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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 1917)
6 TIIE MORNING OREGONIAN. MONDAY, x6yE3IBER 19. 1917. Bw$nxmx PORTLAND, OREGON. Entered at Portland (Oregon) Postoffice aa second-class mail matter. Subscription rates Invariably in advance: (By Mall.) aily. Sunday Included, one year $3.00 Tally. Sunday included, six months...... 4. 115 Iaily, Sunday Included, three months... 2.5 raily, Sunday included, one month "5 Daily, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Xally, without Sunday, six months 3.-5 Ualiy, without Sunday, three months.... I TS Iaily, without Sunday, one month .00 "Weekly, one year - 1.00 Sunday, one year ..................... 2.50 Sunday and weekly ... 3.50 (By Carrier.) Iaily, Sunday Included, one year .......$9.00 Iaily, Sunday included, one month. ..... -75 Daily, without Sunday, one year . .. 7.80 Daily, without Sunday, three months.... 1-95 Dally, without Sunday, one month 65 How to Keniit Send postoffice money or der. express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at owner's risk. Give postoffice address in full. Including county and state. Pontage Kates 12 to 18 pages. 1 cent: IS to 82 p;iges. 2 cents: 34 to 4S pages, 3 cents: 60 to Co paes, 4 cents: 02 to 76 pages, 5 cents: 78 to S2 pages, 0 cents. Foreign post age double rates. Kastern Business Officer Veree & Conklln Urunswicl: building. New York; Veree & Conklln. Steger building, Chicago; San Fran cisco representative. It. J. Iiidwell, 742 Mar ket street. MEMBER OF TIIE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dis patches credited to it or not otherwise cred ited in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights of republication of special dis patches therein are also reserved. PORTLAND, MONDAY, NOV. 19. 1917. THE AILMENT OF GOSSIP. The Industry with which war myths are circulated is one of the distressing home incidents of the period. They range from the grewsome to the ma licious. A malicious rumor is not al ways circulated with malicious intent regardless of the originator's inspira tion, but it seems strange, after all the publicity given to the Red Cross sock falsehood, that it should appear with ail its vicious trimmings in a Portland newspaper without repudiation by that journal. It may be found iri several varia tions in a contemporary in the form of a letter from one who demands an investigation. The main points of the story are that some woman knit a pair of socks for the Red Cross and that they later were purchased by somebody In a Portland department etore. The fable in another form has reached The Oregonian. A woman knit a sweater for her son who was in the Army, secreted a ten dollar bill in the fabric, then gave it to the Red Cross to forward. It turned up in a I'ortland department store, where the woman positively identified it by open ing the fabric and revealing the bill. Portland gossips are usually one to three months behind the rest of the country with their absorbing tales. This case is no exception. The sock etory and the sweater story, with the circumstantial detail of the ten dollar bill, performed their service and ex hausted their scope throughout the Kast several weeks ago. One Eastern newspaper published them in a list of other stories and called attention to their falseness. Physicians have dis cussed whether their circulation is not due to some mental disorder. Thus we find Dr. V. A. Evans, after reciting the Bweater story, commenting in the Chicago Tribune: The question is what type of mental dis ease or mental infirmity does the wide diffusion of this type of story Indicate? Kvery one who hears it is willing to pass m it. Some appear to gloat in passing it on The desire to believe and pass on is not a result of Insanity. A majority of the peo ple are affected and a majority of the peo ple cannot be convicted of insanity. Besides, the story Is not materially changed in the telling. Clearly, insanity is not a factor. There is, for one thing, a mild infusion of maliciousness. The creator of the story was clearly malicious. The retailers are only slightly so. They are willing to do a little sly, un derhanded harm, but they are not willing to go far along that line. They have cau tion, are somewhat lacking in courage. They are willing to believe evil and are willing to help on the work a little. Although we cannot convict them of insanity in any sense, or of any considerable degree of maliciousness, we can convict them of a lack of poise, common sense and shrewdness. They are willing to accept a statement and to sponsor it without proper investigation or carefully weighing it. They will accept the coin without biting or ringing it or even giving it the "once over." A study of the spread of such stories furnishes, a chance to look in on the pop ular mind; to glimpse mob psychology. It Indicates a widespread, mild, mental sick ness, though not a very severe mental malady. But the gossip proclivity is as old bs the world. War 'has merely pro vided a new source for knitting circles and street corner gatherings. The stories that are Ohed! and Ahed! over have not always been harmful to our own cause. There is the one about arrival in town of several Belgian chil dren for adoption and the discovery that their hands or their ears had been cut off by the Germans. It, like the Red Cross canard, exhausted interest in the East and finally found a locale in Portland. A hundred newspapers have tried to find these children, but not one has sncceeded. There was also the grewsome yarn of the mother in Germany who wrote a criticism of the Kaiser on a post Card and directed it to a daughter in America. The card was received, so the story ran, with an inscription across the face written by the censor: "Your mother was shot at sunrise this mornins." Every city in the United States, including Portland, has been the home of the imaginary recipient of this imaginary postal card. A more serious story was the false hood that a United States transport liad been sunk with all on board. This gained such credence and circulation that the Navy Department issued a formal denial. It, too, made a belated appearance in Portland, and The Ore gonian reassured several inquirers after the Navy Department's denial had been published. Much less vicious, but still alarm ing in a sense, is the story of the spy at Vancouver Barracks. It has had a wonderful backdoor circulation in Portland. A spy was discovered put ting poison in the bread, it was said, . and was shot in the act. Thousands of loaves were found to have been in fected. The commanding officer at Vancouver gives assurance that there la not a word of truth in it. Of some of these stories, as Dr. Evans says, the creator was clearly malicious. The sock and sweater stories were plainly inspired originally by a desire to discredit the Red Cross. The story of the lost transport was Intended to discourage military activi ties. Sympathizers with the enemy understand the psychology of gossip and play upon it.. They have been checked in part by Federal enactment. One who circulates falsehoods in tended to interfere with war prepara tions is likely to find himself in the custody of the law. Concerning the others the people need only exercise a little discretion and a little common peftse. A great many persons can per form a real war service by sacrificing the morbid enjoyment that attends spread of scandal when such scandal affects a war agency. TAKE CP THE PLEDGE. The pledge made by B. L. Winchell, traffic director of the Union Pacific Railroad, that his road will co-operate fully with any company running steam ers regularly from Portland should be taken up. There has been a continual see-saw between those persons who say that we have no steamship lines because the railroads take through freight to other ports, and the rail road men, who say that they do not bring this freight here because there are no vessels to take it. It is the old circular argument, by which each party excuses the fact that he does nothing because the other party does nothing, the net result being that nothing is done. The ships are here: Portland is building them. It is apparently the intention of the Government to em ploy in Pacific commerce some of the wooden ships now building, to take the place of steel ships which are being transferred to the Atlantic. The opportunity is open for Portland capital to secure some of these Port land-built ships to carry the products of Portland's tributary territory, to gether with the through freight of the Union Pacific Railroad, which has its terminus at Portland and which is ready to turn over this traffic to a well-organized company making regu lar sailings. That is the way to call upon Mr. Winchell to make good his pledge. FORESIGHT. Intimations that a long list of lux uries and nonessentials will be barred from railroad traffic while cars are in demand for war shipments, presages a development of auto truck lines wherever highways make them prac ticable. The long distance truck express line is not wholly a novelty. Because of railroad congestion the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has established a private express between Akron, Ohio, anil Boston. ' Each of four trucks makes a round trip (1510 miles) in less than one week, and is usually on time.-. Tires are delivered to Eastern branches, and cotton fabric and ma chinery for the Akron plant are brought on the return trips. War orders have been successfully deliv ered In Washington. This line, its owners claim, is a financial success, although twenty eight miles of the route is unimproved and some bridges are in poor condi tion. By June 1, 1918, it Is promised by Highway Commissioner Nunn, it will be possible to travel in comfort by automobile at the legal speed maxi mum from Hood River to Seaside, and from Portland to the California line. Not all of the east and west highway and north and south highway will have by that time been paved, but bad grades will have been eliminated, much that has not been paved will have been macadamized and the re mainder will have been put in good condition. Oregon has looked ahead. It need not worry greatly about transporta tion within the state. "THOSE LAZY MONKS." There is a difference between Mount Angel the town and Mount Angel the college. They are situated near each other, but the college is not within the city borders. But the town is largely made up of graduates of the college and citizens of foreign birth. In all Oregon there is no community of its size more loyal and enterprising than Mount Angel. Last Saturday was celebrated the opening of a paved street from the town to the college. Half of it was built by. the little municipality and half by the "lazy monks" of the college. . We use that term because Father Adelhelm, the founder of the college, used it frequently in a jocular way Saturday in his speech of welcome on the college campus. He told how the "lazy monks," with their clerical robes cast aside, donned overalls-and, with perspiring faces and grimy hands, wielded ax and shovel and pick on this new road. During the campaign for the passage- of the road-bonding bill last Spring no community did better work than Mount Angel, no institution did more than the folk of Mount Angel College. At the election following no community turned out a better vote. Since then the little city of Mount Angel has paved nearly all of its streets, and the college has built this fine paved highway. Have they stopped at that? They are going to have a road from Brownsville, through Silverton and Mount Angel, to connect with the Pacific Highway at Wood burn. The road districts along the way are to hold elections to vote special tax to help build this road. It will be built from Woodburn as far as Silverton perhaps before another year rolls around. So the Mount Angel people are doers and not merely prom isers. In loyalty, love of country and en terprise Mount Angel town and col lege are Setting an example to all. WHERE LIMBER COMES BACK. One invigorating effect of the war on the lumber industry has been to revive old uses for lumber and old occupations in its manufacture. Sev eral examples are given by the Liver pool correspondent of the American Lumberman. The British government demanded great numbers of the old-fashioned wooden hay-rake, which has been su perseded by harvesting machinery but which "has advantages over the metal creation of today." Formerly every vil lager had been skilled in making rakes, but they have drifted away to other trades. The survivors of the old trade were tracked down and were employed by farmers' clubs to teach their mem bers the lost art. The hay-rake has come back, and is now in the hands of hundreds of thousands of women workers on British farms. It was also discovered by the Brit ish War Office that the galvanized iron "corn measure" would not stand the wear and tear of the battlefield as well as the one made of bent wood and hooped with iron, which it has supplanted and which was the product of village handworkers. The few firms which still mak6 the wooden article have been loaded with orders and the village workers who had not lost their skill have found jobs at high wages. Then came a demand for tens of thou sands of wooden wheelbarrows for use in the trenches", because they stand wear and tear better than the iron substitute, and orders are given for forty and fifty thousand at a time. There is a good hint in these inci dents for the lumbermen. They have not pushed the merits of their product sufficiently on the attention of the people, and have too modestly yielded the field to all manner of substitutes, Thus frame buildings have been crowded out by those of concrete, and wood ships by those of steel. The fire risk in frame buildings has been ex aggerated, and lumbermen have con ducted a weak, defensive campaign, neglecting to reduce this hazard by in troducing treated lumber. They have not answered the claims of steel ship builders by dwelling, as they might, on the smaller first cost of wooden ships, on their great durability and on the possibility of reinforcing them with steel. Now is their opportunity, when the world is again turning to wood and when prosperity provides funds for an educational advertising campaign. A 8TORT OF FINANCE. A long time has elapsed since a greenback argument was of general interest, and naturally, one becomes a little rusty in detecting the old twists given to facts and circumstances in order to justify flat money. But our Prosser correspondent is so in sistent today about a certain Civil War issue that did not depreciate that we have made another patient effort to discover what it is he has in mind. An article on Civil War finance writ ten by John Jay Knox, former Con troller of the Currency, seems to sup ply the desired information. Mr. Knox mentions an issue of demand notes under the laws of July 17 and August 5, 1861, and of February 12, 1862. aggregating $60,000,000. They bore no interest and were receivable for all public dues and were not by the terms of the law under which they were issued made payable in gold. The article by Mr. Knox answers the last question presented by the cor respondent with respect to deprecia tion of an hypothetical issue of twenty billions at the present time of like bonds or notes. Mr. Knox says: The first demand notes were Issued In August, and paid for salaries at Washing ton. They were received with reluctance and the merchants and shopkeepers en deavored to discredit them. Railroad cor porations refused them in payment for fares and freight: and leading banks in the city of New York refused to receive them except on special deposit. To put these notes in good credit the Secretary of the Treasury issued a circular to the various assistant treasurers stating that they would be redeemable in coin on demand in Bos ton, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Cincinnati. Mr. Knox continues: The demand notes were not by the terms of the law made payable in gold, but as they were authorized prior to the suspen sion of specie payment, and proclaimed pay able in coin by the circular of the Secretary, they were considered so payable, and after the suspension of specie payment, were quoted at times at about the same premium for legal tender notes as gold. It will be observed that Mr. Knox says that the demand notes were "at times quoted at about the same premium as gold. Hunt's Merchants' Magazine for 1862 gives the monthly quotations on bonds, demand notes and gold for that year. The demand notes in only one month were quoted within ls point of gold, and at times were 11 points below. All but $4,000,000 of these notes had been retired by July 1, 1863. A necessity for their retirement arose from the fact that they were receiv able for imports. The Government had outstanding bonds and notes and it had promised to pay principal and interest in gold. Use of demand notes to pay import duties embarrassed the Government in providing for the gold interest on the public debt. Our amiable correspondent believes this promise to pay interest in gold should have been repudiated, and be cause we think not pins upon us an attitude of "public be damned." We can think of no more successful way in which the public could have been damned in 18 62 than for the Govern ment to repudiate a promise by means of which it had obtained popular sud- scriptions for prosecuting the war; A powerful Government might suc cessfully carry out dishonest repudia tion after its need of credit had ex pired, but the Government needed to preserve its credit, at that time above all things, f urthermore, the obliga. tions then outstanding were not to the banks alone, but to the common peo ple as well. Subscription books had been opened throughout the country, and, says a report of Secretary of the Treasury Chase (December 9, 1861) "The people subscribed freely to the loan." "MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA.' All doubts that sectional lines have been obliterated by North and South for the purposes of thi3 war will be dispelled by the frank discussion in the editorial columns of the Louisville Courier-Journal of the propriety of including "Marching Through Geor gia" in the repertory of military bands. The Courier-Jpurnal, which cannot be said to hold other than a sympathetic view of the sensibilities of Southerners, is not inclined to take offense at what It terms a Jingly quickstep, composed by a professional tune-monger, merely to catch the ear of the groundlings." But most inter esting of all is its tribute, to General Sherman, whose name once was ana thema to many in the South. Sherman, says this newspaper, was generous to a fault and "one of. the most sympathetic and least sectional of Americans." The march through Georgia is frankly admitted to have been a military necessity, and the story that he wanted to "punish the Souiern people" is rejected in toto. It is credited to exaggeration if wh.it actually happened, "coupled with oc casional outbursts of temper to which, like many full-blooded, hearty men, he was rather imprudently given, but which meant nothing but the ebul litions of the moment." Time and perspective and better understanding of history have cleared up many is sues, but no more remarkable mani festation has been given in recent years than this altogether generous praise of a former foe. The spirit and the purposes of Sherman are seen now where formerly only the destruction he wrought and the measures which led to his famous characterization of war were remembered. The Southern people, says this Southern editor, long ago got over supersensibility on the subject of "Marching Through Georgia." Sher man himself is said to have regarded it as a "kind of cowardly-.gloating over the defeat of brave men who had once more become fellow citizens," but this is a matter now for the North not the South to consider. The tune itself, in any event, carries no spirit of gloating over a fallen foe. The description, "jingly quickstep," fits it admirably and comprises all there Is to be said about it. The words can be as well disregarded as the words of "Dixie," which, the Courier-Journal reminds us, was played by a band outside the White House the night after Lee's surrender and inspired President Lincoln to say: "Let her go, boys; we've captured that, too." Although the words of "Dixie" are unsuitable for an anthem either of the South, cr of the Nation, no one has succeeded in writing ac ceptable substitutes for them; the tune of "Dixie," as the tune " of "Marchiner Throueh Georeia." has been the impelling fact. Both tunes I live on; the verses have been well- I nigh forgotten. Who is there who could sing the words of either song through from beginning to- end? This willingness to take the wheat and reject the chaff, to seek the spirit and not the letter, and to relegate the whole discussion of when and where and by whom the words were first sung that happened to be associated with a really stirring, lilting melody. is a good thing all around. It gives us a fine bit of marching music, which it would be a pity to sacrifice, especially in view of the failure of composers of the present day to supply anything to take'Mts place. The Livestock Show begins today and runs concurrently with the last week of the Land Show. Here is op portunity to the man up-state to en joy a Portland visit, not omitting to bring his wife, who need not attend both shows unless so inclined; the big stores are "ripe" for her. Portland is reveling in great Autumn weather. The railways have .made good rates. The city extends its customary wel come, and the newsgatherers will guarantee - that the man who comes "gets his name in the paper." The waste of 500,000 pounds of paper a week, Canadian authorities estimated, entailed the cutting of at least 2000 trees a week. Every ton of old paper recovered means a saving of eight trees of mature growth. The saving of woolen rags for the manu facture of shoddy saves land for crops which otherwise would be required for the raising of sheep. Men, money and material capital and labor are con served every time a bit of material is re-employed which formerly was Ue stroyed. In announcing he will attend no more and deprecating public dinners and banquets for duration of the war. Governor Whitman loses sight of an important fact. There is little profit in a banquet and the money goes for material that means labor, as well as the labor of serving. The necessities of war-time conservation do not in elude putting people out of work. A conservation banquet is possible one that is not a fourth meal nor an invi tation to gluttony. The miserably impoverished condi tion of Russia may be conceived from the statement made at the Moscow conference that the country had ex pended In the war 45 to 50 per cent of its material resources and was con fronted by a commodity famine, since .production had decreased 50 per cent. Into this financial chaos the Maxi malist dreamers have stepped, though a genius of the first order would be required to put the country in order. The loss of eggs in cold storage which has been discovered by Presi dent Kerr, of the Oregon Agricultural College, is but one of the many forms in which waste has been going on un observed. Stoppage of such waste is one of the by-products of war which must be placed to the credit of Mars. War is forcing many readjustments, not the least important of which is that of our attitude toward thrift. It is no longer a sign of "generosity" to throw useful things away. The more we save the more we shall have for any good purpose. It is a lesson to be learned and not forgotten. The story of Auguste Rodin's "Age of Bronze" bears a family resemblance to that of many another unappre ciated genius. If the millions of mediocrities could promptly recognize genius, they would have a spark of genius, and, therefore, would not be mediocrities. The result of Secrtary Daniels' tirade against knitting is that the women knit with redoubled energy. Is it possible that the Secretary has such a deep knowledge of women as to have deliberately designed this re sult by pretending to have the oppo site aim? An alleged bootlegger, on appeal in the Circuit Court, was decided to be not guilty but was held for larceny. He did not, however, jump from the frying pan into the fire, for a merciful judge greased the griddle with a pa role. Women will not have achieved the full measure of their independence until the tyrant husband is effectually debarred from paying his wife's fine and keeping her out of jail when she wants to go there. Major Washb.irn tells us to con tinue boosting Russipis who are will ing to fight, but who is there left to boost? About the only thing left is hope that everything will somehow come out all right. A man alleged to be guilty of steal ing "juice" gave himself away by ex cess.'ve use of lights. It is always the way. "A good thing" is not good enough iry moderation. No doubt the Maine fishermen will enjoy those Pacific Coast salmon, but how will the salmon enjoy being taken away from their native waters to the Maine rivers? The best fuel-savers are waterpower planst like that which has been opened near Klamath Falls. The rivers never go on strike, and the seams of white coal never give out. The best cure for the pro-German ism of those Seattle mother pension ers would be to send them to Germany to live on the pensions the Kaiser would give them. California is calling on the Oregon country for Christmas trees, and this is the region that has them for sale. Impartial administration of Justice Is apparent in sending men to quaran tine at Kelly Butte. Every Christmas box to a soldier should include a shaving brush that will not molt. These hatless citizens cannot equal the Indian, who is all face in all weathers. There is no hope in camouflage hosiery for the bowlegged girl. Oregon first again! How does Cali fornia, like It? , i Five weeks to. Christmas, and how about it? The "questionnaire" will get them. How to Keep Well. By Dr. W. A. Bvansb Questions pertinent to hygiene, sanitation and prevention of disease. If matters of general interest, will bei answered In thia column. Where apme will not permit or tne subject Is not suitable, letters will be per sonally answered, subject to proper limita tions and where stamped addressed envelope Is inclosed. Dr. Evans will not make diag nosis or prescribe for Individual diseases. He quests for such services cannot be answered (Copyright. 1810. by tr. w. A. Evans. Published oy arrangement with the Cnlcage Tribune.) LIBERTY DREAD RECIFE, The Milwaukee County Council of De fense gives the following recipe for Liberty bread: "Pour two cups of boiling water over one and one-half cups of rolled oats; add two teaspoonfuls salt, one-quarter cup brown sugar, and one tablespoon ful fat. When cooled add cake yeast dissolved in one-quarter lukewarm water. Measure five cups white flour and stir in enough to make a stiff dough; let rise until doubled in size, mold in two loaves, using the rest of the flour. Put into greased pans, let rise again, and bake one hour. The fat may be omitted from this recipe; one half cup of bran or a mixture of bran and cornmeal may be substituted in larger quantities." The Milwaukee health department. In urging the use of this bread, says that it is superior in food value to white flour bread. It is richer in protein, fat, mineral matter, and roughage. It con tains enough wheat flour to make it rise and enough oat flour to increase its food value. There is a surplus of oats and a shortage of wheat. The use of bread which contains 25 per cent oat flour will relieve much of the strain on wheat flour. I also give some food hints from the Stour Institute bulletin on conservation of foods: "Use cheaper fats. Oleomargarine, qlarified suet, or drippings should be substituted for butter for all cooking purposes. Even in biscuits and cake these may be used. By careful season ing and flavoring we may often reduce both the amount of butter and the sugar which we have ordinarily used. This is especially true in cakes, pud dings, or cookies when we use spice. It is true, also, of soups and vegetables in which we have been too dependent upon the use of butter. Vegetable oils may be substituted for butter in sea soning vegetables. Peanut butter may replace butter, not only on bread, but also in boiled salad dressing. "Brown sugar, when cheaper, may frequently take the place of granulated sugar. Brown sugar may be substi tuted for granulated In any recipe and usually without changing arty of the other Ingredients. "Milk No milk should ever be wasted. Skim milk may be substituted for whole milk in every recipe except in those prepared for young children Only whole milk should be served to young children. In some communities skim milk may be purchased for a cent or two a quart. Action should be taken to secure the delivery and sale of skim milk as well as of whole milk and cream. Buttermilk and soda, or sour milk and soda are cheaper than whole milk and baking powder. In almost all recipes for griddle cakes, muffins, and other quick breads and cakes the sour milk or buttermilk may be. used by adding one-half teaspoon of soda for each cup of buttermilk used, and omitting the baking powder." Weaning Baby Ctrl. Mrs. G. L. C. writes: "I have a baby 6 months old. She is 27 Inches long, 1774-inch head, 27-inch chest, and weighs 19 pounds 9 ounces without clothes. Her weight at birth was 9 pounds. She cut two teeth when four months old. When and how shall I be gin weaning? As she is large for her age, will it be necessary to start feed ing her zwieback, cereals, etc.? She has been nursed every four hours since birth, and does not nurse after 10 at night." REPLY. Your baby la doing- unusually well. ro not crowd her. Do not be In a hurry to wean her. At 7 months, begin laying the founda tion for weaning her by giving her zwieback to gnaw on. Also give her fruit Juice. At 0 months give her one feeding a day of milk and oatmeal water. Start with half and half. increase tne strengtn gradually. Keep up breast feeding, for the other meals. Have her weaned by her first birthday. Deaf, I) tit la Drafted. E. E. S. writes: "A friend of mine up state was drafted. He reported at Herkimer, and was accepted. He is en tirely deaf In one ear. hasn't a good tooth in his head, and is hump-backed. Can it be possible they will take him when he reports at camp?" This man would not have passed under the requirements of 18 months ago, but the standards are lower In war time. Rosenau quotes the following as to the policy In Aus tria: "The military age la row 15 to. 50 and men with compensated heart disease are taken Nor active service as their efficiency for trench warfare is regarded as norfna! Hernia is no longer a cause for exemption lta subjects are compelled to undergo ai operation for It. The loss of the left eye Is no longer a disqualification for combatant service, and even the very deaf are accepted, being drafted Into the artillery. Loss of fin gers of either hand Is overlooked, and men with extreme curvature of the spine or club feet are frequently seen in the Austrian uni form." Symptom of Consumption. Constant Reader writes: "(1) Please tell me the weight and chest measure ment of a boy of 17 years old, 6 feet tall. (2) Also tell me the first signs of consumption. (3) Is it hereditary?" REPLY. 1. He should weigh about 146 pounds. 2. Among the early signs of consumption are slight afternoon fever, alight cough, slight loss of weight, malaise. 8. Consumption Is not Inherited. Quirk Retort Geta Him. Chicago News. Carelessness in putting his words to gether was the downfall of a .young man In a theater. When the curtain went up for the first act he found that the hat of a young lady in front of him obstructed his view of the stage. Wishing to see the performance, he said to her: "I want look as well as you." "Do you?" she inquired. "Certainly! he replied. "Ah, then, you will have to alter your face a great deal," was the crush ing retort. An Exception to the Rule. Baltimore American. "My principle is to let every detail of one's life be open to all." "Well, wouldn't you make an excep tion in favor of mosquito window screens V FUfAXCIQ WAR WITH PHES5ES m Writer Sosgeate Xos-Intereet-Beauriac Notes W ith Indefinite Redemption. PROSSER. Wash.. Nov. 16. (To the Editor.) I am sorry that you wasted so much valuable space in The Oregonian. November 14, in satire, sarcasm and slurs, instead of picking out and an swering the questions at issue. In paragraph 5 of your editorial you say you are unable to find any history of the $30,000,000 paper issue mentioned in my letter, so I suggest that you write to the Secretary of the Treasury at Washington and ask him to give you information as to the issue under dis cussion. He will tell you that the United States being in need of money in 1S61, an issue of $50,000,000 paper currency was authorized and issued, being unredeemable in any other money and good for all debts, public and pri vate. He will also tell you that they never depreciated one cent, but went everywhere gold went, and this is what caused the exception in all subsequent issues of paper money, so there would be a market for gold, which protected the banker at the expense of all the common people. As you said, "It would have been dishonest to pay the bond holder his interest in anything but gold." The common people be damned. Any intelligent man will acknowledge that to print, and coin anything for a circulating medium, and degrade it with exception clauses, does not make it money, and it will depreciate when compared with gold should that be the substitute in the exception. In your last paragraph you uphold my argument In toto. when you state that nowadays a greenback is worth par, because the Government will ex change it for gold." Exactly what I have contended. A non-redeemable paper currency with no exception clause, interchangeable with gold or silver, or. in other words any money used by the United States, would make t Impossible for any one of them to depreciate: but that would hardly do, as the bankers and other interest grab bers would be out of the job of skin ning the common people. If the word greenback scares The Oregonian so terribly, I would suggest that the Government authorize the is suance of $20,000,000,000 bonds in de nominations of $1, $3. $10. $20, $S0 and $100, non-interest bearing, and issued in payment for labor, material and service when rendered and good for all debts, public and private, and with the statement that they would be retired and destroyed after the need for their employment had passed, until the per capita circulation had been reduced to the present, some $50. Would that money depreciate in a country which has 250.000.000.000 of wealth to back up the Issue? T. M. ANGU3. Dr. Angus' questions are answered elsewhere on this page. Instruction In Spanish. PORTLAND, Nov. 17. (To the Ed Itor.) Kindly inform me which book on "Spanish" Is the best for learning tne language and correct pronuncia tion, also price and who carries same. I am a traveling salesman, with a con viction that after the war our country will need men to procure the South American business. E. C. JOHNS. "Spanish Self-Taught" is a good book for learning the Spanish language and may be secured at Gill's book store for 25 cents. Yeomen la Xsry. PORTLAND, Nov. 17. (To the Ed itor.) Kindly print how appointments are made of women as yeomen in the Navy? GLAY TEPPLA. Applicants for the rating of yeoman in the Navy are required to qualify for clerical work Stenography, bookkeep ing, etc. Detailed Information will be supplied by the U. S. Navy Recruiting Station, Dekum building, Portland. Or. Commlssloni In Quartermaster Corps. PORTLAND, Nov. 17. (To the Edi tor.) (1) Please advise where one would write concerning commissions or non-commissions in Quartermaster's Corps. (2) Also does Multnomah County get credit for men enlisting since last draft? INQUIRER. (1) IT. 8. Army Recruiting Station, Worcester building, Portland. (2) Yes. Prices Then anil TVow. Washington (D. C.) Star. "Do you mlS3 the old excitement that Crimson Gulch offered before the town went dry?" Not so much," replied Broncho Rob. "Prices have gone up so that two buckwheat cakes and a fried egg seem like regular dissipation." Letter From a Lover. Life. "Charlie Is so systematic." "How now?" "I asked him in my last letter if he liked my eyes, and now he re fers me to his communication of Feb ruary 24. Says he treated the subject exhaustively in that communication." Value of a Few Miles. PERHAPS in no other war In modern history have a few miles counted for as much In the scales of victory as In the present contest in West Flanders, says a bulletin of the National Geo graphic Society. The distance which separates the allied forces from full control of the coast of Belgium is only SO miles. Possession of these 30 miles of coastline would not only wipe out the German submarine bases in Bel gium, but it would also give the allies a new front on which to attack in an effort to drive the enemy out of Bel gium and Northern France. Posses sion of this coast, therefore, would be a double victory to the allies, sorely hampering the enemy's submarine op erations and at the same time affording an opportunity to roll up his right flank on land. Nowhere else may be found a more striking contrast between peace and war than that -afforded by the Belgian coast in 1913 and in 1917. Practically the entire coastline in normal times Is given up to the pleasures of seaside cities and rest resorts. In these Atlan tic Cltys. Cape Mays and Asbury Parks of Belgium laughter and happiness reigned with a care-free abandon that only European resorts could know, while today war, on land, under sea and in the air. harries the souis of the few brave people who still remain there. Ostend is famous not only as a sea side resort, but for its great fishins trade in normal times and for Its oys ter parks. Oysters In large numbers are brought here and kept in clarified sea water. The visitor may order his plate of shell fish right out of the water. Should the allies get control of the coast of Belgium as far inland as Bruges they would come into posses sion of a splendid system of canals ex tending from France to Fumes and thence by way of Nieuport to Ostend and Bruges. There la also a canal from Bruges to the coast near Blanken berghe: another to Ghent and a third to the waterway connecting Heyst with Ghent. West Flanders, where the big Eng lish smash Is now on. Is generally flat and low and in parts marshy. Under a system of intensive agriculture the province was one of the most produc tive in Belgium in the years before the war, and 40 per cent of the population was engaged in manufacturing, the principal industry being linen weaving and lacemaking. In Other Days. Twenty-five Ycjaa-s, An, From The Oregonian. November 19, 1S02. A recent edition of the Electrical En gineer ruas an article on the resistance of return currents, written by R. I. Warren, a younv man who graduated from the Portland High School in ISM. Miss Mabel Alkin. one of Portland's young women pianists, will make her first appearance in the Star course .t the Tabernacle tonight. President T. P. Osborne, of the South east Portland Improvement Association, has received from the East Side Hall way Company a proposition for electri fying: the Hawthorne railway. Carl Schurz has been in Congress from two stales as a Representative from Wisconsin and a Senator from Missouri and the Mugwumps of New York now think he is the proper person to succeed Hiscock. The Portland High School class of '93 yesterday planted their class tree a linden. The following programme was given: Song, by the school; chronicles, by Edith M. Knight: piano solo, by Miss Cora Koshland: class poem, Hannah Schloth: vocal solo. Kate Thome Pit tock: prophecies. Ella E. Jones. Frank B. Riley was chosen the orator for the tree-plantins ceremony. Half a Century Ago. From The Oregonian, November 19. 1S67. Montgomery, Ala. The Reconstruc tion convention adopted a resolution to change the name of military companies created by the last Legislature and named in honor of rebels. Paris. The French troops are pre paring to go into Winter quarters at Cavlta Yecchia. A San Francisco newspaper mentions the death of "Orecon Baby," the cele brated Oregon steer, on November 5. The Sierra Nevada sailed from San Francisco for Portland with many pas sengers. Lafayette Lane and Miss Amanda Mann, of Portland, were married Sun day evening. November 17, by Rev. Father Fierens. Autumn in the Mountains. II y James Itnrton Ariania. Sends a creepy, ghostly feeling through a fellow's Inwardness, a sen sation he is shy of proper language to express, as he stands up in the silence of the mountains all alone when the green and gold of Autumn give the earth a saddish tone; when the little birds are talking o'er their plans for southern flight and tiie frost gems in the morning sparkle in the sun's first light and the pine needles shower on the bushes and the vines and the breezes sign a requiem through the mazes of the pines. There is sadness in the rippling of the brooks that seem to know that the icy hand of Winter soon will stop their merry flow, there is sadness in the piping of tho quails regretful notes as reproving the defi ance in the magpies' sassy throats. Hut there's cheer in the reflection that the Spring will come again, cheer that casts a sweet'nlng morsel in the bitter cup of pain when the flowers will bloom In beauty on the bushes and tho vines and the breezes dance in glad ness through the pines. Ioney for Farm Loadr, McMINNVILLE, Or., Nov. IS. (To the Editor.) Please advise if the money for the farm loans is now for distribu tion during the war while the liberty loans are being floated? I have hoard that while the war is in progress there will not be any available money for the farmers. A great many farm loan associations have been formed and 10 have sent to the loan board for their charters. A secretary of one of the local associa tions informed nie that tho necessary money was available for the farm loans and could not be used for any other purpose. JOSEPH J. BUS1L Money for farm loans Is offered to the Federal Land Rank at Spokane In sums more than sufficient to absorb all business In shape to be handled. East ern investors, attracted by the 4Vi per cent interest for the bond buyers, prob ably would absorb twice the amount of bonds offered now. The war has not stopped the supply. If there Is do lay in a farm loan association, with necessary assets, floating its loan with the land bank, it is probably because the bank's own appraisers have not had time to report on the property offered for security by such farm loan associa tion, or that charters have, been de layed in issuance. When one considers the modus oper andi how the money is loaned to the farmers, bonds issued against the loan and the proceeds from the bonds are loaned to another association, thia course being continued indefinitely it is easy to understand that there will not be lack of money for legitimate calls. Preaentu for Men Abroad. EUGENE, Or., Nov. IB. (To the Editor.) (1) Is it necessary that Christmas gifts to a marine in Guam, M. I., be packed in a wooden box? (2) What are several presents which would prove acceptable to a marine? (3) What would a man at the front like as a Christmas remembrance? G. L. S. (1) Packages should be enclosed In wooden boxes and should have a hinge or screw top to facilitate opening and Inspecting. (2) It depends on the taste of the recipient, what he already possesses In personal belongings and his relation ship to the sender as regards presents of intimate kind. Obviously a general answer to questions 2 and 3 cannot be given. , Marriage After Dlvoree. PORTLAND, Nov. 17. (To the Ed itor.) (1) Is she a legal wife until a second ceremony is performed, should a marriage take place soon after a man is divorced? (2) Could she claim the Government allowance of $15 per month given to a wife should this man enlist in the United States Army? INQUIRER. (1) At least six months must elapse after divorce before a divorced person may legally marry a third person. (2) If marriage ceremony has been regularly performed apparently she can obtain the allotment, but in event of the soldier's death marriage must be proved to have been valid to entitle her to widow's compensation or insurance. I'ny of Marines. CENTRALIA. Wash.. Nov. IS. (To the Editor.) 1) Kindly ad vise whether . or not the marines received an increase In salary the same as the soldiers did. A private now receives $30 per month. Is this not the entrance salary of a U. S. Marine also? (2) Also advise when the next draft for the National Army will take place. SUBSCRIBER. (1) Yes. (2) Unofficial reports from Wash ington mention February IS, 191S, as the probable date.
