10
THE MORNING OREGOXIAN, SATURDAY, JUXE 30, 1917.
rOKTLAXD, OBEGOX.
Entered at Portland, (Oregon) Postoftlce as
second-class mail matter.
Subscription rates Invariably In advance:
(By Mall)
Daily. Sunday included, one year ?V
Laily, Sunday included, six month! ... 4-25
Ijaiiy, Sunday included, three month. . -j-j
Liaily, Sunday included, one month ... .75
laily, without Sunday, one year B-0
iJaily, without Sunday, three month! L7o
Laily. without Sunday, one month
Weekly, one year - 1-'1
Sunday, one year ...............
Sunday and weekly .......- .,o
( Hv fTnrrler.l
Daily. Sunday Included, one year .
iJaily, Sunday Included, one month
9.00
.75
How to Remit Send poetoffice money or
der, express order or personal check on your
local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at
sender's risk. Give postotflce address In iuii.
Including county and state.
I'OBtage Kates 12 to 16 pages. 1 cent: 18
to as pages. 2 cents; 84 to 48 pages. 3 cents.
60 to 0U pages, 4 cents; 62 to 76 pages, o
cents; 78 to 82 pages, 6 cents. Foreign post
age double rates.
Eastern Bimlnrae OfflM Veres at Conklin.
Brunswick building. New York; Verree at
Conklin, Steger building, Chicago; San Fran
cisco representative. R. J. BldwelU 742 Mar
ket street.
POBTLASD, SATURDAY, jrNE 80, 1917.
THE MATTER WITH CONGRESS.
Many bidden weaknesses of organ
izations and of men are thrown into
strong relief by the searching: light
of war. This is nowhere more evident
than in the groaning and creaking of
the ponderous machinery of Congress,
in the slowness with which it operates
when speed is most needed, in the
utter incompetence, provincialism and
lack of broad vision which mark some
of the leaders, and in the absurd de
votion to shibboleths which have been
customary in peace but which are as
utterly out of date in war as would
be the campaign slogans of the mid
nineteenth century in a twentieth
century political contest.
Before our Government can become
approximately efficient for war, it will
be necessary to scrap old machinery,
old customs, old ideas and old lead
ers, and to adopt new ones hammered
out in the fierce forge of war. That
has happened in every other warring
country, and it is inevitable here. The
process of centralization which has
been going on ever since the Civil War
must be accelerated in order that the
Government may become an efficient
fighting machine. The Executive
power must be greatly strengthened
and the legislative power proportion
ately weakened to meet the emer
gency. It is doubtful whether these
two departments of government will
ever resume their former relative po
sition when peace returns.
The radical defect in Congress is
that it is organized to satisfy the po
litical needs and the personal greed
and vanity of its individual members
without regard to the quality of serv
ice which they can render to the Na
tion, though that should be the su
preme test. Because those members
who have served longest know the
ropes, know one another and have
formed alliances, they are steadily
pushed to the front without regard to
character and ability by the pernicious
seniority rule. Committees are or
ganized on the principle that "them
as has gits."
This explains the presence at the
head of vitally important committees
of such men as Senators Stone and
Gore and Representatives Kitchin, 1
Adamson, Dent and Small men who
are out of sympathy with the purposes
of the Administration and the Nation.
Only good fortune has brought to the
head of the vitally important commit
tees on military and naval affairs and
interstate commerce Senators Cham
berlain, Tillman and Newlands, who
heartily strive to give the President
all the means of prosecuting the war.
Accident has given the President the
aid of Representatives Flood, Fitzger
ald, Padgett, Alexander and Lever in
the House.
Men of the type which seniority
pushes forward concern themselves
more with getting something for their
constituents, with triumphantly lug
ging home pieces of pork, with
speeches which cater to class preju
dice or to special interests and with
generally clogging the legislative ma
chinery through words than with get
ting things done to defeat the Kaiser.
They act as though we had all eter
nity in which to do the work, though
the world's democracies are bleeding
away while striving to cut the tenta
cles which Germany has fastened on
the invaded countries.
They have able seconds In Senator
Reed, who is alarmed for the food
speculators of Kansas City and who
inveighs against temporary dictatorial
power for the President, apparently
preferring to risk the permanent dic
tatorship of the Kaiser; and in Sen
ator Hoke Smith, who is more con
cerned for prompt shipment of Geor
gia peaches and melons than in
prompt feeding of the allied nations
or prompt munitioning of the Army;
and in Senator Gore, who predicted
famine as the result of a bill which
guarantees the farmer a fair profit
and which strikes only at the accre
tions which the middleman may make
to the price of food; and in Repre
sentative Small, who fills a pork bar
rel with wasteful river and harbor
appropriations on the false plea of
war emergency. Others, startled by
the sudden demand for unusual Exec
utive powers, are unable to get out
of their old ruts of thought and ex
press honest alarm for the Constitu
tion. The "little knot of wilful men"
which filibustered against arming
ships is, in fact, still at work, ob
structing effective prosecution of the
war which it failed to prevent. It is
somewhat changed in composition,
but it is still busy. Congress cannot
become an effective instrument of war
until these men are pushed into the
rear, to give place to other and new
men. The worst obstruction, as usual,
is in the Senate, but that body in
cludes many able men of both parties
who exert themselves to the utmost
to back up the President. Senators
Cummins and Kenyon have atoned for
their membership in the wilful dozen
by rallying to the 'Administration.
Among the old members they have
been joined by such men as Lodge,
Nelson and Knox on the Republican
side and Newlands and Williams on
tho Democratic side. Strength has
been added to the Administration by
such new Senators as Husting of Wis
consin, Kellogg of Minnesota and
Johnson of California. There is good
material in both parties for a win-the-war
party, if means can be found
to put it in control of the organization.
Congress has been in session for
nearly three months, and has lagged
behind the Executive departments in
every provision for the war. When
reproached for its dilatoriness, its
members close their eyes to the great
amount of work which is yet to be
done and boast of what they have
already done. Its achievements do
not bear comparison with those of the
war legislatures of other nations. It
has worked much faster than in peace,
but not fast enough for war. It can
not work fast enough under the pres
ent rules, particularly in - the Senate,
or under the present leaders.
Another burst of public indigna
tion like that which drove the Senate
to adopt closure may be necessary to
drive Congress to radical reform of
its rules and to relegation to the rear
of its incompetent and obstructive
leaders. By this means only can Con
gress be made an effective instrument
for winning the greatest war in which
this Nation has ever engaged.
SOLDIERS' INSURANCE.
The billions of money poured into
actual warfare by the United States
and other countries but especially
the United States by no means tells
the story of the tremendous cost of
war. There are, for example, pen
sions for the heroes who saved the
country and their dependent relatives.
The United States has paid out in
pensions for its several wars the great
sum of $5,000,000,000. For the Civil
War alone, the total to June 30, 1916,
was $1,765,076,020.92. The number
of pensioners Is now more than 700,
000. It would appear that republics
are not ungrateful.
Now the suggestion is made that
the lives of all soldiers be insured,
and a lump sum perhaps $4000 be
paid to survivors for any death. It is
an attractive idea. It may relieve the
Nation of the undoubted evils of the
pension system.
But it should be carefully safe
guarded. A lump sum of $4000 paid
to a soldier's family would in many
cases be a mistake, for too obvious
reasons. There should be strict con
ditions ao to its payment, its care and
its expenditure, and it should have a
definite relation to any possible sub
sequent pension. Then it may be
both wise and patriotic to have sol
diers' insurance, but not till them.
A WISE BEGINNING.
The first year's allotment of road
funds by the State Highway Commis
sion has been fairly and more or less
widely distributed, yet the allotments
have been made in such amounts that
something better than haphazard,
piecemeal construction is in prospect.
The policy of the Commission, it
seems, is to recognize two Important
characteristics in Oregon road needs.
One is the better improvement of
main, heavily traveled thoroughfares;
the -other is assistance in overcoming
good-road obstacles within certain
counties that have offered too great
a load for the counties to bear alone.
In many portions of the state are
hills and other physical features
which make road construction costly.
Through roads may be fairly good ex
cept for these intervening places. But
the usefulness of such parts of the
roads as may be good is destroyed in
large part by the dangers or practical
impassabllity of spaces that are be
yond the means of the county alone
to improve. There is where the post
road funds are being wisely applied.
In allotting the paving funds, the
Commission has recognized the im
portance of the Pacific Highway and
the east and west Columbia River
Highway. Allotments there have been
made in useful amounts. There is not
to be a mile here and a mile there
of pavement, but stretches of mate
rial length are to be constructed.
A favorable impression is given by
the interest displayed by several coun
ties. They exhibit a willingness, even
an anxiety, to co-operate. They in
effect bid for paving funds by offer
ing to prepare the roads for the hard
surface.
Oregon has at last begun a system
atic road programme. We shall see
some of the benefits the first year, but
the full merit and wisdom of the new
policy will be plainer as time passes
and the big links in the chain are
connected.
F
CKOWIXO FIELD PEAS.
The current report of the recent
experiments made by the Sherman
County branch experiment station of
the Oregon Agricultural College points
out anew the value of field peas in
breaking up the one-crop system of
farming, under which the soil is not
only depleted but is lost to use dur
ing the fallow years. The report says
that field peas have been shown ta be
the most profitable of all the legumi
nous crops to grow in rotation with
grain, to increase and maintain the
fertility of the soil, that the equip
ment of the ordinary dry farm is
usually sufficient for the production
and harvesting of peas and that the
soil-suspension method of inoculating
the seed a simple process can be
employed successfully.
The conclusions of the experiment
ers are based on a four-year rotation
series, in which peas were substituted
for one Summer fallow, and in which
it is shown that the crop of peas was
a clear gain for that year. The aver
age yield of Spring wheat after crop
ping to peas was slightly greater
than that after Summer fallow, and
it is safe to assume that the soil was
left in better . condition for future
crops. Data as to moisture conserva
tion are also available, and show that
the percentage of moisture in the
ground after a crop of peas is higher
than after either wheat or corn, but
is less than after Summer fallow. The
crop following the peas, nevertheless,
would appear to gain in other respects
what it loses in moisture, for the net
results are encouraging to the contin
ued growing of peas.
. Significance of the experiments lies
in the bearing they are likely to have
on the utilization of the dry-farming
area for the production of meat ani
mals, the Sherman County work hav
ing been devoted to the dry-farming
aspect. Pasturing with hogs or sheep,
it is concluded, is probably the most
economical way of utilizing the pea
crop. But another important factor
is the freedom of choice permitted to
the grower. Field peas are regarded
as more profitable than grain for
"hogging-off," because they can be
followed either with peas or grain,
and profitable results obtained in
either instance without the interven
tion of an idle year. Thus the suc
ceeding crop can be adapted to the
growers' situation with reference to
livestock on hand, and to his judg
ment as to future markets. At the
same time, peas also make excellent
silage, especially when mixed with
grain orf the dry -farm. Pea hay
grown at the experiment station has
yielded an average of from a ton and
a half to two tons and a half to the
acre.
The field pea is not a soil robber.
This is shown by the fact that increas
ing yields are obtained after suc
cessive years of continuous production.
Its ultimate value, however, lies in
the place it fills in the rotation that
must be practiced If the states of the
West are not to go through the ex-
j perience of their older neighbors.
whose average of grain production
has been decreasing steadily, to the
point in some instances where profit
at normal prices is either exceedingly
doubtful or entirely non-existent.
WHY A FCEL SHORTAGE?
When one looks out over the wooded
hills of Oregon, one finds it difficult
to conceive of a fuel shortage in Port
land. Yet we are warned that such a
thing is likely to come to pass.
There is more or less persuasiveness
in the excuses given for the cordwood
scarcity. Men who formerly cut wood
are tilling the soil, because thev see
bigger profits in agriculture. Or the
men who once worked as woodcutters
are now engaged in more profitable
employment.
Yet sawmills dot the country. Many
of them are located in small settle
ments they themselves create. They
produce much waste material. It is
slabwood, but good fuel. What be
comes of it? The mill towns are not
big enough to consume a fraction of It.
It would seem that there need be no
real fuel shortage or even a scarcity
"sufficient to cause abnormal prices for
slabwood. Perhaps all that is needed
is initiative and enterprise to meet the
situation. If dealers do not move
there is still the municipality.
We are not forgetful that the city
of Portland once went into the wood
business with somewhat distressing
results. Yet that disaster was exag
gerated in the public mind through
discovery of theft or graft. The wood
pile was 1000 cords short of the
amount paid for.
It was not primarily a business ven
ture. It was an emergency enterprise
undertaken to care for a great num
ber of unemployed men. They were
paid more than current wages. It is
also overlooked that the persons who
ultimately paid the bill the citizens
of Portland got wood for $1 or $1.50
a cord cheaper than formerly as a re
sult of the city's competition. The
sums they paid out in taxes to pro
vide work for the unemployed they
put back into their pockets in the
saving on the Winter's fuel bill.
The fuel situation is commended to
the " attention of the City Council.
Food control is now popular. Why
not fuel control? With fuel going to
waste and other fuel merely await
ing the coming of the axman, a fuel
shortage in Portland would be an eco
nomic crime.
THE U-BOAT'S INFLUENCE IN WAR.
As the toll of ships taken by the
submarines rises and falls from week
to week, the nations arrayed against
Germany are subject to the alterna
tions of overconfidence and despair
that they will overcome '.he one men
ace to sea traffic. We cm best gauge
the U-boat's possibility of reducing the
allies to impotence by comparison of
their destructiveness with that of the
French privateers during the Napo
leonic war and of the American prl
vateero during the war of 1812.
In those wars the French ravaged
every sea, even to the most remote,
and one of them took 160 prizes. In
the two and a half years of the war
of 1812 American privateers took 1590
British vessels, one-third of them in
the last six months of 1814, or at the
rate of 88 a month. During the sev
enteen weeks of the unrestricted sub
marine campaign ending with June 17,
British losses totalled 350 large and
141 small vessels, or 491 in all. This
is at the rate of twenty-nine a week, or
1508 a year.
Though ships now average much
larger, they are now so much more
numerous that probably the present
ratio of losses to the total number of
British ships is not much greater than
it was in the last years of Napoleon's
wars, which coincided with the war
of 1812. Great Britain "stuck it out"
then, though her allies had few war
ships to aid her. Nearly all of the
allies have considerable navies, and by
close co-operation they should be able
to "stick it out" now.
An impression prevails that Britain
was self-supporting as regards food in
Napoleon's time, but it is erroneous.
Though the population was then only
one-third of what it now is and prob
ably a much larger area was producing
wheat, an average of 4,800,000 bushels
a year was imported during the Na
poleonic war and the stock was so de
ficient that in 1810 the price rose to
$3.60 a bushel and in 1813 to $5.33.
When we consider that the scale of
Incomes, both for the workingman and
the well-to-do, was much lower then
than now, those prices were relatively
much higher then than they would
be now.
Wheat at Chicago now ranges from
$2.14 for July to $1.87 for September,
and addition of freight to Liverpool
would make the price at that port
much lower than prices which pre
vailed in 1810. Price is a fair guide
to the sufficiency of supply, and it
indicates that the allies are having
better success in carrying wheat past
the submarines to British ports than
the British alone had in carrying it
past Frenoh and American privateers
a century ago.
It would be as great folly to assume
that the submarine is beaten because
in some week its toll runs low as it
would be to throw up our hands in
despair because in some other week it
has made a great killing. It is a new
weapon, and must be met with dif
ferent means of offense and defense
from those used against privateers. It
cannot be totally exterminated, but by
grimly applying all their energy and
ingenuity to the task and by keeping
everlastingly at it the allies should be
able to limit their losses by its oper
ation to a certain maximum which
will be well within their power to suf
fer without risk of defeat. It requires
a certain addition to shipments of food
and munitions as a margin for losses.
It adds materially to the cost of the
war and it buoys up German hopes to
continue fighting beyond the time
when they would otherwise confess de
feat. But if the allies keep after It,
the U-boat cannot win the war for
Germany. It may even aid -them by
keeping them keyed up to constant
vigilance and combativeness.
Acuteness of the shortage of fine
paper is emphasized by the warning
given by the Postoflice Department
that citizens employing the mails
should not use two postage stamps
where one will do the work. This ad
monition is made particularly for the
benefit of patrons of the parcel post,
who, if they are careful, will not use
ten 1-cent stamps instead of one 10
cent stamp, and so on. The fact that
it is more convenient to stick one
stamp on a package than a dozen or
so is only an incident of the situation,
the conservation of paper being chiefly
the object sought. The postoSice is
sues stamps of such odd denominations
as 7, 9, 11 and 12 cents, a fact that
many have overlooked. A few years
ago it would not have seemed neces
sary to call attention to so seemingly
trivial a detail as the saving of the
paper in a stamp, but we are rapidly
coming to economies in many departments.
The "abandoned farms" of New
England are responding nobly to the
call for food in the National crisis, as
was shown at the graduating exercises
recently of a country school In Green
wich Village in that state. On do
nated land, the pupils of this school
have planted five acres to oats, ten
acres to hay, and more than ten acres
to corn, potatoes, peas, beans and
other vegetables. There are also 550
hens, 1800 little chickens, nine cows,
eight pigs and other livestock. When
it ia considered that the work on this
really substantial farm is being done
by the boys and girls, having only the
supervision of their teachers, it will
be seen that much that is worth while
is being accomplished. The benefit
extends beyond the season and the
actual amount of food produced. It
will be enduring and in the years to
come will be reflected in the addition
al number of men and women who
have formed an attachment for the
soil and a new idea of the dignity of
agriculture.
The bureau of chemistry of the De
partment of Agriculture is making a
series of tests of preservatives for
cloth, with especial reference to their
value in conserving the canvas used
by farmers in protecting their ma
chinery against the weather. The rea
son for the bureau's activity at this
time is that the Government is ex
pected to need for its own use every
yard of cotton duck the mills of the
country are able to turn out, and it is
regarded as Improbable that private
consumers will be able to obtain suf
ficient supplies of certain grades at
any price. The necessity of conserv
ing farm implements of every kind
is also indicated by the probability
tha't the machine shops of the Nation
will be fully employed in the pro
duction of munitions of war. The
destruction of farm machinery by
exposure Is tremendous, and farm
ers not only lose money by their care
lessness but are confronted by the
same danger that when it is gone it
may not be replaceable.
No one wishes to dictate to the German
people the form of government under which
they should choose to live. From Lloyd
George's Glasgow speech.
Thus, in another respect, the Brit
ish Premier makes it clear that the
aims of the United States and' its allies
are the same not to punish the Ger
man people, but to make the world
better for them as well as for our
selves to live in.
An Assistant Secretary of Agricul
ture says the barnyard waste in the
United States amounts to $1,000,000,
000 yearly. He ought to be specific.
Barn refuse on the farm goes into the
manure pile, and the farmer who
wastes that does not last. What does
a bureaucrat know of these things,
anyway?
With a Dutch warship preparing to
convoy the merchant vessels of that
country through the war zone, and
Norway offering aid to the American
Red Cross, it looks as if the list of
open enemies of the Prussian autoc
racy was about to receive some more
important acquisitions.
The corporation that owns the mine
at Butte in which 164 men lost their
lives is arranging quick compensation
to the amount of $600,000 for depend
ents. It used to be said corporations
had no souls; now they do not need
them. It's just a matter of business.
On of the big bogies years ago was
the gold that included the French in
demnity that the Kaiser held in stor
age in a fortress in the middle of Ger
many. It was the money that would
finance the war of conquest when
"the day" arrived.
Chicago owes it to itself to remove
the stigma of being the sixth German
city in the world. It can best do so
by getting rid of William Hale Thomp
son, the Mayor who put the stigma
upon it.
Duluth police have released a wom
an I. W. W. agitator on her plea that
she wants to leave town, but this Is
certainly not a neighborly way to treat
the next town she will inflict herself
upon.
William H. Hohenzollern has not
yet seen the American expeditionary
forces. When he does he will reckon
them worse than the Canadians, who
"have went" some.
The enemies of Russia are saying
that the people are "drunk with de
mocracy," which is better. In the long
run, than being under the influence
of vodka.
American girls who contemplate
marrying to obtain European titles
will do well to wait until the per
manency of those titles has been guar
anteed. The man with a thriving back-yard
garden Is not worrying about the de
creasing purchasing power of money
when measured by tho vegetable yard
stick. An aristocrat bearing a German title
is less esteemed in England than the
humblest -London costermonger and
thanks the King for de-Germanizing
him.
Every man who has shot a Denny
pheasant can affoad to go a dollar on
the benefit proposed for the widow of
the man who brought the bird to Ore
gon. Slabwood will burn green, but it
rasps the cook. Get in your supply
early, that every street may remind
you of President Wilson.
The latest dream of municipality
makers is to set the maximum of city
population at 300,000. They should
tell it to Seattle.
When Congressman McArthur can
raise bull calves that sell for $320
each. Congress and politics seem like
mere diversion.
Director Campbell is all right. His
programme of the flrst band concert
tomorrow is full of patriotic airs. -
The Pacific Northwest apple crop
this year will be 23,500 carloads.
Watch the allies do their bite.
Of what benefit is a safety gate if
a man drives under as it descends?
It's a trifle cloudy, but there'll be
sun on Sunday.
Argument at Jim town.
By James Barton Adams.
There was sure a hot discussion in
the Redlight t'other day.
The arguments flew thick an' fast in an
excitin' way.
The question that invoked the language
battle bein' why
The Nation celebrated on the Fourth
day o' July.
Sport Tucker said it was the anniver
sary when we
Was first discovered by that dago from
acrost the sea.
An", glad that we was rescued from our
previous unknown state.
It ever since has been a day fur us to
celebrate.
Slim Snodgrass, who had studied law
an' never got a case,
Remarked in sneerln way that Sport
had slid clear off his base.
An dared him to perduce a bit o' proof
to the effect
His diagnosis o' the case was anyways
correct.
It was the day on which their boat was
tied up to the dock
An' pilgrim fathers stepped ashore an'
camped at Plymouth Rock,
An" that shows why the Jimtown Times
keeps prlntin' on that day
A Plymouth rooster crowin' in a glad
e,xultant way.
The way they quoted history an" Scrip
ture an' the law
Was fierce until a whisky travelln' man
from Omaha
'Twas sellin' the proprietor a bill o"
licker goods -
Said that historic knowledge hadA't
reached our neck o' woods.
Such ignorance was painful, an' 'twas
his opinion we
Was needin' missionaries more than
heathens 'cross the sea.
Fur every little school kid on this civil
ized o' earth
Knowed 'twas the anniversary o" Yan
kee Doodle's fc'rth.
His grlnnln' insult stung us in a painful
sort o' way
An' every feller In the gang rlz fur a
hostile play
An' told, him he ut.-l best evaporate, an'
do it quick.
Or he might be the victim when we
turned a lynchin' trick.
He said it was a joke, an' asked us all
to take a s v.p
Of inner consolation, but our flghtln'
blood was up
An' we made m pack his samples, an'
the way his tender feet
Hit the foot trail down the mountain
was a pleasurable treat.
Men Who Fall In Reserve Camps.
PORTLAND, June 29. (To the Ed
itor.) Please inform me what becomes
of the men who have been or will be
dismissed from the Presidio training
camp for physical defects? Will they
be accepted In any other branch of the
Army? What will they do with the rest
after the 650 officers have been chosen?
Will any of them be nubject to the se
lective draft? Are they not volunteers?
O. R. T.
Men dismissed from the Presidio Re
serve Officers' Training Camp for
physical defects presumably wl not be
considered physically fit for enlistment
In other military branches, unless their
defects are temporary ones. At the same
time the physical requirements for the
Reserve Officers are probably more
strict than the ordinary Army physical
examination.
if the men not chosen for officers are
of the age to come within the draft
(from 21 to 30 years, inclusive), they
will be subject to draft just as If they
had never attended the training camp.
Those who are over the draft age, of
course, cannot be drafted, but if they
can pass the physical examinations
there would be nothing to prevent them
from volunteering into the regular
Army, Navy, etc as private soldiers.
Probably many of them will return
home and resume -heir usual occupa
tions. Scottish Ship Canal.
Indianapolis News.
While the British and French nations
have come together in the matter of
the necessity and practicability of a
tunnel under the Channel from Dover to
Calais, a project to be taken up after
the war, another project scarcely less
important is now being seriously con
sidered. This is the Scottish ship ca
nal to connect the east and west coasts
of Scotland, the Clyde with the Firth
of Forth. This would mean the recon
struction of the present canal so that
it could accommodate the largest ves
sels. It is pointed out by the Edin
burgh Scotsman that by means of the
new canal the resources of the Clyde
could be utilized by the British fleet in
the North Sea entrance, instead of
sending ships to the north around Scot
land, and supplies could be sent direct
from the west coast by the same route.
Had It been In existence during the
riresent war. it is claimed that the ad
vantages to be derived from it would
have been of untold Importance to tne
North Sea fleet. The great Scottish
shipbuilding yards and factories are on
the Clyde. Such a canal. It Is advanced,
would be of greater advantage to Brit
ain than Is the Kiel canal to Germany,
and while useful In war would be
equally useful in time of peace for com
mercial purposes.
Very Slack the Same.
Illustrated World.
When Lincoln was still an Insignifi
cant country lawyer he had occasion
to travel to a small town to take charge
of a case. It was a drive of some 14
miles from the railroad station to the
town inn where he was to spend the
night. Wet and chilled to the bone, he
arrived at last, but, to his dismay,
found only a small fire built in the
grate, while standing about it, so as to
exclude the heat from the traveler,
were the other lawyers interested in
the case.
At length one of the group turned to
Lincoln.
"Pretty cold, eh?" he asked.
"Yes," replied Lincoln, "as cold as It
is hot in hades."
"Ever been to hades, stranger?" asked
another.
"Yes," replied Lincoln solemnly.
This raised a faint smile among the
other lawyers.
"What does it look like there?" they
asked.
"Very much like this," said Lincoln
dryly: "All the lawyers nearest the
fire."
Violations of Red Cross,
HILLSBORO. Or.. June 28. (To the
Editor.) Would The Oregonian please
state how many Red Cross hospital
ships have been destroyed by the Ger
man submarines, and also how many
ReJ Cross hospitals on or near the
battlefields have been bombarded by
the Germans? CHRIS PETERSON.
German submarines have sunk hos
pital ships operated by the British
government. They were not ships of
the Red Cross Society. We know of
no compilation of data on violation of
the Red Cross on the battlefield. En
tente reports make frequent charges
against the Germans In that regard.
Without Loss of Beaux.
Life.
Marie Willis (at the beach) Kit Is
quite a clever social general.
Jane Gillia Yes. She went through
last season's campaign without the loss
of a man.
WHEY TREASON DESERVES DEATH
No Analoary Between Sinn Fein Rebel
lion and American Civil War.
PORTLAND, June 29. (To the Ed
itor.) From Patrick O Halloran s let
ter on the Sinn Fein riots. I perceive
he lacks a good deal In perspicacity.
He is eager to Instruct me In Amertcan
history. He points to the leniency of
the Federal Administration in not pun
ishing the Southern leaders In the
Civil War. The analogy cited by the
writer proves his dullness. He fails to
understand, what is obvious enough,
that the Irish rebellion of 1916 bears
no resemblance whatever to your trou
ble in 1861-65. That was altogether a
case of internal warfare, a struggle
between two elements in your eco
nomic, political and social life. The
Irish rebellion of 1916. on the contrary,
was an attack upon Britain from with
in while the country was being most
fiercely and ruthlessly attacked from
without. In effect, the Sinn Felners
made themselves allies of Germany.
No sovereign power deals with spe
cial leniency in the case of rebellion
that, consciously or unconsciously,
gives aid to a, foreign foe. Things, no
doubt, would not have gone so badly
with the Irish rebels of 1916 if Britain
had not been at war. But under the
circumstances the British government
could not afford to trifle with misguid
ed but dangerous visionaries, such as
the Sinn Feiners were, when her very
life was threatened by a savage and
powerful external enemy. If Patrick
O'Halloran is capable of understanding
this point, doubtless he will realize
how foolish his argument against me
appears to a logical mind.
If my critic wishes a true compari
son between the Irish rebellion of 1916
and a possible situation In this country.
I will suggest one. Let him Imagine
the United States as having been at
war two years; thousands of your
splendid soldiers have been killed In
battle; scores of merchant and naval
ships sunk and their crews abandoned:
unprotected cities subjected to aerial
raids; noncombatant women and chil
dren by the hundreds slaughtered by
bombs dropped In the dead of night. At
this Juncture a rebellion of negroes, let
us say. breaks out, and its leaders set
up claims of National sovereignty on
the ground of racial difference. They
capture several cities and perhaps a
state. I need hardly say more to give
an inkling of what would happen to the
chief spirits of such a rebellious move
ment, especially In what you call "down
South."
The Sinn Felners attacked British
authority In Ireland when the whole of
the British Empire was threatened.
Does anyone In his senses suppose the
British are so stupid as to allow Ire
land to be converted Into an ally of
Germany? Ireland has a position of
immense strategic importance in the
North Atlantic Ocean. Great Britain,
as she values her position In the fam
ily of nations, can never allow Ireland
to be an independent nation, with her
harbors as so many bases for hostile
fleets. Not to put down the Irish re
bellion was the same as surrendering
to the Kaiser a step which we are not
yet quite prepared- to take.
Under such conditions to expect spe
cial clemency for traitors borders on
idiocy. If the Irish leaders were not
prepared to face the extreme penalty
of death, they should not have raised
the flag , of rebellion.
Patrick O'Halloran need have no fear
that I have any wish to Interfere with
the rights of free speech or a free
press in this countdy. I trust I appre
ciate sufficiently the hospitality that
has been extended to me not to abuse
it. May I suggest in turn that Brit
ish statesmen be allowed to manage
their itnernal affairs in their own way?
It Is hardly likely that resolutions
passed by the lower house at Washing
ton as a stroke of politics or letters
written by citizens of Irish extraction
to leading newspapers will have any
material effect on the domestic policies
of Great Britain. ROBERT MUIR.
Hashing Through School.
ASTORIA Or.. June 8. (To the Ed
itor.) Please tell me If It Is possible
to get a high school education In two
years' time; that is. are there any
schools, public or private, where one
could get a regular four years' course
in two years and where are thev lo
cated? AMBITIOUS.
We know of no reputable school
that professes to give a regular four
years' course In two years. In almost
any Institution, however, incessant ap
plication to study. If one has the re
quired stamina and mental ability, will
enable one to shorten one's period of
attendance. But to complete a four
years' course In two years would be
a big undertaking.
That Contented Feeling of Being
Well Informed Comes With
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN
There is no waste space in The Sunday Oregonian. Its news
service of all-the-world is prompt and authentic. Its special fea
tures and departments are mines of information and pleasure.
Its comics are clean and comical, as comics should be. It is first
in the field. Your newsboy knows.
WHAT IS OUR FIGHTING SONG TO BE Whenever Yankee troops
have gone into conflict they have sung some tune of irrelevant
lightness a very snap of the fingers in the face of death. The
men of General Washington's commands sang "Yankee Doodle.'
Into Cuba and the Philippines the troops of Spanish-American
wartime parried "A Hot Time in the Old Town." Bead Joseph
Jackson's speculative article on what may be the song of the light
hearted lads in this conflict.
KAUFMAN, THE UNQUENCHABLE There never yet was a prob
lem to douse the trenchant enthusiasm and fighting spirit of
Herbert Kaufman, whose Sunday page is a tonic for the weary in
spirit. Soon or late, if you follow him, youH find your own prob
lem, and its solution, on Kaufman's page.
OUR CHIEF COTTON PORT Just as much as cotton is needed to
clothe the children of men, so is it indispensable to the munition
business of war. It plays a major role in the freed force of high
explosives. Galveston, is our chief cotton port, and it is there that
Frank G. Carpenter, special contributor to The Sunday Oregonian,
analyzed the cotton industry and our exports to the allies.
THAT BIG QUESTION OF FOOD Here is a feature page for the
patriotic housewife. Its treatment of the question of kitchen
economy will enable her to aid in the conservation of food, without
giving rise to a single grumble from the family. They'll like it,
in fact. The woman who banishes waste helps to win the war.
FAVORITE POEMS PAGE Verses that have cheered for years, with
their direct heart appeal, find new and wider distribution through
the medium of the Old Poems Page, to which the treasured scrap
books of all Oregon pay tribute. An especially fine selection ap
pears in the Sunday issue.
FROM FAR PLACES A page of pictures, each with its paragraph,
taken in the distant parts of earth, wherever there was a "good
story," by the camera reporters. Such is the Sunday feature of
The Oregonian, which brings before its readers the 6cene as it was
clearer than words can tell.
SUCCESSFUL FURBISHING OF APARTMENTS This second
article of the series on home furnishings- deals with the ideal fur
nishing of apartments, and describes inexpensive effects that are
permanent and pleasing.
WITH THE CHURCHES Announcements for the services in all
Portland churches are to be found in the Sunday issue's special
church page. "Food saving" will be the timely text of many
patriotic sermons tomorrow. The weekly sermon is by Harold
H. Griffis, minister of the First Christian Church.
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN Just Five Cents.
In Other Days.
Tvrenty-Flve Years Ago.
From The Oregonlan of June 30. ISO 2.
The citizens of Mount Tabor Villa
met Tuesday evening and organised a.
volunteer fire department-
The steamer Wilmington has built up
a heavys business between this city kaI
Puget Sound and British Columbia
ports, and the arrival of the steamer
Hatien Republic to supplement her is
none 4oo soon.
Wallace McCamant will deliver an
address at the Young Men's Hall, at
First and Salmon streets, next Sunday
on "The Young Man for Citizenship."
The Union Pacific tug Wallowa wan
successfully launched at the Willamette
Shipyards at 4 o'clock yesterday after
noon. The tug has undergone extensive
repairs, including the installation ot a
new shaft.
Portland won from Seattle by a score
of 5 to 3 yesterday. Our town Is now
at the head of the Paciflo Northwest
League. The standings are: Portland,
.595; Tacoma, .600; Spokane, .466; Seat
tle. .422.
VALIANTS IN OLIVE GRAY.
Our boys are valiant, brave!
Boldly they dare the wave
Meeting the need!
Clad all in olive gray.
Valiants, our valiants, they
Go forth to join the fray.
Men must be freed!
Valiants Intrepid cry,
"We with red blood will buy
Democracy!"
To the far future time.
For the most distant clime.
This gift shall be
Men shall be free.
Valiants! declare the name.
Valiants! Shout loud the fame!
Never again the same
This world shall be!
They dressed in olive gray.
Challenge tho world to say:
"Men shall be free!"
Tyranny, thou shalt not last!
King craft! Thy time Is past!
Fair pay shall be!
Freedom, this is thy dayl
Thus in their olive gray,
Springing to arms they sayt
"Men shall be free!"
Heart nurtured passion flowers!
Our "bit" these valiants ours!
(Cease weeping, cease!)
These to this cause we give.
That In all lands may live.
Democracy I
Justice ani peace.
HARRIET HICKOX HELLER.
Now Hope for Lawns.
PORTLAND. June 29. (To the Edi
tor.) The Willamette Is too high;
water Is being pumped out of base
ments at great expense to the owners
of the cellars, and this flood la being
augmented dally by millions of gal
lons . of water that are running to
waste from the city water works. Yet.
notwithstanding this, our autocratic
and foolish management of the city
water system Insists that owners of
lawns should use water only every
other day.
If there was a shortage of water. If
the people were suffering therefrom
Instead of having an overabundance,
there would be an excuse for such a
foolish order.
Let us hope that now Daly is being
retired to private life, the new official
who handles the water question will
at once revoke this absurd rule and
not put it into effect again until either
the Willamette is running dry or until
there is a shortage of the supply from
Bull Run. WATER USER.
Hoover Born In Iowa.
OLYMPIA. Wash., June 28. (To the
Editor.) Kindly tell me whether or
not Herbert Hoover is a Belgian
Socialist. Mrs. Kate O'Hare. Socialist
lecturer, in a lecture here last night
said that Hoover was a Belgian Social
ist. Is she correct? SUBSCRIBER.
Herbert C. Hoover Is an American
engineer, born in West Branch, la. He
has operated in Australia, China and
Europe. For a number of years prior
to the war his home was in London,
but he maintained offices also in New
York and San Francisco.
No.
PORTLAND. June 29. (To the Edi
tor.) Would It be an offense to our
President or a liability to copy the
President's photograph and offer it for
,aie- SUBSCRIBER.