THE 3IORNIXG OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, DECE3IBER IT, ' 1920
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KSTABMSHEB BV HENRY L. FITTOCK.
Publlshed by The Oreg-onlan Publlsnina; -o-
lia Sixth Street. Portland. Oregon,
r. . KB. PIP BR.
- Editor.
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THE FITTEST SELECTION".
A story that survives the middle
period of American history illustrates
the old-time method of selecting
some cabinet ministers for their
political fitness alone. A secretary
of the navy, who hailed from the re
mote continental interior, had head
ed an official party for inspection of
a fine new war ship. Surrounded
by officers in glittering uniform the
secretary was ceremoniously escorted
over the vessel. An open hatch first
attracted the .attention of the
bucolic secretary, and he peered
down Into Its cavernous depths.
Drawing back tn astonishment he
gave vent to his feelings in tne
startled exclamation way, the aern
things holler."
One is reminded of this little In
cident, probably apocryphal, when
he notes the enthusiastic campaigns
under way in various states to put
some honored citizen " in President
Harding's cabinet. The propriety of
any such movement may be ques
tioned; its chances of success are not
open to doubt It may cause a glow
. of pride to suffuse the swelling
bosom of the aspirant to know that
his fellow-citizens deem him worthy
of so great an honor; but that is
about all.
The choice of a cabinet, being
strictly a personal prerogative of
the president, is not to be influenced
by lengthy petitions, by sectional
pressure, by political argument. The
initiative belongs with the president,
and he may or may not desire un
solicited advice. Certainly there will
be public discussion of the availa
bility of many men, but it will take
the form of consideration of what
the president is likely to do, and
speaking broadly, of what he should
do. All this is different from any
effort to reach his private ear in
behalf of anyone.
Every day some one is mentioned
for secretary of the Interior with
the suggestion and in the expectation
that the "west" has a peculiar right
to name him. The west has no
special claim to the job, nor to any
other in the cabinet. Only the na
tion and its welfare are entitled to
paramount consideration. But it is.
of course, true that since the in
terior department has most to do
with public lands, forest and voters
and their products, the fittest selec
tion would be of one familiar with
western conditions and sympathetic
with western interests. If a man
with vision, understanding and con
structive abilities can be found for
the place from any state, the west
is bound to be satisfied.
If Governor Davis of Idaho, an
excellent man, who is being urged
by Senator Borah and others for
secretary of the interior, is larger
than Idaho, and will add strength
and prestige to the cabinet of Presi
dent Harding, there will be no ob
jection to him in Oregon or Wash
ington. But it is well enough . to
have it understood at Marion that
there is no general desire or demand
for his selection here merely because
he comes from Idaho or the Pacific
northwest.
initial loss as inevitable in a new
business. Then it should be able to
sell the ships as the plant of a pay
ing, going business with established
trade and good will.- By this policy
it would make' a market for Its
goods, and would not bear the mar
ket This seems to be the policy
laid down on the Jones law. The
board should In four or five years
have established lines of commerce
which employ our merchant marine
and extend our foreign trade, and in
the process should gradually trans
fer the fleet to private hands. That
policy would also inform the gov
ernment what aid must be given and
how the laws must be changed in
order to keep the new merchant
marine on the sea in. competition
with ships of any other nation.
FIND WHAT THE SHIPS ARE WORTH.
Secretary of Commerce Alexander
conveys some idea of the great ad
justment of accounts that must be
made in order to arrive at the pres
ent value of the emergency fleet to
determine how much of its cost
should be charged to the war, and
then to learn whether it earns a
profit on its present value. He esti
mates the cost of the fleet and government-owned
shipyards at $3,000,
000,000, and the annual interest,
sinking fund charge and deprecia
tion at $375,000,000, but the latter
sum would be subject to reduction
by net earnings of ships, if any, and
by application of proceeds bf sale
of capital assets to retirement of
bonds. He says that "we must be
candid with ourselves" and that the
value of the ships "must be reduced
to their actual value for competitive
purposes at the present time" and
the difference between that value
and their first cost must be charged
to the war. So also must the in
terest sinking fund and depreciation
charge on that difference.
One cause of the old shippiifg
board 8 troubles was that it was not
thus candid' with itself. It did not
reduce the value of. the fleet from
its war cost to its competitive peace
value. It was so reluctant to take 'I
the loss which this reappraisement
wouW require that it held the price
asked, for ships above their market
value, so that it made few sales. It
tied up its agents so that charters
were snatched away from them and
many of its ships lay Idle while the
British were carrying a good share
of American commerce. Not having
set the present value of ships or the
interest and depreciation charges to
be made against them, it did not
know whether ft made a net profit
on operation.
The herculean task of the new
board Is to get things In Shipshape.
When it has determined the'r pres
ent value and the fixed charges to
be made, it will know what charter
rates' will pay a profit and at what
prices ships will sell. Its greatest
difficulty is that it has such a great
fleet on its hands that any pressure
to sell promptly depresses the mar
ket price below the amount that It
asks. The board may discover that
the quickest way o sell the fleet
at the smallest loss would be, at least
ostensibly, to abandon all effort to
sell the ships alone and to use them
in building up paying lines of trade
with certain countries, taking the
BACK IN THE OLD DATS. .
A decade or so ago, the Union Pa
cific railroad, under the aggressive
direction of the astute and powerful
Harriman, decided to extend Its line
to Puget sound, and it started, to
build a railroad paralleling the
Northern Pacific from Portland. A
truce with the Northern Pacific and
Great Northern was reached, and a
joint trackage arrangement was
made.
This was progress. It was a sensi
ble, economical and beneficial plan.
But When it came to terminals an
other policy was followed. The Un
ion Pacific wanted its own ter
minals at Seattle and bought the
ground at enormous expense. For
the union station site alone it paid
the great sum of $1.000,000 worth
about $300,000"or $400,000 or less.
under normal conditions and built
a noble structure, aupucaung xne
existing station of the Great -Northern
and Northern Pacific, at a cost
of $600,000.
Over at Spokane, a few years ago.
the Union Pacific and Milwaukee
roads were moved by a joint impulse
to go together, and they built
through the city, and erected a ter-
minal station, all at a cost of about
$8,000,000. Yet there were existing
separate terminals and tracks for
the Northern Pacific and Great
Northern. They were more than
enough by far for all. The $8,000
000 investment was sheer waste. In
view of then prevailing conditions,
it is strange that the Union Pacific
and Milwaukee did not go in inde
pendently, each expending $8,000,
000. In the final analysis it is the
people's money.
Here in Portland there ts trouble
about a union terminal, based on
the old idea, by two railroad systems,
that their prime duty is to them
selves, and not to the public. They
are mistaken. In view of all that
has happened in the past ten years,
it is surprising that some rulroad
minds are still beclouded.
No member of a coast guard crew
was ever known to falter. - The same
high record was established by the
crews of cutters maintained, in ad
mittedly inadequate numbers, to
patrol the coast outside the surf line.
Improvement of wireless communi
cation has made it possible for ves
sels in distress to summon aid, but
without a redoubtable personnel the
agencies for rendering aid would be
ineffectual. The report tells of the
transfer in open sea in the teeth
of a howling gale of 102 passengers
material until goods manufactured
from them were sold.
Germany in particular makes no
effort to set its finances in order
because it is still in doubt what
amount it will have to pay for repa
ration. Its budget still shows a huge
deficit and it still prints , money
withbut regard to the wealth behind
it or to the day ot reckoning With
an undefined debt hanging over it
Germany cannot get credit to buy
raw materials with which to make
goods .to pay its debts and to put
from the transport Powhattan, wa- value into its currency.
terlogged and helpless in the Atlantic
ocean. The circumstance that this
transfer, with the best tackle that
could be procured, required more
than a day illuminates the diffi
culties under which rescuers labor,
and possesses more than passing in
terest here in view of a recent ma
rine tragedy on the northwest coast.
Lacking the conventional art of
the romancer, the official who sets
down the facts has succeeded not
withstanding in writing a marine
epic. Yet if memory serves us it is
not" an exceptional one. Annually,
with variation of names and minor
details, the same story Is told. It
is worth reading for the confidence
it begets in the unmeasured ca
pacity for bravery and eself-sacrifice
of our fellow men.
SAFETY AT SEA.
The price of comparative safety
at sea is not to be estimated in
money, as is shown by the formal
report of the coast guard service for
the last fiscal year. The story it
tells of unremitting toil and vigi
lance, of almost unrealizable hard
ship and of high personal valor is
one to send the blood coursing
through the veins of every American
who cares a whit for the excellent
traditions of his seafaring ancestors.
Several' million dollars' worth of
property and, of infinitely greater
moment more than a thousand lives
were saved by the operations of
the guard during the period under
review. "
The rescue of the""crew of the
steamer H. E. Runnels on the Great
Lakes supplies a thrilling chapter,
though the official telling is matter-
of-fact enough. Four times the
life boat put out from shore to the
rapidly disintegrating vessel. Each
time it returned with a few im
periled sailors. Members of the coast
guard service dropped out from ex
haustion, but others quickly took
their places. That the last trip to
the vessel, then breaking up, did not
end in disaster for all '.'was wholly
matter of luck," the report says.
The men then on the wreck were of
middle age and one of them, the
chief engineer, was a man weighing
more than 300 pounds. The report
continues:
Each lost his grip . . . and fell Into
the water. The task of getting them out.
diverting the aurfmen as It did from ever
present peril of boarding seas, brought
calamity on some of the rescuers. A wave,
smashing down over the boat, washed
three men overboard. Keeper Anderson,
directing the work, was swept overboard
tKree times. All succeeded fortunately in
getting back on board. In the face ot dan
gers and hardships such as are rarely en
countered by the corps the rescue of IT
men was happily accomplished.
"Human nature." comments the
report "has its limits," but these
limits would seem to have been un
known to the guards. There is an
other story, that of the schooner
Cape Horn, which went ashore on
the coast of Texas. Of this, the re
port says:
The waves were breaking as far out as the
eye could see. and the bar over which the
boat had to pass to reach the open waters
of the Gulf was a veritable cauldron. A
strong cross-current added to the dangers
of the venture, making it extremely diffi
cult for the boatmen to hold their craft
head to the racing combers. As it was,
they shipped seas constantly, the boarding
masses of water throwing them lmpotently
this way and that, now nearly burying the
boat, now pitching her far over on her
beam ends, and now lifting her up by the
bow and threatening to sand her crashing
over in a backward somersault Several
hard, jarring fails were experienced also
by the boatmen as their craft, her bow
thus suddenly tossed upward by a comber,
would be left for an instant unsupported
in the air, to come smashing down upon
the unyielding water.
There is a technic of live-saving,
as well as sublime bravery. By re
peated maneuvers the lifeboat, ap
proaching the wreck, "ran with full
speed alongside between combers,
snatched off a man and retreated."
This was repeated until the entire
schooner's company had been taken
aboard. By that time the boat with
its additional cargo, was found too
deeply laden to venture, back .the
way it had come. A "drogue" a
seaman's contrivance of canvas re
sembling a huge collapsible bucket
was thrown over the stern .at the
end of a rope to steady the boat's
speed and enable the oarsmen to
keep the boat under control as it
was engulfed by or rode upon the
pursuing sea. '
Thus for a space of time the keeper,
wielding his long steering blade from the
stern, and his surfmen. bending with taut
ened muscles to their oars,' battled with
the deadly breakers, while the sailors.
clinging frenzledly to gunwale and thwart.
watched with leariui hearts a fight which
only the professional surfman can wage
with any hope of success. The odds were
heavily against the ' boat's crew, trained
though they were to every mood of the
sea. The boat lined time and again.
Then the drogue broke. Ordi
narily this would have spelled
calamity. Luck and only luck again
saved the men. The boat at length
was put high up on the beach with
out loss of a single occupant
So "the tale runs on, page after
page, only when men were disabled
did they fall out and then there were
always others to take their places,
BOYCOTT AGAINST BOYCOTT.
The Bethlehem Steel company'
boycott on contractors who run th
closed shop is retaliation on labor
union boycott of those who run th
open shop. It is coercion of men
who submit to labor union demands
by a corporation which successfully
resists them. The union boycott is
coercion of those who resist its de-
mand for the closed shop.
Between the two where does th
public stand, which wants to erect
nnrl ns huildine-s. whether thev are
built of Bethlehem steel or not, by"
union labor or not? Must it wait till
these private feuds are fought; Sut
and must it pay whatever price is
fixed in the settlement?
A corporation which refuses to
supply steel because it disapproves
of the labor policy followed by a
customer attempts to restrain trade.
It could and should be punished un
der the anti-trust laws. A labor tin
ion which prevents men from work
ing for a certain contractor also
attempts restraint of trade, but it is
exempt from prosecution by the
terms of the law.
This statement of the facts is
maae to show where the intermi
nable conflict between the open and
closed shop has landed us. There
is no guessing whither it may yet
lead us. The general public, which
pays for. or rents buildings and
which needs many more, should
have something to say, since the
housing supply and the price to be
paid for it must be affected by the
feud, but it seems to be considered
as having nothing to do with the
matter except to pay.
The boycott, whether practiced by
steel manufacturers or labor, unions,
is thoroughly un-American. It is con
trary to the spirit of our institutions.
Its latest application will hasten its
end by impressing this fact on the
minds of the people and by stir
ring them to demand that their
rights be considered.
Currency cannot become stabilized
abroad till Germany .knows how
much it ojres and makes provision
for payment Exchange cannot im
prove', till currency is stabilized.
Commerce cannot regain full volume
till exchange rises nearer to par nor
until rich America extends credit to
poor Europe. American farmers
cannot market their crops abroad
till this credit enables them to sell
at a price based on actual demand
and - supply, uninfluenced by all
these disturbing elements.
The American people are on the
right track in providing this credit
The private agency provided by the
bankers will probably do this more
effectively than the war finance cor
poration, but presence of the latter
in the field may serve as a spur.
For complete reconstruction of
world commerce we must look to
settlement of the German indemnity.
to-placing of Europe's finances on a other purpose than for the entrance
BY-PRODUCTS ' OF THE TIMES
- - .i. -,, .
Arch Associated With Commom Super
stition b Some Countries.
We d"o not commonly think of the
arch, one of the most beautiful of
architectural achievements, as being
associated in any way with common
superstitions. And yet. In India, in
China, in New Zealand, to crawl under
a brier grown down In the shape of an
arch is considered a sure cure for
rheumatism, boils, whooping cough,
or whatever alls you. A sick child is
passed under such an arch in Borneo.
and in New Guinea passing under an
arch is an initiation process observed
with much ceremony.
The' arch is the original .sign for
breaking a spell, or the charm of a
witch or evil spirit. In the old cus
torn of transferring any sort of plague
to a scapegoat and carrying it out of
the city, an arch was set up at the
city's entrance to forbid its coming
back. Ancient Italians caused their
enemy to pass under tnc yoke before
being released. This ceremony was
one of purification, supposedly, and
released them from the anger of their
slain enemies' ghosts. The Romans'
triumphal arch Is thought by some to
have been erected for the victors to
pass beneath in the same purifica
tion process as the defeated under
went. The special gate to Rome, the
Ports Triumphalis, was used for no
Those Who Come and Go.
solvent basis and to full resumption
of industrial activity in the old
world. Upon that very largely de
pends full prosperity in the Lnlted
States. The farmer's prosperity
grows from that of all American in
dustry, and that of America grows
from that of the whole world. We
cannot touch the farnier's part of
the problem without discovering
that it is but a part of the problem
of bringing order out of the chaos
into which the war has thrown the
economic condition of the world.
of victorious warriors .arching
homeward.
Therefore, there is still a C:ep sig
nificance In our boys marching home
ward fro..i the world war as they did
in so many of our cities through an
especially erected Triumphal arch.
' .
A certain picturesque and even ro
mantic interest attaches to ancient
armor. It takes us back to the days
when knighthood was in flower and
when distressed damsels, residing in
castles devoid of modern plumbing,
were continually waiting to be res
cued. .
This armor cost money. A complete
iron suit of exclusive design might
'stick" the purchaser for as much as
HELP FOR STARVrXG CHILDREN.
Without regard to whether some
millions of children in central Eu
rope shall starve during the coming
winter, the fact stands out that a
people who can view the prospect $1000, which was a great sum in those
with equanimity are themselves in days. Baronial gents, however, hae
an exceedingly baa way. air. i tneir own . professional armorers to
Hoover's appeal for a contribution of I turn out such metal garments; and,
$33,000,000 from the people of the I of course, the common soldiers went
United States, of which Oregon s into battle with nothing better to pno
quota is $250,000, is therefore more
than a ' commonplace drive for
funds; it is a challenge to the imagi
nation and a test of the humane
ness of Americans.
Mr. Hoover has expressed the
hope and belief that this may be the
last campaign of its kind. Only the
direst need, it is made plain, would
have enlisted his leadership now.
The movement iS not directed to
tect them than the leather jerkins
and steel caps.
One of the greatest collections of
ancient armor in the world is housed
in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York. Recently samples were
taken from a dozen of the pieces and
put through a chemical and micro
scopical examination by experts of
the United States bureau of standards
the support, with incidental peril of in order to find out something about
pauperizing." of Whole populations how the stuff was made.
of adults. American relief organiza
tions are confining their services to
children less than fourteen years old
and of these they are aiding in many
places only those who are under
nourished to the verge of danger.
As soon as a child has been fed to
the point where it is likely to sur
vive further hardship it is ruthlessly
turned away to make room for one
It was found that all the pieces thus
tested were made from very pure
wrought iron,- converted into steel by
the old cementation" process. The
original Iron was produced much like
our modern-wrought iron. It was car.
bonized, hammered into sheets and the
sheets welded together. The whole
was then hammered into shape and
ess fortunate. The most generous quenched, thus producing tho final
said refused to marry her. This is
case of miscarriage of justice.
Either it was a case of premeditated
murder, first degree, or homicide
resulting from a scuffle to possess a
revolr carried by the woman. Her
plea made solution' easier, but it
solved nothing.
About this time 800 years ago the
little band of pilgrims were looking
with eyes more, straining for the
promised land than did Columbus a
century before. He expected any
thing; they looked for much and
found it.
Benzoate of soda, added in small
quantities to cider,' it seems, will
prevent its acquiring a kick. But
for all that we hardly look for
marked activity in the benzoate of
soda market.
CREDIT FOR WORLD TRADE.
Probably the resolution of the
senate reviving the war finance
corporation for the purpose of
financing farm crops and other
products will soon become law, con
gress in its haste to help the farmer
having overlooked the fact that by
passing the Edge law it has already
provided means to give him finan
cial relief and that a corporation is
being formed to give effect to that
law. The war finance corporation
and the foreign trade finance cor
poration will enter the field about
the same time, and we may expect
an interesting practical answer, to
the question Vhether governmental
or private agencies are most effective.
By adopting an amendment re
quiring the war finance corporation
to aid the financing of "other prod
ucts" as well as agricultural prod
ucts, the senate conceded that the
problem is not one of facilitating ex
port of farm products alone, but
that it relates to foreign trade in
eneral. That is evident from the
closing of mills, reduction of prices
and wages and falling off in de
mand for textile and other manu
factured products. After several
years of high"prices farmers are
caught by a slump just when they
begin to market their crops, which
were produced at high cost . They
are at a disadvantage in producing
commodities which take a year to
produce and in not being able to
stop loss till the year ends, while
the manufacturer can stop loss in
much less time, but the farmer's
product is so indispensable that the
buyer must soon come back to him.
All that he needs is credit to carry
him along until consumptive demand
arises at a price Dasea on world
supply and demand. The foreign
trade finance corporation can sup
ply this credit, though it cannot
make loans to enable farmers to
hold for a rise that is not justified
by market conditions.
. Those who undertake to finance
the farmers will find themselves at
one end of a chain of circumstance
involving all the economic conse
quences of the war. Here are the
rincipal links in that chain:
Wheat has fallen because con
sumers stopped buying and because
the middlemen, who usually carry
the crop between harvest and the
period of active buying for con
sumption, have stepped out, leaving
the farmers to carry it. 1
Foreign consumers stopped buy
ing because their home production
has increased, but chiefly because
their money is so cheap when meas
ured by American dollars as to make
wheat extremely high.. -
Exchange is out of joint because
European currency is enormously
inflated by over-issues,- because -ex
penditures of governments exceed
revenue, because debts are enormous
and because' no provision has been
made to pay them, and because Eu
ropean imports from, America far
exceed exports.
European budgets " continue ' to
show deficits because, peace has not
actually been restored and. war ex
penditures continue, because nor
mal conditions of trade and employ
ment have not been restored and be
cause several European govern
ments count upon large reparation
indemnities from Germany to bal
ance their accounts. - - '
European imports far exceed 'ex
ports because exchange rates ob
struct purchase .abroad of raw ma
terials to be manufactured for ex
port and to employ the people, so
that they can buy the' food and
cldthlng they need, nor has Europe I
been able to obtain long credit I .. Good- work, Chief Jenkins;
which would defer payment for raw ' the corners, .
. . ...,
1
provision that is likely to be made
will not be more than sufficient to
preserve the spark of life in weak.
ened bodies; it is probably less than
enough to forestall 'all the ravages
of disease that are threatened on
every hand.
Eight relief organizations have
joined forces to meet theemergency
of gathering funds, enough to carry 1 bassy at Berlin, Madrid and Petro-
o.ouu.uuu .suuviiig i-iiiiuieu uiiuugu grad. and while at Tangiers managed
xne .winter, tnus avuiums overlap- ,a AraDi0 to such an extent
ping or trupucauon. warenouses tM. ,',.,,
and ' treasuries of the organizations I . ... , . .
are practically empty, with rations , . . , , i , '
Vh ni, i employed in Siberia, 1 especially at
I -1n.,li. i ioit 1010
There I
iora unsiow can trace his ancestry
hardening. Such was the metallurgical
art of the ancient armorer.
-'
Lord Onslow, who recently has been
appointed to the post of civil lord of
the admiralty, was la the United
States last spring, and is the fifth earl
of his line. He was formerly in diplo
macy, serving as secretary of em-
slightly into the new year,
are 11.000 feeding stations that will
be compelled to close their doors in back t0 Reer, Lord of Ondeslowe,
dead of winterand to abandon their wh" flourished in 1231. h(is more im
dependent little ones to certain mediate forbears-including Richard
death unless Mr. Hoover's appeal is I Onslow, speaker of the house of com'
heeded. I mons in the reign of James I. An
other ancestor. Sir Richard Onslow,
Mrs. Peters at Corvallisswas given I after vainly urging Oliver Cromwell
a sentence of five years after she I to assume the crown of Great Britain
pleaded guilty to killing the man she on the execution of Charles I, assisted
in the restoration of Charles II. His
son, Sir Arthur Onslow, who married
the only child and heiress of Sir
Thomas Foot, lord mayor of London,
was permitted by Charles II to in
herit his father-in-law's baronetcy.
and left an eldest son who, on retir
ing from the speakership of the house
of commons, was raised to the peerage
as Lord Onslow.
.
A correspondent, who evidently de
sires to retain at least the pleasures
of memory asks for the "tribute'
which Robert G. Ingersoll once paicT
to liquor. This famed "whisky let
ter," once much used in advertising
by certain manufacturers, was writ
ten " to Wolston H. Brown of New
York, who was 111 with pneumonia
and for 'whom whisky had been pre
scribed. Mr. Brown recovered and
married Ingersoll's daughter.
The text of the original letter:
"I send you some of the most won
derful whisky that ever drove the
A Tacoma woman killed her hus
band with an ax yesterday. When a
woman resorts to such means, the
necessity must be immediate and is I skeleton from the feast or painted
far better than using poison on her- I landscapes in the brain of man. It is
self. ' I the mingled souls of wheat and corn.
In it you will find the sunshine and
That talkative burglar who con-I the shadow that chased each other
versed with a Willamette Heights over the billowy fields; the .breath of
family while he robbed them and
then mailed back most of his loot
may have been doing it on a bet
There s a wide airrerence, as
Woodrow Wilson has now learned,
between making the world safe for
democracy and making it safe for
the democrats.
Kermit Roosevelt- got fined $25
for breaking the speed law in New
York city. He finds it hard to break
the habits he formed against the
Germans.-
Belgian emigration shows a 40
per cent increase. Too many Bel
gians cannot land in this country.
They are workers.
The' San Francisco' gangsters on
trial for attacking girls will get
theirs, "1, 2, 3." , The Bay city has
Its moral spasm; , ,
Pretty slick work to slip a king
from the discard, but not hard if
the Greek has lived awhile in
America.
Get this over and done with by
Monday, Mr. Wells. Portland wants
its Christmas week fair and cold.
Stagg is coming across literally to
free Miss Brainerd like a gentleman.
clear
June; the carol of the lark; the dews
of night; the wealth of summer and
autumn's rich content; all golden with
imprisoned light Drink it and you
wilt hear the voices of men and mai
dens singing the "Harvest Moon,"
mingled with the laughter of children.
Drink it and you will feel within your
blood the starlit dawns, the dreamy,
tawny dusks of many perfect days.
Fo.- 40 years this liquid joy had been
within the happy staves of oak, long
ing to touch the lips of men."
.. -
Within an hour and a half from
Port of Spain, Trinidad, the little is
land of Gaspares lies, bathed is tropic
sunlight. . . . It fs not only the
coolest and most central of. the. Is
lands, but contain S a goo-! hotel and
is the home of the most experienced
boatmen and guides to the fishing
banks. ... '
When you are tired of fishing in
Qasparee, you may visit the caves.
which a-e -very interesting and in
several of which you can take under
ground baths 'in the lakes and big
poc i which they contain. .Then on
your way back to Port of Spain, you
can go through the cut which "Is
guarded on one side by mangrove
trees, on which you will. see iguanas
sleeping in the sun, and on the roots,
if the tide ba low, thousands of oys
ters which caused Columbus and Sir
Walter Raleigh's veracity to be
doubted when they wrote in their
journals that oysters grew on trees
in Trinidad. Harper's JJazaar,
"Oregon Is the only state that has
a tax on gasol:ne and other states
are anxious to learn about this law
with the view of Incorporating it in
their own statute books," said Sara
Kozer, secretary of state, who was a
Portland visitor yesterday. "The Idea
of the gasoline tax is eminently fair:
The motor vehicle which uses the
road most uses the most gasoline.
Consequently, the gasoline tax costs
a car owner in proportion to the use
of the car and this means his per
centage of wear and tear on the
roads. There is little or no, trouble
in the operation of this law and the
tax money Is collected with practi
cally no additional expense. So suc
cessful has the gasoline tax law been
In Oregon that we are constantly re
ceiving inquiries about it from other
parts of the country. During the
Shrine convention in Portland last
June a number of Shriners, who were
state officials elsewhere, drove - to
Salem for the express purpose of
familiarizing themselves, with the
gasoline tax." ,
"Calomel and quinine are the two
things which the drug stores In
Crowley, La., deal most in and both
of these drugs are needed," stated C.
L. SDrinsrer at the Multnomah. Mr.
SnrinKer. formerly part owner and
business manager of the Corvallis
Gazette-Times, is on his way to
Florida, where he will spend his time
th's winter between Miami and Jack
oi,ville. Among other places he will
visit is Crowley, where he conducted
a newspaper for several years,
"Crowley." explained Mr. Springer, "is
In the low lands north of New Or
leans. To the natives it is a healthy
enough spot, but to strangers it Is
almost death. Oregon and lower
Louisianna are the two extremes. Ore
gon has the finest climate in the
world and Louisianna the worst I
prefer to stick to Oregon." Mr.
Springer is an enthusiastic tarpon
fisher and anticipates landing a few
big ones while on this trip.
Crescent City, CaL, people want a
railroad built to connect that port
with Grants Pass. Such an enterprise
was started and a ( few miles were
built when the war came along and
railroad construction was out of the
question! Now that conditions are
getting back to normal,' the agitation
for a rail connection between Cres
cent City and Grants Pass is being
renewed. It is pointed out that by
use of the Crescent harbor and a
railroad over the mountains, southern
Oregon will be greatly benefited
through a reduction of freight rates
and Crescent City will be benefited by
having its shippng facilities de
veloped. K. Dean Butler of Crescent
City arrived at the Multnomah yes
terday. ,
There is no Snow at White Salmon.
Wash., just now, because Mr. and
Mrs. Frank Snow are in Portland
and are registered at the Hotel Ore
gon. Mr Snow, who is drawing a
pension as a superannuated detec
tive not that he is physically su
perannuated, but because he served
long enough to draw the-pension and
retire is in town gumshoeing around
to see if he can find Santa Claus,
te"cause the former man-hunter has
some grandchildren who are con
vinced that there is such a person,
and as Mr. Snow used to be pretty
good at picking up people who are
wanted, the chances are that he will
apprehend Mr. Claus, alias Kris
Kringle.
- Frank A. Rowe, treasurer of th
port of Nehalem -commission, and C,
J. Edwards, treasurer of the port of
Tillamook commission, are registered
at the Multnomah. Mr. Rowe is also
mayor of Wheeler, on Nehalem bay,
I. B. Cushman. president of the pori
of Siuslaw commission, is also in the
city. The smaller ports along the
Oregon coast are co-operating to see
If It Is possible to have a dredge as
signed which will go from harbor to
harbor ad-ding a few feet to the depth
of the channel.
Lumber business at Bend is slowing
down, chiefly because of the rail
road rates. One of the mills there
has loaded up its yard with about
10,000,000 feet the pine getting air-
dried -while awaiting resumption of
business. The pine, when air dried
loses a large percentage of Its weight,
which Is an important factor In ship,
ping. Mr. and Mrs. J. V. Richardeon
of Bend, the fastest growing com
munity in the state, are registered
at the Multnomah.
John Burroughs Nature!
Note-. '
More Truth Than Poetry.
Bf Jasara J, Moatarao.
Cum Toa Answer These Qaestloast
1. Do skunks rob henhouses?
2. How do rays of light, shining
through an opening in the clouds.
appear?
. 3. Are woodpeckers Boneless?
Answers in tomorrow's nature
notes.
Aaswrra to Previous Questions.
1. Are tracks In the snow made
mostly by day or, night-walking ani
mals?
The snow-walkers are mostly
night-walkers also, and the record
they leave upon the snow Is the main
Clew one has to their lives and do
ings. The hare Is nocturnal in its
habits, and though a very lively crea
ture at night, with regular courses
and runways through the woods,- is
entirely quiet by day.
2. Where are wild strawberries apt
to be found?
When you go a-berrylng. turn your
steps toward the mllk-whlte,mesdows.
The strawberry cannot cope with the
rank and deep-rooted clover, and sel
dom appears in a field till the clover
has had Its day. But the daisy wltn
its slender stalk does not crowd or
obstruct the plant, while its broad
white flower is like a light parasol
that tempers and softens the too
strong sunlight
s
S. How do sparrows avoid owls?
The English house sparrows, which
have so rapidly increased among us.
and which must add greatly to the
food supply of the owls and other
birds of prey, seek to baffle their
enemies by roosting in the densest
evergreens .they can find. In the
arbor-vitae, and in hemlock hedges.
Soft-winged as the owl Is, he cannot
steal in upon such a retreat without
giving them warning.
(Rights reserved by Houghton-Mlfflln Co.)
MODESTY OF nEQVEST SURPRISES
5,000 for Strong; Box for Conntltatloa
Is Piker Sam for Democrat to Ask.
MARSHFIELD, Or., Dec. 13. (To
the Editor.) I observe Mr. Colby has
asked a trifle of J25.000 to provide
strong box for the original constitu
tion of the United States. Personally
I think that is a fine Idea, for it
would seem nothing Is safe around
Under the terms of the will of th Is la
1 H. C. Frick, John D. Rockefeller gits a
0OO share of a partnership estate.
THEN THAT HAS CITS.
I've often feared lest old John D.
Might slip a cog soma day.
And have to stand around and see .
His fortune melt away.
But now this dally horrid fright
No longer haunts my breast.
For everything is made all right
By Mr. Frlck's bequest
He knew full well, did Mr. Fries,
How millionaires have slipped;
Ha knew each scheme, device and
trick ,
By which the rlrh are gypped.
And very carefully he planned.
That when he had passed on,
III fortune's hard and Iron hand
Should spare his old friend John.
To you or me. too fish
Perhaps would hardly teem
At large a sum as we could wish
In our financial scheme.
If such were our Inheritance
It might have made us sore.
To think that by some sad mlschanc
Frick hadn't left us more.
But In John D.'s enlightened hand, i
There need be not a fear
That that 600 won't expand
To millions in a year.
That tidy sum will never go
As other fortunes flit.
For Mr. Frick knew. John would know
Just what to do with It,
The Only Itemesy.
Why doesn't the Italian government
accept one of 1' AnnuniUis plays anil
bring him back home to put it Into
rehearsal?
They Never lrara.
Since Wlllard's announcement Hint
he wants to fight Iempsey again tiia
allies will find It worth while to keep
their eyes on Ludendorff
The City of Opportanlty.
New York Is the place for Industry
to expand. For example, just look at
the criminal industry.
(Copyright, by the rtell Srnillente. Tnr )
The Circus Parade.
By Grata K. Halt
THE CIRCVS PARADE
Washington without being battened O, magic spot on which Is pitched tha
Mail clerks at the Benson are out
of commission just now. Miss Laura
Hastings fell on the sidewalk Sunday
night while leaving a motion-picture
theater and sustained a fractured
arm, which had to be broken again
yesterday so that it would set proper
ly. George Underwood, mall clerk on
the other shift, is suffering from ton-
silltis.
II. L. Walther would have been
candidate for the legislature from
Jackson county in the primaries last
spring but for the fact that he . is
connected with the light and power
company which serves most of that
section of the state and the northern
part of California. "Mr. Walthers is
registered from Medford at the Im
perial.
k
Senator W. T. "Vinton of Yamhill
county, who will probably be chair
man of the committee on federal re
lfctions in tht 1921 session of the leg
islature, and a member of the com
mittee on revision of laws, was regis
tered at the Imperial yesterday. Mr.
VI r. ton is still president of the senate
and will be until January 10.
Making a business tour of America,
and particularly of the Pacific coast,
Mans Isuksen and T. N. Danensen of
Norway arrived at the Multnomah
esterday for a week. They Intend
making a survey of business condi
tions in Portland, particularly ex
port matters and shipping.
Sheriff Campbell of Tillamook
county arrived at the Hotel Oregon
yesterday afternoon. His term as
peace officer and tax collector will
xplre next month, at which time
is successor will step In. .
J. E. Reynolds, resident of La
Grande and member of the state fair
board, is at the Imperial. He dropped
down to Portland to discuss fair mat
ters with the other members of the
board.
Mr. and - Mrs. Dave Stewart of
Knappa, Or., drove to the city yes
terday, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs.
Erwin. and the party Is at the Hotel
Portland. They reported a cold ride.
down, except a few thousand political
Jobs held down by as many "deserv
ing democrats," from which it seems
impossible to separate them before the
Ides of March. In view of what has
gone before it is hard for a layman
to understand just why the adminis
tration is so solicitous about the con
stitution, just now. Really, I wonder
why?
It is also hard to understand Mr.
Colby's modest demand. Naturally
one would think he would call for at
least $25,000,000. for who can recall
when any member of Mr. Wilson's
one-man band asked for any lesser
sum than a million, for any purpose?
Perhaps Mr. Wilson s recent remsrk
about economy, startled his secretary
of state, or is it the intention a little
later on to demand a million or so to
provide a last resting place for that
other historic document, Mr. Wilson's
battered and bedeviled league of na
tions? Of course the latter Instru
ment is now resting safely in the cus
tody of its creator, but he cannot be
expected to provide it shelter for all
time.
Mr. Wilson tells us his creation cost
us directly the remarkably small sum
tent!
O, magic tent where llfe-tldvt
strancrely blend! .
Here wandering feet from many
port. Intent
On mystic rainbow paths, their
tueer ways wend
Towards stranger destinations; yet
they ooi
From this amalgamation one by one.
In single file, or two by two, to lose
Identity In one feat to be done:
The "grand parade" that shall la
triumph pass,
With shrieking steam calliope,
brlk'lit red.
'Mid walls 'of human interest that
shall mass
In joHtllng, Jovial freedom, far
ahead.
The
gingerly.
ponies, stepping
though
They too had ample knowledge of
the day.
Their sleek, proud necks In conscious
preening .tnrow, v
Receiving generous plaudits on tht
way; '
The riders in their wrinkled, gaudy
suits.
And plaster-of-paris amiles go rid
ing by.
of $1,651,191.09; his explanation of how
It was expended is perfectly satlsfac- And painted ladles answer bold
iury iu ine, personally, dui i cannot I lutes
imagine what became of the nine I with lift of lamp-black eyebrows.
i;cniB. Aiiuitt-i-uy ii cost tne worm in-i arched and hlith;
finitely more in one way and another, The mothers, deft of elbow, crowd b.
so take it all in all I imagine it is
the most expensive InBtument of all
time, even though . It is Just now a
little limp and fly blown as a result
of the recent "solemn referendum" and
some other things.
By all means let lis, as a great and
proud nation, that fought a great war
to make the world "safe for dvmoc
racy," erect a stately sepulchral monu
ment, for this, the most costly and
most condemned of all Instruments,
since the world began. Let the "drive'
proceed. UKO. W ATKINS,
FARM WORK IS BKST REMEDY
Writer Lonely No Longer 8 1 nee He
Left City for Rural Districts.
WHITE SALMON', Wash., Dec. 15
(To the Editor.) I have read the let
ters from the different Eves, Adams
and widowers, some with amusement
and some with something else.
As far as being lonesome In a city
Is concerned that Is very true. Three
years ago I put In the winter in San
Francisco. I was most lonesome all
right for I knew nobody.
One fault with some of the writer"
perhaps is that they have nothing to
do. It is bad enough to be In a city
if you work. 1 worked in Portland
last winter but as Eve said It is lone
some on the street if you don't know
anybody. Well, here Is your remedy.
Go to the country and stay and work.
I am living here in the country. 1
work for a living. I do my own
housework and I am happy happy as
can be; never lonesome. Things might
have been different but they are not.
so why worry. Take it the way it is
and be contented.
I am hot afraid to sign my name. ' 1
also have people In Portland. But be
it understood I am not looking for
anything from Santa Claus, unless it
be a nice dinner.
CHARLES N. CLAUSEN.
tween
The phalanx on the curb, now left,
now right.
Until their children fringe along the
scene.
With eye-balls fairly bulging at tho
sight
The clown, with practiced grlmnra.
makes a rush.
And to some simpering maiden doffs
his cap, ,
She giggles at his notice, with a
blusli.
And turns her artless gas upon her
lap;
And so it moves Its einuovis length,
along,
The "grand parade" with all Us glit
tering paint;
And all its blatant frumpery and song
Has still a minor note, distinct. If
faint:
The bits of human flotsam Ufa haa
made.
Are somehow marked with deep anil
lasting brand.
And many of these pass by la each
parade.
Though crowds shall never tea nor
understand.
In Other Days.
FAMILY ri VCIIKD OX . A DAY I
Mother With Seven Children Wonder
ing About C hristmas for Them.
PORTLAND, Dec. 18. (To the Edi
tor.) Will some one be kind enough
to tell me how to manage on $5 per
day? We are n'no In family. My hus
bano) had a two weeks' layoff for
Thanksgiving and will have two
Twrnty-ave Years Ago.
Prom The Oresonlan of Pee. IT, Jnj
Waithington. The manifesto of tha
Cuban revolut'oiiary party to tl
people of the United States was mail
public today. The document states
!.... at,. ,-.!. Anlv - 1. llk-Atw - f
Independence. .
Edwin Thurman. advance man fo
Herman, the magician, who arrives la
tha city next week, is at the Portland
J. J. Bill, convicted of the theft ot
a watch and chain, a pair of nel1
glasaes and a revolver, was ensenco'l
yesterday by Judge Stephens to tm
years in the penitentiary.
James E. Davis of tha Laua-Davi
Drug company has been seriously lil
rith Intermittent fuver, but is no
convalescent.
Fifty Years Ago.
From Ths Orerenlsn of Dee. IT. 170.
The tug Astoria is undergoing soma
renaira to her boiler and maculncrr
weeks for cnristmas wnne expenses I before going down tha river,
go on: I
House' rent 20; groceries, 175: Tha Methodist people of East Tori
meat, J15; man and wire have both land are nrenarlna- for m festival t
vvooacraii ana .-noose aues 3.b0 per U, neil next week,
month: music lessons, 14. That does I
not include car fare, for vtwo bovsl sv.e tha last two Or three day tha
going to business school nor shoes for I weather has been rrowlng senslblr
nine nor stocKines lor three in grade -niri.r .,. nla-ht freeiing and tha
scnuois nor warm ciotnes lor twOday, coid and raw.
P. I. Sinclair, a banker of Ilwaco,
Wash.,' is en route to Olympia, Wash.,
accompanied by W. N. Meserve of
Grays Harbor. They are registered at
the Hotel Portland. '
Mra. H. McKieL wife of a prom
inent merchant at Clatskanle, Or., and
her daughter are at the Hotel Oregon
while shopping for the holidays.
Senator Walter B. Jones of Lane
county Is among the Imperial arrivals.
Mr. Jones is a hold-over senator and
was elected as an Independent.
F. C. "Bramwell, newly appointed
state superintendent of banks. Is reg
istered at the Hotel Oregon from
Grants Pass.
It S. Montgomery, representing Fos
ter & Kleiser, the billboard people, is
,(at the Benson from San Francisco.
The regular meeting of Baker T"iit,
O. A. R., will be held thla evening fot
business and the election or onicers.
I
Plural of Money.
PORTLAND, Dec. 18. (To tha Edi
tor.) In The Sunday Orcgonlan of
December IS, In a news Item win
reference to Philip Gevurts, tha
word "monies" Is used. My atten.
What am I to buy my children for Hon has recently been called to tha
Christmas? fact that the proper spelling of thl
A HAPPY MOTHER, word Is "moneys" and consultation ot
dictionaries seems to near mis out.
Will you please say if the spelling
monies" Is correct and If so, wbt
Even figure that my husband and
don t need clothes nor shoes, nor all
hat but just underclothes.' shoes and
stockings. The law- almost makes
you wear a few clothes hbw much
would I have left for Christmas after
paying a few doctor and drug bills?
inow i would tnank some person
wno would answer this riddle for me,
and please don't ask me to help starv
ing i nina.
Studies la High School.
MARCOLA, Or., Dec. IS. (To the authority there is for itT
Bditor.)-j-How many- subjects can a
high school student take in Portland
or any high) school In Oregon.
MRS. J. E. MILLS.
The maximum number of subjects
a student can reguioriy taKe in the
high schools is four each term. Stu
dents may take five subjects with spe
cial permission. In the Portland high
schools, the maximum for first-term
students is thre subjects.
DUO.IWCliit,
Funk & Wagnail'a New - Stand
ard dictionary gives the plural ot
money as "eys" or "Irs." The Mer.
rlam edition ot Webster saya "tha
Irregular plural, monies, occurs, ec-
-. . .. v. - ...... . .s .
money. Monies" Is a survival from
the period wnen tne singular lorms,
"monle" and "money," wera alio re
nuuel. r'