TITE 3IORNTNG OREGOXIAX, MONDAY. DECEMBER 15, 1919.
8
t-nbHrrlption Kates Invariably in Advance.
(By Mail.)
)a!ly, Sunday included, one year
ally, Sunday Included, six months ..
ai!y, Sunday included, three months
'ally. Sunday Included, one month .-
aily, without Sunday, one year
aii. without Sunday, six months ..
aiiy, without Sunday, one month. . ..
eek.y, one year
jtion politically."" The St. Louis con-
l ierence was me rwun. '
The Questionnaire is a fine ex-
STABLlSHKn BY HENRY PITTOCK. ample of propaganda by suggestion.
ubiiKhed by The Oregonian Publishing Co.. it shows the committee to be a hand
maiden of the labor party by aslcing
133 toixth street, Portland, Oregon.
. A. MORDEN". E. B. PIPER
Manager.
Editor.
The Oregonian Is a member of the Aeso
iated Press. The Associated Press is
xciuslvely entitled to the use for pubiica
:on of all news dispatches credited to it
r not otherwise .credited in this paper and
mo the local news published herein. All
ights of republication of special dispatches
er-in are also reserved.
first:
Do you favor the programme of the
American labor party in regard to the
worker? m -
Do you favor the programme of the
non-partisan league as regards the
farmer?
Then comes a mixture of questions
on such moderate reforms as the
budget and a federal department of
education with others on 'literal re
storation of the constitutional rights
of free press, freedom of speech and
public assemblage or in which a
fl.oo j radical scheme like the Plumb plan
3 jj lis named together with its conserva
i!oo tive alternative. Thus "liberals" were
unriay. one year 2.50Ii.j -"h tVior thev favored the
unday and weekly a.so i - control or
(By Carrier.) I ' th inn.
uuciaiijJ ui iiuuuimipi., ' c
age law, public machinery for dis
tribution of profits, compulsory mm
$8.00
2.1!5
3
fcaily. Hunday Included, one year . . . . .$9.00
aiiy nuiiuny inciuuea. xn ree moiiin. . .
aiiy, Sunday included, one month 75
-aily, without Sunday, one year ...... 7.H't
Jally, without Sunday, three months.. . l.Wt
vaity, without Sunday, one month 60
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J'KOTHCDINT. PREROGATIVES. '
Official life in Washington seems
o be one wounded sensibility after
mother. This situation is not al
ogether due, it appears, to the com-
"licated system into which our gov-
rnment has grown. Though num
berless new prerogatives have been
reated and lie around ready to be
tepped on, some of the older ones
re carelessly trod under foot- To be
aore explicit:
There was Lindley M. Garrison,
Vho somehow gained the notion that
9 secretary of war it was his pre
ogative to recommend to congress
ha erection of a citizens army with
embellishments devised to produce
in adequate state of preparedness,
"trst the president thought well of
t: then he thought ill of it, and
without informing Garrison decided
o squelch the whole business. So
he wounded Garrison gave place to
nother.
There was also William Jennings
iryan. As democratic secretary ol
late, he deemed It his prerogative
o pilot the ship of state. He wrote
several notes to Germany, pacific
and conciliatory, but one day the
president dictated a sharp note of his
own, and said to Mr. Bryan, "Sign
here." The non-consulted Br. Bryan
retired from office humiliated, but
with benignity unimpaired.
There was Senator George E.
phamberlain of Oregon, who a:
chairman of the committee on milt
tary affairs, fancied it was within
his province to criticise the war de
partment and suggest a new advis
ory-'system for conduct of the war.
But the president In effect applied a
short and ugly word to the criticism.
and having thus logically and con
clusively set the senator in his place.
1 ' I VI VJ l U bill? llllllll 0 11 d (, V .1 1 1 W 11 OH
Tts own. The friendship of the two
now hardly noticeable. Wounded
nators do not resign.
t Away back in 1787 the framers of
no . constitution decreed that the
resident should negotiate treaties
iV and with the consent of the sen
te. But In 1919 without the advice
consent of the senate and without
ming any senators as peace com
issioners, the president negotiated
treaty of peace with Germany
ow, the wounded senate, as another
dserver puts It, is for the treaty
ust as it stands, which Is flat on Its
ack- We repeat, that senators, no
latter how badly injured in the
nsibilities, do not resign.
Another controversy with Mexico
rose. Secretary Lansing wrote the
ustomary notes to Carranza about
announced that the president had
rt been consulted, and congress was
bout to consider a resolution declar-
ig for severance of diplomatic re
tions with the southern neighbor,
ut a committee from the senate
ught the president's chamber and
politely told that conduct of
a relations was the prerogative
fv ae president, not of congress.
uuiik came a coal striae, ton
8 had created the office of fuel
lininistrator. Dr. Harry Garfield
eld the post. He fancied, despit
listorlc precedents, that he had some
irerogative or other in the conduct
f the affairs of which he was pre
iumably put In charge. He propose
a settlement, said "take it or leav
it," and the department of justice be
gran to stir, but the president arose
from a sick bed, ignored Garfield,
proposed another arrangement an
lettled the strike. The outraged
1 parfield. not being a senator, of
f (course resigned.
1 I The list Is doubtless incomplete
... ... , ...
out tnese are tne major casualties oi
an era of protruding prerogatives.
tary training. Sandwiched among
these is the significant question:
Do you favor the federation of the labor
party, the non-partisan league and the
committee of forty-eight to function
through a common political channel?
The answer to this question is not
known, but 93 per cent endorsed the
labor party programme and every
radical suggestion had an enormous
majority.
It appears that the new labor
arty is to be a new cave of Adullam,
that its original promoters have
gathered in all of the labor element
that they can control, the Non-partisan
league Is on hand to represent
the radical farmers, and now the
ommittee of forty-eight is making a
round-up of all the unattached rad
icals in order to establish its claim to
part in the convention.
insurance fund, but we all know tnax i come more intimate, as nrooismi i-uim.is "" -
wages are not fixed- They may rise j which used to be individual onu
cn-nw intr. rnmmilililv nrob ems. It IB I ATOCtt anwn
necessary that the neighborhood and
the community spirit be infused into
the churches themselves.
still higher; they may fall materially.
But whether they rise or fall the pro
portion of accidents to the number
of men employed will not increase or
diminish. If the law be not changed
in this regard the. commission on the
to Kdgrar Allrm Poe.
It has remained for a foreigner
Vicente Blasco Ibanez, Spanish author
This is not to say. of course, that j to'begln a movement toward a mon
carried to absurd extremes, consou- ument to Edear Allan Poe. When the i
Those Who Come and Go.
COL. HOFER DEFENDS TOBACCO
first of next July will fix rates of j dation might not defeat its own pur- j author of "'The Four Horses of the
pose, mere is sucn a mias a Apocalypse" arrived In New York re-
contribution for the succeeding two
sears. They may do the best the
human mind is capable of doing, but
no one will be able to foretell
whether the rates will produce an
other unnecessary surplus, or cause
a deficit or compel depletion of surplus.
WILSON THE ONE OBSTACLK?
Plain intimations from the allies
that they would not object to Ameri
can reservations to the treaty with
Germany are apt to leave President
Wilson in a highly embarrassing po
sition. He has said in effect that to
do anything except ratify the treaty
unreservedly would be fatal to it and
would "break the heart of the
world." Now come the leading na
tions of the world and say that a few
reservations which will satisfy Amer
ican caution in going into so ex
tensive a deal will not break their
hearts but that pleasure at ratifica
tion on such terms would quicken
the palpitation of those organs.
In truth, all the bone and flesh
of the most important reservations
can be preserved while their cloth
ing of words may be so changed as
to make them more pleasing to the
eyes of the allies. The latter may
well prefer saying by their silence:
'We don't object" to saying: "We
accept." as required by the Lodge
preamble. After all, the military,
economic and moral power which
the United States would add to the
league would insure that any rea
sonable conditions of remaining in it
would be accepted, while the conse
quences "would restrain this nation
from making any unreasonable con
ditions which would wreck it. If the
allies have no apprehension that we
shall impose such conditions, why
should Mr. Wilson?
Germany is watching events in
Washington, and to confidence that
Mr. Wilson will not bend his stub
born will may well be due the new
courage which prompts objection to
signing the final protocol prelimin
ary to putting the treaty in effect.
: THE TALKER,
Whenever there is need of prompt
action in passing an important piece
of legislation. Senator La Follette
can always be relied on to interpose
a flood of talk. He did so in oppo
sition to the Vreeland currency bill
in 1908, and rode his hobby against
it, but the democrats who then
chimed in with him found it to be
a life-sayer during the financial'
crisis which followed the outbreak
of war. His freakishness has been
displayed on every occasion, on none
more than when he opposed war and
the draft bill- Passage of railroad
legislation before the new year Is
imperative, for confusion must ensue
unless President Wilson can be in
duced to defer return of the roads
to their owners, but La Follette talks
by the day in opposition.
Without going into the details of
the Cummins bill, the fact that it
was approved by all the members of
the committee on commerce except
one should be conclusive in its favor.
If any doubt remained, it should be
removed by the fact that La Follette
was the one objector. The Wiscon
sin senator's contention that the bill
is too favorable to the railroad com
panies is sufficiently met by the fact
that it is fathered by Senator Cum
mins. The latter was a veteran in
the war for regulation of railroads
when the Wisconsin colleague was
a young recruit in that a.r, and he
was never known to favor giving the
railroads more than their due, but
he knows that to bankrupt them
would be a poor service to the pub
lic. But one motive can be found for
the La Follette filibuster to post
pone decision in order that an op
portunity may be made to campaign
for public ownership. Public opin
ion is clearly against that policy, and
will not suffer delay in putting the
railroads into condition to render
good service.
This is an appropriate occasion'for
the senate to resort to the cloture.
That instrument was designed to
stop a flow of verbosity which Is kept
up by a small knot of members for
the purpose of preventing the great
majority from reaching a decision by
a vote. The Wisconsin senator and
his few aids are flagrant obstruc
tionists. They have had their say,
and should be silenced.
ful emulation, -and a body might
become unwieldy with mere size.
Rivalry within reasonable limits may
operate as a check and balance. But
it will be a long time before the
average American town will be bet
ter served by a multiplicity of
churches than by a few of them,
vigorously conducted, militant for
the right, and we certainly do not re
quire for mere purposes of balance
the more than 100 denominations
which found places in the last fed
eral census. There are too many
feeble church organizations, and not
enough efficient ones. There is too
much overlapping of work. One su
perintendent of educational work,
for example, is enough for several
churches, if he is the right man for
the job. One man can direct the
training of a good many Bible teach
ers, and so on. In social service, the
more nearly the organization ap
proaches the population o the whole
community, the better for all con
cerned. There is as yet no visible
danger from the tendency to consoli
date, and there are weaknesses in
division which all thoughtful citi
zens admit.
The basic demand on the social
church is that it shall reach the
community. Other considerations are
mostly non-essential. Such questions
as surrender of names of individual
churches are minor details. It may
be that the good people of Walla
Walla have solved these, as is inti
mated, by some plan of "federation";
but the name by which it is called Is
also unimportant. The venture here
will be watched with especial inter
est because it is hoped that It will
blaze a way. Not much that is prac
tical has come out of all the talk of
the past three or four years about
church union, but it cheers us to
know that the idea is not dead.
There are forces at work that do
not lose sight of the goal. Every
success gives encouragement to
others who heretofore have tried but
failed; the principles which are basi
cally sound, once they have been
determined-, are bound In the end to
prevail.
Ham sandwiches and sweet cider
are not generally considered the
choicest combination for breakfast,
especially during these days of freez
ing weather, but this was the portion
which Eugene L. Coburn. county
I clerk of Josephine county, was com
I naiinrt t n .ypnt when his delayed
cently, he was astonished to find no- j Southern Pacific train, arrived at Al-
With a Kick in It.
ByUUD.
He Would Not Insult Paat Generations
With Vm rrrua ry Ban.
SALEM. Or. Drc 13 (Tn :h V.A. !
tor.) Readers of The Oregonian will THE SAFE GAME,
recall that a few years ago I warned "The world will end on
them that the crusaders against per- ; Dr 17."
sonal libertv would not atnn with Current fiction.
seeking to enforce total abstinence in The guy who's foresighted won't
Decem-
where a memorial to the poet.
Poe, according to the Spanish writ
er. Is held throughout Kurope to have
been the greatest of American liter
ary men. one of the greater writers,
in fact, of all time. When in New
bany about 10 hours late, en route
to Portland. The diner was taken off
at Eugene and it was nearly noon
when the belated train pulled in at
Albany. During the 10-minute wait
Mr f!oburn and a few of his hungry
! fellow-passengers skirmished around
, - i . , , .1 : 1. M.on
BRI MMING VP THE HIGHBROW REDS,
The conference at St. Louis which
resolved to launch a "liberal" party
n the political sea is the product of
the mysterious committee of forty-plirrtt-
which William Allen White
rcalls one of the "little Mabels of
politics." It Is the intellectual wing
of the radical element which has
formed the new labor party, the
latter having sent out invitations to
the farmers. These have been ac
cepted by the Non-partisan league
but have been coldly declined by the
Grange and the Farmers' union.
Inquiry into the origin of the com
mittee of forty-eight has shown it to
ive been conceived in a tea room at
reenwich village, New York, by a
roup of parlor radicals and social
Many of its moving spirits have
connected with such parlor bol-
ist organs as the New Republic,
Nation and the Dial. One is the
tor of the Dial, who has consti-
ed himself champion of Soviet
issla. Another is Arthur Le Suer
ex-secretary of the Non-partisan
league, who addresses W. D- Hay
wood, head of the I. W. W., as "My
dear Bill." But it has proved impos-
Hble to discover the identity of all
the members.
S. Its first meeting was held In Jan
l'arv and in March it advertispd "J
?all to Americans" in four liberal
ournals. Then followed "A Call to
Vction." which was mailed In Sep-
ember to 17,000 editors. In June
a platform drafting committtee was
appointed, which sent a question
naire to all who responded to the call
and asked them if they would attend
a conference "and thus have a voice
in shaping the committee's pro
rramme and in deciding on th
method through which it will fuue-
n
i f
1 1
i f
A TASK FOR THE LEGISLATURE.
The need for amendment of the
industrial insurance law which has
caused the governor to call a special
session of the legislature invites the
reflection that the workmen's com
pensation fund has a basis of income
that is not as closely related to out
go as was once believed.
The income to the fund is derived
chiefly from contributions from the
employers and these contributions
are a fixed percentage of average
payrolls. Now a workman's liabil
ity to accident Is not affected at all
by the fact that he may receive twice
as much for a day's work in 1919 as
he received for the same work in
1914. Yet there has been a great in
crease in wages over the pre-war
period. As the employer's contribu
tion is a percentage of his total pay
roll he has accordingly been paying
into the fund more than the antici
pated need for compensating injuries
and providing surpluses. .
There is therefore accumulating in
the compensation fund an unneces
sary surplus, yet the injured work
man cannot benefit from it as the law
stands, for his compensation for in
juries is on an Inelastic basis so
much, and no more, for loss of an
eye; so much, and no more, for loss
of an arm; so much, and no mort
for loss of both arms, etc. A present
provision of the law would permit
this unnecessary surplus to be cred
ited to the contributing employers on
July 1, 1920. Justice seems to lie
in another direction. The cost of
living has vastly increased since the
schedule of benefits was made up.
The beneficiaries of the system fina
that as a result of the higher cost of
living the benefits are not compen
sation for injuries, but are little
better than a charity relief. More
over, the employers' contributions
have already gone into the overhead
costs of his business. He has not
figured on a reimbursement. His
outlay for industrial insurance has
entered into the price charged for
that which he produced and the con
sumer, not he, has paid it.
It is, therefore, but simple justice
that the benefits to injured work
men be increased, but it may be well
for the legislature to consider also
that a schedule of compensation es
timated in relation to the prospec
tive contributions to the fund may
bring about another crisis in indus
trial insurance affairs. If wages
should fall materially, contributions
would lessen and the fund would
face a deficit, as it did in 1915, when
the legislature hastened to raise the
rates. It is true that authority has
been delegated to the industrial ac
cident commission to revise the rates
that employers shall pay, but this
revision may be accomplished -only
bi-ennially and at a set time of the
year. Authority to make an annual
revision would seem to be an im
provement. A complete change in
the method of assessing the employ
ers would be better. For as already
stated, the risk of accidents to an
employer's workmen Is not affected
by the amount of his payroll, except
so far as that payroll is increased or
decreased by taking on or laying off
employes. Accident expectation in
industry is based upon number of
men employed, the use and effi
ciency of safety devices and the
general hazard of the industry.
If wage scales were permanently
fixed, then the payroll would be a
(better guide for contributions to the
CHCRCH ONION
Members of two churches at Walla
Walla Congregational and Presby
terian are soon to have an oppor
tunity to vote on the proposition that
they shall become organically one.
which is a reminder that perhaps
after all the movement toward
church unity, which was greatly
stimulated by the war and its at
tendant demand for economy of ef
fort in every department of human
activity, may not be permitted en
tirely to languish now that peace
has come. The officials of the
churches in .question have gone so
far as to recommend that the
churches be united. As is proper
among a people whose social order
is based on the principles of democ
racy, the rank and file are to have
the final say.
We shall watch the news from
Walla Walla with particular inter
est because if it shall develop that
union is desired and also that the
members of each organization are
willing to make the concessions and
even sacrifices essential to bringing
this about, they will be setting an
example not at all common in this
world of much discussion of theories
and many failures to put them into
effect. There was about this time
last year a similar movement in an
Oregon town not far from Portland,
in which three churches were in
volved, but it seems to have come to
nothing. There were rival conten
tions that this or that church was
trying to get the better of the other
churches, or something like that.
The tendency of the times is toward
relaxation of dividing lines between
creeds, but the issue of property al
most always bobs up. We do not ap
pear to be able to surmount that
obstacle as easily as we ought to do.
It would seem that this, of all ques
tions, would most readily lend itself
to adjustment. The rules of mathe
matics, even of commercial arithme
tic, are pretty well established. But
it remains a curious fact that people
who are entirely willing to waive
some point concerning baptism of
nfants or the minor requisites of
salvation will hold out to the last
ditch on a question of title to a piece
of real estate, or some small mat
ter like that. ' It Is deplorable, but
it is often so.
The reasons advanced by those
who favor church union in Walla
Walla include one that will appeal
with new rorce to the advocates of
greater economy of church effort
everywhere. This is that it will
mean not only economy of material
and effort, but also a widening of
fellowship and opportunity. It ap
pears that the consolidated organiza
tion, if the plan goes through, would
maintain relations with both denom
inations. It would "send
gates to the national and subordinate
organizations and contribute to four
teen instead of seven lines of denom
inational work." But, locally, dupli
cation would be avoided. To use a
mercantile phrase, the "overhead"
would be cut down; there would be
only one pastor to pay and one build
ing to maintain. Perhaps, as to the
pastor, there is hope, not so much
of a saving in dollars and cents, as
of more nearly adequate payment for
service rendered. The question of
pastors' salaries, as is well known, is
now a burning issue in church
circles.
But there -may also be an incre
ment of goad from the sole fact of
union In an undertaking. En
thusiasm may be bred of numbers
and inspiration be derived from
teamwork in a common cause. When
formerly we were more concerned
over doctrinal matters than we are
now, 4t was natural to divide on
tweedledum and tweedledee. But
the larger conception of the duty of
cue cnurcn or today is that it has a
social duty, which is also a relisious
duty, to perform, and this dovetails
conveniently with the idea of union.
"Why, enough strawberries could
be grown on the vacant lots and in
the back yards and on the curbs of
Salem to keep a big jam and jelly
factory going the year through," ob
serves the Salem Statesman in a re
cent editorial, "or a big cannery
part of the year." And it supports
its statement with the account of a
grower who produced strawberries
at the rate of 1000 crates to the acre
on the grounds of the agricultural
college at Corvallis and of another
who did as well at Falls City with
another variety of berries and had
a ' second crop besides. . Marion
county, already claimant of the hon
or of being the leaVg strawberry
county of Oregon, with Polk county
a close second, is going to fight to
York, Ibanez visited the old cottage ' and found one Albany soft drink man
in which Poe wrote some of his great
poems and stories.
"I look upon Poe as my spiritual
and literary father," declared the
Spanish author. "I first read him
when I was seven years old. I knew
then that I must become a writer. To
write like Poe. to tell my stories like
him. to translate my visions upon
paper like he did was the end and
aim of my existence. In Spain Poe
is read in all the public schools. We
never can understand over there why
he is not so well understood and so
revered in this country.
"I almost can weep when I see so
many statues erected tt men whom
we regard as nonentities and none to
the American who has affected so
profoundly the literature of Europe
and South America. I am willing to
subscribe $100 toward a fitting me
morial to trie man whose genius I re
gard as one of the greatest of all
time."
An extremely strange bird is the
singing pigeon, or Arabian laughing
dove. They must not be confounded
with the German laughing pigeon or
dove, which is merely the common
cage dove or collared turtle.
The singing pigeons originally
were found in Palestine and they
were latterly bred in India, the na
tive rajahs being enthusiastic pigeon
breeders,- expending fortunes on their
dovecotes. The singing pigeon weighs
about the same as an African owl
and Is similar in build, except that
it may be a trifle fuller at the
throat. In color these pigeons are
usually red, mottled or checkered,
though they are sometimes found of
a bluish color.
Their voice baffles all description,
being tremulous and broken, with
gurgling notes, like the noise of
water poured from a bottle. The
utterance Is varied, and, though there
is a resemblance at times to the
drumming of a true trumpeter, it Is
not so. sonorous. It is frequently in
terrupted by one or more of the in
spiratory "ahs," which no doubt gives
them the name of laughers. Their
cooing is soft and melodious and
both sexes takes part in the song.
To hear them at their best absolute
silence must be observed for they im
mediately stop should any one speak
or make a sound.
A Detroit newspaper is responsible
for this little yarn:
"A man." says the teller, "had a
little cold in the head. And his face
was flushed. And he went to sleep
who braved the frisid weather and
opened shop. They breakfasted on
cider and cold ham sandwiches. Mr.
Coburn. who is thinking seriously of
entering the race for the republican
nomination for secretary of state, was
one of the lucky travelers to be as
signed a room at the Imperial.
"Stockmen of the Pacific northwest
have every reason to be proud of the
showing they made at the Interna
tional Livestock exposition in Chi
cago." These are the words of A. H.
Lea. secretary of the Oregon state
fair, who returned to Portland yes
terday from the Chicago exposition,
where he saw stock raised on the
Pacific slope carry off the highest
honors in competition with the best
the east could produce. Mr. Lea has
been frequently mentioned as a pos
sible candidate for the republican
nomination for secretary of state, but
he said he would make no announce
ment of any. kind until he has had
opportunity to size up political condi
tions during the coming few weeks.
Friends close to Mr. Lea and Henry
Schulderman, corporation commis
sioner, say that one or the other will
seek the republican nomination. If
one makes the race the other will
withdraw, according to political
gossip.
As a usual thing, A. W. Norblad,
state senator from Clatsop county, is
an exceedingly veracious individual,
but a fish story he '"pulled" upon his
arrival in Portland from Astoria is
one that would even make Carl Shoe
maker blush with shame. "Just be
fore I left home, I saw a big cake of
ice heading up-stream at a fairly
good speed." ruminated the Astoria
solon. "Naturally, I was interested.
I went down to the river bank to in
vestigate, and would you believe It?
a big salmon had been frozen
in a cake of ice. His tail was still
tree and he was whipping himself up
the CLy-rent at a good gait." Phil
Metschan Jr., host at the Imperial, is
seriously thinking of presenting a
silver loving cup to the guest who
springs the best cold weather story
during present 'conditions, and he is
free in his predictions that those who
follow must step lively to wrest the
laurels from Senator Norblad.
There are times when even a law
maker reaches the limit of' his en
durance. And this is exactly what
happened to Denton G. Burdick. state
representative from Redmond. Or.,
when 40 below zero weather hit his
part of the state. Mr. Burdick de
cided that the warmth and comfort of
Portland hotels was preferable to the
bitter cold of central Oregon, so he
and Mrs. Burdick bundled themselves
up and came to Portland to stay un
til Boreas starts a new deal. They
are guests at the Imperial.
hold championship. Which is a kind on a railroad train. And when he
of competition worth stimulating, in
these days of competition for less
worthy objects, and a spirit of emu
lation that is worth as much as the
strawberries and other things that
result from it.
It is an established fact that from
its headquarters in Moscow bolshe
vism conducts a worldwide propa
ganda and organizes conspiracies to
overthrow democracy and substitute
soviet communism. This is a war no
less dangerous and relentless than
of Pan-Germanism. It should be
fought at every point by enactment
of rigorous laws and by employment
of all the forces of the government
to enforce them. Repressive laws
should be accompanied by remedial
laws, which would remove evils that
enable reds to make recruits in this
country.
"Harney county has had one of the
most delightful snowfalls in the
memory of the oldest inhabitant,"
reads a dispatch from Burns, where
the thermometer is 6 below zero. If
they feel that way about it, they can
have our snow, too.
In a month or so probably the
divorce courts will be filled with
complaints by wives who had to arise
first and build the fires. That's
where old Brigham had the edge
long ago; he could scatter the
kicks."
When the French talk of selling
delicacies to America, they overlook
the delicacies which we have for sale.
Oregon apples and clams, for exam
ple, it is a case tor exenange,
for one-sided dealing.
not
By proper action, this congress
and administration can prevent the
speculators from forcing sugar to 25
cents. McNarys bill that has passed
the senate willdo it.
If the head of a comet hits us
Wednesday the collision will change
the immediate climate, and it cannot
be worse. But, worse luck, "no can
happen!"
The railroad administration is re
covering from the hysterics of i
week ago and the canceled trains are
coming back for Christmas.
John Sharp Williams will retire
in disgust, when his term expires,
possibly to spend his days in reading
dele-1 Irish literature.
Villa is said to be holding an
American for $10,000 ransom and to
have let a Britisher go. Sounds natural.
Well, well". Has the police depart
ment got after the punchboards?
Well, well, again.
It can never be said of Mr. Burle
son that he followed the lines of
least resistance.
Where do you suppose the weath
erfolk get that stuff of "not so cold"?
Out of the air.
In the matter of honors, only the
below zero towns are considered dur
ing this spell.
That loud noise you just heard is
probably another bursting water
pipe.
If a freshet is due, it will come,
and hoping and talking will not stop
it-
And Garfield may be right, for
As neighborhood relationships be-'. that matter,.
woke up he was under arrest.
"You gotta go to the pest house,'
said the sanitary officer. "You got
smallpox."
"He said the sanitary officer was
foolish and a number of other un
kind things. But he went to the
pest house. Then he got the chief
health officer to come out and ex
amine him. After the examination he
said:
" 'You see, I haven't got any smallpox.'
You're right,' said the chief
health officer. 'You have not a sign
of smallpox. It is too bad you were
brought here."
" 'Then lemme fcro,' said the .man.
because I'm busier than a tin ped
dler in egg time. I got a lot of things
to do."
" 'I'm sorry," said the chief officer.
You haven't got any smallpox. You
never had smallpox, as tar as i
know you never will have smallpox.
But you've got to stay here for 30
days, because you've been exposed."
The man says this is a true story.
He says the other inmates of the
pesthouse asked to be segregated.
They said they couldn't stand the
sufferer's language.
m w w
The makeup man of one of Ameri
cas best known montniy periodicals
has another kick to add to the long
list of which the present adminis
tration has been the recipient. He has
at least originality to commend it.
"Sitting here at this desk, there
are a lot of things that happen that
get my goat," said he, the other day.
"I don't mind getting proofs back
O. K.'d in all sorts of different ways,
such as 'O. K. as corrected, but not
read for typographical errors." I don't
mind helping the advertisers out If
they don't know how to spell and
I think it's my real job to look for
wrong font letters, and that kind of
thing. But this one got my goat.
"In the first place, look how he
spells It O-K-E-H. He has been read
ing some more of Wilson's stuff.
Then O-K-E-H, not as corrected, but
assuming that you are to discover
mis-spellings of all ordinary words.
We will hold you entirely responsible
for accuracy of figures and words.
In accordance with copy, that you
have Inserted proper key numbers,
that all fonts are correct and punctu
ation is perfect."
"O-K-E-H!" said the makeup man
in a tone of deep disgust. "How does
he get that way?"
A story they tell of Charles J. Webb
of Philadelphia illustrates the great
truth that you must stick at a thing
hopefuly and prayerfully if you
would be sure to make a success
of it.
Some years ago he became one of
a group to create a cemetery out
in the suburbs. The place was made
as attractive as possible, but there
was no patronage. "There's only one
thing for you to do now, Charley."
said one of the syndicate. "What's
that?"
"Pray the Lord to send us an
epidemic."
Speedily there followed an ex-
i tended period of unusual Illness. The
finger of suspicion pointed in the
direction of Mr. Webb. But he might
have repeated the tale of one of our
Methodist bishops who strongly dis
liked a presiding elder and prayed
the Lord to remove him. One day he
had barely risen from his knees when
his wife brought the morning paper
with the news of the death of the
bishop's pet thorn In the flesh.
Whereupon the good man broke out:
"But I didn't mean it hat way, O
Lord, really I dida'tl" Public Ledger.
Along with the fuel and other
shortages, a salt shortage impended
not so many months ago, and were it
not for the fact that a few new salt
wells were discovered and opened up,
the salt situation in this country
mignt nave reached alarming pro
portions. This is the testimony of
A. L. Gove, a salt salesman of Roch-
I ester, N. Y., who Is hugging a register
at tne Aiuitnoman during the cold
ni.ll
one form but would enlarge their
sphere of action to include tobocco.
Rev. Clarence True Wilson then ve
hemently denied the accusation and
said prohibitionists would rest with
their onslaught on wines, beers,
whiskies and ciders. That was only
sidestepping to gain time and make
the necessary financial arrangements
to launch a national campaign.
During the great European war the
matter could not be brought up with
safety, as even church organizations
were willing men should fight the
German autocracy that threatened the
world, with or without the aid of to
bacco. Men were not asked If they
were tobacco users and even the
Y. M. C. A found it could not minister
to the social needs of the men across
seas or in the American training
camps and deny them the use of to
bacco. So even the government sup
plied its canteens with the comforts
of the smoke and the consolation of
the chew. The output of entire to
bacco factories was contracted and it
was a notorious fact that government
rations of nicotine were much cheaper
than the prices charged by some of
the moral compromisers and religious
Drofiteers.
Now comes the grand charge of the
anti-nicotine brigade with the state
ment that American soldiers left the
fighting lines to get cigarettes and
"had to be led out of the fiehtinp:
ranks to have cigarettes stuffed in
their mouths before they could stand
up and hold a gun." He calls the
action of the government in supplying
tobacco to the soldiers, selling out to
the tobacco trust, etc When the na
tion needed fighting men it found
most of them were tobacco users and
very few of the pale-faced disciples of
professional aceticlsm were found In
the trenches. Of course, as local
option was used as a stalking horse
for bigger game, so tne cigarette rvu
is used to strike at the general user
of cigars, pipes and other forms of
the tobacco habit. They never come
out squarely and say we want to
prohibit you from doing somemms
that Is not hurting anyone but your
self, but by proclaiming this or that
as an immoral practice tney say to
all who want to be considered moral
it Is your duty to vote on the side of
God, whose representatives we are.
x rfimpmher manv years ago at
tending a wedding at the home of the
then Governor Geer. After the cere
mony and the feasting we gatnerea
around the great fireplace ana alter
everybody had kissed tne Deautnui
hri.a and consrratuiaiea tne (rruum
his treasure, there was no offense In
Grandma Eoff smoking her pipe. She
was as fine an elderly laay as i
ever met. and no doubt gave to the
world descendants that will average
with the offspring of puritanical total
abstainers who wish to re-enact the
blue laws that originated in Scotch
Prhv(crlanism and disgraced the
early history of our country by per
secuting the Baptists and Quakers of
the colonies.
I would not Insult the generations
that have gone before by making it
a crime to use tobacco. Those gen
erations bullded the wisest founda
tions ever laid for a great nation, and
it Is only the vicious leadership of
the political ministry that is driving
the common man to doubt whether
this country is worth fighting for
when dominated by whlte-necktied
reformers who carry on campaigns to
make the common customs and habits
of working people the basis of being
prosecuted as criminals. No wonder
Samuel Gompers fights the prohibi
tion crusaders. ...
This same Clarence True Wilson
alwavs told his audiences mat iu.
slough at his tak.
Stick around home, between blank
ets stay curled;
He'll hew to the line, no questions to
ask
Because day after tomorrow's the
end of the world.
The lad who has vision beyond his
own nose
Won't check any bets while he's
stepping along;
He'll stick to his guns, for the wise
lad he knows
That the chances are high that the
prophets are wrong.
The bird who is wise will not slacken
his grip
On the job he is jockeying day after
day;
The bird with the bean will' not give
up the ship
Because, day after tomorrow, the
world's put away.
On Her War-sal.
"Is Emma Goldman a Russian?"
"Well, she may not be a-rushin',
but she's a-goin'."
Ah. Ms, Not the Only. One.
Diddle. Diddle, Dumpling, my son
John
Went to bed with his trousers on.
Nor do I blame the poor dear soul
We are shy of blankets and out of
coal.
Kansas City Star.
Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling, brother Bill
Climbed into bed as the wind howled
shrill.
Sack on his feet and sock on his head.
"Wake me at noon." was all Bill said.
Those A ho Came and Stayed.
Robert Stnndish of Kosc City Park,
was at the Oregon hotel most of last
week. His brother Miles was with
him.
"It's the climate," said "Bob," when
interviewed.
Too Muoh Style
Just to be in style, Tony
Sued his wifey for divorce.
When she asked for alimony
Tony changed his mind, of course.
S. II. W.
To the PumpR. Men!
"Frozen River Cuts City's Milk
Supply," accuses a headline.
December.
The streets are lightly filmed with
ice.
The world is blanketed with snow;
It's tough for those who come and go.
But, after all, it's kindn nice.
In Other Days.
Lucky is he who can arrive in Port
land unannounced these chilly days
and get assigned to a room at one of
the hotels forthwith. The hotel men
say hotels are as crewded as during
tne days eor tne biggest conventions.
and the registers show a good sprink
ling or i-ortiand rollt who have de
serted family firesides for the cheer
ing warmth of hotel rooms. Practi
cally every hotel in the citv had Its
lobby chairs and lounges filled with
out-of-luck persons who were unable
to procure rooms for the night but
who were able to snatch 40 winks as
they collected stiff necks and lame
joints by sleeping in chairs.
"I came down from Havre, Mont.,
to escape the cold weather, but I
must say this Is even worse than we
have had at home in many years."
exclaimed Mrs. L W. Murray, a guest
at the Portland hotel. "Havre, you
know, has a reputation among Mon
tanans as being about the coldest
place In the treasure state, . but so
far as being really cold, I never ex
perienced anything like this at home
even though our thermometers do
reach a much lower altitude during
the winter months." In spite of her
criticism of Portland's Icy reception.
airs. Murray still has hopes of warm
er weather and she intends remain
ing here rather than attempt the
Journey homeward through the
Rockies.
Aatnan v ell, department store
owner of Hillsboro, found his stock
running a little Jow when the near
blizzard tied up transportation facili
ties, so he came to Portland to re
plenish his goods. He is registered
at tne Oregon notel.
A meeting of traveling salesmen of
the Marshall-Wells Hardware com
pany will be held today at the Mult
nomah. There will be 37 salesmen.
in attendance if they are able to
reach the city. Many of them ar
rived during the day yesterday while
others are expected on belated trains
this morning. They are all quartered
at tne Multnomah.
This is no kind of weather for a
salmon cannery, declares J. Kllven
huser, a cannery operator of Altoona,
Wrash., who signed the register yes
terday at the Oregon. Mr. Kliven
huser said his last shipload of salmon
v as received at the cannery Just be
lore the cold weather set in, so an
expected shutdown was narrowly
averted.
L. E. Hooper, a Corvallis merchant,
is registered at the New Perkins
Other arrivals at this hotel include
H. A. Tatum, a Hood River orchard
1st and Alexander Charles, a Clat-
skanle timber operator.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Paxton
Kansas City are ice-bound tourists
who are making the best of the cold
snap as they hibernate temporarily
at the Benson hotel.
prohibition for the benefit of the
masses of the workers and on every
referendum vote of labor unions they
ote five to one against, ne win pi us
ably tell the same lie in m -"""''
crusade. It Is such leaaersnip
so-called moral forces mat u.
the wedge Into tne ooay ponwi;
ill end In revoiuiionai y viu..".--
Give us contentea mimuna m
ence to compulsory total tinence
DECEMBER SNOW.
Fifty million whirring snowflakea
Clad in spotless white
Fell softly on the. city's streets
All through the silent night.
The grown folks sighed and wept
and cried.
And said. "What shall we do"?
But out the children quickly ran.
And fast the snowballs flew.
They built a snowman tall and white
And fair beyond belief.
They stuck a pipe into his mouth
Although he had no teeth.
"Hurrah"! they cried, "We like the
snow.
Despite what grown folks say.
We have a dandy time outside.
When with our sleds we play."
H EL F.N DAN DAVIDSON.
Twenty-five A run Asa.
From The Oregonian. November 15.
Chicago. Eugene V. Debs, presi
dent of the American Railway union,
was today found guilty of contempt
of court and was sentenced to serve
six months in jail.
The Sellwood Improvement asso
ciation, recently formed, is seeking a
straight five-cent fare. The fare for
most of the district is now 10 cents.
It is expected that Van B. DeLash
mutt will succeed Mr. Hardt as pres
ident of the Portland exposition to
day. Y. M. C. A. leaders, at a noon lunch
eon yesterday, discussed plans for a
new building in Portland.
Fifty Years Ago.
From The Oreronian, November 1;'.. lsoy.
London. Charles Dickens is en-
tratred on u new slorv which will
labor leaders of the country wanted j come out In serial form, the first in-
FREPARATIOX FOR WORLD END
Writer Clte ScTlpturnl Veraea for
Comfort ol ranlc-Strlcuen.
cnoTi.ixn Dec. 13 (To the Edi
tor ) This article is given as a loving
i.-Vin are terror-
message to vnvioc - ---
stricken at the tnougnt. oi
dieted coming of the end of the world
December 17, given mat k.j
turn their terror Into joy. a-"? 'j;
Itlng into activity: mai
not it be that tne ena i. m
they may meet the Issue In a Proper
state of mind by learning from the
only source given to man by the cre
ator, how the end will come how to
know when It is near, a.iu ""-".'",
to be ready when It comes This will
mean a definite line of coquet,
which is the best possible thing to
know in facing any perplexing event.
This will mean turning i -
isg given to man "'I ".hi
known as the noiy d.uic. l";
book at Matthew, cnapier
- 9. tiH learn mere now mc cn
shall 'be. 'Reading the chapter through
ill tell how we may kh"
end is near, and verse -
us that no man . P""'",1"0,"'
v. - A,,, hi. reaa uukc - ' .
.ri?f or now IMC cim .. ...
, hv the
COU1B. I'"" .
events given in tne prw"'" .
Daniel and Revelation: also Isa ah
and Jeremiah. These need be read
and compared with history only by
the doubtful, many
come to pass.
ui in nreoare one s sen iu 'i'".
the coming will be taken from the
ten commandments, given to Moses by
God. and the one to the world by
rK.t st. John xiii:34. Matthews
-fi.7 tells us what to do to be obe
dient to God s will, as also does any
one of the letters written by Paul.
To any who think they have sinned
too greatly to be considered by Goo,
,,1-r. Isaiah 16 to 18 and Luke xv:7,
and then to St. Johns viil.32, St. Johns
xiv:6, all of First Jonn.
Then, having this knowledge, we
may read all the word understanding
ly as God intended that we sh.ild.
arid they will be as Joyful at his com
ing to take them to the place he has
prepared for them (John xlv:2) as
they would be at the coming of a
loving earthly father, who was taking
them to a new, beautiful, earthly
home. ,
Read Thessalonians iv:16-17, and
Revelation carefully and prayerfully,
and know that death is only going to
Bleep and staying asleep until the
savior comes to wake us to go . with
him. if we believe on him and loving
ly try to do his will, as John xiii:34
and the first of the ten command
ments teach. Obeying these, we obey
all. A PORTLAND WOMAN.
stallment appearing in March.
Grading on Morrison street has
progressed to Sixth street and plank
ing half way from Fifth to Sixth.
Charley Lawrence drove Into the
pound yesterday quite a number of
hogs found running at large.
Froposals of the postoffice depart
ment call for bids for transportation
of the United States mails over 41
loutes iu Oregon.
THE IDEAL,
I know what the sea-winds are tell
ing, But how shall I tell what they
say?
I know all the truth that is glow
ing On the star-girded brow of the
day.
I hear what strange singers are
singing
In the stillness and shadow apart;
And 1 know all tlfat rushes unwrit
ten Through the coral-red halls of the
heart.
But who has the key that will open
The way to the word and the
strain.
To the memory, the mood and the
longing.
The burning, the asking, the pain?
Oh, the true note shall never be
sounded!
The real song shall never be sung.
For the feelings which torture the
spirit
Can never be told by the tongue.
But we know that it dwells In the
water.
The storm and the stars and the
sea :
The twilight the love that was
blighted.
The sweet hope that never could
be.
Yet I think if but once we should
tell it.
The passion, the ache and the
thrill.
That the songs which so many are
singing.
And the harps of the world, would
grow still.
GUY FITCH PHELPS.
When Rent Is Rained.
PORTLAND, Dec. 13. (To the Edi
tor.) (l) When the landlord notifies
o tenant that his rent will be in
creased on a certain date and the ten
ant refuses to pay more, how long
can tenant continue to occupy place
after being notified to vacate?
(2) Can the old or new rate of rent
be collected for the unpaid time?
SUBSCRIBER.
(1) If the tenant is in default of
rent for ten days the landlord may
bring proceedings to oust him.
(2) The new rent.
Lowell and Whlttier Wrote TKem.
ALPINE. Or., Dec. 12. (To the Ed
itor.) To settle a controversy, please
print in your colftmns the author of
the following:
The snow had besun In the sTloaminc
And busily all the night
Had been heaping field and highway
With a silence deep and white.
Every pine, fir and hemlock wore ermine.
Too dear for an earl.
And the poorest twig on the elm tree
Was ridged inch deep with pearL
And also:
Blessings on thee, little man; barefoot hoy
with cheeks of tan:
With thy turned-up pantaloons and thy
merry whistled tunea.
W. J. O'NEIL
The first is the opening stanza of
James Russell Lowell's "The First
Snowfall." The second Is by John
Greenleaf Whittier.
Claim Against Decenaed Hersona.
PORTLAND. Dec. 13. (To the Kdi
Itor.) I made a mortgage loan last
year to run five years on a farm situ
ated In eastern Oregon, for several
thousand dollars. The note and mort
gage were signed by the owners, two
brothers and tneir iwu wives, smct
then one brother was accidentally
killed and lately the widow died. Will
you please advise me if It is necessary
for me to file my claim with the
executor of the two estates, or are
the two remaining names sufficient
legal security for me? J. P. P.
If you wished to hold the estate of
the deceased makers of the note
liable it would be necessary to file
the claim with the executors.
N
i
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7