10 TUB MORNING OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, JULY 1, 1921 ESTABLISHED BY HENRY L. PITTOCK. Published by The Oreeonlan Publishing Co. Jio H.xih Street. Portland. Grenon. C. A. MORDES. K. B. PIPER. Adanafcer. Editor. The Ortmnlan Is a member of the Asso elated Press. The Associated Frees le ex clusively entitled to the use for publication .a 1 new" dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatcher herein are also reserved. Subscription Rates Invariably In Advance. (By Mail.) Bally, Sunday Included, one year $S 00 Iaily. Sunday included, six months -4-23 Ially. Sunday Included, three months... 2.2. paily, Sunday included, one month..... .75 Xi!y. without Sunday, one year. .. ..... COO Ealjy. without Sunday, six months 3.25 riaily. without Sunday, one month 60 weekly, one year 1.00 Sunday, one year 2.50 By Carrier.) TIly. Sunday Included, one year 0 00 Daily. Sunday Included, three months... 2.23 Pa iy. Sunday Included, one month 75 Dally, without Sunday, one year 7.SO lally. without Sunday, three months.. aily. without Sunday, one month. ..... .65 Jow to Rmit Send postoffice money order, express or 'personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or"currencv are at owner's risk. Give postoffice address In Xull. including- county and state. Postage Rates 1 to JB pares. 1 cent: IS to 22 pages. J cents: 34 to 48 paKea. 3 cents; 04) to 64 pases. 4 cents: 69 to 80 Panes. 5 cents: 8 to 6 pases. 6 cents, yoreifrn postage double rate. Katttern Business Office Verree & Conk Iln 3im Madison avenue. New York: Verree Conklln. Stexer building-. Chlcaeo: Ver ree & Conklin. Free Press bulldlnir. De troit Mich.: Verree & fonklln. Selling building-. Portland: San Francisco repre sentative. R. J. Bidwell. TOR MEXICO'S rXTlMATE GOOD. The death of Dr. Luis M. Drago, former, minister of foreign affairs of Argentina, recalls the doctrine of In ternational law -which bears his came, and furnishes an Incidental xplanation of the problem now con fronting Secretary Hughes in con nection with recognition of the Ob regon administration in Mexico. For prior to the time that the so-called Drago doctrine was promulgated. It was widely accepted as a prin ciple of international law that na tions might assume the right to en force collection of debts due their citizens in foreign countries, even though the laws and the courts of euch countries had denied relief, and the mere fact that this right was sometimes assumed usually fore stalled the necessity for exercising It. The practice of enforcing collec tion of private debts by public force was a relic of the period when the tew nations possessing responsible governments were beginning to ex pand their commerce, and when the laws of trade were nebulous. The young republics of South America acquired a peculiar interest In the Issue because, while the means of obtaining civil Justice were imper fectly developed by them, a prime essential of national existence was recognition of their sovereignty. Argentina, among the first of the Latin-American nations to acquire an understanding of the principles of equity, was the natural leader In the movement to insist that foreign ers who made Investments within the borders of a country did so at their own pecuniary risk. The forerunner of Dr. Drago was Dr. Carlos Calvo, also an Argen tinan, a distinguished international lawyer, who held that a state had no right to take up the claims of its citizens against the citizens or the government of another state, even as a matter of diplomatic action. The Calvo doctrine was modified by Dr. Drago to the extent that the latter conceded the propriety of dip lomatic representations, although flatly denying the right to use mili tary force for the collection of a private debt or the amelioration of a private grievance. Dr. Drago pre sumed that investors entered into foreign dealings intelligently and witn aue consideration oi. local con ditions, and that they were bound by suich provisions, or want of pro visions, for administering Justice as obtained in each country. Dr. Calvo denied utterly the right to Inter vene for any cause. Dr. Drago was willing to allow diplomatic in tervention, although not military force, after the complainant had ex hausted other resources. Including arbitration, and when it should be apparent to the complainant's gov ernment that substantial justice had been denied. The Drago doctrine has been ac cepted by the United States for some years. The International Conference Of American States at Rio de Ja neiro in 1906, In which the United States participated, agreed to take no military or naval action to com pel the payment-of debts until an offer of arbitration had been made by the creditor and refused or left unanswered by the debtor, or until arbitration had taken place and the debtor state had failed to conform to the declaration given. The bearing of this sequence of events upon recognition of the Ob regon government in Mexico is due . to the provision of the new constitu tion of Mexico which declares that the subsoil deposits underlying all lands shall belong to the state, and that the provision shall be retroac tive. All holders of oil lands are concerned with this retroactive fea ture, since it would confiscate their . property. It is not denied that the original investments were made In food faith, on the express invitation of the Mexican government to all foreign investors, or that the Mexi can laws of 18S4 and 1907 speci fically provided that mineral fuels extracted from the subsoils should be the property of the private owner of the land surface. It is also con ceded that petroleum is a much needed commodity in the United States, not only for private use but also for present and future military purposes. If then acceptance of the Calvo- T)rnfrr rlrr-trin npprl n rl e rArtrr tn extreme measures to correct the ob vious injustice of a retroactive and confiscatory provision of the Mexi can constitution. It is desirable that the effective methods of diplomacy and persuasion shall be employed to the best advantage possible to ob tain an adjustment of the trouble some issue in advance. For the principle of retroaction and confis cation, having been established In one instance, might easily become vexatious in others, and it is no small part of the scheme of develop ment and pacification of Mexico that its laws shall embody the prin ciple of stability, for the benefit of Mexicans no less than that of aliens. The issue of formal - recognition of the Obregon government, therefore, furnishes an opportunity to obtain a full understanding. That Obregon himself recognizes the force of this is reasonably deducible from his re cent statement that among the pub lic issues to be considered by th congress of Mexico would be "the regulation of article 27 of the con - tfULuUon," .which. I emulation, "doubt less will be based on a broad spirit of equity in which endeavors will be made not to make its dictates con fiscatory, nor to give it a retroactive Interpretation." MR. TAFT FOR CHIEF JUSTICE. Mr. Taft as chief Justice will be a distinguished accession to the su preme bench. It would be unfair and unjust to other eminent lawyers to say that Mr. Taft's was the only appointment which would have as sured the maintenance of the high prestige of the court, but in the circumstances it was the most suit able that could be made. There was a conjunction of known fitness with a general national desire for the Taft nomination. It would have been a distinct slight upon Mr. Taft for the president to select any other; and it would have affronted the pub lic sense of right and justice. Has not President Harding committed himself to the policy of putting the best minds in high place? He has done well heretofore in his great appointments; and he has made no exception here. Mr. Taft must necessarily cease the activities which have kept him in a place of unofficial national leadership in many things. In that sense? his retirement to the bench will be a loss. He has attained his greatest heights of public confidence and esteem as a private citizen who had no personal or political interest to serve, and who spoke his mind exactly as he pleased. Within proper limits he will doubtless do the same as chief Justice. Thus he should be able to crown an honest and even noble career. PROFANITY AND WORK. General Dawes has undertaken a man's-size job a superman's, to use a much abused term. The task of General Dawes is to find out, first, why the United States govern ment costs so much money, and, sec ond, how to eliminate waste, excess, extravagance, duplication. To state the second is to explain the first. The United States through Its bureau chiefs and department heads and all the enormous array of ad ministration talent, spends vast sums of money because congress appro priates them; and congress has ap propriated because it has not had the will to resist the demands of the departments, which have made up their respective budgets on, the basis of getting all they could. A private business bases its ex penditures on its income, actual or probable. If it .follows any other system, 'it goes bankrupt. But there is a different rule-ln public business. The average public official estimates his outgo on what he wants to do. Then he arranges for his income, which is limited only by the will ingness and ability of the taxpayer to pay. The public cow is running dry, and the milkers have got to be restrained somehow. General Dawes is as well aware as anybody that the great problem of reducing public expenses is not to be solved through the mere medium of a copious and pictur esque vocabulary of profanity. But the public does not object to his exercise of his undoubted talent for expletive. The general has put into words Just what the people feel. As a preliminary to real work. It is well that the attention of the job-holders be enlisted. Probably they know that General Dawes means business. Certainly the nation wants him to accomplish what he has set out to do. ' THE FARCE OF THE GERMAN TRIALS. It is not easy to find fault with the decision of the high German court that Lieutenant-Commander Neumann, who torpedoed the Brit ish hospital ship Dover Castle, was guilty of no crime against the Ger man law, inasmuch as he was acting under orders from his superiors. Its logic is complete and unassailable, and the case of the German officer is strengthened by every fact of common knowledge that we possess concerning the German system, of which the torpedoing of .the hospital ship was the product. Let us. In all fairness to Neumann, though he was the actual perpetrator of a crime abhorrent to civilized men, consider what his alternative would have been. First, he might have flatly re fused to obey the order, in which even In all probability he would have been charged with insubordi nation, found guilty and shot, and another more pliable officer chosen for the . task upon which the ad miralty had set its mind. Second, he might have accepted the assign ment given him and have purposely bungled the job, which would have been only a temporary evasion of the issue and would have proved nothing. Third, he might have com mitted suicide a refuge not without precedent but not a popular one. On the other hand, the entire back ground of the deed which Neumann committed but for which others were morally responsible, is the sys tem which the German militarists designedly built up. The fact of supreme importance In the case is the official admission that the tor pedoing of a hospital ship was or dered by the representatives of the German government. To have made Neumann the scapegoat would have satisfied only the most primitive re quirements. But it will be some thing to the world that the guilty character of the act has been ad mitted that the defendant made no effort to justify the deed itself, but was forced to adopt the plea he did. But if the comparative underlings in the German organization were answerable only to German law, which they had no voice in framing, those higher up cannot plead that they were not responsible for mak ing that law what it was, and they ought to be called to account, for It was at their own peril that they set their own laws against the standards of the civilized world. The whole scheme of f rightfulness was pred icated on the notion that it was necessary to victory; falling of vie torv it lost its only possible justifi cation; In defeat it was not even the sorriest kind of opportunism. It ought to be easier now to ascertain who gave Neumann the orders .in question, or who determined autnor itatively that hospital ships were to be destroyed, and if these individ uals are placed on trial, not even the contention that they were acting un der "German law" ought to avail them. For according to German law, they should have won the war, and they did not win it, and they are automatically thrown back upon the law of nations as it stood before they meddled with it. But perhaps If Von Tirpitz'were brought to book ta would, plead that he received his orders from the emperor, who Is now safe in Holland. Would the i plea avail him? Only If It be con ceded, which it will not be, that there was not a deep-rooted system, beyond even the Raiser's control, which in the last analysis was to blame for the whole lawless German policy. As has been suggested, a lieutenant-commander more or less, in prison or out of It, does not bulk very largely In the scheme of pen alties for -the outrages of the war. Something has been gained by the extraction of a confession that of ficial Germany deliberately violated all law. That we shall enjoy the benefit of witnessing the punish ment of the official of ultimate re sponsibility is probably more than ought to be expected; but Germany cannot hope to rehabilitate Itself in the confidence of the world until something like this is done. The German trials on the whole have been farcical, but not more so than might have been supposed. They have, however, opened the eyes of the world to the vanity of some pre tensionsamong them the idea, that frightfulnesa can under any con ceivable circumstances be made 'to pay. KOSTH DAKOTA REAPS. Generally speaking, and excepting the swindler who forfeits while he gains, only those who are deserv ing of confidence receive It. A hard rule, but a just one. As though turned by the lathe of logic for no other purpose; It fits the present financial embarrassment of North Dakota, the state which opened its arms to the non-partisan league. Heralded as the panacea for eco nomic '"s- and guaranteed to pro mote prosperity and vigorous bank balances, it has long been notorious that the league induced stringent times and complete financial bald ness. Flatter than any post-marital pancake, with the doleful "tunk" of a deflated dream, the league bogged down on the prairie state and smothered a score of banks. "All Is not lost," quoth the financiers of the commonwealth, "we will float a bond Issue." That was months .ago, and still persuasively worded advertisements appeal to a laggard public. North Dakota's offering of $3,000,000 In 6 percent bonds, backed by $3, 000,000,000 worth of state resources, including 17.000,000 acres of farm lands, is made to an unresponsive audience of investors. These have no money to risk on the future of a state that has espoused Townley ism, and by the wildest of socialistic experiment cast away its jewel repu tation. Having sowed the wind. North Dakota Is reaping the whirlwind. And not until the state is purged of political error will the harvest Im prove. ONE OF NAPOLEON'S MISTAKES. The death of Charles Joseph Bonaparte, who was secretary of the navy and also attorney-general In the cabinet of President Roosevelt, is a reminder of a romantic episode in the Napoleonic era, linking the American republic with the declin ing monarchial system of Europe, and inviting speculation as to what the course of history would have been if fate had decreed that the grandmother of this American poli tician and statesman should become the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, the man of iron nerve and boundless ambition. Instead of, for a brief period, the consort of his weak younger brother Jerome. For there is common agreement among his torians that Elizabeth Patterson, whose son by her marriage with, the younger Bonaparte was the father of Charles Joseph Bonaparte, would have made a fit spouse for the great emperor himself. Elizabeth Patterson, the daughter of a Baltimore merchant, became, a little more than a century ago, one of the most famous women in the world. She was born four years before the original government of the United States was organized by the thirteen states. As her most sympathetic biographer, Eugene Didier, has pointed out, she lived to see the republic, which had not ex isted at the time of her birth, become a nation with a population of fifty millions. Although the obscure daughter of an obscurer democracy, she became the sister-in-law not only of Napoleon but of the half dozen kings and queens whom that Imperial despot placed upon the thrones of Europe. Had not Napoleon Bonaparte's own mis guided conception of political ex pediency led him to oppose the un ion of his brother with the untitled but brilliant American girl, and if instead he had welcomed the op portunity then given him to form an alliance with brains rather than with the decadent incapacity of an effete Institution that contributed neither intellect nor character to the working out of his own vast scheme, the history of Europe might have been written differently. It is an intriguing theme for speculation. Madame Patterson herself never saw the great Napoleon. What might have come to pass if she had had an opportunity to plead her cause and that of her child in person with the ruler of France suggests another fruitful field for those who like to construct romance out of the might-have-been. For the Impell ing personality of Madame Bona parte was recognized by all w-ho knew her in the brilliant circle of admirers and sympathizers in which she moved for more than half a century. Napbleon, if he had been wiser than he was, would have made her his ally and adviser. The princess of Wurttemberg, whom he secured as wife for his brother after he had compelled the latter to dis card his American spouse, added nothing to the political advantage or to the glory of the Napoleonic reign. On the Intimate, personal side there Is nothing that we can admire in the Bonaparte whose wife Eliza beth Patterson became. That he was deeply in love with her is con ceded by all who knew the history of the affair; that she was his supe rior in all that goes to make up character is equally not to be dis puted. But Jerome showed the base metal of which he was made when "he was confronted by Napoleon him self. Though he strove for delay in meeting his strong-willed brother and vowed eternal fealty to Eliza beth so long as he was under the influence of her presence, he was but clay in the hands of Napoleon when he met the latter face to face. Jerome's lax morality, his unfortun ate temperament and his total want of resolution led him to consent to ' o final repudiation and divorce. Notwithstanding the action of the French tribunal, however, Madame Bonaparte was separately divorced by a court in Maryland and per mitted to resume her maiden name. The insignificant Jerome a short time afterward espoused the Prin cess Frederica Catherine, but not until he had made at least two other unsuccessful attempts to persuade a European princess to share his lot. As the wife of Napoleon, instead of Jerome, observes Didier, "her wit, beauty and ambition would have helped him to rise, while her prud ence, commbn sense and practical wisdom would have taught him when to stop in his dazzling career. She would have exercised that good Influence over him which Josephine was too timid and Maria Louise too silly to attempt." This estimate in ail probability Is not extravagant. With what bitter satisfaction must she have seen Napoleon defeated at last in his own aims! "When she knew Jerome," says a historian, "shorn of his (nock grandeur and kingship, bankrupt, dishonored, a fugitive upon the face of the earth, she must have dreamed how, with herself as his queen, her brain, her will, her ambition might have shaped his career far otherwise." And the life of Betsy Patterson is a perpetual reminder of one of the gravest errors that Napoleon Bona parte ever made. CAS TOT7 SWIM? Save when It Is white and tur bulent, or glassy-smooth and swift, with dark eddies, water wears a pleasing aspect and calls to us in friendly manner. And that Is why, doubtless, so many persons yield up their lives to an unregarded peril. For any lake or stream, however placid and pleasant, is in its depths a deathtrap for the unwary. When summer comes to the Oregon coun try, and folk refuse the town for the favor of country scenes, scarcely a week passes without its drowning. Example' does not teach caution when the lure of the water whispers of coolness and delight. Bather and canoeist alike assume the hazard once too often and the water wins its tragic forfeit. Now the obvious lesson to be de rived from these fatalities is that all should learn to swim, or at least that those who cannot swim, and with competence, should avoid the risk attendant on water sports. There is in Portland, we are re minded, a seven-year-old girl who wears in juvenile pride the lettered badge: "I swim one mile." So we preceive that It is not all a question of thews and stamina, but rather one of expertness to be mastered by children something, when it Is learned, almost as natural as walk ing. There are few adults, however, who can swim a mile, and many to whom only a yard or so of deep water means disaster. These latter folk, utterly unlearned in swimming, or equal only to a few cliimsy strokes, furnish by far the larger proportion of fatalities. One may well inquire whence comes this foolish serenity that sends canoeists, unable to swim, blithely forth to their favorite sport, or urges unskilled swimmers beyond their depth. Folk who would pale at any ordinary peril, such as a careless lout with a loaded rifle, or a car driven too rapidly, laugh light-heartedly as they dare the far more deadly danger of drowning, not only participating in the risk themselves, but . urging others to assume it. The conclusion is not to be dodged that there Js danger enough for the seasoned swimmer in water-sports, in the element of risk that is ever present, without others engaging to pilot canoes or experi ment at bathing in treacherous depths. Admitting that the non sense lines have been too frequently quoted, but insisting that here at least they point a warning to the unskilled, the familiar verse . de mands repetition: Mother, may I so out to swim ? . -O yes. -my darling daughter; ' Hans your clothes on a hickory limb But don't go near the water! Thirty thousand sacks of cold storage, onions are to be dumped In San Francisco because they cannot be sold or given away. Fifteen thousand boxes of apples may share their fate. That looks like a wicked waste of food, but It Is easier to talk about a remedy than to put one Into effect. The Italian cabinet is 'out again. If the Italians want someone on the job who can stick, there's Burleson, who is just about due in their coun try on his world tour. Thirty miles an hour on a paved country road is not dangerous speed If conditions fit, but only a foolish driver will chance fatality when the going is not perfect. The Vancouver judge who ordered a couple seeking freedom to live apart In adjoining houses is evident ly depending on a modified propin quity to do a lot. A New Tork nreacher has decided to attend the Dempsey-Carpentier light because ne ieeis it to oe nia "duty." Not every man finds duty so easy. ' . . If the last' hope of tie preventers is pinned to Governor Edwards, there will tie a fight. If Edwards is not present he will be an exception. Tex RIckard might put Dr. Crafts In the press box tomorrow and let the good gentleman see how little debasing scientific work can be. To the puzzled onlooker the police department appears to have more trouble cleaning out its moral squad than cleaning up the city. For lack of funds the cruiser Sa lem cannot be sent to Astoria for the Fourth. Poor old government! Somebody pass the hat. But then if a big fight were not held once in a while, how would all these experts and special writers pay their income taxes? Stlllman's memory is poor, nat urally. One recalls only the first and the last, where the number is great. Haywood is learning that freedom in Russia is worse than prison life can be in this country. Everybody matched Taft's smile when hearing of his nomination. Getting ready for the three-day vacation?. The Listening Post. Canada Has Many Phases of la terest. - THE SCOUT has been away on va cation, an early season one. and the chances are that he will put in some warm days this summer with nothing to look forward to. But that is one of the things that have to be taken into consideration when draw ing for place, and anyhow, he had his and a good one. The Scout hones that the Listening Post was missed while he was away and that it can be made a better one now that he is back. Intense rivalry exists in "Victoria between public sightseeing busses and the private cars. As the boats come into the inner harbor the mega phone men swing into action. Perched on some vantage point, the first spells the attractions of the city, extolling the service extended by the private cars. "Ride in comfort, see the city in style, get back in time," he urges. 'Take the sightseeing busses," the rumbling basso with the huge horn then counters, "they are built high and from their seats you can look over the walls and hedges into the private grounds of the old English families. The busses were made for this purpose; don't ride low and only see the trees." One of the -vagaries of northern travel at this time is the question of exchange, to which It is doubtful If Americans w'll ever get accustomed. Discount rates vary, according to banks, from 14 per cent down to 11, but your Canadian merchant tries to take American money at face and your Alaskan or American merchant cuts the Canadian specie 20 per cent as a usual rule. It is exasperating. The tourist goes out and buys $200 in Portland, before starting on the trip, for $175 and pats h'mself on the back, and then later finds that if his funds do not last out that he has to bargain and barter with all manner of sharks who have evidently studied Ponzl tactics to excellent advantage. An observing girl going across from Victoria to Vancouver began to notice things out of the ordinary. She had Just seen a man's key ring. It contained a combination bottle open er and corkscrew, a handy little ar ticle seldom carried in the states. In Victoria as a party of tourists were stocking up with post cards, a man nvaded the store asking for a pocket corkscrew. It was the opening day of the provincial prohibition act. He had a brown paper bundle under his arm, out of which protruded two lean bottle necks. The proprietor lost a sale, but made a note to stock up on corkscrews, a new demand. Skagway is but the shell of its for mer self. True the buildings yet stand that accommodated an assorted populace of some 16,000, but last year the 'directory men gave the town a population of but 400. Gasoline is (1 a gallon, but most everything else, except perishable, such as fresh vegetables, etc., is on nearly the same level as further south. An -amusing: sign is borne by the encrusted window of what evidently was once a prosperous merchandise establishment. Some wag, with graphic forefinger, has scratched thereon liTthe grime: "This window ' washed April 19, 1901." - F. P. Macnamara, a newspaper man of Vancouver, formerly of The Ore gonlan staff, came up for the usual Interview. "What did you notice In Vancouver that is different from what you saw in Portland?" was his contribution. "The length of the women's skirts," came in fast repartee from the Scout. ''Too short! We, know, but then what can we do about it?" And he nearly cashed in his checks when Informed that they did not know in the Dominion what a scant skirt really meant. Up in Vancouver, Norcross of the World, who ranks as the "Grand Ava lanche" of the Order of Glaciers, wanted to know if Bill Strandborg, the "Big Slide" of the order, was yet ir. Portland. It appears that Norcross and Bin were members of a party that toured the northern parks as guests of the Great Northern railroad some years back, and they were among the chosen for titles when the exclusive fraternity was formed on an Ice bridge over a glacier, high up on the continent's backbone. In Skagway, the town made famous by "Soapy" Smith, is a soft-drink fountain and ornate bar bearing the trade mark of the Blumauer-Frank Drug company of Portland. The owner sells newspapers and has some from Seattle and other towns in his racks, but none from Portland. Asked, he said: "Yes, I handle The Oregonian, but I sell them as soon as I get them in. e e And a woman on the boat going to wards Canada was heard to" remark to her husband: "You get a permit and I'll get a divorce." Quite some ultimatum that, when 50 cents pays for a permit after sev eral years of drought. The standard honeymoon of the east always has Niagara falls in its itinerary. In the northwest British Columbia occupies a similar position. "Cooing doves" are much in evidence. They forget their meals and do not seek acquaintance with their fellow passengers. Though British Columbia is "wet," through the medium of the govern ment liquor venders, the W. C. T. U. is yet In evidence. Though para doxical a covey of the "white ribbon- ers" were in session at Victoria on the day that the province went offi daily over to the liquor forces. THE SCOUT. OREGON MEADOW LARK. Bright, Jolly clown! Within the spangled ring Of summer song; Who, darting on the meadow tent. Turns his gay somersault of laugh lng notes. And mocks the cunning skill of wiser throats. But for a moment is his laughter lent; Then clover curtains hide his vanish ing. Ohr careless conjuror of mirth. God loves the pleasure makers of his earth: r MARY ALE THE A WOODWARD, Those Who Come and Go. Tsles of Folk at the Hotels. "Five boys went to sea one day, and four of them went ashore, for they could not stand what the sea demands when the wind begins to roar," quoth Captain T. J. Macgenn, reciting the opening lines of his latest epic, "The .Making of a Sailor Man." Captain Macgenn, who shipped as a lad in 1875, is the bard of the Pacific and in cidentally skipper of the good steamer Rose City, now In port. The skipper is anchored at the Perkins. It is the private opinion of Castain Macgenn, publicly expressed, that Samuel Tay lor Coleridge, author of "The Ancient Mariner." was a rotten poet and that alleged classic is full of Inaccuracies, all of which the master of the S. S. Rose City Is prepared to enumerate eerlatum and also one by one. As for the late William Shakespeare, the versatile sea-dog Insists that he is far from being modern, and the cap tain admits that he has got it over the Bard of Avon on nautical verse. The magnum opus of Captain Macgenn is "Caesar," a trifle of some 60,004) or 80,000 words, which contains not only a description of the Olympic games, but gives some inside dope on Cleo patra, the vampire of the Nile. If M. Antony only knew what the skip per has revealed about Cleo, ancient history would not have been written as it is. Captain Macgenn began his career as a boy in the clipper ships not the "Flying Cloud" and those craft, but the clippers of the mid seventies, which cut through the waves speedily and could still carry a large cargo. After beating up a bucko mate and a ship's carpenter or two. Captain Macgenn developed into a husky lad and 'n the course of time became master of sail and steam, with a license to skipper the largest craft afloat. "But only a few boys can stand the gaff," observed the cap tain, "and that's shown in my poem of 'Five boys went to eea one day and four, of them went ashore.' That's the percentage." The exhibition of the manly art of seir-defense, which is to be staged in Choisey City tomorrow, has become the chief topic in the hotel lobbies. Sentiment appears to favor Mons. Carpentier, the challenger, although ithe chaps who want to bet money are placing their beans on Mr. DemDsev. Of all the local hotel habitues the one wnois most perturbed is George Mc Kay, former postmaster of Water man, Or., at the Perkins. Mr. McKay wanted to go to sea the fight, but It has been his practice for many years to attend the world chamnionshio series, and the two "events come too close together to iustifv two trlna. If Mr. Dempsey doesn't win, the clerks ana bellboys will have to eat short rations for several weeks. They are betting On the weight and reach of tne American, but the average patron of the hotels is boosting for, if not Detting on. the Frenchman. A. E. Edwards, who makes ice machines in Seattle, arrived at the Hotel Portland from the east yesterday. He says he saw Mons. Carp two weeks ago and he predicts that the Frenchman will win. As one of Mr. Demnsey's ner sonal friends is a regular visitor at the Hotel Portland and has been ad vocatlng that pugilist, the house staff doesn t know what to do. Attending the tri-state medical con vention is Dr. J. C. Smith of Grants Pass. The doctor Is also a state sen a tor and has served in the legislature longer than any other member. He is usually founa on the ways and means committee, so that he has an inten sive knowledge of the needs and de mands of the various public institu tions which ask for appropriations every two years. Dr. Smith has been mentioned as a possible appo'ntee for the position of collector of customs at Portland, but. . in discussing the subject yesterday the doctor said that he hasn't anything definite in the way of news from Washington, D. C. Mike Dukek returned to his Fossil home last night well satisfied with his experience with the state highway commission. He received assurance that the section of the John Day highway between Fossil and Cum mings hill will be advertised for grading and rocking at the July meet ing. This Is a two-mile strip. The commislon also promised to have ad vertised for next year's work the road between Butte creek and Service creek. Mr. Dukek is one of the com' raissioners of Wheeler county. There is one business man who isn't a pessimist, and he is Tom Nolan merchant of Corvallis. "Our business this year, up to June 1, was 100 per cent of that of last year up to the same date," said he. Mr. Nolan at' tributes this satisfactory result to the Oregon Agricultural college. The Corvallis merchant came to town last week to play golf, but says that he has never In his life been able to make nearly as good a showing as the champions did. Mr. Nolan is at the Hotel Portland. E. H. Smith, judge of Lake county, is in the city to represent his county at the highway meeting. He Is In terested in the location of a road fmm Lakevlew north toward Bend The line may hit the central Oregon highway Instead of connecting at La Pine with The Dalles-California highway. Judge Smith will remain in town to attend the meeting of the tax Investigation commission, of which he is a member. C. G. McKy of Corvallis received a present from the highway com mission yesterday afternoon. With his associates. Messrs. Horning and Mine. ha bid on the Tum-Tum Phltwood section of the Corvallis- v.wnnrt hiehway to grade 9.71 miles. The bid was held up Wednesday, but yesterday the commission decided to award it. The Job is for something less than $60,000. Celestine J. Sullivan of San Fran cisco, of the league to conserve public health, is registered at the Multno mah. Mr. Sullivan was formerly sec- rctan of the state republican com mlttee in California during the first Roosevelt campaign. S. A. K. W. Brown of San Francisco, who is interested in politics in "the citv . is an' arrival at the Hotel Port land and has been hobnobbing with some democratic headliners. 'John D. McGowan, fish surgeorr of Ilwaco. Wash., is at the Hotel Port land. He conducts one of the oldest salmon packing establishments on the lower river. Dr. Dean Lewis, chief of the chair of surgery of the Rush medical col lege of Chicago, is In the city at tending the doctors' convention. He is registered at the Multnomah. John C. Kendall of Marshfleld is registered at the Benson. He is in town to talk road matters with the highway commission. At Kerry. Or., B. A. Eldred Tnanu factures telephone poles. Mr. Eldred is in Portland on business and is registered at the Perkins. L. L. Peetz of Moro, one of the county commissioners of Sherman county, is registered at the Imperial. C. E. McLane. who is the chief of police at Grants Pass, is among the arrivals at the Perkins. ! Burroughs Nature Club. Copyright. HeggktOB-MltflW Co. Can Yon Aaswer These Questional 1. What are fairy rings? 2. Do rattlesnakes eat snakes? 3. Can swans sing? What Is meant by a swan song? Answers in tomorrow's Nature Notes. Answers to Previous Question. 1. Of what use Is a drone? Does a drone take any part In the fertiliza tion or the hatching of the queen bee's eggs? The drone is essential to the queen's ability to lay fertilized eggs. She can. oezore mating, lay unfertilized eggs that develop into drones, but her power to lay fertilized eggs, produc ing worker bees depends on her hav ing mated with a drone. Oddly enough, even after mating, the queen can at will lay either kind of egg. thus keeping the swarm supplied with both workers and drones. z. What snakes are there in the United States that are capable of cap turing and devouring an animal as large as a small rabbit? Several varieties or rattlesnakes will eat a rabbit, as the banded, diamond-back and western diamond. The pilot black snake does also, as do the pine and bull snakes (constrictors) and the deadly moccasin snake. 3. At what rate do the following birds fly goldfinch, catbird, ground sparrow, wild canary, robin, blue bird, vesper, sparrow and house wren? There Is no authentic statement on the average rate of speed for most birds, even the United States biologi cal survey stating that no real data is available to judge by. It is rougn ly estimated that In the northward migration In spring the smaller land birds do not go faster than 20 miles an hour in daylight, but that they can fly a little faster at night. WHY DO GIRLS LEAVE HOSIEl Writer Thinks Cause Are Natural and Cperate Well in Itae End. PORTLAND, June 30. (To the Edi tor.) People who try to answer the riddle, "why do girls leave home?" generally make much cry about little wool. Girls leave home for one or ore of the following reasons: To make more money, to escape what they consider parental harshness, to get more pleasure and excitement out of life. How these incentives are to ho kent from ODeratlng within the soul .of a healthy, energetic aarins srirl IVhave never yet eeen effectively outlined in the proposals of any of the reformers. I do not believe that any f their schemes really will woric. The motives cited cannot be ODiit eritud smont the healthy and adven turous. Those wno nave nciiuer health nor daring'and whose parents are poor may be counted on to stay at home. But we may be sure that thev will never arrive anywhere, be it either good or baa. xney are just "Ktirkers." and as sucn tney nat urally stick. The so-called wayward girl is simply in most cases a more healthy and courageous girl with a stronger taste of life than the girl who. vear in and year out, is satis fied with and accents a never-ending drudgery and a dull, colorless, joyless existence. The number of runaway girls is bound to increase from year to year, despite the disappearance of the saloon and the tolerated Drotnei, which a few years ago were said to be the great lures. One cause to re duce the number of runaways would be a decline in the vigor and spirit of girls in America, but of this I see no evidence. Young women now have more opportunities than ever to make their way in the world. ThinK of tne chance for employment opened in the past ten or fifteen years. Think also of the constant incitements to buy many pretty, charming, desirable, adorable things which the markets of the world offer to women. No girl can read a paper or a magazine, at tend a picture-show, look in a display window, or even walk down the street without having the feeling aroused: "Oh, I want so many lovely things; oh, I must have them!" Only a small percentage of parents or "homes" can supply all the innumerable articles for which a girl is capable these daya of developing wants.. With the oppor tunity for an Independent income, if she has courage, health and spirit, what is more inevitable than that girls will leave home In increasing numbers and will try out many things, Just to see what life really is like. The old way was to give the hus band and father full power in the family, not only over the children but the wife also. Opportunities for self support offered girls and women were limited to domestic service, the stage, and the brothel. Who wishes to re store that condition? We are now In an era where equal opportunity has been given men and women. It is absurd to expect that the old feeling of dependence will eurvive on the part of the -'wife upon her husband or the children upon their parents. The younger generation feels that life is an adventure, a gamble, a series of trials and errors. That it has "in finite purpose," is either rejected or ignored. The husband's and father's authority is a thing beyond recall. If a father attempts to punish se verely a rebellious daughter, he finds himself in the juvenile court as an unfit parent. If a girl has good sense and health the chances are she will come through unharmed. She' will be sufficiently amenable to advice and direction to enable her to keep her health and strength and shun reck lessly extravagant ways. If she can't appreciate advice, she gives conclu sive evidence of being something of a fool, and she can learn only through experience. The wise know better than to try to save fools from their folly. In, the interest of social and racial progress it is better that they perish. DAVID MacCONNELL WORK IS CURE FOR LOXELDTE53 One Who Seeks Xrir Interest Will Have No Time to Brood. PORTLAND, June SO. (To the Editor.) A lonely soul wrote to The Oregonian last week and It gave me an impulse to help her from a page of my own experience. 1, too, am 69 years old and alone; the children all grown up and attending to their own affairs in life. - They call me up once in a while and ask "How are you?" Dear lonely one. What do you ex pect? If we depend on others for our happiness we will be unhappy. Indeed. Is there nothing you can do that would Interest you? No ambi tion you had no time for years ago? You will brood too much .on the past if you just keep house. Rent the house of. get a friend to live in it for caring for it and look around you. I was a teacher in my youth for several years. For 37 years was it my life work of rearing a large family. I could not be idle when they no longer needed me, so I re turned to my old profession. Of course I had never let myself slump, but all ' my life kept in touch with the world through good literature. Well I have taught now for two years and I love it. It is such worth while work. At present I am at tending the extension school of the University of Oregon here. It is fine to range myself with younger people and be able to keep up with them. I am surely a busy and happy woman and am mating a success of my work. J. A. R. More Truth Than Poetry.. By James J. Mostsrse, NO USB. The worthy legislators Who rule the sunny state ' Of palms and alligators Have, after much debate. Where words in wild profusion. Re-echoed to the eky Arrived at the conclusion That lawyers come too high. They do not mean to ban 'em. But thev wnnM rT k is Three thousand every annum. As ail tney ought to draw. The lawyer who exceeds it; Although he would not fall To eet up that he needs it. Will have to go to JaiL We hope the legislature Will take Its action soon; A measure of this nature would prove a public boon. Vast throngs would make the Journey From all the other states. To pick up an attorney At reasonable rates. Yet any legislation That hamnera nr rtttr.lft. Or sets a limitation On any legal brains. Will not for long be needed . FOP VrV Bunrnl. Whose Income is Impeded wui shortly emigrate! Better Tfcaa Citations. Many a hero has a framed codt of the slacker list hung on his wall to prove his war service. Too Bad. All these foreign affairs most be cutting heavily into Mr. Harding's golf. It Conld Do No Harm. Mr. Daugherty says he Is after only the big profiteers. But while he is waiting to get them he might land a few of the little ones, just for prac tice. Unkind Words. By Graee E. Hall. We speed them hastily upon their way. The unkind words that form within the mind. And seldom bid them sternly go away And yield their place to others that are kind; And yet a thousand times we all withhold The tenoer thought, the puls'ng, vibrant tone; Within each heart are splendid things, untold. That foolishly we hesitate to own. It seems so strange that any one should smother The better thoughts and let the uglier grow; That we, In passing, disguise from each other Our kindlier moods, and brusque ness often show; 'TwouJd seem that somewhere ideas, queerly straying. Had formed a shallow fashion that Impedes The growth of kindness, mocking us for saying The real heart-things the world so sadly needs. In Other Days. Twenty-Five Years Ago. From The Oregonian of July 1, 1S96. Chicago It seems certain that the democratic party in convention here will adopt a platform calling for free coinage of silver and for the sliver standard. The new council meets for the first time today and Mayor Pennoyer will preside. Mayor Frank was busy yes terday signing warrants for the pay ment of salaries to the end of his term. With the arrival of Captain J. J Cousins of San Francisco, an expert drydock builder, agitation is being started for a floating drydock in this city. The side wheelers Ocean Wave and T. J. Potter got away on their first trips on their summer schedule for Seaside Monday evening. Fifty Years Ago. From The Oregonian or July 1. 1871. New York A cable from St. Peters burg states that Grand Duke Alexis of Russia will soon visit America. Pat Coakley opens the Riverside saloon at the corner of Front and Morrison streets this evening. San Francisco At the republican primary election in San Francisco last week 807 votes were cast, much the largest number ever cast at such an election. Reports from Idaho Indicate coming trouble with the Indians. Several hundred have massed in the Payette valley and all are well armed with Henry and Spencer rifles. BACHELOR'S BUTTOXS. " Field flowers of June your clear bright blue. Matches the ocean's darkest hue. Where did you come from? Here's the clew. Posies from her old home so dear, Some lonely woman pioneer First planted you her heart to cheer. She little reckoned that your seed Would spread till now you're called a weed. The autumn winds did that fell deed. Over the fields rise waves of heat. Currents of air billow, retreat. Showing your blue tide through the wheat. God seldom gave your color rare To flower or bird, you proudly share Shades blue birds of happiness wear. Myriad blossoms you have won Place In the land of the setting sun. Growing in fields of Oregon. GRACE McCORMAC FRENCH. Address of Inventor. McMIXNVILLE, Or., June 29. (To the Editor.) Can you give me the address of Earl C. Hansen, Inventor of the "electrical ear." device for tin deaf, as pictured tn The Sunday Ore gonion on June 5? L. R. Hansen's address might be obtained by writing to Underwood & Under wood, 417 Fifth avenue. New York. Newspaper In Oklahoma Towji. SALEM, Or., June 29. (To the Ed itor.) Is there a newspaper pub l'shed In Pawhuska, Okla., and If there Is, what is its name? ALBERT KUFNER. Two weekly newspapers, the Cap' tal (republican) and the Osage Jour nal (democratic) are published at Pawhuska. Gas and Meter Faulty. The N. Y. Medley. Editor We- can't accept this poem. It isn't verse at all; merely an es cape of gas. Aspiring Poet Ah! I see: some- thins wrong with the meter.