12
TIIE 3IORXIXG OREGOXIAX, FRIDAY, 3IARCIT 11, 1919.
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PORTLAND, FRIDAY, MARCH 14. 1919.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN
A congressional district in Pennsyl
vania Butler and "Westmoreland
counties on March 4, at a special
election, returned a majority of 473
votes for the democratic candidate, a
Mr. Wilson. Ordinarily there would
lie no great significance to the victory
of a democrat for congTess, even in
Pennsylvania ; but the fact that it was
a district which had returned an
almost unbroken succession of repub
licans for fifty years justifies inquiry
as to the reasons. Last November the
republican candidate was elected by
the usual majority -about 7000. Now
there is a sudden and most mysteri
ous reversal.
The democratic explanation is that
the league of nations is responsible.
The candidate of that party placarded
the district with announcements that
lie was for the league plan as drafted,
or as it might be perfected at Paris.
It will at once occur to the I-told-you-so
mind of the non-leaguers that he
was ready to swallow any dose pre
pared by President Wilson; and doubt
less the same objection to him and his
wholesale . acceptance of the "whole
hog," whatever its shape, size, color,
or taste, was urged upon the voters.
The republican nominee took the
Ingenious and apparently secure
ground that he "would be governed
by the course of the republican lead
ers." Each candidate therefore was
ready to take whatever was given him
by his party.
It has been generally assumed, fol
lowing the great upset of 1918, that
neither 1919 nOr 1920 was to be a
good year for democrats. Yet some
thing quite disconcerting has hap
pened right under the noses of those
great republican lights. Senator Pen
rose and Senator Knox.
President Wilson has said the league
is not a party asset. The republican
party should be grateful to him for his
pronouncement. It may be also grate
ful to Mr. Taft for what he Is saying
and doing. It may have occasion also
to be grateful to Father Time if he
will get the pesky question out of the
way before another presidential cam
paign rolls around.
KO LOTTERY TO PAY WORLD DEBTS.
The formal proposal, made to Presi
dent Wilson by ex-Premier Luzzati of
Italy, of a world lottery to pay war
debts, takes account neither of the
legal aspect of the lottery issue in the
United States nor of growth of senti
ment against the lottery throughout
the civilized world. It is less than
thirty years since congress dealt a
crushing blow to the institution by
denying it admission to the mails, but
for a long time previously it had been
in general disrepute. Abolition of
gambling was one of our pioneer re
form movements. There is now "ho
community in America in which lot
tery tickets could be sold without vio
lating a national, state or municipal
law. The peace makers of Paris will
be slow to adopt any scheme which
so obviously runs counter to estab
lished public sentiment.
Yet the lottery once was in high
repute. It probably was first played
for money prizes in Florence early in
the sixteenth century. In Genoa it
took the form of betting on the names
of five citizens who should be chosen
by lot from a list of ninety to govern
the state. Governments, pressed for
funds, found in it a profitable methoriJ
of extracting money from the pockets!
of the people, as the Italian ex-premier
proposes now to do. With the develop
ment of governmental conscience, re
port was had to the subterfuge of com
bining lotteries with charitable enter
prises. England employed them to
raise money to ransom English cap
tives enslaved in Mediterranean states.
Puritanism sanctioned them as a
method of alloting lands in Ireland
in 1753. They were common in Penn
sylvania before our republic was
founded, the profits being devoted to
public objects, such as road building,
and later for the erection of churches.
Yale college employed the lottery
method in 1750 to finance a building
enterprise, and Harvard did so in 1772
and again in 1S06.
The enormous profits which accrued
to the sponsors for lotteries, both
public and private, constituted their
least alarming aspect. They were
abolished because of their demon
strated influence as promoters, of un
thrift. In the early years of the move
ment to destroy them a good many
arguments were advanced which
still have a familiar ring. Pam
phlets were written in France in ef
forts to prove that the savings banks
would suffer by their abolishment,
but practice proved precisely the
opposite to be true. Belgium early
in the nineteenth century was lottery
mad. Abolition of the institution there
rn 1841 drove many pawnshops out
of business. Economic experience as
well as sentimental considerations,
justified abolishment wherever it was
accomplished. It has been found that
the "rage for gambling" does not
necessarily seek other outlets, and that
thrift can be cultivated.
- The fundamental Nobjection to lot
teries is inherent in gamblinin gen
eral that they foster desire to get
something for nothing and so work
against cultivation of the spirit of in
dependence and do great moral and
economic mischief. The civilized world
may be said to have discarded them
more than a generation ago, although
as late as 1894 enormous profits were
derived from them in Prussia for the
use of the state, and a quarter of a
eentury aso the lottery investments of
the people of Hamburg' aggregated
nearly $8 per capita of the population.
The proposal of ex-Premier Luzzati
will possess only an academic interest
for Americans. The issue -was settled
in this country when the state Ipttery
was driven from its last stronghold
in Louisiana. Other nations in which
the institution formerly flourished are
as little likely to consent to its revival,
even as a means of funding their debts.
The lottery is an anachronism, which
no specious reasoning can bring up to
date.
IESE MAJESTY.
Jt will be a painful surprise to the
public which has always taken pleas
ure in the harmony that prevail
within the ranks of democracy to ob
serve that a dispute has arisen be
tween the affable collector of internal
revenue, and the less affable demo
cratic newspaper of Portland, over so
trifling a matter as an interpretation
or the income tax law.
It may be said, with considerable
fervor, that the reputed complexity
of the income tax report is as nothing
compared with the complexity of the
law itself. Thus it is small wonder
that even geniuses, such as the affable
collector and the less affable news
paper, should come to verbal blows
over it.
The controversy concerns the 11a
bllity to income tax of the public of
ficial or employe. One relies upon a
ruling of the treasury department, the
other upon a reading of the law. One
says they need not pay; the other says
tney must or become subject to the
dire penalties of the statute.
The average man who must pay his
six or more per cent upon net in
come will not have much sympathv
for the quandary of the public offi
cial. Somebody once gave a reason
why the government or state official
should not pay an income tax, but it
was so inconsequential we have quite
forgotten what it was. But in another
particular all must admit that the
matter is of grave consequence. Is
or is not a flat overruling of the
treasvry department by a newspaper
of its own political faith to be toler
ated when the country is still at war?
Surely there is some violation of statute
here, if not of the espionage law, then
of the direct primary or the corrupt
practices act.
THE OREGON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
The Oregon chamber of commerce
is making a campaign to enlist mem
bers in every city and county, which
merits the support of every good citi
zen. It is the one organization which
combines all local chambers of fnm-
merce and similar bodies in a united
effort for the general good of the
state and of all parts of the state. It
did most effective work in securing
passage of constructive legislation at
Salem. By its means the united in
fluence of the entire state is placed
behind any good project for the good
of any section, and it wins when that
section by its unaided efforts could
not win.
Speakers are makintr a tour of tho
state in preparation for tho actual n.
listment of new members, which con
tinues through next week. They have
met with a hearty reception at Hills
boro, Oregon City, Wasco, Madras and
other cities, and have won commer
cial bodies as corporate members and
many individual members as well.
They are winning on the record which
me cnamDer has alreadv maris s
proof of what it is capable of doing.
tsy getting together in such an e.
ganization, the active, public-spirited
men of each section become aimi9int.
ed with the resources and needs of
every other section, remove misunder
standing and local jealousy and be
come able to work together. They
break down narrow, local lines nri
acquire a state-wide outlook. They
cultivate state patriotism and learp
to put Oregon first.
THE PROBLEMS OK 1787 AND 1919.
There is instructive readme- in
number of extracts which the New
York World has made? from cnoocha
in several state legislatures in 1787
and 1788 against adoption of the con
stitution of the United States. The
quotations were for purposes of com
parison with recent Knpnlip n(,GinL-f
the proposed constitution on the league
oi nations. xnere were timid fears
that the states would lose their inde
pendence, that the president would
make himself king, that the senate
would become a house of 1 orris thai
taxation by both the nation and the
states wouia prove an intolerable bur
den, that two concurrent powers would
destroy each other, that one natlnrtnl
government in "so extensive a coun
try wouia aestroy the liberties of the
people, and so on.
If we carry our minds hnr-lr tr 1787
and try to put ourselves in the place
oi tne people who lived then, we can
realize that the Question of nniin.
the constitution was deeply perplex
ing, ine idea of federation
rived from Switzerland, a small, in
land country of which th. f0,')0roi
units were no larger than an Ameri
can county, it had never been tried
m a country or such extent as the
thirteen original states.
such a degree of concurrent jurisdic
tion or wnere there existed such broad
stretches of wild land. Each state
was -as jealous for its independence
of the other states as for its inde
pendence of Britain, and some desired
all the benefits of self-defense which
would be derived from a national gov
ernment without surrendering any of
the sovereignty necessary to enable
the nation to defend them.
Yet the Americans nf 1787 )
and decided right. They did so beJ
cause tney nad courage to make an
experiment in envrrn m on t i-v ; . .. .-
won the admiration of men of all na
tions Dy its success. They were men
oi tne moid to make bold experiments,
for there was none bolder tr.nr, t,i
voyage across the stormy ocean in frail
crttt to a wild country inhabited by
savages, in order to make a new home;
nor man me defiance of a great coun
try in the war for independence. They
had faith in their ability to preserve
their liberty from pnornank mont tr
the president or senate should attempt
ii. juey aiso nad iaith in the honest
purpose of themselves and each other
to respect each other's rirhti o-i
" im j
work together for success of their ex
periment, it was the men and women
of that time who made the great ex
Deriment of a federal
cess. Any inferior type of men might
easily nave maoe jt a disastrous
failure.
It behooves us Americana of
twentieth century to prove ourselves
wormy or sucn lorerathers by exer
cising the same qualities as they dis
played when we consider the problem
ot the league of nations. We need
courage to mane mis new experiment,
and breadth of vision to recognize its
beneficent possibilities and to guard
against its possible dangers. We need
faith in ourselves, that we can make
it .work, for sood, not evil. The na
tions need faith in each other, that
they will carry out their declared pur
pose, not perverting the league to their
selfish ends, to its own destruction.
Can we not trust such men as Llojjd
George, Clemenceau, Orlando, Pacitch
and Venizelos, the patriot premiers of
Serbia and Greece. Massaryck of Bo
hemia and Paderewski -of Poland?
They have placed unbounded trust in
us; shall we not trust them at all?
The nations which have suffered most
look to America for assurance that
they shall not again be subjected to
such an ordeal. If our love of hu
manity and democracy is not a vain
boast, we shall satisfy that hope and
justify that trust.
By calling upon the American pea
pie to decide for or against the league
or nations, the year 1919 has become
one of those years which occur at long
intervals in our history to test the
moral fiber of the nation years of
momentous decision for good or IlL
Such years were 1776. 1787 and 1861.
We did not flinch then, nor in 1917,
when democracy called for help. Shall
we not rise to the great occasion now,
when we are called to complete the
work begun in that year?
SPRING.
At 11 o'clock or thereabouts (east
ern time) on March 21 spring of the
calendar is due to be ushered into the
northern hemisphere, but we who
have lived long in the Pacific north
west know that there is a more nearly
infallible sign, and that spring in
truth and in fact has long been with
us. The real harbinger of spring in
these parts is the robin. We do not
know when he first made his appear
ance for 1919, but it must have been
several weeks ago. Neither the
groundhog, nor the first triliums, nor
the fish that swims upstream, nor
Indian George himself if he were alive,
could hold a candle to the robin as a
reliable prognosticator of the season
hereabouts.
It sometimes, however, requires a
philosopher to recognize spring's ar
rival. A philosopher is one who views
events broadly and in their proper
relation to one another, and is not
misled into drawing conclusions from
insufficient information. The man
not a philosopher, for example, will
have denied that last week was a part
of spring, but he will have been mis
taken. For the robins were here then,
and the robins know why they came.
Spring is more than a matter of a
day's weather. Spring arrives when
hope begins to dawn, when something
within us tells that bright davs are
ahead, when we cease wondering how
mucn longer winter will hang on and
begin speculating on how summer will
seem, when we begin looking forward
and not backward. It is a state of
mind rather than a meteorological ex
actitude. And it is because the robin
knows precisely when we ought to
turn our thoughts to the future that
he is the greatest season indicator of
all. It is impossible for a normal man
to be a pessimist after the spring
birds begin to twitter. No matter
what the almanacs may say, spring has
already come to Oregon.
OrR EARLY IICMORISTS.
In the "Twenty-five Years Ago" col
umn in The Oregonian the other day
was recorded the death of James
Montgomery Bailey. lie was the last
of the old school of American humor
ists and he was well known to read
ers of current literature less than a
generation ago; yet such is the fleet
ing nature of the humor of the hour
that not one in a thousand even of
the aider folks wjll be able to recall
orrnand who he was or what he
wrote. "Danbury News man" will
awaken some memories, perhaps. His
pen name outlived the name in which
he held his citizenship, but it is per
haps no more distressing to be for
gotten by a nom de plume than to be
lost to fame in a more conventional
way.
It has been the fate of our humor
ists to be forgotten. It is incidentally
interesting to recall that the first of
American humorists was not a native
of the United States, btrt of Nova Sco
tia the Sam Slick of our great
grandfathers' time, who deserves a
more enduring fame because he was
the creator of the "Yankee" type
which has given so much joy to read
ers and writers of books. Who now
remembers that he was Judge Thomas
Chandler Haliburton, or that he was
a man of serious bent, with whom
humor was only an avocation, to be
nurtured in one country and natural
ized in another, and who was. in fact.
the founder of a school of humor
which survived for almost a century?
similarly, the name of Benjamin
Penhallow Shillaber awakens onlv
faint echoes-today. He created "Mrs.
Partington," who was famous about
three-quarters of a century ago. Scba
Smith? No answer. II was famous
as "Major Downing" in President
Jackson's time. David Ross Locke
was another. A. ew will remember
mm as Petroleum v. r'iety, who
swung around the circle with AndrF-.y
Johnson. Melville D. Landon? He
was "Ell Perkins." Who was Al-
phonso Miner Grlswold? He was the
Fat TJontributor" of civil war times
and later; also a man of scholarly at
tainments and a famous lecturer.
Frederick Swartwout Cozzens will
hardly be remembered by the present
generation, even when his pen name
of Richard Hayward is revealed, or as
the author of the "Sparrowgrass Pa
pers," which reversed the comedy
method then in vogue by aiming shafts
of ridicule at the city man unused to
country life. A woman humorist of
the period deserves to be unearthed
here, Frances Miriam Whitcher. who
also has been forgotten. Yet as
Widow Bedott" she made a whole
nation laugh, and, so revolutionary
was the intrusion of a woman into
the field of humor, until then sup
posed to he the special province of
men, that few were willing to believe
her editors when her identity was
made known.
Bailey, the "Danbury News man."
possessed, in common with others
who have been mentioned, the un
failing sense of proportion which has
been said to constitute the basis of
humor as distinguished from wit. and
the extraordinary quality of common
sense which made of American humor
a thing apart. Judge Haliburton did
not create his shrewd Yankee for
nothing; he also established a tradi
tion for his successors to live up to.
For American humor always has con
sisted of the "acute sense of the in
congruous and the absurd," which has
now become an established definition
of humor in general. Its chief grace
Is that if it implies knowledge of the
Incongruous, it also must carry with
it a correct sense of that which is
reasonable and in proportion. It
does, indeed, prove the problem by
proving the absurdity of its contrary,
a trick not unknown to the ancient
mathematicians anyone which has a
sound psychological foundation. By
preserving the correct sense of pro
portion, by acting as a. fiorrettive I
the ego in men, it has had profound
political consequences. In a democ
racy such as ours, the self-appointed
reformer has always been our greatest
potential source of danger. But no
demagogue has been proof against the
humorist determined to expose him.
The service of American humorists to
the state can hardly be exaggerated.
James Russell Lowell, with his "Fable
for Critics" and the "Bigelow Pa
pers," is perhaps our most conspicu
ous example or this. But others in
the list also deserve credit for their
part in making the American govern
ment the solid institution that it is.
It has been said that humor, in
the distinctively American sense, is
declining. That which now passes for
humor is less national In tone. It may
be that the old contention that there
is no humor in the cities is being
proved by the march of events. It
may not be a mere coincidence that as
the population becomes more urban,
the sense of humor declines. For hu
mor requires leisure for its apprecia
tion, which wit does not. It is "In
herent In the nature of things." or else
It dors not exist, and it Is not easy to
imagine spontaneous humor, in mart
or factory. "Wit In the drawing-room,
humor in the country- store, neither in
the merchants exchange." is an old
adage that seems to pass the test.
The Danbury News man was a type
of the American humorist who relied
for his effects upon a kind of. exag
geration of which Mark Twain was a
more subtle but not less effective mas
ter. Bailey had his own clientele. He
was much given to pointing out the
foibles of his townsmen. His "Local
Items" depicted life as it would have
been good for those townsmen to be
able to see it. , Here is a specimen
paragraph in which he good-naturedly
raps a type of citizen not wholly ex
tinct today:
One of the Danbury votera was unable
to attend the polls Monday. tut Kent his
Tote up by a neighbor's utile girl. He was
very much surprised to barn that it was
not received. He told the little girl that It
" quite evident that the traditions of our
fathers were being forgotten and that the
country was going to the devil with un
reasonable velocity.
The subscriber who takes umbrage
at the editor's views has never been
more neatly flawed than in the fol
lowing: A Masrleyville subscriber writes that he
had concluded to Mop his paper, on the
expiration of the term, but. desiring to
know when the -Shepang tralna arrive, he
renews. There Is nothing like having an
Object In this lite.
The quality of exaggeration was ex
emplified in his comment on a crusade
against the use of tobacco, which is
not without interest nowadays. For
illustration, there is a paragraph from
the Danbury News of half a century
ago:
The terrible Inroads tobacco la making
upon the human system Is becoming more
and more evident. In a recent article, a
moat graphic article It waa, the writer tella
of a young ma-n who commenced to smoke,
agalnxt the strong opposition of his friends,
and In lesa than two years he was dead.
This la aad, but not uncommon. We have
noticed many similar instance. It la
rarely a man Uvea three years after he
acquires the habit of smoking, unless he
should happen to forget when the three
years are up. They go suddenly when they
lo go. Any conductor of a train that in
cludes a smoking car can toll you about It.
He is a good share of the time receiving
the last messages f dying men and trying
on their boots.
Abuses which others assailed In
deadly earnest Builey corrected with
gentle satire which was far more ef
fective, lie was the originator of
many subjects for a humorist which
have since been worn threadbare by
Incessant use. It is related of him
that one day he hailed a passing ped
dler with the query, "Have you char
coal In your wagon?" "Yes," said
the expectant driver. "That's right."
said Bailey, "always tell the truth and
people will respect you." No almanac
for years was complete that did not
contain this joke, which lias boon at
tributed to many authors. But beyond
the pure entertainment which they
furnished in their time. Bailey and his
colleagues, as has boon suggested, ex,
ercised a broader influence. They
kept folks from taking themselves too
seriously, they exposed pretension, and
in a very literal sense they helped to
make their own land safe tor de
mocracy. A Portland paper. The Oregonian. says of
President Wilson: "His conduct of the war
has been a combination of incompetence and
blunders."
The foregoing Is the Introductory
paragraph of an article irj tho Pendle
ton East Oregonian sharply criticising
The Oregoman for its "unfair" and
"unwarranted" attitude toward the
Wilson administration.
The exact statement of The Orego
nian was (March 9, 1919):
His (Wilson's) conduct of the war has
been a combination of Incompetence and
blunders and delays by subordinates at
home, whom he refuse,! to dtacard. with
wise and prompt' decisions on the great
issues of the battlefield and diplomacy.
The entire truth of The. Oregonian's
statement will not be denied by any
informed and impartial individual or
journul. Because the Pendleton East
Oregonian is wholly partisan, and
whollv dishonest besides, it fmrhlnrl
the sentence for partisan and tlishon-
ect ends. Such performances, which
are commoo. with, this Pendleton
panar. p.xnlaln Tvny it has lost the
confidence or its community and why
another paper there. The Tribune, has
largely displaced it In circulation and
influence.
Returning soldiers cannot await the
slow movement of a steamer in their
haste to get hbme. They want to come
the quickest way when once they get
to this side of the ocean. Thus they
set at rest any idea that many of them
would want to stay in France., One
good look followed by a good fight
was enough foe. them.
Having turned the slackers loose
with full pay and an apology, the gov
ernment now releases persons im
prisoned under the espionage act. How
long will it bo after Debs goes to
prison before he is again at large,
praising the deeds of those great
statesmen, Tenlne and Trotzky?
An airplane having been used by a
nurse to take her patient to a hos
pital, it will next be in order for the
patient to use one in eloping with the
nurse. What chance would the angry
father have in a Gretna Green pursuit
of a good airman?
The postmaster-general forbids the
giving of postoffice news to the press,
but whenever an examination for more
help Is scheduled the department is
glad to have the date announced "free
gratis for nothing."
The upstate city or town is best
known by its commercial club or
chamber of commerce and its news
paper. Two-cent postage Is coming back
and a republican administration may
cut that in a few years.
The epartacans prefer bullets .to
ballots, iuid, Aire getting taem.
Those Who Come and Go.
He may be a candidate for the repub
lican nomination for congress In the
firat district next time. The man re
ferred to is A. W. Norblad of Astoria,
who has Just completed the first half
of his term as state senator. Senator
Norblad tried to start something at
Salem in the way of opening up the
Cascades after the fashion of the Ce
lilo canal, in the hope of enabling
eastern Oregon wheat to float down
the Columbia river to the municipal
grain elevator at Astoria. The plan did
not meet with sufficient encourage
ment. With his law partner. Mr. Hene,
Senator Norblad la at the Imperial.
There is a certain free and easy way
of doing thlnnrs. When Denton Burdick
of Redmond. Or., walked Into his room
at the Benson last night he found it
occupied by a dozen business men,
anglers, professional men. officials and
member of the fish and same com
mission. They wanted a room to talk
In. ko they marched in, occupied all the
chairs, threw their coats on the bed,
and filled the room with smoke. No
apologies were offered or expected.
Governor Olcott waa to have attended
a dinner given by the fish and game
commission Wednesday night, but at
the appointed hour he waa play-acting
in a home talent production of "Officer
666" at Salem. Frank Warren declare
that the governor missed a mighty
good meal, which aentlment is echoed
by I. N. Flelschner.
Maxine Klllott, one of the various
wives of the late N. C. Goodwin, No. 3,
in numerical order, and whom Goodwin
referred to in his book aa a "Roman
Senator," is at the Hotel Portland. Since
her last visit to Portland she has been
a war relief worker in Belgium and re
ceived columns of notice.
Colonel K. Hofer. formerly a member
of the legislature from Marion county,
and alo fprnaerly a newspaper pub
lisher In Salem, is at the Hotel Port
land. When the colonel ran his paper
he had an editorial page only on such
occasions as he thought he had a mes
sage to deliver.
On the door of rooms in one of the
hotels Is the metal sign: "Stop. Have
you left anything?" A stockman from
southern Oregon told the clerk when
paying his bill that the hotel chould
have another lgn at tho desk, rend
ing: "itop. Have you anything left?"
Fred Poorman, auto dealer -and ga
rage operator in Tillamook, la at the
Oregon. Tillamook county In planning
to hold another bond election to raise
money for roads, as it wishes to have
a paved highway along the beaches
from the Clatsop county line to the
city.
William Faversham. who was once
upon a time a tenderfoot who turned
cow puncher on on American ranch,
albeit of British birth, and later din
carded the hair rar.ts of the cayuse
rider for the sock and buskin, ia at the
Hotel Portland.
J. N. Williamson, who operates a big
stock ranch out Prlneville way. was at
the Imperial yesterday. Mr. William
son was active in Oregon politics at
one time and was elected as a repre
sentative to congress from eastern Ore
gon. Ralph Moorcs. who waa formerly sec
retary of the Salem Commercial club,
waa at tho Imperial yesterday. Mr.
Moores haej recently been discharged
from the service efter an experience
overseas.
W. J. Snider, a well-known timber
man of Clatskanie, accompanied by his
daughter, was in Portland shopping,
yesterday. They registered at the Per
kine. Captain T. J. Ccok. member of the
Multnomah club and an attorney, ar
rived at the Multnomah yesterday, after
seeing servico with the American
forces.
James D. Rums, who ha a large
mercantile establishment at Condon. Is
at the Seward. Up Mr. Hums' way the
chief topic these days is the building
of good roads.
E. K. Pemm. the new representative
of the Canadian Pacific railroad, ar
rived from Seattle ycsteiday and is
at 'the Multnomah
Mrs. Fred Schwartz and Mrs. Nathray
Fullerton. matrons of Koeeburg, were
among yesterday' arrivals at the lien
son. Al A. Roberts, now chief of police
of Pendleton. Is at the Perkins. Years
ago he was a deputy United States
marshal In Portland.
Believing In the eternal fitness of
things. A. McU Hiwkj calls hitt hotel
on Wolf creek "Red Riding Hood Inn."
Mr. Hawks is at the Bcnaon.
Mrs. Jessie McComb, attached to. the
Oregon Agricultural College, was In
Portland yesterday and registered at
the Seward.
H. W. Maynard, who has a ranch near
Forest Grove, was at the Perkins yes
terday. Mrs. W. E. Schimpff. wife of a former
representative from Clatsop county. Is
at the Hotel Portland for a few days.
Mr. and Mrs. T. T. Kfdd motored
from Salem to the Multnomah yester
day. Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Anderson of Mc
MlnnvlUe are at tne Penson. Mr. An
derson is in the banking business.
V. M. Johnson of Rockford. 111., ar
rived at the Berason yesterday. He is
the head of the Kiwanls club.
Mrs. D. E. Stewart, wife of a lumber
man at Knappa, Or., is at the Hotel
Portland.
One of the stata bank examiners, A.
A. Schramm of Salem, was in Portland
on official business yesterday.
R. B. Goodln, secretary of the state
board of control, is at the Imperial.
L. S. Hill, a lumberman of Cottage
Grove, is at the Imperial.
JiOT TEST OF CLATSOP LE ARI1NG
Ome Teaeher'a Lack of Information
Does -Not Convict All.
KNAPPA, Or.. March 12. (To the
Editor.) In The Oregonian March 7
there appeard a letter from a Clatsop
county school teacher who asks who
are our state representatives and sen
ators and several other questions re
garding his state government.
I am sure I speak for the teachers
of Clatsop county when I voice my
sentiment of the wisdom of our fellow
worker who sends to your paper for in
formation regarding his own legisla
ture. We are not all of the same type.
I rather think that the gentleman
(your just sarcasm uses the masculine
gender) might have saved ua a little
derision by applying to his county su
perintendent for some confidential aid:
or he might even have hunted up some
eighth-grader from a neighboring
school from whqra to pump the desired
knowledge.
We instructors profess to have a
little education in the subjects which
we teach, but heaven deliver us from
the pedagogue who casts his ignorance
abroad to the winds and brands our
profession a pretension and a fraud.
I refuse to stand convicted on the
weight of one give-away. I only won
der who the person waa, and probably
our superintendent does, too.
' CLATSOP SCUOOLMA'ASL
WHAT 33.000 CANADIANS EMllBF.U
Early Condltloaa la War Camps Mack
Woree Tkss at Ilreat.
SALEM. Or.. March IS. (To the Edi
tor.) In The Sunday Oregonian 1 read
of the alleged terrible privations at
Brest by United State troops await
ing embarkation. Thla "unbearable
condition" remained through 11 whole
days and nights!
May 1, air. in comparison, describe
something of what the 33.000 mem
bers of the First Canadian contingent
experienced? (I am happy to have
been a member of that celebrated unit
from North America.)
We had a fairly comfortable time at
the camp at Valcartier. Quebec, and
after our memorable "armada" reached
the shores of England we knew of
nothing decent underfoot unless we
were visiting one of the cities. On
Salisbury Plain we were "under can
vas" from October, 1914. until February.
191S. During the whole of the 1 4 weeks
we had no such thing as dry feet. For
one thing arrafters had got next to the
shoe contract. Most of us bought
gum boots and to walk in them we hud
to hoid on to each or leave them be
hind in the mud. Several hundred of
our comrades died from cerebro
spinal menta-itla. We had a special
cemetery for them. At night we did
not even have a decent blanket to
sleep undej-. The British government
could not possibly obtain them. Hut
they did the next best thing and gave
us what are termed in England "suit
lengths." about six yards of ordinary
cloth! They helped to fill up our tents,
but not to keep us very warm. Later
huts were built. They helped some
so far as being dry at night was con
cerned. But facetiously Inclined among
us would "anchor" the buildings so
there would be less danger of losing
them by floating away in the mud. Our
grub waa all right, so far as the mo
notony of "mulligan" could provide.
But you never heard of any rea!
grumbling. Occasionally a comrade
would be badly stuck In the mud. so
much so that he would have to be
given assistance to get him out. But
before that. 20 or 38 of the boys would
gather around and with arms around
each other in a circle, without anv ideas
of blasphemy in their minds at all
would plaintively sing "What a Friend.
.. navo in aietus.
When we embarked for France In
the early spring of 1915 we felt that
the "real thing" would be a picnic to
the mud of "The Plains." But Lord
What a surprise. We had dished out
to us a sector which has since become
known as "The Mud of Flanders."
We didn't even kick then. We simplv
congratulated ourselves on having had
good training for It on "The Plains."
But this kept on for months and
months. There was no such thing as
the "Red Cross" then as we know that
noble organization today. We did not
have the socks and the mitts and the
shirts or the cigarettes. We had one
pair of socks issued to us. We rarely
ever saw them again. They just wore
away. Then weeks later, we would
find some fuzzy-looking substance at
the toe of one of our compressed paper
shoes. That substance was once a
sock !
We did not even have a decent warm
meal, sometimes for days on end. No
hot drinks in the trenches for us from
the Salvation Army or anyone else. Not
even gas helmets: Not even rifle am
munition. Our supporting artlllorv
had 15 rounds of shells a day dished
out to them!
And through all those weary months
of ghastllness and misery, of stench
and filth, when every attack had to be
repelled by the bayonet and grit not a
myriad of machine guns we stuck.
We were proud In the knowledge that
we were Canucks. That we were
holding the back, which translated
Into rood English would mean
(Censored.) And there was never a
complaint. Not a single one.
,M v I; Talk about mud. real mud.
Why If the Canucks could have man
aged to have hit-up a spot like Bret
sleep In they would have been happy.
This does not by any means show that
the conditions at Brest were not a lit to
uncomfortable, but for a real Ameri
can soldier to put himself into print
over such a thing and forgetting that It
is a war that he took, part In makes a
follow tired. Thank yourselves, you of
Brest fame, that you got back as well
as you did. "490I6."
1st Canadian Contingent.
I'm glHd because of them the tacen
that I see which tell of life well
lived and cheery hopefulness in
w hat may lie beyond.
I'm better far for seeang them, who'er
they be. because they urte upon
the mind by tdmple kindliness.
The truth that life may be most beau
tiful. They tell of hours of pain and weary
waiting. of anguisli borne,
through which a great hope
gleamed.
Making tho present bearable, tho fu
ture promising.
They speak a eilent language which
tells in glowing terms of baby
arms a-clinging, of orange blos
soms, and of new homes;
And also they speak of fluttering
white crepe, and of gray hoaraes
and of flower-heaped mounds.
But over and above all and shading
into harmonious twilight tones
there is the great lovelight and
the resignation:
And the great hopelight and the ex
ultation, which make of the en
nobled face of age a rare and
clean-cut cameo resting tcrcne
on the bosom of nature.
On this the observing- glance lingers
lovingly and turns away. awed,
but not dismayed: subdud, but
Inspired; humble, but hopeful;
Feeling the far distance stretching be
tween blaorr-tlm and fruitage
time; sensing, though vaguely,
the long path of pain which
leads to the heights of gain.
I'm glad because of them the faces
that I see touched with a radi
ance that is not of earth
But of divinity.
Ase-dote Fits Hnnsry Europe.
PORTLAND. March 13. (To the Edi
tor.) A hungry tramp on a certain
Saturday morning knocked at the back
door of a house. The door waa opened
by a white-aproned Chinese, evidently
the cook.
"Say. John, gimme something to eat.
I'm awful hungry," said the tramp.
"You hungly? Heap bad," replied
tho celestial, with a benign expression
on his yellow face. "You likee fish?"
"You bet," was tho expectant an
swer. "All light. Come Fllday." said the
chink, and promptly shut the door in
the tramp's face.
I was reminded of the above story
by the news reports from Europe. The
starving people of war-devastated
countries may appropriately be likened
to the hungry tramp, and the allies to
the Chinese cook. W. C. Dl'XIWAf.
Lands for Discharged Meat.
DALLAS. Or.. March II. (To the
Editor.) Please tell me If there Is any
land open for settlement now for dis
charged soldiers and sailors, and where
located. Please give mo what informa
tion you can.
A DISCHARGED SAILOR,
As yet no special provision for plac
ing discharged soldiers and sailors on
land in this state has been made and
none can be made) until the taxpayers
vote on the proposed bond issiae In
June. Government land may be taken
throufb. Uk usual pro col axe.
Faces.
fly Grace K. Hall.
In Other Days.
Twesty-ave Tears Aico.
From The Orrj-ontsn of March 14.
, An-'elcs- The preparations for
the departure of the industrial army
to ahlngton are nearlv complete,
t.eneral Fry goes ahead. Request tor
transportation and food of its member!
and possible recruits has been asked
or the secretary of war.
San Francisco. The Atchison & To
peka rate of 118 from Los Angeles and
Oiko to Kansas City goes into
cllect Thursday.
C. C. Donovan has been appointed
general agent of the Great Northern at
this place.
The work of driving plies for the
west pier of the Burnslde street bridge
was commenced yesterday.
Flffy Tears Ago.
From The OresonUn of March IS
Oregon City. Iron pipes form' an ex
tension of the street main of the Ore
gon City water works drive.
There are 1 families In the town of
McMinnville.
The proposition to submit to the
people of the state of Nevada an
amendment to the constitution permit
ting women to vote passed the assem
bly at Carson City by one majority.
Short time on the Oregon and Cali
fornia state line will commence April 1.
PEOPLE'S OXLV DK..MRK IS PEACH
That Ia What They Favor Rather Thsa
Specific Terms of I.eaame Part.
PORTLAND. March 13. (To the Edi-lor-
The Oregon Journal Is testing
the sentiment of the Portland people
with regard to the league of nations.
On last Sunday the votes stood as fol
lows: For, 10.S1S; against, 75. This
may indicate tha.t mere it put up to
the whole people it would carry by a
large majority. Majorities often make
things legal, but do not always make
things risht. It is a pity that we do not
always do things umlerstanuingly.
Solomon says. "In all thy getting get
understanding." Now it la a safe bet
that ii per cent of thoae who voted for
the league of nations at the Journal
building have not read the constitu
tion of the league in ila entirety, and it
is also a sfo bet that I'd per cent of
them do not understand it. It is a
technical and complicated instrument
and beyond the comprehension of a
vast number of our people. Yesterday I
met two or three men In a certain hotel
and the talk turned to the almost unan
imous sentiment in favor of the league
constitution. I thought I would see
about how much he knew about the
constitution of this league of nations,
so 1 asked. "If this constitution is rati
fied us it now Hands, how many vote
would it give (ireat Britain aiid how
many America? If one nation should
start war, what itre the methods of the
league to brlntr It to time?" There was
no answer. The word "peace" Is s
charming word. It is magnetic, hyp
notic. Ang. Is made use of it when
Christ was born: "Glory to God In the
hlKhest. peace on earth and good will to
man,"
The league of nations is to secure
peace for the tv hoi.- world and the
minds iT the people are on peace rather
than what is involved in the instrument
that Is supposed lo bring It to all na
tions. In the years of 1914. lf-1.". and
1?1 U waa peace al any price, and had
it been put tip to the people they would
have ho voted, and now with the mass
of people it Is peace at any price. Thev
are thinking only of the present and
not of what may come to us later on,
and that ia the very thins lo be tun
s.dcred. In this countrv we are In a big hurry
to do thlrgs. This has one redeeming
reunite It gives us a lotiK,-r tlmo in
which to rep. nt. sometimes, of our do
inns. I am In favor of Senator Knox"
:da of tho k'xcije of nations an inter-n-.vl.M-Hl
court and nuking war a hijih
rim.; and puni-hing it f Jr that crime.
1 also believe that munition plants t.f
all kinds should be taken out of th
hands of private concerns and oper
ated hy the government. This would
lake all the thunder of the socialists
and bolshevik!. These calamity howl
ers are constantly saying that capital
ists, especially tho manufacturers of
munitions, arc the causes of war.
ISAAC I'LAIIT.
W1IOLK ISM'K MIT IV CO VEX A NT.
I harnrlrr of Peace l.eacue "Igaatorlrs
Shot-Id Itr Considered.
PORTLAND. March 13. (To the Edi
tor.) Referring to the views expressed
by Ralph It. Duniway on adoption of
ihe proposed league of nations cov
enant and The Oregonian's editorial
comments thereon, 1 am moved to say
that the form of the league or consti
tution is important, in elating terms
and conditions, safe guarding rights,
defining restrictions and imposing ob
ligations, iet the most important and
vital point to consider is the signato
ries thereto. Is it a league in equity
with upright, honorable, responsible
signatories, or a league with the imps
of hell?
Tho decalogue aa a league, with the
devil as the controlling signatory,
would only be the devil's plaything.
We all want peace, but we are apt to
be misled by he cry of peace, when
there Is no pence; as many voters were
with the slogan, "He kept us out of
war."
Terms are of little value in unsafe
copartnership; there are some things
that you dare not wrestle with, for If
you do you are sure to get smudged,
whether you fall on or under. There
fore the most important thing to con
eider is the character, ths responsibil
ity of the controlling forces entering
Into the league. Let us be sure of
the standing of our partners to be be
fore wo enter.
So far but l'ttle light has been given
on thla phase of the subject. The presi
dent In his league speeches dwells en
tirely upon th .retlcally glorified
Ideals, of a regenerated humanity pano
plied In the glories of "Peace on earth
and good will toward men."
W. H. ODELL
How to Apnly Income
PORTLAND. March IS. (To the Edi
tor.) Can you inform me whether ths
government, the University of Oregon
or California or any other to be relied
upon institution has compiled and pub
lished a bulletin whose purpose is to
assist inexperenced people of eotne
means in making the income cover
the expenditures? I have often wished
that some knowing one would map out
a course, for instance, what per cent
for rent, clothing, living, incidentals
and so forth I cou!d carefully and
sc.rupuolously follow- where I airi not
wise enough to work out the dope for
myself. A SUBSCRIBER,
There are articles which seem to
cover the ground in Good Housekeep
ing for February. 1917, and in ths
Ladies' Home Journal for March. 191 S,
and January, 1916. These are avail
able in tho reference department of
the Portland public library.
Allen Residents ray Income Tax.
PORTLAND, March 13. (To the Ed
itor.) Are aliens exempted from pay
ing income tax? On what account are
the aliens exempt? READER,
Only non-resident aliens are exempt
from the Income tax. An alien resi
dent of the United States is amenable
to the. tax the same as a citlzaa.
0