10
TIIE MORNING OliEGONIAN. TnUESDAT. JULY . 2G, 1917.
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PORTLAND, THURSDAY, JULY 20. 1917.
TIIE WEAKNESS OF RUSSIA.
It is impossible to exaggerate the
gravity of Russia's breakdown in its
effects on the cause of the allies. The
revolution and Its immediate conse
quences resemble the break-up of the
Roman empire. Taken as a whole,
the Russian empire was not a nation;
it was a nation to which had been an
nexed a number of conquered nations,
held together by the autocracy. With
the Czar the revolution destroyed the
bond which held these conquered na
tions to Russia. None of them feel
any obligation to defend Russia prop
er against the invaders and each
claims its independence. Poles, Finns,
Ukrainians, Georgians in the Cauca
sus, Tartars and Turkomans in Central
Asia, all are moved by this desire for
independence. At the same time, the
true Russians are so intoxicated with
their newly won liberty that internal
reform diverts their minds from de
fense against the external enemy.
They also find themselves engaged in
a. war begun for conquest by the au
tocracy, which is repugnant to their
democratic sentiments.
Here was the raw material for in
ternal dissension and for destruction
of military discipline, of which the
Germans were not slow to make use.
By pouring propagandists into the
country and by hiring thousands of
venal Russians, they incited dissen
sion, aggravated division and hastened
the process of disintegration. Nothing
but a strong central government, un
flinchingly supported by the loyal part
of the intelligent classes and by the
masses of the people, can stop this
process. Kerensky is endeavoring to
establish such a government by his
rule of blood and iron. He may stop
sedition by wholesale imprisonment
and execution of those who spread it
and of the German agents who incite
it. He may check the movements
for secession by giving to the con
quered nations pledges of autonomy
in a federal republic. At the same
time- he must bring the mutinous, de
serting and fugitive soldiers back to
their duty, and must do his best with
the troops which remain loyal to stop
the German advance, or at least to
make the retreat orderly and to save
artillery and supplies. It is a her
culean task for a man whose fiery
spirit inhabits a weak body.
If the Russian retreat should con
tinue until the Germans and Austrian,
penetrate into the heart of the coun
try, the latter would add immensely
to their stores of food and munitions.
If they should occupy Petrograd, they
would capture the great Putiloff Iron
Works and many munition factories.
The Russian Baltic fleot would be in
danger and, if it should be captjired,
the Baltic Sea would become prac
tically a German lake. The flank of
the Roumanian line would be turned,
and the Roumanian army would be
cut off from its base of supplies in
Southern Russia. The mouths of the
Danube would then fall into German
hands, and that river would be used
to send submarines and other light
draft vessels into the Black Sea. to
capture the Russian fleet and make
that body of water also a German
lake. A comparatively -short advance
from Galata would bring the Germans
to Odessa, the great grain port. The
coal and iron districts which supply
the Putiloff works are in Southern
Russia, several hundred miles farther
east. If Russia's resistance were to
break down utterly, the Germans
would have abundant food and war
material at their command and they
could obtain unlimited labor by en
slaving the people as they have those
of the countries they have already oc
cupied. As regards supplies, they
would be able to hold out indefinitely.
But the Germans admit that they
have not enough men to make so great
an advance, for their eastern line is
thinly held, they lack reserves to
strengthen it, much less to lengthen
it, and they dare not weaken their
western line for that purpose. If they
liad the troops, a further advance into
Russia's vast spaces would be fraught
with grave danger, for the Russians
excel in strategic retreats, in which
they carry off or destroy everything
worth having, and a large unit might
turn, cut off and surround a body of
Germans. An advance for a great
distance would strengthen Kerensky
uy raiiymg tne people around hihi
and unifying them, though Germany's
game is to divide them. It would use
material which is needed in the west,
where the allies are on the offensive
and are continually reinforced with
American troops and material. Hence
the present disasters may have no
decisive results adverse to the allied
cause, and may, on the contrary, have
the desired tonic effect on the Rus
sians. Nevertheless the Russian retreat
and confusion make all the more es
sential a vigorous offensive in France
anr Belgium. It imposes on the
American people the duty of speeding
up their movements to build ships, to
provide an air fleet, to hurry food and
troops across the ocean and to or
ganize new armies for steady rein
forcement of the western line. We
cannot afford to fritter away time and
energy on quarrels about ships and
food bills. Our civil population must
be kept constantly at work in pro
ducing all requisites for the allied
armies, and means should be found
to stop and prevent strikes. We have
a tremendous work ahead in supply
ing Russia and rebuilding the Russian
railroads as well as providing for our
own forces and the western allies. The
whole Nation should put ItsclX behind
the President, and he should call to
his aid the highest ability that can be
found.
BILLIONS.
The astute Senator Smoot took his
pencil in hand the other day and
made a little calculation on war ex
penses. He was Btartled to find that
America's war bill for the current fis
cal year will be the staggering aggre
gate of 114,226,000,000.
Now the mathematical gentleman
from Utah rises to correct his esti
mates. He finds he had omitted a
few trifling items, such as $500,000,
000 for the Shipping Board, $2,000,
000,000 for the allies and $150,000,
000 deficit in the executive depart
ments. The Senator now says that
his revised estimates bring the unheard-of
total to $17,000,000,000.
Let us see: Congress recently au
thorized an initial war expenditure
of $7,000,000,000 $5,000,000,000 in
bonds and $2,000,000,000 in certifi
cates. Now Secretary McAdoo says he must
have $5,000,000,000 more.
The amount to be raised by direct
tax is about $1,800,000,000. The total
thus in sight is $13,800,000,000. We
are still shy a few billions of the $17.
000,000,000 of Senator Smoot. Doubt
less he knows of some items of which
the public has not been apprized.
The public is not yet able to grasp
the tremendous significance of either
$13,800,000,000 or $17,000,000,000.
The difference between these huge
sums is" not material.
The public knows where these bil
lions are, to come from out of its
pocket. It is becoming important to
know who is to spend them, and how.
BrSY POLITICAL BRIGADIERS.
Forty thousand young Americans
the flower of the Nation have had
nearly three months of intensive train
ing to be officers in the new army
which is to go against the seasoned
veterans of a powerful enemy.
Twenty-five hundred families of the
Pacific Coast have voluntarily offered
to their Nation the services, and if
need be the lives, of their patriotic
sons, and they a part of the 40,000
are in training at the San Francisco
officers' camp.
Twenty-five hundred sons of Ore
gon the rising hope and chief reli
ance of the future state were yes
terday mustered into the Federal
Army and are soon to take their
places in the dangerous trenches of
France.
Three hundred and fifty thousand
other valiant young soldiers are now
being transferred from the National
Guard to the Grand Army of the
Union and are to see arrtt know what
war means.
A great new army of 500,000, or
more, valiant and true citizens have
been called to the colors through the
selective process.
Altogether, a million, and more, fine
and brave sons, brothers, fathers,
have rallied to the flag and are to
undertake the most heroic task yet
performed by America. They must go
through dtlnger, and fire, and blood
shed, and suffering, and many of them
are not to return. '
Now we hear ot a great rush of the
politicians to be Captains. Majors and
Colonels for this patriotic host. If
they have their way, the sons of
America are to be sacrificed to the
vainglory and inexperience of self
seeking job-hunters.
The fathers, mothers, sisters, broth
ers of America will have something
to say about political Generals and
Captains. They will not have their
sons and brothers led to war by
gilded pets of some Congressman not
if they can help it. They can help it
by getting into immediate touch with
their Congressmen and letting them
know what they think about it.
PROPRIETY IX TOMBSTONES.
Ever since the ancient Egyptians
designed the pyramid as a fitting
monument to the dead, the propriety
of various forms and embellishments
and the general question of "good
taste" in tombstones has engaged the
attention of artists and architects. It
is newly brought to notice by an arti
cle in Granite, Marble and Bronze, in
which a plea is made that desire for
novelty for its own sake be tempered
with stricter sense of the eternal fit
ness of things. The writer, linger
Klliott, devotes himself particularly to
the headstone, which greatly outnum
bers all other forms of memorials,
but he finds the subject quite large
enough to deserve serious considera
tion. Despite universal desire that
everything associated with the event
of death shall be conducive to the
highest thoughts, really satisfactory
examples of what a headstone ought
to be are rarely met with.
To the true artist, the proprieties
are everything, and it is probably true
that the average layman has a better
sense of innate right than he is aware.
The man or woman who only knows
that a certain form of vase is restful
to the eye, but does not know pre
cisely why, or who is offended by cer
tain color combinations and pleased
by others, but does not analyze the sen
sation, will be interested in what Mr.
Klliott has to say. The writer holds, for
example, that every consideration must
center around the facts that the head
stone is made to bear an inscription,
that, an inscription is a formal thing,
and that consequently the stone must
partake of this formality. So he would
exclude the rough-hewn stone, and
the one with polished face and rough
sides, and the stone tree-trunk, and
the polished' roll set upon a plinth.
Hearts and armless hands and other
products of the stone carver he con
demns without benefit of clergy.
The whole history of ornament in
architecture is bound up in Mr.
Elliott's warning against the seeking
after novelty effects for cemeteries.
The new may be beautiful, but more
(jiuuawj ic is not. xne laci mat the
seeker for it did not have beauty
uppermost in his consciousness counts
against realization of the desirable.
A beautiful woman would not be more
beautiful if she had two noses and
three eyes, although she would be
novel enough. Her beauty would
come from the perfection of familiar
features, not from their multiplica
tion, however ingenious it might be.
Our forefathers of long ago were con
tent to progress slowly. An altera
tion in a generation in the inherited
design was rather the exception than
the rule, and we still find it difficult,
if not impossible, to improve upon the
lines prescribed by the Greeks. So
we are advised to cling rather closely
to the old forms. Chaste lettering,
due relation of width to height, pre
cise placing of simple ornamentation
are necessary factors in creating the
exalted spiritual restfulness that
should confirm us in our belief that
there is peace beyond the grave.
Tourists who have visited Buffalo,
JT. T.t and have taken the sightseeing
trips prescribed for them will not
have forgotten a .noteworthy example
of sepulchral architecture, which we
think Mr. Elliott would not approve.
It marks the grave of a young man
who ended his life after an unfortu
nate love affair, and depicts in stone
his deathbed scene. It is novel, but
not inspiring, and so violates the high
canons ot memorial construction. On
the other hand, a simple headstone,
not an inch too wide or too tall, with
no- offending marks of overdecoration
and no adventitious and superfluous
ornament, might produce precisely the
effect desired.
Books have been written about the
curious epitaphs in the graveyards of
the world. It will not have escaped
observation that those which obviously
strove for the effect of newness were
the least satisfactory from every sober
viewpoint. It would seem to be Mr.
Elliott's purpose to show that as to
the material and design of the head
stone itself, the same fact holds true.
A STORY.
A great many years ago "a young
man who was engaged in the arduous
work of teaming ran across, on the
sage-brush desert lfcar Umatilla, a
stranger who was trying with a horse
to find his way to Pendleton and had
lost his way. The young teamster
took the wanderer in, found water
and food for man and beast, split his
blanket with him for the night, and
in the morning sent him on his way
rejoicing toward Pendleton.
A few months afterward, the young
man was in La Grande, and, being
of devout mind and spirit, he attended
church. There in the pulpit, in the
sacerdotal garb of a bishop, was his
friend of the desert. He. made him
self known to the - bishop and was
joyfully received. Later, the good
bishop, finding that the young man
was saving his hard-earned money to
get an education, offered to assist him
through an Episcopal college. He
was an Episcopal bishop. The family
of the young fellow was consulted,
and, being of another faith, the father
and mother thought it their religious
duty to decline. The son returned to
his team and the sagebrush, at $1
per day, until he had saved enough
to carry out his life's ambition. The
teamster-student, by perseverance and
worth, became an honored and loved
professor in an important educational
institution of Oregon.
Somehow we think of that little
Incident when we note the objection
to the consolidation between Forest
Grove and Albany colleges. One is
Presbyterian, the other Congregation
al. They are therefore to go forever
their separate ways.
BOOT OUT TIIE I. W. W.
Though direct evidence is. in the
nature of the case, unobtainable, the
prevalence of I. W. W. disorders gives
good ground for the suspicion that
the forest fires which have broken
out in the Northwest are, in some
cases at least, due to that organization.
Burning of forests is in line with I.
V. W. doctrine, and is the same kind
of lawlessness to which its members in
cline. The dry season naturally causes
some fires, but it is also good cover
for incendiarism in the forests. When
all the fir lumber which can be cut
is needed to build ships and Army
camps and when there is a great de
mand for spruce lumber for aircraft,
these fires- are more serious than
usual.
The danger is too great for further
paltering with the I. W. W. It has
given abundant proof of its defiance
of law and of having become the tool
of the enemy. Its existence should
be declared unlawful, and membership
should be held sufficient cause for
arrest and for putting men to work
under conditions where they can do
no mischief and cannot escape with
out imminent risk of wounds or death.
The country needs their labor- and
that of the men whom they incite to
strike without-cause, as well as the
property which they destroy. It can
get all of these by treating the organ
ization as a public enemy.
IRELAND'S CHEAT OPl'OlnTXITT.
If the Irish convention which met
Wednesday should agree on a plan of
self-government within the British
empire and if the British Parliament
should ratify it, those Irishmen who
may continue in enmity to England
will have no claim on the sympathy
of Americans. By submitting the
question of home rule to a convention
of Irishmen, Premier Lloyd George
has put the question up to Ireland
and has proved the sincerity of dec
larations made by himself and other
Britons that the obstacles to the real
ization of Irish hopes consisted not in
the opposition of the English, Scotch
and Welsh but in the divisions among
the Irish. If home rule should not
result from this convention, the fault
will not rest with England but with
Ireland.
Opposition of the Unionist clement
in Ulster to coming under the rule of
a Parliament at Dublin is not an in
superable difficulty in the way of
agreement, for it can be disarmed by
resort to the federal principle. The
beauty of that principle is that it is
applicable to small as well as large
units, and can meet just such a case
as that of Northeast Ulster. That part
of Ireland could be made one of sev
eral divisions of the island, each of
which would have a large measure of
self-government under a government
directing the affairs of all Ireland.
Each province could have reserved to
it certain rights, similar to those which
are reserved by our states, with which
the general government would be for
bidden to interfere. Northeast Ulster
could thus be secured from religious
oppression or discrimination, which it
fears, and could be ruled by its Scotch
Irish majority.
The most serious danger is not that
the convention will disagree but that
the Sinn Fein party will wreck the
whole scheme by continuing its de
mand for independence. That party
has proved so irreconcilable that it re
fused to participate in the convention
and it met the olive branch offered by
the government, in the release of rebel
prisoners, with riots and display of
the republican flag. It is not content
with home rule, as have the states
of the Union, but wishes to secede
from the Union after the example of
the Confederate states. The Ameri
can people are in hearty sympathy
with the demand for home rule, but
they have no sympathy with secession.
Ireland has been under the same gov
ernment as England for more than
seven centuries, the two countries
have many traditions and interests in
common and, with relation to other
countries, their highest interest would
be served by a common political head,
a common system of national defense
and diplomacy, with separate legisla
tures and local governments. By de
manding more the Siaa Fein stands
to' lose American sympathy for any
further Nationalist agitation.
One of Ireland's misfortunes is that
it no sooner comes within reach of
the object of Its desire than it grasps
after more and by so doing loses all.
It constantly loses the bird in the
hand by reaching after the bird in the
bush. Of late years there have been
evidences of more sober sense among
Irish leaders, but during the last year
the impracticable graspers after the
impossible seem again to have been
gaining the ascendant.
The term "well-known clubman"
is probably less distinctive in Havana
than in any other city in the world.
The city has a population of 350,000
and 125,000 men belong to one club or
another, according to the Bulletin of
the Pan-American Union, these fig
ures accounting for nearly every man
in the city, from millionaire sugar
planter to hodcarrier. One club has a
membership of 45,000. There is no
reason why a Havanan should ever
go home because he has no other
place to go. The Cuban club has the
social and recreational features com
mon in other countries, and some
other advantages, in' the way of mu
tual benefit and aid departments.
There are free night schools for mem
bers, for example; kindergartens for
the members small children, and free
hospitals and sanatoria. - Some admit
women to membership. What will
most surprise most Americans is the
fact that all these thingu are done
with dues averaging $1.50 a. month.
Boston is taking advantage of the
spirit that inspires women to take up
nursing as a profession in wartime by
pointing out the necessity for special
"industrial nursing" and providing
educational courses to that end. The
position of the specially trained nurse
in the large - manufacturing plant is
becoming one of increasing impor
tance, and is being enlarged to include
vocational studies, so that men may
be safeguarded not only as to their
health but also as to the chaj-acter of
employment for which they are best
fitted, physically and mentally. The
new nurse is also a sanitary scientist,
as well as a first aid in every emer
gency, and has succeeded in many
instances, so it is said. In proving that
she is indispensable to a large estab
lishment under modern working con
ditions. William Ellery Leonard's transla
tion of Lucretius' "In the Nature of
Things" is criticised by the London
Times because he uses such American
isms as "right there." Such expres
sions are considered not good literary
English and as being slangy, but why
should not an American render Latin
into his own kind of English, and
what is slang but the latest device for
forcibly expressing an idea? A search
would probably prove that many ex
pressions which were condemned as
slang in the eighteenth, or even the
mid-nineteenth, century are accepted
as good English today. Languages
grow with the needs of the time, but
literary pedants do not. They are the
Mrs. Grundys of literature.
The time is approaching when 'the
"boys" rejected at San Fqancisco "will
be coming home. That thcy did, not
get commissions is not to their dis
credit. They did their best in the
endeavor, and. once more in civil life,
they can be depended upon to do the
same.
A university woman lecturing here
on foods emphasizes the need of long
cooking for the legumes. Old-timers
who cooked the beans all night in a
dutch oven while on the big trek
knew this, but their descendants, using
modern ranges, need to bo instructed.
The lack of rain has passed the
stage of humor. Rain is needed, but
the skies remain clear and the farmer
is blue. There is a deficiency of
twelve inches, and nobody would ob
ject to a quarter of it in one day just
now.
A cherry tree at Salem produced
1500 pounds of fruit that sold for
$90. The woman who can figure a
fortune In one hen and a sitting of
eggs must turn her talents toward the
cherry tree.
If there is a burglar running around
with 500 pounds of dynamite stolen
from a camp in Eastern Multnomah,
he must be approached with caution.
Too sudden arrest will Bend him off.
Again have resolutions been Intro
duced in Congress "butting in" on
home rule for Ireland. President
Wilson will not take them seriously,
nor will Great Britain.
As the Government cannot supply
arms at present. Captain Deich might
train his B Company in the use of
fists for emergency work.
If there is not one, there should be
a law requiring cattle on a public road
to carry lights. The result of bump
ing a cow is disastrous.
The American dollar is below par
in Switzerland, but it buys a dollar's
worth at home, the best place to
spend it-
Villa is killing just enough govern
ment troops to get into print while
the big thing is on in Europe.
Portland streets were safe to pedes
trians yesterday. All the butcher
boys were at the picnic.
There was lack of enthusiasm at the
opening of the home rule convention
yesterday but wait.
It was a happy idea to put a spy
suspect under anesthetic at Miami to
hear him babble.
The Third Oregon loses its Identity,
but Oregon will keep trace of its
actions.
Not enjoying the benefits of the ref
erendum, conscription will go in Can
ada. The housewife is canning what she
can and making pies of the surplus.
For one day in the year the grocery
boy did not ask: "Anything else?"
The biggest picture of desolation Is
found in a neglected hopfield.
Where are the Summer apples and
attendant cholera morbus?
The home guards must drill with
wooden guns.
Seventy cents for ice or bust the
trust! .
The Serb Army Today.
It Fights on KxaertlMK- TIe. but
Intent That Country's Bill Shall
Be Paid.
The condition of the' Serbian army,
after nearly three years of the bitter
est experience undergone by any of
the entente allied forces, is described
by Herbert Corey, the war correspond
ent, in a graphic communication to
the National Geographic Society, a part
of which is Issued as the following
war geography bulletin from the so
ciety's Washington headquarters:
"The Serbs are the poor relations
of the allies. They are armed with
the old St. Etlenne rifle which the
French discarded. The artillery in
support has been cast from other
fronts. Their surgeons are borrowed
surgeons, for the most part. They are
uniformed and fed by the French, and
Great Britain loans them money. They
never have enough cars, even for staff
use. Sometimes they have not enough
food. But they always have enough
ammunition and they find enough
fighting for themselves.
"The Serbian army began the great
retreat of 1915 250.000 strong. Not more
than 150,000 reached asylum on the
inland of Corfu after the Winter's
fight through the snow-filled passes
of Albania and Montenegro. In the
confusion of those days someone had
forgotten. There was not sufficient
fobd or clothing or medicines or nurs
ing waiting them. Men who had
struggled through the Winter died on
the open beaches of the island of Vido-
"Dyin men dug their own graves
and then dug the graves of the men
already dead. Not more than half were
fit to serve again when the Fall cam
paign of 1916 began.
"It was a sad army bitter army
but not a despairing army that I ac
companied last Winter. Many of these
men were 'chcechas.' in the Serb
phrase. When a man reaches the age
of 40 he becomes "uncle" to his neigh
bors. Some of these men were in the
fourth line before the war.
"Serbia to the Serb peasant means
the little white cottage, the plum or
chard, the 10 acres of ground. Few of
them had been 50 miles away from
home when war began five years ago
in the Balkans. Fewer have seen their
homes since. They have received no
news from their wives and families,
for the Austro-Bulgarian censorship
had been extremely severe. They have
seen their comrades die. Most of them
three men out of five in some units
have been wounded at some time dur
ing the war.
"There were no songs upon the march
except during those vivid days when
the Bulgarians were being forced out
of Monastir. There was no light
hearted talk about the campflres.
There was no music except that now
and then one heard the weird and com
plaining tones of a one-stringed fiddle
which some patient soldier had made
out of the material at hand. They
kept to themselves or in little groups
of twos and threes. At night scores
of tiny fires would sparkle in the open
land on either side of the Monastir
road, where the paired comrades were
cooking their evening meal. They
marched badly, slowly, slouching, their
old shoulder bowed under their packs,
their grizzled faces deeply lined. Yet
these men were the cutting edge of
the weapon that bent back the Bul
garian lines.
"One division the Morava re
mained in the n?Kressive for 95 days
without rest. During that period they
had but one trench the front trench.
They had no second line, no reserve,
no rest camp.
"One regiment of the Cboumadla di
vision lost 1000 out of 14U0 men in
taking Vetternik Mountain, and then
held that mountain under fire from
the Rock of Bloc.d. which dominated
the summit, for 2 days until relief
came. Even then the men of the regi
ment which had been so nearly wiped
out did not go to rest. They stayed
on Vetternik.
"In the taking of Kaymnkchalan
half of some of the organizations were
killed outright.
"The Serbs were enabled to do these
things partly because of the experi
ence gained In five years of almost
continuous fishting. Another factor
was the spirit of the men. They no
lontrcr hoped for anything for them
selves. They expected 1o die. Those
who still remain expect to he killed
in action. But they intend that the
bill of Serbia shall be paid.
Bankrupt YVlth Forrlsn Rstate.
W11TTU SALMON. Wash., July 23.
(To the Editor.) A few years apro
there appeared in this Valley a man
claiming to bo the brother of Rob
ert Scott, the explorer. Ho borrowed
money here and principally on the
strength of his statement that hi.-
family had a large estate in Scotland
and that h had an estate in Scot
land worth IS7.O00. He also had more
tli nil $43,000 in money in banks in
America.
Can a man who has on estate In
Scotland be ndjudged a bankrupt in
Oregon? In other words, would not
his wealth in England and Scotland
he available to his creditors here?
Kindly state how these estates could
be made available to creditors in the
White Salmon Valley. I have taken
your paper for many years and take
this means of gettinir correct Informa
tion. A. G. STEIN WALT.
The steps necessary to enforce a
claim against an. estate in a foreign
country are so complicated and depend
so much upon facts as to the nature
of the American claims and the title
to the property under the English law
that you would need to consult a com
petent lawyer and lay all the details
before him.
Try This at Your Risk:.
Birmingham (Ala.) Age-Herald.
"My wife wants me to go shopping
with her. I don't see how I'm going
to pret out of it."
"if she were to send you back to
your office after less than an hour of
shopping and told you she would never
rake you on such an expedition asrain,
you would consider yourself repaid for
the trouble, wouldn't you?"
"Certainly. But how am I going to
do that?"
"Let her catch you flirting with a
fascinating girl clerk."
Vrnlt en Overhansrlnsr I.lmhs.
PORTLAND. July 25. iTo the Edi
tor.) I have fruit trees, some of the
limbs of which hang over my neigh
bor's property. Does the fruit on those
limbs belong to my neighbor or to me?
I'UKTLAN'DEK.
The fruit belongs to you, but you
cannot enter your neighbor's property
to get it without his consent. Neither
can your neighbor lawfully take the
fruit until it falls to the ground.
Liberty Not I.eft-Hnnded.
JOSEPH. Or., July 24. (To the Edi
tor.) There is a dispute on at Joseph,
Or., about the Statue of Liberty. Some
say Liberty is left-handed. I contend
she holds her torch in her right hand
in tae harbor of New York.
FRANKIE EARL MERRILL.
Authentic photographs !n the Port
land Public Library show Liberty hold
ing the torch in her right hand.
Yes.
MULINO. Or.. July 23. (To the Edi
tor.) Are Emma Goldman and Alexan
der Berkman, the anarchists, Russian
Jews? A SUBSCRIBER.
EIGHT WAY TO STUDY HISTOI1Y
"Books and Teachers Are bat Helps,''
bat Work Is Pupil's Own.
KLICKITAT, Wash, July 24. (To
the Editor.) I have been very much
interested in your recenf editorials
concerning Muzzey's -History of the
United States," particularly as I am a
Juno graduate of a Portland high
school and consequently have studied
"Muzzey." The editorials would nat
urally lead people to conclude that
present Portland students of United
States history must have rather a
weak foundation in this subject; per
haps have failed utterly to glean any
glory and nobility in our country's
making. The thoughtful reader is like
ly to consider it a serious charge
that of having sent forth hundreds ot
future citizens and prospective teach
ers poorly equipped in such a vital
subject. But let tne thoughtful one
be ct iforted. There was at that time
the type of individual, the so-called
student, who remembered that "his
books and teachers were but helps
the work was his." and who therefore
did not confine his historic scope to
Muzzey.
Such an individual found himself
daily provided with an outline and
splendid bibliography, which demanded
from two to four hours' careful read
ing and notebook wori.
Once the student made a bad mis
take by reading furthei than the les
son, but he found that nothing really
serious happened, so he tried it again,
only to discover that he received an
inspiration by so doing. He also took
active part In th-a daily periods which
were devoted to interesting discussions,
supplemented by an occasional im
promptu debate or special report. Oddly
enough, his history teacher proved to
be an interesting individual, who was
ever willing and enthusiastic in giv
ing aid or advice with regard to good
historical reading.
This student was odd. of course, but
he was neither bespectacled nor a
"sissy." On the contrary, I should say
he was Just sufficiently live. Weeks,
months passed. In due cou.-se of time
he was graduated, and. having met
with slight reverses, decided to rell
several books to the second-hand store.
Among them was a history book. He
felt that until he made a profound
study of United States history his 300
page notebook would suffice, and be
sides he had his historic "conscious
ness" to fall back upon.
Later he read a severe criticism of
the history which he had sold. The
student didn't doubt a word of it
neither did his parents nor their friends
only there was this difference. The
student knew why he had sold his his
tory but "they" didn't.
E. a. ROBERTSON.
LIMITATIONS OF" HUMAN MIND
Writer Says It Is Useless to Try to
Solve Certain Mysteries of Nature..
VANCOUVER. Wash., July 24. (To
the Editor.) A sermon by Rev. Will
iam R. Reece proves that he has taken
a long step forward. He eliminates
two sides of the eternal triangle, thus
reducing it to a line or plane. This sim
plifies matters greatly. It is given to
mortal man to realize that one is one
and that three are three, but the man
has yet to be born who may conceive
that one is three or that three are one.
While the reverend gentllman has
reduced a compound complexity to its
lowest terms, there is yet a wide field
of opportunity open to him. It is that
of describing, comparing or demon
strating this singular, unity in natural
terms and language such as may be
comprehensible to man.
It is idle folly to attempt to draw
man's sense outside nature. Man is a
natural being and cannot rise above
his nature. Therefore
Kly yotir kite, if you please.
Out of fiKlit let it so where It will on the
breeze ;
But cat not the one thread br which It Is
bound, bo it never so high, to tills
poor human ground.
Through the ages man has wandered
far afield and strayed outside the
realms of nature In vain search of so
lution of mysteries innate to nature,
of him It may be said
The huntsman has ridden too far in the
r Iihkp,
Aud cltrtc.-h and aerle and strange Is the
place.
Truly he has reached an unnatural
realm and has there acquired an un
natural sense which bodes no good to
nature's children.
And if "he heeds not the warning,"
Halt! Invade not the past, reckless child
of today!
And give not, oh, madman, the heart In thy
oreant
To a phantom, the soul of whose sense is
pOKSt-Mfd
By an uga not thine own.
Truly may it then be said of him:
And the gray morning sees, as it drearily
moves
O'er i land long deserted, a madman that
rovf s
Through a ruin, and seeks to recapture a
(1 rnt m.
Lost to life and Its uses, withdrawn from
the scheme
Of man's waking existence.
AMOS.
women Dmvi;ns not iv dem.vxi)
Problem of Special Care on Battlefield
and Behind Lines Is Too Complicated.
VANCOUVER, Wash.. July 24. ITo
the Editor.) Please tell me whether
there are any women ambulance drivers
in France now? Are there any special
requirements for a girl to be one?
Where would one living in Vancou
ver jro to train for a nurse? How long
do they train before they can go to
France? What is age limit. I mean the
youngest they will take for tralnins?
Would a letter to General Pershing
addressed Just France reaeh him?
SUBSCRIBER.
There Is no demand for women to
drive ambulances for the reason that
there would be a new problem of car
ing for them on the battlefield. Nurses
are needed for the hospitals, however,
and we suggest that you write to Dr.
K. A. J. Mackenzie, Corbett building.
Portland, for full particulars. In ad
dressing a letter 4o General Tcrshing,
address it merely General Pershing,
American Expeditionary Forces in
France. Do not attempt to specify the
town. Also put your return corner
card on the letter.
Kllinar on Timber Claim.
FOSSIL. Or.. July, 22. (To the Edi
tor.) Can a person buy a timber claim
and commute or pre-empt a homestead
without becoming naturalized?
OLD SUBSCRIBER.
-Anypne who is not a naturalized cit
izen may take up a timber and stone
claim by declaring his intention to be
come a citizen, but must have full citi
zenship papers to file on any other
kind of claim.
Some Verbal Agreements Binding;
PORTLAND. July 25. (To the Edi
tor.) Does a verbal agreement, where
money is involved, made in the pres
ence of witnesses hold good?
OLD SUBSCRIBER.
Some verbal agreements are binding;
others are not. Your case must be
stated more specifically.
Exemption of Homesteads.
PORTLAND, July 24. (To the Edi
tor.) Can a homestead be attached
for a store bill? SUBSCRIBER.
If the debt does not exceed $1500
the homestead cannot be attached.
Homesteads are exempt from any ex
ecution up to this amount.
.In Other Days.
Twenty-five Years Aero.
From Ths Oregoniaa of July 6. 1S95.
Oakesdale. Wash. What at noon was.
a beautiful, thriving city, one of the
most flourishing in the Palouse coun
try, is at this hour, S P. 31.. a mass o
smouldering ruins.
The City Hall commission held a
meeting yesterday afternoon In the
parlors of Ladd & Tilton's bank and
discussed bids for the construction of
the new City Hall.
"Washington. The possibilities of the
passage of the New Mexico. Arizona and
Utah admission bills is not good this
session.
St. Petersburg. Work is to be beirun
at the western end of the great Siberian
railway without delay. The first divi
sion, covering a distance of 7S7 versts.
will be ready for use. It is hoped, in the
latter part of the coming Fall.
The completion of the Worcester
block adds one more grand structure
to the numerous buildings lately con
structed in Portland.
The Falrview branch of the Citv 4i
Suburban Company's electric railway.
wnicn runs through w. S. Ladd'a farm
to Rosenthal's place, a distance of four
miles, will be put in operation today.
Half m Century Akto.
From The Oregonian of July 56. 1907.
St. Petersburg. An imrierial ukase
has been issued obliterating all polit
ical governmental distinctions between
Russia and Poland. The latter is ab
sorbed as one of the provinces of the
empire.
Berlin. Bismarck's official organ de-
nies that there is any probability of 4
war.
'When we have been ahnnf
wharves and have seen from half a
dozen to two or three dozen small boys
piuying aDOuc tne water. In skiffs,
floatinsr on nlankt lo
chunks of wood, we have often won
dered that there are. no trior o-ana Ae
drowning reported.
A report in some way became cur
rent on the streets yesterday that W. R.
Hill, familiarly known as "Buckskin
Bill." had been shot and killed in a row
at Salem on Wednesday. The ;report
could not be confirmed and is prabably
without foundation.
The Oregon State Teachers' Institute"
and Educational Association will hold
Its annual session in Portland, com
mencing on Tuesday. July 30.
SOUTH AMD THE BURDENS OF WAR
Prosperous Cotton Planters Ilrluctant
to Have Their Product Taxed. "
MOSIER, Or.. July 24. (To the Edi
tor.) The charge is openly made that
the Souh is not bearing her fair share
of the burden of war.
The motto of Southern statesmen
seems to be: "We caro not who fights
the battles of a cotintry so Ion or as we
may raise Its cotton at an abnormally
high price."
Just now the Soulh seems to bo In
the saddle, as it was in the early '3ns.
when National legislation was directed
almost wholly with a view of placating
snd phrasing that section of the coun
try. Cotton is selling at an abnor
mally high prit-e. but it must not be
taxed. The people were never before
prosperous and never before have
they shown a greater reluctance to
bear ther sharo of Federal burdens in
an emregency.
The charge Is made by Senator
Rrandegee, of Connecticut, that the
draft quotas have been unfairly
drawn, that they are greater in the
North than in the South.
Judged by the fisure presented,
there seems to bo much truth in th4
contention.
The Administration has receivei
littlo whole-hearted support from the
South or from states bordeiiii" on the
South, and they havo afforded nearly
all the opposition.
Senator Stone, who but a few days
ago said that an honorable peace at
any time was possible, meaning a peace
on German terms. Vnrdamun. Kitrhin,
Hoke Smith and Reed, who are throw
ing obstacles in the way of the food
control bill; Gore, who doubt the
rights of free people to the use of the
seas so long as the Kaiser objects:
all of them are Democrats and all of
them are disturbing elements. Is it
any wonder that in the matter of draft
they seek to shift as much of the bur
den of fishtinjr on the North as pos
sible, just us in the niHtter of taxation
they make other sections of tho coun
try pay.
They have the majority and they
are using it to tiieir own advantage.
SUBSCRIBER.
UOXT LET JOH KI(i ECCAI'H
Questions Before American People I n
vite Answer Kmra !pirlt World.
VANCOUVER. Wash.. July 23. (To
the Editor.) While the spirit trappers
of londou have a line on John Kins:,
erstwhile Morgan, they should belay
and holrl fast.
He should not be allowed to slip his
cable before we of the United Stated
get a chance at him.
His ready, curt and emphatic state
ment that things in the North Sea were
"wet" proves that ho knows a thing
or two.
Now the question uppermost in tho
mind of each and every American to
day is: Why is a United States Senator?
Possibly the notorious freebooter might
answer "wet." If such were his answer,
it would cause a revolution In Amer
ican sense, as the general conception
today is that they are demonstrations
of God's reckless carelessness ill han
dling structural materials.
J. HAROLD.
Recruiting: of Foresters for France.
FALLS CITV, Or.. July 24. (To the
Editor.) Please send me particulars
in regard to the foresters, as I am
thlnkintr of Joining them. I would likej
to know when they co to France.
HATHAWAY BUELL.
The Tenth Reserve Engineers' Rcgl-
ment is now beeing recruited by the
United States Forestry Service for duty
behind tho lines in France. The en
gineers will be in complete charge of
the French forests, will preserve therm
as much as possible and will supply all
the trench timbers and railroad ties
required by the allied armies.
Recruits must pass the regular Array
tests and in addition be experienced
timbermen, teamsters, millwrights,
blacksmiths or cooks, jr. L. llerritt, 40S
Beck building, is In charge of the re-
cruiting for this district.
Child of Divorced Parrents.
PORTLAND, July 25. (To the Edl-
tor.) In the case of a girl of 14 years
awarded to the mother at time of di
vorce a year ago, can the girl choosa
now and go to the father?
SUBSCRIBER.
The girl cannot go to her father
without an order from a court of prop
er Jurisdiction. After she becomes of
age she may choose which parent she
desires to remain with, but until that
time she is under the control of her
mother unless she obtains a formal or
der from the court, . ; . , ... . t . j