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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (July 19, 1918)
TIIE MORNING OREGONIAN FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1018. itmt PORTLAND. OREGON. Entered at Portland (Oregon) Fostofflce as second-class mall matter. Subscription ratea Invariably in advance. (By Mall. Ially Sunday Included, one year ?S xally. Bunday included, six months . laly Sunday included, three month Dally Sunday included, one month .. 1'ally, without Sunday, one year Xally without Sunday, six months .. Xally. without Bunday, one month "Weekly, one year Funday, one year - unday and weekly ........... (By Carrier. Xa!ly, Sunday Included, one year ... JT'ally, Eunday included, one month . Dally, Bunday included, three month Tatly, without Sunday, one year .... Iaily, without Sunday, three montns Ually. without Sunday, one month 4.23 2.25 .7i . e.ooj . 3.1! 3 . .60 . 1.00 . 2.50 . 3.60 .19.00 . .70 . S.25 . 7.80 . 1.85 . .65 How to Remit Bend poetofilce money or er, express or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at own er's risk. Give postoffice address In lull, in cluding county and state. Postage Kates 12 to 16 pages, 1 cent; 18 to pages, 2 cents; 34 to 48 pages. 3 cents, 60 to 60 pages, 4 cents; 63 to 76 pages, 0 cents; 78 to Wl pages, 6 cent. Foreign post age, double rates. Eastern Business Of fire Verree Conk Jln. Brunswick building. New Tork; erree Conklln, Pteger building. Chicago; Verree A Conklln, Free Press building. Detroit. Men-i l?an Francisco representative, K. J. Bldwell, 742 Market street. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. The Associated Press Is exoluslvely enti tled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to It or not otherwise credited to this paper, and also the local dews published herein. All rights of republication of special dis patches herein are also reserved. PORTLAND, FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1018. BLOOD WILL TELL. Man for man, the German soldier today is no match for the American soldier. The signal victory of the Americans may thus be explained. Young blood will tell over old blood. Whether or not the American is in trinsically a better soldier than the German need not be considered. It is certain that after four years of war the German army has declined in morale and striking power, for its in dividual units are less capable, its command less closely held, its mate rials less efficient, and all its resources diminished. For the first time a distinct army of Americans In large force has faced the foe. It has acquitted itself well, even against seasoned troops: but the seasoned troops are also war-wearied troops, and the advantage Is thus rather with the fresher men. The greatest danger now to the Americans and their allies is over confidence, with the errors and disas ters which may come to any move ment not thoroughly prepared for and skillfully and boldly directed. If the allies will have patience and display prudence until the mastery in numbers Is clearly with them, they can and will smash their way through to Ber lin. Two or three million American soldiers will guarantee a final triumph. But, meanwhile, there Js no doubt that a real victory has been won by the Americans and the French. If its result is merely to stop the German drive and it has certainly achieved that much It is a decided victory. If it recaptures Soissons, saves Hhelms, regains many villages, drives back the foe and requires him to quit his southern movement, reorganize his forces and remodel his strategy, it will be a triumph. If it should develop as is not unlikely into a German rout. with the heavy loss of cannon, muni tions and other equipment, and the capture of many German troops, the beginning of the end will be clearly in sight. Let the bells ring, the bands play and the multitudes shout. The Amer ican arms have been gloriously vindi cated. We say nothing now of the British or French or Italians; their mettle has been tested in four terrible years; and it is yet sound and true. If we can take our eyes off the Amerl cans long enough to watch the British on the north of the French line, we are likely to see something worth see ing. THE AMERICAN COW TO THE RESCUE. The high importance of maintaining the dairy Industry of America on a sound basis is shown in statistics com piled by the National City Bank of our exports of dairy products in the fiscal year ended June 30, 1918. The American cow contributed in that year $100,000,000 worth of products for shipment overseas. A large proportion went to tne men in the trenches. Detailed figures are available for nine months, and a close estimate has been made for the remainder of the year. In the nine months ended with March, shipments of condensed and evaporated milk amounted to 400, 000,000 pounds, of which 178,000,000 went to England, from where it pre Eumably was passed on to the men on the battlefield; 70,000,000 pounds went direct to France and 17,000,000 to Belgium. Shipments to Belgium were for the benefit of the starving people there. We also made impor tant shipments to Cuba, the Philip pines and the Orient. The total ex ports of condensed milk for the entire year probably were not short of 600, 000,000 pounds. The valuation, $100,000,000, placed upon the year's business In dairy products compares with less than $3,000,000 in 1914, and less than $15, 000,000 in 1915. Formerly a large part of the trade in dairy products was held by countries now neutral, ; such as Holland and Denmark. The dairy industry in these countries has been nearly exterminated by the war. The burden upon the American cow is increasing. We are now being called upon to supply not only the wants of those of our allies which formerly depended upon the neutral countries in question, but also to provide for our own men in the field and for the wants of our home population. The value of the condensed milk exported from the country in the past fiscal year is actually greater than the entire amount produced in 1914. It is significant of the high regard in which condensed milk is held by the supply department of the Army that the whole country was drawn upon. It is true that the great dairy centers of the East and Middle West furnished the taw.k of the supply, but shipments also were made from the Pacific Coast. As our Army in Europe grows we shall need more and more condensed milk. It seems inevitable that the Pacific Coast will be called upon for an increasing share. These are some of the reasons why the business should not be permitted to languish out this way. There are not only the needs of the local popu lation to be considered, but the de mands of the Army. The public is being educated to the value of milk in th diet- to its practical lndlspen- sablllty In the feeding of growing chil dren, it. -would ds a calamity ror us to be compelled to go on short rations In order to supply overseas require ments. Most dairymen are awake to the Importance of foresight in the conduct of their business. It is necessary that they should put their herds upon the highest possible basis of efficiency. In particular, they must not be permitted to become depleted. The slaughter of promising calves should cease, even though the pries of veal is high. It la a good time to install new silos and to give more study to the problem of economical feeding. The question is not an academic, but a highly prac tical, one. It must be met now. If we awake suddenly to find our herds re duced below the line of safety, it will take years to restore them. A possible milk famine is not to be contemplated with equanimity. ONE ROAD TOO MA-NY. Eight or nine years ago a con struction crew appeared at a point on the Deschutes River and feverishly began the preliminary work of bulld- ing a railroad Into Central Oregon. Almost at the same time another outfit started work, and the costly fight between Hill and Harriman for possession of the key route into the vast unoccupied territory of a great state began. It did not end until each had occupied one bank of the stream with his steel rails, and until a Junction was made on the open prairie something less than one hun dred miles south of the Columbia. There a truce was effected, and both systems now go on into Bend on a single track. .But meanwhile millions of dollars had been spent in a cut throat rivalry which might have been avoided if more prudent counsels had prevailed, or if the Government had had the power and right to Interfere. A Joint enterprise, for example, might have meant, as it should have meant, construction into the heart of the state. Instead of two railroads to Bend there might easily have been. with the same investment, a single railroad to Klamath Falls, Burns and Lakeview, and the long struggle for cheap and efficient transportation from remote places to Portland and to the world would have ended success fully. The presence in Portland of Rail road Director McAdoo, after his action in consolidating for unified operation those parts of the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific which are imme diately parallel in California and Ne vada, brings the case of two railroads to Central Oregon prominently into view. It Is too late, of course, to un scramble the eggs; but It Is not too late to reflect on the benefits that might accrue, if the two railroads were end to end and not side by side. A WASTED SUGAR SUPPLY. The country needs more bee-keep ers. The fact that the bee-keeping industry has been successfully de veloped by many women points to a new avenue of opportunity for them. while the men are busy with the war. The Department of Agriculture points out that the honey crop of the United States Is seldom more than 250,000,000 pounds a year, while it ought to be ten times as great.. A full yield of honey would greatly relieve the sugar situation. There is raw material in the form of nectar in abundance, but most of it now goes to waste. The value of the warning issued by E. F. Phillips, aplculturlst of the Bu reau of Entomology, at this time lies in Its possible Influence upon bee keepers who are inclined to rob their hives too closely, under the tempta tion of high prices for honey, and do not consider the morrow. The greatest source of loss to bees is the death and weakening of colonies in the Winter, as the result of starvation The loss from this cause is estimated at as much as 10 per cent, and is practically as high In the South, where there are flowers all the year around as in the North. The loss also is cumulative. Many colonies are greatly depleted in vitality, in addition to suf fering losses by death, and these are unable to gather surplus supplies from the early nectar, which still further delays their recovery. It is not un usual for a honey crop to be reduced one-half by poor wintering, Mr. Phil lips says, while this loss could readily be reduced to less than 1 per cent. Failure of this source of an impor tant food supply is due in part to the assumption by bee-keepers that the only requirement for the production of honey is to buy some colonies of bees and permit them to forage for nectar. Those who approach apicul ture In this spirit are certain to fail. "Bee-keepingi" says Mr. Phillips, "Is essentially an industry which requires studious care," and in particular it requires that things shall be done at the right time. Good management is the price of success, and such man agement includes foresight. Bee keepers, are not in as much danger of becoming overstocked as some novices seem to think. It is estimated that 100 colonies of bees can find nectar sufficient for about twenty-two and a half tons of honey within radius of about two miles, of which two and a half tons will represent the surplus, or share of the grower. This estimate of the amount of sugar avail able in the form of nectar from little considered source will give one an idea of the possibilities to the country of the bee industry, if con ducted with a maximum of efficiency, WAR MAY BRING A WORLD RELIGION, How radically the attitude of people of all creeds toward each, other has been changed by the war was illus trated by the sermon delivered by Rev. Charles A. Eaton at the First Baptist Church last Sunday. Though a min ister of one of the strictest of Protest ant denominations, he said: "The church of Jesus Christ must become Christian not Catholic, Methodist or Baptist as now." He told of Catholic priests giving the last sacrament to Protestants and of a Hebrew rabbi hunting. up a crucifix for the consola tion of a dying Catholic. The world is fighting about some thing which lies deeper in the human heart than any religious creed. Against Protestant Prussia, Roman Catholic Bavaria and Austria, Greek Catholic Bulgaria and Mohammedan Turkey are arrayed nations in which Catho lies, both Roman and Greek, Protest ants, Mohammedans, Buddhists and even Confucian' Chinese fight side by side. Among the champions of the allies are Cardinal Mercier. of Bel gium, the Grand Shereef of Mecca and the chief of the Moslems in India. All fight for humanity, freedom, mercy to women and children, the sanctity of treaties as symbols of good faith and honor among men principles to which people of all creeds give ad herence and being united for these things, they reckon their other differ ences, about which they wrangled in other times, of no consequence. They fight to put in practice that which, th enemy by his acta denies, though he career, but It Is possible that a scheme I gives It lip service. similar to the present county agent By bringing to the front those prin- plan can bo devised which will be ciples to which all right-minded men suited to his needs. He will know of any creed own allegiance, the the value of discipline and co-opera-Kaiser has blindly made the whole tlon, which has been Impressed upon world kin. He has established a bond him In the Army, and will be ripe for of union among men of diverse faith organized enterprise. His willingness by causing them to mingle their blood to be taught and to work with others in defense of a deeper faith .which will operate in his favor. But those they hold In common. He has thus of the soldiers who are undertaking drawn them together and has cast farming for the first time will need their causes of conflict into the shade, some shepherding, and if this can be The four principles which President managed wisely there Is hope for the Wilson set forth on the Fourth of new movement back to the land. July may become more than the basis It will be a great day for the coun of a common political creed for all try when it is made easier for a corn nations; they may become the founda- petent farmer to own a farm than to tion of a universal religion. rent one, but it is a wasteful system ', which turns good land and tools over , The last remaining obstacle to the widespread adoption of the virtue of thrift has been removed by the de- cislon of National leaders of the Women's TJhertv Tnn Committee to make thrift fashionable. We still have our millions who will be thrifty on principle, whether the rest of the world a nr. roves or not. and to these will now be added the con- siderable hosts who hesitate about doing a thing out of consideration for form. Thev would be willing to econo- mize, except that this was not being done in the circles in which they move. They look to their leaders, and now that these leaders are being lined up on the side of thrift, they can be depended to follow them anywhere. It is to be hoped that there will be nothing half way about the new "fashion." Tube skirts and peg topped trousers have shown how far some people can be induced to go for the sake of the mode, and there are al most infinite possibilities in the move ment to employ this trait of human nature for a good purpose. At the same time, it also will make thrift Just a little easier for those who were prepared to go it alone. THE red CROSS AD the GERMANS, It did not need official denial by I the Government to convince any I atoned for by greater courtesy, by ab Amerlcan that the stories told by Ger- I sence of flippant back talk, by atten- man newspapers, to the effect that I American Red Cross workers had been instructed not to care for German wounded, was false. Chairman Davi- son, of the Red Cross, will be believed when he says that "the American Red Cross knows no such thing as the na-1 tionality of a wounded man." It is absolutely true that when a wounded I enemy is given over to the Red Cross, or when he Is found by Red Cross workers on the battlefield, he is treat ed in every way as if he were a friend. In this respect, there is a sharp con trast with the practices of the Ger mans, as shown by numerous accounts I of prisoners. It is not known that our wounded have been actually tortured I by the Germans who ought to have succored them, according to the obll- gallons of civilized warfare, but there has been much evidence of a special delight in capital operations, and of failure to administer anesthetics when they were available. These reports have been numerous enough to lndl- cate that there is foundation for them. I The Red Cross Is In its essence in- ternatlonal, but the organization in I each country is independent in time ol war, and it necessarily reflects the character of the people whom it rep- resents. The stream does not rise above its source. The German Red Cross is German and the American Red Cross is American, and the latter has always been a credit to our feelings I as Individuals and our aspirations as I a people. We do not kick men when they are down, or vent our spite upon the helpless, or attack those who can- I not fight back. I We have even gone to extremes to keep the record clear in the work of mercy. But the feeling of the world I toward Germany may be gauged by the fact that it is already being seri- ously debated whether there shall be any resumption of relations with the German branch after the war. This question would not have been ' raised if the Germans had not committed the offenses of which, in the effort to Just ify themselves, they now accuse Amer icans. HOMES FOR RETURNED SOLDIERS. The hope of those who are now planning to provide farms ior re turned soldiers after the war will be disappointed if the plan provides only for the reclamation of lands by irri gation or drainage or otherwise, and and implements on easy terms. It is particularly necessary to take the Indi vidual factor Into account, to educate the prospective farmer and to prepare his mind for his new calling. The day for a haphazard back to the land' movement has rassed. It has been attempted and may be said definitely to have failed. Agriculture is too much a science and land is too vain able to be placed in the hands of those who are not fitted to make full use of It. Of th millions who will be re turned to the country when the mili tary forces are demobilized, a large proportion will be absorbed sooner or later by the industries which formerly employed them It Is probable that many of the others will have no def inite plans for the future. Naturally restless dispositions will have been intensified by the experience of war. If the new home movement appeals to the spirit of adventure it will at tract many who lack the staying qualities necessary for success in farming. Interest will lag when the novelty wears off. Good intentions by themselves will not solve the food-pro duction problem. Even under the most favorable conditions this re quires intelligent planning and much hard labor, Restoration of agriculture has suN fered from the ill-advised counsels of enthusiasts who dq not take It seri ously enough. "Ten acres enough" and "five acres and liberty" have sounded well as slogans, but it Is not easy to overestimate the harm they have done by creating false impres- luo eaBB WIL" which a. living can do won irom me soil. ine lace that it requires more technical knowl edge to wrest a satisfactory Income from a small tract than from a large one Is always overlooked. The conn trv is filled with neorjla who tried farming with . no more preparation than the reading of a book of the "Little Land and a Living" type, and failed. No scheme ever devised for emptying the slums in helter-skelter fashion onto tracts of waiting land has succeeded. In general the city - bred have not contributed anything substantial to the solution of the high cost of living question. It will be particularly difficult to chain the returned soldier down to the farm, unless he has within him the elements which make a farmer, and even then it is desirable that he be aided in more than material ways. It is not likely that he will be in a posi tion to take an agricultural college A course) a a preparation, for his new! to those who know little or nothing about the uses of either. Education and Uct(ul supervision are as neces- 8ary a scheme of finance. We might spend billions to irrigate the arid districts and to drain the swamps. and then fail if we did not meanwhile prepare the individual for his coming task. It is necessary to get rid of the old notion that anybody Can run a farm successfully. Some men have natural aptitude, and others have grit and determination to learn, but a great many perhaps the majority will be helped by leadership. The task is not hopeless, but it is serious, and it is not too early to eegin considering it now. WORK FOB THE OLDER, MEX. The sight of elderly men doing work formerly done by youths Is becoming so common that It no longer excites comment, and when we come upon a man evidently in his sixties or even his seventies in the place where for merly we saw a husky boy, we do not give him even a second glance. If we note any change in the service we re ceive, it is as often as not a change for the better. The "new man" may not be as nimble as his predecessor: when he Is operating an elevator, for example, we may note that he has a little difficulty in stopping precisely on the level of the floor, but these trivial shortcomings are apt to be tion to the little things which make our everyday affairs move more smoothly. For a man comes to realize after a certain number of years that the im ponderables count in the aggregate, and that there is a good deal more to living than merely getting the Job done after a fashion. A nod of recog nition and a pleasant smile may go a long way toward smoothing the pathway of the day. It takes some people a long while to learn that ef-. forts to please are not manifestations of servility. Too many youngsters start out in life with the notion that if they do more than they think they are paid for they are thereby sacrifi- cing their independence. Not all the old men now employed In minor Jobs are failures in life. In any true sense of the term. Some are self-supporting but have gone to work because of patriotic desire to serve Others have been the victims of clr- cumstances which reflect their hon esty or their generosity rather than their lack of acumen. Many, no doubt, have not done well because they lacked opportunities when they were boys, and lacked the kind of initiative which overcomes obstacles without help. But the point Is that upon the whole they are redeeming themselves by making good In a Na tional emergency Occasionally we encounter one who betrays the secret of his obvious fail ure. He is grouchy and complaining and unobliging, and seems to be em bittered against a world which he con- celves as having failed to give him I the living it owed him. He probably has always been that way, and has failed to make headway as an Immedl- I ate consequence. But this type of elderly man is surprisingly rare. Most I of those whom we meet nowadays are setting a good example for the young sters to follow if industry presently is to return to the old basis. War appropriations for the fiscal year 1919 total $22, 740. 000,000, ex elusive of $7,000,000,000 of loans to the allies. This is nearly four times the total cost of all our former wars, which was $5,816,466,168. If we add the loans to the allies our total out lay for that year will exceed Great Britain's total for the three years end Ing August 1. 1917. This was $26, 705,000,000. while France had spent $16,530,000,000, Italy $5,050,000,000 f n? the other allies $3,250,000,000. It is impossible to guess what our total may be if we put 5,000,000 men In the field, as seems probable, When a 17-year-old boy commits suicide because an 18-year-old girl refuses to marry him, he escapes a whole lot. If Bb consents, his trou bles come early and stay late. About time that German paper In Milwaukee condemned the German government and also about time some Federal official in Milwaukee took a hand In it. Prisoners taken br Americans should be shipped to America and melted. They never again will desire to be Germans Thin people should eat more corn meal to make them plump and the plump ones should eat more because it is good. New Tork has it on the rest of us In having a big bell to ring for the American victory. But we can holler! One of the Joys of Portland's ell mate is the way it shows the Idiosyn crasy or tne athletic underwear riena Lift your hat to the Frenchman who has been fighting four years and has a wonderful smash left. Much activity is reported behind the German linen. TJn. dmiHt ft t it rnf most likely it's scratching. A bathing suit that is all wool Is all right, but when it's a yard wide, please look the other way. When the apples are In they will tel1 us to eat the core and we will Now. then, watch the Italian come up the other side of the Kaiser. l The Americans put It over the top and are on the way to Berlin, The man who does the biggest big I things is with us today. I If it doesn't rain today, there's noth I ing in signs. Old Foch's long suit Is twenty-five mile clatters. "Get-out of the way, Dutchy!' A Lane o Type or Two. Hew to the Lime, I-et the Qnlps Fall When They May. (Bj B. X. T. Published by Arrangement With Chicago Tribune.) The Second Growth. Little cedars, little larches. Where the old stumps rot. Once this tangle was a forest. And your seed was not When they swarmed, those lumber jacks. Bearing timber hooka and axe For their war against the big sucks. Little firs and tamaracks. Have you heard It, little birches, All the aga of the pineT Tall and straight as Harald Falrhalr And his Jarls In line. Serried Norway1, mile on mile. And they felled them, file on file. Lopped their limbs away and dragged them In a rough and ruthless etyle. e Now their dust Is by the sawmills That are toppling towards the lakes; Creepers hide the rutted log roads That no sledge now takes. They were cut for beam or mast, aou will do lor pulp at last Striplings, upstarts, on the marches Of the giants of the past. PAN. Thanks. Ho it Are All the Folks. Sir: I am writing; to tell you that In Racine Miss Root lives with Mr. and Mrs. Bush. P. W. G. The Gadder'a Progress. "Tour prices, air, are awful high; They're out of reason and out rageous!'' A buyer aald with tearful eye. "Price-raising seems to be con tagious." "Ah yes," I sighed; "It may be so; My prices ARE: a trifle eteeper. And yet this table. I can show. Is cheaper now than when 'twas cheaper." Quoth he, "Pray tell me why. old box. You trim and hedge with sly devices. I'm favored with a paradox When I'm In quest of lower prices." "Know then, dear sir, the cost to make Our goods our very souls doth har row: Compared with what we charge, the rake- Off is most mighty, mighty narrow. Far be It from me to be rough. But go and shop and you'll be wiser, We hone, this Fall, to make enough To buy a bond to beat the Kaiser." L. W. A In W hich Brooklyn Is Located. Received by a Chicago Concern. Gentlemen: Will ycu kindly send me receipt book advertised, also if you know where your canned goods can be bought In our village, which for your Inborn., tion will Inform you i on the end of the bridge from the city of N. Y. MRS. MARY L. FERRIS. Sneaking; l'n Parnaasna. asked the crude old Norse Who feeds our furnaca and levels the grass To tell me about the beauties of Carrying; out ashes. And ho cackled and spoke, and I wrote as a line Whatever he said between puffs on hl.3 smelly pipe, sent it away T a magalna which Is good because You have to cut Its pases. And a letter came back saying it was wonderful A true soliloquy of a simple soul. His soul expression and they ran It, Soul expression, my ear! Q. A. R. History Triumphs 0r Time. Sir: Many surprising parallels can be found by students of this great wa and of the great War of Independence against Spain in the Netherlands, cov erlng 60 years of the 16th and 17th centuries, which cost Charles his head gave Cromwell opportunity, and pre sented Plymouth Colony with Brad ford. Standish and WInslow. F"rin stance: "The beer was very poor," says th aggrieved chronicler. A hardship caused by the transfer o British companies to Normandy an Brittany was "the attractions of th younu Dutch women," so many of th men having married them that orders for removal were canceled. Dutch ships had b'en continually employed for the Spaniards, freighted 1th grain for the Tagus (which then was Spanish). Rear-Admiral Walter Raleigh squab bled for place with Lord Marshal Sir Francis Vere, and one of the letter's chief troubles was useless offlcera. with a strong dislike to hard work and of no value reglmentally. One auch was Vere's own cousin, "the greate Earle of Northumberland." con sequential and pompous, fuming be cause of alleged disrespect to his no bility at Ostend. and sending Vere a foolish challenge, which good Queen Ben dismissed with a mouth-filling oath. "God ha thanked." said Vere. "the Fpanlsh King has no cause to boast of any pleaBant fruit of any of his en counters with us;" and his royal mis tress, like our President. "Never had any Intention to persuade the States General to anything but what might be best for their own preservation." Flanders' fields blossomed with pop ples then as now. the soil enriched in the selfsame fashion, but the old crosses crumble, unless we resurrect them from the dusty bookshelves His tory triumphs over time, as Raleigh reminds us. ALFRED BULL. In Bonlder Canyon. Ghost City on the hillside sleeps. At night the gray wolf vigil keeps. Stalking the weed-grown ways. The chimneys flaunt no plumes of smoke. Gone, God knows where, the hardy folk Who toiled in long gone days. Gray shacks along the hillside squat. With here and there a foreman's cot. Squaw currants growing 'round. The doors are open to the eun. ltock squirrels thro the wide rents run. And from the low roofs bound. Hare sleeps beneath an aspen tree A pioneer. "June. '63" Is graven in the stona. And here a snorter mound is seen. In distant days 'twas tender green. Now death dwells here alone. The grim mine derricks, silent, loom. Around their pits wild roses bloom. And bees, gold-belted, hum. The shingles of the school are scat tered. The windows gone and blackboard shattered. The h'.gh swung bell's now dumb. The old plank church with one rail fence Half hidden stands in buckthorn dense. The belfry's now awry. Where anthems rose at eventide The lonely nighthawk. circling wide. Emits his doleful cry. c. sir. a. XJ COMPETITIOX tS IXSURAXCK Orearoa Loss natlo Lowest, bnt Rates Ills err Than la Eastern States. BROWNSVILLE. Or., July 16. To the Editor:) I observed with consider able satisfaction Commissioner Wells' article under the caption "Oregon Best Fire Risk In Country," In which it Is tated that our state has the lowest loss ratio In the Union. But Mr. Wells states that "all sen- ible persons realise that the making of fire Insurance rates Is a complicated matter. Every building must be In spected to obtain a fair and equitable rate. Otherwise th promulgation of rates would be in a somewhat chaotic condition." Of course this means ln- pection and survey of every piece or. property upon which a schedule rate must be filed with the commissioner. How Is It possible for any half dozen companies to do eo without it costing mem more than the profits of their business amounts to. if each should bear Its Just portion of the expense? it a company could not file a rate chedule of lte own on account of the excessive expense, then It would either have to quit business or patronize the only rating bureau In Oregon, namely, the Underwriters' Equitable Ratine; Bu reau of Portland. Or. That would make It obligatory and imperative that every company doing business In Ore gon patronize the said rating bureau. nd there would be no other choice left although the statute states that they may do otherwise because pro hlbited by the excessive expense in the undertaking. Nice, equitable, and dis criminating law that. How could foreign company get In to do business? That law does not reach the farmers' mutuals for the reason that they have only four or five classes of prorerty, namely, farm dwellings, barns and out. buildings, churches and school houses, and their contents, and their rules stip ulate that all flues must be good ones. Hence., they are independent of rating bureaus. If there are any companies other than the mutuals doing business in this state on their own schedules I would like to know which ones. runner, air. wells says a company Is not permitted to practice universal discrimination." Neither is it permitted to practice competition. While the law says It may compete In a business way the same law makes competition pro hibitive by the excessive expense of filing a company s own rating. And further, it does not occur to me that the buyers of Insurance are treated with just Impartiality. The losses In Brownsville for the past years will not average $100 per annum per 1000 Inhabitants. Why is insur nee 33 1-3 per cent higher in Browns ville than in Albany and more than 60 per cent higher than In Portland? The old gag of water protection does not answer it. for the loss ratio is lower than In either place. Probably " sensible persons realize that the mak ing of fire Insurance rates is a com plicated matter. but a good many of the same people realize that the com plication Is left out of rate making In Oregon and put Into the law relat Ing to Insurance. It might be interest ing: to thresh out In print how tha came about. One thing more I would like to know, and that is why are the insurance rates in tjregon nigner tnan in any state east of the Rockies, and probably any other state in the Union, consid erlng that we have the lowest loss ratio? W. W. BAILEY JUST LIKES A WOMAS. I wanted to propose to Nan. But thought I was too plain a man To handsome men she seemed inclined And that, of course, left me behind But as Lieutenant Brown one day. I railed to see what Nan would say. Why Bill," she cried, and shook my hand. In uniform you look Just grand!" And then In sudden vanity I asked her if she'd wait for me. She promised, and with buoyant heart I marched away to do n.y part. I lost an arm and leg in France. The toll of grim war's circumstance And then I knew 'twas off with m That mate for Nan I'd never be. With saddened spirit I took ship (Thought of suicide all the trip) And came back home Just half a man An eyesore to a girl like Nan. "Dear Nan," I said, and looked away, Lest my emotion I d betray, 'Tm Just a battered thing, you see, "And so I've come to sot you free." And then a wondrous thing occurred I couldn't credit what I heard. "Why. Bill. she cried, and squeeze my hand. To me. my dear, you lnoic Just grand!' MARY HESTER FORCE. In Central Officers' Training Camp PORTLAND. July 18. To tho Editor. (1) If a married man gains admtsslo to this next officers training camp a Camp Pike, will his wife and child be entitled to an allowance from the Gov ernment while candidate is training? (2) If the Army officer at O. A. C. passes on a man aa qualified to ente the camp, doea tne (government pa transportation to the training camp o does the candidate? (3) What salary will the candidal get from the Government while training? A. H. II. (1) As ha enlists for the duration o the war. all the provisions of law i behalf of soldiers and sailors apply to him. (2) Travel pay at the rate of 3 cents a mile la allowed. (3) Thirty-three dollars a month an allowances of a private. Adoption of National Anthem. PORTLAND. July IS. (To the Ed itor. ) Has "America" ever been rec ognized as our National hymn and wa It ever adopted as such by Congress Is "The Star-Spangled Banner now our National hymn and, if so, whe was it so adopted, and is it permisslbl to play It with other music or songs A SUBSCRIBER, "America", has never had official rec ognltion as the National anthem: "Th Star-Spangled Banner" trains that dls tinctlon from general adoption of military regulation. It is not consid ered proper to Incorporate the Natlona anthem In a medley. Government Insurance Bureau. PORTLAND, July 18. (To the Edl tor.) Kindly Inform me whom to write to In regard to the insurance that my son has taken out In my favor. H acme eime ago last year applied fo admittance Into the Ambulance Corp and was accepted. He wrote to me tha h. took out the insurance last Decern ber and said I ought to get the pa pera before this, but they have no come to hand yet. MRS, LEROY PRATT, Write to Bureau of War Risk Insur ance, Washington, D. C Vneertalnty of Blrta, Records. ASTORIA. Or.. July 17. (To the Edl tor.) Please Inform me how a man ca prove his age. If he has no rclatlo living that he knows of. Is his birt recorded when he is born? A SUBSCRIBER. You will have to write to your birth place to find out. - Laws and custom vary. - ' -- - In Other Days, Twenty-five Years Ago. From The Oreconlan. July 19, IBM. Three bank failures are reported In Colorado, six in Kansas, and two In Missouri, besides one in Georgia. Paris. At a council of the Ministers today it was resolved to disavow any Intention to Interfere with Siamese In dependence. Mr. Robert Mantell. the romantic ctor. will make his first appearance la Portland Monday evening. Tacoma. A mass meeting of the un- mployed was held here last night. Sympathy with the anarchists was ei- ressed and resolutions were passed asking Congress to coin all the bullion In the Treasury. Announcement of Portland's fifth annual industrial exposition was made yesterday. It will open September 27 and conclude October 2S. OT SEVERE ENOUGH OX SLACKERS Proposal to Take Half Their ray for Red Cross Enlarged By Writer. PORTLAND. July IS. (To the Edi tor.) In reading the editorial page of The Orcgonian last Sunday my glance rested on an article in regard to men f neutral nations who have declared their Intention to become citizens of the United States. I do not pick on the oor unfortunate who happens to have family. -I am talking of the single class big. healthy and strong who would make the finest of soldiers. To- ay these Individuals some of them efuse to assist the United States Gov- rnmcnt In this war. For my part I would not advise Un cle Sam to force th-ee men to fight gainst the Hun because they would be menace to Uie allies for the simple reaeson that they are a thousand times niore injurious to us than are the Huns. At the same time I have a dif ferent opinion than the correspondent who signed himself "Octogenarian" and proposed creating un Industrial army or these Individuals and to seixe half of their pay and give it to the Red Cross. This is much, but not enough. I look at this way: Inasmuch as the fathers and mothers have given and are continuing to give what is most dear to them In all the world, their sons for tho cause of democracy, who In turn get the aunt of one dollar a day. and may be will never return, let us get together all these renegades and put mem all In an industrial army with the Fame pay that our sons are fight ing for. and give all above that to th Red Cross. Otherwise put them all on the rottenest boat that can be found and ship them to their own countries without any protection whatever Probably some submarine of their brother Huns will send them to the bottom to feed the fish. Will we have any use for such a class of people? it is my opinion that whosoever swears to become a cltixen and to sunnort the Government where they have found tneir Dread and iberty, and they turn around and rebel at the same, cannot ne considered any more as a loval man. Such men are traitors. G. GONDOLPH. TOM-IDEXTML" CONVERSATIONS. We sat upon a coxy couch, one day. a friend and I. And we grew too confidential as the hours glided bv: Emotions long a-slumber came to vital. speaking life. Unfoldinar many a secret of our dally care and strife. And the conversation, ere we paused, took on a dangerous hue. As we-Juggled names of absent friends and painted them quite true! Then we parted, each one vowing she would never, never tell Of the bold things we had spoken as tne twilight cast its spell. But, alas! when tongues are speaking. brains forget to count the cost That may come from Idle seeking for a pastime better lost! That conversation traveled far, but no one heard it true. Because the tone each time was changed, which gave it differ ent hue; And here and there a wcrd or phrase was carefully deleted Until the spark became a blaze, by wilirul winds completed: And not ono hearer paused to think the tale a baneful thing. But passed it on. with knowing wink. and lot it burn and sting! My words camo home to me at last, worn threadbare in the fray. That many a scar and m:ny a mar re ceived along the way: Their colors were so clouded and their tones so ill and mean I studied long to ascertain If them I'd ever seen! Some phrases fl!d with venom came back assigned to me. Remarks o changed and twisted they wero false as false could be: And as I gaxed upon the words laid at my door that day. I put a lock upon my lips and threw the key away! GRACE E. HALL. Car of Soldier's Wife. "PORTLAND, July IS. (To the Ed itor.) (1) If a man In class 2 Is called will the Government provide his wife with work to support herself? If not skilled in any line, will It teach her some lino of work so she could get it position, and where need she apply? (2) If a man becomes 31 after regis tering, la he subject to call or are all men over 31 exempt? A SUBSCRIBER. (1) The Government does not obli gate itself to provide work for a sol dier's wife or prepare her to take a position. It requires him to allot her $15 from his monthly pay. to which the Government adds $16. C) He is subject to call. Vocation of Poem'i Anther. PORTLAND. July IS. (To the Ed itor.) (1) Could you tell me whether Montreal or Toronto was the birthplace or home of the late Lieutenant-Colonel John MoCrea. the Canadian who was the author of "In Flanders Klelda" anr other poems. What was his profes slon? c') Also, where should I apply re taking a course In pharmacy? INQUIRER. (1) He was a physician. Available references do not give his birthplace. (2) Course in pharmacy Is obtainable at school of pharmacy, Oregon Agri cultural College, CorvaJlis; North Pa cific College of Pharmacy, Portland; Y. M. C. A.. Portland. Allowances to Soldiers Dependents. VANCOUVER, Wash.. July 17. (To the Editor.) I understand that If a soldier make an allotment of $15 a month to an aged parent or dependent that the Government will add another $15 to the amount, making the allot ment $30. If there are two or more boys of the family In the service and each one makes an allotment to the parent or dependent, does the Govern ment add $15 to each allotment or only In the one case, or cut It out alto gether? AN INTERESTED ONE. The Government allowance Is not in every case equal to the soldier's allot ment and there is one allowance when two aoldiers make allotment