10
THE 3IORNING OREGOXIAU, TUESDAY. SEPTEMBER 4, 1917.
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POBTLAND, Tl'ESDAT, BEPT., 4. 1917.
A STRIKE T
It Is somewhat significant that on
the day after the Metal Trades Coun
cil in Seattle called off a shipbuilding
strike set for September 5, the execu
tive committee of the Metal Trades
Council in Portland called a strike
affecting shipbuilding plants in this
city for September 7. The Seattle
strike has not been settled by grant of
any specific demand made by the em
ployes, but the strike order has been
withdrawn as a result of mediation by
the Federal Shipping Board. Dele
gates from the metal trades in Seattle
will go to Washington to attend a con
ference with Government officials
called to discuss several pending ship
yard strikes.
The Seattle strike has been threat
ened since August 14 and It may be
Buspected that more or less official
recognition by the Government of the
Seattle shipyard situation has con
vinced the Rprtland labor leaders that
the best way. to get similar recogni
tion is to force the issue. This is but
a guess, but it is founded on a quite
definite assurance of the Government
that it intends to get around to the
Portland situation if given time
enough. The slow and, ponderous
. movements of Government do not be
get patience and the men have been
asking for weeks for some promise
of pay more consistent with the high
cost of living.
Possibility of a strike of 4000 men
engaged in so peculiarly vital an em
ployment calls for more than ordinary
effort to compose differences be--tween
employer and employe. The
ships under construction have been
commandeered by the Government
and that means that contracts have
been taken ' over which were based
upon the going wages at a time when
living costs were lower and not in
immediate prospect of material in
crease. Entrance of the United States
into the war is primarily responsible
for the increase for which the wage
earners believe they are justified in
asking. "War has also made their con
tinuous employment imperative. The
condition now resolves itself into the
question whether, if the men remain
at work, they should get along with
what they conceive to be insufficient
wages, or whether the private builder
should now pay out an unexpected
wage increase in which he would have
been protected by those who oritri-
Xially contracted for the Bhips had the '
American Government not taken them
over, or whether the Government
should keep the men at work and pay
the difference out of the publio treas
ury. The machinery has already been es
tablished for adjusting such prob
lems. The state has its board of con
ciliation and it may be able to render
service by Insuring the use of the ma
chinery mentioned. That machinery
has been established by the Govern
ment itself.
Oa August 25, hardly more than a
week ago, the Navy Department, the
Emergency Fleet Corporation and the
American Federation of Labor framed
and signed a formal programme to
prevent interruption of war construc
tion plans. The agreement calls for
the Immediate creation of an adjust
ment commission which shall consist
of three, four or five members, ac
cording to the nature of the problem
to be solved. The adjustment board
Is to consist of one member appointed
by the United States Shipping Board
Emergency Fleet Corporation, one
member to represent the public and to
be appointed by the President, and
one member to represent labor and to
be appointed by Samuel Gompers.
Two persons are in fact to be nomi
nated by Mr. Gompers, one from the
metal trades to sit with the board
when the matter under consideration
concerns construction of shipyards or
steel ships, and one from among the
trades primarily concerned to sit when
the matftr under consideration con
cerns wooden hulls. In questions
arising as to construction in private
plants in which work is being carried
on for the Navy Department, the Sec
retary of the Navy or such person as
he may designate is to sit with voting
power as a member of the board. In
the event of a tie vote the decision is
to be referred to the chairman of the
Council of National Defense.
An important provision, from the
standpoint of the shipyard workers of
Portland, is one which authorizes the
board, under proper conditions, to
make its decisions retroactive. The
request for an increase in pay has
been pending in the Portland yards
etnce about the first of August. Natu
rally, as delay followed delay, evn
though assurance was given that the
Government would attempt to adjust
the matter, the men felt that when
that adjustment was made they would
not have gained their full demands.
But it now appears that upon a
proper showing a wage increase
granted by the board may be made
retroactive. With this point disposed
or, with a regularly constituted board
to adjust wages and hours of labor
and with a state board of conciliation
appointed and organized to prevent
strikes, it seems that there ought not
I to be any interruption of shin con
' structlon in the Portland yards. It is
notoriously difficult to make Wash
ington officialdom aware that Port
land and Oregon are Jn existence. It
ought not to be so. Everybody will
now hope that there will be no strike,
but that the newly-created commls-
Islon will demonstrate Its fairness and
its capacity for energetic adjustment
of differences.
nlG BILLISM.
Chicago is, or ought to be, ashamed
of its Mayor for his latest ebullition
of pro-Germanism. He gave asylum
to the wandering band of pestiferous
and cantankerous pacifists for peace
with German victory who have been
driven from pillar to post without
place to lay their heads until the
heaving bosom of Chicago's Big Bill
was found.
Big Billism reached its nadir when
it set aside the orders of its loyal
Governor and threw Chicago's doors
open to the men and women who
think so little of liberty and patriotic
duty that they prostitute the privileges
of free speech to a propaganda of
interference with and injury for their
Government in time of war.
For the Nation is at war, and being
at war with a foe abroad, or a group
of foes, it is entitled to the loyal sup
port of its citizens at home. Here
and there is a Big Bill or Little Bill,
or Ranting Bob, or Jumping Jim,
who is so completely suffused with
the froth of his own egotism that he
forgets his country and can remem
ber only himself.
Big Bill Thompson became Mayor
of Chicago in April, 1915, and, has a
considerable part of a' four-year term
yet to serve.i There is no recall in
Chicago. It may be observed that if
Portland had such a-- Mayor" which
it has not the recall would be in
motion within twenty-four hours after
such a performance as Big Bill has
fathered.
LIFT THE VEIL A LITTI.B.
A half dozen pacifists make as
much noise as a bunch of coyotes at
early dawn on an Oregon desert; but
a million soldiers on their silent way
of duty to France have nothing to say.
Probably we overestimate the impor
tance of the pacifist moanings and
groanings. The official censor ap
pears to think that mere Ja,bber does
no harm; but he is extremely careful
to see that the veil of secrecy is not
drawn from the Movements and ac
tions of the great Army and Navy
which are preparing to fight for
America.
By way of a friendly letter. The
Oregonian has heard a thing or two
which it thinks it ought to reveal
for whatever good it may do. The
other day, at a certain naval stayon,
a notice was posted asking for volun
teers for submarine service, which is
regarded as hazardous.
There were 6000 men at the sta
tions, and there were 6000 volunteers
for the submarines.
There is another little note to stim
ulate local pride and patriotism:
When the Oregon Naval Militia re
ported at its station for service, it
was found to be so fit and well
trained that it was sent to sea within
four days, while others who were
available are still In training.
We suggest that the Federal Bureau
of Information get a real publicity
agent, who understands the national
and laudable desire of a Nation which
is giving its best blood to the great
cause of civilization, to see and know
a little more of the" daily record of
loyalty and duty made by its brave
soldiers and sailors.
VEGETARIAN SLACKERS.
Demands of vegetarians for exemp
tion from the draft, on the ground
that their "religion" forbids them to
take life, has encountered a serious
obstacle in the skepticism of certain
callous members of official boards
who remind them that they are too
late in asserting their moral scruples,
that modern vegetarianism has been
based rather upon dietary than eth
ical arguments, and that they have no
standing as members of an organizd
sect such as would Justify them in
invoking its protection to save them
selves from personal inconvenience.
A hard-hearted Federal official in
charge of the draft prosecutions In
New York has taken pains to make it
clear that vegetarians can go to war
with clear consciences because there
is no Intention of killing human be
ings for human consumption.
Discussion of vegetarianism ever
since the days of Plato has presented a
curious mingling of moral theories
and physical science. It has been
seriously contended that use of ani
mal food begets a fierce disposition
and callousness to suffering, whereas
a vegetable diet if persisted in results
in producing a gentle race, humane
and philanthropic and imbued with
only the highest ideals. Unfortunate
ly, the vegetarians when put upon
proof have been unable to sustain
their case by convincing examples.
Upon the score of economy, they have
been able to make out a better one.
in urging that a given acreage will
sustain the lives .of more people if
devoted to growing grains and vege
tables than if used for the raising of
cattle and sheep, but this is clearly
not an argument that will be of as
sistance to the pacifists.
For a long time the vegetarians re
lied upon the assertion that the for
mation of the digestive tract In man
proved that he was Intended not to
be carnivorous. It was held that the
length of the human Intestine was
midway between that of the herbivora
and the carnlvora, being neither long
enough for the digestion of grasses.
nor short enough for the digestion of
flesh, but being nearer akin to that
of the fruit-eating ape. But we do
not want to be apes, and the com
parison will not be regarded as for
tunate by those who continue to ad
vocate a mixed diet. Instances are
not wanting of peoples who live al
most exclusively on a vegetable diet,
as in some parts of India, or of carni
vorous peoples, like the Eskimo, but
it cannot be contended that either is
the equal of those who subsist on both
meats and grain.
The mistakes the vegetarians made
was in not discovering their ethical
scruples sooner and practicing them
consistently. Even a vegetarian, it
will be admitted, would be likely
to Kill a wild animal if he were at
tacked by one. He would, if he were
the kind of man worth while, fight a
predatory wolf to protect his home.
And if he is fond of analogies, he will
see that the country must be made
safe against a predaceous military ln,-
st.ir.uuon Derore ne win be quite secure
even in his right to follow the teach
ings of his harmless cult in security
ana peace.
The field tractor has established its
place in agriculture in FnroriA aa wall
as In the United States now that It has
been discovered that It can be em
ployed to advantage by many men so
crippled that thev could tint haniila n
team of farm horses. Thus machinery
is already atoning for an important
part of the labor waste of war, and it
would seem that It is destined to be
used In increasing measure. But it
will be necessary for the United States
to apply the lesson even if no Ameri
can lives are lost, for there is a dis
tinct shortage of farm labor here re
gardless of war conditions, and it Is
probable that we would have been
confronted by a 6teadily increasing
cost of food if we had remained at
peace. One of our first problems,
when we have met our pressing need
for munitions, will be to manufacture
labor-saving farm machinery in im
mense quantities. In no other way
that is likely to be adopted will we be
able to feed ourselves as we want to
be fed, and at the same time help the
rest of the world to get on its feet
again.
FAILURE.
The capture of Riga by the German
forces has great strategic ami military
importance, undoubtedly; but it lias
even greater political significance. It
is an infallible sign of the general de
moralization -of 'the Russian army and
of the all but hopeless anarchy of
Russia.
The conquering Teuton mayr if he
wislies, go on to Petrograd. Official
Russia appears to regard the capture
of its- greatest city and seat of empire
as probable, or at least "possible, for
word is given out that retirement to
the ancient capital of Moscow, in the
heart of the real Russia, is contem
plated. Then, it is averred, the loyal
forces of the old empire, or1, the
pseudo republic, may, under the in
spiration of their great traditions, re
vive the sentiment of the people for
Russia and save the day. But the
outlook, alas! is dark dark, Indeed.
It may be that Germany has made
a political and diplomatic mistake in
taking Riga and beginning its inva
sion of white, or old, Russia, thus
stimulating the disheartened people to
resistance and" reviving the dying
flame of loyalty to the fatherland.
Perhaps the Germans have heretofore
held back through fear of tactical
errors; but apparently now they think
that the danger of an aroused 'and
efficient Russia is over.
The proletariat overthrew the em
pire to establish a democracy; and,
having gone so far, it went farther to
create a national socialism, where
every .man should be the equal of
every other man, and none should
have authority over any other. Now
there Is danger that Russia has de
throned its Czar to make room for a
German Kaiser. The Russians are in
peril of losing their liberties because
they do not regard them as worth
fighting for.
It will be no gain to the world to
exchange Russian granddukedom for
Prussian junkerism. It may not oc
cur, indeed; but It benefits no one to
ignore plain portents. The only al
ternative to an invincible Prussian
government enthroned at Petrograd
is a powerful and centralized Russian
government a dictator, or a Crom
wellian protector, . or a Napoleonic
consul at Petrograd or Moscow.
As Russia has collapsed and failed.
in its greatest crisis, it becomes more
and more obvious what America must
do to save itself and the world. It
is America's war.
THE OPPRESSED ENGLISH.
Ian Hay, the British army officer
who lectured in Portland recently and
whose literary fame rests securely
upon "The First Hundred Thousand,"
in which the heroism of the first de
fenders of the empire in the present
war was made the text for a vigorous
lesson i preparedness which the
United States would have done well
to heed, has taken a whimsical view
of England's situation in connection
wth the Irish question, which he en
deavors to - explain in a new book he
has written and which bears the sug
gestive title, "The Oppressed Eng
lish." The author, who in military
life is Captain John Hay Beith, is a
Scotchman. He is proud of his al
legiance to the British empire, but he
says that when he views the dilemma
of the English he cannot withhold his
profound sympathy.
It is the misfortune of the English
man, Captain Beith goes on to say,
that he must take all the whippings
and receive none of the rewards of
merit. When there is an unpleasant
duty to perform, it is England that
performs It. The holding up of. neu
tral mails, or the establishment of
blacklists, or whatever it may that
is bound to raise a protest, is left to
England. The people of the world
thunder against the "arrogance of
England." Germans accuse the Amer
ican press of being bribed with "Eng
lish gold." The Prussian motto is
"Gott strafe England." Nothing is
said about Britain. But on the other
hand when credit is being given, the
rule is found to be a poor one, for
it does not work both ways. The
regiments from the Dominions, or the
Irish, or the Scotch, or the Welsh
Fusiliers, are praised by the names
Of their homes, while if it is an Eng
lish regiment it appears in the re
ports as the "men from Devon," or
"Yorkshire," as the ca6e'may be. One
reads of "English arrogance," but
never by any chance of an "English
victory."
Captain Beith thinks that English
men may not be altogether blameless
for this, but that their attitude is not
discreditable to them. They have not
asserted their separate nationality,
and -have not heretofore been partic
ularly sensitive as to whether they
received praise or censure. Their
nemles call them self-satisfied. Cap
tain Beith has a pleasanter character
ization. He thinks they simply have
come not to care, provided a piece of
work is well done for a cause in
which they are Interested, who gets
the credit. He adds:
Instinct and tradition have taught the
Englishman to set the cause above the
prize. It la this Characteristic which makes
him such an amazingly successful subordi
nate official, whether in the services or in
commerce. He is not vitally interested to
climb to the top. His job. for its own sake.
suffices him. He is content to work below
the waterllne. and if tha ship goes forward
he is satisfied. So he smiles paternally on
these aggressively patriotic little brethren
of his; allows them to absorb all possible
credit for the respective achievements; and
philosophically stooulders the responsibility
for the shortcomings of the .British Empire.
It saves trouble; It saves explanation: and
the average Englishman would rather be
scalped than explain.
Today, says the author, a Scot is
leading the British army in. France,
another is commanding the British
Grand Fleet at sea, while a third di
rects the imperial staff at home. The
Lord Chancellor is a Scot; so are the
Chancellor of the Exchequer and the
Foreign Secretary. The Prime Min
ister is a Welshman and the First
Lord of the Admiralty is an Irish
man. "And yet," remarks Captain
Beith, "no one ever has brought in a
bill to give home rule to England."
The purpose of the book seems to
be to win for the English some of the
sympathy and understanding which
they do not ask for themselves, and
Captain Beith seeks to gain his end
by putting the Irish question in a
light more favorable to England. He
insists that Ireland is as free as Scot
land or Wales that in some ways her
freedom is greater, because she is
heavily over-represented in the House
of Commons. In another respect, he
says, Ireland "enjoys a freedom not
vouchsafed to the nations of the sis
ter Isle." He mentions the land-valuation
act and the social-insurance
scheme neither one of which was vis
ited upon Ireland because the Irish
people refused to entertain' it at any
price. So the English gave way and
paid the piper alone. The author
continues:
Again, last year, when the military serv
ice act, imposing conscription upon every
able-bodied man between nineteen and forty
one, became law, Ireland was once more
exempted. To the black, shame and grief
of every true Irishman, Ireland today stands
officially aloof and alone in the struggle
for liberty and. humanity. The thousands
of her gallant sons who are fighting in the
trenches alongside their English and Scot
tish and Ulster comrades find difficulty in
filling up the gaps in their ranks,- because
certain of their brothers prefer to stay at
home to make political bargains, or to en
gage in the profitable task of supplying
the demands of depleted Great Sritain for
able-bodied labor.
The Bubstance of Captain Beith's
conclusions Is that it was the Insist
ence of the .Irish Nationalists, not
only upon a Parliament at Dublin
and upon exemption from imperial
taxation, but upon retention of about
forty Irish members of the House of
Commons, that upset England. He
intimates that It is the English who
would be glad to be free free from
the Irish problem, if there were any
way of solving it. . Great Britain, he
says, would go to any extent to leave
the Irish to themselves, if the English
in turn could bet left to - themselves,
with one' important qualification
that no settlement would be agreed
to that would leave the island open
as a base for England's enemies.
Captain Beith says that Ireland "re
sembles a temperamental wife mar
ried to an Intensely respectable but
unexciting husband." The author
openly sympathizes with the husband
in the case, despite the almost uni
versal injunction to strangers against
interfering in family quarrels.
But Captain Beith is not precisely
a stranger. Although he writes of
the "English" with the dispassionate
neutrality of a Scotsman, he is a
Britisher to the core. His military
record proves that, and he has shown
it in other ways, not least in his
sympathetic and quite successful ef
forts to promote good feeling between
the nations now .: fighting together.
through his writings and his lectures
on this side of the Atlantic.
Before Oregon .can raise the enor
mous quantity of wheat , asked for
next year Sam Moore, of Corvalliss
the apostle of lime, must be made'
limer-in-chief and given a free hand.
The state needs Sam and what he ad
vocates. German spies who have been prom
ising the negroes of., the South that
when Germany rules the country tire
color line will be abolished ought to
say something about the kind of line
that will take its place. "
"We are lost," wept a German of
ficer, when taken before General Per
shing to prove that the Americans are
already in France. What will they
think when we have a really great
force in action? v
Due to irrigation a Lane County
hopyard is producing 1500 pounds to
the acre, which, at 30 cents, is great
return. A ditch costs a little money
and some labor, both making a good
investment.
A Canadian . sergeant back from
France says the boys in the trenches
prefer cake above all things. There
is an idea for the Christmas box.
Make a fruit cake now and let it ripen.
Evacuation of Petrograd seems like
a plan to stretch the Kaiser's battle
line to a straining point. What
couldn't a quarter-million Japs do
there Just now!
The present apathy of the Turks and
Bulgarians is another indication that
Prussia is coming to the end of her
capacity for turning out war supplies.
The shade, of "Long John" Went-
worth must wonder what Chicago has
become. That of Carter Harrison, the
elder, has a guess coming, too.
Meanwhile those animals in the zoo
are consuming a lot of good proven
der. It is up to Mr. Kellaher to start
his wild animal store.
Organization of a junior Red Cross
of school children is of doubtful value.
Scholars have enough school and
home work now.
Daniels might at least have named
one of the German vessels John Smith
to go with Pocahontas and Powhatan.
Bernhardt is making her last tour,
but nobody supposes she is a fatalist
while she has a leg to stand on.
Is anything being done to assist in
Sumpter's rehabilitation? A hard
Winter is coming in that section.
Possibly many of the Third Oregons
will appreciate a bunch of "the mak
ing" more than a box lunch.
The Kaiser must not forget that
Napoleon journeyed into Russia and
little good it did him.
This is the real weather, when you
need a light overcoat "in the early
morning.
It Is to be hoped the girl babies who
register 100 will outgrow it before
twenty. j
De Palma went at the rate of 108.9
miles an hour yesterday and escaped
death.
Politics and carllnes make a peace
ful combination in the Bay City.
That La Grande unit must be kept
intact in France for the record.
The feel of Fall is in the air every
where but at the resorts.
This is the most strenuous day of
work in all the year.
Whatever "Chicago" is in German,
name it that.
Tired, eh? Labor day is strenuous.
Good morning, teacher.
Gleams Through the Mist.
By Dcm Collins,
ROVER SPEAKS.
Wuff! Wuff! It Is tough, and that isn't
a bluff!
I can't help feeling gruff when I think
of such stuff!
By all of the bones that my ancestors
racked.
These humans are crazy and that la a
' fact!
For who in the "world, if he were not a
fool.
Would have taken, my boy off, to send
him to school?
With a brand new white collar, and
harness complete.
And think of it think of it shoes on
his feet
That boy that I spent the whole Sum
mer to train
Till his toes were about to get limber
again
They led him away, that big father of
his.
Where that kennel they name as "the
sew schoolhouae" is.
I thought I would go. Just to watch
him, you see.
For he needs a wise dbg, such a young
kid as he;
But his father turned round and he
gave me a kick.
And when I persisted he picked up a
stick, n
So I had to go back while they went on,
those two
I heard my boy sniffle but what could
I do?
I hear the folks talk, how the school
is a place
Where they train the young boys in
this here human race;
And I think that perhaps they are
slamming at me, .
Though I've labored and labored as
hard as could be
And it's truly unjust to withdraw him,
I say.
Just as I had his training work well
under way.
(
I've seen the boy's teacher, who'll have
him at school.
And take it from me and I'm far from
a fool
She's built like a greyhound. Admitted,
indeed!
But she hasn't no nose, nor she hasn't
no speed.
And how, I should ask, can she teach
a young kid
To chase down a squirrel to the log
where it's hid?
I
I've seen her, of evenings, a-playlng
croquet
And she hardly could spot her own ball
where it lay;
That she could train him why, it's
plumb past believing.
When she don't have the tiniest knack
at retrieving!
I'll bet when she's had him all Winter,
why, then
I will have to start in all his trainln
again.
By the biggest of fleas on the ancestral
dog,
She couldn't herd cattle no more'n a
hog;
Nor swim, nor dig bones up, nor carry
a stick
That woman train kids? Why, it fair
makes me sick!
She can't even put a grouse up on the
wing
She can't teach that kid not one prac
tical thing!
I'm sticking right here by the gate till
tonight .
In hopes that the kid will come back
home all right.
In hopes that they haven't my gravest
of fears
Just altered his markings, or bobbed
off his ears;
For, sure as a calf has the juciest bone.
That kid was all right, if they'd leave
him alone. 1
Wuff! Wuff! It'B no use Just to grumble
this way!
I've got to make use of the evening
each day
A-tralnmg that kid, since the teachers
have caught him.
So he won't forget all the lessons I've
taught him!
O, who in the world but a grown human
fool
Would have taken my boy off and put
him to school?
. e
"Sir." said the Courteous Office Boy,
appearing at the door with the- Junior
Assistant Office Boy with his shining
morning face.
"What is it, son?" I cried
"May we have that hollow piece of
bamboo you stuck under your desk the
other day. and also some of the bird
shot and twine in the lower drawer?"
chorused the C. O. B. and the J. A. O.
B. "And some of the rubber bands,
too?"
"Certainly, my children," I said kind
ly, "but what is the main Idea?"
"Well." said the C. O. B.. "the J. A.
O. B. here has to start into school to
day to have 'em train his young idea
how to shoot " and he rummaged for
the bird shot and rubber bands.
"Yes, yes, and what then?" I en
couraged. "Well. I'm flgurln on priming his
young idea a bit, before they get ready
to teach it how to shoot." said the C.
O. B., and, turning to the J. A. O. B.,
he continued, "You see you hook the
rubber on this way and then you take
a bird shot and "
And they faded away down the hall,
sortly humming "School Days."
A COMMUSiarE FROM THE LAST
ANALYSIS.
"It will be the landing of. not thou
sands, but hundreds of thousands of
American troops, in the LAST ANALY
SIS, that will bring home to the Ger
man people the realization that their
submarine campaign has failed and
they are confronted by a new and ln-
i ,11.1. - " V,(p..t - -
exDutiuio ... . . - -
cent Interview published in the papers.
Editor's note: Ah-ha! Now we know
where they have Deen senaing an tnose
troops to!
e e j
SWEET SONGS FOR SIMPLE SLACK.
ERS.
To the Board of Exemptions 'twas Per-
clval spoke:
"I can't go to war! My mir wrist
watch is broke!
I can't go to war. I will bet you a
dime
My wrist watch is broke and I haven't
the time."
The Board of Exemptions heard Alger
non's wail:
"If you send me to war all our culture
will fail.
For there's no one In all of our city,
you see.
Who knows the new dances as I do. ah,
me!"
Aloysius cut off his Angers and ears
In hopes of escaping the draft. It ap
pears. And the surgeon'did not even rise from
his seat:
"No use! We can't take him, for he has
flat feet!"
To the Board of Exemptions came John,
in a pet;
"I won't go to war! You can't take me,
I'll bet;
I've given up work in the shoe store,
you see.
And my wife is a-buylng a fruit farm
for me!"
A Jobless actor to the board
Remarked: "I cannot go!
I cannot Join the warlike horde
I haven't got a show!"
PIONEER RECALLS EARLY MURDER
Where Graves of Mr. and Mrs. Scott,
Slain by Indians, May Be Found.
PORTLAND, Sept. 3. (To the Edi
tor.) A few days since I read in The
Iregonian a special from Baker which
said that Mrs. M. Kitchen was then in
Rye Valley trying to find the graves
of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Scott, who,
in the early days, had been murdered
by the Indians. These young people
lived beside the old Emigrant road on
Lower Burnt River.
Just about EO years ago with a load
of peaches and vegetables they started
for the little mining town of Rye
Valley about eight miles distant, ex
pecting to do some trading and ,also
visit their friends whom they thought
they would meet at a dance that night.
Next day they started home, Mr. and
Mrs. Scott occupying the wagon seat
and their 2-year-old boy and baby girl
asleep in the bottom of the wagon.
Suddenly the Indians sprang from am
bush with yells and delivered their fire
at close range. Scott plunged forward
acrosj the dashboard dead and dropped
the reins between the horses, his wife
caught him and dragged him back into
the wagon.
The team, of course, started to run,
Mrs. Scott climbed over the dashboard
to the wagon tongue secured the trail
ing lines, regained her place in the
wagon and crouching low followed by
many a bullet, guided the frightened
animals down that difficult road,
forded Burnt Rive at the foot of the
hill then up the other side to her
stricken home.
She had saved her husband's body
and herself and the lives of her chil
dren from the Indians, but she had re
ceived two mortal wounds. To those
present she told her story, made her
verbal will, consigning her babies to
the care of their grandparents, Mr.
and Mrs. George Cantonwine, o"f Walla
Walla, leaving in the hand of a neigh
bor woman the gold watch and chain
which she took from her neck, with
the request that they be given Into the
keeping of her parents later to be
given by them to her little daughter.
If ever Oregon produced a heroine
the girlish looking Mrs. Cantonwine
Scott, was she.
When she died another bloody page
had been written in the early history
of Oregon. On the day following this
tragedy I was traveling by team to
the mines In Idaho. On coming to the
Scott place I saw an unusual number
of people coming down the slope back
of the house and was told what had
happened and they were Just finishing
the burial of Mr. and Mrs. Scott.
I had known them slightly, knew
the Cantonwines, of Walla Walla, quite
well and also knew of the Kitchen
family.
I am . rltlng this with the hope that
It may point the way to that broad
grave which received the bodies of the
parents of the little girl who is now
iirs. Kitchen.
She will not find the grave In Rye
Valley nor in Auburn, but as already
stated. Just back of the old Scott house
beside the Emigrant road in Burnt
River Canyon. EDWARD C. ROSS.
Federal Antl-Narcotle Law.
SALEM. Or., Sept. 1. (To the Edi
tor.) (1) Is the law prohibiting the
sale of narcotics, except on physician's
prescription, state or Federal?
(2) What drugs are lnciuoea in tne
act?
(3) If not a Federal law, do all
states have a narcotic law similar to
the one In orce in Oregon?
(4) When was this law passed?
SUBSCRIBER.
(1) It is a Federal law. There is also
a state law.
(2) The Federal law includes opium
and all of its derivatives, such as mor
phine, heroin, etc., and cocaine andVall
other derivatives of cocoa leaves.
(3) Some of the states have narcotic
regulations even more drastic than the
Federal law.
(4) The Federal law, known as the
Harrison narcotic law. was approved
by the President December 17, 1914,
and went into effect March 1, 1816.
Fall of Riga.
Russians Lose Third Seaport In
Importance.
Bulletin of National Geographic
Society.
Not even the greatest optimist can
fail to realize the seriousness of the
blow to Russian arms in the fall of
the Baltic seaport of Riga, says a
bulletin Issued by the National Geo
graphio Society from its Washington
headquarters.
With an import and export trade to
taling $100,000,000 two years before the
outbreak of the world war, Riga be
came the third seaport of the Russian
empire, and the second seaport of the
Baltic, being surpassed in volume of
business by Petrograd.
The city is divided into several sec
tions. The old town has narrow, wind
ing streets, while the Petrograd and
Moscow suburbs are well-built, mod
ern sections. All three of these divis
ions of the city are situated on the
right or east bank of the River Dvlna,
whiTe the Mitau suburb Is on the left
bank. The two banks are connected
by a long floating bridge which is re
moved during the four months In the
year when the river is frozen over.
V
Riga is situated ten miles above the
mouth of the Dvina, and is 363 miles by
rail southwest of Petrograd. Vessels
of light draft reach the city proper by
means of a canal, but the chief har
bor Is on the shores of the Baltic.
The importance of Riga as a seaport
is due In very large measure to the
fact that by means of the Dvina and
numerous canals it is connected by
water with the basins of the Volga,
which flows into the Caspian, and the
Dnieper, which enters the Black Sea.
Thus, practically the whole of South
ern. Central and Western European
Russia can find an outlet into the Bal
tic through this port. In addition to
oheap water transportation, a railroad
runs across Russia from Riga to Smo
lenck and Taarltsyn, almost bisecting
the empire.
Riga is a great storehouse for Rus
sian wheat, oats and hemp, three items
which constitute a large portion of the
city's exports. It is also the chief port
for the vast timber products of the
province of Volhynia. Flaxseed, eggs,
hides, and skins are shipped from here
In great quantities. The chief arti
cles of import are machinery, cotton
goods, coal and groceries.
The shipping industry did not con
stitute Riga's sole activity before the
war, however. Its manufactured prod
ucts included machinery, leather, rail
way cars, candles, tiles and glass,
amounting in value to (80,000.000 annu
ally. The growth of Riga during the last
35 years has been phenomenal. In 1881
Its population was 169,000; today, it
has more than half a million. Of this
number 47 per cent are Germans, 23
per cent are Letts, and only 25 per cent
are Russians. It Is not hard to imag
ine, therefore, how difficult has been
the problem of the citizens loyal to the
new republic during the last few
months. It is also worthy of note that
the Germans of Riga are- on the whole
of the most prosperous merchant class,
together with a considerable number
of the Prusslsn aristocracy. The Lett
are an Indo-European people, about
1,300,000 in number, dwelling in the
western provinces of Russia and North
eastern Poland and Prussia. Little is
known of their origin nor .is It known
when they migrated to their present
home.
At the- time of its fall Riga was the
capital of the province of Livonia and
the seat of the Governor General of
the Baltic provinces.
In Other Days.
Twenty-five Years) Agro.
From The Oregonian of September 4. 1892.
The atention of the entire SDortlntr
world is centered upon the prize-fight
carnival at New Orleans this week. All
that Is needed to make It complete is
a fight between Fitzsimmons and some
other middleweight who has yet to
to suiter defeat.
New York. Nothlne- can n nw j a v a
the metropolis from a srreat nlasrun hut
an absolute compliance on the part of
every memrjer of the community with
the instructions of the Board of Health
and the quarantine authorities. The
danger Is real. It cannot be over
estimated. Sturgeon fishing lian hfenn In trie
Columbia in earnest and some have
already' been shipped East. The fish
ing is all done In tha vi-iTit-- .t
Astoria at present, as the sturgeon are
now feeding on the sardines in the
bay and will not start up the river
ior tnree or lour weeks.
The pugilistic festival which la to
occur in New Orleans this week is Just
now the all-absorbing questionwith
all classes. Interest in the coming
Presidential election and other equally
important matters is for th tlm hninsr
of secondary importance and the great
question Just now seem to be. Who
will win, Sullivan or Corbett?
Last hisrht there was an ni-nlt, tlnn
of Mars, which was watched with much
interest by a large number of our
citizens.
Half a Century Ago.
From The Oregonian of September 4. I86T.
St. ixjuIs. he Radical Clubs of St.
Louis are making arrangements to
give Sheridan a public reception upon
his arrival. The colored people will
uo aiiuivea to participate.
A procession of Klikitat Indians
came into the city yesterday forenoon
en route to the Simcoe reservation.
There were 67 Indians and about 85
horses. They have been erathered no
.lately in various parts of the Willam
ette valley and in the coast mountains.
Lee & Ryland's circus arrived in the
city yesterday and played last evening
to a aensely crowded house. The buf
falo act created great merriment.
There will be another performance to
night. Large numbers of persons left Walla
Walla last week for the Kootenai. The
report of the discovery reached -Walla
Walla on Tuesday evening, and on
Wednesday morning at daylight gold
hunters were on their way to the basin.
Victoria. The American hark Lizzie
Boggs, for San Francisco, was wrecked
at Cape Flattery Saturday afternoon
last during a dense fog and went to
pieces on Sunday. The captain and
crew escaped io shore in a boat. Noth
ing was saved from the wreck.
FALL PLOWING IMPROVES GARDENS
Old Land Doubles In Yield and New
Land Does Better.
DREWSEY, Or., 6ept. 1. (To the Ed
itor.) I wish to say a word about,
making war gardens in back lots and
other places.
(1) The ground should "be plowed
and thrown open in the Fall. I made
the experiment of Fall plowing in back
yard and .orchard, and contrasted It
with Spring plowing and immediate
planting. Potatoes grew with tope
slightly spindling in the orchard from
Fall plowing, making a fair yield and
free from scab.
The Spring plowing In the orchard,
side by side with the Fall plowing,
did not grow potatoes worth digging
and the growth was too febble to re
sist insects and many were scabbed
and some had worm holes all the way '
through them, as if a nail had been
stuck through them and had grown up
again.
The Fall plowing disturbed and broke
up the insect and mite beds and a sub
sequent Spring stirring almost exclud
ed them. Fall-plowed land gathers
from the elements the things necessary
for a thrifty and healthy growth and
makes delicious vegetables.
It will pay more than double to Fall
plow all old land, and the new will
yield better if plowed In the Fall so as
to get the Winter freezes and drink in
the rains and dislodge plant roots and
stop them from absorbing the plant
food.
I was statistical correspondent to the
United, States Department of Agricul
ture for the county In which I lived
and made many experimental tests of
the kind and found Fall plowing for
gardens In old fields and orchards and
lots to be better in every instance.
The only exceptions being in low land,
which overflowed and washed.
J. R. M. DAVIS.
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE IS DESIRED
Bureau of Education Appeals to Labor
L'niona to Use Influence.
Labor unions, parent-teacher associa
tions, women's clubs, churches and
other religious bodies and many other
organizations directly concerned with
education have been enlisted by the
United states Bureau of Education In a
campaign for the maintenance of school
efficiency as a special patriotic duty
this year. In his appeal Dr. Claxton,
Commissioner of Education, points out
the existing fear "lest public schools
shall suffer because of conditions
growing out of the entrance of the
United 6tates into the war. . He em
phasizes the fact that as a measure of
present defence and for the future wel
fare of the country, as well as for the
Individual benefit of the children. It is
of the greatest Importance that the
schools be maintained in the highest
standards of efficiency.
Especially important, in the view of
the Commissioner, is f-ompt and
regular attendance at school and
proper employment during out-of-school
hours. These, the Commissioner
believes, will be the children's surest
protection against temptations to
Juvenile delinquencies.
Labor 'unions are especially appealed
to to urge the children now in high
school to complete their work. Su
perintendents of schools have been
asked to co-operate with the represen
tatives of labor unions in their com
munities in the efforts to keep children
In school.
Don't tee Rhubarb rcens.
THE DALLES, Or., Sept. 2. (To the
Editor.) In the food thrift Series No.
5, issued by the Department of Agricul
ture Is found this statement: "Because
rhubarb leaves contain certain sub
stances which make them poisonous
to a great many persons, specialists of
the UnitedStates Department of Agri
culture warn housewives against using
this portion of the plant for food. A
number of letters have been received
by the department calling attention to
the fact that certain newspapers and
magazines are advocating the use of
rhubarb leaves for greens and that
disastrous results have followed the
acceptance of the advice."
MARTHA BECHEN.
Home Demonstration Agent.
Mixed I'p In War.
London Telegraph.
Details of a curious family compli
cation came from St. Gall. Switzerland.
A naturalized Swiss citizen, German
by birth, is married to a Hungarian.
His brother-in-law is fighting against
the Servians and the husband of his
sister-in-law Is fighting against the
Austrians. Of the man's two brothers,
one is in a Prussian regiment and the
other is serving France under General
Gallienl.