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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 1917)
THE MORNING OREGdlflAN, FlilDAT, DECEMBER 14, 1917. 15 PORTLAND, OREGON. Entered at Portland (Oregon) Fostofflce as second-class mall matter. Subscription rates Invariably ' tn advance: (By ilall.) Daily, Sunday Included, one year ....... 83. 00 Xally, Sunday Included, afx months ..... 4.25 Daily, Sunday Included, tbree months... 2.23 Ially, Sunday included, one month ..... .75 Daily, without Sunday, one year ........ 6.00 Xaily, without Sunday, six months 8.25 Daily, without Sunday, three months ... 1.75 Daily, without Sunday, one month, .60 Weekly, one year ...................... 1.00 Sunday, one year ...................... 2.50 Gunday and weekly 3-60 (By Carrier.) Dally, Sm.1ay Included, one year .......f9.00 Ially, Sunday Included, ie month , .... 75 Xally, without Sunday, one year ........ 7.80 Daily, without Sunday, three months ... 1.95 Dally, without Sunday, one rooneit ...... .85 How to Remit Send postoffl'-e money or der, express order or personal clieck on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at owner's risk. Give postofflce ad4ess In lull, including county and state. Postage Rates 13 to 1 pases, 1 cent; 18 to pases. 2 cents: 34 to 48 page. 8 cents: AO to SO pases, 4 cents; 6a to 71 pages. 5 cents; 78 to 82 pages, tf cents. Foreign post age, double rates. Eastern Business Office Verree it Conk Im, Brunswick building New York; Verree & Conklin, Hteger building, Chicago: San Kranclsco representative. K. J. Indwell 742 Market street. WKMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. The Associated Press Is exclusively en titled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited In this paper and also the local Skews puhlished herein. All rights of republication of special dis patches herein are also reserved. ' . , , ,, POBTUXD, FRIDAY, DEC 14. 1817. ON BEING CAM. The late Democratic Governor of 'Oregon and the late Democratic candi date for Governor of Oregon, who spent each a few hours at Camp Mills, through the convenient and sympa thetic medium of the Democratic newspaper organ of Portland describe reports of bad conditions as greatly exaggerated, and say that they heard no complaint from the soldiers; and one of the two solemnly warns the fathers and mothers of Oregon against "hysteria." Let us first assure our Democratic friends that the Democratic Adminis tration is in no serious danger of overthrow from the exposure of the bleak and chilly unsuitability of Camp Mills as a Winter rendezvous for sol diers. Not at all. Nor are the soldiers said by anybody to be complaining about it. They are soldiers. But the fathers and mothers are complaining. It is natural enough that they should be disturbed over the unnecessary hardships imposed upon their sons by their assignment to a camp which the War Department ad mits and says is not fit for Winter quarters. It is a way fathers and mothers have. It is of course easy for those persons who have no sons in camp to be quite, calm and to adjure the fathers and mothers also to be calm. Well, they have not been calm, and their refusal to be calm appears to have created an uneasy feeling at Washington that something ought to toe done to calm them. The com mandant of the camp has been asked for a report. When in due course he reports that the soldiers who are said by sundry agitated parents to be suf fering haven't said a word about it to him, their superior officer, and that everything is aB good as could be ex pected in a camp located in the sandy mud, with cold winds, drenching rains, Eero weather, no good fuel, no sewer age, and other natural discomforts; no doubt the War Department will settle back into Its historic pose of indurated coolness and say that Camp Mills is all right, and the patriots who selected it and got somebody at Washington to eend a lot of shivering soldiers there are all right, and that the Secretary of War is not responsible for the weather, or the winds, or the fogs, or the sand, or the mud. To prove it all, they are abandoning the camp. Doesn't that show that it is all right? There is one Portland citizen of repute who spent two weeks at Camp Mills, visiting his two sons. There is one other reputable citizen, with two soldier sons there, who also passed about the same period there. They unite in their testimony that it was no fit place for either soldier or citi zen. They, too, heard no complaints from the soldiers, but their eyes were open and their minds were receptive, and they are not candidates for office. They support entirely, from their own Independent observation, the report of The Oregonian correspondent who is on the spot, and who is not dependent on the casual inquiries of chance vis itors who saw nothing wrong, be cause they were shown nothing wrong, and who heard no complaints from the soldiers. But let us be calm. The boys are gone somewhere. We hope they won't be neglected again by officialdom. We know they will not be neglected or forgotten by their anxious fathers and mothers. It is hard for fathers and mothers, even in war times, to forget that they are fathers and mothers. HOGS AND CORN. Opening of various corn shows in Oregon co-ordinates nicely with the call by the Department of Agriculture for an Increase of 15 per cent in pork production during the coming year. The Department has assigned quotas to the various states and expects them to respond with results. "If the farmer-breeders of the various states," says the Department, "do not reach the quotas set for them, a more acute shortage of pork products will result than now prevails, extremely high prices for hams, bacon and lard wiU prevail, and only a few will benefit, the consumer suffering from the high prices and a shortage of necessary animal fats." Corn is not indispensable to the pro duction of pork, as individual farmers have shown in Oregon, but it is high ly useful and economical, and it con serves other. grains. There is no bet ter pork-producing feed, where it can be grown advantageously. Consum ing corn on the ground saves transpor tation and labor and makes meat at minimum cost. The Northwest now produces so many desirable foodstuffs for "keeping the hog growing" that It should not handicap itself by lack of grain with which to give the pork the finishing touch of excellence. Interesting features of the Oregon corn shows this year are the demon strations of what the boys and girls can do. Dayton and Salem and Eu gene and the rest of the state are awake to the Importance of enlisting their youths. Seed corn stringing won tests and seed-testing competitions nave their places beside the pig-feed ing clubs, which are growing in popu larity everywhere. Hogs and corn are as closely associated in the popu lar mind as Damon and Pythias or Darby and Joan. Raising both hogs and corn Is, therefore, not only likely to be prof itable, but certain to be necessary if the country is to extend itself in wag ing Its war, It Is a patriotic duty, which. Judging by the large attendance at the corn shows. Is fully realized by farmers and their boys and girls. WHOLESOME TRCTII. The American people are to learn many unpleasant and startling facts through the Congressional investiga tion into the conduct of the war. They have already found out that only half as many rifles are being manufactured for American soldiers as were being made in America for foreign armies when the war began. Thousands of soldiers in canton ments have no rifles; and the weapons they have are not the type to be used in France. No ammunition is available in can tonments for target practice. Although we had the warning of th'e Mexican War, when we had to buy from Great Britain 850 machine guns, no model of a machine gun was adopted until June, 1917. and not a new machine gun has yet been deliv ered to the Army. The delay is due to disputes in the War Department. The American forces in Europe are to use French machine guns and artil lery, with ammunition, until supplied from America. , The new American machine gun has never had a field test under war con ditions. The emergency fund of $100,000, 000, passed before war was declared. has even now only been partly used. These are the concrete facts of un- preparedness, inevitable In a country which does not expect war, does not get ready for it and must learn how to wage it when it comes. There will be other disclosures, many of them. They will not strike the country agree ably, but it Is well to know them now, so that mistakes may be corrected, red tape, sloth, incompetency and Inexpe rience understood and cured, and fit men put on duty. We are to find that fighting the most powerful military nation in the world, even with strong and valiant allies, is no business for amateurs, or politicians, or self-seekers, or chair- warmers. President Wilson has problems at home not less grave than the prob lems abroad. The country has unlim ited confidence in his patriotic pur pose and It expect him to act; and undoubtedly he will act where errors are discovered and Incompetency) ex posed. Congress has determined to learn the truth now, not when it is too late. It is not a partisan but a non-parti san investigation which it is conduct ing. It has not escaped the notice of the country that the leaders in the demand for the facts are members of the President's own party. DR. STILL. The deajth of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, widely known as the "father of osteopathy," at the age of 89, will recall to the public mind a man who labored assiduously and sincerely to found a new school of health, and who in his lifetime overcame a good deal of prejudice and opposition, and lived to see his work widely extended. It is said that there are now some 8000 doctors of osteopathy in the United States, the product of less than thirty years of growth. Legislative hostility has been generally overcome and the school has won recognition in most of the states. The theory of which Dr.' Still was the exponent found fertile soil In which to sprout because of deepening belief of many persons that the domi nating schools of healing were placing too much reliance upon the therapeu tic value of drugs. The "dosing" habit of the American people seemed to be growing and there was increas ing skepticism as to the value of the results obtained. Extremes always prepare the way for reaction, and Dr. Still crystallized a sentiment when he proposed a system that looked to other methods for its success. Scientists of the older school will be slow to concede that it was the in fluence of Dr. Still that brought it about, but it is probably true that less so-called "medicine" is administered today than was the custom when Dr. Still began to practice. If mankind has not begun to throw physic to the dogs; It at least is more discriminating In the use of it. And, measured by the testimonials which they are able to exhibit. Dr. Still's followers would seem to have been able to dessemi nate much comfort in a world of gloom. It is to the credit of the founder himself that he"did not preach the dogma of finality. He believed himself to be only on the edge of the great discovery. It is fair to him and to osteopathy to absolve them from responsibility for many of the fan tastic and unauthorized claims made in their behalf. Dr. Still's age at the time of his death is particularly Interesting. If it is not conclusive, it la at least con tributory, evidence that a good deal can be done to prolong life and health without drugs. Many influ ences are in operation to modify our ideas as to the preservation of good health, and there is no doubt that Dr. Still's has been one of them. CZECH SUSPICION OB" GERMANT. The statement by Dr. Alois Kasln, a leading Czech politician, in Geneva recently that the success of Pan-Germanism would mean the death of all hopes of a Czecho-Blovak nation. and that the Czecho-Slovaks would see their last drop of blood shed rath er than "see a realization of the Ger man plan of a Mittel-Europa," gives voice to the feeling of Bohemians generally that their interests do not lie with the success of the Austro Hungarian empire, with which we are now at war. The Czechs have good reason for their suspicion of Prussian intentions, and it is for this reason that many of them in the United States are to be found among the opponents of the teaching of the German language in the public schools. For it has been part of the scheme of Prusslanlsm to recognise the principle that solidarity is more often brought about along lingual than racial lines. This policy was followed in Alsace-Lorraine, and it was felt with especial force In Bo hernia. In the latter country efforts of the Czechs to keep alive their lan guage and to foster their literature have long been handicapped by the hostility of Prussia, exercised through Vienna. "No duty, said a noted German writer, "is more sacred than that of forcing the German language upon the world." And "I have no more aored conviction than this, that the higher kultur of humanity depends upon the spreading of the German language," was said by the same Ger man. This Is not an argument against the teaching, in its place, of a useful language in any country, but It goes far to explain the attitude of Bohem ians. , There 13 no danger that German will be made to supplant English In America, but the Czechs see the dis appearance of their language if Prus sia succeeds in its ambitious designs to convert Austria-Hungary and Bul garia into a highway for an Imperial istic march across a continent. The attempts to suppress the language of the Bohemians were only part of the long-cherished scheme to make the world into a Germany. LAKE REVOLTS AGAINST PENCBCOT. Secretary of the Interior Lane Is too thoroughly a Western man to have remained indefinitely under the Pinchot spell, and his report on Alas ka is a declaration of revolt. He ac cepted the Pinchot ystem by indors ing the leasing law for Alaska coal land, but after trying to apply it for nearly four years, he has found that it will not work. One can lay down terms on which capital may develop natural resources, but one cannot make It develop them. The situation with regard to Alas ka coal is that the Government, has spent millions on a railroad to haul it and will be ready for business next Fall, but so far there is precious little coal to haul. A scanty few men have begun to mine coal, but there is un limited demand for it on the Pacific Coast, and the law stands between the would-be producer and the would-be consumer and prevents them from coming together. The coal which we fain would burn Is most ef ficiently reserved a la Pinchot. So, also, as regards oil, which abounds in Alaska. Existing oil sup plies are being perilously reduced by the enormous demands of war, but the great tracts of oil land from which that supply could be increased are reserved until Congress passes a law which will permit their develop ment. That Is true of continental United States as well as Alaska. As Mr. Lane says, it is "practically of no more use to the people than if the oil lands were at the North Pole." He at last sees how alone they can be made of use by permitting the pioneer in the Far North to win his reward, as the pioneer in the Far West won his in the mid-nineteenth century. If the West had been re served, as Alaska now is, it would have been almost as completely a wilderness as Alaska Is. Not having been reserved, but having been thrown open to the pioneers, it now sends hundreds of thousands of sturdy sons, millions of dollars in bonds and vast supplies of food, minerals and other materials to fight for democracy. If now Congress will pass liberal laws under which the coal, oil and other resources of Alaska may be de veloped. It will greatly Increase the ability of the entire Paclflo Coast to contribute to the Nation's military ef fort and it will build up two or three wealthy and populous future states In the Far North. If it will pass simi lar laws with regard to the coal, oil, phosphate and water power of the West, it will enable this sectloji to add vastly to the supplies of fuel, food and munitions for which both this country and Europe hunger. The necessities of the time demand that Pinchotism be thrown on the scrap-heap and that development take its place. Until that is done we shall not have staked all that we have on the cause of liberty. WORK OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. This year's report of the Library Association of Portland will be read with especial Interest because of the unusual circumstances under which the work, in common with all other public activities, has been carried forward. There is much to be said in support of the suggestion of President Ayer, that "during the period of the war all effort, both public and private, should be subordinated to the demands of the Nation," but it will be con tended by only a very small consti tuency that even though we are at war there should be suspension, or material curtailment, of educational enterprise. And the efficient library is undoubtedly a necessary educa tional institution. In a high sense it complements the work of the formal schools; it also reaches large numbers who have passed the classroom age but who do not regard themselves as too old to learn. The statistical showing made by our library In Portland is indeed gratify ing. The figures summarized by Mr. Ayer indicate that since 1914 there has been an increase in the circula tion of books from 1,284,502 to 1,582,- 259, or 23 per cent, while expenditures were increased from $157,208 to $160,- 560. or only 2 per cent. And it is also true, as Miss Isom, the librarian, says, that the principles governing a com mercial Institution are not necessarily those which would produce best re sults with a library. Greater "output," at lower cost. would mean to the stockholders of a steel company, for example, undoubted improvement in efficiency, while as Miss Isom observes, "in an educational Institution, unfortunately, decreased expenditure more generally means neglected opportunities, poorer equip ment and a lowering of the intellec tual tone." The Portland Library, enjoying the blessings pf excellent management and a capable staff, has fortunately been able to preserve the nice balance between economy and efficiency which is so much to be de sired, but the possibilities of retrench ment have definite limitations. The people, looking to the future, ought not to require that economy be car ried to the extent of parsimony. All well-conducted libraries, and ours in particular, have played an im portant part in war work. No indi vidual citizen would find it feasible to keep pace by purchase alone with the informative and Inspiring literature which the war has produced, ac quaintance with which is necessary to intelligent patriotism. This need has been supplied in large degree by the public library. The food con servation and home gardening move ments have been advanced by the same agency. Young soldiers and prospective soldiers have been helped by access to military manuals and ele mentary books on the French language, And there is no doubt that events have moved many persons to read, and through reading to reflect, who previ ously had not been so moved. Not alone by the circulation of books bear. ing directly upon our war, bnt by opening the way to reading of every educational sort, the library has been an ever present help in time of trou ble. for which full credit is its due. One would be inclined to say that "all effort, both public and private," has "been subordinated to the de mands of the Nation" by an educa tional institution which has so di rected its energies as to increase the understanding, and therefore the ef ficiency, of the people. Those who appreciate the value of the work that is being done will wish it to be con tlnued in full measure, and suitably compensated, and certainly not per mitted to languish in the mistaken notion that making munitions is the only task required by the exigencies of war. WAR EFFICIENCY IN INDUSTRY. The British nation has proved that in less than three and a half years it has become the most efficient for war In the world, not excepting Germany. This being a war of mechanics, Britain must excel in that particular, and a British mission has been touring the United States to tell the American people how it has been done. One of the principal means has been government control of both the profits of manufacturers and the wages of labor. Strikes and lockouts have been made illegal, and the government raises wages In proportion to increase in cost of living, and regulates rela tions between capital and labor in other respects to insure justice to both. Skilled men have been recalled from the army because they give better war service In the factory than in the trenches. Skilled labor has been di luted with' half-skilled or unskilled. Women have in some cases supplanted men, but in many more cases have supplemented them. The result has been that man-power employed in munition manufacture has been in creased 60 per cent and woman-power 700 per cent, and that the weight of munitions fired since April has been double that fired in the battle of the Somme. By adapting British practice to American conditions, this Nation can get like results. It can recall from the Army to Industry those skilled workmen who would be more valuable In producing munitions and ships than in fighting, thus applying to the men already in military service the princi ple which is to be applied in classi fying men for further drafts. It can require dilution of skilled labor with the unskilled, and of male labor with female labor. It can substitute medi ation and arbitration for strikes and lockouts as the means of adjusting wages and working conditions. It has already gone far ' to limit profits of manufacturers by fixing maximum prices and by taxation, and is disposed to follow that policy to the full, thus removing cause for complaint on the part of labor that the concessions made by it would inure to the profit of the employer. Miss Tatiana Romanoff, daughter of the ex-Czar of Russia, said to be trying to make her way to America, is sure of a welcome on our shores, but she Is likely to have difficulty in preserving an incognito, even if she desires to do so. Grand Duchesses are not entertained by Americans every day, and the novelty of it is quite likely to overbalance any lack of democracy that may be implied by the harmless rebestowal of her title upon her. This asylum of the op pressed of ours is big enough even to harbor oppressed Grand Duchesses without danger of contamination, and Is so sure of its owir ground that it will not need to insist that they be stripped of their titles. "Grand Duch ess Tatiana" will be even more inter esting than plain "Miss Romanoff and in the event that her income should be cut off will be able to make a' good deal more money in vaudeville. It may be only a coincidence that one of the Twin Cities, where a gen eral strike has been declared while the country is at war, was the scene of that speech in which Senator La Follette said we were only fighting for a technical right. Men would not have been so ready to strike if they had been convinced that we are fight ing for our existence as an Independent Nation. The f 100.000,000 fund was voted in a hurry to be spent in a hurry, but it is being spent at leisure. Is the Unit ed States to prepare at its leisure while other nations do all the fight ing? What kind of a figure do we cut in their eyes? Death is not taking unusual toll, for Portland is a large city, but recent cases of affliction have been around the age of three score and are em phasized by the prominence of the men in civic life. The German negotiators for an armistice with the Bolshevik! needed admonition not to smile when Lenine's envoys uttered their shibboleth. Even a Prussian could scarcely keep a straight face. Potatoes are in excess of consump tion, but the jaded appetite can be stimulated by serving them In a vari ety of ways. They are fine with but termilk, for example. The Germans will put it in the bill if compelled to kiss the Russian peace makers. Ordinarily such "doin's" ought to produce riots rather than peace. It is nothing new for the love god to defeat the war god In a race. He could always outrun the lumbering old brute. The woodbox just aches with full ness in the home of the family that has a boy, a peculiarity this time of year. No more wasting liquor by pouring it into the sewer. Government -wants It for war purposes, purely mechan ical. They are going to cut their Ice in the Missouri before New Year's with the mercury 20 below at Sioux City. A package that does not reach an Oregon soldier at an Atlantic point will follow him to Somewhere." In the cafeteria milk Is "fed" into the coffee before serving and why not the same with sugar? Recruits for the engineers regl ments thronging the city are a husky set ofiHun hunters. The "boys" from 81 to 45 will get theirs in the United States Army, a new organization. You cannot convince an old fellow that ice freeses as thick as it did when he was a boy. The storm felt as though the equi noctial ' had slipped a cog and was catching up. A German naturalized in Canada cannot kick off responsibilities at the border. In the holiday season "Made in Ger. many" is good enough for Russian peace, QUESTIONS ABOUT SELECTIVE SERVICE ANSWERED Various Features Relative to Classification Set Forth la Reply ts Inquiries. When Physical Examiaatlos Oeenrs. KERRY, Or., Dec 12. (To the Edi tor.) (1) Is a physical examination required at time of answering the new draft questions I am soon to receive? (2) will a person with varicose veins pass at present? S) How many double teetb la a man required to nave In eacti Jaw and on each side of Jaw? (4) If no medical examination is required, can a person answer the questions at home, or la it best to secure advice? (5) In asking the jobs you have held in last ten years, if you don t Know, what should the answer be? (6) The same question in regard to the last year s wages 7 (7) If I have one stepchild among my children, what compensation does United States allow, if any. In event of my being drafted? (1) You will be classified first and will not be called up for physical ex amination unless you are In class I or until your class la reached by the draft. (2) Pronounced varicose veins of the lower extremities, especially when at tended by edema or marks of ulcera tion, is a disqualification for full mili tary service. (3) Eight serviceable masticating teeth, either bicuspids or molars, four above and four below opposing. There must be one molar above and one be low on one side which occlude; the re maining six opposing masticating teetb may be either bicuspids or molars. The registrant must also have six service able natural Incisors or canines, three above and three below opposing. When dental work will restore this condition, failure to meet requirements is not a disqualification. (4) If you feel able to answer with out help, go ahead, but advice is free. (5) You may have a misunderstand ing of the questions; consult some legal advisor. (6) You will have to figure it out the best you can. ' (7) If a member of your household. a stepchild is rated the same as one of your own issue. What Dental Stmdent Should Do. PORTLAND, Dec 12. (To the Ed itor.) We, as members of various classes of the North Pacific College of Dentistry, desiring to give our country the best that Is in us, and feeling that we can accomplish the greatest amount of good through that branch of the service embodying our profession, we are submitting to you the following questions which we trust may appear with answers as soon as possible: (1.) If a student enlists tn the Med leal Reserve Corps before December 15, 1917. will he be permitted to con tinue his school eourse until com pleted? If he be a first-year man will he be shown the same privileges as a senior? (2.) If a student does not enlist in the Medical Reserve Corps before Da comber 16, 1917. will he have an oppor tunity to get into the Medical Reserve Corps afterward, or is he subject to conscription to any branch of the Army service to which he might be assigned? (3.) Does the Nary provide any dif ferent opportunities from the Army? (4.) What would you advise a mad ical student to. do who has completed his High School eourae, also a four year pre-medical course at the Univer sity of Oregon, and is now a freshman at the University of Oregon Medical College in Portland? STUDENTS. (1.) Voluntary enlistments in the Medical Reserve Corps by students are limited to hospital units when needed. That is to say, they would be taken into active service as soon as admitted. Students can probably get into the reg ular Army Medical Department, but would have no opportunity to continue their courses. (2.) He can get Into the enlisted reserve corpa under regulations yet to be promulgated by the Surgeon-General. He will then not be called out until he has been graduated. The president of your college can give you as much Information as is now avail able on this point. (3.) Choice between Army and Navy is almost wholly a matter of Individ ual preference. (4.) The United States National Service Handbook advises medical students to continue their courses. Father My Insure Sea, MYRTLE CREEK. Or., Dec 12. (To the Editor.) Can a parent carry any Insurance on a son in the Army? If so, what steps should be taken to ob tain a policy, and cost per $1000? JAMES HARMAN. Yes, you may apply for Insurance in his same and, if the application is granted, pay the premiums. The ap plication, or a copy, however, will be forwarded to him to be signed by him if he agrees to it. If he does not want it he can say so, and if this happens before February 12, 1918, be can then make out bis own application. If after February 18, and within a time to be fixed by the bureau, he ean ntlll agree to your application, but has the right to change the beneficiary or cut down the amount of Insurance, or both. The rate begins at 68 cents a month per thousand for men 15, 16 and 17, and in creases progressively with higher age. The rate at 81 is 70 cents. Write to Bureau of War Risk Insurance, Treas ury Department, Washington, D. C. Mam With Mother and Slater. PORTLAND, Dec. 13. (To the Edi tor.) Please state under what class a young man of 25 years would come who is the sole support of a mother of 48 years and a sister 17? The mother does not look her age and could not be called infirm. The sister is going to business college and taking up a branch of work In which there is a great demand for help and almost pre pared to take position. B. T. It Is a case which would bo deelded by the local board in accordance with its own best judgment. Broadly speak ing, if it found, after considering all reasonably certain sources of income, including what you could be expected to contribute from your pay as sol dier and the family allowance made by the Government, and also the possible earnings of your mother and sister, that your removal would deprive them of reasonably adequate support , it would place you In class III. Wtei Man's Parents Are Dependents. TRAIL B. C. Dec 11. (To the Edi tor.) (1) Kindly advise which class of registered men subject to draft my brother may be placed. He is a single man. 22 years old; parents are both living but both have poor health; fath er Is 64 years old and has been in feeble health for the past 18 years as the result of a sunstroke. They have a small place (six acres) near Gaaton. Father works when ha is able, which is not very much, as he is never able to do a full day's work and only able to work a few days in succession and at different times during the past three years has been unable to do any work of any kind for several months at a time. Mother is 2 years old and unable to do any work outside her household duties. They have no in come or means of support whatever THINGS EVERY REGISTRANT SHOULD KNOW. The first of the new draft questionnaires will be mailed by local boards to draft registrants this coming Saturday. Decem ber 15. Five per cent of the question naires will be sent out on De cember 15 and 5 per cent on each day thereafter, not including Sundays and" legal holidays, until all are mailed. Draft registrants have Just seven days from the time their questionnaires are mailed not from the time they are received, but from the time they are mailed out by the local board to fill in the answers and return them to the board. Failure to receive a question naire will not excuse a registrant for not returning It to his local board within the seven-day time limit. This should be clearly un derstood. If the questionnaire is not back In seven days the registrant may lose all his rights to claim de ferred classification. The great importance of see ing that his local board has his correct address should thus be plain to every draft registrant. If a registrant has moved, he should see to it Immediately, in his own internets, that his new address Is received by his local board, as every day's delay in the delivery of the questionnaire counts against him in the seven day time limit. The questions In the question naire and their correct answers are very important, for on these answers, supported by affidavits, will be based the classification of all men registered for the draft and the order in which they will be called up for military service. To answer the questionnaire will require considerable study. In order to assist every regis trant who desires aid. as well as to safeguard bis rights, the Gov ernment has arranged for free legal advice for him. Lawyers will be at the head quarters of each local board to give this free advice and assist ance to registrants. If a regis trant lives some distance from the headquarters of his local board, he can ask any lawyer near him for assistance, as all law yers in the United States have been asked to render this pa triotlo service free of charge. aside from my brother's wages. He works at any honest labor he can find to do. He is uneducated. Besides those of the family already mentioned, there are two brothers, aged 12 and 15 years, respectively, who are mainly depend ent upon their older brother for their support. (2) We have been told that citisens Of the United States who are now residing in Canada will soon be com pelled to return to the United States. Is this report true? (3) Have. United States citizens liv ing in Canada who are of the registra tion age been compelled to register? (4) We have resided in Canada for the past two years. My husband is 42 years old. Should we desire to return to our former home in Oregon would we hasp any difficulty In crossing the international boundary line? We have been told that American citisens are not now permitted to recross the Una CAJNADIA-N BUtiBCltltJEK. (1) The board would place your brother in class III on the ground of dependents only if it found after full Investigation that his removal would deprive them of reasonably adequate support. In this ease, provided he al lotted $15 a month from his pay as a soldier to them, they would receive an additional S30 a month from the Government. That would be consid ered; also whether you could be reason ably expected to contribute anything; also whatever small living needs the home place could be expected to pro duce in event the registrant were tak en Into the service. It is Impossible to give a definite answer. (2) There is no existing law making such requirement. Some reciprocal ar rangement may in time be adopted by the allies for the drafting of men of selective service age who are residing in countries of which they are not cit izens. (3) No. (4) No bar has been raised by this country and we know of none by Can ada. Sprnre Work With Dependent Wife. RAYMOND, Wash.. Dee. 13. (To the Editor.) What class in the draft would I likely be placed under the following circumstances? Have a wife who has no commercial training (although in good health), de pending on my labor for support. I am employed, in spruce lumber mill, foreman of the shook department. A READER. Definite showing that your wife is mainly dependent upon your labor for support would result in your being placed in Class IV. Showing that you are a necessary skilled laborer in a necessary industrial enterprise would give you a Class II rating; that you are a necessary manager of a substan tial. Integral part of a necessary indus trial enterprise would give you a Class III rating. One of the latter classifica tions would not effect your other clas sification in Class IV if claim of your wife's dependence were allowed. If you failed In all these claims and your work Includes getting out aero plane stock, you could be enlisted in the spruce division of the Signal Corps and be assigned to your present posi tion so long as needed there more than in the field. War Insurance nnd Compensation. PORTLAND. Or., Deo. 12. (To the Editor.) A man in military service has applied tor 15000 war risk insurance. If he should be killed" in action what benefits would his wife receive from the Government when there is one child 8 years of age? A SUBSCRIBER. The insurance would be paid the ben eficiaries in monthly installments of $28.75 for a period of 20 years. Apart from his insurance there are compensa tion payments in event of his death suffered in the line of duty amounting in this case to, 135 a month, payable, until the wife dies or remarries. When the child reaches the age of 18. or mar ries, the payment is reduced to $25. Marina Engineer on Inland Water. PORTLAND, Deo. 18. (To the Edi tor.) (1) Is a marine engineer ex empted; that is, one who is licensed to operate on inland waters only? (2) Would a license issued after De cember 15 exempt him? (8) What class would he be plaoed In? CURIOUS. (1) There Is no special classification. (2) No. (3) If actually employed in that ca pacity he might be put into Class II. but it would depend upon whether the district board found him to be a neces sary skilled laborer in a necessary in dustrial enterprise. Word to the Boys in Stag; Pants. Old Logger Talks War to Mateo From Foreman to Whlatlo Punk. PORTLAND. Dec 10. (To the Edi tor.) Permit me. through The Orego nian. to address the Pacific Coast log gers: Boys, have you read Colonel Dlsque'a appeal to us for more aero plane and ship timber material? I have spent 11 years of my life In the woods with you and I m still some man and I want to ask you boys, with the stag pants and cork shoes, if you are going to pass up this appeal or are you going to stand by him? Tom and Joe and Ben and Harry and a host of our numbers who used to work with us have quit their 85. 88. 87 and 88 a day and Joined the service for 830 a month and are already over there in our old element (the mud) to their waists with no chance to get out untu they are told to. Boys, let me tell you that Wilhelra is some goer and we've got to fight liko bell to whip him, but we are not going to try to whip him. we are going to whip him and you can do Just as much here to do it as the boys can who have gone over there and I'll tell you how to ao it. First, Sir. Foreman, every time you turn the crew out you are starting over the top. Second. Mr. Hook Tender (excuse m for calling you Mr.), every time you grab that haulback and start over the bills around a bunch of logs you are going over the top. iou rigging men are helping to do It and every time you chokermen nut a choker around a log you are putting tnree or lour pairs of wooden shoes out of business. Mr. Donkey Driver, every time you pull that throttle you are heading a cannon ball straight at that aocursed Kaiser and his hell-bound bunch of murderera Mr. Gang of Fallers, every time you drop on of our forest kings you are planting 40 or 60 more sauerkraut eaters, where they will never sprout again. You buekers, monkey flunkeys, bull cooks, whistle punks, cook house and blacksmith outfits are doing Just as much for your country as though you wore the shoulder straps of an officer. If I evar write you again I am going to tell you how to handle the Kaiser's bull cook when he starts trouble in our ranks. But. above all, let us help this man who has come among us to get these timbers. We may never get a military funeral, but let us show the world that we are game. Let us stand by Colonel Disque and President Wil son. Let us stand by the Grand Old Flag until her colors spell the word "freedom" to every nation on the face of the earth. OLD TIMER. L. L L, L, In Other Days. Half a Century Ago. From The Oregonian of December 14, 188T.. Girls boots are quite agonizing these days. What, between high and colored heels, extraordinary fastenings and tas sels and being carried half way to the knees, they are quite beyond criticism. Washington. The Senate held a se cret session. Finance bills mostly were discussed. New Orleans. The convention has adopted an ordinance forever forbid ding capital punishment. A negro member named Cromwell in a speech said: "We will rule till the last one goes down, for the negroes are going to have their rights in spite of John son or any other man." He said the negroes were ready for revolution. An other negro member got up and said the idea of a war of races was all humbug. Rev. I. D. Driver will address the Oregon State Bible Society at the Pres byterian Church tonight. The First National Bank has" been designated by the Seoretary of the Treasury as the depository of all the disbursing officers of the U. S. Array in the Department of the Columbia. Twenty-five Years Ago. From The Oregonian of December 14, 1803. Hartford, Conn. The Times has a Washington special disptach saying that Jamea G. Blaine will, if he has not already done so, become a member of the Catholic Church within the next 10 days. His son, in published dispatches, denies the report and says that Cardi nal Gibbons and Dr. Ducey called at the Blaine residence in a purely personal way. Representatives of the silver mines In Colorado report that unless the Brussels money conference or the American Congress shall do something to raise the price of silver some of the large mines in Colorado will have to close down. The monument ordered by the execu tors and residuary legatees of the late Ella M. Smith was placed in position over her grave in Riverview Cemetery yesterday. She left $125,000 to the Portland Library Association, all but $17,000 of ber $200,000 estate going, to charitable, benevolent and educational purposes. The Portland Art Association was in corporated yesterday by H. W. Corbett, Henry Falling. W. M. Ladd. Holt C. Wil son, C E. S. Wood. W. B. Ayer and T. L. Eliot. Yoaths on Wheat Ranch. WALLA WALLA. WasJu. Dec. 13 (To the Editor.) Please advise me in what class in the Army draft two young men would be who leased 640 acres of raw land last Spring in Mon tana and are cultivating it as fast as they can? They have already plowed and seeded 110 acres in Winter wheat and expect to be able to get In 75 acres more In the Spring. They do all their own work and expect by another year to have In a crop of over 300 acres, principally wheat. One of these young men is 25 years old, the other 19 years. Both are unmarried and American citi sens. We would like to have your idea as to when those in the second, third and fourth classes will be called. A SUBSCRIBER. (1) The younger is not subject to draft; the older can file claim as a necessary associate manager of a neces sary agricultural enterprise for classi fication in Class III and submit proof to the local board. It is then up to the district board to pass on his case. We assume that a well-conducted, going wheat ranch producing, or about to produce, an appreciable crop for mar ket will be considered a necessary agri cultural enterprise. The board will then determine whether the registrant is necessary to its conduct and opera tion. The rules governing such an in quiry were published in full In this column Thursday. December 13. (2) We would not hazard a guess. When Appendicitis Disqualifies. PORTLAND, Dec IS. (To the Edi tor.) I have tried to enlist in the Navy and was rejected by their three doctors tor chronic appendicitis. Two outside doctors have found my case the same. Will they take one In the Army If they find my case to be as found by the other doctors? INTERESTED. Pesent symptoms with a history of appendicitis are a disqualification for full military service.