?2
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rOKTI.A.VB, FKIDAY, DEC. 20, 191S.
1 inE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE'S WORK
' In his annual report President Cor
bett, of the Portland Chamber of Com
merce, reviewed a year of great
achievement by the city in which the
Chamber did its full part. The war
made such urgent demands for all that
the city and the surrounding country
could supply and all were so willing: to
unite in meeting those demands, that
one might suppose the Chamber to
have ha little to do but sit back and
watch things progress by their-own
momentum. In fact, this year of
activity In every line of production
has also been a year of unexampled
and fruitful activity on the part of
the Chamber. It has been the means
of bringing into touch the Nation's
needs and the city's means of sup
plying them. Its directors have made
the Chamber a meeting-point for Gov
ernment representatives and the lead
ers of the city's industries. They have
aided in the establishment here of
headquarters for several Important
war activities and have been instru
mental in preventing this city from
being subordinated to others in this
regard. The Chamber has. aided in
expansion of existing industries and In
the establishment of fifty-three new
industries aside from erection of two
new flour mills and enlargement ol
one cereal mill, which are now in
progress. As the agency through
which business makes co-operative
effort for the city's progress, it has
accomplished much and b,as earned
the gratitude of the community.
Naturally, shipbuilding fills a large
place in the report, for it is the prin
cipal among those subjects now be
fore the public. Having won recogni
tion of the city's primacy in building
wood ships, the Chamber now calls at
tention to the sacrifice involved in
suiting the type of vessel to the war
emergency without regard to the trade
conditions of the Pacific. The result
is that wo have been building ships
which the Government no longer
wants and which are not adapted to
our own traffic. The Chamber there
fore is wise in recommending for the
next year "a campaign to have the
Government .build types of wood ships
that are in demand, that are approved
by the trade, that would have a posi
tive earning capacity and, above all
other things, would be the medium
for transporting our lumber and other
commodities to the consumers who
are taking the warter route." The re
port most pertinently says: j
Wo havo taken tho position that, so long
as the Government is building ships tor
peace requirements, it is in duty bound to
build wood ships as readily as steel ships
if the trade requires those ships and if the
earnings of those ships used by that trade
could make a satisfactory showing, and
particularly if the use of those ships would
"be the only likely avenue for the marketing
f our raw materials and food products
abroad.
That argument is unanswerable "so
long as the Government is building
ships for peace purposes." As fast as
it completes steel ships on tho Pacific
Coast, it takes them around to the
Atlantic Coast and keeps them there.
The least it could do for the Pacific
Coast would be to continue building
wood ships suited to Pacific trade.
But why should the Government
continue building and owning ships,
except for strictly war use or for
surveys and fisheries? Tho original
plan for it to do this was adopted on
a modest, experimental scale in peace
time and has been enormously ex
panded to meet the war emergency.
After all due allowance has been
made for the exceptional conditions
produced by war, it can be confident
ly asserted that all predictions made
by opponents of Government ship
owning have been verified and that
the system has not made good. Waste,
bungling and gross favoritism have
marked its course, and the Shipping
Board has become an obstacle rather
than an aid to development of an
American merchant marine. It dis
criminates against the Pacific Coast,
which by its own admission has made
Bood, and in favor of the Atlantic and
Gulf Coasts, which have fallen down.
The sooner the Government gets out
of the shipping business, the better
will the shipbuilding industry thrive.
The campaign which the Chamber
recommends should be. closely fol
lowed by another campaign to end
Government building and ownership
of ships and to set private enterprise
free from the shackles which the
board has put on the industry.
Next in importance to building
comes operation of ships. The admis
sion that all efforts to establish lines
during the war proved futile justifies
no reflection on the Chamber, for the
conditions made it impossible. There
is encouragement in the statement
that "we do believe that the time is
j near when more than one line will be
established between Portland and the
' Orient." The time has almost ar
rived when these hopes should find
; fruition, and when other lines should
j run to the west coast of Central and
South America, to Australia, through
j the Panama Canal to the Caribbean
; Sea, the Atlantic Coast and Europe.
The fine showing of financial re
1 sources made by the city in bank
I clearings and in meeting every de-
mand for liberty loans and other war
(funds warrants the opinion that it is
fully able to finance at home a ship
, ping company owned by its own peo
'ple and serving its own commerce. In
conjunction with such a company
there is occasion for more import and
export houses to secure full cargoes.
The confidence of tho Chamber in
the future of commerce and the prog
ressive spirit which actuates it are
evidenced by these words:
We join with tho TJock Commission and
Port Commission in tho belief that prep
arations must be made for a larger vol
ume of business than has ever been han
dled before through this port. In plan
ning for this business, it has been the de
sire of the Chamber to take car of tho
most urgent and likely needs first and have
in reserve ample funds to provide for any
requirements that may occur as the busi
ness unfolds.
It should be possible for the Dock
and Port Commissions, after frank
and frequent consultation with the
(Chamber as the representative of the
business interests, to determine which
are the most urgent needs and to sup
ply them promptly. But work of this
kind would be greatly expedited and
overlapping would be -avoided if the
two commissions were consolidated,
according to the practice in every
other large port.
Of equal importance with the de
velopment of the port and its com
merce is that of the state at large.
toward which the report records much
practical progress. The Land Settle
ment Commission and its farm home
plan and the Oregon Chamber of Com
merce, which are in whole or in part
results of the Chamber's efforts,
should prove valuable adjuncts to the
reclamation and settlement plans
which are now before Congress.
"When we consider how small have
been tho funds of the Chamber bj
comparison with those at the disposal
of Chambers in other cities, the
wonder is not that the Chamber has
not accomplished more but that it
has accomplished so much. Its
achievements give it a good claim to
more liberal and more general sup
port of the citizens, both in money
and effort.
KAHN'S PLAN FOR THE SEW ARMY.
One good result of the Republican
victory at the election last November
will be that Representative Julius
Kahn, of California, will become
chairman of the House military com
mittee, and in that capacity will have
charge of the legislation for perma
nent organization of the Army on a
peace basis in the light of war's ex
perience. For once the seniority rule works
well, for it places at the head of this
committee the man who proposed and
put through the selective draft pro
vision of the war army bill when Rep
resentative Dent, the Democratic
chairman, balked at any form of con
scription. To that provision are clue
the speed and the absence of friction
with which the Army was raised, also
the certainty that, if the war had
continued, the United States would
have had an army in tho field next
Summer which alone would have been
able to crush Germany. That cer
tainty contributed to hasten Ger
many's surrender.
Mr. Kahn does not Intend, if he
can prevent it, that the lessons
learned from the success of the se
lective draft shall be wasted. In an
interview with the New York World
he declares for six months' hard mili
tary training for every boy on reach
ing the age of 18, and reduction of
the course for officers at West Point
to two years, with an increase in the'
age limits to 19 or 20 to 23. He jus
tifies the shortening of the term by
the ease with which officers were se
cured in a few months and by the fact
that 600 colleges now give much of
the training needed by officers. His
chief reason for universal, compul
sory military training is that men
should not regard the Army as a
career, but should be sent back to
the body of citizenship after training.
Our experience in the war has dis
posed once for all of tho belief that
time spent in military training was
wasted, so far as civil life is con
cerned. It develops physique and
mental and moral qualities, and it im
parts knowledge regarding caro of
the health which are valuable in civil
life. War demands men in fine phys
ical condition and with all their fac
ulties alert. Who can deny that such
men are more efficient in peace?
They may never be called upon to
shoulder a rifle, but if that necessity
should arise, they will already have
the groundwork for training as sol
diers, and they will have acquired an
asset which cannot be lost.
KGftS.
The most hopeful of poultrymen do
not hold out a promising prospect of
distributing egg production evenly
over the twelve months and the four
seasons of the year. Consequently
there is always, in certain months, a
shortage of eggs "guaranteed to have
been laid yesterday," bearing the
stamp of a reliable producer and
worth, in consequence, almost any
price that buyer and seller may agree
upon. There is in this definition of
value no question of inordinate, profits
for a middleman, but only a private
transaction in which - tho .buyer pays
something additional to gratify a
finical taste and - the seller quite
frankly takes all the advantage pos
sible of the law of supply and demand.
As to the common run of eggs, how
ever, a somewhat different rule seems
to apply. Egg marketing, it would
seem, is a much more technical and
complicated business than the aver
age consumer is aware. This has been
brought out by the experience of a
New York City health commissioner
who last Spring purchased with city
funds and placed in storage several
thousand dozen eggs which he has re
cently been placing on the market at
bargain rates. The price is 50 cents
a dozen, with a charge of an extra
cent if the purchaser insists upon a
cardboard container. On the day
when the sale began "fresh gathered
extras" were quoted at 72 oents, and
"fine to fancy" eggs ran as high as 95
cents. - There were also, as has been
said, those privately sold eggs which
brought whatever the parties to the
transaction agree upon, prevailing
prices being said to run as high
as $1.25.
But someone, . perhaps an opponent
of the paternalistic system, has taken
the trouble to inspect numbers of
these city-stored eggs in accordance
with the standards of the Mercantile
Exchange, and the statement is made
that they included a large proportion
of ."under grades," which in the open
market would have been sold as low
as 38 cents a dozen. Some, indeed,
were "of such poor quality that they
could not be graded at all."
By this we are reminded again that
the egg business, broadly considered,
may be highly technical and also psy
chological. Consumers who bought
the health commissioner's offerings
do not appear to have complained that
they were paying ah exorbitant price,
considering the quality of the article.
This fact they might never have dis
covered if it had not been called to
their attention by experts. It seems
that, short of the point where the egg
has become actually obnoxious to the
senses, "freshness" lies only partly in
the egg itself and also involves the
state of mind of the consumer thereof.
The ungraded storage egg was made
to be eaten by optimists and recent
events disclose that there are plenty
of optimists among the egg eaters of
Gotham.
The Winter egg problem is always
with us. We have a choice of solu
tions. We may store our own eggs,
according to a well-known formula,
and consume them on faith. These
are, indeed, most commonly a very de
sirable food. Or we may buy in "open
market," putting aside for the mo
ment our ultra-finical notions as to
what an egg ought to be. Or we may
pay the higher figure which the pro
ducer demands for the egg fresh from
the nest, or even install a hencoop
in the backyard and test the theories
of those who say that there are in
finite possibilities in poultry raised on
"table scraps." But table scraps are
not as common as they were before
the days of thrift and Hooverizing.
Kitchen economy and backyard egg
production do not fit into the now
scheme.
If we reject all these plans, there
remains only the alternative of doing
without in the period of exceedingly
high prices. We did this very thing
a generation or so ago, and did not
seem to suffer. Demand for products
which are dear because "out of sea
son" is one of the outgrowths of our
higher civilization.
THE FOCR-MENCTE MEN.
The country will not part without
regret with its four-minute men, an
nouncement of whose approaching
demobilization is made. It is not so
much, we think, that we are aching
to listen to addresses, brief or other
wise, on all occasions, as that we ap
preciate the service which they have
done to oratory as an art by demon
strating how much can be compressed
into a short space of time. They have,
let us hope, sounded the knell of the
long-winded and tedious speaker.
They tackled a job which two years
ago would have been declared" im
possible, and they have performed it
well.
The four-minute period, it seems,
was chosen because it was approxi
mately the length of a short film, and
experience had shown that this was
about the length of time which a con
gregiftion could be counted upon to
fix its attention upon a topic of pass
ing interest. Since the motion picture
house is the great place of assembly
of modern times, it became necessary
to adapt the new' plan to its require
ments. How well this was done al
most every American now knows.
It became necessary to reconstruct
the mechanics of public address, to
plunge directly into the subject, to
talk straight to the point and to omit
the customary peroration, to prune
out a lot of rhetoric and to omit a
great deal of mere sound, but the re
sultant product has met with quite
general approval. It is probably not
a mere coincidence that after-dinner
oratory is at the same time showing a
tendency toward abbreviation, that
the ceremonial breakfast is numer
ously taking the place of the evening
dinner and that brevity is being wide
ly accepted as literally the soul of wit.
Much can be said in four minutes,
as we now know. In that time a mod
erately rapid speaker can convey a
message of 700 or perhaps 800 words.
And that is about as much as the
average hearer can carry away with
him of any speech. The spirit of self
repression in which the thousands of
four-minute men of the country ap
proached their task is in particular
to be commended. Th,ey have their
reward in knowledge that they suc
ceeded in "putting it over" as no set
of long-winded orators could have
done. Undertaken as an experiment,
the .short speech has justified itself
and probably has come to stay.
INDIAN MORALITY.
It is noteworthy that the annual
report of the Board of Indian Com
missioners, which concerns itself this
year more seriously than formerly
with the "morals" of the red wards of
the Government, is inclined to place
the burden of blame for deteriora
tion in this respect upon white men,
rather than upon Indians themselves.
Instances are mentioned in which
Indians are improving their financial
condition steadily, but are slipping
down hill morally with, the increase
of civilization among them. The Coeur
d'Alenes are cited as a conspicuous
example. They "had made the most
remarkable progress in industry and
civilization and had reached a. high
state of morals without any particular
attention from the Government." Then
came the "boom days" with their
attendant evils. The meat of the
situation is contained in tho sugges
tion of the board that it might bo well
for the missionaries on the reserva
tions to move across the boundary
lines for a time and devote their at
tention to certain whites who are ex
ercising an admittedly bad influence.
We have, indeed, developed a new
sense of responsibility toward the
Indian since the early days, which is
in strong contrast to that which
marked our attitude when the slogan
was "the only good Indian is a dead
Indian." The movement to educate
the tribesmen, to make them self
supporting and consequently self-respecting,
has been productive of ma
terial, if not ethical, results. But there
now remains a task not dissimilar to
that which confronted the military
authorities at the time of our mobili
zation for war. This is to remove the
outside influences which operate
against moral growth and develop
ment on reservations. It would be idle
to condemn whole communities of
whites situated ki proximity to such
reservations, but there is a condition
and not a theory which deserves
recognition. The problem is too com
plex for local treatment. It is at least
as broad as the state and would seem
to call for co-operation by state au
thorities and the Federal Government.
The Indian board makes a construc
tive proposal in its suggestion that
Congress bestow jurisdiction upon
state courts to deal with offenses of a
certain class committed upon reserva
tions. The value of this procedure
lies partly in the fact that the division
between reservation morality and that
of the surrounding territory is not
always easy to demarcate. It would
simplify matters if all offenders were
placed under a single jurisdiction.
There do not appear to be any in
superable legal obstacles to this. Con
gress heretofore, as the board points
out, has not hesitated to authorize
state courts to handle litigation in
which Indians were ' parties to the
actions, and Indian appropriation
acts of recent years have made pro
vision for defraying costs in local
courts. This, however, is a matter of
administrative detail rather than of
principle and ought to be adjusted
easily enough if it is regarded as in
the interests of the Indians. Thought
ful white Americans meanwhile will
not object to any method which would
tend to improve conditions both in
and near reservations.
It seems strange to read In this
connection that there is need of ef
fort to "Americanize" some of our
Indian wards. Yet we are told that
there are in at least one section num
bers of wards who are covertly dis
loyal to the Government, and "have
been the victims of pro-German prop
aganda." This has commonly taken
the form of efforts to reintroduce
pagan practices, with a view of
causing dissension when these were
suppressed on grounds of public and
moral policy. But any effort to
"Americanize" the Indian would be
well-nigh futile if confined to precept
and not supported by example, as a
corollary of which it follows that the
better white element ' must unite in
the campaign to punish those who are
fundamentally responsible for Indian
decadence under our own form of
civilization.
FOOD SAVING.
The necessity for continued food
saving by Americans ,is graphically
shown by the summary of the popula
tions partly dependent upon us for
help until they can grow their own
crops, or complete arrangements for
importing supplies from other sources.
The total of these is more than four
times that of tho United States. Re
quirements upon us have been in
creased rather than diminished by the
signing of tho armistice.
The figures begin with our greater
allies. Great Britain, France and Italy,
whose combined population needing
aid is, in round figures, 125,000,000
Little nations starved under tho yoke
of Germany include Belgium, Serbia
Jugo-Slavia. Roumania, Greece and
Czecho-Slovia, with about 75.000,000
souls. There arc about 50,000,000 in
Northern Russia and 40.000,000 In
neutral countries, -while tho further
number who require aid to procure
food for themselves is estimated at
90,000,000. These amazing figures
show the extent of our responsibilities.
The purpose of observing a "con
servation week" in America is to call
attention to these facts and also to
possible methods of saving food. That
a great deal can be done without ac
tual self-denial is indicated by the re.
suits from waste prevention alone dur
ing the past two years. Not even de
sire for self-indulgence can justify
throwing fopd . away. The Nation's
$700,000,000 garbage pail ought to be
abolished forever. At the same time
it ought to be easily possible to con
tinuc most of tho conservation meth
ods practiced during the war and to
improve upon some of them. The
simpler life has justified itself, upon
the whole. The "fourth meal" and the
practice of eating between meals have
been shown to be extravagant ana
prejudicial to good health. It is pos
sible to maintain physical and mental
efficiency upon a much more econom
ical ration than we .consumed prior
to our entry into the war.
All authorities agree that this con
tinued saving will be required, in ad
dition to our normal surplus from pro
duction, if we are to keep the pledge
made for us that we will contribute
20,000.000 tons to the world's needs.
It is still further enjoined by common
prudence, since we are not yet as
sured that the elements will co-operate
with us in. the production of a
"normal" crop. -
The hospitality which Portland has
never yet failed to manifest toward
the soldiers in its midst ought to
suffer no abatement on this, perhaps
the Jast, Christmas season on which
there will be opportunity to entertain
men in the uniform of Uncle Sam.
The organized effort now being made
to provide real cheer, in home sur
roundings, for these men illustrates
the work of one of the less exploited
but not less important welfare agen
cies connected with the war the War
Camp.Community Service but it will
fail unless there is general co-operation.
No downtown banquet, how
ever elaborate, would suffice as a
substitute, and those who shirk their
personal responsibility wholly miss
tho spirit of the day. Christmas is
peculiarly a time for celebration in
the home.
The most utter failure of the entire
shipbuilding programme has been
made at Hog Island. Its cost Is three
times the original estimate, and it has
only delivered one ship and launched
five others. It was to have been fin
ished last August, but will not be
complete till sixty days hence. There
seems to be something wrong with
the scheme to build ships of steel
fabricated inland. The British tried
it, and havo built many vessels in that
way, but they stopped work on all
standard vessels as soon as the armis
tice was signed, and John Bull knows
a thing or two about shipbuilding, al
though he is reputed to be rather
slow. The record of Hog Island does
not speak well for Government ship
building. It may prove a white ele
phant. Detection of crime is spectacular
only in fiution, although at times it
may be stitged with thrills. If there
be contributory action on the yart of
the criminal, the result easier ob
tains. Without it detection simply is
matter of work along regular lines.
Americans in occupation of Ehren
breitstein bring the new army of
democracy - face to face with the
ghosts of the . robber barons of the
middle ages, which may vanish in
terror at the strange apparition.
Removal of the ban on sugar has
lessened demand for honey; yet the
man who likes his breakfast cakes
will find nothing better than the
product of the busy little bee.
The man who wears his Red Cross
button on his hat does it that way not
because he is proud, but to set an ex
ample to a fellow he knows. -
A case of supposed Influenza at
McMinnville developed into smallpox,
and that gives the victim better
chance to survive.
If you think your boy will become
a violinist, -buy him a fine instrument.
The natural-born fiddler will, get his
some way.
Christmas could not come finer
than it does this year, in the middle
of the week, two days from pay day.
Germany may match Russia in the
rapidity with which it changes revo
lutionary cabinets.
The greatest Christmas is in the
family where the wounded boy has
come home.
Wilson may have been delighted,
but there's only one who can bo "dee-
lighted."
The Portland woman revels in shop-
pins in the rain,
Those Who Come and Go.
Oswald West has returned from
Washington. D. C. where he remained
one day. "Betore I learned the ropes."
ays Mr. West, "I used to cool my heels
for days at a. time waiting to see the
head of a department. It isn't always
the man drawing the big salary and
getting his. name In the papers who is
the real man in a department. The man
you want to see is probably a quiet
fellow off in a far corner. When you
know who these real men are you can
dispatch your business quickly. That
is why I managed to transact all my
business between trains."
M. F. Sommarstrom. of the shipbuild
ing firm of Sommarstrom Bros., of Co
lumbia City, is registered at the Wash
ington Hotel.
Corporal Victor .Chevallier. son of Mr.
and Mrs. Joseph Chevallier. has re
turned to San Antonio after a 30 days'
furlough. He has been stationed In
Texas as, an instructor in the balloon
division since his enlistment last March.
Charles M. Emery, the good roads
scout for the Blue Book organization,
drove his blue roadster up in front of
the Multnomah Hotel yesterday and
yelled for the hostler from tho garage
to come and get the Junk heap he calls
an automobile. The only thins about
the car that Mr. Emery will gamble on
Is its road-measuring attachment. But
In the automobile he has covered every
passable road in the Northwest and
soma that he speaks of as war zone
trenches. Coming down from Puget
sound Mr. Emery Inspected the work
being done by the state of Washington
on the Pacifio Highway and says that
it will be in splendid shape when tho
bpring Influx of tourists begins to ar
rive. Mr. Kmery is confident that the
work of the Northwest Tourist As
sociation, of which W. J. llofmann is
president, is going to result in bring
ing a very heavy travel into the North
west next year and says that this sec
tion of the Northwest is being talVed
or in ail parts of the United States.
Portland friends of Major Frederick
W. Leadbetter have received word that
ho has been released from military
service and U on hia way West. He
will spend the holidays with his family
at fcanta. Barbara, CL, before return
ing to Portland.
Georgo IL Kelly, who left Portland
as a Major in the Kngineers and who
has been promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel,
has sent a cable to Mrs. Kelly that
ho is leaving France for home and will
be in New York in a few days. Lieutenant-Colonel
Kelly was a member of
tho Port of Portland Commission when
he left and was formerly a member of
the State Fish and Game Commission.
His work in France has been that of
operating some two dozen sawmills.
The quartet from the Wilbur Metho
dist Church will give a concert in the
Multnomah lobby Sunday night at 9
o'clock. It will be a sort of prelude to
the Christmas festivities and will be di
rected by William Mansell Wilder, or
ganist. The quartet includes Miss Har
riet Leach. Miss Florence Leach, Fred
s. Pierce and Stuart McGuire.
S. W. Davis, a stockman of Deschutes
County. Is at the Perkins, registered
rrom uena.
Mrs. Carl Gerlinger and Mrs. Emele
Febvet. of Dallas, are at the Imperial.
James E. Bayllss. of Detroit, is at the
Benson. He is representing an auto
truck manufacturing concern.
I. I. Boak, head consul of the Wood
men of the World, who is at the It
pertal, says the influenza has caused
his fraternal order to nav out J700 nnn
but that the finances of the order could
stand a solid year of "flu" payments
it necessary.
Robert L. Stevens, warden of the
penitentiary, was around the Multno
mah yesterday arranging with Mark
Woodruff to get a crowd of volunteer
vaudeville entertainers to give a per
formance at the state institution In the
near future.
R. J. Surdival. registering from the
Fiji Islands, and W. K. Laurence, regis
tering from Tien Tsin. China, were ar
rivals at the Seward yesterday,
t
Thomas A. McCann, of Bend, con
nected Miith one of the big-mills there,
is at the Hotel Portland, accomoanied
by Mrs. McCann.
Donald E. Conn, traffic manager for
tne fcneviin-Carpenter-Clark concern,
of Minneapolis, is at the Benson.
A. G. Hunderson, an auto dealer of
Walla Walla, is In town on busine
and is at the Hotel Oregon.
I. B. Perrlne is at the Multnomah with'
a message concerning the great pros
perity of the Twin Falls, Idaho, seg
ment or the wheat-growing West.
About 25 representatives of the Sim
onds taw Manufacturing Company are
holding an annual meeting at the Ben
son Hotel. .
WAR ACTIVITIES OF IST DIVISION,
Troopa Fight In Two Sertora and Gain
Distinction In Both.
PORTLAND, Or.. Dec. 1!. (To the
Editor.) Please tell me if the 91st
Division was In action at the front
after November 6?
ANXIOUS MOTHER.
This query gives opportunity for
elaboration and correction of answer
to "Reader" in The Oregonian Tuesday.
The following is taken from a state
ment by General March giving a "short
history" of the division. The division
did no fighting after November 5. as
stated. As a division, however, it was
considered to have participated in the
fighting of the Argonne. General
Pershing's report wnentlons it as "in
line" between Malancourt and Vau
quois on September 25. In the attack
which began September 26 units of the
91st are known to have suffered many
losses. These units were cited by com
manders for the bravery displayed
early in October. About . the middle
of October the entire division was
hastily transported from this sector
and sent to help the French In Bel
gium, detraining about October 21,
near Tpres.
General Pershing commends the 87th
Division, which also was with the
French in the fighting in Flanders be
tween October 31 and November 6,
then says of the 91st:
"By a clever flanking movement
troops of the 91st captured Spitaals
Bosschen, a difficult wood extending
across the central part of the division
sector, reached the Eacaut, and pene
trated the town of Audenarde. These
divisions received high commendation
from their corps commanders for their
dash and energy.1"
Prior to activities of the Meuse
Argonne sector, the 91st had been in
reserve on the St. Mihtel salient. It
did no fighting there.
Aero Squadron Not In Home List.
OLYMPIA. Wash.. Dec. IS. (To the
Editor.) Please inform me if the 488th
Aero Squadron is among those return
ing from France or Is a part of some
division that is returning.
A READER.
It is not.
AN'XOCNCEMENT TO RELATIVES
AM) FRIEND OK SOLDIERS
OVERSEAS.
For the Information of the
many readers of The Oregonian
who have relatives or friends in
the American Expeditionary
Forces, The Oregonian on Sunday
will publish in tabulated form
all its information as to Infan
try and field artillery composi
tion of the leding 37 divisions in
France, their location at the close
of the armistice, announcement
as to present disposition and
whether listed In the armies of
occupation, together with a sum
mary of all units ordered "for
convoy" up to December 10.
In most cases it will be possi
ble from this published Informa
tion to determine in what divi
sion a particular unit or organ
ization is placed and to ascer
tain the probabilities of its early
return without sending a special
inquiry to this office.
A large number of Individual
Inquiries of this kind, which will
be answered in the form outlined
above, have been necessarily
withheld from publication for
lark of space.
Those Interested in the dispo
sition of troops in France and
their home-coming are urged to
await and consult the tabic and
nummary to be published in Tho
Sunday Oregonian.
wXys TO OBVIATE LAWS UGLATS
JuI Belt Snairesta Mmpllllcallos of
Trial Court I'roMdarr.
DALLAS. Or., Icc. 18. (To the Ed
itor.) How can our Judicial system bo
revised so as to avoid unnecessary de
lays and to administer justice as it
ought to be administered? Is it possi
ble so to revise our typtcin of pleading
and practice that every case will bu
decided upon its merits? These are
questions which are agitating the
minds not only of lawyers but laymen
as well. It seems to the writer that
much of tho criticism directed against
courts is of no avail for tho reason that
It fails to point out specifically wherein
the present system could be improved.
Let ua not deal in generalities, but
make our charges certain and definite
in all particulars, so that the alleged
defects may be remedied. Some claim
that the method of bringing cases to
issue is cumbersome and that cases are
often lost on technical grounds for
failure to comply with statutory rules
of pleading. However, our present stat
ute says that the complaint shall con
tain a plain and concise statement of
the facts constituting tho cause of ac
tion, without unnecessary repetition,
and that the answer shall contain a
general or specitic denial of the alle
gations of the complaint and a state
ment of any new matter constituting
a defense or counter-claim, in ordinary
and concise language without repeti
tion. Wherein could the above language
be made more plain or simple? Let
those who complain answer. So far as
the above criticism is concerned. I am
Irresistibly led to- the conclusion that
it is not so much a fault of the system
as it is of those whose duty it is to
administer the rules of pleading. I
heartily agree with the proposition
that- courts are organized and main
tained for the sole purpose of admin
istering justice. When our minds be
come clouded with technicalities and
we lose sight of the ultimate end in
view. I. e., a decision of the case on
Its merits, then courts become a farce
and It is not strange that they are
brought into disrepute.
It seems to me that as judges and
lawyers we must mora firmly resolve
to see to it that case are decided sole
ly on their merits and to this end the
statutes ought to be amended vesting
trial judges with more power to amend
pleadings on their own motion when
they see that the ends of justice are
to be defeated on account of defective
pleadings, provided such amendments
can be made without prejudice to the
adverse party.
Thero is. In my opinion, just com
plaint about the "law's delay" and the
expense of litigation. Much time is
utterly wasted in the selection of ju
ries. Jurors should bo examined by the
trial judge. A few general questions
directed to the entire set of jurors
would in most esses suffice. Lawyers
generally know In advance whether
they will exercise a peremptory chal
lenge on any particular juror and the
many questions asked Under our pres
ent system is a mere waste of time.
There are other particulars in which
our judicial system should be revised,
but on account of Fpace I will not here
discuss them. I believe the bill as in
dorsed by the "committee on law re
form" will be helpful and trust that it
will become a law. HARRY H. BELT.
TOBACCO ONE OK NATURE'S GIFTS
Like fan and Moon It Is Created for
3fan' Beneflt and Solace.
PORTLAND. Dec. 1?. (To the Ed
itor.) 1 ask space to reply to Private
Anderson, of Vancouver Barracks, who
does not smoke and sees no reason why
anyone elso should smoke. The writer
has been a smoker for 20 years and
finds the following beneficial results:
Smoking is a sure cure for dyspepsia
and sour stomach and was highly rec
ominended for these two ailments by
doctors of tho old school.
Tobacco is the best stimulant ever
known to mortal man. It also keeps
microbes out of the system and is a
preventer of diseases. It soothes the
nerves and drives dull care away.
As to why and how it does these
things there Is only one answer: To
bacco is created along with other
things in the medical line and has its
own grand purpose for the benefit of
man. The sun warms the earth, the
moon lights the pathway of the weary
traveler, so nature has created tobacco
to do its own proper functions.
Mr. Anderson sees no reason for
smoking for the reason he does not
smoke. Therefore he does not know
of the beneficial results of tobacco. We
learn things of any consequence by ex
perience, not by hearsay or reading
only, and it is only reasonable to be
lieve a man that has had no use for
tobacco himself Is not at all qualified to
speak of Its results for either good or
evlL
Like the old maids who sometimes
visit my wife and try to tell her how
to raise her child, so is the man who
does not smoke, but tries to tell a
smoker something that be knows noth
ing about.
As a user of tobacco I recommend its
use as a cure for many diseases and a
preventive of all diseases derived
from microbes. O. D. DRAIN.
444 East Harirson street.
Ninth Infantry In Reserve.
TACOMA. Wash.. Dec 17. (To the
Editor.) Kindly advise me in what di
vision the Ninth Infantry is and if it is
billed to return to the United States
soon. S. J. STORM.
The Ninth Is In the Second Division,
now being held in reserve and not like
ly to be returned home soon.
Not Vet Ordered Home.
PORTLAND. Dec. IS. (To the Ed
itor.) Will you please state if Battery
A. 147th Field Artillery, is ordered
home from France? G. B. tr.
In no list yet published.
Hearst and the Journal.
CORNUCOPIA. Or.. Deo. 18. (To the
Editor.) Can you tell me if W. R.
Hearst owned the New York Journal
in 18JJ? CHARLES II ATINGER.
Mr. Hearst bought the New Tork
Journal in 1895.
In Other Days.
Twenty-five Vein Ago-
From The Oresonian. December SO. 1S!3.
A force of 40 carpenters will com
mence work today clearing tho Mar
quam stage and preparing for the grewt
production of "Cleopatra." to be pre
sented by Fanny lAivonport and her
company of over 100 people next Mon
day night. The entire settings are be
yond anything that has been attempted
in a century.
Portland's fire insurance agents bad
a hard fight last week in s-:in Francisco
to save themselves from one damaging
effect of the "valued policy law" passed
by the last Oregon I-cpislature. but
they eventually succeeded. An the t:ix
is abolished ou condition that tho Port
land men secure a repeal of the law
by the next Legislature an active cam
paign at Salem is assured.
Rev. Charles E. Locke. D. P., of Tav-lor-strect
Church. will deliver his
famous lecture tomorrow evening at tho
Third Presbyterian Church under the
auspices of the Y. M. c. A., entitled
"Heroes of Everyday Life." A fine
musical programme has been prepared
for the occasion. No admission will bu
charged and all are welcome.
The Multnomah Amateur Athletic
Club w ill inaugurate its inter scries
of Tuesday night entertainments at the
Exposition building tonight. As none
of the bicyclists are accustomed to the
track there will bo no racing, and the
track will he-used for practice only.
AIR WATER CARTS GREAT IDEA
Zeppelin Team Could Irrigate Acre In
Only Xrlps.
PORTLAND. Dec. 19. tTo the Edi
tor.! "The utilization of Zeppelins,
working in teams from special bases,
to spray dry regions with artificial
rain." This we are told by press dis
patches (L". P.) is one of tho subjects
on which suggestions are invited by
the Nobel committee of the Norwegian
Storthing, with a view to diverting tho
Nobel prize this year to tho one mak
ing the best ' suggestion on this and
other ways of converting tho enginery
of war to tho uses of peace.
Beginning with the well-known fact
that aerial transport, by any known
means, either Zeppelin or plane, is so
high In cost as to be impracticable ex
cept for first-class mail matter at high
rates, let us disclose what this pair of
Zeppelins would have to do to provide
water for a single acre of arid land:
Take, for instance, those arid region
along the Columbia in Morrow and
Umatilla counties which arc suscepti
ble of irrigation. The amount of water
necessary to produce a crop of alfalfa,
as determined by the U. S. Government
engineers, is four acre feet, which .is
the equivalent of 174.240 cubic foot.
Not stopping to figure it down to a
fine point, this means approxlro-nt.ly
4 000 tons of water. Were your "Zp
pelins working in teams" able to carry
a ton each at a trip, this would Imply
some I2i0 separate journeys from their
source of supply in order to water one
acre of land.
As the irrigating season lasts only
about 11)0 days, these "Zeppelins work
ing In pairs" would be available for the
remainder of the season for other uses,
and it has been suggested to the writer
that they might be employed to catch
jackrabblts for Congressman SSInnoft'a
felt factory, but as the man who sug
gested this is a well-known Democrat,
we fear he Is moved by political ani
mus. This proposal appeals to the writer
as about on a par with that to invoke
Government aid for the cleuring of
logged-off lands and about as easy to
Justify from an economical standpoint.
As ther&.is a large sum Involved in
this Nobel prize, it is worth while for
the readers of The Oregonian to coma
forward with their suggestions. Let
us hear from them.
GEO. C. HOWARD.
INTOLERANCE KNOWS NO DEATH.
Traces of Puritanical Spirit Found in
Antl-Tobsrro Crusade.
GASTON. Or.. Dec. 18. (To the Edi
tor.) I notice that the old Puritanical
spirit is still in existence. The Puri
tans, according to Mark Twain, claimed
the right to worship God according to
the dictates of their own conscience,
and to compel everybody else to wor
ship him the Bame way.
The late opposition to sending cig
arettes and tobacco to the boys "over
there," betrays that narrow spirit In
all its ugliness. "Thou Shalt not," is
their slogan. They want to be both
judge and jury, from whose verdict
there is no appeal.
One of them feels thoroughly quali
fied to decide, just what the boys in
the trenches need. Was not he within
six miles of the front
General U. S. Grant was held up by
another as a terrible example of thn
evil effects of the use of tobacco. It
caused cancer of the throat from which
he died.
I venture the assertion, without the
fear of successful contradiction, that for
every death caused by tho use
of tobacco 5000 persons have died from
overeating. Should those who are
"temperate In all things" refrain from
eating because, a lot of gormands kill
themselves It is foolish to entertain
such an idoa.
It seems strange to me that a person
who knows nothing of a subject al
ways constitutes himself an authority
on that subject. Any old maid, who
never felt the touch of baby lips on hor
breast, can tell mothers, and grand
mothers, too. Just how to raise a child.
Likewise men who never worshiped at
the shrine of Lady Nicotine can give
the confirmed user of the weed points
on the game. What can a man who
has never been tempted know of temp
tation? Absolutely nothing. He may
boast of what he would do If he were
in the other fellow's place. But It is a
vain boast for "no man knows himself.
No woman knows herself. A word, a
touch, a look, and the angel becomes
a demon."
Intolerance has been the curse of the
human race. It is today riding ram
pant over the earth. A lot -of bigots,
self-appointed dictators, wish to out
line to others the course to follow and
then compel them to follow it.
TOM CRAWFORD.
When Boy Shows Slental Defect.
PORTLAND, Dec. 19. (To the Edi
tor.) I am a mother of a 15-year-old
boy who. in my opinion, is undeveloped
mentally. He is easily controlled when
under my immediate supervision, and
has what is generally known as a good
disposition; that is, kind, considerate,
affectionate, but seems to have no Idea
of moral responsibility, and will take
other people's property, whether of
any intrinsic value or not.
1 wish to ask if there is any one in
Portland who would be both competent
and wUUng to examine the boy and
give an honest opinion of what tho
real trouble is and suggest a remedy.
MRS. S. S. H.
Consult Miss Ida Manley, principal
Allen School, Twelfth and East Salmon.
Battery B. 147th Field Artillery.
PORTLAND, Dec. 18. (To the Ed
itor.) (l) What division is Battery E,
147th Field Artillery in?
(2) Is it in the Army of Occupation
now In Germany, or Is it designated
for an early return?
(3) Where will it be sent for demo
bilization? ANXIOUS.
(1) Forty-first.
(2) Neither. This is a depot division
and seems billed to stay in France for
some time.
(3) Probably to point of mobilisation.
i