8
THE 31011MNU-. OllEGOMAX, MATLUD4V, AP1UL 10, 1910
fltonrinj t$goman
ESTABLISHED BY HENRI L. FITTOCK.
ubHshed by The Oregonlan Publishing Co..
135 Sixth Street. Portland. Orteon.
p- A. MORDEN. E. B. PIPER,
Manager. t-uitor.
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COStFOKT.TO THE MILITARISTS.
The military party in Germany
Vnust view with intense satisfaction
Ihe situation that has followed the
hort-lived revolution attempted by
Jr. Kapp. Although the militarists
fvere apparently defeated and forced
lo withdraw from Berlin, the cabinet
igainst which they rose has been
iriven from office and has been suc
ceeded by one in which they have
i strong foothold. Having crushed
he red revolt everywhere else, they
ire completing the job in the Ruhr
iistrict. in flagrant disregard of the
Versailles treaty, which places it in
'.he neutral zone.
Occupation of Frankfort and
Darmstadt by France as a counter-
imove might have been expected to
lilarm the Germans and cause them
ko pause lest the allies begin a gen-
leral advance. On .the contrary, it
las produced sharp division of opin
ion among the allies and has proved
khat France alone is disposed to take
military measures for enforcement
lof the treaty. The Ruhr district ad
joins the British and Belgian areas
iof the occupied territory, but the
British and Belgian forces do not
move to expel the German forces
which are crushing the workmen's
revolt in approved Hun fashion. The
l'"rench have advanced into territory
far from the scene of Germany's of
fense and free from disturbance.
They could move to drive the Ger
mans from the Ruhr basin only by
marching past the front held by the
lAmericans. British and Belgians. If
they took this step, they would only
accentuate the disagreement with
their allies and their own isolation
as the only power that is Inclined
to hold Germany to the treaty.
In hardly any respect has Ger
many lived up to the treaty. The
two attacks on Riga, the refusal to
withdraw from the Baltic, the sink
ing of the fleet at Scapa Flow and
the scheme for annexation of Aus
tria, all were insolent breaches of it.
Only 200 field' guns were to have
teen retained, but there are 12,000,
all airplanes were to have been sur
rendered or destroyed, but 6000 re
main and more are being made; the
army was to have been reduced to
200,000 men within three months
after the treaty became effective,
but that period has elapsed and there
are about a million men in various
organizations, some of them thinly
disguised as police; the promised de
livery of coal to the allies has not
been made.
Though so weakened as to be
powerless for aggression at present,
Germany is as militarist as before
the collapse of its army in 1918, and
only needs time and a new combina
tion of forces to attack the peace
of Europe again. But the United
States, Britain and Italy have de
mobilized, they are impatient to re
new 'trade, and the two latter na
tions drew unwilling France into a
plan of financial aid to the enemy.
When France relies on military force
as the "only security against another
invasion. President Wilson says it
it. in the hands of the militarists.
When the Pan-Germans were
speculating on the outcome of the
war they used to comfort themselves
with the belief that at the worst it
would be a draw. As they consider
Germany's condition and compare it
with that of the allies, no longer
presenting a united front, they may
reasonably console themselves with
the thought that the outcome is not
much worse than a draw.
AN CN-AMERICAS REASOX.
Men who oppose universal mili
tary training condemn it as an un
American, yet they resort to this
argument, which was made in tile
house by Representative Smith of
Illinois:
A nation trained for war Invites war. It
Is futile to Bt-y our people would be trained
for defense only. We ought to know our
selves better than that. . The individual
trained and powerful for defense who
thinks he can lick anyone is the one who
takes offense when none is meant and gets
into needless fights. Nations are not so
different.
It comes to this, then: That the
American people can trust them
selves to govern themselves, to elect
their president, congress, governors,
legislatures and other officials, but
they cannot trust themselves with
training for defense against a foreign
enemy, lest they use that training
for a war of aggression. By the same
rule no man should learn how to use
his fists in resisting the attack of a
ruffian lest he become a town bully
and use his skill in punching inof
fensive citizens; no man should have
a revolver to protect his house
against burglars lest he be seized
with bloodlust and shoot his neigh
bor. American history has proved that
an essential quality of successful
democracy is self-control. On many
occasions when elections have been
won by small majorities, or by plur
alities which were actually minori
ties, we have proved our self-control
by peaceful submission of the mi
nority to transrer ot tne government
to the majority. Yet, we are told.
sve dare not trust ourselves with a
citizenship trained to fight lest the
consciousness that we" knew how to
fight should overcome our self-control
and should start us on a mad
career of military conquest.
It is not advocates of military
training who are un-American, but
those who resort to such arguments
In opposing it. Their reasoning tm-
peaches the fitness of the American
people for self-government. Followed
to Its logical conclusion. It would end
with a proposal, to hire a kaiser to
rule over us. As the kaiser would
surely enforqe not only compulsory
training-, but compulsory. service, and
then indulge in a war, the self-styled
anti-militarists would arrive at the
very destination - which they most
wish to avoid. ' --:
LET GEORGE DO slT.
The public may not, bfit it ought
to be. edified by the ball-tossing
between the " state public service
commission,, and the Portland city
council. Yesterday the issue of the
Portland, .street . railway's . financial
plight was in the hands of one body;
today It Is'ih'the hands of the other;
tomorrow it will be back again
whence it started. .
Relief for the street railway com
pany is a red-hot object' to handle,
politically, and the public has made
it so. Two years ago Portland was
in a state of excitement, manufac
tured and otherwise, over an advance
in fare from 5 -to 6 cents, ordered
by the. public . service commission.
It did not want a 6-cent fare, s It
heaped its anger upon'the head of
the public service commissioner who
was a candidate for re-election. ' The
whole state joined" in the clamor for
his defeat and he was defeated by
a -man .wholly unknown and whose
sole recommendation for the office
was the .slogan that 6 cents is too
much for a 5-cent ride. . .
Thus 'the state acquired a commis
sioner who, -by the strongest sort of
inference, was committed to a re
storation of the 5-cent fare. The
car riders friend is and has been on
the job- but the car rider continues
to pay 6 cents. . The slogan is now
changed.' as we read the majority
report of the commission, which this
commission signed. It is now: Six
cents is too little to pay for an 8-cent
ride, but the Portland city council
ought to be the one to fix things
right.
What official, in the light of this
historic incident, would not hesitate
to abet the desire of the streetcar
company for the right to live? The
public service commissioner, whose
district includes Multnomah county,
is a candidate for re-election this
fall. He knows and everybody else
knows that there are other unknows
who would be glad to slip into a
remunerative office on the vehicle
of a seductive slogan. Likewise in
Portland two or three city commis
sioners will be up for re-election this
fall. They cannot raise the fare, but
they are invited to provide other .re
lief for the company. Who wants
to tackle such a thing with hungry
office seekers lined up six deep along
the side lines?
We sometimes complain that pub
lic officials do not exhibit courage.
But what can we expect when the
public is led away, from facts and
common sense by sensational clamor
and the unfulfillable promises that
go with itch for office.
A REVOLT AGAINST CONSERVATISM,
The outlaw railroad strike which
is spreading like a forest fire from
Chicago to all the chief railroad cen
ters Is an open rebellion of the radi
cals against the conservative meth
ods of the brotherhoods and against
the delay in readjustmeint of wages
which has continued since last August
The railroad administration staved
off decision until the roads had been
handed back to their owners, who
are now called upon to deal with the
wage question while they wrestle
with all the difficulties incident to
reorganization of the property which
the government has scrambled. The
companies are ready to use the labor
adjustment machinery established by
the Cummins-Esch bill, but after
their long wait the radicals evidently
want no more of such methods, and
have resolved ton direct action.
Disappointment at their failure to
force adoption of the Plumb plan of
government ownership doubtless also
animates the radicals. They were
ready to strike in order to coerce
congress into its adoption, but were
with difficulty restrained by the
brotherhood leaders. They have now
seen their wishes ignored by revival
of private operation. To their minds
the brotherhoods have failed, both in
getting wages raised and in getting
the Plumb plan adopted. They strike
for more ' wages, to punish the
brotherhoods, and to deal a blow at
private 'operation.
The inspiration of this strike Is
evidently the same as that of the
strikes by water-front workers at
New York and by the printers and
pressmen of that and other cities in
violation of collective bargains made
by their unions. Their purpose was
to deal a blow at "capitalism," to
Discredit the system of collective
bargains which has strengthened tht
craft unions in their relations with
employers, to disrupt those unions
and to gather their members Into
the "one big union," whose aim is
revolution. If the present strike
should succeed, it would wreck the
strongest and most conservative of
the old unions, though they have
been pushed far on the road of radi
calism by the restless, aggressive
spirits among their members. A con
dition may arise far more serious
than was created by the strike of
1894, for a revolutionary spirit is
abroad and foreign revolutionists
seize on all such disturbances to un
dermine what they regard as the
greatest capitalist government in the
world.
lhis strike is a warning against
interminable delay in settling labor
disputes. The boards established by
the railroad law and those proposed
by the industrial conference will fail
unless they give prompt decisions.
The French government has intrO'
duced an arbitration bill in parlia
ment which requires decisions in in
dividual' disputes within 48 hours of
their submission.
The brotherhoods are bound to
fight the strike, from motives both
ot principle and self-interest, . They
are under contract on behalf of their
members to continue work at cer
tain terms tor a specified time, and
they are called upon to maintain
their reputation for fidelity to this
collective bargain. They owe their
high standing in the eyes of railroad
managers to the fact that they have
kept their bargains and have been
a powerrui agency in preventing
strikes. If they should fail on this
occasion, the disposition of managers
to deal with them would be lessened,
they would lose their mutinous mem
bers to new, radical organizations,
and the mutinous spirit would spread
among their remaining members.
The quest of the American Library
association and the. National Marine
league for a list of the "ten best
books" written about the sea will be'
hampered by lack of first-class ma
terial rather than by embarrassment
of riches from which to choose.
'We will never have a permanently
established and sturdy American
marine," says a letter issued by the
marine league. "until the people 1
themselves become 'ship-minded.
But the curious fact remains that
from the point of view of authorship,
this most romantic vocation has been
practically sterile as a source of In
spiration. In our palmiest seafaring
days there was dearth of "ship
minded" writers whose work would
be suitable now for purposes of
marine propaganda. Dana gave a
faithful picture of conditions nearly
a century ago, but these have
changed. London's "Sea Wolf would
hardly cause an American youth to
repeat his experience, and tales of
naval heroism are obviously not
what the league is seeking. It may
yet be necessary for the league to
offer a subsidy for new aspiring au
thors to take up the subject nearest
its heart and this, as is well known.
is a dubious method. Ten really
good sea books probably would ex
haust the available supply.
SPARROWS AS BIRDS OF FRET.
The fair-minded person who will
think over the problem of the high
cost of living will reach the conclu
sion that the corner grocer is not
the one who is making the extrava
gant profits, if extravagant profits
are made. In this spendthrift age.
excessive returns invariably haVe out
ward signs, such as fine automobiles.
furs, diamonds and a box at the
theater. The corner grocer is not
noted for the flaunting of his gains.
He even takes off Ms coat and wraps
up soap and other lowly articles for
customers, which is entirely beneath
the dignity of a man of wealth.
Yet several suburban grocers in
Portland were indicted recently on
a charge of profiteering. They had
added one or two cents a pound
to the advisory fair price fixed by
a local committee. If this charge
of profiteering was true they were
but sparrows in the fight for plun
der. But the great power and
authority of the government were di
rected against them.
One case was brought to trial.
The accused merchant demonstrated
that the incidents of his business,
including suburban location, exten
sion of credit, and general cost of
operation, made it impossible for
him to make a profit at the so-called
"fair prjce." He was promptly
acquitted.
The fanfare of a great govern
ment campaign against profiteers
has now died out,, but there is one
among the accused who writes a let
ter today pointing out that he too
was able to prove the unfairness of
the "fair'pricV" But his-case was
oismissed. Notwithstanding, his busi
ness has been virtually ruined by
the reputation acquired through an
unproved and untried charge.
If profiteering is In fact the main
cause of the high cost of living It
undoubtedly is not to be uncovered
here and there among small retailers.
The guilt .rests with the large dis
tributors of essential products or the
controllers of vast resources. To
date, in this locality, the great gun
ning of the government for profiteers
has winged a few innocent sparrows
but not one feather from a bird of
prey is shown as trophy.
HOOVER ON THE FOOD FROBLEM.
With the world crying for food,
with food control near its end in
the United States, with the farmer
faced by high prices for all that he
consumes,, by high wages for scarce
labor, by demoralized transportation
and other troubles, politicians come
forward with schemes of relief -in
hope of winning the farmer's vote.
Herbert Hoover also discusses them
in the Saturday Evening Post, but
there is no suggestion of the poli
tician in his handling of the subject.
Fortified with the great fund of in
formation which he acquired as food
administrator, he approaches It as
an engineer attacks - an involved
problem and analyzes It in all its
bearings. But he reveals none of the
limitations of the engineer. He
branches out into the broad field of
the progressive statesman and shows
that the solution of the farmer's
problem, which is the food problem.
is closely ' connected with almost
every other subject of current dis
cussion, eVen to the size of the navy.
Most men who write or talk on this
subject try to fasten responsibility
on some particular class of raeiv. or
some interest, but Hoover has chosen
no culprit in advance. With- his
mastery of economics he seeks out
causes, then infuses human sym
pathy into the study in search of
means to remove them.
First among the facts producing
the present situation he places in
flation and shortage of world pro
duction. The former has been far
less in the United States than in
other countries and he shows a close
parallel between- it and the rise of
prices, while production has In
creased so slightly as not to justify
it. Of expansion of bank credits he
sas: "There are the strongest ob
jections to it since the armistice waj
signed." The United States has pro
duced a surplus of nearly all impor
tant food commodities except sugar,
and our shortage has been caused
by the drain of exports to countries
of short production. Therefore the
world shortage has affected our
prices.
Hence the wholesale price of 90
per cent of our food is fixed mostly
by world conditions, only remotely
by cost of production. . Between the
price received by the farmer and
that paid by the consumer there are
two margins, one of which is the
cost of placing produce ?n tHe hand
of the- wholesaler, the other that of
delivering it to the consumer. From
the wholesale price, fixed in the
world market, is deducted the first
margin in paying the farmer: to it
is added the second margin arriving
at the consumer's price.
To reduction of these margins we
must mainly look for higher prices
for the farmer, lower prices to the
consumer. Mr. Hoover says that the
food administration established that
the margins between farmer and
wholesaler "are, even In normal
times, the highest in any civilized
state fully 25 per cent higher than
in most European countries" and.
during the whcle period of the war
this margin widened, though under
food control the farmer's index price
moved up 25 points and the whole
saler's only six points. The margin
between wholesaler and consumer
also "has widened out to an extrava
gant degree." But Hoover does not
propose to indict as criminals the
men who share these margins among
them, for he says the margins "are i
made up of a necessary chain of
charges for transport, storage, manu
facture and distribution." He con
tinues: These margins, starting from the un
duly high expenses of a faulty syvtem.
have Increased not only legitimately, due
to Increased transportation, labor, rent,
taxes and Increased interest on the large
capital reauired. but they have, except
to Increased transportation, labor, 'rent
during the period of control, increased
unduly beyond those necessities.
The middlemen can protect them
selves from falling prices, for if there
is no profit in sight they can quit,
while the farmer with his crop in the
ground cannot quit. The middlemen
have Beveral turnovers In the year,
the farmer only one. They can re
sist curtailment of the margin, but
the farmer cannot resist reduction
of his price. Then the hope of both
farmer and consumer rests In re
ducing the margin between the price
which one receives and the other
pays.
Consideration of the manner In
which this may be done carries Mr.
Hoover over the whole field of
economics and even that of foreign
policy. He shows the broad scope
of his study and his complete mas
tery of the subject. The excess
profits tax Is justified as a war meas
ure, but should have been repealed
when control was abandoned, "for it
not only increases the margin be
tween the farmer and consumer but
tends to come out of the farmer in
large degree." The income tax on
earned incomes "tends In certain
cases to be passed on to the con
sumer or deducted from the farmer."
It should be reduced, while the tax
on unearned incomes should be In
creased. He would increase and re
vise inheritance taxes. We may need
consumption taxes, which should be
levied on non-essentials In order to
discourage luxury and extravagance,
but "more constructive than increas
ing taxes is to take a holiday on gov
ernmental expenditures and relieve
the taxpayer generally."
His plan of improved transporta
tion does not stop with increased car
supply .and Improved terminals for
the railroads. It extends to improve
ment of the waterways from the
Atlantic to the great lakes by way
of the St. Lawrence river, to admit
sea-going vessels to the head of the
lakes. This would save 5 or 6 cents
a 'bushel on wheat for the benefit
of the farmer. Refrigerator cars.
stockyards and elevators should be
treated as public utilities, since they
become private monopolies, which
stifle free competition. He would
regulate, but not nationalize, all busi
ness concerns which manufacture or
store food, where the quantity han
dled exceeds a certain proportion
With a view to reduction of specula
tion and profiteering, he would In
vestigate In order to determine
whether a system of centraj markets
would not afford great help. He
would encourage co-operative mar
keting by farmers and co-operative
distribution by consumers. The
balance between agriculture and in
dustry must be restored or we shall
become dependent on overseas mar
kets for food, he says. From this
necessity grew the great naval arma
ments, fierce competition for mar
kets and the war.
Attorney-General Palmer was the
only democrat to campaign for the
presidency In Michigan, and he fin
ished at the bottom of the list. The
Honorable A. Mitchell would better
confine his campaigning to long
distance shots against the profiteers
An automobile that can take front
and rear steps from a street car is
going some," as also is a streetcar
chasing an auto and knocking it
twenty-five feet away. Such were
incidents of city life a day or two
ago.
Will R. King, perennial political
trouble maker for the warhorses.
has jumped into the rins- aeain.
What Will King does not knw in
democratic .politics is not necessary
to be learned.
Chaplin might film that encounter
with his wife's manager and present
something really thrilling. People
would enjoy it, no matter what they
thought of a man whose wife needs
a manager.
According to Mr. Vanderlip. labor
is fully employed at the highest
wages ever known and production la
only 60 per cent. Nobody seems to
know who is "soldiering," but there
it is!
Senator Thomas wants a tax of
100 per cent put on political con
tributions of more than $100. We're
for it, if he will tax campaign cigars
double.
"Fever of politics begins to
spread," says a headline. No amount
of suffering from this disease seems
to make a man immune to another
attack.
"Pifssyfoot" Johnson Is reported to
be on his way back to America.
Must have decided he- could keep
busier in New York than in London.
Croker is a wise politician if he
is getting old. He thinks there Is
no "strongest" democrat, though
Bryan nearly fills the bill.
Bootlegging and moonshining seem
to be crimes only to officials and
those who are caught, in popular
comprehension.
Now San Francisco is In danger of
losing the democratic national con
vention to Oakland. We congratu
late 'em both.
Klamath Falls barbers who raised
the price of haircuts to 75 cents put
too high a valuation on their con
versation. That Poland China hog that sold
for $40,000 in Iowa the other day
needs and will have a high-priced
valet.
And while Chief Jenkins is about
it, he might instruct his new police
men in the meaning of the word tact.
The prince of Wales has started
for Honolulu, where they'll show him
a thing or two.
Shake hands with Commissioner
Pier, who does not care to run for
mayor.
Signs of spring at the Kelly Butte
rock pile mostly are the new ar
rivals. The strike in Chicago has reached
the shooting stage and soon will be
over.
BfSlXESS 1UKT without CAVSK
Grocer's Name Damaged Without
Warrant by Profiteering Chance.
PORTLAND, April 9. (To the Edi
tor.) A couple of months ago when
as an incident to political propaganda,
I in common with several other gro
cers, was indicted on the charge of
violating the Lever food control act
by selling sugar at 14 or 14 cents
a pound, I was honored by heavy
headlines in certain afternoon papers,
putting me before the community as
a "profiteer." When the United
States district attorney, after a Jury
of responsible citizens on the trial of
one of my competitors for selling
sugar at 15 cents a pound hardly
took time to file out ol tne court
room before registering their em
phatic disapproval of the prosecution,
dismissed the cam against me with
out going to trial, it was apparently
not so interesting a news item. The
net result to me is this:
After a long and. I trust, honor
able life In this community, and after
year of work to build up a good
name as a citizen and business man.
was indicted, as I will herinafter
show, under the most outrageous cir-
cumstances.
The Dubllc. or that portion of It
which had dealt with me. deceived by
the headlines referred to. assuming
the good faith of the politicians in
volved to be more specific, I refer
to Attorney-General Palmer to a
large extent stopped dealing with me.
and I was heavily and irreparably
damaged.
One or two poor devils who could
not afford to employ counsel, pleaded
guilty and took a fine of $50. My
own self respect forbade me to avail
myself of this cheap way out of it,
and I was compelled, in defending
myself against a shameful prosecu
tion, to go to heavy expense.
The government has finally con
cluded that It cannot get a reputable
citizen to vote for conviction on the
indictment, but the public and my
former customers do not know this.
and the" law, I am Informed, gives
me no recourse whatsoever to recoup
either for the damage to my reputa
tion or the Injury to my business.
The indictment against me was, as
indicated, for selling sugar -at an "un
reasonable and excessive profit," The
sugar which I sold in one-pound
packages at 14 cents cost me in 100
pound sacks 11 Vi cents. The indict
ment said that a fair price was 13
cents, and some genius figured out
that that being true. 14 cents was an
exorbitant price. Any business man,
or saphead, for that matter knows
groceryman has to pay rent, em
ploy clerks, run delivery wagons, ex
tend credit, pay taxes and incur a
hundred items of expense, which
make it impossible fo.r him to do
business at an expense of less than
20 per cent. A school boy in the
fifth grade can figure therefore, that
instead of making an -exorbitant pro
fit, the fact is that I could not sell
sugar at 14 cents and come out even
when allowance is made for the time
consumed in weighing it out In one
pound bags, and the shrinkage in
cidental to that process If it is con
ducted by one desirous of giving full
and lair weight.
In fact, 1 made the offer that if any
honorable accountant or business man
in the city of Portland, after an ex
amination of ray books and affairs
would say that I could sell sugar at
13 cents and make any profit, leaving
out of consideration whether reason
able or unreasonable, tor that mat
ter, I would plead guilty; but the
offer, of course, was not accepted
tne point. was, the word had gone
forth from Washington that scape
goats were needed. The howl
justifiable for that matter about
high prices required, for the benefit
of the democratic party, the immo
lation of victims, and a few had to
be picked in each jurisdiction. I had
the honor of being selected here as a
small- target not likely to give
trouble and yet qualified' to afford
the necessary and desired publicity.
As I have said at the outset, they
tell me I have no recourse, but I ask
you as the Oregonlan at least to as
sist me in putting the facts before
my! fellow Americans in an appeal to
their conscience and sense of justice
as to whether or not they wish to
continue in power a party capable of
so mean and contemptible a method
of securing publicity at the expense
of the good name of the least of its
citizens. A. W. ANDERSON,
808 E., Broadway.
WHY TEACHERS LEAVE SCHOOLS
Social Isolation In Small Districts Is
Main Cause, Says One.
PORTLAND, April 9. (To the Ed
itor.) There has been an expenditure
of much printer's ink during the last
year or more as regards salaries for
teachers and the peculiar, and in
some respects alarming, lack of
teachers throughout various states.
Theories economic, political and oth
erwise have been brought forth to
show the reason for the situation
but if the theorists and the general
public were not so easily satisfied
with the obvious they might have
discerned that one of the fundamental
reasons for the lack of teachers is
the fact that women are beginning
to realize that the teacher's life, as
conditions exist today, differs but lit
tle from the monastic life; that the
social isolation which the modern
teacher must suffer has made the
profession almost unbearable to nor
mal adult women of some indepen
dence of thought and intelligence of
observation.
In fine, the teacher is associated
with women and children only; her
contact is with the Juvenile and tha
immature, and, while much rhetoric
might be employed in speaking of
the great opportunities for good in
influencing the lives of the young, et
cetera, one must concede that the
situation is highly unnatural and so
cially undesirable. Things would not
be so bad if teachers had social di
versions outside of business hours,
that is if they had ways of meet
ing adult men and women of their
own station; but any discerning
teacher knows how difficult it is to
meet the adult people of a community.
The problem for the city teacher
has been solved to some extent by
means of the parent-teachers' leagues
and various clubs organized for out
side study and recreation, but even
in a city the theaters, libraries and
churches are the chief means which
the non-resident teacher has for
knowing "how the other half lives."
In small town communities the
teacher's life is unspeakably monot
onous and unnatural. There are very
few theaters, a tiny library perhaps,
while chances for belonging to com
munity clubs are scarce indeed. Par
ents furnish the children and the
taxes which employ the teachers and
make up the great publ!j school sys
tem, but beyond this they do not go.
This is not a complaint against par
ents and taxpayers. They have bur
dens enough. God knows, but those
who give any thought to the ques
tion must admit that an adverse so
cial condition has resulted from Iso
lating a great number of women in
one profession. To be sure, nurses
and nuns are socially isolated, but
the nurse is usually far more Inter
ested in her profession than ths
teacher is in hers, while the nun has
the very definite consolation of her
church. -
Before we rake the taxpayer over
the coals for falling to pay the
teacher an .adequate wage It might
be well for the professors of sociol
ogy, "who very often hit the truth, to
consult some of the many women who
are forsaking the schoolroom and find
out whether they are leaving for dol
lars only. FORMER TEACHER.
Those Who Ccme and Go.
"The Metolius river rose four feet
when we had the big snow In Decem
ber and it is said that no one ever
heard of the river doing a thing like
that before, as the river apparently
stands at the same level all the time,"
says Pat Mahaffey. banker of Bend,
who Is In town on business. "The
Metolius comes out of the ground at
the base of Black butte. The snow, or
dinarily, would sink into the ground
and feed various springs, but the
ground was frozen in December, so
instead of melting and saturating the
soil, the snow water ran into the river
without the ground getting the bene
fit," The Metolius was formerly a
I great stream for salmon and before
the days of the white man the salmon
used to go there to spawn and they
died in such quantities along the banks
that the odor could be noticed half a
mile away. Metolius is a romantic
sounding name, but in "Injun" it
means "stinking fish."
"Americans want only calfskin and
kid shoes," says Josph Combs, a shoe
salesman at the Imperial. "There is
plenty of split cowskin shoes which
can be bought considerably cheaper,
but the Americans want the best, and
therefore they must pay the highest
prices. There are no kids raised in
America to any extentr whereas In
Europe the milk goat is the main
source of the milk supply. The Eu
ropeans raise the kid and then slaugh
ter it, selling the hide. The goats
raised in this country are generally
herded In a band within a barbed wire
fence enclosure. The goats run against
the wire and receive cuts which leave
scars. When the pelt is taken, the
marks of the barbed wire -show in the
pelt and who wants a shoe gashed
ike that?" Shoes, declares Mr. Combs,
will go still higher In price, albeit
there is some slackening in the buy
ing at present.
P. J. Stadleman, who is the "Viayor
of The Dalles, is at the Imperial.
A former mayor of that city received
communication from the local
sorosls inquiring what the club coAld
do to aid in beautifying the town. The
mayor -secured a list of members of
the club and devoted a Sunday to a
personal investigation. Then he wrote
a list of suggestions to the club. He
suggested what each member shouTd
do to aid in the beautif ication. One
was advised to repair the sidewalk.
another to clean up the premises, an
other was Informed that some paint
wouldn t hurt. The communication,
when read at the club meeting, was
somewhat of a bombshell, but the
members were game and the sugges
tions were carried out, but that mayor
did not run for office the Becond time.
The storm did not do as much
damage to the fruit trees as was
feared at first, and there will be a
pretty good crop," predicts W. F.
Drafter, the veteran chief clerk of the
house of representatives, who be
tween sessions of the legislature la a
fruit buyer. "There wiH not be a
large amount of dried loganberries on
the market this year," says Mr. Dra-
ger, ror the reason that they would
cost the consumer about a dollar a
pound. From five and a half to six
pounds of fresh' berries -are needed
for a pound of dried berries, and the
price of the fresh berries will be
about 12 cents a pound this year."
The first pollenation weather thus
far around Roseburg was Sunday,
Monday and Tuesday, says Mr. Drager.
There is talk of establishing a
municipal power plant at Roseburg,
according to Albert Abrama. former
state senator from that county, who
was In Portland yesterday. The sug
gestion Is to use as a power site
Whistler's Bend, which is ten miles
from Roseburg, where the river makes
sweep In horseshoe formation and
at the narrowest point the land is
only about 600 feet wide. There would
be a fall of about 40 feet. If a 15-foot
dam were built. Roseburg already has
a privately owned ppwer plant, which
was pot permitted to raise its rates.
Mr. Abrama Is the county manager for
Senator Hiram W. Johnson In Doug
las county and is in the city to at
tend a conference.
A dealer in hardware and a mem
ber of the board of directors of the
Boise chamber of commerce is W. W.
Northrop, who arrived at the Hotel
Portland yesterday with Mrs. North
rop. The people of Boise are just
now Interested in trying to have the
government send Invalid soldiers to
the old Boise barracks and convert
the buildings Into a toospital for con
valescents. A long time ago the gar
rlson at Boise was an Important In'
stitutlon, those being the days when
the Indians occasionally became hos
tile, but with the extermination of
the Indians the,, barracks became
sort of non-essential. .
Boise. Idaho, is generally represent
ed at the Hotel Portland. For exam
ple, there is Charles F. Adams of the
Idaho Candy company, a concern
which wouldn't have much trouble ob
taining raw material, since tons and
tons of sugar are being stored in
Idaho. Then there is K. M. Rogers.
who is a real estate operator and who
finds that Boise Is now a good selling
proposition. Still another Boise hus
tler la L. H. Kllhgensmith, who is
buyer for the Falk Wholesale com
pany, a concern which was founded
back in the days when the principal
industry was selling supplies to the
miners.
. There was 18 inches Of snow In
Island City Sunday night when Ed
E. Kiddle, state highway commis
sioner, arrived at his home town.
When he left for Portland the snow
had disappeared. Mr. Kiddle says
that the depth of snow was unusual
for this time of year and it was so
light that it ran off quickly. Mr.
Kiddle will attend a road meeting of
the Chamber of Commerce at McMlnn
ville Monday and later he and Com
missioner Booth will make a short
survey trip through Benton and Polk
counties.
,
For a generation W. P. McKean has
been selling gents' furnishings at
Walla Walla, Wash. That business I
has been good is demonstrated by the
fact that Mr. and Mrs. McKean are
now returning home from a visit to
southerh California, that particular
part of the country having an Irre
sistible attraction for all prosperous
Walla Walla people. The McKeans
are registered at the Hotel Washing
ton en route.
' Chairman of the Norwegian Bank
of Commerce at Christian is G. M.
Byrd, who is an arrival at the Multno
mah. Mr. Byrd is here to settle up
his shipping interests, for when the
war was on he was having ships
built at Olympia and Seattle. Yester
day he took time .enough to flit over
the Columbia highway.
Skipper A. M. Panzie. from Oakland
inner harbor. Is at the Multnomah and
will soon return to sea. During the
war Captain Panzie was taking ves
sels of the emergency ship corpora
tion through the war zone. On one
of these occasions the enemy "got"
his boat but they didn't quite get
the captain.
Georgia Is all well enough in its
way. but Oregon is more attractive.
a fact which induced J. H. Lockett
to leave the south and come west.
Mr. Lockett is now located at Salem
and came to . the Hotel Washington
yesterday to meet his wife, who had I
arrived from Georgia. j
CITY'S LIABILITIES ALWAYS MET
Single Tax Abandoned In Vancouver
bat Obligations Never Defaulted.
VANCOUVER, B. C. April 8. (To
the Editor.) I have no doubt that
The Oregonlan has every wish to be
fair to other cities than your own
and I would accordingly ask you to
be good enough to publish a correc
tion with regard to facts stated in
an editorial of last Sunday on the
question of single tax.
The facts on which the article was
based have no connection whatever
with the city of Vancouver, B. C. but
obviously refer to the municipality of
fcouth Vancouver. The city of Van
couver, the commercial center of Brit
ish Columbia, has never been unable
to meet its liabilities as they have
fallen due, nor has It found It neces
sary to seek assistance from the pro
vincial government.
The municipality of. South Vancou
ver Is a suburban district adjoining
Vancouver, and the facts stated in
your article are. to the best of my
knowledge, correct so far as It is con
cerned. I feel that this is a matter
which should be made clear at this
time when the bonds of Canadian
cities are being widely advertised for
sale in Oregon.
I may say, however, that I entirely
agree with your position as to the
impracticability of the single tax sys
tem, and this system has been aban
doned as unworkable not only in
South Vancouver but also In the city
of Vancouver. C. BOILEAU REID,
Barrister and Solicitor.
The Oregonian's Information was
based on an article in an eastern
financial journal which quoted from
the report of the American Bankers'
association made after an inquiry by
the savings bank section into the
financial condition of Canadian cities.
This report as printed In the journal
referred to named Vancouver, not
South Vancouver doubtless through
error in transcribing as the subject
of that particular inquiry.
Turning: to Rlarht in Canada.
CARLTON. Or., April 6. (To the
Editor.) The remarks in the editorial
columns of The Oregonlan regarding
the Canadian "rule of the road." with
particular reference to British Colum
bia, are correct only as far as British
Columbia is concerned. . All other
provinces follow the rule of turning
to the right, unless Prince Edward
Island adheres to British "precedent."
I cannot say for certain whether she
does.
With all the rest of Canada "turn
ng to the right," it may not be as dif
ficult as it might seem to convert
British Columbia, It is up to the
States to do it. however. The moun
tains Isolate British Columbia from
the other Canadian provinces, as far
as tourist travel by automobile is con
cerned, and the only practical route
through from west- to east at present
is south of the 49th parallel.
LESLIE J. BENNETT.
Treaty Text and Reservations.
KALAMA, Wash., April 8. (To the
Editor.) Could you please give me
ths peace terms and the republican
reservations, or advise me as to
where I could get them?
RALPH HARFOLE.
The entire treaty Is published in
the World Almanac for 1920. The al
manac may be purchased of booksell
ers or consulted at almost any public
library. The Lodge reservations are
published on page 4915 of the Con
gressional Record for March 19, 1920.
If the Record is not to be found in
your public library or at the office of
your local newspaper, send 10 cents
to the Public Printer. Washington,
D. C. for copy of ths date herein
given.
Investigation of Oil Signs.
ST. PAUL, Or.. April 8. (To the
Editor.) Every year, as soon as the
fall rains begin there appears an oily
substance on the water. My father
says he has noticed this for years, but
never gave it any thought imtil they
began to talk of boring for oil about
three miles from here and so we
began to wonder if this might be an
indication of Oil.
Would it be possible to send a
sample and have it analyzed, if so,
where? SUBSCRIBER.
Write to the Oregon bureau of
mines and geology, 417 Oregon build
ing, Portland.
Tax Exemption of Veteran's Widow.
CASTLE ROCK, Wash.. April 8.
(To the Editor.) Please Inform me
what the tax exemption of a widow
of a civil war veteran is, or how much
property can she hold that is exempt
from state and county taxes.
H. A. TYRRELL.
Washington grants an
of $300 in such cases.
exemption
Untold Wealth Does
Not Tempt
There are odd callings accepted by folks as their life work. For
example, there is the vocation of safe-breaker. The term summons
the flicker of a dark lantern, the muffled thud of the "soup," the
trained, sensitive ear bent to the infinitesimal click of the combina
tion and the sequel of gray walls, gray garb and gray imprison
ment. Not always, friend go slow." In Portland lives a man whose
calling is cracking safes, an h&nest and upright professional,
whose dexterity is worth a great deal to the world of affairs. Read
of him in De Witt Harry's special Sunday story. ,
MEASURING "PEP" OF TIRED BUSINESS GIRL. Have you
marked that period of the day's toil when the nerves show signs of
wear, the muscles are jaded, and the brain protests that it is weary
and ready to take a recess ? That's fatigue. The scientists measure
it as the soda clerk measures a fizz. And the knowledge so gained
forms an asset in the business world a tip of how far we may go
with our tasks ere the sight draft on nature is paid in full. In the
Sunday issue with illustrations.
GIRL CANDIDATES FOR OLYMPIC SWIM. At Antwerp,
where but lately the German guns commanded, this summer will
be held the Olympic games. Lithe, clean-lined bodies, white arms
flashing to the stroke that propels, will vie for world achievement
in swimming. Many American girls are entered as candidates in
the aquatic classics, and a story in the Sunday issue offers you
their pictures, their records and a general chat about their capa
bilities as water nymphs who are to uphold the honor of their
country, f
"BILLION-DOLLAR" BEAUTY CHORUS Let none decry their
motives, for the daring, darling deed was done in the name of sweet
charity but suffice it to observe that the recent appearance of a
coterie of New York's most charming and wealthy debutantes in
the role of chorus girls created a riot in the public interest. And
they do say, the veterans of the front row, that none of the .pro
fessional beauties of the stage out-vied these pretty tyros in tights.
A story about it all is in the Sunday issue, sponsored by Helen
Hoffman. ,.
VICTOR BRENNER, PEASANT BOY, TELLS OF HIS STRUG
GLES Victor Brenner's father was a blacksmith. Brenner is Amer
ica's foremost sculptor. The head of Lincoln on the penny is his
work. He was Russian born an emigrant. If you will turn to
Brenner's own story in the magazine section of the Sunday paper
you will learn how much the life of Lincoln became interwoven
with the career of the young Russian artist and idealist. For Lin
coln, to the foreigner, is essentially the soul of the American
republic, declares Victor Brenner.
All the News of All the World
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN
More Truth Than Poetry.
By Juki J. Hoatagne.
THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE AT.
Through the ant Is alleged to be wise.
He wears himself down to a splinter
Collecting the household supplies
His family needs for the winter.
All summer he rushes, around
Excitedly searching foryforage.
Which he toilfully drags under ground
And carefully places in storage.
The grasshopper rates as a fool.
And yet In the torridest weather
He lolls where the shadows are cool
For hours and hours together.
What terrors has winter for him.
Let others take thought for the
morrow.
And, filled with content to the brim.
He sings away trouble and sorrow.
The ant, w are frequently told.
Keeps hearty and warm through the
blizzard.
While the grasshopper dies with the
cold
That freezes "his ill-nourished giz
zard. But while we've no reason to doubt
That the ants are remarkably
clever.
The grasshoppers always come out
In the spring, just as plenty as ever.
xne moral, we re sorry to say.
(You may differ a much as you
may with it
Seems to teach us that loafing will
pay
If the loafer can just get away
with it.
As Well the Railroads.
Spring couldn't have been any longer
overdue if the government had had
control of the weather.
.
Real Persuading.
The best propaganda for meat sav
ing week Is the butcher's price list, '
(Copyright, 19-JO. by the Bell
Syndicate, Inc.)
Force.
By Grace K. Hall.
How ort I pause and wonder what Is
force?
Within my hand alone no power lies.
Nor can I reason wisely to its source, '
Nor its strange habits fully analyze:
And, tracing to the brain this motive
power,
I am more baffled still with each
queer thought, -Amazed
at handiwork that hour by
hour
By toiling atoms on the earth Is
wrought.
The silent force that never waits nor
rests, -The
thrust of lifo that hurries men
along.
The urge of impulse that forever
wrests.
Its harvest from our work the bit
of song.
The etory. or the artist's painted
dream
Accomplishment of artisan or seer,
What is the force within each vital
scheme.
What is the spark that warms to
action here?
Because of what I see but fail to
know,
A tiny flame of hope burns clear
and bright!
We have no source of ppwer here
below
Beyond this truth my reason gives
no light.
You too may go that far and quite
believe.
If grief be yours, this feeble-ray
may guide.
For simple logic scarcely can deceive.
Though strange and complex creeds
we may deride.
In Other Days.
Twenty-five Yearn A go.
From The Oregonlan of ADril 1ft. 1R95.
James D. Yeomans, one of the five
interstate commerce commissioners,
accompained by Secretary E. A. Mose
ley of the commission, arrived here
yesterday, to hear grain-rate cases.
The presbytery of Portland assem
bled last night at Calvary Presbyte
rian church for a two-day session.
W. G. Hunter, member of the state
board of equalization, is engaged in
setting out 5000 prune trees in the
grand Ronde. . . .
The town of Florence, a place of
about 350 population, at the recent
election selected a complete adminis
tration of women, though no women
were allowed to vote.
Assessor Greenleaf states that the
enumerators named to take the cen
sus have about completed their' task
and asks that any who think their
names have been omitted to notify his
office.