THE MORXIXO OREGONIAN. MONDAY, T)ECEMBF"R 31, 1917.
:
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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.