240 miles of line and had 4.97 cars per mile. In 1916 it increased its mileage to 7000, but de creased Its car supply to 4.05 per mile, "while the other roads show an in crease in equipment. This was not due to lack of funds, for during the last four years it accumulated a sur plus of more than $41,000,000 after paying 6 per cent dividends. It did little better in the matter of motive power, for in the last four years it has made a net increase of only twenty-three locomotives, or less than live a year. The Southern Pacific recently an nounced that it had ordered the build ing of 1000 cars at its Sacramento shops, but all, or nearly all, of these are to be refrigerator cars. Why does It not build cars to carry lumber? That is the most urgent need. It has 6hops at Brooklyn in this city for repairs. Why does it not equip them to build cars and thus to help in mak ing good the deficiency? The prospect is that the volume of traffic throughout the country will be greater, not less, this year than it was last year. There is no falling off In the output of munitions; the pur chasing power of the great industrial centers and of farmers in the Middle West gives promise of a greater mer chandise traffic; high prices for farm products tempt farmers to Increase their crops. It is the duty of a rail road to provide equipment to haul this traffic in accordance with the prin ciple laid down by the Public Utility Commission that it is not only neces sary for utilities "to develop their ca pacity up to the peak demands upon their systems, but in addition to pro vide a standby service to take care of any emergency or unexpected de mand." Oregon asks the Southern Pacific, ana is entitled to know, what it is going to do about it? Self-interest seems to dictate that it should provide ample cars for the traffic of the com munity with the prosperity of which its own prosperity is bound up. If it cannot thus see its own interest, it will be necessary to resort to compul sion through, the Utilities Commission. or, if that fail, through the Interstate Commerce Commission, which has al ready taken up the matter with a firm hand. IXTKRE8TIXG, QUITE INTERESTING. The revelations at the Congressional hearing into the leak, which sundry statesmen and their Wall - Street friends have said did not exist and which therefore no one in his senses ougnt to try and uncover, for fear it might be found, may be fairly de scribed as interesting. For exaxnple: The stock brokerage firm, of which Brother-in-Law Boiling is a member, sent to its New York correspondent a confidential message- accurately fore casting the Presidential peace note, three full hours before Secretary Lan sing told the newspaper correspond ents of its existence and ten hours be fore it was made public from the White House. Barney Baruch, largest contributor but one to the Democratic National campaign fund, testifies that through his own remarkable prescience, and not through any special tip from any where, he sold short on Wall Street and made nearly $5.00,000 from De cember 10 to December 23. 1916. This was the period of mightiest disturb ance of the market, due to the several peace notes. ' But nobody told Barney anything. Not at all. He merely made a brilliant guess and capitalized It. A wise guy is Barney. Meanwhile, Barney Baruch, who en Joys the esteem and confidence of the White House kitchen circle to a re markable degree, had heard from the astute and silent Colonel House by telephone. He was asked to see Sec retary McAdoo and recommend some one to the Federal Reserve Board. Be ing always willing to oblige, the ser viceable Barney saw the President's son-in-law and offered the name of somebody or other. There is no in dication that the candidate who en Joyed the favor of the thrifty and sagacious Barney has yet been named, but it has been intimated that every thing will be agreeably arranged. Dame Rumor, which first whispered to the Incredulous ear of the Nation that there was a leak. Is being tri umphantly vindicated. the execution of the trust under which Congress holds these lands rests with Congress alone. It is apparent, however, that if the state asserted sovereignty the Supreme Court would be compelled to give a more detailed consideration to the question. The proposal that Oregon assert its sovereign right to tax the so-called Government lands which for merly constituted the railroad grant seems to give Government authorities more concern than would be expected there were nothing to -the issue ex cept the provisions of the enabling act providing that Oregon should never tax Government land. Probably the passage of the Bean bill would defi nitely raise the entire issue of the power of the Government to set aside enormous reserves within a state and exercise perpetual dominion over them. Mr. Bean's bill, it seems to The Ore- gonian. Is of unusual importance. Per haps it offers an indirect but never theless positive means of determining whether Oregon shall be perpetuallj bottled with Federal reserves on the one hand and whether on the other its moral rights as they concern the railroad land grant shall be ignored by either Congress or the railroad company. ANOTHER BLUE LAW. Representative Gore, who is nomi nally the author of the newest pro posal at Salem for a Sjanday-closing law, takes care to Inform the world at large that the measure was intro duced "by request of the Oregon State Retail Grocers Association." It is not our purpose to inquire whether or not disclosure of the real parentage of the measure is a help or a handicap. It is fair to assume that the proposed act embodies the Ideas of certain high ly estimable grocers as to how Sunday should be observed by all grocers and non-grocers. It is made unlawful by the bill to keep open any place of business in Oregon on Sunday. But Important ex ceptions are made, among them drug stores, hotels, restaurants and places for the sale and delivery of milk or cream, ice cream, non-alcoholic drinks and daily newspapers. We are grate ful for the exemption of the dailies and the exclusion of the weeklies and monthlies. Nevertheless, we are moved to point out that groceries are not to be permitted to run (except for the sale of specified articles, which would hardly pay for the opening thereof) and we are in doubt about baseball. theaters and the like. The people last November repealed an archaic and obnoxious Sunday blue law and they will be slow to approve another. It is clear that they desire that the citizen be left to name his own day of rest there ought, indeed, to be such a day and that the whole matter is to be left to his conscience. so long as he does not interfere with anybody else. It is not easy to deny the reason ableness of this view. It is the age of toleration and freedom. NO REGRETS. The lawyers of New York the other night gave a banquet in welcome of Charles Evans Hughes back to the practice of the law. It was- a dis tlngulsned occasion, and the tribute to the ex-Governor, ex-Justice and ex candidate was obviously sincere and unqualified. It may have been expected that there would be repinings and recrimi nations or complaints. But1 listen to Mr. Hughes on his adventure into Presidential politics: I come back to the bar without complaints and without regrets. I return to practice proud of the work of the lawyer, and grace ful for the opportunity that that work offers. I have no wound to exhibit. I shall say nothing; of either battle or murder or sudden death. I have no desire to evoke sympathy or any suggestion of misfortune. did not wish to reel en from the Supreme Court, but I did reslgrn because I thought it was my duty to resign and I do not regret that which I did with that purpose. A good loser, a good loser, indeed. Precisely what Mr. Hughes' friends and admirers would have wanted him to say. But he said other things about the duties of public men and the re wards of public service: "What I took away from Albany and cherish as a memory is this, that If a man will do what he thinks he ought to do. hether he makes a mistake or hits It right. will have the generous support of the people and a strong backing from all thoughtfu) citizens, and he does not need to manipulate pontics in oraer to succeea. The which may be unreservedly commended to various aspiring gentle men at Salem who fancy that the way to fool all the people all the time is to ascertain what is popular, and not what is true, or sound, or right, and get on the band wagon. Political ambition is an awesome thing. It makes dunces of the best of men. Like the aged beau who dyes his whiskers, no one is deceived but himself. Noteworthy extremes of temperature in the United States on the same day. wnen there were more than 100 de grees between-the records of Texas points and localities on the Canadian boundary, serve to remind us that the range of temperature compatible with human life is exceedingly wide. The race is adaptable in high degree, and once acclimated seems to thrive any. where. These extremes impress them. selves upon the physical characteris tics of the people, but apparently do not constitute a menace to health. Eskimos are no more subject to dis ease than Ethiopians, although It may be true that it requires more physical care to preserve life in the frozen north than in the tropics. Nature co. operates with man in his struggle, The Arctic produces oily animal foods and the tropics vegetables and herbs in abundance, with intestinal antlsep tics like capsicum as a protection ASSERTING OCR RIGHTS. Representative Bean's bill instruct ing the Assessors of the state to list for taxation the lands in the Oregon & California Railroad land grant con tains an implied declaration that the Legislature does not concede the validity of the act revesting the title of tlfese lands in the United States, There is more or less doubt as to the validity of the Congressional act so long as the railroad company con tests the disposition therein proposed. The United States Supreme Court de cided that the railroad company had complete and absolute title to the land, subject only to the condition that when it sold it should sell in tracts of not to exceed 160 acres to any one person, and only to bona fide settlers at a price not exceeding $2.50 an acre. Ordinarily the title owner of property cannot be compelled to sell As the railroad company refuses to accept the terms of the act, there is a fair presumption that it still owns the lands. In that event they should go on the tax rolls. But there is a more important phase. concerning which there is another im plication. It is that the state, having once acquired sovereignty over lands, cannot be denied that sovereignty. Oregon is under contract with the Government- not to interfere with the primary disposal of public lands and also never to tax the lands or property of the United States. In this case pri mary disposal has taken place. The Government has granted the land but now proposes to take it back. In so doing it contends that the land there. by becomes land of the United States and is not subject to taxation. If thi be true, the Federal Government has the power' to extinguish a state gov. ernment by the simple process of buy. ing up so much of the land within its borders that the state would not be able to raise by taxation revenues nec essary to conduct its government. That theory is repugnant to common sense. But there are men of eminent legal learning who contend that the public domain within a state is merely held in trust by the Government; that the powers of the Government are limited under this trust to the temporary man agement of the lands until it can dis pose of them as expeditiously as may be. The theory does not embrace lands held by the Government for military purposes, oil lands reserved for use of the Navy, tracts set aside for public buildings and the like, but it does em. brace forest reserves. This theory is held by Justice Hen shaw, of the Supreme Court of th State of California. His article, which appeared in the San Francisco Exam iner about one year ago, is reproduced in another column. It appears there from that the question of a state' sovereignty over the public domain within its borders has been declared by the Supreme Court of the United States to be not justiciable and. that Stars and Starmakers By Leone Cass Bier. in each of the rival alliances will work in co-operation and against their ene mies. If the plans of economic al liance should be followed, each al liance will practice tariff discrimina tion in favor of its members as against TTTALTER DTTfiOAM w.. i Tnri.r. the opposing alliance and in a less yY lajJt week leaTtng Monday nlKht degree, against neutrals. The allies . .., .. . , may also grant lower ocean freight fr Sea"f; Is ahead of a corking rates to their own people than to neu- Bhow " the Tra11 Holliday" one trals in order to support their foreign or tne Cohan-Harris successes of laat trade, and may buy necessary mate- "eason. Walter Duggan la an ex-news- rials abroad on a national co-operative I PaPr man. one or tne best or publicity basis. purveyors, and Is known as "Merrily During the reconstruction period, I Yours" to dramatic departments on Europe will spend billions of dollars every paper In the land, in the United States, but will use Its purchases to make itself economically Just read where an actress who, has Independent of us and to put itself appeared for 22 years In a vaudeville in the best position to compete with sketch. In which she emoted around us, not only In foreign markets but over the dead body of her husband. in our own domestic market. We shall I has thrown up her Job and got mar- tnen realize more than ever the neces- I ried. Gosh. I bone she nicked a. live, sity or scientific tarirr adjustment ana I one this time. of an American merchant marine which is able to compete with the I Answer to Blllle T. I have turned ships of any nation. Within five years I your query relative to "Stepping after peace is restored this necessity Stones" and "Mary Queen of Scots' will be brought home to us. lover to the motion-picture department and you will find It answered there. WHY TIFFING PERSISTS. The recent nnorionii of certain Reply to V. G. Elsie Ferguson la New York restaurant and hotel pro- marrIed to Thomas B. Clarke. Her prietors Indicate that the public is far weaaing occurred last June. yes. she from blameless for the continued ex- was a divorcee when . she was married istence of the tipping evil. It seems Mr. Clarke. She Is appearing In that there has been a sincere attempt, "Shirley Kaye," now at the Hudson on the part of these proprietors, to I Theater In New York. Yes. I quite stamp out the practice of receiving agree with you; she has a fascinating gratuities. Notices were posted con- I personality. She has blue eyes and spicuously, announcing that employes 1 bronze brown hair. accepting any fee for Bervice to the public would be discharged. Some, as It may Interest Portland people to a matter of fact, were so dismissed. I know that in Elsie Ferguson's com- But it now seems that our rights pany la Corlnne Barker, a Portland as American citizens are being threat- girl, noted for her beauty. An amaz- enea atleast, that Is tne New xorK iner story, all about Miss Barker's doe-. view of It. Bloated with stock-market Sen To, appears In Rennold Wolf's col- profits and the crumbs falling from the tables of the munitions manufac turers, Gothamites Insist on being held up, despite the ukase of the men at the head of affairs. Their money came easy," and they demand the right to dispose of it the same way. There is going to be an orgy and they Intend to be In on it. They de umn in the New York Morning Tele graph. Here is the story, censored by the bored meaning myself: "While some of the elements of the more Important premieres were lack ing, there was really a debut at the Hudson Theater yesterday afternoon. Heather, the Scotch terrier known as Clare hausrhtilv that it is no iro- Tango In 'Shirley Kaye.' was suffering prletor's business what they do with from an attack of temperament, and In their money, so long as they pay their tfae emergency a Pekingese spaniel bilrs, and the head waiters and under named Sen Tu waa recruited. waiters and the omnibus boys and hat I "Sen Tu Is the most valued possession bandits will profit accordingly. lof Corlnne Barker, of Elsie Ferguson's It really is too bad. It has taken I company. He was presented to her by years to get the proprietors up to the a member of the Chinese Embassy last point of taking a stand on the side Summer, and, being born an aristocrat, of the public, and now the public was familiar with the theater only aa is about to repudiate them. Another he absorbed art from his doting owner, attempt is to be made to enforce the . has been her custom inr th rule, but if the people do not help it f. .RhiPi,, k-. is admitted that nothing can come of Mlss Barker yesterday limousined her it but defeat. indeed. Mr. suspecting that within an hour he would be called n3Plt LI Ferguson and Klaw & Erlanger. It was 2:30, the time for the curtain to rise, when Heather's Indisposition was discovered by the stage manager. The EUROPE'S NEED FOR RECONSTRUCTION. The nature of American export trade after the war will be determined large ly by the needs of the belligerents. Those whose territory has been the scene of hostilities and has been oc cupied by an enemy will need to re construct almost everything and to renew supplies of raw materials, live. stock, seeds. Those which have been cut off from the world by blockade will have been drained of raw mate. rials. The United States will be the chief source to which they will look for all these materials, both raw and manufactured. The loss of public and private prop erty so far is estimated in a report to the National Foreign Trade Council at nearly $6,000,000,000. If, as many expect, the war should continue for two years, this total may easily be doubled. That is the more likely if hostilities should be carried into hitherto untouched fields. The war destroys houses, roads, bridges, rail roads, factories with their machinery and stock, mines, iron furnaces. In sections such as Flanders and on the Somme, which have been the scene of intense bombardment, the soil has been churned up and its character has been changed. It will need to be lev eled in order to fill up the trenches. dugouts and shell holes, and thorough treatment with fertilizers may be nec essary in order to prepare it for agri culture. Much material is left for rebuilding and many foundations re main Intact, but all bridges have been destroyed in fighting zones. Railroad tracks have been partly wrecked, but have been restored in some places, and the material of temporary military railroads will be available. The ma chinery of many industries in Belgium and Russian Poland has been com pletely carried away, while enforced idleness has caused deterioration of what remains. The first work to be undertaken is expected to be restoration of destroyed buildings of all kinds, and this will make a great demand for Pacific Coast lumber. Slate, brick and other mineral building materials can be sup plied locally, but the report says that Belgium will be compelled to import practically all and France three-quar ters of the lumber required. It took one year to rebuild destroyed villages after the Balkan wars, but much more time will be occupied In Belgium, France and Poland, for labor will be deficient. Glass will have to be im ported, though Belgium will be able to supply much when its factories are rebuilt. Of equal urgency with rebuilding of houses will be food production. Where farm work has been continued, it will be intensified; where the country has been devastated, work will be renewed as fast as the owners return. There will be an immediate demand for agri cultural machinery, seeds, livestock and building material. A great demand for steel, machinery and raw material will arise next for re-equipment and operation of -fac tories and for rebuilding of railroads and bridges. Industries will be revo lutionized on the American plan, that labor-saving machinery may make good the deficiency of skilled labor and may also put European manufac turers in a position to compete with the United States in foreign markets. If the central empires should be In vaded, this demand will come from them also. In any case, those coun tries will need great quantities of wool, cotton, flax and hides, for their supply of textiles and leather must be well-nigh exhausted. Oregon will have an opportunity to sell much wool and flax. Many other raw materials will also be needed by Germany and Aus tria. The entire work of reconstruction will be financed with government loans and will be under close govern ment supervision. Labor will be dis tributed by government employment agencies. Imports will be restricted to articles of necessity, and shipping will be controlled to that end. The nations and Navy officers are lionized in Washington to the exclusion of civilian officials seems peevish. Does Mr. Rrvan f o rl rtlnuorl li V Knm n r! I e-V, t which he suffered In Washington? doff plays a really Important part In That must have Minded him to th tho ,lrst act. Inasmuch as he is the honors which have been heaped upon means of bringing together Miss Fer tile men who have won the victories guson and the man whom In the play of peace. Has anybody Blighted Shirley Kaye ultimately marries. Thomas A. Edison, or the Wright "An emergency call was at once Bent brothers, or Luther Burbank, or John out front to Valentine Kennedy, Miss Muir? Is it not possible that the peo- Ferguson's busines manager and mas ple are right in valuing more highly ter of kennels for the organization, the qualities by which man attains Kennedy, always alert to every crisis, distinction in the Navy after long serv- pressed his hand against his brow a ice than those merely political maneu- gesture signifying profound thought vers by which a man attains brief anj commanded: 'Let Miss Barker's prominence as a memoer or tne aD- dc eerve as understudv.' inet? Is not the popular instinct healthy which pays honor to a man who, by his calling, indicates his readi ness to make the supreme sacrifice in his country's service, in preference to him who seeks the most pelf or pop- "Accordlngly, Sen Tu entered the dramatic profession at that exact mo ment He wasn't up in the part and he didn't resemble the rabbit-chasing canine pictured by the author. Also ular acclaim without danger to his he "ffed -ably the semblance of skin? Major H. W. Patton assumes con trol today of the Hoquiam Washmg tonian as lesseo and manager. Hon orable Albert Johnson remains as president of the corporation, but Major Vn ttnn' will Yit thfl r-t i i d i n r. Tinnrl This is pleasing news to the people of sentenced him to prison for a period Gravs "Harbor nnrt tbn multitnrtn nf "not longer than his natural life." friends of the new editor all over the a dislocated leg, which Is Important to the recital of the story. But he was an overwhelming. Instantaneous suc cess with the matinee audience, and his engagement was prolonged indef initely." m m m Actor killed his wife and the Judge Pacific Northwest. "New" editor, by the way, is hardly the proper term. For four years Major Patton was the "main , push" of the Washingtonian under salary and kept it going with out red figures on the wrong side of was Guess there must have been extenuat ing circumstances. DIdya read about that chap named Ora One, who. with his bride, got mar. rled all in black? Headline said he designer of ladies' hats. Yes. the ledger. Then he got tired and and I bet he wears a wrist watch and vowed to quit the business, which he runs ribbon . In the neck of his did. Six months in California cured I nighties. him and he ' returns convinced that "there is no place like home." The good people of the Grays Harbor coun try give him welcome and have lm- RESERVES USURP STATE RIGHTS California Jurist Says Federal Govern ment Exceeds Authority. Discussing the "enormous reserves which the United States Government is carving out of lands within the terri torial limits of the United States, and which, from the nature of the reserves, it is apparent the United States intends to hold in perpetuity." F. W. Henshaw. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California, In a letter to the San Francisco Examiner, has shed light on an important phase of the legal Tights involved in the question. Justice Hen shaw says: "The question Is of transcendant Im portance to all of the Western and ln tramontalne states. I was called upon to touch briefly on certain phases of it in an opinion of our court Deseret. etc.. Co. vs. State of California, 167 Cal. 147. "There are certain vital facts which cannot be disputed. Amongst these are that each state retains all of its sov ereignty, saving so much of it as has been expressly or by necessary impli cation been conferred upon the Govern ment of the United States. "The original states owning vast tracts of public domain, which they made over "in trust' to the struggling general Government, clearly defined the trusts upon which the Government was to hold those lands, and the funda mental purpose and limitation of the trust was that these lands should not be permanently held, or held In per petuity by the Government, but should be 'disposed of.' as the Constitution it- elf said, in aid of the new states wnen and as they were created out of these territories. It is safe to say that these grants would not have been made to the United States by the original states if it had ever been in contemplation tnai the United States would ever assert the right to exercise perpetual dominion over any considerable portion or these lands by 'reservations.' The reserva tion of small portions for military and naval purposes, of other Insignificant Dortions as homes for the Indians, were naturally within the general score of the trust ltseir. Another lejral proposition of great significance is that when a territory la admitted Into the Union as a state. upon the Instant it Is vested with every right which belongs to the original states. Therefore the question is not complicated by considerations of what the United States may or may not do with territory such as Alaska, which it nurchased outrlerht, and which has not as yet been Impressed with the right of statehood. "While It owns these lands as pro prietor, its duty is in time, when popu lation and other conditions permit, to erect a state covering the territory. But while, it owns these lands as proprietor and before a state is erected, it may be conceded that It may set aside some of these lands for governmental purposes il lands for the Navy, coal lands for the general public various reserves for the same purpose tne unaenyins DroDosltion. however, is that when it has made a state out or a territory, composed of lands thus purchased, or composed of lands to which it has ac quired the title under Its great aeea oi trust, in either case the state at once becomes sovereign over those lands un der the trust itself, and the powers of the United States are Justly limited un der its trust to the temporary manage ment of the lands until It can 'dispose' of them as expeditiously as may be. "What the United States has Been ao Ing and is doing' is to carve out of the state lands of the Western ana lntro montaine states vast tracts which it declares shall not be open to settle ment, shall not be under the sover eignty of the state, shall not pay taxes, but shall be reserved forever for Na tional purposes. This cannot legally be done, and it is very unsatisfactory to my mind to say. as does the supreme tjourt or trie United States (Camfleld vs. U. S. 167 U. S. 624) that the question is not Jus ticiable and that the execution of the trust under which Congress holds these landsk. rests with Congress alone. Ac tion by a state asserting sovereignty over these lands would compel a more detailed consideration of the question by the Supreme Court of the United States and the payment or some atten. tion to its early decisions such as Pol lard's Lessees vs. Hasan. S Howard, 212. 'Of course, this involves no consid eration whatsoever of the wisdom of conservation or of the superiority of National conservation touching these lands over state conservation. I repeat. to my mind the fundamental proposi tion is that whether or not the state chooses to conserve these lands or any part of them is a matter wholly and exclusively for state determination, and the United States has no power so to do over lands within the corporate lim its of any existing state, its power In this matter being only to set aside lim ited portions for military and naval stations, for the Indians, and perhaps in aid of commerce. Twenty-five Years Aaro. From The Oregonlaa of February X, 1892. Mentone, Eng., Jan. SI. Dr. Charles H. Spurgeon. noted writer and preach er, died here at 11 o'clock tonight. W. A. McFarland. of the firm of U(H Farland & French, has purchased an nterest In the Oregon National Bank and will move here soon. George U. Piper, one of the psoprlew tora of the Seattle Press-Times, la In tho city. "Senator" W. J. Morgan, who left here last August for New York to assist Professor T. W. Eck In manag ing the International bicycle tourna ment in Madison Square Garden, re turned, yesterday. Mrs. Kate L. Bonar and her daugh ter. Hazel, accompanied by Miss Marie Green, have gone to San Francisco and San Jose for a month. Only six men are now at work on the Cascade locks and these are used In protecting the plant. Colonel James Hamilton Lewis Is re ported from New York as being a can didate for Governor of Washington. plicit belief that he will do what he black dress "would serve for -little says he will do. I evening parties or xor mourning.' The eight months' term "for the barefoot schoolboy of the country will be one more inducement to get back to the land. If that should be fol lowed by consolidation of rural schools, I meant women with other women's hus- that they may be divided Into grades I bands. Jn any event any woman has under competent teachers, the coun- I my sympathy. try boy and girl would come Into their own. I An Interesting bit of gossip is that Francis Wilson, the comedian, is soon Turkish anger at the allies' declared to marry Edna Bruns, his leading Intent to drive them out of Europe woman In "The Bachelor's Baby." and will be so bitter that no Briton, th a woman whom he started on tho Frenchman, Russian or Italian will be I road to stardom. Out of the whole cheery mess I gleaned but one gob of humor. The bride, being Interviewed, said that her Few men have the experience of Lola Rogers, over at the Baker reading their own obituaries, but John Theater, says she read an account of Hammersly. the hunter, is one of the ten billion Egyptian eggs being exceptions. Those who came to the shipped over to New York. She also conclusion that he had fallen a prey added that she'd bet a cookie that the to the wolves underrated his dauntless dealers will keep mum-my about the character and skill. So long as he I age of those Egyptian eggs. roams the woods, many a wolf and cougar will fall victim to his rifle. Long may he hunt. Some fool woman writer, a spinster you can bet, suggests that all women having husbands be taxed. As if women with husbands don't have troubles enough already. m ' On second consideration maybe she able safely to enter Constantinople ex cept as a conqueror. If they do not win they must stay away. The wedding is to take place some time in the next two weeks, to be fol lowed by a honeymoon trip to San Francisco and Honolulu. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson will return to New York in April Edna E. Bruns owes her stage career more to Francis Wilson than to any body elge besides herself. It was he Hlfttorlcnl Sortletv should he hwrtM IorK. a"er naa B'ven up singing Ttjt work will he of rr-rntr 1u rational I in a St. Louis church choir. For value as the years go by. I number of years she played minor roles with mm, tnen lert mm to neaa ner If a Dutchman wrote "Paradise own stock company, and then returned Lost," Dore missed about fifty pounds to him, becoming his leading woman. "Tell the truth" is the motto of the Roseburg Commercial Club, but peo ple will not believe the whole truth about Oregon. If tho club tells half it will be plenty. on each of the women he drew. The announcement of their Intention to marry was a complete surprise to nearly all the friends of both Mr. Wil son and Miss Bruns, although they It Is to be hoped somebody changed the water when those 929 Mexicans have been cIoe,y associated for sev- were Datnea at ti i'aso. I .mi vp r ui pn is mnnv the Junior of Mr. Wilson. She is 31 Why not parade the Oregon boys on I years old, while Mr. Wilson is 63. Mr. their return and make every spectator I Wilson s first wife died in 1915, a yell leader this time? Winnie King Davis, a distant rela- Any concession made to a shlpbuild- I tive of the late Jefferson Davis, and ing plant Is a help to Portland pros- I namesake of his Illustrious daughter, perity. I will have the role of Fanny Cowan In the new Southern comedy. "A Nigger Alaska soon must be content with I in the Woodpile," by Harris Dickson, the 60ur dough, minus the sour mash. I which Madison Corey and Joseph Riter are proaucing unaer tne uirection of Harrison Grey Fiske. It will be Misa Davis" first New York appearance, her previous experiences having been with the semi-professional stock companies, organized by the stage societies in the I West. Portland people, like sinners, stand in slippery places. Mr. Groundhog will need an over coat tomorrow, In Other Days Half a Century AaTO. From The Oreconlan of February 1. IS at. London It is reported Prussia has asked Austria why troops are being concentrated in Gallcla, Governor Cummlngs, of Colorado, is in Washington opposing the admission of Colorado as a state. Washington Senator Washburn haa introduced a bill for the removal of the National Capital nearcf the center of population. a E. M. Waits and Miss Louise Brey- man. of Marion County, were married January 26 at Salem by Right Rev. Bishop Scott. Mr. A. Sprague appeared with the Tanner troupe for the first time last night at Oro Flno Hall and made a decided hit. COAL OIL. NOT DAXDRl'FF CL'RE Scalp Diseases Seldom Alike and Spe cialist Should Be Consulted. VANCOUVER. Wash.. Jan. 80. (To the Editor.) Will the application of coal oil to the scalp several times a week rid the scalp of dandruff? Will this treatment grow hair, as claimed by so many, or is it injurious? My hair is very oily, but scalp is apparently dry, as dandruff seems to form as rap idly as I can rub it out, and hair is fall ins- out. Kindly recommend a treatment- for my particular case. TREBOR. Coal oil Is not considered by the medical profession to be a suitable remedy for dandruff. So far as Its growing hair is concerned, authority for such use of coal oil Is lacking. As no two cases of scalp diseases are exactly alike, it Is difficult to recom mend treatment. A serious case would Indicate the advisability of consulting a competent skin specialist. Questions In Civil Government. THOMAS. Or.. Jan. 29. (To the Ed itor.) Please print the names of the following: (1) Present .Speakers of both legislative houses at Salem. (2) German Ambassador to the United States. (3) Speaker of the House of Representa tives at Washingtork. (4) United States Senators from Oregon. 5) United States Representatives from Oregon. (6) Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. MRS. MINNIE MARKART. (1) President of Senate, Gua C. Mo ser; Speaker of House. Robert N. Stan field. (2) Count Johann Helnrich von Bernstorff. (3) Champ Clark. (4) George E. Chamberdain and Harry Lane. (5) William C. Hawley. N. J. Sinnott, C. N. McArthur. (6) Edward D. White, Louisiana. DISCIPLINARY VALUE OF STUDY Habits of Accuracy and Rlsht ThlnJUns; Always Valuable. PORTLAND. Jan. 30. (To the Ed itor.) I have maintained a long silence on the controversial subject of the dis ciplinary value of the various school subjects for the reason that I have been laboring through the works of Mun sterburg. Hall. etc. In search of cor roboration of the statements advanced by the teacher from Albany. I recog nize that my ignorance is not his fault, but he would have relieved me greatly bad be been more specific in his refer ences. Even though the array of authorities cited worries me, I am not dismayed. "If one desires to become a lawyer, he should study law." Yes. and medicine too, if he wishes, and astronomy, if he desires. I have heard attorneys in court discussing hydro-electric plants and vaccination with technical knowledge of the subject that would have astound ed Coke himself. I am sure that the op posing attorneys attempted hard to form equations, the Judge in his charge lu cidly interpreted the variable quanti ties of the case, and the only weakness was with the Jury, who were ignorant of the postulates and axioms. It may be true that both the judse and the attorneys had long ago forgotten De Moivre's theorem, but the disciplinary values acquired never have been lost. The Jurymen, by the way, being Jury men, had never heard of it; they ma jored in English. Despite the fact that our Albany realist and our educational department are one on the value of algebra to the child. I am still of the opinion that the habits of accuracy in thinking and ex actness in execution are desirable and can be engendered as advantageously through this subject as any other. With reference to the problem of the fish's tall and his head, etc., I have but thi to say: Perhaps Professor Wells, who incorporated the problem Into his text, was, like me. Ignorant of the unanimity of opinion on the disciplinary value of these "puzzles." which existed between Dr. Hall. Professor Munsterburg and our Albany teacher. I presume' Pro fessor Wells. In the chair in mathemat ics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1S73, Is a nonentity to the grammar enthusiasts of this sec tion. The citation of the seemingly absurd puzzle which comes from the first few Daces In the elementary algebra ren ders obvious one cause of the dislike for the entire field. I believe it is true with all topics, elementary mathemat ics as well as the rest, that one's inter est in them grows with one's knowledge of them: and one's contempt Is usually based on lack of Interest. With reference to the mcney wasted for tobacco and booze. I am in heartiest accord with our positivlst from Albany. I even go further. If the profits mada last year in the chewing gum industry could be donated to Albany College, it would be the largest single gift ever received by that worthy institution," and could the total sales of face powder be given to the Albany City Council, they could erect the most elaborate calaboose west of Halifax. AN OLD TEACHER. Of Eminent Domain In Loslnsj. OSTRANDER. Wash.. Jan. 28. (To the Editor.) Kindly Inform me if there is a law in the State of Washington al lowing a timber company to force a right of way for a logging road through privately owned land, such as a home stead, against the owner'a consent. If so, what damagea does the law allow such owner. How much per thousand feet of logs taken over such road will the law allow? J. H. The Washington ' law extends the right of eminent domain to logging companies, which may condemn pri vate property for purposes of building logging roads. The compensation is a matter for a Jury to decide. The in jured party may bring suit to have this determined. YEAR WHEX COLD KILLED WHEAT Mr. Geer Recalls Willamette Valley'a Experience In 1SS3. PORTLAND. Jan. 81. (To the Ed itor.) Although many of the "old tim ers" may have forgotten the year, they will all remember the time when a very severe "spell of weather" in February killed all the wheat In the Wlllamettr Valley. The year waa 1883. The month of January had been one of alternate light freezes and occasional snows, but was not an unusual January in that re spect. On the first day of February, however, the mercury dropped during the middle of the day to several points below freezing and for 10 days there was very little variation in the tem perature. Most of that time the sky waa clear and a north wind prevailed without a break. The result of this waa that, as stated, all tho fall-sown grain in the Willamette Valley was killed and the entire acreage was re seeded. This was done In the last half f February, during which there was some recurring slight freezing weather, but with the Incoming of March warm and dry weather succeeded and there was no rain until Easter Sunday, the 2oth of the month, ' There Is nothing we encounter which is so uncertain, erratic or disdainful ot the "rule of reason," as that thing we call the "weather." In connection wits, which thought it is well to recall that that is the only instance since the first settlement of the Willamette Valley more than 70 years ago, when there waa an universal killing of Fall-sown grain. In verification of my dates I will cite that my grandparents on my mother's side were married in Indiana on Feb ruary 1. 1833. and the cold snap to which I have referred began on the day when about 60 people were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary on their old homestead on Howell's Prairie, seven miles east of Salem. That was on Thursday. Feb. 1. 1883. T. T. GEER. Prediction to Mexican Policy. PORTLAND, Jan. 81. (To the Editor-) May I venture the prediction that our Administration's next impor tant move in the Mexican farce will be the recognition of Francisco Villa as the de facto government of Mexico? E. W. NELSON,