8
TIIE -MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY, MAItCII 21, 1921
ESTABLISHED BT HENBY L. PITTOCK.
' lis i ix,h k, Oregonian Publishing Co..
A. MORDEN. E. B. PIPER.
llinuer. . Editor.
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BEATING THE GAME.
The drift in recent years has been
distinctly away from competitive
conditions In the field of public util
ities. Monopoly under public regu
lation of rates and service has been
the popular order. Theoretically At
is the economical policy. It avoids
duplication (of capital and duplica
tion of facilities. Bates charged are
supposed to be reasonable and ser
vice is supposed to be adequate. Pub
lic utilities commissions are charged
with the duty of determining when
rates are reasonable and service ade
quate, and they use as the basis for
determining reasonableness of rates
the physical value of the property
employed, as that , physical value
may be determined by investigation
by the commission and its own en
gineers. But it may be suspected that there
Is a way to beat the game. There is,
in fact, a way to beat almost any
form of regulative public policy. As
a purely hypothetical case, a great
telephone corporation, during the
period when wages were low, service
poor, labor and materials cheap and
rates not regulated, accumulates a
surplus. It invests that surplus in
plants to manufacture the parapher
nalia of telephone systems. Its as
sociate corporation, the telephone
company, buys or leases most of the
output. The manufacturing company
is able to economize on sales force
and advertising. It can know pre
cisely the demand for its output and
can plan scientifically in this and
other respects and thereby produce
cheaply.
In the days of competition this
manufacturing corporation may have
been organized with the primary
thought of reducing costs of oper
ation of the telephone corporation in
order that it might compete more
successfully with its rivals In rate
making and quality of service. The
manufacturing company so long as
competitive conditions exist is con
tent with the status of a going con
cern yielding a fair profit on the
Investment.
But, when competition ceases and
regulation of utilities begins, the
manufacturing company is freed from
entanglement. It is not a public
utility. Its profits are not subject to
public regulation. It may pay lar'ge
dividends and cut an occasional
melon and nobody can say it nay.
By reason of the certainty of its!
market and the lower expense of ire
operation and manufacture it may
overcharge for its products and still
be able to give the appearance of not
doing so. But what it charges the
telephone company for equipment
appears In the latter's balance sheet
as disbursements, and all disburse
ments are offset against gross reve
nue to determine the net revenue and
and whether the net revenue is a
fair return upon the capital invested
In physical- properties of the one
corporation the telephone company.
Rates seemingly based on physical
valuation of the one corporation's
property are In fact thus adjusted so
as to give exorbitant returns to a
subsidiary or interlocking corpor
ation. The Oregonian emphasizes that it
gives the foregoing only as a hypo
thetical case. It docs not charge that
telephone conditions in Oregon have
been so manipulated. ' It simply be
lieves it can be done. It has said
and It repeats that the relationship
and dealings between the Pacific
Telephone & Telegraph company
and the Western Electric company
ought to be made clear and certain
to the public which is called upon to
pay greatly increased . telephone
rates at a time when all commodity
prices are falling. .
In general, the public is condemn
ing the advanced rates on outward
appearances rather than upon exact
knowledge. It Is aware that the
telephone company not long ago
spent several millions of dollars to
purchase an all but bankrupt com
petitor. It knows that the poles,
lines and equipment were largely a
duplication of poles, lines and equip
ment in the same locality and,
therefore, of questionable value as
additions to the system. It has ob
served that this large purchase
was made at a time when the pur
chasing company is assumed to
have been making less than a rea
sonable return on money already in
vested. It has witnessed the prompt
application for an increase in rates
and it Is ntiw paying the second in
crease within two years. It has ob
served that this, second increase runs
In Instances as high as 200 per cent
It has had laid before it the con
gratulatory report of the president of
the 'parent company to the stock
holders, this report detailing pay
ment of large dividends and accumu
lation of surpluses during the period
of lower rates.
These circumstances naturally
promote a conviction that something
is wrong. But exact knowledge as to
how or where the game was beaten,
if it was beaten, is not at hand. It
i9 clear, however, that if an increase
in rates was justified, it has been
applied without much regard tor
equity.
The demand for rehearing or ap
peal or recall is widespread. It
comes not alone from those who are
hard pressed to meet living expenses
or from habitual corporation baiters.
It is joined in by the substantial
business men, the men who oat of
their own large- experience under-
stand the difficulties that confronted
every institution during the period of
increasing cost of labor And mate-
I rials. Band large the latter have
no glowing reports to make to stock
holders. They are passing through a
readjustment era and In many In
stances are eating into their reserves.
With every prospect for establish
ment in the near future of a lower
basic cost ' of doing business they
have had a startling advance in tele
phone fates thrust upon them.
The painful inquiry goes beyond
the Justification of a recall or of a
At.ln T a.
iu iue meni oi iae eajaiing policy 01
encouraging monopoly under public
. 6 f .
i regulation. If that policy can be
j turned against the public in whose
behalf it was adopted, and is being
so turned, it is time to plan a new
deal.
SYSTEM AND APATHY,
From a high school girl comes the
inquiry:
"Kindly state the advantages or
disadvantages of the commission
form of government over other forms
and what form in Portland has
proved to be the most economical.'
Articles on the theoretical advah
tages of commission" government are
doubtless to be found In number at
the public library, but.it must be
assumed that the youthful student
desires facta, not theories. They are
not available. We may draw one
conclusion from a given set of con
ditions and somebody else may draw
another conclusion. Our own, after
an observation of commission gov
ernment in Portland since 1913, is
that the system is neither appreci
ably better nor appreciably worse
than any other truly representative
form of city government.
Commission government is pretty
much of a symptom. It is a symp
tom that the public at one time, be
came, conscious of bad government
but mistook the cause. Represen
tative government is what you' make
it and it can be made good or bad
according to the public interest taken
in election of honest and competent
men to office. Tou can get them
under either system.
In adopting commission govern
ment the public seeks a form of gov
ernment that needs only to be wound
up once in four years by the inter
ested few In order to function ad
mirably to the best interests of
everybody. It is an effort to over
come public apathy with system
without surrendering public apathy.
It is a good form of government
when people are awake and ob
servant. It is no better than any
other if they go to sleep.
Taxes have increased under com
mission government Promises by
its most devoted advocates that it
would save millions of dollars have
not been kept. But taxes have also
Increased in other units of the gov
ernment not having the commission
form. Probably taxes would have
grown as much had -the council
manic form been retained. ,Ve
know what has happened under
commission government but can only
speculate as to what might have
happened had the commission char
ter been defeated.
BETTER TIMES FOR LUMBERMEN.
Reduction of lumber rates from
the Pacific coast to territory as far
east as Chicago will almost, if not
quite, restore the relationship with
yellow pine rates which enabled
Douglas fir to .compete in the' middle
west. It should help to give an im
petus to building: when the season is
opening and when the cry all over
the eountry is for more houses.
The fall in lumber prices, together
with the reduction in rates, should
vymvn an Inrfinflva r nAGlnnnu firof
tion of houses no longer. It shoulcf
incline producers of other materials
to make reductions in order to make
a market. If such . a movement
should be general, it should start the
long deferred building boom and
should do much to revive industrial
activity.
Nothing seems to have been
gained by the railroads through their
delay in granting the rate redaction.
It was asked as long ago as August,
when- the general advance was made,
but they have exhausted excuses for
inaction, their last resort being the
argument that there was no demand
for lumber, therefore lower rates
could not increase sales and traffic.
They, do not know how many men,
hesitating. whether or not to bujld,
decided in the negative because the
price of lumber raised estimates be
yond a certain point, nor what sales
might have been made during the
winter, when thousands of cars were
idle, if the lower rates had already
been in effect. They do know that
high rates on railroads have turned
shippers' minds to the water. jus,t
when ships were becoming abundant
and water rates low. They- have
paid for their short sight. :
NOW COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY. V
The commercial aspect, of a
science is also the human side of it,
because it deals with the relations of
men, and the study of geology ought
to gain interest from the effort of
the United States geological -survey
to show how 'geology concerns our
everyday affairs. The survey: has
just issued an atlas, in the introduc
tion to which it sets forth that
"study of the distribution of mineral
raw materials and their relation to
the promotion of trade and the con
trol of industry is a branch of geol
ogy." This is a companion move
ment to that which has recently re
sulted in 'arousing deeper interest in
the geography of commerce and pro
duction. Its purpose is the same to
teach people to think in terms of
world-wide and quantity production,
and t show the interdependence
both of nations and of individuals on
one another for their supplies of
primary necessities.
The importance of the United
States in production of these essen
tials is shown by the statement that
of thirty most important mineral
commodities, this country was first
as to thirteen and second in four
others. Russia, Austria and Spain
each ranked first in production of
two, Germany and France first in
production of one. Multiplying the
world's output of the thirty commod
ities by the average price prevailing
in the United States, the survey finds
that their combined value amounts to
about 4.o75,000,000. Qt this amount
the United States contributes more
than 36 per cent, though containing
only about one-sixteenth of the
tributed In 1913, the year before' the
war, less than 15 per cent. Great
Britain 10.5 per cent and no other
country more than 5 per cent.
The survey reminds us that. "la
this matter of mineral wealth, the
nation that is a spendthrift today is
so much the less likely to pqssess
Independent means tomorrow." The
statement would be as applicable to
any other form of wealth. It has
been newly shown in connection
with our efforts to relieve famine in
Europe and China that agriculture
as well as mining has a world mean
ing. Farmers of the central west
offer corn from their surplus yield,
to be forwarded to aliens, on condi
tion that the actual commodity be
transported and not sold in a home
market further to break the price.
Planters of the south with too much
rice on " hand propose a similar
method of relief. Rice, which we
were taught as children was the
staple food or many millions of
Asiatics, will be shipped to Europe
and to Asia, showing that the feed
ing of the world is only partly a
problem of producing food: it is also
a question of distribution, and we are
only now being awakened to the fact
that distribution 1s seriously defec
tive, regarded in international terms.
Commercial geography and commer
cial geology teach that abundance in
a local sense does not necessarily
imply plenty for the world at. large.
We know comparatively little re
garding .he exact world situation as
to such an important commodity as
petroleum, and even lese about corn.
Nations export and import Important
products by roundabout routes, when
economy would be served by simpli
fying transportation. In the same
season in which corn is a "drug" on
the prairies, maize appears in the
list of Imports from far-off Rho
desia at the port of New York.
In its humanitarian phase com
merce seeks to Invoke the principle
of enlightened self-interest in the
highest sense. The new effort to
promote education along this line is
in the interest of thrift and industry.
There will be a new incentive for
conservation when it is understood
that the world as a whole has need
of about all that it can produce.
Waste, never desirable, will be less
than ever defensible when we have
learned to think of the wants of the
1,700,000,000 people or thereabouts
who inhabit the entire globe.
WHAT SHALL BE DONE FIRST T
So many troubles press on the ad
ministration for action that there Is
discussion as : to which should be
taken up first. Some help to decision
will be obtained from consideration
of the cuestiona: Which, troubles
would be so aggravated by delay as
to require Immediate attention?
Which troubles will partly or wholly
pass away when others are cured or
will be so modified bythe cure of
those others that no decision can
now be made as to the form of ef
fective treatment?
Relief of the farmers from the re
sults of sudden and drastic deflation
of prices and from the threat of
dumping by other nations seems to
be first in order. At the opening of
a' crop season the prospect as to
future price of farm products is so
dark and doubtful and many farmers
are so impoverished that they are
unable or unwilling to plant usual
crops or maintain their flocks. Ag
riculture produces the first neces
saries of life and, unless farmers are
enabled or encouraged to produce an
adequate supply, there may be an
actual shortage in the world s mar
kets. Before harvest other nations
may have recovered sufficiently to
demand an increased proportion of
what may prove to be our decreased
crops, and new inflation of prices
may automatically compensate the
farmers for shrinkage in valueslast
year. The consuming masses would
pay dearly. -
As to i the most important farm
products, like wheat, corn and cot
ton, this country controls the world
supply and is. an exporter, not an
importer, therefore protective duties
are worthless to the farmers, but
they' can be helped to finance the
crop from seedtime to harvest and
can be encouraged' to secure a larger
proportion of the consumer's price
by resort to co-operative marketing.
The wool and cattle - industries
need protection .against dumping.
The price of wool has been de
pressed by the large surplus war
stocks and by the fall in -ocean
freights, which facilitatss imports at
ruinous prices. . Facing bankruptcy,
many woolgrowers are selling their
flocks for slaughter, and the whole
nation's sheep and wool industry Is
endangered. .Low ocean freights also
stimulate imports of frozen meat,
which depress prices of live stock
and cause cattlemento. reduce their
herds. If this state of affairs should
continue, the falling prices of meat
this year may be followed by a sharp
rise a year or two hence.
Then the first duty of congress is
to insure the country's basic indus
try and the people's supply of staple
commodities necessary to life by
passing a tariff bill which will pro
tect where protection would be effec
tive and especially to prevent dump
ing, even to the point of prohibition.
The farmers' co-operation bill, which
failed at the last session, should also
be pushed through, and a credit sys
tem should be passed which wilf fi
nance farm operations as readily and
on as easy terms as the banks have
financed manufactures.
Next in order o' urgency is reform
of internal taxes. Readjustment -.- f
industry and foreign commerce, re
newal of building and starting' of
new productive enterprises, all are
obstructed oy our present uneco
nomic system of taxation. The ex
cess profits tax- is not paid by the
producer and merchant, at whom it
was aimel; it is passed along with a
further profit added, to be paid by
the consumer." The revenue it yields
is shriJklng as profits shrink, espe
cially since the seller can no longer
dictate prices; As a source of revenue
It has almost outlived any usefulness
1t ever had. Surtaxes on incomes,
intended to tax men more heavily
the richer they are, drive men to in
Test more of their income irr tax-exempt
securities the larger their in
comes are. The surtaxes thus help
the rich to escape taxation and they
keep money out of the treasury. They
also keep money out of productive
investment when it is most needed.
A tax on what the people consume,
imposed when they buy for consump
tion, so graduated as to be higher on
large than small quantities, higher
on luxuries than Necessaries, would
bear most lTghtly on the poor and
most heavily on the rich. It would
replace the excess profits tax and
would permit lowering of the sur
taxes on incomes.' A change of this
kind is essential to that return to
normalcy which all desire.
Adoption of a permanent tariff at
the special session is Impracticable
within the limit of time that has
been set, not only because the time
is too short bat because the entire
structure of the bill should be in
fluenced by factors which are as yet
unknown or uncertain. While con
gress would be considering the tariff,
the state department would be ne
gotiating peace, which includes the
American part in enforcing repara
tions, settlement of the allied debt to
this country and Arrangement of the
degree to which this country will co
operate in economic reconstruction
and preservation of peace.
All of these settlements, will pow
erfully influence rates of exchange,
prices, revival of Industry In Europe,
the volume of commerce, activity of
shipping and ocean freights. Not till
we can judge the effect of these vari
ous factors can we form an -opinion
as to what countries will be our best
custodiers and our greatest competi
tors, nor as to what commodities.
Representative Fordney Is quoted as
saying that the ways and means-committee
already has sufficient infor
mation to guide it in forming a
tariff. It may have, as to a tariff
which would fit present conditions,
but before a bill enacted In the sum
med could become law, conditions
are likely to be so radically changed
that the bill would be obsolete the
day the president approved it. Six
months will witness a great change.
The first requisite to a. permanent
tariff is the stabilizing of our inter
national relations, both political and
financial, and the economic conva
lescence of Europe. When congress
knows what kind of a world it has
to deal with, it will know how to
deal with the world, but it cannot
legislate for ' commerce with an
economic kaleidoscope.
ri'TTLVG THE SOVIET TO THE TEST.
Conclusion of a trade agreement
with the Russian soviet by Britain Is
an act of political expediency as re
gards both foreign and domestic
politics. It has a practical test of
the sincerity of the bolshevists and
of the soundness of the judgment of
those British . parties which have
calld for trade with Russia.
The soviet has maintained., that
economic breakdown of Russia is
due not to the failure of communism
to justify itself in practice, but to" a
hostile blockade by the allies, espe
cially Britain, which prevents Rus-
sia from buying and selling abroad.
This so-called blockade consists in
absence of facilities for trade, such
as are provided by diplomatic rela
tions and commercial treaties. In
fact there is no blockade, but the
risks are so great in the absence of
official relations that few ' British
business firms dare take them. The
agreement clears the way for Russia
to sell, if it has anything to export,
and for Britons to sell, If Russia can
pay in goads or gold. We shall see
whether the "bursting cornblns," to
which MJoyd George has referred
exist.
The British labor party, which is
openly socialist, has accepted as true
all the professions of the bolshevists
and all their accusations against the
British government, and has agitated
for full recognition as well 'as for
trade."
British manufacturers and mer
chants, having suffered a slump in
foreign trade, are anxious to enter
the Russian market. They maintain
that Russia, ragged, hungry, with
wrecked railroads and dismantled
factories, must be an unlimited mar
ket for their goods, and t'.iey say
that, if their government will do its
part toward opening that market.
they will take a risk on selling and
getting paid for their goods. ,
Against the government's policy
it is argued that the soviet is the
only seller and buyer that soviet law
allows, therefore trade with Russia
is recognition of the soviet. That
government has little to export and
what it has is stolen. It has broken
every agreement it has made .and it
always will, in the opinion of its
enemies. It will use the machinery
of trade to continue its propaganda
of revolution more extensively but
more secretely. Britain is welcome
to make the. experiment; which will
determine ' which party tells the
truth. The United States is fortu
nate not to have undertaken it and
to have the opportunity of merely
watchhig the outcome, 'i
- The, Irishmen of Morrow county
celebrated the "great day" with a
banquet' at the Hotel Patrick in
Heppner and Hon. P.,A, D'Arcy was
orator. They do these things prop
erly in Morrow.
The chief of police at St. Louis, an
Irishman, has stopped sale on the
streets of Henry Ford's Independent
because of its attacks on Jews. This
is a harsh measure, though it has
much justice.
c ' . - V .
It soninds like a new frill-the sys
tem that will call a patrolman to a
reporting box within forty-five sec
onds; but as it will cost probably a
hundred thousand dollars it may be
all right '
Americans consumed less meat
last year and are healthier for it, no
doubt, though it is likely, the lesser
consumption was by people who had
less money to buy. -'
A demented ' woman, wandering,
nude, is enough to startle any neigh
borhood, and the. occasion is one
time when a telephone is a reeking
neoessity. '
Women can be elected to the
school beard provided not too many
run. tThis is an Instance where they
need a "boss" and. he will need
prayers.
Tacoma high girls have declared
against waists that show the cami
sole and against half hose and decry
rolling-down the lftter.' The dar
lings! The Palles is going after a water
supply from her side of Mount Hood.
There ought to be enough for all on
the mountain. That's why it "grew"
there.
The question of rank is beginning
teHDother social Washington. This is
vital to a few of the aale sex and
all of the other.
One hundred credit men of Port
iand have gone to Seattle for a con
vention a creditable delegation, in
deed. In -the old days a wink meant
"tonic" at the fountain. More than
that will be needed to get beer.
Once the "big plums are dispensed,
the persimmons will care for them
selves. Another comet has been discov
ered, but it f is nothing to stick a
tax on,
DISLIKE OF ENGLISH OBSERVED
Bat Canadian Is) Unable to Ascertain
. Reason tor It.
PORTLAND. March 19. (To the
Editor.) Having lived and beers em
ployed in maqy oC the cities of both
the United States and Canada during
the past six years, and being of a
nature that takes a keen Interest in
local and public affairs, and the sen
timents of people, it is perhaps nat
ural that I shouldejhave become well
acquainted with many of th news
papers. Recognizing The Oregonian
as one of the leaders, with a broad
minded policy, I am taking this op
portunity In writing, as a Canadian
citizen, some of my views, or rather
cbservations, of the wholly unwar
ranted, prejudiced and vicious, feel
ings which exist in a small, but seem
ingly growing class of people in this
country against England and the Eng
lish peoples When I say English peo
ple, I dont Include Canadians, for
despite the fact that It seems strange
to a few Americans, the Canadian
people are fully as proud and jealous
of their individuality as a race and
a nation, as are the citizens of this
gVeat republic.
Why is it so many men In this
country, when talking on these lines,
make remarks of this nature: "Oh, I
like the Canadians all right, and
think they have a fine eountry, but
I hate those d d English?" I have
heard expressions similar to this all
along the coast, and to a lesser ex
tent in the east, but up to the present
haven't been able to find anyone who
seemed to have a very definite- idea
why he hated the English. It strikese
me that this word "hate" Is a trouble
maker, as exemplified by the war, and
should have been left to die with the
war. Most of the really able and far
sighted men in this country and. on
the other side of the Atlantic, know
and preach the doctrine that it Is
necessary for nations as well as indi
viduals to "love thy neighbor," etc..
If real peace and harmony is to be
secured. ,
It would - seem that the feeling if
allowed to spread would become an
instrument of much harm, in the fu
ture. To find a solution of this prob
lem, probably the most likely method
would be that followed by a physic-Van,
In attempting to solve an un
known malady "first find the cause,
then effect a cure." Possibly many
causes could be found, such as per
sonal prejudice, or the subtle edi
torials of such newspapers as the
Hearst publications in California.
R. O. L.
FAITH IX "WEBSTER'S CHERISHED
Reader Ready to Give Vp If Diction
ary Can't Be Relied Upon.
SEASIDE, Or., March 19. (To the
Editor.) The Oregonlan's reply to Eu
gene Vincent has an undoubted warm
ing influence on tje cockles of a mod
est proletarian heart. The so-called
Intellectuals have a way of assuming
a monopoly of understanding in the
matter of words that is somewhat Ir
ritating to the average reading
citizen.
Webster's Unabridged Is open to us
all and I have worn a path in my
Axmlnsterrug consulting mine, but
what is the use of trying to become
acquainted with even a few of the
thousands ef words in our language,
if, after all our paina, we are informed
that we do' not properly sense the
meaning implied by 'Mr. Webster?
There are enough writers lying in
wait for the defenseless reader with
out the added efforts of a college pro
fessor who might aspire to usurp
their function.
Samuel Blythe i nearly sure to
send you to the dictionary a time or
two while reading one of his articles,
and then there comes along Octavus
Hoy Cohen wfth words like "ineluc
table," and this month's Harper's has
an article by W. .L. George in which
he makes use of the word "phobo
centric" which he avers be caught
hotSff the bat of an ambitious female
Oregonian, all of which we poor every
day readers have to swallow with no
hope of ever being able to assimilate.
One can hardly help wondering why
we go on reading at all. Perhaps it
is a vicious habit like chewing gum
or singing out of tune,vbut we have
persisted all these years believing
that ordinary English was not beyond
thp average comDrehension.
There are certain words that have
always been prime favorites or tne
writer of this skit. "Terminology" is
one of them and "nomenclature" is
another. "Nomenclature" always sug
gests having torn one's dress by
crawling through a worm fence, but
it is a noble word and I am proud to
have it on my string. "Mellifluous"
is another bird. It is so honey-flowing
you know. One could go on in
definitely citing words that have
made an undying appeal to mumble
taste, but if our judgment has failed
us all these years we hereby .throw
up the sponge, come a cropper and
slide home. . " , T ,
SUZONNE ASPASIA. rERICLESIA.
SOME HIT BAKD BY GAS RATE
Small Isef. PHI for Heating In.
creased as Mneh a 131 Per Cent.
OAK GKOVE.Or.. March 19. (To
the Editor.) One or two items in "IJhe
Oregonian Marck 16 expressed sur
prise that the .telephone rate Tise was
more than the 30 per cent represented.
Why any surprise? It's in keeping
with the ' representation on the gas
raise, which was represented to be SO
to 70 per cent. ",
Now for the average small user of
gas it works ou bs follows and the
public service commission must have
known it if It made any investigation
before granting the rise:
Old rate for residential nse (cooklne).
1000 feet, tl; new rate, 800 feet, minimum,
85 cents; next 700 feet at 11.33 per M.,
D4..1 cente, L795.
Advance to small user, 79.3 per tent
But that Is small beside what they
L... .3n trt ihA small user of Eras for
heating. The old rate was equal to
50, cents per lOUU reel, laams owuv
feefe as a' basis for the small user we
have:
. . . -AAA RA -nta n- 10nO.
.Uia rate uuiv iw " - ' "
50' new rate, minimum 300 feet, at
. . . ,-AA ... a, 1 An H fl3.t
BO cents; nex.i .
(5.785.-
iirtAu In favor of g"s company or
13.285. i .
. Or. better than 131 per cent Increase
to average small consumer:
Now, do you wonder people are up
t . tliA tfelprthnnA rise
following-gas, and the electric light
company s ana sircei wr uu mici
urban lines watching to see how it
goes over?
Do you won-aer me recall is in
. .-K..'a minA a n4 that nil
nearly ovcj'vuj
they are waiting for is the proper pe-
...... n....n. a th,mf
F. A. SMITH.
Collection of Alimony.
SORTLAND, March 19. (To the
EdTtor.) Is there any way to compel
- ji..n..D(i hnnhnnd. llvlno Tn another
a, u. . , a
state from the one in which the di
vorce was ODiaineu, L" VJ a-iimuny
to the wife who has not moved from
the state? CONSTANT READER.
The wife may take a judgment in
the court where the divorce was
granted for alimony due and bring
suit in the state where the husband
has taken up his residence to compel
payment If he has any property or
means subject to attachment.
Sigh of a Taxpayer.
London Opinion.
Tn ft recent motion nicture hn nf
the characters is sdtnned alive. The
realism is rather njarrea Dy not rep
resenting him as a taxpayer.
Those Who Come and Go.
Evil days have fallen upon "Jim"
Stewart, the rotund and renowned
state senator from .Corvallis. Dark
and dreary solitude is his lot. For
three days and three nights, he has
been seen by no man. For three days
and nights he has eaten nothing but
mush: hot mush, cold mush, medium
mush, and as he says, "damn mush."
During that whole period Jim's sole
occupation has been the mastication
of soft, rubbery gum, plastic gum
that does not hurt his own gums. The
tragedy of the senator's present ex
istence is directly traceable to that
moment, three days ago, when 26 per
fectly good and nearly white teeth
belonging to' Jim, were extracted
bodily fey a Portland dentist. The sen
ator decided some time ago that the
teeth which had faithfully served him
throughout almost his entire life,
must go. He put off the evil day un
til finally the time came when he
could put it off no longer. So he hied
himself to Portland with his wife,
registered at the Perkins, and told
his dentist to do his worst. Now he
is in the deepest seclusion regretting
his rash act while his wife feeds him
alternate rations of mush and gum
It wasn't so very long ago that Sen
ator Stewart- lost his collar while
visiting in Portland. The city was
scoured from one end to another, but
none of suitable size could be found.
Rumor has it that the senator, wish
ing to be fully clothed, wore a horse
collar on the trip back to Corvallls.
" Henry McCleary and the town of
Mouieary, wash, are almost aynon-
ymous words. Mr. McCleary is pres
ident of the McCleary Timber com.
pany, the Chehalls Fir Door com.
pany, and many other lumber enter
prises. The town of McCleary. named
after him, is located in Cheha-lis
county about 12 miles from El ma. Mr.
McCleary, who is registered, at the
Multnomah, believes that the resump
tion of business to normal in the lum
ber industry will be Blow. He bases
his belief on talks with large dealers
throughout the Pacific northwesC
''The United States -is thoroughly
solvent and there Is no need to fear
or preach disaster." said Mr. McCleary
yesterday. "I am optimistic tor tne
future. The readjustment will finally
create demand for timber products
but the Question is when this demand
will come. We cannot place too much
confidence In the reports that the
southern nine forests will soon be
deleted, for timber men know that
there' Is enough pine In the south to
orierate mills for many years, wnen
foreign exchange is stabilized, we may
look for a new impetus in tne nortn
west timber industry."
"There never was a better man
ever lived than Fred Stewart of
Kelso. I don't believe that there Is a
man, woman or child in Kelso whom
Fred hadn't helped at one time or
arfother. The whole city mourns
his loss. We .would give anything
under heaven to have him back
with us." Thus Sam Dukendorf,
merchant of Kelso, lauded the miss
ing banker yesterday. Stewart, who
was cashier of the Kelso State
bank disappeared Thursday night
from a launch plying across the Co
lumbia frora-Goble to Kalama. It is
Dukendorf's theory that the banker
was worried over some loans made
by the bank which had not turned
out successfully. The bank was
closed by the state authorities on the
afternoon of the day that Stewart
disappeared, but It Is believed that
the assets are such that it will soon
.be reopened. Mr. Stewart was a vis
itor in Portland on Thursday and
was on his way iome when he van
ished. Mr. Dukendorf is stopping at
the Perkins.
Oshkosh is the name of a thriving
town of 35,000 souls, situated in Wis
consin. C. R. Meyer, who is the head
of a large contracting firm of that
name, is registered at the Seward
while making a short stay in Port
land. The business outlook, to Mr.
Meyer, is tinged with a roseate hue.
"Last summer our company did $2.-
nnn nnn'wnfth 'nC nnnst ruction work."
he declared yesterday. "Every indica
tion points to anotner gooa season
tils year. In our work, by the way. we
nuantitlea of Oreeon tim
ber. The Oregon product has always
been of line quality ana nu pruveu
more than satisfactory.' Mr. Meyer,
hi. Hatifhipr. Is tourlnfir the
Pacific coast on a pleasure jaunt. He
expressed a great HKing tor -ortiana
and for San Diego, but his affection
t c Pp,ni.iRin wfln somewhat
qualified. "In San Francisco every.-
hody is for nimseir, ana tne aevii
take the hindmost,'' he said.
There is a great similarity between
the dancing of the moderns and the
ancient ritualistic dances of the In
dians, according to J. C. Deerlng of
Baker, who is registered at tne
Multnomah. "Not long ago on the
frontier I watched an Indian tribe
perform its. ritualistic dance by fire
light to the pounding of toirs toms,"
said Mr. Deering. "A few evenings
ago I sat in the balcony of one of
Portland's dance houses and watched
the surging mass of humanity wave
and sway there on the floor below
us. The Portland dancers had a few
more clothes to cover them, and
swung around, lighted on their way
by electricity instead of the flicker
ings of a camp fire, but the primal
emotions in the savage were identical
with those that actuated the city
folk. The bodily motions of each
were practically the same."
The native heath of George C.
Walker is' Scotland, but he does not
confine himself to that bonny land.
In recent years he and his wife have
wandered over all the lands in the
world. They are registered at the
Multnomah, after a recent trip to New
Zealand. That island, according to
Mr. Walker, is noted for two things,
wild hogs and shark meat. The wild
hogs overrun the country. They were
brought to New Zealand scores of
years ago,by the ill-fated explorer,
Captain Cook, and thrived so well cn
the abundant vegetation that they
have now reached the status of a pest.
Shark meat Is considered a great
delicacy on the island, but Mr. Walker
predicts that there will be few or
ganizations exploiting the advantages'
of shark steak as a food. ,
S Schwartz" of Buffalo, arrived in
Portland, and a new heir to the
Schwartz family, arrived in Buffalo,
at -one and the same time. When
Mr. Schwartz stepped to the registra
tion desk at the Multnomah, he was
handed a telegram which had just
been received. "A fine baby boy ar
rived. Weighs ten pounds. Both are
well." The 'good news on the mes
sage was too good to keep. Every
one with whom Mr. Schwartz came la
contact with that day, first heard ox
the message, and then became the
recipient of a long, black cigar.
Baker City could almost have cele
brated "Old Home Week" in Portland
yesterday. - G. P. Lilly, prominent
business man, was registered at the
Benson. J. Barton stopped at the
Oregon. The Multnoman housed J. C.
Deering.. A liberal scattering of Ba-
kerites was also distributed among
the other hostelries.
s militant-general George A. WhttA
and his wife spent part of this week
end in Portland, leaving yesterday
nnrnin; for their home in Salem.
While here they registered at the
Portlana.
nnv TCItner of Pendleton, president
of the late lamented state senate,
passed Saturday and part ef Sunday
at the Benson,
RECALL IS LOGICAL RECOURSE
Appeal Will Drag; for Months i Re
hearing Implies Incompetency,
PORTLAND, March 19. (To the
Editor.) I read with great apprecia
tion .The Oregonian editorial Friday
on telephone rates. No one is better
qualified than The Oregonian to sense
the drift of public opinion. I am con
vinced of the correctness of your sur
mise that "telephone users are pretty
well united In regret that the recall
job cannot be done at once with the
whole commission" and am equally
sure of the truth of your statement
that "the outcry is not from profes
sional ,agltators. corporation baiters
or notoriety seekers."
So far as I can see the bulk of the
objection to the orders of the commis
sion is from that class of quiet, sensi
ble people that usually minds its
own business and votes republican, a
class that Is basically conservative,
but that, once aroused, is a bad oppo
nent. Tou point to three possible reme
dies (1) a rehearing; (2) an appeal
to the courts; (3) a recall.
The appeal to the courts Is not a
practical remedy open to the public
in its present temper. The case bris
tles with technicalities and is com.
plicated to the last degree. If it once
got into court lawyers would make a
football of the case for months, if not
years. Lawyers alone would be the
beneficiaries, not the public. It is a
regrettable fact that the courts do not
offer hope of redress, and we may as
well pass up this alternative as use
less to the public.
The next alternative, a rehearing.
Is apparently favored by the city gov
ernment. Let us consider It for a
moment. The commission has been
working on this case for years. There
are exhibits piled up in its record
vaults numbered by the hundreds.
Solid masses of statistical matter that
would take weeks to read stand in
piles several feet high. Numbers of
hearings have beea held and all kinds
of witnesses examined. As a result ot
all this work .and the thousands or
dollars of expense Incurred, the com
mission issued order No. 6S9 which it
self consists of 30 pas-es of closely
written matter, stating the new rates
and the reasons leading the commis
sion to make its decision.
To assume this decision of the com
mission was not a mature one would
be absurd. No decision was ever more
mature, nor could a rehearing do any
good save to stir up again all this
vast mass of stuff and lead to fur
ther delay and expense, with no pros
pect of relief the public There Is
no excuse nor justification for a re
hearing except on the ground of new
evidence, or new conditions, or some
thing the commission obviously over
looked or could not obtain, and which
would change the basis of order No.
689 if they had been available.
There is nothing new, nor have con
ditions changed. The order is only
some two weeks old; its ink is hardly
dry. Then how can we consistently
or reasonably ask the commission for
a rehearing. To ask for a rehearing Is
an Insult to the commission. It im
plies they are incompetent, foolish,
crooked or cowardly and that their
order of yesterday should be recon
sidered, solely because of public out
cry and clamor.
No.. The act of the commission
must stand on its merits. It is no ac
cidental or careless incident; some
thing to be taken back and reissued
In another form. A rehearing would
be merely an excuse for delay or to
permit the commission to crawl out
from a position too unpleasant to be
faced with composure'. We cannot In
justice to the commission, asperse Us
character by asking for a rehearing
two weeks after the date of approval
of order 689, save for specific ana
valid cause which we know does not
exist. Our only recourse Is acquies
cence in order 689 or a petition to re
call. We all dislike the latter, but
we have no other means for relief.
Now, what does a recall petition
mean?
Nothing, except an appeal to the
court of final decision the public.
The commission was appointed by the
public. It is to be Judged by the pub
lic. The commission is a public body
responsible to the public alone. The
public may be depended upon not to
act unjustly to its loyal servants.
If the only offense of the commis
sion Is that it has raised telephone
rates, the public will not recall It. If
the public believes the telephone
rates have been improperly raised It
will recall the commission and we
will all be glad to see the deed done.
If the commission has acted in good
faith and faced an unpopular decision,
without fear and favor, tt will emerge,
from the ordeal more strongly en
trenched in public estimation than
ever before.
The petition for a recall means this
and this only: That a part of the pub
lic Is dissatisfied and has appealed the
case; that the petitioners have as
sumed the responsibility of proving
their complaint against the commis
sion; that the commission will have
the opportunity to prove the Integrity
of their position and to disprove the
allegations of the petitioners. Final
ly, It will put the whole matter
squarely up to the public to decide,
and will drag every obscure issue into
the full light of publicity.
The public should abstain from pre
judging this case until It has in Us
possession all the basic facts. The
mere fact that telephone rates have
been raised, while a serious burden, Is
not necessarily an offense by the com
mission. Let us keep open minds.
An attitude favoring the recall pe
tition does not necessarily imply a
prejudging of the case against the
commissioners. It is merely an ex
pression of dissatisfaction with orde
689 and an appeal to the great court
of final appeal. E..G. HOPSOV,
310 Railway Exchange Bldg.
CLange of Name.
PORTLAND, March 19. (To the
Editor.) I have lived with a family
and haee been known as their daugh
ter and have always been known by
their name, though not legally adopt
ed. Can I be legally married or hold
property under this name? If not,
what" step is necessary to legalize my
name. I am over 21.
A TORTLANDER.
Tou can legally marry or own prop
erty under the name by which you
are known. If you were to conduct a
business under your name it would
be advisable to petition the circuif
court to have your name formally
changed.
i
Raising of the Maine.
SILVER LAKE, Wash., March 19.
(To the Editor.) Was the battleship
Maine ever raised? If so, when and
at what conclusions did they arrive
concerning its destruction?
A CONSTANT READER.
The hulk of the Maine was. raised
In 1911. A board , of experts, after
examining the wreck, reported that
an exterior exploslon on the port side
Ignited and exploded a reserve maga
zine, which was followed by more or
less complete explosion of the con
tents of the remaining forward maga
zine. Determined Woman Speaka.
Boston Transcript.
Fortune teller Tou wish to know
about your future'husband?
Customer No; I wish to know
about the past of my present husband
for future use.
More Truth Than Poetry.
By Jamea J. Montague,
TUB BLACK SHEEP.
The bards of all the ages,
With lyrics ringing clear.
Have filled uncounted Pages,
Eleven months a year.
Eleven months, in phrases
Of eighteen-karat gold.
They've sung the season's praises.
But March has left 'em cold.
No doubt they've often started s
To chant of coming spring.
When snows shall have departed
And birds are on the wing;
But ere their lays were ended.
As swiftly as a wink.
A blizzard has descended
And frozen up their ink.
Full many a glad cadenza
Has lost Its silver trill
When colds or Influenza
Have made the poet ill.
Full many a lilting measure
Has been begun, no doubt;
Then bards with sore displeasure.
Have seen their coal run out.
So poets gayly carol
Eleven months a year,
But, ah! the muse Is sterile
Whenever March is here.
The songs they sing lack savor.
All Inspiration dies.
For March can find no favor
la anybody's eyes!
Boll It Down.
We trust that Mr. Harding will
now and then cast his editorial eye
over the Congressional Record.
Established Forever.
We have no hereditary offices tn
this country save the assistant secre
taryship of the navy, which always
must be held by a Roosevelt.
Too Bad.
It would be unfortunate if Charlie
Chaplin has to walk straight as tha
result of stepping on a nail the other
day. . t
(Copyright by the Bell Syndicate. Tne.)
John Burroughs' Nature
Notes.
Can Ton Answer These Questions?
1. Why is artificial comb, founda
tion often used in bee hives?
2. What harm do moles do?
. 4. Will an owl attack a man? Cor
respondent writes he was strolling
at dusk when a bird the size of a
hawk, but very silent In flight, flew
at him Just clearing his head, and
repeated this several times, until
frightened off by hand-clapping and
throwing stones.
Answers in tomorrow's nature
notes.
Answers to Previous Questions.
1. What marks distinguish the
male from the female wild goose?
The plumage of the two sexes is
practically alike. The Canada or so
called wild goose has a dark bill,
black head and long black neck with
a conspicuous chin strap of white ex
tending well up on the aide of the
cheek. The breast and under parts
are whitish and the back and wings
brown. Feet are black, tail and rump
black.
.
2. Why does not a frog have a tail?
We cannot always explain the why
in nature. Frogs (and toads) belong
to a branch of reptilian life called
batrachians and some of them do have
tails, as salamanders, mud puppies,
newts, etc. Frogs are a different di
vision, however, and nature sees fit
to make use of the part of their anat
omy which began in pollywog days
as tail by absorbing it as food as the
frog gets its legs. When food is
scarce the tail is consumed more
quickly, Isut life under low tempera-'
ture and with good feeding often
shows the tail disappearing much
more slowly. When the frog is a
baby the tail helps in swimming, but
does not appear to be needed for
adult life.
3. Are mushrooms nutritious?
The nutritive qualities of mush
rooms are small and these fungus
growths are valued chiefly for their
delicious flavor. In America the
mushroom that appears on the table
is usually the cultivated variety only,
agaricus campestris, a plant that
flourishes in practically all temperate
regions. It has been known to be
edible at least from the time of Pliny,
and has been a cultivated article in
parts of France since the 16th cen
tury. 1
In Other Days.
Twenty-five Yeara Ago.
From The Oresonlan of March a I, 18n.
Washington. Senator Mitchell of
Oregon today reported to the senate
ph behalf of the elections committee
that that body favors the election of
senators by direct vote of the people.
, The salmon canncrs of the state
have organized their new association
bearing the name of the Columbia
River Packers.
New sanitary conveniences are be
ing placed in the city schools. It was
announced yesterday.
Rome. King Mentlik of Abyssinia
stated yesterday ho will make peace
with Ilaly for iiO,000,GO war in
demnity. I'lfty Yeara Ago.
From The OregonlHn of March 21, 1571.
Providence, R. I. There were 162
divorces granted in Rhode Island in
1S69.
Tuget sound people aro firmly con
vinced that the terminus of the new
North Pacific railroad will be In the
Bellingham bay country. v
The Incorporators of the Portland,
Dalles and Salt Lake railway held a
meeting recently in the police court
room,
Washington. President Grant will
attend the reunion of the Army of
tho Tennessee on April 6. General
Sherman will also be present.
Cowboy Tribe Vnnlxbea.
Chicago Journal.
The 1921 cowboy, like the trapper,
has almost vanished from the west
ern picture. He lives now chiefly in
Hollywood, Cal., or In barnstorming
troupes touring the country. He is
no longer concerned with cattle, ex
cept as theatrical props; he is an
actor, not a stockman. Except in a
very few places he is gone from the
range, and in these scattered spots
where he still persists it is in reduced
glory as a greatly modified type. He
is likely to be as familiar with flivvers
as with horses; he Is as handy with
the monkey wrench as with the
branding iron, and as for six-shoot
ers, he is more iiKeiy to carry a
kodak. x
Oregon Child Labor Law.
TAQUINA, Wash., March 19. (To
the Editor.) Please tell me what Is
a legal age to hire a boy or girl to do
hotel or store work. A READER.
The child labor law has numerous
provisions as regards day and night
work, hours employed, kind of em
ployment, attendance at school, and
issuance of age and schooling certifi
cates. Vrite to board ot inspectors
of child labor, courthouse. Portland.
for requirements, giving full particu
lars of the individual case.