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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1917)
THE 3IORXIXG OREGOXUX, FRIDAY. OCTOBER 19, 1917. SLAV LABOR RULE STIFLES INDUSTRY Low Factory Output Due to Committee Control With Shortage Being Felt. PLOTTING HUNS REWARDED With Teutons In Principal Industries Before War, beginning of Hos tilities Is Siionn to Have Hindered Production. BY TtHETA CHILD E DORR. (Copyright, 1S1T, by the New York Evening Mail. ) I said yesterday that John Stevens, head of the railroad commission sent to Russia from the United States, had fihown the Russian government how to increase its transportation facilities 60 per cent. In a report made public in mid-August Mr. Stevens said that the chief cause of the railroad crisis "was bad management. Locomotives traveled 2S00 versts a month when they could be made to travel 5000 versts. A verst is about t hree-quprters of a mile. Twice as much freight as was being hauled could be carried, said Mr. Stevens. Freight cars were constantly being sent out only half loaded. Mr. Stevens recommended govern ment dictatorship of all railroads, both publicly and privately owned. Workmen Control Railroads. That was rather naive, considering that the government was powerless to control, much less to dictate to, any department of activity in the empire. A little earlier Mr. Xekrassoff, then Minister of Ways and Communications, issued a circular in which he outlined his plan for coping with the railroad crises, lie advised turning the entire railroad system over to the workmen, the engineers, firemen, ondi ctors and mach inists. A shriek of protest went up from the engineering profession and a howl of laughter arose from the press of Rus sia. But the fact of the matter is that the railroads .were and are still, for all practical purposes, in the hands of the working people, and so is every other industry in Russia. One of the great dreams of the So cialists and philosophical anarchists is of the day when the worker shall own his tools, as they put it, when all in dustry shall be owned by the people who operate the machines and all profits shall be shared by them. It really is a great dream and will prob ebly be realized in some measure some day. But not now. The human race is not yet educated to such a Utopia. The strongest proof that the capital istic class is not yet ready to pass is the well-known fact that the secret ambition of almost every human being In every walk of life is to become a capitalist, large or small. This has just been proved on an enor mous scale in Russia. The workers have seized the factories, shops, depart ment stores and offices and in no in stance of which I could learn, and I searched diligently, have they used their great opportunity wisely or un selfishly for the common good. They have used it to get all the money pos sible out of the employers and to ren der back the minimum of service. Suffering to End Chaos. This is what is the matter with the transportation system in Russia. It is the reason why the people of Petrograd. Moscow and other cities will go cold and hungry this Winter, one reason why the death rate of children and old people, already appallingly large, will grow more appalling within the next few months; one reason, and a very strong une. why order has not been re stored in Russia. High as are the prices of all food and manufactured articles, the working people, as a class, have money enough to pay for them, and not until the mer chants' stocks are comepletely gone una tne weather gets too cold to stand in line long hours in order to buy will the purblind workers realize their sit uation. Not until then will they realize what their elnshness and cruel folly lias done to themselves and the entire working class of the country. So struck was I by the scarceness of goods in the shops and the soaring prices of almost every article that I went to the Minister of Labor and DISEASE IS EVER THE SAME nd in view of this fact a medicine like Hood's Siirsaparilla, which has hoen su.cessful for more than 4 0 years, is it safe one to rely upon. Hood's Sarsapai ilia is known to the people of America as the standard blood purifier. Its record is one of geuenil satisfaction and remarkable results. There is nothing better as a general tonic and appetite-maker for wenk and run-down men, women and children and old people, invalids and iinn alesccnts. It is pleasant to take, aids digestion and supplies the vital organs with rich red blood essential to perfect health. :ei Hood's Sarsaparilla today and bcf.lii u take it at once. Adv. COZY Ej High quality.quick service, clean DAIRY LUNCH 1 AND CAFETERIA 323 Washington St., ar Sixth. Choice Roadi, S e aka, 1 g Chops, Chicken, 1 lfih. etc. IOC iE A Complete Line of Rich Break- EE fast Pastries. With a Cup - ( of Our Famous Coffee 1UC Jjj Hot Cakes. Waffles or Any Short S Order Any Time of Day or Night. r; Cuticura Soap Is Ideal for the Complexion and Skin Because So Delicately Medicated Medicines That Aid Nature Most Effectual. As a general rule the medicines that Hid Nature are most effectual. Cham berlain's Cough Remedy acts on this plan. It loosens the cough, relieves the lungs, opens the secretions and aids Nature in restoring the system to a healthy condition. When you have need f such a medicine give it a trial, you will never regret it. Adv. asked him to tell me something of in-T dustrial conditions in the country. I was not entirely ignorant of those ( conditions. I knew, for example, that Russia is not exclusively an agricul tural country, that, on the contrary, her development as a manufacturing country has been going on In leaps and bounds, especially in the last dozen years. Russia has a proletariat and a factory system almost as Jarge pro portionately as those of the United States. Her iron industry, her cotton mills, her machine shops are enormous and in normal times they are wonder fully productive. After the suppressed "revolution of 1905-06 important reforms in the land laws were enacted, and for the first time the peasants were given their lands in fee simple. That is, they were given an opportunity in certain cir cumstances to take title to their share in communal lands. This gave them an opportunity to sell if they chose, and a large number of peasant artisans did sell their lands, moved into the cities and became factory workers. Before this time the factory workers had more or less alternated between town and rural life. The leaders of the Social Democratic party encouraged by every means in their power the selling of lands by peasant owners, because they wanted the workers to move to town, organize in labor unions and become a political power. In their own words, they want ed to create a landless working class, one which, having no stake in prop erty, would the more easily revolt against the government and more heartily support the movement to cre ate a co-operative commonwealth. Socialists Flan Faulty. It was good reasoning up to a certain point. A man with a piece of land thinks twice before he puts -that land in danger of being absorbed by his neighbors. He hesitates before he takes a course of action which might turn even a bad government out. At least, the bad government protects his title. But the leaders of the Social Demo crats left one important human element out of their reasoning. A landless man makes a good revolutionist, it is true, but he does not necessarily - make a good co-operator. Nine and three quarters times in ten he is just as strong for No. 1 as the real estate owner. When he gets a chance to grab power and money he- does it, and he divides up just as little as the others let him. When I called on the Minister of Labor and asked him what was the matter with industry, his face assumed an expression of mingled amusement and despair. "If you really want to know," he said, in effect, "go and look at some of our factories." I was given an official document, elaborately stamped and signed, au thorizing me to enter and inspect any factory in Petrograd, and I began, bright and early the next morning, with one of the largest munitions fac tories in the Viborg district of the city. I showed my pass to the man at the gate, who read it doubtfully and said he didn't think it was good. "What right has the Minister of Labor to give you permission to visit this plant?" he inquired. "If . anybody had a right to give you such permission. I should think it would be the Minister of War, for only war materials are manufac tured here. Anyhow, I don't think you can get in." Committee Forbid Visit. I asked him mildly if he was sure that he had the power to keep me out and I suggested that he put the case up to a higher authority, the manager, for instance. He turned to a wall tele phone in his little gate house and con versed with someone at the other end of the line. Then he said: "The com mittee is in session and will see you." T had a long talk with this com mittee, but I did not get into the fac tory. The men would not permit me to get, in. They wouldn't even . allow me to see anyone connected with the office force. Kindly but (irmly they gave me to understand that 'they were all the power there was in that plant and they could give me all the infor mation I could possibly need. So I sat there for an hour or so and. through my interpreter, learned how manufac turing is carried on when the workers own their own tools. Most of my notes having been de stroyed by the censor, I am not certain how many delegates per thousand workers make up a committee of man agement in a Russian factory, but I think each unit of 100 men elects a rep resentative. Perhaps there are 200 men to the unit. My memory for numbers is not always reliable. At all events, the committee mem bers, who are usually the intelligent and highly paid workers, do no work except committee work. But they draw their full pay. The employer has no voice in the conduct of his own busi ness. The committee tells him how much he pays his employes, what their hours of work are, when they arrive and when they depart and how much they produce. And the employer pays the committee for its kind words and deeds. War Brings Crlsin. When I was in Russia in 1906 one of the most striking things to me was the prevalence of German shopkeepers, German managers. German foremen. You hardly ever saw a Russian in com mand of any industry. 1 spoke of this to a Russian friend and told him that I should not like to see in my country all the business controlled by foreign ers, for these Germans were not even Russian citizens. He shrugged his shoulders and said "Nitihevo." which means almost anything and is a gen eral expression of indifference or res ignation tr the inevitable. "We have no heads for that sort of thing, we Russians." he apologized. "Rut what if you should ever go to war with Germany?" T asked. And he. sobered a little, said: "We should have to learn to be business men and skilled mechanics in that rase, and we should have a devil of a time doing it." Kight years later, almost to a day. they did go to war with Germany, and they did have a devil of a time adjust ing their industries to meet the crisis caused by the exodus of thousands of highly-skilled German managers and department heads in hundreds of fac tories and shops throughout the em pire. Germans Hinder Development. One story told me in Moscow is repre sentative, I believe. A very large fac tory taken over by the government for the fine toolmaking: facilities its ma chines afforded was found to be man aged exclusively by German foremen and managers. Not only had they drawn large salaries for years in that factory, but they had insisted on hiring for the last processes and the -most highly skilled workmen from Germany. They didn't want, or rather the Ger man government didn't want, the Rus sian people to know how to do skilled work. They wanted to keep Russia in exactly the right condition for perma nent commercial exploitation by the fatherland. 1 go Into this because I think it is only fair to the Russian working class to explain that they have not been al lowed to develop the intelligence and skill which the Knglish and American working classes have done. Because the Russians of the working class have in their seven months' debauch of lib erty and the control of industry wrecked their country industrially and have brought themselves and their own people to the verge of starvation, they have done to their class approximately what the mutinous soldiers at the front did to the men who wanted to go for ward and fight shot them in the back. 1 know this because I have seen it. The next factory I approached the com mittee let roe in. Tomorrow I will tell sbtneUiins of, what I loimd, there. . MUTINOUS SPIRIT IN NAVY SPREADS German Sailors Refuse Board Submarines and Are Handcuffed. to AUSTRIANS ALSO REVOLT Clashes Between Sailors of Central Powers Reported Everything Indicates Discontent Is Growing. AMSTERDAM, Oct. 18. A mutiny among German sailors at the Belgian port at Ostend. who refused to go on board submarines, is reported by the Belgische Dagblad. The newspaper says an officer was thrown into the sea and that 30 mutineers were re moved in handcuffs to Bruges. WASHINGTON. Oct. 18. Official dip lomatic dispatches received here today report mutinies in the Austrian navy and clashes between Austrian sailors and crews of the German submarine fleet based at Pola, in which officers on both sides have been killed, and which resulted in a decision to change the base of the German flotilla. Anatrlans Are Ill-Treated. Despite the attempts of the Austrian Admiralty to suppress the news, it reached here today, coming by way of Berne. The Austrian crews are said to have revolted under ill treatment of officers and bad food, while the clash with the German submarine crews was caused by the overbearing conduct of the latter. The dispatches say the tension be tween Austrian and German crews be came so alarming that extraordinary measures were taken to prevent a re currence of the fighting between them, which included the decision to move the German submarine flotilla from the Austrian base at Pola to another point further south on the Adriatic. The fighting between the two sets of crews is described as having been san guinary. Mutiny la Significant. This news of mutiny in the Austrian navy, received in the capital today al most at the same time as the Amster dam dispatches reporting further mu tinies in the Germany navy this time among submarine crews created a profound impression among American naval officers and among other offi cials who have been watching the sit uation with expectation since the first mutinies in the German fleet were re ported a few days ago. The first signs of mutiny in the Ger man fleet were regarded as most sig nificant, since, unlike the army, it has endured little of the hardship of cam paigning. Dispatches from abroad, however, confirm the opinion of Ameri can naval officers that It. probably was due in part at least to the drafting of seamen for submarine crews, a serv ice which has come to hold terrors for the German seamen because of the in flexible British policy of never making any announcement of the fate of cap tured or lost crews of the German sub marines. Suspense Breaka Morale. This suspense as to the fate of com rades who go out never to be heard of again was expected to undermine the morale of the navy. Clashes between German and Aus trian crews are regarded in navavl cir cles here as adding much significance to the situation, particularly when con sidered in the light of the extreme sit uation of Austria. whose fighting forces are at thepoint of exhaustion. tion. There can be no doubt of it. But if we had not intervened our honor I and our wealth alike would have been lost to us. We should have had to fight in the end against military odds that had broken England and France, and we should have paid in indemnities far more than this war can ever cost us. What is worse still, our money and our shame would have imposed abso lutism upon the world for generations to come, and this terrible struggle for emancipation would have been be queathed to our children's children. I have seen this war from both sides and I know that unless Kaiserism is destroyed democracy "Will be destroyed. We cannot live in the same world wtth the kind of a Germany that Prussian militarism has created and that the Kaiser is directing. War la for Freedom. Let there be no mistake about it we are fighting a new war of inde pendence, and it Is as' truly a war of independence as that which our ances tors fought under Washington from 1776 to 1783. We are fighting a new war against slavery from that with which Lincoln emancipated the Repub lic, but slavery it Is- the slavery of white to white. which the military caste of Prussia has sought to impose upon all civilization. Under Wilson we are battling in a new war for emancipation, and there can be no terms but unconditional sur render on the part of Kaiserism and absolutism. Anything short of that is a victory for Germany. Anything less than the complete triumph of the forces of democracy, in which the United States is now the leader, will beaueath to me next generation the heritage of another, conflict more terrible still than that which is drenching the world in blood. It was Bernhardt who formulated the battle cry of Kaiserism as it seized the sword Weltmacht oder Niedergang world mastery or downfall. It must be downfall. Wilhelm II decreed the war. In the providence of God the Ameri can people under Woodrow Wilson, to gether with their allies, can decree the peace, and there must, be no compro mise. Absolutism must be destroyed, root and branch. Only then can the world have a new birth of -freedom. LUMBER RATES TO STAND WESTERX FINE MAXCFACTIHERS' C031PLAI.T DISMISSED. MEN Now Is the Time to Buy Your New Beacon Bath & House Robes wo KAISER'S PLOT IS BARED (Continued From rap 2.) Interstate Commerce Commission De cides Rates From Inland Empire Points Reasonable and Jnst. OREGOXIAX NEWS BUREAU. Wash ington, Oct. 18. The Interstate Com merce Commission has dismissed the complaint of the Western Pine Manu facturers' Association against the Great Northern and others, wherein it was alleged that through rates on lumber from Eastern Oregon and Washington. Idaho and Western Mon tana to points in Central Freight As sociation territory are unreasonable and unjustly discriminatory. Com plaint against existing minimum weights also was dismissed. . The complainant represented most of the lumber manufacturers in the In land Empire, and objected to pres ent rates, which are the aggregate of intermediate rates. "The mere fact that through rates are composed of the aggregate of in termediate rates," says the Commis sion, "is not sufficient to condemn them without proof that such an ad justment results in rates that are in violation of the law." The Spokane rate to St. Paul is 42 cents and to Chicago 52 cents, and rates from Bend. North Yakima, etc., 1 cent higher. These rates will stand. GERMAN FLEET IN GULF (Continued From First PagO no more nonsense from the Americans. If Germany was victorious and Great Britain and France were crushed, the 1'nited States would have been at tacked on the pretext that it had sup plied the allies with money and muni tions and be compelled to pay an in demnity that would make Germany the richest nation in the world in spite of her enormous losses. I have heard this indemnity mentioned at 550,000,000,000, or 00,000,000,000 marks. There is not the slightest doubt in my mind thaat this is what the Kaiser would have done if the allies had been defeated. Indeed, the humbling" and cripplintc of the United States were no less essential to the Kaiser's ambition to create a master state than the hum bling and crippling of Great Britain. Here were unlimited riches in the hand.- of 100.000,000 people who had not had the courage to defend themselves. They had made billions out of the war: why not take it away from them and put the German Kmpire back, on its feet? AVhen a. Senator like La Follette as serts that we had only a technical grievance against Germany, the men who applaud him for assailing the President's policy are blind and deaf and dumb to the calamity which was hanging over the country. It is freely admitted by French and British statesmen that the cause of the a!1fs was savp ! by our intrven- fcrces in Moon Sound kept back fierce attacks from the north in the rear of our combatting forces. These enemy attempts did not succeed. On the southwestern coast of Dago Island the enemy again landed some small detachments, but they were re ceived by our fire and soon returned to their ships. Shortly afterward the ene my violently bombarded this landing piace with a cruiser and a dreadnought of the Kaiser type. Our patrols, as on days before, ob served on the sea not far from 0sel and Dago Islands enemy ships of dif ferent types, w among1 them dread noughts, accompanied by a great num ber of torpedo-boats and patrolling ships. As many as 53 enemy ships were visible at times In this region alone. The enemy operations on Oesrl Island in the last 24 hours have ended in the complete occupation of the island. .Be fore our retreat we destroyed every thing of military utility. On all the fighting fronts onlv fusil lades occurred. On Tuesday night a Zeppelin flew over the town of Pernau (on the Gulf of Riga, 100 miles north east of the city of Riga) and dropped bombs. Six houses were destroyed. lilk Producers Indicted. OHTrAGO. Oct. 18. Charles IT. poi- CASTORIA For Infants and Children In Use For Over 30 Years Always bears the 3tenature of "The Military Girl" A Stylish Shoe for Autumn Wear Price $7.50 A smart laced shoe, which we show in both calf and kid, in either cocoa brown or black. A com fortable shoe with welt soles and sensible heels. 129 Tenth St., Bet. Washington and Alder We Give S. & H. Trading Stamps x . Such handsome colorings and patterns in these splendid robes ; many I EXCLUSIVE PATTERNS. New styles in these wonderfully com- j" fortable robes, and they are here in splendid assortments of colors and combinations. You couldn't find a better gift for a man if you tried, S and these evenings are made just twice as comfortable if a fellow has J the right sort of comfortable lounging robe. j THEY'D COST US MORE TODAY TO BUY THEM c Rich Indian patterns, checks, stripes, all-over and I large fancy figured designs, in blue, green, red, c gray, brown and heather mixtures. Plain and silk trimmed, with silk cords and deep pockets. j j They're considerably underpriced at J i $3.45, $4.45, $5.95, $6.65 to $K45 ! j X Just the robes for the men now going into military training. J Mm Jfet i KJm'i'I'VVi MEN! Our Famous Jefferson Union Suits Keep Out the Cold - There's a suit here for men of practically every type and build the short stout, the long slim, the heavy weight and the small man. They are in jusc the right v eights for present and Winter wearing, and the order was placed before woolens and cottons advanced so high; that explains the moderate prices! I j i j I j THREE WEIGHTS OF UNION SUITS AT $1.98 -Superweight worsted merino for early Fall. Heavy worsted merino and extra heavy cotton ribbed. In Winter styles; all sizes. FINE WORSTED MERINO UNION SUITS, $2.48 Fine quality worsted merino, in medium and heavy weights. Natural gray color. Exceptional quality at this price; all sizes. Buy a Liberty Bond Today Help Oregon Make Its Quota EXTRA QUALITY WORSTED UNION SUITS, $2.85 These are worsteds in extra quality. Rich blue mixed, in the heavy weight, popular tor out-of-door wearing. Excellent garments. MEDIUM HEAVY WEIGHT UNION SUITS, $3.95 Silk and wool worsteds, in natural gray color. A wonderful garment at a wonder fully low price. All sizes are priced $3.95. Main Floor Lipman, Wolfe & Co. Just Inside IVashinglon-Street Entrance. Bonds Purchased Through Us Accepted as Cash in Payments i cTMerchamlis of cJ Merit Only MO ter, of Elgin, 111.,' chairman of the Milk Producers' Association, and four other officials were indicted today on charges of conspiracy to fix the price of milk. Registration Card Stolen. REDFIELD, Wash., Oct. 18. (Spe cial. John Henry Smith, of this place. was robbed of his registration card along with other things taken from his clothes in the steamer City of Ridgefield at the Oak-street dock, Port land, on Tuesday afternoon. He is engineer on the boat. Wheat Rancher Under Arrest PROSSER, Wash.. Oct. 17. (Special.) miles northeast of this city. Emory Williams, 19-year-old wheat rancher, was arrested last night by Deputy Sheriff II. R. Tucker on a statutory charge. The alleged offense is said to have been committed against a 15-year-old girl. The parties reside 1 in the Rattlesnake district about 20 Just Ten .Cents Apiece A Whole Winter's Entertainment Everyman and EverywomanV" "Somewhere in Portland". Yes it a true! Every number of the Portland Lyoeum Course la "a guaranteed attraotion. Many are worth, more than the prioe of the season tioket. Yet we are selling general admission tiokets to the entire .ten numbers for tlP0, .How ia it possible? ' Only because w,e"have secured the Auditorium and the Armory for these attractions.-.- The seating oapaoity is large and wewill- sell 3000 tickets'.. .bMlfliau reserved seats. i But buy now? ' Ho more dollar season tickets will be on sale after Thursday Oct. 25th, date of the opening number. Only single. ad mission tickets can then be aeoured and they will cost you from 50 to $1.00 per number. Reserved seats will oost 15 per number extra. They will be placed on sale Monday 0ot.22nd atherman Clay's for ' seasonjbioket holders only. Ten splendid numbers- Five of the ten numbers ar music. HenrlSoott. Zedeler Symphonio Quintet, Hubbard-Gotthelf , Leonid Samoloff and' assisting artists and the Zoellner Quartet. Three splendid leo turefs will be presented.' Hon. iTancis Heilson. Dr. Arthur Walwyn Evans and "Burns of the Mountains". Two numberB of entertainment, the Hetty Jane Dunaway Company and Chief Caupolioan. i Yours respeotfully. l2liIS0E-miITS 1YCEU1I BUREAU f I Portland Lyceum Course I I October 25 March 30 I Tickets on Sale Sherman Clay & Co.