Morning Oregonian., December 21, 1918, Page 12, Image 12

12
TITE 3IORXIXG OREGOXIAN. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1918.
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! PORTLAND. SATURDAY. DEC. 21. 1918.
THE EAST UUII-DS THE YABJJS.
Hog Island Is -well named, for It has
put both forefeet as well as its snout
in the public trough. That great ship
yard, built at Government expense,
was originally to have cost at moat
$27,000,000, or with additions ordered
: by the Emergency Fleet Corporation
; $33,000,000, but it is estimated to cost
; $61,000,000. As it will not be finished
for sixty days, we need not be sur
prised if the revised total of $33,000,
000 should be doubled. For all this
great expenditure all that the Govern
ment has to show is one ship com-
pleted and five launched.
Somewhat more than a year ago a
1 treat uproar was made in Washington
' about waste of money on a wood ship-
yard on Puget Sound, but it is doubt
ful whether the waste in that case
' was one-fiftieth of that on Hog Island.
No more money has probably been
i spent on all the shipyards in the Co
; lumbia River district combined than
f on Hog Island alone, but since January
: 1 Portland has launched 144 vessels
I aggregating 633,250 deadweight tons.
I Evidently the "West builds the ships,
i while the East build3 the yards.
As usual when Government money
' is wasted, the investigators' find that
' nobody is to blame. The money Just
: went. The case is similar to that of
; an Irish politician who. pleading the
! impossibility of keeping account of
r election expenses, said that he counted
the money in his pocket when he went
! out in the morning and the amount
; remaining when he came home at
night, or next morning, and put down
the difference as "spent." Those mil
: lions have been Just "spent" on Hog
Island, and .nobody is to blame.
In face of such records of Govern
mental inefficiency, Postmaster-Gen-;
eral Burleson asks that the telegraph
and telephone lines be turned over to
' him to run, and Director-General Mc-
Adoo proposes a five-year experiment
with Government operation of rail
roads. This inefficient business or
ganization points proudly to its glori
ous record of failure and impudently
asks for another trial.
If Mr. Burleson, Mr. McAdoo, Mr.
Hurley and a few more like them have
their way, not many years will pass
. before the United States will have
t changed from the richest to the poor
'. est- Nation in the world, and we may
; have to appeal to the captains of in
dustry of Poland, Czecho-Slavia or
; Jugo-Slavia to come over and put our
.affairs In order. '
TAKE A WAT ARBITRARY POWER.
It is high time that Congress took
such action as the Senate has taken on
tho initiative of Senator Jones, of
Washington, in regard to limitations
placed by the Shipping Board on con
struction of ships, of either wood or
steel, for foreign buyers. It has be
come nothing less than a public scan
dal that this board has assumed dic
tatorial power over the shipbuilding
industry. It refuses either to buy the
product of the shipyards itself or to let
them sell vessels to others. It in ef
fect exercises the power of life and
death over a great industry. This is a
power which Congress itself would
hesitate to exercise. If it should at
tempt to do so the courts would be apt
to annul its action as confiscatory.
The Shipping Board pursues a dog-in-the-manger
policy. The world
needs all the ships which can be
turned out at all American shipyards
for years to come, but the board ve
toes further production. Having done
all in its power to injure wood ship
building by extravagantly enhancing
cost and forcing adoption of uneco
nomical designs, it now makes its own
blunders the excuse for condemning
wood ships in general without dis
crimination between those of good and
bad design or those of good and bad
construction. It now goes farther by
forbidding acceptance of French con
tracts for steel ships by a Portland
company, the capacity of which it neg
lects to use. This is the depth of in
gratitude to France, which had lost
much of its tonnage in fighting our
rnemy for two and a half years be
fore we recognized that it was our war
by doing our part in it. France has
earned all the help which the United
States can give, in the shape of ships
as well as armies, money and food, but
asks freedom to buy not a gift. The
least the board could do would be to
build as many ships as possible and
charter some of them to the allies, if
it insists that they remain under the
American flag.
The Shipping Board proclaimed,
until the armistice was signed, that
Oregon shipyards had responded to
every demand that had been made
upon them, and it backed up its words
by awarding them prizes. It has con
demned some Southern and Eastern
yards for inefficiency; it called on the
Pacific Coast to help them with its big
timbers, yet now it includes this Coast
In its general condemnation of wood
fhips. By withholding contracts from
one of the "most efficient wood ship
yards on the Coast, which is to be con
verted into a steel yard, and by for
bidding it to take French contracts,
the board lays its paralyzing hand on
the; steel shipbuilding industry of the
Pacific Coast also. It has nothing to
cay about the failure of its particular
pet, the great Hog Island fabricated
eteel shipyard, to come up to expecta
tions as to output. Good sense dic
tates that it should permit ships to be
tuiilt where experience has proved that
they can be built best and fastest,
rather than at the overgrown giant
n Ihe Delaware River.
Tho best thing Congress can do for
the shipbuilding industry is to deprive
the Shipping Board of its arbitrary
power, and to set the industry free to
build for all who wish to buy. If it
will then expeditiously revise the ship
ping and seamen's laws in such man
ner as to relieve the American ship
owner of the handicaps under which
he labors. Chairman Hurley's effi
ciency methods in handling ships may
enable the ship owner to pay Ameri
can wages and continue American
working conditions to American sea
men and still to compete with foreign
ships. That being accomplished,
abundant contracts may be forthcom
ing from American owners to keep
all our shipyards busy. The first
thing to do is to set this new industry
free from the paralyzing clutch of a
bureaucracy which is trying experi
ments upon it.
WORRYING A PRESIDENT.
President Wilson, it is said in a
cable dispatch, is "beginning to show
some concern over Congressional de
velopments in the United States."
The Congressional developments
which give our absent President so
much worry have to do principally
with the league of nations. Senator
Knox, of Pennsylvania, for example,
has suggested postponement of the
question by the Paris conference until
the terms and conditions of peace
shall have been settled. He Is furi
ously' denounced now in Portland
as a "Junker" and as a "spokesman
of privilege" and the sponsor of a
"bloody programme" because he has
ventured to call for a calm and delib
erate consideration of the league of
nations idea.
Senator Knox does not know what
the league of nations proposal of
President Wilson Is. The Senate does
not know. The American people do
not know. If President Wilson knows,
he has not taken the Senate, or the
people, or anybody who is at liberty
to speak, into his confidence.
Now that the war Is over, and now
that the press and the public are dis
posed to exercise their restored right
of free discussion, withdrawn from
them during many months of stress
and trouble, it is likely enough that
the American people will want to have
something to say about the part they
are to play in any league of nations.
The idea is attractive: but the basis
of any league to be effective must be
mutual concessions and surrenders to
the international body.
What' concessions? What surren
ders? President Wilson has gtven little
consideration to Congress in his plans
for peace. He has gone over himself
to make peace, or to lay the founda
tions for it. The conference will pre
pare the treaty, but it must be ratified,
so far as America is concerned, by
the Senate of the United States, by a
two-thirds vote, for the following pro
vision has not been repealed or elimi
nated even in time of war by the
people, nor by the State Legislatures,
nor even by the fiat of the Chief
Executive (Article 2, Section 2):
Ha (ths President) shall have power, by
and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, to make treaties, provided two
thirds or the Senators present concur.
The advice of no Senator is being
asked by the President, and the con
sent of all Senators, or two-thirds of
them, must yet be obtained. What
a Senator of the United States has to
say about the peace treaty and its
methods and terms is, therefore, not
without its Importance, Apparently,
the President Is beginning to think so.
It would have been so, whether it
was a Democratic Senate, as at pres
ent, or a Republican Senate, as it will
be after March 4.
' COMPOSITE BOUND.
Recent technical achievements of
the electrical engineers who have an
nounced an amazing improvement in
multiplex telephony, by which two
wires may be used for ten simulta
neous conversations, are made a little
clearer to the lay mind by the expla
nation of a scientist who has succeeded
in taking actual photographs of the
human voice as it traverses a wire.
The multiplex system, if it could be
photographed, would produce a result
analagous to the composite photograph
which is currently popular among col
lege students around graduation time.
The person who appreciates the'dif
ficulty he would have if required to
separate a composite photograph of
five or ten men into its constituent
originals will have a sense of the
problem confronting the inventors of
the multiplex telephone. If the com
posite photograph were printed in, a
different color for. each original, and
he were able to interpose a color
screen for each which would exclude
all other colors, his problem would be
solved.
The effort of the electricians has
been to give each current that goes
over the wire a distinctive character
istic, and at certain points on the wire
to separate the currents and send each
to its destination. The importance of
the new invention, in view of growing
costs of construction and maintenance
of telephone circuits, it would not be
easy to overestimate. But engineers
are already suggesting that it is
capable of almost infinite expansion.
It would require a daring prophet to
attempt a prediction of what we shall
be doing with electricity even a decade
hence.
wit-matching rv the contra.
It is encouraging to advocates of
court reform to observe a genuine in
terest in the subject by Judges of the
Circuit Court. Without doubt the
communication from Judge Belt, of
Dallas, which appeared on this page
Friday, was expression of the thought
that is in the minds of many of the
men on the Oregon bench. It is be
cause the Judges recognize needs so
clearly and have no interest except
administration of exact Justice that
The Oregonlan was so ready to in
dorse the plan submitted by Judge
Carey and Mr. Selling of the Com
mittee on Law Reform. Their system
would invest the Judges of the courts
with the rule-making power and enable
them gradually to change the methods
of the courts to obtain the best results.
Judge Belt again calls attention to
the delays incident so often to the
selection of Jurors. He proposes that
the Judges examine the Jurors. He
observes that lawyers generally know
in advance whether they will exercise
a peremptory challenge on any par
ticular Juror, and that they still often
continue questioning interminably. De
lays due to errors in pleading are
generally observed only by the liti
gants, the lawyers and the Judges.
Reform of procedure therein is de
manded, but such delays do not force
themselves upon public notice as do
those incident to the selection of
Jurors. No criminal case reported
conspicuously by the press but drags
on and on in its preliminary stages to
the wonderment and disgust of those
who read.
While it is doubtless true, as Judge
Belt remarks, that lawyers generally
know in advance whether they will
exercise a peremptory challenge on
any particular Juror, the suspicion is
Justified that lawyers often would wish
to exercise more challenges than the
law permits. Whims, prejudices and
suspicions actuate them as to some
talesmen. If the Juror under exami
nation can be confused into making
some prejudicial statement his dis
charge for cause may be obtained and
the lawyer has one more peremptory
challenge in reserve. Hence his tire
some interrogation. Tet it is idle to
Insist that Justice Is promoted by the
freedom with which lawyers consume
the time of the courts in this par
ticular. It is essentially a wit-matching
process between defense and prose
cution to determine which side shall
have a favorable jury. Wit-matching
is profitable for lawyers but' for no
others. Other countries have banished
it insofar as it is an indoor sport by
resting in the Judge authority to ex
amine Jurors. There are no loud out
cries there that Justice is impeded or
diverted, while our own system is an
object of amazement and criticism by
foreign observers.
KEEP CP THE 100 PER CENT RECORD.
Although fighting has stopped and
powder is no longer being burned, war
expenses continue, If on a diminished
scale. The Government looks to the
banks to advance the money needed
to meet its obligations from day to
day, and reimburses them from the
proceeds of the next liberty loan.
This, in brief, is the reason why it
Is still the patriotic duty of every
bank to subscribe for treasury certifi
cates. The banks are enlisted in the
work of financing the war Just as truly
as the soldiers and sailors are enlisted
in that of fighting it, and, while fight
ing has stopped, financing must go on.
Oregon has made a 100 per cent
record in certificate subscriptions by
banks on three occasions that is,
every bank has subscribed, and this
record should be kept up. The first
offering of a new series of certificates
was made on December 5, and Oregon
banks have subscribed $4,901,000
against a quota of $4,500,000, an over
subscription of 9 per cent. But a few
banks, mostly small state banks, have
not subscribed, apparently believing
the necessity to have passed or that
their contribution would be so small
as not to be worth maktng. In order
that the glory of Oregon may be per
fect, it is necessary to make a 100 per
cent record not only of amount sub
scribed, but of banks subscribing. The
banks of the state should take as much
pride in a. 100 per cent certificate sub
scription as a shipyard takes in a 100
liberty loan subscription.
GREEN STAMPS AM) Bin.
The buyer of war savings stamps
who intends to complete his' "book" of
green ones will do well to make haste
about it. The color is to be changed
on January 1, 1919, to blue. The cur
rent cards, redeemable in 1923, will
not carry over into next year, accord
ing to an official announcement. The
card, however, whether it is filled or
not, will be redeemed by the Govern
ment at maturity at the rate of $5 for
each stamp.
It will be well for those who have
begun saving in this manner to fill
their books as nearly as possible with
green stamps before the style is
changed, if for no other reason than
that it will 'set a higher mark for
them to aim at in 1919. There is a
certain definite value in the spirit of
emulation. In this instance It will be
well to try to outdo in the coming
year the record of the past The race
between the green stamps and the blue
may be made quite interesting, and
there are only a few days left before
the flag will fall on the green.
Next year's savings and thrift stamps,
both blue, will mark the second stage
of the great thrift contest. The latter
will be redeemable on January 1, 1924,
at full value. They will begin at $4.12
as did the present issue. They repre
sent an opportunity for putting small
sums of money to work such as is
within reach in no other form of the
average individual.
A BASIS FOB INDUSTRIAL PEACE.
The most hopeful sign for the future
industrial peace of the United States
is the coming together of employer
and worker in clearer recognition that
the special interest of each is best
promoted by respecting and serving
the common interest of both. They
realize that they have Just accom
plished a great work by pulling to
gether as a team for the common
end of patriotism. In the compara
tively short period of nineteen months
they provided the material means
which, in the hands of American sol
diers and sailors, have completed the
task which the allies, unaided, were
unable to complete that of bringing
the proudest military empire in the
world to. its knees. While so doing
they have enormously increased the
volume of production, and both em
ployers and workers have enjoyed a
degree of prosperity without precedent
in human history. Both now consider
whether the spirit of co-operation and
Justice which patriotism has awakened
cannot be kept awake with like re
turns In the era of peace.
They have before them two warn
ings of the possible consequence if
they should fail and should renew the
industrial conflicts of the past." In
Russia they see a nation reduced to
famine in a country which had always
produced a surplus of food, and they
know the reason to be that Russia
has fallen into the power of men who
blow out the brains of Industry and
who destroy the security without which
industry cannot live. In Germany
they see- a nation reduced to ruin by
the despotism of an allied military
aristocracy and a plutocracy, having
Just escaped from their power and
striving to avoid the abyss into which
Russia has fallen. The aim of America
must be to establish industry firmly
on a permanent basis of co-operation
between employer and worker, and
thus to avoid the evils which have be
fallen these two nations.
On behalf of the worker Samuel
Gompers has declared that wages shall
not be reduced as a first step in read
justment to peace conditions until
after cost of living has fallen. Presi
dent Gary, of the Steel Corporation,
has responded with a declaration that
profits must fall first. In our own
section of the country the Lumber
Association has shown the same spirit
by declaring that "until there is a
marked reduction in the cost of living
we oppose any reduction of wages,
even should lumber fall in value, and
then not until after a conference with
the Loyal Legion." The recent Re
construction Congress of manufac
turers and business men at Atlantic
City, which was called by the United
States Chamber of Commerce, went
farther by unanimously indorsing the
principles of industrial relations pro
posed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and
by receiving with approval eight prin
ciples proposed by the council of the
United States Chamber.
Mr, Rockefeller condemned the
Etand patters in Industry and-recommended:
An attitude which, not waiting- until
forced to adopt new methods, takes he
lead In calling together the parties In In
terest for a round-table conference to be
held in a spirit of Justice, fair play and
brotherhood with a view to working out
some plan of co-operation which will Insure
to all those concerned adequate representa
tion, an opportunity to earn a fair waga
under proper working and living conditions,
with such restrictions as to hours as shall
leavs lme not alone for food and aleep
but also for recreation and the development
of the higher things of life.
That policy was embodied in eight
principles by the council of the United
States Chamber, which are condensed
as follows:
1. Industrial enterprise should be eon
ducted with a view to the greatest oppor
tunity for all concerned.
2. Regularity of employment must be
striven for.
3. The right of wnrV.r, a nr-r-mr, lu
be admitted, and collective bargaining must
be conceded.
4. Impartial acrenciea mnit Ha wt nn
Interpret and apply agreements and to make
prompt ana authoritative settlements of dlf
ferences.
S. The right of all worker to a minimus
wbko is aeciarea.
6. High wages and national prosperity
go hand In hand. Therefore, whenever the
volume of business declines, the last Item
-to oe reduced should be wages.
7. A standardized and established wage
should represent a standardised measors of
perform an ce.
a. In all plants where the number of
workers is large a responsible executive
should be charged with tha eunerlntenrienca
of relations between the workers and the
management.
Out of this discussion, or from the
working out of the new policy, may
grow a linal solution of the problem
which is at the bottom of all labor
controversies whit are fair wages.
In the mind of the worker is a sus
picion that he does not get his fair
share of the price of the commodity
winch he and his employer Jointly
produce. That suspicion is the cause
of attacks on the entire wage system.
The individual workman is not able to
calculate what his fair share is, but
his suspicion wins a ready hearing
for advocates of socialism, syndicalism
or communism. It may be possible
to work: out some plan by which each
wirrnmaa is taxen to represent so
much capital, based on his earning
power, and is paid monthly dividends
on that basis In place of wages. If
the industry did not pay or did not
pay well enough, he would be free to
withdraw his capital himself and
transfer it to some other which paid
Detter.
In the immediate future It will be
necessary for the Government to act
on the principle which the draft has
revealed that the Nation's man power
is its greatest asset. We have learned
from the draft that there is an undue
proportion of physically unfit or de
fective men. and that legislation will
be necessary to reduce this number to
a minimum by forcing the "standpat
ters" among employers up to the
standards set by the council of the
United States Chamber. The causes
of unfitness have been revealed as
child labor, woman labor at unsuit
able occupations, low wages, long
hours, insanitary factories deficient in
light, air or heat, ignorance of sani
tary principles, of food values and of
the relation of morality to health.
The health of our Army has been
maintained at an unprecedentedly high
standard by observance of rules in this
regard. By educating both employ
ers and workmen up tothe observance
of like rules and then by enacting
tnem into laws backed by public
opinion, the civil population may be
raised to the same high standard.
After all, health. In its broadest sig
nificance. Is the first requisite to in
dustrlal efficiency and personal happl-
The Washington correspondent ot
an evening paper has discovered a new
province in Russia which he calls
Lettonia, Apparently he thought the
Letts must have a province bearing
their name, but they have none. They
are much scattered, but are chiefly
concentrated in Vitebsk, Courland and
Livonia, near the Baltic coast.
The men who have been shown up
as lacking in Americanism in their
votes in Congress would do well not to
call attention to the Security League's
record of how they stood, for they
only bring into prominence the blem
ishes on their record.
The sick soldiers at Camp Lewis
want pie. All the women of the
Northwest are called upon for a bar
rage fire of pie not the kind with
soggy under-crust, but light and flaky,
open, striped or covered.
It is refreshing to read that the
Federal Trade Commission does not
propose that the Government take
over the packing business, for it is so
rare an exception to the rule.
The) turkey profiteer is not the
worst rascal, because you are not com
pelled to buy a turkey, for the one
time a substitute is as good and per
haps better.
There seems to be doubt whether
Germany will be able to keep up a
show of democracy until the peace
treaty is signed.
In some cases influenza flags are
put on after recovery of the patient,
the doctor's tribute to authority.
Wahkiakum County is seeking pub
licity, and a good start will be to tell
people how to say it.
The slickest thief In Portland Is the
fellow who took a case of eggs from
in front of a Ftore.
It is disgraceful that force almost
is needed to complete the Oregon Red
Cross quota.
What matters decreased flow at
Tampico if she spouts in Harney and
Malheur?
Father always waits until New
Year's before he stocks up on hand
kerchiefs. Hog Island whitewash at $83,000,000
will cover a multitude of stuff.
Saturday afternoon off means that
much less in the pay check.
If Hindenhtirg is plotting, he will be
the last to disclose it. '
Something electrical fits all mem
bers of the family.
The Saturday shopper fears not
the "flu."
Portland milk may come high, but
It tests high.
Practical advice: Give good smokes
or don't.
Shortest day in the year and shop
early.
Those Who Come and Go.
Huntington Taylor, of Cedar Rapids,
Mich., J. P. McOoldrick, of Spokane,
and J. M. Crawford, of Walla Walla,
are lumbermen and millmen who ar
rived at the Hotel Portland yesterday,
and are here in connection with the
situation in the lumber industry.
A Lieutenant in the Army who
stopped at the Multnomah yesterday
related how a conductor on a certain
train between Portland and Tacoma
secured ventilation In one of the cars
Thursday night. A woman passenger
asked that a window or two be raised.
The conductor seized a window stick
and passing through the car knocked
the glass from half a dozen windows.
Then going into the vestibule where
some soldiers were standing, the con
ductor reached back of the men and
Jammed out some more glass. The car
was well aired when he finished the
Job.
"W. L. MeDougal. of Salem, was visit
ing with hia wife and Mr. and Mrs. T.
A. Llvesley, at the Benson yesterday.
Mr. McDougal has been In the military
service and received a commission, and
Is now on his way home.
C. C McCormlek. a Marshfleld busi
ness man, is at the Perkins for a few
days.
A. J. Nolan, who was formerly a
salesman in Portland, returned yester
day. For months bo has been in the
aerial service and was stationed In
California.
Colon R, Eberhard. recently elected
a member of the State Senate, and who
is expected to have a place on the ways
and means committee, arrived from
La Grande yesterday, and 1s located at
tne imperial. He was conferring with
various members of the Legislature in
the afternoon.
An inside political deal in Idaho's
recent state election came to light at
the Multnomah yesterday, when Thom
as Wren, of Spokane, told how the
state will appropriate $30,000 each year
to support the Lewlston Livestock
Show. The stockgrowers of Idaho de
manded that this be done, and as presi
dent of the stock show association,
there was nothing for Mr. Wren to do
but go to Boise and arrange to get the
money. Tho coming year will bo the
third that Mr. Wren has served the as
sociation as Its chief executive. Last
Winter the president went to the state
capitol and annexed about $20,000. to
De used as awards for the exhibits at
the show that should have been held
at Lewiston last October. Then, the
"flu" came along and the show stopped,
so the offkeers of tho association placed
the $20,000 in the construction of a new
show ring and another exhibition
building" and let it go at that.
Mrs. Mabel Settlemeir, of Woodburn.
is making a week-end visit to Port
land, and is registered at the Imperial.
James H. Humphreys, who Is engi
neer for the American Express Com
pany, registered from San Francisco
at the Benson yesterday.
A. A. Hudson and H. W. Preston, of
the North Bend Lumber Company, are
here on business.
Mrs. J. C. Megler. connected with the
well-known cannery people, is at the
Hotel Portland from Brookfleld.
Mrs. J. S. McDonald, who has been
at the Multnomah for some time, left
last night for her home in San Fran
cisco. Mra. McDonald expressed the
belief that the last "wet" New Tear
celebration In San Francisco would be
worth watching from a housetop, and
determined to be an onlooker.
Colonel L. M. Maus, of San Francisco,
was among the arrivals at the Hotel
Portland last night.
Kenneth Mackenzie, member of the
Supreme Court of Washington, regis
tered from Olympia at the Benson. He
will remain in the city today.
F. L. Pope and family, of Merrill.
Oregon, are at the Multnomah. Mr.
Pope is a farmer who hit the market
at the right time during the past two
years when prices were abnormally
high.
Ora Jane Foster and Ruth Handler,
of Astoria, are in town for Christmas
shopping and are at the Benson.
E. P. Smiley, a lumberman of War
renton, accompanied by Mrs. Smiley,
is at the Multnomah.
CAMPAIGN SCARE THAT PAII.H1J
Writer Recalls Statement That Itepnb
llean Comtrtn Meant Lmi of War.
PORTLAND, Dec, 20 (To the Ed
itor.) There are certain bluffers
whose bluffing should be handed down
to posterity during these post-war
times. I would class bluffers In gen
eral as the sublime and the ridiculous.
One need only refer to the files of
the papers to recall the sublime bluf
fers of Prussian birth. "To the last
man" they were going to fight; no
question could be settled in this old
world hereafter without Prussian con
sent, and so on ad libitum. But I de
sire especially herein to call attention
to the ridiculous brand of bluffing
which so far the alert correspondents
of The Oregonlan have not called at
tention to.
A few days before election a so-called
Independent paper published In Port
land told us that If a Democratic House
of Representatives and Senate were
not elected, "the war is lost." Those
were the words. What happened? ' A
Republican Congress was chosen, and
six days after, the central powers un
conditionally surrendered.
It looks as though If the Repub
licans had been as good bluffers as the
Democrats, they would have said be
fore election that if Republicans ob
tained a majority In Congress, the
Germans would Immediately throw up
the sponge: that the records of the Re
publican party in the Civil war and In
the war with Spain were such that
this conclusion would be Justified.
R, M. TUTTLE.
Pronunciation ef Word.
BELLINGHAM. Wash., Doc. 18. (To
the Editor.) Please give me the proper
pronunciation of the word casualty."
Is the accent on the first syllable, with
the short sound of "a," or Is It pro
nounced as If written with two dots
over tho "a" and the accent on the third
syllable and two dots over the last "a"?
I have had an argument over the word.
A friend says she has found the word
in three different dictionaries pro
nounced the last way, and I have found
It in three the first way.
BKLL1NGHAM SUBSCRIBER.
We have never heard of the pronun
ciation your friend gives the word. Pos
sibly she Is thinking of casuality, which
ahs the accent on "al. though It does
not take the broad sound of "a. Tour
pronunciation of casualty is correct.
neteiralnsttoa of Day's Pay.
PORTLAND. Dec. 20 (To the Ed
itor.) In estimating the dally rate on
a 26-day monthly salary for such a
month as December, wherein there are
five Sundays and one holiday, what
fraction of the total salary would each
day represent? Also 'would this rate
apply In case of an employe being paid
off for a part of the month?
UNEDUCATED.
There is no fixed or legal rule. Some
Institutions determine a day's pay by
dividing the monthly salary by the
number of working days; others by di
viding the monthly salary by the full
number of days In the month.
JOHN II. CRADLEBAIGH AS POET
Notable Vesws Orccss Pioneers
Written by Late Salem Journalist.
PORTLAND. Dec 20. (To the Ed
itor.) The late John H. Cradlebaugh
wrote a very remarkable poem entitled
"The Land Where Dreams Come True."
I read this poem at the annual meeting
of the Oregon Pioneer Association held
in June. 1911. This poem was pub
lished in' the transactions of the asso
ciation for 1911. Before it was pub
lished I wrote to Mr. Cradlebaugh.
sending him a copy of the poera and
asked him if be desired to make any
corrections or changes in it. In rep'jr
1 received the following letter:
' Salens. Cr., June 9. 191 S.
My Dear Mr. llolir.an:
Enclosed please find copy of poem as you
requested, also the correction made thAt
you pointed out. I delayed sending it. as
I Intended to rewrite it, but find I have
not time Just now as I am doing double
duty on the Journal.
I cannot express to you how highly I
sppreclate your kind words of praise. I
bave never claimed any more genius than
that of ability to write newspaper jingle,
hence am the more pleased to be forced to
believe that I "bullded better than I knew."
It affords me much plessure to send you
the signed poem Thanks for the "hunch."
I am. Very truly yours.
JOHN K. CKADLEBAUUIL
The following is the poem:
THE LAND WHERK DREAMS COME
'I'll IE.
They came of brave and hardy stock.
Those Oregon pioneers.
Their sires had braved the wilderness.
The van of the wild frontiers
From where the fierce Atlantic waves
Lashed the wooded coast of Maine,
To where Missouri's yellow flood
Poured out of an unknown plain.
Crusaders they, of the modern days.
Who came with the axe and plow
Their flags, the wagon's canvas tops.
And "to win" their only vow.
Dreamers and "seers," who, dreaming,
saw.
And seeing, they dared to do
Turning their faces toward the West
And the land where dreams come
true.
Dreamers they were, those pioneers
Of the "forties." three and four.
Who braved the unknown of the plains
In search of an untried shore.
Brave of soul were the women folk.
And the bearded men were strong;
They counted not the trail was rough.
Nor cared that the way was long.
Week after week, month after month.
Steadily, surely but slow.
They pressed on till they reached the
stream
Where the waters westward flow.
And they could see the mountains
w,here
Night drew her curtain of blue.
Beyond which lay the land they sought.
The land where the dreams came true.
And from the lofty mountain tops
The valley was wondrous fair.
For billowed plains of dimpling grass
And winding streamlets were there.
Land where the red man wandered free.
Nor civilization trod;
Rich as the fields of Eden were
When fresh from the hand of God;
An emerald world, a turquoise sky,
A hundred amethyst streams.
Crown Jewel of the continent.
The land they had seen In dreams.
Worth all the toll they had endured
The hardships they struggled
through
Land of the elves and fairies' homes
And the land where dreams come
true.
It was a dream, a vision fair
To the weary pioneers,
A dream come true to you and ma
In the lapse of seventy years;
Billowing fields of waving grain
To set the jewels in gold:
Miles upon miles of orchard bloom
In place of the forests old;
The busy mart, the whirring wheels
And the things that man has made;
Churches and schools and pleasant
homes.
The gift of tho "Un-afrald"
Gift of the women strong of soul.
Of the men who dared to do
Who, dreaming, saw and showed the
way
To the land where dreams come true.
FREDERICK V. IIOLMAN.
FRENCH WIVES DO NOT CHARM.
American Major Says Vinegar and
Water Will Please Ulna sua Well.
PORTLAND, Dec. 20. (To the Ed
itor.) During the past month many of
your correspondents on this page have
been disturbed over the possible lower
ing of the morals of the United States
soldier, who has seen overseas service.
Some have been greatly disturbed over
the fact that & large percentage of sol
diers in the trenches have acquired the
cigarette habit. Others have seen fit
to excuse the soldier, taking Into con
sideration the circumstances. One of
your correspondents, a Frenchman, sees
a possible element of evil looming up
from the use of light wines and beers,
which have been permitted American
soldiers In France. The case for and
against the cigarette habit has been
pretty well discussed editorially by
The Oregonlan.
In the matter of the use of light
wines, customary to France, I should
like to offer the following testimony
from a letter from Major Joseph 11.
Sayer. M. C, IT. S. A., who for eleven
months was assigned to active duty
with the French army. I quote briefly
from a letter relating his experiences:
As this station was In the Champagne
country, you can Imafrine that It was not
necessary to drink water unless you wished.
In fact, at times It was much easier to get
the best champagne than water that you
could drink at all. The headquarters of
this section was in the home of a maker
of a certain brand of champagne. While I
was with the section, the owner was allowed
to come Into the town to look over his
property and he was Invited to dinner with
ua He went Into his celiar and brought
us some rhsmpagne that was so old It wan
gray, and I never tarred anything like It
In my life. Fortunately. It Is a kind of
champagne that cannot be shipped, so there
is no danger of my acquiring the habit.
The win that they have here will cer
tainly never have any attraction for me. . I
have tasted It and when out to dinner, ef
course, have to drink some of It. for they
do not serve water, but some vinegar thinned
down will do me for the best they have.
JAMES J. EATER.
What of That Lower Rate?
PORTLAND. Dec. 20. ((To the Edi
tor.) Referring to the agitation for a
port of the Columbia, there Is a matter
that apparently Is being overlooked. 1
recall that when Astoria was petition
ing for a rate on a parity with Portland
and the Sound, It was said that Port
land would bo In a better position to
obtain an even lower rate than Astoria
and the Sound after Astoria had se
cured Us parity rate.
It is evident that If Portland now
Joins Astoria and other Lower-River
towns In a port of the Columbia, Port
land's hands will be tied. Therefore It
would seem that Portland's course of
action regarding the original pro
gramme first Fhould he determined
upon. If the fight for the lower rate,
to which Portland is entitled, due to
Its unique location. Is not to be made,
or Is made and lost, then will be time
enough to discuss the port of the Co
lumbia question, and not before.
Do you believe we should tnrow up
our hands after the first blow? Spokane
exhibited more stamina than that.
SUBSCRIBER.
Status of Engineers Company.
GRESHAM, Or.. Dee 19. (To the Ed
itor.) Kindly Inform me In what di
vision Company C. Sixth Engineers. Is
and if it has been designated for return
or not. CHARLES WILLIAMS.
Official data are lacking, hut we un
derstand It Is In the Second Division,
being held la reserve in France.
In Other Days.
TventyTfl ve Years Ago.
Prom The Oregonlan. December II. 1W3
Washington. Representative Bowers
was before the House Judiciary com
mittee advocating the adoption of his
resolution calling upon Attorney-General
Olney to defend California settlers
against the Southern Pacific Company's
suits. T V committee postponed action.
C5orl C. F. Beebe yesterday re
ceded a dispatch from his agent at
Astoria stating that the long-lookcd-for
ship Santa Clara was outside with
a pilot on board. This will be good
news to a great many merchants here
who have goods on her. She was 17S
days out from New York.
No one need look for a cessation of
the storm which is abroad in the land
until tonight or perhaps tomorrow
morning. Ever since about 8 o'clock
yesterday the wind has been gradually
increasing In force from simply a
"blow" to a young hurricane. The en
tire southwest corner of Third and
Morrison streets was submerged ankle
deep.
At a meeting of the stockholders of
the Irvington Driving Park Asosciation
the new board of directors was elected,
consisting of A. G. Ryan. Charles
Lanier. Mr. Bates, L. P. W. Quimby. R.
C. Smith. John Mann and H. H. Em
mons. Tomorrow the directors will
elect officers.
Fifty Years Age).
From The Oregonlan, December 1.
Vancouver. T. R. Brooks Is now sur
veying up the Cowlitz river. Mr. Brooks
started his survey from Vancouver to
Kourth Plains, thence to Patterson's
mill, thence to the south fork of Lewis
River, down the south fork to Hon.
Columbia Lancaster's place, thence
across both forks of Lewis River to
Martin's Bluff, at which point he left.
On Saturday night about 10 o'clock a
negro burglar was detected In the store
of A. Meier, on Front street. At the
moment some persons entered the
front door the fellow Jumped through
a back window, breaking out the sash,
and fell several feet upon the wharf
below, where he was subsequently
found, badly hurt and bleeding profuse
ly. He admitted that ho was tho bur
glar and was taken to jail to await an
examination this morning.
Parties Just down from the eastern
counties report the prevalence of very
dry, cold weather. Snow has fallen to
a depth of several Inches on the moun
tains above Umatilla. No rains bave
fallen In the country east of tho Blue
Mountains and the roads are as dry and
dusty as In Summer.
The steamer Nex Perce Chief, while
descending the Columbia River last
Wednesday, ran upon a sunken rock
at Canoo Encampment, 25 miles below
Umatilla, and stuck fast. She still re
mained there when the Owyhee came,
down on Thursday, though it was
thought rhe was not seriously damaged
and would be got off in a short time
The latter steamer took off her passen
gcrs and freight and brought them
down to Celllo on Friday.
HIS SOLITARY WISDOM WOXDEBm
Mr. Grfr Astounded That One Man
Knows More Than Millions
PORTLAND. Dec 20. (To the Edi
tor.) The letter of Mr. O. C. Fenlayson
which appeared in The Oregonlan a
day or two ago Is, on the whole, one
of the most satisfying and timely con.
tributions I have read in many a day.
He settles with one fell whoop a mat
ter that has in a measure puzzled many
of the great statesmen of the world,
to wit, who was responsible for the
great war Just now coming to a close.
In detail he describes how the press
and pulpit are directly culpable through
deceit, their motive being a desire t
make money out of tho war which they
contrived for 40 years to bring about
Boiled down, his reasoning is as fol
lows: The preachers, "for 40 year
have stood at (lod's altars, knowing
that Germany was preparing to cod.
quer the world by brute force." an
"the press has advocated preparation
so as to bo able to do the other fellow
before he could do you." Newspapers
cannot live without advertisers, h
says, and all advertisers want war I
order to make money. The preachers
ho would have officially beheaded, and
the papers should be divided into the
classes, one to be without advertising
of any kind In order that Its members
could tell the people tho truth.
This solution of a difficult question
Is timely, as I said, because It comes
Just as the peaco conference is pre
paring to grapple with it in all ltw
phases. Perhaps, to make It clearer,
Mr. Fenlayson will tell us what h
would do when he discovers that the
other fellow is going "to do him" sit
down and be "done"? Evidently tb
press and preachers of the United
States. England and France had been
off their job. seeing that those coun
tries were wholly unprepared for via
and. Indeed, in consequence, came with
in an ace of being "done" to a fraxzla.
Of course, the fact that S9 per cent
of all advertisers In the newspapers are
poor people and have no opportunity ti
make money out of a war is a fact that
offers no obstacles to this admirable
disentanglement of a vexatious prob
lem. Since only those who read the paper
and hear the preachers are misled into
supporting a war. any war. wonder how
Mr. Fenlayson knows what these two
misguided and deceptive forces have
been doing and how amazed he in u a,
be when lie ponders over the astounding
fact that he has all along known these
things which hundreds of millions of
others were unable to bump Into.
T. T. Glilia
W-fcy Drive Is Jlow.
PORTLAND.. Or., Dec 20. (To the
Editor.) The article in The Oregonlan
intimates that the lied Cross drive isn't
up to expectations.
There are reasons. Solicitors who
have walked miles feel It their duty to
call attention to the thoughtlessness ot
men and women who knew this dollar
drive was on and yet through the
better residence districts apparently
the financial head forgot to leave the
dollar or the lady of the house not
wishing to be disturbed asks you lo
call aiain. never thinking of the so
licitor's time or the endless walking
and climbing of steps that this entails.
If there were a readier response to
first calls the drive would como up lo
expectations and probably far exceed
them. FOOTSORE SOLICITOR.
Disposition of Willed Property.
PORTLAND. Dec 20. To the Ed
itor.) A has two sons and one stepson
and dies leaving a will providing that
his wife inherit all his property during
her lifetime, tho property then to go
to the stepson, the will not stating tho
same, to go to the stepson's heirs.
The stepson dies before A's wife, so
doesn't Inherit. Where does the prop
erty go? Do the stepson's heirs inherit
or do the nearest relatives of A's wife
inherit, she leaving children of her
own? PUZZLED.
The will should be submitted to a
competent lawyer for examination, if
advice is essential at this time. Not
enough information is given in your
Inquiry to warrant an answer as to
disposition of the property.
Term of Senators.
FAT.LBRinOE. ' Wash.. Dec 13. (To
the Editor.) Kindly give the period
in years that the Senators from the
state of Washington are elected for.
L. IL SKINNER.
State Senators, four years; United
Slates Senators, six years.