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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (May 29, 1920)
. THE MOKMJNG OIIEGONIAN, SATURDAY, MAY 29, 1920 F.STABLI8HED BI HKMtV L. PITT OCR Published bT The Oresontan Publishing Co., 135 Sixth Street. Portland. Oregon. C A. UORDEN, E. B. PIPER. Unurn. Editor. The Oregonlan la m member of the Asso ciated Preea. The Aaaoclated Press la exclusively entitled to the uae tor putmea tion of all news dispatches credited to H or not otherwise credited In thia paper ana alao the local newa publlBhed herein. All rlgh.a of republication of special dispatches herei.i are also reaerved. 60 1.00 6.00 Sobacription KatH Invariably la Advance. ,By Mail.) Daily. Sunday Included, one year Dally. Sunday Included, air month! ... -? Dally. Sunday Included, three roontha. . Dally. Sunday Included, one month ... !? Dally, without Sunday, one year J-j Dallv. vlrhmir Rnnriav iix months .... Dally, without Sunday, one month. Weekly, one year .............. fiunday. one year By Carrier.) Dally. Sunday Included, one year ..... Dally. Sunday Included, three months.. .-j Daily. Sunday Included, one month .... Dally, without Sunday, one year J g Daily, without Sunday, three months . Daily, without Sunday, one month . How to Remit Send-postof flee money order, express or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at owner's risk. Olve postofflce address in lull. Including county and state. Postage Kates 1 to 16 pages. 1 cent: 18 to 3J pages. 2 cents; 34 to 48 pages. 3 cents: 60 to 84 pages. 4 cents: 66 to BU pages. 5 cent: to 96 pages. 6 cents. Foreign postage, double rates. Eastern Business Office Verree Conk lln. Brunswick building. New York: verree Conklin. Steger building, Chicago; Ver ree & Conklin. Free Press building. De troit. Mich. San Francisco representative. R. J. Bid-well. self-styled practical politicians who will try to steer the convention into the sinuous paths of expediency. EXPEDIENCY AND THE LEAOCE. Ex-President Taft's reception in Portland expressed the real trend of public opinion on the league of na tions and on the conduct of the men whose perversity has postponed the aid which the American people wish to give in making it a living, moral force for prevention of war and for preservation of democracy through out the world. Without respect to party, they desire this republic to retain the world leadership which it assumed in the war, they believe that this desire can and should be gratified without impairment of their national, sovereignty, and they look upon Mr. Taft as the truest spokes man of their sentiments. Mortifi cation prevails that an unnatural alliance between two mutually an tagonistic factions of irreconcilables should have placed them in a false light before other nations. They are determined that at the first oppor tunity they shall be set right before the eyes of the world. This hope cannot be realized through the democratic party. It is hopelessly divided between those who blindly follow President Wilson in his demand for the Versailles covenant without change and those who would modify it as proposed by the senate majority. Bitter conflict between these two elements in the San Francisco convention is sure. No matter which wins, the party will speak with two voices. It has so plainly lost the confidence of the people that, even- though it should remain united on the league, its . defeat is as certain as anything In the future can be. Then the people I who' desire that the republic shall continue and complete the work which It began in the war will turn to the republican party to execute their will. . Notwithstanding the fact demon strated by the primaries that an overwhelming" majority favors the league with reservations, there is a disposition among the men who are drafting the platform for the con vention to evade any clear-cut decla ration in favor of the league. In order to conciliate the no-league ir reconcilables, it is proposed to straddle by adopting a plank similar to that of the Indiana convention. That plank opposes the covenant as submitted by the president, approves the action of "the republicans of the senate" in opposing it without dis tinguishing between the reservation Ists and the Irreconcilables, and favors "an association of nations to promote the peae of the world," although the only such association which it Is possible to join is that which has already been organized. It is more definite as to what the league should not do than about what it should do, and its most out spoken expression suggests republi can support for intervention in any future war which would threaten the peace and -freedom of Europe. The plain purpose of such a plank, if it should be adopted, would be to preserve an outward sem blance of unity In the party on a question as to which there is sharp division between the main body and an arrogant minority, and thus to eliminate that question as an issue in the campaign. The league issue will not down, for It is uppermost In the minds of. the people. Plat forms may straddle or ignore It, but the people will force candidates to speak out on it. An attempt to straddle would lose more votes for the republican party than it could save, for It would disgust milMons of voters who have earnest convic tions on. the subject and it would arouse suspicion of the sincerity of all of the party's platform declara , tions. The republican party cannot be defeated this year by the demo cratic party; it can Unly be defeated by itself. If it adopts a platform which Is a frank exposition of repub lican principles as applied to pres ent problems and which especially aligns the United States with all other civilized nations in the league with such precautions as are con tained in the Lodge reservations, and if it names candidates whose char acter guarantees its sincerity, it will deserve, and cannot fail, to win. If from mistaken motives of political expediency, it should adopt a policy of opportunism and deception, it will imitate the vices which have dis credited the democracy, will blight the hopes with which many people turn to it, and will incur the only visible risk of defeat. on tne league of nations the republican convention cannot do better than accept Mr. Taft as its oracle. As president, he did much to advance the cause of -arbitration, which is the traditional policy of the party. As ex-president he did more than any other American to crystal lize sentiment in favor of a league of nations by forming the league to eniorce peace: ne rendered non political service of inestimable value during the war; and he has worked unceasingly to keep the public mind set on its mission of peace through the controversy which has raged since the war ended. Having re nounced ambition for high office, he keeps his judgment free from the influence of self, and he will prove WHY NOT? Mr. Taft took advantage of his presence in Oregon to write an article for the Philadelphia Public Ledger, wherein he discussed the puzzling and contradictory results of the recent primary, and added the following observation: The election shows one of those ridicu lous results that we not infrequently have from general primaries, and one wonders how long the people and the parties will be willing to continue this farce which is de structive of the usefulness of parties. A party is useful as Its return to power means the carrying out of a definite gov ernmental policy. Under the primary sys tem, where candidates are selected, not by the loyal party members but by fac tional groupa in or out of the party, the choice Is not controlled by party loyalty or interest In The party and its policies. Sucb a system does not make for effective and useful party action after a victory Is won. t The state through its republican primary declares by a bare plurality for Johnson, but at the same time sends to Chicago delegates to carry out its will who are opposed to Johnson, and who were known to be opposed at - the time they were elected. It is not too much to say that the candidates known to be for Johnson were defeated for that reason. The primary was devised as a per fect instrument to carry out the popular will. What is the popular will as to Johnson? A plurality in Oregon wants him for president; a majority does not want him. If the voices which speak for Johnson will tell us that a plurality should rule in a primary, why will they not also concede that a plural ity should decide the contest in a convention? SUICIDE BT PREMONITION. .Premonitions are quite likely to correspond closely to the predisposi tions of those who are haunted by them. We are perhaps never wholly free from the influence of our pre possessions, as Job has told us. The thought is suggested by the will of an Oregon citizen who made his will when Oregon went dry, in the expectation that It would kill him to deprive him of his beloved beer. He charged in advance that he was being "murdered by the prohibi tionists." Suicide by premonition would better describe his death if any connection could be established between the events. As it came to pass, however, he lived some three years after the state went "dry" too long for his death to be worth much as an object lesson of any kind. The notion that the human organ ism is not adaptable to rather mo mentoushanges of habit is being rejeoted by increasing numbers of scientists. Administration of the Volstead act is being tuned to a more modern conceptlbn of the treatment of habituation of every kind. There is less inclination to potter with the "diminishing dose" method in en forcement of the Harrison narcotic regulation act. Ex-topers who have not had access to complaisant physic cians have survived probably with out exception and the authorities have begun to wonder why others should not. The up-to-date treat ment of narcotic addiction follows the same rule. Men and women who because of poverty or other reasons have not been able to obtain alcohol and opium continue to live through the deprivation, and to be restored the sooner to health and happiness. The well-to-do addict is badly served by the pretense that It is better for him to "taper off." The will to accept the new dispen sation undoubtedly hastens the cure, Physicians nowadays are willing to give more credit than they used to do to therapeutic morale. The unre constructed multiply their miseries, if they do not shorten their lives. by their recalcitrancy. No one Is being murdered by a strict construe tion either of bone-dry prohibition amendment or the anti-narcotic law, Car Association, of Oregon, the campaign slogan, "Consider tire other fellow keep to the' right," is to be heralded abroad and impressed on every truck driver in the state. Each' new purchaser of a truck will be urged to observe the rule and to require his drivers to observe it. The dealers have taken the right tack, though it required a little taste of their own medicine to bring It home to them. The best way to head off hostile regulation in any line is to remove the causes for hos tility. There is plenty of room on the highways of Oregon for motor trucks as well as passenger cars, and a good many passenger car owners might themselves" take well to heart the motto, "Consider the other fellow keep to the right." HIGH COST OF THE PRIJ1ART. The net result of the investigation of campaign funds Is to disprove the statement of the New York World that Leonard Wood's campaign is financed with a slush fund raised by a coterie of Wall street magnates, to prove that there was no basis for Senator Borah's suspicions founded ron that story, that Mr. Proctor and other wealthy men put up the money for Wood's campaign and are not a bit ashamed of it, and that conduct ing a presidential primary, campaign is very expensive, even when kept strictly within the law. Nor has it been proved that any candidate has transgressed the law. Wood's cam paign cost more than that of any other candidate for the reason that his managers tried to cover the whole country, while the others confined their activity to their own and a few other states. . The amounts spent by Johnson and others in single states are so large to indicate that if they had covered the country as fully as did Wood, their totals would have equaled his. The Inquiry has done more in the way of revealing the high cost "of campaigning than in proving any person to be culpable for' improper expenditure of money. Before ex pressing their preference for any seeker after a presidential nomina tion, the people want to know about him and if possible to see and hear him. To reach all of them in so large a country requires a great amount of literature of a sort, ad vertising, traveling, managing abil Ity, hall rent and clerical help. These things cost money at war prices. especially as men will only take temporary political jobs at fat sal aries at a time when steady jobs are easy to get. The people have de cided that they want that kind of a campaign, therefore they cannot consistently blame the candidates for giving it to them. After all it is doubtful whether the results attained are worth the money. Only about a third of the republican delegates are instructed for any particular candidate, and of this third probably half are either at heart opposed to or lukewarm toward the man whom they are pledged to support. Oregon is not the only state where the popular preference is for one man, the dele gates' preference for another. support the consortium, would be assured equal opportunity to invest and trade in the parts of China which would be opened up by foreign capital,' and the influence of their governments would be exerted to protect their rights. As the "United States has most capital available, it would have the-largest part in the work and the strongest voice in the direction of the enterprises under taken. Great quantities of American machinery and material would be used in construction, and American merchants, miners and manufactur ers would penetrate to the interior. China would no longer be a weak, divided, crippled nation at the mercy of its small, vigorous neighbor, but would be aided by the United States in establishing a strong government able to stand alone. These developments would redound chiefly to the profit of the Pacific coast ports, for they would cause an expansion of trans-Pacific commerce that is beyond conception. Every increase in production of China would swell its exports to this country, and every increase in its purchasing power would swell its imports. By their unselfishly friendly policy the American people have won the good will of China and will win the reward, in the shape of readiness to buy from this country in prefer ence to any other. tAKE NOT KEEDED AS REFl'GE. KEEP TO THE RIGHT. On the recent ship-by-truck tour from Portland to Eugene and return in the interest of good roads and motor truck transportation, motor truck dealers who made the run learned one important reason for a certain prejudice against use of the highways by motor trucks. . The discovery surprised them somewhat, but opened their eyes. This is what happened: The director in charge of the tour, who accompanied it in a touring car, desired at times to run from one end of the line of sixteen loaded motor trucks to the other. The first time he tried to pass from the rear of the line to the front he didn't suc ceed at all. The reason was that all the trucks in the caravan were crowding the center of the highway, and the noise of their exhausts was so great the drivers could not hear his signal. All motorists have had the same experience in trying to pass motor trucks. Their ire has been aroused against all trucks, just as the ire of the director was aroused aeainst the trucks In his own train. Things happened speedily after that. At the next town a meeting of all the drivers was called and the director, M. O. Wllktns, after stating the cause of contention, spoke further as follows: "Boys, unless ,we want the legis lature to regulate us, we must regu late ourselves. We have all heard complaints about how motor trucks hog the road,' but have attributed them mostly to 'knockers.' We must change our attitude. The com plaints have foundation in fact, as we have learned on our own tour. Let us take up this matter and start a move of our own to eliminate the cause of the prejudice against motor trucks." On the spot it was agreed by all the drivers that the trouble could be obviated by the simple expedient of having truck drivers keep at all times to tne extreme right hand side of the road, thus leaving Dlentv or space co tne left for faster motor vehicles to pass. More, it was voted to begin a campaign to educate all truck drivers in the same simple rule, and a prize was offered for a slogan. xne anver or an army motor truck suggested the winning slogan, which is this one: "Consider the other fellow keep to the rie-ht." Thereafter on the truck caravan tour there was no time when any following motorist had the slightest difficulty in passing if he so desired. Every truck driver conscientiously hugged the right band side of the highway. But that is not to end it. The WORK OF THE CONSORTIUM IN CHINA A powerful instrument in increas ing the trade of the United States with China will be the bankers' consortium of American, British, French and Japanese banks which has undertaken to finance develop ment of China. It is encouraged by the governments of those four nations, and will operate in accord ance with policies on which they agree The organization marks a distinct reversal of policy on the part of President Wilson, for one of his first acts in 1913 was to withdraw gov ernment support from a similar scheme and to cuse its failure. In October. 1918, he took the initiative by proposing to the other powers the formation of ar new consortium with a wider scope. His proposals aimed to secure the open door and to open it wider, for they were for a free and full partnership among the several groups, for pooling with It all options and concessions on which substan tial progress had not been made and for prevention in future of special spheres of influence. Japan at first demanded that Manchuria and Hon golla should be excluded, but finally gave its approval on the understand ing that the question as to those two provinces should be settled when a plan was offered to finance any undertaking in them.. The policy of the consortium has been defined for the bureau of public information of Shanghai by Thomas W. Lament, who conducted the nego tiations on behalf of the American group. He says the intention is to deal only with "basic enterprises, such as the development of transpor tation systems, highways, reorganiza tion of the currency, etc., as would serve to establish sounder economic conditions throughout China and thus form a firmer foundation for the encouragement of private initla tive and trade." Loans will be made only to the republic or the provinces or when guaranteed by them. All the banking groups are much larger than those which composed the old consortium, that of this country having increased from five to thirty one member banks. The consortium will be formed and will operate only If the Chinese people desire. If they accept, their general approval and co-operation will be expected. Ex penditure of the loans will be under supervision of an audit system ere ated by the consortium, "to be exer cised as far as " possible through native assistance. This would be in fulfillment of a responsibility to both the Chinese people and the investors, to see that the money was expended for constructive purposes and not wastefully. If the Chinese government decides according to the interest of its people It win accept the proposal and will open a new epoch in the life of their country. The chief cause 'of low wages and the low standard of living has been the primitive means and consequent high cost of transporta tion. With railroads and highways. this cost would be reduced to fraction of its present figure, and natural resources would be developed which are now Inaccessible. A gen eral advance in the scale of wages would follow, as was the case when Americans began the development of Mexico. The standard qf living would rise with the purchasing power of the people, and a great expansion of foreign trade would result. Another beneficial effect would be that an end would be put to - the division of China into foreign spheres of influence and to the threat of Japanese domination. The people of WITH FIRE AND SWORD. Revolution by peaceful propa ganda is the smooth and idealistic reply of the radical brought to court for preaching treason and the over throw of American government. Not since the time of Christ, so runs their modest pretense, have men gone forth to teach withless of mal ice in their hearts or with a larger store of that infinite gentleness which finds expression in the un selfish love of fellowmen. "There are 50,000 organized "reds' In the Chicago district, to overthrow the district," said Frank S. Dickson, adjutant-general of Illinois, in a re cent public address. "Within that 60,000 there is an armed "red guard', I modeled after the forces of the Rus sian soviet government." j It is idle to assume that, General Dickson was wholly without support-' ing fact when he made a statement so concisely alarming. Like creatures of dream, without the pre-vlsion of common caution, many Americans of unimpeachable loyalty are stumbling forward along the path of comfort able apathy. They are persuaded, for no other reason than an inability conceive the depravity and fa naticism of the "reds," that revolu tion in terms of blood will never enter the pages of American history. At Montesano, when the Centralia armistice day murderers were on trial, the state called for troops, and roused a raucous tumult of vituper ative objection from the defense and the radicals of the entire nation. Yet the argument, the need, for the pres ence of troops in the little Washing ton timber town was so patent that the governor of the state approved The measure was preparedness. forethoughtful common sense, and all the ridicule- that irresponsible harangue may heap upon it does not confute its expediency. Only the reds" may say what particular plans they had for Montesano. It Is their secret, if there be a secret. But pru dence and the undisclosed facts, known to the state, whispered that Montesano might become another Centralia. The time is not for alarm for genuine alarm need not focus upon the mouthings and mutterings of the madmen who dominate the radical movement. But it Is timely to realize that the "revolution," in the hidden thought of its leaders is such as Rus sia knows. Co-operation is -being urged as a means of marketing farm products. It may come to the point where the old-fashioned log-rolling method. which was co-operation in its high est form, will yet be necessary if farmers are to get their crops harvested. Bill to Cede Malheur Described as ln necessary Blow to Irrigation. BURNS, Or, May 26. (To the Editor.) State Engineer Cupper Is absolutely correct. The bill to cede Malheur lake to the government for a herd refuge will prevent the de velopment of 240.000 acres of first class land and will cause endless and needless litigation to the water rights on lands that are now being Irrigated. It will be a handicap to the state, because It will prevent an increased production and an increase of many millions of dollars in taxable wealth. If this measure is enacted In the law. It will prevent the Irrigation and development of 140,000 acres of land in the Harney valley and over 100, 000 acres In the Ulltxen valley and will undo the work of a lifetime of the pioneer citizens of Harney county. The Malheur lake, which shows on the map as a well defined lake. Is not a lake but a tule marsh and was so held in the case of the French Glen Livestock company against the set tlers on the south side or the Mal heur lake. The French Glen people held that the lake was a meandered lake and as riparian owners they owned the center of the lake. Owing to the irrigation of the lands along the Silvles and Blitzen rivers, the lake had receded and a large number of settlers had filed on the lands be tween the old meander line and the borders of the lake. The settlers set up the claim that the body of the land was a swamp and tule marsh and they were entitled to file on the lands between the old meander line and the border of the so-called lake and their contentions were sustained by the sum-erne court of Oregon. This body of land contains approxi mately 47.000 acres all of which can be reclaimed and soldi to settlers by the state. There Is no doubt in the minds of the people who have studied this question about the right of the state to acquire title to the 47.000 acres. If it be true that the state owns the land in question it neces- sarily follows that It belongs to the irreducible school funds and the children of the state of Oregon. Mr. Finley. in suDDort of this measure, has been using the school children of the state as a political asset and ask ing them to support a measure that would prevent them from procuring more than a million dollars for the school fund. The Portland Chamber of Com merce, the newspapers and the state of Oregon itself are spending thou sands of dollars urging people to come to Oregon to Invest their capital and help develop its splendid re sources. As a result of this Invita tion eastern capital came to Harney county, Oregon, bought a tract of land consisting of 154,000 acres which they are reclaiming, ditching, improving and developing with the object in view of subdividing and selling to small owners in 80-acre tracts or more. A part' of this land is now on the market on the most favorable terms and its subdivision will mean a great deal, not only to Harney county but to the whole state of Oregon. The enactment of this bill will obstruct, retard and discourage the working of this great piece of, con structive work and will discourage further Investments In Oregon land Dy outside capital. I am sure that we can prove to the satisfactions of the sportsmen of the state that 95 per cent of the game birds are bred and hatched in the sloughs, ditches, meadows and in numberable small lakes and spring branches that exist In Harney county and that the lake itself is used as a breeding and nesting place for pell cans, gulls, mud hens and scavenger birds. A view of Mr. Finley's own pictures will establish this fact. The construction of the reservoirs In the mountains north of Harney valley win furnish just as good resting and feeding ground for th migratory birds and will create one of the greatest fishing lakes in Ore gon. Therefore, the construction of these dams will be an asset to the sportsmen of the state. The people of Harney county are not opposed to the principle of game protection. People who live in pio neer countries protect the wild life. but when It comes to a question of raising babies or birds, we are for the babies every time. Irrigation means development, de velopment means homes, homes mean population. JAS. J. DON'EGAN. Those- Who Come and Go. Redwood trees grow In Oregon and Port Orford white cedars grow m California. This is tho positive as sertion of Carl L. Albrecht of Coos Bay, who was In Portland yesterday, returning from the I. O. O. K. grand lodge. "There is a five-mile stretch where the redwoods and the Port Or ford cedars Intermingle and overlap. and the California-Oregon line runs thronarh It " declares Mr. Albrecht. I know, because I've been all over Coos and Curry counties in the timber lor 40 years. I know those counties so well that you can't bring me a piece of tree, shrub or bush, cut and dried, but what I can tell where you got It. and if you bring me a piece of rock from those counties I can tell where the rock came from." I ought to know those counties." Speaking of big trees. Mr. Albrecht says . that the largest spru.ee he ever saw was 24 feet In diameter. It was down and rot-tine- and was in the Seven Devils, hich. Mr. Albrecht maintains, nas more wild scenery in Its few miles than any other part of the world, acre for acre. The father of L. J. Simpson considered once building a Bcenic railway In the Seven Devils, and some day it may materialise. The largest Port Orford cedar still standing of which Mr. Albrecht has knowledge is 12 feet in diameter and is near River ton. A new use to which the white cedar Is being put Is the making of battery boxes. On his return home Mr. Albrecht will be a deputy ire warden. He says that formerly many fires were started by empty whisky and beer bottles: those made of clear glass, for the sun caused them to act like a burning class. The woodsman says be has put out not less than six fires started in this manner. Rip Van Winkle was absent from the village of Falling Water 20 years, but Charles E. Barber returned to Portland yesterday after 40 years, and 25 of these years he has been In the postoffice at San Francisco. When Mr. Barber left Portland It was as boy and his arandfather. Captain Knott, was impresario of the Stark street ferry. In those days the only car line in Portland was the horse cars on First street, operated by Ben Holladay, and on those cars the driver was the conductor as well as motor man. The business district was on Front and First streets. There wasn't an elevator In the town. The New Market theater was the center of amusement. East Portland was a col lection of scattered houses and people drank Willamette river water or used wells. Twenty-five per cent of the population was Chinese. There were no bridges across the river and those persons who predicted bridges were considered foolish. The boys who "ran with the machine in the volun teer fire department developed Into the leading citizens later. Yes, Port land has changed in 40 years. A New York state clothing firm that made from 100 per cent profit upward has been fined in five figures, but that will not reduce prices. Only General Depression can bring that result, and who wants to see him in the saddle? In making "Bill" Strandborg vice- president of the whole works, the ad clubs in session in California put some honor on Portland, where he moves and has his being and labors as much as is consistent in an ad man. We note in an account from Salem of his career that Secretary of State Kozer, when ho first came to Oregon, "accepted a position" in a foundry. We'll bet that Sam himself would say he got a job. Any cat can whip a dog at close quarters, but the incident at Rose- burg, where an escaping baboon put all the felines up trees and poles. adds to tbe zoo knowledge of the world. Now comes congress and proposes to increase the tariff on beans. We fully expect that Secretary Daniels will see in this another attack on the navy. Some Hood River democrats have nominated Bill Hart, the movie star, for sheriff. Probably on the theory that they would get a- large caliber man. REGULATION OF BUSINESS GAINS When Jeremiah wrote, "Peace, peace; when there is no peace," he was not referring to Washington, A. D. 1920. but it fits there and now. An ex-bartender has been sen tenced to life imprisonment in New York. Well, he ought to feel right at home behind the bars. John W. Cochran is a newspaper man, therefore peculiarly and par ticularly qualified for the position of deputy secretary of state. The "600 beautiful bathing girls' are not to parade during the Shrine festivities and all chance of a riot is off- One of the tenets of a new sect in Louisiana is to go barefoot. To save their soles, no doubt. "Looks as if the governor had in voked the blue sky law on Mr. Schulderman. lesson went home. And now ,i nHor a fax safer guide than any of the 1 tbe auspices of the Dealers' Motor all nations, especially those which The committee to notify Debs of his nomination never can fit into his quarters. " --- - Way Not Apply to All Profits the Re striction Applied to Loanaf BAKER.. Or.. May 47. (To the Ed-ltor.)T-HIgh cost of living and prof iteering, their. causes and effects, are the questions that vitally concern the masses and are the causes of the un rest and general dissatisfaction that exist in the labor and business world. So-called investigations by congress of existing conditions seem to result In nothing but talk, and a lot more talk, the result of all the talk being nil. Hoarding and profiteering go on without any abatement and will con tinue to go on unless there is some method devised and stringently ap plied that will curtail the exploiters of the masses. The maximum profit where money is loaned is fixed by statute and prof iteers in the loan business are called usurers and are liable to a penalty. Tet this same money lender may change his line of business and In vest his one-time loan money in some other direction, such as manufactur ing or merchandising, where there is no legal limit to the profit he may de mand and receive for its use. All business Is more or less gov erned by supply and demand. The money market is no exception to this, yet that is controlled and a maximum rate of interest or profit that may be collected Is fixed by law. Then why should not tbe maximum profits or Interest rate of all business be fixed by statute? All capital Invested in ny business, whether such business is owned bv an individual. Dartner- shlp or corporation,' is money owned by the individual, partner or stock holder, as the case may be. and Is lent to and borrowed by the business, and for the use of such borrowed money by the business it the busi ness Is expected to pay Interest, As is well known, insurance con cerns have no uniform rate of charges except as classified. Life Insurance charges are based on tbe age of the insured; fire Insurance rates are based on the conditions that exist in and about the particular location and kind of buiMing or property that is in sured, and so on through all the in surance business. There Is a classifi cation of the various conditions that exist and charges for such insurance are higher or lower, as the case may be, according to the risk or percent age of probable loss that may be sus tained. - Then why not classify the various businesses and industries and fix bv statute the maximum profit that can ! be taken from the masses to pay the Interest on the money actually lent to any particular business or indus try by the owners of such business or industry according to its risk classification? These suggestions will appear to many to be "far-fetched." and imprac ticable, no doubt, but there must be a change. The regulation and supervi sion of business methods and limit- ing of profits have become imperative. " SUBSCRIBER. Captain T. J. MacGenn. sweet singer of the sea, who writes quatrains on the quarterdeck, is registered at the Perkins from the good old packet Rose Cltl. Captain MacGenn would rather pen a stanza on a storm than 'shoot the sun," and he is as much at home with a poet's dictionary he is with a book of logarithms. For years the skipper was known as the bard of the Breakwater, when that doughty and very roily vessel was on the Coos Bay-Portland run, and the passengers all remembered the mar iner because he would read his own poems to them when tbey were sea sick and too weak to resist. When home Captain MacGenn is at Empire City, a wind-swept collection of houses on the Coos county shore, near the entrance to the bay. The found ere expected Empire City to be i great place, but Marshfield was started and eclipsed Empire City, just as Portland overshadowed MUwaukie and made it a suburb. "Went to Silverton the other day. began Judge J. U. Campbell of Oregon City, "so I visited the cemeWry to see the monument erected to Homer Davenport, I found none, and asked a man where Davenpotr s grave was He said he didn't know and had neve,r heard of the name, as he hi onlv lived in Silverton five years. searched around and found a small headboard, weather-worn, which gave Davenport's name, the year of his birth and year of his death. That was all. Near by were magnificent monuments erected to a couple of de Darted citizens, whose names I had never heard of until I read the car toonist's story." "The Muscovites ran me out ot town two miles at Baker." says W. F. Moore of Halsey. recounting his ex Deriences at the grand lodge. I. O. O. F. He arrived at the Imperial yesterday on his way home, having been elected grand conauctor. ir. Moore has been in Oregon ten years, coming here from Indiana, and he hasn't any desire to return to the banks of the Wabash while the Santiam and the Willamette are still flowing. When not grand lodging he is a dairyman and milks his own kine. VOTER FOR McCAMANT INCKNSED 1 Mr. Roy Waits Effort Made to De-1 prtre Delegate of Seat, PORTLAND, May 28. (To the Edi tor.) The writer was amazed at the Interview credited to Mr. Wallace Mc Camant appearing in The Oregonlan May 27. I voted for Hiram Johnson because I regarded him as the per sonification of that spirit which prompted a great majority ot the re republlcan voters to desert the lead ership of the reactionary Mr. Taft in 1912 and follow that incomparable champion of human rights, the 1 la mortal Roosevelt. Also In comparing tbe candidates I found In the state ments of all of the others pratlngs regarding "property rights." but - no frank declaration of a belief In human rights and no promise of any effort to endeavor to revive onr dead-letter constitutional provision of the right of free speech. I voted fof Mr. McCamant for dele-gate-at-large to -the national conven tion because he had occupied for some little time, seemingly with honor and ability, the great rfflce of justice of the supreme court of the state of Ore gon; and because I had faith in the promise contained In his statement published by authority of law and compiled and Issued by the secretary of staie; where he says: 1 have avoided committing myself to any candidate for president In order that I might be In a better position to support the candidate who wins out at the Oregon primary. Whether I am chnnmn a Al-a nr nut I will do everything In my power to elect a republican president In the approaching campaign. I also believed that Mr. McCamant had subscribed to the statement re quired by the statute (page 125. gen erai laws of Oregon. 1915). which Is ubstantlally to the same effect, and which 1 believed that it was neces sary for him to suoscrlbe to before he as qualified to become a candidate for the office he was eeekinar. However, It seems now that he has construed the law differently from the construction that I had placed thereon and that he now, by seme verbal legerdermain, claims never to ave made any promise to support Senator Johnson for president under any circumstances I must confess to an Inability to follow the clever line of reasoning that enables Mr. Mc Camant to reach this conclusion, and am constrained to say that in my opinion his advertised declaration by which he secured my vote and those of thousands of others of the Johnson followers was. in the light of his present statements, false; and here- fter it will be quite impossible for me, and doubtless for many other people, to accept at Its face value any ublic statement made by Mr. Mc Camant Much as it pains me to Impute to i former honored member of the hich est court of our state conduct of that character, I am now Impelled to the belief that Mr. McCamant obtained his recent election by means of base political trickery. Personally I doubt the validity of his election under the circumstances recited in the state ments credited to him. Certainly the people who voted for him for the same reasons that I did should investigate this matter and if possible preven his obtaining a scat as a delegate from our state. HARRY G. HOY 412 Fenton Building. Twemty-Ftve Tears Ago. From the Oregonlan of May 39. ISM. Oregon City The nruon st.te Grange began its session here yes- leraay, wttn president . Voorhees presiding. The Columbia River Packers" Sal mon Propagating company is the' name of a new corooration whA-m ob ject is to preserve the salmon indus try of the Columla river. The Multnomah Countv Blmetallte league held a session in Tammany hall on First street last night and de cided to open permanent headquar ters on the second floor of the new Auditorium building. " Clear weather is predicted for to morrow, when the greatest bicycle meet ever held In the northwest will be staged here nnder auspices of the Pacific Amateur Athletic club. MIlo C. King, who lives at Gresham when " home, comes to tne i-erain every few days and writes under hi name on the register: "Lowden fo president." He did it again yesterday and insists that Lowden is going to be nominated on the second ballot, or on the third ballot at the outside. Mr. Kint" went to the same school wun Governor Lowden, which accounts for his optimism. - On the road to Cascadla, which if the trail is followed will lead to sis ters. on the eastern side of the Cas cade mountains, la Sweet Home. It came Into prominence in the days o the land-fraud trials In Oregon. Since then the chief bid for fame of Sweet Home is that It was the last commu nlty in Linn county to go dry. Ernest S. Scholl of the Sweet Home country arrived at the Imperial yesterday, C B. Webster and son have Jour neyed from Fort Rock. In Klamath county, to the Hotel Oregon on a mat ter of business. Fort Rock- was named because the rocky formation, which arises abruptly from the sur rounding country, has the appearance of ancient battlements. Fort Rock Is in the vicinity of some of the fines cattle countries In tbe state. Robert Dollar and his better half have quarters at the Benson. Captai Dollar has helped make history in the American merchant marine on th Pacific coast. Another Influential fac tor in the shipping circles of the Pacific Is Charles R. McCormick, who also arrived at the Benson yesterday from San Francisco. Bankers who were at the Imperial yesterday were H. Baldwin, cashte of the First National of Prineville F. Y. Gaulke. president or tne r Irs Bank of Joseph, and J. W. Beymer o the Farmers '& Stockgrowers Ban of Heppner. Also present was Will H. Bennett, superintendent of banks, of Salem. Florida is all well enough in its way. but not to be compared with Yakima, in the opinion of J. H. Lock ett, who is registered at the Hotel Washington. Mr. Lockett took a look over the Pacific coast and decided to locate in Yakima and forget Florida. - Herbert Cuthbert of Seattle regis tered at the Imperial yesterday on his way home from the Ad club con vention. He went south with the caravan, but a train was pretty good for the return trip. Families on Mayflower Pact. Indianapolis News. The 41 male passengers, heads families- who signed the compact on tne Mayflower were: John Carver, William Bradford. Edward Winslow, William Brewster. Isaac Allerton. John Allerton. Myles Standish, John Alden, Samuel Fuller, Christopher Martin, William Mulllns. William White, Rich ard Warren, John Howland, Stephen Hopkins. Edward Tllley, John Tilly Francis Cook. Thomas Rogers, Thoma Tinker, John Rldgdale. Edward Ful er. John Turner, Francis Eaton James Chilton, John Crackston. John BUllngton. Moses Fletcher. John Good man. Degary Priest, Thomas Will iams. Gilbert Winslow, Edward Mar geson, Peter Brown, Richard Brit terige. George Soule, Richard Soule, Richard Clark. Richard Gardiner, Thoma English, Edward Dotey and Edward "Leister. With the passengers came also 15 male servants. They bore the names of Carter, Coper, Ely, Holbeck, Hooke, Langmore. Latham, Minter. Moore, Prower, In Other Days. TIME ARRIVED TO LET HIM OUT All Right to Imprison Debs Daring War, bot Nation Should Be Lenient PORTLAND, May 28. (To the Edi tor.) Men and women who sympa thize with and aid the enemy in mar time are traitors and should be treat ed as such. But Eugene V. Debs is no traitor. The same is probably trne of Dr. Marie Equi. It was love of mankind and intense hatred and ab horrence of war the folly of follies. the crime of crimes which forced Debs to speak and write when men with cooler heads and smaller hearts wisely kept their mouths shut and pens dry. It is Debs misfortune that he is a century or two ahead of the times. A cruel fate placed this 22d century man on the world's stage in an age which a century may it be much less hence will be considered, barbarian. America the proud champion of dem ocracy, liberty, free speech and freo press takes ten yfars of Debs' life for violating the espionage act, wniie autocratic, Prussianlc Germany under the kaiser, takes four years or Dr. Liebknecht's life for being guilty of high treason. Few will, and none should, criticise the authorities for Imprisoning Debs during the war. F.ut the war is hap pily won. Over 18 months have passed since it ended. Yet Debs languishes in the penitentiary. Is this creditable to America? is it wi.-e policy? Will the continued imprisonment of this man exter minate the Debses the reds? No. but it will make them tedder and multiply their number. Financially America was greatly enriched by the late war. and com pared to the other belligerents her sacrifices and losses were small. It behooves he then to be at least as lenient to offenders of the Debs kind as the powers whose sufferings, and losses were far greater. In a sermon at Louisville. Ky.. the Rev. Jahn G. Hill said: "Gene Debs, of all men! Some of you may not know him, but those of us who do know that James Whitcomb Riley saw the man as he Is when he said: "A man "at stands and Jes" holds out In his two hands As warm a heart as ever beat Twlxt here and the judgment seat." P. T. JOHNSON. Tablets 4000 Years Old Found. Detroit (Mich.) News. ' A group of valuable historic tablets from excavations of the city of Baby lon, bearing dates as far back as three and one-half centuries before the Christian era, was recently se cured by Stanford university. Several of the pieces carry the distinct prints of the fingers which molded them over 4000 years ago. One sun "dried contract bears the name of-Darius, the Persian king of Babylon, and is dated in the second year of his reign.' The system of characters on the tablets is composed of horizontal, ver tical or oblique strokes. This cunei form writing, it is said, was first adopted by the Babylonians after its invention by a people called Sumer lans, and was used by them from about 4500 B. C It passed from them to the Assyrians, who used it with xnme changes, notably in recording Sampson, the jjfe anQ deeds of the kings on the Story. Thompson. Trevore and Wilder. BUrface of terra cotta bricks. 'Washington's Historic Cane. Indianapolis Newa To President Wilson was lent the other day the historic gold-headed cane which was carried by George Washington while In the White House, and President Wilson Is ex pected to make use of it in his strolls while he is recuperating. The famous walking stick, which is considerably longer than the modern kind, was taken to the White House by colonel Edward W. Creecy, ot Howard coun ty, Maryland, who said that the cane had been out of bis safe deposit vault in Baltimore only three times in 40 yeara It was exhibited at tne James town exposition, was carried by tne prince of Wales on the occasion of his visit to the White House and re cently was shown to General Peyton C. March, chief of staff of the army. Philippine Climate Landed. Indianapolis News. The climate of the Philippines Is one of the best in .the tropics. The islands extend from 5 degrees to 21 degrees north latitude, and Manila is in 14 degrees 35 minutes. The ther mometer during July and August rarely "goes below 79 or above 85. The extreme ranges in a year are said to be 61 and 97, and the annual mean 81. There are three well marked seasons temperate and dry from November to February, hot and dry from March to May, and temper ate and wet from June to October. The rainy season reaches its maxi mum In July and August, when the rains are constant and very heavy. The total rainfall has been as high as 114 inches in one year. Portland's Civic History Recalled 3y Landmarks of Today. The early days of Portland's history, when the site of the present city was occupied by three enterprising young pioneer towns, each -. jealous of its own identity, are recalled by an article by De Witt Harry which will appear in Sunday's Oregonian. Those were the days when it was an adventurous trip to ride "clean to St. Johns" on the little pepper-box trains then in commission, when potatoes sold ' at two-bits a sack, when the clarion tones of the bell in the old East Portland city hall roused the firemen to fight fire and when the almost unblazed forests marked the boundaries of the then rival towns. Putting Jazz in the Fashions. This is the day of jazz. They have jazz music and jazz dances a.nd now they are putting it into the construction of milady's costumes. The latest things in jazz wearing apparel are treated of in an article which will appear in The Sunday Oregonian. It tells how the old order of conservatism in . dress is going down before the abandon of the new jazz styles, the devotees of which wear trouserettes, strings of pearls draped over their swan-like backs and pictures of their fiances in their slippers. Modern King Canute. They call him the modern King Canute, but unlike the Canute of old he has been successful in his work v of curbing the ocean to his will. An article in The Sunday Ore gonian tells of Dr. Lewis M. Haupt, who ever since Lincoln gave him an appointment to the United States military academy has been fighting the waves and tides and overcoming them. Government Employes Rival Grand Opera Artists. The story of the advent of the Washington -Opera company, an organization . composed of government employes in Washington, D. C, and how they produced grand opera which even the most seasoned opera companies could not Burpass is told of in an article which wiil appear in The Sunday Oregonian. The article is written by Alice ' Gram, a former Portland girl now in the national capital. Miss Gram writes of the organization of the company, of its trials and final triumphs in an interesting manner. . The Victory at Sea. "The Victory at Sea," by Admiral William Sowden Sims, which relates the work which the allied submarines did. in the winning of the recent war, is continued . tomorrow. . Oregon Woods Hold Wealth in Herbs and Valuable Woods. Some of the little known products of the Oregon forest are treated of in an article which Will appear in The Sunday Oregonian, All the News of All the World THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN -