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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 26, 1919)
THE 3IORXIXG OREGONIAX, WEDNESDAY, 3IARC1I 26, 1919. 10 PORTLAND. OHEGOX. Entered mt Portland (Oregon) Poitoffic a second-class mail mailer. Subscription rales Invariably In advance: By Mail) railT. Sunday Included, one year IKiify. Hundy includod. six montha --- li:y. Sunday included, three months - - -- Iiiv. Sunday included, na monlll ..... .73 ljaiiv. v Ithout Sunday, one year Iaiiy without Sunday, one month ...... . 1.04 Weekly, one year : tunday. one year ............ suaday and weekly 2 50 J. 10 ITiy Carriers Iaily. Sunday Included, one year i'aily. Sunday Included, one month . t'aiiv. Sunday Included, tnree monms.. - Ial'v. without Sunday, one- year...... ai:y. without Sunday, three montha. lally. without Sunday, one month. 7.f 1.M How Remit 8-rid po-storflce money or : -r. uprrH or pcrMr.il check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are t own- risk. Give po.toffleo aduress in lulu in cluding county and atate. rn .... " - a IS nazes. 1 Cent. JO H": it? irt -. ' t . im icti;i :.4 to -. ") pace. 3 ce: -., ... .ui l mmi' a-j to Ttt pares, i.nu: 78 to 2 par". cents. Foreign poet a?e. doubla rates. nia. Office Verre Conk- lin. Brunawick butld.ng. New Tork; Verra onklln. Steger building. Chicago: fonalln. Krea Presa building. EMsirott. Mich. . ;-n Francisco representative. It. J. Bldaeu. MlMRr.lt OP TRS ASSOCIATED PKESS. The Associated Presa la excluaively entl t ed to tha uaa for republication of all newa illnpalctiea credited to It or not otherwise rredited to this paper, and alao tha local h. -va published herein. All righta of republication of special ais p.lchea herein aro aleo reaerved. ' FO HTU XD. W KD KftDA V. M ARC H S. 1B1. XlTAt DEFENSE OF THE PACinC. The naval committee of the house cf representatives visits the Pacific coast at a juncture when it has bc tomo imperative that congress give attention to the need of fully equipped naval bases on this coast in order to t arry out the policy which the admin istration has adopted and the people have generally approved. This policy i-i to strengthen the navy to an equal ity with that of Great Britain and to station one-half of it in the Pacific ocean, occasionally concentrating the entire fleet in one ocean or the other for Joint maneuvers. That policy is n. tardy recognition of the fact that the United States has interests to de fend and dancers to meet in the Pa cific! no less than in the Atlantic. It is a recognition of the fact that the Pacific coast is not the back door of I he country, but that we have two front doors, one facing Kurope. the other facing Asia, and that the latter Is no less important than the former. The Meim commission on naval de fense of the Pacific coast reported in 1S17 just before the declaration of war that the Pacific fleet represented not more than 10 per cent of the total . ffective strength of the fleet at that time, and that the then existing fa I'llities left only a small margin over the requirements of that force. It said that if SO instead of 10 per cent of the entire fleet should be stationed on the Pacific, depending on those facilities, the demand upon facilities would be four times as great. The result would bo "serious inefficiency and in time of war possible grave disaster." Since that opinion was given the fleet has !ecn increased at least 50 per cent, it is now to be doubled in a few years, and 50 per cent of this greatly aug mented strength is to be stationed in the Taclfic, based solely on Pacific navy-yards and stations. The Helm commission recommended in 1917 that these facilities be trebled with out delay and that thereafter their development should "keep pace with the development of the fleet." Ob Viously. in order to meet the reeds of half the greatly augmented fleet of the near future, in place of 20 per cent of the fleet of 1917 the facilities vhoult be much more than trebled. They must not only rare for half of the fleet all of the time. but. for all of the fleet during that part of the time when it is concentrated in the Jaeific for maneuvers. A lesson in the necessity of adequate docking facilities for times or war is contained in Admiral Jellico's book The Grand Fleet. 1914-16." as re viewed by L. Thomas t'urtin for "The ' Look man." Mr. Curtin says: After pointing out that throughout tha war liemian capital ahlpa usually aurvlred n-.ining and torpedoing, -vhereaa British al.ip rarely survived. Admiral Jellleoo pro , ....la to attribute to the absence of proper lot'k accommodations the: and similar Shortcoming,. He then quotes Jellicoe as saying: The German emperor onre remarked to me at Kiel that we had made tho nifatake of building our ships before wa had proper jock ac.tfnmo.atln for them, while In tler--aiiany they provided the drk itrommDdt--tif, firt and designed tha ahlpa aubaa "ciuently. Jellicoo goes on to say that devclop- -tnrnt of new tpes of dreadnought was .'restricted by lark of suitable docks tn J by the difficulty of obtaining .money to build docks. Ho then says: The result wan lhat August. 1914, found us with a superiority of ahlpa but woefully 'lacking In dock accommodations; and for "fit, reason alone the fleet action early In tlie war. rrsultlng In considerable damage 't h.avw ships, would hava produced em barrairatitr results. ' The present is the time to guard the . American fleet which will hereafter be n the Pacific from any such "embar rassing results." The Helm commis sion recommended a general plan of naial bases to meet the needs of Pacific roast defense under the con litions which prevailed before the l'iiite-1 States went to war. Those plans are a good starting point to work from, but they need to be, greatly cipanded in order to meet the needs as early as possible of half the present fleet, and thereafter to meet the needs or half the fleet as it will be a few years hence, when the American navy shall have reached equality with that of Great Britain. The rull plan should 1m adopted now. and its execution should be continuous, for by the time it is completed the fleet will be large enough to use all the facilities which it provides. If war should come, we should not lose damaged ships through lack of docks where they can be re paired. , . The Helm plan provides for two main naval bases, that at Bremerton n Puget sound to be greatly improved '.and to be a main base for both sub--niarine and aircraft, and an entirely ,fw one to be constructed at Alameda, 'al.. at a cost or $36,307,000. Mare ..Island would sink to the position of a subsidiary base within the limits of its thirty-foot channel. There would be a naval aviation training base at San . l-Mego, a submarine training base at los ''Angeles, both submarine and aviation . operating bases at San Diego, Tongue ;. Point on the Columbia river and Port Angeles. Wash., and an aviation base ! only at Los Angeles. There would also ; ' a string of eight temporary sub ' marine operating bases and nine tern ! porary aviation operating bases dis tributed along the coast. It is possible that the league of na tions will forbid use of the submarine in war. but that would not remove the need of light, swift craft to patrol the roast, or of bases for their shelter, re pair and supply. The sites recora. mended by the Helm commission for submarines would be equally service able for surface patrol craft, and this comment on the Columbia river is equally to the point: At the time of Its flrtrt visit lo Portland and tha Columbia river the commiaeion waa Impressed with the importance of adequate ly defending this rerion from hos-tile as tack and eatabllahina;. if practicable, near the mouth of the Columbia, river a sub marine and aviation boae from which op erations could be satisfactorily conducted In time of war. After consideration of all available sites In the vicinity of the mouth of the Colum bia river, the Tongue point site appears to tha commission to posses greater advant ages as a submarine and aviation base than any other site In that locality. In time of war the necessity for the protection of the Columbia river region ia Imperative, and a well-equipped submarine base In the Colum bia river, from which aubmarines could op erate for a distanca of at least 1.10 miles to tho northward and southward, would meet tha major requirements of defense at WII lapa bay. Grays harbor and the coast to tha northward and southward of the entrances to tha Columbia river. All appropriation of $1,200,000 was recommended for acauisition of the (site and construction of buildings and ' plant, with provision for twelve sub marines and possibility or expansion to double that number, also for air craft. When the naval committee of the house has. seen for itself the inade quacy of present facilities and the urgent need of large expansion, the long neglect of its defense from which the Pacific coast has suffered should end, especially as the coast is repre sented on the committee by so ener getic a representative as Mr. Wc Arthur. Members from other sections may also be expected to realize that this is a matter of national defense, which, therefore, concerns the whole nation and to be guided by that fact LOOKING AS TO A well-informed Washington corre spondent sends to the New Tork Even ing Post this interesting statement about Mr. Taft and the presidency: The former president is simply Interested the league of nations, and to those who say he la hurting his chances for tho nomi nation by siding w-lth Mr. Wilson and split ting sis own party, the answer , comes: .nr. Taft doesn't care one whit about his own political fortunes he is interested only in the league or nations. Playing politics with great questions is the worst possible politics for a presidential candidate. Mr. Taft Is eligible now as a candidate because he is not concerned about 1920 in Amer ica but 1919 in the world. If Mr. Wilson runs again in 1910, with the league of nations as an issue, the availability of Mr. Taft to oppose him will call for serious consideration and deliberate action by the repub licans. The nomination of Mr. Taft might, indeed, then be inevitable; ngain it might not be. ONE SOURCE OF I'REJIDICE. The Oregonian observes that its ex cellent contemporary, the Kvening News at Roscburg, makes an arraign ment of Portland and Portland inter ests for various misdemeanors, among them the organization of the Oregon StateChamberof Commerce, the annual celebration of the Rose Festival, and the ruade-in-Oregon campaign. It is rather difficult to understand the exact measure of Portland's offenses, ci cept that these various enterprises are originated and promoted in Portland and are. therefore, not. according to the News, for the benefit of the state at large. Here is rather a sweeping generali zation which it might be too hastily assumed is based merely on prejudice and misunderstanding; but the real reason of the Roseburg paper's animus is not at all disguised. On the other hand, it is frankly given. It is the fact that a newa paper of Portland, the Kvening Journal, proposed two meas. ures at the recent state election di rectly aimed at the country press or Oregon, and that both were approved in the state, with the aid of large majorities in Multnomah county. Neither measure was to apply here. Says the News: Portland papera go ripht ahead printing the delinquent tax list and get tho same old rate for legal notices, but the country editor can go on yelling hia head off for the big things or allege! state-wtae interest wblle the money-grabbers at the metropolis ait Idly bv. throw a harpoon into the coun try hamlet whenever they so desire, and return give tha rear teat mat naa oeen stripped till It resembles a wart on a 'water melon. This Is the Portland Idea of reci procity to the country villages of the stale of Oregon. The Roseburg papers sweeping statement as to the Portland papers is not accurate. Nor does it seem to The Oregonian that it takes sufficient or appreciative notice of the fact that The Oregonian opposed these meas ures, pointing out to the- people the injustice to the country press which it was proposed to impose upon them and the probable consequences to Portland. Nor is it true that Portland alone is responsible for the measures. One of them had sufficient votes outside Multnomah to carry, and the other had within a few hundred of enough votes. The purpose of The Oregonian in making public through its columns the complaint of the News is two fold. It would havo the people of Portland understand tho source and nature of tho grievance of the state papers against Portland: and it would suggest to the News that its indict ment does not properly lie against all Portland newspapers, but against a single paper. TO 1K EVERYBODY'S Bl SIN ESS. The Portland Chamber of Commerce should have no difficulty in enrolling the one thousand new members for whom it is making a drive. It i3 tho organized public spirit of the business men of the city and. as such, it has been tho most potent instrument in advancing the industrial and commer cial development of the city. Through the Chamber or with its aid new manufactures are established, steam ship lines started, public improve ments inaugurated, the products and resources of Oregon advertised throughout the continent, visitors from other countries and states are entertained,, informed and added to the roll of the city's wellwishers. It is necessary to the growth and prosperity of the city that all of these things be done, yet they are the busi ness of no one particular person. They are that "everybody's business" which is said to be "nobody's business." That is Just the kind of business which the Chamber has undertaken to handle. It keeps certain things moving which, but for it, would not move at all or would move in the -wrong direction. Some may say it is too slow, but the thing for them to do is to join the Chamber and push, that it may move faster. Their votes will be as good as any other member's, and they need but convince the majority. Portland needs a strong Chamber of Commerce, for it has entered on a new epoch in its history an epoch of internal development and commer cial expansion, in which the whole back country will be filled with people who will pour their products through the Columbia river gateway Into Port land, and in which great fleets will distribute those products all over the world. That stream of trade must be kept .moving, obstructions must be clearel away and the channel must be broadened and deepened to carry a larger volume. There will be much more-, of everybody's business to do than ever before, and the Chamber must be strong in numbers, money and brains that it may do that business. I PLtFT OF THE O Til UK FELLOW. It is not surprising that the su preme court divided upon the case involving possession of intoxicating liquor, which it decided yesterday There is on the one hand in Oregon strong antipathy to legalized traffic in intoxicants. There is on the other a strong tendency to traffic illegally ia the same article. There are count less citizens who count themselves lawabiding but feel that they are committing no crime if they can bring into' the state or come into the pos session of a bottle of whisky without being discovered by the officers of the law It is not meant that part of the court is swayed one way by-public indifference to the law and the other swayed by public approval. The situa tion gives rise to abuses no matter which way the court "may hold. If it must be proved that a person in pos session of intoxicants knows what the package contains there is opportunity for the bootlegger who is arrested to insist that he was carrying a package for another person and knew not its contents. If knowledge of what was in his possession is not necessary to be proved and one is found with con traband in his possession, innocent persons will be punished for the crimes of others. So much liquor is in trans port and in traffic that justice faces an actual dilemma. The law itself declares possession to be prima facie evidence of unlawful intent. Efforts to enforce a prohibition law upon which so large a proportion of the people look lightly, yet insist shall remain in force, produce inevitable conflicts with justice and constitu tional rights. Several months ago The Oregonian received a. letter of protest from a minister of the gospel. He was an ardent prohibitionist yet he objected vehemently because his trunk had been opened and searched while he was en route home from California. Not long since officers of the law stopped a negro who was suspected of having intoxicants in his posses sion. He objected to search. Yet he was searched and nothing to incrimi nate him was found. Yet he was thrown into jail on a charge of re sisting an officer. The constitution of Oregon assures the people of the state that no law shall violate their rigfit to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable search. anti that no warrant shall issue ex cept upon probable cause. Yet the only way effectively to enforce the law is to search promiscuously. One may, indeed, stand upon his constitu tional rights, but unless he is finan cially able to make a legal fight he invites the disaster that overtook the negro. The problem of prohibition enforce ment in Oregon exists in the fact that so many are for the uplift only of the other fellow. There is no intent herein to complain that prohibition is failure but to point out that persist ence in an inconsistent attitude toward it is bound to lead to difficulties. Perhaps some day intoxicants will be unobtainable. Then there will be no cause to search and one may carry a suitcase without a. sneaking or timid air. All will then be proud of the uplift of the other fellow and of the reformation of themselves as well TIIE CZAR OF ALL THE WIRES. Czar Nicholas of All the Russias had not long been dead when Czar Albert of All the Wires rose to power. He is or the dynasty of Burleson from the same state of Texas which conferred on a more or less grateful nation the blessing of Colonel E. M. House. His fingers have long itched to get hold of the wires and. while the nation was at war with Germany, that good old German excuse, military necessity, came to his aid. He used it with good effect on congress, and was given au thority to take the wires whenever the big chief said the word. No long time passed before the word was spoken for Albert has done many favors for the big chief and is in a position to do more favors or disfavors, either, The surprising fact is that the American Bell Telephone company which owns most of the wires, was more than, willing to let Czar Albert havo them, and that the only objector was the Postal Telegraph company. Tho reward was that the officers of the Bell and Western Union com panies were placed in positions of power and good salary under the czar and were encouraged to conduct a pogrom against the property of the Postal. The Postal was absorbed in a unified system, from which it might be able to disentangle itself hereafter, and was treated generally as a rebel against the ruler by divine right. The heartfelt sympathy of tho Bell system with the czar's desire to unify the Postal with it is made evident la a letter written by Theodore N. Vail, president of tho Bell company to Chairman Moon of the house com mittee on postofficcs, giving his opin ion of what to do with the wires. The burden of Mr. Vail's argument was that a unified system of both tele graph and telephone lines was perfec tion and that duplication was waste. He expressed opposition to government ownership and operation as a perma nent policy, but not too forcibly, for that would have angered the czar and, after all, it might not be a bad stroke of business to unload a few million miles of wireson the government just when communication was becoming decidedly wireless. Competition is his pet aversion, and he says that "in the telegraph business in the true sense of the word" it "has not existed for years, thus disposing of the Postal. For years efforts had been made to unify" the Postal but it had stead fastly declined all invitations. The opportunity to obtain the aid of the government in rorcing the process was too good to lose. When this was once accomplished in expert style, no expert could sort out the pieces. The Postal has been most deter mined in its efforts to preserve its in dependence. It went to court in a vain hope to escape that all-embracing military necessity. It refused to hand over its business to the management of Western Union men. When the cza'r raised rates to relieve the Bell companies and to avoid having to dip into the treasury for money required to make good the government guar anty, the Postal refused to raise its rates, saying it was doing very well. It resisted the authority of a board composed entirely of its competitor's officials and acted generally as though it were free and independent and as though old military necessity did not exist. Such cantankerous, seditious, rebel-1 lious and generally undemocratic con duct could not be tolerated, and Czar Albert with a stroke of the pen re moved Clarence H. Mackay and other high officers of the Postal. No matter if they did own their telegraph sys tem and operate it in a highly efficient and offensively profitable manner. They had defied the Czar of All the Wires, and their official heads came off as other heads used to come off at the order of the other czar, last of his line. SLEErtXG SICKNESS. Of the "sleeping sickness" which eastern a jjag made its appearance in cities only enough is known to make it plain that scientists have another task cut out for them. They hardly come to grips with the new influenza when "lethargic encephalitis" threat ens to divert their attention. The latter may be one of the sequellae of influenza, although this is not certain. In New York in one week recently four fatal cases were reported, two of which were denominated "post in fluenza coma" in the death certifi cates, there being no history of in fluenza in the other two. The malady from its nature is bound to furnish much material for humor ists and to tempt malingerers. The victim falls asleep under most un toward circumstances, even while eat ing or talking, and remains in coma for varying periods. Several cases which undoubtedly are genuine are being studied, but no measure of suc cess has attended efforts to isolate a germ which might be responsible for the conditions noted. There is an interesting parallel be tween the sleeping sickness which now baffles medical scientists in this coun try and a somewhat similar malady which has long been epidemic among the inhabitants of tropical West Africa. The course of this disease is from four months to as many years and its termination is always fatal. One of its inexplicable phenomena is that it sometimes develops in indi viduals several years after they have left Africa for a permanent residence in the temperate zone. . The present generation is better pre pared to attack problems like that here presented than previous ones have been. Study of epidemics is pe culiarly a community problem, and success in stamping them out is most likely to be attained by large numbers of scientists working as individuals but in harmony of purpose with one another. The task of finding tho re lationship between the sleeping sick ness of the tropics and lethargica encephalitis or post-influenza coma, if it exists, is one that, will appeal to both the instinct of investigation and the humanitarian spirit of laboratory workers everywhere. The estate of the late Henry Roberts, who died a month ago, is appraised at more than $600,000. Thirty years ago, when he arrived in Portland, his sole capital was his talents and his integrity. Taking out the last five years, when he was incapacitated by illness, his savings and accumulations figure about $25,000 a year or around $2000 a month. There are just as good opportunities in starting for young men today, but they must be tho Henry Roberts kind of fellows. To say the least, Los Angeles is unfortunate in the choice of mayor or of district attorney, for neither ever suits the other. If Mrs. Woolwine should be elected mayor, there might be neace or there might be more bit ter ar, extending into the Woolwine household. Why should the allies worry about Hungary? They can leave it to the Czecho-Slovaks, as they left bolshevik Russia. There are only about ten million Czecho-Slovaks, but they are wonders, for they do not hesitate to tackle a job that scares the great powers. Even Chicago, the sixth German city, is a better place than New York to get convictions under the espionage law. Whether the accused is a pacifist like Scott Nearing, or a belligerent Irishman like O'Leary, the result is the same. One of the signs of the times is the growing use of the word "tril lions." A few years ago a trillion was almost beyond comprehension. The war introduced "billions." The read justment calls for additions to our vocabulary. In buying fuel, measure the wood and count the sacks. Dealers aim to be honest, but there are contingencies against which they cannot guard. Sometimes it's a question to whom belongs the last sack in the load. Under the terms of a bill before the New York legislature, it would be unlawful to sell eggs on Sunday, but lawful to sell automobile supplies. Our ideas of essentials change with the passing of the years. Penalizing a Chinaman for gambling will not stop the practice or break the habit. The thing needed is to penalize the white man caught in the Celestial's game so heavily ho will not dare re peat the offense. Mount Elbruz, in the Caucasus, sup posedly extinct, is smoking, which con firms the belief that a volcano cannot be extinct. It may be quiescent for a thousand years and then belch its pent-up fires. A nation-wide strike of electrical people will be deplorable, but it might put Sir. Burleson where he belongs, which is anywhere but his present lo cality. If Secretary Daniels sees all there is to see and learns all there is to learn at Brest, he will wade in the mud of that embarkation camp, though it is outside his. department. John Barrett (there's only one "John Barrett ) wants a league of American nations, and he is hitting close to .300 in support of the plan. If the bolsheviki call the manner in which they killed the czar and his family humane, what must their other killings be like? A man died in New Mexico the other day supposed to be 115. Being Mex, more evidence is required. Perhaps those fasting I. W. W. at Topeka are training for life in Russia. The younger Mackay has the fight ing blood of old John W. This weather is just the Oregon kind best in the land. Hungary is not hungry enough to welcome peace. Those Who Come and Go. When a person registers at a hotel now, the clerk looks at his wrist watch and jots down the hour and minute op posite the name and the room number. This is a requirement of a new federal law, brought about as a war measure and intended to protect soldiers. Aside from that it has another advantage, for by glancing over the register for a few days anyone can tell at a glance at what hour of the day or night the arrivals are most heavy. Dr. T. W. Harris, of Eugene, is In the city and is at the Imperial. The doctor is the father of Justice Harris, the youngest member of the' Oregon supreme court. There was a rumor last fall that Justice Harris intended resigning and taking a commission as major in the judge advocate's depart ment, but the armistice waa signed too soon. Fire alarm gongs will be installed in the halls of the big hotels. This was decided yesterday at a meeting of the hotelmen's association. Smaller hotels have the gongs, but the big hotels had held off. At yesterday s meeting th association members considered incor porating and they also agreed to get behind the campaign to raise funds for the International Livestock association. W. F. Drager, the veteran chief clerk of the house in the Oregon legislature, is at the Imperial. Mr. Drager, betwee sessions, is in the fruit business. There is no member of the legislature wh knows as much about the machinery o making laws as does Mr. Drager and he can give points on parliamentary procedure to the men who wrote th books on the subject. Evidently there is only one farm i Oregon. John W. Minto registered at the Imperial yesterday from "The rami." bald farm is a piggery near Gresham, where expensive hogs grun contentedly'and increase in value with each grunt. Mr. Minto was formerly chief of police of Portland and warde of the penitentiary at Salem. The Greeters' association held a well attended meeting at the Imperial last night. The greeters, as the hotel clerks like to call themselves, are devising ways and means of entertaining the na tional convention which will come to Portland in a few months. Leslie .Butler, or Hood River, reg istered at the Benson yesterday. Mr. Butler always arrives one day ahead or a meeting of the state highway com mission, for that's the kind of a road booster he is. Accompanying him thi trip are Mr. and Mrs. Truman Butler. Jay Upton, president of the Orego Irrigation congress, arrived yesterday and is at the Imperial. If the recon struction programme is favored by th people in June, the irrigation plans or eastern Oregon will have an oppor tunity to materialize. "W. S. Woodhouse. of Silverton formerly owner of a hotel there, is at the Perkins. Mr. Woodhouse disposed of his hotel some time ago and, ac companied by his wife, took a trip east for his health. They are now return ing from the journey. W. W. Wyneken and H. S. Bentley. of Cleveland, O., are at the Benson. They are from the home office of a storage battery company which specializes in supplying "juice" for automobiles. Looking for a chance to obtain stat aid for roads in his county. County Judge K. w. Marsters, of Roseburg, came to town yesterday and will wai over to meet the state highway com mission today. Sol Herzog, associate state directo of the Washington state veterans' wel fare commission, is here to confer with Oregon's relief commission. Mr. Her zog is at the Benson. Returning to their home in Flint, Mich., from a winter in California, C C. Spicer and family registered at the Multnomah yesterday. They are taking in the scenery around Portland. P. Lu Campbell, "prexy" of the Uni versity of Oregon, is registered at the Hotel Portland. The examinations ended at the "U" last week and the new term starts next week. Mrs. T. B. Kay, Miss Marjorie Kay and Mrs. C. H. Robertson, all well known Salem people, were at the Seward yesterday, on a shopping trip to Portland. Maude Powell, who is such a good musician that she can refer to her in strument as a fiddle rather than as i violin, is registered at the Hotel Port land. Mrs. J.' W. Casey arrived at the Hotel Oregon from Seattle yesterday and took her husband, who was at the hotel, to a hospital for an operation. T. W. Robinson, who has a big coop erage at Olney, down in the Clatsop country, is at the Perkins. He is also heavily interested in the timber busi ness. H. G. Newport, president of the Hermiston Land & Improvement com pany, is in town for a few days and is at the Perkins. ' Max Roberts, a stockman of Joseph, Or., is at the Perkins. Joseph has experienced an abundance of snow and wind recently. H. jr. Sheerer, connected with the United States Shipping board, arrived from Seattle yesterday and is at the Multnomah. To attend the funeral of the late Everett Ames, Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher Ames have arrived from Berkeley, CaL They are at 'the Benson. A pioneer merchant of Kellogg, Ida ho, Don A. Smith, is registered at the Perkins while ordering goods in Port land. R. L. Berg, mayor of Neverstiltj Or., is at the Perkins. Neverstill has grown up since the last gazeteer was pub lished. Bringing a consignment of stock to the Portland market, William Rickard, a stockman of Condon, is at the Perkins. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Connaher, of Yacolt, is at the Multnomah. Mr. Con naher is in the lumber business. . Mary E. Wawcett, dean at the Oregon Agricultural college, is at the Seward from Corvallis. Mary E. Fawcett, dean at the Oregon are at the Benson. Mr. -Burgoyne is a candy manufacturer. History of Great War. PORTLAND, March 25. (To the Edi tor.) Who is the great historian of the war whose work will be complete. reliable, unprejudiced and standard? Are there any volumes of such a work now on the market? SUBSCRIBER. The most imposing history thus far undertaken is "The Great V, ar," the editor-in-chief of which is George Henry Allen. The introduction has been written by William Howard Taft and a number of historians, chosen for peculiar expertness in various fields, will contribute to the work as it un folds. The first three volumes thus far issued carry the work only into the beginning of the Invasion of Bel gium, utners are in process oi prepa ration. The publishers are G. Barrie's- Sdns, Philadelphia. LEAGUE A SVPREME GOVERNMENT Disarmament Plans Held to Prove Point In Argument. PORTLAND. March 23. (To the Edi tor.) In an editorial of March 10 The Oregonian took issue with my letter of same date and stated: "There is nothing in the nrorjosed constitution which war rants the statement that it would set ud a new supreme srovernment over all nations." I call attention or every one to the remarkable article rrom Paris by Her bert Bayard Swope published in Th Oresronian ot March 22 on nage 2, wne he trives an authoritative mention or an official memorandum defining th policy America is urging upon th peace conference as to German war ships. He states it was drawn up by the'American naval advisers, unde direction of Admiral Benson and rea and approved by President Wilson. Your correspondent states he is per mitted to lay before the readers of Th Oregonian the arguments in the matter in virtually the form that they hav been. laid before the supreme council. To demonstrate how the proposed constitution of league of nations would set up a new supreme government ove the United States, read this extract from the said argument cabled by M Swope: "The league of nations mu be strong enough to restrain, if neces sary, its strongest member. The Unitei States has satisfied its aim and ma be relied upon to support loyally th leaeue of nations. Nations of th world know this and have faith in Should we ever fail in our international obligations there would exist the forces of the league, with the fleet or Great Britain to apply the remedy. RALPH R. DUNIWAY. The proposal simply is that the na tions shall agree together to limit their armaments and to authorize the league thus formed to enforce observ ance or the agreement, or course thi is a limitation or the sovereignty of all, but as each makes a surrender in the same proportion, all will be in th same relative position in the end. aTh proposition is much the same as Britai made in 1912, when it proposed to Ger many that they agree on a "naval holiday," that is stop further addition to their navies. Britain offered to yield part of its sovereignty, but German kept sovereignty unimpaired. The out come was that Germany had to sur render its fleet. All will agree tha Germany would better have surrendered a fraction of its sovereignty and hav kept the rest. If Britain was willin to make such an agreement with it most powerful rival, the United State should not hesitate to make a simila agreement with all nations, when th combined power of the world would enforce it against each other nation as well as ourselves. The American people cannot be aroused to opposition to the league o nations by calling it "a new suprem government over all nations." Th fact would be that its authority would be strictly limited to disputes betwee nations, that it would resort to judicial means of adjustment first, then to con ciliation and only in extreme cases of flagrant bad faith and aggressio would it resort to force. Any action of a nation which is forced upon it by another nation implies a loss of free will, which is sovereignty. The United States sacrificed over 70,000 lives the will of the kaiser. The alterna tive is to use our force in support of law which we approve, made by th law-abiding nations, or to use it resisting a law which is imposed by one or two lawless nations.. The leagu is to be prererred, even if it be called a superstate, though it has none of th qualities of a superstate such as has the federal government of the United States. GERMAN- ISLE IN SEA OP SLAV Tenton Colony Would Now Like to Be Annexed to L'nlted States. That little Gottschee island of Ger mans, completely surrounded by Jugo slavs, seems not too remote to take a lesson from its big brother, Berlin, i 'asking America for it' when it wants something," says a bulletin from the National Geographic society. 'When they heard of President Wil son s declaration in behalf of self-de termination of peoples of the same race or tongue, the few thousands of Ger man-speaking people in this alien colony, 30 miles northeast of Fiume, urged that they be constituted a minia ture republic, like San Marino or An dorra. 'Now, dispatches state, the Gott scheans have changed their minds. All they ask is to be annexed to the United states: No better illustration than Gott sches is afforded of the hodge-podge conglomeration of races and languages to be found in Continental Europe. It sometime seems as if a racial earth quake had brought about this latter day Babel wherein some peoples are hopelessly intermingled and blended while other fragments were tossed upon isolated peaks to dwell in grim solitude among stranger nations. "This tautly drawn circlet of Ger mans has dwelt undisturbed within i solid rim of Slovenes. Now Slovenes are hard-working, sttdious and less self-assertive than their next of kin the Croats and Slavonians. That is why Austria was lenient with the Slovenes and why the Slovenes tolerated the Germans. "Gottschee is picturesquely situated in the Karst or Carso, region, where earthquakes are not figures of speech Only 33 miles to the northeast is Lai- ach, devastated by ono in 18o. 'Of earthquake origin, in fact, the Karst region resembles nothing so much as a magnified cross section of the shell-serrated and trench-bored battle-fields of France. The 'pock marked" surface of the porous lime tone, with rivers mysteriously dis appearing and coming to the surface again, like trick streams, slopes off nto the northern Adriatic where the levations form the gridiron of parallel islands along the Dalmatian coast. The subterranean rivers have bored out vast cavities, such as the Friedrich stein ice cavern six miles from Got tschee.i and the famous grottoes of Adelsberg, farther to the west, with their 12 miles of stalactite-embroidered corridors sometimes expanding to form natural 'ball room' or 'cathedral, or disclosing grotesque representations of pipe organs, crosses and towers. 'Gottschees principal point of his torical interest is the chateau of the Austrian Auerspergs. Prince Adolpb Auersperg, soldier and statesman, as head of the Austrian ministry from 1871 to 1879, forced passage of measures roviding for direct election to the lower house of the Reicharat. His brother, Prince Carlos Auersperg, as resident of the upper chamber, found ample opportunity to support his brothers opposition to the feudal re actionaries and Austrian Junkers." Reat and Appetite Spoiled. PORT ANGELES', Wash., March 24. (To the Editor.) I have been reading the letters published in The Oregonian n regard to the early rising. I think we are too late with our protest, but have a right to our opinion. Our first call at present is 5 A. M. It will soon be 4 A. M. My husband. is not rested and does not care to eat at that hour. Having children going to school, my rest is broken, but mothers must not fall to be on duty. As we have no garden spot my husband spends his evenings with his pipe and in reading The Oregonian. RAILROAD MAN'S WIFE. In Other Days. Twenty-are Years Afo. From Morning Oregonian, March 20. 1114. San Francisco. The barkentine Tropic Bird, just returned from Tahiti, made a remarkable run from this city to her destination In January. The dis tance is -00 nautical miles and the journey occupied 17 days Vi hours, said to be the fastest time ever made by a sailing vessel on tho Pacific. Workmen have been sent to their camp at Grant's butte to recommence work on the pipe from that point to the Mount Tabor reservoir. Mail service from The Dalles to Goldendale has been made dally, ex cept Sunday. The hopeful young town of Grant bus a newspaper, the Gazette, and is prom ised a plow factory. Fifty Years Ago. From Morning Oregonian, March I'll.' 1MJH. Chicago. Tho Union Pacillo railroad will commence running passenger and mail trains to Ogden Thursday, says a Tribune special from Omaha. San Francisco. Ten tons of delayed mail matter arrived at the end or the Central Pacific railroad track at noon today and left for Sacramento at P. M. Virginia, Nev. Wells. Fargo & Co. shipped last evening 993 pounds oC bullion, valued at $2,594,813. The Union Pacific company shipped egiht bars, value $910,161). Tonight Wells. Fargo & Co. pony arrived from Reno, distance 12-i miles, in 44 minutes, lead ing the Union Pacific pony about live minutes. Washington. Ex-President Johnson lies dangerously ill at Greenville, Tenti. Dr. Basil Morris left this morning for that place. Wasters. ' By Graee E. Hall. To build a house of straws, criss-cross and high, Expecting it to stand when gales sweep by, Were not more foolish waste of time and skill. Than following mere pleasure's whim and will. To run a race which ends where it began. With neither aim nor object, is a plan Of idle folk who sap their vital power Pursuing follies lasting but an hour. To feed alone on things of sight and sound, To add to mental debris floating round On pools tot shallow thought oh, such a way To waste so much as one brief, fleeting day ! GRACE E. HALL. SYSTEM MAY Rl'IV SMALL MILLS Government Method of Buying Railroad Lumber Protested Even In South. PORTLAND. March 25. (To tho Edi tor.) Possibly you are not altogether unfamiliar with the injustice that all oC the coast mills are suffering at tliis time. Practically the entire output of the smaller mills outside of Portland is sold to the railroad companies. Under the present centralized purchasing by the government the purchasing agent of each individual railroad purchases all the material manufactured on their line. Under this arrangement approxi mately 150 mills in the Willamette valley have to sell to F. W. Taylor, the purchasing agent of the Southern Pa cific, who is the exclusive buyer and sets the price and has autocratic power. Consequently the mills are deprived of all competition. Also tne government nas a specui- catlon and inspection that is not prac tical and is so strict that it is impos sible for these mills to run at a profit. Consequently a large per cent of the mills are idle, and unless they receive relief it is a question of a short time before they all will be idle or go into bankruptcy. In the Gulf Coast Record dated March 8, 1919, appeared the following inter esting article on this situation: The croistie situation upon the railroads is described as desperate, last year's pro duction having been scarcely over one-half that of normal years. shortage of labor would in any case have reduced the out put of hewn ties for 11118. but the slump is chiefly attributed to the measures pul in effect by the forest products section of the United States railroad administration, which blocked the chunnels through which supplies had been furnished in tho pusl without providing others to replace them, while other "reforms" instituted had further discouraging influence upon production. Many largo rail systems entered the year with their usually large stocks or ties on hand and have since used them, in lartji part without replacement, few roads now having any substantial quantity with which to faco the season when largest renewals should bo made. Roads using treated tha in the past are now laying them untreated because of tho inability to hold them out of track long enough for treatment, and greatly increased prices are noted hero and there sn Instance being auoted where the purchasing agent of an eastern line accepted an oirer ot shipment ot iousiaa nr m-o from the Pacific coast nt $1.80 each, de livered in New York. Ties are needed nt once and no further time can bo wasted in development of theories. In view of the fact that this publica tion is published at Mobile, Ala., in the solid south, which got tho cream of the business, there must be something wrong with a system which isn't ap plicable even to the south. LEAGUE IS FOUNDATION FOR WAR Correspondent A.inerls l hat Poet Will Provoke Ileatillllea. CORBETT, Or., March 24. To the Editor.) In the controversy between you and Ralph Duniway about the proposed league for peace, I am siding n with Duniway empnaticany. it m well-known rule, established by long experience, that meddling wun otner peoples affairs always causes qisuko and natred. Every one knows just as well that force never causes love of It, but onlv dislike and hatred. Now. tho whole proposed peace league is founded on both. Can you ever suppose that a league built on such a foundation and bound to causo dislike and hatred will insure the peace on earth? Only the most short-sighted men, who are close to perfect blindness, can believe In such a result. And for all these reasons I have the sure conviction that Mr. Wil son and Mr. Taft are now busily en gaged laying the cornerstone for the ext ereat war, against wnicn me last one would be mere child's play, instead of the cornerstone to lasting peace. Suppose some members or that peace league do not like the forcible meddling f other peace league memDers in tneir wn affairs, and oppose tnem, lorm leacue within the league, against the other part of it, for the purpose of opposing their tyrannical meddling, who can stop that? Only war can set tle the matter. But what a war! All ations on earth will be engaged In It who belong to that peace league, at least. And who is going to stop tnis war then? If Uncle Sam keeps on sticking his long nose as much in other nations' af fairs as he did in the last few yearn. hen it will be only a short time until wo are the rpost hated nation on earth. ut woe then to our nation lr tnis fore- mentioned war begins. Our nation may be a great factor for peace on earth if it keeps out of that croDoeed peace league, but never in It. On the contrary, it will surely-be the doom of our nation and its present in dependence! '. ill.KlJUA.MJ tLUS-a.