IS
THE 3IORXIXG OREGONIAN, FKIDAY OCTOBER
12. 1917.
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PORTLAND, FRIDAY, OCTOBER IS. 1917.
SIGNS OF GERMAN WEAKENING.
Froof accumulates that Germany
lias begun to break under the com
bined military, economic and moral
pressure of the civilized world. As
yet there are but cracks in the great
(structure which is the result of two
centuries of concentrated effort, and
tome reports of weakening must be
received with caution. They may be
exaggerations by over-optimistic citi
zens of countries arrayed against Ger
many, or they may have been set
afloat by the German secret agents in
order to induce a relaxation of effort
or to sow dissension in anti-militarist
lands.
! Of the latter character seems to be
the report of a serious mutiny in the
German navy. Poubtless there is dis
content with the inaction of the battle
fleet, with poor food and with the
constant drafts of men to submarines.
In consequence of the policy of secrecy
as to captures of U-boats which is
pursued by the allies, many of these
men mysteriously disappear with no
inkling as to their fate, and those who
return tell tales of intense physical
strain and of mental torture caused by
the hideous work in which they are
engaged. Doubtless there are Social
ists in the navy, through whom So
cialist and pacifist propaganda is
covertly spread in defiance of repres
sive measures. These conditions would
explain a slight mutiny, but the pub
lished reports of the outbreak arouse
suspicion. To shoot only three of the
in en guilty of so serious an offense is
not according to Prussian methods. It
is strange that, if the three accused
members of the Reichstag instigated
the mutiny, they were not immediately
dealt with in like manner instead of
being simply denounced in a speech.
If the mutiny was as slight as Admiral
yon-Capelle says, it was no cause for
recalling the fleet from an expedition
against Russia.
Whatever be the facts about the
mutiny, there are other evidences that
Central Europe is beginning to break
up. For many months Austria has
been pleading passionately for peace,
though her statesmen reject all sug
gestions that subject peoples be lib
erated or that the empire be de
mocratized. "While the German gov
ernment stands pat, its military chiefs
demand economy in shells at the front.
the artillery fire diminishes and be
comes inefficient, and soldiers sur
render in growing numbers. The new
Hindenburg plan of holding a wide
strip in front of the first trench line
by means of machine guns in shell
Craters manned by the rank and file,
and of concrete "pill-boxes" held by
officers in the rear of the craters, has
worse than failed. Not only have the
allies swept over the belt in question
but the Germans, removed from direct
control of their officers, have sur
rendered in greater numbers, while
the officers, surrounded in their little
forts, have had no alternative but to
do likewise. Here is proof that
morale at the front is breaking.
Further proof is the fact that the
allies have held all their gains against
counter-attacks, while the Germans
bave not only lost the few gains they
have made this year, but have also
lost practically all that they won at a
cost of 800,000 men at Verdun last
year. Knowledge of these facts is
mating out the heart of the German
soldiers. Their power of successful
offensive is gone and, though their
defensive power is still great, it is
failing as they are steadily beaten
back.
Simultaneously with and contrib
uting to this loss of morale at the
front there goes on a corresponding
loss -in the interior. The people are
not starving, but they are underfed.
Their physical strength is reduced and
this loss is aggravated by grief at per
sonal losses, by consciousness of na
tional failure and by premonitions of
utter defeat. Those who suffer priva
tion look around at their full-fed
neighbors and break into bitter re
proaches. Soldiers write borne of
their agony in the trenches, and home
folks write back of their hunger-pangs
and sickness. Thus telepathic waves
of discouragement sweep through the
nation. The productive power of the
civil population is reduced by this
psychological cause as well as by ex
haustion of raw material, wearing out
of unreplaceable machinery and by
failure of the transportation system.
All of this when the army calls for
more shells and guns and aircraft to
offset the ever-increasing resources of
the enemy, yet calls in vain. The cry
of the workmen for peace begins to
be echoed by big business men like"
Herr Ballin, who sees commerce de
stroyed, industries going to ruin, half
the German ships seized by the enemy
and the other half rusting or rotting
at the docks.
The gloom arising from this situ
ation is deepened by the ever strength
ened impression that the whole world
is against Germany, as nation after
nation declares war or severs rela
tions and as legation after legation
leaves Berlin until only a corporal's
guard of foreign diplomats remains.
Hopes of final victory being dissipated
by failure of submarine war, Germans
may ask themselves what can be the
end with a world in arms against
them. They are surfeited with vic
tories which have borne no fruit.
They conquered Poland, but no relief
came: they swept over Serbia, but
still the beleaguering hosts grew
they conquered two-thirds of Rou
mania, but the food they captured was
a mere mouthful; they took Riga, but
what did that avail them?. Their men
and boys were still poured into the
insatiable maw of the western front.
and did not come back, or came back
wrecks. The American embargo oh
food exports to neutrals stops the last
trickle of imports. They are a nation
besieged and reprobated by the civil
ized world. Can it be, they may ask,
that the world is wrong and that they
alone are right?
Germany's rulers have erred terribly
as to the psychology of non-German
mankind. They have stupidly misread
human, nature. Events may prove
that they have erred as to German
psychology also, by presuming too far
on the qualities which they have culti
vated and exploited. German soldiers,
exasperated by suffering, brutality and
deception, may take a hint from the
example set by the Russians at the
instigation of Germans, and may shoot
their .officers. If they should begin,
that might prove the beginning of the
end of the war and the beginning of
a revolution.
Germany still is outwardly strong.
but when such a structure, equally
strong in all its parts, begins to
fail, it fails in all its parts, like the
one-hoss shay. But six months inter
vened between Napoleon's overthrow
at Leipsig and his abdication. The
end in Germany may not come so soon
after the defeats in Flanders, for the
Kaiser has a far stronger hold on his
people than Napoleon had on the
French, but some smashing blows in
1918 may bring the end before that
year expires.
TOO GOOD TO MISS.
Any person who imagines that he
can escape contributing to the cost of
the war by not buying liberty bonds
is deluding himself. If the Govern
ment should fail to sell bonds to the
full amount which it wishes to bor
row, it-may take the money in taxes,
for it has the power. The difference
to the citizen would be that he would
get interest on bonds and would
finally get his capital back, while
taxes would be gone for good without
interest.
This unpleasant alternative to bond-
buying may have occurred to German,
Austrian and Turkish societies, for
they have pledged support to the lib
erty loan, though some of their mem
bers are likely to sympathize with
Germany. Even these exceptions may
favor the loan as good business.
backing their judgment against their
sympathies, as sporting men have done
in the past and as some Confederate
soldiers did by buying United States
bonds from Jay Cooke.
There could scarcely be a more
conclusive recommendation of liberty
bonds as a good business proposition
than these two facts. They are so
gilt-edged that even those who would
naturally wish the loan to prove a
failure cannot keep their hands off.
They find it too good a thing to miss.
TWENTY TEARS AGO.
The following, which is said to
have appeared originally in the Pike
County, Illinois, Republican, stares one
in the face in nearly every newspaper.
big and little, which one may happen
to pick up:
Twenty years ago:
Ladles wore bustles.
Operations were rare.
Nobody had seen a silo.
Nobody swatted the fly.
Nobody had appendicitis.
Nobody sprayed orchards.
Nobody wore white shoes.
Cream was 5 cents a pint.
Cantaloupes were muskmelons.
Milk shake was a favorite drink.
Advertisers did not tell the truth.
You never heard of a "tin Lizzie."
Doctors wanted to see your tongue.
The hired girl drew one-ftfty a week.
Farmers came to town for their mail.
Nobody "listened in" on a telephone.
Nobody cared for the price of gasoline.
Folks said pneumatic tires were a Joke.
The butcher "threw in" a chunk of liver.
Straw stacks were burned Instead of baled.
People thought English sparrows were
"birds."
There were no sane Fourths, nor electric
meters.
Jules Verne was the only convert to the
submarine.
Publishing a country newspaper was not
a business.
You stuck tubes in your ears to hear
phonograph, and it cost a dime.
The Pike County editor, quite clear
ly, was writing about Pike County,
twenty years ago. It may be interest
ing to know that ladies wore bustles
in Pike County at that period, when
they had forgotten what they looked
like in every other community, but the
impression created by the circulation
given this article is that the whole
country was in the same state of back
wardness in that period. We refer
not alone to bustles.
The great progress in surgery dates
from 1846 with the introduction of
anaesthesia. Operations were not un
common twenty years ago.
Silos came into use in America in
1875, forty-two years ago.
Everybody began swatting flies
about the time it was discovered that
a newspaper would make a good
swatter. The great-grandfathers of
the present generation swatted the fly.
Appendicitis was identified in 1642
An epoch-making memoir on the dis
ease appeared in 188 6. McBurney's
"Indications for Early Operation in
Appendicitis," was published in 1891
Bordeaux mixture, as a spray, origi
nated in France in 1882 and soon
came into use as a fungicide.
White canvas shoes were common
twenty years ago.
The consumer who could buy cream
at 5 cents the pint in 1897 was lucky.
Cantaloupe is the name of a variety
of muskmelon. Those who know still
make the proper distinction.
Twenty years ago milk-shake was a
fairly popular drink. So was beer.
Many advertisers told the truth.
Good doctors still want to see your
tongue.
Hired girls got more than $1.50 a
week outside of Pike County, Illinois,
twenty years ago.
Farmers then came to town for
their mail. Many of them do now.
There were more than 325,000 tele
phone subscribers in the United States
in 1897.
Pneumatic tires were invented in
1846, and were applied to the bicycle
in 1889. They were in high favor
twenty years ago.
Twenty years ago the butcher
"threw in" a hunk of liver, and a few
other things that have been abolished
by sanitary methods.
Widespread protests against further
importations of English sparrows arose
about forty years ago and in 1889 the
United States Department of Agricul
ture issued a bulletin condemning
them.
The French began building subma
rines in 188 5; Turkey had two in
1886; Spain took them up in 1889;
Portugal in 1892.
Twenty years ago a phonograph,
equipped with sounding diaphram and
horn, was widely advertised and wide
ly sold at a price under $10. .
There were a good many things we
did not know much about twenty
years ago, including "tin. Lizzies,"
aeroplanes, moving pictures and X-
rays, but all of us were not so back
ward as Pike County, Illinois.
nitping a pla; :t. in tfik jtriD.
The Northwest Tuberculosis Confer
ence, which is soon to convene in
Portland, will have an important work
to perform, without necessity of exag
gerating the conditions which have
called it into being. It is true that
recent physical examinations of young
men attendant upon the formation of
a National Army have revealed nu
merous hitherto unsuspected "cases,"
and that if figures on the prevalence
of tuberculosis were to be revised to
day they would show a considerable
ncrease, but it must be remembered.
for our peace of mind, that this is due
to the improvement of our statistics
rather than to the breaking down of
our National health. It is not that
any more of us are contracting the
plague, but only that there is less
concealment, intentional or otherwise,
than there used to be.
The value of the work now being
undertaken, however, lies in the cir
cumstance that it will stir public
opinion- to the necessity for nipping
every incipient case in the bud. We
have made encouraging progress in
the last decade or two in preventive
treatment; we no longer abandon
hope as soon as the diagnosis is made.
And since the possibility of complete
recovery is in inverse ratio to the late
ness of the beginning of sane treat
ment, it will be seen that no effort to
awaken interest in the subject should
be despised.
No doubt the conference will bring
out much that is of value as to the
most modern methods of treatment,
community co-operation and social
duty, but these are unimportant
by comparison with early recognition
and prompt measures of relief. Time
fights for the Bacillus tuberculosis,
and danger is multiplied by delay.
ONE BUSHEL AN ACRE.
The importance that small things
may attain by the simple process of
multiplication, which ought to be, but
is not, appreciated by everyone, is il
lustrated by the estimate of an agri
cultural statistician that if each tilla
ble acre in the country could be made
to produce just one bushel more, it
would require 13,500 trains of fifty
cars each to transport the crop to
market.
Take the three principal cereal
crops of the United States for illus
tration. In 1916 there were planted
to oats 40,599,000 acres, to corn, 108
620,000 acres, and to wheat, 50,871
000 acres. A bushel more to the acre
of these important foodstuffs would
mean more than 200,000,000 bushels
added to our supply. This would be
worth in the neighborhood of a third
of a billion dollars a clear addition
to our National wealth. It would be
equal in food value to nearly a third
of the total amount of wheat that we
produced in that year. There would
be a market for every bushel of it.
There is not even a remote prospect
of overproduction.
That there is room for improve
ment of our present methods of culti
vation is shown by the official esti
mates of our average yield. We pro
duced last year only 11.9 bushels of
wheat to the acre, only 30.3 bushels
of oats and only 25 bushels of corn.
Individual farmers have so far ex
ceeded this average as to give in
dubitable proof that the thing can be
done. Not all of our declining aver
age is due to soil exhaustion. Much
can be attributed to carelessness in
preparation of the land, to neglect of
proper rotation systems and to disre
gard of other fundamentals. It is all
the more important that average pro
duction be increased because this does
not add proportionately to the labor
of harvesting, which presents another
pressing problem.
We must endeavor constantly to
comprehend the tremendous value of
totals. An additional kernel of grain
to the ear, an additional bushel to the
acre, an additional quart to the back
yard garden all of these insignificant
units are going to count. They are
not "little things." In the aggregate
they are fraught with enormous con
sequences.
A FIGHTING CONSTITUTION.
All the sophistries of those per
sons who deny that the Constitution
confers upon the several branches of
the Government all of the power
necessary to wage war vigorously
and successfully were swept away by
Charles E. Hughes in an address to
the American Bar Association at
Saratoga. Much confusion of thought
has been caused by the noisy minor
ity which opposes the war or some
oqe of the measures taken for its
prosecution. They deny that the Con
stitution confers the powers which the
President and Congress deem neces
sary. On the other hand, some loyal
citizens who earnestly desire victory
for the United States and for our al
lies imagine that this is possible only
by suspending the Constitution; that
is, by deliberately violating it. They
imagine that ours is a peace consti
tution, denying to the Government
power to wage successful war, or at
least a war of such magnitude i
that which now rages.
Mr. Hughes shows by citations from
the Constitution itself that both of
these classes of people are wrong.
He proves that ours is a "fighting
Constitution." He tells us that "the
framers of the Constitution did not
contrive an imposing spectacle of im-
potency," for one of their objects in
forming "a more perfect union" was
"to provide for the common defense,"
since "self-preservation is the first
law of National life."
War powers -are carefully dis
tributed. Congress has power to de
clare war, but the power to make
peace is "vested in the President and
the Senate." This will be useful in
formation for those who proposed a
referendum on the declaration of
war and who now agitate for a refer
endum on terms of peace. To the
President alone was given "the direc-
tion of war as the Commander-in-Chief
of the Army and Navy." On
this point Mr. Hughes remarked:
It was not in the contemplation of the
Constitution that the command of forces
and the conduct of campaigns should be in
charge of a council or that as to this there
should be a division of authority or respon
sibillty. The prosecution of war demands
in the highest degree the promptness, direct
ness and unity of action In military opera
tions which alone san proceed from the
Executive. This exclusive power to com
mand the Army and Navy and thus to direct
and control campaigns exhibits not autoc
racy but democracy fighting effectively
through its chosen instruments and in ac
cordance with the established organic law,
This is a timely bint from the Re
publican candidate for President at
the late election to those Republi
cans in Congress who wish to estab
lish a joint committee on the con
duct of the war under the guise of
a committee to supervise expendi
tures. It is not permissible under the
Constitution, for the framers of that
Instrument realized the need of single
control for promptness and directness
of ' action a necessity which the
course of the war has demonstrated.
Congress has power to raise and
support "armies" and "to provide and
maintain a Navy," also to make rules
for their government and regulation,
but precaution is taken against mili
tarism by restricting appropriations
to a term of two years.
Mr. Hughes reminded his hearers
that the draft was resorted to by the
colonies in the Revolution and by both
Union and Confederate governments
in the Civil War, and was upheld by
the courts in the latter case. He
quoted an unpublished opinion by
Lincoln that the power to raise armies
is given to Congress by the Consti
tution, "fully, completely, uncondi
tionally," and that "Congress must
prescribe the mode or relinquish the
power." He quoted these forceful
words of Lincoln:
Shall we shrink from the necessary means
to maintain our free government which our
grandfathers employed to establish it and
our own fathers have already employed
once to maintain it? Are we degenerate?
lias the manhood of the race run out?
The power of Congress over the
militia is entirely distinct from that
to raise armies, for it may be used
only "to execute the laws, ' suppress
insurrections and repel invasions,"
which has been construed to mean
that it "cannot be employed for of
fensive warfare outside the limits of
the United States." But "the power
to use an Army is coextensive with
the power to make war; and the Army
may be used wherever the war is
carried on, here or elsewhere." The
Supreme Court held that the Presi
dent may employ the Army and Navy
"in the manner he may deem most
effectual to harrass and conquer and
subdue the enemy," adding:
He may invade the hostile country and
subject it to the sovereignty of the United
States.
In every one of our foreign wars
our armies have been sent to foreign
soil, and Mr. Hughes said there was
"no doubt of the Constitutional au
thority to employ our forces on the
battlefields of Europe."
Recognizing that "the power to
wage war is the power to wage war
successfully," the fathers of the Re
public provided that Congress should
have authority " to make all laws
which shall be necessary and proper
for carrying into execution the fore
going powers." Holding that "it is
the essence of National power that
where it exists it is supreme" and
that there is no room for "the asser
tion of state power in hostility" to
it, Mr. Hughes said that "the power
of the National Government to carry
on war is explicit and supreme."
Necessarily, Congress must greatly
augment the power of the President
in time of war, for it "cannot pre
scribe many important details as it
legislates for the purpose of meeting
the exigencies of war."
When we recall the circumstances
under which the Constitution was
framed, we can readily understand
that the convention Intended to con
fer ample war powers. It was com
posed of men who only six years be
fore had won independence by the
surrender of Torktown. -They knew
that success of the Revolution had
been imperiled by the lack of such
powers in the Continental Congress
and was finally achieved only with
the aid of France. They must have
foreseen the possibility that the
country would again be called upon
to fight for its independence. At
that time there was no other republic
in the world except Switzerland, and
the existence of this Republic chal
lenged the principle upon which the
power of every monarch rested. It is
incredible that men who so wisely
provided for domestic government in
time of peace should not also have
provided, as the terms of the Consti
tution show they did, for the enter,
gencies of war. They were fighting
men, who had recently won an arduous
fight, and they 'ramed a fighting
Constitution.
It is only the thoughtless who will
confine the giving of books for our
soldiers to the cast-offs from their
libraries. There will not be much
real demand for the last year's birds
nests of literature in the trenches, and
the reasons that influenced the rele
gation of a book to the attic probably
would operate in intensified degree to
make it valueless in the Army. A
London correspondent recently asked
a returning soldier what war felt like,
and the soldier replied: "You sit on
an old packing case and read a last
year's magazine." It is the opinion
of British librarians who have studied
the subject that soldiers want a good
proportion of "human interest" fic
tion, which helps them to get their
thoughts away from war, and that
there ought also to be some substan
tial but not too solemn reading mat
ter. Books of travel are especially
diverting and consequently appro
priate. History, geography and popu
larly written science also have their
place.
It was fortunate the drillers struck
water at about a thousand feet at
Bend. They escaped the fate of the
Ohio man years ago who declared he'd
"get water or hit h 1!" He struck
gas, but did not know it until he lit
his pipe and his neighbors thought
what ensued was a judgment. Yet
we believe Bend would take the
chance.
Oregon country creamery butter
cannot find sale in Portland and a car
of Nebraska butter arrived yesterday,
Suppose consumers get the habit of
asking for something made in Oregon,
When Columbus gave this country
the double-O 425 years ago to the day,
he may not have realized the great
deed, and then again he may. He
gets the benefit of the doubt.
A soldier does not get much pay
and when he spends it to buy a bond
he shames the man who gets a good
salary.
If your boy is going to France, the
bond you buy may bring him home
safe and sound.
If Columbus had turned back that
time, we might have been Prussians
ere now.
Germany is running short of fuel
though Michaelis supplies the hot air,
This world's series is a sort of "en
core" proposition so far.
Christopher Columbus, what a coun
try you gave us!
A Red Cross subscription unpaid is
an honor debt.
Good deal . of
drink places.
"kick" in the soft
How to Keep Well.
By Dr. W. A. Kvana.
Questions pertinent to hygiene, sanitation
and prevention of diseases, if matters of gen-
ral interest, win be answered In this col-
mn. Where space will not permit or the
ubject is not suitable, letters will be per
onally answered, subject to proper llmita-
lons and where stamped addressed envelope
is Inclosed. Dr. Evmi will not make dlag-
osis or prescribe for Individual diseases. Re
quests for such services cannot be answered.
(Copyright. 1016, By Dr. W. A. Evans.
Published by arraugement with the Chicago
Tribune.)
THE SHORT AND TALL OF IT.
WHERE lies the trouble when one
is undesirably tall or short?
What are the possibilities of changing
one's stature? Can one runt himself
by smoking cigarettes or by eating im
properly? Can one increase one's stat
ure by eating abundantly? Why are
some people long and others short?
These are dally questions, and, in ad
ltion to the few who ask them openly.
there are multitudes who would like to
know but either do not care to ask or
do not know where to ask. The eu
genics office undertakes to answer
some of them in their bulletin 18.
It says that the largest factor by far
in establishing stature is inheritance.
A person is tall or short because his
parents are tajl or short. If a tall per
son replies that his parents are short.
Professor Davenport comes back with
the reply that inheritance is from some
recent ancestor probably one or more
grandparent was tall. Tallness is very
apt to be either a quality of
parents or of the stock.
the 1
The answers seem simple enough.
but somehow they do not seem to sat
isfy. And when we come to analyze
conditions things are not so simple.
Stature is not a simple matter com
posed of but a single part. The length
of the leg below the knee is one factor,
of the thigh another, of the trunk a
third and of the neck and head a fourth.
Scientists would even subdivide these
divisions.
Now let us see what bearing these
facts have. A man may inherit long
legs from one parent, and a short body
from another, the result of the combi
nation being a low stature. Perhaps his
brother will inherit long legs from one
ancestor and a lone: trunk or
long neck from the other,
the result being a tall stature.
This is enough of Itself to account for
a good many of the variations in size
among the brothers and sisters of a
family. And then there may be a dif
ference in the persons inherited from.
One brother may inherit from the fath
er, another from the mother and a third
from some grandparent.
Davenport states a few of the laws
governing Inheritance of stature. When
both parents are tall or very tall and
of tall stock, practically all of the chil
dren are tall or very tall. When both
parents are short or very short and of
short stock all children are short or
very short.
The children of tall parents are more
apt to "grow true to form" than those
of short parents. The people of medium
stature are usually the children of peo
ple of medium stature. The children of
short parents are more apt to be me
dium in stature than are the childen
of tall parents.
The length of the trunk is from 25 to
35 per cent of the- stature. The head
and neck length is about 17 per cent of
the stature. When both parents are
short from the knee down about one
fifth of the children are tall. When
both parents have legs that are long
from the knee down none of the chil
dren are short. In certain families there
is inheritance of long bodies; in others
of long necks, and in others of long
legs.
The tendency to growth is Inherent.
Growth is stopped at certain age pe
riods by the secretions of certain
glands. Through inheritance this
growth stopping secretion may be more
or less or come into play sooner or
later.
Treatment for Lice.
G. S. writes: "I wish to know the
difference between lice and crabs and
the cause and cure for same. I have
been taking a cold bath every morning
and a hot bath once or twice a week.
I seem to have lice or crabs all over my
body, even in my hair and eyebrows
and on the hairy parts of my body. I
noticed you recommended kerosene and
vinegar of equal parts. Would that af
fect the skin where there is a pimple
or sore from scratching and will lice
and crabs infest the wearing apparel
and bed clothes? I have been told blue
ointment Is the only cure for crabs."
REPLY.
Body lice, or crabs, differ slightly from
head lice, though they are related. It is
probable that you have both. Boll all
washable clothing. Sun. air and brush all
outside clothing;. Go over the seams with
hot Iron. Wash all hairy parts with a
mixture of kerosene and vinegar, enual
parts. Wrap the head in a towel wet
with the mixture. Leave on one hour.
Avoid fire. Grease the skin and hair with
vaseline. Comb thoroughly with a fine
tooth comb. Wash with soap and warm
water, rinsing thoroughly. The method
must be thoroughly carried out. It should
not require more than two hours. Then
dress In freshly launcfered clothes and put
on the sunned and alred-over clothes. The
kerosene and vinegar will not Irritate the
wounded skin to any considerable decree.
Infestation with crabs and lice is con
tracted from Infested persons. These insects
prefer to remain In the human body. They
are apt to get Into the underclothes. They
are not very apt to get Into the bed
clothes or outer clothing.
Should Sleep Alone.
J. B. writes: "My wife has slept with
our son (who is now 17 years old) for
the last five years, or since he was 12
years old.
"The boy is tall, thin, scrawny and
doesn't look strong like other boys; in
fact, he looks all bleached out, but ap
parently In good health otherwise. I
have always heard that adults should
never sleep with a child continually.
Am I right?"
REPLT.
The theory that a young person loses
vitality by sleeping with an older one has
no foundation. 1 advise that this boy sleep
by himself. He probably needs nothing
more than good food and a chance to play
bard with other boys.
Biting: Finger Nails.
J. writes: "I am 13 years old and have
a habit of biting my finger nails since
childhood."
REPLY.
There Is but one way to stop and that Is
to stop. Biting the nails la a bad habit and
is to be controlled by the mind. You must
develop poise.
Hope for Deaf Doctor.
Reader writes: "If a doctor is totally
deaf in one ear, will he be accepted in
the medical corps?"
REPLY.
-If the hearing In the other ear is good
I think the examiners will accept him.
MAX IX NAVY PHOTESTS STRIKE
National Crisis Is No Time to Raise
Issue of Open or Closed Shop.
PORTLAND, Oct. 11. (To the Ed
itor.) This is the time for deeds, not
words. In spite of this statement,- of
necessity I must resort to the latter in
my feeble attempt to attain the former.
A shipbuilding strike at the present
time is most inopportune and embar
rassing. Its importance is of such mag
nitude that every American citizen is
directly, vitally interested. As one, and
at the same time an enlisted man in the
United States Navy, I venture my opin
ion. If the wage system is a hidden mo
tive in this strike, labor has shown poor
judgment in selecting the present time
for issue. Surely the working man's
remuneration is far from a "starva
tion" wage, and is ample to satisfy his
immediate needs. Dollar patriotism is
selfishness in its most advanced stage.
Those patriotic Americans, who volun
teered in answer to the call, did not
consider their pay when they enlisted.
Their only consideration was the pur
pose for which they were willing to
give their position and time, and life
if need be. The professional man who
gave up a practice that required years
of study and effort to establish; the
business man whose years of toil were
just being rewarded: the son who part
ed from his widowed mother: and the
father who left his wife and children
they all made supreme sacrifices. Shall
those who remain at home, free from
the hardships and risks of warfare, be
less patriotic? Now it is up to labor to
"come across."
This is not the time to fight for the
principles of an open shop or a closed
snop. uncle bam wants results lmme-
diate results and new ocean-going bot
toms are an imperative need to bring
ultimate victory for the Allies. Neither
the doctrine of the open shop nor that
of the closed shop will be a determin
ing factor in this war, but concerted
efforts, every man doing his bit. united
for the cause of victory, are the fea
tures that should be considered. What
is not of assistance to the Government
is of detriment. There is no middle
ground. To deter is an act of treason
in that it lends aid to our enemy. Amer
ican lives, American posterity, and
American victory are at stake. It is
too priceless a treasure to be overshad
owed by one of lesser importance. It
is time for labor to realize this fact and
6how its appreciation for the privilege
of American citizenship by doing what
It can to establish the security of
democracy. One people with one pur
pose will mean victory won.
AN ENLISTED MAN.
BULL IS OLDER THAV STEEPLE
Relic of Taylor-Street Church First
Rung In Church-School Building.
PORTLAND, Oct. 11. (To the Edi
tor.) In The Oregonian October 9 you
have a story about the bell of the old
Taylor-Street Methodist Church which
the following additional facts will help
complete :
The bell, as stated in your article,
was cast by Meneeley, of Troy, N. Y.,
in i860 and weighed 300 pounds. It
was first rung from the steenle of
combined church and school building
erectea in tne Fall or 1849 on lot 3
block 29, Portland, being on the west
side or .First street, 50 feet north of
Oak.
Stephen Coffin, William M. King and
William Warren, Sr., were the trustees
of this institution. Mr. Coffin bought
tne Den or .Meneeley as a private in
vestment
The Taylor-Street Church, that is
the wooden structure which preceded
the building now being torn down, was
dedicated November 14, 1850. Some time
afterward, perhaps in 1851 or 1852,
Rev. J. H. Wilbur, pastor of the church
bought the bell from Mr. Coffin for
$125. This statement about the sale of
the bell was made In an historical
sketch written by the late Professor T,
H. Crawford In 1879 and rewritten in
1888. Rev. H. K. Hines, an authority
on Methodist history, says in his "His
tory of Oregon" that Mr. Coffin gave
the bell to Taylor-Street Church.
The bell has summoned people to
countless services and meetings held
in the church. It called them to a meet
ing which -Colonel E. D. Baker ad
dressed December 10, 1859, when he was
laying plans to make Oregon his home.
It called them again to a Baker memo
rial service on November 9, 1861, after
the gallant Oregon Senator had been
killed at the Battle of Ball's Bluff.
HENRY E. REED.
Payment of British Soldiers.
PORTLAND, Oct. 11. (To the Editor.)
(1) Please tell a reader of your paper
what is being paid to British subjects
now living in the United States to have
them return and join the army, if any
thing. (2) Does the British government pay
soldiers of the Boer war a pension, and
if so how much?
(3) Does the British government pay
separation maintenance to wives of en
listed soldiers for their support and
that of minor children, and if so how
much? G. W. SHULER.
1. British subjects recruited here re
ceive transportation allowance and all
expenses to the point of training, and
after serving are returned to the point
of recruiting free of any cost to them.
2. Boer War veterans receive pen
sions, varying from one shilling to Is.
7d. a day, in addition to allowances if
wounded, which vary widely, according
to the extent of their disability.
3. Separation allowance is made as
follows, for men in the ranks: Wife
only lis. Id a week; wife and one
child, 16s. a week; wife and two chil
dren, 16s.; wife and two children, 21s.;
wife and three children, 24s. 6d.; wife
and four children, 27s. 6d. ; for each
child above 4, 3s.
Flat Feet as Disqualification.
BOYD. Or., Oct. 9. (To the Editor.)
(1) Are Army applicants rejected
because of appendicitis scars?
(2) What are the characteristics of a
disqualifying "flat" foot?
(3) Can a low-arched foot qualify if
it is strong and has apparently always
been so, even though it is a case of
fallen arch?
SUBSCRIBER'S SON AND BROTHER.
(1) No.
(2) In the flat foot which renders a
man unfit for service the arch is so
far gone that the entire border rests
on the ground, with the inner ankle
lowered and very prominent and the
foot apparently pushed outward.
(3) That would be for the examiners
to determine. Physical deficiencies
must be present in such degree as
clearly and unmistakably to disqualify
for military service.
Anesthetic Is New.
ILWACO. Wash., Oct. 10. (To the Ed
itor.) In Collier's, September 22, ap
pears an article, "Gordon Edward, the
Man Who Conquered Pain, and his
solution, "nikalgin."
Is this just a yarn or a forecast of
what the writer hopes some day will
exist? Are the statements to be ac
cepted as facts or fiction?.
STUDENT.
Nikalgin represents, apparently, an
earnest effort by scientists to find an
anesthetic which will relieve the pain
attendant on the dressing of wounds
without delaying their healing. It is
said to be a derivative of quinine. It
has not been in use vlong enough to
Justify a dogmatic assertion either as
to its success or failure.
In Other Days.
Twenty-five Years Ago,
From The Oregonian of October 12. 1SS2.
New York. A great Columbus day
pageant was held here yesterday. One
of the features was a demonstration of
warships. For the first time in history
the pneumatic gun was fired in salute,
the firing being done from the Vesu
vius. London. Kier Hardy, the labor mem
ber of Parliament, who, it is said, owes
his election to the generous contribu
tions from Andrew Carnegie, climbed
down from his seat in the gallery at
the Congregational Union convention
the other day and told the assembled
preachers that their meeting was worse
than useless. It was in reply to a
speaking minister's reference to Hardy's
remarks about Christianity being dead.
Lord Salisbury will be one of the
pallbearers at Lord Tennyson's funeral
today in London. Robert T. Lincoln is
also a pallbearer.
Miss Lena Stafford, of Eugene, who
has been visiting friends here, has re
turned home.
Judge Carey did not put in an ap
pearance at Police Court yesterday, be
ing detained on Supreme Court busi
ness at Salem. Mr. McNary occupied
the bench again. Dressed in his best
suit and hair slicked back by a pains
taking barber, he cut quite an impres
sive figure.
Half a Century Ago.
Prom The Oregonian of October 12. 1S67.
Major-General Logan, in a recent
speech at Hamilton, O., arraigned
President Johnson.
"White Sock," formerly "Portland,"
made the best time at the State Fair
at Salem yesterday. He ran a mile
in 1:52.
Mr. Files, of the East Side, is ex
hibiting some corn 11 feet tall.
Henry Buxton's four-horse team ran
away last night just as they were
driven up before the American stables
for the night. The horses took fright
at the noise and confusion. One horse
is dead as a result, a shaft having
run through its breast.
Mrs. Catlin and dautrhter and Mrs.
J. B. Knapp and daughter were amor.tr
the passengers on the Sierra Nevada,
which arrived yesterday. There were
several high Army officers aboard also.
CRY SHOULD GO TO GOVERNMENT
Ask Uncle Sam Make Strikers Work or
Fight, Is Advice to Mothers.
MAUPIN, Or., Oct. 10. (To the Edi
tor.) As a union man and a veteran
of the Spanish American War I must
take exception to the articles on the
"Closed Shop" and "Open Shop" ques
tion that is now balking our prepara
tion for war.
They blame the union men, just as
many people seem to blame the soldiers
of Russia for the disgraceful stand they
are making in the great fight for de
mocracy. I believe, and everyone must believe
who has studied history, that the Rus
sian is as brave and fearless as any
man living. He has made and could be
made again into a powerful fighting
machine, had he but a strong and fear
less government to back him up. but
that he hasn't got. Instead a lot of
crafty politicians are at the head of
affairs and are playing into the good
graces of the mob, or at least they
think they are. A few agitators are
running the country.
Virtually the same condition was
rampant in England during the first
two years of the war. The unions, or
rather the leaders of the unions, kept
making exorbitant demands and shut
ting down works and hindering tho
preparation and supply of the necessary
munitions for the successful carrying
on of the war, until thousands and
hundreds of thousands of the best
troops of Britain paid the price on the
battlefields of France and the public
became so Inflamed over the way the
government was permitting the unions
to carry on that It had to take action.
The government simply said, "You
work or fight" and they decided to
work.
Now as to the United States, history
will doubtless repeat itself. Our crafty
and diplomatic politicians who are in
control of the Government will keep
fooling around and compromising with,
the unions until the work the countrjr
is engaged in will become completely
demoralized. Then after thousands and
hundreds of thousands of our youth
have perished on the battlefield and the
war prolonged for many months, they
may see fit to take the necessary action
and compel the union men either to
work or fight.
Mothers, it is a shame that such is
the case, but I much fear that it will
work out just that way and the only
advice 1 can give is that instead of go
ing after the unions you go after the
newspapers and the Government and
demand that the work which is so
necessary for the carrying out of the
war and the protection of your sons
from slaughter in the fields of France
and Belgium be not hindered by "open
shop," "closed shop" or higher wages.
Demand that the Government make
them work or fight. A UNION MAN.
Law's Loophole Avoided.
PORTLAND, Oct. 11. (To the Ed
itor.) Can a person be tried for first
degree murder in Oregon? If so, what
is the penalty? What is the penalty
for second-degree murder
A READER.
Death was the only penalty pre
scribed for murder in the first degree
and, since abolishment of capital pun
ishment by vote of the people, the Leg
islature has failed to fix a new penalty.
A person could be tried for murder in
the first degree, but it would be a use
less procedure. The practice is to in
dict for murder in the second degree,
for which the prescribed penalty is life
imprisonment.
American Troops In Europe.
LAKESIDE, Or., Oct. 9. (To the Ed
itor.) In case it is not against the cen
sorship to furnish the information, I
would thank you to Inform me how
many American troops have been trans
ported to European countries In the
past four months. I do not mean those
fighting in that country prior to Amer
ica's entry into the war.
W. T. SMITH.
It would be contrary to the censor
ship regulations to transmit the Infor
mation, even if the War Department
had permitted it to become known.
Letter to Officer.
ASTORIA. Or., Oct. 10. (To the Ed
itor.) Kindly tell me the correct way
to address a friendly letter to a com
missioned officer in the Army. Should
you use the title, as "Lieutenant John
H. Smith," or should it be simply "Mr.
John H. Smith"?
SUBSCRIBER.
Use the military title.
Remedy for Smut.
MADRAS, Or., Oct. 10. (To the Ed
itor.) I see in The Oregonian where
a Mr. Hawkins, of Pendleton, is hunt
ing a remedy for smut. Will say that'
one pound of blue vitriol and one-quarter
pound of salt, dissolved, to five
bushels of wheat will stop all smut,
no matter how smutty the wheat may
be. It is absolutely a cure for smut.
FRED FISHER,
r