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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1919)
TITE 3I0RXIXG OKEGOXIAX, "WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 1919. IS inonunciCDrtrtmmn I T1BLKHE BT IEMI I PITTOCK. "abided b- T?i Oreronlsrt Fubl!ihln CX, Slub Slmt, l ortund, Oregon. C. A. HURCEN. E. B. PIPER. Jl.naxer. Editor. TTi Or. iron. an is a miRbr of tna Aaao e'ld Prea The Asaoclaied Proa la n clualv;y entitled to the republlca t.ofi of all near dlapatcbe credited to It or rut otherwise credited In tola paper, and a o the lor a I new published herein. All fithta of republication of apodal dlapalchea haralD aro ateo reaenred. a Subscription rates Invariably In advance: TallT. Fjndar Included. n year $. I L'-u )r. Sun1ay Included, n munihs I.'-lir. Sunday included, three month . la. . fcundy Inrlu.l.d. one month.. L'siljr. wit'iou: .-L-nday. one j-rr. . . . . I 'al'y. a tthout Sun-lay. aix month... ?i!y. ant hout Sunday, ono month. .. Weekly, one year buadir ted wMkir 3.00 I Br Carriers IITy. Ffirdar Included, one year . ...... $9. J l:y. ft jrtdajr I not uueri. ore month. - I'tly. r-unowy Int !udrd. three moo l ha. . - tai!T. without Sunday, thrro months.... 1- Lialiy. without Sunday, on month. -. u hmhii rfnft noatofftco money or der, eapr.iwi or peroral check on your local bank, stamp, com or eurren'-y arw a. ww rn nek. Oive .ior'lce addre lu full, in- -rt-idlnc county and slate. - u m 1 in i narea. 1 cent; f p-. . ten:: 31 to 41 pa'. 3 cent -. . ... . , . .. . . a rnt? a-j to Tti pare. c-n: 7- to - J pasea. cent. Foreisn post age, doubie rat.. .e Rnttna Office Verreo A: Conk l:n. llrun-l. building-. M York: Verreo . w.n - t,., rhlracn: erree fnkiin re IT.u bulldtna. petmlt. Mich. I'r.nrtiiA representative. IL J. Fldwe until the ocean has actually been crossed. It ts significant that only one team will try to make the voyage over the northern route from east to west, this team being now on the Limerick coast, also waiting for favorable weather conditions. The only French entrant. Lieutenant Fontan, is pre sumably in Senegambia, whence he hopes" to fly to Brazil. He will fall, however, to attract much public at tention, even if he succeeds. The popu lar impression that "crossing the At lantic" means crossing It in the north ern hemisphere is difficult to eradicate. 41 TK E IN THE ARMY. Demand for reform of the court martial system now prevailing does not involve disparagement of the re forms already accomplished, as seems to be implied by en-secretary oi i tim.n in his defense of Judge Advo- rule-General Crowder. All the good which General Crowder has done Lands to his credit, but that doe not imply that he is not to be con demned lor opposing further progress in ffrtat same direction. Mr. stimson s experience as an offi cer in France does not correspond with that of another officer who verved on courts-martial. He and his colleagues were censured by Bead nnartrm for undue leniency, were or dered to impose severe sentencs and were disciplined by being required to study military law for three hours a day for a month. As proof that the accused have no defense, he mentions the case of a young lieutenant who was assigned to defend a prisoner without knowledge of the law or of the case or opportunity to study either, and who hardly opened his mouth during tho trial. The individual opm ion or caprice of the commanding off! ccr of a division or of the officers who compose the court fixes the sentence. Mr. Stimson's statement that the number of errors has been small is not confirmed by the action of the clem ency board In commuting about thir teen of each fifteen sentences wnicn It has considered and in making dras tic reductions. That fact proves that in the vast majority of cases there has been severity amounting to cruel injustice. Nor is it any palliation of the wrong to say that long sentences are practically indeterminate and can be commuted when the clemency board reaches them. If they are ex ccssive they ought never to have been imposed: and if they are mer ited they ought to be served. Justice is quite as much opposed to excessive leniency as to undue severity. Above all, it is opposed to trials where Judges are governed by the dictation of a rommandtng officer who can have no knowledge of the merits of each case, m here the personal opinion of the judges fixes the sentence, and where the accused has no competent counsel. Justice requires that the procedure be fixed by law. that it give the defendant a full opportunity to make his defense and to cross-examine witnesses, and that penalties be fixed by law within distinct limits and be proportionate to the gravity of the offense. All of these conditions ran be made con vistent with the necessities of military discipline. No reasonable man denies that Justice must be swift and sure tn the army, or that it must be more tovere in war than in peace, but those requirements can be secured while Hill complying with the elementary principles of civil law. The favorite defense of the present system is that it is necessary in order to preserve discipline. On the con Irary. nothing is so destructive of dis cipline as a sense of injustice tn the tnind of the soldier. The brutal dis cipline which prevailed in the old Uussian army caused the soldiers to form committees which destroyed all discipline, caused them to murder offi cers and to deliver their country into the hands of its enemies. That form of discipline is a relic of the middle ages and of the days when armies were small and were composed of profes sional soldiers, prone to express and to prey upon the civil population. It is not adapted to and will not be toler nted by modern armies, which are the t-ntire armed manhood of nations. Methods of enforcing law and main taining discipline must be revolution tied, as have been methods of fighting. THE TKAXS-ATLAXTIC FLIGHT. The Importance of favomble weather. for which the aviators. Hawker and Grieves, are now waiting at St. Johns. X. F.. Is not due to the effect of weather upon the endurance of the navigators, or upon the flying ca pacity of their machine, as most per- t-ons have supposed, but to the need of extreme accuracy in maintaining direction and ascertaining correct po sition from time to time. The true test of the flight Is going to fail, not upon the endurance of Hawker and Grieves, or the 67S horse power Rolls- Royce machine which they will fly, but upon weather, navigation and com munication. The airplane already has demonstrated Its capacity for staying up in a heavy storm, and we may de pend on it that any of the many con testants is fit to bear any physical ordeal that will attend upon a suc cessful night. But the "Jumping off place" and the destination of the projected flight have been chosen with a view to re ducing the length of the journey as much as possible, and they are mere dots on the map of a great world. A straight course must be maintained by night and d.iy, in fog and wind, and even a slight deviation may mean failure of the entire expedition. The difficulty of reckoning without the norizon upon wnich sea navigators make their estimates of the altitudes of stars will be apparent to every mathematician. As a check, the ma chine is also equipped with wireless for communication with passing ships, but this nlso requires favorable weather to insure its operation from an airplane. So, notwithstanding the elaborate! preparations which Hawker and! Grieves have made, a good deal still! depends upon chance. The contest ants will not give up hope of winning WHO WO! THE WAR? . All prideful American citizens who think America won the war for the allies will find confirmation for their pleasing hypothesis in a statement given out by Admiral Sims on his re turn to New York from Great Britain. He said: When wo arrived In April. 1017. tha cen tral power a ere winning tho war.-whether you know It or not. There were 700.000 to suv.uOO tons of ahtppins- belnc loot each month, and vva did not know how to slop It. Wo had lo adopt a new method. We did thl. We established first the convoy ratem: aecond. the depth charges; third, tho listenlns device. Tho convoy ayatem might havo been put Into operation sooner than It was. but It had undergone a period of Incorrect information. The admiral was not thus merely Imparting for exclusive American con sumption a palatable morsel to feed the national vanity, for he more than once made the same statement In pub lic at London. The British were silent, possibly from mere politeness, or pos sibly they had their own notions about it, and with characteristic reticence permitted the Americans to think what they pleased But the admiral was also at pains to minimize, for the British benefit, the extent of the American participation in the war. Do you know," he said on his au thority as the responsible head of American naval operations in Kurope. "that America has contributed but 3 per cent of the effective allied fighting fleet in the war?" The British were silent also tinder the Implied compliment to their prowess on the seas. They had had years of tremendous effort, before America came in. and, while they had not won the war they had not lost it though the admiral told them that they were losing it. If Admiral Sims were asked to give his candid Judgment as to who won the war he would probably say that all the allies together won it: and it would be true. For without the Brit ish navy, or the French array, or American Intervention, . tho central powers would surely have won. IMQIF HISTORY. Among the great number of news and historical articles about events of the war in Europe that which Colin V. Dyment Is relating in The Oregonian is unique. Mr. Dyment is telling inti mate details, both large and minute, of the service of one division, the 91st. Here are written the things that every friend and every relative of the western men who ntade up the 91st have wanted to know how the men spent the waiting hours before going into battle: how they acted under fire: the character of the country in which they fought, and, most intimate of all. the circumstances of the death of those who fell. Many who lost sons, brothers, sweet hearts, friends, find some comfort in Mr. Dyment's articles comfort long sought but until now denied them. When a near one has been lost it is some recompense to know that he died as a brave man should: that he suf fered little or not at all: that he was esteemed by his comrades; that if he fell through treachery of the foe a full reprisal was exacted. Probably few divisions were so for tunate as to have with them one so competent to tell their story. Mr. Dyment is of their own. section of the country: he Is a trained newspaper writer and observer; he held an im portant commission with the Red Cross which enabled him to gather informa tion practically unavailable to anyone Ise. It is an accurate, heart gripping story that will be preserved in count less scrapbooks to be read again and again by those who fought and by hose at home who suffered loss, and by their children and their children's children. the left bank continued all through the fifth century until they held it all from Aix to Treves. They soon com bined, w-ith the Salian Franks to con quer all of Gaul and to found the kingdom of France. During the next three centuries there was a struggle for supremacy in North Germany be tween the Saxons and the Franks, which ended in the victory of the latter under Charlemagne, who was crowned emperor over both France and Germany. His sons divided his dominions in 843 and made the Rhine the boundary between Germany and Lotharingia. but by 870 the river had again passed wholly within Germany. That arrangement remained undis turbed for nearly 800. years, during which France had been .occupied with war against England, wars in Italy and civil wars. But in 1635 France under. Richelieu intervened against Austria in the; thirty years' war, and bv the peace of Westphalia in lb43 when ho came home and told mo that bo I acquired Alsace and confirmed 'the na lora mo man ne . w lalm tn (no hUhnnHrs (if Mpt Tnnl ana verauu, in .LAfrraiue, wniuii iixx court to decide only the . matter of salary, which is, in fact, a manufac tured issue. But public policy, we think, should impel the court to cast off precedent if precedent shall other wise interfere with a comprehensive determination of the case. If that is not done election uncertainties will certainly bring the issues up squarely at a later but more inopportune date. If it is legally tenable for Mr. Olcott to resign as secretary of state and continue as governor it ought to be made clear that he may do so and thereby restore the board of control to full membership and divest himself of certain arduous duties. If it is not legally tenable, then the public is in terested in knowing that fact that it may at the first opportunity correct- an omission in the constitution. RI PrKB DISHES ON THE FARM. Rftuminr to our harinff. I told Jim that I knew at last that he really loved me. Those Who Come and Go. 1 that per." 1 expected them to refuse to help him. but most of them have hay themselves this year, mo they didn't balk. That supper, after a bis; dinner, and mountain of .dishes at noon, lias always been tho straw to break the camel'o back. I consider this one of the bravest, most thoujrhtful and invlns acn hat a farmer ever did lor nla wlla, ana en- tirely without precedent. Thus Annie Pike Greenwood, writing of "The Sage-brush Farmer's Wife' in the Atlantic, alludes to a phase of farm life which it may well be be lieved has had not a little to do with the present high cost of living. It is trite to say that the lot of the farm er's wife is almost invariably hard, and it probably la true that the drift toward the cities has been due In large measure to unwillingness of farm mothers to subject their daughters to the hardships which they themselves have not been able to avoid. Mere men do not always comprehend the situation. Male farm hands are near ly always procurable at some price. But competent domestic help women both capable of doing the work and willing to go to the country are prac tically non-existent in many localities. And meals must be cooked and dishes washed, or every other farm operation is rendered impossible. ' Solution of the problem does not seem to be easy, either. There are in dications that urban domestic service is about to be raised to a higherplane. Trained household workers are to give their services by tire hour, , and go home, after a day of reasonable length, as much, mistresses of the! own time as any stenographer or fac tory girl. But it is difficult to see how the new plan can be adapted to the needs of the isolated regions. Mrs. Greenwood, for example, is writing of her experience on an irrigated ranch in Idaho. She is perhaps a little un just in her estimate that "there is no body on earth so utterly heartless with women as some farmers." The farmer himself works hard enough What is he going to do about it? When the reformers have settled the city domestic help issue, perhaps they will turn their attention to the problem which Mrs. Greenwood pro- poundv It is agreed -that rural life must be made more attractive if the nation is not to starve. What about the supper dishes on the farm? They deserve . the attention of our best minds. They constitute an economic as well as a social problem. A t'OMPI.ETE DETERMINATION. There is serious need for the com plete elucidation of the constitutional provisions on the gubernatorial suc cession that is sought by Mr. Olcott n the suit pending in the supreme court. There is nowhere else to turn but to the supreme court unless it would be to the people through initia tion of a plainer and more detailed amendment. But now that the lecis- ature has adjourned 'there Is no offi cially constituted body to perform that service. It could only be done through the expensive effort of individuals. The constitution now provides that in event of the death, resignation or incapacity of the governor the office shall devolve upon the secretary of state and that in the event of the death, resignation or incapacity of the latter the president of the senate shall act as governor. It thus appears that by death of the governor, either an additional office is conferred upon the secretary of state and that he is both governor and secretary in fact, or that as secre tary of state he becomes acting gov ernor, performing the duties of both ffices, and is governor only so long he continues to be secretary of state. Which of these constructions was the intent of the framers of the con- titution The Oregonian does not pre tend to say. Originally both offices paid small salaries and the duties were not arduous. Perhaps the distinction, if it was thought of. was deemed im material. Originally, too, the secre tary of state and governor were chosen the same election. Their terms ere. except for the slight difference of one week, identical. By reason of the death in office of Secretary of State Benson the term of that Office was changed. The secretary of state now elected in the presidential year nd the governor In the "off" year. n the correct interpretation of he constitution, therefore, depends hcther Oregon shall elect a governor in 1920 or in 1912, for Mr. Olcott's term as secretary of state expires with the year 1920. The case has gone to the supreme court on a comparatively minor issue. is ostensibly to determine whether Mr. Olcott is entitled to draw the salary of governor. The important Issues which are virtually dracged n are whether he will continue to be governor after expiration of his term as secretary of state, and whether s governor he may resign as secre tary of state and appoint a successor to that office. Courts as a rule are loath to pass pon issues not directly before them. A rigid adherence to this custom would, perhaps, cause the supreme A NEW DISPENSATION ON THE RHINE. The allied peace conference has de cided on an attempt to settle the ques tion of the Rhine as a frontier between France and Germany by making it a sort of military no man's land. That is the effect of thetipulations with regard to the river and the Rhine province. The Rhine province and both banks of the Rhine are to have no fortifications, no army, and are. to contribute no forces to the German army, though thfay are to remain politi cally part of Germany. France may not occupy them, either. In the event of future war, this area would not serve as a jumping off place for the forces of either nation, and this terri tory must be crossed before an army could come into contact with its enemy. Practically, the allies intend to neu tralize a territory bordering on the Rhine for 200 miles and attaining a maximum width of ninety miles. It is one of the most populous parts of Germany, rich in minerals, forests and agriculture and having many great manufacturing towns and mines. It is rich in memories of the middle age; palaces, cathedrals and castles and at Alx la Chapelle in the north the sovereigns of medieval Germany were crowned. Its military value to Ger many has been the command which it gives over the great river, leaving the country on the west exposed to easy invasion, and its vast output of war material. By preventing its use for any military purpose whatever, the allies will go far to pull Germany's teeth. For almost 2000 years nations and savage tribes have by turns crossed the Rhine to invade each other's land and sought to hold it as a frontier against invasion. In the time of Caesar it was practicallythe frontier between Roman Gaul and barbarous Germany, for the western part of what is now Germany was then inhabited by Gaulish tribes, though a German tribe invaded and settled in Alsace in 73 B. C. At that time the Germans were already beginning to press on the Gauls, and Caesar fought several campaigns to drive them back to the Rhine. Under Augustus the Romans first endeavored to extend their frontieV east of the river. From the year 12 B. C. they annexed the Netherlands, advanced eastward across the Weser river, con quered several tribes and reached the Elbe, but in the year 9 A. D. the army of Varus was annihilated by Arminius, whom the Germans call Hermann. From thut year for several centuries the Rhine remained the frontier, and the Romans founded Mainz, Treves, Cologne, Worms, Bonn, Spier, Strass- lnirg and Augsburg. At that period Celtic tribes occu pied much of what is now Germany, but in the last century before Christ they were being pushed westward from Bohemia, Baden, Wurtemburg and a large part of North Germany. In the fourth century the Salian Franks, a Germanic people, who lived in the country from north of the Main river to the North Sea, crossed the lower river and seized the prov inces extending- westward between the Scheldt and Meuse rivers. Wrhcn at the end of that century the Romans withdrew from the left bank of the Rhine, the Franks took Cambrai and made Tournai the capital of an inde pendent kingdom. In 406 the Vandals crossed the upper river and invaded Gaul. Another incursion came, be tween 435 and 440, when the Burgun dians were defeated by Attila's Huns and tho remnant of the tribe settled in Gaul. The most terrible invasion of all came when the Huns crossed and advanced to the plain of Chalons, where they were overthrown by the allied Romans and Franks in 451. En croachment by IUpuarian Franks on been seized in 1552. France took the rest of Lorraine in 1675 and Strassburg in 1681, and set up the claim to a Rhine frontier. An event of much portent was the seizure of Cleves by Prussia in 1695 the first appearance of that country on the river. The tide obbattle swayed to and fro across the Rhine in the French revo lutionary era. The Prussians and Aus- trians advanced westward in 1792, but were driven back to the Rhine in 1794 In 1795 France had won the entire left bank, and in 1806 all the Rhenish provinces on both banks joined the Confederation of the Rhine organized by Napoleon. But the Prussians, Aus trians and Russians swept across again in 1814, and a second invasion marked the Waterloo campaign in the follow ing year. By the treaty of Vienna all the province west of the lower Rhine was handed over to Prussia, but France still held the Rhine frontier with Al sace and Lorraine. In 1870 the Ger man flood swept in again, singing "The Watch on the Rhine," and France lost her last foothold and point of defense on the great stream. It is now to be a barrier against aggression by either nation. It is much more than that. It is a great waterway by which Switzerland, France, Germany and Holland carry their goods to and from the sea. The allies will see that it is maintained as such, at the joint expense of all the nations interested, free for the joint use of all. In the new era it should cease to be a line of division and should become a bond of union. The only use which is forbidden is that which leads to destruction; all benefi cent uses will be permitted and en Fred ll. Oilman of Seattle, coast rep resentative of the American Lumber man, one of the leading timber trade papers of the country, is a sartorial vision of delight when he saunters up to the register at the Benson.- Since the first of the year he has spent at least half of his time in Portland, which he predicts is to become the lumber capital of the nation if, indeed, it is not so already. Mr. Gilman de clares that on account of the growing importance of Portland as a lumber manufacturing and distributing center he is obliged to place it on a 50-50 basis with the remainder of the west coast territory. Up in Seattle Mr. Gil- man is reputed to be a well-groomed fashion plate of the latest styles in snappy attire, a reputation which ap pears to be fully borne out on his visits to this city. "We expect to be coming back as long as the highway commission has any money, left, or until we get what we want," explained E. V. Carter, Ash land banker, as to his presence in Port land. Between war drives, liberty loans and roads, it is a wonder Mr. Carter has had time to run a bank in the past year or two. Parenthetically it may be observed that the bankers or tne state have been right in the fore front of all patriotic and civic moves, which may.surpri.se the person bolshe- vikily inclined and who imagines banker as taking things easy. The machine was hitting up better than 50 miles an hour and Hoy Atwell of Sherman county was in a hurry to get somewhere. In the car with him were Judire E. D. McKee and a min ister. The judge looked at the speedom eter. "May as well hit her up to u or 100 miles." gasped the judge, "for if anvthine Happens we'll all be In heaven anyway." Roy and the judge are scouting around Portland in an earnest desire to build roads in Sher man county. There's fishing In the Santiam and there I want to be," lamented former State Senator Sam Garland of Lebanon. tr. Garland was the holder of the distinguished service medal in the state senate for silver-tongued oratory and he is a rock-ribbed democrat, at that. There's only one thing Mr. Garland loves better than the democratic party and that is fishing. He is impatiently awaiting the time when he can get out to the north fork of the Santiam. Havlne prospered In Crook county, where he is vice-president of the Crook county bank at Prineville, G. M. Cornett decided to visit his old home in Ten nessee, so he went. Mr. Cornett is nnw nn tils vjv back to Prineville, ac companied by his daughters. Tona and Clista, who have been attending school at Walla Walla. .In Portland they reg istered at the Imperial wltn -Mrs. J. r. Hendrick and her daughter, Bess, who is a scnvol teacher. Goin' Barefoot. Ily Grace I- Hall. It is conceivable that Thomas Nelson Page, possessing the finely sympa thetic literary instinct that is his, will contribute something very much worth while to our conception of the Italian people among whom he has lived for nearly six years, if he is permitted to resign his post as ambassador at Rome. Mr. Page's work is unlikely to tab,e the form of political disquisition; he is by inclination a -novelist, a word painter of the genre, and, incidentally, a dia lect poet of some note. He succeeded as perhaps no other writer has done in catching the courtesy, fine manners and high spirit of the people of his native state Virginia before, during and after the civil war, and his is the optimistic type of perception which is likely to apprehend the best in Italian life and character. It is doubtful if he could accomplish as much by con tinuing in diplomacy as by returning to the world of letters. The protest of the Syrians against an independent Jewish state brings to mind the fact that the Israelites were armed invaders of the country occu pied by the Philistines, Amalekites and other tribes, and the descendants of the latter may claim the right of self- determination. It will be advisable to pass a statute of limitations against that right, lest Adam and Eves come back and claim the earth. There is on just now in this city a display by printing and allied indus tries that is a credit to the men who did the work and the shops that hired them. Portland people should know that the ability of the craftsmen com pares more than favorably with east ern houses, and the way to learn is by visiting the display rooms. The peace league has been in ses sion three months, and has written a treaty of only 75,000 words. There are some space writers who could have done it in a tenth of the time. Those treaty-makers could not get a job on an evening paper with an edi tion every hour. The short-weighter is the worst in the class of grafters, preying on people who cannot afford to be cheated. For that matter, nobody cares to be gouged; but if it is to be done the swindlers might at least "take some body of their size." There was a time when Portland had so many vacant houses that own ers offered them rent free to keep them from disintegrating. That time never again will be seen here. Now is the time to buy a lot and soon own your home. Seattle policemen are alleged to have stolen the truck load of 3000 quarts from the federal appraiser's store house a few weeks ago. The idea! Tet a bunch of cops could pull off a job that would look suspicious if done by common Seattleites. The Germans say they won't sign, but they said it before and they did sign. All that would be needed to change their minds would be an ad vance eastward from the Rhine bridge heads. The question whether federal war prohibition prohibits is purely acade mic in Oregon. It does not even affect the price of bootleg whisky. If Mexico had- to pay for killing American soldiers on the scale alleged o have been paid by Japan, the prac tice south of us soon would cease. Haines is not the largest city in Baker county, but she has voted to build a 45,000'schoolhouse. It's the spirit of a place that counts. , Alien sojourners are returning from Fort Douglas, much impressed with the idea of being "good." Strawberries from the southern part of the country tickle the vanity more than the palate. Here's our old friend, the east wind. to sweep malaria from the freshly upturned earth. April 25 will be a black Friday for the Hun, - - - - - - There are about 9000 square miles In Malheur county and about soou peo Dle. or one person to the square mile. speaking generally. E. H. Test, the county judge, is at the Imperial. The judge isn't making any claims, but some of his constituents say he holds all the square miles and all the popu lation in the hollow of his hands, polit ically. County Judge Kirkpatrick of Polk county, who is sometimes mistaken for Senator I. L. Patterson and vice versa Is in the city. He says that since the Pacific highway has been located through Monmouth instead of Inde pendence and the latter is placed on a stub, some people are unkind enough to refer to Independence as "East Mon mouth." Tm the man that defined 'hard-surface,' " admitted W. H. Gore, banker of Jackson county. "You'll find paving very explicitly defined in the 1919 road law. I put it there. Wltn tnat aenni- tion there is no longer any doubt on the suhient." and Mr. Gore grinned, as he rambled around the Imperial lobby. Mr. Gore was a member of the roads and highways committee of the house. Where can I buy an Angora cat?" Inquired F. W. Byer at the desk of the Hotel Portland. Mr. Byer lives in a near-by town, but always registers "City." An eastern tourist who over heard the inquiry declared that he has heard all sorts of questions asked hotel clerks, but Mr. Byers' problem was a new one. "Mr. President." called Colin Eber hard, and W. T. Vinton of Tamhill county, swung around. Senator Eber hard and Senator Vinton met at the Courthouse yesterday when-each was nlottine for state aid for his respective section. Senator Vinton is president, of the senate, a position he will hold until the next session is called in 1921. James S. McKee of Muscatine and J. H. Kindig of the same place, with Mr. and Mrs. Z. H. Hutcninson oi i. Paul, are at the Benson. They are here to meet F. M. Burnside of the Willapa Lumber company of Raymond, Wash. Albert Johnson, member 'of the Washington congressional delegation, was in Portland yesterday afternoon and stopped at the Benson. With his wife he is returning, to thai District of Columbia . . H. H. Hendricks, brother of Bob, who runs the Statesman at Salem, is In the city. H. H. H. has been a practicing attorney at Fossil for the past 25 years, is state land attorney and about every thing else in the legal line. Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Brock of Cres cent. Or., are in town for a few days and are at the Hotel Washington. Did you ever go barefooted when the stubble fields were dry? And each step was keen with torture as you journeyed through the rye? Did you ever feel the clover underneath your bare brown feet When the rain was hanging heavy on tne blossoms plump and sweet? Did you ever plant your ten toes in a puddle thick with goo. And between your wriggling toe-lets feel the mud-let oozing through? Every time I break in new shoes I can hear my memory say: "Don't you wish you could go 'bare foot' in the good old-fashioned way But I crowd my sore toes forward and I smile to hide the pain. Feeling all the while my bare feet in the clover wet with rain! Mr. and Mrs. B. L. Boardman and Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Batchelear of Hood River are at the Hotel Washington. On Rnshlnsr Into War. OSWEGO. Or., April 14. (To the Edi tor.) If Woodrow Wilson made the following statement on February 1, 1916. will you be kind enough to state where such statement was made and under what circumstances? "There- are actually men in America who are preaching war, who are preaching the duty of the United States to do what it never would before, seek entanglement in the controversies which have arisen on the other side of the water abandon its habitual and traditional policy and deliberately engage in a conflict which is now en gulfing the rest of the world. I do not know what the standard of citizen ship of these gentlemen may be. I only know that I for one cannot sub scribe to those sentiments." V. F. COOPER. The quotation is from a speeeh on preparedness delivered by the Presi dent at Des Moines, la., February 1, 1916. He was then on a speaking tour advocating national preparedness for the possible eventuality, which finally overtook the country. Separated from the remainder of the address the quota tion is subject to possible misinterpre tation as regards his attitude at that time. Victory Laaa Particulars. . THE DALLES, Or., April 14. (To the Editor.) 1. Will the victory loan ,be issued as bonds or notes? 2. Will the paper that is issued be neerotiable. that is. in case of necessity could it be sold for cash or taken in trade for merchandise? 1. Notes. 2. Tea - - - : i v.. . . ' -L CANNIBALISM STILL PRACTICED. Property Safer Than Human Life In One South Sea Island. "Cannibals!" you may have exclaimed when you read recently of a naval force sent to Malekula island, of the New Hebrides, to quell attacks of the man-eaters upon white planters, "I thought cannibals had disappeared long ago. " ' "Contrary to general belief the can nibal still is with us," says a bulletin from the National Geographic society. "And cannibalism is practiced regularly by some tribes of the numerous South sea islands. In other places it is re current. Missionariese and agents re port it stamped out, and they speak truly, save for occasional lapses into barbarism of these primitive peoples just emerging into the kindergarten stage of their civilization. 'Of all the peoples of the vast South Pacific expanse where the white man's influence has been felt at all the Male kula islanders perhaps are the most murderous, treacherous and savage. Not many years ago ethnologists who saw some egg shtped skulls brought from the Island held high hopes that there. at last, might be found the missing link which marked the evolutionary step from monkey to man. Investigation soon disproved any such theory. For tlfe cone shaped heads of many Malekula islanders is a deform ity deliberately produced by wrapping cord about the heads of babies. If the child survives,the treatment its egg shaped head, point upward, is a Male- kulan distinction akin to the tiny foot of a Chinese woman. a 'Another custom of Malekula seems equally harrowing. If a woman dis closes a gap in the rows of her gleam ing white teeth it means that she is married, and that the older women have performed this operation in some thing of the playful spirit in which rice throwing sometimes is indulged in at an American ceremony. The male Malekulan is a crack marksman with the bow and poisoned arrow, and as inveterate a clubman as a wealthy American bachelor. In many islands of the New Hebrides each vil lage has. its clubhouse and upon his standing among his club fellows, de pends his rank in the community. "Moreover there is a combination community forum, public dance .hall, and children's playground under the banyan tree of nearly every native village. "There are many differences between the Malekuftan and the natives of other islands, thotgh most of them are very obviously Malanesian, from their thick woolly hair, coal black skin, flat noses and heavy lips. The Malekulans are accorded the palm for ferocity and cruelty by many travelers, though they are not unique among the Hebrides natives in these respects. On some islands the women expect to be buried alive with their husbands' bodies, a a a "A redeeming feature of the Male kulans is their scrupulous honesty. A traveler's life may not be worth much if he irritates a native, but his property is absolutely safe. Another Malekula distinction inheres in the wooden an cestor images found there. These ef figies display a resemblance to human beings and attest a latent artistic taste in their crude coloring. "Trouble in the New Hebrides is nothing new. In 1904 an Anglo-French expedition was rteeded to check a native uprising and nearly two decades earlier the French intervened to suppress a vigorous outbreak. "The "New Hebrides were discovered by' a Portuguese sailor early in the 17th century; explored somewhat and named by Captain Cook a century and a half later and were declared neutral by Franc and Great Britain in 1878 Later agreements provided joint con trol and administration. "The New Hebrides lie about 1500 miles northeast of Sydney, Australia. Malekula is one of the larger islands of tne group. The largest is Marina. The seat of government is on the Sandwich island." In Other Days. Twenty-five Tears Ak. From Tho Oregonian. April IB. ISM. St. Paul. The strike on the Great Northern is extending eastward and has developed a peculiar state of af fairs. It is stated that although it was ordered by the American Railway Union it is being more opposed by the brotherhoods than by the company itself. , Washington. Preparations are being quietly made in Washington for the reception of Coxey and his gang. It is stated that the police will bundle the situation without trouble. Two thousand dollars was raised for road work at a convention held re cently at Salem. General H. B. Compson of Klamath Falls will be the democratic nominee for governor of Oregon. Fifty Years Ago. From The Oreironlan of April 16. 1S6U. London. Civil war is raging with increasing violence in Japan, accord ing to advices received .here. Earth quakes are adding to the misery of the War-torn empire. Great concern is being expressed over the disposition of about 25,000 men now engaged In building tho Union and Central Pacific railroads when construction work is finished. San Francisco. Arrest of the Do Young brothers, owners of the Chroni cle, on complaint of Hartz, a magician, was ordered today. Criminal libel is alleged by Hartz, who tswore out tho warrants. Investigation of tho feasibility of es tablishing mail service between Port land and Alaska has -been ordered in a resolution adopted in the United States senate. FISHERMEN WARNED AGAINST CUT Effort Predicted to Bear Salmon Price Paid Trollera to 8 Cents. CARROLLS, Wash., April 14. (To the Editor.) Fishermen at their next meet ings should be warned against paid agents in the ranks of the fishermen who will try to induce fishermen, and particularly trollers, to fish for 8 cents under the pretext that there is no sale for canned salmon. Trollers particularly should beware that they are not sold. It was tried In 1889 and would have worked had it not been for M. J. and Dr. Alfred Kinney. They rejected this fraudulent offer in which a few fishermen about four men would have cleaned up over $25,- 000, and the fishermen instead of get ting 5 cents per pound would have got ten only 3 cents per pound. It is now aimed at the trollers, as the gillnetters are mostly without new nets. Even at 11 'A cents per pound they were not able to buy new nets at 33.75 per pound, while four years ago, and even three years ago, nets could be bought at 31.40 per pound. If the troiler is induced to risn lor s cents, .the gillnetter, seiner and trapper would be compelled ,to follow suit. No net fishermen can fish for 8 cents at the present prices of netting. Trollers should stand by their last year's price of 11 cents at least, and not let a few men sell them to a com bine. G. C. F. HOLZ. HOW ONE ANGEL CHILD BEHAVED Landlady Relates Result of Tleldlna; to Mother's Importunities. . PORTLAND, April 15. (To the Ed itor.) I read in The Oregonian about landlord's experience with children in apartments. I can quite agree with him, having also had experience. Apartments, flats and rooms are no places for children. People with chil dren should be in houses by themselves. What Portland needs is a few hundred small cottages, out far enough that children may have space to grow in. A line of jitneys should be estaBlished, so the problem of getting back and forth from work would not worry. I often wonder, when I read of the way this "housing committee" condemn us for not taking children, why they don't club together and build a large apartment for people with children large, fine halls with hardwood floors. just the thing for "kiddie kars," coast ers and roller skates; permit the darl ings to have all the pet dogs and cats they want; have electric elevators that never get out of repair, no matter how much the angels ride up and down in them for amusement: where there are lovely green lawns in constant use for play grounds and flowers grow and bloom in spite of being run over and picked all the time. It is quite easy to tell property owners that a law is to be made to compel them to take children, but are these people who stand so ready to dictate to others. doing their share in the matter? My last experience in taking children was when a mother came to me quite late at night. A daughter, aged 12, was all she had. The "angel" was with her. The mother assured me the girl was a "young lady" and there would be no trouble. Being larger than the mother, I took chances. The girl proved to be a perfect nuisance. The other tenants in the house complained' about her breaking in'on their privacy at all . hours, without knocking at a door. One of the favorite amusements of the "young lady" was to run in while tho other people were eating a meal, stand and gaze at the table and make re marks about this dish and that. If you take a family with one child, remember it means at least a dozen others all the school or kindcrgartpn where it attends. Parents are mostly to blame. Children are not taught the rights of others. The old-fashioned spank has gone out of style, and chil dren raise the parents and some other things. LANDLADY. FIFTY YEARS OF HIGH SCHOOL. They gathered in the old north school house, back in eighteen sixty nine; Laid a corner stone of knowledge, thence to rear a lasting shrine. That their youth should unfold, broad en: learn of science, Latin, Mars A curriculum transcending A B C's and triple R's. The town its swaddling clothes was doffing; it must aim for world wide goals. It has ris'n from forest hovels to a full eight thousand souls. Trade and commerce were expanding; civic, social prowess prized And tile rising generation's birthright surely could not be despised. Few of Portland's present dwellings harbor those who builded rticn. But they've lived to see their modest temple grow through two score years and ten; And their children's children trained. therein, and taking rank in the front line Or their native city's forward moves ne'er unmindful of lang syne. ERNEST STEWART. THE LITRE: OF SPRING. There's dogwood blossoms on the trees, There's perfume floating on the breeze, There's a yellow buttercup and a Johnny-jump-up, And a boy who's beginnig now to tease. "Mother, let me go a-fishing, do, please. Mother, let us eat our dinner 'mong the trees, Mother, let me go and gather in this jolly kind of weather. All the trllllums that are growing 'neath the trees." There's a call and a whistle from the street, , There's a sound of coming, eager feet. Then with blue eyes beaming and with white teeth gleaming' And with lips like the rose, as red and . sweet. "Mother, let me go a-flshlng, do, please, Mother, let us eat our dinner 'mong the trees, Mother, let me go and gacher, in this jolly kind of weather All the trilliums that are growing 'neath the trees." " c BERTHA A. STOCKS. Novel Plan aa to Fish. Edinburgh Scotsmen. The Chinese hav a novel wav of propagating fish. The spawn is care fully collected from the surface of the water, and when a sufficient quantity has been obtained they take a number of hens' eggs, the contents of which ha-e been carefully emptied through a small aperture, and refill the shells with spawns. The holes are sealed up and the eggs put under the broody hens. The hens are allowed to incu bate the eggs for a certain number of days, when the eggs are again broken and their contents put into water that has been previously warmed by the sun. In a very short time the spawn hatches, and tile young fry are then kept in pure fresh water until a suf ficient size to be put into the ponds. At one time a considerable business was done in this style of spawn hatch- Cost of Line Survey. MARQUAM, Or., April 14. (To the Editor.) My neighbor has ordered a, survey to run a line between his farm and mine. It is a section lino and I am satisfied with the present line. Can my neighbor make me pay for one-half of the expense of a new purvey? SUBSCRIBER. If it is a privato survey, no. If he has requested the county surveyor to survey a disputed boundary line, tho cost of this survey is apportioned amonjj property owners affected. Homestead Righta. PORTLAND, April 15. (To the Edi tor.) Several years ago my late hus band took up a soldier's homestead, lived on it and proved up. As he only got 80 acres, cannot I take up an addi tional 80 acres and get title without living on it? MRS. 11. F. MILLER. No. "