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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 1918)
10 THE 3IORXIXG OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY .27, 1918. POKTLAXD. OREGON. ' Entered at Pertland Oreou) Postoffice as KondUM mall matter, f u&scnptloa rate invariably In advaoea. nr iaii. Pally, SanrJay Inetu.led. on. y.ar 'rii iia.iv kai .iu.ialfl era month . Iai:. SuaaCeil nvMnl. lUree month ... 2.. i lai.y. .'ia Included, an monta l.iy, without jiunrtay. on. year .. Pal y, kboui Sunday, st month. ri y. uhwl hunday. ooa mentb Weekly, sae year .. Sun.lav. aa. year humlAf mad aetkT Hit ramar.t Tale Hta.. Inrluilfl. one year ......"" I'al.y. huaeav Include.!, on. month . Ia:iy. without liuniiay. on. year Iar:y. WH haul Sunday, three months Isally. without Sunday, oa. month Mow to stsssl Sand pnetofflc-a Money or der, express or personal th-rlt oo your local back, stamp, cola or currency ara at or-, riia. t;i po.tof:ico iddrta la lull, laciuclinc esuaty aaa atat. f-eta Katea 1 J to 1 pay. I : to J P'fea. i c.nta: to 41 pae. cent.: SO to -j Beats cent.; i to . pe. cent.: T to 2 paces. S can la. aorelss poetaaa. desbla rataav Eaatera tlaelar.. Offles V.rrea Conk Ma. Hmn.wi.a bullaln. New York; Verree Con la. fccrer buiiJin. chlcaso: Verree Consttn. r ree rre.e Dul.dina. inch. : See 'raoclaro reprania,ua, K. J. aUdwail. 141 alareai atraeu .TS ,. .- .. ." .. 1 . .. .i .. S-i 71 . T Ml. the allies would not end In Eastern, nor even In Western, Siberia, but might extend Into European Russia. Conditions In that country have changed so rapidly from day to day that no forecast of the future is pos sible. But It is not to be expected that the allies mould tolerate German occupation under cover of a treaty with such a travesty of a government as that of Lenine. They have not recognized that government, and in their view Russia is a country without a government capable of acting and speaking for the nation. They will scarcely abandon such a country to Germany, nor will they" recognize as valid the annexations which have been dictated to the Bolsheviki. They may ask Japan to continue the advance westward and to renew In Russia the war which the Russians have aban doned. It is within the range of pos sibility that the Kaiser may meet face to face in Berlin the yellow peril about which he was mo eloquent in 1905. in the peace of Utrecht, was given by him to Austria in exchange for the Upper Palatinate, and in turn ex changed by that country for Sicily with the Duke of Savoy. Through all these changes, however, the race has been preserved practically intact. xiNBn or Tins ashociatfd rorss. The Aaaorialed Pre-. I. exclusively entitled a th aao for repaolicatlon of .11 newa dle- fatcne credited to It or not otherwise crea ted to ibis paper, and also tae local news aubllsbes berets. A. I naaie ef republication of apaclal dla pecrnee aorala ara aieo reserved. I-ORTLAXD. WEUNKSIIAY. KB. 17. ISIS. JAPAN'S PART IX THE WAR. Siberia has become a matter of vital Interest to the allies through the prac tically unopposed sweep of the Ger man forces through Northern Russia, through the pro-German movement In that vast territory and through the preparations of Japan to take military action against the spread of German power to the fact tic Ocean. This ac tion of Japan will be welcome to the United States and the allies, for it will ward off a great danger and will be WORDS AND DEEDS. It Baa oaan repeatedly said br Germany) that w do not contemplate reialntna Bel gium, but that wa mu.t be aafeiruarded from th danger of a country with which wa de sire after tba war to lire to peace and friendship becoming, tb object or Jumplna orf (round of enemy machinations. Krora th newe.t declaration of Imperial Chancel lor voa Uettilns. What Germany will do, after the war, or any time, may not be foretold by what Germany says It will do. Ger many will do then precisely what Ger many can do. If It will contribute to the greatness and glory of Germany. The key to German policy is the pro nouncement of Frederick the Great: Know one and for all that In th matter of kingcraft w take when w can. and that we are never wrong unless wa bavt to Siva back what wa hav taken. . No treaty Is too sacred, no covenant too binding, no promise too explicit. for Germany to violate In the supreme interest of Germany. The welfare of Germany, to the German mind, is su perior to every other consideration, human or divine. Germany's word cannot be trusted the first step of Japan to take a part 'now. nor ever. Germany's acts only in the war against Germany propor tioned with her resources. The danger is great, for all of Euro pean Russia seems to He open to Ger man occupation, and this may rapidly extend along the railroad through Si beria. Many German and Austrian prisoners of war are in that country and have been armed by the Bolshe viki. with whom they seem to be act ing, and the Cossack General Semlnoff Is unable to make headway against the combination. The ex-Czar and his family are at Tobolsk, and. if they should fall Into the hands of the Ger mans, th latter might set up the boy Czarevitch as a puppet Czar and with xiis German mother as regent. About 600.000 tons of war material. Includ ing hundreds of American locomotives and tens of thousands of American truck., are assembled at Vladivostok, which is under Holshevlk control,. hnd this booty may fall into the hands of the Germans or be destroyed by the Holshevlk mob. At present the reds are held In restraint by an allied fleet, which lies In the harbor. As allied Interests in Western Asia hav been entrusted to Japan, the duty fills upon that country to prevent Liberia from falling into German hand. Japan has ample military and naval force for the work, and could Justly oa the Vladivostok supplies, for the only semblance of a government In Russia has repudiated the national debt, much of which is due to the I nlted States. The American railway commission to Russia, which is now in Japan, could assemble the locomotives and tracks and repair the railroad by employing native and Japanese labor. and could thus assist Japan in apply Ing the railroad to military use. Any additional supplies which Japan can not produce may be shipped across the J'ariflc from America. The allies need have no misgivings about their right to occupy Siberia. It Is a country without a government, and lis anarchic condition Is a grave danger to its neighbors. The justification for its occupation may be found as for that of Cuba by th United Mate In 13. with the add! tlonal grave cas that the country may foil into the hands of a nation with which the United States is at war. Japan is the proper nation to act. because It has the unemployed military nd natal force and Is near est at hand and because proximity makes the danger greatest to the Island empire. This Impending participation of Japan la the war on a large scale is naturally fraught with grave conse quences and possibilities to the whole cf Eastern Asia, and to all other na tions having Interests on the Pacific fcean, of which the United States Is the chief. It would place in the power of Japan the resources not only of Eastern Siberia, but of Northern Man churU and Mongolia, over which Rus sian sway had been extended under the Csar. In order to restore order along th Chinese Eastern Railroad. CMnrtj troops have occupied North ern Manchuria and Harbin, and may have reoccupled Mongolia, but Japan, when In posacsion of Eastern Siberia, would dominate that whole region. Under the principles adopted by the allies, as denned In the recent speeches f President Wilson and Premier XJojrd George, for the conquered Ger man colonies, she would occupy the country trustee for its Inhabitants, to organize government and maintain order until they deciJed for them selves how and by whom they wished to be ruled. Japanese colonists and trade would follow military occupa tion, and would strengthen Japan's hold. That would be the legitimate result of Japan's need of an outlet for her large surplus population and of her proximity to a great, thinly peo pled country of great possibilities, and military occupation would but accel erate an inevitable movement. The allies wou'.d doubtless bind Japan in Siberia to the principles of the Lan-sing-tshil agreement regarding China, which pletlge her to respect the politi cal and territorial integrity of her big but feeble neighbor, and to leave open the door of equal opportunity to all nations, though entitled to all the ad vantages of geographical position. The ultimate fate of the occupied country would be decided by its people In ac cord with plans to b adopted at the jreare congress. There Is no reason to fear that Japan has any design to be faithless to her trust, seizing the opportunity to occupy th country permanently. If she should entertain such a design. It would be Impossible of fulfillment, for Japan would find arrayed against her the vastly expanded military and naval force of the United States, to which would almost certainly be added those of Great Ilrttaln and th other allies. When Japan can reap all the Jea-uimate fruits of her enterprise by remaining true to her allies, and when She can only lose by aggression, policy a.s wetl as good falts dictate a course In harmony with the principles for which democratic nations fight. It Is possible that, having one en tered Riisslava territory. Japan's aid to speak, and will speak, for Germany. Germany triumphant will take from the world what it can take, and all it can take. SHALL MEN KMT? The old controversy over th whole duty of man has broken out anew in Tamhill County. This time it revolves around the question as to whether male knitters are engaged in a genu inely mirlily occupation. The Ncw berg Graphic has somewhat severe ideas about It, which it expresses in this wise: When It comes to the knitting well, wa think men, that la. real man. not failes. may render a better service by getting out and cutting: cord wood the days. That the complete range of the sev eral Yamhill points of view may be had. let us take the following rejoin der from the McMinnville Telephone Register: Thar la da objection to maa cutting eord wood, but tae man who can do a food Job of knitting a pair of socks la entitled to something batter than th term ".i.ay." If Is a superman. Many a roan atttl lives whs ia pioner days bfore the knitting ma ehmoa were lavanted did the kittling for hia entire famLy aa well mending their ahoes. An old m an of yeara told u th other day that hs used to supply his family with oeke, and sine th war craza for knitting b has threatened to go at it again, and make nttnaclf useful In th ab.enr of abil. ity to do work in other linaa. Ail praiaa to in eia maa. If a man wants to knit let him knit. provided he knits better than he cuts wood. But If nature Intended him for a woodchopper and he prefers to sit and rock and knit and shall we say gossip? he should, under the com pilston of an Incensed public opinion. be driven to the woods. Let us not be understood as Inti mating that knitters gossip as they knit, or because they knit. Not any .more, at least, than men gossip at the club, or at the corner grocery, or wherever men do most congregate, for In such places they toll not, nor spin, nor knit. But naturally when hands are busy, and tongues have nothing much to do, there will be mor or less talking. Why not? Yet w are constrained to remark that when men take up knitting be cause they want to keep on talking, they are making a mistake. No mere man ran b so expert In both occupa tions that he can keep busy with both at once. There are women who can. but they are th exception. Prob ably it la such women who have spread the rumor that where there Is knitting there will be considerable conversation. We have seen pictures of firemen knitting, and not long ago the papers had a story of a prominent banker at Aberdeen (Wash.) who was turning out a sock a day or perhaps It was a month. There is much spare time about th fir houses, and lteema ap propriate that It should be filled In with patriotic service. We have seen no explanation of the Aberdeen phe nomenon!. We will assume that he wanted to set a good example, for he Is a leading citizen, famed for his good works. Wa should like, by th way. to know if he Is still knitting. Or has his wife bean required to double the family output to keep up tb record? Now let us say soberly that knitting for the soldiers has been taken up by the women for America, not less as a labor of love than as the performance of a patriotic duty. Their service does not begin or end with knitting. Indeed: hut probably more women are plying the needles than are doing any other one thing. They are not doing it so much becaua knitting Is women's work as because the garments they weave are needed, and they ar able to furnish them, and they are doing Just that. Certainly women as a class can knit better than men, and for that reason and because it fits in with their other occupations women have under taken it- Rut they would Just as will ingly and capably make munitions, or drive automobiles, or dig trenches if their help was needed to win the war. 1-et th women go on knitting; and let any man knit who wants to knit If he keeps at it. be will do It well; and probably a man who can knit well would never be a wood-chopper. Italy's preparations to pay homage to the Sardinian troops who distin guished themselves in the most re cent Italian offensive In the north re call the fact that these heroes are the smallest in stature of all the Ital ian peoples. Their average height Is given by statisticians as only C3.2 Inches, while many of them are only 60 Inches tall. Ethnologlcally they ar one of the most homogeneous groups in all Europe, their isolation having contributed to preservation of purity of racial type, and they pre. ssrv strong resemblance to a prehis toric race of dwarfs which formerly Inhabited the Island. 'Sardinia has fallen Into th hands at various times of th Vandals, the Saracens and va rious contending Italian mainland gov. ernments. and was a Spanish posses sion from i:t until 170.1. when It SAVING MONEY AM) SAVING FOOD. However unpleasant it may be to those who still estimate all values in dollars and cents to contemplate th prospect of paying more for wheat and meat substitutes than the primary article cost, the fact remains that it is the duty of patriotic citizens to make such substitution. The pri mary purpose of food conservation is not to save money, but to save food, It is part of the cost of war. Those who are able to devise menus employ ing cheaper commodities than wheat and meat are fortunate. They can utilize potatoes and other vegetables mpre largely than in th past, for ex ample, and sometimes effect actual economies. But even If cornmeal, and barley, and rice and other cereals do cost more than wheat on occasion, it is still necessary that they should be consumed In place of wheat at home. Wheat and meat must be shipped abroad to win the war. Sugar and fats are also needed across the sea. Here. also, it is not a ques tion of the cost of the substitute, but of finding the substitute or going with out Even if ljoney does cost more than sugar, it cannot be shipped abroad and it ought to be used at home. The rule holds good aa to every article which wo can use and our soldiers cannot use. The question of regulation of the price of every food commodity is ex ceedingly complex. The profiteers are being weeded out and no doubt many details will be corrected as time runs on. Hut the essential thing to remem ber always is that food c6nservation is not an economy measure. Certain foods, as has been pointed out repeat edly, must be saved, whatever the cost. great ability he gained the confidence of every cow owner in Tillamook County. He Is in reality the manager of the association creameries. He de cides all of the problems of the sort and quantity of their output. After it is a saleable product he sells it, col lects the money and turns it over to the factory whence) the Droduct came. For his employers Mr. Haberlach gets mpre money for their milk than any other dairymen in the West. Last year they averaged $2.44 net per 100 pounds, and butterfat brought them 60 cents per pound. Remember, these are the net prices received by the dairymen. Mr. Haberlach and his wife do all of the clerical work per taining to the marketing, buy ajl of the supplies, sell all of the product and collect the money. Where is there another plant doing a business of about one and a quarter million do! lars with but two accountants? The expenses of the office, Including in spectlon of the entire cheese output. was for the last year the sum of (7550.85. The detailed report is some thing every Oregonlan ought to be proud of. NEW ENGLAND BREEDS SALMON. . The stimulus which food conscrva tion has given to the eating of fish has added strength to the movement al ready under way to stock the streams of New England with Pacific Coast salmon. Experiments were begun by Massachusetts as long ago as 1870 and continued until 1S93, but none of them succeeded, because the young fish were liberated as fry, to starve or be de voured by other fish, but in 1915 a member of the Fish and Game Com mission of that state visited the Ore gon hatcheries and learned that the tlsh were fed until they grew to nnger llngs four or five Inches long, when they could shift for themselves. He took East a quantity of chlnook salmon eggs, fed them on the Oregon plan and turned the fish loose in the Merrimac River. About 400,000 were released in the Fall of 1916 and half a million last Fall, and 600,000 epsrs aro to be hatched this year. . Maine has followed the Bay State's example and has built fishways In the Penob scot, Kennebec and Narragaugus rivers, Pesults have already been apparent, for salmon weighing nearly eight pounds have been caught In several streams, either with the trolling spoon or with hook and line. Lakes and ponds have been stocked, and salmon fishing is again becoming a popular sport in New England. No source of food supply has been more neglected in America than fish, though none is more abundant, healthy and cheap. Breeding of fish is far cheaper than that of cattle, for the latter must be fed or have grazing land until they are slaughtered. Sal mon need only be fed until they are as long as a finger, then they go to I sea and hunt their own food until they mature after four years. At that ape they most accommodatingly return to their native streams to be caught. The same general facts are true of other fish. The American people themselves are mainly responsible for the high price of fish. By eating It so seldom they restrict tho market and they thereby enhance the price. They limit them selves to a few choice varieties, caus ing others to be thrown back into the sea and forcing fishermen to make their entire earnings oft the few. Hence with fishing banks of unbound ed richness and with a far smaller population In proportion to supply, Americans pay much higher prices for fish than Europeans, who eat all edible varieties throughout the week and thus maintain a broad and con stant market. The changed situation of our Amer ican Indians is illustrated forcibly by the statement of Commissioner Sells that their contribution of 6000 men to the Army and Navy does not repre sent their most important achievement since the war began. It was expected that they would bo ready to fight, but it will be a surprise to many to learn that they are equipping themselves to carry on farming operations on a large scale. The extent to which civiliza tion has touched them is shown by the employment of tractors and mod ern agricultural machinery, not only on the reservations but upon the farms of the Indians who own land in sev eralty, having severed their tribal re lations. Their natural Inclination toward stock raising is also being en couraged, and offers a hopeful pros pect of material additions to our meat supply. Indian purchases of liberty bonds also exceed $9,000,000, and they have made large contributions to the Red Cross. The length to which Germany must go to maintain her supply of textiles is shown by the report that the output of paper yarns is about to be requisi tioned for the needs of the army. Use of paper has been developed to a high state of efficiency, which was demon strated at an exhibit held in Chemnitz, Saxony. Hosiery, gloves, suspenders, underwear, cravats and other articles of wearing apparel were shown, as well as a wide variety of other house hold fabrics of necessity, such as table cloths, napkins, rugs, aprons and towels. Tho list of articles from which the paper yarns are made is a long one. There are cocoanut fiber, hop tendrils, herbs from marshes, the bark of osiers, stems of nettles, peat and broom. German weavers are said to be practically without yarns of other material. Cotton and linen are hardly to be had at any price and wool is nearly as scarce. Service Stars in the Win- dows. , By James Barton. Adams. There are service stars in the windows, and they tell an eloquent story Of patriot boys from beneath the roofs who have severed the ties of home And have followed the flag to distant ianas to battle on fields of glory. To "do their bit" in hastening auto cracy to its doom. They tell oT a mother's tear-dimmed eyes when came the hour of parting. Of a father's blessing and clasp of nana as be bade them be ever true To their country's cause, to the name they bear, and to battle bravely in thwarting -The mad ambition of heartless lord and his equally heartless crew. They tell of the patriotic fire that for many long years has smoldered In loyal breasts that again is fanned to flame by the gale of war As It flamed when Sumter was fired upon and our brave young man hood shouldered Their arms at immortal Llnclon's call at the first gun's echoine roar. They tell that the flag to the breezes flung at the birth of our glorious Nation And flashed in the face of a tyrant king Is a priceless heritage 'Twill ever be held in- loyal lov and patriot adoration As when its story was first. Inscribed on history's deathless pane. May halo of glory crown each star as news from tne rront comes flashing Through the ocean's depths from the distant shore where our boys are facing the foe. Where guns are singing the songs of war and sending the hot shells crashing Till the air seems ringing with echoes from the pit of the damned below. And brighter, yet will the halos shine when the murderous war is ended And the savage lords of autocracy have met their merited doom. And the stars will twinkle a welcome to the survivors who defended The Liberty cause and again are with their loved ones at home, sweet home. The man who wails over the high cost of living may find a grain of con solation in the fact that it has been rising steadily since 1907. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has calculated the cost of the quantity of twenty-seven staple articles consumed by the average workingman's family. and has shown the result in a table in which 100 represents tho average price for' 1916. On this basis the figure for tho year 1907 is 72, and for subsequent years it is 74, 78, 82, 81, 86, 88, 90, 89, the greatest rise being from 89 in 1915 to 100 In 1916. Prices fall sharply in the Spring and rise as sharply in the Fall, the greatest fluc tuations for these seasons being for 1913 and 1914, but from October, 1915, to the end of 1916 the rise was almost continuous. As we all know to our cost, it has continued through 1917, and no relief can be expected till the war ends. M ARVKLOl'S eO-OrERATION FACTS. As an Instance of co-operation that Is really and truly co-operative there la In tho United States probably no better example than the organization of cheese factories in Tillamook County. For a number of years fully nine-tenths of the factories in that county have been managed on the co operative plan, and during all of that Urn the products of th factories hav been marketed by the same method. Th prices are fixed and the ales being made by one man, who also looks after the collections. There are now in Tillamook County twenty-four cheese factories, twenty of which fully belong to the Tillamook County Creamery Association, but a large part of the output of the non membership concerns is bandied by the association's manager. So even they are very closely affiliated with the big association, so closely that there Is no friction between the two. From the annual report of the man ager, Mr. Carl Haberlach, published In the Tillamook Headlight, it Is learned that the twenty association factories last year handled 42,752.449 pounds of milk and produced 4.747,229 pounds of cheese that sold for $1,141, 793.67. In the same period the four non-membership concerns handled 2, 143.854 pounds of milk and produced 227.099 pounds of cheese., which sold for $47,112.13. This makes a grand total of sales made by the twenty four factories of $1,188,845. In addi tion to these receipts there is to be reckoned the amount of cream shipped to Portland last December, done to curtail the manufacture of cheese when there seemed danger of over production. These shipments amounted to $10,522.85. Several of the fac tories installed machinery during the year to take the butterfat from the whey; these machines produced butter to the value of $13,879.29. While the report of Mr. Haberlach Is illuminative and Instructive, and is certain to carry conviction to any community with ability enough to co operate along th same lines. It does not get to the root of th whys and wherefores of success achieved by th Tillamook dairymen. The mainspring of the whole works is Mr. Haberlach. He Is the man who constructed this great manufacturing and marketing machine. He Is the man who gath ered a few heterogenous plants and welded them into one harmonious. fell Into the hands of the British. It j homogenous whole. In strict fairness, was awarded to th else tor of Bavaria by th stiicUal of honesty and with! Every success the Germans gain over the mushy Bolsheviki hardens the hearts of the American people against them. That Is the moral to be drawn from the condemnation of Senator La Follette by the Wisconsin Senate, from the Impeachment of Judge Crura in Montana, from the Grants Pass idea of loyalty and from numberless other Incidents. None but 100 per cent Americans will be tolerated, and those who show a lower percentage would do well to take notice and clear their minds of pro-Germanism and pacifism. Ontario is a thriving city of Mai heur County. It is situated on a sandy and gravelly bottom, which may at one time have been the bed of a prehistoric city. Its drainage has been a matter of gravity, and, in consequence, there has s the city grew been much ty phoid fever. Now a sewerage system is being built and bonds have been voted for a water system, a good start In what may make it the big city of Eastern Oregon. If it keeps this gait it will land near the top. Tho surest means of getting the same price for wheat at Portland as at Chicago is the launching of ships as fast as they are coming off the ways this week. The farmer's eye is now on shipping, and he knows full well that he has an interest in the mer chant marine, though he may never see a ship. This war is a great edu cator. As the fleeing diplomats pass To bolsk on their way from Petrograd to Vladivostok, Nicholas Romanoff may appear smiling on the front porch and exclaim. "Ha! ha! So you got yours, for, verily, misery loves company. Profanity does not appear food in a slogan, A "damn" or two sounds funny from th low comedian, but is not so when rendered in cold type. It Is easy to be emphatlo without offend ing good taste. The "terrorism" to be turned loose during February by the German army has little time for its "awful" develop ments. Perhaps Hindenburg waits for a Yank to push the button. When an I. W. W. lumberjack is caught destroying food, harsh meas ures should not be used. A few belts with a peavey will mak him a good "wobbly." Government commandeered and bought 40,000,000 pounds of Califor nia beans last weak, and there' th hint to plant mora beans in Oregon. Th newest In femininity la called a "chemlloon," and is, of course, out of sight Justice demands that the L W. W. be forcibly fed on the food they spoil. "When the smelt are in the Sandy" set it to music. How do the smelt know It's Lent? MUCH DEPENDS ON HOW IT'S DONE Only Cool, Brief Kiss Permissible Out side of Family. PORTLAND, Feb. 26. (To the Edi tor.) "An earnest man" has asked a question which admits of as many dif ferent answers as there are kinds of men and women. The propriety of a married woman's kissing men other than her husband depends on the kind of woman, the kind of men and the relationship they bear to her and the Kino, or kiss sne gives them. A woman of inherent modesty and whose affec tlons are not apt to wander may trus nerseir to kiss male relatives withou danger to herself or cause of offense to her husband, provided they are no inclined to misconstrue the act. But sne should remember that some men do not respect the restraints imposed oy tne marriage tie or by relationship. Surely a husband may rightly object to sucn ireeaora. in Kissing by a woman of passionate nature, or with men of loose morals. Kisses range in character all th way from that of Judas to that whic Byron s Don Juan gave Haldee. Sural the iciss which a woman gives a male relative should differ from that which she gives her betrothed or her hus band. The one should fitly be an un impassioned salute on the cheek, less warm than that given a father or brother. A kiss on the lips should be kept within the immediate family, and may only attain its full ardor betwee lovers or between husband and wife, If a handsome woman of passionate nature should kiss a man not of her Immediate family on the lips ever s coolly, he may return the salute with an ardor which would have dangerous consequences. The propriety of the act can b judged only by the circumstances an the character of the persons who kiss. wnen these vary so much, only th most general rules can be made. A HUSBAND. FARMER LOOKS TO CONSCRIPTION He Would See Every Abie-Bodied Man Compelled to Work. FOREST GROVE, Or., Feb. 25. (To the Editor.) A Portland newspaper has an article with this heading, "1000 Loggers Sit at Cards as U. S. Cries for Spruce and Fir." Surely these 1000 loggers cannot be American citizens or they would cer tainly hear the cry of our soldier boys in France, who are fighting for our liberties and begging the U. S. to send airplanes, so they can at least hav a fair chance to wrest the control of tne air from the Hun. The only excuse given for- their idle ness is that they areewilling to work, but only if the eight-hour day is in stituted, with 10 hours' pay. I am a farmer. My wife and I are taking care of 26 head of stock and milking from 12 to 16 cows a day. and to do this work we work eight hours? Heavens, yes! Twelve to 14 hours a day, trying to do "our bit" toward winning the war by furnishing food for "the boys over there." We are glad to be able to do it, and we are not the only ones. There are thou sands of farmers and their wives and daughters' working 10 to 14 hours a day raising the extra amount of food that the United States is calling for both for itself and allies. But I'll be hanged if I like to see my wife work out in the barn to raise food for card players who are not do ing "their bit" to help win the war. wtat would happen to the United States and our allies if every farmer in this country would not put in any crop this Spring unless we were guar anteed . $9 for every eight hours we work, pay for overtime and 5 per cent interest on our Investment? Our boys are being drafted and compelled to leave home to fight the Hun. Many, left good positions and volunteered. Would it not be equally fair to those left at home if Uncle Sam drafted every one of us and compelled us to work a something that will help win the war How would we like to work for a sol dier's wages? Would these loggers swap Jobs with the soldiers? Don't say conscription of labor can never come to pass. Uncle Sam is doing a whole lot these days that we thought he couldn't do, and I hope he will take a notion not only to ask, but compel, every able-bodied man to work at something that will benefit and en- j courage "our boys in that far-away una to go over me iui w ueii lue lime comes. Is it going to be said that the women won the war? There is no room here for a slacker. HARRT R. UNDERHILL. In Other Days. Twenty-five Years Ago. From The Oregonlan, February 27, 1S!3. Senator Morgan, of Alabama, leaves for Paris to represent the United States at the Behrlng Sea arbitration Joe Choynskl announces he will chal lenge the winner of the Hall-Fitzsim-mons fight. Street committee of the City Council receives a petition for paving Yamhill street from Third to Twelfth streets. Territory annexed by the city under the new charter brings Into the corpo rate limits three additional school dis tricts. Construction of new Hawthorne building at East Morrison street and Union avenue Is begun to replace struc ture destroyed by fire. Fire Chief Holman causes sensation in department by suspending from duty First Assistant Charles Dobel bower. As a result of recent changes in the de partment, David Campbell becomes first assistant chief. City & Suburban Railway Company equips its streetcars with sandboxes as preventive of accidents in wet or frosty weather. PARCEL MUST BE SAFELY PACKED Article Tea Send Soldier Overseas Gets Rough Handling. PORTLAND, Feb. 26. (To the Edi tor. since arriving in this cltv have been repeatedly asked question concerning suitable Items to send the men overseas, and also the safest way io wrap same, ana on one or two occa sings of late I have been in the vicin ity of the Postoffice and am amazed to see the flimsy way in which pack ages are sent and accepted by the Postoffice people for the boys. For the benefit of the public In gen ral, I might say that it is absolutely useless- to pack these parcels In any thing but tin boxes ar small wooden cases. The handling these parcels get from the time they leave their starting point to their ultimate destination is very severe, and I can assure your readers that If they have been in the habit of sending parcels packed as have seen some myself they will be very disappointed to hear that the boys have never received them. I urge the public generally to take greater care in this branch of the good work that they are doing than apparently up to the present has been taken. I can sneak from actual personal ex perience of parcels sent from eo short a distance as Lonaon, ttngiana, to me base depot in France having arrived in a very damaged ana useless conai tion. 6EBGT. 1L RICHARDS. British and Canadian Recruiting Mis sion. Klaalns; Qnesiloa Calls for Referendum. EUGENE, Or., Feb. 25. (To the Edl tor.) "An Earnest Man" in today's is sue' of The Oregonian states that his wife, who Is 35 and very handsome, has a habit of kissing men relatives bv marriacre and suggests a desire that Oresronlan readers, both male ana ie male, would express their opinion whether it is right that his wife should do this. This would involve a great deal of argument without provision for a verdict. In Oregon, where we have equal suffrage, why not try the referendum and let a majority decide? Of course. It would be necessary to have clotures of the wile scattered about the state pretty generally during the course of the campaign. "DR. OSlxrJli.- Wnere Poem May Be Found. INDEPENDENCE, Or., Feb. 25. To the Editor.) Kindly Inform me where one may secure a copy of Allen Seeger's poem, two lines or wnicn are as roi- lows: I have a rendezvous with death At some disputed barricade. READER. It is printed In "Poems," by'' Alan Seeger. published by Charles Ecribner's Sons, New York. Any bookdealer can obtain the volume for you if he does not hav It In stock. Irish Legend Waatei. ELM A. Wash., Feb. 25. (To the Edi tor.) There is an old Irish story of Phin McCool and Barney Rugg and the "Giant's Cause-Way" that ray father used to tell us children and we have forgotten most of it. If some of your readers remember it, I would be glad to see it in print or learn where If may b (btained, mrs, K. i APARTMENT NO PLACE FOR CHILD Countrywoman Praises Rural District as Place to Rear Family. SHERWOOD. Or.. Feb. 25. (To the Editor.) I have been reading in The Oregonlan about children and apartment-houses. Allow me to say a few words In behalf of the children who have to be raised in the large cities, where there seems to be no room for them. In my opinion, the apartment-house Is no place to bring up a family. would rather pitch my tent on any vacant lot and call it home than to raise my babies in a rooming-house, where all their childish enjoyments were denied them. It is true that .all families can't own a home of their own, and they have to live somwhere. But If there were no apartments there would be some way and I would hunt for it. I remember about four years ago I went to Portland to visit a brother and his family, who were living In an apartment-house on the West Side. They had one baby. He began crying about something, and his mother rushed to quiet him, but the landlady rapped on the door and told her to keep that kid still, as he was disturbing others in adjoining rooms. The poor child was being raised like a little prisoner. Never before did I appreciate the privi lege of having a little home in the country as I did at that time. While my husband and I can't give our children all the advantages that some have, they at least have their liberty and freedom, plenty of outdoor exercise and plain but wholesome rood. which all go to make healthy, happy children. My boy and girl can play without being on the streets with bunch of others; they can come In the house in their frolicsome glee and tell me something without having to say it in smothered tones for fear of dis turbing someone else,-and as they grow older it is my intention to rind era ployment for them which will not be hard to do in the country on a small farm. I have several friends living in town who like to take their families to the beach or In the country in the Sum mer for an outing. And how the chii dren more than anyone else seem to enioy the freedom of it! It is their nature to love the outdoor life. If vou can't own a home In the eoun- trv. if vou don t own a nice nouse and lot In the city, try to get some kind of a home together. Let it be humble. If you can t do any better, ana you win be far happier than to bring your chil dren up in a rooming-house, where they get overhauled for every little racket You can control their compan ionship far more in your own private home than you can in an apartment house around so many different kinds of people, where children are apt to see and hear things that you would rather they would not. A CUU.MKl I.U4UU1. HUSBAND SHOULD BE A.V EXPERT Learn From Movies How to Kiss and Your Wife Will Never Go Elsewhere. PORTLAND. Feb. 25. (To the Edi tor.) "An Earnest Man," who grieves in Th Oreo-onian because his wife kisses male relatives, is a man of little resource and no Initiative. Wis wire likes to be kissed that is evident, and as kissing begins, or should begin, at home, he is sadly a neglectful man. He does not know tnat osculation ia an art. Few men and fewer women are apt In it Did he ever tenaeriy tan ncr mnu in his hands, soulfuliy gaze mio ner eyes and see himself reflected therein anri nl.int his kiss full and square on her lips in the prolonged rapture of a spasm of bliss? No, I'll bet he didn't That's the way they do in the movies and surely they know how. "An Earnest Man" ought to go a lew nignis running and learn. Tf this .does not work, let mm oeno the Tenth Commandment just a little, if he has a neighbor, suitable and sizable. Then, if the wile does not warm up but she will, never fear, and be glad. This, of course, is theory, but believe it will worn. T surmise "An Earnest Man", is a young man, but age has nothing to do with it Methuselah lived 969 years and the records show ne was some boy." Let this grieving husband take heart It's a good old world and all the good things are not extinct, gone or forgotten. Kissing is one oi tnem, near the top of the column. W. J. C. Treatise on Concrete Ships. ROSEBURG. Or., Feb. 25. (To the Editor.) (1) Will you kindly Inform me through your columns if there is a treatise published on the construction of rnncrete ships? (2) Are there any concrete ships being built on this 'Coast and are they a success? A SUBOUrlllilitt. fl) A pamphlet on the subject can be obtained from the Portland Cement Association, 111 West Washington street, Chicago. This pamphlet con tains, in addition to descriptive matter, photographs and designs, a bibliogra phy of literature on the subject (2) The San Francisco anipDuuaing Company Is constructing a 5000-ton concrete skip t Redwood City, CaL j Half a Century Ago. From The Oregonlan. February 27, 1S6S. President In message informs Senate of his suspension of E. M. Stanton as Secretary of War and the appointment of Adjutant-General Lorenzo Thomas to fill the vacancy. At a meeting called to organize a Union club, J. H. Mitchell, E. D. Shat tuck, Philip Wasserman. Captain A. P. AnKeny and Captain O Regan were ap pointed as a committee on permanent organization. Another committee, con sisting of J. N. Dolph, E. Hamilton and C. Beal, was named to draft a platform and declaration of principles New oil lamps on Fourth street one at the intersection of Fourth and Madi son, the second at the corner of Colum bia and the third at the corner of the grounds of St, Mary's Academy, are lighted for the first time. Management of the Olympic Theater announces that this amusement house will reopen in a few days. Several Indians are given Jail sen tences following their conviction on a charge of raiding the herd of a rancher Just west of Portland. FAITH'S VISION. There's a kindly gleaming of dawn's early light. Bringing gladder faith for a new day, when. After the gloom of the frenzied night. Shall come peace on earth and good will to men. There's a new strain heard in liberty's anthem, A new stanza sung in the world's psalm of life; To the cry of the raviai.ed ones call ing for ransom The answer rings clear through the thunders of strife: "What has been done to th weak and the small Is as done to us who are big and strong; A crime against on a is a crime against all," And a world is in battle avenging the wrong. There's a new Magna Charta being in dicted. Vouchsafing forever the whole world's weal; The plea and the pledge of free na tions united In bonds of honor as binding as steel. The world writes a new code of honor today. But the finger of God Is guiding the Pen, And justice and mercy and truth hold sway; It's the law of God in the hearts of men. t The nations are blazing a new path to glory. Rugged and steep and straight it lies; The path illumined by Calvary's story. The path of service and sacrifice. There's a day of new diplomacy break ing. With -a halo of candor and truth and right. And a new clean national conscience is waking, With vision of Justice In clearer light And river of a new glad peace like a shall flow. Bought by the stress and pain strife. And the world shall tingle and thrill and glow With the virile pulses of new glad life. R. C. G., Hood River. TIPS GIVEN FOOD COMMISSION M. Moore, of Reaeburar, Asks Why Certain Things Are So. ROSEBURG, Or.. Feb. 25. (To the Editor.) In reference to food shortage, especially wheat, why is It that corn sells for $1.25 a bushel In Chicago and we have to pay at the rate of $5 a bushel for cornmeal? Now that the ear shortage is overcome ana large lumber shipments going East, plenty of cars should be obtainable to bring the corn now rotting on the ground in Kansas and Nebraska to this Coast at a cost of not to exceed ,1.50 a bushel, and with home grinding, cornmeal and feed for stock and chickens could be sold to the consumer at )3 or less a bushel, thus saving a large consump tion of wheat, and increasing the pro duction of butter,- eggs, pork, poultry, etc. It would seem to be of enough importance for the Food Commission to give this their especial attention, and save the slaughter of livestock and non-production of poultry for lack of feed. J. M. MOORE. Hlndenburg's Daughter Is Poet. SALEM. Or.. Feb. 25. (To the Edi tor.) Apropos your editorial on "Poet ry and the War," tne roi lowing is a rather interesting sample. It was writ ten by Fraulein Elsie von Hindenburg, daughter of the German Field Mar shal, in a communication In verse to the "friends of German democracy," who recently organized themselves with the object of aiding the German nation to establish popular government It is the second verse: God, to the bayonat thruat five vigor; The Joy to aim. to pull tha trigger. My aid ia Jesus, that I know. On to the foe. oa to the foe! CHAS. W. NIEMETER. FREE SERVICE AND INFOR MATION. The Oregonian has established a bureau of information and serv ice at Washington City for the benefit of its readers. No charge is made for a reply to any ques tion relating to Governmental af fairs or for procuring any avail able Government publication. For reply send 2-cent stamp. Address Frederic J. Haskin. director Oregonian Information Bureau, Washington D. C. Do NOT write to The Oregonlan at Portland.