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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1917)
3 RUTHTON BURNED; BRANDS SET FIRES LISTER REITERATES 8-HOUR DAY STAND 4 EX-SENATOR. AND ONE-TIME CANDIDATE FOR VICE PRESIDENT, WHO DIED YESTERDAY. r O Y Town Is Wiped Out for Third Time, Trains Held Up and Wires Are Melted. Washington Mills Are Asked to Take Lead in Predicted Nation-Wide Move. - V THE 3IORNINO OltJitiO JN IAN, SATURDAY, ALKiUST 18, 1117. COLUMBIA HIGHWAY SHUT People Flee to Hill Overlooking Burning Somes and Take Fur niture to Safety Water Supply Is Cut Off. H06D RIVER, Aug. 17. (Special.) Tor the third time tn its history the 30-year-old town of Ruthton. an O.-W. R. & N. station and home of a big planing1 mill of the Stanley-Smith Lumber Com pany, burned early tonight, the fire entailing a loss of more than $25,000. The fire is thought by families resid ing at the lumber station to have been started by a passing train. It was dis covered about 6 o'clock, a small blaze on a loading platform. Several weeks ago a large flume used In transporting lumber from mills In the southwestern part of the county was partly destroyed by a forest fire, thus eliminating a water supply that had it been available could have been used In extinguishing the small blaze. Wind Carries Brands to Hood River. -a. strong west wind soon carried the flames to the main plant and thence to surrounding fir trees, office struc tures and homes. The wind carried dead brands as large as a man's hat three and a half miles to the streets of Hood River. A culvert on the line of the O.-W. R. & N. Co. was fired and trains were held until late tonight. The plant and loading station were situated for a distance of several hundred feet along the railroad and ties were Ignited. -A long stretch of the long-distance trunk lines of the Pacific Telephone Company were melted down and put out of commission. Traffic for the night over the Columbia River Highway was blocked. Furniture Hauled Away. Most of the surrounding mill town residences were vacated, the plant having been Idle since last year when the lumber company went into the hands of a receiver. The few families residing at Ruthton had time to re move their furniture, which was hauled in automobiles and trucks to a place of safety at the top of Ruthton hilL Members of the local volunteer fire department responded to the alarm and hurried to the fire, but with no water supply available little could be done. Shacks were dynamited in an effort to stop the progress of the fire which was witnessed by hundreds of local people who Journeyed to the top of Ruthton Hill in automobiles. Live brands carried by the wind set numerous fires in woodland patches along the Columbia Gorge for nearly a mile ast of town. It could not be ascertained tonight whether the loss was covered by in surance. On one occasion when Ruth ton burned, 2,500.000 feet of lumber was destroyed. The lumber loss at to night's fire was light, most all stocks having been shipped. FIRE FIGHTERS OX STRIKE Blazes ear Hood River Spread and Alarm Is Felt. HOOD RIVER, Or., Aug. 17. (Spe cial.) With crews brought from Port land to fight upper valley fires on a strike, and the burns of the Lost Lake country assuming such alarming proportions that all camp ers have been ordered to move out, heavy clouds and a southwest wind. Indicating Imminent rain, bring a ray of hope tonight to forestry officials, who for the past week have been bat tling to control the fires threatening the National Forest on the northwest base of Mount Hood. Unless rains come quickly, fear Is expressed that the fire will get away and result in one of the worst forest devastations ever experienced in Hood River County. The upper valley fire has covered a wide area and men have been busy several days digging a five-mile trench to stop the run of the flames over tinder-like mulch covering the earth. The striking men, numbering about 12. who say they could not stand the attacks of mosquitoes, and with com plaints against food furnished them, arrived out of the woods at Parkdale today. RABBI ELMAN WILL SPEAK Denver Man Is In Charge of Relief of Tuberculosis Victims. Rabbi A. Elman, of Denver, in charge of the work of the Jewish Consumptive Relief Society, will speak this morning at 10 o'clock at the Hall-street Syna gogue on the topic, "A Lesson From the War." Rabbi Elman Is making his usual oc casional visit to Portland in the inter est of the work in which he is engaged. Locally. Ben Selling and N. Mosessohn V represent the work. Headquarters of the society are at Denver, with a sanatorium for Jewish people at Edgewater, Colo. Since 1904 over 2600 cases have been admitted to the sanatorium. You Can Shake Loose From the Tor tures of Rheumatism By using S. S. S. The germs of Rheumatism are In the blood, which Is laden with millions of the minute demons of pain, causing untold suffering and bringing Its vic tim from vigor and strength to almost helplessness. To get real and genuine relief from this disease, these disease germs must be completely routed out of the system through the blood. S. S S. has been used for fifty years with satisfactory results in the treat ment of Rheumatism. It acts directly upon the blood, which it promptly purifies of all disease germs. It is a powerful antidote, and eliminates from the blood all trace of rheumatic germs, building up and strengthening the run down system. Write today to our medical director, who will give you valuable advice re garding the proper treatment of your own case. Address Swift Specific Co, Dept. E209. Atlanta. Ga. Adv. - ' " JOHX AV. SENATOR KERN DIES One-Time Candidate for Vice Presidency Succumbs. RACE RUN WITH BRYAN Death Comes In Asheville, N. C, After Lone Career In Public Service, Beginning With Term In Indiana Legislature. ASHEVILLE, N. C. Aug. 17. Ex Senator John W. Kern, of Indiana, and Democratic nominee for Vice-President in 1908. died here tonight. He was 68 years old. Mr. Kern, who came here a week ago to recuperate, died of uremic poison ing. With him at the time of his death were Mrs. Kern and Mrs. George B. Lawson, a daughter, of Roanoke, Va. Funeral arrangements have not been made, but the body will be taken to morrow to Hollings, Va., the Summer home of the late .Senator. John Worth Kern, who was candi date with W. J. Bryan against William 11. Tart in the Presidential election in 1908. was born at Alto, Howard County, Indiana, December 20, 1849. He re ceived his preparatory education at the Kokomo, Ind., High School, got a de gree of bachelor of laws from the University of Michigan in 1869. In 1870 he married Miss Minnie Hazzard. of Kokomo, and the year following her death, in 1885, he married Araminta Cooper, also of Kokomo. Mr. Kern practiced law In Kokomo from 1869 to 1885, and after that date in Indianapolis. He was City Attorney of Kokomo for six terms from 1871 to 1884 and was a reporter from 1885 to 1889 and edited and published volumes 100 to llfi of the Indiana Reports. Mr. Kern entered the political life of the state of Indiana in 1893. when he was elected a member of the Legisla ture. He served until 1897. He was special assistant of the United States Attorney in 1893-4 and was City Solic itor of Indianapolis from 1897 to 1901. He was the Democratic candidate for Governor in 1900 and 1904 and received the party vote for United States Sena tor in 1905. Defeated for the Vice-Presidency in 1908, he sought the United States Sena torship in 1911 and was elected for the term ending in 1917. He was the ma jority floor leader in the Senate In 1911-15. PIRACY IS BAR TO PEACE (Contlnoed From First Page.) pentant and have shown it by word and deed. "In writing this note the Pope obvi ously felt the importance of not taking sides and of maintaining an absolutely impartial attitude. Yet I cannot help feeling surprise and sorrow that the note says nothing of certain outstand ing outrages committed in this war which have done more than all else to make it impossible for Germany's ene mies to trust her or to treat with her. "An attitude of impartiality need not have prevented the Pope from pointing out and deprecating these outrages. Impartiality should mean Justice. In arbitration between a wolf and a lamb the Judges are not precluded from de nouncing the devilish tactics of Mr. Wolf. The subjects I should have liked to have seen mentioned by the Pope are the invasion of Belgium, the ruthless submarine warfare and the Armenian massacres' PARIS, Aug. 17. The impression gathered in well-informed circles here is that the peace proposal of Pope Benedict has not modified the situation from the viewpoint of the entente al lies, who have no reason to depart from the attitude they outlined in reply to President Wilson's peace note. No New Issues Passed. The pontiffs document will be con sidered with the deference due to the personality of the author, but not with the idea that it necessarily calls for a reply, because it raises no new issues and simply seeks to put th belligerents in the position they occupied at the be ginning of hostilities, which, it is point ed out, is an absolute impossibility. Particular stress is laid on the mo ment chosen for the sending of the note when the military situation on the Russian and Roumanian fronts temporarily is favorable to the central powers and on the proposition of the Pope to leave Belgium and France to restore their own devastated regions while Germany, with the agricultural and industrial machinery of which she has stripped those regions, would enjoy a crushing economic superiority for years to come. This Is considered the fatal defect in the Pontiff's plan that the allies would be precluded from economic measures for their protection against the Cen tral empires, while Germany would be allowed to profit from her invasion of Belgium and Northern Franca. The plan foe the settlement of the ' 1 t T , 1 ' V , 'S r. KERN. case of Alsace-Lorraine, Trent and Trieste Is contrasted with the propo sition regarding Poland, the latter seeming to accord perfectly with the plans of the central powers while the former is regarded as likely only to de velop an interminable diplomatic em brogllo. The humanitarian reasons for the Pope's action are admitted and appre ciated, but they are considered short sighted as it is stated that the peace proposed is so unstable as not to guar antee its duration beyond the time necessary for the belligerents to re cover from the wastage of this war and prepare for another. It has been stated that the real interests of humanity re quire a decisive result in this war, which, it is held, alone can prevent another. Press Decidedly Cool. The peace proposals of Pope Bene dict have met with a cool recep tion in the French press, which complains that they are vague and es sentially political. Newspapers which, without being clerical or Catholic, are not satisfied. The Eclair, strongest clerical morning paper, limits comment to speaking enthusiastically about clauses in regard to arbitration and society of nations. The Figaro says the Pope's note will eventually cause the central powers to set forth their war aims, those of the entente being already sufficiently well known. WASHINGTON DIGESTS PL.W Secretary Lansing and President Want Time for Consideration. WASHINGTON. Aug. 17. That the Government is determined to give Pope Benedict's peace proposal the most de liberate and painstaking consideration before framing a reply was evidenced again today by developments both at the White House and the State De partment. The Cabinet, holding its first session since the note arrived, avoided any general discussion of the subject, be cause President Wilson is understood to feel that there must be a. search ing analysis of the questions raised before such discussion would be prof itable. Secretary Lansing and his advisers, on whom most of the responsibility for making this analysis will rest, con tinued their study of the Pontiffs sug gestions, with every indication that it probably would be several days before any concrete step could be expected. As the declared purpose of the Pon tiffs note was to present a concrete basis for negotiations, it is regarded as highly essential that the exact meaning of every phrase be carefully weighed, keeping in mind that in the event the United States concludes to entertain the proposals it will find itself irrevocably committed in the negotiations by the constructions giv en at present. it was said at the State Department that the peace proposals were being quietly "digested." a process which would not be hurried, and that it was not possible to predict when an answer could be returned. Within a few days exchanges are ex pected between Washington and the entente capitals and perhaps between Secretary Lansing and the diplomatic representatives of these powers here. Official opinion inclines to the belief that there will be a separate reply from each nation rather than a joint response, as forecast in some foreign despatches. There are peculiar condi tions, some of them political, some semi-religious, in most of the entente countries, which, it is believed, will make it desirable for each of the gov ernments to use its own processes of logic in its reply. POPE PEACEMAKER, XOT JUDGE Seml-Official Statement Explains Omission of Comment on Atrocities. ROME, Aug. 17. A semi-official state ment issued today says the Vatican considers the reproach of a portion of the press that the Holy See has not condemned violations of the law, such as atrocities committed, is unjust, since Pope Benedict, faithful to his prin ciple of impartiality, in his note had the intention of acting as peacemaker and not as judge, and also because he lacks the necessary powers to do so. No peacemaker, the statement adds, would have the faintest chance of suc cess If he began by trying to prove which side is right and which is wrong. The Pontiff went as far as possible, the statement continues, to make un derstood what his feelings are without risking the failure of his proposal on the rocks of Austro-German ill-feelings. Besides, it concludes, the papal proposals were in solemn condemna tion of. those responsible for the war methods ' adopted and the barbarities committed. The Giornale d'ltalla expressed the hope that the voice of the Pope urging peace will be accompanied by the sound of the cannon of the allies from Flan ders to the Gulf of Triest attacking the army with renewed ardor. "Nobody can say that the Pope's peace proposals aim at a German peace," says the Tribuna, "but one must ask whether the Pope acted really on his own initiative or through sug gestions and pressure from the central powers. Still, the conditions contained in the papal note certainly do not par ticularly favor the central smpirea."- t REOPENING DECLARED DUTY All Demands for Lumber Should Be Supplied and This I Possible Only by Granting Labor's Re quests, Says Governor. OLT5IPIA, Wash., Aug. 17. Declar ing that in the present crisis it is the duty of the Washington lumber in dustry not only to supply the needs of the Government, but all demands for lumber and asserting his belief that the eight-hour day must be granted to the lumber workers before the Western Washington strike can be settled, Gov ernor Lister today replied to a com munication sent him yesterday by the West Coast Lumbermen's Association. His reply is addressed to E. S. Grara mer, chairman of the Lumbermen's Protective League. Reasons Are Set Forth. The Governor says that his reasons for requesting the lumbermen to grant their employes an eight-hour day were: "First The strike in the lumber in dustry, which has continued several weeks, has resulted in reducing the output of this, the most important of the state's industries, to a small frac tion of its actual capacity. "Second Efforts have been put forth by public spirited citizens, by the State Council of Defense and by. Federal authorities, to obtain adjustment of differences and resumption of normal activity in the lumber industry, with out avail. ResnmptiOD Believed Duty. "Third I cannot feel that the state of Washington is rendering the service to the Nation that it ought in this crisis, by continuing a condition under which large numbers of industrial plants are idle, and thousands of men out of em ployment, and I would not be doing my duty if I did not put forth every pos sible effort to bring about an adjust ment of differences. "While your letter and statements, published in the press during the pres ent week, state that every call of the Federal Government for lumber re quired in building ships and aero planes, and in the construction of can tonments, has been met, or that it is possible to supply the demands of the Nation without delay, it is equally true that statements have been made by those speaking for the lumbermen to the effect that the needs of the Na tion represent less than 7Vi per cent of the lumber-producing capacity of the state. "I maintain that in this crisis It is clearly our duty also to produce lum ber to supply the other 92 per cent of the demand." To the lumbermen's declaration that lumber workers are now receiving a higher wage than ever before, and that the industry could not pay a higher wage and continue to exist, he replies: "I personally believe that it was easier for a laboring man to support his family of four or five on $2 or $2.25 a day in 1913 than it is at the present time to support the same sized family on $3 or $3.25. In 1913 it was possible to purchase a barrel of flour for but little more than now has to be paid for one sack of flour. Then many kinds of canned goods were purchased at three for 25 cents. Today the same kind of canned goods cost 25 cents a can. Rise Declared Necessary. "I might go on at length and call your attention to other instances show ing the marked increase in cost of liv ing. Is It not possible that the high prices which have now to be paid for almost all supplies entering into the care of a family has much to do with the present feeling of unrest that ex ists? I cannot but feel that this makes necessary the payment of larger wages than were paid in 1913. "It is also true that during the pres ent year there has been a marked in crease in prices obtained for lumber by operators. "Regarding tho eight-hour day and the vote recorded on the initiative bill in 1915, at which time establishment of a genera-i eight-hour day did not receive the approval of a majority of voters of the state, I beg to say that it is equally true that In many, many lines of industry the eight-hour day has long been established and senti ment in favor of its establishment in the lumber industry has steadily de veloped. I think that if the proposi tion of establishing an eight-hour day in the lumber industry in the state of Washington were today placed before the voters it would carry by an over whelming vote. Lead In Short Day Asked. "I agree with you that the situation would be materially clarified if it were possible to have an eight-hour day in the lumber industry in every section of the United States and will join with you in doing everything pos sible to bring about this condition. I may say, however, that in the state of Washington we are now facing a condition demanding immediate atten tion. I cannot feel that it will be pos sible to bring about a satisfactory ad justment of present differences with out the eight-hour day being recog nized now. "If the lumbermen of Washington will realize this condition and accept the eight-hour day, the Nation-wide movement will be given an impetus that will bring about its establishment at a much earlier time than would oth erwise be the case. I may add, too, that I cannot but feel that there will be almost, if not fully as great, an output from our logging camps and mills under ttie eight-hour-day plan, with satisfied employes. h will be the How to Kill Competition Someone saici "The way to kill competi tion is to create something too great for competition." Chamberlain's Tablets for indigestion, biliousness and constipation is a good illustration of this. They have been imitated but we have not met their equal. . Ifff case in 10 hours with the rou feeling they ought to have the eight-hour day. Satisfied and loyal employes have much to do with the output of any plant. I. W. W. Activity Discounted. "While It may be true that the so called I. W. W. organization has had much to do with strikes in the lumber industry, I cannot agree with you in the proposition that all of the present troubles can be attributed to organizers of the I. W., or that no favorable re sults can be attained by acceding to some of the demands of those who are now on strike. There are thousands of men who would, in my opinion, immediately return to work if the eight-hour day were granted by the employers. "It seems to me that one of the best methods to pursue in bringing about a solution of the I. W. W. problem, to which you refer, is to concede to those employed in the lumber industry the points for which they ask and which in justice ought to be granted, and thus alienate from their leaders, to whom you refer, thousands of follow ers, who are only followers for the reason they have felt that the only way to obtain these concessions was to affiliate with this organization. "I am still strong in the conviction that there must be an early settlement of the labor troubles now existing in the logging camps and lumber mills. I cannot feel that this adjustment will be possible without recognition of the eight-hour day and sincerely hope that the lumbermen of the state of Wash ington will reconsid r the position they have taken and accept the eight-hour day. and that employes will join with operators in starting up the greatest of the state's industries." MR. BENS0NAT ROSEBURG Plans for Improvement of Pacific Highway Are Discussed. ROSEBURG, Or.. Aug. 17. (Special.) Simon Benson, chairman of the State Highway Commission, and John B. Yeon, roadmaster of Multnomah Coun ty, reached Roseburg today and con ferred with the members of the County Court relative to the proposed improve ment of the Pacific Highway in this county. They will leave here tomorrow for Crescent City, Cal., where they will attend a. meeting of the Governors of Oregon and California with reference to the establishment of a military road along the Pacific Coast. If constructed, the road would con nect with the Myrtle Polnt-Roseburg highway in Coos County, according to Mr. Benson. Mr. Benson said the improvement of the Pacific Highway in Douglas County will go ahead as soon as bids are re ceived for the work. B GLARING LIGHTS THEME POLICE CHIEF, DEALERS AND OF FICIALS CONFER. Committee Will Meet Next Week to Test Automobile Lamps and Various Types of Lenses. Chief of Police Johnson held a con ference with several leading automo bile dealers and public officials yester day for the purpose of appointing a committee to determine measures to be acted upon in regard to glaring headlights on automobiles. No action, other than appointing a committee was taken yesterday, al though it was recommended that a light no stronger than 36 candlepower be permitted. The committee will meet at Park Ml. Adams Country for change of air and water. Two and one half hours' rail trip to these great resort sections on The North Bank Road. Leave beaten paths rest the mind and tune up the body for stressful times ! Camps, ranch inns, hotels, whose tables are filled from a land of plenty. Mineral waters that make you well. Rest retreats for the sick and tired. Beautiful streams, inhabited by gamy trout, chant their way through endless noble forests ; splendid trails, easy mountain roads, numerous natural wonders, curious places to visit. TO CARSON $2.20 Week-End $3.00 29 Days Hot and Cold Mineral Springs TO WHITE SALMON $3.00 Week-End $3.80 29 Days City Office 5th and Stark Station 10th and Hoyt Your New Clothes Have Arrived Right now is high tide in the boys' shop Truly, "you can't see over some of these stacks of new Fall clothes that have been com ing in. We've unpacked every box, and put every suit in its place, and now all is ready for you boys your fathers, your mothers to come and choose. I have made generous provision for clothing Portland boys this Fall. A remarkable stock will greet. you here. Whatever has been found worthy in fabric has been tailored into becom ing styles. There is not a boy in town that can't be suited here. I show scores of new suits in nobby tweeds, cheviots, cassimeres and novelty weaves gray mixed, green mixed, brown mixed dozens of attractive color combinations that you'll have to see to appreciate fully. I want every father and every mother to know that I guarantee every boy's suit to give satisfactory service. Each suit has two pairs of full-cut, full-lined knickers. Each suit is thorough in workmanship and correct in style. The price range is broad enough to meet every desire. $5, $6.50, $8.50, $10 $12.50, $15, $16.50 The Boys' Shop, Second Floor Elevator C 11. MonisorialRiirtM and Hoyt streets next Wednesday night for the purpose of testing the various headlights and lenses submit ted for their approval. The committee appointed by Chief Johnson consists ot Sheriff -rlburt. John Yeon, state roadmaster; 31. P. Colfin, chairman of the Safety First Commission; Frank Watklns, president of the Oregon Moto- Association; M. O. Wilkins, president of the Automobile Dealers' Association; Charles Wright, of the firm of Ballou & Wright; A. B. Manley, of the Manley Auto Company, and T. H. Murphy, illuminating engineer of the Portland Railway, Light St Power Company. New York Commercial Is Sold. NEW YORK, Aug. 17. The New York Commercial, one of the oldest business and financial newspapers in the country, has been purchased by Russell E. Whitman, the managing di rector of the Audit Bureau of Circula tions. The retiring owner is M. P. Moseley. ' Go Up Into the d R iver. and