TITE 3IORXIXG OREGONIAN. MONDAY, MARCH 19, 1917.
j Si$ (Bmgmnmx
rOITLAXD, OREGON. '
z Entered at Portland (Oregon) Postofflce a
second-class mall matter.
V Subscription ratea Invariably In advance.:
. ., (By Mail.)
Dally, Sunday Included, one year 18.00
Ially, Sunday Included, six month! 4.25
J". Sunday included, three months. . 2.25
Bally, Sunda Included, one month 7
Bally, without Sunda. one year 0.00
'S Jjailv. without Sunday, three months.. 1.T3
z Jaily. without Sunday, one month 80
- weekly, one year 1.60
Sunday, one year...................... 2.60
- Sunday and Weekly , 8.60
. (By Carrier.)
" y" Sunday Included, one year 8.00
; Xaily, Sunday Included, one month 75
Z How to Remit Send postofflce money
'- order, express order or personal check on
. your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency
are at sender's risk. Give postoftlce ad
. crtss in full. Including county and state.
- ,-p-MrtaT" Kates 12 to 16 pages, 1 cent;
Z, 18 to 82 pages, 2 cents; 84 to 48 pages. '8
cents; 50 to- 60 pages. 4 cents; 62 to 76
pages. 6 cents; 78 to 82 pages. 6 cents.
orelgn postage- double rates.
f Lastern Business Office Verree & Conk-
- 'n Brunswick building, New York; Verree
Conklin, Steger building, Chicago; San
Francisco representative, K. J. Bldwell. 742
Market street.
: rORTLAKD, HONDAI, MAIiCII 19, 1917.
SEATTLE'S SHAKY PYRAMID.
i Storage of water In Bull Run Lake,
..which is a necessary part of the Daly
municipal light project, is .unsafe and
uncertain. It was so reported by J. W.
- Morris, former City Engineer, at an
earlier date. It is confirmed by George
z Edmonston, an engineer in Commls-
- eioner Clock's department.
' Such Information does not always
- count a great 'deal against municipal
enterprises fostered as personal po-
- lltlcaj investment. It did not in Seat
;" tie, when an ambitious municipal
t lighting scheme was under way.
" The City of Seattle employed three
- hydro-electric engineers at a cost of
- $5000 to report on the proposed Cedar
River dam. The repoit of these engi
neers strongly recommended that test
holes be sunk and other Investigations
- made to determine whether the north
: bank would hold water after the dam
had been constructed. The City Coun-1
ell promptly filed the report and let
- the contract for completion of the dam
without making the recommended
tests.
The City of Seattle now has as a
monument to- political ambition and
' Councllmanlc wastefulness and lndlf-
- fcrence an utterly useless dam that
cost ,1,700,000. The hydro-electric en
gineers were right. The entire drain
age of Cedar Lake basin seeps away as
fast as it flows in. The remedy is to
construct a concrete wall for two or
three miles along the north bank of
the river. If constructed, its cost will
be enormous, it not built, $1,700,000
will have been wasted.
Seattle's municipal plant was orig
inally installed for the purpose of
lighting streets cheaper than under
the contract with a private company.
Seattle at present Is paying the light
ing department $50,000 a year more
for street lights than they would cost
under contract with the private com
pany on basis of rates filed with the
Public Service Commission. This high
rate for street lights is endured to
make up for losses on residence light
ing. Residence lighting Is the foot
ball of politics. Reductions in rates
are made without Justification and
usually Just before election, when city
municipal ownership Councllmen are
seeking return to office.
These premature rate reductions
and the failure of the Cedar River dam
make one of two things Inevitable. The
residence rates must be raised or an
Increased tax burden be imposed to
make up deficits. Moreover, to make
Bervice dependable the city faces the
necessity of expending $500,000 to in
stall an additional unit to the auxil
iary steam plant and another $3,000,
000 for an aditional hydro-electric
plant. When Seattle Incurs these new
obligations It is evident that Seattle
cannot hope to pay out unless a 'mo
nopoly of the light and power busi
ness of the city is obtained. Even with
a monopoly there Is reason to believe
that service will cost consumers more
than If furnished by a private com
pany under rates fixed by the Public
Service Commission,
Seattle's experience with municipal
lighting is an amazing commentary on
city politics. To get office men have
acceded to public clamor based on
neither investigation nor busines judg
ment. To retain public office they cut
the voter's light bills a few cents a
month and Pile ud deficits unfl inrl-rit-
edness. To gain the favor of otherl
voters they order extensions into terri
tory where business does not Justify
the cost. They pyramid public ap
proval on a shaky foundation and
leave to successors the Job of salvaging
the wreck when the structure crum
bles. Optimism of spendthrifts and Indif
ference to public welfare of place
hunters are ever the handicaps of
municipal ownership, to which may be
added pride of opinion and the ease
with which the saving made the con
sumer may be concealed in his tax re
ceipt. Portland can profit from the Seattle
experience by obtaining expert advice
and by heeding that advice when it
gets it.
SWING OF THE PRICE PENDULUM.
According to Professor Irving
Fisher, of Tale, high prices are' the re
sult of too much money and credit and
of the speed with which they circulate,
as well as of the quantity of goods in
the market. He gives diagrams show
ing that during the last few years, in
Sweden as in the United States, prices
have traveled upward as money in cir
culation has Increased. But what in
creases the amount of money?
The immense excess of exports over
Imports, for it has forced Europe to
ship to this country more gold than we
can well use. Gold has thus become
cheap in relation to other commodi
ties, so that a man gets more of it for
a bushel of wheat than he got for
merly. The great release of credit by
the Federal reserve law has also made
credit cheap by making it more abun
dant, thus contributing to the enhance
ment of rrices.
At the same time the foreign de
mand -for our goods has given labor
employment at advanced wages. Ex
port of these goods causes Imports of
gold which reduce ' the purchasing
power of the higher wages, but the
working people, not at first realizing
this, have increased their purchases,
thus adding to the upward movement.
But the high wages paid in factories
' have drawn labor away from agricul
ture at precisely the time when nature
has given us short crops. Decreased
production of food is the consequence.
This comes when other nations have
had short crops and are making un
usual demands on our supply. Hence
we are "playing both ends against the
middle," one end being diminished
production, the other increased con
sumption, while the middle Is the
world's stock.
Retail prices of food advanced 30 per
cent between January IS, 1913, and
the same date in 1917. If other factors
in the cost of living have advanced at
the same rate, the workingman whose
wages are now 30 per cent higher Is no
better off than he was four years ago,
while the man of fixed income is 30
per cent worse off, and the man whose
income has increased more than 30 per
cent and who is spending-more In pro
portion has contributed to the troubles
of these, two classes. t
When money becomes dearer, the
munition' boom dies, wages fall and la
bor drifts back to the farm, prices will
fall and we shall, all be just about as
well off as we were before, all except
those who have made fortunes out of
"war babies."
WHES SECRF.CY PLEASES PACIFISTS.
It is impossible to please the paci
fists, or those persons who hide dis
loyalty to American interests under a
cloak of pacifism. They have con
stantly asserted that wars are the re
sult of secret diplomacy and that open
dealings between nations would give
the people an opportunity to express
their opinion and would prevent diplo
mats from getting two nations into a
position from which there was no
escape except war.
The diplomatic correspondence with
Germany, in regard to submarines has
been conducted in the open. Every
note which has passed "has been- pub
lished as soon as it was sent. 4 When
the President called upon Congress to
authorize the arming of ships, the peo
ple were fully Informed, for the many
notes which had passed had been the
subject of animated discussion for two
years. When the Zimmermann note
Inviting Mexico and Japan ' to ally
themselves with Germany against the
United States came into Government
possession it was published.
But many of the same men who had
been crying out against secret diplo
macy protested that this note had been
published for the purpose of in
fluencing public opinion. It was of
the utmost importance that the peo
ple and their representatives in Con
gress should know, in formulating
their policy toward Germany, that
Germany was plotting the partition of
the United States. If the President
had concealed the Zimmermann note,
he would have practiced Becret diplo
macy of the worst kind, for he would
have concealed the secret of an enemy
and would have kept the American
people In the dark about designs for
the destruction of this Nation.
The man who was loudest in protest
was Senator Stone. He was angry
with the President for putting before
the people a document which was an
unanswerable argument In favor of
the policy to which ' the Senator was
opposed. He was determined, if pos
sible, to thwart the efforts of the
President to protect this Nation
against the country which was plot
ting against It and in his eyes publicity
was reprehensible when used to put
him to confusion. Yet the Senate, in
blind devotion to its absurd seniority
rule, retains him at the head of the
foreign relations committee, which
should be the chief support of the
President In upholding our rights and
interests abroad.
THE BACK-YARD GARDEN AGAIN.
After a Winter of buying vegetables
at prices worthy of precious stones.
It Is to be expected that people will
turn with a will this Spring to the
back-yard garden, whose season for
planting is close at hand. Without at
tempting to apply facts and figures,
it is safe to assume that had all the
vacant acreage In Portland been util
ized in growing vegetables instead of
weeds last season the potato would
have been a drug -on the market all
Winter instead of a priceless luxury,
and we could have had onions to
throw at the actors.
Hundreds of acres In back yards
and vacant lots He Idle. People who
lack the energy to plant something in
the Spring find themselves put to the
necessity of harvesting a bountiful
crop of weeds before the Summer is
far advanced. The alternative is po
lice prosecution under the anti-weed
ordinance. Any contention that the
land is not fertile enough for garden
purposes Is destroyed by the lusty
growth of weeds. Land that will grow
a tangle of weeds six or seven feet
high would nourish a fine crop of
vegetables with a little- preliminary
treatment and pains.
No one will know until trial Is made
how much can be grown in the aver
age back yard of a city such as Port
land. By using Intensive methods a
great deal more can be raised than
on a corresponding space in the farm
garden. A few dollars expended in
seed, fertilizer and the necessary im
plements is the only outlay required
for commencement. Thereafter a few
minutes a day will keep the garden
in trim. It must be watered and kept
clear of weeds, and the more thor
oughly these tasks are performed the
more bountiful the ensuing crop.
Many amateur gardeners find both
profit and recreation in their back
yard plot. They find the same Joy
in watching and caring for the sprout
ing stalks that others find in chasing
a tiny white ball over several hundred
acres every afternoon.
After having been taught for sev
eral years in the Portland schools,
home gardening Is less a dark art,
and children provide the Inspiration
and enthusiasm for scores of garden
plots. High cost of vegetables, based
on scarcity and Juggling of supply,
should lend Impulse to the movement
so that the vacant acreage will be re
duced to a minimum this Summer in
Portland.
THE HOUSE OP TORTURE. . '
Any doubt which may have lingered
In the minds of some citizens of Ore
gon as to the Imperative necessity of
erecting a new penitentiary should be
removed by reading the description of
the present building by one of the
convicts, which wan published In The
Sunday Oregonian. The present build
ing is not merely out of date and over
crowded; it is unsanitary and is a
place of physical and moral torture.
not through the acts of the men having
custody of the prisoners but through
the neglect of the state.
Men are confined in cells from
which every ray of sunlight is shut
out, so small that there is only room
to turn, so insanitary that the guards
resign from ill health, and sickness is
rife among the inmates. There is no
proper ventilation aud the men suffer
extremes of heat in Summer and of
cold in Winter, Some of, the buildings
are of wood, which is dry as tinder or
rotting with moisture. There Is ma
terial for a conflagration which might
take hundreds of lives. Men are com
pelled to work In confined spaces,
without proper light or ventilation and
so damp that many of them suffer
from rheumatism. The hospital would
disgrace the brutal government which
has just passed away in Russia. It is
of wood, has not enough air or light
and Is so small that isolation of in
fectious or contagious diseases is im
possible. It seems to be a place for
spreading rather than curing disease.
The state maintains a board of
health to propagate and enforce the
rules of sanitation, but itself violates
all those rules by confining its charges
in buildings where th-?y are set at defi
ance. It shuts hundreds of men and
women in a building which the coun
cil of any well-governed city would
condemn as a firetrap. It supports
many humanitarian institutions, but
it maintains what is In Effect a house
of torture. It is the duty of the state
to confine offenders against its laws
in a proper place for their punish
ment, discipline and reform, but the
constitution -forbids their treatment
"with unnecessary rigor" and it re
quires that "laws for the punishment
of crime shall be founded on the prin
ciples of reformation and not of vin
dictive justice." The punishment in
flicted by confining men and women
In such a place as the present peniten
tiary is characterized by unnecessary
rigor, conforms to the principles of
vindictive Justice and tends in a
direction the very opposite of reform.
Though not Intended, these are the
effects. ,
For the good name of Oregon it is
necessary that the proposed tax for the
erection -of a new penitentiary be
voted In June. The purpose of the
people in imprisoning wrongdoers Is
not to wreck their health, break their
spirits, confirm them in crime or de
base them into brutes who war on
society. It is to seclude them from
their fellow-citizens in order that they
may be convinced of their errors, may
gain that moral strength of character
which they have been found to lack
and may learn to make a living at an
honest trade. That object can be at
tained only by total abandonment of
the present buildings and by erection
of modern buildings, adapted to dis
cipline and reform and where the
health of the prisoners will be pre
served and improved. This is a duty
which cannot be shirked on any plea
of economy. ,
FIGHTING JOE LANE.
Two or three writers in the news
papers have discovered a sort of
similarity between the attitude of
Senator Harry Lane in the present Na
tional crisis and that of his grand
father. Senator Joseph Lane imme
diately prior a the Civil War. These
letters have started a train of his
torical reminiscences and historical
citations, one of which, written by
Robert H. Down, is published in The
Oregonian today.
We think that there can be no
doubt as to the sympathies of
Senator Joseph Lane during the
American conflict. He was born in
North Carolina and his leanings were
strongly toward the Southern cause.
But In comparing grandfather and
grandson there are more points of
contrast than similarity.
Joseph Lane was a soldier and an
illustrious one. If he had an opinion
on a National or international issue
and he generally had he had a rea
son for It that was not expressed in
mushy platitudes. He never held the
theory that those who ventured into
dangerous places where they had a
right to go and there had their "toes
stepped on" had no call on justice or
Goverrunent.
One of the first acts of Joseph Lane,
after becoming Governor of Oregon,
was to go into the Cayuse country, ac
companied only by an interpreter and
Dr. Newell, not to discover an excuse
for massacre, but to demand the sur
render of the murderers of Marcus
Whitman. The threat held over the
Cayuse chief was not one of armed
neutrality. He offered no Bryanic
pabulum. The Indian was given a
choice of peace or war and the chief
chose peace by surrendering five In
dians implicated in the massacre.
Joseph Lane was one of the most
distinguished officers of the Mexican
War. He was a member of the Indi
ana Legislature at the time of the out
break, but it Is not recorded that he
advocated or supported peace-at-any-prlce
memorials or attempted to blame
upon their own heads the fate of those
Americans who had been murdered or
outraged on the Mexican border. He
resigned and took the field. He was
made a Brigadier-General, was men
tioned for distinguished bravery, and
he acquired the title of "The Marion
of the Mexican War." He was wound
ed at the battle of Buena Vista- and it
is said of him that "when the grape
and musket shot flew as thick as hail
over our volunteers their brave Gen
eral, though wounded in the left
shoulder by a musket ball, could be
seen fifty yards in advance of his lines.
waving his sword and encouraging his
men by his Impetuous bravery."
General Lane brought the same Im
petuous bravery to Oregon, upon his
appointment as Governor of the terri
tory. One incident of his career has
herein been mentioned. On another
occasion, in 1850. with only fifteen
men, he entered the country of war
ring Rogue River Indians. At a peace
conference he was confronted by the
hostile attitude of several hundred In
dians. But with sheer bravado he
quelled the sudden rising and person
ally disarmed the leaders among the
red men. In 1853, at the head of a
smajl body of volunteers raised to
quell another Rogue River uprising, he
was wounded again in the left shoul
der. The mere fact of his presence aa
commander of the volunteers, when it
became known to the Indians, caused
them to propose a peaceful settlement.
There followed the famous conference
between General Lane and Chief Jo
seph at Table Rock, one of the most
remarkable occurrences that ever took
place In Southern Oregon.
The obscurity and poverty in which
Joseph Lane lived during his later life
may be ascribed in part to the irre
pressible misfortunes of Internecine
conflict in which birth and habits of
thought, led him to the side not ap
proved by the majority of his fellow-
citizens of Oregon. But after lapse of
more than half a century, during
which old animosities have been cured,
the public thought, in considering
General Lane, will weigh all his activi
ties in passing Judgment.
Senator Harry Lane did not Inherit
mud-turtle qualities either from his
grandfather or his great-grandfather.
who enlisted in the Revolutionary War
at the age of 17. By all the laws of
heredity he ought to be a fighter, a
red-blooded loyalist. His forbears eer
tainly knew which he does not that
the world Is made of both land and
water, that National rights extend to
the sea as well as to the soil, and that
Invasion does not consist wholly of set
ting foot by another on one's own
chunk of dirt. We dispute that he in
herited his quibbled from fighting Joe
Lane.
The Pacific Coast is quite willing to
act upon Secretary Houston's sugges
tion and use its forests and water
power in making paper for the East
ern states, if Congress will push Gif-
ford .Pinchot off the track, so that it
can get to the power sites. Until this
is done, the West will derive a certain
grim satisfaction from the thought
that the East also suffers from the
embargo on the West's development,
for the obstructionist derives his chief
support from the East. . .
COMMERCE CONTINUES TO GROW.
The last month before the beginning
of Germany's unrestricted submarine
war was marked by an enormous In
crease in American exports, the bulk
of which went through the barred
zone. The total for January was
$613,555,693, as compared with $330,
036,410 in January, 1916, an increase
of $283,619,283. Of this increase
1192.033,724, or more than two-thirds,
was m exports to the allied countries
of Europe, while the Increase to all
the allied countries and their posses
sions was $235,330,374, or nearly five
sixths of the total. Although the de
struction of ships was much greater
In January than In the same month
of last year and though much of the
goods Included in the total was de
stroyed, the risk was not sufficient to
deter shipments or sailings.
On the other hand, reports of for
eign trade bear convincing witness to
the increased effectiveness of the
blockade against the central empires.
Exports to' Germany in January were
nothing, though in January, 1916,
they were $48,642. The two voyages
of the merchant submarine Deutsch
land doubtless explain the Increase for
the seven months ending January
from $272,981 to $2,196,174. Austria
has Imported nothing from this coun
try In the seven months, and In the
corresponding period ending January,
1916, it Imported only $145,862.
. Increase in total exports for the
seven months has been prodigious
from $2,182,898,752 to $3,614,173,688.
Imports have grown also, but the In
crease has been only $251,000,000 as
compared with $1,266,000,000 in ex
ports. Europe has taken more than
$1,000,000,000 of the latter Increase.
Trade with South America shows a
healthy growth, exports having in
creased from $97,000,000 to $143,000.
000 and imports from $207,000,000 to
$270,000,000. Asia's purchases have
more than doubled, namely, from
$101,000,000 to $211,000,000, while Its
sales 'to us have swollen from $210,
000,000 to $307,000,000.
Growth of the shipbuilding Industry
promises to be greatly accelerated by
the demand of the Government for
wooden ships to be UBed as anti-submarine
scouts, as transports for the
Army and Navy and to carry our
commerce. The Pacific Coast has un
excelled material for this type of ship,
and the Columbia and Willamette riv
ers are not surpassed by ' any other
section of the Coast in this respect.
The demand for the type of ship
which we can build is practically un
limited, and can absorb twice or three
times the capacity of the present
yards on these rivers. Every ship that
is launched should, and doubtless will,
take a first cargo of lumber or some
other Pacific Coast product to the
Atlantic Coast or to Europe. Every
such cargo will be a blow at the ar
gument by which the rate decision is
sustained. But it will not be suffi
cient only to Bend first cargoes out:
in order to establish water traffic
completely, ships must come back
with westbound cargoes and must ply
regularly both ways. When that is
done, Portland will have a clear case
for asking the Interstate Commerce
Commisison to restore competitive
rates on the railroads. Indeed, as
water traffic grows, it will become
more to the Interest of the railroads
than of the shippers to move in that
direction, for by using the water route
he shippers will have water com
petitive rates and the railroads must
either reduce their rates or perma
nently lose a large proportion of their
through ' traffic.
With water running to waste, the
revenues of the bureau would not be
affected if water were given free for
the vacant lot gardens where it could
be obtained. Irrigati n-increases crops
wonderfully.
It used to be that a man who owned
a piece of land could erect any kind
of building he desired, if it was not to
be a nuisance. Now he properly must
conform to the public's Ideas of civic
beauty.
Grand Duke Michael regards the Job
of Czar as the hot end of a poker and
hesitates to take hold. . He thinks it
may cool, if he waits till the Russian
people Insist on his taking it.
When the fireboats deflect a river
into a conflagration, the old debating
society question of the more powerful
element Is settled. The wets have It.
When a young woman, a house serv
ant, commits suicide, there is a cause,
and in the latest case, at Seattle, the
cause should not be hard to find.
The Zeppelin raids on London and
Compeigne were probably designed to
honor the memory or pacify the soul
of the old Count.
The mother whose children contract
the measles has her worries, but they
do not equal her relief in knowing they
have had them.
This is not a good time to beat
swords into plowshares, but It Is Just
right to turn breweries into condenser
lea. The brotherhoods' men who went
out on time Saturday night can go
back on the same schedule.
What is there about the Capitol at
Olympia that causes Insane men to
mistake It for the asylum?
Now for a long, strong pull to lift
Oregon out of the mud to the solid,
paved road of progress.
When the U. S. of Russia Is doing
business, Mr. "Bill" Galvani can re
turn, but not to stay.
"The United States of Russia" has
a dreamy sound, but occasionally
dreams come true.
Nicholas ought to move to America,
take out first papers and give his son
a chance.
Bootleggers who check baggage to
little way stations deserve what they
gret.
New Spring shoes are In sight and
the skirts cannot begin to touch them.
Sveaborg will feel very lonesome
when it hears from the rest of Russia.
There Is something wrong with Dub
lin. St. Patrick's day was quiet there.
"Time to begin to worry about the
"June rise," which seldom comes. v
It must be settled today one way or
another.
How to Keep Well.
- By Dr. W. A. Evans.
Questions pertinent to hygiene, sanitation
and prevention of disease. If matters of gen
eral interest, will be answered In this col
umn. Where space wlil not permit or the
subject Is not suitable letters will be per
sonally answered, subject to proper limita
tions and where stamped addressed envelope
is inclosed. Dr. Evans will not make diagnosis
or prescribe for Individual diseases. Re
quests for such services cannot be answered.
(Copyright. 1816. by Dr. W. A. Evans.
Published by arrangement with the Chicago
Tribune.)
W 1 1 1 : X YELLOW FEVER. IS BAN
ISHED. "I
CANNOT understand why you
say, grandpa, that life is safer
than It was. We have diphtheria, scar
let fever, and consumption everywhere.
We cannot do as we please oftlmes for
fear of catching some disease."
"You think conditions are bad. Hen
ry, because you have not seen what I
have seen. I lived in Memphis In 1879.
I saw the people stampede in a wild
flight when yellow fever came. There
were less than 10,000 left in the city,
and they stayed only because they
could not get away.
"I have seen shotgun quarantines. I
have seen .guards shoot down refugees
trying to escape the plague-stricken
city. I have seen wagons, stacked high
with the bodies of victims, driven to
the eemetery. I have, seen bodies of
yellow fever victims buried in- long
trenches, hundreds at a time. I have
known times when there were not
physicians enough to attend the sick or
nurses enough to serve them or grave
diggers enough to bury the dead; when
there were no trains and no business,
and hungry men and women went into
abandoned stores and took what they
needed. And all of this in the latter
half of the last century. And It hap
pened not once, but almost every year
in a city not far from my home."
"Yellow fever must have been a fear
ful scourge; Has it disappeared for
ever?" Imagine this as a conversation be
tween a child and his grandparent oc
curring In 1930. The indications are
that in that year yellow fever, the
greatest scourge of the latter half of
the nineteenth century, will have be
come legendary. The International
Health Commission has voted to at
tempt to wipe yellow fever from the
face of the earth. I have no doubt as
to their success.
The natural habitat of yellow fever Is
the Gulf of Mexico. From this home
It spread north as far as Halifax, south
as far as Argentina, and east as far as
Europe and Africa. A hundred years
ago it was -a scourge at times in New
York, Philadelphia, and even Boston.
The disease was beaten back gradually
until no United States ports were sub
ject to it except those on the Gulf of
Mexico. Then it was permanently ban
ished from the United States.
In the meantime it was being beaten
back from the south in South America.
More than 10 years ago it disappeared
from Cuba, and then from Panama,
Vera Cruz, and Tamplco.- Soon after
Havana became free. Rio Janeiro was
cleared of the disease.
Now there remains no trace of yellow
fever anywhere except in a narrow
band of coast territory along the north
and northwest coasts of South Amer
ica a narrow strip of Infected terri
tory not broader than a two hours'
trip by automobile nor longer than a
short ride on a limited train.
Since yellow fever Is a disease of
towns and not of the country, a better
way to put it is that a few cities on
the lowland shores of the northern
coast of South America now constitute
the only home of yellow fever, unless
there are a few Infected ports in South
Africa. The International Health
Commission proposes to rid those few
porta of yellow fever by the Bame
means that were employed to get rid of
yellow fever in Havana, Colou and
Panama. When they do, the seed will
be destroyed.
Yellow fever mosquitoes will still be
found widely distributed in the United
States and elsewhere, but none of them
will b infected, and the wherewithal
to Infect them will have passed from
the earth. Yellow fever will have be
come a subject of legend, and perhaps
in time it may become a myth.
Twilight Sleep.
Mrs. W. E. B. writes:- "I would like
your opinion In regard to 'twilight
sleep' for expectant mothers. (1) What
is it and how is It given? (2) What ef
fect aoes 11 nave on tne motnerr taj
Its after effect? (4) Will it have any
bad effect on the child?. (5) Would the
age of the mother and its being the
first child make any difference
REPLY.
1. "Twilight sleep" la produced by giving
morphine and scopolamine, or hyoscln, hypo
dermlcatly. -
J. It renders the mother unconscloua. The
unconsciousnesss relates to ability to suffer
pain rather than to general consciousness.
The mother in "twilight sleep" knows what
la going on but she Is indifferent to it.
8. There Is no particular after effect. The
mother recovers from the drug and doea
not suffer as much exhauatn as whea no
drug was used.
4. . The child is born narcotized, but It re
covers rather speedily. -
5. Not more than it would with labor
upder other conditions. "Twilight sleep" la
bor is somewhat more dangerous than other
labor. When it la given In a good hos
pital with properly trained attendanta it Is
not any mora dangerous than labor other
wise conducted.
Go to a Physician.
G. D. D. writes: "I -have something
like a fever. It comes on about 3 o'clock
In the afternoon. I get hot all over, but
my head' gets hotter than my body.
Sometimes I bathe my head in cold
water and it helps. What causes this?"
REPLY.
Probably you have consumption. If you
have only had it a few days it may be
typhoid. Then there la malaria. But why
continue guessing T Have a physician ex
amine you carefully and make the neces
sary laboratory testa.
Wheat Bran for Constipation.
L. A G writes: "What kind of bran
is it that you recommend for persons
who suffer with constipation?"
REPLY.
"Wheat bras. Can be made into muffins,
baked into breard. or eaten aa a cereal.
The) Spring; Garden.
When Winter thrusts her cloak aside.
When houses need no heat inside.
When sleighs and cutters cease to slide.
I think about my garden.
When sky grows blue and clouds dis
band. When by warm winds my face is fanned.
In mud and slush I firmly stand.
And think about my garden.
My radishes will go Jn there,
For lima beans that place bids fair.
My squash oh, that grows anywhere;
I can't wait for my garden.
My hands are itching for the dirt,
(They hate kid gloves so neat and
pert),
I want to start right In and worn
In that old garden.
Concluding this mellifluous bard -Against
food prices I shall guard
By digging up my whole backyard
And planting there a garden.
E. H,
Hotels and Summer,
Omaha (Neb.) News.
"This Is the hotel for us. I positively
won't go to any other." "My dear, if wo
are going to spend the Summer we
should consider well. There are much
better hotels in that neighborhood."
"But not one of them advertise such
Idyllio moonlight nights."
GEN. LANE IN CIVIL WAR CRISIS
Senator's Grandfather Southern Sym
pathiser, but Above Pacifists.
PORTLAND. March 17. (To the Edi
tor.) In the Portland Journal there ap
peared a letter by a "Member of Gen
eral Lane's Family," taking exceptions
to statements contained In the letter of
"Reader." which appeared in The Ore
gonian March 8. This member of Joseph
Lane's family goes to great length to
make it appear that the General was
always a loyal citizen of the United
States.
In answer to the challenge made for
the authorities. I quote Bancroft, His
tory of Oregon, Vol. 2, page. 465:
Slowly, reluctantly, regretfully came horns
the truth to the people of Oregon that
Joseph Lane was a secessionist; that he
had offered his services and those of his
sons to fight in battle against his Govern
ment and against bs late friends in Ore
gon. The news of the fall of Fort Sumpter
did not reach Oregon till the 30th ot April.
1861. By the same steamer that brought
back 'the thrilling Intelligence of actual war
came Lane back to his .home In Oregon.
What a pitiful home-coming! Hatred and
Insult greeted him from the moment he came
In sight of these Pacific shores. At San
Francisco it waa so. and when he reached
Portland, and a few personal friends wished
to give a salute in his honor, they were
assured that auch a demonstration would not
be permitted in that town. Even the owner
bf a cart refused to transport his luggage
to the house of his son-in-law. It consisted
of t.wo or three stout boxes in wlilch were
cbnveyed to Southern Oregon arms for the
equipment of the army of the Paclflo re
publlol But thia fact waa not known to
the eartman or It might have fared worse
with the ex-Senator. Proceeding south stfter
few daya with theae arma In a stout
wagon, but unsuspected, he waa met at vari
ous parta of the route by demonstrations of
disrespect. At Dallas he waa hanged In
effigy. A fortunate accident arrested him tn
the perpetration of the contemplated folly
and treachery and consigned him to a Ufa
ot retirement from which he never emerged.
This "fortunate accident" consisted
of a wound Lane received in the arm
from an accidentia! discharge of a pis
tol, btaylng at the house of Jesse Ap
plegate, "Lane revealed . . the nature
of his schemes concerning Oregon . . ."
See Bancroft, History of Oregon, Vol. 2.
page 456, note 27.
Joseph' Lane, with Senator Gwln. ot
California, and a man named Tllden in
Washington Territory, were backers
and instigators of a movement to "steal
the Pacific Coast from the Federal Gov
ernment and hold it for the South."
They worked through the traitorous or
ganization known as the Ivnigrhts of the
Uolden CUcle. See Vol. 4. Ore. Hist.
Quarterly, pages 89 and 106. They had
councils, or circles as they are termed,
at Sclo, Albany, Jacksonville, in Yam
hill County, two at Salem and two at
Portland. (Ore. Hist. Quart.. Vol. 13.
page 22.)
Through the vigilance of Adjutant
General C. C. Reed, and foresight of
Governor Addison C. Glbbs, Oregon was
snatched from the very mawi-of the
Confederacy. That It was saved to the
Union and cast its vote for Lincoln and
not for Joseph Lane, the nominee for
Vice-President on the southern slave
holders' ticket, was due in large mea
sure to the loyal newspapers of Oregon.
The Oregonian, the Argus and the Peo
ple s Press. The last two were new
publications, and to The Oregonian
must be given the credit of turning the
tide in one of the stormiest periods in
our national history.
I do not make these statements to
cast any reflections upon the memory
of General Lane. Lest history be per
verted let the facts be submitted again
to the forgetful public. History repeats
itself. Harry Lane now sits in the seat
of his grandfather in the United States
Senate. While the copperheads of that
day of civil war might excuse them
selves on the slavery question, they
were not of the contemptible type of
pacifist that today gloats over the Na
tion's unpreparedness, taking their
opinions from the sickly German propa
ganda and the mutterlngs of a few dis
contented Irishmen who would sacrifice
the honor of the United States to vent
their spite against England.
ROBT H. DOWN.
FOR AMERICA ABOVE ALL OTHERS
Foreign Born Cltlsen Declares) for
One Country nnd One Only.
PORTLAND, March 18. (To the Edi
tor.) Your editorials are at all times
a source of inspiration to me. They
are so plain and easy to understand
that a wayfaring man, though he be a
fool. need not err therein to read, mark
and inwardly digest the same to his
edification.
I am an alien by birth with years
beyond matured manbiod prior to my
severing myself from my native land
the South of Ireland. I had no fault to
find with my mother country. Neither
have I any fault to find with my
adopted country. There the same as
here I was subservient to law and or
der. For several years I served under
the reign of the good and gracious
Queen Victoria.
I was at the bombardment of Alex
andria, Egypt, in 1882; also took an ac
tive p'art at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir
and know from actual experience what
it means and how it feels to be
wounded on the battlefield and on the
scorching sands of Egypt,
At this 'time, however, I feel like a
seasoned soldier yes, up in the bit
with grit and perhaps some grace at the
President's call. I deem It an honor
and privilege to have such a man aa
leader to succor in word, deed and
thought, the Joshua of the land.
When I became a citizen of this Re
public many, many years since. I im
parted into my life the essence and
spirit of this God-given land. When I
was a foreigner I spoke as a foreigner.
I understood as a foreigner, thought
as a foreigner. But when I became an
American I put away foreign things.
I am loyal to the flag. It's Impossible
to hold, allegiance- to two nations or
two masters for either I will hate the
one and love the other or else I will
hold to one and despise the other. I
have no prefix. I am an American
only. x LOYALTY
Aaaesament of Taxes.
PORTLAND, March 17. (To the Edi
tor.) Please advise for what period
personal taxes are assessed, whether
from March 1 to March 1, or" from
January 1 to January 1. A. W. G.
From March 1 to March i.
The Beavers' Opening; Game
By Jamea Barton Adams.
Back from the fair Hawaiian land
our ball assaulters come, their faces
beautifully tanned, their muscles firm
and plumb; their eyes are bright, their
hearts are light and in their cranial
knobs the fire is burning for the fight
with rival bally cl,ubs. They rounded
out in classy form where grows the
spreading palm, where every whisper
ing breeze Is warm and flush with
pleasing balm; they put it over pigtail
blokes in a way that was a shame and
taught Una Sammy's soldier smokes
the fine points of the game. The
tinkling ukulele they played between
their practice spurts, and mayhap In
the gloaming strayed with Honolulan
skirts. The eager demonstrative fan is
storing in his nog the things he'll call
the umpire whan his Judgment slips a
cog, and fair fanette with closed eye
lids lies In her couch and dreams of
how she'll spank her dainty kids until
she busts the seams when fav'rlte home
team laddie lands upon the pellet's
hide and drives It through the fielder's
hands and makes a safety slide. Soon
will the tradesman leave his store, the
barber shut up shop, the office man will
lock his door, the smith his tools will
drop, and all with one accord will
prance on eager, hurrying feet to press
the - fullness of the pants upon the
bleacher seat. The yells of son of toil
will blend with yells of millionaire un
til they into tatters rend the echoes in
the air. War news at which we long
have stared will now be classed as
tame, for, prithee, what Is war com
pared with the Beavers' opening game?
In Other Days:
Twenty-five Years Ago.
From The Oregonian. March 18, 1893.
Astoria. The libel case of the State
of Oregon vs. O. W. Dunbar, of Town
Talk, has resulted In the conviction of
Dunbar. The sentence was to one year.
ine article concerned -Samuel Elmore.
Christine Kilsson's return to her na
tive country of Sweden as the wife of
the Spanish Ambassador, the Count de
la Casa Miranda, rounds out well her
romance of real life. She was a farm
er's child on the hills when her gift
or song was discovered, and after a
most fortunate life as queen of song
on two continents, she returns as a
member of the Swedish court.
Pattl Rosa in "Dolly Varden." at the
Park Theater last night scored a tre
mendous hit in her winking song, "Over
the High Brick wall." Joe Cawtborne
as a comedian was a hit from the start.
The Elks Lodge presented Mme. Rosa
with a banjo wrought in red and white
roses.
A letter from Lorlng. Alaska, says
W. W. Waud, of Portland, was drowned
March 9 in Tongas Narrows.
Mrs. Lionel Stagge has written to
The Oregonian an interesting letter of
news events from Washington. She
says that Robert N. La Follette. of Wis
consin, who was the youngest member
of the ways and means committee, is
missed this season.
Mrs. J. H. Olds, of Lafayette, who has
been In St. Vincent's Hospital here sev
eral months since an accident on an
electric car, has been taken to her
home.
Henry Hallam will sing "Then Tou'll
Remember Me" in the production of
"The Bohemian Girl" soon to be at the
Park.
Half a Century Ago.
From The Oregonian. March 10, 186T.
New York. Skating has been the
great sensation of the Winter. For four
weeks and a day all the city has been
on a bender, with Tom and Jerry and
Flint. Sleighing Is the best -In 20 years.
What a popular pastime
In spite of frosts, for aU the belles and all
the beaux.
To squeeze each ether's hands beneath the
buffaloes.
Messrs. Grlmshaw & Co. have opened
a matrimonial bureau at 139 East
Eighth street. New York. Their ad
vertisement says: "Here the names of '
all respectable parties matrimonially
disposed are registered and references
and introductions exchanged and ef
fected." The agency is to be on the
European plan.
Caleb Lyons, late Governor and ex
officio superintendent of all the Idaho
ans, the Bolseans, the Owyheeans, the
Lewtstonians and Shoshones, Is In
Washington City petitioning the Sen
ate for a bill of relief, authorizing the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs to
credit him with $45,660, "money dis
bursed without vouchers." Mr. Lyons
lost the money December last, being
robbed apparently while In a sleeping
car between New York and Washing
ton. Anson Dart, formerly superintendent
of Indian affairs In Oregon, has writ
ten a letter to the New York Herald
opposing the transfer of the Indian
Bureau to the War Department.
Dr. Charles Blach and Miss Leben
baum, of this city, were married Sun
day. March 17. - Long years of happi
ness, doctor, to you and yours.
VERSIONS OF GETTYSBURG SPEECH
Lincoln Claaale aa He Rewrote It Con
tain Word Some Others Omit.
LA GRANDE, Or., March 16. (To the
Editor.) Kindly Inform us whether or
not, as delivered by Mr. Lincoln, the
word "poor" appeared In the Gettys
burg speech In the, following sentence:
"The brave men, living and dead, who
struggled here have consecrated it, far
above our (poor) power to add or detract-In
attempting to decide this question
we find that a number of standard
works in which the speech appears, do
not agree. For example: The word
"poor" does appear in the speech as It
is printed In Modern Eloquence, Vol. 8,
page 774: World's Famous Orations,
edited by W. J. Bryan. Vol. 9. page 254;
editorial appearing In The Oregonian,
November 30, 1913, entitled "A World's
Treasure," which contains an excerpt
from the address of Lord Curzon, de
livered at Edinburgh University, pay
ing tribute to Mr. Lincoln.
On the other hand, the word "poor"
does not appear In the speech as it is
printed in Warner's Library of World's
Best Literature. Vol. 16. page 9074;
History of American Nation (Jack-man).
Vol. 8. page 1923, and Biography of
Lincoln, by Charles Wallace French
(American Reformers, published by
Funk & Wagnalls).
ROBERT S. EAKIN..
There are slightly varying versions
of Mr. Lincoln's Gettysburg address.
After the dedication at which It was
delivered Mr. Lincoln wrote It out for
a - fair given In Baltimore.' The word
"poor" appears therein.
Play tn -BOO.-
PORTLA'ND, March 17. (To the Edi
tor.) Kindly explain the following in
the game of "500": .
When is a heart a diamond, and a
diamond a heart? Diamonds are
trumps. Partner leads with small dia
mond, adversary follow with 10 of
hearts, and I place the ace of diamonds.
I thought to take the trick, but my ad
versary took the trick." Why or how?
A BEGINNER.
The Jack of diamonds Is played as a
heart when hearts are trumps; and the
Jack of hearts is played as a diamond
when diamonds are .trumps. There are
no other suit changes. Your adversary
was not entitled to the trick If the play
has been correctly stated.
When Purchase Is Defective.
PORTLAND. March 18. (To the Edi
tor.) About two months ago I bought
from a large department store in this
city-a waist for 3.$9. I wore It twice,
for about a few hours, to go to town.
The second time after I had worn it I
noticed that the silk was all coming
apart, making it useless to wear.
Do you think it would be right for
me to ask thji oredltman of the store to
give me creSlt for the waist? Would
It be useless to call for the reason that
I kept the waist too long?
MRS. M. C
An adjustment oould hardly be ex
pected after so long a delay In report
ing the defect
Key of Bastille.
LACOarB, Or., March 1. (To the
Editor.) Can you tell me the where
abouts of the key of the bastille, the
key that Lafayette sent to Washington
after the fall of the bastille?
IRA G. 6OULE.
It is preserved in a glass casket
hanging in the main hall at Mount
Vernon, former home of George Wash
ington. Information on Coos Bay.
GRESHAM. Or., March 17. (To the
Editor.) Please Inform me where I
could get information concerning the
Coos Bay country. MRS. J. E.
Write to Chamber of Commerce at
Marshfield or North Bend.