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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 1917)
THE MORXIXO OREGONIAN. MONDAY, T)ECEMBF"R 31, 1917. : PORTLAND, OREGON. Entered at Portland (Oregon) Postofflc as second-class mail natter. Subscription ratea invariably la advanoa: (By Mail.) Dally, Sunday Included, on year 8.00 Di:y. Sunday Included, six. month.... . 4.2A T-ialiy. Sunday Included, three montha.. 2.23 Dally. Sunday Included, on month.... Daily, without Sunday, on year Ialy, without Sunday, six months.... Daily, without Sunday, three months.. Dally, without Sunday, one month.... Weekly, one year Sunday, On year Sunday and weekly 5 e.o 3.25 1.7.1 .en l.oo 2.50 3.00 ny carrier. Bally, Sunday Included, on year. SO.OO Dally. Sunday Included, on month..... .7.1 Dsiiy, without bunday, on year 7.80 Dally, without Sunday, thre months... 1.P.1 Dally, without Sunday, on month 62 How to Remit Send postofflc money or 6r, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or Currency are at owner's risk. Give postofflc address In full. Including county and state. Postage Rata 12 to IS pages. 1 cent: IS to S3 pages. U cents: H4 to 48 pages, 8 cents: 60 to 60 pages, 4 esnts: (12 to 76 pages, S cents: 78 to 82 pages, a cents. Foreign postage, doubl rates. Eastern Bufclnes Office Verre Conk l!n, Brunswick building. New York; Verree A Conklln, Steger building, Chicago: San Francisco representative, R. J. Indwell, 742 Market street. MEMBER or THE ASSOCIATED TRESS. The Associated Press Is ' exclusively en titled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to It or not other wise credited In this paper, and also the local news published herein. 'All rights of republication of special dis patches herein are also reserved. PORTLAND. MONDAY. DEC. SI. 1917. TOOD THE MEAN'S OF YICTORT. Food Administrator Hoover has given a convincing answer to the attacks of Claps Spreckels on his handling: of the sugar supply. It is evidence of the bitter hostility shown by Chairman Reed, of the Senate committee which is investigating the food administra tion, to Mr. Hoover and the entire policy of food control, that he has persistently refused to give Mr. Hoover a, hearing and that the latter has been obliged to get his case before the peo ple by a direct statement. When Senator Reed obstructs the policies necessary to win the war. it is useless for him to profess zeal for the Na tional cause. When the United States entered the war It found that Great Britain was the central buyer of sugar for all tha allies, and that that country had made large purchases from producing coun tries, leaving the remainder at the mercy of New York's one thousand speculative brokers. The latter had already boosted the American con sumers' price above that paid by allied peoples and might readily have sent It higher, to their own profit and to the American people's impoverishment. In order to prevent speculation and to obtain sugar for the American peo ple On the same basis as the allies, Mr. Hoover arranged with the allies that he should handle the supply for them as well as for the United States. The sugar supply reaches its lowest ebb In the late Fall and early Win ter, before the new crop comes on the market. The Hawaiian crop is har vested first, and Mr. Hoover made ar rangements with the planters and re finers of that country which stabilized the price. He then arranged with the beet sugar refiners and with the Louis iana cane growers. Finally, came an agreement with the Cuban planters upon a price to which they had stren uously objected. He thus insured that the refiners should sell to the jobbers at 7i cents, though the public might easily have been compelled to pay 25 to SO cents a pound if the market had not been controlled. The Shipments to Canada and France, about which Mr. Spreckels made an outcry, were made in ac cordance with the agreement, and they could not have been withheld without breach of faith. He ascribes the shortage in the Northeastern states to' these shipments, though the actual cause is lack of cars and ships. The people of that section have not com plained, though they have been with out sugar at many times, and at other times their purchases have been lim ited to two pounds. They understand the situation and accept it in a pa triotic spirit, needing no such cham pion as Mr. Spreckels. Reduction of American consumption to 70 per cent of the normal quantity in October, November and December was neces sary in order that the other 30 per cent might be shipped to our allies, who are yi much shorter allowance. An attempt is made to asperse the motives of the committee which made the Cuban agreement because the price which it made had the effect of raising the price obtained by Mr. Spreckels' rivals and thus cf increas ing their profits. That transaction is open to explanation free from any ground for suspicion. The Cuban planters control the largest supply of cane sugar and are citizens of an In dependent country, to which the American food control law cannot apply. They were, therefore, in a po eiton to drive a better bargain than were any American producers. If .ny of the latter incidentally profit, it can not be helped, when the purpose is to equalize prices. The alternative of free speculation in a deficient supply would have mulcted the American people so much more heavily that they can view with equanimity the rela tively small addition to the cost of Hawaiian sugar. As to the Javan stock of 900,000 tons, the shortage of ships puts it out of reach until vessels can be spared to import it. Restriction of American sugar con sumption is necessary in order that our allies may be supplied. It is nec essary that they be supplied with this es well as other foodstuffs in order that they may do their part in win ning the war. - Mr. Hoover's state ment that food will win the war Is amply sustained by the experience of Italy. The morale of part of the Italian army was broken by reports from behind the lines that the people were suffering from shortage of food and that bread riots were frequent. Germany worked on the sentiments of the soldiers by circulating among them thousands of copies of forged editions of leading Italian newspapers which contained exaggerated versions of the facts. Morale was broken, and Italy suffered defeat. When the people are called upon to choose between trust ing Mr. Hoovjr. who is working for victory by sustaining the morale of our allies with ample food and whom the British and French government .trusted implicitly with the expenditure of teis of millions of dollars, and trusting a disgruntled sugar refiner. they should not hesitate. Americans who view the sugar shortage with alarm because they be- lieva that it will have a serious effect upon health will be quieted by a statement issued by three professors in leading medical colleges that "so far as the adult population Is con cerned, sugar Is not essential." As a matter of fact, people got along com fortably without it prior to only about two centuries ago, and it was com paratively unCommOn even in Napo leon's time. Nature has a way of pro viding sugar in sufficient quantities in forms "readily available, and our de pendence upon sugar is largely habit. In response to the contention of pa rents that their children cannot be persuaded to eat sufficient quantities of porridge if they are deprived of their accustomed sweetening, the med ical professors have made the sugges tion seriously that currants and raisins be cooked with the breakfast cereal. This is offered for the guidance of families in which parental discipline Is not equal to the solution of dietary problems. PINAL DRIVE FOR THE RED CROSS. Portland is called upon for a great final effort to bring Its Red Cross membership up to 100,000 before the Jsew Year opens. All the Klks have taken up the task, and as they never fall at anything they undertake, there should be no doubt of their success, but they should have the aid ot every good citizen. Those persons who are not already enrolled in the Red Cross should not watt to be asked, but should seek out a canvasser and give their names and subscriptions. The United States Is the fortunate brother among the warring nations, for all those in Europe have had hos tile armies in their soil, killing and destroying. They have endured it for nearly three years and a half, while we have been only to a limited extent in the war for nine months. It there fore becomes Our duty to help the suffering among our allies by giving to the Red Cross. Upon that noble institution our soldiers and sailors must chiefly rely for care of the sick and wounded, and for comforts when they are relieved from duty in the trenches. Then a strong pull should be made today to enroll 100.000 members for Portland and 240,000 for all Oregon, that the state may maintain Its, record for always being first and that the old year may be finished with a good deed. IMPORTANCE " pF DISTANCE Kt WAR. One of the main reasons why the allies have made their principal at tack on the Germans along the Franco- Belgian front is strikingly illustrated by a map and table of distances pub lished in the Boston Transcript with an article by "An Old Soldier" from the London Post. Accepting his dic tum that "the basis of all strategy Is the study of communications," we find that on the western front the allies are near an equality with the Ger mans as regards distance from their base, while German troops sent from Lille to attack the Italians on the Isonzo had to travel 700 miles against 860 miles traveled by the British from Arras. The "Germans have the same advantage in going to Trentino, for the distance from Colmar is only 340 miles a gain fit 500 miles to be traveled by the French from Belfort. When the Macedonian front is con sidered, the advantage is still more on the side of the Germans. A German troop train can go straight through from Lille to the Greek frontier, a distance of 1350 miles, while French troops must go by rail to Marseilles, to be transferred to steamer, sail to Saloniki, and then be transferred to a railroad to reach the front, the total distance from Arras being 2190 miles, with two transfers and with a voyage of 1500 miles through seas infested with submarines. Not until we come to Palestine and Mesopotamia do distances approach nearer equality. Gaza Is 2700 miles from Lille for the Germans, and the journey requires a transfer across the Bosphorus at Constantinople and an other across the Taurus Mountains, where there is a gap In the Bagdad railroad. Gaza is 2500 miles from Arras, the British going by rail to Marseilles and thence by sea. but as their advance is along and parallel with the coast, it shortens the dis tance until they reach Aleppo and Alexandretta. If the main Mesopo tamia army should then effect a Junc tion with the Palestine army and if the advance should be continued west ward near the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor, the British would shorten their own line of communication in the same proportion as they shorten that of the enemy. The disparity In distance from the west to Samara, on the British front in Mesopotamia, is greatly in favor of Germany, for it is 6960 miles from Arras for the British and only 4940 miles from Lille for the Germans. But the British turn the scale heavily In their favor by employing chiefly In dian tfoops in that country, the dis tance from Bombay to Basra, the port of the Tigris, being only 2100 miles. Other reasons for concentrating the attack on Germany in the west are that there is the most valuable in vaded territory, from which the Ger mans draw coal and iron to carry on the war; there the allies are in the best position to Invade Germany and cripple their most powerful enemy by depriving him of the coal and iron of Lorraine and Westphalia; and there is the shortest line of travel for troops and supplies from the United States and Canada. By wearing down Ger many's main force there and by driv ing it back into Germany, they can force withdrawal of troops from other fronts until their armies in Italy,' Macedonia and Turkey can take the offensive In confidence of uninter rupted victory. The end would be hastened, how ever, if the alliance were provided with such abundance of ships that it could begin an earlier offensive on the more distant fronts. Then there would be a prospect of cutting the Teuton empires off from Turkey and Bulgaria, putting the two latter countries out of business and carrying help to Rou manla. Plenty of ships would make possible a simultaneous offensive on all fronts which would foil the Ger man game of shuttling troops from one point of danger to another. Noth ing else can neutralize Germany's ad vantage of shorter lines of communi cation. A SCBSTITtTK FOR THE SCN. English physicists have made en couraging progress, as a result of re doubled efforts to speed up food pro duction, in their search for a substi tute for the sun in the stimulation of plant growth. Experiments with elec tricity, begun several years ago., and continued perfunctorily before the war began, have recently been fos tered by the Government under the pressure ef necessity, and the -pessimistic tone of the original commen tators has given place to one of ros eate optimism. The British Depart ment Of Agriculture has Installed, a large plant at the Hereford station where formerly operations were con ducted on a small and academic scale, and the outcome will be watched with Interest wherever crops are grown that will bear an outlay large in pro portion to the area of land involved. The alternating current is rise, v cording to a writer In the Electrical Experimenter, who has seen the plant In operation. Spring wheat, barley, oats and clover have been sown, and the method adopted Is to string wires over the field, supporting them on short poles, giving room for loaded wagons to pass beneath. The charge fizzes from the wires audibly, with a glow that is visible on darker nights. One who walks beneath the wires can feel the effect on the hair of the htaa, as of a cobweb on the face. These outward manifestations, however, do not explain the forces which are at work. It Is not yet known whether it is so-called "ionization" of the at mosphere, or something else. whlcH causes the crop to multiply. Concurrent experiments conducted by a private Owner of vegetable gar dens in Wales have led Sir Thomas E. Roberts to believe that the effect ot electricity upon the soil Is chiefly to promote nitrification so essential to the well-being of the plant. The dark green tissue and the building up of new cellular tissue are regarded a evidences of greater vigor. In some way which we do not yet understand the electrical current supplements the sun. but not the light of the sun. It has been observed that when the cur rent was supplied on bright daya its effect Was actually detrimental. Best results have been obtained by Its em ployment just before dawn and just after sunset on sunny days, and on other days when the sun Is obscured by clouds. There are plenty of cloudy days in the locality in which the work is being done. Cost of the permanent plant, which Is estimated at $1600 for twenty-four acres, and Of maintenance, another J300 a year, will restrict its use, but it should be borne in mind that the maintenance figures are based upon electricity produced with coal as fuel. This cost would be greatly reduced in the vicinity of cheap water power. The value of the entire enterprise, however, probably does not lie so much in the actual food It will pro duce in the coming yeaf as in the fact that it appears to have stepped upon the threshold of an important physical discovery. We appear to be only on the outer margin of our un derstanding of the chemistry of air and sunlight and electricity, and the work so modestly begun in England may not unreasonably be expected to develop Into something fraught with momentous consequences to the entire industrial life of the world. WHY HAS Rl'RAL CHURCH CONE BACK T Tho Oregonian had supposed that noane would disagree with its moder ate observations on the rural church and Its decline, the other day, few its Information was from the common fund of knowledge and experience, and its conclusions were exactly in accord with the available reports and findings of qualified and earnest In vestigators, both denominational and non-denomlnatlonal. But we hear to day from a well-known clergyman that The Oregonian is mistaken, that little or nothnig Is to be done about it, and that -the committee of five churches which made the Lane County survey, and offered certain well-defined and well-matured remedies, do not speak with authority, but were "self-constituted." We shall not argue that point, beyond the suggestion that there is a certain credit to be given to the opinions and statements of any body of men who are of good public repute, and who by their professions and service are, presumably, qualified to discuss a subject exactly related to their own life occupation. If five clergymen cannot tell us what Is the matter with the rural church, who can? We are not quite content to ac cept the counter assertion of the protesting clergyman that there is nothing the matter. Clearly there Is. The Oregonian based all its com ment on the premise that there is "no economic justification for twelve churches In a place, which can ade quately support, say, not more than four or five." Attention is Invited to the letter Of Dr. Cllne, printed else where, with the mild query as to whether there Is anything therein that shows that The Oregonian erred. Can there be any warrant for twelve churches in a town or community which can give only three or four suffi cient nourishment, be it financial, spiritual, or social? Our critic, in deed, does not directly say so; yet that is the whole purport of his argu ment. There Is no sound analogy between the present condition of the rural school and the rural church. It is not at all a correct statement that the country school languishes as the coun try church does, and for the same rea sons. Let us take a trip Into the Willamette Valley, say, and report what we see. It will be that the dis trict schools as a rule have a thrifty look, while the adjacent churches are neglected, unkempt, and often aban doned. There is at least one com munity where the church has been given up wholly, and the meetings of several denominations are held in the schoolhouse, just across the road. The reason is, of course, that the school building Is neat, clean and comfort able, while the other place Is out of repair, and It takes money, which the neighborhood can ill afford, to make It habitable and comfortable. The taxpayer, of course, supports the one, and volunteers the other. Yet the money for the one is ungrudgingly provided; and for the other, not so freely. Why is that? Doubtless it is because the community feels that it Is getting service from the one. It has not got it from the other, at least in that instance. The rural church has suffered greatly from the great Industrial, movement to the cities. In pioneer days It was a flourishing institution, supplying a genuine need, and responsive to the wants, thoughts, moods and longings of its - members and patrons. Those were the days of the circuit rider, of rugged and even stentorian leadership, and of genuine consecration by preach ers and laity. But a change came, with familiar, change of conditions, and the rural church went back. At the same time, we are told, the rural school lost ground. If so, it has surely regained It, by methods which good men and women now think should be applied to revival of the church. The district school has in many cases given way to the union school, and in many states a township or a county unites to build and maintain a high school. Where there was once a single room, now there are several rooms, with a staff of teachers. The standards of Instruction have unques tionably been raised, for there are better equipment, better paid teachers and a far more diligent general inter est among pupils. There is a record of a union school, to which the pupils were taken by the carry-all, where there was but a single instance of tardiness in ten years. The fact that the young scholar would be called for was a great stimulus to the practice of promptness. So It Is true that trie irMn of r rural school is being solved, because It has been adapted to the require ments of the community. It is hard to understand why there should be the slightest resentment against an en deavor, from the inside, by friendly hands, to reorganize the rural church. We shall be told, of course we are being told that religion is-temperamental in its expression, and that there are many gates to heaven, and that the member of one denomination who has given lifelong devotion to hi church cannot easily be persuaded to take another road. Now, we have no thought at ail of trampling on anyone's sectarian toes, and it is not necessary, in the plan of a federated church which is now finding acceptanqe, for any one to urn denominationally himself. In a com munity too poor to sustain a single organization. It ought to be easy for all sects, or several of them, to agree to hold services and to tlo social work together. In a single place in Illinois six denominations Wesleyan, Metho dist, Methodist Episcopal, Episcopal, Christian, Baptist and Seventh Day Adventist formally united In a union church. The organisation. It is re ported, consisted simply of the elec tion of two deacons, and a committee of three to engage a pastor or supply for the pulpit, and an agreement to take the Holy Scriptures as the only rule of faith and practice, and Chris tian character the test of fellowship. This plan has stood the test of forty five years. Who will say it is not good? Doubtless some of our doubting friends will be interested in the testi mony of -a preacher. Dr. Charles B. Taylor, of McArthur, Ohio, who has, as he says, been "ministering for forty years to the needs of various groups of country churches among the hills of Southwestern Ohio." Dr. Taylor offers this pointed assertion: Tha first thing to do Is to get th church at large awake to the need of centraliza tion of country churches. The present condi tion of these churches Is a woeful wast of the lord's money, the labors of his minis ters ami th energies of his people. It is a detriment to th spiritual life of the country communities and a hindrance to th upbuilding of the kingdom of God In th souls of men. Whenever th church I ready awake to these truths, w will find a way to centralize. A way is being found. The Ore gonian Is told that the Interdenomi natlanal Committee In Oregon is mak ing decided headway. A part of the plan is to agree thafcompetition shall be eliminated where there Is room for one and not for two. In some cases, one denomination will give way, in other cases another. So, in this way, there will be a better chance for the denominations as a whole to prosper, and the communities to be well served. A live church anywhere is surely better than no Church, or two churches dying or nearly dead. How great a flood of wealth Is be ing accumulated by the farmers can best be understood by comparison of the aggregate value of this year's crops with those of former years. The total of $21,000,000,000 would pay the entire cost of the war and the Gov ernment for the year ending next June, and is $6,500,000,000 more than that for 1916. The corn crop is worth $4,659,000,000, compared with $2,296, 000.000 for 1916, $1,723,000,000 in 1915, and an average for five years of $1,577,000,000. The wheat crop is worth $1,320,000,000, an increase of $294,235,000 over 1916. . The increase in value far exceeds Increase In cost of production. The union of railway mail clerks, 15,000 strong, has been given a char ter, despite Mr. Burleson's opposition. These clerks come under the head of skilled labor, and organization of workmen under that classification is not open to criticism. There is much room elsewhere for Mr. Burleson's activity. Oregon lives up to its record by more than doubling Its quota of the war library fund. It came mostly In' small sums, which is a hint how the total for war savings certificates can be rolled up. There is no getting away from the income tax. Employers will be re quired to report payments of more than $800 to any one during 1917. If Harrlman and Hill could have seen the power which McAdoo wields as a railroad king, they would have felt like very small kinglets. The Germans have a grudge against any other nation which makes pre tense of culture, so they try to destroy the evidence with bombs. If Judge Rossman continues to im pose fines at' the present rate, there will be many very careful motorists In Portland next year. The farmer who would plant more with less labor must apply to the county agent for advice and instruc tion. Those countries, like Guatemala, which are not directly Injured by war are shaken by the convulsions of na ture. If Count Czernln really wants peace, he will speak in a voice that sounds more like the end of militarism. With a 10 per cent increase in pay, all Northern Pacific employes will con sider it a happy New Year.' Don't worry; Winter may stray across the Rocky Mountains about the time when Spring is due. If you do not wear a R,ed Cross button today It will "not be a happy New Year tomorrow. If you are waiting for "a cold day" to begin something, start now. It may come at any time. Government will reduce the number of trains, but must put more straps in the cars. Done anything to anybody during the year that Is closing today? Square It tomorrow. Suppose the Oregon troops were at Camp Mills now, with temperatures below zero? It's "auto polish" now In Seattle, and ' by and by may be embalming fluid. What the East needs is two fuel administrators working overtime. Honolulu is asking for prohibition. Port Said next, may be. Thermometers in the East indicate a shrinkage In mercury. "Fat" contracts go with war, de nte vi'ince. SPECIAL NEED FOR EACH C1IIRCH Dr. Cllne Decries Propoaal That Roral . Worshipper Vnlte. PORTLAND. Dec. 30. (To the Ed itor.) The Oregonlan's editorial De cember 26 on the decline ot tha rural church and too .many churches In the small towns, while ably written, fails to hit-the mark.- . As a matter of fact, the country church suffers from the same cause that affects the country school and the country store, namely, the growing dis like' of families to live on the ' farm, with the smaller land owner selling out to his neighbor, who buys everything joining him. This process- has been going on for years in every Northern state and In California and Oregon. Country schools, once vigorous and crowded with children, are now aban doned, or reduced to only a few pupils. In the meantime the church comes In for its share of the same fate. The old constituency- of membership is gone, and the farmer who has not yet moved to . town, when Sunday cornea, takes his family in an automobile and In a few minutes runs to the city to church, where they hear good preaching, good singing and stay for the well-organized Sunday school. This practically compasses- the whole situation of the ret ceding country church; and who's to blame? - - As to there being too many churches In the towns, something may , be said on both sides. While the survey at Eugene a year or two since, composed of self-constituted critics, is quoted by The Oregonian as conclusive. It is well to remember that one swallow does not make a Summer. Critics who ex amine a thing, not to assimilate it. but evidently to find fault with it, espe cially in church matters, are only a bunch of pharisical dyspeptics. This writer had had 40 years', and more, observation and work among the mailer churches In country and town, and tha principal aim among them, ad mitting that there may in soma places be too many. Is not proselyting mem bers from others, hut unselfish useful ness, sympathy and harmony with their neighbors. In most places in Summer months all these churches unit In th evening service, the pastors taking turns In preaching. Instead of indulg ing in jealous rivalry and hatred, every one Of them is trying with Intelligent fidelity to do Its work In Its own way work that one big organization (usu ally filled more or' lees with drones) could by no means accomplish; and nearly all this talk at Chautauquas and by the press about "waste of efTort and money" is without foundation In fact. Nor is it fair to require of these churches to furnish amusement to com pete with the village dance or country dance hall, which requires neither daylight, space, nor choice of associa tion. Nor must the fact be lost sight of that these different church organiza tions administer to the different tem peraments of th people where they are. far more effectively than could one big Church organisation. It is well known that nothing is exactly the same to any two persons; and It Is well that It Is so. Religious viewa and religious experience differ in different people. The ox does not view a sunset with the same apprecia tion of th cultivated artist, and yet th ox, ror a, number Of reasons may be of more worth than the artist. He often Is. So there are people In every community, like the Methodists for in stance, whose richness and intensity Of emotion appeal to persons Of Singu lar temperament; whlla others, equally good and useful in all the walks of llf, think the ordinance or baptising administered In a certain mechanical way is the only door to the sheepfold. It Is only waste and folly to attempt to make the two types into one. It cannot be done, and the money ex pended in maintaining a church for each supplies an actual need In every community, and who shall say the money thus used might not be spent for far less profitable things? Nor is this all. Instead of engender ing Ill-will In the members of one of these churches against another, they, by laudable competition in good works, are growing the best material for the commonwealth and for the churches themselves. Every Methodist annual conference and every other . ecclesias tical body knows, all too well, how seldom a young minister of the gospel comes out of a big city church; al ways, or with rare exceptions, the can didate for holy orders comes from the small church in the country or village. It Is in these churches, four or five of them In one little town, too many, you say: and yet It Is here the best men are grown, like the tall Oregon fir that shoots up straight trees for ship timbers in this our time of need. C. E. CLINE. British Service Badge. PORTLAND, Dec. 30. (To the Ed itor.) I am a British subject and have an uncle and six cousins serving in the English army (two already killed). Is it permissible for me to wear or hang in the window a service flag, or does it apply to Americans only. A BRITISH SUBJECT. The service flags made of Our Na tional colors and displayed in this country represent, with their - stars, men in the United States Army. While it is improbable that anyone would object to your displaying a service flag to represent your relatives in the Brit ish army, it would be more appropriate for you to follow the English and Cana dian custom and wear badges repre senting the British contingents in which you have relatives serving. The enlisted men can obtain and send the badges to members of their families at home. Enlistment of Canadian. SALEM, Or., Dec. 29. (To the Edi tor.) I have a wife and four small children: wife and myself born in Can ada; lived In United States nine years; children born in this country; have never applied for citizenship. (1) Can I be conscripted in the British army or Canadian army? (2) Could I enlist In U. S. Army? READER. (1) No. (2) If you are of registration age and expressly relinquish claim of ex emption on the ground of alienage you will be classified as though you were a citizen of the United States. Your acceptability for immediate military duty would depend upon whether your family is mainly dependent on your labor for support. When Registrant Changes Occupation. HALSEY, Or., Dee. 29. (To the Ed itor.) Suppose a man fills out his questionnaire and returns it as a farm er, can he engage in any other occu pation, or does he have to remain a farmer? Some say he can't. A READER. If he has been given a deferred clas sification on the ground of engagement in a necessary agricultural enterprise, he may change his occupation, but must report such change within five days to his local board. Failure to report is punishable by one year's imprisonment. After change of status has been re ported the board may on Its own mo tion proceed to a reclassification. Stage Hero Wanted. London Ideals. Officer Do you know anyone lodging here named Romeo Sinks? Msld Yes, sir, 'E's playln' the "ero at the Theater Royal In "Simpklns the Hero." Officer Well, you go and tell him he's wanted for dodging military CMTY IS DEEMED IMPOSSIBLE No I'nneceaanry Church Will Convent to Elimination, Says Writer. SILVERTON, Or". Dec. 29. (To the Editor.) In your editorial on too many churches you say "there is no economic Justification for 12 churches in a place which can adequately support not more than four or five." Ah! "there's the rub." What four or five would It be? Each of the dozen look upon the other 11 as spurious, or at least not possessed of true religion, pure and undefiled. The Baptists and other believers in Immersion view with concern those who think they can get to heaven by sprin kling. The Protestants think the Cath olics the biggest humbug on the face of the earth, and the Catholios share the same opinion of the Protestants. To show the fellowship and feeling that exists among the faithful, our town has just had a case in point. A disciple or Pastor Russell advertised a free lecture explaining how the Bible foretold the present world war. One or our clergymen Immediately posted the following notice: "Another pious fraud coming to our already over churched little cityrcome to our church Sunday nltrht and hear him exposed!" He . gave the itinerant preacher hail Columbia. I will submit, as will all sane people, that we are over-churched, but how to get rid of the surplus is a tantalizing question. There are nearly a dozen churches here. vjur miani clergyman s aa- nomination has three of them, and each contending: the other two are wron In the United States this church hi g. as 23 orrshoots or independent synods, and last Summer an effort was made at St. Paul, Minn., by representatives of these divergent bodies to lay aside their differences- join together and fight the devil under one banner. Th effort railed. I believe that any attempt on this line will fail. In this country are 16 Methodist. 15 Baptist. 12 Presby terian, six Advent, four Reformed, four Dunkard and four Brethren bodies, nine faith associations., and some doeen -Or more with two or three branches, be sides others that are still Intact. Altogether there are mre than 180 different Christian bodies in the United States. - So there is no doubt that the super fluous church is here, hut it is going to be a hard Job to eliminate her. The Jurors will necessarily be drawn from tneir own congregations and each will vote unanimously to eliminate the oth er fellow. The trial will naturally end in a draw failed to apree and there you are, right where x,ou started, with a whole lot of hard work and hard words for nothing. OSCAR RED FIELD. 10 CEXTS TO SIT, S CENTS TO STAND Contributor Offers Alternative for flat -Cent Carfare. PORTLAND, Dec. 30. (To the Edi tor.) Regarding the -cnt fare, why not make fare ror seat 10 cents and 5 cents for standing room? The streetcar hog is abroad In the city, or more noticeably since the car service hag been curtailed. Take any car on the Union-avenue line from 6:30 to 7:30 in the morning and you will find from six to 20 women rolng to laundries and factories standing and trying to pull the straps from the car, while the seats are filled with the for eign element, decorated with Red Cross and union buttons. For the past two months I have not seen a man get up and give his seat to a woman. Really it Is amusing and painful to see a big. . able-bodied man walk upon the feet of others in a mad rush to heat some poor old lady to a seat. There must be a streak yellow In such a person. for lythiner you may say to him will not be resented. I have appointed myself a committee of one to better condi tions, but to date have not been able to get a row started. The chivalrous youth must be "somewhere In France." Some time ago there was a writing and wailing about the Heights car be ing overloaded moral Influence and all the rest of that talk. That was tame. The bridge cars carry 120 on many trips and no one seems to have time to put up a howl. We had thouerht of selling a sug gestion to Mr. Griffith: Why not take the seats from the cars and use a kind of hay baler? In this way a few fares could be added to each trip. One instance In particular occurred shout a week since on an Alberta car. Only One woman passenger and 6he was standing. Just think of 32 things, made In the Image and likeness of God, allowing one poor woman who had probably been taken rrom a good home by another man or their kind and later lert with a few children to support, go ing out into the world to battle for an honest living-, while these blir hus kies sat on their haunches and allowed her the privilege of standing. In the name of humanity, men, let us wake up. Where are the clubs business men's leagues. Chamber . of Commerce committees, vice control en thusiasts? Guess they all ride In car? and do not se the Indignities suffered by the women and children whom mis fortune has marked and . who must patronise the Portland streetcars. Tours for a S and 10-cent fare, C. RANK. F.fflolency Expe. Needed. PORTLAND, Dec. 29. (To the Edi tor.) One phase of the street railway question which has not, to my knowl edge, been given due consideration is the elimination of useless lines and routings. No increase of rates can be considered Just or equitable until the company is required to cut out all use less expense. In the hey day of rail way exploitation these franchises were of such great value that twice as many lines were built as were ever needed, and now that the automobile has made serious inroads into the revenues of the railways one of the first matters that should receive attntion is how expenses may be cut down without im pairment of the service. As an instance of needless lines, there is no goo-l reason for the five parallel lines on First, Second, Third, Fifth and Seventh (Broi.dway) streets. Two lines would be sufficient and could be so placed that no one would need to walk over 300 yards to reach a car and the other etreets would be all the better for team and automobile trafric. Two of the bridges should be unobstructed by carllnes and a care fully worked out system of loop and belt lines using the tracks already built could be made to furnish In finitely better and more convenient service and at a decided saving in maintenance and operating costs. Outlying districts should be served by lines of two or three cars in charge of one motorman and run at greater intervals. Instead of the Public Serv ice Commission granting the Increase of fares now so beseechingly asked for, it had better, require the railway company to call in an efficiency engi neer to tell what Is the matter and how to remedy it. THOMAS S. WILKES. t-ivil Engineer. Secretaries to Presidents. COOK, Wash.. Dec. 26. (To the Edi tor.) In order to settle' a dispute please states the names of the private secretaries of ex-Presidents Roosevelt and Taft, and also that of President Wilson. REGULAR SUBSCRIBER. President -Roosevelt's first private secretary was George B. Cortelyou; his second was William Loeb, Jr. President Taft had three private sec retaries In the order named: Fred W. Carpenter, ' Charles D. Norton and Charles D. Hilles. President Wilson's secretary Is Joseph TV TMity. In Other Days. Twenty-Five Years Ago. From Tha Oresonlan. December 31. 1892. The rate meeting of all transconti nental lines has been called for St. Paul, Minn., January 9. It will be of vast importance to Portland. Colonel John Adair, of Astoria. One of the trustees of the projected Goble railway, returned yesterday from New York, where he has been in conference with trustees and the capitalists wtvo are to build the road. The tunerul opera. "The Fairy Grot to," was produced by local talent last night at the Marquam Grand. Among those who took part were Mrs. C. W. Alisky. Mrs. E. Q. Finck, Mrs. Mae Bradley, Olga Bartsch, Lena Hender son. Emma Fife, Miss May Cook, Agnes Henderson. Mrs. Hellner, C. A. Deane, and, the Misses Cornelius and Terry. The 25th anniversary of the Unitarian Church, at Seventh and Yamhill, via celebrated last night. Rev. T. L. Eliot, pastor during the quarter of a century, made an address, as did Dr. Stratton, president of Portland University, who was present at the dedication of the church. New York. Dr. Briggs has won a victory. None of the six charges aerainst him have been sustained. The closest vote was on the charge that he had taught that the Bible contained error of history, but he was victorious. l to 68. In that. His case will not be appealed to the general assembly, it Is likely. Half a Century Ago. Front Th Oregonian. December 51. 1ST. Washington From information Ob tained at the State Department it ap pears that Minister Hale haa for some time been in communication-with the Spanish government concerning the purchase of Cuba. San Francisco. The most terrific storm that has swept the Pacific in the last 12 years Is now raging. The waves at South Beach ran 10 fet over the wharves. San Francisco. The Souaves last night used the butts of their muskets on the crowd at Casserly's reception at tho Occidental. The Salem flouring mill Is now mak ing 400 barrels of flour a day. O. W. Lawson, of Salem. It is learned. intends to move to California. He has good prospects in that state. The new church of the Unitarian so ciety was dedicated Sunday afternoon. Rev. T. L Eliot, assisted by the Rev. Stratton. of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Anderson, of the Baptist, and Harpending. of the Presbyterian. Offi ciating. Mr. Eliot, the new pastor, ar rived but a few days ago by boat from St. Louis, Mo. He is quite a youn man. but has the reputation of having quite a good deal of talent. The bund le dedicated stands on the corner of Seventh and Yamhill streets. Income Tax Exemptions. KNAPTOX, Wash., Dee. 49. (To the Editor.) Are United States Senators and United States Representatives ex empt from income tax? If SO. Whv? Are other Federal officials exempt? It so, who? c. M. The following Incomes are exempt from the provisions of the normal In come tax and the war Income tax: The compensation of the present President of the United States during ths term for which he has been elected, and the judges of the supreme and Infe rior courts of the United States now In orrice, and the compensation of all officers and employes of a state or any political subdivision thereof, ex cept when such compensation is paid by the United States Government. The war excess profits tax, which operates as fin income tax on Indi vidual incomes of more than $6000, is not assessed against the salaries ot officers and employes of tho United States, or any state, territory, or the District of Columbia or any local sub division thereof. Representatives In Congress and United States Senators come under the exemption of the latter law only. Mystics Among the Great. SOUTH BEND, Wash., Dec. 29. (To the Editor.) I wish to say a few words in reply to "A Bookworm," whose Ut ter was printed in The Oregonian. He prints a terrible picture ot per sons who devote their time to ths study of mysticism. To one who understands it, there is nothing unnatural about It. It is mind power rightly used. On the other hand, a great deal of so called mysticism is really psychism or false occultism, which is unnatural and dangerous as well. Some of the greatest men of all ages have been mystics, among whom Christ was the most wonderful. Those of modern times were Shakespeare, Bal sac. Emerson, Walt Whitman only a few in a long list. Does "Bookworm's" description fit here? Today some of the highest positions in the land are occupied by men mys tics, who necessarily conceal ths fact, so as not to be misunderstood by Igno rant people. JULIA HOFLER. Falsified Exemption Claim. REEDVILLE, Or.. Dec. 29. (To ths Editor.) What Is the penalty If a reg istrant In order to avoid being placed in class I and subject to the draft, claims he supports a wife and family but contributes nothing towards their support, the wife having to maintain herself and small children? A SUBSCRIBER. He Is liable to imprisonment for one year, loss of valuable rights and priv ileges, and immediate induction Into the military service. Men Physically Disqualified. ALDERDALE. Wash., Dec. 29. (To the Editor.) What would they do with a registrant who has rheumatism of th -heart and hips and can not hardly walk and is in bed three and four days out of a week? He has had it for 24 years. He is a farmer, haa stock and farming implements, a grain raiser and is 30 years old, S feet 9 inches tall, weight 165 pounds. READER. If the local board finds his physical condition to be as you represent he will be placed in the exempt class. the: red cross dollar. Let's die up another dollar For the Red Cross drives; Every shoulder to the collar In the pull for lives. Who can spend a dollar hotter. Who shall count a loss. If we break, a human fetter. Helping the Red Cross? Can a dollar fence our feeling. While the soil Is red Far from where we sit congealing Reading of the dead? Never since that dollar's birthday Was it tjetter spent Than the time it took the pathway To the Red Cross tent. Let's dig up another dollar For the Red Cross drives; Every shoulder to the collar In the pull for lives E. B. BIRKENBEtTEL.