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8
THE 3IORNIXG OREGONI AN. TUESDAY, JANUARY 28. 1910.
Portland, orego
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I-OI1TLAXD, TUESDAY, JANUARY 28. 1910.
Tf IE SUrpBCIIJEBS' TASK.
There is much re-assurance in the
latest news from Washington for
thoso who were apprehensive lest the
cancellation of steel ship contracts
tvs a preliminary to early cessation
of all shipbuildingby the Shipping
Board and to decline of the entire
industry in this couptry. If the pol
icy is only to substitute new designs
for those which had been adopted for
war purposes, both as to wood and
steel, then we may safely assume that
the Columbia River district will get
its share.
But the entire pojicy of the Ship
ping Board must undergo a far more
'radical change if the" new types of
ship are to be built at a cost which
will enable American vessels to com
pete in -world commerce. War de
manded building of ships without re
gard to this excessive cost and justi
fies writing it off the books as war
expense. but that justification no
longer exists. The American people
desire to maintain the shipping indus
try and to establish a merchant na
rine, but they arc not willing to pay
taxes to defray an excessive builcjing
cost which can' be avoided. Kxperi
ence has abundantly demonstrated
thitt the Shipping' Board's methods
are wasteful in general management,
in construction of yards, in design and
construction of ships and in handling
of labor. If individual builders and
owners should hereafter be permit
ted to develop their own designs, to
make their own contracts and to han
dle the labor question in their own
way, the cost per ton would be mate
rially less and the heavy overhead ex
pense of the board's unwieldly organ
ization would lc eliminated.
American shipbuilders have an
arduous task ahead of them, for they
have to Dlace on a' sound bnsis an
industry which has been suddenly!
expanded by the artificial stimulus ot
war. That stimulus pushed wages anil
all other elements of cost up to abnor
mal figures, yet it created a demand
which disregarded cost. It drove
shipbuilders to employ a host of un
skilled men and pay them unusually
high wages while they were merely
learning to build ships. Now this
stimulus Is suddenly withdrawn,
leaving all its consequences as a leg
acy. As men say when ttfey corner
the wheat market, the shipbuilders
have to get rid of the corpse. This
legacy is the corpse. They should
have as much encouragement as pos
sible from the Shipping Board, antl
no obstruction. The best aid that
can be given is freedom from restric
tion on their operations.
Notwithstanding their difficulties,
there is good reason to believe that
the shipbuilders can win out. Ships
have been built and operated on the
Great Lakes at a cost per ton lower
than on other routes, and American
wages are paid. By application of the
Fame methods, the same thing should
be possible with ocean-going vessels.
But it was not done by a Shipping
Board which dictated everything and
dumped millions into a Hog Island;
it was done by private enterprise,
which aimed to get value for every
dollar.
One of the greatest elements' of
waste in building ships for the war
is Indicated by the statement of Sena
tor Calder that in the Eastern yards
labqr is only 40 per cent efficient.
That fact is doubtless due in part to
the lack of skill, which is acquired in
course of time, but it is largely due
to loafing on the job, or at least
to absence of interest in doing a full
day's work fpr a day's pay. Employ
ers may gradually raise the standard
of efficiency by weeding out the men
who cannot gain skill or who will
not do honest work, but the sure
means of attaining a 100 per cent
standard is to pay in proportion to the
work done instead of the time put in.
This would usually inareaso rather
than decrease the actual wages.
The sooner shipbuilders are set free
to take private contracts from either
American or foreign citizens, the
sooner they will set about this by no
means easy task, , and the better
chance of success they will have. At
present they do not know where they
stand, and the Shipping Board keeps
them in doubt by issuing contradic
tory orders. Chairman Hurley pro
longs this state of doubt by staying
in Paris and trying to make deals with
the Allies while his colleagues in this
country keep things in suspense or is
sue contradictory orders awaiting the
result of his efforts. The board neither
goes ahead witf a definite, policy nor
gets out of the way to let the ship
builders go ahead on their own ini
tiative. It blocks the 'road against
a.iy decided movement.
USE FOR GERMAN WAKSIHPS.
The suggestion of Admiral Rodman
ha the surrendered German ships' be
sunk does not- commend itself to the
Army and Navy Journal, which ob-
serves that at the outbreak of war
Great Britain "found much use for
almost anything that would- float" and
that "ships long relegated to the junk
pile as obsolete and unfit for service
were quickly resumed ed and placed
in commission." It suggests that some
use can surely be found for the Ger
man ships, and that some of them
might even be disposed of for com
mercial purposes.
Not only would it be shameful waste
to sink the ships, but that action would
create the impression that the allies
had despaired of agreeing on division
of the spoil. It would be a spectacle
to make Mars laugh. To scrap then
might cost as much as they are worth,
for it as as laborious a task to cut
armor plateas to break concrete that
is thoroughly set. The only practicable
way' out with credit to the allies is to
find some use fdr the ships.
TT IS THE PRODUCER WHO PAYS.
Protest by producers in the Inland
Empire against railroad rates which
are not based on th cost of the water
grade haul to tidewater gives that sub
ject a standing which forbids the
Interstate Commerce Commission to
ignore it. . The parity of rates between
high-cost railroads over mountains and
low-cost railroads down rivers is an
injustice not only to the ports on the
rivers, but to the producers and con-
iKIimnri: fit trio intRi'inp Tho.TinrtQ 1 1 . r.
- .. . i
the handling of the business; the peo
ple of the interi6r pay the excess
freight. The latter are the heavier
losers. They are penalized in order
that the ports served by the mountain
roads may handle traffic which could
be more economically handled at the
river ports. They, in effect, are taxed
for a subsidy to the former.
The inequity of this arrangement is
so obvious that the great area' of coun
try which suffers the imposition can
not be pected to let it rest. That
area includes the greater part of East
ern Oregon, Eastern Washington and
Idaho, wherever the railroad or high
way within easy distance leads to the
water grade. If brought before the
Interstate Commerce Commission by
both the producers and the ports which
are deprived of the natural advantages
of their position, this situation cannot
fail to be corrected.
INDELICATE.
House Bill 3, in the Oregon Legis
lature, may have a single or double
purpose. In brief it permits an alien
to hold land, hereafter purchased, for
a period of only seven years. Unless
within that time it is sold to a citizen
or the alien owner becomes finally-
naturalized, or dies, the land escheats
gto the state. Aliens are furthermore
to be permitted to lease land for no
longer that twenty-one years, and the
bill applies in all its terms to corpora
tions a majority of whose Stock is
owaed by aliens.
The main intent of the bill may be
to spur to full citizenship those foreign-born
residents who would other
wise maintain their national allegS
ance elsewhere. But it appears also
to bo intended to prevent permanent
ownership of real estate by Japanese
or Chinese, not American-born, for
neither race is eligible to naturaliza
tion. A legitimate encouragement Jt ac
ceptable aliens to become citizens is
proper enough, but any effort to raise
a land tenure issue as affecting Chi
nese and Japanese is peculiarly indel
icate in view of recent, even present,
association with them in a world en
terprise of vast consequence.)
The law as framed would undoubt
edly be invalid. A provision of the
Oregon constitution guarantees to
white foreign-born residents of the
state equal rights with native-born
citizens in the possession, enjoyment
and descent of property. .As this pro
vision specifically applies to white
aliens the purpose, if such it be, to en
courage naturalization of that class of
property owners would fail.
Anothr provision has been in the
constitution since the document was
adoDtecT which denies to fhinnmpn
specifically the right to hold real -
estate or mining claims in Oregoa
This provision has long been assumed
to be inoperative. The Supreme Court,
while it has not passed judicially on
the question, has intimated that it
is invalid because in conflict with
treaty provisions. Chinamen have
freely bought, sold, and held property
in Oregon. One of the principal ho
tels of Portland js owned by a man of
that race.
It may be assumed that the Legis
lature docs not care to burden the
statutes with plainly unconstitutional
and inoperative measures, but it may
be well to point out that even appar
ently serious consideration of a bill
such as this, one may involve the na
tion in annoying and wholly unneces
sary diplomatic comnlicailons. In the
("circumstances it would have the as
pect of an intentional insult to peo
ples with whom we are on friendly
terms and it would be construed by
them as such.
FIN-DUNG THEIR OWN WAY.
It will not dampen the ardor of
those who are now working out the
problem of finding employment for
discharged soldiers to discover that
many of them a greater number than
many may have suspected have defi
nite plans of "heir own, not all of
which revolve around the focal point
of the "old job back." Those who
want their" old jobs back ought to have
them back, of course; and thSSe who
left no jobs are entitled to be provided
for now, as' tj. matter of justice and
also of gratitude. But a factor quite
worth taking into the account, because
it will promote optimism, is that a
considerable number of our soldiers
have fejt the stirring of new ambition
because of the part they have taken
in the determination of big events,
and have determined to reach out for
bigger things than they left when they
went to war.
It is said by an official of the pro
fessional division of the United States
itnnloyment Service that the number
of former professional- men who are
on the lookout for jobs in which the
traditional opportunity for advance
ment overshadows the immediate sal
ary promise is conspicuously large in
this division. There is comparatively
small demand for office work, and
there are many who want to go info
the business of making things. This
is only partly a reaction from the de
struction which they have witnessed
while at the front. The fact is that
not a few branches of the military
service have been engaged in highly
constructive work. Men who have
seen bridges go up over night, and
docks built and railroads laid in a fe
days and cantonments constructed in
a few weeks have caught the spirit of
doing. It will be hard to hold them
to a desk and a column of figures now
that they are home.
More men have asked themselves
"What can I do?" in the last two
years than ever before in history. It
I is surprising how many have been
forced to confess inability to do any
tiling constructively worth while. The
man who can do things has been more
than ever the envy of his fellows.
Kfficiency of a ntew kind has been
elevated in popular esteem, and a new
idea of the dignity of labor has been
acquired. -
It will not be a National calamity
if the 'effect of this Is to relieve the
polite professions of some of their sur
plus timber. There is a suspicion that
the white collar has exercised a too
potent influence in times pfst in de
termining young men's choice of vo
cations The professions, including
the law, medicine and teaching, will
not suffer by future elimination TJf
those who are attracted to them by
the mistaken notion that they are an
easy road to a living. Those inspired
by a higher purpose are likely to be
numerous- enough to safeguard us
against famine.
It i particularly encouraging to
learn that there are many inquiries
ror agricultural jobs from men not
formerly employed on farms, and that
the applicants include many college
men. There has been doubt upon this
point heretofore. If there is, in fact,
a serious and widespread desire to get
on the Jand, at least one of our prob
lems Is solved - for us provided, of
course. Congress and the State Legis
latures are prompt in co-operation.
But the fact that stands out seems to
be that physical labor, especially out
doors. Is losing its terrors for many.
The reconstruction period may be
epochal in more ways than one.
DEVELOPING OREGON MIXES.
An almost infallible means of ad
vancing thtf" g'eneral prosperity of
Oregon is to poster the mining indus
try. If idlevmines are put in opera
tion and if new mines are developed,
much of the slack due to cessation
of war activity will be taken up, men
will be "employed at high wages and
will consume the product of neigh
boring farms, and merchants will
prosper, also. Here is one means of
providing employment which will be
really productive, not merely an ex
cuse for making work.
The stae lias already benefited by
the investigations made and the in
formation disseminated by the Oregon
Bureau of Mines. Although the high
cost of production caused a decrease
in output of gold in 1018. this loss
was almost made good by the increase
in production of chromite, which was
largely due to the bureau's work. It
stimulated prospecting for chromite in
Southern and Eastern Oregon, where
it knew geological conditions to be
favorable, and Oregon yielded one
third of all the American output dur
ing the war. In co-operation with the
United States Bureau of Mines it also
worked out systems of concentrating
low-grade chrome and manganese ores.
and of recovering chrome, from black
sand.
The bureau has made such a thor
ough field study of the state's mineral
resources that it has itself become a
mine of information to which in
vestors resort fbr guidance and to
which mining men resort for advice
as to the best way to develop a' mine
and to treat ore. It has investigated
non-producing mines to determine
whether, and how, they could be put
on a paying basis. To this end it
made the first portable field outfit,
consisting of crushing, grinding, as
saying and engineering appliances,
loaded it on an auto truck and ar
ranged it so that the motor drives the
power machinery. It has discovered
and given free to the use of the
miners a method of concentrating the
low-grade copper ore of Southern Ore
gon, and another method of concen
trating the low-grade quicksilver ore
of the Cascade region. By its physi
cal examination of the geology of
proposed dam and reservoir sites, it
saves irrigationists from making costly
blunders.
The bureau proposes to continue Its
work during the next two years, if the
Legislature provides the funds, and its
past performance warrants the belief
that the W0.000 which it asks would
be a good investment for the state.
Having command of the great fund of
accurate information which it has col
lected and of its expert advice, in
vestors turn to Oregon mines in grow
ing numbers. The bureau does for
the mining' industry what the county
agent does 'for the farmer, and has
certainly made good.
POTASH MONOPOLY BROKE.
Before the war Germany held vir
tual monopoly in several important
fields of industry and,, had the war
not arisen or had it been as short aa
the Kaiser and his aides planned,
probably would have continued to
maintain these monopolies undis
turbed. The United States, shortly
after the start of hpstilities, felt a seri
ous shortage of dyes. At first the ten
dency was to be patient and wait for
peace. Germany had the dye-making
secrets, and it seemed almost pre
sumptuous for any other peeple to
try to imitate so successful a group of
manufacturers. But when the con
flict settled down to long-drawn-out
trench warfare and it became evi
dent that peace would not come for
years, American chemists rolled up
their sleeves and tackled the dye prob
lem seriously and successfully. This
accomplished, Germany faced a sure
trade loss, as, hadSGermany even then
forced, tjje allies to an early peace,
she would have been forced to pay
the price of loss of a monopoly and
in its place would have found keen
competition with a well-built-up In
dustry. As the war progressed the world
more and more turned to production
of materials for which it had been de
pendent on the Teutonic races and
many German thinkers predicted that
even victory would not repair the
damage to German trade. All this
was apart from hatreds engendered
by the war and was based on sound
economic principles. With contempt
for Germany and things German in
creasing, the menace to German trade
became more and more serious until,
when the armistice was finally signed,
Germany could look forward to trade
only under the hardest competitive
conditions with an unfriendly world.
Through all, however, the United
States has been waiting for the time
when it could bbtaln from Germany
one product for which the demand
was and is great and of which the
German monopoly seemed undisturbed
potash. Various attempts have been
made toward development of deposits
In the United States, but capital
seemed reluctant, despite great need
and certain demarid. Cermany has
great natural deposits which can be
brought to this country as ballast and
which can be delivered here at a fig
ure so low that expenditure of capital
In domestic production seemed not to
be warranted.
America can produce a limited
amount of potash cheaply, this being
the by-product obtained from the de
posit formed on the interior of chim
neys in cement plants, but this sup
ply Is necessarily limited by the num
ber of cement factories aHd any at
tempt to increase this except by en
couraging the saving of the potash
thus formed was not expected..
There are potash fields in various
parts of the Pacific Northwest to
which attention has been called In an
effort o interest capital, Tut thus far
capital's answer has been that devel
opment would require building great
evaporating reservSirs, putting In
large drainage systems and other ex
penditures which would come into
competition with German material
which can be dug out of the ground.
Now comes Edward N. Hurley,
chairman of the American Shipping
Board, with a plan which is already
being worked out to make the world
independent of German potash and
which. If followed, will reduce Ger
man trade monopoly to virtual zqro
and compel, the Germans to re-enter
trade relations with the rest of the
world on a strictly competitive basis.
Mr. Hurley's plan is to use Ameri
can tonnage now returning to the
United States in ballast for supplying
the United States not only with quan
tities of French, British. Italian and
Belgian products, but with the stock
of potash, needed for agricultural
purposes. This potash is to be ob
tained, not from Germany, but from
large deposits in Alsace, now happily
under French control. , In fact, ex
perts of the War Trade Board havo
already gone U Alsace to arrange for
large shipments.
The United States needs between
500,000 and 600, 00 tons of potash.
Mr. Hurley estimates, and he is quoted
as saying he believes the Alsatian de
posits will fujly meet the requlre
menjs. To get the potash to America.
Mr. Hurley goes on to explain, will
be simple in that hitherto unused
cargo space will be utilized. He points
out that at presejvt Italy, France Eng
land and Belgium are taking from
America food supplies acquiring a mil
lion and a half tons of .shipping,
which is virtually all returning to the
United States in ballast. It .is by sub
stituting Alsatian potash for the bal
last that the Shipping Board chair
man proposes to give the returning
ships something to do, to meet the
potash requirements of the United
States farmers and to strike a death
blow at Germany's one remaining
great trade monopoly.
THEY TELE ON EACH OTHER.
When called to account for delin
quencies, officials of ope Government
department sometimes "tell on" each
other, aad thus we get a fraction of
the truth. The Senate po'stoffice com
mittee called on Second Assistant
Postmaster General Praeger to explain
delay in delivery of soldiers' mail in
France, and he said the were frora,
eight to ten carloads of .soldiers' mall
undelivered n France, end that
"thousands, probably millions" of let
ters would be sent back to tho dead
letter office. The chief cause of
trouble was that mail "got tied up
somewhere between army headquar
ters, the censors and the posts" ;that
much of the trouble was due to" "the
failure of the War Department to keep
up with Its Index system"; and that
another cause of delay was the trans
ferring of units of troops from one
point to another.
All of these delinquencies reposed
by an official of the Post Office De
partment are in the War Department,
and they till go to prove Senator
Chamberlain's charge that that de
parement ceased to function. Mail
"got tied up" because somebody neg
lected his work and because that
somebody's superior did not see that
he did It. The same statement is true
of the failure to keep up the index
system, and that delinquency, in con
nection with the transfers of troops.
may explain the eight or ten carloads
of letters which the soldiers did not
get. When a unit of troops is trans
ferred, it should be possible to forward
its mail without causing brainfag to
any person. Either there was no sys
tem, or the system was wrong or it
was not followed.
That has been the trouble with re
gard to soldiers' pay and their fami-J
lies' allotments and every other de
linquency in connection with the
army. A bright light is thrown on
the entire subject by the statement
of Col. Henry D. Uindsley. the new di
rector of the War Risk Insurance Bu
reau, that tho organization had not
functioned properly, but that now for
the first time authority was concen
trated in the director, where it be
longed. Apparently there was a di
rector who had no authority to direct,
and now for the first time, when the
was is over, he gets that authority!
The reason why soldiers' wives and
mothers have been selling butter and
eggs, doing other people's washing
and eating their furniture while wait
ing for their allotments is that either
there was no actual director or there
were half a dozen directors.
Gallagher's bill making attempt to
murder equal the actual crime has
passed the House and should pass the
Senate. It Is not the fault of the
criminal If he does not succeed. Gal
lagher is from Malheur, where affairs
may be a little wild and woolly and
his effort at civilization is commend
able. The Clackamas man who com
plains that his neighbors do not co
operate in wiping out the peach-leaf
curl has a grievance. No man should
grow peaches In the Valley unless he
is willing tospray at the proper times,
which are not when such work is
mostj convenient. t
Why should soldiers want to return
to their old jobs if they can fill bet
ter ones? They have done the job
well into which Uncle Sam forced
them; they have a right to look
higher, always provided they can
mako good.
The revival of monarchism In Port
ugal is a case of atavism, but If Man
uel should reaain his throne, it can
sa reiy be said that he will not have
a second attacK 01 nis infatuation for
Gabrielle des Lys.
Henry Ford can find no better way
of spending his millions than in
"bucking the machine." That always
puts the money where It docs the most
good to the fellows who get it.
With an airplane capable of travel
ing 260 miles a hour. Mr. Burleson
will hardly need to bother with wire
systems. He can deliver a letter as
fast as a telegram.
Pretty soon you can step on an
Oriental liner at a Portland dock and
disembark on the other side. That
will not be a novelty, but It will be
satisfying.
Having " found the perfect Apollo,
let us find the perfect Venus and get
them married, that they may become
parents of the super-perfect baby.
Since England and France are
agreed the captured colonies' shall not
go back to Germany, that ought to
settle it.
Are we getting whipped by a hand
ful up Archangel way? That's the
question and another is why?
Judge Gatens" Court had its fill of
ways that am dark yesterday.
The ex-Kaiser was 60 yesterday, but
he's iot going like it.
Your Boy in France.
What He la Dolatsr and Thinking
houi. aa t. leaned From fate Stara
and -lripe. Official ri.p:lifr
of the. A. E. F.
-
THE latest mall from France brine
copies of the Stars and Stripes of
December 27 and January 3, With
French children cuddled up against be
friending; Yanks all over Franc and
with virtually all of their Christmas
boxes .actually in hand, the A. E. F.'s
second' Christmas in France passed off
wtth-'grat eclat. Though celebrated
3000 miles from home, it was in nil re
spects as truly American, truly hearty
enlnsj and absolutely satisfying as could
be expected in the circumstances.
Fe4Pmen there were who did not re
ceive their 9x4x3 boxes from home in
time for the great day. A week prior
to Christmas .fully 80 per cent of those
boxes .il been turned over by the Mttl
tay Postal and Efxpress Service to the
regulating stations at the front, and
practically the whole of the remaining
-0 per cent reached their destiuations
within the week that followed.
Fifty-nve carloads of the little paste
board packages were sent up to the
front from Brest alone. Twenty-seven
carloads were sped out from St. Nazaire
and IS more from Bordeaux.
It Is obviously Impossible to chroni
cle here all the Christmas activities of
the A. E. K.. but what happened at St.
Nazaire is typical of what happened in
thousands of towns stretched all the
way from Gascony and the near-Spanish
border right up into Khenish Prus
sia.
At Bt. N'azaire the aoldier boya had
10.000"of their young French friends as
guests, with real gifts pulled oft real
Christmas trees by real Santa Clauses.
Engineers wo have been over there
since August. 1917. erected a mammoth
tree in their camp grounds and invited
In all the children of the countryside,
until their celebration became the talk
of the town. Fruit, candy and clothes
fairly rained on that tree. .
At Camp 1. in St. Nazaire, 15.000 men
awaiting; homebound boats were hosts
to hundreds of children. They even
forewent their issue of candy to deck
up the, tree properly and put on a
Punch and Judy show that made 'their
young friends squeal and chorle with
glee. That Christmas at the debarka
tion camp furnished those Yanks with
practically their last memories of
France, and precious memories they
were indeed.
In the various leave areas at the A.
E. F.'s disposal, all the way from St.
Malo. on the Brittany coast, to the
Warm shore of the Riviera, .some 25.000
American boys spent the day in cele
bration, song and reminiscence.
Goose was the main feature of the
dinner of the American Army of Occu
patlon. many a complacent frau ex
changing her long-fattened fowl for
the soap which the Yanks produced in
abundance. Large, stolid, typically Ger
man geese were the mainstays of many
a mess sergeant along the Rhine and
behind and beyond, since the turkey,
despite the Jate-lamented alliance of
Germany with the Sultan, does not
thrive on German soil.
a
Every man in France and Germany
Should havo received a Christmas pack
age from the Y. M. C A. unless he went
out of his way to dodge it. Nearly a
week before Christmas "Y" packages
for the whole Third Army were already
at Metz, Trier, Coblents and other rail
heads ready for distribution.
Much has been written about the
hardships of the First American Army
in France. With the Third American
Army in Rhenish rrussia it is now a
story of "softships.V The Yankee
troops assigned to take and hold Cob
lents bridgehead are "leading tho life."
hThey are stretching out at night in
KUCh billets as they never dreamed of
In the days neiuro tno stgriiiu oi tn
armistice. The officers and men are
dwelling, all of them. In such comfort
as they have not known since their own
front gates swung to behind thorn. They
are living, some or tnem. in sucn eie
ranee as they have never known be
fore In all their days, nor will again.
Kvery incident and circumstance of
their daily existence is tremendously
and dramatically different from what
It would have been had the war gone
0 B
Not merely Generals and Colonels
and Majors are at their ease. Dough
boys of lesser rank such as privates
arc billeted In hotels and cozy homes
Doughboys fresh (as the saying Is)
from a 300-klloneter hike across Eu
rope can be heard and seen skidding
on rugs and clumping over gleaming
inlaid hardwood floors, must painfully
conscious of their hobnailed shoes
Consider, for example. Color Sergeant
Hank Gowdv. of Headquarters Com
pany. In the Ohio regiment of the Rain
bow Division. Sergeant Hank, who re
cently resided in a somewhat Insufft
cient indentation iii a hillside near Ex
ermont. now occupies, with others, i
suite of rooms In a Rhlncland palace
at Roaldscck. The fittings are perfect
from the silken coverlets and the chaise
lounge to the jeweled bedside lumps.
He never had such rooms before, even
after the Braves won the world series.
From the windows he gets a matchless
view of Roland's Castle, of the ruined
silhouette of Drachenfels. and of the
Sltbengebirge. receding in a hazc-veiled
panorama. He has acquired a guide
bonk which explains lhat the Seven
Hills were placed there by the Olants
"Jimlny Christmas." said Sergeant
Gowdy. 't didn't happen when I was
with them.
In each divisional area there Is some
glory of the ancient Rhlneland to visit.
On the road that lies between Trier and
Coblents stands a beautiful lakeside
monastery Kloster I.auch whose bas
ilica Is wrinkled with a thousand mem
ories of the 12th century. There is
such a tomb there as Westminster
would be pr6ud to shelter. Even to
this day monks labor and pray there,
within a cloister whose stained-glass
windows must have shut out the spec
tacle of a world at war apd through
whose thick walls the moan of agonized
mankind must have coma very, very
faintly.
To "this spot of late many American
pilgrims have come, some to pray, some
to
re in. wonder at the high alter
which William of Hohenxnllern gave
to the monastery, and some so that they
might send home some such slde-spllt-tlng
postcard an this:
"Visited the Benedictine monks today
and found them very cordial."
a ' m a
Tes, the Tanks in the land of
Schmidt, are leading the life of Riley.
Yet he would be a false chronicler who
pretended for a moment that they are
not moat desperately homesick.
More than all else one thing made
the Army of Occupation homesick the
week before Christmas. It was not the
comfortable, modern homes. The very
srght of the eminently American
plumbing gave the men a certain nost
algia, but it was noft that. It was not
the orchards, though they are eloquent
of home. It was not even the shop
windows, all bright with Christmas fa
vors and tinsel. It waa none of these.
It was the rows upon rows of Christ
mas trees for sale In the public squares.
TheirrilKh fir points, where one might
easily conjure up the topmost, wobbly
candle mother would be In such panic
for fear It would set the tree afire
these were the thoughts that pierced
the Yankee lad to the heart.
a
Rubber Is almost as scarce in Ghtr
many as .soap. It is Interesting to see
a curb full of Germans staring wide
eyed at a passing American company,
each member of which Is clumping lux
uriously through the December mud In
high, swashbuckling rubber boots.
Those Who Come and Go.
That Portland appeals powerfully as
a place to' live and enjraga in business
to officers and men now being dls
charsred from tho Spruce Division la
seen In the decision of two furmr Ca4-
ifomlans of standlpR to locate here.
t nptain w. MtinlcRC anil apt;iln i I -
Tromley have Just returned to the Ben
son from a survey of conditions In the
home state and both are to lot-ate
here. Captain Hunicke. who is pnrticu
larly well known as a result of his con
nection with the third liberty loan
drive. Is going into the , automobile
business. He formerly, ltved in San
Francisco. "Captain Tromley 1 well r-'
membered as the man who defended
Vivian S Davis in courrmartial pro
ceedings at Vancouver. He has .fore
sworn allegiance to San IMego. and Is
open,ina- an office of public accounting
and Income tax assistance in the Cham
bar of Commerce building. Captain
Tromley's family is already located
here and Captain Hunicke Is to be
Joined in a few days by his wire.
No clearer understanding of what
the great universities did during the
war has been given by anybody thm
is shown by photographs of the Har
vard campus by Blain N. Speei . first
class electrician and wireless operator,
who is staying with his brother, 1'. C.
Speer at the .Multnomah. The younir
sailor, who spent more than a year
with the Navy, has panoramas showing
the men of the sea occupying the fa
mous buildings of the old school, the
stadium and drillina; on the campus.
Young Spot went from Aumsvlile. Or..
to find and sink a few suTbmarinea. but
three months at sea brought his finish
as & fighter. Afte .recovering from
pis Illness he was attached to the
school of instruction. When the sailor
lad landed at the Union Station he
railed his brother out of bed at the
hotel to advise that an official visit
was about to be paid. 1. C. in pa
jamas, met tho seaman at the front
door of the hotel.
T guess there is not One person in
10.000 who can say with me that until
he was 51 years old he had never
seen a blood relative other than his
father," waa but one of the unusual
comments drawn from J. B. Cornotl.
prominent breeder of shorthorn.-. He
native of Oregon, having been
born at Brownsville. His father came
to California from Missouri in 1650 and
to Oregon in 1864. Not until last yeas
did Mr. Cornett and his wife find a
place in their bilsy programme for a
visit with relatives back in Missouri.
Mrs. Cornett accompanied her husband
to Portland and they came to attend
tho funeral of T. B. Hatfield, whom
Mrs. Cornett had known, since child
hood. T". M. Kvle. of Florence
the Indus
slaw River,
as canners
-chandlsers.
trTal center of the lower Si
where the Kyles are knowi
of salmon and general m
is at the Multnomah. With so mui-h be
ing said about what the Legislature
proposes to do to fishing hero and
there In the state, Mr. Kyle Is some
what concerned to know what will
happen to the Siuslaw- boats in case
any of the hills become laws. mere
is a little station at the end of the
bridge where the railroad crosses tho
Siusliw and there during the season
are displayed on boards and boxes some
snlendid fish. It Is the prartice of
many returning pasengcrs to bring one
home. What those men say as to how
they secured the fish is not a: practice
it Is an art.
Several lumbermen of the state fil
tered into Portland Sunday night and
yesterday. Many of them have come
for the purpose of effecting set
tlement with the United States Spruce
Production Corporation for materials
and expenditures in conectlon with the
airplane production 'programme, whlca
the armistice stopped. it. t. booiii.
broker, and R. W. Skallerund. lumber
man, both of Astoria, are at the Per
kins Hotel. Mrs. Skallerund Is with her
husband. v
Dr. M. C. Fox is representing the
lively little Southern Oregon city of
Lakevlew. at the Multnomah. The doc
tor still insists that Portland capital
ought to Interest Itself in. tho construc
tion of a railroad through Central Ore
gon that would enable Lakevlew people
to come hero without going around
Robin Hood's barn. i. e.. Reno. Nevada,
and via Sacramento.
Coming North for the purpose of
paying a visit to her son. a student at
a local dental college. Mrs. Julia de
Trigueros. of California. Is at the Mult
nomah while making arrangements for
the funeril of the young man. since
the arrival of the lady her son sick
ened and died of tho Influenza. Mr.
Kmllo Janrigin is with the party.
P. S. Tyler, of the advertising firm
of Botsford. Constantine & Tyler. Seat
tle and Portland, is In the city, reg
istered at the Benson. He spends his
tlma In the Seattle office.
M. J. Finlayson and Chris McRhea.
who both happen to be Interested In
stockralslng and the mercantile busi
ness at -Antelope, Or., were In the city
yesterday, with headquarters at the
Perkins Hotel.
E. H. Dea. reputed to be one of the
big lumbermen of Minnesota. wUh
headquarters at Minneapolis, arrived In
Portland yesterday and Is registered
at the Portland Hotel.
Interest in the trial of their brother.
Henry Albexs. In the-Federal Court, has
brought to the city Frank Albers. of
San Francisco, and George Albers. of
Spokane.
C. F. Gilbert took a little time off
from his accustomed job of supplying
the residents of Hood River and vicin
ity with cars of certain popular brands,
to visit Portland yesterday. He was
registered at the Benson.
R. B. Allen, secretary of the West
Coast Lumbermen's Association, de
parted for his headquarters at Seattle
last night after having spent four days
In Portland on official business.
Luclen H. Boggs. who represants the
office of the Federal Custodian of
alien property. Is In Portland, regis
tered at the Portland.
For the rnnm of a few hours J. T.
Bridges dropped his duties as Mayor
of Oakland. Or, and transacted busl-
ness In I ortiaitn.
He registered at the
Horiland Hotel.
T. Fukuklta. a ttsen of Toklo.
Japan. Is visiting In Portland, with
headquarters at the Benson Hotel.
Mr. apd Mrs. G. W. Byckett and son.
Paul, of La Grande. Or., are at the
Benson.
A. K. Kannln, of Astoria. Or., at
tended to matters of personal business
in Portland yesterday.
George C. Fulton, an attorney of As
toria, was at the Portland Hotel yes
terday. .
Sergeant Adolf J. Unna has been
mustered out of the service and has
returned to Portland. -
rteturn of Canadian.
WALLA WALLA. Wash.. Jan. 27.
(To the Editor.) Will you please tell
me If you have any Information of the
return of the Canadian Forestera' Di
vialon. No. 118. which has been at Lip
hook. England, for 19 months. I see
daily reports of the return of American
boys, but nothing about the Canadians.
MRS. M. E. DL'RANGO.
We have no records of the return of
Canadian soldiers. As yet a very small
fraction of the Canadians have been
returned.
In Other Days.
Fifty Yeara As.
From The Orea-onlan ot Jaouary 29. 1S0
We have suggested the 'propriety ot
attempting the organisation in this city
of a division of the Order of the Sons
of Temperance. Two divisions recently
have been organized in Marlon County
now the only divisions in the state.
Constantinople. The Sublime Porte
denies the reports that Turkey la
heavily arming.' The Sultan expects
peace as a result of the Paris confer
ence. v
Madrid. Tho Governor of Burtons
uis at-sasstriated yesterday when about
to take an inventory of the goods of
the cathedral of that city.
New York. James Fisk. Jr., has
started Sl.oeo.noo worth of libel suits
and has sued Vanderhilt for 14,500,000.
Tnrnti-llvr Yearn Arto.
From The Orea-oolan ef January 25. 184.
Buenos Ayres. Rear-Admiral Ben--ham,
commander of t'nited States war
..'-li a; IIin Janeiro. Mar- su' led in
arranging peace between the govern
ment and the insurgents.
Berlin The 35tlr- birthday of Km
paror William was celebrated yester
dafy in a most elaborate and enthusias
tic manner. It was the 25th anniver
sary of his entering the Prussian army.
Port Townsend. Wash. About J10.000
worth of opium is ready to be sold at
the Custom-House here. . ,
Washington. Tho Kearsarre has
been ordered to proceed to Nicaragua
in consequence of the reports that th
Honduran armies are marching into
Nicaragua.
WI1 IT IS OCR MEXICAN POLICY t
Former Rraldent Puzzled by Proposal
In Apply It to lluaala.
LA GRANDE. Or.. Jan. 26. (To the
Editor.) In reading the dispatcher
frofn the peace conference In Paris. I
notice that "it Is considered by some
the allies may adopt a policy in con
nection with that country (speaking in
regard to Russia) identical with the
attitude of the United States Govern
ment toward Mexico."
Can anyone give an outline aa to
what that policy towards Mexico is? I
was a resident of that unfortunate
couptry for 22 years prior to seven
years ago. when, with several thousand
other Americans I was forced to leave
there. Since, have rightfully so. been
Interested In any policy our Govern
ment Instituted In regard to Mexico,
thinking I might be able to get back
and do something with the good prop
erty I was forced to abandon, on which
I am allowed to pay taxes, and by the
way pay them through an Englishman.
If the I'nitcd States Government in
the laat six years has had any specific
attitude towards Mexico I should 1 i k .
very much to know what it is.
"A READER."
Women Have Patriotic Doty.
FORT STEVENS., Or.. Jan 26. (To
the Editor.) I have seen several Items
In different newspapers and magazines
In regard to women giving up positions
made possible for them by our bova"
having gone to war. and I cannot imag
ine any woman hesitating to give up
that position. m
'( course the boya should have their
old places when they come back, and I
also think that if we are holding a
man's position we should give It up to
any man that has been to war. whether
he held the posltlbu before the war or
not. for this war will have made men
of lots of boys that were ne'er-do-wella
and If they want work now I think they
should have It. There will be lots of
men that will never come back, and
there will surely be work for all.
It Is just as much our patriotic duty
to give up these position now as It waa
our duty to take them when wo wera
needed. I also feel that the employer
who would say to his old employe that
had returned from war. "Sorry, but
your position is filled." Is no better
than a Hun.
Rrtnrn or O. A. It. D.
SCOTTSBURG. Or.. Jan. 26. (To the
Editor.) Can you give me any infor
mation as to location oCthc Second De
tachment. Fort Stevens O. A. R. D..
Overseas Casuals. Camp Merritt. N. J.?
Have. a cousin in this unit who should
have landed overseas about the first
woek In November. Nona of his people
have had word from him and fear ha
has died. EMMA H.
ASTORIA. Or., Jan. 27. (To the Ed
itor.) Will you kindly inform me aa
to location of the First Detachment.
Fort Stevens Automatic Replacement
Draft, and If they have been listed for
return soon? M. A.
Men of the October Automatic Re
placement Draft are being returned.
but under company numbers which
have been assigned in France. Rela
tives arc advised to await word of
their arrival and it might be well to ad
dress them at Camp Merrltron the the
ory that they will be returned there
temporarily.
4.1th Coast Artillery.
WALLA WALLA. Wash.. Jan. IS.
(To. the Editor.) (1) Please tell mo
where Battery A. 4.1th Regiment. C. A.
C. Is and what they are doing.
(2) When will they come home?
i.l) V'hat division do they belong to?
(4) Wrfrre can one write to find out
If a friend in France is still living?
ANXIOUS.
(1) Last reported at Guitres.' Depart
ment of Glronde. France. They ara
awaiting return home.
(2) Watch The Oregontan for an
nouncement. (5) No part of a division.
(4) You do not state speclfiealry. but
evidently refer to a civilian friend who
Is a resident of France. Suggest you
write to C. Henri Lahbe. representative
of tlva French government, Portland, Or,
Answer t Military Questions.
The following-named correspondents
rill find answers to their queationa In
The Sunday oregoniaii. January 26. ecr
tlon S. page 9. given In anawer to other
inquirers:
Soldier's and Sailor'a Sister. Linnton.
concerning 135th Aero Squadron.
Reader. Portland, concerning 63th
Base Hospital Unit.
A Sister. Portland, concerning 147tlt
Field Artillery.
A Mother. Hoquiam. concerning 2nth
Engineera.
Parents. Aberdeen, -concerning 146th
Field Artillery.
A Parent, concerning 12th Company,
20th Engineers.
-tnth (oast
PRINEVILLB. Or.
Artillery.
Jan. 28. (To tha
Editor.) Please -tell me if Battery
A. 4th Coast Arttllery, is in France.
If so. will it be sent home soon? Will
tha 23d Engineers be ordered home at
an early date? MRS. MORGAN.
The 40th was listed for convoy the
middle of December, but has not sailed
yet. All coast artillery Is being sent
home. Cannot predict as to return of
the 23d Engineers.
TiOTid Ambulance ompany.
PORHLAND. Jan. 27 (To the Ed
itor! Please give me location of 263d
Ambulance Company. 316th Sanitary
Traln. MRS. EVENS.
Is with the 91st Division, now on
priority list and moving to Le Mans ftvr
assignment to come home.